Battlegrounds 1: Strongholds Of The Mind

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Battlegrounds 1 Strongholds Of The Mind

• Jon Wright
• 28th May 2006

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What is a stronghold?

• In short a defensive position/location
• Can be a walled city with a well inside for its
  own water supply, this can only be attacked by a
  siege warfare
• A stronghold can be a mindset, where a certain
  pattern set of triggers causes a certain
  reaction in someone.
• Paul says Our battle is not against flesh and
  blood but (2 Cor 103-5)

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What can cause strongholds to be created in
peoples minds?

• Our early education, our parents treatment of us
• An emotion hurt, doctrines from Church, abuse
• Strongholds are not just habits, habits are
  formed because of strongholds, i.e. stronghold
  caused by rejection ? develop habit of being a
  loner, looking at yourself as lost cause etc
• Strongholds wounds on people, press the right
  buttons and watch then jump!
• However we should not send wounded soldiers into
  battle, so we need to look at our strongholds and
  ask for Gods aid in dealing with them

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Strongholds of the mind

• The brain is a neural network, after X yrs no
  more neurons are created so we learn by creating
  new connections (pathways) between the neurons
• Pathways can built due to wrong teaching/ false
  words/ bad experiences
• Some pathways can lead to gated neurons where a
  memory is repressed via a chemical secretion
• Sometimes the pathways need to be changed,
  rewired, e.g. single ? married, non-believer ?
  born-again Christian

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The Stronghold Of The Godly Humility

• Matt 525-26, Agree with your enemy,
• He will say You are not worthy to be a
  Christian agree with him I am not worthy to
  earn it but Jesus and Jesus alone is my
  righteousness
• He will say You dont have enough love answer
  Youre right I dont, but the son of God died
  for all my sins even the sin of imperfect love
• He will say You dont pray enough answer
  Youre right I dont but
• Remember agree does not mean obey!

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Some common strongholds in new and mature
Christians

• Some Churches baptize infants / some dont
• Some do full emersion baptism / some dont
• Some say the gifts of the spirit ended 2k yrs ago
• Some say women can not preach / some say okay
• Some insist the NKJ is the one and only bible /
  some dont like it
• Some believe Christians can not be oppressed by
  unclean spirits / Some believe in deliverance
• Too often the stronghold of teaching on baptism
  makes us focus on our differences not our unity

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Strongholds can turn small molehills into huge
mountains

• Because of a stronghold we can sometimes not even
  recognize the truth, we reject the teaching
  automatically
• A stronghold can allow for the spirits of fault
  finder or false focus to operate many more
• These spirits will do their best to create
  division and disunity in the Church doubt in
  believers
• They concentrate on highlighting the differences
  between Christians and trying to make us believe
  that unity (which is what God wants) is impossible

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Pulling Down Strongholds2 Cor 103-5

• Deliverance starts with removing the enemies
  defenses
• V5 Hold thoughts captive to Jesus,
• eg. capture the thought I am a failure repent
  of it, ask God to forgive you for thinking it,
  Let your mind be renewed thro the word of God eg.
  (Phil 413)
• eg. arrest the thought I am a sinner replace it
  with a confession of your faith Though I was a
  sinner, I am now a beloved child of God and
  though I occasionally still sin the blood of
  Christ cleanses me of all unrighteousness (1 John
  19)

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Getting rid of the squatters

• Decide that Jesus is the Lord of your life and
  declare this (to others)
• Decide that you want to change your brain
  pathways
• If you need to forgive someone (perhaps a teacher
  for some false teaching, a parent, yourself
  then forgive them)
• Start repentance by changing the way you think,
  when the triggers come instead of allowing the
  stronghold to dictate your reactions, think
  differently will take between 3wks-3months (or
  longer)
• Bind the unwanted spirits in the name of Jesus of
  Nazareth
• Tell them to leave and to go to the foot of the
  cross in the name of Jesus of Nazareth
• Seek help there are many people here who can
  help you

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Can Christians have unclean spirits and or be
possessed?

• Christians can not be possessed by demons,
  possession implies an ownership and we belong to
  Jesus, however we can be oppressed by demons e.g.
  many people have a spirit of fear or deception
• Man is a tri-partate being spirit, soul and
  body, the Holy Spirit enters our spirit when we
  become Christians but the soul and body can still
  be resting grounds for unclean spirits.
• Deliverance is our process of cleaning up the
  body/soul following which we can ask the HS to
  fill the empty spaces.
• The great commission tells us to do what Jesus
  did and he cast out demons the apostles also
  did it,
• If you use 2 Cor 517 to say that the old has
  gone therefore the spirits left us at that time
  and we are new beings then shouldnt that also
  mean that Christians should never get sick - and
  of course we know that they do.

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The next few weeks in Oasis

• This week Strongholds/what they are/pulling them
  down Jon
• Sun 4th June Pentecost/the 10 commandments/ the
  Holy Spirit Karen
• Sun 11th June Baptism/What is it/Who should be
  baptized/How  Rock
• Sun 18th June Communion/What is it/Who should
  take it/Why is it so Holy Abraham
• Sun 25th June An invitation for anyone who has
  Jesus to be the Lord of their life and is not yet
  baptized to be baptized.