The forcefulness of the authority regarding the ministry of spiritual warfare and deliverance, depends on the degree of Revelation that the minister has attained, and that he/she has understood, above all. In view of the fact that spiritual warfare and deliverance is to enter into battle against the forces of darkness that are in one place, and in one person, it is very important that the minister ‘understands’ what he/she has acquired about deliverance, based on the Scriptures at all times, otherwise his/her authority will be shaken at some point.
Spiritual warfare and deliverance are not formulas, nor costumes, nor rites, nor anything similar, the demons do not obey any of that,
In fact, acting based on such practices strengthen the ‘right’ of the demon to continue operating in the place.[1] Spiritual warfare and deliverance are exercised based on faith, because no one can see what he is fighting against, and this, if one does not have enough faith to operate, constitutes the greatest hindrance when it comes to exercise it, and can stop the liberation. In many cases, the confrontation is against more than one spiritual being at the same time, which demands that the minister knows how to take care of his or her physical condition, and learns to dose his or her strength to avoid falling into physical and mental exhaustion.
Spiritual warfare and deliverance are not formulas, nor costumes, nor rites, nor anything similar, the demons do not obey any of that, Spiritual warfare and deliverance are exercised based on faith,
The Revelation on which one works is decisive to subdue the authority and the right of the demon, and to expel him from the place. Note that we say ‘Revelation’, and not ‘knowledge’, for it is not the same thing; someone may have much knowledge but lack authority, as recorded in Matthew 7:29, we read: “for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”; the scribes were Levites and had much knowledge of the Scriptures, but they had no authority.
The authority arises as a consequence of the Revelation, it is instantaneous,
Note in the following texts, how the demons recognize the Revelation and authority that a person has, it is seen in the recognition that they make about the person; in Mark 1:24, we read: “saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”. In Acts 19:15 we also have another example: “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”. Authority arises from the deposit of Revelation that the person has acquired from God, and not only from the knowledge he or she has, no matter how good it may be.
From the account in Luke 4:36 we can understand that Revelation consists of the Word understood, and not just the Word recited: “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”. Note that we say, Word understood, and not, Word interpreted; ‘understanding’ the Word is not ‘interpreting’ it, it is not about interpreting the Word, it is understanding it, understanding brings Salvation, as we read in the very Words of Jesus, in the text of Matthew,
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mathew 13:12-14
See now the parallel text of Mark,
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Mark 4:10-12
Let us carefully attend to the following doctrinal basis of faith, and strive to understand it. The lack of understanding of the Word causes the instantaneous generation of a satanic operation and intervention of confusion, in the person and in his environment, as we can corroborate in the following text of Matthew 13:19: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side”. Now, based on the same text, let us put it the other way around and see the value of ‘understanding’ God’s Revelation; if the lack of understanding of the Word causes satanic intervention to be generated, the ‘understanding’ of the Word results in the ‘casting out’ of the demon. Thus it is clear that it is the understanding of Revelation that gives a person authority.
The lack of understanding of the Word causes the instantaneous generation of a satanic operation and intervention of confusion, in the person and in his environment,
A couple of years ago, the Lord made me go through an experience that at the time I did not understand (it was not to be understood at that time), but I acted in faith, believing that God was doing it with a purpose. I was visiting the church I had pastored several years ago, in Guatemala City, and my visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the church, so they gave me the time to preach that Sunday morning; during the time of worship, the Lord urged me to take off my shoes, based on the text of Exodus 3:5: “..put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground”, Which I did without much hesitation; when they were about to give me the time for the preaching of the Word, I wanted to put on my shoes again to be ready to go to the pulpit, immediately the Lord told me not to put on my shoes, to go barefoot to the pulpit, and to preach that way, I confess that it was a little uncomfortable at the beginning.
A year after that event I understood the reason for the Lord’s demand to preach barefoot. One afternoon of ministry came to me the case of a believer who in her years in the world had practiced Satanism, she came to receive deliverance, because although a woman of faith, she had attacks that she had not been able to overcome; as soon as I began to pray and rebuke, the demon manifested itself, but resisted to leave; the case was extremely strong, to such a degree that there came a time when I felt weakened and did not know what else to do. Under that strong struggle, the Lord spoke to me, and told me, “show him who is in the wrong place”, wrong place? to what did the Lord refer? how to do it? And there the Spirit of Truth took me back to that Sunday that I preached barefoot, and reminded me, “…. put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground“; there the Lord gave me understanding of the Revelation of that act of preaching barefoot, the devil is in the wrong place because the place where we are is “Holy”, he does not belong here, therefore he has to leave; I immediately proceeded to take off my shoes, and with the authority that the Revelation gave me, I said, I rebuke you, demon, leave this place because you do not belong to this place, it is holy ground, and the person was like pushed against the wall and then fell to the floor, and the demon had come out of it.
Authority comes as a result of understanding the Revelation of the Word, it is not only to know the Word, it is to understand the ‘spirit’ of the Word, before it there is no demon that can resist.
I see many people with much knowledge but with little Revelation, in many cases, because the men and women that God has called are bound by religious ties, united to denominational commitments, faithful to a dogma rather than to the Word. The men and women who want to do the Will of God must first validate their commitment to God rather than to men. Peace.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized King James Version, 1909 (AKJV).
Pastor Pedro Montoya
[1] Acts 19:13-16: 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Treasure in Earthen Vessels 