Around 1993, I was shoveling snow in my driveway. I became agitated, and used God’s name in vain. I had rarely done that. In fact, I don’t ever remember using God’s name in vain prior to that time. The Bible says,

“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

So I did not use God’s name in vain. But then, I slipped. I blew it. I had been a Christian for years. When I slipped, I suddenly felt three demons come right inside of me in rapid succession — like bullets entering into my heart. The whole thing must have taken about a second. I was triple demonized! The Bible says that judgment begins with the house of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). I was certainly judged that day.

To be clear, the Holy Spirit lives in the spirit of believers. However, he does not dwell in their flesh (consisting of their soul and body). It was my flesh that was demonized that day. It was not my spirit. The Bible says that the flesh is at war with God (see Romans 8:7, Galatians 5:17). That is why demons were able to affect me in my flesh.

Now you might say, “I swear all the time and I’m not getting punished.” But you don’t know if you are getting punished or not, do you? There might be some aspect of your life in which God is withholding blessings, because of your speech. Yet ultimately it is the heart that matters, because Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (see Matthew 12:34). The issues I am dealing with are really heart issues.

I had to deal with those demons after that. I had to get them out of me. Try doing that after they have come inside. You will find out that it might not be as easy as you think. How then does one become undemonized? Through repentance. Repentance means changing your mind and your heart, and being genuinely sorry for your sins. Once you are in submission to God, you can then resist the devil, and he will flee from you (see James 4:7). I did not say it is 100% easy or intuitive. You will need to learn to walk by the spirit. In many cases, you will need help.

A lot of the problem is understanding how it all works. One problem is that many Christian leaders teach that Christians cannot have demons. That is not true. Christians cannot have demons in their spirit. But they can have demons in their flesh. When Christians are told they cannot have demons, but actually do have them, they do not get the help they need.

How does demonization actually work? Initially, I was tempted (by the demon). Temptation by a demon is itself not a sin. You may be tempted to swear because demons are tempting you from the outside, and are seeking for a way to enter into you. But why would demons even want to come in? Because they seek for bodies to inhabit (see Luke 11:24-26). That is their nature. Like Cain, who complained about being a wanderer (see Genesis 4:14), they do not like being wanderers on the earth. So they seek for bodies to dwell in.

Being affected in your soul does not necessarily mean the demon is inside of you. However, it is attempting to control some part of your thought process. If you feel like you are going crazy in your mind, or you are disturbed in your thoughts, it is probably a demon attacking you. If you know Christ, put your hand on your head and gently hold it there. Realize these are demons affecting you and that God is not against you (read Romans 8:31-39). Rest in God’s unconditional love for you. You may shed a tear. In so doing, you are gaining your freedom. This battle is real. You need to learn how to rest in God’s love for you.

Demons can put thoughts into your mind. A demon may speak in the first person, saying, “I hate myself.” You might think it is you thinking these thoughts, when the demon is actually speaking it. Demons want you to believe these are your own thoughts. They want you to blame yourself for having them, rather than discerning them as coming from a demon. Your ability to be free from the influence of demons in part depends upon your willingness to discern every thought, separating out the good from the bad. As we read,

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

This is the job of every Christian, to take into captivity every thought and to reject anything that is inconsistent with God’s word.

It is possible to have a demon because you love what that demon loves. You must not to love it, but rather hate it. If that demon says, “I hate myself,” you need to instantly discern that, and reject the lie, because you are not supposed to hate yourself, since you are created in God’s glorious image. God does not make junk. You are valuable to him! Hating yourself is the opposite of what God wants you to do. You are to agree with God that,

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (see Psalm 139:14).

As you learn to agree with God and what his word says about you, those demons will find no resting place in your soul, because you will finally be in disagreement with them. When you are finally in disagreement with all that they stand for and all that they represent, God will quickly rescue you from their grip. You can be delivered. You will need to learn to walk by faith, and not by sight. Forget about what your relative might have said. You are to agree with God that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and are extremely valuable to God.

The Unseen World

There is a vast, unseen, world out there. And demons are very eager to want to enter into people. In fact, they will attempt to do this as often as they are allowed. If you love sin, they will be permitted many times to come inside of you. And some people do indeed have many of them. But God is gracious and merciful and wants to set you free. If you will come to him humbly, he will begin that process of deliverance in you today. Get involved in a good Bible-believing church. That’s one way to start!

There are many people today who believe in God’s ability to set you free from demonic bondage, who are more than willing to lay hands on you (a form of prayer), and pray for you, anointing you with oil, so that you might be set free from your addictions and your pain. God is a good God and has a wonderful, eternal, plan for your life. Will you trust him today? Seek for a good church, and allow God to do something special in your life. He will, if you allow him to.

The Goal of a Demon

The goal of a demon is to get inside of you so as to further deceive you. If they can persuade you to sin, then they will have legal permission to actually indwell you. Who gives them this permission? Actually, God does. God is good, but demons are evil. God will nevertheless allow demons access because of sin, because spiritual law works that way. You can read about this in Luke 22:31-32 and Matthew 18:34-35. In Matthew 18:34-35, we read that God will even allow “torturers” to afflict Christians who are unforgiving. Those torturers are demons. God does not want you to be subject to torturers, but it is because nothing else is working (you are not listening to him when he speaks gently to you) that he is allowing these torturers to have access to you.

These torturers act as disciplinary agents, which God allows in order to bring us to repentance (so we will have a change of heart). So the decision is with you. Please understand God’s character is not like that of a demon. Demons intend to harm you. God does not want you to have demons. But they come because of spiritual law. If you play with fire, you will get burned. If you play with sin, you will get demonized. That’s not God’s fault. God allows these things in the hopes that you will understand the error of your ways, and choose life (see Deuteronomy 30:19). God is a good God, and delights to bless you, if you will heed his voice.

How it Works

Once the demon is on the inside, you will need to deal with it. Do you know how easy it is to deal with demons that are on the inside? Well, they are rather easy to deal with if they are fresh (meaning you just got them). But if they have been there a while, they will be much more difficult to get rid of. Do you know why? It’s because you have become used to them. You have become “one” with the demon!

You are not supposed to do that, but people do that all the time. They do not even realize they have become one with the demon. That demon is inside of them, and it has been on the inside of them for a long, long, time. They will sleep with that demon, bathe with that demon, eat with that demon, and go to work or school with that demon. They will walk with that demon, and they will take the bus with that demon their whole lives. Many are simply unaware that a demon is on the inside of them. Most are unaware.

Yes, I did say that correctly. Your mind, and the mind of the demon, have become intertwined. They have become so intertwined, you would not even know that the demon is there. And yes, that is exactly how it works.

Other Swear Words

Since Exodus 20:7 (previously quoted) warns us not to use God’s name in vain, you might be tempted to think that other swear words are acceptable. However, you would be wrong if you thought that way. That’s because the Bible says,

“Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

Now I am not perfect, and I have transgressed many times in this area. I have used swear words that were not God’s name, and thought that it was quite all right. The problem is that it is against what the Bible teaches. The Bible says,

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

So our focus must be on that which is good, and not that which is bad. If someone has hurt us, for example, we must learn to forgive and move on, because a focus on our pain and others only leads to bitterness which is a killer.

Turn your thoughts and your attention towards God’s goodness, and allow him to heal you (that is why praise and thanksgiving, which we are commanded to do, is so important). Focusing on pain and others is a form of idolatry. It takes our focus away from God who is able to heal us. Stand back from the shadow of bitterness and walk in the light of God’s love, which is able to heal you. How important is forgiveness? It is crucial! That is one way that we pull ourselves away from the shadow of bitterness and allow God’s favor and freedom to shine upon us again.

A man named Stephen was being stoned. Even while he was being stoned, he said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (see Acts 7:60). What a heart of gold! By this, we can see that Stephen’s heart was pure. Jesus said,

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

If you have been exposed to many swear words when you were younger, or if you have friends who use a lot of swear words, it may be more difficult for you to avoid using swear words yourself. However, it is still the best option for you. As a Christian, you have a new nature. Therefore, you need to now start acting according to that new nature. Christ who is in you longs to fill you completely. Christ is in you if you have submitted yourself to him.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Impatience

Did you know that impatience and swearing are very closely related? When you are impatient, it means you have no faith. You are not willing to trust God. And that is why you swear. Therefore, you need to repent of a lack of faith, and start trusting him in all areas. One day, I was frustrated at my work. I became impatient and swore. That week, I swore several times. Yes, I demonstrated my lack of faith in God by becoming impatient several times. Do you know what happened? Can you guess? God permitted a demon to afflict me —again! For though I sometimes sin, yet I am sensitive when it comes to demons, and I do not like them, and God knows that! Therefore, this was a “wake up call” —again! That week, a demon came inside of my vocal chords. From that point onward, that demon lived inside of me and it was right there and would not leave. The demon provided me with the temptation to continue swearing. It was so easy after that to just open my mouth, and swear words would bubble out of me like a stream of water. Even though in my mind I did not want to swear, yet the demon kept saying these unclean words in my vocal chords, and I had no peace.

Do you know something? Not one of those swear words was God’s name or the name of Jesus. They were common swear words. But you see it doesn’t matter. They still denote a lack of faith and uncleanliness. You are still breaking God’s commandment in Ephesians 4:29 (let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth …). If you want to know how I got free from that demon, please read my book, “Recognizing Demonic Deception and Breaking Free, Volume 1,” available at revivalfire.ca, because I have written about the conclusion to that story in the first chapter of that book.

Swearing in Movies

It used to be against the film industry to allow swearing in movies. But slowly but surely, it began to become more tolerated so that today, there is a lot of swearing in movies. Has it helped? Not at all. It has helped only in dulling the minds of people, so they become less sensitized to cursing. Who wants this? God? Not at all. Satan wants cursing (because it also brings a curse in your family and in our nation). But God wants blessing. Therefore, it is not God’s will that you curse. Even as it says in Philippians 4:8 and Ephesians 4:29 (both previously quoted). Well, one day, I watched a movie that contained cursing. This movie was called “Air Force One,” and the “star” of this movie was a man named Harrison Ford. You may have heard of him. This man cursed in the movie, and it brought grief to my heart. Do you know why? Because I am a child of God and I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I want God to be happy with me at all times. Yet this cursing, which included using God’s name in vain, was very displeasing to God. I endured it, and I suffered tremendously. I had been insensitive to God when he told me stop watching it, and I fell under a terrible curse.

I did not repent of this misdeed of watching this movie, nor did I cleanse my heart or pray that evening. I went to bed. Then, the curse came in full force. God says in his word, “You shall be holy; for I am holy” (see 1 Peter 1:16). But I was not holy that evening. If you are walking in unholiness, which is uncleanliness before God, do not be surprised if unclean spirits begin to attach themselves to you. If your actions are unclean, so will the result be unclean. You have given implicit permission to allow evil to affect you, by your unwillingness to walk in genuine holiness. In Noah’s day, they were all unclean except for Noah and his family. That is how bad it can get. They did not even know it. Then the flood came and took them all away. It was too late!

In my case, I went to bed, and was still unclean. I had not cleansed myself. I had not repented. Yes, my spirit was grieved. But it was not enough to keep the demons away. A terrible and unsightly thing happened. As I lay there on my bed, demons began to land on my sternum. They kept landing on my sternum, a multiplicity of demons, as I was sleeping. I could hear and see them landing, even though I was fast asleep. It was uncanny. It was evil. When I woke up, there was a very tight, strong, demonic power resting on my sternum. Those demons had landed by permission! I had grieved God terribly!

The day was miserable. I could feel this miserable demonic power resting on my sternum. It was like I was supercharged with evil power in my sternum. It was hell. I needed help. I could not break free on my own. I had to call up a friend who was “so foolish” as to believe in speaking in tongues. This man would help me. I told him what had happened. He prayed for 2 solid hours on the phone with me, while speaking in tongues the whole time. Only then did the power of those demons lift off of me. By the power of Satan, it had been hell. But now, by the power of God, I was fully restored. That was many years ago. And I have since not turned on another wicked movie, since. You have the power to turn that off, as well.

The sternum is also called the breastbone^[1], and why would God have permitted those demons to land precisely there and nowhere else? It was no accident. The demons had access to my breastbone, because I was not wearing the breastplate of righteousness. For in that classic spiritual warfare passage (see Ephesians 6:10-18), Christians are told to “put on the breastplate of righteousness” (see Ephesians 6:14). But when I was watching that Harrison Ford movie, with all of its cursing and swearing, I was far from righteousness and embracing evil. That was not good. The Bible says,

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (See Ephesians 4:30)

We are not to focus our eyes, our hearts, and our minds, on things like that. That is unrighteousness. That is in opposition to what we read in Philippians 4:8, which says,

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

My problem was that I was not walking in true righteousness. But 1 Peter 2:9 tells those who love God,

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)

We are called out of darkness into his marvelous light. So therefore, we are to walk in that manner.

These stories are true. And I hope you will take them to heart. God loves you and wants to bless you. He can do that only if you will align yourself with his perfect will. You can start doing that today.

“Today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (see Hebrews 3:15).

In closing, what has God asked you to do? How has God spoken to you as you have been reading this article? Do it, and God will bless you immensely.

[1] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternum ↩