 I want to show you from Scripture how to identify and eliminate cases of demonic possession. I'm not just talking about demonic influence right now. I'm not talking just about accusation or temptation or even torment. I'm talking about a demonic being inhabiting someone's being. I'm going to show you how to identify that. It's a very severe case of demonic power. I want to show you how to identify that and then I want to show you how to eliminate that. The Holy Spirit's deliverance ministry is absolutely beautiful. Now let me show you something from Mark chapter 16, beginning at verse number 16. Anyone who believes in his baptized will be saved, but anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. Verse 17 now, these miraculous signs will accompany those who believe. Believe what? Well, the context shows us that those who believe the gospel will have these signs demonstrated in their lives and the first one listed here, they will cast out demons in my name and they will speak with new tongues. Then the Scripture says in verse 18, they will be able to handle snakes with safety and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. I know that sounds a little bit strange, but if you simply cross-reference this with Luke chapter 10 verses 18 through 20, then you see that the snakes mentioned here are actually demonic beings and drinking anything poisonous is just a reference to divine protection. Then the Scripture goes on to say they will be able to place their hands on the sick and they will be healed. The deliverance ministry of Jesus did not end with Jesus. It has been carried on to you and I today. You are a representative of Christ in the earth and I want to equip you now to carry out the Holy Spirit's deliverance ministry and it is His ministry. It's in His power, His strength, not in our own. But again, we must be equipped in this area. Now, I don't necessarily believe that we need training on how to drive out demons. It's actually quite simple. Much of the effectiveness that comes in the ministry of casting out demons comes from the authenticity of your relationship with Christ. So I'll show you how to develop that authentic relationship with Christ, how to walk in His authority. And once you're doing that, the commanding of the powers of darkness is actually the simpler part. This is not to say that we should take it lightly, but it is indeed the simpler part. So you as a believer, all you need is a relationship with Christ and to be properly equipped with truth so that you know who you are in Him. Now, it's important first that we look at the definition of what we're talking about. Now, there's a lot of misinformation floating out around on the internet on this specific topic. Certain terms get mixed in with other terms and there's a lot of overlap. And if we're not clear on terminology, what begins to happen is sometimes you hear what I'm not saying or we might talk past each other or even if I should engage in the comment section and answer some questions, there may be a confusion as to exactly what we're talking about. And I found more often than not that people who think they disagree actually agree, but they're just using different terminology to describe what they're talking about. So let's be very careful to look at what the Scripture says. Now, it's important that we approach this not from head knowledge, but from the inspiration that comes by revelation of the Holy Spirit. And in order to have that revelation that comes by the Holy Spirit, we look to the Word of God. So let's look at this word demonization. Now, Tim, can we pull up this slide here? I want to show you this. Please screenshot this and share this people of God. It's so important that you're equipped with this knowledge. Now, again, there's a lot of overlap in the conversation about the definition of demonization. Some people say things like, well, Christians can't be possessed, but they can be demonized. But that's like saying Christians can't be possessed, but they can be possessed because the definition of demonized is actually to be possessed by a demon or be possessed by a hostile spirit. What you see on the screen here is a list of Greek references that are gold standards in terms of how people use them in the application of Bible study. And I want you to notice a consistent theme here. This isn't all the Greek references. This is a good portion of them, but you will see something consistent. What is that? The definition. Be possessed by a hostile spirit. To be demon possessed. Be demon possessed. To be possessed by a demon or evil spirit. Be possessed by a demon. To be possessed by a demon. Be possessed by a demon. Be possessed by a demon. To have, be vexed with, be possessed with devil or devils, which basically is synonymous with, to be possessed by an evil spirit. To be possessed with an evil spirit. To be a demoniac. What does it mean to be a demoniac? Look at the definition. To be possessed with an evil spirit. And again at the bottom there, to be possessed by an evil spirit. So let's make this clear here, and this is not just my opinion. Thank you, Tim. This is not my opinion. I just showed you from the original language what the actual definition of the word is. What's it mean to be demonized? What does that word demonized mean? It means to be possessed by a demon. Now, upon first hearing this, this might actually be a bit jarring for some people because you may have heard that there's a difference between being possessed and being demonized. Or you may have heard, you know, the Bible doesn't have a word for possessed. Or the Bible doesn't talk about possession. It talks about demonization. But again, that's like saying the Bible doesn't talk about possession. It talks about possession. It's the same thing. So the word demonization literally means to be possessed by a demon. And you can actually check all those references out for yourself. That's why I left them there for you. Don't just take my word for it. Don't take anyone's word for it. Look at the definition. Look at the original Greek. And that's important because as I said, this is not just about head knowledge. The Holy Spirit is the one who chose to use that word. Some might say, well, what does terminology matter? What does it matter what you use in order to describe one reality and I use to describe another reality? Well, it matters because it's the Word of God. It matters because the Holy Spirit inspired every word with great intention. And so the Holy Spirit, when he inspired the writers to use this particular word, was speaking of the reality of the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit knows the spiritual realm better than any of us. You may hear things like, Oh, it's a poor word translation. Well, think about this. Every Bible translation that you have, go check your Bibles right now. Almost every Bible translation that you have says to be possessed or call someone demon possessed. Why? Because that's what the word means. So there's a lot of confusion created in this area, a lot of use of semantics and so forth. But let's just be clear. It's very, very, very simple to be demonized is to be possessed. Well, what does it mean to be possessed in that sense? Well, whenever you're speaking of demonization, you are always speaking of indwelling. So demonization is to have a demonic being indwelling. Demonization is always speaking of an indwelling presence of a demon. It's never speaking of just influence or deception or attack or accusation or temptation. Whenever the scripture talks about demonization, it is talking about a demonic being indwelling. So demonized and possessed, they're one in the same. They mean the same thing. They are the same thing, which is precisely why all the translators or most of the translators of most of the Bible versions that you will see use the word or the phrase possession. So there's some confusion that can come around this area still, because even though we know the definition, maybe you might have heard something like, well, there's a difference between someone being possessed and having a demon or they're not necessarily demon possessed, but they possess a demon. They have a demon. They are attacked by demon. But here's the problem. Whatever the phrase that you want to use, you can use the word oppression. You can use the phrase have a demon. You can use the word possess a demon. If you are describing the reality of someone having a demonic being attached to or dwelling in their being, then you are describing the biblical reality of demonization. So this is why we have to be careful of semantics, because it can be a little bit tricky to try to navigate through this, because as I said, there's a lot of misinformation out there. That's why I'm simplifying it for you. Whenever you see the word demonize, no, it means possessed. That's what I just showed you from the Greek references. So if we are not careful about this, we can say things that actually cause confusion. I don't believe that Christians can be possessed, but they can have demons. I don't believe that Christians can be possessed, but I believe they can possess a demon. I don't believe that a Christian can be possessed, but I believe they can be oppressed. Phrases like that sound reasonable. And I used to use that type of reasoning, but the problem is if you're using those terms differently, but describing the same reality, then you're not really describing anything different. So we have to realize that if you are describing the reality of someone having a demon in them, attached to their being or dwelling in either their body, their soul or their spirit, if you are describing that reality, you are talking about the biblical reality of demonization. So you've heard the phrase, a Christian can have whatever they want. And I've heard this phrase used often, especially in the questions that I get that come to my email inbox for people who want to understand this topic. That's why I'm addressing this, because a lot of questions come to me about this particular subject. So this comes up a lot. People say, well, what about this phrase? A Christian can have whatever they want. That may be true, but let's think about this. A Christian can have whatever they want, but can a demon ever have what belongs to God? And so if you're describing demonization, you are describing possession. So you may hear phrases like this. We don't believe Christians can be demon possessed. And then they'll use the phrase, possess a demon, have a demon, be under the power of a demon, and then just describe the same thing. So again, let's bring clarity to this. Let's bring absolute biblically grounded clarity. Demonization is possession. Possession is demonization. What are those two words described? A demon dwelling in someone's being, body, soul, or spirit, or a demon being attached to someone's being, body, soul, or spirit. And this brings up the question, well, what's the difference between oppression and possession? And it depends how somebody uses the words. If someone uses the word oppression to mean a Christian version of demon possession, then no, it's not a different phrase at all. But if someone uses the word oppression to describe demonic attack, then that of course is a proper use of the term. Now, as I said, I want to use the scripture to equip you to identify and eliminate demonic possession. And in order for you to do that, you have to understand what demonic possession is. Because if somebody is being deceived by a demon, the demons lying to them, that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to cast the demon out of them because that would be a case of demonic possession more than just deception. Also, if you look in scripture, you'll never see asymptomatic demoniacs. You know, whenever people talk about having a certain virus without symptoms, they were described as being asymptomatic. And that means that they have it, but there are no symptoms. Now, the Bible doesn't describe this reality in regards to demonic possession. So I think it's a little bit paranoid to tell people that you could be possessed and not even know it. The scripture doesn't describe that reality. Now, this does not mean that we should walk around apathetically or unaware of the powers of darkness. But remember, there is a big difference between vigilance and paranoia. We as believers should be aware of the war in which we are engaged. We as believers should be aware of how demonic powers attack us. We as believers should be aware of the reality of the forces of darkness. But again, if we live our whole lives going, gee, I wonder if I'm possessed and I just don't know it, well, then that begs the question why a demon would possess them in the first place if there were no symptoms that were being caused. So what I'm describing here is full-on possession, a demonic being inhabiting someone's being, attaching to their being. And in order to solve that demonic possession, there needs to be an exercise of exorcism. So this begs the question, then how do Christians become affected by demonic beings? Because often, people hear what I'm not saying. So it's a well-established biblical fact, and you'll hear people say this everywhere. I don't know anybody who says that Christians can be possessed. That's a very, very rare find for someone to full-on say that Christians can be possessed. But remember, that term possessed is demonized. So again, if we're trying to say that Christians can be possessed, but just using different words to describe that reality, then that's not biblical. So how can Christians affect the believer, or how can demons affect the believer? Demonic powers affect the believer through deception, accusation, temptation, and torment. And deception, by the way, is what helps to develop what you call a stronghold, which is an entirely different message for an entirely different time. And we are going to get into the details of possession, but I think it's important that you have a foundation of understanding first. So there is a difference between attack and possession. An attack takes place when a demonic power speaks deceptive lies, speaks accusation concerning your past, or maybe a certain flaw that you have, or seeks to tempt you, as the devil did with the Lord himself, or seeks to torment you either through projections of imagery or the use of auditory hallucinations. In some cases, that's how severe strongholds can become. But all these attacks come from the outside. Now, it may not feel that way. I know personally that when I battled the stronghold of anxiety, it felt like I had something in me, but I never needed to go through an exorcism to be completely set free. What I needed was to be set free from a deception. So the attack comes from the outside. Possession is a being going into someone's being or attaching to someone's being and exhibiting some level of control and high levels of torment from the inside. So attacks take place from the outside. Possession is something on the inside. Now, there will be more on this in my teaching that I did called Can a Christian Be Demon Possessed? And I go into great, great, great detail on that particular subject about Christians and demon possession. That's not the topic right now. But if you want more on that, make sure to check that out. Now, because attacks are different than possession, they are addressed differently. Now, you may be asking, where is the terminology for this in the Scripture? Well, you can see it in the original language. Sometimes the Scripture, the New Testament, is describing demonization. And that's for a demonic being to inhabit somebody else's being or be attached to somebody else's being. And that's one reality of demonic influence that's described very clearly in Scripture. And then there are the descriptions of demonic attacks, say, in the Apostle Paul's Epistles, where he talks about putting on the armor of God, where he talks about renewing your mind, where he talks about guarding your heart against deception, like the Galatians. In Galatians chapter three, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you. That word bewitched means deceived or entranced you, or who has fascinated you with a lie. So that's talking about deception. So the Bible maybe doesn't use that terminology. But clearly the Bible describes one type of demonic influence being possession and another type of influence being attack. That's deception, torment, temptation and accusation. And so there's a difference between attack and possession. Attack again takes place from the outside. You don't need to exercise a demon out of someone. A demon can't talk for someone or cause them to ride on the floor or scream and so forth if they're just being attacked. But you do need to rebuke the enemy to make them stop lying and then deal with the lies that he planted, which we would call strongholds. And then there's possession again, which is to be inhabited by a demon. So therefore there is a difference between deliverance and exorcism. Now this is a very subtle difference with a major, major implication. So deliverance is a broad term that simply means to be set free from something. You can be delivered from deception. You can be delivered from temptation. You can be delivered from emotional problems. You can be delivered from another person. You can be delivered from a false belief. You can be delivered from all sorts of different things, addictions, and you can be delivered from demonic possession. The term deliverance describes being set free from a myriad of different things, from a myriad of different ways that the enemy can attack you. But the term exorcism is a very specific kind of deliverance. When someone is delivered specifically from possession, that's what we call exorcism. So you may hear people say, well, or I should say this, I've had people tell me, are you saying Christians don't need deliverance? Well, that's not what I'm saying at all. I believe that Christians can be attacked and deceived, and therefore Christians often need deliverance from many different things. So don't hear what I'm not saying. Christians need deliverance, but deliverance just simply means to be set free. Do Christians ever need exorcism? That is to be set free specifically from demonic possession. No. So Christians need deliverance, never exorcism. They can be attacked, never possessed. And again, more on this in the other teaching that I did on Can Christians Be Demonized. But this is important because often when people use the term deliverance, they just assume exorcism. They assume a demon inside someone where it's exhibiting control over that person's physical capacities and the demon needs to be driven out of their physical being or their soul, if that's how they want to put it as well. But again, those are different realities. Exorcism is a specific kind of deliverance, but it's not the only kind of deliverance that there is, which is why I say that Christians still need the deliverance ministry because they can be bound by many other things other than possession. And this also raises the next question as to why demons possess bodies, because when you understand what demons are, that they're parasites. I did a study on this where you look at Genesis chapter six. Succinctly, I will say I believe that demonic powers are disembodied spirits from the Nephilim, which you can do a study on in Genesis chapter six. I'm not dogmatic on that. That's something I'm willing to if somebody shows me scripture pointing in another direction. I'm willing to change my mind on it, but that's where I stand on the topic right now. And so you recognize that demons by nature are parasites. In fact, if you look at Matthew chapter eight versus 30, the Bible says, and 31, I believe the Bible says here, there happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, if you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs. So if you believe that pigs have souls, then maybe you can make an argument for demons possessing souls. But here it's quite clear that demons crave bodies. Jesus said when an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it goes through the desert seeking respite, finding none. In other words, demonic beings become very tired and very weak outside of the bounds of a physical host. So demons are parasites and they possess bodies. They can't possess your spirit. It's one with the Holy Spirit. They can't possess the body because of the believer that is, because you have the Holy Spirit in your body. And God would never give the will of an individual over to a demonic being. Again, more on this in the teachings on can Christians be demonized. But for now, this is important to understand, to help you identify what demonic possession actually is. So when we talk about possession demonization, we're talking about a very, very severe case of demonic influence. This is more than just, oh, I was tormented. This is more than just I had a nightmare. This is more than just I felt tempted or there's a sin that I can't overcome. That would be to be attacked from the outside. And especially in the area of temptation, we bear the responsibility for the decisions that we make. Demons may be able to tempt you, but they don't do the sinning for you. So we can't blame them for that. The Bible makes it clear that we sin because we're carried away by our own lusts and desires. And so when we talk about possession, we're talking again about demons inhabiting someone's being or being attached to someone's being, whether that be body, soul, and spirit. And again, I don't necessarily believe that demons attach themselves to soul. I've heard the first Thessalonians 523 body, soul, spirit, the different chambers of the human being. I taught that. But again, we don't see any accounts of demons possessing bodies in the scripture of possessing souls in the scripture, they possess bodies. Now onto some signs of demonic possession. Now you know what we're talking about. What are we talking about? We're talking about demonization, which is possession. We're not talking just about demonic attack. We're talking about the habitation of a demonic being within someone else's being. And therefore the answer isn't just general deliverance. The answer to possession is always going to be specifically exorcism. And that is a huge distinction that we have to make. It's very important that we get that right. Now let's go to Mark chapter 5. Turn there with me, please. Mark chapter 5. And if this is helping to reveal some truths to you and some things are clicking in your mind, they're making more sense, just write amen in the comment section right now. Mark chapter 5, let's look at verse number 1. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to look at various different accounts of demonic possession in the scripture. And then we're going to look at those accounts and look for clues of what demonic possession might be. Now it's important, as I said, that we avoid paranoia. Vigilant, yes, paranoid, no. So let's not necessarily obsess over these specifics. Again, there's no such thing as asymptomatic demonic possession. There will always be very obvious signs of demonic possession. Otherwise, why would the demon inhabit in the first place if it's not going to do any damage? So when you look at these signs, it's important that you don't just pick one sign out and go, aha, that person has a demon inside of them, or you may see one particular clue. And it's important that off that one particular clue that you don't draw the conclusion and say, that's it. That person is demon possessed because these clues are to be used in aggregate. Demonic possession won't just show one or two of these symptoms in very mild forms. Demonic possession will show many of these symptoms in very severe forms. So that's what we see in scripture. And that's what we should look for in our everyday life as we're ministering freedom. And again, this doesn't mean you shouldn't minister deliverance. But again, we're not talking about just general deliverance. We're talking specifically about exorcism right now. So Mark chapter five, verse one. So they arrived at the other side of the lake in the region of the garrisons. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. By the way, on a side note, verse two, we see that the man of his own free accord chose to approach the Lord. Now, there is no demonic being that would will its victim toward its freedom. If someone is under the full control of a demonic power, like a demon had control of their will, they would never come to church. They would never go near Jesus. They would never go near anyone who's born again, because it wouldn't want any risk of being expelled from its physical body that it took over or toast. So when it comes to whether or not demons possess souls, here's another clue indicating that they do not possess souls. Because if the demon possessed the man's soul, it would have control over his will, and this man would not will himself toward the master. Verse three, this man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles, as often as he often was, he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night, he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. So the demonic powers recognize, and even the man recognized the authority of Christ. Now this is not necessarily repentance. This is him approaching the Lord for first deliverance or specific kind of deliverance, exorcism. With a shriek, he screamed, why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don't torture me, for Jesus had already said to the Spirit, come out of this man, you evil spirit. Now on another side note, it's interesting here to note that in the ancient world, it was believed that if you had someone's name or spoke their name, that that gave you power over them. So there's a couple of reasons as to why Jesus may be asked for the name of the demonic being. One, he could have been asking for the name of the demonic being to demonstrate that he had even the power to drive out a legion of demons. Perhaps the Lord was showing, look, this man has a legion of demons, and look at how easily I can still cast this demon out. But notice that the Lord actually did not use the name of the demonic entity or the name of the demonic group in order to drive it out. He asked the name and didn't even use it. So I think to some degree, we could possibly conclude that Jesus was demonstrating that even though he had the name of the demonic entity, that it wasn't necessary for him to use in order to have power over it. In other words, what is your name? The demon speaks, and then Jesus drives it out without using the name at all. So maybe that had something to do with that ancient world belief that to have someone's name and use it was to have power over them. Verse seven, with the shriek he screamed, or excuse me, verse nine, then Jesus demanded, what is your name? And he replied, my name is legion, because there are many of us inside this man. Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send him to some distant place. And that's where we see that large herd of pigs receiving, unfortunately, this demonic entity. But if you look at Mark chapter five, verse three, you'll see number one that this man hung around the burial caves. So one of the signs of demonic possession is morbid thinking. Now again, you have to look for these signs in aggregate and on a severe level. This is not just to philosophically be fascinated by the idea of death. I know some people who philosophically like to think about death and contemplate death and talk about death, write poetry about death, but it's not coming necessarily from a dark place, but more a philosophical place. But this was morbid thinking where he was obsessed with death. He hung around the burial caves because of his morbid thinking. And that morbid thinking was one of the signs of his demonic possession or one of the symptoms that revealed itself. Also in verse three, we see that this man wasn't able to be restrained by anyone. So we see a supernatural ability of some sort. Sometimes this is the ability to tell the future or actually have a whole teaching on how demons are able to supposedly see the future, but that's another teaching for another time. But they demonstrate certain degrees of power. Here in this particular case, we see that he was demonstrating supernatural strength. So that's another sign of demonic power and being overtaken by a demon is that there are certain supernatural abilities that are demonstrated by the individual. So supernatural ability. Verse number four, we see violence and barbaric behavior. So someone who is demon possessed, again demonized, is going to exhibit very violent behavior on many occasions. They almost seem to be out of their mind. This is violence or barbaric behavior. That's verse number four. Verse number five, mental instability is what we see him displaying there. Day and night, he wondered among the burial caves and in the hills howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. So this is a certain level of mental instability that he was demonstrating. Also in verse five, we see self harm. He was cutting himself constantly. I think that demonic powers love to influence their victims towards self-harmed, towards self-harm, because they despise the image of the Creator. And then in verse seven, we see something else with the shriek. He screamed, why are you interfering with me? Jesus, son of the most high God in the name of God, I beg you, don't torture me. There we see in verse seven, a severe discomfort in God's presence. Now I'm not just talking about people who don't like to come to church or maybe are uncomfortable in Christian settings. So don't go accusing your relatives of having demons in them just because they don't want to come to your church on Sunday. But it is important to note that these signs in aggregate, maybe a few of them together at a severe degree, can indicate to us that they in fact are demonically possessed. Let's go now over to Acts chapter 16. Acts 16. And then let's go to verse number, let's start at verse number 16. I'm going to talk to you about the fortune teller now. We're going to read this story, and then I want to show you certain signs that we can see here displayed with this account of demonic possession. Verse 16, one day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. And again, I have another teaching on how demons are able to display certain degrees of power, like mind reading, fortune telling, and so forth. And it's actually quite deceptive how they do that. Verse 17, she followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, these men are servants of the most high God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved. So here we see a sort of mocking, there's distraction there, there's disorder. Verse 18, this went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and it instantly left her. And this actually brings me to another side note. I don't think those who are using the authority of Christ have to put in much effort. So if you command a demonic power to go in the name of Jesus, and it puts up a fight, you have to ask yourself, am I really using the power of the name of Jesus? Because if Jesus were to rebuke a demon, or Paul the apostle were to rebuke a demon, can you imagine that demon struggling back and forth fighting? People often ask me, how do you deal with stubborn demons? Well, I say, I've never met a polite demon. Stubborn demons, all demons are stubborn. There's no demon that's willing to participate with what you're doing. That's why you have to commend them to go using the authority of Christ. So all demons are stubborn. The problem is never stubborn demons, but faithless Christians. Those who are truly stepping into that authority, they're using their own techniques. They're using their own strength. They're using their own energy. They're using their own persona of authority. And therefore, they have to struggle. They have to fight like the seven sons of Sceva. It's this daunting, exhausting task. But when you come in the name of Jesus and use the name of Jesus, there's that instant obedience to what you're speaking. And if it doesn't obey instantly, either you're not really walking in authority and you need to go fast and pray, or that person has other issues, possibly mental issues. But again, and there's more explanations, but those are a couple of explanations that you can possibly look to that are biblically consistent. But look at this reasoning, this line of reasoning. If demons obey Christ's authority instantly, and they don't obey instantly when I command them to go, the question has to be, am I truly using Christ's authority? Am I truly walking in that? And that's a question that you have to answer for yourself. But we go on to read here. Let me see. I think I want to read one more verse. Let's go to verse 19. Her master's hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. Exorcism can be quite disruptive. I mean, I think about the value of what was lost, monetarily at least, when those pigs went over that edge and drowned themselves in the water. That's why the people were like, get out of here, we beg you, please go away. And here we see now someone else is losing financial standing because of an exorcism. And this is why we have to recognize that sometimes the ministry of the Holy Spirit will disrupt certain patterns of life that we don't want disrupted, but this is why we have to welcome him anyway to do his work. So here we see a few things. Number one, we see slavery. This can be symbolic for addiction, the tendency to subject oneself to bondage. That girl was influenced by demonic power, and therefore she came under not just that demonic bondage, but she was under a master. She was under an owner. So addiction, slavery, these victim-like mentalities, that can be a sign of demonic possession. And again, we're looking for these signs in aggregate and in high levels of severity. And then we also see in verse 16 that there was this obsession with the occult. And so she was very involved in fortune-telling, very involved with the powers of darkness. And so obsession with the occult is another sign of demonic possession. Also, verse 17, we see that she's mocking, she's mocking the disciples. Let's just be clear about that. So there's a contempt for God's authority. There's this hatred of men of God, this hatred of women of God, this hatred of those who carry mantles of authority. So those are important signs to note. So far we've seen morbid thinking, supernatural ability, violence or barbaric behavior, mental instability, self-harm, discomfort in God's presence, addiction or slavery, or that slave mentality. This is to be subjected to control and manipulation quite easily, obsession with the occult, contempt for God's authority. And now let's jump over to Mark chapter 9, another account we're going to dissect here. Go to Mark chapter 9, and I will start at verse, let's go to verse 14. When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe and they ran to greet him. What is all this arguing about? Jesus asked. One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it. Now what does Jesus say? Does Jesus say, oh, it's just a stubborn demon? No, he doesn't blame the demon. Look what he says. Jesus said to them, you faithless people, how long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me. Now we have nothing to brag about. I have nothing to brag about. You have nothing to brag about. I've simply been a witness to the Holy Spirit's power. It's not my power. That's how people say, David, do you do deliverance? They say, well, I speak prayers and commands, but I don't do the deliverance. The Holy Spirit does the deliverance. And I've seen how he does it. It is an instant work where his power rushes through that individual and they're instantly set free. If it's a case of true, genuine demonic possession, that's always what happens. Sometimes you get some people, you know, maybe they're attention seeking. That's not every case. So don't be offended. I'm not saying that's every case. Maybe they're just a little bit emotionally involved in the whole setup. Maybe they're convinced they have to act a certain way to be free. And so in those cases, you can see they kind of drag it on. But in cases of actual demonic possession, not influence, not attack, in cases of actual demonic possession, you will find that it's an instant freedom that comes over the individual if the person is walking in Christ authority. Now here we see several things. I mean, I could point out sickness, but I'm actually going to make that from another point from another text. By the way, demons can use sickness. A sickness itself is not a demon, but demons can use sickness. So if a believer has a sickness in them, that doesn't mean they have a demon in them, but that can mean that a demon is using sickness as a weapon of choice, sending it in to the body of the believer. But the sickness itself is not a sentient being from another realm. In fact, the scripture makes a distinction between sickness and demons, though demons can use sickness. But we see primarily here, and this is a heavy one in verse 17, we see suicidal tendencies. Remember how I mentioned just a few moments ago that demonic beings hate the image of God. They don't like you. They hate you. Why? Because you are a reflection of the image of God, because you have the authority that they always wanted. Because since the beginning, the enemy has been jealous of our standing with God. And that's why there's partially why I should say there's hatred toward us. So when a demonic being compels someone to kill themselves or harm themselves, commit suicide, and I may be damaging the effectiveness of this stream because those types of words are censored, but we have to talk about it. Suicidal tendencies are a manifestation or a symptom many times of demonic possession. Now again, and you're going to hear me repeat this again and again and again so there's no confusion. We're not talking about superstition and paranoia. We're talking about discernment and vigilance, which is very different. So you're not just going to look for one slight indication on these things. You're going to look for these in aggregate and again high levels of severity. Now, someone can be dealing with a stronghold and battling with depression and suicidal ideation, but suicidal tendencies can also be a sign of demonic possession. Acts chapter 10, verse 38, let's go there now. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Here we see the Bible use that word oppressed. And again, if you see the word used properly, there's no confusion. Oppression is not the same as possession if you're using it properly. Now, some Christians use the word oppressed to mean possession light or the Christian version of demonic possession. If someone has the demon in them or attached to them and that demon gets them to ride on the floor or to or the demon screams to them or talks to them, that is demonic possession. You can't just call that oppression and expect the reality of what the scripture is describing to change. You can't just say, oh, they're not possessed. They have a demon. No, if someone has a demon inhabiting them, attached to them or the demon is screaming for them, not the person screaming in emotional response to deliverance, which can happen, but the demon is screaming through them, talking through them. That is possession. You can call it by a different name, but the scripture doesn't. So here the scripture is talking about healing of oppression. Sickness can be an attack of demonic powers. And again, sickness is not the same thing as a demon, but sickness can be a weapon of choice for demonic beings. And often, many who are demon possessed also have physical ailments that arise from that demonic attachment. Go to 1 Timothy chapter four, verse one now. First Timothy chapter one, verse four. The Bible says this. Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last time, some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. So very clearly we see here that someone who's under the influence of a demon will have unbiblical doctrines. And well, we'll get to the next one first. Let's cover unbiblical doctrines first. This doesn't mean that if somebody disagrees with you on a specific doctrine that their demon possessed, like I know in the Christian world, we like to label people who disagree with us because our ego just can't handle the fact that somebody believes differently than us. And it's okay that there are many Christians who believe various different things about various different topics. As long as we agree on Jesus, Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God. He lived the perfect sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is the only way to the Father. You believe that the Bible is the Word of God. Okay, these are fundamentals of the faith. And as long as someone doesn't violate the fundamentals of the faith, I'm willing to join with them. But here, I'll put it this way. Not everyone who has an unbiblical doctrine is demon possessed, but very often people who are demon possessed have unbiblical doctrines. So we'll stop it there. Please don't go labeling your friends and family as demon possessed. And by the way, guys, we got to stop doing that. Actually, let me make the next point and then we're going to dig into something a little bit deeper. And it may be a little jarring for some of you to hear this, but I think it's important because I want to contrast two different things here. Notice here that these are deceptive spirits. You want to know how deceptive demonic beings can become and how effective their lives can become. Just look at cults, not the animal, like the groups of people, the cults. Look at cults, deceptive, manipulative, charismatic leaders. And I don't mean charismatic as in spiritual gifts. I mean like their personality, their persona is very magnetic. You look at these groups and you study people who commit mass suicide, people who commit horrific crimes, people who subject themselves to abuses of all kinds because of an individual who knows the word but can twist the word to cause the people to subject to him or her and get them to carry out all sorts of lawlessness. That is a sign of demonic possession. The cult leader, if you will, is very often demonically possessed, like full-on possessed. But on that note, as a bit of a tangent here since I'm talking about it, it's somewhat off topic, but I think it's important to discuss. We have to make sure that we who are equipped in the area of spiritual warfare that we're not becoming weird about it. I actually heard it suggested that if somebody believes differently than you concerning, you know, spiritual warfare, that you should cut them off. And to me, it just seemed like there was like this garnering like you come here and it kind of made me nervous because I'm thinking that seems like a very cult thing to say, this idea that we isolate from anyone who disagrees with us. Now that's not what the body of Christ is about. We have unity despite our disagreements precisely because iron sharpens iron. Think about the fact that some will say that if you disagree with them that they disagree with you because you can't possibly know what you're talking about because you don't agree with them. Well, if everyone who disagrees with you doesn't know what they're talking about or needs to go deeper or isn't an expert, how will you ever find correction? So we have to acknowledge that people can disagree with us and still know what they're talking about. So we as believers mustn't exhibit these types of manipulative personalities and be very aware of that kind of behavior because it can be a sign of some things to come that you have to be vigilant about and let he who has ears to hear hear that he who has eyes to see see. But in terms of the manipulative personality, the cult leader is very often demon possessed. And I'm not talking about Christians who disagree with you or I or anyone. I'm talking about those very severe cases where cults are formed and it's a completely different gospel, a completely different belief set. But we mustn't be so quick. My other point, we mustn't be so quick at labeling people as demon possessed just because they disagree with us. So that's the balance I have for you there since we were on the topic. But let's go now to 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 14. I want to show you something else here. 1 Samuel chapter number 16. Let's go to verse 14. Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of Saul's servants said to him, a tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music and you will soon be well again. All right, Saul said, find me someone who plays well and bring him here. So here we see a few things. And I'll give you all three right now from this particular portion of scripture. Saul was tormented. Saul was depressed and Saul was filled with fear. Now again, just because someone is tormented in the mind doesn't mean they are absolutely possessed. They can just be, it's possible they're also just being demonically attacked. Just because someone is depressed doesn't mean that they're demon possessed. It could just be a stronghold or a deceptive thought pattern or maybe they're going through something very severe. Same thing goes for fear. But people who are demon possessed, I will say 99.9% of the time you'll see all three of these present in that person's life. Now again, this doesn't mean that if you exhibit some form of all three of these different symptoms that you therefore are definitely demon possessed. Again, we're looking for all of these in aggregate and to a high degree of severity. But again, an individual who's demon possessed doesn't necessarily have to have all of these, just a good portion of them. And this is where, of course, the discerning of spirits comes in. Okay, so you recognize this now and you sense, you see it, someone's demon possessed. Now I could give you other signs that I've learned from experience, but they're not going to do you any good. You just got to stick with the basics. Like people will say things like something in the eyes. I agree with that. You can sense an evil the moment they walk in the room. I agree with that. I sense that. But it's important to stick with what the scripture reveals, lest we fall into emotionalism and start to judge it based on our feelings. So to protect us from judging things on our feelings, we have the scripture. So real quickly, we'll, we'll recap and then I want to show you how to get rid of these. That's how to identify it. Then I want to show you how to get rid of these demonic beings. So we see morbid thinking, supernatural ability, violence or barbaric behavior, mental instability, self harm, discomfort in God's presence, addiction or slavery, obsession with the occult. Now I'm speaking of slavery as in the mindset, like they, they, they are drawn to people who will subject them to abuses. And that is a demonic spirit. Sometimes it drives them toward that obsession with the occult, contempt for God's authority, suicidal tendencies, sickness, unbiblical doctrines, manipulative personality like we see in cult leaders. And again, on that point, let me make that very clear. Yes, it's true that unbiblical doctrines and manipulative personalities can be signs of demonic possession, but that doesn't mean that everybody who disagrees with you on any doctrine is definitely demon possessed. So don't try to weaponize that truth for the sake of winning an argument. Just use it for what it's meant to be used for here. And then we see, as in the case of Saul, the big three, torment, depression and fear. So how do you get rid of them? How do you cast these demons out? I don't believe, as I said, that training is necessary because the moment you say someone needs training to cast that a demon, now you're implying the use of certain techniques, the use of special prayers. There's nothing wrong with those things. And I'm not saying those things are necessarily evil. I'm saying they're just not very effective because they put the emphasis on us. Now I in the past used various different techniques. And I did it from a great place of intention. I was well intentioned when using them. I would say, angels, stab them with the fiery sword. I torment you with the blood of Jesus. Fire of God, come on this demon, holding up the Bible and the demons screaming these various different things that we do. And I would implement those thinking, okay, I know how to use these techniques. I'm using these, and the demon is going to respond to what I am doing. And so if you think like that, yes, you're going to think that you need special training to deal with demonic things like in the movies, you know. But God doesn't hide freedom behind demonic mysteries or ancient secrets. God gives us plainly what we need in scripture. So I think it's good to be aware of the demonic realm, not obsessed with it, but aware of it. I think it's good to exercise your authority. I think it's good to study what the scripture has to say on these topics. I think it's good to know the strategies of the devil. All of that's true. I agree with that. But as a balance, I would caution you to make sure that you're not just approaching this from a religious place. And it is religion. Religion is legalism. Religious dogma, tradition, special rituals and protocols and prayers, you know, that person's not delivered until they throw up, things like that. Now if somebody vomits while they're getting a demon cast out of them, it's an intense experience. I've seen it happen. It happens in our services still at this day. People will vomit while they're getting a demon cast out of them. I see no issue with that if it happens. But I'm not going to tell someone you're not free unless you vomit. Well, then you're getting into, again, some the tactics and the techniques. So if you want to walk in an authority to where you speak and the demon goes, this is what you have to do. And this is all plainly laid out for us in scripture. This is basically training on how to walk with the Holy Spirit. You do this and you'll be good to go. So let's look at these now. Step one, honor the basics. And it's important that you understand this is all available for you in the scripture. This is not secrets that I've learned. I'm not giving you private interpretation. This is available for all of us. Okay. Think about the fact that Olympic athletes don't win the gold the moment they compete for the gold. They win the gold in all the preparation that's done before they have to go and win the gold. A soldier doesn't train for war on the battlefield. A soldier goes through rigorous training before they're ever deployed. An athlete who goes and plays at the championship. They don't win that championship there on the final match or on the final round or whatever you call it. They don't go and win it at that game, the game-winning match or whatever you want to call it. I'm demonstrating my ignorance of the sporting world but whatever you call it, the terminology, they win in the preparation and the training that takes place before that championship game. And so you as a believer win the battle before the battle. The battle is won in the basics of Christian living, not the moment you encounter it. And so I used to have this reverse and I can only speak from my experience. Like some people aren't aware of the fact that for the first I want to say maybe nine years of ministry or so. I have to go back and look at certain dates because it was around 2012-2013 where the Lord really began to deal with me and transform the way I saw this. The Holy Spirit corrected me and showed me through scripture where I was wrong. And so you know during that season of life I of course used these techniques and again I'm not slamming anyone who uses these and I'm not saying people haven't truly been delivered using these techniques. I saw people go free while I use those techniques, while I use the rituals and the prayers but they weren't set free because of what I was doing. They were set free despite what I was doing. And so the Holy Spirit had to break me from religious thinking and it really was religious dogma. Had to be broken from that so that I can see the full display of his power right there before me. And so you know I admit I'm not I'm not proud of the fact that I was involved in this sort of thing and I even taught it. But you know I would tell people things like well you know if you want to be free you have to go find the bloodline and so now I'm limiting people's freedom to their access to ancestry.com or you know you have to find the mystery or the name or the type and it just it got so complicated. Listen we have to stop complicating this and then referring to that complication as depth. Do not confuse complication with depth just because something's very detailed and very um how shall I say that's a good word I think just because something's very detailed and complex doesn't mean that it's deep. In fact true depth comes from simplicity and so I as a believer learned okay I have to just follow the basics. So let's take a look at that first basic Ephesians 6 10 to 11 a final word be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power put on all of God's armor so that you will be so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. So we'd rather be told pray a specific prayer do this specific thing name the specific demon and again it may work because it lifts the person's faith and they experience freedom for a time but then they may go back without getting saved and become possessed again and it's seven times worse. So you got to make sure that you as a believer are going into this prepared spiritually and we don't prepare with techniques or protocols or you know a list of types of demons or a list of types of things that they do or where they come if the Bible if we needed that the scripture would mention that. So you and I come at this with what the armor of God what is the armor of God the armor of God is everything God equips us with to fight against the deception and the power of the enemy and so we as believers have already been given that authority. We just have to learn to align ourselves with that authority so that when we speak these commands the demonic powers obey. You cannot make up with superstitious ritual what you lack in spiritual routine. Let me say that again. You can't make up with superstitious ritual which you lack in spiritual routine when you do the basics as a believer. You begin to carry the presence of the Holy Spirit in a manifested way around you. The atmosphere shifts around you. You carry that glory. You become a friend of the Holy Spirit wherever you walk peace goes with you and joy goes with you and love goes with you and clarity goes with you and you're bold and you're kind and you're loving and you're gracious to people. There's this real sweetness to the spirit's presence that begins to follow you when you walk with the Lord and so imagine the weight of that cloud. Just imagine you as a believer being surrounded by a cloud of glory just like the children of Israel and the wilderness but except we now have the Holy Spirit. We are the new tabernacle the new temple so now you have this cloud of glory around you may not be able to see it but in the spirit I promise you it's there you have this cloud and you're walking around with that cloud floating around you and and imagine now you you come up to person to a person who's demonically possessed you stand in front of them when you speak I command that demon to go that cloud around you pushes demonic forces out and the Holy Spirit doesn't deal with demons he dominates them he doesn't argue with demons he forces them to move demonic power compared to the Holy Spirit's powers rather weak I think we insult the Holy Spirit's power when we elevate demonic power above the Holy Spirit's power like a child's sand castle dissolves under the mighty power of an ocean wave so demonic possession is broken the moment it comes into contact with the manifested presence of the Holy Spirit and you carry that manifested presence which leads me to step number two time in God's presence act chapter four verse 13 says this the members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the scriptures they also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus second Corinthians 3 17 for the Lord is spirit and wherever the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom I used to compare that to Psalm 139 7 and say well Lord if you're everywhere and where your spirit is there is freedom then why isn't there freedom everywhere well this is talking about the influence of the spirit and so you as a believer have the influence of the Holy Spirit and you carry that influence with you so when you go into contact with someone who's demonically possessed if it's true demonic possession hear me now if it's true demonic possession it has to respond to the power of the Holy Ghost within you and the time with the Lord that you spend in his presence begins to have effects you begin to align now with that authority step number three you got to know the word mark chapter one I'll read 21 to 27 Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum when the Sabbath day came he went into the synagogue and began to teach the people were amazed at his teaching for he taught with real authority quite unlike the teachers of religious law suddenly a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out 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 now on a side note some would say well demons can't possess anything I don't even know where that came from because again that's what the word demonization means now we understand God as a whole owns everything but this is again speaking of that habitation and the indwelling of a demonic being and that control that it has over the individual who's possessed 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 evil spirit screamed through the man into a convulsion and then came out of him amazement gripped the audience and they began to discuss what had happened what sort of new teaching is this they asked excitedly it has such authority even evil spirits obey his orders now you have to imagine here very jealous religious teachers just jealous of who Jesus is they were jealous because he was able to do what they couldn't do they were jealous because he taught in a way they could not teach they were jealous because where they brought confusion Jesus brought clarity where they brought burden Jesus brought freedom where they brought protocol Jesus brought power and so they're jealous of who he is he's able to drive out demons with great force and if you study it historically the way that the religious leaders would try to drive out demons was through rituals and incantations and certain special prayers and now here Jesus comes along and doesn't have to use any of that he just speaks and it's gone and they're very upset at this I'm pretty sure that there was a Pharisee or two that probably folded his arms and said well you know I don't think Jesus really got all the demons or it's probably not that effective or he must be leaving people in bondage because he did it too quickly but that's not what's happening here Jesus is exercising a certain authority and they're angry with him religious minds will always be upset when you don't go through their protocols religious minds will always be upset when you don't complicate it religious minds will always be upset with the simplicity of spirituality and so in Matthew chapter 8 verse 16 we see when the even was come they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils and he cast out the spirits what with his word and healed all who were sick there again we see a delineation between evil spirits and sickness he casts out evil spirits but he heals the sickness so sickness is not an equivalent of a demonic being a sickness is a sickness a disorder in the body of iris and so forth not a sentient being from another realm that belongs to the kingdom of hell so it was the word that he spoke the word has power well when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness what did he speak he spoke the word Jesus wasn't possessed because he was tempted he was just being attacked from the outside with that assault of temptation now the scripture says resist the devil and he will flee how do you resist the word the word the word and so this is important that we implement these the basics of Christianity you cannot make up with spiritual or with superstitious ritual which you lack in spiritual routine number four you want to live clean acts chapter 19 verses 4 through 16 says this seven sons of skiva a leading priest were doing this but one time when they tried it the evil spirit replied I know Jesus and I know Paul but who are you then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them overpowered them and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house naked and battered so here the seven sons of skiva were attempting to drive out demons with ritual not relationship now remember I told you that ritual sometimes does work but not for the reasons that we think it works sometimes it you know because somebody sees a ritual being implemented or a special prayer being prayed their faith is boosted because hey it's gonna work and that faith is what creates the freedom but they don't know it was the faith they think it was the ritual itself and so we see that with the seven sons of skiva you can get by with ritual you can get by with religion you can get by with a certain type of protocol but it only goes so far it only goes so deep it only carries so much weight and power and authority and so you can do it that way and of course get somewhere maybe I mean I can get from Florida to California by driving but I would much rather fly and so when you go with the Holy Spirit you wage war from a higher realm you wage war from the depths of glory not exhausting yourself not not exerting human effort and emotion that's religion religion says it's in your strength religion says it's in your power religion says it's up to you the Holy Spirit says I'll take it from here and so when you exert yourself when you are the one having to work that demon out well now you're you're operating to some degree of power but it's it's it's only a small measure of that power once you step into clean living right living relationship you're aligned with that authority it's very simple demons cannot resist the authority of Christ in order to access fully the authority of Christ you simply need to live clean know the Lord spend time in his presence and know the word you do these things now you're aligned with that authority and now that the basics are in place what do you do you speak a simple command in the name of Jesus come out that's it anything more than that is human effort not the spirit anything more than that is religion is ritual now I know some might be saying well I don't know this doesn't sound right and and it's at this point that people will usually tell me David well you haven't come up against tough demons or you haven't really gone as deep as you should or you should study it more or some will even tell me you need to leave that to people who are experts in this field and this comes back to my point if we only label people who agree with us as experts will never learn look this is not coming from somebody who hasn't practiced this and I don't say that to my credit I say that so that there can be some relation between me and the one who might be questioning what I'm saying I've been doing this for over 20 years since I was 13 years old practicing exorcism and deliverance praying for the sick preaching on the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit prayer and spiritual warfare those were the three things I've covered since the inception of the ministry and I've done all these and I've I've I've made arguments from the other side too I used to defend these rituals and well you you got to know and you don't understand the spiritual realm like I do and you're not deep like I am and I understand where that's coming from because it can be a little a little unnerving when we hear things that challenge the way we believe but this is where we have to bow to scripture not to our emotions not to what we want to believe not to what we've been told and not to what we feel validates us personally but what the scripture teaches the simplicity now again there's nothing wrong or evil about doing it the other way I want to show you the Holy Spirit way a way that that really is more powerful and I know that because I've tried both and so this isn't this is a this isn't coming from someone who hasn't studied this out this is someone who studied it so deeply it changed the way I saw it and so that's what I challenge believers to do to leave behind the religion and leave behind the rituals and the protocols and just come at it with simple faith in the Holy Spirit's power if you live aligned in that power then when you as a spirit filled believers speak against that demonic being it has to go if it's actual demonic possession and that's the real key there if it's actual full on possession demonization then it has to go instantly possession and demonization always went instantly now we understand deception and strongholds and addiction these sort of things sometimes those take time sanctification because there's an element of the flesh at work in those types of attacks but specifically now we're talking about possession where demon inhabits a person or is attached to their being in any way shape or form that's possession that's demonization that's what the scripture is describing when it uses terms like possession demonization having a demon and so forth and so that is what is solved by a simple command and if that doesn't work there's only two options a it's not genuine demonic possession it could be a bondage that someone's confusing for possession or b you have to do like Jesus said go and fast and pray why well Jesus gave us the answer you faithless people fast and pray increase your faith why does that work because faith puts you in alignment with God's authority and so once you're aligned with God it's all it's about aligning with his authority it's as simple as aligning with his authority trying to get the demon to do this and that that's not the case it's it's about aligning with authority and if you align with his authority you can say go and it has to go that's the way Jesus did it that's the way I see the Holy Spirit do it now and trust me I can tell you it's much better to do it now so I challenge not just believers I challenge pastors teachers ministers do it God's way and and this is the beauty of the simplicity of the Holy Spirit's power it's just the power of the Holy Ghost that's what doesn't doesn't depend on us it depends on his authority but in order to align with that authority we just have to walk with him we have to now I know to some because when I say it out loud I know to some they might misunderstand what I'm saying is that David I thought it didn't depend on us well the part of aligning with his authority that's obedience but the actual expelling of the demon that's on him that's what I mean when I say it's not on us so my challenge to you is to learn to identify with a level head with discernment not not with accusing everybody you don't like with being demon possessed and again we're not talking about attacks so there's all kinds of other deliverances right now I'm talking specifically about exorcism which is a very specific kind of deliverance that's used on people who are demon possessed or demonized one more time Tim can we throw that slide up there this is for those of you just tuning in or maybe in the replay you've skipped around this is the definition of demonized take a look here these are major Greek references I want you to screenshot this and share it I want anyone who's watching right now screenshot this on your phone screenshot this on your desktop and I want this shared to social media tag me in it too I might repost it share this on social media this is the scripture here this is the word that the holy spirit inspired and so it's not true when somebody says that the word possessed isn't in the bible that's not true demonized literally means to be possessed with an evil spirit and you can check all these Greek references yourself you do not have to take my word for it you can check all of these for yourself and so that's what we're talking thank you Tim that's what we're talking about here I'm talking specifically about possession now on Thursday I'm going to pray with you in a moment on Thursday and by the time you watch this replay it could have already aired but I want you to make sure that you check out can a christian be demon possessed it's a very very very detailed look at that topic I think it's important that we do look at it I'll mention that again a little bit toward the end but let's pray for now and let's ask the holy spirit to help us to align with his authority to stop trying to do it in our own strength and to do it in his where there's real power when you finally leave the chains and the bounds of religion when you finally abandon the rituals and the protocols and the traditions of man sure religious minds will be upset with you then you'll have true power surrender to the holy spirit it's so simple people of god so father I pray that you would help your people to come back to the simplicity of simple faith in your power I thank you lord that it's not in our own strength it's not by power nor by might by your spirit and we thank you precious holy spirit for inhabiting us and giving us the authority of christ I want you to say this out loud say christ is in power say it christ is in power and I am in christ if you believe that whether you're watching live or on the replay I want you to type amen and I want to challenge you to get involved with what our ministry is doing we believe in the power of the holy spirit and this ministry is expanding rapidly it's time that the world saw the power of the holy spirit demonstrated I want to see masses saved I want to see masses healed I want to see masses delivered and set free from demon possession I want to see believers empowered you may be looking at the world today maybe you're discouraged at what you see you may wonder where the future of the generation is going but let me tell you this sin is still the problem jesus is still the answer and the gospel still has power the gospel is the answer so I want you to help us spread it this ministry spreads the gospel of jesus christ all around the world in the power of the holy spirit through two simple means events and media events and media and we are laser focused on seeing this message spread around the world so if you believe in this ministry you like what you see you want to get involved we are jesus centered bible-based spirit filled doing the holy spirit's work centered upon the word with jesus as the focus that is the key right there help us continue to do it we will not compromise the gospel we will not compromise the truth we're ready to do this we're not just talking about it we're doing it we're seeing people saved we're seeing people delivered we're seeing people healed we're seeing believers empowered and raised so go right now to get involved to david hernan is ministries.com slash partner to become a monthly supporter and that's very important especially because those consistent gifts help us to plan for the future of the ministry you can also give a single gift by going to david hernan is ministries.com slash donate there's no gift that's so small that it doesn't count and there's no gift so large that we wouldn't know what to do with it i promise you large or small one time or monthly everything counts so just take a moment listen for the voice of the holy spirit ask him what you should do and then go to david hernan's ministries.com i want to thank vea for becoming a monthly supporter thank you ashley for your gift thank you hannah for becoming a monthly supporter i can see some of the donations coming in on my phone when you give it david hernan's ministries.com phyllis thank you for becoming a partner leo thank you for becoming a partner chrispen thank you for becoming a partner marcelle thank you for becoming a partner ramona and sharyl and gene and elissa and gloria and andrea and arcelly and teodora my goodness and margaret thank you for becoming a monthly supporter brianna and don thank you for becoming a supporter marvin wilfredo and luce thank you for becoming partners uh shayla thank you for your gift my goodness i'm i'm overwhelmed i always say this but i am truly overwhelmed every time i see the generosity of god's people in action here so thank you for your support again david hernan's ministries.com slash donate to give a single gift slash partner to become a monthly supporter everything counts just ask the holy spirit what should i do and then get involved and i really really really recommend that you watch my teaching can a christian be demon possessed but when you go to watch it make sure you have the time to truly sit down and watch it all the way through we're going to go through scripture thoroughly with with a with a fine toothed comb we're going to go through every possible angle on that subject i'm going to cover the definition of demonization i'm going to cover the nature of salvation i'm going to cover questions like can a demon possess the spirit can a demon possess the body can a demon possess the soul we're going to cover all of the i shouldn't even say all we're going to cover most of the most popular ideas around christian and demon possession christians being demonized we're going to cover some of the scriptures that are often used to try to say that that's the case we're going to answer every angle that's major on the topic and then of course i'll be answering questions so don't miss that can christian can a christian be demon possessed if that's already up you can watch the replay but make sure to try to catch it live if you can if you're watching this sometime in the future then just go watch the replay god bless before we go i have a very very special announcement i need you to do something right now for me everybody get your calendars out march 22nd mark it down that's tomorrow is my brother david digger hernandez's birthday i feel like we should have some celebration it is his birthday tomorrow guys now here's what i want to do just take a few moments with me please please please please number one thing tim you got that graphic ready go ahead and put it on screen guys if this guy has blessed you i want to challenge you challenge you right now bless him bless him financially come on let's just shower him with some love it is his birthday tomorrow the man the myth the legend mr david digger hernandez my brother my best friend it is his b day tomorrow so with that being said bless the man also also like he said earlier when you get that book leave a positive review we want to see that thing go right to number one to reach so many people now before we go last and final thing guys i want to and i would love for you all 1.2k of you watching and over on facebook can we join together and sing a virtual happy birthday to my brother mr david digger hernandez all right i'm gonna hope and believe that you're doing this okay on the count of three okay everybody ready warm your voices up and here at the studio you guys can sing along as well all right on the count of three here we go one two three happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear david digger hernandez happy birthday to come on thank you i appreciate it how much you love and appreciate it i know this is maybe awkward i'm so sorry but i had to do it i had to i couldn't end the stream without that and with that guys being said bless the man of god like i said guys love you brother i love you guys i love you all thank you you you are the gift thank you i appreciate you and with that being said guys remember nothing is impossible with god we'll see you next week god bless good night