Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How does confession and repentance bring deliverance? Doesn't Jesus say, that we have the authority to cast out devils ourselves? Didn't He die to forgive us of all of our sins when He died on the cross?
A. Yes, indeed, Jesus gave us authority to cast out demons, which we do after covering their legal ground to be there. Demons are there from the person's sinful nature. Confession cleanses the soul and stops demons any right to inhabit or oppress. Yes, Jesus died for all of our sins, but if it was 'automatic', then the whole world would automatically be saved and delivered from the powers of darkness. The sad fact is, they are not. While there are billions of Christians all over the world, not all are delivered of the 'power of sin' in their lives, nor the associated demons holding them in bondage to it. Spiritual Legal Ground is about following the rules that God Himself laid out that both Satan and all of his demonic hierarchy have to submit to. The following scriptures spells out the agreement between God and man:
"IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
The key word here is 'IF'. That gives us a choice.
It also implies an agreement. Confession of sin goes
back to the law book in the Old Testament:
"And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing:" (Lev. 5:5)
Also, we are told in the New Testament, to confess our faults (sins) to one another:
"Confess therefore your sins (faults) to one another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (person) avails much." (James 5:16)
Unconfessed sin is an area of legal ground that the celestial prosecutor satan, uses against believers, giving him and his demons legal right to oppress and hold a person in bondage. Once the sins are brought before God with humility, it breaks the power and authority of satan in that believer's life in that particular issue. The demons can not hold on, and the believer is freed of any further torment or harassment. In this way, freedom brings peace, restoration and healing.
During confession and repentance, we appropriate the blood of the Jesus and leave all faults at the cross allowing our spirits to get beyond to the other side of the cross where there is victory, freedom, power and healing, which is only available to those who confess Christ as their personal savior.
"Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,
God dwells in him, and he in God." (1 John 4:15
"By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that confesses that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that
confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
Antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:2,3)
Q. If a person goes through an exorcism and is delivered of their demons, then isn't that enough?
A. Unfortunately, no. If the recipient of the exorcism, did not deal with the legal ground in their lives that brought those demons in, then chances are they will return only 7 times worse as Matthew 12:43-45 declares, especially if they go back to sinning, which is what demons seduce people into. This is why deliverance/exorcism sessions are not enough to bring about lasting deliverance which brings healing. Covering legal ground through confession and repentance, proves to be long lasting.
Q. How many times do I need to confess or repent till I find freedom?
A. If you are struggling with a particular sin, the Bible says, 'where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.' (Romans 5:20), yet, if you keep tripping up on a particular sin, that often indicates a demon present causing you to stay in bondage. It may even indicate the presence of an ancestral curse, giving those demons legal rights to oppress, inhabit, or enslave through addiction or dis-ease, in which case a number of different prayers must be done, to break the family curse, and repent of the sins of the ancestors, in addition to your own.
If trauma is present, then breaking the power of trauma must be done as well. Often, stubborn sins are multi-layered, as all the seven principalities and all of their armors network with each other to keep a person in bondage and get them to believe that they are stuck, blinding them to the victory that Christ has for us. Covering all legal ground causes those demons to detach, bringing lasting freedom.
The entire life of a Christian is about confession. It begins with confession of Christ as their savior, and is followed by confession of sins, repentance and using the power of the tongue to heal and command demons out of their way, confessing the praises and glory of God. Confession never ends. God is always there to listen. Confession is done as often as needed.
Q. I read in a book called Prophetic Deliverance, that a person needs to go through deliverance only once, maybe twice or even a third time for stubborn cases, then after that, they are only doing it for attention. Is this true?
A. Absolutely not! It all depends on the situation of the individual. For those who have been traumatized, orphaned, deeply wounded and betrayed, or involved in the occult, 3 sessions is certainly not enough to get completely free and that goes especially for those who have been involved in satanic ritual abuse.
There are different levels of strongholds that must be brought down and addressed through legal ground. This takes time, which can be accelerated through the frequency of confessions and repentance, but often complete freedom does not happen overnight, or in 3 sessions. It's important to address the reality of spiritual warfare with these individuals, which happens over their bodies and souls, but is also used by God to strengthen and enlighten these individuals towards the discernment of spirits.
What was written in the book Prophetic Deliverance comes from ignorance and a false belief system, and there is nothing prophetic about that statement, certainly not from God! Prophetic Deliverance fails to address the necessity of covering legal ground. The book plays into the spiritual ADD mentality, or spiritual fast food mentality, mirroring our present day culture, which dictates that one must have what they want in the 'now' moment making us an immediate gratification society. God does not operate like this. In fact the Lord operates in the opposite spirit, which is patient, thorough, detailed, full of Grace, and uses every situation and circumstance sent from the kingdom of darkness to express His Power and Glory. To be transformed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God/Light, is a growth process. For a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it must go through its chrysalis stage, this is when the Lord does his deep inner work. If the caterpillar can be patient to fly as a butterfly, so can we, when we surrender our lives to Christ. "He has made everything appropriate to its time...." (Ecc. 3:11)
Q. Time is short, we are living in the last days, doesn't it take time to go through all 7 principalities and confess and repent of all those sins?
A. Unfortunately, we live in an instant gratification culture. Yet, even though many people have developed 'spiritual attention deficit disorder' God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is patient and so are we. It all depends on the person, how much history they have, what issues are present, as to how much time it may take to experience total freedom. A 20 yr old has less history and baggage than a 50 year old. One thing we know for sure, is that God's path to freedom is long lasting and permanent. Freedom is empowering, and God's Grace is sufficient for us. There is a difference between the 'gifts and manifestations of the spirit' and the 'fruit of the spirit'. Fruit often takes time to mature. God is patient and faithful. With the proper nurturing, by taking the time to do it right in covering legal ground, we are assured of an abundant harvest in the spirit. That is what is pleasing to the Lord.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (patience). Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:2-8)
Q. Isn't it legalistic to focus on covering legal ground?
A. Just the opposite is true. There is a vast difference between man's laws which make up all kinds of religious doctrines and the laws of the spiritual realm. God's laws are immutable. There are some basic ground rules in spiritual warfare, covering legal ground leads to freedom, not bondage. You can't cover legal ground without repentance. However, you can be legalistic through a religious spirit, while never having the humility that leads to repentance.
Q. Can you do 'self-deliverance'? I heard of a Pastor who preached that you can't forgive yourself.
A. Yes. While all deliverance and spiritual liberation comes from God through the Holy Spirit, He gives us power and authority over the demonic realms. Yes, you can command demons to leave your presence, but you must facilitate it through dismantling and nullifying the rights of those demons to oppress and torment you in the first place, through turning to Christ in heartfelt repentance. Of course you can forgive yourself! We are commanded to in the Lord's Prayer. Unforgiveness of self is a form of trespassing against us! We are also commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If we can't forgive ourselves, then how can that be love? If Christ dwells within us, as us, then surely he wants us to let go of all self-hatred, self doubt, guilt and regret. If God loves us and forgives us, then surely we must follow Him and forgive ourselves. Covering this area of legal ground is very important in Finding Freedom. The principality of self-bitterness, is that very stronghold. Unforgiveness of self leads to self-murder (suicide). Whatever Pastor is preaching this, is perpetrating lies. In order for us to be healed, we must forgive ourselves, as God forgives us. It is not God's will for us to beat ourselves up over mistakes. That definitely reveals the presence of a demon, which must be dealt with and nullified through self-forgiveness (covering legal ground) and cast out with our God given authority. All forgiveness comes from God's Grace, whether that be the Grace to forgive others, the Grace to forgive ourselves and the Grace from God to be forgiven by Him. No matter what the situation, His Grace is sufficient for us. (2 Cor. 12:9)
Q. How do you know which demons to address in a session?
A. We believe in listening to the Holy Spirit for all truth. While some who practice deliverance think they need to address a demon by their names, we believe it is totally unnecessary and irrelevant to address a demon by it's proper name, as most of their names are unpronounceable in our languages, in addition to the fact that demons lie. Yet, dismantling their armors and taking down their principality stronghold renders that demon's presence null and void and essentially useless after covering the demon's right to legal ground. We address demons based on all the personality traits of satan they are associated with and spiritually match, i.e., spirit of anger, spirit of lust, spirit of greed, spirit of fear, spirit of control, accusing spirit, etc. We do not engage with demons, or ask them questions about who they are, why they are there and have them tell us a story, as some Christians doing exorcisms do. We believe that all demons come from the father of lies, who is satan, and all demons lie, therefore we do not listen to what they have to say, nor do we allow them to 'entertain' us. We take authority over them through the name and blood of Jesus Christ and through covering the pertinent legal ground that gave them the right to be there in the first, thereby neutering their power and nullifying their presence.
We believe the Holy Spirit to be the source of all truth. Those who listen to what demons have to say, are being deceived. We also believe this method of deliverance is a form of idolatry, as it gives more energy and trust to the demonic realm, than trusting the Holy Spirit for all truth. We believe that those who listen to demons follow after the doctrines of demons (2 Tim. 4:3), which is essentially today's New Age movement. Demons masquerade as angels, ascended masters, space brothers and even pretend to be Christ. (2 Cor. 11:14) We believe this is the spirit of antichrist. Instead, we focus our attention on what the Holy Spirit has to say about a particular situation and we encourage, guide and allow the person to exercise their faith in Christ by laying it all before the cross of Calvary. God is faithful to deliver and heal, when faith, confession and repentance is present. If we do our part, God is faithful to do His part and bring us signs and wonders, miracles, blessings, peace and restoration.
Repentance brings God's favor and blessings.
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvationand leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Cor. 7:10)
"Jesus said, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." (Matt. 3:2; Matt 4:17; Mark 1:15)
"And they went out, and preached that men should repent of their sins and turn to God."
(Mark 6:12)
"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray to God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." (Acts 8:22)
"....Jesus said, unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:3)
"Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." (Rev. 3:3)