Demolishing Strongholds
God’s Way to Spiritual Freedom

Mike & Sue Dowgiewicz

[click here for a printable copy]

PREFACE

This Demolishing Strongholds workbook is the second segment of our three-part series, Freedom In Jesus. In Part 1, Certain Of What We Do Not See, we discuss the unseen spiritual reality all around us. The Bible tells us that our world is filled with angels and demons. It’s this unseen world that exerts such powerful influence on our ability to experience the freedom and victory that our Lord Jesus promises. It can also be the arena of spiritual defeat. Ignorance of the invisible realm only compounds our misery.

That which is our strength in the physical world is also our hindrance in the unseen reality. Our five senses, that is, our sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing, enable us to perceive and interact with our environment. In the physical world, 89% of all we know has come through our sight. The remaining 11% is acquired through our other four senses.

But as necessary as the five senses are to our lives in the physical dimension, they are detrimental to our understanding of the unseen world around us. This is the world of the spirit, and it requires faith to believe in its existence. We’re told, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). In Part 1 of Freedom in Jesus, we fully explore the topic of the invisible world. Please review that if you’re unfamiliar with the concept of the unseen reality. [See Freedom In Jesus, Certain Of What We Do Not See on our website at Restorationministries.org]

Our Lord perceives both dimensions at once, both the physical and the spirit realm around us. He sees the angels and demons, and the warfare being fought for the souls of mankind, including yours. If you’ve embraced the true Gospel, His very Spirit indwells you and is fully aware of the unseen battle. Keep in mind this image of God’s awareness of you as you proceed through this workbook.

This book deals with the demonic side of the invisible realm. Demonic influence and control in people is often accomplished through what the Bible calls “strongholds.” “The weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God’s power for demolishing strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, CJB). Through our training ministry, my wife Sue and I have helped several thousand people demolish the spiritual strongholds* that have hindered and afflicted them for so long. We’ve seen the fruit of lives changed, relationships healed, and in some cases, medical symptoms eradicated when the influence of various demonic strongholds has been eliminated.

As you go through this workbook, keep in mind that we aren’t espousing a prayer technique. We are appropriating the victory promised through the authority represented in the precious Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Behind His Name is the summation of all authority in the universe:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me“ (Matthew 28:18).

“Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

The spiritual forces of evil – demons – are fallen angels whom God cast down to the earth from heaven (see Revelation 12:9). Never lose sight of this truth: Demons are subject to Jesus Christ, Who has given us authority in His Name to demolish their influence in our lives. As evangelist Ed Silvoso says, “You can serve them eviction notices.”

References that pertain to specific types of spirits – or to the capability of demonic spirits to influence individuals in specific ways – abound in Scripture.

Examine this sampling of verses.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1Timothy 4:1, emphasis added).

“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion...the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3, KJV, emphasis added).

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15, KJV, emphasis added).

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:1,2, emphasis added).

“And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled” (Numbers 5:14, KJV, emphasis added).

“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come...They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us...but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 2:18,19; 4:3, emphasis added).

“As it is written: ’God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day’” (Romans 11:8, emphasis added).

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean [foul, lewd] spirits” (Matthew 10:1, KJV, emphasis added).

“The Lord has mingled within her a spirit of confusion; and they have made Egypt stagger in all her doings as a drunken man staggers in his vomit” (Isaiah 19:14, RSV, emphasis added).

I [Mike] first became acquainted with strongholds and their influence in people’s lives while we were administrating a church retreat center in Connecticut from 1983 to 1993. During a conference held on Long Island in the summer of 1989, a prophecy was given to the denominationally diverse participants concerning southern New England. The prophecy stated, “God is looking for a faceless people who are humble, with only the face of Jesus shining through. On November 30, 1989, the Lord is going to use these people in something special He is about to do.” Throughout the fall of 1989 I was haunted by the question, “Was I humble and faceless? Would I be one of those the Lord was going to use?”

As I read my Bible on the morning of November 29, 1989, one day before the prophesied date, I pondered Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians (3:16-19): “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (emphasis added).

As I sat there quietly in my recliner, I was convicted that the amount of the love of Jesus that I’d ever felt, even after many years in ministry, was about the size of a decimal point. The love I’d perceived had no depth, breadth, or width to it, and it certainly didn’t surpass my knowledge. Later that day I was playing golf with my close friend, Casey. As we walked along the course I shared with him my deep conviction from my reading in Ephesians that morning. With dogged determination I told him, “I’m not going on in ministry until I grasp this height, depth, and breadth of the love of Jesus.” He joined with me in prayer right where we stood.

The next morning at 8:00 on November 30, 1989, I received a phone call from a pastor who lived about an hour away from us. Sounding irritated he asked, “Mike, what’s your problem? God woke me up at 4:00 this morning and told me to call you at 8:00 AM to tell you that He heard your prayer.” When I explained to him my prayer on the golf course the day before, we both sensed that this was the reason the Lord had awakened him earlier. I continued in my ministry, waiting for God to show me the next step.

I expected Him to act quickly. However, a few months went by and, in February, 1990, I received a letter from my friend Karl in Washington State. He wrote that God had shown him in prayer that our ministry was being hindered by a spirit of deceit. Sue and I prayed, but had no discernment that he was right. Several more months went by. Another friend, Mark, recommended a book entitled The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane. I purchased the book and as I reclined with it in the solitude of my study, my eyes fell upon these words: “Once a person is deceived, he does not recognize that he is deceived, because he has been deceived!”

As I pondered those words I could hear the Holy Spirit say, “Mike, you do have a spirit of deceit. Now renounce it in the name of Jesus.” As I began to pray, a vision appeared right in front of me. Visions aren’t an everyday occurrence with me. I believe God permitted me to have this vision because of the importance of the matter, not only in my own life but in the lives of others I would help through this new awareness. When God wanted Peter to minister to Cornelius, a Gentile, He gave Peter a vision to undergird the importance of the change he must undergo as a devout Jew to be willing to minister to a Gentile: “He [Peter] saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat’” (Acts 10:11-13).

The vision appeared as an object that looked like a big black rock about five feet high and five feet wide. On it was written the word “DECEIT.” As I prayed, renouncing the spirit of deceit, a veneer like an onion skin fell off the object. Underneath this veneer was the word “REJECTION.” As I stared at it, God began to show me painful memories of my childhood — many of which I had forgotten. As I watched the scenes unfold, a growing sense of humiliation welled up inside me. Then the Holy Spirit revealed, “Those feelings of humiliation laid the foundation for the stronghold of rejection to be built in you. Now renounce that spirit’s influence in your life.” As I renounced the spirit of rejection in the name of Jesus, the black object disappeared. I was changed, but I was uncertain in what way.

The day after my vision and subsequent deliverance from the spirits of deceit and rejection, I participated in a difficult meeting with a group of church leaders. Their denomination was in the process of introducing some very unbiblical teachings, and the men were yielding to the pressure. I encouraged them to not give in but to uphold God’s Word at all cost. They became extremely antagonistic toward me. At that moment I realized that I loved them despite their reaction to me. I realized that without the spirit of rejection influencing me, I was able to love them rather than respond negatively to them.

As time went on, I was able to see how the spirit of deceit had kept me from perceiving people and situations clearly. Karl’s words about deceit now made sense. Up until my deliverance from these spirits, I’d always painted a rosy picture of my upbringing. I had believed and convinced many others that my home was wonderful. In order to hide my humiliation, a spirit of deceit had taken over and inclined me to deny the painful reality of my past. (Just a note: Before the removal of the spirit of rejection, my lifetime blood pressure had been 120/90. It immediately dropped to 106/72. The tension that had been caused by the symptoms of rejection was gone!)

Months later I showed my mom the list of spiritual strongholds found on pages 36 and 37. She immediately pointed to the stronghold of rejection and said, “This is the one I have. As a matter of fact our whole family has it.” Her words began the process of breaking the influence of the spirit, an iniquity that has burdened our family for generations.

Over the years we’ve found that people tend to marry others with the same demonic influences. The familiarity bred by the common spirits brings about a deceptive sense of acceptance and compatibility. We’ve done Demolishing Strongholds Workshops in congregations throughout the country. The majority of those in each congregation are influenced by the same demonic spirits. In one congregation it may be bitterness, in another, pride, and still another, fear and insecurity. It appears that the demonic spirits bring them together because the people feel accepted and comfortable in their shared bondage!

Through what we have learned and experienced, we’ve been able to help many break the demonic enslavement of strongholds. This book is written to help you demolish the demonic strongholds in your life, family, faith community, and workplace. Our Father’s goal for His children is to walk free in Jesus and to serve His purposes in the power of His Spirit — the only one you want to be hearing!

We welcome testimonies, input, corrections, and correspondence as you work through this material. We want to be better equipped to serve others through it. May you rejoice and give glory to God as you are set free!

Mike and Sue Dowgiewicz

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Chapter 1

Creation: God Created Us With Seven Needs
(Genesis 1 and 2)

Before we deal with strongholds, we need to have a clear understanding of how God made us, and what really motivates us. A study of the first two chapters of Genesis reveals that from the beginning God created in all human beings seven distinct needs. These innate needs are what motivate and drive us. As we seek to meet these needs within the framework of God’s Word, we provide the spiritual environment for an ever-increasing conformity to the image of Christ. As we yield our self-sufficiency to Him and focus instead on a God-dependency for all our needs, we will develop spiritual eyes to see His provisions and spiritual ears to hear Him say, “This is the way. Walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

On the other hand, when we strive to meet these needs in a way that seems right to our mind, will, and emotions but is not God’s way, we will suffer consequences. And, as we shall see shortly, one of these consequences is the formation of demonic strongholds in our soul.

As you read through the seven needs below and their biblical foundation, consider which ones strike you the most in wanting to have them met in your own life. This will be important later, after you have seen the strongholds demolished in your own life. Again, it is vital to your own life in Christ that you have these needs met, but only in the way our Lord prescribes.

Dignity
1. God Created Us with a Need for Dignity
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness,’ ...So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26,27).

The dignity of being made in the image of God elevates us above all other forms of life in creation. Human dignity encompasses our sense of honor, self-respect, and our personal distinctiveness. Because we are made in God’s image, Satan assaults our dignity. This is even more the case for followers of Jesus because we are temples of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16) and members of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 6:15).

Also, we’ve been given the responsibility in the Name of Jesus to destroy the works of Satan: “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues” (Mark 16:17, emphasis added).

Dignity is a critical need to be met because you are made in the image of God. Sadly, dignity is often eroded in families who use guilt as a motivator to control behavior. Phrases such as, “You didn’t come to see me yesterday because I’m not important to you” or, “If you loved me you would...(fill in the blank)...” are manipulative and controlling. These words don’t appeal to your dignity or to your free will to act, but seek to dominate by externally inflicted guilt. The loss of personal dignity prevents you from understanding who you really are as God’s handiwork. You fail to develop your own unique identity. Instead, many of your actions are controlled by what you perceive other people think of you or want from you. Self worth and respect are difficult to maintain in this type of captivity.

• As you examine your inner person, can you discern any ongoing area in which your sense of dignity is being (or has been) violated, thus discoloring your sense of acceptance by your heavenly Father? Are you in the habit of violating the dignity of others?
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If your sense of dignity has been violated, you may respond to those around you through strongholds of rejection or insecurity and fear. Feelings of unworthiness and inferiority may cause you to develop relationships that could lead you into activities outside the will of God because you want so desperately to be accepted. The lack of dignity often leads many into sexual immorality, trying to be accepted at all cost.

Authority
2. God Created Us with a Need for Authority
“And let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26).

Understanding the role and purpose of authority can have dramatic effects in your life. Authority is the power of position. It is the biblical responsibility to include or exclude, to commend or correct. God tells us through His servant Paul in Romans 13:1,2 that it is He Who places all people in authority: “The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (emphasis added).

Satan uses a misunderstanding of the biblical importance of authority to bring trouble on people. He knows that if you have trouble with authority, you have trouble with God. It’s important that you separate a person’s authority position (i.e., father, mother, boss) from his or her personality and actions in that position. You’re called to give deference, that is, respectfully yield to the position of your authority person. That means you should intentionally limit your choices of action or decisions so that you don’t provoke that person. Remember, David showed deference to King Saul even though Saul tried repeatedly to kill him (see 1 Samuel 24:1-7). Jesus recognized in the centurion such deference to authority that He could say about him, “I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith” (see Matthew 8:5-13).

During retreats at the center where we taught, fathers would occasionally bring up difficulties they were having with “rebellious” children. When we asked these fathers if they themselves had slandered or gossiped about their bosses at work, many confessed they had. We explained to them that bad-mouthing was rebellious and insubordinate against those God had placed over them. As a result these men were reaping the consequences of the spirit of rebellion in their own homes. When the slanderers later asked forgiveness from their superiors for their attitudes and actions, much of the rebellion on the homefront often ceased as well.

• What response comes to mind when you think about the word “authority”? Is there a particular person your mind connects to that word? Can you think of anyone God has placed in authority over you against whom you consciously rebel?
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• Are you equally as comfortable with “having authority” as with “being under authority”? Do you have a preference?
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If you find that a stubborn self-will or a certain unteachability characterizes your response to the authority figures in your life, you may have built a stronghold of rebellion housing a spirit that is influencing you to defy that individual. To your own detriment you are unable to see God’s good purposes intended for you by using these authorities to mold your character into Christ-likeness.

Blessing and Provision
3. God Created Us with a Need for Blessing and Provision
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food’“ (Genesis 1:28,29).

God’s character is behind blessing and provision. His name, Jehovah Jireh — God the Provider — is key for you to understand the importance of trusting Him in this area. The God Who created the whole universe has the right to be trusted by His creation. In fact, He commands this!

During your upbringing, if your real or perceived needs were unmet, then your view of God as the Provider may have been hindered. For instance, while at the retreat center we’d often ask people who were worrying about money, “Did it ever occur to you that if you’re prone to worry about finances, God may bring you reason to worry? That way you’ll learn to repent of it and trust Him. Your worry insults His character as God the Provider.” The Bible reveals again and again that when our Lord’s character is challenged, He acts severely to uphold it.

Proverbs 10:3 assures, “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.” If you live with unconfessed sin, a stronghold of doubt and unbelief may characterize this sphere of your relationship with God. As you’ll see, renewal of trust and belief comes as you confess and repent of these breaches of intimacy with Him, and demolish the agitating strongholds.

Paul writes, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11, emphasis added). He counsels his spiritual son Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10, emphasis added).

The apostle then concludes his discussion on money and the importance of entrusting to God all our needs: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19, emphasis added).

Give yourself a “contentment check”: Have the besetting anxieties that plague you been due to your own foolish attempts to please yourself and your family outside of God’s will for you? Have the pressures of peer comparison, pride of life, and lust of the eyes blinded you to the peace and acceptance with joy that contentment with God’s provision brings?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate yourself in agreement with Paul’s words: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12, emphasis added).
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If you have difficulty finding contentment within the circumstances God has placed you or are fearful of a new direction to which He may be calling you (because you aren’t sure the finances will be there), consider that a stronghold of fear and insecurity may be blocking this area of your life.

Security
4. God Created Us with a Need for Security
“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8,9).

Security may be defined as the condition in which you have confidence that you will experience protection and relational warmth. Relational security represents those people with whom you feel at peace, those whose affirmation helps you feel good about yourself. Thinking about them brings you joy.

Spirits of fear and insecurity and rejection oppress those who have grown up in homes with addictive or compulsive behavior, or where some unexpected catastrophe occurred, such as the premature loss of a loved one or the sudden loss of financial security. Studies show that children of divorce have extreme difficulty experiencing relational security for the remainder of their lives.

The absence of security leaves people in a prison, an emotional concentration camp if you will, for years. They never seem to be able to draw close to other people in such a way that they feel they “belong.” As a result, in their relationship with God they never believe He can accept them unless they are “doing something for Him.” These people often hide behind conscientious behavior. They’re the “reliable” ones because they are always “doing” something.

What most people are unaware of is that task-focused folks are often driven by the need for recognition or success to fill in for their lack of security. These motives imprison them. An ever-present fear of failure keeps them pushing ahead, often wounding others in their path.

• Can you name three people to whom you would turn in a time of desperate need? Please list them. Have you actually turned to them? When was the last time you did?
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Part of the dimension of belonging to the “body” of Christ includes intimate interaction and relationship with other body members. God has not called us to be “Lone Ranger” Christians!

• List all of the activities, committees, organizations in which you are involved. Circle the ones you know God has called you to. Underline the ones in which you are involved for other motives. Are you feeling time-pressured?
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Once you see on paper the number of activities in which you’re involved, you can begin to understand why time seems so elusive and fleeting. If you dig deeper into your soul, you might find that there is a deeper need you have been trying to fill by so much involvement. It’s really a need for belonging, not for recognition!

Purpose and Meaning
5. God Created Us with a Need for Purpose and Meaning
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ...Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:15,19).

God gave Adam work to do before the fall (yes, before the fall!) to endue him with purpose and meaning. The Hebrew word for work and worship is the same: avodah. Your true worship of God begins in experiencing joy in the work you do. Your joy reveals your gratefulness to God for the purpose and meaning you experience in your workplace and home.

The culture of the United States has been heavily influenced by the philosophy of the ancient Greeks who considered pleasure and self-achievement to be mankind’s highest goal. Hellenism has produced the man-centered humanism which has invaded much of western Christianity.

The Bible, however, represents the God-centered view of man’s highest goal. This is captured in Deuteronomy 6:5 and repeated by our Lord Jesus Christ: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30, emphasis added).

Paul repeats the essence of the greatest of commandments so that your purpose and meaning in life might serve our Father’s will: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23,24, emphasis added).

Many today have lost the joy of God’s purpose and meaning for their lives. Shopping malls are filled with people purchasing aimlessly and often on credit they can never repay, believing the lie that acquisitions will bring them joy. Many labor at jobs only for material gain. They fail to discern God’s deeper purpose and meaning for giving them that particular job. In all our actions, we should agree with Paul’s exhortation: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17, emphasis added). If you can’t agree with this, you are lacking God’s purpose and meaning for your life.

• Can you put into words from your heart what you truly believe is the purpose and meaning for your life at this point in time?
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Don’t despair if you can’t. Recognize that God does have a significant purpose for you in His Kingdom. His desire and will for you are that you bear much fruit and show yourself to be His disciple, to His Father’s glory. (See John 15:8.) Some spiritual stronghold may be preventing you from discerning your purpose.

• What level of satisfaction are you finding in what you are doing at home? At work? In your faith community? In your world at large?
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Consider the fruit of the Holy Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control — as evidence that you have indeed discovered God’s purpose and meaning for you at this time in your life!

Freedom and Boundary
6. God Created Us with a Need for Freedom and Boundary
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16,17).

Years ago while Mike was still in the Navy, we directed a chapel youth group at the base where we were stationed. At the end of the Wednesday night meetings that met in our home, some of the kids would go straight home as their parents had requested. Others would go down to the base canteen for ice cream or soda. After a few months one of the young men whose parents insisted he come home immediately after the meeting said to those who were heading off to the canteen, “I envy you guys. You get to go have fun and I have to go home. I wish my parents weren’t so strict.” One of those heading off to the canteen responded, “Don’t envy us. Your parents love you. That’s why they have you go home. Our parents don’t care about us. I wish I had your Mom and Dad.”

A holy God loved Adam and Eve. He gave them freedom and boundary because He loved them. We are told, “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in” (Proverbs 3:11,12; see also Hebrews 12:7-11).

We in North America, including many Christians, have come to perceive any restraint on our personal freedom as something negative. Many who consider themselves “Christian” consider people to be basically good, and capable of making good choices according to the situation they encounter. But this view negates God’s purpose for giving us boundaries in His holy laws.

The Bible presents the truth concerning the basic nature of man: “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5, emphasis added). The Lord Jesus confirmed the nature of the inner man: “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make man ‘unclean’. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’” (Matthew 15:18-20, emphasis added).

Because the basic nature of man is to do evil, the Bible offers parents careful instruction in child-raising: “Impress them [the commands of God] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7, emphasis added). “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24, emphasis added). “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15, emphasis added). You have been created with a need for the boundaries that God has established in His Word. Failure to be diligent in having His commandments instilled in your children may cause them to probe the arena of sin to seek fulfillment.

• Against what boundaries — restraints on your personal freedom — do you find yourself tempted to push a little too hard?
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Ask yourself why you may be testing your limits. Spirits of bitterness, control, rebellion, idolatry could be influencing your desire to stray from God’s will for you.

Intimate Love and Companionship
7. God Created Us to Experience Intimate Love and Companionship
“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18). “For Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman”, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:20-25).

It’s amazing just how many of the people we’ve ministered to over the years yearn in vain for intimate love and companionship! Satan has gleefully triumphed over our society by robbing us of our ability to experience loving and intimate relationships God’s way.

Many marriages are hollow, with husbands and wives like parallel railroad tracks going in the same general direction but experiencing little overlap or intimacy. The sexual aspect of their relationship (if they’re not too exhausted by busyness and responsibilities) is based on media fantasies and pornography rather than the loving beauty that Adam and Eve experienced. Studies show that within the Christian community the divorce rate is higher than among unbelievers (50% higher in the “Bible Belt”). How many times is 1 Corinthians 13 read at weddings, yet the fruit of love diminishes rather than grows over the years of the marriage?

“Intimate love and companionship” implies the need to be loved, understood, and accepted. And, loving companionship isn’t confined to marriage. It’s a need that everyone has.

The strongholds of rejection and fear and insecurity and the accompanying symptoms that these spirits induce may restrict your ability to love and to receive the love of others, including the love of God. As strongholds are demolished and the presence of Jesus is allowed to fill those areas of your soul, love triumphs. “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:16-18).

As we shall see shortly, spiritual strongholds are relationship destroyers! When you seek love “in all the wrong places,” Satan’s servants deceive you into rationalizing that you have a right to loving companionship outside of God’s will. Each failed relationship further diminishes your trust level, encompassing you with cynicism and hopelessness in other relationships. Failed relationships of all kinds result in calloused emotions. Your capacity to love becomes scabbed over with fear and rejection.

• How would you describe your relationship with your spouse or most intimate friend(s)? Deepening steadily? Staying pretty much the same? Heading downhill?
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As we grow in the sacrificial love that exemplifies a Christ-like character, our relationships also deepen and strengthen.

• Describe a point in your life when you experienced a relationship that you wished would never change. What happened to change it?
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Our lives are not static. The dynamics of daily life cause circumstances and relationships to change for either better or worse. We must discern through the Holy Spirit how to respond to these changes.

When the Strongholds Are Demolished, Return to the Seven Needs
Later in this workbook you’ll have the opportunity to demolish in the authority of Jesus any demonic strongholds that may be hindering your life and relationships. It’s crucial that afterward you have any or all of these seven needs met in the manner our Lord has prescribed in His Word. This is where others close to you can be of special help as you fill in the old ruts of unrighteous attitudes and actions with responses that are biblical and Christ-like.

After the strongholds of deceit and rejection were demolished, I [Mike] realized I had a strong need for dignity, security, and intimate love and companionship. With Sue’s help and the loving input of those in our home fellowship, I experienced the joy of having these needs met. I was 47 years old at the time, and I can’t you tell how wonderful it’s been to experience the dignity my Father always wanted for me! Now that I’m walking in this dignity, my relationship with our Lord, with Sue and with others is entirely different. With the strongholds gone I’m not only experiencing my own dignity, but I’m able to lovingly uphold the dignity of others as well.

At this point we want to stress how important the relational priorities of the earliest church are to help you meet these seven needs. It will take people who truly care for you as extended spiritual family. You won’t have these needs met sitting in a pew or Sunday school class. We encourage you to explore the Hebraic foundations that enabled the earliest followers of Jesus to be so relationally intimate. The three inner relational priorities are critical in order for you to experience dignity and the loving intimacy you long for. Your family and your extended spiritual family that meets in each other’s homes are God’s means of meeting your needs, especially as you walk together in the 54 “one-anothers” verses of the Newer Testament. This interconnectedness is crucial as well as scriptural!

Explore our website (Restorationministries.org) for more on living out your victory in Jesus. Everything there is a free download!

A Word of Caution: Once you’re free from the influence of strongholds, you’ll be susceptible to their redeveloping if you don’t have your seven needs met in the way God ordained for you. Fill that void as the Holy Spirit directs you! We’ll show you how in Chapter 5.

Chapter 2

The Demonic Forces In Strongholds
The Sinfulness of Man

Before we get into the havoc demons create in our lives, we want to re-affirm what we discussed in Part 1 of our video series Freedom In Jesus, Certain Of What We Do Not See:
1. Man is first and foremost a sinner at heart.
2. Each generation is born with the propensity to sin going all the way back to Adam.

Not many of us like to think of ourselves as depraved sinners. But that’s how the Bible portrays us. The more we appreciate how sinful we really are, the greater our appreciation will be for what Jesus accomplished on our behalf on the cross. And, we’ll cling more closely to Him on our pilgrimage to salvation.

The Bible reveals that man’s motives are not basically good, but evil. Once again, God’s evaluation of man is, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5, emphasis added).

Mankind hadn’t changed by the time the Newer Testament was written. Paul confirms that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our propensity to sin is why our Father had to choose His own method of redeeming us from our sins — His Son, Jesus.

In your mother’s womb you received your spirit from God. Your spirit is eternal; it doesn’t cease at death. From your parents you inherit your soul, that is, your mind, will, and emotions, and your body’s physical features. Along with your soul you inherit the sins and iniquities of your forefathers. That’s right! Most of us would like to think we only have to concern ourselves with our own sins. But God holds us accountable, to a certain extent, for the sins of our forefathers. So you are born not only with a desire to sin, but also with the inherited responsibility for the sins of your forefathers. God affirms this through His prophet: “‘See, it stands written before me: I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps — both your sins and the sins of your fathers,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 65:6,7a, emphasis added). We’ll cover this issue again later when we discuss generational strongholds.

Scripture substantiates that we are comprised of body, soul, and spirit: “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, emphasis added). The body is the part that is subject to the physical frailties of injury, disease, and ultimately death. The soul consists of our mind, will, and emotions — the arenas of thought, determination, and feelings. The spirit represents the eternal part of our being owned either by Satan as the ruler of this world’s system, or by God, Who has redeemed us from slavery to sin.

As you deal with demolishing your own strongholds later in this book, it’s important that you understand that your sin lineage goes all the way back to Adam: “Here is how it works: it was through one individual [Adam] that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12). So, through your soul you have received your predisposition to sin. And as you’ll see, a spiritual battle is being fought over who will rule your soul: the Holy Spirit or demonic strongholds.

Don’t get discouraged! It’s because of His loving desire for reconciliation that our Father sent Jesus on our behalf, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive”; “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:22,45).

Before you go on, begin to perceive yourself as spirit, soul, and body. Why? Because before any of us put our trust in Jesus and became children of our Father’s, our relationships were based upon our soul and body. After the strongholds are gone you’re in tune with the Spirit. So you will need to revamp ALL your relationships: your marriage, your parents, your children, and all others close to you.

Relationships With Strongholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationships Without Strongholds
First: Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First: Spirit
Second: Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second: Soul
Third: Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Third: Body

Re-aligning how you relate to others is a critical feature of your life after you’ve demolished the strongholds that influence your current relationships. Believe this: If strongholds are influencing you, none of your relationships, including that with God, are the way He wants them. We’ll help you re-align them in Chapter 5, After You’ve Demolished The Strongholds.

The Demonic Forces Arrayed Against You

In the Newer Testament, people who are afflicted by evil spirits are often said to be “demon-possessed.” The Greek word translated in these instances, daimonizomenoi, is more literally rendered “demonized,” that is, afflicted or influenced in some degree by demons. The emphasis is more on degrees of influence or control than on total possession. The manifestation and intensity of demonization varies: the young man thrown into convulsions by the spirit tormenting him (see Luke 9:38-43); the demonized man who cried out in the synagogue where Jesus was teaching, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” (see Luke 4:33-36); the slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future (see Acts 16:16); the deranged man from the region of the Gerasenes who was inhabited by a legion of evil spirits but was still able to run to Jesus (see Mark 5:1-20). “Influence” or “control” is a more accurate description for these cases than “possession”.

Remember, as followers of Christ we’ve been sealed with the Holy Spirit, ”a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:14). Yet to the extent in which we have fellowship with demons (Greek koinonia in 1 Corinthians 10:20) we open ourselves to demonic influence and affliction in our soul. Eventually this influence will lead to ever deeper oppression and desire to sin.

The battlefield between the Spirit of God and the demonic spirits is being fought in the area of your soul, that is, your mind, will, and emotions. It is here that you face your daily decisions of Spirit-controlled living or sin-influenced living: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:5-7, emphasis added).

Note the following warnings given to FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. Because you ARE susceptible to demonic attack, these admonitions are essential for you to be aware of:

• “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11, emphasis added).

• “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” (Ephesians 6:12, emphasis added).

• “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, emphasis added).

• “He [Satan] was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them” (Revelation 13:7, emphasis added).

• “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1, emphasis added).

• “Those who oppose him [the Lord’s servant] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26, emphasis added).

• “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3, emphasis added).

We can clearly see by these verses that Christians today are indeed engaged in the same manner of spiritual warfare that Jesus and His disciples confronted. Both the Older and Newer Testaments are replete with references to evil and unclean spirits. When you choose to give in to temptation rather than resist, you open up a foothold for demonic influence. We’re warned, “He who keeps on sinning is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8, emphasis added).

The Bible reveals that one-third of the angels sided with Satan in their rebellion against God and were cast down to the earth. While we don’t know their exact number, we can surmise that there are significant quantities of demons to wage war against the followers of Jesus. But, as we’ll explore in the following chapters, our weapons of warfare in this daily struggle to choose righteousness rather than succumb to temptation are indeed “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, KJV).

The spiritual world is hidden from our vision, but nonetheless is very real. As those who trust Jesus, we are encouraged by the assurance that our “spirits are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 2:6). We’re sealed with the indwelling Holy Spirit during our earthly pilgrimage (see Ephesians 1:13). Yet, in spite of everything God accomplishes on our behalf, we are capable of being defeated. “[Satan] was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation” (Revelation 13:7, emphasis added).

Anchor this reality for yourself: In the spiritual realm a vicious battle is being waged for the souls of men. In effect, it’s a battle between God and Satan. Its outcome will determine whether the truth of Jesus and His Lordship will reign in your life, or the deception of Satan triumph.

The overwhelming evidence in the Bible shows that our Father desires all His children to grow in character and power to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Because of their potential to grow more like Jesus and to extend the KINGDOM of God, those who follow Jesus are under greater demonic scrutiny than unbelievers. According to pollster George Barna, almost half of today’s Christians discredit the reality of “the devil” in the person of Satan. These writers don’t! We must constantly be alert!

What can you know about Satan from the following verses?

• He Is the Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air, Now at Work in Those Who Disobey God
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:1,2).

• He Masquerades As an Angel of Light
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14,15).

• He Takes People Captive To Do His Will
“That they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).

What can you know from the following verses about the battle going on over the souls of men?

• We Are Not Fighting a Habit, a Character Weakness, Or Even Other People
“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” (Ephesians 6:12).

• Satan Is Committed to Our Destruction
“Then the dragon [earlier described as Satan in Rev. 12:9] was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring — those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).

• Jesus Came To Destroy the Work of Satan in Every Believer’s Life
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).

• Satan Is Always at Work Sowing Destruction
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Satan’s influence in your life is often hidden, controlled through strongholds in your soul — your mind, will, and emotions. (NOTE: In the Older Testament, the Hebrew word for “stronghold” is often used in a positive way to denote a fortification or defense for protection, as in 2 Samuel 22:3, “He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior”, and Psalm 144:2, “He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer.” In the Newer Testament, however, a very different negative connotation of the “fortress” idea appears. The enemy is not kept out. The spirits of darkness have been given permission by your sinful decisions and those of your forefathers to take up residence within those areas of your soul that are not yielded fully to Christ. The freedom available to you in Christ is thwarted, and you are kept imprisoned by the influence of those demonic strongholds.

The Definition of Strongholds

A stronghold is a demonic fortress of thoughts housing evil spirits that:
(1) control, dictate, and influence your attitudes and behavior;
(2) oppress and discourage you;
(3) filter and color how you view or react to situations, circumstances, or people.

As you entertain thoughts and participate in activities that are contrary to the will of God, you open yourself up to demonic inhabitation in those areas. When these thoughts and activities become habitual, you allow a spiritual fortification to be built around that demonic spirit and its influence. You become so accustomed to responding to the influence and control of the “voice” of that spirit that you believe it’s the voice of your own mind.

Keep in mind that demons monitor your activities and set up circumstances to tempt you. They agitate your thoughts and emotions until you’re too confused to remember to pray. They cause you to misperceive situations in order to damage your relationships with others. Through demonic agitation you develop wrong conclusions about other people’s actions toward you. Have no doubt about this: Demonic spirits are always ready to disrupt relationships!

Many of your incorrect beliefs and attitudes have been learned through your environment, i.e., family circumstances, life and relational experiences, and educational influences. Knowledge acquired from secular sources that disagree with biblical truth lodges doubt and unbelief into your spiritual perspective. All your thoughts can be traced back to beliefs based either on the truth of Scripture or on Satan’s lies. Through your misinterpretation of life situations, you establish a dwelling place for satanic activity in your soul.

A demonic stronghold is anything compelling enough to hold you in its power to keep you from receiving God’s love and truth. Within a stronghold that’s been erected in your soul, that spirit arouses a defensive posture that causes you to “rationalize” your current situation. 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 a spiritual stronghold is established because a habitual pattern of failure or hopelessness exists. This isn’t a one-time event or response, but a consistent ungodly thought pattern or action that is your first inclination.

Your world view, your personal perspective of reality, colors all your decision making. This perspective has developed over a long period, including the time before you became a Christian. Many of your innate responses to situations are rooted in the character of Satan, the father of lies. He stirs up wrong emotional responses to the circumstances you face. The circumstance itself doesn’t cause the emotion, but what you believe about the circumstance does.

For example, you may have believed a demonically-induced lie that your older brother always treated you cruelly while you were growing up. In truth, however, you were an obstinate, rebellious child, and when your parents put your brother in charge when they were away, you caused a lot of trouble! Your brother’s reports resulted in parental discipline, yet you blamed your brother for your own rebellion. The spirit hiding behind the stronghold seized the opportunity to turn your anger into a lie of cruel abuse, which you believed. Whenever you think about your brother, anger and bitterness flame — over a twisted “reality” that never happened!

Understand this: A chief demonic goal is to destroy your intimate relationships. Your relationship with your Father and His Son, Jesus, with those in your household, and with those with whom you share close fellowship are targets the demonic forces seek to destroy. Why? Because emotionally isolated people are easier for them to influence, control, and oppress than people who have loving, supportive relationships.

Tempting Thoughts Lead You to Sinful Actions

Scripture reveals that you are able to suppress God’s truth in your mind. As Paul warns the Roman believers, those who have known the will of God can turn away to futile thinking. When they refuse to respond to the Spirit of Truth to reject those sinful thoughts, their hearts are deceived in that area. (See Romans 1:18-22.) Yet such people believe that they really are right! Their own darkened concept of wisdom becomes more important to them than the truth of God. And those sinful thoughts lodged within their hearts then lead to sinful actions. Remember from the Preface of this book, “Once a person is deceived, he does not recognize that he is deceived, because he has been deceived!”

The apostle James describes a similar pattern: the mind’s response to tempting thoughts brings about a sinful response. “No one being tempted should say, ‘I am being tempted by God.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, and God himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is being tempted whenever he is being dragged off and enticed by the bait of his own desire. Then, having conceived, the desire gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death” (James 1:13-15; emphasis added). The father of temptation, Satan, uses spiritual strongholds in your soul to tempt you with a sinful thought. How you respond to that thought determines if that area of your mind is taken captive and drawn to sin, or whether you take the thought captive and do what Jesus would do.

The Process of Stronghold Development

Strongholds are developed through demonic agitation. For example, reflect on some thought that you realize in your spirit is contrary to the mind of Christ, such as a sexual fantasy. At this point you have two options:

1) You can rebuke the unclean spirit that put the tempting thought there and fight back by bringing your thoughts into obedience to Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Or,

2) You can entertain that thought a little longer. At this point you begin to develop an emotion about that thought — lust, arousal, fantasy. As that emotion continues, you’re moved to take some action, if not now, then at some ripe moment in the future. The seed of fantasy will eventually grow into an opportunity to fulfill that emotional longing, and a sexual enactment may follow. If you choose to ignore the warning conviction of the Holy Spirit, you’ll continue in these actions until they become habitual. At that point, without God’s power released in you by your repentance, you are then held prisoner to this habit by an unclean spirit. A spiritual stronghold has been built in your soul. The “voice” of that spirit sounds just like your own inner thought voice, and you’re completely unaware of its presence.

In Summary:
1) Satanic-inspired THOUGHTS are introduced into your mind.
2) Entertaining these thoughts brings on EMOTIONS.
3) Giving in to emotions eventually leads to taking some sort of ACTION.
4) Continual participation in this behavior causes you to develop a HABIT.
5) Once a habit is developed, a STRONGHOLD is built by that spirit.

How Does God Get Shut Out By A Stronghold?

Since the “Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you” (Romans 8:11), you have the power to conform your mind to that of Jesus. You are able to make decisions that are pleasing to God according to the truth of His Word. The weapons you use to wage war against the forces of darkness “have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4,5). You can elect to put your feelings under the control of the Holy Spirit. NOTE: The “knowledge” of God referred to here is your experiential insight and awareness of your heavenly Father, not just a volume of facts about Him. Tragically, many know a lot about God but are not indwelt by His Spirit in relationship with Him. Therefore, they have no “divine power” with which to wage spiritual warfare.

Once your soul has been infiltrated by a stronghold, your mind, will, and emotions filter all your perceptions through that demonic stronghold. This does not mean you’re “demon-possessed”; you are “demonized” in those areas you have habitually given over to sin. As a follower of Christ, you are inhabited by the Holy Spirit. However, those areas of your soul that you have willingly yielded to sin are fair game to become footholds for satanic involvement. Heed the warning in Luke 11:35,36: “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you” (emphasis added).

Note the differences between arguments and pretensions.

ARGUMENTS: “Reasoning, rationalizations, intentions hostile to God’s truth.” This part of a stronghold concerns the thought processes and patterns you use to deny that there is a problem. When you raise these arguments like walls, as in the diagram that follows, God’s Love and His Truths are prevented from entering your thoughts. Your rationalizations and justifications for your attitudes and behaviors keep the humility that precedes repentance from seizing your heart and convicting you of sin.

PRETENSIONS: “Pride, self-exaltation, self-preservation.” This part of the stronghold reveals the pride and rebellion that you erect like another wall. They prevent you from seeking the power of the Holy Spirit in personal prayer or through ministry to release you from captivity. You falter in the will or desire to break free from the spirit’s influence. Again, the Love and Truths of God are blocked from penetrating your decision-making processes.

Some particular area of your mind, will, and emotions as shown in the diagram below has continued in sinful defiance of God’s will through the influence of a demonic spirit or spirits. All other activities and relationships are filtered through the thoughts, decisions, and feelings aroused and agitated by the spirit that is protected by the stronghold “fortress.” You’re probably unaware that these thoughts and feelings are being whispered to you because the “voice” sounds just like your own internal voice. When confronted with opposition to your decisions or actions, you deny that you have a problem (argument) or rationalize that you have a right to the emotion or activity that you’re pursuing (pretension). The convicting work of the Holy Spirit that would otherwise cause you to repent and confess your rebellion to God’s ways and truth is blocked out. He is faithfully presenting the truth to you out of His great love, but you have chosen by habitual pattern to heed the familiar voice of the demonic spirit protected in its stronghold.

Another way of understanding the effects of strongholds is illustrated on the opposite page. Key to grasping this concept is 1 Corinthians 2:13,14: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (emphasis added).

Here is an example of how stronghold influence plays itself out.

In the diagram above, Person #1 is a pastor or elder seeking a message for his congregation. (a) The Holy Spirit gives him a message to share that passes into his spirit. (b) As he shares his message, the words pass through his soul and out of his body through his mouth. (c) His words enter the body of Person #2 through his ears and thus into his mind, will, and emotions. He may hear the words but fail to understand the spiritual truths and the application of those truths. (We see this so often when we ask people, “What was the sermon about this past Sunday?” They can’t even remember the main point of the message.) Because spiritual truths are from the Holy Spirit and are “spiritually discerned,” (d) the understanding which the Holy Spirit would have given to Person #2 would have affirmed, strengthened, and brought into application the truth that was spoken and heard. But, the arguments and pretensions of the strongholds have blocked both the understanding and the empowerment of the Spirit to do this.

Many of God’s children crave to hear His voice and feel His love but they are hindered because of the interference of strongholds. (The spirits of deceit and rejection kept Mike from experiencing God’s love for over 45 years.) Even as the Holy Spirit seeks to bring a certain area of our lives into submission to God’s will, the arguments and pretensions associated with the strongholds ward off the truth of God’s love; there is now a breach in our fellowship with God. We can’t clearly hear His will for our lives with a pure heart. A sinful blockage deafens our will to obey and impairs our intimacy with our Father.

Yes, Christians Can Be Demonized

Such a huge percentage of Americans claim to be Christians. Yet our nation leads the world in sinful lifestyle choices, divorce, and export of pornography. How can this be? Perhaps because so many who are churched have misperceived God’s grace, excusing it as a license to sin. Others have totally discarded His commands and laws, disdainfully rejecting such restraints on their self-gratification. Can there be any doubt that such lies and deceptions have developed and been perpetuated in the body of Christ aside from demonic intervention?

This is the same nature of deception Paul sharply confronted among the Roman believers:

"Therefore, do not let sin rule in your mortal bodies, so that it makes you obey its desires; and do not offer any part of yourselves to sin as an instrument for wickedness. On the contrary, offer yourselves to God as people alive from the dead, and your various parts to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will not have authority over you; because you are not under legalism but under grace. Therefore, what conclusion should we reach? “Let’s go on sinning, because we’re not under legalism but under grace”? Heaven forbid! Don’t you know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, then, of the one whom you are obeying, you are slaves — whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to being made righteous?" (Romans 6:12-16, CJB).

Many today might deny that followers of Jesus can be demonized in a particular area of their lives yet be obedient to Him in the rest. Sue: “I’d always feared rejection by others for as long as I can remember. When I turned from my sins and gratefully received the forgiveness of my heavenly Father in Jesus, I was still plagued by fear that I’d be rejected — especially when it came to sharing with anyone about Jesus! I loved being in His Word and singing praise to Him around the house. But when it came to talking about Him with others, I felt bound up in frustrated silence. This came to a head when our son and I joined Mike for R & R in Japan. I found myself growing increasingly agitated as I watched Mike so freely share testimonies of Jesus with strangers and friends alike while I couldn’t seem to get anything out.

One afternoon we were aboard his ship and decided to make a tape to send home. As Mike turned on the cassette player, I was struggling to relate our wonderful deliverance from a typhoon we’d just endured traveling to Korea. But all that came out of me were gurgling noises. Wide-eyed at my contorted expression, Mike ordered the demon, “In the name of Jesus, you come out of my wife!” A dark hazy shape emerged from me and hovered between us, then floated out through the wall. Immediately I felt the freedom to recount excitedly on the tape numerous instances of our Lord’s intervention during our trip. And that evening I shared the Gospel for three hours with a woman back at our hotel!

The spirit of rejection had convinced me that I was shy and unworthy, and that I’d be rejected if I spoke of Jesus. I was being held captive by a lie in that area of my life. With that spirit renounced and cast down, the Holy Spirit filled me with power, joy, and peace to speak about Jesus!”

So, can those who have the Spirit of Jesus also be influenced by a demonic spirit in an area they’ve given over to it? Absolutely! Look again at pages 20-22 for further confirmation.

Generational Strongholds

A major source of strongholds in people’s lives comes from past generations in their families. In other words, strongholds that aren’t dealt with in one generation are passed along to the succeeding ones as iniquities. You get an insight into this from the Ten Commandments. Our Lord, jealous for His love, promises “to show love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6; see also 34:6,7), but to “[punish] the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” (Exodus 20:5). God desires that each generation love Him. The Hebrew word for love here is ahav, a devoted passion for the One you love, a yearning to be in His presence. (See Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37.)

When a generation fails to love Him or to repent of their sins, God chastises them and their successors to the third and fourth generation through demonic strongholds that they give way to as iniquities. Yes, God uses Satan and his demons at times to serve His purposes. For instance, when God wanted to test Peter’s faith we’re told, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31,32).

When a generation fails to love Him and repent, God uses demonic forces to drive people back to Him. When any generation receives light concerning their oppressed condition that’s been handed down from their forefathers and turns from their sins, He mercifully forgives them for the sins of all generations.

Our Hebrew spiritual forefathers, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel, understood the importance of asking forgiveness for the sins of prior generations: “Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you” (Nehemiah 1:6; see also Jeremiah 3:25, Daniel 9:8). These prophets had not themselves walked in sin, but they bore spiritual responsibility anyway for not only their own burden but also that of their ancestors.

You may come from a family that has been under the influence of iniquity within strongholds for several generations. For whatever reason, our Father may be showing you the light in this book so that you can repent on behalf of your family. You can end the oppression of the strongholds that have plagued generations of your family by first demolishing your own strongholds; second, walking in the freedom Jesus promises so you can help the rest of your family and relatives become free.

An Example of How the Stronghold of Rejection Might Form

• Think of a situation in which you totally misperceived the motive or intent of someone close to you. How did that misperception affect your relationship with that person?
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If you have never felt accepted or valued as a worthwhile individual, you might suspect that your friend was only trying to benefit himself or herself. The stronghold of rejection may become manifested as that spirit arouses unwarranted suspicion or even withdrawal from your friend.

• How did you feel when you realized that you had wrongly interpreted that person’s intent or actions?
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You may have felt tremendous guilt or a sense of unworthiness. The stronghold of rejection will try to cause you to believe that you don’t deserve friends because you are such a poor one yourself.

 

Chapter 3

How Adam’s Fall into Sin Has Harmed Us
(Genesis 3:1-4:7)

A further study of Genesis provides a parallel of how Satan (the serpent) deceived Adam and Eve and, through demonic strongholds, continues to deceive us today.

A Spiritual Stronghold:

1. Harms Our Hearing from God
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die”’” (Genesis 3:1-3, emphasis added).

If you allow your sinful thoughts to lead to habitual sinful actions that lay the foundation for strongholds in your soul, you lose connection with the Source of truth. In the Greek language, truth and reality are the same word. The Lord affirmed the understanding that He was the only reality when He said: “I am the way and the truth [reality] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Anything that is not truth — not of Jesus, therefore — alters your reality into some sort of lie.

• Do you find yourself thinking that the Bible is “culturally entrapped” — that the timeless truths of God somehow don’t apply to your current situation? What answer would you give to someone who presented that argument to you?
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Any time we try to rationalize an attitude or behavior that deviates from God’s commands as expressed in the Bible, we are opening a foothold for the enemy to plant seeds of distrust in the Author of the Word. We need to become faithful students of the Word so that we might discern the life choices that will bring glory to God through us.

• How might a stronghold of insecurity affect your trust in the heavenly Father Who has promised to meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus? (See Philippians 4:19.)
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God is infinitely creative in the means by which He keeps His promises. If we pray for specific answers to our problems, rather than presenting to God our petitions and requests with thanksgiving, we may not even recognize the provision from His hand when it appears. We may doubt He even heard us. In this way, a stronghold will hinder our hearing from God.

2. Harms Our Belief in God
“‘You will not surely die,’“ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’“ (Genesis 3:4,5, emphasis added).

The framework of our faith requires us to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). We can’t perceive God as merely a repository of holy righteousness, independent of our earthly struggles. Our deceitful hearts are prone to make Him into our image of Who we think He should be. Sin causes us to doubt, or at least to hedge on, the reality of His character as revealed in His Word. Strongholds of deceit or doubt and unbelief replace the truth with a rationalized slant that seems logical but leads to death. (See Proverbs 14:12.)

• What areas of doubt or unbelief do you want to take up with God: Why do the innocent suffer? Why haven’t my unsaved relatives yielded to You? Why is it taking so long for my prayers to be answered? Something else?
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God is not obligated to explain Himself to His creation. Perhaps too our finite understanding could not even grasp the purposes of Him Whose ways are not our ways and Whose thoughts far surpass our thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8,9). A stronghold, therefore, taints what we believe about God.

3. Harms Our Desires
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Genesis 3:6, emphasis added).

Have you learned to be content in whatever your circumstances? Dissatisfaction, comparison, and competition are all “horizontally focused”; that is, what your eyes see in other people your mind then wants, if you haven’t learned to desire only what God desires for you. This “vertical parameter” — limiting your desires to God’s will and means of provision — is His protection for you in that area of your heart. When strongholds of jealousy, insecurity, and idolatry hold you, you become distrusting of God’s plans. You take matters into your own hands, agitated by the demonic spirits. You search for something you think is in your best interest but is not in God’s plan for your life. Your old nature, corrupted by its deceitful desires, again directs your will.

• How might you rationalize an action or acquisition because it “seemed right” at the time? What instance can you recall in which you just went ahead and did something because you wanted to, without seeking God’s plan first?
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There is much to be said for the counsel of your spouse or of a mentor whose life evidences faithfulness to God. Frequently those closest to you can see through your outward responses and explanations and probe your true motivations. These then can be held up to the Light of Christ for examination. Unfortunately, strongholds distort your desires in opposition to God’s will for you.

4. Harms Our Actions
“She took some and ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

If you decide to dally with sinful thoughts, then sinful actions will result. If you refuse to submit to God and resist the devil, then he will be your companion in sin. A stronghold of pride, idolatry, or sexual impurity can influence you to pursue your own goal so wholeheartedly that any potentially negative outcomes are minimized in your mind. There are, however, always painful consequences to sin. The pleasure of the moment is fleeting, and the subsequent guilt and regret further remove you from the intimate companionship you once enjoyed with God. “For I know my crimes, my sin confronts me all the time. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil from Your perspective; so that You are right in accusing me and justified in passing sentence” (Psalm 51:3,4).

• What counsel would you give to a close friend who is contemplating an action that you know violates God’s will? How would you counsel that person if he or she were right in the middle of that sinful circumstance? After he or she has decided to try to stop the sinful behavior or attitude? Have you ever been involved in a circumstance like this when you knew you should speak up but hesitated?
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Part of being your “brother’s keeper” involves risking the friendship for his good, especially if he is heading away from God and toward the enemy’s territory. If you take a courageous yet loving stand for righteousness, your valor and words may help your friend recognize and confront the stronghold that has been tempting him to sin. If you ignore the situation, your inaction is disobedient to righteous fellowship responsibility.

5. Harms Our Relationships with Others
“She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6, emphasis added).

There is good reason for the warning in Proverbs 1:10: “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” A person considering sin is more likely to succumb to it if someone else joins in. You may rationalize by saying, “What’s wrong with it?” (instead of, “What’s right with it!”). Then you try to justify the sin by thinking that if it were really so bad, others would not be doing it. Note that God is entirely out of the decision loop here. A stronghold of deceit influences you to believe that shared sinful actions may even strengthen your relationship as friends.

• Can you recall an instance when you were “sucked in” to a sinful activity at the request of someone you cared for? Did you realize at the time that you were violating God’s standards? Did that realization inhibit your participation in any way? How did you feel afterward? Did you sense any separation from God or loss of intimacy with Him?
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We know from 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Genuine confession of our sin will bring forgiveness and cleansing. However, we also have a responsibility to those with whom we’ve sinned. We need to humbly seek their forgiveness for joining in the sin, and make restitution wherever appropriate.

Further Effects of Adam’s Fall

Verse after verse reiterates the reality of our sinfulness: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God” (Romans 3:10,11); “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Romans 7:18). If we’re left alone in our sin nature, the consequence will be death.

As with our original parents in the Garden of Eden, we too have the opportunity to humble ourselves before God. Rather than make excuses as they did, we can confess with true repentance that through sin we have “missed the mark” of His holiness. Our Adversary, however, has a different plan. He activates his demonic forces to agitate us so that obedience to God’s plan of forgiveness and cleansing is hidden from our minds.

Instead of receiving the forgiveness and restoration provided by Jesus on the cross, we are tormented with the following:

1. Shame (Condemnation)
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Genesis 3:7, emphasis added).

2. Rationalization (Hiding from God)
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8,9, emphasis added).

3. Fear
“He answered, ‘I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid’” (Genesis 3:10, emphasis added).

4. Blame (Inability To Take Responsibility for Your Actions)
“And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man said, ‘The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’ (Genesis 3:11-13, emphasis added).

5. Curse Instead of Blessing
“To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ To Adam He said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return’” (Genesis 3:16-19, emphasis added).

6. Rejection
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:21-24, emphasis added).

7. Vulnerability to Satanic Attack
“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it’” (Genesis 4:6,7, emphasis added).

• Which of these seven consequences of sin most often plague you? Do you find yourself afflicted by one or more of these effects of the fall even after you have confessed your sin to God? Why do you suppose this happens?
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If you do not deal with the underlying strongholds that distort your relationship with God, you will continue to expose yourself to the effects of the fall. Loving intimacy with the God of holiness will seem beyond reach.

 

Chapter 4

Steps To Identify And Demolish Strongholds

Recall that spiritual strongholds are:
(1) inherited from past generations as iniquities;
(2) established when you try to meet any of the seven basic needs that God created in you through ways that are contrary to His will;
(3) maintained when you live in a state of unrepentance. The end result is demonic influence in areas of your mind, will, and emotions.

This section will help you determine the nature of the particular stronghold(s) that may be affecting you. Then you'll be given the opportunity to renounce that spirit’s presence and influence in your soul through the authority of Jesus Christ.
Before we go on, glance at the Overview of Types of Strongholds below and on the next page.

REMEMBER: Once a stronghold is established, you provide a “foothold” for the devil (see Ephesians 4:27), a base of operations for the “strongman” (see Matthew 12:29). You then become vulnerable to demonic control, direction, influence and/or oppression in that area of your life. Not dealing with this stronghold can engender further demonic activity and lead to the establishment of other strongholds with additional demonic harassment in other areas of your soul.

On pages 36 and 37 you found a comprehensive list of strongholds we have encountered. This is not an exhaustive list. God may reveal to you other strongholds and symptoms to which you have given ground. Beneath each stronghold are listed related thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or actions often produced by demonic agitation in order to sustain that stronghold. When any or all of these symptoms of a particular stronghold are habitually present in your life, it’s a strong indication that the stronghold is in operation in your soul.

You’ll notice that the related areas may be similar for certain strongholds, so carefully discern the identity of the spirit assailing you. For example, one of the symptoms of the stronghold of Bitterness is anger. The stronghold of Rebellion