WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES OF DEMONS?

Today we are going to look at “THE CHARACTERISTIC ACTIVITIES OF DEMONS.” Satan and his demons now look to destroy the work of God and deceive anyone they can (1 Pet. 5:8; 2 Cor. 11:14–15). There is a way demons behave (act).

How do demons (evil spirits) behave? Evil spirits are the lowest echelon of the spiritual hosts of wickedness that Satan directs against humanity.

In Ephesians 6:12 the Bible says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against (1) principalities, against (2) powers, against (3) the rulers of the darkness of this world, against (4) spiritual wickedness in high places. [the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms].”

The American Standard Version puts it this way, “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual (hosts) of wickedness in the heavenly (places).”

These demons have three main purposes assigned to them by Satan:

·         To torment and afflict man;

·         To keep man from knowing Christ as Saviour, and

·         To keep man from serving Christ effectively.

Demons are invisible. They are spirit beings. So how then can one recognize demonic spirits? We can recognize their presence and activity in the same way that we recognize the presence of the wind. You can’t see the wind, but you can see the effects the wind produces – the raising of dust in the streets, trees bending in one direction. So also, the presence of demons is recognized by certain characteristics and actions such as:

1. Demons entice: James 1:14 says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”

What does it mean to entice? To entice means to tempt by offering something attractive. It means to make a person do something by offering something desirable.

Demons persuade people to do evil, to sin against God. The enticement comes verbally. For instance, you picked up a wallet dropped on the street and you see cash inside it. Then something whispers to you, “Take it! Nobody will know. Others will do the same if it were your money!” Anything that has a voice is a person, and that voice, if it says things contrary to the Word of God, belongs to a demon that is enticing you. If you yield, you’ll no longer have a clear conscience. You’ll know that you are guilty and that prepares you for Satan’s next assault on you. Example is the case of Eve (Gen. 3) and Cain (Gen. 4).

Realize that it is our own lust that we allow to entice us away. When our thought life is not right and we allow wrong thoughts to enter, especially lustful ones, then the spirit of lust can follow and draw us away from the things of God. Subsequently other evil spirits enter as we allow lust to take over.

2. Demons harass: They arrange situations and circumstances to cause you to be provoked. They study you, follow your involvements, observe your weak moments, and detect your weak places. Then they engineer situations that will open the door for them to come into your life. Do not allow yourself to be provoked. 

James 1:20 says, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Your wrath will never produce that which pleases God.

Therefore, anytime you are facing someone that is provoking you, remember that it is not that person that is provoking you, but the demon inside him/her that is using him to do the job. So see the demon behind the scene, and attack the demon rather than the person.

3. Demons torture: In Matthew 18:34-35 the Bible says, "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

The tortures are demons. This is mainly due to un-forgiveness. When you don’t forgive those that have hurt you, demons torture you.

In Matthew 6:14-15, it is written, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also for give you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

The type of torture is (i) physical, e.g. arthritis or (ii) mental, e.g. the fear of going insane because it has been running in your family; a particular disease running in the family. Arthritis is often associated with an inner attitude of resentment, un-forgiveness and bitterness.

Like the enticement to do evil, this demonic attack can take a verbal form:  An inner accusation that says, “You have committed an unforgivable sin.” When you experience this kind of thought, just know that it is nothing but the accusation of a lying spirit.

Revelations 12:10 says, “…..for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

The fact that you are concerned about it proves that you have not committed it because if you have, you would be so hardened that you won’t care.

Besides, to commit the unforgivable sin, you need to qualify to do so. Hebrews 6:4-6 says, “For it is impossible for those (1) who were once enlightened, and (2) have tasted of the heavenly gift, and (3) were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (4) 5 And have tasted the good Word of God, and (5) the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

4. Demons cause addictions. What is ADDICTION? Addiction is self-imposed slavery/bondage. Addiction is relinquishing yourself to the control of something or someone else. It is drug dependence: a state of physiological or psychological dependence on a potentially harmful drug like marijuana.

Who in his right mind would volunteer to become a slave, chained forever to a life of bondage? Yet that’s just what addiction is: self-imposed slavery, selling oneself to a lifetime of bondage to habit or a substance.

Addiction thrives on continuing personal frustration, and a deep emotional need that is not being fulfilled.

Maybe the reason for your addiction to alcohol or sex is because you’ve not gotten a befitting job. Maybe you are addicted to one thing or the other because you are still single, and your longing for a loving companionship is acute. You must wait for God’s time because at His own time He makes all things beautiful.

We may not become addicted ourselves, but we may be the cause of addiction in another person. For instance, as a parent you may discover that your child has turned to drugs as a substitute for the love and companionship your busy schedule could not allow you to stay home and provide.

There is no limit to the forms addiction can take. In an attempt to solve their problems, people sometimes trade one form of addiction for another. It often happens, for instance, that a person gives up smoking and immediately puts on excessive weight. That person has traded gluttony for nicotine.

How do demons cause addictions? Almost anything that is both compels and enslaves is an addiction. Demons cause addictions by driving and compelling their victims to do what they don’t want to do.

Luke 8:29 says, “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and WAS DRIVEN of the devil into the wilderness.”

No word is more characteristic of demon activity than the word compulsive. Compulsion always speaks of addiction. And behind most compulsions is a demon.

Examples of addiction include compulsive smoking, masturbation, consumption of alcohol or drugs, compulsive fornication.

Pornography is another example of addiction. A man enslaved by pornography finds himself compelled to tune in to those TV channels that satisfy the demon within him. Television itself is a largely unrecognized addiction.

Some people are addicted to coca cola. Some are addicted to tobacco. The producing companies deliberately alter the nicotine content in order to ensure addiction, because once someone is addicted to their product, they are sure of a customer for life.

These activities produce a chemical reaction in the brain and this opens up a place of weakness in the very sensitive area through which demons can easily enter the victim.

Compulsive eating is demonic. You just eat as a routine, not because you are hungry. The demon of gluttony is in charge here.

Compulsive talking is also demonic. The talkative spirit is in charge here. The Scriptures warn against too much talking.

Proverbs 10:19 says, “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking. But he that restrains his lips is wise.”

Excessive talking will always end up in sin. You may think that you are religious. But if you say things that you should not say, then you are fooling yourself.

James 1:26 says, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.”

If you have not kept your tongue under control, you may have opened the door for a demon – the demon of gossip and the demon of criticism.

Today, we find people who commit such crimes like murder and assault and afterwards say that they don’t know why they did it. This is the result of demonic activity in which they have been compelled to do something terrible in spite of their will.

A person is said to be compelled when he has been brought under the power of anything that is not helpful, but he finds himself doing it in spite of his own will. When you are being compelled by a demon to do something, your will does not matter anymore. This is how people in the occult are compelled to use dagger to dagger their mother or wife (or any loved one).

A person is therefore, said to be addicted to a particular thing when he or she has been brought under the power of anything that is not helpful.

In 1 Corinthians 6:12 the Scriptures say, “Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become a slave of anything, or brought under its power.”

How can one be delivered from addiction? For one to be delivered from whatever addiction, that branch that supports the addiction must first of all be dealt with. When you remove the support, the addiction will collapse.

For instance, a woman is aware that her husband runs after other women, spends the money that she needs for keeping the house on them, and shows little or no interest in his family. This drives her to become an alcoholic or a foodholic [a glutton] because she is frustrated, and her emotional needs are not met. For this woman to be free from her addiction, she must forgive her husband and lay down all her bitterness and resentment against him.

5. Demons enslave: Suppose you have committed a sexual sin. You repent and meet God’s conditions for forgiveness. You know you are not only forgiven, but also justified [declared discharged and acquitted]. But you still have an intense desire to commit the same sin, even though you hate it. You are sure you have been forgiven, but you are not free. You are enslaved.

A very common example of enslavement is masturbation. There are many men and women that masturbate and thereafter hate themselves for doing so. Each time they say, “Never again!” But it happens again and again. They are enslaved.

A number of men enslave the ladies they chase by having a carnal relationship with them. This is because of the soul-tie that is formed during the encounter and the demons that are transferred also.

6. Demons deceive: Demons are behind every form of spiritual deception. Spiritual deception is a serious threat to Christians especially in this end times.

First Timothy 4:1-4 says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…”

The New International Version puts it this way, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”

Behind each form of spiritual deception is a corresponding demon. These people who depart from the faith are Christians who have been enticed out of sound, biblical faith into some form of doctrinal error.

Any doctrine that detracts from the holiness of God, or that attacks the Person, nature and work of Christ, or that undermines the authority of the Scriptures is certainly demonic. Demonic deception includes all religions, cults or philosophies that set aside any of the great central truths of the Bible. Remember that demons are always trying to conceal or distort who Jesus Christ is.

These deceiving demons tell us that God does not love us, and that we are not accepted in the beloved. This is contrary to Ephesians 1:6 which says, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

In John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Many people are misled by demons from Eastern religions which encourage them into wrong fasting, or abstaining from meats. They even encourage them not to marry.

1 Timothy 4:3 says, “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”

7. Demons defile: Titus 1:15 says, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”

One area demons defile is our mental lives – our thoughts and imaginations. This can take the form of impure, lustful images like pornography, and fantasies. The demons project such things themselves uninvited into our minds. This happens especially when we are trying to focus on the things of God, either in worship, prayer, Bible study, or listening to the preaching of the Word of God.

Another area of personality regularly defiled by demons is that of speech. Many Christians cannot speak for long without speaking vulgar words or things that don’t bring glory to God. They speak doubt, blasphemies and cursing. The demons of blasphemy and unclean speech are responsible for this behaviour.

8. Demons cause friction between people and fight against peace in every way. In John 14:27 Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Romans 12:18 says, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

Psalm 133:1-3 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

Demons fight against a person’s inner harmony as well as their peace of mind and physical wellbeing. You discover that your relationship with other people is not sound. Demons like to cause friction between people who should be in harmony, especially husband and wife, parents and children, Church members.

If you discover that there is a lack of peace around you, and with those with whom you relate, then it is a sign of demonic activity.

Just watch a person who is restless. You’ll discover that there is no peace within him. He is always up and going, and can never settle down. Later in life, that person may manifest arthritis, heart attack or asthma.

9. Demons seek to oppress us. Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were OPPRESSED of the devil; for God was with Him.”

When people have demons in them, they will often oppress those around them, besides feeling oppressed themselves. To oppress means to dominate harshly: to subject a person or a people to a harsh or cruel form of domination. It means to inflict stress on: to be a source of worry, stress, or trouble to somebody.

The desire of demons is to control you. This spirit of oppression seeks to attack you so as to bring you into bondage.

10. Demons attack the physical body: Demons are essentially responsible for many physical sicknesses and infirmities.

Luke 4:40-41 says, “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And He rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that He was Christ.”

This account makes it clear that many of their sicknesses were caused by demons. The Gospels record that Jesus healed the mute, deaf, blind, by expelling demons (Matt. 9:32-33; 12:22; Lk. 11:14).

In Mark 9:17-29 Jesus dealt with a boy who had the symptoms of epilepsy. He confronted it as a “dumb and deaf” spirit. When the demons were expelled, the boy was healed.

In Luke 13:10-17 Jesus met a woman who has suffered from what might be called spinal curvature or scoliosis for 18 years Although her condition seemed to be purely physical, Jesus declared that she had been bound by the spirit of infirmity (v 11). On that basis, He set her free and she was completely healed.

The Bible says, “Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up… 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound--think of it--for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath....” (Lk. 13).

There is also a demon of tiredness. Another physical effect that demons can produce is unnatural sleepiness. Isaiah speaks of the “spirit of deep sleep” (Isa. 29:10). Sometimes you want to study the Scriptures by 10pm, but you find yourself sleeping already by 9.30pm. Yet the same person can stay awake watching TV till early hours of the morning.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit.

• Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)