Mike Signorelli - Things Demons Don't Want You to Know
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Summary:
Pastor Mike teaches from Mark 16:17–18 that every believer has authority through Jesus to cast out demons as a sign that accompanies those who believe, emphasizing it’s not for «super Christians» but requires submission to Christ’s authority and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. He explains the difference between fleshly issues needing repentance and demonic oppression requiring deliverance, using analogies like police badge (authority) and gun (power), and stresses discernment, surrender, and self-deliverance as the starting point. The key takeaway is that if intrusive thoughts, supernatural endurance in sin, or failed attempts at freedom persist, deliverance—beginning with oneself—is needed for true liberation.
Signs That Follow Believers
If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the idea of casting out demons and asked, «How do I even get started?» I want you to stick around till the end. I’m saving the best for last, okay? This isn’t just something for special people, or super Christians, or people who are highly trained. Actually, the Bible says that all believers should cast out demons.
In Mark chapter 16, verses 17 and 18, your name is in there. I don’t know if you know this. And these signs will not maybe, not might; it says they will accompany those who believe. That’s you. So in My name, they will cast out demons, not might. They will speak in new tongues. It’s a gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s not a reward. You can’t earn it. Verse 18 says, «And they will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it won’t hurt them.» Which, in other words, is saying there is divine protection for those who do war in Christ’s name, and they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.
So if you haven’t seen sick people recover, it’s not because God can’t do it through you; it’s probably because you have not allowed Him by a simple act of obedience: laying your hands on people and praying. If you are not under the authority of Jesus, you cannot cast out demons. But if you are under the authority of Jesus, you can.
Authority Like a Father’s Word
So this is the basics. I have two daughters, Bella and Everly, and sometimes when they’re arguing, they come to me and say, «Dad, my little sister, she won’t stop annoying me.»
And then I tell the big sister, «You go back and tell your sister Dad said to stop it.» When she goes back to her little sister, now her little sister listens to her, not because she has authority, but because I, her dad, have authority and I gave it to her. So when the little sister hears her big sister say, «Hey, Dad said you better stop or he’s gonna deal with you, » she’s like, «Oh, I’m gonna act right.» When you are effective at casting out demons, it’s not because you are this powerful person, but it’s because you have been given power and authority by Jesus, and the demons respond to your dad through you.
Kingdom Authority and Power
Matthew chapter 12, verse 28 states, «But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.» So here’s a very good analogy that I want you to really get into your spirit. Imagine that you are a police officer. The badge that you have, which everybody can visibly see, is your authority, and your gun is the power that you use to act on your authority. The badge is a visible sign that you have authority. The power that you enforce it with, if it comes down to that, is your gun. In this sense, Jesus is the authority and the Holy Spirit is your power, your gun to enforce it.
If you just go out shooting without a badge, you’re a criminal. But if you go out fighting crime with nothing but a badge, the criminals will easily overpower you. To have Jesus without the Holy Spirit makes you powerless. You have authority, but you have nothing to enforce it. But to say you have the Holy Spirit without the authority of Jesus means you are just shooting without a badge; you’re a criminal. There are people who have tried to cast out demons without belonging to Jesus, and the demons are like, «We know Paul, but who are you?» I’ve been in deliverance situations where we cast demons out of multitudes of people. I’ve had people on my own team that demons have said, «You’re an imposter.»
That’s why I love the ministry of deliverance because you can preach from the gift of preaching even though you don’t have a relationship with the Jesus you’re preaching about. You can sing and sound like a good worship leader, but not even have a relationship with the Jesus you’re worshiping. But deliverance is different because you can try to cast demons out, but there must be a reality of your reliance on the Holy Spirit.
Discernment: Demon or Flesh?
I want to go a little deeper. Now, you’re praying for someone. You’ve got your badge, and you’ve got your gun; you have your authority and your power, but how do you know if it’s a demon?
I want to speak from personal experience in doing deliverance. You have to constantly be diagnosing and assessing, which requires discernment through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it’s a demon, and sometimes it’s an issue of the flesh. It’s discipline that’s needed, not deliverance. Well, Pastor Mike, how do I know whether it’s discipline or deliverance? The Bible tells us in Galatians chapter 5, verse 24, to crucify the flesh, and in Mark chapter 16, to cast out demons. You cannot crucify a demon, and you cannot cast out the flesh.
So we must increase in our discernment of which one it is. The way that I’ve learned this, having been in the game for a long time—many of you know I’ve been casting demons out of people for over 20 years, which is crazy to say—is that if you never think it’s a demon but are perpetually giving in to the desires of the flesh, there is a very high likelihood that you have opened a doorway to the demonic through repeated sin. We use Scripture and we use discernment from the Holy Spirit to determine what that situation calls for.
The analogy I always give to discern whether it’s a demon or the flesh is simply this: you have David and you have Saul. David was quick to repent. He sinned and made mistakes, but he was quick to repent. Saul was unrepentant, which means that the sin in his life was perpetual. We see that Saul was vexed by demons, but we do not have a biblical account that David was vexed by demons. So what’s the difference, since they were both sinners? Saul opened a door and left it open. David opened a door and immediately slammed it shut through repentance.
Imagine your home. If you leave the doorway to your house open all the time, something is going to come in—a raccoon, a rat, a mouse. It’s just a matter of time. When someone tells me, «I think it’s just a problem with the flesh, » I would ask them, «How long has that door been open?» Because you’ve dramatically increased the likelihood that it’s demonic.
How to Pray in Deliverance
Now, let’s move on. You’re praying for someone. What should I say in this deliverance situation?
When you go back to the biblical account of Jesus Himself doing deliverance and casting demons out of people, it’s not that formulaic. He has dialogue with demons. «Why are you here to torment me?» They’re asking Him these questions, and He casts them out into pigs. He casts out the spirit of infirmity. There is sickness connected to the demonic, but you don’t have any biblical account of Jesus teaching a formula. Why? You do not get better at deliverance; you become more surrendered to the Holy Spirit. That’s it.
The Bible says the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. When you are religious, you’re always trying to learn rituals and formulas and the right words to say, but witches and warlocks say the right words. They have incantations and spells that require the right words. That’s not what happens in deliverance. There is no «Hey, just say this. Repeat this.» As a matter of fact, you must be reliant on your relationship with the Holy Spirit, who will then reveal to you what you’re dealing with. That’s why it’s important, like John the Baptist, to say, «I decrease so that God can increase in me and through me.»
So it’s not about getting better; it’s about becoming more surrendered. As you’re doing deliverance, the Holy Spirit’s showing you what demon you’re dealing with. Sometimes there’s a necessity to call them out by name and begin to do deliverance that way.
Manifestations and Discernment
Will someone who has a demon always manifest? What does the word manifest mean? A demonstration of the personality connected to the demon. Oftentimes, demons of lust and perversion will cause people to contort and manifest lustful behaviors. I’ve seen that many times. I’ve placed my hand—I’ve got chills even saying this out loud—on a young woman once who began to act sexual and physically grab my hand; it was an extremely bizarre situation.
But demons are disembodied personalities. So if it’s a demon of rage, that demon will manifest rage while you’re trying to cast it out. If it’s lust, you may see lust. Whatever the personality is will be a part of the manifestation, and that will help give you discernment to see, «Okay, I can visibly see, » but can I spiritually see that behavior? That points to the name, and I can begin to cast this demon out.
What Prevents Effectiveness
What are the things that prevent me from being effective in deliverance? One of the things that will stop you from being effective is actually pride in your personal life, unconfessed sin, or it could be a lack of knowledge, which just means that in a certain situation, you didn’t know what to do.
You haven’t built your reliance on the Holy Spirit, and you’re doing ministry out of your head, or even out of your heart, which is the emotional realm, the soulless realm, but not the spirit realm. So I’ve seen people, due to pride, unconfessed sin, and a lack of knowledge, prevent them from being effective in deliverance.
Starting with Self-Deliverance
You may actually have to go first, and that’s why I saved the best for last. In the basics of deliverance, the first person you should get good at doing deliverance on is yourself. That’s how it started with me. Loose thyself. The Scriptures teach us that there is a necessity to unlock the shackles and chains and loose thyself.
The very first deliverance I ever did was my own. I was vomiting uncontrollably in my shower as a teenager while breaking curses off my life and casting demons out of myself. It was so crazy, so bizarre, but so liberating, and such a confirmation of how real this all really is.
Three Telltale Signs You Need Deliverance
There are three telltale signs that you need deliverance. Number one: Are you having intrusive thoughts? If you’re having thoughts that contradict who you are, and you can’t stop imagining doing things that you would never actually do in your right mind, that can be a sign that you are demonized. If you’re having perverse, evil thoughts on repeat that you would be mortified if anyone ever found out, it can often be because demons are planting those thoughts in your mind and trying to conceive them into actions that become sin.
Do you have random thoughts of enacting violence, even on loved ones or yourself? Do you have perverted sexual thoughts and fantasies on repeat? Another common one is thoughts of blaspheming God and blaspheming the Holy Spirit. If you can’t stop having thoughts you don’t want to have, you may need deliverance. Number two: Paranormal things happening through you or around you. This is going to be a profound revelation, so please listen. Mark chapter 5, verses one through four says, «They came to the other side of the sea to the country, and when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.» Verse three said, «He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had been bound with shackles and chains, and he wrenched the chains apart and broke the shackles in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him.»
Many times when people are demonized, they receive supernatural abilities as described in Mark chapter 5. The demonized man was given supernatural strength to break chains that would be impossible for a mere human to break. But you might be thinking right now, «Pastor Mike, I haven’t been going around breaking any metal chains—yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about.» But listen, for you, the supernatural ability may look different. For you, it might mean that you’re able to stay awake all through the night, looking at pornography or seeking out sexual partners when you would have normally fallen asleep, exhausted, doing any other activity.
So demons will many times give you this supernatural ability to carry out sin. I have to say that because you’ll see people who can spend hours and hours in comment sections, gossip for hours, or satisfy the desires of their flesh, but really behind that is a demon. Think about this: If you would fall asleep instantly trying to read your Bible but can stay up all night satisfying the desires of the flesh, behind that may also be a demon. And this is the third and most important telltale sign that you need deliverance: you’ve tried everything else. Maybe you’ve tried doing more devotionals. Maybe you’ve tried praying more. Maybe you’ve tried fasting. Maybe you’ve gone to Christian therapy. Maybe you’ve got an accountability partner. Maybe you’ve written the Scriptures on your mirror in your bathroom and read them to yourself, but you’re still not free.
If you’ve tried everything else and you’re still in bondage, you need deliverance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered people who tell me, «Pastor Mike, I don’t need deliverance. I don’t have a demon.» And you know what I always tell them? «Well, let’s go ahead and check.» And then, right there, as soon as I start praying a prayer of deliverance, they dramatically start manifesting, and the demons expose themselves as they’re being revealed. If you truly want to be free, it may not be a demon, but if it is, you need to be delivered. One of the things that I encourage you to start with right now is I have a video. It’s one of my most popular videos about how to do self-deliverance. The very first time I experienced deliverance was by taking myself through repentance, renouncing, breaking curses, and casting demons out.