This is a summary of the core themes and principles taught by Charles and Francis Hunter in
How to Heal the Sick session 8. Tap the image to enlarge it, so you can see everything clearly.
Key Conclusions
1. Deliverance ministry is essential and must be balanced with rest and spiritual growth; Jesus’ example is authoritative, swift, and does not depend on prolonged effort or emotional intensity.
2. Authentic deliverance requires faith, love for the person, and exercising spiritual authority in Jesus’ name. Demons don't require loud shouting or extended battles but direct, firm commands to leave. Peaceful, loving ministry is most effective.
3. Knowing the identity and nature of the demonic spirit comes from God’s revelation, not from the demon itself, which only lies. Recognizing spirits tied to physical symptoms enables targeted ministry.
4. Healing and deliverance are integrally linked; ministries should embrace the whole gospel rather than isolate healing or deliverance as separate callings. All believers share the responsibility to minister as Jesus did.
5. Demonic possession or influence manifests as control over thoughts and speech, often expressing suicidal thoughts, bitterness, or hate. Deliverance restores mental and spiritual freedom and requires an honest and simple approach.
6. Allowing unforgiveness and negative attitudes gives demons a foothold. Ongoing spiritual discipline and submission to God protect believers from re-possession and spiritual decline.
7. Many physical or behavioral issues are not demonic but arise from habits or poor choices. Genuine deliverance must be accompanied by personal responsibility and testing of spirits to ensure God’s guidance.
8. Obedience to the Holy Spirit’s guidance is critical in overcoming temptation and rejecting thoughts or actions that yield demonic influence. The internal battle between flesh and Spirit determines spiritual victory.
9. Simple, calm faith in Jesus’ authority enables effective casting out of demons, resulting in healing and deliverance visible to all. Demonstrations build faith and removal of pain through deliverance validates spiritual authority.
10. Believers must continually wield spiritual authority to bind and cast out demons, robbing Satan of power and bringing people into spiritual freedom, following Jesus’ example and command.
Important Details
1. There are only 38 recorded New Testament instances of specific healings, 10 of which involve casting out demons. Deliverance ministry is scripturally significant and should be learned and practiced carefully.
2. Bob, a Southern Baptist with a limited background, learned deliverance ministry through experience and mentoring, illustrating that initial lack of knowledge can be overcome by training and faith in God’s guidance.
3. Demons cannot understand or be cast out by speaking in tongues; deliverance requires authoritative command in a known language. Demons respond to the authority of Jesus, not volume or length of prayer.
4. Deliverance must be conducted with love for the possessed person, calming them first before casting out demons. The demon spirit may control a person’s mind causing fear and terror.
5. The story of “Leo,” a demon spirit controlling a girl, exemplifies how demons can terrorize people and bring them into occult powers but can be cast out through a direct, faith-based prayer in Jesus’ name, resulting in lasting freedom.
6. When ministering deliverance, especially involving pain or inner areas, modesty and boundaries must be maintained. Male/female ministry interactions should be cautious to guard against temptation and maintain integrity.
7. Demonic spirits can lodge in specific physical areas causing chronic pain; casting them out results in immediate relief even if medical practitioners have found no cause. Deliverance can be done remotely if God leads, such as by phone.
8. Even Spirit-filled believers can be attacked by demons affecting their body or causing illness, though they cannot possess the soul. Deliverance can relieve these afflictions through faith and authority in Jesus.
9. Demonic influence often manipulates thoughts causing despair, suicidal ideation, bitterness, and lies that must be discerned and confronted by faith. Deliverance can cause instant transformation in the person’s emotional state.
10. A demon expelled can return with more demons if the person does not keep themselves filled with God’s Word and Spirit, emphasizing spiritual vigilance and sanctification.
11. Deliverance demonstrations in seminars build faith; severe cases like spirits of suicide and insanity can be cast out with faith and power, often visibly altering the person’s demeanor.
12. Testing spirits is crucial: no genuine spirit of God will curse Jesus, and true deliverance aligns with confession of Jesus as Lord and manifests the fruit of the Spirit.
13. Practical teaching on discerning spirits through word of knowledge is illustrated with real-time healing of bursitis, showing faith-based commands on nerve and muscle relaxation causing immediate relief.
14. The devil seeks to torment through pain and infirmity to distract believers from God’s Word. Deliverance and healing break demonic hold beyond the capacity of medical treatment.
15. Believers given authority by Jesus are commanded to bind the devil first then cast out demons, effectively robbing Satan’s kingdom and enabling believers to minister healing and deliverance in faith and power.
Key Takeaways
- Deliverance ministry must be practiced with authority, love, and biblical wisdom, avoiding extremes and misunderstandings.
- Demons can cause physical, mental, and spiritual afflictions; discernment and prayerful action are essential.
- Faith in Jesus’ delegated authority enables believers to cast out demons and heal sickness effectively.
- Continuous spiritual vigilance, repentance, and filling with God’s Word are critical to prevent demonic reentry.
- Personal responsibility—such as renouncing bitterness, unforgiveness, and sinful habits—is crucial alongside deliverance.
- Spiritual gifts like word of knowledge and wisdom enhance ministerial effectiveness when coupled with obedience to God’s Spirit.
This comprehensive teaching encourages all believers to actively participate in Jesus’ healing and deliverance ministry through faith, obedience, and love.
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Author's note: This post is part of a series. If you enjoyed it, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, such as
Power of God to Heal and
Healing is in the Atonement. I also recommend
The Name of Jesus and my daughter's poem,
Faith Should Not Depend on Feeling, which she wrote the same day she received a divine healing in her body. You may also access my blog directory at "
Writing for the Master."
Do You Want to Know Him?If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "
Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of
Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission.
www.dmiworld.org.