Deliverance from Pass
DELIVERANCE, DELIVERER Rescue or redemption and the agent of such a rescue. Scripture teaches that God’s ultimate goal in history is to rescue people from the curse of sin, death, Satan, and hell. The OT depicts God as delivering his chosen people from Egyptian slavery, from Babylonian captivity, and from oppression at the hands of various Palestinian tribes. To Christians those deliverances foreshadow the coming of Jesus Christ as supreme deliverer.
The ministry of deliverance is an essential part of every church and every believer’s life. It should be incorporated into every fellowship and embraced by all believers. The ministry of deliverance will strengthen you and prepare you for a greater manifestation of God’s power. We need not fear a valid deliverance ministry.
Deliverance is from God and is part of the blessing of being in covenant with Him. It only destroys what is of the devil; it never destroys what is of the Holy Spirit. Since deliverance is a work of the Holy Spirit, it builds up the saints and edifies the church. It tears down the strongholds of the enemy, but builds up the work of God.
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.
—1 PETER 5:1–2
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
—ACTS 20:28, KJV, EMPHASIS ADDED
The Bible in Basic English translates Acts 20:28 this way: “to give food to the church of God.”
Since deliverance is the children’s bread and the elders are commanded to feed the flock, then it is the responsibility of the pastors to minister and teach deliverance to the church of God.
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
—MATTHEW 4:4
Since I have used bread as a picture of deliverance, I want to reiterate that deliverance is a vital part of a believer’s spiritual diet. Without deliverance you will be lacking in your diet, becoming spiritually malnourished. However, I must emphasize that deliverance, although a vital part, is only a part of being fed.
We cannot live by bread (deliverance) alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Studying and receiving the Word of God is also a vital part of a proper spiritual diet. This includes anointed preaching and teaching and also prophecy, which is the word of the Lord. We need deliverance, but we also need the Word. We will not be strong without revelation, knowledge, prophesying, and doctrine (1 Cor. 14:6). These, in addition to deliverance, must be components of the diet of God’s people.
A diet is defined as habitual nourishment. It is derived from the Greek word diaita meaning “manner of living.” In other words, this is to be our manner of living.
All of us have need of deliverance from time to time. There are no exceptions. As we grow in the Lord and in our discernment, we can begin to understand when we need spiritual victory in certain areas of our lives. Many times as believers we can sense hindrances in our lives that keep us from living fully in the Spirit. Deliverance is an ongoing process in the life of a believer.
1. Emotional problems
2. Mental problems
3. Speech problems
4. Sexual problems
5. Addictions
6. Physical infirmities
7. Religious error1
When these problems begin to surface in our lives, we feel as if we are not successful. We may feel depressed, rejected, separated from God, and so on. This is what the enemy wants. But we have the help of the Holy Spirit who can reveal to the areas that we need to be set free from. We are also instructed to use our authority against the enemy and cast him out, ending his reign in our lives.
The present warnings are similarly addressed to the community as a whole, but presuppose a situation in which some members are to be on the watch lest other individuals lose their faith and thereby damage the health of the whole body.
Beware of defilement from within!
28 But ylet a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh ||damnation to himself, not zdiscerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and asickly among you, and many bsleep. 31 For cif we would djudge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, ewe are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And fif any man hunger, let him geat at home; that hye come not together unto ||condemnation. And the rest iwill I set in order kwhen I come.
28 But ylet a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh ||damnation to himself, not zdiscerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and asickly among you, and many bsleep. 31 For cif we would djudge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, ewe are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And fif any man hunger, let him geat at home; that hye come not together unto ||condemnation. And the rest iwill I set in order kwhen I come.