Deliverance

In "Deliverance, Part 1", we learned God delivers us of our problems -- gives us everything we need to be victorious -- but sometimes it is left up to us to actually defeat the enemy. We still have a responsibility to perform. We must take the control given to us by the merits of Jesus' blood and "destroy them totally"!

Well, that may look simple, but tell me, just how am I going to "destroy them totally"? The answer, my friend, can be found in Deut. 7:5: "This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire." How do we destroy the enemy God has defeated for us? We remove all traces of it from our lives! Those involved with the occult must get rid of all ties with the occult. Those addicted to sins of immorality must separate themselves from anything that could be a temptation. Those addicted to overspending must take care to not go into any store or market without first pleading the blood of Jesus over the situation.

But sometimes it isn't quite that simple. A friend struggled with an addiction for many years without anyone knowing about it. God delivered him from the addiction, yet he continued to be haunted by temptations. One day down and confessed the whole thing. From that day on, he no longer had any difficulty. Why? Because in confessing his addiction, he was "breaking down their altars, smashing their sacred stones"!

Remember the addiction I mentioned in part 1? The one of the two that still seemed to "plague" me sometimes? As I contemplated this verse, it occurred to me that I had never "cut down the Asherah poles" or "burned the idols in the fire". I continued to allow myself to be in tempting situations without pleading the blood of Jesus over the situation in advance. I continued to ignore the still, small voice that told me I didn't have to fall back into the devil's traps. I continued to try and "rationalize" the sin at times. So I asked God to help me know how to do so in my particular case, and He showed me where there were still "sacred stones" that needed to be smashed. He helped me understand that in rationalizing away the sin, I was building up the "altars" instead of tearing them down. He helped me to realize that I was continually treading on dangerous ground without any protection!

My friend, is there something in your life you need deliverance from? The good news is this: You have it! God's delivering power overtook you the day you became His child. If you haven't yet seen the fruits of your deliverance, perhaps it is because you haven't yet torn down all the altars! Ask God how to do this today, then proceed to carry out what God has instructed you to do.

Love in Christ,

Lyn

Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org ,