The Giant of Strongholds
5 Stones of Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We began our series on the 5 Stones of Faith a few weeks ago. We got that from 1 Samuel 17:40, which reads…
He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
David used one of the stones to kill a real giant named Goliath, but we can apply the concept of the five stones as we try to conquer the metaphorical giants in our lives.
· The Giant of Doubt
· The Giant of the World
· The Giant of Fear
Today, we will try to defeat the Giant of Strongholds!
When you think of strongholds, what comes to mind?
• I often think of medieval castles with a moat around them to protect those inside from potential attacks.
• Another thought that enters my mind is some form of spiritual or mental battle waging in my soul or heart.
Physical structures like strongholds served two purposes.
• They were designed to protect.
• They were also meant to keep people captive.
Spiritual strongholds are much the same.
• We can have strongholds of protection.
• And we can have strongholds that keep us trapped.
Typically, we tend to emphasize the negative aspects of strongholds in the spiritual realm. If we were to define a stronghold, we might say…
Strongholds = deeply rooted negative thought patterns, beliefs, or behaviors that hinder a person’s relationship with God and spiritual growth.
Strongholds exist in many shapes, sizes, and forms.
Common Strongholds:
fear
anger
bitterness
unforgiveness
Negative experiences can trigger strongholds:
physical and verbal abuse
family dysfunction
life failures
Coping mechanisms can develop into strongholds:
drug abuse
alcoholism
pornography
How is it that we develop these strongholds?
Building Strongholds
We believe a lie (Everyone else seems to have it all together).
We develop feelings or fears (I must be a total failure).
We counter these feelings or fears with actions or reactions (If I take this drug, drink this drink, or look at this picture, it will make me feel better about myself).
… Of course it doesn’t, and it triggers a chain reaction, leading us into this vicious cycle where we become captive to a stronghold of sin.
All of us, if we're not careful, can fall into the trap of a stronghold. King David, in 2 Samuel 11, got himself caught in a stronghold.
Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.
David, it seemed, began to believe he was truly something. He had forgotten that it was God who worked in and through him to achieve a great victory over Goliath. It was God who had chosen him as king and had granted him many victories over his enemies so far.
But David stayed in Jerusalem when he should have been out on the battlefield.
David believed the (LIE) that he could be a successful king and ruler without God.
Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
David saw a woman bathing and then let feelings of lust grow.
David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, “I am pregnant.”
David’s lust led to adultery, and in an effort to conceal his sin, he even resorted to murder.
David was defeated by the Giant of Strongholds.
The question we must ask ourselves this morning is:
How can you and I avoid the mistakes that David made, as well as the mistakes we have made or are currently making in the strongholds of our lives?
Can Victory Be Achieved?
The answer is a resounding YES!
The first key is to recognize our enemy.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (strongholds).
We can't overcome strongholds in our lives through only fleshly means. That's why so many of us remain defeated.
No amount of self-talk and counseling alone can break strongholds
Stubborn willpower alone will not succeed
Accountability groups don’t work by themselves
While these things can be good and even necessary in some cases, we must couple them with Godly thinking.
Strongholds will fall when we fully submit ourselves to God, but until then, most of us will remain trapped in a defeated cycle by the stronghold holding us captive.
May I suggest the…
The Three P’s of Defeating Strongholds
The Three P’s of Defeating Strongholds
We believed a lie and need to replace it with truth (Instead of everyone else seems to have it all together, we need to state we are a child of God!).
Position
Position
Truth is found in our Position
Satan wants us to remain in our failures. If he can keep us defeated, then we cannot be useful to God.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Truth! We are a new creation. We are no longer slaves to our past.
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Truth! Although I am here physically, God already sees me in heaven seated with Christ!
Result? I don’t have to believe Satan’s lies because God sees me through Christ!
1stP is our Position
2ndP is our Provision
Provision
Provision
We developed feelings or fear (Instead of 'I must be a total failure,' God’s grace is greater than all my sin).
So often, when we are not thinking the way we ought, we believe that we are lost causes or that our sins are just too bad for God to truly forgive. Therefore, we are no longer usable by God.
The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
God’s grace is so vast that we can’t out-sin it, and it is His grace that should motivate us to love Him more.
It should be God’s grace that helps us love others.
It should be God’s grace that prevents us from giving in to wrong thinking.
1st P is our Position
2nd P is our Provision
3rd P is Power
Power
Power
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
Again, this is not power within ourselves, but it is by the power of the Holy Spirit working within us that we can, by the grace of God, take captive every thought that would cause us to stumble.
How can we overcome strongholds in our lives?
Understanding Our Position in Christ (We are no longer slaves to sin).
Recognize that no matter the sin or temptation, God’s grace is greater.
Start, by God’s grace, to take control of every thought.
These battles we face are not only earthly but also spiritual.
David, long before his sin with Bathsheba, was running for his life from King Saul. He understood that he needed God to fight his battles and that God had to be his stronghold and rock. During this time, David was successful in defeating the Giant of Strongholds and he wrote this Psalm.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Is the Lord your rock and fortress this morning?
Are you being defeated by strongholds, or are you taking every thought captive and overcoming them?
If you need someone to pray with you or want to talk about an area you just can’t seem to conquer, I want you to know that both I and the deacons love you and are here for you.
Let’s pray.
