Consider the case in scripture where the apostles were not able to cast out a demon from an epileptic. After rebuking them for a lack of faith, Jesus also pointed to two other conditions for this particular deliverance to be possible—-conditions that the apostles had not fulfilled, namely, prayer and fasting. I have personally discovered that where the religious demon is concerned, an essential condition is agreement and respect between the captive and the one who stands in the position of the deliverer. Simply put, those who have continued to challenge my authority and anointing are those who have not been set free. There are several other conditions.
Since all of the demon’s wiles and devices are set in motion to keep both the captive and the deliverance counselor in the dark, both parties must maintain the ground of attack by making sure that dominion over sin has been accomplished. For any un-crucified or weak spot in either party is an open target for the enemy to deceive. Moreover, since each deliverance is an education in the spirit that must be patiently mastered, the captive as well as the deliverance counselor must open their minds to all truth, and close them to all error. Discernment requires accuracy in discrimination relative to perceiving the character and motives of those involved, particularly those aspects of a situation that are not clearly evident to the average intelligence.
I believe that it is crucial to point out that I take great care not to be derailed into a necessary search for historical origin of demonic doorways to such an extent that I overlook the captive’s responsibility to fight and the Lord’s desire that the captive be free, in spite of what his ancestors have done. I encourage the captive to become familiar with his own inner strongholds and how the religious demon may have used his own weaknesses to keep him bound—driven to act in accordance with the religious demons strategies and devices. Once a particular weakness has become visible to me during counseling, it is my job to make the captive aware of its influence upon his captivity.
With each new face of the religious demon exposed, new insights progressively lead to new challenges that neither the captive nor the deliverance worker has encountered before. Yet I have found that in spite of all of the individual variations, the crucial conflicts around which the religious demon thrives are embedded with repetitive factors like competitiveness, hostilities between people, fears, and diminished self-esteem. All parties in a deliverance must commit themselves to literally scrutinize everything. Scrutiny is effective when close attention is paid to detailed, precise and objective observation in a search for defects, errors and sins. All parties must press toward enlightenment in an aggressive fight to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Although each and every relevant element of the client’s bondage must be examined and understood, one thing remains constant. As a deliverance counselor, I must “go beyond the rope” and “work it through.”
Nevertheless, in every case, my approach is basically the same–search for the hidden and the obscure; bring what I have found to the captive’s awareness; cause him to recognize how he has been working against himself; teach him who he is in Christ; and enable him to stand against all of the fiery darts of the enemy’s attack and counterattack. In this regard, I have also found through experience that there are four primary reasons as to how the religious demon obtains ground in a professing believer in Jesus Christ: a lack of understanding of the nature of true repentance and why repentance is absolutely essential to the new birth, a belief in “another Jesus”, an extreme seeking after signs and wonders without trying the spirits, and the influx of charismatic witchcraft, the fruit of “out of context” preaching.
As a former medium and astrologer, in all humility I confess that I know what it feels like to be caught up in a supernatural deception of false power. Satan and his demons DO have the ability to transform themselves into beings of light. The word of God warns us in more than one scripture that many of the elect shall be deceived in the last days. I believe that there are several seekers today who may be among the elect who are living under the power of a strong delusion. In these last days, it is crucial to repeat the words of Hosea the prophet in this matter: “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” With humble contrition, I thank the Lord that although I myself was almost destroyed for the lack an ability of discerning good from evil, He showed me the way to the truth.
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In retrospect, a common thread throughout the book “Faces of the Religious Demon is that the biggest enemy to complete deliverance from religiosity is not the demons, but it is the flesh. As we have seen, the capacity of the captive to recognize the consequences of demonic deception is limited without a commitment to stand against the forces of darkness, regardless of the apparent ruthlessness of the truth. Going beyond the rope embraces several aspects of spiritual warfare including those attributes of deliverance counseling that help the captive translate the messages obtained through learning how to read the subtle messages that the trends, seasons and cycles of his life unfold.
In the final analysis, life itself is a very effective teacher, not within our own control but in the hands of the Holy Spirit. If we do not grieve Him or quench Him with our carnality, we can help Him to set the captives free in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. For me, this is like swimming beyond the rope of merely commanding a demon to depart, which I will do, as the Holy Spirit leads me. Yet to be truly effective, I must stop the religious demon in its tracks by FIRST imparting truth. Jesus Christ has left his disciples with His word, His armor and His name. As long as we do not allow the lust of our flesh for religion to grieve and quench the Holy Ghost, we will win!!!!
If you either suspect or know that you are demonized and you are willing to cooperate with the process of deliverance counseling, then call 518-477-5759 to set up a telephone session.
Spiritual Warfare Library of PSM 