We are continuing to consider who we are in Christ.  As I have said in previous segments, our identity is, perhaps, the single most important thing about us.  Who we believe we are and what we think about who we are touches every part of our life. Our Heavenly Father has gone to great lengths to reveal our identity in Christ, so it must be very important.

In the Gospel of John, the apostle begins with a great deal to say about Jesus. He identifies him as the Word of God and the one through whom and for whom all things were made. He speaks of his incarnation and then wraps up this amazing section of scripture by saying, “Yet, to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (Jn.1:13).

In this section, John reveals that the very reason Jesus came was so that we might become children of God.  In the beginning, God determined to make man and to give him a position of a son or daughter of God.  In Luke 3, we are given a genealogical record from Jesus back to Adam. He ends that genealogy by saying, “the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Lk. 3:38). Adam was not a son in the sense that Jesus was the Son,  as fully God and fully man, but was given the position of a son who yet knew no sin.  Satan’s temptation and
Adam’s moral failure in the Garden cost us our position as sons and daughters of the King, but through Jesus, that opportunity has been offered to us again.

Although mankind has been made in the image of God, only those who believe in Jesus have been given a position of sonshipor daughtershipagain.  This is not just a matter of legality.  It is true that we have been adopted, but something more has happened.  Each of us who have been declared sons and daughters in the household of God were born again.  Our very nature, our DNA,  has been changed by a work of the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us that before we knew Christ, we were slaves to sin.  We had no ability to resist our fallen nature.  However, since being born again, we still have the capacity to sin but we also have the capacity to choose righteousness.  He says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom. 6:6). Not only has our very nature been changed, but we have also been given a position of righteousness before our Father.  We are told, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God (2  Cor. 5:21).

The amazing thing about being born again as children of God is that we have a capacity for righteousness that the remainder of mankind does not have.  Not only that, but your heavenly  father relates to you on the basis of your sinless position in Christ rather than your inconsistent performance.  Too many of us think that God sees us as saved, but still rebellious sinners.  We may see him as an angry father punishing us for every stumble and every misdeed.  When life doesn’t go our way, we think God is withholding his blessing from us because of past deeds or our imperfection. We may see him as a father who only tolerates us and only grudgingly answers our prayers from time to time. Many of us take the template of our own earthly fathers who were broken, angry, controlling, and selfish and lay that template on a heavenly father who isn’t broken; who is totally unselfish; who loves us unconditionally; and does not hold our sins against us – love keeps no record of wrongs.  In fact, what he does see when he looks at us is the righteousness of Christ.

As children of the King, we carry the royal seal in the spiritual realm (Eph.1:13).  Because of that status we have authority, privilege, and responsibilities in the kingdom. First of all, we are to represent our Father well and live in a way that honors his name. As children of the king, we are to be courageous, confident but not arrogant, and kind.  We are to have integrity in everything we do and should be marked by faithfulness since our father is faithful.  We are also to be about our Father’s business of making disciples and destroying the works of the devil.

Secondly, we have the resources of heaven to meet our personal needs and to meet the challenge of those things we are involved in that are kingdom business…missions, caring for the poor, ministry to the hurting,  redeeming culture, and so forth. As children of the king, we should jettison any since of being an orphan and have a mindset that there will always be enough.  When Jesus fed the 5000, his reference point was the resources of heaven because he was a child in the household of God.  The apostles looked at their own resources and concluded there was no way to feed the crowd. Jesus gave thanks for what he could access in heaven and fed everyone with twelve full baskets left over. Jesus did that to demonstrate that there is no shortage in heaven and that the king will provide for every good work of his children.

As children of God we are promised provision, protection, and victory in our battles.  We always have the ear of our Father. We have angels to assist us.  We have the direction of the Holy Spirit and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead working in us. We are loved, forgiven, provided for, anointed, and given a great destiny in Christ.  The only thing that limits us is a lack of faith that these things are true for us.

When I first became a Christian, I knew that God loved his children.  However, I understood  that as a generalized statement in which God loved “all his children” as a class, but not as individuals.  I still felt like just a face in the crowd.  And yet that is not the witness of scripture. Because his Spirit lives in us, he knows us each by name.  He knows our every need and even knows the number of hairs on our heads. We are not just a bunch of kids that he hardly knows but each has a special relationship with him.  The writer of Hebrews tells us, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Heb.12:22-23).  The writer is not talking about a future tense for us, but present tense. In the spiritual realm, we already belong and are already present. Interestingly, the phrase “church of the firstborn” is a plural, meaningfirstborn ones.  The idea is that each of us is loved by God as if we were his firstborn.  Paul says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rom.8:13). In other words, we have tremendous standing in the courts of heaven and in the heart of our father.

As believers, we need to know who we are, how favored we are in heaven, and how much is available to us for our personal needs and as we conduct kingdom business. Too many of us still see ourselves as orphans, weak, broken and insignificant. We expect little and dare little.  That is not God’s will for his children. We must begin to say what God says about us and speak that over one another. One of Satan’s great strategies is to keep us from knowing who we truly are in Christ, because if we ever grasp it, the kingdom of darkness is done.

I am part of a church that recognizes the reality of the spiritual realm…both angelic and demonic.  We talk about it, pray about it, and exercise spiritual gifts that touch the unseen realm.  Because of that, I often forget that a large portion of the American and western European church still gives little thought to the reality of the spiritual realm or spiritual warfare. These churches do seem to be comfortable with the idea of angels … especially, guardian angels watching over our children.  However, I wonder how many actually believe in the constant activity of angels or just think of angels in vague ways as a nice sentiment or a comforting thought with little reality behind the notion…kind of like Santa Claus?

In his book, Deliverance from Evil Spirits. Francis MacNutt wrote a chapter entitled, “Do Demons Really Exist?”  Let me quote a little from that chapter.  “Two hundred years ago few Christians questioned whether Satan and the demonic realm were real. Then there would have been no need to write a chapter like this. Even as recently as 1972, Pope Paul VI, reaffirming the age-old understanding of scripture (and human experience) wrote:  ‘It is contrary to the teaching of the Bible or the Church to refuse to recognize the existence of such a reality…or to explain it as a pseudo-reality, a conceptual and fanciful personification of the unknown causes of our misfortunes…’” The Pope would not have written that unless many were trying to write off the teachings of scripture about the kingdom of darkness as mythology and quaint stories told to explain why bad things happen in this world.

MacNutt goes on to say, “As we read through the Gospels, we cannot help but be struck by the extraordinary numbers of references to Jesus confronting Satan and the whole realm of demons. A major theme in the New Testament is the clash between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. The climax of human history, in fact, occurs when God, in Jesus, overpowers Satan and frees the human race from Satan’s dominion. Nor do I propose that the ministry of deliverance is simply one minor ministry among many that need to be resurrected in today’s Church, but that Jesus’ ministry of deliverance is central to an understanding of the gospel. ‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work’ (1 Jn.3:8).”

Paul clearly states that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil (Eph.6).  He then discusses the necessity of implementing divine weapons in 2 Corinthians 10 because our enemy must be faced in the spiritual realm with spiritual weapons if we are to overcome him.  Currently, the activity of the demonic is raging in America because our national leaders have opened the door for him by declaring evil things got be good and good things to be evil. Many believers are being hammered and are unaware of the source of that oppression and torment,

Charismatic churches are exploding in third world countries because they bring the power of God into the battle against the demonic forces these people recognize and deal with through witch doctors and shamans. It is in the west that Satan has become invisible.  I didn’t say inactive, but invisible. He is invisible because our material, technological culture denies his existence. Many of us have a world view that simply filters out any recognition of his reality or activity. We see the same symptoms in people that were diagnosed as demonic affliction in the Bible, but diagnose them as psychiatric or physiological conditions that can hopefully be managed with medications.  Most Christian counselors will recommend medications for emotional torment but would never suggest deliverance.  The Biblical model demands that we seriously consider both forms of healing when ministering to the illness, torment, and bondage of people.

During the Civil War in America, we are told that more men died from infections than from actual gunshot wounds. The enemy was unseen bacteria. There was little understanding of the cause of infection and the care of wounds, so bacteria thrived and infections went untreated.  What was unseen and unrecognized caused thousands of deaths and amputations.  In the west, Satan seems to operate unseen and unrecognized because we have placed the demonic realm in the category of fiction or superstition.   Satan, then, has free reign to do as he wants as long as he can masquerade as mental illness or some rare physiological condition that is yet to respond to treatment. All the drugs in the world will not expel a demon and so mental health facilities cannot keep up with demand.  I know that Covid is a real thing but I also believe there are spiritual dimensions to Covid that have made the reality much more destructive than it has to be…especially spirits of fear, suicide, depression, distrust, isolation, and so forth.

I am not saying that all depression, suicidal thoughts, gender confusion, rage, violence, and so forth is demonic. But some of it or much of it is or is magnified by demonic spirits.  When Paul said that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual entities and forces of evil, he wasn’t speaking metaphorically.

The western world has enthroned science and “reason” above revelation.  Many Christians have done the same and are even embarrassed to talk about things like demons and supernatural healing as if those are vestiges of some ignorant superstition that used to infect the church.  Many Christians often exhaust all natural healing possibilities before even beginning to pray for healing because they believe more in science than the promises of God.  However, Satan is very real and is still very active. I can’t list all the people we have ministered to over the past twenty years or so that were set free by Jesus in a few minutes while their therapists and medications had only been able to take the edge off their pain, fear, depression, or despair for years. They were delivered because someone believed the Bible and that biblical realities don’t go away as technology advances.

Doctors can help a great deal when the issue is rooted in the natural realm and I am very thankful for the grace if medicine.   But Jesus is the only physician that can provide a cure when the issue is rooted in the spiritual realm.  Wise people will consider both realms when someone needs help and discern where the root lies.  In many cases, both realms will need to be engaged, because all of us are both physical and spiritual and are touched by both realms.  To deny the demonic realm because it makes us uncomfortable or because it doesn’t fit the cultural view of reality is like a person who refuses to get a checkup for cancer because they are afraid of what they might find. In both cases, early diagnosis and treatment is the best approach.  Both cancer and Satan produce devastating results when they go unnoticed and untreated.

The gospel of Jesus Christ will never meet its full potential in the lives of God’s people until his church universally accepts biblical realities and goes to war with an unseen, but very real enemy.  The victory is already ours, but it still must be enforced because demons tend to be non-compliant types who won’t get out just because an eviction notice came in the mail.

When you get into the business of helping people deal with their brokenness through counseling, prayer, and deliverance, you are never more like Jesus.  However, there is a side effect to going down that road.  As you choose to help people deal with their wounds and their pasts, more and more broken folks will show up in your life. Broken people know broken people, and if you are caring and helpful, they will send others your way. Undoubtedly, God will be entrusting some of these individuals to you so that you can dispense his grace in their lives.

Let me warn you, however, that Satan will also deposit some of these folks in your life.  Those individuals will have the uncanny ability to suck the life out of you for months and months and distract you from some very important things that God has ordained for you.  Many of us that are drawn to healing ministries have a spiritual gift of mercy and compassion.  That’s the way it should be. But sometimes, that mercy gift morphs into a “rescuer” theme that develops in our lives and we can find ourselves in bondage to a mindset that feels responsible for the well-being of every victim or broken person we encounter.

In itself, being a rescuer is very Christ-like. After all, Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  That sounds like rescue work.  I would agree, but Jesus also set some very healthy boundaries around his rescue missions. You should as well. He displayed some of those when he went to the Pool of Bethesda and asked the lame man, “Do you want to be healed?”  Whenever we are working with broken people, that is a question we need to keep in mind. The truth is that not everyone wants to be healed, although everyone says they do.  Some do want to be healed but do not want to do any work to get to that place.  They want you to heal them and then want you to take up their mat and carry it for them.

Over the years, in our ministry at Mid-Cities, we have settled on a position that clearly states, “If you want to change, you have to do the work.”  Our belief is that when it comes to healing and freedom, God won’t do the work for us but he is more than happy to do it with us.  When Israel finally made it to Canaan, God could have cleared the land of Israel’s enemies with one sweep of his hand. He could have sent plagues, a band of destroying angels, or displayed any number of other supernatural acts to drive the tribes from the land.  Instead, he required Israel to go to battle.  He would lead them and assure their victories, but they still had to endure the hardships of warfare.  They had to face the enemy, check their faith, and swing the sword.  In doing so, their character was refined and their relationship with God was enhanced.

People who want their lives to be transformed have to fight some battles.  Our job is to equip them to fight and, at times, fight along with them. But our goal should be to equip them to engage with God and defeat the enemy on a daily basis or simply make better choices in the future.  Those who fall into the trap of becoming a rescuer tend to make the individuals they are rescuing dependent on them  – their wisdom, their gifts, and their resources. Part of the trap may be that the cycle may feel good to the rescuer because he or she see is making a difference in the life of a person and also because he or she enjoys the gratitude and admiration of those they are rescuing.  However, they are not teaching them to fight and they are not teaching them to depend on Jesus.  Everyone needs to be rescued from time to time, but when being rescued becomes a lifestyle for broken people, there is something wrong.

My wife Susan has a very wise saying when it comes to ministry to broken people. She says, “If you are doing more work than they are, something is wrong.” What you notice about Jesus is that his compassion met people where they were, but he did not leave them there.  He didn’t beg people to follow him or stay in one place long to make sure people followed through on his prescriptions for life. He pointed them to God, gave them godly counsel, got them started and then let them be responsible for their next steps.

There are those who truly want to change and are ready to do the work.  Invest in them.  There are others who want you to fix them and their life, but won’t do their part. They want God to magically change their hearts, their minds, and their circumstances while they sit and watch. God doesn’t work that way and neither should we. Let that person contact you when he or she is actually ready to do the work.  Others don’t really want to change, but simply love the attention and care they get as person after person pours into them without seeing much progress. That person needs to repent. And still others, want you to take away their pain but don’t want to give up some sin in their lives that has created the pain. They simply want you to rescue them from the consequences of their actions without changing their behaviors or choices. These too need to repent.

When you have begun to minister to a person who needs healing and freedom, you may have to carry most of the load initially. But that person should soon begin to make progress.  He should be engaged in the fight.   She should be in the word and in prayer.  That person should also make your appointments on time and consistently and must be willing to start aligning his or her life with God’s word and his commands.

Too often, our mercy gift kicks in and we keep meeting, keep rescuing, keep rescheduling for weeks and months because we feel responsible to “save the person.”  It is often necessary to remember that Jesus is their Savior, not us. Too often we enable irresponsible behavior and allow them to continue to see themselves as helpless victims who always need a hero to rescue them from the dragons in their lives.  Too often we keep them from experiencing the very consequences that would have been their best teachers.  God does not require that we fix broken people.  That is his job.  Our job is to give them godly counsel, point them to Jesus, and equip them to live as children of the king if they are motivated to do so.  We are to be responsible to them, but not for them.

As hard as it is, there are times when we just have to cut someone loose to whom we have tied ourselves because we realize we are trying to plant God’s seed in poor soil. No real fruit is being produced. The soil may improve over time, but for the moment, there are better investments for the wisdom, experience, mercy, and gifts God has entrusted to your stewardship.

I think we need to see ourselves as mentors or coaches rather than rescuers.  As we enter into a mentoring or coaching relationship with a broken person, we need to kindly and gently set expectations for growth and the work they need to be doing in order for authentic change to take place. That person should know that our goal is to make him/her dependent on Jesus, not on us and for them to become mature in their faith.  Growth and change will be an expectation in order for us to continue to disciple them. If it becomes apparent that you are working with a person who does not want to change or is not ready to change, you can still love them but you don’t have to pour into them.  We are certainly not requiring perfection.  After all, Jesus had to display a great deal of patience with the twelve who often seemed like spiritual knuckleheads, but they were on a growth trajectory and their hearts truly desired to be men who pleased the Master. I also suspect Jesus has had to be patient with us and give us second chances. But if the person you are pouring into is not displaying change or doing the work over a period of time, you may need to invest in someone else.

I’m not really writing this to instruct you in mentoring, as much as I am wanting to encourage you to avoid the rescuertrap and to even give you permission to cut yourself loose from unfruitful relationships that are keeping you from investing in other relationships that will bear great fruit and give you life rather than sucking life from you.  Remember, God sends some people your way, but so does Satan. A wise person will learn to discern who wants to be healed and who truly doesn’t.

I occasionally run into committed Christians who have no interest in politics and who stay at home on election nights without casting a vote.  Their feeling is that politics is of this sordid world and we are to be invested in spiritual enterprises rather than the mudslinging of American political parties. I certainly agree that current politics are worldly, fleshly, and even disturbing.  Media coverage is aggravating on both sides and seems to sow fear, discontent, and division at every level.  Watching it steals our peace.  There are seemingly many spiritual reasons to withdraw from the process and insulate ourselves from the shouting and the slander of our political system in America. The devil clearly has the upper hand in this arena. If want to stay away from all that, I get it. So do I.   The question, however, is not about our comfort and our emotional well-being as much as it is about living out God’s will in our lives.  What is his will concerning our involvement in the political process of America?

Jesus taught us that we are to be in the world but not of the world.  That doesn’t mean that we are to isolate ourselves from society like monks walled off in a desert monastery.  We are not to hide from the world, but to overcome it.  Neither are we to compromise with the world but to lift up a higher standard without an aroma of pride or self-righteousness.  Jesus is our model.  He certainly did not hide from the world but engaged with drunks and tax collectors and even had conversations with women whose lives were marked by sin without compromising his faith. Not only that, but he engaged the political system of his day on a regular basis as he spoke with and, sometimes against, the power structures of Israel and Rome. In each case, he was the influencer rather than the influenced. That is the key.

We tend to hide away so that we won’t be defiled by a fallen culture.  We take the Old Testament approach.  We avoid the lepers or the sinners so that contact with them won’t make us unclean. But the New Testament model is counter to that.  We touch the lepers and make them clean and we engage with the sinners to be salt and light in their darkness.

We all know the Lord’s Prayer and, especially, the part that goes, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  God’s kingdom comes to earth when his will is done here.  The Great Commission is another expression of that mandate.  We are to make disciples of nations, not just a few individuals within those nations.  His purposes will not be fulfilled here until we redeem culture because that is what defines nations. Redeeming culture and even politics is taking back from the enemy what he has stolen. To redeem it, we must first pray for it because Jesus was teaching us to pray. But after praying, we have to influence culture in order to redeem it.  To influence something we have to engage with it.  Salt changes the flavor and light changes the atmosphere. We are to be both in the nation where God has placed us.

In America, much of our influence will come through the people we place in positions of leadership.  We do that through the political system.  Our political system is a mess but it is not evil in itself.  It has become evil because we, as believers, to a large extent, have removed our involvement and our influence.  When light is removed, darkness appears.  Rather than abandoning the system, we should overwhelm the system by flooding it with prayer and believers who run on platforms that sincerely reflect God’s values. Scripture says that righteousness exalts a nation.  God, then, connects righteousness with the state of a nation and certainly it’s very destiny.  Our part is to be a leaven for righteousness in this country.  Leaven invades every part of the dough.  We cannot withdraw from those parts we consider worldly and still be leaven, rather we should direct more leaven to those areas.  We should not be defiled by the world, but it should be made clean by our touch. We should not be defiled by our politics, but our politics should be made clean by our involvement.

I know….sometimes you can’t seem to justify voting for either candidate.  But you are not voting for a candidate as much as the values he or she will imperfectly represent.  A vote can push back against the darkness. It can’t eradicate sin (only the gospel can do that), but it can restrain sin and that is a step in the right direction.  It is one way that good resists evil. God is neither Democrat nor Republican.  He is the standard, however, that will judge this nation if believers withdraw from the process. Our goal as believers should not be surrender and withdrawal, but to aggressively take back territory that the enemy has stolen.  We do that with prayer and engagement. We can do that immediately through our vote if we vote for kingdom interests.

Paul said, “I have become all things to all men, so that by all means some might be saved.”  In other words, Paul determined to use every tool available to advance the kingdom of God on this planet.  I believe a vote bathed in prayer is one of those tools.  So…I encourage you to pray diligently over this next week for God’s Spirit to direct the hearts of those entering voting booths so that they vote for kingdom values whether or not they understand what they are doing. I also pray that every believer will do the same so that his vote and her voice will be a leaven for the righteousness of God to once again permeate our culture.

Is there ever a time when a person is clearly demonized but deliverance is not in order?  We all want to help.  We all want people to experience the goodness of Jesus. We all want to push back the borders of the dark kingdom.  But is deliverance always in the best interest of the person? There is probably a part of each of us that initially says, “Of course!”  But Jesus shared a story that raisesa caution flag in this area.

After being accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan and then being asked for a miraculous sign, Jesus said, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first” (Mt.12:43-45). He then compared the nation of Israel to that man.

A lot of believers find this story disconcerting. Without understanding the issues, it creates fear about deliverance and the enemy coming back in force.  The issue for the man in the story was not that he had been demonized and set free.  The problem was that the demonic spirit left a vacancy that was not immediately filled by a new tenant. The new tenant should have been the Holy Spirit, so that when the demon returned, he would have found a “no vacancy” sign.  Any demon that is cast out is likely to return in an attempt to reclaim his territory.  If the same demon that was cast out doesn’t return, another will come along.

There is an old adage related to spiritual warfare that says,” The first battle is getting free; the second battle is staying free.”  The key is in understanding what gave that spirit a place in that person’s life in the first place.  Demons set up a habitation in men and women because something has given them a legal right and an open door to do so.

The danger in just ministering deliverance to someone is that the individual may have a wide open door in the spiritual realm that will allow that demon or others to quickly return.  Before deliverance, some discipleship is usually in order and, for none believers, an introduction to Jesus.  We need to remember that the demonized individual has probably coexisted and functioned with the demon for years, so a few more days or weeks won’t be the end of things. (A person tormented by a spirit of suicide might be the exception if they seem unstable.)

There are three main entry points for demons: persistent, unrepented sin in the past or present, generational sins and curses, and trauma.  If a person has lived a life of sin in the past or has been involved in the occult, demons may have set up residence then and, even if the person has repented and come to Jesus, there may still be a demon or two to deal with. The door may be closed to new residents, but the old residents may still be renting out a room.

If a person is currently in a sinful relationship or hiding secret sins such as an addiction, the door is open.  If the person is divisive, angry, a chronic gossip, or has refused to forgive someone, etc. then there is currently a wide open door. If they do not acknowledge their sins and repent, the door will stay open, the demon will return and, perhaps, bring others, so that the person may be worse off in the end than in the beginning.

Sins of the fathers as well as curses coming down to the children to the third and forth generation may also constitute open doors that need to be closed before deliverance.  A great deal of demonic oppression comes down through bloodlines. Curses established by the words or actions of ancestors carry demonic assignments.   Until the sins that established the curse are renounced and the curse is broken, those demons will have a legal right to continue to afflict the person. Occult involvement, violence, and sexual sins of the fathers seem to be primary doors for demons to establish a stronghold in families.

Demons also seem to find entrance into the mind and emotions of individuals who have experienced trauma. Prayers for healing and the touch of Jesus to mend broken hearts is often in order, as well, before deliverance.

The warning related to the words of Jesus is not to rush in and create spiritual vacuums that may be refilled by the enemy because they remain vacant.  Spending some time discovering the broken places in an individual, past life styles, ungodly relationships from the past or present, generational sins, family patterns that suggest a curse, and, especially, unforgiveness is time well spent. In addition, exploring whether or not the person you are ministering to is actually saved is always a good idea. Many demonized people go to church and identify as Christians, but have never actually surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus.  Until they do, they have no defense against the enemy. Dealing with sin, curses, and trauma closes the door so the enemy can’t return. Asking Jesus to fill that person with his Spirit takes care of the vacancy.

If a person is not willing or is not ready to repent of sins, exit an ungodly relationship, forgive someone who hurt him or her, or is not ready to make Jesus their Lord, deliverance might make things worse rather than better and you may want to pass on setting them free – at least for the time being.  The same is true for physical healing.  The same things can get in the way of physical healing that get in the way of deliverance, so visiting about those issues and aligning the person with Jesus may increase the number of people who actually get healed when you pray and the number that maintain their healing.  Spirits of infirmity are behind many physical illnesses so deliverance may also be needed before physical healing can be accomplished.

So…to parody Hamlet…To deliver or not to deliver…that is the question. Take your time, pray about it, and visit with the individual.  Ask pertinent questions.  If you free a person and the demon returns, they will assume that deliverance doesn’t work or isn’t even a real thing. It may even be difficult to cast out a demon when that spirit’s legal right to afflict the person still stands. If they cannot get free or experience nothing as you minister deliverance, then they may not be open to deliverance again. Just know that it is not always in the best interest of a person to minister deliverance until some basic discipleship and discovery occurs first.

This is our 7^thand final installment of the Beattitudestaken out of the beginning of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.  Again, these are important teachings because most scholars believe that Jesus taught the principles and commands in the Sermon (Matthew 5-7) over and over during his ministry.  Repetition suggests that he thought these were not elementary, but rather essential teachings for every follower of Jesus, so it is wise for us to revisit these teachings from time to time.

The last two beatitudes are in an interesting juxtaposition.  Blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. The positioning almost suggests that peacemakers can anticipate persecution.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that they are in good company.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons or children of God.  A son or child of God is one who has the character of God.  “Like father, like son” is the old expression.  A peace maker is one who has a heart for peace, harmony, reconciliation, and unity.  A peacemaker is not a pacifist in the sense of avoiding conflict at all cost. Jesus is the Prince of Peace but he had numerous confrontations with the Pharisees. He is also pictured in Revelation as the commander of the armies of heaven going out to war.  The idea is that this person’s first desire is peace. He or she will endure a personal wrong and not insist on his or her rights in order to maintain a relationship. This person will be forgiving, longsuffering, and patient in order to maintain peace.  He or she will constantly work toward reconciliation as long as there is the possibility and even sacrifice for the restoration of a relationship.  That is also the heart of God who gave his only Son so that the world might be to reconciled to himself.

The reason peace making often invites persecution is because peacemaking often appears to the world as weakness.  When you turn the other cheek, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who despise you…those whose hearts are hard and self-centered will see you as timid or a pushover and will often move quickly to take advantage of your willingness to be wronged without striking back.

I have noticed that, for the most part, when we obey Jesus, we are put in vulnerable situations in which people can “use us” or take advantage of us.  Jesus taught that if someone sues us for our coat we should give him our cloak as well.  If we are compelled to carry something one mile, carry it two. Our vulnerability requires us to depend on the Lord for protection, provision, and vindication. Paul knew the risk better than anyone but pointed to peacemaking as long as it was possible.  “Do not repay anyone evil for evil…If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom.12:17-19).

The peacemaker must trust God, perhaps more than anyone, because they will be vulnerable in many situations. Note that Paul said to be at peace as much as is possible.  Even for the peacemaker, there is a time to go to war when all avenues of peacemaking have been exhausted and evil will prevail if not confronted. Remember, we are to resist the devil and seek justice for the weak.  We are to care for the widow and the orphan.  Jesus sternly confronted the Pharisees because their legalistic perversion of God’s Law was keeping men and women from a relationship with the Father. Paul often confronted sin and wrongs in the churches he had planted because the toleration of such things would eventually infect the church and put the salvation of other believers at risk. He did so after an extended time of pleading with patience for those in sin or those tolerating sin to repent. He would rarely oppose evil on his own behalf but would certainly “go to war” on behalf of the church or the weak when his attempts to make peace were rejected.

Peacemaking will eventually invite persecution or, at least, will put us in a position to be taken advantage of. Our desire for peace and reconciliation reflect the heart of God so that we can be counted as his children, but remember that the world hated Jesus and will eventually hate those who carry his image. The “up side” is that vulnerability and persecution force us to maintain a true dependence on God which then draws his presence to us.  The presence of God reveals the glory of God and his glory reveals his goodness. His goodness always blesses. There is clearly a price to be paid for his presence, but it is s always worth the cost.

Jesus gave us a list of things that create a state of blessedness for his people.  They are clearly counter-cultural but the kingdom always is. We all want to be blessed but blessing often comes with risk…of not being like everyone else or of placing ourselves in vulnerable positions.  My problem is that I want to be at peace with the world while I am at peace with heaven as well.  Biblically, I can’t pull that off. The world and the kingdom are at odds. I must choose one and if I want to live under a state of blessedness, I must choose the kingdom.  If you search through the Sermon on the Mount, the message of choosing is imbedded in the texts.  Our challenge is to choose Jesus everyday and then trust the rest to him.

We are continuing to work through the “beatitudes” of Christ as presented in Matthew 5.  We’re doing so because Jesus taught these things over and over as essential qualities in the life of a believer.  These qualities are really fruits of the Spirit that increase our intimacy with God which, in turn, increases our authority and anointing for ministry.  The declarations of Jesus that I want to consider this week is…

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 We need to notice that blessedness comes from developing qualities that belong first to the Father and making them our own. Mercyis one of those qualities that is almost wholly assigned to the Father in the Old Testament.  “For the Lord your God is a merciful God” (Dt. 4:31). Mercy carries with it the idea of having empathy for the plight of a person and not requiring perfection in order to continue a relationship.  Related to mercy is the realization that men are but flesh and blood and will all stumble at times – even the best. Because we are imperfect we cannot require perfection of others.  That constitutes judgment rather than mercy. Righteous judgment sees to it that s person gets what he or she deserves.  It is the opposite of grace through which we receive underserved favor. I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t want to get what I deserve but rather grace and mercy that overlooks my great imperfections and failings. Jesus is saying that God will extend mercy to us in the same proportion we extended it to others.

A definitive illustration of mercy is found in Matthew 18. You know the story.  Jesus tells of a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. These were servants to whom he had entrusted money for investment or to whom he had loaned money. One of his servants owed the king ten thousand talents and, when the time came, was unable to repay the king. The king ordered that the servant, his wife, and his children to all be sold as bond servants to pay off part of the debt. The text says, “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the enormous debt, and let him go.”

The king recognized the servant’s inability to keep his financial commitment and that he would never be able to pay back the debt with his own earnings. The servant had taken the money, promised to pay it back, and then had made foolish or even unethical decisions that caused him to loose much. If not all,  of the money. The king had every right to jail him or sell him into slavery but decided to forgive the servant for his immense shortcomings. The twist comes when the forgiven servant goes out immediately and demands that another servant, who owes him a small amount, pay him immediately.  When the servant couldn’t pay, the forgiven servant had him jailed.  When the king discovered what had happened, he called the forgiven servant, and rebuked him saying, “You wicked servant…I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”  He then revoked the mercy he had originally shown and turned the man over to the “tormentors” until he could repay the debt. Jesus went on to say that that is how God will treat us if we do not forgive others from our hearts – not just the words but sincerely.  The story illustrates the connection between forgiveness and mercy.

The parable reveals that forgiveness flows out of the mercy we extend to the imperfections of others.  We are to extend mercy to others because God has had great mercy on us.  The psalmist said, “The Lordis compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lordhas compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psm.103:8-14).

We tend to reserve our mercy, our forgiveness, our charity, or our empathy for those that we believe ”deserve it.”  James tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment (Ja.2:14).  The truth is that when we withhold mercy, we  have judged another person as unworthy of our care and concern.   Jesus warns us when he says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Mt.7:1-2). Mercy triumphs over judgment because when we show mercy, God withholds judgment from us.  There are two aspects of God that must always be satisfied – holiness and love.  Judgment relates to his holiness that demands payment for wrongs.  Mercy relates to love and is considered a higher virtue than even righteous judgment because the greatest of qualities is love.  The cross has satisfied judgment so that I;n love he can extend mercy.  He fully expects us to do the same.

There is a true blessedness when we give up the role of judge and release all of that to the Father for his perfect judgment. When we judge others we always fall into the trap of comparisons.  We judge that we are more righteous, more deserving, smarter, etc. so that we somehow have the right to condemn or point out faults that we presumably don’t share. As we do, we will always be measuring ourselves against others and either feel “less than” or we will have to justify our shortcomings in order to judge another. Both of those options leave us in a bad place with God. Blessedness comes from our freedom from comparison, judging, and justifying.  We simply extend mercy because God extends it to us and there is a blessedness and peace in knowing that we live under the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father who does not treat us as our sins deserve. Jesus has covered our weaknesses and failings. Like the forgiven servant in Matthew 18, we should be quick to extend that mercy to all who cross our paths.

We are in a series on the beatitudes which are the opening verses of Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount”z beginning in Matthew 5. The next two beatitudes spoken by Jesus are:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

There is no more counter-cultural statement in the New Testament that the promise that those who are meek will inherit the earth. Another way of saying this is that those who are kind and gentle will win in the end.  Clearly, those who appear on The Viewand similar talk shows do not subscribe to this teaching. The beatitude of this slice of our culture would be, “Blessed are those who rail, who scream, who attack and who label those with whom they disagree.  Blessed are those who are “in your face” and who angrily impugn the character of others.  Blessed are the slanderers and the bullies for they shall ultimately get their way.”  That seems to be the bent of our culture at the moment and the role models our children are be offered for how to get ahead in the world.

Jesus, however, calls his people to be meek.  In both Hebrew and Greek thought the word does not mean “weak.” It is, in fact, strength under control. It could be used of a wild horse that has learned to control his power under the direction of a bridle. In our case, the bridle would be the Holy Spirit.  Jesus used the word to describe himself. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt.11:29). The KJV translates it as meek and lowly in heart.  Jesus was no weakling and neither was he timid.  He was, however, gentle and kind with the weak and the broken of this world. Moses himself is described in that way. “ Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Num.12:3). Moses was also not a timid man to be pushed around.

Individuals who are meek do not demand their way. They do not push to the front of the line. They do not Lord it over people, insist on winning, or demean others while getting in the last word.  They can talk about hard issues and even point out sin when needed, but they do so in a kind and gentle way.  However, they can also push back and “take the gloves off” when the moment demands it.  Jesus did not mince words with the Pharisees when their “religion” had become a yoke of bondage for the masses and when their hypocrisy turned people away from the Father.

These are men and women who believe that God is directing their steps and if they deserve recognition or promotion, God will make the arrangements. They are not concerned about getting their way but only about the needs of others being met or God’s way winning the day.   We can aspire to have each of the qualities Jesus calls us to develop in our lives because, like the fruit of the Spirit, these are the qualities that Jesus possessed and, subsequently, that the Father possesses. Jesus is simply calling us to be like our heavenly Father. Graham Cooke, an international speaker with prophetic gifts, often says that God is the kindest person he has ever met.  As we become more like him, our intimacy with him increases and then so does the blessedness that comes from being in his presence and the confidence that he will always be there for us.  Meekness, like these other sources of blessing, is a fruit of being dependent on God.  It is a fruit of the Spirit that harnesses our egos, our demanding nature, our anger, and our sense of entitlement Ultimately, meekness will be a quality that defines the inhabitants of heaven and eventually will be clearly evident in those who rule over a restored earth with Jesus.  They truly will inherit the earth. They do win in the end.

As soon as he calls us to meekness, he calls us to hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Many of us believers want to settle for a morality slightly better than the world around us as if we get to heaven on a graded scale. We sort of  think that if we can live a more righteous life than 70% of the population we will gain entrance into heaven…sort of like a spiritual SAT.  None of us really believe that theologically, but we tend treat righteousness in that way. There may a part of us that doesn’t want to be too righteous or we might be rejected all together by co-workers, friends, and even family.  I think there may be a part of us that even suspects that a life lived too righteously might take all the fun out of everything and so we push back against too much.

We feel that way, however, because we view righteousness as a set of do’s and don’ts rather than as a state of heart that always wants to respond to God’s love by pleasing him. Remember that Jesus hung out with the prostitutes and tax collectors.  He hung out where people sometimes drank too much.  He attended weddings.  Jews always dance at weddings so I think he danced. I think he laughed. I think he got giddy when people were healed and smiled mischievously when he walked across Galilee. Jesus had fun, but without sin.  It is possible because he always did those things that pleased the Father…even when those around him were not.  Righteousness is not keeping rules but aligning our hearts with the Father in every circumstance.

We also need to remember that righteousness is not about pointing out the sins of others. It is about loving God, pleasing him, and demonstrating the richness of life that comes from doing so. Jesus made righteousness attractive because by living to please God we are blessed and live free from the bondage of guilt, shame and selfishness.  When we hunger and thirst, our highest priorities are to please God rather than trying to fill a hole in our soul by pursuing all the empty promises of the world.  When we hunger to please God, the empty places inside will surely be filled and our needs will surely be met. That is blessedness.

We are beginning to consider the Beattitudes recorded in the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount.  Many commentators believe that the themes developed in Matthew 5,6, and 7 were preached on numerous occasions which tells us that Jesus thought these truths and attitudes were essential to our walk with him.  If taken literally his entire sermon is very demanding but it is these essentials on which we must build even supernatural ministries if we are to maintain the blessing of Christ on what we do.  After all, he said, “Blessed are….”

Jesus began with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The Greek word used is for “poor” in this verse is a word that speaks of poverty so deep that a person is forced to beg in order to survive.  It would describe Lazarus in the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.  Lazarus was a beggar who was covered with sores.  He was laid by a rich man’s gate every day hoping for some kind of help and was so immobilized that dogs would come and lick his sores and he apparently could not chase them away. The word describes a desperate and destitute person as opposed to a person who has very little.  This is a person who has nothing.

Jesus is literally saying that a man or woman who is destitute in spirit or who is a spiritual beggar is blessed  blessed and can expect his/her inheritance to be the kingdom of heaven. So what does it mean to be destitute in spirit? Those who face life at this level of poverty are dependent on others.  They cannot afford pride or self-sufficiency because they have no capacity to provide for themselves. The American value of pioneering self-sufficiency does not translate into the spiritual realm.  Our desire to be independent and self-determining does not gain us entrance into the presence of God.  Satan’s first recorded temptation was an offering of independence and self-sufficiency to Adam and Eve.  He said, “Eat of the tree and you will be like God.”  His statement implied that they would be equal with God and know all that he knows. They wouldn’t have to bow down or depend on God any longer. When they bit, they lost everything they had been given by the Father.

We shouldn’t think of “poor in spirit” as being spiritually poor.  Jesus is not calling us to a languid spiritual life of self-loathing and a sense of being unworthy, weak, and deplorable.  In Christ, God has made us just the opposite. He is calling us to a realization that for anything beyond this realm we are totally dependent on the grace, power, and authority of Jesus.  What we have is simply on loan and we are simply stewards of whatever gifts and opportunities he has given us.

Jesus himself set the standard.  He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it issomething He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (Jn.5:19).  Even as the sinless and beloved Son of the Father, Jesus lived as a man completely dependent on the Father for provision, direction, and power. Luke tells us, “One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick” (Lk.5:17). This verse suggests that, like us, Jesus healed when the power of the Lord or the Father was present.  In other words, the power to heal was not inherent in Jesus but rested on him by the grace of the Father. Jesus more than any other seemed to be totally dependent on the Lord for power, provision, protection, and or direction in what to do and what to say.  I believe we all get to that place from time to time but for Jesus it was a 24/7 condition. Undoubtedly, that is why Jesus often went off to spend time alone with God and pray.

The key is in noticing that God honors our chosen dependence on him.  Paul said that when he was weak, then he was truly strong. When he truly felt his need for the Lord, then the Lord graced him with strength and power. That is why Jesus taught us to pray for daily breadbecause that mindset keeps us dependent on the Father.  Jesus talked about how difficult it is for the rich to be saved.  The problem is that the wealthy and powerful are prone to feel self-sufficient. They find security in their possessions and bank accounts. They sense no need for daily bread because they have enough set aside for years to come. In that state it is easy to forget about God or only give him lip service.  The kingdom seems to be reserved for those who truly sense a deep need for God’s care.

Perspective is key.  The most important things in life and after this life are truly unattainable in our own power. The less I feel a need for God, the more he will withhold his help. He honors our attitudes.  We must remind ourselves daily of how dependent we truly are on the Father for health, life, spiritual blessings, protection, and provision. All of that can truly be lost in a heartbeat.

We need God….every day. When we know that andacknowledge our dependence on him, then the Kingdom of Heaven is open to us…now as well after our funeral.  God withholds nothing from his children…at least the ones who know that he is their source and those who are truly thankful for his gifts. So…One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick^[1]blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven. Ironically, the poor in spirit are truly the strong in spirit and the powerful in God.

^[1]The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Lk 5:17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Deliverance and Discipleship

As he approached his departure to the Father’s right hand, Jesus gave a directive to his followers.  He declared that he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  As a result, he had the right to command those who follow him to go into all the world and make disciples of both people and nations.

Ultimately, all that we do should be an identifiable element of making disciples.  Spiritual warfare is the element that produces freedom from spiritual bondage so that those who have been set free can make progress in their walk with Jesus. Deliverance or healing is not a stand alone event but part of our effort to disciple a person.  It is extremely important to realize that if the other elements of discipleship are not established in the life of the believer (faith, identity, prayer, repentance, time with the Lord, and so forth), those who receive healing and deliverance will quickly lose what they have received. Jesus warned, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first (Lk.11:24-26).

The man was set free from a demon but the vacancy was not filled with the things of God that are the elements of discipleship. Since a spiritual vacuum remained, the unclean spirit was able to return along with others. The man was then worse off than before he experienced deliverance. Because of that, we must be concerned with fully “discipling” those to whom we minister healing and deliverance.

That process is referenced in John 21 as Jesus asked Peter to affirm his love for him three times – the number of times Peter had denied him.  As Peter professed his love, Jesus charged him to care for the flock of the Chief Shepherd as evidence of that love. He responded to Peter’s responses by saying, “Feed my lambs…Lead my sheep…Feed my sheep.”  In a recent trip to Israel on a study tour, our guide explained that shepherds in Israel will rise early when new lambs have been born to carry them, speak to them, and examine the lamb the for weaknesses that will need attention as the lamb develops.  The shepherd bonds to the lamb, imprints his voice on the lamb, and becomes acquainted with the weaknesses of the little one for whom he will be responsible.  He then will lead the flock into places of protection and nurture and will make sure that they receive their “daily bread” of fresh grass and water. That is the process of discipleship and we are to see to it that those we bring to the Lord or set free in the Lord will receive the care and feeding they need with some special attention given to their weaknesses.

The process takes time.  It will be inconvenient.  It will even be frustrating.  But it is the life of a shepherd and that is what it means to make disciples. “Drive by” deliverance and “on the spot”  healing can be dangerous if we don’t disciple the individual or connect him or her to those who will continue to help that person grow in the Lord. As we continue to press into the realm of spiritual warfare, we must always remember it is not an end in itself but a step in the call to make disciples.