When Jesus walked the earth, He exhibited His authority over demons. He has now transferred that authority to us. “Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).
Jesus conquered Satan through the cross and at the grave. We do not need to fear what Jesus conquered. However, the church, in general, has shied away from the ministry of deliverance, because we don’t want to talk about darkness and see demonic manifestations at our altars.
People desire to focus more on what they are comfortable with, such as the positive things like hope, love, joy and peace. But when we do that, we are only preaching half of the gospel. Jesus came to conquer the powers of darkness, and because He did, we are victorious. We don’t have to shy away from talking about demons, seeking deliverance, and bringing deliverance ministry into the church.
We become uncomfortable with what we don’t know or aren’t familiar with. Reading the Gospels will help give you an understanding of how Jesus dealt with the demonic realm and how we too have authority over them. We shouldn’t be afraid of demons, because we have victory over them.
We can conquer the fear of demons by remembering these Scriptures:
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7).
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).
When we fear demons, we have to take every thought captive and submit it to the Word of God (2 Cor. 10:4-5). The thoughts that run through our minds are mostly vain imaginations, but instead of taking our thoughts captive, we allow them to penetrate.
How do we conquer the vain imaginations that attack our minds?
- Rebuke the thought by dismissing it. Speak out loud, “I rebuke the spirit of fear and vain imaginations,” and declare, “I thank You, Lord, that You have given me a sound mind.”
- Get up and get busy! Don’t sit and think about the fearful thought! Get moving and pray, worship or read the Word of God.
- Read some books on personal spiritual growth. We can start to fear demons because we get out of balance and read and study more on spiritual warfare than positive things.
- Study your identity and authority in Christ. Search out Scriptures on who you are in Christ and your authority in Christ. When you know who you are and whose you are, fear cannot penetrate.
- Stay in the presence of the Lord. Being in constant communication and relationship with the Lord will help you eliminate fear.
- Seek your inner healing and deliverance. As you root out and expose any dark areas of your life or any places of fear you may have, you will be able to release fear from your life.
- Don’t judge or criticize others who are in darkness, such as occultists or people practicing Satanism or witchcraft. Don’t fear people who are different from you. Love them with the love of God.
- Remember your God is greater than the demonic because it says in the Bible, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
When we fear the demonic, people are prevented from receiving the very ministry Jesus came to release. We need to educate ourselves, embrace the full Gospels along with the ministry of deliverance and remove all fear of the unknown from ourselves. Jesus came to set the captives free and so must we!
Read more about taking authority over your thoughts in my book Warfare Declarations. For more information on the ministry of deliverance, see my book Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan. {eoa}
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic spiritual warfare strategist releasing the love and power of God, to ignite and activate people, release prophetic destinies and deliver people from the bondage of the enemy. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and Be Love Outreach. She is the author of several books, including Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, Identity Invasion, Who is Speaking? and Warfare Declarations. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook facebook.com/kathydegraw or visit degrawministries.org.
