PROCESSES OF YOUR MIND

The battle against the devil is waged in your thoughts. That's why God's Word is so essential! Satan's only power is deception.

is. But truth is the antidote to deception.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

If you know the truth, the truth will set you free.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, emphasis mine

Notice how our warfare is against thoughts, imaginations, strongholds, and knowledge that comes against the Word of God. These are all processes of your mind.

Satan is powerless unless you believe his lies and fall into his deception. Most Christians believe the devil has

tremendous power and authority, much more than we do as physical human beings. That's simply not true. Satan is a defeated foe. Although he's been beaten, he walks about "as a roaring lion.. .seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The devil isn't a true lion; he just walks around roaring like one trying to intimidate the Body of Christ. But the truth is, he's had his teeth pulled, and all he can do now is gum you. Apart from the power you give him through believing his lies, Satan can't steal anything from you. He uses ignorance, fear, and unbelief to oppress and destroy.

Chapter 14

Delivered!

The devil is a factor, but not because he's superior in power and authority. He deceives people, and they yield to him through fear. This is what actually empowers him. Satan takes a person's own fear and uses it against them to eat their lunch and pop the bag!

My awareness of the spiritual realm increased

dramatically in 1968 when I first became really turned on to the Lord. I not only realized that God was alive and well but also that many things happening in this world were caused by demons. The denomination I was raised in believed that all the devils were over in Africa. They didn't think there were such things as "demons" here in America. It was a non-issue. It wasn't even practical to talk about it! But as I started reading the Word, this truth just jumped out at me. The Holy Spirit showed me that many problems—especially sickness, disease, and

emotional problems—were demonic in origin. So I started praying for people and seeing them delivered!

We didn't know very much, but God did some awesome things. We saw addicts come off of drugs instantly with no withdrawal. We also saw homosexuals completely set free. Although we experienced some great successes, we were still quite ignorant of Satan's devices. We knew there was warfare, but we didn't know exactly how it worked. It was as if we were fighting the devil with our eyes closed, just flailing in the air. Then, every once in a while, we'd actually hit him and see some awesome

victories.

MISTAKES

But there were some bad things that came out of this too. I read a book on deliverance by a fellow who focused

almost exclusively on this aspect of ministry. I mentioned his name once in a meeting, and a lady came up to me afterwards who had been a member of his church for several years. She told me that while she attended there, the devil just destroyed both her and her family. Based on her personal knowledge of how this man and his ministry were plagued by demonic powers, she encouraged me that what I was sharing from the Word about Satan is true.

We read this man's book out of sheer desperation, trying to figure out deliverance. He taught that you had to see some physical manifestation—like vomiting—whenever someone got delivered. You also had to talk to the demons and ask them their names. Then, once you found out the "strongman," you had to cast them into a certain place. You couldn't just cast them out; you had to tell them where to go! He also said that you couldn't do it by yourself; there always had to be at least two people present to minister because the demons could overcome just one, and there were all these other things that really had no scriptural precedent. They were just this man's personal example. I'm not saying he's of the devil, just that he made some mistakes.

I've made some mistakes ministering deliverance too! Many of them were based on the information we received from reading this book. We used to counsel people for three weeks in order to "prep" them for deliverance. Some

people still require that today! I know someone here in Colorado Springs who went for deliverance and had to fill out a five-page form. He had to make an appointment and wait forty-five days in order to go and be set free of

demons. That's absolutely foolish! Jesus never made people fill out any forms. Neither did He require them to wait for ministry a whole month and a half. I'm not condemning anyone, because I used to do it that way too. However, since then I've found better ways to cast out demons.