The title of this study today, is honestly a topic that people have struggled with from the very beginning of time. When a thought, emotion or feeling comes your way, especially a negative or even oppressive one, what do you do about it? How do you handle it?
For some, thoughts, emotions and feelings can be controlling and even rule their life. Some people are held captive by their emotions, and allow their feelings to rule their life. But what can be done about it?
Well, in-fact God has quite a bit to say on the subject, and we are going to answer these questions today, as always by looking at Jesus, and seeing the reality of His finished work for us.
It may surprise you to learn that in day to day life, many people do not consider the finished work of Christ in daily circumstances – including in resisting negative thoughts and feelings. And yes, negative thoughts and feelings can be resisted. In-fact we have been given specific power and specific weapons to resist them.
This may come as a shock because some people by default presume to own every single thought, feeling or emotion that comes to them, as if it was their own – and so they do not resist any of them.
Yet this is not what God teaches us. If every thought, feeling or emotion was to be accepted, then we would never be given any weapons or means by which we are to resist them in the first place.
And this leads us both to our first and second points of our study today, that yes, such things are to be resisted, and that they are meant to be resisted in a specific way, using specific weapons. Because along with those who fail to resist negative thoughts, feelings and emotions entirely, there are also some who are well-meaning, but misinformed, who try to resist them using the wrong weapons.
So, let’s take a look at 2nd Corinthians 10:4-5:
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
What we see here is that first of all, we do have weapons; these weapons are mighty… they are not weak, or feeble, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of “strongholds”.
Now, here’s the really interesting part… look at verse 5 and take notice of what these strongholds are: imaginations, high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and thoughts.
As I mentioned in the opening, many people are in bondage to strongholds of imaginations, things and thoughts that are exalted against the knowledge of God. And this is the key. This is the root of it all. The knowledge of God, and thoughts, feelings and emotions that are “against” that knowledge.
What is the knowledge of God, you may ask? 2nd Corinthians 4:4-6 has the answer:
“In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
What we can see in these verses, is that again, the battlefield is in the mind, and your soul (which comprises your thoughts, emotions and will).
We can see that Satan, (here called the “god of this world”) has blinded the minds of those which do not believe – but for what purpose? Why did he blind their minds? To prevent the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ from shining to them. You see, the enemy has no problem with preachers who teach the Old Covenant; who teach the Laws of Moses, rules, religion and regulation… in-fact he loves when pastors do that, because then the people have a false sense of security… they believe that they are safe, because they have done their religious duty for the week; they “went to church”, sang some Christian songs and dutifully listened to a legalistic message from the pastor – so all is well, right?
However what we see here is that it is a very specific kind of message that the enemy is concerned with keeping from people. It is the message of the glorious Gospel of Christ. This is a much different message than what is heard in most church buildings today. The glorious Gospel of Christ is not centered on our performance, behaviors or rule-keeping – but instead it is focused on the perfect performance of Jesus Christ, on His perfect behavior, and on the fact that He kept all of the rules perfectly.
The glorious Gospel of Christ is focused on the fact that all of your sin and mine was laid upon Christ as He hung on the cross; that He died in our place as us, so that today we can live in His place as Him (John 17:20-24).
The very purpose of Jesus coming to earth and going to the cross and dying and being resurrected was to restore the intimate union and relationship that we had with God before the fall. To restore the very nature of righteous innocence that we were originally created for. This is why Jesus said that we must be born again in John 3:7. It’s not about keeping rules and modifying behaviors. It’s about becoming an entirely new creation from the inside-out – a miracle that only Christ can accomplish by the power of His Spirit.
It’s about standing in the very righteousness of God Himself (2nd Corinthians 5:21), which He has given to us, not because we deserve it or that we somehow earned it, but because of His great love and mercy.
All of this, my dear friend, is what the knowledge of God is. That is why (returning to our verses in 2nd Corinthians 4:4-6) in verse 5 we see them saying that We do not preach ourselves! It is not about ourselves, our works, our efforts – but it is about Christ crucified. Because that’s where the work was done, and that’s where everything was paid, and that is where it was completed!
Continuing on to verse 6, we see that God has given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God… and where can such a light be found? It’s not in the face of Moses, which he had to cover, and whose light and glory faded away as the Old Covenant was ended (2nd Corinthians 3:13).
Instead, we see that the face that we should be looking at is not the face of Moses; it’s not the Old Covenant; but the light of the knowledge of God can only be found in the face of Jesus Christ, and His glorious Gospel, the New Covenant of His Grace.
This knowledge of God, regarding the fact that today, Jesus Has completed the work, you are absolutely covered in His righteousness, beloved, and completely clean; this is the knowledge that all of those imaginations, high things, and thoughts, that we read about, will try to exalt themselves against.
The enemy will try to tell you that you can’t possibly be righteous because of some bad things you have done… or that God can’t possibly love you because of this reason, or that reason.
This is why God gave you those weapons that we also read about earlier in this study. Not every thought is to be accepted or believed. In-fact as we read in the beginning in 2nd Corinthians 10:5, we are instructed to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And take good notice of that last part: to the obedience of Christ – not to your own obedience!
You are never instructed to attempt to stand on your own obedience! If you could, Christ would’ve never needed to come in the first place!
Instead, we are instructed to stand, and bring every thought captive to Christ’s obedience, because His obedience is perfect, and it is His righteousness which we have been given.
So when these negative and condemning thoughts come your way, you can rightfully and righteously disregard them, in favor of the knowledge of God in Christ. You are righteous, because that is precisely what God has made you to be. You are loved, for no other reason than because He loves you.
You are blessed and protected, because you stand in a completely righteous and holy position – as such, blessings and protection are yours. And all of this is all wrapped-up in the finished work of Christ for you.
Be blessed.