April 23, 2017 | Bob Bartlett
Passage: 2 Corinthians 10:1-18
Something Greater - “The Battle for My Mind” 2 Corinthians 10:1-18
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Armed and Dangerous - The Necessary Weapons:
Vs 1-2: “By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but bold toward you when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.”
#1: To win the battle for my mind I must have a h (teachable) heart.
- Psalm 25:5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.”
- God resists (no power) the proud; He can’t resist (unleash power) the humble. 1Pet 5:6-7
Vs 3-5: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
#2: To win the battle for my mind I must skillfully h the Word of God.
- 2Timothy 2:15 “a worker not ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
- If the Word isn’t (going) to be supreme in your life, you will have great difficulty winning the war! Hebrews 4:12
Vs 12-14: “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us…”
#3: To win the battle for my mind I must guard against a spirit of f________________ humility.
- Colossians 2:18“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you…they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.”
- The two-edged sword of false humility.
- Psalm 16:2 “you are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing.” But in Him, we have everything. Colossians 2:9-10
Vs 15-18: “Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you…”
#4: To win the battle for my mind I must hold fast to s__________________ the gospel.
- Philemon 1:6 “I pray you may be active in sharing your faith so that you may come to a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
- Be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer, it guards against ‘being deceived’ Jas 1:22
The battle for my mind is the ground under attack every day.
- Win this battle and you will win the war!