That Stronghold is Coming Down!

2Cor 10:4-5 4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 5) 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; If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, you know your sins are forgiven, but you are constantly attacked with nagging ungodly thoughts of denial, depression, doubts, self hatred, lying, gossiping, swearing. Someone reading this right now may be struggling with thoughts sexual temptation that will not go away. Someone who is reading this is may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. Christians sometime struggle with dark thoughts, habits or actions that just won’t go away.

The apostle Paul calls those areas” Strong holds”.

A stronghold is an area of darkness within our mind or personality that causes ongoing spiritual, emotional and\or behavioral problems. We can be genuinely born-again, and sincere in our faith, but have an ongoing struggle with thoughts, emotions, and habits that wage war against our relationship with Christ. We pray, we study, and we attempt to discipline ourselves, but often find our “problem” is resistant to real change. If unchecked, a strong hold becomes bondage.

Now you might say Pastor, I don’t struggle in any of those areas; Satan does not have any strong holds in me. Any kind of addiction? Memories of abuse, a shattered relationship, emotional trauma. All of these can become strong holds, and if they go unchecked, they can be exploited by the enemy. If you struggle with these lingering, nagging, irritating, ungodly thoughts that won’t go away, I have good news for you. God has a Word for you, if you hear what he is speaking to you right now.

To get the victory, the 1st thing you need, is to know how strong holds work. One thing you should bear in mind about a stronghold: is it’s a place, not a person. In ancient days a strong hold was built to protect a city, the walls of Jericho was an example, strong fortified, Joshua 6:1. It could also be a place to store food and supplies, weapons and water for army’s who were on the move and need to have a secure place for storage. With us the place that is being protected is not a city, but our minds. Satan wants to capture the minds of the people of God, the mind is the citadel of the soul. He who controls the mind controls a very strategic place! Romans 8:5-6: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.

Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." In Matt 12:34-35, Jesus said, For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Satan bombards our mind. Then he builds strong holds to keep the light of the truth and the Word of God from getting in, thereby keeping us in bondage. Now watch this, a stronghold gets stronger as more stuff, more thoughts, get stored in your mind. That is why you mind is constantly under attack by the enemy, to crowd it with ungodly stuff A spiritual stronghold is a habitual pattern of thought, built into one’s thought life.

A stronghold is a way of thinking and feeling that has developed a life of its own in a person. It might be a rut of depression or recurring unbelief or habitually bad temper. It might be a repeating pattern of failure;

Here are 3 steps that must be taken to deal with Enemy build strongholds 1. Expose it; psalm 139:23-24 (NLT) 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offend you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Ask the Lord to show you anything in your life that is offensive to him.

2. Take it Prisoner; the apostle Paul says 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, (NLT) 4 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. Every time a rebellious lie from Satan pops up, ask the Holy Spirit to arrest that thought, tell your mind to obey Jesus Christ, Your mind will put up a fight, but through the weapons of our warfare, Prayer, fasting, the Word of God, being transformed by the renewing of our minds Romans 12:2, you are going to win that fight. Say it with me “Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am going to Win this fight”. Say it again, “Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am going to win this fight”.

3. Build the right Strong holds, I like to say, change construction companies. Just like the enemy builds strong holds to keep our light of the Word of God and the truth of God. After you bring down the enemies strong hold, allow the Holy Spirit to build Godly strong holds in your life. Psalms 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid

For every negative stronghold, there’s a powerful way to surround it with opposite truth from God.

If you are struggling with a stronghold of depression, surround it with hope.

If you are struggling with a stronghold of rejection, surround it with acceptance from the father.

If you are struggling with a stronghold of unresolved anger, surround it with forgiveness.

If you are struggling with a stronghold of fear, surround it with the knowledge of God’s love.

If you are struggling with a stronghold of failure, surround it with the victory of the resurrection!

Once you’ve identified a stronghold, go to the Scripture, and study the opposite truth from God.

Pray this prayer with me.

By the power of the Holy Spirit and in the Name of Jesus I bind any satanic influences that were reinforcing compromise and sin within me. I submit myself to the light of the Spirit of Truth to expose any strongholds of sin in me. By the mighty weapons of the Spirit and the Word, I proclaim that each evil stronghold is coming down! I purpose to surround this evil stronghold with praise and affirming truth from the Word of God. I purpose to take every pattern of negative thinking captive and bring it to the obedience to Messiah. I purpose, by the grace of God, to follow through until even the ruins of this stronghold is removed from my mind! I purpose, by the grace of God, to build up one stronghold within my mind and my heart: the stronghold of the living God! "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous will run to it and be safe." In the shelter of your presence, O God my Savior, you will keep me safe. in Jesus Name.