11 Deliverance

Hello, I'll be speaking on deliverance. For us to go into that, I want to read two scriptures. This will help us to ground deliverance in the counseling times that we do have with people. First is Ephesians 6:12. It says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

But against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world. And against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." The second scripture is 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. It says this, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they are divine power to demolish strongholds." There is a divine power available for us when we are counseling somebody, and that's to demolish strongholds. It's something that we can see in counseling someone.

It's not always there—a demonic influence. But it can definitely be there in people's lives. And when we do come across a stronghold, we have power in Christ to demolish that. That's what I'll be speaking about today. So how do demons gain influence in lives?

Demonic Influence Through Unrepented Sin

Well, I believe demons have legal biblical ground to influence a person through a spiritual door that has been opened due to unrepented sin. It's like entering into a legal contract in the spiritual realm. When sin is done, you open up a door in the demonic realm, and that door remains open until the sin is repented of or dealt with.

It's like giving the spirits permission to influence your life. There's a Greek word used in the Bible, and that Greek word is "daimonizomai". It literally means to be demonized or to be influenced by a demon. And scripturally, when Jesus cast out demons, we could see that there were people who really were in bondage to the power of the enemy and needed to be set free by the Lord.

When we do counseling, we can see varying degrees of influence in the demonic. We can see a small measure of influence. But yet still under the control of the enemy. Or we can see large degrees of influence. Depending often on the severity of the sin caused or how deep the roots go in a person's life and how much they've given themselves over to that sinful experience.

When we're dealing with people we really need to be sensitive to the aspect of the demonic. Not every single time we meet with somebody, there will be a demonic influence. But more often than not, there is definitely something there for us to look into.

It is part of the process of dealing with somebody. So can a Christian be influenced demonically? And I would say yes. A demon can influence a Christian's life if they still haven't dealt with sin properly. And there's still a legal right spiritually in their life that gives the demons access into a person's heart.

Our position as believers is that we're justified, we're bought by Christ, we belong to Christ, we are His, and nothing can touch the Holy Spirit. And certainly the Holy Spirit is God too, and living within us. And the demonic can't touch the Holy Spirit.

But they can influence us in our mind, will, and emotions. And that's really where the enemy works, is in the mind, the will, and the emotions. It really is trusting God to highlight any demonic influence in those areas in our mind, will and emotions as believers.

It's like if there was an analogy of a house. A house represents your life. When you give your life to Jesus, you give the title deed of that house, the house of your life, to the Lord. Every part of that house is the Lord's.

He owns the title deed of your life. But, as a house has many rooms, so are lives of many rooms. And as Jesus, although owning the house, begins to work in our lives, it's like He goes from room to room. And He touches rooms and He sanctifies those areas of our lives.

And He works in those areas. Some areas, we'll know as believers, happen quickly. God works quite quickly in those areas. Other areas take a little bit more time for God to work in or God touches those areas only later as He deems fit.

And that's the sanctification process of God working in our heart. As God is dealing with our lives, He sometimes comes to an area that is influenced demonically as well. And God is very gracious and kind. But when He highlights that area, then He will highlight the demonic as well.

Then, it is not just to deal with the sin, but it's also to deal with the demonic influence in that area, too. Jesus spoke about a house in Matthew 12. He spoke a similar kind of story about when a demon leaves a person's life, he will come and inspect the house again, to see if everything is as it should be.

And if it's not as it should be, if the house is empty, it will come back again. So, demons can occupy areas of our lives and they can leave. And we need to be aware of that as counselors. So, some areas that I want to mention that can be open doors for the demonic to come and to influence believers' lives is the following.

Open Doors for Demonic Influence

I'll read them out to you. Habitual sin, which is obvious sin that needs to be repented of. For example, sexual immorality, lies, theft, pride, sexual and emotional soul ties. It can be a real issue. A real struggle. A soul tie is a link through sexual interaction or an emotional bond, a codependent bond with somebody that demons can come and latch on to.

Generational sins and curses are another area where there can be open doors. Occultic involvement. Goes without saying. Milder forms of witchcraft, which could be manipulation. The word actually says that manipulation is a form of witchcraft. And so we need to be aware of the more subtle variances of things like that.

Rebellion is assigned too. Struggling with authority. Struggling to submit to others. Curses over a person's life. As you're counseling somebody, you recognize words that have been spoken over them, that have brought bondage over that person. Sometimes those words can give an access to the demonic.

We need to recognize that. Sin perpetuated on others. So, for example, abuse that communicates to you that you're worthless. Or people can't be trusted. Or I feel I will control others so I won't get hurt. So it's almost like a reaction to simple experience that you're putting onto other people.

Rejection, of course, is an important aspect where the demonic can come in, not always, but can come in. To lie to people and to accentuate the low worth that they feel. Unforgiveness is a big one that I find when I do counseling. Sometimes when a person struggles to forgive somebody, it's a real stumbling block in the spiritual realm.

It can be a real hindrance. Until that person's able to forgive somebody else, close that door, then true freedom can come into a person's life. And then lastly, deception and lies. Just allowing deception and lies to influence the way that we think. And then the enemy who is... I mean, Jesus said He is a liar. So the enemy coming in and adding to those lies. Those diseased thoughts. And make it more difficult for a person to walk in freedom.

How to Counsel Someone to Get Free

So how do we counsel someone to get them free? Well, as you dealing with a person, as you're sitting with them, as you process in their lives, you would've gone through a whole bunch of areas. You would've gone through their history, asked them questions to find out what simple areas there are in their lives. And as you have recognized those areas which will be the roots of the pain that people feel. Or the unmet needs that they've struggled with.

The difficulties in their lives. Often we know the behavioral patterns of our lives, but we don't know the reason why we feel that way. Sin always leads to diseased thinking, diseased actions, wrong responses or reactions. So, really what we're looking for is the root, which will be sin in a person's life.

James 4:7 really helps us to understand where dealing with the demonic comes in. It says this, "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." So, first we must submit ourselves to God. We see submission in the Bible as repentance and/or forgiveness.

Depending on what the person needs to hand over to the Lord. That really is submission. It is like that room that hasn't fully been submitted to the Lordship of Christ in the person's life. And now Jesus is coming to that room and wants to be Lord.

He becomes Lord by us coming underneath His authority, which is submission. You become Lord in this area. We allow God to become Lord in those areas when we confess our sins through repentance, or we forgive others for the sin they've done to us.

Once we've done that, then, if there is anything demonically attached in that area of a person's life, then we need to do the second part that we see in James 4:7. Which is to resist the Devil. We can call it renouncing as well.

Which really means taking authority in an area. Now, not every single time a person repents, or asks for forgiveness, or sets somebody free through forgiveness, is there a redeemment. So what I do is, after they've submitted those areas of their lives to Lord, I just tell the person what I'm going to do now is we're just going to ask the Holy Spirit to highlight any demonic presence that might be in a person's life. Just to see if there's anything there. And then what I actually do is I will say, "Dear Lord, thank You so much for the work that You've done in this person's life."

"Lord, if there is any unclean spirit, any demonic presence that has attached itself through legal right, through the open door of the sin that they committed or the offense that they carried, Lord, right now, would You expose that in the name of Jesus Christ?"

And then I'll wait for a couple seconds, and then I'll ask the person how they're feeling. If the person says they feel absolutely fine, then I trust that there is no demonic presence that's attached itself to the forgiveness or the repentance of sin.

If they do feel something shift, I believe it's the Holy Spirit actually showing us that there is an added dimension here, and that is that there's an influence of the demonic. So, what would that look like? It could be a number of things.

It could be a person feeling suddenly uneasy within, something shifting or moving inside of them. It could be suddenly a headache or a part of their body that is aching or hurting. And then I'll ask them, were those symptoms there before we prayed?

And if they say no, then that's an added sign to me that there's a demonic influence in a person's life and that there's an area now that now we need to do deliverance. So, it could be other things as well. It could be bad thoughts that come in.

Renouncing Demonic Influence After Repentance

It is just really trying to test the waters by asking the person how they feel. If they do feel something like that, then what I do then is we go into renouncing. The reason that we can renounce demonic presence for influencing a person is that when we repent or forgive somebody, what we're actually doing through repentance and forgiveness is we're closing the door.

We're closing the legal rights that they had. The power is in repentance and in confession. So once a person recognizes their sins, 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

To purify us from all unrighteousness. Purification comes as we deal with sin. And I believe part of that purification, too, is cancelling the legal rights of the demonic. But just because we've cancelled the legal rights doesn't mean that they leave. I think sometimes God does do that.

I think God sometimes radically sets people free and we don't need to pray the prayer. But sometimes they do linger. And that's when I ask them to be exposed. If they do expose themselves after confession or repentance, then I know that this is the time that we command them to leave.

We can command them to leave or renounce their authority in a person's life because they've lost their legal right. I find it's difficult to do deliverance over someone's life if they haven't dealt with sin. Then the demon still has legal right in a person's life, and they're saying that they don't need to leave.

There shouldn't be much of a battle if the door has been closed through repentance and/or forgiveness. So, I believe that's in the order of James 4:7. We submit first to God, then we resist the devil, and then he must flee. He must flee because he's lost ground in an area.

Commanding Unclean Spirits to Leave in Jesus' Name

Jesus is now Lord and he isn't anymore and so he needs to leave. How do we renounce? How do we take authority? Well, it's literally commanding the unclean spirit that has influence the person in the areas that have been given over to God, to go in Jesus' name.

So, I will speak that over the person. I will say something like this, "Unclean spirit, because you've attached yourself to that sin and because that sin has been dealt with by Jesus, you no longer have legal right in this person's life. And because of that, I now command you to leave this person now in the name of Jesus Christ."

And I do it boldly and I do it confidently. Not in my own strength, but in the name of Jesus. Jesus is incredible. He not only did it Himself in the Bible, but then He also gives us the opportunity to be able to do the same thing.

It's an amazing scripture in Mark 16:17. It says, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons." It's incredible. Jesus said that and put that in scripture. Scripture was written for us by the Lord, by the Holy Spirit, so that we could take heart today, that we can actually cast out demons in the name of Christ.

It's really being confident and bold in mentioning the name. Jesus says, all authority has been given to Me. So when we renounce the demonic in the name of Christ, we renounce in the absolute authority of Jesus Christ.

And the enemy knows who is in control of a person's life, if they have repented of their sin or forgiven somebody else. It is Jesus. As a result of that they need to leave. It's part of our inheritance actually as children of God to be able to do this.

It's a wonderful privilege to see God literally set somebody free as you declare the name of Jesus. I find in renouncing there's great power when the person actually renounces themselves. So sometimes I'll actually say to the person, you tell that unclean spirit that you're sensing now, influencing your life.

You tell that unclean spirit to leave you. You command that unclean spirit in the name of Jesus Christ to leave in Jesus' name. And, I see great power come on a person when they do that over their own lives, which is really amazing.

Checking for Freedom and Continuing Deliverance Prayer

It's important as we do this that all I do is I just ask the person how they're feeling. And, I listen to them. Sometimes they might say that there has been a shift. I remember praying for a person last week. As we dealt with sin, I prayed the prayer, "Is there any unclean spirit there that has attached itself to the sin? Be exposed now in the name of Jesus." And they felt something move inside of them. Then, as I renounced that unclean spirit and I asked them again how they felt, they said they felt that it moved up.

So, it wasn't completely dealt with, but it had shifted upwards. I don't know how it works all the time, but I do know that there is always a release. The person needs to feel a release if they are set free. And so clearly that's still not free yet.

So all we do is we continue to pray. We again take authority in the name of Jesus Christ, and we resist the devil. We renounce the unclean spirit again in the name of Jesus Christ, and we command them to leave. Then I ask the person again how they feel.

We know the person is free when they will feel a shift. That feeling is gone. Or they'll feel lighter. Or they'll feel a sense of being set free. Or their mind will be more in order. There should be a shift in the person's life.

When that happens, I still check again, because I think unclean spirits sometimes like to hide. I say to them again, if there's any unclean spirit that has attached itself through the sin that he or she has just given over to the Lord, "If you're still there in any form, I command you to be exposed in Jesus' name."

Then I give the person a couple seconds and I ask them again, "How do you feel?" And if they say fine, then I trust that the person is set free, which is just amazing. When a person is set free, I just say, I partner with them in the excitement of what God has done.

Helping People Stay Calm During Deliverance

I say, "That is just absolutely awesome." I think it's really important that the person feels that we are there with them in deliverance. Deliverance can be a little bit scary. People don't know what to expect. It is us calming people, helping to understand that the power is in Jesus.

Jesus is in complete control. He is not nervous or anxious about the demonic. He knows the power of His name. We can take assurance that God is in control. When you are showing that to the person, that can calm them as well. It is working with the person.

Moving Through Other Counseling Areas with the Holy Spirit

So after I've checked again in that area, then I will move on into another area. So if, let's say for example, there was sexual sin that needed to be dealt with. After they've dealt with that sin, I will then speak to the person about any unclean spirits that attached to self in the sexual area.

If anything highlights itself, we resist the devil through renouncing in the name of Jesus Christ. Once the person feels freedom, we'll then move on to another area in counseling. Obviously, there's no exact science to counseling somebody. We do need to be led by the Holy Spirit.

I really want to encourage you. Holy Spirit wants people to be more free than we do. So it's really working with Him. I do try and be thorough in my dealing with sin with people's lives. Trying to bring them to a place where they can hand stuff over to the Lord through the divine exchange.

And then, testing to see if there's any demonic influence in there. The promise of James 4:7 is that he will flee from you. It's in God's word. There is a clear shift of the people's life when there is a dealing of sin and when there is resisting of the enemy.

There must be freedom for the person, which is really, really awesome. After there is freedom over the person's life, I'd just like to thank God. I say to the person, "Let's just thank Jesus for what He's done." Then we pray together. "Thank You, Lord, for coming in this wonderful way. And where there was bondage, thank You Jesus, that You've come and You set the person free. That's just absolutely amazing."

Receiving God’s Love After Deliverance

I want to add another aspect of counseling to this conversation. That is the area of receiving. I think it's a beautiful, beautiful thing when God comes and actually pours His love over a person.

Once we've repented or forgiven somebody, once deliverance has taken place and ground has been lost by the enemy, it's a real opportunity for God. I believe it's His heart to come into the very spaces where a sin used to live or a demonic influence used to be, to fill those spaces with His life. Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." Of course He's talking about us as believers. There is abundant life available for us.

It is just so amazing when I meet with people and I say to them, after the Lord has done a wonderful work in setting people free in areas, I say to them, "Let's just wait in God's presence for a little bit. Let's allow God to come in to this area that we just handed to Him, and to fill you with more of Him." And we wait in the presence of God.

Waiting for God to Speak in Counseling

And we allow God to come and speak. God can speak in a number of ways. Scripture is obviously God's spoken word already to us, and a scripture might come to mind as you counsel somebody in your own heart. And it's good to speak that scripture out. Scripture will always have power. The Word of God is always powerful. When we align ourselves with God's Word, we align ourselves with truth. The truth of what God says, which is beautiful.

Sometimes it can be a prophetic sense that you might have over the person's life, too. There's been many times when I've come to a place of just waiting with the person for God to speak His life over somebody. Then I'll receive a picture from God for the person. And it'll be a picture in any form, but obviously an encouragement from God for the person. How He sees them or what He's done for them or what He's doing inside of them. That builds hope and encouragement.

God can actually speak to the very person themselves. And I will actually say it while they're waiting in the presence of God. I'll just say, "Heavenly Father, if there's anything You want to say over Your child right now. Father, would You speak? Would You speak? You're God and we're not. And we don't want to tell You what to do. But Father, if You do want to drop a word into the person's heart, Lord, we're open."

Then I will wait with the person for a short time and then I ask them, "Did you sense anything? Did you hear anything?" And it's quite amazing how quite a few people will get something from God. And then I will say to them, "Isn't that incredible? This is what God says over you. Doesn't matter what's happened in your past. Doesn't matter what the enemy might have said over you. This is what God says of you. The greatest authority in the universe speaking over you. And He doesn't lie, He speaks truth. So if He said this over you, this is who you are. Isn't this incredible?"

People are often so encouraged when they hear God. And when they do, I celebrate with them what God says. I genuinely celebrate because this is amazing. And then secondly, I ask them to write it down. Write down what God is saying. So that when you are in a difficult space in your life again, you can look at those words and say, "Father, this is what You've said over me. Thank You so much. This is how You see me." It really is a tool to help people move forward and to celebrate how God sees them and to walk in the life that God has for them.

So that's receiving. I really want to encourage you to not downplay this time, to really give time in your counseling to wait on God. It's incredible how the Father really does love His children. He really wants us to connect with Him. And the more we can see God connecting with His children in counseling, the better off they will be. Because, they've been touched by the Father who loves them.