Why don't we want to
believe that Satan can influence us, really influence in many ways? Why do we
ignore his existence? Why do we refuse to recognize his working in our lives?
We love being blind. We do. We enjoy the blinders that we put on and tuck about
our spiritual sight so we can't see the evil around us. Blinders that transform
evil into good and good into evil. These blinders are real and as we use them
we leave ourselves vulnerable to deception so deep that we believe with all our
heart that we are Christ's. If we keep those blinders on we WILL be among those
who are SHOCKED when Christ Himself tells us to get away from Him, that He
never knew us. That shock will hit us and all the evil we've condoned while
wearing our blinders will be revealed to us. We will know that each and every
time we used our blinders that we had a choice to know truth and we rejected
that truth. Every single time we've
decided to cherish a fable of mankind's over knowing the truth of God, we will
be accountable for. This isn't a game we are playing, this is real, this is
truth, this is eternal truth. We need to
comprehend the reality of Satan and his influence that attacks us DAILY, and in
comprehending we have to cling to the only hope of protection we have- our
Savior! The spiritual armor He offers us is REAL and we can either choose to
put it on, or keep grabbing up those stupid blinders thinking they're all the
protection we need.
God help us!
Excerpt- 'Is it strange to behold the mind in such
close proximity to the authorities of wickedness? Was not the sin which mankind
first committed that of seeking the knowledge of good and evil, and that at the
instigation of Satan? Hence man’s mind is especially related to Satan. If we
were to peruse the Scriptures carefully and to observe the experiences of the
saints we would discover that all communications between human and satanic
forces occur in the organ of thought.
Take, for instance,
Satan’s temptation. Every temptation with which he entices man is presented to
his mind. It is true that Satan often uses the flesh to secure the consent of
man, yet in each instance of enticement the enemy creates some kind of thought
by which to induce the man.
We cannot separate
temptation and thought. All temptations are offered us in the form of thoughts.
Since the latter are so exposed to the power of darkness, we need to learn how
to guard them.
Prior to
regeneration man’s, intellect obstructs him from apprehending God. It is
necessary for His mighty power to destroy man’s arguments. This is a work which
must occur at the hour of new birth—and it does happen then in the form of
repentance. The original definition of repentance is none else than “a change
of mind.”
Man in his mind is at enmity with God;
therefore God must alter man’s mind if He would impart life to him. In his
unregenerated state man has a darkened mind; at his regeneration it undergoes a
drastic change. Because it has been so united with the devil it is vital for
man to receive from God a change of mind before he can receive a new heart
(Acts 11.18)
Act 11:18 When
they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
(BBE) And
hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying,
Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may
have life.
(Bible in Basic
English)
After Regeneration
But even following repentance the believer’s mind is not liberated totally from
the touch of Satan. As the enemy worked through the mind in former days, so
today will he work in the same manner.
Paul, in writing to
the Corinthian believers, confided that he was “afraid that as the serpent
deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere
and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11. 3).
2Co 11:3 But I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The Apostle well
recognizes that as the god of this world blinds the mind of unbelievers so will
he deceive the mind of the believers. Even though they are saved their life of
thought is as yet unrenewed; consequently it remains the most strategic battleground.
The mind suffers the onslaughts of the powers of darkness more than any other
organ of the whole man. We should realize that satanic spirits are directing
special attention to our minds and are attacking them unrelentingly—“as the
serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.” Satan did not assail Eve’s heart first
but rather her head.
Similarly today, the evil spirits first attack
our head, not our heart, in order to have us corrupted from the simplicity and
purity which is towards Christ. They fully understand how it is the weakest
point in our entire being, for it had served as their fortress before we
believed and even now is not yet entirely overthrown. Attacking the mind is the
easiest avenue for them to accomplish their purpose. Eve’s heart was sinless
and yet she received Satan’s suggested thoughts. She was thus beguiled through
his deception into forfeiting her reasoning and tumbling into the snare of the
enemy. Let a believer accordingly be careful in his boast of possessing an
honest and sincere heart, for unless he learns how to repulse the evil spirits
in his mind he will continue to be tempted and deceived into losing the
sovereignty of his will.
Paul continues by
telling us from whence this danger comes: “if some one comes and preaches
another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit
from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you
accepted” (v.4). The peril for the Christian is to have false teaching injected
into his thought life so as to lead him astray from a sincere and pure devotion
to Christ. These are the works the “serpent” is perpetrating today. Satan has
disguised himself as an angel of light to lead saints to worship with their
intellect a Jesus other than the Lord, to receive a spirit other than the Holy
Spirit, and by these to propagate a gospel other than the gospel of the grace
of God.
Paul pronounces
these to be nothing else than the deeds of Satan in the Christian’s mind. The
adversary translates these “doctrines” into thoughts and then imposes them upon
the mind of the Christian. How tragic that few appreciate the reality of these
activities! Few, indeed, who would ever think that the devil could give such
good thoughts to men! It is possible for a child of God to have a new life and
a new heart but be without a new head.
With too many
saints, the mind, though their heart is new, is still quite old.
Their heart is full
of love whereas their head is totally lacking in perception.
How often the
intents of the heart are utterly pure and yet the thoughts in the head are
confused.
Having become
saturated with a mishmash of everything, the mind lacks the most signal element
of all, which is spiritual insight. Countless saints genuinely love all
children of God, but unfortunately their brain is stuffed with a hodgepodge of
theories, opinions and objectives.
Quite a number of
God’s best and most faithful children are the most narrow-minded and
prejudice-filled. Already have they decided what is the truth and what truth
they shall accept. They reject every other truth because these do not blend in
with their preconceived notions. Their head is not as expansive as their heart.
Moreover, there are other children of God
whose mind can conceive no thought whatever. No matter how many truths have
been heard they can neither remember nor practice nor communicate them to
others. These have certainly heard a lot, yet they possess no ability to
express any of it. For many years they have received truths, but not even a
little can they supply for the needs of others. Perhaps they may even brag how
full they are of the Holy Spirit! What creates such symptoms is an unrenewed
mind. '
The Spiritual Man -
by Watchman Nee
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