If you don't want to do something or be something, then don't even think about it. You have often heard someone say when something has been suggested to him that he might consider foolish, “Why I wouldn't even think of it.”
That's what Jesus was really saying to Peter when Satan suggested through him, “Let the cross be far from thee, Lord.” Jesus replied, “Get thee behind me Satan. Thou savorest not the things of God.” Don't even' consider the things that your new nature hates. You see, if you are in Christ, you are a new creature.
The seed of God within you has given you a new life. This life is God Himself. “That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.”--John 3:6. This new nature hates evil (Satan) and loves righteousness (God). That is why it is necessary that our minds be renewed with God's knowledge. The Spirit and the mind must agree. I am talking about the new mind God has given us--a new consciousness. The Bible calls it the mind of Christ. The old mind will never agree with God, but we are told to deny it and put on Christ who is the Truth. The Bible says to be renewed in the Spirit of our mind (Eph.4:23). This is a Spiritual mind where the other is earthly and carnal. The first man was of the earth and earthly. The new creation is Christ in you--the Lord of heaven (1 Cor. 15:47).
This thing about thoughts--God is vitally interested in what we are thinking about down deep within our souls. He knows, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” You just naturally or supernaturally become one with what you think about. Man is concerned with our deed, where God is more concerned with our thoughts and motives. Every deed is the fruit of thought. Thoughts are either constructive or destructive. Thoughts build bridges, fly airplanes, climb mountains, and every other thing that this society we live in produces. Thoughts are the motivation behind our deeds. We as human beings are prone to overlook their significance because we understand little of Spiritual or unseen things. Man goes about striving to correct his actions not realizing that the reason he is losing the battle is because what he is thinking about is working against him. He who can control his thoughts can make his decisions with the utmost resolve. “To be carnally minded is death, but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace.”--Rom. 8:6
If we are new creatures, (God's Word declares we are-2 Cor. 5:17) then isn’t it necessary to change our patterns of thinking from the old to the new. What good on this earth will it do us or anyone else for that matter to be new creatures in Spirit (Heart) but old in our thoughts?
If someone made us anew but we continued to go on thinking like the old, we would be like someone rich thinking like someone poor. I am not suggesting that we can think our way into God's kingdom. There is only one way in and that is Jesus; but if we have taken that way, then we are in. What use is it to continue in the old way? The Bible says we have already been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.”--Col.l:3
We are told to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:1-2). That simply means that just because our Spiritual location has been changed, it doesn't mean that automatically our thoughts were changed too. Jesus did the transporting, but you and I must do the changing in our ways of thinking. Incidentally that's the Gospel that Jesus taught when He said, “Repent the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repent means to change one's thoughts and opinions. There must be something wrong with ours or we would not be commanded to change--to put off the old and put on the new which is to be renewed in knowledge after the image of God (Col. 3:10).
Thoughts--strange things--but how serious we should observe them. We are told in God's Word not to believe every spirit because some are not of God. Thoughts are spirits in one way just like God Himself. Jesus taught that God is a Spirit. John says God is the Word or the Logos which is Divine-thought. Jesus thought only about God or the Logos. God or the Logos was in His thoughts. God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts nor my ways your ways.” I do not mean to put God on the same level as the devil. I simply mean that Satan is a spirit and so is God. Jesus plainly clarified this. The difference is that Satan is a liar. He is deceptive, crafty, subtle, sneaky, deceitful, guileful, sly, and cunning. Above all of this he is liar and his stronghold is the carnal mind.
The simple truth is that God and Satan both basically use the same method--thoughts. Satan is so skilled in concealing his intentions that we are warned in scripture to be sober, vigilant, aware (1 Peter 5:8), and try the spirits (1 John 4:1). We need to weigh our thoughts carefully if we are not sure of their origin.
We are emphatically told that we do not war against flesh and blood but against wicked spirits in spiritual places (Eph. 6:12). We are told the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds that Satan has had over our minds--casting down imaginations, dethroning, and bringing every thought into subjection and captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor.10:5).
That's how important thoughts are to God, so shouldn’t they be that important to us? We are also told to put on the armor of God so we may stand in the evil day (Eph. 6:13).
We will not enjoy the victory that Christ has already procured for us until we by an act of will bring our minds to the foot of His throne and make every thought bow its knee, confessing (acknowledging) that Jesus is Lord (sovereign ruler) to the glory of God. We will only rule and reign in this life to the extent that Christ reigns in us. It is in submission to the King that we enjoy the benefits of His Kingdom. Jesus says, “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit down with me in My throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in His throne.” Rev.3:21. We are to sit down with Him in the throne of God having ceased from our own strugg1es--having submitted and enter into the rest of God (Heb. 4:3). There remains a rest for the people of God but there will be no rest without submission to the King. Our rest will be in direct proportion to our willingness to submit that God might be all in all.
God is not as concerned about our ways as we might think. That's Satan's method of hiding the real issues. The real issue is “whose thoughts are your thoughts?”
Remember there is no in between ground--thoughts either come from God or from the devil. Be it understood that we are talking about spiritual things because we are talking about spiritual problems and a Spiritual victory. There are thoughts that have to do with the sciences of this world but they have nothing to do with our Spiritua1 standing in Christ. I am talking about things that are vital to our Spiritual survival because that's what Jesus is concerned with and that's because His kingdom is not of this world.
Warren D. Rogers