"3 Targets"

TARGET ONE
          Again, what do these powerful weapons accomplish? First, these potent weapons of life “destroy the enemy’s strong places” (NCV, verse 5) or “demolish strongholds (NIV).” What are strongholds? The Greek word indicates a fortress or some sort of established fortification. Spiritually speaking, they are any structures that have been erected which stand against God’s perfect will or way in our lives or in the advancement of God’s Kingdom. God’s weapons alone are capable of demolishing them.
         What is the most entrenched stronghold that is keeping you from the abundant life Christ Jesus so desires for you? What fortification do you need to destroy with these “God weapons” so that the mercy and grace and destiny of God can flood into your being?
 
TARGET TWO
          The second accomplishment of these weapons is directly linked to the strongholds within our thought life and beliefs and decision making. They are designed to “destroy people’s arguments” (verse 5) that stand opposed to the will and truth of God. The Greek word for “arguments” means a reckoning, computation, reasoning, judgment, or decision that is “hostile to the Christian faith.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
          We are called to destroy any thought process or world view or any lie or deception or any decision or judgment or any morals or values or any beliefs or doctrines, basically any thoughts that are contrary to God’s way of seeing things. These deceptive, partial, twisted, exaggerated, perverted ways of seeing God and the world and our lives form barriers within the minds/souls of the lost preventing them from receiving salvation. They form strongholds in Christians that prevent us from receiving God’s best and living a victorious life.  
 
TARGET THREE
          These “God weapons” at our disposal are also effective in annihilating “every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God.” The Greek word for “proud thing” is a rampart or elevated, wide barrier or wall like that fortifying a castle or surrounding an ancient city. So the NLT translates it “proud thing” because we raise it up as higher or superior compared to God’s building plans in our minds and hearts. At the same time, because we esteem it more highly than the Kingdom of God, it is a barrier preventing God’s grace and love from infiltrating our hearts.
         What castle wall have you erected around your heart which prevents God’s grace from bursting through to your soul with His love and from knowing God personally? One caution, this wall may be an obvious evil and destructive barrier, or it could be an apparently innocent or even, under many circumstances, a “good” thing. But when we erect its wall in our hearts higher than that of God…and when it serves to occupy the largest part of our love, thoughts, energy, and plans…and when it prevents us from seeking or receiving from God, then we have established a mighty barrier to God’s blessings.
         What are these apparently “good” things that keep us from God? Oh, there are so many. Allow me to name a few: children, hobbies, work, pleasure, money, spouses, friends, success, homes, popularity, busyness, cell phones, social media, television, sports, etc. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these, if they prevent us in any shape or form from pursuing the knowledge of the Lord with our whole hearts and minds, then they have become a stronghold.