no one is so holy so saved that they
have no internal private things that
they're dealing with
the Bible says
those who belong to Christ Jesus
have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires
that verse is all about identifying that
sin Within
that ungodly desire that unhealthy
passion
and then saying no to it
get to the point where you say my love
for God is greater than my love for
anything else
that's how you crucify your flesh
the best way to identify what the
stronghold you face in your life is you
you have to look at the area in your
life where you face a constant battle
the area that you struggle the most
and the reason you need to identify this
is because the devil is cunning and
deceitful he will know what the giant or
stronghold struggle with is and so we
need to be alert because the devil will
plant a seed in your mind a seed that he
will attempt to entice you with and
should you bite the bait not only will
that seed lead you to fall into sin or
oppression
but it then opens the door to a
potential stronghold or some kind of
bondage
as an enemy the devil will never present
someone else's weakness or struggles to
you
he will not plant a thought about
alcohol when he knows you struggle with
lust no he will always find the area
that you are the weakest in and he will
use that against you that's why it's so
important for us to be honest with
ourselves and look introspectively at
the areas we need deliverance from
because the enemy will see that as a
route to disrupt our walk with Christ
this point is supported by second
Corinthians 2 verse 11 where the Bible
says so that we would not be outwitted
by Satan for we are not ignorant of his
designs
the devil is witty and has evil designs
so we must be diligent we must be
vigilant
we must be alert and always on guard
against any potential breach by the
enemy in our minds
the devil will try and plant a seed
within you
when he can't affect you physically
that's what I'm talking about when I say
name your enemy
take a good honest look at yourself
what is the devil trying to use to
distract you from being an effective
Christian
what's he using to discourage you
doubtful thoughts
thoughts of insecurity or inadequacy
name your enemy and rebuke it
there are a lot of things happening in
this world
there is a lot of evil
the Bible in second Corinthians chapter
4 verse 4 says in their case the God of
this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelievers to keep them from seeing the
light of the Gospel of the glory of
Christ who is the image of God
think about that for a moment
the God of this age the God of this
world Satan has prevented unbelievers
from seeing the light of the Gospel
now in case you didn't know the devil is
very influential on this Earth
whether you see it or not
whether you believe it or not the devil
can and has influence on the ideals
opinions and standards in this world
that's why the Bible says the God of
this world
the devil has his tentacles in the
world's philosophies they are in so many
institutions
and you may think well how exactly does
he do this
well look at the driving force of many
many major companies
it's money
money has become a god an idol to many
people including the bosses of many
major corporations they will track your
movements watch what you're watching
analyze what you click on
some even take your personal information
and sell it with the objective of what
money
money is the number one objective money
is the only objective for so many
institutions in this world yet the word
of God says the love of money is the
root to all evil
but you see the God of this world the
devil he blinds unbelievers and they
don't see this
they don't see how money has become an
idol to them
another example to illustrate just how
the God of this world the devil has
blinded the minds of unbelievers is this
the Bible tells us to flee sexual
immorality
the Bible tells us that fornicators and
adulterers and the sexually impure will
not inherit the kingdom of God
however in this world what type of
content is searched for the most on the
internet
it's all sexually explicit content that
is related to opposing the word of God
one site by the name of Covenant eyes
reported that 30 percent of Internet
content is pornography
30 percent of content online is geared
to promoting sexual impurity and the sad
thing is the number of visitors to these
sites are in the billions
this is the work of the God of this
world
sure enough if you take a look at this
world through the lens of the Bible you
will notice a trend
what the word of God stands for the
world is against
what Jesus Christ stands for and
represents the world is against
those who have been blinded by Satan
live under a delusion
they won't see that the Love of Money
drives so many ungodly things
instead they will focus on the notion
that everyone needs money everyone needs
to make a living
of course and the Bible never says money
is evil it says the love of money is
evil
and when you love money so much you're
willing to do things that are unethical
and immoral
then money has become an idol
when you're willing to steal or to
overlook the detrimental effect you have
on others all so that you can make money
then it has become an idol to you
when you love money so much that you're
willing to stand in front of a camera
and not only commit sexual sin but lead
others to commit sexual sin
then money has become an idol
take a look at what the Amplified
version says in second Corinthians
chapter 4 verse 3 to 4.
but even if our gospel is in some sense
hidden behind a veil it is hidden only
to those who are perishing among them
the God of this world Satan has blinded
the minds of the unbelieving to prevent
them from seeing the Illuminating Light
of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who
is the image of God
the devil wants you as far away from
Jesus Christ as possible
he wants you to be blind from the truth
even if it is right in front of you
the devil wants you to take God casually
not seriously meaning you use God like a
convenience store
you go to him when you need something
and if you don't need anything then you
put him away
that's blindness
now with this all being said I want to
be very clear about this next point
while the devil is described as the God
of this world
he is limited he is not all-powerful
the devil rules the Earth in a limited
capacity but he does not have ownership
of the earth nor is he all-knowing
omnipresent and omniscient
he is not
the devil has boundaries because God is
still Sovereign and holds the final say
Revelation 12 verse 12 says therefore
Rejoice O heavens and you who dwell in
them but woe To You O Earth and sea for
the devil has come down to you in a
great wrath because he knows that his
time is short
the devil's time on this Earth is short
and what I want you to understand is
that Hebrews 12 verse 2 says looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of
our faith who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross despising
the shame and has sat down at the right
hand of the Throne of God
when you look to Jesus
there is no devil no demon that can
blind you
when you look to Jesus there can be no
love for money in your heart because
your love for Christ is greater
when you look to Jesus
you cannot be blinded distracted or
whisked away by immorality sin greed or
pleasure
I encourage you to really focus be
fixated on the Lord
this way you can't go wrong
this world needs believers who are full
of Christ it needs Spirit-filled
believers who can be the salt of the
earth and the light of the world
be so filled with the word that the
light of Jesus Christ will shine through
you into this world
we are not commanded to hate anyone in
this world
we are commanded to love our neighbors
as we love ourselves
This Love that the Bible speaks of is
one that can only be shown to others
when you yourself have received Jesus
Christ
unbelievers may be blinded by the God of
this world
but as Christians
we need to ensure that we are
overflowing with the love of Jesus
Christ so much so that they will have to
see the truth
they will have to see the way to eternal
life
[Music]