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.

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.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”            “Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:5-10

The office of prophet has always been essential in establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Jeremiah was one of many reluctant prophets whom the Lord called to declare his words over kings and nations. God has an unusual relationship with his prophets. Amos spoke about that relationship when he said, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). God has established a connection between his will being done on earth and the declaration of his word by his prophets. There is a practical side to that as well as the continuation of God’s initial intent to rule the earth through men and women who serve as his representatives.

The practical side is that if prophets did not declare what God was about to do, whether deliverance, blessing, or judgment, then when any of those things happened it would not be credited to the work of God. Men would simply go on with life thinking that fate and politics had brought some event to pass without recognizing God’s hand in the matter. That is the world we live in today. God’s prophets are too silent and too few.   World leaders act as if “might makes right” and that there is no God in heaven who will judge kings and nations for their actions.

If no one calls the shot, then when God sinks the nine-ball in the corner pocket after banking off three rails, everyone will think that what happened was simply coincidence or blind luck. Because, by and large, the church today has relegated prophets to the Old Testament or the first century church and considers present-day prophets as extremists or crackpots, there are too few prophets connecting the dots for the nations. On top of that, if the majority of churches in America won’t take prophets seriously then why should the leaders of nations?

God’s initial intent was to rule the earth through Adam and Eve. He gave them the position of a son and daughter and delegated his authority to them to rule over his creation. In Christ, he has done the same for us. In terms of honoring his initial intent, God still gives his directives to his representatives and they declare those directives over the earth. God honors man’s dominion by waiting on man to come into agreement with him before acting. When his prophets declare his word over the earth, then God acts to fulfill what they have declared.

Isaiah assures us that when God’s 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). Notice that 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. Jeremiah wielded his power by declaring the word of God, which God then fulfilled. God is always in the starting blocks and ready to run a race, but he waits for his people to fire the starting pistol.

Concerning prophets, God’s word goes forth from his lips to theirs by revelation from the Holy Spirit or the lips of angels. When his prophets declare it, God empowers his word to fulfill its purpose in the lives of individuals and nations on the earth. The declarations of God’s people release the angelic realm to make God’s word a reality. Without prophetic declarations, much of what God desires to do will not come to pass because he still honors the authority he has given his church.

As long as parts of the church reject the idea of prophets and prophetic words in the 21^st century, the will of God on earth will be greatly hindered. God loves to partner with his people and in his sovereignty has limited what he will do without their participation. Until the gift of prophecy is fully restored and prophets are honored in his church, only a fraction of God’s purposes will be released on the earth. Not only that, but until the prophetic is accepted as authentic, the church will not have enough maturity to train her prophets well or to even judge prophecy to know if it is from God. A rejection of prophecy rather than its acceptance will lead to the very weirdness that the church fears. The good news is that God is restoring prophecy to his church today. The only question is will his church receive it or reject it.

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. Hebrews 6:1-2

I have always found this section of Hebrews to be interesting and instructive. The writer seems to provide a list of foundational teachings in the early church that he considered essential but elementary. Most churches teach these topics over and over as if these doctrines constitute spiritual maturity but the writer of Hebrews would disagree with that. There are two things in this list that should raise an eyebrow for most evangelical Christians in America: instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands.

Most churches in western Europe and the U.S. teach a great deal about baptism but not baptisms (plural). Hardly any church teaches anything about the laying on of hands although in the Hebrew letter that doctrine carries as much weight as repentance, faith, baptism and end times (resurrection and judgment). Since these are foundational principles of the church, when these are neglected the church is built on an inadequate foundation and the body suffers as a result.

There are several views of the idea of baptisms but, whatever the view, they should include water baptism which Jesus modeled himself at the hands of John the Baptist and Holy Spirit baptism which Jesus himself promised and delivered after his own resurrection. Just about every denomination practices water baptism in some form. Most believe it is an outward expression of an internal faith and symbolizes cleansing, being born again, death to our old selves, and resurrection to a new life.   It is also serves as a public confession of our faith in Jesus. Through our faith and confession we are granted forgiveness of sins and receive the Holy Spirit to live within us. The primary purpose of the Spirit living within us is transformation. He gives life to our spirits, gives us understanding of spiritual truth, and changes our character and thought processes by bearing his fruit in our lives. All of that is amazing and if that were all we received from the Spirit it would be enough.

However, both John and Jesus spoke of another baptism and commanded his followers to wait in Jerusalem, after his ascension to the Father, until they received power from on high as they were baptized in the Spirit on Pentecost. That power was to equip them for ministry, to do the things that Jesus did to demonstrate the Kingdom of God, and to overcome the power of the enemy. The followers of Jesus were commanded to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse lepers, cast out demons and raise the dead. In addition, Jesus made it clear that he had come to heal broken hearts and set captives free. The gifts of the Spirit have been given to the church to do all that. That flows from an experience the gospels called being baptized in or by the Spirit and was a separate experience from salvation. In John 20:22, we are told that after his resurrection, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” At that moment the Spirit took up residence within the disciples but afterwards that Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem until they received power from the Spirit which he said was the baptism that John the baptizer had spoken about.

The church universally practices water baptism but the majority have yet to receive power from another baptism in the Holy Spirit. Because of that, the church is effective at dispensing grace and leading people to initial salvation, but is much less effective at operating in power, healing the sick, setting people free from demonic affliction, prophesying, and demonstrating the Kingdom on earth. Yet, the early church thought that the teaching and practice of baptisms was essential.

The second gaping hole in the practice of most churches is the practice of the laying on of hands. Laying hands on others is typically related to two things: the impartation of spiritual gifts and the power that goes with those gifts and commissioning believers for specific tasks and offices. In that regard, the laying on of hands demonstrates a transfer of authority.

In regard to impartation, several verses give us the flavor of that operation. Paul wrote, “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you” (1 Tim.4:14). In this verse, Paul is telling Timothy to exercise some spiritual gift that had been imparted to him through a prophetic message as elders had laid hands on him. My sense in this passage is that elders were commissioning Timothy as an evangelist for the church and as a prophetic word was being spoken over him regarding his ministry, the Holy Spirit released a spiritual gift in him that was necessary for his ministry. Where there is an appointing there is an anointing. In this case, the Holy Spirit had directed elders to commission Timothy and then equipped him for the task. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul exhorts Timothy to fan into flame a second gift that Paul had imparted to him by the laying on his hands. In the book of Acts we are told, “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all” (Acts 19:6-7).

There are numerous other scriptures, but it is clear that God and the Holy Spirit often operate through leaders in the church not just directly. When appointed and anointed leaders sense that God wants a person to receive a spiritual gift, God often prompts leaders to lay hands on that person. As they do, there is an impartation or a passing of both power and authority. We are also told in another place, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:2-3).

Someone might argue that laying hands on others is purely symbolic and cultural, but the writer of Hebrews saw it as a foundational practice of the church. The Kingdom of Heaven operates through lines of spiritual authority. The laying on of hands is an expression of that. In 1 Timothy 5:22, Paul warned Timothy not to be hasty in the laying on of hands. In other words, the impartation of power and authority is a real thing so that you do not want to impart gifs or power that to a person or commission a person prematurely. When spiritual gifts run ahead of character and authority runs ahead of maturity a train wreck can be in the making.

Both of these practices – Holy Spirit baptism and the laying on of hands – were foundational to the early church. They were also ways of receiving and distributing power and authority in the church and maintaining lines of spiritual authority so that the faith could be guarded and transmitted. We sometimes cringe at the idea of anyone having authority over us. Certainly, spiritual authority can be abused but so can a lack of accountability. Spiritual authority is a very biblical principle and I believe the axiom is true that to have authority, you must be under authority. Any reading of the New Testament and, especially, the Book of Acts testifies to the fact that God desires to empower his church with supernatural power because the kingdom is not a matter of talk but of power (1 Cor. 4:20). However, the power that God intended to bestow on his church will continue to be limited until these “elementary” practices are renewed universally. Just reflecting on these few verses today.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16

I recently visited with a young woman who grew up in church, loves the Lord, hosts a small group Bible study in her home, but continues to struggle with overwhelming feelings of fear and condemnation. She lamented that the churches in her area were “powerless to help people like her.” In many ways she had no more freedom in her life than the unsaved men and women in her community.

If we are honest, many believers today are saved but remain in bondage to sin, addiction, shame, fear, and a host of other hindrances to their walk. The truth is that other than church attendance, a very large number of believers feel and act just like the people they work with or go to school with who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them. Divorce rates in the church rival divorce rates in the culture at large. Christian teens seem to have little power over the cultural pressure to drink, experiment with drugs, or to be sexually active. A significant number of believers live on antidepressants, tolerate marriages dominated by anger and rage, live with bitterness toward people in their past, and are crippled by an overpowering sense of unworthiness and rejection.

I’m not scolding these believers for not being “the Christians they should be” because I have struggled with many of those issues as well. These believers are desperately looking for freedom, but in many cases have not been shown by their churches how to access the freedom and healing that Jesus promises.

A gospel that only gets us to a place of forgiveness but does not radically free us and change us so that we stand out in contrast to our culture is not the gospel that Jesus preached. Paul pointed to this truth in the text from Philippians quoted above.   Stars stand out in stark contrast to the darkness like the sun’s brilliant corona as it shines around a total eclipse. Jesus himself declared that his followers were to be the light of the world. Those who wear the name of Christ should stand out in the crowd by their sheer “differentness.”

Jesus spoke of being “born again” not as figurative language for trying harder or simply starting over with a clean sheet, but as a reality where something real and essential has been altered in everyone who comes to him. Scripture tells us that before Jesus came into our lives we were dead in our trespasses and sins and living under the dominion of darkness. We were in bondage to sin whether we knew it or not. Satan literally owned us. But in Christ, all things become new. Jesus declared that he came to heal broken hearts and set captives free. Those promises are for this world not just the world to come. After all, the same power that raised Jesus from the grave operates within us. The Spirit of God who has constant access to the mind of God lives within us and is willing to download the knowledge and creativity of heaven to those who ask for it. Because we have “the mind of Christ,” we should be the smartest, most creative, most resourceful, and most optimistic people on the planet in very noticeable ways.

When the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, an incredible potential for radical change is released. The door to our prison cell is unlocked and opened wide. The question is whether we will walk through that door into a radically new life or voluntarily stay in our familiar environment. Many Christians stay because they are unaware of the open door because it is only perceived by faith. They are also unaware of the destiny and power Christ offers them to set them free and transform their lives.

Satan’s first goal is to keep us from coming to Christ. His second goal is to make us ineffective. One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is to convince a believer that he is the same person he always was and will always be even after coming to Christ. Satan peddles the lie that the only difference between the saved and unsaved person is that the saved has his or her sins forgiven. Otherwises, we are still as powerless and broken as the unsaved around us. If he can’t keep us from accepting Jesus, the next best thing is to convince us that we will only experience the power, healing, and blessings of heaven after our funeral. Until then, we will simply struggle and do the best we can while our life plays out like a sad country song. That is not what Jesus has in mind on the cross. That is not the abundant life.

After coming to Christ, the essential difference between those with the Spirit of Christ living in them and those without the Spirit should soon become apparent, not as a reflection of our efforts but as a reflection of the power of God working in us. The fact that so many believers blend in perfectly with the world around them reveals that something is amiss. Speaking of Jesus, John tells us, “In him was life and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). There was a measure and quality of life in Jesus that was unmistakable. It stood out and drew men to him. With Christ in us, we should exude the same life. That life comes through the power that heals and sets men free (Isa.61:1-4) and the power that transforms us into the image of Christ. A powerless gospel will not take us there.

Paul gave a stern warning to the church at Galatia regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. He declared, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal.1:6-8). Paul was concerned about a gospel that included salvation by works but an incomplete gospel also borders on being another gospel. To teach forgiveness only, without the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, leaves believers vulnerable to the oppression and affliction of the enemy.

Whenever Jesus and his followers preached the gospel, they immediately healed the sick, cast our demons, cleanse lepers, and raised the dead on more than one occasion. That power was not just a demonstration that they were speaking for God, but it was also necessary for those accepting Christ to be released to meet their full potential in Him. Much of the church is reclaiming the power of the Holy Spirit but that realization has not yet made it to the majority of churches or believers in America. My hope is that a time will soon come in which no one will have to say that the churches in his or her area seem powerless to help, “for the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). I also hope that you will be a clear voice in the Kingdom of God for all that Jesus purchased on the cross for all those who follow him.

I live in a world where spiritual warfare is considered a normative part of the Christian life. I believe that is a very biblical perspective. After all, Paul clearly believed that our struggle is push back against the reign of God. He also believed in divine weapons that were essentially not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers and principalities that different from the weapons of the world and that are laced with supernatural power.

Because of that reality, the church was granted gifts that display power in the spiritual realm – gifts of healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, miracles, and so forth that have the capacity to dismiss demons, declare God’s will and authority over situations, heal the sick, and even raise the dead.

All of these gifts and the authority that goes with them are amazing and – let’s say it – they are fun and exciting. They get the adrenalin pumping and open our eyes to a realm we can typically only see by faith. Once you experience these gifts you become hungry for more because they display the heart and power of God. Suddenly we are drawn to books and conferences that promise growth in these gifts and areas of spiritual warfare – prophecy, healing, deliverance, hearing God, baptism in the Spirit, and so forth. I’m all for these conferences and I will certainly attend some. However, I have also noticed that in the rush to grow in the gifts and experience more, we sometimes neglect the essentials that actually support and nurture the gifts.

One of those areas is the essential practice of prayer and spending extended times with the Father. Maybe this is my personal struggle but I find that pursuing the gifts is exhilarating as well as getting in the trenches with deliverance and praying for healing. But those are also sporadic. Like football, the intensity of game time comes around once a week. It’s fun. It’s intense. It produces great stories and we get to see God do his stuff. The practice that prepares us for the game is daily and sometimes tedious. It doesn’t get the hype of the game but without practice, games are lost.

Our American lifestyles compete with this need to spend time with God because our lifestyles are comprised of getting up early to begin our ridiculously busy schedules and going all day until we fall into bed. We try to pray on the run. We listen to a sermon in rush hour traffic. We grab a YouTube sermon somewhere and hope that we are somehow spiritually nourished. The truth is that to be filled with the Spirit and operating in “the gifts” as we want to requires more. Great athletes don’t train on fast food. They are intentional and consistent with their diets and exercise. Fast food is okay once in a while, but if that is the norm, their performance will suffer. No gold medalist that I know of trains exclusively on Big Macs.

Somehow, in the midst of our busy-ness, we must find consistent time with God in prayer and meditation on his Word. These are the essentials that support game days. I’ve always been amazed at Jesus. He had only three years to save the world – three years to demonstrate his credentials as Son of God, to establish his mission, and to train those who would carry out his mission after his departure. Preaching, healing, training, confronting. Day after day that was his schedule and he had to do it all through personal appearances. The future of the world hung on those three years and yet he never seemed hurried or frantic. He found time for it all and found time for private, extended periods with the Father. He found time for it all because he first found time for the Father. We all want to be Spirit-filled, but we get filled by spending time Him. We all want to be empowered, but we receive power by spending time with Him as well. We all want to hear God more clearly but we learn that by spending extended, consistent time with him in prayer, meditation, and listening.

Bill Hybels wrote a book a few years go entitled Too Busy Not to Pray. It’s a good read but his point was that we often forgo prayer because we think we have too much to get done and yet, when we do take time to pray, God orders our days so that we get much more done. He makes the case that the busier your are, the more imperative it is to take an hour with the Father or you will never get it done and your stress levels will stay redlined. I have found that to be true.

So…while we are chasing a greater anointing in the Spirit and while we are basking in the glow of supernatural breakthroughs, we need to maintain the essential practices that got us there in the first place. We need to discipline ourselves to the relationship and not just the bi-products of the relationship. Renee York, the wife of our former senior pastor at Mid-Cities and a friend of mine, once summed up our prevailing attitude in the church. We were talking about prophetic gifts and growing in those and she said, “Hey, I don’t want to have to work for this, I just want an impartation.” We laughed, but underneath it all, I think we all want that. That’s why conferences that offer impartations do so well. The problem with an impartation is that I may get the gift before I have the relationship to sustain it.

We all look forward to game days, but without practicing the essentials on a day-to-day basis, we will fall short in the heat of competition. We will not have the strength or the stamina to finish the game nor the instincts to defeat the opposition unless we have done the homework. I’m writing this as much as a reminder to me as for anyone else, but in case you have slipped into the mode of pursuing the gifts more than the giver, I just wanted to remind us all. Without constant contact with the giver of the gifts, these gifts will fade or morph into something unintended. So…be blessed and find the time.

 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:14

Having stated the principle of separation, Paul gives a list of reasons for the separation. In general, he makes the case that because the Spirit of God lives within you, you are sacred and set apart for exclusive service unto God just as the temple was. Anything that is profane or secular that touches the sacred defiles it. To underline his command, he simply asks a series of rhetorical questions.

He first asks, “What do righteousness and wickedness have in common?” and “What fellowship can light have with darkness?” He lists two incompatible things that are polar opposites. In many cases, we are so desensitized to the world that we often don’t see wickedness for what it is. The Greek word is anomia which means lawlessness. Righteousness is living based on God’s standards or God’s law. Of course, we don’t always measure up to his standards but we have an “imputed” righteousness through the blood of Christ and an innate desire to live up to the standards. An unbeliever does not submit to the law of God nor does he desire to but lives by a set of worldly standards that have been established by the prince of this world. Although those standards may have an appearance of goodness and morality, the basis for the standards is polar opposites. The righteousness of the kingdom is based on the moral nature of a holy God who will judge men and nations. Worldly standards always place man as the judge of all things and truth as his truth rather than the creator’s truth.

The world can imitate goodness and morality but at the core, righteousness exalts God while wickedness exalts man and self. Eventually, that road will lead us away from God and the fallen nature will have its way. When speaking of light and darkness Paul simply reminds us that they too are incompatible. Fellowship implies close and harmonious association. Darkness is the absence of light and light pushes out darkness. They cannot coexist in the same space. From God’s perspective, believers are incompatible with unbelievers because the Holy Spirit living in us makes us so different from the unredeemed that we can only be contrasted not compared. Again, I think our desensitization to the sin and self-centeredness around us dims our awareness of how different children of light are from children of darkness. But God does not lose sight of the vast difference.

Paul then raises he question, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” Belial seems to be one of several Greek names for the god of the underworld and is a reference to Satan. Believers belong to Christ while unbelievers belong to Satan. Most unbelievers are unaware that Satan owns them and would deny that they serve him but there is no spiritual Switzerland – no neutrality in the spiritual realm. We either belong to Christ or we belong to Satan and the two have declared war on one another. There is no peace between the two kingdoms and to be yoked to an unbeliever opens the door to the presence of the enemy. Satan will always use his subjects to draw you away from Christ. To be in a binding relationship with an unbeliever is making an alliance with the one who rules over him or her and that “ruler” is bent on destroying you.

Paul then summarizes his point by asking what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever. Of course, you might answer that you both like baseball or that you both need love and purpose and those things would be true, but Paul is talking about our natures, our allegiances, our purpose, and our destination. From Paul’s perspective, you have nothing eternal in common with an unbeliever.

Paul finishes with the rhetorical question, “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.” This again raises the question of the sacred mixing with the profane. The temple and everything in it was dedicated to the service of God. Because the presence of God was in the temple, great care had to be taken to purify all of the grounds and instruments related to the temple from sin. Sacrificial blood was sprinkled on everything on a regular basis to cleanse the temple and its furnishings from the defilement of sin. Any bowls, knives, plates, tables, censers, etc. that were used in the temple services were to be destroyed if they were ever used for ordinary purposes. Once you have been dedicated to the service of God you are not to involve yourself in anything that will defile you. In addition, idols are always associated with demon worship in both the Old and New Testaments and so Paul is declaring that to be yoked with unbelievers not only connects you to profane things that defile your sacred standing with God but also brings you into agreement with demons and empowers them in your life.

Our problem is that we don’t value the presence of God within us and the holiness of God as we should. We become careless with it and often compromise with the world and may even yoke ourselves to what is unholy in the eyes of God. But God calls us to be separate and to serve him only. He is not calling us to isolate ourselves from the world because them we could not rescue the lost from the dominion of darkness but we are to maintain a separation in our hearts and refuse to make alliances binding agreements, and covenants with anyone or anything that is not willingly submitted to Christ and made clean by his Spirit. Those relationships will always pressure us to compromise.

That does not mean that we separate ourselves from the lost or refuse to love them because God loves them. Jesus associated with sinners but never came into agreement with their values and never bound himself to them in order to win their approval or even their love. He never compromised his allegiance to the Father or his mission. Paul’s challenge is this section of scripture is for us to never forget who we are, who we belong to, and who lives within us. We must consider ourselves and all those who have the Spirit of Christ within them as sacred – as holy ground. We must also remember that those outside of Christ belong to the devil and have the spirit of disobedience within them. Our job is to bring them into the light not to participate with them in their darkness. You are holy. You are sacred. You house the presence of God. Live like it.

 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”                       2 Corinthians 6:14

Sometimes it’s very beneficial to go back to familiar texts to see what else the Spirit will show you. The word of God always has more and is layered with truths. Jesus said, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old” (Mt.13:52-53). Each time you study the Word, whether an unfamiliar passage or a very familiar passage, you find not only confirmation of truths you have already discovered but discover new truth as well. The passage above is a familiar passage but I felt prompted to consider it again. It will take two blogs to do it justice so I hope you will bear with me. It is a very important text.

The first verse is usually translated as the NIV translates it above saying, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. ” Some translations like the ESV say, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” The idea is rooted in Old Testament law. Under the Old Covenant the Jews were not to intermarry with surrounding tribes who did not worship Jehovah (Dt.7:3) or plow with different types of animals in the same yoke (Dt.22:10). There were a number of laws that reinforced the principle of separation and purity even to the extent of not weaving garments out of two kinds of thread or material. The idea that God’s people are to live distinct lives driven by kingdom goals and values without worldly influence is a constant theme in both the Old and New Testaments. The root word translated as yoked means to be in agreement with. It also carries the idea of being influenced or tied together by covenants. When animals are yoked together they are bound and the movements of one influence the other. Not only was Israel to never marry those outside the covenant but also was never to make any treaties with foreign nations. Of course, they violated that principle over and over and the inevitable outcome was that Israel compromised her values in order to maintain the alliance and as a result alienated themselves from God and his blessings.

The apostle Paul clearly tells us that we are to avoid relationships with unbelievers that yoke us together in any kind of covenant or alliance because there are spiritual implications to those relationships. The truth is that you cannot enter into that level of relationship with an unbeliever and maintain that relationship without compromising your spiritual values. Throughout his writings, Paul is clear that the unsaved cannot understand or agree with spiritual matters because they do not have the Spirit of Christ in them. To them, many of your values will seem quaint, naïve, or unreasonable because their thinking is darkened. To maintain a relationship will create constant conflict unless you compromise your values and perspectives to some degree. It cannot be any other way. Think about how hard it is to maintain relationships even with those who do have the Spirit of God within them much less those who do not. Those who do not have the Spirit of Christ are darkened in their understanding (Eph.4:18) and are blinded by the god of this age (2 Cor.4:4). They may say they agree with you but cannot and because of that, there will be a slow but steady pressure in the relationship for you to compromise your relationship with the Father.

These “yoked” relationships that Paul had in mind probably had marriage at the top of the list. In Ezra 10, as the Israelites were rededicating themselves to the Lord, all those who had married non-Jews and even had children by them had to put away those wives and children because they were defiled by the relationships. Even Solomon, toward the end of his life, was drawn into idol worship by foreign wives he had taken for himself. Many of those were products of foreign alliances in which he took the daughter of another king to cement an alliance. For all of his wisdom, he was still drawn into a seriously compromised spiritual position because he allowed himself to be yoked with unbelievers. Yoking brings us into agreement with another and whatever or whoever we agree with we empower.

In addition to marriage covenants these yoked relationships can also include political alliances, business partners, dating relationships, and best friends. It is also important to know that Paul was not just giving wise counsel but was giving a command to believers. Whether or not your friend, your partner, or your love interest are aware of it, your yoking with that unbeliever gives Satan power in your life. When you enter into a binding relationship legally or relationally with unbelievers, you are entering into an alliance with the one they serve. We need to think seriously about that before joining ourselves to others that do not belong to God. That joining can take many forms and we will consider those in Part 2.

I continue to be surprised at the lack of ministries dedicated to healing and freedom that we find among churches – even charismatic churches who believe in the full ministry of the Holy Spirit and who believe in the concept of spiritual warfare. You would think that Paul’s famous declaration, “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” (Eph. 6:12) would be enough to prompt churches to take spiritual warfare seriously. However, the great majority of churches apparently dismiss Paul’s words as simply a call to prayer only or as words meant only for the first century church.

In many of the churches who do take spiritual warfare seriously, you will find one or two veteran couples who will pray with people and minister deliverance to them. I am thankful for those who have ventured into those realms. However, many times these couples or individuals function as “specialists” and do not train others to help people find the freedom and healing that Jesus has purchased for them. Because of that there are still relatively few believers who can minister healing or deliverance or who receive it when they need it.
Over the past 6-8 years, our Free Indeed ministry at Mid-Cities has taken 1500-2000 believers through the fundamentals of healing and freedom and over 90% have reported experiencing a significant level of healing and deliverance through the process. That means that a great number of believers are in need of such ministry. The typical group of participants that go through our eight-week study are adults of all ages with about 30% attending from other churches in our community – mostly Baptist. As a non-denominational community church we have people from all faith backgrounds and from no background at all but the majority have attended church for years. Yet, they come to Free Indeed with a clear sense that there must be more to their faith than just the forgiveness of sins and that something within is broken and keeping them from experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised. They leave having experienced the power of the kingdom of Heaven in ways they have never known before and leave equipped to minister to others the healing and freedom they themselves have received. I believe that every church should have some kind of intentional process through which they minister freedom and deliverance and through which they equip their people to do the same for others.

Some people shy away from deliverance ministries because they think that those involved must have special spiritual gifts or that such ministries ultimately become weird and divisive in churches. Even pastors of charismatic churches tend to shy away from such ministries. They are comfortable with prophetic words, praying for physical healing, and even tongues but show little interest in equipping the saints for spiritual battle in the trenches. As a result, tens of thousands of Christians in American churches continue to try to live for Jesus while walking in tremendous brokenness and bondage. How strong and vibrant could the church be if every believer was set free from his/her past traumas and set free from demonic affliction?

I do not believe those who minister deliverance have to have some specialized gift from the Spirit. There are certain some gifts that facilitate the process like words of knowledge and spiritual discernment, but deliverance is more of an exercise in authority than in giftedness. Not all of us have the gift of evangelism but all of us have the capacity to lead someone to Jesus. Deliverance is much the same. In addition, I do believe that the Spirit will dispense more gifts when we begin to step out in ministries where those gifts are needed. All of that is to say that deliverance ministry should not be reserved for a few specialists but should be taught to the average believer in the same way that we teach evangelism or prayer.

Regarding the concern that deliverance ministries get weird and so create division, I have not seen that to be the case when teams are trained and operate under Biblical principles. Paul’s directive that all things should be done decently and in order pertain to deliverance ministries as well. When believers run into what is undeniably demonic or begin to experience something personally that they believe is demonic, they will eventually turn somewhere for help. If their church has not taught principles and realities of spiritual warfare and if their church does not have someone who can minister in that area with balance and wisdom, they will go outside the church and then may encounter the very weird a pastor fears.

Not teaching on biblical issues and realities in every area of spiritual life will create a situation in which church members are forced to go somewhere else for ministry or training and will either then leave the church or bring those teachings and experiences back to their church. That is what most often creates division. When there is a well thought out theology and process for healing, inner healing, and deliverance that is taught to a team who then ministers to others and teaches those they minister to as well, the church will become a greenhouse of spiritual health and freedom that will bless marriages, families, and the community.

Our ministry consists of eight weeks of study in a small group setting formed around tables in a larger class with two trained table leaders and six to eight participants. The eight-week study of essential discipleship and spiritual warfare principles are followed by an all day event on a Saturday in which we activate inner healing and deliverance. The eight weeks of “table time” and homework builds trust in the leaders and the process and lays foundations for experiencing healing and freedom. It also enables those who have received healing and freedom to maintain that healing and freedom. As the saying goes, The first battle is to get free. The second battle is to stay free.” Shortcuts to healing and deliverance that don’t lay adequate foundations often fall short in the long run as people lose their healing and freedom within a few weeks of receiving them.

Freedom Ministries that are intentional, consistent, theologically sound, and that equip leaders can bear tremendous fruit over a period of a few years. A choice not to develop such a ministry leaves a tremendous number of God’s children in brokenness and bondage. If you know anyone who wants to develop such a ministry at his/her church, we are more than glad to help facilitate that effort and to share our resources. Paul declared, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor.3:17). Freedom for every believer is the expectation of heaven. It is not automatic but it is available as part of every believers birthright. I hope that wherever you are, if your spiritual family does not have such a ministry that you will pray for that to happen and , perhaps, share this with your pastor.  Like loaves and fishes, you will be amazed with what God will do when we just step out in faith with the little that we have.

Deliverance is a powerful tool for setting people free from the grip of the enemy. Not only is it powerful but it is essential. However, at times we may tend to overemphasize deliverance in the process of spiritual transformation. That is understandable because many of us have seen radical and dramatic transformation in believers in a very short time as a result of deliverance. It becomes problematic, however, when we begin to see deliverance as the cure-all for every issue. In some ways we begin to think of it as the quick-fix for people who are stuck or loosing ground in their spiritual progress, but demonization is only one barrier in an array of barriers that can stall out the process of discipleship and transformation.

Deliverance will not make a person spiritually mature but will remove the resistance so that individuals can then begin to grow spiritually as they should. At the end of Free Indeed, our ministry for healing and freedom, we always remind our participants that completing the eight weeks of study and the weekend of activation is not the end but rather the beginning of their growth and maturity.

Discipleship is the process of becoming like Jesus. It is a lifelong endeavor that can be punctuated by significant events where huge growth spurts occur but then we must always settle back into the process. In transformation, there is always a price to be paid by the individual who wants to be changed. That price is a consistent lifestyle of coming into the presence of God through multiple expressions of ancient spiritual disciplines: daily time in the word, prayer, meditation, confession, repentance, thanksgiving, worship, service, listening to God, solitude, memorization, journaling, authenticity, and so forth. We often say that getting free is the first battle. Staying free is the second. The implementation of these spiritual disciplines is what keeps us free.

We are such an instant society that we have come to expect instant spiritual maturity through a weekend conference, an impartation, deliverance, a prophetic word, and so forth. I think all of those things are amazing and I will be the first in line for an impartation, but they can’t replace the work of partnering with God on a daily basis in the change we desire.

Too often we pray for inner healing or cast out a demon without making sure the person we have ministered to is pursuing the Lord on a daily basis and filling themselves with the things of the Spirit. Sometimes we don’t even make sure that the person has repented of the very sin the demon was attached to or has forgiven hurtful people in his/her past. In our hurry to help, we may be setting them up for a worse condition because we haven’t helped them lay the foundation that they will need to maintain their freedom and grow in the Lord.

Paul commands us, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:17-18). The verb tense of the word translated as “filled” is progressive which means to be continually filled with the Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit there is not much room for the devil. A great deal of being Spirit-filled is about being filled with the things of the Spirit which are to be found in spiritual disciplines. It is by “doing the work” that we get in spiritual shape. The work brings us into the presence of God and the transforming power of the Spirit. The work lays new neural pathways that are in agreement with God and diminish the old pathways that agreed with Satan so that our brains are renewed while our minds are being renewed spiritually.

So, as you minister healing and deliverance or give impartations and prophetic words, remember that the person you are ministering to will need to pay a price for continued freedom and spiritual growth. If they are not willing to pay the price of drawing close to God daily, they will most likely lose the ground they have gained and maybe end up worse than they were before their freedom. As those who minister in this arena it is essential that we too pay the cost of freedom in our lives each day.

Philip Yancey once said that the real temptation presented to Jesus in the wilderness by Satan, was the temptation of gaining a crown without the cross. Satan offered Jesus shortcuts without suffering to establish his kingdom on the earth once more. Ultimately, there are no shortcuts. It was true for Jesus and it is true for his people. Crucifying the flesh is a daily demand if we are to be consistent with our spiritual disciplines. Neither the flesh nor the enemy want us spending time with God. But for those who reject the “shortcuts” there is certainly a crown after the cross.