Help! Tormented dreams

[votivesoul]

Aquila, on page 1, post #6, you wrote:

I was involved in a local deliverance ministry for nearly two years.

Then, on page 4, in post #32, you wrote:

I've only encountered a person who I'm certain was "possessed" once...

In nearly two years of deliverance ministry, you only ever encountered one person whom you were certain was "possessed", and that, not even as a part of your formal deliverance ministry training, but just randomly while getting on the bus one day?

Brother, I grew up and lived with three people who were demon possessed, not counting myself. And I consorted with a lot of people who also were, as well. I've met all sorts of people who were possessed by evil spirits, and have been actively involved in casting them out for years. I've been randomly cussed out by strangers, physically attacked, had a knife held up to my throat, and more, by demonized people. I started a campus ministry at a secular, state school, and faced all sorts of demonic pushback, just about everyday for 4.5 years, until I graduated.

So maybe you're out of your league? What kind of deliverance minister only ever meets one person in two years who they are certain is possessed? The church I started out in had people come in all the time who were taken over by evil spirits. A lot of them came in to disrupt and degrade the service; others came in for deliverance, and received it.

But, this is key:

The word "deliverance" is only used by Jesus ONE TIME in the entire Gospels, in Luke 4:18, which reads "...to preach deliverance to the captives...". A lot of people see that, and they go "Aha! He's talking about deliverance ministry for people who are taken captive by evil spirits." Nope. The Greek word translated "deliverance" in that verse is aphesis, which means forgiveness.

Do deliverance ministers preach forgiveness to those who are taken captive? Do they urge the person being afflicted by evil spirits to repent and obey the Gospel? Do they ever see that the common denominator in every person's life who is being demonized, is that the person in question is the one who is at fault?

A lady met some people from our church and asked for help because her and her children were being demonized. Evil spirits were manifesting themselves visually in their house, touching and attacking them, doing the poltergeist thing, and etc. Some brothers and I went over there, talked awhile about her need for salvation, and shared the Gospel with her. She repented of her sins and my brother and I immersed her in the name of the Lord Jesus. When she came out of the water, she began coughing and vomiting sputum and shaking and wailing. We cast the evil spirit out of her, and she received the Holy Spirit.

We went back to her house and prayed, and we knew the house was completely free of evil spirits, simply because she was no longer possessed. Her demonic haunting was the result of her own wickedness and sin, which invited satan into her life. Once her sin issue was dealt with, her demon problem immediately ended.

Another sister I know messed around with a ouija board and other occult things and got herself into a major demonic mess, all of which was solved the day she repented of her sins and received the Holy Spirit and was immersed.

Still another sister, who used to read tarot, but needed the high from smoking dope to do so, had a demon come out of her when she threw her hands down, and shouted "I don't want this anymore!" As soon as she renounced satan in her life, the demon jumped out and she received the Holy Spirit.

The fact is, being freed from evil spirits in the Gospels is always tied to salvation. To say a person, post salvation, is being demonized, is to say they have abandoned their covenant with God, are no longer under the shadow of the Almighty, and are out playing in spiritual minefields. Essentially, it's an accusation that such a one is backslidden. And whether you realize it or not, that's essentially what you've done in this thread, Aquila. You've accused Modest Mama of not being right with God. Or, as you worded it:

If it is a spiritual oppression, and you've already prayed and rebuked it and yet it continues, there might be a stronghold to address before it can be permanently removed. Uprooting the stronghold could be as simple as getting rid of an item connected in some way to the occult or an old relationship/lifestyle. Or it could be more complicated.

Which is just another way of saying, the reason the Lord isn't answering her prayers, and that her rebukes are worthless, and nothing is changing for her is because an evil spirit is holding court over her life because she is harboring some occult idol or fetish in the home, or she is living in a sinful, pre-conversion way, or worse (i.e. more complicated).

Doesn't that shake you up in the slightest, that you basically accused this sister of transgressing her covenant with God?