Got Walls?

My pastor started a new series today entitled : "Got Walls?". He had a couple of guys build a cinder block wall right on the stage as he shared. Walls, invisible walls. You know, things that hold us back from God's blessings. Things like Doubt, prejudices, greed, lust, disbelief, bitterness, anger............things that don't belong in our lives. Those walls we have built over the years,(the longer the bigger and stronger they become}.
I live in an apartment on the East side of my city. Many minorities live over here. My complex is mainly made up of Blacks, and Hispanics. I have never thought of myself as prejudice, but as I saw the word "Prejudices " upon that wall on the stage, God reminded me of my thoughts. I tire of the loud music of some of my neighbors, and other things they do just, I know to annoy me. Sometimes to myself I might say things like: "Man those so and so's are getting on my nerves" or "Why do "they" have to be like that?" Prejudice, yes I thank so.
Pastor reminded us that walls come in many varieties, and we ALL struggle with them. We say we have faith in the Lord, that He will work out every detail in our life, but do we act like it?
There is a scripture that Pastor used this morning, that really spoke to me: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 We use God's mighty weapons not worldly weapons to knock down the STRONGHOLDS of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
.....God's mighty weapons to knock down the STRONGHOLDS,not worldly weapons.....
Stronghold, that is a wall.
Pastor brought up the Berlin Wall, and how it got stronger and stronger and harder and harder to cross, tunnel under or go through as they strengthened it over the years.
But,you see, the walls we struggle with are not physical they are spiritual, invisible if you will. How do you penetrate a wall that is not really there, physically? You cannot use a sledge hammer on that. God has the tools to break down those invisible , to us, walls. But first things first, we have to ID these walls, and admit they are there. Then we have to explore how they got there in the first place, you see, if we don't know their origin , then we may get rid of them but who is to say they won't just start again? If we find out how it started, we can prepare ourselves to not go down that road again, with God's help.
When I was in Boot Camp for the Navy, years ago, we had to run the dreaded "Obstacle course" I was young (21, I believe) and I could run like the wind. I swang from the ropes, jumped the holes full of water, balanced across the logs, ran through whatever, but then at the end was a log wall. That wall always stopped me cold, it was about 2000 feet high,and it seemed, I took forever getting over that thing. My CC (Company Commander, like a Drill Instructor in the Marines) would be yelling; "Come on Calvin, get your lazy (behind) over that wall!!!" I have been trying to get over, under, around, through walls ever sense. Walls of depression, walls of greed, walls of anger, walls of hate, walls of denial, walls of self, walls of pride, walls of prejudice.................
There is only one way to tear down these walls. (Remember Ronald Reagan saying that to the President of Russia: ............Tear down this wall!!!?)
You cannot go over,through, under or around these walls, you have to demolish them.
God has the tools to smash, obliterate, destroy, nuke, burn, smash, explode, disintegrate, disassemble these walls. There is, though, one catch, we must be willing to ask Him for them. To do that we have to admit they are there and that we don't want them there anymore. That's it, admit, obey and destroy, those walls, and live freer and stronger and in all the blessings of God.
Thank about the walls in your life, admit that you have them and ask God's help in removing them from you life, once and for all.