Delivered to Deliver

DELIVERED TO DELIVER

(Luke 8:26-39)

Why don't we see demonic manifestations here in America like in other regions of the world? 

Well as we see here in Luke 8:26-39, demons do not want to be recognized, they don't want to be without a home, they want a place to inhabit, they want to remain in the dark. In places where it is unchurched they can be in the out and open, for there is no power available to remove them, but in churched regions like in the US, they seem to be unrecognizable to most. This has caused many to even doubt their existence, but trust me go to places like Haiti and Africa, and they will be seen. These are places where people openly worship the Devil knowingly, so demonic activity is clearly seen. 

Since we don't believe much in the demonic world, we deal with people who need deliverance by natural means, medication, programs, which only keeps the true problem more and more hidden.

We must lose our fear of the demonic world, we see here in this passage that the "demon shrieked and fell down begging Jesus not to torture him." We have all power and authority in Christ Jesus over all darkness.  Christ has already established our victory, we are just called like the police department to enforce it.  

I am dealing with issues in people around me who don't understand why they do what they do, they want to change yet don't have the power to do so.  I seem to give them the right words or actions yet it is still not enough to see dramatic change.  What is needed I am discovering is deliverance.  So how does deliverance take place?

In this case we see Jesus spoke to the demon, how many of us are too scared to do that?  The demons must respond to an authority greater than their own.  So the demon said we are legion for we are many.  When a criminal is apprehended their identity must first be discovered before they can be found guilty, charged and imprisoned.  The same is true with demons, they must first be identified and then the authority is now available to evict them of their current dwelling and put them where they belong in the abyss.

Once this Gerasene was set free Jesus called him to reach his family and the entire region with the good news of what Jesus has done.  Once one is set free from something they gain a deep understanding and have the compassion needed now to help set others free with similar needs.  So many in this world are crying out for help in this hour, yet until we are delivered we cannot deliver and their cries will go unheard.

The Impossible, Possible!

The Impossible, Possible! (Psalms 18:29, Zechariah 8:6) Joshua & Loraine Kennedy How many times has God allowed a situation to get worse before allowing it to get better? So many times it seems to get to the point of impossibility, and yet God sees us through. Only God can get the glory when something impossible becomes possible. Our faith so easily wavers when we are tested with time. It may seem we have lost everything yet if we are still standing there is hope. God loves to be our way maker, who makes a way out of no way. Through this past seasons tests and trials God has proven to us how He alone is able. We have been made humble and broken and now God can entrust us with our greater call. Much of our battles has been hidden to the eyes of just a few, now God is calling us together to take on His battles, which our over the region, nation, and world. It is time to be joined together to deal with the huge impossible problems that the world has no answers for. Missions and the church need to converge together as one and no longer be separate. The great commission is to be followed by all and not just a chosen few. Church is to be no longer just about being a member of an organization and one's participation in it's services and events, but a daily walk with God, obeying His call to reach our neighbors with His love seen in our words and actions. As we begin united together with this passion, God will impart into us such strength and power, that we will be able to crush an army, and scale any wall we encounter (Psalms 18:29) The Lord of Heaven's Armies will work through this small remnant of God's people's to make the impossible, possible all around as the streets of the cities around us become filled with joy and laughter because of the goodness of God that is manifesting as Heaven converges with Earth.

True Strength

My favorite movies or documentaties are about people who are able to do amazing things at such great odds. Likewise, the people whom America votes for in tv reality shows like X-Factor, American Idol, America's got talent, So You Think You Can Dance, etc. are those who have an amazing story that goes along with their talent. Nearly everyone faces adversity in life at some point, it is these stories we relate with and are inspired by to continue on. Our history proves that humans are more capable than any other creation in handling pain. Those of us who have endured much and yet overcame on what seems our own, can have the hardest time relying on God. Our past successes cause us our current failures. We are so use to making things work on our own. Yet, it probably never seems like enough. We seem to always fall just short. Things just never seem to work out as planned. Many of us have come to the place recently where we have reached our boiling point, the place where we finally give up, where we realize we can not handle what we are facing on our own. God is teaching us how to lean on Him for strength for there is so much more than can be accomplished through Him, than separately. He doesn't just want us to turn to Him when we have no place else to turn, but every moment of every day in everything, He wants to be Lord. The forces behind the circumstances that have brought us to this place of humility cannot be dealt with in our own power. These forces are greater than any natural human power can give. It is like the servant Gehazi when he saw the massive army surrounding him, then his spiritual eyes were opened, and he saw the Angelic host that was so much greater surrounding His enemy. God is opening our spiritual eyes to see true reality the spiritual battle that each of us face, and that we have much more for us than against us. We must now submit our circumstances into His hands so that true strength from above can come. We are truly strong in the Lord when we are no longer moved by man or our situations, but by the hand of God. Then God can in all His mighty power can move through us and His great exploits can be seen throughout the earth.

TAKE THE LEAD! (Luke 8:22-25)

It is one thing to have Jesus with us it is another to have Jesus lead us. We all like help when we need it, but we don't like feeling helpless, where we give control to another. It is so much easier to be a Sunday morning Christian, than a moment by moment, day by day, follower of Christ. Many storms in life could be avoided if Jesus was steering the ship rather than sleeping. Jesus is a gentlemen and He will only lead us to the degree we allow Him. If we just want Him around to help us get out of jams, He will be just that. If we want Jesus to have complete control and He lead us and we follow, He will be that. So our daily experience of God will be determined by who is in control of each situation. Most of us only cry out to Him when our situation brings us to dire need. We need to get free from self-dependence and become God-reliant. Walking in brokeness and humility, acknowledging God in all of our ways, so He directs our path, and therefore though we walk through the valley of death, He keeps us from evil. The show Dancing with the Stars merges Star's with dance experts. If the star is smart and not full of pride they will allow the expert to take lead and make them look good, rather than them making a fool of themselves. What humiliation must we experience before we allow God to take the lead? When God is in command of our lives are words have power and authority and storms can instantly be calmed. We must allow Jesus to be Master and not just our servant if we are going to see the works that He did and even greater works through our lives. Our call is for Jesus to lead us in serving others, not in Him serving us to lead others. "So Jesus take the Wheel."

Our True Family (Luke 8:19-21)

Our family can be the hardest people to accept change in our life. For it demands them to examine themselves which causes them to feel uncomfortable, because of guilt, shame, deep pain, etc., in which they would rather leave ignored. We cannot force change on anyone but it is so easily seen that way with those you live with. They may feel we think that we are better than them now, especially when certain things we did together we don't do anymore. They may try their best to distract us from following God and pull us back into our past. If that don't work then they might even reject us, many are those who have lost their families after accepting Christ. Jesus himself when doing the will of His heavenly Father was trying to be rushed away by His mother and brothers. Jesus response seems quite harsh, "My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God's word and obey it." Jesus point was that as Christians we must forsake all and follow God, even our loved ones. Yes, we are to try to reach them, and make that a priority, which is God's will, but it is not our only call of obedience. So when our family tries to prevent us from obeying God we don't allow it and we suffer whatever consequences therefore may follow. Our true family is now those who hear God's word and obey it. Family is so necessary for our personal growth. We all need support, so when our biological family does not support us we must look to our spiritual family. Our biological family is now our mission field, where we lay down our life to reach, but until they accept Christ we must understand that they are instruments that the enemy can use to distract, and even destroy the work of God in our lives. We all want peace in our homes, no-one wants to come home and fight, it is supposed to be our place of refuge. But, this might no longer be the case, our refuge maybe our home church, and our personal homes are now a war zone, where we fight the good fight of faith, not against flesh and blood but against dark powers, through spiritual warfare. We must learn to not take things personal, knowing the source behind unbelievers and those not yet mature in the Lord. If we are faithful to God and follow His leading, trusting Him with all of our heart, then the promise in His Word that our whole household would be saved will come true.

Coming Out Of Hiding!

Chapter 18 Coming Out Of Hiding! (Luke 8:16-18) Upon it being known that I was saved and attending the local church in my hometown, the response from my peers was that is fine if it works for you, just keep it to yourself. That is our culture, everything is accepted as long as you don't push it on someone else. People have things that they are ashamed of, that they hope remain in the dark, not exposed, hidden, so they can pretend that they are okay. The majority of those in our culture are not looking for help, they want to be left alone, lost in their own sin. So when we are bold in our faith it is offensive to them. Most people hate confrontation, so many Christians stay quite, and allow other people to dictate the atmosphere around them. People will not ask us to turn the light on, they are scared of what will be seen when things are brought to the light. We must choose to turn on the light ourselves. What that means is we fear God not man. We allow Him to lead us not others. We are in the light when we are obedient to His voice. We don't allow our fear of confrontation to dictate the words and actions we offer. Our light will burn as bright as our ability to listen and follow the Lord's guidance. We therefore must learn to never lean on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him in all of our ways, so He may direct our path. His path is the light as long as we are on it He is seen, and what is in the dark comes to the light. So many around us seem to be be bound to their past. Not delivered, burdened down, angry, yet unwilling to to receive help. They seem so hard to reach, that is in our own power. When we are in the light people just seem to open up, they suddenly become transparent, and opportunity to now share the Truth and expose the lies becomes possible. So let us be in the light until the whole world is free of darkness and the Glory of the Lord has filled the earth.

LET THE WORD DO THE WORK

God has so transformed my life and so I expect the same to happen to those around me but for many it don't. If I could make people change I sure would. It can be really frustrating to see people who in Christ have so much potential but just refuse to follow His ways. I feel I say exactly what I think they need to hear and they seem to listen yet no real change follows. Jesus teaches about this in Luke 8:4-15, "the parable of the farmer scattering seed". The Word is the seed, the field is the heart. My responsibility is to give the Word, God's responsibility is to work on the heart. Depending on the condition of the heart will determine the effect of the Word. It takes planting much seed for some fields to produce much of anything. I cannot do what only God can, it is His field not mine. He alone can predetermine the time it takes for change to follow. If I get frustrated it does no good, it makes matters worse, for most likely I will neglect continuing to scatter seed, and I will cause a delay in the work God is doing. The Devil's job is to try to delay change, so I must remain steadfast, and just do my part, and eventually change will come. Many are those whom seem to receive the Word of God yet they have listened to the lies of the enemy so long, that the truth is just not received for long. Then their are others who receive the Word, yet it doesn't go deep, because their relationship with God is shallow, and in time temptation leads them away. While others seem to receive the Word but it is choked out because their lives are so full of the problems and pleasures of this world. Then finally their are those whom have a heart ready, they are willing to be open and honest with God and therefore He us able to grow within them bringing forth His character with a great harvest following. It is not our responsibility to figure out who is best to invest time in, it is our responsibility to simply be lead by God. This is not a marketing business where we examine whom will bring the best results. Each heart is different and we just plant the seed and leave the results to God. We don't have the ability to change anyone, believe me I have tried, the Word alone has the power to transform, so all we can do is work the Word, and let the Word do the work. Some may respond well right away while others may take time but we are never to give up on anyone unless it is God.