Friday, November 14, 2008

Spiritual Strongholds

2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

One of the great discoveries I made in later years in my walk with God has to do with living in victory over generational strongholds. The Bible speaks of punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations. (See Exodus 20:5.) The only way out of living under the curses of generational strongholds is to acknowledge them before the Father and repent of their reign in our lives. This breaks the curse's future effects.

A stronghold is a fortress of thoughts that controls and influences our attitudes. They color how we view certain situations, circumstances, or people. When these thoughts and activities become habitual, we allow a spiritual fortress to be built around us. We become so used to responding to the "voice" of that spirit, that its abode in us is secure. All of this happens on a subconscious level.

As a businessman, I discovered that I had been influenced by a generational stronghold of insecurity and fear that was manifested in control. This subconscious fear motivated me to become a workaholic, to seek recognition through activities, to control others' behavior to avoid failure, and to have a relationship with God that was activity-based instead of relationally-based. One day God brought about a number of catastrophic events that forced me to look at what was behind these events. I found that the influence of these strongholds was at the core of these symptoms. The Bible speaks of this war on our souls.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete (2 Corinthians 10:3,5-6).

The steps to freedom for me came when someone shared that these were sins that I was harboring, and in order to walk free of their influence, I needed to repent of them. It was through the power of the cross that I no longer needed to be subjugated by their presence. Once I took this step, I began to walk free of their influences. Besides salvation, this became the most important discovery in my entire Christian walk. My relationship to Christ changed immediately. I began to hear God's voice. I began to trust Christ in areas I never thought possible. I could truly experience the love of Christ for the first time.

This knowledge helped me in business as well. One day I was in the middle of a contract negotiation with another Christian businessman. A lawyer had jumped in the middle of the negotiation. My friend began to surface many old feelings that were a source of pain from his past. When I perceived that a stronghold of insecurity and fear was at the core of his response, I interrupted his argumentative discussion with me and said with a very forceful tone, "I am no longer going to listen to the spirit of insecurity that is speaking through you right now! If you don't refrain from this, I am going to leave!" My friend was taken back. He looked at me quite startled. After a few moments, he agreed with my diagnosis. We talked through what he was feeling and completed our negotiation without further incident.

What are the true motivations of your heart? Have you ever looked deeply at these motivations? You might find that these subconscious motivations may be preventing you from experiencing the fullness of Christ in your life. Ask Him to reveal these and then repent of their influences.

5 comments:

cas said...

I know I can realte to the 3rd paragrapgh because I know that I find myself trying to control the outcomes of things quite frequently. I also thought the final paragraph had some great questions ton ponder. Thre al question is can we even answer them honsestly to ourselves?????

Blessings,
cas

DSD said...

Boy, do I have a lot to reply to this one!

Most of you wouldn't know this, but I am the son of a pastor - and the son of an alcoholic. There is more to the generational sin that I inherited, but I will not go into it, in an attempt honor my father.

As I struggled to hate God and hate my father during college, I found that I was actually just like my father - double-minded and addicted to self.

The Lord saved me from my addiction, but it wasn't until four years ago that He began to deliver me from the Fear of Man. I read a book entitled "When People are Big and God is Small", and God used it to change my life.

Approval addicts are the norm in our society, and the need to be approved of by man is idolatry. Scripture also says that it's a trap: "The fear of man brings a snare, but the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

I have been delivered from generational sin, and I'm glad that many of you have as well!

cas said...

dsd thanks for your candor. my father-in-law reminds me very often that i should be seeking my kudos from above not from things of this earth. defintely a great reminder.

cas

CRB said...

Before I get started I just want to say thanks for this post. It's one of the few things that keeps me going these days.

I tend to occasionally fall into a depressive spiral when I don't keep God close. I struggle with an insecurity about lack of control, and lack of approval. It can be very paralyzing and keeps me from even doing some of the day to day things I need to do. I know I need to turn it all over, but there are many times where it doesn't feel like it helps. I have learned that I am a control freak, not necessarily about others, but about timing in my life.

I can relate to DSD's statement about being double-minded and addicted to self. I'm working on overcoming that now and truly turning my life over to Christ (again), but always find myself feeling guilty that I ever left or slipped away.

In Jesus' name,
crb

tom anderson said...

I am most definitely afflicted by a perceived lack of affirmation. I have always thought that affirmation was my "love language" and my boss just didn't love me. But if I now think of affirmation as an idol, it provides some fresh perspective. Nonetheless, it's a "Top Gun" verse that gives solice: 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. (Col 3:23-24)

tba