We are about to kick off another season of Free Indeed at Mid-Cities and we were discussing deliverance as one of the components of this eight-week study and experiential weekend. We were discussing it in relation to new members of our team and their approach to deliverance.  As with many things in the kingdom, how well we do depends on two things: (1) who we believe Jesus is, and (2) who we believe we are in Jesus.

Graham Cooke has a great insight into this truth in his book Approaching the Heart of Prophecy.  In  his book he discusses the mindset of Moses as he faced the most powerful dictator of his time. Pharaoh was not only the supreme head of  Egypt, the most powerful nation of his day,  but also truly believed that he himself was a god.  Cooke says:

“Moses had to lead over a million people from bondage to a tyrant to freedom and then into their own territory. In order for this to occur, he had to see himself in a particular way.  The Lord needed Moses to step up into a higher place of awareness so that his heart could operate at a higher dimension of faith and power. In that context, the Lord speaks these remarkable words to him in Exodus 7:1: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I make you as God to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.’” If you do not see it you cannot become it. Identity must be visualized before it can be realized.  If Moses does not see this high place of living, then he will be forced to speak to Pharaoh from a lower state of being. He will be reduced to asking for favors, just like all of the rest of the people at Pharaoh’s court. Faith is then diluted to supplication rather than command. It is vital that Moses speaks to Pharaoh from this heightened sense of who he is in the Lord. Moses has to come to Pharaoh from a higher level of identity than Pharaoh himself possesses. Anything less and the assignment is impossible… Pharaoh has massive authority and will only respond to someone who demonstrates more” (p.96-97).

Moses, of course, is a type of Jesus and Pharaoh is a type of the tyrant Satan. As we represent Christ before the demonic we also must sense our high standing in the kingdom and come with a sense of identity superior to any demonic spirit. Anything less is supplication rather than command.  We must be clear about the superiority of Jesus over the enemy, that he truly does have all authority in heaven and on earth,  and  that he possesses a name that is above every name.  If we are uncertain about his greatness, his victory,  or his authority we will falter.  If we are uncertain that we are his ambassadors on the earth and walk in his authority to announce and enforce his will, then we will also falter.  Reflecting on those truths and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal those truths to our heart is an important practice.

We must also be sure of our assignment…to set captives free and to heal the sick.  Many of us come from “cessationist” churches or denominations where some theologies are uncertain as to whether God is willing to heal or whether he still heals at all.  Many of us come from backgrounds where some theologies don’t embrace deliverance or acknowledge demonic oppression in the 21st Century. With those perspectives in our backgrounds we sometimes find ourselves doubting what we are doing in the middle of the process. Our lack of self-worth also tends to seep to the surface when commanding healing or deliverance and suddenly we wonder who we are to think that God would do such things through us.  When that happens we must recognize the voice of the enemy and quickly dismiss the thoughts and reaffirm who Jesus is, what his death and resurrection accomplished, and who we are in him.

We, like Moses, must always have an identity higher than that of the enemy (whether demons or disease) because we are connected, appointed, and anointed by the one who has all authority. Before praying for healing or commanding demons we might do well to remember those things and  to visualize who we serve and who we are in him. There are many Pharaohs in the world that we will face.  We are not God but we do carry the very presence of the living God within us and are directed and empowered by that presence. No demon, disease, nor dictator on the earth can say what we can say.  None have our standing in the eternal realm and none can come before the throne where the creator of the universe sits with confidence and boldness – but we can.  So today have no fear. Remember whose you are and who you are and face every situation with that knowledge. Be blessed.