DEMYSTIFYING THE satanic KINGDOM 5

GIVING LICENSE TO SATAN [A]

by Pastor Innocent Maja

Ephesians 6v12 says “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.”

I have heard a number of people asking whether or not Christians can be either demon
possessed or attacked by satan or demons. The starting point is perhaps to explain the levels
of demonic influence. There are basically three levels of demonic influence namely:

1. Demonic Oppression – this occurs when satan and his demons exert influence on or control
the body. Acts 10v38 says ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with
power: who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil; for God
was with Him.’ This can happen to believers and non-believers.

2. Demonic Obsession – occurs when satan and his demons control the soul especially the
mind. From the English language the word implies doing something continuously until you can
almost think of nothing else. E.g. she is obsessed with fear. With obsession a demon will
cause one to do what it wants. One can be obsessed with fear, thinking or paranoia. E.g. one
can always think that everyone hates them. When one is obsessed they can also think that
they are very important, they hear strange voices in the mind or ears and usually persist evil
thoughts. This can happen to believers and non-believers.

3. Demonic Possession – occurs when satan and his demons control a person’s spirit. The
demons will indwell the spirit of a non-believer to the extent of controlling their spirits,
thoughts, speech and actions. This cannot happen to a believer since their spirits are
inhabited by the Godhead.

The second approach to the question is to look at ways how demons can have access to a
believer by way of demonic oppression and demonic obsession through what I refer to as a
license. Job 1v10 makes it clear that there is hedge of protection around those that fear God
and live holy lives. Satan and demons cannot successfully attack that person unless that
believer gives satan a licence to work in their lives. Ecclesiastes 10v8 makes it clear that “…
whosoever breaks a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” Ephesians 4v27 even says “Don’t give
the devil any opportunity to work.” It therefore becomes clear that a believer is the one
that can do things that can give satan the license to work in and ensnare their lives. 2
Timothy 2v26 says “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who
are taken captive by him at his will.”

Put differently, although in Christ Jesus we have total victory over the devil, if we are not
careful, we can nonetheless allow him back into our lives! The word translated “place” is the
Greek word topos, and can be translated as a spot, an opportunity, a licence, a coast, a rock
or a plain. In other words, the Bible is teaching us not to give the devil a licence to operate,
an opportunity to work; or an inlet, a peninsula, a cape, an island, a mountain peak, a rock, a
valley to stand upon. Whatever you get up to, don’t give the devil any place in your life!
Don’t give him a licence or an opportunity. Don’t give him any room at all! Why? Because if
you give the devil an inch, he’ll take a mile! A legal right is something that can give demons
an opportunity to enter or harass us, or gives them the right to remain in us even when we try
to cast them out.

I will give an example of Job. As long as he was holy, blameless and eschewed evil, there was
a hedge of protection that was around Job. Satan had to ask for permission from God to
attack Job’s life [Job 1v11]. When that permission was granted to touch Job’s life within the
defined boundaries [Job 1v12], still satan had to get a license from Job. We get a clue of this
license from Job 3v25 when Job says “… the thing I greatly feared is come upon me, and that
which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Job gave a license to satan through the gateway of
fear.

I now turn to deal with areas where we can give satan and demons a license to torment our
lives as Christians. This week I will deal with 4 areas and then I will deal with the rest next
week.

Examples of ways we inadvertently give room to the devil:

1. UNCONFESSED SIN
Unconfessed sin gives satan and demons a legal right to work in the life of the sinner. Three
things happen whenever we sin. Firstly, when you sin you affect your relationship with God
and there is a barrier that comes between you and God. You begin to have a guilty
conscience. You cannot freely commune with God. Secondly, sin breaks the hedge of
protection around us and makes us vulnerable to the attacks of the devil. We license satan
to attack us whenever we sin. Ecclesiastes 10v8 says “He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and
whoever breaks an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” Thirdly, sin curtails our success or
prosperity. Proverbs 28v13 says “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever
confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

There are two types of sin namely; a) Personal sin and b) Generational sin – our
forefathers’ sins – especially idolatry and greed – open doors for generational curses if future
generations do not repent and walk in holiness. The sin of idolatry brings a curse on the
offender and his children until the 4 th generation – Exodus 20v4-6 says “You shall not make
for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the
waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the ord your God, am
a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who
love and keep my commandments.”

Another form of idolatry is greed. Ephesians 5v5 says “For of this you can be sure: No
immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has an inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God.” 2 Kings 5v25 best illustrates this. Gehazi was greedy. For
that he inherited Naaman’s leprosy and his descendants did as well. Idolatry opens us to
demons, and demons like to stay in the family. Gehazi’s children inherited demons. Through
the demons came the generational curses. When you operate under a generational curse,
you follow the life patterns of your parents – calamity, chronic diseases, mental illness,
marital conflict, financial lack, lost wages, increased and crushing debt, utter poverty,
constant fear, spousal adultery, stress, failed crops etc – curse of the law.

Generational curses can be broken if we repent and move away from our forefathers’
sinful ways. Ezekiel 18v14,17,19-20 says “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the
sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things… He will not
die for his father’s sin; he will surely live… Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the
guilt of his father?’ since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to
keep all My decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son
will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son.”
Children will not escape generational curses if they continue in the sinful ways of their
parents. Confess the sins of your parents and yours [Jeremiah 14v20; Nehemiah 1v5-6].
Allow the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you and your blood line

2. Unforgiveness

Unforgiveness does two things. Firstly, if we don’t forgive, we can’t expect God to forgive us
our many sins! Mark 11v26 says “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in
heaven forgive your trespasses.” Secondly, unforgiveness puts us into the hands of demonic
spirits that are called torturers. Matthew 18v34-35 says “And in wrath his master turned him
over to the torturers (the jailers), till he should pay all that he owed. So also My heavenly
Father will deal with everyone of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your
heart his offenses.” God hands over to the torturers everyone that does not freely forgive his
brother/ sister his/her offenses. This is double tragedy. On one hand, your sins are not
forgiven and on the other hand torturing demons will afflict your life. You honestly have to
forgive those that sin against you to avoid the disastrous effects of unforgiveness. I therefore
urge you to forgive whosoever has wronged and angered you. It is for your good to forgive.

3. Anger

Anger on its own is not bad. It only becomes bad if in your anger you lose control and sin.
The Bible condemns anger that causes you to lose control of your actions. It is called ‘fits of
rage’ [Galatians 5v20] or ‘outbursts of anger’ [2 Corinthians 12v20]. Cain was angry before
he sinned. He felt it was unjust for his offering to be unacceptable. According to God, sin was
only at the door. Genesis 4v6-7 says ‘Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry?... Sin
is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” So close the door
of anger.

4. Fear

Fear is more or less the opposite of faith. When we are fearful, we can’t trust God, and we
give room to the enemy. 2 Timothy 1v7 says “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but
of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Fear is a spirit. Demons themselves are fearful
and their presence impart fear. James 2v19 says “You believe that there is one God. Good!
Even the demons believe that – and shiver.” 1 Peter 5v8 says “Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Lions
do not roar when they are ready to attack their prey. They roar only when they feel
threatened. They roar to frighten away intruders. The devil roars to frighten you. So do not
be afraid. There are 365 references to fear not in the Bible. This means that for every day
you live, God commands you to fear not. God bless. We will finish this series next week.

5. Doubt
Doubt makes us unstable and therefore unable to receive from the Lord. James 1v6—8 says
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of
the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything
from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” When you doubt what
God says, you are literally saying that God I do not trust you, your nature and your word. I do
not think that you will do what you promised to do. You literally then believe the lies that
satan will be telling you that contradict God’s word. This opens doors to demonic oppression.

6. Jealousy
There are three aspects of jealous. Firstly, it is the fear of losing love, affection or favour
of someone else. You do whatever you can to hold on to your position of esteem. Secondly,
it is Anger/ unhappiness at what someone else has – you begin to dislike that person.
Thirdly, it is anxiety about keeping what you have – you begin to believe that someone has
an eye on what you have and you become overprotective. Jealousy opens doors to demonic
oppression. It activates the operation of an idol of jealousy. Ezekiel 8v3 says “He stretched
out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up
between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to
the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.’ Jealousy
causes envy, strife, quarreling, fights, coveteousness. Saul’s depression was caused by his
jealous for the young David. After David slew Goliath, I Samuel 18v7-9 says that young
women danced and sang “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. Saul
was very angry; this refrain galled him. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’
he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ and from
that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.’ Saul’s jealous made him susceptible to the
presence of demons. 1 Samuel 18v10 says “The next day an evil spirit from God came
forcefully upon Saul…” Evil spirits feed on jealousy

7. Strongholds
Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns in our minds that we see things through. Many
people see themselves as failures, so they feel like failures. Others see God as a cruel and
dictating taskmaster, which causes them to feel distant and unloved by their heavenly Father.
If you have a hard time feeling God's love, you can cast out all the demons in the world, but if
you don't see God as a loving God who loves you, it's going to be very difficult to feel and
receive His love. Such strongholds become entry points for demonic activity. No wonder why
the bulk of spiritual warfare is focused on dealing with strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10v3-5
clearly says “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.”
We deal with strongholds by pulling them down. Verse 5 is even more explicit. It says “casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

8. Soul ties
Having a soul tie with somebody means your soul is joined with theirs. Your minds, emotions
and wills are joined together (1 Corinthians 6:16). Being joined to another person with an
unclean soul tie can allow the transference of spirits and bondage between the persons. Soul
ties can come through sexual relationships, close relationships [or association, for example
David and Johnathan – 1 Samuel 18] or receiving objects from people close to you. It is vital
to break off all bad soul ties from unhealthy past relationships so that the enemy cannot use
them to gain entrance into your life.

9. Cursed objects
The Bible gives us a clear pattern of destroying false gods, idols, and so-called cursed objects.
Examples of cursed objects are horoscopes, idols, occult books, rings, movies, charms, etc.
God warns us that bringing a cursed object into our home can bring a curse upon us as well
(Deuteronomy 7:26; Leviticus 18v27). We therefore need to get rid of cursed objects.

10. Un-renounced vows

Vows and oaths bind the soul (Numbers 30:2). Demonic vows can be made consciously or
unconsciously. Often when a person joins a cult coven (a group of witches), they are required
to make vows with the devil. Demonic vows can be made unconsciously just by dabbling with
the occult. Just by getting curious about the occult and reading forbidden materials (including
horoscopes) can give the enemy your spiritual signature; it tells the enemy know that your
interested. Jesus warns us not to make any vows at all. The only vows I can see are practical
and good are those made during a marriage ceremony. The way to break free from any
ungodly vows is to repent of it and renounce it verbally in Jesus' name.

Some Christians make monetary or other pledges that they do not fulfill. Scripture demands
that you fulfill your vows. Deuteronomy 23v21-23 says “If you make a vow to the LORD your
God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you
will be guilty of sin. You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have
voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.”
Ecclesiastes 5v4 says “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no
pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should
vow and not pay.” Even more interesting is Job 22v27-28 says “…and you will pay your vows.
You shall also decide and decree a thing, and it shall be established for you; and the light [of
God’s favor] shall shine upon your ways.” This clearly shows us that you first pay your vow
before you decree a thing and that thing is established.

11. Spoken curses

Spoken curses attract demonic activity. Do not curse yourself. Do not curse your husband/
wife. Do not curse your children. Do not curse anyone. This opens doors for demonic activity
if there is a cause for the curse. However, if the curse is without a cause – the curse will not
hold. Proverbs 26v2 says “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse
causeless shall not come.” This is consistent with how God deals with His people in scripture.
Deuteronomy 28v15 says “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord
your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes, which I command you
today; that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

How to wage spiritual warfare

In the final analysis, when you are waging spiritual warfare, James cautions on two things
that must be done. James 4v7 says “Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you.” Firstly, you submit yourself to God. This entails closing all the doors
that have been used by satan and demons to invade your life. You do this by confess your sins
and make your relationship right with God. If you harbor any unforgiveness, you forgive those
that have hurt you. You deal with fits of rage. You cast out fear and stand on God’s Word.
You deal with jealousy. You pull down strongholds [2 Corinthians 10v4-5]. You break all soul
ties. Break demonic vows. Pay for all financial commitments made. Renounce all self-
pronounced curses. Renounce curses you pronounced on others. After submitting to God, you
then take the second step, you resist the devil. This entails binding the strong man, casting
out specific demons that are tormenting your life. When you do this, the devil and his demons
have no choice but to flee from you.