David Diga Hernandez - Are You Under Demonic Attack?

Demons deceive. The primary way the enemy attacks the believer is through deception, and there are many forms of deception. Spiritual warfare is simply the fight to believe God’s truth over the enemy’s lies. The scripture says in John 8:44, «For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with this character; for he is a liar and the father of lies». So the primary strategy against the believer from the demonic realm is deception. John 8:32 says, «And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The believer does not become bound by demons. They become bound by lies and deception». When you know the truth, it’s like turning on a light in a dark place. When that light goes on, the darkness dissolves instantly. And when you know the truth, you are liberated from demonic deception.

Now, before I describe the different ways that the enemy does attack the believers, let me explain to you some of the limitations that the enemy has. Now, demons are very powerful beings. Jude 1:9 says, «Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil in a dispute about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce upon him a railing judgment, but he said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'» So we mustn’t be apathetic in our approach to spiritual warfare because demonic beings are highly trained spiritual assassins who know humanity’s weak points, so we have to take the spiritual war seriously. But with that in mind, we must remember that they also do have their limitations.

First of all, demons cannot read minds. 1 Kings 8:39 says, «Then here in heaven your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to everyone according to all his ways, whose hearts you know, for only you know the hearts of the sons of men». So only God can read minds.

Demons cannot see the future. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, «Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.'» So the scripture says that there’s no one like God who can describe the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. Only God can see all things. Only God can see the future. So how then do psychics get their power? Well, demons make what I call educated guesses. As I mentioned just a moment ago, demonic beings understand human nature in ways we probably can’t even fathom. And looking at human nature, they check political conditions, climate conditions, economic conditions, and they can make predictions about what will happen in the future based upon what they know about humanity and the world. So they make educated guesses. This is why psychics are mostly wrong but sometimes do get some things right.

Number three, demons cannot be omnipresent. Job 1:6-7 says, «Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary also came among them. And the Lord said to the Adversary, 'From where have you come? ' Then the Adversary answered the Lord saying, 'From roaming on the earth and walking up and down on it.'» Now here we see that the Adversary traveled. Remember, Jesus said, when an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it goes, what? Through the desert. It roams through the desert. It moves about. If you’re omnipresent, you, by definition, can’t move anywhere because you’re everywhere at all times. So the fact that the Adversary moves, the fact that demons move about the earth is proof that they are not omnipresent. So those are demonic limitations. They cannot read your mind, they cannot see the future, and they cannot be omnipresent.

So how do demonic beings attack the believer? Well, we know biblically speaking that Christians can’t be possessed. Other words for possession are demonization and oppression. So Christians can’t be possessed. We can’t be cursed because you can’t curse what God has declared blessed. And whatever word someone speaks against me, God’s word speaks something greater. But this doesn’t mean that demons can’t affect and influence and attack the believer.

So number one, they use accusation. Revelation 12:10 says, «Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, 'It has come at last, salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.' For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth, the one who accuses them before our God day and night». The Bible calls the enemy the accuser. Have you ever been going about your day full of joy and peace when suddenly you get a flashback or a memory about something you did or thought? That’s the accusation of the enemy working against you, trying to get you to focus on the shame of your past, trying to get you to identify with your past sin. It’s time to be free of this assault. It’s time to recognize that God has forgiven you, and he’s put your past where it belongs. This is an assault that is very common against the believer because the enemy does not want you to have peace. The enemy wants you to live in shame regarding your past. The enemy wants you constantly looking over your shoulder, wondering if the past is going to catch up to you and destroy your life. No, that is the accusation of the enemy, and it’s time to live in the peace of God.

Number two is temptation. In Genesis 3, we see that the enemy tempts Eve. And later, of course, Adam fell into the same sin. But when the enemy went to tempt Eve, the first thing he did was challenge the word of God. This was the result to Genesis 3:6. «The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too». Demons are like salespeople for sin. They sell sin. They present sin. They try to get you to fall into sin. And remember this, they’re never going to present you with something that you’re not interested in. When the enemy tempts you, he’s going to tempt you with things that you find tempting. He’s going to exploit your weakness. So this is an assault of the enemy, for sure. This is one way that the enemy has destroyed marriages, families, ministries. It’s through temptation. And temptation, really, is a form of deception because temptation says this sin is worth my integrity. This sin will give me permanent pleasure. This sin will fulfill me. And it’s the lie of the fulfillment in that sin that really gets you because you wouldn’t fall for temptation. You wouldn’t sin if you didn’t think that it would fulfill you in some way. So that’s the great deception behind temptation. So temptation is a form of deception. Number one, accusation. He accuses you of your past sin. Number two, temptation. And isn’t an interesting how the enemy works with these two? He’ll tempt you, tempt you, tempt you, tempt you, and once he got you, he’ll start to accuse you, accuse you, accuse you, accuse you. It’s funny how when you’re walking clean, he doesn’t use accusation, but he talks about how wonderful sin is. And the moment you fall into sin, he talks about how horrible your sin was. That’s how these two attacks work together.

Number three is distraction. Ephesians 6:12 says, «For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places». The enemy wants to take your mind off the supernatural world. He wants to keep you consumed by entertainment and music and all of the distractions that this world offers. He wants to keep you focused on the carnal, not on the supernatural. He wants to keep you focused on the temporary, not on the eternal. He wants to call you to battles that don’t matter. He wants you to give your attention, time, and energy to things that aren’t gonna matter years from now. He wants you to get involved in that argument. He wants to get you stuck on that Netflix series. And, of course, watching television is not sinful in and of itself, but if it becomes all-consuming in your life, that, of course, is something you should be careful of because that’s the trap of distraction. He gets you consumed by these things. He gets you fighting all these battles that don’t matter. He gets you thinking about things that you shouldn’t think about. He gets you involved in things that consume too much time. That is an assault, and you must recognize it. It’s funny to me that we’re not losing people, Christians. We’re not losing churchgoers to the occult. Not necessarily all the time. Most of the time we’re losing people to baseball. Most of the time we’re losing people to entertainment, to the things and cares of this world. We must be aware of the distraction of the enemy.

Number four, depression. Now it’s important to remember that mental illness can be caused by demonic beings, but that doesn’t mean that every mental illness is caused by demonic beings. It can happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the case. For example, I had a friend who was one way, but then after suffering an injury to his head became a completely different way. The brain injury affected his personality in many negative ways. Now, was that a demon that was attached to his brain? By no means, he had suffered a serious accident. So mental illness can come about as a result of natural things in this world. That doesn’t mean, however, that demons can’t use it. So sometimes demons can cause mental illness, but that doesn’t mean that every mental illness is caused by a demonic being. In the same way, demons can affect mental illness, but that doesn’t mean that every mental illness is affected by demonic beings. Now, what I mean by that, affected, is that demons will see someone suffering with depression, and they will intensify and prolong that depression. Let’s say a parent loses a child. Well, if a parent loses a child, of course, they’re going to experience some form of depression, a lingering sadness over them. But the enemy can get involved in that situation and intensify that depression and even prolong that depression by continually telling them lies. So we can’t be dogmatic and say every single time, «Oh, that’s definitely a spirit». And we can’t be dogmatic the other way and say every single time, «Well, that’s mental illness. It’s not a demonic spirit». Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. But one of the ways that demons affect the believer is through depression, and that depression comes about through deception. They believe a lie, a lie as simple as, «I’m alone». They forget the truth where God has said, «I’ll never leave you nor forsake you». And they embrace that lie. So once they believe they’re alone, they feel alone. Once they feel alone, they act alone. And once they act alone, that becomes a behavior pattern. That behavior pattern is what we would call a bondage, but it’s all rooted in the mind. They don’t need an exorcism. They need to come to know the truth that God is with them and that would liberate them from depression. That’s just one example of how one lie can cause depression, but there are many lies that can cause depression: lies like God hasn’t forgiven me, lies like God has rejected me, lies like nobody loves me, lies like my life isn’t worth living. These are lies that become rooted, but that lie is deception, and that deception causes depression. So sometimes it’s demonic, sometimes it’s not, sometimes it’s both, but we must be on the alert to identify these lies that we might be set free from this attack of the enemy.

Number five, intimidation or anxiety. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, «Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you». One of the ways that the enemy used to attack me severely was through anxiety, constantly lying to me, telling me that the worst-case scenario would be my reality. Isn’t that amazing how the enemy does that? He whispers to you worst-case scenarios, telling you this is gonna happen, or this is gonna happen, or that bad thing will occur, or you’re going to definitely lose that love. Well, now we understand that as believers, we face tragedies, we face heartache, but this is really overkill to think this way, to think worst-case scenario, and that’s how the enemy wants to keep you living. He’s gonna constantly be suggesting the worst possible outcomes. And if you’re not careful, you’re not going to identify it. And if you don’t identify that lie, you can’t reject that line. If you don’t reject that lie, you, by default, embrace that lie, and therefore you live in this paranoid, anxious state where you’re always very tense and on edge and just about to lose your mind, and people can sense it around you. That is an assault of the enemy. Anxiety like depression can sometimes be rooted to the natural world, can sometimes be caused by a demonic being, and can sometimes be a combination of both.

Number six, affliction or mental torment. 2 Corinthians 12 says this, beginning at Verse 5, «That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weakness. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so because I would be telling the truth, but I won’t do it because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud». So Paul the Apostle here is writing of demonic mental torment that he was suffering with. Now, nobody told him, «Well, Paul, you should undergo an exorcism,» because as we know, Christians don’t need exorcisms and Christians should never undergo anything that even resembles an exorcism. We’re set free by knowing the truth, living a holy life, surrendering to God, repenting, asking for his forgiveness, not by rituals and superstitious approaches. So Paul was never told, «Oh, that’s a devil. You gotta get it cast out of you». Instead, this is what happened. Verse 8, «Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness, so now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.'» Now, here we see that the solution to affliction, if you are a believer, is not exorcism; it’s grace. You see, the enemy is going to be constantly assaulting your mind with thoughts that are tormenting, maybe thoughts that are violent or highly sexual in nature or thoughts that make you fearful. This is different than intimidation because it’s not just about putting fear in you. It’s about putting confusion in you. It’s about getting you to second-guess your walk with God. It’s about getting you to feel like you’re not grounded. It’s about getting you to be tormented in the mind. And demons say things about your future, about your past, about your present, about who you are, about who others are around you, about reality, about God. They lie about everything they can in order to get you to become tormented. But the response here is grace. But be aware of that because when you find your mind is not at peace, you find your mind all over the place and you feel that torment in your mind. Be aware that that is an assault of the enemy. It brings on cynicism, this really dark sense around you. That is the assault of affliction or torment.

Finally, number seven, indoctrination. Galatians 3:1 says, «Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you or who has to bewitched you»? And in the Greek, this literally means who has deceived you, For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. So, here, the scripture is describing this deception coming over the Galatians, getting them to believe a different gospel. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, «Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last time, some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are seared». So indoctrination is another form of assault of the enemy, where the enemy gets us to believe doctrines that are distracting, doctrines that are tormenting, doctrines that are bizarre or unbiblical. And Christians become obsessed with these doctrines that, in the end, don’t even really matter. You know, the Christian life, though it’s not always an easy one, is rather simple. Anything that’s spiritual is simple. Anything that’s religious is always gonna be complex/complicated. When you follow Jesus, you love him, you live clean, you love others, you worship God, you devote yourself to the word, you devote yourself to prayer. These are simple things. But sometimes the enemy can bring torment by means of indoctrination, and those two assaults work very well together by getting you to believe certain doctrines, it can bring about certain mental torment. So if you believe at any moment, I, as a believer, can have a demon in me. Well, guess what? You’re gonna have a very paranoid existence, and you’re gonna be constantly wondering about demons. And you may even feel like you’re possessed because you have convinced yourself that you are. For example, I, one time was reading the Book of Romans. This was early on when I was born again, you know, I looked at that portion of scripture that described vessels of wrath. And I thought that that meant that God created certain people to be condemned forever. And I thought, what if I’m a vessel of wrath? So that doctrine, that indoctrination, that didn’t come from the Holy Spirit but in another spirit tormented me. And the enemy, here’s a crazy thing, the enemy will use scripture sometimes to torment you, not the scripture itself, but the twisting of the scriptures to torment you.