Part of the great falling-away of the church has a lot to do with who or what the believer chooses to occupy their time with daily. Satan has sent his demons to create a self-serving group of self-proclaimed “believers” who have one foot in the Word and one foot in a world where one cannot be offensive, must tolerate everything and accept everyone. They befriend compromise and pride, and they coddle the sin in their hearts and in the lives of their family, friends and loved ones. They buy into and promote lukewarm theology that is festering spiritual pollution, disease and death throughout this world.
Jesus didn’t coddle demons during His time of ministry and warns the half-hearted church, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).
At one point or another, we have all fallen victim to indulging the lust of the flesh and walking in sin. However, if you have opened the door to the enemy by allowing him the space that belongs only to God, here are six ways to uninvite those demons for good!
1. Stop remaining a victim. Because we live in a fallen world, we are going to face persecution, assault from the enemy and personal attacks over our bodies, minds and spirits. We may be victims of these things when they happen, but we cannot remain there. Jesus paid the price to give us the victory. If we continue to live as victims and make excuse after excuse for why we can’t move past the situations or events that occurred, we are saying the cross was not enough to help us. Jesus paid the price, so we can conquer anything and everything the enemy throws at us.
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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes, who is risen, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:31-37).
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2. Do not be afraid to address sin! Do not try and hide and make excuses for your sin or the sin of your family and friends. It can be so easy to point out the sin in others, but so hard to face our own sin. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin” (James 4:17). Pride will make excuses, lie or bury the truth. Do not be deceived. Run to the cross and repent. Don’t be afraid to encourage friend family and loved ones who are in habitual sin to do the same. You may face rejection and mockery, but do not be afraid to get rude with the devil. Just as each of will stand before God for our owns sins, we will also stand before him for the opportunities missed to help a brother or sister in Christ by speaking the truth in love. “Brothers, if any one of you strays from the truth and someone corrects him, 20 let him know that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).
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3. Stop centering your life around others’ opinions. Satan will use the need for acceptance, power, fame and fortune to open the door to compromise and sin. When you don’t stand up for God’s word and callout sin for what it is—a one-way ticket to destruction, then you are playing a dangerous game with demonic deception. Do not compromise out of fear that you will be rejected by the world. Choose to please God, desire Him and stand up for His Word over anyone and everything else. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
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4. Forgive others, yourself and God. If we refuse to forgive those who hurt us, even if we need to forgive ourselves or God, we are in sin. We are holding hands with the devil, and he is taking us on a road to bitterness, hatred and death. Forgiveness is a choice. It does not require feelings. It does not always guarantee an apology back or reconciliation with the perpetrator. However, when the we start to take the hand of deception and start skipping down the path of unforgiveness, pause to look at the nail-scarred hands beckoning us to stop playing games with the enemy and take His hand instead. Jesus had a choice. He chose love, grace, mercy and redemption at the cross and we are commanded to do the same. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outbursts, and blasphemies, with all malice, be taken away from you. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you” (Eph. 4:31-32).
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5. Use your God-given authority. Stop wasting time playing with the demons sent out to destroy you. We must go to the secret place and draw on the authority given through Jesus and spend our time in prayer and speaking in tongues. This will silence Satan’s lies and amplify God’s truth. “But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will receive from Me and will declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine. Therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and will declare it to you” (John 16:13-15).
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6. Do not be afraid to seek help and deliverance. If you coddle the demons long enough, they will overcome you. Just like a bully who demands your attention, action, time and money, the demons you allow to actively participate in your life will destroy the opportunities God has for you in this life. If you have allowed them control, and you feel like you can’t walk away, it’s time to seek help. Go to your pastors, and brothers and sisters in Christ for prayer and support. Prayerfully find a full-gospel, Bible-believing, Spirit-filled church that has Christian counseling and healing and deliverance ministries. There is no shame in seeking freedom. “Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much” (James 5:16).
The return of Jesus is coming soon. Will He find you a hot, on-fire follower living out the freedom He died to give you, or will He see you hanging out and playing games with the demons sent out to destroy your life? Stop indulging the demons in your life, and seek holiness and freedom while there is still time! Your life and the lives you influence depend on it! “Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12). {eoa}
Pastor Meg Hart founded Restored Women in 2015 and Restored Global in 2018, both ministries birthed into her heart from God as a result of the great revelation, redirection and restoration she experienced through Jesus.
She is an ordained pastor through Global Ministries and Relief Inc. and the Full Gospel Fellowship. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University and is currently in her final year as a doctoral student for the Ed.D. in performance improvement leadership at Capella University.
She is the proud mother of one daughter, Mackenzie, and serves at Life Church in Williamstown, New Jersey.
This article originally appeared at restoredwomen.com.
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