Does Your Church Deny Deliverance Ministry … WHY?

Malachi 2:7 -  “For the lips of a priest (pastor, teacher, preacher) should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts” (8) “But as for you, you have turned aside from the way, you have caused many to stumble by the instruction…” (9) “…you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction”.

 

A pastor is to teach the full counsel of God’s Word. These verses address this issue and are a warning to anyone who fails to teach the Word as given by the Holy Spirit:

The question arises: Is your pastor and your church actively involved in the ministry of deliverance as Christ taught? How can anybody who sees someone in bondage, pain and suffering not do something to help that person? WHY? Could it be the “fear of the face of man? (“What would my denominational governing board say”? “What would members of my church say?”) The apostle Paul asks something serious of those in leadership in GAL 1:10,  “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ”.

Something is terribly wrong in today’s churches when it comes to the “full-gospel” instructions of Jesus. MATT 10:1-8 (vs 8)“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give”. Luke 9:1-2 “And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing”. Mark 16:15-18 (vs 17) “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues”.

It is evident that the simplicity of what Jesus taught His disciples and His instructions for us today have somehow gone astray.  2 COR 11:4 “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom who you have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully”. A different gospel, another Jesus, a different spirit – NO! Some say the “gifts, healings and apostles” are no longer here, that they have somehow passed away. That is not what God’s Word says. Paul admonishes us in 2 COR 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test” Faith comes by the hearing of the Word and hearing by those who absolutely believe that God’s word is true and to be heeded. God is sovereign and means what He says to us. WHY is deliverance excluded in your church’s ministry?

 

There are reported stories about church members or guests manifesting demons in services. The deacons and elders remove the person from services, taking them to the basement or some other area so the person will “not embarrass or disrupt the worship service”. One report concerns an elder in a northeastern U.S. church who told the members to “Get away as quickly as you can from any person manifesting a demon in services. Move away and don’t get involved”. WHY? Instead of treating the person in bondage this way just do what Jesus did. Immediately gather around the person, pray and cast the demon out and set the person free. Isn’t this part of a true church service…ministering to those in need?

 

LUKE 4:33-36  & MARK 1:23-26 “In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God! But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing any harm”. Jesus quickly handled the situation concerning a demon manifesting in church. WHY don’t churches do today what Jesus did?

 

Is the real issue “fear of the face of man” … or obedience to the Word of God?

Paul Nowlen    Free in the Lord Ministries   POB 386, Bedford Texas 76095-0386   ©2010