Thank you brother for receiving all I said as graciously as you did.This is a grey area in the church because the bible is so silent. Most of what is known has been from those who've been led by the
Spirit, who is still '
leading and guide us into the truth'. Are there errors because of this? Of course IMO. But if my theology is wrong and yet someone gets FREE and free indeed....do they care if my deliverance doctrine isn't in a religious box as tight as the dead church they go to?
We are totally on the same page. I don't believe you can '
counsel' demons out, they just hide deeper within the "
stronghold" of thoughts in your soul that they built one temptation/sin at a time. As I said earlier, I think a lot of 'counseling' is simply teaching people '
behavior modification' to keep one 'looking' free while the demon still '
smotes (them) in the hinderparts'.
That's why you have to keep coming back and coming back to get your 'temporary fix' counselor pep talk.
Many decades ago my son (then 6) and daughter(then 4) were watching TV, an old English classic called the Railway Children.
We had the books as most families did and they were quite inoffensive.
This particular story, at the very end of the episode had one of the children trapped on the railway line with a the steam train rapidly approaching.
As often the case, the camera kept flashing between the panicking child and the train rushing closer and closer, the beat of the music keeping up with the engine's pistons. All done in order to build tension to the climax, ............then suddenly the picture stops with
"see what happens in next week's episode!"
Then my daughter started having nightmares waking up in terror. We knew the whole thing was demonic, but couldn't get to the root. (I have to say we were still a little naïve back then.)
Next week, as the following episode of the story appeared, she ran from the room and hid. It finally dawned on us what had happened.
My wife brought her back in the room and with much struggling and screaming, forced her head to face the TV.
And of course the train stopped well short of the trapped child and she was rescued.
My daughter instantly stopped struggling and crying and settled down to watch the rest of the story.
This is a good illustration of how demons can enter, riding in on the back of natural fear, and turning it into demonic fear.
My daughter hadn't been able to express what the terror was about, but she had obviously been replaying the story in her head. And undoubtedly demons had been reminding her of it on a nightly basis.
If such things are not addressed, then eventually that demons gets to stay and take up residence. Demonisation isn't always instantaneous, but can take place gradually as they insinuate themselves into a person's life, in this case my daughter.
By changing the narrative, she was no longer attentive to the demonic lies being whispered to her nightly.
People need to be aware that demons gain entry when we take heed of their tiny whispers. As we respond, they whisper further and so on. We think its our own imagination at work, but often its demons trying to make recruits.
That's why we need to take every thought captive and obedient to Christ.
