It seems as though deliverance ministers are either welcomed and accepted or shunned and disliked. The church as a whole today does not want to discuss the casting out of demons and have evil spirits cast out in their churches. Furthermore, there are a lot of churches and Christians who don’t believe a Christian can have a demon. The truth is, a demon cannot infiltrate a Christian’s spirit, but it can inflict their soul—their mind, will and emotions—and their physical body and flesh.
Deliverance doesn’t have to be difficult, and with Hollywood producing movies such as The Exorcist, people have received a misconception of the ministry of deliverance. When we look at Jesus releasing the ministry of deliverance, we see He ministered in a variety of ways:
- “Go!” (Matt. 8:32a).
- “Great is your faith, let it be done for you” (Matt. 15:28b).
- “Rebuked the demon” (Matt. 17:18).
- “Be silent and come out of him” (Mark 1:25).
- “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” (Mark 5:8).
- “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more” (Mark 9:25).
- “You are loosed from your infirmity” (Luke 13:12).
- “Unbind him, and let him go” (John 11:44).
However, with images such as The Exorcist stuck in our minds, we expect the worst. We get what we expect. Different parts of the world believe demons manifest differently. The Chinese believe they have to burp to expel a demon. Africans vomit, slither like a snake on the floor and contort. A great number of Pentecostals believe a demon must come out by spitting up or vomiting.
Demons come out in a variety of ways including, but not limited to: (Excerpt from my book, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan).
- Coughing.
- Yawning.
- Vomiting.
- Breathing.
- Burping.
- Crying.
- Screaming.
- Seizures.
- Twitching.
- Shaking.
- Stomach movement.
- Visual movement
I believe if we can bring forth the true ministry of deliverance the way Jesus did it and eliminate the difficulty that the idea of deliverance can bring, more people and churches would embrace the ministry of deliverance. People get scared of what they see on television and witness in meetings, but the truth is, every person is different. We have witnessed that the more eager a person is to receive deliverance the easier it is.
When we know our dominion, authority and the power of the name of Jesus, all things are subjected to us, and the demons must flee. It is not an issue to be scared about; it is an issue to embrace because Jesus came to set the captives free (Isa. 61:1) and all of us have been captive at one point or the another by generational sins, spirits of infirmity or sins of the flesh.
When we can remove the preconceived ideas of what deliverance needs to look like and accept the power of the cross and the authoritative name of Jesus, we will see deliverance manifest in supernatural, accelerated ways. The church doesn’t embrace deliverance because of their idea that it is scary and messy. It doesn’t have to be that way. As we educate the church, believers and leaders on true prophetic Holy Spirit-led deliverance ministry, we will truly be living the Bible and setting the captives free as Jesus came to do and instructed us to do as well. {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.
