April 23, 2006

• I will get back to Revelation, but good news – Bible studies are starting up again, and today at church there was a phenomenal Bible study and a great sermon to share, so Revelation postings may be less frequent.

  
  

  Before I get to the posting of Sunday services, I want to share a pretty large passage from Pastor Don Moore’s Discipleship manual regarding demonic activity. This is prompted from someone’s post that I read and I want to put this up as a resource.

  
  

  The devil Made Me Do It!
       Demonic activity can occur at any age in anyone. The greatest saints can come under attack or due to error act upon a lie from the evil one. We should not be overly concerned as the evil one in our midst will always be found out and defeated by the faithful. Too often saints confuse demonic activity with people acting out in their “flesh.” The flesh with its sinful desires (Gal. Ch 5) rises up without any help from satan. Often “The devil made me do it” or “I was under attack” are excuses for out-of-control behavior. In Galatians Chapter 5, we read that self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit we have, but we must exercise it.
       There are people that, without demon influence, are mean, hard to get along with, out of balance and devilish while not devil influenced. Children may learn to be selfish or to throw tantrums to get their way. If they are not corrected, they become infantile adults. A demon sees this behavior and pushes it from selfish behavior into out of control self-destructive behavior, from tantrums to out of control rage. The will power of the person becomes greatly compromised at times and in specific areas, leading to demonic oppression or even possession-almost complete loss of self-control over one’s own will.
       People, due to bad habits and wrong thinking open the door for demons to enter. Consider for example, a woman that measures her importance by having a man. Her low self-esteem is wrong thinking and chasing men for validation is a bad habit. Consider she gets saved but doesn’t allow Jesus to be Lord over her personal life in this area. She allows a man that she’s chasing to move into her apartment due to her desperation. She has now opened the door for the possibility of demonic attack.
       Usually the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will cause her to consider her situation but bad habits and wrong thinking lead to compromise and hypocrisy. She hides from the “light of the Truth” unaware that devils wait in the darkness. She begins to hear voices that tell her what she wants to hear, and after awhile begins acting upon them, which results in compulsive erratic behavior; demons have gained a foot hold. The sin must be dealt with (boyfriend thrown out) as well as the bad habits and wrong thinking, but only when she goes to  Jesus can we help her.
       This is one example of how sin can open the door for the demonic – this is the same with any saint or sinner. Remember demons are bullies and they attack the weak, the sick, the young or the old – anyone that is not protected or poses a threat to their kingdom. As Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8, “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
       Modern psychology has helped demonic activity by putting us all in denial, saying, ‘they are not ill, not demonically influenced or possessed.’ I believed what I had been taught in graduate school. While working as a counselor on a chronic schizophrenic ward in Toledo, Ohio, my thinking was challenged one day when I saw a skinny 16 yr. old boy toss four grown, trained orderlies around the room. I realized that psychological babble and 1500 mg of Thorazine couldn’t help this young boy get free of what was making him unbelievably strong.
      Modern psychology has often put labels on behavior that is clearly demonic and has failed to truly help these people. Medication sedates the host’s body and may make it difficult for the demon to act out, but he’s still in there bending or dominating the host’s will. Without all the fancy diagnostic terminology, the Jews of Jesus’ day cut to the chase. If you’re out of your mind and working against your best interest there’s probably a demon somewhere around – and you may need an exorcist, not Prozac or Valium. You may need true salvation, which includes deliverance. You need to put away sin and get the forgiveness of Jesus to get free. If it’s not a question of sin, then it is a manifestation of the demon dominating the weak, and Jesus is till the answer.
      The demonic is compulsive, erratic, confused, overly rigid and usually opposed to the things of God. Demonic possession is better described as demonic influence or demonically influenced will power. Note that even the demon possessed an of Gaderenes (Mark 5:6) had enough will power to go to Jesus. He had a legion of demons that could make him super strong and even self destructive, but they couldn’t stop him from going to Jesus. In Acts 16, the slave girl had a fortune telling demon and still had enough will power to follow Paul for days, crying out till deliverance came. The Gaderine demoniac and the slave girl had some will power left but usually they were dominated in many other areas of life.

  
  

  devils In The Church
       Demon possessed people show up in church when the host has a will to want to get set free, or his will has been dominated and the demon plans to infiltrate, disrupt and destroy, using the host who has yielded his/her will to that end. There are other circumstances and further study is of value for the true disciple. Good study sources are books on thesubject of demons written by Lester Summerall, Kenneth Hagin, and Derek Prince.
       We just know it’s God’s will to have victory over the demonic. In these last days the battle lines will become less obscured. Those that are against the message of the Gospel are aggressive and in the open. As persecution increases we must know satan is the source and that he uses people in and out of the church to do his work.
    Look for critical whispering spirits that think they see what others are missing. As we read in 2 Cor 11:13-14 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” I call this prideful seed planting. As you walk in love with compassionate care for all the sheep, the demon becomes frustrated and angry, and will manifest. The host will become overt and may exhibit a wide range of behaviors from shouting, self-mutilation, verbal attacks, uncontrollable weeping, to violence. Remember in all cases. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rules of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)
       Stand on 1 John 4:4 “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Your counter attack is to identify the will of the host and dominate the foul spirit using the Blood of the Lamb. A person in cooperation with the demon will resist you and flee in order to keep the demon. They will refuse prayer, counseling and avoid you at all costs. I once had a person who flat out told me, “I know what you want to do.” I had invited him to go to my office so I could call on the Lord to rid him of the demon. “I’m not going into the office or sanctuary with you. Maybe later, but now I’m keeping what I got, so I’m leaving,” he said.
       People are free moral agents. Through choices they make and through sin they earn the state they are in.This is not the case with children or the weak, and we must set them free. satan is an oppressor and a bully with no sense of fair play. he takes advantage over unprotected children, the weak minded or sinful unsuspecting souls.
      People that are hard to get along with may not be demon influenced. They may be just flesh influenced. Signs of a person under demonic influence.
   1) they cannot stay in the service when the power of God is moving
   2) they move contrary to the flow of the Spirit (i.e. loud when everyone is quiet, troubled
       when all is at peace)
   3) they draw attention to themselves at inappropriate times
   4) they fight the Pastor and Elders, but with little cause
   5) they have hate for the Jews and their position with God
   6) they have an unbalanced spiritual self-image, very low self-esteem (God could never
       love me), or superiority complex (they’re all hypocrites, but me)
   7) they are unbalanced Scripturally (i.e. everyone should be a prophet, the devil will
       get saved, women have no place in the church. etc.
   8) they have contradictory behavior that they refuse to deal with (they say, “I’m the
       only true holy one”, yet they continue to fornicate, lie, and refuse to address
       these issues.)
   9) they have recurrent persistent strange illnesses
  10) spiritual paranoia -(thinking, “someone, somewhere is in league with the devil casting
        spells against me, and I think it could be the Salvation Army”)
      In these last days, “End-Time Discipleship” must involve a knowledge of and dominance over the demonic. Pray for discernment and drive out the demon. If the host is not willing, drive them both out (See 1 Cor. Chapter 5)
      Scripture showes that most demons gained entrance through sin, unforgiveness, drug use, resentment, bitterness, anger, hate, rejection of the Truth, generational curses and idol worship. These sins and emotions should be destroyed to remove the demon’s stronghold. This can be done through repentance, prayer, and other means; more on this later.

  
  

  ***When dealing with the demonic, the disciple should always confess:
     1) God hath not given me a spirit of fear.
    2) faith works every time against every demon.
    3) He sent His Word and healed them Psalm 107:20
     The church is  the place where demons can come but cannot stay, for there is power in the Blood of Jesus, Amen!

  
  

  I am hoping that the above is helpful, it is from pages 113-116 of the Discipleship Manuel that was written by Pastor Don Moore, In His Name Ministry. Pastor Don knows and approves of the posts that I am making, and when I see him, I give him copies of what I have posted and your responses to the posts. I always want to make sure that I am presenting him accurately.

  
  

  Hope you have a blessed Sunday.

  
  

  Heather

  
  

   

  • 6:08 pm
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