The World’s system lies in the hand of the evil one and all people have been indoctrinated by it from birth. Your identity, your worth, your status, etc… is measured by standards set by this world. By necessity there must be a death to that old life, that old estimation of who you are and a birth of new life springing forth of the true reality of your identity in Christ.
Christ Displaces the Enemies Hold
Struggle both spiritually and mentally are not simply a matter of the enemy bombarding your mind trying to bring you down, discourage you, make you feel like a failure, telling you, look what you have done with your life, you have wasted it or look at these people and their accomplishments comparing yourself with others.
The inward struggle you’re facing is a result of a conflict. Your mind has mindsets already built in that are strongholds of the enemy. These mindsets have been built there as you have grown up and are encouraged by the world system which is under the sway of the evil one. These strongholds support the independent self life that Christ has put to death on the cross.
As Christ comes in and begins to shake all that up, breaking in with the truth of who you are in Him. As He displaces the enemies hold (mindsets) bringing in the truth of Himself you begin being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is the process of becoming who you already are, waking up to the reality of who you are in Christ. Putting off the old man and putting on the new man, Christ Jesus. See Ephesians 4:22-24
A New Perspective
A new perspective that I now see from having learned that when you feel the struggle it may seem like you are really under attack and perhaps you are but in reality Christ is overthrowing the enemy’s stronghold in your mind. Christ is bringing victory into reality in your life. This is when the enemy does all he can to maintain his hold. This is not the time to give in or give up it is the time to press in more resolute to your Lord looking to Him, trusting Him being encouraged that He has done it. At this point to trust in your feelings and emotions or rely on the old estimations comparing yourself with others will only be playing into the enemies hand.
The struggle is important to go through. You will know your Lord in a much more intimate and real way as you pass through this struggle. The battle is already won. Christ has already defeated the enemy. You have already been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Embrace Christ and the reality of who you are in Him and go through the struggle. Shrug the feeling that the enemy is really trying to overtake you but instead realize that your mind was already under the influence of the enemy and the world system but now Christ is setting you free as you are conformed into His image.
The enemy is losing ground in you and is mad trying to get you to let go of the truth of Christ. This struggle is necessary for you to go through and it is a positive thing. You must cling to the truth even if you don’t feel like it. Remember your faith is not based on feeling but in who He is. 2 Cor. 5:7
Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind
Paul states in Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
This appeal from Paul is for us individually and as a corporate body to respond to in faith. It is vital to apply in order that the life of Christ may be lived in and through you within the community of the saints and as you read the rest of Romans 12 and beyond you will see what the fruit of doing so looks like.
A Final Exhortation
When we make a resolute presentation of our lives continually to Christ as a living sacrifice not being conformed to the pattern of this world, that includes the estimation of yourself, success, power, money, material possessions, past mistakes, age and accomplishments and lack thereof, etc… and begin to be transformed by the renewing of our minds according to the realization of Christ, the revelation of Christ in you and in you all as the community of believers we will see the ever growing expression of the glorious Christ in and through us. That is why this is called a walk of faith because we cannot trust ourselves and the Lord is showing us that He is all in all.
The enemy is defeated and the only place he has ground in us is when we either lose sight of the truth and begin relying on the old man again or have an area of our heart that is not submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Either way the Lord is merciful and faithful to work in us both to will and do His good pleasure. Turn to Him now, Call on His name and thank Him that He has placed you inside of Himself and that you can safely rest in His arms trusting in Him fully.
Bonus Song
Take a moment to listen to this liberating song by Don Francisco Jesus Is Lord Of The Way I Feel
For some reason this story strongly reminds me of these rich things you shared brother I think it’s a beautiful picture of the process discussed. Great stuff thanks for sharing.
Mark 5
Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man
1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Thanks Nathan I appreciate your reply. Were you able to listen to the bonus song. Something I am testing out plus it goes with the post pretty well. I thought anyways
It is by the renewal of our minds that I am learning that my identity, and ours as the church, is not tied to this world at all, but found simply in Christ. Thank you for the reminder, brother.
(by the way, I added you to my blogroll)
Amen to that R.C. and thank you for adding me. I appreciate it.
Seth,
What a great “new” perspective. I especially agree with the view of “attacks from the enemy being, in reality, Christ overthrowing the strongholds that have been built up by the world’s system and our minds being transformed and set free in Christ. I think far too often people are so willing to give credit to a defeated enemy rather than realize the work of our victorious Lord.
Great truths spoken here brother. Love you!
Tobias
Toby,
Thanks for your comment it speaks directly to my main thought in writing this post. You picked it out precisely. It truly changes everything when we magnify the Lord and begin to rejoice in Him no matter what we are going through. The battle is the Lords’.
Amen brother! Great post.
As we turn to Christ, rely on His strength and victory, our minds are transformed and we move “from glory to glory” in Christ.
Thanks for (finally) writing a blog post, brother
.
-Mike
Yes, that’s right. Thanks Micheal for your encouragement that’s what helped me finally get this thing posted.
Thanks for this excellent encouragement, brother! As we continue to leave behind and count all as loss, it is a gift to fellowship with others doing the same and going through the same uproot of strongholds.
No matter what we face we know that He is our all and we can go through anything He leads us into knowing that He is our strength. I love you brother.
Seth,
I very much enjoyed your post.
The struggle we endure is the pains of birthing labor to increase Life within us, Christ in us. When we are in such a great inner conflict it can be an excruciating experience at the time, but we come out of this tremendous turmoil with an increase of Christ, and with a greater knowing of our identity in Christ. To know who we truly are, we must truly know Christ and Christ as our Life. After we go through such a struggle, we come out of that with more of Christ in us. And we know the Life of Christ is far beyond priceless and worth any pain we must endure!
Oh, how we fight Him sometimes, without realizing it. He takes us through it all and we by faith, by trust, by Spirit, gain Christ within us. This conflict most often arises through the one another of us in Christ. We need one another, even more than that, it is an absolute necessity that we have the love of Christ for one another in close relationships. It is the individual self-life that fights against Christ and the unity of Christ in us.
I find that when we are in such a state of desperate inner conflict, this is when we realize how important our trust is in Him. Our emotions should never be our focus, because they are fleeting, and not based in the reality of Christ. This is when we let the self go and rely on Him for our everything. It is kind of like jumping off a high mountain, spiritually speaking, and allowing Christ to be our gravity to secure us with Himself. Trust is the uttermost to holding onto Christ, but wait, even more than that, for we also need Christ to be our Trust. Christ is our everything and that includes our trust. We can do absolutely nothing on our own! It is by the merciful grace of our Father that we gain Christ in us by Spirit. There is no other way to live but Christ; Christ is Life, thus all other is death. All this fighting, this holding back, this struggling effort is all about self-reliance in our minds, thinking we can do, we can understand, we can comprehend by our intellectual minds, we can know something by ourselves with our carnal minds, that we can touch what is holy, what is Spirit. As we struggle, the more we realize we need to let go of self and cling to Truth, who is Christ Jesus Himself. That struggle is the labor of increase, Christ in us. What joy fills us as the eyes of our hearts see a greater vision of Christ and who we are in Christ.
Thank you for posting this timely message!
Kat,
Your comment is beautiful and truly adds a richness to this emphasis of Christ and the truth of His increasing in us. I appreciate your love and passion for Christ. It is a constant encouragement to me.
Seth,
Brother, this was pure encouragement for me to read. Thx for writing this. I can really relate to what you have shared here. Sometimes when I sense attack in my life, I get discouraged; but knowing that this is really Christ coming into a specific area to break that area of stronghold is beautiful! That’s why we can count it all joy when we face struggle and challenge.
I love you brother!
Jamal
Yes, Jamal. This has been quite a revolutionary and encouraging thought for me too. It actually first occurred to me while sharing Christ with a brother that was going through some difficult time and realizing that it is Christ who is truly at work here and not focusing on the enemy but instead the Lord so that we can safely rest in Him cooperating with Him more fully. It is amazing how everything changes as we begin to see Him in all things.
I love you too brother.
“Immature love says: ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says ‘I need you because I love you.’” ~ Erich Fromm
This is a great truth and we definitely have a roaring lion out there looking to devour us. Our greatest defense is to simply submit to God, I believe by standing on or abiding in, His word (Christ). The promise is, “he will flee;” so after you have done everything you can do to resist (temptation) then don’t give in at that point, but rather continue to stand; He will give you the strength. Thank you my brother for bringing about a forum to share Christ and the deeper things…Love Micah
Amen Micah. It is so refreshing to know that our life is hidden in Christ in God and that if Christ be for us who can be against us. I love you my brother.
Christ is like a lion in us, bold and fearless:) Really encouraging to me bro thanks
That’s a great word David. I look forward to the time you get the opportunity to be built together with other saints. May He bring some your way who share the same passion as you do. Love you bro.
Seth thanks for the beautiful post.
Praise the Lord that our victory is in Christ. In the old testament when sacrifices were made to the Lord. There was nothing necessarily “holy” about them. The fact that the sacrifices (animals, gold..) were set apart for the Lord is what made them holy and acceptable. So by presenting our bodies as living sacrifices. We are recognising that our lives are no longer our own but His(set apart for Him). For we have been crucified with Christ. And He is our new life. Our lives, possessions and everything we have belongs to Him.
As we struggle may our revelation of Christ increase. May our minds be transformed to the reality of Christ in us. That we are a New Creation, born of God into a family of brothers and sisters. Christ is our New Life and He is our Righteousness.
Amen Drikus. Thanks for commenting. May the Lord continue to bless you all down under.
Well said brother
Thanks for reading Bretto. Look forward to meeting you some day.