“Something Has a Hold on Me!”
II Corinthians 10:3-6
Pastor Steve N. Wagers
April 29. 2007
Sermon Outline
1. How Strongholds are Defined!
A) Specifically
B) Spiritually
2. How Strongholds are Determined!
A) An Internal Barrier
B) An Infernal Battle
3. How Strongholds are Destroyed!
A) Our Enemy must be Recognized
B) Our Equipment must be Utilized
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda describes his battle with bad habits:
I took a pack of cigarettes from my pocket, stared at it and said, “Who’s stronger, you or me?” The answer was me. I stopped smoking. Then I took a vodka martini and said to it, “Who’s stronger, you or me?” Again the answer was me. I quit drinking. Then I went on a diet. I looked at a big plate of linguine with clam sauce and said, “Who’s stronger, you or me?” And a little clam looked up at me and answered, “I am.” I can’t beat linguine.
Years ago when the western U. S. was being settled, roads were often just wagon tracks. These rough trails posed serious problems for those who journeyed on them. On one of these winding paths was posted a sign which read: “Avoid this rut or you’ll be in it for the next 25 miles!”
The same sign hangs over the hearts of many Christians who get in a rut, and either can’t ever get out of it, or stay it in most of their lives. They encounter the same old fight, and the same old foes, on the same old field everyday of their lives.
Someone has well said, "You can take off the "H" and you still have "abit! You can take off the "Ha" and you still have "bit." And, you can take off the "Hab" and you still have "it."
I believe that Lloyd Cory was right when he said, "The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken!"
Edward Sanford Martin, in his work,'My Name is Legion,' said it best:
"Within my earthly temple there's a crowd;
There's one of us that's humble, and one of us that's proud.
There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins,
There's one that’s unrepentant sits and grins.
There's one that loves his neighbor as himself,
And one that cares for naught but fame and pelf.
From much corroding care I should be free,
If I could once determine which one is me!" [1]
The fact of the matter is that every one of us, whether big or small, must combat the hold that habits can have upon our life. I think of a sermon preached by C. H. Spurgeon entitled "Little Sins." In it he said:
"The best of men have always been afraid of little sins. Men with their eyes well opened by divine grace, have seen a whole hell slumbering in the smallest sin. Little sins lead to great ones. Nay, stand back! Little though the temptation, thy little temptation leads to something worse, and thy small sin makes way for something worse."
In the text before us, the Apostle Paul speaks of these habits in the life of the believer. However, he uses quite a graphic word to describe that which harms us, hurts us, and hinders us, harbors us, and holds us. He does that by referring to these matters as "strongholds” that get a hold on us as Christians.
First of all, let’s notice:
1. How Strongholds are DEFINED!
In order to understand that, which Paul is speaking of here, there must be a definition of strongholds. Almost like a skilled physician, Paul gives a clear-cut definition of that which harbors us as strongholds. They are defined:
A) SPECIFICALLY
The word "stronghold" is quite an interesting word. The word offers many, many depictions, and much imagery. The word 'stronghold' is a word that literally means "to harden, or to make hard."
The word is a military term, and it speaks of an entrenchment, or fortress. In fact, the word was used in the days of our text to describe a city that had built up their military, and established an 'iron wall' around them, protecting them from the threat of an enemy attack.
Thus, those who would look on would say of that city, 'There is a stronghold around it.' Strongholds must also be defined:
B) SPIRITUALLY
In order to properly understand these strongholds they must not only be defined specifically, but also spiritually.
Notice verse 4. We're reminded that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."
When Paul penned these words, he was not writing to a group of pagan infidels and idolaters; rather, his audience was a group of professing believers. He was writing to a congregation, and a fellowship of church people. His exhortation deals with those of us who are saved. He is speaking to the body of Christ.
Thus, when he spoke in regards to the matter of 'strongholds,' he was speaking of an area that encompasses every one of us as God's people. He was not only speaking of a specific matter, but of a spiritual matter.
Keep in mind that the word 'stronghold' means "to harden, or to make hard." And, it describes an entrenchment, or fortress. Thus, in the spiritual life, Paul is speaking of a hard place. He is speaking of an unbending place.
He is speaking of an entrenchment, or a fortress fought over. He is speaking of an area contended for. He is speaking of an entrenchment behind the lines.
He is speaking of any place in our life that seems to be an area of contention. It is any thing that poses a threat to our spiritual progress.
It is any person, place, predicament, or problem that hinders us, harbors us, hinders us, or holds us in its clutches, and impedes us from our full potential in Christ. I believe Jack Taylor described it well, when he said, "It is embedded in the mind, and coupled with the emotions and the will!"
You must understand that Satan CAN NEVER, EVER take any ground in your life that you do not give him. Satan is not greater than the Lord Jesus; thus, he has no authority in your life. He is a trickster. He is a trifler. And he is a trespasser.
If you are battling a stronghold in your life, it is because you have opened up the door of your heart, created a climate for the devil and allowed him to come right in and feel at home.
Let’s suppose that you had a piece of property with about 50 acres, and you sold me one acre in the middle of the property. You also gave me access across your property to get to my one acre.
Let’s suppose that I play loud music every night of the week, throw trash all over the place and do everything I can do to desecrate and depreciate your property. After a while you say to me, “I want you out of here. You have got to go.”
But, I say, “I don’t have to go, and you can’t make me go. You sold me this property, and I’ve got a legal right to it. If you don’t like it, that your problem because I’m not moving.”
Many believers have done the exact same thing with Satan. They have given him a place in their lives and they cannot get him to move out. Why? Because the place they have given Satan has become his stronghold.
You see when Paul surveyed the condition of the church of Corinth he saw that the problem was not only people, but people who had been victimized by the entrapments, entanglements, and enslavements of the enemy. These were people who had been entangled, and entrenched by strongholds.
Secondly, notice:
2. How Strongholds are DETERMINED!
In verse 5, Paul not only enlightens us on how to define strongholds, but also how to determine strongholds. Once we know what they are, we must then determine if there are any strongholds which exist in our lives.
In order to determine them, we must know what they are. And, Paul breaks them down into 2 categories.
A) An INTERNAL BARRIER
Notice verse 5. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God."
The phrase 'every high thing' speaks of "blocks, or barriers." We could translate the verse, "Cast down arguments, and every barrier that exalts itself against, and raises itself above the knowledge of God."
Thus, the apostle is, again, speaking here of strongholds in the lives of believers. These are things which are a hard place, or an area of contention in our life.
In so doing, he makes the determination that a stronghold is an internal barrier. Any imagination, any argument, or any barrier that raises its high head, and threatens to take the rightful place of God is a stronghold, and it must be put down.
It could be that Paul is speaking of a material matter, a physical matter, or a financial matter. Perhaps he is including a career, a relationship, a recreation, or a favorite lifestyle.
Whatever the case may be it has surfaced, and has placed its tentacles around our spiritual oxygen tank, created a barrier between us and God, and has caused our supply to be cut low.
However, the internal barrier leads to:
B) An INFERNAL BATTLE
We read again in verse 5, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
I call your attention to the word "imaginations" that is used. The Greek word is logismos, and it literally means "arguments, or speculations." However, the connotation is that of evil speculations and reasonings. In making us aware of these strongholds, he not only describes them as being an internal barrier, but as an infernal battle.
He is speaking here of our thought life. He is speaking of our mind. He is speaking of that which is not only perceived externally, but is present internally.
If we were to be completely honest, there is not one person in this room who has not battled, at one time or another, with the stronghold of their mind, and thoughts. In fact, the mind is where the infernal battle takes place every day of our lives.
Once we are saved, Satan knows that he cannot have our soul; thus, he moves to plan B, which is to put a bulls eye on our mind. With the bulls eye in place, he then sets out to bombard and barrage, pollute and pervert, defile and destroy our minds with thoughts as wicked as hell itself.
I don't know about you, but this is without a doubt one of my biggest, personal battles. It is something that I must keep my guard up against and a personal check on every single day.
I remember reading of a recent news release from the Central Intelligence Agency. They revealed that they had conducted a 25-year experiment. There was some suspicion that Russians had perfected mind control, and had used it on individuals, and prisoners of war in Korea. Thus, in their endeavor, and during that 25-year experiment, they had spent $25 million in search for methods of mind control.
Ladies and gentlemen, while the CIA may not have mastered the art of mind control, Satan is the master of mind control, and he has done a good job of it. He has perverted, polluted, defiled, destroyed, controlled and corrupted the minds of many believers, because they have allowed him to set up a stronghold.
Thus, the apostle, well aware of the stronghold of our mind, exhorted us to conquer it, captivate it, and control it. How? By, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
What are some of these strongholds that we allow Satan to set up in our minds and hearts? It could be bitterness. It could be anger. It could be resentment. It could be a volatile temper. It could be lying. It could be food. It could be finances. It could be a fantasy.
It could be corrupt communication. It could be worldly, wretched and wicked thoughts of a member of the opposite sex. It could be the fantasy, or an infatuation with an image you have viewed on a computer screen.
Whatever the case may be, it has become an internal barrier that has led to an infernal battle. You see no stronghold just happens. We don’t wake up one day and decide, “Today, I think that I’ll let Satan set up a stronghold in my heart.”
It never happens that way. However, slowly but surely, we begin to allow “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,” to creep into our hearts. If it is not immediately dealt with, Satan will set up a stronghold that will wreak havoc on our spiritual well-being.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "At the moment, when lust takes control, God loses all reality. Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God. Hence, lust is conceived and sin is produced." [3]
He is absolutely correct. Satan is too smart to know that he cannot cause us to hate God, but if he can cause us, even for a moment, to forget God, then he has an opportunity to set up a stronghold.
I think of a man who was building birdhouses and explained to me the process. He was building birdhouses for purple martins. He then went on to say that the birdhouse has to be built with a certain sized hole to attract the purple martin.
If the purple martin sees the house and likes it, he will come to live there; but, he has to be made to feel welcome. In other words, a climate has to be created for the purple martin before he will make a home.
Yet, that is exactly what many Christians have done. They have created a climate for the enemy. They have created certain conditions, internally and externally, and have literally rolled out a welcome mat for the devil and said, “Devil, I believe this is the kind of place that will suit you, so come right on it.
Finally, notice:
3. How Strongholds are DESTROYED!
Only as the Word of God can do, we are not only informed as how to define these strongholds, and detect these strongholds, but we see how to destroy these strongholds in our lives.
We are made aware of the battle foes, the battle facts, and the battle field. Once we define and determine strongholds there is only one way to combat them: THEY MUST BE DESTROYED!
There are only 2 ways to destroy them. First:
A) Our ENEMY must be RECOGNIZED
Notice verse 3. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." We are reminded that if we are to destroy strongholds in our lives, then, first and foremost, our enemy must be recognized.
In verse 5, strongholds are identified as “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” Does that sound familiar? It should, because that is exactly what happened when the devil became the devil.
God did not create the devil; He created an angel, named Lucifer, who became the devil. How did he become the devil? He became the devil because he rose up in opposition to God’s power, preeminence and position.
One day, the devil said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14: 13-14)
Thus, because of his pride, Lucifer, son of the morning, became Satan, serpent of the night. Ladies and gentlemen, Satan, the devil, the accuser of the brethren, the prince of the power of the air is our enemy.
For years, and years, we have been fighting a battle with the wrong facts, against the wrong foes, on the wrong field. Our attack has been launched against those for us, rather than those against us. It has been launched against friends among us, rather than fiends around us.
Our enemy is not each other. Our enemy is not another church. Our enemy is not fellow Christians. Our enemy is the devil himself. However, if we are to fight the battle, and destroy these strongholds, then our enemy must be recognized.
I think of a story once told by Ivor Powell. He once had a deacon, in his church, who always concluded his prayer the same way. Every time he prayed, he would conclude by saying, "And, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life. Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life."
Finally, it had gotten too much for one fellow in the prayer meeting, and he had heard the old deacon say it one time too often.
So, when the man made that prayer, and said, "And, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life," the fellow jumped to his feet, and said, "Lord, Lord, don't do it! Don't clean all the cobwebs, just kill the spider!"
May God not clean out the cobwebs of strongholds, but may He just kill the spider, for that is the true enemy.
In fact, you will remember Paul's words in Ephesians 6: 12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
The fact of the matter is that many Christians have gotten all dressed up in their combat fatigues, but they have shown up at the wrong battle to fight the wrong fight.
Rather than combat the enemy, we combat each other. Rather than combat Satan, we combat the saints. Rather than combat the powers of another world, we combat the persons in this world.