This is the 25th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can access the rest of the articles by clicking here.

Evil spirits are master intimidators and inveterate liars. They will use every trick in the book to convince us that we have no ability or right to get rid of them. The usual shenanigans include telling us that they are too strong for us, are not going to do what we tell them, have a right to be there, or to try to convince us that we have some area of personal sin that disqualifies us from ministry. For t his reason, before every ministry session I spend time declaring aloud and reminding myself, the person(s) with whom I am working, the Lord, and any demons present that my righteousness is derived solely from Christ, not my own performance; my authority is Christ’s authority, and I am his personal representative; and Jesus is Lord over the ministry session (and everything else). I also invite the Holy Spirit to oversee everything and ask him to work in and through me to help the other person.

If setting people free from demonic oppression depended on my righteousness or my authority, I would fail, but since it solely depends on Christ, I will succeed, and so will you.

This means that evil spirits must do what we command them to do in Christ’s name. We don’t have to raise our voices or struggle in any fashion. We don’t need a band of strong men to hold down a demonized person. If we resort to such tactics, it reveals that we think that the battle is ours instead of the Lord’s and have been deceived from the very start.

The Theology of Deliverance

The theology of deliverance is simple. When Jesus died and rose again, he stripped Satan of his authority and right rule over humans.

He certainly removed the devil’s right to oppress people who are submitted to Christ.

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14  having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15  When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Colossians 2:13-15 (NASB)  

And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Luke 9:1 (NASB) 

These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; Mark 16:17 (NASB)

Jesus defeated Satan when he died and rose again. Drawing upon that future victory, Jesus empowered his disciples to minister in his name even before he went to the cross. How much more can we who live in the aftermath of the resurrection do the same!

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18  And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19  "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20  "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." Luke 10:17-20 (NASB)  

Today, post-resurrection, we are in “mopping up” operations in which we are enforcing the victorious reality of Christ’s lordship. As representatives of Christ, we speak and minister in his name, releasing his authority. It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to back up our words with God’s power. Let me repeat this essential point.

We proclaim Christ’s victory over demonic oppression, thereby releasing his authority to set captives free. The Holy Spirit then enforces what we say and makes it happen. He is the power behind the authority.

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 12:28 (NASB) 

Casting out demons is a clear sign of the presence of God’s kingdom. Unless we understand that the Spirit is the power behind Christ’s authority, we may resort to using fleshly means to try to cast out spirits, much to the devil’s delight.

Getting Ready

During a ministry session, we should depend on the Holy Spirit to give us insight, wisdom, discernment, and whatever else may be needed. I recommend asking him to be in charge of the session. Next, bind any evil spirits in Christ’s name, commanding them aloud not to act out in any way that might hinder or distract from Christ’s work. I tell them to keep quiet and not manifest in any way, unless by permission of Christ. If we do this, we will eliminate any showy demonic displays that are intended to provoke fear and confusion. In addition, having prayed in such a way, if a demon manifests or is otherwise discerned or detected, I assume that it is God revealing to us that it is time to deal with it. Remember, demons are never the main attraction. Instead, we should be far more interested in discerning how they got there, what has kept them there, and in helping the people to whom we minister repent and renounce whatever opened the door to demonization in the first place.

Depending on the Spirit’s Guidance

Once a demon and its entry point have been discerned with the Holy Spirit’s help and any sinful behavior or beliefs renounced, it is time to cast out the evil spirit.

Jesus and Paul cast out spirits without going through these steps, but I am not usually in the marketplace when this ministry happens, as they were. I have the luxury of being able to take the necessary time to get to the root of the matter. I suppose this is another example of what the Bible calls a “variety” of ministries in the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians12:5) Once again, I believe we should never simply assume that we know what to do.

Always ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Thinking we know what to do, simply because our doctrine is correct or we have ministry experience is potentially harmful.

King David knew how to fight battles, but when he went up against the Philistine armies, he asked God for a specific strategy. (2 Samuel 5:22-25) We should do the same.

Steps to Deliverance

1. Lead the person to confess and renounce any sin, wrong belief, generational sin, occult involvement, etc. that opened the door to demonic oppression.
2. Ask the person to submit to Christ. Salvation is all about lordship. James wrote that the first step toward resisting the devil is to surrender to Christ the Lord. (James 4:7) We should lead the person who needs deliverance to pray a simple prayer of surrender to Jesus the Lord, especially in the area where the evil spirit has been oppressing him or her.
3. Proclaim Christ’s victory over all the power of the enemy and over the particular spirit and area of oppression in focus. Remember: the gospel is a proclamation of Christ’s victory and Lordship which includes an invitation to be forgiven and set free from everything that has held us captive. (Acts 13:39) Saying it aloud is important. (Isaiah 61:1 and Colossians 2:15) We have no reason to think Satan can read our minds. Using our voice is crucial in gaining freedom. God uses the authority of the spoken word, enforced by the power of the Holy Spirit, to cast out evil spirits.
4. Command any oppressive spirits to leave in Christ’s name and authority. Expect them to obey because they must.

Dealing with Obstacles

Occasionally we will encounter an obstinate demon, who apparently refuses to bend the knee to our command. There could be a couple of reasons. The first thing to do is ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Secondly, perhaps, there is yet some “hook” that we failed to discern and renounce, which the Holy Spirit wants us to address. Thirdly, ask the person receiving ministry if there is anything yet not covered. Fourthly, it might be profitable to bind the demon to speak the truth and and ask it why it thinks it can stay. The answer might be illuminating for further ministry. Always be aware that whatever a demon says, since there is no truth in the devil, has to be judged in light of God’s Word and the witness of God’s Spirit. If another layer of sin, pain, deception, or generational devastation is uncovered, address it as before. Then go through the deliverance process again. Here is a list of potential obstacles.

• Unconfessed secret sin or vow
• Undiscovered generational sin
• Unconfessed or unrenounced occult involvement
• Agreement with a lie
• Pride – “My” demon is so strong that not just anyone can cast it out.

Remember: there is nothing a person may have done that can effectively block deliverance. It is all a smokescreen.

Always be aware that the demon simply is being obstinate and testing our faith and resolve. In this case, let us remember that the battle is the Lord’s, not ours. When I encounter this sort of thing, I use the approach of turning the evil spirit over to Jesus for him to deal with as he sees fit. I am not going to waste my time arguing or struggling with a disobedient demon.

How do we know when the evil spirit has departed?

The Holy Spirit operates in and through individuals in a variety of ways. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) In my case, I often have an inner confirmation from the Holy Spirit when a spirit leaves. I don’t know how to describe it except that it seems to be a kind of inner “whoosh.” I am sure that this is not helpful to you at all, which is good, because the last thing we need to do is try to copy someone else. God can confirm that a spirit has been cast out in any number of ways. First of all, remember that we do not even need a confirmation. We operate by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) However, thankfully, God may give us an inner or external confirmation. Often the person receiving ministry feels deliverance happening or senses the result of a spirit having left, as in a sense of release, joy, freedom, peace, etc. A minister may “see” it leave through spiritual discernment. (1 Corinthians 12:10) The person being delivered might have some sort of physical manifestation, such as coughing, gagging, etc. Regardless, we base our faith in God’s Word, whether we see any evidence or not. Demons must obey our commands given in Christ’s name. Period.

I remember a case when a person who was delivered approached me a few days later to let me know how much “lighter” she felt. In the aftermath of deliverance, she realized how much the spirit had previously affected her, even though she had been oblivious to its presence. If there is no immediate outward or inward confirmation, ask the Holy Spirit if anything more needs to be done. If everything is clear on his end, simply move on, trusting God to confirm the deliverance in whatever way or time he sees fit.

Deliverance requires faith and is usually a partnership between the one receiving ministry, the minister, and the Holy Spirit.

That is why it is very important to do whatever teaching is required up front so that the person receiving ministry has faith in the efficacy of Christ’s triumph, our authority to speak in Christ’s name, and the Holy Spirit’s power. We want to leave no room for doubt or hesitancy.

My next article will conclude this section with talking about what to do after deliverance.