The Scope of the Battle, Part 2

We have the knowledge of God on Sunday morning, but as soon as we walk out the building, we shift into this other person. Dr. Tony Evans says many Christians seem to have a split personality, and only one of them trusts the Lord. We stand up for Jesus in church.

Nobody knows we're saved at work. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. A lot of people believe that Satan's not real. He's just in your mind. But today Dr. Evans explains that the devil is real, and your mind is a dangerous place to let him roam about. Let's join him as he explains. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3.

Now follow this. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Some of you versions say strongholds. We are destroying—now what are we destroying? Watch this—speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to obedience to Christ. Paul says that our methods are not fleshly because our enemy is not fleshly.

Now follow this. The source of your spiritual battles find their root in your mind. It starts in the mind.

You say, how do you know? Because it has to do, chapter 10 says, with speculations, verse 5, the knowledge of God, verse 5, and taking every thought captive. Now where do speculations come from? The mind. Where is knowledge rooted in? The mind. Where do thoughts come from? The mind.

It is all in the mind. So in order for you to get released from your POW status, being trapped by hell, when you've been born again by heaven, is to learn to think differently. Satan has so constructed our thinking that we adopt his thinking about the world rather than God's thinking about the world, and notice what he sets up in our mind. He sets up in our mind, according to, in the verse 4, fortresses, or as some versions translated, strongholds. He sets up in our mind permanent residency. He sets up walls that won't come down.

Now how is Satan able to pull this off? It tells you. Verse 5 says, and we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing.

That's a key phrase. Every lofty thing. What's a lofty thing?

A lofty thing is a petition. What Satan wants to do is block divine information crossing over to the other side of your brain. He wants to block the knowledge of God. He wants to keep the knowledge of God from infiltrating this side of the room, because if he can get you coming in here hearing about God on Sunday, but lifting the petition as you walk out of the church so that that data is not transferred to Monday, you come in with the problem you had, you leave with the problem you had, and all you had in between was a nice song and a nice sermon, because he pulled the petition and blocked the knowledge of God. He sets it up to block the movement of God. Now why does he want to block the knowledge of God?

The same reason he wanted to block Eve, because he knows if you ever take God seriously at his word and bite the tree of life, you're going to live life as it was meant to be lived, and he doesn't want you to take a bite of that tree. We have the knowledge of God on Sunday morning. Praise the Lord. Praise Jesus.

I know him. The word of God is true. But soon as we walk out the building, we shift into this other person.

Soon as we get to the car, we really shift. If we cut off trying to get out the parking lot, we stand up for Jesus in church. Nobody knows we're saved at work. And what Satan wants to do is block the knowledge of God. He wants you to be for God one minute, for yourself another minute, by erecting this petition. What is the erection of this petition called?

It is called—we'll look at it in a moment. Don't turn that now. That's what it's called in James 1-8, double-mindedness. That's what it's called, double-mindedness. He wants you to have two minds, not one.

See, Satan wants you to have two minds. He wants you to have the Christian mind fine as long as you have the secular mind too, because he can raise up a petition in that. As long as you have a God mind and a not God mind, that's all he needs. As long as you have a saved mind and an unsaved mind, that's all he needs. As long as you have a committed mind and an uncommitted mind, that's all you need, because the moment you have double-minded, you've given him space to raise the lofty thing and to block the knowledge of God from cutting through, flipping over, and bringing you out of your prisoner of war status. And some of us have been prisoners of war so long, we don't know how to live if they set us free. Some of us have been trapped in these sins or rebellions so long that we don't even think there is a way out.

This camp is now home. Let me show you an illustration before we look at our solution. Let me show you an illustration. Matthew 16. Peter, Peter, let's show you an illustration of a double mind. Matthew 16. Jesus has raised the question, who do men say that I am? Look at what Peter says in verse 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter's got the right mind here, doesn't he?

We know who you are, and I'm not ashamed to tell it. You're Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, Savior of the world, and I don't care who knows it, I take my stand with you. Jesus compliments him in verse 17. He says, blessed are you, Simon, Son of John.

Flesh and blood did not reveal this, but my Father is in heaven. You're right on, Peter. You took your stand, and that stand will take you a couple of minutes later.

We're not talking about next month, next week, or next year. A couple of minutes later, look what happened. Verse 21. But from that time, Jesus Christ began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised up on the third day. So he tells them about his suffering, death, and resurrection. And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him.

So you've got to be a little off just to start with that. But he begins to rebuke Jesus. He says, Jesus, now, now, now, now, you don't know what you're talking about. Okay, now you're just talking the talk. You don't know what you're talking about. God forbid it.

No way, no how. Nobody's going to kill you. Nobody's going to take your life. God forbid it. This shall never happen to you. Jesus said, I'm going to die for the sins of the world.

Rise the third day. Peter said, no, you're not. No, you're not.

We're going to see to that. I got my sword and I cut off some ears. No, you're not. You're not going to die. And this is not only anthropology, Jesus. This is theology. God forbid it.

God forbid it. You're thinking wrong, Jesus. Look at Jesus's response to this schizophrenic saint. But he turned to Peter and said, verse 23, get thee behind me, Satan. At least Jesus say, get thee behind me, Peter. He doesn't say, get me behind me, Peter.

He says, get me behind me, devil. Peter, right now, you are nothing but the devil. A few minutes ago, you said, thou art Christ, son of the living God. And two minutes later, you are now a son of hell.

One minute, I'm giving what God says. The next minute, I'm talking like the devil thinking I'm talking like God. Because remember, he said, God forbid. He thought he was representing God. He thought he was concerned what God was concerned about. Jesus says, Peter, right now, you have taken side with the devil and you've taken such a close side with him, I'm not even going to call you by your natural name.

I'm going to call you out your name. Because right now, get thee behind me, Satan. Even your good thoughts, if they don't agree with God's thoughts, are wrong thinking.

They are wrong thinking. Peter has good thoughts. Let me keep you from dying. But they were godless thoughts because if Jesus hadn't died, you and I couldn't be saved. Jesus Christ understood this. And that's why he says in verse 24, if any man wishes to come after me, let him deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me. To deny yourself means when you're thinking and God thinking conflicts, double mind, you've got to tear down the petition. You cannot let Satan have this distinction between your thinking and God thinking that God's thinking must always be superimposed over your thinking so that your thinking is integrated into God's thinking because when your thinking is integrated in God's thinking, then the petition comes down.

And when the petition comes down, Satan no longer has any authority and the mind of Christ takes over. And when the mind of Christ takes over, whoever controls the mind controls the feet. So you begin to walk different because you think different. You begin to talk different because you think different. You begin to act different because you're thinking different. You begin to react different because you're thinking different.

Whoever controls the mind runs the show. And I like the war language. It says in 2 Corinthians, it says, and take every thought captive.

That's war language, captive. You must raise up in your mind every time you think something that is against the revealed will of God, you must grab that thought and take it hostage. Now I know what you're thinking because if you're really a POW here today in your personal life, family, or in some aspect of our church's ministry, or where you live, you're saying that that's easy. That's too easy. It's got to be more complex than this and I think that's why we have our problem because we make stuff harder than God makes it. Oh yeah, they're difficult problems.

I don't want to underestimate and make the problem trite. But what I want to say is that many of these problems we face are not near as difficult as we make them because we have a godless mindset about them. We have a godless mindset. What is the difference between a person God delivers in 24 hours and God delivers over 24 years? What's the difference? I'd submit to you the difference is, unless it's physiological, the mind. That divorced couple, the mind. The thinking didn't change. And because the thinking didn't change, the action didn't change. It is the mind.

That's what the scripture says. And in just a moment, Dr. Evans will come back with more on the difference a spiritual mindset can make. Now if you're wanting to dig deeper into the important subject he's presenting today, I encourage you to check out the complete two-volume 12-message series. It's called Spiritual Warfare and in it you'll learn the toughest problems you face are often created by spiritual issues that demand spiritual solutions. Dr. Evans offers an effective plan of attack and shines a revealing light on the devil's tricks and tactics, allowing you to become equipped for winning victories on spiritual battlefields that can affect your marriage, finances, and even emotions and addictions.

Get your own copy of Spiritual Warfare on CD or digital download as our gift. Just visit tonyevans.org before time runs out, make a contribution, and we'll say thanks by sending it your way. Again, that's tonyevans.org or call 1-800-800-3222 where resource team members are standing by around the clock to help with your request. I'll have that information for you again after part two of today's lesson and this. The thing about serving an infinite God is that no matter how much you know about Him, there's always more to learn. So whether you're brand new to Scripture or an experienced ministry professional, there's something for you at the Tony Evans Training Center. You'll find online courses covering core concepts of the faith. Working at your own pace and schedule, you'll dig deep into the historical context of the book, uncover the key teachings, and learn how to apply them in real-world situations. There's lots of exclusive content from Dr. Evans to keep you interested and motivated and an online forum where you can ask questions, get answers, and collaborate with other students. The more you learn, the more you'll want to learn. Give it a try.

The Tony Evans Training Center, a world of discovery anytime, anywhere. Let's go to chapter 1 first. Look at a couple of passages in the book of James. I like James because he don't play. You've read James. You know, James is not interested in making you feel good. He's not interested in polite Christianity.

He's an in-your-face kind of apostle. You're facing a difficulty in your life. Let me read verse 6. But let him ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

Okay, back and forth. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways. Now, let me define double-minded. Double-minded means you have human viewpoint and divine viewpoint trying to operate simultaneously.

That's a double-minded man. You got what everybody thinks and what God thinks, and you're trying to entertain both. You have what you think and what God says, and you're trying to mix and match the two of them.

That will not work. You are a double-minded man. And he says in verse 7, that man expect he will receive anything from the Lord. So you're wasting your spiritual time if you're going to mix and match God's way with yours.

That's double-mindedness. Now turn to James chapter 4, verse 8. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

And here's what I'm interested in. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart, you double-minded. Now remember in chapter 1, double-minded people won't get any help from God. So you must tear down this lofty thing, this thing that's dividing your thought and God's thought.

You must now tear it down, and he says, cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart. Notice he says two things, not one. If you have to fix your double-mindedness, you not only have to address the symptom, you have to address the root cause.

And the root cause is never what you are doing. Let me say that again. I have a drug problem. No, you don't. You have a drug symptom. I have a moral problem.

No, you have a moral symptom. I have an alcohol problem. No, you don't. You have an alcohol symptom. I have a depression problem.

No, you don't. You have a depression symptom. The symptom is what you do.

The root cause is that way of thinking that makes you do it. He says that you must solve two problems here by the grace of God to solve your double-mindedness, which keeps God from helping you because God will not help double-minded people. He says you must cleanse your hands.

Those are the things you're doing, but you must not only do that, but you must also purify your heart because if you stop doing it with your hands, but you still have an impure heart, all you need is time before you pick it up again because all you're missing is time. You say, well, now, that's easy to say, but how do you do that? Well, Bible is practical, and so is James. He tells you in verse 9, be miserable and mourn and weep.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you. Now, this is a misinterpreted verse. People think he's talking about raising you up to be somebody, some status in society and all that.

That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about exalting you above your problem. You see, he's talking about exalting you above that, which is keeping you down. He's talking about raising you above that P.O.W.

status that's keeping you incarcerated, that's keeping you a prisoner of war. He is saying what God wants to do is he wants to exalt you, but before God exalts you, stop laughing. Verse 9. Come on now, read your Bible.

Don't look at me. He says in verse 9, stop laughing. Let your laughing be turned to mourning, be miserable, mourn and weep. Now, you say, well, what does that mean?

That means when you start looking at your sin as God looks at it, then you'll get the help that God gives. You still think it's a joke. You still think it's funny.

You think it's cavalier. You're talking about everybody does it. In fact, not only that, verse 11 says, do not speak against one another, brother, when you're blaming other people that you have this problem. You are not taking responsibility under God for the mess you made, the sin you committed.

Are you still laughing and joking when you ought to be crying in the private presence of a holy God for whom you desperately need deliverance? You need to come with your handkerchief out and say, Lord, no, this is not a problem. This is a sin. No, Lord, this is not a bad habit. It's rebellion against the holiness of God. No, Lord, this is not just something everybody does.

It's something I ought not be doing because it is offensive to your holiness. Until we begin to look at sin like God looks at sin, then we won't get the help that God only helps when sinners come to him on the basis of his standing. That's why Psalm 34 18 says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he helps the contrite in spirit. Psalm 51 17 says that the Lord helps those who are of a broken spirit and contrite heart and he doth not despise their plea. Isaiah 66 2 says that God will look to those who are broken in spirit and he will help them who do not despise his word.

It means when you come to God busted up, when you come to God broken up, when you come to God beaten up, when you come to God messed up, when you come to him and say no other help, I know. I go as low as I can possibly go. I get down as far as I can go. I am miserable. I'm not laughing anymore.

I'm not joking. I'm falling on my face before a holy God prostrated my sin and unless you raise me up, I'll never get up. Unless you fix me up, I'll stay down and I'm gonna stay here till my change come. Until you do that, you'll never hear from God. He says and then when God sees you low, he can reach down and pick you up and that's grace picking you up. That's God's goodness picking you up. It's God doing what you could never do for yourselves and that's what he's saying.

So what does it mean? It means you must begin to use God in his word like a sledgehammer. This is a new way of praying folks. Some people call it warfare praying. I don't know about all that but I know this. God has such a high view of his word that if you ever learn to pray his word back to him, he can't ignore your discussion.

That's right. See, we got this little polite praying. Lord, bless me today as I go to school. Bless me today as I go to work. Bless me today on the highway.

That's a joke. That's almost a nothingness prayer because general prayers get general answers. Lord, I come to you about this evil in my heart. I come to you about this lusting I got a problem with that I've been doing. Look, Lord, look, I was on drugs three times yesterday. That is an affront to your holiness. But here's what your word says. Isn't that what Satan said? Jesus, aren't you hungry? Jesus didn't say Lord, bless me today. He said man shall not live by bread alone, but he lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and I'm not gonna let you feed me, devil. He didn't pray no general prayers.

He came with God and he was face to face with God and he raised the word of God and all of a sudden when you begin to hammer the sledgehammer of God's truth and God's will and God's word and you recite that stuff back to God it's like a sledgehammer hitting a wall. You've tried one time and nothing happened. Hit that hammer again. You tried twice and nothing's happened. Hit that wall again.

When you try 20 times, you say I prayed 20 times and nothing happened. You keep banging hell with the word of God till you see a crack in that foundation because that means the wall is ready to come down. Dr. Tony Evans, with advice on bringing God's power to bear on the spiritual strongholds in your life. Now, if there's someone you know who needs the information Dr. Evans has been presenting, contact us for details on his current series, Spiritual Warfare, an extensive two-volume collection containing 12 full-length lessons, including plenty of material we won't have time to present on the air.

As I mentioned earlier, it's yours with our thanks when you make a donation to help keep Tony's teaching on this station. Just visit tonyevans.org to get the details and make the arrangements. And that's where you can also find out about streaming the popular film Journey with Jesus. In Journey with Jesus, Dr. Evans travels to Israel, along with his adult children, Crystal, Priscilla, and Anthony Evans, to experience firsthand the places Jesus walked, taught, and ministered while on earth. More than just a captivating travelogue, the Evans family discusses the biblical and historical significance of each stop along the way and what it means for us today. For a limited time, you can stream Journey with Jesus right into your own home. Plan on making it a part of your preparation for Easter this year. Find out more about the film or the Spiritual Warfare audio collection when you visit tonyevans.org, or call us at 1-800-800-3222, and one of our helpful team members will assist with your resource request. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Oddly, even people who always wear their seatbelts in a car will rush into spiritual battle without proper protection. Find out how to avoid that dangerous mistake when you join Dr. Evans here tomorrow. The alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative, and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.