what's up family welcome to thrive and man we're so incredibly honored and excited to have the opportunity to connect today this is one of my favorite things to do in the world is to unpack explain and explore the blueprint to God's best for our life that's the Bible I'm telling you that right now and so we're excited because we believe you can live your life three ways sinking surviving or thriving but according to John 10:10 God's best for us is thriving and we on the way in Jesus name so we're grateful to be with you today we got some people that are with us in the audience today I lead a couple of communities Daniel's den and Bible youu are some communities that I lead and uh regularly almost once a month we create some space for a small group of people from both of those communities to come and actually spend the day with us and we got some people in the building today so you're going to hear some m ODS and some amens tonight yeah they are in the building man we're we're so excited as always I got the co-pilot with me Dr Marcus Dudley and we like to begin our time together with prayer and Pastor I want to lean into I just sense like a this week I've been leaning into heavy intercession yes like some of the things that may come across my screen maybe on social media it's like instinctively now I've been leaning in more into praying for it and not just talking to others about it so I want to I want to just start with that before we Le leap into our lesson today we get requests that come in each week and today uh we want Sue sirel to know that we are going to be praying for you as it relates to Faith fatigue overcoming weariness the bible promises that he'll renew your strength if you'll wait on him so we're going to be praying for you praying for lorya Williams who's praying for wisdom and guidance Erica long who is believing she stand as an intercessor what they would call proxy for her sister who's believing for physical healing we want you to know the great physician steel heels praying for Morgan Bard favorable outcome she's getting ready to take a physical therapist board exam the wisdom of God that it's already done yes yes Nicole Gardner is uh believing for God to do some work in her soul and David said he's he restores my soul so we're praying for that for you and then we're praying for Johnny Jones who's praying for discipline and peace yes we all need something me too Johnny me too father I thank you that your word says you are anxiously awaiting opportunities to respond to the prayers of your people that your eyes go to and fro throughout the whole earth that you might Show Yourself Strong toward those whose heart is upright toward you that if we ask anything according to your will you hear us and you will answer our petition we come today claiming the promise that we have not because we ask not we come today standing on your word that says that we are to make our request known to you you are a prayer hearing prayer answering God so we come today the corporate Faith the collective faith of everyone in Thrive is believing you to answer these requests that have been lifted up to you and we pray not only for these requests God we pray for requests of those that are watching right now Lord even those that are being put in the chat even those that are not even being expressed you are the God who hears in secret and you will reward openly so father we pray for healing and Direction and comfort and counsel I pray for discipline and peace Supernatural discipline in this season Lord would you release it unto your people I pray that in Jesus name I pray for freedom from bondage and chains and shackles you're a yoke destroying God you destroy yolks you break chains and feathers I pray that you do that for your people you're the god of the turn around you reverse Trends and when things are trending in One Direction you can put your hands on it redeem it and redirect it redirect it we pray for divine redirection today that even medical diagnosises that were trending in one area we say Lord turn it around relationships that were headed in one area we say Lord turn it around finances that were headed in one area we say Lord turn it around turn it around in our mind turn it around in our resources turn it around on the J turn it around in our homes we pray for divine turnarounds Supernatural turnarounds turnarounds that only you can get the credit and glory for in the name of Jesus by faith father we just believe you've heard this prayer that you're going to honor this petition we ask it in The Only Name that is worthy of getting access to your ear we ask it in the name of Jesus it's in his name that we pray if you agree in faith I want all over the chat I want you to put Amen in this room come on say amen amen we just we praise God that it is already done the Bible says when you pray believe you receive so we believe we receive so we're just waiting on the manifestation in this realm of what God has already answered in another realm in Jesus name Jesus so we're in a series we teach in series sometimes we explain books of the Bible which is primarily what we do at Thrive um but now we're in um a theme of The Bible called spiritual warfare and it looks like we're only got we only got the two series the whole year we spent about eight month eight nine months in Hebrews Hebrews in a series called it's about to get better and now we're in Lesson Four in this series called on spiritual warfare so uh pastor we we pulled about 16 passages and today we're going to different passages that we're exploring across different weeks and so today we're going to look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse number 3 through five which is another scripture in the Bible about spiritual warfare and here's what Paul says writing to Believers in Corinth for though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world one translation says not carnal yeah on the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds now I want you to see what Paul says here I don't want to get ahead of myself but he didn't just say break strongholds he said demolish them that's it he said demolish them we demolish arguments in every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and here is an aspect of spiritual warfare we're getting ready to lean into we get ready to teach you this mhm take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ that's an act of spiritual warfare so I want to talk today about strangling strongholds that's good we're going to strangle the life out of strongholds uh Paul's about to give us some some insight on that so Pastor let's talk about this the Bible says to every to everything Ecclesiastes 3 wisdom literature says to everything there is a season however I think it's possible for some people to confuse Seasons with Cycles seasons have a beginning and an ending Cycles can be never ended seasons change with time Cycles change when we do and sometimes the inability to shift out of a cycle can be attributed to a number of factors but here in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 I think Paul lifts up one that we need to talk about m because sometimes the inability to break a cycle to break a a a a a pattern of unproductive unhealthy self-sabotaging Behavior sometimes a factor that needs to be considered and addressed is spiritual factors that some Cycles are actually the result of and the consequence of spiritual warfare the devil wants me stuck and Pastor I thought about that even when I read this and I thought about the children of Israel and we often talk about how a stage what God intended to be a stage right temporary yes can become a state that's right it could become longterm that was the Wilderness it was the Wilderness and it was the result of a stronghold yes sir the inability to see themselves the right way yes because when the devil can prevent you from sending yourself the right way he can prevent you from living the right way that's right 100% And I never forget Pastor I I remember uh a couple of years ago um you know I believe the spirit told me and I'm and and one of the things I often deal with and I tell you is is kind of that impostor syndrome and I remember God telling me you cannot have a you cannot live a healthy life if you continue to have a sick assessment of yourself wow some people's assessment is sick is sick oh and we're try and we're missing the healthy life the god life MH because the enemy keeps having us in that cycle of a sick assessment of self when we can't see oursel the right way and I think that's kind of what that's you know that's right how we get stuck in those Cycles well that's exactly you reference Israel right and that is exactly why Israel turned a stage into a state cuz in numbers 13 they had the opportunity to get unstuck they were the Wilderness and they had the opportunity to occupy the promised land yes and when Moses sends 12 Spies over to assess the land they come back they not only assess the land they assess themselves they assess the land right they assess themselves wrong they came they went over to the land and they said everything you said about the land is true yep right but there are giants in the land and we are as grasshoppers you know matter in our own eyes in our own eyes they had a sick assessment of themselves so they stayed stuck they didn't think they were capable of something they were called to and they didn't think they were worthy of something that God had already set in place for them God had already assessed the worthiness so they talked themselves out of something that God was trying to talk them into because they had a sick assessment of themselves which is also at times an indication of SP War here's what I've learned what we can do naturally is name the sickness but it takes sometime spirituality to discern the source so we can say yes imposter syndrome which is a real emotional phenomenon right and and and so we we've named it uhhuh but the question is what's the source what the source cuz it's a symptom mhm not the sickness mhm and so until we deal with the sickness we can't address the symptom of impostor syndrome and it comes from a sick assessment of ourselves which is spiritual warfare which which I think which is so important here so important I think it's so important because what I think what we're going to see here with Paul is that speaking of being stuck right these cycles and we can have them relationally mentally we can have them emotionally we can have them where it's like this is why I think journaling is so important cuz Journal I I've been journaling for a while and I don't do deep journaling I do it's pretty I do name Peter skazo who wrote emotionally healthy spirituality talks about this journaling practice of naming and taming you can't tame What You Won't name so some of your issues exist on the subconscious level and what naming them does is brings them out of the subconscious level to the conscious level so you can see what you're actually wrestling with sometimes you wrestling with something you don't see and so I name name and tment so something I do every day I don't have time to unpack that but it's something I do almost every day rather and so when you do that and you go back through some of your journaling entries you can see where you got Cycles so if there's an emotional cycle where it's like okay I always kind of find myself coming out of this emotionally then going right back into that space emotionally out of that emotionally right back into that space emotionally then you can see where there's Cycles so you got emotional Cycles you can have Financial Cycles I get out of debt back in Deb I get you know I get margin I lose my Marg you can see Cycles with time management you can see Cycles with boundary setting I set a boundary then I let it go I set a boundary then I let it go I set a boundary then I let it go so there are all sorts of Cycles right there are all sorts of cycles and so we need to name them so we can tame them but here's my point you can't get unstuck from Cycles just with strength that's why it's a cycle yeah did y'all hear what I just yeah that's why a couple of weeks ago Pastor on a on a on Sunday I was talking about I was talking from a a message called smart moves because we're in the Book of Proverbs on Sundays and uh so in in Proverbs Solomon Compares very often the fool to the wise mhm and for Solomon the fool is not unintelligent the fool is the one that's governed by Earthly wisdom instead of heavenly wisdom so to the world a fool can be wise which is why Paul said in the book of Corinth that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men he takes the so anyway and so one of the things that he talks about with fools it one of the the definitions of fool includes a description of like a fool is a person that is self self-reliance is one of the traits for Solomon of a fool yeah and that's a person that is unaware of their need of divine assistance yeah that you think you can get out of everything with strength yeah and you can't get out of a cycle with a with strength it's some cycles that we've been in the cycle so long God got to come get us out he's got to press stop on the washing machine to get us out come on we just in that cycle I'm coming out we give all we you affirmations I'm coming out devil like no you're not we've been cycling so long we dizzy right that's good we we don't we it's just not strength we need a spiritual strategy and so Paul here gives us a strategy he says something that's so important he says um for though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does now Pastor I want to hear your thoughts on this because this statement alone suggests that freedom requires a fight yeah he says we do not wage war so the fact that it says we do not wage war as a world does he's saying we don't wage war at all we do wage war we just do it a different way different way Freedom requires a fight right that that that's not some people might say well no Pastor what about Grace Dallas Willard says this he says Grace is opposed to earning not effort I don't earn but I do have to express effort effort prayer requires effort praise requires effort studying my Bible requires effort right getting free unstuck from a cycle requires effort Freedom requires a fight and you know and I think it's throughout scriptures we see God desire for us to be free mhm like that's what Jesus came to do make us free and so if God wants us to be free then the natural is the enemy wants us bound and uh even when God begins to speak to the children of Israel when they when they uh in slavery enslaved in in Egypt M he said I want to bring you out come on so that you can be free to worship me yeah right that's that's the book because there are certain things wait a minute okay all right all right say it again yeah he said cuz that's that's the book that's the book let my people go we stop where the Bible doesn't stop that's not where it stops that's not where it stops and when you stop where the Bible doesn't stop you block blessings God wants to give you my God he says let my people go so that they may worship me in the wilderness in the wilderness that's what he said and I think what happens is when when we are bound there's certain things you can't do for God oo ooh yes when we're bound we're restricted in a way that we can't move do b c what God wants us to do and that's why God Is So intent on getting us free yes and freedom is so important to God that he sent his son to die just to get us free to get us out of some stuff yes sir to save us not only from some stuff yes but to save us for some stuff wa and I think that's where we get mixed up you bother me today go ahead you bother me today that God not only saves us from but he saves us for he saves us for yes sir so God just don't bring you out to bring you out I can't take it all right tell I'm going make I'm going make you put me in flat in the yeah it's like no God God just don't he's intent about us being free and so we got to understand that if God wants us free so bad mhm then some of the Warfare we're experiencing is the enemy want to keep us bound 100% that we don't fully walk in or be yeah keep in C 100% in these cycles and so what Paul is saying if if if we're going to break them there has to be effort don't get me wrong there there has to be there has to be effort but we can't use effort in terms of strength we don't get free from a cycle with strength I love it you don't just wake up tomorrow and say you know what I'm just I'm a and you get free temporarily and that's what a cycle does gives you the illusion of [Music] Freedom so it's it's reprieve but we call it Freedom yeah it's a temporary Interruption but it's not long-term Freedom I'm going is cuz cuz will power is a limited resource it runs out which is why in Ephesians 6 we talked about this last last few weeks I think the text says be strong in the Lord cuz yours is going to run out yeah and so and so we can't use strength we got to use spiritual strategy so it's not it's not as I as I've been saying it's not working harder when I say effort it's working higher it's knowing what work to to do that actually frees me from cycles and so Paul says hey if you're going to get free your deliverance is going to be tied to your willingness to be distinct he's saying we do not wage war I'm in the world but I don't wage war as the world does now let's take it and appropriate it to this conversation around Cycles I'm in a cycle but spiritual people aren't the only one in Cycles everybody's in cycl but I don't try to get out of Cycles the way everybody else tries to get out of Cycles everybody's to get out but Paul says we need to be distinct enough to fight differently and this is what he says this alternative strategy that sets us free from Cycles has divine power mhm to demolish strongholds I know so now you may be wondering why am I talking about cyclos and Paul's talking about strongholds I'm getting ready to show you uhhuh the connection between the two yes cuz Paul used the word strongholds so here's the question what is a stronghold now here's where here's where truth actually sets you free mhm okay yes truth sets you free many people assume a stronghold is the thing that has a stronghold on someone it sounds cute it's just not biblically [Music] accurate my God the thing that that's not what stronghold means okay so someone say someone has a strong hold of addiction well we could say yeah addiction has a stronghold of a person that would be TR but when Paul uses this word here what does he mean a stronghold in the Old and New Testament literally referred to a fortress was the Alamo a big wall come on I know you know you in the military I know you it was a wall yeah it was a fort it was a fort it was a fort yeah it was a fort is that a wall like a yeah closed in like yeah yeah so that's literally a stronghold M so when the Bible say stuff like David would go to a stronghold like a a safe place fori it's something that you got behind that fortified that that was fortified and it kept the enemy from getting in yeah does that make sense okay so so that's literally what the word means in the Old Testament so what Paul is saying in the New Testament here he's using that imagery to describe something that people wrestle with he it's literally a fortress and he what he is referring to when he says strongholds are fortresses that are set up in people's minds M gosh are y'all catching this that these fortresses that are set up in people's mind so for Paul a stronghold isn't physical it's mental so it's it's Satan's work where he sets up fences in our mind watch this that are arguments that set itself up against the knowledge of God so the stronghold is The Fortress in my mind that keeps the knowledge of God the truth that sets me free from actually getting in my mind so when when Jesus talks about um a Stony heart uhhuh a heart that won't receive the seed of the word it's a stronghold that's resistant to truth did y'all hear what I just said so and here's what here's what here's what we got to accept and that is what all of us are wrestling with is not a stronghold strongholds yeah cuz we don't have a stronghold everywhere but we got some strongholds somewhere yeah because there are some areas where are we where we are resistant to the knowledge of we're resistant to what God has to say about that area so some of some people is a stronghold uh in resources but not in relationships they will accept God's truth with relationships but not God's truth with resources then there some people they'll accept God's truth with resources but they're going to ignore everything he says about relationships and they and watch this a stronghold is different than just Disobedience because strongholds are actually fortresses that are arguments see when I'm disobedient I at least accept truth mhm and say I know I'm wrong I'm just as wrong as wrong can be Lord may your grace be sufficient yes got me that's different that is different yeah than say saying I'm not wrong the stronghold is an argument yeah that you're not wrong now I love it yeah I get it yeah it's a it's a twisting it's a cuz strongholds are mindsets unbiblical thinking patterns value systems and ways of reasoning that keep us trapped in sabot self-sabotaging Behavior because they argue against the truth of God in that area so the reason people are stuck is because they won't accept truth in that area and the resistance to the truth is what's got him stuck in a cycle come on here do you remember in the book of Hagi where God's talking to people about resources and he says consider your ways well we have to do that in every area of our life wherever there's a cycle I need to step back and say let me reconsider my ways with this right is the way I'm actually doing this contributing to the cycle that I'm in and do I have a way of reasoning that is not aligned with the truth of the word of God because that's the only thing that sets me free and I think it was uh God talking to hey and said it was just like a holes in this in his bucket put putting holes in your bags and you you wonder where your increas is going you got ho and I was talking about how one of the things the enemy does with these arguments is he puts holes in our life oh so we yes sir and so what we got to do is I think one aspect of spiritual warfare is whole proof in our life but this is what I thought about too even with this this stronghold is how the enemy Keeps Us in cycle and one of the strongholds is this pastor is how the enemy will allow us to think that a bad situation gets better long enough to make us think we don't need change or Deliverance say that again say it again so one of the things the enemy does we're in a bad situation mhm he lets the bad situation get better long enough to think we don't we no longer need change our deliverance got and so we stay in something we need to come out of it's it is it is it is um so it's so are you saying I'm in bondage I'm in bondage bondage gets better it's still bondage but I'm still in bondage okay I got you yes sir and because the abundance gets better I don't think I need Deliverance I don't need Deliverance anymore okay my jail just got pretty yeah it just got pretty but it's still a I got you I got you I don't have a c now I got a full siiz bed in there I got a flat screen in there but it's still a but it's it's it's still a PR and that's how he makes us you know stay in Cycles yes cuz he make our prison get better but I want somebody to put in the chat today I want out I want out out I will not be deceived into staying in a pretty prison I want out if it's less than what God has for me I want out out I want out come on no out but but think about that that's a completely different take like when you see Cycles a lot of times there's a stronghold yeah and now watch this one of the traits of strongholds is unbiblical thinking patterns yes watch this this doesn't mean thinking patterns that have drawn inspiration from sources other than the Bible only it includes that but some times it's an unbiblical thinking pattern because somebody has misinterpreted something from the Bible and they wrong but they think they [Music] right gosh did you hear what I just said right y because if I say something to you then you take what I said and you misinterpreted it it's no longer my word that's yours say it again Pastor does that make sense that Mak sense yeah if I say I'm going to do something and then you misinterpret what said I'm going to do word that's no longer my word and I'm not obligated to perform your interpretation of what I said I'm obligated to perform what I meant come on and you can be frustrated with me and mad at me and arms folded at me and can't believe I did and I'm like I never said I would do that that's what you interpret it and I think sometimes that's what happens some strongholds are uh people are un unwilling to be free of them because they don't know that this way of reasoning is based on an unbiblical interpretation of God's word good so Pastor let's get into this now because when we use this word strongholds there are three types here that we just want to lift up we could actually explore several types yeah but we will be here on strongholds till 2025 so we're just going to explore three types that we see in scripture personal strongholds MH geographical strongholds which could be princip which are the result of the work of principalities and generation of strongholds so I'm going to say it again personal that's my life geographical that's my area mhm generational that's my bloodline family yeah now this this is interesting cuz most of us don't realize we wrestling with all three there are ways of reasoning that we have that are just simply a result of thought processes we've concocted and created then there are ways of reasonings that we have adopted because of where we are or where we grew up in come on is this this feel heavy today preacher everybody all right we good and then there's generational which is stuff that may not have even been consciously taught but that we caught as a result of those we were reared and raised around all three all three we fight all three we are fighting all three I'm fighting all three you're fighting all everybody's fighting all three in some area of your life it's a stronghold as a result of something that a way of thinking we just adopted personally there's strongholds we have that are result of the like area we are in like our environment our communities um and then there are strongholds that we are wrestling with that are generational m in nature woo this is heavy got go got to go there this is heavy so so let me let's just kind of let's lean into this a little bit okay because here's one of the things that I all of these could be a teaching hopefully I've done enough to kind of explain them here one of the ones that I feel like is super overlooked and where we're getting I did this um Academy called elevator Academy it was a long time ago and uh I dealt with something this Revelation I got on something called emotional snipers and these are uh unidentified emotional issues about me that are hindering me that I can't see because if you can see it it's not a [Music] sniper so the emotional issue you can see is not a sniper the sniper is a thing that's taking you out you can't see you can't see all right I feel like generational strongholds is one of these things now it is it is really unique if you are adopted I've had I've gotten these questions before cuz now you don't get to see what was actually in your bloodline so there there can be things that are impacting you and you are personalizing them thinking that you're weak and um you're unspiritual and you're underdeveloped not realizing you could be fighting something that has generational momentum but because you weren't around those that actually have your bloodline you don't know now here's the here's the other side which is why I say this one is a little unique the other side is this can I go here the other side is this when we were but people hid them and were silent about them so when we were around them what goes on in this house stays in this house yes yes so I'm not advocating that people should have you you understand what I'm saying yet at the same time it's just that I'm not advocating people should should have like parents should have sat you down and say hey like that would be traumatized no Mom you just told me too much I'm not that's not what I'm arguing I am arguing though there is a way to raise awareness yeah about does that make sense yes about what you may be wrestling with if that is something that was in the bloodline so if someone is like struggling with alcoholism and you know there was an uncle that struggled with alcoholism we're not saying you got to put everything about that on blast but you a person but when you see somebody in the bloodline maybe having a drink or two too much then at least then you see that as an open door to say hey we want you to know this kind of running the family a bit be careful so you got to be a little more judicious in that particular area does that make sense yes sir but but a stronghold is like a it's just a little bit it don't it don't hurt it doesn't hurt anything it's that way of reasoning that thinking pattern so personal geographical and generational and generational I think we all fight all three fighting with all three and the enemy doesn't want me to identify it because if I can't identify it I can't address it so not knowing where I'm struggling with I'm struggling with all three but where it's showing up in my life not knowing that is a tactic of spiritual warfare do we see how much more comprehensive and Broad spiritual warfare is is than just exercising demons do you understand what I'm saying and I'm not saying that that's not a part of it that is I that is real I've been in spaces and places where that is that's not my Ministry but it is but it is a it is a it it's real it is real and Pastor using that using that the whole metaphor of a sniper the effectiveness of a sniper is in their their ability to remain hidden m M and so again when we think about this spiritual warfare what remains hidden remains a hindrance and so part of the Warfare is for the enemy to keep stuff hidden mhm whether it's you know personal whether it's geographical or whether it's generational he wants us to keep that stuff hidden you know that's right he don't want people to talk about of course because what remains hidden remains a hindrance just like you said well we don't we don't know we can't address yeah and I think there are ways to um to talk about it without dishonoring the PE other people in the family so true so true right there are ways to say hey this runs in our family without saying your aunt such and such you know right there are ways there ways to say that so here's what I think we need to be more honest about this is it's not necessarily a stronghold M but it's generation of patterns tendencies that some people have called curses so that could be right not ways of reasoning but it could be um behavioral Tendencies right that you see in Bloodlines or illnesses yeah that you see in Bloodlines those things are definitely things family should be talking about more openly so that people knows okay this is an area where the enemy can kind of get foothold right not for fear but for awareness so that you can be intentional and V Vigilant in that particular area you know okay like hey if this if this runs in my bloodline then I know I can't do salt the way somebody else does salt because the enemy is going to use salt to try to undermine what God wants to do in my life cuz I know that's in my bloodline right so the stronghold would be the way of reasoning that would say ah little Salt's not going to hurt but that tendency that generation pattern or what some people call curse is that proclivity to be uniquely affected by salt in a way that's other people's bodies isn't so I want to differentiate between those two things what I am calling and referring to as a generational stronghold which is a way of thinking versus generational patterns Tendencies and traits like Abraham lying saying his wife was his sister then his son lying saying his wife was his sister right there is a now that's an indication of a stronghold cuz it's a way of reasoning that says it's okay to uncover and expose and put my spouse in Jeopardy to protect me wow but then there's this trait and this tendency it's like why was that so instinctive and impulsive to you if your daddy never told you he did that Isaac it's instinctive generation that generation is good so here's a point when we are dealing with a personal geographical or generational stronghold what are three assets like what weapons the weap weapons of our Warfare the weapons that we use are not Karma we don't use human common methods here so what do we use then to break cycles and get our strongholds number one we use discernment and Truth discernment and Truth somebody say discernment discernment it means and only the Holy Spirit can help us with this I I love this I love when I get to a point as a teacher of the word of God where I realize my limitation when it com to adding value your life I'm not God at some point it's like okay now I explained it now it's on you and God because I can say I need discernment we need discernment now the Holy Spirit has to give us discernment to see do I have a way of reasoning that's actually unaligned with the word of God cuz nobody completely knows how you're living your life and what you're thinking but you and God yeah so I can teach like hey we can have strongholds in the way we see relationships people and and I don't even have time to deal with this where some of these strongholds come from some of them come from pain so something happens that causes pain now we adopt a way of reason and a thinking pattern that we think protects us and in an attempt to be protected from Pain we're operating in a way that's inconsistent with truth so instead of not letting the right people instead of keeping the wrong people at Bay we keep everybody at Bay and so you end up in bondage in Egypt but because of what Pharaoh did now you won't accept Moses because in your mind leaders can't be trusted so Pharaoh is a bad leader who abuses people in Egypt God sends a good leader named Moses to actually set people free but if the pain that I experienced from Pharaoh changes my way of reasoning and has me just thinking cynically and suspect about all leadership now when God sends a Moses I can't receive the one he sent to bless me because I got a way of reasoning based on the one that hurt me only God can show you where those areas are in your life yeah t play maybe it'll it'll uh it'll that's good does that make sense so we need discernment and Truth the second thing we need is spiritual discipline now when I say spiritual discipline I'm not talking about spiritual disciplines when the Bible says exercise yourself unto godliness that's why I call those spiritual disciplines spiritual exercises these are what's called means of grace these are spiritual practices that God put in place to actually grow you spiritually prayer study of the word of God serving generosity all of those things they're meant to to grow us so that's what the Bible Paul's referring to exercise yourself in the God here are exercises that God's given to grow you when I say spiritual discipline I'm talking about when Paul says bring in the Captivity every thought that just it takes discipline because here's what here's what I've learned it is really disorienting and disconcerting when you demolish a stronghold especially if you believe something a certain way for a certain time that could just be sometimes it's like man okay I don't know what to believe about a lot anymore and so all of these different thoughts are in our mind and Paul's like no no no take every thought captive captive and bringing obedient to Christ you're not going to make it I got I got bring that got to bring that captive you're going to die early I got to bring that captive my God my God all of those thoughts bring it captive got to bring it captive I was reading something earlier this week and uh the guy highlighted one of the um one of the Greek words used to that the Bible uses to describe Satan is diabolos you we get diabolical uhuh and so I think it has some connotations with evil but it it also means slanderer so when we say so when Jesus like when Jesus Calls the devil a liar the father of lies he's a he's a slander he just lied and so one of the ways he lies to us is through thoughts he don't show up like a literal snake in the garden it's these thoughts he just plants in our head you're not going to make it you're going to die this is over you can't come back from it's these thoughts and I need spiritual discipline to say is this thought I'm thinking lining up with the word God it literally means you have to put truth over fact cuz sometimes what he's saying about you might sound true you're a mistake you made a mistake that could be true that could be a fact excuse me that could be a fact but fact doesn't change God's truth God's truth will change facts though yes P I'm thinking like bad thoughts the importance of that is bad thoughts are like weeds in a garden mhm that if you don't manage them if you don't pull them up immediately they multiply yeah and uh bad thoughts have the tendency to take over good thoughts and that's why you can't play with it that's why you got to Capt that's right Pastor even with the spiritual discipline you know I love the the distinction you made you know the dism prayer meditations as opposed to Bringing things captivity into captivity but I'm thinking about man want us to explore Jericho M that whole Jericho experience on how to handle strongholds cuz Jer Co was a stronghold a big wall wall and the discipline it took March around the wall don't say nothing be quiet for six days for six days shout when I tell you to shout keep going when it don't look like nothing happen I got you I got the Revelation yes sir woo That's Heavy I see it okay gosh that's good yeah we do have to do that yeah we might need to do that next week no I don't know if y'all heard what he said like some sometimes Breaking Free of Cycles takes that sort of spiritual discipline where you are obeying Godly details in a way that are you just extraordinarily unique where God said where he's giving you detail that doesn't even really make sense that could even feel illogical so walk around a wall once a day for sixth day then on the seventh day walk around seven times then on the seventh time that's when you shout but don't say anything until you hear the horn it's like so there there may be Seasons where we're trying to get free of a cycle and and God's like giving us these details that doesn't seem to make sense but sometimes your Miracle is on the other side of instruction that seems unrelated to it sometimes like non you got to dip in dirty water to get clean to get clean when name and dipped in the so yeah no no that's that's something because you you can't break free from a cycle without that kind of discipline and last but not least number three there's got to be Reliance on God's power Pastor I think we got to make sure we're not swinging the pendulum to wrong extremes so one extreme is I do nothing and God does everything I love it yeah thank you then the other extreme is I do everything in God and God does nothing when what God does is he puts super on natural when I've exhausted what I can do the natural then he comes in with the super and so when you have done all you know how to do see TZ I want us to get back to those prayers that I used to hear when we were when we used to go to um uh down in mome to Church of God Christ Teran services that they were like prayer services that turned into tering services this when we in college yeah but we were hear prayers like Lord take the taste out of God Almighty huh the the level of self-awareness it takes to pray a prayer like that it is to say God this is not only that I need help this is how I need you to help me take taste in this season I just need the taste go I need the appetite go even if it is temporarily until I can break this pattern and start new habits right now take it out my it was it was an indication that there's a revelation of human limitation I've done all I can do myself I've exhausted every option yeah I've tried everything I know how to try at this point you got to do it you got and I came to tell you tonight he can do it he can do it I said he can do it he can do it I said he can do it he can do it yeah I got evidence in my life and in my Ministry where people have can testify he took the tast out of my moutho he took it away long enough so I can get free from his grips and his clutches and when I got free I said I'm not going back spiritual war is recognizing your limitations that I can't do this by myself that's one of my prayers to be Lord help your baby please I'm your child help help and I need your help I need your help need your and I think this is what Paul even meant in Ephesians 6 when he says having done all to stand I've done all I can do all I can do I've exhausted every option I've done every I've gotten as far as human strength can take me Lord I need you to help me whether you do it through me or for me I just need it done so we're getting ready to Let's we're getting ready to lean into that in prayer I'm want to pray that over you as we thank you God as we prepare to to exit second Corinthians teaches us that a lot of the ground a lot of the Battleground for spiritual warfare is my mind that's where strongholds are that's where the thoughts are that's where the lies are that's where the torture is it's in in my mind and for some of us we're in a season where we have exhausted the options Lord I've I don't even know where my strongholds are you got to show me I need you to show me where I need to um man I don't have time pet Paul tells Timothy he tells Timothy how impactful the word of God is which is why I love the word of God just why the word of God is in everything I do every program I run I don't care if it's Ministry Marketplace Master Class he he talks about how the word of God is profitable and then he begins to to list all the areas that it adds value that's profitable and one of the words he uses is uh symbolic of like a wrecking ball that goes into like how they would shoot a cannon ball into a stronghold to break it word come on that's what the word is Canon wherever those strongholds are it's profitable it's a cannonball God a wrecking ball that will break those strongholds Lord I need you to show me where where the ball needs to break down the wall and so I just want to lean into that prayer thank you we're going to close out with this prayer thank you for being a part of our time together today um thank you those of you who so generously each week they're going to put low thirds on the screen ways to give give you an opportunity to sew back into the field that you're harvesting from thank you in advance for that we do believe everything that God's word says about everything and that God is a God that uniquely responds to generosity Proverbs 3 tells us it does two things barnesfield bats overflowing with wine bats represent wine representing joy that is the internal benefit the spiritual benefit you get of giving what giving does to your soul CU that's where some people are p and then for some people barns it represents external needs that you have and God's commitment to meet those needs some times what you need isn't a barn field your vat is empty yeah but the blessing like Harvest is God adding value wherever you're poor in that season so sometimes you don't need a check cuz you're not struggling there sometimes you need a miracle in the home so he honors that and we honor that and so thank you in advance for that we're going to close out in prayer tonight praying for discernment and Truth spiritual discipline and God Reliance that you shift from self-reliance to God Reliance so father I pray now for each and every person that has received your word today we have the Revelation that comes from scripture we can't do any application without your help so I pray that your Holy Spirit right now would help your people give us discernment help us to see where we got strongholds personal geographical generational we can't see unless you show us you heal blind eyes in the gospel heal our blindness help us see things we couldn't see so I pray for discernment Lord I pray for Spiritual discipline help us to to take captive every thought yes the enemy who's the accuser of the Brethren is planting thoughts in our minds that are inconsistent with your truth may give us the discipline to take those thoughts and bring them into obedience to Christ to combat those thoughts with your truth to talk back to him when he talks to us in the name of Jesus and Lord help your people shift from self-reliance to God Reliance give us an awareness where we need to pray prayers like Lord you got to do it here take the taste out of my M God somebody needs you to do that right now and we in faith come into agreement with you with your word oo if the son sets us free we're free indeed Lord Lord do that I pray and I ask in Jesus name amen amen God bless you we love you than you love you see you next week care well listen thank you for watching Thrive I want you to make sure you subscribe to this channel so that you don't miss any of our teachings and remember you can watch me live at Thrive every Wednesday at 700 p.m. Eastern Standard time take care