MY HOUSE IS THE HOUSE OF GODAn illustrated lesson on deliverance and holiness

By Alma Arcelia Bermejo GuevaraIllustrated by Deborah Duffy

Today we are going to talk about something everyone of us knows well. We will talk about houses. Who knows what a house is? When we picture a house we think about protection, a safe place to live, play and grow.

What are some of the parts of a house? It has windows and doors. What are windows and doors for? What happens if we leave them open? Tell me some of the good things that will enter in: sunshine, fragrance of flowers, the wind, wet dirt smell, the singing of the birds, etc.

Can bad things also enter in when we leave the doors and windows open? What kind of things? For sure dust, dirt and trash. Perhaps bugs, animals, and even a thief or a stranger.

How many of you would love to live in a dirty house? No! How often do we clean a house? Yes, often. The dust and the dirt make it look and smell bad. Bugs and animals can cause damage and after a long time even destroy it.

When a stranger comes in and sees that no one is really taking care of the house, he may think he can possess and rule it. Some strangers look like good people. They seem to be friendly and polite. Not every stranger is bad but we must be careful and ask God who we can trust.

Thieves come to steal what is valuable. As he looks for it he destroys what he finds and sometimes thieves kill in order to steal.

What would happen if a thief or a stranger comes into the house? What would you do? Would you welcome him and offer him something to drink? No! You may say to him:”Get out of here!” What would you do if he doesn’t obey because you are not big enough? I sure would call my dad, the police or someone with more authority than I.

What do you do after the thief or the bad stranger leaves the house? Yes! You lock the doors and the windows. He might be very mad at you because you kicked him out and he may try to reenter with seven like him into the house. Are you going to let him in again? No! Does it mean that you must keep the doors and windows closed forever? No, there will be days when you want the sunshine and the wind to come in but, you must not leave them unprotected, you must be sure that only good things are coming in.

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The Bible says that our body is the house of our spirit. It also says that our body is the house or the temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19)

Visual #1 HouseJust like a house, our body has doors and windows. Our ears, nose, mouth and

hands are the doors. Our eyes are the windows. When we leave them open good and bad things come in. What kind of good things? Happiness, joy and peace…Faith, hope and love.

What are some of the bad things that can fill our house? Sorrow, sadness, fear, pride, jealousy, hate, bitterness, anger, unbelief, anxiety, evil thoughts, confusion, envy, resentment, deception, worry, self pity, depression, suicidal thoughts, doubt.

They can enter us through: Rock music, Heavy Metal music, bad conversations, and gossip. Through smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and overeating. Movies, television programs, magazines or books that speak about Satan, demons, witches, wizards, spells, chanting, levels of power, violence, death or show naked people. When somebody touches you in a way you do not want to be touched or, you touch somebody in that way, you are letting something very bad come into your body. The Bible calls it sin. Sin is always knocking at your door, it says to you: “Let me in”. If you let it come in, it will be your boss and you will be its servant. If you keep it out, you will have power over it (Genesis 4:7)

There are also thieves and strangers (bad spirits) that are willing to enter into your house to steal, kill and destroy the good things that God has put in you. (John 10:10)

Visual #2 Boy readingSome of them come in when you have your doors and windows open and you

don’t check what is coming in. Let’s say you started listening to rock or heavy metal music and you can not live without it any more. The bit makes you feel good and excited. Maybe after listening for a while you feel anxious and get aggressive easily. Without realizing it you have let a stranger in and now he is ruling you.

Visual #3 Boy ashamed, scared and guilty Some strangers come in when we have a fearful or painful experience. Maybe

you are watching a television program. It seems to be fun. Suddenly it turns into a horror movie, there is witchcraft, violence, somebody dies and from that day on you have nightmares.

There are strangers that enter into a whole family through the bad things that one of the members did or said. It may have happened that your grandfather always

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had problems telling the truth. Your dad, without knowing why, lies constantly and you are often in trouble for lying. (Numbers 14:18)

How do you take a strange spirit out of your body? First of all you must ask someone with more authority than you to help you. This kind of stranger does not obey everyone, only those that live clean lives according to the will of God. The only one that has the power to cleanse and help you is Jesus Christ. (Mark 16:17, Acts 10:38, I John 3:8)

Visual #4 Boy kneeling at the crossIn order for Jesus to help you, you must confess your sin, repent and accept

His forgiveness. God does not want any bad thing in you because you are His house. (Deuteronomy 7:26). Strangers do not come in by force. You or somebody else in your family let them in and that’s why they have power over you. Ask Jesus to forgive you and confess what you have done. He has promised to forgive those that repent with all their heart and He will forget their sins. (I John 1:9)

I want you to think for a moment. Close your eyes. Is there any stranger in your house? Is there something inside of you that pushes you to do things you do not want to do? If your answer is yes, you must repent, confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you in order to be free.

(Teacher, help children to repent, confess and ask forgiveness. It is important for them to confess with their mouth, even if they do it quietly. We recommend having several teachers to help the children.)

Visual #5 Boy cleaning his houseNow, in the Name of Jesus, with the power of His blood and using the authority

that He has given to you, clean your house and take dominion over the bad spirits. Call them by name and command them to go with all the trash they came with.

For instance: Fear, leave me in Jesus’ name… Bad dreams, out in Jesus’ name… Strong desire of playing video games, lose me in Jesus’ name. Lust of watching naked people or touching them, leave me in Jesus name. (Teacher, let Holy Spirit direct you while giving examples.)

Ministry time(Helpers must be ready and able to assist children. Allow enough time for Holy

Spirit to move and minister to every child.)

Now, that you have kicked the strangers out, what do you have to do? Yes! You must close and lock the doors and the windows. This means not to do what you have been doing, not even one more time. The Bible commands us not to open the door to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27) Remember, the stranger may come back with

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seven like him to give you a harder time (Luke 11:24-26) The Bible says: “Obey God, resist the Devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)

Visual #6 BibleYou must also keep your house clean. How? By reading, obeying and

memorizing the Word of God every day (Ephesians 4:23) The Bible shows you the way God wants you to live, it will wash your mind (Ephesians 5:26b) and your heart. Talk to God and worship Him! It will give you strength to be a good guardian of your house.

God does not want you to live with fear. He does not want you to have your windows and doors closed forever. There are so many good things He wants you to let in! If you are close to Jesus you will learn to hear His voice and He will teach you to open and close them correctly. The Bible says that the children of God listen to His voice and obey Him. (John 10:27)

Visual # 7 Trash canHoly Spirit may show to you things that He wants you to throw away: pictures,

books, magazines, clothing, toys, movies, tapes, gifts, etc.

(Teacher: please explain the importance of obeying and encourage them to do it as soon as possible. (I Samuel 15:22)

A good way to clean your natural house is by walking and praying in tongues in every room. Ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you if there is something there that offends God and get rid of it.

(Teacher, this lesson should be shared with parents. They may need to help their children to throw away or even destroy everything that Holy Spirit reveals to them)

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