In my last post (Kingdom Life) I talked about several things, one of them, not being conformed to this world and the other being the choice we have between life and death. Today we will continue studying these things along with the power and authority that we have been given.
As always, I will start with Hosea 4:6 "My people perish from lack of knowledge" and Romans 10:14 "How can they believe in one of whom they have never heard And how can they hear unless someone proclaims him. And who will go to tell them unless he is sent?
So, as I said above this is a continuation of my last post. I am hoping to pick up where I left off. We often hear about the power and authority, the power of God's word, but it seems that we lack when it comes to teaching the application of said power and authority (God's word). We see in Luke 10:19 that Jesus has given to the 70 disciples "Behold, I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing in any way shall harm you." Not only did he give that power and authority to the 70, but to us also. This power and authority is found all throughout God's word. It is in our thoughts, our words, and our hearts. Deuteronomy 30:14 "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and your mind and in your heart so that you can do it." Unfortunately, we seem to discount his word when it comes to the world we currently live in, putting more faith in man, careers, etc., than we do in God. We have let the value of God's word be pushed to the back of our minds, almost like it has passed away like it was only effective then and not now. This leaves us at the mercy of the fallen world. We believe in God and in Heaven but are waiting to die to receive all that he has provided for us. Well, guess what, God's word is still alive and active and the same yesterday, today, and forever, Amen. It is based on the same unchanging principles, that my friend, is unshakeable, unchanged. So today, let's talk about this.
Let's start in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 Paul is addressing the church of Corinth reminding or teaching them that "Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (our wrong thinking.) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (God's word.) And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete." This my friend, is the battle. Our weapons of defense are how we think, and what we do with our thoughts when we are confronted with the worldly lies of the devil. This is so important to learn, I can tell you that for many years I lived in the same condition as the world. I simply had no clue that we were supposed to be in control of our thoughts. Yes, I spent much of my youth in "church", No, this was never talked about. How is it that we do this, by knowing exactly what God's word is concerning all things of life? Not just a few things, but all things. This takes a relationship with God, the relationship is built through seeking and study. Unfortunately, I believe many have the notion that God is so far away that we will see the promises and goodness of God after we die. That he is so far away that a relationship is impossible. If you refer back to Deuteronomy 30 and look at verses 12-13 you will see that God is always near, just waiting for us to turn our trust and faith back to him. To turn our backs on the fallen world. Sorry, I think I am getting a little too wordy here. The point I am trying to make is that we can choose what we think about, do we choose life and blessings or sin and death. Yes, I said sin. Throughout the bible our wrong, misguided thinking is considered wicked and evil (this is where sin takes root), because our focus and love is on the world and its things, not on our creator. I really hope this makes sense.
Strongholds, it is more than addictions to drugs, alcohol, and such. A stronghold can be our mindset, our thoughts, and strong opinions that we may not be willing to let go of. We need to understand that our personality is really a reflection of our mindsets, whether good or bad, our actions and reactions are a clear image. I really do hope that this is making some sense. There again, I am getting away from my goal here. Our power and authority start in our thinking and our words. Basically, if we think like the world, then we will produce worldly fruit, fear, anger, aggression, anxiety, depression, sickness, and confusion. If we think on the word of God, then we will produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23.) I don't know about any of you, but I personally was soul-tired from all of the worldly things, the normal things of the world. The world will tell you that it is normal to feel all of the negative emotions and will suggest many solutions, but they are generally short-lived, simply masking the root of the issue.
As always, it is my hope and prayer that this helps. I hope that you are blessed.
Much Love
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