How to be delivered - or help someone else to be delivered
Deliverance from the Occult
First, recognize the sovereignty of God. Christ and Christ alone is the source of deliverance from spiritist bondage. The worldly methods (psychology, ritual, hypnosis, meditation, etc.) will only add to the problem!
The prayerful help of a godly counselor (pastor or earnest Christian friend) should be sought. He should be a person who is fully dedicated to God and has no personal problems which the spirits can take advantage of. Full deliverance may take a period of time. But, with united prayer of a few faithful friends, it can occur rather quickly.
All paraphernalia of occultism must be destroyed (Acts 19:19). This includes even little figures made out of precious stones. They often originate from heathen temples.
All occult contacts and friendship must be broken, and not even gifts from occultists should be accepted.
In the difficult case of a person living with parents who are occultists, it may be necessary to secure other living arrangements. Conditions must be right before the prayer of faith and intercession can succeed. Because the powers of darkness may attempt to strike back without mercy, battles should be undertaken only when the participant is fully prepared.
Deliverance from the power of the occult requires complete surrender to Christ on the part of both counselor and the one needing help. Our first responsibility must be to Christ and our relationship to Him. We cannot help others in so difficult an area until we ourselves are securely grounded as Christians. Every person who really wants to be delivered from the hold of the occult must be prepared to commit his life entirely to Christ.
When a person is delivered from a state of occult subjection, he must withhold nothing in his life from the Lord. Those areas which are not surrendered to his Lord will soon be occupied again by the enemy.
If we have truly made Jesus Christ our Lord, then He will protect us from the lordship of others or secret sins. Our commitment cannot be half-hearted.
The occultly oppressed person must acknowledge and confess his participation in occult activity as sin, because such practices are indeed sinful before God and require confession (Deut. 18:9-12; 1 John 1:9). This confession must be voluntary, or it is worthless. The purpose of the confession is to bring into the light that which is occult (hidden, secret), as well as to renounce the horrid thing and put it away. Open confession of every single hidden thing in the life should be made, in order to remove the very last foothold of the enemy. This confession should not only cover the occult, but also every other area of departure from the Lord and His will in his life. Nothing should be allowed to build up or develop which may give the devil an opportunity to return (Eph. 4:27). A prayer renouncing everything occult is important.
Frequently, the subjected person finds it difficult to grasp the fact that his sins have been forgiven. A barrier seems to lie in his way. Therefore explain that he must pray the prayer of renunciation of the occult first of all. This is because every sin connected with sorcery is basically a contract with the powers of darkness. By means of sorcery, the archenemy of mankind gains the right of ownership over a person’s life.
The person may be unable to give this prayer, to bring his hands together to pray, or his lips or vocal chords may be unusable. He may fall into a trance when it comes to renouncing the devil. What should be done?
One can either command the evil powers to leave in the name of Jesus or else call some other Christian brothers to join him in praying for the subjected person.
Renunciation may be followed by a remarkable change for the better. But not everyone experiences such elated feeling after deliverance; yet the change of ownership is still valid no matter how one feels.
It is vital to assure the individual that in Christ his sins have been forgiven. No matter how bad a person’s sins may have been, they can be forgiven.
Scriptures may be read which will help him. These could include John 5:24; 6:47; 20:31; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:7, 13-14; Colossians 1:14; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 18-19; Isaiah 53:4-7; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:7-9. All of these will be quoted in full at the end of this chapter.
Counseling should involve teamwork. The support of other Christians, church elders, etc. is important. Counseling the occultly oppressed is generally a matter of teamwork. The individual counselor is far too weak to take upon his own shoulders all the problems he will meet.
This is because people with occult subjection will often suffer their first attacks from the demons after they first seek to follow Christ and serve Him. In other words, the battle often does not begin until a person tries to receive Christ or actually does so.
Prayer will continue to be important afterward. Even after a person is delivered from the occult, he is still vulnerable. It is thus vital that a small group of Christians take upon themselves to continue to pray for him and care for him after his conversion. Many times a converted occultist has struggled tremendously because he could find no one in the church to help him.
If necessary, this group need only consist of two Christians. They should meet together two or three times a week for prayer. The best thing is for the subjected person to be present; yet this is not absolutely necessary. Neither is it necessary that the oppressed person have made an open confession before all the members of the group. His renunciation of the occult may only have been made before the counselor at the very start.
When a person is delivered from occult oppression, it is crucial that he grow as a Christian! Through the enabling grace of Christ, he must obey the Ten Commandments, the Moral Code which God gave to mankind. He must continually read in the Bible and submit to its teachings. He should fellowship with fellow Christians each week. He should know and share with others basic Christian doctrine and how to come to Christ and live with Him.
Sometimes it will be found that demons have returned into a person’s life; and, at this point, it seems the battle is greater. Very often this occurs when the liberated one leaves the Christian atmosphere and returns to a home where others are involved in occultism and sorcery.
Those who have been delivered from occult oppression and then returned to live in a spiritistic atmosphere never find real peace. It is best that those folk stay away from their parents or other relatives or former friends who they know are into occultism.
Warn them that anyone who fails to remain close to Christ and act on all that the Bible says for our protection will live in continuous danger of falling victim once more to the influence of the spirits who earlier left them.
Christian counselors and those they seek to help must keep in mind that the victory is won because of the power of Christ; through His enabling strength alone; to complete submission and obedience to His Written Word, the Bible and the Ten Commandments. We must believe God’s promises and act in faith, even in what may seem to be hopeless situations. But none are finally hopeless; for, with God, all things are possible—if, in his heart, the possessed person really wants to be delivered.
Furthermore, just because a battle may continue to rage is not evidence that the battle will be lost. Many times, in Biblical history and church history, spiritual battles have been undertaken which have required great endurance, perseverance, patience, and faith.
It is urgent that each of us remain close to Christ every day. Each person that seeks our prayers, encouragement and help is not just “another case,” but a special individual who we must earnestly pray for and help to come to Christ and His saving power.
As I conclude this book, I just learned of this incident: David Gates, a missionary to South America, met a warlock (male witch) in Georgia who told Gates that he did what people asked him to do. “They mainly ask me to get them someone else’s wife, and I can do it 100% of the time! I can take your wife away too!”
David replied, “No, you can’t; I’m a Christian.”
“Sure I can; I do it to lots of people, including some Christians.”
David replied, “You can’t touch me or my wife.”
“The warlock replied, “Yes, I can, and I’ll prove it to you: Do you go to the movies or watch soap operas on TV?”
No.”
“Do you listen to rock music?”
“No.”
“Do you have novels in your home?”
“No.”
“Well, then, you’re right; I can’t touch you.”
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