Derek Prince - Meet These Requirements To Get Delivered
This is an excerpt from: War In Heaven And Earth - Part 2
Okay. The last thing demons do is make them weak or sick. And almost any kind of disease can be demonic. I'm not saying it is, but it could be caused by a demon. As I mentioned, arthritis is a very striking example. Migraines are another notable example. Almost anything tormenting is demonic I would say. Torturing and enslaving. Okay, now we come to the big question. Let me say one more thing about illness. You know, sometimes I pray for people, check their legs. How many of you've seen me do that? Anybody here? That is good. Okay. And very often when I'm holding someone's leg and it grows out, the person starts twisting and sliding, acting in a strange way. And I've learned it's a paralyzing mind. And I have seen many people freed from a paralyzing mind. Something that twists, distorts, enslaves. In fact, I think I would have been on my way to having that problem myself if I hadn't met a good chiropractor. I am willing to take help from anyone who can help me. And I thank God for chiropractors; I thank God for doctors. I'm not against doctors. But the best of all is Jesus, His name. Correct.
Now we come to the practical questions and here are the steps for receiving liberation. Step number one: Confirm your faith in Christ personally. Scripture says that Christ is the High Priest of our confession. It is our confession that initiates His high priestly ministry. If we don't make a confession, He cannot serve as our High Priest. He is the High Priest of our confession. When we say the same about ourselves as what God says in His word, we release the high priestly ministry of Jesus on our behalf. Step number two: Humble yourself. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And I haven't found anywhere in the Bible where God says He will humble us. Always, says God, you do it. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time.
Humility is a decision. And in this ministry of liberation, you may have to make a choice between keeping your dignity and your liberation. And if your dignity is more important to you, then you probably won't be liberated. People who are liberated are sometimes very unworthy. But my advice to you is: let go of your dignity and receive liberation. For after you receive redemption, your dignity returns. I want to point out something very, very beautiful from Scripture. There was one person to whom God gave a unique honor that was never given to anyone else. It would be the first human witness to the resurrection of Jesus. And do you know who she was? Mary Magdalene. And do you know what it says about her in Mark 16?
I want you to notice this. In Mark 16:9. And when Jesus had risen early in the morning on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. It's all in the same passage. So she was not inferior because she was freed from seven demons. In fact, she is the first human witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus felt such compassion for her broken heart that He would not even go to the Father until He revealed Himself to her. To me that is one of the most beautiful illustrations of the compassion of Jesus. There was a woman so broken-hearted, so full of love for Him, that He couldn't even leave the earth until He revealed Himself to her. Who was it? Mary Magdalene. What was her testimony? "He has delivered me from seven demons." Brothers and sisters, do not be ashamed if you need deliverance. You could be ashamed if you let pride stop you from receiving liberation.
Number one was: personally affirming your faith in Christ. Number two: humble yourself. Number three: confess all your known sins. Don't go looking for sin, but if the Holy Spirit shows you unconfessed sin, confess it. I think you will find this to be true. God has never committed himself to forgive sins we don't want to confess. So if you want forgiveness, you must be willing to confess. "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) But only if we confess our sins. Now you don't profess to tell something that God doesn't know. Because God knows all about your sins long before you confess them. What you do with that is bring something dark into the light. Because as I understand it, the blood of Jesus does not purify in the dark. You have to expose it with all its embarrassment. But if you bring it into the light, the blood is applied and you are washed whiter than snow. It's worth it.
And listen, we're not talking about confessing our sins to me or to the pastor. Just confess your sins to the Lord. And actually, you're not going to tell Him anything that He doesn't already know, because He knows all about it. But He still loves you. But it is His condition that brings you openly into the light. Repent of all sins. It is not enough to confess, you must repent. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13, "He who covers his sins will not prosper." If you keep it covered, you will not prosper. But whoever confesses and forsakes his sin will have mercy. So you must confess, and then you must refrain. Maybe you should throw it away, whatever it is, Maybe you should throw it away. It may be expensive, but you may have to throw it away. Forgive all other people. Well this is absolutely essential. If you don't forgive, God won't forgive you. That is the only remark Jesus made at the end of teaching the Lord's Prayer. If you forgive sins, God will forgive you. If you don't forgive, God won't forgive you either. You have to make a decision.
And let me say that forgiveness is not an emotion. It's a decision. You carry IOUs in your hand from someone to you, maybe for who knows, ten thousand dollars. But God has in His hand IOUs from you to Him for a hundred thousand dollars. God says, 'Let's make a deal. You tear up your IOUs and I tear up Mine. But if you don't tear yours, I'll hold Mine too." I taught this years ago in Florida. At the end of the session, a neatly dressed young woman of about thirty came up to me down the aisle, stood up in front of me and said, "Mr. Prince, I just want to tell you that I got rid of thirty thousand dollars in IOUs." She turned and walked out. She received the message. I didn't have to advise or counsel her. She had received the message. So maybe you should tear up some IOUs. I've found that the two most common causes of people not being liberated are: number one: unforgiveness and number two: not repenting. So you have to do it.