GIG251 Take Every Thought Captive

Growing In God Podcast

 

Web Description: As Christians, are we conformed to this age? Do people look at us and see no difference between us and the world? The Lord does not want us to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. By the authority of Christ through the Holy Spirit, we destroy the speculations that are conforming us to this world. And we take every thought captive in obedience to Christ.

 

Show Notes: As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians, spiritual warfare involves destroying speculations and bringing every thought captive in obedience to Christ. Much of what is taking place in the world today is driven by speculation. So many things that we are seeing and hearing are speculations made up by people attempting to control our thinking. These things are coming directly against the truth and the knowledge of God. But we as Christians need to know the truth and have the knowledge of God. So we must take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We cannot allow our thoughts to be controlled.

 

We are constantly bombarded with the thoughts, the ways, the lusts, and the concerns of this world. All of it is trying to take our thoughts and make us conform to the world. But the Scriptures tell us that we have the ability in God to be conformed to His image by the Holy Spirit. We have the promise that if we refuse to be conformed to this world, we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. According to the Word of God, if we take these thoughts captive under the authority of Christ, we will be transformed.

 

Let us stop the world from controlling our thoughts. This may seem difficult because the world is screaming so loudly, and all our senses are attuned to this age. However, the Holy Spirit was given to teach us and to guide us. And we need to spend time with Him, learn how to communicate with Him, turn off all the input from the world that is conforming us to this age, and by the Holy Spirit find the way to be conformed to the Word of God.

 

Key Verses:

 

•       2 Corinthians 10:3–5. “We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

•       John 14:6. “I am … the truth.”

•       1 Corinthians 2:16. “We have the mind of Christ.”

•       Isaiah 55:8. “My thoughts are not your thoughts.”

•       Romans 12:1–2. “Prove what the will of God is.”

•       Ephesians 4:22–24. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self.”

 

Quotes:

 

•       “We may be facing the flesh in this age that surrounds us, but we can't fight back in the flesh. We have to have the spiritual ability.”

•       “We must come to a recognition that we are growing up into Christ, growing up into the mind of Christ, until our thoughts are His thoughts.”

•       “The greatest tribulation that we will face is the war within us to take every thought captive and to be transformed by the renewing of our mind and come into the image of the Lord.”

 

Takeaways:

 

1.    Satan is always moving to remove or cover over the truth. Much of what we absorb in this age through all forms of media is not the truth, but speculation designed to conform our thoughts to the world. By the Spirit we must destroy speculations and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ.

2.    We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We do not want to be Christians who look, act, and think like the world. We want to be transformed into the mind of Christ, into the thoughts of God, where God no longer has to say, “Your thoughts are not My thoughts.”

3.    According to the Word, you have the ability in Christ to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and to “put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."