Conquering Your Thought Life, Part 2

Conquering Your Thought Life by Gregory Dickow
(notes taken from DVD)
Why are so many Christians walking around defeated?

The devil has the ability to perpetrate lies. The devil does not have power, but it is the lies that can gain power over us.

If the devil can get us to believe a lie, he can gain control over our thoughts.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5: 3For though we live in this 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, as we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Base the image of myself on God's image of me (my spirit, The Holy Spirit, who abides in me)

I am a conqueror ===> start conquering
The devil is under my feet. The only way he gets from there is through the thoughts in my head.

Ephesians 6:11-18 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

scheme, from Latin metho [etymology: method] and odas (road)

Thoughts are the roadway by which the enemy can enter and gain control over me.

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

devil, from Latin dia [etymology: day] (put a hole in, circle) and balos [etymology: ball] (to throw at)

The devil throws accusations at me until he penetrates (makes a hole in my belief in God's Word).

In terms of active spiritual warfare, the first weapons I must know to use are the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God). I must pick them up and use them or else I have nothing which to fight the enemy.

What are the words/thoughts (balls) that the devil is throwing at me? He will keep throwing accusations until we believe or resist. I must resist and take those thoughts captive. I must eliminate the devil's access into my thoughts.

Understanding the process of establishing belief: Words produce an image in the mind. Saying the word "dog" produces the mental image of a dog (as opposed to the image of the word "dog"). The image of the dog is based on my experiences with dogs (i.e., a dog that bit me as a child), and I can build a belief system based on the images associated with dogs. By stopping the lies that devil perpetrates at the door, I can prevent the strongholds those thoughts can create. Instead, I need to give my thought life to God by focusing on His Word, developing the images associates with Him, and allowing strongholds to develop based on the promises of God.

We make decisions based on the strongholds in our lives.

When we take every thought captive, we compare it to the truth, which is stated in the Word of God. Set up a "reception desk" to question or identify each thought (or feeling!) and check the Word against it.

Depression comes in. Nehemiah 8:10: 10Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Depression must leave. Security!

Eliminate images of lies to negate the stronghold of the lies.

I have the option of looking at myself with either of 2 sets of eyes:
physical: I see myself as compared to others (per the devil)
spiritual: I see myself as God sees me

Who will I believe?