The Triumphant Churchemotions of man to try to get him to do wrong so he can
gain access to him. However, a Christian doesn't have to
yield to evil spirits or to the flesh. He should learn how
to yield to the Holy Spirit.
I am dubious of teachings and practices I don't see
demonstrated in the Bible. And when some ministers
teach that all Christians have devils in them that need
to be cast out over and over again—that's not biblical.
You won't find that extreme teaching or practice
anywhere in the Bible. Stay scripturally based and stay
away from extremes and excesses.
Anyone—saved and unsaved alike—can listen to the
devil and yield to his suggestions. But there is a vast
difference between temporarily turning and yielding to
evil spirits and being oppressed by demons that are
working from the outside or even inside the mind and
body. There's also a vast difference from being obsessed
and being possessed by evil spirits.
In more than fifty-eight years of ministry, I have
never cast one devil out of a Christian's spirit, and no
one else has either because evil spirits can't be in a
believer's spirit. If evil spirits are present in the
believer, they are either in the body or soul—the mind,
will, or emotions. In most cases, believers haven't
renewed their mind so the devil takes advantage of
them in their souls and bodies. But most believers
aren't having trouble with demons anyway; they're just
having trouble with their flesh.
Actually, very few unsaved people in this country
are even demon possessed, although there is higher
incidence of it now with the rise in occult practices. In
my years of ministry, I have only seen one person who
was fully demon possessed—spirit, soul, and body.