Lifebyte 42
Ministering Spiritual Freedom To Others

[For those who have gone through Demolishing Strongholds]

Living Righteously In The Days of Chastisement

[click here for a printable copy]

Dear Friends,
We’ve produced this Lifebyte as a guide for you who are free of demonic strongholds. This Lifebyte expands on our recommendations in Chapter 5 of our workbook, Demolishing Strongholds, After You’ve Demolished the Strongholds.
Please note that important prerequisites to the information in this Lifebyte are Lifebyte 40. Do You Confront For Jesus? Or, Placate For Satan?, and 41. A Turf War For Souls That You Must Win! Those two Lifebytes help you scrutinize your own life to determine if you’re truly prepared to fight the battle for others to become spiritually free.

Ministering Spiritual Freedom
To Others

“But you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

If you’ve gone through our Certain of What We Do Not See video series, and our Demolishing Strongholds work book and video, then you realize that our God is using His called-out people as warriors in Jesus against Satan’s power and dominion. This warfare is over who will rule the souls of a mankind that’s prone to follow their sin nature rather than their loving Creator. 
As we discussed in Lifebyte 41, you’re engaged in a turf war for the souls of people! Your trusting and obedient yieldedness to the Holy Spirit has eternal consequences in the lives of others.
Will you be an instrument through whom they respond to the Holy Spirit’s rulership? Or, will they remain in darkness of soul as the devil continues his rule in them?
In order for you to redemptively engage in this spiritual battle, we have a few foundational thoughts for you to weigh. First, you must have our Father’s eternal perspective of both yourself and the person you’re yearning to see free to lovingly serve Jesus.

• Each human being is given a spirit by God at conception because each one is made in His image. This spirit longs to return to its Creator when the person dies.

• Each one of us also received a sin nature-controlled soul from our parents at conception.

• Each person also receives iniquity in their soul—the strongholds from prior generations—if that iniquity hasn’t been confronted and cast off before their conception. The individual’s iniquitous predisposition as well as their sin nature will strive together to guide that person to hell.

So each person is conceived with both a self-focused sin nature and with spiritual strongholds if that generational chain of iniquity hasn’t been confessed and broken. Both of these unseen realities will resist and battle against you when you try to help others become spiritually free.

But never underestimate the wonderful miracle that takes place when someone becomes a follower of Jesus! At the second birth, when a person is born again, they receive the Holy Spirit. HE begins to rule their soul through their spirit. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18.)
It’s the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and His rulership of their soul that enables their spirit to return to God at life’s end.
How does this arena of warfare  between spiritual life and iniquitous death affect your ministry to help others become spiritually free? Your loving responsibility to your Lord Jesus is two-fold:

• to complete your salvation pilgrimage by His grace as you enter the narrow gate and are welcomed at the Judgment Throne. 

• to help others to do likewise.

This is the ultimate goal of spiritual freedom: to pass through the narrow gate and find a heavenly welcome from our Lord.
We hope that in other writings we’ve made clear that our Lord’s goal in your spiritual battle is to free others. You’re not trying to free people from the painful discomfort of their darkness so they can gratify their flesh without any guilt! This is why both you and they need our Father’s eternal perspective.
Our Lord Jesus has NOT called you to help bring deliverance just to free people to serve their own interests. When Jesus delivered the demoniac among the Gerasenes (Luke 8:26-39), that newly freed man begged to go with Jesus! But our Lord instead gave him a Kingdom mission:

“‘Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.’ And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8:39).

It’s our heavenly Father’s desire to live in Covenant with every person through the sacrifice of Jesus. Remember, to live in covenant with God means to live in union with Him and to experience Him as your living Lord. That’s what you want for each person when they’re freed from strongholds!
Our Lord can use you to free others so that they may serve His Kingdom purposes in the work He’s prepared for them to fulfill (see Ephesians 2:10). This is the Kingdom you’re helping to free people into while they live on earth.

We have a few questions for you to discuss with those who are close to you in Jesus:

• Do you have an eternal view of yourself? That is, do you purpose according to the Spirit in you to obediently follow through with Christ’s commands along the narrow path to heaven? Describe yourself with that frame of reference in mind.


• Do you have an eternal view of others, in particular your unbelieving family, relatives, and acquaintances? Describe your view of them, especially your level of desire for their eternal life.


• Have you found that you’ve helped people who want to be free from their strongholds just so they can go on with their own way of life? Explain.


• How were their lives different a year later? Were they growing in obedient trust in Jesus or back in the same (or worse) pit?


• Why is it so important that people who have renounced the stronghold spirits learn to fill in old behavioral and attitudinal ruts with godliness?


• Are YOU willing to be the one to come alongside them as a true brother or sister in Jesus to disciple them in His Word and His ways?


This is important so let’s repeat it:

Our Father wants each person to
experience Covenant union with Him, and each follower of Jesus to fulfill His Kingdom purpose on earth.

We wrote our series, Going To The High Places, as a companion to Hannah Hurnard’s timeless classic, Hinds Feet On High Places. (You can find the study guide at our website as a free download.)
We wanted to highlight the very real struggle of becoming free from iniquity, and to describe the pilgrimage of transformation each person must go through to be effective and fruitful in our Lord’s Kingdom.
In Hinds Feet On High Places, the Shepherd invites the main character, Much Afraid, to leave behind the Valley of the Fearings. In essence these are her family strongholds. Only then can she journey to the High Places of freedom in Him. 
By the end of her journey, Much Afraid is transformed into Grace and Glory. She’s fit and prepared to lovingly serve her King in His Kingdom purposes. We encourage you to go through and discuss with those close to you both Hinds Feet On High Places and our study guide, Going To The High Places. 
We’ve heard from many that these materials have been extremely helpful in clarifying our Lord’s purposes for their spiritual freedom. And, He’s eager that you and those you desire to see spiritually free hear and follow only HIS voice in loving, obedient trust.

You Must Protect Yourself From
An Unloving Heart

Remain Righteous In The Battle
Now that you understand our Father’s goals for your desire to help bring spiritual freedom, we want to discuss a few insights for you to be effective in the battle for people’s souls.
First, it’s vital that you stay repentant yourself, and not entertain any disobedience in your own life. Trying to help others find freedom from darkness in their lives is hypocritical if you’re enjoying an area of unrighteous living yourself.
Living uprightly in the power of the Holy Spirit is key to having your prayers for others answered. Remember the truth James shared, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (5:16).
Living righteously before our God is an essential point made by Peter as well: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12).
Remaining upright in obedient trust in our Lord Jesus is an ongoing response to His Spirit. As you’re diligent to confess your sins before our Father, His forgiveness and cleansing will prepare you to fight for freedom for others.  

If you keep confessing your sins, He is faithful and just and will keep forgiving your sins and purify you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

You Must Resist Becoming Apprehensive
Second, be aware that as you actively engage in helping others become free as the instrument of the Holy Spirit, demonic spirits will work overtime to make you apprehensive. This apprehension may extend anywhere from vague feelings of uneasiness all the way to outright resentment or bitterness toward the person you’re trying to help.
Clearly understand this: If you stay apprehensive, you won’t love that person as Jesus commands you and empowers you to. And, without the love of Jesus motivating you, you won’t have the mind of Christ, that is, His thoughts and ways. Thus, there’ll be no victory.
You have to purpose with determination to not let yourself stay apprehensive if negative thoughts or feelings do arise.

We have a few questions for you to discuss with those who are close to you in Jesus:

• When was the last time you confronted someone over sin or a situation that pained you?


• Did you love that person as you confronted him or her? What would evidence that love?


• Would that person say you had loved him or her? Explain.


How To Resist Apprehension
When It Arises In You

When you’re coming alongside someone to help free them from spiritual strongholds, apprehension and/or negative attitudes toward that person may begin to grow. Remind yourself of this:

The unclean spirits in my friend’s
soul are trying to drive me away.
They are influencing or controlling him or her, and I won’t
give in to them!
The moment you experience ill feelings or emotional discomfort toward your friend for any reason, that’s your cue to get on your knees and ask Jesus for help. Cry out to Him to help you love your friend as HE would.
If the demonic spirits become disruptive in your discussion, order them in the name of Jesus to keep silent.

Often when we're visiting someone and Mike discerns the negative influence of demonic strongholds, he goes off to a private place, usually a bathroom, and declares:
“In Jesus’ Name I bind you spirits from interfering with our time here. We are on our Lord's purpose and you will not interfere with us.”
Almost immediately a “change in spirit” occurs on the premises. On some occasions we've had to bind the demons right in a person's face when they're so disruptive that he or she is acting uncontrollably.

You need to know now that if you let the demons in your friend agitate you, your relationship with him will be wrenched apart. If you let bad feelings and apprehension surface in you, in time you’ll be unable to love or help him as our Lord Jesus would have you.
Don’t allow someone else’s strongholds to manipulate you!! As strange as it seems, what started out as something well-intentioned — trying to bring spiritual freedom — can become a satanic trap for you.
You’ll find that holding onto love in the middle of fighting to free others is your first line of battle. And, this is a front on which you must be victorious!

Your Spiritual Weaponry:
Confront With Love

So far we’ve discussed two elements of spiritual warfare: serving our King Jesus as His spiritual soldier and remaining loving in the midst of the battle. He’s called you to confront the darkness in order to bring His light into the lives of those you love:

To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house (Isaiah 42:7).

Listen to God’s warning through His servant Peter: “If the righteous is barely delivered, where will the ungodly and sinful end up?” (1 Peter 4:18, apperceiving Proverbs 11:31).
Since the Spirit of Christ is in those who follow Jesus in loving, obedient trust, you are His hands and feet and heart to do as He did. So a key question to ask yourself is:

• Am I taking our Lord seriously enough to confront others out of a loving concern for their well-being? Yes or No?

We trust that your answer is “Yes!!!”
Keep in mind that biblical confrontation is not conflict. Conflict has to do with someone winning and someone losing, and brings about arguments and blame and division.
Confrontation, on the other hand, addresses the spiritual darkness that is the stronghold or the unconfessed sin in another person. Confrontation is always redemptive. It’s aimed at removing whatever is hindering your relationship with that person or constricting their fellowship with our Lord, whether strongholds or sin.
We have a few questions for you to discuss:

• Have you ever encountered a situation in which you realized later that your conversation was being affected by demonic interference in the other person?


• Were you aware at the time that something wasn’t right? How did that experience affect your later interaction with that person?


• Describe a situation in which you became so frustrated with a friend’s perceived resistance that your relationship was disrupted.


• Describe a time when you confronted someone, but not out of a heart of loving concern. How did he or she respond?


• What is hindering you from confronting someone you care about who is influenced by demonic strongholds or unconfessed sin?


How To Discern Which People
You Can Help

What we’re about to share can help you understand the nature of resistance you’ll face and what appropriate action you may have to take.
People relate to each other for a variety of reasons. And, to understand the nature of the relationship our Lord desires for us to have with Him and with others,  we need to understand the different types of relationships people have.
The most important and deepest type of relationships you can have are Value-based relationships. They emanate out of your heart. In Value-based relationships, you choose the people with whom you want to have relational closeness. These relationships are based on mutual values that are important to each of you.
Value-based relationships also in-volve a significant amount of personal responsibility for one another. Three of the best examples of Value-based relationships are:
 
• becoming a follower of Jesus,
• joining in a marriage covenant,
• becoming part of a Hebraic fellowship  
  family.

Stop and think about this for a moment. If you’re married, WHY are you devoted to each other? And, as a follower of Jesus, you should be able to express from your heart WHY you’re in relationship with Him and why you’re in your particular fellowship family! In Value-based relationships such as marriage and your walk with our Lord or biblical fellowship with others, personal sacrifice and commitment bond your lives together.
The early Hebraic followers of Jesus were identified by their Value-based relationship with their Lord and with others with whom they fellowshipped as extended spiritual family (see 1 Peter 1:22).

When you confront darkness
in another follower of Jesus
with whom you have a Value-based relationship, you’ll rarely
experience resistance.
Their love for our Lord Jesus
and for you will be sufficient motivation for them to rid themselves of any darkness that’s
hindering these relationships.

Next, some relationships are called Positional relationships. In Positional relationships, you have little or no choice about the other parties. For instance, when you’re born, you’re positioned into a family. You don’t get to choose your parents or your siblings!
If your parents were religious, you were most likely raised with a particular creedal position which you’ve never questioned. This too is positional.
And, even in your workplace, you find yourself positioned among people not of your choosing. So in Positional relationships, you interact with people you didn’t select yourself.

When you discern the darkness of iniquity or sin in Positional relationships, you’ll most often encounter severe resistance to turn from
that darkness into the light
of following Jesus.
Accusations will most likely abound!
Last are Activity-based relationships. These are formed around what you’re doing with other people. The identifying factor of Activity-based relationships is that you’re together because of the scheduled activity.
You may have some level of interest in each other’s lives. But the activity you do rather than your care for each other is why you’re together. Activity-based relationships may include people with whom you play golf or serve with on a committee. They may even be those sitting alongside you in a worship service or Sunday school class. The reason you’re together is the activity.

Like Positional relationships, when you discern spiritual darkness in an Activity-based relationship,
you’ll probably encounter
significant resistance.

Let’s recap these relationships:
First, when you find iniquity or sin in a Value-based relationship with a follower of Jesus, you’ll probably encounter little or no resistance to your desire to help them find freedom in that area of their life. In effect, value-based people are like the simple fool, the peti, we discussed in LifeByte 5: When Fear Is Good. They’re grateful that you confronted their darkness.
The other two groups of relationships, Positional and Activity-based, will tend to be much more difficult to help. When it comes to confronting the darkness in Positional or Activity-based relationships, you may find that you’ve opened a can of worms, especially if they consider themselves to be “Christian”. That’s because most Christians have no idea that they were conceived with iniquity.
Westernized Christianity, with its Hellenist non-confrontive style, has enabled them to be accepted and comfortable in their spiritual darkness. When you ask if there’s something they’d like to be free from, not only will the person you’re trying to help attack you. Their stronghold-connected relationships, such as their biological relatives and even their faith community, will censure you as well.
In Activity-based and Positional relationships you’re going to run up against a significant number of Hardened, Mocking, and God-denying Fools, which we also discussed in LifeByte 5: When Fear Is Good. If they’ve dabbled in Christendom for any length of time, it will only complicate your endeavor to help them be free.
They’ve felt "accepted", even though that sense of belonging was based on the mutual attraction of their iniquities and unconfessed sin. So any form of confrontation seems strange to them in light of their years "acceptance" within the religious system.
And sadly, Jesus’ warning to forsake darkness is either ignored or passed by (see John 12:46).

That an entire congregation can tolerate darkness is vividly illustrated in 1 Corinthians, chapter 5. Historians tell us that Corinth was one of the most corrupt cities in the whole Roman empire. Their particular iniquity was all kinds of sexual perversion which pervaded the entire city.
As a result of this demonic influence the early followers of Jesus in Corinth saw no problem with a man fornicating with his father's wife. Paul realized he had to establish a standard of righteousness for this faith community.
How did Paul confront the iniquities of the man who’d sinned so that he might come to repentance and be restored? 
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).

In a later topic we’ll discuss when turning someone over to Satan may be an appropriate and loving action for you.
We have a few questions for you to discuss:

• What proportion of your relationships are Value-based? What per cent are Positional or Activity-based?


• What kind of resistance have you encountered when you’ve tried to discuss spiritual freedom with each category of relationship in your life?


• Discuss any backlash you may have experienced from those in the relational circle of a person you tried to help bring light into their darkness.


Confronting Sin In Others

Beginning with this topic we’ll offer you instruction in how to confront the darkness in others and help them rid themselves of it. We want you to realize a key factor:

When you’re dealing with
people who consider themselves “Christians”, confronting iniquity
is far more complicated than
just confronting sin.

Jesus explains the steps to take to confront sin. His commands are very straight forward.

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over (Matthew 18:15).

Notice that the condition, “If he listens to you,” makes any other step unnecessary. In essence, our peti, a simple fool who needs and wants help.
Let’s see what else Jesus says:

But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the family of called-out ones; and if he refuses to listen even to the family of called-out ones, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector (Matthew 18:16-17).

The process our Lord describes is driven along by the person’s refusal to listen. This is important for you to understand and to also be guided by in your desire to see someone free of demonic influence. People who refuse to listen are the Hardened, Mocking, or God-denying fools we warned you about earlier.
Neither you nor any human agent can help these people. Jesus commands you to cut that person off from fellowship with you or your faith family. (Remember, this is someone who calls himself a Christian and thinks he’s in fellowship with you and with our Lord. People who make no claim to be followers of Jesus need your friendship so they can encounter Jesus in you!)
The Apostle Paul takes it further. Since this Christian enjoys the darkness of their sin, then turn him or her over to the Prince of Darkness:

Deliver him over to Satan for the destruction of their sin nature, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5)
 
Turning someone over to Satan isn’t done because of anger or hatred for the person. Far from it! This is a loving act of mercy, something you’d want for yourself if you refused to repent.
Look at God’s purpose for a resistant and unrepentant person to be chewed on by Satan:

• to destroy their sin nature;
• to enable their spirit to return to  
 God in full restoration.

Can you picture any greater cause than this: to help a person return to fellowship with our Father and Jesus now and a heavenly eternal welcome?

The More Difficult Task Of Confronting Strongholds

We want you to know that what we discuss about confronting iniquity, that is, demonic strongholds in others, isn’t the only way to bring spiritual freedom. We’re offering what the Holy Spirit has shown us to be effective, not only in helping a person become free, but to remain free.
Often, when someone is delivered of spirits by another person, they eventually return to their previous bondage. In contrast, when someone relies on the authority of the Name of Jesus to deliver themselves, their chance of returning to the strongholds
is substantially reduced. 

That’s why our workbook, Demolishing Strongholds, is designed with a “self-help” format. The person who wants freedom in Jesus can "own" their responsibility for fleeing their darkness. They can also "own" their faithful and powerful Lord to free them as they trust in Him!
We've seen so many over the years go back to the same demons after someone’s delivered them, so we’ve seldom delivered anyone. Instead, we help them renounce the spirits themselves to maximize their will and ability to remain free. (See Ephesians 5:11.)
Keep in mind that there’s a difference between binding the demons who hide in the strongholds, and delivering the person who’s under the influence and control of the spirits. We mentioned earlier how Mike will go into a bathroom to bind spirits in someone’s home. When you face disruptive spirits while you're helping another person, you do have authority in Jesus to bind the spirits from speaking or interfering with you. (See Luke 10:17.)
And, as you help others become free from generational iniquities, you need to keep reminding yourself of your position in our Lord Jesus. He's given you the authority to use His holy and powerful Name to deal with the demons who will definitely oppose you.

Also as we mentioned earlier, the spirits are going to do all they can to get you annoyed, resentful, and even bitter toward the person our Lord wants you to help. Count on it! So be prepared to bind those spirits in the authority of Jesus.
Keep reminding yourself that the unclean spirits in the soul of the person you’re helping are speaking through the person. Wherever the demons have access to parts of someone’s soul through that individual's disobedience to our Lord, they’ll speak from their territory.
The adversary's workers want not only to control that person, but to control you — to prevent you from being Jesus' instrument to bring spiritual freedom.

You Must Help A Person Recognize
The Demons In Their Soul

The first step in bringing spiritual freedom to someone is to help them become aware that they even have demonic strongholds which are controlling or influencing their attitudes and behaviors.
For this purpose we’ve developed a questionnaire which lists various strongholds and their symptoms. Your task is to encourage and help that person go through the questionnaire. They can determine the presence of strongholds by noting the habitual symptoms the spirits produce.
We’ve actually developed two types of questionnaires: one for unbelievers, and the other for those who consider themselves Christian. You’ll find these on our website under Hebraic Articles. Or, you can put this link in your browser:

<http: //www.restorationministries.org/html/hebraicArticles.html>.

 

What To Do According To Your Friend's Response

We want to give you some basic guidance depending on the way your friend responds to your help. Like the person we discussed earlier who’s confronted about his sin according to Matthew chapter 18, if he listens to you, you can lead him on to spiritual freedom in the authority of Jesus.
If he refuses and wants his darkness instead of the light you’re offering, that takes you down a different path. So here are a few possible scenarios you may face:

1. They fill out the questionnaire and discover they have strongholds.
If someone recognizes that they have strongholds, the question is, does he or she want to be free of the strongholds in order to walk in obedient trust in Jesus?
If yes, encourage them to go through pages 36 to the end of the Demolishing Strongholds workbook (a free download). Or help them go through it with you.
Once they’ve renounced the spirits and are free in the Holy Spirit, you need to come alongside them to help them fill in the ruts of stronghold-influenced attitudes and behaviors with godliness.
Your willingness to help your friend stay free is critical. You’re helping him to not give way to the pattern that returns him to spiritual bondage. And, you’re encouraging him by word and example to live in Covenant union with our Lord.
This is why Chapter 5. After You’ve Demolished the Strongholds is so important. You can focus on helping them meet their seven God-given needs.
In the workbook we discuss the seven needs God created in each of us, and the means by which He intends to meet these. We all have a need for:
• Dignity
• Authority
• Blessing & Provision
• Security
• Purpose & Meaning
• Freedom & Boundary
• Intimate Love & Companionship

If you remember, a major source of strongholds in our lives is a result of seeking to meet one or more of these needs apart from God’s will for us. So insofar as you can in Jesus, ensure that those you help become free of strongholds have their seven needs met.

In Chapter 4 of Demolishing Strongholds we mentioned the ruts of sinful behavior that strongholds have dug in a person’s life. Again, you need to come alongside those you’ve helped to find freedom so they can fill in those ruts with righteous patterns.

Mike: One of my symptoms under the influence of the stronghold of rejection was Seeks Acceptance. People thought I was a nice guy because of the things I did for them. Far from it! All my kindness was designed to forestall being rejected.
With Sue’s help and that of our home fellowship, I was able to stop acting from a wrong motive and allow the Holy Spirit to be my source of kindness. As she came alongside me with love that was willing to confront, my dignity grew. I was finally able to show kindness to others because it was the right thing to do, not because I feared rejection.

Let’s emphasize this point one more time: God wants to use you to help meet the seven needs of those you’ve helped find freedom. Otherwise, they may seek a carnal way to meet these needs and provide a foothold for strongholds to return.
As long as the seven needs aren’t met God’s way, your friend will be increasingly vulnerable to further satanic temptation in these areas. Until they meet these needs within the will of God, the potential for strongholds to form again is very high.
We also encourage you to download our Hebraic article, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation. If your friend is not a follower of Jesus, prayerfully go through this with him so he can better understand his journey to salvation in ways that glorify our Father.
You’ll see on our website various training materials you can freely download, such as Jesus In Your Home, or Discussing How To Restore the Early Church. These can help you guide your friend to live purposely in the Kingdom of Jesus as they walk in loving trust in His Spirit.

2. They refuse to fill out the Demolishing Strongholds Questionnaire, or to demolish their strongholds.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3: 19)

What if your friend DOESN’T want to be free of strongholds, or to even acknowledge their reality?
First, if they’re in fellowship with you or consider themselves a Christian, don’t be reluctant to turn them over to Satan. And keep praying that Satan will destroy their sin nature, and they be restored in Jesus!
If they don’t consider themselves to be a Christian, begin to pray for them and let them know that you’re praying. And ask your faith community to intercede for them too.

Recapping Your Steps
Again, we strongly encourage you to use the appropriate Demolishing Strongholds Questionnaire. Gently but firmly insist as a concerned follower of Jesus that the person you're trying to help fill the questionnaire out so that you can share Godly fellowship.
If they refuse, or if after having filled it out they refuse to turn to Jesus to deliver them over to Satan, they're revealing to you their inner motivation.
The Apostle John realizes this might be their response and addresses it:

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:20). 

Mike: When I was in the Navy, a certain Chief onboard our ship was always asking me questions about the Bible, but he wanted nothing to do with Jesus. I found myself getting annoyed with him.
One night at sea I stopped by his office. He was sitting there with a buddy he’d served with for almost 20 years.
As the Chief stood in front of me, I said, “Would you mind not speaking until I ask you to?” Then I commanded, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus I order you demons not to speak. I want to hear what the man has to say.”
Immediately two demons appeared in the Chief’s eyes. Then he began to speak in a different voice, like he was using his real voice instead of a disguise. I could see the total surprise in his buddy’s face as he heard the change!
After I’d bound the demons in him in the name of Jesus, I asked the chief why he always asked me questions about the Bible. He answered that his mother was a godly woman, and that he’d been in an adulterous affair for many years.
He then told me with deep sorrow, “I don’t believe God can ever forgive me.” As the last word left his mouth, he ran out of the office screaming. I was about to go after him when I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Don’t! The man himself has rejected God.”

When someone chooses darkness over light, they’re telling you of their rejection of Jesus and their desire to live in darkness. You need to be careful about a relationship with them, or even sever it until they repent so that you don’t give way to darkness yourself.
Realize that there’s nothing more you can do when people reject Jesus and what the Bible affirms about the power of His Name to deliver them. They’re blaspheming our Lord by their desire to abide in their demonic strongholds or sin while they’re calling themselves Christians as though they represented Jesus. 
Remember, no one was able to change the God-denying heart of Nabal. He wouldn’t even listen to his wife! (See 1 Samuel 25.) And, in the Newer Testament even people who once served God turned to darkness: Demas (2 Timothy 4:10); Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Timothy 1:20); those who fall away (Hebrews 6: 4-8). John also warns of the severe consequence of intentionally rejecting the pathway of Jesus (see 1 John 5:16).
As we mentioned earlier, if you really love someone so much that having them reconciled to our Lord is your chief desire for them, it may be more appropriate to follow Paul's instruction about those who choose darkness:

Hand them over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and their spirit saved on the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5)
 
[Men] whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:20).

Turning someone over to Satan is appropriate since this is who they've chosen to hold onto instead of Jesus. And this is a loving thing to do! Let Satan do what you can’t — chew on their sin nature so they'll return in grateful repentance to our Lord!
Even after you've turned them over to Satan so that they might repent, don't despise them. Keep praying for them!
And when Satan has done his work so that they don't want to cling to their darkness any longer, help that person rid himself of the iniquity of their strongholds.

We sincerely hope this information is helpful if you want with all your heart to see others you care about to be spiritually free to love and serve our Lord Jesus.
Here’s a timely and loving reminder. Your life as a follower of Jesus is a pilgrimage to salvation:

Your intense desire to become more Christ-like in the power of the Holy Spirit will determine the level of joy and peace you find in your relationship with our Father and with His children.
 
Your ultimate goal is to find yourself welcomed at the Judgment Throne when you hear your name proclaimed to the hosts of heaven! 
Enroute to heaven your responsibility is to free the captives and bring them with you by His grace.
This is your true service to Jesus.