“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 NLT)
While this can be a frightening subject, believers in Jesus have no reason to be alarmed or to fear demons or possession by demons. Matthew 12:24 speaks of Satan as the “prince (ruler) of demons”, who are, according to Scripture, rational beings who think, believe, hear, and speak. While they oppose God and His children, they have no power over us except what we allow them to have. However, demons can oppress children of God. What does that mean?
It means they can mess with our minds, challenge our thinking, distort truth, and in other ways seek to confuse us and turn us from what the Bible clearly teaches. It’s not unlike Satan in the Garden when he asked Eve: “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” knowing full well that wasn’t what God said. But it led to a deception for which all of us are still paying.
Satan convinced Eve to believe a lie and that’s exactly what he seeks to do with us as believers. Perhaps it’s what A. W. Tozer was alluding to when he wrote: “Christians don’t tell lies — they just go to church and sing them.” We sing songs of peace we don’t have, generosity we aren’t experiencing, love we’re not sharing, faith we’re not exercising, patience we don’t possess, power we don’t understand, and strength we aren’t appropriating, yet, we leave church filled with good feelings that aren’t reflective of our real faith. We’re trying to talk the talk without really understanding how to walk the walk.
Let’s be clear about a few things. Those who turn away from the true faith in the last times are not believers in the Jesus of the Bible. Born-again believers committed to the true and living God, while they may fail and fall, will not stay down and are not subject to being filled with a demonic spirit. While a true believer can be subject to compromise and lies, a person devoted to Jesus will not follow a habitual lifestyle that dishonors Jesus and harms the Body of Christ, His Church. The conscience of a born-again believer in Jesus will not die, as we are given a new, eternal heart and mind in Jesus.
Can we be deceived? If we’re bathing every decision in believing prayer, it’s doubtful, but if we’re simply using common logic or the reasoning of man, yes, absolutely we can fall and go down a rabbit hole of satanic origin. But we will not stay there if we turn to the Lord, seek godly counsel and quickly and completely turn from anything that even hints of demonic activity. That’s why habits of daily prayer and time in God’s Word are invaluable. If our minds are filled with Jesus, there’s no room for the enemy.
Just for sake of clarification, when I speak of daily prayer or believing prayer, I’m not speaking of reciting the Lord’s prayer or reciting a few rote ideas about prayer. This isn’t “now I lay me down to sleep” or “Give us now our daily bread.” It’s laying ourselves bare before the Lord, confessing our inadequacies and our desperation for Him, that without Him we’re nothing and can do nothing. We confess our love for Him, our dependence upon Him and we lay our plans before Him for His approval.
As believers in Jesus our aim is to not have a will of our own: “Not MY will but YOUR WILL be done!” To desire anything less than God’s will is sin and needs to be avoided and/or discarded. We have no assurance that when we walk out the door we’ll ever return. We can’t be confused about Whose life we are living and Who owns us and to Whom we owe our eternal allegiance. We operate in the energy of the Spirit or we’re wasting our energy. Yes, of course, demons are real, but they’re not a threat to those whose heart is fixed on Jesus.
Is your heart fixed on Jesus? If not, please click on ANewStory.com and give your heart to Jesus while there’s still time. Life is unpredictable and there’s not time to flirt with death when you don’t know heaven is your eternal home.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
