Deliverance

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I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey… Exodus 3:8

When we talk about the lying spirits within our lives, and the authority that we have given them, we must also address taking authority over and expelling them. Many call this “deliverance”. Now, this word has a bad connotation due to the foolishness, ignorance, lies and shenanigans that have been exhibited by many people in the world. Many claim to “deliver” others from evil spirits, and some claim to have a “ministry” of deliverance. Yet, most of these do not truly help others. Some even prolong the agony of the one desiring deliverance by failing to help and then blaming it on the person’s lack of faith. “If you had truly been right with God; if you had only believed in God’s power; your faith is too small; etc.” These things, and more, have been said, and it has hurt many. Unfortunately, it is not new. There is an example in the Apostolic writings of this very thing.

Then some of the itinerant Jewish Exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Master Yeshua over those who had evil spirits, saying “I adjure you by the Yeshua whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Yeshua I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. Acts 19:13-16

The men were not operating as believers in Yeshua. They were not under His authority. So, they had no authority over the evil spirit. But, up to this point, they had been selling “deliverance” to the people. They were using the pain of others to make a profit without providing anything in return. Then, they saw how the evil and unclean spirits left people immediately when confronted by Paul who was operating in the authority given by Yeshua due to belief and obedience to Him. So, they decided to invoke the name of Yeshua, and Paul too, just for good measure. They were using the name of our Savior without any belief in Him or submission to His lordship. This was recognized by the evil spirit and he gave them an experience they never forgot. In fact, word of their experience caused many in the town of Ephesus to fear and extol the name of Yeshua!

So, how do we expel the evil and unclean spirits within us? Do we need to go through a lengthy prayer or ritual? Do we need to call upon a priest to exercise the spirit for us? Do we strike up a conversation with the spirit and try to convince it to leave? NO. None of those things. Yeshua told us that he gave us authority in His name to cast out demons. Is there an example of this in the bible? YES.

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah to come out of her.” And it came out of her that very hour.

Acts 16:16-18

There was no need for any ritual, or for Paul to convince the spirit to leave. No need for conversation with the spirit. No need for any hocus pocus or lengthy prayers. The result was immediate because the authority was there. It is the same today. We who are disciples of Yeshua, living under His lordship and authority, have the same authority that Paul had to cast out demons. We have the authority within our own lives if we have confessed and repented of walking in agreement with the lying spirit. However, do not think that if you are not in true repentance, that the result will be the same. And remember Yeshua warned us that if our repentance is not true, that the spirit will return, brining with it 7 spirits more evil than the original one. IF you have cast out a spirit and it has not left, you need to ask if there is some place else in your life where you have given it authority and you need to confess and repent. Perhaps it is requiring prayer and fasting. But the authority is still yours. Another thing to note; if you are afraid of the lying spirits, you have no authority. We have no need to fear the children of Satan. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in

the world. 1 John 4:4

HalleluYah!

So, how does deliverance work? Is it a one and done? Or is there more to receiving deliverance? Let’s look at how YHWH delivered the Hebrews from Egypt.

First- He gave them some instructions to obey. Obedience (submission to His

authority, proof of their belief) brought deliverance.

Second- He took them out of Egypt in one day.

Third- He called them to relationship with Him

Fourth- He instructed them in how to build, deepen, guard, enjoy, and be blessed

within relationship with him and with other believers.

Fifth- they were called to follow Him (cloud by day/fire by night) on a journey

At each stage the Hebrews had to make a choice. Will I obey the instruction to be delivered? Will I leave Egypt? Will I enter into relationship? Will I cherish that relationship enough to pursue God (and His people) as He instructed?

Even when the Hebrews reached the Promised Land, they had to decide whether to enter! How many times along the way did they longingly look back toward Egypt and complain about where they were? How many times did they gather a group who were going to kill Moses and return to Egypt? And when they reached the Promised Land, how many convinced everyone else not to continue forward?

Deliverance is immediate, but it remains a journey. It remains a daily decision that one will not return to Egypt, no matter how tough this journey may seem. It is a daily remembrance of the horror of slavery (obedience to that spirit), instead of the conscious romanticizing of what had been. It is the daily pursuit of God and His Word, taking both in as if they were water to a parched lost soul in the desert. It is the cherishing of relationship with God and filling those dark spaces with Him and Truth. It is the daily guarding of one’s progress and that relationship with God. It is standing against those who would try to convince you to return to Egypt or that going any further is not worth the effort. It is in realizing that each day will require MINDFUL effort on your part, but also provide rejoicing in how far you have come! Deliverance is a journey. Yes, the evil spirit will leave immediately. But there is a lot of work to clean up its mess and chaos, and to prevent any of that from returning. It does get easier, the more you practice taking every thought captive, the faster and better you will get at remaining in truth and freedom.

I hope this has helped you with understanding more about the spirit-mind connection that is necessary for health. I hope it helps clarify what is meant by casting out/expelling evil spirits and what is meant by deliverance. Until next time….

Blessed by YHWH God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.

Luke 1:68-69

The Spirit of YHWH is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of YHWH’s favor. Luke 4:18-19