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**Bind the Strongman to Take Territory.**


 ## Binding the Strongman: A South African’s Battle Plan for Spiritual Breakthrough  

*By Harold Mawela (Akasia, Pretoria)*  

The cracked tar road to the Akasia police station mirrors our national soul—weary, neglected, yet straining toward hope. Last week, *The Star* reported our station operates with **5 vehicles** for 152 square kilometers . Five! While officers scramble like shepherdless sheep, a different *strongman* strangles our township: not the visible thieves, but the **invisible architects of despair**—spirits of corruption, apathy, and generational trauma. I stood there, watching Sergeant Moloi jot reports under a flickering fluorescent light, and heard the Spirit whisper: *"How shall we plunder the enemy’s house if we haven’t first bound its owner?"* (Matthew 12:29).  

### I. The Anatomy of a Strongman: Beyond Metaphor  

In my Zulu grandmother’s tales, *Tokoloshe*—the hairy, mischievous demon—could only be thwarted by lifting your bed on bricks. A child’s fable? Perhaps. But Scripture unveils a darker reality: **strongmen** (*ischitho* in Xhosa) are systemic evil’s custodians. They exhibit seven traits :  

1. **Might** (*Amandla*): Dominating territories (e.g., gangs in Cape Flats).  

2. **Terror** (*Ukwesaba*): Breeding fear (gender-based violence surged 53% in Gauteng).  

3. **Collector Mentality**: Hoarding "goods"—dreams, resources, destinies.  

4. **Legal Pedigree**: Exploiting generational curses or unrepented sin.  

5. **Armed Fortification**: "Fully armed" (Luke 11:21)—think state capture’s lawyers.  

6. **Defensive Architecture**: Strongholds (*iziqhingi*) in minds (e.g., "My vote won’t change anything").  

7. **Defeat Requires Superior Force**: Only Jesus—*"Stronger than the strong"* (Mark 3:27)—can disarm them.  

*Last month, a young man in Soshanguve confessed to me: "I’m seated on a soakaway, bruised, while my strongman feasts."* His addiction wasn’t just chemical; it was a **spiritual squatter**.  

### II. Binding 101: Christ’s Strategy for South African Saints  

Jesus’ model was tactical:  

> **Step 1**: **Identify the Strongman’s Address**  

> Is it over Tshwane’s governance? Your child’s depression? That festering racial resentment? Strongmen thrive in unlit corners. *Name them*.  

> **Step 2**: **Restrict with Divine Authority**  

> "Binding" (*ukubopha*) isn’t chanting. It’s declaring Christ’s victory over the strongman’s legal claim. When corruption diverts R1.5 trillion , we decree: *"By Jesus’ blood, we revoke your license to steal our future!"*  

> **Step 3**: **Plunder with Prophetic Audacity**  

> After binding, *loose* (*ukukhulula*) God’s kingdom: righteousness in parliament, hope in schools, unity in churches. DA’s recent by-election wins ? Mere shadows of Zion’s government (Isaiah 9:7).  

### III. When Binding Fails: Why We Stall at the Gate  

A lady in my congregation dreamed of a **giant blocking her marital gate**—red and black *mbhaco* cloth, bare chest heaving . She’d fasted, yet he remained. Why? Three pitfalls:  

1. **Symptom-Fighting**: Protesting potholes (Akasia’s crumbling roads ) but ignoring the *spirit of civic neglect*.  

2. **Unforgiveness as Kevlar**: Bitterness arms strongmen. Recall Mandela: *"Resentment is like drinking poison."*  

3. **Faithless "Binding"**: Empty declarations without surrendered hearts (James 4:7). True power flows from **surrender**—laying down your Isaac (Genesis 22) .  

*Listen*: Political "strongmen" rise (Zimbabwe next door ) when the Church’s prayer muscles atrophy.  

### IV. Case Study: Kilimanjaro Corruption vs. Calvary’s Cure  

Corruption, says *Africa in Fact*, is Africa’s Kilimanjaro—"**resistant to attack**" . Our Anti-Corruption Court flounders with 7% rulings enforced. Why? We battle flesh, not principalities (Ephesians 6:12).  

**Solution**:  

- **Bind the Spirit of Greed**: "In Jesus’ name, we freeze ill-gotten assets in Dubai banks!"  

- **Loose Kingdom Economics**: Support businesses like *"Karabo’s Kitchen"* in Mamelodi—feeding orphans, hiring single moms.  

- **Fast from Fatalism**: Replace "South Africa is doomed" with "**Siyakuduma**—we are thundering forward in Christ!"  

### V. The Akasia Altar: Your Home as a Stronghold-Breaking Base  

This morning, I anointed my doorpost in Akasia Extension 6. Why? Because strongmen **fall fastest in fortified homes**. Practical steps:  

1. **Scripture Over Systems**: Post Isaiah 49:24-25 on mirrors: *"Shall prey be taken from the mighty? ... I will save your children."*  

2. **Communal Binding**: Gather neighbors. Bind spirits of crime loitering near *spaza* shops.  

3. **Vote with Heaven’s Ballot**: Elect God’s agenda daily—in Tshwane’s council and your heart.  

> **Final Call**:  

> Saints, we stand where the **blood-red earth of Pretoria** meets Christ’s crimson flow. Bind the strongman strangling your sector. Loose revival on streets where miners once fell . Remember: *A bird may fly over your head, but don’t let it nest* . Tear down strongholds—thought by thought, law by law, suburb by suburb.  

> *"We laugh at you, strongman! Beside Jesus, you’re a baby in a giant’s costume!"* . Now—plunder his house.  

**Prayer**:  

> Father, by Jesus’ authority, we bind every strongman over Akasia, Tshwane, and South Africa. We restrict corruption’s influence, poverty’s lie, and division’s venom. Loose Your kingdom like a mighty *pula* rain! Revive us—street by street, soul by soul. Amen.

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