And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils…
(Mark 16:17)
Almost twenty years ago, the Lord appeared to me in Rockwall, Texas, and laid the finger of His right hand in the palm of each one of my hands. Afterward, my hands began to burn as if they had a coal of fire in them.
Then Jesus gave me instruction for ministering to the sick in those days. He said, “When you minister to the sick, lay one hand on one side of their body and one hand on the other side of their body.”
I would always lay my hands on the body wherever the problem was. If it was a woman needing ministry, I would have my wife help me. And if she wasn’t with me, some older women in the church would lay her hands on the woman’s body, and then I’d lay my hands on her hands.
Jesus said, “If the fire in your hands jumps from hand to hand, then there is a demon or an evil spirit in the body.” Notice that Jesus didn’t say the demon or evil spirit would be in the spirit; it would be in the body.
And as I obeyed the Lord in ministering to the sick, I did find that on those occasions when an evil spirit was present, the fire would jump quickly from hand to hand like heat waves.
Now if I cast a demon or an evil spirit out of someone in a healing line, people would get all confused and walk away saying, “Why, that beats all I’ve ever seen! One of our Sunday school teachers had a devil in him,” or “One of the deacons had a demon in him.”
No, the devil can’t get in a Christian. The spirit, the inward man, is born again. A Christian can’t have a demon in his spirit. He could have one in his soul, because his soul – his mind, will, and emotions – hasn’t been renewed with the Word of God.
He could start worrying and open the door to the devil. And certainly we know that a demon could get in and oppress a person’s body (although all diseases aren’t the work of an evil spirit). But a Christian can’t be demon-possessed.
Confession:
I keep the door closed to the devil. I guard my heart and my mind. I meditate on the Word of God. I meditate on truth, not lies.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
Rev. Hagin was born on Aug. 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, a son of the late Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin.
Rev. Hagin was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. He was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life.
In August of 1934, Rev. Hagin was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of God and the revelation of faith in God's Word. Two years later, he preached his first sermon as pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas.
In 1937, Rev. Hagin was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began ministering in Pentecostal churches. During the next 12 years he pastored five churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, and Van. In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist.
During the next 14 years, Jesus appeared to Rev. Hagin eight times in visions that changed the course of his ministry. In 1966, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he opened a ministry office. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio—on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth W. Hagin, is also heard on the program.
In 1968, Rev. Hagin published the first issues of The Word of Faith magazine, which now has a monthly circulation of more than 250,000. The publishing outreach he founded, Faith Library Publications, has circulated more than 65 million copies of books by Rev. Hagin, Rev. Hagin Jr., and several other authors worldwide. Faith Library Publications also has produced more than 9 million audio teaching tapes and CDs.
Other outreaches of Kenneth Hagin Ministries include RHEMA Praise, a weekly television broadcast hosted by Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hagin; RHEMA Correspondence Bible School; RHEMA Alumni Association; RHEMA Ministerial Association International; RHEMA Supportive Ministries Association; the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center; and a prison ministry.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center USA and in 1976 moved the school and ministry offices to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where they remain. To date, RHEMA Bible Training Center USA has 23,000 alumni, and RHEMA Bible Training Centers have opened in 13 other nations: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Together, the 14 schools have more than 28,000 graduates worldwide.
RHEMA Bible Church, pastored by Rev. Hagin Jr., began holding services in October of 1985 on the RHEMA campus in Broken Arrow and has since grown to become a thriving congregation with more than 8,000 members.
Rev. Hagin's daughter and son-in-law, Pat Harrison and the late Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, founded Harrison House Publishers in 1975 and Faith Christian Fellowship International Church in 1977. Both organizations are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Until shortly before his death in September 2003, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths' Crusades and other special meetings.