“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
• Pulling Down strongholds starts with imaginations.
• Our bodies connect us to the earth. Our bodies help us to fulfill our assignment in the earth. God came to the earth with an earth suit, Jesus!
• God exists in three persons. Man is a triune being just as God is. This helps us to understand that warfare is not fleshy.
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23
• Mark 4 and Revelation 2 and 3 call us to have an ear to hear.
• HEART – Having an EAR to HEAR is the ART of being a Christian.
• When you have habitually yielded to every temptation of the flesh its not easy to then listen and obey the leading of the spirit. This is why we call the behavior strongholds.
• Fear is one of the greatest strongholds known to man.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
2 Timothy 1:7-9
• God has given us love and acceptance.
• Fear could also cause us to become ashamed of the people that God has called us to unite with.
• Fear separates you from the purpose God has for you.
• Don’t have a fear of man.
• Don’t walk ashamed of the testimony of the Lord because of what man will say.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
1 John 4:18
• Without a sound mind you cannot hear the voice of the Spirit.
• Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is what is needed to overcome fear.
“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
Proverbs 29:25
• A snare is a trap. A fear of man is a trap that prevents you from doing what God has called you to do.
“But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord : I have performed the commandment of the Lord . And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord , but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord ? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”
1 Samuel 15:9-24
• Saul was so caught up in people bondage that he did not obey the instruction of the Lord.
• In Galatians 2 Paul brings up an issue that he had with Peter in verse 11 because Peter broke his stronghold and was hanging out with Gentiles until the group came in with James. Peter withdrew himself from the Gentiles.
• Be who Jesus made you to be and don’t worry about what others have to say.
• Joshua 1:6-7 God calls Joshua to be strong and very courageous. He is telling him that he will face things that he will need to overcome. He tells him again in verse 9 to have courage.
“And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”
Joshua 10:25
• FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
“Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you.”
Joshua 23:5-6
• Today it is unpopular to live by the Word of God. We need courage to do what God has called us to do.
• If you’re looking for a time where your faith is not resisted or tested, the time will never come.
• Jesus calls us to live without fear.