"Truth" is an indispensable weapon we mut continually utilize in the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. The enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy with his lies, half-truths and deceptions. It is the truth that dispels those lies and frees us to walk victoriously as more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37). Consider the following examples.
Set Free by the Truth
I was leading praise and worship when I saw Tom come through the door looking very despondent and oppressed. This was very unusual because he was one of the most enthusiastic members of our fledgling congregation and normally arrived at church 30-45 minutes early.
Tonight, however, he had arrived late and now stood with his head down and his arms folded across his chest. This was so unlike him and I thought to myself, "I wonder what has happened to Tom today?"
Shortly thereafter, he interrupted the proceedings and asked, "Would you all pray for me? I am all bound up!" Normally I would have invited him to come forward and we would have prayed for him. However, I suddenly saw that if we prayed for him to be free, we would be acknowledging the lie a demon had planted in his mind that he was all bound up.
It all happened so quickly that I was surprised at how I responded. The words of Jesus in John 8:38 flashed into my mind and I emphatically replied, "No! We are not going to pray for you.” I then said, “Jesus said that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. You take your liberty!"
Tom thrust his hands into the air and began praising God and a spiritual explosion occurred. Suddenly the entire congregation exploded with clapping and shouts of praise to God. This went on for at least the next 10 minutes. It was awesome! Tom shouted praises along with the others. His very countenance changed. He was free!
What set Tom free? A prayer? A certain healing technique? No, it was the truth of God’s Word. When Tom heard the declaration of freedom and responded to it, we all experienced a level of freedom we had not known.
The Truth Set Roger Free from a Tormenting Past.
We must remember that Satan and demons have no real authority against the Church and individual believers. Satan can control people only to the extent that he can deceive them with lies and deceptions. This is why Jesus said in John 8:31-32, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
During this same pastorate, I dropped by the home of Roger, knowing that he was in a state of despair. Roger had grown up in an atmosphere filled with drugs, violence and immorality. He never knew the identity of his father. As an adult, he had had a very powerful encounter with the Lord and committed his life to Jesus. His past, however, continued to haunt him, bringing doubts about his standing with God and his own ability to walk in freedom and liberty.
The problem seemed to be exasperated by teaching he heard concerning generational curses, i.e., that family curses are passed down from one generation to the next. People attempted to help him by ministering deliverance, the healing of memories and by breaking generational curses. Nothing, however, produced lasting results, and he seemed to sink further into despair and defeat.
As we sat down in his living room, I felt impressed to read a passage from the book of Ezekiel. We both opened our Bibles and I read aloud Ezekiel 18:1-20 which is all about the fact that children will not bear the guilt of the sins of their fathers. We came to vs. 20 which says, The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
I had never seen Roger express any emotion in church, but at this point he leaped from his chair and began dancing a "jig" around the room, shouting and praising God. From that moment he was free. I saw him 20 years later and he was still free. What set him free? The truth of God’s word! You shall know the truth, Jesus said, And the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32).
Maintaining Our Freedom.
It is one thing to obtain our freedom; quite another to maintain it. Jesus told of an unclean spirt going out of a person and later returning and finding the house in which he once dwelt to be “empty,” or as the NIV says, “unoccupied.”
The point is that if a person receives deliverance through someone else’s prayer, they will have to maintain that freedom by being filled with Holy Spirit and renewing their mind in God’s word. According to Jesus, the demon will return seeking to regain entrance and bring seven more spirits with him. (Matthew 12:43-45).
This passage was in my mind when a woman came to me asking that I cast the demons out of her. This was my first time to meet her, but I knew of her reputation as one who had been to numerous churches and pastors with the same request. Many had tried to help her, but to no avail.
I decided not to go down that same path and encouraged her to sit in our meetings and have her faith built by God’s word before I prayed for her. "We can get the devil off of you and out of you," I said. "No problem!" I then explained that if she did not know how to walk in her authority in Christ, she would be back in the same condition and running here and there looking for someone to set her free.
She rejected my advice and walked away saying, "You don't understand! You don't understand." Many people, like her, are looking for some apostle, prophet or evangelist to pray a prayer that will solve all their problems. The real key is to know the truth and walk in it.
We Need a "Back to the Bible" Revival
In His great high priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus prayed for His followers that God would, Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17). God's word is the great fountain and source of truth. No wonder that the great church historian, Philip Schaff, said, “Every new progress in church history is conditioned by a new and deeper study of the Scriptures.”
Martin Luther learned the power of the truth of God’s word in his work of reforming the church. Many wondered how he, a lowly monk and professor of theology, could have such an impact on the church and the world, causing popes and emperors to tremble. In a sermon, preached in 1522, Luther explained, saying,
I simply taught, preached, wrote Gods Word; otherwise, I did nothing. The Word so weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing. The Word did it all.
The great Methodist Revival that transformed Great Britain and early America, began with John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield and others at Oxford University studying the Greek New Testament each evening from 6 – 9 pm. John Wesley expressed his passion for God’s word when he wrote,
Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be, “A man of one book.”
The Azusa Street Revival is known for the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were manifested such as tongues, healings, and miracles. We must not, however, overlook the fact that it was also a "Back to the Bible" revival, and this was a key to the revival's power and success. For example, in the September 1907 issue of the Apostolic Faith, the leaders at Azusa wrote,
We are measuring everything by the Word, every experience must measure up with the Bible. Some say that is going too far, but if we have lived too close to the Word, we will settle that with the Lord when we meet Him in the air.
If we would be a free people, we must be a people of the Book. We must keep before us the words of Jesus in John 8:31-32, If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
Dr. Eddie Hyatt is the author of numerous books including 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents how America was birthed out of a Great Spiritual Awakening, and Angels of Light, which shows how to recognize and discern the workings of demons whom Paul says transform themselves into angels of light. These and other books he has authored are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment