16 Pros And Cons On Techniques : Pigs in the Parlor

Chapter 16: Pros And Cons On Techniques

And Methods Although I wish to give you some guidelines, I want to make it clear that this ministry of deliverance should always be under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit.

There is a tendency among Christians to look for pat formulas in spiritual ministries instead of remaining dependent upon the leading of the Spirit. I have observed that different persons involved in deliverance ministry utilize somewhat different methods.

This is understandable inasmuch as the Bible does not give much detail as to methods employed by either Jesus or His disciples. We must not get bound up in little rules which we have made for ourselves. How do such rules come into being? If we get success through using a certain technique, then we are prone to conclude that it was the technique that did the trick. I have found that the Holy Spirit enjoys variety and that we can rely upon Him for whatever technique is required.

What are some of these man-made rules? Someone may tell us that we should never lay hands on a person out of whom we are casting demons. Another person will insist just as strongly that we must always lay hands onthe person. Still another will contend that you must rub the person's stomach or pound him on the back in order to get the spirits out. If we start looking for methods and techniques we will end up in hopeless confusion. That is exactly what the devil would like us to do!

The truth of the matter is that the Spirit may direct you to do any of the above mentioned things. The Spirit has led me to do some strange things in deliverance ministries. It is our business to listen to the Spirit and obey. It must have seemed strange to Moses when God told him to strike a rock in order to provide water for the people, or to throw a tree into the bitter waters of Meribah in order to make them sweet. It seems strange that Jesus would spit on the ground and make a little mud pack to put on a blind man's eyes for his healing.

What difference does it make as to the technique the Lord chooses so long as the results are forthcoming?

LAYING ON OF HANDS

There are those who contend that Jesus never laid hands on anyone during deliverance. There are at least two instances that indicate otherwise.

One is the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. In Luke 4:29 we are told that "Jesus "rebuked the fever". He treated the fever as a personality.

This indicates that the fever was demonic. The parallel account in Matthew 8:15 says, "And he touched her hand,and the fever left her." A second instance of touching or laying hands on a person for deliverance is the case of the woman who was bowed together by a spirit of infirmity.

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. AND HE LAID HIS HANDS ON HER: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Luke 13:11-13 Since there are only a few instances recorded when Jesus laid hands on a person during deliverance, we are not to conclude that the laying on of hands is always necessary. The same principle is true in ministering for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Scripture indicates that hands were sometimes laid on for the impartation of the Holy Spirit, but there are other instances when this was not done. Again, we need to remain sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to what we do.

Once we were calling demons out of a sixteen year old boy. The first demon we called for was fear. The boy was taken over by the spirits and was thrown to the floor. Five men present tried to restrain him physically with only partial success. Several other demons were called up and the violent manifestations accompanied each spirit. Then the Holy Spirit gave a word of knowledge that the manifestation was due to a spirit ofviolence. The boy was instructed not to let the demon take him over, but to fight it with us, in the Spirit, by continually commanding it to go in Jesus' name. The spirit of violence was cast out without much of a struggle and there was no further display of violence as a number of other demons were cast out. This taught us that one demon present in a person could somehow manifest itself even when other spirits were being called forth.

This proved to be a very helpful bit of understanding.

In many subsequent ministries when the person became violent, the demon of violence was cast out and the violent manifestations completely subsided.

One very interesting case was that of a woman about thirty years of age. She was not a physically strong person; and had undergone major abdominal surgery about three months prior to ministry. Nevertheless, she showed unnatural strength under demon manifestations. As the ministry began she was thrown to the floor and was lying on her back.

Because of the superhuman strength being displayed, one person was assigned to each leg and arm. My wife straddled the woman's right leg and said authoritatively, "This leg isn't going anywhere."

Whereupon the woman lifted her off the floor with that one leg!

There were many strong spirits in this woman. The struggle to get each one out was so intense that she wasnot physically able to bear the casting out of more than one or two demons each day. She was determined to be completely set free and would come each evening after work for more ministry. It was not until after two weeks of these daily struggles that we found a key. It was learned that when no one touched the woman the spirits would not react as violently. Each time someone touched her a demon would cry out through her, "Don't touch me." We addressed it as a "Touch-Me-Not' spirit and commanded it to come out.

After this demon was cast out there was no further display of violence. We have encountered the "TouchMe-Not' demon several times. In some instances the demon reacts only to the touch of a man, and in other cases only to the touch of a woman. These are cases when it is best not to lay hands on a person.

The cases are much more frequent where the laying on of hands will aid in dislodging the evil spirits. In cases where the spirits are speaking through the person, it occasionally happens that the spirit will cry and whine, "Your hand is hot; it's burning me", or words to that effect.

Demons can feel the anointing of the ministering hand and are tortured by it. Demons can indwell any part of the human body. One of the favorite areas seems to be the lower abdomen. When a hand is laid on this area in ministry the demons very often come up and out through the mouth more readily. This is why it is wise and helpful to have both men and women involved inthe deliverance situation. Women can lay hands on the women and men on the men.

On one occasion we were ministering to a young woman. I was standing behind her and had my hands on her head. The demons were coming out readily.

Then a word of knowledge came to me that I must take my hands off her immediately. I walked around in front of her in order to see what manifestation was on her face. A spirit of lust had come to the surface which was identified as a "flirting spirit". Through words and facial expressions it began to flirt with two of us men present in the room. Since the touch of a male hand would serve to "feed" such a spirit, it became apparent why the Holy Spirit directed me to remove my hands.

Some of the reasons advanced for not laying on hands in deliverance are based on fear. Some persons have been fearful lest the evil spirit make an attack upon them. I heard one person say that while laying hands on someone during deliverance he felt an evil spirit move from that person into his own hand and up his arm into his body. I personally have had no experience of such an occurrence. I have been laying hands on hundreds of persons over a period of several years and have never been attacked by a demon as the result of such physical contact.

The principle is this: no demon can attack us or enter us unless it has an opening to do so. Fear can provide such an opening. If one is afraid that a demon canattack him, then he has given the demon the opening he needs.

There is a situation that might cause one to think that he has been attacked during a deliverance ministry. For example, a spirit or doubt is being cast out. Another person in the room may hay have a spirit of doubt, also. As the command is given for "doubt" to come out, the spirits of doubt in both persons may be stirred up and begin to react or manifest themselves. I have witnessed numerous examples of this.

But what about the Scripture that says, "Lay hands suddenly on no man" (I Timothy 5:22) Personally I am persuaded that this passage pertains solely to the laying on of hands at ordination and has no application to the laying on of hands for other purposes such as healing, administering the baptism in the Holy Spirit, or deliverance. Granting that reference could apply to deliverance, there is no prohibition to the laying on of hands but rather a caution against doing it prematurely. This is a principle applicable to every situation where laying on of hands is used. In effect, we are not to minister to every person we encounter or minister to a person before he has been adequately prepared.

Again, I emphasize that the thing we must beware of is fear if evil spirits. If the devil can make us afraid of him he has made a successful counterattack. The Bible gives us assurance that we can engage demon spirits in battle with absolutely no fear of their being able to retaliateand harm us.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. Philippians 1:28 Demons will seek to instill fear in those who are ministering. Many times I have heard spirits speaking through the person making threats to do harm. In one deliverance the demon opened the person's 'yes and looking at me with an icy stare, and with the person's face right up in my face, said three times with increasing emphasis each time... "I'll get you! I'LL GET YOU! I'LL GET YOU!" I calmly replied, "No, demon, you will not get me. Jesus said I could tread on you and you could in no no wise harm me. I have no fear of you, so just come out in the the name of Jesus." It came our and no harm resulted.

We must pay no attention to the threats of demon spirits because they are merely liars and accusers. On a number of occasions the demon has threatened by saying, "If you cast me out I will just come into you." (Or someone in the room is named). The purpose of such a threat is to cause fear and make the deliverance minister cease his attack. Fear is a very common tactic of the enemy, and one must be assured in his own heart that he truly has nothing to fear. The enemy hasalready been defeated by Jesus, and at the name of Jesus "every knee must bow;" (Philippians 2:10)

CONVERSING WITH DEMONS

It is not possible to stop all demon talk when dealing with them in deliverance. They will sometimes speak out without warning. They did this with Jesus. But should we converse with them when they are willing to talk? I have come to a very conservative view on the matter. One should not converse with demons unless the Holy Spirit indicates some specific purpose in doing so.

In delivering the Gaderene, Jesus commanded the spirit to speak by demanding, "What is thy name?" (Mark 5:9). What is to be gained by commanding a spirit to name itself? Experience has proved that a spirit's power is more readily broken by forcing it to identify itself. Some spirits are much more stubborn or tenacious than others. In most instances when a stubborn spirit is compelled to name itself it will come out. Its power is broken.

However, there is an inherent danger in conversing with demon spirits. One must never allow himself to converse with demons in order to acquire knowledge.

The Bible strictly forbids such communication with demons. (See Deuteronomy 18:10-11). The Christian has the Holy Spirit as his source of knowledge, wisdom and guidance. Even when commanded to tell the truth in the name of Jesus, the demons will still lie on occasion.Yet, there are times when the Holy Spirit will have you force one demon to tell the names of the other indwelling spirits. Once again, this is for the purpose of breaking down their resistance. It should not become a substitute for the gift of discerning spirits. We do not have to depend upon the lying mouths of evil spirits to give us information which we can and must get through the Holy Spirit.

When I first began my deliverance ministry I would command the spirits to speak. It did not take long to find out that they all talk about the same things and they mix a little truth with their lies. The novice is prone to want to hear the demons talk, but will soon learn that it is not necessary.

The demons are smart enough to know that as long as they can carry on a conversation they will not have to leave. What they really hate to hear are the words, "Shut up, and come out!" Their talk is usually a delaying tactic.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, HOLD THY PEACE, AND COME OUT OF HIM. And when

the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. Mark 1:23-26 There is also merit in questioning demons even whenthey are not speaking through the person being delivered. A lady once came to me for deliverance who had many "symptoms" of demon oppression.

Two hours of intense ministry produced no results.

There was not the slightest manifestation of a demon being present or leaving. The next day I was reading the Gospel of Mark. When I came to the familiar account of the Gaderene in chapter five, the Holy Spirit checked me on verse seven where the demon had pled, "torment me not". I went to my Greek lexicon and found that the word "torment' means "to question by applying torture". I called the lady and had her come back that evening. I began to bombard the spirits with questions:

What is your name? How long have you been there?

Are you so foolish as to think you can resist the name of Jesus? etc. Within a few minutes the woman began to cough out the evil spirits. The demons had not spoken through this woman or given any sign of hearing what I said, but the torture of being questioned had broken their power. We can be sure that our questions and commands are being effective even before we see any outward results.

INTERRUPTIONS DURING MINISTRY

Deliverance can be done in a relaxed atmosphere.

Experience will increase confidence and enable one to minster without tension. The minister must realize that he is the servant of the Lord Jesus and moving inpower and authority granted him. He, and not the demon's power, is in command of the situation.

A ministry may be prolonged. It can extend over several hours. The one being ministered to, as well as the deliverance minister, may need a few minutes to rest. It is usually convenient to break the ministry after a group of spirits has been cast out. No ground is lost when such a break is taken. You simply begin where you left off.

It is often the case that in the midst of a ministry the person will recall other areas where demons have invaded, or the Holy Spirit will make him aware of some pertinent information. It is all right to stop and let him share these things.

However, one must be careful of a ruse of the enemy.

The persons being ministered to may say,"I need to get a drink of water" or "I need to go to the restroom" or make some other excuse to leave the room.

Sometimes this will be a demon speaking and not the person. The demon will try to take the person away. If one is alert he need not be victimized by such a trick.

How deeply has the person been taken over by the spirits?

Are the eyes glazed or fixed? Is the voice that of the person? What does your own spirit say?

A friend of mine was new in the deliverance field. Heand a companion were casting demons out of another man. The spirits had taken the man over and the two men were down on the floor forcibly restraining his arms and legs. After awhile the man pleaded that they were hurting him and that he needed to rest for a few minutes. Not realizing that it was a demon speaking and not the man himself, they released their holds. As soon as the legs were released the demon caused the man to kick, and my friend suffered three broken ribs.

This is an unusual case, but it certainly emphasizes the need to recognize who is speaking.

POSITIONS OF THE BODY

Since demons are expelled primarily through the mouth or nose,and may be accompanied by mucus or phlegm, it is best to have the person in a position compatible with such manifestations. One of the best positions is for the person to be seated in a straight chair and bent forward from the waist with forearms resting on the knees. For shorter ministries the person can be standing. In a few cases the person may want to lie face down on the floor or get on his hands and knees. The position will vary with the type of manifestations that are coming forth.

Usually the person will adjust to whatever position is best without any specific instructions. It is a matter of doing what is normal or natural.

I was present in a service where a minister who is quite prominent in deliverance was conducting a groupdeliverance. It was a large meeting and over a hundred persons had gone forward for deliverance. The minister asked for those who had had experience in deliverance to mix in with the group to assist. One young man near me was immediately taken over and fell to the floor. He was coughing violently and the demons were coming out with phlegm from his mouth. It was in the summer and the air-conditioning had gone off and it was unbearably hot.

A little crowd had gathered around and I could see that the man was getting extremely uncomfortable. He had paused in the process of deliverance, and I suggested that he sit up for a few minutes. A man standing nearby rebuked me sharply, and instructed me that it was necessary for the man to remain in the exact position he was in until all the spirits were out. I complied with this request since the man's deliverance was more important than engaging in a debate with the brother.

But this is completely contrary to all my experience.

The person receiving ministry can be in a comfortable position.