This strongman has taken whole nations into captivity. Entire kingdoms have become his strongholds, with communities and households serving as his palaces, where his influence is exercised and his authority is established.

No wonder some countries have banned the preaching of the gospel to keep the ears and minds of their citizens closed from understanding and knowing the truth that would set them free and prevent them from gaining freedom from the power that keeps them captive.

They know that the presence of Jesus Christ in these territories is enough to bind the enemy and spoil his goods.

That is why Satan will not accept defeat easily unless he is forced to surrender.

All the nations and kingdoms of the world have, from their foundations, been dedicated to Satan through idolatry, false worship and, in some cases, human sacrifice.—such foundations subject people and territories to the influence and authority of the powers of darkness.

Any household built upon false beliefs or false religion can become a palace and stronghold of the powers of darkness. It is only when Christ is invited that the power changes hands, the enemy is bound, and his authority and dominion are taken away.

The Bible says, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The only solution to a faulty foundation is to invite Jesus Christ to pull it down and establish a new foundation upon the Solid Rock, which is Christ Himself, and to take complete and perpetual control.

Otherwise, the influence of the enemy may still be visible through the faulty foundation. It will eventually affect the building and may cause it to collapse in the end.

Someone had a dream some years ago that, on top of every house in a particular community, a spiritual power was sitting upon each roof. They appeared in the form of different kinds of animals: some in the image of a lion, some in the image of a bear, and others in the form of snakes.

Each power occupied a position over a household, indicating that they were guarding their territories against any intruder who might attempt to intervene.

They were responsible for the abominable practices and works of the flesh manifested in the households, which could eventually affect the entire community if they were not stopped.

A family or household that has not been dedicated or committed to God is under these powers, with their goods remaining intact and untouched.

That is when you will see a community where immorality has become a way of life. Some are involved in drugs and alcohol. These are manifestations of the demons exercising influence over them.

The demons influencing people in London may differ from those influencing people in America, and the power operating in one territory may differ from that in another, with different territories having their own spiritual influences and powers.

All these powers are fighting to keep their territories untouched and to protect their goods.

They exercise their influence in people’s lives, even if those people go to church but are not committed to the cause of God.

Unless they give the rightful position to the One who is stronger than all powers, allowing Him to chase the intruder out of their lives and take away his goods, the enemy will continue to exercise his influence.

What are the properties of the enemy in your life or household?

Have you checked your life to see if it has become the enemy’s palace, or your household become his territory?

The sin that is common within a family may be one of his goods.

Fornication and adultery, together with different kinds of sexual perversion, are among the properties of the enemy.

Your mother married four husbands, and you are also preparing to leave the man with whom you have had three children to marry another man.

The sin in your mother’s life has affected you, together with the consequences and curses that accompanied it.

This may reveal the work of the enemy operating within a family. When people continue to do his will by disobeying the commandments of the Most High, they surrender authority and allow him to exercise influence over their household.

Even if some people give their lives to God, that alone is not enough. True deliverance from captivity requires complete obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ.

That is why many Christians are still suffering from problems they do not understand while continuing to keep the properties of the enemy in their lives.

It is by completely following the commandments of Jesus Christ that they can truly be delivered from captivity and freed from the power that has built a stronghold in their lives and taken preeminence over their situation.

Have you wondered why idolatry and masquerade worship won’t come to an end in this nation?

It’s because of the strongman in charge; even if the former worshipper dies, another person chosen shall bear the burden of the entire household, to keep them in bondage perpetually because of the powers that hold the family captive.

As long as the strongman keeps his palace, his goods remain intact, and his captives remain bound.

Prayer: Father, by your truth, deliver me from any power that wants to hold me in bondage, in Jesus’ name, amen.