The peace of the Lord be with you and with your house.
I give thanks to the Eternal God, to the Almighty, to the Creator of heaven and earth for this time. This is a time of revelation, a time of visitation by the Holy Spirit. It has pleased the Lord to gather us together to establish His mercy, His grace and, above all things, His will. That is why the enemy has no jurisdiction in this time, and we establish the power of the Holy Spirit through all that the Lord permits us to do.
Introduction: The Two Aspects of Salvation
We are studying the subject of salvation, and it is necessary for each of us to understand something fundamental: salvation consists of the operation of the Holy Spirit to rescue man and woman from the kingdom of darkness and introduce them into the kingdom of God.
Salvation has two important aspects that every man of God and every woman of God must know:
The Future Aspect (Eschatological)
This aspect refers to when these heavens and this earth that we know are completely destroyed, as it is written in the book of Revelation. When this creation is destroyed and we are taken to a new heaven and a new earth, we will always be with the Lord, living in the places that God has prepared for all those who have recognized Jesus as the Lord of our lives.
The great majority believes that this is the only salvation, but I must tell you that there is more.
The Present Aspect
The present aspect of salvation is known as:
- Healing
- Strength and fortification
- Vivification
- Deliverance
This last point—deliverance—is the subject we are going to study in this teaching. Deliverance is also salvation, and it is available to everyone, to every man and every woman.
The Problem: Egypt Remains in the Heart
We should no longer live subject to the authority of the enemy. God has called us precisely to bring us out of the kingdom of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of admirable light in Christ Jesus.
However, what happens today is what happened when the people of Israel were brought out of Egypt: they were brought out of Egypt, but Egypt was never taken out of their hearts.
Likewise, in the present time, many of us confess that we have come out of the world, but the reality—something we cannot ignore or deny—is that the world is still in the hearts of many men and women of God. I am not saying they are not legitimate, but there is something we must understand: the reason why the world and its pleasures still remain in the life of a man or woman is not so much because they want it that way, but because they have not gone through deliverance processes.
The Prophetic Word of Moses
When the people of Israel were pursued by the Egyptians after they had left Egypt, the event of the crossing of the Red Sea took place. Moses established on behalf of God a prophetic word that applies to all without exception: “Today these Egyptians who pursue you, you will never see them again” (Exodus 14:13).
That is the purpose of deliverance: that everything that is part of the kingdom of darkness and that still maintains activity, government, and execution over the life of a man of God or a woman of God, disappears completely.
Today we find many men and women who are part of a congregation, but the kingdom of darkness still maintains activity in their lives. Many see it as attacks or oppression from the enemy, but I must tell you: it is not an attack, it is not persecution, it is not oppression—it is still the establishment of the kingdom of darkness within the person’s life and within the environments where the person lives.
Part One: Everyone Needs Deliverance
1. All Have Sinned and Are Destitute
We begin in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Here it all begins: all have sinned. Who are all? Not only the Jews, the wicked, or the perverse. All includes all of us in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: those who are alive, those who already lived and departed from this earth, and those who have yet to be born and live. All without exception.
In Adam and Eve we were all represented. That is why sin still has execution in our times. Because in reality, if we look at it, only Adam and Eve were the ones who disobeyed. However, all of us without exception are suffering the consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. This is easy to understand: we descend from the same lineage. All of humanity descends from the same lineage.
What Does “Destitute of the Glory of God” Mean?
When the Word says that we are destitute of the glory of God, it does not only mean that we are separated, distant, or far from God. There is something more, much more important that we have often not considered.
When we go to the book of Genesis chapter 2, when God forms Adam and eventually Eve, God declared: “Let Us make man in Our image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26). And the same Word ratifies that man was made in the image and likeness of God.
When Romans 3:23 says that they are destitute of the glory of God, it means—listen carefully to what I am going to say—that man and woman lost the image and likeness of God.
This is something we have often not considered. We have admitted: “Yes, okay, we sinned.” But many still consider the fact that we sinned as not so serious. Some even call it “mistakes” to soften things.
But I must tell you: yes, it is very serious, extremely serious. Being destitute of the glory of God means in reality that man and woman lost the image and likeness of God.
Image and Likeness: Not Physical, but Spiritual
I must establish the following: the image and likeness of God does not mean anything physical. It does not mean physical appearance nor does it have anything to do with something physical, because God is Spirit.
What image then? What likeness then was it that impacted man and eventually woman? Man lost the image and likeness of God—that is precisely what it means to be destitute of the glory of God.
2. The Wages of Sin is Death
Let us now go to chapter 6 of Romans, verse 23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
The wages of sin is death. Because they are destitute of the glory of God, the wages of sin is death. Because man and woman lost the image and likeness of God, the wages of sin is death.
There is a sentence of death upon humanity, upon all descendants of Adam and Eve. We all come from the same lineage.
This was exactly what God said to Adam: “The day you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). As we have explained on other occasions, the word that God declared was establishing that as soon as they ate, at that precise moment they were going to die. But the mercy of God extended the time. They did not die at that precise moment. The mercy of God extended the time, why and for what? To give them the opportunity of repentance—this is the opportunity that God gives to every man and every woman.
3. We Acquired the Image of Satan
Now let me go even deeper regarding the matter that we lost the image and likeness of God.
In the same chapter 6 of Romans, verse 16, it says: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obey, you are servants of the one whom you obey?”
I emphasize: you are servants of the one whom you obey.
What does this mean? It means that the day man and woman lost the image and likeness of God, that same day, through disobedience, we acquired another image. It is not that we were left without an image or without likeness. That same day, through disobedience, man acquired a new image; that same day woman acquired a new image.
This is what the Word says. Being a servant of someone does not only mean being a slave, does not only mean doing what I do not want to do, but it means that one became constituted of the same essence of the one they obeyed.
That day, man and woman obeyed Satan. Therefore, from that day man and woman acquired the image of Satan.
A Hard but Biblical Truth
This is hard. For many, hearing this could be reason to reject the teaching. They might say: “Impossible. How can it be possible that we acquired the image of Satan?”
I must tell you: yes, that is what the Word of the Lord says.
See, for example, what it says in 1 Corinthians 15:49: “And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly”.
The first part says: “we have borne the image of the earthly.” Who is the earthly? Adam. Adam acquired an image, acquired a likeness. He lost the image and likeness of God, but acquired the image of the one whom he had obeyed. And from there on, all those born of the same lineage of Adam and Eve have acquired the image and likeness of Satan.
Although this sounds harsh, it is necessary to establish it. Many of us do not really want to understand what the gravity of disobedience was. That is why still in the present time, men and women who are part of a congregation have no qualms about continuing to disobey God. Why? Because we have not really understood the gravity of what it meant to disobey God.
It was not only an error, it was not only a disobedience. It meant renouncing the image and likeness of God and adopting on the other hand the image and likeness of Satan. This is precisely what is serious about the human condition.
The Words of Jesus
I was reading in the Gospel of John chapter 8, verse 44. See what it says (this is the word of Jesus addressed at that moment to the religious, but it applies to all of us):
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
You, children of your father the devil, are. Did He say it only to the Pharisees because they were Pharisees? No. This applies to all of us.
4. The Current Condition of the Believer
Therefore, what the Word of the Lord establishes for us is that everyone needs deliverance.
Many people hide behind the fact that we have already accepted Jesus. Yes, as happened in ancient times: the people of Israel had come out of the slavery of Egypt, but Egypt did not come out of their hearts. That is the condition in which many people live today.
We are part of a congregation, we confess ourselves as Christians, believers, children of God, but nevertheless there are tendencies, there are desires, there are interests that are still part of the world.
The question is: why?
Some might say: “Well, because we are human.” Others might say: “Because in reality we are still sinners, but forgiven.”
No. That is not what the Word of God says. The Word of God says: “If the one who is born of God, the seed of God is in him and he cannot sin anymore, because the seed—the gene of God—is in him” (1 John 3:9).
How then do we reconcile this situation? As the apostle Paul also said in his epistle to the Romans: “The things I do not want to do, those are precisely the ones I end up doing” (Romans 7:15).
How can it be possible that I, being a child of God, having confessed myself as a child of God, having accepted Jesus, still have these tendencies?
5. Demonic Activity in Believers
Let us talk a little more about the exercise of demons. The exercise of demons does not only have to do with tendencies toward sin or toward things that are not of God. The activity of demons still exercises government over the lives of people, even though they are within a congregation.
And I repeat: it is not only because of the tendency they might have toward sin. I speak of:
- Illnesses
- Mental problems
- Physical problems
- Emotional problems
- Problems in the same environment, in the house where one is living
Still, it is seen that demons still have influence.
What is happening? There is something we have not correctly understood about the message of the Gospel. Many believe that “I accepted Jesus, I raised my hand and said I accepted Jesus,” and they falsely believe—because that is not what the Word of the Lord establishes—that all things will simultaneously change.
I must tell you: no, they will not change. They will change to the extent that each man of God, to the extent that each woman of God goes about:
- Taking Egypt out of our hearts
- Taking Egypt out of our minds
- Taking Egypt out of our bodies
Deliverance is Provision, Not Automatic
See what the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Colossians 1:13 says: “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son”.
He has delivered us, yes, to the extent. Because the work of the cross of Calvary is provision of life, it is not that it is going to happen automatically or simultaneously as soon as you accepted Jesus. No.
It is to the extent that each of us submits our lives, our mind, our heart, our body—we submit it to deliverance—it is to that extent that this word will be fulfilled.
6. The Case of Matthew 7:21-23
I am presenting you cases that are shocking so that we can understand the reason why there are still demonic forces operating in the lives of men and women of God. I repeat: it is not that they are illegitimate. What happens is that they have not gone through deliverance.
In Matthew chapter 7, verse 21 onward, we are presented with the case of some who say to the Lord:
“Lord, but if in Your name we cast out demons. Lord, but if in Your name we spoke in new tongues. Lord, but if in Your name we did many miracles.”
And you read the Lord’s response: “Depart from Me, workers of iniquity, for I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).
If you compare what they are saying—we spoke tongues, we cast out demons, we did miracles—with the signs of having believed in Jesus, they are precisely the same. You can read in Mark 16: “These signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will lay hands on the sick, these will be healed; they will speak in new tongues; they will cast out demons” (Mark 16:17-18).
They are the signs. What happened then with Matthew 7:21? Were they illegitimate?
No. I must tell you no, because they are giving the signs of having believed.
What happened then? What happened was as in the case of Judas. Judas Iscariot was chosen, but he did not take Satan out of his heart. He did not take him out; on the contrary, he continued to feed him. And you know what happened with Judas.
Everyone needs deliverance. This is the important part that we recognize.
7. Can a Christian Be Possessed?
There are many men and women of God, including ministers among them, who say: “No, impossible. A Christian cannot be possessed by demons.”
I must tell you: that is not what the Word of the Lord establishes. And precisely by claiming that declaration, by maintaining that declaration, they continue living still under the bondage of the enemy. And what they do is say: “The enemy is pressuring me, the enemy is oppressing me.”
No, no, no. It is not that he is oppressing you. He already has control over your life. There are areas of our lives that are subject to the enemy and they cannot be freed if the person does not submit to deliverance.
The Lamp and the House
Jesus said it this way: A lamp is not lit and placed under a basket. A lamp is not lit and placed under the bed. When the lamp is lit—which is Christ Jesus—it is so that it illuminates the entire house.
When a lamp is placed under the basket, the wardrobe, a piece of furniture, there will be much light in that area. But in the distant sections there will be darkness.
That is what happens in the life of a man of God, that is what happens in the life of a woman of God who has accepted Christ Jesus. Yes, they accepted Him. You brought the light, you introduced the light. But it is not completely illuminating your entire life. There are dark areas, there are areas of darkness, there are areas that are still subject under the kingdom of darkness.
8. Covenants with the Enemy
A person who practiced:
- Witchcraft
- Sorcery
- Spiritism
- Bestiality
- The mysteries of the Rosicrucians
- The mysteries of the Masons
…and converts to Christ Jesus, there are areas that he or she gave to the enemy. If they do not go through deliverance, those areas will be leading them, conducting them down paths that are not pleasing to the Lord.
How many times have I seen men and women with ministry, but who never went through deliverance. Their path becomes twisted, goes down paths that God did not prepare for him or her.
Everyone needs deliverance, especially a person who is working in a ministry. Why? Because there are areas, covenants that were made.
“But I never summoned the enemy”—is the response I have heard many times. “But if I never invoked him.”
It does not matter if you did not invoke him. Having walked in what the enemy established in this world is more than enough for it to be considered a covenant with the enemy.
There are people who come to say: “Yes, I did it only once.”
And I have to tell you: How many times did Adam lie? Only once. Once is more than enough.
“But I did not really venture into it.”
But having admitted, having allowed, having just considered the possibility of doing it is more than enough. That is why it is important that we understand this.
9. The Foundation: Repentance
I want to read in Acts of the Apostles chapter 2, verse 38:
“And Peter said to them: Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Why are there people who still have the presence of the kingdom of darkness in their lives?
Number one: because they have not repented.
The practice today—and I have said it—is a practice that is not based on the Word of the Lord. The practice is: “raise your hand, repeat after me.” And those words that many of us repeated without even knowing what we were saying do not convert the person into a Christian, do not convert the man, do not convert the woman into a child of God.
What converts a man? What converts a woman into a child of God? Repentance.
I have to repent of my past deeds. And not present them as if they were a package. I have to repent of this, of this, of this, of this. To the extent that the Holy Spirit brings it to light, I repent:
“I should not have been there. I should never have visited. I should never have practiced. I repent, Lord. Before Your presence I repent.”
Repentance is the basis, it is the foundation of deliverance. A person who has not repented of the things they did, of the things they ventured into, cannot receive deliverance.
See the process: to be able to receive the Holy Spirit, the first step has to be repentance. This is important that we understand.
10. Getting Rid of Everything
It is equally important, always in Acts of the Apostles chapter 19, verse 18:
“And many of those who had believed came confessing and declaring their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced vain arts brought their books and burned them before all. And when they counted up the value of them, they found it to be fifty thousand denarii.” (Acts 19:18-19)
As fruit of repentance, the man who practiced, the woman who practiced, the man who ventured, the woman who ventured into things they should not have ventured into—all that has to be gotten rid of.
You cannot keep anything. You cannot keep absolutely anything that was part of past practices.
Why? Because they represent a spiritual memory, a memory that evokes our practices. And by evoking our practices, it is invoking again the kingdom of darkness.
We cannot keep:
- Objects
- Pictures
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Nothing that was part of the practices we developed in ancient times
Why? Because otherwise they become an anathema, a stake of the enemy.
Spiritual Lightning Rods
This can explain why there are men and women who suddenly find themselves in a room, find themselves in some part of their house, and see… I have known cases, I have treated cases in which people maintain totems in their house and have come to have a type of supernatural experiences in their own house.
Why? Because they still maintain spiritual memories with the life of the past.
You have to take it all out completely. All of it. We cannot keep anything. Why? Because otherwise we are evoking. All those things—gifts, any article we have received—become and work as if they were a spiritual lightning rod.
You know what a lightning rod is. The lightning rod has the function of attracting. They are spiritual lightning rods that attract the kingdom of darkness.
Therefore, with what we have seen, we realize: everyone needs deliverance, everyone needs to go through a deliverance process.
The deliverance process has to begin with repentance. If a person has not yet taken Egypt out of their heart, has not taken the practices and old ways out of their heart, they cannot be free, no matter how much they may have the desire to do so.
This is the reason why there are men and women who want to seek God, but nothing happens. They go from church to church in some cases, trying or believing that it is about the place.
No, it is not about the place. It is about the person. It is about each of us who have not yet taken the world out of our lives.
Part Two: The Benefits of Deliverance
Let us now go to the second section of this teaching. I want to see the benefits of deliverance so that, in the end, each of us can say: “I need to submit to deliverance.”
Benefit 1: Spiritual Food
Let us go to Mark chapter 7, verse 27:
“But Jesus said to them: Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Many people speak and confess: “Deliverance is the children’s bread.”
I want to present to you now the first benefit. What is deliverance? Deliverance is spiritual food.
It says so there. What is bread for? Bread is for nourishment. Possibly in our environments, in the cultures in which we are moving, bread may be a complement. Not so in ancient times.
In ancient times, bread was the main food. A person, in fact, could maintain themselves eating bread and drinking water. You see it in some parts of the Old Testament mainly. Bread was not a complement as it may be today. Bread was the main food.
Therefore, when Jesus said: “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread”, what He is talking about is food.
Deliverance is food, it is spiritual food.
Now you understand why a person who has not gone through deliverance can take the Bible—can take the most modern versions that are precisely intended to bring greater comprehension of the reading to the person—but they will not understand it.
Why? Because they are bound. A person who has not gone through deliverance does not understand the Bible.
Jesus is the Bread of Life
See what it says in the Gospel of John chapter 6, verses 50-51:
“This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
Bread is not a complement. When we speak of bread in the Holy Scriptures, it is the fundamental food, it is the main food, it is the meal.
Therefore, what is deliverance? Number one: deliverance is spiritual food.
For this reason many men, for this reason many women cannot grow. Cannot grow. They know the Bible by heart, but that is not a guarantee. According to Matthew chapter 4, Satan also knows the Bible, knows the Bible and recites it. That is not a guarantee.
The only guarantee is deliverance. Do you know why? Because deliverance is also salvation.
People who are not growing spiritually can go two, three or more times a week to a meeting at church, but sometimes they leave not even the same as when they entered. Why? Because they need deliverance. Deliverance is spiritual food.
Eyes and Senses Opened
I want to take you to the Gospel of Luke chapter 24. There is an account that we all know as the account of the disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. What I want to highlight is the following.
In verse 27 it says: “And beginning from Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Now see what verse 31 says: “Then their eyes were opened.”
And a little further on, in the same chapter, verse 45, we read: “Then He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”
Why do you not understand the Bible? Why do you not understand the Word of God? Because although you read it, you do not know how to apply it. Because although you know it and although you recite it, you do not know how to move according to the Bible.
You need deliverance, because deliverance is spiritual food. While a person—a man, a woman—does not submit to deliverance, they cannot grow. They will become a spiritual runt.
In fact, in the epistles of the apostle Paul there is talk of the weak in faith. It is very important that each of us understands this.
Benefit 2: Physical Salvation
Let us go to the second benefit. I want to go to the Gospel of Luke chapter 1. There we are going to find at least three or four benefits. I am going to read first verses 68 to 71:
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
Benefit of deliverance: it also represents physical salvation. Physical salvation. It represents and signifies physical salvation.
“He has delivered us from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
It is deliverance. You go to the book of Genesis when Jacob is being pursued by the neighboring peoples. God gave Jacob an instruction and said: “Put away all the earrings, all that was associated with idolatry” (Genesis 35:2-5). And when Jacob did this, the text declares that a fear fell upon the inhabitants of the region and they stopped pursuing Jacob.
Deliverance establishes salvation from our enemies.
How many of us have read and cited a text from the Old Testament declared by the prophet who said: “No weapon formed by men shall prevail against you”? (Isaiah 54:17)
That word applies only to a man, only to a woman who has submitted to deliverance. That word is not for everyone. That word is not for a man who still walks under the influence of Egypt. That word is not for a woman who still walks under the influence of Egypt.
This is important that we understand. Why? Because today each man and each woman is accommodating the Gospel to their own desires. Today there is a tendency of men and women—and I am speaking of men and women who are part of a congregation—where each one accommodates the Gospel to their own conveniences, to their own culture, to their own benefit.
Brother, this is not what the Word of the Lord establishes for us. It is we who must accommodate ourselves to the Gospel, not the other way around.
There is physical salvation when one obtains or when one subjects, submits to deliverance.
Benefits 3-6: Without Fear, Serving God, Holiness and Righteousness
Still in chapter 1, I want to go to other benefits. Chapter 1, verses 73 to 75:
“The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”
Here you find four benefits of deliverance:
Benefit 3: Without Fear
First benefit: without fear. Verse 74: “that without fear”.
How many men and how many women fear because of changes in government? How many men and how many women fear because of the devaluation of currency? How many men and how many women are fearing being fired? How many men and how many women are fearing illnesses?
In fact, I have to say: there are men and women who are taking medications just in case at some point this attacks me.
Is that the life of faith? Is that the life of a man and a woman who have believed the Lord? You know the answer. You perfectly know the answer.
But nevertheless, many people are walking with fear. Fear of this, fear of that, fear all the time. And they are wearing themselves out in such a way that their age still does not justify the appearance of that person. Young people still, but nevertheless haggard in their face because of fear.
What do we need? A change of government? A change of economy? A change of this, of that, of the other?
No. We need deliverance.
“That without fear, delivered from our enemies, we might serve Him.”
Benefit 4: Serving God
Second benefit: serving God.
How many men and how many women have a calling from God but cannot execute it? Cannot develop it. Cannot. No matter how much… there is an impediment, an obstacle, a detention. They start and suddenly: stopped, held up.
Why? Because they need deliverance.
“Without fear, delivered from our enemies, we might serve Him.”
Serving God is a benefit of deliverance. This is something we have to understand, brothers and sisters. Why? Because there are men held up, because there are women held up, retained in life. They cannot prosper. They cannot. Always with much up and down, up and down, up and down. And each time trying to go up, the falls or the downs are more intense than the rise.
Why? Because we need deliverance.
Benefits 5 and 6: Holiness and Righteousness
I continue reading verse 75: “we might serve Him”—observe—”in holiness and righteousness before Him”.
Here there are two benefits of deliverance: holiness and righteousness.
Holiness is not a change of clothes. Holiness is not a change of attire. Holiness is not the rigor of laws, of commandments to which we have to subject or submit ourselves.
Holiness is the work of the Holy Spirit in the person.
“If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, it is because the kingdom of heaven has come to you” (Matthew 12:28). Word of Jesus.
Because there are people who cannot walk in holiness. They need to submit to a rigor of laws and ordinances to feel—it is not to walk, but at least to feel—that they are walking in holiness. Why? Because they have not gone through deliverance.
A person who has not been set free cannot—listen well—cannot walk in holiness.
And the second benefit that appears in this verse: “and in righteousness”.
What did Jesus say? “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Righteousness is part of the kingdom of God. Righteousness is not something optional. Righteousness is not: “If we really want to or if the subject interests you.” No, no, it is not an appendix. Righteousness is part of the kingdom of heaven.
But if the person has not gone through deliverance processes, they cannot, definitely cannot enter into holiness, walk in holiness, or walk in righteousness.
Benefit 7: Deliverance from Spirits of Infirmity
I want to go to the Gospel of Luke chapter 13. I want to see verses 11 through 16:
“And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. And when Jesus saw her, He called her and said to her: Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.”
“And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and said to the crowd: There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
“Then the Lord answered him and said: Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it?”
Verse 16—observe well—“And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound here for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Another benefit, brothers and sisters, of deliverance is that every spirit of infirmity is expelled from the body.
There are illnesses that are not the result of anything physical. It is not the result of age, of anything physical. There are illnesses that are the result of spirits. It clearly says in verse 11: she had a spirit of infirmity.
It is the result of spirits that in some cases are:
- Spirits that come through ancestors
- Spirits that come through practices the person engaged in
- Spirits that come through witchcraft from some toward others
- Spirits that come through curses from some toward others
They are spirits that bind, deteriorate the person’s body. We see it clearly there: a person who walked bent over. But it was necessary to set her free.
That is why it is very important that we understand: everyone needs deliverance, because otherwise the enemy still maintains an exercise, a government, an authority over man, over woman.
Benefit 8: Family and Regional Deliverance
I want to cite one last case. We would like to work on this later at some point.
Benefit of deliverance: deliverance is not only personal or individual. Deliverance can be familial; deliverance can also be regional.
When the Word speaks to us of deliverance, let us not only be considering or thinking of a personal deliverance. It can also be a family deliverance: the same spirit has attacked, has possessed an entire family. It could even be an entire generation.
In the case I want to mention, there is also regional deliverance. What am I referring to? I am referring to deliverance of regions, regions that have been exposed, subjected, subject to practices of witchcraft, to practices of sorcery.
You know there are countries that maintain regions dedicated to witchcraft. There is an accumulation of witches in that city, there is an accumulation of shamans in that city, there is an accumulation of spiritists in that city. That is what I am referring to. And precisely because of them, a country can enter into darkness, into violence, into a satanic government.
The Bible also speaks of deliverance of regions, of countries.
Case 1: Psalm 37
I want to present two cases. The first of them in the book of Psalms chapter 37. See what verses 9, 10, 11 say:
“For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
The reason why there are countries that are walking in darkness is because, unfortunately, the people of God do not know that spiritual deliverance can be brought to these regions.
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). The problem is that many times we want to work it physically, intellectually, rationally, philosophically, politically.
No, no. We are not called for that. We are called to establish spiritual deliverance.
Case 2: Acts 17 and the Apostle Paul
You see in Ephesus, when the apostle in chapter 17… In chapters 16-17, when they arrive in Philippi, the apostle Paul is found, Silas is found and Timothy is found. At least these are the three mentioned at the moment; we do not know if there were others with them.
But the comment made by the inhabitants of the town, those who oppose them, they say: “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6).
That is the work of deliverance: to turn things upside down.
Why are there countries? Why are there regions that have been given over to Satan, to drug trafficking, to witchcraft, to sorcery, to spiritism? Why does this prevail in many countries?
I am going to tell you something: because the people of God do not know about deliverance. They do not know. They do not want to know about deliverance.
Case 3: Jesus and Jericho
The other text I would like to present is found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 19. I want to read only the first verse:
“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.” (Luke 19:1)
Take note: He was passing through Jericho.
Now I want to take you to verse 9:
“And Jesus said to him: Today salvation has come to this house.”
Why am I presenting this case? Because when you go to the book of Joshua, you discover that Joshua issued a curse upon Jericho: “Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates” (Joshua 6:26).
Jericho is this same one, it is the same, it is not another. Joshua declared: “Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city.” So that when they rebuilt Jericho in the time of Ahab, that curse happened. The one who had begun lost his sons completely.
There was a curse.
What does it mean then in chapter 19, verse 1, that Jesus, entering, was passing through Jericho?
Everything has a meaning, has a reason. Why did Jesus come to Jericho? Why did He pass through Jericho? When you review the case, Jesus could have used another route, not necessarily pass through Jericho.
Why did He pass? The great majority of us answer: “Ah, He passed because of Zacchaeus.”
And I have to tell you: always, always there is an evident purpose, but there is a hidden purpose.
The evident purpose was Zacchaeus. But the hidden purpose—the one that is not in plain view of all, only the understanding can see it—the purpose was Jericho. There is a curse that needs to be lifted.
Jesus passed through Jericho not only for Zacchaeus, but to lift a curse upon the city.
Therefore, when in verse 9 it says: “Today salvation has come to this house”, it is not only speaking of Zacchaeus. It is speaking of all of Jericho.
Benefit then of deliverance: deliverance can also be familial, can be generational, can be regional.
Conclusion
Many of our regions can change only through deliverance. There is no other way. These situations cannot be confronted politically, militarily. They cannot be confronted that way. It is necessary to work them spiritually.
But because of ignorance of the Word, many are still living under the dominion of Satan.
In conclusion: everyone needs deliverance. Why? Because deliverance is also salvation.
I bless you. The peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
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