The Discerning of Spirits - Frank Hammond PDF

 

THE DISCERNING OF SPIRITS BY  FRANK  H  HAMMOND

KIN KI NDLE DLE ISBN I SBN:: 978-0892 978 -089228-36 28-369-9 9-9

Copyright © 2014. Impa Im pact ct Chri hriss tian Boo ook ks

IMPACT  CHRISTIAN BOOKS, I NC. 3 32 Lef Leffi fing ngw well Ave., S Suite uite 1 01 Kirkwoo Kirkw ood d, MO 63 6312 122 2 (314) 822-3309 www.impactchristianbooks.com All pas s ages are are from from the  KING JAMES VERSION u  unl nles esss otherwi otherwis e noted.

ALL RIGHTS RIGHTS RESERVED R ESERVED

 

CONTENTS CON TENTS I NTRODUCTION DEMONST EMONSTRAT RATIO IONS NS OF THE POWER TO CAST OUT DEMONS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES PRINCI PLES OF WARFARE THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ARE SPIRIT ARE GOD’ GOD ’S EQUIPPING THE HOLY SPIRIT SPIR IT AND AND NOT NO THI HING NG ELSE ELSE RESORTING TO THE VOICE OF DEMONS FOR GUIDANCE HOW, THEN, ARE WE TO KNOW THE STRATEGIES OF THE ENEMY? TWELVE REASONS NOT TO SPEAK TO DEMONS THE OPERAT OPERATIO ION N OF THE GIF GIFT T OF KNOWLEDGE

 

THE OPERAT OPERATIO ION N OF THE GIF GIFT T OF DISCERNING DISCE RNING OF SPIRITS MY PRAYER PRAYER FOR YOU YO U PARTING PA RTING WORDS WORD S APPENDIX ON MARK 16:9–20

 

INTRODUCTION

When God calls us into ministry, whatever that ministry is, God equips us. This is a fundamental principle in the way God works in our life. God has called all of us into spiritual warfare and spiritual  batt  ba ttlle. His His Church hu rch wil will be a militant ta nt Ch urch urch,, an and d th thee g at ates es o helll s hall hel hall not no t pr p revail against agains t her h er.. I s ay thi t hiss to enco encourage urage you y ou in two ways. First, so that you would know your potential in the Body od y of o f Chri Chriss t, that you yo u can be equ e quiipped pp ed b by y the t he Hol Holy y Spir Spirit to face whatever challenges are in your life, or your in your family. Second, I encourage you that the gates of hell are real, the enemy is real and therefore spiritual warfare is real. God has given this ministry of spiritual battle not just to me, Frank  Hamm Ham mond, on d, or o r to my wife wife Ida Mae, M ae, but b ut to yo you. u. Y You ou are a s oldier, oldier, and because God has called you to be a soldier, he wants to equiip you equ y ou with with s piri piritual tu al armor armor and s piri piritual tu al weapo weapons ns . Every believer should be involved in spiritual battle. Let’s take a quick look at this commission to warfare in Scripture to  back  ba ck thi th is po poiint u p. In Matthew 10, Jesus commissioned the twelve disciples to go out ou t and an d to minister nist er..

 

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean s piri pirits ts,, to cas ca s t them t hem out, ou t, and to heal al alll manner ann er of  s icknes cknes s and all all manner ann er of dis dis ease. eas e. What is the first task Jesus gives his disciples in this commission? He gave them power against unclean spirits. He s ays “I give give you y ou pow po wer,” er,” and thi t hiss is pow po wer over unclean spi s pirrits to cast them out. So, the twelve went with the authority that God had given them and they accomplished that ministry that God had ass as s igned gn ed them th em.. The identical thing happened in the 10th chapter of Luke where Jesus commissioned the seventy disciples. How do we know? Because the first thing they reported back to Jesus was that demons were subject to them: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy th y name. name. Again, the power and authority required for the ministry o delive deli verance rance were given to Jesus Jes us ’ foll followers as a s He comm commis s ioned on ed them. Note that there was not some special ceremony, and no event eve nt that th at too t ook k place for this this com co mmis s ion to be v val aliid. A Alll we are told in Scripture is that the Lord commissioned His followers. Why? Wh y? Becaus Becaus e the th e pow po wer and autho aut horrity was alr already resi es ident den t iin n His name.  Now pay pa y s pecial pe cial atte at ten n tion to th thiis . Lat ater er on, on , in Mark Ma rk 16 16::17 17,,

 

Jesus gave the same commission to the entire church: And he s ai aid d unto u nto them the m, Go Go ye y e into into all all the world, orld, and preach th thee gos go s pel to every creature… And these signs shall follow them that  bellieve;  be ev e; In m my y nam na me s hal ha ll they th ey cas t ou outt de devil vilss Fi First rst th thee twelve, then the seventy, and now the entire Church is being inducted into God’ od ’s fight gh t against demon demonss . What Wh at ar a re we to concl con clud udee fr from om thes e three t hree comm commis s ions on s ? Sim Simply ply that tha t every b bel eliiever ssho hould uld be involve nv olved d in sspir piriitu tual al bat battle tle iin n s ome ome form or fashion fas hion.. Yo u are a re a s oldi oldier er by virtu virtuee of o f your you r citiz citizens ens hip in in th thee King Kingdo dom m of God God.. H Hee didn’t just send out one squad out of the church to do a work  of deliverance here and there. He sent 100% of the twelve, and 100% of the seventy and finally 100% of His Church to the ministry of o f casti cast ing out ou t dem d emon onss . All of us should be involved in the ministry of deliverance in som s omee fashi fash ion. on . When Whe n God God calls calls , He He equips eq uips!!

 

DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE POWER TO CAST OUT DEMONS We read in the first chapter of Mark, where Jesus went into the synagogue. There was a man present who disrupted the meeting under the power of an unclean spirit. Jesus rebuked that th at s piri pirit and an d comm commanded an ded it to t o leave him. him.  Now the th e s cribe cribess and an d the th e Phari Phariss ees who were were gath ga thered ered in the synagogue that day were amazed at what took place! They knew about evil spirits. They had methods that they employed to deal with evil spirits, but they had never seen such authority. They looked at each other and said “what thing is this? What kind of new doctrine are we being introduced to here?” “This man Jesus doesn’t use incantations, he doesn’t use gimmicks in order to get spirits out of people. He just s peaks to them. them. He He s peaks with the word of o f authori auth ority ty.” .” Jesus has given us the same power and the authority to deal with evil spirits that He demonstrated in the synagogue that day. And this episode began first and foremost with Jesus discerni disc erning ng an evi ev il s piri pirit in the th e man. man. In the eighth chapter of Acts it speaks of the ministry o Phillip, the Phi th e evang eva ngel eliis t. It It say s ayss in verse v erse five five::

 

Then Phil Philip went en t down d own to t o the th e city of of S Sam amari aria, a, and  preach  prea ched ed Chris Chris t un u n to th them em.. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and s eeing the t he miracles racles which he h e di d id. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

What a fascinating evangelism technique! It says in the IV about abo ut the th e crowd Phil Philip was preachi preach ing to th that at “they “t hey all all paid close attention to what he said.” Why? Because, it says, they s aw the miracles racles that th at Phil Philip was perf pe rform ormiing unde un derr the ano a noiinti nt ing of the Holy oly Spiri Spirit. They s aw the “s igns gn s that he perf perform ormed” ed” and as a result they listened intently to him. The first miracle mentioned that they saw was deliverance, the casting out o demons! Evil spirits were crying out and leaving people, and the torment of those people was ended. Miracles are not natural happenings, they are supernatural happenings. They were witnessing a supernatural miracle of deliverance. Philip was moving in the gifts of the Spirit and lives were being forever changed. He was equipped for the ministry God called h im to. to . The apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians, in paraphrase, “I

 

didn’t come before you with eloquent speech and such tactics. I was feeble in that department. But I, Paul, did come to you in a demonstration and in the power of God’s Holy Spirit.” So when Paul went out to minister, he was equipped by God. He wasn’t trying to convince people intellectually. It was a spiritual manifestation that followed Paul, and the Holy Spirit was coming with power, and with convicting miracles to back  him up. Paul was ministering by the inspiration and the power and the authority of the spirit of God. And that is what God has callled us cal u s to do, do , to mi minis nis ter in in that t hat s ame ame fashi fash ion. on . To repeat, when God calls you to do something He equips you yo u to t o do d o it. You may not n ot be in the th e forefr forefron ont, t, yo you u may may not n ot be in front of people leading and teaching every day about warfare and the ministry of deliverance, but God has a place for you in the ranks of His army. And if you will find that place fill that  place, y ou can know with with co confi nfide denc ncee that th at God has ha s an equipping for you. He will give you all that you need. God has comm com mis s ioned on ed the th e whol who le church ch urch to warfare. arfare. Let me give you a personal example of this in my life. When God call called me to preach I sai sa id, “Oh, God God I can’t do d o that t hat!! I do don’t n’t know how to stand up in front of people. I’m scared and it makes me nervous when I stand up in front of two or three  peop  pe oplle and a nd try to ex exp p ress res s mys elf.” elf.” I w was as s o tim timiid an and d s hy, I felt felt inferior in my abilities. I didn’t even know whether I had

 

anything any thing to s ay if I s tood too d up u p in in fron frontt of peopl peop le. N Neverthel evertheles esss , I obeyed God. Even though it was torturous to begin with, to go against al a ll the opp o pprress es s ion that t hat the t he enem ene my was thr th rowing owing agai ag ains nstt me, I found out that God equipped me for what he wanted me to be b e and what he wanted me me to do. d o. Along those lines, Ida Mae used to ask me “why do you s ou ound nd like the th e las lastt pr p reacher you yo u heard h eard preach?” You You s ee, I would listen to other preachers and then I would imitate them hopi ho ping ng to be b e succes s ucces s ful. ul. Then Then I learned that th at all all I had to be b e was was ust brother Frank! Thank God I don’t have to be somebody elss e; I can be who Chris el hris t made made me to be. be .

 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF WARFARE

I want to lay down a few fundamental premises, on the subject of the equipping of the saints. I am talking to you as a deliverance people, whom God has called into spiritual warfare and called into spiritual battle. If I will do what he has called me to do, and stay within the limits and the boundaries of that, then I will have my reward and so will you. The first premise, we have already seen is that God equips us for service. The second principle I want you to lay hold of is that God awards us not based on our successes but according to our  faithfulness. He wants all of us to be faithful to our calling. And everyone has the same basic calling as expressed through the commission to the Church mentioned earlier. It is, generally speaking, as we move into this broad commission that we find our specific, unique ministry. The next principle I want you to lay hold of is in second Corint orinthians hians 10, where where it say s ayss : “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty in God.”

 

This is another premise, a foundational principle I want you to lay firm hold on, because it is vital to what God’s Spirit is saying to us in this hour. The weapons we use in spiritual  batt  ba ttlle are not no t fles fleshly hly or carnal carn al weapo weapon n s , b ut th they ey are mighty, gh ty, s up uper ernat natural ural weapons eapo ns from God. od . They are are mi mighty gh ty becau becauss e they t hey are divinely bestowed, spiritual weapons. The weapons of our  warfare are not carnal! You canno can nott figh fightt the th e devil d evil with with carnal weap weapon onss . You cannot, for instance, use your fist and punch him or his demons in the nose. We have to instead use the weapons that God has made available to us, and know that they are mighty indeed nd eed.. They are effective. They Th ey wil will work work!! Fleshly weapons are not effective against the devil, only the weapons God has supplied are effective. Right in line with that principle, in Ephesians chapter 6 Paul says we “wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers.” Our warfare is not against fleshly beings, despite the enemy’s attempt to convi attempt con vince nce us other oth erw wis e. Our Our battle is is against agains t spir s piriitual forces for ces at work work in in people’ peo ple’ss lives ve s . Paul says to put on the whole armor of God, the complete armor of God, that you may stand against the “wiles of the devil.” The equipment that God gives to us is not lacking; we do not have a partial, limited amount of armor, but we have a full armor. We have all that we need in the battle against the hoss ts of hell. ho hell.

 

A verse that gave me great comfort when I first started out in the deliverance ministry was Luke 10:19. I was so fearful o the enemy’s retaliation! But then the Lord spoke this verse to me, and it sett s ettlled deep d eep in my my sou s oull: Behold, I give unto you power to tread on s erpents erpents and s corpions corpions , and over o ver all all the p powe owerr of  the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Never again, ag ain, from from that th at po poiint on onwar wards ds , did did I ha have ve an any y fear o the enemy’s power. Jesus told us that we can tread upon the enemy, even the serpents and scorpions of the demonic kingdo ng dom m, and noth n othiing s hall hall hur hu rt us us.

 

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT SPIRI T ARE GOD’S EQUIPPING  Now the th e gif gifts ts of the th e Hol Holy y Spiri Spirit repres represen ents ts God’ od ’s empowerment to us, as believers. In first Corinthians 12,  beginn  be ginniing in ve vers rsee s even ev en there th ere com co mes a lis ting of the th e gif gifts ts o the s pir pirit. You s ee when God God s ays he empo empow wers ers us, us , that is not n ot something nebulous, it’s not something indefinite. God has said there are channels through which His power will flow. There are avenues through which His Holy Spirit will operate. And here, in 1 Cor. 12, He begins to mention these channels and avenues . They They are are distributed distributed by the s pir pirit and an d tthey hey are are for  the benefit of everyone who is involved, every member of the  body  bo dy of Chri Chriss t. The first two gifts listed are the word of wisdom  and the word wor d of k nowledge nowl edge . Nex  faith th  and healing , Nextt we find find the th e g giifts of fai  prop ophe hecy cy , discerning of spirits spirits, tongues  an then miracles and pr and d interpretation of tongues. If you count all of those there are

nine sup s upernatu ernatural ral gifts gifts of the th e Holy Holy Spiri Spirit. Let Let me me say s ay this t his aaga gaiin, these are the channels by which the Holy Spirit’s power and authority comes into our life as we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. We become a spiritually equipped, supernaturally

 

endowed believer. It is through these gifts that we are empowered to do the ministry and the work of God, His great commission. Right in the middle of that listing is the gift of the discerning of spirits . This is one of the main gifts needed for 

casting out demons and the ministry of deliverance. It is a  power  po werful ful weapo weapon n that th at is mos t ne need eded ed in the th e ministry nis try o s pir piriitual tu al warfar warfare. e. We We mus mus t earnes earne s tly des ire the operation o peration of o f th that at gift!

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOTHING ELSE

Here is another premise. We must rely upon the Holy Spirit for the ministry of deliverance and nothing else. We must not lean upon our own understanding, we must not lean upon the arm of the flesh, or the voice of demons, but we must learn to rely completely on the Holy Spirit to empower us and to guide us in all that we do in deliverance and spiritual warfare. Why? Because if we attempt to minister deliverance without the gifts of the Spirit, and the empowerment thereof, then it will not be long until we resort to the flesh for our help. Here is where my conviction convicti on rests es ts.. Somebody asked me once, “Brother Frank, when you begin to minister to someone with the problem of schizophrenia, as  Pigss in the th e Parlo Pa rlor  r , with what demon do you described in  Pig always start?” I said “I don’t start with any particular demon,

 becau  be causs e the th e ministry nis try de depe pend ndss on a cas e-by-cas e-by -casee bas ba s is , and an d I havee to rely hav rely on o n the t he Holy Spiri Spiritt for every cas e.” Every cas c asee of o f deli deliverances ve rances is s ep eparate. arate. You can wri write something down and say here’s the format that I will follow. But when we rely on formula we are not listening to the Holy Spiri Spi rit, t, and we wi will mis s a lot lot of the th e thi th ings ng s that th at God God wants an ts to s ay

 

to us and show us. We are tying our hands by tradition and nott lis no lis tening to t o the t he gui g uidan dance ce of o f the Holy Holy Spiri Spirit. What I’m trying to say is this: become dependent upon the Holy Spirit! Don’t become dependent upon past ways o s ucces s or anythi anyt hing ng els els e. Make Make the th e deci dec is ion, on , com comm mit to the fact that you are going to follow the Spirit each time you minister. Becaus e if if you don’t, do n’t, you will becom beco me depen de penden dentt u upo pon n fl fles eshl hly y ways, in a sense eating “yesterday’s manna.” The things God gave for yesterday’s ministry were good, just like the manna received by the Israelites in the wilderness. However, one day it was goo g ood d but b ut the th e nex ne xt day d ay it was was fil filled with with worms orms and s tank tan k. As a side note, I have seen a lot of fleshly things done in the name of deliverance. I went to minister to a 12-year-old girl not long ago, and when the mother brought the girl for  ministry, she wanted to know before we started ministering  you u  going to do this?” She was very cautious. “now how are  yo She said the last time she took her daughter to a deliverance minister, when she got home “her daddy was very upset.” I asked “why was her daddy upset?” “Well,” she said, “she was  bruiis ed all ov  bru over er h er body.” bo dy.” I s aid “h “how ow on earth d id th that at happen?” “Well,” she said “the deliverance ministry I went to explained to us that certain demons indwell certain areas of the  body  bo dy and an d the t he way to t o get g et the t hem m o ut was to po poun und do on n tha t hatt part p art o the body. And so they had pounded on her legs and her back, and when she got home she had bruises.” This is a completely

 

unacceptable, and entirely flesh-based (e.g. carnal) form o ministry nist ry.. I feel it is important po rtant to tell you yo u s om omee of o f the thi th ing ngss that th at we have encountered when people have moved away from God’s Spirit and into the flesh in order to administer  deliverance. I have heard of instances where, when faced with difficulty getting a demon out of somebody, the minister will grab the communion wine and pour it down the person’s throat. They are resorting not to the word of authority, not to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, but to fleshly and carnal means. We were were in in a confer co nference ence s everal years ago in Penns Pennsyl ylvan vaniia. Evil spirits took over a young man in the back of the auditorium. He was a young man in his early 20s, and he was completely taken over by evil spirits and thrown to the floor. Ida Mae made her way to the back of the auditorium to see i she could help, as there were not many counselors in that meeting. By the time she arrived at the back of the room, she could coul d not no t even see s ee the young you ng man man because becaus e he was was cover co vered ed up with Bibles. Everybody around him had thrown their Bibles on top to p o off Hi Him! You know the th e word of o f God God is th thee “s word of o f the s pir piriit,” righ right? t? Yes Yes,, but not no t in thi th is manner ann er.. I ha have ve s een peop pe oplle trying to get the devil out of somebody by laying a Bible on their head, or on their chest. This is a fleshly error. Saints, the way you yo u us u s e the th e Word Word of o f God God is to qu quote ote the word of of G God od.. L Let et

 

the s word of the Spir Spirit com co me out ou t of o f your yo ur m mou outh: th: “thu “thuss s aith aith the Lord!” That’s what Jesus did. He did not throw a scroll at the devil during the wilderness temptation! He quoted Scripture. I we don d on’t, ’t, we are are apt ap t to t o fall fall into nt o fles fleshly hly meth method odss . I’ve seen ministers lay crucifixes on people, spin rosary  bead  be adss ; all s orts of thi th ing ngss . I’ve I’ve even ev en he heard ard peop pe oplle do a ritu ritual al chanti chan ting ng of o f the bl b lood. oo d. “The “The blood, blood , bloo blood, d, the bl bloo ood, d, the blood, etc.” Now the Scripture says we overcome him, the devil, by the blood of the Lamb. But you use the weapon of the blood  by tel te lling the th e de dev v il what the th e bloo blood d of Jesus Jes us does do es,, not no t by chanting it! “The blood of Jesus has justified this man! The  blood  bloo d of Jesus Jes us s anct an ctiifies fies thi th is man! an ! The blood bloo d o f Jes Jesus us has ha s redeemed this man! The blood of Jesus has atoned for this man’s sin! The blood of Jesus has cleansed him!” Tell the demons what the blood of Jesus means. The blood of Jesus is ust as alive as it was the moment it was shed on Calvary. Do not let it become a meaningless ritual in your mouth. Tell the dev il what the blood is all devi all about! abo ut! In another instance, I saw some people ministering deliverance to a man, and they kept swallowing air and  burpi  bu rping ng.. They The y woul wou ld s wall wallow air and a nd bu burp, rp, an and d th then en s wall wallow more air and burp. I asked him what was going on, and they told me they were helping the man get delivered. They said “We receive the spirits that are in him, and after we have invited his spirits into us then we then burp them out of us.” I

 

spent one whole day ministering to a preacher’s wife who had  practiiced that  pract th at,, invi nv iting ot othe herr peop pe oplle’s e’s evi ev il s pir piriits int nto o he hers rself elf.. That is is dangerous dan gerous s tuff, tuff, and enti ent irely ely uns u ns cri criptur ptu ral al.. I’ve known people who wanted to get rid of an evil spirit and so they stuck a finger down their throat in order to vomit. ow, quite often when people are getting deliverance they might throw up phlegm and mucus, but very (very!) seldom have I ever seen anyone regurgitate food when they are getting ministry. Anyhow, you don’t get deliverance by induced vomiting. This is a fleshly, carnal method and is theref th erefore ore of no eff e ffect. ect. I want you to see what the Spirit of God is saying to us here. If you do not rely upon the Holy Spirit we will become carnal, fles fleshly hly,, and wil will s tart us u s ing fles fleshly hly meth method odss trying trying to get rid of o f spi sp iritual being beingss and it canno can nott be b e do done ne that t hat way. ay.

 

RESORTING TO THE VOICE OF DEMONS FOR GUIDAN GUIDANCE CE If you do not depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide you in the ministry of warfare and deliverance you might even find yourself resorting to the help of demon spirits. I know many cases cas es where he re the th e del d eliiverance ve rance minister nist er fel felll int into o th thee trap t rap of o f call calling upon the evil spirits to guide them and help them with the ministry of deliverance. For ins ins tance, tan ce, they th ey s ay “Now demon demon,, tel telll me what you y ourr nam namee is, how many are there with you, what is your strategy in this  perso  pe rson n ’s life?” etc. Now when you do that you are depending upon the demons to guide the ministry rather than the Lord! Thiss is why God gave Thi gav e the th e discerning of spirits , so that we will not have to talk to evil spirits, or rely on them for information,  butt we can get  bu g et our o ur iinfo nform rmat atiion from from God. od . This brings us to another foundational principle. To rely upon evil spirits rather than upon the Lord is a denial that God od’’s hel he lp is s uffi ufficient cient.. The Holy Holy Spi Sp irit rit is our ou r one s upernatu up ernatural ral source, not the unclean spirit, because God is a jealous God. Some people do not realize how jealous God is. There is a  pass s age  pa ag e in the th e Ol Old d Testa es tam ment en t th that at te tellls us that th at his na nam me is

 

“jealous.” Now that’s not a sinful kind of jealousy, mind you. But God has a right to His people. He has created us and he has redeemed edeemed us us. The Scri Scriptur ptu re says s ays that God is like a hus hu s band ban d to us us,, and we are the bride of Christ. Jesus is the bridegroom. Now how would a husband or wife feel if their spouse went somewhere else to get their needs met? That spouse will become jealous and they would have a right to be jealous. God will not permit us to go to any other source other than Himself for wisdom, knowledge, guidance or power. In fact, He says anyone who has done that has committed spiritual adultery. That is the reason reas on we canno can nott go to evil e vil s piri pirits for kno nowl wledg edgee or wi wis dom do m. In the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy there is a listing o those things which are considered occult. This list includes “observers of times;” He is talking here about horoscopes and astrology. It mentions “divination,” as in water witching or  divining

metals.

He

mentions

“necromancy,”

that

is

communicating with evil spirits. He talks about “witchcraft,” which also involves a communication with evil spirits. God says these things things are are an abomination to Him. In fact He mentions in that context, and tells the Israelites, that this list of the occult is the reason that He is giving them the land of Canaan Canaan.. Becaus Becaus e thos tho s e peopl peo ple, e, the C Canaan anaaniites who had lived in this land, polluted their land and themselves through seeking the help of demon spirits. That is the reason

 

God took their inheritance away from them, and gave it to Israel. He goes on to say that if Israel were to turn to those things then He would take the land away from them, too! God says to have communication with evil spirits is an abomination, and s piri piritual tu al adul adu ltery, tery, and it incurs the th e wrath wrath of G God od.. “But “B ut,” ,” you yo u s ay, “thi “th is is an excep exception, tion, I am an ex excep ception, tion, and an d these are unusual circumstances. So I can lay aside what God said.” That’s what brought King Saul into trouble, remember? His back was to the wall, and he was so ready to hear  something from God. But God was not speaking to him. And instead ns tead of correcti correcting ng his relati relation onss hip hip with God s o that t hat he cou coulld hear from Him, he went to the witch of Endor for help. He felt ustified

in

this,

because

he

was

under

a

pressured

circumstance and a very difficult situation. We all know what happened to Saul as a result of his involvement with the witch of Endor. He lost his life. The reality is that there are often things coming up that tempt us to take information from the evil s piri pirits we are combat combatiing. ng . But But God s ays no, no , don don’t ’t do it. If I were to rely on evil spirits to give me information or to give me understanding during a deliverance session, then I would be doing the same thing that a witch does, the same things that tha t a wiz wizard ard does d oes , or that a necromancer necromancer does doe s , or that a consultant with the departed dead does. Therefore I would be an abom ab omiinati nat ion to the t he Lord! Lord! If we seek light or wisdom or knowledge from evil spirits we

 

have sought the kingdom of darkness. The Bible says Satan’s kingdom is the kingdom of darkness. We are to be translated out of darkness into the kingdom of God’s son, which is a Kingdom of light. If we are walking with the Lord we are walk alking in the th e ligh light. t. If you yo u s eek unders un derstan tanding ding from from evil s pir piriits then you have sought light amid darkness. Jesus said on the sermon on the Mount, if your light be darkness, how great is that darknes darknes s ! If If the ligh lightt that t hat you yo u have hav e cam camee from from the king ngdo dom m of darknes darknes s , you may call it ligh lightt but b ut God calls calls it dark d arknes nes s . This brings us to another foundational principle: to rely upon evil spirits rather than upon the Lord is a denial that God’s help is sufficient. This is how the mixture settles into a  perso  pe rson n ’s life, where s omeo omeone ne mig ht s ay “I wil will lis lis te ten n a littl tt le to God and a li little to evil e vil s piri pirits ts.. And I’m s mart enoug eno ugh h tto o s ort ou outt the difference between what’s true and what’s not true.” Evil spirits, much like their overlord Satan, mix a little truth among their lies. Sometimes they will even sound like they’re in line with the word of God. But let me ask the question, does a deceitful lying spirit ever tell you anything that’s true in order  to help you? No. He’s not trying to help you, he’s trying to deceive you, distract you, to put you off. His only concern is hind hi nder eriing the person’ perso n’ss deliverance. deliverance. And s o h hee gives yo you u a li little ttle  baiit. W hen  ba he n you yo u take ta ke the th e ba baiit, he leads ead s you yo u do down wn a path pa th s om omewhere ewhere els els e away from from the th e truth. trut h. So the question becomes is God sufficient? Is God’s

 

wisdom adequate? Are the gifts of the Spirit enough? If God’s wisdom and knowledge is not sufficient, then I would rather  not be in the deliverance ministry. I would rather not practice deliverance than to rely upon the lies and distortion of evil spirits.

 

HOW, THEN, ARE WE TO KNOW THE STRATEGIES OF THE ENEMY? In 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria had a problem. He was coming in battle against God’s people Israel, and every time he would meet in secret and counsel with his military leaders, it turned out that the leaders of Israel knew exactly what he was up to. They knew all of his secret plans. So he decided that somebody within his inner circle must be a spy, that there was an in former former in in his mids t. Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and s uch a place shall s hall be my cam ca mp. And An d the th e man man of o f God [El [Elis ha] sent s ent unto un to th thee ki king of  Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a  place; for thith thither er the Sy Syri rian anss are com co me down. do wn. And An d the t he king king of Is Is rael s ent to the t he p pllace whi which ch the t he man of God told him and warned him of, and s aved hims hims elf elf there, not once on ce nor n or twice. twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for for this this thing; and an d he called called his ser s ervan vants ts,,

 

and s aid aid unt u nto o the t hem m, Wi Will ye not no t s hew me me which which of  us is for the th e king king of Is Is rael? rael? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou s peakest in thy t hy bedcham bed chamber ber.. How will we then find out what the enemy is up to? How will we know about abo ut his wil wiles, es , and the t he dec decei eitful tful thi th ing ngss that th at he h e iiss  plotting  plot ting?? The Scri Script pture ure say s ayss that th at we w wiill de defeat feat the t he d dev eviil “in his gates.” The gates in the Old Testament were where the leaders drew up their plans for battle. The gates of hell are where the kingdom of Satan draws up his strategy and his council of war. Jesus said the “gates of hell” will not prevail against His Church. This means we will defeat the enemy in his very place of counsel and strategy. How can we possibly know the s trategy of the enemy? enemy? God can tell tell us! us ! Amen? Amen?  Now look oo k in Jos hua hu a 9. This oc occu curs rs when Jos hua hu a was moving into the land of Canaan and conquering his enemies. There were Gibeonites that came to deceive Joshua. They  preten  pret end d ed that th at th they ey were were from from a coun co untry try far o off ff,, becau be causs e they th ey knew Joshua was conquering all of the land of the Canaanites. So they asked Joshua for an agreement that he would not attack them, to spare them in his conquest. And so they  presen  pres ente ted d tthe heiir evidence eviden ce (i (in n paraph p araphras rase): e): “loo “look k at ou ourr w worn orn-ou -outt clothes, we traveled so far that even our clothes are worn out

 

trying to get here.” And “when we started out, we had a fresh supply of bread, and look at how moldy our bread is. This  prove  pro vess that th at we cam camee from from a lon long g way away.” away.” And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league eag ue with with them th em,, to let them th em live: and the th e pri p rince ncess of the congregati con gregation on s ware are unto un to them t hem.. Joshu Jos huaa 9: 9:1 15 Joshua, as great a man as he was, dealt with them in a simplistic way, by questioning the enemy and taking information from them. But, you see, they were deceivers and liars. As great a man as Joshua was, he did not detect this. He did di d not n ot dis dis cern it it becaus b ecaus e he di d id not n ot go to God for wi wis dom do m and knowledge. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did nott inquir no inq uiree o off the th e L LOR ORD. D. Joshu Jos huaa 9: 9:1 14 That is where they made their mistake. They sought their  inform nfo rmat atiion from from the th e eene nem my rather rath er th than an from from God. od . Many are making the same error today. They’re looking to the enemy and asking him to tell them what he his strategy is, rather than tha n s eeki eeking the couns cou ns el of God God and ask as king Him to s ho how w

 

thee ways in which th which the t he devil d evil is work working to de decei ceive ve..

 

TWELVE REASO TWELVE REASONS NS NOT TO SPEAK TO DEMONS I have put together a list of 12 reasons why I do not talk to evill s pir evi pirits ts.. I think this lis lis t sup s uppo porrts what we have hav e been s aying aying so far, that reliance on the Holy Spirit, and not the spirits speaking through the deliverance candidate, is the only effective means and sure way to accomplish the great commission of the Lord.

R EASON EASON 1 Demon emonss are all all liars. Satan is the th e father fath er of li lies, es , and he is th thee head of their kingdo ng dom m. So, So, nothing not hing they th ey s ay can be reli relied upo u pon. n.

R EASON 2

 

I have access to truth, all truth. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, trut h, so s o I don’t don ’t need ne ed information nformation from from evil s piri pirits. ts .

R EASON EASON 3 God is a jealous God, and I will look to him alone for  wis dom do m, gui gu idance da nce,, kno know wledge ed ge and an d power po wer..

R EASON EASON 4 Talk alking with demon demonss dis dis cour cou rages the us usee of the th e gif gifts ts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit says to covet these gifts and Paul encourages us to stir up the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to desire earnestly the gifts. This is a matter of obedience to the Lord.

R EASON EASON 5

 

Relying upon information coming from demons gives them thee ri th righ ghtt to to d diirect or o r con control trol the th e m miin is try. try. You are no lon onge gerr in in control con trol of the ministry nist ry,, they the y are.

R EASON EASON 6 There is no sound scriptural basis for conversing with demons.

R EASON EASON 7 Requiring them to talk through person is inconsiderate o thee perso th pe rson. n. It It is a very v ery de-edifying de-edifying ex expe peri rienc ence. e.

R EASON EASON 8 I must flee the temptation of pride by boasting that I have talked talk ed with with dem de mons on s .

 

On this point, a few months ago I heard from a man who was in the ministry of deliverance. He claimed he was talking to demon dem onss in order to get ge t information nformation from from them th em.. They gav gavee h hiim a lot of information about how their hierarchy was set up, what their names were, etc.  He felt that no one could successfully minister deliverance unless they had this private information that came from the mouth of evil spirits, information that he was now in possession of. He even wrote a book dedicated to thee nam th n amee of o f the demon demon who told t old hi h im al alll th thiis . I found out later that he fell into deep deception which led to the breakup of his marriage. Saints, there is a pattern here that we find in the first chapter of Romans. It is that doctrinal error leads to moral error. That’s the reason we need to keep ourselves free and clear of every curse of deception. People who get into doctrinal deception soon fall into immorality and sexual sin. That’s the pattern; one kind of deception leads to the othe o therr kind of decepti decept ion. on .

R EASON EASON 9 I flee from the possible deception thinking that I have gained s ecret, spir s piriitual tu al inform information. ation.

 

R EASON EASON 10 It is not necessary to gain a person’s deliverance. We have ministered succes s ucces s full ully to thous tho us ands and s of peopl peop le wi without tho ut ttal alk king to evil spirits. Praise the Lord, the gifts of the Spirit work!

R EASON EASON 1  11 1 Speaking to demons delays or defeats the process o delive deli verance, rance, which which is thei th eirr goal go al..

R EASON EASON 12 Quoting demons does not build faith. Faith comes by hearing heari ng and hearing hearing by the word of God God.. The gift of discerning of spirits makes speaking with evil spirits totally unnecessary. We need to exercise and cultivate our faith that God has given what we need to effectively ministe nis terr deli delive veranc rance. e.

 

THE OPERAT OPERATIO ION N OF THE GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE I want to talk to you now about the specific operation o s om omee of the th e gi g ifts of the th e Spiri Spirit. t. Somet Som etiimes the th e g  gift ift o off d dis is cer cerning ning of ssp pirits ir its  is  is con conffused us ed with with the operation of the gift of knowledge . Many times these two gifts operate so closely in conjunction with one another that it may be difficult to separate one entirely from the other. There will be times times that th at they th ey overl ov erlap ap.. The word of knowledge is an understanding of facts that we could not know ourselves; a disclosure of certain facts that were hidden from our own understanding. Sometimes when we are ministering deliverance God gives words of knowledge, he tells us facts about this person that they themselves may not even know. It may have been something that took place when they th ey were were s till till in thei th eirr mot mother her’’s womb omb or when they th ey wer weree bei b eing ng  born.  bo rn. As an example, I remember on one occasion we were ministering to a boy who had brain damage. He said that he was not able to function in his mind as thoroughly as he should be able to, as a normal person would. So he spent two

 

extra ex tra years years s tudying tud ying to graduate from high scho s chool ol,, he w was as now no w 20 years years of age, and he h e had no pl p lans to att attend end coll college becaus e of learning diff diffiicu cullties. ties . As we began to minister to him God showed us this was indeed nd eed caus cau s ed by b y an evil evil s pir pirit that th at came came in in when h hee was bei b eing ng  born.  bo rn. The picture pictu re we got go t in our ou r mi mind was of an umbil umbiliical co cord rd  beiing wrap  be wrapp p ed around arou nd his ne neck ck and an d him be beiing s trangled tran gled at  birth  bir th.. Tha Thatt de defi ficienc ciency y of o xygen yg en caus cau s ed dam da mage ag e to his brain, allowed a demon to enter, and that has been his problem ever  since. So, armed with this word of knowledge, we commanded the spirit of oxygen deficiency to come out of him. Immediately he  bega  be gan n to ga gass p for breath brea th.. He threw th rew h hiis head he ad back ba ck ga gass ping for   breath,  breat h, his face turni tu rning ng blue, blue , an and d in a few momen oments ts he was delivered. God healed him so much so that a few months later  he wrote to tell us that he was now applying for college as his mind was functioning well. He was able to proceed with higher  education. This is an example of the operation of a word o knowledge. I remember another instance where we were ministering to a woman, and the Lord told us quite clearly that she had had an abortion. We had not seen this woman previously, and had onlly been on b een with with her a few moment omentss when God told us about abo ut the aborti abo rtion on.. Now Now aborti ab ortion on is a s in, it it is a s in th that at God wil will for forgive. give. But she did not know this was a sin, and she did not know to

 

confess it at all, especially as murder. So when we led her in  spirit rit of o f abort ab ortio ion n  to come out that prayer and com co mmanded and ed that t hat  spi of her, the spirit actually materialized. It formed in her throat, the press ure became became so s o intens intens e that the t he blood blood ves vesss els els actuall actually  burst  bu rst in h her er neck and h er face face from the th e pres presss ure. As the spirit materialized, it flew out of her mouth and  ploppe  plop ped d into int o a waste was teba bass ket si s itti tt in g in front of h her er.. We We loo look ked in the wastebasket and there we saw a perfectly formed embryo, the size and complete appearance of a baby that would be about 2 1/2 to 3 months in the womb. That demon of abortion  spirit  rit  materialized when it came out of her! Following this, the  spi of murder  also   also materialized, and it came out of her mouth as a

s po pott of o f bri bright gh t red bl b lood oo d about abo ut the s ize of o f a ssiilver do dolllar and fell ell into the wastebasket. So there is an example of the word o know no wledge. edg e. She She received eceived her deliverance deliverance becaus b ecaus e God God gave gav e u uss facts about her that we had no way of knowing. She would never have known known to conf con fes esss this this as act si s in, so we woul would d have h ave  be en unaware  been un aware unl un less es s the th e Lord h ad s poken po ken throu th rough gh discern dis cerniing of spirits. (I should caution you at this point about getting wrapped up in manifestations. Most deliverance sessions are nott as wild as this one no o ne was!) As mentioned, the gift of knowledge and the discerning o spirits sometimes work together, as allied gifts of the Spirit. I remember a very clear instance of that. We had a lady come to us for ministry with a back problem. She had been driving in

 

her car and while shifting something was displaced in her back. She went to a doctor and had her back x-rayed, and the doctor  told her that she had a double curvature of the spine, something she had apparently since birth. As a result of her  spine not being straight, it had caused a certain weakness which hich was the reason eas on s ometh omethiing went ou outt in her back back.. S She he had h ad  been  be en s u fferi ffering ng that th at way for abou ab outt a week, and an d th then en s he manage an aged d to cli climb out o ut of o f bed be d and an d to t o com co me see s ee us for prayer. prayer. There were two of us pastors that day to minister to her, and as we began beg an to t o pr p ray for her back, back, God God s how ho wed me me a vi v is ion (sometimes the word of knowledge, and even the discerning o spirits, come in the form of a vision). In this vision, I saw a  birth  bir thda day y cake, a white cake c ake with with red lett letteri erin ng o on n to top po off it it wh whiich spelled the number 32. I asked her if a birthday cake with the num nu mber be r 32 meant ean t anyt an ything hing to t o her h er,, and s he s aid aid that th at wi with thiin tthree hree months on ths s he was turning turning 32 years of o f age. I took too k that to mean mean the t he Lord was pointing to an event of some kind that had occurred arou ar ound nd the ti tim me of thr th ree mon months ths prior prior to her being born. b orn. Justt then, Jus th en, the other o ther pastor pas tor who who was with with me me sai s aid d that, th at, as we were praying and seeking the Lord, God gave him through the discerni disc erning ng of spir s piriits a revelation revelation that th at her h er problem was rooted root ed in  spirit rit of o f rejection ejecti on . a spi

So we put the two words from the Lord together, the word of kno know wledge edg e and an d the discerning discerning of spir s piriits, ts , and determ determiined that this woman had a spirit of rejection that had entered her while

 

she was still in her mother’s womb, three months before she was born. So we proceeded with this information and cast out the spi  spirit rit of rejecti rejection on  from her spine and immediately her spine straightened. That evening,when she returned home, her  husband looked at her and he knew something had happened to her. He said “you are taller than you used to be.” So he measur easu red her h er and found oun d out o ut that t hat s he had h ad incr increased eased 2 inches in height as result of the straightening of her spine. She had been instan ns tantl tly y healed! The sequel to the story is a fascinating confirmation that what the Lord had shown us was true. Her mother was still living, so she asked her mother if there was any truth to her  having been rejected while in the womb. Her mother admitted that she did not want her daughter to be born, and in fact cliimbed on top cl to p of o f a dress dres s er and jumped umped off s ev everal eral tim times es trying trying to abor abo rt the th e baby bab y. Thi Thiss took too k place place thr th ree mon months ths pri prior or to b biirth! So there it was. That was a perfect illustration of how these giffts of the s piri gi pirit operate o perate in in conn co nnecti ection on with on onee an anoth other er..

 

THE OPERAT OPERATIO ION N OF THE GIFT OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS The discerning of spirits is supernatural insight into the spirit realm. Note that it does not say the gift of “discernment,”  butt th  bu thee gif giftt of the th e “d “diis cerni cern ing of s piri pirits .” It’s It’s n ot a ge gene neral ral discernment of all things, but it is a limited discerning in relation to evil spirits. It is very valuable to discern spirits, and let me me give you yo u s ome ome of the pur pu rpos po s es of this this gi gifft.

DISCLOSES  THE PRES ENCE NC E OF EVIL SPIRITS This gift will disclose the presence and operation of evil spirits. Looking back, I can see that God provided the resources that I needed for the ministry of deliverance. He knew from the day He baptiz bap tized ed me in in the t he Holy Holy Spiri Spirit tha t hatt the t he em emph phas asiis He was was going to give me was in the area of deliverance. I didn’t know it, but God did. Immediately upon my baptism in the Holy Spirit God began to equip me. As mentioned at the outset, God

 

equiips us for the mi equ minis nis try we we have hav e before us. us . So the th e very ve ry next next day d ay after I received received the th e bapt b aptiis m in the t he Holy Spirit, which happened in a full Gospel Businessmen’s meeting in Denver Colorado, I was asked to sit on the stage and give my testimony. After I finished my testimony, they asked me to remai rem ain n on the th e pl p latform for a whil while. e. As I loo look ked to towar ward d th thee back  b ack  of the th e room from from the th e pl p latform, atform, I s aw a group grou p of o f hipp hippiies that th at the t he  buss ines  bu ne s s men had ha d invi nv ited te d into nt o the th e meeti eet in g in the th e ho hope pess that th at they would be saved. Three of them stood up and started to head toward the platform. Just as suddenly, I knew something was wrong. I turned to the man sitting next to me and I said “look! that fellow has a demon in him!” And the man looked at me and said “Oh, you must have the discerning of spirits.” ow I had not studied the discerning of spirits, I didn’t know what that was. So I said to the man, “well I don’t know what I’ve got, go t, but bu t I kno know w what what he’s he’s got!” go t!” So So God was equi equ ippi pp ing us . And An d in that th at s ame ame meet meetiing God gave ga ve Ida Mae M ae the th e gift gift of o f fai faith th for deliverance. She stood up in the middle of the audience, when the three men were on the platform trying to interrupt the meeting, and she rebuked the demons out of those men. She had only had the baptism of the Holy Spirit for two weeks, and she had never been in a meeting like this. She had never seen anything like this, and was normally a quiet person who avoided the attention of others. But in that meeting, she stood up and started rebuking demons! And when she did, all three

 

hippies hit the th e floo floorr at the th e s ame ame ti t ime, flat flat on thei th eirr backs: boom bo om,,  boom  bo om,, boom boo m! It is is good go od to know no w what ha t is is goi go ing on in tthe he s pir piriitual tu al real realm m.

DIS TINGU TINGUIIS HE HES S  B ETWEEN  THE  OPERATION O F EVIL SPIRITS  AND  THE HO LY SPIRIT Many times evil spirits pose as angels of light. Remember  the damsel in Acts 16 who followed Paul around the city? She said “These men are servants of the Most High God.” Take notice that what she was saying was true. But there was something wrong with it and Paul knew it was not the Spirit o God. It was a of divination and cast it out of her. It was a false religious spirit. Some people get into spiritual things and think it’s the Holy Spirit, when in reality it is an evil spirit. We were once in a meeting, where we were praying for people at the front of the audiitorium aud torium.. As one on e si s is ter approached approach ed the front on t o off the room room,, Ida Ida Mae whispered in my ear “the Lord says do not lay hands on this woman. Don’t lay hands on her.” Ida Mae operated in a  power  po werful ful gift gift of d diis cerning of s p irits rits , sso o I kne knew w som s omet ething hing was not right. It turns out this woman had a false religious spirit in

 

her. As she came up to the front, the anointing of the Holy Spirrit was so Spi s o strong s trong that t hat s he went into into a rrel eliigi giou ouss gyr gy rati ation on;; sshe he  bega  be gan n to s h ake and an d tremb tremb le. Now, Now, a lot of p eo eople ple h av avee thes th esee kind of seizures, and they think it’s the Holy Spirit. In fact, she had been in meetings where people had told her that this was the Holy Spirit! So, she thought that when she went into those seizures that it was the spirit of God falling on her. But God told us it was a dem d emon on — a rel reliigious s piri pirit. So we told her what God had shown us and offered to cast it out of her. She was so sweet and teachable, and she immediately ediately sai s aid d “yes “y es!!” She sai sa id she s he had h ad been b een confus co nfused ed abou ab outt thiis recurri th recurring s piri piritual tu al experi experien ence, ce, as there th ere was was no fruit fruit in in it; no  blesss ing or peace  bles pe ace in it eithe eitherr. So we ministe nis tered red to he herr and an d the th e spirit came out of her. Then God said it was all right to lay hands han ds on her for for prayer. prayer.

HELPS  US  DETERMINE  WHETHER  A PROBLEM IS  DEMONIC O R  P  PHY HYS S ICAL A lot of problems may be physical rather than spiritual, certainly more than we first realized. Now Jesus found that many physical problems had demonic roots, including  blind  bli ndne ness s , deafne de afness s , fever feve r, epilep epilepss y, to torm rmen ent, t, vex ve xat atiion, on , iins ns ani an ity,

 

infirm nfirmiity — all all were were the th e result res ult of o f evil s piri pirits in th thos os e cas ca s es. es . We We have also discovered the same thing, that evil spirits are often  behind  be hind s icknes s es, es , incl nc ludi ud ing allergies allergies,, tu tum mors, ors , high bloo blood d  presss ure, diabet  pres diab etes es,, and an d s o on. on . Many Ma ny of th thos os e thi th in gs are the th e result of the operation of evil spirits, and when identified as such and cast out, the sickness lifts. But on the other hand, you yo u cannot cann ot s ay that th at all all phys ph ysiical problem problemss are are due to demon demonss . As an example, I had a woman who persistently called me over ov er mon months ths from long on g dis dis tance, tan ce, and every time time she s he call called s he said she was tormented by demons and she needed deliverance. It was always the same spirits she needed deliverance from… she needed deliverance from smoking and from gluttony. “I can’t seem to stay off cigarettes,” she would say, “I stay off a day or two and then I go back and here I am demonized again. Oh brother Frank, will you cast out that nicotine demon out of me!” Also, she would admit “It seems like I just keep eating, I raid the refrigerator at night.” Here I had visions of her being extremely overweight, but I asked her, “how much overweight are you, sister?” She said “I weigh 90  poun  po unds ds .” I was s hocked. ho cked. But s he was s till till trou troubled bled b y what she thought was a spirit of gluttony that would cause her to get up u p the t he mi middl dd le of the ni n ight gh t and an d eat. eat . Finally, I said “Sister, there is something else going on, and I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to pray and seek the Lord’s wisdom, so that I can discern what the problem is in

 

your life.” As I was praying one day, I said “Lord, what about this sister?” The Lord spoke to my spirit and said she has hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia! I found out that a lot of the symptoms of hypoglycemia are identi den tical cal to s chizop chizophreni hrenia. a. I call called her and told her h er thi thiss and s he did not much like that word. I could tell by the response I got over the phone that she just wanted her demons cast out. But when there was no devil to cast out, and she had to believe God for a physical healing, along with regulating her diet, she was not no t so s o happ h appy y. You s ee a person perso n who ha hass hypo hy pogl glycem ycemiia has low blood sugar. When their blood sugar gets low they  begin  be gin to act an and d feel lis tless tles s an and d weak, and an d s o th they ey need ne ed a charge which they can get from eating. Hence she would raid the refrigerator. Or, you can get the same charge from drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes, these give a surge in blood s ugar ugar.. So So thi th is was the reason the Lord Lord showe sh owed d us that s he had these cravings, or what she called “gluttony;” it wasn’t demons that were driving her, but it was hypoglycemia. And thiis was a phy th p hyss ical probl prob lem. em.  Not s hortl ho rtly y tthe hereafter reafter,, w whe hen n I returned retu rned from from a mi ministry nis try ttri rip, p, I spoke to my associate pastor and he said that this lady had called, not for ministry, but to give a victory report! God had healed her, she said, of her hypoglycemia and she had regulated her diet according to the wisdom God had given her 

 

and everything was now fine. She was out of the pit she had  been  be en in for many an y years y ears.. So it’s good to know what is going on the spiritual realm. The gift of discerning of spirits can lead us to the true source of a probl prob lem, em, be it s piri piritual tu al or phys ph ys ical.

G UIDES  THE DELIVERANCE MINIS TER  TER  THROUGH THE P ROCESS  O F DELIVERANCE In a practical sense, when the gift of discernment is in operation, it’s just like a “knowing.” To me, most of the time, I us t know kno w, li like my my s piri pirit is pro program gramm med wi with th th thee ttruth ruth.. When we are ministering to an individual, we should not rely upon manifestations as our guide, but rather the Holy Spirit. He should be the guide as we work with someone through a deliverance. We may feel the Lord urging us to cast out various spirits, as He administers the discerning of spirits, and yet we do not see any manifestation. Did we not hear the Spiriit co Spir corr rrect ectlly? For instance I may begin by knowing the presence of a specific spirit, through the Holy Spirit’s urging. As I call out this specific demon, I don’t see any manifestation; I don’t get

 

any witnes s in my my s piri pirit that t hat a dem d emon on has left. eft. But But I get an anoth other  er  discerning, for a second spirit. Instead of hammering on that first spirit, I call for the second spirit to come out. God is not the author of confusion, and I have to trust in faith that he is leading me when I am praying deliverance for somebody. If we were ere not no t thr th rough ou gh with one on e demon demon he would not no t h have ave g giiven me thee nam th n amee of o f anoth ano ther er.. So So I’ll I’ll call that th at one o ne to co com me out o ut,, and I may may s til tilll not no t s ee any an y man maniifestation; fest ation; like the th e fi first rst s piri pirit, I may may no nott g get et a wi witnes s in my my spi s pirrit that th at the th e demon demon has come come out. out . And as the Lord leads, I call another spirit, and another spirit; sometimes I go through 25 or 30 demons and as far as looking at anything in the natural, nothing has happened. But when I get to the 30th demon, then something breaks and all 30 come out the same time, “Blah!” That’s the value of letting the Lord lead the  batt  ba ttlle. It ta takes kes the th e s weat ou outt of it; it ta takes kes th thee s train o ut of it. Yo u flow wi with the th e Holy Spi Sp irit, rit, an and d let Him Him lead ea d . He He kno knows ws the th e  prope  pro perr s eque eq uenc ncee to un unllock oc k a pers pe rson on’’s bond bo ndag age. e. When you are ministering to groups it works the same way. Sometimes in a group ministry the Lord will have me  perso  pe rson n aliz alize a de delliverance ve rance for s omeb omebod ody y in the th e au audien dience. ce. We’l We’ll  be calli calling the th e s pir piriits ge gene neral rallly out ou t of everyb ev erybod ody y in atte at tend ndan ance ce and there may be someone there that the Holy Spirit wants delive deli vered red of a spec s peciific fic thi th ing. ng . As an example, I was ministering in the Los Angeles area once, and we were having a powerful group deliverance

 

session with about 600 people in attendance. That night, as I was ministering from the platform, I received a discernment that I had never ne ver received received before: sic  sickk le cel c elll a ane nemia mia . And so I called  spirit rit of o f sick sic k le cel c elll ane a nemia mia  to com for the th e spi co me out ou t of som s omeon eone, e, not

knowing who it was for. There was a precious girl about 18 or  19 years of age and a demon and she screamed out at that  precisee m  precis mom omen ent. t. It was th there! ere! That dem de mon was pres ent en t in her h er.. I I had followed a prescribed list, like the demon groupings in igs in the Parlor , and had just worked through the names o

demons listed in Chapter 20, that girl would not have received her deliverance that night, because it doesn’t have sickle cell anem ane mia in that th at lis t! I had neve n everr call called for that s piri pirit before. b efore. So if you are tuned into the Spirit of the Lord and you are following the discernment that the Lord gives, you can be led like this. He knows what challenges people have far better than I ever would. So, when I prepare to minister I say “God I don’t know what these people need, you need to show me by your  Spirit. You tel Spiri te ll me what dem de mons on s are presen pres ent. t. I do don’t n’t wan wantt tto o follow a prescribed list, Lord. I want to know from you, Lord, what ha t devil d evilss to com co me agai ag ains ns t and an d in what what order.” order.”

ENABLES  US  TO  DIS TI TINGU NGUIIS H BETWEEN  A FALS E

 

P ROPHET AND  A TRUE PROPHET There are men and women that come as a wolf in sheep’s clothing; this is a hard lesson to learn. In the 13th chapter o Actss , it Act it tel t ellls us about abo ut a s orcerer orcerer who whoss e n nam amee was Elymas ymas.. Paul Paul received a powerful discernment on him such that he called Elymas ymas a “chi “ch ild of o f the th e devil de vil,” ,” and an “ene “ enem my of o f everythi everyth ing that th at is right.” He discerned the spirits that were motivating that man, an , the s orce orcerer rer.. I was was ask as ked one on e ti t ime to t o lead a sm s mall all grou group p meeti eet ing, ng , w whe here re a new member was going to be announced. This new member  was a bus iness nes s man who had jus ustt moved moved into the area, and the leader of the small group told me that he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and an on-fire Christian businessman who wanted to use his business resources to spread the news of what the Lord was was doi do ing throug t hrough h that th at sm s mall all group. group . Sound Sounded ed good go od.. But as he walked in the door, the spirit of God spoke to me and said “he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” That was a  po werful  power ful word, word , I s till till rem remem embe berr it to th thiis da day y. A nd be before fore that th at meeting was over, the wolf nature had showed itself in a very demonstrable way. In fact he was such a problem in that town that th at the th e local people peo ple event eve ntua uallly ran hi h im off. off. It’ It’ss go good od to walk alk in in the spirit of the Lord and to know what’s going on in the s p iri ritu tual al realm. realm.

 

ALLOWS  US  TO  DIS ISC C ERN THE STRONGMAN OVER  F AMILIES , CHURCHES , CITIES  AND  NATIONS 1 The Holy Spirit wants to disclose who the strong ruler  spirits are over nations. We were ministering in a part o Canada once, and before the meeting we were on our knees  prayiing,  pray ng , and an d the th e Lord s aid to us qui qu ite clearl clearly y th that at th thee rul ruliing spirit over that area is a “wilderness spirit, wild and unrrestrai un es trained ned in natu n aturre.” It It was the th e spi s pirrit that th at ha had d attr att racted most os t of the people to move to that area. It was closely aligned with  spirit rit of esca escapi pism sm. We were able to better minister to that the  spi audience as we knew the way to break through the spirits over  that area. When Wh en Ida Mae Ma e and I went went to other oth er countr count ries in E Europe, urope, God God has s how ho wn us by the t he discerning discerning o off s piri pirits the ruli ruling s pir pirits over  ov er  various countries. The same is true of cities, where God has shown us the ruling spirit over cities here in the United States. This is information given to us for a purpose — that we might  bind thos th os e ruler ruler s piri pirits s o that th at th thee Lord ord’’s light gh t an and d love ov e can shine into an area and the gospel can have its effect on the hearts and minds of those living there. It is a very rewarding and fruit-bearing spiritual battle to fight when you know that eternity eterni ty is at s take. It is also true that when we are ministering to individuals or  families, there may be a key spirit that we need to know

 

through the gift of discerning of spirits that will allow us to unllock a perso un p erson’ n’ss or a fami family’s y’s bond bo ndag age. e. So we we mus mus t be b e fai faith thful ful to lis ten to the th e Lord Lord and a nd receive receive ins tructi truct ion from him. him.

1 See Frank Hammond’s book Saints at War  for   for more information, available at www. IMPACTCHRISTIANBOOKS.com

 

MY PRAYE PRAYER R FO FOR R YO YOU U There is a purpose in impartation, as described in both the Old and the New Testaments. The Lord has given us, through Ida Mae and my ministry, the gift of wisdom, the gift o knowledge, the gift of discerning of spirits and the gift of faith. Thos e are the prim primary ary gi g ifts that God has given to us to o operate perate in the ministry of deliverance. Since you are a deliverance  peop  pe oplle, and an d you yo u are part p art of o f th thee war warri ring ng church ch urch of Jes us Chris hris t, thee Chu th Church rch agai ag ains ns t which the th e gates g ates of hel he ll wi willl no nott p prevai revaill, I feel s trongly that you yo u need n eed thes t hes e sam s amee gifts gifts active active in in you y ourr life. In the t he clos closiing s ection ection of this mess es s age, I beli believe God wants these same four gifts of the Holy Spirit imparted to you such that you may rise to a whole new level of spiritual warfare and ministry in deliverance. Thus, we pray that you might move to a higher level of effectiveness against Satan’s forces, his evil s pir piriits and in parti p articular cular,, his his s trongm tron gmen en.. I would prefer to lay hands on you individually and pray over you, even prophesy over you, and ask the Holy Spirit to impart the gifts mentioned above into your life. But I am going to trust the Holy Spirit to bring this impartation to completion in your life and thereby impart to you the gifts of wisdom,

 

knowledge, the discerning of spirits, and faith. This is so that you might be able to minister to those in need around you, including your immediate family and those in your church and your yo ur com co mmuni un ity. This is no mere formality; this is the truth of God’s word  beiing appli  be ap plied ed to yo your ur life. Jus t as when the th e an anoint ointiing came came on Aaron, the oil flowed from the top of his head down his garments even to the hem of his robe, so I ask the Lord to anoint you with His precious gifts right now. We are going to  pray for you yo u to receive a tou to u ch from from God, od , a n new ew m meas eas ure of o f his Holy Spirit that you might be empowered from on high. That you yo u wil will be enabled en abled to t o do d o the t he ministry nist ry of God God with th thee very v ery real demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power. If you have h ave not n ot been bapti bap tizzed in the Holy oly Spi Spirrit, we we sug s ugges gestt you pursue this experience first, as it is the foundation for the  prayer  pray er we are abou ab outt to pray. With With th that at in mind, nd , let et’’s pray together:

 

Lord, we pray for this person reading this booklet now to have a strong desire, and a sense of Your willingness to empower, to open new avenues to minister to their families, friends, neighbors and those in their community. As Aaron was anointed, and the anointing flowed down his garments and even to the hem of his robe, covering his entire body, Lord we are asking for the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s power to flow upon this reader today, from their head to their feet, that they may be overwhelmed by the loving, refining presence of the Holy Spirit – and become a vessel cleansed and purified for Your glory. May they walk in a powerful and effective manner for your Kingdom. Lord help them turn away from the weapons of carnality and the flesh, and

 

from whatever man or the enemy might seek to supply, and turn instead to you, honoring you and glorifying you through the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, we now impart the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that this person might move in a demonstration of power of the mighty gifts, and be used as a lighthouse, and as a refuge, to those who are weary, those who are oppressed, those who are tormented and those who are chased by the enemy. That these troubled souls might find a place of help and peace, that they might come to know the mighty power of your delivering Hand, that they might flee to the Rock that is higher than they, through this reader’s personal ministry. I pray now for a touch of the living God, strengthening this reader’s mind, body and soul.

 

And in the name of Jesus, I now impart to this reader the gift of faith, the gift of  wisdom, the gift of knowledge, and the gift of discerning of spirits, for the equipping of the saints for the work of  God. Hallelujah! Let it be done. In the name of Jesus, we declare it done! We declare it done in the high and holy name of Jesus. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus.

 

Amen

 

PARTING WORDS There was a lady who walked up to me one day, thinking that I can discern spirits at will, and she stood before me and she said, “Brother Hammond, I don’t want anything in me that’s not of God. I want you to discern me. So, you look at me and you yo u tel t elll me if if you s ee any an y dem d emon onss in me.” me.” So I studied her very carefully: I looked at her from the tip of her toes right up to the top of her head, and I said, “Well, yes Sis ter, ter, I do s ee som s omethi ething.” ng.” And her eyes got big big an and d s he s ai aid d nervou n ervouss ly, “What “Wh at is it Brot Brothe herr Ham Hamm mond, on d, what is it?” I s aid, aid, “I s ee Jesus Jesu s in you y ou.” .” Peoplee thi Peopl th ink that becaus becau s e Ida Mae Ma e and an d I are are in in the minis nis try of deliverance that we are constantly looking at people and discerning what demons they might have. The truth of the matter is that when I look at people who are among the family of God God,, I onl on ly s ee one on e thi th ing: ng : I see Jesus Jes us.. I do no nott s ee rooms rooms full ull of demon demoniized peopl peo ple, e, I s ee “Jesus “Jes us peopl peo ple.” e.” Jesus s aid aid not no t to get g et obs ess es s ed wi with demons demons . We We ar aree to pay attention attenti on to demons demons , because becaus e they th ey are real real,, and we have to t o get g et rid of them, so we can become more effective in our walk with Jesus. But there’s a difference between dealing with demons

 

and being obsessed with them. In Luke 10:20, when the seventy came back celebrating their victories over Satan and hiss evil s pir hi pirits ts,, Jes Jesus us s aid: aid: … rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. That is the foremost thing. People often wonder that so much of our energy and time is spent in the ministry o deliverance and yet we say to people “be more Jesusconss ciou con ciouss than you yo u are demon demon--cons con s ciou ciouss .” IItt iiss reall eally all about abo ut Jesuss . Amen? Jesu Amen? Amen! Amen!

 

APPENDIX MARK 16:9–20 There is a belief (or some would say rumor) that Mark 16:9–  20 was was not no t included in the th e ori o riginal ginal ancient Bible tex texts ts . We We h have ave carefully researched this, and have found this not to be the case. Mark 16, and the great commission to cast out demons, speak in new tongues and heal the sick, is in many of the ancient manuscripts that all date to the same period of time. Also, certain Church fathers refer to this passage in Mark as early as the second century, before the Gospel of Mark was compiled. Let me explain. There are five ancient manuscripts that have formed our  Bible. Each of these documents date to the 5th Century A.D. (the 400s A.D.). They are all called “unicals,” as the text is wri ritt tten en in capital c apital lett letters. ers. Thes The s e five five manus anu s cript criptss are:

1.

The Vatican Manuscript   held h eld in the th e Vatican at ican Library. This manuscript is often considered the most important one, although it is an incomplete rendering of the Bible. Specifically, it is missing Genesis 46:28, Hebrews 9:14 to the end, and all o Timothy, Titus, and Revelation. This document is

 

also missing Mark 16:9–20. However, interestingly, the scribe left a space for these verses. This strongly suggests something was written in Mark  16 but the scribe did not copy it either due to an over ov erss ight gh t or o r a theological theological po poss ition tion..

2.

The Sinai  Sinaiti ticc Manus Ma nuscrip criptt or codex. This manuscript was discovered by Constantin Tischendorf at St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai. As with the Vati at ican ca n Man M anu u s cript, cript , Mark 16: 16:9–20 9–20 is o mitted itte d .

3.

The

Alexandrian

Manuscript

(or

Code

Alexandrinus). This is the first of the five manuscripts found with Mark 16:9–20, so these verse are are in the th e manu manuss cript. cript.

4.

The codex Ephraem. This ancient manuscript,

dating da ting from from the th e 40 400 0s also, also , con conta taiins Ma Mark rk 16: 16:9–2 9–20 0.

 

5.

Thee codex Bexae . This Th This manus anu s cri cript is no nott as high highlly

valued as the others, but it is considered an excellent resource for our Bible. Mark 16:9–20 appears app ears in in thi th is version als als o. In addition, all the later unicals, a number of Old Latin authori auth oriti ties es,, the Vulgate, Vulgate, and many many other oth er versions contai con tain n thes the s e  pass s ages  pa ag es from from Mark Ma rk..2 The earli earliest es t referenc referencee to t o Mark 16 16:9–20 was by Justin Jus tin Mar Ma rtyr  ty r  around aroun d 160 160 A.D. Irena Irenaeus eus , in in hi h is work “A “Aga gaiins t Heresies” Heresies ” from from around 184 A.D., cites Mark 16:19 and reveals that Mark was the author. Why is this dating important? Because these references are over 100 years older than the earliest complete manus an us cript cript of M Mark ark 16 16! It is clear, then, that Mark 16:9–20 was actively in use by Church fathers prior to the compilation of all five of the “unicals” mentioned here. It is also, in our opinion, understandable that the explosive nature of these verses, with the confirmation they give of the power of the baptism in the Holy Spirit along with the casting out of demons and the healing of the sick, meant they were a serious threat to the enemy enem y and a nd no doub do ubtt s pir piritual tua l forces were ere at work to den deny y tthei heir  r  ri righ ghtful tful place in the th e Bi Bible. ble.

 

2  “ How We We G Got ot tthe he Bible,” T hird Edition re revised vised and expa expande nded, d, by Neil Neil R. Lightfoot: Baker Books, Copyright 1963,1988,2003.