And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity ~ Luke 13:12.
Introduction:
There are various streams of demonic entanglement which Satan uses to gain advantage over people with a view to stealing their lots and destroying their destinies. These can be conveniently classified into three broad categories: our sins, the sins of other people and our general failure to live the genuine Christian life.
Our personal sins of commission and omission generally poke holes in the hedges of protection that God has erected around us. Sins leave the gates of our lives unlocked, making us vulnerable to the Evil One.
Besides, demons also gain access into people via the sins of others. For example, the “sin of the fathers” is often a sad reason for the demonization of the children (Exodus 20:3-6).
The sins of the fathers and leaders can occasion leading problems, especially in the form of negative generational influences, which are sometimes observable in families, groups, communities, and even nations.
In some instances, victims do suffer from curses and spells perpetrated upon them by wicked men and women who are negatively anointed. And, until Christ is involved to forcefully confront such evils through the deliverance ministry, the law of sin and death continues to hold ground incontrovertibly.
Today, our total deliverance is made possible by the finished works of Christ on the Cross (Galatians 3:13-14). I believe Prophet Jeremiah had this in mind when he proclaimed: “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge” (Jeremiah 31:29).
However, where people fail to truly embrace or actively live the Christ-life, the door will remain open for the devil to gain advantage. Whenever we move away from God, we simultaneously move away from His protection. Indeed, the best way to keep the devil out of our lives is to keep Christ in our lives.
Possible Events Prior to Dislodging Demons
Truth be told, deliverance does not always happen quickly. One of the reasons for this is that the afflicted person may need to learn some things about God, about the adversary and about his own personal spiritual life before total deliverance takes place (Romans 8:28).
In such rare instances, God may allow the unpalatable experience to linger for some while as a test of faith, especially if your life’s assignment requires some critical measures of divine approval. God does prove people before He puts His approval upon their lives!
Please keep in mind that demons are generally afraid of the power of God, particularly when they come in contact with someone who flows in that power (James 2:19). The victims might even feel this fear in their own physical bodies through some unusual agitations which they experience.
However, Satan is not an outright fool. He doesn’t want to be cast out, but he also knows that he is helpless in any face-to-face encounter with God’s power. Therefore, he tries everything he can do to keep the victim away from the benefits of the deliverance anointing.
The first trick Satan uses is to convince the victim that the problem is not demonic. If this does not work, and the demons are being challenged directly through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they sometimes pretend they are not there, in the hope that the deliverance minister will get discouraged and stop the assault.
Where all these fail, Satan may decide to generate a bunch of distractions through pains, wrong thoughts and negative attitudes of shame. Simultaneously, he looks for some “snares” in the life of the victim to deploy.
Demonic “snares” are various circumstances, attitudes and acts of disobedience to God that allow demons to entrap human beings (2 Corinthians 10:6). Examples of these include but not limited to: occult involvement, voodooism, sexual immorality such as fornication, adultery, pornography and homosexual sins.
Others include arrogance, pride, rebellion, un-forgiveness heresies, prejudices, selfishness, self-centeredness, bitterness, hatred, despair, etc. These are some of the greatest stumbling blocks to deliverance.
It is wise counsel, therefore, that if you are suffering from demonic assaults, and you have been skillfully ministered to by anointed vessels and the demons refuse to go, you should prayerfully check your spiritual life.
I recognize that this process can be very difficult and emotionally painful, but it is critically needed if we are to find total freedom from demonic influences. Deliverance is rarely possible, or unlikely to be permanent, if any of the entanglements remain in our lives.
Proven Steps to Total Deliverance
The very first steps to finding the help of God for total deliverance from demonic harassment or afflictions are repentance and genuine conversion (Acts 3:19; James 4:7-8). These will show forth in a conscious determination to follow Christ, living for Him daily and continuing in all of His teachings.
No amount of shouting at the devil, and no quantity of faith confessions, will ever take the place of true repentance. False repentance will produce nothing but a frustrated Christian.
You cannot escape the darkness of hell by turning on a flashlight of mere religiosity. You must leave the premises completely! You must passionately hate the idols in your heart, repent and believe the gospel!!
Sin is a plain offense against God (Psalm 51:4). It turns our hearts away from God, even to the point of holding Him in contempt and revolting against Him through our self-will to become “like gods” (Genesis 3:5).
Sin is a failure of genuine love for God and neighbours caused by a perverse attachment to certain things we consider good for us. It is an offense against truth, reason and right conscience, which wounds the godly nature in man and injures human solidarity.
Sins are our words, deeds or desires that contradict the eternal laws of God. We must repent of all known sins, and renounce Satan and all that opposes God in our lives if the devil must find no place in us (Ephesians 4:27).
It is the confrontation with the Truth, Jesus Christ, that sends demons running back to hell (John 14:6). When we are truly in Christ and His truth is fully loaded up in us, we supernaturally gain freedom (John 8:32). Till today, the Truth is still sounding the majestic invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”(Matthew 11:28).
Further critical proven steps to total deliverance involve repositioning ourselves spiritually by knowing who we are in Christ, regularly exercising ourselves in the faith and relying absolutely on the Holy Spirit to settle our cases.
Friends, the Lord will surely deliver you from the miry clays and shield you from all forms of satanic hostilities. Yes indeed, this season, you will be delivered, even from the deep waters of trouble, in Jesus Name (Psalms 69:14). Happy Sunday!
Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
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