Wayne's World...(31Mar09)

Hi friends this chap sends me his weekly devotional...he also has a website listed in the mail, ive found his messages helpful, and though you might too..
 
Wayno

 

 

Can Christians be Demon Possessed?
(All Bible verses quoted are from the New King James Version)

 

Without a doubt this is the wrong question. It's not about whether demons can influence or attack Christians, the correct question is: Where do demons get their power from? I have seen believing, Holy Spirit filled Christians frothing at the mouth, screaming and convulsing when the demons leave them. How can this be? Were they not truly converted (born again)? Or is there more to it?

 

Amazingly some ministries wilfully and purposely set out to engage the enemy, Satan. They actually go out and look for him, constantly trying to rebuke and defeat Satan on all territories and fronts. However, this is merely one of the many ways that Satan uses to distract Christians from their true purpose, which is to have a relationship with the Father.

 

Satan and his demons were defeated at the cross, and God made a public spectacle of them by marching them in front of all their enemies in a victorious parade (Col 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it). They were completely DISARMED. So where do they now get their weapons from? How can they attack believing Christians? Note that a demon cannot possess a Christian, because the Holy Spirit lives inside us, and is one with our spirit (1 Cor 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him). And a demon can not co-exist in the same place as the Holy Spirit.

 

But demons attach themselves to our minds and our bodies and bring about destruction in our minds by influencing our thoughts with depression, sinicism, unbelief, self pity, etc. and they also bring about destruction in our bodies by infirmities & diseases. Christians "re-arm" these defeated demons by submitting to the law. The power of the law is sin (1 Cor 15:56  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law). When Christians go back under the yoke of slavery, namely The Law (see Gal 5), they empower a defeated foe. They allow condemnation, depression, guilt and heaviness to come back on them, all the things Christ died to set us free from! When Christ died on the cross, the law (including the 10 commandments) with all its requirements were nailed to the cross with Jesus (Col 2:14 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). There is now no more law, and where there is no law, there is no transgression of the law (Rom 4:15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression).

 

Hi friends this chap sends me his weekly devotional...he also has a website listed in the mail, ive found his messages helpful, and though you might too..
 
Wayno

 

"If there is no more law then, it means that sin has no more power over us (see 1 Cor 15:56 above again). The law points out our mistakes, it shows us we are not worthy of God's grace and it makes us feel incompetent, which is exactly what it was designed to do! We would not have known what sin was if it were not for the law. Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

 

So when a believer (that has been freed from the law by simply believing in Christ) now puts himself/herself again under this yoke of bondage, how can they expect anything else than to feel condemned, depressed, incompetent, guilt ridden, unworthy and burdened? If we try to do the very thing which Christ died to set us free from (observing the law), how can we expect anything else than to be attacked by the enemy and his army of demons? We put the weapons right into their hands!!

 

The most effective way to cast out these unclean spirits from a believer is by simply ministering to the person the message of grace (unbelievers have to come into Christ first). Prove to the person from God's Word they have been made completely righteous (2 Cor 5:21) and have been freed from the requirements of the law (Rom 7:1-6). And you will watch those cowardly, defeated spirits go!!!

 

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

www.newcovenantgrace.com