Stronghold Beliefs Part 2
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Luke 1:18-20, 64; Romans 10:17
This is Part 2 of my series on Stronghold Beliefs. Last week I shared with you that this series will focus on the stronghold beliefs that we need to develop versus those that need to come down because they exalt themselves against the knowledge of God (Second Corinthians 10:3-5.) I also shared with you in Part 1 that the first stronghold belief that Christians should have is their belief that they need to be about our Father’s business. This belief was the guiding force for everything that Jesus did. He was totally committed to fulfilling the work that His Father had commanded of Him. Likewise we too must have this belief guiding us if we are truly going to fulfill the calling of God on our lives.
This morning I want to share with you how stronghold beliefs are formed and as I mentioned last week, the impact that doubting has on their development. So how do we transition from a position of just believing something to it becoming a stronghold belief that we defend – going from a place of weakness (beliefs that you cannot defend) to one of strength (beliefs that you can completely defend)? Before answering this question, I want to remind you of the definitions I gave you last week for the words belief, strong, hold, and stronghold. For the purposes of this series, belief is defined as the “acceptance by the mind that something is true or real, often supported (or fortified) by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty.” Strong is defined as “able to withstand great force or pressure.” Hold is defined as “an act or manner of grasping something; power or control.” Finally, stronghold is defined as “a place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld” and it is this definition that I will be referencing throughout this series.
Now, let me make an observation before I continue. A person who does not have a habit of reading and studying the Bible for themselves but depend on what people say the Bible says, will not be in a position to develop stronghold beliefs he or she can defend. You can sit here and listen to message after message about what God says in the Bible, but if you never get into the Bible and read it and study it for yourself, you will be like the person described in Ephesians 4:14 – a child who hears something he likes and follows it and when something different comes along, will follow that too.
Last week I talked briefly about the walls of Jericho and how those walls were their stronghold. If you recall from Joshua chapter six and verse one, when the Israelites approached Jericho they shut up gates so that no one was able to enter and no one was able to leave. I shared with you that Jericho was located on a hill so to approach the city you had to go up an incline. Also, the walls of Jericho were not one singular wall, there was a three-tier wall system in place which began on an embankment. As you climbed the embankment to approach the city of Jericho, you were met with a retainer wall that stood 12-15 feet high. On top of the stone retaining wall, stood another wall made of mud-bricks, 6 feet thick, and 20 to 26 feet high. Together these two walls combined to form a fortification 32 to 41 feet high. Once you entered the gates of the first double wall, you’d find yourself still looking up as the embankment continued to climb upwards. The third tier was at the very top of the embankment where yet another mud-brick wall stood. At their base, the walls of Jericho stood 46 feet above ground level outside the retaining wall. To the Israelites below, Jericho seemed impenetrable. The illusion created by the two walls on the bottom, and the large wall at the crest of the embankment, seemed to stand nearly 10 stories in height from ground level! From this height, the Israelites must have seemed like ants, and surely were deemed no threat whatsoever.
When you consider the work that went into these walls, Jericho was probably one of the safest places to be if there was an attack. First the attacking force had to climb uphill to attack the city and secondly when they did they were met with three very tall walls. A lot of planning went into the creation of their walls and I am sure they were proud of their accomplishment. In truth, the Israelites could not have taken that city without the help of God because the city was truly impregnable. The engineers and workers had done their jobs well and made sure that every piece of the wall was manufactured and placed according to the plans.
My point with this story is this; natural strongholds do not develop overnight. Strongholds develop over time and with much thought and planning going into its creation. Many hours are spent thinking about the needs, drawing up the plans, and thinking through all facets of its weak points and areas of strength so they can minimize the weakness while fortifying the strengths. Once everything has been considered, the best plan is taken and the stronghold is built. The same process applies to our stronghold beliefs. They are formed over time, through our life experiences and through study to verify the belief. The problem we face sometimes is that not all of our experiences are good so therefore some of our beliefs are based on negative experiences and are reinforced by repeated negative experiences and those repeated negative experiences over time become strongholds in our life. Let me give you an example. A person enters into a relationship and it does not work out. Although they got hurt they still believe there is a person out there for them. So they continue to be open to a relationship. Well after several failed relationships, they start believing that all men or women (whichever the case may be) are bad and therefore they stop seeking to have a loving relationship which effectively closes the door to it ever happening. Remember, a stronghold can be both a fortified place of protection and/or a prison – it all depends on the stronghold and how it impacts our life.
The walls of Jericho were built to perfection so there were no weak points within the walls. But what if they were not built to perfection? What if the designers miscalculated and over time the wall began to decay, crack and crumble. What if once the decay started it was ignored and nothing was done to repair it? In this situation what was once a stronghold now ceases to be because it was being weakened over time. Any area of the wall that was unable to serve its purpose became a weak point for the people behind the wall and an opportunity for the enemies on the outside of the wall. Enemies will always attack the weak points of any stronghold position – this is true in battle and in life. If the walls of Jericho had begun to deteriorate and nothing was done to repair them, any army could have attacked the city and possibly gotten within the wall.
The same thing happens with our stronghold beliefs when we hold a belief that has not been maintained (repaired) or fortified. Our spiritual stronghold beliefs are constantly coming under attack by those around us – family, friends, co-workers, the world, etc. The cracks (deterioration) within our stronghold beliefs are represented not by physical cracks you see on a wall, but the mental cracks of uncertainty that we shall call doubts. Remember last week I told you that stronghold beliefs and doubt cannot exist in the same space? This is because by definition a stronghold belief is a belief that is held so strongly internally that nothing on God’s green earth will make you change that belief. However, the opposite is true with doubt. When we doubt anything it means that we are open to having our minds changed if we hear an argument that so strongly convinces us that we are wrong. Doubt is defined as “to feel unconvinced or uncertain about something, or think that something is unlikely.” By definition alone a stronghold belief cannot exist where there is doubt. Remember what we read in James last week? James said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) That word “double-minded” means to waver; vacillate; actually to demonstrate hypocrisy.
God knows that we will have times when we doubt, however He expects us to search out the truth in order to remove the doubt. Doubts can only be removed when it is replaced with truth – truth that is fortified by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty. This can only happen when you search until you know – and I am not talking about what you might “think”, but what you “know” deep within. When you know something with this certainty it becomes a stronghold belief that you can defend without doubt.
In the first chapter of Luke, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah to inform him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child. Both he and Elizabeth were old so Zachariah doubted what Gabriel told him. Listen to what was recorded in Luke 1:18-20. “And Zachariah said unto the angel, ‘How shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well advanced in years.’ And the angel answering said unto him, ‘I am Gabriel, that stands in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings. And, behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because you believe not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.” Zachariah lost his ability to speak for the entire time that Elizabeth was pregnant because he doubted, was unconvinced or uncertain about the angel had told him and wanted proof versus just believing the words of Gabriel. Do you know that most times when we ask for proof it’s because we doubt what we are being told? If you continue reading the first chapter of Luke you will see that eight days after Elizabeth delivered her baby, it came time to choose a name. The family wanted to name him after Zachariah, but Elizabeth told them his name would be John. When they disagreed, they asked Zachariah, who was still unable to talk. He asked for a writing pad and wrote that his name would be John. Verse sixty-four records, “And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, and praised God.” Just as Gabriel had told him, once everything was fulfilled, he would be able to speak. The thing I find interesting about this record is this: Zachariah was a priest and he knew the story of Abraham’s visitation by the Lord. I’m sure he probably even taught it to the people. And yet, he doubted. Here’s my point: just because you know something intellectually doesn’t mean you believe it. Zachariah’s knowledge of Abraham’s story was not a stronghold for him.
Romans 10:17 says “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Do you know what the definition of faith is? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Encarta dictionary defines faith as, “belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.” The key words in this definition are belief in, trust in and without logical proof. If you recall from the story of Zachariah, this is what he did – he lacked the faith to believe the angel Gabriel. He asked for proof and the proof given to him was his inability to talk until John was born and given his name.
Remember the story of Peter walking on the water? Jesus was walking towards them and when the disciple saw Him they were afraid and thought He was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them and told them not to be afraid. Then here comes Peter asking Jesus to allow him to come out on the water to Him. Matthew 14:28-31 records the following “Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Peter gets a bad rap for doubting, but look at what he did do. He knew it was Jesus and he knew if Jesus told him to come to Him then he could. So he asks Jesus to command him to come. Did you notice that he asked Jesus to “command” him to come? Peter understood that if Jesus commanded something it would happen. Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water. But then something strange happens. He forgets that Jesus had commanded him to come to Him and focused instead on the wind and wave. He doubted. When he doubted his ability to continue walking on the water ceased. How often do our doubts hinder us for continuing in what Jesus has called us to do? I also want you to see the mistake Peter made. The Bible says he saw the wind. Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, the one who commanded him to come. Jesus kept His word but Peter lost sight of Jesus. Do you see what I’m saying? Our doubts will always contradict and/or act against our faith and ultimately our belief. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and believed he could walk on the water he did! As soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and doubted, he stopped! Do you see the relationship? His doubt caused his belief (and faith) to waver and when that happened, he stopped walking in faith and started sinking.
One final Scripture before I close this morning. Turn with me to the book of Jude. Jude 20-22 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting.” I have told you previously that it is ok to doubt when you are seeking answers. The only reason we ever search for truth is because we are curious and we want to be sure. God knows that we will have times when we doubt, but He does not expect us to just sit on our doubts. He expects us to do something about it. If we are struggling in our beliefs, He expects us to study and search His word until we either dispel the belief or it becomes a stronghold belief which we could defend. Any belief that you are unsure about must be confirmed one way or the other so that you know that you know. Jude says that we should build ourselves up in our faith and we should have “mercy on some who are doubting.” Why should we have mercy on some who are doubting? We show mercy through patience because there is still a chance to convince them of the truth. Our mercy toward the “doubter” should be “new every morning” just like God’s mercy is toward us.
A stronghold belief in a belief that you can defend. There are several stronghold beliefs that I will share with you in this series. These are those beliefs that people struggle with, especially those who are not Christians. As a Christian we need to know how to answer those who have questions about the core beliefs of Christianity. I do not want you to take my word for any of this, but I want to provide you with the Scriptures references so that you can study them for yourself and come to you own belief. My desire is that at the conclusion of this series you will have the foundational Scriptures you need to transition your general beliefs in these areas to stronghold beliefs because you will be able to defend them with Scripture.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
