Demolishing Strongholds:
Spiritual Warfare in the Life of a Believer.
The human mind is a battleground - a point of contention between opposing forces of good and evil; between light and darkness, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. It is where spiritual warfare happens. Jesus came to overthrow the rule of Satan and restore the rule of God in the universe. Spiritual warfare for believers is a war to crush the rebellion that started in Eden. It will continue until creation, groaning under the curse, is liberated in the coming age. Jesus, at the onset of his ministry, sent out seventy-two of his disciples to spread the good news that the kingdom of God had come. He commanded them to heal the sick, warning that they would be welcomed by some and would be rejected by others (Luke 10: 1-10).
Luke the evangelist reports:
“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (v.17). They were excited. Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”
Here, Jesus characterizes demons as snakes and serpents. Recall, that Eve was deceived by the serpent. Then he warned, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The Jewish exorcists are casting out demons too.
Jesus says, for his followers, the cause for celebration is that our names are written in heaven.
When Jesus healed a man who was demon-possessed, blind, and dumb the Pharisees sought to discredit him by saying Jesus did it by Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12: 22- 28). Jesus responded by laying out the framework: It is a warfare between two kingdoms and the kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
“If I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out…But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” Jesus declares.
Spiritual warfare continues, and victory is sure.
As the battle rages on, the sons of God are called to take a stand and be firm. Pivotal to taking a stand is the ability to discern the One in the driver’s seat of our mind.
In Galatians 5 we see how the fruit of the spirit contrasts with the fruit of the flesh. Spirit and flesh are synonyms for opposing forces driving human actions (vv.19-23). They highlight the difference in the quality of life inspired by Spirit and Flesh. One is life-affirming, the other is life-destroying. Notice the difference in the life-affirming nature of the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Line that up against the spiritual, moral, and relational failures of the fruit of the flesh: “sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies…” The list is endless.
What is striking about this list is how it accurately reflects the character of our day. The Word of God is ageless, quick, and powerful. It was true of Apostle Paul’s day - some two thousand years ago - and true of today.
Stronghold of the Mind:
The question is: Who is in the driver’s seat of your mind? Mind control is it.
At birth, our mind was a clean tabula rasa but we grew up filling it with junk. By nature, we are sinful. Sin is rebellious and exposes our vulnerability to the antics of the enemy. Going through the motions of religion and traditions, we get immersed in the quagmire of ancestral spirit, bloodline curses, and the occult. Through sin and emotions, we give a foothold to familiar spirits and demons. Strongholds are erected in our minds and we call them culture. In other words, we get demonized through our upbringing.
Spiritual strongholds are more entrenched in us than we know or are made to believe.
Symptoms of Spiritual Strongholds:
The list below contains sample symptoms of spiritual strongholds in people’s lives:
Difficulty in forming and maintaining close relationships.
Low self-esteem
Fears and phobias
Unforgiveness and bitterness
Mood swings (not normal hormonal cycle).
Negative reaction to Scripture and preaching.
Emotional instability - inability to keep a job or sexual partner
All manner of excessive and uncontrollable behaviors.
Self-Discovery:
Strongholds are deep-seated thought patterns that are contrary to our identity in Christ. They constantly seek to push us into acting contrary to who we profess to be.
The apostle Paul puts it succinctly:
“But I see another law in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me” (Romans 7: 23). He exclaims, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Then Paul changes gear, and speaking in affirmative terms, confesses his deliverance: “Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Saying it as it is, Paul wraps it up:
“So then I in my mind, am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature, a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:.24-25).
This is Paul, engaging in spiritual warfare at its core.
Steps to Freedom:
Unlike casting out demons, freedom from strongholds, is not prone to a one-off encounter. It is obtained through teaching and applied knowledge. Jesus points the way to freedom: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 32). Galatians 5:1 also points us to what Christ accomplished in us:
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” See also Roman 7: 23.
Are you saved? Romans 10: 9 - 10 says,
“If you declare with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” “For it is by grace, you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2: 8-9).
Believers are new creations - God’s restored masterpieces.
The question again: Are you saved? If your answer is Yes, then know that legally you are free, but you have to walk in your freedom. Do not be like prisoners who were set free but refuse to walk out of the correctional facility. Confession is knowing who you are in Christ and knowing what Christ says about you; it’s about taking ownership of your freedom and walking in it.
Someone describes it as “creating a spiritual greenhouse for the Holy Spirit in our heart and mind.”
What the church needs to do is to make disciples of new converts. Disciple-making is helping people to be free from their strongholds. Don’t just talk about discipleship, show people how to make disciple by making disciples. It involves appropriate pastoral practices like showing compassion, empathizing, listening, looking into peoples’ lives, and counseling them.
Worship, Bible study, and Disciple-making are the lynchpin for winning in spiritual warfare. They provide an appropriate platform for equipping new converts to pull down the strongholds of self-centeredness - releasing them to set God-honoring goals for their lives.
