The Devil's Tricks To Ensnare You

So first off, the really simple level is kind of what I mentioned at the beginning.

So sin is like a, a coin.

If you imagine flipping a quarter Sin is like a coin with two sides.

I've got my sins on the one side, the things I've done that have wounded other people or offended God, both.

And I need to repent of those sins.

I need to sincerely tell God I'm sorry for those sins, ask for forgiveness, have a plan to not do them in the future and commit to that plan.

And then I also, if I've really wounded somebody, often am required to make some reparation to heal the damage that was done, if that's possible.

So the one side of the coin is my sin.

I need to do those things to not only say I'm sorry to God, ideally say I'm sorry to the people if I've wounded people and do something to repair the damage.

The other side of the coin is other people's sins that have wounded me, right? So somebody has done something that hurt me or harmed my life or spiritually harmed me or wounded me in some way.

Well, those sins are just as powerful in terms of giving the demons traction to have more influence in my life as my sins are.

If I fail to forgive others that have sinned against me, that's just about the same.

Depends on the situation and the specifics of the sins and the sins done against me, but it's basically equivalent to not repenting of my own sins.

I know that sounds maybe odd, but when you see it play out in sessions time and time again over the years, it's so clear.

And when the demons are laying claim to a person based on unforgiveness, the stakes are extremely high.

The demon is making this claim and God is, in a sense, acknowledging it because the demon's not being cast out until the person forgives.

And when they do forgive sincerely those that have sinned against them, we then see the demon cast out.

So this is a very real phenomenon.

It's very much the way it seems to work.

Okay.

So my sins, the sins of others, I need to not only repent for my own sins, but I need to forgive those that have wounded me.

Now, that doesn't mean I let people walk all over me.

That doesn't mean I stay in abusive relationships.

That doesn't mean I go back and let somebody keep harming me over and over.

You forgive.