PULL DOWN THE STRONGHOLDS

PULL DOWN THE STRONGHOLDS
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NKJV).
There are many strongholds that the evil one is using against the Christian as an individual and as a whole. What are these strongholds? How can we pull them down?
The ordinary definitions of the word "stronghold" do not connote any evil sense. However, one usage of the word in the Bible gives us more insight into the necessity of the theme. The only place that the word stronghold is used in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians 10:4 where it is used metaphorically of those things in which mere human confidence is imposed. It is here beautifully used to denote the various obstacles resembling a fortress which exist, and which are designed and adapted to oppose the truth and the triumph of the Christian's cause.
These strongholds are what Paul referred to as "the rulers …the authorities … the powers of this dark world and …the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). They can be described as an atmosphere of darkness that has been strengthened or fortified for attack and affliction. They are the realms of spiritual warfare where the power of darkness strives to weaken the divine authority, usurp God's authority and thwart the plan and purpose of God for His creation.
Satan operates his strongholds in many areas. There are personal strongholds that lay siege against the individual in order to influence the life of the person negatively. No wonder, Job lamented, "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1, NIV). There are family strongholds that manifest in/through area of family life. The devil sees other institutions apart from the family as his catchments where he could prowl and thrive well in his activities. There are many satanic confederations that are operating as allies of the kingdom of darkness. They manifest themselves in the other religions of the world. These are what Paul referred to as "arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" and "every thought" that we are to be pulled down and made "…obedient to Christ" in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. Moreover, there are community and territorial strongholds where Satan and his cohorts build formidable but invisible walls against geographical locations for firm possession and control that are determined by a lot of factors.
Inasmuch as these strongholds are spiritual strongholds, it will require spiritual means to pull them down. Paul stated, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4, NIV). This divine power is the kingdom power – the ability and authority of the King (God or Jesus Christ) that He has bestowed upon the people of His kingdom. This is the reason why Paul advised, "…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes…. so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-13, NIV). The armour of God consists of godly virtues of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation as the defensive weapons, and the word of God and prayer as the offensive weapons (Ephesians 6:14-18).
What are those strongholds that Satan and his cohorts have built against you? We cannot pretend as if they are not there. Human resources and power cannot pull down these strongholds. They are like the wall of Jericho that required obedience to divine instructions in order to pull it down (see Joshua 6). You also will be able to pull down all the strongholds of the devil in your life if you can be obedient to God's instructions in His words, the Bible, by putting on the whole armour of God and fight the battle with the power of the kingdom. Victory is yours!
In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).catcmo2006 Thank You for stopping in this site it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers, intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.

Faith

Faith in the Greek " pistis (" faith') and pisteuo (" I have faith, trust, believe") which is the primary meaning: "Trust " or confidende" in God. In the Gospel of Mark 1:15 <> says: And saying, ' The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:repent ye, and believe the gospel. The silencing of Jesus Christ's ministers shall not suppress Jesus Christ's gospel. If someone laid aside, other shall raise it up, perhaps mightier than before when others carry on the same work. Jesus Christ came to set - up the kingdom of God among men, that they might be brought under subjection to it, and might obtain salvation in it. Even in Matthew 3:2 in conjunction with Mark, By our repentence we must recieve forgivness of them. Both together; we must not think that reforming our lives will save us without fully "trusting in God" in all of His righteousness and grace of Jesus Christ, or that trusting In Jesus Christ will save us with one's own reformation of our own hearts and lives. In the book of Habakkuk 2:4 'Behold his soul which is not upright in him: but the just shall live by faith. Now, in another version this same verse says: His brightness was like the light; He has rays flashing from His hand, And fever followed His feet. Just as some people today bring on simliar attributes that we recognize in people in this world today. and other live and breathe God's Word and they fully do what our scriptures share with us in the way we live it out. There are two kinds of classes of which we witness together: 1. The Proud, and haughty people,whom will be victors in the forth coming conflicts.The Righteous ones , whom will appear to be defeated in the forth coming conflict. This will be like [Chaldeans vs. Judah] but in full reality will be the victors because of ones own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When tossed and very perplexed with all kinds of doubts we are to watch against all of those temptation or being impatience in what's coming forth right from God. Our complaints and all of our request need to be poured out before God, then reserving His answer that He brings unto us by His Sword of the Spirit in behalf of what we had asked Him. Either through that promised Word often ties will be deffered long, it will come at another time and he graciously abundantly humbles us in the waiting often times very broken hearted, repenting sinner, along does seek to obtain one's own salvation. Then they will rest very deeply in one's own soul on God's promise, and on Jesus Christ through whom it is given. As one waits as He walks as one lives by faith they perseveres to one's end and is them highly exalted to God's glory; while those others get to distrust or dispises God's all - sufficiency and will not walk with Him. Just by living by having faith and holding on to His promises shall be happy not only here but that home in ones future. One day we all will be seeing His "Shekinah " glory which like Isreal, we too, will come out of the wilderness through His manifestation of His beautiful magnifying presence. Like the brightness of the sun, He spreads His awesome radiance throughout the heavens and upon the earth. Then we won't feel like ny of us has such a heavy burden, or just plain heavy in carrying a weight on us, in another way it does bring unto us good fortune as we have given unto Him in our honor and glory and praises unto our most high God in that solemnin whom He is of all that He has taken though while living in such deplorable conditions that now has risen unto Him with everything that is within us in our unity in giving Him our shouts of joy, praises, in His divine glory that only He (Himself) gives in His awesome divine self. We often times want to retreat , running away in which he does in those moments but then come to realize just what that moment brings unto us and we run ight back in with one's own spiritwe want it to last and never go away. But when we are with Him in that future home we will be able to always be in that type of glory in our new " Celestial " bodies that will be out right awesome and not remember those former things we had felt before in that human form of the body we live in today. Just thinking about this kind of a change for us whom has faith as His disciple in our future just really has me excited in knowing thats the way we will be just blows me out of the waters at times with such happiness and all adorations in me giving unto the Lord Jesus Christ even more in my own life . At different times in my own life I've seen an examples of what that pertains to just what I've described to you today. It's very hard to describe to You all in how it actually is in what I seen personnally about the celestial body. The only way for me to try to share with each of you is this. It's like seeing right through a person like pure glass that just radiates like you've never seen here on earth. It's colors is totally different in seeing it before your eyes that so very , very hard to even think about trying to come across to you. I am still finding it very hard to share it with you. But it's amazing to me to this very day. It an omniscience in seeing that kind of a being thats so hard to tell you about what I've seen and it had such a powerful brightness to it that's beyond my own mind even today. But it has given a moment today to have inside of me in doing my best I know whow to do in sharing with that presence that day when it had taken to a window frame as it had showed me the way out of my blood sweating bleeding all over my body at the ponit of which I knew that I was going to die in that horrible place as I had prayed to God and he sent his person to help me out of that place... As I looked around to see where those attackers where... I seen that figure wave its hands for me to get to safety that early morning hour with such a crown that was unbelievable to me at that moment in my life and I jumped through that window it carried to a roof and I ran and knocked on a door of an aprtment than collapsed on the floor that day. As Iknow look back upon that horrbile day I've never forgot what I saw in my very own eyes, and knew it was wanting to to flee in safety but that picture of that celestial person has never got far away from mind. It was so swesome and wonderful with peace that i've never felt before until those very moments... I guess ..I don't know for sure how long it was ..I just know what I saw. Later I had found out if I would have lost just a pint of blood I couldn't have been here to share this with anyone today. But that's what it was like being near that kind of celestial body that day. I sure hope it helps in some small way for you to see just what it looked liked to me in doing my very best to tell you just what it will be like for everyone in having that type of a body while living in heaven. Catcmo2006
catcmo2006 Thank You for stopping in this site it's about Jesus Christ first and prayers, intecessory prayer's and at other times about this vast world we live in today which this old world as we all know it is slowly departing to be reaching our home in glory.