Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Romans chapter 8:
5 Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. 6 For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.
7 In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to HIS direction, because it cannot! 8 For no matter how hard they try, GOD finds no pleasure with those who are controlled by the flesh. 9 But when the Spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh but by the Spirit. And if you are not joined to the Spirit of the Anointed One, you are not of Him.
As we continue to submit to The Holy Spirit, we slowly but surely become empowered by The Spirit of Christ in our lives. Our priorities change and our focus becomes trained on what THE SPIRIT says rather than what man promotes in his constant state of bias and self interest.
As we become empowered by The Holy Spirit, we will break the cycle of spiritual deception which revolves around in a circular pattern. Spiritual entities will present thoughts in order to get a response from you. They will observe what works when it comes to tweaking your carnal nature and focus on that area in your life. If you allow it, they will manipulate your thought life away from The Holy Spirit and toward anything fleshly in nature. The result will be that of “spiritual inactivity”.
Why do you think believers keep dealing with “generational” issues? Those spirits will continue to plague you until you “break the cycle” once and for all.
Demonic spirits are territorial by nature. They will not depart from their assigned area. They will plague fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters as long as they are not stopped. I have seen this reality over the years in families as these demons are left to their devices focused on deception. They do not want you to become fully led by The Holy Spirit… that is their mission.
Jesus dealt with such a territorial spirit in Luke chapter 8:
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
The territorial spirits knew Jesus was headed their way and attempted to prevent Him from arriving in their particular assigned area. They put up resistance but to no effect. Notice that as soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat, He was confronted by the demon(s).
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
FATHER had instructed Jesus to deal with this territorial spirit and the demon begged Him to not torment him. Yes, the demon resisted Jesus but in the end, the demon was dealt with and the man was set free. Upon completing the mission, Jesus headed back to the other side.
We must not allow ourselves to discount these encounters with the enemy. They would like nothing better than to remain hidden and continue their mission of perversion.
In my various travels, I have discerned such territorial spirits over cities and observed their impact on the assigned areas. We are meant to break their hold on these territories and set the people free from their bondages. It is of paramount importance that you and I become fully sensitive to THE SPIRIT in this area for the spirit of deception is extremely subtle and does not want to be exposed.
You and I need to walk in the Spirit of Christ and when FATHER instructs us to deal with a demonic entity, we will have no hesitation whatsoever.