The Battle For Your Heart and Mind

Win the fight by bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ!

Fred R. Coulter—August 5, 2023

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We need to think about what we're dealing with. We're dealing with a God of Truth and He's dealing with us. We have His Spirit, which is the Spirit of Truth. We have His Word, which is the Truth of God, from the God of Truth.

We also know that the Word of God is powerful and always working all of the time, whether for good or whether for evil.

So let's come to Heb. 4 and let's see what we're dealing with. Because we cannot take any of the Word of God lightly and we cannot have flippant thoughts concerning any part of it or prophecy. Here's what it is and this is how we will be judged.

We're going to see, is talking about the Sabbath Day. It talking about the weekly Sabbath—'sabbatismos'—more than it's talking about the Sabbath of the Millennium.

Hebrews 4:9: "There remains, therefore, Sabbath-keeping… ['sabbatismos' in the Greek everyone knows that that means Sabbath-keeping] …for the people of God."

It doesn't say for the Jews! That's the way that the Protestants and the Jews like to have it read.

Verse 10: "For the one who has entered into His rest… [the Sabbath every week,  and we enter into it] …he also has ceased from his works…"—quit working!

There it is in the New Testament to keep the Sabbath and don't work. What does it say in the Old Testament? You shall not do any work therein!

"…just as God did from His own works" (v 10).

God rested so that He can accomplish two things:

• that we know he's involved directly in the Sabbath
• He himself keeps it and he wants us to keep it

Verse 11: "We should be diligent, therefore, to enter into that rest…"

In other words, diligently keep the Sabbath week after week after week after week

Why is that important? Because God puts his presence in the Sabbath! If we come to Him on the Sabbath Day, spiritually yielded to Him, He will fellowship  with us through His Word and through His Spirit so that we will be refreshed physically, mentally, and spiritually with the Sabbath Day; besides all of the other blessings that will come with it.

"…lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience" (v 11).

What did God say to the children of Israel when they were out there in the wilderness? They didn't do what God said; very few did.

Isaiah 43:24: "…you have made Me serve with your sins…"

That precisely what the Protestants, Catholics and Jews do today!

Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living and powerful…"

What did Jesus say? John 6:63: "It is the Spirit that gives Life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you, they are Spirit and they are Life."

Just as Eduardo explained about the mind, the heart and the gut—message: Truth in the Inward Parts—everything about what God is doing with us and with His Spirit and how we are living and keeping His commandments affects our whole being.

There's a blessing for keeping the Sabbath, just like there's a blessing for studying the Word of God and for keeping the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder… [penetrating] …of both soul and spirit, and of both the joints and the marrow…" (v 12)—your physical body!

So, you receive a spiritual blessing, you receive a physical blessing and they're all tied together and that's all connected with the Sabbath Day.

"…and is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart" (v 12).

There is no other book in the world that you can have, that you can read, that when you read it and you read it correctly and you want to do the will of God, it will be teaching you as if God Himself personally were doing it. Why? Because these are the words of God and they are living.

Verse 13: "And there is not a created thing that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account."

We're all going to come before Jesus Christ and give an account on what we did! This is why we have grace. So that in the battle for our mind, we can overcome the things that try to pull us down, whether from within or whether things from without.

That when we miss the mark, as it says in 1-John, when we sin 'He is gracious to forgive us our sins, that is if we repent and continue with us in His righteousness!'

Now think about that in relationship to the whole creation! None of us know how God does this, But Jesus said that if a sparrow falls, God knows it. Now, think about that!

When I go to my James Webb website—I had Jonathan put it on my laptop—I can bring up those pictures of the greatness of the universe out there, the stars, the galaxies!

What did God say of all the nations of the earth? They're like a drop in the bucket! But He tells each one of us, 'Behold the heavens' and the things that:

• He has made
• He's created them
• He has named them
• He has numbered them

Yet, He knows when a sparrow falls! How important is it for us in staying right with God?

We're going to learn a lot just right in Prov. 4. Every time I turn on the television, I remind myself this. Be careful, because you're letting the whole world come into your house.

This is David, what he wrote to his son, Solomon. And it says, God loves Solomon, because his heart was tender, and because he sought after God, God said, 'Since you didn't ask for riches and wealth, but you asked for understanding, I'm going to impart to you wisdom and understanding.

Good lesson. If that happens, we're obligated to use it. Remember what we covered in Deut. 17, that the king was to write down a copy of the Law that the priest had, so that he wouldn't exalt himself above the brethren. That he wouldn't multiply wives and multiply horses.

So, even though Solomon had all of those blessings and the teaching from David, what was one of the first things he did as king? He married an Egyptian princess! Then went into the horse trading business along with the Egyptians. Then married many wives and concubines. What happened?

I often think of this: I wonder what kind of fights that all these women had against each other concerning who's going to get the visit from Solomon? I don't know!

Proverbs 4:10—David wrote: "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in the right paths" (vs 10-11). Think about that with us!

Verse 12: "When you go, your steps shall not be hampered, and when you run, you shall not stumble. Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; keep her, for she is your life" (vs 12-13).

Just like Jesus said, 'My words are Spirit and Life.' Now then, warning! We all have to have warnings!

Verse 14: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men. Avoid it; do not go in it; turn from it, and pass on!" (vs 14-15).

That's how you start guarding your mind! When you know something is wrong:

• avoid it
• don't think on it
• don't mull it over

Satan is always there bringing good thoughts! How about this? How about that? And if you're not strong, you may find yourself in trouble!

This tells you exactly what's happening in America today. All the evil people doing all the:

• things that they are thinking up
• 'wokeism'
• education
• government

They have planned it for a long time, and as soon as Biden came in, they sprung the whole thing on the whole nation. Who was prepared?  Nobody!

Verse 17: "For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence."

Verse 16: "For they do not sleep except when they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall."

Doesn't that say exactly what's going on today? We have to be on guard against it! Compare that with this:

Verse 18: "But the path of the just is as the shining Light that shines more and more to the perfect day"—the resurrection!

What is that perfect day? The resurrection! Which shows us this that we can never rest on our accomplishments.

• IF we've done good, that's fine!
• IF we continue to do good, that's great
• IF we live by every word of God, that's how we're going to avoid all of these things

Verse 19: "The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings" (vs 19-20).

Now, what's involved here? Free choice, independent free moral agency, IFMA!

Verse 21: "Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart."

Just like Eduardo brought out, the mind, the heart, the gut and everything works together! {message: Truth in the Inward Parts by Eduardo Elizondo}

Verse 22: "For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh…. [ here is the task] …Above all… [the first and primary thing] …guard the door of your mind with diligence… [including the heart] …for out of it are the issues of life" (vs 22-23).

• you guard it
• you don't let things in on it

look at all of

• the movies
• the mysteries
• the history of mankind

nothing but

• sin
• rottenness
• death
• satanism
• human sacrifice.

That's coming our way, so we've got to guard the door of our mind, as it says, with diligence! That means always be alert!

I've told you many times what I do. I have the mute button on my remote. So when the ads come on, I mute them. I don't listen to them. I don't watch them. Who knows what secret messages are also contained in them that they know will psychologically affect the minds of people?

"…for out of it are the issues of life" (v 23).

There's nothing more important than using:

• the Spirit of God
• the commandments of God
• studying

Because our mind is not perfect, even with the Spirit of God!  This is why God gave us the Sabbath Day, so when we get together:

• we go over the Word of God
• we study the Word of God
• we know the will of God
• we want to live His way

Jer. 11—here God was pleading with the children of Israel and Judah. we can apply this to us with the covenant that we have with God today through Jesus Christ.

This is why we need the Old Testament, because it brings us examples of what happens when people forget God, deliberately break His Laws.

I was talking to someone the other night and they said they caught Jonathan Cahn by saying, "Well, about clean and unclean meat?' Cahn said, "I don't eat them, but you know as Christians you can do that." And the same way with Sunday keeping, as Christians you can do that. So this person was finally convinced that Cahn is a prophet of Baal!

Could God knock him down out of that position like He did to Saul to become Apostle Paul and spring him out of that? I don't know, but I'm not going to wait around to find out!

So here, here's a good lesson for us. Now, we know what happened to Jerusalem. How many times before the destruction of Jerusalem in the 500s, that started in 46, because that means it was 726 when Jeremiah began.

Jeremiah 11:1: "The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying."

• What are we going to do when God said something?
• What are we going to do when we read in the New Testament, Jesus said this or whatever?

Verse 2: "Hear the words of this covenant…"

• What are the words of the covenant that we have in the New Testament?
• Do you know what chapters those are covered in?

Most of them are in John 14, 15, 16 and 17. Those are the words of the covenant for eternal life! They talk about:

• God's blessing
• God's Spirit
• commandment-keeping
• loving God

"…and speak to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem. And say to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant"'" (vs 2-3).

If you think there was a curse for the covenant with Israel, think about the curse of the covenant with Christ! Here it was physical death. On the other hand, IF we turn and go away, that is spiritual death! That means you don't exist.

Verse 4: "Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice…"

Remember those three words, three most important words around, "Obey My voice" That's what God wants.

• Has He asked us to do anything that's hard?
• How do the Protestants say the Law is a curse when God wants you to obey so He can bless?

The curse comes from not obeying!

"…'Obey My voice and do according to all that I command you…'" (v 4).

Now, isn't that something? You compare that with the New Testament! What is one of the most important verses in the New Testament? We read it there in Heb. 4, but what's another most important one concerning the Sabbath spoken by Jesus? His words:

The Sabbath was made for man. Therefore, the Lord Jesus got in the flesh is Lord of the Sabbath Day.

That means He owns it! So if anyone says it's another day, they're denying Christ because he owns it!

"…'Obey My voice and do according to all that I command you so you shall be My people, and I will be your God'… [what if you don't do it? Then you lose being his people] …so that I may fulfill the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them "a land flowing with milk and honey," as it is this day.'"'"…." (vs 4-5).

This is before things started getting bad. The first warning is wake up and quit sinning before it gets bad!

"…Then I answered and said, 'Amen, O LORD.' Then the LORD said to me, 'Declare all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, "Hear the words of this covenant, and do them, for I earnestly forewarned your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day, rising early and warning persistently, saying, 'Obey My voice'"'" (vs 5-7). All the prophets, all the priests!

Verse 8: "Yet, they did not obey nor bow down their ear, but walked each one in the imagination of his evil heart.… "

• Where do you find that also recorded?
• The same word?
• What does God judge? Your thoughts and your actions!
• Where did he say the imagination of the heart was only evil continually? Gen, 6, 5, same thing!

Same thing in the New Testament!

"…So. I will bring on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did not do them" (v 8).

• How was it that they didn't do them?
• Was it because they just simply forgot? No!

It's because the leaders led them in the wrong way!

Verse 9: "And the LORD said to me. 'A conspiracy…'"

Today they use that word if you disagree with the 'wokeness' and establishment today or the Christianity of this world.

• What do they say? You believe in a conspiracy!
• What is a conspiracy? People gather together to figure out a way to do something that people don't want you to do, but yet get away with it and do it!
• Is that not a conspiracy?
• Is that not what they're doing in the government today?
• Is that not what they've done in Christianity today? Yes, indeed! A conspiracy.

I tried watching TBN and Daystar, and it was so stupid I couldn't believe it. They conspire to preach the wrong thing, and yet, make it look like it's so good, they say that all you have to do is just say this little prayer and you are saved.

God says, 'When you come to Me, rend your heart and not your garments.' That's deep repentance! Then what is to happen? To be baptized!

"…'A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the people of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear My words…." (vs 9-10).

That happened to me the other day. I got an e-mail from a man who wrote about: What is a true Christian? He's a Sunday-keeper. So, I wrote him back and I told him about the Sabbath. He answered back and said, 'We don't have to do that as Christians today.' That's a conspiracy against God!

• How do you think that's going to go?
• What happened to Jerusalem and Judah because they didn't obey? Read the history!

"…And they went after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant, which I made with their fathers'" (v 10)

Then He gives a warning and says, 'All right, you are going to have evil come upon you as a result of your sins!

• Do we have that today?
• Is it difficult for us to keep our heart and mind the way that they should be unless we stay close to God?
• Yes, indeed! Just like the Proverb said, guard the door of your mind diligently.

Let's look at some Psalms; the Psalms is one of the best things:

• if you want to know how to draw close to God with all your heart, mind, soul and being
• if you want to see the problems and difficulties that we experience

Now then, let's look at something else.

• What was the real beginning of the mass homelessness that we see today? Breakup of the family, breaking the commandments of God, and then marijuana!
• What happened then?
• What did they say of all of those and 90% plus started out with pot?

That interferes with your thinking, with the THC, interferes with your whole system. So, how are you going to correct that? The Democrats have the solution to give them all the drugs they want!

Psalm 44:20: "If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god."

Isn't that what they do? There is no God!

• there's evolution
• there are our own thoughts
• there is technology

All of these things make us beyond the Bible! Wrong!

Verse 21: "Shall not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart."

• Shall not God search this out for He knows the secrets of the heart?
• Is He not going to judge the secrets? Yes, He is!

All of these things pile up; all of these things come along. Here's what they do. Here's what happened. 'We're going to work it out. We got a solution for it!'

• How has all of these social services benefited the nation?
• Haven't destroyed the family.

In the black community, no one will hear what is being said. Larry Elder is trying to tell them. A black man telling the black community 'the reason you are where you are the way that you are with all of the problems that you have is because there's no father in the house and the government is the one who caused it by having single mothers get payment from the government.' That is actually their husband, and they can't have a man in the house!

Psalm 64:5: "They encourage themselves in an evil plan; they talk of laying snares secretly… [Isn't that what happens with all of these laws? Looks good on the surface but it never works out!] …they say, 'Who shall see them?'"

Doesn't that sound like the Biden mafia? 'We will have so many bank transfers that they will never find out in ten years.' Well guess what? God is exposing them for what they are so that people will have a choice! What will they choose? They might not choose God but at least they should choose what is right! But will they do it?

Verse 6: "They plot injustices, saying, 'We have made a perfect plan.'.…"

All we need is this legislation. In religion all you need to do is profess the name of Jesus.

• Does that make you know anything about Him?
• Does that tell you anything about what He taught?

You can apply these Scriptures; see how you can apply these to so many things!

"…For the inward thought and heart of man is cunning" (v 6).

Isn't that true? Let's work out something that looks good but we are going to tear it down!

What are we doing here when we are looking at these things? We are looking exactly what Heb, 4 told us:that the Word of God is powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting and dividing asunder! Doesn't it expose everything what human beings are doing for that which is good and for that which is evil?

Here's how to guard the door of your mind!

Psalm 101:1: "I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praise. I will behave myself wisely in a blameless way… [choosing to do what is right] …O when will You come unto me?… [God comes to your with His Spirit all the time] …I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." What is a perfect heart? A perfect heart is:

• one that loves God
• one that keeps His commandments
• one who trembles at His Word.

So guarding the door of your mind or heart, then you're helping perfect it!

• that's what God wants
• that's why we have the Sabbath Day
• that's why we get together

Notice the choice: one for good and one for rejecting evil.

• IF you do good, you're going to reject evil
• IF you keep the Sabbath, you're not going to keep Sunday
• IF you eat clean foods, you're not going to eat unclean food

Whatever it may be!

• IF you love God, you're not going to hate Him
• IF you love God, you're going to love the brethren
• IF you love the brethren, you're going to be loving Christ

Isn't that what He said?

Those are all choices for good. But you must have caution:

Verse 3: "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. I have hated the work of those who turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.…

If it does, notice what happens to the heart. Isn't that what we have with a lot of people today?

Verse 4: "A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know no evil thing."

• Isn't that New Testament doctrine? Yes it is!
• How much of the New Testament was written on the first Pentecost, Acts 2? Nada!

It wasn't until Acts 6 that they started putting it together!

Psalm 26:1: "Judge me, O LORD…"

We're being judged now! Paul wrote that IF we judge ourselves and find our own sins and repent, we will not be judged of God!

"…for I have walked in my integrity… [that integrity comes from God] …I have trusted also in the LORD without wavering" (v 2).

• What does it say in Prov, 3? Trust in the Lord!
• How? With all your heart!

Here's how he does it:

Verse 3: "For Your loving kindness is before my eyes; and I have walked in Your Truth. I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites" (vs 3-4).

That's how you guard the door of your mind!  See how important that is for today with all that's going on. I mean, you can't even go to the grocery store without music. I don't know about you; I've mentioned it before.

Whenever the music is... and music today is not music! Rap music is evil savagery. Music today, all they do is just repeat the same words over and over and again.

• What effect does that have on the mind and heart? Hypnotizes you!
• What happens when you get a song in your head that you don't want?
• How long does it take you to get rid of it? I know my experience, it takes several days; two, three or four days!

There's one picture that I saw, a flash! Just a flash about what the homosexuals do. Just a flash! That had been hard to get rid of!

You don't know what enters into your mind in just a flash. So, they have all of these things going!

Notice how all of these are here for daily overcoming for us, spiritually speaking! Here's what God says and we can learn some things; this is interesting:

Proverbs 6:6: "Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise, who having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest" (vs 6-8). Can learn a lesson from just the things around us!

Verse 9: "How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep? Yet, a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty…" 9-11).

That can be spiritually and physically. How many things come to neglect when you do that?

I've got a fence at home I need to repair. I've got it propped up now; but if it weren't propped up, it would fall over. I've got to save enough money to do it because everything is outrageous. Just to get the lumber and do that section of the fence, probably going to cost me a couple thousand dollars to do it. But if I hadn't gone out there and had that fixed, what would have happened?

A little slumber, a little sleep, not taking care of it, you're going to wake up  one morning and walk out there and see, that the fence fell down. How did that happen? Because you didn't take care of it, stupid!

"…so shall your poverty come as one who travels, and your want like an armed man. A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, winking with his eyes, speaking with his feet, pointing with his fingers; Perversity is in his heart; he is always planning mischief; he causes discord" (vs 11-14).

Sound like some of the things in Washington, D.C.?  I mean, even here down in the City Council, they're doing some of the things that are kind of crazy. It's something!

If you want a good study, study through the book of Proverbs. You'll learn a lot!

Proverbs 10:18: "He who hides hatred with lying lips, and he who speaks a slander, is a fool. In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom" (vs 18-21).

Proverbs 12:1: "Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."

Correction may come from any place. What's the best correction possible? That you use your mind, God's Spirit, God's Word, you correct yourself. That's called self-control, led by the Spirit of God and the Word of God.

Verse 8: "A man shall be praised according to his wisdom, but he who is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

• You can see that today, right?
• What do you take of some of those politicians mouthing off all of their lies? You despise them!
• Do the Proverbs work? Yes, they do!

Verse 20: "Deceit is in the heart of those who imagine evil, but to counselors of peace there is joy."

In other words, bringing the right thing, it works out good. Just think of all the Proverbs we're bypassing to bring these out!

For all of those who think that they can get away from God, think on this: Jesus has seven spirits that He controls. These in Rev. 5 are said to be the eyes of God that go through all the earth. 1-Cor. 16 says that the eyes of the Lord goes seeking out those who are seeking Him.

So, these eyes of the Lord are what God is using to keep up on what's taking place on the earth. Is this why he knows when his sparrow falls? I don't know, it just occurred to me!

Proverbs 15:3: "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

Verse 4: "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it crushes the spirit."

Why are people depressed today? Well, many things!

• they don't know anything about God
• they've got wrong thoughts
• they have wrong diets

Tie that all in together!

I saw a news report where a woman, all she had was nothing but depression, and finally she got hold of a natural doctor who said.  'Quit eating all of these processed foods and eat natural foods. Guess what? She overcame being depressed!

So, there's a whole lot more to the Bible and the Word of God than people imagine!

Verse 5: "A fool despises his father's instruction, but he who listens to correction is prudent…. [correction comes from anyplace] …In the house of the righteous is much treasure, but in the revenue of the wicked is trouble. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the heart of the fool is not so" (vs 5-7). Can't happen!

How are we going to put all of this information together? Because there is a battle for the heart and mind. Notice what Paul says:

2-Corinthians 10:3: "For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh…. [there's a battle always going on, all the time[ …For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds" (vs 3-4).

What are those strongholds? Those are the things that are entrenched in our minds that need to be changed. They're changed with:

• the Spirit of God
• the Word of God

being written in our heart and in our mind!

Notice what we are to do. This is the responsibility that God gives us!

Verse 5: "Casting down vain imaginations… [all of those foolish thoughts and stupidities] …and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God… [that covers a lot of territory] …and bringing into captivity… [What does God want?] …every thought into the obedience of Christ."

That's how it's written in our heart and in our mind, And how we develop the mind of Christ.

Verse 7: "Are you looking at things according to their appearance? If anyone is persuaded in his own mind that he is Christ's, let him reconsider this concerning himself; for exactly as he is Christ's, so also are we Christ's."

This is the battle that goes on! This is what we are confronted with every day. It's all a part of the process of conversion for the Church of the Firstborn! We will always remain the Church of the Firstborn after the resurrection!

Scriptural References:

• Hebrews 4:9-11
• Isaiah 43:24
• Hebrews 4:12-13
• John 6:63
• Hebrews 4:12-13
• Proverbs 4:10-16, 18-23
• Jeremiah 11:1-10
• Psalm 44:20-21
• Psalm 64:5-6
• Psalm 101:104
• Psalm 26, 1, 3-4
• Proverbs 6:6-14
• Proverbs 10:18-21
• Proverbs 12:1, 8, 20
• Proverbs 15:3-7
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 7

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 1 John
• Deuteronomy 17
• John 14-17
• Genesis 6:5
• Acts 2; 6
• Proverbs 3
• Revelation 5
• 1 Corinthians 16

Also referenced: Message:
Truth in the Inward Parts by Eduardo Elizondo

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/14/23

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