Bringing Every Thought Into Captivity

BRINGING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. (II Corinthians 10:4-6)

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. I have written previously concerning the battle for the mind. Please check wor.org/book or the Kindle Library. To make every thought obedient to Christ is a continual struggle. I have been preaching a great deal about the problem of fretting, and how we must overcome it if we do not want to be torn down from our high place in Christ. I have stated that the moral darkness is going to increase, and we must prepare for it by living by the Life of Christ. The Bible commands us to not fret:

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. (Psalm 37:1,2)

If Satan cannot get us to do evil, he can conquer us by having us fret about the evil. Fretting occurs when we complain about the works of Satan but can do nothing about it. It prevents us from obeying the commandment to rejoice in the Lord always.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)

I will tell you this: Christ is a king. He is a jealous king. His name is Jealous. When he sees us paying attention to Satan or to Antichrist He becomes jealous. The King’s attitude then is, “If you desire to give glory to Satan and marvel at his works in the earth, then go ahead. You will suffer for it.”

There is an interesting passage in the Book of Daniel that I often refer to:

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. (Daniel 8:9-12)

The reference is to Antichrist. He will start small but then will grow.

Then it grew until it reached the host of the heavens. The host of the heavens is the army of saints and angels. This means that Antichrist will be able to mingle with those who are set on doing God’s will.

I had a strange experience the morning after the election. It was as though Obama were close by me and desiring my attention. It was then that the passage in Daniel crossed my mind. I do not claim that Obama is Antichrist. But it is evident that he is acting like Antichrist and doing the works of Antichrist. Perhaps he is a forerunner of Antichrist. In any case, I struggled against him by forcing my find to think of Christ and of pleasant things.

It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. We may not enjoy the thought of God giving this much authority and power to Antichrist, but God is going to do so. He is going to shake the heavens and the earth so that all that is not rooted in Christ will be shaken out of the Kingdom.

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast — all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:5-8)

The above passage shows us clearly why we are not to fret. We may find ourselves fighting against God, who is working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes in Christ.

And now back to Daniel:

Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. The reason why the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to Antichrist is because of rebellion in the hearts of God’s people. Christians often have received Christ as Savior but not as the Lord of their lives. When I teach that we must learn to live by the Life of Jesus so that every thought, every word, and every action is to be submitted to Him, that we must enter the eternal dialogue, some find this difficult. They are Christians and they believe in the blood atonement. But they want to live their own lives, thank you very much. God will not accept this attitude. He will not accept our willingness to be forgiven through the blood when we refuse to present our body a living sacrifice that we may prove His will for us personally (Romans 12:2).

Obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of the Kingdom of God. Until we Christians are willing to give our lives wholly to Christ, we can forget about inheriting the Kingdom of God. Jesus told us to take up our cross of deferred gratification and follow Him (Luke 9:23). How many American believers are doing this?

The recent presidential election did not change anything. Rather it revealed that half of the population of America is ready to endorse abortion and same-sex marriage provided they still receive their food stamps. It is no wonder that President Obama is succeeding in his agendas.

It is a fact that the America we have known is no more. If the Republican party were to rigorously endorse biblical principles, it is possible they would lose every time, unless God intervened. But God will not intervene until the Christians repent; and the Christians will not repent as long as the lawless-grace and rapture teachings continue.

We are not to fret. God is judging America and giving us the leadership we deserve. Actually God has turned America over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. What then are we to do? We are to draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ — forget about Antichrist and draw near to Christ. We are to keep struggling against negative thoughts and set our minds on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of God.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

What is true? It is true that Jesus Christ is King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He is in control of all flesh. Nothing escapes His will and His power.
What is noble? All the works of God are noble and to be admired and emulated.
What is right? The Kingdom of God and His righteousness are right, and we prosper when we seek them.
What is lovely? All the works of God’s hands are lovely. Little children are lovely. Puppies, kitties, and majestic horses are lovely. Nature is lovely. Sunsets are lovely. The whole universe that God has made through Christ is lovely. Only man is vile.
What is admirable? The wisdom of God in the plan of redemption, bringing forth the brothers of Christ from the cesspool of the world, is worthy of our admiration.
What is excellent? That which is accomplished through us when we let go and let God have His wonderful way.
What is praiseworthy? A life of strict obedience to the Lord Jesus instead of the pursuit of pleasure.

We have been commanded to think about such things. When we spend our time contemplating the works of Satan, works that we can do little about except complain, we are disobeying the Apostle Paul, and Christ speaking through him.

We are to commit every word we speak to the Lord Jesus. We must be delivered from all vain, foolish speaking and choose our words carefully. We can build up our fellow believers by praying about what we say.

We are to commit every plan, every action to the Lord Jesus Christ for His approval, wisdom, strength.

A shaking is upon us. All that is not wrought in Christ shall be shaken out of the Kingdom of God. Many shall die, but a remnant shall be purified by the Divine fire.

Wheat must be harvested, threshed, winnowed, and ground into flour before it is useful as food. God has begun His harvesting, I believe. Many are being cut down. They are hammered to release the grain from the shells. Then they are tossed into the air that the chaff might be separated from the grains of wheat.

John the Baptist told us of the baptism with fire. We American believers have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, some of us. Now is the day for the baptism with fire.

Jesus will return to earth before too long. He is coming for a remnant of the believers, that is, for those who have lived a victorious life in Christ. He will raise them from the dead and then carry them up to Himself where He is waiting with the army of angels and the white war-stallions. Then these members of the royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9) will mount the white war-stallions and descend through the clouds and install the will of God on the earth.

You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:5)
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)
This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.” (Zechariah 13:9)

(“Bringing Every Thought Into Captivity”, 3350-1, proofed 20211015)