The Mind Matters - #244

Satan’s primary strategy in his war against God is to attack your mind. He knows that if he can impress your thinking, he will impact your living!

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com

Transcript

Satan hates God more than anyone in the universe. Satan wants to hurt God more than anyone. Satan knows that God loves you more than anything in all creation. Therefore, his surest way to hurt God is to attack the love of God’s heart—you.

Satan’s primary strategy in his war against God is to attack your mind. He knows that if he can impress your thinking, he will impact your living!

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #244 entitled “The Mind Matters.” 

Isaiah 26:3 says, “[God] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [Him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him]!” 

What a powerful promise! When your mind is totally focused on God, you are in a place of complete safety. In that place you’re able to experience the quiet contentment and soundness of mind that is true, genuine peace. You can have complete confidence in God, no matter what may be happening around you, all because your mind is fixed on your Heavenly Father!

When your mind is “steadfast” — when it is leaning entirely upon God for everything you need — God promises to keep you in the place of peace. And not just any peace — His perfect peace.

That does not mean you won’t have any conflict, trouble, or trials. Paul describes this peace as a “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Even in the midst of the fiercest of storms and most challenging tests and trials, it’s a peace that “will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) 

No matter what may be happening around you, no matter what the situation, the conflict, the trial, or test — no matter what — when your mind is fully focused and fixed on the Father, His perfect peace will guard your heart and mind. You will not be sucked under by the powerful pull of the enemy.

When you fully trust in the Lord with ALL of your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6), when you choose daily to place your utmost confidence in the Savior of your soul, you “will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

Did you catch that? The trials of temptation will come. You will experience the heat of drought. But when your trust and confidence is firmly placed on God, even in the midst of the temptation and the trials - you will bear fruit!

Criminologists have learned that whatever a criminal’s specialty — burglary, theft, arson, etc. — they almost always have an “M.O.” (modus operandi—Latin for “operating method”). Each criminal has a particular way of operating and will tend to adhere to that way whenever perpetrating a crime.

Did you know Satan has an M.O. as well? Paul says of Satan, “We are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) In other words, we already know his modus operandi (operating method). That means as a born again believer you don’t have to go into battle against your spiritual foe ignorant of the tactics he’s going to use against you.

Consider this: Satan attacks your mind with lies to turn you against God’s will.

God’s will is revealed in God’s Word – 2 Timothy 2:15 calls it “the word of truth.” Don’t miss the significance of that statement. God’s Word is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – absolute truth absolutely.

James warns us that when you choose to just listen to God’s Word and do nothing about it, you are being deceived. That is exactly what Satan wants—he wants you to be deceived. In fact, he is a master at deception. Jesus said that Satan does “not (hold) to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:43-44) Revelation 12:9 tells us that Satan is “that ancient serpent ... who leads the whole world astray.” The fact is: Satan is a master deceiver.

With that background on the Devil, listen as I read to you from Genesis 3:1-7.

“Now the serpent (referring to Satan) was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3:1-7)

Remember, as I stated in the opener to this episode … Satan hates God. So, what we are seeing here in Genesis 3 is that Satan wanted to attack God. He chose to do so by attacking the one part of God’s creation that meant the most to Him. Interestingly, Satan didn’t go for a direct, frontal assault. Nor did he use some form of excruciating torture. He simply started an outwardly innocent conversation focused around one simple goal: to change the way Eve thought about God.

Remember, if he can impress your thinking, he will impact your living.

Here is a critical point: Satan attacked Eve’s mind. The Apostle Paul declared “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Satan uses that same method on us as well. Why? Because “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) What you think will eventually become what you do. When your thoughts are focused on King Me, your choices and actions will be for King Me. That’s why we are commanded (in 2 Corinthians 10:5) to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” That’s why we are to think only on the things that are “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8) That’s why, as we see in Colossians 3:2 we are to daily set our minds on the things of God, and – as Romans 12:2 commands – we are to be transformed by renewing our minds … changing the way we think.

Satan wants to draw you away from the Almighty God of the Universe. He hates God, and he is going to try to use you to hurt Him. So, if we are not ignorant of his devises, if we are going to prepare our minds for the action of protecting ourselves from his deceitful lies – what must we do?

In the next couple of episodes, we are going to take a brief but powerful look at the 3 subtle steps Satan took to get Eve to sin and discover that he still uses those same 3 steps today to lead you into sin.

Before I wrap up this week’s episode, I have a request of you. If you’re a subscriber to this podcast, then you know that I very rarely mention this. So, please understand that the fact that I am talking about this indicates its vital importance.

Our time here on earth is running out – of that I am most certain. All too soon God’s trumpet is going to sound, and our Heavenly Father is going to call His children home. And as His child, I feel the irresistible urge, the undeniable draw to make these last days ones that are completely and unreservedly focused on glorifying God in every aspect of my life. I am firmly persuaded that God has given me a very specific focus – a for-the-rest-of-my-life assignment.

In Acts 20:22, 24 the Apostle Paul says  “I am bound by the Spirit ... I don’t know what awaits me, But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”

For me, I am bound by the Spirit to the task of pointing men and women toward the power of Christ and the impact that God’s Word can have in their everyday lives. I am compelled to show them from Scripture how to live in victory and freedom.  

I don’t know how many more years God is going to give me – but I am committed to dedicating every one of those years to this ministry ... and I’m asking for your help.

If you share our desire to see men walk in godliness, integrity and live in purity – I am personally inviting you to join our team of financial partners! Through the financial gifts that come into this ministry – we are able to pour into the hearts of both men and women, investing in their lives, their marriages, their homes and even their churches - training them from God's Word how they can live free from addiction to porn, lust and masturbation ... all to the glory of God.

Without compromise The Pure Man Ministry shows men and women how to have a continuous relationship with Jesus that is real and personal. To that end we are asking for your financial assistance to partner with us in providing hope and helping men win their personal battles. 

Your gift in any amount to this ministry is not only deeply appreciated – but it is also tax deductible! As we are nearing the final stretch to the end of 2025 would you prayerfully consider helping us not only end strong but start 2026 with the funds needed to keep this ministry going well into the future?

If God is placing it in your heart to help support this ministry, you can visit our website at ThePurityCoach.com and click on the “Donate” button in the upper right corner to give your tax deductible donation today or contact us for further information –  and help us can reach the world with the message of hope, healing, and holiness through a dynamic relationship with Christ. THANK YOU!

OK, I’m going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode. In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com.

One of these powerful resources we are making available to you is my book called “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory.” You see, saying “No” to temptation and choosing to live an upright and godly life is a daily decision you must make. Every time you are faced with a temptation, you are also faced with a decision: Do I give in, or do I stand firm in my faith and fight it? Do I yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit and live to glorify God, or do I focus on King Me and give in to my fleshly desires? 

This book “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory” presents, in a very clear and practical way, how to live a life that is holy and pure, how to say no to sin and live by the Spirit in a way that glorifies your creator, your Savior, your Heavenly Father. So, head on over to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Overcoming Temptation: 4 Steps to Spiritual Victory.” or just look up my name, Steve Etner, and purchase your copy of any of my books today. 

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.