Intense Ministries Articles
Spiritual Warfare by Amy Shelton
I think the area of spiritual warfare is not addressed properly in our churches and Christian literature/media, and it is vital to our spiritual health. The pressures of the world are much worse than they were just a mere 10 years ago, and we need to be on our toes, playing the role of a watchman at all times, especially concerning our children.
There are times that evil spirits are able to control people. This includes Christians, even children. It is in the Bible, and so is Scriptural. Many people are horrified to think that Christians can have demons. When Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, satan", He was talking to satan, who was controlling Peter. (Matt 16:23, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:8) He wasn't calling Peter 'satan'. People will argue that Christians can't have demons, that Peter wasn't a Christian at that point. However, Peter was a follower of Christ, and even though Jesus hadn't offered Himself as a sacrifice at that time, Peter had a revelation that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah. Just a few verses prior to that incident (in Matt and Mark), Peter said, "You are the Christ."
Some church doctrine is designed to take away gifts from followers of Christ. Many churches believe some of the Bible applies to lives today, but they discount parts of the Bible, saying that those gifts were obsolete when the period of Pentecost was over. Some people don't believe in healing or miracles or demonic deliverance; they believe it happened when the apostles were alive, but they don't think God does these things for His people today. This is a sad misconception among Christians.
Why don't we hear about demons in modern day America?
This is a very unpopular topic among Christians today. Of course, we shouldn't focus all our attention on the dark side, we should keep our eyes on God. However, we must be aware of the existence of demons, and how to deal with them, according to Scripture. The evil spirits want us to not believe they exist; that makes their job much more successful. Their job is to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) They steal our happiness, kill our joy, and destroy what God has called us to do. It is extremely difficult for you to understand this, until you have gone through deliverance yourself. In other countries, demons don't hide. The people believe demons exist, and they scare people. Here, the ignorance of the people allows demons to hide.
Biblical References
In Acts 5:3, Ananias was a Christian, and yet satan filled his heart so he lied. He most likely was controlled by a spirit of greed.
We must constantly "take inventory" of our hearts, ensuring that we have no unforgiveness or bitterness toward anyone. This is how satan can take advantage of us, and bitterness can make us physically sick as well:
2 Cor 2:10-11
10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. (NKJ)
We are allowed to be angry, but only for a short time. We must forgive, or the devil will have a right to interfere with us:
Eph 4:26-27
26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil. (NKJ)
satan is constantly trying to take us captive, wanting us to do his will rather than the Lord's. The following passage is not talking about unbelievers, but servants of the Lord! This indicates that someone who is serving the Lord can be taken captive by the devil!
2 Tim 2:24-26
24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (NKJ)
Jesus gave His disciples the command to cast out demons. He wants us to do it, too! Matt 10:7-8 and Mark 16:17
Examples Let me share an experience with my son, who was four at the time this happened. He was normally very obedient, but there was a period when he wouldn't listen to us, disobeying us blatantly. We'd reprimand him, with no television, and with time-outs, and with paddlings. It had no effect; he still disobeyed. Sometimes when he was punished, he'd cry and say he didn't want to behave that way. Also, sometimes he'd say he couldn't quit crying. This went on for a few days, until we finally saw what was happening spiritually. We realized he wasn't in control; demons were causing him to act this way. So JD and I told him we wanted to pray with him. We explained to him first that we wouldn't be talking to him, but rather to the demons. We lovingly prayed for wisdom in this matter, and calmly but commandingly told the evil spirits they must go in Jesus' name. They had no place in our son. I don't recall if we told him to say "Spirit of rebellion, leave me in the name of Jesus, and don't come back", but we probably did. This isn't some kind of wild-haired screaming and yelling display that would be in the movies, he was not scared at all. At one point, he got stiff as a board, and breathed kind of hard, and his personality changed, back to his old loving (and obedient) self. After we felt the evil presence leave, we prayed that the Holy Spirit would come and fill the void. If this happens again, we'll handle it again. No big deal. God gave all of us authority to cast out demons in Jesus' name, and we're taking Him up on it!
I know many adults who have gone through deliverance, including myself. Many people just accept "faults" in themselves, thinking that's their flaws, but in reality, it's demons they 've lived with for many years. These can be fear, rejection, pride, suicide, greed, depression, lust, etc. I know a lady who was bound in fear, so much that she was afraid to drive under an underpass. She'd drive way out of her way to avoid them when she could. After her deliverance, even her face looked different; the worried look was gone, and she now looks peaceful.
Sometimes, people have a tendency toward something evil, but they've never acted on those urges because their self will is strong enough to control their actions. I have heard of some who have had a spirit of suicide cast out of them, even though they have never attempted suicide. Prior to the deliverance, they had thoughts of suicide.
Someone I know well had a spirit of anger for many years, probably since before he was born. His father and grandfather both had it, and I'm certain it was simply passed down to him. Although he seldom acted on it, he had a "short fuse", and could get very angry over things that wouldn't matter. He was able to control his actions, and if he felt he was losing control of the situation, he simply walked out of the room and composed himself. He thought he could conquer the anger by his own will, which he did, to some extent. He was present at a meeting where a there was a minister skilled in deliverance. When he was prayed for, he let out an uncontrolled shout, and he felt something released. He told me he felt that a spirit of anger had left. After that time, he's gone through some more deliverance and healing while alone with God. He now believes that he had the spirit of anger all his life. It became his "friend". He enjoyed being angry when he was wronged. Now when he sees someone else who has a spirit of anger, he can easily discern what the problem is, and he understands his or her feelings. He has said that there have been times that the tempation to invite his "friend" back has come up many times, and he must use his self will along with God's strength to reject satan.
Inner Healing Another important process we should all go through is called "inner healing". This is when we get quiet with God, and ask Him to show us things from our past that we need to settle. Stay quiet for a time, listening to Him. Sometimes He'll show you an image of something like your 1st grade classroom, when a classmate said you were ugly, or your mother saying you were worthless. When He brings something to your mind, forgive the person involved, and most importantly, forgive yourself. Picture Jesus there with you in that situation. You will not forget it happened, but Jesus will heal your wounds. Ask God to heal you of the hurts, and let the tears flow. If you feel you must ask someone's forgiveness, put all pride aside and do it! We can't afford not to be at our best for God!
This is a continuous process, inner healing and deliverance. We couldn't take it if God rooted everything out at once. We need to keep examining ourselves often.
How do evil spirits get in us? We give them opportunity (by sinning). They can be inherited. Alcoholism and drug abuse is demonic, and is often passed down from one generation to the next. If you watch a scary movie, or have a scary experience (auto accident, etc), the spirit of fear can try to come upon you. Continuing to dwell on that fear can hinder your work for the Lord. If instead, you quote Scripture, "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and love and a sound mind," and you praise God and thank Him, and force yourself not to keep thinking about the fearful situation, you will be able to focus on God's will, rather than the fear satan wants you to have.
Demons present themselves as our friends. For instance, someone may have wronged you. It feels good to be angry at him. It feels "right" to be angry. You cannot allow the anger to fester and increase; you cannot dwell on it. You must swallow your pride and your anger, and forgive him, even if you are right. Otherwise, the spirit of anger has full authority to be present in your life, clouding your judgment and affecting your relationships with family, friends, and God.
Unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger are ways that satan can get take us captive. 2 Cor 2:10-11, Eph 4:26-27, 2 Tim 2:24-26 are the verses mentioned also above.
The occult (Ouija boards, fortune tellers, horoscopes, magic tricks, superstitions, hypnotism, martial arts, yoga, Halloween activities) can open the door to demons. If you have participated in any of these activities, you need to confess to God that you have sinned, and don't participate anymore. These things are real. Someone I know used a Ouija board in high school, and it would tell him what his Christmas gifts would be, and answer all kinds of questions. Later, when his friend heard that Ouija boards were just a tool of satan, his friend tried to burn his board, and it wouldn't burn! These young men poured very flammable starter fluid on it, and it still wouldn't burn! Another instance I heard of where someone burned a Ouija board heard screams while it burned. We need to rid our houses of any of these objects. Anything that God is not pleased with, you must take it away. Some people have little Buddha statues for decoration in their homes, but God isn't happy with those! Music tapes that God wouldn't approve of need to be thrown away. Videos, books, jewelry with anything on it dealing with occult practices do not belong in a Christian's home. There's something going around in college campuses now, called self-hypnosis and mind control, where they bend spoons by thinking about it. This is satanic. I heard a pastor on television say that parents would ask him why their children were having nightmares...he said they surround their children with demons (Pokemon), then ask why the nightmares? Dreamcatchers are also a tool of satan, they're supposed to catch the bad dreams. Instead, we should pray every night for the Holy Spirit to give good dreams to our children.
How do we know if it's a demon? That's a difficult call sometimes. We must pray for discernment. If something is a repeated problem, and you can't stop doing it or thinking about it, then you feel guilty or worthless after you give in to the temptation, then it's likely demonic.
Sometimes, people call things demons when really it's a problem with their flesh. Of course, satan is the cause of all sin, but we have a free will, and we need to let our minds dwell on things from God. Phillipians 4:8 says to let our minds dwell on whatever is true, honorable, .... If we keep thinking of bad things, then that allows satan to get a hold on our lives. If we accidentally look at something we shouldn't, then we should turn away and think about something else. However, if we start thinking about it, we open the door to sin.
There are times when a child will naturally rebel against their parents, testing to see what the limits are. This is kind of what Adam and Eve did, but they only had one chance with that fruit! This rebellious testing is not always demonic, but it can be.
If a person is acting or thinking in such a way that they don't want, then it's likely that it's demonic. When I hear someone say they have an uncontrollable anger, or they can't stop crying, or they're preoccupied with thinking about death, I believe most of the time, it is demonic, and must be cast out.
How do we cast them out? Jesus said to use His name to cast them out. Sometimes simply saying "In Jesus' name, I command this evil spirit to come out" is all it takes. If you have a feeling of the name of the demon (anger, rebellion, fear, etc), then you should name it while commanding it to leave. Other cases have deep-rooted anger or unforgiveness, that have to be dealt with before any deliverance can take place. Some people believe only priests or pastors have authority over them, but in reality, all Christians who are acting in Jesus' name have authority.
Curses There can be curses spoken over us, and they are real. They must be broken. To break them, just say, "I break any curses spoken over me, in this situation, in Jesus' name." Curses can be in many forms. One lady who had pain in her arm told her physician, "I hope your arm hurts as bad as mine does!" A few days later, he experienced pain in his arm, and he renounced the curse and it immediately left. Words spoken to a child, whether intentionally unkind or not, can be curses: "You're so stupid," or "You'll turn out just like me, I'm no good at spelling," or "Everyone in our family has heart problems, so you will, too." We do not have to accept curses!
Deliverance in children In dealing with children's deliverance, the parents are their spiritual head. Sometimes, a child's deliverance is directly related to the parent's deliverance.
Example: A mother is having a tough time with her rebellious son. Day after day, he seeks his independence and wants to be in control. The mother should examine her own life, was she rebellious toward her own parents? Has this been dealt with? Perhaps she (or the boy's father) needs deliverance from a rebellious spirit first, then her son can be delivered.
What about the child who has divorced parents, one who is not saved? The Christian parent then becomes the spiritual head of the child, and has the responsibility of covering the child with prayer, especially while in custody of the other parent. If the child "inherited" any evil spirits from the unsaved parent, the Christian parent can break any curses that were passed down, cast the demons out, and continue to pray for protection for the child. Our children need to be covered in prayer, especially when at the home of an unsaved parent. It's also important to plead the blood of Jesus over them while in schools, even at church meetings.
How do we keep them out? We must fill the void, after the evil spirit leaves. In every Christian, there is a special place, a Holy of Holies, where the Holy Spirit dwells. satan cannot invade that place. A Christian cannot be demon possessed, but he can be demon oppressed. After the evil spirit leaves, you should pray that the Holy Spirit will come in to that person to replace the void left. If the void isn't filled with the Holy Spirit, the evil spirits have an opportunity to return, bringing their buddies with them!
Matt 12:43-45
43 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44 "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.
45 "Then he goes 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. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." (NKJ)
When the evil spirit is forced to go, it will want to come back. It will try to bring on the same old feelings, even making you believe it wasn't a real deliverance experience. It will try to make you doubt that you had an evil spirit to begin with. It's going to try every trick in the book to let you open the door just a bit, to let it back in. You must turn away from it, don't even think about it.
We need to allow God to prune our flesh, and that's hard to do sometimes! Most Christians have more darkness in them than they care to admit. And satan deceives them into believing everything is fine. But the beautiful thing is that when the darkness is scooped out, there is more room for Light!
Recommended reading (to supplement the Bible)
"Demons" by Lester Sumrall, 1979, published by Thomas Nelson, Inc., the late Lester Sumrall also wrote another more recent book, entitled "Exorcism", which has many of the same information as the first book
"Deliverance from Evil Spirits" by Michael Scanlan, T.O.R., and Randall J. Cirner, 1980, published by Servant Books (This book has some good points and examples, but I disagree with the authors when they state that deliverance should be done in a pastoral setting.)
"Pigs in the Parlor" by Frank Hammond
"They Shall Expel Demons" by Derek Prince
While I don't necessarily agree completely with any one person's view, the above books have some good information.
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Last updated: Monday, August 18, 2003 11:04:37 AM by AWS
