Deliverance: Truth or Hoax?

This post is part 2 of a series.  Click here to read: “Demonic Oppression: Is It Real?” first.

Deliverance was something I always thought was a big joke, to say the least.  I thought it was all a hoax.  When the word “deliverance” was mentioned, it always reminded me of the movie, The Exorcist, that came out years ago.  I just thought that the subject of demons and anything related to it all was just something that Hollywood invented. I have since learned otherwise.  The bible is filled with examples of Jesus casting demons out of people.

Deliverance is one of the ways Jesus ministered to others.

Jesus spent a great deal of time healing and delivering people from demonic spirits and sent the disciples out with power and authority to do the same thing.  I believe that same call is on the church today.

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark 16:17-20).

“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Matthew 10:1).

Deliverance sets us free from anything (demons, offenses, wounds, trauma, rejection, anger, fear, sickness) that has kept us from experiencing true freedom in Christ and becoming the person He created us to be.

As I mentioned in the last post, Christians cannot be possessed by demons, because we belong to Christ and are His possession.  Many Christians are oppressed by demons, though, whether they realize it or not.  I worked as a social worker with the chronically mentally ill for several years, and I can now recognize that much of what I saw may have been demonic.  To me, this explains one reason why some therapy and medications just do not work, despite great efforts made by everyone involved.  I believe the same thing regarding those “mystery” illnesses people have. You cannot medicate or counsel a demon away.  A person needs to be delivered of them. This is not to say that everything is demonic, but I believe much of it is.

These are some possible signs of demonic oppression or torment:

• Strongholds (any thought pattern that controls our emotions and behavior)
• Recurring nightmares
• Feeling a constant compulsion to do something you know is a sin
• Irrational fear, anxiety, anger
• Irrational behavior
• Constant feelings of worthlessness, shame, guilt, suicidal thoughts
• Frequent sickness – especially those “mystery” illnesses that doctors cannot find the origin for.
• Sexual compulsions

There are a few main ways that we give “legal” rights to the enemy (by going against God’s Word):

1. Sexual contact outside the covenant of marriage.
2. Unrepentant anger, fear, unforgiveness, strongholds, traumatic events, soul ties.
3. Any involvement in the occult, idolatry.
4. Generational inheritance

Now for the good news…Jesus can set us free!

* As a side note, please understand that I’m writing this series to give an explanation of what demonic oppression and deliverance is, but this should not be something that becomes your main focus!  When I read my first book about demonic oppression and deliverance about 10 years ago, I started thinking that there was a demon behind everything.  That’s just not true.  My focus shifted from Jesus to demons. Whatever we think about the most is what we move towards.  I want to move towards Jesus, not satan.  Yes, I believe it’s important to be aware of satan’s tactics and ways we can become free, but it shouldn’t take our focus off of Jesus.  For the purpose of this specific series though, I will be talking mainly about the demonic aspect of things so I can introduce the topic of deliverance as clearly as I can.

As I mentioned above, setting people free from demons was one of the ways that Jesus ministered to others.  There is no cookie-cutter process for deliverance, but I wanted to explain some important aspects that go along with it.

First of all, as always, it is very important to ask God to forgive you for any sins that you have committed.  Also, ask God to bring to your mind anyone that you have not forgiven – and then make the choice to forgive them.  This is crucial if you want to receive healing and/or deliverance.  What my husband and I do in the Freedom Ministry is ask people to write down every offense that they can (prayerfully) think of and then list how that offense made them feel.  All of these offenses, along with the feelings that go with them, are all confessed out loud to God.  For example: “I forgive Elizabeth for spreading lies about me, even though it made me feel hurt, embarrassed, angry and foolish.  I relinquish my right to revenge and ask You to heal my damaged emotions.  I now ask you to bless those who have hurt me.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.”  Many people receive healing and/or deliverance just by forgiving people they have held unforgiveness towards!

Since Jesus commanded us to forgive others, we give satan an “open door” to wreak havoc in our lives if we do not.  Forgiveness is NOT saying that what the other person did was right or insignificant anymore.  It’s making the decision to give the situation up to God and release them from the “debt” they owe you. Forgiveness is often not easy, but once you choose to forgive you are essentially allowing God to heal your heart.

Second, true repentance needs to take place for all the sins that you have committed.  Lack of true repentance (along with unforgiveness) is something that often prohibits people from receiving healing and deliverance.  All sin needs to be truly repented of (giving it up completely and turning back to God).  This is more than just being sorry for what you’ve done.  Repentance is not feeling remorse or regret. Repentance is taking those feelings of remorse and regret and turning your back on what you know is a sin.  This cannot be done in your own power!  Only the Holy Spirit can help you truly repent for habitual sins in your life.

Next, a person needs to renounce (verbally break all  agreement with) all past sins in his/her life.  These steps are taken to close all of the “doors” that have been opened to satan. Deliverance is (for visual people such as myself!) the process of kicking everything out of your house (body) that doesn’t belong and closing the door so they can’t come back.

After deliverance, it is crucial to renew your mind with who you are in Christ.  Learn to take every thought captive, and reject any lies that you have believed.  It is crucial to maintain your freedom and not fall back into the same things you were delivered from.  Luke 11:24-26 tells us that we will end up worse off than we were in the first place if we allow ourselves to get stuck in the same habitual sin again.  If you are not born again, or not sure if you are, you do not want anyone ministering deliverance to you.  If you are not born again, you do not have the power (in Jesus) to keep the demons from tormenting you again. 

Deliverance is very real. Like I said earlier, I used to think it was something that Hollywood made up, but it’s not.  I have been delivered of fear, nightmares, shame and several other things.  I was immediately delivered from some of these things, and other things I have had to walk out (and am still walking out) over a long period of time.  I can say that it’s real, because I have personally experienced it.  This was not a result of my will power finally becoming strong enough, or denial finally kicking in.  I have been set free from many things that I had tried and tried to fix on my own in the past.

In my next 2 posts, I will write about my own personal experience with deliverance.  It was nothing like The Exorcist. My head didn’t spin around, and I didn’t hurt anyone.  I hate to even mention that, but I know that’s what many people’s thoughts of deliverance is.

The whole “process” of deliverance for me mostly consisted of prayer, asking God for forgiveness, repenting of past sins and the sins of my ancestors (Exodus 34:7), and renouncing (breaking ties with) all of these things out loud.  I knew that I had been delivered of some major things when I realized my nightmares were gone and destructive things I had believed for years just vanished.

Next week I am going to post my testimony of how God delivered me from fear, anxiety and shame.  I am so excited about this series, because I want to see other people set free. Plus, it’s always so encouraging to re-visit what God has done in my life.  Thank you, Jesus, for what You do in our lives!

I recommend Neil Anderson’s ”The Bondage Breaker” if you would like more extensive information on demonic oppression and deliverance. His “Steps To Freedom In Christ” is also an excellent workbook that the Freedom Ministry in our church is partly based on. This is something that you can be guided through (preferably) with a trusted Christian Counselor or pastor.