Last week, we discussed the prevalence of deliverance or “casting out demons” in the gospels.  Not only did Jesus minister deliverance to many, he also gave power and authority to others to do the same. Luke reported, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Lk.9:1-2). Then Jesus sent out others.  “After this the Lord appointed seventy–two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven’“ (Lk. 10:1, 17-20).  Mark tells us, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (Mark 16: 15-18). 

So, deliverance became one of the marks of the New Testament church.  It was ministered by many or even most believers rather than just by Jesus and his apostles. There were two motivations for this deliverance.  One was simply the compassion of Christ and his followers who encountered people in torment.  Out of compassion, they set them free.   Secondly, there was a need to demonstrate the power of Christ over the enemy. In a world of pagan gods, there was no need to convince people of the spiritual realm or the existence of gods. What they wanted to know was whose god was the most powerful. Deliverance demonstrated that Jesus had power and authority over every demon that stood behind the idols they worshipped.  Many people on earth still live in cultures where “gods” abound and they ask the same question.  Deliverance in the name of Jesus answers that question.

However, you might ask if such a demonstration is even needed in a modern, technological world where science is seen as our ultimate savior. The answer is “Yes.” Regardless of bowing the knee to science in America and the west, millions still seek after spiritual experiences outside the Christian faith.  Some pursue New Age enlightenment while others are seeking power in witch’s covens and satanic cults.  Many adopt eastern religions and Eastern practices for healing and meditation that have spiritual components.  Others seek to know the unknown through psychics, mediums, and tarot card readings.  Even Christians dabble in these things looking for something they have not yet found in Christ because the church has not taught them how to hear from God and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit. They seek these experiences because science and sometimes their church is not adequate to answer their personal need or crisis. 

According to scripture, whenever we seek contact in the spiritual realm, outside the covering of Jesus, we invite demonic involvement.  Many who dabble in the occult end up demonized so that part of their life is out of their control and under the control of the enemy.  Many did so before coming to Jesus and bring demonic spirits into the kingdom with them.  They also need to know that Jesus has absolute power over the enemy.

Several years ago, I met a woman who was a Satanic ritual abuse survivor.  At five years old, she was subjected to an incredibly traumatic satanic ritual in the basement of a building that looked like a church.  She knew about Jesus because she had been to Sunday school with her grandmother on many occasions and so in terror she cried out to Jesus.  But that day she was not rescued. After hours of abuse, she was released to go home to her mother with a threat of death if she ever told anyone what had happened to her.  As a teen, she lived a life of drug abuse and promiscuity. As an adult, she battled severe depression and suicidal thoughts.  She still believed in Jesus and even served in her church.  But she also lived a life of fear, believing that Satan was more powerful than God since he had not rescued her rescue that day.  When her depressive episodes became extreme and more frequent, I suggested deliverance to her.  She wanted no part of that because she was terrified of what the demons might do to her or her family. 

Finally, she came to a point of total desperation. She agreed to deliverance.  After an hour or so she had been set free from multiple spirits in the name of Jesus.  This “power encounter” demonstrated the authority of Jesus over the demonic and allowed her to trust God to protect her. That demonstration of power changed her life. I have also talked to and seen interviews with former witches and satanists who had come to Christ because their spells and incantations could not touch true followers of Jesus.  They felt powerless against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So they abandoned the weaker “god” to serve the greater God.  Even today, people need to see and experience the power of Jesus to set them free.  Our idols today may not be made of silver and gold but we have them all the same and behind our idols of power, wealth, fame, and sex, lie demons waiting to take their place in the lives of those who seek these things.

That may be true for satanists and drug addicts and for those who seek dark things, but what about Christians?  Can they be afflicted by demons since they belong to Jesus and the Holy Spirit lives in them?  Many say Christians can’t be demon possessed and so it is a topic of little relevance for the church.  I agree that Christians can’t be possessed because possession implies ownership.  We have been purchased by the blood of Christ, so he possesses us.  But demonization is not possession.  It is oppression, affliction, and even torment but not possession. Most people oppressed or tormented by demons function well in most parts of their lives.  They work, they have families, they go to church, and even lead churches. They seem normal and even happy to those who don’t know their inner life.

But there is a slice of their life they can’t control and that nothing seems to make better.  Counseling, more prayer, more Bible reading, and even medications only seem to make these struggles manageable…but it takes lots of energy and they often succumb to depression, anxiety, fits of rage, pornography, suicidal thoughts, unbelief, persistent feelings of rejection or shame, etc.  When they try to resist their shameful or compulsive thoughts, those thoughts press in even harder.  That is where a demon or demons are operating and injecting thoughts that stir up these harmful emotions. They typically enter through places of emotional brokenness or trauma and then amplify those things.  These are the strongholds” Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 10.  Their goal is to keep believers from fulfilling their destiny in Christ. They hinder, limit, derail, and undermine relationships, success, emotional health and even physical health.  Often these “conditions” have been part of us since childhood so we think they are normal and just our lot in life. These spirits often work in very subtle ways so that no one thinks to look outside the natural realm for solutions.  But spiritual oppressors need spiritual weapons to overcome them.

Scripture does not directly state that believers can be demonized.  Neither does it say they cannot.  However, Paul issues a number of warnings about the enemy’s ability to derail our faith and our destiny and each of those warnings is directed at believers.  See Eph. 6:10-12; 2 Cor. 10:2-5; Rom. 6:15-16; 1 Cor. 10:18-22; Eph. 4:26-27, etc.)  If demons can’t afflict us, then the warnings would be unwarranted. In addition, we have cast out hundreds of demons over the past 20 years and nearly all of those who were delivered were church going believers who had one element in their life that was out of control.  We need churches todays who minister deliverance in healthy and biblical ways because Satan is still active on planet earth and is even more active now as he senses the end is near.

Next Week…What gives demons access to God’s people and how do we remove that access?