* * * * *
Quotes:
A safe stronghold our God is still. A trusty shield and weapon.
Martin Luther
* * * * *
Use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil’s strongholds.
Chuck Norris
* * * * *
When things are not going right, there are satanic forces in
operation. What is my solution? To rebuke the condition of sin, death, disease, or
whatever it is. I can pray in the Holy Ghost, and that prayer is effectual to bring
down every stronghold of the enemy.
Smith Wigglesworth
* * * * *
All Questions & Answers at Bottom of Part-2
(Part 1)
* * * * *
© 2010
The Spirit Of The Sovereign LORD Is On Me, Because The LORD Has Anointed Me
To Preach Good News To The Poor.
He Has Sent Me To Bind Up The Brokenhearted, To Proclaim Freedom For The Captives
And Release From Darkness For The Prisoners…
* * * * *
In The Bible “Strongholds” Can Be Good;
The LORD Is A Refuge For The Oppressed,
A Stronghold In Times Of Trouble.
And They Can Be Bad;
You Have Broken Through All His Walls And
Reduced His Strongholds To Ruins.
* * * * *
This Teaching Focuses On The Negative Aspects Of
“Strongholds.”
* * * * *
Here Are Two Dictionary Definitions For The Word “Stronghold:”
A Place That Has Been Fortified So As To Protect It Against Attack.
Or
A Place Where A Particular Cause Or Belief Is Strongly Defended Or Upheld.
New Oxford American Dictionary
Here Is A Scriptural Definition For “Negative Strongholds:”
A Mindset That Accepts As Unchangeable Conditions
That Are Contrary To God’s Will And Scripture.
* * * * *
What Is The Simplest Way That We Can Define What A “Stronghold” Within Us Is:
* * *
* * * * *
* * * *
* * *
* *
*
Strongholds Are Made Up Of
“LIES”
* * *
Strongholds
Are Lies That We Believe And Most Often Lies About Our God And Also Ourselves.
(Shortly, We Will Look At Each Of These Two Subjects)
* * * * *
But First A Little Bit About
“Lies:”
* * * * *
Lies Are A Deception, And According To The Wikipedia Dictionary:
A Deception Is The Act Of Convincing Another
To Believe Information That Is Not True, Or
Not The Whole Truth As In Certain Types Of Half-Truths.
* * * * *
Where Do Lies Originate?
* * * * *
According To Jesus,
He Himself Calls Satan The “Father Of Lies.”
It’s In John 8 Where He Says:
“…There Is No Truth In Him.
When He Lies,
He Speaks His Native Language,
For He Is A Liar And The Father Of Lies.”
And Today, Because Of Jesus’
Victory On The Cross,
A Victory Over Sin And Death,
“Lies” Are The Only Weapon Satan And His Demons Have Left To Use Against Us.
And Neil T. Anderson Says:
Lies Keep Us In Bondage,
* * * * *
For As The Contents For Concrete Is Cement And Water And The Finished Substance Is As Hard As A Rock, The Ingredients For “Strongholds” Within Us Are “Lies” Mixed Into Our Belief System. That Is What The Ingredients, The Strength, Of A Stronghold Is, “Lies” And These “Lies” Reside Deep Within Our Hearts.
* * * * *
Concerning “Lies,” Bill Johnson Says:
“If You Believe A Lie,
You Give That Lie Power.”
And
You Will Live Out The Consequences That, That Lie Produces,
Which Is – All Lies Produce Death.
When A Lie Has Power, It Becomes A “Stronghold” Within Us And We Believe And Obey Whatever
That Lie Tells Us Because That Lie Becomes Truth To Us.
And No One Can Convince Us Otherwise,
(No One, That Is, Except Jesus).
Examples:
My “Mind”
Will Tell Me Pornography Is A Sin Of Idolatry
Yet
My “Heart,”
If Deceived By It,
Will Want To Turn To It For Erotic Comfort And Pleasure.
* * *
My “Mind”
Will Tell Me It Is Evil, And
Its Only Purpose Is To Destroy Me,
Yet
“My “Heart,”
Tells Me It Is The Only Place
I Can Experience The Acceptance I Hunger And Long For.
* * *
My “Mind”
Tells Me,
Viewing It Is An Offence Against God,
Yet, Within
“My “Heart,”
I Allow A Door To Remain Open To It.
* * *
The Reality Is, The “Sin” Could Be Anything –
Substance Abuse,
Abuse Of Food,
Unhealthy Relationships,
Anything.
So, As A Christian, I Have Been Taught To
“Deny That Sin”
To
“Avoid It”
To
“Abstain From It”
With My Will Power.
Yet, “WILL-POWER” Up Against A “HUNGRY AND LONGING HEART”
Loses Out Every Time.
As Mother Theresa Said:
“The Hunger For Love
Is Much More Difficult To Remove
Than The Hunger For Bread.”
So It Seems That I Have A “Mind” That Is A Very Christian “Mind”
But
My “Heart”
Has The
“Walls Of Jericho”
Still In Place Around
* * * * *
Now For Us Who Embrace Any Kind Of Lust Within Our Hearts And Have A Relationship With Our Father God, It Is Apparent That We Have A War Within Our Souls.
And It Is In Romans 8:5 Where We See The Two Opposing Sides:
The “Sin Nature” And “The Spirit.”
The War Between Them Often Looks Something Like This:
Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting
In The Book Of James,
James Clearly Shows Us That We Are Held Personally Responsible
For All That Takes Place Within Our Own Soul.
He Twice Calls Us “Double Minded,”
In James 1:8 And James 4:8.
Let Me Explain Where The Responsibility Lies:
Is Lust Sin?
Yes!
Can It Turn Into A Stronghold Within Our Lives?
Yes!
Now, Is Pornography Sin?
Yes!
Can It Turn Into A Stronghold Within Our Lives?
Yes!
Experts Tell Us That Lust Within Our Hearts Is Like A Narcotic, For It Can Be;
“Mood Altering.”
Now, Add The Viewing Of Pornography And You Radically Enhance That “Mood Altering” Experience.
So Much So That The Experts Call Pornography;
“The Crack-Cocaine Of The Internet.”
Therefore, Both Lust And Pornography Can In And Of Themselves Become Strongholds
(This Is True For Habitual Masturbation Also.)
And Again, We Are Held Personally Responsible For All That Takes Place Within Our Own Soul. But, Once These Two Strongholds Are Broken Within Our Lives, It Becomes Quickly Apparent That We Turned To Them For Their “Mood-Altering” Experience To Cover The Deeper Pain Within Our Deep Hearts.
* * *
* * * * *
* * * *
* * *
* *
*
* * * * *
First The Lies We Believe About Our God:
* * * * *
The Fact Is That When We Genuinely Believe The Truths About Our Triune God;
His Names,
His Attributes,
His Nature And His Ways,
And
His Character,
We Find Ourselves Satisfied, Fulfilled And Content Within Our Deep Hearts.
But, If We Are Harboring Lust Of Any Kind Within Our Hearts, That Lust Betrays What We Think And Say About Our Wonderful God. The Residence Of Any Lust Within Us Reveals That We Turn To It And Not To Our Heavenly Father For Comfort And Pleasure.
What Does Philippians 4:8 Say?
Finally, Brothers,
Whatever Is True,
Whatever Is Noble,
Whatever Is Right,
Whatever Is Pure,
Whatever Is Lovely,
Whatever Is Admirable—
If Anything Is Excellent Or Praiseworthy— Think About Such Things.
But If Instead We Turn To Lust, (Using Our Imaginations) To Create Erotic Fantasies In Which We Are The Star Of Those Fantasies. Then, We Have Chosen This Lust Over Intimacy With Our Heavenly Father.
The Fact Is, Us Men Who Are Vulnerable To Lusting, We Often Stand At A Crossroads Countless Times A Day, Where We Choose To Either Focus On This Lust Or To Look To Our Father God And Focus On Him And His Kingdom. When We Make The Choice To Allow Lust To Entertain Us, That Action Within Our Hearts Is Making A Statement To Our Father God.
That Statement Is:
“I Find More “Satisfaction” With My Lust
Than I Do Being Your Son Or Being With You.
Again, That So Called “Satisfaction,” Most Often Is A “Mood-Altering” Experience To Relieve The Pain Caused By Any “Strongholds” About Our God Or Ourselves Within Us.
Therefore,
The “Lies” We Believe About Our Heavenly Father Are Simple And Clear.
We Don’t Believe What The Holy Bible Reveals About Him!
For Scripture Tells Us He Is:
Loving,
Kind,
Good And
Tenderhearted.
That He Is:
Awesome,
Wonderful, And
Majestic
* * * * *
The Bottom Line Is That In The Dungeons Of Our Hearts We Don’t Trust Him!
We Don’t Believe That He Is A Good God!
* * * * *
Oh, In Our Minds We Say We Believe These Truths. But The Test Comes When We Are At Those Crossroads Of Choosing Either Him Or Erotic Fantasy. For If We Did Choose Him, Our Souls Would Be Satisfied, And We Would Want To Be In His Presence All The Time.
As King David Said:
Better Is One Day In Your Courts
Than A Thousand Elsewhere;
I Would Rather Be A Doorkeeper
In The House Of My God
Than Dwell In The Tents Of The Wicked.
But When We Turn To Lust, We Are Turning To A Forbidden Fruit That Brings War To Our Soul. As It Says In Galatians 5:16-17:
So I Say, Live By The Spirit, And You Will Not Gratify The Desires Of The Sinful Nature.
For The Sinful Nature Desires What Is Contrary To The Spirit,
And The Spirit What Is Contrary To The Sinful Nature.
The Spirit And Our Sinful Nature Are In Conflict With Each Other, And We See That It Is Our Sinful Nature’s Intent To Cause You To Do The Opposite Of What Your Spirit Wants To Do.
* * * * *
This Teaching Is In two parts and we have just completed part one.
(Part-2)
* * * * *
© 2010
…For A Man Is A Slave To Whatever Has Mastered Him.
* * * * *
Again,
Now What I Said Earlier About The Lies We Believe In Our Deep Hearts, And That Is:
Strongholds Are Made Up Of Lies.
Strongholds Are Lies That We Believe, And
Most Often They Are Lies About Our God And Also Ourselves.
* * *
* * * * *
* * * *
* * *
* *
*
* * * * *
Second,
The “Lies” That We Believe About Ourselves,
Sits At The Other End Of This Spectrum.
* * * * *
At This Other End Of This Spectrum, We Don’t Believe What Our Father God Says About Us.
And We Don’t Believe We Are Worthy To Be Valued In This Way.
(Remember, This All Takes Place In The Deep Dungeons Of Our Hearts.)
* * * * *
Now What “Lies” Do Men Who Struggle With Their Sex Drive Believe?
* * * * *
According To The Acclaimed Author Patrick Carnes In His Best Selling Book On Sexual Addiction,
“Out Of The Shadows.”
There Three Main “Lies” That Men Who Are Addicted To Sex Believe:
* * * * *
I’m Basically A Bad And Unworthy Person.
(Lie = Your Father God Views You As His Adopted Son)
* * * * *
No One Loves Me As I Am.
(Lie =Your Father God Sent Jesus To Die On The Cross For You, Just As You Are.)
* * * * *
My Needs Are Never Going To Be Met If I Have To Depend On Others.
(Lie =Your Father God Created You And Knows All Your Needs And He Desires To Meet All Those Needs.)
* * * * *
Patrick Carnes Has Done Us A Great Service In Pointing Out These Three “Lies” To This Fact That In Us And We Prove Him Right By The Sins Of Lust We Harbor Within Our Hearts.
Therefore, The Way We Handle These “Lies” Within Us Concerning What We Believe About Our God And Ourselves Is That We Most Often Use Lust, Masturbation And Sometimes Pornography In An Attempt To “Alter Our Moods” To Cover The Pain Within Our Deep Hearts. But Most Often The Result Is The Emergence Of A Sin Cycle Within Our Lives Which Again Often Looks Like This:
Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – With No Resolve.
And For Us Who Have A “Strong Will,” Were We Can Go For Great Periods Of Time Without Falling Into These Sins. The Fact Is That A “Strong Will” Does Not Equal Healing Of The Three “Lies” Mention Above. It Just Means We “Binge,” Maybe Every Couple Of Months Or Just Once Or Twice A Year Or Even Less Often, Nevertheless, Healing Has Not Been Experienced.
* * * * *
Of These Three Vices That We Turn To:
Lust, Is An Issue Of The Heart,
Masturbation, Is A Maturity Issue,
And
Pornography, Is An Idolatry Issue.
But The Three Together Produce A Powerful Stimulation For The Body And Also For The Soul. Lust, Intensifies Masturbation, And Pornography Again, Greatly Enhances This “Mood Altering” Experience, So Much So That The Experts Call Pornography.
“The Crack-Cocaine Of The Internet.”
* * * * *
Its Like This, Our Sin Nature Invites Us To A “Party,” If We Accept This Invitation,
Lust, Brings Our Soul
Masturbation, Brings Our Body
And
Pornography, Brings Our Spirit.
But, If We Truly Are Sons Of The Living God, We Quickly Find Out That It Is Not A “Party” But A “Trap.”
The Righteousness Of The Upright Delivers Them,
But
The Unfaithful Are Trapped By Evil Desires.
* * * * *
Yes, We Cannot Deny That The First Half Of This Experience Is Like A “Party.”
Yet, The Second Half Of This Experience Is A “Trap.” And This “Trap” Produces Within Us;
With Lust =
An Unclean Heart
(This Is Clearly Sin)
With Masturbation =
Immaturity
(Is Sin When With Lust And/Or Pornography Are Included)
With Pornography =
We Allow Ourselves To Enter Into “Idolatry.”
(A Sin With Many Consequences)
What Is The Take Away From These Three Enticements In Our Lives? Not A Party But, Satan Will Try To Entrap Us With,
Shame — Guilt — Addiction — Slavery — Sin — Death.
* * * * *
This Is What The “Stronghold” Within Us
And
Great Numbers Of Our Brothers In Christ Believe These Lies.
* * * * *
For The Christian Man Struggling In These Areas, Within His Life, The Presentation
Will Take These Lies Head-On Go To War Against These Three “Lies,”
Which He Has Believed For Most Of His Life.
* * * * *
Reality Check:
Until
Each Of These “Strongholds” Within Us Are Destroyed.
* * * * *
How Do We Destroy These “Strongholds,” These “Lies” Within Us?
* * * * *
Saint Augustine Said:
Before God Can Deliver Us,
We Must Undeceive Ourselves.
* * * * *
The Resolve Is Threefold:
1) Personal Responsibility.
2) Repenting At The Cross For Our Ongoing Believing Of These Two “Lies.”
#1- The Lies About Our God:
#2 -, The Lies That We Believe About Ourselves,
3) Applying James 5:16 To Our Lives.
* * * * *
1) Personal Responsibility:
One Can Have No Smaller Or Greater Mastery Than Mastery Of Oneself.
Leonardo Da Vinci
* * * * *
While We May Not Be Able To Control All That Happens To Us, We Can Control What Happens Inside Us.
Benjamin Franklin
* * * * *
Again, Scripture Is Clear, We Are Responsible For What Goes On In Our Hearts. In Matthew 5:27-30 What Jesus Is Saying There Is:
To Deal Radically With Any Sin In Our Heart.
* * * * *
And How Do We “Gouge Out” Or “Cut Off” Sin In Our Heart?
* * * * *
2) By Repenting At The Cross:
Our First Stop Is At The Cross Of Jesus Because, As A. W. Tozer Says:
We Must Hide Our Unholiness In The Wounds Of Christ.
And Our Unholiness In This Case Is Three-Fold;
1) The Lust Within Our Hearts.
2) Our Unbelief Concerning Our Father God And Ourselves.
3) The Ongoing Believing Of The Three “Lies” That Patrick Carnes Points Out.
What Does Ecclesiastes 4:12 Say:
…A Cord Of Three Strands Is Not Quickly Broken.
* * * * *
Now, If You Are Caught Up In The Cycle Of;
Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – With No Resolve.
This Is A “Red Flag” Meaning That There Is Most Likely A Stronghold Within You.
* * * * *
How Do We Shatter This Stronghold?
* * * * *
Remember, Psalm 89:40
You Have Broken Through All His Walls
And
Reduced His Strongholds To Ruins.
Let’s Look At 2 Corinthians 10:4:
The Weapons We Fight With
Are Not The Weapons
Of The World.
On The Contrary,
They Have Divine Power
To Demolish Strongholds.
It Is Time To Bring In This “Divine Power” This Scripture Speaks Of
Now In 1 Corinthians 1:17 This Scripture Speaks Of A “Power” That Is Tied To The Cross Of Jesus;
For Christ Did Not Send Me To Baptize,
But
To Preach The Gospel—
Not With Words Of Human Wisdom,
Lest The Cross Of Christ
Be Emptied Of Its Power.
For The Message Of The Cross
Is Foolishness To Those Who Are Perishing,
But
To Us Who Are Being Saved
It Is The Power Of God.
I Present To You That It Is This Power That This Scripture Speaks Of, That Has This “Divine Power.”
* * * * *
3) Applying James 5:16 To Our Lives:
Also, It Is Time To Seek Out Help From Your Brothers In Christ.
* * * * *
Why?
* * * * *
Because James 5:16 Says:
Therefore Confess Your Sins To Each Other
And
Pray For Each Other So That You May Be Healed.
The Prayer Of A Righteous Man Is Powerful And Effective.
These Two Scriptures Are The Keys For Breaking These “Lies/Strongholds” Within Us.
It Is When The Power Of The Cross And The Prayer Of A Righteous Man Are Brought To Bear On AnyStronghold Within Us That We Are Applying This Divine Power To Demolish These Strongholds.
* * * * *
Question:
How Often Should We Seek Prayer?
* * * * *
Answer:
Until The Power Of The Sin Is Broken Within Your Heart.
* * * * *
Prayer Is Like A Battering Ram Against Sin.
We Must Learn To P.U.S.H.
Pray Until Something Happens.
The Truth Is That The Power Of That Sin Cannot Compare With
Or The
* * * * *
Question:
How Do You Know When The
“Stronghold”
Has Been …Reduced To Ruins?
* * * * *
Answer:
One Way Is You Will Find That What It Says In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Will Start Happening:
We Demolish Arguments And Every Pretension That Sets Itself Up Against The Knowledge Of God,
And We Take Captive Every Thought To Make It Obedient To Christ.
* * * * *
You Will Be Able To
Take Your Thoughts Captive!
* * * * *
Once You Have Brought Any Strongholds Within You To Ruins By This “Divine Power,” Then You Are Able To Experience
It Is The Presentation On This Website
“I Am Accetped,” “I Am Secure,” “I Am Signifcant,”
That Go To War Against These Three “Lies,” Which We Have Believed For Most Of Our Lives.
These Lies Are Replaced With Our Heavenly Father’s Truth About Himself And Us!
* * * * *
For Help In Addressing Any Issues Of “Strongholds” In Your Life,
I Highly Recommend The Book, “The Steps To Freedom In Christ” By Neil T. Anderson
The Steps To Freedom In Christ – Amazon.com
* * * * *
Questions
Questions For Stronghold Teaching (part – 1)
1) Fill in the blanks for the negative scriptural definition for Strongholds.
A ______________________ that accepts as ______________
that are _____________________________________________to God’s will and scripture.
2) What is the simplest way that we can define what a “Stronghold” within us is:
3) Who are the lies most often about when there is a stronghold within us?
4) What does Neal Anderson say that lies do to us if we believe them?
5) According to Bill Johnson, what do all lies produce?
6) When will power is up against a hungry and longing heart, which will win out every time?
7) So the person who has a stronghold(s) in their life what kind of a wall surrounds their heart?
8) If there is a war going on inside of us, according to Romans 8:5 what are the two opposing sides?
9) If we keep Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting – Sinning – Repenting, what does James
call us?
10) Who does God hold ultimately responsible for all that goes on within your soul?
11) What do experts tells us what Lust will produce within our hearts?
12) Fill in the blanks.
The bottom line is that in the dungeons of our hearts we
We don’t believe that He is a
Part -2
Questions For Stronghold Teaching
1. Write down Peter 2:19:
2. According to Patrick Carnes what are the three lies that sex addicts believe about themselves?
1) I’m Basically A ___________________and_______________ Person.
2) No One______________________________________ Me As I Am.
3) My ______________If I’m Going To Have To_____________Others.
3. Fill in the Blanks:
_________________________is an issue of the heart
_________________________is a maturity issue
_________________________ is an Idolatry issue
4. What is the quote by Saint Augustine?
5. What is the quote by Leonardo da Vinci ? _____________________
6. What is the quote by Benjamin Franklin? ____________________
7. What is the take away from reading Matthew 5:27-30?
8. What is the quote by A. W. Tozer?
9. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4 the weapons we fight with have what?
10. And these weapons can do what?
11. In 1 Corinthians 1:17 what does the message of the cross give us access to?
12. What are the two powers that any stronghold of sin cannot stand up against?
Answers
Answers For Strongholds Teaching – Part – 1
1) mindset – unchangeable – conditions – contrary
2) Strongholds are made up of “LIES”
3) God and ourselves
4) Lies can keep us in bondage.
5) All lies produce death.
6) The hungry and longing heart.
7) A wall that is like the Walls of Jericho.
8) The flesh and the Spirit.
9) Double Minded.
10) God holds the individual responsible for all that goes on within his soul.
11) Lust can be mood altering
12) The bottom line is that in the dungeons of our hearts we don’t trust God!
We don’t believe that He is a Good God!
Part – 2
1. Write down Peter 2:19 for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
2. According to Patrick Carnes what are the three lies that sex addicts believe about themselves?
1.) I’m basically a bad and unworthy person.
2.) No one loves me as I am.
3) My needs are never going to be met if I’m going to have to depend on others.
3. Fill in the Blanks:
Lust is an issue of the heart
Masturbation is a maturity issue
Pornography is an Idolatry issue
4. What is the quote from Saint Augustine? Before God can deliver us, we must undeceive ourselves
5. What is the quote by Leonardo da Vinci? One can have no smaller or greater mastery than
mastery of oneself
6. What is the quote by Benjamin Franklin?
While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside
us
7. What is the take away from reading Matthew 5:27-30? To deal radically with any sin in our heart.
8. What is the quote by A. W. Tozer? We must hide our unholiness in the wounds of Christ.
9. According to 2 Corinthians 10:4 the weapons we fight with have what? Divine Power
10. And these weapons can do what? They can Demolish Strongholds
11. In 1 Corinthians 1:17 what does the message of the cross have for us who are being saved? it is the
power of God.
12. What are the two powers that any stronghold of sin cannot stand up against?
2) The Prayers Of A Righteous Man.