Video Presentation will be updated soon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6lWyLwefVI
There is a lot of talk and debate lately asking the question whether deliverance ministry is valid for today and whether Christians can become controlled by demons. Those taking sides are usually those of a charismatic persuasion and the opposing team is mostly evangelicals. So what are the basic tenants of each group?
The Charismatic group; holds to the belief that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are still practiced today allowing believers to expect supernatural results in their daily lives. They affirm that a continual trust in the Holy Spirit, in conjunction with the counsel of the Bible, is an example of walking by the Spirit. These have been called continuationist.
Those of an evangelical persuasion; believe that freedom and renewal is first derived from the gospel message and is realized at the time of salvation. However their beliefs say the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 went away with the passing of the Apostles. They say God can still be miraculous but they limit the boundaries of His reach. They see the Bible as their highest authority, and question whether God speaks today, other than from the pulpit. These have been called Cessationist.
This is actually not an obscure doctrinal divide. The subject remains pivotal when asking how the believer is able to mature in life and faith. However, what I hope to achieve on either side of the argument is away to move the church from faith to faith and glory to glory. But that doesn’t happen through osmosis; Jesus did provide us a very simple and clear template for renewal. This in its own right makes us ask the question whether “deliverance ministry” can help us sort through some of the disagreement; or maybe that too has passed away in the minds of some. Answering that question may help us decide what it means to be successful in Christ. If I can share what I know of the good news I think the walls of doctrine can come down on both sides of the fence.
Let’s take a look at the gospel to discover if deliverance remains valid for today. I begin by asking a question:
“When was the first time in your Christian life you found yourself delivered in either physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual ways?
Wasn’t it on the day of salvation?
That one day was actually the only time all believers agreed that God came into their lives in a supernatural way. In that moment He brought about a radical change in the heart and a new perspective on life and faith was born. No longer were any of us held captive to the flesh, the world and the Devil and that was our simplest example of being set free.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
However that day often becomes a past and fleeting moment in time for many. We stop celebrating the significance of being born again and start thinking about what else we can add to our steps. We take on the mindset that somewhere there is extra wisdom, somewhere there is more popular truth and somewhere there is reward just waiting to be apprehended. We strive always looking ahead for answers, as if the answers are something other than Jesus Himself. What it does is reduce the Christian life to a search for more and more knowledge; but that remains synonymous with eating from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Christian life is not a pursuit of knowledge; it’s a pursuit of intimacy with our Savior. Only then are we able to make wise choices and gain an understanding of our King and His Kingdom. The Christian life is then about coming to know a God that freely gives of Himself and stands before us complete in His nature and character. If we open the right door of discovery it becomes a journey into His strength, His hope and His love. Yet if we miss it, it turns into a religion based upon our own human inadequacies.
This is the problem; a complete God is ready to share of Himself if we can just get past our fallen and fleshly view points. And this explains why we need to be delivered; not just once but every time we think life and faith should be held in our corner.
For this reason the day of salvation answers the question “What is the new deliverance”.
Let’s talk about this marvelous way of escape beginning with what happened at the Cross.
When Jesus died on the Cross He was taking humanity in to death with Him. No, we didn’t die physically; but rather we were supernaturally brought into Jesus’ own death so that we can know His life.
We read in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
There are 17 bible references in the New Testament proclaiming our death with Christ. This then tells us that the principle of “dying” carries weight in explaining how change occurs. What we discover is, by dying with Christ we naturally throw off our old mans ways in order to live a new life.
Likewise there are a significant number of verses that tell us additional things Jesus accomplished within our shared death experience.
• The Curse
We were freed from the curse once imposed upon mankind for failing to live up to God’s standards.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
• The Law
The Law of Moses was moved out of the way as our chief standard of performance.
Colossians 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
• The Sin nature
The fallen nature of man is always set towards rebellion, but every act of disobedience has been crucified.
Romans 6:6-7 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
• The Serpent
Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Now we bring these points to light in order to make a point; when the Bible makes mention of the Cross it is highlighting a death in the family and has provided us multiple ways to be set free of natural and spiritual strongholds. Why is this necessary?
When we accepted salvation Jesus came into our lives and made everything new. However having once been cleansed, sanctified and set apart for God, doesn’t mean we always make right choices. If in fact we find ourselves returning to a worldly way of thinking, or get owned by behavior that remains destructive, then we need away for Jesus to renew our steps. A recognition of our death with Christ is the way of escape we’ve been looking for. The Cross is also able to finally settle how we become more like Jesus. Up to this point many have thought it was up to them to live a sinless life, but we’ve been trying too hard. We’ve also gone so far as to depend on our own natural ability to make most of life and faith happen. This tendency to trust in natural strength and reason began with man in the garden.
Initially mankind found purpose by taking dominion. Having been blessed by God he was released to steward God’s creation as he saw fit. Of course, this commission was soon interrupted as the first family gave over their power and authority to the Serpent. In the process the god of this world perverted man’s attempts at ever achieving true success in life. This is why Jesus had to come; not just to return us to relationship with the Father, but to provide us a way to escape our fallen humanity. Think of it this way; at one time God was pleased with man’s natural ability to succeed, yet now God is more pleased with the success of His Son.
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Having since ascended into heaven and having seated Himself at the right hand of the Father, Jesus now invites us to succeed in life by the counsel and direction of His Holy Spirit. A stewardship that once encouraged us to succeed by fleshly means is now dependent on the Spirit of God for each and every step we take. If you have trouble seeing what that actually looks like then let me ask you a question;
“What do dead people do?”
Dead people do nothing, dead people are owned by nothing, dead people are free of their fallen nature and they stop striving in their own strength. Yet dead people must also wait upon the Spirit of God if they intend to ever experience resurrection life. You see the same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to quicken our mortal bodies. Jesus doesn’t leave us in the grave, but rather offers us a greater purpose based on His own power to live the Christian life. Paul the Apostle brings it all into perspective by saying;
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are BEING saved it is the power of God.
This verse then plays into the equation and makes us ask a valid question: “Since Paul says we are “BEING saved” did Jesus only offer us freedom once, or is salvation something we can still access? Saved and sealed for eternity is not in question here; instead we are talking about the Christian life that remains in process.
Now we might be able to ignore Paul’s mention of “being saved” since we only hear him say it once. However Paul is establishing a biblical principle by pointing out that our walk with Christ remains progressive. Besides “being saved” we also hear in his letters him referencing “being enlightened in the eyes of our understanding” Ephesians 1:17-19, “being filled with the fruits of righteousness” Philippians 1:10-12, and being renewed in the image of our Creator” Colossians 3:9-10.
For this reason we can conclude that the pattern of “being” keeps us moving from faith to faith and glory to glory; but it only makes sense in the confines of Christ. I surmise that until we see a complete renewing of our person we are going to have to let go of certain worldly precepts that keep us responding as a child of the fall.
For instance: If you take into account that we where created as triune beings and made in the image of God, we recognize that we have been busy engaging body, soul and spirit in all sorts of activities.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This gives us a glimpse of how man initially took dominion over the earth. Adam was formed from the dust of the earth and engaged body, soul and spirit in an attempt to fulfill a commission. Obviously “body and soul” would speak to the need of managing a physical world, where as “his spirit” gained fellowship with God and became one way in which we communicate and make exchanges with others. None the less, as long as we are natural in our expectations body, soul and spirit will be active in our choices.
Of course we know that the Devil or “the prince of the power of the air” has also engaged man in spiritual ways. Adam and Eve’s encounter with the Devil in the garden was the moment that they gave up rights over their lives and over the earth. A spiritual contract was sealed that day which would allow the Devil and his minions to have a say over the affairs of men.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
So what broke the contract with that spiritual realm? That’s right, we are back to trusting in the work of the Cross.
Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, Jesus made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
As we come forward into our own day and age we still utilize body, soul and spirit within a fallen world. In fact we would be hard pressed to not make fleshly triune exchanges with people and powers on a daily basis. This includes how we engage worldly activities and slide into all sorts of sinful behavior such as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.
Rhetorically I must ask; if a Christian engages in these sinful activities can these activities leave a mark? In other words does a freewill choice to engage in the flesh, the world and the Devil ever hold us captive to the flesh, the world and the Devil? Paul speaks to the issue;
Romans 6:16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Of course this is the basis of what we call “bondage” which amounts to “the right of a man to give away his authority over any aspect of his person. But make no mistake; we are deciding which kingdom will rule us. The determining factor is clarified by Paul when he says;
Romans 8:1-3 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, 17 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Here is another defining moment: The flesh is the thing we are trying to lay down. What that tells us is we have baggage due to having one foot in the world and one in the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus began a good work in us and will carry it on to completion; but that still includes our participation. It is our obligation to shed a dependency on the flesh in all its seedy forms. For this reason Paul offers us a way out through death and at the Cross.
The New Deliverance;
Colossians 3:5-8 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Paul adds support for how we actually put to death our sordid behavior; it is by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:12-13 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Yes, transformation does require our participation with the Holy Spirit to walk in His ways. This deliverance amounts to making a simple request of God just as it was on the day of salvation; the same Savior, the same Holy Spirit, the same death in Christ, and the same separation from the flesh, the world and the Devil. And just like salvation we then experience the same newness of life on the other side.
Romans 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
You might notice that Paul still believed in repentance. Repentance reminds us who we answer to regarding life and godliness. As touching any sinful matter, this is where we experience God forgiving us time and time again. However the deliverance that is now available to us breaks an unhealthy cycle of “failing and repenting” for the same sin. This is why Paul’s message of the Cross is so profound. Think of it this way;
If you had an OFF switch how many ways would you want to use it? What attitudes and actions would you want to escape? How many bad choices in life would you want to leave behind? How many ways would you want to separate from improper ownership, obligation or faulty thinking? By dying to what once bound us we gain proper release from our old man’s ways.
Certainly we have found a pure biblical example of deliverance still tied to our salvation experience. We highlight it as such because we should be running to it in order to throw off every imposing weight. And when we do we find that we have actually returned to basking in the arms of our First Love. So the plan of salvation remains complete and still waits for us to say yes to a renewed mind and heart. Hence a complete God, a complete salvation and a complete way to freedom should be the standard that carries us into eternity. Here’s a simple application worth applying to your walk with God.
“Jesus, by your Holy Spirit and at the Cross, put to death my sinful action (name it)
And based on Colossians 2:15; judge by the Cross the spiritual forces that have been feeding my habit.”
The request is so intricately tied to being born again that we can just as easily ask for more salvation.
“Jesus, I ask that, your continued provision of salvation, would free me now of my bondage to (Name it) and judge by the Cross the spiritual forces that have been feeding my habit.”
Of course since we are His children, even if we say ” Save me Jesus!” He would come to our rescue enlisting all the benefits of His death, burial and resurrection in order to make “saving” happen.
What this tells us is the doctrinal divide that was presented in the beginning of the article is not the question that we should be seeking to resolve. Instead, it’s whether we will allow a complete renovation of our hearts and minds and let God place us back on the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-12).
You see the Savior in whom we are so desperate to represent isn’t a Continuationist nor is He a Cessationist. For that matter He isn’t a Baptist, Presbyterian, or Catholic; yet we all too often seek to validate our position by calling upon other powers to support our claim. Let’s talk candidly about this subject.
The simplest gospel is the one God first gave; but if man puts his hands on God’s message “will he not be altering his way in faith”? For example, Paul says;
2 Corinthians 11:3-5. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
I’ve got news for you; there will come a day that we enter heaven and immediately know we were all wrong in our doctrine. How wrong will have something to do with how far away from the faith we have traveled. That may include our take on ministry practice and a trust in thousands of different Christian denominations. You see; if a system of belief falls short of fullness in Christ it means we are also creating “misdeeds within our faith”. These issues are more serious then just lust, pride or greed; there are other gods involved in our choices. Because we have gone where angels fear to tread, our religious endeavors have left a mark on how we live, move and have our being. Such a detour means we have been introduced to other saviors thinking they were the Only Wise God. This demands that we come to grips with reality admitting that on various occasions we have been responding to the will of other powers.
Let’s reason through this issue, but before we do I want to remind you that freedom is available at the Cross and remains a simple request of God.
“Jesus, by your Holy Spirit and at the Cross, put to death my religious actions and religious associations (name them) and judge by the Cross the spiritual forces that feed these religious connections.
Plan on calling upon Him for deliverance as we address the imposing subject of demonic intrusion.
Since we are body, soul and spirit we are talking about life and faith inappropriately drawing to ourselves spiritual control. Make no mistake; the Devil permeates worldly pleasures and adds spiritual seduction in a myriad of ways. If that gets passed on to us it represents spiritual bondage.
A very vivid example of spiritual bondage was present in the Bibles mention of Judas, though for the record I don’t believe he was ever saved.
Judas so lusted after money that he betrayed the Messiah for thirty pieces of silver. A prophetic statement in Psalms shows us how his actions were once supported.
Psalm 109:5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
The point of entry into the life of Judas was based on his own greed; Judas sought to save himself through greed and this trust or faith in his own accomplishments found spiritual support.
Was Judas then possessed and under the power of a demon? Yes, but let’s add some depth to our understanding.
In its simplest form possession can mean that Judas was in touch with a spirit that tickled his ears. Such a spirit alerted him to opportunities to steal and covet more money. This simple form of spiritual control doesn’t require any greater degree of ownership.
But then we know that a seducing spirit seduces the senses. When Judas basked in his victories a spiritual presence was there to enhance his experience in physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual ways.
However the Gospels then speak of a greater level of bondage.
As Judas began to plot his betrayal of Jesus, Satan breached the veil of his flesh and entered into him (Luke 22:2).
Similar forms of exchange can affect us as well. For the believer we are then talking about various degrees of demonic control.
If you are wondering does the bible provide us a clear example of a Christian being demonically bound? Yes, there are two passages and another two honorable mentions.
Our first example is Paul the Apostle. Paul suffered an infirmity which was the direct result of a spirit altering his way of life.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9a. Because of these surpassing great revelations, therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
What we learn from this occurrence is; no matter where we remain stuck in process, God is always present to support us and sustain us by His marvelous Grace.
Our second example: 1 Timothy 4:1-3. Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
“Giving heed” is a unique term. In the Greek it means;
“To apply oneself to, attach oneself to, or hold or cleave to a thing”.
In this respect those that depart from the faith get owned by seducing spirits simply by choice. These powers are frequently present within poor doctrine, poor examples of ministry and poor religion.
Since we are a spiritual people and demonic control can follow along on our issues of human compromise, I also give an honorable mention to another couple of passages which speak of a unity in spiritual matters.
Jude 1:11. Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
Here’s another example:
Revelation 2:20. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
These people died thousands of years prior, yet their actions have reappeared in the attitudes of others. We don’t necessarily find listed in the bible “the spirit of Cain", or of Jezebel; yet we have to ask why they are mentioned in the last two books of the Bible. Even the idea of a believer coming out of Babylon can’t possibly be based on a fleshly exodus. Admittedly we don’t even find terms such as “a spirit of lust, pride or greed; none the less these terms are revealing issues that hide in the human heart.
Then again, even having a “religious spirit” is not found in the bible, yet what religious faction hasn’t accused another of having a demon? We measure them as skewed in their doctrine; and maybe rightly so. Yet few are courageous enough to ask if we too are the screwy ones?
What we discover is on any occasion; in order to access the same spirit all one needs to do is have the same fallen goals.
The strongholds that come about through mankind’s self centered interests have changed very little since their initial inception. History often repeats itself because spiritually induced ideas don’t die; they just keep getting passed on from one generation to the next.
We should get a clue that humanity is the reason that spiritual kingdoms are born and religious practice invites spiritual compromise in faith. Just look at the rise of so many Christian denominations that say they serve one God. Yet the diversity of religious practice says they have added to the faith. It tells us someone went beyond simply wanting a relationship with Jesus.
Of course compromise still uses scriptural principles to back up its claims and this is no less true within deliverance ministry.
What do you think; if we pull out our harps can we subdue restless demons like David; or was that to bring rest to Saul? Now a days people have been inspired to believe the story as a means of gaining deliverance. Does God oblige people based on this level of faith? I think He works with our faith and often works around our naivety; He simply loves unconditionally. However such a practice also comes with its own set of spiritual tentacles. If it gets turned into a doctrine it becomes a new bondage to the man or woman that thinks its Gods way.
But what of present day deliverance ministries; what has been their inspiration?
Many a deliverance ministry draws from the four gospels. However the gospels were a record of Jesus having been sent to the lost sheep of Israel. It was a unique time of transition for the faith, but wasn’t a complete transition into the fullness we have now. Most notably, their deliverance came prior to the death, burial and resurrection of the Son of God. Hence the Holy Spirit was delivering the flesh of man at the Name of Jesus and demons would shake men violently and shriek as they departed.
But could we use the four gospels as a template to validate New Testament deliverance?
I have to ask; why would anyone ever want to?
But it doesn’t have to be this way. I believe in deliverance and know that it can be beneficial in releasing a person who has been stuck in the world. Make no mistake I still offer praise to God for those that are willing to set the captives free. And though people may want to mock a colorful messenger, they really should find some constraint when realizing where the power actually comes from. But we must also be willing to ask if the power is Jesus alone. Does present day practice blur the lines to what is healthy ministry?
Once Jesus passed through death, burial and resurrection and entered the heart of the Christian the rules changed. No longer did we need a person to be the liaison between us and God on matters of deliverance. The Counselor and Deliverer now remains within us and represents the New.
For this reason I must stress that deliverance ministry needs to take its hands off of Gods’ people physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. Since Jesus by His Spirit is the new standard, the minister is not to be the one that pulls demons out of believers. To allow weird contortions to continue or allowing other powers to speak through a host creates a tear in the fiber of the believer. In essence a wounding of their person can occur in physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual ways. The believer is then traumatized in ways that require added attention. This is the violence we see in many deliverance ministries and why the radical approach is being shunned as theatrics, if not actually revealing its own brand of demonic delusions. And another down side is the professional becomes the standard of how added principles get passed down from one generation to the next. Years of study regarding shake, rattle and role can become the narrative. But, I would say the same thing about any intentional or unintentional motive to add to the simplicity of what God can do all on His own. In this case deliverance ministry has become a religious empire. It works, but does not often properly represent a New Covenant work.
The New Deliverance is solely a confession; it is not a profession.
And what we learn of New Deliverance; the Holy Spirit is not only uprooting demonic strongholds apart from the fanfare, but is also renewing the mind, the heart and the life of the believer in physical, emotional and intellectual ways.
“Jesus, by your Holy Spirit and at the Cross, put to death where I am improperly owned and made subject to a deliverance minister or ministry (name them) that has faith in fleshly manifestations. Judge by the Cross the spiritual forces that serve in their improper and religious attempts at delivering me.
The deliverance ministers role is to teach the people how easy it is to fish for themselves. This includes letting believers know that they have authority in Christ because Jesus is the Authority within them. Once believers take back the ministry and hold it in their own hands, their trust in the Holy Spirit lets them clean house on God’s schedule. Such deliverance is able to bring about freedom in countless ways and it’s all administered by the Spirit of God. And here’s another reason to wait upon the Holy Spirit. Unraveling the mystery of a compromised way of life sometimes requires a disassembly of events in a certain order; and the Holy Spirit is up to the task.
Some will ask; but what about all those radical reactions in the deliverance we’ve seen; won’t I have trouble when I am in my place of prayer? If you have ever been made subject to fleshly ministry in the past then you can change your expectations at the Cross. Do you want weird manifestations or simply want the Holy Spirit to decide how your body reacts to peace?
“Jesus, by your Holy Spirit and at the Cross, put to death my fleshly expectations that my body or voice should ever have to manifest demonically on any occasion. And judge by the Cross the spiritual forces that have owned my body and voice.
That’s the beauty of the new deliverance model. Jesus by the Holy Spirit is managing freedom from within.
Another question may arise; if the Holy Spirit is on the inside then why are we dealing with demons at all?
The simplest response is to say that we have yet to trade the perishable for the imperishable and remain making poor choices in life and in matters of faith.
Now I don’t deny that there are verses that speak to us about the victory we have in Christ. Many promises given to us in the Word frame in a victory, a place of solace, as well as a reward for being steadfast in our faith. I call these “positional truths”; in other words they are promises that are set in motion as we remain seeking after Jesus and pushing away from the desires of the flesh. Yes, we can interrupt the free flow of God on our lives.
Still another question maybe on the minds of some; if the Holy Spirit is on the inside how can demons occupy the same body?
Well Paul’s condition should carry some weight in answering that. Having a messenger of Satan in the flesh suggests that we don’t rightly perceive what it means for us to be the temple of God. It is possible since we are called “God’s temple” His Spirit remains within His own holy of holies. That is speculation; but I will also say that it should be obvious that the Holy Spirit only dwells within our new man and not in the old.
I’ve heard another question brought about in conversation and I think it is a question worth answering.
Why don’t we see one example of a demon being cast out of a person prior to Christ?
What God did in the Old Testament was put a hedge around His people for their protection (Isaiah 5:5). This was to respect a covenant of flesh that God once gave to Adam.
However there were times God Himself pronounced judgment on some people as a demonic form of discipline. (Saul 1 Samuel 16:14, or a lying spirit placed in the mouths of the prophets1 Kings 22:22)
Why is there no sign of Christians being delivered in the four gospels?
It’s because there were no Christians in the four gospels. If you recall Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and the gospels are mainly a record of their salvation and deliverance.
Why don’t we see in scripture a demon cast out after the founding of the Church and after the Cross and the Holy Spirit had come?
You should know the answer by now; deliverance is tied to salvation and is available to all believers just for the asking.
