The Enemy

[BrianM84]

I believe that the enemy is alive and well. I believe he's around and is the reasoning behind all the chaos and destruction of this world.

But what I dislike is how much credit he seems to get among some Christians. So many times I'm hearing people say "the enemy did this to me" or "the enemy is doing this to me". I believe there are instances where we can allow the enemy into our lives and take over, but 99.9% of the time we're just flat out sinners who have all fallen short of the glory of God.

That type of mind set takes away from the fact that we have original sin problems, and that the enemy is just doing everything to us. When we have our armor of God on (our breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, helmet of salvation etc..) the enemy can no longer control the key to our lives, because the only reason he had the key in the first place is because we gave it to him.

Something else. I understand that as Christians we need to renounce a lot of things. We need to renounce the principalities and powers of spiritual wickedness in high places. However, we need to do something a lot more than that: which is repentance. I believe that renouncing can sometimes be used in the form of repentance, but generally what it does is instead of placing focus on us turning towards the light and the candles of the Lord, we're putting more of the focus on what we're renouncing.

Anyone with me?

 

[Sketcher]

In some circles it is overdone. People hear about sin habits and rebuke this demon or that one, not praying for God's transforming power in the person's life. I believe if you chase off a band of raiders who are burning a village, the village still burns if you don't put out the fire.

 

[plum]

I'm only half with ya.
The devil doesn't MAKE me sin, no. But his little peon demons DO talk to me, lie to me, and influence my feelings and thoughts. they don't have the right to, but they sure do try.

 

[fishstix]

I think that people do need to take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences of those rather than blaming everything on demons.

 

[Christ's Minister]

Yes some people do blame Satan for their own failures.But most Christians fail to realize the power that Satan has in the world.In fact most people think that God has more power than He does,blaming God for Satan's work.Very frequently people get angry at God for disasters they have experienced.The Bible states that Satan,not God controls the world.That makes the newspaper a whole lot easier to understand.Now you know why the world seems to be going crazy.It is.Satan,not God is the author of the war,hate and violence in the world.

Unfortunately your statement "the enemy can no longer control the key to our lives" is just not true.Wish it were but Satan is actually becoming more violent in these last days.Let me give you a very brief description of my 12 day $32,500 hospital visit last year.I was hosting a Christian chat room on MSN.Satanists became very angry at me because I kept kicking them out.I started to receive death threats.Even though I was in excellent health,I started to feel extremely sick and weak.I went to the doctor and received medication that didn't work.I had to be taken to the emergency room of a hospital.I was put in an isolation room,pumped with numerous kinds of drugs and given an incredible number of tests,some of them repeated two and three times.The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me but I could feel myself dying.I tried to read the Bible but one of two things prevented me from doing so.I either fell asleep or my mind was flooded with sexual thoughts making it impossible to concentrate.When I tried to pray to ask God to remove the demonic attack I could not.An inner demon literally destroyed my memory and I could not remember what words to use.So I was totally helpless,dying at the hands of Satan.Fortunately for me,the very next day God cast the demon out of me and my mind was made clear again.After 12 days of not being able to diagnose my Satanic illness,I was released because God was healing me.The reaction of my health insurance company to all of this is interesting.They are refusing to pay the hospital any money.My "treatment" was not "customary or ordinary". Sure got that right Dude..It was divine.No payment is due.Thank you God!

 

[waterbear]

Whether you are tempted or not, it's still YOUR choice.

 

[All4one]

I think we must remember also that satan has NO power that God has not granted him. If you climb the ladder, God is still in control. Like you said... God cast the demon from you thus God has allowed satan power to test and try His children but in the ultimate sense... it is all Gods grace.

In Love,
All4one

 

[All4one]

I'm only half with ya.
The devil doesn't MAKE me sin, no. But his little peon demons DO talk to me, lie to me, and influence my feelings and thoughts. they don't have the right to, but they sure do try.

Yes some people do blame Satan for their own failures.But most Christians fail to realize the power that Satan has in the world.

I agree with both these thoughts. The devil cannot MAKE us do anything as is the same with God. We ultimately choose. I believe it is the very reason God placed the tree in the garden. He gave us the free will and power of choice. Love is not love without choice.

 

[MadeInOz]

I think there is danger in ascribing too much power to Satan. While we must recognise that he exists and he works to defeat God's work and Word where ever he can, we still have a choice.

 

[john14v6]

I agree, satan and his minions lie to us and can affect our emotions, but when the rubber meets the road we are the ones who make the decision to sin or to choose the Lord.

 

[All4one]

think there is danger in ascribing too much power to Satan. While we must recognise that he exists and he works to defeat God's work and Word where ever he can, we still have a choice

I agree, satan and his minions lie to us and can affect our emotions, but when the rubber meets the road we are the ones who make the decision to sin or to choose the Lord.

Amen! It is more powerful to know the power of God then focus on the power of satan. satan is powerful but as Christians we have to know who controls the power source behind any power!

 

[SoulFly51]

I agree with both these thoughts. The devil cannot MAKE us do anything as is the same with God. We ultimately choose.

Barring possession of course. Free will is lost when one is possessed - although that almost never happens in our society.

 

[All4one]

Yes Wes I agree. When we are possesed by evil we still have a choice but loose most control. As is the same with God. We still have the ultimate choice but loose more of the control we did have. We always have that choice though.

Love ya Bro,
All4one

 

[getreal52]

Yes Wes I agree. When we are possesed by evil we still have a choice but loose most control.

Hrmm - I disagree.

There is a difference between being demonized and being demon possessed. The people I read about in the Bible who were possessed didn't seem to have a choice.

 

[All4one]

Getreal- please explain your standpoint. It seems to me that Jesus cast a demon out of a young man who was being cast in the fire by the demon. It is also this way with God, when we let Him reign over a little more at a time in our lives we actually turn more control of our actions and deeds over to God.

Love Ya Bro,
All4one

 

[Untamed Fire]

I believe that the enemy is alive and well. I believe he's around and is the reasoning behind all the chaos and destruction of this world.

But what I dislike is how much credit he seems to get among some Christians. So many times I'm hearing people say "the enemy did this to me" or "the enemy is doing this to me". I believe there are instances where we can allow the enemy into our lives and take over, but 99.9% of the time we're just flat out sinners who have all fallen short of the glory of God.

That type of mind set takes away from the fact that we have original sin problems, and that the enemy is just doing everything to us. When we have our armor of God on (our breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, helmet of salvation etc..) the enemy can no longer control the key to our lives, because the only reason he had the key in the first place is because we gave it to him.

Something else. I understand that as Christians we need to renounce a lot of things. We need to renounce the principalities and powers of spiritual wickedness in high places. However, we need to do something a lot more than that: which is repentance. I believe that renouncing can sometimes be used in the form of repentance, but generally what it does is instead of placing focus on us turning towards the light and the candles of the Lord, we're putting more of the focus on what we're renouncing.

Anyone with me?

I'm totally with you Brother, and not only that, I'm with you as someone who HAS actually experienced real demonic activity in my life, who because of it had some of the problems you describe (focusing more on the Enemy activity than on the issue of my own flesh). You might want to check out a post I made in another thread about this, if you're interested: http://www.christianforums.com/showthread.php?p=10059228#post10059228

 

[Untamed Fire]

Barring possession of course. Free will is lost when one is possessed - although that almost never happens in our society.

Wes is correct. Free will is lost in cases of possession, at least, for all practical and experiential purposes by the possessed person. They lose the capacity to access their own volition or make it of any effect, and the whole of their volitional function is overridden by the inhabiting and/or controlling entities. This is one of the chief reasons behind the need for fervent fasting and prayer on behalf of such persons, because ultimately they cannot free themselves, they are caught in a trap that warps everything around them. They will even fight against efforts made to deliver them.

However, even lacking the free volitional faculty, the possessed can be set free by the power of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not dependent upon our will to do His work. He reads the heart, and the possessed can be freed by Him in response to earnest prayer on their behalf by others. Every case is different. Sometimes this involves releasing them from bondage so they CAN exercise their own will; other times it involves a healing touch that makes a connection for them inside between their enslaved selves and that capacity, and at that point they may cry out to the Lord for deliverance and He will deliver them.

As the original poster pointed out, however, the real battle and crux of the matter lies with our flesh. The more susceptible our flesh-natures are to the kinds of things the devil can use to gain control of us, the greater the risk, but we are ALL at risk when we are not constantly abiding in Him (John 15:1-5). Here my "expertise" ends because I am still learning what exactly it means to "abide in" Him (or conversely, to not be abiding) but I know prayer and the study of scripture are involved; they are necessary to strengthen faith and our connection to Him. Private time with God is indispensible. Still the fact of the matter is, even without demons involved, the enticement to sin lies inside of us, in our flesh. Even sorcery/witchcraft is listed as a "work of the flesh" in Galatians 5:19-21 -- yes that's right, even that does not require a demon to get it going inside us, it is part of our own rebellious nature.

You can give a man a fish or you can teach him to fish. Going through an exorcism is like being given a fish, you "eat" for one night. Learning how to walk as an effective warrior against your own flesh nature, understanding it and applying scriptural truth to deal with it -- is being taught to fish so you eat for a lifetime. Or look at it this way -- you can kill the ants that come into your house every time a new batch come in, or you can have an exterminator seal the perimeter so they stop coming in entirely. Casting out demons is killing the ants. Learning how to take hold of Christ's power and use the armor of God against your own flesh nature is sealing the perimeter so they can't get in in the first place.