Jeffrey Stewart As long as a believer has an enemy stronghold in their lives, they can be used by the enemy unknowingly against themselves or others. A stronghold is any area in your thinking that agrees with a lie from the enemy, and is contrary to Gods Word. One purpose of renewing our minds is to remove all enemy strongholds from our lives, so we can say, like Jesus said, He has no hold over me (John 14:30) So an enemy stronghold in a believers life allows the enemy some hold over that believers life, and in that particular area, that believer is in bondage. Jesus said You shall KNOW the Truth, and the TRUTH shall set you free. Therefore, it is the Word of God, which is THE TRUTH, that breaks these bondages off of believers lives. Several of Jesus disciples had enemy strongholds in their thinking. We saw a stronghold of greed in Judas life, which allowed the enemy to use Judas against Jesus, by betraying Him. We saw a stronghold of pride in John and Jamess life, when they were asking Jesus Who was the greatest among them, who would be seated next to Jesus throne Peters stronghold was clearly described in scriptures. His problem was the stronghold of fear. He sank in the water due to fear. He betrayed Jesus three times due to fear. And it was this stronghold of fear that allowed the enemy to use Peter against Jesus. Peter began to fear FOR JESUS when Jesus spoke about His upcoming crucifixion. In the following scripture we see the enemy using Peter against the Lord Jesus, in an attempt to sidetrack Gods plan: Matthew 16:21-23 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” What we see in the above section of scripture is satan trying to use Peter against Jesus, in an attempt to sidetrack the Fathers plan FOR Jesus. The enemy always uses strongholds in believers lives to attempt to sidetrack Gods plan in some way. Peter WAS NOT AWARE he was being used by the enemy. Peter THOUGHT he was acting as Jesus friend in the above example. That is because Peter could not distinguish HIS thoughts from the ENEMYS thoughts. A stronghold is an area of our thinking where the enemys thoughts reside. It is an area where we believe that the enemys thoughts are OUR thoughts. So we are NOT aware when the enemy uses us when that stronghold becomes activated by the enemy, because WE THINK that the thoughts we are having are our own, but they are not. So satan was basically using Peter as a puppet, which is what satan does when he takes advantage of that hold he has in our thinking. When Jesus rebuked Peter, He was not actually speaking TO Peter, but to satan himself. So Jesus recognized the true nature of the satanic attack COMING THROUGH Peter. The enemy was tempting Jesus JUST LIKE HE DID during the three temptations in the wilderness, but this time, IT CAME THROUGH A FRIEND. This is one reason we must be very discerning of what we hear, EVEN WHEN IT COMES THROUGH A BELIEVER. We must get our minds renewed, so we, like Peter, will not be used against fellow believers. Though our spirits are made new when we believe, our minds are not. Though we are born again, our minds still contain many thoughts that are in fact lies from the enemy, thoughts that are contrary to Gods Word. Thoughts that we may believe are right, that are our own thoughts, but are in fact thoughts that originate from the enemy. And it is THESE thoughts keep us living in bondage and in defeat. When you read about Jesus teaching AGAINST the traditions of men, which cause the Word of God to be of no effect in peoples lives, He is speaking against STRONGHOLDS that keep people bound, enemy lies that are TAUGHT BY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE, that are contrary to Gods Word. He wants us to walk in the freedom that He purchased for us on the Cross. And we can only do that when we study the Word of God for ourselves. The purpose of revelation is to set people free, and His Holy Spirit is very eager to teach each one of us what Gods Word really means, if we only ask Him. Most religious bondage comes from reading Gods Word through mans eyes, and not through Gods eyes. He will give us the grace to read His Word through HIS eyes, if we ask Him. The Key to living the life of an overcomer is to think LIKE THE OVERCOMER, JESUS. We know that Jesus was the ULTIMATE OVERCOMER, for He said Be of good cheer, I have OVERCOME THE WORLD. (John 16:33) Renewing our minds enables us to think JUST LIKE JESUS, and overcome the world. There is a teaching that the believer cannot have enemy strongholds. This teaching is false, because PETER was obviously a believer in the Lord Jesus, for we see IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, Peter declared Jesus to be the Messiah, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 16:16). EVEN SOMEONE FILLED WITH GODS SPIRIT can have thoughts in their minds that originate from the enemy. We know this because Peter was CLEARLY FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT in Acts 2, yet in Gal 2:11-16 Paul had to REBUKE Peter because he was STILL being controlled by that stronghold of FEAR: Galatians 2:11-13 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, FEARING those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. In the above example, we see an enemy stronghold of FEAR CAUSING DIVISION AMONG BELIEVERS. The enemy knows that a house divided against itself CANNOT STAND, and one way the enemy tries to keep the CHURCH FROM STANDING TODAY is to use strongholds in believers minds to cause division. ALSO, if believers could not have enemy strongholds in their thinking, Paul would not have written Romans 12:1,2 - WHICH WAS ADDRESSED TO BELIEVERS: Romans 12:1,2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. If you are CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, you think like the WORLD THINKS, and live a life of bondage, because the world lives in bondage to the enemy. The Lord died for us to SET US FREE. The Lord wants us to be TRANSFORMED in our thinking by the WORD OF GOD, so that there are no ENEMY LIES in our thinking, no DEMONIC STRONGHOLDS OF THOUGHT in our minds, so that we will walk completely free from the enemys influence, just as free as Jesus walked, who said The enemy has no hold over Me You see, the WORD OF GOD is LIGHT. And where there is LIGHT, there is NO DARKNESS. As we renew our minds, Gods Light FILLS our thinking, and there are no lies from the enemy in our thoughts. When we as the church get our minds full of the Word of God, all enemy strongholds will be destroyed. The enemy will no longer be able to use us against one another. The Church will then be on earth as it is in Heaven for all to see, in answer to the Lords Prayer. The Lord Jesus says: I want My people who live on earth to think and believe like My people who live in Heaven think and believe. Heaven is full of light, and My People in Heaven KNOW who they are in Me. They walk in complete freedom from every demonic deception. They walk in the full freedom that I purchased for them on the Cross. My people in Heaven are an accurate picture of Who I AM. As a man thinks, so is he. So if you think like they think in Heaven, you will walk as they walk in Heaven. Speaking My Word as My Spirit leads will cause you to think and believe as they think and believe in Heaven. You became a Heavenly Citizen the moment you believed on Me (Phil 3:20) and My Word in your hearts and minds will transform you so that you will walk AS Heavenly Citizens in the earth realm. You will become an accurate picture of Who I AM. As My people are transformed, My Church is transformed. People will see the freedom of Heaven when they look at My Church. People will see the love of Heaven when they look at My Church. People will see the unity of Heaven when they look at My Church, in fulfillment of My prayer in John 17. For it will be ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN in My Church. My Bride WILL become the Glorious Bride that My Father has always wanted Me to have, for She will be an accurate picture of Me for all the world to see. This will cause MANY MILLIONS to be drawn to Me and be saved, and My Father will THEN send Me to bring My Bride to be with Me forever.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 18:10:00 +0000
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