Saved but Still Enslaved

SAVED BUT STILL

ENSLAVEDBREAKING FREE FROM STRONGHOLDS

BOBBY DAVIS

G(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Davis_SavedStillEnslaved_NS_djm.indd 5 12/5/13 9:09 AM

Bobby Davis, Saved But Still EnslavedChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2014. Used by permission.

© 2014 by Robert Davis

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(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)



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




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




11

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




12

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




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




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




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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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.”





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.’”





20

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





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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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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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





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.





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





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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!”




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