freedom in Jesus – Yeshuah Boyton

When I started out as a Christian I had no clue about what deliverance in the Bible is. So, through the years I did some research and put some of my findings in this article. Deliverance in the Bible is God setting His people free who are either in spiritual or physical bondage. In other words, they are either bound by a demonic force or they are captives of an enemy. In the New Testament, we can see that deliverance is still needed for Christians after their salvation. Deliverance from sin and bondage was God’s plan from the beginning and even though Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to walk in His freedom, we can see in the Bible that Christians still need a delivering touch from God after their salvation. Let's take a more detailed look at this together. Why Does God Do Deliverance In The Bible? When thinking of deliverance, you might think of ministries that in a dramatic way cast screaming demons out of people. You might also associate these people with “new converts” or may assume a past in the occult. It’s important to know though that the Bible shows us deliverance is not just for the newly converted or just the “demon-possessed” unsaved people. But more about that later. First, I want to break down why God actually delivers people. You might know already that it is sin that separates us from God. Sin also opens the door for your spiritual enemy to come in and to kill, steal, and to destroy what is of God. Sin gives Satan and his demons the right to bring curses and destruction into your life. So, God’s intent is to deliver you from all those curses, demons, and sin that so easily ensnares us (Hebrews 12:1). God wants to restore the relationship between you and Him. Therefore, He delivers you from past demonic baggage which makes room to bring you closer to Him. You can see that in Luke 8:26-39 where the man completely demon-possessed with a demon called Legion gets delivered by Jesus and then is brought back into “his right mind”. He then is able to start a meaningful relationship with Jesus and spreads the gospel. Another reason why God brings deliverance in the Bible is to bring His people into His promises. Let’s take Israel in the time of Moses for example. God promises Moses to bring Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey in Exodus 3. And He did! A whole nation was miraculously delivered, provided for, and sustained for 40 years in the desert until they finally arrived where God envisioned them to be. But God had the same intent here with the nation of Israel as He has when He delivers individual people: God wanted Israel to grow into a closer relationship with Him. "(...) you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’" Exodus 3:18 Only after Israel was delivered out of Egypt, they were able to worship God and build a relationship with Him. Watch this video to learn more about deliverance ministry in the Bible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpapyVvEi8 Do You Need Deliverance? The answer is very simple: Only Christians need deliverance. In other words: Only the people of God need deliverance. You can see all over the Bible, from beginning to the end, God only delivers His people. It only makes sense because people that reject God wouldn’t want to be “delivered”. They don’t believe they would need “deliverance”, certainly not from God. In fact, God can’t deliver those people. He can’t even deliver Christians that don’t want to be delivered. Why should He? If people, Christian or Non-Christian, are okay with the circumstances they are in Jesus will leave you where you’re at. God is not going to deliver you from your friend. He only delivers you from your enemy! Let that sink in for a minute. For some people that truth can be life-changing already. God will only deliver you from your enemy. He will deliver you from the things you want to get out of or get rid of. Deliverance Of Christians In The Bible In 2 Cor 12:20-21, we read of jealousy, anger, slander, and gossip among other things being addressed in the church! Now, in James 3:14-15, we can read that jealousy is actually demonic. (Btw. selfishness as well.) In Ephesians 4:26-27, Paul tells us Christians to not give room to the devil through our anger. Don’t give room to the devil! Here's my point: These letters are all written to Christians, to Churches. These were and are all real people with real issues like you and me, all caused by demons. That’s why the Holy Spirit taught them and is teaching us now that we do need deliverance! It says to “give room” or to “make place” for the devil. Well, if Christians couldn’t make room for “earthly” and “demonic” things in our lives, why is Paul then inspired by the Holy Spirit writing this to Christians? Think about that for a second! While we let this sink in and cook for a while, let’s look at 2 Cor 11:3-4. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!NKJV Paul warns newborn, baptized, Holy Spirit-filled Christians that they should not put up with receiving a different gospel and receiving a different spirit. What’s Paul talking about here? I can receive another spirit other than the Holy Spirit?! Think about that for a minute! In Colossians 3:5 Paul tells the Christians to “put to death” their earthly (polluted) areas of life. He gives us quite a list: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness - and ends it with saying that they are all idolatry. Let’s stay with that word “idolatry” for just a minute. Out of 1 Corinthians 10:20 and Deuteronomy 32:16-17, we learn that “idolatry” is actually demon worship. That means if a Christian lives in those sins listed in Col 3:5 (fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness) the Bible tells us he is actually worshipping demons! Another proof of “Christian” (or not so Christian) demon worship is in 1 Samuel 15:23. It defines rebellion as witchcraft, and stubbornness as idolatry. We just learned that idolatry is demon worship and I hope you would agree with me that witchcraft is absolutely demonic as well. It at least is an abomination to God (Deut 18:9-14, Galatians 5:20-21). That means rebellion and stubbornness are absolutely demonic. Now, to make my point let me answer the main question with a question. Without judging or pointing fingers: Do you know of Christians that have lust, covetousness, rebellion (of any sort), and/or stubbornness in their lives? I certainly do. If lust and covetousness, and rebellion and stubbornness are demonic, and you know of Christians that deal with that, then these Christians have a demonic problem! I am not saying this to blame people. As soon as you see this truth and see how the enemy tries to blind us so that His strongholds would not be cast out, there is a real chance for you to get set free by Jesus. Read this to know what the Bible really says about the Full Gospel of Jesus. I see jealousy, anger, slander, gossip, and selfishness (2 Cor 12:20-21, Eph 4:26-27) everywhere in the body of Christ. It's a demonic problem. So often we hear people say things or even say things ourselves that we better not put on Social Media. Then some Christians say that these things are “just emotions” or “temptations” from the outside, but the Bible teaches us that they are not! They are demonic influences from the inside. The Bible tells us, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Lk 6:45), and “out of the mouth proceed blessing and curse” (James 3:9-11). I really need to emphasize this point. Christians are not only fighting outside “fly-by” temptations but first and foremost strongholds on the inside of their hearts. We Christians can have a demon and we certainly do need deliverance! A Practical Real-Life Example I want to give you a practical example from the Bible. Let’s look at 2 Cor 12:20-21 again where it talks about anger. The deal with anger in that scripture is that you are not supposed to go to sleep with anger but with the Holy Spirit! If you go to sleep with anger you open the door to bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, and more, which are all demonic. And then you will definitely need deliverance! Have you ever experienced lying in bed at night after a fight or an angering situation and you get all those arguing thoughts? Thoughts about what you could have should have and would have said if and when so and so would have said… and then you could have answered, but then he or she would have said… You were so tired, ready to fall asleep right away, you laid down, and all of a sudden you get all those “awesome”, witty points to say… You go through that fight over and over. You toss and turn in your bed until it's way too late. Then, when you see that person the next time you just have that really bad mumbling feeling inside. Well, my friend: These are demonic spirits at work trying to kill, steal, and destroy your peace and rest at night tormenting you with their filth. It’s like someone reading a whole list of things to you where you have a right to be angry. And that spirit is right too because in a hurtful, stirring situation you probably do have a right to be angry. It’s just not from God. It’s a wisdom that is earthly, fleshly, and demonic. In fact, it’s a torment, because you don’t get the peace in bed you deserve. You can read more about those torturers tormenting unforgiving people in Matthew 18:21-35. But through forgiveness, you let go of that right (that debt) and release that person from all debt he/she owes you - or rather what you think he/she owes you. It's like Jesus did for you on the cross! “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) I am saying all this to show you that the enemy is trying to blind the body of Christ to keep them blind, not walking in the fullness of their God-given potential. But there is freedom. There is true deliverance for you, today! Enough is enough. It's time for you to rise and shine. Jesus wants you to go from life struggles to real spiritual empowerment. Deliverance and freedom - that's your inheritance. In fact, that's what the full gospel is about. What The Bible Teaches: You Need To Be Set Free In order for God to actually deliver you from demonic oppression, there are some things that you need to bring in order on your side. 1.You need a humble heart. James 4:6 says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. With most things in life, your attitude is very important. It's the same with God. You can pray the most eloquent sounding prayer, but God will always listen to your heart not to what you say. Therefore, it is very important to come before God with a humble and teachable heart. Please know that whatever you need deliverance from God is not the cause for it. To be blunt, you are. As I mentioned earlier, it is your sin that allows demons to come in to kill, steal, and destroy. God does not want you to be in a mess. He only wants what’s best for you. He loves and wants to deliver you. But you need to make the first step to humble yourself before God. 2. Repent of all sin. The nature of a humble and teachable heart is repentance. I have never seen a truly humble person not apologize and not try to make things right when at fault. Before God can deliver you, you need to bring your stuff under the blood of Jesus! The Bible tells us that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us when we ask Him for the forgiveness of our sins. The awesome thing is, it doesn’t stop there. He not only forgives but also cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). That includes whatever you need deliverance from. So, humble yourself before God and turn from your sin 3. Detach, make the issue your enemy. God will never deliver you from your friends. Whatever you need deliverance from, make it your enemy. Of course, this is something you need to consequently purpose in your heart first. Then you actually and verbally cut any ties with it. When you decided to commit sin, you gave a demonic spirit a legal right to come into your life. That legal right needs to be broken and cast out in Jesus' name. After you prayed a repentance prayer, you can pray something like this: “In the name of Jesus, I renounce (fill in the blank with the issue you are dealing with). I don’t want it in my life anymore. I cut any soul ties with any demon or person. I stand in the gap for my family line on my mother’s and my father’s side and ask forgiveness for any (or specific) sin committed, and I renounce every legal right of (fill in the blank) in my bloodline all the way back to Adam and Eve. I break any curse and demon attached to it. I bind them all together as one and they all have to leave me now, in Jesus mighty name!” Take a deep breath and let it all go. Give it all to God and see what happens. 4. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you. Now invite the Holy Spirit to fill every space that became empty. Remember you are ultimately doing this to get to know Jesus more. As John, the baptist said in my own words: More of Him, less of me. (John 3:30) Whatever mess you might be/have been in is keeping you away from God. Get rid of it and cast it out! You don’t need it and you don’t want it. Don’t listen to the enemy’s lies. Just get rid of it! And then be filled with the wonderful Holy Spirit, God's presence himself. Always get filled with God's presence and His word, once free don't go back to Egypt. It would only get worse (Matthew 12:43-45). 5. Stay out of your Egypt and take possession of the promised land. As much as it is important to do the spiritual part, you might also need to do some physical adjustments. If you had a problem with porn, block the websites that tempt you, get systems in place to prevent/lower temptation, and get a prayer/accountability partner. If you had a problem with gossiping, try to not hang with the people that could draw you back into gossip, instead meet with your prayer/accountability partner to pray together and talk about edifying things. If you had a problem because you got involved with the occult, you might want to do an inventory of occultic objects, movies, games in your house and throw them out. They are not of God and an abomination to Him (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Galatians 5:20-21). Meet with your prayer/accountability partner – He / She might want to help you with that. If you had a problem with alcohol or cigarettes, throw them out, and don’t go to the places where you could get tempted with buying some more. Meet with your prayer/accountability partner instead to help you pray it through. Well, I could go on but I guess you get the point. After you took out the weeds and put in good seeds you need to cultivate the new won ground. A prayer/accountability partner can really help you with that. He or she can help you pray, encourage you to fight on, and give you accountability. I have heard someone say once, you only really want to get free when you are praying for deliverance with a prayer partner. That leads me to my next point. 6. Develop a fighting spirit for a consistent deliverance process You need to have a long-term fighting perspective. Yes, Jesus won the victory, but you are to enforce it in your life and the Holy Spirit is here to lead and empower you in the process. Take up your sword, put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), and do consistent spiritual warfare. Sometimes God delivers people in an instance. But other times He lets us go through the process to teach us how to fight. Don't be discouraged. Be encouraged! You are in it for the long haul - So is God! There is freedom in Jesus and the violent take it by force. If you are serious about your freedom, I suggest meeting weekly with your prayer partner. I do deliverance and spiritual warfare, almost every time I have my “quiet” time with Jesus. There is always room to grow and always spiritual trash to kick out in our lives. There is freedom in the kingdom of heaven and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12). Be bold in Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Conclusion God brings deliverance in the Bible because He wants people to get closer to Him and enter the promises He made. He delivers either spiritually or physically (or both). He does not just deliver anybody from deeper issues, but only His people that humbly and diligently seek Him. He delivers Christians that want to be free in order to grow closer to God. For that, you need to repent of your sins with a humble heart, make your mess your enemy, detach yourself from it, and move forward in your process to freedom by the power of the Holy Spirit praying together with a prayer partner. You got this. Jesus fights with you. There is freedom! Where would you see other examples of deliverance in the Bible that I didn’t mention in this post? Related Posts: