Let me share a few thoughts with you and then welcome you to improve, enhance or even disagree:
The story is told of a young minister who was in a church service when he felt someone there "had a demon." He supposedly placed his hand on them and spoke directly to the demon by saying "Come out of him my friend!"
I have no way of knowing if that story is true or not but I grew up in Pentecostal circles (totally glad of it) where people sang with their whole heart, worshiped as dynamically as they knew how and "shouted" (vocally and in physical manifestation) at the proverbial "drop of a hat."
I still am blessed by joyous, spontaneous worship. When God heals my foot injured from stepping on a nail that caused infection, I may still leap for joy and run around the building if I felt it was the Lord. Relax, I don't do much running anymore but once as a teen, I was so pumped up with joy of the Lord, that I actually went outside and ran around the building. It was kind of crowded inside the little building and I wanted to make sure I didn't run over anybody  .
At times over the years, I have seen ministers tell someone they had a demon inside and began to cast it out. That statement is not made because of doubt that it was real. I do believe there are things people get into that begins to posses them with Satan at the root of it.
HOWEVER, I would be cautious about declaring publicly that someone has a demon. First, it puts on them an incredible stigma. And if you are wrong, remember the word "lawsuit." Public shaming is very frowned upon these days and if someone is mentally unstable, the public shaming may cause them increased mental harm.
If you feel someone in a worship service you are leading, is being tormented by demonic activity, OR someone begins to act out in a public worship service, may I suggest:
1. Speak to the person in a loving and kind way. Possibly ask them to come forward for prayer or arrange so prayer can be given privately after service. If it is a young person, I would also ask the parents (if present) if you can pray for them for what seems to be a "deep spiritual need."
2. If you decide to pray that a demon will be cast out, power is essential but power and volume are two different things. Hand the microphone to someone or turn it off. Speak quietly directly to the person not to the entire audience. Yes, it is in order to ask the audience to pray with you but don't make a demon-possession announcement.
"Ya'll get up here quick! xyz has a demon and we are going to cast it out!"
2. Be clear about your personal motive. Are you doing this because you have a heart of concern for the person, or is the goal to make yourself seem powerful in front of others? If the concern is for the person, I think an effort of privacy will take place. Be as private as possible when the prayer to cast out demons is made, and privacy in followup.
Note: Satan may not always cooperate with attempts at privacy. I've been in several services where the person acted out or screamed out, but even then, the goal is to help the person not give the devil even more attention.
If the person wants to later share what happened, in my opinion that would be OK, but NO WAY would I reveal publicly that "last night Susan had a demon and when I commanded that he come out, she screamed and fell in the floor and..."
IT AIN'T ABOUT US! It's about bringing relief and new hope to the person.
Am I condemning every incident of casting out a demon in public? No. If I remember correctly, Jesus did that when a man acted out in church.
THIS WILL SOUND NONSPIRITUAL: While we understand that Satan is the root cause of hurtful and vicious things in this world, we have to be cautious in declaring that all sickness is the result of demon possession. We do not help the person by proclaiming publicly that they are possessed.
If we care, we take care to protect them.
If you feel it is demonic activity, as much as is possible, try to handle that privately. Absolutely, I believe demonic activity and possession is real but not every person who is sick or acts out, is possessed. That's my opinion. What's yours?
Doyle
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1/11/16 12:07 pm
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May I suggest that you DO NOT try to "Cast the devil" out of someone in public.
