Have you ever talked to the devil? No, I don’t mean carry on a conversation like you’re good friends. I mean, have you ever stood up to the devil and told him no more. Have you ever told him that you will not believe His lies or follow his ways any longer? If you haven’t, maybe you did.

The Need to Renounce

I believe there is a part of the healing process that is often overlooked called renouncing. Once God shows you a lie you’ve been believing and you repent and receive God’s truth, it’s time to renounce. You boldly tell the devil that you reject his lies and will have nothing to do with them from that point on.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

The concept in the Greek language is to disown, renounce, forbid, reject. The idea is that you were doing or believing something and now you no longer do it or believe it.

To renounce is to make a formal declaration that you refuse to follow, obey, or recognize any longer the things you once did or held as truth. When you renounce, you are telling the devil and everyone who will listen that you want nothing more to do with this in your life.

Be Alert for the Devil

Some people get nervous when I start talking about the devil. They say things like, “Aren’t you paying too much attention to the devil? If you told God you're sorry and changed your mind, why bring the devil into the situation?”

The main reason I talk about the devil is because the Bible does. There are dozens and dozens of passages that speak about the devil and his work. The word of God says the following about the devil:

• we are not ignorant of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11)
• We are warned not to give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)
• That we are to be of sober spirit and be on the alert because the devil is prowling around like a lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)
• That we do not fight against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
• That we are to submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee for us. ( James 4:7)
• Jesus talks about binding the strongman (Mark 3:27)
• Jesus gives us authority over all the works of the enemy (Luke 10:19)

There are many more verses that speak of the nature and character of the devil. The good news is that Jesus has given us power over the enemy. If we are ignorant we can fall into the trap of the enemy, but the Bible teaches us his ways so that we will not fall into his traps.

I’m leading a pastor’s conference way out in the sticks in Mozambique. I am asking the pastors a series of questions. I am not trying to trick them, I just want to see what they’ll say.

So I ask them to tell what is the opposite of words I am about to say.

I say, “What is the opposite of up?”

They say, “Down.”

What is the opposite of hot?”

“Cold”

“What is the opposite of high?”

“Low”

Then here comes the biggie, “What is the opposite of God?”

They all said, “The devil”

“No, no, no., no, no,” I said. There’s nothing opposite of God.

There is only one God and no one in all of creation is like Him. He is one of kind. Nothing even comes close. Everything apart from God is created. He is the uncreated one. Everything else has limitations. He is the limitless one.

So then, if the devil is so weak in comparison to God, then why even bring him up. Because the Bible does. He can deceive us, lie to us, scare us, tempt us, intimidate us, but beyond that he is lacking in power. We’re to be on the alert for the devil is prowling, resist him, and stand strong in the truth of the Lord.

Put the Devil on Notice

I said all of that to say why we must stand up to the devil and renounce anything to do with him or his lies. If we have willingly participated in his lies, we must willingly stand up and renounce anything to do with them.

Renouncing is declaring that we will have nothing to do with these lies or lifestyle any longer. Where we have willingly participated in sin, we stand up and say, “No more! I’m drawing a line in the sand and I will not cross it.”

How does it fit into the Eight Steps to Experiencing His Victory?

In step one we examine our relationship with God to make sure that we know Him and that we are not in any way sinning against Him.

In step two we ask God for revelation. We ask Him to show us if there is any harmful way in us. We can be deceived, but God cannot. He is faithful to show us the areas of our lives that need to be changed.

Step three is to take responsibility for our actions. If we have sinned against God, we must acknowledge that or we will make no progress.We must be like David who said he sinned against God and no one else.

Step four is to repent. Repentance is always toward God. We agree with what He says and turn to Him.

Step five is renouncing. We have already come into agreement with God over our sin, now we must stand up to the devil and renounce our former ways. Renouncing always turns a back on sin. It is no longer a part of our lives.

So when we put steps four and five together we can say that we formally accept what God says is true and formally renounce the lies we once held. Repentance is toward God. Renouncing is toward the devil. Renouncing is putting the devil on notice.

A great thing about public renouncing is that there are others who bear witness to what we are saying. God hears it, the devil hears it, and all who are present hear it. Most of all, we hear it.

When we verbally renounce the things of the devil, there is a breaking in the spiritual dimension. Things change when we declare we will no longer walk in agreement with the devil.

I’m thinking. Is there anything that you need to renounce? If so, put the devil on notice.