Overcoming The
12 Evil Strong Men
Overcoming evil spirits & demolishing strongholds of satan
which fights against the soul of man
The
spirit of perversion
The spirit of perversion controls people with sexual
impurity and all who dishonor their bodies among themselves—abandoning them to
the degrading power of sin. It is a lustful spirit; ruling over men who lust
after women—and women who lust after men.
Therefore God gave
them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the
degrading of their bodies with one another.
Rom 1:24
The spirit of perversion controls people who are
into homosexuality or prostitution. This same evil spirit operates with a lying
spirit, the spirit of rebellion and the spirit of idolatry in the lives of such
people.
They exchanged the
Truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator — Who is forever praised. Amen (v.25).
They exchange their natural function for an
unnatural one because of their vile affection and degrading passions.
Because of this, God
gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations
with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent
acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their
perversion. (vv.26-27).
Their thinking is futile and their hearts foolish.
They
make simpletons of themselves.
For although they knew
God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they
claimed to be wise, they became fools (see vv.21-22).
Verse 23 says:
and exchanged the
Glory of the immortal GOD for images made to look like mortal man and birds and
animals and reptiles.
Such manner of idolatry is predominantly around
places in the world like the city of Rome.
The spirit of perversion controls cities were
homosexuality and prostitution are rampant.
The kind of people talked about in this passage of
Scripture are described to be with pervert, indecent and loathsome nature. See
how the following verses reveal their very nature:
Furthermore, since
they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them
over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become
filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full
of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Although they know God's Righteous decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those
who practice them. (vv. 28-32).
The people of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were
full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities
were destroyed by fire and continued to be a warning to us that there is a hell
in which sinners are punished (read Jude 7).
In Leviticus 18, laws on immoral sexual relations
were given to Israel through Moses, GOD's prophet, because nations around them
were in forbidden sexual practice.
In Isaiah 19:14, the spirit of perversion (called ‘a
spirit of dizziness’ in the New International Version, or ‘a spirit of
foolishness’ in The Living Bible) made Egypt to do everything wrong and stagger
like a drunk slipping on his own vomit.
Lust after women is a pervert spirit. Those who are
under the influence of perversion or lust are controlled by the spirit of
perversion which is “a spirit of confusion”—“a spirit of error”. This wicked spirit keeps people far from the
Truth (they don’t see the Truth, they don’t believe the Truth); blinds people from
the Truth—makes them become haters of God. An example of such in the Bible is
Elymas the sorcerer (see Acts 13:8-11).
How to overcome the spirit of perversion
The formula for winning the fight against the spirit
of perversion is in Proverbs 4:23-27
Above all else, guard
your heart,
for it is the
wellspring of life.
Put away perversity
from your mouth;
keep corrupt talk far
from your lips.
Let your eyes look
straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly
before you.
Make level paths for
your feet
and take only ways
that are firm.
Do not swerve to the
right or the left;
keep your foot from
evil (NIV).
The spirit of perversion strives to control the
heart of man; as whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart (see Matt.
15:18).
For out of the heart
come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false
testimony, slander (v. 19).
The Bible declares, salvation comes by confession.
For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you
confess and are saved.
Rom 10:10 NIV
And in chapter 10 verse 9, says:
That if you confess
with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
A man's defiled condition is evidenced by what comes
out of his mouth. And this could be an evidence of the spirit of perversion in
such a man.
When a man fails to guard his affections, they
influence everything else in his life. The heart must be guarded with all
vigilance if false and dishonest speech must be avoided. If the heart is not
properly checked, it will be uneasy to deal with willful and contrary talk at
all times.
Likewise, if you maintain a fixed purpose and
consider well the path of your feet, then, The LORD will establish your ways.
Know the place destined for you by GOD and have a
vision of where you are headed, and you will stay on ‘Solid Ground’. Don't
sidetrack; pull back your foot from danger.
The Pharisees were wrong in thinking their washings
kept them spiritually clean. But, we can see the only way to be clean and free
from spiritual defilement in Psalm 51.
Create in me a pure
heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast
spirit within me.
Do not cast me from
Your Presence
or take Your Holy
Spirit from me.
Restore to me the Joy
of Your Salvation
and grant me a willing
spirit, to sustain me.
David, after he committed adultery with Bathsheba,
He prayed to GOD for sanctifying Grace; and He was granted divine pardon and
peace. When we are submitted to The Holy Spirit, He cleans us from the corrupt
nature.
Sin is an evidence of impurity, and therefore we
must pray to The LORD to cleanse our hearts from every uncleanness. His Holy
Spirit cleans us by The WORD of His Power.
He says:
You are already clean
because of The Word
I have spoken to you.
John 15:3 NIV
Sanctify them by the
Truth; Your Word is Truth.
John 17:17 NIV
David discovered much inconstancy and inconsistency
with himself, and therefore he prays,
"...renew a
steadfast (constant) spirit within me (Psa. 51:10).