Chapter 9: Three Conditions to Subdue Demons

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)

In order to cast out demons, the most important thing to possess is faith. The Bible clearly illustrates that we cannot do anything without faith. Faith is about possessing the revelation of God. People only think about visions when they hear the word revelation. However, a revelation does not mean a vision. Some people say, “God told me to get a job”, “God told me to move to another place”, “God told me to sell my house” or “God told me to open a business”. These people actually have misperceptions concerning God’s revelation. The revelation of God is His word that shows His will. Acquiring the will of God through His words is our faith.

Faith must be distinguished from religious enthusiasm. Even though a person is zealous in his spiritual life, if his zeal does not come from God’s revelation, then his faith cannot be sound. When the words came to Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31), she accepted the word of God by saying, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). She did not limit the words of God with her own thoughts, but desired for the revelation of God’s will to be fulfilled through her. Likewise, faith means not to fuse human reasoning with the words of God.

Many people try to endorse their own opinions with the sermons they hear from the pastor. They say, “Amen, amen!” only when the message corroborates with their predisposed thoughts. They say that they are touched and blessed by a message only when it concurs with their thoughts. Just because a sermon seems to support a person’s opinions, does not necessarily prove that he possesses a great faith. For example, abstaining from alcohol because it is unhealthy is totally different from not drinking because God prohibits it. The world is full of moral and ethical people. However, the source of their morality and ethics is their own conscience rather than God’s word. Even if their morality and ethics might seem superior to God’s standards, it still does not prove that they have true faith. Within the same considerations, there exists a huge difference between a person who goes to church because there is nothing else to do and one who goes to church in obedience to God’s commands.

Some people come to church because they feel that being religious is helpful in life. This type of religiousness has no bearing on the salvation described in the Bible. Others attend church services based on their needs such as a failing business, distress, or sickness. This type of superstitious faith is far from the one that God requires. True faith starts from the blood of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son whom God has sent.

Even though there are countless Christians in Korea, there seem not to be many who live healthy spiritual lives. Sometimes, some newly converted members need to be evangelized again in the church. Though they are in the church, they are not at peace in their hearts because they seek special prayers or prophetic words from pastors in the same way the world seeks mediums or psychics.

Mystical and religious faiths that are irrelevant to the blood of Jesus have nothing to do with salvation. Just as the Israelites escaped the plague by smearing lamb’s blood on the doorposts, our conscience must be covered with the blood of Christ. Our faith is founded on the Lord’s Supper and baptism. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved,” does not mean that there is salvation in baptism in itself; rather it shows that having faith in Jesus Christ and being united in His death and resurrection through baptism is the foundation for salvation (Mark 16:16a). Through the Lord’s Supper, we confess that the suffering of Christ became our salvation and life. Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are based on the sufferings, afflictions and death of Christ.

Some people say that they could live more virtuously than Christians even though they do not believe in Jesus. But without Jesus, no amount of virtue can obtain salvation. God is not interested in man’s morality or ethics.

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matt. 11:11)

We as believers are all born from Heaven through Jesus Christ. Though we may not have anything to boast about, we are completely different from the world because we are born again according to the will of God.

Believers who do not drink alcohol because of God’s command and people who do not drink because of their distaste for alcohol from birth both have the same outward result: abstinence from alcohol. However, the one who follows God’s will is obedient to His words. Before I began my spiritual life, I did not drink alcohol. Even now I do not drink, not because of my distaste for alcohol, but because the Lord has forbidden it. Likewise, our faith is founded on the revelations of God.

People have different reasons as to why they initially come to church. However, no matter what the motive may have been, the foundation for spiritual life has to be Jesus Christ. Yet, some people’s initial, elementary motives for coming to church have not reformed even after time. Our faith must begin with the sure foundation of God’s revelation.

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Pet. 1:18-19)

Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. (1 Pet. 1:23)

For example, even an uneducated farmer is able to preside in the office if he accepts the position after being appointed as the Minister of Agriculture by the president. Likewise, if we accept God’s command to use the authority that He has given, then God’s power would manifest through us. An ambassador of a nation is a national servant representing the president. When the president sends the ambassador to another country to establish foreign diplomacy, then the ambassador can go with the authority of the president to make decisions. Likewise, we are God’s servants who must accept His work.

God’s words are not exclusively given to a selected group of individuals. Whoever has ears are able to hear and possess the word of God. However, some refuse the word of God because of their preconceived thoughts. They believe that only a selected people are allowed to experience the word of God. True faith is about welcoming the words of God completely and allowing them to be fulfilled in their lives. God’s power naturally manifests through such faith.

Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” (Mark 9:17-19)

This is God’s lament against both the disciples who could not heal and the person that came to Him after being disappointed by them. How will you solve these types of problems after I leave this earth? Should I stay on earth for hundreds of years just to heal the sick? Shouldn’t disciples who possess power like Me continuously come forth? Should I continue to stay to help similar cases in the near future? What will you do after I leave?

That is why Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after He sat on the throne, just as He had promised. The Holy Spirit came with the authority of the King on the throne, surrounded by angels. Referring to this, Jesus said the Kingdom of God is not here or there but within us believers (Luke 17:21). Through the Holy Spirit, we are now able to cast out demons with the authority of the King. Jesus referred to this as the Kingdom of God coming upon us (Matt. 12:28).

Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away,” because only when He sits on the throne can He send the Holy Spirit to us so that we can use the royal authority. If Jesus had stayed with us, then we would have had to come directly to Him every time we needed His help. People would have to travel many miles to see Jesus in person in order to receive help. However, the authority of the Kingdom of God has been given to all with the advent of the Holy Spirit.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12)

Doing greater works than what Jesus did is not something extraordinary. It is a privilege given to all those who believe in Him. We cast out demons not because we are holier or nobler than others. We cast out demons by relying on the authority of Jesus Christ. People who cast out demons must know the greatness of the name of Jesus and the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20)

These words are not denying the value of subduing the demons. It is conveying the importance of our names being recorded in Heaven as its citizens. Of course it is amazing when the demons are subdued, but that is not the source of our joy. Our true joy comes from the fact that our names are recorded in Heaven.

We as saints must understand God’s thoughts. We must abandon our preconceived ideas and welcome His thoughts and will. Faith is accepting His will that He has already foreordained. Even though a person might believe that he would succeed, it is just his self-conviction, which is not guaranteed by God. People say, “I believe, I believe!” because they want to reassure themselves of their convictions, but the faith that God demands from us is reliance on His revelations. So true faith is having God’s confidence in your heart.

The Bible records God’s confidence: that only through Jesus Christ we can destroy the works of the Devil, that only through Jesus Christ mankind can be saved, only through Jesus Christ we can be born again, and only through Jesus Christ we can partake in the resurrection at the end. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator for salvation. Jesus Christ is God’s confidence that He has revealed; He is the basis for our faith. Having Jesus is possessing God’s complete assurance.

God guarantees His confidence with His honor. Thus, the faith that He has revealed to us glorifies His name. The name that God revealed through His Son is Jesus. The name Jesus is the foundation for our faith. Our prayers can be successfully delivered to God only in Jesus’ name. Prayers offered in Jesus’ name are completely dependent on the works of Jesus that God has revealed to us. Because Jesus Christ is the confidence that God has revealed, whenever people pray in that name, God answers with His honor. So the prayers offered in Jesus’ name are always answered.

You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

The purpose of prayers is to receive answers. We do not receive answers simply because we do not ask, not because God has stopped listening. Also, we do not receive because there is a greater problem in the content or the process with our prayers. Somebody might say, “God, why do we need to ask in a particular way? If You know our needs, just give us what You think is the best.” But, in order to receive His help, we have to follow His principles.

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matt. 6:7)

The phrase, “do not use vain repetitions,” means do not pray to gods that do not exist, or spirits that cannot answer. The prophets of Baal cried out all day, “O, Baal! O, Baal!” but nobody answered their cries. Long prayers do not guarantee answers. In order to receive answers to prayers, we must first understand where God’s joy is. God desires everyone to receive salvation, but He gives it only to those who are in Jesus Christ. No one on earth has ever received God’s verbal testimony of his identity except Jesus Christ. God confirmed that Jesus is His Son when He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” as He came out of the water (Matt. 3:17). We are able to receive God’s love because we are in Christ Jesus. Hence, we must never go beyond Jesus Christ in order to offer our prayers before God.

And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:28-29)

Prayers must accompany God’s revealed faith in order to cast out demons. God promises that even mountains could be relocated through prayer. God guarantees such promises with His honor. If God does not answer prayers, then it is useless to pray. If a person prays all night without any hope for answers, then his devotion is nothing but a religious zeal.

In simple words, religion is nothing but a moral cultivation. Praying without any expectation of God’s answer is the same as the moral improvements required by the religions of the world. Prayer is not a moral cultivation but a way to receive God’s answers. Nevertheless, most people no longer regard unanswered prayers as abnormal. It has probably become a habit for most people to keep praying without receiving answers. Also, some people evaluate God’s answers with their feelings. If they are happy, they feel confident that God would answer. If they feel sad, they are not sure if God would answer. When their pastor asks them to join him to visit a member for home visitations, they say that God has not permitted them to do so. They explain their reluctance as God’s active intervention and prohibition. How much would it grieve God to see people with such dangerous faith?

Some people try to even analyze the possible answers from God with their rationalizations. Would I be able to receive an answer to such prayer? When their own mind tells them no, they ask the pastor, “Pastor, do you think God would answer my prayers?” When the pastor’s answers are not satisfactory, they ask the people around them. “Would God even hear such prayers?” Then their peers take it further, “Oh no. Don’t pray for something that is too monumental for God to answer. That’s not His will. You will become arrogant when you receive such a huge answer, so don’t ask God for something so impossible.”

These people would think that not receiving answers would even be better. When God does not answer prayers, they are more joyful because they receive it as if God is humbling them. When such people congregate, it would be almost impossible to accomplish God’s work.

To receive God’s work and help in our lives, we must possess true faith. But faith starts when we acknowledge that God’s power is absolute. Our power is relative but God’s power is absolute. Prayer is relying on the absolute power of God for what is impossible with man. If all things were possible with man’s strength, then there is no need to pray. We pray to God because of the impossibilities. Even though unbelievers do not pray, they can succeed in their business or become prosperous. So prayers are not needed to accomplish possibilities but impossibilities.

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:23)

It is impossible for man to move a mountain. However, God is able to turn the impossible to possible. Only the people who trust in God’s promises and acknowledge His power are able to pray. Continuous dawn prayer and all-night prayers do not necessarily indicate a sound faith. Having zeal and having a sound faith are different. Prayers glorify God’s name, because His answers are promised to be in them. God’s promise of His answers for our prayers reflects His honor and reputation. Prayer is the power that can glorify the name of God. If a believer cannot offer prayers that glorify God, then he cannot be called a true saint. An important difference between a saint and an unbeliever is that the saint has the privilege to pray. An unbeliever can have many wishes, but he has no right to pray to God. Saints have received the promise and revelation from God, which is the command to pray with and for his honor. The Lord Jesus has told us that this type of prayer is an absolute necessity for casting out demons.

Besides prayer and faith, the third element required to cast out demons is acknowledging the authority given by the Holy Spirit. Casting out demons is done by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way.

But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matt. 12:28)

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)

Jesus was able to heal all who were oppressed by the Devil because God had anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power. The Bible illustrates that God anointed priests and kings when they were appointed. God has anointed us with the Holy Spirit so that we could be a royal priesthood.

The ministry God accompanies is an official ministry that is anointed with the authority of God. The police can arrest criminals because of the authority given to them by the government. Our authority to cast out demons and heal the sick is not certified by our personal qualifications. It is an official authority given and guaranteed by God Himself.

And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. (Mark 16:20)

Jesus worked with the disciples when they testified of the Gospel to show that they were operating in an official ministry. Before we cast out demons and heal the sick, we must remember that we are operating in God’s official authority. God works with us because we are using His legal authority.

In order to be healed of sicknesses, the patient must acknowledge that he has the right to be healed. For example, if a person was found not guilty of a crime in a trial, the verdict would be irrevocable even if someone contests, “He is the suspect! You have to send him to prison!” The power of the verdict handed down by the judge is final and official. Likewise, to be healed of sicknesses, each believer must acknowledge the official right he has to receive healing.

God has given us royal authority by anointing us with the Holy Spirit. We are able to subdue demons because of this authority in us. We must treat demons as how a king would treat criminals. Depending on the words of the king, the fate of the criminal is determined. We have this kind of authority in us because of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Therefore, in order to cast out demons, we must first have faith. Secondly, we must pray. Thirdly, we must acknowledge the authority given by the Holy Spirit. All of these three requirements must be met in order for any believer to cast out demons. As mentioned before, every believer’s spiritual life must be based upon the word of God instead of a religious or mystical conviction. He must pray to receive answers that bring honor to God. Also, he must acknowledge the royal authority vested in him and deal with demons as how kings deal with criminals. Some people try to fight with demons as their counterparts, as a private would fight another private in the army. Others even say, “Demon, Jesus can fight and defeat you!” Yet, Jesus does not fight with demons. Does the Minister of Transportation fight with a traffic violator on the street?

We trust and believe in the only true God. So God said, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). The Lord’s Prayer starts with, “Our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). God whom we serve as our Father has placed His name in Heaven. This Heaven is not the sky where birds fly or the universe of the stars, but the Heaven of the spirits, namely angels. Of course, God is infinitely greater than Heaven itself. Since we have fellowship with this eternal God, we must realize the magnificence of the authority that we possess.

Jesus also taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). We must pray that the Kingdom of God would advance, come upon, and rule over us. This prayer seeks true answers from God. If a believer prays for a bushel of rice but receives a bushel of wheat instead, then it is not the perfect answer to his prayer. He might be thankful to God but his prayer still has not been answered. If he prayed for rice, then he must wait until he receives rice. Also, if he receives nine bushels instead of ten, then this is not the answer because his prayer was for ten. He needs to keep waiting until he receives what he prayed for. So when we pray “Your Kingdom come,” we should wait until the authority of the Kingdom of God literally consumes us. The Kingdom of God must overtake the frail and unprofitable servants such as us.

Currently, there are so many Christians who still do not have the assurance of salvation in their hearts. So many of them are still not sure whether to be baptized or not. Too many deacons are not certain how to fulfill their diaconate roles. They forsake their duties and roles because people do not applaud them. There are so many people inside the church without the basic knowledge or attitude of faith these days. Some people even stop attending church because the pastor corrected them. Christians should keep their faith even if they are threatened with death, but some leave their faith just because the pastor corrected them. How will they survive the severe trials and tribulations to come? Christians are supposed to stand resolute even if the sword is pointed at their necks. How can a Christian leave the church after some meaningless quarrel with another person? How can they say that they are willing to die for Jesus? How can anyone call himself a child of God when he does not worship on the Lord’s Day just because he is afraid to lose customers from closing the shop? If we are true Christians, then we must let the Kingdom of God fully control us in every way.

When the Kingdom of God rules over us, even the demons fear the truth and the official authority in us. The authority of saints is a royal authority. The demons have no choice but to obey when we treat them like how a king treats criminals. We have to be joyful in the fact that our names are recorded in Heaven and that the Holy Spirit has given us the imperial authority.

Faith, prayer, and the authority given by the Holy Spirit are the basic requisites for demon expulsion. Faith is not a conviction from within a person, but the assurance that only God gives through His revelations. Prayers should be offered with the determination to receive answers from God. God’s honor is hinged on our prayers. Prayers without God’s answers cannot glorify His name. We must challenge the impossible for the sake of God’s glory. We have to pray with the fierce determination to receive His answers. The Holy Spirit has given us the royal authority and power. We must possess these three elements so that we could cast out demons and have authority over them.

“O my soul, possess the confidence of God!” “O my soul, glorify the name of God!” “O my soul, possess the royal authority through the Holy Spirit!”