Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

Matthew 12:43-45 - Deliverance

October 18, 2022 • Aneel Aranha • Season 1 • Episode 83

0:00 | 3:57

Can a Christian be possessed? The short answer is: No. However, there can be areas of our life that are not brought under God's control. We need deliverance.

Matthew 12:43-45 - Deliverance

Hello and welcome to the Bite-Sized Gospel with Aneel Aranha. Today we will reflect on Matthew 12:43-45. Listen.

Jesus said: “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Can a Christian be possessed? The short answer is: No. When we are born again we belong to God. He bought us with the price of his Son's blood. Paul writes: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, God owns us.

However, there can be areas of our life that are still under the control of the enemy. Consider Washington, DC, where the President of the USA lives. It is one of the safest cities in the world because of the high levels of security. However, pockets in the city that don't have a strong police presence are often controlled by criminal elements. Similarly, we can have pockets of our soul that haven't been brought under control, and we might need deliverance. Addiction to drugs, alcohol, pornography are all examples of areas in our life that are under the control of evil spirits.

Christ can set us free. Such liberation often occurs at retreats where there is intense praise and worship and much proclamation of the word of God. Evil spirits cannot stand either and vacate the premises. However, they often return to their original habitat, and if they find the place empty, they take up occupancy again. But this time they do so with spirits even more wicked than themselves. Part of the reason is pure rage that they had been so unceremoniously ejected from our lives; another reason is to prevent being evicted again.

The trick is to ensure all areas of our life are brought under God’s control and retained in his control. This happens when we keep our soul filled with the things of God. Praying constantly, reading the Bible often, and listening to sermons from anointed preachers are some of the ways we can ensure this happens.

I have been giving a series of talks on Spiritual Warfare that explains these things in more detail. I urge you to watch these talks if you want to win the daily battles we face against these impure and unclean spirits. You will find them on my website.

May the Spirit be with you.