Strongholds

Pray

We’ll I’m excited this morning as study scripture together, Are we’re going to wrap up our study in 2 Corinthians, and tie in the next 3 weeks into a mini sermon series entitled Modern Warfare. And I just want you to know up front, where we’re headed for the next few weeks.

So, Today will be our last message in the book of 2 Corinthians. And we’re going to be talking about destroying strongholds in our lives. Next week, we’re still in Corinthians, only we’re going to jump back to 1 Corinthians 12 and look at gifts of the Holy Spirit and how God uses us, as one team for his glory.

Then 3 weeks from now, we’re going to look at Love in 1 Cor 13, and how Love is the most excellent way of making an impact for Christ.

But as we talk about Modern Warfare, I want to consider historic warfare. You see…

I’m reminded of a story that dates back to June 25, 1876. And at the time, Mounting Tensions between the US Government and the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians came to a halt at the famous battle of little big horn.

Now, In the days leading up to the attack, the Indians tribes under the direction of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse , strongly resisted the government efforts to confine their people to Indian reservations. The story goes, in1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota’s Black Hills, the U.S. Army ignored previous treaty agreements and invaded the region. This betrayal led many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. By the late spring of 1876, more than 10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a camp along the Little Bighorn River.

Then, At mid-day on June 25 1875, 600 men under the command of lieutenant colonelGeorge Custer entered the Little Bighorn Valley. Among the Native Americans, word quickly spread of the impending attack. The older Sitting Bull rallied the warriors and saw to the safety of the women and children, while Crazy Horse set off with a large force to meet the attackers head on. Despite Custer’s desperate attempts to regroup his men, they were quickly overwhelmed. Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and all of his soldiers were dead.

You see, we read this story this morning and I want us to see that ultimately, Custer and his men had great intentions… they had great bravery and even heroic efforts on display… but despite their best efforts, they weren’t prepared for the massive attack that day.

For you, in your life. Many of us have battles taking place inwardly. Sin, anxiety, doubt, worry, fear, all kinds of thoughts that enter our mind… That if we’re not careful, would love nothing more than to stay, and remain with you. By the way, the enemy is quite content with this too, as he’s perfectly fine with you living in captivity…

But this morning, God wants to break down strongholds in your life… and give you freedom. For we’re told:

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Church, God desires freedom for you his morning, and yet there are certain steps that some of us have to take in our lives. So, If you have your bibles, turn with me to 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

And here’s what we’re going to do. 1st. We’re going to discuss this concept of strongholds 2nd. The weapons to demolish strongholds

So, Let’s first look at the scripture together as we discuss this idea of strongholds.

1 Cor 10:1-6 tells us 1By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish 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. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

As we read the scripture this morning, you may notice an abrupt change in Paul’s tone in comparison to the last few weeks in 2 Corinthians. Last week, in 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul addresses this idea of generosity in the church, the week before we looked at Godly sorrow and also forgiveness, and these topics, and others were designed for the entire church, for the majority of the Corinthians. In chapters 10-13 however, Paul would address the minority within the church who are unrepented and acting in opposition to the church.

Paul would write: By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.

So we see here, strong language being used to address his opponents. He explains, he may be “timid” or meek in person but “bold” in his letters. So from the start of this chapter, Paul is addressing the naysayers in the church, but his goal is that through this letter, he may not have to be as bold as he expects to be in his return visit to Corinth in just a few months.

Then he goes on to explain in verse 3: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

And for a moment, Paul would address the weapons that Christians use to fight with. And it’s not worldly means, it’s not tanks, or guns or other sort of physical weapons. Instead, these weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds: 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

That word power, being the word dynatos and by the way, it’s the same Greek word from where we get the word dynamite. In other words, the weapons we fight with have explosive, divine power, to demolish or destroy strongholds.

You say, well what’s a stronghold? I think it’s important to take a moment and really hone in on this word.

1. the first definition, A stronghold, or ochyrōma. by definition, is a castle or a fortress.

2. Anything on which one relies

3. Finally, it’s the arguments and reasonings by which a contender endeavors to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent.

And so here, Paul is addressing minority of opponents still within the Corinthian church. and he’s letting them know plainly that despite their arguments and reasonings, through which they contend him and the gospel message… that ultimately, there’s no match.

That ultimately, they’re fighting a losing battle because: “4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

But here’s where else I want us to consider strongholds this morning.

You see, for those living in the city of Corinth, would receive this letter discussing the stronghold or fortress, and when they saw this word ochyrōma. They would automatically, make an association with their cities acropolis. You see, for those living in Greece at the time, every major city had an acropolis which was a fortified place that inhabitants could retreat, when attacked.

By the way, I’ve been to the acropolis in Athens, during my time in the service… The same very streets that Paul would have witnessed and preached at. And it’s beautiful.

But here was the problem… as the attack was taking place upon the city. The enemy would lay siege to the stronghold.

And here’s what we need to know… because a stronghold or fortress was difficult to occupy… the enemy, would lay siege to the fortress because it could not be easily taken through quick assault. You see, a siege was necessary when the inhabitants would refuses to surrender. And a siege would involve surrounding the target to block the provision of supplies and the reinforcement or escape of troops. The problem was that as people would stay in these fortresses or strongholds, they became prisons in time.

What once was used as a fortress to run to in times of trial, soon became a prison that they could not escape…

You see, you can be redeemed this morning, you can be a Christian. And You refuse to surrender or give up to the enemy… but, You may have a stronghold on your life. Just think about that word this morning. It’s made up by 2-parts… strong… hold. And for some of us, we’re redeemed this morning… but the enemy can still have a strong… hold… on a certain part of our lives… thereby, we’re not living in freedom this morning… instead, we’re living In captivity in our mind.

You see there are 2 types of strongholds in a person’s life. 1 stronghold is one that we’re stuck in… like a prison and we just want freedom from there. The other type is more like an Airbnb then it is a prison and we’re okay staying there.

You see, some of us have gotten quite comfortable in these strongholds… we’ve turned this fortress into an Airbnb; and we’ve moved in for a while. We’ve gotten comfortable here over time… I mean, when we first moved in, it was new territory, we were unsure how long we’d be staying… but now that we’ve been here, we kind of like the place. We’ve bought a new couch, we’ve got a fully stocked fridge (if you want something), and oh we even have the latest plasma 75 in tv with all the channels. I mean, we’ve made this fortress, our castle, and God is saying enough is enough.

Galatians 5:1 says: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Church, Jesus came to set you free from your sin. And God didn’t send his son, for you to run back to your old Airbnb.

You see, if you have a stronghold, you probably don’t need reminded of what it is. It could be an addiction, alcoholism, pornography, drug use, over eating, over spending, gossip, fits of rage… you name it… that’s your fortress. Maybe it’s fear, anxiety, stress, worry… It starts here (In your mind.) But God’s desire this morning. Is to destroy this stronghold.

But you know what the good news is this morning? God is in the demolition business! God is in the business of destroying things in your life that don’t line up with his word. And yet… we have a part to play.

You see, we have to start… by calling a spade a spade, by calling sin, sin, and by asking God to reveal to us the areas that don’t line up with his desire for your life.

Psalm 139:23-24 says : 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Church, are we willing to do that this morning? Are we seeing if there are strongholds in our life? Ways that don’t line up with his desire for your life? Church would we be willing to look to Him, and to ask Him to do the work that only He can do in our life.

2. The weapons to demolish strongholds

We continue in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6: 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish 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. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

So, after identifying the fortress or stronghold. We now transition to this idea of destroying and demolishing the stronghold. And I want us to see plainly how we accomplish this. Paul writes in verse 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. Okay… so what are they… The scripture continues.

On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish stronghold. (And here’s the key) 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. So When we talk about demolishing strongholds, when we talk about our weapon, It is the word of God, the Bible.

And we’re told. and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (in other words, there is action on our end… with our thoughts) Finally verse 6 states: 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.And again, in verse 6 we see this concept of readiness that is evident. Not this passiveness but a readiness which is at hand.

Paul here as he writes to the Corinthian church, addresses false apostles within the church. And he brings to their attention that he will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, but again… here’s the key in the fight your using the word of God.

For the next few moments I want to focus more on the word of God but then also on the important of our mind. We could also add, others things, like the importance of our prayer life and accountability… but let’s just look at word of God for a moment as our weapon.

Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

So I want us to see that there is an element in being ready. There is this preparation as we put on the full armor of God. And on your own, I would encourage you to go through and study each of these components in greater detail. But ultimately we’re ready… and we use the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God to fight our battles.

Psalm 119:11 says: I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

In other words, we must be prepared to fight, using the word of God. We see this in the wilderness as Satan compares Jesus. That with every blow dealt by the enemy, that Jesus met these attacks with the sword; with the word of God.

But there also is action that we must take in our minds. going back to verse 5 for a second, we’re told: 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.

This word taking Captive means in the Greek: To lead away using a spear. Again, we go back to this idea of the thought that comes into our mind… if it doesn’t align with God’s word. (think of spear of the sword of the Lord…) than you have to take it away and kill it.

How do you do this? Here’s the key, when a thought comes into your mind… we have them all the time… if it doesn’t line up with God’s word. Then literally rebuke the thought. Say “I rebuke this thought.”

Or, if you’d rather, when a thought comes to your mind that is counter to God’s word.… Replace the one evil, or negative thought…. With scripture to counter other thought.

For someone who worries a lot for instance…. If you have thoughts of worry that come into your mind… you may need to memorize scripture about worrying…

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

For someone who struggles with saying rude things… (I’ve heard about these people.)

Ephesians 4:29, NIV: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

The key is… for some of us this morning, we have strongholds in one area of our life… one area, that has been set up over time… and we have to use scripture to take down these strongholds…

Even if it’s 10, 50, 100 X’s a day… You use the truth to replace the lie… and the strongholds will come down.

The bible tells us: 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. You see church, Satan can’t handle the truth. There is divine power in God’s word… , we must use this to demolish the strongholds in our life… and by the way… as we do this…. You know what happens? We start to see transformation take place. We’re no longer enslaved to the old us…

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Church, God is in the business of renewal this morning… but for us, we must be willing to take action… we must be willing to use the sword, we must act against our thoughts, and by the way, we must prayer, we should have accountability partners in place… we should be taking action…

And as we do, the enemy won’t have a fortress in our lives, in which he can occupy. That thing will be gone.

I’m going to call the worship team and the elder back up at this time…

And as they come forward… we’re Going to prepare for communion.

But here’s where I want to challenge you for a second… where does God want to set you free this morning? Where is God tugging on your heart? What strongholds perhaps have you allowed in your life that you want freedom from?

James 5:16: Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Communion