Servias Ministries Blog

Illegitimate thoughts build strongholds!

We are to guard our minds through what we see, hear, and speak.  When we focus our thoughts on worldly, sensual things, we begin to build strongholds.  An illegitimate thought that the enemy has suggested over my life, is like a stone.  As I dwell and meditate on such a thought, I create more stones and ultimately build a habitation for the enemy to dwell unrecognized.

We know that we can do nothing without HIM.  Our problem is that we learned to do nothing with HIM.

Luke recorded by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 10:

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

When GOD is with someone, the impossible is expected to bow.  The renewed mind is a huge part of this journey.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Ephesians 6:

10 Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important Truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of His explosive power flowing in and through you. 11 Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!

12 Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage.

13 Because of this, you must wear all the armor that God provides so you’re protected as you confront the slanderer, for you are destined for all things and will rise victorious.

14 Put on Truth as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph. Put on Holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart.

15 Stand on your feet alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace.

16 In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield, for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one!

17-18 Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies. And take the mighty razor-sharp Spirit-sword of the spoken Word of God. Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all His believers.

Our faith is intended to extinguish the evil strategies sent by the adversary.  The sword of THE SPIRIT digs out and removes the lies.  We cast down those lies with The Word of GOD just as Jesus did when confronted by the devil in the wilderness.  It is vital that we recognize the Truth that replaces the lies of the devil.

Truth is not to be glanced at in a daily reading, but to be dwelt on, memorized if necessary, so that we can adequately extinguish the lies and “half-truths” confronting us.

The lies always war against our identity in Christ.  They will focus on our old man of the past and try to convince us that we unable or unworthy to walk in Christ.  They will challenge and try to undermine revelation given specifically to our individual callings.

What we think and what we determine has an effect on the outcome of what GOD desires for us.

Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Romans chapter 12:

1 Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be His Sacred, living sacrifices. And live in Holiness, experiencing all that delights His Heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.

2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His Eyes.

3 God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.

The adversary wants you to set your affections on the world, especially money and pride.  As we surrender to GOD, our Love will only be directed toward HIM and there will be no strongholds in our life.

We become like what or who we worship!

When we worship GOD in Spirit and Truth, we will receive new understanding.  FATHER gives to those who surrender to HIM.  Why?  Because HE knew that HE could trust them with greater insight, power, and authority.

The Beloved Disciple recorded by The Holy Spirit in John chapter 4:

5 So Jesus came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is Who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you Living Water.”

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that Living Water?

12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the Water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of Water springing up into Everlasting Life.”

We were designed to walk with the fountain of The Holy Spirit flooding us with endless Life.

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’

18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.

22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and Truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.”

A true worshipper is one who surrenders his or her life to THE FATHER and ministers to HIM out of Love for Who He is and what He has done.  He first Loved us and now we have this Truth revealed to our hearts.  Those who have this revelation have an overwhelming tenderness to GOD.  What they see as important is different than that of those who are focused on the inferior.  Judas Iscariot was in that group as we saw in yesterday’s writing concerning Mary’s act of worship.

When Jesus came, He provided us the privilege to come face to face with Our Heavenly Father and worship HIM in full surrender.  We have the opportunity to exist in HIS manifested Presence and live.  HIS manifested Presence will overtake all our issues and resolve them in the appropriate manner.  We are to pursue full surrender and worship HIM in Spirit and Truth!

FATHER created us with the capacity to Love and worship HIM; it is our choice of what path we pursue.  Something happens in the adoration of Who HE is.  Our priorities begin to align with HIS and what was once important, is no longer.  Our Love for HIM leads to worship!

We are not to walk in the ordinary!

In the Old Testament, the severity of sin was emphasized.  If a sacrifice had a blemish, it was not acceptable.  If you encountered a leper, you were unclean until you went through a ritual of cleansing. (Leviticus 13)

However, in the New Testament, things changed.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter10:

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.

6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Jesus instructed the disciples to touch the lepers, and they would become clean, the opposite instructions of the Old Testament.  The presence of the righteousness of GOD is greater than the condition of leprosy, disease, sickness, and death.  Sin cannot persist or endure in a Holy environment.  The tables have turned and is revealing more of what GOD intended in the first place.

As we walk in obedience to The Holy Spirit, we represent the Kingdom of God on the earth.  We walk in the supernatural that overtakes the natural and causes positive change to occur.  There is no sickness in Heaven and there should be no sickness on earth as the Kingdom of God expands and overtakes the earth. 

As Image bearers, we live to reveal THE FATHER here on earth.  If we walk under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is no distortion of the Image we bear.  Sin distorts.  When there is no distortion or blindness, we are able to hear and respond to FATHER appropriately.

Jesus spoke in John chapter 12:

27 “Even though I am torn within, and My Soul is in turmoil, I will not ask the Father to rescue Me from this hour of trial. For I have come to fulfill My purpose—to offer Myself to God.

28 So, Father, bring glory to Your Name!” Then suddenly a booming Voice was heard from the sky, “I have glorified My Name! And I will glorify It through You again!”

29 The audible Voice of God startled the crowd standing nearby. Some thought It was only thunder, yet others said, “An angel just spoke to Him!”

30 Then Jesus told them, “The Voice you heard was not for My benefit, but for yours—to help you believe.

31 From this moment on, everything in this world is about to change, for the ruler of this dark world will be overthrown.

32 And I will do this when I am lifted up off the ground and when I draw the hearts of people to gather them to Me.”

33 He said this to indicate that He would die by being lifted up on the cross.

The condition of the people’s hearts determined how they heard the audible Voice of GOD.  Some attributed the Voice to something natural.  Some thought it was supernatural but not for them.  FATHER spoke in a way that could be heard by everyone.  When you clearly hear and understand what FATHER says, it brings forth increased knowledge that translates to increased responsibility.

James wrote by The Holy Spirit in James chapter 1:

22 But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

If you don’t want to live in the ordinary, be a doer of The Word whether your read It or hear It from The Holy Spirit… without any distortion.

As you successfully navigate through trials, you will experience great joy!

Trials will test who is Lord over your life.

James wrote by The Holy Spirit in James chapter 1:

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

When it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can have!  Nobody looks forward to difficulties, but when deliverance comes, we are overjoyed, knowing that GOD intervened on our behalf.

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

For our faith to grow, it must be tested and that requires patience.  Society has become extremely impatient in all areas of their life.  People who are waiting in line at the grocery store are now irritated when my wife pays with cash rather than a credit card.  They are generally in a hurry to go nowhere but they want to get there soon.

5 If any of you lacks Wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

When we are in the midst of a trial, the one thing we need is Wisdom and with it comes understanding.

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When a trial comes, it reveals whether you are truly walking in the Lordship of Jesus Christ or whether you are looking for other temporary solutions to the problem.

Are you fully committed to absolute triumph and victory over your trial?  Both Wisdom and faith are essential parts of being able to take this journey that GOD has invited us into, this awkward journey to die to the flesh.

To go through this narrow door of counting it joy when I am facing things that I don’t like, I didn’t ask for, I didn’t sign up for… this isn’t according to what was promised.  I’ve fasted, I’ve prayed, I had done all these things and still there seems to be no yielding of these circumstances.  But going through the door where I can actually, genuinely celebrate with joy, the goodness of GOD and HIS faithfulness, in that moment, somehow the enemy becomes disarmed.  He can no longer impact my soul.  That which he used against me no longer works.

Why?  I have given myself to the Lordship of Jesus.

I love the concept of the tithe.  One reason I love it is because it says it is to go into the storehouse.  It’s not directed by the giver.  It’s a true test of Lordship.

Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 20:

22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?

24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.“

26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

And it is written in Malachi chapter 3:

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

This is the test of Lordship: tithes and offerings.  What is HIS food?

It is written by The Holy Spirit in Hebrews chapter 5:

12 For you should already be professors instructing others by now; but instead, you need to be taught from the beginning the basics of God’s prophetic oracles! You’re like children still needing milk and not yet ready to digest solid food.

13 For every spiritual infant who lives on milk is not yet pierced by the revelation of righteousness.

As you provide “food” in FATHER’S House, you will begin to receive revelation knowledge appropriate to your situation.  You will successfully navigate through the trial with Wisdom and faith resulting in great joy!

You are designed to live in the manifested Presence of THE LORD!

We must not forget our place, our standing, before OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.  It was HIS decision to allow us to stand before HIM in righteousness.

Moses recorded by The Holy Spirit in Genesis chapter 1:

27 So God created man in His Own Image; in the Image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

HE designed you and me to be fruitful, subdue the earth, and have dominion over everything on the earth.  That mandate has not changed.  Legal authority was transferred by Adam for a time, but that authority was transferred back by the Precious Blood of Jesus.  We are to walk in the power and authority of The Blood of Jesus Christ.  When we take Holy Communion, we exalt His Blood (redemption) and Body (healing, health) in our daily lives, not to be forgotten.

David recorded by The Holy Spirit in Psalm chapter 23: 

6 So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender Love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious Presence to be forever with You!  TPT

Yes, FATHER designed us to live in HIS Glorious Presence both on earth and in Heaven.  One aspect of HIS Presence is to lead, guide, and protect.

Moses also recorded by The Holy Spirit in Exodus chapter 13:

21 And THE LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

What did the people lack while in HIS Presence?  Nothing!  They saw all that the LORD did before their eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land- the great trials which their eyes saw the signs, and those great wonders.  Their clothes did not wear out nor the sandals they wore on their feet.  After all the miracles, signs, and wonders, the people’s mindsets continued to be the issue.  They failed to give GOD control of their lives.  They had lived in surrender to Pharoah for generations but would not surrender to their Deliverer.

James wrote by The Holy Spirit in James chapter 4:

5 Does the Scripture mean nothing to you that says, “The Spirit that God breathed into our hearts is a jealous Lover Who intensely desires to have more and more of us”?

6 But He continues to pour out more and more grace upon us. For it says, “God resists you when you are proud but continually pours out grace when you are humble.”

7 So then, surrender to God. Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will flee in agony.

8 Move your heart closer and closer to God, and He will come even closer to you. But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting.

9 Feel the pain of your sin, be sorrowful and weep! Let your joking around be turned into mourning and your joy into deep humiliation.

10 Be willing to be made low before the Lord and He will exalt you!

The word humble means: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.  When we give GOD control of our lives, HE will properly exalt us, and we will be able to stand before HIM in righteousness.  Our mindsets will be in perfect alignment with HIS Divine Intent for our lives.

FATHER sets a table for you to be nourished in your darkest situations.

In your darkest situation, there is a table of fellowship. Most believers don’t have a financial problem; they have a Lordship problem.  They don’t have a relationship problem; they have a Lordship problem.  It’s not an anxiety issue; it’s a Lordship issue.

David wrote “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.”

David recorded by The Holy Spirit in Psalm chapter 23: 

4 Even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your Love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near.

5 You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.

6 So why would I fear the future? Only goodness and tender Love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious Presence to be forever with You!  TPT

At the heart of so many things, when I try to fix the problems myself instead of being in that place of tender surrender to THE LORD, do I make a mountain out of a molehill; do I exaggerate the size and effect of something!  FATHER sets us up for victory before we go through a dark valley, and when we get there, HE will put a banqueting table up and both of us will be sitting down to a delicious feast before the enemy. 

You and I are to flourish in all situations for we are called to be overcomers and conquerors.  These situations cause ongoing testimonies of the Nature of GOD for all to hear and see.  These testimonies display GOD’S goodness and complete reliability to those in doubt.  There are no victories without battles.

The Beloved Disciple wrote by The Holy Spirit in 1^st John chapter 5:

4 You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world.

5 So who are the world conquerors, defeating its power? Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

“You give me all I can drink of you until my cup overflows.”  In these times, The Holy Spirit will overflow us with His peace, comfort, and joy that cannot be contained.  Instead of crying over the situation, we will be filled with joy, even to the place of smiling at the situation knowing that HE is with us showing the path to take for victory.

I become a fountain of resource of Life for countless numbers of people because I have remained in a place of trust in the darkest of times.  What has happened in me is that HE’S created in me a fountain of Life that will feed and nourish many.  It’s a result of the Lordship of Jesus in my life.

When He is truly Lord of your life, He can trust you with greater capacity, greater influence simply because you found HIS Presence in the darkness.