June 25 | Casting Out Demons
Mark 9:25, “… he rebuked the impure spirit. You deaf and mute spirit, he said, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
I’ll never forget the first time God used me to cast demons out of a person. I was a young pastor working in the inner city of New Orleans. One day a homeless man on drugs that often came by the church to receive help, stopped by one night while I was there getting ready to leave with another brother. He was acting very strange compared to our previous encounters with him and we knew something was different. He was saying things like, “I want all this evil to leave me… I don’t want to be like this anymore.”
So we asked him if we could pray for him. He said that we could, then the moment I said the name, “Jesus,” he fell to the floor and began to slither on the ground like a snake and scream in agony. Within moments we placed our hands on him and started shouting, “Satan we cast you out of this man in the name of Jesus. Leave him now! Jesus, set him free!”
Instantly, he let out a loud shriek and became limp on the ground. We felt the atmosphere change and could see he was totally sober. Then he stood up and started praising God with tears coming down his eyes. Afterward he gave his life to Jesus and came home with us. Since that day, I have seen many people get delivered from demons. Whether it was on mission trips to India or outreaches in my church; Jesus always comes in His mighty power when demons are present and casts them out.
Don’t be afraid of the devil now that Jesus is with you. Satan and Jesus are not in an arm wrestling match; they’re not equal in any way. Jesus cast Satan out of heaven and crushed his head on the earth. All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus and has been given to us to trample on scorpions and snakes (Luke 10:19)!
Disciples everywhere should always be ready to enforce the authority of Jesus over Satan’s Kingdom here on earth. Therefore, if you ever discern a spirit is from the devil, cast it out in Jesus’ name. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world! You may not feel ready but you can be trained in a good church to do the works of God. Lester Sumrall said to church leaders, “Look at Christ standing tall— with faith, with no fear of any kind— before demons, demoniacs, and raging storms. It didn’t matter! There was no fear! We are to bring our people up to that same measure— as tall and strong and confident as Jesus Christ. That is our goal!”
Reflection
Action
- Describe a time you saw demons cast out in Jesus’ name.
- Ask your church how they do deliverance and seek to help them.
- Next time you sense demons are in someone, cast them out in the mighty name of Jesus!