Rev, Valerie French, Luke418Church of Hemet

There are certain areas where all Christians agree concerning this issue. We know that, Jesus did deliverance. Matt 8:16 “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,” There is no discrepancy that Jesus did deliverance. We see it throughout the four gospels. We know that His followers cast out demons. All through the Bible there are various instances where Jesus, His disciples and the apostles cast out demons. Mark 16:17 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;” Where the controversy lies is in two assumptions, 1) is that many Christians believe in a ‘cessationism’ viewpoint where they believe only Jesus and His immediate followers exorcized demons but after the times of the New Testament this was done away with. 2) that according to 2 Cor 5:17, Once a person is born again, the demonic immediately comes out and they cannot be demonized from then on. And this is the crux of where the true controversy resides. There are those who believe that a christian can’t have a demon because the Spirit of God cannot dwell in the same body with a demon spirit. When you assume things you don’t understand all the facts about this issue. According to 1 Thessalonians 5:23 we are a tri-part being “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This scripture plainly says that we are made of a “tri-part” being. We have a spirit, a soul and a body. Our spirit is where the Holy Spirit dwells and cannot be touched by a demon. If you are truly born again this is off limits to the demonic. But, the devil can invade our mind, our will , and our emotions. Also he can take control or attack our physical body. But this is only if we give him an open door. A legal right to come in. ref. Eph 4:26. Paul says in Romans chapter 7:23,24,25 “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Now let’s examine 2 Cor. 5:17 a little further. Many Christians who don’t believe that Christians can have demons base it mainly on this scripture. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” This is an assumption and I say a big ASSUMEsion, that this verse incorporates deliverance and that once one becomes ‘born again’ any demonic entity automatically comes out! To the contrary, this verse has nothing to do with deliverance. This verse has everything to do with salvation. When one is born again he becomes a new man. The old original sin nature has been done away with. Not deliverance from demons. After you become born-again, your spirit is renewed and becomes intertwined with God’s spirit, but your fleshly nature (body and soul) is still bound by the weight of sin and won’t be fully released until you are set free. Therefore, you are susceptible to demonic infestation. Just as Paul said in Romans 7. NOW It says in Luke 4:13 that the devil left Jesus, ‘for a season’. This shows Biblically that Satan and his demons or opportunists who will wait patiently and very calculative for a moment of weakness in the human condition to come and attack again and again. 1 Peter 5:8 says,”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Don’t loose heart! Jesus gives us ALL authority over the demonic realm. Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Jesus before He left,did not leave us powerless against evil, He gave us ample power and authority against the enemy and his demonic angels. One of the greatest tools is in Eph 6:12-17, Eph. 6:12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Eph. 6:13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Eph. 6:14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like (breastplate) armor on your chest, Eph. 6:15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. Eph. 6:16 In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Eph. 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.” This is not allegorical, you must literally put on your spiritual armor each day. Also use holy oil to put on your doorposts of your house and on your forehead, anoint yourself often and put a hedge of thorns around your property and family and pets. Take all things demonic out of your home. Live a righteous and holy life before God and the devil and his minions will be far deterred. Jesus clearly gave His disciples (and we believers) the power and authority to cast out demons just Now let’s examine 2 Cor. 5:17 a little further. Many Christians who don’t believe that Christians can have demons base it mainly on this scripture. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” This is an assumption and I say a big ASSUMEsion, that this verse incorporates deliverance and that once one becomes ‘born again’ any demonic entity automatically comes out! To the contrary, this verse has nothing to do with deliverance. This verse has everything to do with salvation. When one is born again he becomes a new man. The old original sin nature has been done away with. Not deliverance from demons. After you become born-again, your spirit is renewed and becomes intertwined with God’s spirit, but your fleshly nature (body and soul) is still bound by the weight of sin and won’t be fully released until you are set free. Therefore, you are susceptible to demonic infestation. Just as Paul said in Romans 7. NOW It says in Luke 4:13 that the devil left Jesus, ‘for a season’. This shows Biblically that Satan and his demons or opportunists who will wait patiently and very calculative for a moment of weakness in the human condition to come and attack again and again. 1 Peter 5:8 says,”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Don’t loose heart! Jesus gives us ALL authority over the demonic realm. Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Jesus before He left,did not leave us powerless against evil, He gave us ample power and authority against the enemy and his demonic angels. One of the greatest tools is in Eph 6:12-17, Eph. 6:12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Eph. 6:13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Eph. 6:14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like (breastplate) armor on your chest, Eph. 6:15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. Eph. 6:16 In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Eph. 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.” This is not allegorical, you must literally put on your spiritual armor each day. Also use holy oil to put on your doorposts of your house and on your forehead, anoint yourself often and put a hedge of thorns around your property and family and pets. Take all things demonic out of your home. Live a righteous and holy life before God and the devil and his minions will be far deterred. Jesus clearly gave His disciples (and we believers) the power and authority to cast out demons just as He did. Luke 8:29-33. If you read this story, Jesus did a deliverance on a man who had 6,000 demons (legion). He also talked to this demon and asked it “What is your name?” He also gave the demon leave to go into some pigs nearby and they ran down and were drowned in the sea. What’s to say this is the only time He ever did this? The Bible says that if it was written of all that Christ did it says there wouldn’t be enough books! Ref. John 21:25. Biblical interpretation The Bible does not teach that scriptures are exclusively written for His disciples and then certain other scriptures are written to the rest of us. When we read scripture we do not dissect each verse to see whether Jesus was speaking his disciples or you and me. For example, in John 14:25, 26 “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” In verse 26a Jesus is clearly speaking to His disciples, but in verse 26b and 27 you can’t tell me that Jesus only said that His followers and that they alone could be filled with the Holy Spirit and we cannot! Of course Not! How can we honestly read the Bible in this way. Surely common sense tells us that there were certain instances where Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples in a personal note however; 2Tim. 3:16 “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.” There is another issue that many Christians do not agree on. Some say that Jesus and his disciples cast demons out of non-believers only. Are there any instances of Christians having demons in the New Testament? Matt. 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Now we know that Peter was a believer in Jesus Christ. By his actions we know that he was close with Jesus and loved Him and served Him in truth. I believe that there was nothing signifying that Peter was not born again. But Jesus clearly says to Peter, ‘Get thee behind me satan!’ Here we see a clear depiction of a Christian, Peter, being demonized briefly by satan himself in order to stop the plan of Jesus for His demise. Here is an example of a nonbeliever becoming demon possessed. John 17:12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 13:2 “And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,” John 13:26,27 “Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.” John 13:27 And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly. This is an instance where I do not believe that Judas Iscariot was born again, or if he was in the beginning he did loose his salvation at the end.

Judas was possessed as He did. Luke 8:29-33. If you read this story, Jesus did a deliverance on a man who had 6,000 demons (legion). He also talked to this demon and asked it “What is your name?” He also gave the demon leave to go into some pigs nearby and they ran down and were drowned in the sea. What’s to say this is the only time He ever did this? The Bible says that if it was written of all that Christ did it says there wouldn’t be enough books! Ref. John 21:25. Biblical interpretation The Bible does not teach that scriptures are exclusively written for His disciples and then certain other scriptures are written to the rest of us. When we read scripture we do not dissect each verse to see whether Jesus was speaking his disciples or you and me. For example, in John 14:25, 26 “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” In verse 26a Jesus is clearly speaking to His disciples, but in verse 26b and 27 you can’t tell me that Jesus only said that His followers and that they alone could be filled with the Holy Spirit and we cannot! Of course Not! How can we honestly read the Bible in this way. Surely common sense tells us that there were certain instances where Jesus was speaking directly to His disciples in a personal note however; 2Tim. 3:16 “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.” There is another issue that many Christians do not agree on. Some say that Jesus and his disciples cast demons out of non-believers only. Are there any instances of Christians having demons in the New Testament? Matt. 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Now we know that Peter was a believer in Jesus Christ. By his actions we know that he was close with Jesus and loved Him and served Him in truth. I believe that there was nothing signifying that Peter was not born again. But Jesus clearly says to Peter, ‘Get thee behind me satan!’ Here we see a clear depiction of a Christian, Peter, being demonized briefly by satan himself in order to stop the plan of Jesus for His demise. Here is an example of a nonbeliever becoming demon possessed. John 17:12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 13:2 “And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,” John 13:26,27 “Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.” John 13:27 And after the sop, then entered Satan into him. Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly. This is an instance where I do not believe that Judas Iscariot was born again, or if he was in the beginning he did loose his salvation at the end. Judas was possessed body, soul and spirit with satan. Mary Magdalene was a true believer of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Luke 8:2 “and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,” Although here we do not know if Mary was born again at the time of her deliverance or not, it is well noted of her devotion to Jesus throughout the New Testament. The sons of Sceva are those non-believing Jews that erroneously thought that just by using the name of Paul, they could cast out demons. Acts 19;15 “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”Acts 19:16 “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 that house naked and wounded.” If we as born again believers are supernaturally protected from the demonic in the way of having our armor on and using the tools that Jesus gave us in order to protect us from the demonic. But, again, this does not give us complete immunity, we can, as born again believers, open the door to the devil if we sin. Eph. 4:27 “neither give place to the devil.” (give opportunity) legal right. In the demonic realm, legality is scrutinized over a particular sin, and the motive or premeditative quality behind the sin is also determined. God sees the intent of the heart. So does the demonic. 2 Tim. 2:26, ”and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” What is the number one reason that believer’s are not casting out demons? Or believing that Christians can be demonized? FEAR! (1Jn. 4:18) – It is very natural to be cautious about something you don’t understand. But to shun the prospect of needing deliverance out of fear is shortsighted and lacking forethought with careful consideration. The very essence of why Jesus came to do deliverance was out of a motivation of love and compassion for those who were oppressed of the devil. So many Christians let fear rule their thoughts and emotions and cause them to immediately rule out the need for deliverance because of the ideas it conjures up. Many Christians may falsely envision themselves writhing on the floor, foaming at the mouth, uttering curses at God and vomiting up all sorts of hideous things. If you do this, you’ve seen too many horror films in your past. The best things to do is to stop and overactive imagination and consider what true deliverance is. 1) It has a Biblical precedence. 2) There is a supernatural realm that transcends our time and space., and 3) We can only experience that realm through our own knowledge and sensitivity to the spirit of God. No one who sincerely believes that he or she is a good Christian wants to doubt that they may not have all the correct doctrine, principles and precepts of their Christian Faith. It’s easy then to become rigid and living in your left rational mind out of fear. But, this is only a fear. One can still be a strong Christian and also have use your right brain full of faith just as long as what they do believe lines up with the scriptures or if not specifically in the scriptures, it must be scripturally consistent. Ask body, soul and spirit with satan. Mary Magdalene was a true believer of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Luke 8:2 “and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,” Although here we do not know if Mary was born again at the time of her deliverance or not, it is well noted of her devotion to Jesus throughout the New Testament. The sons of Sceva are those non-believing Jews that erroneously thought that just by using the name of Paul, they could cast out demons. Acts 19;15 “And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”Acts 19:16 “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 that house naked and wounded.” If we as born again believers are supernaturally protected from the demonic in the way of having our armor on and using the tools that Jesus gave us in order to protect us from the demonic. But, again, this does not give us complete immunity, we can, as born again believers, open the door to the devil if we sin. Eph. 4:27 “neither give place to the devil.” (give opportunity) legal right. In the demonic realm, legality is scrutinized over a particular sin, and the motive or premeditative quality behind the sin is also determined. God sees the intent of the heart. So does the demonic. 2 Tim. 2:26, ”and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” What is the number one reason that believer’s are not casting out demons? Or believing that Christians can be demonized? FEAR! (1Jn. 4:18) – It is very natural to be cautious about something you don’t understand. But to shun the prospect of needing deliverance out of fear is shortsighted and lacking forethought with careful consideration. The very essence of why Jesus came to do deliverance was out of a motivation of love and compassion for those who were oppressed of the devil. So many Christians let fear rule their thoughts and emotions and cause them to immediately rule out the need for deliverance because of the ideas it conjures up. Many Christians may falsely envision themselves writhing on the floor, foaming at the mouth, uttering curses at God and vomiting up all sorts of hideous things. If you do this, you’ve seen too many horror films in your past. The best things to do is to stop and overactive imagination and consider what true deliverance is. 1) It has a Biblical precedence. 2) There is a supernatural realm that transcends our time and space., and 3) We can only experience that realm through our own knowledge and sensitivity to the spirit of God. No one who sincerely believes that he or she is a good Christian wants to doubt that they may not have all the correct doctrine, principles and precepts of their Christian Faith. It’s easy then to become rigid and living in your left rational mind out of fear. But, this is only a fear. One can still be a strong Christian and also have use your right brain full of faith just as long as what they do believe lines up with the scriptures or if not specifically in the scriptures, it must be scripturally consistent. Ask yourself, “Does this glorify God?”, “Does this edify the people?”, “Are peoples lives restored and benefited?” If we as Christians can move out of our theological comfort zone long enough to do this we will gain new understanding and insight into the supernatural realm of deliverance, and lose some of our old prejudices and stereotypes which have kept us bound. I say this with discernment and caution. God certainly doesn’t want us to open ourselves up to false doctrine. You may say, “ We’ll the devil doesn’t bother me!” I would not be so proud of this you may be doing the devil a favor by not believing that Christians can have demons. Do we see Christians of all kinds being attacked by demons? It is taught in Christian circles that Christians can be 1)Oppressed, 2)Obsessed and 3) but not possessed. I have heard this most of my Christian life, however; my life experiences have not verified this. I do believe that Christians, if they stay in the faith, cannot be demon possessed. Possession requires all of your body, soul and spirit. But the oppressed and obsessed is pretty much a emotional condition rather than a state of being. It would be better to say ‘demonized’ because this donates an ‘other spiritual entity’ coming in dwelling in ones physical body. Remember a spirit can go through walls, objects, and does not have the physical limitations we as humans do. It’s only a matter of legal grounds whether they can do this or not that matters. Christ says we fight a spiritual battle and that it is not physical. I have seen others and experienced personally demonic torment. This is why I believe that Christians can be demonized. The best teacher and counselor is one who has personally experienced what they are talking about. Although I would never advocate going to a satanic coven to learn about the demonic. And I have seen and even been involved in deliverance of SRA (satanic ritually abused) individuals set free from the demonic and it was one of the most amazing and learning times I have ever had. The rest of the world, demonization, is a given. People have no problem with the fact that people, and Christians, can have demons. It’s unfortunate and sad that only in America there is still a demonic stronghold of disbelief in this fact. Why are deliverance ministers so adamant about doing deliverance? Because they have practical experience with this phenomenon. They have done it enough an seen the glorious results of seeing someone set free from terrible hellish torment from the demonic realm. In fact, deliverance should be done only on Christians, because if you do deliverance on nonbelievers, they are, as the sons of Sceva, unprotected and venerable demonic attack. And if cast out will soon return wth 7 more and the last state of the person is worst than before. Ref. (Luke 11:26)