Whilst this article is, of course, for clients coming for deliverance ministry, it is also for our own ministers and trainee ministers who are still learning about the subtleties and deviousness of the Enemy. It is often hard for clients to understand our ways and not untypically they come with many expectations on how they should be 'handled'. And when those expectations are not met, it is not unusual for clients to rebel and disappear - sometimes briefly, sometimes permanently. This is because they neither understand the ways of demons nor the Way of Deliverance offered by our Father in Heaven, Yahweh-Elohim. All too often the demonic system within them attempts to manipulate ministers, and sometimes ministers fall for their guile. It is my hope that this article will shine a bright light on what it is the enemy tries to do and how we must follow Yahweh's Way without compromise.
What I would like to do is take some examples from Scripture and show how Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself ministered, and explain why He did so the way He did. You will find that His methodology is very different from that typically found in the churches which have been influenced by humanistic thought. It will also help our clients, and ministers visiting us from other traditions, understand how we at NCCG operate.
""Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, Elohim (God). But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments [Torah]." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Yah'shua (Jesus) said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honour your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' "The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" Yah'shua (Jesus) said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
"Then Yah'shua (Jesus) said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Yah'shua (Jesus) looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with Elohim (God) all things are possible." Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?" So Yah'shua (Jesus) said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first"
(Matt.19:16-30, NKJV).
I chose this story because it illustrates many vitally important points in deliverance. Although this story is principally about the corrupting influence of money, especially when we have a lot of it, in a wider sense it is telling us about human self-sufficiency and how impossible it is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in such a mindframe. The young man in this account was a faithful, Torah-obedient believer as we indeed should be. His record looked faultless, his doctrine absolutely orthodox and on the mark. And yet his attitude to the self-sufficiency and artificial material security afforted by his great wealth was enough to corrupt his attitudes and behaviour so thoughly that it excluded him from Yahweh's Kingdom!
This classic story is used by preachers to warn people about the idolatry of materialism, and rightly so. But sometimes we miss the wider implication of what it means in trying to get right with Yahweh 'our own way'. This man was attached to his wealth, just as many Christians are attached to their own 'way of being' in regard to the spiritual life. Yah'shua (Jesus) makes the same point in his revelation to John when he exposes the lie of the Laodicean Assembly (Church) of Asia Minor. Many theologians rightly, in my view, see this particular congregation as a type of the end-time believers such as we find today. We read:
"Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' -- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked -- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent" (Rev.3:17-19, NKJV).
There are millions of Christians who believe they are 'filled with the Spirit' who in truth are 'filled with spirits (demons)' because they have been tricked by counterfeit gospels. They think they are rich when in truth they are poor and naked, but just can't see it. The riches of heaven come only with refinement by fire. Deliverance is not simply waving a magic wand but is part and parcel of general discipleship - 'living the lifestyle', which means doing as the rich young man did by living Torah. Obedience to the commandments is integral with being in possession of "eternal life". However, commandment-keeping is never enough. We must be in right relationship with Yah'shua (Jesus) - the first and most important step - and that by means of surrendering complete sovereignty of our lives to Him, something easy to say in words but in practice so difficult that to Yah'shua's (Jesus') disciples salvation appeared to be "impossible". And it is impossible if we try to accomplish it in our own strength. Spiritual wealth is not acquired by self-effort but by self-surrender. And in practice that means being willing to 100% change our lifestyle to the divine pattern.
Ministers like myself say these things many times but we also know that whilst the 'idea' is often eagerly embraced, the reality soon sends the less than sincere into spiritual coma or scurrying away. Where there are demons, there is resistance - always. But there is another dimension, which I mentioned in my previous article, that needs to be stressed and underlined with a thick marker. I quote what Yah'shua (Jesus) said directly to a client of mine just a few days ago. I have changed the latter part of what she related me to the second person:
"... sometimes it [deliverance] is like being on a diet, you discipline your body, because you know it is a good and healthy thing, but your body at first fights back and thinks it is going to starve, so it slows down (or something like that), but if you keep at it, be faithful and do what you know is right to do, then it starts to work and you start to lose weight. Well, it's the same with spirits [demons], they fight and kick and scream, but if you keep doing what you know you should, then little by little, they will be gone" (Yah'shua through a client, 12 January 2005).
The spiritual diet of deliverance is to deny yourself of everything that is unlawful scripturally. In short, it means living Torah. That way the demons become progressively starved out. They react, of course, and try to make you believe that what you are doing is something terrible and that you will really lose out - maybe even die - if you pursue this course of spiritual cleansing. Our sinful behaviour feeds the demons, our belief in their lies is what gives them grounds to be there in the first place. So if you are serious about getting free, then you must follow the heavenly diet.
Clients who refuse to do so often try to manipulate their ministers. Under no circumstances should ministers yield. If they do, they themselves will come under demonic influence. I want you to especially notice something in the story of the rich man which is missed out by the commentators, and it is these words which I have emboldened in the main text: "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions".
Two important things to draw your attention to here. First, he went away because he had "great possessions". Secondly, Yah'shua (Jesus) did not chase after Him, pleading with him to follow His counsel. The young man rejected the Master's instructions and the Master did not pursue him - He let him go. If clients will not do as they are told, ministers should not chase after them - they should let them go. The moment ministers pursue their clients, for whatever reason - fear the devil will destroy them, guilt for not having done the job properly, anxiety not to lose a friend, or whatever - that minister comes under bondage because he is acting in disobedience. We shall not pursue the disobedient but let them go their way. Our responsibility is to witness and set the heavenly diet before them. If they turn away from it, we are not responsible.
Now to the reason the young man went away - "because he had great possessions". The man in the story derived his artificial spiritual safety from material posessions. In the wider sense, those who are demonised obtain an artificial sense of self-security from their demons. When we reject Torah we acknowledge the sovereignty of our demons - in a word, we reject Christ. The rich man rejected Yah'shua's (Jesus') council and as a result rejected Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself and therefore His Salvation/Deliverance. When a client rejects Torah, he rejects the minister who is councelling him to obey it. When he rejects the minister commissioned by Yah'shua (Jesus) to administer deliverance, he is rejecting Yah'shua (Jesus) and His deliverance/salvation. The issue is not rejecting the minister's ego but his representative position for the Messiah and His Law even though a demonised person will typically blame the minister's ego. Young trainee ministers must be especially careful of this ploy - most get burned by it at some time during their training.
In my early days as a deliverance minister I wasted a great deal of time running around in circles appeasing my clients' demons out of fear. I believed I was failing my clients and ended up doing what the Enemy wanted. I think most of us fall for that one at some time or another. People will accuse you of being 'unloving' for not chasing after a client in rebellion but this is a lie - Yah'shua (Jesus) was not unloving for not pursuing the young rich man - he went his way and that was that.
This does not imply that Yah'shua (Jesus) had rejected him any more than a good deliverance minister has rejected (or 'hates' as they are sometimes accused of) their client. It means simply that the minister will not pursue but wait for the rebellious client to come back. Yah'shua (Jesus) says that He under no circumstances turns anyone away who comes to Him, even if they have previously rebelled, and neither should a deliverance minister. Most of my clients have, at some point, run away but I have always waited for them to come back. Many have returned and have completed the deliverance process.
There are all sorts of false models of what 'love' is in the world but the only true love is the one that saves/delivers. And the only one that saves/delivers is the one that walks strictly in Torah. The moment clients of mine start attacking Torah - either as a whole or specific parts of it - it is the signal to me to give them a stark choice: to either follow Yahweh's prescription or find their own way to freedom. Of course there is no other, though they will always be able to find other deliverance ministers willing to compromise and take them down false avenues of deliverance. I have had clients and trainee ministers walk off in a huff and go to other deliverance ministers only to get nowhere. I let them do what they will, having gently warned them of the consequences of their foolhardiness. And if they still insist on going, I bless them and leave them to their folly, petitioning Yahweh to protect them until they return home. Some clients absent themselves for days, weeks, months or years, depending how stubborn they are, and especially in proportion to their belief in their own self-wealth. Some, sadly, even become enemies, playing directly into Satan's hands, and have persecuted this work. They soon come to discover the reality of their spiritual poverty in so doing. When this happens to me, I simply move on because there are always more than enough clients willing to obey Yahweh and do things His way - I must always give priority to those who will obey over those who will not.
I have never had a client who has not given me a demonic 'ultimatum' or attempted some form of emotional blackmail at some time or an other, and often followed by threats or accusations, particularly in SRA clients. Ministers must learn to take these in their stride and not be intimidated by them. Demons are usually manipulating their woundnessness in some form or another. The demons will also drive the clients to seek sympathisers who can then reinforce their sinful behaviour. Those who are living the Gospel will be so treated and if they are not, it is usually because they have compromised in some area or another and typically have their own spiritual issues and demonic problems. Satan knows all these things and exploits every and any weakness he can find to separate clients from their deliverance ministers.
None of this is, of course, to say that ministers don't sometimes make mistakes. They do. A lack of knowledge, exhaustion, or unresolved spiritual issues can lead ministers to make mistakes. Some clients show grace, some do not, which is why deliverance ministers need to be sound and robust to be effective, not be dependent on clients' approval to feel they can function but stand independently in Yah'shua (Jesus), as well as to operate in teams wherever possible. Young ministers can also fall into the trap of flippancy and a lack of holy reverence and sobriety, watering down the Gospel to make it more 'appealing' in the first instance. They should never do this but should start the way they mean to continue. So deliverance ministers are humans, and it is human to err, but where there are several banded together for mutual counsel and support, error becomes far less frequent and clients are far better served. Thus NCCG works in teams.
In SRA, clients typically challenge their minister's authority many times during the deliverance process. All ministers must be prepared to meet this challenge. It is important that at the beginning of the ministry, the minister obtains an undertaking from the client - and if SRA, the core personality and as many of the Christian host as will agree - to give him headship and authority to act for her/them when she is not in full possession of her free agency (because of demonic interference and control). In many ways, it's a bit like a marriage contract with terms. If those terms are not adhered to by the client, then the minister is not only entitled to - but must, for the sake of order - 'send her away' until she manifests a right mind. A Father (Minister)-to- Son/Daughter relationship is perhaps a more accurate representation of the relationship. The minister is also like a physician making prescriptions - if the patient does not follow the prescription, then the physician can - and must - absolve himself of responsibility, and move on to another patient, having indicated what he expects the client to do, and made assurances that he is not abandoning her but will be waiting. However, if the minister is a quack and doesn't know what he is doing, then he is no better than a doctor administering a drug prescription which may not only not work but be ultimately harmful. Just as patients can lose confidence in the medical profession because of incompetent physicians, so too can SRA clients lose hope for deliverance when their ministers fail them. So there has to be a contractual relationship of sorts between minister and client.
You cannot operate by guesswork in deliverance ministry - every deliverance minister must be spiritually gifted in some way, and the more experience he gains, the better, for this is a complex spiritual science. He does not, however, need to have a seminary training. (My own training was the mission field, not an ivory tower). His doctrine does need to be correct (Torah-centred) and he does need revelation. Yahweh nearly always tells me whether I should take on a client or not, and when He has given me the green light, He always guides me in the deliverance process. One of my particular gifts is seership so He represents my client's spiritual state and deliverance needs in visions where exhaustive questioning has not provided all the answers I need. Sometimes the visions are short (about 10 seconds long) or they can last for hours if I need to understand the intricasies of a complex system. I also have the benefit of a wife who acts as a co-minister or helpmeet for me who has acquired the same gift now so we are often in open vision* simultaneously getting confirmation of the course of action to be taken. Because of the special bond between husbands and wives, such teamwork, I have found, is invaluable. In addition there are other ministers I can obtain counsel from where complex issues arise. [*an 'open vision' is seeing pictures, still or motion, whilst in an awake state, usually given as a result of prayer and always in Yahweh's sovereign will - the minister cannot 'choose' to see].
In time, ministers get to recognise demonic traits instinctively. Their clients are usually blind to them and resistant to counsel. When this occurs, the deliverance process slows down. With one client I was shown a panoramic vision of the long-term deliverance process. I could see that there would be times when all progress stopped for a season until certain choices were made, to be followed by a flurry of activity. Clients are often in bondage to close friends or family members who may be their only support but who themselves have demonic issues. This can complexify things as the client turns for counsel here and there, some of it contradictory. Another problem, easily forgotten by ministers, is that even after deliverance has taken place (as well as before), there remains the problem of the carnal character of the client and the need for spiritual growth and sanctification. A client who is suddenly demon-free must then struggle with the Adamic nature - the impulses and tendency to act in ungodly ways (i.e. sin) - which requires lifelong struggle to overcome. Whilst SRA victims in particular are often very mature in the development of their thinking processes (they are usually very fast, intelligent, and have phenomenal memories), they are without exception emotionally and socially undevelopped. A minister can easily forget that a mature SRA man or woman still reacts and behaves emotionally like a little child. Typically, there are huge pride issues to overcome, and whereas their need is to be fathered and mothered, they have been so used to 'surviving' and 'doing it alone' that they often have a huge inbuilt resistance to working together with others in a Body (Messianic Community) relationship with other believers. They have to learn submission to authority made hard by their previoius experience of control and manipulation by evil people, usually leading to an equal and opposite swing into lawlessness with various 'love'-based justifications. Some take the plunge easier than others. And as I have already indicated, getting delivered is not merely undoing strongholds and expelling demons, but is also the conquest of the ego - the self - the unredeemed fleshy, carnal, Adamic nature which everybody has to come to grips with. It must start with a knowledge (education) of Torah so that they know what sin is and include a program introducing them to the heavenly lifestyle.
In my experience, and at the risk of offending them, women deliverance ministers acting alone are often led astray. Their proper positioning is under a male head, preferably a husband, because their ministry is that of the helper (deacon) rôle as Eve was to Adam. Paul had his female helpers (deconesses). To be effective, that male head must himself be properly positioned in Torah under Yah'shua's authority. Women acting alone and men operating in lawlessness (without Torah) tend to be misled by false spirits. I have had a number of deliverance sessions sabotaged by well-meaning but lawless ministers who have been called in as 'extras' by clients without my foreknowledge. On one occasion I was fighting against the deliverance minister's demons (which manifested through tongue-speaking) along with my client's and the whole session was a disaster! Those lawless ministers got a severe pasting from my client's demons and had to flee in panic!
On another occasion a self-styled lady deliverance minister stole a client's email identity in order to spy on my ministry. There are, moreover, satanists who pose as deliverance ministers who offer 'simpler' solutions that result in redemonisation and bondage. Clients cannot be too careful.
There are obvious benefits to being married. Single ministers are more easily preyed on sexually by demonised SRA clients who will without exception have alters programmed to seduce. That is not to say that married ministers aren't vulnerable too which is why the team head should be one less likely to be unseated by sexual seduction attempts. Singles can also get romantically attached to their victims and be destroyed. One of my client's alters had a powerfully demonised alter who knew how to get ministers to fall in love with her by various occult charms. Minister after minister had been waylaid by her, some running away in fear when they fell in love (not true love, I might add, but the carnal variety) and others were ruined. Coven-controlled alters (called 'cult alers') are trained to get ministers to fall and then (if they are in an influential position like a pastor) blackmail them so the coven can infiltrate and eventually take over his church. I knew one such church in the USA where the Pastor had been sexually seduced. By the grace of God, another minister was able to intervene, deliver the pastor, and expose the satanists.
All SRA victims are programmed for the eventuality of some part of the system coming to Christ and wanting a full deliverance from ministers. Satan sets his traps. That is why deliverance ministers need to be spiritually mature, preferably married, and working in a team. The collective discernment, spiritual strength and experience of the team can prevent solo ministers going around in cicles (the enemy loves to waste out time), ministerial burn-out (the enemy uses unrepentant alters to lead ministers by the nose and hopefully exhaust them and get them ill), and destruction caused by falling into temptation (one of Satan's goals). In one case Yahweh showed me a vision of a satanic contract which the coven had drawn up with a trainee minister in mind, their goal being to seduce him through a lust of occult knowledge and power mixed with eventual sexual favours (they typically use very beautiful young girls). I was able to warn him, discover unresolved spiritual issues, and help him on the way to completing his own deliverance.
It cannot be underscored enough but this being in this kind of ministry is dangerous spiritually as well as physically. But provided the minister walks in Yahweh's Way - a Way whose cobblestones are Torah and a Way which is bounded by Salvation - he will be safe and effective in the servive of His Master. Women ministers, whose talents are needed also, should work in teams under proper male headship and be preferably married. Yahweh can, and does, use all kinds of people who are limited by circumstances, so we must not be inflexible, but that should never let us lose site of the goal and fulfil the requirements to the best of our ability. The worst kind of ministers are, of course, those who have spiritual issues (charismatics are particularly vulnerable) because doctrine and lifestyle are important. Many lawless ministers try to hide under a canopy of intense prayer, and whilst prayer and the ministry are inseparable, I have known many prayer warriors who have been deceived and misled by false spirits simply because they would not walk in Torah and/or because they were seduced by counterfeit manifestations (typically Toronto- and Pensacola-like) of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). Satan wants deluded ministers in the forefront of deliverance ministry (where he cannot destroy them or seduce them into the occult directly) where he can manipulate and control them without their knowing. In many ways, a Fifth Column is of advantage to him, working within the churches and subverting it spiritually over time so that when the separation of the wheat from the tares takes place (Mt.13:24-29), they will end up in the counterfeit Whore Church and come under Antichrist control.
Do not fall into the trap of believing that all deliverance ministry is of God just because it claims the Bible, the Holy Spirit, the salvation of Jesus, throws demons out, etc. (Mt.7:22-23). These ministers are always pressing for unity between the wheat and the tares (though they are not aware of the object of their unity clarion) in order to weaken the effect of the tares. Unity is vitally important but only within the correct system of worship and discipleship. Unity does not mean compulsory agreement and cooperation between all who name the Name of Christ but between those who name the Name and obey the commandments (Torah)! (Rev.12:17; 14:12; 22:14; 1 Jn.2:3-4; 3:22-24; 5:2-3; 2 Jn.6; etc.). We are commanded to continue in holiness (e.g. 1 Tim.2:15; 1 Thes.4:7; Rom.6:19; etc.), the word 'holiness' meaning 'set apart' or 'separate' from all that is false and anti-Torah, including separating from lawless people (Mt.7:23). So do not be deceived by seductive ecumenical pleas which would require you to abandon the truth or water-down the Gospel. In deliverance ministry it is the truth which sets you free (Jn.8:32), not ecumenical shows of man-made unity. It is precisely from error that we must be separated in order to be effective, whether that error wears the badge of 'occult' or 'christian'. Our love for our clients compells us to stick to the strait and narrow way even if it means false Christians accuse us of not being loving or of sowing discord in the 'Body' (conveniently labelling the 'Body' to include heresy and therefore serve Satan's agenda). Yahweh's Way is rarely liked and few there are who find it (Mt.7:14).
Deliverance ministry is not something 'detached' or 'separate' from the local congregation or assembly, as I have pointed out before, but is an integral part of it. To say, then, that deliverance ministry is 'trans-denominational' is misleading and deceptive. Certainly, you can bring souls to a one-to-one meeting with Yah'shua (Jesus) outside of a doctrinal system or denomination but if you wish to then bring that alpha-saved person to the fullness, doctrine means everything. Do you want a partial deliverance? Then the choice is wide. But if you want to do a complete job, as Yahweh wills, then you must be prepared to be 'set-apart' or 'holy', and this applies as much to the ministers as to the clients.
This ministry works unapologetically within the context of a complete discipling process. Few come, but those who do, and stick with it, bearing their stripes, willing to be corrected and guided, never regret it.
