What’s a stronghold?
Deception has roots in our perceptions of lack in important areas of life (fear of death, love of money, lust, love). We all try to shore up our self-esteem and happiness by inventing identity and purpose to make sense of our story. When we’re done building this castle that houses who we hope to be, it’s a fortress that protects us from feeling of insignificant. Each brick in our castle is an argument or a pretension that props up a fragile ego. The fortress we build becomes a prison guarded by a strongman, a stronghold. All those wishful deceptions add up to a spiritual entanglement that we can’t walk away from. In a nutshell, it’s me collaborating with the enemy to satisfy my self-ish needs. No wonder strongholds have spiritual power to ensnare us.
2Cor 10:4 – The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5) We demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (Hearing Jesus)
Setting captives free
Since this entrapment started with a mental process but ended in a prison, superficial solutions don’t help much. New mindsets and accountability don’t address the strongman – He’s smarter than our mind games and stronger than our self-will and self-discipline. The only way out is via the access to Father that Jesus redeemed for us in the Courts of Heaven and God’s Council.
The fortress we built one pretentious, logical brick at a time is a legal covenant with the enemy. We may have done it in ignorance but that’s the nature of the spiritual game Satan plays – He doesn’t pretend it’s fair. The stronghold does have a legal basis – that can be broken in the Courts of Heaven:
#1). Hear it – Allow Jesus to reveal the accusation in the Courts of Heaven (something like)
a. You volunteered for this deception; you wanted the temptation and agreed to it
b. Or, it’s something you inherited from elsewhere through no fault of your own
#2). Agree – the second step is to agree with the accusation and take it to the cross
a. Our strategy for repentance is agreeing with your adversary quickly (Mt 5:25)
b. We hear the accusation prophetically in the Courts and legally agree with it
c. We’re letting Jesus cover it with His redemptive work on the cross (Isa 53:5)
(Instead of offering excuses, arguments, and self-justifications)
#3). Roots – Accusations can have roots; the Lord can show us a deeper level if it exists
a. This is typically another accusation, perhaps generational, also taken to the cross
#4). Decrees – Father reveals prophetic decrees over our lives that replace accusations
a. The legal shift in the Courts is that Jesus bought us with a price (1Cor 6:19-20)
b. We’ve been translated into His Kingdom (Col 1:13)
c. Not just to stop self-ish patterns, but to put Father’s Kingdom first (Mt 6:33)
Conversations in the Council
The translation from spiritual strongholds to Kingdom is a refuge called Zion in the Old testament. In the New Covenant it’s God’s Council. Jesus redeemed our access to Father, allowing sons to be present in His divine Council. The ramification is conversations with Father, Jesus, and the 7 Spirits (routinely). We maintain our freedom through the living words that flow from the Council like a river of life. It’s the same water of life that flows out of our belly to invite others into this glorious liberty and this relational Kingdom family known for love (Jn 13:35).
So, here’s your assignment
We all have real experience with strongholds in our past. Enemy offers to compromise never stop – our protection is living words (Mt 4:4), an ongoing conversation in the Council to stay engaged doing what Father is doing (Jn 5:19) and prophetically saying what Father is saying (Jn 12:49). Our best defense is a good offense; being in Christ is being in the Council. Sons are building Father’s Kingdom in Business and intentionally targeting a Reformation of nations. The invitation from Father is that Big! His commitment to Blessing nations via sons is that big!
Contrast your old pretensions with Father’s new truth about your life
1) First, in a summary table like the one below:
2) And second, in a paragraph written around what Father, Jesus and the 7 Spirits are saying in each of the nine categories of your life.
a. More guidance on doing this is in the Roadmap to Sonship
b. John’s personal example is here.
The Council session that inspired this blog – 2024-12-13 Council – Demolishing Strongholds
The follow-up came in the next Council session – 2024-12-15 Council – Sons and Abundance
This topic came up in our Face Book Live Video discussion (30 min)
The Face Book Live discussion on this topic is Below. The team of business people is:
- Beverly Lewis – https://beverlyspeaks.com/
- Larry Tyler – https://larrytyler.biz/
- Chris Orecchio – https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-orecchio-70a63658/
- John Garfield – https://linktr.ee/johngarfield
Cutting Room Floor
Jesus is setting captives free from their stronghold / fortress of the “9 old pretensions”
- The castle of 9 pretensions built to preserve self (be my own God)
- Creates a prison with legal power + a strongman to guard the prison
Mt 12:28 – But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29) Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house (note 1)
and carry off his property, (note 2)
unless he first ties up the strong man (note 3)
And then he will plunder his house (note 4)
1). The strongman’s house is the stronghold inside the person
(our bodies should be a temple for the Holy Spirit, but it’s enemy occupied, Mt 12:43-45)
2). People with a stronghold have a covenant tie with the enemy that must be broken
(at some level, people with a stronghold belong to the enemy, they are his property)
3). The weapons of our warfare are not of this world (2Cor 10:4-5)
– Sons have keys to the Kingdom to Bind & loose (Mt 16:19), Open & Shut (Isa 22:22)
– The Courts of Heaven and God Divine Council are the weapons not of this world
4). We set captives free from strongholds (do what Jesus is doing, in Jesus’ Name, greater works)
– Plunder means to seize, in the sense of taking back what belongs to God
– Jud 1:23 – Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire
(Pulling and plunder share a similar Greek root)
– Col 2:15 – Having disarmed the powers and authorities
Col 1:13 – For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son
2Tim 2:25 – with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may grant them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26) and they may come to their senses (soberness)
and escape from the snare of the devil,
having been held captive by him to do his will.
Sons are assertive about setting captives free, gently but with great power and authority
John, help sons become themselves (who God created)
- Holy Spirit convinces, compels; not us pushing
With gentleness = make time and room for them to choose (2Tim 2:25) - People don’t buy my why, they buy their own why (Identity, Story, Purpose… the new 9)
I’m selling something that helps them (pulling them into themselves) - Deception is rooted in believing I lack something
- Worldly marketing that amplifies the pain of lack tempts with deception
- Kingdom marketing is a business ministry that pulls people into their heritage
- People imprison themselves in strongholds, the fortress of pretensions, inventions
- Bind the strongman in the Courts of Heaven
Pull people into conversations with the Nine, Council
