The Believer's Authority

THE BELIEVER'S AUTHORITU: CASTING OUT DEMONS: The Bible differentiates between casting out devils and healing the sick. Often people's physical conditions don't respond to prayer and the laying on of hands because there is an evil spirit involved. This happens in the case of a Baptist woman in New Orleans. She was mentally deranged and confined to a institution. One day a friend of mine, a Baptist minister who had received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, went to pray for her. He cast seven demons out of her, and immediately she was well. A university professor who was acquainted with her case used it as an illustration in his literatures. It made such an impression on him that he invited the Baptist minister to discuss it with him. As a result, the professor's wife received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The professor not only sought to be feel, but he incorporated into his teachings the fact that demons have more effect on people than was thought. OPPRESSION VS. POSSESSION: Back in 1958 preacher recalled in a church member came in the his healing line, and he realized the man had a demon in his body. This man had been in nearly every well-known evangelistic healing line, but he hadn't got healed, because th spirit that was oppressing him had to be dealt with. This wasn't a case for healing. In praying for him, he explained to the people, "This man's body is oppressed. He is not possessed by a demon. Many people who are suffering with all kind of illnesses are in fact oppressed by a demonic entity. I'll use this illustration: suppose you live in a house built nearly 100 years ago, and somebody tells you, "That house has got termites in it." That doesn't mean you've got termites in you ! "Your body is the house you live in. If you know how, you can keep the termites out of your natural house--- and the demons out of your physical house [body]. They won't be there if you use the right precautions. Many Christians think that a believer cannot be oppressed by a demon, again oppression is different from possession. I once heard a spirit of filled psychiatrists who donated time to charity hospitals in his area. In one mental institution he decided to experiment with a man who hadn't spoken in three years. The man just stared straight ahead with no expression, like a statue. The doctor said, "I laid hands on him every day and say, "If there are evil spirits here, I reviewed them and command every one of them to leave in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." If the other doctors weren't around, this doctor would lay hands on the patient and prayed out loud holding him five minutes a day in tongues. If the other doctors were around, he used wisdom, knowing they wouldn't be able to understand what he was doing, and he'd prayed silently. In 10 days time the patient was talking, and in 30 days he was sent home as cured. The doctor helped other patients as well. God honors faith, not fear, or doubt and even unbelief. And the Spirit of God knows how to pray. He is the author of prayer.