This Month's Newsletter

Secret Place Part 12: Hindrances to the flow of Grace...resisting the spirit of Infirmity

Pastor Don Nicely's Newsletter for December 2008

Luke 13:11-17 (NKJV)¹¹And 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. ¹²But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” ¹³And He aid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. ¹⁴But the ruler of synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “there are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” ¹⁵The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶So 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?” ¹⁷And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

In a literal sense of the story we have a woman who was a daughter of Abraham who was possessed by an evil spirit into here body that caused her to be bowed over and unable to raise herself up. For 18 years she suffered with this affliction. That is until the “anointed one” came to her church that day and discerned that the woman’s problem was “demon induced.” He then commanded the spirit to depart and it did.

Now in a spiritual sense that woman represented people of the church. She had struggled for 18 years attending church service after church service after church service in pain, weakness and depression. The spirit of Infirmity had afflicted her spine, and she was bent over and couldn’t raise herself up.

I imagine she had much discouragement from the external voices of physicians and friends. Things like; “there’s no remedy, you will be disabled for life” rang loudly in her ears as she sat in the quiet of her house. Then again those internal voices weren’t being any more compassionate either. “You have no purpose for living, or your suffering will never end.” Constantly sang off in her head. She could have listened to the voices of discouragement and stayed home from church, I mean after all she had a good reason to. She even had an excuse to withdraw from society if she wanted to. but instead she resolved to get her lamed body out of bed and go to church and “be loosed from her infirmity.” I wonder how many infirm Christians are losing their blessing by sitting at home on Sunday morning. Many have gone to some specialist or doctor and been given a report that was less than encouraging. The doctor will say; “the prognosis is that you have severe arthritis of the backbone, or curvature of the spine, or a slipped disc in your back.” What I’m trying to say is that no doctor can diagnose if you have an evil spirit attached to your life. We must understand and believe that Satan is the author of all sicknesses and infirmities.

Job 2:7 (NKJV)⁷So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of this foot to the crown of his head.

So how does Satan inflict sicknesses on Christians?

Revelation 13:15 (NKJV)¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

The false prophet didn’t give the image “life” he gave him “his spirit. ” The spirit in turn provided its life since the spirit is life. Just as Satan is the animator of the image, he is also the provider of the forces behind many of the sicknesses in the form of demons. This in turn leads us to the conclusion that many sicknesses have a life-force (spirit), which comes form Satan. This life-force is a demon. If you put a sickness under a microscope you will not see the spirit “life” that animates it. But instead you will see the effect of the spirit. You can even see the damage that it can do to the human body. But at that moment that spirit gives it life. When the “evil life” is removed the sickness just withers up and goes away.

Demon induced sicknesses is how Satan afflicts the bodies of Christians. It may not be the only way he afflicts them, but it certainly is one way he afflicts them. Many modern believers don’t believe this. They just can’t take it in because it is contrary to what they believe. They are so conditioned by the modern mindset. They can only believe in the natural because they can see a virus, germ or bacteria, with their eyes that is living under a microscope. They find it hard to believe that an infirm evil spirit is giving it life and causing it to have animation. If we can learn to force that spirit to leave the virus-the virus will soon die, pass through the body and the person who was afflicted by it will recover.

As Christians and believers in the supernatural we need to wake up and realize that demon harassment and affliction can cause sicknesses in our lives. In fact demons are responsible for many of the sicknesses that we now face. How many, we are not sure, nevertheless, we must learn how to engage them in spiritual warfare to dispel them, and get rid of the sicknesses that they do cause.

If this is a new subject for you I suggest you get my new spiritual warfare teaching series “He teaches my hands to war.” this series is a 15 part series available on CD, DVD and comes with a printed notebook for you to follow along with. Only $40.00 Check out these verses and look at just a few verses that address the spiritual warfare that we are now facing.

Luke 10:19 (KJV)¹⁹Behold, I give unto your power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 9:1 (KJV)¹Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

Luke 4:35 (KJV)³⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Holy thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

Mark 8:25 (KJV)²⁵When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Mark 1:23-25 (KJV)²³And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. ²⁵And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold they peace, and come out of him. (Notice he was at church)

Matthew 12:22 (KJV)²²Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matthew 8:16 (KJV)¹⁶When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

These scriptures should inform you that the God wants to touch your life and use you to set people free.

Continued Next Month