The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
-2 Corinthians 10:4 (NIV)
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.
-2 Timothy 3:1-5a (NIV)
People who are disconnected from God and are under the influence of the prince of the power of the air have become:
- lovers of themselves, boastful, proud, abusive,
- ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous,
- without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, and conceited
Recap of last week: The world system is heavily influenced by Satan.
- This is his domain; his influences are everywhere
- He seeks to kill, steal and destroy
- He hates God, goodness, and us because we were created in the image of God
- The devil has influence in entertainment, arts, music
The Bible calls the devil "the prince of the power of the air."
Devil: diábolos (greek): slanderer, liar
How does all of this impact the Christ-follower?
We are saved and protected by the blood of the Lamb.
The devil is real but he has been cast down.
Stop obsessing over your past sins.
Stop beating yourself up! Get up. Get going. Get over it!
Stop thinking that every time something bad happens in your life that God is punishing you.
For every one look at your pain, you need to take ten looks at His promises.
But, if you begin believing the lies of the evil one once again, you open the door to the enemy’s presence and influence.Lies lead to activities that lead to sin that lead to footholds that lead to strongholds.The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
-2 Corinthians 10:4 (NIV)
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.
-2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Strongholds
Stronghold: a fortified tower inside the walls of a city
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.
-2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)
A "stronghold" is an argument or philosophy that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
A stronghold begins when we believe a lie that contradicts the truth of Jesus.
Strongholds are not demons themselves but rather mental and emotional patterns that are influenced by demonic forces.
How do strongholds form?
First: Sinful Thought
Lies that lead to destruction:
- rationalize sin as virtue
- “He did it too; You’re just as righteous as anyone else”
- “Do it! God will forgive you. It’s his job.”
- “I have suffered so much. I deserve this.”
- convincing you to compare one part of your life to another
Second: Sinful Choice
Third: A Sinful Habit
Fourth: Loss of Control
Fifth: Bondage
The main weapon of the devil is falsehood, a misrepresentation of reality.
The deepest and most powerful strongholds come from your reaction to what has been done to you and the lies the devil tells you about these traumas.
When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
-James 1:13-15 (NIV)
If you have been sexually abused, you may be coping in one or more of the following ways. You hide or keep people at extreme distances, afraid of being hurt again. You remain numb through adulthood. If married, you find it difficult to respond sexually… You may feel damaged, see yourself as a sex object, flaunt your sexuality, and descend into promiscuity and other sexual sins… You might respond to your abuse with anxiety, depression, self-loathing, self-harming actions, fear of intimacy, homosexuality, indecisiveness, perfectionism, a need to control, eating disorders, or addictions. Satan doesn’t care how we react to the sinfulness of sexual abuse as long as we don’t turn to Jesus. The enemy knows that when we find our identity, security and dignity in Christ, we can live in victory.
-Dawn Wilson, Trusting God to Heal the Scars of Sexual Abuse
Satan loves trauma because it is his opportunity to offer coping mechanisms that lead to death.
When you believe the lie that this will somehow help you overcome the trauma, a foothold develops that leads to a stronghold that steals your joy, kills your hopes, and attempts to take your soul.
When I was kidnapped … I remember what my parents said: ‘You’ll know a person by their actions.’ And so even though [my captor] was sitting there telling me that he was a prophet … I was really a lucky girl — I realized that he wasn’t a good person. He was hurting me. He made me feel terrible. And growing up believing that I have a kind and loving Heavenly Father, I couldn’t believe that God had called him to do what he was doing to me.
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Although I never asked to be kidnapped or for something like that to happen to me, I can find that goodness can still come out of it, and that I can be grateful for the opportunities that it’s opened up to me that otherwise wouldn’t have been.
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I have let go of the past. I have let go of what they have done to me. And I’ve let go of them.
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You don’t just take what’s given to you and say, ‘OK, this is what we’re supposed to do.’ But you pray about it, you think about it, and you find your own answer. That’s what true faith is.
-Elizabeth Smart, NPR Interview December 2013
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.
-2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Past trauma is still destroying some of you and you can’t see it.
If you don’t take captive those thoughts and words and force them to submit to the truth of God’s word, a stronghold will develop from which you may never escape!
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
-Ephesians 4:26b-27 (NIV)
A foothold is the beginning of a stronghold.
Illustration: Dawn Wilson
Dawn Wilson says that the healing came when she spoke the truth of God’s word into her feelings and emotions.
God loves me deeply and completely. The enemy loves it when I feel shame, condemnation, and self-loathing, but God’s Word says I am precious in God’s sight—accepted and valued. (Isa. 43:4)
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God saw my abuse and did not condone it. Neither should I. I do not have to stay silent or bury the pain and trauma. The Lord hates all wickedness, including my abuser’s sinful actions. (Psalm 11:5)
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I can pray for wisdom and entrust true justice to the righteous heart of God. He always has the last word—He brings justice to the unrepentant and great mercy to the repentant (Psalm 103:6)
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I know I can forgive others because I have been so greatly forgiven. Bitterness will only make my pain worse and continue to wound others. (Hebrews 12:15)
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I must be aware of the enemies’ schemes to control my response and defeat me. I must saturate my life with Scripture and remember God’s grace is greater than the condemnation I feel. (I John 3:20)
-Dawn Wilson, Trusting God to Heal the Scars of Sexual Abuse
How are strongholds produced?
1. Ignoring the truth of God’s word and giving into temptation
2. Responding to a trauma inappropriately
3. Willfully opening yourself to the things associated with the demonic spirit world
Illustration: False Doctrines
Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses are doctrines of demons because they deny Jesus as God in the flesh.
I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
-2 John 7 (NIV)
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
-1 John 4:2-3 (NIV)
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
-Revelation 22:15 (NIV)
I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.
-Leviticus 20:6 (NIV)
Any spiritual practice that attempts to clear the mind and engage the spirit world without meditation on Christ is an invitation to the demonic world.
Yoga: Means to yoke, join, or unite with. Unite with what? The divine force.
- To free one from the cycle of rebirth to achieve divine consciousness—to join the "oneness of the universe."
- To achieve Brahman: the all-encompassing spiritual reality where all gods, humans, animals, nature and matter returns.
Satan’s Entryway:
The power of God flows through people, places, and even animals or even objects.
- Miracles through Moses’ rod, the water of the Jordan, Jesus’ saliva
- Paul during a revival in Ephesus had people burn occultic books.
- Achan was destroyed in the Old Testament by taking a cursed object into his tent.
Things that originate from the demonic world carry with them demonic forces.
The number one area of demonic influence in the west today is the entertainment industry!
I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise.I will be careful to lead a blameless life—when will you come to me?I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.
-Psalm 101:1-3 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
-Romans 12:2 (NIV)
How can we defeat footholds that have become strongholds?
How can we dismantle strongholds?
1. Confess and renounce the sinful behavior.
2. Cast out the strongman through the power of Jesus. This will often require our Deliverance Ministry.
3. Surrender to God’s Lordship of those areas of your emotional and thought life over which Satan had previous control.
4. Pray for healing of any and all emotional scars confessing and speaking the name of Jesus.
5. Forsake the habit.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
-2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
I have discovered everything I need to move forward in grace and strength comes from abiding in God’s presence and the Word of God. The path to thriving begins with God-focus, not self-focus. If we continue to gaze inward, we will always see our scars, but when we gaze on Jesus, we see His scars and remember He died to make us whole again. We can trust this One who loved us so completely.
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I’ve grown in Christ, but it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve had many questions, and my heart screamed for answers. Satan wants us to believe God is not good and does not care, but our Father God is never blind to the sins that hurt His people. He grieves over all sin and hates it. Sometimes the Lord deals directly with others’ sinful behavior against us; other times, it's just not time yet. In mercy, God gives even the most evil among us opportunities to turn to Him and repent. My great comfort is that Jesus understands abuse. He suffered great abuse and even death to give us life… He brings hope for today and tomorrow and, most certainly, hope for dealing in victory with hurtful past circumstances.
-Dawn Wilson, Trusting God to Heal the Scars of Sexual Abuse
Make a Decision
Deliverance Ministry