“Strongholds – 301”…Blog. [3/?]
*** (2Corinthians 10:3-to-6) For though walking about in flesh, we ‘do not’ war according to flesh.
(2Cor 10:4) For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but ‘mighty’ through God; to the pulling down of strongholds,
(2Cor 10:5) casting down imaginations and ‘every’ high thing that exalts itself ‘against’ the knowledge of God, and bringing ‘into captivity’ every thought into the ‘obedience’ of Christ;
(2Cor 10:6) and having ‘readiness’ to avenge all disobedience [Proverbs 28:13 & 1John 1:5-to-10], ‘when’ your obedience [James 1:22] is fulfilled.
Continuing with this “Strongholds”… discussion; someone wrote me and thought that ‘demons’ were; the problem. How or why… would ‘Someone’… think or believe; that there is ‘anything’ stronger; than the indwelling Holy Spirit; in those Truly Born Again…? Many are ‘wrongly’ taught about demons; and because they “Do NOT”… ‘Read & Study their Bibles!’ They are “Deceived by ‘False’ Teachings!” The “Flesh”; is our enemy… and we will ‘continue’ this fight against our baser nature, ‘Lifelong!’ Don’ you know about… “Judges 1:19”… & … “Exodus 20:19-20”….? Those are only word pictures; of some of the ‘Strongholds’ that we will deal with! There are 'many' more…!
*** (1John 4:4) You are of God, little children, and you have ‘overcome’ them, because He Who is in you is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world.
*** (Romans 8:9) But you are ‘not’ in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has ‘not’ the Spirit of Christ, he is ‘none’ of His.
*** (Ephesians 1:13-14) in Whom [Christ] also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in Whom also believing, you were ‘sealed’ with the Holy Spirit of promise,
(Eph 1:14) Who is the ‘earnest’ of our inheritance, to the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
*** (Acts 15:8-9) And God, Who ‘knows’ the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit even as to us.
(Act 15:9) And He put no difference between us [Jews] and them [Gentiles], purifying their hearts by faith. [Ephesians 2:8-9-10 & Titus 3:5 & Romans 11:6]]
The Anointing – 101 Blog about the Holy Spirit
Do you realize… that is your; “Flesh”, that gives you the most ‘Trouble!’ Say it isn’t ‘So’…? Is it your “Flesh”; that wants to keep you in bed… ‘Just for those 5 minutes more?’ Or your “Flesh”, that wants you to sit on the couch and turn on your TV or Video or Game machine… instead of meeting with… “Christ Jesus in His Holy Word”…? Or is it your “Flesh”… that keeps you from enjoying your “Job”… instead of making it seem like ‘Punishment?’ These decisions are all part of the Flesh that we live in… and “IT”… needs to be “Tamed”; and brought into “Subjection & Discipline!” [Matthew 23:11 & Luke 17:11]
*** (Colossians 3:23-24) And ‘whatsoever’ you Do, Do it ‘heartily’, as to the Lord, and ‘not’ unto men;
(Col 3:24) ‘knowing’ that from the Lord you ‘shall receive’ the reward of the inheritance. For you ‘serve’ the Lord Christ.
*** (1Corinthians 10:12-13) So let him who ‘thinks’ he stands take heed lest he fall.
(1Cor 10:13) No ‘temptation’ has taken you but what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will ‘not’ allow you to be tempted; above what you are able, but with the temptation; ‘also’ will make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.
*** (Jeremiah 12:5) ‘If’ you have run with footmen, and they wore you out, then how can you compete with horses? And ‘if’ you feel secure in the land of peace, then ‘how’ will you do in the swelling of the Jordan?
*** (1Corinthians 9:27) No, I keep on ‘beating’ my body and making it my ‘slave’ so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will ‘not’ somehow be disqualified. [1Cor 3:13-14-15]
*** (Romans 12:1-to-4) I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to ‘present’ your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your ‘reasonable’ service.
(Rom 12:2) And ‘do not’ be conformed to this world, but be ‘transformed’ by the ‘renewing’ of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.
(Rom 12:3) For I say, through the grace given to me, to ‘everyone’ who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has ‘dealt’ to every man the measure of ‘faith’.
(Rom 12:4) For even as we have ‘many’ members in one body, and all members ‘do not’ have the same function,
Did you know… that many of the Believers, through the ages, also struggled with the ‘Flesh’…? In the NT, Paul had to “Rebuke Peter”… because his Jewish Pride… got in the way of evangelism. Paul too had some ‘affliction’ that he finally, came to terms with. That is why WE… have the Holy Spirit and the Sword of the Spirit; the Word of God… so that we may “Put to Death–SELF!” In addition we have those past sins and past thought patterns… that act as “Strongholds”… against the Truth; that our “Flesh”… does not like! If we are “TRULY”… a ‘Living Sacrifice’ unto Christ; why ‘THEN’… do we keep trying to escape His… ‘Trials for Us’…?
*** (Galatians 5:17) For what the flesh wants; is ‘opposed’ to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants; is ‘opposed’ to the flesh. They are ‘opposed’ to each other, and so you ‘do–not–do’ what you want to do.
*** (Galatians 2:11-to-17) But when Cephas came to Antioch, I ‘opposed’ him to his face, because he was clearly ‘wrong’.
(Gal 2:12) For until some men came from James, he was in the ‘habit’ of eating with the gentiles, but ‘after’ they came; he drew back and would ‘not’ associate himself with them; being afraid of the circumcision party [Jewish believers].
(Gal 2:13) The other Jews also ‘joined’ him in this hypocrisy, to the extent that ‘even’ Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy.
(Gal 2:14) But when I ‘saw’ that they were not acting consistently with the Truth of the gospel, I ‘told’ Cephas in front of everyone, "Though you are a Jew, you live like a gentile and ‘not’ like a Jew. So ‘how’ can you insist that the gentiles ‘must’ live like Jews?"
(Gal 2:15) We ourselves are Jews by birth, and not gentile sinners,
(Gal 2:16) yet we know that a person is ‘not’ justified by the works of the law; but by the faith of Jesus Christ. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be ‘justified’ by the faith of Christ and ‘not’ by the works of the law, for ‘NO’ human being will be ‘justified’ by the works of the law.
(Gal 2:17) Now if we, while trying to be justified in Christ, have been found to be sinners, does that mean that Christ is a minister of sin? God forbid!
*** (2Corinthians 12:8-9-10) I ‘pleaded’ with the Lord three times to take it away from me,
(2Co 12:9) but He has told me, "My grace is all you need, for my power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
(2Co 12:10) That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake, for ‘when’ I am weak, ‘then’ I am strong.
*** (1Corinthians 15:31) I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, = I die daily [to Self].
*** (Romans 7:18-to-25) For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out.
(Rom 7:19) For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do.
(Rom 7:20) But if I do what I don't want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me.
(Rom 7:21) So I find this to be a law: when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me.
(Rom 7:22) For I delight in the law of God in my inner being,
(Rom 7:23) but I see in my body a different law waging war with the law in my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin that exists in my body.
(Rom 7:24) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
(Rom 7:25) Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
“Only” When we ‘Realize’ this Conflict… can we ‘Then’… do something about “IT!” Either Christ Jesus is “ON”… the ‘Throne of Your LIFE’… or “YOU Are”…! In reality, that is WHY we have the Holy Word of God… to show us ‘how’ to overcome this Conflict. We need the Mind of Christ and the Whole Armor of God… and then in the Power of the Spirit… instead of the Power of the Flesh… we die to ourselves, our wants, our goals… and then we are in a place to simply say… “Not my will be done, but Yours!”
*** (Luke 22:42) saying, Father [God], if You are willing, remove this cup from Me [Jesus]. Yet ‘not’ My will, but Yours be done.
*** (Ephesians 5:17) Therefore, do not be foolish, but ‘understand’ what the Lord's will is.
*** (John 3:30) He [Jesus] must increase, but I ‘must’ decrease.
*** (Luke 6:46) And why do you call Me [Jesus] Lord, Lord, and ‘do–not–do’ what I [Jesus] say?
*** (Luke 16:13) No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
*** (2Corinthains 4:16-17-18) For this cause we do not faint; but though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
(2Co 4:17) For the lightness of our present affliction works out for us a far more excellent eternal weight of glory,
(2Co 4:18) we not considering the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are not lasting, but the things which are not seen are everlasting.
*** (Ephesians 6:17-18) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,
(Eph 6:18) praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Do you ever… ‘Think’ about “SIN/SINS”… you committed in the “Past”…? Did you know IF you do; that is a Stronghold in your Life..!
More in the next Blog…
Love, in Christ, Roger / Jeremiah 20:9.
Email: atruth459@yahoo.com
Ende…!
