Our reading today is  2 Corinthians 9-10, and I’m calling the episode “Take Control of Your Thoughts.”

As we have mentioned before, there are those in the church at Corinth who did not recognize Paul’s authority as an apostle. Much of this chapter has Paul defending that authority. Not for his own benefit, but for theirs. What he has to say is important. After all, as an apostle he is bringing God’s message…and they should receive it as from God.

In the first five verses of chapter 10, Paul is introducing this concept, and he mentions that this is a spiritual matter, a spiritual battle even. 

“1By 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! 2I 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. 3For 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. 5We 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 Corinthians 10:1-5 NIV

For today’s discussion, I want to focus on the last part of that last sentence: 

“…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Is that even possible? Can we really take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ? 

Before I begin to answer the question, let’s remember what Paul the apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote to his young protege Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16:  16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of Godmay be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Beloved, I believe that. I believe what Paul said there. I do believe that *all* scripture is the God-breathed Word of God. So if Paul was able to “…take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”, I believe you and I can do it, too.

First let’s understand why we would even want to do this. Paul was doing battle with worldly ideas…ideas that were counter to his mission. And this was a spiritual battle. Beloved, *we* are in a spiritual battle today. There are forces of darkness all around us that literally want to silence us, and even kill us. If you don’t believe that, then you’re not paying attention. The last thing Jesus did before He ascended to Heaven was to give the disciples (and by extension, us) a mission…a job. He said, “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Perhaps more than at any time in human history, certainly more than any time in my lifetime, people need to know the Lord. Freedoms are being eroded around the world. Globalists want to bring every person under subjection. But there is freedom in Christ. Kings and Prime Ministers and Presidents can subjugate our bodies, but they cannot control our minds and souls. When we belong to Christ, we are free. And the powers of this world hate that fact. They want to stop the Gospel. Don’t believe me? Just wait. You’ll see. The spiritual battle we are in is ramping up. It’s already in full swing in some parts of the world, with Christians literally being killed for their faith. According to OpenDoorsUSA.com, in 2021 4,761 Christians were martyred. And persecution against Christians has risen for 15 consecutive years. With the speed at which changes are happening in the world today, do you doubt that it can come to any nation? I don’t.

Yes, we are in a spiritual battle, and each of us is called to engage. On yesterday’s show, I talked about putting on the full armor of God when we discussed resisting temptation. Obviously, that is an aspect of spiritual warfare which goes hand in hand with what Paul is saying in today’s scripture…”tak(ing) captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

So how do we do it? How do we take control of our thoughts? 

First, we must be aware of when our thoughts are out of bounds, and then stop them. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This cannot be done only through a mere act of will, but it can be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Our minds are wonderful things, but they can only focus on one thing at a time. You’ve certainly heard the example of the pink elephant. If I tell you not to think of a herd of pink elephants, of course, that’s exactly what you see in your mind’s eye. Right? You just saw a herd of pink elephants. 

So if your mind goes where it shouldn’t go, ask the Holy Spirit to take it somewhere else. Meditate on Scripture, pray for your family, listen to this show. 

By all means, separate yourself from the triggers that cause you to go places in your mind that you shouldn’t. I’m not necessarily talking about sinful thoughts. I’m talking about angry thoughts, too. Anything that separates you from God. Get off social media. Turn off the TV. Get away from these triggers and pursue things that draw you closer to Him.

Philippians 4:6-9 gives us some excellent suggestions: 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, 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. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Listen, we are not powerless when it comes to our thoughts. We are not at their mercy. We are not just passive antennae that pick thoughts out of the air. We can choose to stop the bad inputs and replace them with spiritual inputs. We do not have to be at the mercy of thoughts of fear, lust, anger, greed and bitterness. We can take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.

The brain, where our thoughts reside, is physical…part of our body. Obviously. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

As believers, we belong to Jesus. We are not our own. Even my thoughts are subject to His Lordship. How is this possible? 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us that when the Holy Spirit is in us, “…we have the mind of Christ.”

How can this be? 2 Corinthians 5:17 gives us the answer: “17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Beloved, if you have put your faith in Jesus, you have everything you need to fight this spiritual battle, and win! You can take your thoughts captive, through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. I know, it sounds crazy, but next time you find your mind going places it shouldn’t, take control and think on Godly things.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 9-10 NIV

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