More than likely everyone standing for marriage restoration is already familiar with the biblical instruction to take every thought captive, but the Lord has recently shown me that we don’t fully understand the power and significance of 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (AMP), which says For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), Being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete.

We tend to think of the instructions in this passage of scripture as a means by which we can overcome doubt, confusion, discouragement, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness and a long list of other things that Satan brings against us to steal, kill and destroy our righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. But in reality, it also provides instruction to PREVENT strongholds from being established in our own hearts, minds and spirits in the first place. So not only can we overcome existing strongholds of arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God, but by leading every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ, we avoid allowing those things to become strongholds for Satan to use against us over and over again later. But the significance of this verse that’s easily overlooked, is that if we DON’T do that, we ARE giving Satan reign in our hearts, minds and spirits, because the thoughts that we don’t take captive and make obedient to Jesus Christ and the power and promise of His Word, WILL inevitably become strongholds, and Satan will never miss an opportunity to use them against us as he works to destroy our marriages and families.

In the past month or so, we’ve had a lot of discussion about taking thoughts that are contrary to the restoration of our marriages and the will and Word of God captive by saying “It doesn’t matter.” But there’s more to it than that, because if that’s all we do, we may succeed in taking the thought captive, but that doesn’t necessarily make it obedient to Christ, and when we continue to do that, it becomes a stronghold in our hearts, minds and spirits, which is why Satan is able to repeatedly attack us with the same thoughts and issues over and over again.

So the practical solution is to find and memorize Bible verses that refute the particular thoughts we struggle with and when those thoughts come unbidden, as they always do, we will be prepared to take them captive and make them obedient to Christ by saying it doesn’t matter, because…, and then quote the applicable Bible verse or verses. And whenever possible, we need to do that out loud, because Romans 4:17 (AMP) says As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed. And by doing that, we can literally speak the non-existent things we want into being, according to our faith as described in Hebrews 11:1, which says Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And Matthew 9:29-30 tells us our faith will be rewarded, because it says i>Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored… And what Jesus does for one, He will do for all!

Then in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus Himself provides the most powerful example of what happens when we repeatedly SPEAK the Word of God back to the devil, as follows:
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

There’s an awful lot to be learned in this passage of scripture, the first thing being that NONE of us are beyond temptation and the attack of the devil, and the more we strive for purity and holiness, the more likely the devil will be to attack us. After all, he had the nerve to “tempt” Jesus of all people, and right after He had completed a forty day fast! So we are all capable of the same kind of attacks, but there’s obviously no sin in being tempted; the sin comes when we fail to RESIST the devil and remain obedient to the Lord and His Word, which we do by taking every thought captive and making them obedient to Christ. And another important point is something one of the FAM Fellowship members and I were discussing last night; there’s almost always a bit of truth in the things the devil uses to tempt and deceive us. And that brings us to the last point I want to make; we MUST know the Word of God in order to speak it back to the devil for victory over our circumstances and to be aware when what the devil is speaking to us does NOT line up with EVERY life sustaining Word that comes from the mouth of God!

So to start with, we have to know the specific Word of God that leads us to stand for the restoration of our marriages in the first place, because if we’re standing on anything other than the Word of God, we’re on very shaky ground to say the least. If we can’t instantly quote the verse or verses of scripture on which we base our stand for marriage restoration and which we use to confirm and assure us that God wants us to stand for the restoration of our marriages, we are indeed in serious trouble, and easy prey for the devil. Don’t forget that 1 peter 5:8 warns us, Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But Revelation 12:10-11 tells us that the devil will be defeated by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. And there’s no more powerful word for our testimony than the power and promise of God’s Word, especially since Isaiah 55:10-11 and Isaiah 46:11 assure us that God will do whatever it takes to bring His will and Word to pass, and Proverbs 18:21 (AMP) tells us Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. Well, there’s no way we could do any better than eating the fruit of God’s Word, so we need to get in the habit of speaking it out loud, especially when we need to take thoughts captive and make them obedient to Jesus Christ, who, according to John 1:1-5, IS the Word, and it is and was by HIS Word that EVERYTHING is and was made, and NOTHING was made without His Word! And when we experience the light of God’s Word, we will not remain in the darkness, or be under the bondage of strongholds that Satan intends to keep us from fulfilling the purpose for which God called us to stand for the restoration of our marriages, as revealed in 1 Peter 2:9, which says But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

When we overcome and avoid these strongholds by taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to the Word of God, we will experience the power and promise of the following verses, which make it abundantly clear why Satan wants so much to steal, kill and destroy our righteousness, peace and joy:

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Psalm 37:17
for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Haggai 2:9
‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Romans 14:16-18
Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

So, as it ALWAYS does, tearing down and avoiding strongholds in our own hearts, minds and spirits, comes town to standing on the power and promise of God’s Word, as we literally speak it out loud to refute ANYTHING that would exalt itself against or above the written Word of God. And when we learn to do that, we will indeed be blessed and encouraged, because the devil will have absolutely no power and authority in our lives and we’ll be able to effectively stand in the gap for the restoration of our marriages and for the reconciliation of our husbands and wives with the Lord!

Posted Friday, July 6th, 2007 at 4:31 pm in Seeds Of Faith.