14 Ministry To Children : Pigs in the Parlor

Chapter 14: Ministry To Children

Since it has already been shown that demon spirits are able to gain entrance to a fetus and to children, it is obvious that there should be deliverance for them.

Demons can be called out of children in the same way they are called out of older persons. There will be manifestations of the spirits leaving through the mouth and nose as in other deliverances.

Ordinarily, children are quite easily delivered. Since the spirits have not been there very long they are not as deeply embedded in the flesh. There are exceptions to this, as in the cases of children who have been exposed to demonic attack through severe circumstances. The manifestations of the demons can be quite dramatic, even in children.

A young Christian couple brought their three month old child for ministry. This was their first baby and they had disagreed as to how to discipline the child. The Father and mother had a violent argument over the matter. While they were having this argument the child began to scream, and since the incident it was apparent that the child was suffering from tormenting spirits. My wife held the child in her arms and began to command the troubling spirits to go in the name of Jesus. As the first spirit came out the baby stiffened and cried out. Two other demons came out in the same way.

Then the child grew quiet and relaxed and was soonasleep.

A little four year old girl received deliverance while looking at the pictures in a Bible Story Book. The Holy Spirit guided me as comments on the pictured would be woven smoothly into the identity of the spirits and command for them to come out. As each demon was challenged it would come up and out with a cough. Two other children in the same family, ages six and seven, were ministered to in an informal way. These older children had caused great consternation to the parents.

They' were quite rebellious and unmanageable.

Following their deliverance there was such a marked change in children's behavior that persons outside the family began to comment on the improvement they saw.

Most children by the age of five or six can be given a simple explanation of what you are going to do before you begin the ministry. They need to know that you are not talking to them but to the spirits in them, otherwise they may be offended or frightened by words of command addressed to the evil spirits. Usually the children are quite cooperative.

Since the children may feel more secure with a parent, it is often best for the parent to hold the child during the ministry. The deliverance minister must discern reactions in the child attributable to the spirits being stirred up. The spirits may cause the child to resist being held. He may cry or scream and show signs of great fear. The demons may try various tactics to makeone think it is the child being hurt or wronged, so that the minister and/or parent will become so sympathetic with the child that they will stop the ministry and the demons retain their hold.

Especially in ministry with children it is well to remember the fact that it is not the loudness of a command that moves the demon but the authority of the name and of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The commands can be given with such calmness and matter-of-factness that the child will scarcely realize what is taking place.

How do infants and children keep themselves free from the demons once they are delivered, since they are not competent to protect themselves? It is not the responsibility of the child but of his parents or guardians. I believe you will find in the Scripture that when Jesus ministered to children one or both of the parents were present. It is the responsibility of parents to be the spiritual guardians of their children.

The following account is given by my wife, Ida Mae, and will illustrate most of the factors involved in a child's deliverance.

IDA MAE DESCRIBES A

DRAMATIC CHILD DELIVERANCE

The most graphic child deliverance I (Ida Mae) have ever had was that of a six year old girl. We will call her Mary. Mary's Father came to us for deliverance. In the course of the interview he spoke of the difficultyhe had in handling his daughter. He and his wife were divorced and he was raising the girl. He said that she was a most difficult child to handle, being very stubborn, self-willed and rebellious. He was quite concerned since her nature caused him to become so excessively angry that he would punish her too severely. We told him that the girl needed as much deliverance as he, if not more, and insisted that he bring her to us.

Mary came to us directly from school a few days later. I need to point out that as I was getting acquainted with her and was explaining to her that I wanted to pray for her; she drank about a half a thermos of orange juice. She was very hyperactive, jumping on and off the church pew, absolutely unable, due to restlessness, to sit while we chatted.

I said, "Mary, your Father tells me that you know there are bad spirits."Her eyes widened and she began to tell me very seriously how every night she had to make sure all the doors were locked before she could go to bed. When she got up in the night to get a drink or go to the bathroom she was afraid and had to know personally that all doors were securely locked. I said, "Yes, that is fear, Mary. You have demons of fear in your body. They make you afraid and I want to pray for you and make them leave your body. They have gotten inside you and when I pray they will come out of your mouth and leave." She accepted my words with simple, child-like faith.I asked her to come sit on the bench beside me while I prayed. She did, but she was so restless that I had to take her on my lap to keep her near me. She sat on my lap with her back toward me. I began to pray a prayer of faith and trust that Jesus was going to set her free.

The Holy Spirit very plainly told me to keep my voice very quiet... lower than a conversational tone. Also, to consider every word hereafter that came out of Mary's mouth to be a demon speaking or to be demon inspired.

Then I began to address the demons. I said, "Now, you demons indwelling, Mary's body, I want you to know that Mary is covered by the blood of Jesus through her Father's relationship to Jesus. Just as the Father in the days of Moses sprinkled the blood on the doorpost for the protection of the entire family, so is Mary under the covering of the blood. Demons, I also want you to know that Mary's Father has heard and accepted the truth of God's Word concerning you demon spirits. He knows now that it is you he has been struggling against and not Mary."

I became aware that Mary was whispering and leaned around to see if I could catch what she was saying. She was whispering, "I don't like what you are saying." I replied, "I know you don't like it, demons, because I am exposing you and I have knowledge of you. Mary has been tormented by you from before she was born.

While she was still in her mother's womb some of you entered her. But God has said you cannot indwell her body any longer." Again the demon in Mary began to whisper. This time in very tight-jawed defiant wordsthey protested, "I... don't... like... what... what... you... are... saying!" I was careful to keep my voice very quiet as I responded, "It's not going to get any better for you, demon, but worse because you are going to be cast out of her today. You are losing your home."

At this the demon screamed out and again retorted, "I don't like what you are saying;now shut up!" I replied, "No, I shall not shut up but rather will continue to talk until you are out of her body."

I continued speaking to the demons softly. "Now, one by one you demons start manifesting yourselves, in the name of Jesus." Immediately Mary began to say in a whisper, "You don't love me; if you did you wouldn't be holding me." I answered, "That's right, rejection demon, you shut her off from love relationships. You make her think nobody loves her. You even make her think God doesn't love her. You are going to come out of her, rejection, in the name of Jesus." One by one the demons began to manifest their nature. They came so quickly I often only had time to name one and another would be to the surface.

The demons were making Mary struggle to get out of my lap although I was still able to hold her rather loosely in my arms. Eventually I had to resort to putting one of her legs between mine, thus holding her in a vise and bodily restraining her. The demon of hate put her face right up in my face with our noses touching and screamed, "I hate you." Still speaking quietly 1addressed the demon, "Come out, demon of hate." She began to scream, "I want a knife, I want aknife." I inquired. "What do you want with a knife?"

The demon clenched Mary's teeth and said, "So I can kill you." ' 'All right, you demon of murder," I commanded, "you come out in Jesus' name."

Next, Mary stood up, threw her shoulders back, placed her hands on her hips and retorted, "Nobody EVER tells me what to do!" I said,"Defiance, you come out!"

There was a distinct change in voice as the next demon spoke. It said, "I do only what I want to do." I said, "Selfwill come out." Then there was another change in voice. "You will never make me come out", said the new voice. "Stubbornness, you have to come out too", I insisted. Mary then raised her hands like claws and lunged for my face; her eyes were protruding and she was screaming. I said, "Madness, you come out of Mary in Jesus' name." She began to claw her hair and shake her head violently. I said, "Mental illness and insanity, come out." Next I called for the spirit of schizophrenia.

''You demons of schizophrenia, I call your hand. You bring out your two opposite personalities which you are establishing in her. One of you is rooted in rejection and self-pity and the other is rooted in rebellion and bitterness. Neither one of those personalities is the real Mary. I release and loose the real Mary to be what Jesus wants her to be." With this she clawed violently at me, scratching my arms, and lunging for me she bit a hole in my blouse. When she came up with part of my blouse in her teeth she looked very startled as though she expected me to slap her across the face. I could tell it was the real Mary who was startled. I addressed thedemons and said, "No, demons, I shall not harm Mary for ruining my blouse because I can separate her from you. Too long Mary has been punished in her flesh for the things you have done through her. You demons have gone virtually untouched.

It's different today; you demons are taking the punishment and Mary goes free." Mary looked relieved for a second, then the other demons began manifesting themselves.

Finally, after about twenty or thirty minutes of this deliverance procedure Mary began to scream one long scream after another and beg to be turned loose. She would say, "Don't hold my leg! Don't hold my leg! The Holy Spirit gave me understanding that her flesh was now stirred up and that I should release her and have her sit on the bench beside me. I instructed, "Mary, I am going to let you sit on the bench.

Okay?" She was crying softly and said, "I don't like for you to hold me like that." I said, "Well, I'm sorry I had to hold you so tight, but the bad spirits were making you fight me." I was always careful to put the blame on the demons. In her childish way she seemed to appreciate that they were finally catching the blame instead of herself.

Mary sat beside me for a little while and was very still and relaxed. The Holy Spirit told me that I should now give the command quickly for the remaining demons to come out. I said, "Now, in the name of Jesus, I commandall demon spirits remaining in Mary to come out. Come out now in the name of Jesus!"

Immediately Mary became sick at her stomach and before I could reach a paper towel she threw up a large ball of slime. It filled her little hands and mine. She looked up and faintly smiled and then just seemed to turn to peace all over.

Remember, at the beginning of this account I stated that Mary was drinking a thermos of orange juice when she came for ministry. There was not a trace of juice in what she threw up. None of the slime came from her stomach.

Well, we sat there and talked for about fifteen minutes.

Mary sat quietly and relaxed, in contrast to the hyperactive nature she had shown earlier.

Her Father was astounded. He had watched the stormy deliverance with mixed and confused emotions.

Unfamiliar with demon manifestations, and unable to distinguish the many different voices of the demons as my trained ear had done, Mary's Father thought that the real Mary was being treated rather roughly and said that once it was all he could do to keep from interfering.

Though I have not personally seen Mary since her deliverance I have received several good reports. Most say, "She's so different." "She just isn't the same." "I can hold her and she responds to love." "You just wouldn'tbelieve she is the same girl."

My eyes get moist even as I write this. She is the only deliverance that ever caused me to weep. The warfare was so tumultuous and the peace afterward so beautiful. I could not keep back the tears. To God be the glory!15 Binding and Loosing The Scripture declares that Jesus has given us power to bind and loose in reference to satan and his cohorts.

The context to this promise is in connection with Peter's declaration concerning Jesus: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Now, note the reply of Jesus:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: AND WHATSOEVER THOU SHALT BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN: AND WHATSOEVER THOU SHALT LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN. Matthew 16:18,19

This passage has been controversial in its interpretation. But it makes a lot of sense once one has obtained a little understanding of the Christian's power and authority over demon spirits. What is the immediate context of the authority to bind and loose?

The immediate preceding phrase is: "AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT", I.e. the church. In other words, the church is given complete authority over the "gates of Hell". The Amplified Bible translates this, "The gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it - or be strong to its detriment, or hold out against it." Thus, the; churchis pictured as militant. Nothing can stop it - not even the forces of satan!

The power to bind and loose in regard to satan is described as "the keys of the kingdom of Heaven". The word for "kingdom" is basileia which means "to rule". It is the promise of God's word that those who inherit the kingdom of God will rule with Christ.

For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 Praise God, He has promised that we shall reign, or rule, as kings in life-NOW! How could we do this apart from being able to bind the power of the devil and to loose that which he had already made captive?

This is precisely what the Lord has promised. Christians need to wake up and realize that they have been given much more authority than they have imagined. It is no longer a matter of prayer by which we cry out, "Oh, God, please come and do something about this awful devil that is giving me such a hard time." But it is a matter of rising up in the power of the name of Jesus and telling the devil what he has to do!

What is the meaning of the phrase "shall be bound in Heaven... shall be loosed in Heaven"? Williams, the Bible translator, points out for us that the verb from is the perfect passive participle, so the reference is tothings in a state of having been ALREADY forbidden (or permitted).

This tells us that whatever is bound or loosed by the believer is done on the basis that it has already been done "in Heaven", I.e. by the Lord himself.

What is it, then, that the Lord has already bound and which he has given us power to bind again? Jesus teaches us: Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Matthew 12:29 The context of this passage finds Jesus casting out demons. His authority for thus doing is challenged by the religious authorities. They accuse him of doing it by the power of the devil himself Jesus is explaining that he is able to control demon spirits and make them obey him because he has already bound the strong man - satan. ' The fact that the demons obey Him is evidence of satan being bound. satan is already bound "in Heaven" - by Heaven's power. His power is broken. The key is given to us. We have power over him, too. Amen!

The Greek word for "bind" in the passage before us is deo. It means to fasten or tie - as with chains, as an animal tied to keep it from straying.

This is glorious! When satan is bound he is made inoperable. He loses his ability to act against us. An example of how this works was shown to my wifeseveral years ago. We were just coming into the knowledge of demon spirits and how to deal with them.

She was working in a bank. Once or twice a week a certain customer came into the bank who used very bad language.

He was very loud and extroverted. Each time he opened his mouth he punctuated every phrase with profanity and cursed using the name of Jesus. Since my wife had never been exposed to such foul language in all of her life she was horrified by it. She began to pray and told God, ''You know that it is not me saying those things and I do not approve of them.

Then God spoke back and said, "That is a spirit of blasphemy causing the man to talk like that, and you have power over it."

My wife had never attempted anything like this before.

She was acting on the word that the Lord had given her.

The next time the man came in the bank he began to curse and blaspheme as usual. She stood a few feet away from him and under her breath began to say,"You demon of blasphemy, God has shown me that it is you. I have power over you to bind you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot curse in my presence and take the name of my Saviour in vain." Of course the man heard none of this but the demon was hearing plenty! The color drained out of his face and he began to gulp as though something was stuck in his throat. He never said another word of profanity in that bank.From then on, each time this customer came in she bound the spirits in him and he could not curse. The other employees noticed the change in his behavior and commented about it. They had no idea what had taken place. But satan's power had been bound on earth even as it is already bound in Heaven. satan has his "strong man" appointed over nations, cities, churches, homes and individuals. God is showing us that these strong men have already been defeated and bound by Heaven's power.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8b To us are given the "keys of the kingdom". There is power to rule over the forces of darkness. We do not have to pray for it. The battle has been won in Heaven; we are to bind on earth what has already been bound in Heaven.

Then, to what does the loosing refer? The loosing is setting the captive free. Through deliverance ministry the captives are released from the bonds of enslavement which satan has put about them.

And behold there was a woman which had a SPIRIT OF INFIRMITY eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art LOOSED from thine infirmity. Luke 13:11-12When the ruler of the synagogue became angry over this deliverance because it was done on the sabbath, Jesus answered: Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath LOOSE his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom SATAN HATH BOUND, lo, these eighteen years, BE LOOSED FROM THIS BOND on the sabbath day? Luke 13:15,16 The Greek word for "loose" in the text is luo. It is defined in the lexicon as "to loose anything tied or fastened; to loose one bound; to set free; to discharge from prison. To free from bondage or disease (one held by satan) by restoration to health." (Thayers)

The victory over demon spirits is already won by Jesus.

As far as Heaven is concerned every captive is loosed!

The principle is the same as in salvation. Jesus provided for every man's salvation. Then why isn't every man saved?The blood must be personally applied. Every man who applies the blood by faith is saved. Those who refuse or neglect to apply that blood are lost. So, Jesus has provided deliverance. It is finished so far as Heaven is concerned. The key of loosing the captive is given to the believer. He can loose himself and others on earth because it is already done in Heaven! Glory!

Now, there are those who teach that the loosing spoken of means the loosing of the Holy Spirit or angels to fill the vacancy left by the departing demons. Since it has has been shown that the word "loose" is in respect to that which is fettered and bound, how could thispossibly refer to the Holy Spirit or angels? Are they in any sense bound?

Furthermore, it is not within the authority of men to command angels. While it is a blessed truth that angels are "ministering spirits" in behalf of all who are heirs of salvation (See Hebrews 1:14), it must be carefully noted that they are "SENT FORTH" to minister in our behalf.

Who does the sending forth? That is God's business. We can pray and ask God to release the angels, but there is no precedent in Scripture for our commanding or directing them ourselves. It is extremely dangerous to elevate angels to a higher role than is established in Scripture, for one thereby begins to look to angels for help rather than to the Lord. This, in fact, amounts to idolatry and may soon degenerate into a "worship of angels" which is altogether forbidden.

(See Colossians 2:18). To look to angels rather than God for help is failure to hold the Head in proper respect, that is Christ. (See Colossians 2:19).

To reiterate, the binding refers to satan and demons, and the loosing to the person who has been bound by the forces of darkness. satan is bound; the victim is loosed! This is what happens as the result of an effective deliverance ministry.