Life Rhythms Of Rest & Gifts Of Sabbath (Part 3) - Lucy Cantrell

From the beginning the invitation has been to start in the delight of God from a place of rest. In rhythms of rest are blessing. This set apart time is an invitation to encounter the divine.

Full transcript generated by ai (please excuse errors):






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​Well, thank you. So this morning we're going to continue to, to talk about, we've been talking about the Sabbath in the last few weeks. I know that, Nancy, I think she was talking about leaving in the spirit and, and talking a little bit more about leaving in the spirit leaving in the contrast of a walking in the flesh and all these other things that I cannot wait to actually hear in the teachings, but just everybody was just sharing and just how just powerful and how, how the Lord was moving through that teaching. So just just really excited to hear that. But this morning, we're gonna just gonna continue and finish in this about this subject, that we've been talking about the Sabbath, right, and one of the things that I felt did to kind of like close this, the subject of the Sabbath is to see the Sabbath, it's an invitation to prepare for us to prepare as the bride. So I am not going to just repeat some of the concepts that we talked about the Sabbath because of time because there is actually one specific, one, a specific subject one, a specific theme, that I felt the Holy Spirit's so strong that he wanted us to go through today. And I know that it's going to feel a little bit like what what that has to do with this as the preparation of the bride, and this is why we're going to go through so at the beginning we're gonna, we're gonna establish this, this call of the Lord to to prepare a bride and how he's using the Sabbath to preparing us as His Bride. Okay, so in Jewish communities, they compare actually the Sabbath to a bride. And part of what they believe is, is that the Sabbath itself is like the bride. It's like a bride. Some Orthodox Jews even sing songs. They are based in Song of Songs, and they sing, words like home or bride, come a bride, and they will also turn away from the ark, the art that is housed in the law, the Torah that the first five books of the Bible and they will turn away from it okay, and bow before the synagogue entrance, as if the bride of Sabbath was about to enter. In Oh, although our view of the bride as believers in Christ is completely different from this, I do believe that there is still a call of the preparation of the Bride of Christ. There is still a call like they like they are saying like, come a bride like they are seeing come a bride there is a preparation, there is a call to become a Pure Bride, without wrinkle. As we see in the scriptures. The God is calling us. He says in Ephesians five that he is presenting he is presenting his bride with a wrinkle. He is presenting this bride. So we're seeing the He's calling us into the reality of us to become his bride. Saba three reminds us of the preparation to meet a Bridegroom King, or rhythms of Sabbath daily weekly as we've been talking about in seasonal meetings are transformational times with our beloved groom, bridegroom. A glimpse of what it will be, to be with the Lord forever. It is an invitation to enter into this reality of revelation 19 seven and eight. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. fine linen, bright and clean. Was given her to wear and that finally and instead For the righteous acts of God's holy people, I know if you remember, but in some of the teachings in a few weeks ago, we talked about how a Jewish rabbi explained the Sabbath as a palace in time that God has built, right. It's almost like a tent in time, that God invites us to enter with him, this this holy time that he had said, a part to meet with him a time that he had Santa fi. So we can meet with him at dimension in which we are at home with the divine. So they also describe that is like a wedding canopy, that we are invited to align ourself with the reality of God. And for us, as we sit here in Revelation 19, seven, and eight is an invitation to align ourselves with the reality of the wedding of the Lamb. When Christ comes for His Church, His Bride, and the reality of the preparation and readiness and readiness, we as his bride, are called to enter. Now, I want to take a few times a few moments and just talk to some of my brothers, because I know that for us girls, just the the concept of become the Bride of Christ is so you see, right, and it's not hard. But as I was talking with Brad, I'm like that, for Mandy might be a little bit more challenging. So it's like, I don't know if I can relate to God, us a bride. And as many times Buster rod has said, in as he's teaching us this, like, you know, we are the sons of God, men and women, and we are the bride of Christ, right men and women. So I like something that I found that my hell might be called, explains that. And he says, and I'm going to read it, as sons of God, we are positioned to experience God's throne, as heirs of his power and authority, as we see in Romans, a 17, and Revelation 321. If I were to say to my brothers here, and the ones who are going to listen, eventually to this teaching, and said, If raise your hand if you actually can identify with this as songs with the power and authority of God, okay? I think that some of you will raise your hand, okay. Now, as Jesus bride, we are positioned to experience God's heart, God's emotions towards us, God's affection towards us. So it's an invitation for men as well, to experience what God feels about you. What a god's God's affection towards you, were his emotions towards you, just as women are the sons of God, so men are the bride of Christ, both describe a unique position of privilege before God, rather than pointing to something physical, of male and female. So it's not about seeing it I physically like a male or a female, it's a spiritual identity, that God is bringing the same way that he calls us sheep, the same way that he calls us His Son the same way that he calls us his temple, you know, we are not physically that, but it is a spiritual identity that he is calling us to with this specific ways that he gives us to relate with him. So we can enter into that reality of that. And since God shows that at the end times the identity that he decided that his church the his people are going to be known and Earth heaven and onto Earth is going to be as his bride. He's inviting everybody, male, female, no matter Ah, all right, from the youngest to the old ones, to be part and receive this identity as a bride. So the call of the bride is a call of intimacy. We hear this often and often in teachings again, it's like man, you know you okay? What is that means? It means this it means to relate when we talking about relating in intimacy, with Jesus as the bride and the bridegroom is talking about an invitation to relate heart to heart with Jesus heart to heart with his emotion, his affection towards you. Because in this place, experienced the reality of the of our identity as the bride of Christ, especially for men, and I know this is for everybody, but I just want to just emphasize this for man. It's not and it does not undermine a man's masculinity. Rather, it strengthens and establishes manhood. I believe this is the message of the bridegroom is a call to intimacy with God, by encounter his heart, and working in partnership with him in a spirit of abandonment, the more as you as men encounter the heart of Jesus. And since Jesus is one with the Father, the deep things they are in his heart for you, the more that you are able to love, that the more that you are able to experience the heart of Jesus, which is the heart of the Father, the more you're going to be able to love your family, the more you're going to be able to love God better, the more you're going to be able to love your spouse, the more you're going to be able to love your children, the more you're going to be able to love the things that God loves. And since we are encountering the nature of Jesus and the nature of the father, the father is a protector by nature, our ultimate protection comes from the Father. So the more you are encountering heart to heart, the heart of God, the heart of Jesus as a bridegroom there in the heart of the Father, because Jesus and the Father, I won these nature that is any us men have protectors of providers, it comes actually under their reality and the supernatural ways of the nature of God him as protector, then his nature comes and becomes your nature. So now you're not going to try to do this protection outside from God. But he's seen you united with the nature of who he is, as protector. So you receive the supernatural empowerment from the Father, to protect your family, not only physical, but spiritually, you become the protector of your family spiritually. So this is the invitation of this intimacy that is talking about here. This is the invitation of partake of the nature of a bride that is relating with a bridegroom, in sowing love with the bridegroom and his relating heart to heart. So as you see, you actually, this, this reality that God is inviting us as a bride, it actually makes man receive more empower them to live in the reality and the nature of how God created them. And the same is for women. But again, for women, we usually don't have much trouble relating with this. Okay. So I just wanted to just stop and take a pause and talk a little bit about that. Okay. So, again, this invitation Sabbath is part to become this reality of this spiritual identity that God is calling us as a bride. Okay? There was just something very, very fascinating for me, okay, since we say that this tent is placed this Sabbath time, it could be like a candle, like a wedding canopy, that we are invited to align herself, ourselves with the reality of the wedding of the Lamb. According to Jewish sources, the wedding canopy that they use for weddings or some of you will know it as Hoopa is a symbol of God's presence. Okay, for them, it's a symbol of God's presence at a wedding. And in the home that has been established on the deck canopy is said that the Divine Name of God does with the belief that the not the Divine Name of God hovers over that Hooper and sanctify the space below it came the costume to marry under the delete operation and abroad one just for you to show this, this is just like a prayer to eat, you know. So, it became this custom to to marry under the Toledo prayer shawl, which was frequently a gift listen, they found this so beautiful, a gift from the bride's family to the groom. Now, again, what this represents represents a prayer shawl, your persons the prayers that they have been praying this ritual fringes are deceased it and and I'm sure I'm not saying that correctly. On the prayer shawl hanging over the couple's head, they put it in the couple's head where our reminder for the couple of the commandments. They were presented the commandments that they were supposed to live under and they also represent a protection against evil spirits. This is what they believed. Now for us, we know that it is a spiritual, a spiritual Delete. They we are called to leave the we actually we've been doing I believe through praying for generations, right we've been doing impro counsel and pray for generations, I do believe that this is what I've been doing. We are being forming spiritual to leads that I believe that we are placing in our children across time, we are placing this in the future of our children in the future of their home, in the future of who they're going to become in the future of their families is our prayers that are going to cover them is so prayers, that the promises of God that we are proclaiming over them, it is the covenant that we have with God, they I believe that we are leaving as a spiritual legacy upon them. I don't know, this was just so beautiful for me, just to think that even in Sabbath, God is reminding us of this realities. It's reminding us of what oh, what he wants us to align with his heart for for our generations, allowing us to, to align with what the reality that we all going to be eventually at this wedding at this wedding of the Lamb. Okay, so that was just for me just so, so beautiful. Now, as we talk about the rhythms of Sabbath, something that I will, I'm learning and I think I mentioned less, let's Titian about this. When we remove ourselves, again, from all distractions, all the over stimulus, and we see our own works to enter into this holy time that God has prepared for us. And we set ourselves apart to be with God, some things began to happen. I don't know if you remember, but I think I shared with you that it's like, it was effortless, how my mind would begin to be flooded with the thoughts of God. It was very, it was very easy, it was in a very easy way they just came in effortless. Every time that we do this, it's just like they begin or thoughts begin to be flooded, in an effortless way with the with God with just the beauty of God, and we begin to be more present with God with our families, okay with one another during those times, okay? Now, the other dynamic that I'm beginning to see that happens is what in fact, what we are going to be talking about today is how things during this time of rest, when we remove all distraction, things begin to surface the reality of our inner lives, or internal reality begins to emerge. Be because we have eliminated during those times the numbness, the many time busyness, or over a stimulus gives us the immediate entertainment or the immediate comfort, pleasure. The sometimes gives us and curses that numbness, causing the reality of the pain that we carry the troublesome emotions, we tend to push them down. As we go from one event to the other in our everyday life. The lies that we don't realize we are believing in that given access to the enemy tool parade in our lives. Most of the time when we just go from one thing to the other without actually resting with God. Usually they're gonna stay there, they're gonna tell nom they're gonna stay push down. They're not going to surface we can ignore them. It's easier to ignore them because we are just so busy with everything else. But when we take the time, there's no other entertainment, there is no other distraction. But that inner reality begins to emerge. Because this is what God wants to do. He wants to bring it up. He wants to bring it up. He wants to bring it up so he can heal it so he can deliver us from the many things they are separating us from encountering him in a deeper way. He wants to remove everything that is in the way for us and experience His affection for us. He wants to expose every single thing one by one, to remove in expose all the things that are allowing us to experience this intimacy that we were talking about the reality that we are called to experiencing His presence, all those obstacles they are there in all allow us even when we want to something seems there is Dawson, let us connect to the reality there, we know that that is available for us through Christ, he begins to bring his overcoming light into every place of darkness in our lives, every work of the flesh expose, and every demonic influence that has been hidden for way too long in our lives. See, as believers, none of us like to think about that. I mean, I didn't like to think about that. I mean, Lord, I mean, I'm spirit field believer, right? I love you. I mean, your word father. Course. I'm not gonna have any demonic influence in me, right. But this is most of us. Nobody likes to think about that. But there's a reality that we have a flesh, and we have an enemy. And the first place that we're going to have to learn to fight is going to be one of the first battle grounds, which is our mind. Because for us to become the Pure Bride, the bride that is so in love with Jesus and is able to receive his affection and his love. God has to remove every single obstacle that is not allowing us to draw near to his heart and receive his love. He has to remove every single thing that is in the way for us to receive the purification that he wants us to receive through His Spirit. First, we see this in first John 159, this is the measure we have heard from him and declared to you God is light. and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in darkness, we lie, and we do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just and will forgive and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness he wants to show us what is not allowing us to have full abandonment towards him. Even again, when we desire to do it, what is in the way of us loving him wholeheartedly, not just with a piece of our heart wholeheartedly. With all of our hearts with all of our souls and with all of our minds after all, in this is the fulfillment of all commandments. To Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind and love others as yourself. He wants to eliminate the fear and shame that is separating us from coming near him or bride groom King is selfless for safety. In his seal he will destroy everything that hinders love. Jesus wants to intervene to fight against that which injures his bride he wants to rescue protects and then the cases as His Bride he wants to show us how are things that you don't even realize that you are or not it's not then we cannot even receive it as someone even realize that we are in rebellion towards those things. So what are the things they are in the way? Well, like we have just finished with Nancy doing this training with the cohorts in in NC did it in English I was able to do an in Spanish. And during the training of the cohort, we able to just share some of the things that we see that get in the way right. The things like wounds, pain lies that we learned to believe from different traumas from different wounds that we receive from human from childhood belief systems that we learned even since childhood as well lies way we tend to believe entanglements that we get with the enemy with the with the demonic because of the of just been able we were able to we were not able to realize that we were around the cold in Just been just so many things, right? So many generational cycles of seeing that has been in our families and all these other different areas, they actually the enemy can have a legal right to come and operate in our lives. The Lord began to just speak about this specific subject that I'm gonna share with you. And he wanted us to talk today about the breaking down of strongholds of the mind. Because again, the mind is going to be the first battle field that we're going to fight this battle. We're going to have to be engage in this first line of attack that the enemy uses to attack us. I really like to read Francis Frank, Japan, I think is how you said his name. And in his book of the three battleground, three battlegrounds. He says, if we are to be effective in spiritual warfare, the first field of conflict where we must learn warfare is the battleground of the mind. For the territory of the on crucify thought life. Listen to this, this is the battlefield, they own. The territory of the on crucify thought life is the beachhead of satanic assault in our lives. To defeat the devil, we must be renewed in the spirit for mines. Now, we're going to talk a little bit about how the enemy and how the demonic can have access in these areas in our mind. Now, I don't, my intention is not to make us devil focus. It's never never never think anybody here ever teaching be the focus, but we need to be aware we cannot be unaware of how the enemy attack us. Otherwise, we're never going to be able to realize how he's operating how he is attacking, or in an attack in our lives. Okay, so we're going to, we're going to read Second Corinthians 10, three to five. And it says, For the we walk in the flesh, we do not war, according to the flesh, for the weapon of warfare are not carnal. Okay? Listen to this for the weapon of war. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for the pulling down strongholds. So let's talk a little bit about this. If there's a battle that we're in every day, right, there's a spiritual battle, okay? And God is saying to us, listen, your flesh cannot fight this battle. Although you live in this flesh, your fight cannot be in the flesh, you actually gonna lose this battle, if you try to win it, through the flesh. And in he says, for the soul, if he telling us that is not on the flesh, that means that the weapons that he has given us, as we reading here, are mighty in God, then this, this means that there is a spiritual battle, a spiritual battle that God is calling us. But we need to fight it with the spiritual, spiritual. Listen to that word, weapons that he has given us. They are mighty in God, they are mighty in him. This word mighty in God, it means there is effective in God. This weapons that he has given us His say, and they are so effective to where you're going to encounter to the pulling down, stronghold they are so if you had given you all this weapons, they are mighty in me, but they are effective. To pull down strongholds. What it means to pull down stronghold is talking about the complete destruction. Listen to this complete destruction, complete removal, complete removal of an obstacle. So I'm just saying whatever is the struggle, and we're gonna talk about what a stronghold is, right? So he's saying this stronghold, okay, that is common in your mind. I have given you, my weapons, they are so effective there are going to completely disrupt this. And he's going to actually remove every single obstacle that they have created. And then it says in verse five, casting down arguments, and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, that we're casting down arguments is casting down imaginations, is casting done mindsets, is casting down deceptive ideas. Is an every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Everything that tried to exalt itself against For us, having the ability to know God deeply, that's what he's saying. I'm going to bring and remove complete the removal of all these things. This scripture is telling us that we're going to cast down, tear down. All these imaginations, mindset, deceptive ideas, that keep us from truly knowing God. And the weapons that we're going to use in the spirit I so effective. They are weapons of truth that God has given us and have the power to break down all this things. So why Paul is making such an emphasis on this. What what strongholds of the mind what what is the stronghold that he's talking about? A strong home is can be a source of protection for us. Okay, to protect us from the enemy when the Lord becomes our fortress. That's what Psalm 18 Two says, Okay? The Lord can be your fortress, and so forth. This is a place of protection, right? Or listen to this, a stronghold can be a source of defense for the enemy, where sinful or demonic activity is sexually defended within us. They are strongholds that protect and defend our own nature and wrong attitudes. Okay, so let me just read something here Okay, so we're going to see that this stronghold, okay, they are lies that the enemy builds in our minds and emotions, okay, so it's going to be like our wall that the enemy builds, okay, and that the enemy builds, they're filled with deception, fill with lights, with false ideologies, false beliefs, belief systems to try that we have agreed sometimes we don't realize about these things. This is the thing strong holds have one purpose, and is to defend and hide every single false argument, every single light that we have believed every single ideology that is against the knowledge of God, that is not allowing us to actually connect with God in a deeper way. And their, their function of this stronghold is to protect these things and protects every single demonic, every single demonic influence in our lives. And we're going to see how these are built and we're going to see how they actually operate. Okay, because the stronghold again, if it's a struggle of the enemy, we cannot be the same. It is not just our thoughts, is not just a physical thought, there is a spiritual reality, there is a demonic force, right there hiding the wants to cause to hide, because he doesn't want to be exposed. So we He doesn't want us to take do the work that we need to do to break down the stronghold cast him out, because by the way, we're not defenseless. against these things. We're not victims of all of this. That's what God said, I've given you the weapons, they're mighty in me to the destruction of all the things, the authority that I have given you over every single demonic spirit, you do not have to live under this influence. The problem is sometimes we don't realize that we are under the influence because we make excuses or simply we don't know that how they operating. Okay. So, and stronghold, again, is speculation, speculations, pride, arrogance rests up against the knowledge of God. A stronghold is a reasoning or imagination, I thought pattern. Listen to this, a thought pattern, or a mindset is a particular perspective or belief. It's a way of thinking, that usually goes deep into the mind until it becomes part of us. That's why it's hard for us to identify it. How many of us we just say I just the way I am. That's just the way that I think. And sometimes we something happens in our lives and we enter into this again, this pattern of thinking that we know that it's toxic, we know that it's not good that brings it into oppression into the pressure and we're like why am I keep thinking like thinking while I keep being oppressed by the thoughts in my mind, why keep having these attitudes? Because by the way, this patterns this mindset affect every single All emotion in our lives as well. They attach to emotions. Okay, and we're going to see this when we are going through as we talk about how they are, how they are built. Okay? Now we all know that not every thought that we have is a demonic thought, right? We have in Christ, we have the mind of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit, we renew our minds daily through the Word through the Spirit and in a community of believers as we walk in, in truth, speaking one another truth, all these things, right? So we know that our thoughts are going to come from God, they are thoughts, they're going to come from our flesh. And they come in their thoughts that truly are going to come from the enemy from demonic forces. And we need to learn to identify what is what, right. Because this, these thoughts as we're going to see, they're just not just thoughts, they just come and disappear. Okay? Now, the enemy, and every one experience and opportunistic, okay, that means that even if it's a third of our flesh is going to use then he's just going to find a place to land in our lives. I want to just read something that I, in one of the trainings, somebody said, and I just really love this I was when I was learning, especially specifically, they were talking about knowledge rejection, what is anyway, there, we're talking about something specifically like that spiritually. And he says, think about the how the enemy comes in and attack, especially our mind, think about a pond is like, every place we have a wound or under ally is a place the enemy goes fishing. And he is always trying to hook you to that situation. And one he hopes you, you are partnering with a spiritual force. We are at that moment not only dealing with their own wheel, but also a spiritual influence that we need to break off from us so we can be set free. So let's talk a little bit because just don't have time. Let's go and talk about the building of stronghold. Okay? So how a stronghold is built in our mind, remember, the purpose is to create this fortify wall, this fortified structure, okay, that is made out of false belief, deception. The biggest thing is deception. Actually, in the context of Second Corinthians 10, for three to five, Paul is talking his his correcting, like the way of thinking that many in the Corinthian church were coming against him again, he he's call us an apostle, right. So there was a lot of murmuring. And there was a lot of, of like talking about about Paul, and he's coming to, to correct this per se, and almost like saying, Listen, what I'm going to show you here it is that you are under deception. And then we need to show you where this is actually coming from. I am not going to come against you. Were you saying against me, I need to show you that there is actually deception they have come there's a spiritual deception, a stronghold that has come in your minds and is causing you to come against the very thing that God is saying that God is doing the very thing that have the knowledge of God that He wants to bring you into. Because if they didn't believe Paul, his words, that means they're going to receive what Paul had to say what God has to say through Paul. You see, so it Paul is is showing us here a big struggle of deception and how to remove it, how to take it down, okay. So a stronghold is built, thought, by thought. That is the simplest way, thought by thought. Think of a brick wall. Okay? A brick wall is built brick by brick. Almost like every brick is a thought. And that thought is brought to our mind that that deception that lie, that false belief that is coming against the knowledge of God is brought to our minds. Okay, and once is brought to our minds, again, we're not defenseless because it tells us there that we have the power to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. So where are the faster if we The thing is that we need to realize and become aware of what is in our mind worry with thinking if a thought comes in when I can real lies. Most of the time when a thought is is invading my mind, except when they're familiar to Me have strongholds that have broken, or maybe struggle that I need to break your future. You know, is and that's when I it takes more time it takes maybe more work. It's like, wait a minute, I'm actually being a green with this I'm actually I've been thinking a lot about this. I'm coming in, in agreement with a thought. A thought is just a thought. And again, we're not a victim of that thought when a victim of what the demonic wants to bring in our lives. So while we can do as we are aware, as we stay in the truth, I will stay in the truth they're easily to be, we're easily to spot those things, okay? And we can take them captive into the obedience of Christ usually said, No, this is not mine. In law, I bring this thought captive to the obedience of Christ right now. And I identified the spirit they may come with if he was fear they was causing me or anxiety I speak to specifically to those spirits, spirit, fear and anxiety in Jesus name. I am not going to partner with you and you need to go to the feet of Jesus where he will do as he pleases. You have no authority over my mind. And I asked the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, come and renew my mind. Fill me with your truth. What is your truth about this? Obviously, the enemy has found a place that he can learn what is the truth about this? What are you saying about this and I begin to renew my mind with truth. I begin to just seek God in His word and in His Spirit to just begin to fill my mind with the truth. Okay. The problem with a stronghold is the most of the time if we have a strong if there's a struggle in our mind. If we cast down that thought, it will bring temporary relief. Why? Because we have not. We have not tear down the stronghold that all this false beliefs in these demonic spirits have access to come and influence our minds. So that's why it's like, Lord, I just, I mean, how many times can you just bring up thought captive to the obedience of Christ, right? And I'm not saying that is not what we do. Of course, we do that as well. Right? Lord, I've been in your truth, okay. You have to remove the stronghold. Because we need to deal with the with the lies with the deception with the wrong belief, the gay the enemy access the gay, dark demonic spirit access to come and influence and torment our lives. The torment mostly of our minds, is because there is a stronghold protected, okay? And that protection, okay, costumes, him to come in a wicked moment, when we are in our weakest moments is when the thing is going to come to attack us, is when is going to come and we're like, why am I why am I in this place? Again? Lord, why am I acting this way? Because this isn't, this is what I called it, and I'm getting ahead of myself. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about the thought. Okay, so a thought, again, it's just a thought, if there's not a stronghold can take a captive to the obedience of Christ, a thought, okay, to become a brick, where is part of that structure, the stronghold that the nm is building in its or agreement. It needs for us to come in agreement with it. It needs for us to believe in what the thought is telling us. Once it has our belief, one, the customer agreement is a brick. It's a brick that is stylish, it's a brick that is established. And then at the enemy is going to work things and our flesh is going to in you know, the work of our flesh is gonna is going to cause us to bring situations where it's going to actually partner with this brick with this thought with this false belief. So then we don't realize that oh, okay. Now this situation has happened to me. So it must be we don't realize, but this is what happens. He brings again, that brick that is already there that lie in it connects it. That's how mindsets are created. That's how patterns of thinking I created. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about how to add the, the let me see. Yeah, let's just skip all of this and go to how these the progression of a stronghold. Okay, start with a thought, in initial idea, to perspective, or the concept, or the imagination that came in our minds, for example, Oh, this looks very difficult. Something happened to you something is brought to you and you're like, Wow, this just looks very difficult. You know, a situation that maybe you're going on with your family, and this looks very difficult. Okay, it's just the initial thought. Okay. Now, remember, the enemy is looking for agreement or a belief I have that thought, or what he implanted in that moment. So if we agree with the idea or that initial thought, we suddenly saying, I really cannot do this, I cannot do this, I cannot do this, I can't not go through this. Now he has an agreement. Now have the thought pattern. Remember, once I have the agreement is going to begin the thought pattern I have it is a habit of thinking in a particular way. You seem assumptions, that is the biggest thing is always going to use assumption, big stories that we makes in our head, for example, I can do this. And then we add things never work for me, I will never work it thinks will never work for me. And then when something happens in your life, that just simply if it's not the will of God, and he was not supposed to happen as I see, I knew what things he's just never worked for me. And then we'll begin this is God can do it for everybody else except with me. You see, it's just begins the thought pattern is just begins to build the stronghold. And again, once a stronghold is built, the structure that comes from consistent way of thinking, okay, the stronghold then becomes, I am a failure. It's not anymore, though. This is hard. Do you see that he went from this is a difficult situation. And this is difficult to I am a failure. He gets in, that's what every demonic spirit is gonna come. Because demonic spirits come in groupings as well. So it's not just one thing, there's always going to be one strong man, as the scripture tells us, right? That there's going to be one strong man, one main spirit in charge of that stronghold, but that doesn't mean that he's alone. Okay, so that's why fear is not always just, if fear enter into your life through Washington, for example, scary movies is never going to stay there. You're going to begin to have fear of men, you're going to begin to have even phobias you can become it never stays the same. Okay? It can even brings you to, to the to the point of such anxiety in your life because of fear. Okay, so there are many things there are many ways how the enemy is working in this so how to break a stronghold. Okay? Again, some strong words are going to be used to identify and some want I found out in in that could be wrong on the sand. I'm just figuring it out. Like you guys. As we go, I have come to realize that they're strong with that there is the I asked the Lord and we're gonna see how in and he will help me because he had given me the weapon. Like we read the weapon for my war for their mighty and God for the destruction of our fortress, right? They're going to be some practical things that we're going to be able to do, right? But how they are going to be some strongholds, they again, because they have become part of us. It's just that's who I am. We don't realize that they're there. We may need the help of somebody else. With some training, right in in in some areas, or just simply really walking in the Spirit and that the Lord has called in to help you in this area and walk with you in this area, to help you identify the strongholds to break them down and to cast out the the demonic influence in your in our minds, okay? Remember, strongholds would destroy them, spiritual, demonic force that we cast them out. We're going to cast out that thing, and we're going to remove the stronghold that gave him the legal authority to stay there. Thoughts. This is the lesson that I'm going to talk about that before before I talk about breaking down stronghold, thought and I was bringing a book of currently leave and she explains this is a neuroplasticity Ride Science. And they have discovered the thoughts on when you have a thought, for example, right now, if I tell you think about I don't know your mom, right? A thought, whatever comes to your mind that thought it doesn't disappear, doesn't dissipate and goes into the air thought is scientifically proven that they can measure it that can measure thoughts and thoughts occupy a space in our minds, thoughts are actually mental spaces, they are occupied and there's space in our minds that those thoughts is all occupying. Okay. And those thoughts come and work with emotions. I mean, it's fascinating to read the science of this, how the even the body how God has designed it and in everything. That's why when there was a toxic thought there is a toxic emotion attached to it. And remember the bricks that we were talking about that we built those thoughts those agreements that we have made come with an emotion in usually go to subconscious. And then when something new happening or conscious a situation that happens, there is this subconscious is going to come and inform our conscious awareness. And it's going to say see the thing that the pattern that we're thinking, you know, the way that we're thinking is saying, See, this is what happened in and is, like defending that lie defending that thought, defending that way of thinking that what it does. And so I love what she says, Just like now, we have realized with science, that we can actually feel our thoughts. Pay attention to your emotions. Pay attention to your thoughts. Pay attention, what you're saying, because of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak. Pay attention to the things bring a diary, become aware of what you think and what you're saying, and how you feeling. And you're going to find out where most likely the toxic emotion the toxic thought came from, or where are we talking about here in the spirit, the stronghold? Where is that lie? where it began? Where is the false ideology? Where is the deception that we enter? Okay. So to break stronghold, we must first directly confront them with the biblical truth, truth, the weapon of warfare, a mighty in God to the destruction of our fortress, is the weapons of truth, biblical truth. We also can begin to deal with our emotions first. Again, there's many ways of doing this. I'm not saying that there's one way we can do good oral motion through inner healing first, I know that a lot of the struggles that I used to work before, as I did these processes of inner healing, it took care of them. And there's some that I'm like, there's still a stronghold, and I need to deal with it. Because I have done everything done through inner healing. And I'm still like, Okay, I'm just gonna have to go into the stronghold of the mind. And that's what I do. Okay? So, because sometimes we need to cut the access, obviously, off of where the enemy had in the emotion, because the more than we are at peace and arrest, the Eastern is going to be able to identify these things, the user is going to be able to actually break down the stronghold and cast out the demonic influence that there was in our minds, okay. So, so if necessary, also repent, forgive, give up the lies, break the agreements, and receive the truth. Okay. Again, we must call the legal acts of the demonic had and receive the truth. Okay, after identifying the lies, this is the next step. Okay. A con, the lies we can then confront them with truth. And the next thing that we can do is evict the strong man. Remember, this always wants from my one demonic, specific demonic influence that he is defending that stronghold. Okay? So we have to do this, okay, in the authority that Christ has given us, okay, and ordering it to evict, ordered it to leave, cast it out, okay, in the name of Jesus, okay, bind that and cast it out. Just like the Scripture tells us. Okay, invite the presence of the Holy Spirit, to feel every area of your mind where that where that stronghold was built of the enemy. Invite the presence of God to remove all evil and occupy the territory begin to build this is that this is important, okay. Once you do that, the next steps are important. Begin to build got strongholds in your mind. We don't have time to talk about this. But there's strongholds of humility. There's strongholds of obedience. There are many strongholds in God as God becomes a stronghold that we can begin to build. So then we are we are building this strong that are going to protect our minds against these schemes of the enemy against these attacks against our mind. And the last one that I want to share is have accountability and seek help in community. It takes a community to help us okay to be vulnerable. Have somebody that you can trust and he can walk with you through this. Okay, see Galilee counseling and mentorship that will help you build new healthy ways and patterns. And I want to say the last thing about canceling I love canceling. I trust canceling. But I'm telling you, there are so many issues right now in our minds that our strongholds did remember the weapons of our warfare are not in the flesh. Just worldly canceling is not going to take care of it is going to be defenseless. Against the stronghold has to be something greater remember, it has to be a stronger man says the Scripture. Somebody is stronger than this. young men to come and cast it out. And that is the spiritual weapons that we have in God that is Christ Himself and His authority to bind us strong men bringing out of the house so we can come in and fill it with, with God with his kingdom and with His truth. So I'm, I'm just encouraging you, yes, it's okay to seek counseling, I believe in it. But they are things they just simply are not going to be defeated. They may be bringing some temporary reliefs, but it's not going to be the the removing of strongholds. So let us pray. Father, we just thank you. We just thank You, Father, for Your Word. We just thank You, Father, for the truth and the authority that you that we have in you, we thank you for the power of your kingdom. We thank you for the fullness of the gospel, Lord, for you are bringing your church in this hour, again, back to the fullness of the gospel, because this is not just about salvation. This is salvation, healing and deliverance. This is how the primitive Church understood the gospel. And this is where we are right now asking the fullness of the gospel in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in our cities, and in our nation more you are preparing the bride in this in this season of rest, we are entering preferably in every season of rest, were you saying I'm preparing you bride, and I'm calling you into the wilderness, I'm calling you into this place of preparation into this place of removing and purifying us by Pure Bright, I'm coming after everything that is separating you from experiencing my love, all these things that are trying to come in the way for you to come in the fullness of the knowledge of who I am in the experience of the reality of my love, and my empowerment and what I have for you, because I'm calling you in this place of rest. I'm calling you in this place to rest to prepare. Because what is coming, there is coming, there is coming many from the harvest. Look, look, look up and look at the harvest is plentiful. I'm bringing people there is going to need nurse to pray just a prayer of salvation. But it's people that are going to need to be healed and delivered from the lie from the deception from the lifestyle. So I'm calling you my bride to come to come to be filled with my love to be purified to be the Pure Bride. So you could have be able to receive your dress, your wedding dress, that it is the works of the righteous works of the saints, the works that I'm calling you to do, but I need to purify you first. It from this place of rest that you're going to do my words is from this place of purification that you're going to join me and do the work that I have for you. So Father, we pray and bless your bride in this hour with the fullness we pray ourselves right now as part of the bride they we are going to do what's necessary we're going to do the work that is necessary father, and everything that is that there is not allowing us to receive the fullness of your love. Let it be removed in the name of Jesus. And I pray, Lord, that it started with us. And I pray right now Father in any single demonic activity in our lives that is not allowing us to actually receive this freedom. I pray that you will bind it Holy Spirit that you will bind that Lord Jesus with your authority. So we will have the desire and we will do what we need to do to be free. So we proclaim Jesus, we proclaim Jesus in the fullness of your freedom law in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for joining us today. Aaron ova is raising up spiritual leaders in many nations through our spiritual enrichment events, syndicated NetCast international prayer Council network and numerous international seminary scholarships. Together, we are lighting the fires of revival, fueling prayer movements and raising up friends of Jesus in the nations. We invite you to partner with us in this extraordinary movement. 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