DFO1379 4/75

—How to overcome & get rid of the Devil's pests!

1. SOME PEOPLE DRAG A FEW HUSKS WITH THEM WHEN THEY COME FROM THE OLD LIFE, especially those who have been involved with demonism, witchcraft or Devil worship. Believe it or not‚ sometimes this is a very hard thing to shake. Of course, I don't see how a child of God can be demon-possessed‚ but they can be demon–oppressed, especially if they had a lot to do with those things.

2. People who have been involved in that, who have once been a channel for the Enemy, carry those things with them unless they have strong faith & can really fight the Enemy! So you really need to pray for them.

3. Those who come out of those things have to constantly baptise themselves in prayer, soak themselves in the Word, memorise & quote constantly to the Devil & to themselves.—They have to wage a militant warfare against the Enemy! Of course we all have to do this to a certain extent, but not quite the same.

4. You know the story Jesus told about the guy who got all cleaned up, house swept & garnished & empty?—Well, the devil that had lived there went & saw that it was still a pretty nice place to live, so he got some more spirits that were even worse than he was & came back & they all moved in! (Mt.12:43-45)

5. Apparently that guy didn't move in the Holy Spirit‚ their Arch–enemy, to fill up his house & take it over in order to keep out the intruders!—So if you have been involved in that sort of thing, the best thing in the World for you to do now that you're a Christian is to fill your heart & mind & spirit with the Holy Spirit & really get baptised with the power of God to fight the Enemy!—To really seek God for the power of the Holy Ghost to get rid of those damned Satanic spooks!

6. Ask Him to wash your mind clean of all that stuff "by the washing of the water of the Word" (Eph.5:26) & try to forget it & rebuke it every time it comes to mind. Don't even think about it! Don't dwell on it! "Neither give place to the Devil!" (Eph.4:27)

7. BECAUSE OF THE RULES OF THE GAME, THE LORD HAS TO ALLOW THE ENEMY TO AFFLICT OR MANIPULATE OR OPPRESS ANY TERRITORY WHICH BELONGS TO HIM, which is yielded to the Enemy. If there's something in your heart that's not right, it belongs to the Enemy. That's why sin in your heart is a very dangerous thing, especially if you allow things like doubts & fears & a critical spirit to creep in, which the Enemy uses as a channel.

8. The Lord once said that the reason certain people were having so much sickness was because they were running around outside the tower of the Lord's protection & they were not hiding in the secret place nor staying under the Lord's wings. You've got to stay close to the Lord like a little chicken under the wings of the mother hen, in tune with Him & in touch with Him in prayer & really touching the Lord. (Psalm 91)

9. We are in a WAR & you have got to keep in tune, in touch with the Holy Spirit & on God's territory all the time, close to His Word & in the right spirit & constantly in prayer & seeking the Lord & praying for His protection & His help & thanking Him constantly for His blessings & staying mighty close to the Lord!—Or you're apt to be singed by that old fire-breathing dragon, if you go running around outside the tower of God's protection & the holy place of His Will!

10. WHEN YOU'RE DEALING DIRECTLY WITH THE ENEMY'S POWER, YOU'D BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP AGAINST & know how to pray hard & get ahold of the Lord! "You cannot do the Master's work without the Master's power" & you can't deal with these things on a natural level.

11. Jesus said in the last part of Mark, "These signs shall follow them that believe, they shall lay hands on the sick & they shall be healed‚ they shall cast out devils." And the disciples said, "Even the devils are subject unto us through the Name of Jesus!" So we who have Jesus have more power than Satan! We have more power than the demons‚ because we have the power of God! "At the Name of Jesus", He says, "every knee shall bow!"—He is more powerful than them all! (Mk.16:17; Lk.10:17; Ph.2:10; 1Jn.4:4)

12. So if you believe it & claim the Scriptures & command the demon to depart in the Name of Jesus, beloved, if there's a God, if there's a Jesus, if any of this is true at all, the evil spirit has to obey & depart because God's Word says so! All power is given unto you through Jesus Christ, Who said, "All power is given unto Me in Heaven & Earth" (Mt.28:18), & through the Name of Jesus you have that power too & you can command them to come out!

13. As far as the INITIAL EXORCISM that the Lord & the apostles performed, they didn't necessarily always have the cooperation of the individual. But to remain clean, then the will of the individual is involved & they must desire to remain clean, as the Lord Himself showed. (See Mt.12:43–45)

14. They have got to desire to REMAIN clean‚ & in order to do so they must be repentant & be really saved & have the Holy Spirit, have Jesus to protect them. Otherwise you could cast the demons out all day long, but if the individual's not cooperative, they'll just come right back in again.

15. AND REMEMBER, ONE CAN CHASE A THOUSAND, TWO CAN PUT TEN THOUSAND TO FLIGHT! (Deut.32:30) But if you feel there is anybody there who is not with you in spirit, the thing to do is what Jesus did: Shut them out!—Just tell them to get out of the room! He made the unbelievers leave the room first, & then He commanded the girl to rise! (Mk.5:40,41) If there's anybody there whom you don't feel is really with you & in tune & united in the power of the Spirit, then ask them to please leave.

16. You have to be in TOTAL UNITY of the Spirit, really concentrating, really united & praying desperately, all of you together, backing up the one who's leading in prayer. And if some aren't, let me tell you, you need to rebuke them for not cooperating! I saw my Mother do that many a time. People would be talking or moving around during the prayer & she'd say, "Shut up! Stand still! You concentrate & pray with me right now!" She used to throw the fear of God into them & try to scare them into praying desperately: "You don't want this thing to get into you, do you?"

17. And you can't just use ordinary prayer in a case like that, just "Lord bless" & "Lord help", "please heal" & blah‚ blah. You have to speak straight to the Devil & rebuke the Enemy himself in the authority of the Lord!—When you rebuke the Devil like that you don't do it calmly, you get angry! I have practically yelled & shouted & cursed & screamed at him! You get absolutely really angry in the Spirit—righteous indignation! You don't just say, "Calm down now, Jesus bless you, Lord help you."—When you're talking to the Devil‚ you cuss him out!—You speak with authority & command him to come out!

18. You can't just beat around the bush in these cases or try to save feelings by not dealing with the problem. You've got to name the Old Boy & sock him straight on with the weapons God has given us!—The Lord will answer your prayers as much as mine! The Devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees! Hallelujah! So sock it to him!—Amen? GBAKY!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family