Casting Out Devils

From time to time we are asked by some to whom we minister, if they can do what we do. The answer is "Yes." Over the years we have had a number of psychiatrists who are frustrated with the inability of the mental health system to actually cure anyone. They can make people as comfortable as possible with medication and some counselling but this goes on for year after year with little or no improvement. The cost of drugs and the doctor's service is expensive, and many do not have medical insurance, so those people are left to their own devices such as alcohol and/or narcotics... or even suicide.

What, then, is the person who wants to help those with "mental illness" to do? The answer is quite simple but we do not recommend this to anyone who is not a Christian or who lacks faith. Neither are we saying that this is only for psychiatrists to do. It is for all born again Christians who have a desire to serve God.

The bible tells us of the seven sons of Sceva who had seen Jesus and the apostle Paul cast demons from victims of possession, and they decided to have a go at it, themselves (Acts 19:13-16). They invoked the name of Jesus, as must be done, and commanded the demons to leave a man.

"I bind you..." We are told to bind the demons (See Matthew 12:29). They need to be tied up or they may use the person (in extreme cases) as a weapon against you, as happened to Sceva's sons. Tying up demons cannot be done with rope but in the spiritual realm it only has to be said in faith, and it is done.

What will happen next? You can expect the person to react in a number of ways. They may just stare blankly at you, and you wonder what is going on. Did you do something wrong? Of course not. The demons are resisting you.

The person may threaten you and/or cuss you out. This is a pretty good sign of the demons becoming angry at what you are doing. You disregard their threats and stand your ground. Bear in mind they even argued with Jesus.

Perhaps we have made it seem too simple to make demons leave, yet this is exactly how we do it. Faith in Jesus is a must... an absolute must! We cannot emphasize this too much. If you try to use anything else such as holy water, anointing oil, bibles, crucifixes or any other object, you will fail! You will also be showing the spirits where your faith really is. Your faith would be in the objects, and not in Jesus. When they see this, they will fight you all the way so that you become discouraged and give up. Oddly enough, many people go to a priest for help, and he will use his holy water (which is not holy at all) or crucifix, or he will pray for the spirits to leave. What he does will not work but perhaps some believe the priest can help them based on what they saw in a Hollywood movie which usually portrays a priest coming to the house, such as in "The Exorcist."

We frequently help people who have tried other ministries for help with no success. We are not implying there are no other genuine ministries, only that there are a lot of fakes in existence. A good rule of thumb to determine if they are genuine or not, is if they ask for money up front.

It is amazing how many frauds there are who are trying to make money from this. They are predators who are only interested in taking a person's money, and their methods are many and useless. People have paid thousands of dollars for help and received nothing in return. One man parted with his life savings of $50,000 to hucksters before he came to us for help. It cost him nothing to be set free in the name of Jesus.

This deliverance is not to be done for money. Deliverance from spirits is an act of love... the love of the Lord God, and it is not for sale under any conditions. God never sold his love but said: "Freely have you received, so freely give." If the person you helped is grateful and wishes to give you an offering, that is fine.

Many Christians are afraid of witches and Satanists, and keep them at arm's length. Their fear shows and is a great discouragement to the witch or Satanist who is in need of help. There must be no condemnation placed upon the person. It is necessary that they see the love of God in you and that you accept them just as they are. That is how Jesus accepted them. And it is not up to us to change the person. That belongs to God.

We strongly advise that the person who wishes to engage in spiritual deliverance, read the New Testament right through. Then read the four gospels, again. Focus on Jesus and get a feeling for his ways and his great love for his creation. Then pray to God, offering yourself as his servant, without cost or reservation. Allow God to be anything he wants to be in you. Let him do anything he needs to do. Empty yourself and let the Spirit of God fill you for this purpose. Put aside any preconceived notions of what you will be doing, but allow God to lead you all the way. Remember, it is not by your power or might, but by the power and might of the living God that the victims of demon possession will be set free.

Put away those Christian books on deliverance. Some of the authors mean well but they also, at times, conflict with one another with their advice. You are just paying for their opinions, and it isn't their opinion which counts, it is the Word of God which is all you need.

In some of the books I read over the years, I saw that I would have to have a prayer warrior team standing by, and/or I would need to fast and pray before performing a deliverance. An investigation would need to be done. These things are not necessary unless the Lord leads you to fast and pray beforehand. What those books did was ultimately to discourage me because I thought I could never be what those ministers are. Now I'm glad I'm not. It's Jesus that I want to be like.

I have read the horror stories of how they "battled Satan all night long, in the church..." If they are battling Satan, they are going to lose. God says: "The battle is mine!" Remember you are just a servant and it is by the will of God that the person will be set free.

You do not need to rid the person of occultic jewelry, rock albums or whatever else you think must go. Satan is not in jewelry and rock music, and he is not attracted to them as some ministers claim. I once had some tapes by a minister who had a great national reputation, and he spoke against collecting guns and knives, saying they attract demons to the person's home. This is absolute nonsense! You do not need to do a 'search and discover' of a person's belongings. Just do as Jesus did and command the demons to leave the person.

Counselling is usually necessary but only for the reason that if what the person has been doing is the cause of their possession, then they need to know this. Pornography is a huge problem with over half of Americans. It would be a waste of time to cast out their demons and then they continue in their porn, which is sexual sin. Demons have a right to possess those who continue in their sins. So you find out what might have led to the problem and then advise them against it. If you are able to help the victim destroy their stack of porn, it can be advantageous so that they don't decide to keep one piece "just in case."

When children act out for no apparent reason, or they claim to have some kind of creature in their bedroom (such as a dog or snake, or even an imaginary friend), this is not their imagination at work as many parents think. Spirits manifest themselves in various forms, and this happens because of abuse, whether it be sexual, physical or verbal.

Try to ascertain if the child was touched in their private place. Sometimes the child will deny it. If there is no evidence of other types of abuse, then persist with the notion of sexual abuse. Ask the child if the person who did it to them, threatened to hurt them or their family. The child will usually admit this is so. Now you have the root of the problem. Cast out the demons and the child will be fine. We usually tell the spirits to leave, first, before we try to discover the cause of the problem.

You may sometimes feel very much alone as you work with people. It is a feeling and not a fact. God is with you and watches over you with love. He will guide you along the way, but he may also allow you to learn from mistakes. Ask God for strength and he will give this to you. And if you have further questions of us, we have e-mail that you can find elsewhere on this website.