James 4:7
Here are 4 signs God is about to deliver you from demonic influence.
- If You Become a Christian or Recommit Your Life to Christ, God Is Also Delivering You from Demonic Attacks
There is not one verse in the entire Bible that leads us to believe that a true Christian can be demon possessed. This means if you are a Christian, a demon cannot live in you or directly control you through sheer force. Demons can do this type of thing to unbelievers, but not to Christians. This is why evangelism is more powerful than exorcism:
- John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
- 1 John 4:4, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
While a Christian cannot be directly controlled or possessed by demons, a Christian can still be oppressed by demons (1 Peter 5:8-9). While a demon cannot control you if you are a Christian, implant evil thoughts in your mind, or make you do anything, a demon can tempt you to follow your own evil desires still lurking in the sin nature (James 1:14-15), tempt you to dwell on evil thoughts coming from your own sin and the worldly influences around you (2 Corinthians 11:3, Romans 8:6-8), and tempt you follow the people who are still directly controlled by demons (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
So if you are a Christian who has been backsliding, you are also a Christian who has been under demonic influence as well. Therefore, when you repent of your sin and rededicate your life to Christ, God is also setting you free from the demonic oppression you have been living under as well (James 4:7).
- If God Is Increasing Your Holiness Through Sanctification, He Is Also Delivering You from Demonic Influence
While the first way to defeat Satan in your life is to become a Christian so you can no longer be directly controlled by demons (Ephesians 2:1-4), your fight against the enemy is not over once you become a true believer. To Christians, Paul wrote:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)
Many people miss Paul’s point by focusing too much on the analogy of armor. There’s the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. While we could go into an exhaustive study about this, like most people do, really Paul is referring to spiritual sanctification and holiness. The real focus is not about a helmet, a breastplate, shoes, a shield, a helmet, and a sword. Those are just metaphors to help us apply the real point, which is truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and knowing the Scriptures.
As 1 John 3:8 states, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
In short, the holier you become through the process of sanctification (Hebrews 10:14), the less you will follow demonic influence (2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).
- If God Is Delivering You from an Unbiblical Dependence on a “Deliverance Ministry,” God Is Actually Setting You Free from Demonic Lies
I’m not making a sweeping statement about all people who claim to have a deliverance ministry. I would need to hear each person’s explanation of what that title means when they use it and know what they are doing specifically. I know people who use that phrase are not all the same and don’t all believe the same things.
However, I do have some general concerns about the idea of having a “deliverance ministry,” which is usually a term people use when they have a large focus on helping other people find deliverance from spiritual possession or oppression. My concern is that these types of ministries often teach people to depend on another person for deliverance rather than Christ himself.
Rather than evangelism, the focus goes to exorcism. Rather than seeking the presence of Christ, the focus is placed on looking for the presence of demons all the time. Rather than following the Spirit in prayer, the focus become praying religious prayers and using certain words to unlock freedom. Rather than teaching people to follow Jesus, these ministries often teach people to depend on the deliverance ministry itself.
2 Timothy 2:5-6 explains, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
When you have to go another person so they can use their special power to deliver you, the focus and praise is often placed on that person rather than on Christ. This type of spiritual power and attention is especially tempting to people who crave popularity and worldly significance (Acts 8:9-25). Thus, many deliverance ministries are run by false prophets who love money and power and prey on weak minded people who struggling with real issues.
In fact, I believe one of Satan’s sneakiest tactics is to cause a spiritual bondage on people who become dependent on a deliverance ministry. Every time they have a problem in their life, they believe they have a demon controlling their behavior, thus they run to the deliver because they feel only this person can deliverer them from the demonic influence. This over dependence is often marked by financially supporting this deliverance ministry as well.
This is unbiblical. If you’re not running to Jesus directly, that is a problem. Satan controls Christians through lies and bad theology; thus, the real bondage in your life might be your unbiblical belief that you need a deliverance ministry. When you are delivered from your dependence on the deliverance ministry, you are also being delivered from demonic influence because this whole concept is often rooted in lies created by Satan.
Again, when you’re a Christian, Satan cannot directly control you anymore. But when you believe he can, this unbiblical belief itself does give him some control in your life. Thus, by rejecting the whole concept of Satan and demons living in you as a Christian, you are set free from the real bondage, which is the lie that you are in bondage still. When you stop believing the devil’s lies, he loses control of you.
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Period.
- If You’re Losing Your Mental Fear of Demons and Spending More Time Thinking About Jesus as You Work Hard for Him, This Is a Sign God Is Delivering You from Demonic Influence
I believe Satan uses intrusive thoughts and anxiety to control people. I’m not saying Satan is inflicting you with intrusive thoughts or anxiety. Sometimes we just have these issues because of a chemical imbalance in our brains due to genetics. Intrusive thoughts is often linked to OCD.
However, if you are prone to struggle with these types of mental health issues, you can be sure Satan will try to use these things to his advantage. He will tempt you to use your struggle with intrusive thoughts to then obsessively think about being spiritually attacked and to then compulsively do a prayer ritual to find deliverance.
Again, he’s not making you have these intrusive thoughts or do these compulsive religious rituals, but he will tempt you to use your intrusive thought tendencies and OCD to engage in these worries about spiritual warfare and the presence of demons.
The temptation to worry about demonic influence is perhaps the greatest attack of demonic influence. Intrusive thoughts are a form of bondage. But the way you deal with intrusive thoughts is not by worrying about them or focusing more on them. Rather, the way you fight intrusive thoughts is by ignoring them, letting them pass, and staying focused on holy things rather than using your mental energy to ruminate on your fears (Romans 12:21, Romans 13:14).
As Colossians 3:2-3 explains, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Satan can’t control a dead man. When you’ve died and been raised to new life with Christ, you are free (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your sin nature still lives in your body, but you are not your sin nature anymore (Romans 7:20). You are free (Galatians 5:1). Period!
For more on this topic, you can read my article called 3 Biblical Ways to Stop Intrusive and Unwanted Thoughts.
