Dismantling
the Strongholds Against Your Assignment - Part 6
by Dr. John Tetsola
Last month we saw that as long as we continue to stroke and pet our weaknesses and view them as something that everyone has, we are allowing a stronghold and fortress with the similitude of a castle to be built and erected in our minds. Don't be deceived. What you call a weakness is actually a stronghold that ends up destroying your health, your marriage, your finances, your career, and your ministry-all because you got a full-blown stronghold in the middle of your mind. It didn't just happen. It was built. It started years ago, and God commanded us as believers to tear them down. We don't like that. We want to cast the stronghold down overnight, but a castle is built one stone at a time. So it has to be torn down in a similar manner, one thought at a time. Now let's look at how to begin the process of dismantling the strongholds that have been established in our lives.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…
Isaiah 28:10,A little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.
Isaiah 60:22The dismantling of strongholds does not happen overnight or in one day. It is step by step. Little by little. It has to be consistently done to see results. The Scripture says, "precept upon precept" and "line upon line, here a little, and there a little." It speaks about a process of progression. It has been said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. You have to begin somewhere to get somewhere. It takes a little one to become a thousand, and a small one to become a strong nation.
I often hear Christians pray "we tear down the strongholds over this city." It sounded good, their motives were good, and their energy and passion were great. The only problem is that nothing happens, because the strongholds are not in the air. They are between our ears. It is the way a whole culture is thinking. It is the mindset of families. It is the mindset of a society, a city, or a church. All of these are the sum total of the strongholds over cities, homes, churches, societies and people, and they have been this way for generations.
How foolish it is to think that you can take a revival meeting or a dynamic weekend to change the way a city thinks, all by shouting at the air. This is not an air thing. It is a mind thing. It is a mindset or a way of thinking that has been sown from one generation to another. And it will take more than shouting in the air to dismantle and destroy it. Instead, you have to get a generation to renew their minds and be re-brainwashed, and then the power over the mind is broken. Most people don't like to hear about dismantling the strongholds, because it puts the responsibility on them. They want people to lay hands on them, shout at them, spit on them, and then they can go free. That is nonsense. Prayer works well when you are playing your role properly. Prophecy or prophetic words don't change our lives. They just indicate what the Father wants to do for you. Your job is to find your role or your responsibility in the Father's plan and do it. If you won't do anything, nothing will happen in your life.
How to Dismantle Strongholds
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2 Corinthians 10:3-4The first step to dismantling a stronghold in your life is to admit that your weakness is really a stronghold. As long as you don't accept that your weakness is a stronghold, you will never see the need to change, and you will never have a sense of urgency in dealing with it. You will think it is something that cannot be changed, that it is a part of your make-up and personality, and ultimately you will end up accepting that stronghold as a part of your life. But when you see your weakness as a stronghold, then you can begin the process of dismantling it. Don't be destroyed by lack of knowledge. Quit justifying the strongholds in your life by calling them weaknesses. Then you'll be able to execute and establish the truth of God's Word in your every day life.
Next month we'll continue to discuss the process of dismantling strongholds that have been established in our lives.
by Dr. John A. Tetsola