Chapter 4 - Biblical Steps to Keeping the Demons Out
As it has been shown, a person can welcome an evil spirit into their life without even knowing it, or having to do anything on the outside. Because even though they may not realize it, their ‘thought life’ alone is fully capable of opening the door to demonic activity all by itself! In the Holy Scriptures, the Apostle Paul said that they were not ignorant of Satan's devices “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11); so neither should we. Use the following list of ‘Biblical Steps to Keeping the Demons Out’ to help‘demon proof’ and ‘curse proof’ your life…
1. First: Renew Your Mind.
Since ‘spiritual warfare’ is primarily a matter of the mind, you have to keep your thoughts in ‘check’ and ‘renewed’ by the word of God. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” ( Rom 12:2 KJV). According to this passage of scripture your mind is capable of renewing. So what is a RENEWED MIND? In a word, a renewed mind is a mind that is so saturated with scripture that no matter what comes into your environment and circumstances, you respond with Scripture. A believer with a renewed mind Meditates on scriptures that pertain to their circumstances rather than concentrating on the circumstances… Seeing the manifestation in the natural (calling those things that be not as though they already are Ro 4:17). It works like this - when God’s Holy Spirit lives in your re-created (born-again) spirit, and your mind is renewed with scripture; your mind, your spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God, all four will be in harmony on every subject. For instance, first God turns the light on in your heart, and when you are believing with your heart, you will now have a 'HEART' for God. Next, God has also turns the light on in your renewed mind, and when you are meditating on scripture you will now have a 'HEART' and a 'MIND' for God...
...seeing the manifestation in your mind (the victory), according to scripture, you can have what you believe God for by muttering and speaking it into existence in the natural in the name of Yehoshua. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Generally speaking, a renewed mind is the mind of a saved man that has been re-programmed with the Word of God. It is a mind that has had every cell laced with the Word of God to the place where it doesn't think on its own anymore. It thinks Scripture. That person has a mind that is now in harmony with the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and his own recreated spirit. When these four are in harmony, that Christian is a conqueror... Nothing can stop him/her! The bible declares that; “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7) To be sure, the dictionary defines Renew, as "to begin and take up again, to revive, to re-establish, to recover, to restore to a former state, make new or as if new again". All of these things are what your mind is capable of, when you make the decision to renew it. So, start the renewal process by understanding what your mind is capable of; the same way you can think on negative thoughts is the same way you can think on positive things. Moreover, you can start renewing you mind at any time on any day... even right now as you study this book.
2. Second: Guard Your Mind.
You’ve heard the old saying: “An idle mind is the devil’s playground”. Well in reality, when your mind is left open and unguarded, it becomes the primary battlefield that Satan uses to control your thoughts, emotions and causes you to make bad decisions that can destroy lives, relationships, hopes and dreams (John 10:10). Satan’s mind game is; ‘suggestions’; the Devil and his demon forces whisper suggestions to the human mind, so give no place for the Devil (Ephesians 4:27). When Satan tries to play his 'mind games' on you, remember the ‘4 Es’ of thought - 1. Enter; 2. Examine; 3. Entertain; 4. Experiment.
So, from time to time when negative or bad thoughts tend to ‘ENTER’ your mind; the Holy Scriptures says to "Cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Cor 10:5, KJV). With this in mind, every time a bad or negative thought does 'ENTER' your mind and you find yourself thinking about it; (‘EXAMINING’) that thought, mediate on (Phil 4:8) and remind yourself what you should be thinking about. Moreover, remember the more you think on (‘ENTERTAIN’) what's bad and evil, the more control you give the Devil and his demons, and you will eventually increase the chances that you ('EXPERIMENT') act on these thoughts... So take control of your thoughts by doing as we are advised to do in the Holy Scriptures (Guard Your Mind), because negative, evil thoughts are the enemies of a victorious life! Since our life is very much determined by our mind; our thoughts and ultimately our emotions can influence our actions and make or break our position in life. Not only that, but negative or bad thoughts will distract your focus from the important issues and drain your energy.
The Holy Scriptures teach that Satan is a relentless adversary (1 Peter 5:8); he works tirelessly to get our minds off God’s will for us, by causing us to concentrate on our weaknesses and circumstances, instead of meditating on the word of God; the solution to all of life’s problems. Moreover, bad, negative thoughts and emotions can impact your health... Because, when you concentrate on your circumstances you can develop anxiety, stress, and depression; and can weigh heavy on your heart, and even make you sick. In a word, those negative and bad thoughts can 'bog' you down and the more you focus on them, the deeper you go; like a vehicle when it's stuck in the mud, the more you spin it's tires, the deeper the hole it digs. When this happens you need someone to pull you out. Likewise, when you focus on your circumstances and get 'bogged down', meditating on the 'Word God' can be like a 'tow truck' pulling you out of the 'miry clay' and help clear your mind! (Psalm 40:2). This is why you have to identify what you are thinking about and why.
Ask yourself, am I responding to demonic suggestions, or am I thinking as instructed in (Php 4:8) "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things". Remember, your mind is not there for you to think bad, negative, or evil thoughts; it’s for you to think about what's good. (Nothing good can come from bad thoughts; likewise nothing bad will come from good thoughts!) So, in the final analysis, when you 'guard your mind' by reading the scriptures, praying effectual prayers, meditating on and muttering the word of God; thanking Him for what you already have (Joshua 1:8; 1 John 5:4-5; Ephesians 5:20) you can control the bad and negative thoughts that try to enter your mind.
3. Third: Set Your Mind on Things Above.
Next, once you have renewed your mind with scripture, and have guarded your mind against bad and negative thoughts, the Holy Scriptures teach that you should now "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:2 NIV). This scripture is saying that you don't have to set your mind on earthly things, such as lust, greed for material gain and temporary pleasures. Because, your mind can turn on and turn off the thoughts that come into your mind, you can literally stop what you are thinking about. For example, when your hear someone say something bad about someone and you don't believe it, in your mind you already made the decision that you won't believe what you have heard, in this respect, that's setting your mind by refusing to believe a particular thought or suggestion. Another way to look at 'setting your mind' is as in respect to 'cement/concrete' when it is poured and 'hardened' and 'permanently set'. If you truly desire a dramatic, positive change in your life, then it's time to learn how to set your mind on things that are above. In the Holy Scriptures, (Ro 8:5 NIV) declares; "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires".
Moreover, if you want to set your mind on what the Spirit desires, you have to also know what the 'fruits of the Spirit' are. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Gal 5:22-23 NIV). As you can see from this scripture, these are the things that our Heavenly Father wants you to 'set your mind' on. Now that you have 'RENEWED YOUR MIND' with the Word of God, have also 'GUARDED YOUR MIND' from the bad and negative thoughts that try to enter your mind and 'SET YOUR MIND' on things above, you can experience the 'dramatic' and 'positive' change in your life that you desire! Because...
WHATEVER YOU ALLOW TO CONTROL YOUR MIND ULTIMATELY CONTROLS YOUR LIFE.
4. Fourth: Put on the Whole Armour of God (Eph 6:10-20).
Chances are you've already heard about this powerful and important set of armor that the Apostle Paul describes in the Holy Scriptures as being 1. The helmet of salvation, 2. Breastplate of righteousness, 3. Girdle of truth, 4. Shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, 5. The shield of faith, and 6. The sword of the spirit which is the Word of God (Eph 6:10-17). Just as the Roman soldiers of the past required physical armor to fight their wars, the Holy Scriptures declare that God's chosen people require 'spiritual' armor to be able to successfully 'stand' against the attacks of the enemy. As it has been shown, according to the Holy Scriptures, our 'enemy' is not flesh and blood (no human foe), but actually, our struggle is against a much more fearsome opponent whose forces are described in (Eph 6:12). Our adversary, Satan the devil, and his host of demons have a single, driving purpose: Obliterate the children of God. To be sure, in this scripture we are exhorted to "stand against" the Devil's tricks. With our 'Spiritual Armour' on, we must hold our ground as we fight against the pressures of Satan and this world as they try to influence our thoughts and hinder our progress and victory.
So as you can see, we are to be securely grounded, rooted and un-moveable; standing on a firm foundation if we hope to be successful in resisting the attacks of the enemy and gain the 'favor' with God that is needed in order for Him to honor His promises.
5. Fifth: Bind and Loose.
The next step in our study of 'Invisible Spiritual Forces' is, as the Holy Scriptures puts it in (Matt 16:19) - 'Bind and Loose' “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” First, let’s start by addressing these two questions – 1. Is binding and loosing scriptural as heard in prayers today, and 2. If so what do we bind according to the Holy Scriptures? Well, to answer this, let’s take a look back through bible history. Binding and loosing were terms in frequent use among the Jews, and they were defined as bidding and forbidding, granting and refusing; declaring lawful or unlawful, etc. With proper interpretation, this statement by our Lord Yehoshua can be defined as; the authority to declare what God’s mind is on as a matter of doctrine or practice. Or to put it another way for further clarity, it is the authority to carry out the will and decisions of God upon earth as they had already been established in Heaven. The Amplified Bible puts it like this: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in he aven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven”. It should also be noted that binding and loosing does not refer to persons, but to things - “whatsoever,” not whosoever. These ‘things’ can most times be the ‘spiritual forces’ that influence a person’s thoughts. As there is such a large degree of confusion on this subject, I have chosen not to continue with further in depth meanings and interpretations myself, but rather briefly present what is written in the Holy Scriptures; Since the phrase; “to bind” means to forbid or be unlawful and “to loose” means to allow or be lawful. It is safe to assume then; to ‘bind’ a thing is to forbid it; and to ‘loose’ it, is to allow it to be done.
In respect to negative or bad thoughts, scripture teaches to ‘bind’ those thoughts with the ‘word of God’, and in the ‘name of Yehoshua; also from the word of God, we are instructed to ‘loose’ a replacement for it; ie. love, peace, joy, healing and etc.
6. Sixth: Develop the Mind of Christ.
Next, is the ultimate goal for all Christians; which is to have the mind of Christ. Actually, the phrase “mind of Christ” or “mind of the Lord” comes from Isaiah 40:13, which says; “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?” As a matter of fact, one of the instructions given to us in the Holy Scriptures is to have the 'mind of Christ'. We read in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Have you ever wondered how this is possible? Or how would you achieve this? Well, all the previous steps that we covered thus far are the best ways to start. In fact, according to the Holy Scriptures, the mind of Christ is given to believers through the Holy Spirit. For example, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says, “…but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.” So in light of this, in order to have the mind of Christ, a person must first have the Holy Spirit. What happens is, the Holy Spirit indwells and enlightens the believer, infusing him with wisdom (the mind of Christ). Therefore, the believer bears a responsibility to yield to the Spirit’s leading (Ephesians 4:30) and to allow the Spirit to transform and renew his mind (Romans 12:1-2). This comes with saving faith in Christ (John 1:12; 1 John 5:12). Here's another example from scripture: Mark 8:33 (NKJV) says "But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
As you can tell from this passage of scripture, Yehoshua had to rebuke Peter, because Peter was busy minding the things of this world and not the things of God... The mind of Christ stands in sharp contrast to the wisdom of man. Many of us find ourselves doing exactly what Peter did. We get so consumed by the world and its troubles; we forget that we are to live in the world not of this world. So, to have the mind of Christ, you have to be mindful of the things of God. In the scriptures, (Phil 2:2-5NIV) gives us a view of this, "then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus" (Yehoshua).
By the same token, reading the Holy Scriptures and meditating on the word will also help you accomplish this ultimate goal. In essence, having the mind of Christ means we look at life from our Savior's point of view, having His values and desires in mind. It means having to same 'authority' as Christ. Simply put, it means to think God’s thoughts and not think as the world thinks. You see, God has called us to live specific lives and in order to do so; we must also have His mindset. Read what else the scriptures has to say about this; “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14 – 16). This scripture is saying that: 1.) The mind of Christ stands in sharp contrast to the wisdom of man. 2.) The mind of Christ involves wisdom from God, once hidden but now revealed. 3.) The mind of Christ is given to believers through the Spirit of God. 4.) The mind of Christ cannot be understood by those without the Spirit. 5.) The mind of Christ gives believers discernment in spiritual matters.
As you can see, there are many benefits to having the mind of Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Another one in particular is that we will come to “the full knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ”. To sum it up, If you will commit to renewing your mind with God's 'word of truth', guard your mind and set your mind on God’s Word; getting negative and bad thinking out of your way, then you will experience the fullness of new life that we can all have in Christ. All it takes to develop the mind of Christ is a little more progress, one day at a time.
7. Seventh: Have FAITH in God.
Lastly, but certainly not the least, and perhaps the most important thing is: we must have faith; because according to the Holy Scriptures, without FAITH it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Moreover, we have to be confident that He will hear us and that the Holy Spirit will help us to pray what we ought to pray. (Rom 8:26) says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Believe that when we pray, asking anything according to His will and in the name of Yehoshua, He hears us, and will give us what we pray for... Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God.
NOTE - Three Key Attributes of Faith: 1. It is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). 2. Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). 3. The just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).
Not only that, but Faith is the key that unlocks the door to God... No matter how much you pray, and cry out to God, if your faith is weak or lacking, you will not hear from God. It just won’t work. We have to understand that faith is “trust” and once we understand that, we can see why it is impossible to please God without faith.
If we try to please God without faith, we are trying to please God without trusting Him. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6 KJV). When you come to God you must believe that you will receive that you are petitioning God for: (Heb 11:1) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” As a matter of fact, Yehoshua said you can have what you say; if you can believe it, and what you say flows from what is in your heart. (Luke 6:45), so only say what comes from your heart. (Matt. 12:34-37). If you have a heart that is filled with grace and love and wisdom from God's Word, you can receive that which you are believing God for... True faith in God can make things happen for you! The Holy Scriptures makes it clear; what you believe is what you get.
In addition, Yehoshua said in (Matt 9:29), "According to your faith, let it be done unto you." For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:22-24). Therefore, expectation is the key to receiving anything from God…We must always believe and not waver, "For a man who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord" (James 1:6-7). Believe you receive when you pray! For what good does it do to pray without expecting to receive an answer? You might as well not pray at all, for faith is required to receive that you are praying to God for. This is why Christians should develop the 'mind of Christ', because Christ had perfect faith, when He spoke or performed a miracle, He knew by faith it would come to be. According to the Holy Scriptures, all we need is 'Mustard Seed Faith' to make things happen (Matt. 17:20). Next, a few more tips to help curtail demonic activity in your life…