Severing Attachments to Evil

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Carl H. Stevens Jr. was pastor of Greater Grace

Church located in Baltimore, Maryland. Pastor

Stevens was also chancellor of Maryland Bible

College & Seminary and host of the international

Christian radio program “The Grace Hour.” This

booklet was created from messages preached by

Pastor Stevens.

Pastor Stevens can be seen weekly on cable

television stations throughout the United States.

Call us for information regarding programming in

your area.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from

the King James Version. Italics for emphasis are ours.

GRACE PUBLICATIONS

P.O. BOX 18715

BALTIMORE, MD 21206

Printed in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Copyright © 1997

Cover Photo: © 1996 SoftKey International Inc. and its licensors

Grace Publications is a ministry of

Greater Grace World Outreach, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DEFINING THE PROCESS OF ATTACHMENT

Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FROM DENIAL TO DETACHMENT

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTRODUCTION

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword,

piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul

and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a

discerner of the thoughts and intents of the

heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word of God is very quick and very

powerful. It demands our undivided attention.

We never know when we will experience supernatural

phenomena, as we have seen God work

so often. At those times, where hearts are open,

there is not only a supernatural manifestation of

the Word but also a supernatural operation of

the Holy Spirit.

Through this kind of operation, we can become

attached to the Lord, totally delivered and

detached from satanic deceptions, seductions,

and attachments. I am so thankful for those who

take a stand with the Word of God in their lives.

I don’t mean that we never fail. Certainly, we all

fall and need to rebound—that’s not the issue.

The issue is to draw near. Even though I have isolated

failures, I continue to draw near. And as

long as I am drawing near, I will have victory if I

really want it. This booklet will reveal how each

and every Christian can be free from the

bondage of satanic attachments—free, indeed,

through the Word.

Chapter One

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Often, a woman who loves God with all her

heart finds herself in a relationship with someone

who is in a process of retrogression. That person

has gone beyond backsliding and is now

deceived and in an arrogant complex. She thinks

she will win him, but that isn’t going to happen.

My suggestion for dealing with that kind of

relationship is: don’t get involved in the first

place! But if you are married and in this kind of

relationship, stay in it. And, while you honor

your partner as much as you can, remember that

the other side of it is tough love.

In any case, people who are in the process of

retrogression are infected with evil. Because of

the insidious nature of infections, it is vital that

we understand the problem of evil to be able to

guard ourselves.

I will list several points as premises for this

discussion on the problem of evil:

First, the Lord Jesus Christ never paid for

Satan’s sins.

Next, the Lord never paid for the sins of the

demonic kingdom.

Jesus Christ has paid for the sins of the

whole world.

Only as many as truly receive Him, however,

become the sons of God.

Jesus Christ paid for all of our personal sins

(1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6), becoming sin for us

that we might be made the righteousness of God

in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In order to be right with God, we need a

thorough understanding of rebound: We must

name our sins and let God turn us as we walk in

the light of repentance, having our faculties and

volition cooperate in submission to Him. Then

we isolate the sin and go on—cleansed and

purged.

On the other hand, evil has never been paid

for. It is important to understand that when

Christians enter into evil, God has not paid for

what they are doing. Evil is the continuation of

iniquity.

Let me reiterate that: When a person continues

in iniquity, he enters into evil. Iniquity is

when a person—either through deception or ig-

norance—consistently says “I will” against God,

perhaps without even knowing God’s name. It

is saying “I will” against the Cross; against our

cocrucifixion, coburial, coresurrection, and coascension

in Christ; and against categorical doctrine.

In iniquity, people develop complexes in

departments of related sin. When a person continues

in a sin such as pride, he develops an arrogant

complex. Arrogance is a department of

pride. In other words, pride is an attitude of the

heart toward a particular issue. When that attitude

spreads into the various rooms of the soul,

the complexes become related through arrogance.

He has established an arrogant department.

For example, some of the people who come

to our church have never submitted to the Cross.

They will make comments like, “I don’t know

who my pastor-teacher is.” They had better get

one quickly. It doesn’t have to be me—I’m

already pastoring thousands. (So believe me, I

am not soliciting!) It might be a pastor in another

place, another country. If it is me, I’ll do

the best I can. But if you say you don’t have a

pastor-teacher and you continue as though you

don’t need one, you are in an arrogant complex.

It’s either that, or you are ignorant of categories

of Bible doctrine that make you accountable to

have a pastor-teacher.

The next point to understand is that your

soul can be possessed with evil, which is the

government of Satan, without being demon possessed.

(A Christian can never be demon possessed.)

Ultimately, evil in a Christian will be judged

with the sin unto physical death, which means

the Christian is taken to heaven early because he

will not repent. It doesn’t mean he dies at a

young age. He may have been destined to live

to the age of eighty but, instead, dies at fiftyeight.

This is the sin unto physical death (1 John 5:16;

1 Corinthians 11:22-31; Psalm 118:7; Acts5:1-5;

1 Corinthians 5:1-6).

From Personal Sin to Evil

To summarize, we understand that evil is

Satan’s government. Personal sins are what I

commit by choice to bring myself pleasure. But

when I continue in personal sin and refuse to be

turned by God, I put myself under Satan’s government

of evil, which is not covered by Calvary.

If I continue to reject the authority of God’s

Word, complexes and departments will be established

in the rooms of my soul, which could

lead to physical death if I refuse to get right.

Let’s say that you and I are Christians. If I

were living in adultery and you knew it, you

could come to me alone about my sin. At that

point, if I refuse to obey sound doctrine and repent,

then I have gone from personal sin into evil.

If you were abusing drugs and your pastor

or another believer said, “Please, for your own

good, give them up. I love you—give them up!”

but you refuse, then you pass from personal sin

into evil and Satan’s government begins to control

you.

If a husband will not love his wife as Christ

loved the Church, even after his pastor has

loved him and equipped him with the truth, that

husband has gone from personal sin into evil. If

a wife will not honor her husband according to

what she has been taught in the Scriptures, and

she refuses over a long period of time, she goes

from personal sin into evil.

How to Get Out of Evil

I want you to see how to get out of evil. You

do not get out of evil by confessing your sins.

“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you,

and keep you from evil” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). In

Matthew 6:13, the Lord taught his disciples how

to pray. He said to pray, “deliver us from evil.”

That means, “deliver us from Satan’s government,

keep us away from it.” But once you are

in evil, prayer won’t get you out of evil.

You and I can have differences but love each

other and never say a word about it. That isn’t

evil. We have a right to have differences. You can

come to me, state your difference, and still love

me. If I don’t agree with you or can’t satisfy you

with my viewpoint, then you can go away and

love me anyway. It’s not personal sin—we acknowledge

that we are both growing. If, however,

you go away from a disagreement and

cause a conspiracy against me, you have entered

into evil. It is normal to disagree; it’s okay to

have a difference. But if you sow discord, you

enter into evil (Proverbs 6:13-19). Your differing

with me is not evil, but you must keep the differences

to yourself and come to me alone. And I

must do the same with you. It’s reciprocal.

Putting Off the Former Conversation

How do we get rid of evil? Ephesians 4:20-24

tells us how: “But ye have not so learned

Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have

been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That

ye put off concerning the former conversation

the old man, which is corrupt according to the

deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of

your mind; And that ye put on the new man,

which after God is created in righteousness and

true holiness.”

I rehearse this passage all the time because I

could get into evil more quickly than you could,

and this is how. As a pastor, I study more. Because

I’ve learned more, I know more, and I’m

responsible for more. Therefore, the kinds of

demons that would attack me are of the higher

echelon. Satan would put angel-of-light demons

on my case. I might think I’m doing a great job

for God yet slip right into a stage of evil. That’s

why it is vital for you to uphold your pastor in

prayer.

Being delivered from evil is a decision we

make every morning. How many of you put

your clothes on every morning? How many of

you take them off every night? That’s the analogy

in Ephesians 4:20-24 “Put off concerning the former

conversation the old man, which is corrupt

according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed

in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the

new man, which after God is created in righteousness

and true holiness.”

The Christian life can be reduced to this sim-

ple process: First, you take off the old man.

Then, you put on the new man, every morning,

just like you put on your clothes before you

leave your house to go out in public. You put on

the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for

the flesh (Romans 13:14). You put on the new

man every morning so that, spiritually, you can

enter into the angelic warfare in a public appearance.

It’s very simple.

Renewing Your Mind

“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind”

(Ephesians 4:23). Within the memory center

there is a divine staging process. The Word of

God enters into Channel A—the nous, or the

mind—and goes through a staging process.

Then the Holy Spirit operates and transfers the

Word to Channel B—the human spirit or God consciousness.

Next, it enters into Channel C—

the soul—where God-consciousness takes over

our self-consciousness, using it to reveal God’s

character.

Also in Ephesians 4:23, “be renewed” is an

iterative aorist in the Greek, which implies that I

am to enter into a continual daily process of receiving

the Word of God. Daily.

The question is: How do we get out of evil?

The answer is: I do not get out of it by rebound,

prayer, or confession, but by first acknowledging

that although I am a Christian, I am in

Satan’s government of evil through deception.

People who are deceived and are living

under Satan’s government of evil have so much

to say. Some of these people act so strange and

don’t come to church half the time. They say

they are sick—and they are. They are mentally

ill because they are into evil, yet they will

scream at you and swear they are not. Believe

me, my forty-four years of experience tells me

they are into evil.

You would not believe some of things I have

had to deal with—some men, in isolated cases,

who are involved with prostitutes. It is shocking

that they would risk their health, their marriages,

and their children by going downtown to

hire prostitutes. Imagine it—Christian men who

are happily married entering into self-indulgence

with the whore world. They could end up

with herpes, or AIDS. If they wanted to get

right, it would be a wonderful and precious

thing. We would lead them to Jesus and they

would be forgiven. (By the way, your sin—whatever

it is—will find you out according to Numbers 32:23.)

How do you get out of evil? It happens

through a repeated process of letting Jesus

Christ’s mind work on your soul through doctrine

and the Holy Spirit. You can’t get out of

evil in a day. You can get out of the practice of it

in a day, but it will take you from several days

to three weeks to come totally out of evil. You

have to be accountable to the pulpit, to the body

of Christ, and to someone (like the pastor) who

will keep the matter private until you are out of

it. There must be accountability, personal accountability.

Chapter Two

DEFINING THE PROCESS OF ATTACHMENT

I want you to see Matthew 12:30 carefully:

“He that is not with me is against me; and he

that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

This verse is written to Christians. What does it

mean to be “with” Him? This is talking about

the relationship between the head (Christ) and

the body (His Church), in Ephesians 1:22-23. He

is the head of the body. Give Jesus Christ preeminence

(Colossians 1:18).

“He that is not with me is against me; and he

that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” A

person in any local assembly who isn’t gathering

is into evil.

“Well, Pastor, so-and-so did this,” people

come and tell me. They come with all the details

of what somebody did or didn’t do. These statements

are evil. Don’t waste my time with evil

unless you want to hear what I have to say to

you. Maybe I know more about the situation

than you do, and maybe I don’t. But if you are

into evil, I certainly do know more.

“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin

and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but

the blasphemy against the Holy [Spirit] shall not

be forgiven unto men.

“And whosoever speaketh a word against

the Son of man…” (Matthew 12:31-32a).

Do you know that if you speak a word

against a Christian or a leader, you are speaking

a word against the Son of man? Let’s prove it

scripturally. Jesus said, “He that heareth you

heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth

me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that

sent me” (Luke 10:16). In other words, “If you

receive whomever I send, you receive Me. If you

reject whomsoever I send, you reject Me.” That’s

not only referring to the twelve apostles. This

principle was established way back in 1 Samuel 8:7.

In Luke 10:17-19, Jesus sent out seventy who

were not even apostles, but they were sent. If

people rejected them, they were rejecting Jesus.

People don’t want to hear that when you reject a

leader—if he’s God’s man—you’re rejecting

Jesus. When Jesus said, “If you reject the one I

sent, you reject Me,” He was talking about the

seventy, not the Apostles. A word against the

Son is a word against His mind and a word

against His representatives.

Christians are knit together through doctrine

and the Holy Spirit’s love in Christ (Colossians 2:2).

We are members of His body, His flesh, and

His bones (Ephesians 5:30). We have been joined

to the Lord as one spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). We

have been sent to resist and stand against the

devil (James 4:7). We have been sent to reveal

the nature of God, and we are not to know anyone

after the flesh.

Deception

What is Satan doing today? He is deceiving

born-again Christians who will enter into his

kingdom while they serve God.

Deception is, first, the act of misleading, or of

cheating, with deceit as a habit of the mind.

Through planao (the Greek word for error in 2 Peter 3:17)

the devil leads people away into

groups where they feel comfortable, where they

can become like the religious crowd in Jesus’

day who said, “Let’s kill Jesus and get Him out

of the way. We would be doing God a favor.”

(See John 16:1-2.)

Second, acts of deception are practiced with

a goal to injure someone.

Third, the strategy of deception is to achieve

an unlawful spiritual advantage.

Fourth, deception produces false impressions

through opinions, establishing emotional

reactions that cause the emotions to control the

volition without truth.

A deceived person doesn’t know there’s anything

wrong with him. You can go to him and

say, “May I see you alone? I love you, but I see a

consistent habit in your life. I’ll be your friend. I

won’t tell a soul, but you’re deceived in this

area.”

The deceived person will react in his emotions

and say, “I’m not, Pastor. I’m not!”

At this point, you’re done—don’t even try to

go further. That person has exalted himself

above the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

He will neither submit in obedience nor

bring into captivity what Christ says through

the pastor who is over him in spiritual authority

(as a representative only because of a delegated

position—not to manipulate or control, but to

impart, to love, to invest, to edify).

Be able to recognize those who handle the

Word of God deceitfully (2 Corinthians 4:2).

Satan is skilled in cleverness (Genesis 3:1). His

deception includes temptation that leads to sin

and destruction (1 Corinthians 10:9-10). Also, I

want you to see that deception originates through

projections—the representation of something in a

perspective, or a prospective plan. It is a system

representing a realm, a sphere of influence, or a

kingdom.

Satan uses projections to manipulate your volition,

making you honor feelings that were

caused by his impressions instead of truth. If you

are not hearing the Word of God daily, Satan uses

your ignorance of categorical doctrine. Next,

Satan causes you to forget what you have heard.

(All of us forget far more than we ever remember.)

Then, Satan deceives by using the influence

of powerful people or the influence of someone

you want to appreciate you, along with your desire

to be “accepted.” You forget that you are

accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).

Another method of deception is demonic

telepathy—demons transferring their thoughts to

the soul of a Christian who thinks they are his

own thoughts (Isaiah 29:4; Matthew 16:22-23).

Telepathy is caused by a specific demon known

as eggastrimuthous in the Greek, which translates

“familiar spirit” in Isaiah 8:19. It is a spirit that

a person becomes acquainted with by close con-

tact, the human soul giving access through the

volition. While this person thinks he is expressing

his own convictions, demons control his

vocal cords (Matthew 16:22-23). He never gets

healed because he has refused to be accountable

to anyone but his own emotions.

All of these definitions came from hours of

study, exegeting the Word and pondering these

thoughts from God in the middle of the night. I

didn’t get them from some other book.

Seduction

After deception, we have seduction, which

means to lead apart, to draw aside, to entice

away from the path by temptation. Satan will

tempt you repeatedly in your area of weakness

in order to lead you into iniquity. He inveigles

you, meaning he blinds you, persuading you

with deceptive methods to do something evil.

He can cause people to surrender to an error by

overwhelming them so they will cooperate with

false needs.

Satan will seduce even the elect (Mark 13:22).

Manasseh seduced people to do more

evil (2 Kings 21:9). The way of the wicked seduces

them (Proverbs 12:26). In the last days, seducing

spirits will try to get us to depart from

the faith (1 Timothy 4:1). Seduction is taking a

drink from the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21)

establishing a capacity to drink some

more, while a person swears to God that he is

still right on with Jesus.

Attachment

Seduction leads to attachment. In the study

of law, to attach means “to take by legal authority.”

Satan does this by misquoting the Scriptures

and using the Law (which we are not

legally subject to because of the Atonement),

judicially attaching us to himself in a system of

legalism. An attachment is something that is

connected to something else by force, affections,

interest, or influence.

People can be bound up with the spirit of attachments

until they become one with the attachment.

Someone who goes out and commits

a sexual act with a harlot becomes one with that

harlot (1 Corinthians 6:16). In his flesh, controlled

by his libido waves, this person must always

think of pornography—thinking evil

because he has become one with the harlot.

Now, supernaturally attached to the prostitute

or to the spirit of prostitution, his soul is destroyed.

He will not lose his salvation if, in fact,

he is truly saved, but his soul is destroyed

(Proverbs 6:32).

How can he get out of it? The only way to get

out from under any form of evil is by following

the divine blueprint of receiving the Word daily.

When there is a constant intake of the Word of

God, taking off the old man and putting on the

new man, then the transfer is finally made. Before

he knows it, this person is no longer interested

in the attachment. He now has God's

thoughts toward that act of iniquity, and he

doesn't do it anymore—he doesn't even have a

desire toward it.

Joined Hand in Hand

Ademonic attachment is a joining in affinity

to someone with whom God is angry. In Ezra 9:14,

“Join in affinity” uses the same Hebrew

word used for contract, such as a contract for

marriage. The wicked are described as being attached

hand in hand (Proverbs 16:5). That’s why

they are so powerful. They are closer than air because

of a supernatural work (Job 41:16).

Isaiah 5:8 describes people who “join house

to house.” Someone who smokes pot wants to

go to a house where someone else smokes pot.

There is a pot attachment, a drug attachment.

Someone who drinks feels more comfortable

around someone else who drinks. There is a

house-to-house attachment, a hand-to-hand attachment.

Someone who likes to go to bars, pick up

women, and have illicit sex—or at least try to—

is living in a satanic attachment. He even uses

grace as a license to sin—something God does

not give him (Titus 1:16; Jude 4).

Enemies are attached, joined together (Isaiah 9:11).

If you are a pastor, and you’ve never had a

conspiracy in your church, you would be

shocked at what can happen in three months.

Every enemy you’ve ever had will join forces. If

they had never met each other before, they will

exchange telephone numbers and start making

calls: “Aha, we’ve got him now!” they will say.

But if we attach ourselves to the Lord, we

can have total deliverance from satanic deceptions,

seductions, and attachments (Isaiah 56:6). I

am so thankful for those who take a stand for

the Lord with their lives. I don’t mean that we

never fall or use rebound—we will; but that’s

not the issue. The issue is drawing near. Even if

we do have isolated failures, we continue to

draw near. As long as we are drawing near, we

will have victory—if we really want it.

Chapter Three

FROM DENIAL TO DETACHMENT

After attachment, the next stage Satan tries

to get the Christian into is dependency. Dependency

means that one thing is connected with

and subordinate to something else, “subject to

the power of; not able to exist or be sustained

without assistance.”

“You’ve got to have help,” whispers Satan.

(He never identifies himself by announcing,

“I’m Satan.”)

“I know I need help,” the person replies.

“Do you know all the provisions that I have

to help you?” the devil asks.

“No.” The Christian thinks he is talking to

God.

“I suggest you relax, have a few drinks, just

a few. Go to a doctor. He has something that he

can do to help, and he’s very understanding.”

“I will.”

This person doesn’t pray. He’s not filled with

the Spirit. He doesn’t walk in the Light. But believe

me he is walking in another kind of light.

“Do you feel better after that person has

counseled you?” Satan asks.

“I do,” says the Christian. “He really understood

me”

Sure he understood you. He never said a

word to rebuke you. He really understood you.

Satan continues, “You’ve got to keep going

to him. You may even have to keep going to him

for three or four years. Oh, by the way, didn’t he

help you more than the pulpit helps you?”

“Yes, I’ve got to admit it,” the person says.

“Wasn’t he more understanding than your

closest friend in that church?”

“Oh, I know he was. God bless him, yes!”

“I am answering your prayer.”

The person might as well say, “Thank you,

Satan.”

This person is in a state of hanging from a

support system that is not based on the

promises, the love, or the character of God’s nature.

Satanic Support Systems

Often when one person is dissatisfied with a

program or department of a large, soul-winning

ministry such as ours, they will “mysteriously”

find someone else who agrees with their position.

When three or four of these people find

each other, the first thing they will do is get together

and have a “discussion.” It’s all demonic.

They should never get together, but they’re not

humble. They exalt themselves against categories.

They are deceived and they are into evil.

It’s not wrong to have disagreements. I’ve

said that before. It is wrong, however, to have a

support system against something that is God’s

provision for us. For every individual they can

get to speak out for their side, I can bring up

hundreds who would applaud and thank God

for the blessings they have received in that area.

When there are legitimate concerns, there is a

table of organization ordained for the purpose

of hearing the matter. We purpose to be humble,

gracious, willing to grow and open to change,

but the spirit must be right.

“Thou hast [depended] on the king of Syria,

and not [depended] on the LORD thy God”

(2 Chronicles 16:7). “Now, behold, thou trustest

upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon

Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his

hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt

unto all that trust on him” (2 Kings 18:21). In

other words, these people are trusting in

Pharaoh; they lean on their own understanding

(Proverbs 3:5). There are those who have a divided

heart and have not been restored by the

Word of God. They may profess God is with

them but Micah 3:11-12 reveals the truth. Yet, for

those who lean on the Lord, evil cannot come

upon them (1 John 5:18b).

Representation

Once a person becomes dependent upon

Satan, he becomes a representative of Satan’s

kingdom inside the Church. This person is inside

the Church, he’s been saved for years, but he

represents Satan in the local assembly.

Representation is when someone impersonates

another or represents another’s character by

action, by appearance, or as an ambassador. Impersonation

means to perform in the character

of another, to represent another’s character in a

planned strategy. Representation also means to

show or exhibit the image or likeness of another,

his kingdom, or his sphere of influence.

“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief:

but a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).

The life of Jesus Christ was made manifest

in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). In other words,

it was represented in mortal flesh. We were created

in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). We have

represented the earthly, and we will also represent

the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:49).

Peter was representing Satan in Matthew 16:22

when he said to Jesus, “You’re not going to

that cross, I’m telling you now!”

“You’re okay, honey, you don’t have to get

right. Those people at church just don’t understand

you.” When people say things like this,

they are representing Satan.

“You don’t need a local church or a pastor.”

Such a statement not only represents the kingdom

of darkness, but it violates thirty-four Bible

doctrines. If you want to challenge me on this,

why don’t you meet me alone instead of discussing

it with others.

After months and months of study, you have

to decide who your pastor-teacher is and where

your church is. It could be anywhere, but you

need to make a commitment to God in that local

assembly. Don’t try to get away without submitting

to bona fide spiritual authority that is delegated

for your sake and for your accountability.

Denial: The Final Stage

The last thing a person does when he is rep-

resenting Satan is to live in denial, declaring one

thing outwardly while trying to cover up the

truth and living in a lie. Denial means to reject

or disown the truth. A person living in denial

will not receive reproof but will disavow or

deny a fact regarding himself.

On the other hand, godly self-denial is not

denying but detaching. Self-love is not selfishness;

self-worth is not self-worship; self-affirmation

is not self-deceit; and self-awareness is not

self-absorption.

The person living in ungodly denial says,

“I’m not selfish. I’m not worshipping myself.

I’m not deceived. I’m not involved in selfabsorption.”

They say these things because they

deny the truth of God’s Word. For the Christian,

it’s the last stage before the sin unto physical

death. Retrogression to this point is a process, of

course. God is patient. He will do so much—He

warns people with the Word, repeatedly. Over

and over, God lets the truth be known. He uses

people to send forth His Word, in season and

out of season. He will be so patient! Do you understand

that? God’s long-suffering is salvation

for us (2 Peter 3:15). But if we refuse to be

turned, then He will move with something else.

Recently I had to tell someone, “You are de-

ceived.” As their pastor, I believe God wanted

me to say it, and I said it to the person privately.

The problem had nothing to do with me or my

church. It had to do with long-term attitudes.

Unfortunately, his response was to exalt himself

above my exhortation. Even in the midst of a revival,

where the Holy Spirit is so close to us,

there was no discernment on his part.

Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after me,

let him deny himself” (Mark 8:34; Matthew 16:25-26;

John 12:24-26). Let him deny himself

instead of living in denial. Agree quickly with

your adversary (Matthew 5:25). When you are

living against the truth, the Holy Spirit is your

adversary.

Let’s ask the Father to help us. We must

thank Him for those who are not in these

processes of retrogression into evil. But even for

those who are, we can ask that through conviction

they would understand how to be attached

to Jesus Christ, dependent upon Him and His

Word. Then they will break free from attachments

and truly reveal Christ.

CONCLUSION

The Lord Jesus Christ in all of His uniqueness

and beauty wants us to understand in divine

perspective that no Christian is ever to “get

in touch with himself” in order to be free from

satanic attachments. You don't have to search

yourself, as many psychiatrists teach. The Lord

Jesus, the God of all mercy, the God of all grace,

does the searching. If the Holy Spirit reveals that

something is wrong in my life, I agree with Him

and let Him turn me.

Following Christ becomes a matter of

putting on the new man every day. Put off your

old conversation and rid yourself of your old

way of living. Take it off just as you would take

off your dirty clothes. Then, simply put on the

new man and be renewed in the spirit of your

mind.

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