Strong holds
All too often as Christians we feel like we have failed, and are guilt ridden. It strips us of faith, strength, and causes us to feel hopeless and worthless.
Which is exactly the opposite of what we should feel as a child of God.
We are going to journey back a little to Exodus 17
Looking at verses – 1-7 first I am going to read all of them then we are going to go back through them.
Where we are in the Bible, God is using Moses freeing the Isrealites from Egyptians
Vs. 1 – NKJV, KJV,NASV uses the words ‘wilderness of sin’
NIV uses ‘desert of sin’
Wilderness- what comes to mind when you think about that word?
- Desolate, alone,
Desert – as used in the NIV I think of dry
The Isrealites were told to get out of it, leave. The scripture is not specific about what sin they were to leave they were just told to leave.
• Keep that written in your mind as we go on with this lesson
Verse 2- the people contended with moses, they were thirsty.
It must have been an immense thirst they had been traveling out for sometime at this point – in this sense they were literally thirsty. There was no water to drink.
Now the problem was not asking for water but the ISrealites contending with Moses was the problem.
-the word contended is a verb often used to describe a judicial dispute.
Here they were grumpily complaining,
Moses ‘judged’ this to be a challenge to Gods faithful mercy telling them to leave the wilderness of sin. It shows evidence of unbelief in His, as in Gods provision.
For them to be contending with moses about their thirst basically they had a bad attitude they didn’t know that they were right square in the middle of a blessing all they think of was their physical needs.
Vs. 3-5
God was going to give them their needs, in His time he certainly wasn’t going to remove them from a wilderness of sin and not provide. But what could have been a joyful blessing turned into a bittersweet blessing.
In verse 7 that very last statement ‘is the lord amoung us or not?”
-These people have already seen Gods power in the plagues, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea and the provision of manna Every day they saw the pillar of His prescense yet they were impatient and questioning.
Have you ever find yourself in this predicament, question if God is with you?
Now turn to Deut 6:
This is still the same people they have still been traveling, from when God told them to leave the wilderness of sin
(read these verses)
6: 10:11-12 – he was taking them to the promised land, the place He promised freeing them from bondage that they didn’t even know. And they even questioned God being there.
Yes they didn’t know where God was sending them but we cant see the future in our lives. We cant see Gods great plan. That’s why we have to trust in The Lord and not lean on our own understanding.
Still in chapter 6:This what we were just talking about in Exodus.
It says tempt Him. How do we tempt God?? Rebelliousness and sin
It also says do what is right and good telling us to be faithful To God, as He moves out our enemies.
Now skim down to verse 23.
Deut. 6:23 (NKJV) ‘ Then HE brought us out from here, that He might bring us in”
God brought them out of defeat – into victory. Just as He had promised.
In this verse its telling you that God will bring you out of defeat and into victory”
Defeat to victory.
I don’t know how many of you are feeling defeated today, but The Word Of God Speaks and The Lord is telling you today that There will be victory. He will deliver you from defeat.
Thinking back to that wilderness of sin..maybe some of you are trapped there in that wilderness and Gods telling you to get out! Leave! And there is just something there that you just cannot part with.
Back in Deut. Lets look at Deut. 10 verse 11 can someone read
He says ‘arise begin your journey GO GET WHATS YOURS..its there and waiting for you. This was told to them we just spoke of from Exodus to Deut.
--in order to go on and get what is ours we have to make the first step of faith but getting out of that wilderness of sin we are in we cant inherit what God has promised if we are stuck with our own understanding in the wilderness.
Maybe you know that whatever it is, is getting you nowhere,that your in the wilderness, in the desert where its just so dry desolate empty and lonely.
Just as the Isrealites were so caught up in their own desires, yes which at the time appeared a need, but God was going to provide. They cant even think of what God has already done for them and got them through thus far they couldn’t even fathom what God is perfectly capable of doing.
These things these desires that keep us in that wilderness of sin, my sister.. it’s a strong hold.
What Is A Stronghold? Anything that masters you has a potential stronghold on you. Let’s look at two places in the Bible that helps us understand “strongholds”
Isaiah 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We are incapable of determining God’s thoughts through human reasoning; therefore we are dependent on divine revelation to understand God’s thoughts, and way of thinking.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; {6} in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Strongholds can be anything any form of comfort you feel or find that you cannot depart from, even when the Lord tells you to do it. You struggle leaving your own thing, your own sanctuary, your own comfort. But why?
Strong holds can be people,
it can be sin,
it can be old sin that you don’t feel like God has forgiven you of. ( 1 john 1:9 says ‘if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness’ There is only one sin God cannot forgive, it’s the one that you wont take to Him.
Strongholds are anything that stands between you and God.
Anything preventing you from being in Gods will instead of your own wilderness of sin.
Anything that is holding you back from experiencing the joy of Gods grace.
Is God speaking to you about something today, is he stirring your heart.
Break free from it! Rebuke it! Don’t be afraid.
Phillipians 3:13-14 “Brethern I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”
There is only one way to put things behind you.
Let go of it, and go on, go on and leave it laying and do not stop.
Strong holds are a lot like laundry, you seem to get caught up and there is yet more to do.. We always are having to fight against sin so we constantly have to ‘be cleansed’
As I sit around thinking about this past weeks lesson, and my was it a lesson for me. God spoke to me more about Strongholds.
YOu know, your first thought in the morning..your last worry at night.Those 'enemies' that dominate your day and take away joy. Giving us that feeling of failure.
Our 'enemies' if you will, they are not just people that inhibit our lives. THey are situations. Unemployment, abandonment, depression, bills you cant pay, people you cant please, a past we cant shake or even a future you cant face.
We have to face our 'enemies' but we dont have to do it alone. All we have to do is call on King Jesus, He will hold our hand face our enemies for us.. Maybe our enemy is something a loved one is doing that is wrong. And you find yourself thinking he/she is never going to stop this. They are never going to get over their 'stronghold'. They are just running from God... First my friend. You have a friend. And unbias, all powerful, slow to talk but fast to listen friend, who is always available. Its never to late to call this friend, never to early, Call on Jesus. You'll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. Are you in the wilderness? Find refuge in the presense of God. Find comfort in his people.
We have to see our enemies not as Gods failures but as Gods work in progress projects. When we see projects that are halfway done its hard to imagine the finish product. Forgiveness is choosing to see your offender with different eyes. How we handle our tough times, stays with us for a Long time. Are you willing to ask Jesus to help you with your 'enemy' your stronghold? He cant help...if you dont ask.
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