SPIRITUAL PESTS & PROBLEMS--Taking Authority Over Evil Spirits.
DO 1924
4/85
1. SOMETIMES I THINK MAYBE I'VE GOT THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS. I was so surprised that time when Mother & I went to pray for that girl in Pittsburgh, Helen Jones. Mother always did all the praying & took charge of the whole thing, whereas I just sort of stood by & helped lay on hands etc. But all of a sudden the Spirit just hit me & I practically began to prophesy when I laid my hands on her head & I got the Scripture about the spirit of fear, "Who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage." (Heb.2:15) So I knew then right away, the Lord revealed it to me that it was a spirit of fear & I rebuked it.
2. I DON'T HAVE THOSE EXPERIENCES TOO OFTEN, BUT EVERY NOW & THEN I RECOGNISE SOMEBODY HAS GOT SOMETHING, ONE OF THOSE LITTLE PESTS! It's not like being demon-possessed where they're in full control & where people have fits & go absolutely berserk, but it's sort of like having fleas or lice or ticks or something that are just pests. What do they call that kind of pest that lives on you?--A parasite that just lives on you & with you & is a constant pest & annoyance. Although it can't actually completely possess you or control you, it constantly annoys & pesters. Of course, I suppose if some people would yield to it completely they would get possessed. But it's just sort of like harbouring a parasite that is living off of you, like a blood sucker.
3. MY MOTHER USED TO MAKE THAT DISTINCTION BETWEEN SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY BEING POSSESSED BY DEVILS, WHEREAS OTHERS ARE JUST OPPRESSED BY SOME DEVIL OR DEMONS THAT CONSTANTLY PESTER & BOTHER THEM & ANNOY THEM. Like Mr. Machowski, he wasn't demon-possessed by Tom, at first he just worked with him, then after he was saved & found out that Tom was bad, he tried to get rid of him. Tom never really possessed him, he just pestered & annoyed him, he was a pest.
4. (MARIA: WELL, THAT'S THE SAME THING WITH CLAIR. SHE HAS BEEN FEARFUL & HAS HAD CHOKING SPELLS, FEELING SHE WAS BEING STRANGLED, & she's had weird experiences where she was sort of out of her body & she didn't know which voice said, "This isn't you & this isn't you", neither of her bodies was hers. She felt like it was trying to get her, trying to annoy her. She knew it was wrong & she always rebuked it.) Because she belonged to the Lord he couldn't possess her. (Maria: I guess people don't realise that. I don't think she realised it was an attack any more than other people who've had attacks. She'd had it all her life so she didn't know it was something she could get rid of completely & permanently. I think her idea was that she sort of had to live with it & just rebuke it. She'd get temporary victories, but it kept staying around & pestering her.)
5. I THINK THIS IS WHAT THE LORD WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE SAID, "GIVE NO PLACE TO THE EVIL ONE!" (Eph.4:27) Some people just sort of harbour them & allow them to hang around without really rebuking them & getting rid of them. See, it wasn't until Mr. Machowski was standing on the street corner preaching in Chicago that he finally really rebuked Tom & Tom left him & entered into that drunk, & the drunk had a fit & fell down on the sidewalk slobbering just like an epileptic. Apparently he could totally possess the drunk, because the drunk wasn't saved.
6. (MARIA: IT'S SO SAD THAT CHRISTIANS GO SO LONG WITHOUT GETTING COMPLETE DELIVERANCE. Like Clair, she has been really sold out to the Lord & really wanted to do His Will & really trying, but it's such a handicap & a hindrance to her.) You see, they have to recognise those devils & sometimes even call them by name & command them in the Name of the Lord to depart, then they have to obey. But if they don't discern them & don't recognise them & don't take authority over them, then they don't really use their authority & their power in the Lord to rebuke them & get rid of them. It's just like a human host harbouring some kind of a parasite & not really doing anything about it. Sometimes the parasite kind of annoys them & they swat them or scratch them or just sort of try to hinder the parasite, but they don't really take authority over it & command it to depart in the Name of Jesus!
7. THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE LIKE THAT WHO HAVE HARBOURED DEVILS SOMETIMES FOR YEARS CAN GET RID OF THEM IS TO GO ON A DIRECT ATTACK & BE SPECIFIC, EVEN NAME THE DEMON, IF POSSIBLE, & COMMAND IT TO DEPART IN JESUS' NAME! It's just like having lice or fleas or crabs or worms or something like that, you've got to go on the attack & do something about it to cleanse yourself & get rid of it. You can't just scratch them & swat them & sort of chase them a little bit, you've got to get rid of them completely. You've got to recognise the spirit, the devil or the demon & call it by name if necessary.
8. I KNOW I WAS SUDDENLY INSPIRED THAT DAY PRAYING FOR THAT GIRL! I rebuked the spirit of fear & commanded it to depart in Jesus' Name & she was instantly completely delivered, & therefore at the same time she was healed. She had gotten so fearful she stayed in bed all the time & couldn't even eat, & finally got to where she could hardly drink water. She was just frightened & afraid of everything. But the minute we got rid of that damn fearful spirit, we commanded her in the Name of the Lord to get up & walk & get out of bed, & she got right out of bed & started walking around the room & was completely & totally delivered & never had any problem with it again!
9. SO YOU'VE GOT TO BE DEFINITE & SPECIFIC ABOUT THESE THINGS & EVEN CALL THEM BY NAME & REBUKE THEM BY THEIR KIND OR WHATEVER & WITH REAL SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT! See, I was just suddenly anointed by the Holy Spirit to recognise that spirit & rebuke it in Jesus' name. It was just like sudden tongues or a sudden prophecy or something, it was just as supernatural & miraculous! It was a sudden outburst inspired by the Spirit! I wasn't expecting it, I really had no experience along that line at all. I didn't even know I had any gifts at that time. I'd never spoken in tongues or prophesied or anything.
10. AND THAT'S HAPPENED QUITE A FEW TIMES SINCE WITH SOME PEOPLE THAT TRY TO GET AWAY WITH THINGS, LIKE MAGDALENE. The Lord finally revealed what was wrong with her & I had an anointing that night in defiance of her, just like an outpouring of the Spirit, & I just blasted her for her hypocritical self-righteousness! (Maria: But see, those people don't even realise it themselves! They want to live for the Lord.) They're so deceived & so deluded. (Maria: So thank the Lord you were able to see it.)
11. THERE ARE LYING SPIRITS THAT DECEIVE PEOPLE & USUALLY THEY'RE VERY DECEITFUL. They don't want to wake the people up to the fact that they've got problems with the Devil. They even pretend to be good, like Tom. Mr. Machowski thought Tom was good because he was helping him win bets & races & make a lot of money. So he finally decided to bet everything he had on that horse & make a real killing & Tom told him the wrong horse & he lost everything! Tom just cackled & laughed about it like it was a big joke! I think that was just before Mr. Machowski was saved & his getting saved was a result of that, when he realised that Tom was bad & something evil.
12. SEE, THE DEVIL IS A DESTROYER! HE JUST TRIED TO STRIP MR. MACHOWSKI! He maybe even sensed or knew he was going to get saved & was trying to destroy him, because it was then that he heard that Gospel program on the air & got saved. He heard this preacher preach on spirits & rebuking spirits etc. & discerning spirits & he got that special verse about "every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God." (1Jn.4:3) He took that home with him & went into his usual seance with Tom & confronted Tom with that verse. He said, "All right, Tom, you claim you're good, now confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!" Tom hemmed & hawed & beat around the bush & finally ranted & raged furiously because he was caught & exposed!
13. SO MR. MACHOWSKI SLAMMED HIS BIBLE SHUT & SAID, "OK, IF YOU WON'T CONFESS JESUS CHRIST, THEN YOU'RE NOT OF GOD! IT MEANS YOU'RE EVIL & OF THE DEVIL! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" But he didn't know specifically then how to really take authority over the evil spirit & command it in the Name of Jesus to leave with the authority of the Lord. He just sort of told him to get away, he didn't want him around.
14. IT'S LIKE HAVING AN EVIL BOARDER IN YOUR HOUSE! He's not in control of the house, but he causes you trouble & annoyance & you don't like him. You tell him to leave several times but he won't leave, so finally by the authority & the law--in this case of the Word & the Name of Jesus--you literally throw him out! Otherwise he just won't leave!
15. SO ALL THESE YEARS I KNEW THAT CHRISTIANS WHO ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE LORD COULDN'T BE LITERALLY POSSESSED OF THE DEVIL. My Mother recognised that. She'd say, "Well, they're not possessed, they're just oppressed & being annoyed by an evil spirit." Because she didn't see how the property of the Lord could be in possession of the Devil. But some Christians certainly were pestered & annoyed & caused a lot of other people to be annoyed as a result by having those oppressive spirits. (Maria: We're finding out quite a number of people in our Family have had that.)
16. YOU NEED TO TAKE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY! First of all, you need discernment to recognise the spirit, what kind of spirit it is & what it's the spirit of, whether it's a spirit of fear or whatever it is, then you need to take charge & recognise that you have the authority of the Lord & the Spirit of the Lord to rebuke it in Jesus' Name & command it to go!
17. THIS IS WHAT THE DISCIPLES WERE SO EXCITED ABOUT WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO JESUS & SAID, "EVEN THE EVIL SPIRITS ARE SUBJECT UNTO US!" (Luk.10:17) In other words, they had to go when the disciples told them to depart in Jesus' Name. But there were some stubborn ones. Remember, Jesus said of one, "This kind goeth not out but by fasting & prayer." (Mat.17:21) In other words, they had to really get down to business with God & fast & really pray together to have a real anointing & real power to rebuke a powerful devil.
18. IT TAKES AN ANOINTING, THE RECOGNITION & DISCERNMENT OF SOMEONE WHO IS REALLY ANOINTED, & I REALLY BELIEVE THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE THAT GIFT!--Not only of the discerning of spirits, but of the casting out of devils. They've got a real anointing for it, a real discernment for it, & whoever has it needs to help that person & help them along with united prayer & even fasting, if necessary, to rebuke the devil & recognise the demon, what kind of demon it is.
19. I'VE HEARD OF PEOPLE PRAYING FOR PEOPLE & COMMANDING THE SPIRIT, WHATEVER KIND OF SPIRIT IT WAS, SAYING, "GIVE ME YOUR NAME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"--And they have to obey & the mouth of the victim flies open & tells the name of the spirit, what kind of spirit it is. So it's good to really nail it down & identify it & make it confess its name!--Or have someone with discernment there that recognises the spirit & its name, & then rebuke it specifically by name in the Name of the Lord & command it to depart, because we have authority over those devils!
20. I THINK IT IS REALLY QUITE A MINISTRY FOR SOME WHO HAVE THOSE GIFTS & THAT ANOINTING, WHO HAVE DISCERNMENT & WHO HAVE POWER OVER EVIL SPIRITS. We all have power over evil spirits, all of us who have the Lord, but we need to learn how to exercise it & how to be specific about it & how to discern what demon or devil it is & what kind or what name, & then command it by name in the name of the Lord to depart with real anointing, take charge of the situation & command it to depart! But if they don't want to be delivered & their own will refuses to be delivered, then the Devil has got a real hold on them.
21. I GUESS YOU'D CALL IT TAKING AUTHORITY OVER EVIL SPIRITS, being specific & actually commanding the evil spirit to leave in the Name of the Lord & by the authority of the Power of the Spirit with real anointing & spiritual power, & it will depart! It's just pitiful that these Christians who have hosted these pests for years & been annoyed by them & pestered by them, oppressed by them, handicapped by them, haven't recognised it & really rebuked it by name! I think sometimes they don't want to recognise it, they don't want to admit it & confess it. We've had several cases like that. Until we virtually exposed them, they weren't even willing to confess it or admit it. Some of them hadn't even realised it until someone came along with real discernment & rebuked them in Jesus' Name.
22. BUT ANYHOW, WITH THESE SERIOUS CASES OF DEMON OPPRESSION & PESTERING, YOU NEED TO REALLY GET FOLKS TOGETHER WITH REAL FAITH & POWER OF THE LORD & really fast & pray to get rid of them & recognise them & discern them & face them down specifically by name or by type or whatever, & just rebuke them in the authority & anointing of the Lord & in the Name of the Lord & command them to depart! As the disciples said, "Even the devils are subject unto us!" They have to obey when you are specific & call them by name & command them in the authority & in the Name of the Lord to depart, even tell them where to go like Jesus did.
23. THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD GO INTO THE SWINE, SO HE LET THEM & THEY POSSESSED ABOUT 2,000 HEAD OF SWINE! That was quite a herd & they all ran down & fell over the precipice into the sea & were apparently killed. (Mat.8:28-34; Mark 5:1-17) So no wonder their owner got mad at Jesus! To get rid of that many devils all at once & destroy a whole herd of swine was quite a scene!
24. JESUS WAS VERY SPECIFIC! HE WOULD TALK TO THE DEVILS & EVEN CALL THEM BY NAME! In that one case He demanded the devil's name. He said, "What is thy name?" And the man said, "My name is Legion for we are many!" The poor demoniac was possessed by a whole legion of devils. Then as soon as they were all gone the man sat there at Jesus' feet, clothed, in his right mind & peaceful. Up till that time he had broken chains & was a wild man, violent! He was totally, instantly delivered apparently from 2,000 devils!
25. SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN HAVE EVEN A SPIRIT OF WORRY OR NERVOUSNESS THAT SEEMS TO PESTER THEM & THAT'S ALSO A FORM OF FEAR. They're oppressive spirits! They can't actually get in, but they attack from the outside. They put thoughts in people's heads & inspire them to do certain things which they shouldn't do. They're not in full possession, but people, often not realising it's the Devil, obey them & do things that they're told to do, & if that habit keeps up it can wind up in total defeat to where they're obeying the Devil & listening to the Devil instead of to the Lord. Thank God we can't get demon-possessed, because the Lord possesses us, amen? We are a possession of His Holy Spirit & the Devil couldn't possibly possess us.
26. WE'RE NOT POSSESSED, BUT SOMETIMES WE'RE OBSESSED! Just like the Devil's pests, mosquitoes & files & bugs etc., they can't take us over, can they?--But they sure annoy us! So some people have annoying spirits. Even Christians who love the Lord & are born-again are sometimes subject to evil spirits who are annoying them, pestering them, bothering them or lying to them. We've all had that experience at some time or other. Doesn't the Devil ever talk to you?--Of course he does! He lies to you, tries to get you discouraged, tries to get you down, tries to deceive you,--Right? I mean, we've all had it! Even Jesus had it! Have you forgotten? The Devil took Him out into the desert & tempted Him with three great temptations.
27. SO DON'T FEEL BAD IF THE DEVIL ATTACKS YOU & BOTHERS YOU & ANNOYS YOU & PESTERS YOU & HINDERS YOU, THAT'S HIS JOB, & THE LORD ALLOWS IT AS YOUR TEST. What was Jesus' temptation for? It was the final test before He began His public ministry! The Devil was testing Him to see if he could make Him fall & gave Him three different types of temptation. Jesus had been 40 days & 40 nights out in the wilderness. The Devil even quoted Scripture! And the Lord answered him with Scripture each time, remember? (Mt.4:1-11)
28. REMEMBER, JESUS WAS IN A HUMAN BODY THEN & HE HAD ALL THE WEAKNESSES & FRAILTIES & TEMPTATIONS OF THE HUMAN FLESH, & here the Devil offers Him the whole World. He could have said, "Well, it's My World anyhow & I'm going to take it over one of these days soon, so nuts to you!" But He didn't, He just quoted Scripture. What did He say? (Fam: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, & Him only shalt thou serve!") (Mat.4:10) And in another place He said, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." (Mat.4:7) And what was the answer to the other temptation? (Fam: "Man shall not live by bread alone.") (Mat.4:4) The first temptation was food, & Jesus answered, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
29. SO IF THE DEVIL CAN EVEN PESTER JESUS, CERTAINLY HE OR SOME OF HIS LITTLE DEMONS MUST WORK HARD ON YOU TO PESTER YOU! So what is the best way to resist the Devil when he comes along with his lies & temptations & deceits & all kinds of things that he's pestering you with?--Especially you people who are working so hard for the Lord & doing such a big job, the biggest job of anybody in the whole World that I know of, don't you think the Devil's going to try to get you to stumble & fall & make mistakes, even physically, especially spiritually? What's the best thing to do?--Pick up the Sword of the Spirit & whack away! He'll run every time if you'll really use the Word!
30. FILL YOUR MIND WITH THE WORD OF GOD & YOU WON'T HAVE ROOM FOR THAT DARKNESS. FILL YOUR MIND WITH THE LIGHT OF GOD'S WORD & THE DARKNESS WILL FLEE! Quote Scripture! Don't listen to the Devil's lies! Fill your mind with the Light & the darkness will flee! "Give no place to the Evil One", God's Word says. (Eph.4:27) Don't give him any room to get in, don't give him any room to talk to you! As someone has said, some people, the Devil comes knocking at their heart's door & they open the door & they're very hospitable! They say, "Come right on in, Mr. Devil & Mrs. Devil & all your little devilets! Come on in, pull up a chair! Here, sit down & let's talk things over!" Is that what you do? (Fam: No!) You'd better not, because if you listen to him, the same thing that happened to Eve, will happen to you. Don't even listen to him! Don't listen to his doubts & his fears & his discouragement & his temptations & all the rest, sock him with the Word of God! Praise God?
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family