Christians have this thing called the Bible. They claim that it’s the Word of God. That means the God of the Universe inspired Holy and God-Fearing scribes to put His Personal Words and Thoughts and Intentions to paper/papyrus/what have you. Some of those scribes bore first hand accounts, some of them spoke face to face with God in intimate conversation, some put in writing that which was verbally handed down to them through Oral Tradition. Nevertheless, millions of people around the world and through the centuries regard the Holy Bible as God’s very spoken Word.
And I am one of those people!
Alas, more often than not I am guilty of choosing which parts of the Bible I want to give any credit to and which parts I want to ignore. Not very Christian-like behavior, I know, but when have I ever not spoken openly and honestly with you, my reader? The Good News is that God has a gentle hand that never gives up on us or my horrific choice to pretend like God did not mean every Word He put down through the scribes’ hands.
Crypticness aside, one major part of God’s Word that I always just glossed over and set aside as “Not Applicable” was the very real experience of demonic possession. We all know full well the stories of the possessed in the Bible. We know how Jesus casts them out. We also know that the God of the Universe gave the Apostles, His disciples, and us the power to cast out demons. According to Mark, any baptized and faith-filled Christian will have the authority to cast out demons.
Don’t get me wrong! I am not saying we should all be exorcists. No! The Church, as the institution, has that arena covered for us. Even others working for Christ, but not authorized by the Church in any official capacity, have taken on that task. I am, however, saying though that through Christ we have power over the demons; power He has granted us – power we can use to cast out demons and their influence over us on a personal level. We should employ this power as often as we need it; and let’s face it, we NEED it! And recently, I did that very thing!
My wife and I attended a six week video study on Deliverance Ministry. I was so blown away by the content that, oftentimes, I sat slack-jawed and amazed in my chair as I listened to Neal Lozano and other speakers. I will not be recounting 6 hours worth of video here with you. Instead, I will encourage you to get your hands on the Deliverance materials and prepare for some life-changing lessons. I will share with you the experience of casting out my demon.
So, as I have often blogged about recently, anxiety has been an overwhelming cross in my life for over a year…ever since the tree/neck-breaking incident. Anxiety is a clinical disorder which can be quite taxing on the sufferer that affects both ones mental and physical realms. My demon though was not Anxiety itself, but rather the demon of Fear. For over a year I lived with my demon. I lived in fear of having an anxiety attack. I feared that anxiety was going to be my new norm in life. When fear would overtake me, anxiety was the avenue used to incapacitate me.
Additionally, I have blogged quite a bit on how God would pierce through the darkness of my debilitating moments, but my final moment of God’s victory over my demon was at hand.
My wife and I just left our Deliverance class. She had taken all the kids in her car. She arrived home before me and I could see the hustle and bustle of bedtime routine through the shadow play coming from the windows. I was all alone in my car. I had just spent the last hour listening to Neal talk about naming your demons and commanding them to leave in the Name of Christ Jesus. I felt God call me to stillness. As He is accustomed to communicating with me, an idea popped into my head. I had to name my demon and cast him out.
I pulled into my driveway. I put the car in park. I felt the air conditioning blast my face and blow my beard through its force. I gazed at my house. I turned my head toward the stump of the tree that tried to take me out. I observed the dent in the yard where the trunk landed after falling. I closed my eyes.
“Angel of Fear, I cast you out in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. No longer will you have power over me or my house.”
“Angel of Death, I cast you out in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. No longer will you have dominion over me or my house.”
Immediately, I felt chills over most of my body and I could feel the sensations of a large weight being lifted from my shoulders and head.
In that moment I knew that fear had left me. The demon that I allowed to torment me for over a year was gone. I was saved by Grace and because of the Love of Christ.
I sat in wonder and stupor for a long time. I put the car back in drive. I opened my garage door and pulled in to park. I opened my car door, stepped down, and walked up the garage stairs.
As a new man, I walked in and embraced the smiles and screams of joy emanating from my two littlest ones. As is their custom, they came running to hug me. I kissed them. I kissed Madison and Riley on the forehead. Then, I walked up to my wife, hugged her, and told her something amazing just happened.
I should add a note here that it is not Good to put a lot of focus and attention on demons, even ones we cast out. It is not the demon we expel hyper-focus on; rather, it is Christ, finding the healing that He is offering us so that we can be free…just like we pray in the Lord’s Prayer when we say deliver us from evil. We are to embrace Christ and the real Freedom found only when we yoke ourselves to Him. The fact of the matter is that He is already yoked to us. We sometimes need to clean house and acknowledge Him standing there with us and with squished scorpions beneath His heel.
Seeking Him 