No Repentance, No Power
Deliverance. That taboo word in the Church. Rarely do we hear a message or in-depth teaching on biblical healing (apart from the occasional evangelist passing through) let alone sermons on Christian deliverance. Our modern-day churches have become so seeker-friendly we don’t want to offend anyone. So we pretend. We pretend the need doesn’t exist, because after all, we’re Christians. We’re saved, perhaps even Spirit-filled, so we erroneously believe deliverance isn’t for us… it’s only for “those people” who don’t attend church. But the Bible clearly shows us otherwise!
From days of old, the need for healing and deliverance for God’s people (church attendees) has always been present. Lets take a look at an old testament example.
They have also healed the hurt (crushing) of My people slightly, saying ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.
Jeremiah 6:14
The religious leaders (priests and prophets) had an outward appearance of doing everything right. They put on a religious front, spoke in a religious language, had services in the temple, offered sacrifices to God, but never received that deep inner healing and peace for themselves. The leaders were professing peace and joy and preaching it to others, but in reality their hurts were only slightly healed according to scripture. If you read verse 13 of chapter six, you’ll see the prophets and priests were guilty of covetousness and dealt falsely with others. Verse 15 tells us they were not even ashamed of their sinful lifestyle. They never examined their own hearts, and kept preaching as if they were pure and righteous. There was no repentance. They did not see their own need for confession of sins. Therefore, scripture says they could only heal the people (the congregation) slightly.
Everything was superficial. There was an outward appearance of healing but they were not right with God, nor others. There was a lot of pretending going on. A lot of acting. As a result, both the leaders and the people learned how to cover up their sin. Their hurts and wounds, and various other problems remained, and they were never truly set free (delivered). And it’s no different today. We the Church have been trained to say all the right things, but our lives are anything but victorious. We constantly point the accusatory finger at others, especially the unchurched world, but fail to examine our own heart. The result? We walk around half-healed. We get slightly better, but never achieve wholeness.
Deliverance – Serious Business
A wise leader and a successful deliverance minister accepts God’s testimony about human inclination to sin. The number one requirement for a deliverance minister is self examination, and subsequent repentance as the Lord reveals our own sin. If we attempt deliverance on others without living a pure and holy life ourselves, it’s an open door for the enemy to attack us. It’s a very, very dangerous thing!
Remember the account in the Bible about the seven sons of Sceva? (Please read Acts 19:11-16.) These seven men attempted exorcism without having a personal relationship with Jesus. There is much to learn from this story that we’ll look at later, but for now, just know that the demonic spirits first verbally insulted the men (yes, demons can speak!), then the demon-possessed man violently jumped on the [self-proclaimed] exorcists, overpowered them, and prevailed against them. Scripture says the men ran out of the house naked and wounded!
It’s amazing to me that demonic spirits know the spiritual state of people. Even though these men used the name of Jesus and the name of Paul, the demons knew they were not followers of Christ. The spirits were unimpressed and knew the men had no Holy Spirit power to cast them out. Even though the spirits feared God, they knew these men were not true believers, and refused to be controlled by their manipulations. Wow! That’s why we cannot play games with deliverance!
The ministry of deliverance is serious business, never to be entered into lightly. A Christian must be properly trained and personally prepared, committed to living a pure and holy life. One of my good friends is a Christian counselor and mentioned to me recently that she is helping a woman who was involved in a deliverance ministry, who now needs deliverance herself!
A deliverance minister must be a born-again, Spirit-filled believer. They should not have any unsurrendered sin in their life, because demons will take advantage of any weakness. They should be free of ulterior motives, sexual impurities, greed, and anything else that would leave them open to some charge by the devil. Keep your life pure. (Another word of caution: There is not a devil behind every doorpost! Never go out looking for demons or make up demons where they do not exist. We should be prepared to confront demons when the need arises, but never seek this kind of encounter.)
The Great Revealer
Prior to administering deliverance, it’s alway a good idea to pray the same prayer David prayed:
Search me, oh God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
Judgement has got to begin in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). Give the Lord permission, as David did, to examine our own hearts. We may be surprised at what He reveals. There may be some deep rooted things in our hearts and minds, even from our childhood, that we have to be set free from. Things that are keeping us from effective ministry to others. A few years ago, the Lord revealed some things that were present in my own life. Most of my life, from a very early age, I’ve suffered from fear, rejection, worry, anxiety, inferiority, inadequacy, and infirmity. Some I knew existed (but never knew what to do about it), some I didn’t. I thought that was just the way I was — part of my melancholy personality, the way God created me. Then, the Spirit of God began teaching me that some of these things were actually spirits. Demonic spirits that were suppressing me for decades, keeping me from entering into the fullness of my destiny. Spirits that needed to be cast out. I was being called into a deliverance ministry, but there were bondages in my own life that needed to be dealt with first.
Revelation from God is nothing to be ashamed of. God desires for us to live free. Deliverance is not offensive to God. Some forms of demonic infiltration may require assistance from others in order to be delivered. But many of these demonic spirits will flee through self-deliverance (instructions on that later). Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Even with self-deliverance it’s wise to have another [Spirit-filled] believer in the room with you. Deliverance doesn’t have to be done in a corner, as something “under cover.” It’s as much a part of the Gospel as healing and the baptism in the Holy Spirit. We should be free to do it as openly as we do other aspects of ministry.
All ministry flows out of our personal relationship with Jesus. But especially with deliverance, we should spend a little extra time in the presence of Jesus. Allow Him to speak into your own life. Ask Him to reveal anything that needs attention. Preparation is key for a minister of deliverance. When you stand before God blameless, ordinary people can do extraordinary things!
- Deliverance Series Part 1 – Prelude to Deliverance
- Deliverance Series Part 2 – Repentance: Vital for Deliverance Ministry
© Glenda Motsavage and Sozo Ministries International, 2023
Leave a Reply