Invisible Enemies

by Jim Croft

  While experiencing deliverance, it is important to keep certain factors in mind. The Greek word for spirit in the term evil spirit is pneuma. Its definition means wind, air and breath. Though demons are neither breath nor wind, they often come out through the breath of the mouth in the form of yawns, sighs, huffs, coughs and occasional screams.

  Do not be alarmed about hacking coughs or any oral or nasal emissions of mucus. Just think of it in terms of similar reactions you experience with the flu or allergies. The coughs and emissions associated with flu and allergies indicate you are getting rid of something. In deliverance, it is bad stuff out, good stuff in. You will definitely feel and act better within moments of experiencing the manifestations. The evil spirits are being expelled, and you are filling the vacuum within your soul with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

  You need to be determined in your efforts, setting your will against the powers of darkness. As a sign of that resolve while expelling them, you can forcefully huff or cough using your lungs, your diaphragm and abdominal area. The action is similar to forceful exhalations of tobacco smoke. One or two determined exhalations are usually sufficient to expel each demon. (Frantic breathing in and out can induce hyperventilation.)

  After commanding a particular evil spirit to leave, give it adequate time to exit. Refrain from additional talk between breaths as you expel the spirit. You can pray and give additional commands mentally without actually speaking.

  After people have experienced deliverance, some ministers insist upon an intense regimen of Bible reading, prayer and praise—almost in a superstitious manner—to avoid reentry of demons. I do not share their concerns. I prefer that the delivered person assume an assertive posture about the benefits of having the power of Christ and His Holy Spirit abiding within. The person who takes that approach will tend to develop a devotional life that produces intimate fellowship with the Lord through prayer and Bible reading.

  My advice to you is to cultivate a devotional life that satisfies the Lord’s longing to have fellowship with you. Once you have been delivered, the awareness that your relationship with the Lord is mutually satisfying for you and for Him will keep old passengers at bay.

  Now that you understand what to expect as your deliverance takes place, let’s begin the process.

  The Self-Deliverance Process

  Take your notes from the diagnostic questions and make a list of the sins you need to repent of and renounce. Also make a list of any demons and curses you suspect.

  Begin with this prayer of confession of Jesus as Lord in which you will also repent for and renounce all known ties with the occult, and offer prayers of forgiveness.

  “Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name. I believe Jesus is Your divine Son who died for my sins. I know that You raised Him from the dead. I now call upon the name of Jesus to free me from Satan and sin. I ask You to forgive all of my sins. I declare that because of Your forgiveness, I am a child of God. Satan has no place in me and no unsettled claims against me. All that my life represents now belongs to God and is dedicated to serving His purposes. My spirit, soul and body are the temple of the Holy Spirit, redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I now repent of my sins (name them). I renounce all of the works of darkness associated with the occult. In particular I renounce participation in (name the activities in which you have indulged). I will destroy any literature and images associated with any form of idolatry in which I have participated. From this time forward I am dead to the occult realm and it is dead to me. I will get my guidance from the Word of God, from the Holy Spirit within, from His spiritual revelatory gifts and from godly counsel. Father God, I forgive all who have sinned against me, even as You have forgiven my sins against You. I forgive (name the people) for the way they hurt me. Lord, I bless You and thank You for my salvation and deliverance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

  Continue by reciting the following prayer for release from curses:

  “At Calvary, Jesus bore all of the curses due me that I might enjoy all of the blessings due Him. I now renounce and separate myself from the curse of (describe whatever the particular curse has done in your life). Those whom the Son has made free are free indeed. I am no longer under any curses. My heritage is the blessing that speaks well of God’s loving care and the benefits of being a member of His family. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

  Continue with the following prayer to expel the demon. If you suspect more than one, name and expel them one by one. Do not fret about calling the evil spirit by its exact name. The Holy Spirit knows who and what you are after, and so does the evil spirit. If you do not know its specific name, describe its function and command it to leave you. (For example: “You demon that incites me to use filthy and profane expletives, I command you to leave me now in Jesus’ name.”) Demons have no choice but to exit as you command them to leave in Jesus’ name.

  “Lord Jesus, You said that believers have authority over all of the powers of the enemy and that we are to cast out demons. Your Word says that when we resist Satan, he will flee from us. On the authority of Your Word, I bind every demonic spirit within me. I command (name or describe the function of one spirit) to come out of me now in Jesus’ name.”

  Keep after each spirit until you have a tangible sense of release. Then go on to the next one on your list.

  After the session has ended, spend time in thanksgiving to the Lord for the deliverance you have received. You have experienced a miracle. The natural response for such a wonderful gift is to thank the Giver.

  Once you have spent ample time thanking the Lord for His deliverance, you will be ready to move on. The deliverance process can be likened to peeling an onion layer by layer. That has certainly been the case with me. But every person is unique and your experience may be totally different from mine or others. Many people go through a single session like that which you have just experienced, are completely freed from demonic trouble and never need another session. Whatever our individual personalities might require, one truth is preeminent: We can give all the glory to God for whatever happens, for He is on our side. He is our Strong Deliverer.

  Now that you understand the process of deliverance, you are ready to take the next step. In the chapters that follow we learn more about the deliverance ministry itself. We look at basic ministries of the Church and see how they partner with deliverance. We uncover various difficulties inherent in deliverance. Plus, we will deal with some subtle devices of the enemy.

  Whether you desire to go further in your own self-deliverance or you find yourself in a position to use the techniques in the book to help someone else, let me encourage you that you have the ability and authority in Jesus Christ to expel any invisible enemies you might encounter in your Christian walk. Understanding these basics of deliverance ministry will help you grow in confidence. In Part 3 we go deeper into specific deliverance techniques.

  The Holy Spirit has inserted an ebb-and-flow dynamic into periods of refreshing the Church. It seems that widespread interest in any rediscovered biblical truth ebbs after a sufficient number of people have grasped it and benefited from it.

  Spiritual warfare and demonology as popular conference themes have been at an ebb for a number of years. During this low-tide season, the Lord has been helping us refine doctrines and methodologies pertaining to the deliverance ministry. It has undergone examination in retrospect to discern what is biblical and what is not, what works and what does not, and which practices should be retained and which should be cast aside as excessive. Along the way the Holy Spirit has been giving ongoing revelation to help produce optimal results.

  God’s desire, I believe, is for deliverance to be fully restored to the Church’s weaponry and activated in the purest possible form. A “tsunami” of revival is about to take place, and the Lord is preparing His Body to minister to those who will be ushered into the Kingdom as a result.

  Though this process of refining carries with it some high rewards, it is quite challenging. Why? Because Christia
ns tend to be unrealistic about the potential to be deceived themselves. Many assume that errors in doctrine and ministry applications are easy to recognize. They are not.

  Deception usually takes a subtle route into general practice. Faithful servants of God, for instance, can dispense deception. They have no idea that what they are saying contains elements of error. Audiences who embrace those errors do so without much question because the teachers have well-earned reputations for advocating biblical truth.

  To understand and guard against error, it is essential to know the differences between absolutes and variables in ministry.

  Absolutes and Variables

  Regarding the ministry of deliverance, there are few biblical absolutes and many experiential variables. Absolutes are the cumulative principles that the Bible teaches us about Satan, demons, incidents of deliverance and related topics. An example of absolutes would be the fact that Jesus cast out demons, or that He defeated Satan at the cross.

  Variables, on the other hand, rely on discernment and interpretation. These could be, for instance, any specific occurrences during deliverance or what those in ministry observe while setting the captives free. Doctrinal interpretation, which carries potential for error, is another variable. An example of this would be Jesus’ ministry to the demoniac who lived in tombs. That is the only incident in Scripture in which Jesus asked a demon to name itself. Thus, on occasion it is appropriate for those ministering to do so. An error would be insistence that deliverance protocol demands conversing with demons to get their identities. We will discuss variables further in the next chapter.

  One classic mistake that Christians in ministry make is to interpret variables as absolutes and absolutes as variables. A particular experience while ministering to one person should not be set in stone as an absolute when ministering to another person.

  Satan and his demons are clever. Unquestionably, the devil loses ground whenever evil spirits are expelled. Satan’s countering scheme to regain lost ground is to introduce error. It succeeds when protocols of ministry are established on variable ministry experiences rather than the absolutes of sound biblical principles—and even common sense.

  Let me give you an example from my own ministry. It has to do with the error of obtaining information in the process of deliverance from the demons that are being expelled. As a preface to what I am about to share, let me state unequivocally that demons cannot be trusted as they are under the command of the father of lies, the devil. Even though I knew this biblical truth, I let error slip in the door.

  During the Jesus Movement I often ministered deliverance to the hippies who were coming to Christ in our city. On one occasion, a young woman was having an unusually difficult struggle to find relief. Suddenly, a demonic spirit spoke repeatedly through her lips: “It’s the crucifix that keeps me in. I will not go. Her necklace gives me a right to stay.”

  My reaction was instantaneous and strong: “Get that thing off of your neck now!”

  The young lady pulled off the necklace, gasped violently and then breathed a sigh. “It’s gone. I’m free. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus,” she cried.

  With a bolstered sense of authority, I instructed her: “From this day forward, don’t ever wear a crucifix again. The Lord is no longer hanging on a cross. He has triumphed over the devil and has paid the price for you to enjoy freedom from hassles with evil spirits. You don’t need a religious relic to ward off evil.”

  Ironically, although the young woman was gloriously liberated, I slipped into a form of religious bondage that took months to discern. My success with her led me to believe that religious jewelry gave evil spirits a right to remain in their hosts. I ritualized its removal and destruction whenever I ministered deliverance. The second of the Ten Commandments was my proof text: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4).

  A Welcome Correction

  God was merciful to me and those to whom I ministered. People continued to receive liberation through my prayers, even though a portion of my methodology was off base. After a while, some persons receiving ministry wisely began to resist my assertions that all religious articles must be destroyed. They understood that fetish attachment to just about any object has the potential to strengthen demons, but they also knew they were not guilty of fetishism. I was rescued by several respected leaders who voiced concerns that my position on the wearing of religious objects was excessive.

  When I took the time to do some research in the Scriptures on the subject of images, to my chagrin, I found that gifted artisans had been filled with the Spirit to mold images of living things. The decorations of the Tabernacle of Moses and Solomon’s Temple consisted of figures of flowers, lions, oxen and cherubim (see Exodus 25:33; 35:30–35; 1 Kings 7:28–29).

  I repented of my naïve excessiveness. Through the words of a demon I had heard during deliverance, I had allowed Satan to hoodwink me into making a variable an absolute. Undoubtedly, the hippie girl to whom I was ministering had an inordinate attachment to her crucifix. In her specific, isolated case, it was necessary for her to remove the item in order to be set free. But the truth is, most people can be set free regardless of what Christian symbols they might be wearing.

  Ironically, I came into contact with some fellow ministers who refused to lay aside that particular position that I had previously and erroneously held. I attempted to reason with them, but to no avail. For them, their success in ministry equaled God’s approval. Their determined stand played right into Satan’s strategy to regain ground by diminishing the credibility of their ministries.

  I later learned that those brothers had gone into even further excesses about the matter of idolatrous images. Family photographs, for instance, were added to their lists of forbidden paraphernalia. Those dear men ministered publicly for a few years and then were sidelined. In essence, it was deception about the nature of idolatry that shut down their effectiveness in ministry.

  The devil has a knack for accentuating the overstatements of preachers in the minds of listeners. Eventually errors of overemphasis can become empowered with lives of their own. The enthusiastic followers of a given preacher can begin to promote his unintentional overstatements as though they were absolutes. In most instances, when reputable teachers learn of such happenings, they instantly make corrective adjustments. At times, however, this can happen after their lives have ended. In that event, the Lord raises up other ministers to make the necessary adjustments. The pull between established partial truths and the effort needed to correct them are a kind of necessary tension keeping the Body of Christ both functional and mobile.

  Misapplications and misinterpretations can divert any ministry from its God-ordained focus. In the chapter to come, we will uncover a number of spin-off misconceptions that have evolved from overstated truths about deliverance from evil spirits.

  Jesus spoke spiritual truths with undiluted purity. After His ascension into heaven, the truths that the Holy Spirit has revealed to His Church have passed repeatedly through the sieve of human personality. This means that any one of the truths the Lord has intended to instill within His people has the potential to be blurred or altered by doctrinal interpretations and personal experiences. Recognizing this reality, we also recognize that truth is progressive, requiring that we “rediscover” it on a regular basis.

  Five Areas of Chaff

  Wisdom dictates that those who want to understand—particularly those who practice—any ministry should periodically separate human-generated chaff from the Holy Spirit’s genuine wheat. Here are five prevalent chaff-ridden concepts that we need to winnow from our experience and practice of deliverance.

  The Concern about Manifestations

  Critics have a common complaint about deliverance. They object on the grounds that the Holy Spirit would not make a Christian display undignified manifestations. I agree. I do not believ
e the Holy Spirit makes people react in peculiar ways. I have come to understand that manifestations during deliverance are combinations of natural physiological responses and the antics of departing demons.

  Evil spirits consider their human hosts their personal homes. The resistance of some demons to eviction has similarities to people who feel their landlords are evicting them unjustly. Hardly anyone would fail to express consternation if a landlord came suddenly to throw them out. Many would cry out and make threatening physical gestures. That is precisely what is happening when some demons are confronted with the authority of God’s Word during deliverance.

  The bodies of believers belong to Jesus, the most powerful of all landlords. Evil spirits are illegal squatters. Demonic entities with strong roots in a person do not leave without a fight. They are apt to express some type of agitated actions as they unwillingly vacate their hosts. On the other hand, many demons have weak personalities. They are not predisposed to make a big fuss, and they simply vacate the premises when commanded to do so.

  Not every response is from a demon, of course. Still, the natural physiological responses that some people exhibit during deliverance are often mistakenly attributed to demons. The Lord has designed the human body to have physiological responses to the pleasures and pressures of life. It is not unusual for the stout of heart to get choked up by a “tearjerker” movie. Some people swoon and collapse at the sight of blood. Those who are stressed-out often grind their teeth at night. When long-term emotional issues are relieved, it is not just the sentimental at heart who need tissues to wipe tear-filled eyes and runny noses.