Deliverance: A Study in the Scriptures

NOTE: Scripture says much about demons. The purpose of this study is not to focus on the work of Satan (one can have an inordinate interest in the topic), but on deliverance from his devices, as promised by God. He is a defeated foe. Other related topics to study: Satan, Demons & the Powers of Darkness | Discernment | Spiritual Warfare.

DELIVERANCE

"And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples,
He gave them power against unclean spirits,
to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of diseases."
Matthew 10:1

I. Demons really exist.

A. They can see.

Mark 3:11

B. They talk and shout.

1 Kings 22:20-22
Matthew 12:43-44
Mark 1:23-24, 26, 3:11; 5:12; 8:31; 9:26; 12:4345
Luke 4:41
Acts 8:7; 19:15

C. They walk and seek rest.

Matthew 12:43-44

D. They seek and accept worship (even as Satan himself – Matthew 4:8-10;
Luke 4:5-7; Revelation 13:4, 8, 12).

Leviticus 17:7
Deuteronomy 32:17
2 Chronicles 11:15
Psalms 106:37
1 Corinthians 10:20
Revelation 9:20

E. They fall down and stand still.

1 Kings 22:21

F. They can lie, and they can admit truth.

1 Kings 22:22
2 Chronicles 18:20-22
Mark 1:22-24; 5:7-8
Luke 4:41; 8:28

G. They fear and tremble.

James 2:19
Matthew 8:28-29
Mark 1:23-24; 5:7
Luke 8:28

H. They are bold, for they approach God to speak (even as
Satan himself -- Job 1:6-12; Zechariah 3:1).

1 Kings 22:21 (2 Chronicles 18:20)

I. They have been seen by man, and they are frightening to behold.

1 Samuel 28:13
Job 4:15
Revelation 16:13

J. They have great strength to overpower men.

Mark 5:3, 4
Acts 19:16

II. Evil spirits can afflict man physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

A. Many physical infirmities are caused by the oppression or possession
of evil spirits.

1. Deafness and dumbness.

Mark 9:25

2. Convulsions.

Mark 1:26; 9:20
Luke 9:42

3. Dumbness.

Matthew 9:32-33
Mark 9:17
Luke 11:14

4. Blindness and dumbness.

Matthew 12:22

5. Infirmity.

Luke 13:11

6. Fever.

Luke 4:38-39

B. Demons attack man not only in the physical, but also in the mental
and spiritual realms.

1. Insanity.

1 Samuel 16:14; 18:10
Mark 5:15, 18
Luke 8:27, 35-36

2. Suicide and self-destruction.

1 Kings 18:26-28
Matthew 17:15
Mark 5:5; 9:22
John 10:10

3. Torment.

1 Samuel 16:14
Matthew 4:24

4. Destruction and murder.

1 Samuel 18:9-11; 19:9; etc.
John 10:10a; 13:27
Acts 19:16

5. Divination.

Acts 16:16

6. Deception.

1 Timothy 4:1

7. Lying.

1 Kings 22:22
2 Chronicles 18:20-22
John 8:44

8. Contention and strife.

Judges 9:23

C. A person in need of physical or emotional healing, therefore, may indeed
require spiritual deliverance. Jesus Himself treated the two side by side.

Matthew 4:24; 12:22; 17:18
Mark 9:28, 29
Luke 6:17, 18; 8:36
Acts 5:16; 10:38

D. An evil spirit can cause a person to retreat into a very strange life-style.

Matthew 8:28 (lived in the tombs)
Luke 8:27 (wore no clothes)

III. Evil spirits are restricted to the limitations placed upon them by God.

A. Demons can only afflict man as much as God allows them to.

Job 1:12; 2:6

B. They must receive permission (or "leave") of God to enter a body.

Mark 5:12-13

C. Jesus had control over the demons even to the point of allowing or
forbidding them to speak.

Mark 1:34

IV. Because they are spirit, and a "spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:29),
demons are not limited to space or volume. Several demons may therefore
inhabit a single body.

A. One spirit. Mark 9:17, etc.

B. Seven devils. Mark 16:9 (Luke 8:2)

C. Eight demons. Matthew 12:4245

D. Two thousand, an entire "legion" of demons. Mark 5:7, 9, 13 (Luke 8:26-39)

   NOTE: Much confusion can be avoided in the understanding of this
      passage of scripture when it is realized that those pronouns used in
    the plural number refer to the evil spirits within the man, rather than
      to the man himself. When referring to the man possessed, the pronouns
      are singular.

V. The disciple of Jesus has been given authority over all the power of the enemy.

   Matthew 10:1, 8 (Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1)
   Mark 16:17
   Luke 10:19-20
   John 14:12

A. We must demand (not request) deliverance in the name of the Lord.

Jude 9

1. It is not to the person possessed but to the evil spirit within him that
we must speak.

Mark 5:8 (Luke 8:29)
Acts 16:18

2. Deliverance must be ministered in the name of the Lord.

Mark 16:17
Acts 16:18

a. It is the name of Jesus that gives us power and authority.

   Matthew 28:18
   1 Peter 3:22
   Philippians 2:9-11

b. The name itself, however, is not to be used lightly or
experimentally. The consequences for doing so may be disastrous.

Acts 19:13-16

3. Faith is absolutely essential in ministering deliverance.

Matthew 17:19-20

B. How may deliverance be obtained?

1. Through the laying on of hands.

Luke 4:40-41; 13:11-13

2. By special miracles of God.

Acts 19:11-12

3. By prayer (and fasting).

Mark 9:29 (Matthew 17:21)
Isaiah 58:6

4. By a word.

Matthew 8:16

5. By the anointing upon prophetic music.

1 Samuel 16:14-23
Isaiah 10:27

6. Through praise.

Psalms 32:7

   C. Sometimes demons will depart only after a time of screaming,
   tearing the person, thrusting him to the ground, and causing him
   to foam at the mouth, grind his teeth, and even stiffen out and
   appear as if dead.

Mark 1:26 "And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and
cried with a loud voice, he came out of him."

Mark 9:22 "And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and
into the waters, to destroy him..."

Acts 19:16 "And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped
on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so
that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."

  D. But we don't have to listen to the demons or put up with the
   trouble and commotion they may try to cause during the process
   of exorcism.

Luke 4:41

E. There is often a noticeable difference in the appearance and character
of a person after he has been delivered of strong demonic oppression.

Mark 7:30; 9:26
l Samuel 16:15-16

VI. Is it always the case that a demon will oppress its victim continually (that is,
24 hours a day)?

A. One person to whom Jesus ministered spiritual deliverance had been
oppressed by the same evil spirit continually, since his childhood.

Mark 9:21

B. However, this is not always the case. The evil spirit that tormented
Saul only sometimes bothered him. It would come and go.

1 Samuel 16:15-16; 18:10-12; 19:9

VII. Why do people sometimes fail to receive their deliverance?

A. It may be due to a lack of faith on the part of the person trying to minister it.

Matthew 17:16-20 (Mark 9:18-19)

B. Some cases require that it be proceeded by a time of fasting and prayer.

Matthew 17:21 (Mark 9:28-29)

VIII. Why do some people find it difficult to keep their deliverance,
once they receive it?

A. If they continue in the evil practices of their past life, the demon
may again seek entrance to its former place of abode.

1 Samuel 16:14-23; 18:6-12; 19:9-16; etc.
Matthew 43:45 (Luke 11:24-26)

B.    If the person is not filled with the Spirit after receiving his deliverance,
   the demon may return with seven more evil spirits, and the condition
   would then be worse than the first.

Matthew 12:43-45 (Luke 11:24-26)

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Diane S. Dew, PO Box 340945, Milwaukee, WI 53234

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