DEMONOLOGY AND DELIVERANCE #11

“Why Are Some Not Delivered?”

Introduction
As we near the end of our series on “Demonology and Deliverance”, I think it
would be wise to examine the big question of “Why Some Are Not Delivered.”
We will take for a text the story of the young man with epilepsy in Matthew 17:

Matthew 17:14-16 NIV

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering
greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your
disciples, but they could not heal him."

The Gospels tell us that Jesus had a 100% success rate with casting out demons.
He never failed to heal all the sick or deliver anyone from demonic power.
But we are not Jesus; we are just His disciples. And we see some who are not
delivered. The question is “why?”

Derek Prince
“Why are some not delivered? Basically, it’s because some do not meet the
conditions. So when ministering deliverance, don’t focus on yourself; focus on
helping people meet the conditions.”

I believe that in every case where Christians are not delivered, there are unmet
conditions; here are 10, based on scripture and personal experience.

WHY ARE SOME NOT DELIVERED?

• Lack of knowledge
• Unbelief
• Lack of desperation
• Lack of repentance
• Unforgiveness
• Wrong motives
• Unbroken generational curses
• Failure to confess a specific sin
• Failure to sever harmful relationships
• Failure to “fill the hole”
Allow me to look at these one by one…
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I. WHY ARE SOME NOT DELIVERED?

A. Lack of Knowledge

1. This is the #1 reason why so many Christians are not delivered.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

2. Modern American Christian culture offers very little teaching on

demonology and deliverance even though it made up a full one-fourth of the
ministry of Jesus.

3. The 1st rule of warfare is to know your enemy; you cannot defeat what
you can’t identify. If you have a demon and don’t know you won’t be delivered.

B. Second: Unbelief

1. In the text on the epileptic, the father told Jesus he had brought his son to
His disciples and they could not cure him; and…

Mark 9:23-24
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears,
"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

2. Faith is the currency of the Kingdom; but unbelief equals spiritual

bankruptcy. Deliverance requires faith; unbelief must be set aside.

C. Third: Lack of Desperation

1. I am sad to say that the universal testimony of mankind is that we seek to

be independent of God: many times we don’t fully give in to God until we have no
other way out. The biblical word for desperation is “distress”.

Psalm 120:1
In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me.
Psalm 118:5
I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad
place.
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 a. The Hebrew word for “distress” can mean “narrow gorge”!
b. Charles Spurgeon, the great ‘Prince of Preachers’ once said…

Charles Spurgeon
“Prayers which come out of distress generally come out of the heart, and
therefore they go to the heart of God.”

2. Many are never saved until they find themselves in the deepest distress
that brings them to desperation; and so it is with many seeking deliverance from
demons.

3. In our text, the father brought his son to Jesus’ disciples for deliverance
and they could not cast it out; Jesus does cast it out, and then explained how…

Matthew 17:19-21
Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it
out?" So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to
you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move
from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

a. “This kind” means that some demons are more difficult to dislodge
than others.

Albert Barnes
“This kind” means this kind of devil-this species of possession. Where
they have had long possession where they produce such painful, fixed,
and alarming effects, they can be expelled only in connection with
prayer and fasting.

b. In difficult cases, there must be a greater desperation for

deliverance: ministers as well as those seeking help will need to fast and pray.

Derek Prince
“Several times, when a person has approached me seeking deliverance, I have
said ‘Deliverance is for the desperate. I don’t feel that you are desperate yet.
Come back when you are.’ Sometimes I will suggest that a person fast for 24
hours before seeking deliverance.”

D. Fourth: Lack of Repentance

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 1. The 4th reason why some are not delivered is the lack of true repentance
from our sin and evil deeds.

2. We taught on repentance as one of the foundational doctrines of the

Christian faith; there can be no true faith without repentance, which consists of
2 things:

a. In the New Testament (Greek) it means “to change your mind”.

b. In the Old Testament (Hebrew) it meant “to turn around”.

3. Repentance is more than being sorry for our sin; it means we change our
mind and our behavior.

a. If a man has an unclean spirit enslaving him to pornography; he

cannot be delivered until he confesses the sin and turns away from it!

Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper; but whoever confesses his sins and
forsakes them will have mercy.

E. Fifth: Unforgiveness

1. This could have come first in the list because in our experience it is the #1
thing that blocks deliverance from demons.

2. Forgiveness is not an option! Jesus said if we do not forgive others of their

sins against us that our Heavenly Father will not forgive us of our sins against
Him!

3. The problem is that many people think they have forgiven but have not
forgiven “from the heart”. Jesus warned that the unforgiving servant will be
consigned to the “tormentors” (demons) if they do not forgive “from the heart”.

Matthew 18:35
"So My heavenly Father also will do to each of you (deliver to the torturers)
everyone who does not, from his heart, forgive his brother his trespasses."

4. If we have truly forgiven, the debt others owe us in cancelled; setting

others free actually sets us free! But many are not delivered because this kind of
forgiveness has been withheld.
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 F. Sixth: Wrong Motives

1. The purpose of deliverance is to set us free to serve God and do His will;
not to serve our own self-interest:

James 4:2-3 (Good News Translation)

You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. 3 And
when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for
things to use for your own pleasures.

G. Seventh: Unbroken Generational Curses

1. God’s law revealed to Israel the reality of generational curses; where the
sins of our forefathers can be passed down to us.

Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV)

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the
compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and
faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the
children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation."

2. Notice that these verses reveal the goodness of God: He maintains His
love for us and He forgives our wickedness, rebellion and sin.

3. YET at the same time, He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He visits
the iniquity of the fathers even unto the 3rd and 4th generation.

4. The key to breaking generational curses is to claim Christ’s work on the

Cross, which is our legal redemption from all curses:

Galatians 3:13-14 NIV

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a
curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a
tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in
Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.

5. In a legal sense, we are delivered from generational curses.

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 6. Nevertheless, if our parents, grandparents, great or great-great
grandparents practiced serious sins like idolatry, sorcery, witchcraft or false
religions that allowed demons into the family line, there are sins to be repented of
and curses that must be broken.

7. Some are not delivered because of unbroken generational curses.

H. Eighth: Failure to Confess a Specific Sin

1. All sins are serious in the eyes of a holy God; but some sins open the door
to demons and must be specifically brought into the open.

Derek Prince
“When a person is seeking deliverance from demons, there may be a specific
sin that has to be confessed. It may be the sin that opened him or her up to
the demon in the first place. In that case, God will withhold deliverance until
that particular sin has been identified and confessed.”

2. The great King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, then plotted a
plan to murder her husband. He sought to keep his sins a secret until exposed by
Nathan the prophet; only then did David confess…

2 Samuel 12:13-14
So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."
And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall
not die.

3. Derek Prince tells of a mother who brought her teenage daughter for
deliverance; many demons came out but one that lodged in her throat. Derek
discerned there was one specific sin God require to be confessed and she said, “I had
an abortion!” (A shock to her mother who knew nothing about it). Derek demanded
she confess it as the sin of murder and she did. The demon left immediately.

I. Ninth: Failure to Sever Harmful Relationships and Soul Ties

What is a “soul tie”?

MinisteringDeliverance.Com
A soul tie is like a linkage in the soul realm between two people. It links their
souls together, which can bring forth either beneficial or negative results.
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 1. A beneficial result is the soul tie in marriage between a husband and wife.
But some are not delivered because they cannot (or will not) cut off relationships
or soul ties that are really a doorway for demons.

1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived; bad company ruins (corrupts) good morals.

a. Back in the 70’s we had a friend who was saved and delivered from
a serious drug addiction. He was mightily used of the Lord until he began hanging
out with old friends from his drug days. He got hooked again and ended up in
prison!

2. But the most common kind of soul ties are connected to the sexual realm.

1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take
the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!
Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her?
For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the
Lord is one spirit with Him.

3. Christians cannot sexually comingle outside of the marriage covenant

without opening a doorway to demons.

Kris Vallotton
“The truth is, whether you’re aware of it or not, a piece of your sex partner
(the good, bad, and ugly) can stay with you (and vice versa) for the rest of
your life. You can only imagine what it looks like when you bond with multiple
partners.”

4. You have to sever the soul ties to any person other than your spouse!

 Renounce all evil liaisons

 Cast down evil imaginations
 Destroy pictures or gifts that connect you to that person

J. Failure to “Fill the Hole”

1. It is one thing to be delivered from demons; it is another thing to hold on

to your deliverance.
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 2. Jesus Himself tells us what can happen if we fail to “fill the hole” left
vacant when demons depart.

Matthew 12:43-45
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking
rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I
came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he
goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and
they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the
first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.

3. The metaphor is that our bodies are the “houses” where demons dwell;
when we cast them out, or evict them, the house is left vacant, swept clean and set
in order. But the demon will try to return; and bring “7 other spirits” with him. If
they find the house unoccupied, they “enter” back inside and “dwell there”.

4. The only sure way to be delivered and stay delivered is to serve the Lord
with all our hearts.

5. Everybody wants to be free; but some do not stay free. They fail to “fill
the hole” with God and God’s word. And end up worse than before!

6. This passage also explains why we never try to minister deliverance to

non-Christians. What’s the point unless Christ lives in the heart?

III. Conclusion

A. Review: Why Are Some Not Delivered?

Derek Prince
“Why are some not delivered? Basically, it’s because some do not meet the
conditions. So when ministering deliverance, don’t focus on yourself; focus on
helping people meet the conditions.”

1. In some ways, deliverance is like salvation; it is always available!

2. Jesus has done the work; He has gone to the Cross; but we must meet the
conditions of “repentance from dead works and faith toward God”.

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 3. Deliverance from demons is part of the salvation package; it is always
available. But once again, we must meet the conditions. Of which we listed 10.

WHY ARE SOME NOT DELIVERED

4. I prepared this sample prayer for us to day together. It refers to each of the
10 conditions. But this is just a model. In your own time you will need to focus on
the points that pertain personally to you.

PRAYER
Father, I thank you for your Word, that gives me knowledge about deliverance
from demons. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
Holy Spirit, show me where I may have missed it.
Bring me to desperation for deliverance.
I am ready to repent; to confess all my sins and forsake them.
Show me the places where I have failed to fully forgive.
Remove any wrong motives.
I renounce the iniquities of my forefathers and I claim the Cross for my
deliverance from all generational curses.
Holy Spirit, show me where I have failed to confess and forsake any specific
sin that might be blocking my deliverance.
Help me sever all soul ties created by evil company I have kept in the past.
And fill me once again with your Word, your love, and your Spirit.
In Jesus name, Amen!

Our goal is to be like Jesus; to be able to say:

John 14:30
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and
he has nothing in Me.

Why Some Are Not Delivered