Assimilate the Newbies!

(First published in 2007)

If it were up to me, the first three years of a new Believer's Christian life would be spent completely excluded from corporate Church life, assigning them, instead, to some sort of school for solid training in the Doctrine of Christ away from any manmade, traditional or demonically- inspired religious influences. I sometimes wonder if THAT is the REAL reason why God is leading so many Christians AWAY from traditional forms of Christianity in the West; a sort of purification process. Perhaps He can work better with wet clay. Too many Christians are simply drying up, dying on the vine as it were. 

Just a thought.

In my make-believe Discipleship model, there would be complete Scripture saturation and thorough study of early Church practices of the first 300 years as well as a study of the flourishing third world Church, the persecuted Church of today. Also, there would be a study of the martyrs, a study of the magazine "Voice of the Martyrs," and a study of Simson's "Houses that Change the World."

Today, with so many Christians expressing and acting upon their desire to return to early New Testament Church practices, there's one early Church rite that many would do well to embrace: Exorcism.

I know...sounds a little weird to most of us.

According to the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, March 2004 by Clinton E. Arnold, "Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Ambrose, Cyprian, Augustine, and other early Church fathers all attest to this practice. It certainly cannot be described as a practice isolated to the Roman church...A corollary to this practice was a time of renunciation of Satan and deliverance during the actual baptismal ceremony. As the new Christians were baptized, they were also instructed to make a verbal renunciation of Satan: "And a deacon shall take the oil of exorcism and stand at the left hand of the presbyter . . . And when the presbyter grasps each one of those who will receive baptism, let him command him to renounce, saying, "I renounce you, Satan, with all your service and all your works." And when he has renounced all these, let him anoint him with the oil of exorcism, saying, "Let every spirit be cast far from you" (Apostolic Tradition 21.8-1O)."

"Immediately following this exorcism and renunciation of Satan, the person being baptized would confess their allegiance to Christ... The early church sets for us a challenging example on how to train new believers and help them grow in Christ during the first three years of their walk with the Lord. It is my hope that evangelical churches would invest more time, thought, prayer, planning, and resources into a healthy assimilation of new believers."

From Encyclopædia Britannica: "In the first two centuries of the Christian era, the power of exorcism was considered a special gift that might be bestowed on anyone, lay or cleric. About AD 250, however, there appeared a special class of the lower clergy, called exorcists, to whom was entrusted this special function. About the same time, exorcism became one of the ceremonies preparatory to baptism, and it has remained a part of the Roman Catholic baptismal service..."

To clarify, every new Believer was afforded the opportunity to receive healing from traumas, sexual sins, generational curses, and close off any doors that Satan could use to continue to torment their lives AFTER their conversion experience. This would allow them to walk freely, victoriously, above their past circumstances, despite their tainted pasts. No wonder they changed the ancient world. The healing that was provided at Calvary was to include the healing of their mind, will and emotions; the soul as well as the body. As Argentinean evangelist, Carlos Annocandia, says, "In the United States, you get people forgiven but you don't get them free."

THE TRUTH AND OTHER STUFF WE SHOULD KNOW

When Isaiah 53:5 tells us that He was bruised for our iniquities and wounded for our transgressions, perhaps that means that His bruises - a wound under the surface of the flesh - were meant to heal that which was never directed against us personally. For example , a Christian may be struggling with anger or alcoholism; perhaps infidelity or some other sexual sin runs through a family's genealogy. As I minister and counsel people, so often I have found that there was somebody up-line who carried the same burden as their ancestor to whom I am now ministering. Recently, as our team ministered to a man, the Lord gave me a vision of an American Indian witch doctor who seemed to get angrier the more we prayed and ministered. Strange, yes, but I've had stranger visions. When I offered up the vision for the team's consideration, the man who came for ministry stated that he was of American Indian descent! Was a demon spirit, willfully invited into the family's lineage ages ago, now feeling threatened? He'd better be.

When we read that Jesus was "wounded for our transgressions," would that imply that Jesus took that awful scourging upon His flesh in exchange for the sins committed against us personally? In other words, was He wounded to provide for the healing of the transgressions by others against US - not those things done BY us, as one might think, even though a person might "manifest" in a sinful manner as a result of the "sins of the fathers"? His sacrificial death upon the cross in exchange for our own is what paid the price for our personal sins. By His stripes we were healed. By His death we were saved. The Law of sin and death was made null and void by His own death.

The remainder of that verse, of course, reads, "... the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being FOR US was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole." (Emphasis mine.)

Made whole? How can any Christian be considered "whole" if his life is a mess? Sure, he may be saved but, far too often, he remains in bondage. When we KNOW the truth, that truth will set us free (Jn 8:32). Multitudes of Christians do not KNOW the truth - the fact that they can be set free from the chains that have them bound and truly live a new life in Christ. Sadly, most merely settle for church attendance at best. Not finding help there, they're leaving at the rate of 53,000 weekly in the West.

Argentina is currently undergoing the longest revival in world history, over 17 years. Carlos Annacondia, is an integral part of this revival and is one who DOES actively pursue deliverance from demons for new converts. Bad habits, addictions, poor choices, traumas, sexual sin...all these things are dealt with in order for new Believers to walk freely and victoriously. According to Annacondia, "In the United States, only 6% of people who come forward for salvation remain in the Church, much less are leading a committed Christian life. In Argentina, the per centage is 85-90%, even after 5 years have passed." The fact that most Christians in America have no staying power whatsoever is obvious by so many other dismal statistics pertaining to the American Church. These same statistics are admitted to by the ministries of Billy Graham and Luis Palau. Even Charles Finney (1792-1875), was disheartened when he realized that so many of the tens of thousands who converted through his ministry bore no long-lasting spiritual fruit.

Feel free to READ THAT PARAGRAPH AGAIN and process it.

PRAYERS THAT AVAILETH MUCH

There is a wonderful list of "Warfare Prayers" that I have used in the past (I was thrilled to find them, once again, online). You can read them, pray them and utilize them in ministry at http://home.mchsi.com/~ftio/warfare-prayers.htm

Remember, say these aloud and say them often. Why? Because when we resist the devil, he will flee (James 4:7). The word "resist" is actually a wrestling term. Can you recall ever having seen two men wrestling when one man threw the other to the ground and the fallen man simply stayed on the floor? NO! He got up and went after his adversary again. Likewise, the devil will attack again and again UNTIL he sees that we are SERIOUS about winning this battle. If he is allowed back in, Jesus said he will return seven times stronger than he was previously. Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45: "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it." Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first..."

Once the house is "swept clean," I've found that an individual MUST be filled with the Holy Spirit or an evil spirit will find him easy prey. Don't be afraid; this is not a Pentecostal or Charismatic thing - it's a BIBLE thing, important enough for God that He kicked-off His Church with it in the Upper Room. 

Though we are all endued with the Spirit of God, the Giver of Life itself, even Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is UPON Me." We, too, will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes UPON us. It's the difference between drinking a glass of water and falling in the ocean. Do you want that power? Our own will power is no match for a demon bent on a mission of destruction. WARNING: If you ask for it, your Christian life will change in the MOST dramatic fashion. Consider the cost.

Remember, the battle is for your mind. This is why we are admonished to "cast down all vain imaginations" and "take every thought captive." This is why we are taught to "think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable." Once an evil thought is entertained long enough, it becomes a stronghold and that Strong Man must be dealt with. At times, people need help with this. I'm often asked if it's really possible that Christians can be attacked in this way. Friends, every person I've ever ministered to who exhibited a demonic manifestation...strange voices, fowl odors, flailing about, inability to speak...was a professing Christian.

You figure it out.

FINALLY, MY BRETHREN...

Years ago, a friend of mine, a Baptist preacher, had a radio show. One day, he decided he was tired of reading about the things that the Bible says we Christians are "supposed" to be doing...healing the sick, for example. So, he announced on his show that he would be praying for anyone who wanted God to heal them. Interestingly, he said, every call he received was from people who feared they had a demon. His wife wisely reminded him that "if it's Jesus who heals the sick, it's Jesus who casts out the demons." Though they were nearly killed on their first attempt, with some training and a willing heart, they went on to produce many trained ministers of deliverance, myself included. This Baptist preacher went on to raise up and train several teams of deliverance ministers in our Charismatic (Bapti-costal) Church in the 90's. People - not all from our congregation - were placing their names on a clipboard in the church office as if we were running a kind of clinic. The results were glorious! The first to go through deliverance? The Team Members!

For many who are reading this now, the words resonate within you as being true. I used to be the poster child for soul-winning in the traditional evangelical sense. I could get "decisions for Christ" in any neighborhood at any time. The Lord used many instances in my own life to show me the fruitlessness of my finest efforts. He showed me the glaring absence of "sinner's prayers" and "decisions for Christ" throughout Scripture. He showed me the example of Jesus and Paul and others and how there are no recorded examples of "winning souls" the way we see it modeled today.

So, I quit. I prefer being a Living Epistle whose life causes others to pursue God and, under His conviction, become sorry enough to repent. I see that often. It's real and the fruit is long-lasting.
Let's assimilate the newbies. For starters, let's assimilate the Oldies, for many "mature" saints are still struggling with their secret bondages as well. In the Simple Church/House Church movement, we often talk about how people who join these swelling ranks straight from an Institutional Church often require detoxing. Something tells me that what they have is nothing that a little exorcism wouldn't take care of.

Resist the devil.

He will flee.

Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
Founder, The Church @ Work