Where Did That Thought Come From

From The Vine

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

Have you ever heard of an incident where a crime was committed and the perpetrator later testified, "I was just driving down the road," or "I pulled up in front of the liquor store and suddenly it entered my mind to just go in and tell them to give me all the money or else!" Or, "I don't know what happened, we were arguing and suddenly I was standing there with a gun in my hand and they were lying dead on the floor." What would make a mother hold a defenseless child under the water to drown while bathing them? What would cause a loving father to take his handgun that had stood vigilantly by protecting him and his family from intruders and destroy himself with it?

Pick a scenario, there are hundreds, ranging from assault to rape. Our lawyers and courts of law call these occurrences "temporary insanity" since they have no other explanation. Those of us who are aware of the evil forces of Satan all around us might term them "temporary possession". If you're a Christian and think this is something that only occurs in a movie or it simply doesn't fit into your theology, you'll probably want to tear Mat. 9:33, 12:12, 15:22, 17:18 out of your Bible. Oh, don't forget the account of the Gadarene demoniac in Mark chapter 5, just to mention a few.

What I want to talk about for a few minutes is something that many ministers and mature Christians, sadly, won't mention simply because they would see it as an admission of guilt. This is a grave injustice to younger Christians and shouldn't be. I'm referring to those filthy, evil, murderous, vindictive, out of the worse kind of gutter, heathen imaginations that break into your mind at the most inopportune times totally reeking havoc with whatever you're doing. Maybe you're reading the word, worshipping in church or probably worse than all these, communing with God in prayer! As most people will admit, there is no such place as "nowhere", so to say these things came "out of nowhere" is a misnomer.

A dear brother and pastor of a fairly large church once said to me with a look that was part puzzlement and part horror, "Brother the other day I was on my knees really interceding when out of nowhere the most obscene words began to pour into my mind…….Have you ever experienced anything like that?" I felt honored that he had shared this with me and assured him that yes, all kinds of thoughts had invaded my mind, especially during my time of prayer. Since that's the time you're doing a lot of damage to Satan's world, it stands to reason that he would assault your mind worse then.

The apostle Paul wrote these words in Romans 7:21, 25. (Amplified Bible) (21) So I find it to be a law [of my being] that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to it's insistent demands. (22) But I discern in my bodily members---in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh---a different law [rule of action] at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs--in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh. (23) O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death? (25) O thank God!- He will! Through Christ Jesus, the Anointed One, our Lord! So then indeed I of myself with the mind and heart serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Note: Paul wasn't speaking of a belief in "dualism" here as some would have it……

Satan is hyperaware of the war that exists between our reborn spirits, which desire to delight in the precepts of God's law and walk after His will for us, and our body, (the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh). Make no mistake, he and his demon helpers have been observing man for many lifetimes and we have only one. These planned assaults on our minds will either titillate the senses or bring feelings of guilt. We need to be aware of his methods and prepared to win these battles. We have to recognize what's going on and realize that the enemy is Satan and he works through our physical bodies and imaginations. Then we must refuse to surrender them to him. The word declares in I Cor. 10:13 (New International Version - Holy Bible) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under its. God provides a way out, He gives us the tools, the weapons, to defeat the enemy. II Cor. 10:4,5 (New International Version) (4) The weapons that we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish (demonic) strongholds. (5) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Last point: Because our forgiven and reborn spirits live in bodies of flesh, we are subject to the "slings and arrows" of the enemy. Bearing that in mind, we must remember that if we embrace the intrusive thinking that we've been discussing; if we toy with them, "savor the flavor" if you will; we have put ourselves right in the middle of Satan's playground. When we step off God's soil onto the enemy's turf we are bound to lose the battle, and it will likely be a long and arduous journey back to where we began. Again, God provides the way out, it's up to us to use it…………………….

"The Husbandman
   is never nearer
   the branches
   than during pruning."
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