The battle of the mind | Billy Graham
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“Special Strength is Coming” from Billy Graham
Tonight. I want to talk about the battle for the mind.
There’s a great giant battle going on in the world today between the forces of God and the forces of satan for the minds of young people as well as older people and jesus was summing up the 10 commandments of moses and in the bottom line he said that we’re to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and all our souls.
Now. Three nights ago I spoke on the battle for your Heart tonight.
It’s the battle for your Mind.
In monday’s Syracuse Post standard, we read of the possibility of scientists transplanting a healthy brain into the head of someone with a malfunctioning mind.
I’d like to be in on that.
The older I get, I’m beginning to believe my mind isn’t malfunctioning because I can’t remember certain things that I ought to be remembering not too many yet.
But I want you to turn with me to the 10th chapter of Second Corinthians, the 10th chapter of Second Corinthians.
And these words beginning with the third verse for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.
In other words, we are engaged in a warfare.
If you’re a christian, you are engaged in a warfare, not a playground, not a basketball court, not a football stadium.
But you’re engaged in a battlefield for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, they’re not colonel, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, the Apostle paul said, I’m going to use some weapons that will be new to you.
But they’re going to pull down the devil’s strongholds and these are spiritual weapons.
The word of God and prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then he said, we’re casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity.
Every thought to the obedience of christ, A person who is living in the Spirit, every thought that he has should be in obedience to the person of the Lord, jesus christ.
I have seen in paris that great stature that Roedean built.
It’s called the thinker. Now, back of all inventions and all wars and all books is the power of thought.
That’s what this university is all about.
It’s not only a place where you produce great sporting teams, but it’s a place where people are taught to think and they’re taught the academic side of the university is the primary part of the university.
Now, thoughts are powerful to harm us and powerful to help us?
The bible says as a person thinking so, is it? How do you think? What goes through your mind?
What do you think about when you’re alone?
Someone has said plain living and high thinking are no more, one of the most important things in our lives is who’s going to control our minds Proverbs 1632 says he, that ruled his mind is greater than he.
The take of the city means to rule the thought of your man.
You spend a great deal of time alone.
Many of you do so your mind is your only companion. What do you think about?
What do you talk to your mind about? That’s your only companion is your mind.
For many of you, Isaiah the prophet said.
That will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on the do you keep your mind on christ?
And if you get your mind off christ and you get it on some things you shouldn’t be thinking about that.
You pray. Lord forgive me and help me to get my mind back on christ.
I do many times now the bible says first of all that the mind your mind is at enmity against God.
Your mind does not want to do anything about God to start with in romans 87 it says The carnal mind of the Fleshly Mind is enmity against God.
For it is not subject to the law of God. Neither, indeed can be.
The apostle paul wrote to the colossians in the first chapter and said that until they had come to the world come to christ, they were alienated and enemies in their mind.
Enemies of God alienated from God separated from God in your mind and your mind was a part of that decision.
Such a mind will not obey the law of God. It commit it submits to sin.
It minds the things of the flesh. The bible warns against having that kind of carnal fleshly mind.
That mind that is dominated by the devil or by selfishness.
And then the mind is not on the enmity against God, but it’s also a blinded mind.
Second Corinthians 43 says, in whom the God of this world, that’s the devil has blinded the minds of them.
Which believe not he has power. He has supernatural power to blind your mind.
And you let him you have to let him.
And if you let him he can blind your mind’s eye, cannot account for the apparent veil that hangs over the hearts of some people.
Many people very close to the kingdom of God. Many people surrounded by a believing family.
I know a young man right now, surrounded by a believing family reared in the church.
Read for God, He heard the blessing said that at the table at every meal and today he’s way out in left field on drugs, sex, all the rest of it blinded by the God of this world.
They’re led captive to the will of satan and many people tell me, I don’t understand.
I’ve heard this all my life, I’ve tried to believe, but I cannot. They’re blinded.
And the only person that can open your eyes to the truth is the Holy Spirit and you must ask him to come and open your eyes supernaturally, which he will do tonight before you leave here if you will allow him.
Yes, your mind is at enmity with God. Your mind is blinded. But then there’s the doubtful mind.
The bible talks about in luke. 12, jesus said. Neither be ye of doubtful mind.
The bible warns against the double minded person.
James says a double minded man is unstable in all his ways, and this cares with it the idea of a person who wishes to secure both worlds.
You want one ft in heaven and one ft in the pleasures of this life and you cannot.
You’ve got to go one way or the other.
So there are many of you that are torn between your sinful pleasures and appetites and your desire for heaven.
And you know that you can’t have both.
And you’ve got to make a choice, jesus said, There are two roads in life.
There’s the broad road that leads to destruction.
There’s the narrow road that leads to eternal life, and there’s a narrow gate and that gate is the cross.
Yes, we have minds that are at enmity against God.
We have minds that are blinded by the devil. We have doubtful minds.
And then there’s the defiled mind paul wrote the titus of a certain people who are always liars, whose minds are defiled and unbelieving.
We have mind altering drugs today, and medicines and alcohol and all sorts of things that change our minds.
Our minds become defiled. We can live so long with our imaginations and our fantasies that are wrong and against the teachings of scripture, that our minds become defiled.
And evil thoughts are the suicide of the soul now.
You cannot help bad thoughts coming from your mind. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.
You cannot help bad thoughts coming from your going into your mind.
It’s like birds, you can’t keep them from flying over, but you don’t have to let them nest in your hair.
And some of us let evil thoughts nest in our minds.
Thoughts of jealousy, thoughts that lead to anger, thoughts that lead to the wrong kind of passions when jesus cast the demons out, this man was in his right mind.
So we have minds in the bible that are at enmity with God. They’re blinded by the devil.
They’re doubtful minds and their defiled minds. But you can also have a renewed mind.
The Bible says in Romans 12 2 and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
You can be transformed tonight. You can be changed tonight.
You can have all of your sins forgiven tonight because christ died on the cross and shed his blood for you and it’s wonderful to go home tonight and know that every sin is forgiven not only forgiven, but you’re justified just as though you’d never sin.
And God raised him from the dead and he’s alive, ready to transform your mind tonight and transform your body and transform everything about you, your whole lifestyle.
We’ll have to change. But the Holy Spirit will be there to help you change it.
It doesn’t mean that you’ll never sin again.
It means that if you do sin, you’ll immediately be convicted by the Holy Spirit and you confess your sin and ask God to forgive you and he will forgive you.
Yes, there’s the renewed mind visions 4 23 says and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Have you had your mind renewed and transformed by repenting and receiving christ?
Well you say, well billy, you know I I’ve been baptized, I’ve been confirmed, I belong to the church.
That’s wonderful. I’m asking you tonight to reconfirm your confirmation vows.
I’m asking you to reconfirm those that baptized you in the words that were said when you were baptized and say, oh God I want to follow you the way it was promised that I would follow you In Philippians 25, it says, let this mind be in you.
Which was also in Christ, Jesus.
We have to have the mind of Christ by the transforming and renewing of your mind.
You can change your mind and christ will transform it. That’s what repentance really means.
The word repentance means change of mind.
It means that you’re going to change lifestyle, change the direction that you’re going.
You’re gonna say to God, I’m sorry I’ve sinned, I want to be made a new person paul asked the Corinthians who have known the mind of the Lord and he answered it himself, he said.
We have the mind of christ When you have the mind of christ, you have the mind of the law.
We who know christ have the mind of christ.
We who have been saved by his grace have the mind of christ all of you that have said yes to his call.
Have the mind of christ not a perfect mind, but a mind that’s now controlled by christ rather than by satan and your own sinful nation.
Nature. Then the Bible talks about the spiritually minded people in Romans 86 to be spiritually minded is life and peace and 2nd Peter 3 1 says he will stir up your pure mind.
Wouldn’t you like to have a pure mind a spiritually a spiritual mind, a transformed mind.
Now when I say mine, that means your whole life because your mind, in a sense controls your life.
Along with your heart, you have a body living inside your body is your spirit, your soul, that’s the part of you that will live forever.
Your body. We’ll go to the grave, but you the real you is going to live forever and it’s all going to be decided on what you do about christ.
Have you repented of your sins? Are you sure of it?
You can do it tonight by simply saying Lord I’ve sinned and I’m sorry and I’m willing to change my way of living.
I want you to transform my mind.
I want you to renew my mind and my whole life. I want to be spiritually minded.
I want you to stir up some purity in my mind.
I’m going to ask you to do that tonight.
We’ve seen hundreds and even thousands of people this week.
Do something I’m gonna ask you to do.
I think last night there was something like 1300 and the night before it was 1400 and that’s the way it’s been night after night.
I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seat and come and stand in front of the platform and say by coming, I opened my heart to christ, I opened my mind to christ, I want him to have me.
I’m willing to change my lifestyle whatever it cost.
I’m willing to pay it in order to know that I belong to christ
