“Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house” (NLT).

One thing scripture is absolutely clear about is that we are in battle. This battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the spiritual powers of hell. Ephesians 6:12 identifies these powers of hell as rulers, authorities and evil spirits. Ephesians 2:2 reminds us that we used to live under the authority of the Devil, who is said to be the commander or master of the powers of hell. The Devil is identified as the spirit at work in those who refuse to obey God. Satan means adversary or enemy. Devil means tempter or liar. Scripture refers to the Devil or Satan as the father of lies, the accuser of God’s children, and the great tempter. In 1 Peter 5:8, we are reminded to “stay alert” and “to watch out” because our great enemy, the Devil, is prowling around seeking to devour us, much like a lion would hunt and devour its prey.

Jesus refers to Satan as a “strong man”. The strong man has built his house, fortified its walls and entrances, and made it impenetrable. This is the work the enemy tries to do in us every day. He is searching our life – every detail of it – looking for a way to penetrate our hearts and minds. It only takes us believing one lie to give him permission to enter our hearts and build a stronghold in our thinking. Once the enemy has taken his ground in our hearts and built a stronghold in our thinking, we become enslaved in bondage to the lie. Once in bondage, the enemy accuses us of our sin, drowning us in the weight of its shame. Suddenly, we find ourselves believing a new lie – a lie accusing us of being unlovable. We are powerless to tear down the strongholds of the Devil. But there is one who is stronger.

Jesus said, “only someone stronger” than the Devil can enter the impenetrable strongholds in our minds, take out the one holding us in spiritual bondage, and then plunder the strongholds with His truth. In Luke 4:18, Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord ’s favor has come.” Jesus is the stronger man who will set free those being held in spiritual bondage. He is the stronger man who will demolish the strongholds of the enemy in our lives. He is the stronger man who rescues us from the oppression of the horrible lies and accusations we have believed. He is the stronger man who always tells us the truth. He is the stronger man who opens our eyes from the spiritual blindness of sin. He is the stronger man who calls us and says, “Wake up, o sleeper!”

Are you awake? Have you begun to see the areas in your life where you are in spiritual bondage? What lies or accusations have you allowed to become strongholds for the enemy? The schemes of the devil haven’t changed. If we are awake enough to understand how he works, we can stay alert and stand firm in the midst of the spiritual battle. The problem is that most of us are still asleep to the reality of spiritual warfare, or worse, have been fooled into thinking it is not real. The spiritual is real, otherwise we could not even believe in God, for He is Spirit; as the scriptures say, “For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Let us ask God for understanding and spiritual insight. We must ask Him to reveal the strong man and how he is operating in our life. The only way to defeat the work of the enemy is to humbly submit to Christ, the stronger man, and let the truth of His Word transform us. The love of God desires to set us free and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Jesus will win the strongest man contest every time.