WHAT IS A STRONGHOLD?

 

ROMANS 12:2 :

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect Will of God."

 

A stronghold is a faulty thinking pattern based on lies and deception. Deception is one of the primary weapons of the devil, because it is the building blocks for a stronghold.  

 

What strongholds can do is cause us to think in ways which block us from God's best.  

For example, if you think you have to confess all your sins to everybody you've ever wronged, you'll feel just awful and guilty until you do all that, and even then, you'll probably feel guilty, because you probably forgot many people that you didn't confess your sins to.   All unnecessary, and a waste of time, all because you were deceived and thought that you had to do something that you really didn't have to do.  

 

A stronghold is basically like a pattern that has been burned into our minds that cause us to think in a certain way. 

Demons and strongholds are good friends to each other.  Demons often promote us to build strongholds in our minds, and they use strongholds to torment people everyday.

 

Another definition of a stronghold is:

 

It's just like it sounds: something that has a hold on you, a grip, something that's negative (even demonic), something that has too much influence and hold in your life.

 

"What is a stronghold? " asks another minister. "It is a portion of territory that refuses to submit to the ruling authority. It’s a military term. Satan wants to get a little territory under his influence. It may be fear, rejection, depression, bitterness, revenge, anger also bondage of addiction, lust, pornography or any type of perversion. 

 

These strongholds often begin when we are children. Our environment, the things we were exposed to and our inherited bloodline determine what these strongholds are. They start working on our soulish area (emotions, memory, mind and will). These oppressions can become so strong in our lives that they hinder our Christian walk. They split marriages and cause division in our homes, churches and businesses." 

There are occult strongholds, sexual strongholds, family strongholds, materialistic strongholds etc..

 

 Another expert says at deliverance: "A demonic stronghold is anything compelling enough or convincing enough to hold you in its power; to keep you from receiving God’s love and truth. When a stronghold has been built in you, the Strongman (ruling demon) arouses a defensive posture that causes you to 'rationalize' your current situation. He will often use your pride to hide any weaknesses from those around you. The existence of a stronghold can be recognized because it will be that area of your life in which you consistently have problems and cannot live in victory. You can tell one is established because a habitual pattern of failure or hopelessness exists in that area of your life."

 

There may be a stronghold that makes you lie. There may be one that sways you into timidity or egoism. There may be a stronghold that causes you to ignore your spouse. There may be a stronghold that binds you to people in a way that's unhealthy. There may be strongholds that cause greed, jealousy. There may be strongholds that prevent you from succeeding. They come through the generations! There may be strongholds that have you in bondage with negative people.  

Tear them down!!

 

Ephesians 6:12: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." 

 

A stronghold is when a person controls you by making you feel guilty.

In Scripture, a "stronghold" is territory held by a particular party. In common spiritual parlance, that party is the devil. When we let him, he builds a fortress or a cave.

 

With prayer and diligence we can tear down a stronghold. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods.  We fight with God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the devil’s strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that keeps people from knowing God, and we take captive every thought.  We make them give up and obey Christ.”

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Isaiah 61:1). 

Taking control of thoughts means halting negative ones. When such one enters, let us recite, "I choose not to go there. I choose not to have that thought." This dismantles many strongholds!

So does fasting.

 

Confusion. Anxiety. Dissension.

The ex-Satanist and now devout Catholic Deborah Lipsky explains in her brilliant book, A Message of Hope that demonic intrusion can often be detected in "insomnia and recurring nightmares. Demons are trying to wear you down physically. Chronic fatigue and low energy levels: Demons are depleting your energy because of their demand. Sudden onset of depression or intense erratic mood swings. Because the mind is coming into contact with pure unadulterated evil energy it causes severe disturbances in the electrical impulses generated by the brain that can't handle such foreign vibrations. 

 

Inappropriate angry outbursts with bizarre unfounded accusations and paranoia. Frequent minor accidents or mishaps. Self-destructive behavior." Let us add: any form of arrogance and disorientation. Disrespect for a spouse.

 

Replace that with the right kind of fortress.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge," says Psalms 182. "My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

When we have the right kind of stronghold, nothing dark shall enter.

 

SPIRITS AND STRONGHOLDS

ARE THEY THE SAME? No. 

A stronghold is an area of weakness that Satan attacks when we open the door to allow him entry through disobedience. Once we open the door, Satan and his spirits begin to control through the stronghold.

 

The spirit is the energizing force behind the stronghold. The stronghold is the symptom the spirit is the root of the problem. 

 

(Example: An addiction is a stronghold that becomes controlled by a SPIRIT OF BONDAGE. 

Self-righteousness is a stronghold controlled by a SPIRIT OF PRIDE. 

Phobias are controlled by a SPIRIT OF FEAR.)

 

A very good example:

When Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus just before his cruxifiction.  The devil planted a thought in his mind to betray Jesus and he started to linger on that thought.  And as soon as he started to linger on the thought,  he opened a door for Satan to enter.  Satan then convinced him to commit the deed and that is to betray Jesus Christ.

John 13:2  "And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son to betray Him."

John 13:27 "Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him.  Then Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly." 

 

Another definition of a Stronghold.  It is an incorrect thinking pattern that has molded itself into our way of thinking. These strongholds have the capability to affect our feelings, how we respond to various situations in life, and they play a large role in our spiritual freedom.

 

Where do strongholds come from?

 

Strongholds are built upon deception and error. These errors and deceptions which form strongholds can come from a wide variety of sources, including our environment, those around us, our parents or even demon spirits. I have seen where people have picked up a demon, then the demon quickly builds one or more strongholds in their mind that must be later torn down.

 

What Are Spiritual Strongholds?

The definitive text concerning spiritual strongholds comes from 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, which reads as follows:

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

The word translated "strongholds" in this passage could also have been rendered "fortresses." In its verbal form, the word means "to make firm." [Vines 1985: 605] Just as military forts are established in firm places such as on a hilltop or at the mouth of a bay, so Satan attempts to established strong forts in our minds to hold our thought life captive.

 

In the passage cited above, Paul defines strongholds as arguments, pretensions, or thoughts that set themselves against the knowledge of God. Any beliefs entrenched in our thinking that are contrary to truth as revealed in Scripture are strongholds of the Enemy that stand in the way of our knowing God and making Him known. Thus they hinder us in our walk with the Lord and in our prayer lives.

 

Another definition of a stronghold is:  "A spiritual stronghold is a mind-set impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable, situations that we know are contrary to the will of God." 

 

We have two types of "strongholds" to look at here:

1.    The Lord as our "Stronghold" over satan and the demons; and

2.    The "strongholds" of satan and the demons over us that must     be demolished and destroyed. 

 

The Word of God says that "Jesus was manifest to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works of the devil". 1 John 3:8

According to 2 Corinthians 10:4 " the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds." As we do warfare for ourselves and others these "strongholds" must be destroyed.

Psalms 9:9 says, "The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a "stronghold" in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation)". 

 

As long as we have a relationship with Jesus as our Savior, Deliverer, Lord and King, then we have the Lord as our "stronghold". The Children of God were instructed to obey God's laws and follow Him and worship Him. If they did not, their enemies captured them and put them in bondage and only when they turned back (repented) to the Lord with all their hearts and cried out to Him were they DELIVERED out of the hands of their enemies.

 

Throughout the Scriptures we see where the Children of God were building the city and making it strong. There are also references to building and making the walls strong. Take Jericho for instance. The Lord instructed His people to march around the walls of Jericho seven times for seven days and then shout unto the Lord praise, and the walls came down. When the walls came down, the people of Jericho were then defeated. When we, through the weapons of our warfare, break down the walls of the demons, they can be defeated.

 

The Lord in Ephesians 6 tells us to "Put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the strategies and deceits of satan; and that we are not wrestling with flesh and blood but against powers, world rulers of darkness and against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere. 

Verse 13 of Ephesians 6 says, "Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day, and, having done all to stand firmly in your place. 

Read the rest of Ephesians 6, here are some of our weapons to fight and tear down the "strongholds" of the demons for ourselves and our families, churches and country.

 

One of the major "strongholds" of satan in the church is that "Christians cannot have demons." 

This is a lie!!

 

And this lie keeps the children of our Lord from being set free. Satan has placed his demons of fear, unbelief, religion, pride, divination, witchcraft around the churches as a strong city, fortress, tower, rock, etc. to keep the truth of Deliverance out of the church. 

These "strongholds" must be destroyed and brought down in JESUS' NAME.

 

which we will be covering:

1.    Stronghold of oppression. 

2.    Stronghold of sin. 

3.    Stronghold of ignorance. 

 

2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV  "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 

 The NKJV says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,"

 

1.    Stronghold of oppression

 

A person may physically be able to perform a task, but if that person has come to believe, or has formed the idea in their mind that they are not able, or capable to do it then their own beliefs and feelings of doubt, unworthiness, inadequacy, fear of failure, fear of succeeding, anxiety etc. can create and become a stronghold against them. A stumbling block before their feet and a hurdle too high for them to jump.

Many people can be somewhat apprehensive (shy, self conscious, fearful) about trying something new for the first time, especially if someone is watching them, but with a little encouragement, or by mustering the courage to try can soon realize that yes indeed they are capable of mastering the task.  But a person who has a stronghold against them in their thinking can be so convinced that they can't that they won't, or be so fearful, or anxious their own feelings will overwhelm them from succeeding. 

 

When a person's life has been full of negative, or abusive events it can create within them many forms of insecurity, negativity, unhealthy feelings and emotions, and can create within them a lot of strongholds, (self defeating thoughts and beliefs).

Similarly to what I've just said a stronghold can be when a person does not believe that the circumstances of their life will ever change for the better because things have been so bad for so long. 

 

2.    Stronghold of sin

 

It is sinful thinking and wrong desires that dominate a person's mind.   Sinful thoughts once acted upon, or easily embraced can open a spiritual door to satan and give him a legal right to work in and hold a position over that area of thinking that a person's mind entertained and which they acted upon.  Because of the sin that was involved in those thoughts and desires. Whatever we invite satan into he will come into and sin is a standing invitation for him to come.

 

Once satan holds a position over an area of a person's thinking (because of sin) it will be his objective to keep that person in bondage to that sin, to sin more, to cause other people to sin and to create oppression to whose ever life he can create it against through this person.

 

With this stronghold in place and satan's dominating influence in this stronghold satan will be able to create great temptations and cravings within this person that will seem near impossible to resist to bait this person to sin more.   And it will be satan's hope and goal in this stronghold that this person will escalate themselves in this sin. Increase their involvement and increase the intensity of the sins they commit.

 

3.    Stronghold of ignorance

 

"Christians cannot have demons." 

This is a lie!!

 

And this lie keeps the children of our Lord from being set free. Satan has placed his demons of fear, unbelief, religion, pride, divination, witchcraft around the churches as a strong city, fortress, tower, rock, etc. to keep the truth of Deliverance out of the church.