Seduction of the Mind

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?Jesus said unto him, 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 

and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  

Matthew 22:36:38

Just because God has a desire for us, so does Satan.  Just because God wants us to be spiritually minded, Satan wants to keep our mind carnal (sinful, worldly, fleshly). 

The greatest commandment includes loving God with all our mind. This is one of the main reasons why Satan battles for our mind:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy MIND; This is the first and great commandment.   Matthew 22:37-38

Satan battles for our mind because it is closely tied spiritually to our heart and mouth:

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. . .    Matthew 15:18-19

Satan battles for our mind because the way we think affects the way we act:

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . .   Proverbs 23:7

Satan knows if he can control our mind, he can control our body and our actions, and, if left unchallenged, our spirit. There are many, many ways that the enemy tries to attack us through our mind.  This is a continued list from my blog, Free Your Mind: 

®     Withdrawal:

Another way Satan attacks the mind is through withdrawal. The purpose of this strategy is to isolate us from the rest of the Body of Christ. Since believers function together in ministry as a body, withdrawal makes us non-functional. Examples of men of God who were attacked mentally by Satan and withdrew are Elijah (1 Kings 19) and Jonah (Jonah 4:5-11).

®     Improper Motives:

A motive is our reason for doing something. Motives are important because although man looks on the outward appearance (actions), God looks on the heart:

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.   1 Samuel 16:7

But Jesus did not commit Himself unto them, because He knew all men. And needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man.   John 2:24-25

Many people enter Christian ministry for the wrong reasons. God is more concerned with motive than ministry. This is where we should place our concern also, for when motives are proper then ministry will naturally follow. Our motives for ministry must be right:

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  1 Peter 5:2-3

We must enter the ministry willingly, not because of the advantages and benefits of the office, not as a dictator but as an example. Satan will try to create wrong motives for Christian service by putting them subtly in our mind. Satan causes wrong motives for desiring God's power. You can find an example of this in Acts 8:18-23 in the account of a man named Simon.

We can have vindictive motives for our actions. (Vindictive means that you want to get even with someone who has done you wrong or who you do not like). Biblical examples include the disciples wanting to call down fire from heaven (Luke 9:54) and Jonah wanting Nineveh destroyed (Jonah 4).

David also had a wrong motive in the numbering of the people:

And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.   2 Chronicles 21:1

®     Tormenting Thoughts:

There is a whole category of tormenting thoughts Satan sends into our mind including worry, anxiety, dread, apprehension, and nervousness. Mental torment can also come through an overactive mind that will not "shut off" or an under active mind that cannot function properly.

Tormenting thoughts also include fear. Apostle Paul speaks of the "spirit of fear"

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7 

and the "fear of death" 

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.  

Hebrews 2:15 

Tormenting thoughts also include bitter memories of events that should be forgiven let go.

®     Compromise:

To "compromise" is to settle conflicting principles by adjustment. The principles of God and Satan are in opposition. Satan tries to get us to compromise and lower our spiritual principles. For example, he will tell you it is not necessary to be so holy, to believe the Bible literally, etc.

®     Wrong mental focus:

Satan will constantly try to get your focus on things of the world rather than on things of an eternal nature:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.    1 John 2:15 

The cares of the world can actually cause the Word of God to be ineffective in our life. (See the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8). Cares of the world can make us unaware of the short time before the return of Jesus:

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.    Luke 21:33-34

Satan will occupy our thoughts with materialism rather than with eternal values. Read the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21.

For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10

Paul warns there are many who "mind worldly things" 

(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)   Philippians 3:18-19

®    Mental conditions:

If you allow Satan to persist with thoughts of depression, suicide, torment, accusation, etc., it can lead to mental illness. This could include a nervous or mental breakdown and various medically recognized mental conditions. Satan can actually possess the mind of unbelievers and backsliders; those who have once known God, then turned away from Him.   

Stop Satan in his tracks before he gets a foothold in your thoughts.

We serve a God who provides all and He equips us with what we need to overcome the mental attacks; among them, there are two important things God tells us to protect our mind:

♥  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  Colossians 3:2

♥  Pray without ceasing   1 Thessalonians 5:17

In this manner, we leave no room for the enemy to seduce our mind!

(Biblical Studies)

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09/24/14
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09/03/19

03/06/21