OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: THURSDAY OCTOBER 6TH, 2022.
THEME: EXPOSING DEMONIC OPERATIONS V
MEMORISE:
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalms 32:7
READ: Mark 5:1-20
1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
MESSAGE
The worst of all demonic operations is possession - that is, when the enemy has taken over completely and is now dwelling inside the victim. Unfortunately, there are many people walking around with one or more demons inside them.
The mad man of Gadara was possessed by thousands of demons. He was seriously tormented by the demons, but he could not get rid of them. When Jesus sent the demons into the swine, the pigs preferred to drown themselves than to harbour these evil spirits inside them. In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, King Saul started acting like lunatic when he was possessed by an evil spirit. The goal of the demons when they posses a person is to use the fellow to carry out the agenda of the devil on earth and then ultimately destroy him or her. When they the child that was possessed with a demon to Jesus in Mark 9:22, his father said the demon was trying to destroy the child.
There are two types of demon-possessed victims; the willing and the unwilling. The willing are the ones who have submitted themselves as vessels to be used by the devil to perpetuate his evil work on earth. Witches and wizards are good examples of willing victims. The unwilling victims become possessed through two major ways. One is based on their associations. When people stay in places that are conducive for demons, the demons find them as hosts to stay in. I recall a time when a boy was brought to me for deliverance. He had gone somewhere and gotten loaded with so many demons that he could not kneel or walk by himself.
The second way many people become possessed by demon without knowing is through the things that they expose themselves to like worldly music, movies or sex with a demon-possessed fellow. My Father-in-he-Lord - Pa Josiah Akindayomi always taught us that music invites spirits. He backed up this claim with 1 Samuel 16: 23, where David played godly music to drive away the evil spirit from Saul. I Corinthians 6:16 says: that you become one body with whoever you sleep with. Thus, if you sleep with a demon possessed fellow, the demon gets the full right to possess you too. If however, there is any demon within you and you are willing to be delivered. I join my faith with yours and decree that such a demon or demons must leave you now, in Jesus' name.
Father, please put an end to every operation of demons in my life today, in Jesus name.
Click here for TODAY'S OPEN HEAVENS PRAYER POINTS.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Zechariah 7-12
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 20: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
1. Onward, Christian soldiers!
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before.
Christ, the royal Master,
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See his banners go!
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers!Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before.
2. At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
On to victory.
Hell’s foundations quiver
At the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise.
3. Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
Where the Saints have trod.
We are not divided;
All one body we:
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.
4. Onward, then, ye people;
Join our happy throng.
Blend with ours your voices
In the triumph song:
Glory, laud, and honor
Unto Christ, the King.
This through countless ages
Men and angels sing.
