"Pastor Don has a powerful counseling ministry in the areas of Prayers That Heal the Heart. You WILL be changed!" - Mark Virkler
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As a Christian counselor doing Spirit-anointed counseling, which includes deliverance, I am often asked, “Since I am a Christian, and cannot be possessed by the devil because I have Holy Spirit in me, then why would I need deliverance?”
And that is a valid question. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and resides in our heart. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one Spirit with Him.” ESV
It is true that as Christians, we cannot be possessed by demons, like the man in the tombs at Gadarenes from whom Jesus cast out demons into the herd of pigs (Matthew 8:28-34). But as believers, we can certainly give the devil a foothold or stronghold in areas of our lives where we can develop habitual sin patterns and weaknesses. We can be gripped with fear, worry and anxiety, having anger, guilt, lust, hopelessness, rejection, grief, or even out of control addictions like pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc.
We can get some relief from these issues, but invariably they keep coming back to plague us.
This is elaborated on in the letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians was obviously written to Christians – to the church of Ephesus where Paul ministered for two years. It is the first of the seven churches that Jesus addressed in Revelation 2 and 3, where He encouraged the Ephesians to return to their first love.
In Ephesians 4:26-27, Paul wrote, “Be ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and do not give the devil an opportunity.” NASBS
That word, “opportunity,” in the Greek is topos (top'-os). It is defined in Strong’s Concordance as a “spot, space, location, home tract or license. Thayer’s definition is “an inhabited place” or, metaphorically, “power.”
The word, “opportunity,” topos, is derived from the word “scabbard.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, a scabbard is “a sheath for a sword, dagger or bayonet. See picture* below.
So, the word, “opportunity,” comes from a word meaning scabbard which serves as a case in which a knife or sword fits comfortably, like a hand in a glove. The meaning of “opportunity” being a home, spot, space, location, home tract, or license points to demons fitting comfortably in a believer as a knife in a sheath or scabbard. In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus talks about a demon cast out of a man, and the demon roams around looking for rest. “Then it (demon) says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’….” (v. 44a). The demon was so comfortable in the man that he called him his house! And demons have license, defined as permission or authority, to cause any of the above-mentioned issues of anger, fear, anxiety, etc. in us! In Ephesians 4:26-27 above, Paul warned not to let anger be so comfortable as to have license/permission over us.
This explains why a Christian, though not possessed, can still be oppressed by demons. The Greek word for demon-possessed in the New Testament is daimonizomai (dahee-mon-id'-zom-ahee). This is defined as being outright possessed by demons, such as the man at Gaderenes and others in the New Testament were. But it also means to be “vexed by” or “under the power of a demon.” This can certainly apply to Christians who are vexed by fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, pornography, and more. Hence, the need for deliverance with Christians!
My testimony
I personally grew up very angry, fearful, anxious, with severe rejection, abandonment, unworthiness issues and strong feelings of inferiority. Part of this stemmed from being a preacher’s kid in a very legalistic home. I was also repeatedly molested as a child and found out later in life that my parents did not want me as an infant. I carried all these issues into my life as a committed Christian. I started serving the Lord early on, including being ordained as a Pastor and doing evangelism, teaching, preaching, being a missionary and becoming a counselor.
For much of my ministry years, I was still tormented inside with fear, anxiety and feelings of unworthiness and inferiority. I had given the devil an opportunity by dwelling on these and other issues I had. This gave demons a license to attach themselves to me to exacerbate all of these heart wounds. I had given the demons a home and location in me where they fit comfortably as a knife in a sheath! I was not possessed, but I was certainly under the strong influence or vexed by demons!
My training
I had received all sorts of Christian counseling over the years, and it helped to a degree; but I did not really get set free until I went to Christian Leadership University and Seminary. There I learned to hear God‘s voice clearly and took the Prayers that Heal the Heart course as well as other counseling courses. I learned deliverance well and how to deal with the roots that fed the demons, such as generational sins and curses, ungodly soul ties, ungodly beliefs and inner vows, word curses, and inner healing of traumatic experiences. By dealing with these roots, it made it easier to receive deliverance from these demons. I went through this counseling, including deliverance, and experienced freedom like I never had before!!
My ministry
Currently, as a counselor working closely with Dr. Mark Virkler, I have been using these principles for 12 years in counseling with others. I have a ministry, Stay in The Flow, through which I have been able to see many believers be set free by Holy Spirit. This includes being freed from being sexually abused, sex trafficked or being hooked on pornography, being institutionalized and incarcerated, being severely depressed, enslaved to anger, wanting freedom from homosexuality and more. Bless the Lord!
As believers in Christ, we all have to deal with demonic oppression where deliverance is needed. Certainly not all of our problems are demonically based. In Jesus’ 41 prayers of ministry in the New Testament, 13 of those prayers were for deliverance from demons. Deliverance is part of working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12).
I will be glad to help anyone interested in being set free from any demonic oppression, through Spirit-anointed counseling. You can check out my website, stayintheflow.net. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free – which we all need! God bless!!
*Picture from “What is the Difference Between a Scabbard and a Sheath?” By: David Mickov Published On: August 5, 2024
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