Case Study 1
We were on an outreach when one of my friends approached me and
asked me to assist him in helping a young man who was troubled by a
demon. We started
talking...
Interestingly enough, the
first and foremost thing that puzzled him was why we weren't
scared. Earlier that same week, he was confronted by a group of
people at a Christian coffee-bar. When the demons inside him had
manifested, the people tried to restrain him physically, but he
overpowered them easily.
This immediately reminded me
of the sons of Sceva. However, I knew that Christ in me was
greater than the demons in him, so I continued. I noticed that
he could not look me in the eyes. I knew that this was one of the
best proofs of demon possession, so as an experiment I commanded
him in the name of Jesus to look me in the eyes. He obeyed, but
with obvious resistance, compelled to go against his
will.
Next, I asked him to place
his hands in mine as this was something I had observed before. He
complied, but this really scared the demons, wanting to know
what it was that was flowing out of me. (The conflict between the
young man wanting to hold my hands and the demons in him trying
to pull away is not something that I can describe. You have to
experience it for yourself.)
The next moment he broke away
and disappeared up the stairs before we could stop him. As it was a
massive housing complex, we did not have much chance of locating
him again soon. We were worried, but did not quite appreciate the
severity of the matter. Nevertheless we continued in praying for
him.
When we found him again,
about an hour later, he was lying on the ground with both his hands
locked tightly around his own throat.
The demons had tried to kill him.
Play-time was over. It was time to get serious.
I realized where I had made
my mistake. Because of my inquisitiveness, and wanting to see
demonic manifestations I had allowed the demons free reign.
There was a time when this was the standard method for doing
deliverance, and it can be very dramatic, but times had changed and
I should have known better.
In the name of Jesus I
immediately forbade the demons to manifest so that I could
minister to the victim without hindrances. Between talking to the
young man and commanding the demons, we figured out the
truth.
Many experts in
deliverance would strongly against talking to demons because they
are all liars, but I became convinced that when you command them
in the name of Jesus to tell the truth that they are under
obligation to do so - actually they enjoy bragging about
themselves.
The truth was simple.
This young man had recently
accepted Christ and was a born-again Christian. His parents were
divorced and his father, a spiritist, was attacking him and his
mother by means of demons. Not knowing any better, he decided to
retaliate by inviting demons into his own life so that he
could take revenge on his father. He came to his senses and started
looking for deliverance. The demons violently resisted and turned
on him.
Once the cause of the
infestation was identified, the remedy was easy. He had to repent
and confess his sins, where after we could command the demons to
leave in the name of Jesus.
Many
people make the mistake of chasing demons out (exorcism) without
first removing the grounds for their
occupancy.
This is a dangerous practice
as demons who have a legal right to occupancy will provide
much greater resistance to leaving than those who are in the wrong.
Exorcism in such cases are a waste of time and energy as the demons
will simply return the moment you turn your back.
Note: The demons will
try to return even when the grounds are removed, but because they
have no legal rights, they can be resisted. The victim must be
prepared to face them the each time they attack again. This is what
deliverance is all about.
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