Fighting the Demons

Fighting the Demons: potholes and pitfalls

  A few years ago, when I worked for MorningStar Ministries I remember having a conversation with a few guys. In time the subject rolled around to exorcism (casting out demons) I listened for a while as they talked about how it was a needed ministry because few were doing it, and that this needed to be dealt with in a very biblical manner because many of gotten off track with it.

  Without even thinking about what I was about to say, I opened my mouth and just said a thing or two without really pondering the outcome.

  Me: “Well that sounds great. You know if you're going to get biblical about all this then I think there are plenty of places here in the church for you to start casting out demons?”

  A little taken back, if not shocked. One of the guys, by the name of Val who was a bit older than myself politely protested. “Well that’s not what I mean, we need to start out there not in here. Where the real demons are on the streets. We need to set those people free so that they can come in!”

  Me: “Well that’s not biblical. If Jesus is our example, then you going to need to do it like him. If you search the scriptures you will find the first demons he cast out were in synagogue not on the streets. Matter a fact, if I recall, he visited several synagogues casting out demons before he got cast out of the synagogue himself and had to work on the streets.”

  Trying to dismiss me with the waving of his hand: “That’s not what we are talking about.”

  Me: “Really, as Pastor Rick often says about this place, It’s a target-rich environment. SO... I’m sure you will have no lack of crazies to practice on in MorningStar.”

Well… apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

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  I remember in my early years listening to John Wimber talking about dealing with kicking demons out of people. He equated it to the unpleasant experience of cleaning a public toilet in a bar.

  Being new to all this I remember him talking about it. But I was in my early twenties and did not really listen to his wisdom on this matter. Fast forward to today and I can say from personal experience that he was right. Let's just say this is not something I deliberately go looking around to find today.

  The reality is the Spiritual world can either be a blessing or a minefield. Way too many people in an effort of seeking experiences have wandered into the minefield under the deception that all of this is their personal God-ordained playground.

 Here are a few things to remember.

1.   Deception loves immaturity and immaturity desires to be seen as an adult. Just watch any 13-year-old and you will see what I mean.

2.     Wolves can masquerade as sheep, even in the pulpit. So you can forget any real help there.

3.      It is always better to ask the Lord how he wants to do this, even if you only get five seconds to do this before everything hits the fan.

4.      Demons don’t like light, but the devil acts like an Angel of light. So learn to discern the light source.

5.     Just because you have a couple of people helping when you try to cast something out does not mean everyone is on the same page of thinking. Expect the unexpected.

6.      Yes Jesus often cast them out with a single word, but he told his followers some come out with fasting & prayer. So be careful with your first steps in this venture, spiritual backlash can be nasty

7. Don’t go charging the gates looking for targets to shoot. In reality, they are all around you so you just need your eyes opened.

  If you want a few stories related to this check out the late John Paul Jackson’s book, “Unmasking the Spirit of Jezebel” from our affiliate book source, it helps us to keep writing like this.

Please don’t think I am some sort of expert on all this, I have only been a part of a handful of experiences. Some went quickly, the rest most certainly did not.

We are called to stand. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Eph 6:13 Sometimes I think the hardest thing to do is stand. When you have done everything your mind can think of, and it seems that standing is all there is left.

It’s no fun living on a battlefield, but as spiritual maturity advances we will run into unkind spirits. This becomes like a kind of spiritual reduction. As the pressure increases, so do those around you, so stand.