| Spirit Baptism & Deliverance | | Print | |
The premise of this book is that those ready to meet Jesus will have gained the victory over every influence or oppression of Satan in their lives: spiritually, emotionally, and physically. They will be just like Jesus when He returns (1John 3:2). Satan will have no influence over them.
My goal in this book is to present a balanced approach to this deliverance. We are warned that the majority of Christians in the last days will lack real genuine faith and will live their lives in denial of the reality of God’s delivering power (Luke 18:8; 2Tim 3:5)
I will begin by presenting the importance of following God’s laws of health in order to achieve good health. Many who read this book will be somewhat familiar with these laws. My prayer is that all who read of their importance will renew their commitment, by God’s grace, to live their life in harmony with them.
The biblical teaching on what many call “faith healing,” which is the “trust in divine power,” which Ellen White referred to in the following quote, will also be presented.
Ministry to the sick is not to be limited to teaching the importance of following God’s ordained health laws in order to achieve good health. They are also to be prayed for in faith believing God will heal them.
Another vital aspect of healing presented is the importance of deliverance from Satan’s emotional oppressions in our life such as: depression, anxieties, fears, uncontrolled anger, critical spirit, etc. The principles of how to achieve this emotional deliverance will be delineated.
Every biblical teaching in this book I have either experienced personally, or seen in the lives of others who have put into practice the principles of deliverance presented in the following chapters. I know and believe the teachings of deliverance you are about to read are true because of three witnesses to their truthfulness; the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy writings (Ellen White) and experience.
The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage was a type of the deliverance of God’s remnant people when Jesus comes the second time. We are told that there was not “one feeble person among their tribes” (Ps 105:37). When Jesus comes there will not be “one feeble” person among God’s remnant. Why; because they have learned and practiced the principles of deliverance from all the oppressions of Satan in their life; spiritually, emotionally and physically. This may sound impossible from where we stand today in Laodicea. However, remember, those ready to meet Jesus will have heeded God’s call to come out of their Laodicean condition by receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Rev 3:18-21). They have experienced a genuine and powerful revival and reformation as the Spirit continued to fill them day-by-day. Their faith will have developed to the point where they are able to stand against anything Satan brings to them. They are completely victorious in every area of their lives; spiritually, emotionally and physically.
I have not used the word “perfection” or “perfectionism” in this book. There have been many misunderstandings throughout the centuries on the meaning of these terms. According to the Bible we will retain our sinful nature and bodies that are subject to death until Jesus comes (1Cor 15:51-53). Put simply, the spiritual deliverance I am presenting in this book is in essence; if you know something is sinful you don’t have to do it.
I believe God is calling this “remnant” today. My personal conviction is that we must take seriously this call by receiving the daily baptism of the Holy Spirit, experience revival and reformation under the power of the Holy Spirit, and experience the full deliverance Jesus offers to us over all of Satan’s temptations, influences and oppressions.
Our personal experience of deliverance over all of Satan’s influences in our life is an ongoing process. Its full and complete deliverance does not happen over night. It is an experience we are to grow into, and become stronger and stronger in (Mark 4:28).
So as you read in this book about the deliverance God’s last remnant people will have experienced and you do not see that full deliverance in your life now, don’t be discouraged. Let God begin the process now and trust him to bring you to the state of full and complete deliverance (1Thes 5:23-24). Learn and apply the “weapons” of your warfare against Satan and you will experience many more victories in every area of your life; spiritually, emotionally and physically (2Cor 10:4-5; Eph 6:10-18).
Everywhere I have presented and applied the principles in this book I have seen people delivered from Satan’s oppressions. Many have asked if this material was available in print so they could have something to study. This book is written in response to these many requests.
I invite you to read this book with
an open mind and prayerful attitude (Acts 17:11). If we are living when Jesus
comes, our eternal destiny will rest on whether or not we have cooperated with
God in achieving this complete and final deliverance the gospel of Jesus Christ
offers. This book is dedicated to the preparation of that last remnant people,
who will have experienced that deliverance. I was baptized and became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian just before I graduated in engineering at Colorado State University. The year was 1966. Before I began studying the Bible with the local pastor and attended a short series of meetings conducted by HMS Richards Sr., who was joined by his son HMS Richards Jr. in Longmont, Colorado, I had come to the point where I even doubted the existence of God. But God in His masterful way led me to take the Bible seriously. Over a period of a few months I accepted Christ and His teachings.
I recall one case where an elderly man in our church had a defective heart valve that needed replacing. We prayed for his healing. Yet, God seemed to keep leading toward surgical replacement of the valve. I didn’t understand why the Lord did not heal him without surgery. The man had a successful valve replacement through surgery. After the surgery the doctor said, “Your heart valve was so defective I don’t understand how you were kept alive!” Then I understood. The Lord had answered our prayers and used the experience as a powerful testimony to the doctor of God’s power to keep His children.
In another case a young man had gone though many surgeries because of a severe health problem. Again he was facing very serious surgery on his neck. We had prayed for him that God would heal him. However, again the Lord kept leading toward the surgery. So the young man had the surgery. During the operation something amazing happened. When the doctor opened the area in his neck, the bone that he was going to try to properly relocate (which was a dangerous procedure) automatically moved on its own to the proper place in the neck. After the surgery the doctor related this to the young man and his mother stating that he had never see such a thing happen before. He didn’t understand it. Again God used this medical procedure as a testimony of His power.
God has also led us to
understand His desire and power to heal emotional problems such as chronic
depression, anorexia, anxiety attacks, anger, critical spirit, etc ... . As a
result of applying this understanding I had never before seen such delivering
power in ministry. These issues and how to become delivered from them will also
be studied in this book. I think Satan’s plan is always to try to drive us to
extremes by causing us to:
In the following chapters we will look more closely at the Biblical teaching on healing and deliverance. My prayer is that the reader will approach this subject with an open mind. Healing is a wonderful gift God has given to His children. Do not allow Satan to steal it from you.
When I
began this study of the biblical concept of healing I knew that I had preformed
opinions on this subject. The following are the major presuppositions I had on
the topic of faith healing.
I recall one man in my church that was very skeptical about what I was teaching on healing. When he was a child a “faith healer” had come to the area where he lived. As a result of what he saw and heard, he concluded that faith healing was not scriptural. Now he was a professional truck driver transporting vehicles. On one of his trips he fell from the top of the trailer and broke his foot. The pain was excruciating. Remembering what we had been teaching about God’s desire to heal His children, he called out to God in prayer asking Him to remove the pain. Immediately the pain left. When he went to get treatment for his foot the doctor asked him what pain medication he was taking so he could give him another prescription for continued relief from the pain. He told the doctor that there was no pain. The doctor couldn’t understand it. Such a break should be very painful. From that point on he believed in God’s desire to heal His children.
Health is God’s Plan for His People Up
Ellen White also wrote much about health. In the following statement she lists what have been called God’s eight natural remedies.
Why has God given us these eight natural remedies? He wants us to experience good health. In the chapter entitled, “Laws of Blessing,” I presented the importance of following God’s health laws. In the chapters that follow we will study closely the last of these eight true remedies, “trust in divine power” in order to experience spiritual, physical and emotional healing.
The goal of this book has been to present a balanced view on spiritual, emotional and physical deliverance. My impression is that most Christians tend to emphasize one aspect of deliverance to the neglect of other important aspects. Those who focus on “natural remedies” such as diet, exercise, rest, etc. often know little about “trust in divine power” (faith healing). While, on the other hand, those who emphasize “faith healing” tend to put little emphasis on the natural laws of health. My personal conviction is that God wants us to understand and apply all the truths concerning how we are to achieve total deliverance from Satan’s influence in our life; spiritually, emotionally and physically. I am also deeply convinced that the last generation of Christians living when Jesus comes will have achieved this total deliverance. Not an Accurate Example Today Up Therefore, what we see in the Christian world today concerning spiritual, emotional and physical deliverance is not an accurate example of what those believers living when Jesus comes will have experienced. In general, God’s children today are still struggling with sin, emotional oppressions and physical diseases. When we read God’s description of the seventh church era, Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22), which is a description of the church today, it would be expected that the Laodicean Christian would be experiencing little real deliverance. In fact, those who choose to stay in their Laodicean condition will deny God’s power to deliver until the very end of time (2Tim 3:3, 5). Today’s Laodicean Christian’s experience is no where near the victorious experience God’s last day remnant people will have obtained just prior to Christ’s second coming. However, even today I have seen glimpses of the deliverance God’s last day believers will experience. I have seen amazing spiritual, emotional and physical deliverance. I have seen flashes of God’s glory; that glory which will fill the earth just before Jesus returns (Rev 18:1). A Glorious, Victorious Future Up You see, that last generation of believers will vindicate their God before the entire universe (1Cor 4:9; Eph 3:10). In the midst of the greatest darkness upon this earth they will “perfectly” reflect the character of Christ and will have experienced, in the name of Jesus, complete deliverance over every “oppression” of the devil in their lives. They will be just like Jesus (1John 3:2). I believe Ellen White supports this view in her many statements about deliverance. In the area of spiritual victory she states the following concerning the “character” of those ready to meet Jesus.
They will be continuously victorious over Satan’s temptations and will be reflecting Christ’s character perfectly.
Christ will be living fully in His remnant people through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (early rain). Their life will be a life of continual obedience to Him.
Loving God and our fellow man are essential requirements in order to be ready for Christ’s Second Advent. God’s last generation of believers will love the Father with all their hearts and will love others as Christ loves. They will love “just like” Jesus loves. Ellen White wrote of this with the words:
They will also have gained emotional victory over every emotional oppression of Satan.
God’s last remnant people will not have dissatisfied feelings, discontented repinings, and restless longings. No; instead they will have peace with God and reflect the purity of Christ in their countenance and emotions. Thirdly, those ready to meet Jesus will be victorious over every physical infirmity Satan has tried to bring upon them. Ellen White indicates this when one understands the logical conclusion of the following statements.
God’s children, who are ready to meet Jesus, will most certainly be living under the “heavenly influences” of both the early rain baptism of the Holy Spirit and the latter rain outpouring of the Spirit. According to Ellen White, this powerful heavenly influence will bring recovery from debilitating disease. Simply put, Ellen White tells us that those who obey God, which certainly describes those ready to meet Jesus, will experience health instead of infirmities and corrupting diseases. She states it is a sin to be sick. Those ready to meet Jesus will not be living in any known sin. Therefore, they will not be sick. Also, those ready to meet Jesus will be cooperating with God in every way. God will honor their obedience and pledges Himself to keep them in a healthful condition. Also, prophecy indicates that those ready to meet Jesus will have gone through the “time of trouble.” They will have either been imprisoned or fleeing to isolated places to escape persecution. They will not be able to “buy or sell” (Rev 13:17). Under such conditions medical care, medications, kidney dialysis equipment, etc. will not be available to them. They will have learned to depend on God for their health, protection, sustenance, and victories over Satan’s attacks. They will know from experience what the scripture means when it says, “man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4 NIV). They are truly living by faith in God’s Word. Remember, those ready to meet Jesus are the “first fruits” of the redeemed who will be raised from the dead (Rev 14:4). They still have a sinful nature and a body that is subject to death, both of which will be changed when Jesus returns (1Cor 15:51-53). However, they will have gotten complete victory over their sinful nature because they are allowing the “divine nature of God” to rule in their life (2Pet 1:4). And under the Spirit’s influence and power they have been delivered from emotional and physical infirmities. They will have achieved in the power of the Holy Spirit a level of victory that no other “generation” has experienced. They are a “type” of those who will be resurrected when Jesus comes. They are the “first fruits” of the redeemed. I personally believe God’s prophetic time clock has struck the hour in which God is calling His remnant to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit and come out of their Laodicean condition. God is now calling us to experience the full and complete deliverance from all of Satan’s influences in our life (spiritual, emotional, physical), and reflect God’s glory fully. Those who heed this call of God will be able to stand “in the flesh” in the presence of a holy God in all His unshielded glory (Rev 6:17; 7:1-3). Will you heed this call and glorify God in your spirit, soul and body (1Thes 5:21; 1Cor 10:31)? Are you willing to let the Lord refine and purify you? If you say “yes” to God’s call in your life, then when Jesus comes you will be among those of whom Jesus says; “This is my people,” and you will reply; “The LORD in my God.” (Zech 13:8-9)
At the time of the writing of this book, Dennis Smith is serving as pastor in the Southern New England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (New Haven SDA Church). Dennis has served the church as an active layman, and in pastoral and departmental positions for over 35 years. Dennis received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University. While at Colorado State, he became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. After working in engineering for a short time, he felt the call to full time ministry. To fulfill that calling, Dennis attended Andrews University Theological Seminary and received a Masters of Divinity degree. Dennis has also done studies in the area of public health from Loma Linda University.
Books Pastor Smith has written
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Spirit Baptism & Evangelism
Spirit Baptism & New Wineskin Fellowship
Spirit
Baptism & Deliverance
Spirit Baptism & Prayer
Spirit Baptism & Christ’s Glorious Return
Spirit Baptism & Abiding in Christ
Spirit Baptism & Waiting on God
Spirit Baptism & the 1888 Message of
Righteousness by Faith
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