Week 1) How Strongholds Are Formed Through Repetitive Thinking

Oh My Soul - Week 5

Oh My Soul Review:

Week 1) How Strongholds are formed through repetitive thinking. Week 2) How people learn & acquire their belief system. Week 3) How Godly vision restrains negative thinking and behavior. Week 4) How to get vision, guard it and test it.

Week Five: The effects of the WORD. I am hoping that you will leave with an upgraded reverence for the Word of God and it’s effect in our lives.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

1) We are in the flesh 2) We do not make war in the flesh 3) Our weapons are mighty in God-they pull down strongholds 4) Arguments, high thing that exalt themselves over God, and thoughts are strongholds.

God has given us weapons:

Ephesians 6:16-18

16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —

Insight: your number one weapon for pulling down strongholds in the spirit is the WORD of God. It is the sword of the spirit-it is what you attack with.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the WORD of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Insight: The WORD is alive-powerful-active-vibrant-it is loaded with purpose-it contains within it the seeds of creation and change.

It is the power of the Word that transforms you and sanctifies ( approves you, makes you holy, separates you, purifies you, qualifies you) you.

Remember God said to be renewed in the spirit of your mind-Your subconscious mind. (Ephesians 4:23)

He said to be transformed through the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2 )

Insight: There is no more effective agent in purifying us, sanctification us, renewing our minds and transforming us than the WORD of God.

John 17:16-18

16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

This process of sanctification is important-important enough that Jesus prayed and asked the father to do it in us and for us. The prayer was so specific that it even named the agent of change that God would use-namely-The Word of God-sanctify them by your word-your word is truth-Therefore the truth that is revealed by the word of God is the agent that produces change in us.

God’s WORD contains within it the ability to change or recreate the way we think in turn causing our behavior to change. We learned earlier that if we change our minds, we will be able to change our lives. How do we change our minds? -through the WORD of GOD.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the father (Matt 4)

God ‘s word will not return void but it will accomplish the thing that he sent it for,

Isaiah 55:10

10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My WORD be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Insight: God’s word is given for a purpose-it is sent to bring change-to cause something to happen-to water something so that it will grow-it is seed for the sower-it causes things to bring forth and bud. –(God spoke and it was done-in the beginning God said…. )

Insight: The WORD is alive-powerful-active-vibrant-it is loaded with purpose-it contains within it the seeds of creation and change.

When you got saved the WORD of god recreated your spirit.

1 Peter 1:23

23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the WORD of God which lives and abides forever,

Jesus himself is the WORD made flesh

John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The WORD washes you, cleanses you and sanctifies you.

Ephesians 5:25-27

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Again we see the sanctifying agent or cleansing instrument God uses is his WORD of truth.

Christ's Intercessory Prayer.

John 17:17

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

The next thing he prayed for them was that they might be sanctified; not only kept from evil, but made good. The petition of Christ is this- Sanctify them through thy truth, through thy word, for thy word is truth; it is true—it is truth itself. He desires that we may be sanctified, (consecrated, holy, set apart).

The means of presenting this grace to us is—through thy truth, thy word is truth. God is not limited by any means-however he has chosen in his infinite wisdom and plan (That all needful truth should be comprised and summed up in the word of God. Divine revelation, as it now stands in the written word, is not only pure truth without mixture, but entire truth without deficiency). (Matthew Henry)

Switching Gears

Mark 9:23

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,] all things are possible to him who believes.” Or you could say-nothing is possible for those who don’t believe.

The WORD must be believed-all things are possible to him that believes-in order to believe-we must have something to put our faith in or mix with.

Hebrews 4:2

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

Insight: The WORD doesn’t work unless we put our faith in it.

This is why someone can hear the gospel and not be changed-they choose not to believe it-therefore God’s WORD, although it contains within it the power for new creation, it must be received (believed-planted) in order to bear fruit. Even then the enemy tries to steal the word after it is sown-

Mark 4:15

15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

How do we “mix faith with the WORD?” Simply put: Faith is an act-it is the substance of things hoped for.

You can’t have faith without acting on in. But first you need to believe at the subconscious level of your mind or you won’t be able to genuinely respond in faith.

How can you believe at the subconscious level of your mind? -Be renewed in the spirit of your mind-how?- by meditating on the WORD of God-What you meditate on becomes part of your subconscious mind and that is who you become. Remember that you live at you SEE level-as a man thinks in his heart-so he is and becomes. Proverbs 23:7

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God. (Romans 10:17)

We must learn how to meditate on the WORD if we are going hear and be changed by it.