Sermon Outline

Key verse: Psalms 91:5

 

Main Points:

  1. Satanic devices – 2 Corinthians 2:11
  2. Demonic rule over geographical areas – Daniel 10:13; Mark 5:9
  3. Theory, practical and application of Divine authority – Acts 19:13-16
  4. Time travelling prayers against demons – Matthew 11:12

 

Additional References:

  1. Job 5:12
  2. Acts 8:9
  3. Philippians 2:10
  4. 1 Chronicles 14:17
  5. 2 Chronicles 17:10
  6. Esther 9:3
  7. Genesis 4:9-11

 

Sermon

“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day” (Psalms 91:5).

Today we are going to deal with the unseen forces that battle with believers every day. They want to defeat you and make you walk out of your destiny. The Bible has given us instructions for warfare. The first thing that the devil does is put fear in you. Any kind of fear, apart from heavenly fear is of the devil. Yes fear is a terrible spirit that has held many in captivity throughout the ages. It is a tool the devil uses most of the times to cage and destroy lives. Fear has no respect for age, status or nationality. It torments its victims and leads to untimely death. Today God wants to expose this kind of fear. God not only exposes fear, He also has given us the weapons to conquer fear and emerge as true champions of faith. “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet” (Psalms 91:13). What does the Bible mean by the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon? They are powers of darkness with all their ramifications. There is a terror that passes by at night and there is an invisible arrow that flies by the day. If you are not aware of these things, you will stay defeated all your lives. “Lest satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices’ (2 Corinthians 2:11). Here the Bible says that we should not be ignorant of satanic devices. If the Bible says we should not be ignorant, it means that some people are already ignorant. They do not know what to do. It can be a very terrible thing when weapons are being fashioned against you and you do not know their nature, let alone be able to draw a programme of reaction. “He disappointeth the devices of the crafty; so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise” (Job 5:12).

 

Case examples

Once a person introduced his nephew to me with very bad descriptions and said that ‘the boy is jobless/useless/wayward/worthless. He will never make anything in life’. I asked him, “Why do you introduce him like that?” In a passive way he said, “He (the boy) is like that. Everyone speaks of him like that”. That young fellow also believed in such an introduction because he did not retaliate nor was he offended. When I asked him why he never felt offended he said that they are all telling the truth. Beloved, you should not accept the negative powers directed towards you. The people who speak negative words release negative powers. The devil uses these powers to chain people while he is stays neutral like the children of Israel. Moses was the only positive person in the whole of Egypt and magicians had negative powers with them. You have to switch over to the Lord’s side. The boy I spoke about earlier has come to Jesus and has given his life to Jesus. I told him not to stay in the camp of the negative or the neutral people but to stay in the camp of the godly and positive people which will help him to rise up in life. He shook his head and started coming to church but without his uncle. Once I met him and asked him where his Uncle was. He said, “My Uncle believes in witchcraft. They had bound me but now I am in the camp of God”. He told me he got a job and was flourishing. Praise God. Don’t believe in the people who say the days of miracles, the supernatural, praying in tongues and believing in Jesus are over. If you see anybody saying that, know that household enemies have finished his account. You just pray for God to open their eyes.

In another instance, a young girl had stopped eating for 6 months. She would only take water or juice. I asked her parents what had happened. They said, 6 months back she stopped eating completely and had become very weak. Actually a boy had fallen in love her but she rejected him. The boy released some evil power on her and she stopped eating. She couldn’t get anyone for marriage proposal. I prayed for her, told her to go home and eat the first solid food she finds. She went home, opened the fridge and started eating the leftover lunch. She felt well and from then on she continued to be well. The power of evil was broken from her life.

Demonic rule over geographical areas

What I am trying to say is that every geographical area has its own evil forces and evil weapons; every country has its own satanic technology. Some of the prayer points we use can help in some places, while they would be completely useless in other places because what you may be addressing in prayer may not be applicable there. You need to know what demonic rule is in your locality. Spot, map and bind the strong man. It may be a country, locality, area, neighbourhood or your very own home.

The Bible says “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:13). Here was an angel bringing back the response to Daniel’s prayer but a principality controlling the area withstood him. Thank God that Daniel did not stop praying. Verse 20 says, “Then said he, knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia…” In the New Testament there is a case when Jesus crossed the lake of Galilee and entered Gadarenes. There was this demon possessed man who had been possessed by many demons. No one could control him. Day and night he would scream and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus he ran to him and Jesus asked his name and he answered “ ‘My name is Legion, for we are many’ and he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country” (Mark 5:9). The demons did not want to leave that country. They wanted to continue to destroy the lives of the people living there.

Thus we know that every area has its own demons and evil forces controlling it. Also, satanic weapons vary from one place to the other and whatever weapons are available for the devil to use in an environment depends on seven things. You need to know who is ruling and who is praying against that evil rule. Why are some countries blessed? – Because the positivity of God is mighty there. Where there is light, the evil darkness has no place. Then we need to see how a particular tribe or nation began. Like America as a nation was established with the worship of the living God. The law and constitution were framed based on the Bible. We need to see all that. How a nation was established determines the kind of weapons that satan would use. The influence of those who developed the land initially determines what kind of weapons satan uses there. Yes there are local witchcraft people or diviners who bring down a locality or nation. Like Samaria was under the influence of evil before Philip went there.

A certain man called Simon used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, making them believe that he was great (Acts 8:9). “Everyone gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God” (verse 10). Which God? It was not God but satan. There was no joy, peace, deliverance or blessing in Samaria. But when Philip came and preached, we see the power of God. This is what happened: “unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice came out of MANY that were possessed with them and many taken with palsies and that were lame were healed and there was great joy in that city” (verse 7, 8). This shows the city had been sorrowful and that there were demonic powers there. So what great power did Simon have? He had the power like the magicians in Egypt: power to bind, power to enslave and power to make them wretched. Israel suffered. They were not paid their wages which is why when God released them; Egyptians gave off their gold and silver. What does it show? They were denied their proper wages. The evil powers in poor areas are generally more wicked, than the ones in prosperous areas. So, if you come from a village or a town where the locals do not prosper, or where those who prosper are those who go away to other places, then you need to pray seriously.

Just imagine if everyone goes to US or Canada because the other places are not prospering. What will happen to our place? Who will fight the battle for the native land? Who will pray for India? Some say, “Yes but I will go to US and pray for India”. There is no power in that. You have to stay in the place and pray. He works through culture, rituals and rites. The only power in the universe that can successfully deal with demonic powers is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is written “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things underneath the earth” (Philippians 2:10). It is therefore very dangerous and risky if you seek the help of demons to fight demons that are against you and. Darkness cannot fight darkness. The enemies of our souls have no free gift for anybody.

Theory, practical and application of Divine authority

Anything you have ever taken from the enemy, he will take it back from you with interest. You cannot fight him with your bare hands or by running away to a foreign country. You cannot fight him with your wisdom. You have to fight him with the weapons of spiritual warfare. The blood of Jesus is the only way to overcome the devil. You know in science there is practice and theory. If you apply practical knowledge you will see the difference. But the way you apply that practical knowledge in real life situations is also very important. Some are good only in theory and others in practice but not many are good in real life application. Like the seven sons of Sceva they were the children of a priest. They said, “in the name of Jesus that Paul preaches leave”, the demons pounced on them and sent them away unclothed (Acts 19:13-16). The power in the name of Jesus is one thing but the ministry in the name of Jesus is quite another. Many believers are like that. When you ask them to define and explain salvation, sanctification, or redemption they do it very well. When you ask if they have ever experienced any of these things, they say, “O yes, since I got born again, things I used to do, I do them no more. Since I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, I can pray better, I read the word of God very well. I have had hunger for God in my soul.” But if you ask what they do when the devil comes in their dream, or puts doubt in them or they hear voices, they are clueless and get quiet. They cannot put the theory of the power in Jesus’ name into practice. So, they are theory and practical students but lack the experience of real life application. For example, you can carry out a research on oranges without ever seeing one in your life. You could read all the books available about oranges – that is theory. You may go into practical and plant the orange in a lab but when it comes to farming, you may not be able to apply all that you have read about in a book or practiced in a lab. You may not know that it can be eaten or that some people burn the peel to drive away mosquitoes. People who have experience in dealing with the various aspects of farming or consuming oranges can easily apply their knowledge in everyday situations. So, we have three groups of students in the spiritual war class:

  1. Theory Experts: Mention Bible quotations and they can tell you where you can find them.
  2. Practical Experts: They understand the theory and they know how it should be used but cannot apply that knowledge in real life situations.
  • Practitioners: They understand the theory, know the practical and can apply it.

How can somebody apply the blood of Jesus? You can do so by testifying personally what God says the blood of Jesus can do. “The fame of David went into all lands, and the Lord brought fear of him upon all nations” (1 Chronicles 14:17). This is the kind of life you should have. Wherever you go and stay, that place should change. You don’t run away from a place. Stay in that place and bring a change in that place for you and for others. All of the great men of God brought fear in the land. Jacob brought fear in a strange land because angels would go before him. “The fear of the Lord fell upon the kingdoms so that they made no war with Jehoshaphat” (2 Chronicles 17:10). “All the rulers and officers helped the Jews because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them” (Esther 9:3). Be aware of the kind of groups you join. Were you unknowingly initiated into a group that practices evil? Do you dream of violence, curses and poverty? If yes, get into aggressive prayer and bind the strong man. 

Time travelling prayers against demons

The wonderful thing about the things of the spirit is that you can do a fast forward or rewind – which is not possible in the physical world. You can go back in time and pull that demon out of your ancestral lineage or you can go forward in time and keep the demon out of your descendants. I mean you can do everything in the spirit realm. For example, it is not possible to go back to when you were six years old. But spiritually, you can go back to what somebody did to you 27 years ago or to a dream you had 25 years ago, cancel it today and it stays cancelled. You can see what God has for you in the future or where He is taking you. That is the beautiful world of the spirit. So if you have been called before in your dream, or physically you heard a call and you answered, you can withdraw the call today by saying, “The call that I answered then, I withdraw my answer now in the name of Jesus.” You have the right to do that as a child of God. Cancel the sentence passed on you. Barricade your life with the blood of Jesus. That is why when you buy a house or property, before you enter in it bind the strong man in Jesus’ name. You need to understand the ways of the earth too. The land you stand on is a living entity and can accept virtues deposited into it. Like when Cain killed his brother, Abel, the Lord said unto him, “Cain, what hast thou done?” He replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The Lord said, “The voice of the blood of your brother is crying to me from underneath the earth” (Genesis 4:9-11). Every blessing that we are entitled to first exists in the spirit world before being manifested physically. If somebody grabs the spiritual representative and buries it, it becomes a buried virtue.

If you know that when bright opportunities come, you fail; or that at the point of something good, everything goes wrong, or you are always in and out of hospital because of bad health, it could be that somebody may have buried your health, wealth, etc. Take the help of angels. Devote at least an hour each day praying. If it is a persistent spirit that is not allowing you to go forward or tries to stall your progress and blessings, pray each day at the same time for seven days and see the breakthrough that comes. Some are in a spiritual cell. They feel caged. They cannot move far away and are like a bird that has wings but it can only flap at the sides of the bar and hurts itself but cannot take off. If friends and enemies surround you, throw things at you – like people do to animals caged in the zoos – you need to know that you are caged. If you always have to spread hands before others for help to feed you – you have been caged. You have to escape today. Friends might be throwing you bananas while enemies are throwing you stones, and you are be busy trying to dodge like a monkey in a cage. Somebody who is in a cage cannot really run far from the enemy. That kind of person will not be able to respond effectively to attacks because the cage would be limiting him. The trouble with being in spiritual cage is that a lot of people get so used to it that they do not even realize that they have lost their freedom. They become like the woman who was given a lift and she still had her load on her head. When she was asked to put down the load, she said, “No, it is me you are giving the lift not the load”. What is the way out? Pray the prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). Pray, “Lord bless me and enlarge my coast in Jesus name”. Then take authority over the cage – let it be broken in Jesus name and bind the strong man in Jesus name. Some people think if they only plead the blood of Jesus and pray for protection it is enough. No. You must attack. The best system of protection is to attack. The kingdom of heaven lacks violence and violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12). There has to be a violent kind of prayer, faith and claim. God cannot release His miracle working power until you begin to attack what you should attack. 2 Thessalonians 1:16 says, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.”

Prayer of Salvation

If you are yet to surrender your life to Jesus Christ, the violent prayers will be of no use to you because you have not taken the first step in obtaining the blessings of God. If you want to give your life to Jesus, say the following prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I surrender my life unto you. I accept you as my Lord and personal Saviour. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with your blood. Come into my life today, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Praise God!!!

 

Abstract

“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day” (Psalms 91:5).

Today we are going to deal with the unseen forces that battle with believers every day. If you are not aware of these things, you will stay defeated all your lives (2 Corinthians 2:11). It can be a very terrible thing when weapons are being fashioned against you and you do not know their nature, let alone be able to draw a programme of reaction.

Every geographical area has its own evil forces and evil weapons; every country has its own satanic technology (Daniel 10:13). So some of the prayer points we use can help in some places, while they would be completely useless in other places because what you may be addressing in prayer may not be applicable there. You need to know what demonic rule is in your locality. Spot, map and bind the strong man.

Anything you have ever taken from the enemy, he will take it back from you with interest. You cannot fight him with your bare hands or by running away to a foreign country. You cannot fight him with your wisdom. You have to fight him with the weapons of spiritual warfare. The blood of Jesus is the only way to overcome the devil.

How can somebody apply the blood of Jesus? You can do so by testifying personally what God says the blood of Jesus can do. Wherever you go and stay, that place should change. You don’t run away from a place. Stay in that place and bring a change in that place for you and for others.

The wonderful thing about the things of the spirit is that you can do a fast forward or rewind – which is not possible in the physical world. You can go back in time and pull that demon out of your ancestral lineage or you can go forward in time and keep the demon out of your descendants. You have the right to do that as a child of God. Cancel the sentence passed on you. Barricade your life with the blood of Jesus. Praise God!!!