“Therefore if any
person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new
creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has
passed away.
Behold, the fresh and new has come!”
II Corinthians 5:17
(Amplified)
Let’s look at some
essential steps to be taken to continually demolish strongholds in our lives.
The very first step
is to be saved!
Maybe you think that
goes without saying but it is necessary to say just the same.
The natural man
cannot receive the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned.
If you or I are not
born again we will not see the need for a transformed mind.
What the spiritual
man sees as a stronghold against the work of God the natural man may view as a
positive state of mind.
You see the natural
man and his carnal mind is at odds with the born again, spirit filled believer.
Step one in
demolishing strongholds is to receive the salvation purchased for us on the
cross.
The second step is to
repent of the strongholds in your life that shouldn’t be there.
Are you battling a
stronghold of rebellion or of sexual perversion in your life?
Listen to how Matthew
4:17 is expressed in the Amplified version –
“From that time Jesus
began to preach, crying out, Repent (change your mind for the better, heartily
amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins),
for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”
Remember – repentance
is not merely feeling sorry for your sin;
it is turning (180
degrees) from it.
It is a complete
change of direction.
So we see that step
one is a new birth and it is followed by a second step of repenting of those
strongholds in our lives.
Aren’t all of my sins
forgiven when I come to Christ?
Yes, they are.
But forgiveness is
not the same as walking in the freedom that Christ gained for us at Calvary.
Sadly, I can be
forgiven but still walk in bondage.
I can be forgiven but
still have strongholds that keep me from walking in freedom.
Have you taken step
one?
Have you taken step
two?
No comments:
Post a Comment