God-given Weapons for the Ministry of Deliverance — Dr. John Kleinig

Machine-generated transcript; may contain errors.

Okay, the important thing in working in the Ministry of Deliverance is not what's the right method, but what are the right resources? Now, being under authority, working with Christ, he's the one who's doing the delivery, not us. We're not the boss. We're not the Messiah, we only work for the Messiah. No, we don't work for the Messiah, we work with him. And he gives us on a need to minister basis, the resources that we need to deal with any problem in this area. So we depend on our own, we don't depend on our own knowledge, our expertise, our theological training, the degrees we've got, the amount of experience, we have all of that is of little value. What matters is that we use the resources that are given to us by our Lord Jesus in ministry.

Just listen to the way St. Paul talks about his role, it's not just his role, it's but him and Timothy because the we here, it's the not just the apostolic we, the apostles, but we pastors. So pick up the weed years, we passed us. Though we pastors, Paul and Timothy live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. Actually, it's not world, but it has to do with flesh. We live in the flesh, but we don't wage war according to the flesh. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world, the flesh, on the contrary, they have divine power. They sat there to demolish strongholds fortresses. We demolish arguments. The Greek word is logismoy, which is trains of thought. Habitual trains of thought.

We demolish arguments, trains of thought and every potential, every high thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of Christ. And we can take captive, every thought, to make it obedient to Christ. As you know, the Greek term for obedient is listening to Christ. So we take captive every thought, to make it listening to Christ, obedient in that sense. So, we have been given divine weapons. Now, we're under authority, we don't operate on our own authority. We don't use our own resources. We use the resources of Christ. And the power that we use are lie in the resources that have been given to us as pastors in our ordination. And the 2 main resources that we have, the weapons, are the word of God, and prayer in the name of Jesus.

So, the word and the name. They are the most important resources. And what are we up against? Paul says that we're up against strongholds. Now, fortresses. Now, a stronghold meant to keep an enemy out, and to protect people who live inside the fortress, the stronghold. So you think the picture that Paul uses here is a fortified city, and the picture is that each one of us, if you like, is like a city that's fortified to keep the enemy out. And to give us safety inside its walls. Now there's a very ironical twist here, an unexpected twist, the way that Paul uses that graphic image. He is speaking about the fortresses, the mental personal fortresses that people keep that people construct, not to keep Satan out, but to keep who out, Christ out, to oppose Christ and His word, as if Christ and His word were their enemy.

So, our people are afraid of Jesus. They're afraid of his work, word, they're afraid of his intrusion into their life him robbing their, of their supposed autonomy, their freedom, and so they build fortresses against Jesus. And they're not just physical fortresses and bodily fortresses, but they are mental fortresses. They are mental fortresses. And these fortresses are made up of self justifying arguments and self promoting pretensions about ourselves as our gods. So they are trained to thought arguments their arguments by which we try and defend ourselves over against the truth of Christ and the word of Christ. The arguments we have, and most of them are not terribly rational, they're mixed up with emotion and all sorts of other things.

The fortress, if you like, is a mental fortress, the arguments that we have with ourselves, by which we justify ourselves and keep Christ at bay. And, Paul says, and against every pretension, Hipsoma is a high thing. So we, as it were, construct ourselves a place where we can be up high, and we can look down on everybody else, including God. Now, we up high, and we're over everybody else, that kind of mental, intellectual, personal superiority. We know everybody else is stupid and doesn't know what we know. Now, that kind of mentality. So, the strongholds, the fortresses that Paul and Timothy are attacking, to use a military metaphor, are human ways of thinking, and acting rather than geographical locations.

Now, I touch on this, because there's another appendix which has to do with territorial spirits. This text is used for that, that there's certain places in society where you get where their demons up reside, and Christians have to go to identify these territorial locations where the territorial spirits reside, and we need to get the demons out in certain places. As always, there's half truth there. But this is nothing to do with geographical locations, what's the location for this fortress? It's the human mind. To protect the human conscience from the Word of God as law and gospel from Christ. Now, there's an irony. Did you get it? The fortress that we construct against Jesus is, in fact, what?

It's a spiritual prism that's run by the devil. So we are locked up in our own prison. The fortresses that we make against Jesus are the prison by which we then imprison ourselves. We think we are free. But by doing this, in fact, we imprison ourselves and we become captives. And Christ comes then, not to enslave us and make us prisoners of war, but to set us free, from imprisonment. I don't know if any of you have read the novels of the great Russian writer Salsenetsson. Have any of you? Okay? One of the greatest of his is called the First Circle. It's a picture of Soviet Russia, which is compared to, you know, Dante wrote a great poem in the Middle Ages. There's the inferno that's hell, then there's purgatory, and then there's paradise.

Assaults and medicine, imagines that Soviet Russia is like hell. It's a hell that's ruled over by a tyrant who is a tyrant, Stalin. He rules by terror, but the irony is, and there are seven circles in hell, according to Dante. And at the bottom of those seven circles there is Satan himself, who is immired in his own shit. Very graphic picture. And it's not a hot place, but it gets colder and colder, the further you go down into the liparious levels of hell. And the prison camps where, in fact, are the 1st circle of hell. That's the imaginative conceit around which the whole novel was constructed. It's a brilliant novel. I recommend it very highly, profoundly theological. The irony is that the prison, the one who prisons others, is himself imprisoned in his own prison.

The first circle, solves him next sip. Now, the goal of Paul and Timothy is waging spiritual warfare, is to deliver people from imprisonment. He demolishes the strongholds that stop people from knowing Jesus, knowing Christ and listening to him. It's to open them up and to set them free from imprisonment. Okay? He talks about using God's weapons, not the weapons of the flesh, not human methods, whether they're sociological or psychological or whatever the case may be physical, but the weapons of God, and the divine power of God, to demolish these strongholds, and to set people free. That's what we do as pastors in our preaching, particularly in our teaching. If you like, that's the rationale for apologetics.

When apologies, you don't argue people into belief, you can't argue people to believe. What you do in apologetics, you demolish the strongholds, that people construct, to keep God out of their lives, and very often, those arguments are ones that they borrow from the movers and shapers in our society. Secondly, in spiritual warfare, we put on not human armor, but we put on the armor of light. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 13 verse 12 to 14. The night is nearly over. The day is almost here. So put aside the works of darkness. Notice the works of darkness. I spoke about that, the works of the devil, and put on the armor of light. Clothe yourselves in Christ Jesus. So, we dress ourselves. We don't have to dress ourselves.

We are dressed with armor in our baptism. The armor of light. We put on Jesus. Jesus is our armor. And the whole armor, both the defensive and the offensive weaponry, doesn't belong to us, it belongs to Jesus. So who does the fighting? We don't. Jesus does the fighting. Jesus does the defending Jesus does the fighting. And we're absolutely safe. Why? Because we are covered with the armor of light. We're covered with the armor of Christ's purity, his holiness, and that protects us in any situation that we may find. So, we have the armor, Christ's armor, the armor of light, which is supplied to us in baptism, and we put on every day for the battle. Luther says, we begin every day by saying In the name of the Father, and the son of the Holy Spirit.

Why? We recall our baptism, and we arm ourselves with the holy name of God, but putting on our baptismal armor, for the battle of the day and the battle of the night at the end of the day. I don't know whether you've ever studied closely the vestments of the high priest in the Old Testament. It's very curious set of paraphernalia. There's not just the normal vestments, you have undergarments, and then you have a kind of an overgarment, like a cope of some kind. And then, over that, the top of his head he has a miter, like a crown, and then, on that might, he has a plate, which, on which is inscribed, holy holiness belonging to God. God's holiness. So, he's covered with God's holiness, not it's not God's holiness, it's the holy name.

Yahweh's holiness, holiness belonging to Yahweh, so his head is covered. The name of God is placed on his head, and that makes him holy, makes his body a walking, talking shrine, a holy place. So he's covered with God's holiness. He has the limb investments, and then he has the breastplate and the e-phod. Now the breastplate is designed like armor. Okay, I won't go into all the details, but the important thing is to see that it's a form of ritual armor. You have the shoulder pads, but then over his heart, you have the ephod, and he bears the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, both on his shoulders and over his heart, and there is, he's armed with the armor of God, holy armor. Now, what on earth does the high priest need armor, when he officiates at the temple, each morning and evening?

Or his task, according to the Pentateuch is for him to do sentry duty. The picture is of a king and his bodyguard. So why does the king have a bodyguard? To stop assassination. Now, God's not worried about assassination, but he's worried about people coming and desecrating his holiness. So, the priest does guard duty to make sure that the holiness of God is not desecrated, not because God will be assassinated, but who will be assassinated, if God's holiness is desecrated? The person who, who intrudes, the person who comes into God's presence, unclean desecrating God's holiness will come under God's wrath. So the priest does guard duty wearing holy armor to protect people, to protect a God's holy from desecration, and to protect people from being killed by them defiling and desecrating God's holiness.

The high priest does send free duty. And that's the same picture that Paul uses in two places, if we're timed, I go in the look closely at both of these, but you have two lists of armament that Paul gives. There's the 1st one in 1st Corinthians chapter 5, verse 7. He says, Christians have been given faith and love as the breast, plate, their breastplate, and the helmet of salvation. Now, the helmet of salvation means the helmet of deliverance means the helmet of victory. So you have the victory of God over your head. That's your helmet, and you're covered with the love of faith and love as our your breastplate. That's the arms that you wear in the battle. So, you have faith, love, and the hope of salvation, the hope of victory, they are your three are…

Gifts. They are the resources that you bring in the Ministry of Deliverance, yes? So the helmet of salvation, from our perspective, would not look like some Roman helmet, but it would perhaps look like the laurel breed. It would be more like that, yes. It is the helmet. Now, by putting on that, it's like a magic helmet. Now, when you put it on, you've won the victory. So putting it on means that you claim the victory. Just remember what, brother Dan said, you know, the victory's already won. And as soon as Christ starts working, he doesn't impact the gauge in war, he merely engages in mopping off operations. We claim the victory, and so it is not only victory, but also deliver and salvation.

By doing that, we claim the victory of Christ. And everything that belongs to it. And then you have the longer list that we heard yesterday in the servers, the very famous passage from Ephesians chapter 6 13 to 18. There's six pieces of the panoply, the full armor of Christ and of God. Now, the important thing that Paul's point that Paul makes is this. Number one, it's not our armor, it's Christ armor. Just as Saul gave his armor to David, so Christ gives his armor to us. Now, armor consists of 2 parts. There are defensive armor, and then there is offensive arms. Paul mentions 5 things. The 3rd no, 6 things. The 1st four, we already have in our baptism. We don't have to put them on. We carry them wherever we go.

So you have the belt of truth, around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness the righteousness which covers us. There is the shoes of the gospel. And then there is the shield of faith. We already have. And they are given to us in baptism. Those culminates in the shield of faith. The very famous Roman square shield. And then you have two pieces of armor that we put on every day, again and again and we receive each day as a gift in prayer. There's, of course, take the helmet of salvation, spoke about that, and now comes the surprise, and he says, taking the gladius, the sword of the word, the sword of the word. So, we take the sword of the word. Now, the most, important innovation, military innovation of the Romans was the use of this very famous 2 edge, gladius, the sword.

With that sword, the Romans conquered the world. Now, what's interesting here is that the sword is the only offensive weapon that's given to us, but how does Paul say we are to use the offensive weapon of the word? Not by preaching, but by pray. He says, take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, most the sword of the spirit. You would use the word and the spirit together. Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God doing what? Praying at all times. So, it is in intercessory prayer, guided by the word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, that we wield, the only offensive weapon that we have against Satan and all the powers of darkness, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

So, if you like, the picture that Paul gives us is that we dress up, in Jesus or as Jesus. And so we don't go into battle, if you like, standing in human armor, our own meager arms, but Christ gives, says, okay you stand in my shoes, borrow my power, my victory, my resources, and use them in the battle. We borrow his armor, we borrow everything from him in spiritual warfare. We are protected, just as the high priest was protected by God's holiness, which cover him. Hence the vestments and all that stuff. We're protected by God's holiness, we're protected by the light of God's holiness so Satan has no hold over us, no power over us. Remember the promise. In one John 5, verse 18, where John says the evil one does not touch anyone who is born of God.

Armed with this armor, the evil one cannot touch us, in the sense of not just contact, but it means that he can't do us any harm. He can't damage us. He can't attack us. We have invincible armor that protects us and we needn't be afraid of him, or his power, or his threats. Wherever we go. There's no situation which is so dangerous, spiritually, that we don't receive protection with that armor. But the important thing is that we don't go dressed up with our own armor, but we dress up in prayer, and in faith, with the armor that Christ supplies. Yes? He doesn't touch us, but he attacks us right? He attacks us, yes. But touching in a sense means what? He attacks us, he touches us in the sense of attacking us, but what doesn't he do?

He can't defile us, he can't destroy us. He can't harm us. You have two kinds of things. If an arrow comes along and brushes against me, touches me, but it doesn't touch me in the sense that it doesn't do me any damage. It doesn't wound you. So he can't wound you in any way spiritually. Yes, I think there's said that she's like a dog, that is cheap, that, I guess, here embark, but as long as they stay up on his own, I mean. Yes, stay. Yes. And yes, you can, and that's what we do when we use the armor of Christ in the battle. And it's with that armor, then we can go and we can use the sword of the spirit intercessory prayer, we can go, and reach out to people who are locked up in the prisons, that they've constructed, and that safe uses to take them captive.

Yes, and now there's 10 minutes now. Any, any, I've tried to get through. I've got quite a bit this morning. So I'm going pretty quickly, but there's some very important stuff here. Any questions or remarks, yes? Good numbers from a couple of weeks ago when Moses was feeling… With what? When Moses was feeling the strain? Yes. God told that it's 70, man. Yes. And they prophesied. Do we understand that in terms of intercessory prayer? Yes, because the most obvious, why you prophesy, is by praying, as guided by the spirit of God. There's another story which makes the same point even more graphically. It's an Exodus chapter 17. Remember, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, a time when they were very vulnerable.

And then Moses, who was the general, led the army in a very strange way. Do you remember what happened? Moses held his arms up in intercessory prayer, like that, up to God, perceiving God's gifts, bringing God's gifts to people on earth, in an act of intercession. But the battle kept waging all day, and so what happened? He had two young men, Aaron, and another I think it was her, wasn't it? Stood on either side of him, propping him up, holding his arms up, because the moment he stopped interceding, the battle turned against the Israelites, but as long as Moses was praying and interceding for the Israelites, the victory was assured. Now, that's a wonderful picture of Moses engaged in spiritual warfare, intercessory prayer.

Yeah, was there another hand up that I… Okay, now, four resources that we have. Now, all of these inter lock. You can't separate them from each other because they all have to do with Christ. What Luther calls the entire Christ, Totos Christos. Christ and all his gifts to us. Number one. And I'm thinking in practical terms now not in dogmatic terms, I'm thinking in practical terms. Okay, what's my number one resource? In, helping people, delivering people who are under attack by the evil one. Number one, I have one word, one little word can tell them, the holy name of Jesus. Remember what the 70 or 72 evangelists said in Luke chapter 10, verse 17, Lord even the demons, submit to us in your name.

They are subordinate to us in your name. So, beginning to end. Everything we do in the ministry of deliverance is done in the name of Jesus. And that means in the name of the triune God. The holy name, that's the most holy of all holy things that is being given to us. And with that, everything is done, and the victory is assured. Notice the use of the holy name of Jesus again Satan and the evil spirits, by Paul in dealing with that woman who had that spirit of divination, the Python spirit in Philippi, what does he say to that demon? I charge you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to come out of her. What does the reason Lord Jesus say to his apostles, according to Mark chapter 16? In my name, you will cast out demons.

The use of the holy name. I don't know whether you've ever noticed the rather curious case of the Jewish exorcists in Ephesus. Now, they saw that Paul had such a remarkable ability to get rid of the demons, and he didn't seem to have to do anything much, no complicated rituals. You just tell the name of Jesus, get going, and they go. Don't be pelarva, no complicated rituals just, just tell them to go in the name of Jesus. So, they thought, OK, we'll get in the act too. And so they confront people who are idemonized and they say, and they use the formula. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, I bid you to go out. What happens? The demons do go out, but they come on them.

Okay, why? Was it wrong for them to use the name of Jesus? No, but they were used. At that time? They're not wearing the armor. They are not protected by the authority of Jesus. They're not authorized to do this. They are unauthorized. They are not protected with the armor. And so, they are successful. That's the irony that's successful in doing it, but it comes, the demon comes and lodges in them. Poor guys. By the way, by the way, that's the only place where you get the term that is so common now, exorcism. If I had my way, I would get rid of that church, I mean, that term from the church is not helpful at all. So it's only used negatively here in this context, and it's quite obvious that Luke is not using it in a positive sense.

The normal term that he says is not exercising demon, but throwing up demons casting up demons, getting rid of demons. It's a much more neutral term. So, when in the battle, against the evil one, we don't do anything in our name, we don't do any fighting. We call, and this is Luther again, we call on the champion to do the fighting for us, and he doesn't have to do the fighting for us, because he's already won the victory. So, we call on the champion, we call on the name of Jesus, and the name of Jesus sends demons packing. Now, this is very important for people who are under attack, and people instinctively know that. When they attack, the thing that you need to do is to call on the name of Jesus.

Now, I don't know how many times I've heard of people who are under terrible attack, not knowing what to do. And in desperation, they say, Jesus help me, or Jesus saved me, or just say Jesus. And just calling on Jesus, does the trick when you're undertaking. We use the name of Jesus in everything that we do in the ministry of Jesus, where we renounce the devil in the name of Jesus, we confess our faith in the name of Jesus. We pray in the name of Jesus, we praise in the name of Jesus. We confess our sins in the name of Jesus. We absolve people in the name of Jesus. We rebuke the evil spirits and Satan in the name of Jesus. We bless in the name of Jesus, we proclaim the victory in the name of Jesus.

We declare the deliverance of people from the evil one in the name of Jesus. Everything done is in the name of Jesus. Whatever you do in word and deed, Paul says, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Giving thanks to God the Father through you. Every thing is done in the name of Jesus. And we use the name of Jesus most particularly, are, to perform an exorcism every time we baptize somebody. What's the basic Christian, if you like exorcism ceremony? It is baptism. Unfortunately, people have mucked around with the baptismal order, and it's become so valderized many places that you never dream that this is what's going on. Every baptism is the great exorcism are right. Everything that's prepared for baptism is part of the writer deliverer.

And there's two very important parts in the baptismal ceremony. Ours is a little bit different, because we have a rebuke. You don't have it, but the prayer for deliverance from the evil one, before baptism, and then it's a very important part. Well, people don't just do it, but you say, Do you renounce the devil and all his works in all his ways? I think you're broken up. Do you renounce the devil? Yes, I do. Do you renounce his works? Yes, I do. Do you renounce his ways? Yes, I do. I reminded you that on the mission fields many places, Lutherans and Catholics, can spell that out. Do you renounce the devil? Yes, do you renounce his works, sorcery et cetera. His ways, pay back, all sorts of stuff like that.

That's from… So you spell it out. So, that's a very, very important part of, baptism, and it's closely connected with the creed, because on the one hand, we renounce our allegiance to our former overlord, our slave lord, and we declare our new allegiance to the triune God. A bottom line, I would say that I doubt whether a baptism is valid, no, so it can work, but I dealt with, it's valid, if it doesn't contain both a renunciation and a confession of faith. And it needs to be done always in the name of the triangle, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, that's in the name of Jesus shorthand. So where does the power lie? Now, what's the basic exorcism ceremony?

Where do you see the deliverance ministry? Where do you do deliverance ministry most obviously? It's in everything that's associated with baptism. The catechesis before baptism, also the post baptismal catechesis, has to do with deliverance ministry, and it's all done in the name of Jesus. What is the power of baptism? It's not the water. It's not your holiness. Or even your call. It's a pastor, no matter how important that. It's the holy name that delivers people from the devil. Remember what Luther says, what's the benefits of baptism? It works, forgiveness of sins delivers from them and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this is the words and promises of God declare.

Why do you think Luther uses the present text? It's ongoing. He could have said, it delivered you from these things, but it delivers, it, it works, present tense, forgiveness us in. It delivers right now and continues to do it until the deliverance is complete at the resurrection. Just one final thing before we take a break. The large catechism, just listen to what Luther says about baptism. In baptism, therefore, every Christian has enough to study and practice, do all his life. Notice the emphasis on doing, not just theoretically. Okay, meditation, and then doing. He always has enough to do, to believe firmly what baptism promises and brings. What does baptism bring? Victory over death and the devil.

Forgiveness of sins, God's grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with all his gifts. No, it's what Luther brings up front, most of all, is victory over, death, and the first resource, that I've touched on, that we have. Yeah. In the ministry of deliverance, is the most holy and precious name of Jesus. We do everything in the name of Jesus. Secondly, we do everything with the word of God. And this is important because the word of God is not like human words. Since it is inspired by the Holy Spirit it is full of the spirit. It inspires us and others with the Holy Spirit. Wherever we work with the Word, we are working with the Spirit. Wherever we work, without the word, we can't be sure that we're working, with the spirit.

So the spirit filled word. You remember how Christ, very simply, used his word, to banish unclean spirits. So take, for example, Matthew's summary in chapter 8, verse 16. He says, When evening came, many who were demonized were brought to Jesus, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick. That's with the word, not a sermon, not a complicated ritual, but just with a single word, he drives out the demons. Notice, too, the importance that other people bring people who are demonized. That's what we do when we intercede for others. When we pay for others. We bring them to Jesus. And, the healing, I mean, they're casting out of demons, has to do with healing people who are sick.

Now, what words does Jesus use? Just look at the our killers, depart be silent and come out of him, come out of this man, you unclean spirit. A declaration, the demon has gone out from your daughter, that's the Venetian woman. You deaf and dumb spirit, I myself rebuke you. Come out from him, and never enter again or a declaration, you, that's the woman with the bend bag. You are free from your infirmity. So, when we work with the word, we operate by the power of the spirit. My spirit is hope. It is very ineffectual against the evil spirit, and cannot prevail. I will be outwitted, just as my mind will be outwitted by the mind of the evil one the resource that I have is the Word and the Spirit of God through the Word.

Not what St. John says, when he addresses the young men, in his congregation, you are strong. Now why are you strong? Because the Word of God remains in you. It dwells in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Notice the perfect tense. Why are the young Christian men strong? Because the word of God remains in them. It's not a word that goes in and out, it's taken root in them. It's part of them, and they have, then overcome the evil one, the perfect pens which denotes something that's happened in the past, but it goes on in the present. You have overcome and you continue to overcome the evil one. Why? Not by your own strength, but the strength and power that comes from the word, God. So, in practical terms, this means that we use the word of God in one of two ways.

We rely on his promises. So wherever we have a promise or command of Christ, we have the authority to act and we have the direction of how to act. So particularly, and I found this very very important, is in dealing with this area, that you rely on the promises of Jesus. And I have, in my own mind, a whole, I've memorized a whole list of basic promises because very often, when you're faced the situation, you can't go get a Bible and look it up, you need it, just act your thing, it's like that. So just take one of them. The evil one does not touch anyone who is bored of God. Just as I'm memorized, there's now no condemnation for those who aren't Christ Jesus. Or, in all this, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Those kind of passages. So, you rely on the promises, the word of God, and you enact the promises of God in your ministry of deliverance. But most importantly, the important thing is not what you say in this situation. You need to listen and listen and listen. One ear to the person, and more importantly, one ear to the word of God keeping the ear open to God's word, and then being guided by the word of God, not as to what to say, but how to pray. Remember the culmination of Paul's great passage, about the spiritual armor, he says this. Take or receive, it's better, take the receive the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times, and are praying in the spirit of all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

And it's not just one kind of prayer. Thank you, prayers, help, prayers, et cetera. There's a whole rage. Petition repairs, supplication, prayers all sorts of things, all kinds of prayers all kinds of requests. We come to this situation, unresourced in ourselves. We depend on Christ, and he gives us what we need, as I said repeatedly, on the need to minister basis. And that comes to us through the word. Most importantly, every time you mount a pulpit. You banish the demons by preaching and teaching God's word. So every sermon is in every sermon that you preach, if it is preaching, the word of God, as law and gospel, you're involved in the ministry of deliverance. Just look how closely Mark brings those two things together.

Casting our demons preaching the gospel. This is Jesus with the 12 apostles. Jesus appointed 12, whom he named apostles, so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. Notice that they are with Jesus. And Mark's implying is that even when they go out, they don't leave Jesus, but they are still with Jesus. And he gives them 2 tasks, but they are not really 2 tasks, but one. He sends them out to do what? To preach and to have authority over demons. How did they exercise authority over the demons, preaching. How do they banish the demons by preaching the gospel? So, as I've said before, every service is a kind of exorcism. I don't like that word, you know, you pick that up.

In every service, you exercise, the ministry of deliverance. That is the ordinary ministry of deliverance. One of the problems that we've had is because the church has neglected this very important emphasis for the last 200 years, as far as I can gather. So, what happens? Then, you get delivery ministry outside the church. It's a kind of a parachurch activity. And so you get all these deliverance ministry guys that go all around the place, that specialize in this. And as soon as you take one thing and focus on that, you can be pretty sure, no matter how good it starts, that eventually it's going to go seedy, because it ceases to enact and proclaim the whole council of God. The liturgy, like the divine service, is the place where you exercise most clearly and obviously, the Ministry of Deliverance.

And especially so, when you have a baptism. And for this reason, that I would emphasize it's important to do baptism not private baptisms, but baptisms within the liturgy. Number three, and closely related to this you can see how these overlap. The third resource is individual and corporate prayer. Now, I'd like to emphasize corporate prayer, congregational prayer. If you look closely, and we won't have time to do this, at the Lutheran stuff, at the end, the thing that Luther and Buggenhagen and all the classical Rutherans emphasized in this area was the importance of congregational prayer. The congregation is involved in the Ministry of Deliberates. Just listen to what Jesus does. How does Jesus protect his disciples, as they face his crucifixion?

He says, Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are one. My prayers, not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. So, how does Jesus protect us from the evil one is by me praying for us. He prays for your protection. He prays for my protection. He prays for the protection of every single Christian and every single congregation, around the world. Notice to them, the emphasis that Jesus places on his prayer, when he warns Simon Peter about his denial of him. He says, Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sit, all of you, notice not just Peter but all the disciples like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, so that your faith may not fail.

You're like, what's the basic content of the prayer of Jesus for you? My prayer is, that your faith failed mine. When the time of testing comes. So, in practical terms, then, and this is so obvious, once you see it. What's the most important resource we have in the Ministry of Deliverance is the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer. Hence, its use everywhere. Remember that the Lord's prayer is not only the prayer that Jesus gave to us, but it is his own prayer. When we pray the Lord's prayer, we are praying together with Jesus. Just think, what is that Jesus is doing as he intercedes for our day and night before the Father? He says, father, not father, but our father. So he's, he and his father is our father who art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name. Thy disciples. Your kingdom come to them, your good and gracious will be done on earth, as it is already done in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. He takes our sins, and he prays for us and lead us not into poor patient, but deliver us from the people one. He prays that, and then we join together with him using the Lords of Prayer when we intercede for people who are under attack. We proceed for them, we are deceived for their protection. So I think I've said this repeatedly. What I've given to people, going to attack, is I write out the Lord's breath and for them. They don't have to memorize it, they put it up on the wall, they put it on their fridge, they have a laminated version of it, they put it in their pocket, and if they come under tack, they just take it out, then they say it aloud, the Lord's prayer.

What does Lupus say, how do we protect ourselves for the daily battle, the bad devil by day, in the morning, and the evening battle, it's by praying the Lord's Prayer. Now, prayer can be coupled and I've spoken about this. With pasting, if necessary, and also with abstinence from sleep. So fasting is one thing, but then also abstinence from sleep, virtual. Notice what Jesus said. The garden of Yosemite to his disciples Watch. Watch means stay awake, and pray. Watch, stay awake and pray, and be prepared that, it's quite likely that you will be called to do a vigil for others at nighttime. The Holy Spirit will wake you up in the witching hours, when somebody is under attack, and you'll be called to do sentry duty for them guard duty for them, by praying for them.

And that's likely to increase, the older you get, and the more demanding a ministry is. That's very, if you talk to old guys in the ministry, okay, that goes partly with the territory. Being woken up at nighttime, during the witching hours, when somebody's under attack, and you're called not to know why they're undertaking what's going on, but you're just called to remember them and pray, to pray for. So we don't do the fighting when somebody's attacked, but we call on the champion to deal with the enemy. We call on the name of Jesus, but can I emphasize what are something I already said, we work in the dark in this, without any expertise, which means that we don't just use the word of God. The problem if we use the word of God, we think which word applies in which circumstance, and we can use the right word of God, but in the wrong situation.

How do I know? Which word applies in which circumstance? I don't know that from experience or from having a PhD or doing study. That comes from the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So you're guided by the spirit, to use the word of God, the appropriate word. And when you use the word in that situation, you don't give a devotion, you don't give a sermon, at the most in one short sentence. Just one word. That's all it's required. One word, no more. So, then, we operate by the power of the Holy Spirit, not just when we pray because we can pray from ourselves, but when we pray, according to the Word of God, when we use the Word of God in prayer, then we are operating, working by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, the importance of faith and the confession of our faith, not our, just our subjective faith, not our believing but the objective faith, what we believe the creed. Notice what St. Peter says in his very famous passage on dealing with spiritual attack. He says, be sober and stay awake, be sober, be vigilant. And so I spoke about that, why? Because your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour, resist him, standing firm in the faith, not just in faith, but in the faith, Greek. So we're not called to go on a crusade against Satan, but when he attacks, what are we called to do? Just to stand, and not to give him, but to resist him. And resist means just say no, not giving up ground, and not being scared by him.

Just standing there and holding your ground. So, you resist him, how do you resist him by standing firm, not in your subjective faith, he makes my faith strong enough but the objective faith, which is summarized in the creed. So, when he attacks, you throw the creed in his face, if you like. This is what I believe there. Sorry, there. Remember, what, St. John had, told us, or what the angel had, had told us in the vision in chapter 12? They, that's the saints, have overcome Satan by the word of their testimony. So, their word of testimony, the testimony that they give, their confession, of faith in Jesus, the trying God, is one of the means that they use to overcome the evil.

I'm Now, hence, you have, Luther's great emphasis on this. If there's one thing that is unique about Luther's teaching spiritual warfare, it is his emphasis on the use of the creed and particularly the baptismal creed which is the Apostles' Creed. The Apostles' Creed is our not just pastor's resource, but it's the people's resource, the Lord's prayer, the Apostles Creed, are our basic resources, for the battle, in the conflict. And we don't just then confess how faith however, by saying the creed, but we also do it in praise, not any kind of praise but using praising the name of the triune God, as guided by the Word of God. Now, if there's one aspect, that has been rediscovered, that we owe to the Pentecostals and charismatics, and here I'm going to give them a pat on the back it's the importance of praise.

Not any praise, not praise singing, it's not praising and music that does it, but praising the holy name of the triune God and using the word of God in praise, is art powerful in spiritual warfare. Luther says, again, and again, there's one thing that the devil can't stand. It's ecophony in his ears. He just gets up his nose. It's like, you know, those blackboards you go, you scrape on it? There's one thing that he can't stand, is the holy names. But even more than that, he says, one thing that he can't stand is the praise of the holy name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the deeds that they've done the content of the creed. And worse than that, when it's sung from the heart with the whole body.

So, praise singing. Now, that used to be part of our Lutheran heritage, by the way. You have a look at all the old hymns, how much the aspect of spiritual warfare is touched on again and again in connection with praise. The most important story, for this is in the Bible, is in 2nd Chronicles chapter 20. We haven't enough time to look it up. Just write it down. It's a story of when Jehoshaphat was king. There was a huge army, that confronted Little June, June at that time, a coalition of the Ammonites, the Moabites and the Metro Knights, whoever they are. And they were attacking Judah from its vulnerable flag down the south. The situation was hopeless. He had a very tiny army that wasn't worth its weight in salt, like our Australian army, compared to yours.

And it was around the Salt Sea, too, the Dead Sea, they were attacking from down there. And then King Jehoshaphat did two strange things. First of all, he summoned, all his courtiers, his army into the temple, where they prayed to God, and asked for help from God, in the place of the battle. And then when he arranged the army instead of putting his cracked troops out in front, he put the Levitical choir out in front, as they marched into battle. So the church choir is out there in front of the Armenia. And as a witty commentator says, when the enemy comes in sight, they hurl a few well chosen psalms, like bombs in the direction of the enemy, and as soon as the choir begins to sing the song of grace, the daily song, thanks to the Lord for he is good.

His mercy endures forever. What happens? The enemy falls, the three armies, turn against each other, and they destroy each other. And all the Israelites we need to do is to collect the booty and celebrate the victory. God wins the victory for them. How does he win the victory through prayer and praise? Yes. Should you say, this is what gluthers about, is for old garland, pray? Yes, yeah. Yes, that's one of the teaching and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Garment is all about spiritual warfare. He also talks about teaching the devil to death. Now, it's sort of a Christian cognitive therapy. Which undoes the way that the evil one has missed in our minds. Yes? Luther, including the Tedan is one of the symbols.

The prep song phrase, Testament. And for that reason. Right. Because that's the song of victory. The tie dium is the summer victory of the church, and not just of the local congregation, but the church are universal, including the angels. So, how did the angels help us in the battle by singing the praises of God? The glory to God in the highest and holy holy, holy, the great song of victory. There's a very interesting little snippet in Psalm 149, 5 to 9, which has received a very interesting Jewish and then Christian interpretation. It's a song of praise, one of the final hallelujah psalms. Could somebody please read, for me, just because my voice is getting bit sore verses 5 to 9 of 149. Let the godly exalt in joy, let them sing for joy on their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their throat, and two edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the people divide their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written, this is honor for all his godly ones, praise the Lord. Now, it sounds rather gruesome and impossible. The science are supposed to inflict vengeance on the peoples, the nations, and to bind kings and fetters, and to carry out God's sentence of judgment on the nations, while they are in bed. What do they do as they lie in bed? What's the sword that they use? What's the two edged weapon that they use? The two edge weapon? I mean, there's an allusion there to a liar.

The basic musical instrument, and they sing the praise of God. And by singing the praise of God, they deal with the enemies of God. And they do it, what place? In bat. So, in all the remember, who's can change that out of it. Yes. Indeed, who are your most precious members? No people. Right. Because they pray, and they praise. They know the hymns and songs, and you find out very commonly old people will they don't have to do it. The songs, the hymns that they learned in their childhood will be recycling over and over again in their minds while they are asleep or when they lie awake in the witching hours. What are they doing? They are engaged in spiritual warfare, for the congregation, and for all the people that God is placed in his care.

The most important work that we do in the church is the Ministry of Intercession. Where that dies, the defenses go down and say has easy pickings. But where you get the prayer and praise of God, there you have a strong defense against all the evil one. Plays. Just notice that in your congregation, and how important that is for your members, is interesting, at the end of playing and in the beginning of playing, we have the strongest numbers. Yes, but the mind is less empty, because it's some eight. The, you bring for a priest from the cradle to silence the fool in your venture. So, when a child, a baby cries in the cradle, the devil gets away. Who are the strongest warriors? The weakest ones?

From a human point of view? Are the strongest warriors? The babies and the old dolerous. Yeah. Now, that's really counter cultural and counterintuitive. You're doing it. But it's interesting how little teaching and pre preaching and appreciation there is of intercessory prayer in our congregations. Oh, that's been lost in front of the lost factors over the last 50, maybe 100 years. It used to be so important, but people are bulk at it. So, if people complain about the length of service, will I cut my sermon a bit shorter, because it's very important. The basic work of the congregation is done with its intercession. For the church, the world, and people in need. Don't drop that. That's very, very important.

Big, big topic. Then move on, lastly, and I've really touched on this. The blood of Jesus, the blood of the lamb. Remember what the angel says in Revelation chapter 12? They, that's the signs, have overcome Satan by the blood of the land. The blood that was shed for us on the cross ransoms us, the blood that washes us in baptism, but most importantly, the blood that we drink, and that washes us clean from the inside up and makes us holy. That's the blood that overcomes Satan. Very, very important, in practical terms. When a person's under spiritual attack Satan will give them a loop that says this again. Satan will try and keep them away from not just worship, but holy communicate. Now, Luther turns around and says that instead of people who are attacked staying away from communion, that's when they need to go to communion.

They need to receive the blood of Jesus. I don't know how many stories, I could tell you, and from instances of ministry to people, where the greatest help that people receive in the battle is from holy communion, with the blood of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, which is in them and on them, the blood that shields them, the blood that ransoms them, the blood that cleanses them, the blood that makes them holy. So, we use Christ's body and blood for our cleansing and our holiness. Remember what Hebrew says, that Hebrew says, the blood of Jesus cleanses us, but also sanctifies us, the same blood that cleanses, makes us holy, protects us with the holiness of Christ. One of the very important liturgical markers for this is the blessing after communion.

How does it go? The old formula used to be, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy precious blood, strengthen and keep you. Keep means. You mean prison, not, no, not. It means protect. Most people seem preserve, and particularly if you add in the true faith to life everlasting, but the original words, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy pressured blood, may be strong strength, and you for the battle and protect you, by the true faith, to life everlasting. So in is understood as by. Now, the new formula here goes slightly differently. How does it go? Have you memorized it? Yep. The body, blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthened, and preserved. I don't like that, can you see why?

I protect you, body and soul, to life, to elastic, protecting you, body and soul not just preserving you, faith, but protecting you, and not to protecting you spiritually, but also protecting you physically, strengthen you physically for the battle. Okay, now, in practical terms, I have put down there for you, are six basic rules. People like rules. Now, these are not laws, these are not laws, OK? Little max sitters, follow. I'm going to add two more besides these here. These are the important ones. Number one, whenever you're engaged in spiritual warfare, remember that Satan's a deceiver and you're open to deception. So beware of deception. So it's important that you don't interact with the demon or Satan in any way, because he will distract you, he will deceive you, and he'll distract you by doing certain things which takes you away from the importance.

There's always the possibility of a snapshot. I think of the case of those young people that I told you about in South Australia who wanted to exorcise the demon from this young bloke, they were just led down the garden path. There's a very other notorious case, art of a dissident breakaway group of, you know, Lutherans who are in a crazy exorcism, where the result of it was basically that they are, let's put it kindly, the person that they were dealing with died. You could almost say that they killed the person by trying to exercise the demon and they did crazy stuff, which had nothing to do with the word of God. And basically, what they did was to follow what they said prophecy. Okay, there was prophecy given, but guess where that prophecy came from?

Beware of deception. Secondly, work under authority, because I work under my authority in my station and vocation. I don't say if I'm a pastor of congregation, I don't go and deal with it in other congregations. It's my congregation. And it might be that I'm called by president or somebody else, to help or assist someone else, but unless I am called to do it somewhere else, I don't go outside my own station and vocation. I've spoken about that reading wizard yesterday, with the importance of operating and stationed vacation. Currently, don't go digging for dirt now trying to uncover the secret things that lie hidden, but react to what's manifested. You don't deal with what's hidden, you deal with what's put on the plate in front of you.

You don't go fishing for dirt. And one of the new ways of fishing for dirt is people who claim to have the gift of prophecy, and there's a thing that is prophecy, and they use prophecy, then, to discover, you know, secret seasons that need to be brought out into the open and confessed. Now, that's ritual abuse. However, if you have genuine prophecy, it won't be, it won't be of that nature genuine prophecy if it does a call, a curve will be guidance as to how to pray. Not to dig for dirt, but a guidance in prey. Fourthly, listen, listen with your whole body, your whole spirit, your whole conscience, your whole being, be all ears listen in order to pray, and pray as you listen. Don't just pray before you are involved in some pastor act of deliverance pray beforehand, pray during.

Now, that's the default position, if in doubt, pray, and pray, and pray. And at the end, pray. So, you begin in prayer, you listen in order to pray as you're doing it, and then you end in prayer. You pray as you listen. That slies at the heart of it. For, fifthly, I think it is. Rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the word of God. Words for it working together. If something is not scriptural, and you feel guided and led to do it, don't do it. Or pray about it until, you know something else comes more clear. Lastly, always end with a blessing. And the most obvious blessing is one of the blessings of protection. Of the peace of God, which passes all understanding keep. Once again, Keith means, oh, people here that this maintain, so I change it protect your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Amen. Or the ironic benediction. Just listen to it. The Lord bless you and keep you, protect you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his face upon you and give you peace. Notice that protection there. Yes, people. I was just gonna say, a professor at the seminary, many years ago, and he would, he would say, quote to his sermon, the peace of God which passes all understanding mount guard like a sentinel. Over your hearts and minds. That's the idea. That, yes, he would, that would be his, he would use that. Yep, he makes what's a hidden picture, and an obscure picture for most of us quite explicit. He paints the picture, and he paints it very accurately.

Yes? Be the sentinel, be a guard, protect you in your heart and mind. Now, number seven, beware that, you know, getting rid of Satan, in itself, accomplishes little or nothing unless you fill the empty house. Remember the parable of the empty house? I met you 12, 43 to 45. You know, a demon is cast out of the house, and then the house is tidied up and fixed up, and then the demon brings back seven other weapons to fill the empty house. It's not just that nature abhors a vacuum. The spirit abhors a vacuum. There's no such thing as a neutral spiritual position. If the house is not filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus, it's going to be filled with the evil and the evil spirit.

So, they are my seven basic thumb rules. I could add a lot more other than that but they are touching on what I've found to be important in this area. John chapter 60. Oh, where shall I have it? Let's pick it up, verse 12. I've much more to say to you, more than you can now bear, but when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. Now, people go that far, that you will guide your daughter, if that's their text. But notice what Jesus has. How does the Spirit guide us into all truth? He will not speak of his own. He won't make his own prophecies, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come, the things that Jesus is going to do. He would bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you.

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you. So what the Spirit does, it takes a word of Jesus and applies it in the present situation. He will take the gifts, the promises of Jesus, there's a whole total Christ with all his gifts. It would say, this is the gift here that needs to be given in this circumstance. This is the word of all the words of Jesus, that needs to be spoken here. He takes what is belongs to Jesus, and he brings them to our remembrance so that we that speak it, into a particular situation. Because one of the problems in this area is that you're working in the dark. You know, you might know the whole of scripture, back to front.

You might know the whole of Christian doctrine, but what's the problem? Which of all the words of Christ, do I need to speak in this situation, in such a way, that I won't do spiritual damage and I won't actually be doing the work of the evil one? Let me just illustrate, I've been dealing for quite a long time, with several cases of abuse. Now, you've got to be very careful with a person who's been shamed and abused, that you don't use what? What? Condemnation, because they will be hardwired to turn everything, not just into accusation, but condemnation. I've been shamed. I feel I'm useless, worthless, ugly. I have no right to exist. Now, that's the message that's been pumped into them, because they've been picky sexually be reasonable.

So I've got to be very careful that I don't give advice about what this person should do. That I don't use the law. And even where I use words of gospel, I've got to be very careful that I speak the right one so that they are not turned into accusation and condemnation, which makes bad worse. In some case, the situation's so great that's best to say nothing, and merely to use a promise of Jesus in prayer. So instead of saying, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, a shame person will hear that what? What's the problem for us? I'm not in Christ Jesus, so it doesn't apply to me, particularly if I add what follows on this. So that's a pure gospel passage. There's now no condemnation for those who own Christ Jesus, how will it be heard?

I'm not in Christ Jesus, therefore I'm under condemnation. However, instead of me speaking that, if God, you have said, in your word, that there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, please give your Holy Spirit to X. So that they are sure of your gracious acceptance of them, that they receive your assurance, that you love them, that you are, that they are precious in your eyes, and honored, and that you love them, and free them from the burden of condemnation. Now, can you see what I'm doing? It's very difficult to speak that word in that situation. It's pure gospel. But, it'll be misheard, and Satan will twist it against the person, could be chained. However when I pray it, then what happens?

He can't get hold of it. It's taken out of his hands, because it's not my word. It's addressed to God, and then he answers it in his own way, in a way that's appropriate. If you're like, he speaks the word that's needed to the person in answer to that prayer. And I step aside, and I don't yet between God and this person. Now, there's a lot of pastoral skill and tact that's required in this situation. I wish I'd received help when I was much younger, because I learned it from blunder after blunder after blunder, where I put my foot in it again and again. Yes, please. So, in that case, then, he's speaking to the blood of Christ, that covers, well when you go then, and that person may come to receive the Lord's Supper, as you are distributing, what would you say to them?

I would just say the normal words. Okay. Now, is there any significance to the fact that we say, for the forgiveness of your sin, and not for, and for the cleansing of all unrighteousness? Because we speak the words of Jesus. Jesus doesn't say. He says, take and drink, this is the blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you, for what? For the remission of sins. Okay, that's broader than the way we hear forgiveness, okay? For the remission of sins. Now, the normal rule is that you don't try and change the liturgy to cover all cases, you can't do that, and you end up destroying it, so it doesn't work at all but you cover all cases in your preaching and teaching. So, just to make your aware of another thing that it's become quite common practice now in the younger pastors who've been alerted to the importance of this aspect, is to encourage people, to appropriate the Lamb of God.

Just listen to it. Lamb of God, the Christ, our lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Not, what would you expect? Lamb of God who take away the sins of my sins, or our sins, the sins of Christian but it is the sins of the world, and it's not you who forgive the sins of the world but you've removed the sins of the world. Now, what does that cover when you pray that? Name of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, who's the us is not just the church, it's all Christ all people. You're interceding for the whole world and you are praying then for our God to have mercy, not only of those who have sinned, but also those who have been sinning it. That's their prayer.