Another major stronghold and you see it today all over the world (it's fuelled by media), fear - fear and anxiety. Fear is a spirit, the Bible says. “God has not given you a spirit of fear, He's given you a spirit of power, a spirit of love”. God has given you a spirit that reveals you're loved - and it overcomes the fear! A lot of people right now are reacting in fear, because of what they see going on in the world; but we're not to be that kind of people - we're called to be something different. We're called to be passionately filled with the love of God; and having an answer to the fears that others have!
How can you do that, if you've got a stronghold of fear? You'll be attracted to things that stir your fear. What's going to happen? What's going to happen next? There are so many people living that way - fearful of what's going to happen next. Just read the Bible - it tells what's going to happen next! It tells us that the big end of everything is Jesus, and His kingdom prevailing over all things! It tells us that before that happens, there's going to be a lot of troubles in the earth; and yet the whole church… people get so full of fear when they see stuff happening! You're yielding to the wrong spirit!
Those things that are happening, that engender fear… that are stirred by others engendering fear… are sent to try and attack you; and bring you into fear; bring you into agreement with it. God wants you to be stirred to overcome it, to break that stronghold, so you live in no fear of what you're reading and seeing. In fact, you stop reading, and seeing a lot of stuff, because your focus is on an invisible kingdom. Your focussed on looking to Jesus - the author, and finisher, of our faith. It's our faith that will overcome.
How can you overcome, if you keep filling your mind with the wrong stuff? We're to be caught up in praise and worship, as sons and daughters of the living God; building a house that honours Him; and having the boldness to come forth, out of His presence, with answers.
Strongholds, they don't go away. You must overcome them; and that stronghold is set in front of you, for your maturity. If you won't defeat your stronghold, you remain immature. If you'll take the challenge, and face, and overcome the stronghold you have, you will grow in maturity.
You will be able to build upon now that new piece of land; like in the Old Testament - there was a piece of land, that's occupied by the enemy. If you want the land, then overcome the enemy. When you've overcome the enemy, now you plant, and cultivate, and use the land for your benefit - that's how war works. We are to overcome the places in our mind and heart where there are strongholds, and to cultivate the word of God, cultivate the love of God, cultivate faith. It's God's plan for us. That's God's plan!
All these strongholds are caused by violations of love, or a withdrawing of love. The remedy will be the love of God. It's encountering what love is really like. Freedom will begin when we start to connect with the one who loves us and start to experience His love.
When the Prodigal Son returned home, he was in a mess… but his father ran to him, embraced him, and hugged him, and loved him, and restored him - that's what love looks like!
How are we going to break strongholds? We've got to make a decision, that I will do all I can, to connect with the love of God, through worship. I will begin to engage Him; and then I need to address the strongholds...