Breaking the Chains: Finding True Freedom in Christ Ep. 351

Are you battling things in your life that you just can't understand? Or are they chains weighing you down that you can't seem to shake off? If you or someone you know can answer yes to either of these questions then we encourage you to listen to this incredible podcast from Rock Solid Families!  

Linda Hutchinson and Andy Dalton talk about how we can find freedom and identity in Jesus Christ and not in the world. These conversations are powerful and full of life - the life of Christ! 

To learn more about Rock Solid Families and what they do, go check out their website: https://www.rocksolidfamilies.org/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Rock Salt Families Podcast. I'm Andy here with Linda. This is such a powerful show.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Oh my gosh. If if there was a theme that we do during this year that has power to change lives, it's this one. And we kicked it off with a bang.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

We did, absolutely. And so we'd love for you guys to tune in to listen what freedom and identity looks like from Christ. But before we jump into it, we want to do a couple of things. One, we want to thank our sponsors. We want to thank Maxwell Construction, Who's Your Ice House, and Casey's Outdoor Solution. And then for those of you guys who might be new here, if you've never listened to the Rockstar Families podcast, we want to share with you our mission is to help walk alongside the individuals, couples, and families in our communities and to empower them by the word of God, his strength, his power, his identity, his truth. And we're going to dive into some of that stuff today. So if you guys are new here, we thank you for joining us and we hope that you guys enjoy this podcast.

SPEAKER_04 0:59

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SPEAKER_01 1:47

Welcome to the Rock Solid Families Podcast. I am Linda Hutchinson here with Andy. Welcome, Andy, to a new month.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

To a new month. We're in July. Woo-hoo!

SPEAKER_01 1:56

And a new theme to the Rock Solid Families Podcast. All this month, Andy, what are we talking about?

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Freedom and identity perfectly fitting when we just celebrated 4th of July.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

It's like we planned it that way.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

So hopefully you guys had an awesome 4th of July weekend, uh, celebrating the 250th year uh anniversary of America. There's so many different things to do. We had to pick and choose, like, oh, we're doing this today, or we're doing this today. So it was also cool to be able to have that opportunity. Like I've never seen so many American flags. And I thought it was awesome. And so it was one of my Catherine, my wife, her favorite thing is to see American flags everywhere. So she was like, ooh, look, ooh, look, ooh, look.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Yeah. We were talking last week about freedom, our nation's freedom. And uh, I was telling a story about me remembering the bicentennial, which, okay, what is this? This is the semi-quincentennial. Very good. I'm gonna have you do it because I I can't do it very well. But um, really, you know, our nation's freedom is such a beautiful gift, but really all month long, we are talking about our personal freedom. We want to talk about a deeper personal freedom that no dictator or nation can ever take away. And so that's really where we're going this month. And so, what's our core verse, especially for this week?

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Yeah, so it's gonna be Galatians 5, uh, chapter 5, verse 1. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. And when we say us, he's meaning all of us, right? Yeah, stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. And and and I I know sometimes it took me a while to understand what yoke meant. Google yoke and oxen, and we'll see two animals by the same one. And so I actually had somebody up on a stage do this reference where I'm trying to pull away, doing my own thing, and Jesus is on the other side of the yoke, like, what are you doing? My burden is easy, my yoke is light. Don't be burdened by that yoke of slavery. I've already set you free. Stay here and this. And so Galatians 5, chapter 5, verse 1 is gonna be our core.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah, yeah. And honestly, it doesn't mean that we're yoke-free. Uh, you know, there's a lot of people that think, oh, well, I can just be this wild stallion that, you know, runs wild. No, he's saying, I'm gonna trade you the oak of the yoke of slavery, which is the law that you can't fulfill for a yoke that is easy, right? And that is the yoke of righteousness that we live this way that honors Christ, that is obedient to his way, and really sets us free, which is so crazy.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

We are free, free indeed.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Yes, we are free indeed. And so, you know, we live in a free country, but many of us, Andy, and you were just mentioned this before we started a recording, yeah. We really are not walking around free. And some of us don't even know it.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

No, they have no clue. It says uh in 2 Corinthians, I believe, yeah, Paul, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, says the God of this age, and he's talking about Satan, the God of this age has blinded the mind of unbelievers. We, a lot of us, don't even understand that we are we have these strongholds that we're gonna talk about in a second up against us, or that we're carrying stuff that, like for me in my peripherals, I can't see what I'm holding here. But because of this, I'm limited on what I can carry. And I just think, well, this is how I'm supposed to walk around and live my life. No, it's not at all. We have to become aware that, oh, there are uh the God of this age trying to blind us. We have strongholds working against us, but we're gonna talk about this later on. There's a big but. It's probably the second most important word in the Bible. Jesus has got to be the most important word. But the second one is but because something profound comes afterwards. Yeah. Even though the God of this age wants to blind us, yeah, but there's a big but.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Yeah, so we're talking about strongholds, and some of you out there, it's not really a word that you use a lot. Um, it's not really in everyday conversation. So, but we have all battled a stronghold. And I want you to think about this. I want you to take your hand as you're watching this podcast, and I want you to imagine something or someone that you have a grip on that you can't live without. It might be your husband, wife, it might be a bottle, like alcohol or drugs, it might be a job or a title you can't live without. It might be your children that if they would have something happen to them, you would be forever empty. And so, whatever that is, it could be good stuff. It could be good stuff, but if we cling to it, if we grab hold of it, then we are missing the blessings and the freedom that come when we open our hand and we allow Christ to be the ruler and lord of our lives. And so the easiest way to describe a stronghold is a mindset, a habit, a false belief or God. It could be an idol. Like, like my husband, you know, is a special man in my life. He's my best friend. But if I put him on a pedestal and I cling to him and I uh worship him more than God, then I'm it becomes a stronghold. It locks us up into this behavior pattern and it feels impossible to break, or it feels impossible to live without.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Yes, yes. And like what first commandment, you'll have no other gods before me. And what does that look like for a spouse? You know, very quickly, if I'm not okay saying no to them for something. Yeah, if I do and I'm just I have this pit in my stomach, like, oh, I don't want to tell them no. I don't agree and think this should be okay, but I don't want to tell them no, then I think that you've got some issue of alignment and priorities where I know that I have to tell them no, but I can't, maybe that's an idol. And if you've got questions about that, yeah, if you're like, I don't know, this is really good stuff. Is there a stronghold? Is there an idol in my life? That's why we would love to walk alongside you. Yeah. And if you guys have questions, please reach out to us. Rockstarfamilies.org, go to our website, contact us as we dive into this. I wanted to put that out there.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Yeah, and and we want to make it clear it's the enemy. The enemy is Satan, who wants you to put something or someone above God, because then he wins and really kind of dethroning God, right? And so I think of this verse out of 2 Corinthians, it's one of my favorites, and it brings up the word strongholds. Uh, 2 Corinthians 10, 3 and 4. I want you to write that verse down because I want you to go back and read it over and over and over again. Because this is Paul talking to the church in Corinth, and he's saying, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does, okay? He's telling us this is not a battle between your husband and wife, it's between the enemy. It says the weapons we fight with are not weapons of this world, okay? So you can sling words and you can slam doors and you can, you know, throw your spouse under the bus, okay? But this is not the kind of warfare we're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

It says, on the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

There's chains that chains, uh, chains that are tying us down and holding us down. And we have the key to freedom for these chains and for these strongholds. Um, and we even, you go to Ephesians chapter six, Paul says, we've got all the all of the battle and the weapons and the armor that God gives us. And it's funny, um, I actually uh carry around a coin to remind me every day of the armor that the Lord gives us, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness. What's that?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

We see you. What's that cord?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

This is uh yeah, it's a it's a challenge coin, some people call it, but it's uh it's a coin that has the reminder of all of the different uh people uh pieces of armor that the Lord has given us based upon Ephesians. I've never seen that before. I give these to people who do something powerful. There was a young boy that I worked with that went and got baptized, and I gave him this coin. That is very cool. Something now to also an artifact to tie to a memory, you know? And so, anyways, all of this, um, be strong in the Lord and in his power and put on the armor he provides us so that we can take a stand against the enemy's schemes because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, just as you had said. Yeah, but it's in the spiritual worlds, the dark forces uh of evil in the heavenly realms. Uh, and so we look to go and take on these chains and take on these strongholds, not on our own power. And if you were to come into our doors to for us to work with you, we wouldn't tell you it's because of my understanding and knowledge, it's not because of Linda, it's because of what Jesus has given us and done for us.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Okay, so um, I got distracted there for a second. I apologize because um I put down 2 Corinthians 10, 3, and 4, but my favorite part wasn't in there. I must have cut it off. So I wanted to continue to go and finish this verse that I think are so important because I I mentioned verses three and four, but I did not put five in here. It says, We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. So this is those folks that come in, the clients that say, But I can't live without my kids. My husband is my life. Um, I I can't give up that bottle or whatever that stuff is. Okay, so those are the arguments that we put in our mind, right? The lies that the enemy has us believe. So verse five says um, that sets us up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. And so this is what we're gonna talk about all month long is how do we take captive those lies and demolish them? How do we replace those lies with truth? And so, ladies and gentlemen, especially ladies, and we're gonna be talking about with ladies next month or next week, especially. Um, we have a story, uh a guest that's gonna be talking about really how she had to crush those lies and and the strongholds that chained her to some um, you know, really misbeliefs about God and about her life and her family. And so we gotta take captive every thought, Andy, and make it obedient to Christ.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

That's really, really powerful. And and uh I have uh one of my friends who talks about the maturity of Christians isn't having the thought. The thought isn't the sin. Paul even says it take captive the thought, you're going to have those thoughts, but it's the moment of when the thought comes in and then how long it takes me to realize like, shoot, I need to take captive this thought and make it obedient to Christ. And the quicker that I can take captive that thought and make it obedient, that is when maturity comes when that's the scripture. Um, have you ever seen the movie Fireproof? Uh yes, I think so. Yeah, it's the same um same guy that does like Facing the Giant.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Yeah, it's all the so um, yeah, it's uh oh gosh, I just left lost the name of the the Kendrick Kendrick Brothers. Kindred Brothers, thank you. It's one of the Kendra Buddy movies, but it's a a movie about marriage. But Fireproof is talking about those temptations, right? Um, you and your spouse are fighting, and so all of a sudden there's this guy at work that's really sweet, and he's listening, he's a good listener, right? And you know, he's treating you better than your husband. And so those lies of like life would be better with him. Like, I deserve to have a nice guy. And so all of those, it just made me think about that, all of those temptations, right? Those thoughts that come in our mind, what's when we act upon them and do something with them, that's when we really fall into sin. Yeah, and so we want to fight the battles with the armor of God. Yes, and the one of them is the helmet of salvation to protect our mind from the enemy and the lies that he has. So there's two different kinds of chains, okay? So when we talk about strongholds, another way of putting it is chains. Like feel, I describe it to ladies all the time. It'd be like you trying to go run a marathon with a ball and chain attached to you. Oh, oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

It's not saying that you couldn't do it, but it would be very painful, very hard, uh, very cumbersome. You would feel exhausted, you would give up, feel overwhelmed. Yep. And that's what it's like when we're running the race of life with a stronghold or the chains that the enemy has put us in. And so there's two kinds of chains, Andy, that, and we want to talk about them and how to defend against them. Okay. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

And so what's the first one? First one's gonna be internal. And what we mean by internal is we're talking about uh things like anxiety, fear, depression, hopelessness, anger, these internal thoughts. I'm not worth it, I'm not good enough. Uh, you know, you've got those that play in your head, if that is something you struggle with. Uh, those are the internal battles, internal chains versus external that we'll get to in a second. But before I do that, I want to go, you know, uh Paul's writing to Timothy in his second letter in chapter one, verse seven. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind. And you said it before. You said these lies, who is the father of lies? Yep, the enemy.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

It talks about in the Bible that Satan is the father of lies.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

This is native tongue.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

He doesn't know how to speak truth.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

No, or if he even if he does, he he takes it out of context, right? He takes just when he was tempting Jesus, he said, Well, he said some scripture, but he didn't say the whole thing. Yeah, so he's like, Well, this is kind of truth, right? And so again, he's the father of lies. Um, we have to become aware that we are battling with that chain, that we are uh we have those lies to us, and then take captive those with a sound mind that God has given us.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah, because God, when we are fearful or anxious, that's not of God. No, that's not of God. And that 2 Timothy reminds us of that. So let's talk about the weapons, Andy, that we have available to us to fight those internal chains, those strongholds of fear, anger, or anxiety. What is it that we can use to fight those battles?

SPEAKER_00 15:37

So that I say this that we are girded with the belt of truth, right? Girded means we put on another weird word. It is a weird word, but it's how I memorized it. When I memorize scripture, I memorize it in different like uh whatever translations. So people are like girded? Girded, yeah. Girded with a belt of truth. And so we have this belt that the Lord gives us. His what is his truth? And so if the father of lies is Satan, that's all he speaks. Well, God speaks truth, and his word, his Bible is full of those truths, right? And so, one, we have to understand that we do not have a spirit of fear, like you had said. Um, and so the other one I think too, you'd already kind of spoken on about it. We have the the helmet of salvation, we have the breastplate of righteousness. So those three I think would be the tools that we can battle with.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

You know, the breastplate of righteousness, when I was a children's minister, I would teach the kids like what does it protect? And they're like, they're hard, you know. And so, like, when you feel hurt by somebody or offended by somebody, like the the breastplate of righteousness helps you to protect your heart from those that are trying to throw uh those things at you. And so we internalize so much in our world today, and it keeps us captive and creates a stronghold that really keeps us from being free and to live walking a life um with uh the Lord. So that's internal change. The other one is external change. So these are the people pleasing, it's a comparison trap, it's the world. You know, and I think of you know, I keep these are some of my favorite verses, by the way. You mentioned 2 Timothy 1.7, but another one of my favorites is Romans 12.2. What's it say?

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Romans 12.2 says, do not be trans do uh do not conform to the patterns of the world to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Very good, very good. But once you get it, yeah, but I love that. Let's not conform to the pattern of this world. That's those external chains or strongholds that you know, for instance, I I have got so many clients, Andy, who have said, I'm taking TikTok off my phone. Thank you. I'm getting rid of Snapchat. I am not going to look at Facebook anymore. Like, because the world is just, I mean, and it's, you know, I mean, the algorithms are trying to get, you know, you hooked, right? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

They're made for that. They are specifically designed to keep your attention and your time.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

Yes. And so, you know, what are we gonna do to fight against those battles? You know, well, one of them is the shield of faith, and that is that you can extinguish those flaming arrows coming from you from the evil one. And so um, the Bible actually talks about that in Ephesians 6, where you literally would put that shield of faith up, like, no, I am not that. I I am who God says I am, right? Um, I'm gonna be able to do what God says I can do. I can do all things through Christ, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:21

I think faith and that too, faith resides in our heart. I don't think faith resides in our mind always. And so one of the the longest distance in the world is the 12 inches from your head to your heart, right? I said, so you know what's what's in between my head and my heart? My mouth. Oh. What is Proverbs 18, 21 says? The power of life and death is in the tongue. So when you were holding that up and you were speaking life, you may not have that faith yet, but I'm gonna speak it over myself because I know it's true, I know it's right, and I'm gonna speak life until I can settle what I know is in my head down to my heart. And that's where that can come from.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, and we also have the um the weapon of the gospel of peace, the the shoes that are fitted for the readiness of the gospel of peace. And so that's when we walk away from the things of this world. That's when we when we leave that bar or we get away from that person who is flirting with us and we're a married person. And so, you know, those that is one of those things where we can choose peace, even when the world is in chaos. And so that's how we fight against the external chains or strongholds that are at us. That's when we turn off that TV, when that rated R show comes, and there's this full frontal nudity, and we're like, oh, it's you know, because I hear people like, oh, it's just it's everywhere, you know, you can't help it. Yes, you can. You can turn it off, you can walk away and do the right thing that keeps your mind and heart free.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Yeah, and then we also have this the sword of the spirit, which is the infallible um word of God. Uh and so like that too, right there is able, it's uh what is it, sharper than any two-edged sword. It was able to cut bone and marrow, and it is allowed to uh for us to be used to strengthen us, to equip us for what is at hand. And so that is something, and again, we talk about these memorizing scripture, it's gonna take a little bit, that comes through time. That comes through getting in the word and like what would you say, um, renewing our mind by the word of God. Yeah, it's a daily practice that we need to get a hold of.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

And you know, as again, I'm going back to my children's ministry days. We would tell the kids it's your only offensive weapon. The other items in the armor of God are all defensive, they protect different parts of yourself. But the sword of the spirit is the only offensive weapon. It's not meant to hit people over the head with. Yeah, it's meant to open up and use as the foundation of your conversations, your relationships, your decisions, right? Your values. And so that's what we're asking you to do in this whole month is really about finding that freedom in Christ when we decide to align ourselves and keep our thoughts captive and make it obedient to Christ in his ways. And so for you, Andy, um, you know, this might be still foreign to people. Maybe it's still something that's out there and it's not really um relatable to them.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

But I we thought this was such a valuable topic to spend all month on because it is the number one thing that walks in our doors, are folks who are coming to us saying, I'm stuck, I'm overwhelmed. Yes, I feel hopeless. And they don't know what to do. Yes, and they don't know why sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yes. And this is really good. So a personal chain that I battled with was performance. And I'll get into how I got to it, and you know, when we come back in a little bit, uh, because it's it's I think this process that I went through was so powerful. I try to share it as much as I can. Um, but I had this identity crisis that I had to perform to earn love. Yep, I had to perform to earn respect, I had to perform to earn certain things in the eyes. Of other people around me. And it changed how I was treating my wife and my kids. And I was just so jacked up on my priorities that the performance model for other people was so far above God, so far above my spouse and everything else, that I was ruining things. And until I became aware of it, I was like, wow, this is this is so toxic and poisonous.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

And you said a very valuable point right there. When you became aware of it, one of the stages of change is awareness. Yes. It's consciousness. You have to bring it into the consciousness to go, oh, I'm thinking that. Oh, that's what I'm struggling with. That's what I'm chained by. And so for me growing up, it was the comparison trap. Like I would always compare myself with what people drove, what houses they lived in, what you know, clothes they wore, how much money their family had. And it was a vicious cycle for me that I really had to be intentional about breaking. And if I'm not careful, I will fall back into that trap. Especially, you know, right now, um dealing with my husband and his illness and you know, kind of kind of confined to the home for the last four or five months. And so it's been extremely hard to not look at what my friends are doing, what my family is doing, and missing out, right? I have FOMO. Yeah. And so that comparison trap is where envy and resentment and bitterness comes, and that's not who I want to be.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

Comparison is the thief of uh joy.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Joy, so yes, absolutely. So, yeah, those are just two examples.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Those are great. And we're gonna dive more into the process of how can we help with these strongholds and these chains and this freedom after we thank one of our sponsors.

SPEAKER_04 23:48

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SPEAKER_00 24:36

Welcome back, guys. So we spent the first half of this podcast, Linda, talking about what chains are, what strongholds are, and some of the tools that the Lord gives us. But as we come back, we really want to spend the rest of the time on breaking free.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Yeah. We don't want to just sit there and complain about the problem. We want to solve the problem, right? So part of it is I think addressing the misconception, Andy, that we can just power through it. Oh, yeah. That it just takes willpower, like to stop drinking or, you know, pornography. Um, you know, white knuckling it always just leads to diff, you know, frustration and shame. And so it's definitely a trend in our world today. You can check out the rows and rows and rows of self-help books in the library or in the bookstore. Um, but really it's it's handling the strongholds and these chains in a different way.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

Yeah, absolutely. And I I've used this before, but uh when I think of like white knuckling or control in some capacity, and this is probably one of the hardest things because when we let go of control uh and we open our palms up with this this posture of surrender, um, it's vulnerability, it's kind of scary. You're putting your faith, we talked about that before the break, faith and trust uh into our Lord and Savior who has good things for us, he's a good, good father. Uh, but if we don't have that relationship, that intimacy, that understanding, this is probably one of the scariest things. Like, no, I'm not letting go. I don't I don't know what's gonna happen if I let go. And so that is a very big fear.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yeah. And so I go back to 2 Corinthians uh chapter 10, verse 5, as I kind of preempted myself before. You know, the answer to breaking the chains is demolishing the arguments and pretensions, all those excuses, all those lies that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Yep. And we gotta take captive, Andy, every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Yes. So I'm talking to the ladies specifically, but guys can do this too. I want you to get a piece of paper out. Okay, this is one of the exercises I do with my clients who are really struggling with these strongholds and these lies, okay? I actually have them make two columns and I actually have them list under the lie column all the lies they believe. I'm not good enough, nothing will change, um, I'm not worthy of love, um, I messed up too bad. All of the things that roll around our head. What are the what are the thoughts that keep rolling at night when you are discouraged or feeling hopeless or feeling angry? Okay. And then I want you to, on the other column, write the truth that comes out of God's word. Now, this is hard sometimes because we have been so conditioned to believe the lie. Yeah. Okay. But I'm telling you, there's a truth there that God wants you to learn and to believe and to start speaking over your life. Okay. For instance, one of them is I'm not worthy of love or no one will ever love me. Okay. Then you go to, you know, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Yes. Okay. That he loves you, right? And and all of these verses that come in that says, you know, for instance, nothing will ever change in my life. No. Jeremiah 29, 11. So he says, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you. And so when we can go to God's word, and this might need some help, okay? You might have to come to a coach or a therapist or a minister or a mentor and really crush those strongholds, those lies that you've been believing for so long, some of them from childhood.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Yeah. And that was where for my process, I think I had kind of spoken to this before the break, the commercial break. Um, my process, I didn't even know I was aware of it. You know, we had said awareness was the biggest key. And my remember, my first memory, and I had spoken about this before that I was performance-based. My first memory wasn't even a traumatic memory. I lost a wrestling match and looked up in the stands and saw somebody walking away. And while I lost, I was like, okay, I gotta perform. And it was never stuck out to me. I never do this, but when I sat one-on-one with somebody else and we started praying and asking the Holy Spirit, the great counselor, to reveal what these lies could have been. Yeah, I was like, I don't know why this memory is coming up, uh, but it is. And as we worked through it, what is the greatest way for you to hurt somebody's kick them when they're down, is what I like to say. And so what the enemy did was he planted a seed of a lie that I took hold of, not even knowing it till, oh man, this is I'm 17, 16 years old, and then I'm 30 years old, I think, when I found out this lie, like, wow, I've got to, I renounced it, and then then I had to pick up the truth. And so that was like, okay, well, what am I speaking over myself next? Lord, what do you want me to know? That he didn't leave. He gave me a new memory that he's sitting in his stance looking at me, saying, I love you, you are worth it, and you don't have to perform. So then, like, okay, that's a powerful chain and stronghold that I was able, wow, the Lord revealed to me to break.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Wow, Andy. And that's why we really have as our monthly theme freedom and identity. Because when our identity is found in Christ and not in your performance or not in comparing, yeah, that's when you find freedom. And, you know, I think of John 8, 31, 32, it says, if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. And then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. That's good. So when we start to really take captive every thought and we start to pour truth over our heads and minds and our hearts instead of the lies of the enemy, we will be set free.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

And I can't wait for you under um on the other side of that camera to experience that.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

It's big. And I'll say this too. This is again, this is pretty powerful for me because we've walked through this. The enemy's favorite way to attack my wife is through isolation. Um, it's just been really hard for us. Strongholds and chains thrive in isolation and darkness. Yep. Uh, and and and that is when we have struggled the worst, is when we have not been in uh our community. And our community is surrounded by people who have the same values. And when that happens, we uh our freedom is so much more precious to us. And so, for you, if you are isolated, then that is something where the enemy is just he's he's salivating because he has lies all over you. And so we would love to get out of that if you can't find a church community. Find other local-minded believers who can help you because that community is gonna help you out.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

And Andy, I'm just gonna tell you the enemy loves for you to think that the church is not the place. No, he wants you to think the church is the one, the place that hurt you. The church people are the people that lie. And and are is that true? Yeah, churches hurt you because it's made up of sinners, they're made up of humans. And so, but my point is keep searching to find that healthy community. When you find that healthy community, then you're gonna be able to heal and to be set free and have light shine into that darkness. Because you're so right, man. I'm telling you, that's where it breeds. That that those strongholds breed in isolation and really in the darkness. And so um, here at Rock Solid, we are huge proponents. One of our uh core values in the statement of faith is the local church. Yes. We believe that we thrive and grow in the local church. But yes, are there unhealthy ones around? Yes. Are there people who hurt us? Yes. Welcome to the world, welcome to society. And so the Lord told us in this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. But again, you said but. You said but the second most powerful way.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Anyways, there you go. Um, and I know we had some, we're I'm gonna reference this, but I'm gonna reference two different verses. You got Ephesians 5, uh, 8 to 14. For you who were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, right? And so he's talking about coming into this light. I want to go back to, and again, the way that I had this memorized is uh bring to light what is hidden is dark, hidden in darkness. That's 1 Corinthians 4, 5. And the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts and what it like when you when you flip a switch on a light, immediately the light comes on and darkness has to flee. Immediately. And so when we bring into the light and the truth, that darkness can't stand, it has to flee.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

Well, it's the absence of light. Darkness is the absence of light. So think about Jesus being the light of the world, as the Bible tells us. So when we take him out, when we avoid the scripture and the truth of God's word, we literally take the light out of our lives. Yep, yeah, and that's when the darkness starts to take over. I I love this verse out of uh Ephesians 5. You started it. It says, Once we are darkness, but now you are light of the Lord. Live as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. And find out what pleases the Lord. Um, verse 11. This is classic. This is Ephesians 5, um, 11. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Yes. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. And that is why it is said, wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Oh, I love that verse. Do not keep things in the dark. Think about this. As a listener on the other side of that camera, I want you to think about this. What is it in your life that you don't want anybody to find out? That's good. That's powerful. Is it because you know you're ashamed? Is it because that you're afraid you'll be in trouble or somebody will be mad or you know, you're embarrassed? Like that's what the enemy is gonna use as a stronghold. Think about that. Anything that you're keeping in the dark, anything you're keeping a secret. It could be closet drinking, it could be uh a flirtatious relationship, it could be kind of squandering money from work, it could be um, you know, uh a hidden pornography addiction, you know, whatever it is, if if if there's something you're afraid people are gonna find out and see, that's what the enemy's gonna use as a stronghold.

SPEAKER_00 34:47

And if you are walking in freedom, but you know people who aren't, it takes a relationship in order for you to help them to expose that darkness and bring it to light. If you call them from this, this righteous, like you need to do this, and you finger point that, you're just gonna shove them further away. Like, this is one of those things where we we have to be lights in the darkness so it attracts moths at night, where they come and they, wow, why am I attracted to this? Not one of self-righteousness, that we have it better than them. And so that takes a relationship. We've spoken on that before, but uh, how do you have that? Because we know we want to bring this things, the fruitless deeds of darkness into the light and expose them.

SPEAKER_01 35:26

Yeah. And so, really, what is the root cause of bondage and strongholds? It really comes from our identity. Again, that's why we have these two um themes meshed together. Because when we anchor our value in worldly things like our career success or our kids' performance or our financial security or approval of others, we step into this cage that locks behind us, Andy. Yeah. And those things will never satisfy. And here's the crazy thing: you hold the key to the locked cage, you hold the key. Yeah. And the crazy thing is we can unlock it with the truth of God's word, replacing the lies of the enemy. And instead, if we anchor our identity and our value in being a son or daughter of God, here is a scripture that really anchors me in Romans 8:15. It says, the spirit you receive does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather, the spirit you receive brought you your adoption to sonship, and by him we call him Abba Father. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Sonship is important, understanding that you have his righteousness, you have his um the victory that he has already done. He already went, grabbed the keys from hell in the grave, rose again, and said, You who believe in me, here you go. Now you can bring to light the truth and set yourself.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

You you mentioned a very valuable if. If you believe in me, if you surrender your life to me, if you make me Lord and Savior of life, then I will bless you, then I will be called a child of God. And so this is John 1, 12. Yet to all who did receive him, okay, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. And so yes, we're all created in Christ, we're all created in his image, but only those who choose him become children of God. That's a really important distinction because you don't get all the rights and privileges of a child if you don't make him your Lord and Savior and your heavenly father. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

And there's a shift here too when you understand that. And this is where I, again, 30 years old, roughly-ish, when I finally came to this, probably almost over half of my life or more than half of my life, that I struggled with this shift. Um, a child of God is already fully known, fully loved, and completely secure. You don't have to perform to earn the love, the respect, all of these things that I battled with. So I had to move on. I had to become aware of the stronghold and the chains, I had to bring it into the light, claim the truth that God's given me. And then I don't need to perform to be loved. I am loved, therefore, I could walk in my purpose that the Lord has given me. That's the truth that we wash ourselves with. We renew our mind daily, bring up your cross daily and renew your mind that we are in the truth that He's given us.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

And you're right. And so my shift came comparison-wise, is that I got to believe that I have a good, good father who wants good things for me, even if I don't get that cruise to the Bahamas, right? Or that promotion at work. Like other people are gonna be blessed, but my life first is Ephesians 3, 20 and 21, now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine, because it's his power at work in us. To him be the glory in Christ Jesus and for all generations. And so I gotta trust that my God loves me and knows what's best for me, even when his answer is no. And so, man, that has been a hard reality, especially in the season that I'm in right now, trusting that God has good plans and I can't just compare my life and my situations to other people. And so God is asking me to trust him. Yeah, and that's really hard when things are tough. It's easy when things are good, but I gotta hold everything I love, everything I value in an open hand and say, God, if you give me my husband for 50 years, I'll love you. If he gives me for 40 years, I love you. If you give me for a day, I love you. And and that is where we have to trust him.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Yeah. So guys, our challenge for you is is uh is really good, but I want you guys to think about this, okay? Um, we need to sit quietly for a couple of things. I know we've we've got a verse in here, I want to add one to as well. Um we need to pray, and praying is speaking and talking to our Abba, our Father. And we call him Abba because it's this precious language of more than just, you know, like a dad. It's uh anyways, it says search me, God, in Psalm 139 and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. And I want you to sit quietly because in John 10, 27, my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. Amen. And so when we sit and we listen for his voice amongst the screaming of different voices to get our attention, the lies of the enemy, the TikToks and Snapchats, the culture craziness of what the world is going through, is oil gonna go skyrocketing? No, it's open now. What is going on? Search me, God, and identify the chains or strongholds that is currently robbing your family of peace.

SPEAKER_02 40:53

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:56

What is one area where I might feel most anxious, protective, trapped, holding on to, not giving up?

unknown 41:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

I want you to take a piece of paper out and I want you to really write some things down. Where is it that you feel stuck? Where is it that you feel anxious? Where is it that you're hiding? Okay, that's the chain that the enemy is using against you. That's the stronghold that God wants to break in your life and set you free with. And so, you know, read Galatians 5. I mean, the whole title in my Bible says Freedom in Christ. And so, you know, it's such a rich, rich chapter. We we unpacked some of it here, but there's so much that God gives us as guides to be a child of God, to be a follower of Christ. And so you do not have to be chained by the enemy any longer, by the lies. There is freedom available. And so all month long, I hope you'll tune in next week. We've got a great show again for you that is gonna be with a special guest who really broke through some of those strongholds and is experiencing rich, rich freedom in Christ right now and never wants to go back to those chains and that lock cell again. And so, you know, hopefully, um, if we can be of help with that, please reach out. And our coaches would love to walk alongside you to find that freedom. We don't have a magic eight ball or a secret potion, but we have the foundation of God's word, the truth that sets us free.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Yeah, you said that word, but but I know, I know, I know.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:23

So, guys, again, yeah, thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for joining us this month. This is a huge and powerful topic that the enemy wants to speak lies and wants us to stay trapped in this darkness and this isolation and these circles. But God wants you free. He wants to set you free, free indeed. And so, yeah, as we wrap this up, we want to thank once again our sponsors, Casey's Outdoor Solution, Maxwell Construction, and Who's Your Ice House? And lastly, we want to thank you guys for listening, for liking, sharing, rating our shows. All of those things help to continue to get the word out there and strengthen our communities. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

And as we close, I just want to take a moment and I just want to pray for everyone who is on the other side of that camera. Yeah. Anyone who's listening, anyone who maybe isn't watching but is listening through a podcast. Maybe you just somebody shared it with you, or maybe it just popped up. And the Lord knows. The Lord knows why. And the Lord knows how he wants to set you free. So let's just invite the Holy Spirit in to really help bring that truth into those lies. So, dear Heavenly Father, I just want to lift up every listener, every viewer, God, every client we have, Lord, every believer, God, who is not walking in freedom, Lord, the enemy would love to get a foothold, would love to chain us in those lies. He is the father of lies. But God, you have promised us through your word that we can find hope and joy and peace and freedom when we are trusting in you, when we build our lives through your word, God, that we are grounded and rooted and firmly built on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ. And so, Lord, I'm just asking that you would help these listeners take a moment to really reflect on the things that are in the dark, the things that are holding them captive. And Lord, I pray that they would take one step, God, one step, if it's reaching out to someone, if it's writing down the lies, if it's digging into your word, whatever that next step needs to be, God, that you would help set them free from the things that are not of you, God. And Lord, we love you. We thank you so much for this time together. We thank you for those that are listening. Lord, we're so grateful for you, the promises you give us, uh, the relationship we can have, the intimacy we can have with you, our Abba Father. We're so thankful. So, God, we love you, we thank you, and we pray that everything that we've done here and done and said here, God, glorifies you, brings your name out to the masses, that there would be such freedom as the truth that sets us free, God. We can experience all that together. So, Lord, we love you, we thank you, and we ask it all in your holy and precious name.

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

Thank you so much for listening to the Rock Solid Families Podcast, building a stronger community, one family at a time. Make it a great day.

SPEAKER_04 45:31

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