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It took more than two decades for me to discover that the enemy had called me into deliverance ministry.

But God revealed it to me in recent years.  Some may think that perhaps I was fooled and that once again, the religious spirit  assigned to me sent me yet another counterfeit message. Those who practice deliverance  would remind me that Satan does not cast out devils or his kingdom would not stand.  And yes, I would agree.

 However, I am inclined to believe that it was the Lord, for one simple reason.

I had begun to notice over time, that “those who manifested the most were the captives who never really got delivered.”   By “manifest,”I am referring to coughing, vomiting, growling, screaming, blasphemous utterances, and the like.

The truth is that “demons love to manifest.” Its a neat one of those “kill to birds with one stone,” kind of trick.  The deliverance worker gets puffed up and the captives is fooled that he or she has been set free.  What I have found is that true and complete deliverance is contingent upon the resistance of pride through
repentance.

I understand now why the Lord Jesus Christ declared that John the Baptist was the greatest born among men. With the exception of the Lord’s own mission of bringing salvation to the world, John the Baptist’s mission was the most important, as the only way to rebirth is through repentance. No one can come to the Father except by Jesus. Even so, no one can come to Jesus except through John’s message of repentance.

 In spite of the fact that John the Baptist did not heal, nor did he cast out devils, John’s ministry was indeed the doorway to the supernatural. Through the preaching of repentance and through baptizing the sinner in water, John’s job was to prepare the way for the Lord to the sinner. Only through repentance and
baptism in water is the sinner prepared to receive the Lord. The Charismatics have amplified the meaning of repentance as a “change of mind” or
a “turning in another direction.” However, the repentance that saves is to
experience godly sorrow. Godly sorrow is an experience of the soul’s grief for
having no worthiness to approach God on one’s own merit.

 It should not be mistaken for human shame or guilt due to wrong doing. The truth is that most people are already convinced in their minds that they are sinners. They reason in their minds “well, yeah, I have sinned, but so has the next guy and when I look around at others, my sins are nothing compared to his, so I believe I’m going to heaven because I am not that bad.” People in the world repent every day for this sin or that sin, yet without the leading of the Holy Ghost, they will not repent of being in the depths of their soul, “an alienated sinner, without God in the world.”

  Godly sorrow of this kind is a deeply emotional experience where the sinner is brought face to face with his own inner darkness. It is the dark night of the soul. It is no
longer a comparison to the “next guy.” It becomes “it’s me Lord—and compared to You, I am a wretched being, a poor excuse of humanity. My heart cries out to You to save me.”

Brokenness is an important aspect of  achieving repentance toward God. When we are broken, we become ready to be forgiven for our sins and to be sanctified or set apart for His use. Brokenness is symbolized in the baptism in water, in that “the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

The brokenness of repentance feels like someone came into the room of our lives and suddenly turned the light switch on and exposed us. Jesus said that unless a seed
falls to the ground and dies, it cannot become what it was destined to be, and
that is “a child of God and a son of God.” We cannot cry out “Abba, Father” until we become aware in our hearts how our sin has separated us from Him and that the Lord’s Jesus Christ’s sacrifice at the cross has brought us into right relationship with Him.

Repentance is a walk of faith and humility into the valley of brokenness. Unless we take this walk, we are too rigid and hard to be molded in the hand of God. More than just simply being powerless before God, repentance leads to a brokenness before Him where we have been made to see our sins as God sees them. Repentance is the process whereby we have come to realize deep within, that our sins have hurt the Father. Only then, does the sinner receive salvation.

There are many who need deliverance from deliverance ministries.  I know because those who contact me for deliverance have generally been involved with at least two or more deliverance ministries before they find me on the web.  They come armed with information about the Jezebel spirit, ancestral curses, and the like.  Most of the time, their personal issues need to be dealt with before even considering casting out ONE demon.  Most often, that issue is a need for repentance and brokenness through confronting personal pride and rebellion.  To know more, you need “The New Idolatry.”

Here is a short quote:

“What I am finding is that deliverance workers are using the demonic realm as a potential proof that the spiritual dimension exists.  For as demons surface and blaspheme God, such manifestations are suggestive of God’s own reality.  This too is a perversion of true faith.  The bible says that we believe in God BY FAITH, simply because HE IS, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  We are not to believe in God because we believe in the existence of the devil.  For the devil to have to be  convincing sin to the world that God exists is an outrage and an insult to the Almighty One, the Creator of Satan. Since when does the creature validate His Maker??? Satan can only do what God allows him to do.  Satan himself is a mere creature, not the Creator.” (pg 124)

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