DEMONS
AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM
So
many people in our society today do not believe that people are attacked by what
is called demons.
Jesus spent one third of His time casting out demons or
evil spirits. The word demon is not in the Bible, they are usually called devil
spirits.
This may be a correct statement because devil spirits
are the one third of the angels that followed Lucifer out of heaven, when God
cast him out to the earth. There was war in heaven when Lucifer tried to take
over reign from God. He had been very close to God in heaven. We know from the
book of Job that he had access to speaking with Father God.
God
and the 2/3 of the angels who remained in heaven under Michael and Gabriel
defeated Lucifer (Satan) and cast him to the earth with 1/3 of the angels who
were under him. These fallen angels are the ones we speak of as demons
today. When Lucifer was cast out of
heaven to the earth, his next appearance was in the garden of Eden. He was in
the form of a serpent. Adam and Eve had been given dominion of the earth by God
when he created them. When they disobeyed God by listening to the serpent
(Satan), they gave over dominion of the earth to Satan.
The
main purpose of Jesus taking on the form of man and living on this earth (other
than purchasing our salvation for all who would believe) was to defeat Satan and take dominion of the earth
back from Satan. All believers in Jesus Christ truly have been given dominion
over Satan. He is not the ruler of the earth. Jesus took the earth back for all
who would dare to believe. .The only people Satan rules over are the people who
have not accepted Jesus as their Saviour.
When Jesus gave his body on the cross for the sin of the
earth, He defeated Satan. This is proven when He (Jesus) descended into hell and
preached and brought out all who believed in Him.
Angels are ministering spirits as we read in Hebrews
1:13 “ But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” You see, all of the angels that remained
under the control of God minister good to the Christians. The angels that
followed Lucifer, still minister, but they take their orders from Lucifer and
their ministering is evil in nature. We read the fate of these angels that
followed Lucifer (the devil or Satan) In Jude 6 “And the angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in
everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of that great
day.”
When Jesus cast out these devil spirits (fallen angels)
out of someone possessed of devil spirits, look what the spirits would say to
Jesus. Matthew 8:29 “ And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the
time?”
The
above Scripture tells us so much about who these devil spirits are and where
they came from. It is obvious they recognized Jesus as the Son of God because
they had been previously in heaven with Him. It also tells us they will be cast
with the devil into the lake of fire at the judgment day. Remember, they
followed Lucifer, the devil, when he was cast out of heaven.
Jesus has power over everything and everyone in this
earth. We see this in operation in Matthew 8:16” When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the
spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:” We see in the next verse
that Jesus could manifest His power through His disciples. They would be
operating in His power working through them. Matthew 10:1 “And when he had called
unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to
cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and
disease.”
In
His own words Jesus tells the disciples to cast out devils. Matthew 10:7 “And as
ye go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 10:8 “Heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have
received, freely give.”
One
of the most profound times of casting out devil spirits is when Jesus cast the
devil spirits into the hogs. Mark 5:1 “And they came over unto the other side of
the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes” Mark 5:2 “And when he was come out of
the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean
spirit,” Mark
5:3
”
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with
chains:” Mark 5:4 “Because that he
had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked
asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame
him.” Mark 5:5 “And always, night
and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself
with stones.” Mark 5:6 “But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped
him,” Mark 5:7 “ And cried with a
loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus thou Son of the most
high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” In the next verse we see why he said
this, Jesus cast the devil spirits out. Mark 5:8 “ For he said unto him, Come
out of the man, thou unclean spirit.”
Mark 5:9 “And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My
name is Legion: for we are many.”
Let
us stop here and notice a few things that Jesus did and said to this man. This
man was so violent that no human could help him. The devil spirits within him
would have destroyed anyone who tried to help him. These devil spirits knew they
were no match for Jesus. They are subject to any command He might give them. A
legion can be up to 2000. When Jesus cast them out they had to go. They did not
want to go to the place of torment, however. We will see in the next verse that
they want to stay in this country they are in. Mark 5:10 “And he besought him
much that he would not send them away out of the country.” Mark 5:11 “And there was there nigh unto
the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.” Mark 5:12 “ And all the devils besought
him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.” Stop and notice that if an evil spirit
is cast out of a person and there is no other person present for them to enter
into, they will go into an animal.
Mark 5:13 “And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits
went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, (they were about 2000;) and were choked in the
sea.”
This is a vivid description of how badly these unclean
spirits torment even the swine. Just think how bad it was for this man to be
tormented by these evil spirits. We must take note also, that the evil spirits
could only go where Jesus allowed them to go.
There is a major difference in Jesus casting out evil
spirits and the power that we have to cast them out. He did it in His own right.
When we minister in that area we must do it in the power of the name of Jesus.
The
seven sons of Sceva found out right quick that they were no match for the evil
spirits when they tried to cast the spirits out of a man. Acts 19:13 “Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which
had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus,
whom Paul preacheth.” Notice here
that these Jews did not believe in Jesus for themselves. They were not using the
power and blood of Jesus to cast out these devil spirits. These spirits are not
afraid of the sons of Sceva. They will not obey them. Acts 19:14 “ And there
were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.”
Acts 19:15 “And the evil spirits answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye?” In the
following Scripture we see how dangerous it is to come against these evil
spirits without the power of Jesus name and His shed blood working through
you. Acts19:16 “And the man in whom the evil spirit was
leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled
out of the house naked and wounded.”
My
first experience of trying to cast out an evil spirit out of a young (small of
stature) girl was shocking, as well. I had pled the blood of Jesus over me and
spoke in the name of Jesus so the evil spirit could not harm me. The shocking
thing for me was a very deep voice of a man screamed curses at me from another
corner of the room as he came out of her. He had to come out because I spoke in
the name of Jesus and in the power of His blood. I have since learned that you
must tell those evil spirits to go to the bottom of the sea, so they will not
enter anyone else.
One
thing we must be careful of is to never cast out a devil spirit when there are
non believers present. That evil spirit will seek someone else to enter into
when it is cast out.
Sometimes someone in the family has a weakness in that
area. The evil spirit seeks another body to dwell in. It is important to tell
the evil spirit not to enter anyone else when you cast it out.
Even a Christian can be oppressed by a devil spirit, but
they cannot be possessed of a devil
spirit. The Light of Jesus takes up residence in the body of a Christian. Light
does away with darkness. The Light of Jesus is present in every true believer of
Jesus. Christ the Saviour of the world.
Some times we see someone we believe to be a Christian
who is possessed. This person is not where they need to be with Jesus. If they
are, they would be filled with Light not darkness.
If
you were to list all the good things in this life, you would be speaking of the
good things associated with Jesus. He is the greatest positive in the universe.
If you were to seek an opposite of each of these good things, these bad things
would be associated with the devil and his evil spirits. To look at this more
closely, we would see that hate is the absence of good. All of these evil things
are the absence of good. It is interesting to me that the word “idol” means “
nothings”.
The
demons (devil spirits) are out to win your soul for the devil. Remember, these
devil spirits cannot enter you without your permission. When you take drugs are
drink alcohol you lose control of your will. It is much easier for them to enter
you at those times. If one enters you, then it allows others to follow.
A
person who has just been delivered of evil devil spirits, must fill the void
left in him with the Word of God to keep these evil spirits from coming back. It
is important to make sure the person delivered gives their life to Jesus or else
7 worse spirits will come back and torment that person. You have to have the
Light of Jesus inside you to keep the evil spirits out. The following Scriptures (in Jesus’ own
words) explain what I am saying very well. Matthew 12:43 “ When the unclean
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and
findeth none.” Matthew 12:44 “ Then he saith, I will return into my house from
whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
garnished.” Matthew 12:45 “Then
goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself,
and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than
the first. Even so shall it be also
unto this wicked generation.”
We
see instruction is the following Scriptures how to keep the devil spirits out of
our lives. We read these instructions In Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:11 “Put on
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.” Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand.” Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;” Ephesians 6:15 “And your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked.” Ephesians 6:17 “ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God:” Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
It
is very apparent to me that there is a battle going on between the desires of
the flesh and the spirit of man. We must see to it that our spirit rules the
flesh.
If
we watch bad movies or play demonic games, we open ourselves up to devil
spirits.
In
our society today, it is not unusual for people to study the religions of the
world. That, too, can open us up to devil spirits. Once when I was praying for
someone to be delivered from evil spirits, I asked the devil spirit to name
itself. To my surprise, the devil spirit screamed out para-psychology. And threw
up all over the floor. I looked it up in the dictionary and it means (a science concerned with investigation
by experimental means of events that are not accounted for by natural law) one
of the things investigated was mental telepathy another was clairvoyance, and
another was psychokinesis. These things are opposed to Christianity. It was also
interesting to me that this was taught in some colleges. This leaves no doubt,
in my mind, that the study of
anything or anyone in opposition to Christianity could cause possession by a devil spirit.
We
have been told by many people that the person must be present to be delivered
from these devil spirits. Let us look at an example from the Bible itself and
see if this is actually true.
Matthew 15:21 “Then
Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of
Yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” Matthew 15:28
“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great
is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour.”
Jesus honors great faith, no matter who that faith is
operating in. It shows us, also, that we can pray for others, never doubting,
and God will deliver them, not because of their faith, but because of ours. Time
and space mean nothing to God. He is not limited in what He can do. He will do
things like this for us, if we only believe.
Jesus never refused anyone to come unto Him. I have
always said, Come to Jesus and He will help you clean up your act. We do not
have to get rid of sin in our life before we accept Him as our Saviour. He
cleans us up when we repent of those things. A very good example of a completely
changed life is Mary Magdalene. Luke 16:9 “Now when Jesus was risen early the
first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had
cast seven devils.”
One
of the best examples of Jesus forgiving and cleansing someone of their sins is
found in the following Scriptures. Luke 7:44 “ And he turned to the woman, and
said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman?
I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she
has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.” Luke 7:45 “Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in
hath not ceased to kiss my feet.”
Luke 7:46 “My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath
anointed my feet with ointment.
Luke 7:47 “ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are
forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth
little.”
There are so many examples of people in the Old
Testament and in the New Testament who were at some time in their life
controlled by these devil spirits. One of the most interesting to me is when
Saul had the Spirit of God removed from him and he became controlled by an evil
spirit. Saul had gone to the witch of Endor and was depending on evil power
rather than the Spirit of God. 1 Samuel 16: 14 “ But the Spirit of the Lord
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” If we read
on in the next few verses that the only way Saul could feel any peace was when
David played and sang. In verse 18, we see that the Lord is with David. Saul did
not seek deliverance from the torment of this evil spirit, but was calmed when
he felt the presence of God when David played.
I
will not belabor on this, but give some very powerful Scriptures showing that
Jesus empowers believers to cast these devil spirits out. All who truly believe
in Jesus Christ are not under the control of the devil (Satan). Matthew 10:1
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power
against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease.” There is something we must remember in this. Every
time we minister in this capacity,
we must draw our power to do this from the name of Jesus. It is the name
of Jesus and the power of His shed blood that defeats Satan. The most powerful
mention of this is in Jesus’ own Words in John 14:12 “ Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my
Father.”
John 14:13 “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:14 “If ye shall ask anything in
my name, I will do it.”
The
power is in the name of Jesus.
I
will close this teaching for now by saying once again that Jesus took dominion
back from Satan when He shed His blood on the cross. That dominion is given to
all who would dare to believe in Jesus. Christians, it is our duty to rule over
this earth that Jesus bought for us. We must be good stewards of what God has
provided for us.
Christians, be strong in His might. Philippians 2:10
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth;”
Philippians 2:11 “And every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This should be our confession every day. Philippians
4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me.”