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 Mortify the Mind by Paul West


The unrenewed mind can be likened as unto a landing strip for the cargo of Satan, which once inducted and embraced, proceed to generate fleshly rebellion in our members in defiance to God’s law. The powers of darkness wage careful attacks with the goal to infiltrate our thoughts and steer our meditation from the loftiness of God to the baseness of our carnality. Popular preachers are quite often used as tools in the hands of Satan to effectuate this very principle: when you hear a minister speak often of physical things such as monetary blessings, houses, automobiles, education, personal ambition, outward beauty, or earthly, carnal obtainments in any measure as a focus for prayer or as a result of godliness, the minister is unknowingly being used by Satan to stir flesh against spirit.

God has given discernment to His children for the purpose of knowing what they are to mortify and what they are to embrace. If a thought or impulse surfaces in your mind that causes you to fixate upon some personal gain to improve or facilitate your sojourning here on this cursed earth, you must identify the thought as rogue and subject it to instant mortification. And the sooner the better, for if we allow a reprieve, the flesh will rise and persuasively advocate the thought’s cause. You will suddenly find it not so easy to banish the impulse to the obedience to Christ as it would have been had you immediately mortified it at inception.

Bring this principle now to the sleek tarmac of our eyes. Many men fight a war with the temptation to lust with their eyes. If the mind has not been renewed in Christ, the inciteful image will be unloaded from the eyeport and brought into the mind for processing. Once in the mind, the image will summon the flesh for advocacy. A war then ensues, with the new man struggling to keep the heart closed off to the impending sabotage.

If the spirit of the mind has not been renewed, and the inner man not strengthened with grace by the Holy Spirit, a stronghold can be formed. A stronghold is a fortress buttressed by unmortified flesh rising to defend a flaming missle from Satan. The Armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6 speaks of the helmet of salvation, of a quenching shield, and of a breastplate of righteousness. A revelatory understanding of Satanic warfare, and how the rulers of darkness seek to infiltrate our vessels via the mind, will shed tremendous light on the putting on of the armor. The armor of God is for mortification, for our protection, for keeping spirits of wickedness from invading our thoughts through the tarmac of our senses, and the Sword of the Spirit is for countering each fiery dart of suggestion with “it is written” as it pulls it down to into captivity.

If we are careful to be renewed in the spirit of our minds and seek grace to overcome each assault, we can win a steady victory daily. O dear brothers and sisters, the joy of walking before God with a clean conscience and pure heart is an asset without price, but one we all can partake of without exception, for our God is no respecter of persons. Are you learning something of the holy art of mortification?

from: http://understandingmortification.wordpress.com/


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2011/12/21 21:48Profile
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 Re: Mortify the Mind by Paul West

"Popular preachers are quite often used as tools in the hands of Satan to effectuate this very principle: when you hear a minister speak often of physical things such as monetary blessings, houses, automobiles, education, personal ambition, outward beauty, or earthly, carnal obtainments in any measure as a focus for prayer or as a result of godliness, the minister is unknowingly being used by Satan to stir flesh against spirit."

"He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." (1Ti 6:4-5)
This passage came to mind when I read the above statement. Gain as godliness is a stronghold, we need to learn to be content and recognize that godliness is greater gain than any worldly (and I emphasize worldly) gain we could amass.

"And the sooner the better, for if we allow a reprieve, the flesh will rise and persuasively advocate the thought’s cause. You will suddenly find it not so easy to banish the impulse to the obedience to Christ as it would have been had you immediately mortified it at inception."

The great tragedy and struggle here for this pilgrim is sometimes I am so blind I do not even recognize that a stronghold has been built, and I have been a party to it. We should pray that God shows us what these strongholds are, and when we participated in their construction. And then plead his help in demolishing it, once we recognize it for what it is.

"Once in the mind, the image will summon the flesh for advocacy. A war then ensues, with the new man struggling to keep the heart closed off to the impending sabotage."

This is exactly why some topics are shameful to speak of, and why it is unwise to discuss them in an explicit fashion. How quickly and hotly a fire our tongue can ignite.

"The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

"If we are careful to be renewed in the spirit of our minds and seek grace to overcome each assault, we can win a steady victory daily. O dear brothers and sisters, the joy of walking before God with a clean conscience and pure heart is an asset without price, but one we all can partake of without exception, for our God is no respecter of persons. Are you learning something of the holy art of mortification?"

Amen! And yes, by His grace, but how much more there is to do? A lifetime of work. Thank you for this posting. I can never hear enough of this. I will go to sleep tonight, pleading with the Lord over these things.


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Jeremiah Dusenberry

 2011/12/22 1:31Profile





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