All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
spiritual warfare and deliverance ministry
Have you ever wondered why it is that so few believers know more than just a little about how to stand against the devil and his demons? For one thing, most churches do not teach about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or the gifts of the Spirit which is the power of God in our lives to handle spiritual warfare. So, that eliminates most believers right there. But even for those who are taught the Baptism in the HS and spiritual warfare, very few churches have in depth teaching on what spiritual warfare is and how to stand against the enemy. Most church goers in churches that do teach somewhat on this subject, look to the pastor to be the one to run the devil off. But where does it say anywhere in the Bible that only the pastor or the church leaders have the empowerment to fight spiritual forces? Doesn't it say that all believers are empowered to stand against the enemy?
I was once in a church and a man that came to a service was truly demon possessed and began to act-out right in the middle of the church service in front of everyone. Guess what happened? 99% of the church members ran out the back door of the church as fast as they could run lol! I'm laughing because I never forgot that as it made such an impression on me that day. But in seriousness, it's not funny. The question is, why does the average believer know so little about spiritual warfare?
I know some believe that we just need to focus on Jesus and not be concerned with what the devil is doing, that Jesus will take care of him. And I agree that we don't need to be looking for a demon under every bush. When ppl sin it is not the devil that made them do it although many like to joke that it was- no ppl sin when they are drawn away through their own lusts- they choose it.
But on the other hand, we are told in the Word not to be ignorant of the devil and his devises. In my opinion it seems like most believers are woefully under taught how to stand on the Word when it comes to spiritual warfare and I am sure that is just the way satan likes it. I mean most believers are afraid to even utter the name of the devil, it's like they pretend he doesn't even exist. It is one thing not to say his name in order to bring undue attention to him and to instead bring more attention to the Lord. But it is another thing to be afraid of him and not know how to stand in spiritual warfare against him and his demons.
So, I don't think there will be any great knowledge extended in answer to my post since most of us are pretty much in the same boat on this topic, but just wondering if anyone has anything to share as to personal experiences they've had when it comes to spiritual warfare or why they think we as the Church aren't more prepared to stand against the wiles of the enemy?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on
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To Jane and all,
There are always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part there are two reasons a forum or blog like this will be closed. 1) The group turns from discussion related to topic to a feeding frenzy by attacking one another, especially character assasination. 2) The Theology heads down a trail that can cause damage to the newer believer that this site was primarily created to help.
Christians who truly love Jesus and the body, the Bride of Christ, should be able to discuss differences in love and on the non-essentials show grace and be able to agree to disagree. For those who who ask "What are the essentials?" one can read the Nicene or Apostle's Creed.
Lord Bless,
LT
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Permalink Reply by Mary O on
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When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.” Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. (from Matthew 8 great chapter)
It isn't always necessary to be present when praying for deliverance and healing. In my opinion, God does require belief. My son-in-law was severely injured in an accident yesterday. My daughter called us immediately for prayer. She knows we need to rally around him whether present or not. It wasn't until later the next day that she could reach her church deacon. They have been so wonderful praying and helping her. I thank God for all of them.
Jimmy made it through the night. Praise God and thank you Jesus!
Love,
Mary
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Permalink Reply by Jane Smith on
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Dear Mary,
I am sorry to hear what happened to your son in law, but glad prayers of the saints helped him make it through the night. I will add my prayers to yours. In cases like this, I always pray Lord I don't know this person's relationship with you, but You know- please give them just what they need, most of all to know You if they don't and to grow even closer to You through this trial if they do. Again, I agree that we do not always have to be present to minister to or deliver a person- God honors our faith wherever we are.
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Thank you Jane, my son-in-law's making lots of mistakes. He was drinking that night or morning whichever it was. He's going to have to face the music sooner or later. That's why I prayed for forgiveness for him. Lots of people are angry at him. Don't we all mess up? Do you suppose part of being Christian is loving the unloveable? Jimmy's pretty cranky right now. He's not a pleasant person to be around. I don't know if he realizes how close he came to death and how God is helping him. He doesn't remember what happened exactly. If we were all perfect, why would we need Jesus Christ? Jesus has what I need.
Already the Lord is answering our prayers. He has a back brace, surgery won't be necessary. And Shari has a rental car through the insurance coverage. She has a car seat and a booster seat coming. God's taking care of business for them.
Years ago, I was taking this Bible class. New persons came in very cranky. I think they all had a bad day. I sat down beside one very cranky person that I could just feel the negativity oozing from her, and I closed my eyes and prayed. She began to cry and asked why I love her. All I did was take a deep breath, and I prayed. Well I know God loves me and I remember what I've been forgiven for. It disrupted the whole class but prayer also turned it all around. We hugged the rest of the class. Prayer can turn everything around in minutes.
Love and God bless,
Mary
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You're welcome Mary. God has mercifully extended His grace to Jimmy and has not left Shari unprovided for in this time of need. That's our wonderful God. And, yes, we can apply the prayer of forgiveness over our loved ones and others who are not walking with God as they should or whatever the situation may be. Now, you are speaking about God's love which is the greatest of all spiritual weapons in the sense that it can deflect a myriad of attacks against us, purposeful or not, or deflect/defuse the negativity of others as in the example you gave of the lady in your class. That was beautiful how you came alongside her, loved her and ministered to her. The Spirit is giving me the verse, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds. Mary it is one thing when we have a one-time encounter with someone or the person/s do not live in our home with us 24/7. Do you have anything to share about walking in love towards one who is in our space who is badly acting out and making our every waking moment unbearable? It has been said that no one can take our peace from us unless we allow them to. Many people are in this situation, whether it is a spouse, parent/child or other combinations. I will remain in prayer for you and your family. Love, Jane
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Hi Jane God bless you,
It depends on what the situation is. I'll use Gary and me as an example and anger. Anger can be a habit pattern. I read this great book, "The Dance of Anger" by Harriet Lerner, PhD. Wonderful book. Do your homework on the subject. The first time I broke an angry habit pattern, Gary stopped talking and just stood there and looked at me. We were stunned and didn't know how to behave. We had always dealt with that situation in a way that ended in an angry exchange of words. The moment one of us broke the pattern, we got delivered from it. It just takes one to say it's enough. Let's do this differently.
My daughter used to get upset when we disagreed on something. The truth is I raised her to have her own mind and thoughts. We are always going to have things we don't agree on. My family has three strong individuals. Shari spoke up for herself. She told me what she needed. She needed me to listen better. I learned to stop and listen to her opinion. Because I love her and what she thinks matters.
As far as acting out goes, I think we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help and visit a counselor if needed. Shari went through a rebellious period. She saved it all for highschool. One day she was going with the flow and the next skipping school, stealing, sassing back. Her grandpa passed away, and she didn't know how to deal with her grief. People do weird things when they're grieving.
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)
If for some reason a relationship is violent, in my opinion, get out of the situation and be safe.
Love,
Mary
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Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on
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Sister Mary O.
Amen and amen........
All things are possible with God........no matter here or there.
Hebrews 13:8, " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever". And he healed those in need both near and far, as you showed, Mary.
Therefore, our Lord Dr. Jesus is still in the healing business..........and we raise up your son-in-law for a long-distance body restoration through His powerful touch.
Father, please relieve his pain, and comfort him as much as possible. Let the warmth of Your love touch his loved ones as they feel Your close presence.
We praise You, and thank You, for what You are doing in the saving name of Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
Grace and Peace to you, Mary, and yours.
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Amen, Sis,
Another interesting aspect of this whole spiritual matter =
My day-job is at a large care-giving facility in Mesa, Arizona.... training staff who work with individuals who have developmental disabilities, and serious mental illnesses. It's an interesting position that God fixed me up with.
I've been here 6 years now......observing behaviors, moods, antecedents which cause acting out, etc. ....... and reasons which caused these adults' disabilities.
One interesting fact..... found in Exodus 4:11, " And the Lord said to him,"Who has made man's mouth? Or Who makes him dumb, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord"?
And Jane, as you are probably aware.....demons are sometimes responsible for a person"s disability.....Matt. 9:32....Matt. 12:22.....Mark 9:17-18......and others.
I've been observing many of our client's demeanor, eyes, speech..... for about 6 years now..... and don't have anything definite to report regarding demonic possession.
An interesting statistic, according to ADA( Americans With Disabilities Act), the latest figures we have : 20% of the USA population has some type of a disability - that's about one family in every five has at least one family member who has a disability. Is that staggering, or what?
Maybe someone else has some definitive information to share.
Grace and Peace.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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One interesting fact..... found in Exodus 4:11, " And the Lord said to him,"Who has made man's mouth? Or Who makes him dumb, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord"?
If the Lord makes people this way how can we say it is a demon that causes these things?
Is it safe to say that maybe people can be mentally and physically ill and disabled as God's will and not always due to demons or perhaps even rarely due to demons?
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i agree with you amanda. I was had depression, and although it was due to a chemical imbalance and situtational, I do believe it was God's will that I had to go through according to God's will. I also see where I am a much stronger person, a different, changed person. God was not pleased with my life as i was living it and He had to knocked me upside my head and rattle it around to just get me on the potter's wheel. Along with the depression I had two heart attacks, open heart surgery, a stroke and two carotid surgeries. Once again I see that as God's will that i had to go through all of that physical illness as part of God's will for my life. I view all these things as being molded into who i am today, and I am so thankful that God willed me to go through it all and be able to live as a testimony to Him. Today I live as much as I possiblily can according to His will, sure i mess up but because of God's will that I had those struggles and trials, i know that He abides in me now and He loves me. That statement alone makes me want to love others and hope I can be a vessel of the Lord's to help others.
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Janet, you have had some very real struggles, and I do understand the depression part as being situational and also a chemical imbalance (biological) as is my own. Exercise does help me because it increases the natural "feel good" chemicals in the body and it lasts for a short time but when they wear off I feel very low again. It is a chemical imbalance and this is evidence. I do believe nothing happens to us without God's permission. I believe God is in control. When we go through the tough times, they do mold us into His image. All through the Bble we see people being molded, and I especially look at the life of Jacob and everything that happened to him and his family. I also know that Timothy was not healed in the NT but had stomach troubles and Paul had a thorn and eventually everyone of them passed away. This life is only temporary. That's a good thing.
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thank you amanda, i was just sitting here praying about an answer to how others see mental illness. I believe that one of the reasons i had to go through that major depressive disorder(disease) was not only that i could be a help to others and be able to relate to them, but also that I can help those who do not have mental illness (and i wonder just who those are) have compassion for the mentally ill and not see them as off-spawns of the devil. We need to have compassion for them, I owned an assisted living home and housed 12 mentally ill residents. What i learned from them was that they struggle with acceptance from others, to be looked at with love and not fear, that they have feelings and emotions and a love of God. Their thought process is just not in compliance with "ours" but then is "ours" really normal?
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