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SCRIPTURE – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5                                                                                                                                                                 JULY, 2022

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 exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

SUBJECT – THOSE DAMN STRONG HOLDS!!!
The message for this month, and maybe next or so, has to do with what I would call a serious problem facing the Church, this nation, and especially the black community!

That problem is the failure of the Church in the black community, to recognize just how the enemy is using his devices and tricks, to build up a barrier between us, and the Christ we are supposedly serving.

Of all his devices, strong holds, are by far, at the top of the list because they are the most effective.

Okay, so just what is a strong hold, you might ask??

As the name implies, it is something that has a strong hold on someone, to the point that they can't break free.

It could be drugs, alcohol, disease, infirmity, associations, prison, or any number of things.

For our intents and purposes here, I am going to look at what many fail to recognize as being a stronghold that is being used by the enemy, to keep them from a closer walk with Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, if they don't get a handle on, and break free of it, it could very well, end up leading them to an eternity in hell!!!

The reason I say this is because, if Christ says we need to be doing/or not doing something, and we refuse to do it because it goes against something we believe, then our belief, as the subject scripture says, is being put ahead of what He says. That then translates in to disobedience [sin/rebellion], which is punishable by death and hell.

Now, what would cause someone that names the name of Christ, to remain in this position?? It would have to be something that has a greater grip on the individual than what Christ says. That would be a strong hold.

Now, I am going to show you some of the most common strongholds, that the enemy uses, to keep people separated from Christ!!

The first strong hold, is ignorance! Quite obviously, if you have no idea as to what is, or is not of God/Christ, you will quite literally begin to function as an individual that forms their own set of beliefs, usually based on the beliefs of those around you, or your own personal experiences..

You will make decisions based on what works for you or what makes you feel comfortable. And as such, it will become part of your personality[DNA]. And, when that happens, you have become locked in to that system of beliefs, which then means, anything that challenges those beliefs, is to be ignored, or destroyed. Change, is out of the question!!! As an old phrase from a TV commercial put's it, you would rather fight, than switch.

Now, the reason I picked ignorance as the first strong hold, is because all of the others, are rooted within it. [Hos. 4:6]

I do not believe that there is anyone, who is of sound mind and body, knowing what is waiting for them after they die, unsaved, would fully embrace things that go against God. So it has to be ignorance.

The next strong hold is fear. Fear is a condition that we all are subject to. In certain situations, where the possibility of injury, pain or some other condition that makes you feel highly uncomfortable, is almost certain, you may resort to doing whatever it takes to avoid it.

This is a condition that could drive almost anyone in to a state of insanity. People have done some of the most outrageous, dastardly, and egregious things, when they are gripped by fear.

The greater the fear, the more heinous their response to it will be.

The next stronghold is, education. Now, I know what you might be thinking, and that is, how can education be a stronghold, when it is what enlightens those that are ignorant??

Remember when I said earlier that because of ignorance, people form their own set of beliefs based on what is comfortable to them, as well as how those that they associate with, act, and believe??

Well, when you get groups of people to come together and express what they believe, and spread it to others, that is educating them.

Now, education, in and of itself, is a good thing. However, it is what is being taught to an individual, is where things go awry.

All of us are born into this world completely ignorant to how life works, so we have to learn. This is the process of basic education.

At one time, basic education was reading, writing and arithmetic. These are the cornerstones of any successful navigation through this life.

However, mixed in with that, are the ideas that those that are doing the teaching, believe to be facts. What you then have are ideas, or beliefs of others, being transferred in to your mind, to guide you to carry on a certain way.

This then becomes indoctrination! Indoctrination is where someone that wants you to live, act and think a certain way, will train, or groom you in to what they want you to be.

Without going in to a whole lot of detail, education today is about 10 percent education in the basics, and 90 percent indoctrination, as different groups want to have their ideas represented in the public educational system. And this is where the problems begin.

The primary targets of this indoctrination, are the most vulnerable of our society, the kids. The younger, the better.

The vast majority of our problems today, stem from the indoctrination of our children, going back to the late 50's.

It was back then that certain things were challenged by groups that didn't like what was going on in the public schools, as part of the educational process like prayer, the ten commandments, pledging of allegiance, and other things that were the foundation of America's prosperity.

When these were eliminated, over the next decade or so, things began to change for the worse.

This set up the condition for the last stronghold I will address, and that is parents, and family.

The vast majority of parents, and grand parents today, were children back then, or were taught by them, and have passed their values on to the kids today.

So, as you can see, these strongholds have a far reaching effect on all of us.

Parents, are the strongest of these that there are because, there are very few children today, that wouldn't question anything that would make it appear that their parent[s], were wrong in what they taught them.

To them, their parents are god. They can do no wrong, and are the smartest people in the world.

So, when someone comes along, and tells them that their parent[s], were wrong in a lot of what they were taught, you get the rebellion we are witnessing today.

Especially, when it comes to what God has to say about it!!

You see, the very first thing we need to know is, God is Real!!!

He, and notice, I said He, is not some make believe character, that was concocted by man, to control others.

The idea that I refer to Him as a He, upsets a lot of people, because their stronghold says that is putting a male, over the female. That means the female is not equal to the male. In their eyes, God, if there is One, should be gender neutral, or even be a female.

Their reasoning for this is, both sexes, are the same[equal]!!! Neither is better than the other.

However, that is not what He says!!

He created the man first. Then He created the female, to be his helper [Gen. 2:18].

A helper, is an assistant.

An assistant is someone, who, physically may be just as capable as the one they are assisting in doing certain things, but, may not have the expertise, or knowledge to perform them.

It is just like being on a job, and having a foreman over you. The foreman may be older, younger, male or female, but, because the company put them in charge over you, then, no matter how you feel about it, you had best accept it, and move on, or you might find yourself out on the street with no job at all.

Well, in like manner, God is the Head of all things, and He set up things the way He intends for them to work. And as a result, you either follow the plan, or find yourself out of favor with Him. And, believe me, you don't want to be there!!

The other thing is, He is in control of everything. Nothing good, or bad can happen to any of us, if He doesn't allow it.

This means, when something bad occurs in your life that has you thinking that it happened because of someone's evil actions, remember this, if it happened, it was probably because you had it coming.

There are many examples where someone had intentions of harming God's people, and God stopped them from doing so.

Then too, there are times when He allowed it to happen, as a means of proving one's spiritual position in this life. Sometimes it is for the person's own benefit, or for the benefit of others.

Job, in the old testament, is a good example.

The point is, if you don't know how, and why God does things, you are ignorant in that area, and subject to the strongholds of experience, fear, family friends and others, to get you the behave in ways that are not pleasing to Him!!

That then brings more trouble!!!

The vast majority of what people believe, is the product of years and years of thoughts and ideas being passed down from generation to generation, and a person is expected to follow in the footsteps of their family's elders.

Since family is part of an individual, then, going against them, is a real problem. It is like a betrayal of oneself. How can you go against family??? Let alone, going against your parents!!!

I know people today, and I am talking about those that are well up in years, that refuse to change from their ways, because mom and/or dad, told them that it was how they were taught by their parents, and therefore, that is how they should act.

So now, you have 2 or more generations of family, doing that, for our purpose here, is totally wrong in God's eyes, and the person decides to stick with family, which then puts them on the wrong side of God.

People will point to Bible scripture that says children should obey their parents, so that their lives will be lengthened [Exo. 20:12].

However, Christ says, He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me [Mat. 10:37]..

What this means is, IF, your parents are Godly, then you should obey them. On the other hand, if they are not, and you are old enough to know right from wrong, according to God, then, you need to separate yourself from those things before they destroy you.

No person wants to imagine their parents being in hell for what they had believed. However, that parent wouldn't want their child to end up in there with them. Plus you need to realize the fact that the parent just may have repented of their ways before they left here, and you knew nothing about it. Now, they are in Heaven, and you, because of your loyalty to what you thought your parents taught you was right, and you are headed to hell.

As I said, this is the strongest stronghold that a person may be bound to, strictly because it is mom and dad that taught you what they were taught.

The same thing goes for any other members of your family. If they are telling you something that goes against what God says, you are to reject it!

This brings us right back to ignorance. If you don't know what God has to say about something, then, you will accept what you are being told. More next month.



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