For a number of years, in the early days of New Life Fellowship Church here in Queens, NYC. I was involved in driving demons out of people. Yes. Real demons. I didn’t seek it out. They simply began screaming out during services in the early years. In fact, there was a season in the early days of New Life’s history (from 1988-1994) that we had weekly meetings with people who had demons. It was exciting, exhilarating, exhausting. So we learned from the best deliverance ministries in North America at that time. However, something was clearly missing. They were “better” and “freer” for a while. Yet only for a while. Something was clearly wrong. Emotional health and contemplative spirituality filled in missing components in people’s spiritual formation.Yet it is rare to meet pastors/leaders who are contemplatives, who integrate the emotional components of discipleship, and who also embrace the need for driving out demons when needed. I gave the following message on May 23, 2011 on Jesus’ parable of tying up the strong man (Satan) as the metaphor of His ministry. Making Room For Jesus To Drive Out Evil Check it out. I believe God is returning power ministry (healing, deliverance, prophetic) to the church on a foundation of emotionally healthy spirituality. It has taken us 15+ years to get here. The message offers two invitations for us if we are to make room for Him to drive out evil: 1. Discernment. There are times we are under enormous pressure when “all hell breaks loose” (cf. Jesus in the desert). We are to persevere and stand firm in those moments. These moments are a direct frontal assault from demonic powers, At other times, God allows testing for our growth as He did with Paul (2 Cor. 12:7-9; James 1:2-4). We need the perspective of mature people to help us discern what is going on in those seasons. 2. Fill Our House (Life) with Jesus. Jesus says that if we cast out an evil spirit without filling the house up with Him, seven other “spirits more wicked than itself” will return with it. And the final condition of that person will be worse than the first (Matt.12:43-45). This was clearly Jesus’ ultimate concern. I want the focus of our lives and ministries to be Jesus and Jesus alone. Yet we cannot follow Jesus today without acknowledging the driving out of the demonic was central to His ministry. We do not want to be “unaware of the devil’s schemes”(2 Cor. 2:11). Take a look at the sermon. What are your thoughts?
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Jun
