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2023 Fireside Chat with Dr. Ray

by Dr. Ray Self

 


 

2023 Fireside Chat with Dr. Ray



Click the play button to begin video lesson and follow along with the lesson notes below the video window.


Merry Christmas and a Very Blessed New Year

Please consider donating to our financial hardship scholarship fund. One of our causes is to help these pastures in India who've been faithful ICM students.

Isa 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace

John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father."

1Co 12:7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.






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America & End-Time Prophecy

by Dr. Steve Wittmann

 


 

America & End-Time Prophecy



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For years I have found America's conspicuous absence from events foretold in end-time prophecy confusing. Knowing that God is not the author of confusion, I began a journey through God's Word to find clarity and understanding. In this one-hour special presentation, I will share my journey's discoveries, and promise you will be surprised and possibly shocked at what God's Word reveals that so few understand. For not only is America very much present in end-time prophecy, but her role is even now coming to pass.

Some of the topics we will discuss include:

  • What is Prophecy?
  • What is the Difference Between Prophecy and End-Time Prophecy?
  • Why Are There So Many Crack-Pot Interpretations of Prophecy?
  • How Do We Know it's the End-Time or Last Age?
  • How Bible History Reveals Future Events
  • Why Does America Appear to Be Missing in Prophecy?
  • Understanding America in End-Time Prophecy





What's Next?

If you enjoyed this lesson, we encourage you to consider studying other ICM full-length courses via digital download or by enrolling in a degree program at the International College of Ministry.


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America in Decline - Judgment of Abandonment

by Steve Wittmann, Th.M.

 


 

America in Decline - Judgment of Abandonment



Click the play button to begin video lesson and follow along with the lesson notes below the video window.



Where is America?

Why is America missing from end-time prophecy?

  • In end-time prophecy, the greatest nation on Earth, the United States of America is conspicuously missing. Where is America?
  • Has America fallen under a judgment called abandonment?
  • The answer may lie in Romans Chapter One.



Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Rom 1:19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Rom 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Rom 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Rom 1:26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

Rom 1:27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

Rom 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

Rom 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,

Rom 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

Rom 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.


God’s Primary Jealousy

God’s primary jealousy is His role as Creator. Not to be confused with redemption. To understand redemption you have to have the word of God, but the creation testifies of itself.

  • Exo 34:14 For ye shall not worship strange gods, for the Lord God, a jealous name, is a jealous God;
  • Psa 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.



The Creation Testifies Unto Itself

Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

  • What does “invisible” mean?
    • Is a beautiful sunset invisible?
    • Is a majestic mountain range invisible?
    • Thoughts, ideas, and intelligence are invisible.
  • Does creation has physical properties? (ie: height, width, length, mass)
  • Can creation can be examined, measured, and weighed?
  • What is are the physical properties of information?



Information is Not Physical

If information has no physical properties, how can the environment have an effect upon it? How can information evolve?

  • Ideas, language, communication, mathematics, and information are the products of intelligent thought and cannot occur by accident.
  • Information cannot exist apart from intelligent thought.



Defining Information

What is information?

  • A Method of communication – a means of expressing and sharing ideas and thoughts
  • A method of giving instructions & guidance
  • A language that has no physical properties such as weight, mass, or volume.
  • As a language, information is proof of intelligent thought and cannot exist as an accident of randomness.

Science has discovered that DNA is a digital language made up of protein pairs that function as 1s and 0s do in binary computer languages.


DNA – Creation’s Testimony

  • Of hundreds of known amino acids, only twenty are utilized in living systems in the construction of proteins.
  • DNA is like a master blueprint.
  • RNA is like a backup file.
  • Proteins are the workhorses.



DNA – A Digital Code

  • Proteins can only be paired with the proper pairing partner, preventing errors.
  • Each protein pair contains polarity.

Proteins are arranged in groups of polarized pairs each holding a copy of the RNA information. These groups store the information in a way that is similar to the way binary code stores digital information in computers.


DNA – Digital Information

The building blocks of all life are a digital language containing digital information, yet evolutionists would have you believe this complex language of digital information happened by accident.

While evolutionists argue the existence of God, their own beliefs have replaced God with chaos or entropy, meaning disorder, and in their own way, they have simply replaced the one true God with a false god.


The Abandonment Judgment

The judgment of abandonment is a specific judgment that is poured out on a nation that fails to acknowledge God as Creator. Notice that this is a judgment of a nation, also sometimes called a people, but not a judgment of an individual.

  • The Abandonment Judgment is clearly seen in Hosea 4:6-7.
    • Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
    • Hos 4:7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.


God Gave Them Over

God gave them over:

  • Rom 1:24 “God gave them over to the lusts in their hearts”
  • Rom 1:26 “God gave them over to degrading passions”
  • Rom 1:28 “God gave them over to a depraved mind”


This is God’s response. He gave them over or abandoned them, buy why? What condition warrants the abandonment judgment?


The Public Condoning of Sin

Rom 1:32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (NASB)

Rom 1:32 In short, though knowing full well the sentence which God pronounces against actions such as theirs, as things which deserve death, they not only practice them, but even encourage and applaud others who do them. (Weymouth NT - 1912)

It’s not sin alone that justifies this judgment, but rather it’s a people or a nation that gives its approval and even encourages the sin.

So how does a nation or a people condone sin? In America, it’s done by passing laws declaring sin legal and acceptable.


America is Condoning Sin – Evolution

  • Evolution – Denies God as the Creator
    • Evolution is taught in public schools as fact.
    • Teaching creation in public schools was outlawed in 1963.



America is Condoning Sin – Abortion

  • Legalized abortion – Publically Condones Murder
    • According to the book of Enoch, abortion was taught to man by the fallen angel Kasdeja who revealed heaven’s forbidden knowledge by teaching man how to “smite the embryo in the womb.”
    • When God breathed the breath of life into man in Gen 2:7, some theologians interpret the verse in the plural as in “the breath of lives” meaning that God, the Creator, breathed the spirits of all men into Adam, the first man. This offers insight into Jeremiah 1:5 which says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you;” and Eph 1:4 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." The smiting of the embryo in the womb is killing a life already created and known to God which is exactly what God’s word says the evil one will do in John 10:10 when he comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
    • Approximately 56.4 million abortions have been performed in the US since becoming legal 40 years ago in 1973.
    • The number of American babies killed by abortion each year is roughly equal to the number of U.S. military deaths that have occurred in all of the wars that the United States has ever been involved in combined.
    • Planned Parenthood performs more than 300,000 abortions every single year.
    • Planned Parenthood received more than 540 million dollars in taxpayer-funded government health services grants for fiscal year ending June 30, 2013.



America is Condoning Sin - Drugs

  • Legalized drugs usage (ie: Medical Marijuana) – Condones Sorcery
  • As of June 2014, 23 states plus the District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana.
  • An additional three states have legislation pending.
  • Psychotropic drugs fall under the sorcery leg of witchcraft and the spirit of pharmakia, which is the root word from which we get pharmacy.



America is Condoning Sin – Same-Sex Marriage

  • Legalized Same-Sex Marriage – Perverts God’s Marriage Covenant
    • Nineteen US states have laws supporting same-sex marriage
    • Thirty-one US states have laws banning same-sex-marriage
    • Twelve US states with same-sex marriage bans are in court on appeals of rulings overturning the bans.



America is Condoning Sin – Breaking the Marriage Covenant

  • Divorce is the breaking of the Marriage Covenant – Acceptance of divorce in America condones the breaking of covenant.
  • Actual divorce rates in the US are known and reported figures are subject to the interpreter of the data. Most analysts will agree that the divorce rate in the US is somewhere around 50%.



Separation of Church and State

In 1902, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptists.

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" thus building a wall of eternal separation between Church & State.” (See full text at: http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpost.html )


1 st Court Challenge

In 1853, a political reform group quotes Jefferson’s letter and petitions Congress to separate Christian principles from government. They wanted “separation of church and state” by expelling chaplains from Congress and the military.

Congress debated the issue for nearly a year and on March 27, 1854 issued a report that read:

“Had the people (the Founding Fathers], during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that revolution would have been strangled in its cradle. At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not anyone sect [denomination}.... That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants.”

Two months later in May of 1854, the judiciary committee released the following statement:

“The great, vital, and conservative element in our system [the thing that holds our system together] is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”


2 nd Court Challenge

During the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s, a second group, again quoting Jefferson’s letter, attempted to challenge specific Christian principles in government before the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court remained firm in their allowance of Christian principles in government.


50 Years Later…

Then in 1947, in Emerson vs. the United States, the court, instead of quoting Jefferson’s full letter, the court only quoted the eight words, “a wall of separation between church and state,” and began declaring this was the founding fathers will that – the First Amendment has erected “a wall of separation between church and state: That wall must be kept high and impregnable.”

This ruling laid the foundation for the 1962 case Engle vs. Vitale in which the court completely separated education from Christian principles by ruling against prayer in public schools.


America Rules Against God

Another 1962 court ruling redefined the word “church” when used in context with separation of church and state from “a federally established denomination” to “a religious activity in public.”

In 1963 the courts outlawed Bible reading and teaching in public schools.


Current Events Rejecting God & Condoning Sin

Walls are built a brick at a time and while adding a single brick appears insignificant, before long there is an impregnable wall of separation between the nation and God.


Air Force Allows Airmen to Omit “God” from Oath

  • Air Force allows Airmen to omit “God” from oath.
  • US Air Force Oath of Enlistment

    "I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
  • Legal letter to the Air Force, “The Establishment Clause specifically prohibits the government from requiring a non-believer to take an oath that affirms the existence of God.” – Monica Miller, Attorney Appignani Legal Center



EBT Welfare Buys Marijuana

“HHS has no authority to prescribe policies and practices for the states to implement in order to prohibit the use of TANF benefit cards at marijuana stores.” – HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, July 31, 2014


God is Just

2Th 1:6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.

Psa 25:8 God is fair and just; He corrects the misdirected, Sends them in the right direction. - (The Message)

God is a just God. He will not judge one people one way and a different people a different way. His judgment will be the same. God has already demonstrated His judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, which was total destruction. God will not look at America and treat her differently for the same sins.

Speaking of his late wife Ruth, Rev Billy Graham said, "When she (Ruth) finished a section (of a book) describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Graham went on to say "Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God. Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control. My heart aches for America and its deceived people."

In America today, activists have decided that any mention of God in public somehow threatens the rights of religious minorities. Now, it’s no longer freedom of religion, now it is freedom from religion - they claim they have a right to be free from any mention of religion.


Israel — America’s Saving Grace

Why hasn’t God already judged America? Many theologians believe it is because of God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:3.

Gen 12:3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."


State of the Union

Is the abandonment judgment the reason America is not seen in end-time prophecy? If one considers the qualifications for this judgment, America is more than qualified.

  • America has rejected God as Creator giving credit of the creation that testifies of itself, to blind chance and accident.
  • America has removed God from schools by banning prayer and the teaching of His word.
  • America publically condones and financially supports the murder of innocent life.
  • America is publically condoning drug use, a form of witchcraft.
  • America is perverting God’s marriage covenant by publically condoning same-sex marriage.
  • America publically condones the breaking of the marriage covenant.
  • Brick-by-brick, America continues building a wall of separation between this nation and its Creator.
  • Should America’s support for Israel ever falter, this nation may come under fullness of the judgment of abandonment.


Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Hos 4:7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.


Tremble for Your Country

“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.” — Thomas Jefferson






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Personal Ministry Seminar

by Dr. Joe Warner - Pastor, Freedom Fellowship Church

 


 

Personal Ministry Seminar



Instructions: Click the play button on the session player you wish to hear and follow along on the notes below.


Session 1 Player: (Length: 1 hour, 10 minutes)

 



Session 2 Player: (Length: 1 hour, 20 minutes)

 



Session 3 Player: (Length: 50 minutes)

 



Session 4 Player: (Length: 50 minutes)

 



Session 5 Player: (Length: 49 minutes)

 








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Can a Christian Have a Demon?

by Steve Wittmann

 


 

Can a Christian Have a Demon?



Click the play button to begin video lesson and follow along with the lesson notes below the video window.



What Does it Mean to Have a Demon?

  • What is a demon?
    • The Bible is unclear as to the origin of demons. Some theologians believe they are the spirits of a pre-Adamic race while others believe them to be fallen angels or even the offspring of fallen angels. Whatever their origin, it is clear through Jesus’ ministry that demon spirits hold man in bondage in both mind and body.
  • What does it mean to “have” a demon?
  • Demons see man as a “home” – a place to reside.
  • Mat 12:43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Mat 12:44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
  • Luk 11:21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed.
    Luk 11:22 "But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder.
    Luk 11:23 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
    Luk 11:24 "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'



Can a Christian Have a Demon?

A Christian can have a dog and a Christian can have a cold. A Christian may also have a demon, but a demon is nothing like a cute little puppy. A good analogy of a demon is influenza or the flu. The flu is an infection that makes you sick. It doesn’t own you and you don’t own it but its effect over you can be devastating sometimes even to death.

If you have the flu, you treat the infection so that you will be free of the illness. Demons are much the same way, however unlike the flu, knowing how you got a demon can help in getting rid of it.

Can a Christian “have” a demon?

Argument: Light cannot dwell with darkness (2Co 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?) – This refers to marriage & relationships, not evil in the temple.

  • The body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, but do we still sin?
  • Gal 3:1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. (NLT)
  • If God’s Truth is foolishness to the man of the world (1Co 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.) and all spiritual truth is discerned through the Holy Spirit (Joh 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.), then these Galatians had to know Christ when evil came upon them.



Woman with a Spirit of Infirmity is Daughter of Abraham

Luk 13:11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
Luk 13:12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."
Luk 13:13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.
Luk 13:16 "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"


Can Unbelievers Have a Demon?

Mat 12:45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation." (Emphasis Added)


Where Do Demons Do Their Work?

If we look at scriptures detailing how demons work, we see that they attack the mind and body as seen in:
  • the lunatic boy (Mat 17:14),
  • the man with the Legion (Mark 5:9)
  • the woman with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11)
  • the man who couldn’t speak (Mat 9:32)


Robert L. of GreatBibleStudy.com wrote, “What do demons do to people? Many people believe that only the extreme cases of mental problems are caused by demons, or that you have to be heavily involved in the occult or Satanism in order to have demons, but the Bible is clear that this is not true. The Bible speaks of perfectly sane people who have been crippled by demons. It is perfectly normal to have absolutely no demons affecting your mind in any way, and still have a demon. The Bible speaks of people who were perfectly sane, who Jesus cast spirits of deafness or dumbness, even blindness or infirmities out of (Luke 13:11, Mark 9:25, Matthew 12:22)!”


How Can a Christian Get a Demon?

More often than not, a demon enters a believer’s life because the believer invites the demon to enter without realizing it. This is done through choices and acts that are in agreement with the nature of the demon which are in rebellion to God’s word and is often referred to as “opening a door” for a demon to enter.

Ecc 10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

Eph 4:27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

Saul was tormented by an evil spirit only after he rebelled against God. (see 1Sa 16:14, 19:9)


Do Open Doors Guarantee a Demon will Enter?

No, an open door is an opportunity for a demon to enter. It’s possible to have an open door through which no demon enters. However, the longer the door remains open, the greater the possibility a demon will take advantage of it.

Believers may also encounter demons that are rebelling against God’s work in the believer’s life. For example, while writing this lesson, the spirits of distraction and procrastination worked to slow my progress and delay me.

What about unbelievers?

Unbelievers have no protection and live in captivity to all forms of demonic bondage including generational curses, however because all spiritual truth is discerned through the Holy Spirit and spiritual truths appear as foolishness to the man of the world, demonic influence is not recognized and is dismissed as foolishness.


What Does it Mean to be Possessed?

In teaching on demon possession, Robert L. of Great Bible Study writes, “Another misconception is that a person who is demon possessed is owned and fully operated by a demon. This is not true either… You can be perfectly sane, and yet have a demon. The word possessed in the NT Greek actually means to be under the power of a demon or to have a demon. This is like being under the power or influence of alcohol, the more you drink, the more you come under it's control. (The) Same is true with demonic bondage, the more bondage you are in, the more you will come under that demon's influence or control.”

“The Bible makes it clear that there are different kinds of demons that cause different problems the person to whom they dwell. Some demons cause blindness, others cause deafness, others cause madness (mental illness), others cause fear and depression (King Saul), others cause epilepsy (Matthew 17:15-21), and so fourth. Therefore, if a person is under the power of a spirit of blindness, they won't see (Matthew 12:22), if they are under the power of a spirit of infirmity, they will have some sort of physical infirmity (Luke 13:11), if they are under the power of a spirit of fear, they will be fearful, or if they are under the power of a spirit of anger, they will have uncontrollable anger.”


Should Demons be Cast Out of Unbelievers?

Deliverance from demonic possession is for believers, not non-believers. Jesus warns us against expelling demons from a non-believers in Mat 12:45:

Mat 12:45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."

The spiritual covering or hedge-of-protection around a believer comes from right standing with God or righteousness through the cross. It’s this protection that prevents an expelled spirit from returning to its house. Non-believers do not know Christ and cannot claim this protection. This is why Jesus warns us that the state of the man will become worse. The only way to receive protection is to come under the blood of the cross.


What Does Demon Possession Feel Like?

While God’s Word tells us much about demons, it does not tell us what it feels like to be under the influence of a dark spirit. Why would you want to know what a demon feels like? So you are better equipped to recognize a demonic possession, its behaviors, and its symptoms when you encounter them.

What Does a Demon Possession Feel Like?
  • You feel like something else is in control of your mind & body
  • You don’t feel like your choices are yours
  • You do things you really don’t want to do, but for some reason you do them anyway.
  • You feel certain physical ailments that appear without reason that feel out of place.
  • No matter how hard you try, you can’t get something out of your mind.
  • Feelings sometimes overwhelm you that are disproportional with the reality of a situation.
  • You have a deep and dark hunger to do something you’re ashamed to admit.



Do Demons Make You Crazy?

James 1:7 refers to a “double-minded man.” Frank and Ida Mae Hammond, authors of Pigs in the Parlor, dedicate a portion of their deliverance ministry to free people from the double-mindedness of the spirit of schizophrenia. This type of demonic possession manifests as insanity but is rare when compared to spirits that commonly torment believers such as the spirits of illegitimacy, rejection, and unworthiness.

Jas 1:7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
Jas 1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Another verse that gives insight into the mental state of demonic possession is when Jesus cast out the spirit Legion from the man from the tombs. After the man was freed of his demonic possession, we see him in described in Mark 5:15. Notice his state of mind in this verse.

Mar 5:15 They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the "legion"; and they became frightened.

Notice the man is now “in his right mind” after being delivered from the demonic possession.


Are There Different Kinds of Demons?

There are many different kinds of demons. Many are identified by what they do and often their manifestation mirrors their name. The bible names a few demon spirits by name but not all. Among them are the spirit of heaviness and the spirit of Jezebel. There are many, many more.

Apart from their names, I have constructed a broad categorization of demon spirits that I have encountered. By no means should you consider this a comprehensive list, only one that reflects my own personal experience.
  • Physical – Can control your body and/or can fill a body cavity
  • Mental – Affects conditions of the mind including incorrect thinking and strongholds
  • Familiar – A behavior that appears necessary or one you’re comfortable with. ie: suspicion = safety
  • Oppressive – Witchcraft spirits of rebellion that are often in direct rebellion of Christ’s completed work on the cross. ie: heaviness, unworthiness, illegitimacy, abandonment, rejection, guilt, shame, suicide, condemnation, etc.
  • Resistance – An obstacle ie: confusion, distraction, procrastination
  • Fleshly – Lusts & Desires of the Flesh ie: Jezabel, pleasures of the self or flesh
  • Power – Compels you to comply ie: power, control, intimidation, manipulation
  • Sorcery – Alters the mind’s perception examples include nicotine, pharmakia, & drugs



ICM's Top 10 Signs That You May Have a Demon

Please watch the video to hear ICM's Top 10 List.


How Do I Know if I Have a Demon?

  • If there is uneasiness in your spirit – this is the voice of the Holy Spirit. The feeling is sometimes called “grieving.” It’s an uncomfortable feeling that doesn’t feel “right” as if something was out-of-place but you can’t put your finger on it.
  • If you have the spiritual gift of discernment of spirits, listen for the spirit’s name.
  • Listen closely to your own words. Sometimes without realizing it, you may speak the spirit’s name or acknowledge its bondage over you. If you find yourself saying things like, “I’ve never been able to….” or “This always happens,” you may be seeing the fruit of demonic bondage in the form of a scheme.
  • Look for patterns in your life where certain situations seem to repeat themselves. For example, maybe you are prone to accidents and dismiss it by saying your clumsy. The reality may be that you’re in bondage to a scheme of infirmity.
  • Look for results that seem out-of-place. For example, perhaps every job you ever had you’ve only been able to advance so far and no farther as if there were a glass ceiling over you. The ceiling may actually be a scheme or curse of insufficiency.



How Do I Get Rid of a Demon?

To answer this question in its completeness, we would have to discuss the full spectrum of deliverance ministry, however the short answer is you already have freedom through Jesus, you simply need to receive what He has already provided - you’re not in right standing with God. Jesus declared His work perfect and complete. Your freedom has already been provided, somewhere along the way though, you made a choice and stepped out from under God’s hedge of protection over you and opened a door that allowed a demon spirit to enter.

Do you remember the verse that talked about how a demon will return to its house to find it swept clean and put in order? Mat 12:44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. How exactly is that done – sweeping a house and putting it in order?

If your soul, part of which is your mind, is upswept and cluttered, how exactly do you clean your house?

You clean house by stepping back into right standing with God – back under His spiritual covering and protection – back into righteousness which means right standing with God.

I’ve prepared a guide to assist you in cleaning your house. The guide will tell you what God’s word requires of you and then ask you if you agree with it. If you do agree with it, then the guide gives you a proclamation you may read aloud to proclaim your agreement with God’s word.

You may download your own copy of ICM's House Cleaning Guide Here.

The enemy doesn’t like this at all. He’ll try to corrupt your house cleaning by getting you to think your righteousness comes from the words you speak. That is a lie. Your righteousness comes from Jesus Christ and Him alone.

God’s word tells us that the Word was made flesh – that’s Jesus. God’s word tells us that His Word is the truth – so, the Word of God is the Truth. Jesus said “I am the way and the Truth.” If God’s Word is the Truth and Jesus is the Truth, then Jesus and God’s Word are one in the same. When you speak your proclamations in faith, you’re not just speaking words - you’re speaking Jesus Himself into and over your life. This is what brings you back into righteousness and right standing with God.

The house cleaning guide is not a one-size to fit all situations. Many will experience immediate deliverance from an oppressive spirit by cleaning their home while and others will need follow up counseling and personal ministry. ICM College offers Christian Counseling services. Please contact us for more information if you feel you need additional counseling or seek counseling from the leadership in your own church.


Can a Demon Come Back After It Has Been Cast Out?

Jesus said in John 8:31-32 "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; Joh 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Notice that Jesus links your freedom in Him with your continuing in His word. Freedom from demons and their oppressions is yours if you abide in God’s word.

Know however, that God gave us free will including free will to sin again. The evil spirit of the Lord that tormented Saul shows us what happens when we choose to sin.

If you choose to continue in God’s word, the demonic door will remain closed and locked and you will remain free. If you choose to sin and open the demonic door, your demon spirit may return to its home to find it swept clean and put in order.

 






What's Next?

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Recommended Courses

To further your studies, be sure to look at ICM's other deliverance & spiritual warfare courses Unchained & Under Cover and Foundations in Spiritual Warfare.

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