8-12-2023 Daytona Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Ben “Your Mind Is A Battlefield And A Playground” Romans 8;5-7

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8-12-2023 Daytona Seventh Day BAPTIST Pastor Ben “Your Mind Is A Battlefield And A Playground” Romans 8;5-7, I Peter 5;8

 

 

Our minds being a playground and a battlefield means that we are at war. We are at war. The text says that those who live after the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit, live for the things of the Spirit. To be carnal minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. In the text there are two different groups of people. Those who are led by the Spirit and those who are led by the carnal flesh.

Many people lead their whole life wondering why things don’t go well. They trusted Jesus as their personal savior yet they suffered one defeat after another. They cannot quite get it or figure it out. They don’t realize that there is an enemy that is out to get them. He is out to get them and he is very real. He is very real and his name is Lucifer, Satan, the Devil and the Old Serpent. He is very real. He is an enemy that laughs at us. He is an enemy that is always trying to instigate us. Instigate us into disobedience to the Lord. He is always instigating us to draw us far away from God. His purpose is to divide and conquer our minds.

The strategies that the enemy of the Lord uses to defeat us are things that all of us go through. The enemy has not left any of us alone. Some people tell me that they don’t believe in the devil and don’t think he is real. They think he is a figment of my imagination. Have you heard this before? I have heard it. When they say this I refer them to I Peter 5;8. This scripture says the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. In other words, hes out to get you! Hes out to get me. Hes out to get all of us! Have you heard the phrase “the devil made me do it”? I behaved bad but the devil made me do it. Have you heard this?

I’m telling you the devil is a liar and he is a deceiver. Many, many people are very deceived. They are so deceived that they vote to kill newborn and unborn babies. You hear what I am saying? They are deceived to vote to kill unborn babies. The devil is very good at deceiving people. Looking back at Romans 8;5-7, it says that those that live after the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death. The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The people that live carnal, by the flesh, are not with the Lord. There is a spiritual fight that is going on around us everyday with the goal being to conquer your mind, my mind.

There is something that we all have which is called Freedom of Choice. You can choose to do right or to do wrong. You have the right to say no to the wrong things and you have the right to say yes to the right things. Saying yes only comes if you want to make the right decision. The problem with most people is that they concentrate on the wrong things. Things that the devil is doing and giving him more credit than what he deserves. Instead of thinking about God who is with us and spending time in the things that God has done for us, we think of the wrongs of the devil. Well if there is a devil then there is a God! Amen? Amen. The devil walks around like a roaring lion. Have you ever heard a lion roar? It scares you, doesn’t it?

There is something about us in our human nature that opposes God. Paul said “poor me, the things that I don’t want to do, those are the things that I do.” There are two groups of people in the text. Those who are led by the flesh and those who are led by the Spirit of Truth. Those who are according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. The enemy is real. Think about it. Think about your thoughts. How much time do we spend on a daily basis thinking about godly things? Think about it. How much time do you spend trying to do good? How much time do you spend trying to do bad? You don’t try, you just do them. Right?

For example this morning as soon as you woke up, the battle began. The battle began right there. You are either going to make a right decision, or a wrong decision. The battle of our mind starts. The enemy of the Lord cannot read our minds. The devil cannot read your mind but he can read your facial expressions. For instance, a sister comes through that door and you look. The way you receive that person, the devil right away catches you. If you are doing it with kindness, love and mercy or if you are doing it the wrong way with lust or whatever. Hes going to pounce on that and the devil is going to get you. Right? The enemy of the Lord cannot read your mind but he will know what you are thinking by your body language. He knows when you wiggle your eyebrows, smack your lips and roll your eyes. The devil knows and this is the time when we are more vulnerable than ever.

The enemy of the Lord takes these moments to take advantage of your mind. We need to control our mind ourselves. There is a fight that is going on everyday, every minute, every second for our minds. Whoever controls the mind, controls you. For instance, you can think of holy things in one second and not so holy things in the next second. So we have to be vigilant of our eyesight, of our voice and of our body language. Verse 7 says that a mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God. He does not submit to God’s law. This means that if you are controlled by the flesh, you cannot be controlled by God at the same time. Its either or. You are controlled by God or you are controlled by the devil.

Those who are controlled by the flesh get into a lot of problems. We get into a lot problems but there is always God who is there to pick us up when we make a mistake. The text says that the mind that is set on the flesh is death but The mind that is set on the holy Spirit is life and peace. Who doesn’t want life and peace? Especially at home. Listen, you can choose to disobey God because you have that freedom. You have the freedom to disobey God and you have the freedom to say no to the devil too. You have the freedom to say you are not going to take one more drink or one more drug fix. You have the freedom to say you are not going to prostitute yourself. You can say no but it is your choice.

Do you like to be in control or do you like to be controlled? I like to be in control of myself. I don’t want anyone to control me but God and my wife. You can listen to the voice of the Lord and obey Him. But if you choose to disobey God, the penalty is death. But if you obey God, the gift is Eternal Life. Praise the Lord! Remember that if you play with fire, you are going to get burned. So follow the Spirit of God and obey the LORD.

 

AMEN