Sermon Tone Analysis

2 cor 10

Strongholds

and how to tear them down!

In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was proclaimed in America.

The word spread from Capitol Hill down into the valleys of Virginia, and the Carolina's, and evens into the plantations of Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The headlines read, ’Slavery Legally Abolished!’

However, the greater majority of slaves, in the South, went right on living as though there had been no emancipation.

They went on living like they had never been set free.

In fact, when one Alabama slave was asked what he thought of the Great Emancipator, whose proclamation had gone into effect, he replied "I don’t know nothing about Abraham Lincoln except they say he set us free.

And, I don’t know nothing about that neither."

How tragic.

A war was being fought.

A document had been signed.

Slaves were legally set free.

Yet most continued to live out their years without knowing anything about it.

They had chosen to remain slaves, though they were legally free.

Even though emancipated, they kept serving the same master throughout their lives.

Yet, so it is with many believers today.

They have been set free, yet they have chosen to remain slaves to the same strongholds that have gripped them all of their life.

So today I want to minister in the area of strongholds!

When an invading conquered foreign territory, their top priority was to remove the power of strongholds.

A failure to remove strongholds, would nullify any victory of land.

Since an invader could not occupy every square mile of land, as soon as the army moved, the enemy in the stronghold could reoccupy conquered territory.

Many Christians who find salvation in Christ, struggle in their walk, because they fail to remove strongholds.

They are constantly besieged over and over again, from the same area.

This happens because, the enemy is still occupying a part of their life, and unless these strongholds are pulled down battle will continue to rage.

When conquers took territory, they would locate the strongholds.

Secondly, they would gather intelligence on the stronghold.

Before operations against the stronghold could begin, the conqueror needs to know the answers to specific questions.

· How is the stronghold supplied?

· How Large is the force withn its walls?

· How high and thick are its walls?

· What kind of weapons do they have?

· Are there any enemy reinforcements nearby?

(NKJV)

1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.

2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

��Once the commander understands the background of the Stronghold, he can begin preparations of the siege.

The warfare against physical strongholds parallels in many ways the battle against spiritual strongholds.

For us to have a victorious Christian life, we need to wage war on our strongholds.

If we fail to subdue the strongholds, we will constantly be subjected to strong enemy attacks.

Therefore, there is a process to being successful in our walk, it does not automatically happen.

We need to decide to follow Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The process to pulling down strongholds is as follows.

· Identify the strongholds in your land/mind

· Develop a strategy to subdue the stronghold

· Lay siege to the stronghold

· Subdue the stronghold to the obedience of Christ

How do we identify strongholds?

When we come to Christ, an amazing event happens, The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within our tent or body.

Our body becomes the Temple of God, when we become saved as God literally takes residence in our body (, , ).

Now the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, who teaches us (the saved) all things.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us the areas in our life, where Satan has established strongholds.

In Romans, Paul tells us how the Holy Spirit intercedes with our spirit.

(NKJV)

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.

For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

(The Message)

26 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.

If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.

He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.

27 He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.

Scripture, the Sword of the Spirit, along with the Holy Spirit will shine the light on the strongholds in our life.

The first step is to make our life sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God.

As we read scripture, where do you feel convicted by the Spirit?

Make a personal List of the area’s that you feel convicted by the Spirit.

And to help you get started in the book of Galatians, Paul identifies two sets of fruit, (fruit) works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit ().

In addition to these two sets of fruits, Paul also lists areas of the flesh, which separate those who walk in the Spirit as opposed to the flesh.

As you read these lists of fruits, do you identify with any of them?

(NKJV)

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

(The Message)

19 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness;

20 trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits;

21 the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.

I could go on.

This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know.

If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

(NKJV)

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Make a personal and private list of the areas in your life that you are having problems getting control of in your life.

You may be also dealing with generational strongholds in your life.

When you think about it we all know of people and families that we see certain strongholds of sins that can be traced back for generations!

Generational strongholds, are ways of thinking and blindness transferred from generation to generation.

Only the power of Gospel, has the power to break these generational strongholds, which can dominate families.

Generational strongholds, are ways of thinking and blindness transferred from generation to generation.

Only the power of Gospel, has the power to break these generational strongholds, which can dominate families.

A pastor attended a court hearing to protest the building of a tavern near his church and a public school.

The lawyer for the tavern owners said to him, “I’m surprised to see you here today, Reverend.

As a shepherd, shouldn’t you be out taking care of the sheep?”

The pastor replied, “Today I’m fighting the wolf!”

Too many Christians cultivate only a sentimental emphasis on “peace and goodwill” and ignore the spiritual battle against sin; and this means they’ve already lost the victory and are working for the enemy.

We must never forget Paul’s warning about the savage wolves that are ready to destroy the flock ().

The Christian’s warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against enemies in the spiritual realm (); and the weapons we use are spiritual ().