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(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6

God hates evil thoughts. When God destroyed the old world with a flood of water, He saw that the imagination of men’s hearts was only evil continually. He rebooted the earth with Noah and his righteous family. God really hates evil thoughts. When Christ returns, it will be like the days of Noah all over again. Evil thoughts and evil imaginations in the hearts of mankind. Few if any people doing good and walking in love. God destroyed the world once with a flood and will destroy it the next time with fire. All because of mankind’s stubborn refusal to walk in His holy way of love through Christ Jesus. Having the mind of Christ is our reasonable service, God says. The mind of Christ is that we would please God always by doing His will on earth. His will is that we would use our thoughts and imaginations for good, for love, for victory, for healing. Doing good from the heart is the will of God for mankind. We accomplish this by being born again through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ. We further accomplish this by being baptized with the Holy Spirit sometime after being born again. Being born again and being baptized with the Holy Spirit equips us to walk as Christ walked.

When Christ was on earth he went through a series of temptations by the devil in the wilderness. Notice that Christ did not dwell on the lies the devil was throwing at Him. He could have thought on those things, but the Word of God declares that we should think on good things. Things that are pure and lovely and upright. We can imagine Christ violently casting down those imaginations of the devil with force, the same way He drove the moneychangers out of the temple with force. Only this was a spiritual battle, with spiritual weapons, namely, the Word of God which is the sword of the Spirit. Christ replaced the bad imagination and bad words and bad thoughts with something pure, the Word of God, which lives and abides forevermore, amen. The Word of God states that we as Christians have the mind of Christ. Yet, having the mind of Christ is a continual choice to think on worthy things. This is the cost of being a Christian. We give our mind and heart over to things that please the heart of God. Laying down our faculties so that the heart of God may rejoice over us with singing.

The greek words translated pulling down and casting down in these verses can mean to destroy or demolish. That is the context of these verses. It is a VIOLENT REJECTION OF EVERYTHING THAT DOES NOT PLEASE GOD. God sees what we think upon. It hurts Him badly every time we entertain vain or worthless thoughts. He designed His Word to be in our mind and in our hearts. Imagine yourself going 5 minutes without thinking on anything perverted. Surely it is possible to do that for 5 minutes. God wants us to train ourselves to go longer and longer periods of time without defiling our minds and hearts. 5 minutes leads to 30. 30 minutes leads to an hour. One hour can be repeated 24 times so that we have victory for a complete day. We are being trained like soldiers, only our weapons are not carnal or natural, but spiritually mighty through the Spirit of God to VIOLENTLY THROW DOWN each thought that does not line up with the mind of Christ. Our lives are not our own. We are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your spirit and your bodies and your MIND, which all belong to God. He is the one who created us. He’s the one who knows what should be inside of us, in our minds and in our hearts and in our imaginations. Your body and your spirit are tools that can be used for good or for evil. Evil people will be destroyed in the lake of fire one day for using their faculties for evil. This is serious business. What manner of man or woman ought you to be in all holy conduct? Surely God and His Christ are worthy of our obedience.

The Word says we must REVENGE our past sinful conduct with RIGHTEOUS LIVING. Doing what pleases God. Dying to ourselves and picking up our cross DAILY, moment to moment. This is the only way to please God and yet His commandments are not burdensome. He is only requiring what He knows each of us is capable of doing: living a holy, morally perfect, sold-out life for Jesus and the Father. The human heart is capable of doing great things when fully committed to the way of holiness in Christ. Take great pleasure in throwing down bad thoughts and replacing them with what God says. It is written! Christ was renewing His mind with the Truth at the same time He was waging war against the devil. This is a war of words. This is a war of thoughts. It is up to US to fight the good fight of faith. God won’t fight for us, but He will fight through us as we yield to Him. I’ve seen it in my own life and I long to evermore see it, day in and day out. May God give us the mighty grace we need through His Word and His Spirit of grace to fully equip us to every good work. Be zealous for good works and good thoughts, my brothers and sisters! Make your calling and election sure by doing the will of God at all times, in all ways. If you do sin, repent of that sin and God will restore you to righteousness. Then, continue on doing good. It is a never ending battle. The devil won’t stop trying to corrupt you, but greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The power of love is greater than the power of selfishness. Overcome the devil by putting on Christ and His mind and His thoughts. Learn to meditate on holy things. The more you practice righteousness, the easier it will be to walk in righteousness. Remember that sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. Walk as children of grace and may the Lord make your path straight in all ways, amen.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

These verses state very clearly that IF we are in Christ, we are Born Again and we have a new life and a new ministry, that is, the ministry of reconciliation. We get to be used by the Holy Spirit to lead people to Christ, who is the reconciler. No man comes to the Father but by Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors or representatives of the kingdom of God. We ourselves have been transformed by the grace of God and now it is our duty to tell other people how to be Born Again and how to be reconciled to their Maker, God. It pleases God that by the foolishness of preaching others would come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

These verses also state that God was in Christ during His earthly ministry, reconciling the world unto Himself. We understand that God the Father remained in heaven, yet His Spirit was poured out wonderfully on Christ on the day of His water baptism. He truly became the Christ, the anointed one of God. God put His Spirit upon Him and said this is my Son in whom I am well pleased. It pleased God to work through Christ, for Christ said He can do nothing or say nothing unless my heavenly Father show me.

Now, brethren, we are fellow partakers with Christ of the heavenly calling. That is, we get the pleasure of doing the work of Christ in the earth. The Father is in heaven, Christ is seated on His right hand and they have sent back the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to indwell all those that are Born Again and have been washed from all sin. Only a clean vessel is fit to have the Spirit of God dwell within it! Just as God was in Christ when He was on earth, doing the work, so God the Father and Christ the Son are dwelling in us by their Spirit, which works in us mightily.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

God command us to be holy for He is holy. That is, we are to be separated or set apart unto good works, done with the aid of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. It is no longer I that lives, by Christ lives within me. He has sent His Spirit back to earth on the day of Pentecost and now the Spirit is available to all those who will live godly lives in Christ Jesus. The Spirit is faithful to live and move in us, speak to us and direct our steps. Even when we are unaware of His guidance, He is still at work, faithfully directing us where we should go and what we should do and say. We need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said how much more shall the Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? He is there for the taking! One must simply be washed from all sin by confessing that sin to God and asking Christ to cleanse them from all wickedness. Then one must ask the Father in Jesus name for the Holy Spirit baptism. Then, by faith, one must lift up his or her voice and pray in an unknown tongue, as the Spirit gives you the utterance. It’s just that simple. God desires to live in you, to pray through you, to speak through you and minister through you to a lost and dying world. Great is the harvest but the laborers are few. Will you not be one of those chosen laborers in the great harvest of the Lord? One day soon Christ will return and gather all His saints to His side. Will you be found among His faithful in that day?

We have a wonderful promise from God the Father in these verses. He wants to live and dwell and walk in us. He desires to be our Father and for us to be His sons and daughters. All we must do is walk uprightly before Him, having been washed from all sin, regenerated by the Holy Spirit and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and He will speak through you and use you in mighty ways that you know not. He will be with you, your constant companion, just as He was with Christ.

Just as the Father was in Christ, so Christ and the Father are in us by their Spirit. No longer do we have to trust in our own hearts, but we can lift up our hearts to God, who is faithful to direct us into the way that pleases Him: holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our lives. As we live morally blameless lives before God, we are His ambassadors and representatives in the earth. He has put the word of reconciliation in our hearts, whereby we cry out to the earth, “Know God in Spirit and in Truth! Be saved, all ye lands!”. To walk in this holy calling, we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world and its sin. We must not touch the unclean thing and God will receive us. If we touch the unclean thing, God will not receive us, unless we repent of our sin and be washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus.

Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to be Born Again. Today is the day to be water baptized. Today is the day to be Holy Spirit baptized. Christ has made all this available to you through His death and resurrection. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved! Then you will be sent out by God to minister the Truth of His Word to those who need to hear. God desires His Word would be in our hearts. How shall they hear without a preacher? That preacher is you and me, as we have been set apart as holiness unto the Lord and now we live to do His will, not our own. God bless you as you seek the Lord with all your heart, for He will be found when you search for Him with ALL your heart.

LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

Psalm 131:1-3

It takes a man or woman to know when he or she is spiritually mature. It takes experience in life before one is equipped to be spiritually mature. David’s heart was at peace, trusting in the Lord. He wasn’t trying to get his own way in life. His hope was in the Lord, which was the secret to his success. This is why he was spiritually mature: he had progressed from the milk of repentance from dead works to serve the living God in spirit and in truth. He no longer needed the milk. He had graduated to the meat of the Word. A sign of spiritual maturity is that you are at peace in all areas of your life, knowing that the Lord is working all things for good to those that love Him. Another sign of maturity is that you have gone deeper in the truth of God’s love. You no longer hold grudges. You no longer talk badly about people behind their backs. You no longer habitually sin. You have stopped complaining when things don’t go your way. You have graduated to the deeper things of God.

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Genesis 21:8

As we mature off the milk to the sincere truth of God’s Word we should celebrate those milestones, the same way Abraham made a great feast when Isaac was naturally weaned off the natural milk of his mother. God rejoices over us with singing when He sees us maturing in the things of Christ, the deeper teachings of loving God and others as ourselves. It pleases God greatly when we rejoice over the things that please Him: love, kindness, meekness, compassion, healing, praise, adoration and so on. A sign of spiritual maturity is that we have the mind of Christ and no longer entangle ourselves in the things of the world. Backbiting, strife, envy, debate, grudges, retaliation, hatred and such like have passed from our vocabulary. We no longer live like the world lives. This is spiritual maturity in the eyes of God. We should rejoice with our brethren when we see them progress in the kingdom of God. Why not have a great feast with them and celebrate their maturity in Christ?

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

Isaiah 28:9

God is not content to let people be spiritually immature. There is a time and season to be a baby in Christ, but God expects great things from those who begin the journey of walking in the footsteps of Christ Jesus. No longer should he play the immature games that children play. He should graduate to the deeper things of Christ and put away childish things. Loving mercy is another sign of spiritual maturity. Loving what God loves and hating what God hates. Detesting utterly the sinful things in life. When one does this, he or she knows they are progressing rapidly in the deep things of God.

Milk is easy to digest. We need to mature and challenge our digestive system with the meat of God’s Word. The main course is love. Not just superficial love, but DEEP LOVE. Learning to love is a progression, but we are made in the image of God and can handle it. Our spiritual digestion might lag behind at first, but once we embrace the deep things of God with our whole heart, mind and strength we will become spiritually acclimated to the things of Christ.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14

By now we should be teachers of God’s Word, that is, instructors in righteousness, which is love. Love is what separates the spiritually immature from the spiritually mature. How greatly God rejoices over us when we progress to the deeper things of love in Christ. We must take this by faith. Someday soon we will graduate to heaven, if we overcome in this life. Love is how we graduate, love is how we grow, love is how we learn, love is how we please the Lord.

It is by exercising our senses that we grow deeper in righteousness. As we discern what pleases God and what does not please God, we are equipped to do great exploits for God and Christ. We are to progress. We are to take ground for the Lord. We are to win souls through the Word of love and mercy. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, for He has laid out the path of righteousness before our eyes. That path is found in Jesus and Him alone. Surrender your heart fully to Christ and watch what He will do. As we obey the Lord, He will grow us, He will watch over us, He will protect and guide us. Never will we lack a single good thing, for the Lord is gracious and abundant in His blessings to the obedient. Praise the Lord forever, amen. Here’s to your maturity in Christ!