Can a Christian Have A Demon?

Can a Christian Have a Demon?

To answer the question, No! A Christian (any Christian) has more than one demon. The early church knew it, and after preaching the gospel and having people converted, they would pray for their healing and they would cast demons out of them.

And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew  10:7-8)

We are spirit, soul and body. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

When we become born again, the spirit of God comes to dwell in our human spirit. Thus, our spirit is cleansed of all evil spirits that might have been there. This is why the born again experience. We feel renewed because the darkness in our spirit has departed and in its place the light of God has come in.

But our soul and body stay the same. We now can continue the process, in receiving in our soul and healing in our body. Some people stop at the born again experience of deliverance. Consider again the above Matthew scripture. The preaching of the Word comes first, and it brings the born again experience. But Jesus did not stop there. He said, besides that, to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils. If the born again experience would have taken care of the diseases and the demons, he would not have said what he said.

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But He answered not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she cries after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O, woman, great is thy faith: be unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:21-28. See also Mark 7:24-30)

a) Here is a woman that clearly was not from the children of Israel. This is why the disciples did not want to minister to her and wanted her to leave.

b) Her daughter had a demon, and the woman was pleading for deliverance.

c) Jesus did not even want to talk to her. When He finally talked, he said he came only for the Jewish people.

d) When the woman insisted, he said the woman wanted “the children’s bread”.
In other words, deliverance, which is what she wanted, was only for the children of God.

e) The woman’s insistence and faith in Him qualified her to be counted as a child of God, so she received her child’s deliverance.

If deliverance then, is for the children of God, then deliverance has been provided by God because it is needed. Christians do have demons.

How Curses Affect Christians

How Curses Affect Christians

Christians are affected by curses. A curse brings a demon. When a demon cannot be cast out, many times it is because the demon entered with a curse, and the curse is the legal right that the demon has to remain in the person. Because of this, the curse needs to be broken so that the demon can be cast out. A curse is broken in the name of Jesus. He is the curse breaker.

Lately I have heard evangelists talking about breaking curses, but they do not mention that a demon has to be cast out. The only thing that is done by breaking a curse is this: taking the legal right away from a demon, so that you can cast the demon out. You see, the demon comes with the assignment of working whatever the curse entails.

For instance, if it is a curse of death, the demon is assigned to work toward killing the person, or putting the person in a situation of death. If it is a curse of barrenness, the demon comes to work in such a way that the person cannot conceive a child. So if you break the curse, but do not cast the demon out, the demon, although it does not have the right to be there, will continue to do the work it was assigned to do.

There are different kinds of curses: (1) Biblical curses; (2) Witchcraft curses; (3) Curses by people who are not witches; (4) Self-imposed curses.

The above kinds of curses can come upon us by our own sins, by witchcraft works placed upon us, by what people express about us or by what we say about ourselves. And all of those curses can be inherited also. We have inherited curses, and we add to those, and then we pass them along to our children.

Biblical curses: The Bible imposes curses when people sin. A lot of curses in the Bible are unto death. Take a look at Deuteronomy 28–it has many curses. These curses are there for those who do not obey God’s commandments. Jesus became a curse on the cross so that now those curses can be broken. But beware, we need to heed the commandments or the curses come back.

Witchcraft curses: Curses placed on us by witches, any kind of witchcraft. A lot of people are involved in witchcraft. And a lot of people go to witches for the solutions to their problems, and if you are the problem, you will be receiving a witchcraft curse.

Curses by people who are not witches: People can place curses just by what they say or express about other people. I call this kind of curses “spoken curses”. Of this kind the worst is what is called “Charismatic Witchcraft” or “Psychic Prayers”. These are the curses which come from ignorant Christians, who pray their will instead of the Father’s will. When a Christian prays a selfish prayer about another person, God does not hear that prayer but the devil does, and it gives the devil a legal right to send a demon to that person. Many Christians pray this kind of prayer, and God is not happy with that. Be careful how you pray!

Self-imposed curses: What you say about yourself may become a curse. If you say something negative about yourself, you are giving the devil permission to send you a demon. Be careful also what you speak on your children and your family.

Soul Ties

Soul Ties

A soul tie is like a bridge between a person and another person, or animal or object. It is more common between person and person. There are godly soul ties and evil soul ties. An example of a Godly soul tie is the relationship between David and Jonathan:

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 18:1)

We may have evil soul ties with parents, grandparents, husbands, wives, children, friends, lovers, teachers, etc. Generally, if we have had a sinful or bad relationship with someone, we have an evil soul tie with that person. Some soul ties are stronger than others. A soul tie allows demons to go from one person to another. Evil soul ties are very common and when deliverance is ministered, evil soul ties need to be broken in order to cast out demons. As with curses, evil soul ties are broken in the name of Jesus. He is the Curse Breaker and the Deliverer.

The demons that come from a soul tie with another person call themselves “the evil soul of x”. For instance, in you have an evil soul tie with John Doe, the demons that entered you because of that soul tie call themselves “the evil soul of John Doe”. In casting out the demons that came with that soul tie, we need to cast out the evil soul of John Doe, because that is what the demons call themselves.

A person might form a soul tie with someone who cut or perforates their skin, for instance. This is because the cutting of skin is prohibited in the Bible (Lev 19:28). The person did not do it, but allowed the other to do it. A soul tie is formed. Also, a person enters into a covenant, a pact, or swears for instance to be a friend forever and cuts skin to mix blood, there is an evil soul tie formed. Sometimes the person does not know the name of the one who pierced their ears. We can break the evil soul tie by saying, “I break the evil soul tie that Joan has with the person that perforated her ears, in the name of Jesus”. And then I cast out the evil soul of the person who perforated her ears, in the name of Jesus.

A person who has an inordinate feeling about an animal or an object, has an evil soul tie with that animal or object. The same procedure can be used to break the evil soul tie and cast the demons out.

Strongholds

Strongholds

Stronghold: A place having strong defenses, a fort, a fortified place, a place of security. (Webster’s Dictionary)

Or else, how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:29)

A stronghold is the strong man’s house. The stronghold and the strong man is about the same. In my experience, I have found out that a stronghold is formed when a person believes a lie from Satan.

I have a friend that was at an evangelistic meeting once, and she heard something from the evangelist that did not make her feel at peace. She asked the Lord, and He explained, “He has believed a lie”. Believing a lie from the devil is the greatest obstacle to receiving deliverance. Believing a lie is a stronghold, the demon that dwells in the stronghold is the strong man, safe and secure in his fortress. Who is the strong defense of this demon? The person who has believed the lie.

Once I ministered to a woman and she had lots of deliverance. From the beginning the flow of deliverance was strong and she was delivered from many demons. A few days later she called me and said that the demon she most wanted to leave did not leave. We met again and she told me the demon was shyness. I started ministering to her and nothing happened. This time there was not a flow of deliverance. She started telling me then how she was very shy since she was a little girl. She told me how very shy she was…how shy she had been…she was SO shy that….etc. I was getting irritated at how much she repeated that she was shy. Then the Lord told me, “Tell her that she is not shy. Tell her that I did not make her that way. Tell her that it is not her personality, that it is a demon”. When I started to tell this, I could see in her eyes that she had received a revelation, that now she knew something that she did not know before. The demon manifested immediately and told me “I’m not a demon, I am her personality.”

I could not get the demon to manifest before, but now he came out into the open. What was the difference? She stopped believing the lie of the demon, which was, “This is your personality, you are shy.” When she stopped believing the lie, the stronghold was torn down. The strong man did not have a fortress and lost his defense. After that, I could cast the demon out.

Another time, I could not convince someone that a certain personality trait was not Godly. She was proud of the personality trait that was in her family. She thought, along with the family, that it was a very good quality to have. This lady had just been having deliverance when this demon manifested. The demon would not come out and she defended it. I could not convince her, she preferred to believe the lie and so she did not get any more deliverance. I could not tear down this stronghold.

If you prefer to believe a lie from Satan, there will not be deliverance for you. The Lord will not deliver you. I can try and try, but nothing will happen, because Jesus is the deliverer. Ask the Lord to show you what lies you have believed and still believe. Once you know them, thank God for telling you and seek deliverance!

How To Keep Your Deliverance

How to Keep Your Deliverance

Think about it: your demons entered you and set up house pretty effortlessly, but it’s going to take effort on your part to keep them from returning and making you captive again. Here’s what you must do.

Lead a Holy Life.

This requires a change of paradigms, a change of lifestyle. You need to change what you think, you need to change what you believe, and you need to change what your preferences are.

Growth requires change. Growing in Christ requires that you take stock of your self, rid yourself of old ungodly habits, thoughts and actions, and replace these with the new things God is offering you. Throw away the old you and put on the new you. God wants you to grow to the stature of Christ, and to do this you need to achieve holiness.

You may need to rid yourself of old friendships that induce you to sin. You may need to change some habits. You may need to change your manner of expressing yourself. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in this transformation.

One example of changing old habits might be making a decision not to watch R-rated movies any longer, because of the graphic language and sexually explicit content. Do you think the Lord would consider watching R-rated movies a part of living a holy life? The Word says for us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I doubt that watching R-rated movies renews our minds in a godly manner. These are the kinds of subjects we have to take stock of and change.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. (Peter 1:15-16)

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him: (Colossians 3:9-10)

Read Your Bible.

Read your Bible every day–not only read it, but study it, absorb it, make it a part of your daily thoughts and your being. You will get to know God by studying His Word.

Pray.

Praying is not repeating the same things over and over, like “Our Father who art in Heaven”, etc. You would not talk to a friend this way. If you kept repeating yourself to a friend, he would not want to be around you any longer!

Prayer is conversing with God. Sometimes prayer is just being in the presence of God in a meditative attitude, but not saying anything. The goal of prayer is to have a relationship with Him that moves you closer to Him. You need to take the steps toward establishing this relationship.

Resist the devil.

You will know when a demon wants to come back in. Resist him. Speak to the demon and rebuke him in the name of Jesus. Demons will tempt you. You need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might to resist. By submitting to Him and obeying Him, you will be able to resist.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (James 4:7-8)

The need to keep your deliverance.

Upon receiving deliverance, you probably heard some demons give their names as they were expelled. If the minister asked the demons what their assignments were in your life, they might have said what it was that they pressured you to think, believe or do. Once you have this information, you have an advantage that you did not have before: now you know what areas of your life need strengthening. You know that you must be alert to resisting demonic attacks in those areas so that the demons cannot enter you again.

Do not take this information lightly. You need to study it, meditate on it, pray about it and make a determination not to let those demons enter you again.

I have ministered to people who did not believe that what the demon was compelling them to do was sinful. Sometimes the compulsion or the behavior does not appear to be a sin, but the demon knows his subject’s weaknesses and has an ulterior motive. If the person analyzed the facts, he or she would realize that the demon was manipulating a symptom and not the real disease of the person’s soul. So, the demon is cast out, and the person goes back to doing whatever it is that brought that demon to them in the first place. The demon comes back in.

In one case, I was with a lady the day after the deliverance from such a demon. A circumstance arose where she was tempted to do “the symptom”. She wanted to do it and I restrained her, asking her if she did not remember what the demon had said the previous day. She got frustrated and mad, but then continued to do what she wanted. Some time later, she needed deliverance again, and the same demons came out. Despite my advice and counseling, I had to minister to her again, expelling the same demons. The result is that she is not living a life of victory.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43-45)

When I was a new Christian, I read this scripture and could not understand it. Every time that I read it, I could not grasp the part about the house being “clean”. Why would the demon, an unclean spirit, come back to a “clean” house? One day, the Lord explained to me, “I was talking about a hotel room.”

There were hotels in Jesus’ times and even before. If you remember the Christmas story: “There was no room at the inn”. And hotels had the same procedures as they do today. Before admitting a new guest, they needed an empty room. And when the room was empty, they needed to clean and garnish it: clean sheets and towels, clean glasses, soap, etc. Then the room was ready to receive the guest.

When the demon comes out of a person (his house), it tries to come back. If the person has not changed and continues in sin, the house is ready to receive the guest. Then the situation might be worse than before. The “seven other spirits more wicked than himself” are explained thus:

And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. (Leviticus 26:18)

And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. (Leviticus 26:21)

Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. (Leviticus 26:24)

Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. (Leviticus 26:28)

Reasons for not Seeking Deliverance

Reasons for not Seeking Deliverance

In our ministry, we encounter all kinds of reasons that God’s people turn down or are unable to receive His gift of freedom. Some are as follows:

We don’t believe demons or curses are the cause of our problems.

Or if we believe they are the cause of our problems, the demons are not inside of us, therefore we believe there is nothing to cast out.

We don’t want to deal with painful memories, character weaknesses, or unconfessed sin.

In order to get our freedom, we have to deal with life’s traumas and areas in our lives that we may or may not know are hindrances to our forward movement in life. This takes some courage to come face-to-face with sad memories or character flaws. We have to allow God to reveal those things and deal with us, and it may require repentance and brokenness.

We don’t want to get outside of our comfort zone.

This is a continuation of #2. You’ve probably heard clichés like “no pain, no gain” or “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Well, it’s true. If you don’t get outside your comfort zone, you will never grow. If a caterpillar stays inside its cocoon, it will never become a butterfly (and it will also die). So meditate on this. Courage and bravery is what wins battles, not sitting on the couch.

We are not teachable and won’t take correction.

Many times the reason we are in the predicaments we are in is because of pride. If we don’t receive a teaching or a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit through a minister that may cause us to feel convicted, we won’t get our freedom. And if we receive the word but don’t apply it to our lives, we won’t get our freedom.

We have been taught wrong.

Because the church is in the Laoedicean age, the body has not been taught the truth about the spirit world. So religious spirits are invading Christians to create a stronghold of unbelief, and it’s very hard to make the paradigm shift from the knowledge of the carnal world to the understanding of the spiritual world.

We like our demons.

We might have certain well hidden sins that we are not ready to give up. Certain likes and desires or ingrained habits or thoughts that are not right in the site of God. Until we are ready to surrender to and trust completely in Jesus, we won’t get our freedom.

We are lazy or complacent.

Demons can keep us in that lukewarmness that Jesus spoke about in the book of Revelation – the type of Christian He is going to spew out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16). Don’t be that Christian!

This is just a partial list. Do you see yourself in any of these? If so, get into some serious prayer-conversations with God and ask Him to help you change your heart. Cry out to Him, He will hear you and help you.

Life and Death and our Words

Life and death are the in the words we speak…Do we believe it?

The Bible says:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)

There are several things here that are puzzling. This scripture says that the tongue has power. I never really thought of the tongue having power. The scripture also poses the thought of loving your tongue. Loving your tongue? Why would anyone do that, I’m kind of indifferent toward it myself; it’s just a tool I use to eat with and talk with. And eating its fruit, what does that mean?

To try to clarify these things, let’s look at the definition of power from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: the ability to act or produce an effect. And the definition of fruit in this context is: “The effect or consequence of an action or operation: PRODUCT, RESULT.”

The Amplified Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].”

So, how can our tongues be powerful enough to hold life and death?

As you recall, the Bible talks a lot about God’s word. God created everything with only His spoken word. The scripture says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

And:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:60)

That’s pretty powerful. The Lord said in Isaiah:

…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

God’s words have a purpose and they will accomplish something. Couldn’t this also apply to us so we are made in His image?

And in Matthew:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

Think about this and imagine the earth just being destroyed and disappearing – what a cataclysmic thing that will be – but spoken words will never pass away? That’s pretty mind-blowing.

And look at this:
That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) All you have to do is “confess with your mouth” and you will be saved. Those are some pretty powerful words, confessing that Jesus is Lord and you’re saved from eternal damnation. Words are powerful.

When Jesus was in his earthly body, he spoke powerful words all the time, healing the sick with His word, casting out demons with His word, forgiving sin and iniquity with His word, rebuking the devil with His word, and on and on. Speaking life pretty much all the time, except…remember the story of the fig tree in Mark Chapter 11:

12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22″Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23″I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

So, Jesus spoke death to the tree with only His word. He didn’t have to use poison or root killer, he just spoke to it. Words have power.

Let’s look the story about the Roman centurion in Matthew Chapter 8:

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

This centurion understood authority! The authority we have with our words in Jesus’ name!

Look at how many Psalms and Proverbs and other wisdom scriptures there are about what we say, and these are just a few. Do you think the Lord was trying to tell us something?

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. (Proverbs 4:24)

Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (Proverbs 10:14)

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. (Proverbs 11:12)

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. (Proverbs 15:2)

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. (Proverbs 16:23)

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. (Proverbs 17:27)

A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Proverbs 18:7)

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. (Proverbs 21:23)

Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Words from a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips. (Ecclesiastes 10:12)

Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD ; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)

You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! (Psalm 52:4)

Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you. (Job 15:6)

Let’s see what else Jesus said about the spoken word in Matthew Ch. 12:
33 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Now, you might be thinking, “oh well, He was just talking to the Pharisees, they were evil anyway. This doesn’t apply to me.”

More scriptures in Matthew:

11 It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles [him]. 18But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles [him].

Now, child of God, why would you want to defile yourself?
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)

I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. (John 8:51)

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:2-10)

For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. (1 Peter 3:10)

But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. (Luke 6:49)

He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (Luke 11:28)

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does. 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. (James 1:22-26)

Amen!

Truth or Consequences?

Truth or Consequences?

As deliverance ministers, Mitsi and I ponder and discuss a number of things we see as life unfolds. A recent topic of discussion was this: the way the people of the Bible thought (those being of primarily Hebrew or Semitic descent) vs. the way most modern Americans think. Let’s classify this generally as Eastern vs. Western thinking.

The way most Americans think is by and large a product of the Greek empire. From Wikipedia:

Classical Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe, for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization.

The Greek world is widely regarded as having given birth to scientific thought by means of observation, thought, and development of a theory without the intervention of a supernatural force. Thales, Anaximander and Democritus were amongst those contributing significantly to the establishment of this tradition*. It is also, and perhaps more commonly in the western imagination, identified with the dawn of Western Philosophy, as well as a mapping out of the Natural Sciences.

*He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” (Isaiah 7:6-8)

While I believe the Greeks contributed immensely to the world for our benefit, one thing they overshadowed in their pursuit of knowledge and understanding is the belief in the unseen, the spiritual, the supernatural. In a nutshell they believed that if you can’t prove it through science, then it doesn’t exist. That philosophy has carried over through the centuries to our modern-day Americans, even those who believe in the unseen God of the Bible (Christians and Jews).

Because of this style of thinking, I find it sad when I see people who do not connect the bad things that happen in their lives as consequences of their beliefs, behaviors and decisions, and also a as a consequence of their ancestors’ beliefs, behaviors and decisions (I’ll explain this in a moment). I am not saying that everything “bad” that happens in one’s life is a consequence of beliefs, behaviors and decisions, but I would say we have found in our ministry and from our study of the Bible that a huge part of it is.

Eastern Thinking vs. Western Thinking

In contrast to Western thinking, take Biblical Eastern thinking examples:

Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival. In the city near the sheep gate was a pool with five porches, and its name in Hebrew was Bethzatha. Many sick, blind, lame, and crippled people were lying close to the pool. Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” The man answered, “Lord, I don’t have anyone to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. I try to get in, but someone else always gets there first.” Jesus told him, “Pick up your mat and walk!” Right then the man was healed. He picked up his mat and started walking around. The day on which this happened was a Sabbath. When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said to him, “This is the Sabbath! No one is allowed to carry a mat on the Sabbath.” But he replied, “The man who healed me told me to pick up my mat and walk.” They asked him, “Who is this man that told you to pick up your mat and walk?” But he did not know who Jesus was, and Jesus had left because of the crowd. Later, Jesus met the man in the temple and told him, “You are now well. But don’t sin anymore or something worse might happen to you.” (John 5:1-14)

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (John 9:1-3)

But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, (this is a CURSE) because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” (Acts 8:9-24)

Are you seeing the connections between sin and the outcome, between choosing evil and the consequences? That’s what most Western thinkers DO NOT SEE. They are blind, as the Bible says. They don’t see that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction–but not just in science.

The Hebrews knew that there were consequences for sin. A westerner might think this way: “Oh, if my wife catches me cheating on her, there will be hell to pay.” The connection is that there will be hell to pay from the wife, but how about from God? How about something less obvious: if someone exhibits regularly boorish behavior such as swearing like a sailor, drinking too much, cutting people off on the freeway and flipping them off, cheating on their taxes, stealing office supplies, etc. etc. will something “bad” happen in their lives that they never connect to the consequences of this lifestyle and their sinning? Here’s what God says:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galations 6:7-8)

The words we choose to speak are spiritual and have consequences.

Notice in the Acts passage that the former sorcerer, Simon, who became a Christian erroneously believed he could buy the power of God with money, and Peter spoke a curse over him. Simon not only did not dismiss the curse—as just about every American I know would have, believing that curses are not real—but he also begged Peter to reverse the curse by praying for him. As a professional sorcerer, Simon knew that curses were real things and really worked to achieve their end, because apparently we can infer that he made a lot of money by placing curses on people and working witchcraft.

This belief in curses is lost in American society today because of Greek, western thinking. But did you know the word curse is found in the King James version of the Bible over 160 times? We always say if you feel like you’re “cursed”, you probably are.

Most Western Christians dismiss curses by using this scripture:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galations 3:13-14)

We agree with this scripture, and that’s why we can break curses and cast out the demons that came to work the curse to the person’s destruction. The breaking of the curse is not automatic, as most Christians erroneously believe, just like being saved is not automatic. You have to do something to be saved: you have to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart (Romans 10:9). Likewise, you have to do something to reverse a curse.

Sins of the Fathers

Take the passage above from John 9. This is another way of thinking that has been completely lost in most of America’s churches: that the sins of our ancestors pass down to those living if they are not repented of. This concept was really hard for me to grasp for a while, but there it is right there in the Commandment #2:

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. (Exodus 20:4-5)

Once I started pondering and meditating upon this, I started seeing patterns in families—horrible patterns. Many times you’ll see children of alcoholics are alcoholics; children of abusers are abusers; children who come from uneducated people stay uneducated; children who come from poverty stay in poverty.

You might attribute these to social behaviors. But you will also see patterns of sickness and disease that run through families that are ghastly. Doctors might blame it on “bad genes”. I’m saying it could be “bad spirits”, because whatever is happening in the unseen spiritual world around us affects the seen physical world. (Remember, Spirit created matter, not the other way around. So Spirit has a higher influence than matter.)

Here are two examples of what I am talking about:

I know one man who married a woman whose (1) mother had breast cancer; (2) older sister had MS and died; (3) daughter had Crohn’s Disease; (4) son had ADHD and had a hard time in school; (5) twin sister had ovarian cancer; (6) then she herself got breast cancer. And you want to blame all this on bad genes? I mean, how bad can genes be?? There has to be another explanation. These are good people.

I know another man who married a woman whose brother and sister-in-law BOTH got cancer (different types) and died young leaving behind several young children to this man’s care. Then this man got colon cancer (fortunately caught it early). Now he and his wife are BOTH unemployed and have been for some time (both of them regularly go through periods of unemployment) and now his wife is diagnosed with MS. Again, how many bad things can happen to good people?

I know yet another family: The father died of colon cancer. The mother died suddenly and unexpectedly from complications from a blood thinner she was taking combined with an upper respiratory infection she got from fatigue after helping her son plan his wedding – she died just a couple of weeks after he wed. A couple of years later–and not yet 30 years old –he came down with Hodgkins Lymphoma, went through all the treatments, was pronounced cancer-free, started having headaches a couple of weeks later, and they found a tumor at the base of his brain. He went through all kinds of awful treatments again, had to go into rehab to re-learn to walk and talk again. As of this writing he is recovering, after much prayer. But I mean, this young man is one of the nicest, most polite, well-raised, intelligent people I have ever known. His poor sister has been a basket case of worry. There has to be a curse of death running in that family. But they are all Catholics, so it’s difficult to teach them any of these things – paradigms run deep.

I propose the sins of the fathers might have something to do with all this calamity. If you think about how many generations four generations back is, these are your great-great-grandparents. Did we even know them? How do we know whether they did sinful things to bring curses down the line to innocent people? Yet God says, hey folks, this is the way it works – you bear the consequences for the sins of your ancestors. I made a way out for you through Jesus. But you have to take the appropriate action if you want your liberty. Don’t just sit there – do something!

Other Eastern Thinking

Now you might be thinking, “Oh, those silly Hebrews, they were so primitive in their thinking, so uneducated, soooo ancient in their ways. We are so enlightened today. We are so advanced compared to what they had to work with back then – oh, hold on, I have a text on my iPhone.”

Well, I’ve got news for you. Like Solomon said, there’s nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). Just look at all the “Eastern ways*” that have invaded our American society. Acupuncture, yoga, transcendental meditation, reflexology, palm reading, tarot card reading, horoscopes and so, so much more. All these things came from eastern pagan religions and spiritual practices, and yet glib Americans just flutter to them like a moth to a flame, not realizing they are going to get burned. Americans will agree they work and they have a vague understanding that there is something spiritual behind these things, but yet they reject the Hebrew way of spiritual thinking. Consequences, consequences.

*Isaiah 2:6 For You (God) have forsaken Your people (Jews and Christians), the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with eastern ways; They are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they are pleased with the children of foreigners.

Final Thoughts

So I’m just stating this argument in hopes that someone will meditate on these thoughts and consider whether this is truth. See if you can hear the Holy Spirit say to you, “This is truth!” The purpose of this article is to help you in your spiritual walk, not to judge or condemn.

I will end with one last sad and sobering thought.

In our ministry over many years we have run across a number of Christians—both leaders and laity–who completely reject the deliverance ministry. I’m often surprised when “mature” Christians reject our message because I would have thought the Word of God was second nature to them. I mean the Bible says Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8). And he told his disciples (that includes us) things like, “cast out demons” (Matthew 10:8) and “I give you the power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means harm you” (Luke 10:19), etc. So if you reject those words, then are you rejecting Jesus’ work and mission and purpose? Whose side are you on, anyway?

Many times the rejection is quite vocal and strong. Clearly to us, the demons in that person have really got a grip on them. It’s probably due to the fear in the demons of being kicked out of their dwelling that causes the reactions in the people that are so violent. It’s unfortunate for them, because it empowers their demons to deceive them to the truth even more, which may lead to their destruction.

We have seen a pattern of the consequences among people we have tried to talk to about deliverance who reject us so dramatically, and it’s not good. We have seen a number of clergy and other Christians who have really fallen into the hands of Satan’s destruction. We do not have an explanation for why the punishment is so severe – only the Lord knows. But here is what we can tell you:

If a Christian tries to present you with a new idea or a new teaching that does not fit into your paradigm or your “box”, do your best to hear them out. Judge what they are saying against the Word of God like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. (If you don’t know the Word of God, that’s the first thing you need to fix.) So one of two things is going to happen: either this new teaching is a lie or it’s the truth, and you just may not know about it, never been taught it, never had it revealed to you before. (It really helps to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, who is the “helper”, and will help you discern truth and lies.) And it may help you, and it may be God trying to get through to you through one is His children who hears Him better than you do. I leave you with one last scripture – one more piece of advice from Ecclesiastes 5:2:

Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.