We just concluded a season of what we call Free Indeed at our church in Midland, Texas. Free Indeed consists of eight weeks of study and small group interaction related to finding healing and freedom in Christ. We conclude the eight weeks with a weekend (Freedom Weekend) of inner healing and deliverance. This past weekend we had 60-65 in attendance and when the weekend had concluded about 95% reported that they had received significant healing or deliverance over the weekend. Some of these were new to the faith while others had been believers for decades.
One of our new leadership couples is from South Africa. After experiencing their first Freedom Weekend, I asked them about their observations since they would have seen what we do with fresh, non-American eyes. Both of them were very surprised at the amount of brokenness and bondage (demonization) among so many Christians. What they saw was our typical weekend comprised of people who love the Lord, attend church regularly, and who serve in the church. By the way, a number of participants also come from mainline churches in our area where they attend regularly and serve.
Our South African friends have a legitimate question. Why are there so many broken and demonized believers? I believe it is because the church in America has majored in getting people saved but not sanctified. We have been great at getting people to pray “the sinner’s prayer” but we have not taught them how to wage spiritual war and how to be transformed by the Spirit of Christ.
Over the years, even believing families have accumulated a lot of spiritual baggage that has been passed down from generation to generation. Those who have come to us from the world have typically been abused, molested, involved in sexual sin, and in occult practices – all of which give the enemy an open door into their lives. Very few of these have been taught how to deal with their past, their shame, their secret bondage, or the parts of their lives that are out of control. They have been taught to attend church, give, and serve in the children’s ministry but they have not been taught how to drive the enemy out of the promised land of a transformed life. Many pastors don’t even know how to drive the enemy out of their own lives or marriages so they certainly can’t teach their congregations how to wage war with divine weapons.
As I mentioned earlier, we have a number of believers from other churches who attend Free Indeed – a significant number being pastors, former pastors, or family member of pastors from other churches. They consistently report that they have never received teaching or heard a sermon on the basics of spiritual warfare. In their churches, the demonic realm goes unnoticed and uncommented on so that their people are poorly armed against the assaults and schemes of the enemy. The idea of believers walking in real authority is vague at best. The lack is not intentional. We simply pass on what others have passed on to us. But when you look at the American church something is missing. The lives of many, many Christians don’t stand out all that much when compared to the lives and families of unbelievers. That is evidence of a people who are saved but not sanctified.
Jesus and his followers preached the good news of the kingdom of God and then demonstrated its power through healing, deliverance, raising the dead, and radically changed lives. We should be doing the same. My hope is that more and more believers will soon discover the power of Jesus Christ to not only save them from an eternal hell but also from a hell on earth that many believers experience daily believing that nothing more is available to them until after the funeral. Not so. Jesus is so ready and able to heal and set free now and has done so for many. May we assist him in doing the same for many more.
