MAKE YOUR ARRESTS

Table of Contents

1. Israel’s Deliverance and the Simplicity of Receiving
2. All Scripture Points to Jesus Christ
3. The Authority to Make an Arrest
4. Walking in the Flesh but Not Warring After the Flesh
5. Fighting Cancer with the Strength of the Inner Man
6. Divine Weapons for Destroying Fortresses
7. Thoughts Raised Against the Knowledge of God
8. Bringing Thoughts Captive to Christ’s Obedience
9. United with Christ in Death and Resurrection
10. Believing with the Heart and Speaking Salvation
11. Returning to God’s Factory Default
12. The Default Response of the Spirit
13. Final Encouragement and Prayer

Israel’s Deliverance and the Simplicity of Receiving

Pastor Leonard begins by reflecting on the children of Israel leaving Egypt. He asks the listeners to imagine the families gathering their children, loading their carts, and beginning their journey out of bondage. As they walked away, they realized that the Egyptian taskmasters were no longer whipping their husbands, forcing them back into labor, or preventing them from leaving.

The Israelites were simply walking free. After generations of slavery, they were leaving without being stopped. Even more remarkably, the Egyptians were giving them gold and silver as they departed.

Psalm 105:37- “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.”

Pastor Leonard emphasizes that there was not a sickly or feeble person among them when they left Egypt. He considers how little the Israelites may have understood about the theology and doctrine behind what took place on the night of their deliverance. They may not have fully understood the meaning behind the blood, the meal, or everything God was accomplishing. He suggests that perhaps even Moses did not understand the complete picture at that time.

Nevertheless, the Israelites received their freedom, provision, strength, and healing. Their lack of complete theological knowledge did not prevent God from delivering them.

Pastor Leonard contrasts this with the way religion repeatedly tells people what they must do, what they need to accomplish, and what their responsibilities are before they can receive from God. He simplifies the believer’s responsibility: celebrate Communion and follow the Lord’s leading. The focus is not on human effort but on remembering Jesus and allowing His blessings to be poured out upon His people.

All Scripture Points to Jesus Christ

Before beginning the central message, Pastor Leonard explains why his teachings frequently connect one passage of Scripture with another. Pastor Lori often reminds him to focus on one thing because, once he begins teaching the Word of God, the connections between different Scriptures continue to rise within him.

He explains that all Scripture is inspired and that its purpose is to reveal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 3:15-16- “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Because Scripture reveals salvation through faith in Christ, its different passages naturally relate to one another. Pastor Leonard may begin teaching from the Gospel of John and suddenly see how Paul’s writings connect with the same truth. He explains that this is what should happen when believers read the Bible through the correct grace filters. With grace filters, everything becomes centered on Jesus. The purpose is not to place people under religious pressure or human performance. The Scriptures point to Jesus Christ and reveal salvation through faith in Him.

Pastor Leonard explains that even the elements associated with the law and the Old Testament period pointed toward Jesus. He mentions the showbread, the altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant, the rock in the wilderness, the brazen serpent, the scarlet thread hanging from Rahab’s window, and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Each of these reveals something about Jesus Christ and His saving work. This connection between the Scriptures is also part of rightly dividing the Word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15- “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Pastor Leonard says that the same Spirit who was with Paul when he wrote is with believers today. When people are led by the Spirit and understand that grace and Scripture are centered on Jesus, they can rightly divide what Paul and the other biblical writers were communicating.

The Authority to Make an Arrest

Pastor Leonard introduces the message as a teaching about making an arrest. Believers have the authority to make an arrest by stopping wrongful thoughts, beliefs, and ways of thinking from developing.

In this context, to make an arrest means refusing to let a thought that contradicts God continue developing unchecked. Believers are not helpless observers of everything that enters their minds. Through the divine power God has placed within them, they can stop wrongful thinking before it develops into a fortified belief system.

The central passage is:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Pastor Leonard explains the passage piece by piece. Paul is describing a battle, but it is not a physical battle fought through human force. It is a spiritual conflict involving thoughts, imaginations, beliefs, and strongholds that rise against the knowledge of God. The believer’s responsibility is to make an arrest. When a thought contradicts what God knows and says about His children, that thought must be stopped, taken captive, and prevented from developing further.

Walking in the Flesh but Not Warring After the Flesh

Paul begins by acknowledging that believers walk in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Pastor Leonard describes the physical body as a “flesh suit” or “flesh tent.” People presently live in physical bodies and walk through life on the earth, but they are only passing through this earthly realm.

Although believers live in physical bodies, they do not make their stand, fight their battles, or wage war according to the flesh. Life brings obstacles, challenges, and unexpected difficulties. The world may throw many wrenches into a person’s path, but Jesus has already addressed the reality of trouble in the world.

John 16:33- “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

The answer to tribulation is not to depend entirely upon physical strength. Pastor Leonard illustrates this by describing someone deciding that he must lift weights, strengthen his legs, build his muscles, improve his core, and become physically fit enough to fight every battle.

Paul’s teaching rejects the idea that victory ultimately depends on human strength. The believer’s strength is not limited to physical conditioning, mental determination, or personal effort. The battle is won through the power of God operating within the believer.

Fighting Cancer with the Strength of the Inner Man

Pastor Leonard shares a personal example from his battle with cancer. Pastor Lori was with him when he met with Dr. Michael Yao, who explained the chemotherapy and radiation treatments Leonard would face.

Pastor Leonard had received a report that he had a particular form of cancer and only a two-percent chance of surviving. Although the doctor was confident in the treatment plan and Pastor Leonard believed the Lord had directed him to that doctor, the treatment was expected to be extremely difficult.

The doctor told him about another patient receiving similar treatment. That man was a Marine who had physically trained and strengthened himself in preparation. Despite his physical conditioning, three years had passed, and he had still not completely recovered.

Pastor Leonard responded that the Marine had strengthened the wrong part. The man had worked to strengthen his physical body, but he had not strengthened his soul by bringing it into agreement with his spirit and inner man.

This experience illustrated Paul’s teaching:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Cancer had illegally entered Pastor Leonard’s body, but his fight against it would not be limited to the physical realm. His true fight was in the spirit.

Pastor Leonard recalls hearing that actor Stanley Tucci had undergone similar treatments and, even after three years, was still unable to taste food properly. Tucci was known for his love of Italian food, pasta, tomato sauce, and programs about Italian cuisine. The thought of being unable to taste food after three years made an impression on Pastor Leonard.

Within a couple of weeks of his own treatment, Pastor Leonard went alone to a local Chinese buffet because Pastor Lori would not go there with him. He moved through all six buffet lines, taking one item at a time so he could test whether he could taste it. As he tasted each item, he rejoiced that his sense of taste was working.

Shortly afterward, he traveled to Tampa Bay, where he played one-on-one basketball with his thirteen- or fourteen-year-old nephew, who was already taller than him. He also remembers photographs of himself playing volleyball on the beach.

While the physically trained Marine was reportedly still recovering, Pastor Leonard experienced a dramatically different outcome. He presents this not as the result of superior physical strength but as an example of walking in a physical body while refusing to wage war according to the flesh.

Divine Weapons for Destroying Fortresses

Pastor Leonard explains that the believer’s warfare is directed against anything that has illegally infiltrated a person’s life, home, body, or family.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

The weapons God has given are not carnal or fleshly. They are mighty through God and capable of pulling down strongholds. Pastor Leonard describes this as divine power residing within every believer. This divine power enables God’s people to live victoriously in the battles they encounter during their earthly lives.

He then examines the meaning of a stronghold or fortress. He mentions visiting the North Carolina home of his daughter and son-in-law. Their home looks like a castle, and its long front staircase reminds him of Rocky running up the steps. Pastor Leonard jokes that they need to install a chair lift because the stairs seem endless.

He then asks the listeners to imagine an actual fortified castle. It would have towers with archers ready to fire bows and arrows. It might have catapults capable of launching enormous boulders at approaching forces. It could also have a moat filled with crocodiles or alligators.

That is the picture Paul’s word “stronghold” or “fortress” is intended to convey. A fortress is designed to resist attack and prevent an enemy from gaining entrance.

According to Pastor Leonard, these fortresses can be constructed in a person’s mind. Thoughts, mindsets, and belief systems can gain such a powerful foothold in the soul, will, and emotions that the person feels unable to defeat them.

These mental fortresses can hinder the miraculous, the supernatural, and the workings of God in a believer’s life. Human reasoning alone cannot tear them down. They must be destroyed through the spiritual weapons and divine power God has placed within His people.

Thoughts Raised Against the Knowledge of God

Pastor Leonard explains that believers must destroy speculations, imaginations, and lofty thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

The “knowledge of God” refers to what God knows to be true. God knows who believers really are, what they possess through Christ, and what they can do because of the divine life within them.

Wrong thoughts wage war against that knowledge. A thought may claim that a believer is defeated, powerless, abandoned, condemned, or unable to overcome. If the thought contradicts God’s knowledge, it must not be permitted to establish itself as a fortress.

Pastor Leonard also explains the phrase about being ready to punish or take revenge on all disobedience. Paul is not teaching that Christians should punish people who appear to be living in disobedience. The entire passage concerns thoughts, strongholds, imaginations, and beliefs.

The disobedience being confronted is the thinking that wars against the truths of God’s kingdom and against what God knows about His children. Divine power enables believers to destroy the fortresses in their minds and cast down everything raised against God’s knowledge.

Bringing Thoughts Captive to Christ’s Obedience

Pastor Leonard places special emphasis on the wording “the obedience of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

The passage does not say to bring every thought captive to obedience “in” Christ, as though the central message were that believers must work harder to become obedient. Pastor Leonard rejects an interpretation based on striving, laboring, toiling, and placing the burden on personal performance.

The passage says to bring every thought captive to the obedience “of” Christ. The focus is Jesus’ obedience, not the believer’s ability to achieve victory through personal effort. Jesus came to perform the Father’s will.

Hebrews 10:7- “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

Christ obeyed perfectly. He fulfilled what was written concerning Him and completed the work the Father sent Him to accomplish.

Isaiah describes the suffering and travail of God’s righteous Servant.

Isaiah 53:10-11- “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

The Father was satisfied with the travail and completed work of His righteous Servant. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law through His obedient death, burial, and resurrection.

Therefore, thoughts must be measured against what Jesus accomplished. Any thought that denies the sufficiency of His work, the believer’s union with Him, or what His obedience has provided must be arrested. Pastor Leonard describes these thoughts as being sentenced to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

The foundation is Christ’s obedience, work, effort, love, compassion, mercy, and gift. Believers do not overcome by replacing His work with their own. They overcome by bringing their thoughts into agreement with what His obedience has already accomplished.

United with Christ in Death and Resurrection

Pastor Leonard explains that believers were united with Jesus in His death and resurrection.

Romans 6:4-5- “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Believers were united with Christ in His death to sin, disease, and sickness. They were also united with Him when He was raised from the dead to newness of life.

Pastor Leonard vividly describes the suffering Jesus endured before the cross. His beard was ripped from His face, pulling away pieces of skin. A covering was placed over His head while He was punched repeatedly and mocked by those demanding that He prophesy who had struck Him.

Jesus was mocked as a king. A crown made with long thorns was forced onto His head and beaten into place. His back and body were torn until flesh, blood, and even His organs were exposed.

Pastor Leonard acknowledges that Christians often know how to picture Christ’s suffering. However, he says believers must also learn to picture Christ at the resurrection. Jesus was raised in newness of life. His body was restored and glorified. He could walk through walls and appear in different places. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in believers.

Romans 8:11- “But if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Pastor Leonard emphasizes the reference to mortal bodies. He explains that the verse is not merely speaking about life after death. If that were its only meaning, it could have referred to eternal or spiritual bodies. Instead, Paul specifically says that the Spirit will quicken the believer’s mortal body. The Spirit who restored and raised Jesus dwells within God’s people. That Spirit brings life, renewal, restoration, and revival to their mortal bodies.

For this reason, believers must arrest every thought contrary to God’s thinking about them. Every such thought must be brought into submission to the obedience and completed work of Jesus Christ.

Believing with the Heart and Speaking Salvation

Pastor Leonard turns to the connection between believing and speaking.

Romans 10:9-10- “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Salvation is not obtained through human work, effort, building, striving, or toiling. A person believes with the heart unto righteousness and confesses with the mouth unto salvation.

Pastor Leonard explains that the word associated with confession conveys the idea of saying the same thing. Believers bring their words into agreement with what Jesus and the Father say.

The salvation described is complete and expansive. Pastor Leonard connects it with being redeemed, rescued, forgiven, made whole, made well, protected, and provided for. The believer’s confession is not an attempt to persuade God to act. It is an agreement with what God has said and with what Christ’s obedience has already provided. Wrong fortresses must be destroyed so the heart and mouth can agree with God’s knowledge.

Returning to God’s Factory Default

Pastor Leonard compares the believer’s internal default mechanism to the factory-default setting on a television or computer. When electronic equipment malfunctions, there may be an option to return it to its original factory settings.

The warning accompanying a factory reset often says that stored information will be erased. Pastor Leonard says that, spiritually, this erasing is exactly what is needed. People need to return to God’s original default because their baselines have been altered.

Schools, news media, cultural expectations, and commonly accepted ideas about aging can all reshape a person’s thinking. People are told what they should experience at a particular age, what medication they should take, and what decline they should expect next.

Over time, these ideas establish a new baseline. They become fortified beliefs that people accept without questioning whether they agree with God’s knowledge.

Paul’s teaching calls believers to construct a new default based on what God knows about them and the divine power residing within them.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Believers must reset their default mechanisms and rewrite their baselines. Instead of automatically agreeing with fear, sickness, limitation, or cultural expectations, they must return to the truth of who God says they are.

The Default Response of the Spirit

Pastor Leonard shares another experience from the period when he was receiving chemotherapy at Mount Sinai. He often slept while undergoing treatment because that was when he could rest.

A hospital chaplain regularly visited patients to encourage them. However, when she entered Pastor Leonard’s room, she told him that she was not there to encourage him. She came to learn from him and to be encouraged herself because he filled their conversations with glorious Scriptures and spoke continually about Jesus and the Lord.

On one visit, the chaplain opened the curtain, greeted Pastor Leonard, and asked how he was doing. He answered that he was doing great, doing wonderfully, blessed and highly favored, and swimming in the grace of God. When the chaplain came closer, she realized that Pastor Leonard was sound asleep. She quietly left because she did not want to awaken him. When she returned later, she told him what had happened.

Pastor Leonard initially wondered how he could have spoken those words while asleep. He then realized that his spirit had answered. The divine power within him was ready to take over, and the truth had become his default response.

His default was no longer based on the diagnosis, treatment, physical symptoms, or fearful expectations surrounding him. His default was that he was exactly what God said he was, he could do exactly what God said he could do, and he possessed exactly what God said he possessed. This new default developed as he took contrary thoughts captive, destroyed them, and cast them down.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Everything that attempted to rise against the knowledge of God was brought into agreement with the obedience of Christ. Pastor Leonard teaches that this agreement with Christ’s obedience and the divine power within the believer is what allows the miraculous and supernatural to spring forth.

Final Encouragement and Prayer

Pastor Leonard acknowledges that he did not finish or fully follow his prepared notes. Instead, he spoke from his heart and hoped the congregation was blessed by the message.

He closes by worshiping and praising the Father and giving Him all the glory. He thanks God for precious Jesus, His living offering and sacrifice, declaring that no other sacrifice is needed. The prayer returns to the central truth of the teaching. Through the divine power residing within believers, lofty speculations and imaginations that contradict their true identity must be cast down.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6- “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Believers can reject every thought that contradicts who they truly are, what they truly possess, and what they can truly do because of Jesus Christ. The Father receives all praise, honor, and glory.

We hope this article blessed you and helped you recognize the divine authority you have to arrest thoughts that contradict God’s knowledge of you. Share this teaching with someone who needs to be reminded of who they are, what they have, and what they can do because of the completed obedience of Jesus Christ.