Possessed Believer??

[Gracejj]

Can a believer be possessed?

I recently heard this message, I want to ask your thoughts on this..

"We were taught as a Christian that a believer can't be demon possessed if he has Holy Spirit within them, you are no longer owned by devil, you were bought with a price. However, Ownership and possession is two different things, eg- people own their  house but sometimes squatters squats and it comes under squatters's possessions. Just bcos you have Christ in your life but that doesn't mean you become impermeable to the demons schemes and tactics, the way you live your life will determine whether you have violated God's law and coming with the new agreement with devil even though God said you are free from it. "

So what do you think? Can a believer be demon possessed? 

🤔

 

 

[farouk]

3 minutes ago, Gracejj said:

Can a believer be possessed?

I recently heard this message, I want to ask your thoughts on this..

"We were taught as a Christian that a believer can't be demon possessed if he has Holy Spirit within them, you are no longer owned by devil, you were bought with a price. However, Ownership and possession is two different things, eg- people own their  house but sometimes squatters squats and it comes under squatters's possessions. Just bcos you have Christ in your life but that doesn't mean you become impermeable to the demons schemes and tactics, the way you live your life will determine whether you have violated God's law and coming with the new agreement with devil even though God said you are free from it. "

So what do you think? Can a believer be demon possessed? 

🤔

 

 

1 Corinthian 10.21:

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

So, no, @Gracejj.

[farouk]

PS: The Lordship of Christ in he believer's experience is all part of being born again.

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, Gracejj said:

Can a believer be possessed?

I recently heard this message, I want to ask your thoughts on this..

"We were taught as a Christian that a believer can't be demon possessed if he has Holy Spirit within them, you are no longer owned by devil, you were bought with a price. However, Ownership and possession is two different things, eg- people own their  house but sometimes squatters squats and it comes under squatters's possessions. Just bcos you have Christ in your life but that doesn't mean you become impermeable to the demons schemes and tactics, the way you live your life will determine whether you have violated God's law and coming with the new agreement with devil even though God said you are free from it. "

So what do you think? Can a believer be demon possessed? 

🤔

Going by what I have seen in Pentecostal circles, and observed of various thriving deliverence ministries, professing, confessing, genuine Christians can be troubled by demons that remain in contest over what they considered their territory, one obvious example of this being that of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12. Also Hebrews 12 speaks of casting aside sins that easily beset Christians. The terminology used is Christians can be demonised rather than possessed like Judas.

[The_Patriot21]

1 hour ago, Michael37 said:

Going by what I have seen in Pentecostal circles, and observed of various thriving deliverence ministries, professing, confessing, genuine Christians can be troubled by demons that remain in contest over what they considered their territory, one obvious example of this being that of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12. Also Hebrews 12 speaks of casting aside sins that easily beset Christians. The terminology used is Christians can be demonised rather than possessed like Judas.

But there is a difference between being tempted by demons, and possessed by them. There were several occasions where Jesus cast out demons, and in each and every single example the demon had total control over the person, they had no control of their actions.

Yet we look at examples of people like job, where Satan attacked him mercilessly, but did not have control over him. 

 

[Michael37]

33 minutes ago, The_Patriot21 said:

But there is a difference between being tempted by demons, and possessed by them. There were several occasions where Jesus cast out demons, and in each and every single example the demon had total control over the person, they had no control of their actions.

Yet we look at examples of people like job, where Satan attacked him mercilessly, but did not have control over him. 

 

Satan had a restriction put on him. I think I gave a good account of current deliverance ministries, but I have more material on the subject than I care to publish here as there is seldom agreement on the subject. Spiritual Armour and Discerning of Spirits are big in many Ekklesias I know of.

[Whosoever]

A "True born again Believer" can not be possessed.  That doesn't mean temptation to sins are eliminated, but that is not demon possession.  Jesus, in several passages of the new testament, states clearly what a clean kingdom of heaven, our spiritual realm, looks like.  If you read them carefully,  you will understand that Jesus is telling us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and anything we yield to, that is opposite of what He states is clean in His kingdom, reveals that we are not seeking first the kingdom of heaven but rather fulfilling our temptations and seeking temptations.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, there are no liers, cheaters, fornicators, drunkerds, etc, etc.  Things ought not be found in your heart.  You can ask God for forgiveness, that's fine, but at some point you must remove your seeking fantasies to satisfy the flesh and invest your soul life principles of God's Kingdom.  The bible says only the righteous enter the kingdom of heaven.

Righteousness is not acted out with drama.  Righteousness means we are right or "ONE" with God.  Like a marriage.  Being born again takes us from condimnation and hell to becoming children of a LIVING GOD, and by "RESISTING" the devil and all his temptations, the devil will "FLEE" from us. 

I was at a Christian open concert one day, and a man I had never met, who apparantly knew me, stood next to me and whispered in my ear that he was a sorcerer sent by satan to put a curse on me, and then began to speak his curse, which I will not mention here.  To make a long story short, when he finished, I smiled, looked at him right to his face and deep in his eyes, and I said that I am the redeemed of the Lord God Almighty, a child of the king, and here is what the Holy Spirit says to you. Every curse you directed at me will be turned toward you by ten fold, and today God has given you into my hand in order to rebuke you before these witnesses and you will begin to feel the ramifications of your grave error...BE GONE SATAN.  We'll he fled.  

God has given us His power through His word, if we "SEEK" it so when the time comes we'll be empowered by it.

 

 

 

[Sower]

42 minutes ago, The_Patriot21 said:

Yet we look at examples of people like job, where Satan attacked him mercilessly, but did not have control over him. 

A few years after I was born again I acquired a book by Jessie Penn Lewis about the demonic world. I began to study it late into the night often till 1-2 am. One night I was intently reading and realized suddenly I was feeling some sort of oppression, some fear and serious anxious thoughts. I believe I was surrounded by demonic beings that were pressing me down, but not physically.
There was no doubt in my mind that I had entered into the spirit world surrounded by unseen beings.
I closed the book and went to bed, and the sensations followed. I prayed till sleep came.

In the morning my wife ask if I had felt something weird last night like she had and I told her my experience.
I got rid of the book. I focused on my savior. Never happened again, to God be the glory.
This has been the only time I have encountered demons to my knowledge. I learned quick.

Thanks Patriot

(Other One can give 1st hand knowledge of this topic) answer, don't mess with it!

[AnOrangeCat]

31 minutes ago, The_Patriot21 said:

But there is a difference between being tempted by demons, and possessed by them. There were several occasions where Jesus cast out demons, and in each and every single example the demon had total control over the person, they had no control of their actions.

Yet we look at examples of people like job, where Satan attacked him mercilessly, but did not have control over him. 

I agree with this. Possession as we see it in the Bible points to someone else in the driver seat. An attack is something else entirely.

3 hours ago, farouk said:

1 Corinthian 10.21:

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

So, no, @Gracejj.

This is a good answer and in line with something Jesus said: No man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). The Bible is our sourcebook for the spiritual, so any and all claims about how spiritual things work need to be backed up by the Bible.

3 hours ago, Gracejj said:

Can a believer be possessed?

I recently heard this message, I want to ask your thoughts on this.."We were taught as a Christian that a believer can't be demon possessed if he has Holy Spirit within them, you are no longer owned by devil, you were bought with a price. However, Ownership and possession is two different things, eg- people own their  house but sometimes squatters squats and it comes under squatters's possessions.

Going back to what I said about farouk's response, any and all claims about demons need to be backed up with scripture. The claim being made in the message you heard lacks that. Does the Bible tell us there's a difference between ownership and possession? Does it tell us that there are parallels between our salvation and God's protection over us and man made laws about squatters? No.

What it does tell us is this: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)

Call it ownership, call it possession, but the Bible tells us we can't be stolen away from Jesus. The character of Satan is made clear. He's out to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). If demons could simply possess Christians they would. They'd have a field day on the killing, stealing, and destroying and land the believer in Hell. Instead what we see in the Bible are things like Jesus saying we can't serve two masters, that no one will steal us out of His hand, and people of God being given authority over demons to cast them out.

3 hours ago, Gracejj said:

Just bcos you have Christ in your life but that doesn't mean you become impermeable to the demons schemes and tactics, the way you live your life will determine whether you have violated God's law and coming with the new agreement with devil even though God said you are free from it. "

To an extent I agree, but I'll note a few things. Not all temptations come from demons. A lot of it is just the flesh and bad decision making, and many a Christian has used the devil or demons as a scapegoat (the old saying "The devil made me do it", for example). James 1:14 tells us "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." (Italics added there by me for emphasis). We can and do sin out of ignorance, weakness, and sometimes even willful disobedience. But that doesn't mean we're entering some kind of agreement with Satan. The reality is God is aware that we're going to fail and make mistakes sometimes, but we're covered. We're works in progress (Philippians 1:6). As His children He loves us and is patient with us. He certainly isn't looking for an excuse to smite us, send us to Hell, or subject us to demonic attacks.

[Gracejj]

54 minutes ago, Whosoever said:

A "True born again Believer" can not be possessed.  That doesn't mean temptation to sins are eliminated, but that is not demon possession.  Jesus, in several passages of the new testament, states clearly what a clean kingdom of heaven, our spiritual realm, looks like.  If you read them carefully,  you will understand that Jesus is telling us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and anything we yield to, that is opposite of what He states is clean in His kingdom, reveals that we are not seeking first the kingdom of heaven but rather fulfilling our temptations and seeking temptations.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, there are no liers, cheaters, fornicators, drunkerds, etc, etc.  Things ought not be found in your heart.  You can ask God for forgiveness, that's fine, but at some point you must remove your seeking fantasies to satisfy the flesh and invest your soul life principles of God's Kingdom.  The bible says only the righteous enter the kingdom of heaven.

Righteousness is not acted out with drama.  Righteousness means we are right or "ONE" with God.  Like a marriage.  Being born again takes us from condimnation and hell to becoming children of a LIVING GOD, and by "RESISTING" the devil and all his temptations, the devil will "FLEE" from us. 

I was at a Christian open concert one day, and a man I had never met, who apparantly knew me, stood next to me and whispered in my ear that he was a sorcerer sent by satan to put a curse on me, and then began to speak his curse, which I will not mention here.  To make a long story short, when he finished, I smiled, looked at him right to his face and deep in his eyes, and I said that I am the redeemed of the Lord God Almighty, a child of the king, and here is what the Holy Spirit says to you. Every curse you directed at me will be turned toward you by ten fold, and today God has given you into my hand in order to rebuke you before these witnesses and you will begin to feel the ramifications of your grave error...BE GONE SATAN.  We'll he fled.  

God has given us His power through His word, if we "SEEK" it so when the time comes we'll be empowered by it.

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing that story, its empowering. I am learning about the authority that we have in Christ.  So that was very good example for me to learn from.

Thank you.