Tearing Down Strongholds | Pastor Marcus Mecum

And I woke up this morning with a real sense that I was coming to church today on an assignment. I felt it, I still feel it. I'm hoping that I'm right about it. And I want to talk to those of you who are facing an unusual attack. It's just unusual. It's relentless. And let me even say it like this, that if you look back, the reason it's so frustrating or discouraging, exhausting is because of the repetitiveness of it. It's just like one of those things you just can't seem to be. And I'll let you put definition to it. I'll let the Lord speak to you if that's you. But I didn't come just to preach a message today. I felt like the Lord put in my heart today that I was to storm the gates of hell through this sermon and grab somebody and say, you do not have to stay in that place of defeat. And I have nothing to give you in and of myself, but I believe that the Word of God is gonna come forth over the next few minutes to you. And again, I am nobody. I want that to be clear. I'm not being super spiritual. I am saying that somebody in here is under unusual attack and this message is for you.

Second Corinthians 10 and verse four, a very familiar scripture. It says that our battle, or I'm sorry, I got it confused, the weapons of our warfare, I'll get it, I'll find it, my little scripture Rolodex up there. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, isn't that good? But they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds or the tearing down some translations say the demolishing of strongholds. Well, you know me, I love imagery, I love metaphors. And so in second Samuel chapter five, we get a really beautiful story around this idea of a stronghold, or they say stronghold. It helps us to get a picture of what this spiritual concept in second Corinthians is. And so we see it, let's look at verse six of that chapter. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land and spoke to David saying, you shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame will repel you, they're mocking David. They're laughing at David by and just saying, hey, our position is so settled, it's so final that even if we had the blind and the lame fight you, you don't stand a chance. I almost named this sermon the laughing stronghold. 'Cause sometimes that's how the enemy is, you almost feel like he's mocking you with it.

What scripture was I in, I can't hardly read, six. And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land who spoke to David saying, you shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame will repel you got it. David cannot come in here, thinking David cannot come in here. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion. Now David said on that day, whoever climbs up by the way of the water shaft, some translations say gutter. There are some that say sewer, but for the most part it was a gutter. So absolutely, going to go up through the water shaft to defeat the Jebusites, the lame and the blind, who are hated by David's soul. He shall be chief and captain, therefore they say the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. Then David dwelt in the stronghold of David and called it the city of David and watched this and he built around him from Milo inward. If you study this in detail, for generations since obviously Moses and then Joshua led him into the promised land and there has been generations now in the land of Canaan. Thousands of years have gone by and in all of those years this is the one stronghold that we're reading about that no matter who was leading Israel, no matter what military strategy they had used, this was the one final stronghold that had never been defeated in the nation of Israel. And this group of people called the Jebusites were the stronghold. The location was what we now know in the scripture is Mount Zion which is where the temple would be built, it's where they would bring the ark of the covenant and David would build his palace around there. And according to the geography of where this stronghold is that was the primary reason that it was invincible up into the story that we read. So you have to get it in your in your mind that there's been some incredible leaders, some incredible

military geniuses that have led in Israel throughout the generations and every one of them that have tried to defeat this stronghold they failed, every one of them has tried and failed. Joshua tried and partially pushed them back and the Bible says that that they immediately moved right back in that he could not drive them out is what the scripture says. Judah would try, Benjamin would try, they would all try and fail and this is the imagery that we get of a stronghold. Now David is on the scene, the word of the Lord has come to pass in his life, he is now sitting on the throne. He is anointed king over Israel but the nation that he has taken over is an absolute mess. It's in a place of division and chaos. And so David is anointed but he's anointed over an absolute chaotic mess. And I like this because when he's initially told by Samuel that he'll be king like most of us he has an idea of what this will be like. He has this dream, he has this image, he has this promise, this prophecy that was spoken over him. And now he's not just thinking about it, imagining it, hoping for it. This is not a childlike faith story. David is now a grown man, he is faced, unreal odds and he is now on the throne. But it don't look like how he imagined it. It doesn't look like how he saw it in his mind, he is king, he is on the throne, he has a royal garment, he has a palace and servants and all the privileges of royalty. But yet what he's looking at to lead is a complete mess. And so he comes up with this idea that what I'm going to do is we're going to deal with this stronghold called the Jebusites. So the issue of the nation being divided isn't the issue. I mean, they're at odds. It's the house of Saul had grown weaker and weaker. The house of David had grown stronger and stronger. There's been seven years since Saul has died and David's influence is growing and the house of Saul's is shrinking, but there is a lot of family bitterness and there's all kinds of stuff going on in the nation. That is the issue we're reading about. The Jebusites is an issue, but it has nothing to do with the issue of what's

going on in Israel. But David says we're not going to worry about the issue because I think the way to fix this issue is to go over here and deal with this issue. And if we can tear down the stronghold of the Jebusites, then that will solve this issue over here. So David moves into another realm to fix the problems that he's living in. And this is what the Bible says that Paul told the Church of Corinth, "Hey, you've got some issues. They're carnal. They're natural issues. You could explain it to somebody and they would get it. They could hear the story. They could understand. They could hear all the details of it and they'd listen to you and it would make sense to them. That's the issue." But Paul says the same thing. David says he's like, "The issue really isn't the issue. That's how we're going to fix the issue that you're dealing with. How we're going to tear down this stronghold, this area in your life where you just cannot seem to get victory. We're going to have to deal with that. We're going to have to go into another realm. And we're going to have to realize that our weapons are not carnal, but they're mighty through God. We're going to have to find out how to get victory spiritually. And that will find its way into these natural problems we're dealing with. Am I making any sense at all if not, hang on?" So David says this is what we're going to do. We're going to deal with this stronghold.

The problem is that this had been deemed invincible and impossible to defeat. History is a cruel teacher. And history was clear. They've tried and they failed. You cannot do this. There is no way this can't happen. And one of the hardest things to overcome in life is the history of a thing. How the past just has a way of repeating itself and how a past failure, a past struggle, a past trauma, a past wound, a past attack has a way of convincing you. Well, you couldn't deal with it back here. And you tried there and you tried again there. What are you doing? It's just what's the point? You're not going to ever get this area. It's just going to be what it's going to be. That area will always be an area you better just settle for defeat. And so the past failures of the nation had led to a bitter taste in their mouth. And they just believe there's certain things that we can't do. change this. And you become so fearful to even put your faith out again. And when history of a thing is that influential, the Bible calls it a stronghold. And you give up and you say, "Forget it." And you just believe, "I can't win here. There is no way to win." And this could be in a multiplicity of areas. This could be a family struggle. This could be an emotional struggle. This could be a mental thing. It could be an addiction issue in your life. We could go on and on. But you've settled into a position of defeat. That is a stronghold in your life. But David says, "I'm going to go for this." I just have a sense, David's saying. This time, it's different. The area that they were on was the top of the mountain, 70 acres. So the enemy had the sight, advantage. Any way that they would come up,

the enemy had the sight advantage. And the enemy begins to laugh and mock David and his men. You couldn't defeat us even if we put the lame and the blind on our walls to defend us. You don't have a chance. In other words, the blind and the lame can keep you out of victory. It is something how when you have faced a defeat in your life, when you are under attack, the enemy knows how to sin the blind and the lame into your life. The blind, they have no vision, the lame, they have no faith because we walk by faith. And you just get people in your life. They have no vision of victory. They have no faith for victory. They have no vision for your sobriety. They have no faith for your sobriety. They have no vision for you to come out of that depression. They have no faith for it. They think that you just should keep on living in that defeat that is justified. And more than likely, it's because that's where they're living. And so the enemy knows how to sin the blind and the lame into your life and mock you with it, surrounds you with people of no vision. They can't see you coming out. They can't see you on the other side of this thing. They can't see you coming out with your hands lifted and God somehow even an unexpected, a way that you could never have imagined. But yes, man, God gave me a way of escape. God provided a way where there seemed to be no way. I thought I was going towards evil, but I prayed that the Lord would not leave me into that. And God brought me out of it. So history told David this can't happen. The enemy laughed at him for even thinking it could, saying this is a joke. And finally, where it really hurt David's own men said it can't happen. But victory would happen in a strange place. And in his spirit, David had determined one way or another, I'm going to win this. One way or another, I'm tearing down this stronghold. One way or another, it's happening. And so he looks at his men, he says, hey, we're going to go up through the water shaft or the gutter. We're going to climb through the gutter system because there's no way the enemy will expect us to come that way. The enemy thinks that we're just here to be pretty and in cute and not break any nails. I'm talking to the men when I say that just kind of nice and neat little Christian church little way of going and the enemy is looking down laughing, "Come on, you only go so far with this and then you just throw up and you turn back and you give up." So David said, "This is how we're going to have to do it. We're going to have to change how we see this battle and we're going to have to be willing

to do anything it takes. We might get muddy. It might be disgusting and gross. We may not look pretty. This may not be good for my reputation or my image, but I didn't come to be a professional Christian." I came to say, "I'm done being in an unusual failure and attack and I want to see that stronghold be torn down and I'll get muddy. It may look disgusting to all you other church people, but I'm done sitting here listening to the mockery of the enemy. I'm telling you at some point, you say to yourself when you are in an unusual attack, you say to yourself, "I don't care what it takes." For someone here, you better get to that rehab. You better find that counselor. You better drop those friends. Not because I'm telling you too, but because they've established a stronghold in your life and now everything is leading to defeat after defeat after defeat and you're better than that. God's plan is better for you than that and He brought you here and He sent me with this message to say, "Come on, we're going up the gutter if we need to, but we're going to tear down the stronghold." Not our weapons are not carnal. No, no, this is not a natural fight, but they're mighty through God. Oh, He hadn't left us with no weaponry. They're mighty through God. Do you believe it? Come on from your spirit. When you get some faith, can you get some vision? The strongholds are going to come down. So the king says, "This is what we're doing."

I think that's what King Jesus is telling us now. Hey, we're going through the gutter. Yup, church, you know what you're nice though, parking lot and you're parking people and you know you could coffee and you want everything to look clean and nope, gutter. Just crawl on through it. How long would you last in that kind of church? And David's men, they say, "David, I guess you're right. The way we've been trying hasn't worked. All the other generations been trying to do this little cute church thing and it's not working. It's not working in my family. It's not working in my home. Maybe you're right. Maybe we got to figure out how to do this in a new way and a lot of people that want to take a mountain, they want to tear down a stronghold, but they're unwilling to crawl through the junk it will take. Every time I see somebody at any level experience, freedom, I never ask, "How did they get lucky? What kind of advantage did they possibly have?" I always wonder how bad was the process for them. I wonder what they had to climb through. I wonder what kind of pain they endured. I wonder how brutal it got. I wonder how desperate it was. I wonder how close to complete and total defeat, AKA. I wonder. He has felt that pain, he has felt that trauma, he has felt that heartbreak, he has felt it. And it touches me that what I sense and feel touches him. It comforts me to know I'm not alone when I'm facing an unusual attack. It comforts me. Somehow his suffering that he endured reaches out and compassionately touches my suffering.

I don't understand all of it, but I can say without any question, somehow God uses that suffering. It touches him and it touches me. And it touches me and it will touch you. And what touches you will touch them and them and them. And we don't have to like it, but you just read the New Testament. This is how it works. Paul talks about it, I'm in chains for your sake, I'm going through this. It's for your sake. I don't like it. I wish there was another way, but it's for your sake that I'm going through these things. In the military, they call it putting your blues on. Right, you got your brass buttons, your suits, your shiny shoes, you got your hats squared, white gloves, everything's clean and pressed, you look great, but that's not a real picture of a warrior. And the problem with many of us is we think Christianity means I've got my blues on. But we don't think we're going to have to get dirty and we don't think we're really going to have to battle and fight. We don't really think there's a chance of great casualty. We don't really think that it's real that the enemy is out to still kill and destroy. We just kind of play with all those spiritual things. We don't really think the battle is going to get as bloody as it's going to get. And we're saved, we're signed up, but we don't want to crawl through the gutters and we're not combat ready. David said this is the way you find victory. This is the way you tear down the stronghold, climb up that gutter. I want to help you the only way to do this if you're dealing with a stronghold is you have to say I will do whatever it takes, period. No negotiating from there, that's it. And I tell this story because some of you needed to hear that David had decided no matter

what I've made up my mind, nothing's going to stop me. Nothing will detour me. And the Bible says David took the stronghold of Zion. Praise God. David took it, David did what they said could not be done. What no other generation could do, David did it and he did it because he was unwilling to do what no previous generation had been willing to do. They didn't have the tolerance for that level of effort. But notice he didn't stop there because Joshua had pushed back the Jebusites, but then the Bible says they came back. So the Bible, and we read the verse, David built a habitation in the very place that his stronghold was. He didn't just win the battle, he got out a hammer and started building in that place. He said I'm going to live on this mountain. I'm going to worship on this mountain. I'm not moving, I'm not going anywhere. And at some point you tell the devil I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what the attack is, you'll never get me out of this place. I'll never give it back. If I get victory here, there is no way I'm going back. And David built the temple there. He worshiped in the place of his greatest struggle. he gave glory to God not before but he got there, he stood there and he said, God, I'm going to worship you in the place of the stronghold. I promise I'm done. You're greatest gifting to life. Your greatest anointing in life will come out of the area. The enemy has fought you the greatest. Obadiah 1 and verse 17, out of Zion,

deliverance shall flow. David looked at his stronghold and he called it Zion. He looked at his stronghold and he said, yeah, out of you, deliverance is going to flow from my life. You should rename your stronghold. She called it something different. I think he just called that addiction, just call it Zion. Yeah, it's been rough. But out of that stronghold, deliverance is going to flow. And right now, the no vision and the no faith guy is starting to talk to you. Maki, you tried. You tried to fix that home. You tried to fix that relationship. You tried to break out of that unforgiveness and that bitterness. You tried to shut up the voice of condemnation with that failure. You tried and it mocks you. But David took the stronghold and he called it Zion. Out of this stronghold, deliverance shall flow. Do you receive that today? [APPLAUSE] (applause) (applause)