The ministry of Jesus reveals the reality of evil spirits, and the necessity of dealing with them to set the captives free. The failure to address this issue has left many believers in bondage to anger, deception, fear, false doctrine, control, lying, addictions, sickness, depression, pride, guilt, rejection, unforgiveness, and mind binding spirits (just to name a few). The very fact that many believers do not even believe in demons, or that a Christian can have a demon proves this fact. Demons of deception, error, and false doctrine have infiltrated the church (believers) to make her believe that demons are not a real problem today like they were in “Biblical times.” These demons also deceive the church into believing that Christians can’t have a demon, even though the Bible never teaches this. The Bible does teach however that many of God’s people had demons during the time that Jesus conducted His public ministry.
Demonic spirits can keep believers from understanding and reading the Bible, praying, knowing the Lord intimately, overcoming sin, and fulfilling their earthly calling. Demons have the potential of completely hindering the heavenly calling of a Christian, and thus making the Christian’s life on earth mainly purposeless. The current church has not yet attained to maturity, and this is one of the reasons for it. I cannot properly express how critical the issue of deliverance is for Christians.
The purpose of this article is to teach believers how to minister self-deliverance. There are not enough ministers trained in deliverance available for the current need in the church. We will discuss a very easy model that is effective, and that an individual can conduct on their own. First thing is first; we must be in agreement with Jesus and His word:
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. (Mark 1:32-34 NKJV).
Jesus’ ministry consisted to preaching, teaching, healing, and casting demons out of God’s people (at the time). Our ministries must model our Master’s ministry. When a disciple is well trained, he becomes like his Master. Jesus commands His first disciples to cast out demons (Matthew 10:8), and then He tells them to go and make other disciples; and to teach them to obey everything that He has commanded them (which includes casting out demons). Therefore any believer who does not believe in the ministry of deliverance, is not one of Jesus’ true disciples. Additionally, Jesus addresses those who will not come in to alignment with the ministry of deliverance:
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (Matthew 12:28-30 NKJV).
Jesus says that those who are not with Him on the issue of deliverance are against Him. Believers who don’t want to cast out demons, believe in them, or simply address the issue are actually against Jesus. Unfortunately I have met pastors and ministers who are in this category. Also, Jesus says those who do not gather together with Him on the issue of deliverance, will be scattered. If we will not stand with Jesus and do what He has commanded us to do, then we will be scattered by the enemy.
I have seen ministries scattered by the enemy because they “didn’t want to give Satan any attention by talking about him.” Sadly the enemy scattered the entire congregation, because they refused to fight the enemy; and Satan got attention in the end for breaking them apart. Jesus’ words were fulfilled. I will also add that Jesus wasn’t scared to mention Satan’s name or deal with demonic spirits. Obviously we don’t focus on them, but we do need to follow our Master and deal with them. Jesus was also not afraid to cast demons out in public if he needed to, which is against the doctrine of some in the church (or maybe some in the church are against the doctrine of Jesus Christ).
Jesus teaches us that at times (maybe many times) our sicknesses are related to demonic spirits, and deliverance is needed before healing can occur:
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. (Luke 13:10-13 NKJV).
At one time, a ministry I was attending was praying for a woman to be healed of cancer. No progress was being made with her healing (over the course of a few weeks). I felt that the underlying condition was a demonic spirit of cancer, that could have had access to her from some sort of curse. I talked to the pastor about doing deliverance on the woman, and I talked to the woman also. Both of them were not open to praying for deliverance, because of their doctrine. The woman died of cancer a few months later. Now I can not say for certain if the woman would have been delivered from the demon, and healed if we had prayed for her. I have to believe she would have been.
I do believe with everything in me that the source of her cancer was a spirit of infirmity. If you were sick with cancer, wouldn’t you want any kind of prayer you could get in order to be healed? What does it hurt to check and see if a demon is causing the sickness? If no demon comes out then it’s not a big deal; and if a spirit does come out, you may be healed like the woman that Jesus prayed for in the scripture above. Apparently there are Christians who would rather hold on to false doctrines (of demons), rather than receive prayer for deliverance so that they might be healed.
Galatians 3:13 states that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. There is a camp of believers that use this scripture to argue that a Christian cannot have a curse or a demon. I wish they were right. However, I can say from experience that they are wrong. I have observed the lives of Christians that are a mess with sin, sickness, and false doctrines. Even unbelievers looking in on the church from the outside can tell some Christians are messed up.
Demonic issues are causing a lot of our problems. When someone breaks the law, they come under a curse (Galatians 3:10). Curses and sin are what empowers demons to enter a human body and attach themselves to someone’s soul (mind, will, emotions). Curses will not be done away with until Jesus sets up His Kingdom on the Earth (Revelation 22:3), and the law is dissolved (Matthew 5:17-19). Jesus did redeem us from the curse of the law, but just like salvation; we have to want it and ask for it. Galatians 3:13 is our authority to break off curses and get deliverance from the curse of the law. Jesus could supernaturally deliver someone, and does at times do this. However most of us have to use the authority Christ has given us to get deliverance as part of our training. Failure to do so will result in the church remaining in bondage, and never fulfilling her destiny.
Discipleship and Authority
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. (Matthew 10:1 AMP).
Jesus gave the 12 disciples authority to cast out demons, and in Luke Chapter 10; Jesus gives the 70 disciples authority to cast out demons (Luke 10:17). Becoming a disciple of Jesus is a prerequisite for the authority to cast our demons. Jesus normally only gives this authority to those who first choose to follow Him as a disciple. There are many believers in Jesus in America, but few disciples. In order to be a disciple we must make a commitment to carry a cross of sufferings as Jesus did. This means the Lord will allow sufferings in our lives in order to crucify the self-life. This self-life wants it’s own way instead of the Lord’s way. In order to be a disciple we must lose our self-life to find the life of Christ in us. If we choose our own life, will, and way; then we cannot be His disciples. Jesus is very clear on this issue. Not everyone is considered a disciple by Jesus, and those that are not, will not be trusted with authority to perform deliverance.
Self-Deliverance
Before one can be trusted to engage in casting demons out of others, they must first be free of demons themselves. Disciples of Jesus may ask Him for the authority to cast our demons. Pray this through until Jesus grants this authority. He desires His church to be set free and wants to give this authority to us. Once this authority is given, the Holy Spirit will be there to help. Long prayers are not necessary in most cases. The Lord responds to simple prayers.
For example, let’s say you want to check if there is a curse of adultery on you, because there is a history of divorce in your family blood-line. You might pray something as simple as, “Father forgive me and my ancestors for divorce or any other sin that has brought the curse of adultery on my family blood-line. Cleanse me in the blood of Jesus. In the name of Jesus I break that curse off of my line now! Any spirit associated with that curse, go in Jesus name!” The last command “go” or “leave” can be repeated two or three times if necessary. Give it a little time to see if anything happens. Often, demons will move in the stomach area or throat before they come out. Many times they will come out of the mouth in coughing, or an extended breath. I have also witnessed mucus and snot coming out of someone’s mouth as a demon was coming out. The person did not remember what happened. I have seen and heard demonic tongues being spoken when a demon is coming out of a person (it lasted around 10 seconds). Demons may manifest and come out differently than I have described.
I would recommend go down a list of demonic spirits when praying for deliverance. Obviously you should follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, but a list is a good way not to miss any. Let’s say you want to check if you have a spirit of pride. You might pray, “Lord, forgive me of any sin that would have allowed the spirit of pride to come into my life. I repent of that sin in Jesus name. In the name of Jesus, spirit of pride, I bind you and break your power. You come out right now!” Repeat this several times until one comes out, or nothing happens and you are convinced that there is not a spirit of pride in you.
Sometimes there will be multiple spirits of the same kind in a person. For example a person could have two strongmen spirits of pride, and four regular spirits of pride. Strongmen are the ruling spirits over the lessor spirits and they are like their name implies, stronger. You must call out the strongman spirit by its name (strongman spirit of pride). If one comes out, then try to command another to come out to make sure you are free. Then move on to the regular spirit of pride. Usually there will be serval demons under a strongman demon. There could be a demon of pride without a strongman, or there could just be one strongman. The point I am trying to make is that one needs to be thorough and specific with the names. Jesus casted a legion of demons out all at once into a heard of swine. That is the goal, but I’m teaching this way because we have not attained to that level yet. I pray we get to that level soon.
It is possible for a Christian to have hundreds of demons. The Christian would be demonized, but not demon possessed. The level of demonization depends on how many demons there are, and the strength of those demons. The deliverance process may take some time if this is the case. Generally those who are demon possessed are unbelievers. Some of the details about deliverance from demons that I am giving comes from experience in the deliverance ministry, and is not in the Bible. It is extra-biblical, but it is not unbiblical. The Holy Spirit can teach us and show us things that are not in scripture, as long as those things do not contradict scripture. God is infinite, and there is endless information about Him. The Bible is only a snap-shot of who He is. We will be learning about Him and getting to know Him for all eternity. Fear of deception is also a demon that keeps many believers from walking with the Lord. We must trust the Holy Spirit to led us into all truth. He will not give us a snake if we are asking for a fish (Luke 11:9-13).
We have discussed about the authority to cast demons out as Jesus’ disciples, and faith in Jesus (in Him, and what He says in His word in regards to deliverance). Here are the final keys for casting out demons that are stronger in power:
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not drive it out?” He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. [But this kind of demon does not go out except by prayer and fasting.]” (Matthew 17:19-21 AMP).
This scripture proves that some demons are strongmen (or stronger in power) as Jesus also mentions in Matthew 12. Prayer and fasting are needed in addition to faith and authority, to deliver a person from demons that are stronger in power.
Once someone is delivered from demons, it could take a period of years for their heart to heal from the sin and iniquity. The demon may be gone, but repentance of the sin (lust for example) must be walked out. As the person stays free from lust, the Holy Spirit will heal the heart from the iniquity of sin. Because the heart of that person was exposed to the sin of lust, the individual must remain careful not to fall to the temptation of lustful sins again. Spending time with the Lord is the best way to fight temptations. At a certain point, the temptation of lustful sins will decrease when the Lord has healed a person’s heart from the iniquity. If a person who engaged in the sin of lust is set free of the demons, then turns again to their former sins; the same demons will return and be allowed to bring with them other demons more powerful which will leave the person in a worse condition than before:
“Now when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through waterless (dry, arid) places in search of rest, but it does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45 AMP).
If this happens it will be harder for the believer to get free. Demons will not have a legal right to come back inside a person unless sin is committed. Sometimes demons can gain access to a person through a traumatic event such as a car accident or death of a family member (even an event that really frightens a person such as a scary landing on an airplane). I do not understand why this is, but I know it to be true from experience.
The time is short and the Lord is going to release His authority to cast out demons to His disciples. We may see believers being delivered all at once in the future so they can be prepared quickly for the harvest. The baptism of fire will return to the church. The Lord will purify His ministers and church with a holy fire that will drive out demons, and release an impartation of holiness and the fear of the Lord. We are close to the end of the age, and Jesus is coming.
- Ty Unruh (2020)
Frank Hammond was a pioneer deliverance minister, and has authored many books. Please check out his work for a more in-depth study on the subject.
The Following is a detailed list of demonic spirits from the book “Steps of Deliverance” by Ralph P. Brown JR. and Elizabeth Anne Brown. Please click on the link below to see the PDF:
