DOCTRINES OF DEVILS AND SEDUCING SPIRITS

Jesus reminded me of an incident that shows how wrong thinking can mislead a person. I was ministering once and through the word of knowledge I knew someone in the healing line had an evil spirit. I knew he was actually possessed by it and not just oppressed.

I kept looking around to see who it was. Finally the Lord told me. I knew it was the third man back in the healing line. I intended to wait until he stood in front of me before telling the foul spirit to come out of him in the Name of Jesus. But the devil knew what I was about to do.

Before I ever said a word, he spoke up and said, "You can't cast me out." I told the foul spirit I could, but he answered that I couldn't. He said the man wanted him to stay, and that made it impossible for me to cast him out. I admitted he was right and passed on to another person.

I talked to that man a few days later when I met him on the street. I knew he had this spirit in him. Although he appeared very religious and quoted Scripture, he was all tangled up. He believed almost everything you could think of. He didn't actually believe what the Bible teaches.

As I talked to him, he started quoting Scriptures to me. I told him he wasn't scriptural, as he was taking verses out of context. I told him what he was saying wasn't what those Scriptures meant. I told him he was misled, and that it wasn't Bible; it was false doctrine?

The Bible plainly says that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. 4:1). This is what had happened to that fellow. He said he wanted to believe that way. I told him if he wanted to be free, I could help him.

But he said he didn't want to be free. He wanted to believe what he was believing. Thank God, though, if people want help they can have it. Yet as Jesus told me, you can't cast the devil out of people if they don't want help. (Kenneth Hagin)