 I'm going to teach you something that many believers find difficult to believe, but it is biblical. It's very simple to defeat demonic power. Now notice I did not say that it's always easy, but it is simple and straightforward. Right in the comments section right now, the enemy is defeated. Let that be your declaration of faith, even if you have trouble believing that right now. Write that in the comments section. The enemy is defeated. Now, we have to take a very balanced approach to spiritual warfare. Some believers are so apathetic towards spiritual warfare that they treat the enemy like he doesn't exist. And because they treat him like he doesn't exist, they leave themselves spiritually wide open to his attacks and deceptions. Other believers are on the other side. They're paranoid about the enemy. Everything's a demon. Everything's an attack. Everything's a curse. And they're not vigilant but paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulder, living their life in fear, never really knowing the fullness of the victory that God wants to give to them. And so I'm telling you that you should avoid both apathy and paranoia and instead have spiritual, balanced, grounded vigilance. Now the enemy likes to exaggerate his power. He does have power. The enemy can affect you. But remember that if you're a spirit filled believer, you are no longer under the power of the enemy. You are no longer under that dominion. You have been translated from the kingdom of darkness and now placed in the kingdom of light. You are under God's dominion. You are under the king's rule. You are his servant. You are his child. You are his possession. You belong to God. But the enemy can still attack you. And though his attacks may be limited, he can still attack you. He attacks you by lying to you. He attacks you by tormenting you. He attacks you by trying to tempt you. Now the great lie is that you can't overcome them. The great lie is that they're too powerful to face. The great lie is that they are so absolutely powerful that they can keep you from ever walking in spiritual victory. And many believers have settled for the lie that the Christian life is one of spiritual struggle. Yes, you will have trials. Yes, you will have temptations. Yes, you will have tragedies. And yes, you will be persecuted. But spiritual defeat, spiritual defeat that internal defeat is not God's will for your life. So if you want to take dominion over demons, it begins by understanding your authority. Mark chapter 16 verses 15 through 18 says this, and he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, then his baptize shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Verse 17, and these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name, they shall cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents. And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Something very important here. Notice that the scripture is talking about the abilities of those who believe, those who believe what? Those who believe the gospel message. So if you believe the gospel message, these signs follow you. Notice he says, in my name, they shall cast out devils. Now that's a very important phrase in my name. That phrase in my name means in my power, in my stead, in my authority, by my will. When you rebuke the enemy, it says if Jesus himself is rebuke the enemy, Christ stands in victory. Christ stands in authority. And when you walk by faith, you stand in Christ. He's seated in heavenly places. You and I are seated with him and we have the power that he has not because of ourselves. It doesn't come from us, but it flows through us. It's his authority. It's his power. So when you rebuke the enemy, it's as if Jesus himself is rebuke the enemy. When you come against a lying spirit and tell it to stop lying. When you come against a tormenting spirit and you tell it to stop tormenting you. When you come against a spirit that's trying to attack you in your dreams and throughout your day by giving you even vicious demonic daydreams. And you take that authority that Christ has given you and you speak to the enemy. You have the same power that Christ does. And it's as if Christ himself is speaking against the enemy. Here's the problem. Many believers don't actually think that's true. They think that it's going to be a battle. I've often heard people talk about stubborn demons. You know, you're dealing with a stubborn demon if it doesn't go. And I thought how novel an idea. I mean, name me a demon that isn't stubborn. They're all parasites. They all seek to do harm. They all lie. They all want to do what their father does or what their king does. They want to steal, kill, and destroy. And I thought this is an interesting idea that there would be cooperative demons. But no, my friend, there's no such thing as cooperative demons. All demons are stubborn. The issue is never stubborn demons. And please don't be discouraged by this because I know some people might receive this and say, well, I guess I'm doing something wrong. Instead, see this as an opportunity to learn and to grow. See this for what it is. It's an encouragement that you might not settle in the spiritual defeat. This is an encouragement that you might not settle in the defeat, the spiritual defeat that the enemy is trying to bring to your life. You have that authority. The issue is never stubborn demons, only faithless Christians. This is why demons have to obey. They have to obey because you're using the authority of Christ. Now, why does it seem sometimes like demons can resist? Well, I promise you that when a demon appears to resist, that they're not resisting Christ's authority. And therefore, you're not using Christ's authority. You must learn to live your life in alignment with his authority. You live your life in alignment with his authority by believing in that authority, by faith, by walking according to his word, by living a lifestyle of devotion to him. Your nearness to God is alignment with his authority. So instead of trying to complicate it, just live right. Just do what the scripture says, and then have confidence in that ability to rebuke demonic powers in the name of Jesus, not in your own power. Demons laugh at this idea of spiritual rank. Demons laugh at this idea of experience in the supernatural. Neither you nor I have enough experience to intimidate a demon. Neither you nor I have enough knowledge of the spiritual realm to make a demon nervous. No, they're not moved by that. In fact, they laugh at that. What really makes them move is the authority of Christ flowing through us. And the way you step into that authority is by living in alignment with his word, in obedience to him. And once you come to know this authority, you must use this authority. James chapter four, verses four through eight says this, ye adulterers and adulteresses. Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do you think that the scriptures sayeth in vain the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? In other words, the Holy Spirit becomes jealous over us, a holy jealousy, a godly jealousy. Verse six, but he that giveth more grace, wherefore he sayeth, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double-minded. Notice something here that before you can resist the enemy, you must submit to God. So the problem, hear me now, the problem is not stubborn demons, it's stubborn Christians who refuse to submit to God. You live your life in submission to God in his word, and suddenly you're aligned with that authority. Suddenly you have that access to that power, and you can resist the enemy. Now notice here that the scripture doesn't even say fight the enemy, combat the enemy, go after the enemy, chase the enemy. It's a simple resistance of the enemy, not even necessarily engaging him, but simply saying, no, I don't want you to have influence, and he will flee. That's how terrified, look at this. That is how terrified the enemy is of you discovering this power. That is how terrified the enemy is of you actually using this God-given authority, this divine power that is in you. He's so terrified that the moment he recognizes that you're resisting, that resistance shows him, oh my goodness, that individual is submitted to God. And because that person is submitted to God, I don't even want to deal with him. I am out of here. Very different than many of us believe. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. It's in drawing near to God. It's in submitting yourself to his will that you begin to cause the enemy to tremble in fear. That resistance, let me say this again, is a sign to the enemy that you take God seriously. When you resist him, he recognizes that's someone who submits to God and that terrifies him enough to cause him to flee. Now, of course, we are tempted by our own lust. We're led away by our own lust, but the enemy does also tempt us. And to defeat those temptations, we resist. To defeat the torment, we resist. To defeat those attacks, those lies, those deceptions, we resist how by putting faith in God, people of God, it comes back to simple faith, taking authority, knowing authority, walking in that authority, using that authority. It all comes back to simple faith in God. What happens if the demons don't seem to be responding? Here in Matthew 17, we see an example of the disciples unable to drive out a demonic spirit. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said, why could we not cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief, for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove. And nothing shall be impossible unto you, albeit this kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. Why couldn't we cast it out? Did Jesus say, oh, it was a certain type of demon. Why couldn't we cast it out? Oh, you forgot to get the origins of the demon. Why couldn't we cast it out? You forgot to get the name of the demon. Why couldn't we cast it out? Oh, you didn't go back far enough in their generations to find out who did what to renounce. No, why couldn't we cast it out? Simple, your unbelief. Now again, I'm not just talking about possession. I'm talking about our divine authority. I am not talking about demonic possession. This is a story about demonic possession, but this is bigger than that. I'm talking about divine authority. Demons don't obey because of a lack of faith. Well, why would that cause them to not obey? It's simple because it's the lack of faith that takes you out of alignment with the authority. You see, once you're aligned with that authority, they have no choice but to go. They have no choice but to obey. It's not even up for debate. I mean, think about this. Really picture this. Can you see a demon fighting and wrestling with the Holy Spirit? Can you see a demon putting up a fight against the most powerful spirit of all? Can you see the Holy Spirit getting tired and saying, this one's a tough one? No. So when you are perfectly aligned with that authority, you're also perfectly aligned with that power. And when you use that power against the enemy, that demon has no choice but to be quiet, but to stop the torment, but to stop the attack, but to cease and desist. Well, the scripture tells us that Jesus told them, this kind comes out only through prayer and fasting. Now, why would that work? Why? Because prayer and fasting increases your faith. So it is an increase in faith. What was the solution? An increase in faith by means of prayer and fasting. And again, I want to emphasize this. It's not that the devil was resisting God's authority. It's that the enemy was resisting the person who wasn't using God's authority because of their lack of faith. The Lord doesn't prescribe superstitious means. You cannot make up with superstitious ritual, what you lack in spiritual routine. It's simply God's power. We must exercise that authority. We must do as Christ did when he was being tempted in Matthew chapter four. It is written. The enemy challenged him. He challenged his fleshly cravings. He even challenged his identity. If you are the son of God, what did Jesus do? Did Jesus attempt to use experience or pool rank? No. If anyone could have done it, it would have been Jesus. Did Jesus say, devil, weren't you there when I was baptized in the Jordan? Didn't you see the heavens open? Didn't you hear the voice of my father declaring that I'm his beloved son? Didn't you see the Holy Spirit descending upon me like a dove? No. Jesus doesn't point to that. He doesn't point to his experience. Instead, he says, it is written. You are a son of God. You are a servant of the Most High. You are a heavenly representative. You carry the authority of heaven. That authority rests in you. Christ Jesus is with you. And when you stepped into alignment with God's power and authority through faith, those commands that you speak must be obeyed. And now I want to pray that you would be set free from every demonic attack, harassment. And then after we do this, what's going to be leftover is going to be the work on self. Stop freaking out. Don't say, oh, I'm still dealing with this or that. Stay calm. Have peace and say, okay, I'm going to work through this. Let's pray. Father in the name of Jesus, I come against every demonic assault of the enemy. I, a child of the Most High God, Lord, I your servant stretch my hands towards your people. And I speak to every lying spirit in the name of Jesus, every tormenting spirit in the name of Jesus. Cease and desist. I command all attacks to cease now. Father, if your people have walked in disobedience, making themselves susceptible to these attacks, I pray, Lord, that you would wash them and forgive them as they cry out to you in repentance. And Lord, I pray that you would cause your people to see themselves as they are in the spirit, cause them to see themselves for the victorious servants of the Most High that they are. Father, I pray that they would claim their royal right to freedom in the mighty name of Jesus. Spirits that torment, stop now in the name of Jesus. Spirits that cause demonic dreams, stop now in the name of Jesus. Spirits that cause anxiety and heavy sorrow, stop now in the name of Jesus. Spirits that attack with intrusive thoughts, stop now in the name of Jesus. I rebuke you. You have to stop. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Say it because you believe it. Say amen. Now listen to me. What's left after this now? Many of you felt that. I felt the power of the Holy Ghost. If what you were dealing with was demonic, it was just dealt with. I'm telling you, not because of me, because of the authority of Christ. If what you were dealing with was demonic, it's completely dealt with. Now begins the work of self. 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