Free Indeed or Free in Theory
You ever seen a demon? Like IRL? Prolly not. But just because you can’t see them doesn't mean they’re not there. We love to say our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but forget to address the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms that our struggle IS against (Ephesians 6:12). Guess what all them mugs are: DEMONS! We wrestle against demons y’all. They’re real. And they do not be playin. Luckily, my God is not playin with them either. Neither should we.
To put it plainly: We all got demons.
It’s nothing to be embarrassed about or offended by. They need vessels in order to accomplish their demonic agendas. You know how the Lord uses you to do things? He’ll speak to you and encourage you to call Sister Susie and it just so happens that she was having a bad day. Now, that’s being used for good. How many times have you said or done something bad that felt out of your control or was extremely difficult to avoid? I’m not saying it’s always a demon because the flesh itself is, indeed, wicked. But I am saying that demons are at play when you sense bondage to harmful or sinful behaviors. If you’re a believer, you have the authority (come on, somebody!) to cast them out. That’s called deliverance.
Deliverance is a topic many churches avoid, mainly because they fear it will freak people out and hurt attendance. But when taught from a biblical perspective, it’s not weird or creepy. It’s the truth. God’s Word is true yesterday, today and forever. When we sugarcoat it, leave out parts, or use it to suit our own agendas, that helps no one. No one gets free. There are churches filled with demons (including your own) and they don’t have to be. You can be free.
It was only this year that I learned of deliverance. My Friend and I were having dinner with a married couple and they mentioned that they run a deliverance ministry out of their home. As they were talking about it, I remember thinking If Christians can have demons, I may have one. I need deliverance. It was that simple. I was low key mad that nobody had ever told me this all the years I’d been in church. I was walkin round with demons and whole time I could have been free.
Remember, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He is not here to kick it and kiki with nobody. He’s on mission. To better help you understand, here are three facts about demons.
Demons are real.
There’s really no way around this. They’re really real. It’s biblical. They can also be called unclean spirits, impure spirits, strongholds and so on. But they're not like Hollywood makes them out to be. No way! They don’t carry pitchforks or wear all red. They don’t make a grand entrance or announce themselves. Please. They’re far too strategic for that. Think about if you wanted to rob somebody’s house. I mean rob them blind. Would you beat a drum on the way over? Turn on all the lights in the middle of the night? Didn’t think so. You’d sneak in through the back door or something. Or so I hear. I didn’t get to interview any thieves for this piece.
My point is: you may never notice a demon at all. And here’s why: they disguise themselves as your thoughts. Yes, you read that right. Demons operate through your thoughts. Think of all the lies you’ve told yourself over the years. Think of the negative words people have spoken over you. Think of the numerous times you fought an urge or desire to do something you wanted to do but also didn’t want to do. These battles are all happening in your mind. A demonic stronghold, it's like a castle of lies. A whole medieval castle. Imagine it right now, even the moat. What keeps that castle standing is lies. Pure lies. These lies exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. I love how the Amplified version puts it:
The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ…
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (emphasis my own)
There’s much to unpack there, but maybe that’s for another post. In short, we are (or should be) destroying those fortresses, sophisticated arguments, and other thoughts that are contrary to the will of God. The presence of an unclean spirit is why you can believe the truth of God’s Word, but still talk yourself into all kinds of foolishness that ain’t God. (Like all those times I convinced myself I just needed to be with so-and-so.) What we have the power to do is to demolish strongholds and lies that the enemy has built up in our minds. In the name of Jesus, they gotta go. That’s what deliverance is.
Christians can have demons.
It’s a common misconception that a Christian cannot have a demon because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. But the Holy Spirit is God (part of the Trinity) and God is everywhere. Like omnipresent. So…
Make it make sense.
To explain, before we come to Christ, we leave entryways open to the demonic. Has an older saint ever warned you against giving the devil a foothold? Now you know what it actually means. He will seize any opportunity chile. He’s real corny. A foothold or entryway can be through sin, unforgiveness, meddling with the occult, and sometimes a traumatic event. And here’s the thing: we don't even know that these entryways exist. We don’t know the points of access.
We don't realize the harmful and spiritual impact of things like sin, unforgiveness, and occultism. Sometimes, childhood trauma is hard to even identify as trauma, especially if it was the norm in your home or community. Still, it’s an entryway. There are many. And the devil is the literal definition of an opportunist. Those unclean spirits can take shape in depression and anxiety, death and suicide, sexual immorality and lust, manipulation, people pleasing, infertility, fear, alcoholism. These conditions don’t discriminate—they largely affect Christians, too. Also, think of generational curses that keep families in cycles of poverty or broken homes. It’s often spiritual.
In the gospels, whenever someone came to Jesus with the issue of a demon, He cast it out on site (also on sight). Those people believed in Him. They believed in His power and authority. They had faith that He could heal them through deliverance. Faith is literally all you need for salvation. The argument that Christians can’t have demons is inconsistent with scripture.
Demons don’t leave until you tell them to.
If there’s a struggle you’ve been facing for as long as you can remember and no amount of prayer has taken it away, it could be a demon. Like a house guest who has overstayed her welcome, those demons don’t leave until they’re told to go (cast out). If they’re not cast out, they get to stay and wreak havoc on your life. And who on earth wants that? Not me.
My deliverance session wasn’t weird. We did a lot of talking. I told the married couple about my childhood, past relationships, and family history. They listened, and asked questions for clarity. Most important to me was them teaching me what the scriptures say about spiritual warfare, demons and casting demons out. I had never been taught that before. Then, not only did they cast out spirits afflicting me in relation to my family, health, dreams, insecurities and past rejection, but they also prayed for and prophesied over me.
I wasn’t laid out on their floor flailing my arms. I didn’t make funny noises or try to fight them. I did cry and yawn a lot. There were several moments of realization and times I thought How did they know to cast that out? (Hint: The Holy Spirit.) There was burping and gas. Yes, that is one way a demon can come out. Don’t try evicting them this way at home. At the end, I felt physically lighter, as if a weight had been lifted. In the spiritual, it had. I knew then that I wanted everyone I knew to get free.
Life after deliverance is truly something. It’s like you have new sight. Actually, you do have new sight! You see, read and process things differently than you would have before. What’s more, you have the freedom to flee from sin in ways you couldn’t before. You are no longer in bondage to repeating the same cycles again and again. It doesn’t eliminate your sin, but it frees you to choose. It’s the best thing I’ve ever experienced, next to the gospel. As I began sharing my testimony, one by one, each of my closest friends felt compelled to receive deliverance. I want the same for you.
Now, don’t get it twisted. Following Jesus changes everything. We receive Him by grace through faith alone. And there is nothing anyone can do to separate us from His love. But many Christians go their whole lives living with demons and resolving them to sin issues or even thorns in the flesh. Jesus came to give us life more abundantly and that includes having freedom from afflicting spirits. In Christ Jesus, we have the authority to pull down every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). That’s what you need to know about deliverance.
If you’re interested in learning more about and receiving deliverance, shoot me a note at hello@deleesh.com. Also, holla if you’d like to learn how to cast out demons. It’s for all who believe.
These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.
Mark 16:17-18
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