Demons Speaking Truth

Acts 16:16-18 - And it came to pass as we went to prayer a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us and cried saying, These men are servants of the Most High God which show us the way of salvation. And this did she for many days. But Paul being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Picture this. Paul and Silas are going to pray and they are met by a woman who is a soothsayer or a fortune teller and she is possessed by a demonic spirit. Now this woman doesn’t confront these men of God, on the contrary, she begins to herald them as servants of the most high God and she proclaims that they are showing people the true way of salvation. She continues to do this for many days before Paul commands the spirit out of her in the name of Jesus Christ and she is delivered.

The church has severely underestimated the subtlety and the clandestine viciousness of the enemy of our souls. The devil is much too sophisticated to announce his presence, and movies like “The Exorcist” have made demonic activity melodramatic and frightening when in reality most of what Satan does he does behind a cloak of secrecy and mixed with some truth. This story in the book of Acts gives us some insight to the nature of demonic deception about which the church has become woefully ignorant.

If you play chess you are aware of what is called a gambit which is a sacrifice of a piece or a position in order to achieve a future gain. This is exactly what the devil is doing today, he will give lip service to Jesus in order to throw us off the trail and therefore he plans to compromise and dilute truth in the future. It could also be likened to the Trojan Horse which is received as a gift on the outside but inside is the awaiting enemy. So today famous preachers seem to espouse the core of the gospel and they give lip service to the Savior but the coming deception enters upon the wings of this sinister plan. Deception must initially hold hands with truth in order to camouflage its purpose and nature and so it is with the feel good and prosperity messages that verbally agree with the New Testament teachings but openly teach otherwise. And unlike Paul the masses sit week after tragic week and are happily entertained without recognizing the demonic presence in the very sanctuary where they sing the songs of Zion.

Thousands of different denominations and representative churches have heard their preachers boldly proclaim, “We believe the Bible in this church”. And yet there are major differences throughout these different churches so I ask you, can they all be correct if they substantially disagree? If one church says you must be baptized to be saved while the other says no such thing, can they both be right? One church claims you can be saved by repeating a prayer while another teaches you must by faith become a follower of the Lord Jesus, are they both be right? The devil has cast a spell over the visible church and the true saving message of Jesus Christ now comes in many different forms and flavors and they all claim to “follow the Bible”.

So in Acts 16 when a person proclaims “These men are the servants of the Most High God which show unto us the way of salvation” it in reality is a demon. Oh yes, a demon proclaiming truth in order to gain an advantage in the future. Men and women all over America proclaim truths but in some cases they are demons speaking. So when a preacher proclaims “Jesus is the way of salvation” and then teaches that some can be saved without being born again or even hearing the gospel, that is a demon spirit speaking. Do not ask me about the theology of a demon speaking through a professing believer because I admit I do not have all the answers but this one thing I do know, if a person preaches that a person that dies outside of Christ Jesus can be saved anyway, that is a demon speaking. Let that person be “Anathema maranatha”.

But there is a part of the Acts narrative that should convict and trouble us. Paul did not just put up with this demonic spirit and he did not just write an article of refutation of her words. He didn’t coexist with her and he certainly did not spend the rest of his life chronicling her behavior and error, no, he by the power in Jesus name cast the demon out and delivered her. And it was so public that everyone was outraged and Paul and Barnabas were beaten and thrown into prison(temporarily!). Why cannot we approach men like MacLaren or Osteen or Warren and say “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of him!”? What would the world think if Osteen hit the floor and the demon came out and as he rose to his feet live on Larry King the spirit of John the Baptist came over him and he with the power of the Spirit looked directly into the camera and commanded all men everywhere to repent and believe the everlasting gospel!?

So why can we just identify with the discerning of spirits part of Acts 16 but we cannot identify with the delivering power? If you justify our own lack of Spiritual power by believing that God doesn’t do that anymore, well, you then are off the hook in your own mind, not God’s. What I am trying to say by God’s Spirit is let us repent before the Most High God we claim to serve and through a revolutionary and quantum leap in our prayer and fasting let us together and personally seek His face and beg Him for His power for His glory and none of ours. We cannot be satisfied with making theological points and counterpoints with demon spirits we must have God’s power that not only refutes their lying but delivers the captives.

I often believe it to be true that all my writings and speaking will not add up to one intense hour in the prayer closet in the sight of God. I sometimes grow weary of my ability to articulate by grabbing the horns of the English language but I am unimpressed by my ability to grab hold of the horns of the heavenly altar and bring down the promised power of the Spirit so that God can use me as vessel of His exhibited glory. We have become satisfied with our own words and we have left seeking the Author of His Words. Before God will trust us with His demon chasing power that will reflect who He is, we must be cleansed, and that will only come when we repent and are therefore broken. That will only happen when prayer and fasting outweighs our words both spoken and written. Is it a coincidence that the story in Acts took place as Paul and Barnabas were going to prayer? And like Paul said we don’t find that desire within us, so God have mercy upon us and do what is necessary to spread your glory through us.

We beg You…