Overcoming Human Strongholds to Experience God’s Reality

The true Christian life is a life that is always filled with God’s divinity, wonder and glory.

Pay attention to the verses below:

John 3:3 (NIV) : Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”

John 3:5 (NIV) : Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Romans 14:17 (NIV) : For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

Pay attention to the 3 verses above, Jesus emphasizes that a person can be connected to the reality of the Kingdom of God when he experiences a new birth. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual dimension (righteousness, peace and joy) – invisible but can be experienced and perceived for real.

The reason why there are large amount of people who continue to experience difficulties in order to enjoy the reality of God’s Kingdom, is because for certain period of time that person’s life has been molded humanly and worldly. There are many ’fortresses and strongholds’ in the mind, which makes it difficult for them to be able to understand and enjoy divine things, as well as supernatural things.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NIV) 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. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

The word “fortresses” (Greek: ‘ochuroma’) is a figurative word that means all forms of arguments, reasons, or opinions that a person uses to defend his opinions and wishes.

In several English translations of the Bible, the word ‘argument’ (2 Corinthians 10:6) is translated by the words ‘imagination’ (KJV) and ‘logic’ (NKJV). So pay attention to what often becomes our imagination and logical thinking, because this could be sourced from “fortresses of human pride” that oppose the knowing of God.

If we take a closer look, actually the ‘human strongholds and schemes’ as Paul meant had exist since the incident when men fell into sin.

Genesis 3:6-12 (NIV) When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

When man fall into sin, their physical eyes became opened and they began to see themselves ‘naked’. The word ‘naked’ itself means: ’to be cunning and slick’. Humans experience life degradation from the standards that are set by God. At first when man lived in accuracy, God’s glory covered man’s body, but when God’s glory left by the sin of man, man saw their ‘nakedness’ and caused the following things:

1. Man cover their ‘nakedness’ (lack of things) with physical things that exist (Genesis 3:7b).
2. Man tend to be afraid and hide themselves from the presence of God (Genesis 3:8,10).
3. Man tend to blame each other (Genesis 3:12).
   Efforts to cover up deprivations and distance oneself from the existence of God, as well as efforts to escape responsibility by blaming others, will continue to follow human nature and become the forerunner of human strongholds and tactics to oppose the knowledge of God.

Therefore, it takes the work of the Word and the Spirit that has the power to rearrange the nature of our old, human thoughts, that God can pull back human life to rise to the divine standard that God has established.

If we live by divine standards, it is only natural that our lives will always experience calmness in truth, peace and joy that nurture and reign our hearts and minds. So it is not natural if we continue to feel worry in living our daily lives. It is not our place to keep on struggling with financial problems in our lives.

Just like the statement of the truth of the Word as follows :

Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV) So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If our lives are connected with the reality of God’s Kingdom, surely our lives will only focus on God’s Kingdom and its righteousness, and everything we need (all physical things in fulfilling our lives) certainly is provided and added by God in His miraculous way. and divine.

Let’s evaluate ourselves, if we still feel worried about this, still having difficulties applying these words, then of course there are still ‘fortresses and human schemes’ that are still entrenched in our minds and hearts.

Use our mouths to continue declaring God’s words and promises, with thoughts that have been aligned with the principles of truth. Continue to speak until our hearts and minds are truly liberated by the truth of the word, until our hearts are filled with peace and joy, and we are truly convinced by the promises of the word. Condition the mind and continue to train our mouths to speak the things that the Holy Spirit reveals as well as all the directions and Words that the leader conveys. Because this is the divine weapon that Paul meant so we can tear down all human strongholds and schemes that oppose the knowing of God. When the fortresses and strongholds of human defense are destroyed, then we will become more convinced and experience personally numerous divine things that bring us connected to the reality of Heaven.

Ps. Steven Agustinus

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