Fundamentals of Christian Deliverance and Healing, Part 1
Fundamentals of Christian Deliverance and Healing, Part 1
Biblical Deliverance and Healing 101
The Jealous God on Christ-Centred Deliverance
Biblical Deliverance = Truth Encounter
Connecting with Christ the Deliverer -Ministry Role
Doorways of Satan's Legal Entry and Demonic Attacks
Christian deliverance means God rescuing someone from bondage, oppression, hardship, or domination by evil. It is God who brings deliverance. "Deliver us from the evil one," Mat 6:12-13 (NIV, ASV, NKJV, BBE).
Deliverance ministry is believers carrying out Christian biblical principles that that enable God to bring freedom from bondage, oppression, hardship, or domination by evil. It is a recent term that has mainly been associated with deliverance from demonic possession.
In our context its broader meaning is adopted where demonicpossession is only a small part of deliverance ministry. Much of deliverance ministry deals with demonic influence spiritually, socially, physically, materially and in any other way.
Christians are liable to demonic influence while not liable to demonicpossession . For a detailed biblical analysis please see chapter 6, "Can a Christian Be Demon Possessed?" in my book on spiritual warfare. The spiritual warfare book is basically a companion to this one. It is titled Major Spiritual Warfare Principles: Biblical Do's and Don'ts of Warfare).
Deliverance ministry principles are also part and parcel of the Christian life, thus a responsibility of every Christian. They're essential deliverance principles beneficial for oneself, for loved ones, and for those burdened with. We're all ordained by God to be used to deliver others in one way or another, spiritually, socially, materially or physically.
Some may never verbally expel a single demon in their lifetime but they can pray and fast for people. Thus every Christian is in some form of deliverance ministry. The only question is to what extent is each of us willing to be used by God in delivering others from the evil one (Satan)? This book shares fundamental Christian deliverance principles for self-deliverance and for the deliverance of others (deliverance ministry): spiritually, socially, physically, materially and in any other way.
However, spiritual deliverance is the most important domain for each of us Christ's disciples in our calling into deliverance ministry. The social, physical, material, and any other form of deliverance are important too. It's only that they're subordinate to what's more important in people's lives: spiritual deliverance.
When we work to deliver other people from works of Satan it becomes deliverance ministry. It's God, not us who ultimately delivers them from Satan as we do our part in the deliverance work.
Who are these people that God has called us to serve in our various callings to deliverance ministry work?
They are in two categories: A) the Body of Christ (fellow Christians), and B) the Harvest Field (unbelievers, the unconverted). Our work differs for each category because each has its unique needs. Each category's unique needs are as follows. I've called them the E's of our Christian work. In this book they can also be called the E's of our deliverance ministry work.
1. Every Christian's work/responsibility in the Body of Christ: To Empower or Equip To Enlighten To Encourage
2. Every Christian's work/responsibility in the Harvest Field: To Evangelize To Emancipate (deliverance from bondage, mainly spiritual) To Exemplify
My other book, Hearing from God: How to Hear God's Voice in Your Life, has a detailed chapter on each of the above Es.
This chapter deals with deliverance and healing in major areas of biblical spiritual warfare and deliverance ministry. The primary difference with non-biblical spiritual warfare and deliverance principles is on scriptural interpretation. The non-biblical principles use a handful of misinterpreted scriptures to back up their resolve for recent practices.
The biblical principles have stood their ground for 2000 years since the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus. Why a massive change occurred among some fellow evangelicals as recently as the early 1980s confirms Christ's end-time prophesy: "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect - if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time," Mark 13:22-23.
We're in an era of increased deception that Christ foretold. The apostles followed up on the same warning. "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine . Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths," 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Since false doctrines sometimes sound more itchy and pleasant how does one stay on guard against them? We're instructed to grow in the knowledge of God's word through our own study, fellowship with believers embracing biblical doctrine and to avoid worldly pleasures.
Our maturity and walk with God will be our defence. "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming," Ephesians 4:14.
The following deliverance and healing principles embrace what we've always followed as biblical doctrine. There is no shade of recent teachings of bombarding evil spirits, performing certain rituals and so on. No special mountain was climbed to receive these biblical principles. Maybe the mountain of vast experience in the false teachings can be said to be one.
Years of personal experience and counselling of other believers has confirmed what works and what doesn't, what's biblical and what's not, what brings deliverance and what invites bondage. The principles shared will save you from avoidable torment some of us went through.
The only thing new here is the increased awareness on the role of deliverance and healing ministry in the body of Christ. Being saved is not an end in itself. It's a beginning of a new life of deliverance and healing from the effects of the old life.
It's also a new life that can be vulnerable to and hindered by destructive teachings, deception and sin. It's a journey from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge of God's word, from bondage to deliverance, in all areas of life - spiritually, socially, materially and so on.
A key point to note is that there is no drama needed in biblical deliverance and healing. Some assume deliverance will come after a powerful prayer or in some super-spiritual way with demons screaming all over, as God comes down in glorious thunder and lightning. Christian Hollywood, not the bible, has taught some that it's got to be dramatic.
They feel something is missing when you tell them deliverance is as simple as applying the following steps of faith: 1) prayer of repentance for walking outside God's will, 2) ceasing all known association and practice of matters that bring bondage through deception (false teachings), through ignorance (lack of knowledge), through sin, and through storms of life, 3) being familiar with and applying biblical requirements in areas were deliverance and healing is sought (most biblical requirements in different areas are covered in this book), and 4) a simple prayer to ask God for continued guidance in opening one's eyes to true biblical living. Some believe identifying and listing all curses and spirits affecting their lives is necessary. Others expect the blood of Jesus pleaded on their lives and a prayed for bottle of anointing oil sent to them. Some believe they have demons that need to be cast out. The new sensational teachings have misled some in the body of Christ into such beliefs.
God in his wisdom has made deliverance a simple act of faith and will. We're the ones who have complicated it. We've turned deliverance ministry into a religious ritual involving a specialized deliverance ministry or deliverance church who focus on supposed deliverance ministry activities.
If you believe there's a powerful deliverance church or deliverance ministry out there that'll bring deliverance you may search forever. And God forbid that anyone ends up with a "deliverance ministry" that only increases the demonic attacks. Especially after coming across books like this that distinguish between bible based and non-biblical deliverance ministry. The Lord is so jealous that he does not want to share his glory with no man, no woman, and no ministry when bringing your deliverance. It's true that levels of anointing may differ among believers.
But it's also true that many believers have sought deliverance and prayer from prominent names only to return empty. And some who refused to give up went on to petition God for their breakthrough. The breakthrough came in moments of their personal devotion and supplication. This increased their faith and direct relationship with God.
Maybe you have sought deliverance from all sorts of people and churches, including the wrong ones. God could be waiting for your direct connection with him. Remember that among God's numerous names is the name Jealous. "Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God," Exodus 34:14. We hardly use this name but it's one of his. It describes his nature just as well as the others do (e.g. Healer, Provider, Fortress, Shepherd, etc.).
God, the Jealous One, is seeking our focus on him, not on fellow men, women or ministries. To him this is a form of idolatry, worship of another god. And he is willing to wait until an individual begins to focus on him. He responds to obedience not to levels of need. If his response was based on need he'd have come long ago because human needs continue to get more desperate every succeeding period. Human needs are worse off now than ever before in spite of technological advances.
Biblical deliverance and healing leads a person to Christ to do the deliverance work in her and for her. It is not centred on a deliverance ministry nor deliverance church. Rather it is truth-centred and Christ-centred. It is centred on bringing biblical truths that set captives free by drawing them closer to God and deliverance principles in his word. It is not centred on a deliverance ministry or deliverance church performing certain rituals and calling it deliverance ministry.
When you learn these biblical truths you're better able to deal with matters that were root causes of problems in your life or the lives of others. No demons need to be cast out of a born again, blood of Jesus purchased and heaven-bound Christian. Biblical deliverance and healing empowers you to walk with and abide in Christ, your personal Lord and Saviour. It does not empower a deliverance ministry or deliverance church to continue having you under some constant dose of "deliverance medication."
Biblical deliverance ministry focuses on a truth encounter in God's word. It is the truth that sets us free in whatever area we may be under attack. Receiving the truth in God's word in an area of concern is what brings deliverance and healing. When the truth comes and is applied all the legal doorways that demons entered through are closed.
There is no binding and loosing of demons involved, no special anointing oil, no laying on of hands, no powerful deliverance prayers and so on. And no special emotions either to feel the deliverance experience. It is simple a simple act of faith and the will to apply required biblical deliverance principles. God's angels then go ahead to overcome the demonic forces in the spirit realm that before had legal entry once the truth comes and is applied.
This entire book shares these biblical truths on spiritual warfare and deliverance. The Lord inspired it to help you personally connect with him and his word. The truths enable you to receive what some call self-deliverance. It is actually not self-deliverance but truth deliverance. The biblical truths one learns are the ones that bring freedom. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free," John 8:32.
Prior to the above sentence Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples," John 8:31. Holding to his teaching, his word, and applying it is what brings freedom. It is abiding in him. He wants a one to one relationship with each of us.
Through such an intimate connection with him we're able to receive and understand truths that others are blind to. He's able to remove the veil or covering of ignorance that blinds us from many matters that create hard to solve problems. This is liberating. It is true deliverance.
Please note that the freedom that comes with walking in truth does not imply having everything the way we desire or pray. It is having the right understanding to life and whatever comes our way. It is knowing how to navigate through trials of life, being made better instead of bitter through them.
It is understanding the sovereignty, power and love of God rather than being preoccupied with people, evil spirits or circumstances in determining the course of our lives. It is being empowered to walk with God in such an intimate way that he becomes our focus, not people or circumstances, and certainly not Satan.
A ministry's role is to help people draw closer to Christ, the actual Shepherd and head of the church. It is to equip fellow believers in intimately connecting with his work and his role in their lives. A relationship consolidated with Christ is what brings lasting deliverance work in believers' lives. Taking Christ off the centre and putting a ministry as the main avenue that Jesus works through only hinders Christ's deeper work.
This arises when believers are led to assume that a pastor, like myself, has some special VIP honour in relating to God. It's been there since Christ's time with the Pharisees and it's still with us today. Many pastors prefer to preserve this Pharisee tradition because it gives them some power and influence. Unfortunately believers end up being deprived of their own empowerment that comes through their direct relationship with Christ.
Ultimately the entire body of Christ is deprived from much fruit empowered believers can bear. There would be no centralized deliverance ministries if believers understood their direct connection to Christ. We may, as pastors, have certain gifts and knowledge more than average believers. However this does not imply we have any special position in relating with Christ. It only implies we've been entrusted to share matters we know so that others can better connect with their Lord and Saviour.
Being called into a sensitive area like deliverance ministry makes it a big sin to play on people's ignorance. Yet many ministries, including prominent ones are doing this. They take people's attention away from Jesus and place it onto themselves claiming some special anointing is on them that works through them, and them only. Association with their ministry, not with Jesus, is claimed to release this yoke breaking anointing upon people. You're probably familiar with what I'm saying. I spent years serving in and sowing to ministries that linked deliverance and breakthrough to financial contributions or other commitments to their ministries. Scriptures were skilfully used to back up their claims.
During my own devotional time I'd all kinds of prayer sessions. Apart from the right prayers which are addressed to God there were also some bombarding evil spirits. Others were prayers in tongues in their various assumed types -praise tongues, spiritual warfare tongues, intercessory tongues, self edification tongues, worship tongues, etc. I was an expert in speaking in tongues. And my list of rituals was endless, including sprinkling the assumed blood of Jesus around my surroundings. You name it I've probably fallen for it.
(In case you need detailed info on modern versions of speaking in tongues, etc, please visit GotQuestions.org. It's a Christian website that answers questions from a biblical perspective. They do not dispute all modern day versions but caution on going into non-biblical practices (some of us learnt of it the hard way). You can type in your query in the search bar. It's a helpful bible-based website covering even on matters central to this book: biblical spiritual warfare, can Christians be demon possessed, tongues, praying to Mary, yoga, etc. Please make use of such resources, including resources at our website and public or church library resources for questions unanswered in this book. Feel free to email us a question to consider answering in the next edition or adding to the website. However the volume of email received makes it unbearable to reply to every person that writes).
With all my personal rituals and church obsessed programs my Christian life was still worse off compared to some close colleagues who happened to be non-Charismatic's. They were Baptist and Presbyterian. When I tried to "preach" to them about the wonderful Charismatic devotionals they had my life as evidence enough to close their ears. I still couldn't get it.
Only the Lord knows why I was blind for so long. But I'm so thankful for being delivered from such blindness and manipulation. Having academic degrees could not take away the blindness. Only the Spirit of God did. When the truth came I realized that even sincere Christians can be very blind spiritually. We can be so blind to the extent that fellow believers who're not misled over some matters shake their heads in embarrassment. They can't believe what's being followed in God's name. Even non-believers can point out certain major logs jammed in our eyes. History bears lots of such records.
I attended all sorts of "deliverance seminars," "breakthrough seminars," "breakthrough crusades" and so on. In between them were church special days according to Jewish traditions, Christian calendar months, special church programs, and so on. Nothing wrong with any of them when used in their context.
It's when they are used to manipulate people that their deliverance is tied to observing these ministry-cantered programs which also mostly seek "special seed offerings." People give not only their money but time, loyalty and even sanity to these ministries to a level of ministry worship, a form of idolatry.
Such ministries are not necessarily charismatic or Pentecostal. It just happens that my experience was from a radical charismatic church. So I'm not trying to characterize any particular denomination as having lost its Christian and bible campus. You yourself will be able to identify churches that fall in this group after having read this book. They can be from any denomination or non-denomination.
This book takes you away from this needless and fruitless ministry-centred religion. God allowed some of us to go through it so that you don't have to. The focus is on God, following deliverance principles in his word and developing a closer walk with him. There is no special offering sought for your breakthrough. Any donation made to our ministry is merely because you desire to partner with us in helping others to understand empowering biblical principles for their lives. The Lord will respond to your obedience in fulfilling whatever he biblically requires of you in your area of need. It will not come through a special seed offering to a ministry that will be prayed for and anointed with oil for your breakthrough.
Using deceit and manipulation is a sin even though certain blessings come through faithful giving. It's God that blesses the giver for obeying his word on sowing to his kingdom (the body of Christ), not because it was given to a certain ministry. It's true ministries like ours need funding to prevail in outreach programs, but it's a sin as witchcraft to use manipulation.
And neither respond to any ministry online, on television, other media, or in your neighbourhood if they said God told them if you sowed a certain seed he will answer your needs. Why couldn't he directly relate to you? He desires to connect with you directly more than through some individual who thinks he/she is closer to God because of being called to pastoral ministry.
Our pastoral role is to lead you closer to him and his ways in the bible so that you can develop the same direct connection with him. Then you'll be more empowered to deal with matters in your life according to his word, not according to a certain seed offering.
May you find in this book all the required areas of biblical deliverance principles and apply them in all your areas of concern. Where you need more assistance do contact us or browse through our various spiritual resources online at JesusWorkMinistry.com and SpiritualWarfareDeliverance.com (the two websites for Jesus Work Ministry are interlinked through easy navigation). Do contact us even on matters concerning this book such as on typographical errors, grammatical errors, etc.
You certainly won't find ministry-cantered initiations but Christ-cantered material. Prayer requests are most welcome but with emphasis on personal input in connecting with God. No idol worship, no ministry worship, only Jesus worship and worship of our heavenly Father.
Just not to be misunderstood: Satan's entry into one's life implies influence into one's life from an external position. It does not imply possession of one's faculties, an aspect of demonic possession. His entry is therefore an aspect of external demonic attack and not demonic possession. Please read the chapter on Exception for Direct Confrontation if you are not familiar with differences between demonic possession and demonic influence .
Satan operates within the boundaries that God allows, that God has set-up as spiritual laws. Outside these boundaries he has NO means, authority nor power to enforce his wishes. Our God remains almighty and all sovereign. This makes God in charge of everything, including over Satan. He thus has not left his throne to Satan to do whatever he pleases. Satan only operates within the limits God has set-up. That is why Satan uses traps to bring people into his boundaries -so that he can attack them. Within his boundaries he gains legal access to attack in whatever way he has access to -spiritually, socially, materially, physically, etc.
The methods he uses to gain legal access to people are through: 1) Deception, 2) Ignorance, 3) Sin, and 4) Storms of life
1) Deception
Deception is deliberately misleading someone to believe something that is not true. Satan successfully deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He tried to deceive Jesus in the wilderness by twisting scriptures but failed. Most deception goes unnoticed when one has little or no foundation on scripture. Highly concealed deception includes glorification of earthly riches, worldly pleasures, power, fame, beauty, and knowledge.
Such deception is as close as the secular media channels around us. All one needs to do to fall under the spell of deception is to turn one of these secular channels on. That's why television is sometimes called the devilvision in Christian circles. But it depends which programs and channels one views. For example Sky Angel provides exclusively Christian programming with as many as 36 channels. It currently (Dec. 2006) broadcasts to US and Caribbean residents. Residents along the boarder with USA, i.e. Canada and Mexico, have access to the satellite signal.
Readers in the US you have Sky Angel at your doorstep that provides all kinds of programs including world news and family friendly movies for the Christian community. And it's cheaper than devil vision channels through its satellite broadcasting (see SkyAngel.com to request a free brochure). I bought a lifetime subscription offer that remains till death do us part with Sky Angel. No excuse to watch devil vision when a better alternative exists. Even where no Christian channels exist falling for most secular media is as good as dancing with the devil.
2) Ignorance
Ignorance is lack of knowledge. There was a real-estate advert I heard on radio where someone says, "I don't even know enough to know that I don't know." The words stuck but the ad has been forgotten. Many believers settle down quickly in their Christian lives assuming that being saved and going to church is enough. They don't even know enough to know that they need to continue growing. This can open bad doors to adopting all kinds of dangerous beliefs and doctrines with the assumption that they are biblical. "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge," Hosea 4.6.
3) Sin
Sin is transgressing, violating or trespassing God's laws in the bible. It is going outside his prescription for our lives. Whether done knowingly or out of ignorance sin has the same consequences. No excuses for breaking spiritual laws. The only matter that saves us from reaping bad fruits from every bad seed is God's grace. None of us would make it all in life without God's grace. "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love… he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities," Psalms 103:8,10. Thanks be to God for his grace, many of us would be drowning in self inflicted sorrows. At the same time it is not wise to assume we'd be rescued by God's grace when we violate his spiritual laws. Sin gives the devil legal entry and God may not allow his grace to stop him. The chaotic state of affairs the world is in shows how much legal entry humanity has given Satan.
4) Storms of life
Storms of life are unpleasant experiences that befall us out of no fault of our own. They are the Joseph experiences. God allows them to happen but does not plot them against us. He only does not stop them. Depending on how we handle such matters storms of life can be our stepping stones to our promotion (like with Joseph) or they can be our downfall. They can be assets the Holy Spirit can use to our good or they can be assets Satan can use to block us from moving forward.
For example, Joni Eareckson Tada a professional diver got severely injured and unable to use her hands and legs at a young age. Such an experience might as well have been the end of her beautiful life. Heaven said no. There is not much space here to chronicle what God has been doing through her global ministry. She is our modern day example of Joseph (Genesis 50:20). What the devil intended to use for destruction God has used it to lift the lives of millions of people.
Whatever storms of life one may have faced or maybe facing - spiritually, socially, materially or physically they are not intended to be obstacles. At least from God's point of view. The devil wants them to be obstacles and destiny killers. But they cannot stop God from fulfilling all that he purposed to accomplish through each of us. God is able to transform the experiences to eventually work to our good if our focus is on him rather than our limitations. JesusWorkMinistry.com.