Tuesday, 21 February 2012
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Casting Out Demons and the Battle of Wills
Here are some passages that I see that I have been wondering about. One is in Luke 4:33-37:33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[a] spirit—began shouting at Jesus, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
Here it seems as if with a short word the demon left the man with just a word.
Here is where Jesus gave us the authority to cast them out in Mark 16:17:
These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.[a]
It could be that we just do not believe as much as we should. An example of this is that in all honesty the church is not equipped to do the casting out of demons -- in fact I think often the person is quickly dismissed with psychological problems and referred to counseling, therapists, etc.
In Mark 9:29 the disciples themselves once encountered a demon possessed person and they were unable to cast out. Jesus ended up rebuking them because of their lack of faith and dismissed the demons, saying this to them,“This kind can be cast out only by prayer." I know in my experience there were five and that it took a few of my friends giving time doing this passage for them to come out of myself when I was demonized. In fact they even requested friends they had to pray with them -- some of which I never met or they have never met me.
I also thought I would add that in the Old Testament times, once a person had a demon -- as far as we can tell from the Bible -- he/she had to live with it. One good example of this would be Saul who had demons who came to him after he rejected God and the Spirit of the Lord left him.
It seems like the idea of casting out demons comes with authority and in the New Testament Greek, the word often used is exousia, which means privilege, that is, (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.
So we only have that authority because of Jesus giving us that authority. Here are some passages you can look up: Luke 9:1, Luke 10:17. Still Jesus was able to cast them out with a simple command (see Matthew 17:14-21, Matthew 9:25). However, even the early apostles from what one may think were able to do so in the following passage in Acts 16:18:
This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
One may wonder what happened behind the scenes as this person followed him around for several days. Were there more interactions? Was there a battle of the wills? Were he and the other apostles praying and fasting? We do not know.
That is something I am curious about as well. It seems as if the times that Jesus cast them out of people with a simple command there was a crowd gathered. Were there times during one-one interactions where Jesus had a battle of the wills between the demons and Himself? Or could it have happened in giant crowds? Also why is it we have a hard time not just giving a command and they leave?
In closing I just want to ask this and hear people's thoughts on it:
I often wonder if when Jesus cast out demons from people there was more to it than Jesus just commanding them and they left, or if he ever had to do a "battle of the will" with someone demonized as is often the case with people who get delivered. If not, why do people who try and deliver someone from demon possession have to often battle the demon(s) for hours to months or even years in some cases? The best answer I have come up with is that demons do not want to admit that Christians have the same authority that Christ had over them and He has given us the same authority. I would be interested to hear other thoughts on this.
Based on the scriptures mentioned above, do we today have the authority to cast out demons? If so, why is it that it seems our authority has less power than that of the disciples and Jesus himself? Why do Christians not take demon possession seriously anymore?
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- From: esfes@xanga
- Name: Eric
- About Me: I am 28 years old. Not sure what else to say.
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Comments (18)
Yes, we do have the authority. There are some communities that do still take this seriously. I've had demons cast out of me, and have seen demons cast out of others. Although, these deliverances did take several hours, and were not done with just one word.
LMAO!
Careful with this stuff.
thought I would share some links on this subject: http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/deliverance_believers.php
http://pullingdownstrongholds.com/deliverance/can_a_christian_have_demon.htmhttp://www.bethelministries.com/@NightCometh@xanga - just curious why do you say "careful?
@caroliiineee@xanga - glad you are overcoming the darkness. I know quite a few with me went on for hours on end as well.
@esfes@xanga - Yeah, experiencing and being apart of deliverances has really shown me how real this stuff is. It's crazy how much getting deliverance has changed my life and my walk with the Lord and has freed me from things I didn't even realize I was chained to.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
This is what Jesus commands his disciples to do. We're his disciples. Most of the American church is not doing any of these things, unfortunately.
@NightCometh@xanga - Good advice.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." - Nietzsche
I believe this is both a real and important function of the Church and an charade put on by many deceivers. There are a lot more people who are dealing with demons than we realize, and there are a lot fewer people who can truly rebuke demons than we realize.
I also think the admonition to "be careful" is good advice. Most people treat deliverance (as we've now termed it) as a separate ministry instead of as an integral part of the true ministry of deliverance which is salvation in Christ, and consequently, many people ignore His own warning that if a demon is cast out it can return 7-fold. There needs to be adequate ministry done to someone after the demon is cast out so that that "house in order" is not ransacked again.
Props on bringing this issue to the table though. I'd love to hear more written on it here. It is an important part of the churches function.
I am a missionary here in Uganda from the states. I went into the prisons and found horrible conditions. We brought in the Word, medicine, soap and bread. While we would read the scriptures men would fall and go into convulsions. I believe that God is the one who truly delivers. He shows His powers are instant. Another man in America by using Jesus name and scripture also fell and went into convultions. There are important scriptures and words God gives us. The main ones are obedience, belief and faith. God bless you on this venture. Larry.
I agree with with @larrykerith has to say.
The key thing here is that God's word is at work; needless to say, our authority on the matter is quite irrelevant if you consider that, because we are a vessel of His word and His light and His truth.
I have had my own experiences with demons; especially when I was depressed in college. I remember sitting in my room and feeling so helpless. I went upstairs to see a friend of mine that was going to be a pastor and asked him to go pray in my room for me and cast out what was there; afterwards, people were telling me that I shouldn't have been scared because I had the authority. What they don't understand is that I was in an incredibly vulnerable position because of my state of mind, so asking someone else to stand in for me until I could get to a better place spiritually, I think was appropriate.
You do have to be careful with these things. Doors to these things don't have to kicked down; one may simply nudge it unknowingly and something sinister could come through. I have seen it happen more than once, with friends and family alike.
LMAO at the stupid protestants flailing about with no knowledge. Only confirmed members of the priesthood can exorcise demons out of a person, and they undergo about 10 years of training.(this practice was established in the early 20th century). Even then there is a whole lot of things that happen first, permission from the bishop, assessment by a psychiatrist, permission for the exorcism has to be given by the person possessed.
Yes Christ gave permission to the apostles to cast out demons, thus the Roman Catholic Church established by Peter carries on this tradition, with great care and patience, with 1000 years of practice, and the knowledge gained from this.
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
A christian is not the one to be delivered or needing DELIVERANCE......... let it soak in. this is a lie from the pit of hell to keep God's children in bondage. Colossians 1:12-14 says Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
if you are born again the moment you said the salvation prayer immediately you were catapulted from the Domain of darkness into the Kingdom of God's dear son. you now live there with Him, so stop looking for deliverance you are a new creature, a new specie one that has never existed before. the devil has no hold over you anymore and whenever you feel his influence on anything that pertains to you, go ahead and put him were he belongs right under your feet.
Jesus defeated him and made a public show of him and jesus gave us the victory.everytime the devil comes close to anything or any of my love ones i just rebuke him in the name of jesus because he has given us the power of attorney.
you see in Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover". you must understand this that this wasn't a promise all Jesus was saying here is that this is how you will recognise a believer- they shall cast out devils etc this is a present hour reality and if you haven't been exhibiting this characteristic then you are missing. why not take advantage of this and rule your world cos god has your back.
I feel that we do take demon possession seriously and I have had a few taken out of me over the years...and so has my friend Joseph....i rember helping taking a few out of him on night awhen he was having alcohol fueled delusions.
When I became a christian the demons or devils that were in me had to go because Jesus came in and they had to go. I have been a worship leader for many years now, I was 26 and am 60 now.
I do remember a much older friend of mine coming over to see me years later as God told him to do so. He found me in a bad state as he said I was being viciously attacked. He saw this and he was absolutely right. I was being tormented. he told me he was going to stand in the gap and started praying fervently. I saw his countenance change as he was taking the beating for me. It was real and I felt so much better, it had been going on for some time. This man is now with God and he meant a lot to me after that. Later he was fine but he did take up a spiritual battle for me. All I can say is this did happen, I was there.
Larry.
@WORDATWORK@xanga - Salvation prayer is not really how one gets saved... in fact I have felt dark forces coming from it as if it is prayed to one of the many demons who are using "Jesus" name. What gets you saved is Christ and His blood and our faith in it. While you are right that once someone is saved in any case they are saved and are put in the Kingdom of God's Son.... that does not mean that the demonic realm has left the person (if they are there). They will hold onto anything. In my case I was in a Satanic group in Jr. high where I made many false covenants and such. Because of those even after I came to God they stayed around as they were claiming my covenants I made with Satan. It was about 10 years after I came to God and started going to churches that I became aware of why I could not really grow with God much... they prevented it. In my case when they started being cast out they tried to hold onto my false covenants that I made so hard. Often they would get violent and would cause harm to me especially when me and my supporters started confronting them. They knew their time was up and they wanted to stay. Some even asked about going to other people or locations. The demonic realm does not want to admit that their time has come. Why do you think Satan is around still? In my sessions often we would have to tell the demons to look at calvary and the blood of Christ. One demon in fact refused to go and we requested God's angels to drag him to calvary and the empty grave of Christ to prove that they had lost about 2000 years ago. Satan still does not want to admit his power is gone. The power they hold now is over the mind in convincing us that they have power and we often can give them too much power... of course the same can be said that many give them too little power. Also consider how the first 300 years of the church a new believer would not even be allowed to be baptized into the church for about three years as they wanted to drive out as much (if not all) demonic presences as possible. A lot of that has to do with the pagan empires that the church was around such as Rome or Corinth. America is probably even more so as Satan's realm is every where here in some of our engenering of buildings to our dollar bills and coins, to popular books, movies etc.
@esfes@xanga - there's no other way for one to get save my friend except thru your confession of the lordship of Jesus.
RMNS 10:9- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
ACTS 4:12- Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Is it then possible for a christian to be influenced or experience satanic attack yes but what gives you the victory is your knowledge of God's word and this is very hard for some christian to believe.
"What gets you saved is Christ and His blood and our faith in it"- yes and faith in his name "and His blood"- is blood was the ultimate price he paid for us
the fact that you might have given your life to God doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't be attacked by satan and his cohort but the issue alot of the time is that our minds are not renewed with God's word,the bible says "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" in Gal 1:1-6 - "Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father".
this is the reason christian suffer the same fate with unbelievers even though God has provided everything they need for life and Godliness.there's so much to be said but i really wouldn't want to bore us with too many words but lets take God's word as it is and believe it. wish wish we can communicate better.
Not sure if anyone is still looking at this entry or not... but there is a good resource on the first 300 years of the church called "Resident But Alien." Here is a link to more information about it: http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com/node/534