HomeSomething I was exposed to at a young age thanks to my dad and brother’s curiosity was deliverance. To be quite honest, it freaked me out! I was, however, super excited that my dad started searching for something more from God than just predictable 1 hour services. We started seeing God move and manifest in really spectacular ways. And as it should be, that manifestation of God’s glory exposed the devil. My dad realized quickly, that when the devil is exposed like that, it is the best time to deal with him. And God bless my dad, he has the amazing gift of verbal diarrhea. So he would share every experience and often they would have gory details. Add to that his amazing ability to exaggerate and you’ve got one frightened teenager on your hands. Like most other people I was seeing flashes of The Exorcist movie every time he would share testimonies with me. Of course I realize now that my dad was merely excited about the dominion he had and how when he spoke the demons listened and trembled. He wanted other Christians to know that if he could do it, so could they.
I loved learning about the Holy Spirit and practicing the gifts with fellow Christians during the weekly courses my dad ran, but as far as I was concerned, deliverance was not for me, I simply wasn’t called to it as my dad and brother clearly were. The devil naturally assisted my fears by giving me nightmares. I would dream of trying to deliver people who were over-the-top possessed and when I rebuked them and tried to cast them out, they simply wouldn’t go and I would see the devil laughing at me. You see, the devil knows that every Christian (Son of God) has enormous potential, even if we don’t realize it, he does! So he will try to break down your potential before you realize it. After all it is easy to just pull out an oak tree when it has just started growing.
That’s the amazing thing about the Grace message. It really puts into perspective how awesome my position in Christ is. Pastors, friends, your own husband and several fellow Christians can tell you daily, but until it becomes your revelation, you won’t believe it. I am happy to say that I finally made that revelation MINE! I was afraid of confronting the devil before and kept praying to God not to use me in deliverance. And God was faithful to my prayers. He doesn’t force Himself on His bride. But as my revelation of Grace and authority grew, so did my confidence to defeat the devil (It took me 10 years to realize, though, so I hope you get there faster than I did!). God knew I was ready and started bringing people along my path that needed deliverance. It is a very empowering and humbling experience when you tell the devil to leave in Jesus’ name and he does! I am a tremendous fan of roller coasters and other thrill rides and I can tell that there is nothing quite as exhilarating as kicking the devil’s butt! Well who’s laughing now? And for those of you wondering, it wasn’t like The Exorcist at all.
Now I am not trying to convince you to go and find a possessed person and go to town on them. Please, I’m just trying to encourage you to read your Bible and see how Jesus dealt with the devil and to remember that you have the same authority. And just like my dad, to inspire you by saying, “If I can do it, so can you!” God knows when you are ready and he sent the Holy Spirit just for you, so that even if you are not completely ready, the Spirit inside you is. What an awesome time we live in where we get to show Christ to the world. And what better way to do that than through freedom, deliverance and grace!
Phil 2:13 For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)
Yours in Grace,
Rensia Marais
