When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.(Matthew 12:43-45)
My mother shared a story about me, that when I was about 2 years old she use to take me to all night prayers and some prayer meetings organised by Christ Apostolic Church in Kumasi where I grew up. My mum said after we come back home from the prayer meetings I began to practice what I saw the man of God do during prayers offered to people who needed deliverance. So one woman in the compound house told my mum to warn me to stop what I was doing other wise I would be hit by a demon, because I was laying hands on the people who came around me due to my curiosity as a child for didn’t know what I was doing in the first place.
At side this I have also seen myself ministering deliverance to people in my dreams several times this is a mark or an indication of my calling in this area of ministry. And I have had confirmation from other men of God as well.
As at that young and tender age there was this desire to minister deliverance to people. No wonder God has been using me in this area, I have recorded a number testimonies by ministering under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit and a number of people have been set free in secret and even at church. Bear in mind deliverance of the captive is in the sovereign will of the Holy Spirit not man.
Casting out devils can be instant but walking in total deliverance comes in time , it is a process and a journey not an event; failure to understand this will cause one to walk in recycling of pain and defeat. You cannot deliver the captives unless you have been freed or delivered first. Walking in total deliverance require both inner healing of (soul) and casting out devils (exorcism).
In my experience in this area of ministry I have come to realise that deliverance thrives on the wings of compassion, perseverance, faith, desire, love, mercy , desperation, confrontation and holy anger and aggression against wickedness, witchcraft and evil and unrighteousness in the spirit realm (warfare). And every deliverer is a warrior. You don’t necessarily have to be a pastor or in the five fold ministry to be able to walk in this dimension or realm of power and authority. The sole source and power of this ministry of deliverance is the anointing of the Holy Ghost. No man can minister deliverance to the captive except the Holy Spirit be with them as Nicodemus said unto Jesus.
In my teenage years I encountered quite a number of demonic oppressions in the area of sleep paralysis, being suppressed in my dreams by demons , and encounters with demonic cobwebs, these are the ones which were frequent in my life. However, by the special grace of God and by the power of the Holy Ghost I have being delivered from them all. I do believe you also can be delivered from any kind of demonic oppression or torment you may be facing or going through right now.
For this purpose the son of God was made manifest to destroy the works of the devil. 1John 3:8
Jesus also said if I by the finger of God cast out devils then it means the Kingdom of God has come. Ministering deliverance breeds joy in the heart of men. It is not a special gift of the Spirit like the other nine gift of the spirit every believer has the capacity to walk in. This dimension is a very command Jesus gave to his disciples – for in my name you shall cast out devil.
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you -Luke 11:20
There are several things a believer need to do in order to walk in such power and authority .
1. Submission : the word of God states it categorically and admonish us to submit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, resist the devil and he shall flee from us. It is very difficult to walk in power and authority if there is no submission or walking in total submission and humility unto the will and the plan and purposes of God for our lives. Submission and humility breeds power and authority. It is in a place of submission that a believer will learn the art and science of service and in this area God rewards the believer due to his faithfulness. I love what Papa Kenneth Hagin one of Gods General puts it :”God rewards faithfulness and not gifting.”Casting out devils is also a skill that is learnt in the place of service. I remember growing in this dimension my spiritual father Papa John Owusu Agyeman, one of the fathers of the Pentecostal Churches in Amsterdam, Netherlands, he will calll the prayer tower team of our Church to pray for people who needed to the set free from any oppression ; by obedience we take the opportunity to learn through submission and service these sessions equip me and the team with boldness and confidence in walking in such power and authority. It is through submission that hands will be laid upon you to also minister to the needy.
2. Another area is in total consecration and sanctification. In the area of casting out devils and deliverance walking in holiness, purity of heart and mind is non negotiable, it is not an option it is a prerequisite. As a matter of fact it is not only a weapon but also a shield for Jesus said the prince of this world cometh but he has no portion of his in me. When a believer begins to live a very consecrated life on daily basis he becomes a force to reckon with in the hands of God, he then becomes a vessel of mercy prepared for the manifestation of Gods glory here on earth.
3. One of the major area is our constant devotion unto God. Devotion basically means being dedicated to the things of God in the area of prayer , worship , study of the word of God and fasting and praises. This constant fellowship with God keeps one’s fire on the altar of God constantly burning. A believer becomes a quiver in hand of God prepared for his use in the kingdom of God. Whatever you are devoted to consistently and persistently produce undeniable results.
How I began to walk in freedom from demonic oppression.
I first of all decided to recognise the fact that I am suffering and being afflicted, in view of this I needed help. One of the most difficult things a person can do to themselves is to walk in ignorance and lack of self awareness. So what I did was to recognise or identify the problem. One of the major deception that the devil has kept many a believer in is to make us believe that he doesn’t exist and also another thing is to make believers believe that he is not behind many of the afflictions that people go through in life. Lack of spiritual intelligence can cause the enemy to have an upper hand over you as a believer. It is when the doctor is able to diagnose you that is when he will be able to prescribe a drug to cure your ailment.
Another thing that helped in my journey was to walk in repentance and forgiveness. Repentance and forgiveness are powerful keys when is comes to being set free from any demonic oppression. Repentance and forgiveness must be part of the lifestyle of every believer. When there is no repentance and forgiveness the enemy or adversary can use that as a legal grounds to hinder us from walking in total freedom. Blessed is the e man whose sins are forgiven and the Lord remembers no more. What you forgive others of you are freed from and what you don’t let go of you become. It is now time to let go of any one you are holding grudges against. It is also time to renounce, denounce all sins and transgressions and iniquity in your life and that which runs through your blood line. (Psalm 51, read whole chapter)
The ministry of prayer has been my daily necessity for survival and maintenance of daily from any demonic oppression I go through in life . The book of James 5:13 says: is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. The only antidote to affliction is fervent prayers. The ministry of prayer has played a vital role on my road to deliverance. Growing up I used to be engulfed with fear, spirit of rejection one of the toughest demonic cases or affliction and fear of rejection, spirit of abandonment, but by persistent prayers the anointing was released to break these bondages and yokes off my life. Until a person deals with the yoke of the foundational bondage from their background he or she cannot walk in the fullness of their potential. Prayer when deployed effectively can cause a believer to break free from any demonic oppression.
The ministry of fasting plays a key role when it comes to being set free. Jesus once said to his disciples when they were confronted with the issue of a boy tormented by lunacy or epilepsy which threw him in fire and water. Jesus admonish the disciples that this kind goeth not except by prayer and fasting. Fasting starves any demon lodging and taking residence in the soul of the rooms of the believer being oppressed. Crying out (prayer) will bring the oppressed to the attention of God but fasting (groaning ) binds the strongman behind any demonic oppression. One of the lifestyle of fasting that helped me in my journey to freedom from any kind of demonic bondage was to be inspired by the Holy Spirit to fast on the day I was born that is every Sunday. This has helped me tremendously I recommend to any one who wants to see undeniable proof of results in their quest to seek for permanent freedom.
The ministry of worship has been a very powerful weapon to contend for my total deliverance and liberation from any kind of demonic oppression. We were made or designed to worship. That is how God in his own wisdom wired us. Man is religiously incurable hence it is either you worship God or devote your time and energy to another being other than God, no man can live in a vacuum. Do not be deceived. Worship and praises provokes the hand of God this was evident in the life of apostle Paul and Silas when they were kept in prison they decide to pray and sing praise onto God right after their deliverance was released. Worshipping God with our bodies is one of the ways of maintaining our deliverance from demonic torment and influence.
The ministry of the prophetic, the prophetic is one of the most criticised ministry in that, it exposes the unfruitful works of the Kingdom of darkness and the workers of iniquity. And one of the revelatory gifts that is much needed in deliverance ministry is the gift of the discerning of spirits. Also known us the distinguishing of spirits. This gift gives the believer the ability to know the spirit behind any manifestation whether it being of God or the devil. This gift also open the believer up to the access of the angelic realm and the spiritual world. The gift of the discerning of spirits is crucial when it comes to being set free from the powers of darkness. How to activate this gift is living a consecrated life through the ministry of prayer and fasting and fellowship with the good word of God.
One of the things you must bear in mind is that , in all these, it is to submit your life unto the Lordship of the Holy Spirit and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I prophesy your deliverance now in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.(Obadiah 1:17)
Your beloved brother
Akwasi Acheampong