The Great Deception
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Part 1 - The great deception
Many Christians don’t believe they have demons. They either don’t think Christians can have demons or else they think demons are a rare thing that seldom come around. They think to have a demon means to be possessed like in the movie The Exorcist.
Prideful Christians get offended when it’s mentioned they may have demons in them. Often, pastors look at deliverance with a shake of the head and a roll of the eyes. Arrogant Christians mock deliverance, tongues, and other Spirit led things.
Christians with demons of anger and pride will develop a hatred for disciples who recognize the demons that are in them. Those demons will give the Christian strong hate and a feeling of entitlement to hold that hate to prevent that Christian from getting close to the disciple. This is because those demons don’t want to be casted out!
For the Christians that do believe they can have demons in them, most don’t realize the extent of their influence. They consider sinful, negative, or unpleasing attitudes, feelings, or actions as mostly “just who they are.” It’s “just their personality.” Because it runs in their family, “it’s in their blood.” They like to say “everything isn’t caused by a demon.” While this is true, they are usually ignorant of how many problems demons DO cause! If a personality trait isn’t pleasing to God, it isn’t from HIM!
Because Christians may have grown up going to church and living the Christian lifestyle, they feel like they’ve reached the pinnacle of Christian living. They go to church, they are good people, they help other people when they can, they even spread the gospel when the situation presents itself. They just don’t understand how much more there is. This is because they aren’t carrying out the great commission like Jesus told them to.
The majority of Churches don’t teach and practice the full gospel, the complete great commission. Because most Christians don’t know the bible very well and don’t use their own mind to make spiritual decisions, they rely heavily on the traditions and practices of the church. If the church leadership doesn’t teach and practice the full gospel, the church members won’t be learning or practicing the full gospel either.
The world, which is ruled by Satan under the supervision of God, will do everything it can to make us believe that the gospel isn’t true. Through family, friends, acquaintances, strangers, TV, movies, Youtube, podcasts, social media, music, incomplete church doctrine, pastors, politicians, doctors, illnesses, unfairness, etc. the world will try to make us believe the gospel isn’t true. How do we know when the world is influencing us...when we don’t ACT like the gospel is true.
The denial that demons exist, the denial that Christians can have demons in them, the ignorance as to the extent that demons influence us, the ignorance of the authority and power we have over demons, the fact that the full gospel has been removed from seminaries and bible colleges... which leads to church leaders denying the full gospel...which leads to churches denying the full gospel...which leads to most Christians denying the full gospel...is THE GREAT DECEPTION.
2 Corinthians 2:11
so that we should not be deceitfully coveted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Part 2 - The great commission
People who are not believers walk through this world being led by their own thoughts, desires, and feelings. Their thoughts don’t go beyond the world that they see.
In America it’s impossible to not know at least a little about Christianity. Most non-believers know there’s someone named Jesus. They may have even heard of the Holy Spirit. They’ve heard “Jesus died on the cross for our sins.” They’ll hear a story here or there about Jesus or someone else in the bible.
There’s something non-believers don’t see though. They don’t see any power behind Christianity. Non-believers hear that “the mighty Word of God can take down strongholds” in people’s lives. Yet they don’t see it being done. Christians often are at a loss as to how to solve sinful problems. Christians seem to publicly portray themselves as less sinful than the rest of the world. Yet, non-believers know there are a lot of Christians just as jacked-up as they are. They see many Christians as hypocrites. There isn’t anything really pulling non-believers to Christianity. For non-believers, it just seems like a hollow religion that people follow because of tradition and because it simply makes them feel good.
A primary reason non-believers don’t come to Jesus is because the American church isn’t obedient to the full-gospel. The great commission is Jesus’ command for us to go into the world and spread the Word...and while we do this we need to cast out demons and heal the sick. We need to walk in signs and wonders to prove the Word is true!
The great commission -
Matthew 28:18-20
​And coming up, Jesus spoke with them, saying, All authority in Heaven and on earth was given to Me. Therefore going, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, as many things as I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the completion of the age. Amen.
What did Jesus command the disciples to do?
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Matthew 10:1
​And having called His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity of body.
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Matthew 10:7-8
​And going on, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven has drawn near. Heal feeble ones, cleanse lepers, raise dead ones, cast out demons. You freely received, freely give.
What are the signs showing someone is developing into a disciple?
Mark 16:15-19
​The one believing and being baptized will be saved; but the one not believing will be condemned. And miraculous signs will follow to those believing these things: they will cast out demons in My name; they will speak new languages; they will take up snakes; and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them, not any; they will lay hands on ones being infirm, and they will be well. Then indeed, after speaking to them, the Lord was taken up into Heaven, and sat at the right of God.
So it’s clear that Jesus wants us to cast out demons and heal the sick. For some reason the church doesn’t do it. They don’t put the effort in to learn from disciples who do it. If Jesus saw pastors doing the research, He would reveal His secrets to them through the Holy Spirit. Whole churches would then be walking in God’s power. When non-believers looked at the church they would see the church as powerful and the gospel as truth. This country, as well as the world, would be much different.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
But if even our gospel is being hidden, it has been hidden in the ones perishing, in whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the faithless ones, so that the illumination of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine on them.
Part 3 - A superior power to prove the Word is true
Every miracle in the New Testament also occurred in the Old Testament except one...casting out demons. Jesus made it obvious that He had power from God the Father when He casted out demons.
Luke 11:14-22
And He was casting out a demon, and it was a mute one. And it happened as the demon was going out, the mute one spoke. And the crowds marveled. But some of them said, He casts out the demons by Beelzebul the chief of the demons. And tempting Him, others were seeking a miraculous sign from Heaven from Him. But knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is made a desolate one, and a house against a house falls. And also if Satan is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand: Because you say I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast out? Because of this they shall be your judges. But if I cast out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When the strong one, having been armed, guards the dwelling of himself, in peace are the things belonging to him. But as soon as the Stronger than he having come, He overcomes him; He takes away all his armor on which he trusted, and gives over his arms.
The last few sentences of the above scripture show that demons live in us. They can stay in us because they are more powerful than we are. They consider our body their home. When someone more powerful comes on scene (the Holy Spirit), He overcomes the demons and sends them on their way.
Satan rules this world, at least as much as God allows him to. Satan, other fallen angels, and demons are more powerful than we are when we are on our own. Demons influence us, guide us, trick us, torment us, harass us, and pull us to hell at an extent that no one knows other than disciples. There is only one source more powerful than they are. That source is God.
When Jesus was on earth, He stayed closely connected to God the Father through the Father’s personal spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the conduit that connected God the Father and Jesus.
The same is true with us. The Holy Spirit is the conduit that connects us with Jesus. We know that Jesus is the deliverer. He’s the deliverer in the general sense - salvation; and the specific sense - casting out demons.
This is how Jesus casts out demons. He sees a disciple commanding a demon to leave in His name. Jesus sees the disciple being obedient with child-like faith to His great commission. As a result, Jesus tells the Holy Spirit to remove the demons. The Holy Spirit that is in the disciple then forces those demons out.
With the Holy Spirit in us, we have superior power over demons and all the works of the devil. By utilizing this power, the only power greater than the demons, we prove that the kingdom of God is present. We prove the Word is true! When we spread the Word, we are SUPPOSED to prove the Word is true by demonstrating our God-given power.
Mark 16:20
And going out, they preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word through the miraculous signs following after. Amen
Part 4 - God uses demons to drive us back to Him
God uses demons to motivate us to come back to Him with a repentful heart. Here Paul writes to the church in Corinth...
1 Corinthians 5:1-5
Everywhere it is heard that fornication is among you, and such fornication which is not named among the nations, so as for someone to have his father’s wife. And you are being puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that did this deed might be taken from your midst. For as being absent in body, but being present in spirit, I have already judged the one who has perpetrated this deed, as being present. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being assembled with my spirit also, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give over such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The above scripture says a man having sex with his step-mother is evil. It certainly opens the man up for demons to enter him. If the man doesn’t repent for the fornication, he should be left with his demons. The demons will torment him through his flesh. They could do this through out-of-control lustful desires, mental instability, physical illnesses, etc. Through this torment the man may become humble and realize he needs to repent and get good with God again. When he does, the demons should then be cast out. God actually uses the demons to bring the man to repentance, thus saving the man’s soul.
In a letter to Timothy, Paul says he allowed demons to torment a couple of people who were unrepentant about blaspheme.
1 Timothy 1:18-20
This charge I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies going before concerning you, that you might war the good warfare by them, having faith and a good conscience, which certain ones thrusting away, made shipwreck concerning the faith, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I gave over to Satan, that they may be taught not to blaspheme.
A good bet would be that if these guys were tormented enough that they humbled themselves and developed a repentant heart, Paul would cast out their demons and set them free.
Part 5 - The hard truth
Let’s take a minute to not be so careful about feelings or people becoming offended. Let’s learn the hard truth.
1 Corinthians 10:20-21
...But I do not want you to become sharers of demons; Not you are able to drink the cup of the Lord and a cup of demons; not you are able to partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
To walk as close with God as He wants us to, we MUST go through continual deliverance. We MUST cast out those demons pulling us away from Him. We MUST then take every thought, feeling, and desire captive to prevent demonic re-infection. We MUST utilize our authority and power over demons to destroy their influence over us.
We can’t drink out of the cup of demons and still expect to be able to drink out of the cup of the Lord. He says to CHOOSE. Reject double-mindedness. Reject traditions of man. Reject incomplete denominational doctrine. Reject what this world tells us. Choose the Word/Jesus. Do the Word...become a DISCIPLE!
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Part 6 - Quick reminder
We directly confront the demons who are in repentant Christians. We command those demons to leave in the name of Jesus. We don’t ask God to do something that He wants US to do. He’s actually doing it anyway, through the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, we DO NOT directly confront demons or fallen angels over things such as cities, nations, etc. These spirits are more powerful than the spirits that reside in people. We don’t have the authority or power to directly confront these bad boys. We ask God to handle them. If we directly confront these guys, there is a good likelihood that we’ll end up with a tragedy of some sort in our life.
Demons aren’t to be feared, but we better respect them.