Category

Deliverance

Does God Still Perform Miracles? (The Breakers Challenge)

By | Deliverance, Miracles, The Breakers Challenge, The Prophetic | No Comments

OBJECTION 1: God performed more miracles in Bible times to establish Christ as the Messiah, but that’s not needed today.

Some would say that miracles were just proof that Jesus was the Messiah and that we don’t need to go around praying for people to get healed and delivered from demons. And since he already finished his ministry, we don’t need that.  Well, let me tell you why that objection is a terrible objection.  

Mark 16:17-18

And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

Jesus, through discipleship, multiplied the number of miracles. So to say that miracles have decreased since the time of Jesus is foolish because Jesus himself did the work of increasing miracles in his own lifetime. And then it continued to happen, after the death and resurrection of Christ.

OBJECTION 2: People who are into miracles, prophecy, and deliverance are emotional and not biblical.

This is a problematic objection.  1 Corinthians 14:39, says, “So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.”

The true response to emotionalism is training, not stopping prophecy, miracles, and deliverance.  Back in the first-century church, there was emotionalism.  There were people who only wanted prophetic words.  There were people seeking miracles and deliverance, but the response was not, “Let’s stop doing it because a few people got it wrong.” Actually, the biblical response was, “Be eager to prophesy.”

And so when people say we should just stop doing it because there’s emotionalism, or because people gave a wrong prophetic word, no! The apostles had the wisdom to actually say, “That’s not a reason why we stop doing it.  It’s a reason why we put structure and training to it.”

OBJECTION 3:   Most healings and miracles are the power of placebo, not the power of prayer.  

Coworkers, family members who are atheists, agnostics, and people who are deconstructing and left the church will say, “Well, you know most healings and miracles are the power of placebo, not the power of prayer.”  And people will attribute it to the power of positive thinking.  But just because some healings and deliverances have been faked doesn’t mean that they all aren’t real. So there were charlatans and false people in Jesus’ time, but that didn’t stop Jesus from healing or the work of deliverance. So just because some people do it the wrong way doesn’t mean that the ones who have the true living God on the inside of them shouldn’t do it at all.

A lot of people have messed up marriages but that doesn’t mean that we cancel the covenant of marriage. A lot of people have messed up churches, but that doesn’t cancel the body of Christ and covenant through the local church. Just because somebody did it wrong doesn’t mean we stop doing it.  

As a matter of fact, I would say the best argument against the false is the real. Don’t try to fight their false actions with words. Fight their false actions with true healing, true deliverance, and true salvation. When people say, “Well, it’s just the power of placebo,” you tell them it’s not mind over matter. There are medically verifiable miracles. There are things that God does that only he can do.

OBJECTION 4:  People who seek healing and deliverance don’t want Jesus, they just want freedom.

People will say, “Oh, I see all those deliverance and prophecy fanatics.  They don’t want Jesus,  they just want freedom.  They just want a word.”  People will say things like,”Don’t seek God’s hand and what he can do for you, seek his face.” But I’ll tell you, even if you selfishly come seeking his hand, you are so much closer to his face. I don’t have a problem with people getting healed who don’t even want Jesus. I don’t have a problem with people getting delivered who may not even want Jesus.  Why?  Because wanting freedom is the first step to coming closer to Jesus.

In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus heals ten men with leprosy. Accepting Christ as Savior was not a pre-condition for their healing. One of the ten got a revelation of Christ as Messiah because of the healing. Only one of them came back and literally bowed down to him. He cried out with a loud voice, “My Savior, my Messiah.” Accepting Him as Savior was not a precondition for healing.  If you get around enough deliverance, you’re going to find the Deliverer. If you get around enough healing, you’re going to find the Healer. 

People seek prophetic words through psychic mediums. Why not find it through the prophetic people of God? They’re seeking healing through reiki and stones and crystals. Why not find healing through the people of God?

OBJECTION FIVE: They just need discipline, it’s not a demon.  

People say, “You think everything’s a demon.”  The term for the spirit of infirmity occurs in Luke 13:11, specifically in the King James version. Here you have a woman who had been crippled for 18 years. She’s healed by Jesus on the Sabbath day, and Luke says that she has a spirit of infirmity. Another translation calls it a disabling spirit. She didn’t need discipline, she needed deliverance from the spirit of infirmity. Sometimes there is a need for discipline, but if you are not equipped to do deliverance you’ll have people like the woman in Luke 13:11, that never get healed because you’re trying to tell them to go to the chiropractor. You’re trying to tell them to go do physical therapy. You’re trying to tell them to take pills. You’re trying to tell them to get surgery but they need deliverance, not discipline. 

Now, deliverance doesn’t replace discipline.  We know this. They go hand in hand.  In John 5:8, Jesus heals a man, then He says,  “Pick up your mat and walk.” So clearly Jesus understood the value of discipline because he knew that this man couldn’t be a beggar anymore. 

It’s about wisdom.  Of course, everything’s not a demon.  But if you are going to be powerful in the spiritual realm, a true believer and disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have to know when to tell somebody to pick up their mat and walk. And you have to know when to say, “Spirit of infirmity, come out of them.”

OBJECTION 6: Christians who do deliverance, healing, and prophecy are just doing it for fame/clout/finances.

As I teach the scriptures, I encounter modern-day Sadducees that get so upset that God is healing people.  Did you know there is still a spirit of the Pharisee, with pride and arrogance?  How arrogant do you have to be to assume the motive of every healing and deliverance minister on the internet? Those same people would have assumed the same thing about Jesus, as Jesus had large crowds surrounding him. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 says, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,  but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

It doesn’t say stop doing prophecy. If somebody prophesies wrong, it says, just test it, hold on to what is good, and reject what is evil. It says, don’t quench it. And there are a lot of Pharisees on Facebook. There are a lot of Sadducees on YouTube that are quenching the Spirit. They’re letting their preferences get in the way of their progress.  They’re letting their church background get in the way of their Holy Ghost future. And the Lord’s trying to call them to go to something deeper, but they’re being held back by doctrines of demons. 

Do not quench the Spirit. I’d rather lose friends than quench the Spirit. I’d rather shrink my circles than quench the Spirit. I’d rather them talk about me or gossip about me. There’s a high price to pay for the anointing. Jesus paid for the resurrection power so that you can operate in it freely, but the level of authority you operate in will always increase on the other side of passing your test.  Jesus himself was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. After He came out of the wilderness he spoke with a new authority. If Jesus’ authority can increase after passing a test, your authority increases after passing a test. 

So as you go through the next several weeks and are praying for people to be healed and delivered, and as you’re prophesying over people, you are going to be persecuted. But persecution is the first step of promotion. Persecution comes first and promotion comes after.  First, they start talking about you, and then, they cannot deny you. Why? Because God started you. No man can stop you, He called you. He separated you and designated you. It doesn’t matter if they see you’re calling.

OBJECTION 7: I believe it’s possible, but I’ve never seen it.  I’ve prayed but I’ve never seen it in my own life.

Matthew 13:57-58, says, “They took offense at Jesus. And Jesus said to them, only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor. And he did not do miracles there because of their lack of faith.” 

Just believe.  This is the phrase that Smith Wigglesworth used as he traveled all around, he would say the phrase “Just believe, only believe, only believe.” Here’s the thing, you might have to pray for 10,000 people before you see the first miracle. Don’t stop praying for miracles.

I can’t tell you how many generals of old, how many people that we come from in a lineage of faith y’all, we come from a lineage of God’s generals. I can’t tell you how many of them had prayed for hundreds and hundreds of people. No miracles happened, but all of a sudden one happened, and then they happened all the time. I don’t know why God moves that way, but I do believe it’s his will.  Biblically, you never see miracles cease.  You just see people stop believing.

Biblically, you never see prophecy cease.  You just see people who stop prophesying.  It’s still happening, but you’ve got to just believe. 

I wanna encourage your faith right now as we get ready to come to a close.  I started my preaching ministry at the age of 15.  There was a woman at the very first church that I preached at, a small church on the South Side of Chicago.  She brought her four-year-old daughter to me who was born with a decrepit hand. I laid hands on that woman’s child, and all of a sudden her hand begin to stretch forth and she was completely healed.  

One woman I prayed for worked at a Baptist church on staff.  She had multiple sclerosis and had asked for prayer from many different people and she still believed. And she was watching my broadcast and as she watched, she was completely healed. She went back to the doctors and they said every lesion in her brain and any remnant of MS is completely gone. She emailed me all of the medical verification. At V1 Conference, we had a creative miracle happen, where a woman with a deformed ear received healing in her ear. She still attends our church. Somebody else who was there went from nearly deaf to having better hearing than even average hearing. God has exceeded. 

And so, why do I say that?  Because God is raising Breakers. He’s raising up those who will push past every objection, who say, “No, I know the word.” I want to pray over you that you would receive an impartation of faith to become a Breaker, that you would be the generation that rises up in your family and sees every single chain broken, and that you would rise up and see God do it.

Father, I pray for a supernatural impartation from the top of their head down to the soles of their feet that they would receive your anointing.  That burden-removing yoke-destroying power of the Holy Spirit that signs, miracles, wonders, healings, and deliverance would come through their hands. God, that they would activate now, Lord that you would just use them to release the fire of the Holy Spirit. God, I’m not talking about Pentecostalism. I’m not talking about the charismatic movement. This is not a denomination. This is not a stream. This is the identity of sons and daughters rising up and saying, “I am a biblical Christian and I will do all that God’s called me to do.” And Father, I thank you, from this day forth we say “Yes,” to do everything that you’ve called us to do. We’ll pray the prayer of faith in Jesus’ name.

Further Resources

To learn more about The Breakers Challenge

📝The Breakers Challenge


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider becoming a part of the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

Urgent Warning: Prophetic Events Unfolding in Israel and Beyond

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
As a pastor and apostolic voice, I feel compelled to share an urgent message about the events unfolding in Israel and around the world. We are witnessing prophecy come to…
spiritual lethargy

Prophetic Word: Overcoming Spiritual Lethargy

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
Lately, I've noticed a concerning trend sweeping across our communities. Many people are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, lethargy, and what social media has dubbed "couch rot." This phenomenon goes…
Soul Ties

The Truth About Soul Ties: What They Are and How to Break Them

| Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Tough Questions | No Comments
I've encountered many spiritual phenomena over the years, but few are as misunderstood and potentially harmful as soul ties. In this post, I want to share with you my experiences…

A Call for Unity and Reflection in the Body of Christ

| Spiritual Warfare | No Comments
I feel compelled to address a deeply troubling incident that has shaken many of us to our core. Recently, there was an attack on Pastor Greg Locke's family home, where…

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee
Dream Catcher

10 Cursed Items To Remove From Your Home

By | Deliverance, Demons | No Comments

2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “Do not let the enemy let Satan outwit you for we are not unaware of his schemes.”  The reason why this is in scripture is that many people are unaware of Satan’s schemes. They have no idea what he’s doing and the tactics he uses.  The Bible says in Romans 10:14, “How will we know about these things of the spirit unless a teacher is sent?”  I’ve been sent to teach you about the schemes of the devil so that he does not outwit you and cause you to accept something that looks normal and common but can destroy you.  

Here are the 10 most common cursed objects that you might have in your home. 

1. Dream catchers

Dream CatcherCommonly, dream catchers are placed above beds. People put them there symbolically to catch their bad dreams and enable good dreams.  The Bible says that Satan comes imitating an angel of light.  Witchcraft always comes in the form of false hope and false help.   So just like you see this picture of a dream catcher and it looks peaceful and serene, the reality is, it is witchcraft. 

Oftentimes people will criticize teachings like this and say, “Pastor Mike, you’re not being culturally sensitive.  That’s Native American culture.” Let me be clear: I am not bashing a culture. I am a pastor and I must teach the scriptures. The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but principalities, powers, and rulers in high places (Ephesians 6:12). I am not fighting a culture or a person.There are demonic spirits behind certain objects. If we are not wise, we will end up being taken captive by these spirits who are operating in, through, and around these objects. 

In Deuteronomy 7:26 it says, “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.”  This verse references how Israel was bordered by many pagan nations. Oftentimes the children of Israel would sin by bringing the other nations’ idols into their homes.  Over and over again in scripture, God said, “You shall not have any other gods beside me.”  I think Deuteronomy 7:26 is very important because it says you always become the thing that you worship. So what happens when you bring these idols into your life is that you begin to conform your identity to the idol.  Instead of becoming more like Christ, you become more like that thing. You’re not putting your trust in Jesus, you’re putting your trust in that idol.  If you have a dream catcher, you need to destroy it.  

2. Sage

SageI’m not referring to what you rub your turkey with at Thanksgiving or what you use to season your chicken soup.  I’m referring to the ritualistic burning of sage.  Some people claim that burning sage has medicinal purposes, that it is antimicrobial, and that when you burn it in your house it helps destroy bacteria. Truthfully, though, there are many other products that you can use to destroy bacteria. 

The enemy is crafty.  In scripture, the enemy first shows up in the garden in the form of a serpent and that means that he is stealthy. He is always stalking and creeping.  The enemy will cause you to normalize things that should not be normalized.  So you’ll say, “Well, I burned sage for anti-microbial and antibacterial purposes.”  But if you have studied witchcraft, sage is a very very common part of the practice.  It’s used for summoning, conjuring, and creating atmospheres and environments that are conducive to witchcraft practices. My advice: get rid of it.  

 

3. Ouija boards

Ouija BoardSome people say, Pastor Mike, we don’t have an ouija board.  But I want to increase your awareness because there are digital forms of Ouija boards.  Or it’s possible that your child has one hidden in their room and you may not know.  There have been times when I’ve gone into my teenager’s room and played video games with her, and together we have found that the internet browsers within her gaming system will involuntarily bring up horoscopes and things of the occult. So don’t assume that because you don’t see it, it’s not there.  

If your kid lives in your house, that means it’s your house, your rules.  You are not powerless.  You can declare, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  In other words, they don’t get a choice.  If you’re my child, I choose for you. I program you. Some will be offended by that and call it brainwashing, but it’s not. Everyone has a belief system, and the world doesn’t get to determine what my children believe.  If you live in my house, I get to determine what you learn.  

4. Tarot cards

Tarot cards are becoming more and more common. And just like Ouija boards, just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there.  I’ve talked to parents who have gone to their kids and said, “Hey, you don’t own any tarot cards do you?” To their amazement that their kid has said, “I don’t have a full deck, but I do have one because my friend gave it to me. I use it as a bookmark.”

Take inventory of what is in your house because if you don’t, it might hold your family back from the next level. Tarot cards are consulting the demonic realm. To get information about your future and get “wisdom” about your decisions from a counterfeit source is a sin.  The Bible says the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and that God will give you revelation, wisdom, and knowledge, and that He uses the church to make his manifold wisdom known.  We don’t have to consult tarot cards. We have scripture. 

5. Crystals  

CrystalsThe New Age gets packaged with everyday things.  Candles, linens, and home decor are packaged right along with crystals.  You won’t see many Bibles or crosses in home stores, but the New Age is becoming a commonplace piece of decor in people’s homes.  The reason crystals are so popular is that they’re aesthetically beautiful.  You can collect stones and enjoy nature; God created crystals, gems, and stones.  But you need to discern the spirit behind these items. Deuteronomy 7:26 says “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.”  When you purchase these crystals, often they’ll come with packaging that has statements or phrases that have ungodly intentions. These are cursed items because of the system behind them. 

So if you’re a geologist, wonderful.  But if you’re buying something and the source of it has a value system that is cursed, then re-evaluate.  Take, for instance, healing crystals.  As believers, we’re supposed to help the world understand that by the stripes that Jesus Christ bore on his back we are healed. So it’s not healing crystals that help us, it’s our healing Savior. These crystals disconnect the Savior from healing and connect healing to crystals.  It’s pure idolatry.  

6. Religious statues

Religious StatueYears ago, I visited the home of a woman who was experiencing strange phenomena in her home.  There were strange noises and things were falling off the walls.  I set up my GoPro cameras to try to capture demonic activity. Now I knew that the woman needed deliverance, but at the same time, I do believe that there are cursed objects and things that demons draw strength from and create a value system around objects so that they can get access to your life. (In fact, demons don’t even want you to read this right now because after you hear the truth, you’re going to get rid of these items and they’re going to lose a source of power in your life!)

Back to the story.  I remember walking through the house and trying to discern the source of the evil.  In one room, there was a picture that in real-time, while I was praying through the house, fell right off the wall.  It was a bizarre experience. As the picture flew off the wall, I heard it crash down to the ground.  

Oftentimes people purchase religious statues because they represent luck or blessings.  These are cursed items. Now again, I want to be culturally sensitive.  I’m not ignorant or bashing another religion or culture.  Jesus said, ”I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  There is no such thing as truth in Buddha, in the prophet of Islam, or Hinduism. If you are a true Christian, you believe that those gods do not coexist with the one true God.  The only way to heaven is Jesus Christ. 

7. Evil books 

Evil bookI used to document a lot of experiences.  This guy called me and said, “You’ve got to get to my house now.  Something is physically turning off the light switch.” He said, “I turned the light on, took a shower, and I heard it click in the other direction. I came out, and sure enough, it was off.”  He lives alone.  He said, “I turned it on again and then I was walking around the living room and I heard the click and it turned off. I’m hearing all kinds of noises and I’m having these Poltergeist supernatural experiences.”  I told him I would come over and pray for him.  He was a tough guy, a bodybuilder, but he was completely powerless because this thing was spiritual and he didn’t have any resources to fight this spiritual battle. 

As I was driving, I said, “Holy Spirit, give me a revelation as to what the source of this is.  Why is he experiencing this supernatural activity? Why does a demon in his house have the ability to flip a light switch on and off?” Immediately, the Holy Spirit showed me a picture of a book on his bookshelf. I called the guy and I said, “I need you to go into a bedroom. I saw that there was a bookcase in the bedroom. Is that true?”  He said, “Yes, in my bedroom.”  I said, “Go into your bedroom.  I saw on the top shelf somewhere in the middle, a book.” All of a sudden he said, “I know exactly what book you’re talking about. You’re freaking me out right now. I’m so scared. I have goosebumps all over the back of my neck and head. I feel like something is physically standing in front of me.”  He said, “This is a book of Witchcraft and world religions, rituals, incantations, and spells from different cultures.”  He said he bought the book from a sociological perspective, he didn’t buy it to do the Witchcraft in it.  He wanted to learn about these different cultures so he bought this book thinking it was an innocent purchase. But again, it was a cursed object.  

When we talk about evil books, who does the book glorify? What does the book glorify? How do you determine whether or not it’s cursed? A lot of women are addicted to sexual fantasy books. I would say it’s a cursed object because what that book is doing is unrighteously fulfilling a sexual desire. 

You have to be led by the Holy Spirit as you are going on this journey to determine what is cursed and what’s not.  What many people will want me to do is to make a master list of every single item that is cursed so they can be sure to get rid of all of them.  But I’m not the Holy Spirit.  I am a Bible teacher and trying to help you.  So to determine if a book is cursed, ask the question, “Who is this book glorifying? What is this book glorifying?” And then go from there. 

8. Evil toys

Evil ToysIf you grew up in a Pentecostal family where your mom made you throw away your Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and GI Joes, you’re thinking, “I get it, Pastor Mike! You want me to throw away all my toys!” But there are overtly evil toys.  Some toys depict murder, mischief, and evil that have a value system connected to them.  Some of the belief systems behind the creators of these toys, including the comic books and the television series that they come from are antichrist. Do your research and look up the creators of these toys and how they talk about Jesus in interviews.  

If you’re in doubt, just throw it out. Our kids act out the behaviors.  Do you want your kid walking around with a meat cleaver with a mischievous face?  When I was a kid, I was into WWF wrestling and I thought I was Hulk Hogan.  Back in the day, Hulk Hogan said, “Take your vitamins and say your prayers.” So the worst thing I would do is bodyslam my little brother.  There’s a big difference between WWF action figures and some of the things that are systematically programming our kids for murder.  As each generation increases, so do the number of mass shootings. At some point, we’ve got to acknowledge that these things do have a spiritual effect. 

9. Evil jewelry 

Evil jewelryThese are items like the all-seeing eye, and Masonic rings that are sometimes handed down from generation to generation.  “But Pastor Mike, it’s supposed to help me, it’s supposed to ward off evil!” No, it’s not, it’s attracting evil! It’s bringing evil into your life!  How do I know that? Because I have helped thousands upon thousands of people be delivered from demons and many times I’ve had to make them take off the jewelry.  

Many times we will excuse keeping these items because of the value of the gold or stones.  But we don’t realize that the cost of keeping it is greater than the value of the gold inside of it.  It’s a form of deception.  One scripture in the Old Testament says don’t even be attracted to the gold that’s in it, get rid of it!

I’ve done deliverance on people and the Holy Spirit has told me to tell them to take their earrings out and then I come to find out that the earrings were bought as a part of a ritual at a music festival. There are a lot of new-age Reiki healers, tattoos, piercings, and things that happen that are associated with ritualistic practices, evil eye jewelry, and jewelry connected to the Saints.  Saints become an idol, they are dead people. Stop praying to the saints! The sacrifice of Jesus Christ means that there’s no veil between you and God.  You can come boldly before the throne of grace. It grieves the heart of God.  Stop praying to Peter. Peter was just a man. Pray to God. He’s the one who adopted you and made you a son or a daughter. Peter was just a person.  

10. Soul tie objects

A soul tie object is an object that is connected to an experience that you had. Maybe a sexual experience, maybe an experience with a lover or a past relationship. There have been instances where people have given me photographs and have said, “Pastor Mike, I’ve got to give this to you. I feel like it’s a form of idolatry because I’ve looked at this picture and longed to be back in that moment. I’ve longed to be with that person.” Some people are even married or have moved on to new relationships, but they can’t get rid of these old pictures. There have been instances where someone committed suicide, unfortunately, and a person who loved them holds onto a single photo, maybe in their wallet, and what that picture ends up representing is not the love that they have for that person but the grief that they’re stuck in. And there’s a demonic connection to the grief.  

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Bible says there’s a season for everything. There is a season for mourning and then there’s also a time to wash your face, put a fresh anointing on, and move on with your life. We’re going to grieve. But then there comes a point where we need to move on.  

In deliverance, I’ve encountered people having a picture that represents grieving that is turned into demonic grief.  It’s a nostalgic longing and desire to reconnect with a person.  They become so fixated that they can’t get free.   

 

This is not a to-do list but rather a way to increase your wisdom and discernment to be equipped to go into your home and make the decision to get rid of items.  It’s not just about removing objects, but about removing the belief systems and ideologies that are connected to them. I want you to be free indeed.  You have to take this in phases.  

First, find and destroy the objects.  Don’t keep them.  Second, examine your heart and ask yourself what you were going through in your life, what trauma and pain were you trying to address when you brought that item into your life?  What were you trying to replace the Holy Spirit with?  Then, repent and boldly pray and declare that you are placing Jesus back in his rightful place in your life.  Whatever protection you were seeking from jewelry or crystals or sage, or whatever knowledge or wisdom you were searching for outside of Christ, you now turn to Jesus for, and ask His favor and protection and guidance on your Life.  

Further Resources

📝 How to Cleanse Your House from Evil Spirits

📝 What are Soul Ties And How Do I Get Free


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider becoming a part of the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

Urgent Warning: Prophetic Events Unfolding in Israel and Beyond

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
As a pastor and apostolic voice, I feel compelled to share an urgent message about the events unfolding in Israel and around the world. We are witnessing prophecy come to…
spiritual lethargy

Prophetic Word: Overcoming Spiritual Lethargy

| Spiritual Warfare, The Prophetic | No Comments
Lately, I've noticed a concerning trend sweeping across our communities. Many people are experiencing unprecedented levels of exhaustion, lethargy, and what social media has dubbed "couch rot." This phenomenon goes…
Soul Ties

The Truth About Soul Ties: What They Are and How to Break Them

| Relationships, Spiritual Warfare, Tough Questions | No Comments
I've encountered many spiritual phenomena over the years, but few are as misunderstood and potentially harmful as soul ties. In this post, I want to share with you my experiences…

A Call for Unity and Reflection in the Body of Christ

| Spiritual Warfare | No Comments
I feel compelled to address a deeply troubling incident that has shaken many of us to our core. Recently, there was an attack on Pastor Greg Locke's family home, where…

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

How I Cast Out My Own Demons

By | Deliverance, Demons | No Comments

I’ll never forget the first time I ever cast demons out.  I wasn’t in a church service praying for people in a prayer line. I was in my bathroom casting them out of myself!  I violently threw up in my bathtub, and I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe how real deliverance is.” It’s been over 20 years since that experience, and it is one of the most powerful moments I have had in my life.

I believe that you’re reading this right now because you need freedom. Sometimes we see other people receiving deliverance, and we think, “I long to experience that in my life.” Demons enter our lives because they have legal rights. So in this blog, I’m going to go through all of the legal rights that give demons access, and then I’m going to take you through a guided process of self-deliverance.

How Do Demons Gain Access?

Demons gain legal rights to our lives.  Proverbs 26:2 says, “Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight.”  That is another way of saying curses are never random. They’re not just like a bird that flies away and just flutters away.  It’s not like, “Oh, a curse landed on my life randomly.” A curse is the result of sin.  Many of us have ancestors both on our mother’s and father’s sides, and as a result of their sin, we inherited a curse.  Primarily, demons want to reside in your physical body, and use their legal rights to stay inside.  We see in the Bible that Jesus cast out the spirit of infirmity.  He didn’t just heal sickness.  So some illness is the result of the spirit of infirmity.

Also, some demons want to abide in your soul, meaning your mind and emotions, and they may have legal access.  So I’m going to give you ten ways that they have legal access, and I want you to try to discern which of these you could be dealing with.

Then the last part of this teaching, which is confession, then renouncing, and then casting out, will actually lead you through the process of self-deliverance.  So let’s start with ten ways demons may have legal access to your life:

1. Committing direct willful sin

This means that you are practicing sin.  You are doing things that violate God’s design and God’s plan.  If you are in direct, willful sin, you don’t always become demonized as a result, but I use the analogy of leaving your front door open to your house.  The longer you leave it open, the more a propensity for an animal or a creature to walk into your home.  In the same way, Saul was vexed by demons because he was in repeated, willful sin.  At the same time David also sinned, but we have no biblical account that demons vexed him because what we do know from the Bible that David was quick to repent.

2.  Practices of the occult

This comes in many different forms, meaning you could have done an Ouija board, crystals, or burning sage thinking that you’re ridding your house of evil, but in fact, you’re inviting it in. There are many different forms of the occult in our lives that give demons legal rights. These include going to a psychic medium and reading your horoscope.

Occult items3. Inheritance/generational 

Often people will tell me, “Pastor Mike, I don’t deal in any way, shape, or form with the occult.  I’ve never dabbled in it,” not realizing that in their lineage, both on their mother’s and their father’s side, there there was unrepentant sin,  which gave a legal right.  And so sometimes people need deliverance from demons connected to the occult, even though they have never practiced that sin.

4.  Unforgiveness

As hard as it is to hear this, scripture tells us that if we do not forgive the one that sinned against us, how can we go before God and ask forgiveness of Him?  And so many times, we ask God, “Forgive me for my sins?” But our forgiveness from God is blocked because there is unforgiveness towards somebody who raped or molested us, somebody who abandoned us or divorced us, somebody who said a hard word, or maybe someone who bullied us.  So you may need deliverance as a result of unforgiveness.  And I’m going to challenge you even to say their name.

5. Trauma

We all encounter trauma, but wounds from trauma are open doors for demons. When you experience trauma there is a break in your conscious, there is a wound in your emotions. Trauma includes rejection. That trauma will actually cause an entry point for a demon.  Sometimes a mother will say, “I never wanted you. I never wanted to have you, I thought about aborting you.”  Rejection can sometimes even happen before birth; you may need deliverance because of that trauma.

Sometimes trauma can be experienced sexually, and to deal with the demons that entered through that trauma.  Many people have told me over the years, “Pastor Mike, I never felt a dark presence before, but when my dad abandoned me at seven years old I began to feel a dark presence, and a voice began to speak to me, saying things like, ‘You’re worthless, you have no value.'”  That demon entered through trauma.

6. False religions

Many people were raised in Hinduism, with idolatry, Islam, or various false religions, and what they think is a deity is actually demonic entity.  The Bible says that Satan comes as an angel of light, and so demons always masquerade as benevolent, kind deities. But it’s not a deity, it is a demonic entity.  It’s a false religion. 

I recently took an at-home DNA test, and was surprised to discover that I have ancestors who come from India, and more specifically, a group called the Brahmin, which were responsible for Hindu temple worship. And so again, when you’re doing self-deliverance, you may not be aware of what has been traveling down through the generations.  You may say, “I was always raised as a Christian,” not realizing that genetically, even in your DNA, in your inheritance, you need freedom from false religion.

hinduism7.  Ungodly soul ties

We know that Jonathan and David were knit together in friendship. We know that the two shall become one in marriage.  Therefore, there’s a benefit to a soul tie.  God uses soul ties.  But wherever there are the purposes of God, there are the perversions of the devil.   You’ll often begin to obsessively think about somebody you slept with and had inappropriate sexual relationships with, fornication, adultery. And your heart will go back to that moment because, in the soul realm, there is an ungodly soul tie. 

8. Curses

Curses can come in the form of spoken words.  Frequently people will curse themselves.  The Bible says that the power of life and death is in our tongue.  And so many people speak death over their destiny, and then you have demons that partner with that spoken word, demons that partner with the curse.  People will say things like:

I’m always going to be poor.  

I will never get ahead in life.  

I will never find true love. 

I always get rejected.

As they begin to say statements like that, they pronounce curses in the form of words.  Understand that the Bible says that in the beginning was the word, Jesus. And so if words are that powerful, and if Jesus is The Word, then when we speak a word over our lives that is contrary to The Word, which is Jesus, we could be living under a curse.

As a matter of fact, there are many people who have even been cursed by words by other people.  We often think about witchcraft as a spell, incantation, or a ritual, but words can also come in the form of, “You’re fat, you’re stupid, you’ll always be alone,” and other people can pronounce curses over us.

9.  Addiction

Demons have legal rights to our life as a result of addiction. Sometimes addiction starts as a counterfeit comfort. For example, “I wanted to smoke a cigarette because I was stressed out.” Or, “I needed to take a drink of alcohol because I’m grieving the loss of a loved one.”  But those addictions lead to open doors to demons, giving them a legal right. Why? Because the Bible says that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom. When one drink turns into empty bottles, you become a drunkard.  Now you are a covenant breaker.  Some Christians confess Christ as their Savior, but don’t let the Holy Spirit become their comfort.  As a result of that, addiction creates legal rights.

Drinking wine10.  Fears and phobias

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “For without faith, it is impossible to please God.”  1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” When we operate in the realm of fear we experience phobias that can become a legal right for the demonic. What does that mean? That simply means we are taking our trust away from God, and moving that trust into ourselves, the medical community, or governments.  And as a result of that, we operate in the realm of fear and phobias. 

Some of us have inherited fear and phobia that runs through our family, and a demonic spirit is connected to that.  How do I know?  Because the Bible says, “I have not given you the spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).   What is that talking about? In the soulish realm, there can be a spirit of fear, but God doesn’t give that to us.  He gives us a spirit of love, power, and a sound mind.

Self-Deliverance

We have gone through the major elements of an actual curse that brings legal rights.

Direct willful sin, the occult and occult practices, inheritances generationally, unforgiveness, trauma, false religions, ungodly soul ties, spoken word curses, addictions, and fears and phobias give the demonic legal rights to your life.  If you identify with any of those areas, it’s time to find freedom.  

Confess

Here’s how I found freedom 20 years ago: I began to confess those sins.  You might need to do the same.  It might even involve confessing sins on behalf of the people who have gone before you, who may not be alive right now. For example, you begin to say:

In my family, there’s been an abuse of alcohol.  God, instead of seeking you for comfort, we’ve escaped into alcoholism. And Father, I’m asking for forgiveness.

Father, I’ve gone to a psychic medium for a word, but I should have gone to your word. I should have consulted the scriptures. I should have listened to a pastor but instead consulted horoscopes, and Father, I’m sorry.  I confess that sin; forgive me.

 

Signs of Manifestation

And then you begin to confess. As you begin to do that, there is a likelihood that demons will begin to manifest. What does that mean?  You may begin to twitch, convulse, or yawn.  Your mouth will open because demons will begin to come out.  You may vomit.  Some of you will burp or belch.  You may even want to stop praying or reading this blog.  But I encourage you to continue to go deeper because you’ll get free.

So, start with confession. Here are a few more example confession prayers:

God, I confess false religions. I admit that, even within Christianity, I spent years in a church that denied the work of the Holy Spirit. I’m sorry, God, I’ve been in false religion.

God, I’m sorry, forgive me; I confess all sins connected to Islam, Hinduism, atheism, agnosticism, whatever that thing is.

God, I confess that I was a fornicator. I slept with these people. I’m obsessively thinking about them, so I sever, and I cut every ungodly soul tie. Forgive me, God.

Father, I’ve been holding unforgiveness against [INSERT NAMES], and I forgive them now.  

Renounce

The second step is to renounce. When you renounce, you are saying, “I will never go back. I am ripping up the legal contract.”  That is like ripping up a deed or a renter’s contract in the spiritual realm. So as you pray, you’ll say out loud, “I renounce ungodly soul ties. I renounce direct willful sin, occult practices, and false religions.  I renounced spoken word curses. I renounce every word I spoke over my life that was not in alignment with God’s word.” And as you begin to renounce it, you are removing legal rights, which gets you to the last and final step.

Tell the Demons to Come Out

You’ve confessed Jesus as your Savior, the blood of the Lamb has washed you clean. You have now confessed all the sins the Holy Spirit has brought to light. You’ve renounced and broken the curses.  Finally, you need to tell the demons to come out.  You say, “Lust and perversion, come out of me now. You have no legal right; I do not belong to you. You must come out.”  

Be Persistent

The Bible says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  So you must resist.  What does that mean? That means demons are stubborn. Even after confessing, even after renouncing, when you cast them out, they will not want to go. So at this point, you might have voices come out of you that are not you.  But I urge you to be persistent.

For example, you’ll say, “You demon of witchcraft, come out of me now. You demon of control, come out of me now. You demon of manipulation, come out of me now.” And you begin to say that, and you just begin it, “Come out of me now.” And go down the list until you’ve addressed everything you struggle with. “You spirit of unforgiveness, come out of me now. You foul spirit of rejection, come out, out, out.” And after you’ve broken the legal rights, you might manifest.  But here’s the thing – do not forget that you have authority over demons!  As a son or a daughter of the King, you have authority.

You Can Cast Out Your Own Demons

I am so thankful for deliverance workers,  pastors, and ministers that do deliverance, but I believe that this process of self-deliverance is your next level.  Start with you.  Cast demons out of yourself.  

And if you need further information on how to break free, check out this video on breaking ungodly soul ties.


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee
shadow ghosts

The Truth Behind Shadow People, Explained

By | Deliverance, Demons | No Comments

So you also see shadow people?  Maybe it’s the ominous figure looming in the corner of your room. Maybe it’s the dark mass at the end of your hallway that’s in a human form that seems to be looking in your direction. Or, like many other people, every single time you walk up the stairs, you may feel as if something is chasing behind you. If you’ve experienced shadow people, maybe seeing an apparition out of the corner of your eye, maybe seeing something that you know has to be more than a figment of your imagination, I want to help you. You are not insane.

shadow ghost

As a matter of fact, I’m going to help you understand what are the shadow people, why do you see them, and then how can you be free from them?

What Are They?

Let me just tell you, they are not people, they are demons.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest deceptions is that you would believe that they are people. 

Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

The Bible says that it is appointed to us to live and then to die.  There is heaven and there is hell, there are demons and there are angels here within this realm.  

Why Are You Seeing This?

You may be experiencing these shadow people as the result of open doors of trauma in your life. Oftentimes I’ll ask people, “When did you start to see shadow people? When did you see apparitions and figures?” And it almost always coincides with the divorce of their parents, with sexual trauma, molestation, or other traumatic events that occurred. Sometimes it starts when people do experimental drug usage.  This doesn’t surprise me because in the Bible, when the word sorcery is used, it’s strictly prohibited that we are not to do sorcery.  The Greek word for sorcery is pharmakeia. Many of you know the word pharmacy because pharmakeia and sorcery, or witchcraft go together.  People say, “I started to see black masses and shadow people when I did drugs, but as the drug-induced trip ended, I still experienced shadow people.”  Yes, because it’s not just biological and physical in nature, but also spiritual.

shadow ghosts

How To Get Free

How can you get free? Go back to the place of pain and trauma.  Go back to the place of the open door. Go back to that place.

In Romans 10:9, it says “Confess with your mouth, believe in your heart that Jesus is the Savior and you will be saved.”  So you go back to that place and you allow the Lord to begin to deal with that.  And then as you get deliverance, you get freedom, you confess your sin, you allow Jesus to heal you and forgive you for the things that you experienced that opened up that trauma.  

Then I believe that you can proceed with Ephesians 6:10-13 which says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can withstand the wiles and the attacks of the enemy.”  The last and final thing that you do is you confront the works of darkness. 

Now I’ve waited till the last part of this video to tell you that my childhood was filled with these experiences and I was absolutely terrified. I was in so much fear.  As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I was 15 years old that I learned the secrets that I just told you. I said, “Jesus, I surrender my life to you, I belong to you, but I wanna receive your Holy Spirit.”  

Acts 1:8 says, “After the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power.”  I’ll never forget because I had basically poltergeist-like experiences in my home. But if you knew the trauma, if you knew the witchcraft and things that came through family members, it wouldn’t be any surprise to you what I experienced.  I stood up, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and I’ll never forget, I confronted.  Why?  Because now I had the boldness of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the thing: You are powerless without Jesus, but you are powerful through Jesus.  You are more than a conqueror. And so I empower you now. I encourage you to begin to step in the direction of confrontation because you don’t have to live under that spirit of fear. Jesus has come to give you love, power, and a sound mind.

Here are some additional videos I suggest if you’d like to dig deeper and get freedom:

Casting Out Demons for Beginners

How to Cast Out Demons By Yourself

What Are Spiritual Spouses?


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

10 Signs That You Have a Demon

By | Deliverance | No Comments

Do you feel you may have a demon, but you’re not entirely sure?  Maybe it’s the flesh, or perhaps you’re just going through a hard time. Or, maybe something deep inside of you is asking if you could have one or more demons and be unaware.  In this blog I’m going to give you 10 signs that you may have a demon, and then at the end we are going to pray a powerful prayer.  

Confrontation vs. Conquering

Just because your pastor may not confront the works of darkness doesn’t mean that the works of darkness are not confronting you.  The book of Ephesians tells us that we are in a spiritual battle.  We are not fighting against people but against principalities, powers, rulers, and high places (Ephesians 6:12). So what does that mean? It means that some of the problems you encounter in your life may be demonic, but because you never confronted the demonic, you are not conquering. Confrontation and conquering go hand in hand. You can only conquer what you confront.  If you confront the flesh, you will conquer the flesh.  The Bible says that you should crucify it (Galatians 5:24).  So if you confront your flesh and say, “Not today, flesh!  I’m crucifying you. I don’t care what you want!”  You will have victory over the thing that you confront. Conquering and confrontation go hand in hand.  If you never confront the demonic, you will never conquer the demonic.  

ConquerorDiscipline vs. Deliverance

You may have been trying to fight what you are suffering from with a pill. But if you need deliverance from the demonic, you can’t take a pill prescribed by a psychiatrist or a doctor that will solve the problem. No surgery will help if the source of your illness is demonic. No amount of therapy will help if it’s demonic.  Now I’m not diminishing surgery, therapy, or medication, but what I’m trying to say is there are problems in the physical and there are problems in the spiritual.  We have created a Christianity where it’s always the flesh; it’s always a need for discipline.  Sometimes, though, there is a need for deliverance.  

The Real Jesus

I don’t think every issue is a demon.  But if you are a pastor and do ten, twenty, thirty years of ministry and nothing ever manifests in your churches, I have to ask you – was Jesus ever really there?  In Mark 1, the first time Jesus shows up at a synagogue, a demon starts screaming, “Why are you here to torment me?”  When the Holy Spirit shows up in a church service, the demons begin to scream, “Why are you here to torment me?”  We’re not tormenting the demonic because the real Jesus is not in our midst. We invite the Jesus of religion, we invite the Jesus of tradition, we invite social justice warrior Jesus, or republican Jesus, or democratic, liberal Jesus. But yet, we don’t invite the real Jesus.  When we invite the real Jesus into our services, demons will begin to manifest.  

Throughout this blog, you’ll see me use the word “victim” in reference to the person who has a demon. I’m using the term victim because you truly are a victim if you have a demon. You shouldn’t feel guilt or shame.  But allow this list of ten points to help you identify whether you need deliverance and then pursue freedom!  Don’t allow yourself to continue to be terrorized by a demon!  Freedom is available to you!  

1. You have an irrational, uncontrollable aversion to the things of God

Sometimes not wanting to go to church results from a demon not wanting to be in the atmosphere of the actual presence of God.  Maybe you can easily watch garbage television or online content full of lust and sexual perversion, murder, and crazy things.  But yet you can’t watch worship or a church service.  This is a sign that you may have a demon.  

2.  The ability to speak languages completely unknown to the victim   

Whatever God has, Satan has a counterfeit.  In Acts 2, we see people speaking in other human languages that are known and declaring God’s mighty works. You best believe that Satan is going to distort and pervert that.  I have seen people speak in demonic tongues that are not known to the person.   

How do you know the difference between real and counterfeit tongues?  Just like a bank teller handles money frequently and can easily spot a counterfeit, the more you’re in the presence of the Holy Spirit the more you can tell what’s real and what is counterfeit. Develop your own prayer language and relationship with the Holy Spirit. Then, you can clearly discern between false and real tongues.    

3. You have a knowledge of things unknown to the victim

If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.  But as I mentioned above, there is always a counterfeit with the enemy.  So, what does the devil do? He also will give you hidden knowledge.  One of the reasons why people go into witchcraft or the occult is to know things. 

Psychics, mediums, witches, and warlocks are seeking knowledge.  The devil will give people knowledge and reveal things they could not possibly know. Some will say, “I have had premonitions my entire life. I felt like I’ve known things.”  Just like in the Old Testament, young Samuel was brought into the temple to be trained under Eli so that he could develop the prophetic gifting; I also believe that Satan grooms people. Demons groom people under a counterfeit spirit of prophecy.  

4. The person will already know that they have demons inside them.

Sometimes a man or woman of God is just there to confirm what the victim already knows.  A wise minister will check and verify though.  It’s similar to going to the doctor to get a diagnosis. How many people have died from undiagnosed cancer because the doctor didn’t check? If you are a pastor and minister and have people coming to you saying, “I think I need deliverance,” you should check and not assume everything is fine!

Let us not forget Ananias and Sapphira, who suffered the highest consequence for lying by omission to the Holy Spirit.  If you are a pastor and someone comes to you saying, “I think I need deliverance,” but you’re afraid to pray for them because you’re a spiritual coward, you need to stop telling them they don’t have a demon!  Deliverance is the children’s bread, and your refusal to discern the spiritual could mean holding back freedom from somebody.  You will be accountable for that before the throne of God!

5. You experience basic demonic manifestations

Some basic manifestations that may occur by a victim of demon possession are:

  • Sneezing
  • Coughing
  • Yawning
  • Shaking
  • Convulsing
  • Contorting
  • Not being able to make eye contact 
  • Eyes going back and forth
  • Gagging, choking, or vomiting 
  • Mocking laughter 
  • Getting lightheaded
  • Heart palpitations 
  • Burping

SneezingThis is not an exhaustive list, and the presence of any one of these things can’t tell you if you have a demon.  Ultimately you must rely on the Holy Spirit, coupled with experience to discern.

6. Intrusive thoughts

When you have repeated intrusive thoughts, that’s an indicator that those thoughts are demonic.  I’ve heard news stories of someone grabbing a baby and throwing them off a balcony, killing the infant.  This person had no prior criminal record and had never so much gotten a parking ticket.   They escalated straight to murder because they struggled with repeated intrusive thoughts, but the origin of was demonic. The Bible says the devil came to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10)  If your thoughts are telling you to kill, that’s the devil on assignment.  

Similarly, intrusive thoughts can be of lust and perversion.  Understand that not all sexual desire is lust. God gave us sexual desire as a gift.  He said to be fruitful and multiply in Genesis. So it is healthy and normal to have sexual desire.  But when it becomes obsessive, perverse, and ultimately uncontrollable, you need to discern if it’s demonic.  

7.  Uncontrollable behaviors

Sometimes tics that people have are demonic. If you treat all tics like they’re demonic,  then you will show a lack of empathy and understanding for people who have this as a purely physiological issue. 

But in Mark 5 there was a young man who was bound by demons who had uncontrollable behavior. They put him in chains because he had supernatural strength.  There are other instances of uncontrollable behavior in Jesus’ deliverance ministry.  Some had supernatural strength, some screamed uncontrollably, one man threw himself into the fire.  No human being would do that willingly.  Human nature is self-preservation. If you have uncontrollable behaviors like cutting yourself or self-harm and feel like you can’t get a grip on it, the demonic is at play.  

8.  Unexplainable illness

Jesus cast out the spirit of infirmity.  In Luke 13:11, we see evidence of a spirit of infirmity.  It says in this verse, “Behold there was a woman who had a disabling spirit for 18 years, and she was bent over and she couldn’t straighten herself up.”  Many people would say she needs a chiropractor or physical therapy.  But Jesus discerned that this was a spirit of infirmity.  

In contrast, not all sicknesses are demonic.  When Jesus healed ten lepers, he didn’t cast out the spirit of leprosy.  He healed them.  So need to discern between the spirit of infirmity and physical infirmity. One requires deliverance, one requires healing.

9.  Unexplained paranormal activity

Sometimes there are demons in the atmospheres of homes. The Bible says when you cast them out, they go roaming around arid places, and then they come back seeing everything swept, and they want to come back in. Here’s the thing: demons do not want to just float around your house.  They want to live inside of you.  However, there are times when you’ll see physical paranormal activity happen, which could point to possession.   

GhostI’ve seen this evidenced by cabinets slamming, doors slamming, boxes being thrown, foul smells, and strange shadows.  Some may say their homes have ghosts.  There is no such thing as a ghost. What we refer to as ghosts are demons masquerading as deceased people. Maybe in a moment of grief, you started talking to dead loved ones, and the devil used it as an open door.  

10.  You have tried Christian disciplines and still struggle with repeated sin 

Maybe you have tried it all.  You read the Bible every day, pray daily, listen to worship, fast, and have gone to pastoral counseling, but you can’t get free; you may have a demon.  

If you do have a demon, dive into these resources for finding freedom.  I suggest going through them in this order to follow a process for self-deliverance:

Casting Out Demons for Beginners

How to Cast Out Demons By Yourself

How to Cleanse Your House from Evil Spirits


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee
Man looking at phone

How to Get Free From Lust Once and For All

By | Deliverance | No Comments

Do you feel guilt and shame every time you give into sexual sin? Do you feel like God is calling you to a life of holiness, but you can’t just fully step in? Maybe you have surrendered to God, but you can’t get control over this one area. Perhaps it started as loneliness and turned into sexual sin because you keep returning to a relationship (friends with benefits).  

Not only do I pastor a multi-site church, but I’m somebody who has openly shared my testimonies of being set free from sexual sin. So I’m going to give you three things to help you finally break free from sexual sin.  Then we will pray a powerful prayer together to break the chains off you.    

1. Break the Trance.  

Lust causes you to come up under a trance. It is a way of thinking where you rehearse things over and over. Human beings are wired for a state of continual thinking and meditation.  Our human brain is built for repetition.  The repetition of lustful thoughts produces a trance.

Trance

Colossians 3:5 

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Let’s talk about your earthly nature. You are a physical body.  The desire to have sex is not wrong. As a matter of fact, it’s not just a desire, but one of the reasons God created sex is to procreate, and he commanded that we would be fruitful and multiply.  He gave sexuality as a gift.  So the desire in and of itself is not wrong.  You may have been led to believe that it was wrong, but in and of itself, sexual desire is not wrong. 

I remember reading a story about a fox that was wounded. This wounded fox came to a home, limping and bleeding.  The house owner had so much compassion for this fox that he began to feed it. He bandaged his wounds and cared for it. Sooner or later, the fox got to the point where it was so strong and rehabilitated that it ended up viciously attacking the owner and his child and killing them. 

This story made me think about how sexual desire is like that wounded fox. It shows up as loneliness. It shows up as, “My life is so hard, I just need a moment of pleasure.”  We begin to feed it.  What we don’t realize is that we’re strengthening a killer.   That fox does not belong in your house!  In the same way, you are feeding that desire. It shows up as brokenness. It shows up as something in our life that we make an excuse for because we feel deserving of it, and then all of a sudden, we begin to strengthen it to the point where it eventually destroys us and maybe our children too. 

The thing that you let live is the thing that eventually kills you.  So if you let lust live, it will kill you, your destiny, your peace of mind, and your next level.  Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed which is idolatry.”  What does that mean?  

Stop feeding it! Break the trance!

2.   Worship Continuously.

2 Corinthians 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

David was a worshiper.  He understood how to repeat and rehearse victories. So when he stood in front of Goliath, he said, “Hey Goliath, I defeated the lion, I defeated the bear, and surely I’ll defeat you.”  What he was doing was repeating and rehearsing his victories. 

Lust and perversion make you repeat shame, guilt, and condemnation. When you go to worship God, lust says, “What are you doing? Don’t you remember what you did?” And lust repeats your failures. So you must learn how to take those thoughts captive and worship continuously.  

It’s not about a lack of discipline. You’re already disciplined into lust.  There’s not a day that you don’t lust and operate in perversion.  You have already proven you can be consistent and disciplined. You need to reallocate your discipline towards the things of God.  Reallocate your discipline from the works of darkness toward the works of righteousness.

1 Peter 5:5

“God opposes the proud

    but shows favor to the humble.”  

False humility says, “God, I just keep going back to lust; I can’t defeat this thing.” Genuine humility says, “God, I’m not praying as I should pray; I haven’t made time for your word.  God, it’s you that I’ve left out.”  God shows favor to the humble.  Worship continuously with a humble heart and see freedom from lust once and for all. 

3.  Clean House.

If you want to get free from lust once and for all, you have to get serious about applying the warning the Apostle Paul gave in Romans 12.  

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The world is polyamorous.  The world has multiple different outlets for their sexuality.  The world says to do whatever feels good.   But Romans 12 means that sometimes we have to clean house.  Jesus said it is better to cut off your hand because you continue to sin than to lose your entire body to the flames.  

Think of it this way.  Most of us are born with two hands, and we put much of our identity into that fact.  We have learned to do everything in life with those two hands.  If we were to lose one, it would feel as if our identity had shifted. We would have to reorient how we do everything in life.  We used to write, type, drive, and eat with the hand you lost, and now we have to learn to do everything without that appendage.  Everything would have to change.  This is the same with lust.  But wouldn’t you rather have to figure out how to live without lust than lose your whole life because of lust?  

clean houseIn cleaning house, you may have to delete some apps off your phone.  You may have to block numbers of friends with benefits.  You may have to remove the things that are a part of your identity. But that is the key to freedom – it’s removing a part of you that is cancerous so that you can save the rest.  

These three steps do not in and of themselves produce lasting victory over lustful thoughts.  The Bible is not an instruction manual for sexual repression; it’s so that you will be sexually satisfied and sexually fulfilled.  But lust can never be fulfilled. Lust is insatiable.  The only way anyone can attain true sexual fulfillment is through the covenant of marriage. But you cannot solve lust with marriage because lust is insatiable.  This means you can be married to the right person but wired the wrong way and never be satisfied. You will end up seeking satisfaction through cheating, and if you don’t cheat with another person, you’ll cheat through a screen or video. 

Why should you renew your mind?  So that you can prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God.  Until you renew your mind, you can’t prove what the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God is. Every day you wake up, you have thousands of new brain cells through neurogenesis.  The Bible says His mercies are new every day.  That means when you wake up every single morning, you have thousands of new brain cells that were created while you slept.  

Every day you wake up, you have another opportunity to transform your brain.  You have another opportunity to renew your mind.  It can’t be fixed by deliverance. You can be delivered from a demon, but if the habitat that that demon created remains, they come back wanting to take more territory and bring their friends. If you don’t learn the convergence of discipline with deliverance, renewing your mind every day,  you will not reverse it and stay free.  

You don’t have to live in guilt, shame, or condemnation.  You don’t have to live under that mental and emotional burden.  You don’t have to live bound by demons.  There is freedom from lust, once and for all.  

 

Let’s pray right now:

Father, I take captive every single vile, demonic, lustful, perverse thought now, in the name of Jesus. Everything I have viewed through lust and pornography and things that I’ve experienced through trauma, molestation, rape, promiscuity, and perversion of all kinds, right now I take it captive in the name of Jesus.  I pull down every single stronghold that has erected itself up against your Word. 

Father, I thank you that freedom is coming now.  You are giving me righteous fulfillment of my sexual desires through my spouse. God, I thank you that you are bringing me into the covenant of marriage to fulfill my sexual desires.  I am not going to be repressed, but I am going to be completely and totally free.  

Father, I’m not going back. Father, I repent. I thank you that you are faithful and just to  forgive those who repent.  Father, I repent.  I’m not blaming it on demons, Lord.  It’s on me. I turn my heart back to you right now. God, I belong to you now. 

Every spirit of lust and perversion, I command you to go in the name of Jesus. I break your power, command you to lose me, and let me go.  Come out of my mind, come out of my appetite, in the name of Jesus.  Lust of the eyes, come out in Jesus’ name. Lust of the hands, out in Jesus’ name.   Every single curse of lust and perversion is broken in the name of Jesus.  

Amen!


If you have been involved in the occult or witchcraft, I encourage you to check out my blog “How to Cleanse Your House from Evil Spirits.” 

My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

How to Cast Out Demons By Yourself

By | Deliverance, The Holy Spirit | One Comment

In my first blog about self-deliverance, I laid a foundation for how and why self-deliverance is biblically possible.  Now we are going to focus on the practical.  This is a crash course on breaking generational curses, casting out demons, and finding freedom by yourself.   You don’t have to live in bondage and wait for the next church service or conference to be free. Instead, you can experience freedom right where you are – in your home, office, or car!  

Please know that even though you might be by yourself during this process of self-deliverance, you are not without help!  You can trust the Holy Spirit will help you through this deliverance process. I want to prepare you that you might experience some unusual physical manifestations as we go through this process. Symptoms like yawning, vomiting, burping, and ears popping are common.   

Step 1:  Repent

Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

Repentance is acknowledging that you deserve the full penalty for your sin. 

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life. We deserve sin and death as a payment for our sin.  

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

The people in your bloodline sinned on your mother and father’s sides.  Because of that, you deserve the curse.  You deserve death and hell.  But when you repent, the curse of sin is broken.  

Galatians 3:14
So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

I am the seed of Abraham and his blessing is mine. What does it mean? It means I’m a sinner, but I am engrafted into Abraham’s spiritual lineage. I have access to all his blessings. 

Let’s start with a prayer of repentance to get our lives set right.  Pray out loud: 

I repent for all of my sins.  Father, forgive me. Wash me clean with your blood.  I give my life to you in full surrender.  All that I am, all that I ever will be, belongs to you now, Jesus.  I accept the work of the cross.  I am completely and totally free.  In Jesus’ name, amen.  

If you prayed that prayer with faith, you are now a believer.  So don’t go back and say, “I’m not saved,” or doubt your salvation.  You are free.  Your spirit is free.  You’re redeemed, and you’re going to heaven.  

Some may experience difficulty in praying that prayer of repentance.  Even the physical act of getting the words out can be challenging for some who are heavily afflicted.  Some may experience vomiting or a physical reaction.  If that’s you, you have to get the words out, “Jesus Christ is Lord of my life.”   Continue to say it until you can get the words out of your mouth because repentance is our first step.  

Repentance always requires action. Your repentance may include throwing away or destroying items that were involved in your sin.  These can include occultic items or addictive items like cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, or pornography. I encourage you to accompany your repentance with action to see lasting fruit!  

Step 2: Renounce

Now that your spirit is redeemed and free, we will move to your physical body and your soul.  Demons can hide in your physical body and your soul, which is your mind, will, and emotions.  To get freedom in those areas, you will need to go through the process of breaking curses or renouncing.  

To renounce, pray this out loud and with authority:

I break and release myself from all generational curses and iniquities as a result of the sins of my ancestors in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses on both sides of my family, back 60 generations.  

I break all curses of witchcraft, sorcery, and divination in the name of Jesus.  

I break and release myself from all curses of pride and rebellion in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of death and destruction in the name of Jesus. 

I break and rebuke all curses of sickness and infirmity in the name of Jesus.  

I break and release myself from all curses of poverty, lack, and debt in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of rejection in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of double-mindedness and schizophrenia in the name of Jesus.  

I break and release myself from the curse of Jezebel and Ahab in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of divorce and separation in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of lust and perversion in Jesus’ name. 

I break and release myself from all curses of confusion and mental illness in the name of Jesus.

I break and release myself from all curses of idolatry in Jesus’ name.

I break and release myself from all curses causing accidents and premature death in Jesus’ name.

I break and release myself from all spoken curses, from all negative words spoken against me and by others and by those in authority and I bless them.

I break and release myself from all self-inflicted curses by negative words I have spoken.  

 

Step 3: Cast Out

All believers have the authority to cast demons out.  

Mark 16:17-18 (KJV)
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

You are not exempt.  The authority that Christ has given you works for you just like anyone else.  That means that when you cast out demons in this step, you will experience deliverance.  

Say this loudly and boldly:

I command every demon hiding and operating behind a curse to come out of me in the name of Jesus.  You are no longer welcome in my body or soul, and you have no right or authority to be here.  I cast you out in the name of Jesus.  Every demon of depression, anxiety, fear, torment, every demon coming from curses from the bloodline of oaths and contracts, we break it in the name of Jesus and cast you out in the name of Jesus.  

You are now free!  


If you have been involved in the occult or witchcraft, I encourage you to check out my blog “How to Cleanse Your House from Evil Spirits.” 

My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

How to Overcome Anxiety

By | Deliverance, Tough Questions, Uncategorized | No Comments

The infrastructure to diagnose, treat, and medicate anxiety and depression, including pharmaceuticals and medications, is valued at 42 billion dollars.  Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States and are considered the most common mental illness in the U.S.  If you find yourself struggling with anxiety, I have good news for you: you don’t have to live trapped by anxiety.  

Two Types of Anxiety

There are two types of anxiety: normal anxiety and anxiety disorder.  Normal anxiety is a system installed in your physical being by God to help keep you alive. For example, if you are in the woods and a predator jumps out at you, you have a system built into your body that tells you you need to decide within milliseconds. Do you run, or do you stand your ground and fight? If you are in college and you have a paper due, it is normal to feel a bit of anxiety and pressure.  Normal anxiety regulates your life and helps you to become successful. 

When we talk about anxiety in this blog, we are not talking about normal anxiety.  We aren’t talking about the minor anxiety you may feel if you wake up at 8:59 am and have to be at work by 9:00 am. We are speaking about anxiety disorders in this blog.  Normal anxiety elevates to the realm of anxiety disorder when it becomes out of order (dis-order).  God himself says He is not a God of disorder but peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).  The peace of God, or His shalom, brings order.  When the order, or the peace of God, enters your life, it begins to set things straight. If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, God has freedom in mind.  

Normalizing Anxiety

We live in a culture that normalizes anxiety because it is all around us.  The more prevalent a problem is, the more acceptable it becomes. The message of our culture is that anxiety levels are exponentially rising around the world.  We have adapted our theology to anxiety and accepted that it is a part of life rather than pursuing freedom.  God gave you a fight-or-flight system, but He did not give you the spirit of fear.  

1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

As a culture, we have begun to use the personal pronoun “my” when referring to anxiety: “My anxiety.”  God did not give you panic attacks, so don’t take ownership of anxiety anymore!  Your anxiety doesn’t come from God. Instead, he gives good gifts to His children. 

Acts 2:17 (ESV)
And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams;

I want to highlight the portion of this scripture that says, “your sons and your daughters will prophesy.”  Prophecy requires speaking using your words.  If Satan knows that God will cause sons and daughters to prophesy, then strategically, to stop the prophecy, he has to pervert the speech of the sons and daughters.  The devil has had to counter the word of God that says, “I have not given them a spirit of fear.” Instead, his strategy is for them to start taking possession and ownership of that spirit of anxiety and calling it “my anxiety.”

Don’t Take My Anxiety

Nobody likes to have something taken from them. One of the first lessons we learn as children is to share because sharing doesn’t come naturally. We lock our car, house, and possessions because they belong to us. If the enemy can get you to take possession of anxiety and say, “This is my anxiety,” you’ll treat it like the rest of your possessions as something to protect and secure so that it doesn’t get taken.  

If you would like freedom from anxiety, you need to determine that you will NOT refer to the spirit of anxiety as yours.   The first thing that has to happen is to change your words.  You have to take captive every thought that exalts itself against the Word of God.  So the Word of God becomes your standard (2 Cor 10:3-6). So if the Word of God has something to say about how you ought to think, talk, and live, and then a thought comes that starts to elevate itself above the standards, you have to take it captive and tear it down.  These thoughts can come from culture, the medical community, the self-help community, the self-esteem community, secular humanism, or any kind of source.  Tear these thoughts down and say, “No, this is what I choose to believe and stand on instead.”  

The Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus, in the moments before the cross, was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. During this time, the Bible says that his sweat turned to blood, is a medical condition that happens when you are under severe mental duress.  He was starting the process of facing fear. So not only would Jesus’ body be given for our sins, but His mind also had to go through a preparation process in the Garden of Gethsemane.  

No physical torture or pain had happened yet when he was in the garden.  However, Jesus knew what lay ahead and was instead experiencing the pain of imagining what was ahead of him.  He had to win the battle in His mind in the garden first so that when He said, “It is finished,” on the cross, you could have the victory in your mind. He wasn’t only whipped and beaten so that we could be healed from our sicknesses and infirmities and disease. It started in the garden, where His imagination began to conjure up the thoughts of being attacked, ridiculed, and brutalized in such a great way that his sweat turned to blood.  

Jesus Understands Anxiety

Jesus understands your anxiety, worry, and torment because there was a time that His sweat turned to blood.  He said, “God, if there’s any other way, let it pass.”  That goes to show you how powerful the mind is. The enemy knows Jesus was almost broken in His mind in the garden, so when he is trying to bring you down, where do you think he will fight you the hardest? He’s going to fight you in your mind. 

Steps to Reduce Anxiety

A study by Cambridge showed that women from wealthier areas reported lower anxiety levels than women from poorer regions.  This indicated that those who have the resources to cope with and manage anxiety can lower it to normal levels.  I want to help give you some tools to learn how to cope with anxiety when it comes into your life. The Cambridge study indicates that you can bring the levels into a normal range if you know what to do when you feel anxiety rise.  

Step 1: Know God’s Word

G.K. Chesterton, a famous theologian, said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly the first time.”  The anxiety we have in life is often from the fear of being judged by others.  We wonder what people will think about how we speak and look, which increases anxiety.  When we face increased anxiety, we need to draw on the best tool for dealing with anxiety – God’s word.  We remember that, “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world,” (1 John 4:4) and, “If God be for me who could be against me” (Romans 8:31), and we begin to take back control.  We don’t live and die by the criticism OR praise of people.  We live in response to the voice of God.  

When I speak in front of a large group of people, I can feel so much fear and anxiety in my flesh.  “What are they going to think?”  “Are they going to judge me?”  “Are they going to receive this word?”  But the Holy Spirit reminds me that the Spirit of God dwells inside of me.  He never leaves me or forsakes me and will be with me even to the ends of the earth. Furthermore, he reminds me that I am loved, approved of, and loved even at my darkest. And this causes my anxiety to reduce.  

Step Two: Forgive Yourself

This Cambridge study said that people’s anxiety directly correlates with how much they forgive themselves. If you constantly beat yourself up, you produce anxiety levels that go from average to disordered. Many people who suffer from anxiety disorder constantly think about what they’re doing wrong.  Thoughts like, “Today I didn’t parent as I should,” and “I didn’t get the best grades in my classes,” and “I didn’t read the Bible” plague them. The Bible says, “Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It is so essential for you to learn how to forgive yourself.  Science from just a few years ago says if you know how to forgive yourself, you’ll be free from anxiety, which reinforces what the Bible said thousands of years ago! 

Step Three: Do Something For Someone Else

Proverbs 11:25
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

The study from Cambridge says doing something with someone else in mind will diminish anxiety.  My brother, a nurse, once shared the acronym PAIN with me.  When a patient feels pain, it’s an indicator that they need to Pay Attention Inside Now.  If your heart begins to feel physical pain, no matter where you are, you will pay attention to your insides and get the help you need because you could be having a heart attack.  Some of the most selfish people are the people in the most pain.  Because of their internal woundedness, they can only think of their hurt.  They aren’t able to think of anyone or anything else.  They want to be generous and help other people, but they can’t take the focus off themselves.  

Put on the Oxygen Mask

When you are on an airplane, the flight attendants instruct you that if the oxygen mask descends out of the top compartment, put your mask on first before you place it on your children. Now that’s counterintuitive because a loving parent wants to help their child first, as the child is their most precious thing.  The problem with that way of thinking is that if you don’t put the mask on yourself first, you will probably pass out by the time you even think about getting it on your kid.  When you study your Bible, spend time in prayer, and go to counseling to address your trauma and wounds, you are, in a sense, putting the oxygen mask on first so that you can go out and help other people. 

If you want to lower anxiety, do something with someone else in mind.  I’m going through my struggles right now, as many of us are, but I am refreshed as I pray for others, preach, and reach out to people who feel alone and forgotten.  

 

God asked Abraham to give Him his son, Isaac.  Isaac was Abraham’s most precious thing in life, a long-awaited gift of God.  Abraham could have been selfish.  But because he was a man of faith, he moved forward with the sacrifice of His son.  And as he did, the angel grabbed his hand, and he knew it was a test.  As you pour out your life, God will refresh you and free you from your anxiety.  

A New Song

Psalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the Lord;
   he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the Lord.

Scripture reprograms your mind scripts re-broke programs your mind.  If you’ve got an old script of anxiety running through your mind, allow God put a new song in your mouth.  When you look back at your life, there is no doubt you can see the faithful hand of God written on every page of your life story. To see your anxiety reduced, stop taking ownership of it.  Know God’s word.  Forgive yourself.  And do something for someone else.  

 


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

Casting Out Demons for Beginners

By | Deliverance | No Comments

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the idea of casting out demons and wondered where to even start, this is a beginner lesson on how to do so. Casting out demons isn’t just something for super Christians or people who are highly trained.  The Bible says that all believers will cast out demons.  Mark 16:17-18 (ESV) says,

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Notice it says, “These signs WILL accompany those who believe.”  If you are a believer, that’s you!  If you believe you believe in Jesus, in His name, it says you will cast out demons. You will speak in other tongues.  You will pick up serpents with your hands and if you drink deadly poison, it won’t hurt you. There is divine protection for those who do spiritual war in Christ’s name.  They will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.  So if you haven’t seen sick people recover, it is not because God cannot do it through you, it is probably because you have not allowed Him to do so by a simple act of obedience through laying your hands on people and praying.  

Authority Through Jesus

Where does the power to cast out demons come from?  You have authority through Jesus Christ. If you are not under the authority of Jesus, you cannot cast out demons. But, if you are under the authority of Jesus, you can. I have two daughters, and sometimes when they argue, the older one comes to me and says, “Dad, my little sister won’t stop annoying me.”  I tell my daughter, “Go tell your sister that I said to stop it.”  When she goes back to her little sister, now her sister listens to her.  Her little sister doesn’t listen because her older sister has authority, but because I, her dad, have authority, and then delegated it to the older sister.  When the little sister hears her big sister say, “Hey, Dad said you better stop or he’s going to deal with you,” she changes her behavior.  The situation changes when the older sister exercises her delegated authority.  When you are effective at casting out demons, it is not because you are a powerful person, but it’s because you have been given power and authority by Jesus.  The demons respond to Jesus, through you!

Authority and Power

Matthew 12:28 says, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (ESV).  Imagine that you are a police officer. The badge you wear is a visible sign of your authority.  The weapon that you carry as a police officer is the power that you use to act on your authority. So, in a sense, Jesus is the visible authority (your badge) and the Holy Spirit is your power (your weapon). If you shoot without a badge, you’re considered a criminal.  Similarly, if you go out and try to fight crime without a weapon, the criminals will easily overpower you.  So to have Jesus without the Holy Spirit means you’re powerless.   It means you have authority but nothing to enforce your authority.  Conversely, to just have the Holy Spirit but not the authority of Jesus is like shooting without a badge. There are people who have tried to cast out demons without belonging to Jesus, and the demons say, “We know Paul, but who are you?” You can try to cast out demons, but in order to be effective, there has to be a reality of your reliance on the Holy Spirit.  

Police OfficerHow Do You Know It’s A Demon?

So, once you have your authority (Jesus) and power (the Holy Spirit), how do you know if you’re encountering a demon? I can personally speak from my experience in deliverance. In deliverance, one needs to constantly diagnose and assess, which requires discernment through the Holy Spirit.  Not every issue is due to a demon.  Sometimes, our issues are due to the flesh.  In some circumstances, a person doesn’t need deliverance, they need discipline.  The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:24, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (ESV).  You can’t cast out the flesh.  The flesh needs to be disciplined and brought under the control of the spirit. 

Opening Up A Doorway

However, if you perpetually give in to the desires of the flesh, there is a very high likelihood that you have opened up a doorway in your life to the demonic through that repeated sin.   We use discernment from the Holy Spirit to determine what that situation calls for.  The analogy I always give for discerning whether you’re dealing with a demon or it’s the flesh is this.  You have King David and you have King Saul.  King David sinned and made mistakes, but he was quick to repent.  King Saul was unrepentant, which means that the sin in his life was perpetual.  As a result, we see that King Saul was vexed by demons, but we do not have a biblical account that King David was vexed by demons. 

An Open DoorImagine your home.  If you left the doorway to your house open all the time, it’s only a matter of time until something like a squirrel, a stray cat, a rat, or a raccoon comes in.  King David and King Saul were both sinners who made mistakes.  However, the difference was that Saul opened a door through his sin but left it open.  David also opened a door through sin, but immediately slammed it shut through repentance.  Repeated disobedience opens a door to the demonic.  Repentance shuts the door.  

What Do I Say to Cast a Demon Out?

We can look at the biblical accounts of Jesus himself casting out demons in order to determine what to say to cast a demon out.  In every account, it’s different.  He simply has a dialog with the demons.  Jesus never offered a formula, and I believe this is for a very specific reason.  Those who are religious are always trying to learn rituals, formulas, and the words to say.  Witches and warlocks say the right words.  They have incantations and spells that they cast that require specific words.  That’s not what happens with deliverance.  The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.  There is no repetition of specific words.  You must be reliant on your relationship with the Holy Spirit who will then reveal to you what you’re dealing with.  That’s why it’s important to have a heart posture like John the Baptist: “I decrease so that God can increase.”  Over the years, I’ve learned that you don’t get better at deliverance, you become more surrendered to the Holy Spirit.  

The Blood MoonWhat Prevents Effectiveness In Deliverance

What are the things that prevent you from being effective in deliverance? One of the things that will stop you from being effective is pride and unconfessed sin in your own personal life.   It also could be a lack of knowledge, which just means in a certain situation you didn’t know what to do.  Another thing that can prevent your effectiveness in deliverance is that you haven’t built your reliance on the Holy Spirit.  This results in doing ministry out of your head or heart, which is the soul realm, not the spirit realm.  

Where Do You Start?

The first person that you should get good at doing deliverance on is yourself.  The scriptures teach us that there is a necessity to unlock the shackles and chains and “loose thyself.”

The very first deliverance I ever did was my own. As a teenager, I vomited uncontrollably in my shower as I went through the process of breaking curses off of my life and then casting demons out of myself.  It was so liberating and such a confirmation of how real the supernatural realm is.  

So before you cast a demon out of someone else, begin with yourself!


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee

How to Cleanse Your House from Evil Spirits

By | Deliverance | No Comments

How do you close the door to the demonic and cleanse your home from occultic influences? 

Here are some signs that you need to cleanse your house from evil spirits:

You feel a foreboding presence or darkness. 

This could include the feeling that something is walking behind you, someone is watching you, poltergeist-like activity including door slamming, light switches going on and off, bumps and creaks in the middle of the night, experiencing a supernatural figure/ghost, and hearing voices. Recently I heard the story of a woman who heard a male voice saying, “Shh, it’s gonna be okay,” to her baby and there was no man in the room. It was a familiar spirit.  

There’s a lack of peace in your home. 

This could manifest as an environment of fear, apprehension, worry, dread, and doubt, causing you to be on edge constantly.  

You are holding onto items from another time in your life that you know are wrong.

Maybe you’ve kept items and things from another part of your life that you know are wrong to possess.  

Deuteronomy 11:26-28
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.”

You Have a Choice

Here we see the personality and character of God in offering us a choice.  The Holy Spirit is giving you a choice today.  You can have witchcraft, tarot cards, psychics, mediums, the occult, sage, and crystals, or you can have the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Prince of Peace can reign in your home, but you have to choose Him. You can’t have a Word from God and a word from your horoscope in the same house. One of the biggest ways that we can be cursed is by acknowledging and worshipping false gods, which include false religions and new age religion, which is the occult.  That is how we are cursed.

According to Galatians 3:13, Jesus died on the cross so that the curse could be broken, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not living under the curse. You have to choose. Jesus paid for us to be completely free from all of the curses, but we still have to make a choice.

Isaiah 47:11-14
But evil shall come upon you,
which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
    for which you will not be able to atone;
and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
    of which you know nothing.
Stand fast in your enchantments
    and your many sorceries,
    with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
    perhaps you may inspire terror.
You are wearied with your many counsels;
    let them stand forth and save you,
those who divide the heavens,
    who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
    what shall come upon you.

The prophet Isaiah is mocking them: “Yeah, let all the people you watch online that give you psychic words, all the astrologers, all those you call on the phone and they give you a psychic reading, let them come and save you from what God’s about to release on You.”  

God’s Judgement

The judgment of God is real. Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God. The penalty of sin and the consequence of astrology, psychic mediums, accursed items, and occultic practices didn’t go away. The consequence is still there.  Yes, the wrath of God has been satisfied by the sacrifice of Jesus, but the wages of sin is still death. The only hope you have is the blood of Jesus washing you clean and covering your family.  

If you throw a pile of occultic objects in your garbage, but you don’t serve the Lord, then all you’ve done is clean your house. You haven’t cleansed your house.  I’m not talking about doing a house cleaning. I’m talking about cleansing.  

Deuteronomy 7:25-26
The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.

What Is From The Occult?

How do you define something as being from the occult? It is an object that has supernatural influence that is not from God.  They don’t help you, they hinder you and stand between you and God.  Occultic items represent counterfeit comfort.  The only true comfort comes through the living God, Jesus Christ, that you can know and experience and hear clearly through the person of the Holy Spirit. 

Any and every object that represents counterfeit comfort needs to be removed from your house.  Here is a list of items that are associated with the occult that you should cleanse from your home:

  • Astrology
  • Horoscopes
  • Voodoo 
  • Catholic objects such as images of saints, crucifixes, candles, holy water, and catholic prayers 
  • Objects or written prayers that have been used in witchcraft or given to you by a witch 
  • Crystals 
  • Sage
  • Books that influence and change your worldview or philosophical perspective away from a biblical worldview.  
  • Pictures of dragons
  • Items associated with kundalini yoga 
  • Dolls with no faces
  • Tarot cards 
  • Angel cards 
  • Any candles that you’ve lit in a ritualistic way 
  • Toys that draw on or represent the demonic realm (video games, etc)
  • Dream catchers anytime

This is Not Legalism

If were to give you an exhaustive list of all the things you should throw away, that would make me an arbiter of religion, but I’m not here to give you legalism and religion. I’m here to empower you through the Holy Spirit so that you can listen and obey His voice.  No one can tell you what is detestable; only the Holy Spirit can tell you what is detestible to Him.

As a general thought, to simplify things, I believe that if you have to ask if something is of the occult, it’s probably not of God.  

The Blood of the Lamb

When we read about Passover in scripture, the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorpost. The angel of death would pass by and if you did not have the blood of the lamb applied to the doorpost, death would come to your family. Jesus, the perfect lamb, has been sacrificed and His blood has been applied to the doorposts of our lives so the spirit of death passes by.  When you don’t have the blood of the Lamb applied to the doorpost of your life, demonic spirits begin to get access to your home.  So before we can cleanse your home, we need to make sure the blood of the Lamb of God is applied to your life.  We need to start with salvation.  If you question whether or not you’re saved, if you question whether or not the blood of the lamb is applied to the doorpost of your life, then the first step is for us to solidify that.  

Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The power is in believing these words:

Heavenly Father, I give you my life. Wash me with your blood, Jesus. Forgive me of all my sins.  I surrender to you. I give you my home.  I give you my family. I give you my children. In Jesus’ name, amen.  

If you prayed and believed that prayer, you are now under the blood!  

Anointing Oil

If you have olive oil, we’re going to anoint your home. In the Bible, oil represents the power, protection, and provision of God. A good shepherd would pour oil over the head of the sheep so that gnats and bugs couldn’t get in their eyes or their ears to cause infestation. 

You don’t need a pastor to come into your house.  The Holy Spirit has given you the same resurrection power that was in the apostles.  So grab a bottle of olive oil and we’ll begin cleansing your home of the demonic.  

Start at the Front Door

Start at the front door of your house.  Anoint the doorpost and begin to pray over your home.  You can pray something like:

Father, as I go through the door and anoint with what represents your power, your provision, and your protection, I release and speak the favor of God in my home.  Divine favor that flows from Jesus.  Not because we’re good, but because You are good.  Father, I thank you for anointing being released to remove the yoke and destroy the power of the enemy.

The Occultic Items

Gather the items you found in your home that represent the occult.  Break them if you can (but be careful not to hurt yourself).  Pray:

Father, you set before me a choice to choose blessing or curse.  I am not going to live under the curse of the occult, witchcraft, or sexual perversion.  I choose the blessing.  

Your Children’s Rooms

Anoint every doorpost to your children’s bedrooms, and begin to pray over each room:

God, we thank you for your fire being released in my house.  I pray that my kids would know you, and that this would be a house of revival.  I pray that this would be a house of prayer, supplication, and devotion.  Stir a hunger and a desire on the inside of us to seek you like never before.  I pray that worship would go out of our houses.  I cancel demonic assignments and pray for the strength and power of God over my children’s lives.  I call my lost children back to God and declare that Jesus will be their first love. 

Your Bedroom

Go to your bedroom and anoint the doorpost.  Enter and pray over the room:

Father, I thank you that even in my place of rest, where I sleep every night, every demonic spirit that would try to thwart my slumber and rob me of rest would be broken right now.  I break the power of every single tormenting spirit, lying spirit, perverse spirit, spirit of sexual immorality under the sound of my voice and tell them to go in the name of Jesus.  

Build An Altar

God doesn’t remove without replacing.  As an end to our cleansing, we’re going to build an altar to the Lord in our home.  Lift your hands as a sign of complete and total surrender.  Repeat after me:

Holy Spirit, you are welcome in my home.  You can have every door, every crack and every crevice.  It belongs to you.  Everything that happens in this home, let it be to glorify you.  Let everything done in secret glorify you in this home. We dedicate our homes to you.  God, I give you the [insert family name] family.  Everything that we’ve ever been, redeem it for your glory. For a thousand generations, through my bloodline, let every generation that proceeds from me glorify you.  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Amen.   


My Breakthrough Community is full of people just like you who are hungry for more of God. If you are interested in learning more, consider joining the Breakthrough Community!

Request prayer here.

APPAREL THAT MAKES A STATEMENT

Shop the store

Revivalist sweatshirt
He So Loved the World Long Sleeve T-Shirt
We are the wild ones long sleeve tee
[chatbot]