I won’t point out all the “wrong” ways to do deliverance; I’ll just explain what we’ve found to be effective in our deliverance ministry.
We start with two important questions:
1. Are there demons present?
2. If yes, what is the name of the chief and ruling spirit?
2. If yes, what is the name of the chief and ruling spirit?
The demonic realm operates in a hierarchy. Basically, one demon is always in charge, calling the shots, running the demonized show.
Their hierarchy looks like the military. There is always ONE demon in charge in a person’s demonization… after all, they are demons; they will dog-fight to be the one to rule. We’ve found that if you find the name of the “chief and ruling” demon and tell it and all of it's minions to leave, all of them will go with their master. Cut off the head of the snake, the rest withers and dies… especially when you use the powerful authority of Jesus!
Why do we have to know the name (functional name) of the chief demon?
If you don’t specify the name of the gang leader, for example, “Evil spirit, come out in the name of Jesus!” they will send out a random lower-ranked demon and we have ourselves a lopsided deliverance. "Deliverance" occurred, but full freedom was not achieved. Oops!
Should we name all the demons present?
If we also try to name ALL of the demons present that might take all day and what if we missed one? That's still not good enough. God wants freedom. Complete freedom for us.
If you don’t specify the name of the gang leader, for example, “Evil spirit, come out in the name of Jesus!” they will send out a random lower-ranked demon and we have ourselves a lopsided deliverance. "Deliverance" occurred, but full freedom was not achieved. Oops!
Should we name all the demons present?
If we also try to name ALL of the demons present that might take all day and what if we missed one? That's still not good enough. God wants freedom. Complete freedom for us.
Jesus call out the name of Legion (that wasn’t the man’s name, it was the lead demon’s function) and commanded it and its cohorts into a bunch of pigs. (Read here: Mark 5:1-18)
Demons are like nitpicky lawyers. They know the rules better than we do and will take advantage of our lack of knowledge. If you don’t know their real name or functional name, then that is another loophole for them to get around Jesus’ authority. They don’t care what we get wrong, as long as they find a way to stay.
“Spirit of Stupidity, I command you to leave in the name of Jesus Christ!” yells Mr. Random at the Spirit of Fear.
“Huh, what? That’s not my name, you must not be talking to me.” The Spirit of Fear just stands there and doesn’t leave.
Utterly ineffective.
How do we find the demon's name?
Another sensitive issue is "How do we go about finding out the name of the demon in charge to get rid of it?" Do you suppose we should ask the demon what its name is?
Another sensitive issue is "How do we go about finding out the name of the demon in charge to get rid of it?" Do you suppose we should ask the demon what its name is?
No way! Demons are big-fat-liars!
“Hey, demon, what’s your name?” asks Mr. Gullible.
“My name is Captain-Poopy Pants,” says the liar.
“Captain-Poopy Pants, I command you to leave in the name of Jesus Christ!”
The liar just stands there and snickers because it just lied and therefore, Mr. Gullible has no authority over it because he didn’t pin-point the demon's name.
So, who do you suppose deliverance teams should ask to find out the name of the “chief and ruling spirit”? Someone who doesn't lie?. Someone who is unfailing? Someone who knows everything?
Obviously, the Holy Spirit. I’m pretty sure we’d get an honest answer from our Teammate!
Obviously, the Holy Spirit. I’m pretty sure we’d get an honest answer from our Teammate!
This is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit called discerning between spirits. The Holy Spirit is our connection to the knowledge needed to find out if there is a demon at work.
“Hey, Holy Spirit, what is the name of the chief and ruling spirit influencing Heather?” asks Mr. Prophetic.
“The Spirit of Fear,” answers the Holy Spirit. (Okay, some people can hear the words, some get the answer in a symbolic picture, or sensation, etc. We also use the “voice of 2 or 3 witnesses" idea from 2 Cor. 13:1.)
“Spirit of Fear, I command you to leave in authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Son of the Living God, the One who died on the cross, rose again on the third day, and is now seated at the right side of God the Father interceding for us,” commands Mr. Prophetic.
“Bummer, I gotta go,” says the Spirit of Fear because not only did the man specify the demon’s name, he also specified the authority of Jesus and the power behind the command.
What's with Functional Names?
Spirit of Fear, Jezebel, Anger-based Control Spirit, etc are the functional names. It’s like when people’s last names used to represent their occupation: Miller, Sawyer, Miner, etc. It’s the same idea. Some demons’ actual names are really wacky and beyond our American vernacular, so we use the functional name.
Spirit of Fear, Jezebel, Anger-based Control Spirit, etc are the functional names. It’s like when people’s last names used to represent their occupation: Miller, Sawyer, Miner, etc. It’s the same idea. Some demons’ actual names are really wacky and beyond our American vernacular, so we use the functional name.
And yes, we use that whole blurb about who Jesus is (highlighted in red above) because like I said before, demons are nitpicky about the rules. If we aren’t specific, they find a way to get out of what was just commanded of them. They are like an annoying little sister who won’t leave until finally you tell her that dad said she has to get out of your room.
Lastly, these functional names are NEVER to be used as a judgement against the person carrying them. We are not the sum of all our damage. We are God's kids and he values each and every one of us. For example, too often, strong women in the church are labeled Jezebels. I'm sure people didn't use their gift from the Holy Spirit to discern that person had a Jezebel so they could point a finger and be hateful toward them. Not cool.
But one fabulous things about learning the functional name of what had been ailing me for so long... I know what issues I need to face. Recovering from a spirit of fear is kind of like learning to trust again (or for the first time.) Learning to see things as they truely are, not through fear's filters. Bugs are are not out to kill me, the dark won't drag me off into oblivion.
Thank the Lord for Deliverance!
Lastly, these functional names are NEVER to be used as a judgement against the person carrying them. We are not the sum of all our damage. We are God's kids and he values each and every one of us. For example, too often, strong women in the church are labeled Jezebels. I'm sure people didn't use their gift from the Holy Spirit to discern that person had a Jezebel so they could point a finger and be hateful toward them. Not cool.
But one fabulous things about learning the functional name of what had been ailing me for so long... I know what issues I need to face. Recovering from a spirit of fear is kind of like learning to trust again (or for the first time.) Learning to see things as they truely are, not through fear's filters. Bugs are are not out to kill me, the dark won't drag me off into oblivion.
Thank the Lord for Deliverance!
**Disclaimer: Please don’t try this at home. I’m not telling you about deliverance so you can go throwing demons off yourself or other people. This is for informational purposes only. It’s best to seek deliverance from someone who understands the rules so something weird doesn’t happen. (I work with Bear Creek Ranch using Prophetic Deliverance. If you are interested in getting deliverance, go to their site and don’t go it alone. It should always be a group effort.)