Do We Still

Cast Out
Demons?
Larry Nevenhoven

Copyright 2016 by Larry Nevenhoven

All rights reserved. This article is protected by the copyright laws of
the United States of America. Written permission must be secured from
the author to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief
quotations in critical reviews or articles.
Unless otherwise noted. Scripture quotations are from The Holy
Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Published by Larry Nevenhoven

Chapter 1
The sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed lay under the five porches near
the pool of Bethesda, in the shadows of the Temple. All awaited the
waters in the pool to be stirred up by an angel because the first one to
step into the pool would be healed. The others even though they had
waited for months and maybe years which followed the first man into
the water would not be healed.
An unknown Man walked into their midst. He stepped over and
around numerous sick people as if He were looking for one individual.
Many grunted and complained that He was in their way, ruining their
chances of getting healed if the angel arrived at that moment. The Man
ignored their complaints as He searched the porches.
Finally, He walked up to a man and said, "Do you want to be
made well?" (1)
The sick man answered by listing his reasons why he had not
been healed.
Jesus said, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." (2)
The man was totally healed. He picked up his bed and carried it
away, even though it was the Sabbath.
Then, what followed is described in the Bible as the
greatest healing crusade in Jesus' ministry. Everyone rushed or
called out to Him, asking to be healed. And everyone was
healed and glorified the God of Israel.
Disregard the last paragraph because it never happened. Not
one of the other sick people said anything to Him.
Oh yes! The people saw Jesus heal the man, but as soon as it
happened, they turned their eyes back to the pool in hopes the angel
might show up.
They couldn't move past their Temple teachings and traditions to
see the Fountain of Living Water standing in their midst. (3) After all,
this religious practice had healed a few in the past. Why change to
something new?
This is sadly where the Church stands today.
So, do we believers still cast out demons?
Notes:
(1) John 5:6
(2) John 5:8
(3) Jeremiah 17:13

Chapter 2
Put on your Bible thinking caps for a moment, okay?
How many demons did Abraham cast out of people during his
many journeys? How many demons did Moses cast out? Or Joshua? Or
King David? Or Elijah? Or Elisha? Or Isaiah? Or Jeremiah? Or Ezekiel? Or
Daniel?
And what about John the Baptist?
For he [John the Baptist] will be great in the sight of the Lord,
and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled
with the Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb. (Luke 1:15)
Jesus said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet that
was born under the Law. Although John was filled with the Holy Spirit
from his birth, he never cast out one demon during his twelve to
eighteen months of ministry.
The angel Gabriel even talked with John's father, Zacharias,
about the special son that Elizabeth was going to give birth to, and
said:
"He [John the Baptist] will go before Him [Jesus] in the spirit and
power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and
the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, a people prepared for the
Lord." (Luke 1:17)
But yet, with all the power, which heaven invested in John the
Baptist, he did not cast out one demon. Not one!
So, why did John the Baptist fail to cast out demons? And why did
all of the Old Testament heroes of the faith fail to cast out demons?
Notes:
(4) Luke 7:28

Chapter 3
What did the Jews do when a person was tormented by demons?
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left King Saul, and the LORD sent
a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of
Sauls servants said to him, A tormenting spirit from God is troubling
you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the
tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you
will soon be well again. (1 Samuel 16:14-16)
In Jewish theology, the scholars believed that everything came
from God, even tormenting spirits. They had very little insight on Satan
and the kingdom of darkness. Thus, soothing music was sometimes
used to stabilize a tormented person. This was, in fact, the reason
David was first introduced to King Saul. (5)
The Jews also had exorcists who traveled from town to town.
These men were basically fortunetellers, conmen, and magicians who
put on a show and received money for their services. They uttered
spells and enchantments to heal sick people and cast out demons.
Its interesting to note these exorcists did use a name to
command the demons to leave people. As stated by Josephus, the
historian, the name used by the exorcists was supposedly that of
Solomon because the king wrote a book on magical healing and
exorcism. (6)
In the name of Solomon, we command the demons to
leave you!
How successful were these Jewish exorcists?
A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil
spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their
incantation, saying, I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul
preaches, to come out! (Acts 19:13)
Obviously, the income for the Jewish exorcists had dropped quite
a bit when Jesus and the apostles arrived on the scene. To compensate
for their losses, the above group quit using the name of Solomon and
began using the name of Jesus in their exorcisms.
What then happened to the seven sons of a leading Jewish priest
named Sceva is one of the funniest stories in the Bible:
But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know
Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you? Then the man with the evil
spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with

such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. (Acts
19:15-16)
Why did this happen to the seven sons of Sceva?
Notes:
(5) 1 Samuel 16:18
(6) http://is.gd/w17YMr

Chapter 4
If we surveyed one hundred Christians and asked them, What did
Jesus preach? All would answer that He preached the gospel.
If we then asked the same one hundred Christians, What is the
gospel? We would then receive a hundred different answers, each
having a part of the truth.
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14)
Jesus did not arrive on the scene, give an altar call, and ask
everyone to repeat a sinners prayer. He preached and taught a lifechanging message: the gospel of the kingdom of God.
The Greek word euaggelion is translated into our English word
gospel in most Bible translations. And the word gospel itself has been
handed down to us from the Anglo-Saxon word godspel, which actually
means good story. Today, we just assume the word gospel means
good news.
But what was the good news Jesus preached? The kingdom of
God.
Lets look at an eye-opening incident, okay?
Jesus cast out a demon from a mute man. The people were
amazed, but the Pharisees stated He did it by the power of Beelzebul
(or Satan). Jesus turned their words around on them and said
If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then
will his kingdom stand? (Matthew 12:26)
What a profound statement, but then Jesus went a little further
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons
cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges? (Matthew 12:27)
This was a put-up or shut-up moment for the Pharisees
because Jesus knew the Pharisees could not cast out demons. They
didnt have the power. Thus, all of their followers could not cast out
demons either.
Yet, Jesus did not leave us in the dark about casting out demons.
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matthew 12:28)

Chapter 5
John the Baptist languished in prison and his spirit fell to its lowest ebb.
He sent two of his disciples to Jesus to inquire if Jesus was truly the
Christ. Jesus answered by saying:
Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard:
that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf
hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
(Luke 7:22)
Jesus did not give a four-point sermon on why He was the Christ,
but instead, He pointed to His acts, demonstrating the kingdom of God
had arrived on earth. He was the King of Kings and the Head of the
kingdom of God on earth.
The two disciples of John the Baptist were satisfied with Jesus
answer and departed.
Jesus then spoke about John the Baptist and his ministry. He
stated John was the messenger who prepared the way for Jesus and
added:
For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a
greater prophet than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28-a)
You have to remember the Jews revered Abraham, Moses, David,
Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, and all of the prophets. Thus, when Jesus ranked
John the Baptist at the top of the list, His words flabbergasted and
astounded the listeners.
Yet, the second part of Jesus statement was even more amazing

but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than

John. (Luke 7:28-b)
When Jesus stated that the lowest member of the kingdom of
God the one who got in by the skin of his teeth was greater than
John, Jesus was not referring to a persons eternal rank or position. This
could not be the case because all of the Old Covenants prophets
positions for all of eternity were already set in place by Gods word. No
one can ever usurp their positions in the kingdom of God.
So, what was Jesus referring to when He spoke Luke 7:28-b?

Chapter 6
If you are like me, you read the Old Testament and are amazed at the
exploits done by the prophets.
Moses parted the Red Sea, produced water from a rock, and
spoke words that opened up the earth to swallow Korah and his family.
Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still and it obeyed him for a
whole day.
King David, along with three men, stood in the middle of a field and
defeated a whole army of Philistines. Elijah prophesied so it did not rain
for three years; the prophet prayed fire down from heaven for a
sacrifice and slew four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal; he killed two
fifty-men groups of soldiers with fire from heaven; and he was taken up
into heaven in a chariot of fire.
Yet, Jesus said that John was greater than all of these prophets,
but then He added:
but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than
John. (Luke 7:28-b)
You see, unlike the Old Testament where the Holy Spirit came
upon the prophets so they could do exploits and speak anointed words,
the Holy Spirit lives in believers 100% of the time. The Helper never
takes a vacation and is always ready to assist us. And unlike the Old
Testament where the prophets had to obey the Law as subjects living
in a theocracy ruled by God, we are born again as sons and daughters
of the King who rules over the Kingdom of God.
As royal sons and daughters, we have all of the privileges of our
King. In fact, the things He did, we can do, and even greater things
than He did while He walked here on earth. (7)
Jesus said that the least person in the kingdom of heaven has
more royal privileges and power than all of the prophets in the Old
Testament. What a powerful statement for us to believe and walk in
today.
Notes:
(7) John 14:12

Chapter 7
We Evangelicals major on talking about being born again, but do you
know how many times our Lord spoke on this issue? Just one time.
Period.
Yet, there are more than thirty instances in the four Gospels
where Jesus cast out demons, gave power to His disciples to cast out
demons, or taught about casting out demons.
Now, how is it that we Evangelicals can talk for hours about the
importance of being born again, but yet, we draw blanks when it
comes to casting out demons?
So that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are
not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11)
Paul wrote the above verse in reference to a man who had
committed sexual immorality with his fathers wife. The apostle
recommended the man be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the
mans flesh. (8) When the man repented, Paul recommended the man
should be accepted back into the fellowship.
But the important point is this: Satan has schemes and plans
to destroy the effectiveness of us believers.
Okay, who benefits the most by us believers not being able to
cast out demons? The Kingdom of God? Or the kingdom of darkness?
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matthew 12:28)
Its obvious that if we believers do not understand how to cast
out demons, the kingdom of darkness rejoices at our ignorance. Why?
Because our power and authority in Jesus name bows impotent before
the god of this world: Satan.
Oh dear! What should we do?
Notes:
(8) 1 Corinthians 5:5

Chapter 8
Early one morning, Smith Wigglesworth was awakened in his Yorkshire,
England, home by a rustling sound in his bedroom. (9) He rolled over
and saw someone sitting in the chair at the foot of his bed. He squinted
his near-sighted eyes and then recognized who it was.
Oh, its just you, Satan, said Wigglesworth as he rolled over
and went back to sleep.
Wigglesworth told this story at one of his meetings, but what do
you think?
(An excerpt from Storming the Kingdom by Larry
Nevenhoven, 2014, an Amazon eBook.)
Its easy for us modern skeptics to look at Wigglesworth (1859
1947) and consider him, his ministry, and his visions to be nothing
more than ridiculous Pentecostal fantasies from the past. But the
nation of Sweden and its king, Gustaf V, did not think of Wiggleworth
as a tongue-talking charlatan. They took him seriously.
In 1921, Smith Wigglesworth held healing meetings throughout
Scandinavia. Thousands were healed and saved. His success prompted
Swedish doctors to convince authorities that Wigglesworth practiced
medicine without a license when he laid hands on the sick. Thus, the
authorities notified Wigglesworth he was not allowed to lay his hands
on the sick when he visited Stockholm. If he refused to obey the law,
he would be arrested and sent to jail.
King Gustaf heard about the new law and wrote Wiggleswoth a
note asking him to find a way around the city ordinance so the
evangelist could minister healing to the Swedish people.
What did Smith Wigglesworth do?
Wigglesworth arrived on schedule and preached a faith message
from the Bible. When he finished preaching, he asked the sick people
to lay their own hands on themselves. He prayed a short healing
prayer for everyone. As soon as he finished, miracles happened
throughout the auditorium. The people who were healed jumped up
and shouted with joy, which stirred up the faith of others to believe for
their own healing.
The Sweden healing crusade turned out to be one of
Wigglesworth most successful ones.
Theres no doubt that Smith Wigglesworth was a unique man, but
he never considered his ministry unique. He believed every Christian
could do the same things he did, such as healing the sick, raising the
dead, and casting out demons.
Okay, how could Wigglesworth think this way? And what was his

secret?
Notes:
(9) http://www.smithwigglesworth.com

Chapter 9
A pastor friend felt frustrated in his calling. So, he fasted and prayed,
crying out to God, Lord, I need Your power to do miracles and deliver
people from demons.
He continued in this fashion for days until he felt the Lord had
whispered to his heart this message: If I had what you have right now,
Id go out and do miracles.
This was not what the pastor expected. He thought hed receive
a new Acts 2 experience from heaven with a mighty rushing wind and
tongues of fire. He sat down and thought about what he had in his
divine arsenal.
I have Jesus living inside me, the Holy Spirit as my helper, and a
Bible. That must be enough to do miracles, he said aloud.
Okay, was my pastor friends revelation scriptural?
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed,
guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger
than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in
which he trusted and divides his spoil. (Luke 11:20-22)
Before Jesus arrived on earth, nobody including anointed
prophets, priests, or kings could defeat Satan in a head-on spiritual
battle. He was the god of this world and headed the kingdom of
darkness. But Jesus is our stronger one who appeared on earth to
destroy the works of the devil. (10)
The Apostle John wrote:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because
He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
Jesus went a step further when he commissioned us as His
disciples:
Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been given all
authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make
disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-19)
As we can readily see, we have the Greater One living in us who
is stronger than Satan and we have authority through Jesus to walk

on earth as He walked during His earthly ministry.

I believe the pastors revelation is accurate. We have everything
thats needed to do miracles and cast out demons.
So, if were not casting out demons right now, the fault must be
on our end and not the Lords. We can either change our thinking to
walk in scriptural faith and defeat the god of this world or continue in
our powerlessness. The choice is up to each of us. What's your
decision?
Notes:
(10) 1 John 3:8

About the Author

Larry Nevenhoven is a businessman and a former real estate agent,
living with his wife, Carol, in California. They are the parents of four
children and the grandparents of six grandchildren. Two ferocious cats
round out their immediate family.
More information on Larry can be seen at his web site and blog:
www.larrywho.com
Or on FaceBook: Larry Nevenhoven
Or on Twitter: Larry Nevenhoven @ mrlarrywho
Email: mr.larrywho@gmail.com
If you enjoyed this article, you might want to check out the e-books
by Larry Nevenhoven on Amazon.com:
Common Sense 2016
Unhinged Geezer
The Day LA Died
Jonah
Deceived Dead and Delivered
The Hunt for Larry Who
New Wind Blowing
Prophecy 101
Planning + Preparation = Survival
Giving to the Poor: What's In It For Me?
Storming the Kingdom