Making the devil respect you

In the denomination I grew up in, I was taught that demons only tempted us to sin and nothing more. Resisting the devil just meant using my willpower to be good. It was only when I was called to be a pastor that I learned how the devil does so much more than just tempt, but that he very literally steals, kills and destroys, and that God commands every member of His Church to use spiritual weapons to disarm the devil’s attacks. It was amazing, like a whole new world opened up to me, but it still took me many more years to understand how that kind of fight needed to be a normal daily practice. Just knowing the facts isn’t enough. I had to develop spiritual eyes and force the devil to respect my faith.

Demonic attacks come on various levels. Of course, there are temptations to sin. But behind those temptations to do what is wrong are the devil’s subtler emotional suggestions to avoid doing what is right - to forget about God’s power and to react to problems in our own strength. It’s the subtle suggestions to avoid taking spiritual action, because we’re tired or intimidated, or just not in the mood. We think it’s just our own thoughts or desires, and the last thing we imagine is that we’re being demonically attacked, so we don’t fight back and unwittingly give him room to steal and destroy just a little more. The vast majority of Christians are already stuck right there.

Then there are the attacks that come from outside of us – accidents, terrible family news, a bad diagnosis, failures, rejection and loss of jobs or property or relationships. Fear and anger instantly strike our hearts because the pain of injustice makes us want to react. So as soon as the outward demonic attacks happen, we try to defend ourselves by blaming others, wanting revenge, blaming God, sinking into depression, wallowing in self-pity and on and on. And the devil’s right there, craftily layering on another attack, but this time from within. He’s not content to just hit us with a problem, he also manipulates our egos to rebel against God just when we need Him the most. We give him permission to prolong the problem and increase the pain, and the devil happily keeps layering on more and more attacks. He has no respect for wimpy faith.

I know men and women of God who have served Him for years, who even preach the gospel to others, who still don’t know how to recognize what the devil is doing in their personal lives. We need to develop totally new habits, and it starts with seeing those subtle layers of attacks, from the inward temptations to doubt or follow our flesh, to the outward problems that block us from moving forward in our lives. And then we have to act in a way that causes the devil to tremble with fear and bow to our authority.

Jesus would face an outward problem of a blind man, a dead child, a woman disfigured by a demon in the synagogue, by reacting immediately. If he didn’t have a boat, He’d walk on the water. If He was asked to pay a tax, He pulled a coin out of a fish’s mouth. If He needed to feed 5000 men, he took a little boy’s lunch and fed them with it. He confronted and rebuked and cast out the problem and the demons behind it with total confidence in His authority, and the demons obeyed, taking the problems with them as they left. In their hatred, they respected His authority – the same authority He has given us as well. Jesus also fought His own inward battle against the devil by many early morning prayers alone with God on mountaintops, daily aligning His thoughts and desires with the Father. We have to follow His example and react with confidence and force, and a hunger to be in God’s presence. But how many Christians really live this way?  Are you living this way? 

Satanic forces are at work in high levels, in governments and world leaders, but this shouldn’t scare us – we have the authority of the King of all kings to bind them up and thwart their plans. 

Next post I’ll share with you how God wants to use His church to impact this world, even as evil seems to be growing stronger.   

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is complete.  2 Corinthians 10:3-6, MEV

    

Casual Satanism?

“But I wasn’t like those other criminals, I was ‘good people’…” said Oscar the former drug and illegal weapons dealer from South Central LA as he recounted his testimony for our TV show. He was a little surprised when I laughed and said, “What?  You were ‘good people’?  Oscar, you were a gang-banger! You sold drugs and guns, you were arrested in the middle of a shoot-out… What are you talking about?” He stopped his explanation for a minute and realized that in the minds of others he was a dangerous criminal, but in his mind, he saw himself as a simple guy trying to make a living who had never killed anyone… yet.   

It’s funny and sad how the devil can get us to minimize how evil he is, how strong God is, and how innocent we are. He’d like us to be thoroughly impressed with his power to destroy us, or thoroughly convinced that the evil inside us isn’t all that bad, because other people are worse than us. Satan would like people to not even believe he exists, but if they do, he’d like them to be confused about just how present he is in their lives, whether or not they should fight him, how they should fight him, or if they should just stop thinking about him. He’ll use whatever method it takes to best manipulate our reasoning. Here’s another example:

“You need to throw away all these items of witchcraft that you’ve been dabbling in. None of this is protecting you, in fact you’ve been opening doors for demons to enter your life. You know, witchcraft is a form of Satan worship,” was how I finally wrapped up a long, detailed counseling session with a woman who’d been heavily involved in tarot cards, psychics and spiritism. “Now you’re going too far pastor! I’ve never been involved in Satanism! This is white magic, don’t you know the difference?” 

That’s a question I’d like to ask the world in general today – don’t you know the difference? Satan worship is all around us, in so many forms. Evil disguises itself as rationalism, intellectualism, tolerance, world peace, and even Christian doctrine. The Bible says that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), and the more we tolerate evil, the easier it is for it to infiltrate our personal lives, our communities and families and take over more and more control in this world. Aren’t you amazed at the level of perversion society tolerates today compared to just ten, twenty years ago? How did that happen?  

Satanism at its core, is simply the denial of Jesus Christ as God, as King and Lord over all things. That’s all he needs to be honored. So if we rely on reasoning that doesn’t actively treat Jesus as King and Lord, we’re submitting to the subtle sway of demons. We welcome Satan when we entertain fears that God won’t come through for us, that sickness, mental illness or threats of ruin are too strong for our faith to handle. When we live by a logic that’s based on fear, selfishness, or simply a desire to live the way we want because we like it, we are virtually bowing to Satan – even as we go to church and listen to Christian music.  

Satan’s way of life has always been mainstream, and now, he’s upping his game to make it fun to casually talk about Satanism. News reports today reveal the opening of Satanic afterschool centers for ordinary kids all over the United States this year. Nothing obviously evil like ritual sacrifices – just simple teaching to disprove the need for God, based on “science” and rationalism. Casual Satanism in our own backyards.

For centuries, Christians have not wanted to fight, have laughed at the idea of demons, and have been content to discuss the fine points of theology while being patient, loving and kind. And now the devil wants our children to welcome him with open arms. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s time for all out spiritual warfare. We have no other choice but to attack. The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective. 

(Stay tuned for more on how we need to react in tomorrow’s post.)

But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.   2 Corinthians 11:3-4, NLT

Your choice - heir or orphan

Good people can endure storms through sheer willpower, and plenty of inspirational movies have been made about them. But living in the Spirit goes beyond just enduring. It’s using the authority Jesus gives to calm storms, and turn those storms into blessings. Not because we’re superheroes, but because His servants have been commissioned to change this world for His Kingdom. 

The “peace that passes understanding” from Philippians 4, is not a mystical feeling that envelopes us as if we’d been sprinkled with pixie dust. It’s a solid assurance of the power of God within us, and around us, because faith works. It’s as real as going to bed at night without a shadow of a doubt that in the morning you’ll be feeding your kids breakfast and driving them to school, because you know there’s food in the fridge, the car’s been paid for, and the gas tank is full. There’s nothing mystical about that assurance, because it’s based on facts. That’s the same sense of peace that comes from being born of God. There’s no arguing about the fact that we have authority over all forms of evil, because as His children, we’re also His heirs. It’s undeniable – even when our physical problems look threatening and immovable. Heirs of God have authority over evil, if they choose to use it. Period.

If you were offered the chance to have supernatural peace, the power to defeat demons and an intimate and joyful relationship with God – and on the other hand, had the chance to pretend you had all those things by masking your fears – who in their right mind would choose pretending over the real thing?  

But people do precisely that in churches and denominations all over the world. The choice is illogical, but it’s because so few are even aware that they have a choice. Most haven’t had practical teaching about the power and authority over evil that Jesus offers us – those of us who’ve been adopted by Him – and so they hold onto vestiges of their own power while trying to live like Christians. They can’t trust God enough to surrender their all to Him, and in the process, never allow themselves to be adopted by Him. It’s sad, lonely, exhausting… and totally unnecessary.  

Christians who cling to physical things in order to feel stable, are insecure and disconnected from God. Shopping sprees, hobbies, social gatherings, and even busy church activities become band-aides that dull their fears. And when problems challenge them to use the fruit of the Spirit, they fail, because deep inside, they really have no desire to love the unlovable, or fight evil with good, or turn the other cheek, or even persevere in faith. They want help, but have a hard time receiving kindness from others without analyzing and judging why that kindness is being offered. Their fears reveal that deep down inside, they don’t truly believe they’ve been lovingly welcomed into the family of God; they still consider themselves orphans and rejects. They may not consciously admit to these contradictions, and if their false Christian label is peeled back and their shame uncovered, they would probably take great offense.  

If you find yourself identifying with this description of a spiritual orphan, you can immediately change this. Open up to God right now, sacrifice the areas of your life where you’re still trying to maintain your own control, and learn to use God’s authority to fight and overcome evil. You don’t need to cling to control when you have His power within you. 

If you need practical guidance on how to make this a reality, feel free to contact me below, but don’t let another day go by without it. 

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him.  Romans 8:15-17, MEV

Be a bully for God

She’d been a faithful churchgoer and sang in her choir, but her pastor only offered sympathy and encouraged her to wait on God. I listened to her story, and she admitted that many of the cases in “Possessed Believers” reflected her life. She agreed that she needed deliverance, and she wanted to learn how to fight. When our counseling session was over, I gave her some specific things to start doing, and prayed strongly against every spirit that had been working in her. But she was resistant. Something in her didn’t want to fight, just to cry and praise God and behave in the churchy kind of way that I’ve seen all my life. She was sweet and friendly, but her heart was stubbornly closed, even though her mouth told me how much she believed and how much she appreciated my prayer. She left saying she felt better, but I knew that she was clutching onto those demons, refusing to let them go. Interestingly enough, she never came back for any more counsel or prayer.

I could clearly see the demonic attacks, from her childhood all the way through her multiple marriages and her troubled relationships with her kids. The only way was for her to become a real warrior in faith, and that would mean being willing to learn how to view her problems spiritually, and react to them spiritually, based on the Word of God. Just learning a few tips, getting a prayer or two and waltzing out the door was not going to change a woman like her who’d been oppressed for years. She’d have to change her old churchy habits, because it was those very habits that allowed demonic forces to dominate her family for generations. Demons love religiosity as much as flies love rotting garbage.

This is the big frustration in working with people who are already Christians and need deliverance. They don’t realize that the most dangerous demons are the ones that make them content not to fight, that feel so comfortable, so sweet and sociable. They’re the demons that insert the thoughts, “Now wait a minute, that kind of prayer doesn’t seem very Christian – all that yelling and demanding demons to leave. We’re nice Christians – we don’t practice craziness.”  Religious demons will cause their victim to laugh sweetly when I determine a miracle in faith, they’ll smile at me as if I’m naïve and idealistic, but behind the smile and laughter is the darkness of hell. I can confront a demon of addiction or witchcraft and hear it scream in hatred, but confront a demon of religiosity and it’s all gentle contempt and patronizing smiles – unless the victim of those demons is humble and ready to let go. Then their mask is removed and they behave just like any ordinary demon; easy to take dominion over and cast out.

As I always say – the proof of faith is not being patient, loving and kind. Demons know how to imitate virtues to keep people in confusion. Real faith terrifies the devil, no matter what his disguise is. So what does that mean for those of us who want to use real faith? It means that if our deliverance prayers are just repetitious phrases we heard pastors use when rebuking the devil, we’re no better off than a religious church lady. “Get out devil!”  “I don’t accept you in my life!”  “You’re tied up!” are all meaningless when we aren’t conscious of who we’re actually speaking to, and of the One who’s Name gives us that authority. We have to get into warfare mode, to become spiritual terrorists to forcefully take back what the devil has stolen from us. That doesn’t happen automatically, and it definitely doesn’t happen by just repeating the right words. Being in warfare mode means looking right through the devil’s disguises and attacking him ruthlessly by faith, pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zone and fueling the fires of hatred against evil with every prayer we utter, and every sacrifice we make.  

Some of you just made a huge sacrifice to God last Sunday in church. What you did was a weapon of warfare – or was it a passive religious act to “buy” a blessing? Keep this passage in mind and remember you are facing principalities behind the problem you want destroyed. You have weapons that are powerful and effective. Become a bully. God’s waiting for more bullies to join His side. 

“I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not return until they were destroyed. I wounded them, and they were not able to rise; they are fallen under my feet.  For You clothed me with strength for the battle; You subdued under me those who rose up against me.  You gave me the necks of my enemies, and I destroyed those who hate me.  They cried for help, but there was none to save them; even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.  Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I cast them out as the dirt in the streets.”  Psalm 18:37-42 MEV

The burn we can’t ignore

Three years with Jesus was transformative for the disciples. They’d walked and talked with God in the flesh, and had learned more than just teachings, but how to become imitators of Him. How many of us have wished we could talk to Jesus face to face, to ask Him our deepest questions and hear Him answer us clearly? Most of us imagine that we’d never doubt Him again if we could see Him just once.

When Jesus had risen again, the book of Luke says that the women told the disciples about the angel at the tomb announcing that Jesus had risen, and Mary Magdalene actually spoke to Jesus who she mistook for a gardener. But the disciples weren’t quite sure what to believe, or how His body had disappeared. That day, two of them were walking towards a village called Emmaus, and another traveller joined them as they trudged along. He heard them trying to make sense of what had happened to their Lord who’d been crucified, and asked what they were talking about. Neither of them recognized that Jesus Himself was walking by their side. They were surprised at His question, and even jokingly asked if He was some foreigner who hadn’t heard the big news!

How could the very ones who loved Him so much, who most longed for Him to still be alive, not even see Him standing there in front of their own faces? They walked with Him until evening and invited Him to stop at an inn for supper, and only after He broke the bread and blessed it just like He had done at the Last Supper did they recognize Him. They realized it was Jesus, and then He disappeared.

God gives us a clue about how this could happen in Jeremiah 17:6. It says cursed is anyone who trusts only in men, in their own strength, and not in God – “For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.”

Whoever tries to figure out life by their own strength, who disregards God’s promises because the results they want aren’t happening, will be unable to see when good comes. It could be staring them in the face, and they will see nothing. The disciples had Jesus’ promises, centuries of prophecies in scripture, and the eyewitness testimonies of the women that Jesus had risen. But they still wouldn’t trust. Instead, they spent that glorious first Resurrection Day in fear and confusion. As they walked along the road to Emmaus, Jesus reminded them of all the promises and prophecies, but they were skeptical.

When Jesus left, those disciples asked each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn inside of us when we heard Him talk?” They had known all along! The Spirit of God had been confirming that He was right there for hours as they walked, but they’d ignored His prompting. They were living through the most earth-shattering experience of the history of the world, and they didn’t even know it. No wonder Jesus’ answer to their sarcastic question on the road was, “O fools! And slow of heart to believe what the prophets have spoken!”

So if they, who had seen Him in the flesh could be so obtuse – what about us? How often has Jesus been right there in front of us when we were afraid and accusing Him of abandoning us? Loving God and trying to follow Him don’t always mean we trust Him fully. At times we can allow fear and confusion to stifle the Holy Spirit, attempting to fix our problems by our own strength. But if we quiet the anxious noise in our head, we can hear Him clearly, be empowered with peace and strength, make the right choices, and the Spirit of God will burn inside of us each time we hear Him talk. That’s a burn we all could use!

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river and shall not fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green, and it shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.  Jeremiah 17:7-8, MEV

Beware the emotional zone

John the Baptist was not your ordinary Jewish boy. He lived in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey, wearing clothing made of camel's hair and preaching repentance as his way of life. He’d been born into a respectable home; his father was a Levite and priest in the Temple, and his mother Elizabeth was from the lineage of the high priests, the elite line of Aaron. His birth had been a miracle, announced by the angel Gabriel to his father by the altar of incense in the Temple. But instead of growing up to be a respectable priest – or high priest, as some would have expected – he became a wild looking, bug eating, desert preacher. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit was upon him, even while in the womb of his mother. So that conviction of God to proclaim the coming of the Messiah was something he just couldn’t shake. It was his calling.

When John saw Jesus as he was baptizing people in the Jordan River, John knew right away that this was the Messiah, and he humbly confessed that he wasn’t worthy even to untie Jesus’ sandals, much less baptize Him. He saw the Holy Spirit descending as a dove and heard the voice of the Father speak from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” as he lifted Jesus up out of the water. What more could anyone want as confirmation that what they hoped for was true? God was validating all he had preached and done up until that time. Now, all that was left was for Jesus the Messiah to take His throne and reign, just as the prophecies of long ago had said. That glorious hope was right in front of him!

But time passed, and the Messiah didn’t overthrow Rome or create a Jewish revolution, and the evil in Judea was just as evil as ever. And after boldly criticizing the false King of the Jews, Herod had John arrested, and thrown into prison. No rescue party was sent to set him free. No miraculous wonders occurred, and as he sat in jail, John the Baptist’s fire and zeal began to waver. He’d given so much, sacrificed a life of comfort to preach this message that had burned inside of him. And when he thought he’d found the Messiah, nothing seemed to be happening. If Jesus was the Messiah, why wasn’t He striking their enemies in wrath? Why wasn’t He breaking down the walls of Herod’s palace?  

As he waited in prison, John sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if He really was the one they’d been waiting for, or if they should look for another. That’s pretty shocking for a man who had seen and heard the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all in one place at the Jordan River. But it shows how changing circumstances and unmet expectations can shake our faith. Even the faith of a radical prophet, who had seen God in the flesh.   

Jesus’ response to John, is the same one that He has for all of us: Look at the evidence. Remember what I’ve already shown you. Don’t be distressed about how things aren’t falling into place the way you’d like right now. I am faithful to My promises. Keep believing. Victory is yours.  

When we use our faith, ramp up our determination that our miracle is a sure thing and the vision God gave us is coming true, we can easily step over the line of faith into an emotional zone, and God knows it. The devil knows it too, and tries his best to take advantage of our weakness. Right after a long hard fight, our expectations are easily shaken to the point that we’re even tempted to give up. It’s funny that Jesus referred to John as Elijah, because even Elijah had those moments of powerful highs in faith, and depressing lows of doubt. Those of us who are just trying our best to live by faith can get caught up in those peaks and valleys too. But the voice that tempts us to give up is never the voice of God. Hold on to what God has already shown you. Don’t allow unmet expectations to cause you to throw away your faith and settle for a mediocre life. John was a part of the biggest revolution the world had ever known, and he didn’t even realize it.  

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who does not fall away because of Me.”  …Truly I say to you, among those who are born of women, there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has forcefully advanced, and the strong take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah, who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.  -  Matthew 11:4-6 + 11-15, MEV

When feeling offended is good for us

A single Christian woman wrote an article on how she was offended by weddings. She especially disliked the new trend among Christian brides who give roses to all their single friends, and offer to pray that they find the right mate. She wrote that she feels publicly humiliated by it… even though she really does want to find the right man. In her mind, her friends’ special day of celebration is supposed to be orchestrated around her insecurities. How dare they pray for her!

This is the generation of being offended and tiptoeing around micro-aggressions for fear of offending anyone else. The word of God has never been so politically incorrect in modern history as it is today, which proves that we need to cling to it even more. If we find ourselves getting upset and offended by God’s ways, it means the mindset of the world has woven itself into our own subconscious. Being offended by God means that we desperately need to rewire our thoughts without a moment to lose.  

A true child of God is thick skinned towards criticism, much less towards the inadvertent insensitivity of others. We can’t waste our time second-guessing why someone acted the way they did, looked at us the way they did, or chose to use that particular word or phrase. That’s the stuff of soap operas, not for people who live above this world by faith. We can’t be shocked that the light within us offends others. A child of God carries the smell of death (2 Corinthians 2:16) that causes others to attack, reject and label us as evil. If we are building up our faith daily to stand firm on that level of persecution, we won’t waste time making petty complaints when our feelings get hurt.  

When well-meaning people speak or act in a way that causes us to cringe, we get over it, forgive, and behave graciously. How many times have you made others cringe and wish they’d graciously forgiven all your well-intentioned blunders? From Genesis to Exodus, God in His perfection, says a lot that makes us cringe, and there’s no blundering there! He says it because we need it. He sacrificed His own Son for us, and daily has the patience to teach and guide us if we’re willing to listen, but if we’re not careful we end up treating Him with disrespect.  Even the holiest of Christians fails God daily, and like a good Father, He needs His children to understand discipline for their own sake.  

Last year I wrote a series of posts called The Shocking Attitudes of Jesus, citing many examples of this very thing. Jesus was harsh with one woman, implying she was a dog, not worthy of the children’s bread. In today’s world, even Christians would post angry rants against soundbites like that on Twitter and Facebook, rants that would easily go viral. Many of today’s pastors would even demand an apology for such inflammatory words, write editorials in Christian magazines and do all they could to appear as the leaders in tolerance and sensitivity. But Jesus spoke the exact words she needed to hear. God used her as an example of thinking faith, humbly reasoning through His shocking words in order for her daughter to be instantly healed.
  
Who among us today has the kind of inner strength and spiritual intelligence to see blessings in God’s rebuke? What have you been hearing from God that you wish you didn’t have to hear? What in God’s Word gets your hackles up? Perhaps healing and freedom would be happening much sooner if we were more like that woman. Perhaps the offensive words that God is speaking, the ones that make us cringe, are the very words we need to act upon right now, to see our miracle.  

He who reproves a scorner gets shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man gets hurt. Do not reprove a scorner, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.  -  Proverbs 9:7-9, MEV