1. THEY IMPERSONATE GOD IN OUR THOUGHTS

“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” – 2 Corinthians 11: 14-15

Religious spirits manifest themselves to people as an “inner voice” from God. They come as “angels of light” saying to some, “You are special to Me.” “Your are different from others. I am giving you special knowledge – a special assignment.” They flatter people with these words enticing them to spiritual pride. This is often how cults are born.

Spirits also impersonate the Holy Spirit and try to inflict a lot of guilt. Rather than bringing loving conviction, they pound with accusations of how bad we are and how worthless we have become. They torment with thoughts of turning from God and losing our salvation.

II. THEY IMPERSONATE OUR OWN THOUGHTS – Using our expressions

Extremely negative thoughts – “I am a failure” – “I am ugly” – “I am worthless” – “I will never succeed” – “God does not love me” – “I am a misfit. No one cares about me.”

Prideful thoughts – “I am better than others” – “I am smarter than she is” – “I am more spiritual than they are” – “I don’t need anyone else”

Rebellious thoughts– “I have a right to do what I want with my life” – “Nobody is going to tell me what to do”

Hatred – “I don’t like them because . . .” – “I will never forgive them because . . .” – “I want them to suffer the way they made me suffer.”

Suicide – “I am better off dead” – “Nobody cares if I die anyway” – “They’ll be sorry when I die” – “Why not drive my car head on into the oncoming traffic?”

(Are these self-thoughts always demonic? No. But many of them do have their source in the demonic.)

III. THEY IMPERSONATE SATAN’S PRESENCE

Many times spirits take one of the names of Satan and confront the victim as Satan himself. They are attempting to intimidate the person by instilling fear that they are being confronted with the “prince of this world.” They say, “I am too strong for you” – “I will torment you until you give in – submit to me and I will stop.” “You have no chance because I am so powerful.

Hoping to paralyze the victim into inactivity, they will often say – “Your God cannot help you – I will destroy you.”

IV. THEY BATTLE FOR THE MIND AND WILL

Satan knows that if he can convince or intimidate us through one of these forms of attack, he will have a definite advantage. He seeks to bring our mind and will into subjection through lies and deception.

When we are aware of these tactics, we will be more discerning when these attacks come to us. These attacks are much more deceptive than they appear. The fact that they have manifested in our thoughts makes them very personal. We are used to letting our thoughts lead us. What we must do is learn to test the thoughts that we receive with the Word of God. Whether the thoughts have their source in our flesh or demonically, testing them by the Word is always an effective defense.

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