Pulling Down Strongholds

PULLING DOWN STRONGHOLDS

2 Cor. 10:4-5

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A 5-year old girl was talking to her priest and she kept staring at his clerical collar.

2. He finally said, “Didn’t your momma tell you what this collar means? It represents our love and commitment to Christ.”

3. She said, “All I’ve ever heard, is that those collars get rid of fleas and ticks, and are good for 60 days!”

B. TEXT

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” Mt. 11:12, NIV1984.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” 2 Cor. 10:4-5.

C. THESIS

1. Nobody is going to coast into heaven.

2. Ephesians 6:13; "and having done all, to stand."

3. Someone might can knock me down, but if I keep getting up, I can outlast them.

4. Mohammad Ali -- kept taking blows until his opponent was exhausted, and then knocked him out!

5. Today we’re going to look at “Pulling Down Strongholds!”

I. PAUL SAID, “OUR WARFARE”

A. EVERY CHRISTIAN IS A SOLDIER

1. AUDIENCE QUIZ: “WHAT ARE SOME UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT SOLDIERS? (Uniforms, haircuts, new recruits don’t take much – the Gov’t meets all their needs, they are often deployed, given orders, go to bootcamp, etc.).

2. God says we all must be soldiers. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.” So if we want to be free, we must be soldiers!

3. Paul said, “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Tim. 2:3-4, NKJV.

4. WE’RE IN A WAR BETWEEN 2 KINGDOMS. We’re to “fight” the good fight, and “wrestle” in prayer.

5. SOLDIERS are the people who do the fighting, carry the weapons, & risk their lives for their cause.

6. The “Church” is not a democracy. You either obey Jesus your commanding officer or you're in insubordination! Obedience to Christ is true freedom; freedom to live above the carnal nature.

B. THE ENEMY WON’T WILLINGLY LET you have what you want – you must fight for it.

1. Paul tells us that Satan will actively resist any efforts to take back people or institutions from him.

2. No wimps, willy-nillys, or mack-daddys will ever overthrow the enemy. No haphazard attempts will defeat our determined foe and turn the world upside down.

3. ONLY A DEFINITE, PLANNED ASSAULT WILL TAKE GROUND! Daniel said, “...but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” Dan. 11:32.

II. 3 REQUIREMENTS OF SOLDIERS:

A. COMMITMENT

1. Bert Clendennen was a rough soldier who survived the Bataan Death March (of U.S. soldiers in Philippines) and got saved. He became an evangelist and preached hard against sin. He promised those smoking cigarettes they would be free if they came forward.

2. When a man came forward, he said, “Pray this prayer to God; ‘Dear God, I promise never to put another cigarette in my mouth, & if I do, please strike me dead!’”

3. The man cried, “I can’t pray that!” Clendennen grabbed him by his shirt collar, shook him, and bellowed, “Pray it boy!” The man did, and to no one’s surprise, the man never again put a cigarette in his mouth!

4. An uncommitted Christian is an unbeliever. If you believe in something, you'll commit. If you haven’t committed, it’s because you don’t believe.

5. You’re faithful to those you love. Do you know a Jesus worth dying for? Paul said, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die...for the name of the Lord Jesus” Acts 21:13.

B. COURAGE – 2nd requirement

1. Are soldiers afraid when they go into battle? Sure, but they overcome those feelings to obey their commander’s orders.

2. Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. Martin Luther King said, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” I agree with that! It’s time for silent people to speak up for Jesus!

3. Courage, according to Ernest Hemingway, is “grace under pressure.” The Spirit of God wants to take us beyond our fears, beyond our comfort zones, beyond any previous experiences -- into realms of word and deed that can only be accounted for by the Spirit of God!