Dismantling
the Strongholds Against Your Assignment - Part 7
by Dr. John Tetsola
Last month we stated the first step to dismantling a stronghold in your life is to admit that your weakness is really a stronghold, for as long as you embrace that stronghold as just a weakness, you will never be able to effectually establish the truth of God’s Word over your life, walk, and ministry. Now let’s look at the remaining ways to dismantle the strongholds against your assignment.
And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
2 Kings 6:4b-7The second step to dismantling a stronghold in your life is by knowing the source of your strongholds. We say that a stronghold is a castle. A castle in the natural sense is built with three components:
(a) Foundation—anything in your life stands on some foundation.
(b) Cement and Mortar—our foundation is glued to something. Whatever the enemy uses against you is attached to something. Find the cement and mortar that holds the strongholds together in your life.
(c) Brick, Rock, and Stones—know the ingredients and the make up of what created the thing that became a stronghold.
To dismantle the castle, you have to get rid of all three components. To dismantle the stronghold in your life, you have to find out what the foundation of that stronghold is, where it began, how it started, and then begin to deal with it from there. The foundation is where it all stands. That is the source or the curse. The Bible says a curse without a cause shall not come. When you find the cause, you will find the cure. Every stronghold stands on a wrong thought, a wrong belief system, like, “I was born this way,” or “this is the way I am.” Every time you look for the foundation of a stronghold in your life, you will find that it hinges on or began with a thought. The moment you find the foundation of your stronghold, then you can change the contradiction that the enemy brings. Then you can change the basis of your reasoning.
In 2 Kings 6, we see that the only way that the young prophet could be helped by the prophet Elisha in retrieving the axe head that he lost, was that the young prophet had to be willing to take responsibility to locate the source—where he dropped the axe head. Elisha asked him, “Where fell it?” In other words, where did you lose it? Where and when did it all begin? How did it all start in your life? The prophet Elisha was demanding that the young prophet locate the source of the problem. Where did he drop the axe head? The interesting principle here is that until you can locate the source of your problem or stronghold, you can never be delivered.
The good news is that you can destroy a bad stronghold in your life and you can build good strongholds in your life—strongholds of love, strongholds of patience, faith, prosperity, and success. How do you establish it? By getting right thoughts through the Word of God, and refusing to contradict God’s Word with anything. Agree with what God says about you, and then it will lead to a new basis of thinking.
For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
Philippians 4:8 Amplified
Third, once you know the foundation of your stronghold and you tear it down in an area of your life, the next thing you must do is to determine to stay within the boundaries of kingdom-mandated thinking. As believers we are required to think only on those things that are stipulated in the Scripture. All believers have a mandated way of thinking that God expects of us. If you stay within the kingdom mandated way of thinking, you will be safe, and you will maintain good strongholds. Paul admonished us in Philippians 4:8 that we think only on those things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. If we do this on a consistent basis, we will stay free of negative strongholds. Begin to reacquaint yourself afresh with that which is of God, that which you were once use to, but violated because of the deception of the enemy. You do this by consistently renewing your mind in the Word of God.
by Dr. John A. Tetsola