To Take Captive Every Thought
Spirit Controlled Living
Clark Cothern (edited by me)
To Take Captive Every Thought
1. Put on the mind of Christ by reading His Word.
(When you do this, you are walking in the Spirit by letting the Word dwell richly within you.)
2. As you study His Word, ask Him to guide you into truth through His Holy Spirit. (He promises to do this in John 14:16, 17, 26; 16:13, 15. Key verse 16:13.)
3. When you get hit by a dart, look at a brick.
Look at a Brick
"I'd like you to think of each truth in God's Word as a brick. Can you picture a whole bunch of truths, all stacked on top of each other, forming a strong wall?"
"Now, as we build our shields of faith, what makes up the uburnable building material?"
"Truth from God's Word,"
"Right. And so, instead of a small, wooden shield, we're going to build a huge, nonflammable brick shield, big enough not only to stand behind, but big and strong enough to build a jail cell around the negative thoughts that come as a result of the fiery darts.
"Now I'm going to share one of my favorite verses for you to think about while I explain this Look at a Brick concept. I love Proverbs 30:5, which says, 'Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.'
"In that verse, who is the one doing the shielding?"
"God."
"And what is it that is flawless?"
"His Word."
"Every word."
....Paul tells us in Philippians 4:8 that we should think about 'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,' and if anything is "excellent or praisworthy,' we should think about those things too. When you put on the mind of Christ by daily pouring His Word into your heart and mind, you store up a whole supply of bricks. And each time a dart starts you down the path of negative thoughts, you can simply bring to mind one of those truths--one of those bricks--and focus on it. In a matter of seconds, your emotions go back down the thermometer, because you've arrested the thought and built a jail cell around it with your 'truth bricks."
The Spirit Gives You the Bricks
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
When you are putting on the mind of Christ, you have access to the Spirit of truth. He will guide you into all the truth you need in order to store up a huge pile of bricks.
"I'd like you to choose one area you are struggling with... Then, each day, whenever you have a Bible reading and prayer time, I want you to begin with a simple prayer thanking the Father for giving you His Holy Spirit. Thank Him that Jesus promised you the Spirit of truth. Then, as you read through portions of the Bible, ask Him to guide you into the truths that will help you develop a sheild of faith. Each time you read a verse or passage with a truth that counters the lies Satan is trying to deceive you with, write that passage down. If possible, memorize the key verse in the passage. You can journal it if you wish, by keeping a sheet of paper handy, so you can compile a whole list of 'truth bricks."
Answer the following questions to review what you've just learned about taking captive every thought and making it obedient to Christ:
1. What is the material used in building your shield of faith?
2. What does it mean to "look at a brick" when you find yourself in a downward spiral of negative thoughts?
3. Where do you find the bricks you will pile up to make your shield and the "jail cell" for the negative thoughts you will take captive?
4. Who leads you to those truths?
5. What will you do this week to start piling up your bricks?
AI
