Luke 6:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Jesus Christ equipped his disciples for the work at hand. Did you ever think about who Jesus called? Months before these twelve were just ordinary men. Some were fishermen, one a tax collector, and most of them unlearned; and yet Jesus Christ chose these men to preach the Kingdom of God.
Luke 6:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
He knew that when they began preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, demonic powers would surface and bring opposition. Knowing this, he specifically gave them power and authority over demons.
I'd like you to note in verse 2 the commission Jesus gave his disciples:
1. Preach the kingdom 2. Heal the sick
Jesus knew demons existed and so did his disciples. However, if you take the time to study the scriptures, you will find that Jesus never went looking for demons. Later Jesus sent out 70 disciples and followers on a similar mission.
Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two, before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
Note verse 9.
Luke 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
They were given basically the same commission as the twelve and were empowered and given authority to do the work set before them.
Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
They returned with joy. What these disciples were excited about was that demons, evil spirits, were subject unto them through Jesus' name. Jesus was blessed that his people learned and engaged the enemy. He told them of the effect on Satan's kingdom.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Then he continues to teach and encourage them.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
However, when he gets to verse 20, he brings the whole experience into perspective for his disciples.
Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
His disciples were so proud of how they sent the demons running in the name of Jesus, this is what they talked about when they returned. Although Jesus was blessed for them, he was quick to warn them not to be demon-centered. This warning is still good advice for all who learn to exercise their God given rights and power in Christ.
One may be tempted to see oneself as a spiritual "Rambo," looking for demons behind every door. We are not called to be ghost busters for the Lord.
II Corinthians 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
We are called to be ambassadors. This means we are to speak the truth of the kingdom and present God's Word to a starving world.
The introduction of light dispels darkness, not dwelling on the darkness.
When God allows us to function in the ministry of deliverance, all tat is done is done in the name of Jesus Christ. God's power must always be wrapped in God's love.
John 8:31-32 31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
It's the truth that will make you free, not your knowledge of error.
This ministry of deliverance tends to draw those fascinated with spiritual power. These kind of people feel the need to be a part of something "Big and Important" for their own ego needs. If you check the scriptures, you will see that, as you go forth advancing the Kingdom of God, enough demonic opposition will arise of itself. You won't need to go "looking for it."
Matthew 4:23-24 23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people, that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Jesus was about his Father's business preaching the gospel. As a result of this, the need arose for ministering and healing, so he did. I am not trying to down play the need for men and women to "wake up" and realize that more times than not, if they continued in ministering, they would probably run into demons. However, that is not our priority.
Our priority is God, our spiritual goal is to become more Christ like. Now all these things are just a part of the whole gospel. We sometimes cut God short when we end our presentation of the scriptures. More and more, I'd like to see ministering made available so we can engage the enemy, if need be.
Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Again, note the order; teaching, preaching and ministering.
Matthew 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.Mark 4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.Mark 6:34-44 34And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:, 36Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing, to eat. 37He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39And he commanded them to make all sit down, by companies, upon the green grass. 40And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42And they did all eat, and were filled. 43And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
Again, we see the Master teaching first, then as needs arose, he handled them, he didn't send them away. We must now take a look at the other end of the spectrum: people who refuse to accept that Satan exists.
People who believe demons or unclean spirits are fairy tales are equally in error and danger. The adversary will continue to rack and ruin your life completely undetected, for you have just closed the door on that possibility in your life and in the lives of the people you minister to.
The adversary will continue to rack and ruin your life completely undetected, for you have just closed the door on that possibility in your life and the lives of the people you minister to. This is foolish and sinful.
What's the answer? We need to preach the whole gospel. This includes all of God's heart and will for us. We dare not pick and choose what we think is God's will. The truth is, evil spirits affect everyday life all over the world.
We should be honest enough with God and each other to realize that this is a very important aspect of ministering just as with healing, speaking in tongues, teaching, preaching, praying, etcetera.
Romans 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
May this be said of us, that we fully preach the gospel of Christ, not just part, lest we be guilty of deliberately withholding the truth.
Acts 20:20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,
This is God's will for the Church of Grace. Let's rejoice in the truth of the full gospel.ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NLT indicates the New Living Translation, NAS indicates the New American Standard version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, NJB means the New Jerusalem Bible, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.