The most common question I hear relating to Spiritual Warfare is this: “Are demons real?”

The answer is YES! I can assure you that they are in fact real, and not only are they real, but they are literally “persons without bodies” and as such, each one of them has a unique personality and specific traits. We also know that they are actively looking for “dwelling places” aka places and people to possess/oppress, or influence.

Let’s begin by looking at this well known scripture in Ephesians 6:12 in “The Living Bible” translation:

“For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies; the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.”

Ephesians 6:12 TLB

You see when Satan fell, so did one third of the angels in heaven, having various military type rankings, personalities, and tendencies.

“The angelic beings who did not choose to obey God were cast away from their heavenly sphere. They remained spirits, of course, and therefore continue to populate the spiritual realm. But by choosing to go their own way, they lost their intimate connection with God as well as their place in the atmosphere of His glory. I see two major consequences to such a fall. First, these angels experience a perversion of their original attributes. Different types of angels who had various abilities and responsibilities in heaven now, after rebellion, have distorted versions of their original characters. The expulsion and perversion of these fallen angels turns them into what the New Testament calls demons.”

~Daniel Kolenda (successor to Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke) from his book “Slaying Dragons” 

 

The good news for Christians is, that we are able to equip ourselves for the battle and be VICTORIOUS, and that although one third of the angels fell, becoming demons…TWO THIRDS of the angels remained loyal to God, and are fighting this battle with us.

“For every one that’s against me, I’ve got two that are for me.” ~Pastor Robert Morris

The SECOND most common question I hear about spiritual warfare is “Can Christians be possessed?” 

To answer that question, I think we first have to define “possessed.” When scripture talks about the “demon possessed” it uses two Greek words “daimoni” and “zomai.” 

daimon: demon

zomai: possessed, or under the influence of

so the answer is YES. A Christian CAN be under the influence of a demon!

“We are OWNED BY GOD, but we CAN be under the influence of a demon.”

~Pastor Robert Morris

To get a better grasp on exactly what the Bible says about Christians being in bondage, allow me show you the Free Indeed series by Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church.

These are HANDS DOWN the BEST spiritual warfare sermons, I’ve EVER seen! And btw…

Spiritual Warfare Sermons:

You see I KNOW THAT DEMONS ARE REAL. To explain how I know this, I’ll need to share with you, a little of my testimony.

From the time that I was a young child, I knew that I could literally FEEL a supernatural presence, and had ONCE even heard an audible voice tell me to do something specific, that saved my life. But when I sought out guidance from people who had grown up in the church, they told me with absolute confidence that “God didn’t work that way.” They told me that He didn’t really speak to people, and that the spiritual gifts (like healing/prophesy/miracles) hadn’t been active on the earth, since the foundation of the early church.

So knowing that what I had heard was real, but believing those who had told me that their God didn’t speak, I set out to find out more about what I had experienced. If it wasn’t the God of the Bible that spoke to me that night, as I had originally thought, then who or what was it?

I began searching out all the information I could find about the supernatural. I read through the pages of different books and websites about paranormal experiences, and occult religions. I was on a mission, and nothing could deter me. There was something more to reality than this natural world that I could see with my eyes, and I was determined to find out what.

Then one day I read that the voice I had heard that night, (that had saved my life,) COULD have been my spirit guide. This made sense because when I was 11 years old, my father had died. I thought maybe it was him protecting me, from the other side. Maybe this presence was my dead father, and he wanted to help me…

So I started going to see psychics and fortune tellers, hoping they could help me find answers. They lit candles and incense, while reading tarot cards and using pendulums. Sometimes they told me things that they couldn’t have known in the natural, which fueled my search.

I tried everything from getting my palm read, to having elaborate astrology charts done. I wanted to know what my purpose WAS on this earth, and why the voice I’d heard that night, had saved my life.

What I struggled with most, was that there was another teenager, (who had a family that loved him, and had a bright future,) that had died that night, while I (this kid that nobody wanted) had walked away physically unscathed.

I just kept trying to wrap my mind around what had happed and find peace, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop asking the question, “WHY had he died, and not me? AND who was it that spoke to me that night? AND why hadn’t the other kids in the car, heard the voice?”

 

 

Eventually I learned to use the angel and tarot cards myself, and even used an ouija board on several occasions, in an attempt to communicate with my spirit guide. Then I started working at a book store in Las Vegas Nevada called the “Psychic Eye” where I met people from all walks of life, practicing religions that I had never even heard of, in the small towns of Texas. Out of pure curiosity, I went to festivals and ceremonies with people I met at Psychic Eye, not ever really believing that it could cause any harm.

Well I have to tell you that I never really found any answers through any of the occult practices I tried, but throughout my attempts I was finding that there were powerful entities in the spiritual realm, and the things done in these various practices, would change things in the natural.

Then after years of searching, my world suddenly spun out of control. My marriage of 13 years was ending, and it seemed that everything that could go wrong WAS.

Then out of the blue one day, I received a Word from God, through a person I had never met. He said that before I had been born into this world, God had placed giftings and abilities inside me, that I had not yet discovered. Not only was the Presence on this man real and tangible, it was familiar. I knew in an instant that THIS was the Presence I’d known as a child. Tears began streaming down my face. Somehow I had come full circle, and yet still didn’t know what to do about it.

A few weeks after receiving that prophetic word, the giftings and abilities that the stranger had spoke of, came to light. It was a beautiful experience to discover things I hadn’t known about myself, one that I still can’t find the words to describe. But that day I began to reconnect with my Creator in a deep and profound way, and in my heart I said a prayer, pledging to serve Him all the days of my life.

Not long after that prayer however, crazy supernatural things started happening and I had to face the reality that demons are in fact REAL, and in my search for truth, I had opened doors that I had no idea how to close. 

 

Then one day while walking through the art district of Las Vegas, I came upon what looked to be a group of bikers. The leader of this group stepped over to me, leaned in  and said, “you have demons all over you.” I said “I know, but I don’t know what to do about it.” 

As it turned out this man and his friends HAD ALL BEEN hard core bikers, before coming to know Jesus, and each had an incredible testimony of how God had rescued them from the pit, and given them a new life in Christ. The leader had actually been an upper level member of the “Hell’s Angels” turned born again street preacher, who was now performing exorcisms/deliverances all over Nevada and California.

He and his group of Discipled ex-bikers began to talk to me about God, and what I needed to do to be delivered from these demons. I told them that things would get REALLY BAD when I was at home, so they came to my apartment to take a look, and there they asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus Christ into my life. With tears running down my face, I said “yes.”

They prayed over me and cast out the demons, and immediately I felt COMPLETELY different. The darkness lifted and I felt FREE! Then they spiritually cleansed and anointed my apartment, and when they were leaving, they referred me to a  local church for continued DELIVERANCE sessions called “Sozo.” Unfortunately, these sessions cost $50 dollars each, and I was of very modest means, so I was only able to go once. It was certainly beneficial, because I learned a little more about the doors that I had opened, and how to close them…however I was realizing that I had only scratched the surface of all I would need to know, to get out of this tangled mess I was in.

Over the coming months and years, I engaged in many battles with the rulers, principalities, and powers of this dark world. I’d cast them out in the name of Jesus, and before too long, they’d come back with vengeance. I did the best I could, with what I knew at the time, but few people had any answers, so I just kept trudging the road to freedom, one treacherous step at a time.

It was during that season that I began watching Pastor Robert Morris on my laptop. He was the most amazing preacher I had ever heard speak. He wasn’t at all like the church people I had known. He was funny and loving, yet fearlessly preached an un-sugarcoated version of the gospel. He called Believer’s to change the way they were living, and get ALL IN for Jesus, without coming across as judgmental. He had BEEN a prodigal, and sunk pretty low in his sin, before being saved one dark night, in a run down hotel room.

Now THIS was a pastor I could relate to, and there wasn’t a single sermon that he preached, that I didn’t walk away from profoundly CHANGED!

Pastor Morris taught me that God DOES speak to His children, that I was DEEPLY LOVED and that I could have a close, personal, intimate relationship with my Father in Heaven.

He taught me that I was FORGIVEN for every mistake I’d ever made, through the blood of Jesus Christ, and that I could be in constant companionship and communication with the Holy Spirit. He taught me that I would never have to feel alone again, because Jesus had ascended to the Father and sent the Comforter to live in fellowship with me.

So I started running top speed towards the Lord, with everything I had. I wanted to REALLY know Jesus and understand His plans for me! It was at this point that I became truly BORN AGAIN.

Looking back I realized that although I THOUGHT I had been saved as a child, what had actually occurred was that I had had many ENCOUNTERS with the Lord, and during that time a seed had been planted, (like conception) followed by a long painful transformation (like a pregnancy) that lead to the rebirth experience in my late 30’s. That was when I became truly a new creature, and all things were made new.

Yet, even after I was born again…I continued to come under demonic attack….why?

I had completely and TOTALLY given my life to Jesus, so why were these demons still able to torment me? How COULD I be in bondage, and when I BELONG TO GOD!

 

 

Fervently I prayed for God to forgive me, to intervene in my life and teach me how to close the doors that I had opened. To help me understand how to get rid of the demons that were tormenting me, once and for all.

Over the coming months, God would show up in my life BIG TIME, and answer my prayers.

I now KNOW for a fact, that the voice I heard that night, that had saved my life WAS the voice of God, and the Presence that had known in childhood, was the Holy Spirit, my Comforter.

I’ll never again let anyone tell me what God can and can’t do. I’ll go to the Source, and you can too!

Here is a sermon series about beginning an intimate relationship with the Lord, and hearing His voice for yourself.

The God I Never Knew

And IF you think you may be under attack by satan, take a look at this short article. There’s a Deliverance Prayer at the bottom, for casting out demons and then blessing/anointing your home/family.

Is Satan Attacking You?

THANK YOU,

FOR STOPPING BY “Abide In Hope”

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Sincerely,

Victoria Reynolds, Nicodemus