It’s Worse When You Don’t Know This About Evil Manifestations

talking about evil spirits is a strange thing to many of us today however when jesus walked the earth he cast out evil spirits he rebuked them he warned against them and most importantly he taught people about them he taught people about their existence and their tactics but today many christians will quite openly speak about angels but ignore the reality of demons now don't get me wrong we are not to glorify demons but equally we are not to fear them but the fact is that jesus's ministry included teachings about demons and encounters with demon-possessed individuals so we ought to at least be knowledgeable against the schemes of the kingdom of darkness now jesus gave us a very important teaching about unclean spirits in matthew chapter 12 verse 43-45 the bible says when an unclean spirit goes out of a man he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none then he says i will return to my house from which i came when he comes he finds it empty swept and put in order then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first so shall it also be with this wicked generation let me point out a few things to explain this teaching we are houses the bible says you do not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit within you now a clean house is one that the holy spirit dwells in a dirty house is one that has an unclean spirit a demonic spirit now the bible in matthew 12 verse 44 says i will return to my house from which i came notice how the unclean spirit takes ownership of the house the body the first thing it tells me is that unclean spirits have an intellect they think and in their thinking if they dwell in a house if they possess a person they get attached to the place notice the language used in matthew 12 44. i will return to my house now let's focus on this concept of an unclean spirit returning to the same house have you ever noticed someone who is bound by something can be free for some time and then fall back into that very same bondage they will be set free and delivered from a problem an addiction or some type of stronghold until until the demon comes back to check on what it considers its house and if that house doesn't have the fire of the holy spirit in it if that house doesn't have the fruit of the spirit in it then it's a house that's exposed it's a house that jesus described as empty swept and put in order but this means that the unclean spirit will go and take with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first so for anyone who has been delivered whom the son sets free is free indeed the issue is that some people walk away from the son of god they walk away from jesus christ after receiving their blessing they backslide and fall back into sin they backslide and rebel against the lord therefore they leave themselves exposed to the forces of darkness because they are no longer under the covering of jesus second peter chapter 2 verse 20 to 22 says for if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the lord and savior jesus christ they are again entangled in them and overcome the latter end is worse for them than the beginning for it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them but it has happened to them according to the true proverb the dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire we are told here that if anyone knows jesus christ and they walk away from him and become entangled in sin again their latter end is worse for them than the beginning you see this is all about maintaining the fire of christ in your heart the world will try to kill your fire sin will most definitely kill your fire the devil's sole mission is to kill your fire so it's vital that as believers we keep the fire burning especially if you've been delivered from something so keep the fire of god burning in your heart never leave that fire to die down once someone is delivered from an unclean spirit they ought to always keep the fire burning you do this by not backsliding you do this by frequent regular prayer you do this through meditating on god's word you do this through guarding what you expose your heart to and your mind to as you do this you will keep your house occupied with the presence of god when that unclean spirit returns you will see that the place it once called home is no longer its home but instead it's a place filled with the presence of a holy and righteous god from the moment we are saved from the moment we decide to follow jesus hell and the devil become angry hell and all its demons are alarmed they are shaken at the prospect of another man or woman empowered by the holy spirit the devil is shaken by the thought of a believer who has found joy and strength in jesus and i want you not to miss this a soul saved is celebrated in heaven but that same soul intimidates the devil a soul saved is welcomed and applauded in heaven but equally a soul saved becomes a target for the enemy not because they're weak and it's not because they have no strength but they become a target because of the potential that god has placed within them the devil knows you could be a potential moses or an elijah or a warrior like joshua and that makes you a target but this is nothing to be fearful of it should only be a reminder to remain vigilant when you're saved the devil makes it his mission to try and get you back into the world by any means necessary he does all he can to discourage you or to make you lose your salvation this is why you have to fight to stay saved because we have an enemy who wants to destroy us an enemy who is called the accuser of the brethren he would rather you be unsaved and living a life of sin and if you willingly decide to take a stand and put on the whole armor of god oh well that's when you enter the realm of spiritual warfare a fight between good and evil a fight between the spirit man and the carnal flesh one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding in any person's life can be pinpointed to what they know and what they don't know and it's simple because we understand what we know and tend to not understand the things we don't know now people often have a lack of knowledge about spiritual warfare particularly about the root cause of the warfare we experience on day-to-day basis as christians most of us just see the issues the problems and circumstances we face as just being life we've all heard the cliches people use well that's just the way it is or life is like a box of chocolates or even perhaps when it rains it pours but the everyday battles we face take on new meanings when we have a better understanding of spiritual warfare the bible teaches in second peter 3 verse 9 that the lord is not