GOD'S PLAN FOR INNER HEALING AND DELIVERANCE
Firm Foundation Chapter 9
by
Doug Woolley
716/88
The Bible assures us that if any man receives Christ, then he is a new creature. We, as Christians, have a new spirit within us that desires to please God. However, our souls' have been corrupted in the past by sin and are not recreated. God desires that our soul be restored, even as He had spoken through David, "He restores my soul" (Ps. 23:3).
The Three Parts of Man
1 Thess. 5:23 says that man is completely made up of the spirit, soul, and body. The spirit consists of the part of man that deals with the spiritual realm, where the Spirit of God dwells. The spirit consists of the conscience, intuition, and fellowship. The soul is made up by the mind, will, and emotions. It is the essence of mans' personality. The body is the part of man that deals with the physical realm. It consists of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.
Two Ways to Renew the Mind
The mind, will, and emotions of a Christian need to be restored and transformed from the destruction of his past sins. God desires for our mind to be renewed (Rom. 12:2). Our minds can be renewed by the washing of the water of the Word of God. Our minds can also be renewed by the process of inner healing and deliverance.
Inner Healing, Deliverance, and Curses
Sometimes, after a person has had his mind renewed by studying and meditating on the Word of God, the person may still have some struggles in attaining complete restoration. A counselor needs the anointing of the Holy Spirit to discern how to minister to this individual. Isaiah 61:1‑2 says:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken‑hearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.
Just as Jesus had fulfilled this needed ministry, so ought we. There are three main areas to minister: inner healing of the memories due to hurts; deliverance from bondage due to continuous sins or past sins; and breaking of curses due to past sins and bad sins that bring curses.
The Glorious Church
Jesus is coming back for a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:26‑27). This will be done as each individual in the body of Christ is washed with the water of the Word. It is also accomplished as each person goes through inner healing, deliverance, and breaking of curses as the need arises. If our souls' are not renewed, then we will have problems that will force us to look inward rather than being able to totally give of ourselves' to others.
I. Inner Healing‑ Healing of the Memories
Many times a person may react to a situation based upon their hurts of the past that are hidden in the subconscious. These hurts need to be exposed and removed in order for the individual to be able to properly respond to such a situation in the future. The basis for this ministry is illustrated in James 5:16, "confess your sins one to another and pray for one another so that you may be healed". After determining who has hurt us, we must confess our sin of unforgiveness and/or bitterness and resentment. We must then appropriate the emotional healing by faith, realizing that Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows on the cross (Is. 53:4). As a result, we will no longer have a painful experience every time we remember the hurtful incident.
II. Deliverance
Although Christians have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, they can allow demons to enter their soul and be held in bondage by repetitively sinning in a certain area. Jesus desires us to cast out the demons in His name. If a Christian lacks instruction in the Word of God, then the demon that is causing disorder in the person may never be detected and this Christian will continue to remain in bondage (Prov. 5:23). The Lord says that those who try to hide and conceal their transgressions will not prosper (Prov. 28:13).
To be delivered from bondage, a counselor must discern the roots of the problem as well as the demon involved. This discernment can come from the Word of God or by a revelation from God. Two revelation gifts of the Spirit that a counselor needs for this discernment are the word of knowledge and the discerning of spirits. Once the roots are exposed and confessed by the captive and he forgives anyone that may have hurt him, then the demon's strong armor has been removed and the demon can be plundered and cast out.
III. Breaking of Curses
Curses can come upon a person as a result of practicing certain sins mentioned in the Bible that bring curses or as a result of these sins in the previous generations in his family. "Jesus became a curse for us so that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through faith" (Gal. 3:13‑14). We need to appropriate the provision that Jesus made for us concerning curses in order to be set free from them. After a counselor detects that a person has a particular curse through discernment, then the sin must be confessed and the person must repent. He then must appropriate Jesus' provision and break the curse and then continue to resist any temptations that come as a result of the past effects of the curse.
INNER HEALING AND DELIVERANCE HAND‑OUT
I. The Three Parts of Man:
1) Body ‑ the physical realm; dominated by the 5 senses.
2) Soul ‑ man's personality; his mind, will, and emotions.
3) Spirit ‑ the spiritual realm; the part of man where the Spirit of God dwells.
It can be divided into three parts:
a) Intuition‑ the knower, by which we perceive or sense things.
b) Fellowship‑ area that's made to have fellowship with God.
c) Conscience‑ the inward judge that tells us right from wrong. It is through the conscience that we feel guilt.
II. The Basis for All Inner Healing and Deliverance
James 5:16 ‑ "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed."
Prov. 28:13 ‑ "He who conceals (hides) his sin will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion (mercy)."
Eph. 4:32 ‑ Must be willing to forgive.
Matt. 18:21‑35 Need to forgive from the heart, even as Jesus forgave us.
Is. 53:4 ‑ Jesus bore our griefs and carried away our sorrows on the cross.
Heb. 2:14 ‑ Jesus rendered the devil powerless, that we might be delivered from bondage.
Luke 10:19 ‑ "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents (evil spirits) and scorpions (demons), and over all the power of the enemy (Satan), and nothing shall injure you."
III. How do Demons Enter a Person?
A) Prov. 5:22‑ His own sins will capture him and the cords of those sins will hold him in bondage.
Demons enter through "open doors". They have to be given an opportunity, an opening. When a man yields to temptation, he sins in the flesh. Through such sin, the door is open for the invasion of the enemy. Then he has a compounded problem ‑ the flesh and the devil. The solution is two‑fold: crucify the flesh and cast out the demons.
B) Unforgiveness (Matt. 18).
God warns us that all who have experienced His forgiveness and refuse to forgive others will be turned over to the tormentors. As long as we hold on to unforgiveness, we remain captive to demonic spirits of resentment, hatred and related spirits.
IV. How Can someone be Set Free From Demons?
A) Sin must be confessed (repent) and renounced (forsaking of evil); the action resulting from repentance.
B) Forgiveness must be made (this is absolutely essential for deliverance).
C) Cast out demon in the name of Jesus (Mark 16:17a, Luke 10:19).
Unforgiveness: is a grudge or resentment caused by hurts. An unwillingness to release the person from the heart, a choice of the will.
Results: a) God hands them over to the tormentors. Matt. 18:34‑35
b) God will not forgive you. Matt. 6:14‑15
c) Bitterness rots the bones.
d) In time, you'll become just like the person you hate because you've focused in on them.
e) Emotional drain of energy.
f) Loss of sleep and appetite.
g) Chemical imbalance in the body.
VI. Two Signs of Demon Activity
1) Bitter Jealousy (James. 3:14‑16)
2) Selfish ambition
How Can They be Set Free?
Repent‑confess‑renounce‑forsake‑forgive
VII. Curses
A) What are they?
Sentence of divine vengeance on sinners. The expression of a wish of evil to another. Affliction, torment, great vexation.
B) How do you get them?
1) Disobeying God (Deut. 28)
2) They are passed down from one generation to another by those who have hated God and turned from Him (Ex. 20:5).
C) How do you get rid of them?
1) Repentance for you and your family's sin.
2) Come under the Lordship of Jesus.
3) Appropriate, by faith, God's provision when Jesus became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13‑14).
4) Verbally break the curse in Jesus' name.
D) What does God say about our inheritance?
Ps. 47:4a "He shall choose our inheritance for us."
VIII. Why would a believer continue to remain in bondage after he has been saved?
1) Ignorance of the Word.
2) Lack of instruction.
3) Doesn't want to confess and forsake his sin. (Prov. 28:13)