Derek Prince - People That Need Deliverance Are Ordinary People
This is an excerpt from: Basics of Deliverance: How to Identify The Enemy
Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demonized. The New Testament hardly makes any distinction. And Jesus did not either. Almost invariably He dealt with the sick and with the demonized in one overall operation. The whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons; and he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him. The King James and this version, and various others use the word ‘cast out demons.’ The translation I prefer is that of Phillips where he uses the word expel. Because that doesn't have a lot of religious connotations. It's simple, practical, down-to-earth. If you inhale smoke into your lungs, what do you do to get rid of it? You expel it. It's an action of the will but there's also a physical aspect to it. And that's what I like to use. I don't always use it but that in my opinion, best represents. He expelled many demons. He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
And then I'd like to read one more verse in that chapter, verse 39: He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons. Phillips translation says, He continued throughout the whole of Galilee preaching in their synagogues and expelling demons. I particularly like the fact that he uses the word continued which represents a certain tense in Greek. He brings out the fact that this was not an isolated dramatic instance that just took place in one synagogue, but it was His regular practice in every synagogue to do two things; preach and expel demons. And He did it through the whole of Galilee. There must have been hundreds of synagogues in Galilee. A lot of people have got the attitude: Perhaps every now and then there is a case where it's necessary to expel demons but they're very rare and they're exceptional. Usually the attitude is: If there are such people they're either in jails or mental institutions.
I have to point out to you that that was not the kind of person Jesus was dealing with. He was dealing with Orthodox Jews who met every Sunday in the synagogue and spent the rest of the week caring for their families tending their fields, fishing the sea, keeping their stores and so on. They were basically normal, respectable, religious people but they had what we could say certain hang-ups. Certain areas, as I say, where they were not in control of themselves. So do not get the impression that a person who needs deliverance must be either a criminal or a maniac. It's just the same kind of people that we deal mainly with today. Not exclusively. Good, respectable, religious people who attend church and say the right things but in their lives somewhere there's an area that's demonized where they're not in control. It may be in their physical desires maybe in their emotions, it may be in their mind.
I'm going to deal with the various areas later. But if you can accept what I said it will clear away a whole lot of prejudices which will keep you from being able to see this subject objectively. It's a funny thing, but people in one nation can easily accept that people in another nation could need deliverance. I've dealt with it in Denmark. The Danes have no problems in believing that Americans need deliverance. The Americans have no problem believing Africans need deliverance. I spent eight years in Africa but I have to tell you I never met so many demons in Africa as I've met in America. They're just cultural differences. They adapt themselves to their environment.