There comes a moment when conviction must become action.

Throughout the first two parts of this series, we’ve asked the Holy Spirit to reveal the high places within our lives.

Now comes the difficult question:

What are we going to do when He shows us?

Second Kings 18:3–4 describes King Hezekiah’s response:

“He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made.”

He removed.

He broke.

He cut down.

He destroyed.

Hezekiah didn’t manage the high places.

He tore them down.

Stop Negotiating With Compromise

Sometimes we already know what God has been telling us to remove.

But instead of obeying, we negotiate.

“Lord, I’ll do it less often.”

“Lord, I’ll be more careful.”

“Lord, it’s not hurting anybody.”

“Lord, everybody else does it.”

“Lord, I’ll deal with it later.”

But delayed obedience can become prolonged bondage.

Romans 13:14 gives us an important command:

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

Make no provision.

Sometimes we’re asking God for deliverance while continuing to make arrangements for our temptation.

We pray for freedom but maintain access to the very thing from which we’re asking God to free us.

We pray against lust while continuing to consume things that feed lust.

We pray against bitterness while continually rehearsing the offense.

We pray against gossip while remaining in conversations built around tearing other people down.

We pray against greed while organizing our lives entirely around accumulating more.

Sometimes we need to stop maintaining the infrastructure of our bondage.

Repentance Produces Action

Biblical repentance is more than feeling guilty.

Second Corinthians 7:10 says:

“Godly sorrow produces repentance.”

John the Baptist said:

“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.” — Matthew 3:8

Real repentance produces change.

One of the clearest examples appears in Acts 19.

When people in Ephesus encountered the power of Jesus, those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them publicly.

They could have sold them.

They could have stored them.

They could have said, “We’re strong enough now to keep these around.”

Instead, they destroyed them.

Their actions declared:

We’re not going back.

Sometimes tearing down a high place means taking practical action.

Delete the contact.

Remove the app.

Change the environment.

Establish the boundary.

Confess the hidden sin.

Forgive the person.

End the compromise.

Seek godly accountability.

Stop going where you continually fall.

Stop feeding what God has told you to starve.

By the Spirit

But there is something incredibly important we must understand.

Victory isn’t achieved through human willpower alone.

Romans 8:13 says:

“If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Notice those words:

By the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live differently.

Galatians 5:16 says:

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

This isn’t simply behavior modification.

It’s transformation through the presence and power of God.

We need prayer.

We need Scripture.

We need worship.

We need godly relationships.

We need accountability.

Most importantly, we need continual dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

Yet dependence upon the Holy Spirit doesn’t eliminate our responsibility to obey.

When He speaks, respond.

When He convicts, repent.

When He says remove something, remove it.

Don’t Leave the Space Empty

When a high place comes down, something must take its place.

Don’t simply remove what was pulling you away from God.

Replace it with more of Jesus.

Replace temptation with Scripture.

Replace bitterness with prayer.

Replace gossip with encouragement.

Replace greed with generosity.

Replace lust with holiness.

Replace pride with humility.

Replace distraction with worship.

Replace time spent feeding the flesh with time spent in God’s presence.

Galatians 2:20 says:

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

That’s the goal.

Not simply becoming a better-behaved version of ourselves.

We want Jesus to completely transform us.

Today Is the Day

Hebrews 3:15 says:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

If the Holy Spirit has identified something during this series, don’t keep postponing obedience.

The high place has remained long enough.

The compromise has remained long enough.

The excuse has remained long enough.

The bondage has remained long enough.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit:

Tear it down.

Declaration

I declare that Jesus Christ has complete authority over my life. I will no longer negotiate with anything God has told me to remove. Every high place must come down. Every stronghold must bow to the authority of Jesus Christ. I will make no provision for the flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will walk in freedom, holiness, obedience, and victory. I am not a slave to sin. I belong to Jesus Christ. What God tells me to remove, I will remove. What God tells me to surrender, I will surrender. My life belongs completely to Jesus.

Prayer

Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to expose the areas of my life that are keeping me from complete surrender.

Holy Spirit, give me courage to obey what You reveal.

I repent for every time I have negotiated with something You told me to remove.

Forgive me for excusing compromise.

Forgive me for delaying obedience.

Forgive me for asking for freedom while continuing to make provision for the flesh.

Today I choose obedience.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, help me tear down every high place.

Break every ungodly attachment.

Destroy every stronghold.

Give me wisdom to establish boundaries where boundaries are needed.

Give me courage to confess what needs to be confessed.

Give me strength to walk away from what needs to be abandoned.

Help me forgive those I need to forgive.

Surround me with godly people who will encourage me and hold me accountable.

And Lord, as these high places come down, fill every empty place with Your presence.

Fill me with Your Word.

Fill me with Your Spirit.

Fill me with Your holiness.

Fill me with Your love.

Fill me with a greater hunger for Jesus than I’ve ever experienced before.

I declare that my past will not control me, temptation will not master me, and compromise will not define me.

Jesus Christ is Lord over my life.

The high places are coming down.

And I will walk in the freedom You purchased for me at the Cross.

In the mighty and victorious name of Jesus,

Amen.

Coming in Part 4: “An Undivided Heart — When Jesus Has the Highest Place.”

Walking in the Word — Zeltman Ministries

ZeltmanMinistries.org