With The Perrys - Learning How to Think

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

We have to think about what we’re thinking about. Go back and read that again. Our thought life as Christ followers matters. It’s important we remain vigilant to identify and uproot the lies we���re believing, and to do that continually in community with the power of the Holy Spirit. This is part two of a conversation on the battlefield of the mind. If you missed The Work of Mind Renewal, go back and watch on YouTube or listen on your platform of choice: https://youtu.be/n2nHa8_mSzQ This Episode is Sponsored By: https://weekendtoremember.com - Register now for half price with code SAVE50 through September 21, 2026. - With The Perrys is a podcast where biblical truth meets honest conversation. Join Preston Perry and Jackie Hill Perry as they discuss theology, relationships, parenting, culture, and the everyday realities of following Jesus. With humor, transparency, and a deep commitment to Scripture, each episode aims to point listeners back to Christ, deepen their understanding of God's Word, and encourage faithful obedience in every area of life. Subscribe to the newsletter: ⁠https://withtheperrys.myflodesk.com/zhfus4jx1s⁠ Follow Preston: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/preston_n_perry/⁠ Follow Jackie: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/jackiehillperry/⁠ Follow The Perrys: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/withtheperrys/⁠ Join Preston's discipleship community for men: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/PrestonPerry/membership⁠ Shop BOLD Apparel: ⁠https://boldapparel.shop/⁠ ⁠withtheperrys.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey y'all. Y'all, y'all remember last week we started this conversation about renewing our minds, battle for the mind, all the stuff. We're back. Here's part two, have fun. Yeah, I think people who see things in people, but also those people are dealing with a lot of trauma in the past, and it's kind of skewed how they see people and how they move with people.

Oh, you said something about when you get rid of the fear. Oh, yeah. So when you get rid of the fear and you do feel like you're moving correctly, what then? Like, should we, like, when it's a healthy, you know, boundary to say, okay, yeah, I don't want you in my life like that no more. You know what I'm said? Because I think that's a thing as well. I think we have so much more instruction about cutting people off and creating boundaries than we do about reconciliation. and moving towards people and love.

Yeah. And this is, so I think it's healthy to do both. I really, and this is something I've been actively processing because the Lord has significantly been challenging me in the area of love and how I just, I don't love people as well as I'm called to. And it's all out of, it's sinful, but it's self-protection. And God hasn't called us to primarily protect ourselves. He's called us to love him and love others.

And one thing that's been in my mind is the lack of love communicates a lack of security in God first. And I come from John 13 with that. It says, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Ascariat, Simon's son. to betray him. So he is actually an enemy. He is actually possessed and means no good for Jesus. Verse three, Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hand and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from suffer, laid aside his outer garments, and basically wash their feet, including Judas. And so it seems as if the thing that anchors our ability to love people who we would

call unsafe is a security in the fact that God knows us. Yeah. That we, like it's an identity issue. Yeah. You understand what I'm saying? Yeah. And so it's like, my primary job is not to protect myself where I don't love people. My primary job is to love God and be loved by God that frees me to love others,

even others that might eventually wound me. Because Jesus washed Judas's feet. love your enemies. And I think one thing me and you were processing recently is that we have to develop the skill of being able to discern between a Judas and a Peter. If you have flawed discernment, you might think they're on the same plane

because they both were sinful. They both were broken. But one of them is actually like an enemy and one of them is a disciple who has flaws and just needs some patience and so forgiveness. You understand what I'm saying? I can't practically speak to how you navigate that. Go read Yon and Connor book on forgiveness or something.

But I feel like that's a starting point. Does it make sense? Yeah. You're not affirming me. No, no, it makes a lot of sense. It makes a whole lot of sense. Because I think being able to discern who's a Peter and who's a Judas is so important. Yeah.

You know what I'm saying? But also, too, one of the things I was thinking about was, you know, Jesus loved Judas, but he didn't give Judas the same access. No. And so I think that's also a thing as well. Right. Because I think what you're saying is absolutely true. And I'm thinking about the person who's saying, okay, should I just love everybody how

Jesus loved Judas or should I love them how Jesus loved John? Well, I think. Because that's different. I think if we're talking about thinking, you have to think about what you're thinking about. So how am I thinking about that person? That's good. That is then dictating the decision.

decisions I'm making in relationship with this person. Yeah. Because first and foremost, Jesus is perfect. So all of his thoughts are clear. All of his thoughts are good. All of his thoughts are good. All of his thoughts are wise. It's not skew about trauma. Ours are blemished and corrupted. And so we have to be mindful. First and foremost, do I see them as an image bearer first? Yeah. First. Usually we see the flaws, the sin, the problematic thing before we see the image in which they're made that automatically changes all the subsequent thoughts that we have. You understand what I'm saying? So I think we have to think about what we're thinking about.

And that's why the other passage that came to my mind, okay, so you know the passage about being a new creation? We read that as it relates to us often. But if you look at even the chapter heading, when Paul talks about us being new creations, it's in the context of relationships and reconciliation. And so he says from now on, therefore we regard, we don't consider anyone according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh,

we regard him thus no longer. Meaning the lens by which we think about people, particularly in the church, has to change. We cannot think about people purely, on a human level. Why? Because if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. He is a new creation. The old has passed away, but hold the new has come. Verse 18. All of this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So we talk about new creation. Like, yeah, I am made new, but it's saying, no, do you believe that the person in your

church that gets on your nerves is actually a new creature in Christ? That's how you view them. Therefore, if you're a new creature in Christ, I should always have. hope for you. I should always have consideration for you because I want to get I should be one to give you the same energy that I want from you. I am flawed. I am broken. I am in process. I am being sanctified. And it's like the same patience that you have for me as I am a new creation who is continually being recreated. I need to give that same energy. You understand what I'm saying? And so I think that's another part of the conversation is people are not, we should not only think of people, my hands are cramping because my sugar is high.

We should not only think of people made in the image of God, but we also need to think of our brothers and sisters in the faith as new creations of God. Those have to be the primary things that we are processing when we're hurt, when we're irritated, when we're scared. And I think that would change how we live. That's good. That's beautiful. That was a benediction.

It wasn't because we got more to say. Oh. You don't want to talk anymore? No, no, no. I do. Because you got people that's thinking. about a smack of cheeks. So I feel like we got to talk about that too.

Did you just say smacking cheeks? That's what you say all the time. I know. I was just like, you sick my... I've never said it before. Another word is just fornication. Yeah, lust is a huge, huge mind renewal. Huge, I think, because, man, the enemy wants to take both women and men.

But I just, I work with a lot of men, and we have to renew our minds. when it comes to to lust. But also, too, just to believe, you know, God is God. I remember, I think I told this story before, maybe at an event or on the podcast. But when I first came to the Lord, you know, I threw away all my Tupac CDs,

all my M&M CDs, I stopped smoking weed, I stopped stealing, I stopped doing all those things. But I will often find myself in, you know, just awkward and compromise situations with women. And I remember the second time I fell into sin, I felt really, really bad. And I felt like I wasn't worthy to be saved or a Christian anymore. I call myself walking away from the Lord. And I told this story before, but the Lord allowed something to happen to show me

that my heart was new. He was, to show me that even though you call yourself walking away from me, I still have you. And so after he showed him, showed me that the Lord began to minister to me in my room. And I felt like the Lord was showing me that I believe that he is powerful to take weed away from me. I believe that he is powerful to take, you know, certain secular music away from me. I do not believe that he is powerful to take that thing away from me. And I think a lot of times when it comes to lust, it is not that God is not powerful

to take that thing away. from you is that you don't believe that he's God in this area. You don't believe that he's God here. You don't believe that he's strong enough here. And I think a lot of times our mind tells us that this thing is too strong for God. And it's not. And it's really our unbelief that's making it a hard for our deliverance to come. And can I pause you? In that, in that, when you came to that conclusion, I'm curious, how often did you think about it and did at any point you pause to see if the scripture actually validated your belief system. Two years ago, I'm pretty sure I did.

You know, what, you said how often do I think about it? What do you mean? I'm basically trying to get under that usually when we come to such strong conclusions, it's because we've meditated on a lie more than we've meditated on the truth. During our time and weekend to remember, I thought it was very, very impactful. Because I just think that the way family life does ministry and how intention they are with helping married couples build intimacy, build connection is just key. Marriage can be hard.

It can be a very difficult thing, especially in certain seasons. And so we need ministries like family life to help us keep the main thing, the main thing, help us connect with the Lord and also each other. And I think they do a phenomenal job in helping married couples connect. Whatever season, your marriage is in. Intentional time together can really help you reconnect and grow. As Preston said, Weekend to Remember has more than. than 80 events across the country.

And for over 40 years, family life has helped millions of couples strengthen their marriages through just a weekend to remember. I think one thing that stuck with me with a weekend to remember is the degree of intentionality, theology, and instruction that was given from couples who have lived life for a long time. I think both me and Preston really also appreciated the different generational diversity that was there. It was couples that had been married since, I mean, Nixon was in office and people, you know, who just popped up on the scene with a lot of.

I do. And so I think it's cool to be in spaces where, like, you can learn and in part because of it. I also appreciate the transparency. People who share it was very transparent. It lets you know you not in this thing alone. Correct. So learn ways to improve communication, resolve conflict, and how to restore romance in your marriage. And right now, you can say 50% with Weekend to Remember's biggest sale of the year. So head to Weekend toremember.com and register for half price now with code save 50 through September 21st, 2026. That's Reekind to Remember.com code save 50. Yeah, yeah, I do think that because I want to be careful here because I don't want to be

those Christians who say, teach your fingers. I don't want to be those Christians to say, you're not delivered because you don't have enough faith. Right. Right. Because what the Lord showed me was, is I was holistically delivered. Right. God did not save me in portions.

I just didn't have victory in certain areas of my life because I didn't believe the Lord in certain areas of my life. And so my patterns remain the same. But I was still, deliverance is a location change. God took me out of darkness and brought me into his marvelous light. So I just want to be careful because it can sound like that. I'm saying that. I don't necessarily believe that.

That's not what I heard. I know. But no, I say it earlier. I'm just saying because of what I said earlier. I said earlier that God showed me that I wasn't walking in victory because I didn't believe that he was the God of this area. I know some people might hear it and say, yeah, you didn't have enough faith. And it was just like, yeah, but no, at the same time, it's like, no, I didn't have faith

in that area, but it didn't mean that I wasn't delivered. I was moving like I wasn't delivered. You're right. And so if a slave is taken out of bondage and brought into, you know, the land of Egypt, they can still move a certain ways that's not pleased. into Yahweh, like building the golden calf, but they're not in Egypt anymore. Yeah, it's the idea that I think

it might be hearing of time, I could be wrong, could be sojournal truth. Y'all can Google it. But like I freed a thousand slaves, and I would have freed a thousand more. If only they knew they were slaves. Right. And so how our mind,

because I think what you're saying in essence is we are free in Christ. Yes. We are free. But the areas where we are not experiencing that freedom is likely areas where we are not appropriating the freedom that Christ purchased for us. Absolutely. Right, which I'm saying is a stronghold. It's a strong, yes. It's a mental stronghold. There is a block in your brain and in your heart that says,

you're making like, well, the blood works for me there and the blood works for me here and the blood work, but for that, like, nah. Absolutely. That's a thinking thing. It is. And I think, and I think, some, I think some people come with wrong theology. They attach people with mental strongholds with a lack of deliverance. You ain't delivered. It's like, no. Like, think about the people of Israel who was taken out of Egypt into a land flowed with milk and honey.

They did a lot of the things that they did because they were slaves mentally, like mental slaves, they were still slaves in their mind. Yeah. And so it takes time for their minds to be renewed. And it takes time for our minds to. to be like, no, God, actually, like, I'm not there no more, you know? And so I think- I got a question.

I cut you all. Am I making sense? Yes and no. Okay. All right. Now I feel self-conscious. What's the question? You shouldn't, though.

Okay. Because that's a thought. Okay. That we can cast it down. Oh, yay. He coming into Hyundai. What's your question? Let me reflect back to you, what I think you're ultimately saying.

I think it sounds like a part of why you might think, what you said is convoluted, is because you're trying to defend how you think what you're saying would be heard. Yes. Right. Yeah, yeah. And so you're balancing, you're trying to exhort while at the same time make room for people not misconstruing what you're saying.

You better help me process helper. Ultimately saying, you better be a helper, pretty face. Okay. That we are free if we are in Christ. Right. And there are areas where we might lack freedom. And those areas don't necessarily mean that we are still. slaves to sin, it just simply means that there are areas of weakness and failure that are happening

because, but I think the confusion is you saying that it's not because you don't have faith when it was because you didn't have faith? Yeah, so, so, so I'm saying the lack of faith doesn't make me not delivered. I am delivered. I'm just saying if you, if you don't believe God for certain areas of your life, you still will fall back into sin patterns. But, it doesn't mean you're not holistically delivered from sin. That's all I'm saying. Can I use theological terms to delineate? Okay.

This is fun to me. I'm sorry. If you're in Christ, you have been regenerated. Yes. So you have a new nature. Yes. You have been atoned, meaning you've been cleansed. Yes.

And you have been justified, meaning you've been made right before the God, before God. And you are being sanctified. So regeneration, atonement, justification, that happens all at the same time. Sanctification is a process. And so therefore, you are delivered in the sense that you don't have any guilt before God, any condemnation, you are cleansed from your sins, you are forgiven from your sins, you are united to Christ. That is what happened. That's your position. Yet you are being sanctified, therefore that regeneration has to be like, like you are growing, you are processing.

you are processing, you are changing, you are renewing your mind. So though your faith saved you, at the same time, your faith is saving you. Doesn't mean you ain't saved, just means you're also being saved. Absolutely. So you're sanctified and being sanctified at the same time. Absolutely. I hope that probably comes. Now that makes sense because I think even if we, regeneration is a great thing to talk about,

but even if we just focus on justification and sanctification, what justification did it said, justified me in the eyes of God. God no longer sees Preston. As, like, like as he saw me before. Nasty, sinful, blasphemous, lustful, perverted, greedy, thieving, thieving. He sees me through the lens of Christ because of Jesus down on the cross for my sins, being the propitiation from my sins, he sees me through the lens of Jesus. I am seen through him. I'm justified in the eyes of God.

But sanctification is saying, no, and that goes back to the mind thing, which is connected to the lust thing. It's like, even I have been justified. I have been made right. That's what justification mean. You made right in the eyes of God. But in the sanctification process, your mind has to grow. You have to learn how to trust the Lord in different areas of your life, in different seasons of your life. It grows.

It continues to grow. And at that time of my life, even though I was justified. and God, I still did not, I didn't believe him like how I believe him now. And that's because I had to be sanctified. And so I fell back into sin patterns. My justified self fell back into sin patterns because I didn't know how to trust him. And my mind had to think differently about myself, about the Lord, about this keeping power, about me being kept in all of the things. And so I think people really have to, yeah, distinguish the two as it relates to their just

sanctification, especially when it comes to lust, because it could be a strong hold for a lot of people, particularly men. I want to ask a question, but then I want to read something. Let me read this and I'm going to ask a question. Romans 8 says, for those who live according to the flesh, set, settle their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit, where to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. I've got to say this because it's encouraging. You, comma, however, comma, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. And so, oh, I got to read verse 11.

If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. I bring that up in response to what you're saying because so much of the sanctification process and the war is remembering and believing and considering and simply thinking on the gospel. Yes. That's it. It's most of, because what you're saying is, yeah, you got victory over the weed, you got victory, you ain't stealing no more, you ain't punching people in their throat, like all of that. But it's like you, you, you're still struggling with these lustful thoughts because you're thinking that the gospel doesn't work for that. Yes. That the blood doesn't work for that. That's what I was trying to say. I understand. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm saying that the way you go to war for that, you have to get in a book. Yeah. You have to be, you have to like meditate on these things. You have to say, okay, but if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness, if the spirit of him, okay, the spirit of him is

in me, raise Jesus from the dead. He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Like, it's like a meditation. And that's what the enemy wants to get us in cycles in. And he wants us to meditate on our flaws, on our sin, on our brokenness, on our behavior. and he wants us to stay there and not press into prayer. Yeah, all the enemy, yeah, all the enemy wants is for free people to act like they're not free. That's all he wants.

He wants free people to move like they steal slaves. Because the Bible, the Satan means accuser. So that means that so much of the war in your mind is you actually wrestling with accusations about yourself. Yeah. The problem is, is that we have such a law. view of ourselves that we believe him. And so it doesn't sound like him, it sounds like me. Yeah, that's good.

And God forbid that you think talking crazy about yourself is humility. Can we pause what you just said? What? That was, you said it doesn't sound like him, it sounds like me. Yeah. How our voice can be so intertwined with the devil's voice. We assist the devil in attacking us all the time.

It's like, I'm going to wake up and help you today. It's like, yeah, I've had times. I think we said it was on another podcast where I'm just like, like, you trash. You did. That's so demonic. You're not. Like, you ain't never going to be this and da-da-da-da.

Trash. Because you're such a treasure, Bucco. Even now, I'm like, am I? But I'm like, you are. You're a treasure. Audio ads that connect. Display ads that stand out. Run them together on Spotify and unlock incremental reach for your campaign.

But I'm saying you could be thinking these thoughts and you think it's, you think it's, humility. You think it's like, you don't think that you are actually Eve in Genesis 3 having a conversation with the serpent. It doesn't seem like that is actually what's happening. And I think that's why you have to compare Eve in Genesis 3 to God and Luke 4. He does not have a conversation with the devil. He immediately moves to the book. If you are the son of God, accusation. If you are the son of God, son of God tell these stones to become bread. He immediately goes to Deuteronomy. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Our problem is pace. Yeah. We do not run to the word quick enough. We do not consider the word quick enough as it relates to the lie that's answered our mind. Yeah. And my question is why? What's the risk? Why?

Of not doing the work? Yeah. What's, because it seems like we, it actually is a benefit. to think on things that are good. The Bible says if you keep your, those who keep their minds on God will, he'll keep their mind in perfect pieces, something like that.

Like if that's the benefit, why don't we do it? There has to be a risk attached to believe in the truth. I think I know because if we're honest, sometimes laws comfort us more than the truth. They just do. I think, I think because if... Can you hit that bug?

Where are you going to? going to put it. Huh? But I just want you, I just want you to just admire my reflexes. That was amazing how I killed that. You see it? I'm going to leave it on for the rest of the episode.

That's disgusting. So I can, no, I'm going to leave it. I mean, look, I'm going to leave it on. I want to be proud of myself. This is. So what thought pattern is that? Where is that coming from?

Why are you thinking on that? That I want to be proud of myself? I just did something amazing. So I want to affirm that the speed of your hands was Abbaugh. You're not him. Mayweather.

Mayweather-ish? Preston. Zab Judah, at least. Preston. Oscar de laudier. No? I think what's coming up is a desire to be affirmed.

Yeah, I'd like to be affirmed by you. Affirm me. In light of not being affirmed in childhood or something. But go ahead. No, no. I do think that that laws comfort us more than the truth. do. Because I think that if

we've been wounded by people in the past, it is very convenient to say everybody's bogus because that lie makes it hard for people to hurt me again. And so

we walk around wanting to believe lies about people not because we've seen bogusness. It's really about us. It's really about self protection and not just self-protection, but also control. We don't want to believe that the God who is actually in control is the God that's in control.

Like we want to be our own gods. We want to protect ourselves. We want to, you know, yeah, like we want to move, how we want to move so that things when happening in. And I think lies do, they give us a false sense of comfort. And I think that's why we believe them. And I think that's why we, you know, entertain them. I also think, I think that's true.

I think it takes work to believe truth. And it's a risk because a lot of times to believe it requires some degree of surrender. You know, surrender to our surrendering ourselves, surrendering our fears, surrendering our pride, surrendering our ego. And so it's like when the Bible says a Philippians, like, you know, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That's a part of the working out is I refuse to believe a lie, even if the lie is easier to walk in than obedience. Yeah. You know, I think also, yeah, I don't know what I was going to say. Yeah.

No, I love what you just said, though, because I think a big part of working out our, P. Powell says, work out your salvation with fear and tripling. The reason why I love that sentence is because I think a lot of the work is believing in the work that took place. Right? Salvation was a work of God. Like, God worked out salvation in you. Right. And so he's not saying deliver yourself. He is saying work out like the people of Israel, going back to the whole deliverance part, they had to work out their salvation in a way. They had to stay like God used Moses to like, y'all cats are tripping, you know, and I think it's the same thing for us is really believing that the Lord has delivered us, but also believing that God has given us the power.

I think that, I think, I think, I think for me, that is a consistent reminder that I have to remind myself. It's not only has God saved me, but what salvation is, it is the power to say no to sin that I did not have before. This is the reason why the Bible says we are slaves to sin, but when we are Christ, we are slaves to righteousness. A slave, somebody who's a slave doesn't have the power. Like a physical slave doesn't have the power to say. It's Roman 6. Yeah, don't have the power to say Noah yesterday, master. but now he's saying now you do have the power to say no to that fear no to those lies no to that lust no

you just have to believe that I have given you that power you know and so I think that's so so I love the scripture that you read a couple of minutes ago because it is essentially saying how God has done done the real work and we have to the our work is believing that that work has taken place, you know. I'm listening. Yeah, the verse that came to my mind, Paul prays in Ephesians 1. He says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened

that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance and the saints, and what is. the immeasurable power of greatness, immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Even when you read Ephesians 1, if you really read through Ephesians 1 in particular slowly,

it sounds too good to be true. Why? He just said, having the eyes of your heart enlightened that you may know what is the whole, to which he has called you, meaning that there's hope, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance, meaning that there's a glorious inheritance in the saints, what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us, toward us, meaning, I mean, this is God who made heaven and

earth, okay? Have you ever seen Ender Seller? Yeah. You remember the Black Hole? Amazing movie. I was going to say cataract, all the stuff. Like, God made all of that stuff. And it's saying that this God has a measurable greatness of power toward us who believes, That's powerful. According to the working of his great might. But when it comes to anxiety in your mind, you don't believe that that greatness is for you. When it comes to lust in your heart, you don't believe that the immeasurable greatness of that. When it comes to difficulty in your relationships and your meriting and your parenting, you are so, like we are not Caleb and Joshua.

We are the other spies who go into the land and see the giants and think that the giants have more greatness than God. Teach us pretty face. And so it's like we have to become the two spies who say, know, like these giants is not to the Lord. But we have to do that in our hearts and in our minds. And that's why he prays because you cannot do this in your own strength. And you can't do it if you don't read the book. Yeah.

Because you don't even know that that kind of thing exists. That's good. That's real good. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. That's real good. And this is ministering to me because this has been my life. I'm going to be, I'm going to keep it a buck.

This has been my life, my guy. I'm like, okay, okay. like because I'll be knowing the Lord give me I like when I'm so serious I know yeah I'm so serious because like like people be like you evangelize so naturally I'm like I know that the Lord is with me I know I have power in that like I just know it like I like I know he going to quick in my mind I got ADHD he'd be like the Holy Spirit just be dropping stuff on me that's good my ADHD go away when I evangelize it but when it comes Go ahead.

God be empowering me in evangelism. I believe you. But when it be coming to like, I be seeing stuff, I'd be like, ah. Like, I grew up a certain way. I'm like, but I had power in that too. I just don't believe it all the time. It's just I don't believe it. I don't know.

You're discouraged? No, I'm just, I'm just, I'm going to pray. I'm a pray about that. One thing I listen to, this is a response to what you're saying. I listened to this conversation on YouTube last week about the mind. And he was talking about that passage that I opened up with about how, you know, we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And he was like, Paul is like giving us this image of a city, you know, who, you know,

it's like you have gone into the city and you are taking the enemies of the city out. So you're taking thoughts captive. He was like, the problem is, is that we take them captive once and we don't maintain vigilance to make sure that they never come back in. And the difficulty with taking thoughts captive is that all lies actually have a bunch of other presuppositions. So it isn't sufficient. It is. That's very true. It isn't sufficient to remove one lie and think that it hasn't, it doesn't have other roots.

Yes. Those lies. So that's a part of the work and the war. is that whatever lies you've overcome for evangelism, you've uprooted all of the baby lies underneath it. But it's like you've probably had victory in one area with one thought, but there are 16 other ideas that you have to battle to.

And it's when you do the work of uprofo. One, you've got to discover what they are. Like we don't have perfect self-knowledge, so the Lord has to reveal that. And then when he reveals it, then you got to find the truth that corresponds to the lie. And then you've got to do the. repentance required of sorry God for believing the devil with my apologies and then you got to say

God help me. It's so much work involved but you have power for the work. And here's the thing. I hope I'm not going backwards. That's fine. This is the reason why I want people to know that it is very harmful theology to teach you're not delivered. The reason why is because if we understand understand that God has done the work, but we're just simply not believe in him in certain areas. I think it changes, like, how we see scripture, how we see ourselves, and how we attack that thing. And I think people be like, people be like, like, focus on the wrong thing. It's like, no, like you have to start implementing faith in certain areas in your life

when you didn't implement faith in other areas of the life. Because God is giving you power over that thing. You know what I'm saying? And so I think for me, I know that the same God that can give me the power to go out of evangelize, it's the same power that can help me love this person. I know, like, I don't need, I don't need to be delivered. I just need to believe. Do you think sometimes we need to be delivered?

Because I think I'm using the word delivered in the sense of, I guess if a stronghold is a lack of deliverance in an area, yes. Okay. Does that make sense? You know, but I don't like the deliverance language as it relates to we're not Christian. Because I think I've seen that a lot. And that's like, yeah, I just think the way people talk about it is off in my mind. I understand.

You know what I'm saying? That's not helpful. So I think if we just start talking about just believing the Lord, you know, but also what you said, like uprooted lies. And that's the reason why I have a problem with people who go against therapy. It's like no therapy. Therapy and counseling, it does not necessarily do a lot. I think it does eventually does spiritual work.

But I think it gives you language for all of these lies that you believed in your life that makes it hard for you to have faith in certain areas. And so my prayers have changed after certain therapy sessions and after certain counseling sessions because I do think there's so many lies. that's kind of like entertaining one big lie about you and other people. And I think we have to say that the way out of

lies usually requires community. It requires it. Because that's a part of why Satan got an end with Eve in the first place is that Adam was there and he wasn't there. And so she's in, this war with the devil alone and by herself. In Hebrews, it says, exhort one another every day, while today is still today, so you will not be hardened by the deceitfulness, the lies that sin is

telling you. And I am somebody, I'm actually talking to myself. Like, there's so much darkness that can surround my mind almost daily. And I will, I don't have the strength. to fight it. I don't have the strength a lot of times to like, okay, let me do a Bible study on all the truths of God and turn on some William Augusto. And it said those places when you don't have the strength to fight that you're supposed to, like the fight might be just telling somebody that you're fighting. You know what I'm saying? So they can speak the truth over you. So they can encourage you. So they can help you unravel the way the devil got your mind twisted up. because I don't want y'all to think that to fight your mind or the lies of your mind is just a private project.

Yeah. It's a community project. Yeah, we need community. Correct. Yeah. And so I think it's reading the word, yes. It's praying, yes. It's fasting, yes.

But it's also doing that in community with people who will come against the lies that you're believing. Yeah. I was literally I was just thinking about this on the way home because I was. at a funeral and my cousins who just did five years in prison he was telling me about how every time he was in solitary confinement how he went crazy and it's like no that it's I think that's one of the most evil things you could do to a person it's inhumane it's inhumane because it is not good for men to be alone for men to be alone and all he had was his thoughts and he did not have anybody to tell him truth or to you know and I think a lot of times

I was thinking, I was like, man, the enemy be wanted us in spiritual solitary confinement. For sure. He'd be wanting us in the dark hole of our mind where only he can talk to us. And this is the reason why our community is so important is because God has always used other people to speak for him. You know what I'm saying? And he's going to use the body to help us get out of these lives. And that's the reason why the right community is so pivotal for the. the Christian. Because I even want to

break that down for a second because I think what could happen for people listening is you hear I need to get in community or be honest and transparent with the community

I have about the lies that I'm believing. You say that and then immediately a thought comes, well I can't trust her because it's so and so on I can't trust them because of da-da-da-da-da-da. And so you start to come up with reasons for why you shouldn't confess.

And I think some of those reasons are probably wisdom. Some of those reasons might also be another lie to combat the revelation that you just came to. And I think it's at that point where you cast your cares. It's like that's when you say, okay, Lord, I understand maybe I need to be transparent and be open with people. Can you show me who I should trust?

if it's one person show me who I should just send a little text to, give me wisdom, and then even protect me from their evil. Like, I will pray, I've started praying this recently. God help them love me well. I've just started praying that. Instead of me like being afraid, it's just like, no, give them wisdom to love me well, to show up for me well. So I'm already entrusting how they respond to me to God.

Yeah. You understand what I'm saying? And so I think pray without ceasing even when it comes to those types of things. Thanks. And trust that the Lord cares for you and is for you and therefore he got you. Yeah. And trust that he is the God that can do the work. Correct.

Not only in your heart, but in the people's hearts around you, you know what I'm saying? In the scripture in the Old Testament, we've seen God literally changed people hearts and made them move a different way when they were trying to murk cats. And so God is literally in control and he can do above beyond anything we can ask or think. That's Ephesians. Yeah. Okay. I think this was a great conversation. So read some Psalms, listen to some scripture.

You know what I'm saying? Oh, let me say it's real quick. I thought about 20 minutes ago. Something I'm about to do for myself is because I did it when I first got disciple and I feel like the Lord wants me to do it again, which is I'm about to do the work of writing down all the lies that I believe about God, about myself and about people. And then I'm going to go through scripture

and find a truth that counteracts that lie so that I have a reservoir of truth for when the common lies that I'm wrestling with come up. I think a part of that is also praying. You know, Paul says that we are not ignorant of the evil one schemes. And there's a lot of lies we believe

that we don't know our lies. And so the Lord has to reveal that and then reveal his text. so that when those lies come up, we immediately have something to fall back on. And so I think even doing that, just for your own heart and your own soul, I think that would be a process.

Like, I think we would find ourselves a lot freer if we did that kind of work. That's good. So. That's good. All right. Peace. Bye.

With the Perrys is produced by the Perrys with support from Amanda Reed and Channing McBride. Video recording and audio production by Matthew Baxter and Xavier Fairley. Edited by the team at Tread Lively. Artwork by Hawley. Thank you for listening. Now go with God.