A Captured Mind

Karl Schnotingal lived down a dirt road near the home where I grew up. When I was in middle school, I started helping Karl with his trap lines. Karl lost his father before I met him and, to my knowledge, the trap line was a needed income for the family. I helped Karl harvest sumac and black walnut husks to create a boil with wax to get the metal scent off the traps. I’m sure he learned the technique from his father, an immigrant from Germany.

In the woods and streams where I grew up, we would place the traps for fox, raccoon, rabbits, and muskrat. Each day after school I would get off the bus, change clothes, and run down the gravel road to Karl’s to see what we had caught and move traps to more optimistic locations.

I loved it. I enjoyed the woods and enjoyed learning from Karl about the trails and tracks. I enjoyed the hunt, camouflaging the site of the traps, and the thrill of the catch. Karl and I never discussed why they needed to trap. It seemed to me that they lived pretty much off their garden, the chickens, and the furs from the trap line. It was their livelihood, and Karl was pretty good at it.

Trappers for Christ

Karl had fine-tuned his trapping skills and to be Kingdom Minded we also need to learn to be able to take captive our thoughts to make them obedient to Christ. Of course, I’m using a verse from the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

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.

The Bible indicates that there is competition for our minds.

Satan tries to outwit us

2 Corinthians 2:11 NIV

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Our minds can become dull or hardened:

2 Corinthians 3:14 NIV

But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

Our minds can be blinded:

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Many years ago, I wrote these lines:

Blinded Eyes

Who blinds your eyes, Oh Stallion?

Why walk you into a pit?

Satan has fooled you with carrots,

And you have accepted the bit.

Don’t you feel the rider?

With hate he spurs your side.

Oh, that you knew your rider.

From him you would hide.

If you’d remover your blinders,

An owner with love you’d see.

He’s already paid and you’re purchased,

Under His love you would be.

He will remove your rider.

He will set you free.

He mends the wounds that were given.

Once again you will see.

Our minds can be deceived or ensnared:

2 Corinthians 11:3 NIV

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

The competition for our mind is intense, even frighteningly so with the intense social media, entertainment, and digital world in which we live. The devil uses every means possible to outwit us, dull us, blind us, and ensnare us. We have to be intentional and aggressive about it.

In Mary Gautreaux’s book, Kingdom Minded, she writes about discipling our minds. Today’s world is filled with meaningless distractions that compete for our attention. Here is a paragraph from the book:

We are what we think. When we spend all day taking in carefully packaged images (by someone with an agenda), we are putting our minds at risk for chaos and disorder. We are letting our minds dwell on what someone else wants us to think. Many times, it is a carefully packaged lie, but the more we look at it and listen to it, the more our minds will store that information as truth and normality. If something does not line up with what we know to be true, do not spend time watching or listening to that thing. Lies believed in the mind cause chaos and disorder in the spirit, as well.[1]

Last week we talked about the fact that Kingdom Minded people realize that there is an enemy trying to destroy our faith. As Joyce Meyer puts it, it is the battlefield of the mind.

Capturing Our Minds

As I mentioned, in our neck of the woods, the primary fur bearing animals were fox, rabbits, raccoon, and muskrat. In the woods of our minds, we have common things that we need to capture. I think that the two biggest are evil thoughts and imaginations.

Capturing Our Evil Thoughts

Some animals, like wolves, are hard to catch, but the good news is that it is very possible for us to capture our evil thoughts. Nineteenth century preacher Adoniram Judson Gordon said, “Before Pentecost the disciples found it hard to do easy things; after Pentecost they found it easy to do hard things.” This is why it is so important to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice in our lives.

We are able to be successful trappers of evil thoughts! Listen to this passage from 2 Peter:

2 Peter 1:3–4 NIV

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Notice that it says that through our knowledge of Jesus and his promises we are able to participate in the divine nature and escape evil desires. How do we allow Jesus to capture our evil thoughts? By knowing Jesus and his promises. (Craig Groeschel)

More and more I find myself reciting Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

When evil thoughts enter our minds we need to think: Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right?

Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it admirable? Is it excellent? Is it praiseworthy?

Capturing Our Imaginations

There were animals that just didn’t exist in our streams and woods. I never saw a beaver in our area. There was no bear nearby nor any mountain lions. It would have been foolish to have set traps for things that just simply did not exist.

There are two categories of imaginations that I believe we deal with: (1) things that aren’t real, and (2) things that exist but we make them out to be worse than they are. Unless we are delusional, we don’t have to concern ourselves with things that aren’t real. I never saw a Yeti track out in the woods. However, I have seen dog tracks that made me wonder about the possibility of wolves or rabid dogs. Then fear and worry begin to play in the imagination of my mind.

We do the same thing. Our fears become exaggerated. Our anxieties become heightened to the point that we are paralyzed. It becomes the devil’s playground. We begin to ask, “Where is God?” But, he is always there, just as He saw the hardship of the people of Israel and delivered them to freedom.

Do you remember that Jesus said?

Matthew 6:34 NIV

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The lesson here is plain: God gives grace for what is, not what if. His grace is abundant in real-time challenges, but if we ask Him for comfort and assurance for what might happen, we may be disappointed. We can choose to imagine possible futures that feed either fear and insecurity or a false sense of control, but we should not expect the consolations of God’s grace to comfort and assure us in the face of these what-ifs.

How Do We Capture Fear and Worry?

Michael Beals in a great article, “Grace for What Is, Not What If” makes this point,

The imagination is an amazing gift. This fountain of creativity is one of the clearest ways we reflect the image of our Creator. When I submit my imagination to the cleansing and redeeming work of God’s Word and Spirit, it fuels vision and hope that come to life as I walk in faithfulness.

The unredeemed imagination, however, has just the opposite effect. Bent by fallen human nature, the imagination not surrendered to the glory of God becomes an engine of self-will and fear that drives us away from the life and ministry God designed for us.

I have struggled with the fear of public speaking all my life. Why I became a teacher with a fear of public speaking is because of my initial desire to be involved in missions. The fact that a teacher is a public speaker was secondary. Why I became a preacher is because of God speaking directly into my life that it was His will for me. His will was primary, my fear was secondary. I figured God would take care of it, and He continues to do so. Now I just try to make my butterflies fly in formation.

We must continually remind ourselves of who we are. It is a critical discipline. Remember that discipline is causing our chaos to come into order. King David struggled with fears

Psalm 94:19 NIV

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

The consolations in this verse are not only the words of comfort the Holy Spirit speaks to my heart, but they are also the creative self-reminders of my calling and God’s promises that energize me and enable me to stay joyfully in the game.

In the NIV we are told “do not be afraid” 70 times and that doesn’t include the variations of the command. In addition, we are told in 10 of these 70 times not to be discouraged. Could you imagine if we were able to harness our imaginations for good? Michael Beal wrote:

It is the deployment of the redeemed imagination that extends the horizon of hope and possibility and creates space for God to work powerfully, supernaturally for His highest glory and my highest good.

You Can Be a Trapper!

Craig Groeschel has written a book titled, Winning the War in Your Mind. He gives 4 strategies to fix our thoughts and win the war in our minds:

1. Remove the lie and replace it with truth.

This is why we need to continually study the truth.

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

2. Create new trenches of truth.

We have mental ruts that we have created by thinking the same thoughts over and over. We need to remove the lie behind them and replace it by renewing your mind in Christ.

Psalm 119:105–106 NIV

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

3. We need to reframe.

Joseph saw his circumstances and history as an opportunity to be a blessing for his people. We need to be able to trust that God can use all situations for His glory.

Genesis 45:4–5 NIV

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

4. We need to change our perspective through prayer and praise.

Philippians 4:4 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Grow a Beard!

I’ve been watching Mountain Men on TV. These men and women are living rugged lives all across the nation from the Appalachian Mountains to the Arctic Circle. They are working in sub-zero temperatures, walking and rafting 75 miles to town, and making tools by hand. AND they all have beards….well, most of them. My point is, we have to be violent men/women to win this war!

Paul used violent terms to convince the Corinthians that they needed to capture their minds for Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3–4 NIV

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

This language is appropriately violent and aggressive. We have to be that aggressive with our thought lives. Kill the evil thought, claim the truth against imaginations and fear. Get into the Word of God and let it create new pathways for your life!

[1] Gautreaux, Mary. Kingdom Minded.

Related Media

Related Sermons