Believers can be affected by evil spirits!
There is only one case of demon possession in the Bible, which was the demoniac of Gedera in Luke 8. However, there are several illustrations where believers were affected, in some area of their lives, at some moment in time by an evil spirit:
1. Ananias lied to his pastor, the Apostle Peter, about his contributions to the church. Peter asked him “why Satan” was allowed to put that lie in his heart. God killed Ananias on the spot for this and great fear came upon all them that heard these things.
2. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:23, “Get thou behind me Satan; thou art an offense to me…” Why were these harsh words used? Jesus was telling the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and be killed. Peter openly rebuked Jesus saying it was not necessary for Him to die. Jesus knew that “from the foundations of the world.” He was to die for the sins of men. Had Jesus taken Peter’s advice, the will of God would have been sabotaged and mankind would have been forever enslaved by Satan’s kingdom without any hope of deliverance. Jesus knew the words coming out of Peter’s mouth were the absolute will of Satan…not God, the Father. Therefore, Jesus addressed Peter as though he were Satan himself because he was allowing his mouth to carry the message of hell.
3. Jesus addressed the woman who had lived for eighteen years with a bent back, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath. Luke 13:16
Foundations of Faith
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