Walking by faith” means acting on what you believe. Your belief system determines your behaviour. Explore what is a stronghold in the mind and how to build new ones using God's Word.

1. Who I Am In Christ 3:
Strongholds of the Mind
Bible Readings:
Psalm 111:1 - 10 page 434
2 Corinthians 10:1 - 5 page 821
Luke 14:1 - 14 page 739
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2. • “Walking by faith” means
acting on what you believe.
• Your belief system
determines your behaviour.
• The Bible calls these belief
systems "strongholds".
• Strongholds were centres of
resistance. An enemy was
not defeated until his
strongholds were destroyed.
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3. • In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul uses
the image of a stronghold to show
how the enemy can create
resistance in our minds to the
truth of God.
• “For though we walk in the flesh,
we are not waging war according
to the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh
but have divine power to destroy
strongholds. We destroy
arguments and every lofty opinion
raised against the knowledge of
God, and take every thought
captive to obey Christ,”
(2 Corinthians 10:3–5, ESV)
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4. • A stronghold of the mind is a set
of interlocking beliefs or ideas
"arguments" and "lofty opinions."
• “We are human, but we don’t
wage war as humans do.We use
God’s mighty weapons, not
worldly weapons, to knock down
the strongholds of human
reasoning and to destroy false
arguments.We destroy every
proud obstacle that keeps people
from knowing God.We capture
their rebellious thoughts and teach
them to obey Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 10:3–5, NLT)
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5. • Strongholds cause people to
behave in a ways that are wrong.
• Strongholds can blind or stop a
person from believing in God.
• Strongholds cause people to
believe the wrong things about
God and themselves.
• A stronghold of the mind is a set
of interlocking ideas and beliefs
which can block or oppose the
truth of God and cause people to
behave in ways that are evil,
hurtful and sinful.
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6. • Racism is an example of a very common
stronghold.
• The stronghold of racism is a set ideas about
other people that are different built on a
foundation of pride that states that people
that are different are inferior.
• God's Word states that there is no such thing
as race. All people are descendants of Adam.
• “From one man He created all the nations
throughout the whole earth. He decided
beforehand when they should rise and fall,
and He determined their boundaries.”
(Acts 17:26, NLT)
• This verse reveals the stronghold of racism
for what it is, "a lofty[proud] opinion raised
against the knowledge of God;" - a lie of
Satan.
• Strongholds in the mind have changed the
course of history and caused untold suffering
and evil.
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7. • Personal and emotional strongholds
are underlying patterns of
behaviour.
• Patterns of behaviour are built
during childhood and can have a
profound effect on the way people
behave as adults.
• Emotional strongholds are ways of
responding to life situations and can
be either good or bad.
• Authority figures in our lives can
create strongholds upon which we
act.
• According to what we believe about
ourselves so we will behave in life.
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8. • “ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he
who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the
wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from
the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
s(James 1:5–8, NIV84)
Stronghold of Truth
built on God’s Word
Stronghold of sin
built on the values of
the world and the lies
of Satan.
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9. • The “Double Minded” - in their mind
there are conflicting sets of beliefs,
strongholds.
• Example: One stronghold is based on
the truth that God is our loving
heavenly Father who delights to
answer their prayers.
• The other stronghold is based on
childhood experiences of a father
who always let them down, who
seldom fulfilled his promises.
• Which set of beliefs will they act on?
The old or the new?
Common Result: They say that God
can answer prayers but live their daily
lives as though He will not answer
their prayers.
You’re not good
enough.
God won’t answer
your prayers.
“And I will do
whatever you ask
in my name,”
(John 14:12–14)
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10. • We must pull down the old
strongholds in our mind, which
oppose the truth of God.
• We must build new strongholds
based on God’s Word.
• “And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of
God.” (Romans 12:2, NKJV)
• Renewing the mind means pulling
down the old strongholds and
building new ones founded on
God's Word.
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11. Renewing the Mind
- Build God’s Truth into your thinking.
• Recognise the voice of the enemy in your
minds.
• The lying voice works to maintain the negative
strongholds built in your mind by repeating the
same lies over and over.
• Jesus said,“[The devil] was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.When he
speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it.”
(John 8:44, NKJV)
• Satan's primary weapon against you is the lie
so your defence is the truth.
• When you expose Satan's lie with God's truth,
the power of his lie is broken.
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12. Renewing the Mind
- Build God’s Truth into your thinking.
Jesus said,“So Jesus said to the Jews who had
believed Him,“If you abide in My Word, you are
truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:31–32, ESV)
• Notice that the key to knowing the truth is to
"abide in My Word".Abide means means actively
learning and thinking about living Jesus' words –
His teaching.
• Jesus prayed for His disciples “I do not ask that
You take them out of the world, but thatYou
keep them from the evil one.They are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify
them in the truth;Your Word is truth.” (John
17:15–17, ESV)
• Protection from the evil one comes from God’s
words.
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13. Renewing the Mind
- Build God’s Truth into your
thinking.
• We need to fill our memory with
God's words especially the words of
Jesus
• Then we can recognise the lies of
Satan.
• “Let the Word of Christ dwell in
you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all
wisdom, and as you sing psalms,
hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to
God.” (Colossians 3:15–16, NIV84)
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14. How we "take every thought
captive to obey Christ."
• As soon as a thought enters
your mind that tempts you to
think with the old stronghold,
recall the relevant truth from
God’s Word to expose the lie.
• Why should I worry and be
anxious when I can cast all my
worries on Christ who cares
for me; “Cast all your anxiety
on him because he cares for
you.” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV84)
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15. • Why should I feel condemned when
the Bible says I am not condemned
because I am in Christ;“There is
therefore now no condemnation to
those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1,
NKJV)
• Why should I feel worthless when
Christ became sin on my behalf that I
might become the righteousness of
God in Him.“For He made Him who
knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of
God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21,
NKJV)
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16. • Build new strongholds of truth in your mind.
• Abide in the Word of God especially the words of Jesus.
• Pull down the stronghold of lies about yourself by
memorising God’s words of strength and comfort and life.
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