Demolishing Spiritual Strongholds
Notes
Transcript
Illustration of war
Illustration of our mind 100 acre field
Oswald Chambers said, “If I am going to know who Jesus is, I must obey Him. The majority of us don’t know Jesus because we have not the remotest intention of obeying Him.”
Please stand for the reading of God’s holy Word.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Pray
Thank you. You may be seated.
This morning I aim to show you how our adversary is determined to establish a stronghold on our territory which is our mind and how we can fight back.
We speak of revival but let me be clear as long as there are strongholds and high places in your life, there can be no revival.
The good news is that the weapons of God are more powerful than the weapons the of the enemy.
Revival: The sovereign activity of God whereby he renews his people individually and corporately in vigour, affecting both sincerity of belief and quality of behaviour.
revive 27 NKJV
14 times in Psalms
9 times in Psalms 119 alone.
Let’s look at 3 of those.
25 My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.
3 times it says revive me according to God’s word.
This morning we will use God’s word to find the weapons needed to demolish strongholds and tear down high places.
Revival requires confession!
Revival requires confession!
confession is the first weapon we must have in our arsenal
An old song says that sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay.
enemy tells you to do it
then he tells you “I can’t believe you did that”
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Revival requires repentance!
Revival requires repentance!
Repentance is our next weapon we must have to stay in the fight.
68 times repent is mentioned in the NKJV Bible
To confess means that you agree with God, that you call sin what God calls it. When you genuinely repent of your sin, you won’t minimize, rationalize, or generalize your sin.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
if there is not repentance there more than likely is not salvation
Revival requires obedience!
Revival requires obedience!
obedience is the secret weapon that allows us to walk in oneness with Jesus Christ
28 times is obedience mentioned in the NKJV Bible
As in all things Jesus is our example of obedience as well.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
What does it mean to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
2 Kings 23 and 24 tells us of King Josiah.
after the Scriptures were found he literally went to every thing that was not of God
He demolished every strong hold, every high place
25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
He heard the Word of God and did what it said and went down as the most obedient king ever.
What strongholds and high places are you allowing the enemy to set up in your life.
are you willing to confess them
13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
any sin that you cover, He will uncover.
any sin that you uncover, He will cover.
we are at war
are you prepared
confess, repent, obedience, revive
invitation