By THE SPIRIT Luke wrote in chapter 8:
1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,
2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,
3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
Clearly healing the sick includes the removal of both evil spirits and infirmities. On one side people want to operate in the spiritual but on the other they do not want to deal with the reality of evil spirits. We must mature beyond the issue associated with evil spirits for Jesus dealt with them throughout the Gospels. Just consider Mary Magdalene’s impact on the ministry. She and other women became financial contributors to Jesus Christ’s earthy ministry. It is also reported that she went on and greatly impacted Christianity. Some saw Mary as the special disciple of Jesus who had a deeper understanding of his teachings and was asked to impart this to the other disciples. At any rate after being delivered from seven demons she had a notable impact on the ministry of Christ.
Whether it is one demon, seven demons, or a legion of demons, they all came out of the people they possessed at the command of Jesus. It should be no different with us as it was with our elder Brother.
In Acts chapter 19 by THE SPIRIT it is written:
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
In the above passage, Jewish exorcists attempted to use a formula to cast out demons. They had no personal relationship with FATHER through Our Lord Jesus Christ and as a result they failed miserably. The demons are not unaware of our relationship with Christ and they will generally attempt to stay away from those who are truly mature in Christ. FATHER will have us confront them at the appropriate time with the appropriate anointing for deliverance. We must not be anxious about our next confrontation with them.
FATHER worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul. We should expect no less than what FATHER did through HIS vessel Paul. Paul was delivered from a walk headed for certain death and destruction but Jesus delivered him. Mary Magdalene had seven demons one day then became one of the few mentioned contributors of Christ’s ministry in the Gospels. We must look beyond the issue of infirmities and evil spirits and realized that the person can become a willing vessel once delivered. That is what Love does.
Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 4:
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
We must develop zero tolerance for the devil and his demons to operate in our midst. We must not let compromise be found among us as we purpose to become fully mature in Christ. Let us no longer be intimidated by the enemy but instead trust in FATHER to bring forth the power and authority for each and every situation we find ourselves in… including deliverance. Let us purpose to set the captives free no matter what form of captivity they are dealing with.