OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 18/1/2014 - BEWARE OF DEMON POSSESSION BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

BEWARE OF DEMON POSSESSION

MEMORISE

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Luke 22:3

READ

1 Samuel 16:14

1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

MESSAGE

When the Spirit of God left King Saul, evil spirits came to trouble him. When God discards someone, something will happen to the fellow to make others learn a few lessons. It is far better never to have been used by God than to become a former vessel unto honour. When Eli was discarded in 1 Samuel 4:10-22: his two sons died on the same day, He died too and his daughter-in-law died during childbirth. If you read Matthew 10:1, you will discover that Judas Iscariot once cast out demons. By the time you get to Luke 22:3, he was being possessed by the devil himself. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he keeps his body under, so that after his race, he would not become a castaway. Once God discards you, the devil will take over.

Right from the Garden of Eden, the devil has been seeking the possession of humankind. The only method he devised and he is still using today to actualise this objective is to cause a separation between man and his Maker through the spirit of disobedience. The Bible in Genesis 3:4-5 says:

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

King Saul was favoured by God in that when the children of Israel demanded a human king in His place, God installed him as the first human king of Israel. What was expected of King Saul was to be a good representative of the Divine among His people by complete obedience to the One who made him king over His inheritance. Unfortunately, King Saul began to represent himself in the kingdom. He literally disobeyed instructions God gave to him. Consequently, God took away from him what actually made him different from any other man in Israel – the Holy Spirit! As if this was not enough, immediately the Spirit of the Lord left King Saul, demons took possession of him. There is no vacuum in nature. It is either you are under the influence of the Holy Spirit or you are under the influence of demons (Ephesians 2:2). My prayer for someone using this devotional is that the Spirit of the Lord shall not depart from you in Jesus’ Name. If you are not yet born-again, you are walking on dangerous grounds because if you are not for God, you are for the devil (1 John 3:6-9). You have to take a stand. If you are a backslider, I advise you to quickly run back to God. If you are already born-again, ask God to fill you to overflow with the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER POINT

In the Name of Jesus, I rebuke every spirit of disobedience at work against my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Philippians 1-4;

 Psalm 18:43-50