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The time has come for us to consider the truths and principles
related to spiritual warfare and deliverance from evil spirits. The
Bible reveals to us the existence both of Satan, the chief enemy of God
and mankind, and that army of evil spirits also known as demons which
operate under Satan’s command. We briefly considered their main
activities as they relate to us. The Bible teaches us that we as true
disciples of Jesus are engaged in a warfare against these dark powers.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up
the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:12,13).
We observe from this passage the following principles:
1. As Christians we are involved in spiritual battle whether we like it or not.
We are involved in close combat - wrestling - not combat from a distance
only. God permitted Satan to come close to Jesus (Matthew 4:4-10) and at
times permits dark powers to come close to us. We are at times going to be
aware of their presence (especially in the evil day mentioned). In the midst of
temptation and possibly oppression, we must resist and trust God for
deliverance. There is a struggle that we must personally be involved in - against
demonic powers which seek to influence our minds, wills and emotions against
God and His will. To be effective in prayer and spiritual warfare we must deny
ourselves and persist in resisting the devil.
2. There are various degrees of dark powers - there is rank in Satan’s
kingdom.
a. Some evil spirits are called “principalities”. It is reasonable to suppose that
“principalities” refer to strong spirits that seek to exercise dominion over
particular geographical zones. The angel Gabriel was resisted by “the prince
of the kingdom of Persia” (a demon prince) for twenty-one days (see Daniel
10:13). The prince of Greece is also mentioned as an ascending demonic
power which will rise to power after the prince of Persia will be defeated.
b. Under the command of these demon princes are various “powers” -
stronger spirits that perhaps influence the respective culture in certain negative
ways. For example, there is a power of religious tradition strongly at work in
some cultures working to blind peoples eyes to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4).
In other cultures there may be powers of strife, or lust, or idolatry, or
witchcraft all operating to varying degrees.
c. At the lowest level there are vast multitudes (“hosts”) of evil spirits at
work in the heavenly places, in the atmosphere. There are more than enough
demons in existence for every single person on earth to be attacked or
influenced in various ways by them. These are the foot-soldiers in Satan’s
kingdom - it is with these spirits that we must first of all learn to deal
effectively. These spirits are not just in the atmosphere - they are also in
people. Paul talks about the spirit which is now at work in the sons of
disobedience (Ephesians 2:2).
3. God has provided a spiritual armour for us to put on. We must do this daily
by faith. Without our armour on we will be vulnerable to satanic invasion and
attack. Therefore we must every day walk in honesty, righteousness, faith,
love, hope, peace, readiness, speaking the Word and praying always in the
Spirit. These are all necessary ingredients for success in the warfare against
Satan. (See Ephesians 6:14-18).
4. God expects us to stand, and not be overcome by Satan’s attacks.
Satan’s Purpose and Plan
We know that Satan was
originally created as a good angel - but because of pride and rebellion he was
thrown out of heaven. Christians also must beware not to follow his example
by walking in pride or rebellion against God’s Word or God’s leadership,
lest they fall into the same condemnation as the devil (1 Timothy 3:6).
Having been rejected by God and thrown out of heaven, Satan is full of hatred,
bitterness and hostility towards God. Unable to directly overthrow God by
force, Satan wishes to attack God’s children and if possible cause them to
fall. Satan is working also to further pervert and trample on the image of God
which remains in man from the time of creation. Satan wants to cause God
pain through destroying his prize creation - people - and by leading them to do
evil against God. Jesus said, “The thief comes not but for to steal, to kill and
to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.” (John 10:10). So Satan is working to steal from people, to kill
them and to destroy both people’s eternal souls and also all the good heritage
of godly people.
How does Satan operate? His main weapon is deception. Operating through
his vast armies of evil spirits, he is influencing people with all kinds of untrue
things which keep them in bondage to evil until the light of the gospel breaks
through. Satan is today using all kinds of philosophies, lies, religion and idolatry
to keep people’s eyes blinded to the gospel and resistant to the message of
God as long as possible.
Satan is working hard to deceive Christians also, by opposing the central truths
of God’s word which would have power to destroy his influence. It is Satan
who is opposing Bible study, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, baptism in water,
salvation by grace through faith and not by works and tradition. It is Satan who
is doing all he can to make new believers separate themselves from fellowship
and involvement in Biblical churches. It is Satan who is opposing free praise
and worship in the churches. It is Satan who is opposing the message of faith
and and the message of repentance. It is Satan who is opposing revival,
evangelism and the call to prayer and fasting. Satan is also doing what he can
to keep Christians from learning the truths about deliverance from demons so
he can keep them in bondage. Through all these means of deception, he works
to keep Christians from doing the will of God and therefore from being
effective.
Satan is also working through fear, discouragement, accusation and strife.
These are only just some of his devices. We need wisdom and power from
God to overcome them, and a steadfast refusal to compromise with sin. God is
calling us to walk in love, in the Word, and by the Spirit of God. Then we can
overcome Satan’s devices and frustrate his purposes.
Who Can Have a Demon?
There are very few people who are totally owned or possessed by demons.
Many Bible translations talk about people being “possessed” by demons
when
in reality that is not the meaning of the Greek word used. The Greek word in
these cases is “daimonizomai” which would be better translated
“demonized”. It means to be affected by demons, to be under the influence
of demons or to have demons. No doubt a Christian cannot be “possessed”
by a demon because Christians belong to God through the blood of Jesus
Christ. Whether a real Christian can have a demon is a controversial question
to some but for those of us who have been set free from demons after we gave
our lives to Jesus it is not so hard to determine. Let us now consider this matter
from a biblical point of view.
Without a doubt, demons are at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians
2:2). The truth is, people who are disobeying God are giving evil spirits a right
to work not only around them but also in them. This applies also to church
members. Peter declared that Satan had filled the heart of Ananias. All
Ananias did was pretend that he was giving to God more than he really was.
Therefore, anyone who is lying could have their heart filled by Satan.
Paul told the believers in Ephesus: “Neither give place to the devil”
(Ephesians 4:27). This implies that it is possible for a Christian to give place to
the devil. There is strong biblical evidence that a Christian doing this will later
need deliverance from evil spirits, because they have by their own choices
given ground to Satan.
Although the spirit of a born again Christian is regenerated, recreated and not
possessable by evil spirits, the salvation of the soul is a process which is not
automatic and requires firstly persistent faith in God, and secondly, knowledge
of the truth. It is clear that evil spirits do have access to our minds to inject
thoughts of all kinds from time to time. We must be watchful so that we do not
accept these thoughts so as to let the evil one build strongholds in our mind that
are not pleasing to God. There is a battle for the mind of every Christian. In
order to keep demons out of our minds, we must fill our minds with something
else. We must be full of the Holy Spirit and full of the Word.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry
places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to
MY HOUSE from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it
EMPTY, swept, and put in order. Then he goes out and takes with him
seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell
there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Matthew
12:43- 45)
Every unsaved man is a child of the devil and being a son of disobedience it is
a fact that evil spirits are at work in him, If those spirits are forced to leave -
either by the fact that the person receives Christ or the Word of God, or by a
special operation of the Holy Spirit, they will do exactly what Jesus said they
would do in the passage mentioned above. If indeed after the evil spirit goes
out, the person’s life remains empty - that is, not full of God’s Word and
God’s spirit, there will be a possibility for that evil spirit to enter into that man
again - even if he has prayed to receive Christ. Why? Because although he
may have confessed Christ, by ignorance or disobeience he denied Christ the
first place in his life. He didn’t put the Word first, and he didn’t get really
filled with the spirit. Therefore demons can be in Christians, as we know them.
Demons can’t stay in anyone who consistently submits to God and resists
the devil. (James 4:7). The devil and all demons must flee from such a person.
Such a Christian who is submitting to God in this way is not grieving the Holy
Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). Therefore the Holy Spirit is making sure that no
demon remains in the temple of God. Such a person is “keeping themselves,
and the evil one touches him not” (1 John 5:18).
The Old Testament is full of examples given for our present day instruction
(Romans 15:4), which contain principles of spiritual warfare and help us to see
that even the temple of God can be defiled if God’s people are disobedient
and break the covenant. In the book of Ezekial we see how the priests of God
were idolatrous and unclean things were in the temple of God (Ezekial 8:6-17).
This is the picture of the Christian who tolerates various forms of idolatry in his
or her life. It was not until Ezekial 10 that the glory of God, the Holy Spirit -
left the temple. This shows us that the Holy Spirit can be in the temple at the
same time as abominations - but that eventually if idolatry persists the Holy
Spirit will leave and the judgment of God will come.
Another example which illustrates how Christians can need deliverance is in the
history of Israel’s wars, especially in the period of the judges. Every time the
people of God broke the covenant and worshipped foreign gods, the Lord
God sent their enemies to invade the promised land and cause them trouble. In
the same way, when Christians break their covenant with God through
persistent sin, inevitably the demons will come to take what has been
surrendered to them. It is vital therefore that we respect the conditions of the
blood covenant we have with God and give no place to the devil through sin
and disobedience.
Jesus cast demons not only out of people with legions of evil spirits (Mark
5:8-9) but also out of people who were not affected by demons to anything
like that extent (Mark 1:32-34, 39). The people being delivered were
orthodox religious Jews - not satan-worshipping idolatrous heathen - or their
modern day equivalent - drug- abusing sexually-immoral heavy rockers into
witchcraft and violence. In the same way, lots of ordinary religious people
need deliverance from evil spirits - evil spirits which are producing conditions
such as fear, doubt, condemnation and sickness in them.
From reading the gospels we can see that Jesus cast out of people spirits
which were responsible for the causing of diseases. One time a man brought
his son to the disciples of Jesus. He wanted them to cast the mute spirit out of
him. The disciples were not able to do it because of their unbelief (Mark 9:19)
and lack of prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). But when Jesus came, he rebuked
the unclean spirit, saying to him, “You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you,
come out of him, and enter him no more!” (Mark 9:25). Here we see that
deafness and dumbness can be caused by the presence of an evil spirit, which
must come out. The spirit was in there and Jesus told it to get out. In His
healing ministry, Jesus first cast out the evil spirit responsible for creating the
disease in the person before He applied the power of the Holy Spirit to their
bodies to restore the damage (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 8:16,17; Matthew
9:32-34; Matthew 12:22; Matthew 17:18; Mark 1:34; Luke 4:40,41; Luke
6:17-19; Luke 8:2; Luke 9:42; Luke 18:11-16). And Jesus, knowing that
mankind would always need this kind of ministry until the full inauguration of
the kingdom of God on earth gave the same power and authority to His
disciples to cast out demons and heal the sick by the Spirit of God as He
Himself did (Matthew 10:1-2; Mark 3:14,15). This power was given to the
church in the name of Jesus, and like the baptism in the Holy Spirit, was never
withdrawn by God (John 14:12; Mark 16:17,18). So we as disciples are
called to drive out demons just as Jesus did.
The connection between casting out demons and healing the sick should come
as no surprise to those familiar with Acts 10:38, which says, “How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God
was with Him.” This passage shows clearly that sickness is the work of the
devil, not a work of God. That is why Jesus opposed sickness and cast out
spirits of infirmity wherever He went. It is possible that many chronically sick
Christians in fact need deliverance from spirits of infirmity just as that bent up
woman did in Luke 13:11, named by Jesus, “a daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound”. Jesus did not call every Jew a child of Abraham -
see John 8:39,40. Even God’s children can be bound by Satan in various
areas. Jesus came to set us free. Instead of making theological excuses -
calling sickness God’s blessing or just closing our eyes and saying that
God’s children cannot have demons, we should be as practical as Jesus and
treat spirit-based infirmities as our enemies and cast them out - just as Jesus
did.
Someone may object that God has given us promises of redemption in the new
covenant so that we need not fear the possibility that there could be a demon
in us as Christians. In any case we should not fear. The only fear we should
have is a healthy fear of God. The reality is, though, God has promised lots of
things which many born-again Christians are not experiencing. Why? Because
of a lack of repentance, faith and appropriate confession! God has promised
healing and the baptism in the Spirit to His children. But how many Christians
have until now failed to appropriate God’s provision in this matter? In the
same way, many Christians, through disobedience, ignorance, pride or unbelief
have failed to appropriate God’s promises in regards to deliverance from evil
spirits. Having a theology that says we are free from evil spirits just can’t
compare in value to actually being free of their indwelling influence.
Jesus in Matthew 15:26 calls deliverance from evil spirits “the children’s
bread”. So deliverance from evil spirits is for the children of God! It is not
primarily for the unrepentant or unbelieving, since if they get delivered and
don’t repent it is quite likely that they will end up worse than before!
(Matthew 12:43- 45).
Jesus taught his disciples to pray in the Lord’s prayer, literally, “Deliver us
from the evil one”. Who should pray for deliverance from evil spirits?
Disciples! Whose deliverance should they pray for? For their own! Even the
apostle Peter was used as a mouthpiece for Satan one time (Matthew
16:22,23). This is still happening today occasionally even through born again
Christians who are ignorant of God’s total plan.
Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John
8:32). It is time for all believers everywhere to know the truth and through the
truth get free of the indwelling power of sin in their lives. It is not time for
religious excuses such as the Jews of Jesus’ day made, such as: “We are
Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anyone. How can you
say, ‘You will be made free.’ “ (John 8:33) We need to be made free
indeed by Jesus, not theologically free or ‘free’ because we have a doctrine
that tells us we are free, while our own lives lack the promised peace, love, joy
and power of God.
So we see that disciples must pray for deliverance, must cast out demons
(Mark 16:18), and as children of God, need the children’s bread of healing
and deliverance. May the Lord “deliver us from the evil one.”
The Difference Between “the Flesh” and Demons
We cannot blame all our problems on the devil and demons however. Many
times it is simply a lack of application of the cross of Christ to the adamic
nature at work within us. As new men in Christ, we must take authority over
the adamic nature as well as any demons in order to get the victory over sin
and self.
The apostle Paul in many places in the New Testament speaks of “the flesh”
as being something at work in Christians that is striving against the leading of
the Spirit of God.
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfil the lusts of the
flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; and these things are contrary to one another, so that you may not
do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:16,17)
Paul uses the Greek word “sarx” which means literally “flesh” or “meat”.
Some Bible translations translate this as “the sinful nature”. When Paul
speaks of the flesh he is usually not talking about our physical bodies, but
something at work in our physical bodies which is working in opposition to the
will of God. It is the old Adamic nature inherited through the fall. It has desires
which run contrary to those of the Holy Spirit and indeed to our new
regenerated spirits. It thinks and desires in accordance with the values of the
world system that we knew and followed before we became disciples of
Christ. Some of its works are listed in Galatians 5:19-21. The works of the
flesh are not only unlawful physical indulgences but are also soulish and
spiritual in nature. For example, hatred, contentions, heresies are listed as
works of the flesh. A lot of the programming that governs our behaviour and
responses comes into the category of “the flesh” also. There can be demons
associated with these things but by the Spirit we can have the total victory.
God’s solution for the flesh is crucifixion. “Those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24). This
Scripture teaches us that we are the ones who must crucify the flesh. This is
done by the Spirit - “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if
by the Spirit YOU put to death the deeds of the body you will live.”
(Romans 8:13). Realise that it is we ourselves who, wanting to follow Jesus,
must “deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him” (Luke
9:23). We must reckon ourselves dead indeed to sin (Romans 6:11), discipline
ourselves, say no to ourselves and not avoid the pains that come to those who
consistently seek to do the will of God in all things. Deliverance is no
substitute for making these daily decisions to put down the flesh and follow
the Spirit. You cannot cast out the flesh, you must crucify it.
On the other hand, self-discipline and reckoning oneself dead to sin and alive
to God, for all its importance, may not be the total solution for our
sanctification. There are demons that can be at work in Christians, fixing
themselves as it were in “the flesh” and fortifying “the flesh”. These
demons, unlike the flesh can’t be crucified. We can’t kill demons either.
They must be cast out. A general rule is: if despite self-discipline and
meditation on the Word a spiritual problem of some sort fails to be resolved, it
is almost certainly a case requiring deliverance from evil spirits. Many times
sincere Christians are using a lot of energy suppressing tendencies that are due
to demons which could be cast out and should be cast out. We have seen in
the previous section that it is possible for Christians to have one or more
demons. Multitudes of sincere Christians baptised in the Holy Spirit can and
do testify to this reality today. Therefore if despite all measures taken to deny
self and crucify the flesh the victory is not received, certain steps should be
taken to get free of evil spirits.
Marks of a Person Needing Deliverance
1. A person who consistently lacks the fruit of the Holy Spirit - love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
almost certainly needs deliverance in one or more areas of their lives.
2. A person who is often feels condemned by what they perceive as their
failures usually needs deliverance, as well as a thorough understanding of the
gospel which sets us free from guilt and makes us “the righteousness of God
in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
3. A person who testifies of being constantly harassed by evil spirits almost
certainly needs deliverance from evil spirits.
4. A person who despite wise counsel never seems to break free of sinful
habits needs deliverance as well as the real baptism in the Holy Spirit and solid
Bible teaching on the Christian life and the victory we have in Christ.
5. A person who compulsively talks too much needs deliverance. Compulsion
is a mark of demonisation.
6. A person who is attracted to occultic phenomenon and somewhere has
yielded to this attraction almost certainly needs deliverance.
7. A person who is chronically sick and whose case doctors cannot succesfully
diagnose almost certainly needs deliverance from a spirit of infirmity of some
kind. There may be other curses at work which must be broken also.
How Demons Get Into People
It is often helpful to know the main ways that demons get into people.
1. When people yield to particular sins often enough - even at the level of
mental acceptance - demons can enter them.
2. Demons very often get into people while they are still in their mother’s
womb. Idolatry and occultic sins are transmitted to the third and fourth
generations of those who hate God (Exodus 20:3-5). Demons have a right to
enter the unborn babies of those who are under such curses. It is through
demons that curses are transmitted from generation to generation.
3. Sudden shocks, traumas and crises can open the door for demons to get in
- for example, a sudden shock might open the door for a demon of fear to
enter a young child.
4. Rituals of non-Biblical religions and secret societies can open the door for
demons to get into people - demons which will later work to blind them to the
true gospel.
5. Many forms of modern entertainment open people to demonic invasion.
Much in the film, television and music industries is inspired by satan and opens
people up to satanic or worldly philosophy and the influence of demons.
Pornography, occultic role-playing games or devices to supposedly
communicate with the dead or tell fortunes all open people up to demons.
6. When people don’t deal properly with the hurts they receive from others in
life, by forgiving them fully, they are going to be opened up to demons. Spirits
of resentment, rejection, anger, hatred and bitterness are very common
amongst people who have been dealt hard and hurtful blows by others.
HOW TO GET YOURSELF AND OTHERS FREE OF DEMONS
Although God is sovereign and can cause any person to experience some
measure of deliverance, it is now well known that meeting certain conditions
will make it a lot easier for you or any person you minister to to receive
deliverance. People needing deliverance should be taught these things.
1. Have hope based on knowing God’s will for you.
The Bible says, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously” (James
4:5). We should realise that the Holy Spirit is very jealous for us and certainly
wants to get all the demons out of us. So we can have strong hope in God and
faith that He wants to help us. We must never fall into despair concerning
God’s willingness or power to help us. We are getting free to make room for
the Holy Spirit to bring the kingdom of God more fully into our lives.
It is the knowledge of the truth which makes you free (John 8:32). Therefore,
meditate on the portions of the Word of God relevant to your problem, and
ask the Holy Spirit to quicken them to you.
2. Have faith in the grace of God.
“But He gives more grace.” It is by the Spirit of God, by grace, that we are
going to be delivered from evil spirits (Matthew 12:28). We need to trust and
follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all this.
3. Humility. Therefore he says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to
the humble.” (James 4:6). God’s power flows to deliver us when we humble
ourselves. In relation to deliverance, this humilty implies the following:
a. Be willing to be honest about it and admit your need for help. A proud
person will not do this.
b. Admit that you need to change. Drop the rebellious attitude and get a
teachable spirit.
c. Be willing to let God’s Spirit minister deliverance to you in any way He
chooses, even if you feel that it might make you look silly. Don’t decide
beforehand what you will and won’t permit to happen to you. You might just
hold the demon in if you do that.
4. Know the Truth
Jesus said, “If you abide in my Word, you are my disciples indeed. And you
shall know the truth, and the knowledge of the truth shall set you free”. (John
8:31,32)
Satan wants us ignorant concerning what he is doing in our lives. When we
know the truth that knowledge is the key to our deliverance. “Through
knowledge, the righteous shall be delivered” (Proverbs 11:9). The more
relevant knowledge you have in your heart and mind, the greater and fuller can
be your deliverance.
We need knowledge concerning two things - God’s Word and ourselves -
our own condition. The two are related.
We must know the truth about ourselves. Not just what we are in Christ, but
also about our heart condition, our words, deeds and behaviour. We must be
willing to face up to it and acknowledge it. This takes humility. We need to call
things by their right names.
Knowing the truth includes knowing what God means by sin. The moral law of
God as revealed in the Bible gives us his knowledge. For example, idolatry
(loving or valuing something or someone more than God the Creator), unbelief,
pride, fear of man, complaining, slander, sex outside of marriage and occult
activities are all sin and must be repented of. Occult activities, even on the part
of our ancestors are especially dangerous in opening the door to demons.
These activities include but are not limited to any form of astrology, consulting
fortune tellers, channelers or psychics, witchcraft, divination or fantasy games
containing these themes. (see Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Isaiah 47:12-14). We
must know the meaning of words so we can identify whether we are
committing any of these sins or not! Satan will be looking to exploit any
ignorance in these areas.
Secondly, we must know the truth of God’s Word. Indeed, consistent
meditation on God’s Word is vital for breakthrough. Understanding,
confessing, declaring and proclaiming what the Word says relating to your life
is a vital key to overcoming Satan in every kind of conflict.
We can know Jesus as the overcoming victor in our life through the revelation
of Him in God’s Word. This releases faith for a victorious life.
5. Submit to God. (James 4:7). We are not in the place to receive deliverance
if we will not submit to God and His Word. Submission to God means
voluntarily doing all we know God is requiring. For thorough deliverance this
will include
a. Confession of all known sin. (1 John 1:9)
b. Repentance from all known sin. (Luke 13:3)
c. Forgiving all those who have hurt us or we feel inclined to complain against.
(Colossians 3:13; Matthew 18:35; Mark 11:25).
d. Making restitution or confession to others for past wrongs.
e. Trusting God completely for salvation and deliverance through the blood of
Jesus alone.
f. Calling on the name of the Lord. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord
shall be delivered.” (Romans 10:13).
5. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Having fulfilled all
the previous steps it is necessary to resist the devil. This word “resist” used
here is not a passive resistance, but an active resistance. It implies:
a. Renouncing all contact with Satan. Renouncing all things which have opened
the door for Satan such as personal sins and the sins of parents, objects or
symbols associated with Satan’s work, sources of uncleanness such as
pornographic pictures or occultic books (Acts 19:19).
b. Listening to God and His Word. Refusing to listen to the devil and the voice
of demons.
c. Commanding the demons to get out, using the authority that you have in the
name of Jesus. (Mark 11:23; Mark 16:18). Expect them to leave on the basis
that they no longer have any legal right to remain and that “greater is He that is
in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).
d. Expel them (Mark 16:18). Jesus said those who believe would expel
demons. Expelling involves an act of the will and a breathing out. The word for
spirit is the same as the word for breath in both Hebrew and Greek. Often you
will feel the spirits coming up as you breath out. Different manifestations such
as coughing or vomiting are possible at this point - but are not essential to
deliverance. What is important is to be sure you get them out and that you
keep them out.
6. Maintain your Deliverance by Drawing Near to God at all times.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8). In practical
terms this means:
a. Develop a lifestyle of praise and worship, for God dwells in the praises of
His people (Psalm 22:3). Rejoice always. (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
b. Pray always (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Keep seeking God through prayer.
Develop communion with the Holy Spirit more and more. Through a life of
prayer you can be full of the Holy Spirit as God requires - and then you will
not be empty so as to leave openings in your life for evil spirits (Ephesians
5:18).
c. Give thanks to God always (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Thank God for your
deliverance. Thanksgiving puts us on an upward path, strengthens our faith and
solidifies our healing (Luke 17:14-19).
d. Hear the word of God and do it (Luke 11:28). It is significant that this
instruction follows directly after Jesus’ teaching on the way evil spirits seek to
return after they are cast out. Matthew 12:43- 45 reveals that the man’s
problem here was that he was empty. That is why we must get filled with the
Word and the Spirit to maintain total deliverance. This is what God wants for
our lives.
7. Let love be your goal and motivation in all things.
(1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Corinthians 14:1)
The purpose of God is that we walk in love. We must keep our minds on
God’s love and how we can love others, and not get on an endless hunt for
demons. God’s main purpose is to build us up in love. This is something
positive for us to do and seek. Doing the positive will of God will enable us to
avoid the negative traps of Satan. We must always keep Jesus in mind and
seek to use our knowledge of deliverance to serve others and as a tool to help
them both enjoy God more fully and also to fulfil God’s destiny for their lives.
May God bless you as you put these principles into practise in your own life
and in the lives of those to whom God leads you to minister deliverance in the
mighty name of Jesus Christ!
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