aLTERNATIVE mETHOD TO DELIVERANCE

“Show me your friends, and I will show you who you are.” This was a popular quote often said by Anthony Graham, a former school principal at Bates Middle School, which my daughters attended.

Mr. Graham’s quote was a powerful message that he sought to instill in the kids he served while he was principal. In fact, this quote still resonates as a powerful message today, rooted in scripture.

1 Corinthians 15:33 reads, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals’” (AMP). The New Living Translation says, “Bad company corrupts good character.”
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This point leads me to the topic I want to discuss today: Is deliverance needed in every situation where a Christian may be struggling? Take, for example, sexual sins like homosexuality or adultery. I will primarily focus on adultery due to a specific situation that has arisen in the Body of Christ, but the principle here is equally applicable to homosexuality or any other sinful or immoral acts.
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casting adultery demon out of men?

Let’s begin this section with an actual testimony. But before we get to that, let’s discuss a confrontation that took place between Marcus Rogers, a pastor of Firehouse Church in Chicago, and Preston Perry, an apologist and Bible teacher in Atlanta.

Recently, Marcus and Preston had a confrontation during a live recording concerning Preston’s wife, Jackie Hill-Perry. I won’t delve into the details of their discussion here, but I do want to address a statement Marcus made to Preston after Preston courageously defended his wife against some assumptions Marcus made about her.

In his defense of his wife, Preston bravely admitted that he sometimes struggles with the desire to have sex with women other than his wife. To this, Marcus responded, “You need deliverance.”

Now, what Marcus said to Preston may be true in some cases, but deliverance from sexual sin (or any sin) is not always necessary. Determining whether a person needs deliverance or some other course of action requires a minister to properly discern the root cause of the person’s struggle. We cannot, in every case, automatically assume that anyone struggling with sexual sin (or any form of sin) needs to be delivered from a demon.

As ministers, we must learn to go deeper by looking into the spirit realm and waiting for the Spirit of the LORD to open our spiritual eyes to discern the root cause of an individual’s problem and determine what is needed to help them overcome their challenges. Sometimes this may require prayer and deliverance, but in many cases, no demon or demonic influence is involved.

When ministers automatically recommend deliverance prayers without discerning the Spirit of the Living God, it becomes clear why deliverance ministers often fail to help people truly break free from sinful tendencies. Believers too often assume moral failure requires deliverance, but this is not always the case. To explore this further, let’s discuss an actual testimony shared by Demontae Edmonds, a renowned minister and leader in the Body of Christ, in his book Discerning of Spirits.
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Demon of adultery
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One day, a young man named Kenny called Demontae, asking to meet with him immediately. A few days later, they met. Kenny explained to Demontae that he needed him to pray for him and deliver him from a "demon of adultery." He said that no matter what he did, he could not stop cheating on his wife. He wanted to stop and felt guilty after each situation, but for some reason, he simply couldn’t.

Like most believers, Demontae initially thought Kenny needed deliverance. As Demontae prepared to pray over Kenny, the wind shifted, and the Spirit of the LORD entered the place, transforming the atmosphere. This resulted in the gift of discernment of spirits and the prophetic anointing activating. It was then that Demontae realized Kenny didn’t need deliverance from an adultery spirit. So, Demontae asked Kenny, "Who are these men I see around you?"

That’s when the LORD revealed the true root of Kenny’s inability to stop cheating. Kenny’s struggle was directly linked to his associations, not to a demonic spirit.

Kenny confessed to Demontae that he had developed a friendship with a group of bikers, who he regularly met and hung out with. Whenever they got together, the men would boast about their many sexual exploits. Kenny was intrigued by their stories and the womanizing behavior of these men. Eventually, his association with them planted a seed in his heart, and he started to become like them. Remember the saying, "Show me your friends, and I will show you who you are."

Holy Spirit revealed to Demontae that Kenny’s problem wasn’t a need for deliverance but an issue of association. To be set free from his adulterous behavior, Kenny needed to disassociate from the group of men he was hanging around. His friends were the ones influencing his bad habits. Kenny needed to change his environment because his problem was soulish, not spiritual.
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the soul

​We have to be mindful that man is composed of three parts: the body, the soul, and the spirit. These parts are distinct from one another and serve different roles within us.
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1. The body is the physical aspect (the outer part) of us, which involves our five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
2. Then there is the spirit, which is the core of who we are. It is the third layer of our being. But for now, we want to focus on the second layer – the soul.
3. The soul encompasses our mind, emotions, and will. It is the part that influences us to do what we do, to act the way we act, and to live the way we live. Our soul influences our thoughts, which plant a seed in our heart, giving us the desire to do something, whether good or bad, until our emotions motivate our will to act upon those desires.

This process is separate from our physical body or spirit; it is tied to our moral or immoral thinking – our mindset, belief systems, and even erroneous viewpoints. Therefore, in Kenny’s case, he needed to change his mindset by changing the company he kept so he could develop new behaviors and habits. As long as he continued to associate with the men the Spirit of the LORD revealed to Demontae, Kenny would continue to struggle with committing adultery.
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Upon receiving this revelation about Kenny’s situation, Demontae chose not to engage in a deliverance prayer where he would cast out an adultery demon from Kenny, declaring, "Come out in the name of Jesus!" That was not necessary in this case. Kenny’s situation was much simpler. He simply needed the strength and conviction to walk away from his biker friends, whose stories were encouraging him to cheat on his wife.