Mind Games, Part 1

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

Do you think your way through life, feel your way through life, or a little of both?

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:1–9 NLT

Sermon Insights: Notice Satan’s strategy: he didn’t demand or threaten…he planted a seed of doubt, a lie, in her mind: “God is holding out on you…God cannot be trusted…God isn’t really all that good.”

How do you think Satan sounded when he deceptively contradicted God—mocking? Derisive? Kind? When do you struggle to trust what God says? What’s the underlying doubt about God?

What breaks the “power of sin” – desire followed by willful disobedience followed by fearful hiding?

Who in your life has helped you experience confession, forgiveness, and restoration?

Lord, we’ve been sinning since the beginning. My personal choice to “do my own thing” resulted in pain I don’t want to experience again. Forgive my sins and disobedience. Restore a rock-solid, vibrant trust in you so that I can wisely repel the attacks of the Enemy.

What was your first thought today when you awakened? Was it positive or negative?

“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:8–19 NLT

It doesn’t matter about our situation, our past, our health, what’s been done to us, or what’s been spoken to us: victory is not about what is happening around us…victory is about the state of our minds. What unhealthy mindsets did Adam and Eve display?

What mindset do you need to have today? Why?

Lord, replace my desire to blame others with an intense focus on what you have given me to control. Replace my fear with trust in you. Replace my dependence on false sources of wisdom with insistence on learning and doing your good, pleasing, and perfect will.

If you could pick any perspective to view beautiful scenery, what scenery would you view and where would you be to view it?

After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.

This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” Numbers 13:25–33 NLT

What “seed” or lie has Satan attempted to plant in your mind?

What is the truth that replaces that lie?

Satan’s lies usually involve fear that God will not protect or provide for you—or in the way or time in which you want. Satan’s deception begins with a “better plan” and a substitute solution. Why is faith in God so crucial for us?

Lord, help me to rely on your perspective. Eve was distracted by the distorted perspective of the Enemy. Adam was distracted by the perspective of Eve. The spies were distracted by the perspective they shared with the giants—that they were small, weak, and impotent. Teach me to trust you and follow what you say, even when I cannot see clearly from my point of view.

What do you look forward to most when you go home to be with Jesus in Heaven?

The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.

What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:45–58 NLT

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:6–10 NLT

Consider these words today as you reframe your focus and regain control of your mind:

Faith, Eternal Life, Transformation, Victory, Confidence

Lord, thank you for giving me a better perspective than the world offers. Restore my focus and my passion for loving you and loving my neighbor as myself!

What is your favorite gift that God gives freely?

Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:1–5 NLT

“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. Deuteronomy 11:18–21 NLT

Sermon Insights:

In Jesus, how do we win the battle in our minds? First—identify the source, second—bind the lies in the name of Jesus (specifically through identifying them and using Jesus’ name to boldly assert the truth), and third—change the narrative (replace the lies of Satan with the truth of the Good News of Jesus!).

When you are struggling with a tempting lie or a difficult doubt, Pastor Greg gave us two important questions to ask: 1) Where did that thought come from? 2) Is it consistent with what God says in his word? If not, it’s a lie from Satan.

How does your status as a child of God give you the power to dispel the enemy’s lies and boldly stay faithful? (REMINDER: if God fully forgives you, who can accuse you effectively?!)

Lord, thank you for washing my guilt away by punishing Jesus instead of me. Thank you for giving me his righteousness and making me into a new person through the power of your Holy Spirit. I am truly grateful!

Mind Games, Part 1

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