Why I am a Christian (22)

Deliverance Ministry Convinces Me That Evil Is Real and That Christ Is Stronger

In 2012 I jotted down all the reasons I could think of why I am a Christian. I found 26 so I decided to serialise them in a blog every fortnight for a year.

I have so far covered themes from the realms of science, philosophy and theology before looking at five different facets of Jesus (I could have explored many more). Then I looked at the inspiration, invincibility and influence of the Bible. This is the fifth of the last nine posts which are more personal and are based on my experiences.

When I first became a Christian and read the Gospels, one of the things that stood out for me was Jesus’ encounters with people troubled by evil spirits.

I had gone to a school run by Roman Catholic nuns so I grew up quite familiar with stories from the Bible. I knew all about Noah and the ark, Jonah and the fish, Daniel and the den of lions, the first Christmas and Easter, Jesus walking on water, healing lepers and feeding the 5,000 with five barley loaves and a couple of pilchards.

Maybe the Sisters of Mercy just felt that the dramatic account of a naked, self-harming man living in a graveyard, screaming uncontrollably as he met Jesus, before his many demons drove a herd of pigs off a cliff to their deaths was a bit too hardcore for primary school kids. They might have had a point to be fair. I can see how a lesson with all that in it could unhelpfully spring-load a class of 30 wide-eyed 7 year-olds as they raced outside for morning play time!

There are 17 separate incidents of casting out evil spirits in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, most of which are repeated at least once. The Acts of the Apostles contains 7 additional stories, besides incidental references to Christ’s power over occult forces.

So, as I kept coming across these accounts as a young Christian, I could see that they were not an insignificant New Testament footnote people might not notice.

As I didn’t really know much about demon possession as a young Christian, I asked others what they knew about it. 

One person said that they were made up stories to show that good is greater than evil. This was the man who believed the resurrection didn’t really happen and that my conversion experience was an emotional high that I would probably grow out of. 

Others thought that talk of evil spirits was a 1st Century way of explaining some forms of mental ill health. “That was how they interpreted such things in those days” I was told. And it is certainly noticeable that the symptoms of demon possession described in some of the narratives appear very similar to an epileptic fit for example. So I was advised to think along those lines.

But the people I most trusted as wise spiritual guides took the accounts at face value. The conversations would go something like this:

“Why does the Bible talk about people being afflicted by evil spirits?”  

“Well, that’s because sometimes people are afflicted by evil spirits.”

“Oh, right.”

Ordained ministers are cautioned to be discreet about their own experience in this realm and, true to form, I rarely speak about what I have encountered. 

Perhaps this is due to the fear of discrediting a respected profession in the eyes of some. It's enough already to be routinely lampooned as bumbling losers in every TV sitcom without being filed away with the likes of David Icke under "total fruitcakes and complete nutters." (Icke believes that a secret group of reptilian humanoids controls the world). This is the kind of talk that gets sceptics scoffing about "fairies at the bottom of the garden."

Or perhaps this reluctance to publicise experiences of deliverance ministry is to discourage people from becoming overly fascinated with the paranormal. Jesus himself of course strictly warned those he delivered from evil spirits not to speak about it afterwards to anyone.

But one of the reasons I am a Christian is down to what I have seen with my own eyes in the realm of deliverance ministry. I do not claim to be any kind of expert and I am not involved in it that often but, if you were to press them, the vast majority of church leaders would tell you that they have encountered such things at some point.

The very first time I witnessed anything of this nature was when I was in my early twenties and was at an evening service in an Anglican church in North London. As the vicar was preaching, a menacing looking man, quite well-built, entered the building, interrupted the sermon and said that he was an enemy of Christ. “My god is the god of this world. Do you know who I’m talking about?” he said. (The god of this world is a reference in the New Testament to Satan). The vicar, Owen Thomas, looked straight at him and replied “Yes, I know exactly who you’re talking about and Jesus Christ is greater.” The man crept off and, to my knowledge, was never seen again. Well, maybe he was just drunk. I don't know.

In 1987, Kathie and I were attending a small church plant on the south coast. About 30 people made up the church at the time. One Sunday morning, a woman in her mid-thirties became restless and agitated as people shared the Lord’s Supper. She began to breathe heavily and, in an unnatural, hissing, low voice, started to express discomfort at being there. As I looked across at her, I noticed she was foaming copiously at the mouth. The elders of the church led her into an adjacent room and dealt with the situation discreetly. I don’t know exactly what they did but I guess they rebuked the spirit and ordered it to leave at once in the name of Jesus. She emerged after the service about 20 minutes later looking relaxed and at peace.

When we moved to the north-east of England my predecessor told me that at his very first service in one of my two churches he had to cast out a demon at the Communion rail. He had been ordained years before and, because he had had no experience or training in deliverance ministry, he was taught how to go about it when he was a curate by a younger lay member of the church - which was quite humbling. He was very grateful though because it came in very useful from time to time.

I still think it’s remarkable that dealing with evil spirits wasn’t mentioned at all in my three years of Anglican ordination training. I am grateful that it was adequately covered at Moorlands, where I trained in cross-cultural mission 15 years earlier.

I am not going to describe every experience of deliverance ministry I have been involved in but a couple of anecdotes from the north-east particularly come to mind. 

First of all, before one of our The Source services, as we were praying in preparation, I felt I heard the whisper of God in my soul “Tonight shall be a night of deliverance.” I shared what I had sensed with those gathered with me (the service leader and musicians) but I told no one else.

About half an hour into the service, during a particularly powerful phase of worship, I heard behind me a slight commotion followed by a clattering of chairs. I went over to investigate and found a woman who had fallen to the floor surrounded by three or four friends. They were all visitors from another church.

Asking what had happened, it became clear that the source of the incident was not something physical like vertigo or fainting; it was spiritual. The woman claimed she had been afflicted by an evil spirit for some time. Together with two church leaders from that visiting group, and in full view of those seated around them, we quietly but firmly commanded the spirit to leave her at once in the name of Jesus. Within a minute she had become calm and was able to be seated again.

Deliverance ministry such as this is quite rare in my experience – perhaps once every eighteen months or so on average. But this case was one of three in the space of a week!

One of the more remarkable instances of deliverance I have been involved in was when I had been in Stockton on Tees about six months. We received a request from a family on an estate to “exorcise” a house in which strange things had been going on. There were loud noises in the attic. Objects were being moved about in the house overnight. Things were going missing inexplicably. The children kept seeing a strangely dressed woman at night and couldn’t sleep.

Three of us went to the house and asked a few questions. It turned out that the father’s parents were both mediums and that there had been regular séances with a Ouija board in the house. The father, who was very welcoming and pleasant, would at one moment be speaking in his usual voice, but would then suddenly change tone and interrupt using foul language. When I began to read a passage of the Bible he stood straight up, came towards me and tried to tear the page out. Strangely, he had no recollection afterwards that he had been swearing or trying to damage my Bible. He was mortified when we told him. It was quite surreal.

We led the couple in a prayer of repentance, which they were very willing to say. They understood that what they had been allowing in their house had opened up the door to demonic powers. We delivered the man of his evil spirits, (if memory serves there were three), ordering them to leave in the name of Jesus. We prayed around each room of the house, including up in the attic. I understand that they went on to be part of a local church which was nearer to where they lived than ours. In any case, it seems that the problem of paranormal activity in the house was resolved at that time.

When something like that happens there is a feeling of elation when you travel home. It is amazing to see a clear demonstration of Christ’s authority and power over evil forces.

The 72 that Jesus sent out with his authority to preach, heal and drive out demons in Luke 10.1-20 were similarly overjoyed when they were involved in this kind of thing. “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."

But Jesus gave a curt reply: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

What did he mean? 

Several times in the Bible there is a reference to a book of life kept by God. On one level, it sounds about as riveting as a phone directory; it just contains a list of names. It is in fact a heavenly record of every man, woman and child who has ever believed in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and bowed to Him as their Lord.

According to the Bible, one day this book will be opened and those whose names are found there, whose names are "written in heaven" to use Jesus' own expression, will have the right to enjoy the eternal, inexpressibly glorious presence of God.

There’s only one way you can get your name into that book - and according to Jesus, not even casting out evil spirits makes the cut. If you've given your life to Christ, your name is already written there. Jesus said to rejoice about that. Furthermore, he promised that if you belong to him, nothing will ever be able to remove your name from its pages. He said, “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels” (Revelation 3:5). 

But there is a chilling warning for those who stubbornly reject Christ’s love. "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). Please, whatever you do, don’t let that fate worse than death befall you. Make sure your name is written in that book.

Because what I’ve experienced in the realm of deliverance, the 22^nd reason I’m a Christian, persuades me that these promises and warnings are absolutely worth taking seriously. 

Evil is quite real. And Jesus Christ is stronger. Evil spirits always leave following a command in his mighty name. Believe me, you want to make sure you're on his side.