Saved But Still Enslaved

SAVED
BUT STILL
ENSLAVED
BREAKING FREE FROM STRONGHOLDS
BOBBY DAVIS G
Bobby Davis, Saved But Still Enslaved Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2014. Used by permission.
(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)
2014 by Robert Davis Published by Chosen Books 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.chosenbooks.com Chosen Books is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on le at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. ISBN 978-0-8007-9576-4 (pbk.) Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identied are from the Darby Bible.
Scripture quotations identied are from the Good News TranslationSecond Edition. Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations identied are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identied are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com Scripture quotations identied are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identied are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover design by Kirk DouPonce, DogEared Design Author is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
I dedicate this book to those who have dedicated so much to my life. First and foremost, to the One who dedicated His life unto death, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To my wife and best friend in life, Jennifer. I cannot imagine my life without you. To my awesome kids, Christopher and Emily. I am so thankful God gave you to your mom and me. To my mom, who has always been my spiritual hero. Thanks for never giving up on me. To the Cookeville Life Church family. It is an honor to serve the Master with all of you.
Pastor Bobby
CONTENTS
Introduction 11
1. Salvation Is a Journey 15 2. The Stronghold of Shame 27 3. The Stronghold of Inferiority 45 4. The Stronghold of Addiction 61 5. The Stronghold of Fear 77 6. The Stronghold of Unforgiveness 93 7. The Stronghold of Hopelessness 109 8. The Stronghold of Religion 121 9. The Stronghold of Poverty 133 10. Three Keys to Getting Free and Staying Free 147
9
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever thought, Why, if Im a Christian, do I still struggle so much with sin? Why arent I living victoriously? This book is for youbecause you may be saved, but you are still enslaved. The good news is, you can get free from the strongholds that keep you from being fully delivered. You may have picked up this book for somebody else, thinking you do not have a stronghold in your life because you are a Christian. But here is the thing: Many Christians have strongholds operating in their lives, just as nonbelievers do. These Christians are born again and are going to heaven, but because they are still enslaved, they are going through hell while they are here on earth. That is not Gods plan for your life. Jesus died so that you can be free. Galatians 5:1 says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. A stronghold is a yoke of bondage, and it is not Gods will for your life. A stronghold is simply anything that has a strong hold on you and holds you back from enjoying the abundant life
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Jesus promises. It may be fear. It may be unforgiveness. It may be inferiority. It may be religion. It may be an addiction. That stronghold had me by the throat for years. (I will share more about that in chapter 4.) One stronghold is just as dangerous as the next, but no matter what stronghold has you by the throat, the enemy will use it to keep you from spiritual victory. No, a stronghold will not keep you out of heaven, but it will keep you from enjoying life to the fullest, and it will keep you from fullling the awesome plan God has for your life. If you are born again, there is nothing Satan can do to keep you out of heaven. Since he cannot keep you out of heaven, he wants to paralyze you and keep you from taking anyone with you. He primarily does that through strongholds. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables you to break free. Accepting Jesus Christ and being born again prepares you for heaven. Allowing Jesus to ll you and empower you with His Spirit prepares you for earth. When Jesus rst appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). At that moment, they were ready for heaven. When you read the rst chapter of Acts, however, notice what Jesus did:
He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, you have heard from Me. . . . But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:4, 8
The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years, but Jesus still tells them to wait until He empowers them before they go out. Then in Acts 2, we see them go outlled with the Spiritand begin to change the world. Again, being born of the Spirit prepares us for heaven, but being lled with Gods Spirit
12
prepares us for earth. Not only does Gods Spirit empower us to break Satans strongholds; He also enables us to help bring freedom and deliverance to others. The next time you sing Victory in Jesus and I Am Free at church, I want you to be able to sing those praise and worship choruses with great conviction and glee because you truly are free. It is time for us to quit playing church and get serious about the strongholds operating in our lives. It is time to forcefully take the freedom that already belongs to us. And, it is time to be saved without being enslaved.
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1
SALVATION ALVATION IS
A JOURNEY
The title of this chapter might be a bit controversial, so let me explain what I mean when I say that salvation is a journey. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). There is no confusion about that in the Word of God, yet many people doubt their salvation because they are not living completely free. How do I know? Because I used to do that, and I was raised a preachers kid! It was a terrible cycle. I would mess up during the week and go down front to the altar nearly every Sunday to get re-saved. Ever been there? But the truth is, I did not need to get re-saved, I just needed to deal with the strongholds in my life and walk in the freedom Jesus had already purchased for me on the cross. You see, I was saved but still enslaved by the god of this world, and I have discovered over the last twenty
15
Saved but Still Enslaved
years of ministry that a lot of people are living just as I used to livesaved but still enslaved. It is time to break free.
Salvation versus Liberation

We need to begin with an important distinction. There is a difference between salvation and liberation. You can be saved from your sins, but not totally free. The goal is not salvation; the goal is salvation plus liberation. Remember the story of the Israelites when they put blood on their doorposts so the death angel would pass by?
And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the L will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the L will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. Exodus 12:2223
The Israelites applied blood to their doorposts and escaped death, but they were still in bondage to Pharaoh. In the same manner, there are people who have had the blood of Jesus applied to their hearts, yet they are still in bondage in certain areas. Gods goal for the Israelites was not just to escape death. He wanted them to be delivered out of Pharaohs hand, to enter the Promised Land and to dwell in that place of abundance and fulllment. That is what God wants for you, too. If you are putting up with any kind of bondage in your life todayand many of us arethen you are living outside the will of God. Second Corinthians 3:17 ( ) says, For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. The Spirit lives in you
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if you are a Christian, so freedom lives in you. There is no room for any stronghold to dwell in you. God desires that you be free. What has confused the Church is that many Christians believe if you are saved, you are automatically free from strongholds. That is simply not true. Those are two separate things. Need convincing? Lets dig deeper into Gods Word. Ephesians 1:7 ( ) says, He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. Do you see that? He purchased our freedom and forgave our sinstwo different benets. Colossians 1:1314 ( ) says, For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Again, this passage conrms that you can have forgiveness of your sins and still not be free. First Timothy 2:6 ( ) says, He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. We qualify as everyone, right? You may have heard that Scripture a million times, but until you understand that you are part of everyone, that Scriptures truth will not set you free. John 8:32 ( ) says, And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But it is not the truth that sets you free; it is the truth you know that sets you free.
Spirit, Soul and Body

Here is some more truth for you. We learn in Genesis that we were created in Gods image, right? That means humans are spirit beings because God is a spirit being. John 4:24 tells us: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. That being said, God is a three-part being, and so are we. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are spirit, soul and body. First Thessalonians 5:23 says, Now may the God
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of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Human beings, created in the image of God, are made up of three parts, and God wants all three of our parts healthy. Here is the breakdown: You are a spirit. You possess a soul, which is made up of your mind, will and emotions. And you live in a body. Many are confused over this, thinking that your spirit and soul are the same. They are not. I have even heard preachers say errantly, I preached a revival meeting the other night and ten souls got saved. No, they did not. Ten spirits may have been made brand-new, but ten souls were not saved. You may think, Pastor Bobby, thats just semanticswhats the big deal? It is more than semantics, and it is a big deal. Here is why: Your spirit is instantly saved, but you must renew your soul your mind, will and emotionsdaily to the Word of God in order to overcome strongholds and remain free. Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It is no wonder people have confused the spirit and the soul, because the two are so closely connected. Only the Word of God can divide the two. James 1:21 further explains the separation: Therefore lay aside all lthiness and overow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. If you go back and read the beginning of James 1, you will see that he is talking to people who were already born again. In other words, their spirits had been saved. But James is saying, Hey, if you want to get your soulsyour mind, will and emotionssaved, youre going to have to get in the Word.
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While the salvation of our spirits is instantaneous, the salvation of our souls is a process. And guess whatthe strongholds reside in our souls, not in our spirits. That is why you can be saved and going to heaven, but still be enslaved by strongholds while here on earth. Romans 12:12 says,
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Do you see that renewing our minds and renewing our souls is a process? Conversely, 2 Corinthians 5:17 makes it clear that when your spirit is reborn, you are a new creatureperiod! Immediately, you are made brand-new on the inside: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. As for your body, you need to eat healthy and get in some cardio each day to see results, but it will not be completely transformed until Jesus comes back. The Bible says that it will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52). In that instant, our bodies will be transformed, hallelujah! You know what that means? It means we will not have to sweat it out at the Y anymore. We will go from mortal bodies to immortal bodies, and we will never die. Verse 54 continues, So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.
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The transformation of your spirit when you make Jesus the Lord of your life and the transformation of your body at the resurrection are totally Gods doing. But the salvation of your soul is a process, and that process involves you and God working together.
Let the Journey Begin. . . .

As I said when we began this chapter, salvation is a journey. It is a process. True salvation is not a one-time event, as most people think. You go to the altar; you accept Jesus as Lord of your life; you get up and go on with your life. Sure, at that moment you were transferred from one kingdom to another, but the same strongholds you struggled with before kneeling at that altar are the same ones you will struggle with when you get up. God desires for you to experience full deliverance from all that holds you backall the strongholds in your life. Think about how we use the word delivered outside church. Suppose you order a book from Amazon. You make the transaction, so you have purchased the book, but it has not been delivered to you yet. The package is not delivered until it gets to your house. When you got saved, there was a transaction, too. Your sin debt was paid. But you were not fully delivered yet. Gods goal for you is not just that you would escape hell, but that you would enter into a life of abundance He has for you here on earth. Think about itthe children of Israel did not get to go from Egypt right into the Promised Land, and neither do we. It is not an automatic thing. Why do you think God took them out of Egypt but did not take them immediately into the Promised Land? I believe it was because the journey was needed. God had taken the Israelites out of Egypt, but He had not yet gotten the Egypt out of the Israelites. He needed them to deal with those inner strongholds, and strongholds are best exposed
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in the wilderness. Their strongholds of anger, fear, inferiority, depression and jealousy still remained in them, even though they were no longer Pharaohs captives. Pharaoh was not their biggest problem. Their inner strongholds were. Because those in the rst generation out of Egypt were never delivered from their strongholds, they were never able to enter the Promised Land. Pharaoh did not keep them out; he had already been defeated. By the power of God, he was destroyed in the Red Sea. In the same manner, Satan is not keeping you out of your Promised Land. He, too, has already been defeated by the power of God. If Satan is not keeping you from the abundant life of God, what is the problem? You know the answerthose inner strongholds.
Play Offense, Not Defense

We are living in a Kingdom that is on the offensive, yet too many Christians are playing defense, and defense does not win in this Kingdom. Matthew 11:12 says, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. In other words, you have to attack that thing that is attacking you. Youby the power of God, in the name of Jesus Christhave to attack those strongholds that are keeping you bound. That is why the apostle Paul wrote, But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12 ). He was saying, Im not on defense in this Kingdom. Im going after everything God has for me. We have to possess that same attitude, because we will never live in spiritual victory as passive people. Think about itthe Bible does not give one example of a person who lived in spiritual victory yet was passive about his or her spiritual journey. You must attack that which is attacking you. Romans 12:21 says it like this: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
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with good. If you study this passage the way it was originally written in Greek, you will discover that Paul is really saying, If you dont want to be overcome by evil, you must continually be overcoming evil with good. There is no bench time in the Kingdom of God. There is no sitting on the sidelines, because the minute you become passive, Satan tightens the grip those strongholds have on you. Now is not the time to sit on the bench or sit on the sidelines; it is time to put on the full armor of God and get aggressive. Why? Because Satan is aggressive. The Bible says he is seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He does not take a break. He does not let up. He is in this war for eternity. That is why we have to stay battle ready and armored up. Have you ever wondered why the passage about the armor of God did not include any type of weapon or protection for our backsides? Lets look at that text:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against esh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the ery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:1018
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Every weapon mentioned is for the front of the body . Do you know why? It is because there is no retreat in this Kingdom. We are not running away from the battle; we are facing it head-on! We must be as David and run toward our giants instead of running away from them. Sure, it is easier to run away from the giants. Sure, it is easier to stay bound by our strongholds. Sure, it is easier to stay addicted to drugs. I can speak specically to that last one because it was really difficult for me to face my addictions and break free from them, but the freedom I gained was so worth the battle. Listen, you cannot wait for somebody else to do something to help you; Jesus already paid the price for you to be free. He has already helped you. Now is the time for you to get aggressive about getting free. It is time to take your freedom! The Bible says, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (James 4:8 ). Bottom line, go to God and quit expecting Him to come to you. You will not get rid of your stronghold until you go after that thing and attack it. Take your lead from the woman with the issue of blood. She is one of my favorite people in the Bible. Here is her story:
Now a certain woman had a ow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well. Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes? But His disciples said to Him, You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, Who touched Me? And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened
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to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction. Mark 5:2534
I love that story because if anyone had a reason to whine and sit back and say, I wish somebody would help me, it was this woman. She had been battling this disease for twelve long years. Before my father died, he suffered with a situation where he lost a lot of blood, and he would get very pale and weak. He could hardly sit up at times. I have seen what the continual loss of blood does to a person, and this woman had dealt with it for twelve years. She had already been to all the physicians and no one could help her, so when she heard about Jesus the Healer, she determined she would get well no matter what it cost her. This woman did not sit back and think, I sure hope Jesus will come see me so I can get well. No, she went on the offense and decided, I am going to see the Master, and when I touch His garment, I will be healed. She was determined. She was condent. She was courageous. I like that! This woman had every reason to stay home and die, but the Bible says she went out and pressed through the crowds. You can bet there were thousands of people following Jesus because they had all heard of His miraculous deeds. Do you understand how difficult this was for her? It would have been hard enough for her just to get off the couch and go to the front door, but she went through the front door, out into the crowds, and pressed through those crowds until she could somehow touch the hem of His garment. That tells me that she probably had to crawl to get to Jesus. But the moment she touched Him, she was free. Do you think it was worth her trouble? Do you think she would have done it all again? Of course! That is having faith toward God, and that is key if you want to be free from the strongholds in your life.
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Hebrews 6:1 says, Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. This verse does not say a foundational truth of Christianity is faith in God. The foundation truth is faith toward God. There is a major difference between the two. Nearly everyone has faith in God, but very few have faith toward God. Even the devil and his demons have faith in God, according to James 2:19 ( ): Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. So if you only have faith in God, you are on the same level with the devil. Here is the deal: Faith in God will not get you anything from God. Faith in God will sit back and say, I wish Jesus would come and touch me. But this woman with the issue of blood had faith toward God and pressed through the crowd to touch Jesus. See the difference? Faith in God does not receive Gods power and promises. It is faith toward God that siphons Gods power into your life and obliterates those strongholds. Hebrews 11:6 ( ) says, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Notice this verse says he that cometh to God, not he who waits for God to come to him. God is a rewarder of people who diligentlyaggressivelyseek Him. Faith in God will cause you to be lost in the crowd, but faith toward God will cause you to push through the crowd, touch God and make something happen. With faith toward God, aggressively pursue your freedom. Read on in these pages to learn more about the steps you can take and the Scriptures you can stand on to break free from whatever strongholds have had you bound. Quit waiting for God to come to you and free you from your strongholds. Go to Him. Say, In the name of Jesus, I am
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reminding You, Lord, that I am a born-again, Spirit-lled believer, which means You have purchased my freedom on Calvary. I declare today that freedom in my life. I thank You, Lord, for freeing me from these strongholds that have bound me for far too long. I walk in total freedom today!
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SAVED

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)