Pulling Down Strongholdsthere's another practice that's wreaking havoc in some
churches today.
A pastor told me recently about a "school of
deliverance" he had attended. I call them "schools of
bondage." I've never seen one of them that didn't turn
into a school of bondage because they teach people to be
devil-conscious and to fear the devil. They're not new. I
saw them crop up years ago.
The pastor later told me, "I thought it would be a
school, and the ministers would teach on Bible subjects.
But they never taught a thing. For more than four
hours, all they did was holler and yell at the devil at the
top of their voices. They said they were 'tormenting' the
devil. I just sat there and never got a thing in the world
out of it."
I don't mean to be unkind about it, but I call that
ignorance gone to seed! The people at that "deliverance
school" might as well have been twiddling their thumbs,
saying, "Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder
what you are." Trying to torment a defeated foe by
hollering at him is missing the real battle. The
believer's primary "battle" is with his own unrenewed
mind and is won as the believer stands in his authority
in Christ.
Some believers seem to think yelling at the devil
shows their authority over him. But the devil doesn't
have to bow to the loudness of a person's voice. He isn't
afraid of noise; he's afraid of the Name of Jesus! He
fears the believer who stands in his authority in Christ.
The devil doesn't have to cease and desist in his
operations against you based on how loud you can yell
at him. But he does have to stop in every strategy
against you when you exercise your authority in Christ.
You just have to know your rights and privileges in