Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind...

by Louie Giglio

Your new mindset tells you that God is faithful. You remind yourself of this truth. You remind yourself and remind yourself again. That constant reminding begins to change the old patterns that led you to defeat. Sin is not the end of the story anymore.

How do you refuse the Enemy a seat at your table? You must start from this place of identity. You remind yourself that Jesus has already won your struggle. And because you are joined with Him, something powerful has already happened. Whatever He has won, you have won. You are in Christ, and Christ is in you.

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 endure it”

God is faithful. When you rely on Him, He will provide a way out.

In short, you remind yourself you’re a saint. Does it surprise you that the Bible calls you a saint?2 Maybe you hear that word and think, Nah, my grandma is a saint. Me on the other hand? That’s a little dicey. But it’s true. This is how you are referred to in Scripture. The word saint simply means that you are a “holy one.”

Thanks to the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13, we might get tempted but we don’t have to sin. There’s always a way out.

a seed had been planted in the spies’ minds. They tended that seed and let it grow and acted on it, and as a result, they wandered in the desert for the next forty years. They never tasted the promises of God for their lives. It didn’t have to be that way, in the wilderness never tasting God’s promises—not for them, and not for you and me today.

The archangel Michael was contending with the Devil and used these words: “The Lord rebuke you!” It means that I’m acknowledging that Jesus has the power and that Christ is in me.

Why do you specifically pray or rebuke Satan in Jesus’ name? Because the power doesn’t come from you. It comes from Jesus. Because you need to use the name of the One who has all power and authority (Matthew 28:18).

One for each day of the week. Imagine the results if you concentrate on thinking about admirable things for a whole day. Or grab hold of a specific scriptural truth for the day, such as these: Monday. My God knows my name. (Isaiah 43:1) Tuesday. My God goes before me. (Deuteronomy 31:8) Wednesday. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) Thursday. My present suffering pales in comparison to my future glory. (Romans 8:18) Friday. No weapon formed against me will prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) Saturday. I am a child of God. (Romans 8:16) Sunday. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me. (Ephesians 1:18–20)

“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

By your actions or attitudes of the heart, you have fallen short of the glory of God, and you are responsible for it. You are guilty.

Shame is a powerfully destructive force. It causes you to feel as if you’re unworthy of God’s love, acceptance, purposes, or plans.

Repentance is not a negative thing. Your act of admitting guilt opens a doorway called grace, and God comes to you through that doorway and does for you what none of us can do for ourselves.

“No, I’m not going to exterminate you. I’m going to exterminate your guilt. Your guilt is taken away. Your sin is atoned for.”

The Enemy wants to define you by your scars. Jesus wants to define you by His scars. The grace of Jesus Christ removes your old identity and replaces it with a brand-new identity.

Grace not only cancels guilt and shame; grace redefines you.

(As a side note, can we just celebrate the fact that even if we deny Jesus, God still moves on with His plans? Even if we’re faithless, God is still faithful.)

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” That’s the voice of God.

Sin is what was done to you, or sometimes it’s what you did, but sin is not who you are. You are family. You are a daughter of Almighty God, or a son of Almighty God.

We’re captivated by who He is and all the goodness He has for us. We win the battle for our mind by focusing firmly on Jesus.

To truly know God, you have to learn to linger with Him.

You learned the difference between knowing a lot about something and truly experiencing something up close.

God made it clear to me that I had a choice in life: I could be a person who knew about God, or I could take up the invitation to truly know God.

When you look into the love of God and study the love of God and meditate on the love of God, then you come to know love as one of God’s most extraordinary attributes.

When it comes to knowing God, He invites you not to settle for surface knowledge. He invites you to a deep and personal knowledge of Him where you can explore His grace, His love, His mercy, His immensity, His purity, His holiness, and His omnipotence.

“Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.”5

With your eyes locked on Jesus, your worship will be uninterrupted. And your worship will become your weapon.