Title: Breaking away from the Enemy’s Stronghold and Resting in God’s Holy Refuge

Text: James 4:7-10

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded. 
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Introduction:
War against God is ongoing.

Need: We need to be informed

Text
Background
Throughout this epistle, we’ve been looking at the tests of true faith. We saw in chapter 1 how a true faith
handles trials, how a true faith handles temptation, how a true faith responds to the Word, how a true faith is
concerned with purity of life. In chapter 2, we saw how a true faith is concerned about people in need, people
who are poor, and is no respecter of persons. We saw how a true faith produces works, good works, righteous
works, righteous deeds.
In chapter 3, we saw how a true faith can be made manifest in the use of the tongue, in the patterns of
speech and also in the matter of wisdom; that is, the behavior by which your lifestyle is identified. And then at
the beginning of chapter 4, we saw how true faith is separated from the world. It does not love the world, it is
the friend of God and the enemy of the world, not the enemy of God and the friend of the world.
So James has been saying put your life up against the tests, and having said all of that down through
chapter 4, verse 6, he now calls for a proper response to saving faith and gives, in a sense, his invitation before
he goes on with some closing things in this epistle. If we have studied cautiously and carefully through the
epistle of James, and particularly if we’ve been listening to what has been said since chapter 3, verse 13, we are
very much aware that he has been speaking about unbelievers who, for example, back in chapter 3, verse 13,
have a wisdom that is not of God.
I. Breaking away from the Enemy’s Stronghold
The temptation for worldliness
A move from being the secret spirit of civilized secularism where life is organized and supposedly rational,
and God is not needed and Satan is not feared, and very likely neither of them exists—a move from this secret
place of power to a much more overt display of uncivilized, barbaric, crude, primitive wickedness.
Spiritual Warfare is a steady, reasonable, balanced and biblical look at the reality that we are engaged in a
life-long, age-long battle with dark spiritual forces. And it is a detailed examination of the means we have been
given to wage this war. This is a subject that every Christian reader should attend to on a regular basis, and the
reader will not do a whole lot better than this.
The second half of Ephesians 6 is the clearest biblical description of spiritual warfare as well as the most
detailed description of the manner in which we are to fight this war. Here Paul describes a Roman soldier,
looking at each part of the soldier’s armor and weaponry, and drawing a parallel to the Christian life. Spiritual
Warfare is, at heart, a detailed but reader-friendly examination of this text and the armor it describes.

And in the text we have read, there is ongoing war not only to Satan but against worldliness.

Nakakalungkot man sabihin na matapos tayong palayain ng Panginoon sa kasalanan ng tayong sumampalataya
sa Kanya ay may mga mananampalataya pa rin ang pinipiling magpa-alipin sa minsang naging panginoon nila.
1. You love the world
2. Follow the World and
3. Worship the World

Pero ang nakakalungkot Christians are making themselves in chain again in this strongholds.

a. Definition of Stronghold
“The devil has no authority over any Christian, except the authority we grant him by believing him.”
What are the satanic strongholds that spiritually imprison people, the strongholds that we seek to destroy?
Arguments and opinions. Where is the battle raging? Where our thoughts are. And arguments are not merely
strongholds; they are weapons of mass destruction. Adam and Eve (and all of us with them) fell because of an
argument. They believed the serpent’s argument and stopped believing God.
That is the deadly essence of sin: not believing God. To not believe God is to ally with Satan, whom Jesus said is
“a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. . . . For he is a liar and the father of lies” (John
8:44). You don’t want Satan as an ally. He’s treacherous. He’s out to murder you with lies.
The defining mark of a stronghold is ITS RECURRING PATTERN. It literally has a “strong hold” on you so that
you find it extremely difficult to break free from it, so you keep coming back to it (that’s your first indication that
it’s a stronghold).
The enemy has erected strongly fortified garrisons to resist the Truth and thwart God’s plan of redemption.
There is the fortress of human reasoning, reinforced with many subtle arguments and the pretense of logic.
There is the castle of passion, with flaming battlements defended by lust, pleasure, and greed. And there is the
pinnacle of pride, in which the human heart sits enthroned and revels in thoughts of its own excellence and
sufficiency.

b. Cause of Strongholds
Nagsisimula ito sa pagtatapon sa ating ng mga unti-unting kasinungalingan tungkol sa atin, sa Diyos at sa
ating kapwa. It often starts with a wound we experience, a hurt or disappointment that makes our heart fertile
ground for seeds of lies to be planted. On this foundation, the enemy then begins to build brick by brick, a wall
of lies, inaccurate ideas about the person of God, erroneous interpretations of Scripture, prideful thoughts, and
distorted perceptions of how God sees us and feels about us when we sin.
When we buy into these lies and agree with the enemy, thereby ceding control, that area of our loves
becomes a stronghold, which the enemy vigorously defends and retains control of.
Ridding yourself of these strongholds not only requires great intentionality, but also an understanding of its
root cause and how it got constructed in the first place, and how God’s word empowers you to break free from
it. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,
they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 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.” 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 Corinthians 10:5). The “arguments” are the philosophies, reasonings,
and schemes of the world. The “pretensions” have to do with anything proud, man-centered, and self-
confident.
Watch your emotions. They are signals of arguments. Your emotions, which can land on you like vague
impressions or moods, are usually responses to an argument. Moods don’t come out of nowhere. When we are
angry, discouraged, depressed, anxious, self-pitying, fearful, or irritable, it is likely because we are believing
something very specific.
To battle sin is to battle unbelief — or destroy arguments. And in order to battle unbelief effectively, we
must press doubts and temptations into specific arguments. What specifically is being asserted or promised to
us? Only then can we destroy the enemy’s false arguments with true ones.

c. Area of Strongholds
4 SOURCES OF STRONGHOLD YOU MAY NOT HAVE CONSIDERED
1. UNCONFESSED OR UNREPENTANT SIN IN YOUR LIFE: The Biblical fact is this, there is no sin in your life that is
so great that the cross of Jesus isn’t greater than and that hasn’t already paid for. However, God will not heal
that which you will not own up to. The spiritual enemy of your soul thrives on secrecy and will establish a
stronghold in unexposed sin in your life.
2. OCCULT ACTIVITY you’ve engaged in, some of which you may still be participating in. Whether it’s Wicca,
Fortune Telling, Black or White Magic, Spiritism, or conjuring spirits, or even yoga (depending on who your focus
is on during meditations). It’s like placing a “vacancy” sign on your life for evil spirits. Have you knowingly or
unknowingly dabbled in any occult-like practices in your past? That may be where you issues stem from.
3. LIES YOU HAVE BELIEVED: These include lies about God, about yourself, and lies about how God sees you. Lies
that the enemy has been playing over and over in your mind for years, which, in your pain, you’ve unfortunately
bought into. What lies have you believed?
4. UNFORGIVENESS: If you are still nursing bitterness against someone/people, the enemy will take advantage
of that to keep you in bondage. The people who wounded you may not deserve to be forgiven, but we forgive
because Jesus Christ forgave us for a an even greater sin against God. Secondly, we forgive because it sets us
free from bondage produced by bitterness.

And in this case the stronghold here is worldliness…

Our excuses in Strong holds
Mag-iingat din po tayo sa pagsabi na ito ay inflicted ng kaaway dahil… Sometimes our strongholds are the
products of our choices to sin and desires in worldliness.
The two great enemies of our souls are sin and Satan. And sin is the worst enemy, because the only way
that Satan can destroy us is by getting us to sin, and keeping us from repenting. The only thing that damns us is
unforgiven sin. Not Satan.
God may give him leash enough to rough us up, the way he did Job, or even to kill us, the way he did the
saints in Smyrna (Revelation 2:10); but Satan cannot condemn us or rob us of eternal life. The only way he can
do us ultimate harm is by influencing us to sin, and keep us from repentance. Which is exactly what he aims to
do. So, Satan’s main business is to advocate, promote, assist, titillate, and confirm our bent to sinning. And to
keep us from faith and repentance.
The only thing that will condemn us at the judgment day is unforgiven sin — not sickness or afflictions or
persecutions or intimidations or apparitions or nightmares. Satan knows this. Therefore, his great focus is not
primarily on how to scare Christians with weird phenomena (though there’s plenty of that), but on how to
corrupt Christians with worthless fads and evil thoughts.
It is surrounded by a sense of urgency and alertness and warning. It is a war-time instrument. It's made for
battle.

Effect
1. There is an unresolved conflict.
2. There is a hindered growth.
3. There are ministries overlooked.
4. There will be self-boasting.
5. Sins are flourishing.

But there is already solution in this stronghold.

God is Already Victorious!
II. The Gospel-Perspective in Spiritual Warfare (6)
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
The victory that overcomes the world is our faith (1 John 5:4). This is precisely why the devil does not want
us to think clearly about sin. He wants to keep things vague so he can imprison or disarm us. But Jesus wants us
to think clearly. He wants us to know the truth because the truth brings freedom: “If you abide in my word, you
are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31–32)
So as freedom fighters let’s fight against “unbelieving hearts” by exhorting one another every day (Hebrews
3:12–13) to live in the freedom — and peace (John 16:33) — of the truth. Because our most important battles
are won and lost with arguments.

Sharing the gospel is not the only time we see resistance. We can also face demonic strongholds in our own
lives, in our families, and even in our churches. Anyone who has fought an addiction, struggled with pride, or
had to “flee youthful lusts” knows that sin, a lack of faith, and a worldly outlook on life are indeed
“strongholds.”
The Lord is building His Church, and the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). What
we need are Christian soldiers, totally surrendered to the will of the Lord of Hosts, who will use the spiritual
weapons He provides. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD
our God” (Psalm 20:7).
The more real Satan appears in our day, the more precious the victory of Christ will become to those who
believe him. The New Testament teaches that when Christ died and rose again Satan was defeated. A time of
limited freedom is granted to him, but his power against God's people is broken and his destruction is sure.
1 John 3:8, "The Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil." Hebrews 2:14, "Christ took on human
nature that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil." Colossians
2:15, "God disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in
him." In other words the decisive blow was struck at Calvary. And one day, when Satan's time of limited
freedom is over, Revelation 20:10 says, "The devil . . . [will be] thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone . . .
and will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (See Matthew 8:29; 25:41).
What does this mean for those of us who follow Jesus Christ? "There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who
justifies!" (Romans 8:33). "Neither angels nor principalities nor powers nor anything else shall separate us from
the love of God in Jesus Christ" (Romans 8:38f). "He who is in us is stronger than he who is in the world" (1 John
4:4). "We conquer him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony" (Revelation 12:11).

The Work of God’s Grace in breaking the Strongholds…

He is saying no matter what your life is like, if you’re proud and you love the world, and your wisdom is
earthly, demonic, and sensual, if you’re a person who didn’t pass the tests, God has grace for you. He gives
more grace. I believe it’s justifying, sanctifying, glorifying grace that he’s talking about, the grace of salvation,
saving grace. Literally, verse 6 says He gives greater grace - greater grace. A comparative word is used.
What is grace? What do we mean He gives grace? You know what it means, don’t you? It is God’s favor
given to sinners who are undeserving. That’s what it is. And within that favor is forgiveness and love and the
promise of heaven and the Holy Spirit and all spiritual blessings and understanding of God’s Word and joy and
peace and all the fruit of the Spirit. And all of that comes as God’s favor given to sinners who do not deserve it.
And God has that grace available to all who will come in faith to Christ, greater grace than the strength of
depravity, grace greater than the power of sin, grace greater than the might of Satan, grace greater than the
pull of the flesh, grace greater even than death. No matter what your life is like, no matter how sinful you are,
no matter how much you love the world, no matter how proud you are, no matter how your lusts drive you, no
matter how your wisdom may be that of the world and even below, the underworld, still God has grace. And
itong grace ng Lord ay hindi upang pagtakpan ang ating kasalanan kundi para imotivate tayo na mamuhay ayon
sa kanyang ebanghelyo. Wherever the sinner is, wherever the saint is, when the sinner and the saint come to
Christ, He first gives justifying grace and then He gives sanctifying grace and there is no limit.
Therefore, the trumpet call here is this: Rest in God’s Holy Refuge by "Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you!" (James 4:7) He has been defeated, and we have been given victory. Our task now is to live in that victory
and make Satan know his defeat.

III. Resting in God’s Holy Refuge

It is important for us to realized that as God freed us from the bondage of strongholds we as His people can
rest in His Holy Refuge, where His soldiers will be healed, energized, strengthen to fight the schemes of the
enemy.
His refuge is a reminder to us that God is sovereign over Satan. The devil does not have a free hand in this
world. He is on a leash, so that he can do no more than God permits. In effect, he must get permission — as in
the case of Simon Peter, where Jesus discloses, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have you, that he
might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). And the case of Job: “The Lord said to Satan, “Behold, Job is in your
hand; only spare his life” (Job 2:6).
“Our best protection against demons is less preoccupation with demons and more preoccupation with
God.”

How can we be preoccupied with God?

a. Humbly Submitting to God (6-7)
Humility- Humble yourselves before God (vv. 9-10). It is possible to submit outwardly and yet not be
humbled inwardly. God hates the sin of pride (Prov. 6:16-17), and He will chasten the proud believer until he is
humbled. We have a tendency to treat sin too lightly, even to laugh about it (“let your laughter be turned into
mourning”). But sin is serious, and one mark of true humility is facing the seriousness of sin and dealing with our
disobedience. “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17). Far better that we
humble ourselves before God, confess our sins, weep over them, and turn from them. “To this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word” (Isa. 66:2). “The Lord is nigh unto
them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Ps. 34:18). If we obey these three
instructions, then God will draw near, cleanse us, and forgive us; and the wars will cease! We will not be at war
with God, so we will not be at war with ourselves. This means we will not be at war with others. “And the work
of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (Isa. 32:17).
Put the government of your life on His shoulders, and let Him become the Prince of Peace in your life (Isa. 9:6).
Ang humility ang isang indikasyon ng pangangailangan mo sa Diyos at hindi pagmamalaki sa Kanya.
Submission- This word is a military term that means “get into your proper rank.” Unconditional surrender is
the only way to complete victory. And in this area, unconditional surrender to Christ is the best way to complete
victory, freedom from sin and forgiveness of our trespasses. If there is any area of the life kept back from God,
there will always be battles.
We are taught to submit ourselves entirely to God: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you, v. 7. Christians should forsake the friendship of the world, and watch against that
envy and pride which they see prevailing in natural men, and should by grace learn to glory in their submissions
to God. “Submit yourselves to him as subjects to their prince, in duty, and as one friend to another, in love and
interest. Submit your understandings to the truths of God; submit your wills to the will of God, the will of his
precept, the will of his providence.”
We are subjects, and as such must be submissive; not only through fear, but through love;  not only for
wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. If we basely yield to temptations, the devil will continually follow us; but if
we put on the whole armour of God, and stand it out against him, he will be gone from us. Resolution shuts and
bolts the door against temptation.
Such submission demonstrates the humility that we must possess if we are to receive the grace that
restores us (v. 6). Moreover, this humility also requires repentance and cleansing. We must draw near to God,
purifying our hearts and cleansing our hands (v. 8) by turning from our inward and outward sins and asking God
to cleanse us.

How can we be preoccupied with God?

b. Intentionally Resisting the Devil
Resisting the devil is an everyday, any moment tool we employ as the devil attacks with wrong thoughts,
carnal desires, or ungodly attitudes. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He resisted Satan by quoting
Scripture. We must study the word and store its wisdom in our hearts in order to discern good and evil, and to
be equipped to resist. Know that our Lord is faultless in His faithfulness. If you resist the devil in His name, if you
order Him away from you, using your fighter verses and standing on the authority of Christ Jesus, the devil and
his temptations will evaporate from your presence. Our Lord tells us to be holy, for He is holy! We desperately
need this tool daily!
The New Testament highlights prayer as the pervasive accompaniment of every battle. “Take . . . the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with
all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:17–18).
“Do not be outwitted by Satan. God sees behind enemy lines and tells us all we need to know to not be ignorant
of Satan’s designs.”
Even Jesus fought against the devil on our behalf with the weapon of prayer. He said to Peter in Luke
22:31–32, “Satan has asked to have you that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your
faith may not fail.” So Jesus illustrates for us the opposition of a specific satanic threat with prayer.
And, of course, Jesus instructed us to make prayer a daily weapon for protection in general: “Lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). That is, deliver us from the successful temptation of
the evil one. Do you confront the designs of the devil with the focused and determined power of prayer?

What Makes the Devil Flee?

When the Bible instructs us how to send devils scurrying away in fear, it says, “Submit yourselves therefore
to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). This is powerful spiritual warfare.
Here’s the key: we grant authority to whomever we trust. The devil has no authority over any Christian, except
the authority we grant him by believing him. The more we believe him, the more influence and control over us
we give to him — the more he gets a hold on us. This is not some mysterious spiritual secret. This is the way
influence or control works in any relationship we have.
When it comes to demons, we do not need to claim any authority over them. Words don’t act like spells
with demons (Acts 19:15). Demons only recognize God’s authority and they tremble before it (James 2:19).
When we submit ourselves to God — come under his authority by trusting, obeying, and enjoying him —
demons get the hell away from us. This act of faith releases great spiritual power, and demons cannot withstand
it.
We need to know God. The more we know God and his word, the more we trust him and live in obedience
to him, the wiser we become as to what is good, the more dangerous we become to demons. Because our
submission to God brings his kingdom to bear in the world and is how “the God of peace . . . crush[es] Satan
under [our] feet” (Romans 16:20).
“The more we know God and his word, the more we trust and obey him, the more dangerous we become to
Satan.”
Demons are real — powerfully real. They wreak more havoc in our lives and society than most post-
Enlightenment Western Christians are aware of. We must take God’s words more seriously than our culture’s
ridicule. But we do not need to know more details about demons or their strategies than God has told us. We
do not need to be wiser in evil things.
How can we be preoccupied with God?
c. Sincerely Drawing Near to God (8b)
How do we do this? By confessing our sins and asking for His cleansing. “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” The Greek word translated purify means “make chaste.” This
parallels the idea of “spiritual adultery” in James 4:4. Dr. A.W. Tozer has a profound essay in one of his books,
entitled, “Nearness Is Likeness.” The more we are like God, the nearer we are to God. God graciously draws
near to us when we deal with the sin in our lives that keeps Him at a distance. He will not share us with anyone
else; He must have complete control. The double-minded Christian can never be close to God. The heart that
has rebelled must be brought to the foot of God; the spirit that was distant and estranged from a life of
communion and converse with God must become acquainted with him: “Draw nigh to God, in his worship and
institutions, and in every duty he requires of you.”

How can we be preoccupied with God?

d. Passionately Pursuing Holy Living
Cleanse your hands. He who comes unto God must have clean hands. Paul therefore directs to lift up holy
hands without wrath and doubting (1 Tim. 2:8), hands free from blood, and bribes, and every thing that is unjust
or cruel, and free from every defilement of sin: he is not subject to God who is a servant of sin. The hands must
be cleansed by faith, repentance, and reformation, or it will be in vain for us to draw nigh to God in prayer, or in
any of the exercises of devotion. The hearts of the double-minded must be purified. Those who halt between
God and the world are here meant by the double-minded.
To purify the heart is to be sincere, and to act upon this single aim and principle, rather to please God than
to seek after any thing in this world: hypocrisy is heart-impurity; but those who submit themselves to God aright
will purify their hearts as well as cleanse their hands.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep. “What afflictions God sends take them as he would have you, and by
duly sensible of them. Be afflicted when afflictions are sent upon you, and do not despise them; or be afflicted
in your sympathies with those who are so, and in laying to heart the calamities of the church of God. Mourn and
weep for your own sins and the sins of others; times of contention and division are times to mourn in, and the
sins that occasion wars and fightings should be mourned for. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your
joy to heaviness.” This may be taken either as a prediction of sorrow or a prescription of seriousness. Let men
think to set grief at defiance, yet God can bring it upon them; none laugh so heartily but he can turn their
laughter into mourning; and this the unconcerned Christians James wrote to are threatened should be their
case. They are therefore directed, before things come to the worst, to lay aside their vain mirth and their
sensual pleasures, that they might indulge godly sorrow and penitential tears. 5. “Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord. Let the inward acts of the would be suitable to all those outward expressions of grief,
affliction, and sorrow, before mentioned.” Humility of spirit is here required, as in the sight of him who looks
principally at the spirits of men. “Let there be a thorough humiliation in bewailing every thing that is evil; let
there be great humility in doing that which is good: Humble yourselves.”

How do we fight this Warfare?

God provided us weapon to win this war.
When the apostle Paul described our spiritual war against our supernatural foes, note how he described our
armor and weapons in Ephesians 6:14–18:
 The belt of truth: what holds our “uniform” together and keeps our “limbs” free is knowing God’s truth.
 The breastplate of righteousness: understanding how we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness
(Philippians 3:9) is what guards our vitals.
 The shoes of the gospel: what enables us to traverse difficult ground during battle is knowledge of the
gospel of peace.
 The shield of faith: trusting God’s promises is what extinguishes darts of deception, not detailed knowledge
of the darts or their shooters.
 The helmet of salvation: our head (our brain) is protected by clearly knowing who saved us and how.
 The sword of the Spirit: the word of God is our most powerful, effective offensive weapon against a
powerful spiritual enemy.
 Pray at all times in the Spirit: speaking to demons is not something the Bible commends. The only speaking
to demons we see is rebuking them in Jesus’s name. Praying to God is what we are mainly commanded to
do when confronting demonic powers.
Every aspect of the armor and weapons of our spiritual warfare has to do with being wise as to what is
good (and innocent as to what is evil). God is our best protection from the ravages of our evil enemy — God’s
truth, his righteousness, his gospel, his promises, his salvation, his word, and our prayerful orientation to him.

Challenges

Application