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                   Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You!

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By David Wilkerson
May 4, 1992
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          For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are
          not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14).

          Beloved, if we did not know God's Word is absolutely
          true, I believe we would think this verse a mockery!

          It is amazing to me how long people can continue living
          with hidden sin in their hearts, By putting on a good
          front, they can get away with it for a long time. They
          can hide their sin from their husband, wife, children,
          friends and pastor. But the Bible warns: "Be sure your
          sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).

          I think of one brother who worked closely with me for
          over eight years. He was a kind, considerate, loving
          man and husband. He had a servant's heart and would do
          anything to help anyone in need. He was an integral
          part of our ministry team - and I still love him in the
          Lord.

          But in all the time I knew him I never knew what was
          hidden in his heart! His wife didn't know, nor did his
          children, because he kept up such a beautiful facade.

          Finally, my wife, Gwen, and I sensed something was
          wrong. His moods and attitudes began to change. We
          prayed about it, and the Lord told me to dismiss him. I
          said, "Please, Lord I've got to know why. Show me
          what's in his heart!"

          Not long after that, a friend found this brother drunk.
          His wife and children had seen him in this state - and
          they were hysterical, unable to believe it! The man had
          been a secret alcoholic for years - and God exposed
          him!

          When I brought him into my office to terminate his
          employment, I asked, "How long has this been going on?"

          He said, "Brother Dave, I was an alcoholic before I
          came to Christ, And I've been drinking ever since I've
          been with you. Every time we checked into a hotel, I'd
          order something in my room," He said that wasn't his
          only problem. Whenever he traveled alone, he checked
          into hotels that showed R-rated movies, (A hidden sin
          doesn't remain alone. Anyone with an unconquered sin
          will see a whole chain reaction of sins arise!)

          This man's wife was devastated. His children lost
          respect for him. And now he had lost his job. I said to
          him, "How could you sin this way, under this ministry?
          For eight years you've watched as multitudes of
          alcoholics were saved. You've walked and prayed with
          me, you've seen so much of God's Spirit at work. But
          you've kept this thing hidden!"

          He shook his head and answered, "I have never conquered
          this, It's been with me ever since I was saved."

          He was repentant and sorry - but still bound!

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                       The Shocking Disclosures Come
                           in Nearly Every Day!

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          Evangelists, ministers and laymen are being caught in
          shameful acts - and when they are exposed, they tell of
          sin problems they've had for years!

          A housewife in Brooklyn saw her husband off to his Wall
          Street job every day. He carried a locked briefcase,
          holding it close as he left. She never knew anything --
          until he was picked up by the police for selling crack
          cocaine!

          A man approached me after one of our church services
          and confessed, "I've been coming to Times Square Church
          for over a year, and nobody would ever guess I'm not a
          righteous man. I sit here and worship, and people think
          I'm living a pure life.

          "But I'm about to lose it all! God has convicted me,
          and I can't keep my secret sin hidden anymore I'm
          addicted to crack! It's destroying me, and I need help!
          I was delivered years ago -- but now I'm in its grip
          again. Brother Dave, why did I go back? I can't shake
          this thing - it has possessed my heart!"

          I wonder how many who are reading this message right
          now have been hiding a secret, life-controlling sin.
          God knows and sees every act - every lust, every
          indulgence, every hidden, secret thing!

          I believe every faithful shepherd of the Lord Jesus has
          wrestled with seeing children of God remain bound by a
          besetting sin. But God gives us these wonderful
          promises:

          "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be
          free indeed" (John 8:36).

          "Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
          sin might be destroyed" (Romans 6:6).

          "For he that is dead is freed from sin" (verse 7).

          "But being made free from sin, ye became the servants
          of righteousness" (verse 18).

          I read all these precious, glorious promises about
          freedom from the power of sin - and then I look at all
          the slavery to sin that is in God's house!

          Multitudes of Christians - Pentecostals, Catholics,
          Baptists, Methodists, charismatics -- are still under
          sin's dominion. They are constantly fighting a losing
          battle against a sin that overpowers them!

          They sing, shout and praise the Lord - but something
          keeps cropping up and never gets dealt with. They may
          go a month or two, a year, two years - but then it
          comes back suddenly, and down they go! They say, "I'm
          hopeless, I can't help it. It comes upon me and I'm
          overpowered!"

          My soul cries out, "Oh God, where is Your victory? Why
          are so many of Your people still enslaved by the enemy,
          still falling back into old sins and lusts?"

          The answer is simple. The apostle Paul said, "Let God
          be true, but every man a liar... that thou mightest be
          justified in thy sayings" (Romans 3:4).

          It is not the Lord's fault we are en-slaved - because
          His promises are true. When a believer says he loves
          God but can't get victory over sin, he's got to be
          lying - because God cannot lie! His Word says, "Sin
          shall not have dominion over you!"

          There is a heartrending cry from many: "Who shall
          deliver me from this bondage?" I told God I could not
          deliver a message about victory over sin unless I heard
          it from the Holy Spirit. I had to have an encouraging
          word from the very heart of Jesus - and I believe He
          has given me one for you. In fact, God has made me a
          promise with this message: He said many are going to be
          set free - for the first time since they started
          serving Christ!

          You may not be fighting a battle with a ruling sin -
          but perhaps you know someone who is ensnared by Satan.
          If so, you can share this message with them.

          The first thing God would have you know is this:

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                No Matter How You Have Sinned and Failed the
                  Lord - No Matter How Low You Have Sunk -
                You Must Be Convinced God Still Loves You!

                      -------------------------------

          The Lord told me, "My children have to understand that
          no matter what they are bound by, no matter what their
          problem is - they must know I love them!"

          You can't even begin to get deliverance from the powers
          of hell until you are convinced Jesus still loves you
          and is not mad at you.

          I see Jesus standing by Peter, even though the disciple
          denied Him. Peter deserted and cursed his Savior. Yet
          when he lay on the ground grieving, wondering how he
          could have hurt his Lord so, Jesus did not send wrath
          upon him. Instead, Jesus was praying for him - that his
          faith would not fail!

          God loved David in spite of his adultery. The Lord
          grieved as David plotted the murder of Uriah,
          Bathsheba's husband. And God judged his sin - indeed,
          David paid a high price for it. But God answered
          David's prayer of repentance: He did not take His Holy
          Spirit from him!

          Beloved, you may despair and sorrow, wondering how you
          could sin so suddenly and grievously toward your Lord.
          But you have to know He still loves you and is pleading
          your cause! He is on your side, praying that your faith
          will not fail in the battle. And He will not take His
          Holy Spirit from you - if you will humble yourself and
          cry out to Him from your heart.

          The moment you fall back into an old lust or sin, the
          devil comes to you with this lie: "That was your last
          chance! You've sinned once too often - God has run out
          of patience with you. Your sin is worse than others',
          because you claim to be a child of God. You knew
          better!"

          Satan knows if he can make you believe your condition
          is hopeless, then he has won the victory:

          "And they said, there is no hope: but we will walk
          after our own devices, and we will every one do the
          imagination of his evil heart" (Jeremiah 18:12). The
          people of Israel were convinced they were so evil,
          hardened and destined to fall that they were hopeless -
          that they might as well do as they pleased.

          But dear saint, God will not let you go! Right now the
          Holy Spirit is sending missionaries into Russia and
          other formerly Communist countries, seeking out the
          godless, wooing them and bringing them into His
          kingdom. Would God chase after atheists with His love -
          and forsake you, His child? Never!

          How were you delivered from sin's power when you first
          came to Christ? Was it because you were a great prayer
          warrior? No - it was all because of the mercy and love
          of Christ! He delivered you from Satan's snare simply
          because He loved you! The Bible says: "We love him,
          because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

          As I labored over this message, I wanted to say next:
          "When you fall, get up quickly and run to Jesus.
          Confess it all to Him, and trust Him for strength!"

          But the Holy Spirit showed me that before you run back
          to Jesus, there is something you must do. This is the
          reason so few win the victory over sin: They run back
          to Jesus without facing their sin!

          A rich young ruler came to Jesus - and Jesus told him
          the price he had to pay: "Sell everything you own, give
          the money to the poor, and pick up your cross and
          follow Me." Scripture says Jesus greatly loved this
          young man: "Then Jesus beholding him loved him" (Mark
          10:21). But when the young ruler heard the price, he
          "went away grieved."

          Jesus can love you with everything in His eternal being
          - and yet you can turn and walk away from Him. You see,
          your sin goes deeper than drugs, alcohol, sex or
          gambling. It has its roots in such things as
          bitterness, envy, wrath - things that lay hold of your
          heart and character.

          It is still there in you - and it has never been dealt
          with. That is why it surfaces week after week, month
          after month, year after year! It destroys your
          testimony and brings guilt and condemnation and fear
          upon you, as it should. But you never get victory!

          Yet I've found there is a pathway to hope that the Lord
          provides. It is this:

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               At the Lowest Point of Your Failure, You Have
                 to Honestly Ask Yourself Three Questions.

                      -------------------------------

          When you are in the very midst of your sin - still "in
          the lap of Delilah" - you need to stop and ask yourself
          the following:

          1. "How did I get here - so low?"

          2. "What has happened to me - why am I doing this?"

          3. "What power has such a hold on me to make me do
          this?"

          I've found that if you don't do this at your very
          lowest point, you'll never do it when you're walking in
          the light!

          You see, right after you've "done it," Satan gives you
          a false sense of peace - a hellish rest! He gives you a
          little time to enjoy your sin, and all seems well.

          But the "afterglow" of sin is temporary - and it is
          blinding! Satan does not want you to stop and think of
          God, eternity or consequences when you're in the middle
          of your sin. So he blinds you to all guilt, fear and
          condemnation.

          Yet if you are a believer and still enslaved by an
          overpowering sin, you will never get free until you ask
          yourself these questions and face the truth. And the
          truth is that a supernatural power has moved in -and
          has taken control over you!

          I hear Christians say, "I'm still battling an alcohol
          problem." "I'm fighting a battle with drugs." "My
          problem is lust." No - your enemy is bigger than drugs,
          sex or alcohol. It is the devil himself! Peter says,
          "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
          devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
          he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). You are not battling a
          problem - but a person!

          You ask, can a Christian be demon-controlled? That
          depends on what kind of Christian you're talking about,
          if you mean an overcoming, righteous believer who is
          vigilant and has a close walk with Jesus - no,
          absolutely not. He is safe and secure and can never be
          invaded by demon powers. But if you're talking about a
          slothful soul who is drifting, not walking in truth,
          not praying or reading the Bible or seeking God - yes!
          His heart is wide open to demon powers!

          If you continually go into the devil's territory, you
          open your heart to Satan and give him place. For
          example, Samson took off for Gaza knowing full well
          that town was full of prostitutes and brothels. He may
          have convinced himself, "I'll just stroll along - I
          won't do anything. I'm just curious."

          Yet the moment Samson walked through the gate of Gaza.
          the devil moved in! Satan could claim, "As long as you
          were on God's side of the wall of fire, I couldn't
          touch you, Samson. But when you walked into my
          territory, you were telling me you wanted what I have
          to offer. You wouldn't have come here unless you were
          itching for what I've got. Now you're in my territory -
          and you're helpless. I've got you!"

          Is this what has happened to you? Every time you pick
          up pornography or watch a dirty movie, you walk back
          into the devil's domain - and you open the door of your
          heart! It is an open invitation for the devil to move
          in!

          Jesus spoke very clearly about how a person who has
          been delivered from Satan's power is overcome once
          again. It is because the heart is never put in right
          order:

          "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
          walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth
          none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from
          whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it
          empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh
          with himself seven other spirits more wicked than
          him-self, and they enter in and dwell there: and the
          last state of that man is worse than the first"
          (Matthew 12:43-45).

          Beloved, Jesus is talking about a heart that has been
          cleansed! When the evil spirit came back, he saw the
          heart had been swept clean - but there had been no
          change. It wasn't filled with the gospel or with
          prayer; it was just as he had left it. So he brought in
          seven other spirits worse than himself - and the state
          of that man's soul was seven times worse!

          When Jesus told this, he was talking to those who hated
          Him - and He was telling them why they were doing it!
          Many of these very people had repented at John's
          preaching. But Satan had come back with seven times the
          force!

          How else could such religious people break their own
          law, killing an innocent Man whose only desire was to
          save, comfort and deliver them? It was because Satan
          had overcome them! They acted wholly under the
          influence of the devil. Satan had gained access - and
          he directed every action.

          "For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he
          brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the
          pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the
          Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled
          therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with
          them than the beginning. For it had been better for
          them not to have known the way of righteousness, than,
          after they have known it, to turn from the holy
          commandment delivered unto them" (2 Peter 2:19-21).

          These are strong words! Peter isn't talking about drug
          addicts, prostitutes or street sinners. He's talking
          about Christians who became corrupted by a false gospel
          of freedom - and were overcome by the devil:

          They had "escaped the pollutions of the world" (verse
          20). They could say, "I've been set free -- and I claim
          Jesus' victory!" They had started out truly following
          Christ.

          They had a full "knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
          Christ" (verse 20). The Greek word for "knowledge" here
          suggests "full, complete." They knew Jesus intimately!

          They had "known the way of righteousness" (verse 21).
          They had walked with the Lord for some time - they
          weren't babes in Christ.

          They had heard the "holy commandment delivered unto
          them" (verse 21). They had sat under the pure Word of
          God - solid gospel preaching and teaching. They knew
          His promises and His judgments.

          They "feasted with (the saints)" (verse 13) - meaning
          they had communion. They had been at the meetings and
          worshiped with the body. And they had sat at the Lord's
          table for the fellowship supper of the church.

          These were not newcomers who were unskilled in the Word
          of God. These were seasoned Christians. And yet Peter
          says they were overcome by Satan - meaning.
          "devastated. ruined, brought low into the pit.
          entangled in deep sin" - utterly cast down!

          Do you have a besetting sin you've prayed about - but
          no power to overcome it? If so, then what is the
          logical conclusion, according to the Scriptures?

          It is that you have opened your heart and given access
          to the enemy!

          Whether through spiritual laziness, neglect, holding
          onto a hurt, whatever it may be - you gave the enemy
          access, and you have not dealt with it. As long as the
          enemy sits on the throne and calls the shots, and you
          say, "I can't help myself, I just keep doing it" - then
          you are admitting you've lost control.

          You have to see you are under somebody else's power!

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                    You Can't Be Christ's By Profession
                    - and Yet the Devil's By Practice!

                      -------------------------------

          You may profess to live for Christ. But what is your
          practice? Are you practicing love for Jesus - or sin?

          One evangelist was exposed recently for cavorting with
          prostitutes - and he confessed he had been doing it for
          years Another minister was caught in adultery - and he
          admitted to being driven by lust for more than
          twenty-five years.

          I tell you that no matter how forcefully these men may
          have preached, they were under the dominion of Satan!
          Their problem wasn't a weakness or a character flaw.
          Rather, it was the devil moving in, possessing them and
          directing their lives.

          Are you addicted, bound, unable to stop your sinning?
          When will you face the truth? When will you say, "This
          continual going back to a gross sin is inspired by
          Satan - I am under satanic dominion!"

          You will never break free until you recognize what has
          happened to you: You are possessed! The devil lives in
          you, and he is driving you, pushing you -- and he won t
          rest until he destroys you!

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                 You Need a Full and Complete Deliverance!
                 You Need Satan Driven Out - to Stay Out!

                      -------------------------------

          If you are not willing to admit you have been
          overpowered by the devil, you will keep looking for
          advice rather than deliverance. But you don't need any
          more advice - you need to be set free from Satan's
          power. He must be cast out!

          You can be delivered today - right now! You don't have
          to live under the devil's power anymore. But first you
          have to understand: There is no freedom from sin until
          you learn to hate it!

          The only strength that sin has over you is the love of
          it. But if you've had enough of the guilt, fear and
          condemnation and can say, "I will not bring reproach on
          the name of Jesus anymore" - then you can rise up by
          faith and say, "Devil, I recognize you!"

          Are you willing to take a stand in the name of Jesus -
          to acknowledge, "I've been overpowered"? It's going to
          take a lot of honesty on your part. You've got to say
          in your heart, "Yes, that's me! I've had this thing in
          me long enough, and it's got to go. I've got to be set
          free!"

          Right now you need to put all of hell on notice that
          your Savior Jesus Christ died and shed His blood - and
          therefore the devil has no more power or victory over
          you: "For sin shall not have dominion over you!"

          Here is what you must do:

          1. Realize that God loves you - and that He sent His
          Son Jesus Christ to set you free from every bondage. It
          doesn't matter if you entered into that bondage before
          you came to Christ or since. He has come to set you
          free!

          You can't sit there on your own and battle the devil;
          you've already seen he's too powerful for you. But the
          devil's battle is not with you - it is with Jesus! You
          only have to stand confidently and say, "Because of the
          Cross!"

          2. Lay down all fear. You may fear what Satan will do
          to you - but he has no authority to do anything. The
          devil has perverted what deliverance is - because in
          truth it is simply the authority of Jesus Christ and
          Him alone!

          3. Stand on what the Word of God says to you:

          1 John 3:8 says: "For this purpose the Son of God was
          manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
          devil." Jesus didn't intend for you to be destroyed. He
          wants to rescue you - to redeem you and set you free!

          Hebrews 2:14 says: "Through death he might destroy him
          that had the power of death, that is, the devil," All
          your deliverance came through the death of Jesus Christ
          at the Cross!

          Colossians 2:14 says: "Blotting out the handwriting of
          ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to
          us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
          cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He
          made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in
          it." Jesus made an open display of His triumph over
          Satan -- through His victory at Calvary!

          4. Lay down your sin completely -and trust Jesus to
          help you put it to death. 'Utter this prayer to Him:

          "Lord Jesus, I want to be delivered from my sin, I let
          the devil in by my will - and now by my will I renounce
          my sin. I call it sin, and I trust You completely to
          help me resist it. Now I ask You to wash me and cleanse
          me. I trust in Your Word that I am forgiven, washed and
          set free by Your blood.

          "At Your name every knee must bow - things on heaven,
          on earth and under the earth. So by Your name, I stand
          against all demonic strongholds in my life. And on the
          authority of Your Cross, I pray to be delivered from
          the demonic spirits that control me.

          "Devil, you have to face Jesus - not me, but Jesus! I
          command this stronghold over me to be broken, by the
          blood of Jesus and the victory of the Cross. I declare
          an open show and triumph over you - in Jesus' name!"

          Now, read this promise to you from the Lord:

          "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I
          deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath
          known my name" (Psalm 91:14).

          Set your love on Jesus right now. It is by His name and
          His Cross that you are delivered. Not by your crying
          out, not by someone praying over you - but by His name
          and by His Cross!

          Oh God, I pray for the precious one reading this
          message right now. Pour out Your mercy on this child of
          Yours who has been held in bondage for so long. Cast
          down the stronghold, break it and destroy it in this
          beloved child's life, And in Jesus' name, set this one
          free! I declare that every evil spirit and demonic
          bondage must flee now, in the name of Jesus. Release
          Your child!

          Now, give the Lord thanks - and bless His name for your
          full and complete deliverance today. He loves you - and
          He has paid the full price to set you free!

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