When Satan, the devil, the serpent of old, the fiery red dragon (Revelation 12:3, 7-9), offers us a symptom (deceptive lie) of some addiction, disease, infection, pain, sickness, depression, etc. and we willingly accept it; then we own it, and must pay the utmost price in doctor visits, hospitalization, medications, and untold suffering, when we could have immediately, in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17), rejected the satanic deceptive lies and been free from whatever the lies (symptoms) were.
As we read James 4:6-8 and Proverbs 28:1, notice how we first humble ourselves before God, get close to Him, get in God’s presence by praise, thanks, and believing Hebrews 13:5-6; not to excite our emotions, but to become bold in faith, working through love, as we will see in reading Galatians 5:6 and Jude 1:3,20-21; however, “bold faith working through love to remove mountains” (1 Corinthians 13:2), only last a few minutes each time it happens, and then we must “walk by faith” and not by “feelings’, trusting God, so the satanic spirits of doubt and fear do not annule it.
Faith working through love only works a few minutes, thus, what we choose to receive from God or refuse to receive from the devil, will be settled in those few minutes, but after this, the satanic spirit of doubt and fear will try to come in to annul what faith received, so these satanic spirits must be immediately refused entrance into our mind, or we lose what faith will receive (Matthew 18:18).
James 4:6-8—6 But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore SUBMIT to God. RESIST the devil and he will flee from you. 8 DRAW near to God and He will draw near to you. CLEANSE your hands, you sinners; and PURIFY your hearts, you double-minded. We do this by asking Christ Jesus to do it for us.
Proverbs 28:1—1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
This is a spiritual boldness of faith working through love, brought about by praying in the Holy Spirit, so we experience the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3), in which we remain.
Galatians 5:6—6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Jude 1:3, 20-21—3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. … 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
To obey James 4:6-8, we must first humble ourselves before God, get into His presence, and then ask God, in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17) to rebuke (Malachi 3:10-11) the satanic spirits that are offering these deceptive lies (symptoms), for we refuse to accept or receive them, because Your word in Isaiah 53:4-6 and 1 Peter 2:21-25 say, we are already healed and we believe it; therefore, the satanic spirits must leave with their lies (symptoms).
God never promises in His infallible word to honor our prayers or commands in Jesus’ name UNTIL we humble ourselves before Him, pray until we receive most holy faith working through the perfect love of God living within us, for most holy faith working through perfect love (1 John 4:7-8, 12-13, 18) will cast out the satanic spirit of fear, so we can boldly believe and trust God to do what we ask of Him (1 John 5:14-15), for God’s will is for us to always reject Satan’s symptoms (lies), for 2 Timothy 1:7 says, God does not give us the satanic spirit of fear, but God does give us the Holy Spirit’s power, love, and sound mind, so we can refuse to accept Satan’s deceptive symptoms, his lies.
The moment Satan and his evil spirits offer us symptoms (deceptive lies) and we accept and receive them; then we own this disease, sickness, infection, or whatever, and we usually refer to it, as “my diabetes”, “my heart attack”, “my kidney or bladder problems”, “my poverty”, “my cancer”, “my arthritis”, “my allergies”, “my migraines”, “my monthly cramps”, “my infection”, “my virus”, “my addiction”, or “my” whatever. But why “own” Satan’s lies?
Because we accepted or “bought” Satan’s deceptive lies (symptoms), so now we “own and claim it as our own personal possession”. God did not send them or wants us to receive them!
Those things do not belong to us, but to Satan, the devil, the father, or originator of lies, as Jesus, in John 8:44 calls him; therefore, Revelation 21:8 says, ALL LIARS shall have their place in the lake of fire, so “in Jesus’ name, tell that lying devil, to take his lies and do not come back.
The first time I did this, I was fearful the devil would do something horrible to me, but he left, and God blessed me with bold faith, faith I could feel and not doubt. We know Satan’s tricks!
God does NOT allow Satan and his wicked spirits to “force” anything on us, but God does allow us to “willingly accept and receive whatever we choose to receive” from Him or Satan.
God blessed all creation with “freedom of choice”; thus, we are responsible for every choice we make, and we will face the consequences of our choices—foolish or wise.
Everything we are going through now, was brought on us by our choices; thus, if we want to change our circumstances, then make wise choices in agreement with the lifestyle we know God wants for us.
Choices do matter, and have good or bad “present” consequences, plus “eternal” consequences.
I have seen this in my own life, taught it the 46 years I pastored, and have seen lives radically changed by simply giving their thoughts to Christ Jesus, so He could and did change them.
Jim Nabors
