Wanted to clarify that I do believe in deliverance, just not in ministries that focus solely on deliverance. In the course of regular services, many people are delivered. It’s a natural, spontaneous turn of events when one gives their heart to the Lord.
Just like nutritionists now acknowledge that eating the whole fruit is healthier than just drinking the juice, because the juice is often too sugary without the fruit pulp to help balance out the sugars, a ministry that focuses solely on removing evil spirits is incomplete. If it doesn’t also focus heavily on repentance and living a life of holiness, it won’t be too effective.
There are various types of deliverance from my observation and understanding. There may and probably are more than these, so here are just a few examples.
1. The person who gets delivered by surprise. This is the person who doesn’t know they need deliverance, but when the spirits are suddenly removed by the person’s opening up to the Messiah, the freeness that ensues, causes the person to want to stay on the narrow path to salvation, in most cases. They often don’t know the cause of their issue is spiritual, so they don’t know the solution is also spiritual. The bible has examples of such incidents such as the boy who kept throwing himself in the fire, and whom the Messiah set free from this torment.
2. The person who seeks deliverance on their own. They are usually tormented, sick, in some kind of stuck cycle where they know something is wrong but can’t seem to fix the problem themselves. Usually it’s a lack of faith, awareness or both. Because faith will allow one to be self-delivered. And awareness will lead one to prayer and fasting for deliverance, which combined with faith will achieved the desired results.
3. The person who refuses deliverance. These are the ones almost completely possessed. And they often want to challenge the minister(s) who seek to expel the demons. And the true and bold man/woman of God can remove the entities, if only for a time, allowing the person to get back into their right mind. This allows the person to see what things feel like without the presence of the evil spirits, and gives opportunity for them to now make correct decisions to keep them from re-entering.
4. One who seeks deliverance on behalf of another. This is where the person cannot or doesn’t want to do this on their own. This is a large area where good help is needed. Because family and friends often don’t have the abilities to deliver those dear to them. I wish I knew more about this because as a Believer you are supposed to be able to work magic, I’ve seen it in a real sense. But looking at the Bible for examples, shows time and time again, true Believers surrounded by loved ones who were evil or of evil intent, if only for a short time. We’ve heard that Yah works in mysterious ways, and this seems to be one of them.
True Believers have power over all evil entities that may try to get inside their bodies by seeking to make them get caught up in sin. However, to expel these spirits from others takes strong faith, according to Messiah. These wicked spirits are clever and will often run and hide to avoid being removed. It takes a sanctified man/woman of God to call them out and force them to leave.
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18)
Matthew 17:14-21
And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
