Deliverance from Evil.

We've been discussing the REALITY of having evil spirits and the Devil himself attacking us, and we'd be very remiss if we didn't talk about 'Deliverance' from the attacking, the possessing. 

Please, bear in mind I haven't been copying the entire book, The Spiritual Man, in fact chapters are missing. I am using excerpts. If you find these recent studies helpful in your spiritual walk, then please find the book either online or purchased from a store and read it. Most importantly have your Bible right by your side so you can use it to measure all you are learning.

Please, read the long excerpt here and by the will of God we will study it more in-depth tomorrow. 

We truly need God guiding us in all ways! Opening our minds, our heart only to His truth and nothing else! When we realize God through His Holy Word tells us that MANY will be deceived then we NEED desperately to pray and study seeking only truth without any deception at all! Please Lord, help us, save us! All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

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Excerpt - The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee

'3The Way of Deliverance

When One’s Mind Has fallen victim to the phenomena discussed in the previous chapter, he should seek the way of deliverance. What was described in that

chapter were but general symptoms of a passive mind.

We cannot set forth everyone’s condition in detail because there are variations in the degree of passivity, the extent of the evil spirit’s attack, and hence the measure of damage to the mind.

Nevertheless it should be stated that as soon as one realizes he has encountered any of the aforementioned phenomena, he must exercise extreme caution because he may have given ground to evil spirits and so is being assaulted. He should look for deliverance.

Few are the believers who are not surprised at their ignorance of the damage done to their mind. It is on the contrary a matter of great surprise to them that they have been unconscious of the fallen condition of their organ of thought. They seem to understand a lot about many matters, but in regard to their own mind they know next to nothing. They do not even realize how serious has been the damage inflicted until someone else has pointed it out to them.

Why have these not discerned it before? Is it not that this very lack tells us that our mind and the evil spirits possess some special relationship which consequentially weakens our knowledge concerning our mind? Let any who have suffered such damage answer this question.

The Wiles of the Evil Spirits

If his eyes have been opened to see his condition, the believer will naturally search for deliverance. Realize, though, that the evil spirits are not going to let their captives go free without a fight. They will apply every ounce of strength upon the person to prevent him from securing deliverance.

The evil spirits will suggest many lies to serve as excuses: Those sudden beautiful thoughts of yours are from God. Those flashing revelations are the fruits of spirituality. That bad memory is due to your ill-health. It is natural for you to become abruptly forgetful. Your over-sensitiveness is because of your temperament. Your weak memory is inherited. Insomnia is an outgrowth of sickness. You are simply tired. You cannot think because you have worked too hard. That incessant contemplation at night stems from your mind’s

overexhaustion in the daytime. Impure thoughts arise from your sins. You already have fallen.You cannot listen to others because of your particular environment and because of their faults.

The evil spirits can manufacture sundry other excuses. Unless God’s children realize they are really being attacked and have actually fallen from the normal state, the enemy will engage these and other excuses like them to cover up the ground they have gained. But the true reason lies in the fact that the mind is passive and vacuous, and thus occupied by these satanic spirits. Every one of

these phenomena is the effect of their pernicious working. We grant the possibility of natural causes being mixed in with these excuses, but the experience of so many saints confirms that the powers of darkness are extremely subtle in operating alongside natural causes so as to deceive the saints into accepting these natural causes—such as temperament, physical condition and environment—as the only explanation, forgetting altogether the subtle mixing in by the evil spirits. The latter are very delighted in hiding their works behind some little natural cause.

 There is one test which can be brought to bear here, however; and that is, that if the cause is natural the man’scondition will be restored to normal once the natural factor is eliminated: but were there something supernatural added to the

natural, then the man will not recover even though the natural element is removed. If you have insomnia, for example, the enemy will suggest it is due to your overwork and your mind’s overexhaustion. You listen to this and cease working and rest for aperiod without exercising your mind at all. Nonetheless thousands of thoughts continue to crowd your mind and pass to and fro through

your brain during sleep. This demonstrates that your illness is not entirely due to natural cause: a supernatural one is mingled in with it somewhere. If you do not take the time to deal with the supernatural aspect, your removal of the natural element will serve no purpose.

It is of paramount importance that brethren today examine the source of these excuses. The wicked powers are highly skilled in misleading people into explaining their evil devices in terms of natural phenomena. They goad them into imagining they themselves are wrong. These individuals thus unconsciously cover up the

perpetrations of the evil spirits. Consequently whatever excuse comes into his head the Christian must examine it carefully. Every reason must be scrutinized and every symptom of the mind must be traced. Otherwise, in his mistaking supernatural work to be natural he will cede increased ground to the enemy.

Every opinion he entertains about himself needs to be proven, lest he yield new

territory to the evil spirits even before the old is recovered.Because of his long capitulation a person may easily commit the fatal error of defending the malevolent operations of the evil spirits. This must be guarded against, for in so doing he assists them in veiling the true cause of their attack. Although he is in distress, nevertheless he is siding with the evil spirits in preserving their ground.

The devil’s hosts at this juncture are inciting the believer’s flesh to cooperate with them. Actually the flesh always works together with the devil. For the sake of saving face or for some other reason, the Christian refuses to believe his mind could possibly be occupied by the devil and objects to hearing anything about him or his works. Such distaste of examination for fear that he may lose his “spiritual

experience” is a great hindrance to deliverance. He may retort in any one of a number of ways: “I don’t need deliverance, why should I want to be delivered?” or “I have overcome through Christ; He has overcome Satan already, so now I need pay no attention to him but just leave him to God. I focus my attention on Christ.” or “I know nothing about satanic matters.” or “I concentrate on preaching the gospel, why should I notice Satan?”

 With these or many other responses the believer dismisses the actions of the evil spirits in him. And to those who try to help him he may even say: “All right, you

resist for me and pray for me.” He is not speaking with sincerity; he merely desires to live in ease and let others sweat out deliverance for him.  Yet in all this, it should be asked why anyone should object to hearing about Satan and his works? Can it be that his mind has in fact been worked on by Satan and hence is apprehensive about facing the situation once it might be exposed? The truth is that he is familiar with too many things already concerning the devil and does not care to know any thing more.

Yet the gospel of Jesus Christ saves people not only from sin but from the devil as well. Why then be afraid if  the devil be mentioned when the gospel is preached? Is it not similar to the person who has committed a certain crime and is afraid to have anyone mention that particular crime? Due to his preoccupation with the devil the believer resents people mentioning him. Deep down in his heart he harbors a fear lest his true condition should be revealed. Supposing I am indeed invaded by evil spirits, he gravely muses, then what in the world can I possibly do about it now? Thus he speaks to others as we have indicated above both to cover up and to comfort himself.

But should a believer receive and accept the light and begin to look for freedom, the evil spirits will commence to pour into his mind loads of accusations which charge him with all sorts of errors and which condemn and reprimand him in such a fury that he is left with no energy to recover his lost ground. They know he has

obtained light and that they can no longer deceive him. They therefore change their tactics to a ceaseless chain of accusations  “You are wrong, you are wrong.”

During this time the believer, because there is no help in view, feels like sinking into a pit of sin. But if he could recognize this as simply Satan’s lie he would rise up and resist. He shall overcome.

Experience teaches us that directly after one apprehends the truth of his having lost the sovereignty over his mind and accordingly begins to seek to regain it, he shall suffer many times over that of previous days. The evil spirits will attempt one final struggle for him. They will employ their customary lying tactic by hinting to him that he cannot possibly regain his freedom since he has sunk too deeply

into passivity or that God is not disposed to grant him grace again or that he will fare better if he does not resist or that in any case he can never see the day of deliverance so why bother to strive and suffer anyway. Every child of God ought to know, however, that he should not live by satanic grace. He must have liberty even should he die retrieving it. No one can have fallen into passivity to such an extent that he is beyond deliverance.

God is for him and he shall be set free.'

Devil Attacks.

1Pe_4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin

We must have the same mind as Christ- the same purpose, the same desires and they are all heavenly. Christ preached 'kingdom come', not asking for a king's crown to lay upon His head.  He preached future kingdom found in Him right then. We are told of the many who are known as God's faithful and they all looked forward to the kingdom having NOT received it.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

We need the mind of Christ, a mind heaven focused.

1Pe 3:8  Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 

One mind, all believing in Christ- heaven focused. Christ preached the gospel of the kingdom and that gospel was and is full of compassion for others, love for others, pity for others, courtesy for others. That gospel we embrace in Christ having one mind with Him will not give evil when given evil, but rather give a blessing when given evil. This is the mind we need!

1Pe_1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ

We have to keep watch over our minds!

We have to be sober- how well we know that a mind that isn't sober is subject to  a lot of evil. We must keep the hope of grace in our minds always!

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 

1Pe 5:9  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world

The DEVIL is trying to devour our minds! Truly, what do you think he is doing? The Devil isn't going about in the 'flesh' so to speak, seeking us out to devour us. He wants our allegiance and he can only get that through our minds- through our consent. The Devil will try all sorts of things to get our minds, we must be aware of his deceptions- they are REAL!

Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 

Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 

Children of the wicked one- the Devil. These children will surround God's children and they will do all they can to bring us to follow the wicked one along with them. The Devil believes there will be an END of this world he rules, and he wants as many people as he can get before that happens. This is REAL, not fantasy!

Eph 4:27  Neither give place to the devil.

We cannot let the Devil have any part of us! We cannot consent to HIM in our lives. We cannot let him in our minds willingly!

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

We have to STAND against the Devil!

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

We have to RESIST the Devil!

Now, let's reread the excerpt from yesterday with these BIBLICAL truths in mind! With God's truth, God's word fresh in our minds.

(Excerpt)

A Mind under the Attack of the Evil Spirits

 If we carefully examine the mental experiences of a Christian we shall see that not merely is he narrow-minded but that he contains many other defects too. His head, for instance, may be teeming with all kinds of uncontrollable thoughts, imaginations, impure pictures, wanderings and confused ideas. His memory may suddenly fail; his power of concentration may be weakened; he may be obsessed by prejudices which arise from unknown sources; his thoughts may be retarded as if his mind were being chained; or he may be flushed with wild thoughts which revolve unceasingly in his head.

The Christian may find he is powerless to regulate his mental life and make it obey the intent of his will. He forgets innumerable matters both large and small. He carries out many improper actions, without knowing why and without so much as investigating the reason.

Physically he is quite healthy, but mentally he does not comprehend the explanation for these symptoms. Currently many saints encounter these mental difficulties, but without ever knowing why.

Should a person discover that he manifests the abovementioned signs, he needs to check out a few matters to determine the origin of those signs. He need only ask himself a few questions: Who controls my mind? Myself? And if so, why can I not control it now? Is it God who manages my mind?

But according to scriptural principle God never governs the mind for man. (We shall enlarge on this principle subsequently). If it is neither I nor God who regulates the mental life, who then is in control?

It obviously is the powers of darkness who foment these mental symptoms. So whenever a child of God notes that he is no longer able to govern the mind, he ought to perceive at once that it is the enemy who is managing it.

One fact which we must always bear in mind is: man possesses free will.

God’s intention is for man to control himself.

Man has the authority to regulate his every natural endowment; hence his mental processes should be subject to the I power of his will.

A Christian ought to inquire of himself: Are these my thoughts? Is it I who am thinking? If it is not I thinking, it must then be the evil spirit who is able to work in man’s mind. Since I will not to think (and my mind usually follows my will) then the thoughts which presently arise in my head cannot be mine but rather are those which emanate from another “person” who uses the ability of my mind against my own will.

The person should know that in case he has not intended to think and yet there are thoughts arising in his head, he must conclude that these are not of him but of the evil spirit.

To determine whether an idea is of himself or of the wicked spirit, a Christian should observe how it arose. If in the beginning his mental faculty is peaceful and composed and is functioning normally and naturally according to the circumstances he is in, but suddenly a thought or a complete idea (having no bearing on his present circumstances or the work in which he is engaged) flashes across his brain, such inordinate and lightning quick thought is most likely the action of evil spirits.

They are attempting to inject their thoughts into the believer’s head and thus induce him to accept them as his own. It is unmistakable that the notion which the evil spirits introduce into man’s mind is a matter he has not thought about at the moment and which does not follow the trend of his thinking. It is entirely “new”—something he never thought of himself. It has arisen abruptly and all by itself. When one gains this kind of thought it is well for him to inquire: Do I really think in this manner? Is it really I who am thinking? Do I want to think that way? Or is this something which simply becomes activated in my mind all by itself?

The child of God should determine whether or not it is he himself who does the thinking. If he has not originated the idea but on the contrary opposes it, and yet it abides in his head, he then can assume that that idea issues from the enemy.

Each thought which man chooses not to think and each one which opposes man’s will come not from the man but from the outside.

Oftentimes also one’s brain is abounding with sundry ideas which he is helpless to stop. His head is like a thought machine, operated by external force; it continues to think but is impotent to desist. The believer may shake his head repeatedly, yet he cannot shake off the thoughts in his mind. They come to him in waves, rolling unceasingly day and night. There is no way to terminate them. He is not aware that this is but the activity of the evil spirit.

He ought to understand what a “thought” is.

It is something which his mind grasps at. But in the case of these unmanageable thoughts it is not that his mind is grasping at something but rather that something is grasping his mind.

In the natural course of events it is the mind which thinks about matters; now it is these matters which force the mind to think.

Frequently a person wishes to set aside a matter but some external power keeps reminding him of it, not permitting him to forget and forcing him to think on further. This is the perpetration of evil spirits.

To summarize, then, we should investigate every abnormal sign. Aside from a natural cause such as sickness, all other abnormal indicators have their source with evil spirits.

God never interferes with the operation of man’s natural ability; He never abruptly mixes in His thought with man’s nor does He abruptly restrict or destroy the functioning of man’s intellect. The lightning cessation of all thoughts as though the brain has become a vacuum, the flashing interjection of thought at complete variance with the trend then current in the mind, the hasty severance of memory as if a wire had snapped leaving the mind paralyzed: all these are the results of the operation of the enemy.

Because the evil spirit has seized hold of the organ of thought, he is able either to force it to cease functioning or by loosening his grip to let it work again.

We must recognize that natural causes can produce only natural symptoms. Flash thoughts or loss of memory are entirely beyond the ability or control of our will and are contrary to natural cause and effect: they must therefore be inspired by supernatural evil forces.

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul is found writing about “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (2.2).

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience

It is very important to know that the powers of darkness work not only outside but inside the man as well.

When men work they can at most do so with their words, gestures or bodily movements; the evil spirits, however, can work with all these but even more. They can act from the outside in the same way as man acts, but they can work additionally from the inside. This means that they can squeeze themselves into man’s thought life and work therein.

Man is not capable of doing this: he is unable to enter another man’s brain, subtly making many suggestions and confusing this matter of the source of the thoughts; but the evil spirits can.

They possess an ability in communication which man does not have. They work initially in man’s mind and then reach to his emotion, for mind and emotion are closely knit: they operate first in the mind and from there they arrive at man’s volition, because mind and will are intimately joined too.

The manner by which these enemy spirits operate is to plant covertly in man’s head notions which they enjoy so as to accomplish their aim, or, conversely, they block thoughts which they do not relish so that man cannot think them through.

The Bible distinctly indicates that the powers of darkness are able both to impart ideas to man and to steal them from him.

“The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him” (John 13.2). This shows that Satan can put his thought into man’s mind.

 “Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts” (Luke 8.12). This attests that Satan removes whatever word man ought to remember and causes him to forget everything. These two verses reveal the two-fold operation of the evil spirits upon the mind of man, either to add something to, or subtract something from, his mind.'

(End excerpt)

When someone, like Watchman Nee, speaks of the Devil and evil spirits as real forces fighting for us we might be tempted to believe He's a little bit crazy, that he's ventured a touch too far. Truthfully he hasn't ventured too far at all and he's not crazy. This is REALITY. We are the ones caught up in believing the Devil and evil spirits are figments of imagination, bits of fantasy for our entertainment on tv and in movie theaters, in books and magazines, online all over. We've treated the Devil and evil spirits as fiction for so long it seems wrong to believe in their REAL-REALITY!  Yes, I said that, I'm trying to force home that they are so very real and actively in pursuit of us that to believe otherwise should be the foolishness. The fiction is NOT believing in them, it is regulating them to fantasy and as such unable to affect us in any way at all.  We've gone the way of making evil spirits and the Devil as reality a thing of the far past. Enlightened people will NOT believe in the Devil or evil spirits, that's what the majority of people believe as truth.  Science has replaced superstition and that superstition is the Devil and his evil spirits. Oh how they must LOVE that we've done that! The work they can do on us and never be blamed, never be thought of as real and therefore never fought as a reality. A person that doesn't believe the Devil and evil spirits can attack them, is a person who will not seek the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to protect them from the evil. The evil will have full sway in their lives.  It only take a tiny bit of evil to spoil the entire human being, the Devil doesn't have to go full blown demon possession on a person to control them, to claim them.  We live in a world FILLED with 'broad path' people yet we seem to believe otherwise. We don't want to believe the majority of people can belong to the Devil, to do that opens the door to the reality we too could belong to him under his deception that will fool ALL but the VERY ELECT! 

God help us! Please, Lord help us! We believe, help thou our unbelief!!!  All through our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!!

Why don't we have a sound mind?

A Mind under the Attack of the Evil Spirits

 If we carefully examine the mental experiences of a Christian we shall see that not merely is he narrow-minded but that he contains many other defects too. His head, for instance, may be teeming with all kinds of uncontrollable thoughts, imaginations, impure pictures, wanderings and confused ideas. His memory may suddenly fail; his power of concentration may be weakened; he may be obsessed by prejudices which arise from unknown sources; his thoughts may be retarded as if his mind were being chained; or he may be flushed with wild thoughts which revolve unceasingly in his head. The Christian may find he is powerless to regulate his mental life and make it obey the intent of his will. He forgets innumerable matters both large and small. He carries out many improper actions, without knowing why and without so much as investigating the reason. Physically he is quite healthy, but mentally he does not comprehend the explanation for these symptoms. Currently many saints encounter these mental difficulties, but without ever knowing why.

Should a person discover that he manifests the abovementioned signs, he needs to check out a few matters to determine the origin of those signs. He need only ask himself a few questions: Who controls my mind? Myself? And if so, why can I not control it now? Is it God who manages my mind? But according to scriptural principle God never governs the mind for man. (We shall enlarge on this principle subsequently). If it is neither I nor God who regulates the mental life, who then is in control? It obviously is the powers of darkness who foment these mental symptoms. So whenever a child of God notes that he is no longer able to govern the mind, he ought to perceive at once that it is the enemy who is managing it. One fact which we must always bear in mind is: man possesses free will. God’s intention is for man to control himself. Man has the authority to regulate his every natural endowment; hence his mental processes should be subject to the I power of his will. A Christian ought to inquire of himself: Are these my thoughts? Is it I who am thinking? If it is not I thinking, it must then be the evil spirit who is able to work in man’s mind. Since I will not to think (and my mind usually follows my will) then the thoughts which presently arise in my head cannot be mine but rather are those which emanate from another “person” who uses the ability of my mind against my own will. The person should know that in case he has not intended to think and yet there are thoughts arising in his head, he must conclude that these are not of him but of the evil spirit. To determine whether an idea is of himself or of the wicked spirit, a Christian should observe how it arose. If in the beginning his mental faculty is peaceful and composed and is functioning normally and naturally according to the circumstances he is in, but suddenly a thought or a complete idea (having no bearing on his present circumstances or the work in which he is engaged) flashes across his brain, such inordinate and lightning quick thought is most likely the action of evil spirits. They are attempting to inject their thoughts into the believer’s head and thus induce him to accept them as his own. It is unmistakable that the notion which the evil spirits introduce into man’s mind is a matter he has not thought about at the moment and which does not follow the trend of his thinking. It is entirely “new”—something he never thought of himself. It has arisen abruptly and all by itself. When one gains this kind of thought it is well for him to inquire: Do I really think in this manner? Is it really I who am thinking? Do I want to think that way? Or is this something which simply becomes activated in my mind all by itself? The child of God should determine whether or not it is he himself who does the thinking. If he has not originated the idea but on the contrary opposses it, and yet it abides in his head, he then can assume that that idea issues from the enemy. Each thought which man chooses not to think and each one which opposes man’s will come not from the man but from the outside. Oftentimes also one’s brain is abounding with sundry ideas which he is helpless to stop. His head is like a thought machine, operated by external force; it continues to think but is impotent to desist. The believer may shake his head repeatedly, yet he cannot shake off the thoughts in his mind. They come to him in waves, rolling unceasingly day and night. There is no way to terminate them. He is not aware that this is but the activity of the evil spirit. He ought to understand what a “thought” is. It is something which his mind grasps at. But in the case of these unmanageable thoughts it is not that his mind is grasping at something but rather that something is grasping his mind. In the natural course of events it is the mind which thinks about matters; now it is these matters which force the mind to think. Frequently a person wishes to set aside a matter but some external power keeps reminding him of it, not permitting him to forget and forcing him to think on further. This is the perpetration of evil spirits. To summarize, then, we should investigate every abnormal sign. Aside from a natural cause such as sickness, all other abnormal indicators have their source with evil spirits. God never interferes with the operation of man’s natural ability; He never abruptly mixes in His thought with man’s nor does He abruptly restrict or destroy the functioning of man’s intellect. The lightning cessation of all thoughts as though the brain has become a vacuum, the flashing interjection of thought at complete variance with the trend then current in the mind, the hasty severance of memory as if a wire had snapped leaving the mind paralyzed: all these are the results of the operation of the enemy. Because the evil spirit has seized hold of the organ of thought, he is able either to force it to cease functioning or by loosening his grip to let it work again. We must recognize that natural causes can produce only natural symptoms. Flash thoughts or loss of memory are entirely beyond the ability or control of our will and are contrary to natural cause and effect: they must therefore be inspired by supernatural evil forces. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul is found writing about “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (2.2). It is very important to know that the powers of darkness work not only outside but inside the man as well. When men work they can at most do so with their words, gestures or bodily movements; the evil spirits, however, can work with all these but even more. They can act from the outside in the same way as man acts, but they can work additionally from the inside. This means that they can squeeze themselves into man’s thought life and work therein. Man is not capable of doing this: he is unable to enter another man’s brain, subtly making many suggestions and confusing this matter of the source of the thoughts; but the evil spirits can. They possess an ability in communication which man does not have. They work initially in man’s mind and then reach to his emotion, for mind and emotion are closely knit: they operate first in the mind and from there they arrive at man’s volition, because mind and will are intimately joined too. The manner by which these enemy spirits operate is to plant covertly in man’s head notions which they enjoy so as to accomplish their aim, or, conversely, they block thoughts which they do not relish so that man cannot think them through. The Bible distinctly indicates that the powers of darkness are able both to impart ideas to man and to steal them from him. “The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him” (John 13.2). This shows that Satan can put his thought into man’s mind. “Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts” (Luke 8.12). This attests that Satan removes whatever word man ought to remember and causes him to forget everything. These two verses reveal the two-fold operation of the evil spirits upon the mind of man, either to add something to, or subtract something from, his mind. 

Worldly Wise or Spiritually Sound?

2Ti_1:7  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

A sound mind.

Satan gives us the opposite. Satan doesn't want us having a sound mind.  Our adversary will stop at nothing to distort every mind he can.  The goal of Satan is to capture every mind and he will use any means necessary even taking the most brilliant minds because they refuse truth. You can be sane by the world's standards but spiritually possessed a very corrupt mind.

Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 

1Co_3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

1Co_3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

1Ti_1:4  Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

1Ti_4:7  But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

2Ti_4:4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

1Co 1:19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 

1Co 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 

1Co 1:22  For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 

1Co 1:23  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 

1Co 1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 

1Co 1:25  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

*******

'Having become saturated with a mishmash of everything, the mind lacks the most signal element of all, which is spiritual insight. Countless saints genuinely love all children of God, but unfortunately their brain is stuffed with a hodgepodge of theories, opinions and objectives.

Quite a number of God’s best and most faithful children are the most narrow-minded and prejudice-filled. Already have they decided what is the truth and what truth they shall accept. They reject every other truth because these do not blend in with their preconceived notions. Their head is not as expansive as their heart.

 Moreover, there are other children of God whose mind can conceive no thought whatever. No matter how many truths have been heard they can neither remember nor practice nor communicate them to others. These have certainly heard a lot, yet they possess no ability to express any of it. For many years they have received truths, but not even a little can they supply for the needs of others. Perhaps they may even brag how full they are of the Holy Spirit! What creates such symptoms is an unrenewed mind. '

The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Take your blinders off!

Why don't we want to believe that Satan can influence us, really influence in many ways? Why do we ignore his existence? Why do we refuse to recognize his working in our lives? We love being blind. We do. We enjoy the blinders that we put on and tuck about our spiritual sight so we can't see the evil around us. Blinders that transform evil into good and good into evil. These blinders are real and as we use them we leave ourselves vulnerable to deception so deep that we believe with all our heart that we are Christ's. If we keep those blinders on we WILL be among those who are SHOCKED when Christ Himself tells us to get away from Him, that He never knew us. That shock will hit us and all the evil we've condoned while wearing our blinders will be revealed to us. We will know that each and every time we used our blinders that we had a choice to know truth and we rejected that truth.  Every single time we've decided to cherish a fable of mankind's over knowing the truth of God, we will be accountable for. This isn't a game we are playing, this is real, this is truth, this is eternal truth.  We need to comprehend the reality of Satan and his influence that attacks us DAILY, and in comprehending we have to cling to the only hope of protection we have- our Savior! The spiritual armor He offers us is REAL and we can either choose to put it on, or keep grabbing up those stupid blinders thinking they're all the protection we need.

God help us!

Excerpt-    'Is it strange to behold the mind in such close proximity to the authorities of wickedness? Was not the sin which mankind first committed that of seeking the knowledge of good and evil, and that at the instigation of Satan? Hence man’s mind is especially related to Satan. If we were to peruse the Scriptures carefully and to observe the experiences of the saints we would discover that all communications between human and satanic forces occur in the organ of thought.

Take, for instance, Satan’s temptation. Every temptation with which he entices man is presented to his mind. It is true that Satan often uses the flesh to secure the consent of man, yet in each instance of enticement the enemy creates some kind of thought by which to induce the man.

We cannot separate temptation and thought. All temptations are offered us in the form of thoughts. Since the latter are so exposed to the power of darkness, we need to learn how to guard them.

Prior to regeneration man’s, intellect obstructs him from apprehending God. It is necessary for His mighty power to destroy man’s arguments. This is a work which must occur at the hour of new birth—and it does happen then in the form of repentance. The original definition of repentance is none else than “a change of mind.”

 Man in his mind is at enmity with God; therefore God must alter man’s mind if He would impart life to him. In his unregenerated state man has a darkened mind; at his regeneration it undergoes a drastic change. Because it has been so united with the devil it is vital for man to receive from God a change of mind before he can receive a new heart (Acts 11.18)

Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 

(BBE)  And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life.

(Bible in Basic English)

After Regeneration But even following repentance the believer’s mind is not liberated totally from the touch of Satan. As the enemy worked through the mind in former days, so today will he work in the same manner.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthian believers, confided that he was “afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11. 3).

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The Apostle well recognizes that as the god of this world blinds the mind of unbelievers so will he deceive the mind of the believers. Even though they are saved their life of thought is as yet unrenewed; consequently it remains the most strategic battleground. The mind suffers the onslaughts of the powers of darkness more than any other organ of the whole man. We should realize that satanic spirits are directing special attention to our minds and are attacking them unrelentingly—“as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.” Satan did not assail Eve’s heart first but rather her head.

 Similarly today, the evil spirits first attack our head, not our heart, in order to have us corrupted from the simplicity and purity which is towards Christ. They fully understand how it is the weakest point in our entire being, for it had served as their fortress before we believed and even now is not yet entirely overthrown. Attacking the mind is the easiest avenue for them to accomplish their purpose. Eve’s heart was sinless and yet she received Satan’s suggested thoughts. She was thus beguiled through his deception into forfeiting her reasoning and tumbling into the snare of the enemy. Let a believer accordingly be careful in his boast of possessing an honest and sincere heart, for unless he learns how to repulse the evil spirits in his mind he will continue to be tempted and deceived into losing the sovereignty of his will.

Paul continues by telling us from whence this danger comes: “if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted” (v.4). The peril for the Christian is to have false teaching injected into his thought life so as to lead him astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. These are the works the “serpent” is perpetrating today. Satan has disguised himself as an angel of light to lead saints to worship with their intellect a Jesus other than the Lord, to receive a spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and by these to propagate a gospel other than the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul pronounces these to be nothing else than the deeds of Satan in the Christian’s mind. The adversary translates these “doctrines” into thoughts and then imposes them upon the mind of the Christian. How tragic that few appreciate the reality of these activities! Few, indeed, who would ever think that the devil could give such good thoughts to men! It is possible for a child of God to have a new life and a new heart but be without a new head.

With too many saints, the mind, though their heart is new, is still quite old.

Their heart is full of love whereas their head is totally lacking in perception.

How often the intents of the heart are utterly pure and yet the thoughts in the head are confused.

Having become saturated with a mishmash of everything, the mind lacks the most signal element of all, which is spiritual insight. Countless saints genuinely love all children of God, but unfortunately their brain is stuffed with a hodgepodge of theories, opinions and objectives.

Quite a number of God’s best and most faithful children are the most narrow-minded and prejudice-filled. Already have they decided what is the truth and what truth they shall accept. They reject every other truth because these do not blend in with their preconceived notions. Their head is not as expansive as their heart.

 Moreover, there are other children of God whose mind can conceive no thought whatever. No matter how many truths have been heard they can neither remember nor practice nor communicate them to others. These have certainly heard a lot, yet they possess no ability to express any of it. For many years they have received truths, but not even a little can they supply for the needs of others. Perhaps they may even brag how full they are of the Holy Spirit! What creates such symptoms is an unrenewed mind. '

The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Mind Unrenewed.

Excerpt-    'Is it strange to behold the mind in such close proximity to the authorities of wickedness? Was not the sin which mankind first committed that of seeking the knowledge of good and evil, and that at the instigation of Satan? Hence man’s mind is especially related to Satan. If we were to peruse the Scriptures carefully and to observe the experiences of the saints we would discover that all communications between human and satanic forces occur in the organ of thought.

Take, for instance, Satan’s temptation. Every temptation with which he entices man is presented to his mind. It is true that Satan often uses the flesh to secure the consent of man, yet in each instance of enticement the enemy creates some kind of thought by which to induce the man.

We cannot separate temptation and thought. All temptations are offered us in the form of thoughts. Since the latter are so exposed to the power of darkness, we need to learn how to guard them.

Prior to regeneration man’s, intellect obstructs him from apprehending God. It is necessary for His mighty power to destroy man’s arguments. This is a work which must occur at the hour of new birth—and it does happen then in the form of repentance. The original definition of repentance is none else than “a change of mind.”

 Man in his mind is at enmity with God; therefore God must alter man’s mind if He would impart life to him. In his unregenerated state man has a darkened mind; at his regeneration it undergoes a drastic change. Because it has been so united with the devil it is vital for man to receive from God a change of mind before he can receive a new heart (Acts 11.18)

Act 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 

After Regeneration But even following repentance the believer’s mind is not liberated totally from the touch of Satan. As the enemy worked through the mind in former days, so today will he work in the same manner.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthian believers, confided that he was “afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11. 3).

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The Apostle well recognizes that as the god of this world blinds the mind of unbelievers so will he deceive the mind of the believers. Even though they are saved their life of thought is as yet unrenewed; consequently it remains the most strategic battleground. The mind suffers the onslaughts of the powers of darkness more than any other organ of the whole man. We should realize that satanic spirits are directing special attention to our minds and are attacking them unrelentingly—“as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.” Satan did not assail Eve’s heart first but rather her head.

 Similarly today, the evil spirits first attack our head, not our heart, in order to have us corrupted from the simplicity and purity which is towards Christ. They fully understand how it is the weakest point in our entire being, for it had served as their fortress before we believed and even now is not yet entirely overthrown. Attacking the mind is the easiest avenue for them to accomplish their purpose. Eve’s heart was sinless and yet she received Satan’s suggested thoughts. She was thus beguiled through his deception into forfeiting her reasoning and tumbling into the snare of the enemy. Let a believer accordingly be careful in his boast of possessing an honest and sincere heart, for unless he learns how to repulse the evil spirits in his mind he will continue to be tempted and deceived into losing the sovereignty of his will.

Paul continues by telling us from whence this danger comes: “if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted” (v.4). The peril for the Christian is to have false teaching injected into his thought life so as to lead him astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. These are the works the “serpent” is perpetrating today. Satan has disguised himself as an angel of light to lead saints to worship with their intellect a Jesus other than the Lord, to receive a spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and by these to propagate a gospel other than the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul pronounces these to be nothing else than the deeds of Satan in the Christian’s mind. The adversary translates these “doctrines” into thoughts and then imposes them upon the mind of the Christian. How tragic that few appreciate the reality of these activities! Few, indeed, who would ever think that the devil could give such good thoughts to men! It is possible for a child of God to have a new life and a new heart but be without a new head.

With too many saints, the mind, though their heart is new, is still quite old.

Their heart is full of love whereas their head is totally lacking in perception.

How often the intents of the heart are utterly pure and yet the thoughts in the head are confused.

Having become saturated with a mishmash of everything, the mind lacks the most signal element of all, which is spiritual insight. Countless saints genuinely love all children of God, but unfortunately their brain is stuffed with a hodgepodge of theories, opinions and objectives.

Quite a number of God’s best and most faithful children are the most narrow-minded and prejudice-filled. Already have they decided what is the truth and what truth they shall accept. They reject every other truth because these do not blend in with their preconceived notions. Their head is not as expansive as their heart.

 Moreover, there are other children of God whose mind can conceive no thought whatever. No matter how many truths have been heard they can neither remember nor practice nor communicate them to others. These have certainly heard a lot, yet they possess no ability to express any of it. For many years they have received truths, but not even a little can they supply for the needs of others. Perhaps they may even brag how full they are of the Holy Spirit! What creates such symptoms is an unrenewed mind. '

The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Deliver us from evil.

We do believe in evil spirits- that's if we believe in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He spent a good portion of His time on earth casting out demons and healing people from demon induced ailments. This is Biblical, this is truth. To deny this truth is to deny our Savior's ministry, our Saviors word.

Today evil spirits are still alive and well and working very hard in mankind.  Let's read a bit about this--

Excerpt-

'The Mind a Battlefield

The mind of man is his organ of thought. Through it he is equipped to know, think, imagine, remember, and understand. Man’s intellect, reasoning, wisdom and cleverness all pertain to the mind. Broadly speaking the mind is the brain. Mind is a psychological term whereas brain is a physiological term. The mind of psychology is the brain of physiology. Man’s mind occupies a large place in his life because his thought easily influences his action.

Before Regeneration

According to the Bible the mind of man is unusual in that it constitutes a battlefield where Satan and his evil spirits contend against the truth and hence against the believer. We may illustrate as follows. Man’s will and spirit are like a citadel which the evil spirits crave to capture. The open field where the battle is waged for the seizure of the citadel is man’s mind. Note how Paul the Apostle describes it: “though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10.3-5).

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

He initially tells us of a battle—then where the battle is fought—and finally for what objective. This struggle pertains exclusively to man’s mind. The Apostle likens man’s arguments or reasonings to an enemy’s strongholds. He pictures the mind as held by the enemy; it must therefore be broken into by waging war. He concludes that many rebellious thoughts are housed in these strongholds and need to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. All this plainly shows us that the mind of man is the scene of battle where the evil spirits clash with God.

Scripture explains that before regeneration “the god of this world (had) blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God” (2 Cor. 4.4).

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 

This verse concurs in what the other verse just quoted said by declaring here that Satan holds on to man’s mind by making it blind. Some people perhaps may consider themselves extremely wise in their ability to advance many arguments against the gospel; others may take for granted that unbelief is due to dullness of understanding; but the truth in both cases is that the eyes of man’s mind have been covered by Satan. When firmly held by Satan the mind of man becomes “hardened”; man “follows the desires of body and mind (as) children of wrath” and so “is estranged and hostile in mind” because “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God” (2 Cor. 3.14; Eph. 2.3; Col. 1.21; Rom. 8.7).

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

Upon reading these various passages we can see clearly how the powers of darkness are especially related to man’s mind, how it is peculiarly susceptible to Satan’s assault. With respect to man’s will, emotion and body, the powers of evil are helpless to do anything directly unless they first have gained some ground therein. But with man’s mind they can work freely without initially persuading man or securing his invitation. The mind appears to be their possession already. The Apostle in comparing men’s minds to an enemy’s strongholds seems to imply that Satan and his wicked spirits already have established a deep relationship with the minds of men, that somehow they are using them as their bastions in which to imprison their captives. Through man’s mind they impose their authority and through the mind of their captives they transmit poisonous thoughts to others so that these too may rise up against God. It is difficult to estimate how much of the world’s philosophy, ethics, knowledge, research, and science flow from the powers of darkness. But of one point we are certain: all arguments and proud obstacles against the knowledge of God are the fortresses of the enemy.'   Excerpt - The Spiritual Man- by Watchman Nee

*******

The truth- our minds can be used by Satan. We can be blinded. We can be deceived. We can be manipulated. We can be subjected to all sorts of things through the evil of Satan.  Some think this is pure foolishness, that we use these words, these truths as a way to excuse our own evil desires.  These people are clearly blinded already, not wanting to believe in the reality of Satan and his power.  For all that Satan and His evilness are a reality they are only a reality because our SAVIOR is a reality.  Our Savior wants us KEPT from evil- remember this verse?

Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 

The evil is real. Jesus wants us kept from the evil.  We need to be kept from evil.

Remember this-

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Deliver us from evil.

Again, Jesus is telling us that we need to be kept from evil, delivered from evil. 

Truly A LOT of the world is caught up the evil deception- the evil that thinks it is good, the evil that is blinded. The majority is caught up in this evil deception remember- we know BROAD is the way that leads to destruction and many go that way. We know that many are going to say to Jesus that they believe they've lived according to His will-

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Jesus will tell them to depart from Him, that they are REALLY workers of iniquity, of sin, of evil!

Please, Lord, please do NOT let us be blinded by Satan, let us know the truth and know this….

Joh_8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Please, Lord, please be in control of our minds!  When Satan is fighting for us, when the battle is waging strong in us, be our STRENGTH.

More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Now and forever!