The victory is already won! https://www.pexels.com/el-gr/photo/3756168/
[We have the authority of the name of Jesus who has already bound the strongman Satan—see tip 48) What the Word Says About Binding and Loosing in Prayer. All we have to do is enforce what Jesus has already provided in His Word by confessing it in faith through our spoken words and countering Satan’s deceptions with the truth that will set us free.]
[Mar 3:27 NKJV] 27 "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
[Jde 1:6 NKJV] 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode [Satan, and the angels that fell with him, a.k.a. demons], He has [not will, but has already] reserved in everlasting chains [forever past and future] under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
[2Pe 2:4 NKJV] 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast [them] down to hell and delivered [them] into chains of darkness [bound them], to be reserved for judgment;
[Col 2:15 NKJV] 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
[Rom 8:37 NKJV] 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
[Satan and his demons are already bound and awaiting judgment. Jesus has triumphed over them through His suffering and resurrection. Who is more than a conqueror? The conqueror’s wife, someone who gets the benefits of the spoils without having to ever go to war and fight. The church is the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9). These principalities and powers hold no power over us, except to try to deceive us with ungodly thoughts and lies that they actually do have power.]
[Eph 6:12 NKJV] 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].
[Our battle is not against flesh and blood (the physical realm) but against the spiritual rulers of darkness of this current age here on earth. These spiritual rulers of darkness are already defeated, bound and triumphed over. Their only play is to deceive, if possible, the elect.]
[Mar 13:22 NKJV] 22 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
[Demonic spirits are however able to deceive those who are in darkness and are under their influence. This spiritual darkness is the spirit of Antichrist in this world.]
[2Jo 1:7 NKJV] 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ [as] coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
[1Jo 2:22 NKJV] 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
[1Jo 4:3 NKJV] 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the [spirit] of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
[The spirit of Antichrist is a lying, deceiving spirit in this world in this present age, right now! Yet we know that Scripture says Satan has been defeated and is already bound in darkness and chains in the spiritual realm. How do we harmonize these passages? Scripture doesn’t say he has been gagged or had their tongues cut, and since they are spiritual beings it is likely they can still influence those with unrenewed spirits and minds. Even those who have been renewed with the Holy Spirit can still fall under the influence and lies of those who are of the spirit of this world, their father the Devil.]
[Jhn 8:44 NKJV] 44 "You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [resources], for he is a liar and the father of it.
[When we are not in the Word, we are in the world and possibly being exposed to Satan’s inspired lies and deceptions he continues to perpetrate on man. We overcome these lies by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus, a.k.a. the Word], and the word of our testimony.]
[Rev 12:11 NKJV] 11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
[In addition to the Word and their testimonies, the followers of Jesus in the New Testament overcame Satan’s actions by employing the name and authority of Jesus. As followers of Jesus we have this same Authority to prayerfully speak out loud to and heal the sick and cast out demons.]
[Mat 10:8 NKJV] 8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
[Mar 1:34 NKJV] 34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
[Mar 3:15 NKJV] 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
[Mar 6:13 NKJV] 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed [them].
[Mar 16:9, 17 NKJV] 9 Now when [He] rose early on the first [day] of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. ... 17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
[Act 3:6 NKJV] 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
[Act 4:10, 30 NKJV] 10 [After being arrested Peter answered the Jewish religious leaders saying,] "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ... 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
[Act 16:18 NKJV] 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
[Many believers, like myself, were never taught that they have the authority of the name of Jesus. It’s like we have been deputized to enforce the law, except in this case to enforce spiritual laws and we never were trained on the legal code. Peter, Paul and the early followers of Jesus knew and believed they had this authority, so they resisted Satan and his demons by telling them to be silent and casting them out in the name of Jesus. We can do the same by simply calling on the name of Jesus—see tip 29) Prayers Using Jesus’ Authority.
When dealing with someone you suspect is under demonic influence, first pray that God will bring His Words of truth into their life through laborers for the harvest. If you are not a follower of Jesus, equipped with the Holy Spirit see tip 2) The Best Prayer You Can Ever Pray. If you have received and been practicing your gifts of the Holy Spirit, first do like Paul and Jesus and tell the demonic influence to “be quiet in the Name of Jesus” so he can’t speak anymore lies and try to get us operating in fear. Then speak to the mountain in their life (Mk 11:23-24) in the authority of Jesus’ name and tell the demonic influence firmly and calmly to “be gone in the name of Jesus.” Scripture says it’s alright to get angry when destroying the works Satan—see tip 47) Direct Your Anger at Satan When You Pray and Do Not Sin. It is important not to be afraid because as a believer, God is always with you. Remember:]
[2Ti 1:7 NKJV] 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
[1Jo 4:4 NKJV] 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He (the Holy Spirit) who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
[I had a curious encounter once. I remember helping someone having a seizure at a religious gathering, and while I was holding his head off the parking lot pavement so he wouldn’t get hurt, I spoke a quiet prayer “In the name of Jesus be gone.” And the seizure left him, and he sat up and said that was the mildest seizure he had ever had. Someone had called an ambulance and they checked him out and he was fine. I don’t know if his seizure was demonic or a physical ailment, but I do know that about half the time Jesus healed someone He would first cast out the demons, leading me to believe that often medical issues have a spiritual aspect.
There is a lot of weird teaching about spiritual warfare that I have learned to avoid and replace with just what Scripture says in the context and harmony of other Scriptures. The Greek word for demon possession could also be translated “vexed by demons” or “demonized.” So often the spiritual influence that people may battle are the thoughts of this world that are ultimately from Satan, the God of this world and the father of all lies. In essence, we are all to some extent demonized by the media, false teachers, and lies surrounding us in this fallen world.]
[2Co 4:4 NLT] 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
[Satan can’t do anything without the consent of an individual (or consent of someone in authority over that individual like a parent or leader). However, much of the weird spiritual warfare doctrine teaches that demons have tremendous power, when in-fact, Scripture states that they have already been bound--see tip 48) What the Word Says About Binding And Loosing In Prayer. It is the individual whose thought life is being influenced spiritually with demonic lies that causes them to act and manifest evil in this world to many varying degrees. Those who have trained or are convinced to turn themselves over to the lies get trapped by Satan. Every person has the power to simply believe the truth, take their authority and dominion granted to us in this world and to no longer be subject to those lies.]
[Gen 1:26 NKJV] 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
[Psa 8:3-6 NKJV] 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all [things] under his feet,
[Jhn 8:32 NKJV] 32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
[It is the truth you know that sets you free from the lies of Satan. Sharing truth in love with an individual who is misguided, or even demonized, is often our best course.]
[Eph 4:14-15 NKJV] 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ—
[Jas 4:4 NKJV] 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
[This is why it is dangerous to delve into the teachings of the occult in this world. Seemingly innocent things in this world such as watching horror movies and reading horoscopes can plant thoughts in our mind that are contrary to Scriptures and give Satan a foothold in our life to steal, kill and destroy from us.]
[Jhn 10:10 NKJV] 10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.
[I believe God’s Word is the antidote to Satan’s lies]
[Rom 12:1-2 NKJV] 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you [Step 1)] present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but [Step 2)] be transformed by the renewing of your mind, [Result] that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
[God has a more abundant, good, acceptable and perfect will for our lives.He wants us to find it by doing and praying for two things: 1) offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, and 2) renew our minds with all of God’s Scriptures.]
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