20c Truth Encounter - Moving to Maturity Part II

by Jeff Fry (based on Neil Anderson's "Freedom in Christ")

I.       Intro

A.   In the last weeks we asserted that in order to move on to maturity,

1.     we must get the basics down - our acceptance before God is on the basis of Christ's paying the penalty for our sins on the cross, and not on the basis of what we do or have done.  And we must connect deeply with that truth so Satan cannot take advantage of us.

2.     We must also take hold of our day-to-day freedom through repentance (to turn):

a)    A-C-T

(1)  Acknowledge(sin)

(2)  Choose (the truth)

(3)  Turn (to God from sin  - ie. renew our minds with God's truth)

B.   Then we said we must press on beyond the basics and train ourselves to the point that we can distinguish good from evil on a daily basis. 

1.     Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

2.     Being able to distinguish good from evil will enable us to make Godly decisions in our life.

C.   How do we do that?

II.    We must be stronghold busters (ie. identify old, sinful thought patterns and replace them with God's truth)

A.   State

1.      Many of you now are going through the "7 Steps to Freedom in Christ" and you are throwing off past events and thoughts that hold you back in your spiritual life.  You are taking hold of your freedom in Christ.

a)    This called taking hold of your freedom in Christ.  Let me emphasize that this isn't a one-time event in that when you are done these steps you will never have to do them again. 

b)    Satan doesn't stop hassling us after we do the 7 Steps to Freedom in Christ.  We will uncover thought patterns from our past that don't align with Scripture (a stronghold) even after these steps.

(1)  This is called maintaining your freedom in Christ .

(2)  We do this by using a "stronghold buster".

2.     2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"

3.     We've learned in our course that one of the basics of the faith is that we all get our start in the world under the power of sin (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12).  Therefore our minds are darkened by sin and in many ways our thinking is depraved and set on the things of the flesh. 

a)    So we must renew these darkened, fleshly minds (Romans 12:2) so that they are set on the truth of God's word.

4.     Paul says we have to capture these false thoughts and demolish them

a)    These old thoughts feel true to us and so we will have to work hard to renew our minds like Romans 12:2 says.

b)    We demolish the old fleshly, false thoughts by exposing the lie that they are telling and soak them in the truth of the word of God

c)     The truth of the word of God is the prescription that cures the darkened mind.

d)    In fact it is more than that: it is the weapon that the Christian soldier in battle needs to fight off the attack of the enemy.  Without it, we are like a Roman soldier in battle without a sword:

(1)  ^NIV Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

(2)  You can imagine what this soldier in the slide would be like if he did not have a sword in his hand.  He could do nothing but cower behind his shield during battle.  There would be no way to cause the enemy to flee without a sword.  One can gain no ground on the enemy without it. 

(3)  That's why religion based on a list of moral do's and don'ts leaves people unable to stand in battle  - it leaves the religious person without a sword in battle and unable to resist the attacks of the enemy.

(4)  What did Christ do when Satan attacked him during his 40 days in the desert  - he countered with the Word of God by quoting OT Scripture to Him to expose the deceit and lie of Satan's proposal.

B.   Illustrate

1.     A stronghold buster:

a)    The lie:

b)    Scriptural truth that exposes the lie

c)     A prayer of renunciation and declaration

(1)  renouncing the lie

(2)  declaring the truth

d)    read this for 40 days

2.     My stronghold buster

a)    the lie: I am not a worthy enough person to be captain of the basketball team

b)    Scriptural truth:

(1)  "I am God's workmanship …" Ephesians 2:10)

(2)  " God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (Gen . 1:31).

(3)  "I cannot be separated from the love of God" (Romans 8:35-39)

(4)  "I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7)

(5)  "I am God's child" (John 1:12)

(6)  "I am Christ's friend" (John 15:15)

(7)  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13)

c)     Prayer:  I renounce the thoughts that I am not worthy to be a leader and lead others.  I renounce the fear that I am not able or will not know how to lead others .  Rather I announce that God loves me and has made me just the way I am and that is good.   God doesn't make no junk!  I also declare that God loves me so much that he has adopted me as his son and Christ has as his friend.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and so I can with Christ's help be the leader God created me to be.  When I feel doubt creeping in I will turn to Christ for strength and remember his promise to me that I can do all things through Him.

C.   Apply

1.     What are some of the ways by which you can identify the lies you are believing? (Knowing God's word well, others, pray for the Lord to reveal them)

2.     How can being in community with other Christians help you to bust strongholds in your life? (see Ephesians 4:13-25)

3.     What steps can you take to maintain your freedom and continually renew your mind?

III.  Conclusion

distinguishing good and evil

need to know the truth so we can see the lies because

strongholds feel true to us (from our past old self making

them feel true).

stronghold buster