Defeating the Demons

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Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. – Proverbs 4:23

Stand firm then … with the breastplate of righteousness in place – Ephesians 6:13

I read an article recently about how be invincible in battling the enemy. I read it out of curiosity, thinking It would be about some ultra-spiritual skill set only attained by years of seminary study.

So, what is this ultimate piece of armor? The answer was surprisingly un-mystical:

Living in total obedience to Christ.

What’s often missing in our armor is the “breastplate of righteousness.” Yes, we acknowledge that we can never be perfect. It’s His righteousness, not ours, but that doesn’t mean we can live in half-hearted obedience or with empty words and actions.

In the early days of the Church, the seven sons of Sceva were trying to cast out demons “in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” The demon answered, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” And the demon overpowered them. (Acts 19:14-16)

An obedient servant like Paul was not only known in heaven, but he was also known (and feared) in hell! On the other hand, in the presence of seven brothers mimicking the latest thing in search of personal power or attention for themselves, the demon had no fear.

“In your anger do not sin … do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27)

It is the unconfessed sin in our lives that gives Satan a foothold. So, if we want to keep the evil one out, we need to dedicate ourselves to the Lord daily, submitting our hearts, actions, attitudes and motives.

It’s true that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) No one is perfect, except Jesus, and there will be times we fall short. “We all stumble in many ways.” (James 3:2) But the moment He makes us aware of our sin, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Secondly, once we have been cleansed, we want to keep Satan from getting his foot in the door again. We should daily conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of Christ. (Philippians 1:27)

This is how to avail ourselves of the righteousness of God and keep our hearts from being overwhelmed by the enemy.  “This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (I John 3:19-20)

The enemy may accuse us, but “an undeserved curse does not come to rest.” (Proverbs 26:2)

If you have been tormented by guilt, if you have been “battling demons” from your past, know that you don’t have to suffer this way. If you know Jesus and believe in the Word of God as truth, you can stand on the promises I’ve shared here, and many more. Read the Bible as though it’s the instruction manual for fighting your daily battles – because it is! Ask God to help you understand what you’re reading and watch for Him to open your mind to new insights as to how to live out those truths.

If you don’t know Jesus, know that the torment of guilt is a wake-up call. You’re feeling guilty, because you are guilty – all of us are. There is only one way to be free from that guilt, that sin and shame, and that’s through Jesus. He is the perfect Son of God who came to earth to be the atoning sacrifice for your sin. He has paid the penalty, so you don’t have to.

He gave Himself for you, now it’s time to give yourself to Him. Ask Him to forgive you, cleanse you, and instill in you the desire to please Him. He wants to, and He will!

You have probably heard the Good News that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” The bad news is that Satan hates you, and he has plan, too. But the BEST news is that Jesus has overcome him. You can choose to serve the One who loves you. Submit your life to Him, and He will guard your heart.

If you are in need of a Bible, contact me at bascha3870@yahoo.com. Let me know in the comments, too, so if I don’t see your email, I can check my spam folder.

Prayer: Lord, I give you my heart – my emotions, my passions, my desires, and my affections. I give You my will, my motives, and my attitudes. Purify them and fill me until I overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. [Galatians 5:22-23] Convict me when I have strayed and help me to turn back to You immediately. Lord, I delight in You; give me the desires of my heart [Psalm 37:4]. Instill in my heart the desires You want to fulfill in my life – to know You and make You known. Give me a heart like Yours, even if that means my heart will be broken by the things that break Your heart. Let my heart be covered with the breastplate of Your righteousness, so the enemy will never penetrate my heart, never have a foothold in my life again, because I belong to You completely. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Published by seekingdivineperspective

I am a forgiven sinner and adopted child of God, seeking to see life from His perspective - as opposed to the world's flawed perspective - and living my life accordingly.

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21 thoughts on “Defeating the Demons”

  2. Oh yes, amen! One of my favorite weapons of warfare is actually surrender, which sounds a bit funny and counter intuitive, but confess your sins and submit all to Christ and He will handle the rest. We all have stumbling blocks, strongholds, and pride, and those are the things that make us vulnerable and weak. When we can surrender all to Christ nothing can stick to us and we become impervious, strong like teflon. It’s impossible to offend, insult, or attack someone who is in a state of humility because there are no buttons to push. A state of humility is much like being in a state of grace, which just means armored up and well protected. The Lord will fight our battles for us. Our “battle” is really just to rest in Him.

    One of my favorite passages in actually in Jude where it says, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” So we have this powerful warrior, an angel, who knows not to engage with the enemy himself. Don’t engage, don’t argue with him.

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  5. Yes there’s something so freeing when we confess our sins, repent, and believe that Jesus has forgiven us and doesn’t condemn us but instead wants us to live daily anew in Him.
    Love all the scripture you referenced here to help drive the point home.
    My counselor has taught me that guilt is when we are in the wrong action or thought and we absolutely need to change our wrongdoing, shame on the other hand is always from satan and it’s his way of trying to hold us down with guilt that actually doesn’t exist anymore because we’ve already confessed and changed the negative behavior. Satan is sneaky in his tactics, especially with shaming us where we’ve actually already overcome…like you said we must continually armor ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness so we can live obediently but freely in Jesus’ grace.

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      1. Okay that’s a good way to put it too!! I’ll have to write that down! Thank you, friend.
        You’ll have to read my last post for an encouraging story, not because of my writing but because of what I shared.

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  7. Thank you, Annie, for much-needed words about living in obedience in our age. As you said, unconfessed sin gives Satan a foothold. A current prevailing attitude seems to be that it doesn’t matter what we do; God will always forgive. That’s a very dangerous way to live.

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