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Testimony

Last Sunday, I preached my first sermon ever on casting out demons. I knew it was what the Lord wanted, but I had no idea what would happen as a result.

I ended up being delivered from a spirit of infirmity in front of everyone. I know that stirs some questions. How can a pastor who is clearly led by the Holy Spirit be oppressed by a demon?

I am going to explain. I am also going to let you in on what was going through my head when it was all going down, starting with the progression that led up to this moment.

I used to be scared of the thought of demons. I eliminated that fear long before this day. But I still had a massive lack of understanding regarding casting out demons, so I avoided the subject.

Several months leading up to this day, the Holy Spirit began to open my eyes. I began to notice there were people around me – Christians – being tormented by demons.

I know the voice of the Holy Spirit. I knew it was Him revealing this to me. But I continued to reason myself out of it because I’ve always heard that a Christian cannot have a demon.

I began to study

Then the Holy Spirit led me to the gospel of Luke to study the ministry of Jesus and the countless times He cast out demons. In less than an hour, the Holy Spirit obliterated every bit of wrong teaching and led me into the truth.

It’s amazing what happens when you get with the Holy Spirit and open the Word of God instead of researching what someone else has said about the subject.

I found out that demons don’t possess your spirit. They possess your physical body or your mind. So yes, even someone with a born-again spirit can be tormented by demons in their physical body or mind.

Many times this comes as a result of allowing sin in your life. When you participate in the things of the devil, it opens the door to demons to torment you.

But that’s not the only way demons get in. Some people are molested by demons at a young age because of what a parent or another adult brought into their life.

There are even times when the devil will send a mob of demons after someone to stop them or slow them down.

I’ve been struggling with sickness for years

In 2020, I had a choice to make. Would I continue on as a people-pleasing, feel-good pastor? Or would I get dressed for battle and destroy the works of the enemy?

I chose the latter. And when I did, the anointing on my life multiplied exponentially. My preaching came alive.

Before, my preaching sounded nice and kept everyone happy. Now, my words carry the very power of God. The saints are being equipped. Strongholds are being broken. The enemy is furious.

Along with the anointing came great opposition. People began to turn against me, and my physical body became very sick.

There were days I would only be able to work about 30 minutes at at time. Then I would have to lay down and rest before getting up for another 30-minute spurt.

I would sit at my desk, unable to take a deep breath. It felt like my chest was in a vice grip that continued to tighten.

Fear tried to take over. Anxiety tried to consume me. But the power of God rose up within me.

I settled with accepting the sickness

The Holy Spirit led me to the scriptures that renewed my mind and dispelled the fear. I became confident that no matter how bad the symptoms got, they wouldn’t stop me or kill me. I was pressing on. And I did.

I showed up every Sunday to release the Word of God with great power, no matter how bad I felt. I never stayed home sick. I would pry myself out of bed and drag myself to church.

Once I got there, the anointing would show up, and I would lead the church with great power and authority. Then I would go home completely wiped out.

Because of this, no one knew what I was going through. And I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to say anything that would hinder their faith.

There were multiple times that I would wake up with a grueling stomach ache out of nowhere. Leading up to this point, I hadn’t thrown up in over a decade. But over the past three years, I’ve been in the bathroom crying out in pain and vomiting at least five times. And every time on a Saturday night.

Morning would come, I would get dressed and get the family ready, and we came to church. I was determined not to let anything stop me from declaring the Word God had for our church that Sunday.

I tried everything I knew to do…

I believed that a Christian (especially a pastor who was truly one with Christ) could not have a demon. So I did everything else I knew to do to get rid of the sickness.

I went through several 2-week detox programs. I ate a perfect diet. I exercised. I made sure I was getting enough sleep. I declared healing scriptures over my body. I got rid of the fear. I asked people to pray for me. I went to healing services. I went through Andrew Wommack’s Healing Univeristy. I did all I knew to do.

The severity of the sickness did decrease over time. It became something that I could tolerate. Sure, my nose was stopped up all the time, and I was always tired. But I just used it as an opportunity to learn how to let the spirit lead instead of the flesh.

Of course, the enemy wanted me to believe that this was God’s will for me. That He was allowing this sickness in my life to increase my faith or build endurance, or whatever.

But I know the Bible better than that. Jesus is the One who revealed the will of God. He never left anyone sick to teach them something. Instead, He healed everyone that would receive.

So I didn’t latch on to that lie. Although, it sure would have made things easier. At least my suffering would have a purpose.

Then came the day that the Holy Spirit led me to teach my first message on casting out demons. I knew people had them, and I was really excited to see them free.

That morning, I knew I had God’s Word for the church. I knew it would be released with great power and authority. I knew the Holy Spirit had perfected my message.

Last Sunday

I delivered the message and then invited people to come to the altar who needed deliverance. About ten people came up. I commissioned Jamie and others who were called to deliverance to minister.

As they were ministering, I could sense Jesus Himself walking back and forth on the stage, observing what they were doing. I walked with Him, and He began to teach me what needed to change.

One was binding demons, and the Lord told me to say, “Don’t bind the demons. Cast them out!”

For clarity though, there is a place for binding demons. We’ll get into that another time. But when someone is ready to be free, you don’t bind the demon. You cast it out.

Others were talking and talking about the problem at hand, and the Lord told me to say, “Don’t reason with demons. Don’t sit there and talk about the issue. Don’t start giving them advice. Cast out demons!”

He revealed to me how simple this is. He didn’t say to pray them out. He didn’t say to get a full understanding of what was going on. He gave a simple command, “Cast out demons. Period.”

I taught this to the deliverance team. Then I sensed the Holy Spirit wanting to release something else through tongue and interpretation.

I released the tongue. It started out as it has happened in the past—calm, powerful words. Then I began shouting the tongue, which transitioned into weeping in tongues.

Finally, it ended with a loud cry and a gagging reflex. Immediately I thought, “Whoa. That last part wasn’t God. What was that?”

Things were not going the way we expected

Beth, who usually interprets my tongue, was taken aback. She said that everything was flowing as usual. She was getting the interpretation, and suddenly everything changed. She didn’t know what was happening but likened it to me giving birth to something.

After a pause, Mason came up and began the interpretation. Then Beth continued and clarified the interpretation.

As this happened, the Holy Spirit was ministering directly to me, urging me to deal with the issue and not ignore it. I could feel a lump in my chest as if something was stuck that was on it’s way out.

The Holy Spirit said, “This is going to be embarrassing, and many will not understand, but you must confirm that it was indeed a manifestation. Then, call forth the one I told to deal with it.”

So I did just that and asked, “Who was supposed to cast that out? You hesitated because I am your leader. Who was it?” They raised their hand and I told them to deal with it.

I didn’t know what would happen next. I wasn’t scared. But I was shocked that I had a demon. Yet, I didn’t care how embarrassing it was. I was submitted to what the Holy Spirit wanted to happen.

In less than a minute that demon came out with a loud scream. I’ve never heard my voice scream like that.

The whole time, my mind was fully intact. That demon did not have control of my mind. I was watching and listening to this happen, just like everyone else.

I remember thinking, “Wow, that noise is obnoxious.” There was no fear. No anxiety. But clearly, my physical body was expelling a demon.

When it was over, I thought, “Was that it?” And then the Holy Spirit said, “Now your body can heal itself.” Oh! That’s what’s been causing me to be sick all this time!

Later, Jamie confirmed that during the deliverance, the Holy Spirit revealed to her that she was dealing with a spirit of infirmity.

How did I have a demon?

This spirit of infirmity did not come as a result of sin. I’ve learned how to live in the righteousness God gave me. I’m not perfect, but I am pressing on towards perfection. On the way, I am sure quick to repent, which keeps the door closed to the devil.

This evil spirit was a mob sent against me to slow me down. The only reason it could even stick around is because I believed in a lie that Christians couldn’t have a demon.

My attachment to wrong teaching enabled that demon to stick around and torment my physical body.

I’m sure it could have tormented my mind too. But I know how to renew my mind, so that didn’t work. Nevertheless, it was fully content to slow me down with sickness.

But now I’m free. My body can heal itself.

If you are amazed at what the Lord has done through me so far, just wait to see what He can do without my physical body slowing me down. It’s about to get epic!

The thing that brings the most joy to my heart is the word Cary gave after all this was said and done. He said, “Now that you have freedom, those you lead will experience freedom.”

There is a wave of freedom being released to all those under my care right now. Don’t resist it. Receive it! Be free from every kind of demonic oppression.

Now that my body is able to heal itself, I have already had several confirmations. My right nostril has been 100% stopped up all the time for the last three years. Air started moving through it the very afternoon I was delivered.

My other nostril was consistently about 50% stopped up. So I was living life with chronic congestion, which in turn ruined my sleep, made it hard to eat, and the list goes on.

Those tissues in my nose are still in the repair process. But my body can heal itself now. And the Lord will see it through to completion.

That’s just one of the many things that have changed already. My energy is increasing. My digestive system is calm. And it is only the beginning.

Watch out! I am more energized than ever to destroy the works of the devil. What we’ve accomplished in the past three years will pale in comparison to what we will accomplish in the coming days.

Further teaching about casting out demons

Now, I am going to continue teaching on casting out demons. There’s more we need to know. The Holy Spirit is taking me directly to the Word to learn, and I am teaching you what He reveals.

If you’ve been involved in deliverance ministry in the past, first of all, thank you. You took the road less traveled, and I know you suffered ridicule for it. God bless your obedience.

I say this with authority from the Lord. Don’t hold on to the methods you’ve used in the past. They worked then, but they are not what is needed now.

The deliverance needed now will require you to part ways with the old methods and fully embrace what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us right now.

Here’s how Jesus would say it, “You cannot put new wine into old wineskins.”

I know you’ve been yearning for deliverance to be accepted by the church. And that day is here. But don’t think that means it’s time for you to force specific methods.

The method is not what matters. Deliverance is what matters. Don’t hold on to previous methods because the Holy Spirit is teaching us the most effective way to cast out demons.

I’m not saying that what you did before was wrong. I am saying that it is not what’s needed right now. We must be effective and efficient because a lot of deliverance is going to take place.

We don’t have time to sit down for hours and go through a deliverance session. There are too many people that need deliverance. So the Holy Spirit is showing us how to deliver them ALL quickly.

Now let’s head back to Luke chapter four. We learned from this scripture last week, and there’s more.

Luke 4:31-37 NLT – Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority. Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

A follower of Jesus was delivered

So this man who was delivered was following Jesus. He was in the synagogue. Jesus was present, right there with him.

Yet notice the demon didn’t come out automatically. First, Jesus had to teach with great authority. This caused the demon to come out of hiding. Then Jesus had to command it to come out.

This is an incredible illustration that a Christian might need deliverance. They’re following Christ. They are the temple. Jesus is present within their spirit. Yet, just like this man, a demon might be tormenting them.

It could show up as chronic sickness. That demon may even have a hold of their mind, inserting ungodly thoughts.

It sounds terrifying, but it’s really not. All it takes for demons to be cast out is for someone to use the authority Christ gave and command them to come out.

But if that demon can convince you that this is not a demonic issue, you’ll stay sick. You’ll stay tormented in your mind. Because if the cause is a demon, nothing will work except casting it out.

The Lord used me as a demonstration

The Lord used me as a demonstration before your very eyes last week. I am born again. Living in victory over sin. Living a consecrated life. Led by the Holy Spirit. I’m in complete obedience to God, even when He tells me to do things that could ruin my reputation.

Yet a demon was keeping me sick. It had a hold of my physical body. And even though there were times I wondered if it could be a demon, I refused to go that route because I was holding on to a lie.

I was sick for over three years because I didn’t study this in God’s Word myself. I could have been free three years ago! But since I wasn’t aligned with the Bible in this area, it enabled the demon to stay in hiding and continue to torment me.

You will be surprised at the amount of deliverance that takes place now. It starts in the house of the Lord. Jesus has served an eviction notice to every demon tormenting His people.

I know some of you are still struggling with this. So let’s go through the scriptures people use to “prove” Christians cannot have a demon.

Scriptures that get used incorrectly

1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT – Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?

People use this to teach that Christians cannot have a demon because their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. They believe since the Holy Spirit is present, a demon cannot be.

The biggest problem with this is they are taking a verse out of context. In this scripture, Paul is reprimanding Christians who are engaging in sexual sin.

He makes some incredible points about why you should stay from sexual sin, and this scripture is the pinnacle of them all. He’s saying, “The Holy Spirit lives within the very body you are using to engage in sin. Can you see why that’s a bad idea?”

He is reminding Christians that they were bought at a high price. So you must honor God with your body by running from sexual sin!

Even though you are saved, you can allow sin in your physical body. And the same goes for a demon. If you allow it to be there, it will take up residence and give you sickness as a reward.

Let me drive this home with another illustration from Jesus.

Mark 11:15-17 NLT – When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

What was going on in the temple? Sin. Theft. The works of the devil. The temple was supposed to be a house of prayer, but they allowed it to become a den of thieves.

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit! But that doesn’t exempt it from being taken over by evil. If you allow it, it will come in. And if you do, in order to be free, you’ll have to drive it out.

Why does it seem so dramatic to cast out demons?

There’s a reason casting out demons tends to be dramatic. You are driving them out. They don’t want to leave, but they don’t have a choice, so they put up a fight on the way out.

Reminds me of when you see a kid who doesn’t want to leave the playground. What do they do when their parent tells them to leave? They scream like something is killing them.

Last week, that’s what that demon did coming out of my physical body. That was not me screaming. I have never screamed like that in my life. Talk about obnoxious.

Maybe this is what keeps you from pursuing deliverance. You don’t want it to be dramatic. Well, just go ahead and keep the demon, then. It will hide behind your pride.

I was struggling with this thought

I’ll be honest. I was wrestling with that last week. I knew the demon was there after what happened. The Holy Spirit told me to deal with it publicly, and I thought, “But what will people think? I’m their leader! They can’t see me like this.”

But the fear of the Lord came over me when the Holy Spirit said for about the fifth time, “You better deal with this. Now.”

Trembling before God and the church, I opened my mouth and said, “That was a manifestation of a demon. Who was supposed to cast it out?”

I was hoping it would all happen calmly and quietly from that point. But it didn’t.

And you know what I was thinking after church last Sunday? “Is anyone going to come back to church? Did I just ruin everything? Can we still become the church that makes Owasso a safe haven until Jesus comes?”

To all those questions, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You don’t have to apologize for being delivered.”

So I want to take a moment right now to glorify God. I’ve been delivered! That spirit of infirmity has been cast out! Now, my body can heal itself. And the Lord will see it through to completion.

What’s to come…

While I was wrestling with all of this, I was also reminded of the prophetic word Cary spoke over me at the end of the service:

“Today is the breaking of a dam. The steps you have taken today, the actions of faith you have taken today are going to manifest and trigger what you have been crying out for. It’s like a blockage that has been totally released.”

Glory to God! We are in the free flow now. Nothing is holding us back. We are moving quickly to become what God has declared about us.

NoLimits Church will occupy the city of Owasso until Jesus comes. Our leadership and influence will make Owasso a safe haven until He comes.

We will occupy by Owning businesses in Owasso, Serving on the City Council and School Board, and having three church locations.

NoLimits Church will be the talk of the city. People will say, “That’s where you go to meet Jesus! That’s where you go to be filled with the Holy Spirit! That’s where you go to get healed and delivered.”

We will become the leading force in Owasso. No other organization will have the influence we do. We will steward the influence well. It will be marked by righteousness.

This is a prophetic word the Lord spoke to me a few months ago. It’s not my vision for our church, it’s God’s vision for our church. And bless God, we are going to fulfill it.

More scripture about Christians being delivered

Another scripture we need to look at regarding the subject of Christians being delivered is 2 Corinthians 6.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NKJV- Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”

People use this to teach that Christians cannot have a demon because light and darkness can’t coexist.

But the scripture we just read didn’t say they can’t coexist. It says that they shouldn’t coexist. This becomes clear when you keep reading into Chapter 7:

2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV – Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

You have to make the choice to cleanse yourself. Separate yourself from sin. Refrain from partnering with unbelievers. Cast out every unclean spirit.

God doesn’t make choices for you. He provides the way out, but you must choose to take it.

An illustration that will help you

There’s one final illustration I want to give you to help you understand that there are Christians who need deliverance.

In this world we live in, there are viruses being passed around. They are microscopic. You can’t see them. But you know they exist because you experience the results when they enter your body.

Notice the virus has to come inside of your body to make you sick. When it’s on the outside, no problem. But as soon as it finds its way in, the symptoms prove that it is there.

Then your body has to work to expel, destroy, or should we say “cast out” the virus. As soon as it is in there, your immune system goes into full-on deliverance mode.

Somehow, we all are able to understand even though this body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that virus can still come in. Yet we deny that a demon can come into our physical body.

Conclusion

Can you see how convenient that is for the devil? With this mindset, you allow sickness because “that’s just how it is,” and you also allow demons to hide within. If we don’t recognize they are there, they don’t get cast out.

Both sickness and demons are from the devil. That’s why, everywhere Jesus went, He healed the sick, AND He cast out demons. They went hand-in-hand.