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Deliverance: Do You Really Want It?

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This woman is totally under the control of satanists again. She has, to all intents and purposes, given up her faith, even after the most incredible personal appearances of the Saviour to her many times - even after angels of Yahweh delivered her many times, even after she experienced the sweet and overwhelming presence of the Ruach (Spirit) many times, even after she experienced one miracle after the other many times - indeed, more times than a whole congregation of ordinary believers combined would ever hope to experience in a lifetime. She believed that once you're saved, that's it - you've made it and are guaranteed a place in heaven. Indeed this belief in part led her to attempt suicide many times so that she could be free of her demons. This part of her believed she had no real need of church life or of continuing to work out her salvation with fear and trembling. To put it bluntly, she was controlled by RELIGIOUS DEMONS. When she was not delivered in the way she expected and wanted, she turned against her benefactors in a spirit of accusation. She turned to others who attacked her benefactors. In short, she never actually displayed the fruits of one truly born again. The fruits of repentance were lacking time and time again.

Whoever we are, whatever our background, we are responsible for our own sinful behaviour. Victims often fall into the trap of believing Satan's lie that they are a 'special case' and deserve to be given the red-carpet treatment. They betray, rather, resentments and bitterness which they take out on those who are trying to help them. The anger, hurt, and bitterness are more than understandable but nevertheless these are sinful responses to adversity that the victim has to humbly confess and seek deliverance from. Turning against the hand that feeds you will not help the victim. Indeed, the demons usually use this to get the victims to reject their deliverance ministers and caregivers altogether out of a misguided sense that they 'deserve' to be loved in whatever way they want instead of the way that Christ demands. And it is not difficult for such to find sympathizers who all too ready to accuse and fault Yahweh's ministers who make no sacrifices themselves to help and whose behaviour reveals their own lawlessness and sin. The tendency of the carnal man is to turn to those who will tickle the ego - there are plenty of such in the Body of Christ who ought to know better but who end up inadvertantly supporting the satanist agenda. Satan knows this and exploits it to the full. Our most vigorous opponents have been misguided people in the churches.

As I said, we have learned the hard way. And Lesson #1 a deliverance minister has to learn is that unless he gets to the root of a victim's soul-desires, he will end up going around in circles, burning himself out and neglecting those who would truly respond. We are, after all, finite. It is a frightening responsibility but a deliverance minister needs to determine who will come to Christ and who will not before he gets into full deliverance. He needs to operate in the Ruach (Spirit) and know Yahweh's will. I minister to everyone who comes to me, of course, but I do not allow the demons to put me on a merry-go-round as I once did any more. If it is clear that a victim has no intention of repenting and leading a life in Christ after deliverance, then a deliverance minister has to challenge him directly. Ignoring the issue and simply plunging into deliverance will be a waste of time. I have done that. Because we are stewards of our time, health and financial resources, and because there are so few proper deliverance ministers, we have to be discriminating. Many victims are satanic set-ups who pretend to want Christ but who don't really. Indeed I met one lady who, after deliverance, wanted to go into white witchcraft (so-called) and who simply viewed Christ as the 'most powerful' deity around who could serve her.

Deliverance is not magic. You don't wave a wand, the demons go, and the victim can walk away free and live happily ever after. Deliverance remains incomplete as long as there are sin-issues that need dealing with, so in principle it applies to everyone, believers included. Wherever there is a single lie in a life, there is a demon reinforcing it.

I have met victims who, knowing the truth, have made a conscious decision for Satan because they didn't want to continue the struggle to be delivered. Deliverance does demand courage and persistence. People who are passive about life don't get delivered. And Yahweh permits oppression often if for no other reason than to wake us up to reality. Deliverance means facing reality, however unpleasant. Many people who are demonized refuse to believe that demons exist because they figure that will make life simpler and less demanding. They would rather blame the symptoms on something else even if the supposed cure for that 'something else' doesn't work. They would rather believe in a futile hope that requires almost nothing of them than to face reality and fight.

Having said all of these things I am not saying I have all the answers to life. Yahweh, our Father in Heaven, permits all kinds of suffering in our lives for reasons we may never know in this life. He permitted Paul to retain at least one demon in his life to keep him humble. He permitted Satan to oppress Job as a witness to all the angels in heaven of steadfast faithfulness when there is no apparent meaning to suffering. Sometimes we are called to suffer as a witness of the love of Christ which is greater than anything the enemy can throw at us. Sometimes we are permitted to suffer so that we can see just how depraved and unworthy we are inside. Sometimes we are allowed to suffer to help us deal with pride. There can be many reasons and I don't pretend to know the tiniest fraction of them whether in my own life or in others'. What I do know is that we are not as 'good' as we think we are and that unless we deal with the reality of who we are (by first seeing these things), then we will never desire the cleansing and healing blood of Christ sufficiently to work a full salvation. And that, I think, is the bottom line: many Christians don't want a full salvation (deliverance), not in their heart-of-hearts at any rate (though they may profess it with their mouths), which is why they jealously guard sin in their lives.

If you really want deliverance then I must tell you up front that it will cost you sovereignty over your own life. The chances are more than likely that you haven't a clue what that actually means. That's alright. We must walk in faith. Our decisions for Christ are always shaken along the way to show us whether we have true faith or not. Opposition is permitted for this purpose, so that we refine the nature of our faith until it becomes pure, guileless faith.

As a minister, I do not have all the answers to the details of life - its perplexities and sorrows. I go through these too. But I do know who the Deliverer is, I know that He is real, and I know that He is who He says He is. I also know there is no alternative. I know that His love for us is unconditional but that deliverance costs us our sovereignty. I also know how deceptive human nature it - its rationalizations and excuses - and have learned to spot and deal with them, often brutally, I'm afraid to say. I know in whom I am trusting.

This frank and perhaps blustery statement has not been written to discourage you but to be real. Pretending or minimizing reality helps no one. I wish sometimes that life could be easier for all of us but wishful thinking does us no service. The bottom line here is that whatever circumstances we find ourselves in ultimately have a purpose, even if our carnal minds may rebel against that sometimes. Furthermore - and this is critical - whatever Yahweh permits is ultimately because of His great love for us. We don't see that love until after the trial or test, but we will see and know it if we persist in faith.

Speaking of Torah or the Law, Christ said: "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (complete)" (Matthew 5:17, NKJVThink not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Matthew 5 (KJV) verse 17). That is also true of us as human beings - He did not come here to destroy us (even though it may at times appear that way) but to complete us as human beings, by expunging the demonic in our lives. Like medicine, that can sometimes be painful and sometimes take a long time.