INTRODUCTION
I. SATAN’S ACTIVITY AND CHARACTERISTICS
A. Not Omnipresent
B. Bold
C. Powerful
D. Proud
E. Subtle
F. Deceitful
G. Cruel
H. Cowardly
I. Causes Fear
II. DEMON ACTIVITY AND CHARACTERISTICS
A. Demons Speak
B. Have Reasoning Power
C. Have Supernatural Strength
D. Have Names
III. DEVIL AND DEMON WORK
A. They Can Possess Sinners
B. Influence And Oppress Saints
C. Hinder The Spreading Of The Gospel
D. Oppose God’s Work
E. Afflict The Saints
F. Plant Doubt About The Word Of God
G. Lead You To Do Evil
H. Work Lying Wonders
IV. DEFEATING THE DEVIL AND DEMONS
A. Continue In The Word
B. Recognize That Jesus Finished The Work
V. BREAKING THE DEVIL’S HOLD
A. Know Why Jesus Came
B. Know What Jesus Accomplished
1. Spoiled The Devil
2. Made Us A New Creation
3. Gave Us A New Position
4. Gave Us New Authority
5. Gave Us New Right
C. Know Why He Did It
D. Know The Holy Spirit Will Also Fulfill His Word
Breaking The Devil’s Hold
Introduction
God’s purpose in saving you and filling you with the Holy Spirit was
not so you could continue to live a fearful, frustrated life down here, and then go to Heaven some day. Rather, He wants you to grow up; and become a mature son or daughter.
This is a study to reveal truths that will enable you to get your mind renewed and walk in victory 365 days a year. SALVATION is for your spirit, DIVINE HEALING is for your body, and DELIVERANCE is for your soul. The soul (mind, will, and emotions) is the area where Satan primarily attacks. This is why deliverance is so important. The information in this book will help you to understand the work of the devil and his demons and how to break their hold upon your life and the lives of others.
Chapter I
Satan’s Activity and Characteristics
A. Not Omnipresent
The devil is not omnipresent. He is not everywhere at once. Only the Holy Spirit of God is omnipresent. The reason it seems like the devil is omnipresent is because he has a well organized, trained army of demons who are working on people simultaneously to show forth his attributes. They may be working on you and me both at the same time to make us think the devil is omnipresent, but he is not. He is a pitiful counterfeit of the Holy Spirit of God.
These evil spirits desire a body to live in because they have attributes to express. God’s attributes are love, joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, and temperance. When He lives in us, He can express His attributes. The devil and his demons must also live in something or someone to express their attributes, which are: fear, hate, resentment, bitterness, and envy.
B. Bold
The devil is bold. Job 1:6 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” He came right into the presence of God. However, boldness does not always include courage. A lot of men are bluffers. They act bold, but when you square off in front of them, they back off. This is the way Satan is. He is only bold as long as he can keep you in ignorance as to who he is and how he operates.
Matthew 4:6 is another example of his boldness. He came face to face with Jesus and tempted Him. But, when Jesus quoted him the Word of God, he ran off, because he could not stand the truth of God’s Word. When he comes around tempting you, say, “Devil, GET!, in the Name of Jesus. I will not live in fear, frustration, defeat or failure. I am a conqueror and an overcomer.”
The devil knows who you are in Jesus. But, as long as you do not know who you are, he has the bluff on you. He will deceive, frustrate and confuse you.
C. Powerful
The devil is powerful, because he is in control of most people in the world today. Ephesians 2:2 says, “Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” In times past, you walked according to the course of the world. You were guided by the devil, the prince of the power of the air. This spirit is still working in those in rebellion to God’s Word. They think they are controlling their own lives, but the fruit being manifested does not show forth godliness. Therefore, they are being influenced and controlled by the devil.
D. Proud
In listing the qualifications of a bishop, Paul says in I Timothy 3:6 that he must not be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. When you first come to the Lord, you are a novice. You hear the truths of God and move out to whip the devil and he whops you along side of the head before you know what has happened. Then you come under condemnation. If you learn nothing else from God’s Word, learn Romans 8:1, “There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” God loves you. You are special to Him. You are His chosen, elected people. And there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Refuse to be condemned, condemnation beats you down. Be aware of it, and realize it is of the devil.
If you have failed, ask God to forgive you and tell the devil to go pin his condemnation on someone else. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
E. Subtle
F. Deceitful
He is deceitful. I Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” Jesus is the Lion of Judah. The devil walks around AS a roaring lion. Jesus is the Lion, and you are of the tribe of the Lion of Judah. You are an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. So, from now on, when that lion begins to roar, just say, “Scat in the Name of Jesus!”
G. Cruel
The devil is cruel. He hates, lies, beats, cheats, steals and kills. Luke 9:39 tells about Jesus casting the devil out of a boy who had been severely tormented. Recognize that evil is from a cruel, uncaring source, Satan. John 10:10 reveals that his nature is to steal, kill, and destroy.
H. Cowardly
James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Every word you speak is spirit. If you speak in line with the Word of God, the devil will flee. But, if you open your mouth and talk fear, frustration, or confusion, those words will come back to you. Your tomorrows are going to be built on the words you speak today. If you talk fear, frustration, defeat and anxiety today, the devil will take your words and build your tomorrow out of that. But, if you talk victory — that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world, that you are an overcomer, that Jesus loves you, and that you have the fruit of the spirit in you, the Holy Spirit can take those words and build you a victorious tomorrow.
I. Causes Fear
Another thing to watch for is fear. II Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Cast down anything that comes against you to make you fearful. Fear is not of God. It is one of Satan’s attributes.
The best way to summarize what you have read so far is to know Galatians 5:22-25. This tells you what the fruit of the Spirit is. Anything that is opposite from the fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the devil.
Chapter II
Demon Activity And Characteristics
When the devil was kicked out of Heaven, about a third of the angels were kicked out with him. Therefore, he now has a trained army of invisible beings, who are totally dedicated by their evil nature to Satan. Although they are invisible, they have characteristics and attributes that they desire to express.
Notice, I said they are a trained army of invisible beings. You cannot see them, but can see their influence. You cannot see fear, but you can see the way it makes a person act. You cannot see anger, but you can see the results of that anger. You cannot see confusion, but you can see what it does to the mind.
Demons desire a mode of expression and human attributes offer the best and highest form of such expression. Americans have been very ignorant of this fact. They thought they were too educated and that all the demons were in South America and Africa. There are probably more demons in the United States of America than anywhere else because of the ignorance of God’s people.
Most demons enter a person during childhood. You may have been battling some of them all of your life and thought that was just the way you were. A few years ago I was in Houston, Texas and God spoke to me and said, “Have that man minister deliverance to you.” Something inside of me kind of rose up a little bit, but I said, “Well, sure, Lord.” I asked the brother if he ministered deliverance. He said he did, so we set up an appointment. I thought if he found two or three in me, he would be doing good.
He cast demons out of me for four hours! I was baptized in the Holy Ghost, and ministering the Word of God! I had been to college, seminary and had pastored a church. I knew the Word and have even cast out devils myself, but God used that brother to set me free. After that, I took hold of God’s Words like I never had before.
Maybe you do not think you need deliverance. You have been deceived. Let the Holy Spirit deal with you concerning this matter.
A. Demons Speak
There are many instances in the Bible where they spoke to Jesus. They literally took over the voice of the person they were inhabiting, and spoke out. While ministering deliverance to Christians, I also have had demons speak to me through the person I was ministering to.
B. They have reasoning power
Matthew 12:43-44 is one example: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
C. Demons have supernatural strength
This is clearly shown in Mark 5:2-5, “And when Jesus was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones.”
Much of what is happening today in mental hospitals and prisons is the result of demonic influence. Man with his intellectual ability, tries to approach the problem from the outside. But it can only be solved by ministering deliverance in the power and authority of the Name of Jesus, by the Spirit, and setting individuals free.
Why is the problem increasing? Why are our prisons and hospitals, and mental hospitals full to running over? Because people have rejected Jesus. They have rejected the teaching of God’s Word on deliverance from demons. Most churches today do not even teach it.
D. Demons have names
Some of the names are revealed and recorded in the Bible, they include: spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15), spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7), dumb and deaf spirit (Mark 9:25,26), spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3), spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11), spirit of jealousy (Numbers 5:14), familiar spirit (Witch or wizard) (I Samuel 28:7,8), spirit of Antichrist (I John 4:3). Through experiences in the deliverance ministry, other demonic names have been revealed to us. A few examples include: rejection, rebellion, insecurity, inferiority, lust, envy, self-will, selfishness, stubbornness, self-deception, self-delusion, self-seduction, suicide, and many others. Their names signify the area of their attack.
Chapter III
Devil and Demon Work
A. They can possess sinners
Evil spirits can possess sinners — spirit, soul and body, but they cannot possess — children of God. They cannot get to their spirit because they are born again of God. They can “oppress” a child of God by influencing his mind, will and emotions. Demons can possess a sinner because he is dead, spiritually. He is not born again, therefore, when they control his spirit, they also control his soul and body.
The devil hates you, saint of God, because he cannot possess you. He would kill you the first opportunity he had, but he cannot because God has His hedge around you.
B. They influence and oppress saints
Since he cannot kill you, the next thing the devil works on is your mind, will, and emotions to destroy your Christian influence. He will try to keep you as a baby, unable to go on and walk in victory 365 days of the year. He will keep your body sick and keep you from knowing the power of God. A body that is not “controlled” by evil spirits will not destroy itself. There is a demonic force behind suicide. Whenever that force gets a hold on someone, it will destroy that person totally and completely, as far as this life is concerned. I have ministered deliverance to hundreds of women and nearly all of them have had a spirit of suicide. Because a woman’s make-up is submissive and gentle, the devil takes advantage of this and attacks them.
C. They hinder the spreading of the Gospel
Matthew 13:19 says, “The wicked shall catch away the seed that was sown in the heart.” This is one of the parables of Jesus. The seed was sown in the heart, but it was caught away. When you hear God’s Word, it will hit your heart, and you will believe it. But, before you have time to act upon it, the devil will come along with troubles and problems, and get you so disturbed, frustrated and confused that he will snatch away that seed.
For example, you might have had the healing seed, the Word of God, inside of you and received a healing, but later you could not keep your healing. The devil came along with pain and sickness to pull that healing seed away from you. It says he catches away what was sown in your heart. This is how he hinders the Gospel. After you hear the Word, he comes along and bombards your mind, will, and emotions and causes the seed of faith not to stay there and grow.
You may have walked in victory for weeks and weeks in a certain area, but did not keep cultivating that victory seed. The enemy came and snatched away those Scriptures. It was sown in your heart, but he snatched it away.
Because the devil comes along and begins to bombard your mind, will, and emotions, that seed does not have time to lie there in fertile soil and grow. It is like a farmer who goes out and plants corn. If he would go out the next week and proceed to dig the corn up, it would not grow. When you make up your mind to go on with Jesus, get ready! The devil
is going to come at you. He will try to stop you from getting that seed grown up inside of you.
When the seed began to grow inside of me that, “my God would supply all my needs according to His riches in glory,” everything started going wrong financially. The enemy began to bombard me. But, I guarded that seed and fed it everyday. I would say, “Praise God, My God supplies all my needs, He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world, I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, God says He will supply all my needs.” I kept confessing the Word of God. I kept cultivating and watering the seed, and that seed began to grow inside of me. The next thing I knew, the Word had grown so strong inside of me, that it burst out of my mouth and I came against the devil with the Word and broke his hold. The Lord manifested the finances and I was soon able to pay off my bills. The seed had grown so strong and the roots so deep that Satan could no longer catch it away from me. I am still reaping the harvest of that financial seed now! Praise God!
I saw in the Word that Jesus bore my sickness and my infirmities. (Isaiah 53:4&5). When I took hold of that seed, I started having more aches, pains, and stomach troubles than ever before. My wife started having problems, the kids started having problems. What was the devil trying to do? He was trying to hinder the gospel. What is the gospel? The Word of God. He was trying to catch away the Word of God before it had time to grow, and mature inside of me. I kept on confessing, “By His stripes I am healed. I do not care what you do, Devil, I am healed. My family is healed and I am going to walk in victory and health, 365 days a year. Jesus bore my sicknesses! Jesus bore my sicknesses!”
I cultivated that seed. I watered it with the Word of God and the seed grew, and grew, and grew. I went home one day and said, “Honey, throw the medicine away; we do not need it anymore. Jesus bore our sicknesses — they are not ours anymore, Praise God!” The devil would come against me and I would say, “Devil, you are a liar, my body is healed.” And the pain would leave in response to the command. The seed continued to grow strong inside of me. My children would come and I would lay my hands upon them and say, “Devil, in the Name of Jesus, get your hands off of my children, they belong to me.” He cannot catch that seed away, I have cultivated and watered that seed, and it is full grown. Now I am living in the harvest reaped from that full grown seed — perfect health, 365 days a year for my entire family.
You may have been hearing these truths, and desiring to stand upon them, but when you begin to stand, the evil one comes and snatches away the seed. (Read Matthew chapter thirteen.) He comes with afflictions, persecutions, and problems. The devil and his demons are the ones who are stealing it from you. Remember the devil is just a little house cat, not a roaring lion. The next time he comes against you with problems, just rear back and say, “Ha, ha, ha, Devil, I know who you are. Get out of here in the name of Jesus.” Remember he is as a roaring lion. He is a defeated foe. Jesus defeated him at Calvary.
If there was a big, disgusting, filthy pig in your house that weighed 350 pounds, you would not say, “Now, get out of here piggy, come on piggy, piggy, piggy.” You would shout, “Get out of here!” You would kick him and run him out. Well, brothers and sisters, that is what you have to do to the devil. He is worse than the sloppiest pig!
You have been hearing some truths, but Satan has been bombarding your mind, will, and emotions, and snatching it away before you can get the victory. Guard that seed. The faith seed on healing, prosperity, walking in victory, and praise has matured inside of me like a huge oak tree. The wind just blows, and the big oak tree just stands there. I have not always been a big oak tree inside. That oak tree started as a little seed. You have that seed inside of you, too, the Word of God. Continue to feed it with more Word and you will then be able to stand upon it steadfastly.
D. Demons oppose God’s work
I Thessalonians 2:18 says, “Satan hindered us.” Paul said, “I wanted to come and be with you, but Satan hindered me.” He is hindering you from going on to maturity. This is his work. He does it by bombarding your mind with fear and frustration. He bombards your emotions with depression, oppression, uncertainties, loneliness, hurt, resentment and bitterness. When these things come against you, refuse them. You have been trained by the devil in past years to accept his garbage. Now you have a new nature inside of you. When these things come against you, say, “I am not going by my old nature — I am going by that new nature, the Spirit of God that is living inside of me.” If you accept it, it will hinder you.
The devil and his demons are spirits. They are invisible. You will waste your time trying to talk them off of you, or by pleading or begging. The only way you can make him leave is by using your sword, the Word of God. Confess it with your mouth. God’s Word spoken by your mouth is the sword, It cuts. Say, “In the Name of Jesus, Satan get out of here…I am more than a conqueror…I am an heir of God…I am a joint-heir with Jesus Christ…I am healed…By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed…I can do all things through Christ Jesus…God provides all my needs.” That is your sword, use it!
Most people go around with their mouth shut unless they open it to complain, gripe or grumble. They use the sword alright, but it is cutting them to pieces. They speak God’s Word as if the devil has his shield right in front of them, and the Word just bounces back on them. You cannot
think the devil off of you. Submit yourself unto the Lord and resist the devil. How do you resist the devil? With the Sword, the Word of God spoken through your lips in faith. Someone might say, “But I did that for two weeks, and nothing happened. What do I do?” Keep speaking the Word. No matter how tough you are, if you came to me and let me start hitting you as hard as I could, you would soon move. If I was thumping you on the head, and I thumped long enough, you would move. Well, if you will take the Word of God and put it on the devil long enough, he will move, he has to!
E. The devil and demons afflict the saints
Job 2:7 says the devil smote Job with boils.
God is not the author of sickness; therefore, if you have been taught this in your religious background, seek the Lord in faith with an expectation that He will show you this truth. The Bible very plainly says that the devil smote Job with boils. Read Luke 13:16. It was Satan who had the woman bound for 18 years. It was not God. God is a God of love.
Can you picture God causing a baby to be born into the world deformed? God is love. Can you picture a crippled man believing that God did that to him? It was not God, but Satan. What about a thirty year old man with five or six children, who dies with a heart attack? Is that love?
I do not know what kind of love you are used to, but I would not want to know anybody with that kind of love. I love my family, but I do not want to put cancer on them to show them how much I love them. I show my love by helping them. Our concepts have been completely warped and distorted. We were taught that a God of love is the one who has been beating us up all these years. That is not true. God manifests His love by helping us, mending us and lifting us up. (Read James 1:17.)
The devil has lied to us. He has told us that God put problems, sickness and diseases on us because we did something wrong. He comes around and says, “Now don’t say anything about that problem, you deserve it.” He hits us with all kinds of things and then says, “God is doing that to you.”
I do not accept any of it anymore, because it does not line up with the Word of God. Take the Lord’s Prayer. It says, “Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.” Do you think there will be sickness and disease in heaven? Of course not! Then refuse to submit to it here.
F. Satan plants doubt about the Word of God
He started in the Garden. Genesis 3:4 says, “Ye shall not surely die. God said you would die, but you will not surely die.”
God’s Word says, “You can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens you.” And, the devil says, “Yes, He says that, but He does not really mean it.”
The Bible says that, “Jesus bore your sicknesses and your infirmities” (Isaiah 53:4&5). But the enemy will lie and say, “Yes, He bore them, but He put man here to help you along.” The Word says, “My God shall supply ALL my needs according to His riches in glory.” The enemy replies with, “Yes, I know the Bible says that, but you are going a little bit too far on it.”
Anytime you read God’s Word and anything comes against it to contradict or dilute it, it is demonic. The same Spirit that gave the Word is the same Spirit that deals with us today. He will not dilute something He gave before. He is Truth. Three times in the Gospel of John, the Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. The Word of God was revealed to man by the Spirit of Truth. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them through Truth,
thy Word is Truth.”
Satan plants doubt. He makes you think you cannot walk in victory 365 days of the year. Your church has told you that you have to do a little sinning, you have to be sick, you have to borrow a little money, you have to have insurance. They have told you everything but to trust totally and completely in God. They say God does not mean that anymore, but they are mistaken. God means exactly what He said. He is going to have men and women who will believe His Word just as it is. I am one of them, and I believe that you are going to be, too!
You will be ridiculed and mocked, just like Jesus was. Jesus said they persecuted Me, and they will do it to you. Why did they persecute Jesus? Because He made bold confessions. He stood up and said who He was. Until He said He was the Son of God, they left Him alone. As long as you do not stand up and say, “I believe that God heals all disease,” people will not fight you very much. Until you stand up and say, “I believe that demons are the biggest problem today,: people will not bother you very much. Until you lift your hands and say, “The Bible says to praise Him morning, noon, and night, and I am going to do it,” people will not say very much about you.
When I was pastoring a Baptist church, hardly anyone talked about me. Most people did not even know I was around. We had our little ritual every week. Some of you Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians and Presbyterians, etc. may be familiar with that. We were taught to be reverent and worshipful. But, the Bible says to lift holy hands and praise Him. And what does the church tell us to do? We are to be reverent and worshipful and only praise Him in our heart. If someone would start smiling a little bit at our church, I felt something must be wrong. They were troublemakers! If someone would start saying, “Amen,” a little loud, I would think they were disturbing the serenity of the service and was fearful that they would drive off visitors.
G. Another part of the Devil’s work is to lead you to evil
In Acts 5:3 we read about Ananias and Sapphira. They came to give what they had to the apostles, but had decided to hold some back from God and therefore had agreed to lie. As a result, God struck them dead.
Is God that mean? If you have it, you can keep it. But, if you say, “I will give it to God,” then later change your mind, you better let the Lord know that you have changed your mind. You better talk to
Him about it. Do not lie to Him! The devil deceived them and caused them to lie to the Holy Ghost. If they would have come to Peter and said, “We began thinking about this and had intended to give all that we have, but just cannot do it,” Peter would have said, “That is alright.” But, they said they were going to give it all, so that when they came, Peter asked, “Is this all of it?” They answered, “Yes, this is all of it.” Peter replied, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” The devil leads people to do all evil. He will try to lead you to do evil, and if you yield to it, do not blame God! It is the devil who authored it, and you yielded.
H. Satan works lying wonders
II Thessalonians 2:9 says, “With all power and signs and lying wonders.” We were seeing more lying wonders today than ever before. My daughter told me about something she saw at school. Young girls would kneel down in the library and lay a girl on the floor. Then they would get two on each side, and lift her up with just four fingers. The girl weighed about 110 pounds, and was raised up by small girls using levitation.
Witchcraft, the occult, hypnotism, and all these things are lying wonders. The Devil’s power is real. Tables can be made to rise, glasses can be caused to break, voices can be heard, and human beings can be made to rise and remain suspended in the air. These are all lying wonders and signs. There is more going on today than ever before, but the Bible says, “When sin abounds, grace shall super-abound.” The more the devil begins to manifest his power, the more God will supernaturally manifest His power through His believers who act on the Word in the Name of Jesus. The more you see things going on in the world, the greater can be your expectancy to see the release of the power of God to overcome evil with good.
To summarize this chapter, the devil and demons can possess sinners, but not Christians. They hinder the Gospel by snatching the seed of the Word out of your heart before it grows to maturity. They oppose God’s Word and afflict the saints by attacking them in various ways. They also plant doubt about the Word of God and tempt people to do evil. In an attempt to deceive, they will even work lying wonders.
Chapter IV
Defeating the Devil and Demons
How are you going to defeat the devil and his demons? First, by not remaining ignorant. II Corinthians 2:11 says, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” John 8:31-32 says, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” These Scriptures must become reality to you, if you have purposed in your heart to be an overcomer. Here are two essential truths God’s people must have knowledge of in their hearts in order to walk in victory.
A. Continue in the Word
If you continue in His Word, your faith will grow, mature and produce. But, if you do not continue in the Word, you will not be prosperous, healthy, or able to walk in victory. He said, “If you continue in My Word, then you are my disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free.”
I have continued in faith and it has continued to set my family free from needs. I did not start then stop, and start again and then stop again. Rather, I made a quality decision that God’s Word is true, and that I would never get off of it. I started on that Word and said I will never, never, ever stop. I fed the seed of faith inside of me, and it grew and is now producing.
If you remain ignorant, the devil will try to come and snatch away the seed. That is why you must know and understand demonic influence and work. This knowledge and understanding can only come from study, meditation and action on God’s Word. The reason you are having problems is because you do not know what is going on. The devil is trying to prevent you from cultivating that seed with the Word of God. You do not plant the seed, and immediately get a harvest. There is a growing season. A rough storm may come through and wipe out your crop. “What do I do then,” you might ask? Well, be quick to repent and go to I John 1:9 and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Then get back into the Word so that you may become rooted, grounded and steadfast.
I John 4:4 says, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Take that Scripture and walk with it every day. Realize that the Word says that, “you are a conqueror and an overcomer.” Feed the seed and the next thing you know, it will break through the ground, and begin to grow inside of your heart. It will grow up and become as strong as an oak tree. It will be steadfastly rooted, and all the devil will be able to do is aimlessly bump his head against it.
I have continued in the Word, and have not remained ignorant; therefore, I have been set free. I am not lifting myself up, but trying to encourage! There are no elite in this walk. It is for
all believers. Therefore, continue in the Word and ask yourself in what area of your life you are not walking in victory. Then realize that God has not missed it, you have just failed to continue in that area. What causes you to fail to continue? The devil and his demonic forces have bombarded your mind, your will, your emotions, and your body with pressure and circumstances until you just backed up, sat down, and gave up.
Confess this with me: “Devil, I am going on! You are defeated. I know that you are as a roaring lion, and I purpose to run you out of my house. I say this in Jesus’ Name, that I am going to continue…I am going to feed the seed of faith in the areas of healing, prosperity, praise, and deliverance. I am going to feed them, and feed them, and feed them until they produce a harvest.”
B. Recognize that Jesus finished the work
I John 3:8 says Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. They are already destroyed. It is essential, saints of God, that you know
who you are and what you are! Know that Satan is a defeated foe, and that you are an heir of God and joint-heir with Jesus Christ. When you realize that Jesus finished it all, you can get into Jesus’ boat and ride. When the storms come, you do not have to jump over board, but rather continue in the Word. Just right upon the finished work of Jesus Christ that was completed at Calvary. Know who you are, and know your power. Romans 8:17 says that you are an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ — the Victor, the Conqueror, the Almighty, the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending! Glory to God!
II Corinthians 2:14 says, “He
always causes you to triumph in Christ.” Why don’t you tell the devil that? Say, “Devil, I want you to know that I always triumph in Christ Jesus. I always whip you. I always defeat you, because I am abiding in the finished work of Jesus Christ and I am continuing in Him because I know the Truth.”
If you slip and get knocked down, get up and say, “I always win.” Do not play a nine inning ball game, but play until you win. I may have a fifteen round fight with the devil, and at the end of the fifteenth round, as I am laying flat on my back, the devil’s referee jumps on me and says, “Well, it is all over.” I say, “It is not over, I am just taking a little breather.” “You cannot fight but fifteen rounds here,” he might say. But I reply, “Who says so? That is your rule, but in the rule book (the Word) we fight until we win.”
Do not ever stop! Do not ever give up! I have seen times when I believed God for something that was supposed to be here on the first of the month, and on the second or third of the month, it still was not manifested. Did I give up? No, I just kept confessing I had it, and that
I believe I received it when I prayed. The devil would come around and say, “You cannot do that. You were supposed to have it on the first.” I just confess, “Who says I can’t do it, I believe I received it when I prayed, and it is mine!”
I continue to speak my confessions of faith, and the next thing I know, it manifests. Never give up, but instead, obey the Word.
James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” This is where most seem to make their mistakes. They try to pray those demons out. The Bible does not say to
pray demons out, but to cast them out. Prayer has its function, but it will not get a demon out. The Bible says to cast them out in the Name of Jesus (Mark 16:17). What does casting out mean? It means to firmly command them to leave. Do not say, “Mr. Demon, I do not want you anymore. Would you please leave me in the Name of Jesus?” Jesus commanded demons to leave. He commanded them to, “Come out” (Mark 1:25). Read the Scriptures. Paul commanded them to leave in the Name of Jesus (Acts 16:18). Do not try to pray demons out, or talk them out. The Bible says to cast them out.
Confess this with me: “Father, in the Name of Jesus, I stand today in the presence of the Word of God, because the Spirit of God is in me, and I confess I am an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ…I am more than a conqueror…I can do all things through Jesus Christ Who strengthens me…I am going to do what God says. I am going to walk in victory over the enemy. I am going to live victorious everyday for Jesus. I say this in the Name of Jesus. I challenge you, Satan, with the Word of God, to stand if you can. But, I know you cannot, because God’s Word says that He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world.”
Chapter V
Breaking the Devil’s Hold
In II Corinthians 2:11 the Word says, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: (which means deceive or outsmart us) for we are not ignorant of his devices (thoughts and intentions).” It is only as you are ignorant of his devices, thoughts and intentions that he is able to defeat you. But, praise God, Jesus Christ defeated the devil at Calvary. The devil is legally finished! As you begin to realize and know who you are, and what you are in Christ, you will no longer be subject to Satan, and will be able to walk in spiritual, mental, physical, and material prosperity through Jesus Christ the Son of God. You are an heir of God and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. You have been delivered out of the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be walking in victory. It is the Truth that makes you free.
It is not enough to merely have knowledge of the Word. It is
“knowledge plus action that equals faith.” It is knowing the Word, and then acting upon it that is going to bring victory in your life. Many people have a lot of knowledge of the Word of God, but cannot even get their big toe healed. When I went to seminary, there were men who had studied the Bible 30 and 40 years. They were Greek and Hebrew scholars. They knew all about the Bible, yet were defeated, frustrated, miserable, sick men. They had nothing but head knowledge, because they had never acted upon what they knew.
It really does not take a lot of knowledge of the Word, if you will
do what you know. There are generally five areas which are Satan’s principle attack areas against God’s people. If you will take Scriptures that deal with these areas, and will believe and confess and stand on them, you will walk in victory everyday! God gives us His Word that we will! I have listed these five principle areas for you. Look up Scripture references for each area and stand upon them. It’s God Word saints! He is faithful to His word! 1. Divine life — know who you are. 2. Divine guidance — know that God will guide you. 3. Divine protection — know that God will take care of you and protect you. 4. Divine health — know that God wants your body to be healthy. 5. Financial prosperity — know that He wants you to prosper. When you have these five areas covered with the Word of God, then you have something to start with. The Word has to get from your head to your heart in order to work for you. Apply II Timothy 2:15 to your life and watch that head knowledge drop into your heart. Then come the results! Are you willing to pay the price?
II Corinthians 10:4-5 says to cast down all imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Cast down any thought that comes to you about not having power over the devil, or being unable to walk in spiritual, mental, physical, or financial victory. It did not come from God.
When I was an infant and began to learn what my hand was for, it helped me. I would grab hold of the baby bed and pull myself up. I could grab my bottle, or candy, or anything else when I knew what my hand was for. When God’s people learn who they are, and what they are in Christ, they are going to start grabbing hold of the Sword of the Word of God, and putting it to work against the devil.
Philippians 4:6 tells us to be anxious for nothing.
Do not worry about the devil! Know about him, and what he does, but realize that he is defeated. Philippians 4:8 says to only think on those things which are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Defeat does not fit into that, sickness does not fit, frustration, confusion, fear, agitation, insecurities, and inferiorities do not fit. If you will begin to think God’s way, and cast down anything contrary, you will whip the enemy. Here are some truths that you will find helpful in breaking the hold of the devil.
A. Know why Jesus came
The Bible says in I John 3:8, “For this purpose the Son of Man was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” When Satan’s hold is broken, your eyes are open, and you can ask Jesus to come into your life, and save you, and also be healed and delivered.
Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life. He defeated the devil in every area of His life to set the perfect example for you and me. Jesus said He came to show us how to live the abundant life. He not only came to tell us, but He came to show us how to walk in His kind of life. If you want to be like Jesus, walk in victory 365 days of the year. Jesus was never defeated!
It looked like Jesus was defeated at Calvary, but it was victory. Many times it will look like you are being defeated, but if you are holding fast to the Word of God, defeat shall be turned into victory. Everything that comes our way, that looks like defeat, can be turned into victory. Jesus took things that looked like they would defeat him, and conquered them all. He became our example.
The Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrew 13:8). He came to destroy the works of the devil. It is because of our ignorance that Satan has been able to cause so many problems, heart-aches and fears. We did not know that he was defeated. In the past, he had been running a bluff, and in doing so, had deceived and tripped us. But, praise the Lord Jesus, we are no longer ignorant of his devices.
B. Know what Jesus accomplished
1. Spoiled the Devil
Colossians 2:15 says, “Having spoiled principalities and power, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” The Word says “spoiled,” that is past tense! He already did it! Satan is sentenced to the Lake of Fire, but not yet imprisoned. We have authority over Him. When something is spoiled it is not good. The devil was spoiled by Jesus.
He will come around as long as he can keep the blinders on our eyes, and keep us ignorant of the Truth of who we are in Christ Jesus. Realize that according to the Word of God, Satan is spoiled.
Know that since Jesus Christ died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended back to Heaven, and seated Himself at the right hand of the Father, we have been able to conquer the enemy. We have been delivered from the power of darkness. How did He deliver us? By giving us power over it. Christ is in us, and we are in Him. We are seated with Him in glory. When the going gets rough, remember that you are seated in heavenly places with Jesus, and look down here and see your situation like Jesus does. You will find yourself saying, “Where did that problem go?”
Jesus has liberated you, but you have to know what you have been liberated from. The death and resurrection of Jesus was the proclamation. He set you free from the power of darkness. Until you know this, the devil will keep you wrapped up and in bondage. You no longer have to be sick or have physical problems. You can plant the Word of God inside of you, and God will make your body whole. The same is true for any area of your life, but in order to walk in it, you will have to pay the price of learning the Word.
The devil is going to fight. He does not want to turn you loose, but instead wants to keep you bound to prevent you from living a life that will be a Christ-like example for others. If your life begins to shine for Jesus, you will influence others. The devil does not want anyone but himself in the influencing business.
As long as he can keep you in ignorance, you will live all your life in insecurities, fears and frustrations. The devil will be running all over you. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are defeated. We are conquerors and overcomers. The message of Jesus Christ so liberates, and is so good and beautiful that it frightens most people. They cannot understand it. Their minds must be renewed in order to perceive and understand the truths of God.
2. Jesus made us a new creation
II. Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” It does not say one of these days we will become a new creature. We are a new “species,” NOW! Whatever species you are born of gives you certain attributes
The devil is subtle. II Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
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