STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD

Right now if one goes anywhere, it is a common thing for your temperature to be checked, either through the hands or the forehead. Gradually by the day, the whole system is being configured to accommodate the reign of the antichrist. If we are not in the spirit we will be taken unaware. This is not to make us scared but to prepare us. There will always be an explanation for these things but all of this is to prepare the ground. We cannot pray against them, but we must do what God says we should do. Let nobody fool us, the coming of Jesus is sooner than we expect.

“…For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled" 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6,

If we are not warring against the flesh, then the weapons of our warfare cannot be carnal. The arguments, the high things are all THOUGHTS. Our OBEDIENCE is fulfilled at the point when ALL our THOUGHTS align with the THOUGHTS of God. 

We have said that a stronghold is a fortified area, an establish THOUGHT pattern, what holds you strong in the mind. 

There are different kinds of stronghold. Some people always see possibilities no matter the situation, while some others see impossibilities. A stronghold can be poverty, it can be cultural, it can be tribalism, it can be inferiority complex etc.

Spirits take hold of men through THOUGHTS. The thoughts we entertain per time determine what spirit influence we are under. We are the ones who will determine what influences us by what we THINK, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7) NKJV

THE OUTCOME OF YOUR LIFE IS DETERMINED BY THE STATE OF YOUR MIND. You cannot become what you are not thinking. 

 If we want life and peace we must be spiritually minded. Some people are carnally minded but they want life and peace. And the carnal mind is enmity against God. Romans 8:6-7

If we pull down the strongholds in our minds and are not replaced with something else, then we cannot win the battle.

IF THERE IS WHAT TO PULL DOWN THEN THERE IS WHAT TO BUILD.

As we deliberately build, all others will give way.

We are to BUILD A STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD. This does not happen by magic or accident. There must be a deliberate and consistent attitude to BUILD.

WHY MUST WE BUILD A STRONGHOLD OF FAITH IN GOD?

1) There's no hope outside of Jesus. Building a stronghold of faith in God is so important because satan is doing everything possible by the day to rubbish our faith in God. For us to be able to build a stronghold of faith in God, we must have an unreserved functional walk with the Holy Ghost. The sons of God are those who are led by the Spirit of God: and those who are sons of God are those who depend solely on God and walk in the consciousness of His leading through the Holy Ghost. (Romans 8:14).

The Holy Ghost is the God-head on earth right now, and if we don’t know Him, we don’t know God. The sons of God are those who are dead to self and will defy all odds to obey the leading of the Holy Ghost. 

Those that know their God will be strong and do exploits (Daniel 11:32). There's no plan or calculation now that can guarantee a future except you are led by the Spirit of God. His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. But we must labour to ensure our thoughts and ways align with God's thoughts and ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The most effective defence mechanism is to follow the way of the Spirit. When we allow the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us, whatever is not of Him will not have a place in us. If the Holy Ghost is the one that is in control, then He will be able to tell us what to do and what not to do per time. (Proverbs 3:5-7) But often, we divorce the Holy Ghost from the INSTRUCTION. 

MANY OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE ARE ALL FRUITS OF OUR IGNORING AND ABANDONING THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE HOLY GHOST

2.) “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”. (1Corintians 13:13) We need to build strong faith in God because in these times and with greater intensity, satan is coming to attack our Faith, Hope, and love. All of which are crucial to our walk with the Lord. Many things are calling for our attention, thereby making us more self-centred and tampering with our commitment to God. Jesus asked when I come shall I find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8) But we must ensure our faith in God is strong. 

3.) Hebrews 4:1-11. We must also know that the reason most of the Israelites who left Egypt did not enter the promise was because of unbelief. We must watch against unbelief because it limits God. They did not enter, because of unbelief, which is equivalent to disobedience. If you do not believe, you will not obey. But how can you believe what you are not fellowshipping with?

Every day we are confronted with options. Whatever you give attention to, is what you will experience. We need to labour to enter into rest, and there's no rest outside of God. The labour is in the word, in building a stronghold of faith in God. They didn’t believe because they didn’t give attention to the word, they did not fellowship with the word they heard enough to make them believe in it and act accordingly.

We are facing the same problem today as they also did because many do not have deliberate communion with the word. We come to Church but divorce our daily lives from the word. We do not go back and fellowship with the word. The word is our life. We must stop playing Church and wake up to the word. Have a strategy to go back and meditate on the word you have heard, pray about it, confess it and fellowship with the word.

WE HAVE AN ASSURANCE

“...The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble: and he knows those who trust in him”. Nahum 1:7. We have an assurance in God. When God is your stronghold there is no devil that can get to you. God is a man of war and has never lost any battle. Exodus 15:3. We cannot please God if we do not seek Him. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11; 6) When we have faith in God, we will not compromise His word for anything. Our daily steps and actions show who/what our faith is in.

THE Lord is a stronghold in time of trouble. Whoever believes in God will not be put to shame. (Romans 10:11)

We have examples of men who loved not their lives unto death, and they overcame by their stronghold of faith in God, men and women who went headlong with God no matter the circumstance in which they found themselves-Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Joseph Esther, David, etc. (Rev 12;11)

OUR ACTION PLAN

Romans 12:1-2 We must be deliberate in consistently and actively renewing our minds. We cannot come into all that God has for us if we do not renew our minds. Many of us have been in Church for long but we still THINK and ACT like unbelievers, like people from the village and from the street. We have to begin to replace those ugly THOUGHTS in our minds. We must be deliberate in constantly hearing God’s word, and constantly meditating on and confessing what the word says.

WE HAVE TO BECOME MORE DELIBERATE IN BUILDING OUR FAITH IN GOD IN THESE TIMES.

Let’s remember that the spirit influence we are under per time is as a result of the THOUGHTS that run through our minds and we accommodate. We must Think the Word, confess the word and act on the word to build a stronghold of FAITH in God. 

OUR RESOLVE

Romans 8: 19-35. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. 

If you fear God, you will fear nothing else.

Let’s CHANT

Psalm 46:1-11

PRAYER

Pray in the Holy Ghost