Radical Deliverance Practices
One thing I have came to realize is that not all deliverance ministries are not the same. Not every church that claims to function in the area of deliverance is not necessarily casting out demons. Other deliverance ministries will tell demons to leave, but refuses to get involved with the messy manifestations that often accompany a true exorcism ministry session. Often, the minister will say something along the lines of, “I don’t allow demons to manifest when I’m ministering.” My response to that is, “So you have found a way to do this that is superior to the deliverance ministry of Jesus Himself? You have found a way to do things that is better than the way that Jesus did things?” What I’ve found is that these types of ministers often look down upon those of us who practice deliverance in a way that allows the demons to manifest.
Am I looking for a violent manifestation? Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, I prefer that they don’t manifest violently, for the sake of the person being ministered to as well as everybody else present. It is never my desire for anybody to get hurt. I prefer demons to manifest, but just not in a way to which could cause anybody present physical harm. However, there are times when violent manifestations cannot be avoided, so the best we can do is forbid them to manifest in a way that could harm those present and then have a couple decent sized people there to hold them down so that nobody gets hurt. When I say that I like to have the demons up and manifesting, I am looking for any sign that the spirit is “up” and that I’m not just trying to deal with something that could be hiding deep within the person. I look for things such as eyelids that will not open, an evil presence in their eyes, shaking, body twitching, etc. I prefer the mild manifestations when possible unless it is in a public setting where others would benefit from seeing the demon manifest as well. I believe one of the the reasons that Jesus let demons scream and throw people around in public, is so that everybody could witness what was really going on and had no doubts as to the genuineness of the situation.
Not all deliverances are going to produce a manifestation. Many times they manifest in a mild fashion (yawn, burp, cough, body twitch, shaking, an evil look in their eyes, etc.) while other times they manifest by screaming or even a violent manifestation where the person must be held down. I do not require a manifestation in order to claim victory, but I like to at very least have the person tell me that they felt a release. This teaching is addressing those deliverances where the demons come up to manifest in some way or another. In the case of public exorcisms, it is more helpful when the spirits manifest in such a way that those present are able to see what is truly going on. My favorite is when they come out screaming in an ear-piercing evil scream that nobody has any doubt is a spirit. Of course, that isn’t always the best manifestation if it’s not done in the right environment (and the police show up).
Let’s take a closer look at the primary example we find in scripture where Jesus forbid a demon from speaking:
And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28 KJV
Notice that even after Jesus forbid it to speak, the spirit STILL manifested violently and screamed as it came out! Jesus did not forbid the spirit from manifesting, He only forbid it to speak. Sometimes it is appropriate to forbid a spirit from manifesting, and in Jesus’ case, there were times when He would forbid them from speaking because they were making a scene because He was the Christ (Luke 4:41). If you want to get technical, that reason does not apply to us. Although I will say, there are times when it is appropriate for us to forbid a spirit from speaking. I just don’t do it all the time, nor do I forbid them from manifesting in most cases. This is consistent with the ministry that Jesus modeled for us.
Let me make this very clear: I do not try to get demons to manifest for entertainment purposes. I minister deliverance, and manifestations are just a part of what takes place during our ministry sessions. My heart is to get people set free and healed, and if I have to be spit on, screamed at, and hold down a manifesting body, then so be it! It’s the nature of this type of ministry. This is what Jesus had to endure, but He did it because He genuinely wanted people to be set free.
It is my intent to do the work of Jesus, the way that He did it. Most of the time, He allowed the demons to manifest. He even did public deliverances, where He would minister to somebody before a whole crowd of people, so that all could see the power of God setting that person free. Now, that is very much a personal choice by the person receiving deliverance, if they are willing to do that. I do not encourage dragging somebody who is battling an sensitive issue (lust, porn, etc.) up front and embarrass them before the world. If they are dealing with a spirit of anger, for example, they may be more than happy to be delivered in public so that others might learn. Again, I believe it is a choice that is best left to the person being ministered to.
I actually prefer to see the demons come up and manifest. Why is that? Because it usually makes them much more cooperative and a lot easier to deal with. The nature of a demon is to operate in darkness, where they are not seen or exposed. When they are exposed and brought out into the light, as the Holy Spirit did numerous times in Jesus’ ministry, they are weakened and therefore have good reasons to tremble in the presence of the man of God who knows His authority and is about to cast them out.
To forbid a demon from manifestation, in my opinion, gives them permission to hide, which makes it more difficult to get them out. I have nothing against forbidding a spirit to manifest violently. I want them to manifest so that they are easier to deal with, but I don’t want anybody to get hurt.
Another reason why manifestations are beneficial is in public exorcisms. The thing with public exorcisms, which is an important part of the evangelism calling (at least it was in the early church and Jesus’ ministry), is that if the demons don’t manifest, the people don’t get to see the power of God tread down the kingdom of darkness in a visible and tangible way before the eyes of people. Seeing the power of God displayed in the driving out of evil spirits, was an important key to the evangelistic ministries of Jesus and the early church. As a matter of fact, this is the type of evangelism ministry that Jesus called us to carry out:
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:7-8 KJV
Notice in Philip’s ministry, MANY saw him doing public deliverances and as a result, they came to believe in Christ!
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:5-8 KJV
I believe that part of the calling of an evangelist, is to drive out spirits in a public setting. Jesus gave the commission to go forth and drive out spirits and heal the sick while we’re preaching the gospel of Christ! We think it’s radical to do a public exorcism in a church setting, where there is a room full of believers (which is great, because it is a good learning experience!), but do you know that what Jesus and Philip were doing, was in a truly PUBLIC setting where there were non-believers watching what was going on? Why isn’t the church today doing this? Then we wonder why we’re not getting the same results as the early church got. We have brought the commission that Jesus gave us, down to our level. We’ll go forth and preach the gospel, but we won’t cast out demons while we’re up there preaching so that people can see the manifest power of God in action.
There are many lost people today that would never accept Jesus based on somebody merely bringing them the gospel, but if they see the manifestation of the Spirit, the casting out of demons and the healing of the sick, they will come running to Christ! There will be MANY people in hell because nobody came to them with POWER along with the Word!
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power…
1 Thessalonians 1:5 KJV
Jesus made it clear when He commissioned the disciples (including us today!) to go forth and preach, not just to preach, but to demonstrate the power of God in conjunction with our preaching! I believe this is one of the powerful keys that brought the results we read of in the early church. They did what Jesus told them to do, not just preach, but also demonstrate the power of God to the world around them. This was Jesus’ whole ministry, was demonstrating the power of God along side teaching and preaching!!
Then there are those who have softened their approach in order to make it “seeker friendly” so that is less offending to others. These are the ministries that point their fingers at those of us who welcome manifestations, as if we are out of order. They try to separate themselves from us radicals who take God at His Word and do what we were commissioned to do. I believe in such cases, there is a pride issue at work because they are not only belittling our ministries, they are belittling Jesus’ own ministry! What a shame to look down upon deliverance ministries that let demons manifest, when Jesus’ own ministry is among them. It is sad when Jesus’ ministry methods is looked down upon as being “out of order”.
After all, who do you think caused those spirits to scream out while Jesus was teaching amongst the people? It was the Holy Spirit who CAUSED the demons to manifest! Unlike the demons, who’s nature is to hide in darkness so they are not seen or cast out, the Holy Spirit wanted the demons to come out in the open where they were the the light, and many that were present would have the opportunity to see the power of God set somebody free! The Holy Spirit completely humiliated those demons, by dragging them out into the open, so that Jesus could go about demonstrating the power of God by casting them out in front of a whole group of people! Yet today, we have a “problem” with demons manifesting, and wouldn’t even think of allowing demons to manifest in front of a group of people, much less non-believers! Then we wonder why we our churches are so much different than what we read about in the early church.
It’s as simple as this: if we want the results that the early church saw, then we need to do what Jesus told us to do. We need to demonstrate power along with the Word that we’re preaching.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Matthew 10:7-8 KJV
Disclaimer: I am not against anybody who casts out demons in Jesus’ name, even if they use a softer approach and try to avoid manifestations. If people are being set free, then praise God! However, I do have my concerns about those who ultimately look down at those of us who don’t mind the manifestations as if we were out of order. Anytime you look down on such ministries, you are looking down and belittling Jesus’ own ministry. I believe that to get the ultimate result, and operate in the capacity that Jesus has called us to, then we need to do what He did, the way that He did it. I don’t soften up deliverance ministry so that it is more socially acceptable. I don’t have a problem with demons manifesting. I want the people set free.