Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
12 11 2024
STRONGHOLDS DURING ADVENT
Pulling down strongholds. Here, we sit at year’s end, and we can’t help but assess our current position and how we did this year. But we should be taking our spiritual inventory, too…as we consider the areas that we didn’t exactly sweep clean in our year. We come back to the area of spiritual warfare and the strongholds that have built a foundation in our lives. What men call salvation is simply the first stage of God‘s plan for our lives, which is to conform us in character and power to the image of Jesus Christ. If we fail to see our relationship with God as such, we will allow too many areas within to remain unchanged. Pulling down strongholds is the demolition and removal of our old ways of thinking so that the actual presence of Jesus Christ can be manifested through us.
What is a stronghold? “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” 2 Corinthians 10: 3–4
A true change of our sinful nature and all successful deliverance must begin by first removing that which defends the enemy. Paul enlists the word stronghold to define spiritual fortresses that Satan and his legions hide and are protected by. They exist in the thought patterns and ideas that govern individuals, families, churches, communities, and even nations. Before victory can be declared, the strongholds must be pulled down and Satan’s armor removed. Then the mighty weapons of the Word and the Spirit can effectively tear down Satan’s house.
In the Old Testament, a stronghold was a fortified dwelling used as a means of protection from an enemy. See 1 Samuel 23:14,19.
A stronghold can be a source of protection “for us” from the devil, as is the case when the Lord becomes our stronghold. See Psalm 18:21 or conversely, a stronghold can be a source of defense for the devil, where demonic or sinful activity is actually defended within us by our sympathetic thoughts towards evil/sin. The strongholds we are going to expose first are those wrong attitudes that protect and defend the old self in life, which often become the fortified dwellings of demonic oppression of a person’s life.
Paul defined a stronghold as speculations, a lofty thing, raised up against the knowledge of God. 2nd Corinthians 10:5 It is any type of thinking that exalts itself above the knowledge of God, thereby giving Satan a secure place of influence in an individual’s thought life.
This is not possession. I do not believe a Christian can be possessed, for that implies ownership. If we have given our life to Christ, we are His property, purchased by Christ. But we can be oppressed by demons, which can occupy unregenerated thought systems, especially if those thoughts are defended by self-deception or false doctrines.
I know a number of Christians who are tormented by various fears. They have been prayed for and counseled to no avail. They need deliverance, but that will not come until the spirit of fear is confronted, bound, and the stronghold of fear cast down.
Lord, help me see the truth. I come against that spirit of deception and fear. I take authority in Jesus’ name and call these spirits into submission to your precious blood and your holy name.
Lord, Help me to be free to serve you.
I write a Christian devotion 3 times each week. If you would like to pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, send them this Signup link: http://eepurl.com/gKlklD
My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toy1hiDSfJU
Who you say I am Jenn Johnson
Excerpts are taken from Francis Frangipane’s book: The Three Battlegrounds T-5
Leave a Comment