Mary Garrison - How to try a spirit

Forward

Many people over the years have asked me, as a minister, HOW TO TRY A SPIRIT.

I do not think I was ever able to give a satisfactory answer to that question. I felt that they went away perhaps a bit more confused.

Very little, if anything, has been written about HOW TO TRY A SPIRIT, although some good books on how to deal with spirits have been published.

I believe there is a real need for this information in the Body of Christ today.

HOW TO TRY A SPIRIT IS INTENDED to be an aid in recognizing the principal evil spirits that are now working in the world. These evil ones so closely IMITATE the spirit of God, that we must learn to try them by their fruit, else the elect of God may be deceived. This book was written as an easy reference, so that one may quickly find the Bible name of a particular evil spirit; a list of his fruit underneath the name; a short discussion of some of the methods employed by that spirit, and finally the Scriptural method we are to use in dealing with him.

This work has helped many to quickly make positive identification of the various evil spirits, thereby avoiding deception by them. HOW TO TRY A SPIRIT will enable one to effectively aid others who have unknowingly allowed these evil spirits to stay and produce fruit in their lives.

My prayer is that many will come to know the answer to that question, "HOW TO TRY A SPIRIT", and that they will avoid some of the snares and pitfalls of the evil ones because of this shared knowledge that the Holy Spirit has taught me.

Mary Garrison

Scripture quotations are from the Authorized King James Version, unless otherwise indicated.

Contents

Try the Spirits

This book is the result of a revelation from God born out of a desperate need for more insight into trying the spirits. Being in the missionary work of our Lord Jesus, I found it necessary not merely to preach the Gospel, but also, as in Matthew 10:7 ,8 , to heal the sick and cast out devils.

The Lord led us to begin prayer meetings at our home in Crystal Beach, Florida. Miraculous deliverances and healings began to occur in these meetings. The news of these miracles spread rapidly. People soon began to come seeking help, not only at scheduled meetings, but all during the day and night.

As certain people were being ministered to, spirits would get stirred up and begin to manifest themselves . When the demon was asked to identify himself, out of the person's own mouth the demon would tell me what he did. For instance, demons would reply, "Hate, murder, suicide," etc., which are all manifestations, and not names of spirits. At that time I did not know with whom I was dealing. For example, because of ignorance I would say, "You spirit of suicide, I cast you out." In spite of this ignorance, many people were set free by the Spirit of the Lord in me. However, I knew there was a great need for more understanding.

Often many of the Lord's servants have been literally "wounded in action." The demons were playing havoc with us and I sought God continually concerning this. During this time the Lord gave me the gift of discerning of spirits, and I began to completely rely on this.

Most of the material available on this subject, at that time, was of other peoples' experiences. I wanted a sound Scriptural foundation on which to base the revelationa guideline to help others. Scriptures began to come to me, such as 2 Tim. 2:15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth." Since I didn't know a demon from a manifestation, I was scattering instead of gathering.

"...How can one enter into a strong mans house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." Mt. 12:29 ,30 .

First, Bind strong man; Second , destroy his goods.

The Lord showed me in His teaching on casting out devils, that you must first bind the strongman, and then spoil his house. So ... I realized the necessity of knowing the strong man (ruler demon). If the Lord expected me to do this, surely He had some way to show me who the strong men were, what their names were, and their fruit. This way I would be gathering with Him, and not scattering.

Then the Spirit led me to Jesus' own ministry for the revelation on the strongmenwhat they do to a person (manifestations), and how to deal with them. I believe that all of the strongmen are classified in the Bible as spirits. If the Bible does not classify what you believe to be a spirit as "a spirit," it is probably a manifestation. The revelation was before us all the time; but Satan has a way of fogging things up.

The first work was to go to the Bible, making a list of the names of all the spirits in the Bible, then researching to determine that they were actually spirit beings. These spirits are emissaries sent from Satan, having personalities which are expressed through the bodies of humans. They have all the characteristics that make up an intelligent being. They walk, hear, speak, see, obey, seek, think, know and dwell in the body, accomplishing their evil purposes (Mt. 12:43-45: Mk. 1:23, 24; 3:11). They are made subject to Christ and believers by the atonement, the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Each principal demon, or strongman, has his particular mission which we are able to recognize by his fruit, or manifestations. In the doctrine of medicine, a patient tells the doctor his symptoms; and when the doctor has gathered all the symptoms, he is then able to diagnose the disease. Likewise, a Christian counselor may listen to all the problems a person tells him; and with this study on spirits can determine if there is sufficient evidence to indicate the presence of an evil Spirit.

I saw in the Scriptures that Jesus dealt only with the main spirits. After an individual told Him the symptoms He would then call out the strong man (not merely the manifestations), and the person would be delivered. Isn't this the example that we should follow? Why should we call all the symptoms by name? Since I learned this truth, I have found it to be a very efficient method, saving much time and embarrassment of calling out all the foul manifestations of each spirit. I also learned that there were fewer spirits that had to be bound and cast out, than I had thought. Yes, as I studied Jesus' ministry, I began to see it all quite clearly.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but TRY THE SPIRITS whether they are of God ..." 1 Jn. 4:1.

We are warned not to believe themoften they lie. Their father is the author of all lies and confusion. So many of us do not understand how to obey this instruction. I sought the Lord and His Word on how to try a spirit. Jesus answered and said to me, "Ye shall know them by their fruit" Mt. 7:16-20. So now, with this information, I had a definite clue for a work pattern. I knew that I must find out what each of these Bible spirits produced as fruit, if I were to know exactly who they were by their fruit.

Doctors of medicine diagnose a disease by the symptoms it produces because they have found that each disease has certain manifestations peculiar to that disease. I, too, found a set of manifestations under each strong man, or ruler demon, that would allow me to "know the tree by its fruit." As you will learn later on in this study, I found these key manifestations in God's Word. Often the Scriptures that reveal the name and manifestations of the demon, will also give the solution. Jesus has a salve for every sore!