It is easy to leave the door open to the devil and not even intend to. Ephesians 4:27 says, "Neither give place to the devil." Paul didn't write that to sinners. He wrote that to Spirit-filled saints of God in the church at Ephesus. And what applies to the Christians in Ephesus applies to Christians today, wherever they might live.

Paul exhorted believers, "Don't give the devil any place in you." That means it's possible for you to give the devil place or an open door into your life. However, it also means that he can't take any place unless you let him! You see, we have been delivered out of Satan's authority through Jesus' death and resurrection. He has absolutely no power over us unless we give him place in our lives. We are redeemed, and Satan has no more dominion over us. If we will just believe and act upon the authority Jesus gave us in His Name, we can enjoy the reality of that which is ours. And we can keep the door closed to the devil in our lives.

There is no need for you to be defeated by the devil. He is a defeated foe! The Bible says, "to resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) It doesn't say he might flee from you - it says he will flee from you. He will flee from you when you stand in the authority of Jesus' Name.

However, along with our authority in the Name of Jesus to resist Satan, comes our responsibility to always keep the door closed to the devil. The devil has no authority over us unless we give him place. Some believers have thought, "I'm born again and blood-bought, so I'm automatically safe from the attacks of the devil." We are protected if we believe and obey God's Word. But if we were automatically safe from the onslaughts of the enemy with no responsibility on our part, why would Paul have given us the admonition: "Neither give place to the devil?" It would have been foolish for Paul to make a statement like that if it was impossible for the devil to get into our lives no matter what we do. God said through Paul, "Don't give the devil any place in you." That means the devil can take a place in you - if you let him.

We are not to let sin have dominion over us. Sin opens the door to the devil in our lives. And that doesn't just mean "big" sins, like robbery or murder. Any kind of disobedience to God's Word gives the devil a place in our lives. A lot of times we make the mistake of trying to catalog sins. We put one at the top of our list and say, "That sin is terrible." And we put another sin down at the bottom of the list and say, "That one isn't too bad." But God doesn't categorize sins the same way many believers would.

Opening the door to the spirit of fear is one way we can give other spirits the opportunity to come in and wreak havoc in our lives. For example, in the case of Job, we can see the danger of allowing fear to have dominion over us. Job lost his children, his property, and his health through Satan's attacks (Job 1:13-19). How was Satan able to attack Job? Satan had to have some avenue, some inroad into Job's life. The Bible says that Job was in fear. After all these calamities came upon him, Job said, "For the thing which I GREATLY FEARED IS COME UPON ME, and THAT WHICH I WAS AFRAID OF is come unto me." (Job 3:25) People sometimes say, "Satan was able to attack Job because God gave Satan permission." No, God didn't permit Satan to attack Job in the sense of commissioning the devil. Job gave Satan permission by opening the door to him through fear. God only allowed Satan to do what Job had already permitted through the open door of fear. Fear opens the door to the enemy. Fear is not of God!

You see, legally Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). We are living in this world where Satan is god. Satan has a right to take a place in our lives if we get on his territory and give place to him through sin and disobedience. And one way to give place to the devil is by allowing the spirit of fear to influence us.

How do you keep fear out of your life? When the devil tries to bring thoughts of fear into your mind, resist those thoughts with the authority God has given you in the Name of Jesus. Command fear to go in Jesus' Name! Then fill your mind instead with the promises in God's Word, and confess those promises with your mouth. When you act upon the Word and use your authority to resist the devil in the Name of Jesus, fear has to go. Remember, "you have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7)

You can open the door to the devil by allowing any sin to have dominion over you. For example, you can open the door to the devil through unforgiveness and resentment. It can be a real temptation to harbor resentment toward someone you feel has wronged you. It's easy to think, "I'm just not ready to forgive that person yet." But often the truth of the matter is you just want to hold on to the resentment and make the person pay for the wrong he or she did to you! When you don't immediately forgive a person who has wronged you, you open the door to the devil. Strife and unforgiveness open the door to confusion, ill health, poverty, and every evil work (James 3:16). So get rid of unforgiveness and resentment just as quickly as you can!

Learn to resist Satan. Put the devil in his place! Say, "Fear, I resist you in the Name of Jesus. I refuse to fear. Doubt, I resist you in the Name of Jesus. I refuse to doubt." And determine in your heart to always walk in love and to immediately forgive whoever might offend you. That's how you keep the door closed to the devil in your life. You can do it! "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you." (Phil. 4:13)

You have the authority over the devil because Jesus gave you that authority. Once you get a revelation of the authority that is yours in Jesus' Name, you won't run from the devil any longer - you'll put him on the run! Instead of your being afraid of him, he'll be afraid of you because you know the truth about who you are in Christ. You know you can keep the door closed to the devil and be strong in the power of Jesus Christ.

Our ability to live free from the power of the enemy is all a part of God's plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. We weren't delivered from the power of darkness because of anything we did, but because of what Jesus did for us. Jesus rose victorious over death, hell, and the grave. God raised Him from the dead, and gave Him a Name above every name. And that Name belongs to you and me.

Because of Jesus, we have the authority to say to the devil: "In Jesus' Name I resist you! In Jesus' Name I stand against every strategy you have arrayed against me! You have no authority over me, for through Jesus I have been delivered from the power of darkness. And, Satan, for the rest of my life, I refuse to give you any place in me!"

Source: Classic Sermons by Kenneth Hagin.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications