The biggest problem with people receiving deliverance is that they are looking to the deliverer to cast out demons when it is they who have to ~and indeed must~ take their own thoughts, etc., captive. They must learn self-discipline and self-control and learn to exercise it. People must stop putting faith in the one who comes to minister deliverance and put their faith in the Deliverer Himself. Now we can put faith in someone else’s faith, but this is only until our own faith becomes stronger. How do we get our faith to become stronger? Through exercise. We must become doers of the Word and not just hearers (or readers) only.CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS
The apostle is planning a campaign; his words glow with the fire of military enthusiasm, but, as one has eloquently said, the weapons of his warfare are not carnal, the standard under which he fights is a more sacred sign than that of Caesar; the territory he invades is more difficult of conquest than any which kept the conquerors of the world at bay. He sees rising before him the lofty fortresses of hostile error; they must bew reduced or razed. Every mountain fastness (stronghold) to which the enemy can retreat must be scaled and destroyed; and every thought of the soul, which is hostile to the authority of the divine Truth, must become a prisoner of war in the camp of Christ….
There are vain thoughts, sensual thoughts, cynical and self-reliant thoughts, skeptical thoughts, proud thoughts, wandering and wayward thoughts; but the apostle says that, however strongly they fortify themselves against Christ, they should and must be brought into captivity. Paul once thought he ought to do many things contrary to Jesus, but became a humble disciple.
The intellect as its province, but faith has hers; and while the intellect tends to exalt man, faith humbles him and leads him captive in the chains of love. We must come with absolute obedience to Christ, that every veil may be torn away, and whatever blurs the clear surface of the mirroring intellect may be removed. (F.B. Meyer – Our Daily Homily)
James 4:7 teaches us: “…submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” And 1 Peter 5:9 says "Withstand (Resist) him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. But Hebrews 12:4 says: “You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.” “But… How do I resist?” you say. It is far more simple than it seems.
The Amplified Bible Romans 10:8-10 has this to say: “The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, 9Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.”
The Living Bible puts it this way: ““The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
And The Message Bible puts it this way: “The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"”
That word “salvation” according to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, is the Greek soteria and denotes “deliverance, preservation, salvation”. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, the word “soteria” is #4991 in the Greek and means rescue or safety, deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. It comes from word “sozo” and means “to save, i.e., deliver or protect, (lit. or fig.), heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
Galatians 5:22-26 Paul teaches this:
22But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, 23Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge]. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. 25If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.] 26Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.
Note that in Verse 22 it says “…the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes…”. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us accomplishes this. Not us. “What is impossible with men, is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). This means that what Proverbs 3:5-6 says is very, very true and we are to take this Word (as all of His Word) literally: “5Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” (AMP). We absolutely, unequivocally, and without question must believe and remember that in, of, for and by ourselves we can are, have and can do nothing. But we are, have and can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us for Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world.
How can anyone hope to go out and fight and win a battle without their weapon ~much less a war? You will get slaughtered on the battle field if you go and stand there without armor and without a weapon. But “…though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 5[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),”
Therefore, and...
10In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].
11Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.
12For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
13Therefore put on God's complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
14Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,
15And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
16Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].
17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
18Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people).
This is how we resist! This is how we fight! We win the war one battle at a time. Our weapon is our sword and the sword is that sword which the spirit wields and that sword is the Word of God coming out of our mouths. When Jesus returns He will come on a horse with a two edged sword coming out of His mouth. We are called to be like Him and to overcome. Scripture bears witness to the fact that we do and shall overcome; It is written in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint Paul the Divine in Verse 11 of Chapter 12, “And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony” (what we say or confess out of our mouths ~the Word of God).
This is how we win!
Ministers of Deliverance are able, through the Ability and Power of God to get us delivered from the bondage and tyranny of demons. But everything else we must do for ourselves. Our Mighty and Loving Father in Heaven has given us everything we need to accomplish this. We must stop putting our faith in the one who comes to minister deliverance but we must put our faith, confidence, and trust in the One Who works through the minister of deliverance; i.e., The Deliverer Himself. We must take up our sword and enter the fray ~capturing our thoughts~ and trust God to bring us through.
