Ice Cold Resistance – Stronghold Busting – Purity 568

Ice Cold Resistance – Stronghold Busting –  Purity 568

Purity 568 11/05/2021   Purity 568 Podcast

Good morning

Today’s photo of a snowy view from the top of Whiteface Mountain in
Wilmington NY comes to us from a friend who decided to hike to the summit
yesterday despite the fact that the decreasing temperatures of early November
and the conditions at 4800 feet resulted in a significant coating of snow on the
fifth highest mountain in the state of New York.  

That’s right folks, even where I am in the northern reaches of the
Hudson Valley the temperatures where officially below freezing yesterday for a
time and when that happens the possibility of snow is real.   But we can’t live in fear of what might come.
Instead we must simply keep on living, prepare for the changing seasons, and deal
with the changing circumstances of life as we face them.   

As futile as it may be, we sometimes resist the change of the arrival of
colder seasons and snow even though we are generally powerless to affect the
weather.  So as irrational as it may be, we
can resist change. 

As difficult it as it may to be to accept that we resist change, even
changes for the better,  sometimes we can
discover that “the change” resists us!

I teach discipleship and spiritual warfare. The two go hand in hand as
each term could be a paraphrase for the other as each process involves adopting
a Christian worldview and purposely standing on the truth of God’s word
regarding what it says about us and the problems we face.     

Before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we all lived in the world and
developed defense mechanisms for dealing with life. Defense mechanisms are
really just the way that we tend to behave when we are faced with certain
situations that seemingly run automatically but may not always be the “best
defense”.  Fighting or fleeing are common
defense mechanisms but really anyway we behave repeatedly in situations can be identified
as a defense mechanism. 

Filling in the blank to the statement:

“When I get stressed I ___________” 

could help us to see what our defense mechanisms are in regard to
stress.  Some defense mechanisms are
healthier than others as this fill in the blank statement could have a wide
range of responses, including “eat, have a drink, do drugs, or cut myself”.  

One word that the Bible’s uses to describe “defense
mechanisms” would be “strongholds” as Paul uses the term to describe the
process of spiritual warfare as a way to renew the mind in

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT2)
³  We are human, but we don’t
wage war as humans do.
⁴  We use God’s mighty
weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning
and to destroy false arguments.
⁵  We destroy every proud
obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious
thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

The NLT makes the idea that we use God’s mighty weapons, such as
faith and the word of God, to knock down strongholds of human reasoning and to
destroy the false arguments, or worldly ways that contradict God’s wisdom. And we
would do this because those “false arguments” or worldly ways of doing things “keeps
people from knowing God”, which would include experiencing the peace of His
presence and the power and strength He can provide to help us endure and
overcome the problems of this life.    

Thus we are to capture these “rebellious thoughts” and “teach
them to obey Christ” which refers to recognizing the ways we have been trained
to think and behave according to the world system and to challenge those “defense
mechanisms”, or strongholds, and to change them to thoughts and behaviors that
are consistent with Biblical wisdom for living.   

Our class presented the method of stronghold busting last
evening, which is a method of:

·      
identifying a lie we have believed, such as “I’m
dirty”, “I’m worthless”, “I’m no good”,

·      
renouncing it, SUCH AS “I renounce the lie that
I am no good!”

·      
speaking a truth based on God’s word, “such as: I
choose to believe the truth that “I am complete in Christ.”

·      
And then reciting a Bible verse or verses that proclaim
that spiritual reality, such as

Colossians 2:10
(NLT2) says
¹⁰  So you also are
complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler
and authority.

·      
And repeating this
process daily for 40 days to thoroughly remove the belief that was based on a
lie and to replace it with the truth about who we are in Christ.

Last night when this
method was taught, one of the participants of the class reported that they were
excited about the prospect of getting rid of some lies that were living with
but as soon as they made the decision that “Yes, I’m going to do this and be
free of this!” a wave of resistance came flooding in and made them feel sick to
their stomach.

I pointed out that
this was a spiritual process and while we personally might resist making
changes for the better, a response like this one indicated the real possibility
of dark spiritual forces acting out to prevent the person from experiencing
their freedom from a long establish stronghold.     

I reminded the
students of the fact that the demonic forces of darkness seek to steal, kill,
and destroy us and that scripture indicates that these forces have the ability
to put thoughts into our heads to try to influence us. The classic example is
the enemy tempting us to sin where the end result is us saying “why did I do
that? Why did I do it when I knew it was wrong?”   While we are personally responsible for the
choices we make and the actions we take, we very well may have received demonic
encouragements to give in to sin. 

One of the thoughts
I tried to expose as a possible source of demonic influence in our thought
streams was “I don’t want to”  or “I can’t
do that” or “that’s impossible.”  When these
thoughts come out in response to our desire to do something good, we have to
suspect a sinister form of resistance may be present. 

Ask yourself
logically,  “Why would I tell myself to
not do something that would help myself or others? Why would I repeatedly
choose to stay in a state of suffering that is brought on by my own decisions?”  

While I am not
saying that all thoughts of resistance are demonically inspired, I would
present the solution to both the demonic influences or the personal decision to
stay in bondage to be the same: the renewing of the mind with the word of God
and by having faith in God and His ability to deliver you when you cooperate
with Him.  

The participant’s
experience of getting physically ill at the thought of getting free of a
negative belief is highly suspect of demonic influence but instead of screaming
for an exorcist I assured them that whether their resistance was the enemy or
was just their own fear of change, the stronghold busting method of renouncing the
lie and proclaiming the truth of God’s word over themselves personally could be
an effective remedy that would lead to increased freedom and peace.

 

The ice cold
realities of dealing with change could include the spiritual forces of
darkness. Or it could just be us stuck in our ways.   But the good news is that through our faith
in Jesus Christ we have been given authority over the spiritual forces of darkness
and we have been given the power to overcome and change whatever negative “defense
mechanisms”, or strongholds, that we have been stuck in.  

So keep walking and
talking with God.  He wants you to
experience life and life more abundantly. When you walk with Him and believe
and speak the truth of His word over your life, the spiritual power of the word
of God and His presence in you becomes manifest as those lies you have believed
about yourself are exposed by His light and are replaced with the truth of what
God says about you.

Victory is gained
and our freedom is maintained through agreeing with and living by God’s wisdom
and ways.  Our harmonious relationship
with Him is the means by which we overcome and every time we adopt and apply
another truth from the word of God to our lives the more we know the peace and
joy that comes from walking in the Spirit.

Today’s Bible verse is
drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.  

This morning’s meditation verse is:

Proverbs 18:12 (NLT2)
¹²  Haughtiness goes before
destruction; humility precedes honor.

Today’s verse reminds us of the
consequences of pride and the benefits of humility. 

Haughtiness is the “quality of being
arrogantly superior and disdainful”. It means to be prideful, arrogant, conceited,
or full of hubris or self-importance. 

Today’s verse tells us that this
attitude will lead to destruction, and we can see that as playing out in two
ways, on earth and as it is in heaven. 

On earth, nobody is perfect and even
the most talented and intelligent of us will make mistakes or be subject to
other people’s influences or the effects of time and space.  Even superstars fail occasionally and grow
old and decrease in their abilities.   So
if we are haughty or prideful, eventually we will suffer because our air of
self-importance will be challenged by the world or by our own mortality.  Also our haughtiness could cause discord in
the relationships we have in life as few people are drawn to stay in relationships
with people who are self-centered.

So there are real life possible
negative consequences for a haughty spirit. 
But even if you somehow mange to avoid these things, or deny their
effects on your self-important life, pride will have eternal consequences that
can not be avoided.

Prideful people will not make Christ their
Lord and Savior and the consequence to that action is ultimate separation from
God and personal destruction in hell.  

So instead we are taught in today’s
verse to live in simple humility which means  to have a modest view of our importance or to
be humble. 

When we are humble we will recognize
our own failings and tend to be compassionate towards our neighbors.  That humble spirit will be recognized and
appreciated by others and tends to lead to acceptance into warm personal relationships. 

Beyond having the company of friends
and loved ones, humility could also cause us to see our need for a Savior and lead
us to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. 
So if we live in humility we could be given the great honor of being invited
into the kingdom of God as adopted members of the Lord’s royal family. 

So don’t be haughty, live in humility.
That’s the way Jesus walked when He was here on earth, and I can’t think of a
better example to follow that will help us to avoid destruction and to
experience the honor that comes from knowing God personally.       

 

As
always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from
prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with
their walk. 

Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s Dating:
Secrets to Great Relating When Dating  

As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work. If you need this title you can find it online at several
sites for less than $5.00:

H. How to Bolster Self -Worth After a Broken Relationship

What do you do after you say good-bye? When people fail us, we can
temporarily lose the sense of self-worth we gained by having them in our lives.
Losing a relationship with a significant person is hurtful to everyone, but it
can be devastating for some. The remedy can be found in looking to our true
Need-Meeter, to the One who gives us unfailing love…who makes us
unquestionably significant… who provides us unshakable security. God Himself
is responsible for meeting—and is able to meet—all of our needs for love, for
significance, and for security.

“What a person desires is unfailing love.” (Proverbs 19:22)

How
God Meets Your Need for Love

• Reject
  the lie that you are unacceptable or unlovable.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that when I experience rejection, You offer me love and acceptance.”

“He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV).

• Rejoice
  in the truth that you are deeply loved.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for the deep, unconditional love and kindness that You have for me. You
  love me even when I feel unlovable.”

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with
unfailing kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

• Revel
  in the reality that God is conforming you to the likeness of His Son.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that day by day I am becoming more and more like Jesus. Thank You for
  conforming me into His likeness.”

“Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son” (Romans
8:29).

• Rely on
  other treasured relationships to reaffirm your value.
  Pray…”Lord, I thank
  You for giving me dear friends who value me as a person and reaffirm me as
  one of Your precious children.”

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear
conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you [Timothy] in my prayers.
Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy”
(2 Timothy 1:3-4).

• Release
  all anger, hurt, resentment, and regret to the Lord.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for taking my anger, hurt, resentment, and regret. I lay it all down at
  the foot of Your cross.”

“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger,
rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8).

• Resume
  your social life and regular daily activities. Establish a “new
  normal.”
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for helping me reestablish my social life with those who are dear to me.
  Help me to receive their love, comfort, and support.”

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a
multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of
you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful
stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:8-10).

How
God Meets Your Need for Significance

• Realize
  that your identity is in your relationship with the Lord and not in another person.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that my identity is not based on what others think about me, but that my
  true identity can be found only in a relationship with You.”

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

• Reflect
  on the positive things you learned or changes you made as a result of
  being in the relationship.
  Pray… “Lord, thank You
  for all the wonderful things I learned as a result of being in my past
  relationship. Thank You, Lord,
  for the growth that has taken place in my life.”

“I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I
saw” (Proverbs
24:32).

• Reexamine
  the strengths and weaknesses of the broken relationship. Learn from any
  unwise decisions you may have made.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for the gift of discernment. Help me discern any unwise decisions I made
  while in my past relationship. Help me to overcome my weaknesses and
  continue to grow in Your strength.

“The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on
folly” (Proverbs
15:14).

• Rehearse
  instances that reflected sound judgment and discernment on your part.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for the gift of discernment and sound judgment that I know comes from Your
  Spirit within me.”

“My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,
preserve sound judgment and discretion” (Proverbs 3:21).

• Relegate
  the past to the past and embrace your God-ordained future.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for helping me leave my past in the past and for preparing me to embrace
  my future with You and all that You have ordained for me.”

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a
new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the
wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

How
God Meets Your Need for Security

• Rest
  in the sovereignty of God over all your plans and relationships.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for being sovereign in all areas of my life, including my relationships.
  Your plans for me are firmly set.”

“The plans of the Lord
stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11).

• Relax
  in the fact that God’s plans and purposes for you cannot be thwarted by
  the actions of another person.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that no circumstance and no person, including myself, can derail Your
  plans and purposes for me.”

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be
thwarted” (Job
42:2).

• Remember
  that God never allows anything in your life that He does not intend to use
  for your good.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that everything I experience in life will be used for my good, even the
  painful experiences will be used as a testimony to encourage others.”
  

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

• Resolve
  to face your heartache and to work through your grief with the Lord‘s help.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  for being my Comforter and Counselor when I am faced with heartache and
  grief.”

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

• Resist
  the temptation to withdraw.
  Pray…”Lord, thank You
  that I was created to be in relationships with others. Help me to seek the
  fellowship of friends and family even when I am tempted to withdraw.”
  

“An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound
judgment starts quarrels” (Proverbs 18:1).

Biblical Counseling Keys: Dating: Secrets to Great Relating
When Dating.

 

—————————more
tomorrow————————

 

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