Summary: A weekly series to help believers engage with loved ones, friends and neighbors who are dropout believers to restore them to the church - the Body of Christ.

Arrows of Truth # 13 - What is the 4th step of the Hunters strategy?

The 4th step of the Hunters strategy is to "locate the stronghold".

Recall the story of David in pursuit of the Amelekites in 1 Sam 30. He had an Egyptian servant lead him to the stronghold where his wives were held captive. Similarly, we need to discover "where" the dropout believer is -- not physically, but in what spiritual stronghold the devil has held him captive. That is, to identify/discern the false belief(s) that the dropout believer has accepted and identifies with, which therefore dictates his behaviors.

First we must recognize that the mind is where the battle is being waged with the enemy (2 Co 10:3-5). What are the strongholds that are holding the believer captive? Five typical spiritual strongholds that many believers have to struggle with are represented in Joshua 10 -- these are the rulers that resisted the Israelites in entering the promised land. These correspond today to five demonic strongholds:

* spirit of antichrist (unbelief)

* spirit of divination (manipulation)

* spirit of pride

* lying spirit

* spirit of whoredoms (idolatry)

These rulers of darkness must be dealt with spiritually in our prayers for the dropout so that the dropout believer can overcome their influence. How that can be accomplished will be covered in the coming weeks.

TIP #13

Consider the 2 or 3 people in your sphere of influence who are dropout believers, whom the Lord has shown you to engage with. Ask the Lord to reveal the stronghold(s) in their lives based on their behaviors. For more depth on this read Hunters of the Harvest book chapter 11. To order the ministry book go to website www.huntersoftheharvest.org and click Order.