Dr. C. S. Lovett
MARANATHA FAMILY NEWSLETTER
July 2024
HOW SATAN USES YOU!
We can see Satan’s hand at work in three areas—DOUBT, DEPRESSION, AND DISCOURAGEMENT. Where does he do his dirty work—in our minds! That’s right. Since he is a spirit, he does not operate in our hands and feet or any part of the body but in our mind when our guard is down. That bit of knowledge offers the key to VICTORY OVER HIM. Once a person learns to shift the focus of his mind from one idea to another, he can powerfully meet the devil’s attacks and defeat him.
SOUND EASY?
To shift your mind from one IDEA to another is a matter of focus. It’s not easy, especially if you’re confronted with a thought that is threatening or painful. The shifting of ideas is a matter of MIND OVER SPIRIT and that takes a little more doing than mind over matter. To do it, you have to work within your spirit. Ideas are spirit. We can’t see them or hear them, yet we can SUFFER from them. When we suffer from an idea, we call the process WORRY!
The devil loves to bug us with ideas. That’s his chief weapon for afflicting us. He cannot harm us physically, at least not directly. He cannot touch us, nor can he manipulate our circumstances, but he does have the power to drop ideas into our thinking and do it so subtly that we think his ideas are our own. That is the secret of his strength—access to our minds.
If those ideas are threatening or distressing, he’ll have us turning and tossing all night long. We spend hours agonizing…“What if this,” or “What if that?” If we suffer the agony long enough, we can damage both spirit and body and even end up in hospital beds, put there BY OUR MINDS!
THE POWER TO SHIFT IDEAS IN OUR MINDS
It takes practice, but almost anyone can learn to shift his thinking from one idea to another. The person who LEARNS HOW gains fabulous power over his thought life and himself. Without argument, the devil can assail us with awful ideas, jealousies, doubts, fears, suspicions, resentment, and bitterness and these can plunge us into discouragement and depression. As powerful as these ideas are, we CAN turn them off with a FLIP OF THE SWITCH.
God guarantees “Sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14). By this He means, if a sinful, tempting, terrorizing, or depressing idea lodges in your mind, you don’t have to feel helpless before it. It need not plague you. You can go “CLICK” and shift to godly, exciting ideas, such as your meeting the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). However, this ability DOES NOT come automatically. A person must work at it. It comes only with practice.
WE NEED TO LEARN THIS
There is no such thing as automatic victory in the Christian life. Believers have to FIGHT all the way. And the battlefield is the Christian’s mind. The only way to victory is to discover BY EXPERIENCE that the believer’s mind is a SUBSTATION for the power of the Holy Spirit and that we can use that power to develop a disciplined mind.
If we don’t, our thoughts will be like bees flitting from flower to flower, creating a perfect set-up for Satan. When the mind rambles without discipline, the devil has no trouble inserting tempting ideas into our thinking and we never suspect a thing. Then evil thoughts occur that shouldn’t be there. If we permit the process to go on (and we do), we end up victims and we sin (James 1:12-15).
WE ARE THE PRODUCT OF OUR THOUGHTS
“As a man thinketh in his heart,” said Solomon, “so is he” (Prov. 23:7 KJV). Knowing this, the devil does all he can to lower our mental standards. He knows God has put us in charge of our thoughts. Consequently, the devil continually tries to pull down our defenses and weaken our foundations. The unguarded mind is easy prey for Satan. Let a Christian be hazy on the facts of salvation, and the devil has no trouble sowing seeds of doubt. Then watch that Christian suffer, all because he doesn’t recognize what is happening in his mind or know what to do about it.
Let a believer find himself in difficult circumstances (which God has arranged) and Satan will whisper, “God doesn’t care about you. You’re being abused. The situation is hopeless.” Then watch that Christian accept those suggestions and go into despair. Or again, let a Christian encounter a failure in something he has tried to do for Christ and watch the devil pounce on him. “You see,” whispers the devil, “you really can’t do anything for Jesus—you’re a failure. God can’t use you.” If he believes that lie, the devil will wipe him out with discouragement. Without argument, we have to sit on top of our thought life. We have to keep our thoughts under control.
THREE STEPS TO THOUGHT CONTROL
Don’t be afraid of “thought control.” It’s not mind science. It’s a biblical necessity. Does not the apostle Paul tell us to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 1-:5)? Therefore, let me offer three steps:
1. SET A TRAP FOR SATAN. It is possible to catch Satan in the act of dropping an idea into your mind. When you do, you are instantly convinced of his power. But never fear; in that same instant, you can take authority over him and order him away. Then comes the thrilling part. He MUST FLEE on your command. That’s a promise of God’s Word, “…Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Do not be afraid to do battle against Satan. The armor of God enables you “to stand your ground when things are at their worst” and “quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph. 6:10-17 NEB).
2. The second step has to do with FAMILIARITY with Jesus—continual association with Him. Call it practicing the presence of Christ, if you prefer. How does this help? The more you are with a person, the more his thinking infiltrates your own, and the more you imitate him. The same is true of Jesus. The more you are with Him, the more you become like Him.
3. The third step is truly powerful. The apostle Paul warns us against being CONFORMED to this world and asks us to “BE TRANSFORMED.” He also tells us how “By the RENEWING of your mind” (Rom 12:2). That’s what this step is about. Once you learn how to RENEW YOUR MIND, you have the secret to victory in every area of your life.
HOW TO RENEW YOUR MIND
You set your mind as God wants you to be—confident, exuberant, brimming with hope. You picture yourself as the Word says you OUGHT TO BE. THEN YOU BELIEVE IT. It’s that simple. I submit this is a truth we live with all the time. Romans 6 says, “Reckon yourselves dead unto sin…” But ARE you “dead to sin?” No. We all sin. Yet we are to SEE OURSELVES as “dead unto sin” and believe what we see. Where do we do this? In our minds. This is the renewed mind.
That is what triggers God’s power in us. THE MIND is a substation for the power of God, and that power is unleashed through faith. We gradually become what we believe we are—in Christ.
CAN WE DO THIS?
Not on our own. We’re already such VICTIMS we are powerless without some outside help. And praise be to God, He has help for us—HIS WORD. You see God’s Word can also fashion ideas in our minds. And His ideas can erase Satan’s ideas—if you believe them. Just reading them won’t do it. You must take God’s Words to heart and believe them. Then see what happens to your DOUBTS AND DISCOURAGEMENT! If you can bring yourself to believe what God says in His Word, then Satan’s power is broken at once. But if you won’t bother to open His book, then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself when doubt and depression overwhelm you. Nothing can match the thrill of wiping out the devil’s work…
IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
C. S. Lovett
Copyright © 2024 Personal Christianity
TESTIMONIES
SATAN DEFEATED: “I must tell you what never happened to me before. I know Satan was at the root of this. Last night I was reading your book, LOVETT’S LIGHTS ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, and meditated on what I had read about little white lies. Well, today I went to the store, buying several items. The clerk gave me back $18 and some change. When I got home, I realized the error and called them. They thanked me for being honest, but they didn’t know that the thrill of this was Satan being defeated because I didn’t keep the money. I was being tested so I said 'Thank you, Lord. I am trying to be more like You.' Thank you Dr. Lovett for helping me!" (A.K.—NY)
CHANGING LIFE: “I just finished your book, DEALING WITH THE DEVIL. I have been a Christian for 3 years and wondered what was wrong with me since the changes hadn’t taken place. Thanks to this book, I now know it’s the control the devil has over me. Your book is changing my life! I’m sharing this knowledge with others to spread the word. Thank you for the help I have received.” K. L.—IN)
ENRICHED ME: “I have just completed your LIGHTS ON ROMANS and my Bible knowledge has been enriched beyond measure. Besides, the Bible class I teach has now come alive each Sunday. Your work is not only alive but meets today’s needs! May God help you to give us more of these fabulous insights.” (Mrs. J.T.—TX)
RESOURCES
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON ROMANS (2024): 360 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99 HERE.
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON ACTS (2023): 407 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99 HERE.
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (2022): 372 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99 HERE.
LOVETT'S LIGHTS ON JOHN (2021): 381 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $15.99 HERE.
WITNESSING MADE EASY (2019): 213 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $14.99 HERE.
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL(2018): 242 PAGES. Available on Amazon.com for $14.99 HERE.
THE PREPARED LIFE (2017): 159 pages. Available on Amazon.com for $13.99 and is also available in Kindle form for $7.99 HERE.
(You may also be able to purchase these books from your bookstore or
a Barnes and Noble store can order them for you.)
CONTACT US:
Personal Christianity
PO Box 918
Middleton, ID 86344
www.cslovettbooks.com
info@cslovettbooks.com
"Preparing for His Appearing" since 1951
