Part II Dr. Kenneth Jones Pastor, Practical Living Ministry
Why can t I move forward in my Christian walk? Why am I struggling just to understand the basics of God s Word? Why am I not having better relationships in my life? Why am I not having the success I desire in my life? Why do I keep experiencing a recurring sickness or emotional setback? Why is my marriage falling apart? Why do I feel that I am not fulfilling my ministry? Why is it so difficult to learn and study God s Word? Why am I not as faithful to God and a local ministry? I feel like there is something holding me down. Does something have a strong hold on me? Well, you are probably RIGHT!
2 nd Corinthians 10:4,5: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 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; Pulling down demolition; bringing to extinction God s plan is to demolish spiritual strongholds. Confusion oppression Immoral thoughts Unbelief pride fear Self-pity anger bitterness
2 Corinthians 10:5 - 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; Casting down demolishing High thing an elevated structure i.e. barrier, rampart, doctrines Exalteth itself - to be lifted up with pride or above a doctrine or principle Into captivity to capture one s mind Thought - a mental perception, thought; an evil purpose
Carnal, worldly ways of thinking and doing are arguments against the mind and methods of God. They want to debate God, saying they have a better way. When we start to think and have carnal thoughts, we must stop our thoughts, take dominion over them in Jesus The choice is yours! We can choose to stop our thoughts, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
There are a lot of teachings regarding spiritual warfare as it relates to the Battlefield of the Mind. However, is it truly a battlefield? Most teachings infer that it is being able to think or assert positively or just shut down Negative thoughts. I believe that much of what is involved with demolishing strongholds is a matter of choice, Faith, and Submission. The battle comes when we find ourselves in conflict with what God s Word says. For the Unsaved Person, he is dead to this issue as he is led about by his reprobate nature. The carnal Christian has usually made his/her choice to think on and live after the flesh. It is the believer who is daily renewing his mind as part of the process of sanctification where this is so important and the battle is concentrated more towards one s spirit than one s mind. Satan wants a diminished spirit, which he works to achieve through your thought life, so that you may be hindered in your walk with God, unable to experience victory, and incapacitated in fulfilling God s purpose.
Rick Renner s Two Types of Strongholds: Rational - strongholds in the mind that make sense! You see, your logical mind will always try to talk you out of obeying God. In fact, if you don t take charge of your mind, it will begin to completely dominate and control your obedience to God. Irrational - These primarily have to do with completely unrealistic fears and worries, such as a fear of contracting a terminal disease, a fear of dying early in life, an abnormal fear of rejection, and so forth. If harassing thoughts persist in your mind and insist on controlling you mentally and emotionally, you must deal with them straightforwardly with the Word of God. Take your thoughts captive - If you take your thoughts captive, then your thoughts cannot take you captive! Whether those strongholds are rational or irrational, you can take authority over them and cast them down Source: Rick Renner Ministries
Concealment You may not be aware that you have them or become so functional with them that they are carefully concealed in your daily walk Most people have become so functional with strongholds that they may no longer see them developing in their own territory Heavily guarded usually a spirit is associated with each negative, unproductive, harmful thought (spirit of fear, envy, or jealousy) Fortified and Entrenched - Hard to remove the longer it is allowed to occupy & remain, the harder it is to pull down They re in the highest hierarchy of your thoughts meaning Ascending above godly, scripture, and faith That s why they have to be pulled down God s Word reveals the control of Satan in our lives, through strongholds. Satan uses strongholds to launch attacks on us. Therefore, we need to identify where these strongholds are, and remove them 8
2 nd Samuel 22:3: My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. Psalms 18:2 - 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. The Lord is my stronghold meaning his high tower of refuge where he could see an enemy from a great distance and be protected from the adversary. When we are in Christ and abide in the presence of God, we are not only protected from the adversary, but we can see the enemy from a great and more advantageous position. Nahum 1:7 - The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
The Empowered Thought is the thought you choose to esteem above God s thoughts To the unbeliever who is unaware of those things pertaining to the Spirit of God. He or she is defenseless against these attacks with no knowledge, weapon or tools to resist. The believer whose mind is being renewed by the Word of God is more aware and is able to prove what is that good and perfect will of God God is Good!
A Ticket allows Entrance You have to Allow or submit to the thought What thoughts are you giving admission/permission to? Some of our negative thoughts have a Seasons Pass in our minds Reasoning Thoughts of Depression Fear & Anxiety Witchcraft & Occult Lusts Philosophies Imaginations Strongholds develop when you not only admit or allow thoughts but when you also allow them to reside there
When identifying your strongholds, survey or examine the attitudes in your heart and every area in your thinking Any system of thinking that causes you to act contrary in faith, in spiritual fruit, depriving you of joy and health is a stronghold, which must be pulled down. What are these thoughts producing in your life? How are these thoughts impacting your daily life, spiritual walk, or ability to function? Do you have uncontrollable desires that are difficult to restrain? Habitual weaknesses or sin pattern Addictions or out of control areas Unwillingness to seek help or deliverance Do you find yourself incapacitated by your thoughts? depression, fearful, not growing spiritually etc. i.e. restlessness, 12
Use the Right Weapon The Word of God (Sword of the Spirit), Praise (Psalms 8:2) (Immobilizes the Enemy); Spirit Assist (Empowered Ability to Resist and to Stand) Don t forget to submit to God s Peace It will act as an umpire in a baseball game Philippians 4:7) Submit Your Mind and Do Not Give Ground to Satan the extent of your submission to Christ is to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of His Word. Casting down arguments: The word argument in Greek means logic or understanding. We are to pull down false ways of thinking, or false reasoning. Avenge by doing a good work When the enemy attacks, we counterattack, encourage ourselves in the Lord and recover all (1 st Samuel 30:6)
To be effective, we must obey God s directive and take action against any thought that contradicts the Word of God Destroy Arguments Punish Every Disobedience Take carnal thoughts captive In War, to be successful, you must destroy the enemy and his fortifications and deny him of full use of his weaponry. Second, you must take captives and break the enemy s will to continue Third, you root out all remaining pockets of resistance. any loose doctrines or teachings that will keep the enemy down and rendered harmless Isaiah 23:11 - He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
Pulling down strongholds is not just limited to when we have thoughts, but we need to always rooting out spiritual error, seducing doctrines, worldly knowledge that contradicts the Word of God. Process of Demolishing Strongholds Confront that Thought with the Word of God- Well, what if I don t know the Word? Answer: Go to a better church. Do a good D.E.E.D. Discern, Examine, Evaluate, and Determine if that thought or what you are thinking fits the requirement of Philippians 4:8 and of faith and truth. After you have done the D.E.E.D., Pass Judgment on that thought and choose whether or not you are going to continue considering that thought, participate with what these thoughts are influencing you to do, or to demolish or cast down that thought or imagination that contradicts the will and word of God.
STAY ALERT! If you want to sustain your victory, you must properly secure your thoughts and conquer any straggling thoughts that could creep up out of hiding places and take you over. 1 Peter 1:13: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; Gird up prepare your minds for action; pick up all the loose straps and attachments so you won t be hindered as you move forth Two important things, stay with the unit and stay in the foxhole: In other words, find a church that preaches the Word, and stay in fellowship get in that foxhole with others
These are those loose ends that exist in our minds and emotions; Incorrect ways of thinking that we know are wrong; Those dangling areas in our thinking that haven t been submitted to the Word of God or resisted by drawing upon the power of God s Spirit These straps can only be removed by the authority of the Word of God If we fail to gird up then we are choosing to permit things to exist in our lives that will hinder our steps and slow us down in our spiritual growth and in our ability to successfully walk with God!
Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. In order to change our thoughts, we have to change our minds (or at least mindset) copyright@plm TEACHINGS A transformed mindset comes from a renewed mind. Ephesians 4:23 - and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 6/7/2017 18
Pride Pleasure Priorities Proverbs 16:18 Galatians 5:1 Arrogance and Vanity We place ourselves on the same level as God Prevents you from humbling yourself before God to receive deliverance Put Self Before others Focus on sex, substance, and self gratification Associated with the spirit of Perversion Inhibits Self control, & sanctification, preventing us from being Pure before God God is never first Seeks to please men Motivated by fear and unbelief Hidden in Good Intentions Blocked from Considering your ways (Haggai 1:5,7)
Prayer/praise Presence/power purpose Stills the Enemy and the Avenger (Psalms 8:2) Allows for communion with the father Requires submission of our will Focus is on God and Not Self Intercession is for others Praise Encourages Us as We Bless the Father Prayer of Repentance will break the Stronghold In His Presence is fullness of joy & Strength (Psalms 16:11) which overcomes depression and Anxiety In His Presence, God s Power is released to Heal, strengthen, Bless, Increase wisdom & Knowledge, Reveal and Expose Strongholds, & Comfort, Reviving the Soul There is also Peace, Mercy & our Faith is Built Up (Jude 1:20) Purpose to Choose and Purpose to Obey Reconcile with and Restructure your thoughts consider your ways (Haggai 1:5,7) Will cause you to hide God s Word in your heart (Psalms 119:11); Order Your Thoughts and Your ways (Psalms 119:113) Without purpose there is no desire nor motivation to change
Keep Your Mind pure - Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Have you noticed a pattern in the temptation in your life? Do you typically fall into sin at the same places or with the same people? Do associations with certain people, places, and things produce thoughts of fear, depression, anger, bitterness? Choose to stay out of those places or stay away from those people and activities that would cause you to have ungodly or improper thoughts. Be Careful What You Allow Before Your Eyes - Psalm 101:3 I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. Do you have a stronghold of lust because you are always on the internet observing pornography? There is an expression, Your eyes are the entry to the soul. We should be careful what we place before them for long periods of time.
Establish Accountability to Someone if these thoughts are overwhelming you Hebrews 10:24,25 says we should not neglect the fellowship of believers and Proverbs 11:14 and 15:22 say that we should surround ourselves with counselors. If you are struggling with certain thoughts, find someone that you trust and with wisdom that you can talk to Fill your mind with the Word of God If you remain in My Word, you will truly be My disciples; and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32) Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Lord, through the power of your Spirit, I ask You to help me tie up the loose ends that I ve allowed to remain in my mind and emotions. Today I am making the deliberate decision to start submitting every area of my mind and emotions to the Word of God and to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. By your grace, please let the power of Your Word and the Influence of your Spirit flow into every area of my mind and emotions, energizing them and fortifying godly thoughts by your presence so that the devil can no longer access me through these areas of my life!
Practical Living Ministry exists to assist individuals, groups, and organizations to operate to their full God-given ability by sharing life changing principles for spiritual growth and development. If this message touched you, please let me hear from you. If you would like to encourage us financially to keep sharing these kind of messages, please go to our donation section on our website at www.practicallivingministry.org If you would like to contact Dr. Jones for a speaking engagement at your church or event concerning biblical leadership, mentoring, and Christian culture. Please contact Pastor Kenneth Jones at copyright@plm Practical Living Ministry, Inc. kenjones@practicallivingministry.org 6/7/2017 24