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John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly
Ephesians 4:27
Neither give place to the devil.
The thief comes to steal from us, especially our spiritual growth and effectiveness for the Lord. It's not a mystery of how he does it, because we are not unaware of his schemes. It is, according to Ephesians 4:27, because we give him a place or foothold. Another translation puts it "Don't give the devil an opportunity."
When this happens what develops are strongholds, which you could look at like an enemy who has taken over a friendly bunker or building which he will defend. You are no longer effective; imagine trying to wage warfare from a camp in which the enemy has taken up positions. No, the first priority is to clear the camp out.
2 Corinthians 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)
2 Corinthians 10:5
We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We see that we have powerful weapons, mighty through God, and we use those weapons to tear down strongholds. How does that work? We see in verse 5 that the warfare is conducted in our minds, because thoughts are being taken captive to obey Christ. What is causing our thoughts to go astray are arguments and presumptions which are set up against the knowledge of God.
What exactly is the weapon we use to take every thought captive?
Ephesians 6:17
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The word of God is what will tear down the arguments and presumptions set against the knowledge of God. We have to watch what we are thinking to see if it contradicts the knowledge of God. You must be studying the word to be able to know whether it does or not.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We must study to be able to rightly divide the word of truth. Another way you could say it is to discern the correct interpretation of what the word of God is saying. There is a correct interpretation because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and many times a particular verse will have multiple meanings and even multiple prophetic fulfillment's.
Psalm 119
Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
We need this light. In James it says that the word reveals us for who we really are.
James 1:23
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
James 1:24
For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
This is a picture of how the reveals our innermost being, but also a picture of the spiritual warfare involved. We see that we can forget what we are like when we do not act upon the word of God. The battle is taking place when we hear the word and do not act upon what it says. Because we refuse to act, it's not just that we lost a battle, but we become deluded about ourselves.
A person won't seek a cure for something if they don't know they are sick. Like a hidden disease, it will continue to fester and spread and become more virulent. It is so important that we exalt the truth in our lives, and make it our highest priority to act upon what the word reveals to us.
We can't stop a thief we can't see, and the devil will continue to blind us to his activities as he convinces us to ignore the plain truth God has revealed to us. The arguments we use against the word of God is the spiritual warfare the enemy is conducting against us, often times from somewhere in our camp. Sin is deceitful and we will have a much harder time following the truth when sin is in our lives.
So far I've only told you about the problem, and the weapons God has given us to overcome the problem, but there is something missing. The primary key is found back in 2 Corinthians 10:5
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)
The weapons we have are only mighty through God, we have to remember that we are standing and fighting from the victory that the Lord Jesus Christ had over the devil at Calvary.
Luke 11:21
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
Luke 11:22
But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
Satans possessions are safe from us, but the One who is stronger than he, the Lord Jesus Christ, has spoiled his goods. When we submit to the truth of Gods word, especially about ourselves, then our Lord will renew our minds and help us to see and follow the truth. He will tear down the strongholds only when we obey His truth. He will do what we can't, which is to stop the thief from stealing from us. Let us all be like the wise man who built his house upon a rock, upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ only.
God, please help me develop a love of the truth, especially about myself. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Please reveal Yourself, and your word to me in a way I can understand. Please help me to receive the truth and tear down the arguments which are protecting the strongholds in my life. In Jesus Christs precious name, Amen
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly
Ephesians 4:27
Neither give place to the devil.
The thief comes to steal from us, especially our spiritual growth and effectiveness for the Lord. It's not a mystery of how he does it, because we are not unaware of his schemes. It is, according to Ephesians 4:27, because we give him a place or foothold. Another translation puts it "Don't give the devil an opportunity."
When this happens what develops are strongholds, which you could look at like an enemy who has taken over a friendly bunker or building which he will defend. You are no longer effective; imagine trying to wage warfare from a camp in which the enemy has taken up positions. No, the first priority is to clear the camp out.
2 Corinthians 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)
2 Corinthians 10:5
We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We see that we have powerful weapons, mighty through God, and we use those weapons to tear down strongholds. How does that work? We see in verse 5 that the warfare is conducted in our minds, because thoughts are being taken captive to obey Christ. What is causing our thoughts to go astray are arguments and presumptions which are set up against the knowledge of God.
What exactly is the weapon we use to take every thought captive?
Ephesians 6:17
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The word of God is what will tear down the arguments and presumptions set against the knowledge of God. We have to watch what we are thinking to see if it contradicts the knowledge of God. You must be studying the word to be able to know whether it does or not.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We must study to be able to rightly divide the word of truth. Another way you could say it is to discern the correct interpretation of what the word of God is saying. There is a correct interpretation because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and many times a particular verse will have multiple meanings and even multiple prophetic fulfillment's.
Psalm 119
Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
We need this light. In James it says that the word reveals us for who we really are.
James 1:23
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
James 1:24
For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
This is a picture of how the reveals our innermost being, but also a picture of the spiritual warfare involved. We see that we can forget what we are like when we do not act upon the word of God. The battle is taking place when we hear the word and do not act upon what it says. Because we refuse to act, it's not just that we lost a battle, but we become deluded about ourselves.
A person won't seek a cure for something if they don't know they are sick. Like a hidden disease, it will continue to fester and spread and become more virulent. It is so important that we exalt the truth in our lives, and make it our highest priority to act upon what the word reveals to us.
We can't stop a thief we can't see, and the devil will continue to blind us to his activities as he convinces us to ignore the plain truth God has revealed to us. The arguments we use against the word of God is the spiritual warfare the enemy is conducting against us, often times from somewhere in our camp. Sin is deceitful and we will have a much harder time following the truth when sin is in our lives.
So far I've only told you about the problem, and the weapons God has given us to overcome the problem, but there is something missing. The primary key is found back in 2 Corinthians 10:5
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds)
The weapons we have are only mighty through God, we have to remember that we are standing and fighting from the victory that the Lord Jesus Christ had over the devil at Calvary.
Luke 11:21
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.
Luke 11:22
But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
Satans possessions are safe from us, but the One who is stronger than he, the Lord Jesus Christ, has spoiled his goods. When we submit to the truth of Gods word, especially about ourselves, then our Lord will renew our minds and help us to see and follow the truth. He will tear down the strongholds only when we obey His truth. He will do what we can't, which is to stop the thief from stealing from us. Let us all be like the wise man who built his house upon a rock, upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ only.
God, please help me develop a love of the truth, especially about myself. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Please reveal Yourself, and your word to me in a way I can understand. Please help me to receive the truth and tear down the arguments which are protecting the strongholds in my life. In Jesus Christs precious name, Amen
