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The Battle is for Your Mind

Every day, and nearly every moment of every day, each one of us is bombarded with advertisements attempting to convince us our lives would be better if we purchased their product.  Advertizing has become a science.  Whether that advertisement is in print, radio, television, highway billboard, or on the internet, these advertising gurus have nearly perfected their craft to the point that they know exactly how many people out of every one thousand viewing their ad will succumb and make a purchase.  The competition is absolutely fierce! 
                         
What many people do not realize is the underlying nature of all these advertisements with which one is bombarded each and every day.  The reality of this world today is rather simple: materialism rules!  The truth is things will never bring fulfillment into one’s life.  It does not matter what that thing might be, it will not fill the void in one’s heart.  When one begins to see this reality he is on the road to taking control of his own thoughts.

Qorintyah Bet (2nd Corinthians) 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of Elohim, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Mashiach.

Do you know there are fortresses that have been erected in your mind?  These fortresses are raised up against the knowledge of Elohim.  It is the existence of these fortresses that hinders one’s obedience to His will in one’s life.  For true obedience to occur, one must tear down these fortresses in his mind.  However, the first thing that must occur is to properly identify these fortresses for what they truly are.

Once a fortress has been duly identified, then one has the authority and the power to bring that thought into complete obedience to Yeshua our Mashiach.  Let us take an example of a fortress in the thoughts of man:  the use of the name of YHWH.  Some of those who are coming out of Babylon have taken up the name of YHWH and use it.  There are others who refuse to do so for any number of a variety of reasons.  These reasons are a fortress in the mind.  Any time a thought takes hold in the mind that brings forth action that is not according to Scripture, it is a fortress raised up against the knowledge of Elohim.

The only way to combat these thoughts properly is to know and understand what Torah teaches.  In this way, one has the proper weapons of spiritual warfare to take these fortresses apart in one’s mind and remove them so that obedience to the word of YHWH can come about. 

However, there is one aspect of this taking of thoughts captive to the obedience of Yeshua our Mashiach we do not want to miss.  Not only do we have the authority and power to take our own thoughts captive to the obedience of Mashiach, but we also have the authority and power to take each other’s thoughts captive to the obedience of Yeshua our Mashiach.  What this means is that when one is conversing with someone who says something that reveals a possible fortress in his mind, the listener should whisper a prayer taking the speaker’s thoughts captive to the obedience of Mashiach Yeshua.  As one does this, he will see a difference in how he interacts with others.

Please let me assure you of this, I would very much be pleased and blessed if each and every one of you were to pray every single day taking my thoughts captive to the obedience of Yeshua our Mashiach!

Tipping the Balance of Power

Before one comes to Mashiach, the thoughts of one’s mind are all for self and satisfying the needs of his fleshly nature.  The balance of power in one’s mind before Mashiach is heavily on the side of worldly pleasures and desires.  Tipping that balance to the spiritual side of doing good in His kingdom is something which is easy as well as difficult.  It is easy in the sense that one gives his life to Mashiach Yeshua in that one moment of decision.  However, there are many engrained habits of satisfying worldly pleasures that will not be rooted out of one’s mind nearly so easily.  It takes time as well as determination to bring all these areas into submission to His will.  These will be mastered one by one over the rest of one’s life.

Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 2:18-27
18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that anti-Mashiach is coming, even now many anti-Mashiachs have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. 
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. 
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 
22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Yeshua is the Mashiach?  This is the anti-Mashiach, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 
23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 
24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.  If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 
25 And this is the promise which He Himself made to us:  eternal life. 
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 
27 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

This is one of those passages of Scripture that clearly shows the need to be filled with the Spirit of YHWH; or as it states in this passage, an anointing.  It is this anointing or infilling of His Spirit that makes the difference between victory and defeat.  If one has this anointing, he will be able to tell the difference between the spirit of anti-Mashiach and the Spirit of Mashiach.  However, if one does not have this anointing or infilling of His Spirit, he will not be able to identify the spirit of anti-Mashiach. 

One must understand that the spirit of anti-Mashiach is the spirit of Babylon.  It is this spirit that is so all- pervasive in the world today.  It is everywhere and in everything.  It has nearly saturated everything in this present world.  Growing up in this atmosphere makes it that much harder to identify.  It is for this very reason one cannot easily or properly identify Babylon without His anointing Spirit.

Be an Overcomer

An overcomer is one who overcomes the temptations, lures, and lusts of the world.  He walks by His Spirit and lives in obedience to His Voice.  This takes dedication, determination, and honesty.  When one falters and messes up, whether that is a big mess-up or a relatively minor one, he has to be willing to acknowledge his mistake, sin, or whatever it may be, face up to it, take care of correcting it in whatever way may be necessary, and then move on.

Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 4:1-4
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from Elohim; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 
2 By this you know the Spirit of Elohim: every spirit that confesses that Yeshua Mashiach has come in the flesh is from Elohim;
3 and every spirit that does not confess Yeshua is not from Elohim; and this is the spirit of the anti-Mashiach, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.  
4 You are from Elohim, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
               
YHWH desires each of His children to be an overcomer.  He wants him to overcome the world, the Babylonian system.  There are only two systems in this world.  These two systems are at war with one another.  One needs to have the ability to properly identify where each spirit is from, and for whom that spirit is working, in order that one is not deceived.

His people should be thankful YHWH is greater.  He is the Victorious One.  When one walks with his eyes upon Him and his faith is in Him, then he too, will be victorious.  However, he must realize the true nature of this war; it is more spiritual than physical.

Ephesians 6:10-13
10 Finally, be strong in YHWH, and in the strength of His might. 
11 Put on the full armor of Elohim, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of Elohim, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The existence of the Babylonian system enables these spiritual forces of darkness to wreak havoc in the world today.  When one stops participating in this system, it effectively combats the power and influence these forces of darkness have in this present world.  However, when one participates in Babylon, it widens the influence of these dark forces.  The influence of these dark forces is greater in one’s personal life, as well as in the lives of those around him.

One thing one needs to understand is that he is not at war with flesh and blood.  A person who is being used by these forces of darkness in most cases does not comprehend what is happening in and through him.  This is very much like when Yeshua told Kepha (Peter) to “Get behind Me, Satan.”  Now, Kepha was a man who would have readily laid down his life for Yeshua, even when this incident happened.  In fact, this is exactly what Kepha was trying to do: to protect the life of His Master.  While this seems like a good and noble thing to do, it was misplaced and out of sync with the will of YHWH.  As YHWH says, “His ways are not our ways.” 

Just because something seems right to the flesh, does not mean it is right and good according to the Spirit of YHWH.  In order to have proper discernment one needs to have the proper measuring rod, in this case, a plumb line; and this is called “Torah.”  One needs to know Torah frontwards and backwards and inside and out.  Then, when he comes into contact with something that does not seem right, he can have a proper reference point from which to examine it.  With the proper foundation of Torah, and this being activated by His Spirit, one can experience true discernment in his own life as well as what he is witnessing.

Babylonian Culture

Nearly every aspect of the culture in which one lives today is tainted by Babylon.  From the way business is transacted in the market place, to the very roads upon which we drive being sectioned off in blocks, is from Babylon.  Even the political and religious system is heavily colored by the ancient Babylonian system.  The very idea of a city can be traced back in Scripture to Nimrod, the builder of the first cities.  Perhaps the most profound aspect of the Babylonian system of living is the indulgence of one’s fleshly desires.  This is one place in which the battle for the mind is quite intense.

Ephesians 2:3
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

The culture and mindset of Babylon is to give the flesh everything it desires, withholding nothing.  This culture makes its adherents children of wrath.  This is from where each person has come who is a member of His kingdom.  However, here is the thing one needs to understand.  No one is finished coming out of this system of lust yet.  All are still in the process and this will be true until YHWH has restored us back to our land as a nation.

Our Helper

The good news is that no one who comes to Yeshua as Mashiach has to fight the battle for his mind by himself.  Yeshua has given us a Helper in the form of His Spirit.  It is imperative that each person receiving His Spirit learns to recognize and hear His Voice that we might learn to be an overcomer in our daily living.

Yochanan (John) 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

YHWH has given His people something of which they are very much in need since they have not been able in the past, to hear and obey His Voice and keep His Torah.  He has made His Spirit available to each one of those who truly follow Yeshua as Mashiach. His Spirit is our Teacher.  His Spirit fills each person and anoints him and empowers him for service to Him.  Without the infilling presence of His Spirit, one has no hope or life.  However, it is the infilling presence of His Spirit that He has given as a down payment towards life eternal. 

His Spirit gives wisdom and understanding to know the difference between the spirit of error and the Spirit of Truth.  When one has received a love of His truth, then all good things flow to us through His Spirit. 

Let each person realize that being filled with His Spirit is only the beginning.  One still needs to walk out his salvation with fear and trembling.  One needs to understand that spiritual maturity only comes through walking in the Spirit over time.  Let each person in Mashiach Yeshua give grace to one another as all grow and mature in His Spirit, always increasing in the knowledge and understanding of Yeshua our Mashiach.

ABBA YHWH, we ask that You would take complete control of our minds and thoughts, that they would be for You only; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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