For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) (5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV)
Dear friend, it is wonderful to see you here today.
As we continue our two-part study on taking our thoughts captive for Christ, this lesson seeks to provide practical help with becoming free from distressing thought-strongholds and “lofty imaginations” that tower over us so we can experience the peace and joy of Christ in our hearts and minds.
Let’s consider these three verses:
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5 ESV
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
Question 1. Looking at these verses, on what are we to set our minds, and what happens when we do this?
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Yes, we are to set and ‘stay’ our minds on the things of the Spirit, trusting in Jesus. He promises to keep us in His perfect peace that passes all our understanding. John 16 tells us that the Holy Spirit takes the “things of Jesus Christ” and makes them known to us (John 16:14-15).
The Holy Spirit wants to exalt Jesus, to show you His virgin birth, His miraculous life, His substitutionary death, His powerful resurrection, His ongoing intercession. He wants to make Jesus known to you and He wants to make Jesus precious to you!
And so, the instruction to set our minds on “the things of the Spirit” means to set our minds on Jesus Christ, to fill our minds with the gospel and all its benefits. We are to have a healthy preoccupation with Jesus, to fixate on Him and all of His living and dying, His rising and ascending, His praying and interceding, which will then fill our minds and nourish our souls. Oh, dear friend, begin to let your mind be taken up with Jesus, let your imagination be captivated by Him and consumed with Him. This happens as we get into the Word of God, studying it with the purpose of seeing Jesus Christ in it, and believing what we read.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a medical doctor as well as a pastor, wrote in his book “Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure”:
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.”
Question 2. Please share your views about this quote and the differences you see between ‘listening to ourselves’ and ‘talking to ourselves’.
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Carnell writes, "In my opinion listening to yourself makes you hold on to your past mistakes and failures. Talking to yourself makes you speak Gods word over your situation."
Tori writes, "This is amazing. It will take for me to chew on this and mentally register it, but it seems powerful. To listen to ourselves we let anything come at us, almost like a fortress without walls, and both negativity and lies can come. Yet if we speak to ourselves, and speak the truth to ourselves, even before the thoughts come, it is as if we are building walls around our fortress and protecting ourselves from negativity through the great power of God's word, God's truth and the help of the Holy Spirit."