Deliverance

Jesus Christ came to set men free from the effects of sin and the symptoms of that include sickness, depression, fear, and ultimately death.  When a person gets born from above and accepts Jesus as his Savior one’s spirit is alive unto God but their soul is not.  The soul of man contains one’s will, emotions and their mind or how they think.  And this is where deliverance needs to come so that the believer may walk into the fullness of who Christ made them to be.  The apostle Paul wrote that we need to renew our mind by the washing of the Word of God.  Deliverance will come as we align ourselves with God’s Word and the Spirit behind the Word.  

I am one who believes that a Christian can be oppressed and held captive by a demon in their thinking or in there body.  The spirit of a Christian cannot be held captive because the Holy Spirit lives there but the other parts of a man which includes his body and soul can be troubled by evil spirits.  I have seen this personally with people who have been under severe depression and yet were born again.  The spirit of depression held them in such bondage that suicide was one of the thoughts that was entertained.  God brought a supernatural deliverance during the night and they were free from the powers of hell as the Holy Spirit power surged through them.   Per Dr. Lester Sumrall, who was one of my father’s in the faith, there is seven steps to demon possession.  These steps are, regression, repression, suppression, depression, oppression, obsession and possession.  

As one can see from this list the steps of demon possession starts from a place where a person back slides from where they are in God and as the spirit of heaviness weighs them down they are further submerged into the darkness that the enemy brings. At the first couple of levels a person can get them own self free, but as they slide further down into the deception of the enemy the bondage becomes too great for them to get themselves free and it is at that point they need someone else to free them.
It is at that point those who are ministering deliverance need to be led by the Holy Spirit.  It is easy to do things in the power of the fleshly nature and not to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is revealing to help bring about the deliverance that the individual needs.   In fact one can bring harm instead of help because of this.  I have witnessed some of these moments and the wounds that are caused in the emotions of people can help to further strengthen the stronghold, instead of freeing a person.

Prayer is one of the weapons one can use when it comes to bring deliverance and with that comes the authority that a believer has in Christ.  When setting captives free don’t mess around with the spirit but command that spirit to lose its hold over the individual by using the authority that Christ has given you.  Praying the Spirit is also a most powerful way to tap into the mind of the Holy Spirit and follow His leading as you look to set the captive free.  Remember not all deliverance is instantaneous, sometimes deliverance can be a process so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results.  Remember you can only set someone free who wants to be free.  You can’t violate their will.  When deliverance is a process it is because there may be more than one evil spirit involved and one has to get to the foundation of that evil to bring complete freedom.  So you may be engaged and free them of some spirits that are a part of the main culprit but until he is found out freedom will not come.
As a believer don’t be afraid to minister in this area.  Like anything else it takes time to develop your gifts in this.  Continue to surround yourself with men and women of faith who have journeyed down this path to learn how to be more effective.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you and as you are obedient you will see captives get free.