God's plan of redemption - explained

Study 10. Deliverance

In Mark's gospel chapter 16 we read Jesus' words to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead. It is known as the Great Commission. However, many people focus on the first part of what Jesus said, this time we shall focus on the second part, the reason will become very clear in a moment.

Verses 15 to 18 read as follows: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be damned. These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Some people would say that you should not attempt to do the part highlighted unless you know what you are doing, basically saying that only a small number of people should be doing these things, yet here is Jesus telling us that if we are they who believe in Him, each one of us has the power to cast them out.

Of course, if somebody were to ask you to do a job they would show you how to do it and if necessary leave instructions. If we look through the New Testament, both the gospels and the other books you will find that this is exactly what Jesus has done, left us explicit instruction as to how we should do these things.

One of the first things that should be done is to continually bind the evil one in prayer in accordance with Jesus instruction to His disciples in Matthew chapter 12 verse 29 which reads; "How can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, then he can spoil his house."

The strong man referred to here is the devil and all his forces of evil. To learn how we have authority over them you will need to see the study "Temptations in the wilderness" which tells what really happened when Jesus went into the wilderness to battle the devil after Jesus baptism.

Even if you cannot get hold of that study here Jesus is giving us the authority to go and do the job so there is no question about us not having the authority, it is explicitly clear. There were things that Jesus taught His disciples to do that would ensure that when they had to do this they could do it with great effect and certainty.

Mark chapter 9 tells the story of the demonic epileptic boy whom the disciples failed to heal. Jesus had just been up a high mountain and been transfigured before the disciples He had with Him, Father had again spoken audibly about His son Jesus; this was a high point in Jesus ministry.

Then when He came down the mountain with His disciples He was approached by a man who had evidently asked Jesus disciples that remained at the foot of the mountain to heal the boy but they were unable to. Jesus is not pleased with this because of their lack of faith but casts the devil out of the boy Himself without delay.

Later His disciples ask Jesus "Why could we not cast it out?" To which Jesus gives the reply that is verse 29 of this passage; "He said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Jesus did not say to the boy's father wait here whilst I go over there to fast and pray. Neither did He ask the boy's father to bring the child back the next day.

He simply spoke to (not shouted at) the spirit inside the boy commanding it to come out without hurting the child (the latter a very important thing to add) and almost immediately the spirit left the boy. Jesus therefore was clearly accustomed to fasting along with prayer, if He needed to be, how much more to we need to be.

Now for a true story by way of illustration, there once was a man who had a council house on an estate in England. He kept hearing strange noises when he lay in his bed at night and thought that he had an infestation of rats in his loft. The next day he went along to the council and demanded that they come down and rid the house of them.

The next day they arrived with all the necessary equipment and opened the trap door to get into the man's loft. Upon entering the loft he saw several people sprawled out across the floor sleeping and a large hole in the side of the loft where they had crawled in from next door.

This was a situation that the rat man had no authority to deal with so they sent for the police. The Police told the man that unless he instructed them to remove the intruders from the loft in law there was nothing that they could do unless he told them that he wanted these people out of his property.

The man consented to have the people removed and there was little fuss, the people were removed and the hole in the loft wall blocked off once more. If somebody comes to you and you discern through your own spirit or by a word of knowledge that this person has a demon in him and this is the cause of the problem you do not at that point have the authority to do anything.

If the person realises that he has a demon and wants it removed then there should normally be no rush, but counselling sessions should begin in order to find out what gave the demon entry in the first place. It may have been through the man viewing pornography, bearing unforgiveness against someone or has been passed down through the person's ancestors.

Once you find that out then the ministry can begin, which leads to another story by way of illustration. One evening at a Sunday service a man began to manifest and was a bit of a disturbance to the meeting so several people went up to him and started trying to minister to him.

The team said that they felt that the demonic force in the man was too strong for them to deal with and they phoned someone to ask what they should do because they were afraid that the demon would start screaming terribly and not come out at all, or that they were in danger of being attacked.

The adviser told them to get three or four people who are members of the church to pray each day right through to the next Sunday meeting binding the demon in the person and demanding it come out quietly. This then is what the people did and arranged for the man to come back the following Sunday evening for ministry.

The man leading the ministry spoke in a quiet voice these words: "We command you now in Jesus name to come out of that person without screaming and without hurting the man and never enter him again." Having said this the complexion on the man's face altered, and his countenance was radiant. The devil had left without a sound.

The reason for this is because (as a famous American General said when asked when Operation Desert Storm would begin) the battle of the air must be won before the ground offensive can take place. This is both a military and spiritual principle that must be remembered at all times.

If the man had not wanted the demon cast out there would have been nothing that the ministering team could have done to cast it out, it is within the man's spirit and he has the right to say whether it should leave or can remain where it is. However, it is advisable to take into account the parable that Jesus told when a demon is cast out.

Luke chapter 11 verses 24 to 26 inclusive reads: "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, it walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none says, I will return unto the house I came out of. When it returns it finds it swept and garnished. Then goes and takes to itself seven other spirits even more wicked; and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

If the man goes back to the wicked ways that gave entry to the evil spirit in the first place he will end up worse than he was before so he must be warned about these things. Some spirits will refuse to leave but if the person wants them to go and you stand your ground, sure of your authority in Christ, there is no way it can resist you.

Continue to the next part of God's plan of redemption - explained... Study 11. They devoted themselves to the Apostles

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