CLOSING DOORS TO THE ENEMY

CLOSING DOORS TO THE ENEMY

1. Demons are evil personalities. They are spirit beings. They are the enemies of God and man. Their objectives in human beings are to tempt, deceive, accuse, condemn, pressure, defile, resist, oppose, control, steal, afflict, kill and destroy.
2. Demons enter through “open doors”. They have to be given an opportunity. There must be an opening. In other words, one does not pick up a demon by walking down the street and accidentally bumping into one that is looking for a “home”.

There is two main ways that Satan gains entrance into believers’ lives.
A. Illegal intrusion
B. Legal intrusion

DOORS OF ENTRY

1. FIRST DOOR – SIN
   According to Frank Hammond oneself may open the door for demons to enter through sins of omission and commission.

– UNFORGIVENESS is one of the typical ways that someone opens doors to the enemy. Refusal to forgive imprisons us. We are the ones who ultimately suffer for our decision to withhold forgiveness. We put ourselves behind spiritual “prison bars” that hold us just as securely as physical bars contain prisoners in jail (Matthew 18:34).
– JUDGMENTS is another way we may sin. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1-5). Leave all judgment in the hands of God, lest you bring judgment upon yourself.

1. SECOND DOOR – INVITATION

– Willfully disobeying the written and prophetic Word of God produces spiritual death (separation from God) and cuts us off from the blessing of God.
– Some people invite demons into their lives when deliberately walk in the flesh. They know the Word of God and disobey to it.
– Other people do covenants with the devil or with demons when the walk in the occult. We will talk about this later on.

1. THIRD DOOR – INHERITANCE
   Spiritual and emotional traumas

– Multiplied instances have been found where evil spirits were able to indwell persons through the ruse of inheritance. Evil spirits never hesitate to take full advantage of times of weakness in a person’s life.
– The weakest time in most lives is childhood. A child is completely dependent upon others for protection. Christian parents need to understand their responsibility to protect their children as well as how to deliver their children from demon oppression.
– If a child is told that he is like his parents and can expect to inherit their weaknesses he becomes vulnerable. This is what we call Spiritual and emotional trauma – “He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1).
We can divide these traumas in three categories:
– Wounds–emotional, spiritual, or physical–can be sources of infection and demonic influence.
– Harsh words, broken promises, rejection, abuse, etc., produce pain, anger, bitterness, and hate.
– Pain in our memories and emotions is evidence that trauma has occurred.

Emotional hurts need cleansing, closure, and healing through the blood of Jesus.

Generational curses

• There are also Generational curses – “. . . I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me ” (Exodus 20:5 KJV). This principle is called spiritual determinism and is carried out by demons, or familiar spirits. These often manifest in tendencies in certain families toward particular addictions, sin patterns, illnesses, etc.
• If we allow him to do so, the devil will give us our inheritance. But the Psalmist said of God, “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4a).
• The devil will tell you something like: “My father died of a cancer. My mother was dying of cancer. Aunts and uncles had gone the same way.” The devil keeps telling them that this is their inheritance.
• We cannot not accept the proffered inheritance of the devil but accept the healing and health of the Lord Jesus. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).

1. FOURTH DOOR – TRANSFERENCE

– Transference of spirits can happen not only by inheritance but also when we expose ourselves to people that act as channels to the devil or also by circumstances or places where the devil acquires a legal right.
– According to Webster’s dictionary, one of the definitions of the word spirit is “the prevailing attitude or characteristics of something or someone.”
– Every mother instinctively knows about the transference of spirits. She knows that when little Johnny plays with the rebellious, disobedient little boy next door, Johnny may come home with a rebellious, disobedient attitude or spirit that she has to discipline out of him.

Paul warns in 1 Corinthians15:33 (AMP), Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships, (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.

CLOSING DOORS TO THE ENEMY

The Bible specifically mentions fourteen “spirits of.” These are root spirits that gain entrance through generational curses or traumatic experiences.

Spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11,16)
Spirit of fear (I1 Timothy 1:7)
Spirit of whoredom/idolatry (Hosea 4:12)
Spirit of perverseness (Isaiah 19:14)
Deaf/dumb spirit (Mark 9:25-27)
Lying spirit (II Chronicles 18:22)
Spirit of error (I John 4:6)
Spirit of divination (Acts 16:16-18)
Spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15)
Spirit of Antichrist (I John 4:3)
Spirit of haughtiness (Proverbs 16:18-19)
Spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3)
Spirit of jealousy (Numbers 5:14)
Spirit of sleep/slumber (Romans 11:8)

The only thing that has the power to cancel all the arguments of the enemy against us is the redemptive work accomplished by Jesus on the cross.

PRAYER OF RENOUNCEMENT

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that You are the Son of God and that You are the only way to God. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. I give up all my rebellion and independence, my pride and self-centeredness, my harboring of rejection and inferiority, and my bitterness and unforgiveness. I give up all my sin and submit myself to You. I confess all my sins before You and ask for Your forgiveness. Release me now from the power of the enemy of my soul. By a decision of my will, I forgive all who have harmed me or wronged me, just as I want You to forgive me. In particular, I forgive…(names of persons) Lord Jesus, I believe that on the cross You paid the price for me to have a life of victory and freedom. I receive Your gift of deliverance now.
Through Christ Jesus, I now pull down every stronghold built up in my life by the devil. In particular, I pull down the strongholds of: (name the strongholds)
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, I pull these strongholds down and renounce the power of Satan in my life. By faith I now receive my release, and I thank You, God, for it.