Would you cast out a demon

Sure, I would pray and fast, and enlist the help of all the angels and saints. I would pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Prayer is always answered.

 

Would you have time to fast though? unless it was a five second fast?

 

Prayer and fasting takes some perseverence. What's the hurry? Jesus Christ doesn't tell us how long to pray and fast. It may be a long term commitment. We should have faith however that our prayer is heard.

 

While I believe that a demon can possess someone, I don't know if I would necessarily even be able to tell who is demon possessed. Such a person could simply be mentally ill or just plain given in to sin, for all that I would know.

I do remember once thinking that someone struck me as so vile and evil that I did wonder if they could be possessed. I left the situation immediately.

On another note, one of the local baptist churches here claims to have services for casting out demons. They believe that smokers are possessed by a nicotine demons, and that drinkers are possessed by alcohol demons, etc. And when they say this they really mean demons as anyone else would take the word. They believe that they are casting out actual demons.

 

They are right, they are casting out actual demons.

It's the demon of addiction,

 

"On another note, one of the local baptist churches here claims to have services for casting out demons. They believe that smokers are possessed by a nicotine demons, and that drinkers are possessed by alcohol demons, etc. And when they say this they really mean demons as anyone else would take the word. They believe that they are casting out actual demons. "


This sounds more pentecostal to me.


As far as prayer and fasting is concerned.. what I meant was, ... lets say you are confronted with a person with a demon.. do you walk away for 40 days and pray and fast, or do you cast the demon out?
When I was at a charismatic church, there was no time for fasting..they just believed on God, and "cast the demon out"

do I believe this wasnt just a show?

I dont know.. seemed real at the time, but I have been out of that kind of church for a few years now, and have my doubts.

 

Maybe. If the Spirit led me to do it, I would. (While I have dealt with the occultists, the demonic forces and persons with whom I felt confident were demonized, I have never actually sensed the Spirit telling me to cast out a demon from another person. However I have exercised the authority of Christ over the demonic on a number of occasions.)

If I didn’t have clear guidance from the Spirit, I would simply explain the gospel to the demonized person and ask them to commit themselves to Christ. If the demonic spirit(s) attempted to interfere (which is likely), I would rebuke them and simply continue teaching the gospel.

If a person doesn’t want to be free of the evil spirits and does not want to follow Christ, they may end up in an even worse situation if you indiscriminately cast out demons. (Matthew 12:43-45)

As far as prayer and fasting goes, disciples of Jesus should practice these disciples (and other) as part of their daily lives. We need to be physically and spiritually prepared for God to use us at His pleasure.

I heartily recommend Dallas Willard’s “The Spirit of the Disciples” for more insight into the Christian disciplines demonstrated by Jesus and emulated by His followers.

 

Emily:

I would walk away and pray and fast. Jesus doesn't tell us how long to pray and fast. He says to have faith that our prayers are heard. To fast doesn't mean you starve yourself to death. I have people on my prayer list that I pray and fast for. I will be doing this probably until I die. Have some demons been cast out? I believe so. The point of the incident in the New Testament is the disciples gave up. The disciples wanted a quick dramatic show. Jesus rebuked them and told them to pray and fast and have faith. I would make a poor Pentecostalist, and am not an exorcist. But, Jesus gives us all this method to deal with demons, and says that for some demons this is the only way.

 

Just how would you know someone had a demon? Too many times people like to take a deprived human, living the sinful nature and say they have a demon. Nope, they have Adam's sin nature, just like we all had before we were saved. There is no end to the type of horrorendous behavior a person who is a slave to their sinful nature can do. It isn't awlays a demon. So how do you tell the differnece?

 

Since prayer and fasting works for both people with demons and people without, a correct diagnosis isn't really necessary. Many people have demons directing their lives for them. People who react with great hostility to anything holy is a big clue and seems to be more than just an inclination to sin. I rely through prayer on asking God to let me know what His will is for me and He lets me know who to pray for and to fast for.

 

Donna,

You have to have the gift of the spirit called the discerning of spirits.

 

You are absolutely correct!

In my opinion, most of the time it is not a demon.

Some obvious clues that I have experienced are:

- The knowledge of things that they have no other way of knowing (private conversations I have had with my parents, knowledge of events that happened in my life 10 years prior, in another part of the country, that that I had not shared with anyone else, etc.).
- An extreme reaction to silent, non-obvious, prayer for them when in their presence.
- A strong aversion/hostility/mocking of Jesus.
- Strong demonic harassment while ministering to the afflicted person (pressed upon by invisible forces, loud unexplained noises, visible manifestations, etc.).

Other classic signs that I have not experienced:

- The knowledge of languages they have not previously known or studied.
- Distortion and distension of the body of the afflicted person.

But, for what it is worth, a demonized person can also appear very religious and participate in worship until confronted with Christ. (see Luke 4:33-36)

Ultimately, God will give you discernment about such things if you are open to being used of God in that situation.

 

You are absolutely correct!

In my opinion, most of the time it is not a demon.

Some obvious clues that I have experienced are:

- The knowledge of things that they have no other way of knowing (private conversations I have had with my parents, knowledge of events that happened in my life 10 years prior, in another part of the country, that that I had not shared with anyone else, etc.).
- An extreme reaction to silent, non-obvious, prayer for them when in their presence.
- A strong aversion/hostility/mocking of Jesus.
- Strong demonic harassment while ministering to the afflicted person (pressed upon by invisible forces, loud unexplained noises, visible manifestations, etc.).

Other classic signs that I have not experienced:

- The knowledge of languages they have not previously known or studied.
- Distortion and distension of the body of the afflicted person.

But, for what it is worth, a demonized person can also appear very religious and participate in worship until confronted with Christ. (see Luke 4:33-36)

Ultimately, God will give you discernment about such things if you are open to being used of God in that situation. </font>[/QUOTE]A most sensable response, thank you.

 

When people insist that there must be a demon behind everything a person does, start trying to pick out who must have a demon or be demon influenced are saying that apart from demonic activity man is not capable of acts of depravity. Fact is satanic influence in the garden of Eden is all the real influence we need in order to do horrid acts. We as humans are capable of choosing to do these acts all on our own.

 

If I came across an honest to goodness demon sure, I would, I mean its not me that does the work it is God who does the work.

A great book on demon possession is "A House Swept Clean" by Darrell McCulley, CPH. I will admit he is a friend of mine so I am biased, but he did a very throrough job of investigating demon related reports and laying it out in a concise fashion.

 

Question: If someone receives the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues (another language), would you assume that they had a demon? And if you did assume this, wouldn't this be blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (attributing the works of God to demons)? Or did you mean something other than just having the ability to speak in another language that they have not previously known or studied?

Brian

 

Question: If someone receives the Baptism in the Holy Spirit… </font>[/QUOTE]You are using an extra-biblical expression (“THE Baptism in the Holy Spirit”).

Have you ever witnessed someone have a spiritual experience where they suddenly had mastery of another early language (like Spanish or French) without any previous exposure or study of the language?

(For the record, I believe that the clear evidence of immersion (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is a transformed life in tune with God’s purposes in the world. Flashy “gifts of the Spirit” do not indicate spirituality or God’s favor.)

No. I wouldn’t assume anything. The signs that I listed are merely helpful guidelines that have developed over the centuries by faithful believers of various Christian backgrounds. They are designed to help the believer facing possible cases of demonization determine if the cause of the behavior is truly an issue of the demonic or an emotional or physical problem. Those who are demonized are mentally unbalanced because of their demonic affliction. But most mentally unbalanced people are not demonized.

Regarding demonic activity and “tongue-speaking”:

In my experience (which always has to be evaluated by scripture) with folks speaking in tongues (which always has to be evaluated by scripture), I have only come across one instance where I sensed that the tongue-speaking in the room might be demonically-inspired. The tongue-speaking took place in the context of a “faith healer” who had completely corrupted the gospel into a positive-thinking prosperity pitch (kind of like Unity) and seemed to be exercising spiritual and emotional control over most people in the room – it was an unnerving experience. Most of the other times I have been around tongue-speaking it has been spiritually-neutral. I didn’t have a sense one way or another except that the “tongues” didn’t seem to edify anyone except the person doing the “tongue-speaking” – there was no interpretation and no sense (at least for me) that God was involved. However, about noon on July 4, 1987 on Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas, a friend of mine and I walked past a woman who was discreetly praying in tongues in a private area (we were involved in an interdenominational evangelistic beach outreach) and I commented to my friend that I didn’t understand a thing she was praying. However, he said (with great surprise) that he actually understood what she was saying and explained it to me – this friend was not a charismatic by any means and he had not ever given much credence to tongue-speaking. A few minutes later we walked by her again and I listened carefully. I couldn’t understand a thing but he was giving me a sentence by sentence interpretation of her prayer (very specific and beautifully-phrased). If the gift of praying in unknown tongues exists, then I think I witnessed it that day.

That’s why I don’t assume. But if there are other signs and I sense the Spirit leading me to take action, I would. Remember, believers hear and recognize our Master’s voice (see John 10) and do not have to judge things by rules alone. We have not been left alone to muddle through these things, the Spirit informs and empowers us to confront the demonic realities of this world. We do not have to be afraid of them nor live in fear that they will somehow overtake us.

No. I wasn’t specifically considering tongue-speakers when I wrote that (it is not original with me, I’ve seem those classic signs many different places), but if they were speaking blasphemies (or teaching false doctrine) while speaking in a language they have never studied, I’d have to seriously consider that they might be demonized.

 

(bump) &lt;-- not a demon