1.“Deliverance Ministry’ Defined

People use the term “deliverance” in a variety of contexts. They will say, “God delivered me from anger and alcoholism ” and so on. Most who use this terminology mean that they once had an issue in a particular area, and they no longer consider that a problem in their life. God set them free!

In the Old Testament, the most common story of deliverance is God, through Moses, bringing the nation of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. God “delivered” his people: He set them free from the bondage of their earthly masters and led them to a new life.

In that context, we see people today who apply that same idea of God setting them free to a particular area of victory in their life. It is right; it is true, and the concept is understood by all. People will also use the term to denote how God brought them out of a difficult situation or relationship.

In the time of Jesus, we see him ministering to people in different ways. He preached and taught. He laid hands on them to bring healing, and he also ministered to people who had demons.

Look at the specific words in some of these passages:

• Mark 1:26 – And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loudvoice, he came out of him. NIV (emphasis added)
• Mark 5:13 – He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out andwent into the pigs. NIV (emphasis added)

Jesus drove demons out of people, and that is the modern day definition of deliverance. That is the most common connotation of the word deliverance today in the church today: demons coming out of people.