Casting out and Casting on

The Gospels are full of records of Jesus healing people and casting evil spirits out of them. In fact, in the Gospel of Mark [where Jesus is portrayed as a servant] there are the most records of him commanding evil spirits to leave the bodies and lives of men.

Mark 3:7-15:
But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, You are the Son of God.
And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
And he went up into a mountain, and called unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.

Jesus not only understood the spiritual contest he faced each day, he boldly cast out disease and its ultimate cause—the Devil and his hoard of spiritual forces that attack and destroy the lives of men and women. The Devil, according to Jesus, only does three things.

John 10:10:
The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The Devil is never good; and his evil spirits work for and with their evil master. Satan will steal our thoughts, kill our bodies, and destroy our spiritual impact if we allow him to. But Jesus came to defeat the Devil and give us a life that is full and abundant.

Freely Receive and Give

The Gospel of Matthew also records when Jesus sent out the twelve. They had two main responsibilities: cast out every evil spirit and heal every disease. They also had the God-given authority to do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. They had freely received spiritual power, and were to freely use it to remove evil spirits and bring God’s gracious healing.

Matthew 10:1,8:
And when he [Jesus] had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.

This was no surprise to Jesus. He had grown up reading and believing the scriptures, the scrolls of truth that prophesied of what he would do. Jesus knew he was the Messiah, and that he was sent by His Father to do His Father’s will. What is the Father’s will for us?

Psalms 103:2,3,12:
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

God forgives ALL our iniquities and sins. He heals ALL of our diseases. He has removed all of our sins and transgressions when we believe on His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord. That is what “remission of sins” means: they are fully and eternally washed away.

Peter preached the good news of total forgiveness of sins through Christ.

Acts 2:38:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive [show forth powerfully] the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38,43:
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins.

Romans 3:24,25:
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

Ephesians 1:3,7:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
In whom we have redemption [remission] through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Part of the “all spiritual blessings” we have in Christ is the ability to cast out evil spirits and bring healing by the power from the Holy Spirit. Jesus said we could do this because we believe on his name and make him our Lord [Romans 10:9,10]. We are filled with the power from the Holy Spirit. We can do all things through Him Who strengthens us [Philippians 4:13].

Mark 16:17,18:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
[If] they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

I personally have been speaking with new tongues for nearly fifty years. I also have seen God’s power to heal. More recently, I am seeing God’s deliverance from evil spirits in my life and those I love. God is always faithful and so is His Son Jesus. We can be faithful through them.

I Corinthians 1:5-9:
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
That in every thing you are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
So that you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Personal Deliverance

As I lay in bed a week ago, I came to the place in my life where I knew I needed God’s help and deliverance. When I was twenty, I had asked God for help when I reached the end of my abilities and was contemplating suicide. He sent an ambassador for Christ to me within hours of when I prayed, and I was delivered from the evil around me. I knew it was time to cast my cares upon God, and claim my deliverance through Christ.

I Peter 5:6-10:
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
But the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

As I lay in bed, I knew it was time to humble myself under God’s mighty hand and resist my adversary, the Devil, in the faith I had through Christ. God promised, by His grace. To stablish, strengthen, and settle me. So I honestly, in the depth of my heart, asked what spiritual influences still affected my life.

The answer came clear and straightforward: spirits of anger, striving, fear, and false hope were at work to bring me down and hurt those around me. I had seen signs of their behavior over the years as I ministered to others, read my Bible, and tried to live a good, Christian life. I asked the Father for forgiveness through Christ and cast out those evil influences in the name of my Lord and Savior. They left. And I am doing my best to keep them out of my life in the future.

Jesus taught that we must guard our hearts and minds to keep these evil spirits out.

Luke 11:24-26:
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished.
Then he goes, and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

As true servants of Jesus Christ, we gently and patiently are instructed by the Lord where we oppose our own good. Then, when we are meek, God will reveal the truth and we can repent of our evil lifestyle to recover ourselves from the snare of the Devil, who has captivated us. Paul wrote very clearly to Timothy about this.

II Timothy 2:24-26:
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

God’s Answers to My Problems

Thinking about my recent deliverance, I realized that God has answers to all of my problems. Spirits of anger, striving, fear, and false hope have no place when I claim God’s promises to me in Christ. Let’s look at each attack I face and the deliverance promised.

Thankfulness overcomes anger:

I can give God praise and thanks to overcome my anger. I want to be “slow to anger.” Then I will be able to see and do what the Father wants me to do. I can be “mighty” for Him.

Proverbs 16:32:
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.

The prophet Jonah was miraculously raised from the dead after having his body preserved for three days and nights inside a sea creature. Waking to new life should make one thankful, to say the least. But Jonah soon forgot God’s kindness to him when he looked at how God showed mercy to the people of Nineveh. He became jealous and angry. Of course, God questioned Jonah’s lack of thankfulness.

Jonah 3:10; 4:1,4:
And God saw their [the people of Nineveh] works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Then said the LORD, Do you well to be angry?

I can think of times where, rather than counting my blessings and seeing what God did for me, I looked at His goodness to others and became jealous. This is not thinking and acting maturely. When we remember and are thankful for the Father’s goodness to us in Christ. We will not become angry or jealous of others.

Jesus told the famous parable of the “prodigal son,” which is really more about a father’s forgiveness. The father in the story showed great mercy and forgiveness to his wayward son. But his older brother, who was not thankful for all that his father gave him each day, became angry at his brother’s good fortune.

Luke 15:28:
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.

When Jesus told this parable, he was showing how the religious Judeans, who had God’s promise of the coming Christ, refused to believe that Jesus was actually the fulfillment of that promise. Whereas even some Gentiles accepted the Messiah and received God’s forgiveness and care. The scribes and Pharisees became angry at Jesus because they were not thankful for God sending His only Son to save them.

Whenever those spiritual attacks to become angry assault me, I thank the Father and praise Him for giving me daily deliverance and strength through Jesus Christ, my Lord. 

Peace overcomes striving:

I have peace through Christ to overcome spiritual strife, jealousy, and divisive arguing.

Proverbs 15:18:
A wrathful [angry] man stirs up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeases strife.

The Hebrew word translated “appeases” means to rest, settle, and be still. Since the spiritual cause of my anger is gone and I give God thanks for His goodness, I can then bring peace and rest where there once was strife and anger. Anger stirs up strife and division.

Proverbs 29:22:
An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression.

We should humble ourselves and become good listeners. We shouldn’t pridefully want to be the first to speak and win “word battles” with our supposed intelligence. James offers some wonderful advice on this.

James 1:19,20:
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
For the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God.

Our angry striving and hateful arguing will not work out God’s righteousness in our lives. Instead, it is part of the works generated when we don’t obey God’s words or listen to His spirit within us.

Galatians 5:19,20,22,23:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Jesus Christ brought me peace with God, and now I have access through Christ to bring peace where before I was dominated by striving, variance, and emulation. I don’t need to argue and be “right” all the time. I can listen to others and accept that they believe what they believe. I am no longer so judgmental of them as people. I discern spiritually what is best, and offer that to them.

Romans 5:1:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:14:
For he [Christ Jesus] is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us.

Matthew 5:9:
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the [true] children of God.

Since I have peace with God through Christ, I can have peace with others. And there are rich blessings to the peacemakers. We are truly living as God’s children.

Love Overcomes Fear:

II Timothy 1:6,7:
Wherefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands.
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Whenever and wherever I am afraid, I can claim God’s power, love, and a sound mind. That is part of stirring up God’s spiritual gift in us. Timothy was a minister and Paul had laid hands on him to establish that spiritual power and strength. God’s loving power gives us sound, or healthy, thoughts as we do His will.

What kind of fears were attacking me spiritually? Thoughts of death, failure, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and grief all came on my mental “movie screen” at times. But whenever I stir up the spirit by speaking in tongues and humbly going to God for help, He gives me His loving power to keep my thoughts on what He does for me through Jesus Christ. His love overcomes my fear.

The Hope of Christ’s Return overcomes false hopes:

What were the “false” hopes that I entertained? That I could do things myself and rely on my own personal abilities to be successful. That has a lot to do with pride and selfishness. God’s Word is clear and simple on how wrong that attitude is.

Proverbs 3:5,6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

Jeremiah 10:23:
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.

What should be my true hope, the “polestar” that guides me in life? The hope of Jesus Christ coming back to gather together those who believe in him.

I Thessalonians 4:13-17:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

When the storms of life rage about me, and I want to cling to any of the false hopes that come from my own resources and limited human strength, I turn to Christ’s completed work and his return as my anchor.

Hebrews 6:19:
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil.

I am truly thankful for God’s delivering me from evil spirits and the healing it brings. Each day I do my best to be thankful and praise my God and Father that anger doesn’t lead me away from His will. Each day I claim the peace of Christ to keep me from being argumentative and full of strife. Each day I accept His loving power to keep my thoughts sound and overcome my fears. And each day I look to Christ’s return to cast down false hopes and joyfully anticipate eternity with him. And by God’s mercy and grace, He will keep me safe and protected under His mighty hand.

Psalms 107:2:
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.