Faith Takes Back What the Devil Has Stolen

By Pastor James Epperly

The Moment We Sit In
Lately I can’t shake this phrase: “the moment in which you sit.” Like David facing Goliath, impact begins when you recognize your moment and rise to meet it. Scripture contains thousands of promises Jesus already paid for at the cross—yet many believers have allowed the enemy to squat on land that belongs to them.

Big Idea: Promised land is usually occupied land. Faith doesn’t wait for empty space—faith takes back occupied ground.

32,000 Promises—And a Finished Work
From Genesis to Revelation, scholars estimate there are around 32,000 promises God makes to His people. Jesus completed the delivery of those promises at the cross.
John 19:30 (NKJV) – “It is finished.”

The price is paid. Provision has been made.
If we’re honest, most of us aren’t walking in the fullness of those promises—yet. This is the hour to rise in faith and reclaim what the enemy has stolen.

Adverse Possession: When Trespass Becomes Title
There’s a real-world law called adverse possession: if a trespasser occupies land long enough, they can petition a court to transfer ownership. Spiritually, many believers have tolerated the enemy’s illegal occupation—fence lines, limits, and lies—on ground Jesus purchased with His blood.

Application: Faith serves an eviction notice. Ownership requires vigilance.

Promised Land = Occupied Land
When Israel crossed the Jordan, Joshua did not promise empty fields; he promised God’s land, currently occupied (Canaanites, giants, idol worship). Jericho didn’t fall by negotiation but by obedient faith. Likewise, your marriage, mind, health, finances, and calling often come with entrenched resistance. Faith doesn’t flinch; faith enforces the covenant.
Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) – “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” Not physical aggression—spiritual resolve that refuses to yield ground Jesus already won.

Why Does the Enemy Seem to Prosper?
Jesus humiliated the powers of darkness at the cross. Yet the enemy appears to “win” where believers permit him to linger.

• Open doors often begin as thoughts → become imaginations → mature into strongholds.
• Strongholds feel permanent because they were tolerated, not because they are sovereign.

Start the Eviction Process (Practical Guide)
1) Survey the property.
List 3 areas where you’re not walking in promise (mindset, marriage, finances, health, habits, media gates).
2) Serve notice in prayer.
Out loud, renounce the trespass (fear, compromise, poverty, lust, anxiety) and claim God’s promise over that area.
3) Shut the gate.

• Screens/inputs: remove apps, add filters, hand your device passcode to a trusted spouse/friend.
• Finances: build a budget, tithe, cut one expense this week.
• Health: swap one food, add one 20-minute walk, fix bedtime.
• Thought life: 10 minutes in the Word before any social feed.

4) Pick five stones (promises).
Choose five verses that target your “giant” and confess them daily for 30 days. (Write them on index cards. Put one on your mirror, one in your car.)
5) Worship as warfare.
Psalm 34:1 (NKJV) – “I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Praise re-centers authority and silences the accuser at your gates.

Declarations (Speak Aloud)

• “In Jesus’ name, I evict fear, lack, and compromise from my life.”
• “I pursue, overtake, and recover all.” (1 Samuel 30:8, NKJV)
• “God restores years and opportunities to me.” (Joel 2:25, NKJV)
• “I live as an owner of covenant promises, not a renter.”
• “My mind is renewed; my gates are guarded; my house belongs to the Lord.”
  
  

Prayer
Father, thank You that Jesus finished the work. By Your Spirit, expose every open door and give me courage to shut it. I serve notice to every trespass on my covenant land. Strengthen me to act on Your Word today. Restore years and establish Your peace in my home. In Jesus’ name, amen.