EPHESIANS 4:27 NLV “Do not let the devil start working in your life.”
NASB And do not give the devil an opportunity.
NIV And do not give the devil a foothold.
WEYMOUTH And do not leave room for the Devil.
AMP And do not give the devil an opportunity to lead you into sin by holding a grudge or nurturing anger or harbouring resentment or cultivating bitterness.
Opportunity Greek topos marked off space – a place you have allowed.
The Kingdom of darkness looks for what we call OPEN DOORS to gain entrance into a life. Satan has no authority to demonise a Christian unless he is given legal right to do so.
To believe and agree with the devil’s lies is effectively making an agreement with him to enter. Sometimes the OPEN DOOR is not of your choosing as you may have been subjected to it involuntarily such as when a child is exposed to demonic activity by their parents.
Demons are legalists they can only operate within the confounds of their authority which is minimal because it has been stripped by the Cross of Jesus Christ. Once you remove the legal right you can force demons to vacate the ‘topos’ or marked off space you have allowed.
But the truth is many, many people throughout the earth have OPEN DOORS to demonisation and in many cases were ignorant to these OPEN DOORS. In a sense, the Bible is the safety instruction book to life.
The Holy Bible is our guide book in this area of OPEN DOORS and what we must do to close them, keep them shut and drive out whatever is occupying an area within your life.
By knowing these OPEN DOORS we can accurately identify how demons or curses got in, what we must do to remove them and keep them out.
What we know from the Gospels is that Jesus dealt with CURSES and DEMONIC SPIRITS on a daily basis within His ministry. He was fulfilling prophecy about His Kingdom take over on the earth ever increasing.
ISAIAH 9:7 NKJ Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
ISAIAH 9:7 LIVING BIBLE “His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end.”
And how is it increasing and expanding? Through the preaching of the Gospel but most importantly through occupying territory once held by the devil.
LUKE 11:20 NKJ “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
CURSES must be broken and DEMONS must be driven out there is no other way.
MARK 1:27 NKJ “And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons.”
Demonic territory is not so much geographic locations but places within human beings. Notice that much of the deliverance ministry of Jesus was conducted in the Synagogues where Godly people were congregated. This is why Jesus said in LUKE 17:21 LIVING BIBLE You won’t be able to say, ‘It has begun here in this place or there in that part of the country.’ For the Kingdom of God is within you.
The freedom that Christ wants to bring into your life is not by sending you to someplace but by delivering you from whatever is binding your life from within.
Here are 7 areas in our lives that will show signs we need deliverance.
Emotional problems
A constant feeling of confusion, Loneliness, Feeling unloved, Ongoing sadness, Feeling’s of sorrow and grief, Insomnia and restlessness.
Mental problems
Fear and anxiety, Confusing thoughts, Heaviness of mind, Feelings of paranoia, Hearing voices, Making no sense in thinking and actions.
Speech problems
Constant negative talk, Uncontrollable swearing, Using the Lord’s name in vain, Cursing people and things, Filthy talk and rude joking, Argumentative
Sexual problems
Fornication (Sex outside of marriage), Lust for constant sex, Adultery, Homosexual tendencies, Pornography addiction, Perverted desires (Pedophilia, Bestiality), Gender confusion.
Addictions
Alcoholism, Smoking, Illegal drugs, Sex, Gluttony (Over eating), Gambling Gaming (Electronic devices)
Physical infinities
Weakness, Some diseases, Reoccurring illnesses, Undiagnosed sicknesses, Symptoms with no apparent cause, Rashes that comes and go for no reason.
Religious error
Unable to believe God, Hatred towards Jesus, Unbelief towards the Holy Bible, Desires for the Occult and witchcraft, Paranormal experiences or abilities. Seeing spirits or hearing voices.
Now there could be other things not mentioned in this list that you just know are oppressing or controlling your behaviour.
I have observed in ministering to hundreds of people over the years and through experienced that OPEN DOORS to demonisation usually occur when a person is at the most weakest point.
In other words, when the defences are down they become vulnerable to attack and demons are master’s of intrusion and lurk waiting for an opportunity…remember 1 PETER 5:8 NKJ “Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”
The LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION uses more graphic words: Be careful watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.
What the Bible is telling us is that if we are not careful demonic intrusion can occur quickly and unwittingly if we are not vigilant or on-guard.
I never knew about these open doors before I became a Christian and to be honest it wasn’t until I heard teaching on spiritual warfare that I became equipped to know how to better protect myself from demons and curses.
I want to make it clear that every Born Again Christian that is Baptised in water and Baptised in the Holy Spirit that is living a consecrated life for Jesus does not need to fear demons or curses.
When your walking in the fear of the Lord no demon or curses has any legal right or authority to afflict your life. They can attack as they did to Jesus and other Apostles and when they do we resist in Jesus’ name but they will be unable to cause any harm in your life because the doors are shut.
Consecration is the key. Consecration means to be set-apart and to walk a holy life. That will mean different things for different people because not everyone struggles with worldliness in the same ways.
Living a life of prayer and the Word will keep you being led by God.
Now we come to the OPEN DOORS and once again there are many but here are some of the most common ways OPEN DOORS to CURSES and DEMONS can enter through.
Here are some ways in which demons can have access into a person’s life.
1. A family background in the occult or false religions. (A false religion is a religion that denies that Jesus Christ is God)
2. Negative prenatal influences. (Parents who were engaged in sinful acts during conception and after)
3. Abuses from early childhood. (Either emotional, physical or sexual)
4. Traumatic experience. (An accident, sickness, criminal activity, divorce, perverted observations)
5. Sinful acts or habits particularly fornication. (By far the number one way evil spirits are transferred is through sex)
6. Laying on of hands. (Through false religious ceremonies and dedications as children)
7. Idle words. (Speaking direct curses over your life or others through undisciplined speaking)
But there is one area that by far would have to be the biggest reason why so many Christians today are afflicted, harassed and tormented by evil spirits and that is because of a LACK OF SANCTIFICATION.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:3-8 NKJ
3 For this is the will of God your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour,
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.
You can be SAVE, HEALED, and DELIVERED today here at the altar but the question is: Will you continue to follow Jesus and consecrate your life?
You see becoming a Christian means we come out of the world not the earth but the world’s ways of ungodliness. By choosing to follow Jesus Christ there is an immediate calling out of the world so to speak.
When we say of the ‘world’ in the New Testament we are reading the Greek word cosmos. Cosmos most often refers to the inhabited earth and the people who live on the earth, which functions apart from God.
Satan is the ruler of this ‘cosmos’ 1 JOHN 5:19 NLT We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
The simple definition of the word ‘world’ refers to a ‘world system ruled by Satan’. When Jesus said that believers are no longer of the ‘world’ we are no longer ‘ruled by sin, nor are we bound by the principles of the world’.
In addition, we are being changed into the image of Christ, causing our interest in the things of the world to become less and less as we mature in Christ.
Believers in Jesus Christ are simply in the world physically but not of it. Not part of its values. As believers, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life, to be set apart.
We are not to engage in the sinful activities the world promotes, nor are we to retain the insipid, corrupt mind that the world creates. Rather we are to conform ourselves, and our minds, to that of Jesus Christ. This is a daily activity and commitment.
We must also understand that being in the world but not of it, is necessary if we are to be a light to those who are in spiritual darkness. Ask yourself ‘are you a light to those around you?’
We are to live in such a way that those outside the faith will see our Godly lifestyle and know that there is something ‘different’ about us.
Being ‘in’ the world also means we can enjoy the things of the world such as the beautiful creation God has given us but we are not to immerse ourselves in what the world values, nor are we to chase after worldly sinful pleasures. Sinful pleasure is no longer our calling in life as it once was but rather the worship of God.
A great example of this is last night’s Mardi-Gras. That is an example of unrestrained and ungodly living. The people participating are saying to God that we don’t want your demands of holiness. The result is an utter perversion and sinful behavior that is contemptuous to a Holy God. We must pray for their salvation.
But a decision to live a consecrated life by being in the world but not of it is really the hallmark of Christianity and without consecration, it’s nothing more than useless religion devoid of power. In other words, Christianity and Consecration go together.
It’s a choice every person who comes to Christ will face and have to make. The friends you associate with. The places you go for pleasure. The things you engage in. The people whom you shall be intimate with.
Take a look at this video…
So what’s the answer to these OPEN DOORS TO CURSES AND DEMONIC INTRUSION? Well simply put it’s time to close the doors and you can do that through REPENTANCE.
REPENTANCE means to come back to God and change your mind. It’s a definite decision but with Christ, you will be empowered by His Holy Spirit to keep it shut…remember sin no more Jesus said.
I have written a special prayer of repentance and renouncing open doors for empowerment in your Christian walk today. We will also minister to break any curses and drive out any demonic intruders that have entered so you can be free today.
PRAYER OF REPENTANCE TO CLOSE DOORS
TO CURSES AND DEMONIC INTRUSION
Heavenly Father. I stand here today in your Holy House ready to give you my life. I recognise and confess that I have sinned and opened up doors in my life which have consequences.
I humble myself before you Lord God and renounce all of these open doors before you. I renounce and repent of…
1. Any family background in the occult or false religions. (A false religion is a religion that denies that Jesus Christ is God)
2. Any Negative prenatal influences. (Parents who were engaged in sinful acts during conception and after)
3. Any Abuses from early childhood. (Either emotional, physical or sexual)
4. Any Traumatic experience. (An accident, sickness, criminal activity, divorce, perverted observations)
5. Any Sinful acts or habits particularly fornication. (By far the number one way evil spirits are transferred is through sex)
6. Any Laying on of hands. (Through false religious ceremonies and dedications as children)
7. Any Idle words. (Speaking direct curses over your life or others through undisciplined speaking)
For all of this, I am sorry and repent of any open doors that have brought a curse or any demonic intrusion in my life. Today I humble myself and seek to be saved, healed, and delivered in the name of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father you are ALL GOOD filled with GOODNESS and you are GOOD to me. With you Heavenly Father ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE and my freedom is possible right now.
Any sickness, oppression, or turmoil in my life is a lie and I reject the lies of Satan and only accept that in you Lord Jesus I am saved, healed and delivered. I leave this altar today completely restored, made whole and sound in spirit, soul, and body in Jesus’ name!
Holy Spirit empowers me now to keep these doors closed and to resist and demonic attack from the enemy. I apply the Blood of Jesus over my life for safety and protection and now fill me with your Holy Spirit and fire.
