A lack of peace makes it impossible to enter into rest for your soul. Now, listen to this: If a person can’t enter into God’s rest, they also can’t enter into their promised land. In the days of Moses, we read of a generation of Israelites that wandered the wilderness for 40 years, never taking their promised land. Those people were never at rest. They were full of bitterness, complaining, strife and unbelief, and a lot of discouragement They saw the miracles, signs and wonders yet failed to act in faith to confront enemies that stood in their way, preventing them from possessing their promises.They were delivered from Egypt but they never got rid of that poverty mindset that undermined and unraveled their faith. Their minds remained in captivity so they never exercised their dominion and authority. A poverty mindset is one that is characterized by a sense of unworthiness, insecurity, and inferiority. How many of you struggle with those same feelings? Your inner critic tells you, I’m not good enough. I can’t do anything right. I’ll never have a good life. Why even bother believing? My life will never amount to anything. God, I feel like You’ve abandoned me. I guess I don’t measure up. See, It’s a rejection of who you are in Christ, an unbelieving mind.
Hebrews 4:1-11 tells us that there was an entire generation of people that did not take their promised land because they had unbelief. They were too afraid to fight the giants that guarded their spiritual inheritance. They allowed fear and unbelief to keep them stuck in the wilderness. We too, can make the same mistake if we are not intentional when it comes to those things that want to keep us stuck. How are you going to fight the giants - also known as strongman spirits - if you aren’t trained in deliverance or experience it for yourself?
The enemy still uses fear and unbelief today to keep people from receiving their deliverance. God can bring you to the person who is anointed to help you, but He won’t make you stay to receive help if you want to opt out. I have seen it many times where people are right on the brink of a breakthrough, and the enemy will do everything possible to redirect them away from their deliverance.
The thought of deliverance ministry can make people uncomfortable if they have preconceived ideas of what they fear will happen. I find that people who don’t really know God don’t trust Him, and they won’t trust others to help them with their issues. Mostly because they are afraid of embarrassment or insecure about being judged. The word of God in Psalm 23 says our Good Shepherd leads us in paths of righteousness. He brings us to peaceful streams so that we can rest. He wants to give you rest and refreshment in His presence. But you can be sure that truth also makes the enemy uncomfortable. All because the enemy doesn’t want to lose his host. He needs people to cooperate with him so he has a place to stay. But when people make excuses to avoid deliverance, they are actually practicing a form of idolatry, because it’s living by self rule rather than yielding to the authority of God so they can be healed and free. That defiance may present itself like fear or some form of intimidation, maybe it sounds like one of the statements I made a moment ago, but it’s breaking faith with God. It’s the acceptance and agreement with the enemy rather than a profession of faith. Sometimes we tell ourselves, “I’m ok the way I am. I don’t need anyone’s help. I am satisfied with the knowledge I have. I’m satisfied with the amount of God I have.” 1 John 1:8 tells us that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth isn’t in us. But it can also be a stubborn refusal to grow, and God calls that rebellion, which is why He said in Hebrews 4:1-3, these people will not enter my rest.
"Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest…"
Faith and unbelief cause double mindedness. Scripture is very clear in James 1:6-8 and tells us that we become very unstable when our beliefs waiver. A double minded man does not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Another reason why deliverance ministry is important is because it stabilizes our faith.
Deut. 9:4-5 is a reminder that we don’t take our promised land because of our own righteousness, but as a gift of God’s grace. We cannot enter into our promised land in our own strength. It’s not by our own strength, our will, our good works or by striving to make something work just because we will it to. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord. We have to cease from our works so that we can obtain our promises in God‘s grace. And you cannot do that without deliverance, because deliverance produces a yieldedness and submission to God. Every spiritual warfare battle I’ve been in - and I’ve been in a lot - was there to buffet my flesh until I reached a point of yieldedness and surrender. I needed deliverance. We go through hardships and trials and learn to overcome and subdue our flesh so that in a time of testing, we can withstand the tests and not be unapproved or seen as a counterfeit. But a person that has not had deliverance will not be able to pass those tests with demons still attached to their lives. Those spirits are assigned to trip people up and cause spiritual abortion. It’s why people find themselves going through the same type of familiar seasons where you go, “Oh, not this again. This feels so familiar.” It’s because you haven’t passed the test in a previous season. It’s the same reason the Israelites stayed in the wilderness for 40 years.
When a person is not submitted to God’s Holy Spirit, it causes them to be timid and unbelieving. People sometimes don’t want to get involved in deliverance because they’ve not been trained how to walk in their true identity as sons and daughters of God. If you haven’t been trained in this, naturally, you won’t feel confident in taking authority over demonic spirits.