Hi all,
Last week I shared the most important parable Jesus taught, which reveals the only 5 categories of attack Satan can bring: Pressures of life and opinions (persecution) against us, brought on by the open door of that person not being rooted and grounded in unconditional love. And, the love for the things of the world, deceitfulness of going after money and status, and lusts for things, happens to a believer who allows these ‘weeds’ to grow up in their hearts right alongside Jesus and what He is doing. Both open the doors for demonic attacks.
Demons often use people around us
Within those 5 categories come the attacks, often through people we know. Many of us have perceived of times we were under demonic attack: A demon of strife enters a relationship, perceived when a simple difference between friends or family escalates to strife and hard feelings, is one example. Weird dreams that weren’t from something we watched on TV or in a movie or something we read. Things like that are unprovoked attacks from a demon, in my experience they are testing to see if there is an opening for something bigger in a person’s life, and sometimes, just to harrass us.
Those attacks come and go, for demons are also just individuals who constantly seek an opening into this natural realm (and they can’t read your mind). Luke 4:13 says of Satan: “When he had finished every temptation, he left Him for a season.” The Greek says it this way: “…he left Him until a more opportune time.” It could be said that when Jesus was asleep in the boat while the storm raged, that was a time Satan attacked to try to kill Him. We could also look at His first message in His home town when they tried to throw Him off a cliff in Luke 4: 29, and later, in John 8: 59 when they were going to stone Him to death. Satan looks for an opportunity as we go about our lives.
One of the best examples of demons using people in our circle of friends is how Satan used Judas to betray Jesus, indicating very often the devil will use someone close to us. “Haven’t I chosen you, yet one of you has a demon?” John 6: 70, 13: 27 Satan also tried to use Peter against Jesus. We remember Peter’s insistence in Matthew 16: 23 that He not go to the cross as a temptation to which Jesus replied: “Get behind me Satan.” Satan cannot get at our spirit directly, so he must attack us from the outside through others.
This would agree with I Peter 5: 8 which says: “Be serious and vigilant, for your adversary the devil, is walking about like a hungry lion seeking whom he may devour.” The construction of the sentence suggests permission. The Greek says: “Seeking whom to devour.”
But we should not be afraid of demons or demonic attack
Jesus made it very clear: “Those who believe in my name will cast out demons…” Mark 16:17. He never said to ask Him to take them away, in fact Paul had to learn that lesson when ‘an angel of Satan’ was assigned to him by Satan to prevent the abundance of his revelations of the Lord and what we have in Christ from being made known. (Remember from Mark 4 that the devil comes to steal the Word sown in our hearts). Paul was told 3x, no, the Lord would not take it away. He had to learn to deal with demons like the rest of us – command them away. Simply obey Jesus folks, set your will, then command spirits attacking you to leave in the name of Jesus. II Cor 12.
When I’ve had a demon use someone to attack me, perceiving it was more than a personality conflict, I’ve said: “I command the spirit using _____ ______ against me to stop and be cast out in the name of Jesus. If _____ ____ wants to keep you, I command you not to speak or use him against me anymore in the name of Jesus.” Then I have asked the Father to put a buffer between us, and asked the Father for angelic protection. And it always works out exactly like that.
Unbelieving the lie
We look to Genesis and how Satan entered into this world through deceiving Eve and getting Adam to commit treason. (I Timothy 2: 14 and Hosea 6:7 tell us he was not deceived, he knowingly transgressed the covenant) In that exchange of Genesis 3, Satan presented a lie to Adam and Eve before they committed the sin. Learn this: Believing a lie comes before a sin. If a person has a sin issue in their life, it can be traced back to a lie that they may not even realize was a lie that they believed.
We see this today – most often there is a lie that is believed and taken to be a truth, then the sin happens. A person may believe the lie ‘I was born this way’, so enter into an ungodly sexual lifestyle. A person may believe ‘I am ugly’ and begin starving themselves or eating to morbid obesity. A young man or woman may enter military service or be driven in the corporate world not for themselves, but because they believed the lie if they did thus and so, mom or dad would finally be proud of them.
A man or woman struggling with porn needs to go back to the first of those types of images seen, often as a child, or an experience they had when much younger, and discover the lie that was presented to them at that time: “That’s what women are for” or “It is my fault this happened to me” or “It’s okay to see them if they offer themselves that way” and things like that – you understand what I’m talking about. The same for food, “I always feel better with a bowl of ice cream” or the other way, “I am too fat now/don’t like myself so can’t eat or it will make me look fat”, and so on.
A person might believe the lie they are ugly and won’t amount to anything, and that lie lets in other stronger lies, all of which are spirits, one opening the door for the other. “I won’t amount to anything in life” lie spirit lets in hopelessness, then discouragement, self-loathing, hatred, despondency, depression, suicide. One building on another.
To be delivered and healed emotionally, a person must un-believe the lies that they have believed.
In John 8:44 Jesus said when Satan speaks a lie he is by himself. But it takes 2 to be in agreement. So when a person agrees with a lie that Satan speaks, it allows demons into their lives and to them, that lie becomes a truth. As they go deeper into ‘their truth’ they are pulled deeper into darkness.
It is like a large tree full of fruit. People try to get better by plucking fruit – renew the mind here on healing is one fruit. Learn about emotional damage is another fruit. Learning about physical exercise or nutrition may be other fruits on the tree the person seeks in order to effect healing in their emotions and body. They look for a way for the Lord to heal or deliver them, while just plucking the fruit not the root.
But the truth is under the ground (in their heart, unseen) of that tree is a root system. Deep in their heart is a lie they believed when much younger. IF that person will stop being distracted trying to pluck fruit to change their lives, and go to the lie and lies they believed which are the trunk providing nourishment to the fruit, they can be healed and delivered. Deal with the root, not the fruit.
It is often a process of undoing layers of lies, un-believing one by one over time. But once you understand that lies come before sins, you can find the keys to unlock healing and deliverance, forever shutting the door on the lies of Satan. A person cannot hold onto the lie while grasping the truth and expect to be delivered and healed. James says a double mind person can’t receive anything from the Lord. (1: 6-7)
This is so much on this subject that could be said. But know this. Demons are just individuals who come to steal Christ and His work from your heart. Your will is sovereign and stronger than any demon – not even God can make you do anything. Millions of people all over the world, who don’t know God, set their will and just be sheer will power, overcome demonic addictions and mental issues, every day of every year. Willpower lets the demons know you aren’t going back to the old way. The name of Jesus enforces that, but you must set your will.
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
