 There are no secrets to deliverance. Everything that we need to know about walking in freedom is found in Scripture. The Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 3, 17, For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I want to bring you to the simplicity of the Scripture. I want to go to the Scripture and talk to you about this wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit that is deliverance. What is deliverance? Well, deliverance is simply to be set free. When someone is said to be delivered, they are said to be free. So we don't want to complicate this. We want to just go through the Scripture and bring clarification where there is a lot of confusion. And I believe that you will walk away with a deeper and more stable understanding of the topic of deliverance if you're willing to throw out the old mindset and pick up what the Scripture says. Often we're told things from the traditions of man. We're told things from religious establishments that don't necessarily align with Scripture. In fact, sometimes the things that we're taught are nowhere to be found in the Bible. And so as I take you through the Scripture, I pray that there would be great clarity that comes. Confusion can only abound if we're not willing to let go of old mindsets. And so as we look at what the Bible says here, I believe that you'll experience freedom not just deliverance from attack, not just deliverance from torment, not just deliverance from temptation, but also deliverance from confusion because as you begin to look at the truth of Scripture, light begins to shine brighter and darkness begins to dissipate. So I'll begin by saying that deliverance is a simple term. Again, to be delivered means to be set free. To be delivered is to be released from a bondage. Now often, and this is where a lot of the confusion arises, especially in discussions about deliverance, often Christians conflate deliverance for exorcism. Now there's a subtle difference between deliverance and exorcism, and this is not something that's talked about very often. In fact, we kind of just mesh these together and we use the terms interchangeably where deliverance always means exorcism and exorcism always means deliverance. To be clear, deliverance is the umbrella term. Deliverance is the general term. It's the generic statement. Again, to be delivered simply means to be set free. Now, depending upon what you're being set free from is what you will call that deliverance. So exorcism is a very specific kind of deliverance. If you're set free from temptation, that's deliverance from temptation. If you're set free from torment, that's freedom from torment. If you're set free specifically from demonic possession, you have a demon cast out of you, that is what is commonly referred to as exorcism. Now the scripture refers to this as having demons cast out. You don't necessarily see that term exorcism in every translation of the Bible, but that is simply describing when someone is being set free from a demon inhabiting their being. And this of course is something that we perform on the unbeliever. We understand that Christians can be attacked by demons. Some people use the term oppressed, which is fine as long as you're describing demonic attack. Christians can be oppressed, but we understand they cannot be possessed. They cannot be a possession of the demon where the demon is dwelling in them and they need an exorcism. In fact, the Bible says quite clearly in Colossians 1.13 and 14, who hath delivered us, and this is past tense talking to Christians, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin. So that's Colossians 1.13 and 14. Those powers of darkness being described there are demonic powers. And so we see blatantly the scripture describing the fact that the born again believer has already been delivered from that form of demonic influence. And so we understand that deliverance from demonic possession or exorcism takes place before salvation or in the moments leading right up to it. And in fact, in many cases, exorcism is what inspires an individual to receive salvation. As I said, there's more than one type of deliverance. Again, when we think of deliverance, we think, oh, casting a demon out, that's only one kind. There's also deliverance from the penalty of sin. Ephesians 2.1-6 says, Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins, you used to live in sin just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in this unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God's anger just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved, for he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Now here, I'm really going to turn some things on its head. Whenever you talk about deliverance and you see it in Scripture, for the believer, deliverance is most often referred to as something that is past tense. In other words, it's something that's already occurred. Deliverance is not like a liquid or a substance where you can get more of it or less of it. Deliverance is yours. The moment you were born again, you were set free. Now whether or not you choose to experience that deliverance, whether or not you choose to walk in that deliverance, all depends upon your submission to God. But we were already delivered from the penalty of sin. Everything about the new nature indicates that we've been completely rescued from the powers of darkness. There is no darkness in us. Romans chapter 6 verse 23, for the wages of sin is death, there's the punishment. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Okay, so Romans 6.23 makes it clear that the penalty of sin has been removed from our lives, from our record. We are now delivered from the penalty of sin. Thank God for the blood of Jesus. The believer's responsibility is now to walk in that deliverance how? By the renewing of the mind. For the believer, spiritual warfare and deliverance are simply about fighting to believe the truth over the enemy's lies. There's an illustration that I use about elephants. And there was a gentleman who was noticing that several elephants were tied by their legs to a rope that was placed on a stake in the ground. So you have to picture this now. Big elephants, little rope around their ankle, and pinned down by a stake in the ground. Well, the gentleman asked the man who was taking care of the elephants, why don't they just break that rope? I mean, here we have these giant creatures tied down by comparison what looks like dental floss. They won't even move. And the man who was taking care of the elephants explained, well, ever since they were little babies, we would tie them to that rope and place the wooden stake in the ground. Now, when they were young, when they were baby elephants, that rope, that stake in the ground, that was enough to hold them in place. Now that they're older, they can break out of it if they want. They can move forward if they so choose. But they simply do not move forward because of the simple belief that they can't. And this is the case for many believers. We have this defeated victim's mentality, even this celebration of spiritual bondage, like this idea that, oh, I'm more spiritual because I'm bound, oh, I'm more spiritual because I'm attacked by the enemy so often or his attacks are working on me. And often we get confused between the attacks of the enemy and just the circumstances of life. But aside from that point, many believers don't realize what's available to them. And so they live in a certain way, under a certain power, simply because they don't realize that they can walk away from it. Now, I'm not talking about just positive thinking alone. Of course, renewing the mind is a bit of a task. But as believers, we have been delivered. You don't need more deliverance. How free can you get than free indeed? How much more free can you get than free indeed? Whom the sun sets free is free indeed. Either God is a liar or we're not doing something properly. Either God is a liar or we miss something. We miss something if we think that bondage is a part of the Christian life. It's not. Or we go through deliverance after deliverance after deliverance or what many think is exorcism after exorcism after exorcism. Why? Because they don't realize that what the Christian life is. They don't recognize what's available to them. Now, I'm not saying we're not going to struggle with the flesh. I'm not saying that we're not going to struggle with deception. I'm not even saying that the enemy can't attack us. Of course, the enemy can attack us. What I'm saying is that we can choose to continue to walk in victory recognizing that we already have been delivered from these things. We just have to walk them out. Watch this now, Matthew chapter 6 verses 8 through 13. Don't be like them for your father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him. This is the Lord's prayer here. Pray like this. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Watch this now and don't let us yield the temptation but rescue us from the evil one. That's one complete thought right there. How are we not led? How are we not submitted to? How are we to find ourselves distance from temptation? Well, we're rescued from the evil one. Why? Because the evil one tempts. So this portion of scripture is describing a prayer for deliverance from temptation. Do Christians need deliverance? Absolutely. It's right there. Now, of course, we understand that demons can tempt us but demons don't do the sinning for you. This is why Christians love the lie that they can be demonized because now they have something to blame for their undisciplined flesh. Oh, I'm telling you, itching ears don't want to hear this. I'm just going to give it to you straight like it is. People want to blame demons because they don't want to take up responsibility for the work of the flesh. The flesh that they fed, the flesh that they give into, the flesh that they listen to on a daily basis. No, better to blame a demon. And then they say like, I can't stop. Why? Because it's a demon. No, my friend, you're a born again believer. You cannot be possessed. We've been through this a thousand times. I'll go through it a thousand times more. The day will never come when I stop teaching this because many people are experiencing freedom when they recognize the enemy does not have that kind of power over them. And they realize, my goodness, I have to actually live the Christian life. Why? Because the Christian life is not a life of defeat. If you're in spiritual bondage, you're not living the Christian life. Now, some might say, brother David, that's a hard standard. I don't get why you're saying that. Well, the reason some people say that is because they confuse trials for demonic bondage. You're not under demonic bondage just because your car won't start. You're not under demonic bondage just because you're struggling financially. You're not under demonic bondage just because you have issues in your relationship. In fact, many of those things often result because of the choices that we make. And so we have to recognize that as believers, we're going to face persecution. We're going to face trials. We're going to face tragedy. We're going to face challenges. Not everything is going to go the way that we want it. This doesn't mean that we're cursed. This doesn't mean that we're under the power of the enemy. Know, my friend, even in these things, I have victory. Even when I'm struggling, I have victory. Even when the circumstances aren't what I want them to be, I have victory. And in this circumstance of temptation, the Lord has made a way out. He will rescue us from the evil one who tempts us. Galatians 2.20 says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. By his faith, I live in this flesh, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 5.16 says this. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. Verse 17 in the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. Now this is where most Christians, including myself, need continual deliverance. Deliverance from the flesh, that's a process. We call that process sanctification. Now I've already been delivered from the flesh in the sense that I've now been given the power to overcome it because of the grace of God, the grace of God being his empowering presence within me. But even though I now have the choice to say, no to sin, sometimes I don't always exercise my will in that way. And therein we see this constant cry unto God, Lord, help me overcome sin. Lord, help me get over this. See here's the thing, exorcism, that's quick. Ah, but deliverance from the flesh, that's the journey of sanctification. And so do Christians need deliverance? Absolutely. We need deliverance from old mindsets. We need deliverance from deception. And we need deliverance from the sin nature. But in order to be delivered, we have to walk this out. We have to continually obey God. What does the scripture talk about? The scripture tells us plainly, submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. Well, does it say the devil will fight? No, it says he'll flee. So you need to be delivered from the flesh, those cravings, the sin nature. Notice there that the scripture does not say that if you resist the devil, he'll come at you harder. No, what does it say? Resist the devil and he will what? Well, that's the Bible. That's scripture. Resist the devil and he will flee. Think about this. The enemy so fears the believer who knows who they are that the moment they submit themselves to God and resist him, he's out of there. He doesn't fight. He doesn't linger. He doesn't try to stick around. When you live a life submitted to God, he doesn't even bother. He says, I'm out of here. You submit to God and you resist him and he flees is what the Bible says. That's how weak he is compared to a believer who is submitted to the authority of God. What does it mean to submit to God? To the basics. Live the Christian life. Live holy. Read your word. Be in prayer. Be a solid Christian and he cannot defeat you. Now I want to pray with you. I want to pray that God would help you to walk in the deliverance that he's given to you. Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that you would cause that one watching now to be free in mind. Help them to realize the truth that the truth might set them free. Holy Spirit, I pray that when they start to think according to the flesh, according to the lies of the enemy, that you would call them back to truthful thinking. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. And I want to encourage you if you appreciate what's happening in this ministry, you appreciate the teachings that you're receiving or the sermons that you're receiving, or maybe you watched the events live and you can feel the beautiful presence of the Holy Spirit. And you're being blessed by this ministry. I want to ask you to do your part to help us continue with our mission, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all around the world in the power of the Holy Spirit through events and mediates. Because of your support that we're able to continue to bless people all around the world. This is the Holy Spirit's work. Let's rally together for one cause, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you believe in what we're doing, then go to davidhernanisministries.com slash donate to give a single gift. Go to davidhernanisministries.com slash partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. There's no gift so small that it doesn't count. No gift so large that we wouldn't know what to do with that we have a massive vision. We need the resources to continue to expand. Go and do that today. Do your part. That is it for the message. Until next time, remember nothing is impossible with God.