INTRODUCTION TO CHRIST ARMOUR BEARING TRAINING (DELIVERANCE)

       INTRODUCTION TO CHRIST ARMOUR BEARING TRAINING (DELIVERANCE)

THE NAME:

The phrase, Christ Armour Bearing may sound strange to many people but the fact remains that it is Biblical and that phrase denotes that there is war somewhere. Yes of course, there is war always in the spiritual world. In Eph 6:10-12, the Bible says "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers and against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Revised Standard Version). So from the view point of what we read here, we discovered that to put on the whole armour of God is a commandment from God. This is simply because there are some unseen powers in the spirit world that Christians are their target. Eph 6:13a says: "Therefore take the whole armour of God" (RSV). The word "Therefore" means "because of this", that means all we read above are the reasons why we must be the bearer of God`s armour. Also, the word "Take" means to carry, to go with, to receive and to be the bearer of God`s armour. Therefore, the name given to the course is very relevant. We all know that our God is the lord of Hosts. Exd 15:3, Ps 34:8. So we realize that only those who accept that God is their captain and that they are His armour bearer will always have victory over any battle they have. Example of such are:

1. Moses   2. Joshua   3. Gideon   4. Samuel e.t.c.   

To be an armour bearer will offer you many opportunities such as:

1.   Keeping you busy for Him.

2.   Having rest of mind on the battle field

3.   Having ability to follow the Master.

4.   Having your life protected and many more.

                                             BIBLICAL PROOF OF ARMOUR BEARING

1Sam 14:1-7; 17:6-7,41; 31:4-6, Eph 6:10-13.

Therefore, Christ is our captain and is always at the war front, all we are to do is to be Christ armour bearers and weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds 2Cor 10:3-5. In as much as Christ cannot die again, we also have assurance of security.

                                                            THE VIEW OF CHURCHES

There are many views, many thought, many opinion about Deliverance ministry in today`s churches. Some believe it, some have reason why they disbelieve it, without reasons. These thought, views and opinion shall be divided into five and we are going to use churches to explain it.

1.   The first type of church disbelieve deliverance ministry but they concluded that it is the doctrine of demon but deliverance ministry is not the doctrine of demons but the doctrine about demons and the word "About" means how to deal i.e to destroy the work of demons.

2.   The second category believe that deliverance ministry is real and it is biblical and even they believe that it was instituted by our Lord in Mark 16:17 but they concluded that it was gone with the early Apostles and it is no more in operation. Even some of them believe that after the Apostles of the Lord, there are no more Apostles but they forgot Eph 4:11-15. So from the view point of this people, we cant conveniently say that they do not believe it.

3.   This third set confess that they believe it but their problems is that they do nothing about it, they advice people not to touch the devil. They are coward Christians who run for the devil, they don`t know that the devil is a run to those who resist him and he is a roar to those who fear him. They will be begging God to come and cast the devil out for them but to wait for God to cast out demons may mean waiting forever.

These or more are the signs to recognise such Churches:

i.   They profess that they are preaching the gospel but their outgoing has never been a prosperous one because the devil will not allow people to listen.

ii.  They hold their programme where there is no fruit. No fisherman will be fishing in a bath tub or a farmer harvesting in his dining room.

iii.  The members of such churches will be fighting on trivial issues to the extent that little they will be scattering.

iv.   They wouldn`t allow the spirit of God to move but instead they will quench Him.

4.   These are the unfortunate Christians who do not know that there is deliverance or there is any ministry for it. They are ignorant and they are sincerely wrong. They could be likened to some disciple Paul meet at Ephesus who did not know whether there is Holy Spirit or any Baptism of Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-4). This type of Christians are Christians who do not know the value of God`s power when Satan attacks them. They will be begging God to drive or cast out devil for them because they believe that whatsoever happen to them comes from God either good or bad forgetting the word of God in James 1:13-18. 

5.    The last set are those that believe it and put it into practice. These realise their authority in Christ Jesus, they always resist the devil any time he wants to tamper with them. They do not give room for the flesh in their life, they allow prophecy that comes from the Holy Spirit, they do things according to the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit to them the devil has no power to interfere in their work of ministry.

                                                             WHAT DELIVERANCE IS NOT

Many churches and many church leaders did not have or lost their interest on the matter of deliverance or ministry of casting out demons not because they did not know the word of God or they are coward but they simply because some people who are called deliverance ministers have bastardised it and they called it what it is not. That is why we need to consider together "what Deliverance is not".

1.    It is not an independent ministry Mk 16:15-17

2.    It is not the fruit of the Spirit. Matt 7:15-23

3.    It is not for show or rivalry. Lk 4:1-13

4.    It is not an avenue to gather money. Acts 8:18-23

5.    It is not to give coffee, tea, oil or water so that the victim can vomit out the evil spirit.

6.    It is not to bath the victim in cold or hot water or in river as a way to cast the evil spirit out.

7.    It is not to tie the victim to a tree and beat him/her with a stick whip or broom in order to drive out                                      the evil spirit.

8.    It is not to assault or make jest of the victim after ministration.

9.    It is not to attack the victim if he gets violent with you.

10.  It is not to be fondling with or caressing the body of the opposite sex.

IN CONCLUSION: You must always be alert to the devices of the devil because it will not come like devil but in cheap form. Therefore, you are encouraged to wage spiritual warfare and thereby deliver the oppressed. God told Joshua "Be strong and of a good courage; for unto this people shall thou divide an inheritance in the land, which I swear unto their father to give them; Joshua 1:6". I wish your answer will be like the Israelites who said "All that thou commandest us we will do and where so ever thou sends us, we will go" Joshua 1:16.

                                                            WHAT DELIVERANCE IS

Having studied what deliverance ministry is not, we need to look at what it is:

Many Christians run for it, some even reject to be called deliverance Ministers, all is because they do not know what deliverance is not and what it is. The scriptures stated it clearly that Christians should engaged in casting out of demons. Matt 10:1.

                                                         THE DOCTRINE OF DELIVERANCE

This word "deliverance" may not be seen in the Old Testament but we can see some work and the acts of it in Old Testament. Deliverance ministry is known as the ministry of casting out of demons, while in the modern tongue is called "Deliverance".

Deliverance itself through in the Old and New Testament is a compound word used to illustrates freedom from diverse kind of problem. In the book of Isa. 61:1-4 give details of what deliverance means:

1.   Good tidings unto the meek.

2.   To bind up the broken heated.

3.   Liberty to the (physical and spiritual) captives.

4.   Opening of prison to them that are bound.

5.   Comfort all that mourn. 

6.   To give unto them beauty for ashes.

7.   Oil of joy for mourning.

8.   Garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

To analyse it, we see that No 1 means to preach the gospel to a sinner, when a sinner repents from his sin, he is delivered from the bondage of sin. 1Jn 3:8, No 2 and 5 talked about counseling ministry, that is to console or comfort someone who have troubles of mind. When you counsel him/her, you've delivered that person from bondage of fear and bad thought. While No 3 and 4 is to set people whom the devil and evil people have bound free, to break the power of darkness and the covenant of Satan and set that person free from whatever the bondage he/she may be.

Also No 6-8 is to set people free financially. It further means to change one's position from poverty to prosperity. We will also look at another two instances so that we will have full knowledge of what we are saying.

1.   Moses whom God  sent to deliver Israelites

2.   Jesus our Lord who is our Messiah i.e Saviour or Deliverer.

                              THE BIBLICAL PROOF OF DELIVERANCE MINISTRY

Having known what deliverance is, there is necessity for us to look at the power that backs it. In many places, the Holy Bible establishes this work, even casting out of demons and Bible also confirms it to be the right of all believers e.g. Matt 10:7-8; Lk 9:1, Mk 16:17 also Mk 7:24-30, Lk 13:10-17, Acts 19:11-17.

Deliverance was placed with other ministries in Matt 10:7-17 and Isa 61:1-4. Deliverance was placed with other ministry was placed first in Jesus command in two Gospels even before healing. Lk 9:1 and Mk 16:17.

                                       IMPORTANCE OF DELIVERANCE MINISTRY   

Deliverance ministry is of utmost importance for every believer, because of some things we are to discuss now:

1.   It is the commandment of Jesus: Matt 10:1-8, Lk 9:1. Jesus knew that the problem that is facing the world today is nothing but of the forces of darkness, since the devil has been cast into the world, the earth had been facing great attacks from them. Rev 12:7-10. So Jesus understood that preaching the gospel without casting out the demons will not allowed the people to listen or concentrate on what is being preached to them. It will just result to laboring in vain, that is why He first commanded the casting out of demons before other things. It is just prerequisite in the work of the ministry. Another one is that when people believed and are not free totally from the oppression of the devil, sooner or later, they will go back to their sin or (tradition), Jn 8:32. Therefore, if anyone is born again and not delivered from the oppressor, he is not perfectly free. So Jesus who commanded all believer to preach the gospel and to heal those who are sick is the same Lord who commanded us to cast out demons. 1Jn 3:8.

2.   It encourage steadfastness in faith: This is so because the person who can stand firmly in the Lord are those that are not disturbed by Satan in any of his operations, such as:

i.    Through bad thought/bitterness in the mind

ii.   Through prayerlessness

iii.   Inability to assimilate the Bible. Satan in his cunny way can make one to do his service to God without any single result. Many Christians have become backsliders today because Satan made it so difficult for them to put the Bible into practices, Don't expect the devil to respect you, devil did not (even respect God) but he feared God, because if he respect God according to the parable of Jesus in Matt 13:18-39 he will not be bold to come in the night to plant another thing i.e tares or weed in the garden of God. So, you as a child of God, you need to know that he will not respect you, he will only fear the name of the Lord in your life and flee.

3.    It makes Christianity meaningful: Some Christians and some churches have been deteriorating and useless, just because their lives are not meaningful , for example, suppose you want to pray for someone who is sick, and the sickness did not go because there is a demon behind that sickness and the person has told you that he will give his/her life to Christ and you promised the person you preached to that God will do something in his life but to get results demanded that you need to enter into deliverance prayer before you can get it, what will you do? Jesus said "................the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matt 11:12". A pastor who preaches "peace in the home" but no peace in his own house.

A preacher who gathers people together at crusade ground and as he was ministering, he receives attack and he does not know how to resist Satan will eventually fall from the platform and the people will scatter. Many Christians did not enjoy their Christianity because they said it does not matter but deliverance will make you to be able to do what you preach.

4.    It encourage life in the spirit: Deliverance will help you to live the life that God has ordained for you before the foundation of the world. There are some Christians that God wanted to use, some of them have the valuable gifts of the Spirit but the devil will not allow them to walk in the Spirit. They have wonderful assignment but the devil will come across their mission. They may have vision for international Missionary work and God might have confirmed it with prophecy but yet they die without a single soul saved through them and without the promise of God fulfilled in their lives.

Therefore, their lives call God a liar but no, God is faithful, it is Satan that has double crossed their vision. They have vision but unable to turn it to mission. Jesus said concerning these types of people that "It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Matt 26:24". The Bible says "God is a Spirit and those that worship Him should worship Him in Spirit" i.e to allow the Holy Spirit to be ministering to you and to always receive messages from him. Also to allow Him to conquer the whole  area of your personality i.e the Spirit, Body and Soul. 1Thess 5:23. Where there is deliverance, it encourage people to live the life of the Spirit because the Holy Spirit is free to work at any time in such a life, so the gift of the Spirit will grow.

5.    It encourage Spiritual zealousness: Many Christians are suppressed by demons, to the extent that they cannot do anything in the Church or for God successfully, because Satan has already laid his hand on them both naturally and spiritually. Some demons in his Spirit will run out, some will hide in the soul, some will hide in the body and some will go out completely.

THEIR ROLES AND ACTIVITIES

1.    Those who went out completely will bring what we call temporary joy.

2.    Those that hide in the body will provide sickness of different kinds.

3.    Those that hide in the soul will provide evil thought.

All these are the methods of the devil to make us become discouraged in the way of the Lord to become half baked bread but if there is no demon to cause sickness for you, no demon to make you unhappy, no evil thought, neither are you suppressed nor depressed, you sleep and no demon attacks you, nothing tampered with your spiritual life, you pray and you see the result, you will actually serve the Lord with all zealousness. Therefore, deliverance encourages spiritual zealousness.

6.    It Encourage Quick Development: The first thing we are looking for is that deliverance ministry expose you to the second world and you will be like a ghost but if care is not taken, you will be looking at yourself like that but the fact is that you are neither an Angel nor a Ghost, you are a man. It makes someone to have quick development in the Lord. Also Jesus many times have to minister to the disciples and He cast the spirit of unbelief and doubt out of their lives. Lk 24:47, Jn 20:19-29; 21:1-17.