5.17 Some Ways of Deliverance from Possession

from

Chapter 5: Deception and Possession

from War On the Saints
by Jesse Penn-Lewis

Scriptures Referenced in This Section:
          (Follow the Scripture links if you want to study the Scriptures for yourself.)
Jn. 7:17 π Rev. 22:17

Much depends upon the cause of the possession. In China, among the heathen, demons are cast out immediately after the simple prayer of faith by the Christians. In Germany, an evangelist of ripe experience, speaks of men delivered from demon-possession after one prayer, but others who were "weeks, months, years, before they got free," and this only after much wrestling in prayer by men of God, mighty in faith.

But for believers who have become possessed by evil spirits as a result of deception, the main principle of deliverance is them being undeceived. To deal with "possession" which is the fruit of deception, by commanding the spirits to depart, is to deal with the effect, rather than the cause; and to bring about only temporary, if any, relief, with the danger of the evil spirit returning quickly to his "house," i.e., the ground which gave him lodgment.

Believers who discover themselves to be possessed through deception, should therefore seek light upon the ground through which the evil spirits entered, and give it up. It is by ground given that they obtain access, and it is by ground removed that they depart. It is for this reason that emphasis is placed in this book upon the understanding of truth, rather than upon the aspect of the casting out of demons, as it is written for the deliverance of believers deceived and possessed through accepting counterfeits of the working of God.

Deceived and possessed believers should also be taught the fundamental principle of the attitude of the human will in relation to God, and Satan, and his deceiving spirits. The Scriptures are full of this truth. "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know..." ( Jn. 7:17 ); "he that will, let him take..." ( Rev. 22:17; top )

Let it be emphasized again: deceiving spirits are obliged to get the consent of the man's will ere they can enter, and as to how far they enter. This they do by counterfeit and deception. They can only obtain the believer's surrender to their power, by feigning to be God. In fact, obsession, and possession, in all cases, both of regenerate and unregenerate, is based upon deception and guile; for it is not until a man is very fully under the power of Satan that he willfully, and knowingly, yields himself up to him.

Deliverance, therefore, requires the active exercise of the will, which must, in reliance upon the strength of God, and in the face of all beguilements, and suffering, be kept steadily set against the powers of darkness, to nullify previous consent to their working.

Deceiving spirits also counterfeit God in His holiness, and in His righteousness. The effect in such a case is to make the believer afraid of God, and to shrink away from, and loathe all spiritual things. They try to terrorize those who are timid and fearful; to influence those who yearn for power; or to draw into their control those who are open to the attraction of love and happiness.


[5.16] Exterior Manifestations of the Character of Obsession
π
[5.18] Physical Senses Should Not Feel God's Presence
5: Deception and Possession - Table of Contents
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