I have been in the ministry for over fifty years.

I have
worked with children, youth, college students, adults
and seniors. I have been privileged to minister to all
classes of people, different ethnicities and folks in
various geographical areas of the country. All these
people shared one characteristic: They had an enemy
whose desire was to cause them harm, destroy their
relationships and derail their spiritual progress.
In hundreds of counseling sessions, I heard the
frustration of those seeking God, who wanted to get
closer to Him and who wanted to make a positive
impact on their world. They knew there was a
problem, some barrier, something that kept stopping
their forward progress, but they couldn’t identify the
difficulty.
More times than I can count, the issue boiled down to
the ways in which people had left themselves open to
evil influence. Most of them would never have
knowingly invited the spiritual attacks. But they were
caught off guard because they were unaware of the
deceptive ways in which the enemy infiltrates lives.
I pray this booklet will help you live with “eyes wide
Rick McKinney open” to the sly ways the enemy can sneak into your
life and threaten your relationship with God.
 into their homes, families and minds. With time, they
become numb to the fact that those same factors have

The become strongholds and a barrier to their spiritual

growth and relationship with God.

Presence This booklet aims to help you identify some of those

strongholds that may be allowing the influence of evil to
affect your life. These thoughts are not shared with any
Of intention of judgment or condemnation. They are based
on principles formed over half a century of ministry. I
Evil pray that as you read, your heart will be open to the
prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Evil has been present since the beginning of human

history. The perfection of the Garden of Eden was
In
spoiled by the temptation that the enemy brought with
him as he slithered into paradise. As Adam and Eve Plain
succumbed to that temptation, they guaranteed that evil
would follow their descendants for all of time. Sight
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has even a
modicum of spiritual awareness that evil is not only
present in our world today but is rampant. It surrounds I have always been amazed to see statues, icons and
us on every front and permeates every layer of our symbols of false gods and religions when visiting
culture. congregants' homes over the years. Sometimes it’s been
something to do with the theme of a home’s décor and
Unfortunately, many Christians believe they are
sometimes a souvenir brought home from overseas. The
somehow spiritually inoculated against the effects of evil.
response to my caution about the item was usually met
Without any filter, they allow all manner of evil influences
with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders with the person
saying something like, “It’s not real, I don’t believe in it or
anything, what does it matter?”
In many of those same homes, I’d see bookshelves filled
with books written with horror themes, raunchy romance
novels and even books about witchcraft. Back when
video tapes and DVDs were prominently displayed in
cases with glass doors, I would be embarrassed at the
selection of the movies present.
The disconnect between what we say and sing on
Sunday morning and what we allow to be present in our
daily lives is sometimes shocking. What ought to bring an
uneasiness in our spirit comes and goes in our lives
without so much as a glance. The connection between
the spiritual and secular eludes many folks.
The sad thing is that in many cases, these same folks
struggle in their spiritual life, their family relationships
are strained and other issues like health, finances and
prodigal children plague their lives. Although it’s not
always a direct correlation, the influence of evil can
easily soak into and affect every fiber of life.
Most of us get used to seeing the things that surround us.
A guest’s eyes often see the cobweb that has eluded us
for months. The same is true as we examine our homes
and lives with fresh spiritual eyes. Look around and ask
God to allow you to see things from His perspective.
Hide
And
seek
Some things are not as obvious as statues and books. Evil
is a master of deception. Things that look innocent or
even “fun” can have deep roots of evil and bring their
influence right into your life. Sometimes we rationalize
what we participate in or compromise with because it’s
socially accepted or even expected. Things we do in
private or look at on the Internet can, especially over
time, sear our spirits and cause us to stop feeling any
conviction.
Even listening to music with immoral themes or filthy
language stains our minds and eventually our spirits.
After a while, we begin to think these themes and words
are “normal” and casually accept them into our
vocabulary and worldview.
If we aren’t convicted about the obvious things in plain
sight, I wonder what we may be keeping secret. There
seems to be a feeling that it’s OK if others don’t know.
Nothing could be further from the truth. What we do in
secret, what we look at, and Jesus said, “even what we
think in our heart,” corrupts us.
The world is a dark place. It is getting darker by the
minute. What used to be done under the cover of
darkness is, in many cases, now done in broad daylight.
What this means in many cases is that what is now done
in secret is more evil, more decadent than ever.
Ask yourself about your “dark” activities. The ones that
make you blush or want to hide. Are these things that
you would be comfortable doing in the light? Have you
ever wondered why so many places where evil occurs
regularly are dim and dark? Jesus said in John 3, “Men
loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are
evil.” Turn on the spiritual light.
Clean out
And
Clean up
Once you’ve been convicted that something is
inconsistent with your new nature (the one that is
supposed to look like Jesus), it becomes your
responsibility to clean the house. You wouldn’t leave a
piece of rotten meat in your refrigerator or a piece of
decaying fruit in the bowl on the table where you eat,
would you?
Then once you know something is spiritually spoiled,
why would you allow it to stay in your life? Anything that
does not belong in the life of a Christian should go!
Please don’t hold on to it because you paid a lot for it. No
amount of value is worth damaging your faith-walk. And
don’t give those things to someone else. You just pass the
evil influence on to others.
Destroy them, burn them, smash them and make them so
you’ll never be tempted to give them a place in your life
ever again. Don’t just put it in the garage. Please get rid
of it!
What’s
Next?
So, Jesus tells an interesting story about demons who get
evicted from their human home. The story’s moral is that
cleaning the house is insufficient. Evil will return to a
clean house and bring a bunch of his friends.
You’ve felt conviction and cleaned the house, but how do
you keep the house clean and keep evil from
repossessing its former living space? You stay vigilant.
Every item you bring into your life must be run through
the right filter. Every material thing, every book and
movie, every website and every song you listen to (and
sing). You must ask yourself a few questions and allow
the Holy Spirit to help you give honest answers.
1) When I make this purchase, could I imagine Jesus
making the same purchase?
2) Would Jesus read this book or watch this movie?
Could I read it or watch it with Him present?
3) If Christ were to visit my home, are there things
present that would embarrass me or things I’d want
to hide?
As you dig a little deeper into the spiritual aspect of
things, ask these questions:
1) Do these things satisfy the flesh and my old nature,
or do they lift up my spirit?
2) Do these things glorify God?
3) Would these things hurt my ability to be a witness
to my family and friends?
4) Could I share these things with others who know
I’m a Christian without embarrassment?
These few pages are not an exhaustive study of this
subject. Hopefully, they are enough to help you begin
the process of demolishing the evil strongholds that
have kept your spiritual growth stunted or made you
feel distant from God.
Cleaning the house is never pleasant. Taking out the
trash is a chore. Deep cleaning is something we’d
rather avoid. But little is as important as keeping our
spiritual house in order when it comes to spiritual
matters.
Blessings on your journey. Please feel free to contact
us if you have further questions or need help in
praying for guidance. This process can bring victory to
your life like never before!
Dr. Rick McKinney and his wife, Jane, have had an
extraordinary life of ministry. For over 50 years, they
have worked side-by-side in churches, traveled in full-
time evangelism, performed concerts, ministered in
foreign countries, fed and provided for the homeless.
In 2006, they walked across America to share their
faith and pray for those in need.
They are the authors of “And…So We Walked,” a
memoir about the walk from California to Washington
D.C. Rick has also written “Sharing Jesus Without
Saying a Word.” (Both are available on Amazon.com)
Rick and Jane McKinney
rickandjanemckinney@gmail.com
https://rickandjanemckinney.com
(815) 662-8144