Week of April 21

Introduction (Leader's Read)
Have you been in agreement with the Enemy? Have you been allowing his thought seeds of envy, worry, doubt, fear, insufficiency, pride, lust, to take root in your heart? You’ve been letting a murderer and deceiver influence your life but, you can “Move to Victory!” You can have your thoughts line up with God's righteous character. You can have the mind of Christ. Jesus already made the way for you through the work of the cross. The reason you keep finding yourself in bondage is because you haven’t learned how to take those thoughts and bind them, to make them obedient to Christ. You no longer need to be held hostage to the Enemies plan for your life. Break off your agreement with the Enemy by binding those thoughts in the all-powerful name of Jesus.

SCRIPTURE

Numbers 13:31-33 …and so we seemed to them.
Proverbs 23:7 “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Taking every thought captive.
Matthew 28:18 All power and authority is in Jesus' name.
Colossians 2:8-10 Do not be taken captive. The head of all rule and authority is in you.
Colossians 3:18 Do all in the name of Jesus.
Philippians 4:8 Think and play offense in your thoughts.

OBSERVATION

Q. How would you describe the depth of your relationship with God? How does your relationship with God change you?

Q. How has the Holy Spirit helped you to reject the Enemy’s lies and embrace God’s truth about His power over sin?

Q. How can prayer and Scripture reading become a stronger weapon in the battle for your mind?

Q. What offensive steps can you take to focus your mind on the goodness of God’s grace?

APPLICATION

At BeLoved, our mission is to lead people on a spiritual journey to know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and to make a difference!

What might be your next step this week? Decide to follow Jesus? Invite a friend to come to church with you? Participate by jumping in on a team to serve? Give financially?

If you are unsure what your next step might be. Ask your City Group host to assist you? Ask Jesus to illuminate it in your heart. Check out our resource page on https://www.belovedchurch.ca/next

This week: Begin each day with investing 15 minutes of your day to fix your gaze upon the Good Shepherd. Pray for 5 minutes, worship for 5 minutes, and read Scripture for 5 minutes.

Begin your week by picking a Scripture verse of the week.  Work to memorize it over the next few days. Pray over your verse. Concentrate on your “verse of the week” for a whole day. Share it with someone, talk about it, and write something down about your verse. This will be a week that you can begin stepping into your victory by examining your thoughts against the truths in scripture. When you find thoughts that are not in alignment with God’s truth, take it captive, and bind it in Jesus’ name. Quote your “verse of the week” and fight back to win the battle for your mind.

PRAYER

Jesus, thank You for giving us Your Word. Thank You for providing a tool and weapon to play offense against the Enemy and his thought seeds through your Word. Teach us how to use your Word to fight. Thank You that we are fighting from a place of victory. Help us to recognize that we are in a position of strength and not of weakness because of Your finished work of the cross. Lord, we break off any agreements that we have made with the Enemy. We bind every thought that is not of You. We desire for our thoughts to line up with Your righteous character. We desire the mind of Christ. Thank you! Lord, help us to concentrate on Your truths, to share Your truths, to memorize Your truths, and to step into the victory for our thought life that You have already won. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!