saved but still enslaved
DESCRIPTION
An excerpt from Saved but Still Enslaved: Breaking Free from Strongholds by Bobby Davis, published by Chosen Books.It's possible to be a new creation in Christ . . . yet still struggle with strongholds. With compassion, personal experience and raw honesty, Pastor Bobby Davis leads readers through seven common struggles, or strongholds, holding Christians back. He demonstrates how to experience victory and freedom instead of just hearing about it in church.Bobby offers real answers to real problems that keep believers enslaved every day, uncovering hidden strongholds--including unforgiveness, insecurity, addiction and fear--and offering a way out.If you're tired of feeling defeated, this book is for you.There's hope. Christianity isn't just about future freedom in heaven; it's about entering your promised land and embracing the power of God now. You can accept this freedom, overcome your strongholds and fulfill God's perfect plan for your life, starting today.TRANSCRIPT
SAVED BUT STILL
ENSLAVEDBREAKING FREE FROM STRONGHOLDS
BOBBY DAVIS
G(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)
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Bobby Davis, Saved But Still EnslavedChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission.
© 2014 by Robert Davis
Published by Chosen Books
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gress, 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 identified darby are from the Darby Bible.
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Edition. Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson,
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lishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified niv are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®.
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Scripture quotations identified nlt are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
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Author is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.
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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
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9
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
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INTRODUCTION
Have you ever thought, Why, if I’m a Christian, do I still struggle
so much with sin? Why aren’t I living victoriously? This book is
for you—because 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, think-
ing you do not have a stronghold in your life because you are a
Christian. But here is the thing: Many Christians have strong-
holds 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 God’s 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 God’s 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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I n t roduc t ion
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 fulfilling 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 fill you and empower you with
His Spirit prepares you for earth. When Jesus first 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 first 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 Jeru-
salem, 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 out—filled with the
Spirit—and begin to change the world. Again, being born of the
Spirit prepares us for heaven, but being filled with God’s Spirit
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I n t roduc t ion
13
prepares us for earth. Not only does God’s Spirit empower us
to break Satan’s 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 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 preacher’s 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
ALVATION IS
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Saved but Still Enslaved
16
years of ministry that a lot of people are living just as I used to
live—saved but still enslaved. It is time to break free.
Salvation versus Liberation
We need to begin with an important distinction. There is a
di}erence 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 Lord will pass through
to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel
and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and
not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
Exodus 12:22–23
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 ap-
plied to their hearts, yet they are still in bondage in certain areas.
God’s goal for the Israelites was not just to escape death. He
wanted them to be delivered out of Pharaoh’s hand, to enter
the Promised Land and to dwell in that place of abundance
and fulfillment.
That is what God wants for you, too. If you are putting up
with any kind of bondage in your life today—and many of us
are—then you are living outside the will of God. Second Corin-
thians 3:17 (nlt) 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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Sa lvat ion I s a Jou r ney
17
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? Let’s dig deeper into God’s Word. Ephesians 1:7
(nlt) 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
sins—two di}erent benefits.
Colossians 1:13–14 (nlt) 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 confirms that you can have forgiveness
of your sins and still not be free.
First Timothy 2:6 (nlt) 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 Scripture’s
truth will not set you free.
John 8:32 (nlt) 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 God’s 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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Saved but Still Enslaved
18
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, that’s just semantics—what’s
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 emotions—daily 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 filthiness and overflow 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 al-
ready born again. In other words, their spirits had been saved.
But James is saying, “Hey, if you want to get your souls—your
mind, will and emotions—saved, you’re going to have to get
in the Word.”
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Sa lvat ion I s a Jou r ney
19
While the salvation of our spirits is instantaneous, the salva-
tion of our souls is a process. And guess what—the 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 12:1–2 says,
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, 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 creature—period! 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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Saved but Still Enslaved
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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 God’s doing. But the salvation of your
soul is a process, and that process involves you and God work-
ing 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 back—all 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. God’s 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 it—the 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 got-
ten “the Egypt” out of the Israelites. He needed them to deal
with those inner strongholds, and strongholds are best exposed
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Sa lvat ion I s a Jou r ney
21
in the wilderness. Their strongholds of anger, fear, inferiority,
depression and jealousy still remained in them, even though
they were no longer Pharaoh’s captives. Pharaoh was not their
biggest problem. Their inner strongholds were. Because those in
the first 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 answer—those inner
strongholds.
Play O!ense, Not Defense
We are living in a Kingdom that is on the o}ensive, 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 su}ers violence, and
the violent take it by force.” In other words, you have to attack
that thing that is attacking you. You—by the power of God, in
the name of Jesus Christ—have 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 niv). He was saying, “I’m not on defense
in this Kingdom. I’m 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 it—the
Bible does not give one example of a person who lived in spiri-
tual 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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Saved but Still Enslaved
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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 don’t want to be overcome by evil, you must continu-
ally 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 ag-
gressive. 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? Let’s 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 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against pow-
ers, 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
fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; pray-
ing always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being
watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for
all the saints.
Ephesians 6:10–18
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Sa lvat ion I s a Jou r ney
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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 specifically to that last one because
it was really di�cult 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 aggres-
sive 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 kjv). 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 flow of blood for twelve years, and
had su}ered 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 a�iction. 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 throng-
ing 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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Saved but Still Enslaved
24
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 a�iction.”
Mark 5:25–34
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 su}ered 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 o}ense
and decided, I am going to see the Master, and when I touch
His garment, I will be healed. She was determined. She was
confident. 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 di�cult this was for her? It would have been hard enough
for her just to get o} 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.
(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)
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Bobby Davis, Saved But Still EnslavedChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission.
Sa lvat ion I s a Jou r ney
25
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 di}erence 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, accord-
ing to James 2:19 (kjv): “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 di}erence? Faith in God does not receive God’s
power and promises. It is faith toward God that siphons God’s
power into your life and obliterates those strongholds.
Hebrews 11:6 (kjv) 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
diligently—aggressively—seek 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
(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)
Davis_SavedStillEnslaved_NS_djm.indd 25 12/5/13 9:09 AM
Bobby Davis, Saved But Still EnslavedChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission.
Saved but Still Enslaved
26
reminding You, Lord, that I am a born-again, Spirit-filled be-
liever, 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!”
(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)
Davis_SavedStillEnslaved_NS_djm.indd 26 12/5/13 9:09 AM
Bobby Davis, Saved But Still EnslavedChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission.