RETAINING SPIRITUAL TERRITORY
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It is not enough to watch against temptation; we should be so filled with the Spirit of the risen Savior that the desires of the flesh shall have no fascination. The power that raised the body of Jesus from the grave is surely strong enough to raise our bodies from the bondage of corruption and to translate them to the resurrection plane. Let us keep joined to the Lord by one Spirit, that He may pour His own living energy into our nature. When He redeemed us, He undertook to save us wholly and entirely-spirit, soul, and body,
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hand the keeping of your body over to Him. Consider that it is the forecourt of a temple, in the inner shrine of which the Holy Spirit lives; and as of old the glory of the Lord filled the whole structure, so trust the Spirit of Holiness to make and keep you whole.
1Co 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
1Co 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
1Co 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1Co 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
The fact that a Christian can be influenced to one degree or another by the "god of this world" is a New Testament given. If not, then why are we instructed to put on the armor of God and stand firm (Eph. 6:10), to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), and to resist the devil James 4:7)? And what if we don't put on the armor of God, stand firm, assume responsibility for what we think; and what if we fail to resist the devil? Then what? We are easy prey for the enemy of our souls.*
We've already looked at 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
What does it mean to be devoured by Satan? Why does God warn me of that if it's not a possibility?
The word devour means "to gobble down quickly." Satan not only wants to eat your lunch, he wants to eat you! Warner spells out so clearly the tremendous damage Satan is doing to the body of Christ because so many refuse to recognize his influence:
"Influence"
The key word in everything that has been said to this point, at least for believers is influence. When it comes to God's people, evil spirits are spirits of influence only. That's not true for unbelievers in the world They are held firmly in Satan's grasp, under his control, blinded in their hearts and minds and utterly dead to spiritual truth until quickened by the Holy Spirit. They are members of his kingdom of darkness
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
But as we've seen, Christians are already "possessed" (owned) by the Holy Spirit, so demonic possession in the sense of ownership is not the issue. Rather, the issue is the influence the evil one can exert on us.
"In discussing demonic spiritual warfare on the personal level,"
Scott Moreau explains, "one general principle must be noted at the onset. demons can only influence believers to the extent that we allow them to do so."
Moreau, assistant professor of missions and intercultural studies at Wheaton Graduate School, adds,
"The act of giving or allowing Satan to take any amount of control in our life is referred to as 'giving ground.’
Giving Ground to the Enemy
Moreau refers to Paul's warning in Ephesians 4:27
27 Neither give place to the devil.
After cautioning us not to let our anger simmer overnight, Paul says, "Neither give place to the devil."
The word translated place here is the Greek word topos.
This word might look familiar to you even in its original form. It's at the root of English words like topography, and refers to the ground or a specific spot or location.
So giving place to Satan in our lives is giving him ground, a "foothold" according to the
an "Opportunity» (NASB and Revised Standard), a "chance" (Contemporary English Version).
Conversely, one commentator describes Paul's admonition as allowing the devil "no leeway . .. no room to move.»
Gaining Entrance
All these translations and others add up to a very graphic description of how Satan can gain entrance into a believer's life.
Clinton Arnold, associate professor of New Testament at the Talbot School of Theology, describes the process and how to resist this way:
“It is likely that any sinful activity that the believer does not deal with by the power of the Spirit can be exploited by the devil and turned into a means of control over a believer's life. Therefore, Christians need to resist.”
For Paul there is no middle ground. There is no nominal Christianity.
Believers either resist the influence of the evil one who works through the flesh and the world, or they relinquish control of their lives to the power of darkness. Giving in to those temptations does not just confirm the weakness of the flesh; it opens up the lives of believers to the control of the devil and his powers. We need to recognize the supernatural nature of temptation and be prepared to face it.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
is the immediate context of Paul's warning and a wonderful example of how we can give spiritual ground to Satan. This verse allows for proper anger. That is beyond dispute. But what happens when anger simmers unchecked in our soul?
It degenerates into bitterness-a sin that gives Satan an opening into our lives big enough to drive a truck through! We will discuss the treatment of the crucial topic of bitterness.)
Building Strongholds
Why would Satan want to gain a foothold in our hearts? It gives him a beachhead from which to attack us with destructive temptations. He uses this ground to build his "strongholds" of lies and thereby begins to undercut our relationship with and testimony for Jesus.
Ed Silvoso, an Argentine who directs an international evangelistic work called Harvest Ministries, aptly defines a satanic stronghold:
to accept as unchangeable something that we know is contrary to the will of God.
Some struggle with a sexual sin, he eventually became convinced he was a woman trapped in a man's body and could never change. (His mind was "impregnated with hopelessness.") He was so convinced that he decided to commit suicide.
What did mindset say about God? It said that God made a huge mistake. He "wired" Bill wrong. Something got confused. Bill told himself that God meant for me to be a woman, but He put me in a man’s body. So He's either an incompetent Creator or very cruel.
Imagine all of that going through the mind of a Christian and being believed. That's a stronghold!
These thought patterns get burned into our minds either over time or by traumatic experiences. Then they come out in unchristian attitudes and behaviors that are often either not recognized or if recognized, seldom seen as choices.
When this happens, people say, “I may be angry, but I can't help it. That's the way God made me."
Pastor Jackson once told his congregation, "I'm an angry man.
You'll have to learn to live with me." After five-and-a-half years, church members couldn't take it anymore, and he was asked to leave. Later a divisive church split occurred. Though the pastor's anger may not be the sole cause of the split, the tensions he created and his subsequent departure probably created division among the flock.
Satan's Pawns?
This concept of giving ground to the enemy is so critical that I build my counseling on it. Notice that we as believers can give ground to satan. He can take it without our cooperation and permission.
All he is influence us: plant evil thoughts, make suggestions, place temptations in our path.
I want to keep returning to this idea of influence because it is so important to waging successful spiritual warfare. No Christian is a helpless pawn of Satan! That's why we never want to fixate on the enemy and his power. Our focus is to be on Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
You might say, "It's odd that you say you don't want me to concentrate on Satan and his ways, since you're writing a book on that very subject."
That's true. But knowing how the enemy operates and becoming obsessed with him are two very different things.
You see, my greatest problem is not Satan but myself. If I desire and decide to hold on to sin, I give the enemy the ground he needs to launch his destructive attacks against me. If I cherish sin in my life, Satan will seek to exploit it. Since I must serve someone (see Joshua 24:15
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
the fact is that any area of my life I don't yield to the Holy Spirit's control, Satan will control.
Legal Jurisdiction
It's helpful to think of "ground" as legal jurisdiction. When I give ground to Satan, I am giving him legal permission to attack me. As I indicated above, the enemy wants this ground so he can build strongholds on it.
If Satan gets a firm enough foothold in a person's life, he can turn an act of sin into a regular practice of sin, and from there it degenerates into a habit that leads that person downward into bondage, where he "is caught in the cords of his sins" (Proverbs 5:22
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
This downward spiral is fairly easy to discern in any form of bond. age that has a physical component.
For instance, most alcoholics didn't start by announcing, "I plan to ruin my life and my family by drinking as much alcohol as I can hold every day from here on out." No, it begins with a drink, then two, then a couple to get the person going in the morning and a couple more to help him unwind after a hard day. The downward slide can be traced from the initial act to a regular practice to a habit to bondage.
Addiction, or Sin?
By the way, I dislike using the word addiction in my counseling. Addiction is a secular concept, and I don't like it because it suggests that I am a powerless victim of my problem. God calls it sin; the world calls it "heredetary."
We've got to choose which one we believe. If it's sin, there's hope.
But if I'm just born this way, or if I'm just a helpless victim of some powerful force or substance, then my situation is hopeless. The issue is sin, and we can change. As I tell my students, the only "bad genes" are at your local discount department store!
Nurturing Sin
This is a good place to stop and make sure you understand what I am not saying. I am not saying that every time we sin, we give Satan a huge chunk of ground on which he can build a towering stronghold.
Can you imagine what a mess we would be if every sin we committed led to a satanic stronghold? Instead, we give ground when we refuse to let go of our sin, to confess it, and turn from it. That’s very clear from Ephesians 4:26-27
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
It's not necessarily one moment of anger that gives Satan a foothold, but anger that is stored up, nurtured, and allowed to turn to bitterness and other horrible things the apostle goes on to describe in the closing verses of Ephesians 4.
In other words, giving ground and allowing Satan to build a stronghold on that ground are different issues. Giving ground is the enemy's entry point into our lives. Strongholds are belief systems that take more time and involvement to build.
Ground is yielded to the enemy when we cling to our sin rather than confess it and turn from it. Then if we persist in our sin, Satan has the time and opportunity he needs to build a stronghold on the ground he has taken from us.
I'm convinced that a satanic stronghold has been erected and is firmly in place in our lives by the time sin reaches the habit stage, if not before. You have to listen to and believe a whole lot of lies before Satan can get this kind of stranglehold on your life.
It may help to think of it this way. Giving ground is like giving Satan the land and the "building permit," the permission he needs to erect his stronghold. All he has to do then is start digging the foundation.
Believing Lies
The deception aspect is important to understand because Ed Silvoso's definition of a stronghold makes it clear that satanic strongholds are built on a foundation of lies. The very "bricks" or foundations of a stronghold are lies. We know that Satan "is a liar and the father of it" John 8:44
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Satan knows that if he can get our eyes off of Christ and onto our circumstances and problems, we'll soon be tripped up.
I was a cross-country runner during his teen years and through college. As a runner, he does two important things. First, he sets his focus on the finish line ahead of him. Second, he glances at the road ahead of him occasionally to watch for obstacles. If he were to focus on his feet, he would soon stumble and lose the race.
Lies can only trip us up if we believe them, of course. But once we believe Satan's lies, they become the truth for us. One lie I believed for years was that I was inferior, that I
couldn't do anything right.
father was very critical, constantly criticizing me. He liked to tell me things I did were stupid and even said I was "dumb." My teenage years were a miserable time for me. I even tried to take my life when I was fifteen. I remember thinking my dad must be right about me when I failed. I couldn't even kill myself.
I came to Christ at the age of nineteen, but that stronghold stayed in my life for years after that. I believed Satan's lie that I had little worth, and I lived in abject fear of rejection by people. Things got so bad that I couldn't even speak to groups. Here I was, a pastor, and I would almost get sick when I had to do a funeral, for example. My thoughts were always the same: What if the people didn't like what I had to say? What if they rejected me?
God helped me tear down that stronghold of the enemy's lies. Sitting in my office at the mission where I was a vice-president, I began to look back on my ministry. I realized that God had used my life. The thought occurred to me, You're not dumb. If you were so dumb, you wouldn't be sitting where you're sitting.
God reminded me of the truth that I was His child, special in His sight, chosen to serve Him with the gifts He gave.
I was so excited by this thought that I wanted to run up and down the hall saying, "Hey, guess what, I'm not dumb!"
The lie that I was dumb and worthless was a stronghold that had to come down. The truth that God could use me was a tower of truth I had to build in its place.
A Biblical Process
Now that I've used terms like "giving ground," "strongholds," and "towers of truth," let me show you where we're going with all of this. I lead my students through five biblical steps to freedom in Christ, and I want to present them now. These steps will be helpful to you both in leading someone else to freedom, and in equipping you and your family to wage successful spiritual warfare. Many people have discovered that because these principles are from the Word of God, the principles are effective for more than those who are in deep bondage to some habit or secret sin. They are also part of the "spiritual weapons" God has given all of us, weapons which are mighty through Him for "pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
I've seen God use the application of these simple principles to set men and women free from the most awful kind of spiritual bondage you can imagine.
I realize that some of the concepts I'm presenting may be new to you, so don't worry if everything doesn't fall into place right away.
In a sense, I'm sharing the solution before I get deeply into the problem, but there's a reason for approaching things this way.
The steps that follow (and the Scriptures that accompany them), will show up throughout the book. This overview will introduce you to important issues we will explore in depth as we go along. After I outline the steps that are at the heart of my ministry, we will look at some major problem areas that open our lives up to the influence and domination of Satan. Then we will finish with a strong affirmation of and detailed look at our identity in Christ, and the tremendous privileges and power that are ours in Him.
Steps to Freedom in Christ
In case I don't say it enough throughout the book, let me say it again right now: Satan is a defeated foe! He was rendered powerless at the cross of Jesus Christ. The enemy has no power over God's children except that power we permit him to have. Keep these thoughts in the forefront of your mind as we look at ways Satan can bring us under bondage and what it takes to defeat him.
1. Genuine Repentance
The first step in bringing anyone to genuine freedom in Christ is this there must be genuine repentance of sin.
I once counseled a married couple trying to recover from an Extramarital affair. The affair had many consequences, including the loss for this person's mate, which forced them to change locations The new job did not pay much, which led to many financial problems and a lot of unhappiness. The partner who had an affair was crying profusely in my office as we discussed what had happened.
Assuming I knew why this person was crying, and wanting to be helpful, I said, "I understand why you're crying."
The response was, "No, I don't think you do. I'm crying because the affair is over."
I had assumed the tears were tears of repentance for the adultery. Not so! You cannot assume repentance on the part of another person. Conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit's work. Only He can put the finger on sin and bring the "godly sorrow [that] produces repentance"
(2 Corinthians 7:10
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Turning from sin includes confession and cleansing by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
and a commitment to letting go of the sin. This has to be the first step, because without true repentance, nothing lasting value will happen.
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Teens who was heavily into the occult, sought demonic powers to have a sense of power, of being in control.
In his eyes, his powers were what set him apart from other kids and made him feel special. I told him that if he wanted to be free, he would have to renounce the enemy’s work in his life and commit himself to the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't say anything, so I explained it again.
Scott just looked at me.
So I started over, but he said "Stop. I know what you're saying. But if I give up my powers, I'll be just like everyone else."
"Yes, you will," I said-and he refused. Willing to give up the one thing that made him feel important, even though those same forces would try to destroy him. I told him he was free to go. There was nothing more I could do for him. Victory in spiritual warfare has to start with repentance.
2. Taking Back Ground
Step two in coming to freedom yourself or helping someone else find freedom is taking back territory that has been yielded to the enemy. I've already laid out the biblical concept of yielding ground to Satan, so I won't repeat that here. How do I take back territory that has been surrendered to the enemy? By an open declaration to God that what I did was wrong.
This means verbally announcing that I am asking Him to take back any ground I have yielded to Satan in the Lord’s name and power. I announce to the forces of evil that here and now, I renounce Satan's works and ways in my life, that I want nothing to do with them anymore.
On the surface, this may sound like repentance. But I have found that taking back territory is a distinct step in helping a person come to true freedom in Christ. I ask the people I counsel to declare their intention out loud-and for many, this declaration is where the real battle starts.
Why? Because they are standing against Satan, in most cases for the very first time in their lives! These Christians have let Satan push them around and keep them in bondage their whole lives without ever resisting him.
Remember that "ground" is legal jurisdiction. It is like giving the enemy the key to my house. When giving ground, I am giving the enemy permission to attack me with destructive thoughts and temptations, Looking at it from another angle, I have strayed into his jurisdiction, his territory, and that gives him a claim I must renounce.
This is why I said earlier that ground and strongholds are different issues. The occult is one area where we can clearly give Satan an advantage. Others include bitterness, unforgiveness, a lack of a clear conscience, pride, and sexual sin.
Once all ground has been taken back from the enemy (his legal right to attack me), this is the time to command the enemy in the name and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to leave and go where Jesus sends him.
3. Tearing Down Strongholds
The third step in getting free of the enemy is tearing down strongholds Remember, a stronghold is a fortress of lies Satan builds in your heart and mind. God wants us to tear down these structures, as we have seen
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Unlike fortresses made of stone and brick, these strongholds can't be destroyed by the weapons of the flesh.
What undermines and destroys a lie? The truth! Jesus said it's truth that sets us free (John 8:32), but it is only when truth is believed and acted upon that it does the job.
Another reason we need to identify and tear down strongholds because Satan is a deceiver
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
That’s one of his major attacks we must deal with. Deception is when your mind and emotions believe something that isn't true. Deceptions maybe 90 percent true and only 10 percent lie, but the power of deception is broken only when we recognize that it is a lie.
Satan is not only a liar and deceiver. He is also "the accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
This is his other major tactic. He will accuse God to me, me to God, and even me. He will intrude his thoughts into my mind and then accuse me of having them.
When I listened to my dad's assessment that I was dumb and worthless, for instance, I soon believed those words. It was a false belief, but those thoughts of inferiority became a real stronghold in my life.
Our belief systems are shaped by several significant forces: family, society, our peers, education, television, and even the music we listen to.
That's why as believers, we have to renew our minds (Romans 12:2 by thinking God's thoughts. One way we do this is by dwelling on those things that are honest, true, pure, lovely, and of "good report" (Philippians 4:8
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.
I'll have more to say about this later.
2 And 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.
4. Building Towers of Truth
As I like to tell my counselees, when you tear down a Satanic stronghold, use the bricks to build towers of truth. This is the fourth step to freedom.
A tower of truth is just what the name implies: reprogramming your mind with the truth about yourself, God, and Satan and his ways. Then, when the enemy comes with his intruding thoughts-lies, deceptions, and accusations-you can flee to the tower.
Of course, God's Word is the ultimate source of the truth we need to replace Satan's strongholds of lies. In the Psalms, King David used this idea of a tower to which we can flee
1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
5. Taking Thoughts Captive
For this fifth and final step, we go back to 2 Corinthians 10:5
5 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;
critical passage that teaches us that the mind is the battleground between God and Satan in spiritual warfare.
Verse 5 instructs us to take every thought captive "to the obedience of Christ." We are to bring our thoughts in line with what He desires and what pleases Him.
Do you know what a wrong thought looks like? That is, would you recognize a wrong thought when you had one? You'd be surprised how many Christians don't. Or perhaps I should say, you'd be surprised by how many Christians chink the horrible, vile, and even blasphemous thoughts Satan torments them with are their thoughts. What Can you conclude about yourself if you believe these thoughts are coming from you? You'd have to conclude, "I must be a terrible, rotten person No child of God would think like this. God can’t love me when I have such wicked thoughts."
Many people who come to my office struggle terribly with intruding thoughts, often coming so fast they can't turn off the flow. I ask these people, "Are these terrible thoughts coming from God?"
The inevitable answer is "No, no way." But they cannot discern whether the thoughts are coming from them or from the enemy. Trying to deal with thoughts when they're coming chat fast is exhausting. les like a kid in a batting cage trying to hit with one hundred balls coming at him every minute. He's defenseless.
But Matthew 16:13-23 shows us that our thoughts can come from one of three sources: ourselves, God, and Satan. In verse
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
God put His thoughts into Peter's mind so that Peter spoke out the very mind of God when he confessed Jesus as the Son of God.
If Jesus hadn't told Peter, this thought was from God. Peter wouldn't have known where it came from. He would have assumed it was his thought. But then in verse 22, Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about the cross. Jesus immediately informed
Peter that this thought was from the devil.
These verses give us principles for walking in the victory that are as important as any in the New Testament. Not all of the thoughts we have come from us. Woe to the person who cannot tell the difference between his own thoughts and those that come from Satan. God doesn't want us to be controlled by our thoughts. We are to control them
(2 Corinthians 10:5
5 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;
In other words, don't let the enemy set your agenda. When the enemy sends an intruding thought, say "I give no consent to that," and move on. By the way, God hasn't left it up to us to decide what thoughts to shun and what kinds to embrace. Letting our minds dwell on the things described in Philippians 4:8
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.
will help us discern when the enemy is attacking us with his intruding thoughts.
Now that we've set the goal toward which we want to move let's talk about some ways that believers can give Satan ground in their lives.
