Demon Manifestation and Deliverance Story

Our Easter service was powerful in every sense. Incredible worship, a life-giving message, and then—unexpectedly—a demon manifested during the closing interpretation of a tongue. It interrupted mid-sentence, and the whole atmosphere shifted. But instead of fear, our church family jumped into action with authority and unity. It was wild, yes—but also beautiful.

One woman, who had flown in that morning specifically for deliverance, found herself at the center of a spiritual battle. The demons were loud, defiant, and dramatic—at the very end we uncovered leviathan. But no matter the name or the noise, Jesus has authority over them all. Eventually, every evil spirit was cast out, and she was left in complete peace.

Why Did the Last Demon Take So Long?

Many demons left quickly, but the last one resisted. Why? Because the woman believed a lie—that the blood covenant she made through witchcraft couldn’t be broken. That false belief gave the demon a foothold.

Once she understood the truth—through a timely scripture from Numbers 30:3-5—she was able to fully receive freedom. When she believed it could be broken, the demon lost its grip.

Number 30:3-5 (NKJV) - if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.

How Does "Free Will" Play a Part?

God honors free will, and so should we. Jesus didn’t force deliverance on anyone. People came to Him for healing and freedom, and that’s the example we follow. If someone doesn’t want freedom, we won’t override that. But we will teach, equip, and wait for their hearts to open to the truth.

What Was the Follow-Up After Deliverance?

After her deliverance, members of our church took the woman to their home, baptized her in the bathtub, and shared communion. We’re staying in touch to help her clean house—both spiritually and physically—and start fresh. She left that service a new creation.

Our Congregation Moved to a New Level of Faith

The experience wasn’t just for her. It was for all of us. Seeing deliverance firsthand brought boldness to our church. Fear was replaced with authority. God used this moment to prepare us for more—because this won’t be the last time. Deliverance is coming to homes, workplaces, and everyday life.

Why Didn’t You Move the Deliverance to Another Room?

It was intentional. The Holy Spirit didn’t direct us to move her—we were meant to witness it together. Jesus said believers (not just pastors) will cast out demons. This moment infused courage into our people. We need to see deliverance, not hide it away.

What If I Am Feeling Disturbed by the Sights and Sounds?

The calm comes from knowing the outcome. Demons throw tantrums to intimidate, but once you know they’re already defeated, the drama becomes almost laughable. Even children in the room were unbothered—some were coloring a few feet away. Truth removes fear.

Question About Full Submersion Baptism

Yes, we believe baptism should be by full submersion. The Greek word for baptism means immersion, and it symbolizes going all in with Jesus. While it doesn’t save you, it is an important public declaration of faith. If your church doesn’t offer full submersion, you can still find a believer to baptize you. It doesn’t have to be a pastor.

Prophecy About God Raising Up Churches Like Ours in Every City

Years ago, God showed a vision—lights springing up across the U.S. He said, “I’m raising up a church like this in every city.” If you’re looking for a deliverance-believing church, keep looking. God will show you where to go.

How to Explain Deliverance to Kids?

Be honest, but keep it simple. Let them know demons are weak compared to the Spirit of God inside them. Use imagery like squashing ants—they’re powerless when the Spirit is present. Teach them not to fear, but to help others. It’s an opportunity to raise fearless kingdom warriors.

How Do You Know If You Have a Demon?

Don’t live in fear or obsess over the question. Just submit yourself fully to Jesus. Lay everything on the table and say, “Lord, I want to be 100% Yours.” If something demonic is there, it’ll be exposed—and Jesus will take care of it. He is the Deliverer.

Is Every Christian Able to Cast Out Demons?

Absolutely. It’s not a spiritual gift—it’s a command. Jesus said, “These signs will follow those who believe… they will cast out demons.” If you believe in Jesus, you’re qualified.

Should You Study Deliverance?

Be careful. Don’t get caught up in demonology. Study the power of Christ instead. Know who He is and the authority His name carries. That’s what gives you boldness.

Is There a Specific Process to Casting Out Demons?

There’s no formula. Lead people to surrender to Jesus, and cast the demon out. It really is that simple. The Holy Spirit will guide you in the moment.

Do Your Specific Words Matter When Casting Out Demons?

No magic words. What matters is your authority in Christ. Jesus simply said, “Come out.” The demon obeyed. It’s not about shouting or theatrics—it’s about knowing who you are in Him.

Is Sin Struggle Potentially a Demon?

Sometimes, yes. Addictions, mental torment, emotional instability—these can have demonic roots. But sometimes, it's a matter of renewing your mind. The key is: get with God, surrender everything, and let Him reveal the source.

Final Encouragement & Prayer

Today was unforgettable. A woman walked in tormented and walked out free. But that was only part of what God did. Healing broke out. Joy was contagious. Faith rose up. And the best part? This is just the beginning.

Lord, bless every reader with peace and boldness. Fill them with wisdom, with joy, and with deeper revelation of who You are. Let your Spirit guide them in truth, and empower them to walk in the authority You’ve given them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Isaiah 59

Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption. No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.

They hatch deadly snakes and weave spiders’ webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; whoever cracks them will hatch a viper. Their webs can’t be made into clothing, and nothing they do is productive. All their activity is filled with sin, and violence is their trademark.

Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Misery and destruction always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good. They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.

So there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. Among the living, we are like the dead.

We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue, but it is far away from us. For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are.

We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.

Yes, truth is gone,and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him.

He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.

In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord. “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord.

“And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!

My Dream

I had a dream the other night. In the dream, I was in Owasso with Beth. We were on a date together without an agenda—peaceful. We decided to go look for a Bible at the new Bible store we hadn't been to yet (which was located near Big Lots in the dream). It was a last-minute decision as we were driving, so I had to switch over to the turning lane. We were a bit crooked in the lane, turning left from 129th onto 86th St N, headed West.

While waiting at the light, I noticed the building on the corner (where Zaxbys is, but it wasn't Zaxbys) was getting torn down piece by piece. Only pieces of the metal frame were left. We were shocked and wondered what happened. 

Then the light turned green, and as we were turning left through the intersection, I looked towards Home Depot and noticed that a thick smoke was rolling across the land (coming from the north). You couldn't see anything behind the wall of smoke.

After fully turning onto 86th, we looked west and noticed water rushing towards us. It was a rolling wave about 8 feet tall, but it was moving very quickly. Everyone was getting out of their cars, freaking out, and then taking a stance with their hands in front of them to resist the wave. I felt to stay in the truck, even though everyone else was getting out of their cars.

The truck suddenly stalled out. As it was rolling to a stop, I turned onto the median and bumped the front of the truck up against a small tree to help brace for impact. The water was washing away everyone ahead of us. They stood no chance against the rushing water. Right before it hit the truck, I woke up.

Immediately, the scripture came to mind, "When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of the LORD raises up a standard against him." (Is 59:19) Then, I had a vision of the truck floating on top of the water with us in it, completely safe. In my spirit, I heard, "You are the standard I am raising up."

-Interpretation-

When researching the word "standard" in the scripture, one of the definitions is "to fly to the attack on horseback". It paints the picture of someone who confidently rushes in to battle to defeat the enemy. It is also defined as "to put to flight, to drive hastily, to cause to disappear".

God is raising us up to a place of safety where we have the upper hand on the enemy. We are to drive at him quickly and cause him to disappear. Out of sight. Completely gone.

Staying in the (white) truck represents staying in the Spirit of the LORD. The Spirit of the LORD is the vehicle that enables us to be raised up as a standard against the enemy. Everyone else was resisting with the flesh. We stayed in the Spirit of the LORD and were raised up. The truck stalling out was not a representation of the Spirit failing us, but a representation us of losing control as we gave full control to the Spirit of the LORD.

Prophecy

God has been equipping us to be His standard against the enemy through prophecy this year. We’ve already received three words from the Lord, and all of them have the purpose of preparing us for this task: to destroy the enemy.

Lets review them.

Feb 9, 2025

The Lord says I want to move in demonstration and power. I have two focuses for you, says the Lord. Money and health.

First health as in physical, and health as in relationships. Because if you don't have -- if you're not physically healthy you can't do anything. If you don't have healthy relationships, you're not doing anything for anybody else. Health.

Focus number two is money. You can have health but if you don't have money you can't actually do anything with it. Have you ever been to the grocery store and you couldn't buy your food? Have you ever tried to pay a bill and you couldn't do it?

The Lord says I am moving in mighty demonstration in these two areas exceptionally for this year in 2025. If you don't see an area in your life those two areas that didn't change this year, he said, it's not my fault. For I'm never the one withholding from you, says the Lord. I want to move in Mighty demonstration in those two areas this year.

Feb 2, 2025

There's a shift that's coming says the Lord for I'm giving an opportunity of growth of exponential growth. However, it's up to you if you choose to take part or not.

I encourage you not to be like Nicodemus who had the opportunity and decided elsewhere. Learn from Nicodemus.

When I call those who follow me I tell them to clothe themselves. So clothe yourself with humility. Clothe yourself with goodness and kindness. Clothe yourself with righteousness, peace, and joy. For everything funnels through that. Because that is the representation of my Holy Spirit says the Lord.

As you go forth and you accomplish what's on your list please do not forget about Mine. For your list is out of order says the Lord. My list is in order for I am a god of order. Do not think that I will neglect you or your family in time of need for I have more than enough, says the Lord, More than enough. More than enough.

So clothe yourself in dignity and strength and power. Most importantly clothe yourself in my word. In the armor of God so that when the rain comes and the wind blows and the enemy comes knocking at your door trying to tempt you, remember his temptation's always the same. Did I say this? That's exactly how he started. That is how he will finish. He always questions what I say. That's exactly how pride starts. Did God really say this? Did God really say that? And know this. When you begin to ask those questions--if you know the answer, of course you said it. But you're challenging my character, says the Lord, that's pride. But when you're asking and saying, wait, did God really say he'll provide? I've never heard that. And you actually go and you seek my word and you find the answer. Now the truth has been revealed but it's still up to you, says the Lord. It's still up to you to accept it and walk it out.

And when you do my glory and my anointing will follow you, says the Lord. For I go before you and I prepare the way. But you have to actually follow the path, says the Lord. And when you do, watch what the things that I do through you, and for you, and to you, and around you. Watch me work says the Lord.

Jan 12, 2025

You find yourself in a church called NoLimits, which is on purpose because this name comes from the Spirit of God. People are to look at you and say, “Are there any limits to what these people can do? How are they accomplishing all of this? How are they doing these things?” That is the purpose of your name. You are the people of NoLimits Church. And it’s not just you as a church that people will say these things, but people are supposed to look at you and your family and the things you are accomplishing and say, “Are there any limits to what that family is doing? How are they able to do that?!” The world around you is going to look at you, and that’s what they are going to say because the Lord is going to lift you up as you humble yourself under His power. He will lift you to this place where people look at you and say, “What in the world is going on with that person? There are no limits to what they can do, are there!?”

As you continue to seek my presence, says the Lord, I will reveal step after step for you. Know this: The answers are found within My Word. What you seek, you will have, says the Lord. What you put your hands to, I will bless, says the Lord. When you step, I will supply the firm foundation you stand upon, says the Lord. For I will not allow you to be ridiculed, mocked, or embarrassed. For I will show forth the fruit through your mighty hands, says the Lord. When I do, I know that you will give Me glory, says the Lord.

Know this, there is a time of shedding coming. There are things that need to be shed off your life. It starts with wrong thinking. How do you do that? Dig into my Word, says the Lord. As you read My Word, read it with an open heart and I will expose the lie. Then it is up to you to receive my truth to replace that lie. For I will begin to pull the weeds out of your life. But it’s your responsibility to sow the Word, and I will bring increase. I will bring the increase, says the Lord.

Authority.

This one word has been stirring in my spirit. And it’s not just me. It is many of you as well. There is an open door right in front of us. The Lord has gone before us and prepared the way for us to annihilate the evil in our nation.

But we will miss a God-ordained opportunity if we don’t exercise our authority properly. The Lord is giving me revelation after revelation about authority so I can teach you and raise up a church that gets it.

God has established a structure of authority in every realm. Even in the angelic realm, there are different positions and ranks of authority. The same is true in this natural realm we live in.

All of us carry positions of authority. There is not one person here who does not have authority over some aspect of life.

But some of us have more authority than others. Some have been called to positions that require a greater level of authority.

We are not all on the same level. There is a God-ordained order to everything. We’re talking about in the home, in the church, in the nation, and at work.

Authority is God’s idea. That’s why we don’t like it very much. His ways are not our ways. But His ways are better. Not only do we all carry positions of authority, but everyone also has areas of submission.

There are times when you lead and times when you follow.

We have a mess on our hands because most Christians have no idea when to exercise authority and when to submit. Wouldn’t you like to know?

Let’s start with an area in which we all have authority. This applies to everyone under the sound of my voice.

You have complete authority over your physical body.

Many fail to distinguish the difference between your spirit and your body. Your physical body is not who you are because you are a spirit that will live forever. If your physical body died today, you would continue living because you are a spirit.

Your spirit would either go to be with the Lord or make it’s way to hell. It’s easy to determine what your outcome would be because there is only one way to heaven: Jesus Christ.

You must believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, born in a human body, sacrificed for your sins, and raised from the dead. And you must make Him Lord of your life. If you don’t do that, you are going to hell. Plain and simple.

Your spirit will live on forever in heaven or hell. The choice is yours. Your physical body was given to you by God. This convergence of our spirit and physical body is an absolute miracle and the pinnacle of God’s creation.

Angels don’t get a physical body. Demons don’t get a physical body. This flesh that we live in is a gift reserved for us, mankind, the magnificence of God’s creation. Doesn’t that give you a new appreciation for what you have? 

I know what we currently live in is tainted by sin and far from God’s original creation. But one day soon, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed.

Our physical body will be made perfect when the Lord returns. No more aches, pains, sickness, or disease. We’ll be able to travel through walls just like Jesus did after He was raised from the dead.

Don’t you find it amazing that God sees fit that we live our eternity in a glorified physical body? He likes this thing He created so much that He’s not going to trash it, but perfect it.

God could have required us to live out eternity as a spirit. He could have just let our physical body die and never resurrected it. But that’s not what He wants.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NLT - But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 

This is the ultimate reward of our salvation. We will all receive glorified, perfected, transformed bodies that will never die or get tired or feel sick.

Believers who have already died are with the Lord as a spirit. They left their physical body behind and are eager for that trumpet to sound so they can return and get their transformed body.

But us. I believe we are the ones who will be transformed while we are still living. When Jesus comes to rapture the church, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air.

What a glorious day that will be. How wonderful it will be to have a body that has been completely freed from decay and death.

But in the meantime, there is still merit to this body we’ve been given. The Lord is not giving us a new body; He is transforming the one we already have.

Your physical body has been given to you as a gift from God. You can’t even put a value on it because it is worth so much.

What you have is so valuable that all of hell rages against you. The enemy wants what you have, so he tries to steal your physical body through demonic oppression.

If that doesn’t work, he goes for the kill through sickness and disease. If you reject that, the enemy tries whatever he can to destroy you.

But God did not give satan a physical body. He gave that to you. This is the area in which we all have authority. My physical body was given to me. I have full authority over what happens to this flesh.

You don’t get to tell me how to cut my hair, or what to eat, or how often I should exercise, or when I can use the restroom. Everything that has to do with this physical body is under my jurisdiction.

Let’s take it a step further. The demonic force of sickness and disease doesn’t get to call the shots. It has no right to my physical body. This thing belongs to me and is under my jurisdiction.

This is why we don’t need to fear demons, either. They only get to inhabit our physical body if we give them an open invitation. Once you evict them, they have no choice. You are the landlord.

Now, let’s go all the way. Your flesh is attracted to sin. It looks for opportunities to usurp your authority. It is a little rebellious at times. Can I get an amen?

But your flesh doesn’t have authority over itself. You have complete authority. So, when your flesh wants to sin, you simply tell it, “No. We’re not doing that.”

Many of you are thinking, “I hear ya. But why am I still sick? Why do I still sin?”

Here’s your answer. Just because you have complete authority over your physical body doesn’t mean you are actively exercising your authority.

Exercising Authority Over Your Body

My family and I live on a little homestead. We have forty chickens, ten sheep, two cows, a horse, and a pony.

In the most recent round of chicks we’ve raised, we ordered two roosters. For whatever reason, they sent us a bonus rooster, so there were three.

We didn’t have roosters before because they are noisy and can be a bit of a hassle. But I felt the need to make our flock self-sustainable.

And I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but if only one gender is present in a relationship, that family will die off rather quickly.

As we raised the roosters, I continually let them know who had the authority at the Young homestead. They would try to peck me, and I would pen them to the ground. Kade is king rooster here. It only took a few weeks of this, and they fully submitted.

A few months ago, one of them decided to test the limits with Beth. When she went outside, it would run up to her from behind and act like it would attack, although it never did… until a week ago.

All it managed to do was claw at her boots, but that’s all it took.  If the kids hadn’t been outside, Beth would have taken care of it right then. But that rooster got an undeserved two-day extension. 

Then came the day of reckoning. Beth pulled back her hair, put war paint on her cheeks, grabbed her favorite gun, kissed it, and walked out the front door like a boss.

The rooster had no idea what was coming. He ran towards her to attack and didn’t make it as far as he had in the past. Pow! That chicken is now fully submitted.

Beth had authority over that rooster the whole time. But because she delayed exercising it, things got out of hand.

That rooster wasn’t attacking me. I had already shown him who was boss. Sometimes, he ran at me from behind, but I would just turn around, and he would stop as he was suddenly reminded of his upbringing.

By the time Beth had an opportunity to teach him who was boss, he had gotten too fast to catch and pin to the ground. She tried other things to no avail. Elimination was the right solution.

Not only did Beth not enjoy being attacked, but momma bear wouldn’t take a chance on one of our kiddos getting harmed by the rooster. Now, I think it was all a set up so I could tell you this story.

You have complete authority over your physical body. When sickness tries to attack it, it’s time to ask yourself, “What would Beth do?”

If you roll over and let sickness trample all over you, there’s nothing God can do to help you. He’s given you authority over your body, and He honors His structure of authority.

God will not usurp your authority. He will not override you. If you refuse to exercise the authority you have over your physical body, don’t blame God. That’s on you.

As much as God wants you healed, He can do nothing until you exercise your authority. He will not violate your authority.

That’s how you know sickness is from the devil because it doesn’t honor authority. It worms its way in when you aren’t paying attention and then acts like it’s the boss.

If you are sick, it’s nothing more than a pest problem.

What do you do when a pest makes its way into your house? Whether it be mice, spiders, or ants, you go on a mission to eliminate every last one of them.

It’s time to get out the war paint and put on your camo. When sickness knocks at your door, you fling that door open like a boss and run it down with your AK-47.

I’m not talking about a gun, either. I am talking about James 4:7. Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee.

Why does he flee? Because he already knows you have the authority. He knows that what you say goes. He knows that you are king rooster.

But he also knows how weak we are at exercising our authority. Satan will run over everyone who will let him. But as soon as you take a stand, he runs off like a little pansy.

Exercising your authority is not a half-hearted action. It is a faith-filled command. It is when you will allow nothing except what you have spoken.

You know what I am talking about. There is a stark contrast between telling your kid, “Now, Joey, I need you to stop doing that,” and “Joey, stop. You will never do that again.”

Our culture has been trained to be soft, and now you see why. The enemy is on mission to get us to stop exercising our authority.

That’s why we have gentle parenting, and no more discipline at schools, and feminism, and an attack on masculinity, and churches that tolerate sin. All of this is the enemy trying to make us weak.

If you give in to any sort of victim mentality, you have submitted yourself to the devil.

If you are blaming your parents, or the government, or your church hurt, or your mean boss for the issues you are facing, the devil has you right where he wants you.

You are not a victim. It doesn’t matter what has happened to you in the past. I know, it sounds like I lack compassion, but that’s not the case. You are not what happened to you.

When you submitted your life to Christ, old things passed away. All things became new. You were adopted into God’s family. You are a child of God. You are the head and not the tail. You are to reign as a king and priest in this life.

You are not a victim. You are victorious. Because no matter what happens to you in this life, in the end, you win. You get to spend eternity with God while the devil and his followers burn in hell.

You are not a victim of sickness or disease or cancer or sin. You have a pest problem. Load your gun with the authority God has given you and run out every trespasser.

You have complete authority over your physical body. No one, not even God, has the authority you do. That physical body is yours. Take charge, bring it into submission, and eliminate everything that doesn’t belong.

God can help you, but you have to ask. I can help you, but you have to ask. There are many here that can help you, but you have to ask.

God will not run over you like the devil does. If you don’t exercise your authority, God will not try to take charge. He honors your authority whether you use it or not.

The devil only honors your authority when you use it.

If you have a sin problem, it’s because you are not exercising your authority. If sickness is prevailing, it’s because you are not exercising your authority.

Maybe you didn’t know you had this level of authority until today. Or, maybe you’ve been trying to manage the devil with gentle parenting.

Either way, I now see a victorious people in front of me. I’ve stirred you to the core of your being to rise up in your authority. You are walking out of here with a boldness you didn’t have before.

No longer will you half-heartedly say things that sound like you are exercising your authority. Oh no. Now, you will issue an endless supply of faith-filled commands.

I REFUSE to be sick. This body belongs to me, and I will not allow sickness, or disease, or generational infirmities to take up residence in this gift God has given me.

I REFUSE to sin. I don’t care how badly this body wants to overeat, or engage in sexual sin, or gossip, or rage with anger. I say no. We’re not doing any of that.

And just like it was for Jesus, I decide when I am going to die. This physical body belongs to me. I call all the shots. I decide what this body is going to do and not do.

How many of you are ready to join me and become completely resolved that you are the only one with complete authority over your physical body?

What about our other areas of authority?

This is just the beginning of our understanding of authority. We still need to unpack how authority works in the home, and in the church, and in the city.

We must know where we have authority and where we don’t. This is the only way the church can come into a place of unity and accomplish what God has set before us.

As much as I would love to keep going and cram you full of teaching on authority, the Lord directed me to stop here.

Take home what you’ve learned today and ponder on it. Keep it at the forefront of your mind all week. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to exercise authority over your physical body.

Don’t miss these opportunities. This is the foundational zone of our authority. If we can’t bring our flesh into subjection, we don’t have any place to exercise authority elsewhere.

Don’t allow your body to talk you into sin. Don’t allow it to be sick. Don’t allow the devil to have even an ounce of control over it. Know your authority and exercise it boldly.

A little over a year ago, I was delivered from a spirit of infirmity. Since then, I’ve had to learn how to not let that unclean spirit return to torture me with sickness.

Many who get delivered only experience short-term relief because they aren’t prepared for the battle ahead. So they easily settle into the same torture they had before.

Then they go to get deliverance again and again. Some travel from deliverance ministry to deliverance ministry. They may experience temporary relief, but nothing lasts.

Well, I’m here to teach you how to remain in a place of freedom. And this is not a theory. What I am about to teach you I have proven over the last year.

When I was delivered in May of 2023, it took me by complete surprise. I had no idea a spirit of infirmity was the cause of the sickness I was experiencing.

Leading up to that point, I had tried many things to find healing. I studied healing in the Bible like nobody's business. I declared healing scriptures over my body. I received prayer.

I tortured myself with detox programs. I starved myself while trying to eat perfectly clean. I eliminated sugar and caffeine. I disciplined myself with daily exercise.

I never even considered that the cause could be demonic because my doctrine at the time was that it was absolutely impossible for a Christian to be tormented by demons.

Yet, I always felt an undercurrent of sickness. I was always tired and slightly irritated, and my gut was always off-balance.

Almost on schedule, it would flare up, and I would wake up in the middle of the night, always on Saturday night, with a terrible stomach ache and violent vomiting.

I chalked it up to something I ate. Although, it was quite peculiar that it always happened on Saturday night as if it was trying to prevent me from going to preach the next morning.

2 Types of Demonic Oppression

Then came the Sunday I preached my first-ever sermon on casting out demons. We dug into the difference between having a demon and being troubled by demons.

In Luke chapter four, there was a man who had a demon. This is what happens when you live a life of sin. Eventually, that darkness takes hold of your mind and you become joined together with an unclean spirit.

Then, in Luke chapter six we find people troubled by demons. This happens when a mob of demons is sent to harass, trouble, and torment you.

The Thayer lexicon refers to this as ‘being molested by demons’.

Either way, whether you have a demon or are being tormented by demons, Jesus gives us a singular solution.

Cast Out Demons

Mark 16:17 NKJV – And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons…

Whether you’ve brought it on yourself by living a life of sin, or you are an innocent bystander being molested by demons, there is one solution: cast it out.

You can’t pray it out. You can’t sing it out. You can’t detox it out. You can’t 10-step program it out. You have to cast it out. What does that mean exactly?

Cast Out - Eject, drive out, expel, banish, pluck out, send away.

In other words, you force the unclean spirit to leave with a stern command. You override its authority with your authority in Christ. You don’t permit it or tolerate it any longer. You expel it. Get out!

The Sunday when I preached this powerful sermon on casting out demons, I was fully unaware that I was about to be delivered.

After the message, I released an unknown language to be interpreted. It started as a calm, bold utterance as usual. But then it transitioned into weeping, followed by shouting, followed by a loud cry and gagging reflex.

I dropped to my knees and thought, “Whoa. That last part wasn’t God. What was that?”

My wife Beth, who usually interprets, said everything flowed 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. Honestly, I didn’t hear what was being said because I was chatting with the Holy Spirit about what just happened.

I will tell you what He was saying to me in that moment, but first, I want to read the two interpretations from that day. They are both quite incredible.

Mason’s Interpretation

"I am upset. Not with you. Not with you. Not with you. I am upset with what the enemy has been allowed to do in this nation I have called that has been founded on Me. Today I am calling you out. All of you. You will set this nation free. In my name, you will set this nation free! I will not let this stand any longer! No more! No more. No more shall it stand.

The adversary is defeated. Act like it! You are not cowering in a foxhole. You are not hiding in a trench. You are on the front lines. You are my warriors! Fight like them! I am not upset with you. I love you. You are my chosen. I love you with all my heart. I sent my Son to die for you! I will not leave you. I will not forsake you. I am your Lord. Now, fight in my stead, and I shall be with you from now until the end of the age."

Beth’s Interpretation

"You will now start your ministry. But it is really My ministry. I started it, and I will finish it. I have anointed you to do this. I will make manifestations happen right in front of you so that you will deal with it. Do not walk away. Do not back up. Instead, walk to it. Walk to it. Walk to it because you have the authority to do something about it because of what I have already done. 

There are several of you who are going to do this at exponential scales. I challenge you now, don’t even come up with a name for your “ministry”. Just go and do the work I have called you to do. Go and do the work that I have called you to do.

I have fully equipped you. But there is something you need to learn. It is in my Word and I will show it to you. Hear my child, it is in My Word and I will show it to you. Go back and read what I told you to read. Go back and study what I have told you to study.

Do not copy someone else’s ministry. I have appointed you, you specifically, to do something no one else can do. And know that I am with you in it. Know that you will see deliverance in front of you. Pray them forth. You will see things with your eyes that you couldn’t even dream of. But watch me work. It is I in you that does the work. It is I in you that does the work. 

Welcome to my ministry, says the Lord. Welcome to my ministry, says the Lord."

Hindsight is 2020, isn’t it? Here we are a year later, and we can see that both interpretations were accurate.

I’m glad I can go back and watch to write them down because I had no idea what was being said in that moment as the Holy Spirit was ministering directly to me.

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

It took me a minute, but I obeyed 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. 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. Apparently, it was quite upset it was getting evicted.

When it was over, I thought, “Was that it?” And then the Holy Spirit said, “Now your body can heal itself.” Then, the person who ministered deliverance said that she discerned it was a spirit of infirmity.

And now, a year later, I can confirm. It was indeed a spirit of infirmity. I am no longer tired all the time. I haven’t vomited since before I was delivered.

There are other things that are more personal. But you can ask my wife and she can confirm that I was once sick and now I’m not.

Easy, Peaceful Deliverance

Know this: Jesus gave you His name. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. So, whatever you say in His name goes. Every demon has to listen to your command.

Casting out demons is easy for those who believe. I’ve learned this over the past year. One hundred percent of the time, when someone comes to me seeking deliverance, they get it. It’s easy.

There’s a common thread in deliverance that happens at NoLimits. First, it always happens. Second, it is peaceful.

That spirit of infirmity that cried as it left me was the last one permitted to make noise. Now, they come out with a simple command, without a display, and the peace of God overwhelms us.

There was a lady who drove all the way here to Owasso, Oklahoma from California seeking deliverance. She didn’t make it in until after the service ended but caught me before I was about to leave.

She knew she was going to get delivered. She was so confident that she set up her phone camera to document the whole thing. She wanted to be able to share it with her family and friends!

We waited for her to get it all set up. Then, when she was ready, I led her to a place of surrender. The Holy Spirit revealed there was forgiveness that needed to take place.

I asked her to search her heart for unforgiveness and asked the Holy Spirit to reveal it to her. Just a few seconds later, she began to forgive her dad.

After that, I calmly but confidently commanded, “Unclean spirit, you leave her now in the name of Jesus.” Immediately, the peace of God rushed in like it was pouring out of heaven.

I asked, “Do you sense that peace?” She smiled and nodded yes, to which I replied, “That’s how you know you’ve been delivered.”

It took her about 10 minutes to set up her camera, all to capture about a 1-minute deliverance. She got up, packed up her stuff, and left with a huge smile on her face.

Another time, I was meeting with a group of men from the church. During the meeting, I began to operate in the discerning of spirits gift and realized that one of them was being tormented by the spirit of grief.

Without discerning of spirits, I would have just assumed it was natural grief because a loved one had just passed away. But the Holy Spirit let me in on the fact that this was more than natural grief. A spirit of grief was tormenting him.

As the meeting ended, I asked him, “How heavy is this grief, anyway?” He began to describe an overwhelming grief in which there was no relief. It was constant.

At that moment, he recognized what it was and surrendered to Christ. With a simple command, and I mean simple, that spirit of grief ran off like a pansy.

I could keep telling you stories; they all have the same thread. Casting out demons is an easy and peaceful experience here at NoLimits, where Jesus Christ rules and reigns.

Why is deliverance hard for some?

So, why do we hear about it being hard for some people to get delivered? Why are there deliverance sessions that last hours? 

The problem is that we know how to cast out demons; we just don’t know when to cast out demons.

But we don’t have to be ignorant, dear brothers and sisters, because Jesus gave us three indicators to determine when to cast out demons.

First is when a demon manifests. Maybe it cries out and interrupts a church service, or maybe it throws someone to the ground.

The second is when someone is completely surrendered to Christ and comes to be healed of their affliction.

Third is when the Discerning of Spirits spiritual gift is active and reveals that deliverance is needed.

This is how we know when to cast out demons. When we start demon hunting, or assuming things are demons, or try to force our will on someone else, that’s when we get into trouble.

Relax. Wait for the demon to manifest, or for a person to come to you seeking deliverance, or for the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to discern spirits.

When any of these three things happen, it’s go time. Casting out demons isn’t just for church leaders, it’s for all who believe in Christ. You’ll get your opportunity, so get ready.

Don’t get wound up about it. Casting out demons is easy. Just wait for the right time, and when it comes, put a smile on your face because you know that demon has no choice but to leave immediately.

If a demon manifests, cast it out, quickly.

If a person comes seeking deliverance, cast out the demon, quickly.

If the Holy Spirit reveals the issue is demonic, cast it out, quickly.

But do not spend your days looking for demons. Do not give your time and attention to demons. Do not assume what is a demon and what is not a demon.

You’ll know when you are dealing with a demonic issue. It will make itself known, or the person will come seeking deliverance, or the Holy Spirit will make it known.

Your intellect was not involved in any of those. So, if you are sitting around trying to figure out, “Is this a demon or not?”, you are wasting your time.

Demons do not get our time and attention. We don’t sit around thinking about demons. There’s only one thing we do with demons: cast them out.

Can you imagine President Trump spending days and days at your house watching you to make sure you take a shower every day and mow the lawn correctly and clean the bathroom?

Absolutely not. That is not even on his list of concerns. I hate to break it to you, but the details of your life will never get the attention of President Trump.

Listen up! You are in God's royal family. You are a co-heir with Christ. As a born-again believer, you’ve earned the status of a king and priest in this life.

Demons aren’t even on your list of concerns. Those piddly, nasty, worthless creatures better stay out of your way. Because they know if they even come close, they’re getting a swift kick in the rear.

You being timid towards a demon is no different than Donald Trump being timid towards you. Just imagine Trump’s response if you tried to intimidate him.

What you just imagined is how you should respond when a demon tries to intimidate you.

“You think you can just show up and waste my time? Get out!”

Let me tell you something that has to stop. We will no longer tolerate this behavior at NoLimits.

“How are you doing, brother?” “Well, I’m under attack. The enemy is really getting to me right now.”

This is the equivalent of saying, “Well, I’m under attack. Those ants keep getting in my house and ruining my day. We’ll never get ahead with the ants tormenting us.”

From now on, I want everyone to have the same response to this type of behavior, “That’s enough. I don’t want to hear another word about these worthless demons. Rise up in your authority in Christ and put an end to it right now.”

Demons do not get our time and attention. We don’t sit around thinking about demons. There’s only one thing we do with demons: cast them out.

Maintaining Deliverance

So, once you are delivered, how do you remain free?

It’s very common for people to return to the same torment, and I’m not having it anymore. Jesus doesn’t give temporary deliverance. When Jesus runs off a demon, it doesn’t get to come back.

So, what’s going on? Are demons coming back? Or is something else going on here?

First, let’s examine the scripture people love to quote about demons coming back worse than they were before.

Matthew 12:43-45 NLT - “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Jesus didn’t say this to make you afraid of demons. He wasn’t even talking to the born-again believer. He was talking to people who refused to believe in Christ as Messiah.

If you read it in context, you’ll find He is talking directly to the Pharisees who refused to repent and believe. This is a message for the unbeliever.

When a demon is cast out of an unbeliever, if they then refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, that demon will come back with its buddies, and they’ll be worse off than before.

But as a born-again believer, your house ain’t empty. It is full of the Holy Spirit! The same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead lives in you! 

Even if that demon did try to come back, the Holy Spirit would be standing at the door with His AK-47.

I found out what we call it an AK-47. It has to be because of James 4:7. Take a look:

James 4:7 NKJV - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Now, you will be able to remember where this scripture is. This is your AK-47 scripture. It is the weapon that guards your house and prevents demons from entering.

Since I am submitted to God, when I resist the devil, he runs off like the little wuss he is. You don’t have to worry about demons coming back as long as you a submitted to God.

And really, isn’t that what salvation is? The scriptures say to believe Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and confess Him as Lord and you will be saved.

If Jesus is Lord, that means you are submitted, does it not? If you aren’t submitted, then Jesus isn’t Lord. If you are living your own way, then Jesus isn’t Lord.

If you gripe about being submitted to God, then you are not submitted to God. You may be putting on some kind of performance, but that’s all it is.

True submission is not just in action but in motive. That’s why other translations of James 4:7 say, “Humble yourself before God”.

Humility is a required ingredient of submission.

Here’s what true submission sounds like, “You're in charge, and I’m not. How can I serve you? I have ideas, but yours are better. What would you like done?”

If there is a gripe session going on in your head while you are “submitting”, it is not submission. It’s a facade. It’s a lie. It’s deception. You are deceiving yourself if you think that is submission.

This is hard for us Americans. Submission is not our forte. But the reality is, when we are not submitted, we are in pride. And God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

So, check yourself. Are you humble before God? Have you truly submitted yourself to Him?

If so, you can be confident that the Holy Spirit guards your house with His AK-47. There’s no chance that a demon will get back in. No chance. Nada.

But if you don't do the second part of that verse, there might be a lot of obnoxious noise outside your house. The demons might be outside protesting their eviction.

This is what most people are dealing with when they get delivered and then find themselves back in the same type of torment. It's not worse than it was, but there is a battle going on.

Since you are submitted to God, the demons can’t get back in. But they will stand outside and mock you until you run them off.

You’ll have thoughts like this: “Why do you have a headache today? It’s because you weren’t really delivered. It won’t be long and you’ll be worse off than you were before.”

This kind of attack is no different than how the deep state hires the media to spew their lies over and over and over until people start to believe them.

The issue at this point is not deliverance. You don’t need to be delivered again and again. You need to shut down the protest by resisting the devil. As soon as you resist, he will flee. It’s a promise.

How do we resist? Jesus demonstrated it for us when He was sent into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil.

Did Jesus tolerate the crafty lies of the enemy? No. He immediately countered them by speaking the written Word of God.

You can’t let these lies float around in your head all day—not even for a second. You must answer every lie by speaking the Word of God. Not thinking, but speaking.

Every time you have a thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, you spring into action immediately. For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord God and serve Him only.”

If you are not well versed in the scriptures, you might have to take some time to find the scripture that slaughters the lie you are dealing with.

In these moments, you should fast-track yourself by reaching out to others in the church. After a few phone calls, I bet you’ll find the scripture you are looking for.

You even have a weapon that is the best of all—it’s like the golden gun in the 007 game. Pray in the spirit.

If you don’t have a scripture to speak, pray in the spirit while you find the scripture. If you have a scripture, speak it and pray in the spirit.

Resist!

Quit tolerating the devil. Resist! 

Quit allowing attacks from the devil. Resist!

When temptation comes. Resist!

The church has become soft, but we are done with that. We will not be known as a soft church. We will be known as a church who destroys the works of the devil.

The gates of hell cannot prevail against NoLimits Church. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. He has anointed us to preach the Gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, free those who are oppressed, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Ephesians 6 puts a nice summary on this message. Let’s turn there together.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Remember what the Lord said through Mason the day I was delivered from a spirit of infirmity?

“The adversary is defeated. Act like it! You are not cowering in a foxhole. You are not hiding in a trench. You are on the front lines. You are my warriors! Fight like them! I am not upset with you. I love you. You are my chosen. I love you with all my heart. I sent my Son to die for you! I will not leave you. I will not forsake you. I am your Lord. Now, fight in my stead, and I shall be with you from now until the end of the age.”

There is significance to what Trump said after that assassination attempt. He stood to his feet and said, “Fight, fight, fight.”

He was echoing what heaven is saying to the church. It’s time to fight the good fight of faith. And we don’t fight, wondering if we will win. We fight, knowing we’ve already won.

We are to resist the devil in our own lives, and we are to resist the devil collectively on behalf of the United States of America. And as we resist the devil, he will run, run, run.

It’s so easy to get distracted by drag queen story hour in our schools and the PRIDE displays at the store. These are legitimate issues, but symptoms of the main issue.

If we can cut this thing off at the root, all the symptoms will fade away. But if we focus on the symptoms, we’ll fight hard with no real resolve. So, let’s get our focus on the right place.

Sodom and Gomorrah

What we are dealing with is nothing new. These issues have been around forever. We have ancient records of cultures having a sexual identity crisis. One of the most familiar is Sodom and Gomorrah.

Four thousand years ago, a man named Lot was visited by two angels. He invited them into his home. While they were there, look at what happened:

Genesis 19:4-5 NLT - But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

This city was so messed up that ALL the men in the city demanded to have sex with what they thought were the two new men in town when, in fact, they were angels.

Lot tried to protect the angels by offering his two virgin daughters in their place. (Again, this place was messed up.) But they didn’t want the daughters; they wanted the men.

At this point, the angels blinded the men so that none of them could find their way inside. They finally gave up and left. God then totally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because the sin there became so extreme.

This was over four thousand years ago! But the same problems have resurfaced several times throughout history.

Goddess Ishtar

About 2,400 years ago, we have records of a goddess named Ishtar. Most people know her as the goddess of love, fertility, and sex. But she is also the goddess of war.

How could one goddess be known for both love and war? That’s our first indicator that this is really a spirit that causes confusion. One that occupies both ends of the spectrum.

On ancient Mesopotamian tablets, the goddess described herself as follows: “When I sit in the alehouse, I am a woman, and I am an exuberant young man.”

In other words, Ishtar was a woman and, simultaneously, a man. She could go back and forth and express the characteristics of either gender.

You’ll also find an ancient Sumerian hymn that says, “...turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, to change one into the other…”

This goddess had male priests who presented themselves as women. They wore women’s clothing, put on makeup, and paraded themselves around. Sound familiar?

There was one month out of the year when this goddess especially possessed culture. Want to guess what it was? June. And she was even known as the goddess of pride.

This same problem has resurfaced time and time again, each time under a new name and disguise. What once was referred to as Ishtar is now referred to as LGBTQ.

Infiltrating America

This war cannot be won if we are fighting a distraction. We are not fighting people. We are fighting against an ancient demonic spirit that has been allowed to infiltrate our culture.

There was a time when the LGBTQ issue was not common in America. It was around but extremely rare and kept in the shadows. America was a culture that had been cleansed of this demon.

But take a look at what happens when we drop the ball:

Matthew 12:43-45 NLT - When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.

Notice that for the demons to return, the house must be empty.

America was once full of God. The Bible was required reading in school. Every day started with prayer. Church was prioritized over everything else, even kids’ sports.

But then, in 1962, prayer was taken out of schools. A few years later, the feminist movement took off. Soon after, in 1973, it became legal to murder children in the womb.

This house we call America was once full of God. But when we took God out, it gave place for these ancient evil spirits to come in and possess an entire generation.

How It Possessed America 

This ancient spirit has three main strategies. First, it alters the definition of male and female. Then, it works to feminize males and masculinize females. Finally, it has completed its goal of blurring the lines of sexuality and gender.

How does this spirit manifest in women?

They develop a disdain for male leadership. They buy into the feminism movement—or maybe I should say “women’s rights”—and gloat about their independence, saying, “I don’t need a man. I can do it myself.” They covet a man’s job.

How does it manifest in men?

They act like overgrown children living in their mom’s basement. They are unfit for leadership. They are weak and pitiful, walking around with a victim mentality. They become consumed with appearance.

From Feminism to LGBTQ

Make no mistake. What started as feminism has become LGBTQ and every sexual perversion you see today.

Feminism was the bait offered by this ancient demonic spirit. A majority of women took it hook, line, and sinker. This evil spirit used these women to accomplish the end goal.

Now, feminism has been destroyed by transgenderism. What was supposedly “women’s rights” was really a war on women. Our culture doesn’t even know what a woman is anymore.

Altering the God-assigned role of males and females is how it all started. For the enemy to get the foothold he has now gained, he had to blur the lines and disguise it as equality.

Once the foundation was laid, this ancient demonic spirit could unleash the sexual and gender identity crises going on today.

The Real Enemy

Can you see who the real enemy is? Here’s how Ephesians explains it:

Ephesians 6:12 NLT - For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

We are at war with evil spirits. Don’t get distracted by what you see. Keep your focus on the real issue so we can cut it off at the root.

A massive move of deliverance is coming for those being tormented by these evil spirits. As soon as we realize it’s a spiritual issue, we can exercise our authority in Christ to cast out evil spirits and free the captives.

Demon Possession Explained

Now that we know the problem, how do we eliminate it? Let’s turn to Jesus for the answer.

Luke 4:33-36 NLT - Once when he [Jesus] 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 New Living Translation uses the word possess. And that’s how most of us would think about a situation like this. We would call them possessed.

But take a look at what the New King James Version says:

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.

What does this word translated to had in the NKJV and possess in NLT actually mean?

In the original Greek language, the word is “echo,” and it means:

• To hold in the hand; to wear
• To have possession of the mind
• To be joined together

Notice it says nothing about having possession of your spirit. Yet that is how most of us think about demonic issues. We think it’s a full-on possession, spirit, soul, and body.

This line of thinking gives the devil too much credit. I’ve yet to find where the Bible says a demon can possess a person’s spirit.

Your body? Yes. Your mind? Yes. And digging into this Greek word echo gives us insight into how this happens.

The Progression

Demonic issues don't happen overnight. There is a normal progression.

It all starts when someone begins to hold on to the things of the devil, putting them on and wearing them like clothing. We’re talking about any kind of sin that you embrace. As you continue to wear these things, the devil takes possession of your mind.

At this point, you can’t stop thinking about that sin. Your thoughts drive you deeper and deeper into darkness.

As the thoughts progress, soon you become joined together with this thing, much like a marriage. No longer can you just casually walk away from it. Now you have to get a full-on divorce.

That’s why the demon threw the man on the ground on its way out in the previously mentioned scripture. Divorce is not pretty.

How the LGBTQ Spirit Takes Root

If you read my book, Jesus Ain’t Woke, you know that I was delivered from homosexuality. This progression outlined in the previous chapter matches exactly what I went through.

It started with me picking it up and putting it back down. Picking it up again and putting it back down. Then I picked it up and put it on, wearing it like an article of clothing. It didn’t take long before it possessed my mind.

At that point, I became joined together with this unclean spirit. I had a demon. But only because I opened the door and allowed it in.

This will throw you for a loop. I grew up in church. My grandpa was a pastor. We were in church every Sunday and every Wednesday. I loved God. I loved the church. I loved Jesus.

I was even leading a youth worship band. God’s presence would fill the room in the midst of the worship services I was leading. Yet, I was joined together with an unclean spirit. I had a demon.

Did I feel conflicted inside? Oh, yeah. I should have been diagnosed as bipolar because I was one person at church and another at school. Almost daily, I would be thrilled by the unclean spirit, and then be crying out for God’s forgiveness that night.

No one knew I was being tormented. When I was at church, I was all in. When I was with the wrong crowd, I was all in. Those on both sides of my life thought I was good. But I wasn’t.

I thought it was just me. I was fighting myself. I was asking God for forgiveness. I was making promises that I would never do it again. But nothing was working.

Add to all this, various people were telling me, “Why are you fighting this? It’s how you were born. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Speaking of which, let’s pause for a moment while I counter that lie right now.

Born gay?

There is no proof that homosexuality is a genetic disposition that cannot be escaped. Even Harvard did a study and could not prove people are born gay.

It’s well known in the scientific community that if homosexuality were genetic, then if one identical twin were homosexual, 100% of the time, the other would be too. But that’s not the case.

So, there’s nothing to prove that people are born gay. But there are plenty of people who can prove otherwise.

No one is born gay. Homosexuality is a demonic stronghold from which people can be delivered. Jesus gives every believer the power to live in freedom.

Other Demonic Causes

Although the previous two chapters revealed one of the most common causes of demonic issues, there are others that need to be examined. This scripture provides more insight into how demons torment people.

Luke 6:17-19 NLT - When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

In Luke 4, Jesus delivered a man who HAD a demon. This scripture says He delivered those TROUBLED by demons. Let’s dig into the word translated to 'troubled' so we can understand the difference.

• To excite a mob against one
• To harass, disturb, trouble
• To be molested by demons

Wow. That last definition brings a lot of clarity. Some people with demons were molested by demons at a young age or at a weak point in their lives. 

There’s a study that proves this. The study found that sexually abused young males are up to 70% more likely to self-identify as gay than their peers who were not abused.

Many of those who struggle with their sexual identity do so because of something that happened when they were young. 

They may have been introduced to pornography at a young age. Or, they may have even been sexually abused by someone of the same sex. Whatever the case, they were essentially molested and tormented by the demonic realm.

Out of Hiding

Now we know that people can have demons because they opened the door by engaging in sin or demonic things. Others have demons because they were molested by demons.

There are even those who had a mob of demons sent against them. And, because they didn’t know their authority in Christ, they continue to deal with those demons today.

Whatever the cause, in order to receive deliverance, you must first recognize you need it. That demon has to come out of hiding so it can be cast out.

Exposing Evil Spirits

In Luke, chapter four, the man with an unclean spirit came to church that day and sat quietly, listening to Jesus teach.

We don’t know for sure, but I bet he went to church that day in search of a way out of his torment. He’d heard about the amazing teaching of Jesus and probably thought, “He has the answer.”

The teaching of Jesus was so agitating to the demon that it cried out. It couldn’t hide any longer. It knew its time was limited. With a simple command, Jesus delivered this man from his torment. He made the demon leave, but he let the man stay.

These days, when there is a manifestation like this at church, many church leaders would leave the demon in the person, but ask the person to leave. Let me remind you of what Jesus actually told us to do regarding this:

Mark 16:17 NKJV - And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons…

An automatic sign of following Jesus is casting out demons. There are others as well, but the first on the list is casting out demons. If it’s the first on the list, that means it will be a frequent occurrence. So, what’s going on?

Where are the demons?

I’ve been in church for 35 years. I was a worship leader for ten years. I’ve been a lead pastor for five years. But it wasn’t until recently that I began to witness demons being cast out of people.

Does that mean there were no demons around here all this time? Or have we become so accustomed to them that we let them hang around?

All a person has to do is look at the state of our nation to know that demons are definitely having a heyday in America. That means it must be the latter. We have become desensitized to unclean spirits.

They do their best to fly under the radar. Demons do not want to be noticed. But why have we been allowing them to do so?

Why don’t we do what Jesus did and agitate them so much that they must manifest? This is an important part of deliverance because if we don’t know it’s there, how can we cast it out?

Unhindered Word of God

The bold teaching of Jesus agitated that demon so much that it came out of hiding and manifested itself. So that’s the first step. Agitate the demons with the unhindered Word of God.

You can’t water it down. You can’t skirt around unpopular issues like homosexuality. The only way to agitate the demonic realm is with the unhindered Word of God. It must come out of your mouth like a sword.

Casting Out Demons

But you can’t just stop there. Once the demon makes itself known, you have to cast it out.

Most Christians would get scared at this point, as if the demon has more power than they do. Most church leaders would try to “protect the church’s reputation” by removing the person.

Jesus told us to do neither of those. He didn’t say to run and hide. He didn’t say to keep things nice and calm. He said to cast out demons. It should be a regular occurrence.

Demons Hanging Around

So why are we letting demons hang around? Because we’ve been duped. Casting out demons is too messy. It doesn’t fit into our perfect-performance church services.

It doesn’t work with the seeker-sensitive church model, where we are urged to create church services that make lost people comfortable.

Nothing about following Jesus was promised to be comfortable! He never told us to make people comfortable. Actually, He made it very clear that following Him is uncomfortable. You have to crucify your flesh daily!

On top of all this comfort nonsense, we’ve been taught that a Christian cannot have a demon. So people are going to church every Sunday while living in a constant state of torment.

We tell them to read the Bible more. We tell them to go see the doctor and get meds. We tell them to go through a 12-step program.

At the risk of making enemies, I still have to make this known. If a demon is causing the torment, the only way to get rid of it is to cast it out. Medicine won’t work. Prayer won’t work. Memorizing scripture won’t work. Not for this!

We must stop devising our own solutions and do what Jesus told us to do: cast the demons out!

Am I saying that everything is a demon? No. But on the other hand, we can’t keep acting like nothing is a demon.

Just look at the ministry of Jesus. One of the first things He did was cast out a demon. Then He kept at it, casting out demons everywhere He went. Then He had His disciples cast out demons. Then He told us to cast out demons.

This tells me that there are demons to be cast out. And they are not just tormenting non-believers. They are tormenting people right within the church.

Christians and Demons

Even as a born-again believer, you can pick up sin and put it back down. You can pick it up and put it on. You can keep it around so that it consumes your mind and then joins together with you.

That was me. I was joined together with that unclean spirit of homosexuality. Until one day, I’d had enough.

I was in my bedroom seeking God when I dropped to my knees and said, “God, I don’t just want your forgiveness. I want freedom. Take this thing from me so I can live for you.”

At that moment, I sensed something leave my body. And in its place, I was overwhelmed with the love of God. I was weeping uncontrollably because I knew I was finally free.

Deliverance happens in a moment.

After this, I was no longer consumed with homosexuality. It still presented itself as a temptation, but now I had the power to overcome it.

I am overjoyed to report that I haven’t picked up that sin since the day I was delivered. Not only that, but I'm enjoying a 16-year marriage with my beautiful wife, and God has given us five precious children!

Now, if Satan presents his temptation, it's quite humorous. First of all, I am no longer a slave to sin. God provides a way out of every temptation. Plus, why would I risk my family to engage in something set to destroy me? Satan is a loser.

Ready for freedom?

Do you need freedom? Make a decision right now to cut ties with that unclean spirit so it can be cast out. Because if you want to keep it, God will not override your will. It’s up to you.

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

If you are afraid that it will come out screaming, throw you on the ground, and ruin your reputation, that demon is perfectly fine hiding behind your pride.

But as soon as you find out the torment in your life is caused by a demon and you decide to cut ties with it no matter how ugly the divorce is, freedom is yours, my friend.

This all sounds terrifying, but it’s really not. Expose the demon, surrender to Jesus Christ, and use His authority to command the demons to come out.

Maintaining Freedom

Once you are free, you must know your authority in Christ so you don’t open yourself back up to the same torment. You can also use the same authority to help others find freedom.

That’s why I am wrapping up with a brief explanation of the authority of Christ. 

All Authority

After Jesus rose from the dead, He had a few things to tell the disciples before He ascended into heaven. Here is one of them:

Matthew 28:18 NLT - Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”

How much authority? All. Jesus is the King of Kings.

Where does the authority work? In heaven and on earth. Jesus has all authority in the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

Can you see why the modern representation of Jesus as this super nice guy who tolerates everything is so dangerous? That’s a counterfeit Jesus. People are believing in a fake Jesus and will end up in hell if they don’t meet the real Jesus.

The real Jesus is a boss. God has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. His power is unmatched. All things are under His jurisdiction.

If you picture Him as the tolerant Jesus, you cannot live under His authority. Don’t buy into a hippy Jesus. That’s not who He is. He is the King of Kings. His strength is endless. His power is unmatched.

Submission Required

I hope you can now see Jesus as He really is. Yes, He is your savior. But in order to spend eternity with Him, He has to be more than just your savior. He has to be your Lord. Let me put it to you this way: 

There will be no one in heaven who refuses to submit to the authority of Christ.

Salvation requires you to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. You must bow to the King of kings.

Can you be saved and gay?

This brings up a common question. Can you be saved and gay? Even those who have never struggled with homosexuality probably know someone who has. So this is a question almost every Christian wrestles with at some point. 

The Bible says that salvation requires two things.

First, you must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Second, you must openly declare Jesus is your Lord.

When you declare Jesus as Lord, it means you have decided to abandon your desires and submit to the way of Jesus. He knows you won’t get it perfect. Perfection is not required. Quick repentance is what is required. 

When King Jesus tells you to get something out of your life, you quickly turn away from that thing and follow Jesus.

So, can you be saved and gay? Maybe for a little while. But it doesn’t take long to figure out that homosexuality is not the way of Christ. And since Jesus is Lord, you leave that lifestyle as you submit to Christ.

If you don’t abandon homosexuality, you reveal that Jesus isn’t your Lord. Instead, you are saying, “My way is better.” 

That’s why this is called the PRIDE movement because everyone who participates is saying, “My way is better. I don’t care that I just destroyed my family. I don’t care that God considers it an abomination. I’m going to do what I want.”

But know this. When Jesus becomes not just your Savior but your Lord, when you truly submit yourself to Him, He will give you the power to live free from homosexuality. He did it for me, and He can do it for you.

And here’s the best part. As soon as you submit to His authority, you have His authority. You don’t have to be tormented by demons anymore. 

Using the Authority of Christ

How do we know that we can operate under the authority of Christ?

Luke 9:1-2 NLT - One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.

Jesus gives His authority to His followers, complete with instructions on how to use it: cast out demons and heal all diseases.

Like most American Christians, I used to ignore the first part of this instruction to cast out demons. I reasoned that it was only needed in other countries. 

Well, I'm not going to ignore it anymore. With His authority, I will live in freedom and set the captives free, just like Jesus told me to. Will you join me?

You don’t have to tolerate demons. Submit yourself to Jesus Christ and use His authority to live in freedom. Then, use that same authority to lead others to freedom in Christ.

Let's cleanse our nation of these ancient evil spirits.

The most popular video on our church YouTube channel is a message I brought you last year to combat PRIDE month. It was called LGBT FAQ. I answered common questions christians have about homosexuality. Are people born gay? Can you be saved and gay? What if I struggle with same sex attraction?

I answered all those questions and more. Go watch that video this afternoon on the NoLimits Church YouTube channel if you are looking for those answers. Seeing how that message was so needed, I can’t let PRIDE month go by without going further to help you navigate this issue. Now, I am going to expose what is truly behind the LGBTQ movement.

It’s so easy to get distracted by drag queen story hour, what’s happening at Target, and poor ole Bud Light. These are legitimate issues, but they are really just symptoms of the main issue. If we can cut this thing off at the root, all the symptoms will fade away. But if we focus on the symptoms, we’ll fight hard with no real resolve. So, let’s get our focus on the right place.

The Ancient Spirit

What we are dealing with is nothing new. These issues have been around forever. We have ancient records of cultures having a sexual identity crisis. One of the most familiar is Sodom and Gomorrah. Four thousand years ago, a man named Lot was visited by two angels. He invited them into his home. While they were there, look at what happened:

Genesis 19:4-5 NLT - But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

This city was so messed up that all the men of the city demanded to have sex with what they thought were the two new men in town, when in fact, they were angels. Lot tried to protect the angels by offering his two virgin daughters in their place. Again, this place was messed up. But they didn’t want the daughters, they wanted the men.

At this point, the angels blinded the men so that none of them could find their way inside. They ended up giving up and left. This was over four thousand years ago! The same stuff we are dealing with today.

God ended up destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because the sin there became so extreme. But the same problems have resurfaced several times throughout history. About 2,400 years ago, we have record of a goddess named Ishtar.

Ishtar

Most people know her as the goddess of love, fertility, and sex. But she is also the goddess of war. How could one goddess be known for both love and war? That’s our first indicator that this is really a spirit that causes confusion. One that occupies both ends of the spectrum.

On ancient Mesopotamian tablets, you’ll find this is how the goddess described herself, “When I sit in the alehouse, I am a woman, and I am an exuberant young man.”

In other words, Ishtar was a woman and, at the same time, a man. She could go back and forth and express the characteristics of either gender. You’ll also find an ancient Sumerian hymn that says, “...turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, to change one into the other…”

This goddess had male priests that presented themselves as women. They wore women's clothing, put on makeup, and paraded themselves around. Sound familiar? There was one month out of the year when this goddess especially possessed culture. Want to guess what it was? June. And she was even known as the goddess of pride.

How has it gotten this far in America?

This same problem has resurfaced time and time again. Each time, under a new name and disguise. What once was referred to as Ishtar is now referred to as LGBTQ. This war cannot be won if we are fighting a distraction. We are not fighting people. We are fighting against an ancient demonic spirit that has been allowed to infiltrate our culture.

There was a time when these issues were not common in America. They were around but extremely rare and kept in the shadows. America was a culture that had been cleansed of this demon. But take a look at what happens when we drop the ball:

Matthew 12:43-45 NLT - When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Notice that for the demons to return, the house has to be left empty. America was once full of God. The Bible was required reading in school. Every day started with prayer. Church was prioritized over everything else, even kids' sports.

Then, in 1962, prayer was taken out of schools. Just a few years later, the feminist movement took off. Then, in 1973, it became legal to murder children in the womb. This house we call America was once full of God. But when we took God out, it gave place for these ancient evil spirits to come in and possess an entire generation.

The ancient spirit we are talking about today has three goals:

1. Alter the definition of male and female
2. Feminize males and masculinize females
3. Wage war by blurring the lines of sexuality and gender

How does this spirit manifest in women?

They develop a disdain for male leadership. They buy into the feminism movement, or maybe I should say ‘women’s rights’. They gloat about their independence, saying, “I don’t need a man. I can do it myself.” They covet a man’s job.

How does it manifest in men?

They act like overgrown children living in their mom’s basement. They are unfit for leadership. They are weak and pitiful, walking around with a victim mentality. They become consumed with appearance.

Feminism and LGBTQ

Make no mistake. What started as feminism has become LGBTQ and every sexual perversion you see today. Feminism was the bait offered by this ancient demonic spirit. A majority of women took it hook, line, and sinker. This evil spirit used these women to accomplish the end goal.

Now, feminism has been destroyed by transgenderism. What was supposedly “women’s rights” was really a war on women. Our culture doesn’t even know what a woman is anymore.

Altering the God-assigned role of males and females is how it all started. For the enemy to get the foothold he has, he had to blur the lines and disguise it as equality. Once the foundation was laid, this ancient demonic spirit could unleash the sexual and gender identity crises going on today.

Can you see who the real enemy is? Take a look at how Ephesians explains it:

Ephesians 6:12 NLT - For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

We are at war with evil spirits. Don’t get distracted by what you see. Keep your focus on the real issue so we can cut it off at the root.

I believe a massive move of deliverance is coming for those being tormented by these evil spirits. As soon as we realize it is a spiritual issue, we can exercise our authority in Christ to cast it out and free the captives.

How to Get Free

Now that we know the problem, how do we eliminate it? Let’s turn to Jesus for the answer. We talked about this a few weeks ago. But since casting out demons is kind of new for us, I want to refresh your memory.

Luke 4:33-36 NLT - 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.

The New Living Translation uses the word “possess”. It said, “a man possessed by a demon.” And that’s how most of us would think about a situation like this. We would call them possessed. But let’s take a look at what the New Kings James Version says:

Luke 4:33 NKJV - Now in the synagogue, there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.

So, this got me curious. What does this word translated to “had” in the NKJV and “possess” in NLT actually mean?

In the original Greek language, the word is “echo,” and it means:

• To hold in the hand; to wear
• To have possession of the mind
• To be joined together

Notice it said nothing about having possession of your spirit. Yet that is how most of us think about demonic issues. We think it is a full-on possession, spirit, soul, and body. You are giving the devil too much credit. I’ve yet to find where the Bible says a demon can possess your spirit.

Your body? Yes. Your mind? Yes. And digging into the Greek word “echo” gives us insight into how this happens. It all starts when someone begins to hold on to the things of the devil. Then they start to wear them like clothing.

We’re talking about any kind of sin that you embrace. As you continue to wear these things, the devil takes possession of your mind. Now you can’t stop thinking about it. Your thoughts drive you deeper and deeper into darkness.

Then you become joined together with this thing, much like a marriage. No longer can you just casually walk away from it. Now you have to get a full-on divorce. Here’s a simplified version of this progression:

• Pick up sin and put it on
• Takes possession of your mind
• Become joined together

That’s why the demon threw the man on the ground on its way out. Divorces are not pretty.

My Deliverance

If you read my book, Jesus Ain’t Woke, you know that I was delivered from homosexuality. This progression matches exactly what I went through. It started with me picking it up and putting it back down. Picking it up again and putting it back down. Then I picked it up and put it on. It didn’t take long before it possessed my mind.

Then, I became joined together with this unclean spirit. I had a demon. But only because I opened the door and allowed it in. This will throw you for a loop. I grew up in church. My grandpa was a pastor. We were in church every Sunday and every Wednesday.

I loved God. I loved the church. I loved Jesus. I was even leading a youth worship band. God’s presence would manifest in the midst of these worship services I was leading. Yet, I was joined together with an unclean spirit. I had a demon.

Did I feel conflicted inside? Oh, yeah. I should have been diagnosed as bipolar because I was one person at church and another at school. Almost daily, I would be thrilled by the unclean spirit and then be crying out for forgiveness from God that night.

No one knew I was being tormented. When I was a church, I was all in. When I was with the wrong crowd, I was all in. Both sides of my life thought I was good. But I wasn’t. I thought it was me. I was fighting myself. I was asking God for forgiveness. I was making promises that I would never do it again. But nothing was working.

Are people born gay?

Then people were telling me, “Why are you fighting this? It’s how you were born. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Speaking of, I want to counter that lie right now. There is nothing to prove that homosexuality is a genetic disposition that cannot be escaped. Even Harvard did a study and could not prove people are born gay.

It’s well known in the scientific community that if homosexuality were genetic, then if one identical twin were homosexual, 100% of the time, the other would be too. But it’s not the case.

So there’s nothing to prove that people are born gay. But there are plenty of people who can prove otherwise. I am one of many who used to be a full-on homosexual. But now, for more than 16 years, I have been a full-on heterosexual like God designed me - a man of one wife.

No one is born gay. Homosexuality is a demonic stronghold to be delivered from. And Jesus gives you the power to step into freedom. He did it for me. He can do it for you.

Casting out the demonic stronghold

So this man we were reading about that had an unclean spirit, he came to church that day. He was just sitting there quietly, listening to Jesus teach.

We don’t know for sure, but I bet he went to look for a way out of his torment that day. He heard about the amazing teaching of Jesus and probably thought, “He has the answer.” The teaching of Jesus was so agitating to the demon that it cried out. It couldn’t hide any longer. It knew its time was limited.

So with a simple command, Jesus delivered this man from his torment. He made the demon leave but let the man stay. These days, when there is a manifestation like this at church, we leave the demon in the person and ask the person to leave.

Let me remind you of what Jesus actually told us to do regarding this:

Mark 16:17 NKJV - And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons…

The first on the list is casting out demons. If it's the first on the list, that means it will be a frequent occurrence. So, what’s going on? I’ve been in church for 34 years. I was a worship leader for 10 years. I’ve been a lead pastor for 5 years. And it wasn’t until about a month ago that I began to see demons cast out of people.

Are there no demons around anymore?

Does that mean there were no demons around here all this time? Or have we become so used to them that we let them hang around? All you have to do is look at the state of our nation to know that demons are definitely having a heyday in America. So, it must be the latter. We have become desensitized to unclean spirits.

They do their best to fly under the radar. Demons do not want to be noticed. But why have we been allowing them to do so? Why don’t we do what Jesus did and agitate them so much that they must manifest? This is an important part of deliverance because if we don’t know it’s there, how can we cast it out?

The bold teaching of Jesus agitated that demon so much that it came out of hiding and manifested itself. So that’s the first step. Agitate the demons with the unhindered Word of God. You can’t water it down.

You can’t skirt around unpopular issues like homosexuality. The only way to agitate the demonic realm is with the unhindered Word of God. It comes out of your mouth like a sword. But you can’t just stop there. Once the demon makes itself known, you have to cast it out.

Most Christians would just get scared at this point as if the demon has more power than they do. Most church leaders would try to “protect the church’s reputation” by removing the person.

Jesus told us to do neither of those. He didn’t say to run and hide. He didn’t say to keep things nice and calm. He said to cast out demons. It should be happening on the regular.  So why are we letting demons hang around? Because we’ve been duped.

Casting out demons is too messy. It doesn’t fit into our perfect performance church services. It doesn’t work with the seeker-sensitive church model, where we are urged to create church services that make lost people comfortable.

It's time to forget about comfort...

Nothing about following Jesus was promised to be comfortable! He never told us to make people comfortable. Actually, He made it very clear that following Him is uncomfortable. You have to crucify your flesh daily!

On top of all this comfort nonsense, we’ve been taught that a Christian cannot have a demon. So people are going to church every Sunday while living in a constant state of torment. We tell them to read the Bible more. We tell them to go see the doctor and get meds. We tell them to go through a 12-week program.

Can I tell you something? If a demon is causing the torment, the only way to get rid of it is to cast it out. Medicine won’t work. Prayer won’t work. Memorizing scripture won’t work. Not for this! We must stop trying to devise our own solutions and do what Jesus told us to do: cast out demons!

Am I saying that everything is a demon? No. But we can’t keep acting like nothing is a demon. Just look at the ministry of Jesus. One of the first things He did was cast out a demon. Then He kept at it, casting out demons everywhere He went.

Then He had His disciples cast out demons. Then He told us to cast out demons. This tells me that there are demons to be cast out. And they are not just tormenting non-believers. They are tormenting people right within the church.

We have to stop picking up sin...

Even as a born-again believer, you can pick up sin and put it back down. You can pick it up and put it on. You can keep it around so that it consumes your mind and then joins together with you. That was me. I was joined together with that unclean spirit of homosexuality. Until one day, I had enough.

I was in my bedroom seeking God when I dropped to my knees and said, “God, I don’t just want your forgiveness. I want freedom. Take this thing from me so I can live for you.”

At that moment, I sensed something leave my body. And in its place, I was overwhelmed with the love of God. I was weeping uncontrollably because I knew I was finally free.

Deliverance happens in a moment.

After this, I was no longer consumed with homosexuality. It still presented itself as a temptation, but now I had the power to overcome it. For every temptation, Jesus provides a way out.

I am overjoyed to report that I haven’t picked up that sin since the day I was delivered over 16 years ago. Now, if satan presents his temptation, I just chuckle and carry on. He’s an idiot. Let’s head to Luke 6, where we gain more insight into how demons torment people.

How Demon's Torment

Luke 6:17-19 NLT - When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

In Luke 4, Jesus delivered a man who HAD a demon. This scripture says He delivered those TROUBLED by demons. Let’s dig into the word translated to troubled so we can understand the difference.

• To excite a mob against one
• To harass, disturb, trouble
• To be molested by demons

Wow. That last definition brings a lot of clarity. Some people with demons were molested by demons at a young age or at a weak point in their life. There’s a study that proves this. It found that sexually abused young males are up to seven times more likely to self-identify as gay than their peers who were not abused.

Many of those who struggle with their sexual identity do so because of something that happened when they were young. They were molested, which allowed demons to torment them. Now we know people can have demons because they opened the door by engaging in sin or demonic things.

Others have demons because they were molested by demons. There are even those who had a mob of demons sent against them. And, because they didn’t know their authority in Christ, they continue to deal with those demons today.

How to receive deliverance from demons

Whatever the cause, in order to receive deliverance, you must first recognize you need it. That demon has to come out of hiding so it can be cast out. You have to make a decision to cut ties with that unclean spirit so it can be cast out. Because if you want to keep it, God will not override your will. It’s up to you.

This all 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 in bondage.

You’ll stay tormented in your mind. Because if the cause is a demon, nothing will work except casting it out. If you are afraid that it will come out screaming, throw you on the ground, and ruin your reputation, that demon is perfectly fine hiding behind your pride.

But as soon as you find out the torment in your life is caused by a demon and you decide to cut ties with it no matter how ugly the divorce is, freedom is yours, my friend.

Authority

Once you are free, you must know your authority in Christ so you don’t open yourself back up to the same torment. You can also use the same authority to help others find freedom.

So, I want to end today with a brief explanation of the authority of Christ. After Jesus rose from the dead, He had a few things to tell the disciples before He ascended into heaven. Here is one of them:

Matthew 28:18 NLT - Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

How much authority? ALL. Jesus is the king of kings. Where does the authority work? In heaven and on earth. In other words, in the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

Let me put it to you this way. Jesus has it all. He knows it all. He’s mastered everything. He is bound by nothing. His strength is endless. His power is unmatched.

The Real Jesus

Can you see why the modern representation of Jesus as this super nice guy who tolerates everything is so dangerous? That’s a counterfeit Jesus. People are believing in a fake Jesus and will end up in hell if they don’t meet the real Jesus.

The real Jesus is a boss. God has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. His power is unmatched. All things are under His jurisdiction.

When Jesus came two thousand years ago, He came as a Savior. When He comes back, He is coming as a warrior to destroy the devil and all of his followers.

If you picture Him as the tolerant Jesus, you cannot live under His authority. Don’t buy into hippy Jesus. That’s not who He is. He is the king of kings. His strength is endless. His power is unmatched.

Can you operate under Christ's authority?

How do we know that we can operate under the authority of Christ? Let’s head to Luke 9:

Luke 9:1-2 NLT - One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.

Once again, notice how casting out demons is first on the list. Yet, it has been last on the church’s list since I can remember.  If you don’t like that we cast out demons now, take it up with Jesus. He is the One who prioritizes casting out demons.

As for me, I’m not going to ignore it anymore. We will set the captives free with His authority, just like Jesus told us to.  I hope you can now see Jesus as He really is. Yes, He is your savior. But in order to spend eternity with Him, He has to be more than just your savior. He has to be your Lord.

Let me put it to you this way, there will be no one in heaven who refuses to submit to the authority of Christ. Salvation requires you to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. You must bow to the King of kings. This brings up a common question. Can you be saved and gay?

Can you be saved and gay?

Even those who have never struggled with homosexuality probably know someone who has. So this is a question almost every Christian wrestles with at some point. The Bible says that salvation requires two things.

Romans 10:9 NLT - If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

So, two things. You must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. And you must openly declare Jesus is your Lord. What does that mean? It means that you decided to abandon your desires and pursue the way of Jesus.

Salvation cannot be earned with your right behavior. Salvation is given to you as a free gift when you submit your life to Christ. But, since you are submitted to Christ, your behavior lines up as a result of your salvation.

You have submitted to the authority of Christ. Therefore you live as He commands you to live. He knows you won’t get it perfect. Perfection is not required. Quick repentance is what is required.

Repentance is kind of a churchy word, so here is what it means. When King Jesus tells you to get something out of your life, you quickly turn away from that thing and follow Jesus.

So, can you be saved and gay? Maybe for a little while. But it doesn’t take long to figure out that homosexuality is not the way of Christ. And since you are openly declaring Jesus as Lord, you are going to have to leave that lifestyle.

If you don’t abandon homosexuality, you reveal that Jesus isn’t your Lord. Instead, you are saying, “My way is better.”

That’s why this is called the PRIDE movement because everyone who participates is saying, “My way is better. I don’t care that I just destroyed my family. I don’t care that God considers it an abomination. I’m going to do what I want.”

And I want you to know something about pride.

Pride turned angels into demons. Pride turns believers into unbelievers. Jesus can’t be Lord if you are. But know this. When Jesus becomes not just your Savior, but your Lord, when you truly submit yourself to Him, He will give you the power to live free from homosexuality.

He did it for me, He can do it for you. And here's the best part. As soon as you submit to His authority, you have His authority. You don’t have to be tormented by demons anymore. When the enemy tries to tempt you, all you have to say is:

“ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. And because I am submitted to His authority, I have His authority. So I command every evil spirit to get out of me and stay away from me.”

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.

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. However, 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.

Can Christians have demons?

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 to 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.

My Mysterious Sickness

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.

Tolerating 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.

Was it God's will for me to be sick?

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 who 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 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.

First Deliverance Alter Call

I delivered the message and then invited people who needed deliverance to come to the altar. About ten people came up. I commissioned those 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 taught 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?”

Was that a demon?!

My wife, 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 my wife 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 on its way out.

The Holy Spirit said, “This will 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, the one who ministered to me confirmed that during the deliverance, the Holy Spirit revealed 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!

What 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 can 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.

The Simplicity of Casting Out Demons

There’s more we need to know about casting out demons.

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 will 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.

Doesn't the Bible say Christians can't have demons?

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 is that 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 is deliverance sometimes dramatic?

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’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.

Breaking of a Dam

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.

Light and Darkness

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.

Demons are like a virus.

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 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.

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.

Be free, in Jesus name!

Now that you know the truth, it will set you free. Don't tolerate sickness or demonic opression. They have no hold on you. Submit yourself to Jesus Christ, resist the devil, and he will flee. Guaranteed.

Read Next: Keep Demons from Coming Back

The ministry of Jesus started when He was about 30 years old. The kickoff point was when He was baptized by John the Baptist and immediately filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for forty days. Why? Because the only way to build endurance in your faith is for your faith to be tested.

James explains:

James 1:2-4 NLT - Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Decide now to stop griping about your troubles. And don’t just stop griping, but choose to be joyful about your troubles.

When you do, your troubles no longer bring you down, but they will help you grow all the way to completion, where you need nothing. That’s what Jesus did for forty days.

Most people spend decades griping about their troubles when they could have just used them to become fully developed in the things of God in as little as forty days. 

After this time of testing, Jesus returned to Galilee, completely filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He was teaching almost daily in synagogues and was praised by everyone.

Everyone spoke well of Him and was amazed by His teaching until His teaching started to be fulfilled before their very eyes. Then they tried to kill Him by running Him off a cliff.

Jesus' First Time Casting Out a Demon

So the first spiritual gift Jesus operated was the teaching gift. Do you know what the next one was? Not healing. Not turning water into wine. But casting out demons. Let’s read about it.

Luke 4:33-36 NLT - 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.

The New Living Translation uses the word “possess”. It said, “A man possessed by a demon.” And that’s how most of us would think about a situation like this. We would call them possessed.

But let’s take a look at what the New Kings James Version says:

Luke 4:33 NKJV - Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.

So, this got me curious. What does this word translated to “had” in the NKJV and “possess” in NLT actually mean?

Demonic Opression vs Possession

In the original Greek language, the word is “echo,” and it means:

• To hold in the hand; to wear
• To have possession of the mind
• To be joined together (e.g. marriage)

It’s when you are so close to something that you are an echo of that thing. You say what it says. You do what it does.

Notice it said nothing about having possession of your spirit. Yet that is how most of us think about demonic issues. We think it is a full-on possession, spirit, soul, and body.

It’s when you are so close to something that you are an echo of that thing.

You say what it says. You do what it does.

Notice it said nothing about having possession of your spirit. Yet that is how most of us think about demonic issues. We think it is a full-on possession, spirit, soul, and body.

You are giving the devil too much credit. I’ve yet to find where the Bible says a demon can possess your spirit.

Your body? Yes. Your mind? Yes. And digging into the Greek word “echo” gives us insight into how this happens.

How Demonic Opression Begins

It all starts when someone begins to hold on to the things of the devil. They start to wear them like clothing.

We’re talking about any kind of sin that you embrace. You are holding on to what belongs to the devil. And as you continue to wear these things, the devil takes possession of your mind.

Now you can’t get your mind off of it. You think about it all the time. Your thoughts drive you deeper and deeper into darkness.

A good example of this would be pornography. The more you keep it around, the more of a stronghold it becomes. It possesses your mind to where you go to great depths to watch more.

Then you become joined together with this thing, much like a marriage. No longer can you just casually walk away from it.

Now you have to get a full-on divorce.

That’s why the demon threw the man on the ground on its way out. Divorces are never pretty.

The Progression to Demons

If you read my book, Jesus Ain’t Woke, you know that I was delivered from homosexuality. This progression matches exactly what I went through.

It started with me picking it up and putting it back down. Picking it up again and putting it back down. Then I picked it up and put it on. It didn’t take long before it possessed my mind.

It consumed my thoughts, and before I knew it, I became closely joined together with this unclean spirit. I had a demon.  But only because I opened the door and allowed it in.

This will throw you for a loop. I grew up in church. My grandpa was a pastor. My dad was a church leader. We were in church every Sunday and every Wednesday.

I loved God. I loved the church. I loved Jesus. I was even leading a youth worship band. God’s love and presence would manifest in the midst of these worship services.

Yet, I was joined together with an unclean spirit. I had a demon.

Did I feel conflicted inside? Beyond what you could even imagine unless you’ve been there. I should have been diagnosed as bipolar because I was one person at church and another at school.

Almost daily, I would be thrilled by the unclean spirit and then be crying out for forgiveness from God that night. I was in a constant state of yoyo torment. Up and down and up and down.

Torment In Hiding

No one knew I was being tormented. When I was a church, I was all in. When I was with the wrong crowd, I was all in. Both sides of my life thought I was good. But I wasn’t.

I thought it was me. I was fighting myself. I was asking God for forgiveness. I was making promises that I would never do it again. But nothing was working.

Then people were telling me, “Why are you fighting this? It’s how you were born. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

I was tempted to take this on as my identity. The devil was working hard to snuff out the part of me that was pursuing God so that I fully identified with the demon that was tormenting me.

This man we were reading about that had an unclean spirit, he came to church that day. He was just sitting there quietly, listening to Jesus teach.

We don’t know for sure, but I bet he went to look for a way out of his torment that day. He heard about the amazing teaching of Jesus and probably thought, “He has the answer.”

The teaching of Jesus was so agitating to the demon that it cried out. It couldn’t hide any longer. It knew its time was limited.

So with a simple command, Jesus delivered this man from his torment. He made the demon leave but let the man stay.

These days, when we have a manifestation like this at church, we leave the demon in the person and ask the person to leave. 

Let me remind you of what Jesus actually told us to do regarding this:

Mark 16:17 NKJV - And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name, they will cast out demons…

Jesus prioritizes casting out demons.

The first sign Jesus mentions of believers is that they will cast out demons. It goes on to give others, like speaking in tongues and healing, but let’s focus on this one today.

The first on the list is casting out demons. If it's the first on the list, that means it will be a frequent occurrence. So, what’s going on?

I’ve been in church for 34 years. I was a worship leader for 10 years. I’ve been a lead pastor for almost 5 years. And I’ve never seen a demon cast out.

I’ve witnessed numerous healings, speaking in tongues, words of knowledge, prophecy, and financial miracles. But I’ve never seen a demon cast out.

I’ve heard about it happening overseas. My dad tells stories of it happening in the Philippines. But I don’t hear about it happening in our local churches.

Does that mean there are no demons around here? Or have we just become so used to them that we just let them hang around?

All you have to do is look at the state of our nation to know that demons are definitely having a heyday in America. So, it must be the latter. We have become desensitized to unclean spirits.

They do their best to fly under the radar. Demons do not want to be noticed. But why have we been allowing them to do so?

Why don’t we do what Jesus did and agitate them so much that they must manifest? This is an important part of deliverance because if we don’t know it’s there, how can we cast it out?

Consider a boss who didn’t know if he had employees or not. So he shouted, “If you are there, I command you to get to work.”

What would the employees think at this point? “He doesn’t even know we are here!” And then they would continue having their little party instead of doing what the boss said.

It was the bold teaching of Jesus that agitated that demon so much that it came out of hiding and manifested itself. So that’s the first step. Agitate the demons with the unhindered Word of God.

But you can’t just stop there. Once the demon makes itself known, you have to cast it out.

Only One Way to Deal with Demons

Most Christians would just get scared at this point as if the demon has more power than they do.

Most church leaders would try to “protect the church’s reputation” by removing the person.

Jesus told us to do neither of those. He didn’t say to run and hide. He didn’t say to keep things nice and orderly. He said to cast out demons. It should be happening on the regular.

So why are we letting demons hang around? Because we’ve been duped. Casting out demons is too messy. It doesn’t fit into our perfect performance church services.

On top of it all, we’ve been taught that a Christian cannot have a demon. So people are going to church every Sunday while living in a constant state of torment.

We tell them to read the Bible more. We tell them to go see the doctor and get meds. We tell them to go through a 12-week program.

Can I tell you something? If a demon is causing the torment, the only way to get rid of it is to cast it out. Medicine won’t work. Prayer won’t work. Memorizing scripture won’t work.

We must stop trying to come up with our own solutions and do what Jesus told us to do: cast out demons!

Am I saying that everything is a demon? No.  But we can’t keep living like nothing is a demon.

Just look at the ministry of Jesus. One of the first things He did was cast out a demon. Then He kept at it, casting out demons everywhere He went.

Then He had His disciples cast out demons.

Christians and Demons

This tells me that there are demons to be cast out. And they are not just tormenting non-believers. They are tormenting people right here within the church.

Even as a born-again believer, you can pick up sin and put it back down. You can pick it up and put it on. You can keep it around so that it consumes your mind and then joins together with you.

That was me. I was joined together with that unclean spirit of homosexuality. Until one day, I had enough.

I was in my bedroom seeking God when I dropped to my knees and said, “God, I don’t just want your forgiveness. I want freedom. Take this thing from me so I can live for you.”

At that moment, I sensed something leave my body. And in its place, I was overwhelmed with the love of God. I was weeping uncontrollably because I knew I was finally free.

Deliverance happens in a moment.

Now let’s head to Luke 6, where we gain more insight into why demons torment people.

Luke 6:17-19 - When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

In Luke 4, Jesus delivered a man who HAD a demon. This scripture says "He delivered those TROUBLED by demons." Let’s dig into the word translated to troubled so we can understand the difference.

• To excite a mob against one
• To harass, disturb, trouble
• To be molested by demons

Wow. That last definition brings a lot of clarity. Some people with demons were molested by demons at a young age or at a weak point. It has nothing to do with the choices they made.

And sometimes, the devil sends a mob of demons against you, probably because you are about to destroy his kingdom and he is trying to stop you.

So, now we know people can have demons because they opened the door themselves by engaging with sin or demonic things. Others have demons because their parents didn’t protect them or the devil is out to stop them.

Either way, in order to receive deliverance from demonic oppression, you must first recognize you need it. That demon has to come out of hiding so it can be cast out.

You have to decide to cut ties with that unclean spirit so it can be cast out.

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