We can be freed from the devil’s grip and from all demonic forces that try to oppress or possess us, our family and friends, by applying what the Word of God has to say about binding and loosing.
Mat 18:18, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 12:28, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house."
Bind:
The word bind means: To confine and restrain. (Webster's New World Dictionary)
Loose:
The word loose means: Not confined or restrained; free. (Webster's New World Dictionary)
To Cast Out:
To throw out or down. (Webster's New World Dictionary)
Binding
Early on, when I was casting out evil spirits, I got into a little trouble. I wasn’t binding the evil spirit before I cast him out. I don’t know at the times I would go home after church and feel the presence of the same devil I just cast out or rebuked. Sometimes I would have to call a friend to help me run the devil off before I could go to bed. Then…God spoke to me about binding.
God said, "Bind the devil before you cast him out." I thought, "God, why didn’t you tell me this before?" But it was right in the Book the whole time. I should have known that you must first bind the strong man before you kick him out of the house. (Mark 3:27)
Example:
What is the first thing a police officer does when he arrests a criminal? He slaps handcuffs on his wrists to restrain him before he does anything else. Why? Because he is protecting himself, and others, from potential danger.
The devil is also a criminal from whom we need to protect ourselves. When the devil comes around us we need to first slap those Holy Ghost handcuffs on his wrists so he can’t come after us. Whether we are casting him out or praying for someone to be healed and delivered, the devil cannot come after us if we restrain him first.
Important Note: Somepeople seem to think to bind the devil would actually be attaching him to the person in whom we are trying to cast him out of. Although the word bind does mean to attach, it also means to confine and restrain, as we have stated above. We must use the correct meaning of the word in reference to what we are speaking about.
Here are some ways to protect yourself when you are coming against the devil…
Claim victory and protection through the Blood of Jesus. The devil hates the Blood. That is what defeated him.
Put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6. Don’t go into battle unarmed.
Bind the devil before you cast him out!
Here is a thought:Being Careful of our Words
In a service a while back a friend of mine was praying for a lady when I heard him say, "I bind every devil out of hell that is coming against this lady." I talked with him later and told him that if he was going to bind the devil to please at least bind him in hell, not out of hell. We had a laugh about it, but actually we do need to be careful of our words when we are dealing with the enemy. Don’t let the devil get a hold of your mouth. Keep the Word of God in it!
A very important point: Don’t try to cast out a devil if you don’t have the power…
A very long time ago, in a service not too far from my home, I witnessed a couple of ladies trying to cast out a devil. They had this young person on the floor, leaning over him saying, "Come out in the name of Jesus." They were also yelling at the devil to tell them his name. The devil was talking back all right but he wasn’t coming out.
Being grieved, as I seen they were getting nowhere in this situation, I walked over to the pastor of that church and asked him his opinion on what was going on. He said, "Sissy, we’re not Jesus." I said, "Well if we can’t do any better than this then we need to just leave it alone." I heard later that this young man never came back to that church. So very sad, but I can’t say that I blame him.
Sometimes we make things worse. Just because we are of the Holiness faith doesn’t mean we can always get the job done right then. Sometimes we need to take time to fast and pray. So, if we don’t have the power and Anointing to cast out a demon we need to let someone else, who does, take over.
I do suggest you pray before you ever try to cast a devil out of someone! If you don’t know what you are doing or you are novice, you are just asking for trouble.
Loosing
Luke: 13: 11, "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God."
Notice Jesus didn't cast a devil out in this instance instead He loosed a woman from her infirmity. Why you ask? Well, I think I know the answer, maybe not, but I think I do. There are times when people are possessed of the devil to the point where the devil is in total control of their bodies and/or minds and the devil must be cast out for them to be free. Other times a devil may just have a hold on someone, not necessarily possessing them as in having much control of the person. In this type of situation we would command the person to be loosed from their sickness, problem, or whatever is troubling them.
I have seen people who were feeling very down who needed someone to lay their hands on them and loose them from the spirit of depression. They weren't possessed but oppressed.
How I come against the devil...
First, I trust in the Blood of Jesus to protect me from the evil one.Then I take authority over satan in the name of Jesus. I bind him and cast him out. I tell him he is a defeated foe and I render him powerless.
If the devil puts up a fight I command him to come out in the name of Jesus. Always remember, he does have to come out!
If it is a situation similar to that in Luke 13, I either loose the person from their infirmity or I command the devil to loose his hold on the person.
In closing...
Although it should be, for some people its not always easy to get rid of the devil. The Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. You may run upon a situation that you can’t handle or need help with. If so, please contact us and we will help you and if we can’t we’ll put you in contact with someone who can.
