Christians, Demons and our Authority in Christ
David Eells - 7/24/22
The Real Good News: Chapter 11 - Christians and Demons
God bless you and thank you so much for joining us in this study. I do pray that the Lord will be with you and give you wisdom to prepare you for the great things that God is about to do. Glory be to God! Thank You, Father. Thank You for being with us, Father. Thank You for Your precious promises, Father. Thank You for drawing us, Lord, and giving us a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. Thank You, Lord, that everything You’re working in these coming days is for our good and to bring us into the glory of God that was ordained for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father.
Well, saints, we’ve been learning about the real Good News of what the Lord has accomplished for us and how we can cooperate with Him in bringing this to pass. I’d like to back up just a little bit to the previous teaching. (Mat.10:5) These twelve Jesus sent forth, and charged them, saying, Go not into [any] way of the Gentiles, and enter not into any city of the Samaritans: (6) but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give. We see that the Lord sent His disciples to cast the demons out of the Covenant people of God and we’ve noticed that everything that happens to Israel is a type and a shadow for the Church: (1Co.10:5) Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (6) Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. (7) Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (8) Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (9) Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. (10) Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer. (11) Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
The Lord gave authority only for those who were Covenant people because, obviously, the promises were given for God’s people. The promises are not made for the world. What causes the world to enter in is that they have to be believers. Jesus said, (Mat.9:29) According to your faith be it done unto you, and (Rom.1:16) for [the gospel] (the Good News) is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. There’s the condition and it’s all the way through the Scriptures. You have to be a believer. Now we looked at some examples in the previous chapter of people who were not Covenant people, according to the Old Testament, but they were Covenant people, according to the New Testament. They entered in through their faith. We’re sons of Abraham through faith and those who are born from above, born again, are circumcised in heart. (Rom.2:28) For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: (29) but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart. And so, just as Jesus sent forth His disciples to cast the demons out of His Covenant people, in these days there’s going to be a perfect fulfillment of this in the Man-child ministry sending forth disciples to cast demons out of the lost sheep of New Testament, spiritual Israel.
Some of you reading this are thinking, “No, it’s not possible. Christians can’t have demons.” But it was God’s people out of whom Jesus and the disciples cast the demons! Jesus sent forth the disciples to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Mat.10:5) These twelve Jesus sent forth, and charged them, saying, Go not into any way of the Gentiles, and enter not into any city of the Samaritans: (6) but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give. I’ve been casting out demons since I was a very young Christian. After I read the Book, after I was born again, I just read, read, read the Word and I decided I was going to pay attention to what I read. I didn’t have a lot of religious experience, so I just read it and acted upon it. And almost all of the people that the Lord used me to cast demons out of were Christians. Folks, don’t say it can’t happen. It’s just not the experience of people who have the gift of discerning of spirits. Do you know what discerning of spirits is? It’s a supernatural gift that God gives to people to see demons, not just discern them, but the discernment many times is seeing them and I’m telling you that I see them in Christians. You know, it was a sad situation when we had a “revival” of sorts in this area because the devil picked a church that doesn’t believe Christians can have demons to bring in all sorts of religious deception. Well, just as His first Covenant people could have demons, His second Covenant people can and do have demons.
One of the conditions He pointed out there was that she was a daughter of Abraham. Isn’t it quite legal for a daughter of Abraham to be loosed from demons on the Sabbath? She has a covenant with God, a guaranteed right to deliverance from God. Nobody in the world has that but a child of God; in this case, a daughter of Abraham. In the New Testament, for instance in the Book of John, Jesus was speaking with the Jews concerning their status in the Kingdom. (Joh.8:31) Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him (So you can believe Him in some ways and not in others.), If ye abide in my word, [then] are ye truly my disciples; (32) and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. As in our day, folks, the truth is what sets us free from bondage. Jesus received that Isaiah 61 anointing to open the prison to those who were bound and to set the captives free. (Isa.61:1) The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, (2) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.... This is also prophesied in the New Testament: (Luk.4:14) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about. (15) And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. (17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, (18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
That applies to us, also, folks; we’re to set the captives free, too. But whom did Jesus choose to set free? It was only those who were Covenant people, whether Old Covenant or New Covenant. Jesus came in a time when He was leading people out of the Old Covenant and into the New, and both were in effect. He had to come first to the Jews, who were the Covenant people at that time, and offer them this benefit of the Kingdom. And, of course, when they rebuked Him and renounced His Words, when they turned away from Him and His disciples, then the Jews were reprobated and God offered this gift to the Gentiles. What was the Jews’ argument with what Jesus said? (Joh.8:33) They answered unto him, We are Abraham’s seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Well, there are a lot of people who believe that today, folks. They think because they’re Christians that they don’t need to be set free. They think because they’re Christians that they don’t need any deliverance, but the truth will set you free and a lie will keep you in bondage. Jesus understood this. But then those Jews said to Jesus, (Joh.8:39) They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. In the New Testament, what causes you be a child of someone is that you walk in their steps. In the New Testament, it’s what the spiritual seed brings forth that counts and not the physical seed, so what is it to be a child of the Kingdom? (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. The only proof that you are a child of someone in the New Testament is, do you walk as they walked? And, of course, Jesus was pointing out that, if they were true children of Abraham, they would do the works of Abraham.
You have the benefits of the Covenant and one of those benefits is that you have the right to be delivered of demons, and you have the right to cast out demons (Matthew 10:8; Mark 16:17). All believers can do that. There are people out there who specialize in this, but Mark just makes one condition and that is believe. “These signs shall accompany them that believe.” A baby Christian can cast out demons and should be doing it. It’s been spoken unto us, so we should be doing it. Now I’d like to go a little further with something we looked at last time. (Mat.12:38) Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees and the Scribes. It was the Jews who were “an evil and adulterous generation.” And Jesus tried to warn them. (Mat.12:43) But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. (44) Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. (45) Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation. Jesus said that when the demon is cast out, it passes through waterless places and returns, and brings seven worse than himself; even so shall it be unto this generation.
Well, folks, there’s no difference between that end-time generation at the end of their Covenant and this end-time generation at the end of our Covenant. As you know, the former rain came at the end of their Covenant and the latter rain is coming at the end of our Covenant because history just repeats. And I want to tell you that many demons will be cast out in the days ahead from Covenant people and because they will not repent, the demons will return much worse. This is a sad but true thing. Now some of you may still be asking, “Can Christians really have demons? How is it that Christians can have demons?” Well, for years people have quoted this verse to me. “My Spirit will not dwell in an unclean temple.” If you’ve ever heard that verse, guess what? It’s not to be found in the Scriptures, folks. It’s become very popular but it’s like one of those old wive’s tales. There’s no verse in the Bible that actually says that, but I do agree with it in a way because where the Spirit of God dwells, it’s a holy place. So the problem is, how is it that Christians can have demons and yet have the Holy Spirit? I’ll tell you what the Lord told me many, many years ago, that I think fits perfectly. He showed me that the Tabernacle in the wilderness was not only a type of the Lord Himself, but it was a type of His body because in the midst of our very heart and spirit, God dwells, like He dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. The Tabernacle was just a portable Temple, like we are. This body is a tabernacle, you see, and people say God and the devil, or God and demons, can’t dwell in the same temple. Well, that’s not quite true. Let me point out just a few things to you. The Holy of Holies represents our spirit. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies and, if he hadn’t been sanctified, he would not live through that experience.
As a matter of fact, the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies with a rope tied around his ankle, just in case he was going in there unsanctified, according to the Law. That way, they could just drag them out dead, which was always a possibility. So nothing evil could enter into the Tabernacle, which was the place of the Ark of the Covenant, the place of the Presence of God. That was where God would speak to His people from between the cherubim over the Mercy Seat. No one could go into the presence of God, except the holy. And the High Priest, of course, represented our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. The shekinah glory was there in the Holy of Holies. Then, the next place, just outside the Holy of Holies, was the Holy Place and it represented the soul. Over them both was the Tent of Meeting. The covering over the tent represented this covering over the place of God’s presence and an interesting thing was that the outside of the tent was covered with ram’s skins that were dyed red. (Isa.1:18) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And here we have ram’s skin and what would a ram represent but a stubborn beast? By the way, rams were sacrificed, just as we, as Christians, have a continual burnt offering. (Rom.12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. We are to sacrifice this old beast. So now we can see that there is a Holy Temple of the Lord and a temple that’s not so holy. Lastly, on the outside of the Holy Place, not the Holy of Holies but the Holy Place, was the Outer Court and it represented our physical body.
As a matter of fact, God won’t renew, God won’t regenerate, the flesh. He wants it to die. The mind of the flesh is the mind that’s been taken over by the flesh, or the soul and the mind that’s been taken over by the flesh, by the lusts of man. (Rom.8:5) For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. And, of course, the mind is a part of the soul. You see, the flesh is constantly seeking to have its way with the mind, in order to cause you to give in to the lusts. (Rom.8:6) For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace (The mind of the flesh cannot enter the Kingdom of God. It’s the enemy of God.): (7) because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: (8) and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. The reason that’s so is because the mind of the flesh is an offspring of the devil. Think about the lusts of the flesh, the works of the flesh. (Gal.5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, (21) envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. There are demons that have the same names as those lusts of the flesh. Why is that? It’s because the demons are the fathers of the lusts of the flesh, just as God is the Father of the fruits of the Spirit. The flesh is created in the image of the devil, folks; that’s why it has to die, so that we might be renewed. (Rom.8:7) Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be (So, it’s the enemy of God and do you think that the devil can enter into the enemy of God? Of course he can!): (Rom.8:8) and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
God’s anointing, by His Holy Spirit, empowers us to overcome the strong desires of the lusts of the flesh. I’d like for us to take a closer look at those verses in Galatians. (Gal.5:17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. The word “lust” here just means “desire”; it’s not imputing any evil to the Spirit of God. (Gal.5:18) But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.... By the way, the “works” of the Spirit are called the “fruits” of the Spirit. The list here is also the “fruit” of the flesh, but they call it the “works” of the flesh. It’s bad fruit, but it’s fruit. (Gal.5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, (21) envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, that old man who does these things is never going to Heaven. The old man, the old life, the one that’s created in the image of the devil with his fruit that we’re reading about here, is not entering the Kingdom. He is against God. (Gal.5:22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. (24) And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. What does that mean? Does that mean that they’re perfect? No. It means that their old man is on the cross and they’re just not letting him down to rule. You know, when flesh is on the cross, it doesn’t have ability to do its own will and the Christian who walks in the Spirit doesn’t permit their flesh to do its will. And, of course, the more you permit the flesh to do its will, the more the devil is invited in and permitted to take over control of your soul.
Ultimately, a person becomes, in that case, twice dead and plucked up by the roots. (Jud.12) These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Now, you can’t be twice dead unless you’re twice born, can you? So, if you believe that a person can’t be born-again and yet have a demonic spirit, I ask, then how can a person be twice dead? The truth is, the old man has to die. As a matter of fact, Jesus made that a condition for entering the Kingdom. (Mat.10:39) Except you lose your life, you will not gain your life. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. So this old man has to die and we have to cooperate with God in this crucifixion of the old life because the devil can use you as long as you give in to your lusts. He can take you over and, in some cases, people can become totally possessed. There are people who say Christians can’t be possessed, that they can only be oppressed. They say oppression is from the outside and possession is from the inside. There’s no truth to that, folks. A person can be oppressed from the inside and not possessed. The Lord showed me that the demons go in and out of the soul. When a demon is in your body and he reaches into your soul and takes possession of your mind, your will and your emotions, that’s possession, but the demon’s been on the inside the whole time, you see. And he can back out, by the way. Have you ever noticed that a person can be quite normal one moment and the next moment they act as though they’re possessed? It’s because the demons go in and out of the soul. They go in, they take control; they back out, they sit dormant. Sometimes they can be very quiet for years and you will never know that they’re there until something happens to cause them to manifest.
Now, we just saw that, even though He healed them all and He cast out their spirits of infirmity and their demons, those demons came back because the people didn’t appreciate their gift from God (Matthew 12:43-45). As a matter of fact, the demons came back worse because the heavy penalty of the curse causes many people to repent. Of course, we all need to repent. We all need to turn away from this old flesh and, if we give in to the flesh, we are opening a door for the demons to take advantage of us. Remember what Jesus said: (Joh.14:30) The prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me. That’s the key: “He hath nothing in me.” In other words, the Lord hadn’t been catering to His flesh. He hadn’t been giving in to His flesh. He hadn’t been making a door for the devil or demons to enter in and take any kind of possession or take any kind of rights. Glory be to God! That’s the great thing about this spirit, soul and body sanctification that the Lord has given us. If you’re wise concerning these things, you can cut the devil off. You can use your shield of faith. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Notice who’s getting this deliverance here: “Having therefore these promises.” Who is it who believes these promises? It’s only the Covenant people. “Let us cleanse ourselves,” He didn’t say, “the wicked world.” We have a right to cleanse ourselves. We have a Covenant with God, a guarantee with God. “Of all defilement of flesh and spirit”; that is speaking about defilement of your soul by your flesh and by demon spirits. We have a Covenant right; we are guaranteed this cleansing.
Not everyone has a right to these benefits because not everyone is not delivered from the curse. (Gal.3:13) Christ redeemed us.... Who’s Paul speaking to? He’s talking to the Galatian Christians. And, by the way, they were Gentile Christians. (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (14) that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Where do you get the blessing of Abraham? Abiding in Christ Jesus; that’s the only place you can find it, folks. The unconditional eternal security people are wrong. You have to abide in Christ. And what does the Bible say about that? (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. (24) As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. In other words, the doctrine that was given unto us is what we must abide in, is what we must have in our heart. This causes us to abide in the Son because He is the Word. So we see here, “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” We receive all the promises of the Spirit through faith; there’s the condition. And it doesn’t matter if you call yourself a Christian or if you’ve shaken a preacher’s hand, or gone to an altar, or had an experience with God in the past. The point is, do you believe now? Are you believing now? The benefits of the Kingdom are to those who believe. “These signs will accompany them that believe.” We have a right to minister God’s deliverance, but on the other hand, Jesus said, (Mat.8:13) ... As thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. It’s very important that we believe to enter in to the benefits of the blessings of Abraham.
There are some conditions in the Scriptures that make it legal to cast demons out of lost people, but it has to do with the benefits of God’s people. (Act.16:16) And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination.... You may have a footnote that the Greek word there for “spirit” is “python” and Jesus gave us authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions (Luke 10:19). These are kinds of demons. By the way, the serpent has its poison in the head and the scorpion has its poison in the tail. The head has to do a lot of times with knowledge, discernment, prophecy and these kinds of things. These are deceiving spirits and this was a deceiving, false prophecy demon here. (Act.16:16) And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. Now, certainly, this wasn’t a child of the Kingdom, right? (Act.16:17) The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation. Literally, it says “a way of salvation.” Isn’t that what the devil preaches, folks? He preaches that there are many different ways of salvation, but Scripture says otherwise: (Act.4:12) And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved. “There’s no other name given among men wherein we must be saved.” There’s only one way; the Lord is very narrow-minded. (Mat.7:13) Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. (14) For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. He calls it the “straitened way” and “straitened” means “narrow.”
Well, this lying demon was perverting the gospel of Paul into “many ways.” (Act.16:18) And this she did for many days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that very hour. (Here’s an instance where he said, “Come out in the name of Jesus.” That’s not a law, but he exercised his authority.) (Act.16:19) But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. So when her masters saw their hope of gain was gone, they started to persecute Paul and Silas. (Act.16:20) and when they had brought them unto the magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, (21) and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive, or to observe, being Romans. (22) And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent their garments off them, and commanded to beat them with rods. (23) And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: (24) who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Now this woman wasn’t a Christian and she hadn’t heard the Gospel. (Rom.1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Certainly, what we need to do, if we want to see someone delivered, is preach the Gospel to them first. We need to make sure they are believers in what the Lord accomplished at the cross. He is our sacrifice; He is our blood Covenant. And when we preach the Gospel and when people believe it, there are other things we should cover immediately.
The Real Good News: Chapter 12 - Authority and Demons
Greetings, saints. God bless you. Thank you for continuing with us in this Bible study. Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask You for Your grace today for our understanding, for our willingness to obey. We ask You, Lord, to draw us and cause us to run after You. Lord, cause us to walk in the steps of Jesus. Cause us to be true disciples of Christ, Father. Thank You so much, Lord. Teach us, Lord; teach us today. Amen.
Well, brethren, we’ve been talking about the real Good News and I’d like for us to begin today’s study here: (Col.1:12) Giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet (that means “able”) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (The Lord made us able to partake of our inheritance.); (13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.... We have already been delivered. This is the Good News. We know we have a right to cast out demons. We know we have a right to take authority over the power of darkness because the Lord already delivered those who believe. Of course, that’s the question in our mind whenever we go to administer God’s blessings to people: Do they believe the Gospel? So we share the Gospel with them and when we see if they do believe or if they don’t believe, we have authority according to that. If they believe, we can administer the blessings. (Col.1:13) Who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; (14) in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. “Redemption” is “the release of a prisoner in exchange for a sum of money or other payment demanded or paid.” You know, the Lord paid the ransom so that we could be set free from bondage. We have been redeemed. Isn’t that what a ransom does? He paid the ransom and we don’t belong in bondage, saints. And, as believers, we also have the wonderful gift to be able to administer this gift to other believers. The Lord said, (Mar.16:17) And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So it has to be “in my name.” The only condition is to be a believer; not necessarily even a mature believer, just a believer. You just have to believe and that means “babies” in the Lord are entitled to these benefits the same as adults. All believers, even from a baby Christian on up, have a right to do all the signs there in Mark 16 and one of those signs is to cast out demons. The verse says, “in my name.” What does it mean to be in God’s name? Doesn’t it mean to be representing Him? “In His name” means “in His nature, character and authority”; that’s what “name” means in the New Testament. So, in God’s name, representing Him, we will cast out demons and these signs will accompany those who believe. That’s the condition and again I want to say that the believer is not necessarily somebody who is mature in the Lord. You don’t have to bring people who are oppressed or possessed to the preacher. In fact, many times the preacher may not know what to do with them. But even as a baby Christian, you can do the work of the Lord. You know, the Bible says something very interesting: (Eph.1:17) That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; (18) having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling (What is it that God called you for? What has He prepared you for? What has He prepared you to do? What are your orders? You can find some of them, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5:3- 12.), what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (He made us meet, He made us able to partake of the inheritance that we have.), (Eph.1:19) and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe (We need a revelation of the power that God is willing to manifest to all people who believe.
Mark 16:17-18 is very plain that these signs will accompany those who believe. “In my name they will cast out demons.”), according to that working of the strength of his might (Eph.1:20) which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places]. What else happened when Christ was raised from the dead? (1Co.15:22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. When Christ was raised from the dead, who else was raised from the dead? We were, folks! When Adam fell, all mankind fell because the seed of all mankind was in Adam when he fell. But Jesus was the last Adam. He is called, by the way, in the original manuscripts, the “Father of eternity” (Isaiah 9:6). And so, just as all mankind fell when Adam fell, when Christ was resurrected, all of those in Him were also resurrected. (Joh.20:21) Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. He sent His disciples with authority, the very same authority over the curse that He had. (Eph.1:20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly [places], (21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named (So Jesus was made to sit above all authority, all the principalities and powers.), not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (22) and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is his body.... We see here that Jesus is above; He’s the head and all the principalities and powers are under His feet. This means, of course, that God put all the principalities under the very lowest member of the body of Christ. Even if you’re the feet of the body, you have dominion over the principalities and powers. (Eph.1:23) Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
All these principalities are under the feet of the body and Christ is the head of the body. That let’s you know that even the very lowest, the very least of us, has authority over the devil’s kingdom. It also brings to mind the revelation in Daniel about the image of the Beast, where the toes represented the end-time kingdom. (Dan.2:32) Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible. (32) As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, (33) its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. (34) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces. (35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. (36) This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. (37) Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory; (38) and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold. (39) And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. (40) And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. (41) And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. (43) And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay.
According to Jesus, there are only two men in the earth: Christ and Antichrist. The Beast kingdom is all of those in whom the Antichrist lives; it’s the body of Antichrist, if you will. (Luk.17:34) I say unto you, In that night there shall be two men on one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (35) There shall be two women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (36) There shall be two men in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. So, just as it was in the days of Jesus, in these days, the body of Christ will face-off with the body of Antichrist. And, if you see the body as a type being stretched out over history, as Daniel also did, then you see that we’re at the end of history. We’re the people who are going to take dominion over the devil’s kingdom. We’re the people who are going to crush the devil’s kingdom and bring it to nought, destroy it. This, according to Daniel, has been given unto the saints, folks. (Dan.7:26) But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. (27) And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. In these days, God’s people are going to rise up or, I should say, God is going to rise up in His people and crush the kingdom of the Beast. The seed of the woman is going to crush the serpent’s head. (Gen.3:14) And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: (15) and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
In these days, that’s going to be fulfilled. You see here clearly that He has put every principality and power under the end-time saints; not that they haven’t always been under all of the saints because the body is above the feet, obviously. But in these days, it’s going to be manifest. In these days, we’re going to see greater works than in Jesus’ day in crushing the serpent. Of course, Jesus obviously did it all; it was all accomplished for us, but the body of Christ is going to bring it to pass in these days. Remember that you don’t have to bring people to someone else; you can just exercise your authority. God will use you to cast out demons and here’s another confirmation of that: (Psa.8:1) O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth, Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens! (2) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings” doesn’t sound like you have to be very, very mature, in order to take dominion over the Lord’s enemies, does it? (Psa.8:3) When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.... As you read on, you find a text that was also quoted in Hebrews 2:6 and it reads, (Psa.8:4) What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) For thou hast made him but little lower than God (Or, some versions say, “angels.” The word here is elohim and it means “mighty ones.” In the Old Testament, it’s translated many times as “God.”), And crownest him with glory and honor. (6) Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet (There it is, folks! All things! In these days, God’s people are going to get the revelation that they’re the head and not the tail; they’re above and not beneath.): (Psa.8:7) All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field, (8) The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. (9) O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth!
The curse was the opposite of that, wasn’t it? So we see that God’s people have been given dominion. God spoke to those who were in His name. Jesus spoke to those who were in His name. He said, “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” This dominion was first spoken of Adam. (Gen.1:26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (27) And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Adam was given this dominion over the earth, but Adam sinned and everyone in him fell. (Rom.5:12) Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned.... He sinned and they inherited sin, and they fell. (6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Well, Adam obeyed the devil and the devil took dominion over the earth, but then Jesus came along, Who is called the “last Adam,” to restore that dominion. (1Co.15:45) So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. When Jesus was led of the Spirit to be tempted of the devil, the devil lost. (Mat.4:1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. (3) And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. (4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (5) Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, (6) and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. (7) Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. (8) Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (11) Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Jesus didn’t obey the devil, so He retained dominion and He passed that dominion on to His children. Well, who were and who are Jesus’ children? They’re identified in the Bible as His disciples. As a matter of fact, He called them “children” several times, like in John 21:5, because they were His spiritual children. Just as when Adam fell, all mankind fell because in his loins was the seed of all mankind; so also, when Christ was resurrected, we were all resurrected because in Him was the seed of all of the body of Christ. And so, this was first spoken of Adam here, about man and the son of man. Adam and his children were given dominion over all the earth. But they lost it. Then Paul, in Hebrews 2:6, applies this verse to the last Adam, Who was the Father of the born-again creation and the last Adam didn’t lose dominion. He passed it on to His children, but His children in these days have forgotten that. They don’t understand that. They don’t have that revelation in their heart. As the body of Christ, we have the same dominion that the first body had, which is another revelation that God is going to bring to His people in these days. We’re the feet, folks; we’re the end-time body. We’re the end-time body that’s going to have dominion over all the principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. And notice that it’s the children; even the children can do this. (Psa.8:2) Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. And, boy, does it ever! How many times in the Scriptures did God use weak vessels to conquer great, enormous vessels? For example, Israel seemed always to be in the minority whenever they won a battle. God’s power was always made perfect in weakness. (2Co.12:9) And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. He loves to use children to do things.
Some people think, “Well, I’m not mature enough. I’m not wise enough. I don’t have enough of the Word in me; therefore, I can’t do this. I’ll have to bring them to the pastor.” Well, I can tell you that in many cases the pastor may be younger than you! It has nothing to do with age in the Lord. It has to do with maturity. It has to do with someone who is a believer. You have to believe in order to cast out demons; that’s the condition. You have to believe. And as believers, there are two things we need: We need authority and we’ve just discovered that we have authority. God gave us authority. “Yea, I give you authority over all the power of the enemy.” “Authority” is the “right to use power.” We saw in the Scriptures, as a matter of fact, that the apostle Paul used the power even of the devil. He had the right to use it. He turned a man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that his spirit would be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5). He turned Hymenaeus and Alexander over to the devil so that they might be taught not to blaspheme (1Timothy 1:20). And, you know, the devil is a fierce taskmaster. He will whip you good. He’ll whip you until you’re ready to say, “I repent, Lord!” But the devil is working against himself because of what he does to mature the people of God and they’re ultimately going to destroy him. (Mar.3:24) And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (25) And if a house be divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (26) And if Satan hath risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. Every kingdom that’s divided against itself will not stand. The people of God are going to destroy the devil’s dominion.
They’re going to destroy the Beast kingdom, but God’s Kingdom is going to reign forever. When the stone in Daniel 2 rolled down out of the mountain and struck the image of the Beast in the feet, it crumbled the whole thing all the way back to the head, folks. The seed of all those kingdoms is still with us today and God has given us dominion. I mentioned that there’s something else we need besides authority and that’s anointing. We need anointing. Now, I’m not saying it’s absolutely necessary; the seven sons of Sceva cast out demons and they didn’t have the Holy Spirit, did they? What they did have was a Covenant right. But by the time the Lord came and preached the truth, their preaching “Jesus whom Paul preacheth” was not enough. It wasn’t enough to preach to someone they didn’t know anymore and now God held them responsible. (Act.19:13) But certain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. (14) And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. (15) And the evil spirit answered and said unto them, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? (16) And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. But the disciples, these ignorant fishermen, weren’t trained in Bible schools. They went out there and cast out demons; they did miracles and many mighty works because they knew they had been given authority. Yet, Jesus didn’t do one miracle until He received His anointing. (Luk.3:22) And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And from there, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness. (Luk.4:1) And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness (2) during forty days, being tempted of the devil….
In type, the Israelites were baptized in the sea and in the cloud, representing the baptism of the Holy Spirit, after which they were led into their wilderness. (1Co.10:1) For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. (2) They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. Folks, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Multitudes, some 90% or more of people who claim a born-again experience, have never been filled with the Holy Spirit and that’s a shame because it was a much higher percentage in the early church. Whenever the apostles found a disciple, one of the first things they asked them was, (Act.19:2) ... Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they [said] unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was [given]. (3) And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. (4) And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. (5) And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. (6) And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. It was very common in the early church to be filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of the gifts. So why was it, then, that Jesus, after receiving this great anointing, had to be led of the Holy Spirit to be tempted of the devil? Notice the Holy Spirit didn’t tempt Jesus, but the Holy Spirit led Jesus to be tempted. It’s because, (Rev.2:26) And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations.
The Lord had authority to give Jesus, but first Jesus had to overcome the temptation of the devil. Why? Well, you remember what happened to Adam. Adam was tempted; he flunked the test; he lost the dominion. Jesus was tempted, but Jesus beat the devil every time with the sword of the Word of God, until the devil finally backed off for a season. Jesus overcame and God gave Him authority. “To him that overcometh, to him will I give authority.” If you overcome the temptations of the devil, God will give you authority. It’s not just faith, folks, it’s holiness. Again, I’m not saying we have to be perfect in order to exercise authority; nobody would ever get to perfection if that was true, you know. And Jesus said, (Luk.4:18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised. The anointing is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the anointing breaks the yoke, the yoke of bondage, the yoke of bondage to the old man, the yoke of bondage to the beast. (Gal.5:1) For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage. The anointing does that. The anointing is power from God to give us dominion. (Act.1:4) And, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, [said he], ye heard from me: (5) For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence. Well, here you have probably the most valuable men on earth, these disciples, who had been trained by the Master Himself, and the Lord said, “No, you don’t need to go to Bible school. You just need to wait here and receive the Holy Spirit.” Many people come out of Bible school with their certificates and they go straight to work in the church. They don’t have to overcome to receive authority. As a matter of fact, the Pharisees had that kind of authority, but it was fleshly authority. It wasn’t any kind of authority like Jesus had. (Mat.7:28) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching: (29) for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Well, He did have authority and it was because Jesus had overcome that He received His authority. And so these disciples, too, had to be filled with the Spirit and go through their own wilderness and overcome and exercise their authority.
There’s a really bad demon doctrine today that says whenever you’re saved, you automatically receive the Holy Spirit but, evidently, their “holy spirit” is pretty weak because they don’t go and do these works. Jesus said these signs will accompany those who believe. He said they’ll cast out demons and speak in tongues. He said they’ll lay hands on the sick and they’ll recover. Let me point out to you that in the Book of Acts and in the Gospels before the Book of Acts, after teaching these disciples for three-and-a-half years, Jesus said, (Mat.19:28) ... Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “Regeneration” is a Greek word that means “born again.” Speaking to His disciples, He said, “You, who have been born again.” So they were born again. And, as a matter of fact, He said, (Joh.15:3) Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. So they were also cleaned up. God spoke the Word that cleaned up their heart. (Joh.6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life. “The words that I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life.” That Word went into those disciples and cleaned them up. Well, Jesus said that even though they were born again and cleaned up, they didn’t have the Holy Spirit. He said, (Joh.14:17) Even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you. And He also said to them, (Joh.7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: for the Spirit was not yet [given]; because Jesus was not yet glorified.
You see, if we believe on Him as the Scripture has said, we get the same Spirit. The same mantle that Jesus had comes upon His disciples. We receive that anointing to minister with power. And these important men, as important as they were to the whole world, as needed as they were among the people of God, still had to wait until they received this anointing. (Act.1:8) But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. So these people, who were born again, didn’t have the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts is full of examples of people who had been saved and yet had not received the Holy Spirit. Here’s one good example: (Act.8:12) But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. These people were believers and were baptized. (Mar.16:16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. It goes on to say, (Act.8:13) And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed. (14) Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: (15) who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: (16) for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
You see, folks, some of you have been lied to; in fact, lots of you have been lied to about this automatic receiving of the Holy Spirit. First of all, if you get what they got, you will do what they did. That anointing is to heal the sick, cast out devils, so on and so forth. “These signs shall accompany them that believe.” There are multitudes today who are missing out on their inheritance. We have been given the ability to partake of the inheritance of the saints, the “sanctified ones.” We have been given the ability to partake of that inheritance to the sanctified ones (Colossians 1:12). What did Jesus pass on to us? He passed on to us the same authority that Adam was supposed to pass on to his children, but because Adam was tempted of the devil and failed, he didn’t. Now Jesus has passed on that authority to us, yet, multitudes of Christians haven’t realized what has happened. If you receive the Holy Spirit and you believe the Word of God, you will have a miraculous life, folks. You will have signs, wonders and miracles happening in your life. When I was a baby Christian and didn’t hardly know my right hand from my left, I started casting out demons. At first, I was just stepping out because I saw it in the Word and I didn’t know that much about it. But I just stepped out in obedience and the Lord honored my faith with signs and wonders. In fact, one of the first people I cast demons out of was my dad. My dad used to be a chemist and a metallurgical engineer for Exxon; and Exxon doesn’t know this, but my dad’s passed on, so I guess I can tell you. He built a stainless steel still from Exxon’s materials. Of course, my dad didn’t know the Lord. So he used this awesome stainless steel still that had copper tubing and all those good things to make some white lightning, which is very high proof homemade whiskey, for those of you who don’t know what it is.
Then finally they decided, “We’re gonna test this guy.” And I’ll tell you the truth. I thought, “That’s crazy!” Anybody, anybody, could see what was going on with him. You didn’t have to have the Holy Spirit to tell this guy was demon-possessed. First of all, he thought he was a woman. Well, that’s pretty demon-possessed right there and, second of all, he was reading minds! Some of you who don’t think the devil can read minds had better think again; I saw him doing it. It was kind of an interesting story because, in this church, most of the people were filled with the Spirit, but they had a problem with how faith actually worked. Their doctrine about receiving the Holy Spirit was what tripped them up on that. They believed that unless you spoke in tongues, you didn’t have the Holy Spirit. Well, I believe tongues is one of the most common signs of the Holy Spirit, but I can’t say what the Bible doesn’t say. And tongues is a manifestation of the Spirit. You receive the Spirit by faith and the manifestation comes, you see. But they didn’t ever believe anything unless they saw it, which is a stumblingblock and that’s the reason they had problems casting out demons. They weren’t going to believe it until they saw the demon come out. That’s not how faith works, folks. Anyway, they were standing around this guy and somebody came up with the bright idea, “We’re gonna test this guy. We’ll see if this is the devil.” Well, I knew it was a devil. So they picked this verse: (1Jn.4:2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (3) and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.
Well, John was talking about testing the spirits of people; he wasn’t talking about testing demon spirits. He was talking about the spirit of a person who is not born of God because he talks about He Who’s in you and he who’s in the world. (1Jn.4:4) Ye are of God, [my] little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That’s only two. That’s Christ in you and that’s Antichrist in the world, so he’s talking about testing the spirits of people. He’s not talking about demons. But it also says, “every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God,” and this means that, if a man’s spirit confesses that Jesus Christ is presently in that flesh, then that’s the Spirit of God. That’s what this is talking about. It doesn’t say, “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” because it wasn’t talking about Jesus coming once upon a time in His flesh. This is talking about the Spirit that brings Jesus in your flesh. (2Jn.7 NENT) For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, they that confess not Jesus Christ coming in [the] flesh. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. This is your born-again spirit in the image of the Spirit of Jesus, produced in you and then hopefully empowered by the Spirit of God. (Rom.8:9) But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ (your born-again spirit in Christ’s image), he is none of his. (11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead (the Holy Spirit) dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit (the Holy Spirit) that dwelleth in you.
So you see the Holy Spirit coming to empower your born-again spirit of Christ, to live and do the works of Christ. And this is to then bring Christ in the born-again soul, which is the born-again mind, will and emotions. So, they tested the guy and guess what he said? “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” And he was still demon-possessed! Well, they were very confused over that, but this is the answer. Meanwhile, the guy would look around the room and they would ask him, “Whose mind can you read? Can you read that guy’s mind?” “Yep.” “Can you read that guy’s mind?” “Nope.” There were people in there whose mind he couldn’t read. Now I’m not saying that reading minds has anything to do with the devil having authority over you. You give the devil authority over you. It has nothing to with what the devil knows about you or whether he can read your mind or not, folks. But I tell you, that guy couldn’t read the mind of anyone in there who was Spirit-filled. Those people whom he pointed out in the crowd, “I can read that guy,” were people who everybody knew weren’t filled with the Holy Spirit. But this guy didn’t know anybody in the building! He knew nobody! He really was reading their minds. Now, here’s what the Lord taught me: It has nothing to do with whether the devil can read your mind or not. You can talk in English; you can say anything you want to, folks. I’m telling you that it makes no difference what the devil knows. It makes a difference what you give him authority to do. If you disagree with God’s Word, you bring yourself under the curse. If anyone adds to the Word, God said He would add to that person the curses that are written in this Book. (Rev.22:18) I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of this Book, the Lord said He would take away their part in the Tree of Life. And guess who administers the curse? The devil does.
So we know that we give the devil authority by disagreeing with God’s Word. (Mat.18:18) Verily I say unto you, what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We bind and we loose, according to whether we agree with God’s Word by faith or not. If you don’t agree with God’s Word, you permit the devil to take authority over you. If you do agree with God’s Word, if you believe and you speak God’s Word, you bind the devil. He can do nothing. It makes no difference whether you say, “I bind you devil” or not. You just bind him. Get used to agreeing with God’s Word. (Amo.3:3) Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? We want the Lord to walk in us, talk in us and do His works in us, and we have to agree with God. Now that’s what looses or binds the devil. It has nothing to do with whether the devil knows all of your strategy, folks. It makes no difference. I’m telling you in the name of Jesus, it makes no difference, whatsoever. Some people say that we speak in tongues so the devil won’t know what we’re doing. The devil speaks in tongues and he knows the tongues of men and he knows the tongues of angels, so that’s ridiculous! He’s been around for thousands of years and he and his demons all know tongues. They all speak in tongues, too, folks: “The tongues of men or the tongues of angels,” the Bible says (1 Corinthians 13:1). No, the demons can do nothing, unless you give them authority. Remember that we have dominion over all the principalities and powers (Ephesians 1:21-22). So if we have that dominion over them, how do they get it? How did Adam give it away? He disagreed with God. He fell out with God and he lost his dominion. (Rom.6:16) His servants ye are whom ye obey. He gave away that dominion. But, like Jesus did when He was tempted of the devil, we overcome so we don’t give away that dominion. God empowered Jesus and He said you’ll receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you (Acts 1:8).
What kind of power is that? I can tell you it’s power over your flesh, it’s power over the devil, it’s power over the world. Obey the Word of God. (Act.2:38) ... Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice it doesn’t come at the same time: “and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That’s God’s command. We need God’s anointing, we need His authority and we need His wisdom. And, obviously, these guys needed it because they thought they should try the devil. I’ll show you another verse. (2Jn.7) For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, [even] they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. See, not only is He come in us who have the Holy Spirit of God, but also He is coming in flesh. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. He is coming in us as we walk by faith in the true Gospel, the Good News. Do you see Jesus in the mirror? He has authority to cast out demons. Do you see yourself as dead for Christ’s sake? Do you see yourself as, (Gal.2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. You know what? You are able to partake of the inheritance of the saints, the sanctified ones, in Christ. You’re able to partake of that inheritance! You see, you don’t have to be perfect to partake of the inheritance of the saints in Christ. You don’t have to be perfect to cast out demons or to administer healing, deliverance of any form or any of the other benefits of the Kingdom. The Lord has given us dominion.
I’ve gone on since then to cast out many, many demons up until this day. Some people specialize in doing that and they call it a deliverance ministry. I’ve never called myself a deliverance ministry because I believe that this gift is for all who believe. Some people can, of course, teach you things about it from their own experience, but the gift is for all who believe. A number of years ago, when Bob Aicardi was talking to a neighbor, Linda, she confessed to him that they’d found cancer in her lung. So he witnessed to her what the Bible has to say about that, which is the real Good News that she’d already been delivered of this. He told her we were going to agree with her that night over at our meeting. She said, “Fine,” and she gave the good confession in the sight of witnesses. She said, “I believe the Lord has healed me.” When Bob shared the Good News with her, she believed it and she confessed it. That’s when you know, folks, that you have authority. People can have many, many problems, but when they believe the Gospel, you have authority. Go ahead and exercise it. So Bob said, “We’re gonna agree with you tonight.” That was the method he used at that particular time and when he brought the testimony to us, we prayed. I believed the cancer was a spirit of infirmity and I don’t know what everybody else said, but I commanded the demon of cancer to come out of her in the name of Jesus. That was about 7:30 in the evening. She gave the testimony to Bob the next day. She said that about 11:30 p.m. she was in bed and she woke up suddenly and smoke was coming out of her nose. It was the demon of cancer coming out of her. And, sure enough, she went and had tests run and the doctor was just awed because the cancer was gone! Well, you know what? That’s nothing that baby Christians can’t do! This is not for necessarily mature believers, you know. I’m thinking of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, how they went to Bible college for many years. They had all the letters behind their name, but they weren’t casting out demons. It was these fishermen who were doing it; the people who walked with Jesus were doing it. And, by the way, you can walk with Jesus today. You don’t have to see Him to walk with Him. You just ask Him to take you by the hand and make you His disciple, and begin to do the things that He commanded you to do in the Book. “These signs shall accompany them that believe....”
The Great Commission has never been taken back, folks (Mark 16:15-18). He gave it to us. We’ve been called to do this work, to spread the Good News and to administer the gift for those who believe. We have dominion over the forces of darkness. Jesus gave it to us. He returned to us the dominion of Adam and his children. (Heb.2:5) For not unto angels did he subject the world to come, whereof we speak. He’s talking about you and me here. (Heb.2:6) But one hath somewhere testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that thou visitest him? (7) Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands: (8) Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. What do you think would happen if the Church got this revelation here, folks? For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. Why is that? Well, not only was there hardness of heart of the disciples of that day, there was a great falling away that followed and, even today, most of the people of God are in a fallen-away state. They don’t do the works of Jesus. They don’t believe in receiving the Holy Spirit with the evidence of the gifts. Their leaders have told them it passed away but their leaders can’t show them any verses that actually say that because there is no such thing. The devil has tempted the church and they’ve fallen for it. They’ve become his servants and they’ve lost their dominion, exactly as happened to Adam. (Heb.2:9) But we behold him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, [even] Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every [man].
Jesus is the Father of the born-again creation and His children are not those who merely confess, “Jesus is my Savior.” His children are the people who believe. They are birthed of the Word of God. The seed that Jesus sowed as the Sower was not a physical seed like natural Adam sowed. His seed was the Word of God. Do you receive the Word of God in your heart? That’s what creates the child of God; it’s the Word of God living in you. That person has dominion over all of creation, according to this Word right here. Now even at that time, they didn’t yet see this happening. But in these days, it’s going to happen because the principalities and powers are under the feet and the feet are in the end-time days of the body of Christ. The Bible says He will come to be glorified in His saints. (2Th.1:10) when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day. See, He said, we don’t yet see all things subject.” What’s the hold-up here, folks? It’s belief. In our day, God is going to give grace to people to believe. The feet are going to crush the serpent’s head; the feet are going to destroy the Beast’s kingdom. There’s a One World Order being raised up, folks, but guess what? There’s always really been one. It’s He Who is in you and he who is in the world. There’s been one for the world and one for the Kingdom. We are a One World Order.
We have to learn to be connected to the head and we have to let the head be the ruler. We have to let the Word rule in us, the seed that brings forth the sons who do the works. Adam’s children were to have dominion over the earth. He was tempted. He lost that dominion. The Lord Jesus brought forth the born-again creation, the real creation that God desired from the foundation of the world. He chose us in Him from the foundation of the world. (Eph.1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: (4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: (5) having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. The real creation, folks, is the born-again creation. So step up and take your position as the elect of God and exercise dominion and cast out demons. God bless you, saints! Please pray for us that we’re able to continue to share the Good News with multitudes of people, that God will open a door to us. God bless you and the Lord pour out His Spirit upon you, and empower you to walk in all the inheritance that Jesus passed on to you. Receive it, folks. Just receive it. It’s the Word of God. You know it is. “As the Father sent me,” Jesus said, “so send I you.” God bless you.
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