I just began reading a new book by John Bevere entitled Killing Kryptonite. I’m just a few chapters in, but it promises to be thought provoking. In the beginning of his book he is attempting to answer a question that many of us have verbalized or, at least, thought about. That question would be something like, “With the Spirit of God within us, with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead working out of us, with the amazing gifts of the Spirit and the authority of Christ resting on us, why does the church continue to appear to be so impotent against the works of the devil in the world around us?”

He says it this way. “In light of being his beloved, we should manifest unselfish character, unconditional love, joy unspeakable, peace that passes understanding, supernatural power, well-being, vitality, creativity, divine wisdom, keen understanding, supreme knowledge, and perceptive insight – and this list is far from comprehensive! Scripture promises attributes such as these on many levels, so again my question is, ‘Why aren’t we seeing this in either an individual or overall church level?’” (p.18).

I suppose we could offer many potential reasons, but John raises a possible answer that is worth considering. His answer is simply that the sin and compromise tolerated in the church makes us all subject to a curse and takes the strength and glory from the church that should be evident there. John points out that there are many reasons we have come to tolerate sin in a church that God calls to be holy.   The first is simply that we don’t want to confront sin because we want to avoid conflict or don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Another is that we want to give people time to grow spiritually…for years. Often Christians feel that pointing out someone’s sin to them is “judging” and we are taught not to judge. I also think a primary reason that we don’t speak out against sin in the church is that we have been desensitized to sin and are not as offended by it as we should be – not only in the lives of others but in our own lives.

Now let me be clear…Bevere is not talking about the weaknesses we struggle with or the sin we fall into and struggle against and hate in our own lives. He is talking about blatant lifestyles of sin that go unrepented – sexual sin, divisiveness, crooked business practices, etc. that people know are defined as sin in scripture but who will not repent.

These are the kinds of lifestyle sin that Paul points out throughout his letters and instructs the churches to withdraw the fellowship of the church from these individuals if they will not repent after spiritual leaders have gone to them, prayed with them, and encouraged them to deal with the sin in their lives. The most familiar of these cases was the man in Corinth who was living openly in sexual sin and who was coming to the church as if none of that mattered. Paul instructed the church, saying, “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:4-5).

When believers read this today it seems so harsh and is almost shocking. Paul had two concerns with that man. One was that his own soul was in danger because of this blatant, unrepented sin and the other was that the man’s sin put the church in danger. In his book, Bevere reminds us of a biblical principle that as Americans we are typically unfamiliar with. It is the principle that not only does a man reap what he sows, but those connected to him will also reap the con sequences od what he sowed. The clearest Old Testament example is Achan. When Israel crossed the Jordan River and faced the fortified city of Jericho, God instructed them to take nothing for themselves from that city. It was “first fruits” and everything taken in the city would belong to God. After their great victory, they sent a small contingent of soldiers to take a much smaller city and they were routed. Dozens of men lost their lives and when Joshua asked God why he had abandoned them, God said that there was sin in the camp of the Israelites. A man named Achan had taken clothing and precious metals from Jericho and had hidden them in his tent. Achan and his family were put to death for what he had done while dozens of other Israelites became widows and orphans because of his actions. One man’s sin had caused God to lift his hand of protection off the nation.

We are typically quick to point out that the example given was under the Old Covenant and does not apply to the church. Bevere, however, raises an interesting point in Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth about those who were treating the Lord’s supper with contempt. Paul said, “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 11:29-30). An amplified version of this scripture might say, “That is why many among you are spiritually ineffective and sick and a number of you have died prematurely.”

When we read that verse, we tend to think that the weak and sick and dying were only those who were “eating and drinking judgment on themselves” by treating the Lord’s supper with contempt by their unloving, selfish treatment of other members of the body of Christ. Bevere suggests, however, that the sin of a few was afflicting the many. He quotes 1 Corinthians 11:21 as saying, “For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others….”   But then Paul describes those weal, sick, and dying as “many of you.” Some were treating the Lords supper with contempt but many were weak, sick and dying. The blatant sin of a few can rob blessings and strength from the others.

Remember, we are all members of one body. When one part is blessed, we are all blessed. When one part is damaged, we all suffer. The principle that what is done by one is attributed to others seems unfair to individualistic Americans, but the same principle allows the righteousness of one to be attributed to others who are in the same family. Take away the principle and the righteousness of Christ cannot be attributed to us.

So, Bevere’s point is that when the church forgets the mandate of being a holy bride and tolerates lifestyles of sin in the church, then the whole church suffers weakness, sickness, and premature death. That, he says, is why the American church is not thriving and flourishing as a whole. He also suggests that the solution to the problem begins with our concern about our own holiness before we begin to worry about everyone else’s. The point is that what one does effects every other part of the body for good or for bad. We are not “stand alones.” We are connected and should be concerned about righteousness in the church for the sake of the individual who is blatantly sinning and also for the sake of others. It’s something to think about.

To many, Holy Spirit baptism is still a mystery and to others it was an experience confined to a few years in the life of the early church that went the way of miracles and apostles at the end of the first century. Yet, Jesus made it clear that effective ministry was impossible with out it…at least the kind of ministry he came to demonstrate.

Someone once challenged the churches in America to remove anything from their weekly slate of ministry that could not be accomplished by driven, talented people without the Spirit of God and see what was missing. For many churches, nothing would be missing. The world can provide amazing music that stirs the soul through Broadway shows and even Vegas productions. Many non-Christian organizations do amazing things for the poor and third world nations that churches have yet to match. Men and women can stir people to frenzied action, to give huge sums of money, and have even moved nations to go to war with only their natural abilities of persuasion and oratory. Secular production companies such as Sesame Street can produce children’s programming that is second to none and that can generate love and loyalty for multiple generations. Secular therapists can provide counseling that enables troubled marriages to stay together and secular research is providing drug therapies that help people cop with depression and suicidal tendencies. So what is the church doing that the world cannot?

We can certainly offer Jesus and the security that comes from a knowledge that our sins are forgiven in him, but the gospels seem to promise much more. Even Pharaoh’s magicians could match the signs that Moses performed for a while, but at some point he offered signs that went far beyond what the sorcerers and tricksters could offer. In his ministry, Jesus did not offer great entertainment but offered truth that was backed up with supernatural power. He did not teach coping skills to enable people to manage their issues but instead set them free and gave them complete victory over their issues. He didn’t provide drug therapies to minimize depression and anxiety but cast out spirits of heaviness and fear. Instead of offering grief counseling, he simply raised the dead. Instead of funding a lifetime of twelve step meetings he broke the power of addiction and set men and women free. Jesus not only preached forgiveness but also healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, enabled the lame to jump, restored hearing to the deaf, cast out spirits that tormented God’s people, raised the dead, and removed the fear of death.

Is your church doing that? If not, there is a severe gap between what we are doing and what Jesus did and those who followed him did. The difference is in the baptism of the Spirit. Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from the Holy Spirit to go out and minister in his name. That power came when the Holy Spirit fell on them at Pentecost long after they had believed and submitted their hearts to Jesus.

If you carefully read the gospels and the Book of Acts you will discover three baptisms. The first occurs when the Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ at the moment we believe. At that moment we are added to the household of God and the Spirit takes up residence within us to give us faith along with spiritual understanding and to begin conforming our character to the character of Jesus. The second baptism is baptism in water which produces a divide between our old lives and the new life we will be living in Christ. But then there is another baptism which empowers us for ministry and activates spiritual gifts that the world cannot emulate. That is the baptism or “filling” of the Spirit.

Although the gospels represent a transition period between covenants, patterns begin to be established for us that point to New Covenant realities. Jesus clearly walked with God before he was baptized by John. After all, his mother became pregnant by the power of the Spirit. And yet, at his water baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on him and remained   there in an unusual way. It was after that experience that Jesus was said to be filled with power and began to do miracles. As the little group of disciples followed Jesus they came to faith that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God. After his resurrection there was no doubt. In John 20, the episode is described in which the twelve and a few others were gathered in a room with the doors locked when Jesus materialized in the room. He commissioned them by saying, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn.20:21-22).

The followers of Jesus were already believers. Jesus then imparted the Spirit to them to live in them and begin his ministry of transformation. But we are told, however, that there was more. A few days later, Jesus gave another command concerning the Spirit. “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4,8).

Although his disciples had believed and had already received the Spirit, there was yet another dimension of the Spirit they needed before they could be effective witnesses for him throughout the world. The baptism of the Spirit imparted power for ministry. It still does.

The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Believers baptize new believers in water. And Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit. These are separate baptisms that each provide a step in our sanctification process after coming to faith. That is why the author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so” (Heb. 6:1-3). Notice that he speaks of instructions about baptisms (plural).

The instructions of Jesus to his followers about waiting on the baptism of the Spirit before attempting to be his witnesses throughout the world still applies to us. We can tell people about Jesus without this power but we can’t demonstrate him. We are somewhat like a vacuum cleaner salesman who comes to your home and tells you all about his amazing product but never plugs it into a power outlet to demonstrate that what he just told you is true. Some may buy the vacuum without the demonstration, but how many more would grab hold of one if they could actually see its amazing performance?

Francis MacNutt, who was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, has ministered healing and deliverance for years on the basis of what non-Catholic friends taught him and on the basis of having been baptized in the Spirit. Speaking about Catholics and deliverance ministry (exorcism) he writes, “Perhaps this is why there is such a strong conviction in the Catholic tradition that exorcists usually get chewed up spiritually and physically in their ministry. Without a release of the Spirit’s power, we are out of our spiritual depth…I think the problem with the fearful approach to exorcism is that too much confidence is placed in the faithful recitation of the words of the formal rite. If we made sure everyone who attempted exorcism was baptized in the Spirit, the exorcists would have much less to worry about” (Francis MacNutt, Deliverance from Evil Spirits, Chosen Publishers, p.274-275). By the way, if you have questions about deliverance, I really recommend his book.

My point is that power received when we are baptized by the Spirit is still essential in demonstrating the reality of Jesus in healing, preaching, deliverance, prophecy, and so forth. Jesus clearly stated that all who had faith in him would not only do what he had been doing but would do even greater things (Jn.14:12). The promise was not just for a few or just for a few years,but for anyone and everyone who had faith in him.

I must admit that the baptism of the Holy Spirit has often been sensationalized and misunderstood. Many who begin to seek Holy Spirit baptism expect (or hope) to get thrown thirty feet across a room with feelings like electricity surging through their bodies for hours. I’m not saying that such moments don’t happen. They do. But I believe they are the exception and not the rule. Sometimes, the experience is more like being overwhelmed with joy or love or peace – which makes sense because those are fruits of the Spirit. Many say that the only evidence of being baptized in the Spirit is to speak in tongues. That is one evidence and seems to be a normative response in scripture, but scripture nowhere says that it is the definitive proof of the baptism. Scripture also suggests that prophecy or boldness in sharing the gospel are also responses to Holy Spirit baptism. However, it is always risky to judge what is happening in the spiritual realm by what we see in the natural realm. Some experience physical or emotional sensations when they are saved, but most simply take it by faith and the proof comes in a changed life. Baptism in the Spirit can be the same.

What we do know is that Jesus baptizes with the Spirit and that the Spirit subsequently empowers us for ministry in ways that cannot be duplicated by those operating in their own strength and natural talents. We know that in the heavenly realm, we receive things by faith and not by sight. Therefore, we simply need to ask and believe that Jesus will baptize us. Sometimes we receive it through others laying hands on us and sometimes it comes directly. We may experience something immediately that we believe is evidence of our “baptism,” but we may not. The proof of the pudding is in ministry and boldness and, I believe, a hunger to begin to function in certain gifts. Even after baptism in the Spirit, many gifts will need to be developed rather than suddenly operating in a fully developed mode.

In addition, if you read carefully through Acts, you will see that even after initial baptism in the Spirit there are subsequent “fillings or refillings” by the Spirit. The proof is in effectiveness. Jesus said that the power was given for becoming a more effective witness for him. If we are becoming more effective in our ministries and witness, then there is the evidence and that should also be our motive for asking. Every believer should ask for Jesus to baptize them in the Spirit. He is certainly willing. If you want Spirit-filled people to lay hands on you and pray with you for the baptism, that is fine. The main thing is your desire and your motive. Ask and expect Jesus to keep his promise and then expect to minister in ways you have not known before.

God seems to be highlighting the power of words lately. It is an extremely important issue in the life of a believer. Because we are made in the image of God our words carry creative power. Because we have been given authority on the earth, our words set things in motion in the spiritual realm. The good news is that we can release blessings on the earth with our words. The bad news is that we can also release curses.

James has a lot to say about our words in his letter. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (James 3:9-10). He instructs us to be sources of blessing at all times. We are to choose to speak life over ourselves and others whenever we speak. That is a simple rule but is one of those things that is much easier said than done.

Earlier in his letter he talked about how difficult it is to tame the tongue. He says, “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:3-6).

In fact, if you were to read the entire letter of James you might get the sense that the tongue is almost impossible to control…even for those who try. Many of us who want to be obedient to the Lord have found that James is correct. We want to keep our mouths shut, we want to avoid critical speech and speak only life…but something else often comes out. However, God does not command us to do what is impossible to do. What we need to remember is that all things are possible…with God.

If we try to govern our tongue in our own strength we don’t have a chance. But with God, we can control even our tongues. David had a handle on what we can do when we partner with God in any battle. He proclaimed, “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me” (Psm.18:29-35).

God revealed his ability to work with our tongues when Moses protested that he didn’t have the word power to speak to the ruler of Egypt. “Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’”

…

Jesus told us that we also have another who will help us with our speech. “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Mt.10:18-20).

So…if you have been struggling with your words and have not been able to be a source of life and blessing to all those around you, verbally submit your tongue to the Lordship of Jesus each morning when you get up. Ask the Holy Spirit to govern your tongue that day and give you the words to say in every situation. Ask the God who made your mouth to be with your mouth and teach you what to say. The transformation will probably be a process rather than an event, but keep placing your tongue under the Lordship of Jesus and the operation of the Spirit and you will see that God is very willing to lead you to victory over your enemy….even when the enemy is your tongue.

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord assures us that when his word goes forth it always fulfills its purpose. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11).  For us the question becomes, “How does God’s worth go forth?”  Under the Old Covenant, God told Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.” He went on to tell him that he was appointed over nations and kingdoms to uproot, tear down, plant, and to build although he would never lead an army or a political movement.

Concerning prophets, God’s word goes forth from his lips to theirs by revelation from the Spirit or from the lips of angels and when his prophets declare it, his power is then released and his word fulfills its purpose in lives and nations on the earth. In the Book of Hosea, speaking of his judgment the Lord says, “Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you” (Hos.6:5-6). The declarations of God’s prophet released the angelic realm and even the Holy Spirit to make God’s word a reality.

Under the Old Covenant, God’s Spirit would reveal his will to those upon whom the Spirit operated – typically those appointed to the office of prophet.  Under the New Covenant, the Spirit of prophecy lives in every believer and each of us can hear directly from God and can declare his word over a person or circumstance.  Admittedly, those with a residing gift of prophecy can do so in just about any setting,  but all of us can receive a prophetic word form time to time as the Spirit determines.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Like the Old Testament prophets, uur words in prayer and prophetic declarations release the heavenly realms to fulfill God’s purposes on the earth. So why does he wait on us? He waits for his people to declare his word or lift up prayers because he gave his people – his children – his representatives – dominion over the earth and the works of his hands from the very beginning. He simply continues to honor that intent and honors the authority he has given us. Much or even most of what God desires to do on the earth will depend on our prayers and declarations. God is willing to run and if he runs he will win the race.  But he waits on his people to fire the starting pistol.

Even when we recognize the essential place of our prayers and declarations in releasing God’s will and purposes not he earth, it’s important to notice the analogy God uses for his word as it goes forth from his mouth. He uses the analogy of seed that sprouts and grows, of planting and harvesting. Jesus used the same analogy when he talked about the word of God being broadcast and the different soils it might encounter (Lk.8:4-21). As microwave Americans, we expect instantaneous answers to our prayers, instantaneous healings, and instantaneous shifts in relationships and cultural issues when we have prayed or declared God’s word over a situation. But when seed is involved, we must allow time for cultivation, watering, growth, and then the harvest.

It is true that sometimes, our prayers or declarations will release almost instantaneous results. A person may be healed immediately or within hours. A prayer will bring a check in the next day’s mail. A house will be sold in the afternoon when the prayer was offered in the morning, and so on. But typically, like seeds, the words we have offered up will seem to make no difference for a season. Like a woman who has just planted a garden, we will go out daily to see if anything is pushing up through the soil. Initially, there will be no evidence of God moving to establish what we have prayed or declared or even commanded. Like a master gardener, we will need to have faith, watch the soil, and continue to water with our prayers and declarations until we see the first green sprouts breaking through the soil. Even after the first evidence of life, we will need to guard the initial progress with faith, diligence, and prayer. We will need to pray against the involvement of the enemy in the same way that we would be vigilant to keep insects and “critters” from killing the young plants. Eventually, we will witness a plant growing but that is still only the promise of a harvest. Then, after a season of growth, the harvest will come and there will be the full answer to our prayers or the full impact of our declarations.

Paul encourages us by saying, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). The harvest comes if we do not give up. Undoubtedly, much of what God wants to do or is willing to do on the earth gets choked out because his people plant their seeds but do not continue to water them with prayer and expressions of faith. After a short season, we too often decide that God is not going to answer our prayer or honor a declaration so we stop tending the plant and it is choked out by the enemy or by our own unbelief. We need to be confident of our standing in the kingdom and of the authority our words carry in declarations and prayers. We need to be confident that if God has placed something on our hearts or has given us a word by his Spirit or a prophetic declaration, then we are the carrier of his word that is to go forth from our lips. We should then stand on that word until it is fulfilled or until God releases us. What a privilege and what a responsibility. Enjoy both. It comes with our dominion over the earth.

I keep encountering good Christian people that simply do not believe that Christians can be oppressed or afflicted by demons. For my first 20 years of ministry, I also held that position. I had not been convinced of that through study but simply came to that conclusion because we never talked about it or considered it. It wasn’t considered an issue, so I assumed that it wasn’t an issue.

However, in retrospect our people suffered because of my ignorance of the spiritual realm. People who loved Jesus spent years unable to gain victory over painful issues in their lives – depression, anxiety, anger, sorrow, and a bevy of addictions common in American culture. I just helped a church in another state with their first Freedom Weekend. There were several participants in their sixties and seventies. They received healing and deliverance from issues that had plagued them for decades stemming from childhood abuse. That was wonderful but how much better if they had received that healing and freedom fifty years ago.

When we begin to talk about Christians needing deliverance the objection is often raised that Christians do not need deliverance. The argument is offered that believers cannot be possessed by demons since: (1) We belong to God, (2) He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world, and since Satan has been defeated by Christ, he cannot exert any power over a follower of Jesus. (3) The Holy Spirit lives within us and would not coexist with the demonic in “His temple” (1 Cor.6:19). A few others give room to the idea that demons might tempt believers externally but could certainly not be “in us” or attach themselves to us because of the reasons listed above. All of these objections are worthy of consideration.

First of all, those who say Christians can be demonized and those who say they cannot, must both acknowledge that their positions are not based on direct statements from scripture. Nowhere does scripture clearly state that demons can enter into believers nor does it say they cannot. So, conclusions drawn from an accumulation of evidence and experience may be the best either side can offer. I simply want to suggest some things for your consideration, if you struggle with the concept of Christians needing deliverance.

Secondly, we need to clarify the term “demon possession.” That is not a biblical term and I do not believe Christians can be possessed by Satan as that term implies ownership. Obviously, Christians have been bought by the blood of Christ. They have been purchased by His sacrifice and so are “possessed” or “owned” by God. The idea of “demon possession” also implies that individuals are totally controlled by demons to the extent that they can no longer exercise their own will in any area of their life. I have never met a Christian in that condition.

However, I have met many Christians who seem unable to exercise their will in certain areas of their lives at certain times. They suffer from emotional torment (depression, unrelenting grief, anxiety, self-loathing, feelings of rejection, shame, unworthiness, etc.), compulsions, addictions, rage, fear, lust, and a host of other sin or tormenting issues that they cannot seem to overcome.

Those believers usually hate the sin or the torment, feel shame about it, pray against it, receive counseling for it, attend weekly support groups, take medications to control it, and still experience no victory or lasting freedom in that area of their lives. Their best hope is to manage the sin, addiction, or emotional condition but have long given up getting victory over it. We are left with only a few options to explain these situations:

• Christ is either not sufficient or not willing to heal us and set us free from emotional brokenness or bondage even though Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 declare that has come to heal the broken hearted and set captives free.
• Those individuals haven’t worked long enough or hard enough to overcome the issues in their lives or simply lack the faith to believe God for those things.
• Those individuals really don’t want to be healed and set free.
• God has decided to leave those areas of sin and brokenness to secular doctors, psychologists, and pharmaceutical companies.
• If demons are present, it is because these people really aren’t saved and do not have the Spirit of God living within them.
• The demonic is exercising control over a part of their life from time to time (or most of the time) so that therapies in the natural realm and ordinary spiritual practices are not sufficient. Deliverance and divine weapons are needed.

As Christians, we must reject the idea that Jesus is not sufficient or willing or that God ordained that our only hope for healing and freedom is in doctors and psychologists – most of whom are secular. The world should be coming to us for answers rather than us going to the world. We should also reject the idea that sanctification and overcoming sin in our lives is all about our effort and hard work. Certainly we have a part in the process, but we are clearly told that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers (Eph. 6:12). We are also instructed to employ “divine weapons” (2 Cor.10:3-5), which are necessary to tear down strongholds in the lives of believers.

There are certainly some who are not truly saved and some who do not want to be set free. But I also believe that many who love God and hate sin are oppressed, afflicted, and tormented by demons that have attached themselves to the believer or “entered into” that person to take up residence. That condition is better termed demonization (affliction, oppression, harassment, torment) rather than possession. Salvation is not an issue in these cases but our effectiveness, spiritual maturity, the work of the Spirit in us, etc. are greatly hindered.

Demonization does not cost us our salvation but does greatly minimize our sanctification. In most cases, a demonized person is only out of control in one area of his or her life while functioning normally in all the others. However, that one area can create a great deal of pain and chaos for those individuals and their families.

The believer’s ability to continue to function in other areas of his or her life is what keeps us from looking deeper and, perhaps, seeking answers in the spiritual realm. Satan is a good strategist. He keeps attacks toned down so that we are hindered but still feel that something in the natural realm is the cause and that something in the natural realm can still provide a solution. So we seek more meds, more counseling, more dietary solutions, more of whatever science and medicine offers. I’m not saying that we should never use what science and medicine provides. I believe they are a grace from God for a fallen world but if the issue is demonic, those things will have limited benefits. Our conviction that our problems and solutions are grounded in the natural realm is what keeps the stronghold a secret and what continues to give Satan power in the life of the individual.

Our people look to the natural realm because the church has taught them to do so. The majority of churches do not teach on the spiritual life and battles in the spiritual realm nor do they access the powers of heaven for solutions. They teach that Jesus came to forgive our sins and help us to live a moral life so we can go to heaven but help for the rest of life’s big struggles must come from the world. What a deception. Jesus came to give us abundant life and victory over the enemy. We don’t have all the answers yet for healing and world peace, but those answers exist in heaven and our job is to keep stepping into the realm of spiritual warfare, healing world peace, and aggressive prayer until the Holy Spirit downloads the answers. It is only a matter of time of we ask and then the world will see the glory of God like never before.

One of the great promises in the Word is that whatever we ask, according to God’s will, it shall be done ( 1 Jn.5:14-15). Knowing God’s will then is essential. Part of our prayer life must  involve not only speaking to God but hearing him as well. There are times we will have a burden on our heart and know that it reflects the heart and purposes of God as revealed in scripture. We should pray. But there are other times when we should ask what the Father wants us to pray about a given situation. As his representatives on the earth, we want to pray as he would pray.  To do so, we may need some more information which will come to us by his Spirit if we ask and listen. There is tremendous value in hearing God and praying according to his specific will about a situation. Let me share an illustration about this principle from Graham Cooke.

“My friend John had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, which had grown from the size of a pea to almost the size of a tennis ball…When I heard about the situation, I drove a hundred miles to see him. That night there was prayer meeting for him at his church. I walked in and slammed in to a wall of unbelief. There were more than 200 people in this prayer meeting, but no unity. Some were binding and casting this thing out, others were cursing it, and some were praying. ‘If it be Your will, do something.’ There was every shade of prayer that one could imagine. ‘Father, what on earth is going on here?’ I asked God. ‘They don’t know what I want to do,’ He answered. “Well,’ I said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ ‘I want you to walk around and just find out right now, just in your spirit, just discern those who are waiting and listening, by faith,’ He said.

I walked around the room and found thirty-five people who were just being still. I called John and told him that we needed to have a prayer meeting , with these people, in his house the next evening…The group gathered the next evening and I explained that we needed to do nothing but worship God in order to change the atmosphere in John’s house. ‘We’re going to come to a place where God will tell us what he wants to do for John and his tumor.’ We worshipped for more than two hours that night, starting with thanking God, moving into praising Him, and eventually stepping into a place of ministering to God. ‘Let’s meet again tomorrow night,’ I said.

Again, we met and began worshipping God. After an hour, I stood up and handed everyone a piece of paper and a pen. ‘Find yourself a quiet place in the house or the gardens and so on, and just sit still before the Lord and ask him what he wants to do for John,’ I said, givng everyone half an hour. ‘When you’re learning how to hear the Lord, He doesn’t speak to you in whole sentences but in key words and phrases. Just be still before the Lord and let God breathe on you. Whatever comes into your conscious mind, write it down.

When everyone came back, we went around the room and wrote the key words and phrases on a flip chart. As words were repeated, I put a checkmark beside them. By the end of it, some of them had as many as twenty-five ticks. Taking those oft-repeated words and writing them down again, I asked the intercessors to go back to their quiet place, meditate on the words, and form them into a prayer. An hour later, the group came back together, full of excitement and confidence. They marched in like an army, eyes bright, with faces smiling broadly…we wrote out a prayer and came to an agreement that this is what we would pray. This is very important: there is one thing to pray – and one thing only. What happens with most of us is that we start off praying in our fear and panic and we give God so many choices that the situation overwhelms us. We end up losing heart and quit praying at all. That night at John’s house we prayed the prayer once – just to keep people from exploding – and set another prayer meeting for the next evening” (Graham Cooke, Crafted Prayer. Brilliant Book House, p.49-52).

As Cooke continues the story, the group met and prayed the same prayer with faith throughout the evening. As they prayed, the atmosphere in the home continued to grow in peace and expectation. Faith arose because they knew they were praying God’s specific will for John. Their faith grew and John’s did as well. The day that his surgery was scheduled, he insisted on another CAT scan. The doctors reluctantly allowed it, but no tumor appeared on the screen. Believing that their CAT scan was faulty or that the machine was broken, they sent him across town to another hospital for another scan. It, too, indicated no tumor at all. John was healed.

This account illustrates the power and the need to hear from God about specific circumstances so that we can more precisely pray his will. So why didn’t God just heal John when everyone was crying out for it the first night since he was willing to heal him all along? Because he has appointed his people to release his will on the earth.

Your words have great authority whether you know it or not or whether you want the responsibility or not. God honors your authority for good or for bad. He is not a micromanager. Once he has given you the responsibility he does not keep taking it from you. He leaves it in your hands to release his will or not. He is anxious to run the race and, if he runs, he will win. But he waits on you to fire the starting pistol with your prayers. I believe if we understood our position of authority and influence in the kingdom of God, we would see prayer as a privilege and an adventure in which we get to partner with the Creator of the Universe (our dad) to change history and eternity. We need to see prayer as a pivotal ingredient in moments that have changed history and lives and will continue to do so.

If you believe in the gifts of the Spirit and the full ministry of the Holy Spirit, then you must believe in our capacity as Christians to hear the voice or receive the leading of God. For you that leading may come primarily from the Father, from Jesus, or from the Spirit. It doesn’t matter because each one is God and will give you the same direction and reveal the same heart.

When we start to hear God, we are also responsible for testing the spirits to see if what we are hearing or seeing is from God or another source. John is very clear about our responsibility when he says, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (1 John 4:1-3). To our and detriment and their’s, most believers don’t practice testing enough. Too often we hear a voice or sense a leading and because it feels good we take off on it without questioning its authenticity.

Brad Jersak tells a story in his book ( Canyouhereme?) that is instructive. “On another occasion, a young man came to me voluntarily to test whether he was hearing God accurately. He felt that the Lord was telling him to sleep with his girlfriend. The voice had even used scriptures to justify this direction. He asked me how he could know whether or not this was the voice of God. I felt like arguing with him, but I have learned the hard way how ineffective this is. So, I suggested we test the source directly.

I spoke out, ‘We take up God’s invitation and our authority in Christ to directly test the source of this revelation. If it is the Holy Spirit, we welcome you. If it is another spirit, we summon you to present yourself before the Lord Jesus for testing.’ The young man answered, ‘I see a large dark cloud with lightening crackling around it, and the voice is coming from there.’ In my mind, I thought it might represent the power and the glory of God (/Ezekiel 1) or else the darkness might be our hint. But before I could ask another question, this fellow jumped in his seat. ‘I just heard a voice from behind me say, ‘Nice try,’ and then Jesus stepped up and blew the cloud away, There’s just a little gremlin-looking thing where the cloud was … ‘and who are you?’ we asked. It shrugged in defeat, ‘The spirit of the world.’ This was the messenger who had tried to masquerade as the Lord.”

If Brad had not pursued this testing, the young man could have assumed that the voice was from God. After all, he quoted scripture and appeared as an Old Testament image of God. I’m confident that the young man had invited this spirit by nurturing his fleshly desire to sleep with his girlfriend, otherwise he would have dismissed the voice immediately because it was clearly contrary to God’s word. Even when listening for God’s voice, we must be careful not to simply hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest. When I was involved in campus ministry years ago, it was remarkable how many young men in our college group had received a “word from the Lord” that they were to marry the same girl in our college group – perhaps, because she was the prettiest.

In testing the spirits, we should not be paranoid but should be careful or at least give due diligence in confirming that something is from God. Paul warned the church at Corinth. “And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). These “disguised ministers of righteousness” can work through flesh and blood as they speak through misguided teachers, counselors, divisive church members, false prophets, or mistaken prophets. They can also masquerade as the voice of God as we hear them in our thoughts or see them in our imaginations.

There are several guidelines for testing spirits. Does the spirit or voice reflect the character of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5)? Is it consistent with the Word of God – the whole counsel of God and not just a proof text here or there? Does it draw us to Jesus and point is to holiness and integrity? Does it display love and build us up rather than tearing us down? Does it create peace in our hearts?

One of the best tests is to simply and directly ask Jesus if the word we heard was from him or a source other than God, just as Brad did. We can ask the Spirit to judge the voice by giving us peace in our hearts or by troubling us about it. It is also a great idea to ask a mature believer, who has heard from God for years, if it sounds like God to them. If we are concerned that God might be offended if we question “the voice” or the “prophecy,” remember that he is the one who told us to do so. When we ask, we’re not doubting him or his character, we are simply being careful with our own discernment. It’s a good practice to develop and a good practice to teach young believers.

Some of the newest brain research that has caught my attention lately is simply revealing the reasons behind what God has told us to do for millennia. All of us who have raised children experienced a moment of frustration when we told our kids, “Because I said so!” We uttered that final word when our kids kept asking us why. Sometimes our response was a rebuke to their little rebellious hearts, but that other times we said it because we thought they wouldn’t understand our reasoning, even if we told them. Perhaps, this is a time that God has chosen to reveal some of the “whys” behind his commands. The “why” and the “how” of the brain are calling us away from cultural norms in a culture that has forsaken God and, often, plain old common sense.   Let me share some of Caroline Leaf’s thoughts on our culture of busy-ness. I think it may help us.

In her book, How to Switch on Your Brain, she says, “One of the plagues of modern existence is multitasking, which leads to the further plagues of “hurry sickness” and obsessive time management. The truth about multitasking is that it is a persistent myth. What we really do is shift our attention rapidly from task to task, resulting in two bad things: (1) We don’t devote as much focused attention as we should to a specific activity, task, or piece of information, and (2) we sacrifice the quality of our attention. I call this milkshake-multitasking.

This poor focusing of attention and lack of quality in our thought lives is the complete opposite of how the brain is designed to function and causes a level of brain damage. Every rapid, incomplete, and poor quality shift of thought is like making a milkshake with your brain cells and neurochemicals. This milkshake-multitasking, which is the truth behind multitasking, creates patterns of flightiness and lack of concentration that are unfortunately often erroneously labeled ADD and ADHD and that are too often unnecessarily medicated, adding fuel to the fire. And it’s a rapid downhill slide from there if we don’t get back to our God-design of deep, intellectual attention.

What does deep, focused, intellectual attention look like versus milkshake-multitasking? The answer is modeled in Proverbs 4:20-23. ‘Dear friend, listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice. Keep my message in plain view at all times. Concentrate! Learn it by heart! Those who discover these words live; really live; body and soul, they are bursting with health. Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts’ (The Message).”

Leaf goes on to talk about parts of the brain that decline, which are centers of the brain for health, peace and happiness, if we do spend focused time thinking about deep things – God, life, values, and spend time in prayer as well as healthy introspection. To fail to take bring all thoughts into captivity in Jesus keeps us from achieving the physical, mental, and emotional health for which God has designed us. We are made in God’s image and God is a deep thinker. We need to be as well. When we live on sound bites and spend hours each day scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, we not only become shallow people but unhealthy people – literally.

I remember a line from a book I once read by a Christian author. I don’t remember the book or the author but I remember the line. He said something to the effect that the world does not need more talented people, more gifted people, or more driven people. The world needs deeper people. I agree with him and I believe the same thing can be said of the kingdom of God.

To quote Leaf one more time, she says, “We are told by so-called social media experts that information needs to be in bite-size amounts and in a constant stream of new information before the previous information has even been digested. This is not stimulation; it is bombardment…It is all about balance. Our brain responds with healthy patterns, circuits, and neurochemicals when we think deeply, but not when we skim only the surface of multiple pieces of information…According to the Archives of General Psychiatry, simultaneous exposure to electronic media during the teenage years – such as playing a computer game while watching television – appears to be associated with increased depression and anxiety in young adulthood, especially among men.” She goes on to quote a number of other studies connecting multitasking, fragmented thinking, and a life of sound bites with numerous health and psychiatric issues.

Our Father tells us to be still and know that he is God. Scripture calls us to meditate on his word day and night. He tells us to store up his word up in our hearts (memorize) and to talk about his word when we are on the road. He tells us to choose what we think about and think about godly things on a continual, focused basis. In other words, we need to buck the cultural trend of more is better and believe the biblical injunction that deeper is better. The world says to go faster. God says to go slower. The world says look for more stimulation. God says look for him.

If you, like me, tend to find yourself with less and less quiet time in your life and if you, like me, tend to get hijacked by the busy-ness around us, we need to fight back and we need to keep our children from succumbing to a world of sound bites and information addiction. It goes against out design, our health – both emotional and physical, and against the Word of God. Very often, a believer in Christ must be counter-cultural to be obedient. God has told us for thousands of years what to do to be healthy, peaceful and productive. Now he is showing us why.

Several good models for understanding the nature of emotional and spiritual wounds and their healing are based on the concept of needs and fears. The idea is that, as children, we have legitimate or perceived needs. When those needs go unmet or are perceived to go unmet, then we develop fears around those unmet needs. To protect ourselves, we develop emotional defense mechanisms that we believe will protect us from being hurt again.

For instance, if my need for security went unmet as a child and I experienced uncertainty and chaos in my family, I might develop a high need for control which makes me feel safe because my welfare is never placed in the hands of another. If I was constantly disappointed as a child, I might develop an outlook of hopelessness or cynicism. If I never expect good things to happen, then I won’t be disappointed when good things don’t happen. If I experienced some form of betrayal as a child, then I might develop a mindset of distrust so that I never let anyone get close enough to hurt me or betray me again. Objectively, we can look at these defense mechanisms and see that, ultimately, those mindsets still won’t keep us from being hurt by others but those who maintain them believe that they will.

On top of that, those defense mechanisms keep us from experiencing love, emotional connection, joy, optimism, adventure, and even faith because we typically extend those defense mechanisms even to our relationship with God. The needs/fears model also suggests that we primarily have our needs met by different positions or roles in the family. We primarily derive our identity, protection, and provision from our father or whoever our father figure is. We derive companionship and heart to heart communication from our siblings or close friends. We get our needs met for comfort, nurture, and teaching from our mothers. According to this model these needs and the family positions we look to for meeting our needs correspond to the Godhead. The father role is Father God. The siblings and friends role reflects Jesus and the mother’s role falls to the Holy Spirit.

If our earthly father failed to meet our needs, then we will probably have difficulty connecting to and trusting our heavenly Father. If we failed to connect with siblings or friends or were betrayed by friends, we may have difficulty connecting with or trusting Jesus. If our mother did not meet the needs that we would primarily derive from her, then we may have difficulty in receiving the love, comfort and leading of the Holy Spirit. I don’t think this is a perfect model because no model is perfect, but I think it offers a lot for us to consider.

Somewhere in the process, the wounded believer must discover the wounds that came from unmet needs, forgive those who did not meet their needs or who wounded them, and discover that the Godhead is not subject to the same failings and weaknesses that our biological families and friends are subject to. If these defense mechanisms are not dealt with, they will eventually be maintained or enforced by demons.  Ultimately, the solution for every problem in life is trust in God. If you think about it, underneath just about every story and miracle in scripture, God is calling out for his people to trust him. Faith is not just a belief that God exists, but that he exists and can also be completely trusted. Think about it. God offers protection, provision, companionship, comfort, healing, teaching, nurture, and heart-to-heart communication – even eternal life. He offers to meet every legitimate need that we have when those who are limited by the flesh fail us.

There are many ministry methodologies to help believers receive inner healing through Jesus. After all, he came to heal the brokenhearted. But we can start that process by beginning to pray for the Spirit to birth trust in us for the Father, Son, and Spirit. That is where the real battle is and where most of us need to give some attention. When we trust God to meet our needs, we no longer have to maintain our walls of protection. When they come down, life gets better, relationships are richer, and the sun shines a little brighter each day. Pray about it.

So why would anyone resist the idea the God still operates through his church with signs and wonders? Why would anyone resist the idea that God still intervenes in the lives of men and women with supernatural intervention? Jesus was known for his miracles. The marks of an apostle were miracles. Men like Phillip and Steven (non-apostles) operated in signs and wonders and the early church was fully gifted to do the same. Jesus clearly declared that those who would have faith in him would do what he had been doing and even more. So why do numerous churches and theologians continue to deny that God still works miracles through his church?

I know there are many reasons that these churches resist. First of all, it is the theology that they were taught and a theology that they have never questioned because they had so much respect for the men who taught them. If you never see miracles in your church, then you need to explain that absence in a way that doesn’t suggest that you are lacking faith or that something is missing in your relationship with God. But…once I “explain” why God no longer does miracles, then I quit asking for miracles and, as a result, will never see one. Once my “explanation” becomes the orthodox view of my slice of Christianity then any attempt to question the status quo smacks of heresy and I begin to view any reports of miracles as misguided emotionalism or fakery on the part of those who would manipulate the desperate for power of money. In essence, the primary argument against miracles in churches that reject them is that miracles are no longer needed. They were initially needed to validate Jesus and his followers, but once they had fulfilled their purpose, God took them off the menu. For these churches, the record of the miracles is enough for people to believe.

We could go on for a long time about why many of the faithful resist the notion of miracles and miraculous gifts in the church today, but lets take a different tact and talk about why miracles are actually necessary for the church to fulfill her commission on the earth. Lets talk about why miracles and miraculous gifts are still needed. There are numerous reasons but let me offer three of the most compelling.

First of all, miracles point us to a greater, unseen reality. We live in a material world. Many people are trained to trust only in what they can see and touch. Scripture asks them to believe in fantastic, unseen realities – a glorious, majestic, all-powerful God sitting on a huge white throne in heaven surrounded by seraphs with six wings declaring his holiness day and night while smoke surrounds him. We are asked to believe in great wars in spiritual realms between angels and demons, the dead being raised, and the blind given sight. We are asked to believe in a God who calls all nations to judgment and a great final resurrection of the dead. To those without faith, those visions seem fictional, like scenes from The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

God created faith throughout scripture by miraculous works. The plagues on Egypt and the Red Sea crossing were not just to subdue the Egyptians but also to build faith in the Hebrews who had never known this God. Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, in which fire fell from heaven, called those Israelites who witnessed it back to faith. Many who saw the miracles of Jesus believed. In a material world and culture, something undeniably inexplicable must occur for people to experience a paradigm shift that allows for the possibility of another realm before they will start to consider biblical truth. When we fail to ask God for miracles or explain away miracles, we deny people a glimpse into a supernatural, spiritual realm that might open them up to believe.

Secondly, miracles reveal the nature and heart of God. Bill Johnson puts it this way. “A primary purpose of the miracle realm is to reveal the nature of God. The lack of miracles works like a thief, stealing special revelation that is within the grasp of every man, woman, and child. Our debt to mankind is to give them answers for the impossible and a personal encounter with God. And that encounter must include great power” ( Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth, p 119).

One of the great revelations of Jesus was the heart of the Father towards men. Jesus declared that when we have seen him we have seen the Father. The miracles of Jesus delivered people from illness and terrible disabilities, ended demonic torment, fed hungry people, raised the dead returning them to their grieving families, and restored relationships. For people who may only see God as the angry judge of all the earth, a touch of his love and compassion through a miracle is life altering and totally changes their view of God and their perception of his thoughts about them.

Thirdly, miracles continue to validate Jesus as the Son of God and Risen Lord and to validate his church as those who carry his Spirit and message. Those who deny miracles propose that stories of miracles that were reported two thousand years ago is sufficient to create faith in Jesus as Lord and the Bible as true now. If that were the case, everyone who read the bible would surrender their hearts to Jesus. Once the Holy Spirit resides within a person, faith based on two thousand year old stories is not a stretch but coming to faith often needs more than that..it needs an experience with God to create faith that then accepts the rest.

Even churches who deny miracles will talk about feeling the love of God, being overwhelmed by the peace of God,or sensing his leading. How are those experiences not miracles in which God has inserted himself into the natural order of things so that people experience something outside the natural realm? If people came to faith because they experienced God in those ways, what is the difference in people coming to faith because they experienced the love and power of God through healing, deliverance, a prophetic word, answered prayer, or some other kind of miracle?

When people, including believers, experience the power of God in their own lives, something shifts. God either becomes real or more real. Torment leaving in the name of Jesus or cancer disappearing in his name confirms by experience that Jesus does have all authority in heaven and on earth. Faith grows. Expectation increases. The reality of God is established and the church that does those things in his name gets instant credibility in they eyes of those Jesus has touched.

To deny miracles or to be indifferent toward s them robs the church and the world of life-altering glimpses into another reality. It robs the world of a revelation of the nature and heart of God. It robs the world and the church of faith. Saul of Tarsus knew the Torah and the miracles of the Old Testament. He had heard the stories of the miracles of Jesus and of the church he was persecuting. More stories would not have changed him but a personal power encounter (a miracle) with Jesus changed him and history in radical ways. The non-religious need miracles to begin to consider the reality of a spiritual realm and a world beyond this one. The religious need to be knocked off their feet to reconsider who Jesus really is and his heart for broken, imperfect people. Not only do miracles still happen today, but they are needed more than ever. We should not be shy in asking for them or pursuing them because they lead straight to Jesus.