Deliverance is a process, and in truth, a partnership.
Spirit Sanctified
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Occult Deliverance is Not Shiny
Nobody wants to hear that something is hard work that takes dedication. People usually want a quick and easy answer that will resolve a problem.
Problem with that? These types of shiny things usually only temporarily resolve a symptom, but do nothing to get to the root cause, and then nothing to actually heal that root.
The same thing goes for deliverance.
If a person in occult bondage seeks out a deliverance ministry or exorcism because they are experiencing a spiritual affliction, there's something mission-critical they must understand.
Deliverance is not a parlor trick, nor is it something that happens easily or quickly for a person in occult bondage. It often takes years of dedication, and even so, the choice to lean into Jesus Christ actually has to be a complete worldview shift, lifestyle change, and change of heart that extends across the lifespan of the person. It has to be a complete metanoia or spiritual change.
Some people in occult bondage don't want to hear this. Why? Well, many reasons. But one reason relates to the undercurrent of worldview.
Worldview Tug-of-War
When you have an occult worldview you are programmed to seek occult solutions to problems. This includes attempts at shortcuts (divination/witchcraft). Getting a result by harnessing occult power. Receiving information by accepting occult knowledge. These things seem to come really easy for a person working in concert with Satan (whether they appreciate or believe that's what they are doing or not, that's irrelevant).
Occult practices might seem easy, comforting, and benign to a person when in bondage (because Satan has pulled the wool over their eyes). Suddenly, when a person tries to leave these practices behind, life becomes EXTREMELY HARD.
Finding solutions to problems seems impossible and usually the Enemy will attack and oppress and make the person feel like the world is crumbling around them. Because the person functioned for so long out of habitual witchcraft, they have cut off their communication with God. So if they turn from the occult, they will be extremely disoriented. Instead of the telephone line to Satan, they are left wondering how to actually hear the voice of God and how to know what to do. Their worldview has them anchored to seeking lying synchronicities (Satanic signs and wonders) that only served to lead them further into bondage, so now they are left completely confused on how to even walk with Christ. They usually have trouble praying and have to work over time, with dedication, to understand the truth of how to pray, who God actually is, and how to hear his voice instead of Satan's.
The person will still have many anchors attempting to lead them back into the occult. This is because the occult worldview is still in place (and needs to be methodically dismantled over time- this cannot happen overnight nor without experienced guidance).
You're Not Out of the Woods Yet.
When a person tries to turn to Christ and turn away from occult practices, the Enemy will do everything in his power to keep that person from being able to see the truth of Christ.
How? By enticing that person back into the shiny veneer of the occult, by appealing to their desires for the occult power and knowledge.
I call this "not being out of the woods yet." A person must persevere, remain vigilant, get anchored into the Word of God and spiritual formation, and stay the course!
Here's the core of the matter. Accessing occult power and knowledge might seem to come easy for those in darkness. But they also come with a price. An eternal price. The price of your soul.
Satan is a legalist. Jesus' Blood Breaks the Chains.
Satan is a legalist. When you accept this power, you are actually making pacts or agreements with Satan. You are giving him legal license to come in and exert control over you.
When you are trying to get freed of these pacts and break these agreements, this has to happen in partnership with you. Exorcists don't have special powers. Those properly called into the ministry of exorcism are functioning under the authority of Christ. It is Christ who delivers, and the priest is a minister of this deliverance through apostolic authority. Now, Jesus CAN deliver whoever and however he wants. He is fully sovereign over all things and situations. However, there are factors that play into occult deliverance and the length of time it takes to get fully freed.
4 Factors of Deliverance:
Divine Providence and Sovereignty of God
The Belief of the Afflicted
Repentance of the Afflicted
Prayers/Intercession of the Advocate(s) (and the Afflicted)
Jesus Christ has full authority over all and his precious blood is what destroys the pacts of Satan over any soul. We are living in a grace period where we have free will to choose Jesus or not, and God gives us this time because he is graceful and wants us all to come to repentance. Our God is not a God of control but gives us free will to choose to love him or not.
Due to God's sovereignty, the process of occult deliverance might happen in two ways.
One: God chooses to completely and fully deliver a person immediately.
Two: the person goes through a process that takes time, as they are conformed to Christ and sanctified, and they get more and more free as they continue to walk in Christ.
Although scenario one may happen because of God's sovereignty, that doesn't mean it actually does happen. (I see scenario two all the time and it's clear there are really good reasons why God delivers over time as a person is spiritually formed.)
There are many perceptions of what occult deliverance is, some on-point, some way off-base. Either way, there is something critical that people should know about occult deliverance that a society formed in part by Hollywood horror movies should know. Occult deliverance isn't some shiny exciting thing, some magic trick, that happens quickly to expel a demon so a person can just go back to living their life in the exact same way they were before.
Deliverance is a process, and in truth, a partnership.
Here are three things you should know about the process of occult deliverance.
(1) God's choice to deliver over time is not punishment but rather an indicator of his divine mercy.
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45
Given that a person can put themselves in a much worse condition if they get freed of the demonic and then turn back to their old ways, I believe we must consider the concept of God’s mercy in this case.
Let’s say a person is not fully repentant, or perhaps they don’t fully believe in Jesus Christ. If the Lord allowed them to be freed of the demonic influence, they would end up in a worse state than before. Does the Lord prevent deliverance in some cases to prevent the worsening of a spiritual issue?
Jesus Christ demonstrates the casting out of demons in Holy Scripture with no issue whatsoever. However, Holy Scripture also makes it clear that the apostles and disciples do not share the same level of success. Jesus Christ is God, therefore, the demons obey. However, Jesus explains that the human’s lack of faith prevented the demonic from being ejected. Also, in some cases, the demons could only be removed with prayer. Additionally, the warning is given that a person is freed of the demonic without filling their hearts with the Holy Spirit, this leaves the person in a much worse situation.
As a person is spiritually formed, the Lord takes them on a beautiful journey of showing them how much he truly loves them. The main initial truths that I see pour into people as they are getting freed of occult bondage are biblical truth about (1) God's protection of his people, (2) God's promises to his children, and (3) God's inheritance: his people!
(2) God calls us into community, and occult deliverance is a bridge into the Body of Christ.
The occult is all about personal practice, rebellion, self-inflation, narcissism, going within, and ultimately, the goal is for Satan to isolate you as you are walking on the path toward your own perdition. (Sorry, that got a little morbid.)
God calls us into the opposite! We are called into community. This is a gigantic worldview shift that has to occur in a person getting detangled from occult bondage. The concept of coming under authority and rejecting rebellion takes time to integrate. A person has to drop paranoia of and disdain for others, and a variety of other disordered behavioral and mental practices, and learn how to open up into local community.
There is also usually a high level of trauma that has happened in the person's past. So as a person is getting spiritually formed, they usually also have to go through counseling for any mental, emotional, and psychological traumas they have experienced. I find a lot of people who end up in occult bondage have a family history of trauma and occult practices, and also learned to lean into worldly and occult systems to attempt to resolve their issues in life. These solutions that didn't work led the person to isolation and imprisonment within occult systems.
The afflicted must learn to reform the pull to isolation. This is a hard habit to break. The Enemy loves to fuel this inclination through what I call "the call to isolation." The Enemy will ramp up distrust and doubt, and make a person think they need to be isolated. If the person listens to the Enemy here, it cuts them off from the proper help and guidance they could (and should!) receive from the Body of Christ.
I can say from experience, I've watched afflicted persons realize this truth about the call to community, and it is a beautiful thing. It has brought me to tears to watch the relief and joy pour into a person as they realize they don't have to be alone. They start to trust others around them. They start to experience acceptance and partnership sometimes for the very first time in their lives.
Having the right community of people who know what you are going through and are there to support you through it is paramount when attempting to get freed of occult bondage. If you are reading this and you are in bondage now, DO NOT ISOLATE YOURSELF. Reach out to someone who can help.
(3) Intercessory prayer is at the heart of occult deliverance ministry.
The deliverance process of getting freed from occult bondage is arduous and long, but it draws you into a deeply personal relationship with Christ when you are fully submitted. During this journey, you will learn how to pray.
As you lean into your own prayer formation and community, you will hopefully find other Christians who are there to walk with you and pray with you as you lean more and more into Christ.
There are many different forms of deliverance ministries, but I am going to just speak of one aspect overall: prayer. Christians are commanded to intercede on behalf of one another. We are called to pray unceasingly, at all times, in the Holy Spirit.
As a person is going through what I call their "Colossians 1 Experience," prayer ministers are mission-critical.
"For God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, which results in the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1
The afflicted must partner with Jesus Christ as the Lord walks them out of bondage. The afflicted must find community among the Body of Christ in order to find effective spiritual direction and help with dismantling occult strongholds. The afflicted must take on a firm daily prayer practice, and learn how to walk with Christ through continual Scripture integration, repentance, renunciation, and reconciliation to Christ. This comprises the life-long process of sanctification.
Don't Go it Alone.
If you are in occult bondage, you do not have to go it alone. My name is Teresa Yanaros, and I run the Clarity Accelerator Academy which helps Christians who are leaving the occult go from mentally confused, emotionally dim, and spiritually oppressed to fully anchored to Christ so they can dismantle strongholds through the renewal of the mind and turn around and leverage their powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ to help build up the Kingdom of God.
Interested in hearing from people who have actually gone through the process? Check out the Spirit Sanctified blog, "Real Stories" by clicking the link below.
Are you looking for a roadmap on how exactly to get out of the occult and anchor to Christ? Download this free guide that will take you step by step through the process.
About The Author
Teresa Yanaros, a degreed journalist with a passion for Jesus, has dedicated her life to investigating media, exposing occult lies, and driving home the truth of Christ. Earlier in her career, Teresa was a successful author who gave speeches and practical workshops across America, after publishing a book that investigated the phenomenon of modern American online spiritualism and attempted to reconcile her Roman Catholic roots with new-age practices. She then had a radical deliverance experience from the occult and now coaches Christians who left the new age to follow Jesus. With over 1M views on her YouTube channel, Teresa has impacted viewers across the world who seek to look deeper at spiritual warfare and how Satan deceives through occult traps in media. After going #newagetoJesus she attended seminary classes and continues to research, investigate, and share information about the new age deception, occult deliverance, spiritual warfare, and Christian theology.
INTERESTED IN THE ACADEMY? If you are a Christian who left the new age, apply to join the CLARITY ACCELERATOR ACADEMY. The Academy takes the entire process from start to finish of getting oriented after leaving the new age, grounding into theology and spiritual warfare, deprogramming new age lies, renouncing Satan's influence, remaining delivered, and establishing a firm context for Christian living and spiritual formation, bible study, how to pray, how to share the gospel, how to build your testimony, how to share your testimony, and put it ALL into this academy. IT WORKS. People's lives are being transformed by this framework, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Jesus, for deliverance!
Teresa is the founder of Spirit Sanctified.
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