A form of exorcism is a daily occurrence at a Miami hospital treating several hundred patients a month who ask to have evil spirits driven from their bodies. “Usually, we treat 600 to 700 a month,” says Dr. Hardat Sukhdeo, director of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Crisis Intervention Center. “But last month we had 900 people come for help … we worked our tails off—maybe there was a strong pull from the moon or something.” The belief that demons can infiltrate a person’s body is old hat to the Jamaicans, Haitians, Bahamians, Cubans and Puerto Ricans who live in the Miami area, he said. The patients are given strong tranquilizers to calm them; then staff members try to soothe away their fears. ¹. Tranquilizers and TLC are not how you deal with demons. It’s the Name of Jesus that get’s it done. What can we learn about the power of the Name by looking at how Jesus dealt with demons?

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This week’s call is:

Demons are not to be trifled with but neither should you ever be afraid of them. Every single demon must bow its knee to the Name of Jesus. Walk like you know these words are true.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: What have you learned from the Word of God about dealing with demons? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Mark 1:23 (KJV) 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

Demons Go to Church

• There was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, Mark records.
• This demon-possessed man was sitting comfortably in the midst of all these synagogue going people.
• Consider what the comfort level of this man implies.
• What happens at a regular synagogue service?
  • Synagogues are a place where the men and women sit separately.
    • So, the devil is not afraid of that.
  • Synagogues are a place where Jews are asked to recite certain phrases and certain psalms after a leader (also known as a ‘cantor’).
    • So, the devil is not afraid of that.
  • Synagogues are a place where Jews are asked to recite certain prayers.
    • So, the devil is not afraid of that.
  • Synagogues are a place where a Rabbi may give a sermon.
    • So, the devil is not afraid of that.
  • Synagogues are a place where scripture is read publicly.
    • So, the devil is not afraid of that.
• None of these common ‘synagogue going’ functions cramped these demons style.
• None of these scripted synagogue functions made these devils scream.
• None of these things make them react in discomfort.
• But as soon as Jesus showed up, all that changed.
• Why?
• What is the devil afraid of?
  • Demons are afraid of authority.
  • They’re afraid of the anointing.
  • They’re fearful of the power of God in manifestation.
  • They tremble at people who do the Word, not just hear it.
• Can I say it this way without being too coarse, the Name of Jesus makes demons wet in their pants.
• None of these things were in evidence in the synagogue the day Jesus visited.
• Demons should be afraid of you.
• They should be afraid of the God who is in you.

James 2:19 (KJV) 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

• But, they will never fear the believer unless you know you have authority.
• You have to know you have God in you and you have to be willing to let Him out.
• Demons will never fear you if you don’t know what you have.
• If you don’t know your authority, if you are unwilling to use it, he will gladly sit next to you in church.

Demons Make People What They Are

• This man in Mark 1 had an unclean spirit.
• Jesus dealt with many of these same types of demons.
• You can see their expression in the Roman empire as Rome was a hotbed of sexual immorality.
• There were a great many unclean spirits in this part of the world and they got into some of the Jews.
• You will find that whatever goes on in a certain part of the world gets into the church.
• Demons make people what they are.
  • Unclean spirits make people do unclean things.
  • Spirits of infirmity make people sick.
  • Deaf and dumb spirits make people deaf and dumb.
  • Blind spirits make people blind.
  • Wicked spirits make people do things they wouldn’t even dream of doing.
• Demons seek entrance into man because that is the only way they can express themselves.
• They must have a body to work through.
• They prefer a human body.
• But, they’ll settle for an animal if that’s all they can get.
• That’s why they are always knocking.
• That’s why they are always seeking.

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

• Resist them in the Name of Jesus at every turn.

Mark 1:23–27 (KJV) 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Only One Demon, the GateKeeper, Possesses A Person

• Look at the scripture carefully and watch the grammar of Mark 1:23-24.
• The ‘he’ of verse twenty-three, is a single unclean spirit.
• That spirit cried out, ‘What have you to do with ‘us’ plural in verse twenty-four.
• One demon possesses a man and opens the door for the other demons to come in.
• You can see this in Matthew chapter 12:43-45.
• In this case in Mark chapter one, Jesus dealt with only one spirit, the gatekeeper.
• The gatekeeper was an unclean spirit.
• This single unclean spirit cried out, ‘What have you to do with us.’
• The scripture then says, ‘Jesus rebuked him.’
• Him singular, not them, plural.
• Jesus didn’t deal with all the demons in the man, He only dealt with the one.
• To help a demon-possessed person become free, you deal with the gatekeeper.
• He is the main demon running the show.
• The Madman of Gadara is another example of this in scripture.
• This man of Gadara had the Legion of demons.
• Scholars estimate the number of demons in this one man of anywhere between two and six thousand demons depending on who you talk to.
• Jesus didn’t fight six thousand demons when he met this man.
• He only dealt with the one demon, the one that possessed the man, again it was an unclean spirit, again it was the gatekeeper.
• Once he cast that one demon out, once the gatekeeper was evicted, the other 5,999, or whatever, demons had to leave.
• How does this knowledge help us in our everyday 21st century lives?
• When you’re dealing with temptation type thoughts which are hitting your head be sure to deal with them.
• Be certain to cast them down in the name of Jesus because you may be dealing with a gatekeeper.
• You may be engaged with a single demon who is trying to knock and gain entrance to your life.
• Once they gain entrance, they could bring a whole host of other problems with him.
• You may be thinking, this whole line of teaching on demons, ‘You know I don’t need to deal with this stuff. My family and friends are normal, none of them are messed up like this. This casting out demons stuff is boring.’
• Listen, demons are real.
• The same demons Jesus cast out are still here on planet earth.
• If your family and friends are normal, thank God for it.
• But, there are a host of people who are not normal, who want to be free but don’t know how.
• If you get out of your Christian cocoon, you might be able to help somebody.

Demons are Never to Be Played With

• The phrase ‘What have you to do with us’ is a water and oil type statement.
• The gatekeeper basically says, ‘Why are you messing with us Jesus of Nazareth? We are oil and water to each other. We have nothing to do with one another.’
• The statement shows resistance to the presence of Jesus.
• The demons are saying to Jesus get out of here, leave us alone, we don’t want anything to do with you.
• What was Jesus response?
• He rebuked them.
• The Greek word ‘rebuked’ means to reprove, admonish or warn forcefully. It means expressing strong disapproval. Seriously warn or censure.
• It’s like the tone of voice you would use if someone threatened your child.
• What tone of voice would you use if you were a mother and someone threatened your baby?
• That’s the tone Jesus used.
• You don’t play with demons.
  • You rebuke them.
• You don’t have conversations with demons.
  • You cast them out.
• Jesus refused to allow them to speak.
• ‘Hold your peace and come out’, Jesus said.
• In the twenty-first century, we wouldn’t say ‘Hold your peace.’
• We would say ‘Shut-up and get out.’

Demons Tear People Right Before They Come Out

• What do you mean tear them?
• The Greek word ‘torn’ in verse twenty-six of Mark 1 means to shake uncontrollably, or to have a convulsion.
• A convulsion is a violent uncontrollable contraction of the muscles.
• Convulsion is a good word for tearing.
• Many times the demon will cause the person to fall down and you’ll see contortions in the person.
• The point is that sometimes, not every time, but occasionally there is a physical manifestation when a demon is getting ready to come out.
• Don’t be moved by physical happenings.
• If you say, ‘In the Name of Jesus come out’ and you see something physical happen, that doesn’t mean the demon isn’t leaving.
• Just keep your switch of faith turned on.
• Don’t get out of faith.
• That means don’t act like the demon didn’t hear you.
• Once the commandment has been spoken, once you have said, ‘In Jesus Name come out’ or in Jesus Name get out here, if a demon is peppering your head with thoughts, know that they must obey the Name.

The Madman of Gadara

• Look at some of these same truths in the verses surrounding the Madman of Gadara.

Mark 5:2–5 (KJV) 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Unclean Spirits Are Wrong Sex Spirits

• This madman of Gadara also had an unclean spirit just like the last case we looked at in Mark chapter 1.
• This particular unclean spirit was a sadistic type of spirit.
• It made the man tear his clothes off and inflict bodily injury upon himself.
• Additionally, this demon drove this man to live among the tombs.
• The tombs were caves located in the side of the hill.
• According to God’s law, these tombs were ceremonially unclean places.
• Jews were not allowed to touch the dead.
• You shouldn’t be messing with the dead either metaphorically speaking.
• God is light and life.
• He is not death and darkness.
• The smell of death and darkness should not permeate your being.
• So, here is this man with an unclean spirit in constant contact with the bones of dead men.
• The unclean spirit drove him to live in the uncleanliness of these tombs.
• An unclean man in an unclean place.

There’s a Connection Between Spirits and Strength

• Notice also, that no one could bind him, not with chains, not with shackles, not with shackles and chains.
• This particular unclean spirit gave this madman supernatural strength.
• This another truth which will help you.
• Spiritual strength has a spiritual connection.
• Do you remember Sampson, one of the judges of the Old Testament?
• Sampson was not a muscular guy in my opinion.
• He was probably a ninety-five-pound weakling.
• He had to have been.
• God would have left no doubt as to the origin of Sampson’s strength.
• If he was a body-builder muscular kind of guy, people might be tempted to think, his great strength came from his physique.
• Strength has a spiritual connection.

Judges 14:5–6 (KJV) 5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

• When the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, Sampson was endued with mighty strength.
• The Hebrew word ‘mightily’ means to rush or to move in a hurry.
• The anointing rushed upon Sampson.
• The Spirit moved on him in a hurry.
• And when it did, supernatural strength was imparted to him at that exact moment.
• When the anointing lifted off of him, so did the supernatural strength.
• Here’s another verse which shows the spirit-strength connection.

Psalm 18:32 (KJV) 32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect.

• Let’s go on and see that it’s only a single demon who possesses a person.

Mark 5:6–8 (KJV) 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

Jesus Had Revelation about What Kind of Spirit this Man Had

• Why did this demon cry out?
• Because Jesus had said to the demon, ‘Come out of him you unclean spirit.’
• When Jesus stepped off the boat and saw the man, when he made eye contact with him, he spoke to the demon and commanded him to come out.
• How did Jesus know what kind of demon this man had?
• He knew by gifts of the Spirit.
• Jesus either had a word of knowledge or He had discerning of spirits.
• Jesus tried to cast this spirit out by first calling out what kind it was.
• Notice that the demon did not come out.
• Instead, the demon spoke to Jesus the same way, saying the same thing as the first demon we looked at in chapter one.
• He cries out and says, ‘We don’t have anything to do with one another.’
• But this demons reaction is different than the first demon we looked at.
• The demon in chapter one of Mark recognized Jesus and spoke to Him and then when Jesus said, come out, he tore the man and came out.
• In this case, Jesus had a revelation and from that seat of revelation He commanded the demon to go and instead of going, he’s talking to Jesus.

Mark 5:9 (KJV) 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

Demons Can Be Cast Out By Type and Name

• So, this demon is not obeying.
• Think about that.
• Think about how this is further proof that Jesus operated as a man anointed by the Spirit of God. Because if He had spoken to this demon as the Son of God, there would have been no argument. Are you serious, the Son of God speaking and there’s argument? No way.
• Jesus had a revelation of the Spirit concerning what type of demon this was and the demon still didn’t leave.
• What does Jesus do?
• He asks the demon for his name.
• Now you may not understand this, but we should have enough sense to do ministry like Jesus did it.
• Just emulate Him.

Demons Like Certain Geographical Locations

Mark 5:9 (KJV) 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

• As we have previously mentioned, there were a great many unclean spirits in this area of the world.
• And this unclean spirit and the other six thousand demons did not want to leave the current locale.
• Here’s another unclean spirit in Mark’s gospel.

Mark 7:25 (KJV) But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

• So the demons barter with Jesus, not about coming out but, about staying in the region.
• Here’s why this is important.
• Demons congregate in kind and number.
• Certain parts of our country have certain types of demons.
• So if you happen to visit a certain part of the nation or any place in the world for that matter, and there’s always the same kind of sin that proliferates in the area, that’s the type of demons which are in that area.

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