Only Resist!
11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11,12
You are not instructed to put on the armour so that you will be able to fight. It simply tells you that you must be able to stand against the devil. Despite the struggle against evil, you do not have to fight the devil. Every time he comes, he comes with his age-old tricks. If he comes against you with a knife, you would know he wants to fight. The devil does not come openly with a knife. The devil comes with his tricks and deceptions hidden in the shadows.
11. lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2 Corinthians 2:11
You will hear the devil telling you, "God isn't mindful about you.". God has abandoned you. You have nobody to enquire about you. "You are all alone". This is one of the reasons many people suffer from depression.
7. casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
God is always concerned about the smallest details of your life. This is what the devil is trying to rip out of your heart. The truth is God cares too much for you and even has a count of the number of hairs in your head.
8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
1 Peter 5:8,9
God has commanded you to be very confident and clear-minded about His love. Whatever situation you find yourself in, you have a God who is always by your side, for you. All you need is God and He loves you immensely. With God, you are always the majority.
There is only one enemy you have to contend with, the devil. Because he can't attack straight away, he keeps seeking out prey to devour. Because he knows he cannot win, the devil refuses to fight directly. Standing firm in your faith will make the devil flee from you. It is important to resist him, but not to fight him.
Some Christians believe in binding every spirit and fighting all the time. If a fellow believer looks at them, they will start binding the spirit of pride and anger in the other person’s eyes. They will feel something different when entering a prayer meeting and will start binding spirits. If they see another believer, they may assume that they are going to ask for money. They will bind the love for money in that believer. They doubt, spit, and fight everything they see. It is important for you to know who you are in Christ so that you can grow up.
I went to preach in a church where they usually start with prayer. It was a solid prayer for 15 minutes binding every spirit ever known. Within moments of the starting prayer, people completely forgot why they had come to church. There was a very wonderful Man of God who I used to watch a lot. His name was Reinhard Bonke and he held massive gospel crusades in Nigeria, Africa. He used to shout “HALLELUJAH” and then “JESUS”.
As those sound waves hit those lakhs of people, each and every one screamed back, hurling their wheelchairs. Every devil will flee, every sickness will be cured, and miracles will happen just by mentioning that one name of Jesus. Instead of binding every spirit, the name of Jesus is more than enough. It is good to praise God with His many names but there is one name under heaven that is given to man. Blessing, prosperity, healing, and salvation can be obtained through that one name Jesus.
Use the name of Jesus if you feel something is wrong in your house. You don't have to bind those 50 poverty spirits every day as someone instructed you. Because of that, some unintentionally attract the wrong spirits. At all times, speak the name of Jesus and lift only His name. When you continuously lift the name of Jesus, every evil spirit will bow.
There was a certain minister whose wife was possessed by an evil spirit. Prayers for deliverance failed to yield results. He took his wife to a senior minister and put forward his wife’s case. The senior minister laid his hand and commanded the devil to leave. In anger he questioned, "Devil, how dare you enter a minister’s wife?”. The devil responded, "Sir, he kept calling me into his wife”. This man called his wife ‘devil’. As a result, the devil took control of his wife. Abraham called his wife ‘Sarai’ as ‘Sarah’ and she became fruitful. The Bible tells us to call those things that are not as though they are. Be careful how you call things into your house out of ignorance.
Although there is a fight, it doesn't mean you must fight the devil. The only thing you must do is lift up the name of Jesus higher in your life. Every devil will obey the name of Jesus.
I was asked to minister to a demon-possessed woman. In the name of Jesus, I commanded it to leave. The woman fell down and woke up fresh. I commanded the devil to leave in the name of Jesus but it manifested again after a few minutes. Again, she fell and woke up with clarity. This repeated again but I was very new to this.
I called a friend of mine who was into the deliverance ministry. As he told me, Jesus cast out a legion of demons from the man only once, knowing there were a legion of demons inside. The man was instantly free. The revelation came to me that day as I realized I didn't need to spend hours casting them out one by one. If we command it to leave in the name of Jesus, it must obey. You do not even need to repeat it twice or thrice to be sure. The devils have no other choice than to obey the name of Jesus, the all-powerful one.
A family invited me to pray for them. I just started and the devil started manifesting in the lady. I commanded it to leave in Jesus' name. I encouraged the sister to spend time in The Word. I asked her to read aloud 1 John 4:2 and she read it. Then I asked her to read Philippians 2:10 but she could not. She felt that she was choking severely. I looked at the devil and said, “I already cast you out using the name of Jesus. You do not have a choice here to stay in this body. You have to surely leave”. I gave the Bible to her brother-in-law and left the house. My phone rang the next morning and they told me the woman felt a burning sensation all night and woke up fully delivered. This time I understood that I have to speak the name of Jesus. Rest assured, the name of Jesus will take care of everything.
Sometimes, the devil might respond to you that it will not leave. Devil is the father of all lies, and you do not have to believe him. If they resist and refuse to leave, never think you're doing something wrong. Every time, Jesus' name is the most powerful. There is no choice for the devil but to flee. Embrace your identity in Christ with strength and confidence.
A very respected man of God, Bishop David Oyedepo once shared his story of bringing his friend who was in the deliverance ministry. He welcomed his friend to his large church area of 5000 square feet. Two times, Bishop's friend stopped him and said he saw something like a serpent and began binding it. Bishop Oyedepo broke his silence and told his friend, “This is my land and there are no devils here. No devil can enter my territory without my permission. He said, "I think you brought the devils into my territory if you say you saw two." His friend became angry and left. Bishop said he did not need any such friendship. You need to know that if you stay in a house, the greater One lives inside you. There is no need to keep fighting the devil. It was Jesus Christ who already fought and defeated the devil on your behalf. So, we can boldly stand in the finished work of Christ Jesus. It is not about getting a newly achieved victory through my own power and strength. My fight comes from the place of victory in Jesus, since everything has already been accomplished by him. I win all the time by standing strong in His Word.
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Colossians 2:14
In another instance, Bishop Oyedepo received a call from his cousin. His cousin’s son suddenly became mad and the boy could not even identify his mother. The bishop said he would pick him up on his way to do ministry. Bishop Oyedepo picked the boy up in his car and drove him to all the locations where he ministered that day. Later, he dropped the boy in his cousin’s house. Immediately, his cousin enquired how the bishop was able to heal him. The bishop replied, "I just picked him up in my car". I cannot have both God and the devil in my car at the same time. As a result, the devil left".
Today, we are the temple of the living God. The devil cannot live inside of us or in our houses because God dwells inside of us. There is no need to keep binding the devil all the time.
Just learn who lives inside of you!
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4.
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