C ASOS DE USO DEL SISTEMA

re-deliverance counseling may save much time and make the difference between success and failure. All sessions are successful in the sense that it brings some benefit. At the very least, it could lead to a conclusion that the person should not be delivered yet.

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Thorough counseling should include the following:

• Inform the person being delivered what to expect.

• Deliverance is not a pill or a panacea for everything. The deliveree must fall out of agreement with demons. He needs to know what lies he has accepted from the enemy and what sins he is committing that continue to keep him in bondage. You´d be surprised how many Christians believe that living with a girlfriend is

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acceptable.

• The deliveree needs to know that demons do not cause all of his afflictions. He brings many upon himself. God allows some in order to bring some area of his life to his attention. Sometimes the person needs to learn how to carry his cross.

Deliverance may cast out the demon, but one still needs to learn how to walk in dominion.

Overcoming involves both deliverance and living by the Word of God.

• Repentance still stands out as one of the most important elements in the Christian walk. Sin gives demons legal rights to torment. The deliverance counselor should run through the list of legal rights given by God to Satan and his workers. As you go down the list, start breaking down the legal rights and strongholds. If the person resists confession of sin and repentance, deliverance becomes senseless. Deliverance represents a form of cleansing ("Be thou clean"

Matt. 8:3), and confession and repentance precede God´s forgiveness. Demons know their rights and refuse to come out if there are areas of unforgiven sin.

• Counseling should be designed to create a better relationship between the deliveree and the workers. We don´t need to be super-spiritual in order to discern spirits. A mere excursion into a person´s life history will quickly reveal areas of demonic invasion. If the person or his family played with witchcraft, for instance, it doesn´t

take much discernment to realize that occultic spirits and curses probably control.

• Counsel the person on what he should do after deliverance. Make it clear that deliverance is not a one-shot deal. Neither is salvation. When God prepared the Hebrew nation to conquer the promised land, He informed them that He would not conquer their enemies in one year, "lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee" (Exod. 23:29). When the person is ready, God will cause him to be delivered of the next stronghold. Meanwhile, the person needs to remain under the covering of authority and fellowship. He needs to fill up the empty places from the former habitation of a cast-out spirit with the Word of God and righteousness and not invite spirits back in (Matt. 12:43-45).

What a person says may be far from the truth.

Discernment, when it is truly from God, is never wrong.

Some will say that they have forgiven, but in actuality they haven´t. In one case, a young man insisted that he had forgiven his parents for their trespasses against him.

Later in the same conversation, he commented that he hadn´t seen his parents for years. They lived close by, but he never wanted to talk to them. "I forgive them, but I don´t want to have anything to do with them." He had not truly forgiven them.

In some cases, a person needs to know his or her role in the original sin. Often, a person is unforgiving because he doesn´t want to face his own involvement

and guilt to begin with. A person can avoid responsibility in the trespass by steadfastly blaming others. A woman who had to marry because she got pregnant may blame the husband: "He forced me." God wants a clean heart, not a deceptive one.

Often, the person seeking deliverance needs to get with God and ask that areas of unforgiveness be revealed. God will surely answer a sincere person.

Desire

Does the person really want the spirit out? He may say yes, but deep inside he doesn´t. For instance, many young men want to have Sexual Lust controlled but not eliminated completely. They think it a good idea to slow down their sexual desires, but only when these desires cannot be satisfied. They don´t really want to give up their fantasies and porno films.

Does the person really desire to walk with the Lord, or does he want a quick fix? Does he want major surgery or just an aspirin? If he desires deliverance out of religious pride alone, then deliverance may be impossible. Selfishness and pride can block any moving of the Holy Spirit. God will not be mocked. I recall times when people came to church with a "show me"

attitude. So long as they stood around, nothing happened. As soon as they left the building, the Spirit moved and tremendous deliverance took place. God knows exactly what to do and when.

Is he acting? Is he going through deliverance to show how sincere he is, to be accepted by his peers, or does he really want to be made clean? You may need to

show the person the true ugliness of the demons and how they control his life.

If necessary, you should assign someone to disciple and minister to the person on a more constant basis in order to bring more understanding to him. At times, you need to take a harsher approach, in love, in order to shake him up. Complacency among Christians puts a chill on the movement of the Holy Spirit.