- Jun 23, 2004
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I've been going through some really old threads today. This was a post in the Deliverance Ministry forum from a year or so ago. I thought it might be good here, in light of some of the posts I've seen here recently.
One thing I have learned over the years is that it is easy to get caught up in the 'power' we have over the enemy. Jesus sent his disciples out, and they came back rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them. Jesus was quick to chastise them not to rejoice that they had authority over the enemy, but rather that their names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
So many times, I have seen a tendency for those who are young in Christ, those who are immature in the things of God to run full charge ahead rejoicing in our authority as believers without thought for those we may be hurting along the way.
Yes, we have total authority over the enemy. Yes, demons must bow at the name of Jesus. Yes, we should see deliverance as a normal part of proclaiming the Gospel.
BUT...
I have seen those who were the casualties of war. So many times, we charge ahead wielding the "sword of the Spirit" like a broadsword, hacking and cutting all that gets in our path, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to show us how to use the Sword with the skill of a surgeon, going in to cut out what is not of God without chopping up the person in the process.
Remember the prophet Isaiah, who Jesus quoted to announce His ministry:
Think of it in the natural for a second. Someone who has cancer goes to the doctor. Should the doctor say "well, you have cancer on your foot" and take out a giant saw and immediately chop the whole leg off? No. The first approach is to see if there is some treatment that will kill the cancer without having to cut the person open. Then, if that doesn't work, the doctor goes in to operate-- being careful to cut out just the cancer and disturb just as little of the good tissue surrounding as is absolutely necessary.
In the spiritual it is much the same way. A person in bondage in a particular area needs to be set free. Should we go in and start off by hacking and chopping on them emotionally and spiritually? We should start with finding out how the person was wounded and see about healing the wound. As the emotional and spiritual wounds are healed, the "spiritual cancer" is "cured". By this, I mean that Satan loses his hold on areas of the person's life, because those areas have now been brought under subjection to the grace of God. As light drives out darkness, so the grace of God drives out fear and bondage. Many times as healing comes, the deliverance is just an automatic byproduct of learning to experience the grace of God.
Other times, it is necessary to go in and "cut out" or "cast out" the "spiritual cancer". In these cases, we should not "shoot first and ask questions later". We should not try to be some great warrior and run roughshod over those who are already hurting, bruised and broken. Yes, we have the authority, but we should be careful and sensitive in how we exercise that authority so that we only cut out the bad and don't hurt the person in the process.
This is where meekness comes in. Meekness is not the same as weakness. Meekness is having power/authority, but exercising restraint in using it. Rather than showing off how strong we are in Christ, we rather work to see just how gentle we can be in loving those who are hurting.
I know that it's not nearly as dramatic or showy to minister in this way, but I don't remember us being called to see how flashy we can be. Rather, we are called to be healers. We are called to bring the grace of Christ, who was wounded for us, to those who are in need of spiritual, emotional and mental healing.
One thing I have learned over the years is that it is easy to get caught up in the 'power' we have over the enemy. Jesus sent his disciples out, and they came back rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them. Jesus was quick to chastise them not to rejoice that they had authority over the enemy, but rather that their names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
So many times, I have seen a tendency for those who are young in Christ, those who are immature in the things of God to run full charge ahead rejoicing in our authority as believers without thought for those we may be hurting along the way.
Yes, we have total authority over the enemy. Yes, demons must bow at the name of Jesus. Yes, we should see deliverance as a normal part of proclaiming the Gospel.
BUT...
I have seen those who were the casualties of war. So many times, we charge ahead wielding the "sword of the Spirit" like a broadsword, hacking and cutting all that gets in our path, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to show us how to use the Sword with the skill of a surgeon, going in to cut out what is not of God without chopping up the person in the process.
Remember the prophet Isaiah, who Jesus quoted to announce His ministry:
Notice, that deliverance to the captives in right in the middle of "healing the brokenhearted" and "setting at liberty them that are bruised". Those that are need of deliverance are, by definition, brokenhearted and bruised.
Think of it in the natural for a second. Someone who has cancer goes to the doctor. Should the doctor say "well, you have cancer on your foot" and take out a giant saw and immediately chop the whole leg off? No. The first approach is to see if there is some treatment that will kill the cancer without having to cut the person open. Then, if that doesn't work, the doctor goes in to operate-- being careful to cut out just the cancer and disturb just as little of the good tissue surrounding as is absolutely necessary.
In the spiritual it is much the same way. A person in bondage in a particular area needs to be set free. Should we go in and start off by hacking and chopping on them emotionally and spiritually? We should start with finding out how the person was wounded and see about healing the wound. As the emotional and spiritual wounds are healed, the "spiritual cancer" is "cured". By this, I mean that Satan loses his hold on areas of the person's life, because those areas have now been brought under subjection to the grace of God. As light drives out darkness, so the grace of God drives out fear and bondage. Many times as healing comes, the deliverance is just an automatic byproduct of learning to experience the grace of God.
Other times, it is necessary to go in and "cut out" or "cast out" the "spiritual cancer". In these cases, we should not "shoot first and ask questions later". We should not try to be some great warrior and run roughshod over those who are already hurting, bruised and broken. Yes, we have the authority, but we should be careful and sensitive in how we exercise that authority so that we only cut out the bad and don't hurt the person in the process.
This is where meekness comes in. Meekness is not the same as weakness. Meekness is having power/authority, but exercising restraint in using it. Rather than showing off how strong we are in Christ, we rather work to see just how gentle we can be in loving those who are hurting.
I know that it's not nearly as dramatic or showy to minister in this way, but I don't remember us being called to see how flashy we can be. Rather, we are called to be healers. We are called to bring the grace of Christ, who was wounded for us, to those who are in need of spiritual, emotional and mental healing.
