Spiritual Strongholds From a Stand of Victory in Christ

Net Sermons ^ | 2000 | Rev. Bill Versteeg

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(excerpt).... Isaiah 14(13-15) is often referred to as the chapter that depicts the fall of Satan and his coherts, who for reasons of pride rebelled against God. What we do know though, is that a significant portion of the angels who were once charged with the administration of the law of God, became evil and true to their nature, they used the laws of God to accuse God's people and curse their lives, even all of creation.

This theme comes out very clearly in our passage (Colossians 2). In the city of Colosse, there were spiritual influences affecting how the church was perceiving what was right and wrong. Their world view was becoming profoundly legalistic. "Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch." Along with that was the influence of what was called the circumcision sect which argued persuasively, especially for Jewish Christians, that the rite of circumcision still had to be followed to be truly a child of God inheriting the blessings of Abraham. The grace of God in Christ was not enough, more was needed to be right with God. Just add a few additional human works, abiding by certain laws enforced by the angels, that would accomplish salvation. These teachings were not just false teachings, they were themes, perspectives, world views, and accusations with powerful effect on early Christians because they were being influenced by dominating cosmic spirits that had legalistic evil intent. These cosmic rulers in the heavenly realms were blinding Christians to the glory of Christ and the free gift of salvation.

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So Paul goes on a direct attack, agreeing with the truth that the law was put into effect through angels, but then telling them that the law, which is rightfully in their hands, has been made powerless. With regard to circumcision - that was done in Christ with regard to putting off the old nature. With regard to the accusation about our sin - the written code is canceled, literally the writ of indebtedness, the debt we owed to the law is canceled and because it was canceled these spiritual forces no longer have any ammunition against God's people. (go to link to continue)

For discussion....

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May we discuss this in regards to legalism and the advancing of certain cults?

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I should have been more specific last night when I posted this last night. Here are my questions:

Are some people and regions more susceptible to false doctrine?

If they (an individual, church, or region) are unaware that Satan and his helpers are blinding them from the Truth, how can we as believers pray for the destruction of those stronghold?

Are we not warned that there will be more deceiving teaching spirits in the later times? How does scripture tell us how to detect them?

[PetroniusMaximus]

*** Are some people and regions more susceptible to false doctrine? ***

I believe so - absolutely.

Certain geographic regions seem to be held under the power of distinct spiritual forces. I had a friend who was a missionary in Japan for many years and he was convinced that Christianity mad so few inroads there (2%) due to the fact that the Japanese (used ot) daily pray to their ancestors - essentially committing themselves to demons.


***how can we as believers pray for the destruction of those stronghold? ***

I don't know.Sometimes I wonder if this issue is not an example of "lost knowlege".


***How does scripture tell us how to detect them?***

Praying for discernment certainly helps - but God also gives certain individuals the gift of discernment and their gift should be drawn upon for the edification of the Church as a whole.

Thoughts?

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*** Certain geographic regions seem to be held under the power of distinct spiritual forces.***

I agree. In a few of the rural areas of Ukraine I visited, I found a strong oppressive spirit present. There were several attempts on the young pastor and his family's life. In this instance, there were many folks involved in satan worshipping. But, the more subtle decieving spirits are even here in the bible belt. Look at the strength of the ACOC and the smaller legalistic churches. The twisting of scriptures is hard for an undiscerning person to detect.

Yes, I agree that we should pray for discernment. In the Body of Christ there are those who have the spiritual gift of prophecy and discernment. However, what if the church itself is centered in false doctrine? Who in their church will confront with Truth?

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from Let us Reason:

Cult movements are like an iceberg, what you see is not what you get. They often hide the real facts from their potential converts only to share with them later when they see they are ready to accept it. This will be prepared by training within a certain time period. In Real Christianity there is an invitation for openness, welcoming ones questions and going to the Bible to prove something must be done in the most careful of ways. In most cults one rarely gets there questions answered immediately. Questioning should be directed to doctrine, but the practices are often harder to discern. In Cults much time is spent through rigorous studies to introduce the person to the way they think. Along the way if they start being too inquisitive they are made to feel guilty for asking questions, or told they are showing no faith for asking them. They dismiss any criticism and train the people not to think critically so they will not find anything wrong and leave. Gestapo tactics are used on the person to make them comply if problems arise. They will tell their members this is the way it is, this is how God runs His kingdom, this is what you must do to be one of the chosen.

Most cult groups require their potential members to sever their ties with former family and friends until they are trained in their ways. After a person is convinced from the training of the group they will comply and do it on their own. Then they are allowed to make contact with family and friends and share “the truth.” By this time they are so inoculated against any logic from the outside that they live in an impenetrable bubble. Any questions they had are long forgotten, replaced by doing the work for the church. Keeping you busy among their people, and have you work to get your mind off thinking about anything wrong you may see in the Church.

The recruiter takes advantage over the potential member by cutting them off from investigating or critically thinking about the group. This way they are working within their belief system and there is nothing that can be brought to the table to use for challenging their teaching. Having the Bible only does not always help when words and teachings can be easily distorted without an alternate view presented alongside theirs. The “truth.” is then arrived at through a closed belief system

The recruitment is done either by family, friends, co-workers, and other highly trained recruiters sent out to stores and places where people congregate. In the same way real Christians will witness except for different reasons. The cults motivation is to have more members, which will often reassure them personally that they are doing God’s work and collectively they are of God. There is an essential difference with the two. Forcefulness and immediate decision making t is often required by those in cults, whereas a Christian will never put pressure on someone to join a church or become united with their group. Another point of difference s that one is not receiving salvation by Christ, because there is no Gospel! They are not coming to Christ by His work and His merits, but by another way.

There is a real church and a real work for God. The difference is in the motivation- the why they do it. The cults do things for rewards and good standing in the church, the real Christian does it because they love God and are motivated by love to people having real compassion. The cults become offended when you speak ill of them or their teacher or teachings and become emotional. The real Christian does not take offense and they know it is the Lords battle not theirs. They do not need to make excuses only go to the bible and prove their position, if it is rejected there is no need to be upset, for they are not rejecting you but Jesus and His message.

The other difference is in teachings, about the person of Christ, the gospel, even the Bible itself. Although cults may use the Bible they have a false understanding of God and salvation and the way we are to relate to Him. This is based on their training of the Bible from the books they read or the teacher over them. They or their teacher have received a vision or were intellectually convinced by many hours of rigorous studying from there groups books that they exclusively have the truth. Many do not know what historic Christianity has taught nor have they ever been exposed to it. They need to be encouraged to read the primary resources and not what there books quote from the resources which is often pulled out of context. They will focus on the minor things and make them major ones and make the major things minor. When this happens doctrines that are not core teachings become amplified and use to make the group exclusive and unique.

Cults entice people to join by giving them a mission for life and making them feel special. They let them know they can be part of history in the making. They alone are going down in the annals of history being the restored church, they are the ones God has picked to evangelize or change the world. The potential new member is told that no one else has the ability to do what they’re doing. This is how they began and this is the glue that binds them together. So if you join you are told that you will share in the rewards that are promised to all. You will often hear we are the only ones God is pleased with. Or we are moving ahead with God and everyone is left behind in dry religion or the world is so much under Satan’s dominion that you cannot have friends or be part of the world in any way. Some may go to the extremes of asking you to give up your job or vocation and take up a new one with God by their group.

Real Christianity never is forced on someone nor does it make one obligated to serve. On the surface it may look like all is the same but the motivation and the end result is far different. Real Christianity gives the person freedom to choose which services to attend, or how they will serve, or how much money they will give. Cults like control over someone, it becomes their mission whether it is conscious or unconscious, there becomes no choice in these matters. Spiritually abusive religious systems can range from being legalistic, and authoritarian as in the shepherding movements to definitive mind controlling like we see in the Moonies. They all are addictive, by convincing you that if you question or leave, God will be angry with you. So you keep coming and the more you go the tighter the noose is wound around your neck until you no longer have any control over your life.

Real Christianity does give people a mission but it is not exclusive to the group they are with. You can still serve the Lord in another church and another place. Real Christianity does not boast in itself, nor does it compare itself to others belittling them and lifting themselves up. Jesus gave us a warning to know “He that Speaks of himself seeks his own glory” (John 7:18). When a speaker is often telling you about himself and what he does and what God is doing through him and his church, watch out. We are to point to Christ and lift him up among the people and teach his ways. The Holy Spirit lifts up and teaches about Jesus not a leader or a church.

When asked what must I do to be saved? One will receive numerous answers that all revolve around their church. You must be discipled by us, baptized by us, trained by us, join our church “only”. The Bible never requires you to join a certain church. Of course we are to look for a church that teaches and practices the Bible truthfully. We get saved by being convicted by the truth (the Word of God) and it draws us to Jesus Christ the word made flesh who is the way to the Father. The savior is a person, not a church nor anything we or they do.

The cults will often broad-brush what other Churches believe to prove they are all wrong and that they alone have the truth. They mock other churches put them down and boast in themselves about their dedication. They use their works of discipleship to justify their call. But if ones work is not motivated by love but instead competition it is not valid, nor accepted by God. We are not to puff ourselves up or boast of our works to others, but have humility. Prov. 25:27: “It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one's own glory is not glory.” Neither we should not thrive on the opinions of others to have the approval of themselves. They do this by parading people as examples in front of the church boasting how many they invited or discipled during the week. It is not whoever dies with the most disciples or members wins. What is ones motivation behind their servitude. This counts as much if not more than what one does. Success is not measured by the numbers but by faithfulness and true disciples. Not by how many people one talks to, or knocks on doors or invites to meetings. Numbers never validated a ministry, all one has to do is look at Jesus to see this is true.

Diotrephes is the fist cultist mentioned in the New Testament. He would not allow the brethren to fellowship with the church he was in charge of. Isn't that what is happening today that when one becomes involved in a cult they are not allowed to fellowship with other people and they are separated even from family. John said he wanted to rebuke him to his face and called this evil. He told them to choose another among them: Dimetrius

When one searches for the truth especially in the sphere of Christianity they need to be aware of a number of things. One can hold the ultimate message in their hands, which is the Bible and still be led away from its message. You may wonder how that is possible. There are many groups under the Christian umbrella that distort the message of the simple gospel. They do this by using only certain aspects of the Bible. This is why it is important to read through the Scriptures and familiarize yourself with the teachings if one wants to follow Christ. You can end up majoring on the minors and have your Christian practice become null and void, shipwrecking your spiritual condition. And this does not have to be limited to the cults. This can all be prevented by only asking a few questions before you dedicate your time, and money to a new church. There is the real and there are counterfeits and sometimes it may be hard to tell. But in the time with live with all the information at the tip of our fingers there should be no excuse. So think before you join so that years later you won't have to ask yourself; How did I get Here?

So what happens when you have a friend or loved one involved in an abusive church or cult group?

People often say we have tried everything, we have given them all the information to them, answered their questions but nothing has worked. Well it really depends on a number of factors. First- the persons heart, are they really seeking after the truth or accepting what they are being told from the Church without ever considering it. You may be wasting time on someone that really doesn’t care for the truth. Second- is God is working to bring them to the truth along with you presenting it, also remember it is their choice to respond and you cannot put this in some time limit. Things take time, sometimes years or many years. Let me encourage you with this one story of many that can be told. I know of a Jehovah’s Witness who we witnessed to and took time to answer all the questions but he would not budge. One day he showed up to share the good news that he finally got to the place to be open and God was able to work in his heart and get him out of religious bondage and into Christ. But he never forgot along the way what we told him.

Remember don’t be offended if they reject what you say, because its not you they reject but Jesus. So don’t take it personally. When all your information is given, you’ve shown love and patience to no avail: It’s Time to pray, pray as if someone’s life depends on it, because it does. You can never pray enough.

God can do beyond everything we ask for. Pray for their heart to be brought into a place that would make it open only then will a person be willing to hear the truth from the Word.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***...oppressive spirit present. ***


I saw the same thing in Austria.


***However, what if the church itself is centered in false doctrine? Who in their church will confront with Truth?***

In the case of the World Wide Church of God, once the errant leader died off (H Armstrong) the new leadership ejected most of the unbiblical teaching and reformed itself. I believe also that the Seventh Day Adventist went thought a similar purge.

Unfortunately these seem to be the exceptions to the rule.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Very interesting article by the way.

I attended a church (a conservative church) that would not allow a course to be taught that had "spiritual warfare" in the title (or as it's subject) because they thought is sounded nutty or extreme.

Now, granted, certain Christians have gone overboard on the topic, but what concerned me was the head-in-the-sand attitude the church exhibited in its refusal to even touch the topic.

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***I attended a church (a conservative church) that would not allow a course to be taught that had "spiritual warfare" in the title (or as it's subject) because they thought is sounded nutty or extreme.

Now, granted, certain Christians have gone overboard on the topic, but what concerned me was the head-in-the-sand attitude the church exhibited in its refusal to even touch the topic.***

I agree that the topic can be taken to extremes. Some folks blame everything on spiritual warfare and focus so much on it that I believe it gives too much undeserved glory to Satan. Scriptures clearly show us that we are indeed engaged in a struggle; however, we also know that God is sovereign and we know as believers how the battle end. It is the blind spots that are the concern. Interesting that Adrian Rogers broadcast this morning was discussing how to detect false teachers. Our best weapon is the Word of God and our dependency on God.

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PRINCIPLES FOR PARENTS from equip.org Of course, we would prefer that our loved ones never join cults. Even if they do, God can give us an effective antidote through His Word. We will consider that later, but for now we will consider the principles for prevention. How can we guard our children against cult recruitment?

It all boils down to meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of our children with the nourishment provided by the Word of God. Children will not need to seek fulfillment in a cult if they have grown up fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Our experiences over 25 years of cult evangelism ministry and 20 years of parenthood have shown us that there are five important steps to producing children secure from the temptations of the world and the cults. First, you must practice a cohesive and consistent Christian view of life (2 Cor. 10:4–5). This means that your actions should reflect your Christian commitment. Paul said, And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God; (Phil. 1:9–11).

A favorite complaint against Christendom by the cults is that Christians are hypocrites — they teach one thing and do another. By maintaining a consistent Christian walk and openly facing the challenges of the world with the truth of God’s Word (2 Cor. 5:16–17), your family need never give your children occasion to see such a criticism leveled at themselves, their parents, or their family.

Even when you stumble in your Christian walk, God can use the experience to bring the focus back to His perfection manifested in Jesus Christ, instead of your own imperfections. When children protest that their parents have not acted like Christians, they are showing that they know how Christians should act. This can be a constructive experience when the erring parent admits his or her fault, agrees with the child’s grasp of biblical conduct, and focuses on the forgiveness and reconciliation available in Christ.

Second, provide your children with a sound Bible background. A close familiarity with the Bible will prepare your children before the cults challenge their faith. By learning proper Bible study and interpretation at home, children are protected from the cults’ replacement of Bible study with biased cultic literature and unsound cultic interpretations of the Bible. It is especially important that your children learn to study the Bible for what it says, noting context, language, history, and sound argumentation. When they become familiar with understanding the Bible, they will not be satisfied with cultic interpretations that depend on secret meanings, subjective experiences, or autocratic pronouncements.

Third, be sure you are aware of your children’s emotional needs and that you are fulfilling those needs in accordance with God’s will, as revealed in the Bible. Children need love, discipline, respect, comfort, joy, and all the other kinds of nurturing that help shape an adult with a well-developed personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Don’t let your children starve for spiritual nourishment so that even the toxic diet of the cults is appealing to them. Fourth, don’t neglect your children’s objective spiritual needs. Many well-intentioned people join cults because their desire to serve God and feel close to Him has been frustrated at home and in their traditional churches. We have a close friend (who now helps people get out of the cults) who first joined a cult because he wanted to serve God but didn’t see anyone around him working zealously for God — except the people in the cult he joined. Provide your children with the spiritual instruction, discipline, and practice they need, and also provide them with opportunities to be used by God in reaching other people. It is frustrating to want to do something for God but then have everyone tell you that you are not old enough. By allowing your children a place in ministry, you reinforce their relationship to God and strengthen your family’s defenses against the world.

Fifth, commit your family to a church that practices the New Testament functions of the body of Christ. Christians need one another; God did not intend for us to live our Christian lives apart from our fellow believers. Paul warned that those who are not grounded in the church are in danger of falling to false teachings:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:11–16)

Your family needs the strong support of a church committed to biblical principles of discipleship and evangelism.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***Interesting that Adrian Rogers broadcast this morning was discussing how to detect false teachers.***

I love that guy. What did he say?

I had a teacher that use to say that, in the old days, a certain bank use to train new tellers to spot counterfeits by only showing them real bills. He said that they would become so familiar with the look and feel of the real thing that they could instantly spot the fake.

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I looked on the website and at a quick glance I do not find a place where you can listen to the archives. However, this is the title and number of the sermon: 2044 - The Mystery of the Mustard Seed and the Devil's Dirty Birds. IRC, Adrian was mentioning that the faith of a mustard seed was small an simple for the lowly. Not something that one had to rise up to a lofty position to achieve. The Gospel was not a complex message instead it was very simple.

I was listening on level two as I was working on other projects, but he did mentioned at least seven ways to detect counterfeits.

First he mentioned that we need to be cautious as the imitation looks ALMOST identical to the real church. The counterfeit church can have a large congregation, missions programs, fellowships, etc.

However there are a few questions to ask in my paraphrasing:

Do they believe in the inerrancy of the Bible and use it a their source for doctrine? He does caution about scriptuure twisting (and my note proof texting).

Do they believe Jesus Christ was God incarnate and sinless?

Do they believe in the virgin birth, the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and his ascenscion into heaven?

Do they believe our salvation is based in the atonement from Jesus Christ's death at the cross which paid our sin-debt in full? And that it is our faith in the work of Jesus Christ and no additional work (including baptism)

I'll have to remember the other points.... And I too heard in a lesson about studying the real currency versus focusing on the counterfeit. There are too many version of the counterfeit; however, there is one Truth. If we study the Word of God, I trust the Holy Spirit will bring it into remembrance in our point of need. Even though those with the gift of prophecy may have a stronger sensitivity and built-in alarm system to detect error, I believe God gives all His children discernment.

[PetroniusMaximus]

*** Do they believe Jesus Christ was God incarnate and sinless? ***

This is ground zero.

Every cult eventually gets around to attacking the nature of Christ.

One of the larger cults that is staring us in the face today is the cult of theological liberalism. Some people don't see it as a cult. They think of it as philosophy or elitism, but I see it being as much of a demoniacally inspired and controlled cult as any of the aberrant groups.

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P.M.--

I did find the Adrian Rogers sermon on OnePlace.com. anyone can listen to this in the archives for free. It is called the Mustard Seed and the Dirty Birds which aired on August 5 and August 8. I certainly did not do the sermon justice in my brief comments.

[GestehenSieUndGibtAuf]

Many people hold Jesus in high esteem. James answers this 2:9 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! So lots of folks believe in the Jesus but let us clarify the question.
Jesus ask the disciples this question in Matt 16: 13 "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I am"

Wouldn't you say this is really the mother of all questions?