Allen Temple Adult Bible Study

7/3/08 Allen Temple Adult Bible Study Waging Victorious Spiritual Warfare (Church – 1st Corinthians 1-6, Rev 1, 2:1-11) Rev. K.D. Hale, Sr.

Tearing Down Satanic Strongholds

Def: Satanic Stronghold – is a mind set that accepts a situation as unchangeable, even though that situation is contrary to the will of God.

The Bible is clear that Satan can build his strongholds in the lives of individuals and families. But he can also gain ground in the church of Jesus Christ and erect strongholds that hinder the work of God. Bringing spiritual warfare inside the doors of the church is a key strategy of the devil. He knows if he can weaken the church internally, he can weaken its witness and impact on the world.

1. How do we tear down strongholds in the church? We must begin with the Lord and Head of the church and His message to the people who make up His body.

(Rev 1:15) Look at how John saw Jesus! When was the last time the church had such an overwhelming vision of Jesus that we fell at His feet like dead people?

2. If we want to tear down strongholds in the church, we need to adhere to the message Jesus gave John in Revelation 2-3. He states the He and He alone is the standard by which the church is to measure itself and to function.

3. He wants us to adjust our programs, our plans, and our thinking to who He is. When the church obeys Jesus, we will see a church victorious over the devil rather than a church victimized by the devil.

We can have a right relationship with God and never experience the power of God. You can be an over-comer in your position but not in your practice (1st John 5:5).

A Message About Love (The Church in Ephesus)

4. Programs for Passion: We must never let programs replace our passion for Him (Rev. 2:2-4). Satan can gain ground in the church when we leave our first love for Jesus Christ.

1 | P a g e The church at Ephesus had a great program. They had doctrinal soundness. Truth was present, but it was truth devoid of love. The church can be doctrinally correct and yet spiritually dead when it loses sight of Christ. God’s people need to keep their love for Him strong.

A Message About Faithfulness (The Church in Smyrna)

5. Jesus is saying to His church, “Be faithful to Me no matter what” (Rev. 2: 9-10). Don’t be a convenience-loving church, who only serve Me when they are being blessed.

A lot of people are willing to follow Jesus as long as they are getting Christmas blessings. Everybody likes a God who gives out goodies, who simple invites people to “name it and claim it.” But Jesus has called us to take up our cross and follow Him (Mk 8:34).

The church’s job is to obey Christ faithfully, not to please everybody. We are called to be faithful no matter what and when we do that Jesus will take care of the rest. We live in a day of quitters. People bail out on their marriages when times get tough. People leave the church when things don’t go the way they like. But Jesus says, “If you want to know My power and spiritual authority, stand firm in trouble and I will make you an over-comer.”

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