How to Cast Out Demons: 3 Spiritual Laws the Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know
Excerpted from Receiving Deliverance from the Courts of Heaven.
Demons are real!
I will never forget the first time I encountered a demon. It was at a youth camp where I was helping lead. Several churches had sent their young people to this camp. One of the youth groups had a mid-teenage girl who had come with a church group. I don’t think she was a part of their youth group but had been invited by a friend.
During a worship service, there was a commotion that arose in one section of the auditorium. This girl, in the midst of worship, began to “manifest.” What I mean by that, she lost control and began to make demonic sounds and aggressions. Several men in the meeting very quickly physically removed her and took her outside. This was to prevent the other youth from being traumatized by the demonic display. If you’ve never been exposed to these types of experiences, they can be quite frightening and upsetting. You suddenly realize the things seen in movies and portrayals are not fiction or myth, but they are in fact real.
As the services inside continued unhindered, I went out to see what was happening with this girl. Those who had carried her out were still restraining her and seeking to “cast the demon out.” It was clear this girl was “possessed” by something demonic that was tormenting her.
As I got close to where this process was happening, I saw her eyes were rolled back and guttural sounds were coming out of her. The viciousness coming from her appearance showed the anger and contempt of the demon in control. It was at this point when I realized the unseen world was in fact real. I had read the Bible, grown up in church, and loved the Lord. However, I had never seen anything like this. Suddenly, any question I had about what I believed, vanished. I realized that what the Bible taught about demons was true. Because the demonic realm was true, then all the other facts about the unseen world were true as well.
This moment in time radically affected me. It made me realize that this was not a game, that there were powers that wanted to destroy people’s lives. This girl was gloriously and dramatically set free. She was then baptized in the swimming pool the next day, as the whole camp looked on. This was a demonstration that I suspect none of the campers have ever forgotten. It was a visible declaration that the devil is alive and well. He is not a myth or a figment of our imagination. He is not something the church made up to control the masses. The devil is in fact authentic and wants to control and destroy people.
These campers, however, also saw the redeeming power of Jesus Christ to set people free. They saw that this girl who had been “possessed” by the demon experienced a power far greater than the demon that had controlled her. They witnessed that “greater is He who is in us, than he that is in the world” (see 1 John 4:4). I didn’t know it then, but this was going to be the first of many encounters I had with the demonic.
Throughout the history of my walk with the Lord, I have had times when I “ran upon” demons that were possessing people. Whereas in the beginning of these experiences I was quite intimidated, I have grown in authority and now know that I am the one who is a threat to them. In fact as I have matured in these areas, a minister friend told me of the following occurrence: He and his wife were seeking to cast a demon out of a person in a deliverance session. They could not get this demonic thing to leave. It was very resistant. As they tried and tried for quite a while to cast it out, this minister said to his wife, “I think I might need to call Apostle Robert to come help us.” As he said this, the demon spoke from the person he controlled and said, “No, not him! I’ll leave.” They were then able to completely remove this demon and see the person set free.
When I heard this story, I was amazed. I had no idea that I had a reputation in the unseen world of this magnitude. I am not saying this to brag on myself. With all humility, I am shocked and amazed that this would be the reality. This is because, I know me. I know my weaknesses, my frailties, my struggles, and my propensities. Yet in the midst of this, I must have a place before God that intimidates demonic powers.
This is what was said about Paul, when the sons of Sceva were seeking to cast out demons. They were trying to do it without a personal relationship with Jesus. The result was disastrous. Acts 19:13-18 teaches us several things about dealing with demons from an authoritarian place:
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
The first truth we must recognize is that any authority we carry is a result of our union with Jesus. It is Jesus and His name that has power and control over demons. The sons of Sceva were trying to work a formula against these demons without having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our own personal relationship and fellowship with Jesus that gives us the authority to cast out demons.
Mark 16:15-18 shows Jesus commissioning His disciples. This commissioning involved the authority to operate in the supernatural of God. The first thing Jesus mentions is the casting out of demons.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Jesus was speaking this to His close personal disciples. They were those who were in union with Him. In fact, initially when Jesus called them, what they were set apart to do was to be with Him. We see this in Mark 3:13-15:
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.
Notice that their being with Him would result in the authority to heal sicknesses and cast out demons. Casting out demons is the result of a deep personal union and intimacy with Jesus. This union grants us an authority the demonic cannot resist or deny.
A second lesson we can learn from the sons of Sceva debacle is that we can have a status in the unseen world. The demons in the person they were seeking to deliver said they “knew Jesus and they knew Paul.” The Greek word for know is ginosko, which means “to have experiential knowledge.” These demons would know who Jesus was because they knew Him from eternity. These demons would have known Jesus from when He was in Heaven, before He came to earth. This is why the demons cried out that they knew Him in Mark 1:22-28:
And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
The demons knew who Jesus was when no one else did. They recognized Him as the pre-existent One. They knew Him and knew He had the authority to torment them. We see this in Matthew 8:28-29. The demons in these two men recognized Jesus and knew He had the authority to judge them:
When He [Jesus] had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
The demons clearly know they are going to be tormented in judgment for all eternity. They also recognized that Jesus could torment them before that if He chose. The fact is that demons know Jesus. However, they also knew Paul. As I’ve said, this knew is a different Greek word, which is epistamai. This word means “to put one’s attention upon, to put one’s thought on.” It would seem to mean that the demons and spiritual realm had become aware of Paul. He was their enemy. He had gained a reputation in the unseen world. It is possible for us, too, to carry an authority in the spiritual dimension. As a result of who we are in Jesus, demons recognize us and actually fear us.
The third lesson we can learn from the sons of Sceva travesty is that the casting out of demons is a great tool of evangelism and revival. As a result of demonic demonstration, the culture and society’s attention was placed on Jesus and His gospel.
The fear of the Lord came upon the people. They began to run from witchcraft and devilish connections. They burnt their witchcraft artifacts, books, and enhancements. They turned to Jesus with all their heart. It would seem that the ministry of deliverance is a huge part of capturing a culture’s attention.
When the authority of Jesus is seen and manifest over demons, people turn their hearts to the Lord. They will serve the One who has the greater power and authority. The problem has been that there has been no demonstration that Jesus’ power is greater than the devil’s. This happens when people see demons being cast out. Many know they are tormented, but have no idea how to become free. This is where we must manifest the delivering power of Jesus to our generation. As we are able to display this power, there will be multitudes who will come to Him.
This is where the Courts of Heaven come in. The Courts of Heaven can remove demons’ legal rights that sets people free. When we are able to take the works of Jesus on the Cross and bring them legally against powers of darkness, people are freed. The devil can do nothing unless he finds a legal right to do it from. This is the revelation we have from 1 Peter 5:8. We are told that the devouring force of the devil comes from legal rights he is claiming:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The word adversary is the Greek word antidikos, which means “one who brings a lawsuit.” If we read this Scripture correctly, we are being told that satan must find a legal right to devour us from. He is our legal opponent. He cannot just do what he wants to do. He must have a legal right to do it. This includes demonic oppression and possession. If we are to set people free and delivered, we must know how to go before the Courts of Heaven and revoke, refute, and remove any and all legal claims of the adversary. When we do this, the devil must let who he has possessed and/or oppressed go free.
Lord, as I stand before the Courts of Heaven, I thank You that You have given me the right to stand in this holy place. You have given me authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions. They will by no means hurt me. I thank You that not only do You deliver me from every devilish power, but You grant me the right to prevail against them as well. My position with You causes every legal claim of the devil to be revoked and removed in Jesus’ name. I walk in Your authority over the powers of darkness and see them flee before me. Let judgments come from Your Courts, Lord, to annul any and all legal claims allowing demonic oppression or possession. Let the rights they claim now be removed in Jesus’ name, amen.
