The Delivered

The Delivered

By Apostle Felix

12  Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. 
13  He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son. 
14  For in the Son all our sins are canceled and we have the release of redemption through his very blood. 

Colossians 1: 12 – 14

One of the most common church practices in the modern church today is the so called deliverance ministry. For a church to have relevance, especially in the African context should be branded as a deliverance ministry. People, from all walks of life patronize such churches seeking freedom for their lives. The practice is very delusional in the sense that lives barely experience freedom despite numerous deliverance sessions. So many people have been delivered from the curse of poverty but yet still wallowing in poverty.

Is the curse more powerful to the extent that it negates all what Jesus did for us. It is very interesting that Christ Jesus can compromise to share one body with the devils. When Christ comes into your life the devils leave your life. The presence of Christ in your life changes your spiritual location instantly. Deliverance is not the devils leaving your body. It is you leaving the kingdom of darkness.  Never confuse the two. The former statement is to do with demon casting, and the latter is deliverance. Demons can be cast out of any individual but yet the person is not delivered. The person is still in the kingdom of darkness.

43  “When a demon is cast out of a person, it roams around a dry region, looking for a place to rest, but never finds it.
44  Then it says, ‘I’ll return to the house I moved out of,’ and so it goes back, only to find that the house is vacant, warm, and ready for it to move back in. 

Matthew 12: 43, 44

The scenario above describes an individual from whom the devils were cast but he still remained in the kingdom of darkness. The person was not delivered from the kingdom of darkness, hence the demons returning back. Deliverance is far more than casting out demons. It’s been delivered into the kingdom of God. You cease to be a member of the kingdom of darkness and you are adopted into the family of God. Some quote the scripture above to justify that a believer in Christ can need deliverance from devils. The scripture is not talking about a believer but an individual from whom the demons had been driven and the person resisted the gospel. A genuine born again believer cannot accommodate Jesus and devils at the same time.

8  the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.
9  And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.

Judges 6: 8, 9

The Lord delivered Israel out of Egypt and delivered them into the promised land. God did not drive out the Egyptians from the land, but He took Israel out. Deliverance has got to do with a change of location. The children of Israel’s deliverance had to do with their deliverance from Egypt (Kingdom of darkness) and translated into the promised land (kingdom of light).

13  By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.

Hosea 12: 13

15  “The LORD your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him. 

Deuteronomy 18: 15

Moses led the children out of Egypt, as their deliverer. When Pharaoh and his army chased after Israel, Moses lifted his rod in his hand and parted the Red sea. Israel went into the Red sea, which symbolized death. They emerged from the other side of the Red sea, symbolizing resurrection. That was a final seal of defeat for Pharaoh and his army. They all perished at the sea. They could not cross over. Jesus carried his cross, He died, was buried and resurrected from the dead. He died our death and He resurrected with us. We have crossed over and the enemy can never cross over to where we are in Christ. We are completely delivered. We are the delivered.