Recognising our need for deliverance

As I shared in this week’s lesson, I went through some deliverance towards the end of my journey to overcome pornography. It was unexpected, but I think it was a really significant part of my journey to overcome pornography. The thing with deliverance is that it’s not ‘one size fits all’, so it’s important to set our expectations correctly before we enter in. The first thing worth noting is that when I had deliverance there was one major moment of deliverance that I spoke of, in which I was receiving deliverance ministry from my friends, and then after that I did self deliverance for a number of weeks. It might be the case for you that this week’s lesson sparks a season of deliverance for you, in which the presence of the enemy is periodically driven out of your life through several moments of deliverance. I think it’s probably wise to expect this, don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t happen all at once. And also don’t rule out that it can and does happen all at once for some!

I know that it can be a lot to engage in all of this, especially if you’ve never considered any of this before. It can feel overwhelming, because it’s often an area where we have no experience and limited understanding. Facing an enemy we can’t see can be daunting! And yet, don’t lose heart. Deliverance is most often not scary and is actually a very memorable experience of both the love, and authority, of God. When I have been through deliverance for myself, and as I have ministered to others, one of the things that stands out is the protection of the Holy Spirit over the hearts and minds of those who are being delivered. The Spirit is present through deliverance and never leaves you, he can bring perfect peace, joy and assurance of protection, even in the midst of intense moments.

I want to encourage you to seriously engage with the potentiality of needing deliverance in order to overcome pornography and lust. Even if you don’t initially think that you need to, it’s good to make sure. As I said in the lesson, not everyone who struggles with pornography needs deliverance, however many do. This is the case for many things, we don’t want to assume everything is the enemy, but we also don’t want to assume that nothing is. C.S Lewis said on the subject “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.” We want to remember this. We need to be as wise as serpents, but innocent as doves. We would do well to pay attention to spiritual realities and resist the devil properly, however we don’t want to become fascinated with evil and darkness.

All of that said, If you are serious about getting breakthrough that goes all the way, and is lasting, then do yourself a favour and open your heart up to the possibility that you might need deliverance this week. Let’s do that by asking the Holy Spirit for discernment. Sincerely ask the Lord this question and pay attention to what he says to you.

Lord, do I have a demonic problem that I need to address this week?

Here is why discernment is key. If there is a demon oppressing you, their first line of defense will be to convince you that there is no demon oppressing you. Charles Baudelaire said that ‘The finest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist’. Here’s why the enemy wins out of the gates if this first line of defense holds. If you are a Christian and you have a demon, then all you have to do is resist the devil and he will flee. However, the only thing that would stop you from doing this, is believing there is no demon and therefore no reason to resist. If the enemy can convince you he is not there, then you will not confront him, and he gets to remain.

Even as you consider this question - be sober minded. The enemy poses as an angel of light and will pretend to be the voice of the Lord, lying to you saying ‘no you don’t have a demon problem’. He will certianly try to influence you as you try to discern.

So here’s a little discernment tip: Pay less attention to the words that come into your mind, and more to your spirit. The Holy Spirit often communicates to your heart not your head, do you feel a check in your Spirit - a feeling of discomfort? The sense that something is off? As you ask the Spirit to expose the enemy - pay attention to this. Discernment is definitely more of a sense/feeling than intellectual understanding. As you read this, do you suddenly feel very nervous, as though you don’t want to continue this content? This could be the Spirit exposing demonic activity and allowing you to recognise it’s presence. We are going to do some deliverance again at the end of this workbook, and directly confront the demonic activity in your life - do you sense a desire to avoid this rise up within you?

Ask the Lord again, “Should I go down a path of deliverance this week?”

Does the idea of doing deliverance feel like ‘the path of peace’ to you? Picture yourself confronting the enemy and being delivered, do you feel a sense of peace over this? There are three responses you might have.

1: You’re not sure

If you are unsure, that’s ok - it takes time as a Christian to grow in discernment and clearly hear the voice of the Lord. Here’s how I want to encourage you, if it feels murky and you’re not sure, then take this week of deliverance seriously and go after it. It can’t hurt, if there is a demon problem then you’ll deal with it, if not - then no harm no foul.

2: You know you need deliverance

If you can clearly sense the Spirit telling you that you need to confront the enemy, then lock in.

3: You have clearly discerned you don’t need deliverance right now

If you can sense the Spirit saying that you don’t have any demonic oppression at this present moment, then that’s great news! However don’t skip this lesson, you’ll learn a lot about spiritual warfare. Continue to stay in conversation with the Lord throughout this workbook so that you can confront the enemy at any point it is relevant for you.

Now that you’ve hopefully discerned where you are at, let’s move on to a process of deliverance.

A process of deliverance

In some ways deliverance is extremely simple. As we read through the New Testament, and we surveyed many of these passages in the lesson, it seems as though deliverance is very simple. Jesus or the disciples simply command the demons to leave, and they do. There’s no pre-interviews, renunciation of sin, or drawn out processes. However we do find a couple of indications that deliverance isn’t always straight forward. For example look at Jesus training some of his disciples in deliverance recorded in the gospel of Mark:

Mark 9:14-29

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?” 17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall Ibear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

There’s a tension here that I think is important. The name of Jesus is the power and authority in deliverance. We don’t want to go so deep into formulaic deliverance procedures that we end up trusting our processes over of the name of Christ and the power of the blood. However, we also don’t want to be prideful and run into deliverance without humility or discernment. Yes, Jesus nailed every deliverance, and every demon submitted to him and left their victim alone at Christ’s command without a moment’s resistance. However, that’s the Lord - we can fall into a trap when we compare ourselves to God. Imagine if we did that with preaching, ministering to the sick etc… Just because Jesus nailed it every time doesn’t mean we will. That being said what I am going to present to you today is my best attempt at a process of deliverance, I’m the first person to admit that I don’t know everything about deliverance, however I’ve done my best to present a biblical and no fluff process for you to be free from the oppression of the devil.

I am now going to walk you through a process that you can do both by yourself or in a group setting. This week in your groups I want to encourage you to go through this process of deliverance with anyone in the group who has discerned they need deliverance. What I am going to do is give you a process that is directed at a group, and if you are not in a group and don’t have anyone to walk through this with you, you can walk through this with the Holy Spirit by yourself, as I’ve done several times.

1: Choose someone to lead the deliverance

It is important to have a leader, instead of everyone chiming in - which can quickly become chaotic. Discern as a group who is best equipped/mature/suited to lead the deliverance and then let that person lead. The rest of the group however is not to be passive bystanders! The rest of the group should be praying quietly. Pray as you are led by the Spirit for the person being delivered, and also ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as a non-leading group member. If the Lord shares anything with you that might help the deliverance (which is very common) then quietly share with the deliverance leader. Moving forward the leader will lead through these steps and the one being ministered to will relax and follow their leadership. If you are doing this by yourself, then go through these steps leading yourself.

2: Pray together

Pray for the protection of the Lord over you all as you engage in this deliverance, thoughtfully read Ephesians 6:10-17 out loud:

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

3. Work through the narrative

After you have prayed for the Lord’s protection - pray for discernment. Everyone in the room pray for the Spirit to reveal to you anything that might be helpful for the deliverance. After you’ve all taken time to pray discuss what the Spirit brings to mind and see if there is any common agreements. When I went through deliverance, the two people who were ministering to me both independently heard from the Holy Spirit that there was a generational curse I was facing as a result from involvement with the Masonic Temple in my family line - which was true. The Lord might bring up a need to forgive, unrepentant sin, unresolved trauma, generational curses, witchcraft and occult engagement or attacks - you name it, there’s a lot that could be involved. After you’ve sought the Lord together you should see a narrative forming, a mosaic of moments, both internal and external things that need to be dealt with. The group leader will then lead through these things with the person needing deliverance. Move through repentance of sins that were highlighted, unforgiveness that needs to be addressed, vows and agreements that have been made with the enemy, generational curses and sins that need to be renounced, traumatic events that need to be covered. Go through everything the Spirit brought up and deal with it one at a time. To be honest, to do this properly can sometimes take hours. But that’s ok, it will make the moment of confrontation have much less resistance.

4. Confront the enemy

At this point it’s time to confront the enemy directly. You can say something similar to the following:

“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave (insert name)’s life right now.

I command you to release your grip on them completely, you have no authority over them. I plead the blood of Jesus over them right now and command you to submit to it.

You have no authority and no right to oppress them anymore, so right now, in the name of Jesus, I command you up and out, all of you, right now!”

You might find that the enemy comes out silently. At which point it is important to discern in the room (or online), as a group, that the issue has been dealt with. If this is the case, praise God. Make sure that the person receiving ministry also gives confirmation that they can discern in their Spirit that the enemy has left. Demons will often pretend they are not there, or have even left to stop you from confronting them further. It is important to not simply deal with what you see in the natural, but what you discern.

If the enemy is entrenched, then it’s time to lock in. As a group continue to pray, intercede. As the leader continue to confront the enemy, reminding it that it must submit, and don’t let up until the demon'/s have left.

5: Managing expectations

Sometimes, this process can be exhausting and take multiple sessions. If you run out of gas you can either ask the Spirit to grace you with strength to keep going, or organise another session. Encourage the person to do self deliverance in the meantime. As we saw in the scriptures, sometimes extended prayer and fasting is required. Don’t lose heart and continue to resist the enemy.

I got a lot of breakthrough in the session with my friends and many demons were eradicated from my life, but I was doing self-deliverance for a couple of weeks afterwards.

6: Pray again

This process can be very emotionally and spiritually taxing. Ensure to take the time to pray together for the Lord to heal you, strengthen you and comfort you, especially over the person who has received ministry.

Final thoughts

I hope that you have received some serious breakthrough this week, I want to encourage you to really go after deliverance, and don’t give up until you have breakthrough. Confronting the work of the enemy in my life directly like this significantly changed the trajectory of my issues with pornography and lust - and I’m believing that will also be the case for you. If you or your group feel in over your head here and would like further assistance then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here at Behold Ministries, go to the form at the bottom of the course homepage on the website and send us an email, tell us your story, how we can serve you. Make sure to give some contact details so that we can be in touch. You’re not alone.

Congratulations!

After all of that, we’ve almost come to the end of the course! You’ve still got your group meeting to go, so it’s not the final finish line - but I wanted to chime in here and celebrate with you. I sincerely hope that this course has first and foremost drawn you closer to Jesus. He loves you more than you can ever comprehend, he made you with purpose for a purpose - relationship with your Heavenly Father. I hope that you continue from this point and continue to grow in your love for and knowledge of the Lord, don’t neglect your time with him each day and continue to draw near to him, for he loves you.

I also hope that you have found significant breakthrough from pornorgaphy and lust, and if you are doing this course to overcome another sin or issue, I sincerely hope that you’ve found freedom from that too!

God is moving

Church, I love you, but not anywhere near as much as the Lord does. It’s time to really go after the Lord with everything in us, passionately pursuing his heart and his presence, depending on the Spirit and giving our lives in obedience to God, hating sin and passionately pursuing holiness and helping the world see the wonderful glory and love of Jesus. For too long has the church been in the grip of sexual sin and addiction. It’s time we saw a real revival again, a moment of holy repentance and humble pursuit of the Lord himself. We don’t need to live in bondage and darkness anymore because the world has seen a great light. Christ himself. Let’s walk forward in holiness and love for Jesus, and bring this message of the gospel to all those who are hurting and broken. My friends, our generation is hurting, broken and lost and they need Jesus. Let’s stand up and boldly proclaim the wonderful, ancient truths of Christ crucified to our generation. It’s time. We’ve all known this moment was coming, the great harvest is here and it starts with a generation on their knees in genuine heartfelt repentance and passion for the Lord Jesus. We’re done with the disingenuous fluff, we’re done with Instagram Christianity. God is moving, it’s time for the ancient paths to be walked again by God’s people. I can see it now, the great procession is leaving Egypt and is finding the ancient paths again. Prayer, repentance, love, humility, Christ crucified, a laid down life, holiness over worldliness, and a humble, hungry, passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ.

The Exodus Course has become more than just a course, its a call to repentance for a generation lost in darkness. It’s a moment of intimate healing between Jesus and his hurting friends. It’s a reconciliation between the heavenly Father and an orphaned generation. It’s a movement of holy fear and reverence. A moment of laid down lovers. In a world of loud and proud, may this be a birthplace of a move of God raised up with the humble, repentant and broken. 

I want to encourage you to start an Exodus group. Find some people in your world who need the Lord, and encourage them to do this course with you. Lead as you have been led, trusting in the blood of Christ and the empowerment of the Spirit. Let’s see the Lord do in our generation what only he can do! 

This week

Personal

• Take some time and worship the Lord for what he has done in you

• Call some friends and ask them to do the Exodus Course with you

• Leading others through the course is also a great way for you to get further breakthrough as you do the course with them

• Make a plan for a daily rhythm of relationship with the Lord that you can commit to after you finish the course this week (hopefully you have already got a good rhythm now and you can commit to staying consistent with the Lord

Group

• Take the space to work through the deliverance process outlined in this workbook with group members who need it

• Celebrate what the Lord has done in the course!

• Make a commitment to continuing to support and care for one another over the next 3 months as you continue in your healing journey

• If anyone wants to go through the course again discuss who in the group is going to be leading a new group and if anyone would like to join.

Reflection Question

Take some time to consider this question and write down your answer.

What has the Lord done in you over the past 9 weeks?

Share your testimony with us!

We would love to hear the testimony of what the Lord has done in your life over the past couple of months as you’ve done this course. You can send us an email by filling out the contact form at the bottom of the Course homepage or filling out the form below.

Share your answer to the above question or just write from your heart!