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by Frank Hammond

What are some reasons why deliverance sometimes fails? In answering this question, several things must be taken into account. This is, in essence, the same question raised by Jesus' first disciples. When these disciples were unable to cast out a spirit of epilepsy, they were puzzled and asked Jesus the reason for their failure. Jesus gave a multi-part answer which leads us to take into account the petitioner's faith, the deliverance minister's capability, the spiritual qualifications that must be met, the strength of the spirit confronted and the strategy of warfare employed. First, let us consider the importance of faith.

The father of an epileptic boy complained to Jesus, "I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him" Matt. 17:16. To which Jesus replied, "O faithless and perverse generation..." Matt. 17:17. The word generation (genea) means "race" and refers to the Jewish people who for the most part refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus was identifying the father of the epileptic son as part of that "faithless and perverse generation". In Mark's account, the context reveals that the unbelieving scribes were disputing with the disciples over their failure to cast the deaf and dumb spirit out of the boy (Mark 9:14-17). The disciples were surrounded by an unbelieving multitude.

The unbelieving father besought Jesus, "IF You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" Mark 9:22. Jesus answered the unbelieving father, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" Mark 9:23. Thus, Jesus was showing that the disciples' failure was due to the unbelief of the one seeking deliverance. Jesus had encountered the same problem in Nazareth where "He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief" Matt. 13:58.

When confronted over his unbelief, "The father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'" Mark 9:24. Whereupon Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and it came out.

Another parent who came to Jesus for a child's deliverance was the Syrophonecian mother. Jesus refused her request for deliverance until she expressed faith, whereupon Jesus said, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour" Matt. 15:28.

Jesus had given His disciples absolute authority to cast out all demons: "Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons" Luke 9:1. How could they fail? The twelve failed because they had been influenced by the "unbelieving and perverse generation" and had lost their own faith to cast out demons. Therefore, Jesus addressed His disciples directly on the importance of faith, explaining their inability to cast out the demon saying, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall be removed; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" Matt. 17:20.

It is important that both petitioner and minister have faith that when a spirit is commanded to go in the name of Jesus, it must go. Authority to cast out demons is contingent upon faith. Both God and demons know whether or not active faith is present. A teaching or instruction time that precedes deliverance provides an opportunity to build faith. Jesus did not tell His disciples that their faith must be gigantic. A mustard seed size of faith is sufficient so long as it is genuine faith.

Let us consider the capability and qualification of the deliverance minister. Jesus also said, "This kind can come out by nothing

but prayer and fasting" Mark 9:29. The NU Greek New Testament omits "fasting". We know at this time the disciple of Jesus were not required to fast. When the scribes and Pharisees brought this up, Jesus explained, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days." Luke 5:34,35.

Jesus, our Bridegroom, is not with us now, so prayer and fasting are spiritual prerequisites for successful encounters with demons. The deliverance minister must be a man of prayer and fasting; not a ritual prayer but a life of personal prayer accompanied by fasting. This is not a requirement that the deliverance minister fast before every deliverance situation, otherwise, those who minister deliverance daily would be on a perpetual fast. A spiritually disciplined person is intended; one who is strong in prayer and has a fasting life-style. These two spiritual disciplines equip a minister and insure the anointing necessary for effective ministry.

Notice that Jesus made a distinction between spirits. "This kind" indicates that some demons are stronger and more determined than others, and we have found this to be a certainty. Demons are personalities, and just as some people have stronger wills than others, so it is with demons. We are commissioned to "wrestle" against Satan's host, and most wrestling contests are not won in a flash. Wrestling denotes putting pressure on the enemy until he is conquered. Failure can result from the deliverance minister giving up rather than pressing through.

The candidate for deliverance must meet certain criteria:

(1) He must forgive all who have trespassed against him, otherwise, he is "turned over to the tormentors" Matt. 18:35, and he cannot be liberated until he has met God's condition to forgive.

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(2) He must repent of all sin. Repentance is the prelude to deliverance. I recall a deliverance case where a man refused to confess homosexuality as a sin. He could not receive deliverance because he held on to this particular sin. Another example is the sin of abortion which must be confessed as a sin of murder.

(3) He must destroy all paraphernalia that give demons a legal right. Deliverance can be blocked by ungodly things a person possesses. We were being unsuccessful in ministering deliverance to a gentleman when the Lord called my attention to a Masonic ring he was wearing. Acting on the explanation that I gave him as to the ring's demonic ties, he agreed to remove the ring. The moment he slipped the ring from his finger the demons began to come out of him. As deliverance was taking place through Paul's ministry in Corinth, "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men" Acts 19:19. One must be willing to renounce and destroy all cult, occult and idolatrous books and paraphernalia in his possession.

(4) He must renounce and ask God's forgiveness for all involvement in idolatry, the occult, cults and Eastern Religion (including the martial arts and Yoga exercises which cannot be separated from heathen religious connections.)

(5) He must want deliverance. "Whoever calls upon the name of Lord shall be delivered" Joel 2:32. Oddly enough, there are some who prefer bondage to deliverance. Some have escaped into mental illness as an escape from the memories of abuse and other traumas, or who have chosen to escape the responsibilities of life. For example, they may be institutionalized, and there they are housed, fed, clothed and others care for their every need. Should they be delivered they would have to go to work and provide for themselves. To some this is an unacceptable option.

Another common escape is into childishness. There will be a "little boy" or "little girl" spirit that locks the individual into childish 4

behavior. Behind this escape is the fear of growing up with its resultant responsibilities.

Still others relish the attention they are getting through receiving deliverance ministry. Such individuals will never admit to a breakthrough. They will always require additional deliverance because it is a special time of getting attention which they have heretofore lacked.

Some deliverance attempts end in failure because the counselee is passive. This can be due to tranquilizing drugs that render the individual from getting his will involved in the ministry. It is very important for the one seeking deliverance to have his will involved. When medications are found to be a barrier, it may be necessary to have that person leave off his medications and come back for deliverance at a later time. Suspension of medications is a short-time requirement to facilitate deliverance. If a doctor has prescribed tranquilizing drugs, let the doctor decide that this person does not require them any longer.

In some cases, the person's will power is weak. He has never adequately strengthened his will in making life-changing choices. He needs to be taught and required to take a stand. Lead him to vocalize confessions and prayers of deliverance. Have him declare his appropriation of God's promises and command demons to go. Such activation of the will is in keeping with the Word of God which declares, "Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" Jas. 4:7

Occasionally, there will be an individual who challenges the deliverance minister's authority and counsel. He intends to make the minister think that he is the one with a problem rather than he himself. A basic requirement for receiving deliverance is a teachable spirit. A deliverance minister functions like a spiritual doctor. It is his job to diagnose the problem and the prescribe God's remedy. He is unable to perform the spiritual "surgery" of removing the troubling demons without the counselee's cooperation.

Then there is the case of the one seeking deliverance having his own agenda. If he is to receive help it must be on his own terms. He comes in with his own need diagnosed and dictates his conditions for receiving help. This control attitude will abort a ministry. The minister who is dependent upon the leading of the Holy Spirit cannot be hamstrung by the counselee's desire to control what and how deliverance takes place.

Self-deception is one of the strongest of strong holds. It is a basic compensation for inferiority. The devil offers a false sense of importance to those who have been rejected and feel of less value in

comparison to others. He is deceived into believing that for one reason or another he has found something of worth to which he can cling. This "something" may be a doctrine, a ministry gift, a revelation or a guidance technique. "A person will cling to a deception because it appears valuable. It seems to offer security, recognition, acceptance, approval or love. Since the deception seems so important, it is stoutly defended. When the deception is challenged, the person feels threatened. He becomes determined that no one will take away the one thing that makes him feel important or secure. Therefore, he had rather suffer persecution than give up; his deception. Only by the grace of God will the seriously self-deceived person escape his bondage."

One must take into account that in deliverance we are not dealing with spirits singly but with a network or kingdom of spirits. This truth is found in the word "principalities" Eph 6:12 which signifies spirits working together in rank as a company of soldiers. The

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scripture also reminds us that Satan's kingdom is not divided: "And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?" Matt. 12:26. If Satan's kingdom is not divided then it is unified; unified by a common propensity to evil. Also, the ruler spirit must be subdued. Jesus demonstrated the priority of dealing with "the strong man". "Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house" Matt. 12:29.

We might conjecture that the disciples had fallen into a pattern of deliverance, relying upon previously discovered methods to deal with demons. If this was the case, it was an unfortunate mistake often made by deliverance workers. In each deliverance situation we need to seek the Holy Spirit's battle strategy. It is best to approach each case as different, remaining flexible to the Spirit's leading. Allow Him to set the battle plan. Let Him tell you where to begin, how to proceed, and when and how to terminate each session.

The deliverance minister's knowledge of deliverance, gained from Spirit-taught Bible revelation, is the basis for successful deliverance. Some of our first attempts at deliverance were failures. Although we had zeal it was not according to knowledge. For example, we did not realize that a person could have more than one spirit. We were gullible in believing what spirits spoke through a person, as when one spirit announced, "If Jesus were here, I would have to leave. But He is not here." Instead of rebuking the lying spirit, we pled for Jesus to return! "All scripture is given by inspiration of God...that the man of God may be...thoroughly furnished unto all good works" II Tim. 3:16, 17.

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The disciples were genuinely concerned over their failure to cast out the epileptic spirit, so they did a very wise thing: they turned to Jesus for help. We, too, should be very concerned when we encounter deliverance failures. We need to know "why?" After all, Jesus has given us power and authority over all demons just as He did the twelve apostles (Luke 9:1) and the seventy disciples (Luke 10:19). We must remain humble and teachable. Was the failure due to some lack on the minister's part, or was it due to some unmet condition by the one ministered unto? When there is failure for any reason, we must go to Jesus for His assessment.

Each person is important, and his deliverance need is legitimate. We want to be at our very best so that every captive will be set free. We are dealing with the lives of those for whom Christ laid down His life. If the fault lies with the deliverance minister, he must find the reason and correct it. If the failure is on the part of the deliverance seeker, he needs all the help he can get and is willing to receive. We cannot settle for partial success but must press on to full potential.

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