By Apostle Isidore Agoha
Everything the Lord Jesus did in ministry was purposeful.with God the Father and out of their relationship He got to know the Father’s purposes and the strategies adopted by the Father to meet such needs. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing" John 5:19. In other words, when the Father initiates His purpose in heaven, Jesus the Son implements the purpose on Earth. This principle guided all of Jesus’s ministry action and strategies.
One immediate purpose of God id to undo Satan’s work of corruption in humanity that began in the Garden of Eden and to restore us to our place of glory, authority, victory, prosperity and dominion through fellowship in fellowship with Christ. It can be safely said that this was a major purpose of the ministry of deliverance as revealed in many verses in both the Old and New Testaments. John, in his first epistle, clearly indicates this purpose, "The Son of God (Jesus) appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil" 1 John 3:8. The manifesting of Jesus from divinity and eternity to humanity and time was not a random demonstration of God’s counsel and miraculous power. It was a purposeful, sovereign act. The purpose was to destroy all the works of darkness being perpetrated by Satan and his forces.
Satan himself is also very purposeful and strategic. Jesus exposed Satan’s purpose, saying, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy" John 10:10. This evil purposed expressed as stealing, killing and destroying inspires and motivates all of Satan’s forces to carry out diabolic activities against humanity. However, within the same verse of Scripture, God’s glorious purpose for us is also revealed: "I (Jesus) have come, that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
The Lord Jesus also elaborated on this aspect of Hid deliverance ministry when He appropriated the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the coming Messiah and His Ministry. On a visit to a synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth on a Sabbath day, the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus. In that context, he found where His purpose was expressed in the following words, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."
The above declaration in all its ramification speaks of deliverance. This was of such importance that the Father by the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus in order to fulfill such a ministry. The purpose of Jesus’s ministry is summarily reviewed by Peter after Jesus had ascended and poured out the Holy Spirit, "God anointed Him (Jesus of Nazareth) with the Holy Spirit and with power and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." - Acts 10:38.
The above is a clear indication that Jesus was invested with the Holy Spirit and divine power for the purpose deliverance. This mostly resulted in the practical manifestation of God’s goodness and diverse provisions, especially healing of sicknesses and freedom from demonic bondage.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
Jesus did various ministry activities such as teaching, preaching and working miracles such as deliverance, healings, raising the dead and the divine provision of material needs. Invariably, all these were done to accomplish God’s purposes in people’s lives. However, upon closer examination , the ministering of deliverance was central to Jesus’s ministry in two ways.
First, Jesus spent most of His public ministry time dealing with demons; rebuking them and casting them out. Apart from the many specific or named individuals who received deliverance through the ministry of Jesus, there are also several places in the record of the New Testament where Jesus dealt with demons in the lives of groups or masses of people simultaneously.
Second, another fact that underscored the place given to the ministry of deliverance in Jesus’s campaigns is that He employed this ministry at the beginning of and continued with it through the entire course of His ministry. He never contemplated backing off or modifying it. Towards the end of His earthly ministry, when some Pharisees sought to discourage Him from fulfilling His purpose of going to Jerusalem, they tendered an intimidation, "Herod is seeking to kill you." Jesus’s answer was no less intimidating, not only to Herod but also to the demonic forces behind Herod’s motive: "Tell that fox, behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today, tomorrow and on the third day I reach my goal" - Luke 13:32.
This answer not only reflects the vital place that deliverance occupied in the Lord’s ministry, it also reveals that deliverance as a ministry strategy was given a continuing practical emphasis. Furthermore, there is a goal to which the Lord aims to reach through the deliverance ministry.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
The ministry of Jesus is God’s benchmark. No person in the human history can lay claim to any kind of service to God that can compare with the ministry that Jesus the Son rendered to God the Father by the Holy Spirit. God’s servants in the Old Testament were called to primarily foretell the unique ministry that God had anointed Jesus to fulfill in the fullness of time. Likewise, all of God’s servants in the New Testament, beginning from early church till the end of the age, are called not develop new ministries or standards of ministry but to build on the ministry of Jesus. Thus, the ministry of the Lord Jesus is God’s solid foundation for all present and future ministries called to the service of God and God’s people.
Human involvement in Christian ministry is only a manifestation of God’s grace, the endowment of a human vessel with the power of God to do something that only God can do. The only person who is qualified on the basis of His own personal merits to do ministry for God is Jesus. But out of His love and grace, He invites and shares His ministry with redeemed humanity. This vision of grace was not fully grasped by believers in Corinth to the extent that Apostle Paul had to sternly address this shortsightedness 1 Corinthians 3:1-10.
The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed God’s foundation and God never hesitated to testify to this at every critical point in His earthly life and ministry. Consider this incident which occurred at Transfiguration. Jesus had just being transfigured before three of His apostles, Peter, James and John., when two of the most outstanding prophets of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah appeared. Peter, basking in the excitement of the moment, suggested that three tabernacles be built, one each for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. This would have implied the building of the foundations of the law (Moses), the prophets (Elijah) and of grace and the kingdom (Jesus. It also indicates an equality of these three persons and ministries, which Peter thought was correct. However, God’s response clearly defined the uniqueness and divinity of Jesus as His Son. Moreover, it sets apart the ministry of Jesus as most pleasing to God, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him" - Matthew 17:5.
Notice that God had to interrupt Peter and overshadow all that were present with a bright cloud, which was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, God’s attestation about Jesus was made in the presence of an unusual audience, the combines gathering of Old and New Testament saints.
If, therefore, we want to understand God’s purpose, plan and method for any form of biblical ministry, Jesus is our perfect, unchanging pattern. The ministry of Jesus, while He was on earth was both broad in its scope and deep in its intensity and degree.
Contemporary Christian ministry, therefore, should not depart in any way from the pattern and methods employed by the author and finisher of the Christian faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, in numerous ministries and in many sections of professing Christendom, there have been grave departures form the ministry methods and patterns of Jesus. There are many possible factors that could lead to such fruitless departures. The most common are unbelief, dependence on the flesh or self, fear of man (the desire to be accepted by others), ignorance about the promises of God in His Word and also pride. Interestingly, all these attitudes are motivated by demons.
No one can improve upon the ministry of Jesus. And since Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, wisdom demands that we learn from Him and continue to use the blueprints He designed, tested and proved in His earthly ministry. It was His lifestyle of obedience and desire to do God’s will in His personal life that gained Him God’s approval, abiding presence and supernatural attestation.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
More than amazement expressed by the synagogue audience, the incident of the deliverance of the man with the unclean spirit by Jesus generated great news far and wide. It was so great that it propelled the ministry of Jesus from obscurity to fame in the whole region of Galilee within hours. The ramender of the Lord’s itinerary for that day, which included the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and climaxed in the evening with an evangelistic service, was characterized by many miraculous healings and deliverance. The impact of the news was so effective that it drew the whole city to Peter’s door and paved the way for miracles - Mark 1:28-35.
In spreading the news of the Lord’s work, the people magnified His name. Through the people’s testimonies, many in need were drawn to Him. The lesson magnified here is that when people in need are drawn to Jesus, their needs are met, their burdens are lifted and they come into His rest. In this rest, they receive their inheritance - God’s provision for their needs, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28.
It is the Lord who gives the invitation, and it is Him also who provides the salvation, healing and deliverance. However, it is we, His servants, who have the honor of publishing the invitations and the works of the Lord. The people in the days of the Lord’s earthly ministry were effective in publishing His work notwithstanding the technological handicap of their era. This, therefore, poses a great challenge to those of us who live in our present high-tech age, abundantly blessed with a polyglot of communication facilities. In the case of the event that took place in the Capernaum synagogue, the whole district was reached in one day by word of mouth communication. It appears that those in the synagogue audience who, having witnessed the miracle performed by Jesus, were struck with such awe that led them to proclaim the good news far and wide.
The life and power of Jesus impacted those unbelievers to such an extent that they not only believed but also immediately began to tell the news of God’s power through the Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, we, as the Lord’s servants can impact our world with God’s power through our cultivation of the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that those who do not believe will not only believe but will testify that God is real. When the world sees the reality of God and His power in the church, the world will reject humanism, Satanism, new age philosophy, occultism, false religion and the theory of evolution. They will come to the church’s door with their needs for an answer from Jesus.
One more aspect of the fame of Jesus that requires consideration is that this fame centered on Him. The news of what happened in the synagogue made neither the doctrine of deliverance nor any other man famous. Nor did that particular synagogue building become an object of veneration or a pilgrimage spot. Rather, the fame was about Jesus, His name, person and ministry. It is only in this perspective that God gets glorified.
Jesus ascribed all the glory to the Father, who in turn glorified Jesus for all eternity. Jesus, being God, did humble Himself to a shameful death, but God exalted Him and gave Him a name above all names - Philippines 2:7-10. We, likewise, as the servants of Jesus, do partake of the Lord’s fame; but we should not allow ourselves to be sidetracked by personal fame and glory.
There is no doubting the fact that many believers have received ministry gifts from God characterized by regular manifestation of the miraculous with a tremendous potential for power, fame, money and other forms of material rewards. However, we must resist the temptation to use these trappings for personal aggrandizement and instead glorify the Lord, focus on Him and publicize Him. Let us lift Him up so that He might continue to draw other sand us unto Him
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
The demons and the man possessed at Capernaum were not the only individuals affected by Jesus’ authority. The synagogue audience was also greatly impacted by this whole incident. Their response could be summed up in one word: amazement. This amazement elicited a common question among the audience: "What is this?" This was a reference to the dramatic, supernatural, life-changing result produced by the ministry of Jesus within minutes. The people offered an inspires explanation when they described it as a "new doctrine" - Mark 1:27.
Shortly before the encounter between Jesus and the demons inside the man at the synagogue, people had observed that Jesus was teaching as one with authority. His teaching was certainly on a different level from that of their regular scribes. Likewise, His approach to demonology and the quality of the result was completely strange. By their own testimony of a "new teaching with authority", these synagogue goers seem to imply that nobody, beginning with the ministry of the patriarchs through the prophets, judges, kings, priests and other Old Testament saints, ever dealt with demons the way the Lord Jesus did.
In fact, in the Old Testament dispensation, there was no servant of God known to have has a deliverance ministry in the way and measure with which Jesus and His servants were endowed. The Old Testament believers did know that demons existed, but they did not have a deliberate and strategic or systematic ministry of casting demons out on a consistent basis. King David could qualify as someone who came close to this ministry in the Old Testament. However, his was not a direct ministry of deliverance. Furthermore, David’s was only a picture of the perfect ministry of deliverance to be established in his promised seed, Jesus the Messiah. The lesson here is that the ministry of deliverance is a unique gift of the Father to the church through Jesus Christ.
Although exorcism was in vogue during the time of Jesus, the audience saw the style and method of Jesus as unique and incomparable, especially in the sense of efficacy. They defined the divine attestation to the ministry of Jesus. By implication also, they discovered the impotence of the claims of their contemporary exorcists and the scribes. On these grounds, therefore, one could appreciate the awe and other results the ministry of Jesus produced in the man with an unclean spirit and also on the entire synagogue audience.
Non-biblical exorcism was found to be sterile by the synagogue audience more than two thousand years ago. Today, it is still impotent, while also spiritually and often financially fraudulent. The experience of the seven sons of Sceva is one such presumptuous case of non-Christian attempt at the ministry of deliverance - acts 19: 11-17. Most of the exorcism as practice in virtually every part of the world today, especially among animists, witchdoctors, herbalists, native priests, Muslims and other non-Christian religions, is at variance with New Testament revelation. Such non-biblical exorcism may involve incantations, enchantments, washings and other bizzarre methods that Jesus and the early church did not employ.
The method of the Lord and His church is simple. It usually involves the proclamation of God’s Word in faith and the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit manifested in the person and the name of the Lord Jesus.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
Another clearly emergent and important aspect of Jesus’ encounter with the man possessed with demons is the plurality of persons in at least two respects.
First, the man himself was a different entity from the demons in him. In Mark 1:23, he is described as a "man with an unclean spirit." In other words, there was a clear separation between the man (a person) and the unclean spirit (another person). Both entities were persons; neither of them was less than a personality. This fact is underscored by the way Jesus dealt with them. He said, "Be quiet and come out of him. ," addressing the demon in the man. When the demon was thus dealt with, the man regained his freedom. This is another level of discernment demonstrated by Jesus, which is alien ti much of the present materialistic mindset in today’s church. As far as Jesus is concerned, demons are real persons with real identities and intelligible activities. Demons and other spiritual entities are not imaginary and nebulous figures.
In dealing with people in need, Christian ministers will not be challenged to seek the discerning power of the Holy Spirit in order to be able to precisely identify the real spiritual enemy at work. Also, in our relationships, this discernment will be of tremendous value in assisting us to separate human persons and the forces at work in them - both of the Holy Spirit or evil spirits.
The second aspect of this plurality of persons is that within the identity of the demon, there is a change from the single to the plural. At one stage of the conversation, the demon interchangeably uses the pronouns we and us to describe itself and its nature, suggesting the influence of more than one. At another stage within the verse, it switches to the pronoun I - Mark 1:24. The following conclusions may be drawn from these observations.
- The use of personal pronouns underscores the personalities of demons
- Demons operate in groups ranging up to thousands or more. It is indeed scary but true that one individual can accommodate of demons
- The human personality and body has a capacity to accommodate spirits. Apart from the human spirit, which is an indigenous part of the human body, the human body is a receptacle of spirits.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
Demons are supernatural because they are spirits. However, they certainly have nothing divine about their nature. The Holy Spirit is supernatural; but more than that, He is divine, sovereign and pure. The supernatural nature and power of demons is of a corrupt and impure source: Satan.
During with the man possessed by an unclean demonic spirit, one supernatural attribute clearly demonstrated by demons was knowledge. They expressed some form of knowledge of Jesus that can only be appreciated by supernatural perception, identifying Jesus as a Nazarene and as the "Holy One of God." They also recognized His power to judge them. These are spiritual truths that can only be received or perceived by supernatural revelation. Yet at a time when Jesus had not yet announced those details about Himself, and while the religious audience had not yet appreciated those truths, these demons had already grasped them.
This expression of supernatural knowledge does not make demons honest and reliable. They are not the authors of much spiritual truths; they only confess them in moments of stress. This pattern is repeated in the ministry of Jesus in the Gadarenes- Mark 5:1-10; Luke 8:26-43 and in the ministry of Paul in Philippi - Acts 16; 16-21. Both Jesus and Paul exercised great discernment in each case and processed to do God’s will by casting the demon’s out. Neither the Lord nor Paul was excited, impressed or distracted by such deep revelations about their persons and ministry. Their examples emphasize the need for Christians to exercise discernment on a regular basis. God in His wisdom empowered the church with His gift of discerning of spirits. We need to understand that the church in this age is being confronted with a degree of deception capable of swaying the elect if God doesn’t intervene. Revelation of truth is never to be used to lead people away from the true God; it is to be used in bringing people to God.
The demons’ expression of supernatural knowledge could not change them or save them from being expelled or from final judgment. Their knowledge could not lead them to willing submission and, therefore, was devoid of worship. All claims to the true knowledge of God must culminate in the submission in the submission to and worship of God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. Any purported knowledge or revelation from God that does not lead to submission to and worship of Jesus as Lord does not attract God’s blessing, but invariably leads to judgment. Satan, fallen angels and demons are incapable of such willing worship.
The knowledge of the reality of God for Satan and his forces is tormenting. They "tremble" or shudder at such a blessed reality; and any feeling or emotion expressed as a shudder is certainly not a blessing but a repulsive emotional response to a terrible past, present or future experience. In this case, demons shudder because the reality of the person of God reminds them of the judgment awaiting them at the second coming of Jesus.
The same reality of God’s existence is capable of bringing about a transformation to even the most human offender, since humans are still capable of repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ - Acts 20:21; Hebrews 6:1-3. This p[potential attitude in us can release God’s grace of forgiveness and the fullness of His inheritance. In this way, God still accepts us. The ultimate lesson is that although the door of salvation has been shut against Satan and his spirit cohorts, God’s salvation is still open to fallen humanity. This salvation is by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
The encounter between Jesus Christ and the demon possessed man at Capernaum was also primarily a spiritual confrontation. On the physical, sensory level, it would seem that Jesus was directly dealing with the man. However, in spiritual reality, Jesus, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit was dealing with the demons in the man. It was a confrontation between the sovereign Holy Spirit and the evil spirits (demons) in that man.
This is the basis of spiritual warfare. In its very nature, spiritual warfare is not of flesh and blood (human entities), but against "spiritual forces of wickedness" among other evil supernatural entities. Ephesians 6:12.
However, we must also recognize that human entities do get involved as channels of expression of the desires or activities of these unseen spiritual forces.
The most important lessons about spiritual confrontation brought out in this passage is that evil forces do not aspire to engage in any form of combat with the Lord Jesus Christ. On the basis of biblical revelation and personal ministry experience, it seems that any time they do not come into direct spiritual contact with the Lord, they always express some form of shock and panic. Their confessions during this encounter typically reveal their helplessness in the Lord’s presence, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?" Mark 1:24
In other words, they do not expect to come close to Jesus Christ, the holiness of God personified. They know that the holiness of Jesus is absolutely contrary to their unholy and evil nature. In this example, the demons reasoned further that since the holiness of God revealed in Jesus would not tolerate the iniquity and wickedness in them, they had only one prospect: their sudden, non-negotiable expulsion from the man and some form of subsequent judgment.
This reasoning by those demons gave rise to their follow-up question: "Have you come to destroy us? Mark 1:24. It is a fact that the presence of Jesus already spells one expectation for them - expulsion! And one destiny - destruction! Often, the expulsion is in the present time and the destruction is in the future.
Very clearly, demons understand the holiness of and anointing in Jesus. Satan and his forces never assail this holiness and anointing. All evil forces, including Satan bow and surrender when the holiness and anointing of Jesus are made manifest. The holiness, anointing, glory and all of God’s fullness in the Son are encapsulated in the same Jesus. This is the name above all names to which every knee must bow and which every tongue must confess Philippines 2:8-10. Through God’s grace, those who talk in His holiness and anointing are also able in this day and age to challenge Satan and his forces in any form of spiritual combat, effectively pulling down Satan’s stronghold.
When a Christian fully comes under the holiness and anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ, walking in the discipline of character, prayer, praise, testimony of the power of His blood, faith in the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit with proclamation through evangelism, demons will be subjected to the sane harassment and defeat that they received in the hand of Jesus. This is the will and purpose of the Lord in the Great Commission - Mark 16:14-18.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
There is one incident believed by many to be the first public encounter between Jesus Christ and demons. This incident, which was recorded in Mark 1:21-28 and Luke 4:31-37, also provokes an examination of some basic principles of demonology and spiritual warfare. Furthermore, there are some valuable spiritual lessons that are very relevant and up-to-date with the experience of the present day Christian and religious people as a whole. Let us, therefore , explore the key aspects of this encounter and identify the appropriate principles of demonology.
A Man With An Unclean Spirit
And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath, He entered the synagogue and began to teach. And they were amazed at His teaching for He was teach them as one having authority and not as one of the scribes. Just then, there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit and he cried out saying, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy one of God!" And Jesus rebuked him saying, "Be quiet and come out of him." And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. And they were all amazed so that they debated among themselves saying, "What is this? Anew teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him." And immediately, the news about Him went out everywhere into all the surrounding districts of Galilee. Mark 1: 21-28
The first lesson here is that the ultimate victim of demons in this case and in most other cases discussed in the New Testament is a human being. It is a very clear fact of scripture that humans come under demonic domination as a result of Adam’s fall. Man’s subjection under demonic bondage is one of the major consequences of the fall of Adam and Eve. Prior to the Fall, all things, including demons were subject to humans. Genesis 1:26-27; 9:2.
The second lesson is that people who are afflicted by demons are not necessarily "obvious sinners" or outcasts of a religious community. The man with the unclean spirit in the center of this synagogue was by all accounts not without religion. He was, apparently, a practicing Jew, as he was attending synagogue on a Sabbath day. He must have attended many of these synagogue services , yet he was troubled by demons. In the midst of all his religious involvements and observances, these demons found place and comfort in their victim. He was still bound and under some form of torment. This man is a classic picture of many religious people, who still do not have Jesus or who have not appropriated God’s grace, including deliverance in Jesus.
The entrance of Jesus into that synagogue is typical of the deliverance ministry that manifests when He comes into a religious life, or into a family, marriage, ministry, career, business or local church. Demons do not mind religiosity or piety as long as Jesus is not invited and acknowledged. Furthermore, religious complacency, lukewarm attitudes, false religious hopes and wrong religious motives - including religious politics and other wrong internal and external religious attitudes, will only negatively impact the lives of those involves so as to render them conducive to demonic hibernation
True freedom and hope in religion only come through personal repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Isidore Agoha
In the words of the Great Commission, it is said that those who believe in the Lord will take up serpents. With this authority and dominion, the church will conquer, subdue and guard the Earth from demons. The miracle of casting out of demons is indeed a unique miracle for the church. It is a divine grace imparted only to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. No other nation of people in the history of creation has received such a grace. Neither angels or the Old Covenant people received such grace from God. Indeed, the blessings of the New Testament salvation are immeasurably wondrous. The great Apostle Paul describes this salvation in the following words:
"In this you greatly rejoice....obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesized of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indication as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you in these things which has now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things to which angels long to look."
I believe that the ministry of deliverance is one of those unique things given to the church as an outcome of our salvation through faith; so unique that the prophets of old and the angels did prophesy and announce them, and now they look on to see the church move in the power of the Holy Spirit exercising grace to a dying world. The greatness of New Testament salvation is also described in the epistle of the Hebrews, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:4.
It is no accident that these verses opened with a warning about negligence of our uniquely great salvation. The greatness is based on the fact that it was originally handed down to us by the Lord Himself, confirmed by the apostles and attested to by signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is most encouraging that the Lord has not withdrawn His Word and that the testimony of the apostles abides with us. It only remains for the church to take up the salvation and the kingdom given to it by the Lord and keep demons under subjection on the Earth. This is the Lord’s desire and for that I pray this:
"O Lord Father, God of Heaven and Earth, may Your church now on the Earth see this grace of deliverance from demons and dominion over Satan’s kingdom the way You and Your Son our Lord see it, and use it to regain Your Kingdom on the Earth. Amen."
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha
By Apostle Agoha
Of the creatures over which humans were to exercise dominion, "creeping things" received an emphatic mention in many passages that deal with demons, deliverance and dominion. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the bird of the sky , over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" Genesis 1:2.
Obviously, Lucifer came in as the serpent and was persona non grata in the earth of Adam’s dominion. It is no accident therefore, that the Lord said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go and dust shall you eat." Genesis 2:14. Clearly, not only was the serpent irredeemably cursed more than any other beast, it was thereafter doomed to creep on its belly and feed on dust for the rest of its life. This curse immediately set off a long-lasing enmity between humans, who are made of dust (Genesis 3:19) and the serpent that was now bound to feed on dust.
The serpent’s insatiable appetite for dust has made us its food. Hence, in all of our history, we have always been infested, corrupted and "fed upon" by the serpent that creeps upon the surface of the earth. Through this depraved condition, Satan has exercised dominion over the earth and over humankind since the Fall. The fallen humanity made of dust could neither resist nor fight back. Redemption was now only possible through the seed of the woman - the last Adam, the Messiah that was to come, since the first Adam hopelessly failed at redeeming himself of God’s creation Genesis 3:15; 1 Corinthians 15: 45-47. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Man from Heaven, could exercise dominion over the Serpent, because in His eternal nature, He had no dust in Him. This is why He could boldly declare, "The ruler of this world (Satan) is coming and he has nothing in me" John 14:30.
Yet, the Lord is not content to be the only Son of glory to the Father. His goal is to be "first among many brethren" Roman 8:29 and to "bring many sons to glory Hebrew 2:10. So when the Lord Jesus - God’s typical Man came, He did a "test drive" with the seventy disciples, whom He sent out with an impartation of His heavenly royalty. He gave His evaluation of their successful exercise of dominion over demons: "I saw Satan fall....and I give you power over serpents and scorpions and nothing shall hurt you" Luke 10:18-19.
What the seventy discovered in essence is a miracle - impartation of divine grace whereby we are now not only free from the dominion of demons but also actually have authority over them and over the Earth in the Lord’s name. The church henceforth ceases to be food to creeping things. The initiative concerning the governance of the Earth is now with us, the church, and no longer with Satan and his creeping agents. The tables are now turned.
Apostle Isidore Agoha is the Senior Pastor at Triumphant Life Church in the Bronx, N.Y.
www.tlcny.org | http://twitter.com/apostleagoha