What a great pastor I have. Today he continued his series on the Israelites taking the land under Joshua. The land was already theirs. They just needed to obey God one step at a time and possess it. We today have the same promises. God promises a victorious life of blessing. That is our Promised Land. To get it we need to believe and act. In the end, we'll possess.

But we also need to dispossess the enemies inhabiting the land. Israel faced a long list of people groups that needed to be expelled from their Promised Land. If they failed to do this these peoples would become a snare. In the end the judgment God planned for their enemies would come upon Israel. This is exactly what happened.

We also have enemies to dispossess. As we've given place to sin in our lives demonic spirits have set up housekeeping. Christians cannot be demon possessed, but they can have hooks placed in their souls by the devil, which he will use as weapons against us.

Have you ever gone fishing and gotten a hook caught in your finger? What about if you were casting and it wound up in someone's ear? Painful, painful. Someone who's hooked can be guided around like a lamb with just a gentle tug on that hook.

Isn't that what satan does to us? If he knows that getting stuck behind a slow driver causes you to sin with anger, guess what he'll make sure happens to you for the rest of your life. One day it'll be a tractor, then a school bus, then a lost tourist. He'll play you like a violin because he knows what works on you. Such a person isn't demon possessed, but they are demon controlled.

How can a Christian be mighty for God when they're like that? Every time you go to prayer satan only needs to yank on that hook to sidetrack you. When you're praising the Lord in the choir, tug tug. To be mighty, you need to dispossess these enemies.

Here's a good list of enemies to start with: Fear, doubt, unbelief, anger, lust, bitterness, jealousy, pride, self-hatred, rejection, and unforgiveness.

Too many of us have not waged relentless war on these enemies. Like Israel we've allowed them to live in the land. Israel figured they'd just keep them under subjection. In the end it was Israel who was subjected by them. They eventually got to like their enemies, made friends, and intermarried with them. The enemies became a permanent part of the household...to the destruction of Israel.

Here's how we dispossess an enemy. 1. Repent. This is done by speaking to God, confessing, apologizing, asking forgiveness, and vowing to turn away from this sin.

2. Renounce. Here is where you speak to satan and the demonic power of this sin. You're speaking to demons now, so you'd better be saved and serious about what you're doing. Remember the sons of Sceva. You speak to them and announce that in Jesus' Name you're breaking all legal contracts you've made with them in this area. Tell them how you're renouncing this sin forever.

3. Break. Speak, "I break the power of (name the enemy) off of my life and off of my family. With the Authority of Jesus I cast (name the enemy) off of my life forever."

4. Speak blessing. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill that void in your life with His presence, and with your mouth take on the opposite quality God has for you. If it's fear, speak courage. If it's doubt, speak faith. Lust, purity.

Make Caleb one of the role models in your life. He was old, but still strong. His territory was full of giants. He said he'd remove them with God's help. Then he said, "Give me my mountain" and marched off to victory.

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2002