When I write sermons, I talk them first. I say things out loud as it I were speaking to you. As themes and wisdom and truths come to me, the sermon beings to take shape. The I dictate the first draft so I have a record of it. I adjust, put in illustrations and stories, get rid of the tangents no matter how fun they are; and all the time I’m talking listening to the Lord’s direction while I’m talking right out loud.

Good thing the dog is used to my wondering around the house passionately proclaiming the word of God!

Until Friday morning. I was practicing this sermon in the kitchen, first thing in the morning, feeding the dog and cats. I was talking to sermon out when I suddenly felt terrible and bent over the stove. It wasn’t on, no one worry. I was gripped by despair and worry. I thought, this is one of two things: either God is stopping me because I’m not supposed to preach about spiritual strongholds today, or it was an evil entity that was bothering me and trying to stop me. I was pretty sure it was the latter, because God’s guidance feels strong and bright. This feeling felt gray and greasy.

I thought, this isn’t God. So, I stood up straight and proclaimed a verse that God give me twice yesterday in a pretty miraculous circumstance: Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God Now I knew that He was preparing me for exactly this moment and this attack.

And it left, because demonic attack cannot stand in the strength of the Lord.

Strange story? No. 

The Bible is perfectly clear. Eph. 6:12—“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

We think demonic power must be weird and scary. But to Jesus and later to His disciples, kicking out demons was simply Tuesday.” A simple reality of a fallen world and a loving Lord Who is bringing creation back to Himself in Jesus Christ.

Now, my experience doesn’t mean that you’ll find yourself bending over the coffee maker during a spiritual attack, while the pets are wondering what your problem is. That doesn’t happen to every believer and it doesn’t need to.

Do you know what we do have in common? Our own sin for sure, and possibly damage from traumatic events in your past.

If you have hosted certain sins or hurts for a long time, if you’ve let thorny emotional or spiritual blocks develop and thrive, then you probably have a spiritual stronghold. That’s not good—but it is also and tremendous opportunity for great growth in the Lord.

What is a spiritual stronghold?

Let me define a spiritual stronghold for you right now. Now strongholds are not by themselves bad things at all. The Lord himself is a stronghold a mighty Fortress that the Bible speaks of often. The Lord is your stronghold.

2 Cor. 10:3-4 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

Spiritual strongholds that are opposed to God are built from difficult emotional blocks that knot you up inside, deepened by spiritual agreements with evil that we don’t even know we made, and at this nasty dollop of demonic whipped cream on top.

Outside forces can’t make Christians do anything. “The devil made me do it” is not an excuse. But if you’ve provided a nice little stronghold of hatred, or fear, or bitterness, or addiction, or abandonment, or rejection, or whatever—you are literally providing a nice cozy stronghold for the evil one.

Don’t let that scare you! It has NO power against the Spirit of Christ inside you. But it does NOT belong there, and you toss evil out on its—well, you know.,

Rom. 7:21-25 he wrote, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;  but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO DELIVERS ME THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

What’s YOUR Stronghold?

If you have a stronghold, or think you might, ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment. Don’t think that this is a one-and-done; strongholds are sneaky, that’s how they can stay in place for so long. You may not realize you have a stronghold of shame or bitterness or abandonment or fear. Or you do know you have these issues but think they aren’t a big deal.

They are. That spiritual stronghold is bad news, and it’s throwing out symptoms like a dirty toaster: harming our relationships, our health, our work, our faith.

God will give you the wisdom you need to identify and admit a stronghold. Spiritual strongholds cannot stand in the light of recognition, prayer, and the Word.

Moving against the stronghold isn’t weakness, it’s strength!

Eph. 6:10-13–Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

The Word

When God is helping you identify your stronghold, speak the Word!

• If you have trouble trusting God, then get a list of verses on trust and repeat those.
• Fear? Find and repeat verses on God’s strength and the armor of God.
• Anger? Verses on forgiveness and God’s love.
• Shame or rejection? You’ve got it. Verses on God’s perfect acceptance of you and His delight in you.

Let these verses fill your mind and prayers, and the Word will go to work on tearing down that stronghold!

The results of healing? Abundance. Fruits of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts. Joy in the Lord,. THESE are the eternal benefits of breaking down nasty old agreements.

Be brave, put on the armor of God, and smash that stronghold! Because remember what Christ said in John 8:36—”If you are free in Christ, you are free indeed!”