The apostle Paul enlists the word "stronghold" to define the spiritual fortresses where Satan and his legions go for protection. These fortresses exist in the thought-patterns and ideas that govern individuals in their homes, workplaces and churches, as well as in communities and nations. Before victory can be claimed, these strongholds must be pulled down. Only then can the mighty weapons of the Word and the Spirit effectively plunder Satan's house. As Paul states, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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 (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Here is an example of how a stronghold can develop and affect someone's working life. "Jerry" had grown up with a father who was successful and a workaholic. Although Jer

A major train of thought running through this book relates to the subversive activity of the corporate spirit of religion. In most of the chapters I pointed out how the corporate spirit of religion attempts to keep leaders from moving into God’s new wineskins.

In Luke chapter 8 verse 11, Jesus compares the word of God to a seed planted in soil. As Jesus told the parable of the soils to the disciples, He described how different types of soil responded to the seed of the word in different ways. Just as we would prepare the soil of a garden in order to grow healthy plants, so the “soil” of a particular city or region needs to be prepared in order to see the seed of the gospel take root and bear fruit. It doesn’t make sense to throw seed on concrete, so why do we think seeds of the gospel will bear fruit when thrown out in an environment that has not been plowed and cultivated spiritually?

To invade a hostile territory, we must first know the territory and develop the best plan for advancement. We need wisdom and discernment along with effective strategies in order to accomplish the task. This is where spiritual mapping comes in. Spiritual mapping is like reconnaissance which, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is “an inspection of a region to examine its terrain or to determine the disposition of military forces.”

As believers begin to express the life of Christ in their work lives, they need to be aware of another set of Satan’s deceptions, namely, the religious spirit and spiritual strongholds. Though this is a new concept in the Faith at Work category, we need to be aware of them so we are not hindered from walking in power and freedom in our workplace calling. The workplace is the last place Satan wants to see Jesus. The business sector has a huge capacity to influence every sphere of society, so it would make sense that the enemy would do everything in his power to keep that from happening.

In 1996 Crown Ministries featured Os Hillman's story about the impact of spiritual stronghold's in his life. This informative article will challenge you to consider the root causes of problems in relationships.

This article appeared in the 1996 issue of Crown Ministries Money Matters newsletter. Os discusses how spiritual strongholds can affect our lives.