Healing Failures

By Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry http://sfprs.org/

Healing is one of the most controversial subjects in the Bible. Not that God is confused, but we and our many different denominations and religions have various interpretations as well as translations. Let us first read "The Great Commission":

Mark 16:14-20 NASB

14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who believes and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

This is the commandment that Jesus left us with upon his ascending into Heaven. It is by far one of the most dynamic and prominent areas of any church deliverance ministry. While casting out demons, it is just as significant, to minister to the impassioned wounds. Rousing wounds are one of the most common reasons that deliverance can fail or demons seem to keep coming back and regaining inhabitation within the person.

Our goal is not to forget a hurtful event or trauma, but to receive healing for that event, where the Holy Spirit removes the arrow from it. When we look to the past upon a healed wound, we can see it in a different way, because it has been healed and is no longer painful to look at.

The Holy Spirit within you is the one that HEALS! The believer who has already accepted the gift of Salvation from Jesus must stand in faith 100%. The Holy Spirit responds to your level of faith and every divine healing that ever took place happened with the Holy Spirit when the believer acted on God’s word. What about when healing fails? What went wrong?

It is important to understand that God has not failed you, and He is not short on healing power. When demands are made on the power of God, the healing virtue of Jesus Christ will flow into a person’s body and make it whole. In John 5, the story is told about a man who had an infirmity for 38 years. This story, perhaps, gives us the best picture of the obstruction that even today’s believers face when it comes to wanting to be healed, and yet, not being able making it happen when we want it, and need it, the most. We read that day after day the invalid man lay by the pool of Bethesda hoping somehow to be the number one person in the water after the angel stirred it, because if he was the first to make it in, he could be healed. But then along came Jesus. He asked the man, “Do you want to become well?” The invalid answered saying, “Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool…”

The significant detail in their conversation at this point is that the man was so focused on the problem of not being able to get into the water before someone else, that he never even considered placing a demand on Jesus to help him and to get him healed. Like this man, many believers today desire to be healed, yet they have not willed to be healed. What’s the difference?

The difference is that willpower is what makes a demand on the power of God. After all, God has sent His Word, and according to that Word, healing has already been purchased by the blood of Jesus. So, the rest is up to us. We must act on this new blood covenant to get the results we desire. Still, for those times when it seems God’s healing power has somehow been hindered, and it just is not flowing through our lives. The Bible points out some problem areas that may be the reason for this lack of healing or health. Some of those problem areas include:

• Failure to forgive others (Mark 11:25-26)

• Failure to keep the commandment of love (John 13:34)

• Lack of knowledge and lack of vision (Hosea 4:6); Proverbs 29:18)

• Lack of discernment of the Lord’s body when taking communion (I Corinthians 11:23-32)

• Lack of integrity in your heart (Psalms 25:21)

Sometimes we have to Let God be God, as he may have allowed the illness or death to occur for reasons we could not foresee. Still we are to pray until God let’s us know to stop.

Since we know there is no failure with God, it is obvious that when believers do not receive their healing, the problem must lie elsewhere. Keeping this in mind, we need to realize that healing largely depends on a firm stand on the fact that your prayer has been heard, and that it has been answered. The challenge, then, comes in not wavering from God’s Word.

Beware of False Prophets! In all things we do, we must pray and ask God for discernment. I know of some people who claim to be “Demonologist” and use hypnosis in their method of casting out demons and provide healing. I know of others who are talking the talk, but in real life do not walk the walk. Some that yearn to be a Pastor, but do not have their personal lives in order. We can NOT have permanent success with Healing and deliverance unless we ourselves are right before God. Bottom line, just be careful and do not just jump in without testing the waters. PRAY!

These two websites will shed some more light on the subject of why healing may or may not work:

http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/inner_healing_101.php

http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/healing_gods_will.php

Why Would Demons Inhabit Unpopulated Places?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Why do demons inhabit unpopulated places? Is that not inconsistent with their unholy passion to destroy human beings? Indeed, this very question was raised recently as an argument against the biblical teaching that all alleged ghosts are demonic deceptions--they saw this widespread phenomenon as proof that these "desolation dwellers" must be trapped human spirits!  However, it is also a question that many of us who embrace a biblical view of ghosts, have puzzled about as well. I will do my best to answer this legitimate question, though I do think that there is an element of mystery here....

A clarification point up front is in order: I have never said--and infinitely more importantly, the bible never says--that attacking humans directly is the ONLY activity Satan/demons are interested in.Warfare is more complicated than that.....more in a moment on that thought.

Grave-yards, deserts (think of mid-eastern jinn), abandoned dwellings of all shapes and sizes, mines (as in the TV show Haunted  Mines), battlefields, and so on are examples of what I am referring to. Deserted places are legion..hehe

Let us begin with what we can be certain of....occupation of abandoned buildings or land by unclean spirits must have some strategic military value. Evidently, no demon is just hanging out where it wants to, but is placed there for a specific reason by a diabolical superior. Some things just simply have to be, if we are to make any sense of the reality of spiritual warfare. So, to answer this question/objection, I think it would be helpful to place it in the context of kingdom expansion--just as their is a kingdom of God/heaven (used as synonyms throughout NT), there is the kingdom of darkness. That is, how does the inhabiting of desolate places advance Satan's kingdom expansion agenda?

BTW, if this seems to be circular reasoning to you---assuming ghosts are demons and finding a way to explain this desolation phenomena within that assumption--then I  make no apologies. I am not going to suspend my biblical convictions every time I deal with an alleged objection or question...nor do I think most of you would want me to. As a general rule, that (momentary suspension of belief) is being unfaithful to the authoritative Word. After writing a book and 137 blogs, all of which show the unbiblical and harmful nature of the notion of ghosts, I have seen that some folks simply WANT to believe in ghosts...nothing will persuade them otherwise.But I am humbled and happy that the Lord has used this vehicle to change numerous people's minds re the notion of the existence of ghosts.Thank you Lord!

Let me say this--personally speaking, positing human soul/s as occupying these desolated places is more problematic than the biblical alternative. Why? Gregariousness is a salient aspect of humaness, which must continue after death. Adam needed Eve even though he was perfect. .We have heard of how solitary confinement in prison has caused many to go insane. We need human interaction. Demons are intelligent, emotive, and volitional beings...but they seem to be too evil to care about companionship. Thus, they would make suitable desolation dwellers.

Do you think demons enjoy being around us? If they hate us, then of course not! The only "pleasure" would come from hurting those they hate. Otherwise, I can see demons  being quite content dwelling AWAY from us. Only once in my life have I seriously struggled with hate towards a particular man... (he was partially responsible for destroying my marriage/ family). Suffice it to say (even after much prayer), I could NOT be around this guy....not if I wanted to stay out of prison (obviously, I am leaving out personal details)
Perhaps some demons have shown that they are better suited for "alone patrol" simply because of how they have dealt with their hatred in the past?? (remember some demons were so evil they were sent early to hell..Jude, 2 Peter) In The Demonologist,  Ed Warren states that "ghosts are self-absorbed loners..."  I respect this man,and I think that he has unwittingly given us--based on enormous amount of experience--a definition of demons that fits within the biblical parameters.

In a similar way, unless given specific attack orders on us, my guess is that demons would gravitate away from us...we remind them of everything they have lost. So, demons dwelling in desolate places makes a bit more sense to me with that notion in mind....although I admit this is conjecture.

 In 1972 my older brother Mickey graduated from High School and joined the Navy, with the intent of becoming a Navy SEAL. However, after a briefing which included the fact that there was a 90 % mortality rate at that time, he decided against it. I need to interject that another older brother had died a few months before in a tragic fraternity accident. Mickey did not want our mom and dad to be crushed again....good for Mick..

SEAL...sea, air, and land...expert warriors in all three environments (well, HALO-HAHO jumps!) Navy/Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army/Marine ground operations--three foci of human warfare.It would seem to me that, just as a general principle, Satan would be interested in this triad as well in spiritual warfare. I mention this just as a principle for further thought.

To  say that attacking God's image bearers is priority number one.on the Satanic agenda, does not imply that other warfare goals are not important. Take the  arch-demon who was Air Force, and the role it played in overseeing the operations in Persia...and another as Prince of Greece. Evidently, there was no direct contact with humans but its power and influence were such that Michael was dispatched to fight against it. (see Daniel 10) Evidently, this arch-demon was responsible for the territory of Persia. This introduces the element of territorialsim. More importantly, it is a rare glimpse "behind the veil" of demonic war strategy, and of personal fighting between high leadership on both sides.

Every where in scripture the earth is entirely the Lord's and under His absolute sovereign control. (Gen.1:1;  Ps. 24:1; Isaiah 40-49 and so on). However, Satan, like an intelligent general, knows the value of geographic land occupation. Plus, they are ALL (Satan/demons) prideful and fancy themselves as GODS....Whatever land they can lay claim to simply plays into this moronic egomaniac tendencies they have. Any land or buildings they do lay claim to may be do to some "legal rights",but in the final analysis, it is really God's creation. He has temporarily given Satan some derivative authority over what he lays claim to--"the world" (which we discussed in recent issue)

Demonic  attachment to some desolate building or land is not problematic, given the larger warfare agenda of Satan. Having occupation forces in countries has its own advantages, as we have seen in countless human arenas of war. Why not in spiritual warfare as well? Just because it is spiritual warfare does not negate the fact that the enemy enters from their dimension and takes "ownership" of what he can in our dimension.

This seems to be a sound biblical principle, buttressed by countless experiences--namely, that wherever humans were horribly mistreated or killed, then that opened a foothold for demonic infestation.
All of these abandoned hospitals, prisons, hotels etc.  we see on TV, almost always had some tragedy/s connected with it. For example, the Haunted Mine on TV...I kept waiting for someone to discover a human horror. Sure enough, this mine which apparently has a demonic presence (if you give  any credence to the story...and not total cynic, which I think is wrong) is some how connected with the brutal slaying of dozens of Chinese miners 100 years or more ago. That demons would sit "on their thrones" deep within this abandoned mine for many years without human contact/attack is not problematic. As spirits, they need no food, water, or communication.

Places that are haunted, like the Crescent Mine, also become wonderful PR advertisements for the notion of ghosts. Satan knows that humans are suspicion prone, and he can kill several birds with the same stone...take control over larger areas of God's earth, let his army "reign" there, and over time it will gain reputation for being haunted--advancing Satan's most effective deception (spiritism). Is that not what has occurred in this mine, as the investigators ASSUME it is deceased Chinese and not demons? (and other places highlighted on TV/books)?

We do not know how many demons there are, but there a whole lot!  So, Satan can afford to place demonic soldiers wherever it will serve his agenda. As in any war, there will be many fronts and battles. Wherever we give them legal rights to attach and dwell, they usually will. Regardless of human contact, they "OWN" this mine, and their pride is swollen to bursting. Same as an abandoned farm house a friend was telling me about recently. Apparently no human traffic for long time, but when he stepped in the old house, this demon let him know he was not wanted there. Similar scenarios have played out millions of times all over. Unless specifically directed to attack us, many demons BECAUSE OF THEIR HATRED OF US, don't want anything to do with us. You can relate to that, can't you?! I can...

Lastly, only God knows how much land has been spiritually polluted in our country due to hatred or curses, or both. And if you build a new home on cursed land, chances are your house will soon become infested. The OT speaks often of the land being spiritually defiled or polluted, and vomiting it's occupants out. On the other hand, we could say much more regarding land based curses, but it boils down to their being real and giving Satan a territorial foothold which can extend for many, many miles.

I bring us back to this organizing principle--whatever will advance the infernal agenda of the spread of the kingdom of darkness, is where we will see demonic presence and activity. Much of that is hidden from our view on purpose,and so we should EXPECT an element of mystery from our hated enemy.

Conclusion...Satan is prideful of all his assets, and as the ultimate miserly miser, not willing to give an inch without a fight.

Worldviews...Bringing Our Thoughts Under Christ's Lordship

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Last time we looked at epistemology, which deals with how we acquire knowledge. We noted that it is important to give reasons for why we believe what we believe. When we are not aware of our reasons for believing something, it is difficult to analyze or evaluate that belief, and it is certainly difficult to argue it with someone else (argue in logical sense).

You may not have heard of Sena Naslund as an author, but perhaps you have heard of Dean Koontz. I was surprised to discover that he has devoted an entire novel series on a character named Odd Thomas--a short order cook in a small CA town. He acquired the ability to see and communicate with trapped spirits. In this series he attempts to help spirits who had been treated unjustly. Novels, especially a series written by another bestseller like Koontz, have the ability to substantially alter a person's worldview...without the reader being consciously aware of it. Perhaps before reading his novel/s the reader either did not believe in ghosts or was on the fence, but afterwards it would take a conscious effort to NOT be effected in the direction of belief.

Similarly, I noted Wednesday night that there was a TV show, "Haunted Mine", which I watched--been without TV for several months. What is next: "Haunted Honeymoons"?! This is not a fad and it (the assumption that trapped spirits exist) is particularly compelling when viewed via the medium of TV.  Seeing is believing, right? Not if you mis-interpret the data.

                                                                                  

A few nights ago I heard an interview with John Zaffis and another well known demonologist. I always enjoy listening to Zaffis because of his immense learning and experience. Much wisdom was shared, and then the host asked how they make decisions.....determining what is there and what to do. John said they leave after a day or 2 of investigating to do some "diagnosing"--a key word they used several times..."they needed to look over the evidence to discern what is trapped spirits and if any demons" (Zaffis). At this point, I groaned out loud.

Is the diagnosing by a demonologist (or investigator) similar to that of a doctor? Yes and No. Yes, in that both deal with studying symptoms, and then seeking to find the cause and cure for a problem. But even in this regard, a case could be made that the "ailments" a demonologist deals with are much more serious than those which a medical doctor handles--which should give pause to anyone seeking to enter this field. No, in that there is a distinct, explicit spiritual component to the paranormal diagnostic process. Please remember that the paranormal is not ultimately a scientific issue but a theological issue, because science is UNABLE to uncover the identity of supernatural entities.What I want us to see is that during this very important diagnostic process, one's worldview WILL effect how we see and interpret the paranormal facts., and we are almost always unaware of these strong, interior influences.

God rejects the false wisdom of the world and calls His people to radical obedience ( 1 Cor. 1-2)--thinking according to God's norms is a crucial aspect of this radical call to discipleship. In a word, God is an intellectual authoritarian. This is a touchy subject for modern man who is insistent on total freedom of speech and thought. However, God's intellectual authoritarianism is the source of true intellectual freedom. Human thinking must be subject to a norm or criterion. If we reject God as our intellectual norm, then we must either create an idol and find some other ultimate norm, or capitulate to skepticism, which is intellectual death....both are, actually. The philosophical trends of rationalism, empiricism, and subjectivism have been created by non-Christian philosophers in a  futile attempt to justify human knowledge apart from bowing before the God of the bible.

Everyone has a worldview--a basic commitment of the heart translated into a way of seeing reality--both Christians and non-Christians have a worldview. Hence, it is simply not true to say that Christians are "biased" or "prejudiced" in their presuppositions (worldviews) in diagnosing of paranormal problems, and that nonbelievers are "neutral" or "unbiased" in the same process. Both groups are equally biased and prejudiced., when interpreting the paranormal facts. Jesus said, "He is who is not for Me is against Me." The non-Christian is as passionate about rejecting the true God as the Christian is in loving Him.

In the 1960's Thomas Kuhn wrote a groundbreaking book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolution". Though not a Christian, Kuhn made numerous very astute observations regarding how we "diagnose" scientific facts. He asserted that nobody is fully objective in their viewing and interpreting of data. The scientific community (think paranormal community) has shared beliefs which act as a paradigmatic grid though which they sift all data. If data or facts arise which are contrary to their basic community assumptions, then they will NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THIS DATA OR EVIDENCE. Their perception has been obscured by a distorted paradigm (worldview) to the point that they actually cannot see certain aspects of reality. It is only when the anomalies multiply to a certain point(says Kuhn)...when the contrary evidence is popping up all over the place, that the scientific community awakens from its slumber and is then be able to. begin to "see" what had been there the whole time. 

This is leading philosopher of science is stating that pure objectivity is impossible. In fact, for a Christian, "pure objectivity" is the last thing we should desire in study of paranormal phenomena. Pure objectivity implies that there are "neutral or brute facts' out there just waiting for us to give them meaning and identity. Not so! Every square inch of the cosmos belongs to the Lord, upon which He has placed His victory flag, and cries out "MINE!!". Every fact--literally every molecule to every star-- is a theistic fact...a fact ordained from all eternity and thus, pre-interpreted by God Almighty. There are no neutral or brute facts, which just exist in an anonymous void or vacuum, waiting for some human to come along and affirm its existence and meaning. God has already done that, and we are to re-interpret the paranormal phenomena as closely as possible to God's original pre-interpretation. Viewing facts or paranormal phenomena through a biblical worldview enables us to be faithful interpreters of God's world. Pure objectivity is not attainable, nor even desirable.

In conclusion, let is re-visit John Zaffis's diagnosis. May I say humbly and gently that Mr Zaffis, simply by virtue of his belief in trapped spirits, will not be able to consistently re-interpret (diagnose) God's pre-interpretation of the paranormal facts. God has made it clear that trapped spirits do not exist, BUT if we believe in them anyway, then we will see what we want or expect to see in the evidence review. God is an intellectual authoritarian, and it is our duty to humble ourselves before him. Otherwise, we dishonor God, hurt the client by giving them bad advice, and hurt ourselves as well.

Demons can mimic ANYTHING. Since that is the case how can one diagnose or find a criterion that would distinguish between a human spirit and a demon? The host asked him what the diagnosis involved, and he did not specify but gave a general response about sifting through data to make decisions. You affirm that you are a Christian John, please...please think like one.

Issue 99 – The Paranormal “Man” of the Year is…

By Kirby Robinson

For us to award this honor a person must do something that sets them apart from everyone else in the paranormal field. Their actions must cause the average person in the paranormal to stop and say, What a Guy or Gal!

Unfortunately, this year’s winner actions did not add anything to anyone’s life, change the world, or bring anything new to the old paranormal table. This person’s actions showed the ego is alive and well. This person’s action showed that even a moron can call themselves a paranormal investigator/demonologist. This person’s actions showed no signs of love and compassion that we so need right now after the outright slaughter of 28 human beings--20 of them young children.

There will be 20 sets of gifts that will go unopened this Christmas. 20 bikes that will go unridden, 20 dolls not played with, and 20 teddy bears that will go unheld.

A few hours after blood was shed and lives forever altered, one person wanted to go into the Sandy Hook Elementary School and do an investigation. That person is the winner of the Eye on the Paranormal’s “Man” of the Year award. His name is Kurt W. Kesler.

On Friday, as the nation was shedding tears over the loss, it seems that the paranormal fame train whistle was blowing loudly as Kurt posted on Facebook a desire to go ghost hunting in the state of Connecticut. Common sense was shown as people became outraged that such an action was even being tossed around. Kurt removed the thread and thought it would fade away. Someone posted that since it’s no longer there you have no proof it ever happened. Well, we say thanks for screen shots and thank you Worst Paranormal for sharing it.

Here’s a link to the thread. Scroll down the page for the entire multi page thread:

http://worstparanormal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46%3Akurt-kesler-becoming-the-biggest-paranormal-douchebag&catid=1%3Aarticles

Now it would have been bad enough if this is the place the story ends but it does not

Just like Chip Coffey, Mr. Kesler wants to exploit Ground Zero to further his career. He has tried repeatedly to conduct a ghost hunt on it, as he desires to release a DVD of it for profit. Did he intend to share money earned from it go to the families? In Mr. Coffey’s case, he went to Ground Zero with a client and a reporter in tow to contact the lost loved one. Since then he’s never failed to mention this tasteless action in his media information kit.

The final insult comes from the fact that the school board who oversees the schools in Newtown, CT started to reactive requests form a ghost hunter who claimed to be a paranormal investigator/demonologist wanting to have access as soon as possible to conduct an investigation in Sandy Hook.

As much as we’d like to lay all the blame on our winner’s doorstep, we can’t. On Bishop Long’s Facebook page, he asked if there was any place off limits when it comes to doing an investigation? Most people who responded thought it was okay as ghost hunters had a right to investigate any haunted site at any time.

 A few years ago, SCIFAKE caught a para-celeb selling tickets to ghost hunts at public cemeteries without the owner’s permission. During visiting hours, visitors who were paying respect to lost loved ones saw ghost hunters walking across graves talking loudly. The promoter even gave the finger to those at the cemetery.

Additionally, Mr. Kesler has a book out about demonology. If you’re a demonologist you have to have a book. This isn’t a bad idea. At least the reader, if they have any basic knowledge of the subject, can kind of determine the amount of knowledge the author has about the subject. In the case of Mr. Kesler’s book, Demonology 101, within the first few pages he shows no wisdom on the subject, as he knows nothing of Christian theology or where demons come from.

So we can only hope that Mr. Kesler keeps up the good work as the poster boy for what is bad paranormal behavior.

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Cleansings—Personal Deliverance Ministry Standards of Conduct

By Stephen Piersall, Deliverance Ministry Consultant, Central New York

When you open your door to have a Priest/Pastor/Demonologist/Deliverance Ministry representative come in to your home you want to make sure they are authentic and you might want to question them to make sure they are right with God and you do not have a Para-Celeb showing up just going through the motions. Much damage can occur because of improper behavior or not being a good representation for God. Since they will be coming to get some background info on yourselves, you should consider the following to make sure your bringing in the right team for the job.

Is this just your typical local ghost investigation team with all kinds of equipment and want to be in your home throughout the night asking, “Is there anyone here tonight?” and will leave you and get back with you in a matter of days or weeks? “DANGER Will Robinson!” You want someone there NOW, to help you through this uncertain time. Will these people maintain strict confidentiality? After all, they will be roaming your home and see things in your home you may not want anyone else to know.

You are granting them permission to come into your home; do you want them to conduct this interview/investigation at night or during the day? Nighttime is Satan’s playtime. In addition, the risk of injury or damage to your personal property can and will happen. BTW since the Demonic are master of disguise’s, they might want to play or most likely sit back and just watch the team and make noises that only the equipment can hear. However, when the team leaves, any demonic presence can and will escalate. Are they leaving your residence and never prayed before, during, and afterwards with you? Was anyone with this team really concerned for you and your family’s well-being and ended the night with some sort of plan for resolution?

These are just a few ideas to keep in mind when you open the idea of investigators coming to your home. Signing a consent form, confidentiality agreement and a Deliverance Background questionnaire is agreeable with me. Nevertheless, more than the paperwork, I would bring my Bible. I would want to talk with you and pray that the Holy Spirit reveal to you any Strongholds (Legal Right) the demonic has over you. Anybody can do a cleansing, but only you can come clean with the sins in your life, ask God for forgiveness, and repent. Sure Satan’s demonic prowess will still tempt you but use the power of God to bind them and cast them out of your life. We will talk next time about strongholds (legal rights) regarding specific sins.

I leave this with you to seek the Lord’s forgiveness and wisdom. Pray every morning to start your day and evening to end your day. Our country needs help and with the elections coming up, pray that the United States of America Blesses God!