STRONGHOLDS: ARGUEMENTS

2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5

Last week, we went deeper into our study on the HS!

We talked about two different phrases in the Bible about the HS.

We talked about indwelling of the HS. We talked about according to John 20 and Ephesians 1 that when we hear the good news of Jesus Christ and believe in Him, we receive a deposit of the HS. He is our guarantee of the promise of eternal glory.

We talked about how He is a person of the trinity that we need to pursue a healthy trusting relationship with. That we must choose to surrender daily and trust Him more so that He can be more of who He is for us.

He can only do in you what you trust Him to do in you.

So, we went to Galatians 5 and Romans 8. We studied the second phrase, walking by the Spirit.

We talked about the daily and hourly battle for the mind to think about either the flesh or the Spirit. That a mind set on the flesh is death but a mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. And how less of me means more of Him and means that He can produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life.

I challenged you to start your day, everyday by waking up and choosing to walk by the Spirit and do everything that you can to think about the Spirit.

Well, can I ask you a question?

How did that go for you?

Did you start the week strong and fizzle out?

Did you even start the week?

Did you find that there is a lot of things in your mind that made it difficult?

Did you think thoughts like, “I’m not sure I can do this?” or “I’m not even sure this will make a difference.” or “I’m too busy to really apply this.” Maybe you didn’t say that last one but that’s what happened.

I said, last week that we were going to talk about two other phrases about the HS this week, filled by the HS and baptized with the HS.

But the Lord caused me to pause and analyze what was difficult about this for me and maybe we need to sit on this goal for a few weeks first.

See, the enemy is against you and I doing this in our lives. The enemy hates words and actions like surrender, obedience, submission and humility.

So, when we talk about decreasing in our minds so that the HS can increase in our minds and lives, the enemy is not happy with that and will fight back.

When that happens there is something that you need to know about, the enemy may have strongholds in you mind and life that need to be exposed and torn down.

The mind and your life is a war over territory. Over setting up camp.

You need to know this, before you knew Christ, before you received Christ, you were completely in enemy territory. But once you hear the good news and put you faith in Christ. Once you God deposited His HS inside of you, the enemy was push back. You were made new. A new creation.

I need to make sure I say this. I do not believe that the idea that a believer can be possessed by a demon or the devil can be supported by scripture.

The word and idea of possession implies ownership. And once the Jesus Christ has put His HS in you and put you in the Father’s hand, nobody, no demon, and even satan himself cannot take possess of something that God has in His hand. I want to be clear about this.

I do not believe that a Christian can be possessed. But I do believe you can be oppressed by the enemy. And I believe that the enemy can set up strongholds in your life when you allow him to.

We are in a spiritual war. The enemy will attack you and your family. I don’t say this to scare you. In fact the point of these next few messages are for you to be encouraged and for you to be able to push the enemy back out of your life and family.

Its time for you and me through the divine power of the HS take back some territory in our lives that the enemy things he has won!

(Water and glass example)

The Spirit desires to fill you so that you can receive all that He has to offer for you. All of the fruit!

So, lets take a look at our main passage and set out minds towards the first of three types of strongholds that could be keeping us from experiencing more that the HS has for us.

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Okay so this verse is acknowledging a few important things off the top.

We naturally walk in the flesh. Last week, we talked about this from Romans 8 and Galatians 5. But we are striving to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh.

It acknowledges that we are at war.

It also shows us the this war cannot be fought and won by the strength or your flesh. We often try to defeat the enemy through our own strength without the Lord and its a losing battle! Trust me! I’ve tried it!

But this verse is a verse of hope! Our weapons of the flesh are inadequate. but we have access to a divine power that destroys strongholds in our lives!

Destroy them! Take a bulldozer and level them to the ground!

But when we allow strongholds in our lives (drop rocks in the jar), we are limiting what we are allowing the Spirit to do in us and through us.

But we must pull them out! This process called sanctification so that you can be more filled with Him and His fruit! I must decrease so that He might increase!

Its the Lord’s desire that His church be rid of strongholds so that it can walk more filled with His HS so that His kingdom would advance. So that the world might know!

This passage then gives three specific types of stronghold that we have the power to destroy.

So, let’s look at the first one.

We are going to specifically focus on the first one.

Verse 5 is a compound sentence.

It says arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.

But’s take out the lofty opinions for this week and dive into it next week.

So, the stronghold we are focused on is

WE HAVE DIVINE POWER TO DESTROY THE STRONGHOLD OF ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

This is describing arguments made against the knowledge of God.

Let me say it another way.

Disagreements with the knowledge of God.

Let me say it still another way.

Disagreements with the truth of the Word of God.

And yet once more,

Untruths raised against the truths in God’s Word.

And finally

Lies against truths of God’s Word.

Arguments raised against the knowledge of God is lies made against the truth of His Word.

Its basically saying, God said this, but I’m going to argue with it and say its wrong.

The world is consistently arguing against God’s Word.

Satan loves this tactic in His warfare. Look back at the garden. God said one thing. Satan made slight arguments and twist to what was said. He compromised the truth with slight lies which untrue!

He is making this arguments in our culture and society today! Surely, He didn’t mean this… or that...

But these attacks are not just from society, they are in our minds too.

We are constantly bombarded with lies and arguments raised against the truth in God’s Word.

Lies about who God is.

Lies about who you are in Christ.

Lies about the what is possible and impossible with God.

Lies about others around you.

Lies about victory and defeat.

Lies in our minds like:

There is no way God can still forgive me.

God doesn’t listen when I pray.

I just can’t read or understand the Bible.

I’m not good enough or smart enough to contribute.

God doesn’t care about these small issues in my life.

I can just handle this myself.

I’m too busy to have a quiet time.

I will always just be a... blank

or I will never be able to… blank.

Lies in our lives and minds are everywhere.

Look, first we have to recognize where this lies come from.

John 8:44 ESV

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The enemy is the father of lies and arguments against the knowledge of God!

If something is said or a thought comes to mind, compare it to God’s Word. And if it doesn’t align, REBUKE IT AS A LIE!

Do NOT sit on it! Do NOT fester on it! It doesn’t matter if it makes sense or seems like it might be true. The enemy is tricky! What he told Eve was really close to the truth. It seemed right… It made sense...

Look this is daily life for a believer. We have been given armor to combat these lies as they come at us.

We have a helmet of salvation that should filter what we hear through the truth of our salvation.

We have a sword of truth that cut down the lies of the enemy and push him back.

You really do have to take every thought captive and compare it!

I know that it seems over whelming to do that. But that is where the HS and meditating on God’s Word become vital!

As you pursue knowing God and not just head knowledge but experience God, know Him, when something comes into your life or mind that doesn’t look like, feel like, line up with what you know and have experienced in Him, it will shoot up massive red flags! And then you can take it to the Word.

As you grow in knowing God and trusting the HS leading, you will begin to recognize the lies as soon as they are presented to you.

Its like a rock skipping off the top of the water.

That’s daily life for the Christian, however, I do not believe that is what our 2 Cor passage is talking about with stronghold.

I believe that stronghold are areas in our minds and lives that the lies of the enemy have become truth to you.

Or let me say it like this, a lie becomes a stronghold in your live when you agree with it.

When the enemy makes an argument against what the truth is in His Word and you agree with it, you have just given the enemy territory in you mind and life to steal, kill and destroy.

You surrendered that ground to him and any area of our heart and mind that we have not submitted to Christ is area that is vulnerable to attack from the enemy.

(drop a rock into the water)

Your belief is the brick and morter form the walls of the enemy’s stronghold.

Does this make sense? Does this resonate with you?

I wonder, if even talking about this, the HS is already bringing to your attention some lies that you are agreeing with?

Or maybe you need to read Psalm 139 like we did for homework a few weeks back and pray verses 23-24

Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

The first step is to recognize the stronghold. Ask the Lord to bring to your attention. To expose it to you. or maybe you already know the lies you agree with!

But stop and call it what it is, a stronghold.

And then don’t make excuses!

Adam tried that. It didn’t work.

One of the things that the enemy hates the most is humility. Humble yourself before the Lord and admit that you have a stronghold and that you have been putting your belief and faith in something that it is not true. Confess to Him that you have been believing a lie!

James 4:7 ESV

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Then repent!

Don’t fear that word! Don’t flinch at it! Don’t let pride well up and skip this part!

To repent means to turn away from. To repent from strongholds of lies is to turn away from them! Turn away and face Jesus!

When the lies start to come to mind, turn away from them and turn to Jesus! Call them lies and run to the truth!

Stop adding bricks and morter to the walls! Stop adding belief to the lies! Turn away from the lies and believe the truth!

And the last thing is this, remember that you are not fighting for victory. You are fighting from victory!

Write these down!

Ephesians 1:19–21 ESV

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Colossians 2:13–15 ESV

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Listen, the enemy has no power except the power that you give him. When you give him belief, you give him power in your life.

You are not fighting for victory! You are fighting FROM victory! The battle has already been won!

Walk by the Spirit! Set your mind on the Spirit and it is life! For you were not given a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The Spirit is the key to the divine power of God to destroy these strongholds. Set your mind on Him, turn away from the lies, and rely on Him, our spiritual weapons.

Stop believing the lies and walk in Spirit of truth and the truth shall (say it with me!) set you free!

The Lord wants you to be set free! The Lord wants you to walk in freedom for these strongholds!

The more of these strongholds that you and I remove (pull out rocks) from our lives, the more what, (add more water) room we have from Him to fill us with His Spirit and produce more fruit in your life.

Let’s kick the enemy out of our lives and stop giving Him territory in our lives. He is defeated! Walk in that victory!

Remember, our goals from last week. We are striving to be a people that walk by the Spirit daily. That wake up in the morning and choose to walk by the Spirit by setting out minds on the Spirit and not on the flesh.

When we have strongholds of lies that we agree with in our lives, its going to be harder for us to walk in the Spirit of Truth.