God's Pattern For Deliverance Part 3 - The Pre-Deliverance Pattern

God’s Pattern For Deliverance

 

Part 3 – The Pre-Deliverance Pattern

 

               If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Joh 8:36

 

If the Son shall make you free? Why “if”? After all, when we’re redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and make the choice to serve Christ Jesus, freedom is automatically ours because of His work on the cross, right? We are entitled to everything that Jesus paid for with His death, resurrection and ascension, aren’t we? So why does it say “if”?

 

We serve a God of order. Like most of us, He does things a certain way. Unlike most of us, He never changes and His ways never change. Because of this, when we look through the Word, we can easily discover the patterns He uses repeatedly. Being set free is just one such pattern that God has laid out for us in great detail. Once we understand His pattern for deliverance, we can follow it and achieve the desired results. And it works every time. Without fail.

 

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Mat 16:19

 

               What a powerful promise!  But wait, what are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? Where do we find them? How do we use them? What exactly do they open?

 

               One example of a key to the kingdom of heaven is the understanding of God’s patterns. If we understand His patterns, we understand how He works in any given situation. Thus, there is never any question about God’s will for a particular situation; we just follow the pattern He created and therefore we achieve the results He desired when He gave us the pattern. Simple, right?

 

               And notice the phrase following: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Notice that the authority to bind and loose only comes after we have been given the keys to the kingdom. It is only by a thorough understanding of God’s patterns that we gain the authority to bind and loose here on the earth. Remember, the authority to bind and loose only comes after we’ve been given the keys to the kingdom.

 

               God’s pattern for deliverance has three main steps with numerous smaller steps in between. The three main steps are pre-deliverance, power encounter, and post-deliverance. Each of these three main steps has numerous smaller sub-steps contained within them. Each of these steps needs to be followed in order to not only achieve deliverance, but to keep it. If we follow the steps that God has laid out the way He has laid them out, we are sure to be delivered and to remain free. That is the hard part.

 

               The greatest in-depth example we have of God’s pattern for deliverance occurs in the book of Exodus. The entire book of Exodus. Deliverance is a subject that is so near and dear to God’s heart, that He gave us a complete step-by-step instruction guide on how to get there. All we have to do is to discover it and study to understand it. Sounds easy, right?

 

               And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; Exo 3:7

 

               Here we have the very first step in the pre-deliverance pattern that God has given us. As with all of God’s patterns, the first step is the step where God reaches down with mercy to get involved in our situation.

 

               And notice the way that God lays this out for us. First, He sees our affliction. That is not surprising. God sees everything and knows everything. Whenever we are bound up with something that is not of Him, you can be sure He sees.

 

               The next thing that happens in this first step is that God hears our cries for help. Even though God sees that we are afflicted, nothing will really start to happen until He hears us cry out for His assistance. We must remember that God has given us free choice. We have the option of remaining bound up by something for as long as we choose to endure it. Only when we are sick and tired of being oppressed and begin to cry out for help will the Lord respond.

 

               And how does He respond? He comes to know; comes to have an intimate knowledge of our sorrows.  How does God come to know our sorrows? We must be in an intimate relationship with Him.

 

God has given man rule over this earth (Gen. 1:26), and that must start with dominion authority over our own hearts and minds. Because God gave us that authority, He will never violate our space unless we want Him to do so. Therefore, if God is to obtain an intimate knowledge of the struggle we are having, we must submit to His Spirit as He searches our hearts. If the intimate relationship is lacking, God cannot come to intimately understand the struggle we are having. Period.

 

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Exo 3:8

 

               Once God has seen our affliction, heard our cries for His intervention, and come to know our sorrow, what happens next? He comes down to deliver us. Every time. No exceptions.

 

               And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Exo 3:14-15

 

               Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. Exo 6:1-3

 

               The next step in the pre-deliverance process, is that we must come to know the nature of the God we serve. We must come to know that God is a mighty God, and that He is able to deliver us from whatever we are struggling with. This one small step takes some people many years to climb. Until we understand the nature of Christ Jesus as Savior, Healer and Deliverer, we really can’t go much farther.

 

               Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. Exo 3:16-18

 

               This is another area that gets many of us into no-man’s land with God. After we have come to an understanding of who He is, we must listen to His voice, and begin to walk in obedience. Failure to do so means we are going to be here a while.

 

               Sin and oppression of all forms came into the world through disobedience to God’s Word. Living a lifestyle of disobedience to the Word of God opens doorways for the flesh, the world, and the enemy to kick us around as much as they please. It is only by repenting of our disobedience and beginning to walk in obedience to the will and the Word of God that we will find it possible to receive and keep our deliverance.

 

               And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. Exo 4:22-23

 

               Once we have repented for our disobedience and begun the obedient walk that God desires of us, we are entitled to receive a huge benefit. God recognizes us as sons. As a son of God, we are entitled to all the benefits of son-ship. No longer are we merely half-hearted, half-obedient servants. Now we are adopted into the kingdom and we can begin to claim the rights due a prince of the kingdom of Heaven. One of those rights is absolute freedom from the flesh, the world, and the enemy.

 

               Once we are adopted as sons, God sends a “shot over the bow” to our flesh, the world around us, and the enemy. God warns them that if they refuse to obey the voice of a true son of the kingdom, that there will be consequences. He does not tolerate any sort of oppression that tries to operate against His children.

 

                

               And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Exo 6:3-7

 

               As a son of the kingdom, we are in covenant with God. A covenant written in the blood of Jesus Christ. As such, we have certain guarantees under the covenant. The first guarantee is that of salvation to eternal life. But there are many other benefits. One such benefit is that we have been redeemed from all forms of oppression. As such, God begins to put His master plan into action.

 

               The very first step in God’s master plan for His covenant sons, is that they will be recreated in the image of His Son, Christ Jesus. As such, we are recreated to be head and shoulders above every form of oppression, regardless of its’ source. It doesn’t matter if it is a flesh problem, a problem with our world, or a problem with the demonic. Doesn’t matter, we are new creations and are above the mess.

 

               And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. Exo 7:1-2

 

               And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Mat 28:18

 

               But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Joh 1:12

 

               Once we are recreated in the image of Jesus Christ, we become as He is, a Son of God.

 

               Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1Jn 4:17

 

               As such, we acquire the right to use His authority over this earth and everything in it. In short, we become like a god in this world. Just as He is.

 

               Caught you off guard with that, didn’t I? We have no reason to fear this world, habits of our flesh, or even attacks of the enemy. We have been created to rule as a god over them.

 

               So many of us lose the battle because we are filled with fear or allow the enemy to intimidate us into quitting. We do not have to do that. We are as a god to everything that comes against us as long as we remain a son of the kingdom. As long as we are walking in the very image of Jesus Christ, nothing can touch us unless we allow it to do so.

 

               This means that everything we struggle against should, by rights, fear us, not the other way around. Everything that is assigned against us should be quaking in its boots at the sound of our name. It is when we come to this understanding that deliverance becomes very easily affected. There is only one more requirement we must fulfill to move to the power encounter phase of deliverance.

 

               But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. Exo 7:4-5

 

               The final step is that we must understand that, as sons of the kingdom, it is the hand of God that brings an end to all forms of oppression. And He does so for His own glory. His glory, not ours. His authority, not ours. His power, not ours. His will, not ours.

 

               Once we have come to this revelation, we are ready to move to the power encounter phase of the deliverance process. This is the step where the power of God directly confronts and overwhelms the power of the enemy in our lives. This is the step where chains are broken and sweet freedom is finally experienced for the first time.

 

               For those of you actively seeking deliverance from something that has gained a place in your life, I would encourage you to go through these steps as the Lord leads and guides. And please be on the lookout for the next article in this series: God’s Pattern for Deliverance Part 4 – The Power Encounter.