PULLING DOWN STRONGHOLDS AND OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

PART 3 

II CORINTHIANS 10:1-6 

          For the last couple of Sunday’s we have been working on a series of messages related to pulling down strongholds and overcoming obstacles in our lives.   We got started in this series because 2 Corinthians 10:4 says that we have weapons that are to be used in this spiritual battle that are mighty and can pull down strongholds.  In terms of our human experience we said that strongholds are fortified areas in each of our lives. However, since this scripture talks about tearing down these strongholds we must understand that that these fortified areas that have been established in our lives were designed by our enemy (the devil) in an attempt to keep out his enemy (God).  With this in mind we said that in the lives of Christians, strong holds are obstacles or fortified areas designed by the devil to keep the Spirit of God and the Word of God from being effective in our lives and thus block us from developing the character of God. 

          Paul says that we have weapons that are to be used to pull down these strongholds and that our weapons are mighty.  We defined a weapon as anything that God uses to attack and pull down the strongholds of the enemy or to cause us to overcome the obstacles set up by the enemy.  Over the last couple of weeks we have looked at some scriptural examples of pulling down strongholds and overcoming obstacles and the weapons which were used to achieve victory.   This morning I want to use three more Biblical examples of overcoming obstacles and the weapons that were used. 

EXODUS 17:8-16

          The obstacle that Moses had to overcome here was physical weakness.  We are not told how long the battle had lasted before Moses got tired of holding the rod up in the air.  Maybe the battle was taking longer than expected.  There are times in our lives where we get physically, emotionally and spiritually tired.  The task that we are trying to accomplish for God seem to be too huge and the burdens of life too heavy and we just feel tired.   Our enemy would say at that time that we should just drop our hands and quit, or that we should just take a rest break.  But like Moses, quitting is not an options and sometimes even a quick rest break can be a hindrance to the move of God in our lives.  You see the enemy knows that while we may see it as taking a break from the battle, he is advancing trying to gain more ground.  You see he never takes a break.  His attack is constant.  He does not get tired, but we do.  We get physically, emotionally and spiritually.  We get tired in our spirit, soul and body.  The weapon God used to help Moses overcome this obstacle was the support of others. 

HEBREWS 10:24-25

          Here Paul encourages Christian fellowship.  We normally use this when trying to convince some of the importance of going to church.  However, the focus should be on fellowshipping with one another.  God did not intend us to be individual little islands separated from the rest of the world.  We should be more like grapes, each an individual entity yet each still apart of the whole.  Each grape is an individual grape but each also belongs to a cluster and within the cluster they rub close to one another.  Grapes last longer when they remain attached to the stem than they do when you separate them.  When attached to the stem they can still draw from one another.  But when detached from the stem, each grape must stand alone and quickly they will all start to wither and rot.  When we fellowship with one another, spending time with other brothers and sisters in the Lord we can share experiences and draw strength and encouragement from one another. 

But when we try to stand alone, we like grapes easily begin to wither and eventually will be drained of strength and life. 

I THESSALONIANS 5:14

          Here Paul again encourages us to support the weak and comfort the feeble minded.  Feeble minded here does not mean those who are slow thinkers or those who are mentally ill.  It means those who lose heart in the midst of the battle or in other words, those who grow weary with the battle.  Sometimes we will not let one another know when we are struggling for fear that someone will think badly of us.  But every Christian should have a select group, maybe two or three people that they can turn to with any situation and know that they will be properly supported.  It is a trick of the enemy to keep us acting as individuals.  He recognizes that there is power and strength in numbers. 

ROMANS 15:1-3

          Though you may be the strong one today, there is no guarantee that you will be the strong one tomorrow. At different points is our lives and in our spiritual walks, we all face tough times and therefore need the support and assistance of others.  At anytime that you think that you are strong enough to stand alone you are on your way to falling.  We can not afford to get so caught up in ourselves that we forget about one another.  We are our brother’s keepers. 

ESTHER 2:1-4, 8, 17

          King Ahasuerus, having put away Vashti the queen because she refused to come and show off her beauty to a bunch of drunken men, is now in search of a new Queen.  Esther a young Jewish maiden is entered into the contest for queen by her cousin Mordecai and Ahasuerus picked her to be queen. 

ESTHER 3:1-2, 6, 8-11, 13

          Mordecai a Jew refused to bow to Haman the Agagite.  The Agagites were Amalekites and who was it that God had promised to have war with from generation to generation in Exodus 17:16? The Amalekites.  Haman furious at Mordecai sets out to destroy all the Jews.  Being the second in command, Haman has been given permission to do what ever he wants to the Jews.  The king does not realize that Esther is a Jew.  Haman decrees that on the 13^th day of Adar all Jews throughout the kingdom were to be slaughtered and the man who killed a Jew could keep his possessions.  When Mordecai heard this he put on sackcloth, smeared ashes on his face and began to fast. 

ESTHER  4:4-17

          Ahasuerus was a mean king who had already proven that he would dispose of a queen.  Esther was afraid and she had a real reason to be afraid.  If she just went in to see the king without him having first called for her, he could choose to have her killed.  Fear is an obstacle that we all have to face at one time or another.  We know that God has not given us the spirit of fear.  We even recognize that the fear that grips us and causes us to remain motionless is motivated by an evil spirit.  However, knowing these two things does not always help us to overcome our fear.    What did Esther use to overcome fear?  She used courage.    Courage is the attitude of facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful.  Esther said, “I’m going in to see the king and if I die, then I die”.  Courage says I am going to do what is right even if it causes me to suffer.  Oftentimes God will ask us to do things that appear to be well beyond our abilities.  Many times we are afraid to step out and do what God is speaking to our hearts.  Our fear is not that God will not do his part, but rather what others will think or how others will respond.

EZEKIEL 2:3-7

          Here God send the prophet Ezekiel out to talk to the children of Israel.  Listen at how God describes Israel, His people.  He calls them impudent (shameless, disrespectful), stiff hearted and rebellious.  He tells Ezekiel that he must preach to them.  He was not to be afraid of them even if it felt like he was walking barefooted among scorpions and through a thorny, brier patch.  It takes courage to preach God’s word to a bunch of people who have already determined that they do not want to hear it.   

PHILIPPIANS 1:27-30

          Paul encourages the saints to stand fast in what they believe and to not be terrified by anything that their enemy does.  If fear is your obstacle, address it as your enemy and stand courageously against it.  Take Esther’s attitude and say if I die, I die; if they laugh they laugh, if they don’t accept Christ then they don’t.  But remember our job is to do what God ask us to do.  Fear is not an acceptable excuse for not obeying God. 

          The final example of enduring obstacles for this morning’s message is Job.  We all know the story of Job how he lost all of his possessions, all of his children and finally his health all in a matter of days and without any real reason or explanation from God.  Most of us would have cracked under the pressure and disappointment Job was facing.  Many would have taken there own lives or ended up in the nut house.  But for sure many would have taken the advice given to Job by his wife, “curse God and die”.  Some would curse God and of course hope not to die.  But what did Job use to overcome these obstacles of life?

JAMES 5:10-11

          He like many both before and after him simply exercised patience.  We have talked about patience in Bible study recently.  We talked about how God uses trials to build patience in us and that through patience he develops the mature Character of God in us.  Hebrews 6:12 encourages us to be patience in trials by saying “be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”  If we want to receive the promises of God, we like those who have gone before us must exercise patience.  

PSALMS 37:7-9

          One of the problems with us exercising patience is that we fail to rest in the Lord.  Rest in the Lord means calmly resign and leave all things in the hand of God.  If we can do that then waiting for him to work things out without mumbling, grumbling, complaining and then finally stumbling as we try to work it out ourselves, would not be so difficult.  As we are waiting on the Lord, we can not be concerned about others and how they are getting away with doing wrong and still seem to be getting blessed.  We must wait on God and not follow the ways of the wicked.  If we rest in God and wait in patience for Him to carry out his will in our lives we will inherit the blessings of God.   Though Job had to endure great hardships, through his patiently waiting on God’s deliverance, his latter end was greater than his beginning.  If we will rest in the Lord, and wait patiently on Him as He carries out His will for our lives, our latter end will be much greater than our beginning.  Look at your life even today.  Most of us will admit that as we endeavor to do the will of God for us, our lives today are much better than those that we endured before we surrendered to Christ.  We are happier, we are freer and we are more alive. 

          Three more weapons that we can use to pull down strongholds and overcome obstacles are support from one another, courage and patience.  Add these to the list of a God given plan, obedience, spiritual understanding and spiritual senses, drive, determination, the Word of God and divine intervention and we can begin to see why Paul says in the 2 Cor. 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.”