ROLE OF THE ONE BEING HELPED (2)

Truth-telling is another major responsibility for a person being helped in a deliverance.

Jesus called satan "the father of lies." When we choose to act like satan in hiding or distorting truth, we give satan ground in which to act against us. Sometimes the mere stepping into truth about one's life and behavior is the turning point in attaining freedom.

A man brought his brother to me. Both were Christians, sons of a pastor. The subject brother's behavior had become uncharacteristically erratic and destructive. The nurturing brother sensed something supernatural at play. He suspected demonic presence.

I worked with the troubled brother for over an hour, with no success. No amount of praying, scripture reading, or commands of authority showed any reaction by evil. Finally, I said to the nurturing brother, "I think the Lord wants you to do this. He wants you to be your brother's keeper."

Instead of picking up where I left off, the nurturing brother encouraged his sibling to talk about his life, to reveal truthfully and confessionally any poor choices which had led him into sin. The troubled brother began to speak truthfully about a pattern of sexual deviancy which was spiralling downward, out of control and hurting others as well as himself. At the first confession of sin, the tormented brother doubled over on the couch where he was sitting, head almost to the floor, gagging and coughing as the first fleet of demons wracked his body on their way out. The pattern repeated himself for about thirty minutes. Confession - deliverance. Confession - deliverance. Confession - deliverance. Every time the afflicted brother confessed a sin, his body convulsed in deliverance and his old personna emerged clearer and clearer.

In spite of my best efforts earlier, simply stepping into honesty about his life became the catalytic agent of deliverance. The tormented man left my office exhausted, but free, his brother's arm around his shoulder as they walked to their car.

Deliverance team members have a great responsibility here, too. Confession only comes in an environment of grace. No judgement. No condemnation. No condescending self-righteousness. Demonically afflicted persons have already beaten themselves up pretty good. They don't need any help from pharisees. When grace is provided, confession is possible. Sometimes that's all that remains for freedom.