Sermon Tone Analysis

The Ministry of Deliverance

Key Verse: “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”

Matthew 10:1 (NKJV)

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to help the disciple understand and be equipped for the ministry of deliverance.

The believer’s struggle is not against human beings but against SPIRITUAL enemies.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

The ministry of Jesus and His disciples included casting out DEMONS.

Mark 1:34 (NKJV) “Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.”

Matthew 10:1 (NKJV) “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”

What are “demons”?

The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for “demon” is sa’ir (Strong’s #H8163) that refers to a he-goat or buck (satyr).

The Greek word in the New Testament for “demon” is daimonion (Strong’s #G1140) that refers to an evil spirit who is a messenger or minister of the devil.

Although there are different views regarding the origin of demons, the most common biblical view is that they were originally created by God among the holy angels of heaven.

Because they joined in Lucifer's (Satan's) rebellion, they were banished to the earth (Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:4).

Demons are spiritual beings with personalities but without material or physical bodies.

They are regarded as evil or unclean spirits under Satan's control.

They are enemies of the God of heaven and human beings whom He loves.

They desire to influence and indwell human beings to manifest their evil nature on earth.

They are motivated by a desire to rob God of worship and to deceive and destroy human beings who are created in the image and likeness of God.

Demons are often referred to as unclean spirits (Matthew 12:43; Mark 1:23; 9:25; Luke 4:33; 6:18; 9:42); deceiving spirits (1 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 16:14); spirit of Infirmity (Luke 13:11); spirit of deafness and muteness (Mk 9:25); spirit of muteness (Matthew 9:32-33; Luke 11:14; Mark 9:17); spirit of blindness and muteness (Matthew 12:22); familiar spirit (Leviticus 20:6; 2 Kings 23:24); angel (Matthew 25:41; 2 Corinthians 11:14; Revelation 12:7, 9); lying spirit (1 Kings 22:22-23; 2 Chronicles 18:21-22; John 8:44); spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7); spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12); spirit of divination (Acts 16:16); foul spirit (Revelation 18:2); perverse spirit (Isaiah 19:14); unclean and hated bird (Revelation 18:2), and distressing spirit (1 Samuel 16:14, 15, 16, 23; 18:10; 19:9).

Scriptural Signs of Demonization

Demons can manifest themselves in many ways that are abnormal, evil, and oppressive.

Evidences revealed in Scripture include epilepsy (Matthew 17:14; Luke 9:42); severe pain (Matthew 17:15); suicide and self-destructive behavior (Matthew 17:15; Luke 4:35; 9:42; John 10:10); indecent exposure and nakedness (Luke 8:27); unclean environment (Luke 8:27); cutting of the body (Mark 5:5); binding or bondage (Luke 13:16; Romans 8:15); convulsions (Mark 1:26; 9:20); speaking out through the victim (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34); crying out with a loud voice (Mark 1:26); supernatural strength and bizarre behavior (Mark 5:1-18; Luke 8:27-29); severe demon control (Matthew 15:22); hardened deception through involvement with idol worship and false religion (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; 2 Chronicles 11:15; Psalm 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20), sorcery (Re 18:23), false doctrines (Jeremiah 10:8; Ephesians 4:14; 1 Timothy 4:1), error (1 John 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 4:1), and heresies (2 Timothy 1:7); sickness and disease (Matthew 4:23-24; Acts 10:38); wickedness (Matthew 12:45; Luke 11:26); betrayal (John 13:2; 1 Kings 22:22-23); oppression (Acts 10:38); lies (John 8:44); murder (John 8:44); sin (1 John 3:8); mockery (Acts 16:17); persecution (Revelation 2:10); destruction (1 Peter 5:8); distress (1 Samuel 16:14; 18:8-10).

Self-destructive behaviors can include obsessions and addictions to the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).

Demons attach themselves to images, idols, and items of FALSE WORSHIP.

2 Chronicles 11:15 (NKJV) “Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made.”

1 Corinthians 10:20–21 (NKJV) “Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”

Involvement with idols or any false worship and their temples, festivals, sacrifices, images, symbols, fetishes, practices, superstitions, incantations, worship materials, and rituals opens the door to the demonic personality, influence, and deception behind it.

Psalm 115:8 (NKJV) “Those who make them [idols] are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.”

Acts 19:18–19 (NKJV) “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.

And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

Demons can indwell HUMANS and ANIMALS.

Luke 8:27, 31–33 (NKJV) “And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.

And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs…And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.

32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.

So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.

And He permitted them.

33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.”

Individuals can be indwelt by MULTIPLE demons at one time.

Mark 5:9 (NKJV) “Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’

And he answered, saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’”

Mark 16:9 (NKJV) “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.”

Although a person may be demonized by multiple demons, there is one who is regarded as the “strongman”.

It may not be the most powerful demon, but it is the one who first gained access.

Matthew 12:29 (NKJV) “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?

And then he will plunder his house.”

Matthew 12:43–45 (NKJV) “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

45Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Demons often manifest in EPISODES.

1 Samuel 16:23 (NKJV) “And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand.

Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.”

Matthew 17:15 (NKJV) “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.”

Progression of Demonization[1]

­­­­1.

Regression: Reversion to earlier behavior patterns; to go backward.

(Regress in spiritual power and force)

1. Repression: To restrain.

To squeeze.

To prevent natural expression.

To keep down.

To hold back.

(Destroy natural expression and joy)

3. Suppression: To press under.

Keep back, conceal.

An exclusion of desire and feeling.

(To hid or conceal feeling, desire, or unction.)

4. Depression: Low spirits, gloominess, dejection, sadness.

A decrease in force or activity.

An emotional condition, either neurotic or psychotic, characterized by feelings of hopelessness or inadequacy.

(Broken spirit, Proverbs 17:22; Loss of hope, Psalm 42:5)

5. Oppression: Pressure to crush, to smother, to overpower, to overwhelm, to harass, to ravish or rape.

(Overloaded and fearfully tormented.)

6. Obsession: To besiege, to haunt as of evil spirits, to be fixed on a single idea to an unreasonable degree.

(A persistent and inescapable preoccupation—control of will power)

7. Possession: To inhabit, to occupy, to control, to hold as a property, to dominate, to activate, to rule by extraneous forces.

The first three—Regression, Repression, and Suppression involve the relinquishing of the Spirit’s control.

Suppression also involves the invasion of the soul by demonic influence.

Depression involves an invasion of the emotions.

Oppression involves an invasion of the mind.

Obsession involves an invasion of the will.

Possession refers to the demonization of the entire soul and body of man (hijacking the entire personality and body, Acts 19:16).

God’s people can be DISTRESSED or BOUND by demons.

1 Samuel 16:14 (NKJV) “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.”

Luke 13:16 (NKJV) “So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?”

Can Christians be Demon “Possessed”?

It is often reasoned that if a person is a Christian indwelt by the Holy Spirit, they could not be “possessed” by a demon.

The point of controversy is the terminology, “demon-possessed”.

It seems that the idea of “demon possession” came about by the unfortunate mistreatment of the Greek word daimonizomai, the word translated as “demon possessed” in many English versions of the Bible.

Merrill F. Unger in his book, What Demons Can Do to Saints, published in 1977 by Moody Press, says that this is not the best translation of this word.

He says “daimonizomai (means) ‘being demonized’, i.e., under the control of one or more demons...All demonic invasion is demonization of whatever degree of mildness or severity.”

If this translation of daimonizomai is accurate, then we can stop describing people as being “demon possessed” and use the term “demonized” which only speaks of the influence of demons rather than of ownership.

Dr. Timothy Warner points this out on pages 79-80 of his book, Spiritual Warfare, published in 1991 by Crossway, when he says, “We obtained our English word demon by transliterating the Greek word daimon.

We should have done the same thing with the Greek word daimonizomai—a verb form from the same Greek root.

It would come into English as “demonize,” and we could then speak of the degree to which a person could be demonized rather than being limited to the either-or options imposed by the “possessed” - “not possessed” view…A Christian may be attacked by demons and may be affected mentally and sometimes physically at significant levels…, but spiritual possession clearly implies ownership and would seem to include the control of one’s eternal destiny.

In either case it would be impossible to be owned and controlled by Satan and have a saving relationship with Christ at the same time.

So if the question is, Can a Christian be demon-possessed?