Is DPQD blocking
you from moving forward in your deliverance process?
For me, it
seems natural that after a person has experienced powerful deliverance by the
power of God’s Spirit (i.e., clear and forceful demonic manifestations and
expulsions) that this person would be “on-board” and excited to continue
receiving more healing and deliverance ministry. I would think that they would
now cry out with joy, “I feel so much lighter and better. Now I want all the deliverance
that God has for me. Thank you Jesus!”
Surprisingly,
and on many occasions, I have seen the opposite happen in my ministry. I have
seen people experience mighty and clear signs of God’s power in the form of
demons being cast out and then, just days later, have no desire to receive
further deliverance. They never call again. They turn down every offer to
receive more healing and deliverance prayer. Basically, they just disappear
from the ministry radar.
This has
happened enough times that I have coined a term for it: Demonic Persuasion to
Quit Deliverance, or DPQD for short. I decided to give it a name because we are
called to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11) and certainly a
desire to not receive more of God’s healing is a deed of darkness. So I expose
it here.
In order to
understand DPQD, you need to understand the persistence of the devil. You see, just
because the enemy suffers a setback in the form of demons being cast out of
someone, that doesn’t mean that the rest of the person’s demons (very rarely
are all the demons expelled in one
sitting) will just give up and march out voluntarily.
You will
never hear a remaining demon apologize and offer to leave voluntarily. It will
never say, “Sorry I bothered this person, the rest of us demons are all just going
to leave now. We won’t ever try to bother this person again. Good bye…”
No. After a deliverance,
you can be assured that the remaining demons are saying, “She’s mine. You can’t
have her! You may have won the battle but not the war. We are never going to
give her up!” In other words, the demons are going to fight back!
This is what
happens: a person has had a successful deliverance. Under the anointing of the
Holy Spirit, demons were exposed against their will. They were forced to reveal
their names and the curse by which they operated—all against their will. Then
they were forcefully cast out of the person in the name of Jesus. The person who
received the deliverance feels wonderful afterwards and praises God for setting
her free.
However, immediately
after the deliverance session, the demons that still remain go to work to
discourage and try to make the person feel that it wasn’t such a great victory
after all. They begin scheming how to stop any further deliverance from taking
place. They continue to torment. They do whatever they can because they know
that their only hope of staying inside the person is to block the person from
receiving additional deliverance ministry.
Then the
demons begin to whisper lies into the person’s ears: “this deliverance stuff
isn’t really real”; “deliverance is dangerous”; “we’re still here”; “deliverance
isn’t Biblical”; “you can’t really have demons anyway since you’re a Christian”;
“all this torment is just in your mind—you’re just stressed out”; “you should
just cancel that next appointment with Pastor so-and-so…” etc.
If the
person believes the lies and chooses to end deliverance ministry, they have
just been demonically persuaded to
quit their deliverance process. They have just fallen victim to DPQD—demonic
persuasion to quit deliverance.
It is sad
for the deliverance minister because what he wants most is to see the person in
victory over her oppression. However, the worst part about DPQD is that the
person submits to Satan’s lies and a victory goes to the enemy. This is not how
it is supposed to be. We are called to imitate Christ. Jesus was victorious
over Satan. And we are to have victory
over the devil too!
Here are five
recommendations that I would give anyone who is going through the deliverance
process. These recommendations will help them to overcome DPQD:
How to Overcome DPQD
1) Know that deliverance is a process. It may
take some time before every last demon is expelled. Deuteronomy 7:22 says that
this process is “little by little.” Therefore, you will need to persist.
2) Expect the following pattern to emerge in
your deliverance process: breakthrough-walk in your
deliverance-breakthrough-walk in your deliverance, etc. During the periods
between breakthroughs, you need to be especially vigilant of the enemy’s
attacks on your emotions.
4) Expect that the enemy will use other
people to discourage you from continuing the deliverance process as well.
Family, friends and even well-meaning pastors (especially those who have no
practical experience casting out unclean spirits at all) will all rebuke you
for seeking deliverance. They will give all sorts of reasons why you shouldn't
seek deliverance. These reasons are meant to instill doubt and discouragement.
Respond to them with love and remind them that in the Bible, Jesus and His
disciples all cast out unclean spirits from the oppressed and that you believe
that this ministry still continues today.
6) The deliverance process is challenging but
the spiritual, emotional and physical freedom that comes from it is worth it!
In
conclusion, expect the enemy to try to persuade you to stop getting delivered.
Resist this persuasion and tell him, “Get behind me Satan, I WILL be healed!”
Huge blessings,
Pastor Mark
(954) 892-9710