When individuals have a Personal Spiritual Encounter with me, two things are foremost on my mind. Can we objectively determine if the person is demonized, and are they prepared to receive exorcism prayers? Some who have demons aren’t ready to be delivered. They want to be free from their torment, but they are not fully resolved to follow Christ and turn their backs on evil. Jesus referenced this in Luke 9:62, when he said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Another factor to consider, when determining one’s readiness for freedom, is Christ’s warning in Luke 11:26. After exorcism, failing to walk in the newness of life in Christ may lead to seven times as many demons returning and “the last state of that man is worse than the first.” The person set free from Satan should never again indulge in anger, rejection, pornography, promiscuity, bitterness, witchcraft, addictions or any of the old ways that facilitated demonic bondage. Remember Lot’s wife, and don’t look back.
Genesis chapters 18 and 19 tell the story of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction and the three angels who warned Abraham of impending judgment. His nephew Lot and his family had settled in Sodom and the angels warned that when the fire fell, “Don’t look back” (Genesis 19:17). Sadly Genesis 19: 26 tells us that Lot’s wife disobeyed and became a pillar of salt. The “Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible” points out that there were three instructions from the angels: 1) get out, 2) don’t turn back, and 3) don’t stop until you reach your destination. The destruction commenced AFTER Lot and his daughters reached safety in Zoar. His wife wasn’t with them. Some scholars speculate that Lot’s wife did more than glance over her shoulder. She returned to the city and was consumed by the sulfuric conflagration that crystallized her entire body. This story illustrates the warning to leave sin behind. Leave demonic oppression behind. Don’t look back and don’t go back. Remember Lot’s wife.
An encouraging word: GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS
I deal constantly with generational sin issues that are destroying lives due to ancestral evil. How I long to see generational blessings as prevalent, or even more so, than generational iniquity. Imagine how our culture and our country would be so different if our children were raised with parents who had an absence of drug addiction, alcoholism, and sexual abuse? What if the youth of today were inheriting the blessing of consistent faith in God and respect for authority nurtured by a loving father and mother? John Lennon “imagined” a world without religion, and we’re close to his godless goal with disastrous results. Blessings or curses, that’s the choice that was before Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 28, and it’s the same issue we face today.
