20-Biblical Anger Management-C Factors-7- Demonic Activity
7 -DEMONIC ACTIVITY-
“Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
neither give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27.
Although the Scriptures
never allow us to justify our actions and behaviors by blaming them on the
devil, they do, however, clearly teach about his influence over people who
listen to him. One of the many marked differences of Jesus' ministry was that at
times He cast out devils from people having certain physical and behavioral
problems. In Mark 5:1-20, we see Jesus casting demons out of a man that
was so strong and violent that they were unable to restrain him with chains.
Demonic activity is widespread and may be identified in anything
that contradicts the teachings and commandments of the Bible, and certain
behaviors that are contrary to the nature and character of the Lord Jesus
Christ – Galatians 5:22-23. “He that commits sin is of the
devil,...” 1 John 3:8 “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get thee behind Me,
Satan,... Matthew 16:23.
NOTE-Because of the fallen
nature of man, which the Scriptures describes to be evil as well, and we are all
capable of doing evil without exterior prompting, and we will be judged
accordingly (2 Corinthians 5:10) we cannot assume that the devil is
behind all behavior. In fact, he can only do through us what we agree to,
“But Peter said, ‘Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…?’”
Acts 5:3
SOME INDICATIONS OF DEMONIC INFLEUNCE: “Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God,...and every spirit that
confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is
the spirit of antichrist,” 1 John 4:1,3.
1-
Constant bombardment of
angry, hateful, resentful, violent, immoral, or depressing thoughts.
2-
Relentless repetitive
thoughts and images of past issues and incidents going over and over in your
mind.
3-
Unable to control
certain emotions and physical passions and drives = obsession and excess.
4-
Dreaming and or
envisioning violence, cruelty, revenge, any expressions of hate, revenge, as
well as lustful passions.
5-
Hearing of
voices that torment you or tell you to do things contrary to the teachings of
God’s Word. Matthew 4:1-11
6-
Thoughts of Suicide.
7-
Many fearful thoughts
and feelings, doubts, and unbelief.
8-
Intrigue in dark,
morbid, and satanic things.
9-
Supernatural strength
and abilities in ungodliness and from other sources other than the Lord Jesus
Christ.
10-
An adverse reaction or
repulsion to the love of God, the Word of God, and especially the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Uncomfortable around Christians and worship - feeling the need
to flee or get out.
11-
Certain Paranoia,
phobias, fears, and depressions.
12-
Indulgence, intrigue,
or delight in strange, perverted activities, and unclean, filthy habits or
behavior. (Perverted meaning contrary to nature’s order or the Commands of
God).
13-
Anger, dread,
resentment, hate, or confusion, when exposed to the Word of God, Christians,
Worship... .
14- Hatred toward and fear of authorities
with the desire to defy and rebel against them.
15-
Having the sensation
that you actually are what you have been doing or imagining, even though
it
is contrary to the way God’s Word. Example: You have been fantasizing that you
are
an
alien from outer space, and now you have the full sensation that you actually
are,
in
short, perverse behavior (deviant or a twisted form of the designed function).
16-
Multiple personalities.
-There is a difference between being demon possessed, and
oppressed or influenced; however, the results or effects are similar and very
deadly.
Are you on this list? Can you identify with any of these? You
have given the devil a foothold by agreeing with him and obeying him, but
especially by participating in some sinful and ungodly behavior, or forced
into, like homosexual rape. When this happens, we come in direct contact with
demonic spirits and are more easily subject to their influence or even fall
under their control to the point of even being possessed. John 13:21-27. Consequently, we feel we are what they are.
17- Carrying out activities and behaviors that are in direct defiance to God and His Word, John 13:26-27
18 - Abnormal and out of order affections, desires, attractions Colossians 3:5
NOTE – Many of these characteristics/behaviors are works of the flesh
and are not necessarily demonically driven, and the best and most sure way to
overcome them is God’s mainstay – REPENTANCE and FAITH. lines 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15, and 16, are demonic,
and you need the Lord’s deliverance. “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
ACTION!!!
STOP!!!-CONSIDER-TURN TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IMMEDIATELY!
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he
will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your
hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts you double-minded. Be afflicted, and
mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to
heaviness. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.”
James 4:7-10.
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.” Romans 10:13
Jesus said, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for
the prince of this world cometh, and has nothing in Me.” John 14:30.
Resisting the devil
without submitting to God is useless, for without Him (Jesus) we can do
nothing. By cleansing our hands (actions) and purifying our hearts, we are
breaking our service to Satan, and by being grieved by the sinful things that
we delighted in and sinful attitudes, we break our agreement with
him. Further, we are humbling ourselves before God, Who, “resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6, and can now
truthfully draw near to Him, where He will draw near to us, and Who defeats the devil
for us. Remember, it is if Christ is in you, “because greater is He
that is in you than he that is in the world.” However, “Be angry
and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the
devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27.
The difficult part is wanting to let go of the foothold that
trapped us in the first place, because the flesh’s passions are so natural and
strong. Sex, drugs, and alcohol, bitterness, anger, idolatry, witchcraft.... all
are so sweet and addictive to the flesh, and we can barely part with them in our
hearts. We must “flee from the wrath to come” Matthew 3:7
THINGS THAT MAKE
US SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DEMONIC
“He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is
broken down, and without walls.” Proverbs 25:28
“If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not
well, sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and you shall
rule over him (it desires to have you, but you must master it).” Genesis 4:7,
“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid
places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the
house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept, clean, and
put in order. Then he goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked
than itself, and they go and live there. And the final condition of that man is
worse than the first.” Matthew 12:43-45
1-Harboring hurts/unforgiveness, which feeds anger, the desire for
revenge, hate, bitterness, and fears. We console ourselves with these feelings and
thoughts, and always feel justified in them. Consequently, we are allowing the
devil to feed us and thus submit to his control and manipulation
2- Defiantly and habitually breaking any of
God’s commands.
3-
Involving yourself in
any occult practices and entertainment, including books, certain music, and
movies…
4-
The use of drugs and
drunkenness.
5-
Indulgence in any
passions and violence = idolatry.
6-
The direct practice of
idolatry and superstition.
7-
Letting any emotions,
appetites, behaviors get out of control - indulgence and excess.
8-
Harboring and
entertaining evil motives and thoughts = lies. This not only means thoughts of
lust or violence, but also includes believing the worst about someone, whether
these thoughts come to your own mind or by listening to outside influences. The
fruit of this results in bitterness and hostilities of any kind, prejudices,
unending conflicts, intolerance, hatreds. “Love thinks no evil.” 1
Corinthians 13. “If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.”
Proverbs 29:12. “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition/strife in
your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. This wisdom does not come
down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and
strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” James 3:14-16.
9-
Obsessions: The
fanatical drive to have, do, be… This is identified most easily by others,
where the desire for or the pursuit of something makes you
insensitive to the welfare and the needs of others, especially your own family.
You are unreasonable, unteachable, uncorrectable, and unsociable to the point of
isolationism and being unable to associate or relate well with others. This may
be another form of idolatry and, consequently, can be demonically driven.
10-
Immoral sexual
relations and perverse behavior = Any indulgence in sexual activities outside
of the relationship between a husband and wife, including all pornography and
fantasizing, especially in any behavior that goes contrary to nature/God’s
established order, like homosexuality. 1 Cor. 6:18-20
11-
The practice of
unclean habits of any kind.
ARE ANY OF THESE YOU?! IF SO, YOU ARE NOT ONLY HEADING INTO
SERIOUS SIN, BUT YOU ARE IN DANGER OF SEVER DEMONIC INFULENCE AND CONTROL
HEADING TO A DISASTEROUS END.
ACTION STEP 1- REPENT BEFORE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART. This means to turn to Him immediately, acknowledge your
guilt, turn away from, forsake, and flee from your sin. Regardless of how
innocent and sincere you may feel your motives are, or how guilty the other
party is, you must deal with your own sin and actions.
STOP!
CONSIDER- DO SO NOW!!!
Ask the Lord to forgive, deliver, and help you. He will if we
are undivided in our heart = wholehearted and sincere.
You must realize that you have been in agreement with the devil
and have been serving him and have thus put yourself at odds with God. Moreover, many of these are just sinful practices, devil or no devil, and they must be
repented of immediately. The hurts, struggles, and temptations the Lord will
help you with as you submit to Him by faith. “Submit yourselves therefore
to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and He
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners; and purify your hearts,
you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep, let your laughter be turned
to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He shall lift you up.” James 4:7-10.
2-
DETERMINE WHERE YOU GAVE PLACE, AND CLOSE THE
DOOR/REPENT. When, where, and why did your
behavior start. Go back
and start on the right foot ie,
forgive, change your attitude, affections, desires,
interests, values, whatever is contrary to
godly
(Biblical/Christ-like) attitude and behavior
NOTE: These things
you can only do it with the grace of God by the power of His Holy Spirit and
not by your own strength. “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens
me.” Philippians 4:13.
3- Prayer and fasting are powerful tools of
faith when battling against the flesh and the powers of darkness. Mark
9:14-29.
4-The ministry of deliverance is available.
5- Remember that whole-hearted repentance is a
non-negotiable.
“For if after they have
escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the
latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it,
to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.” 2 Peter 2:20-21.
Remember that part of the challenge is to step away from what
feels natural, innocent, justified, helpful, or even necessary, and by faith
submit wholeheartedly to the Word of God
Jesus Christ said, “Follow Me.” What are you waiting for?
Special Note - People who have gone through serious trauma can be in danger of
struggling with demonic torments, especially since the incident may likely have
been satanically prompted. In the area of rape, especially homosexual rape, and
violent abuse, there is a possibility of transfer of spirits because of the
overpowering violation and perversion.
Have you gone through something like this? Is your life out of
control, distorted, plagued with torments? Are you struggling with the same
thing that was done to you? Aside from the
serious fears and hate that follow such experiences, if you find yourself going
down that very same road, or worse, time to come to a screaming halt!
STOP - CONSIDER- RUN TO THE LORD JESUS AND;
1 -Cry out to Him
for help!
2- Forgive
with all your heart
3-
Recognize that what was done to you was a sin
and even satanic.
4-
Break any association with that activity.
5-
Repent of any agreement to justify retribution
or right to carry on sinful conduct yourself.
6-
Recognize from God’s Word your innocence
in the incident. The devil loves to further torment
us by accusing us and laying guilt on victims.
7- If the situation happened because you disobeyed
your parents, broke a rule, or disobeyed the Lord...,
you need to ask the Lord to forgive you. Then
you are clean if you truly repented. Jesus paid for
that sin on the cross.
8- Ask the Lord Jesus to heal you!
Note: Not only will this
situation likely take time and great care for healing and deliverance, but
restoration may involve confrontation and legal involvement. Proper counsel
and advice should be investigated. In the instance of rape, if the violator has
not yet been stopped, something should be done or there may be more victims.
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but
rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11.
Teacher’s Note: When someone
has been seriously traumatized and their life has taken an ungodly direction,
healing and deliverance will not likely come from the Lord unless there is a
repentance of their own current sinful behavior. If there is any
self-justifying you will not likely get far until they are ready to acknowledge
their sin and repent of it. May the Lord give you wisdom, humility, and
patience. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
- Confronting
Demonic Forces -
This is no mere
intellectual exercise. The ONLY
provision God has made for confronting and casting out demons is in the Name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Power of His Holy Spirit. The
ministry of Jesus Christ was also characterized by the casting out of devils. The
Scriptures show us that they are responsible for many physical ailments as well
as many behavioral problems.
Matthew 12:22-29
Qualifications: Acts
19:13-16. In this passage of Scripture, some Jewish vagabonds attempted to
cast out a devil trying to imitate what the
Apostle Paul did, “…saying, ‘We
adjure you by Jesus Whom Paul preaches'… and the evil spirit answered and
said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know,
but who are you’.” And consequently over-
powered them.
1.
You must be
born again. John3:3-5, Mark
16:16-17, “Now if any man has not the Spirit
Of
Christ, he is none of His.” Romans 8:9
2.
You must be
filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49,
Mark 16:15-18, Matthew 7:22-23
3.
Have faith. Hebrews 11:6
Helpful
Preparations: As in everything in
Christ, we should be “instant in season and out of
season.” However, it helps to
prepare oneself for ministry of any kind.
1.
Know God’s Word
thoroughly. 2 Timothy 2:15
2.
Be prayed up.
Keep your relationship fresh daily. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
3.
Keep a clear
conscience, clean up any guilt immediately by repentance and confession.
Acts 26:16, 1 John 1:9, James 4:8, Hebrews 12:1, “…for the
prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me.” John 14:30 The devil
will know and use it against you to shut you down.
4. Take Holiness seriously. Peter 1:14-17,
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord.”2
Corinthians 7:1.
5. Exercise yourself in humility and the fear of the Lord. James
4:6-7, Proverbs 1:7
6. Be filled with the Holy
Spirit! Matthew 12:28, Acts
1:8
-
You must make
sure you are led in word and deed by God’s Holy Spirit,
The Lord is faithful. He will
guide and direct you.
-
Make sure that you have
secured the area for the protection of bystanders.
-
Do not put on a show,
and do not let the devil put on a show. We and they like the attention. God
alone must get the glory!
-
You do not need to
yell and scream; the power is through faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus
Christ alone.
-
Do not use railing
accusations or name-calling. Jude 8-9
-
Do not regard what the
devil(s) may say, he/they are liars
-
Remember that he wants
to distract you and steer you off course from removing him. He uses flattery,
fear, intimidation/doubts, guilt, and confusion.
- The person being
delivered must be willing to repent. In certain cases, the influence was a
deliberate agreement that must be repented of.
-
More of Jesus,
and less of us, there will be results!
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