DELIVERED & EMPTY IS A RECIPE FOR DEMONIC DISASTER

          Many people summon up the courage to leave their old lives behind. Folks who've been rescued from afflictions, addictions and abuse have taken a great first step to becoming whole in Christ. One thing remains and that's healing. Without healing the wound that caused the original need for deliverance, an open wound grows through emptiness.
          I want to begin by reading Scripture - a good place to begin, don’t you think? After the Scripture I will tell you a true story. Maybe it applies to me or you. For me - I know it applies.
Matthew 12:43-45 KJV
     “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45 MSG
     ““When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place. “That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.””
          Let me repeat the line:
      "That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place." 
          Last year I was heading out for a hike. At the end of my road were two people laying against a log appeared to be resting.  I smiled and waved as I walked by. The next day I walked by the same place, they were gone, but where they had rested was strewn with garbage including liquor bottles. There was also a letter indicating one of them had just been released from a court mandated rehab clinic. I felt sad and prayed. Whatever trouble they had been in, they had quickly returned to.

• The Devil searches for delivered folks who aren’t healed.
• Folks who’ve been delivered and not healed feel empty.
• The Devil sends his evil agent who caused the need for deliverance to check out the condition of the delivered one.
• Returning to the good heart where the deliverance occurred, he finds strewn with garbage unhealed, empty and vulnerable.
• The demonic agent grabs seven of his evil buddies and plans his vicious comeback.
• The seven workers of iniquity have been schooled in the evil arts of sinful persuasion.
• They are more evil than the first demon of possession; more hideous, more malicious and more likely to enlarge the emptiness of the delivered one.

          Enlarged emptiness creates a hunger and thirst for unworthiness and self-defeat. Sometimes we get to a place where life is good and troubles seem so far away. We go through life singing happy songs. “My hands are workin and my mind is clear. I got no trouble on my own two feet. What would you think about having such luck. It ain’t luck - Yeah - I’m all blessed up!” (Cheap Elvis imitation!)
Life is good.
And then suddenly...
Here's a few lines from a song by the Beatles called “Yesterday”
     "Yesterday, All my troubles seem so far away, Now I need a place to hide away
     Oh, I, I believe in yesterday, Suddenly, I ain't half the man I used to be, no
     There's a heavy, heavy shadow hanging over me, Yesterday, came suddenly."
Has your yesterday returned?
 
          Years ago I had a fear of failure, falling and not finishing. Falling backwards every time I neared the top - on a bridge, on a bike or in a car. This went on for years until one day I felt God speaking to me.  
Then God said, “I am at the top. I will bring you up and over. You cannot get to the top on your own power, but by My power I will climb the mountains of life.”
          God wants all of you to know that Jesus is the greatest Overcomer in the history of mankind. He was delivered from the cross to heal our sinful condition. Deliverance and healing go together.

• All of you are mountain climbers.
• If one of you falters along the way, I will leave the 99 and go help you.
• You are never alone, I will never leave you or forsake you. 
• You are a child of the most high God and I invite you to the high places.

           There are times in life when we don't feel worthy to accomplish all that God has called us to do. Gideon felt that way. The Lord answered him, "I will be with you."
Judges 6:11-16 ICB
“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under an oak tree at Ophrah. (fawn.) The oak tree belonged to Joash,(given by the Lord) who was one of the Abiezrite (my father is help) people. Joash was the father of Gideon (hewer, cutter down, a laborer) . Gideon was separating some wheat from the chaff in a winepress. Gideon did this to keep the wheat from the Midianites (strife). The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir. If the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? Our ancestors told us he did miracles. They told us the Lord brought them out of Egypt. But now he has left us. He has allowed the Midianites to defeat us.” The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “You have the strength to save the people of Israel. Go and save them from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.” But Gideon answered, “Pardon me, Lord. How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh. And I am the least important member of my family.” The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. It will seem as if you are fighting only one man.””
          We finished our class with a story and wisdom about boundaries from our Workbook, "Strong Men Great Dads." You can find those in pictures posted below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Seek healing or your latter days may be seven times worse than your former days.
          If you need healing, seek it. Begin in the Word, seek counseling and join a group like Celebrate Recovery. click on this link to - FIND A CELEBRATE RECOVERY NEAR YOU.
         Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Jesus loves you and so do we.

YWAP IS BIG ON MENTORING & COMMUNITY SERVICE! YWAP empowers people in Christ to become collaborators in a community effort to create a better world for children and their families. Investing in youth is a preemptive strike against sexual abuse, drug addiction and human trafficking. A fatherless generation is lacking the knowledge of a Father’s Love. Our goal is to help guys become Christ-centered men who respect women and accept the responsibilities of becoming a dad. We don’t hibernate in the Man Cave, we believe in Community Engagement through good neighborliness. We appreciate your prayers and support. For more information about YWAP programs, to volunteer or become a guest speaker, please call us at: 716-830-8240 or email, [email protected].