Sunday Message - How to cast out demons 3
22/06/08
<Mark 9:14-29; Luke 22:31-34; Matthew
18:15-20>
THIS
KIND OF DEMON CAN ONLY COME OUT BY NOTHING BUT PRAYER
·
God’s
love is sometimes gentle and can touch us. His love could also be powerful and
strong, to lift us up
·
We,
Saints, are enemies of demons forever. When a Saint is about to receive
blessing, the demon’s forces will try to obstruct the Saint immediately
·
He
will obstruct when we want to bless, serve or teach others, making us unable to
do so or bless others
·
Lord
Jesus told us in <Mt 12:29> that before we ponder,
do or speak, we must first bind up the strong man
·
We
need to bind as we wake up in the morning; before we do or say anything
·
When
we cannot do anything, we can still love the Lord; we can still submit to God
·
When
we face a lot of problems or a lot of undesirable things, we must first declare
to the demons that we are already victorious. Declare that the problems we face
will let us receive double-fold blessings
·
We
cannot cast out demons because demons seem to be very abstract to us
·
When
we fight this spiritual battle, we must fight by facing the demons directly. It
is just like how the fighting fish fight each other. When one of the fish
doesn’t face its opponent, but turn away, it will be attacked continuously by
the attacking fish
·
Our
battle with the demons is similar to how the fighting fishes fight
·
We
need not be afraid of demons when we fight with them. Even if we’d lost at
times, we must continue the fight. Our strength and courage will increase each
time we fight. It will be the end of us once we start to run away
·
When
the Lord Jesus fight with the demons, He did it by starring at the demons
·
When
demon tried to tempt Jesus Christ, the Lord directly ordered the demon to get
away
·
When
we are tempted by demon, we will think that what the demon says isn’t all
wrong; when that happens, we have already failed
·
We
must see through the temptation and deception of Satan. Shouting to the air is
useless
·
There
are some fortified strongholds in all of us
·
When
we talk to a person, we will know what situation a person is in. We cannot
oppose him in our speech when he is already being accused. Instead, we need only
use our words to comfort him
·
The
Bible says, we resist the demon and he will go away
·
The
evil spirit will say, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
·
We
really need to use the Word of God to counter attack correctly. Only then, the
demon will flee
·
We
need to know three elements:
·
1) We should live after we’ve bound up the
strongman. Only then, our lives will be effective
·
2) We need to fight him face to face. No matter
how much pain we are suffering now or how reluctant we are, we need to ask the
Lord to tell us His perfect will and answers
·
3) We are already victorious before we fight this
spiritual battle. It is the enemies’ deception that makes us think that we are not
victorious. This is the reason for our failures
·
We
need not be afraid of the evil spirit, just like how we need not fear Goliath.
We are already victorious. The evil spirit is darkness and God is great light.
When the great light comes, the evil spirit will be gone immediately. The
moment we listen to the Lord’s word, worries will depart
·
When
we face something not desirable, we just need to fix our eyes upon God and don’t
be bothered by any other things. When that happens, we will not fall no matter
how much Satan attacks us. Because the power doesn’t come from us
·
Satan
can attack us no more when we are determined to “live for the Lord”
·
The
evil spirit is also afraid of the precious blood and great power of the Holy
Spirit
·
Announce
that “I am already victorious!”
·
Man
live after he has triumphed. Nothing can shake us up when we have such
willingness
·
When
we are worried over something, we need to think that “the greater the problem
we face, the greater the blessings we will receive”
Read <Mark 9:14-29>
·
v18 The legion of demons come in all sorts of
appearances. People cannot do anything when they are opposed by demons
·
v19 A lot of people do not go to the Lord
·
v20 Sometimes, our family members face more
problems when we pray for them. That is the demons convulsing them
·
v21 The problems in our lives are gathered
progressively. In the past, we don’t even know that we are being attacked
·
v23 Everything is possible for anyone who believes
·
v24 This word is really a honest statement
·
v27 After the demons are cast away, it is not
the end; but the start
·
v29 ‘only by prayer’ = must first bind up the
strongman. We must face him directly
·
It
isn’t all that bad that a person is possessed by demons and the demons’ work is
manifested because others will know that
person has problem and thus, pray for him and bring him to church
·
The
more serious matter is for a person to have everything going smoothly and
successfully. It is harder to cast away evil spirits that allow people to be in
a “good / comfort” state. Such spirit
will not leave by a single reprimanding.
Such spirits will only leave after being exposed to God’s truth
·
If
we see that the people we love, or our family members have all the good things
but they follow the world and the worldly ways completely, then we must be more
alert
·
The
Lord gave us the parable of Lazarus and the rich man so as to emphasize that it
is better for us to live like Lazarus, a beggar who knows God, than to live like
the rich man who doesn’t know the heavenly kingdom
·
Of
course, this doesn’t mean that we must all live like beggars before we can be
blessed
·
The
records in <Mark 9> also enable us to realize that we shouldn’t discover
that the evil spirits are binding and deceiving as, only when we have problems.
People are being disturbed, confused and affected daily. Do not wait till
problems appear then we start to counter attack
·
We
must resist Satan in the name of Jesus. However, ‘in the name of Jesus’ cannot
be just a magic spell. We must live our daily lives by prayers
·
After
the evil spirits had left us, and we are liberated, we cannot start living a
very loose life. Otherwise, the fortified spirits will progressively gather in
our lives again
·
When
the evil spirits have been cast out, the surrounding people will receive
blessings together. After witnessing what has happened, all of them don’t want to
get possessed by the demons
Read <Luke 22:31-34>
·
v33 When Peter said this, he could have said
it with a fearful or impulsive mind. He wasn’t like the father of the
demon-possessed son, who has asked the Lord for help
·
We
must definitely not believe in ourselves or think that the Pastor must be
perfect. In fact, we must always be praying for the Pastor
·
We
must not compare our spouse with other husbands or wives
Read <Matthew 18:15-20>
·
v15 ‘brothers’ refer to the people around us.
This sentence means to tell him, the scheme of Satan
·
v16 Go with two or three persons. We
shouldn’t bring those who are spiritually weaker than us. Otherwise, not only
we cannot help another person, but we may end up gossiping. We must go with
those who are more matured
·
The
vicious spiritual roots can only be removed when we live with our brethrens
·
Those who really believe in God and willing to
live with the brethrens will definitely not lose out
·
All
of us have experienced this: when a person restores a brethren-centered living,
evidences of blessings will start appearing
·
Brethren-living
bridged up generation gaps. Though the age gap between two persons is great,
they still share the same topic
·
Brethren-living
will also resolve the “mental blockage” and uneasy feelings between people.
When people are sad, we share their sorrows. We rejoice with those who receive
good things. If we have a trace of jealousy in our mind, the evil spirit has
already started working in us
1. Getting
freed from the [demon-possessed state]
1) By
Jesus Christ's name, [those who are demon-possessed and have flared up] receive
deliverance - This is not completion but the beginning of blessedness
# The one possessed by [Legion] among the tombs
in Gerasenes <Mk 5:1-20>, Mary Magdalene who was possessed by seven
demons <Lk 8:2>, from young <Mk 9:14-29>...
(1) Rarely
seen phenomena -- Because, the devil does not want to show his true appearance
and schemes as far as possible; his names (the one who bewitches the entire
world, father of lies, masquerader of angel of light, the one who worm his way
into) are proofs to this
·
However,
we are not emphasizing things or possession that can be seen physically. The
evil spirit often attacks us and deceives us in the dark
·
It
is rare that people are possessed by evil spirits. The work of the evil spirit
could even lead a person to commit suicide
(2) To be
demon-possessed and flared up is not something brought about in one or two
days, it must be related to many generations of spiritual background (ancestors
involving in sorceries, being shamans, conversing with demons)
(3) All who
are demon-possessed and have come before Jesus Christ are all God's chosen
children, the Lord has important plans for them and their households
(4) All who
are demon-possessed and have come before Jesus Christ will be delivered (100%)
·
The
demons are afraid of the evil spirit.
Therefore, when any demons-possessed person was brought to the Lord, he
will surely be freed.
·
The
demons will use all kinds of things and methods to deceive Man. We are able to
face him directly and cast him away, after we can recognize him very clearly
(5) All
saints who are blessedly born again and received the Holy Spirit, can drive out
all demons, no matter how long he has been born again. This power does not come
from man, but is from the Christ who lives in the lives of saints
(6) However,
for the saints who have often experienced many spiritual battles and have
gained victory, they will then have more courage and wisdom in driving out
demons
(7) In
blessed fellowships, through working in full cooperation and through unity of
purpose in prayer, it is easier and faster to drive out evil demons
2) The
method to drive legions:
(1) Preparation
work: Inform about the ministry of driving demons, gather brethren who are
willing to pray together; for all those saints who want to participate, they
must use prayer to cleanse themselves, prepare the heart / after that to also
inform the demon-possessed person and his relatives (household), and evangelize
to the relatives, teaching them spiritual mysteries and the method of driving
demons / divide into groups (three or four groups to take turns -- sometimes a
few days are needed), divide the work (group leader, those to
hold the demon-possessed, prayers, singing hymns, etc)
·
Casting
out legion of demons isn’t an easy task. Thus, one has to cleanse himself and
have concentration when casting out the legion of demons
·
People
who are possessed by evil spirits cannot look at Saints eye to eye
·
The
demons do not like any hymns that are related to the precious blood or the
Cross
(2) The
work of driving demons: Share God's word (especially the scriptures on
authority and driving demons), sing hymns, with one heart and voice pray = many
times, demons hide and do not show themselves; when praying, singing hymns,
proclaim God or evangelize the cross message together to the demon-possessed,
gradually will see the transformation or flaring up of the demon-possessed
person / rebuke, command = [In the Name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come
out from him] <Ac 16:18>, in the Name of Jesus Christ, can also ask for
the name of the demon inside the person, then command that name (+demon) to
come out from the person's body / the demon will give all kinds of excuses not
to come out, but do not listen to him no matter what, instead command him [not
to make any sound (shut up) <Mk 1:25>], command him [come out
immediately]
·
The
demons will hide himself initially
·
The
evil spirit will usually start disturbing and possess a person since young
·
We
must order him to shut up because he is a deceiver. We probably have never thought
of the words he speaks to us before. We must never start a debate with him
(3) Definitely come out: Sometimes, a few days and
small demons-driving teams taking turns to continue to pester and battle the
demons are needed, but the demons will surely come out
·
The
process of casting out demons is slow and long. Thus, we must divide ourselves
to a few small groups and take turn to do it
(4) Follow-up
work: After the demon-possessed person is delivered, it is essential to prepare
a period of follow-up work on him and his relatives (let them understand: the
works of demons, how God seeks for them, how to converse and walk with God,
live with brethren, how to testify for the Lord)
3) Actually,
the typical person may not have many experiences of [being possessed by legions
and flaring up], maybe not even once in the lifetime; therefore, our main focus
of messages must be placed ever more on the matters already experienced by [all
who are blessedly born again] => the common experiences that all blessed
saints have = because of having believed in Jesus Christ's Name, he has turned
from Satan's power towards God => the state of the person before being born
again is entirely the state of being demon-possessed <Eph 2:2>, therefore
the Lord says, [turn from Satan's power to God] <Ac 26:18>. The state of
totally being bounded and thus tortured, blinded and thus ignorant, deceived
and thus lost/ totally do not know God, do not know self, do not know demons,
do not know the world, do not know eternity, only live for [cravings of flesh,
lust of eyes, boasting of the present life] <1Jn 2:16> / demons-worship,
ancestral-worship (Actually, it is not that the spirit of the ancestor has come
back, but it is the spirit which has bounded the ancestor for life that has
come back), bounded by matters of fate, fengshui, abstinence, sorcery,
conversing with demons
·
Those
who have experience casting out demons will have a different life and faith
4) The
things that happen at the moment when we hear the gospel of Christ, receive the
illumination of the Holy Spirit, accept and believe Jesus Christ's Name, equal
to [the things that happen on the demon-possessed person]: The works of the
heavenly angels and hosts, turning from darkness to light, turning from Satan
to God, Christ's throne dwells in my spirit / <Eph 1:4-14> The completion
of Trinity God's salvation work, <Eph 1:15-23> The restoration of the
great and mighty hope, inheritance, power => the saints who understand this
mystery very quickly at the very moment when they are born again, will very
quickly have transformations in their life, living and sanctification...
2. Pulling out [vicious roots in the spirit] and
thus receive freedom
·
People
who get liberated from the legion of demons are the same as us, normal people,
receiving our salvation; only the outlook might be different
·
The
whole spiritual realms will be overfilled with joy when a person is born again
because his / her destiny will be changed forever
·
When
the evil spirit gives us a thought, we will follow and act according to that
thought
·
In
the past, we thought that we can choose not to sin with our determination. In
fact, even such thoughts are under the control of the ruler of the air
·
The
demons control people completely. The lifetime purpose of a person has no
relationship with the heavenly kingdom at all
1) At the
same time a blessed saint is born again, demons already eternally came out from
his life, although Satan can never totally bind that saint's life, Satan can
still tempt, disturb, accuse, deceive him; although the saint has been born
again, there remains some [strongholds] in his life that must be removed, Satan
will attack the saint through the strongholds; for the sanctification,
testimony and crown of every saint, God also permits these temptations and
battles
- The
process of sanctification of Abraham, Jacob, Peter
- <2Co
10:4-5> says, [The weapons we fight are not the weapons of the world. On the
contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments
and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ...]
·
As
the demons depart from a person, that person will be convulsed and he will
vomit foam. That moment is the same as that of a person receiving Christ. The
spiritual dimension is the same too
·
The
event of a person, in Jesus Christ, getting liberated from the control of the demons
is not the end, but the beginning. From then on, he will realize that there are
a lot of spiritual vicious roots in his life
·
After
a person is born again, Jesus Christ will uproot the spiritual vicious roots
from him
·
Though
some people have been born again and have known God; their lives are still in a
mess. We really need to uproot the spiritual vicious roots from them. This is
sanctification
·
<2Cor
10:4-5> Spiritual vicious roots are our strongholds and all sorts of
thoughts / plots
·
There
are lots of strongholds and plots in us. It’s very difficult to get rid of all
these things
·
Everyone
has different characters, values, ideals, and hurts. For some, relationships,
children or pride have become their idols. These things obstruct them from
accepting and submitting to God’s word
2) The attacks of demons on saints can generally
be classified into four degrees
·
There
are four levels of Spiritual vicious roots:
(1) The
attacks that all saints receive = temptations, fear, no peace, hatred, greed,
rage, accusations...
- The
Lord being tempted in the wilderness <Mt 4:1-11>, the weakness of Peter
at
·
These
are the lightest form of attacks from demons. These attacks are very common and
does not happen 24hrs daily
·
It
is like how Peter had received hints suddenly
·
As
long as people are still living on earth, they will definitely receive such
attacks
·
We
can cast this type of attacks out in the name of Jesus
(2) Saints
have perspectives and thoughts which are difficult to alter
- <Mt
16:23> The Lord rebuked the demon occupying the perspective and thought of
disciple Simon, saying, [Satan, get behind me] / <Jn 13:2> [the devil has
already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus] / <Ge 37:11, 18, 28,
31-32> Elder brothers of Joseph hated Joseph, thought of killing Joseph,
sold Joseph, and also deceived their father = misunderstood concepts of saints,
prejudiced perspectives towards people or things
·
Judah
Iscariot’s decision to follow Satan’s suggestion is different from a person
receiving hints or thoughts. Satan has already filled the heart of Judah
Iscariot
·
The
Pharisees and Sadducees cannot accept Jesus Christ because they already have
some thoughts and opinions in their hearts
·
Some
thoughts and opinions come upon us suddenly. However, there are also some that
are piled up over time
·
Some
people never have the thought of hitting their children. They think that
children must be loved and taught. But for some, they feel that children must
be punished and because they are the children’s parents, they have the
authority to do so
·
Some
people start to put their trusts on pets after having relationship failures.
They place their whole emotions and feelings on their pets
·
Some
girls will turn to and pour their sorrows to their dolls after being punished
by their parents. All these thoughts come from Satan
·
We
should not take these things lightly. After a thought has taken shape in a
person’s mind, it is very difficult to change it
·
These
thoughts have different weightage / priority but they will continue to give us
hints, causing us to place all our concerns, concentration, and opinions on
these thoughts. And these thoughts that are already formed up will not
disappear suddenly
·
This
level of attacks can still be resolved by our determination and concentrated
prayers
(3) On some
particular matters, due to oppression by demons, he himself cannot control
himself
- <1Sa
16:14> [Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil
spirit from the Lord tormented him] / <Jn 13:27> [As soon as Judas took
the bread, Satan entered into him]
- From
thence, one can see [some abnormality] (various kinds of mental illnesses:
depression, phobias, hatred, insomnia, addictions, gambling, theft, evil
habits, sexual immorality, etc)
·
Jesus
Christ told Judah Iscariot, “what you are about to do, do quickly”
·
Judah
Iscariot did what he thought was correct. A spiritual person is able to
recognize that a person with this level of attacks will behave and look
different from ordinary people
·
Their
hatred, sorrows, guilt have reached the extreme level that are different from
others
·
This
level of attacks cannot be resolved by relying on a person’s own effort. It
will be resolved only with the help from brethrens
·
That
person’s environment must also be changed
·
A
person with this level of attack cannot leave alone, otherwise he can never be
able to open up himself anymore
·
As
far as possible, he must always be together with brethrens, Pastor and cannot
stop attending meetings
·
When
two or three gather, healing will take place
(4) The
most serious condition = most of the time, cannot control himself in all
things; however, saints have no way to be totally demon-possessed and flare up
- Continue
to have suicidal thoughts / totally fallen / want to harm others
·
They
may even harm themselves, harm the church and others; just like Saul
·
If
a person has reached this level of attacks and is saved, God might allow his
body to be handed over to Satan and destroyed, so that his soul can be saved.
This is just like the person that Paul has rebuked in <Corinthians>
·
Therefore,
even Christians may commit suicide
·
Such
spirits used to be in the lives of David and
·
Therefore,
parents must watch over their children. Some families are always in chaos. Some
families are always filled with the worldly music, sound from video games, and
some parents might even be watching pornography videos with their children at
home. When such situation arise, the parents must realize that their family’s
spiritual state is wrong
·
The
parents must get rid of the idols at home. Parents should get rid of the bad
things at home when they still have authority / control over their children
3) There
is no way to pull out [strongholds] and disturbances of the devil except by
prayer
(1) Do not
place perspective on self's weaknesses, but must place on [intimacy with the
Lord, receive illumination from God's word and the Holy Spirit]
(2) The
messages especially required to be received, should concentrate on [the works
of the devil / Jesus Christ / God's perfect will / Holy Spirit / how to pray]
(3)