BATTLEGROUND OF THE MIND. Part five

This according to my web control is the most looked at post.  I totally get why.  We will continue work toward tearing down unwanted thoughts today is about truth. Are our battles in the mind true do we have a thought that doesn't line up to the truth of the Word. God leads us in this by conviction, satan by condemnation.

 It is the first and biggest area that everyone battles.You have to win at this battle or you will find yourself taken out in every other battle because of it. It takes away your confidence and authority. It also more often or not causes us to judge others in the same areas because we hate those things in ourselves.

Matthew 7:4

Amplified Bible (AMP)
⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, Let me get the tiny particle out of your eye, when there is the beam ^[a]of timber in your own eye?
Again it's time to challenge some of those thoughts.
We have to remember a couple of things when we start to work on the area of our thoughts.
1. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
    John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18 "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 


19 Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness.”
 However if we are feeling guilty we need to decide what is true are we indeed guilty of something that God is bringing to our attention?  If God has convicted you (not people, but God), then you need to repent turn away from the sin, confess It, and receive mercy. Everyone needs to find a friend that they can share these things with to have someone else encouraging them in faith that they are indeed forgiven. The only reason we don't repent is because we really are not ready to let sin in us to come to the light. Fear is often the biggest reason we don’t want to expose sin. Conviction comes from love. So let’s take a look at how conviction comes in comparison to Condemnation.

This is all based on I Corinthians 13 and about love.  The biggest difference between Condemnation and Conviction is the Love of God.

1.          Condemnation rants and raves in your mind every time it can it is impatient and want you to accept that you are not good enough or acceptable enough for forgiveness

2.          Condemnation puts you into bondage it nags at you and also insists that no one can help you and God forgot you so long ago. It will also bring one thing after another into your life to prove it’s point.

3.          Condemnation doesn’t want you to think any thought that might just be in conflict with it’s condemnation.

4.          Condemnation is paralyzing and will not let you take action to make changes and to be freed from sin.

5.          Condemnation if you get freed from sin will be right back trying to remind you of all the reasons that you can’t be forgiven.

6.          Condemnation will bring many people and circumstances to steal your Joy and stop you from being free of it.

7.          Condemnation demands your attention it will allow you to lose sleep, destroy your appetite, make you just want the thing you just gave up and when it doesn’t get what it wants it gets angry and will cause you to be angry at things that really often have nothing to do with the problem at all.

So then if that is what condemnation does what does conviction do
I Corinthians 13:4-7
 Conviction is always based on LOVE!

1. Love is patient Conviction will continue until you utterly reject it and then it will stand by until you are ready to change your life.

2.  Conviction’s whole motivation is for you to have a greater and more passionate and full life. It is not to be feared because conviction is done with kindness.

3. Conviction is not jealous of your sin it will Never be so proud as to announce to the world “You are a horrible sinner” everyone is a sinner but God will just patiently lead you to the conviction of the same sin until you are wanting to expose it to the light. Conviction will never be rude about your sins, or weakness.

4. Conviction does not demand or control you into change.

5. Conviction while it may be uncomfortable it’s not irritable explosive and it does not keep records of all your past mistakes even if this is the 30 time  repenting of the same sin.

6. Conviction never rejoices when you miss the mark and fall short of your goal. I rather rejoices when you gain Victory over sin.  It also hates it when you mind torments you with condemnation for something it has forgiven. I moans for you and yearns for you to come into the light in your life. It always rejoices every time you defeat that sin.

7. Conviction will wait however long it takes us to choose to walk in life. It never gives up. It never loses faith, always has hope attached to it, in ever circumstance no matter how horrible we think we have blown it. It’s always waiting to move you to greater Joy, Love Peace, and freedom

This is a good time to talk about the Fear of God.  To fear God means that rather then continue I would rather just repent expose the sin and move on.  Like a child when they have done something wrong and know that Dad is not happy and is waiting for them to come and talk to him so is God waiting for you. God knows that many areas of your life will not grow until you change things in your life, not for Him but for you.

Proverbs 1

King James Version (KJV)

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

² To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
³ To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
⁴ To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
⁵ A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
⁶ To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Next time on the Battleground of the mind I will talk more about the fear of God. Many think it is terrifying but it is actually freeing and rewarding and with it comes great faith and great authority and ultimately Victory at every turn.

Scripture to study on again this week take a look at:

Psalm 1 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹ Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

² But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

³ And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

⁴ Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor ^[b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).