Christian Living

A Stronghold of Heart

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
09/14/21
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“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

It is essential to remember that as humans created in God’s image, fractured as it is by sin, we journey through this world to a spiritual realm. The choices we make here will determine the destination of our life in the next realm. We can choose a loving, gracious, merciful God, who created us by His love, or we can ignore Him and choose a fallen angel who seeks to destroy us. We can opt out and make no choice and remain on the fence and find ourselves in eternity without the love of God and in a place of torment and wickedness. Either way, in this darkened world of sinfulness, we will face strongholds that we will have to overcome or surrender to.

I could talk about all the strongholds we can face in life, but there are as many as the trees and probably more. We look first to the material things and then the mental, but they result from spiritual forces. Strongholds are important, and in this world, they all place a barrier between us and the desires of our hearts. Such as it was for Joshua and the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land. The Lord God Almighty had promised this land, and now after generations of Israelites, they had arrived to take possession.

Miraculously, they crossed the Jordan River at the flood stage when God had parted the water much like the Red Sea. The Israelites now face a fortified doubled-walled Jericho, which sat on top of a mountain. Jericho was the gateway to the Promised Land and had to be taken. The Israelites had just spent forty years in the wilderness, had no army or weapons to take down such a stronghold. They had come out of the wilderness and across the river in faith that their God’s promises were true.

Their leader Joshua, the son of Nun, surveyed the city and saw a man standing there with a sword drawn. Joshua approached the man and asked whose side he was to fight with. The man turned and commanded Joshua to take off his shoes as he was on holy ground. Joshua knew he was in the presence of God and fell on his face to humbly worship Him. As they were in the sight of Jericho, the Lord said to Joshua, “The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.” (Joshua 6:2)

The Lord gave Joshua direction on how to take the city, and Joshua obeyed the Lord and did as He had commanded. (Joshua 6:3-5) Joshua obeyed each command as the Lord had said. Joshua went back to the people and gave them the Lord’s instruction, and they followed them obediently. The walls fell, and the city was theirs to take. Many have heard this story, and if not, you can read it in Joshua chapter six to amaze yourself what God can do through faithful people. Some have said to me, God did it all, and the people did nothing. God works through faithful people who believe in His Word.

The Lord instructed them to march around the city for six days and then on the seventh day to shout, and the walls would fall. The people had to go in and take possession, or they would have never received the victory. There was something else they had to do, and it gave me pause when I read it. “But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” (Joshua 6:10) There is always purpose to the commands of the Lord, and if we fail to act on them in faith, then we will not receive the reward.

As I have said, there are many strongholds we will face in this world, but the one we need to relieve is the most critical stronghold people have. And this is the stronghold on their heart. There are two forces at work on the heart of a soul, and they both are spiritual. One is easy to deal with just by ignoring it. But that is the wrong choice. The walls around Jericho were built to keep the people out, but the wall also kept people in. The wall of a hardened heart is built to keep the truth out, and it is built by an evil, wicked spiritual force known as the prince of the air, Satan himself. “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:-12)

The other spiritual force is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is ever calling that people can find saving grace through Him and receive salvation from the wrath of God. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) People are offended to accept Jesus into their hearts because He is truth, and truth convicts and convictions require a change in direction. As bad as sin is, as it only kills and destroys, leading to destruction, people desire it because they have no thought towards eternity. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

Jesus is calling. He has compassion on the sinner, they are His by the creation, and He loves them. The opposition Satan has his purpose, and it is evil towards man. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Two spiritual forces, one that wants to save and the other that wants to destroy. One is Almighty, and the other more powerful than human flesh. Anyone who desires to take down the stronghold of Satan in their heart needs the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome it. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

There is a key in Joshua 6:10 in these words. “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!” Be still, and we have heard this before in Psalm. There are times when we need to be still and know who God is. (Psalm 46:10) He is the Almighty Sovereign, All-powerful, All-knowing, Ever-present Creator of all. He is the God of love and justice. He is God, the only God that loves His creation and desires to restore it from the fracture of sin. He is the only one deserving of our reverent fear. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1) While we are, being still, this is what we should contemplate.

We have heard of times of silence before in the scriptures. This verse in Exodus comes with to the point. “The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.” (Exodus 14:14) In the book of Revelation, all the saints will be silent for a half-hour before the throne of God. “When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Revelation 8:1) I dream at night, and my mind doesn’t stop much during the day either. When we are still before the Lord while He is fighting for us, what are we doing in silence? 

Prayer would be the first thing. Prayer is the strongest tool that we have and will overcome something in the power of answered prayer that we could never have imagined. We can’t take a knee when we are in action, as we do in our prayer closet. That is the prayer that enables us to stand in our faith. Prayer is also the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves and others. We can pray anytime and anywhere as we move through our day. “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

Meditation on the Word of God would be a high activity in silent time. In times of battling a stronghold, the Word of God is the source of power. The Word of God is the source of power for everything we do in life here in this world. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Sword of the Spirit is the offensive weapon that God has given us to battle the evil spiritual forces. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17) One in battle would never go to the field without the tools to gain victory. I would never go without the understanding of the purpose of the fight. I would never know the plan to accomplish that purpose, the purpose of God.

There is a world of people who do not know or will consider their eternal purpose. They have no vision of eternity and therefore know not where they are destined. People without a vision will perish in eternity. “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18) Overcoming Satan’s stronghold around our hearts will allow us to see our vision and eternal purpose. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Thomas Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, May 27, 2020