The Beginning
God is the King of the entire universe (Psalm 47:7). When He originally created the earth, He created people to be in a perfect love relationship with Him. He created them to represent Him here and to rule over the earth. He blessed Adam and Eve and he commanded them to subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28). (Draw a stick figure and a heart and a triangle).
Originally, people were supposed to walk in authority over the devil. The devil was here on the earth when they were created, but God’s intention was for Adam and Eve to subdue him as they were to subdue the whole earth. (Write the word “Devil” in bottom left corner of the triangle).
There also was no sin here in the earth. People were created never to sin. They weren’t supposed to struggle with sin or constantly do bad things. They were supposed to have power over sin. (Write the word “Sin” in the bottom right corner of the triangle).
Finally, God’s original intention was for there to be no sickness or death. Adam and Eve didn’t know what sickness was, and they weren’t supposed to die. (Write the word “Death” in the top of the triangle).
All the problems we see in the world that are caused by the devil, by sin, and by disease and death were never supposed to exist.
The Fall
But the devil tempted Adam and Eve, and they sinned, and all of a sudden everything changed (Genesis 3). (Draw an arrow and another stick figure under the triangle).
Whereas before they lived in power over the devil, now the devil had power over them.It says in the Bible that the whole world lies in the power of the devil (1 John 5:19). The devil now rules here in this earth. (Eph 2:2) We see the results of this everywhere. For example, many people experience the results of curses. Other people hear voices in the night. Still others have unexplained fear or panic attacks and encounters with demons. Apart from these more supernatural occurrences, most people give in regularly to the temptations that the devil brings. This is because the devil has ownership over that person. Every person has given into him and thus made a covenant with him so that he has the right to cause all kinds of problems in that person’s life.
It is possible to tell specific stories here of people that you know who have been bothered by the devil or curses
But it’s more than that. Adam and Eve, when they gave into the devil, also gave the right for sin to come and reign in the world (Romans 5:12)). Sin isn’t just a decision of whether to do good or bad. It’s something that owns you, like a master and a slave (Romans 6:16). Even if people want to change, everyone has a hard time doing what is right. And so we see the results of sin everywhere in our world, whether it’s alcohol or drug addiction, adultery, greed, or selfishness. What makes things worse is that the Bible talks about sins not just being external but internal. Even people who appear to be good people on the outside are often consumed by lust or anger or hatred and jealousy towards others. Many people desire a way out of these patterns of behavior and thinking, but sin has been allowed to have power over people in this world. They are hopelessly enslaved.
It’s helpful to use sins that are relevant in whatever culture where you are located. Also, notice here that I talk about sin’s current impact on our life without trying to argue that you were a sinner from birth. At some point they need to know that their sinfulness started before they ever had the power to make a decision, but it is challenging to convince people of what is really more of a theoretical concept. It’s easier to convince people that sin reigns in their lives today.
The result of the devil and sin’s entry into the world is that sickness and death also came too. In the Bible, it says that the result of our sin is death (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12). This manifests itself in all kinds of diseases and physical death. But it also has an eternal component. Death reigns eternally over all who have fallen victim to sin and the devil, and they are made to live eternally separated from God and subject to death in a place called hell.
People do all kinds of things to try to solve this problem. To overcome the devil, they go to witch doctors or tarot card readers in order to get free of curses or to help people who are bothered by demons. But this generally doesn’t help and often makes the problem worse. People do all kinds of rituals in order to protect themselves from evil spirits, but most of the time people end up living in fear and not seeing any victory. People also do all kinds of things to change themselves and try to be better people, but even if they can come to a place where it appears that they are a good person, they can’t deal with the sins that they have on the inside.
Emphasize specific rituals or things that people do in your culture in order to try and be free from the devil
The power of the devil, sin, and death in people’s lives is like a heavy weight that people carry around and they are unable to do anything to become free. This heavy burden keeps people from having a good relationship with God and with other people.
Jesus
God loves us like a parent loves his children, except he loves us much, much more than a parent could ever love a child here on earth. Good parents, when they see their children struggling, will do everything that is in their power to help them overcome the situation. God sees this problem that we brought upon ourselves, and he didn’t leave us without a solution. He loved us enough to send Jesus (John 3:16). (Draw Jesus and a heart and a triangle).
When Jesus came to earth, he had complete victory over the devil, sin, and death.
(Write “Devil” in the bottom left corner of the triangle). Any time somebody came to Jesus who was possessed by a demon, Jesus would cast the demon out with a simple command. One time Jesus approached a boy who was living in a graveyard who had gone completely insane due to the presence of a demon. Nobody was able to help this boy, but Jesus cast out the demon and after that, he was found completely in his right mind (Mark 5:1-17). When the devil came to tempt Jesus, unlike any person before or after him, he resisted the devil and did not give into his temptations (Mattew 4:1-11).
Jesus also had complete authority over sin. (Write the word “Sin” in the bottom right corner of the triangle). He never sinned and lived a completely holy and clean life (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus walked in complete authority over death and disease. (Write the word “Death” in the top of the triangle). He healed people with all kinds of diseases (Matthew 4:23). He even raised three people from the dead (Luke 7:11-15, 8:49-55, 24:5,6).
You can choose a healing story from Jesus’ life here in order to emphasize his power to heal.
Jesus demonstrated to us that he has authority over the devil, sin, and death.
Death
When Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself all the consequences of our sin and our covenant with the devil. (Draw an arrow and a cross - You can also draw a picture of a tree if you are working in a context where the symbol of the cross would be too significant of a barrier).
The devil had the right to curse us because of the covenant we made with him. But when Jesus died, he took that curse upon himself so that the devil’s power was destroyed (Gal 3:13, Col 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15).
Jesus also took our sin upon himself when he died upon the cross. Every bad thing we have ever done against God or others he took upon himself.(1 Peter 2:24).
Most importantly, he took our death upon himself. He died for us, taking the penalty that we deserve for our sin. (Romans 5:8).
Resurrection
When he rose from the dead, he showed that even the power of the devil, sin, and death could not hold him down.He rose in victory and now is in heaven where he reigns over our enemies: the devil, sin and death. (Draw an arrow back to the top of the triangle. Cross out death, sin, and the devil).
Three Steps
Jesus changed things in the world so that we could live differently and have a right relationship with God. Any person who does three things can live a different life.
1. Repent – Every person has to make a decision to turn away from the devil and from sin, to break the power of the curse and the covenant that was made with the devil. You must ask forgiveness for your sins and for all the ways that you have given yourself to sin (Mark 1:15).
2. Believe – Believe in Jesus and what he did for you on the cross. Accept the gift of his death for you and what he accomplished for you there. (Romans 10:9).
3. Commit - Trust in Jesus and obey His commands for Your life.
If you repent and believe in Jesus, you are restored to that place of authority over the devil, sin and death, and you are restored back into relationship with God.
Draw a line to Jesus and a stick figure standing next to Him with a heart on top.
Restoration
The first thing we receive is authority over the devil. Write the word “Authority” to the left of the triangle.. Jesus promised that if we pray in His name, that we will see victory over the devil (Mark 16:17). I have experienced many battles with the devil, but time and time again, through Jesus, I have seen victory over the devil. I have prayed for many people who have suffered from problems with demons, and by praying in Jesus’ name, I have seen people set free from many kinds of problems.
It’s important here to share testimonies of times when you or someone you know has overcome the devil.
Jesus also provides us with forgiveness for our sins. Write the word “Forgiveness” under the triangle. The worst feeling is to feel shame before God, to feel that we can’t look up at Him when we pray to Him. Because Jesus died for all our sins, when we confess our sins to Him, we experience a type of cleansing that takes away the shame that we were feeling before (1 John 1:7-10). We can worship God without feeling guilty because we know we stand completely cleansed before Him.
Jesus also gives us freedom from our sins. Write the word “Freedom” under the triangle. Because he broke sin’s power, we have the ability now to make decisions that are honoring to Him (Romans 6:6-7). It doesn’t mean that we will never sin again, but it means that we are no longer victims to whatever sin wants to do in our lives. I have many times prayed to be set free from a sin and seen Jesus bring deliverance.
It’s important to have stories of times when Jesus has given you freedom from a feeling of guilt or from a specific sin.
The most important thing Jesus does is to give us eternal life (Romans 6:23). Write the words “Eternal Life” to the right of the triangle. Because he has the power over life and death, when we believe in what He did for us, we receive eternal life in heaven with God. When we die, we know we will be in heaven with God.
Pray with Me
There is a simple prayer that anyone can pray. If they pray this prayer with a sincere heart, God honors that and He gives them all these things: authority, forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life. God comes and breaks the root of the problem, so we can begin to live differently. It doesn’t mean a perfect life with no battles, but we begin a process of living like we were intended to live. The prayer goes like this:
“God, forgive me for my sins. I know that I have turned away from You and haven’t followed you and have allowed the devil to rule in my life. I place my faith in Jesus, I receive what he did for me on the cross, that he broke the power of the devil, sin, and death for me. I receive your love and forgiveness and blessing in my life. I receive the authority that you give me now over the devil, sin, and death. I give my life to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Everyone I pray this prayer with who prays with a genuine heart feels a sense of relief—a lightness and a peace—because they go from a place of being burdened by the weight of all these things into a place of victorious living.
Would you like to pray this prayer with me and receive forgiveness for your sins and authority over the devil and eternal life?
