A House Of Thoughts Part 3
The Three Battlegrounds • Sermon • Submitted
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The Three Battlegrounds
The Three Battlegrounds
Today we have to finish Off from two week’s ago and deal with
Defeating The Stronghold of Failure & Fear.
Let us look at these strongholds that may be in your life and see their origin and, more importantly, how they can be removed.
First, remember that a stronghold is a house made of thoughts.
Therefore, in regard to this type of warfare, Paul explained that our success is based upon taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
Since our goal is to allow the Spirit of Christ full access into our souls, we must capture our thoughts and make them Christ's slaves. To deal with the stronghold of failure, we must make repentance our way of life.
Bear in mind also that repentance means "change," not merely remorse.
Our thinking must change. There are herds of erroneous thoughts roaming across our minds, grazing upon the ever-available hay and stubble of unbelief and failure.
Thoughts like,
"I will always be a”
"I am just a sinner,"
or "I tried walking in the Spirit but it didn't work,"
converge from the walls, floor, and ceiling-the "building material" of the stronghold of failure.
To secure victory, you must capture these wrong thoughts. Capture the thought: "I am a failure!"
Repent of It and Ask God to forgive you of your unbelief..
Let your mind be renewed by the Word of God which states, Phil 4:13
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Even though you have failed and will probably fail again in the future, now because God is in your life you can confidently proclaim,
"Though I was a failure, my sufficiency comes from God, not myself. I am fully able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Arrest the thought: "I am just a sinner!" Replace it with the confession of your faith which says, "Though I was a sinner, now I am a beloved child of God and, though I occasionally still sin, the blood of Christ cleanses me of all unrighteousness"
9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
Because of the blood, Christ's sacrifice makes each of us as pure as He is Himself. You are tearing down a stronghold of defeat that once oppressed you and you are beginning to replace it with the godly stronghold of faith, which is built upon the Word of God.
With the old stronghold exposed and the thought-patterns patterns of defeatism coming down, you are destroying the stronghold of failure in your life.
As you continue being renewed in the spirit of your mind by the Word of God, you will begin walking in tremendous power and peace. You will enter the godly stronghold of faith.
Francis Frangipane. The Three Battlegrounds
Let it be established in your attitudes that the goal and purpose of your salvation is that you be conformed to the likeness of Christ.
Is it not written, "Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren"
29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
The same Lord who conquered the devil and liberated your heart in salvation is working still to renew your mind.
As long as we recognize that our salvation is a continual transformation, and that we are changing from "glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18) into the image of Christ, we should not be discouraged by the strongholds we discover; nor will occasional or momentary setbacks render us impotent.
As we see our need, we rejoice in knowing it is only a matter of time before another giant is removed!
Destroying The Spirit Of Fear
What are you afraid of?
What are you afraid to try?
What are you afraid to confront?
What are you afraid to apply for?
What are you afraid to commit to?
A stronghold that oppresses men is fear.
Your experience tells you that if you try something new, especially in front of people, you may be embarrassed and rejected.
To counter this, a whole series of reactions emerges in your mind. You sit back when you should step forward. You are silent when you should be speaking!
That silent, fearful withdrawal into yourself has become a house made of thoughts, wherein dwells a spirit of fear.
God does not want you in bondage.
Therefore, let us look at some of the thoughts and experiences that may have formed the structure of this demonic fortress.
Perhaps as a young child, when you attempted something new, the reaction among your family or friends was ridicule.
Their thoughtless words went so deep that, in recoiling from the pain, you have involuntarily remained in the "recoiled" or "withdrawn" position.
Since then, you have refused to place yourself in situations where you can become vulnerable to criticism. You may not even remember the incidents, but you have not stopped recoiling even until today.
Remember, Jesus said the Father would forgive us as we forgave others.
38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
Forgiveness Is a Powerful Gift!!
You can be delivered from that oppression on your soul by releasing and forgiving those who hurt you.
To the degree that you truly let the incident go and forgive the offender, to that same degree God will restore your soul to a balanced and healthy attitude toward people.
As you increase in this process of forgiveness, you will grow in love and, as the Scripture says,
18 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.
18 Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives the fear of punishment far from our hearts. Whoever walks constantly afraid of punishment has not reached love’s perfection.
Always remember: Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips; but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in our hearts.
It is not enough to have your "house ... swept, and put in order" (Matt. 12:44); your thought-life must be occupied by the Person of Christ.
But as you persist in yielding yourself to Christ, He will remove Satan's armor from your mind.
He will show you what you need to bring down. You will see that the weapons of your warfare are mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds!
Point # 3 Three Sources Of Strong Holds
If you want to identify the hidden strongholds in your life, you need only survey the attitudes in your heart.
Every area in your thinking that glistens with hope in God is an area which is being liberated by Christ.
But any system of thinking that does not have hope, which feels hopeless, is a stronghold which must be pulled down.
THE FIRST SOURCE OF STRONGHOLDS: THE WORLD
Generally speaking, strongholds originate from any one of three sources.
The first is the very world into which we have been born.
The steady stream of information and experience that continually shaped our childhood perceptions is the greatest source of strongholds within us.
The amount of love (or lack of love) in our home, our cultural environment, peer values and pressures, as well as fears of rejection and exposure-even our physical appearance and intelligence, all combine to form our sense of identity and our view of life.
Our souls, wrought with insecurities, are highly sensitive to the criticisms and compliments of others.
In the search to find oneself, such words are poured into young hearts like molten steel which, as they cool, are fused into our natures.
How many of today's adults believe they are mentally slow simply because, as children, they absorbed into their self-concept the negative, thoughtless scolding of a teacher or parent?
These concepts and limitations are structured into us from childhood, built into our thinking patterns through the words and ideas of others.
Indeed, many of our opinions about life are ours only because we know of no other way to think. Yet, we defend and protect our ideas, justifying our opinions as though they were born in the womb of our own creativity!
Do you know how many Children who felt rejected by there mother or father while the mom was caring them?
And all those emotions of rejection & pain was in the umbilical Cord and passed through into the child
Another example of this is astrology.
Multitudes of believers are subconsciously bound to the characteristics and weaknesses of their "zodiac sign."
In their search for identity, this mixture of deceptive facts and illusions was absorbed into their soul, where it continues to stand even today in direct opposition to God's work of transformation.
As Christians, the only truth suitable for eternity is the truth of Christ. If we fail to realize this, we will only "be like [our] teacher," never doing more than "the deeds of [our] father"
40 A pupil is not superior to his teacher, but everyone [when he is] completely trained (readjusted, restored, set to rights, and perfected) will be like his teacher.
41 You are doing the works of your [own] father. They said to Him, We are not illegitimate children and born out of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Our "teachers" and "fathers" more than likely did the best they could. But our goal is not simply to do the deeds of our fathers but to do the deeds of Jesus.
Therefore, Scripture instructs us to consider the outcome, or the end, of a man's way of life before we submit to his concepts of life
7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
In so considering, it is obvious that only one Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, proved by His resurrection that He knew the secrets of life.
By conquering death, He revealed He understood life.
Although Jesus will use people to teach us, we must not become followers of mere men where those men are not, indeed, conformed to Christ.
Our goal must be conformity to Jesus Christ and Him only. Any teaching that does not support this singular purpose must not be allowed to rule us!
Let’s Offer Up A Worship Before We Pray!!!
I give myself AWAY......