5 Minute Lessons on the Kingdom of God
Deliver Us From Evil
Matthew 6:13
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Jesus said to the man who had been delivered from evil spirits,
"...'Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.' 20And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him..." (Mark 5:19‑20 NASB)

Wayne had come to the end of himself and was very tired and exhausted. In his desperation he cried out to God, "God, what is wrong with me?" Not expecting the answer he prayed for, he had a night vision (Daniel 2:19). We call this a dream.

In his dream he saw demons coming and going (at will) in and out of him. When he awoke he was greatly upset. He shared this information with an older couple at a church he was attending. They said it was possible that he might need some deliverance. Then he was more upset. Not willing to accept this, he prayed again. That evening he had another dream that was similar to the first one. He did not know until later in his Christian life that Joseph said to Pharaoh,
"32As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and He will soon make them happen." (Genesis 41:32 NLT)

One weekend (at college) his roommate was away. He was praying, when suddenly he said, "I command you unclean spirit in the name of Jesus to manifest yourself!" All of a sudden, this invisible force got a hold of his throat and began choking him. He wrestled with this demon on the floor and suddenly he was knocked out cold. When he woke up, he said to himself, "I can't believe what has just happened to me!"

He jumped into his car and went across town to his church friend's house. He told them what had happened and said, "I feel good, I think the demon left me." They said, "Probably not." He said, "What shall I do?" They said, "Take back ground." "What do you mean, take back ground?" "Obviously, you have let the devil in your life by sin or ignorance. Go in that room and ask the Lord to forgive you and renounce the place that you yielded to the devil" (Acts 8:22). "Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any occult practices that you may have yielded to, then give this to the Lord" (Acts 19:19; Romans 8:26). He spent quite some time praying about this.

Then it happened again. The demons manifested and began to choke him. He tried to say the word "Jesus," but he couldn't speak. He kept trying and trying. Then his voice was loosed and he cried out, "Jesus! Jesus!" (Acts 4:12).

Then a gift of the Holy Spirit came upon him. It's called, "discerning of spirits" (1 Corinthians 12:10). All of a sudden, he knew the names of the spirits that were tormenting him (Mark 5:9). He commanded them to come out, by name, one by one and they came out (Mark 16:17).

He knew there was one spirit that was holding back and refusing to come out. He knew by a manifestation its presence, but did not know its name. He asked a friend about this. She was taking sign language in school and she told him he was describing the sign for "loneliness." He said, "That's it! I can be in crowds of people and still be lonely." He commanded the spirit to come out and it did. He was free!

Something he learned over the years is, demons are like a covey of birds. They hide until they are almost stepped on. Then they will come to the surface. When they get around a person that is seeking God with all their heart (or mighty praise and worship), they will surface and sometimes leave on their own accord (Luke 11:24) or they may need someone to command them out in Jesus' name! (Mark 16:17; Acts 16:18).

This is a bizarre story and some people will refuse to acknowledge its truthfulness. It does not fit some people's church creed. But have they never read Ephesians 6:10‑18?

Only after deliverance was the demoniac healed and in his right mind.
"Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid." (Mark 5:15 NKJV)

An afterthought: Ever since the creation of the worldwide web and the porn industry, a new kind of addiction is here. It affects men and women, Christian and non-Christian. This addiction can be overcome by fleeing immorality (2 Timothy 2:22), repentance (Acts 8:22; Acts 26:18‑20), deliverance (Joel 2:32), Scripture (John 15:3) and a close walk with Jesus (1 John 1:7; Romans 8:5‑6).
"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered..." (Joel 2:32)

For more information see "How I Came To Grips With Demons - Part 1" and Part 2 by Derek Prince (on YouTube).
Questions
  1. What was Jesus' purpose in coming to earth?
    Answer
  2. Jesus commissioned the twelve to preach and do what?
    Answer
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