Memorise:
Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:27
Read: Acts 16:16-18
16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
Message
One of the signs affirming that you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour is the ability to cast out demons. This grace is not the exclusive preserve of a few Christians who are branded “deliverance ministers”; rather, it should be commonplace among all Christians (Mark 16:17-18). However, you need to know that you cannot cast out demons while living in sin; they will expose your secret deeds. There is the story of a minister who attempted to cast out a demon from a fellow, and the demon spoke out saying: “Are you the one commanding me to go? You who committed fornication with so and so yesterday?” That was the end of that deliverance session. In practice, we don’t see a lot of believers in Christ casting out demons today. Why is this so? Are you afraid, or living in secret sin? This should no be so. You should cast out demons whenever you perceive any operating around you. From today, you shall be a demon-chaser in Jesus’ Name. Wherever you go and find demons in operation, you should stamp your feet down in the Name of Jesus Christ and command them to take their leave. They will have no choice but to obey. If you need to support your faith, you can team up with one or two more believers and go out to preach the gospel, casting out the demons you find along the way, and they will obey you.
In our Bible reading, there was this young lady with the spirit of divination who appointed herself as the Public Relations Officer of Paul and his team, while at the same time working for her evil masters. She did this for a while, until Paul was grieved in the spirit and commanded the evil spirit to come out of her, and it did. From this account, you should learn that as long as you are ready to tolerate demons, they will continue to harass you. The trouble you allow to stay with you may take you along with it. In some churches, spirits of divination are in operation and they are tolerated. In fact, some pastors don’t know the difference between a spirit of divination and the spirit of prophecy that comes from God. In such churches, the devil reigns, and he manipulates people freely. Many believers today are far from the place where God wants them to be, because the forces of darkness are fighting to hinder their joy, they throw up their hands in resignation to fate, expecting God to do something about it, but God expects them to command those forces working against them to loose their grip and take their leave in the Name of Jesus. Are you doing this today?
Action Point:
If you notice demonic manipulation in any area of your life, command the spirits responsible to loose their grip and take their leave in Jesus Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : EXODUS 4-5 AND ROMANS 4.
Author: Pastor E. A. Adeboye
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