Joshua 6:15&20 On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.
Stronghold is an impenetrable brick wall that cannot be broken through. The Great Wall of China was built in 300 BC to protect Northern China from the attacks of barbarians. Sections of this wall have been ruined over the centuries but the wall is still one of the remarkable structures of the earth. Stronghold is a military defense mechanism.
Hidden sin, unrepentant transgression or secretive lifestyles build imaginary strongholds that imprison people in fear and dread. If purity is not within the walls of privacy, then it is a stronghold of sin. Sin cannot be hidden in a stronghold. “No sin is private” – T W Tozer. It will remain secret only until the stronghold implodes emotionally or mentally and explodes exposing the ugly secretive sins.
The people of Jericho lived within a fortified walled city. Bible scholars believe that the wickedness of Jericho was similar to the promiscuous cities like Sodom and Gomorrah hence was cursed by Joshua (Joshua 6:26). The fortified ramparts around the city looked impassable, yet the Lord God gave a strategy to Joshua to break through the walls of Jericho. Addictions, habits, demeaning thought patterns, arrogant attitude, self-destructive tongue, enslaving sensual sins repeated over a period of time can build lofty strongholds. The Holy Spirit has given us strategies to break the strongholds of addictive habits as Joshua broke through the fortified walls of Jericho.
Breaking down Unhealthy/Demonic Strongholds:
1. Silence: The Lord made them walk around the fortified walls in silence in order to stop them from confessing their unbelief (Joshua 6:10). There are no addictions, habits or patterns that cannot be broken by the power of the Holy Spirit. The first step to break unhealthy strongholds is to stop negative confessions and silence the lie of the devil. Do not say, “This will never change”. All things are possible to him who believes.
2. Shout: On the seventh day, the Lord commanded them to blast the trumpet and raised a shout of war cry (Joshua 6:16 & 20). Trumpets are the Biblical metaphor of “praise”. War cry of victory intimidates the enemies and causes them to flee. Worship, raises a war cry that makes demons shutter and flee.
3. Seven: On the seventh day, the walls of Jericho crumbled down. The spiritual exercise of fasting negative confession and a spiritual disciple of renewing our mind, repeating the promises of God and replacing pessimism with positive thinking will flatten the demonic strongholds and set us free.
Break unhealthy strongholds by fasting negative confession, declaring the promises of God and repeating the spiritual exercise until the unhealthy strongholds are demolished.
Joshua 6:20a When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed.
Prayer: Father God, there are no demonic strongholds that are impenetrable with You. I will praise and raise a war cry to destroy them. Amen.
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