Word Curses and Lies
Sermon Series - Practical Freedom Ministry
Speaker - Lead Pastor Dustin Aguilar
Scripture:
Ephesians 4:17-24, John 6:28-29, John 10:27, Job 33
What we believe matters! (and plays a role in deliverance)
4 TYPES OF CURSES
1) Curses you put on yourself (via sin or occult activity, ouija boards, etc.)
2) Active Curses - people put on you (witchcraft, etc.)
3) Generational Curses - people put on you (family line)
4) Word Curses - lies we believe
something someone says to you, or that you say to yourself, that plays on repeat in your head…OR something someone says to you once that changed your programming
Also called: vows, strongholds, or simply…LIES!
BELIEF is the place where the supernatural meets the natural (where the physical meets the spiritual).
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Ephesians 4:17-24 - Theology on LIES Alienating us from God
v.17 - Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
Ephesians was written to the Gentiles
futility = uselessness
In Acts 19, we see the Ephesians put off their old ways, mainly witchcraft, burning items associated with that practice.
Paul reminds them not to act like that (the Gentiles), in the futility/uselessness of their minds, which led them to witchcraft.
Paul isn’t calling them stupid, he’s saying their minds are useless to affect any real spiritual gain or in getting them to God.
v.18 - They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
This verse describes the state the Gentiles are in.
understanding is in the mind
We see a PROGRESSION here: Hardness of heart -> Ignorance -> Alienation from God / spiritual life
hardness of heart/senses - affects our logic/mind…which cuts us off from God (alienation)
v.19 - They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
“sensual” = being driven or led by the senses (sensations / feelings). What you see, taste, smell, hear, feel, etc.
people are actually more sensual than logical
We like to think we are rationalistic, logic-driven, and unbiased observers of facts…but if we’re honest with ourselves we are actually heavily feelings-driven.
Example 1: Eating a cookie. We choose to eat a cookie because it smells good, even though we know logically it’s not healthy for us.
Example 2: Political ads. We don’t win arguments with bulleted lists. We win based on how we make people feel.
Takeaway: we don’t have to be logically convinced of something to believe it, we just need to feel like it’s true… Satan knows this about us!
v.20-21 - But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus
Paul is contrasting being feelings-driven (sensuality) with being mind-driven
v.22 - to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires
Paul is speaking to the Gentiles who used to be trapped in occultism.
Desires are deceitful, and they harden the heart. Paul is saying put that off!
v.23-24 - and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
putting on the new self means you’re also being renewed in the spirit of your mind.
“spirit of your mind” - does NOT mean to the Holy Spirit here
this is one of the few places where the Bible talks about the human spirit.
The human spirit & the mind are connected.
The SPIRIT generates thoughts. The FLESH generates feelings.
This is the view of biblical authors.
That’s different from the view of the modern church. We tend to think that our minds produce our thoughts, and our hearts produce our feelings.
It’s a mistake in the charismatic church today to assume that the spirit is just connected to feelings, when the Bible says the spirit and the MIND are connected.
The flesh and the spirit are at war with each other
BOILED DOWN: Feelings deceitfully trick our minds -> Lies of the mind -> hardness of heart -> alienation from God. So put on the new self and have your mind renewed!
Feelings are deceitful, and feelings come from the flesh. And the deception can lead us to alienation from God by tricking our minds.
Hardness of heart creates ignorance, and that ignorance leads us to alienation from God.
But in Christ we are supposed to put on the new self and have our minds renewed.
Practical Application for Freedom Ministry
When Dustin does deliverance/freedom ministry, he’ll ask the person not only about curses, but also about lies (which are a form of curse).
3 Stories:
Story #1: Lady who had dabbled in the occult. Lie - “But I’m a Christian so, God will protect me even if… [I take part in this]”
Story #2: Man who wanted freedom from shame. Lie: “I’m not loved.”
Story #3: Man who was struggling to get free with demons speaking through him. Lie - “It’s ok for us to be angry at God.”
“come out of agreement with” = you stop believing the lie
If you kick out the spirits without breaking the lie, the person is likely to return to the same things that invited demons in in the first place.
Or sometimes the lies are less clearly linked to the issue, but give the demon something to hold onto (i.e. stronghold).
Lies can be open doors to spirits.
PRAYER: “God please reveal the lie this person is believing that is allowing the enemy to attack.”
OR: “God please reveal the lie I AM BELIEVING that is allowing the enemy to attack ME.”
PROCESS: Repent, Renounce, Reject, Rebuke
Repent of the lie/false belief, Renounce the lie, Reject the spirit that came from believing the lie, and Rebuke the spirit to go
“God I’m sorry for believing _____”
The real test of deliverance isn’t the manifestation (e.g. throwing up), it’s what life is like afterwards!
For example - Next time you’re triggered, do you have more self control?
Example Lies:
You will always be alone.
God doesn’t hear your prayers.
God speaks, but He doesn’t speak to you.
^Sometimes lies are even spoken in 3rd person just like this...which can be a good indicator that an evil spirit is speaking to you!!
But lies are something we “agree with” so you can also say them over yourself:
I will always be alone.
God doesn’t hear my prayers.
God doesn’t speak to me.
Believing lies can open doors for spirits to afflict, but when we cling to the facts/truth of Scripture, we can kick out demons and displace strongholds.
Fact: Jesus Christ lived the perfect life, died an unjust death, God raised Him from the dead and He is alive right now. As we cling to THAT FACT, we’re able to jettison all other lies.
Jesus didn’t just die, He’s seated on the throne right now. We live our lives in Him. Returning to that fact breaks the lies and breaks the strongholds.