The title to this piece is of course misleading, you cannot deal with strongholds, or make a deal with them. The Lord is looking for unconditional surrender. In that type of surrender, there can be no place found for strongholds. In war, in unconditional surrender, all weapons must be laid down. Unconditional surrender is total capitulation. How this wars against the flesh. Many elements within Germany and Japan desired to fight to the death rather than suffer the humiliation of total capitulation. Our flesh is not much different from those unyielding elements found in Germany and Japan.

We have a saying where I come from, actually I have found this saying all over the world. I come from the town of Greenock in Scotland, so they say “you can take the boy our of Greenock but you cannot take Greenock out of the boy.” It is usually said when you have done something negative that reflects the culture of where you come from, but in it there is usually a sneaking pride. For example if someone got in my face and I punched him out, they could employ that saying. Maybe I would try and excuse my behavior my employing that statement. What I would really be saying was “it’s not my fault.”

It is true that as saints we carry vestiges of the world from whence we came in our flesh. And it never ceases to rise up and challenge our spirits. They war against each other and this war can certainly make us weary. Oftentimes soldiers would be so weary that they cared less if they lived or died. It is that kind of weariness when in and of ourselves we despair of this war

How then do we overcome in this war of attrition? How are we to diminish the flesh in us? Some of you may be familiar with Greek mythology. There was a beast called the “Hydra.” It had nine heads and as each head was cut of by Hercules, another would grow back in its place. I think our battles with the flesh often feel like that. We deal, what we think is a death blow, only for it to return again when we least suspect it. In the Greek story the neck had to cauterized, sealed shut by fire so that it could not grow back again.

Our flesh is made up of multiple strongholds. When we come to Christ and are reborn, we are given the Holy Spirit and when we cooperate with Him, then we can overcome these strongholds and as each of them is overcome then the flesh is diminished and loses power. Each stronghold has to be taken down one by one. As an example, Jericho had to be dealt with. The children of Israel were given instructions and they followed them and down came the walls. Do you see the universal principal there? God instructs us through His Spirit and His word, we hear, we obey, and down comes the stronghold. Is there any other way? No. In ourselves we have nothing, no power, the flesh rules supreme.

The kingdom of our flesh, your life, has been invaded and the invader demands total capitulation, total surrender. He will go through the land and deal with the strongholds one by one and He must have our obedience in this. This is how we overcome the flesh, in Him, by Him and through Him. Even after the stronghold has been torn down, we must remain vigilant. The defeated enemy can scatter to the woods. Our spirits must be alert. The remains of the enemy will undoubtedly attack on dark and stormy nights. The rain will be so loud that you cannot hear him approach. When you are weary in the midst of trial he can come screaming out of the trees catching us of guard.

The only safe place is by His side. Staying close to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our enemy can do nothing when we stay close to Jesus. He is our big guns. And that enemy knows he cannot come close to us when we are standing right by his side. So he waits, like a wolf in the shadows to see if we drift away from His presence, from His nearness. If we do, then he strikes. If we do not then he waits and he waits and he waits and all the time he is starving and dying. This is how you kill the flesh, he must be starved to death. In this we overcome and stand in the power and the might of Christ our risen King. Victory in Jesus our Commander in chief.