Prison

The hardest prison to escape is in your mind.” (Anonymous)

A stronghold is a place of security or survival. It is usually a fortress with a difficult access emotionally. In a spiritual sense, a stronghold is a fortress in the spiritual dimension of your life from which Satan operates to undermine God’s good purposes Is there one prevailing problem that refuses to be eradicated from your life? Where does Satan have a stronghold on you? The term stronghold appears at least fifty times in the Bible.

 Are you prone to cheat, worry, use pornography, over shop, be anxious, or are you judgmental?  What is your own unique bad routine? Has Satan fenced in that one weakness? Ridding yourself of your stronghold requires an understanding of the root cause, and how it happened in the first place. Your Heavenly Father empowers you with divine authority to break through the chains of addiction in your life. When it comes to any stronghold, consider this:

 

1.   Close your ears to the familiar lies that haunt you.

 

“My loved ones, I warn you: do not trust every spirit. Instead, examine them carefully to determine if they come from God, because the corrupt world is filled with the voices of many false prophets.” (1 John 4:1-2 , VOICE)

“Sometimes God lets you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He Iis the Rock at the bottom.”(Tony Evans)

 

2.   Open your mind to new avenues of freedom.

 

“The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, ERV)

 

“The secret to permanently breaking any bad habit is to love something greater than the habit.” (Bryant McGill)

 

 “Spiritual strongholds begin with a thought. One thought becomes a consideration. A consideration develops into an attitude, which leads then to action. Action repeated becomes a habit, and a habit establishes a power base for the enemy that is a stronghold.” (Elizabeth Elliot)[i]

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[i] Inspired by the sermon “Living Confidently in Your Victory” (installment five) Sunday April 29, 2018 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.

Additional sources used:

·        “Identifying the Strongholds in Your Life (4 Areas to Consider)” by Segun Aiyegbusi

·        “Stronghold” by Merriam-Webster

·        “Strongholds” by Max Lucado