The Children's Bread: A Biblical Theology of Deliverance

What's going on family and welcome to video number one, the children's bread, a biblical theology of deliverance. So over the next seven sessions, I'm going to take you on a journey through one of the most misunderstood, most neglected, and most desperately needed dimensions of ministry in the body of Christ, the ministry of deliverance. Before we get into the how, before we talk about demons, before we talk about methods and manifestations, we need to lay a foundation because if you build a deliverance ministry on experience alone and not the word of God, you can actually become dangerous. So we start here. We start with scripture. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 15. We're going to talk about a Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus. Her daughter is severely demonized and watch what happens in verse 22. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to him, Jesus, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon possessed. Matthew 15, 22. Now watch. Jesus does not respond immediately. The disciples want to send her away. She is persistent. She worships him. And then Jesus says something that will frame this entire course. Verse 26. But he answered and said, it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. Matthew 15, 26. Catch this. Jesus called deliverance bread, not dessert, not a side dish, not a special conference event that happens once a year. Bread and not just any bread, the children's bread. That means if you're a child of God, deliverance is part of your daily diet. It belongs to you. It is your covenant right. The reason the church is malnourished in the area of spiritual freedom is because we took the bread off the table. We got so sophisticated, so seeker friendly, so concerned with optics that we stopped doing what Jesus did in nearly every town he entered, casting out devils. Let me show you something that should stagger you. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus's first public miracle was a deliverance. Mark chapter one, verses 23 through 26. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit and he cried out saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? And now, I'm sorry, and know who you are, the holy one of God. Even they recognize that. But Jesus rebuked him saying, be quiet and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Mark chapter one, verse 23 through 26. His first public act of ministry was not a sermon series. It was not a worship night. It was a confrontation with the demonic spirit in the synagogue, no less. In the church building, right? Let that sit with you. The first place Jesus did deliverance was in the house of God and it did not stop there. Mark

chapter one, verse 32 through 34. At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him. Mark chapter one, verses 32 through 34. Healing and deliverance were twin ministries in the life of Jesus. You almost never see one without the other. That is because sickness and demonic oppression are often connected. Not always, but often. Luke chapter 13 gives us the account of the woman with a spirit of infirmity. Bound for 18 years and Jesus did not prescribe medicine. He said, woman, you are loosed from your infirmity. And when he identified the source, he said Satan had bound her. Now let me take you to the Greek because this is where it gets good. The word deliverance in the new Testament comes from several Greek words and each one reveals a different dimension of what God does when he sets someone free. The first and most important is sozo spelled S O Z O. This is the most often translated word as saved in the new Testament. But sozo does not just mean saved from hell. It means saved, healed, delivered, made whole, preserved, and rescued. When you got born again, sozo was at work. When you got healed, sozo is at work. When a demon is cast out of you, sozo is at work. God never intended salvation to be one dimensional. It was never intended to be a one dimensional experience. He intended it to be a total spirit, soul, and body. The second word is the word ramoe, which means to draw to oneself, to rescue, deliver from danger. And that's the word used in Colossians 1, verse 13. The book of Colossians 1, verse 13. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of his love. Right? Colossians 1, verse 13. Verse 13, the word delivered again is the word raomei, God reached into the domain of darkness and pulled you out. This is not passive, this is an active violent rescue operation. You were not gently transitioned, you were snatched from enemy territory. And the third word is eluthero, which means to liberate, to set free, to make free. Jesus used this word in John 8 36.

Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed, right? John 8 36, book of John chapter eight, verse 36. That word free carries the idea of permanent, complete liberation. Not managed, not coping, free, indeed, truly, completely. So when we talk about deliverance, we're not talking about some fringe ministry for people who are just really messed up. We are talking about the core mission of Jesus Christ. Luke chapter four, verse 18 makes this unmistakable. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, Luke 4 18. This was the mission statement of Jesus. This is what he stood up in the synagogue of Nazareth and declared and noticed the progression, preach the gospel, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, recover sight to the blind and set at liberty. The gospel is not complete without deliverance. You cannot preach a full gospel and leave out freedom. Now let me bring this full circle. Deliverance is not just a New Testament concept. The entire Old Testament is a deliverance narrative. What was the exodus? God delivering his people from the bondage of Pharaoh,

who is a type of Satan. What were the plagues? A confrontation with the demonic principalities over Egypt. Exodus chapter 12 verse 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast and against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. Exodus 12 12. God said, I am executing judgment against the gods of Egypt. The plagues were not random. Each plague targeted a specific Egyptian deity. The Nile literally turning into blood was a judgment against Hapi, the god of the Nile. Darkness was a judgment against Ra, the sun god. The death of the firstborn was a judgment against Pharaoh himself, who was considered a god. The exodus was the first mass deliverance in scripture. God breaking the power of demonic systems over an entire nation. And here's the principle that carries throughout the whole Bible. God's people were never meant to live in bondage. Not in Egypt, not in Babylon, and not under demonic oppression in the 21st century. So as we begin this course, I need you to understand something. Deliverance is not weird. It's not extreme.

It's biblical. Deliverance is the children's bread and it is time for the children of God to eat. In your next session, we're gonna go deep into the realm of the enemy, demonic hierarchy, spirit types, and how to identify what you're dealing with. But for now, let this truth anchor you. Jesus came to set the captives free. That includes you. That includes your family. That includes every person sitting in your church who was smiling on the outside and tormented on the inside. The bread is on the table. It is time to eat. See you in the next course video.