In the fourth chapter of the Book of Matthew we find Jesus of Nazareth “going about all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people. And His fame spread throughout all of Syria and they brought to Him all sick people that were taken with divers (different) diseases and TORMENTS (mental and emotional problems) and those who were POSSESSED WITH (totally dominated by) DEVILS (Satan’s fallen angels) AND THOSE WHO WERE LUNATIC (“moon struck”) and those that had the palsy (paralysis), and He healed them” (vss 23,24). By this time His fame had spread throughout Syria, Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan River (vs 25). Seeing the multitudes (plural) that had come to Him, He and His disciples ascended to the top of a mountain where He preached what would become known as The Sermon On The Mount which is recorded in Matthew 5:3-7:27.
After coming down from the mountain people with various physical and mental ailments came to Him for healing and deliverance. Many that came were POSSESED BY DEVILS “AND HE CAST OUT THE (EVIL) SPIRITS WITH HIS WORD ….” Observant students of the Bible will notice that throughout His earthly ministry, in which healing the sick and casting out devils (Gk.–demonia–demons) played a central role, Jesus always had His disciples with Him. He was preparing them for what they would be doing for the remainder of their lives. HE EXPECTED THEM TO DO EVERYTHING HE DID. When they failed to do so He chastised them, at times growing angry with them. He also assured that what He and they did and said was recorded and preserved for His church in the latter days. His modern day apostles are expected to do what He did and preach what He preached–the Kingdom of God. We are also commanded to follow His and His apostles healing and deliverance ministries. This series focuses on those aspects of the normal Christ-centered ministries about which most people have never heard or been a part of. This is about to change.
At one point a man brought his demonic son to the disciples and asked them to cast out the demon. They tried but failed. Jesus cast out the demon and explained that they had failed because, unlike Him, they had not fasted and prayed enough. For this reason I pray many times during the day and fast one day each week. I once fasted for 34 days consuming only water. I lost 40 pounds. The Lord has used me over the years to heal many people of both physical and mental problems. In many of those cases deliverance was necessary.
Today one hears nothing about this very important ministry tool. The counterfeit church has dismissed it as a relic of the past. The church “truth” is that, if demons ever existed, they no longer do. However, as I point out in the series titled Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth (key word–Planet), the devil and his demonic angels have taken over the world. Only once in the history of mankind do we find a record of the level of demonic activity that is evident today world-wide. The other time was when “God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of his thoughts was only on evil continually. And God was sorry that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him in His heart” (Gen. 6:5,7). Satan and his angels had gained control of almost every human being on earth. Therefore He killed everyone except Noah and his family whom He saved in order to replenish the earth’s human population. Why was Noah favored? Why did Noah “find grace in the eyes of the Lord?” Because “NOAH WALKED WITH GOD” (vss 8,9). Do the math. Of all of the people on earth at that time, only eight survived God’s wrath. Of the approximately eight billion people on earth today, only a few thousand believe and obey God’s Word as He wrote it in His Holy Bible. I calculate that THE PERCENTAGE OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION WHO OBEY HIM TODAY IS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH. I have concluded that less than 1% of the world’s population believe and obey God. Note in 2 Peter 2:5 that Noah was identified as a “preacher of righteousness,” meaning that he told people to walk in righteousness. We are told that in order to “walk with God” as he did one must agree with Him (Amos 3:3). Noah “walked with God,” therefore we know that he practiced what he preached. In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus prophesied that few would walk (in agreement) with God. As He warned, the masses of salvation seekers reject His Words and obey Satan’s words. Those in both groups “know” that the words they believe and obey will take them to paradise. One group is dead wrong. Read Bait and Switch. Key word–Bait.
Today, as in the days of Noah, the human population is operating under the influence of Satan and his fallen angels (devils/demons). One need only watch Fox News to see the crime, destruction, hate, killing, raping, etc. that has become the dominant characteristic of people in most areas of the world. Only the Fox network reports the truth about America’s ever-increasing problems which are brought on by the influence of Satan and his helpers. What people view as simply “meanness” is in fact the work of the devil and his demonic spirits who have gained entrance into the hearts (minds) of men who do not have God’s armor/firewall that was discussed in the previous series. This includes the religious zealots who are unwittingly trapped within Satan’s church system. EVERYONE HAS A GOD THAT THEY SERVE AND OBEY–EITHER THE GOD OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OR THE GOD OF THE WORLD. The overwhelming majority of the world’s population serves Satan, approximately one-third of whom believe they are serving the true God and that they are in “the” church.
Due to man’s ignorance of the spirit world, demonic affliction and possession run rampant within the hearts of the world’s people. Medical and psychological science do not have the answers to the world’s physical and psychological questions. Medical personnel spend their time and effort treating the symptoms of Satan’s work that is manifested in the life of his victims. The medical world understands neither the cause of nor the cure for man’s physical and psychological problems. Why? BECAUSE THE WORLD HAS TURNED ITS BACK ON GOD AND DOES NOT LOOK TO HIM (HIS WORD) IN SEARCH OF THE CAUSE AND THE CURE FOR WHAT AILS MANKIND. For both the cause and the cure to the world’s problems read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 and believe what you read. Looking around at what is going on in the world, one will notice that God is doing exactly what He said He would do FOR those who obey Him and TO those who do not obey Him. Both the cause and the cure for the world’s physical and psychological problems are the same today as they were anciently. In this series we will examine the instructions God has given us to deal with the PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS that dominate the lives of billions of people. The one-word solution to the mental madness that is ravaging the world’s human population is DELIVERANCE–THE CASTING OUT OF DEVILS FROM THE HEARTS (MINDS) OF AFFLICTED AND POSSESSED MEN AND WOMEN. This series is focused on God’s commanded deliverance ministry.
Satan and his angels have not changed. Their methods and powers are the same today as they were in days of old. They have worked perfectly for thousands of years, so why change.? God’s method of dealing with his spiritual enemies remains the same–speaking His Word to the problem. Simply put, two acts are necessary for solving the problem of demon influence and possession: 1) cast out the evil spirit(s) that were allowed in by failure to obey God’s Word and 2) fill the void created by their departure with holiness which comes from obeying God’s Word. But first the people must recognize that 1) evil “powers of the air” are as real today as they were in the days of old and 2) God’s true apostles have the same power to deal with them as did Jesus and the original 12. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus told His apostles: “All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me.” That was wonderful, but He was about to leave. So how would His power help the apostles? He tells us as recorded in Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give you (that same) power over all the power of the enemy.” The “you” Jesus was referring to are those minutely few true believers to whom He has given such power along with instructions to “preach the Gospel, cleanse the lepers, heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils” (Mat. 10:8). GOD, HIS WILL, HIS COMMISSIION, HIS ANOINTING, HIS POWER HAVE NOT CHANGED. Man, however, has changed. He has welcomed Satan and his angels into his (man’s) heart. And where Satan is, Satan rules. Only God’s tiny remnant–His Very Elect–are not dominated by the devil and his merchants of sin. Read The Unknown Power of God’s Very Elect. Key word–Unknown.
Today one can spend a lifetime in church and hear nothing about Satan, his devils and his control over mankind. However, the time is coming, and soon, when this will change. Soon the ministry of Christ and His apostles will once again be displayed before the entire world. But just as the case was then, man will reject His apostles preaching and miracle ministries. Why? Because their words and works will involve God’s command for holiness. Mankind in general will reject Christ just did those who watched and heard Him in days of old. And like those doubters, the world’s people will have no excuse for their rejection of Him in that they will see the miraculous take place before their eyes and hear God speak through His holy messengers.
However, Satan will also be performing miracles for all to see while identifying the antichrist as the promised Savior of mankind. Once again man will be given a choice of whom to follow. As Jesus warned, the masses, including the church masses, will follow Satan. Only a few, He said, will enter His strait gate (church) and walk His narrow (restrictive) way to His Father’s Kingdom. This generation will witness the Book of Acts come alive, only in much greater measure. Jesus promised that this would be the case in John 14:12. One day soon that power will be on display as His true messengers reveal the Truth of God and His power for all the world to see. L.J.
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