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Supernatural Stories: Alex’s Deliverance February 26, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in deliverance, testimony.
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6 comments

Coming from the last post, where Alex had been demonized and we tried to get him set free the night before, I will write today about the next day, when he finally got free! (And although it was an awesome experience, it’s not as such a long post as the last one!)

We had a wonderful night, as the last post had said, seeing the miracle with the oil – and we had thought that Nathan and all the other demons were dispatched.  The next day being Sunday, we bundled up together and went to one of the assemblies represented by a couple of participants of the retreat.

We went to this highly charismatic church that was held in one of the country’s secondary school halls, and had a pretty rip-roaring time …. just like the night before.

And then -

Alex manifested again!

Right in the church.

With a growl, he lept up and ran towards another guy (who I know he didn’t know in the natural) and gave him a great big bear hug!  We realized that the demons in Alex were identifying with the demons in this other guy…. but in the natural the guy was freaking out!  

Alex rushed outside and started trying to climb the walls again – and the intercessors and in house deliverance team followed him out and loudly started to try to cast out the demons, which – like last night – were making no move to leave.

We were all huddled in one area, watching the goings-on and feeling intimidated when one of us, a guy I’ll call Will, suddenly rushed up to him and knelt by Alex’s head (he was on the floor at the time.)  Rather than all the screaming and commanding,  Will knelt down, looked into Alex’s eyes, and we just watched as Jesus’ love shined out from his eyes…. the demon didn’t want to look, and kept closing Alex’s eyes and turning his head, but Will kept gently bringing his head back and telling him, “Look at me. Look at me.”  He ministered love to Alex, gently telling him about Jesus’ love and how much he needed to be free.

I can’t remember how it happened, but suddenly, Alex was free!  The demons all were dispatched all with the name of Jesus in gentleness and love, rather than by using loud authoritative commands!  Just goes to show God is good… and does not work by man’s formulas!

Supernatural Stories: First Encounter with a Demon! February 24, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in deliverance, testimony.
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7 comments

I promised some friends of mine that I would start a new series, where I gave testimoniesfrom my experience of supernatural experiences in my life.  This spins off of the Reminiscing posts from last year.  For those who may want to read them, go here, here and here.  They detail how I got exposed to the Spirit’s work, and then baptised in the Spirit!

Anyway…

Coming off of my deliverace series, I thought I would start of this supernatural series with the acount of my first encounter with a demon! (Actually this is a two for one special, because I can’t tell you that story without telling you the story of the first miracle I physically witnessed!)  So strap on your seatbelts!

If you have read the Reminiscing posts, you would know I grew up in a completely non-charismatic church.  I was a young firebrand who was in love with Jesus, but had never seen a literal miracle first hand, had only thought of demons while reading the Bible, and the presence of the Spirit was relegated to weeping at the altar rail…

By the time of this story, however, I had been a part of the Universities and Colleges’ Christian Fellowship (UCCF) for a couple years and so was accustomed to seeing the Spirit fall upon the gathering, especially in passionate worship.  This was one of those times.  There were close to 40 young people gathered in this house for a weekend retreat and we were having a glorious encounter with the Lord!  We had started singing without regard to time or schedules, and after around an hour or so of unadulterated worship, those who spoke in tongues were starting to break out as the Presence of God became thicker and thicker.  

One guy, who we’ll call Alex, started to speak in tongues along with others.  Ok, no issue there. Suddenly however, his voice changed. It became low, and gutteral – even although he seemed to still be speaking tongues at that point.  I heard it first, and I whipped my head around and shouted, “What the hell was that????” (Not to offend, for those sensitive…. I was shocked!) The others who then heard him were as shocked as I was – and then there was a mass  exodus away from him!  And then, there was me – and a young lady who had been filled with the Spirit the night before!  All the people who knew what demons were because of coming from some sort of charismatic background were fleeing, and this girl and I – babes in the faith compared – were running toward him. 

By this time Alex had manifested completely (was taken over, for the uninformed) and was climbing on the lattice wall at the back like an animal.  A couple others gained some measure of courage and we wrestled him to the ground and started to command this spirit out of him!  For a while he grunted and growled while six of us sat on him to keep him down.  Then, out of the blue – one of the demonic entities spoke up… in a cultured English accent!

“I’m not coming out,” he said.

“In Jesus’ name, identify yourself!”  One of the others, more experienced than I, picked up.

“My name is Nathan.”

So we tried and tried to cast out Nathan and he wouldn’t go.  He was resolute and defiant. 

At one point I got so frustrated I jumped on Alex’s chest and started thumping him!

“Come out!” *thump*  ”In Jesus’ name, come out!”  *thump*  

Nathan said, “You’re hurting Alex!”  But I knew that demons are pathological liars – so I just continued, saying, “You’re lying!”  *thump* *thump*  :lol:  (It was later when I realized that Natan was probably telling the truth….. oops!)

(Disclaimer -For anyone who is reading this who is concerned that I am currently in the deliverance ministry – it was my first time and I was frustrated! It was also over ten years ago! Since that time I have had numerous experiences – and have been reputably trained as well – so no physical beatings will be employed to get the demons out of  your life!  Now – back to the story…)  :lol:  

While this was going on,  the girl who was with me tried to call her pastor, but – surprisingly – he didn’t seem interested to help!

Like I said, there were about six of us trying to minister to Alex, and the others were all outside in another room.  They were helping as best they knew how by praying and lustily singing songs about the Blood of Jesus.  One girl had a small bottle of baby oil, and she had the idea that she wanted everyone to be anointed and prayed over for protection.  The others agreed and, while still singing, the oil was tipped over again and again while, one by one, people’s foreheads were anointed and prayers were being sent up.

And then – disaster!

It was only a small bottle of oil – that was already less than half-full when the anointing started – and there were about 40 young people there…. so when around half the people still needed to be anointed, the oil ran out!   We didn’t know what to do! One girl grabbed the baby bottle, nearly empty, and cried out to the Lord.

“Father! We need more oil! We haven’t finished praying for everyone, and the oil has run out!  Please send as much oil as we need until we don’t need any more!”  We all agreed, crying out to the Lord in unison….

And then we looked at the bottle – which was empty… and we literally saw the oil reforming at the bottom of it!

The girl who had the bottle was wide-eyed as she poured out some more oil, and anointed three people.  This drained the oil that had been formed – but then it reformed again, to the same exact point as the last time!  Every time she anointed three people, the oil reformed to the same point, until everyone was anointed!   This miraculous provision of oil happened all night!

By this time, Alex had been able to come back to himself, with Nathan and the other demons dispatched…. or so we thought! (That’s another post!)  Then we realized that what he had been doing – which opened the door to his demonization – was playing io a heavy metal band record backwards (yes, this was before cd’s.)  This is called backmasking, is defined by Wikipedia as a technique  ” in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward.”  He was testing the theory that heavy metal rock bands were using the technique to mask prayers and incantations to Satan.  He had good intentions; he was trying to test it so that he could warn the students in his Sunday School class against it – but he found himself repeating the incantations and thus inviting evil spirits into his own life.  

The oil continued to pour out.  Even when we stood the bottle on its end to drain out the oil for over fifteen minutes, it would grow right back up to the same point… and only stopped the next morning when one guy decided to wash it out with soap! :lol:  (I wondered later, when I was more mature,  if it should have been a sign that the demons hadn’t left Alex’s life even although they had seemed to have been ousted, and what would have happened had we used the oil to anoint him.)

But there’s the first story!  Next, I guess I will let you in on the story when Alex did get set free, the next morning (a Sunday) when we assembled with the church.  God is awesome!

Deliverance Questions: Revisited and Answered February 19, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in deliverance.
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8 comments

Finally going to tackle some of the questions posed by another of my new commenters, Bleeders… (interesting nick, buddy!)  Here we go! I will try to answer them to the best of my ability, and encourage more conversation on this or any other topic posted here.

Bleeders starts with this.

(1) it certainly causes angst since there is no Biblical cases of a Christ-follower, indwelled by the Spirit of God and living as a new creation concurrently wrestling with possession by a demon. The lack of that kind of scenario really does make these debates more complicated.

First, let me reiterate what I mean by ‘possession.’  I do not mean that a person is totally owned by demonic forces.  I mean that at least one area of his life may be under demonic control, and thus he does not have complete freedom to choose to do right it that area. In fact, he may feel it is totally controlled by something else, and he is powerless to resist.  Because of this very real misunderstanding of the term ‘possessed’, I prefer to use the term ‘demonized’ or even ‘influenced.’

 That being said,  I agree that there are no explicit examples in Scripture of  ”a Christ-follower, indwelled by the Spirit of God and living as a new creation… wrestling with possession by a demon.”  Such is implied in Acts 5 in the story of Ananias and Saphira, where verse 3 says “Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”  Again, I see that as not total depravity, but a choice that led to his demise.

(2) it’s been said the Devil can never own a Christian but he can certainly perch on our shoulder and whisper in our ear as long as we’re willing to be idle listeners!

Also agreed.  If someone, who says he is a Christ follower, consistently and wilfully listens and acts on the whispers of the enemy, he stops “living as a new Creation” and is in danger of being overtaken by the enemy.  Would that mean he “lost his salvation???”  A whole other topic!!!!!  All I know is that the word says that ”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt 7:21)

(3) counter question – can a demon-possessed person receive Christ without being first exorcised of the demon? If you say (logically) no, it’s likely because to accept and receive Christ as Lord would involve an usurpment (fun word) of the prior spiritual forces.

Well, actually in experience it’s the other way around.  One is usually led to Christ first, then, as the person now has the Holy Spirit living inside them, who assists with the casting out of the evil forces.  I agree with the analogy… to accept Jesus as Lord means to reject any other masters!  

By saying no, however, it also muddies the water for thinking demons could creep back in and co-exist with the Spirit of God. I suppose [Bajan]would suggest that the Spirit of God inhabits fully the spirit of a man, thus leaving the soulical and human realms open for business…but again, if Christ coming in requires an eviction, the creeping back in to possess (versus influence, inflict, tempt, etc.) is a 1 way street.

Christ coming in does not require an eviction, but it guards against the person being reinfected as easily. Again, the Scripture – Matt 12:43-45  …

 43“When an evil[a] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”  (Matt. 12:43-45)

and  Luke 11:24-26 as another account of the same verse

 24“When an evil[a] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:24-26)

Coming to Christ and following him, obeying him and living for him is the protection against the reinfestation of the demonic into a life.  

(4) Another question (Jesus liked using them – they clarify things in process): do you believe that a fully devoted Christ follower can be hijacked by a brood of demons despite being fully surrendered to Christ in his/her life? Or is this something you’d suggest saints are succeptible to only when derelect in their devotional pursuits – like being on a lone country road at night?

I alluded to this answer in the one above.  A fully devoted Christ follower who is living right and does not sin will not open areas for the enemy to enter.  As you put it, when we as believers are “[derelict] in their devotional pursuits “, or put less poetically, when we sin, we put ourselves in danger, just  ”like being on a lone country road at night.”  Sin opens doors that allow demons to manipulate, and they may manipulate only a little at first, but if we continue, we give more and more access to them, until we are fully consumed.

(5) Is succumbing to demonic influence, attack, perversion, misleadings and the like the same as being possessed? I guess it’s a case of semantics, but yet their is substance in the semantic difference. If I am led by demonic forces by “proxy” of my stupidity/slothfulness (spiritually), it is still different than being a victim, powerlessly overcome by Legion.

Succumbing to temptation, demonic attack, perversion etc is NOT the same as possession, again if you are looking at possession as total demonic control.  Every time you sin, it is as though you leave a door unlocked and slightly ajar.  In this way, the demonic may have access to an area in your life.  You will still be a Christian, still loving Jesus, but yet there are areas which you may find it harder to resist temptation, harder to shun the evil.  And every time you sin, you crack that door a little farther ajar, leaving more exposed…

This does not mean you are totally “powerless against Legion” …  it is at this point where you have two choices.  There are demonic elements in areas of your life that should be cast out – the process of deliverance… or you can go with the flow and stop  living as a “a Christ-follower, indwelled by the Spirit of God and living as a new creation”  and continue to open that door until you are fully exposed to the enemy and fully “possessed” (as you put it.)  

The Christian who has demonic entrapments in an area of his or her life can get rid of those entrapments. That’s what deliverance is.  Does that mean that they are owned by Satan? No. But that is exactly what Satan is aiming for!  He is content with a little area of weakness at first, which, if left unchecked, will grow until he has complete control of the entire being.  ”The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy….” Thank God the verse in John 10:10 continues! “…but [Christ] has come so that [we] can have life, and have it more abundantly!!”  Deliverance is part of Christ’s ministry, to make sure that Satan’s plan to “steal, kill and destroy” is thwarted!

Deliverance Questions: Revisited February 18, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in Christianity, deliverance.
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1 comment so far

I will post later with the the answers to another blog commenter’s post concerning my deliverance series.  I’m just swamped with the day job at the moment.  (For those who are unaware, I’ve been discussing deliverance for the past couple of posts. To read up you can see below…)

So this is a filler for now…. I will answer the questions posted, esp by new commenter Bleeders (interesting name, btw!!!)  so stay tuned!

What are you grateful for? February 13, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in personal.
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5 comments

Ok!

Coming off of that fairly intensive teaching series on deliverance, I was a little stumped as to what to write about.  Didn’t want to go into another heavy set of posts just yet.  My head is still spinning from the research and the editing process!

So what to talk about now?  One good friend mentioned being grateful.  She said that we aren’t grateful enough as people.  I thought – hey! Great idea!

Gratefulness.

grate·ful      (grāt’fəl)  Pronunciation Key  
adj.  

  1. Appreciative of benefits received; thankful.
  2. Expressing gratitude.
  3. Affording pleasure or comfort; agreeable.

[From obsolete grate, pleasing, from Latin grātus; see gwerə-2 in Indo-European roots.] 
grate’ful·ly adv., grate’ful·ness n. 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 
So, what am I grateful for?
  • I’m grateful for God’s goodness and mercy towards me. I thank God that he saw fit to pluck me from death when I was an infant,  and grateful that he protected me throughout my childhood until now. 
  • I’m grateful that He saw fit to look past the fact that I didn’t love myself and put people in my way to show me that not only was I fit to be loved, but that he loves me.  
  • I’m grateful that I can look at my life now and be in wonder…. there were times when teenage rejection was at its highest that I thought I’d never find someone who could look past the exterior thick glasses and see the genuine heart inside – but now, not only am I married 8 years this year (wow God!)  but have two beautiful little boys that are my heart and soul!
  • I am grateful that God saw me fit to place me with the woman of my dreams – the one who has borne my children and has been my support and help, my guiding light.
  • I’m grateful that I get a chance to work with God and see lives set free from demonic oppression – that responsibility is an honour and a privilege.  I am so humbled by it! 
  • The ability to hear the God of the universe speak to me is …. humbling.
  • I’m grateful that the Lord has blessed me with an outlet to my writing – the blogosphere is GREAT for releasing creative steam…
  • I’m eternally grateful for all the wonderful friends I have met through blogging – an extended family I don’t think I could live without.
  • I’m grateful for my wonderful church family that challenges me and loves as a family. 

So – what are you grateful for?????


Deliverance – Epilogue February 11, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in deliverance, personal.
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6 comments

I want to end this series by thanking all of you who have followed my journey throughout the Bible and my experience with the deliverance ministry.  Wow!  A simple answer to a question it was not!  I am grateful to all you new people who have joined my quest as I have been combing the Scripture and sharing parts of my ministry with you.

I want to use this last post in this series to clear up any misunderstandings that might have popped up by the use of some of my illustrations.  In my first post, I used a couple illustrations that I got from my training at New Beginnings Fellowship and Warfare Plus Ministries headed up, as I said, by Drs. Paul and Claire Hollis.  One of my readers, Love,  posed this concern:

I felt the ’sin’ being the ‘centre’ of Man in the first depiction then it being ‘replaced exactly by Holy Spirit – sort of in exactly the same place is a little confusing ( to me at least) I see sin and the human flesh being inseperable and a holy place being needed to accept the Spirit which will also accomodate our human awareness.

Now … to refresh our memories the images were representing the Triune nature of man (body, soul and spirit) and the two images are below

The three parts of man

The three parts of man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

born-again-man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He cited a potential confusion with how the illustration removed the ’sin’ and replaced it exactly with the Holy Spirit’.  He continues:

In the same way we expand our intelligence and thought ‘capacity’ i see a growing human being able to expand their ’spiritual residence’, but this being done not by our will alone but our desire requesting it and working towards it while the Spirit of Christ is the ‘Creator’ of it for us who truly will it to be so.

He expands his point further:

I see this not so much ‘contained’ within our body as is sin and soul but extending beyond it and the physical body being ‘contained’ within it – if they are both operating on the same ‘level’?? Can Spirit and flesh both operate in one level/dimension together? or is Spirit always on a ‘Higher’ plane and merely is able to ‘guide’ the physical acts of our body?

I always welcome comments and observations.  Thank you, Love, for your concern – I welcome your input, always!  For me, the illustration merely shows on a basic level that the Spirit of the Lord indwells a new believer, where before he was ‘ruled’ by his sin nature before conversion.

Your concerns are on a deeper level – and are very valid.  Of course, our walk with the Lord is a daily, lifelong experience.  We can never truly separate sin from our flesh, and although the Spirit of the Lord indwells us we still need His  guidance.  I mean, free will has to come into play, right?  Many times I have been prompted by the Lord that I was not to do a certain thing that would lead to sin, but my flesh (will, desires) tempted me and I decided to follow that – obviously to my detriment.

 In  no way do I think these illustrations diminish the need for personal accountability and asking the Spirit to assist. Like I say, I think that they are on a basic level rather than a deep profound one.  

What do you all think?

Deliverance – The Process February 8, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in Christianity, deliverance.
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6 comments

This is part 4 of my “Deliverance Foundations” series.

In this, the final post of this series, I want to discuss the process of deliverance in my own ministry, and show an actual deliverance that happened just a couple days ago online as a case study.

Let me start off by saying that the Lord works specifically through different deliverance ministries in different ways.  Some lay hands, some ask the people who want prayer to go through a questionnaire, others just go at it in faith and trust the Spirit to lead them – they’re all valid!

I’ve realized in my experience and study on deliverance that there are basically three steps to deliverance … all of the different ministries tackle them in different ways, but they form a definite pattern:

  1. Identification  - Identifying weak areas, sins or patterns of behaviour that need to be removed.  Different ministries call them different things, but all seek to isolate the problem in some manner.
  2. Renunciation - Somehow, every single deliverance ministry that I know lets the person being prayed for renounce their involvement in or somehow separate themselves from the sin and other things identified in step one above.
  3. Expulsion - This is where the demonic elements are removed.  Different ministers employ different methods, but the resuts sought are the same: freedom.

In the last post, we discussed open doors and strongholds.  In my training – which came from Drs. Paul and Claire Hollis of Warfare Plus Ministries in Tampa, we identify seven open doors that are typically used by demons to gain entry into a person’s life:  unforgiveness, the occult, sexual sin, ungodly soul ties, broken covenants or vows, pride, idolatry or unconfessed sin.  During a planned session, I usually allow the person being prayed for some time to identify any areas in their lives affected by any of these open doors.  We go through a prayer of proclamation, where each area is specifically renounced, and then we go through deliverance prayer.  Another area of identification before we pray is any area in their lives where they are experiencing or have ever experienced things such as pride, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, or anything else that is highlighted by the Holy Spirit as a stronghold.  We deal actively with everything highlighted, and that usually takes about 2 and a half hours.  Afterwards, the person requesting prayer usually feels free of the demonic oppression, and usually comments that they feel ‘light’. 

For more information, contact Drs. Paul and Claire Hollis for more information by clicking the link to their website above. 

I don’t always follow that model – although I usually do.  I have found that the power of the Lord is evident while I am in Internet chat coversations with others as well, and, under direction by the Holy Spirit, I have led people into freedom by typing on the screen!  I’ve joked that I realize that demons can read as well as speak, but in all seriousness, God is present wherever the person requesting prayer is, and is not limited by space and distance.

Below is part of a Gmail conversation I have had recently with a friend of mine.  Names have been changed, but you can read through how certain open doors were identified, and how I led my friend to renounce them before taking authority in the name of Jesus.

Bev: yes he came back trying to come back with me
 that part i don’t know if it was flesh-cos ppl keep saying he will come back and my flesh likes idea of revenge
  but he is under a curse
  that was clearly shown
  and its been proven that it is correct
 me: yeah
Bev: his mom cursed him
  and his dad also
 me: his dad too?
Bev: yes
 b4 he was born
 me: what????
  wow
 Bev: yeah his mom told me in 05
 she said never to tell him
  and he keeps stressing- i am going to make it
  i told him he has hurt a lot of ppl
  a lot
 me: wow
  but if he doesn’t know he won’t get free of it
 My friend mentioned that her estranged husband was under a curse.  I asked for more details before we prayed.  
me:  I still haven’t gotten over the fact that he was cursed by his parents…. do you have any details about that curse? You might have told me before, but I forgot. I want to know details because I want to specifically break them off your life as well
Bev: amen
  his dad despised him cos he lost another son who died
  so he didn’t want another son and never did anything for Tom or cared about him his whole life
then his mom straight out said nothing will be good for him cos he turned his back on his daughter to marry me
 he had another daughter with another woman
this child was already with adoptive parents
  i told him that the 2 he had already were a lot to care for since he had no income coming in(i was correct)
  how much more 3
  now if he had been smart he’d have given all 3 girls to his mother(thats what she wanted anyhow) but no
he didn’t want guilt from his mom about 2 girls
  so he let the adoptive parents keep that daughter
  and then brought these 2 to our home where he never cared or provided for them
Here’s where I felt the urgency to pray for my friend right then, although we were planning to have a deliverance session in a couple weeks time. 
 me: I can’t wait until we have our session Bev. Repeat after me: I renounce and cut off any soul ties btw me and Tom. I categorically reject the lies spoken over me by him and his family.
I cut off any soul ties connecting me and Tom
 Bev: i renounce all soul ties between me and Tom
  i cut off all soul ties between me and Tom
 me: specifically rejecting the curses spoken over him by his parents
Bev: i renounce all the lies spoken over me by his parents
  i reject the curses spoken over him by his parents from affecting our child Jnr
I led her to start to forgive – in faith and as an act of her will – thus preventing the devil from using unforgiveness as a legal access to her soul.
 me:  I decide RIGHT NOW to forgive without reservation
Tom, his parents and my parents
  I choose to forgive with my free will
  I do not hold anything against them and release them to you, Oh God
Bev: i decide right now to forgive without reservation Tom, his parents, my parents
  i don’t hold anything against them
  i release them all to you Lord
Here I started to pray:
me: I’ll pray now…
Right now I break off all demonic attachments and all emotional attachments towards Tom from off of Bev’s life right now
 Bev: amen
 me: and severing all connections in the spirit between Tom and Junior in Jesus name
 Bev: amen
me: I come against every demonic spirit that came into her life because of this demonic control
Bev: amen
 me: and break off their legal right
  no more access, in Jesus name
 Bev: amen
 me: I put a Jesus Christ bloodline around Bev right now
 Bev: halleluya
me: and command every spirit connected to judgement, unforgiveness, infedelity, adultery, fornication, depression, not getting ahead in life, being hindered, financial troubles, pride and heaviness off her life right now
I command u to leave her right now
I release mighty warring angels to fight over her right now and take these spirits off her life
Bev: amen
  halleluya
  oh God thank u
  freedom
  thank u
I break to ask how she’s feeling – if she’s feeling any release while we are going through our session.  My reference to my hands is just letting her know that I can still feel the presence of the Lord’s power via a warmth in my palms, which I usually get when I’m about to lay hands on someone (virtually, in this case….)
 me: how are you feeling?
 my hands are still hot
Bev: lighter
  amen
I command any demons in the area to go to dry places according to Matt 12: 43 (KV) which states “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.”
me: In the name of Jesus I rebuke every spirit that is hovering near her right now, looking for a reentry point. I seal every area of her life right now by the blood of Jesus
 I command them all to go to dry and uninhabited places right now
Sensing more demons around, I continue: 
 There are more:
 Fear, leave now!
Bev: amen
  fear leave
  worry leave
 me: in Jesus’ name
  spirit of anxiety, u have no place
  depression u have no place
  suicide u have no place
  not wanting to live, I rebuke u as satanic. Get out!
 hatred, I command you to leave right now – hatred, loathing, murder, violence, revenge
  (my hands are trembling as I type… tingling)
I bind every spirit I have identified
  and command them to loose her NOW in Jesus’ name
 Bev: amen
While watching a teaching on deliverance by the later Derek Prince, he mentioned that spirit, breath and air are the same word in both Hebrew (ruach) and Greek (pneuma).  He encouraged the people seeking deliverance to forcibly expel the demons out of their bodies by blowing out deliberately in faith.  I have seen that once people start doing that, they find that they yawn, cough, spit up, vomit, or exhibit some other manifestation of the evil spirit leaving.  I employ that here.
 me: I want u to blow out in faith, like I showed u… u might feel some leave through yawns like before
Bev: just did
goose bumps all over me [too]
me: In the name of Jesus! I command every lingering spirit to leave now! No stragglers! In the name of Jesus!
  Let the blood of Jesus be applied to every area of Bev’s mind (conscious, unconscious, subconscious)
cleanse every memory
  heal every hurt
  close every door
  in the name of Jesus
  seal each doorpost with the blood
  so that the “death angel” will pass over – so that the demonic will pass over and not find a place to rest
  Keep blowing out, my dear
 Bev: amen
I start praying for her son here as well.  As he is her child, she has spiritual oversight over him.  I learned this at Warfare Plus, and at first it sounded weird to me, but praying the evil spirits out of the child through the parent who is being ministered to works, in my experience.
me: May the blood of Jesus be applied to her son and his life
  I rebuke every spirit of disobedience lingering in his life
  may any spirits within him leave through Bev’s mouth right now
  In the name of Jesus
  spirits of depression
 sadness
  hurt
  anger
  pain
  Spirits sent to steal his joy
in the name of Jesus every spirit that doesn’t follow the name of Jesus – every spirit destined to the pit – be removed from Junior’s mind and soul right now in Jesus’ name
When I asked her what was happening she said:
Bev: anger is going away
  mind clearer
me:  I just had an urgency to pray right then
  I still want to go through the whole process to make sure all your open doors are closed
 Bev: ok
  it was urgent
 my spirit was vexed and disturbed
  especially since his family doesn’t wish well
 me: did u sense anything leave when I prayed for Junior?
Bev: yes
  i had goosebumps
This incident happened just this week, and is only one of the many times I have prayed for people online and seen God move -it’s always an awesome thing for me to see and experience.
I will take one more post to address one of the comments I had on this series, where there might be an apparent misunderstanding or confusion concerning the illustrations I use in this teaching.  However, I hope that this series was informative, and I encourage comments, questions and serious seeking after the Giver of Truth for all of us, so that questions can be answered and revelations given out of the light of Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s leading. 

Deliverance – The Purpose February 6, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, deliverance.
Tags: , , ,
12 comments

This is Part 3 of my series “Deliverance Foundations”.

In the last article, I dealt with strongholds and how Satan uses open doors to gain legal access to our soul and body regions, and how Satan’s kingdom is founded on a legalistic view of the law.  It is that legalistic viewpoint which makes it difficult to remove demonic oppression unless those contracts have been legally nullified.

What is the purpose of deliverance? It was part of Jesus’ ministry – he declared it as he referenced Isaiah 61:1 -

Isaiah 61:1 (New International Version)

The Year of the LORD’s Favor

 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, 
       because the LORD has anointed me 
       to preach good news to the poor. 
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
       to proclaim freedom for the captives 
       and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a] (my emphasis)
Deliverance, in this context, is the process via which demonic entities that have had prolonged access to a person’s soul are forcibly removed.  This is seen prominently in Jesus’ earthly ministry, where demons were cast out of several who were oppressed.  
One of the websites I turn to for Biblical exposition www.greatbiblestudy.com has this to say on the article “The Ministry of Deliverance”:
 The purpose of ministering deliverance is to set free those who are in bondage. As Jesus was sent fourth to preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to… preach deliverance to the captives…”), so we are also sent out (John 20:21, “Then said Jesus to them… as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”) to do the works He did (John 14:12, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also…”), and this includes casting out of devils (Matthew 10:8 )
It also states that: -
The ministry of deliverance is about bringing spiritual victory and freedom to those who are in bondage. It doesn’t matter what you call it (demonized, possessed, oppressed, etc.), if they are in demonic bondage, whether they need to tear down a stronghold, break up a legal ground, cast a demon out, or all three… it’s still deliverance, because it’s setting the captives free. Casting out demons, is just part of the overall ministry of deliverance.
The article continues that there are several components to deliverance:-

Inner healing: Many times when a person has been abused, rejected, wounded, or hurt in some way, there is an emotional wound that needs to be healed. Demons will use these wounds and weaknesses against the person, as leverage to hold them in bondage and get them to re-open doors so that they can re-enter. Inner healing is a vital step in the overall restoration process that needs to take place in the lives of many who are seeking deliverance. There is more information on this process in the teaching Steps to Inner Healing.

Inner healing needs to take place so that memories and past experiences can’t be used against the one seeking help.

Tearing down strongholds: Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns that people develop over time, and are often set up and nurtured by demons through lies and deception. Demons thrive on strongholds, and use them to hang around a person and torment them. I recommend reading the teaching onStrongholds for a clear insight into exactly what a stronghold is, and how to go about tearing them down. Failing to tear down strongholds can hold up a deliverance and prevent us from walking in complete spiritual freedom.

Take the time to go to the links – they’re good to get more information about areas that you are interested in.

Removing legal rights: Legal rights are things that give demons permission to enter and remain in our lives. Before demons can often be cast out, it is important to address and remove these legal rights. The teaching on Legal Rights lists the most common legal rights and how you can go about removing them. Failing to remove legal rights can hold up a deliverance very easily.

This expands what I mentioned in my former post on Strongholds and Legalism.  

Casting out the demons: This requires two basic elements: knowledge of your authority in Christ Jesus over the powers of the enemy, and faith in that authority. Demons are cast out with a simple spoken command, such as, “I command the spirit of fear to come out in the name of Jesus!” You can learn more about your authority and how it works from the teaching on Spiritual Authority.

I like the fact that we are all called to the ministry of casting out demons. In fact, we’re called to the same ministry as Jesus, with it’s three fold emphasis – evangelism, healing and deliverance!

Mark 16:15-18 (New International Version)

 15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18they 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.“

In my experience so far, deliverance is not a one time event.  The Scripture says that when an evil spirit is cast out it will search for another “house” and if it doesn’t find one, it comes back looking for an entry point…

Matthew 12:43-45 (New International Version)

 43“When an evil[a] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Remember, demons see a person’s body as their ‘house’.  If they are removed, they look for another ‘home’, but finding none, they go back to their first residence. If it is clean, swept but ‘empty’  the demon will reenter, and the last condition is worse than the first.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

What would you fill the house with?  It is not as easy as praying that the Spirit of God ‘fills all the empty spaces’ – although there is benefit in praying that prayer.  No,  those who enter the kingdom of heaven are  those who are ‘doing the will of the Father.’  With that in mind,  the person who does not start “doing the will of the Father” is in jepordy of re-infestation, as obedience to the Lord will keep one from putting oneself in a position of danger.

I spoke of the purpose of deliverance in this article.  In the next installment of this series, I will give a case study of an actual deliverance session that I performed recently online.  I have recognized that God is truly omnipresent – and God’s power is evident whether his word is spoken by mouth or typed online!  Stay tuned for the final installment on deliverance in this series!

Strongholds and Legalism February 1, 2009

Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, deliverance.
Tags: , , ,
13 comments

This is Part 2 of my series “Deliverance Foundations”…..

In my earlier post, I described how the term ‘possession’ in the context of the demonic is better seen as ‘control’ rather than ‘ownership’.  I discussed the triune nature of man (body, soul and spirit) and spoke of strongholds, which are, as was said before, “well defended areas that hold up against attack.”

As before, let’s start with a dictionary definition.  A “stronghold” can be defined as:

  • “A well fortified place; a fortress”
  • “fastness; a fort or fortress; a place of security”
  • “fortified place; refuge”
  • “a strongly fortified defensive structure”

A stronghold is a defensive structure. For the purpose of this study, it represents areas of your life that are not fully under God’s control – a habit or compulsion to do something that is not easily brought under control.  The reason why things like ‘anger’ or ‘jealousy’ or even ‘gluttony’ are strongholds is that demons use these areas in the soul (which consists of your mind, memory, emotions and will) as defensive structures.  You will find that there will be one area of your personality that you can’t control and you can be assured that at least one (and usually more) demon is entrenched under that area and will not leave without a fight.

Remember the analogy from the previous article?

Think about an appartment building.  Each tenant has access to their own room, and each has their own key.  ”Good” people can live in one part, and “evil” people can live in another part – but it is still the same building.  Even if the ownership of the appartment building changes hands, just because the new owner gets the title deed does not automatically eject the ‘evil’ people from the apartment.  If I am the new owner, I may still need to work at physically removing unwanted people from my building.

Using this analogy, the apartment building represents you, specifically your soul.  Demons will reside in your soul and manifest in uncontrollable or compulsive behaviours or thought patterns.  These are strongholds.  Remember that a ’stronghold’ is a defensive, fortified position.  Using the analogy, the strongholds would represent the rooms that the demons reside in.  Are you always angry? Do you have an uncontrollable jealousy?  Can you never see a member of the opposite sex without wanting to have sex with them?  Then there are strongholds in your life; areas not totally under God’s control – and not under yours, either.  But you’d better believe somebody’s controlling!

 How did the demons enter? The tenants in each apartment building would all have keys, which give access to the rooms they occupy.  In the same way, demons enter though what I call ‘open doors’. Behaviours such as unforgiveness, idoatry, unconfessed sin and others give demons legal access to your soul; these actions are the keys to the apartment’s rooms. 

In Matthew 18:23-34, Jesus gave the parable of the unforgiving servant.  He was forgiven a great debt, but wanted to haul a fellow servant out of the coals for a smaller debt. 

Matthew 18:34 (King James Version)

 34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Unforgiveness was the reason that this servant was ‘released to the tormentors.’  Did you see it?  Unforgiveness was the key to the apartment.  The other thing is that the master delivered the servant to the tormentors….  the servant’s choices started the ball rolling, but the consequence of the sin is that the master (God) delivered him up to be tormented.

So what does God do through deliverance?  Here’s another quote from the last post, with a couple additions.

What God has to do is, through the power of the Holy Spirit, remove the legal right for the demonic to have access, which forces them to leave when commanded out by a child of God. In essence, the owner of the house (God) gets the help of a lawyer (Jesus) who effectively writes up and enforces an eviction notice (through the power of the Holy Spirit) on the former tenants, which breaks their legal right to be there.  Then, they can legally be evicted by the police force (a Spirit filled believer.)

 Satan is a legalist.  Looking up the definition of “legalism” we see that it means:

  1. Strict, literal adherence to the law or to a particular code, as of religion or morality.
  2. The judging of conduct in terms of strict adherence to precise laws.
  3. Excessive respect for the letter of the law, and the forms and institutions of law, at the expense of wider moral and social considerations.

Satan is a master manipulator, but knows and enforces a strict, unhealthy adherence to the law. He uses his knowledge of that law like a prosecuting attorney – in an accusatory manner.  He is a master of judging conduct in the light of strict adherence to law, even while he manipulates people into breaking that law.  One can see this when he challenges Eve in the Garden of Eden - “Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Gen 3:1)  He manipulates Eve to see the forbidden fruit as desirable and “good for food”, and thus causes man’s fall.  He tried to manipulate God by questioning Job’s motivation for serving him (Job 1:9; 2:4), accusing Job of only serving God because God protected him.  He showed his legalism again in the temptation of Jesus because he knew that he had the authority to offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world “…they have been given to me….” (through the Fall) and he could give them to anyone he chooses.

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7) 

He even quotes Scripture, trying to manipulate via corrupting the context of Psalm 91:11-12

 9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
   ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you
      to guard you carefully;
 11they will lift you up in their hands,
      so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]” (Luke 4:9-11)

 The fact is, Satan knows how we should live better than we do! He manipulates us to break the moral code, and then accuses us unmercifully when we fall for his schemes.  When we succumb to his tempations, he and his kingdom use our sin as legal right to harass.  Without the legal right being removed by repentance and renunciation of the sin, it is commonly experienced that the demonic oppression stubbornly refuses to lift.  This is the reason why, in my deliverance sessions, I lead those who I am ministering to through a process of identifying and dealing with these sinful areas, called open doors because they give unrestricted acccess to the enemy.

I attempted to get to how deliverance works in my own ministry, but dealt instead with the concept of open doors, strongholds and legalism.  I am building a solid foundation for my experience, and I will get into the deliverance experience in the next post in this series.  Stay tuned!