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INVISIBLE INFLUENCES

Last fall, a few days before the beginning of our week of Tabernacles, a man called me from another state and asked about coming to our place and receiving some ministry, especially deliverance. He said he was desperate because demons were actually physically hitting him until his skin was red and bruised.

I asked him when he wanted to come, he said, “Could I come tomorrow?” This took me aback for a moment, but hearing his desperation I said, “Come on, Brother.”

The next thing he said really surprised me: “Oh, by the way, I want you to know that I am a Psychiatrist and have been for several years. Until the past couple of years, I absolutely did not believe in demons and certainly did not think that people could have them in themselves. But now I know better. I am a believing Christian and know I am saved, but I need help. They won’t leave me alone no matter what I pray or do.”

The rest of the story is for another time, but I will share that when I first began to pray for this brother, a demon manifested in him yelling at me and completely contorting his whole demeanor. Eventually, he began slapping himself severely until his face was red and swollen. He could not stop this. It was incredible to see such an educated, mature (in many ways) man doing this.

Needless to say, he had come to really believe in demons and what they can do in a Christian’s life.

What about Christians having Demons?

There are still many Bible teachers who say Christians cannot have demons and always find some justification or theology to prove their position. I must respond (after witnessing these kinds of things for over thirty years) by saying to them: “Show me in the Word of God where this is so.” On the other hand, there are many scriptures verifying that believers can be infested with demonic influence, even to the point of losing control over part of their lives. The assumption that sprit filled Christians cannot have demons comes from carnal logic and reveals a lack of spiritual discernment and experience on the part of whomever believes or teaches such.

No, I do not believe a true disciple of Jesus can be totally possessed by Satan, but I do know (even from personal experience) that many disciples of Christ are demonized in areas of their personality or soul due to indwelling entities other than themselves. No wonder Jesus came to His flock, the lost sheep of Israel, casting out demons and commissioning His disciples to do the same.

Those who deny the reality of the spiritual realm and how it affects the personal lives of Christians need to ask themselves why saved people do things that cause self destruction and broken relationships.

For that matter, why would anybody want to be violently angry and lose their temper? Why would someone want to literally destroy a long term relationship or any relationship because of losing control of their tongue or emotions? Why would anyone want to set themselves up to be rejected and experience the emotions of feeling unloved and unwanted? Why would an intelligent and sane brother in the Lord not be able to control his arms and hands and keep them from flailing his own body? Why are some believers addicted or eaten by cancer or obviously cursed?
What’s motivating and driving these souls to destruction? Certainly, it is not the Holy Spirit.

Recently, three of us were ministering to a lady who had driven several miles to receive help she could not find in her local church or area. During her pre-salvation life she had been deeply involved in the occult, witchcraft and drugs. It was apparent she was now a sincere follower of Jesus, but she admitted she was having real difficulties controlling areas of her life. She confessed that she would lose control with her young son, who is hyperactive, and scream, “I hate you!” She also said she really felt bad after saying such; on the other hand, admitted she also felt relieved after doing so. “Why?” she asked.

Who’s Doing the Sinning Here?

As the apostle Paul said:
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. Romans 7:15 NKJ

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:18-20

What’s he talking about? Don’t you find it interesting that he says that sin dwells in him? The Greek word for dwells (οἰκέω/oikeo) is formed from the word for house (οἶκος/oikos). This shows us that sin lives in us like in a house. Jesus said that demons consider us as their house. Jesus said,
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’” Luke 11:24 (Emphasis mine).

In the beginning of God’s Word to us, temptation to sin is revealed as an encounter with a personality of some sort. In the Schocken Bible translation of the five books of Moses which is a more accurate translation of the Hebrew, we find what God actually said to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7 is:

YHWH said to Kayin: Why are you so upset? Why has your face fallen? It is not thus: If you intend good, bear-it-aloft, but if you do not intend good, at the entrance is sin, a crouching demon, toward you his lust—but you can rule over him. (Emphasis mine)

If Yahweh sees sin this way, why don’t we?

So we must consider this: who’s doing the sinning in this house? Note that Paul says that he is not the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in his house or body that is doing it. He also admits that he cannot control it.

When I came to the realization that I could have demons in my life, I decided I would do some study and research about this possibility. I had previously been working toward a graduate degree in counseling psychology and had worked in a treatment center, but this method of treatment was far from anything I had ever learned or seen.

Of course, I went to the Word of God and began to see what a large part of Jesus’ ministry was casting out demons. I also went searching for a book I had been warned to leave alone called, Pigs in the Parlor. A friend had given me some cassette tapes in which Derek Prince was ministering and teaching about deliverance, and I decided to listen to them.

I finally found and read Pigs in the Parlor (most Christian book stores would not carry the book at that time) and was amazed at what I read. While reading the book at home alone one day, I decided to begin ministering deliverance to myself. As I began to rebuke the spirits and tell them to leave my life, I began to feel strange and uncomfortable. My voice began to change, and I could feel my face contorting. I felt fear. I ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror and was stunned to see something in my countenance I had never seen before. Who was that or who was I? I was so upset I decided to stop praying and find someone to help me with this. Amazingly, the author of the book, Frank Hammond, was one of the first ones to minister to me just a few weeks later. It dawned on me that some of the things about myself that I did not like or want were not me. I realized this meant I could change. Thank you, Lord.

After my first experience of personal deliverance, the Lord made it clear to me that this was to be a major part of my ministry. I determined to learn from this brother and others who had such a heart to help God’s people.

We are Spirit Containers

Many do not understand that God made us to be spirit containers. We are perfectly designed to express whatever spirit we yield to within us. Without Christ in our hearts, we have little choice but to yield to the prince of the power of the air.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3

We must not assume the resident dwellers all leave us when we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. With this experience, we are given the option to yield to another power besides these invisible influences. According to what we are taught in Romans 6, it’s our choice. Some of these unclean forces leave us when we come to the Lord—but not all. There are still giants in our land (soul) of Canaan to be attacked and slain.

Paul is talking to Spirit-filled believers here when he writes:
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”Romans 6:12-13

So even for those areas of our life that are out of control, we are accountable and responsible for our responses and actions.

Amos 3:3 says “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” —in this instance the two being one’s self and a demon.

Demons can only manifest in a believer’s life because they are allowed to do so. In some way, although mostly Unconsciously, the host must be in agreement with them. The mistake is to believe they can be contained through sheer will-power, which is possible to a degree for some, but it is an exhausting way to live and ultimately ends in defeat.

Years ago I saw that trying to keep a demon subdued was like trying to keep a big beach ball under the water. You can get it under, but the challenge is to keep it under. Eventually, you tire and up pops the beach ball, i.e. a demon. There you go again losing your temper, yelling, lusting, fearing, feeling rejected and on and on. It’s no way to live. It is not the liberty Jesus promised we should have.

Feeding Demons

I knew a woman who was given a vision when she was working as a nurse in a hospital. As she was going down the hallway with a rolling cart to give everybody on her floor their medication, each room began to look like a cage in a zoo. In each cage an angry animal was growling to be fed. Instead of pills, she saw herself throwing food into the cage, and as she did, the animals calmed down for a while. She realized the animals were types of infirmities.

The Lord revealed to her that the pills she was dispensing were the same as food for demons. She was feeding demons of infirmity and sickness that were residing in the people in the beds. This “food” satisfied the unclean spirits enough to alleviate the symptoms for a while, but soon they demanded to be fed again or the symptoms would return. She left the nursing field.

Demons want to be fed. In fact, many religions of the world have their followers build little “god houses” to place in their homes or yards. They put food in these houses to feed their gods.

In a similar manner, the little gods (or demons that rule in some part of our lives) in our human house demand to be satiated of their hunger and lusts, and we feed them by giving in to such manifestations as outbursts of emotions, lustful desires, rejection fears and bitterness. This satisfies them for a little while, but not for long. Like the grave or the barren womb, spirits of addiction can never be satisfied, (Proverbs 30:16) or we continue to “lose” our temper. Who or what is really in dominion here?

Since we have demons within ourselves, they need to be cast out. The Greek word here is ἐκβάλλω/ekballo which means “to cast out of.” Jesus cast demons out of his people, not away from them or off of them.

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Mark 1:23-26 (Emphasis mine)

Amazingly, I have seen people witness similar situations in some of our meetings and still reject the truth about demons being in Christians. Consequently, the unclean spirits are able to hide behind denial, unbelief and fear about their reality and effects. They remain invisible in the people in the congregation and are able to do their wicked works. It is no wonder churches split or wander into charismatic witchcraft.

Jesus established the casting out of demons as an integral part of the ministry of the Gospel. I have no doubt whatsoever that every single believer needs deliverance to one degree or another. It should be a normal ministry in every local body of believers, not some odd thing done in a back room.

In my experience, discerning and expelling demons (either by others ministering to me and and/or me praying for myself) has brought wonderful changes in my personal life and my walk with the Lord.

I have also found deliverance to be a powerful, vital weapon in my ministry as an under-shepherd of God’s sheep. It is not all that believers need, but it is certainly a crucial element for total victory and liberty in Christ Jesus. Canaan was promised and given, but it could not be occupied without warfare with and defeat of the giants in it. So it is with our soul.

When members of a body of believers are freed of parasites of bitterness, rejection, fear, unforgiveness and all other defiling, defeating influences, they can walk in unity, love and, yes, even perfection as Jesus commanded. (Matthew 5:48) The church can then become what the Lord intended and wants.

Knowing how essential this kind of ministry is and seeing the responses we are receiving from all around the world, we endeavor to provide all the information and help we can on our web site www.keyministries.org. We are also planning to have an area on our web site especially for pastors who want to learn more about this vital ministry and will be inviting ministers to come to our campus for seminars to receive and learn deliverance.

We invite anyone to reach out to us for deliverance by calling, visiting one of our gatherings or coming to our campus for a season of ministry.

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Matthew 10:1

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:5-8

May the eyes of our understanding be opened to the Spirit of Truth,

Stephen