Empty, Swept & Garnished
Matthew 12:43-45
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.
This passage of scripture is one of utmost importance to those that have been freed from the bondage of demonic enslavement and to those Yah has given a ministry to set them free alike.
Yeshua is giving us insight to the behavior of demons and how they operate against us. Several things are happening here…the demon was cast out and was sent to dry places-(it was searching for REST which is what as children of Yah should already be ours, but that is for another blog,) it finds no rest and then it says that it is going to go “home”-the way that Yeshua describes it here is another key, demons consider humans to be their property, their home.
When they have a legal right, they will not want to go and if they do and proper measures aren’t taken, then Yeshua said what will happen-they come back to check-to see if they have an open door or window. If they have an opening (like sin being committed by the person that was delivered)-then they will go and get seven demons more wicked than themselves-note that it says “more wicked” meaning (and contrary to what many people think, who say that we should not discuss the ranking, etc of any demons since this is Yeshua Himself saying this), the new demons will be stronger and nastier. They will also be harder to remove.
Then the final description is that the state of the person is worse than the first. I believe wholeheartedly that people seeking deliverance need to meditate on this scripture. They need to be sure that they are ready to seek deliverance.
How do you know if you are ready?
1. Are you desperate?
2. Are you willing to be sober and vigilant?
3. Are you willing to take up your cross and run your race to the fullest?
If the answer to all three of those questions is not a resounding yes-then you are not ready for deliverance. You must be desperate. You must want change for yourself with everything inside of you.
Being sober and vigilant against our adversary who is seeking those he may devour-is not a “sometimes” occurrence…it is something that must be done on a continuous basis because the enemy is not taking a break. He doesn’t go on vacation. He knows that his time is short and they are all attacking with everything they have and so we must be on the offense to destroy everything they try to throw at us.
Yeshua asked us to take up our cross and follow Him. Have you ever really sat and thought about what He meant by this? I have a pretty good imagination and I can see this in my mind. Yeshua was forced to carry His cross and it ultimately led to His death. Him asking us to do so is Him saying that we have to be willing to carry HIS burden and follow Him-we must crucify our flesh-we must die to ourselves and all of the things that we try so hard to hang onto. Yeshua said if we lose our life we find it.
Paul said that he had fought the good fight of faith-who was he fighting? It was our common enemies. He said that he ran his race-he knew that we all have our own race to run-we have our own path that Yah has us on and Yeshua is up in heaven cheering us on-He is interceding for us at this very moment. He is whispering in His still small voice-”Keep going! You can do it! I’m right here with you!” He IS! His Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is here to be our paraclete – He is here to come alongside us and help us.
If you need deliverance-it can be yours and if you are free-you will be able to run without chains-without shackles-without the sin that so easily besets us. But you have to be sure. Your life will never be the same afterwards-it will be better than you could ever imagine.
Find the right deliverance ministry to help you. Find ministers that administer deliverance the Master’s way-with Love and care. This includes aftercare. A true and responsible deliverance minister will agree to help you afterwards as a guide. Deliverance should never be done with no followup. It’s dangerous and irresponsible as described in this passage we are discussing.
Now, if you are a deliverance minister and you a rough with people, if you do not heed the warning in the above passage-and you do deliverance to simply “show off”-then you have the wrong spirit and your probably have some other passengers to get rid of. If you get everyone and anyone delivered just because you can-then you are wrong my brother or sister and you need to repent for the damage you are causing people.
If you leave them with no help-then they will be even more demonized than before and if that person is not able to repent and be free before they die-their blood may be on your hands. This is a serious matter.
Deliverance is a gift from the Most High-being demonized is a natural occurrence after the fall of man. Those seeking deliverance and those administering it need to treat it as such. We need to heed the warning of this passage.
