Seeing the Kingdom of God Released in Taiwan Through Healing and Deliverance
As I was thinking about this post I felt the Lord tell me, “It is hard to walk with a broken leg and it is difficult to release the Kingdom of God with a broken heart”.
This post has 4 sections: 1) Spiritual Deliverance, Emotional and Physical healing in Taiwan; 2) The Need to Renounce Demonic and Occultic Activity; 3) The Biblical Mandate to Heal and Cast out Demons; 4) Healing Is Important to Jesus But It Is Not the Most Important Thing.
Spiritual Deliverance, Emotional and Physical Healing in Taiwan
On March 15, 2017 Seumeon Kuon, Judy, and I landed at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan to teach and demonstrate spiritual deliverance, and emotional and physical healing to our Taiwanese brothers and sisters. Lest you get the wrong impression, even though Judy and I helped teach and pray during those two weeks, we had a lot to learn ourselves. But God was gracious, and we got to see and participate in many healing and deliverance miracles. People were strengthened in Christ and the Kingdom of God was released and advanced.
Shannell met us at the airport. She is an American missionary in Taiwan and has learned the language and her way around. She guided us on to the rail link between the airport and the High-Speed Rail station and accompanied us to our first training location – Kaohsiung City at the opposite end of the country. We reached our destination in about 90 minutes traveling at speeds up to 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph).
The next day we began the first of two training seminars. We met at the Sweet Home Church. The senior pastor is Pastor Eric. Our second training seminar was in another city – Taichung, at the City Celebration Church. The senior pastor there is Pastor Jenny. Between these two locations, we taught about 180 people from about 15 churches.
Each training seminar generally followed the same format and lasted 4 or 5 days. The first few days we taught emotional healing with one or two demonstrations and several practice sessions for the participants. This was followed by one day on spiritual deliverance. A half-day was devoted to physical healing including several practice sessions. This last module is the easiest to teach and the simplest and least time consuming for the participants to practice. Seumean also taught for one day on spiritual gifts at the Sweet Home church.
Each of the modules is very easy to learn. One of the key goals of the training was to leave the participants with the knowledge they needed to teach and conduct this training on their own once we left. Seumean, Judy, and I also prayed for many people over the two weeks. I am not sure how many Seumean prayed for, but together Judy and I prayed for about 20 people. Sometimes she conducted prayer sessions herself. Other times we did them together. Occasionally we would sit in a session led by Seumean.
Every time we prayed for someone for spiritual deliverance or emotional healing that person got some freedom – 100 % of the time. We saw God deliver people from anger, fear, anxiety, depression, unforgiveness, shame, and other destructive emotions. We saw God set people free from spiritual oppression resulting from ancestor worship, worship of other gods, suicidal thoughts, sexual immorality, abortions, hatred, sexual abuse, physical abuse, abandonment, participation in the occult, extreme fear, soul ties, and other traumas I can’t remember. God also set people free from pain including chronic pain, and in some cases healed from physical infirmities like deafness and an inability to smell.
Generally, when a person sat down for a prayer session, which usually lasted between one and a half to three hours, they were crying, sad, depressed, or ‘blank’. For sure, they were not smiling. When they left they were almost always laughing, smiling, and telling us how much peace, freedom, and joy they were experiencing. We went through a lot of tissues. Even men wept. For some, these were new emotions. Even people who were depressed and had tried to take their lives many times experienced freedom and joy.
How long does this freedom last? Most of the people we prayed for will need more than one prayer session. But Seumean met people he had prayed for last year who were in desperate need of healing then. This year, they are still joyful. Some are now serving in their church, even leading worship.
Seumean told the class at the beginning of each session – “It sounds too good to be true. I know that you do not believe me. But at the end of the training you will believe me.” He was right. This way of healing broken, even shattered, hearts is not counseling. It allows Jesus to speak directly into a person’s heart. I was continually amazed at how Jesus showed up and spoke to each person, and how the peace they received was His gift to them. Many had visions. Most asked the same question – “Is this my imagination, or is Jesus really speaking to me?” It was Jesus. And the proof? They experienced life and freedom, not condemnation and shame.
There are many ways of healing the broken hearted. This is not the only way. But it is an effective way. The people who need healing don’t want to hear my opinion or my thoughts on what they need to do. They only want to hear from Jesus. And almost all of the time that is what happened.
The Need to Renounce Demonic and Occultic Activity
We encountered a problem not unique to Taiwan, but it is big there. Temples are everywhere. Most are Buddhist temples but many other gods are worshiped there as well. Few of the Taiwanese that we prayed for were raised in Christian homes. Most were taken to the temples when they were children. I prayed for one man who was dedicated as a child to be ‘a son of Buddha’. He was filled with fear.
In our experience, any type of participation with the gods in these temples resulted in nightmares, extreme fear, depression, and other types of spiritual and emotional oppression. In these cases, spiritual deliverance through renunciation/repentance was necessary before they could experience freedom or peace. There is a price to pay when we let other gods into our lives. Maybe not immediately, but with time the darkness begins to overwhelm our hearts. I am no expert, but we saw that renunciation of the worship of these gods was the single most important step to spiritual and emotional freedom and joy for the people that we prayed for in Taiwan.
There is a reason God told the Israelites. “You shall not bow down to other gods or serve them”. Not just because God is jealous. But because bowing down opens doors into our hearts allowing demonic oppression.
Paul admonishes the Corinthians:
“The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10: 20 – 22 NIV).
Paul is describing practices that in America today would fall under the category of ‘the occult’. In the Bible, the occult is any practice that tries to gain supernatural power, abilities, or knowledge apart from God and His Holy Spirit.
The occult is alive and well in American culture. We have allowed the occult in the form of Satanism, witchcraft, sorcery, and wizardry to invade our lives at many levels. TV shows and movies about witches, black magic, zombies, books about wizardry, even children flying around on brooms are not innocent – they open doors into our hearts allowing spirits to oppress us. Eastern meditation, yoga, and other types of new age spirituality can do incredible spiritual and emotional damage because we give oppressive spirits permission to enter our lives. Fortune telling, horoscopes, Ouija boards, and palm reading all seem like harmless fun. They are not harmless.
Americans have become desensitized to the occult – we even see witchcraft in many Disney TV shows and movies. Many Americans have pictures, statues, or carvings in their homes connected with the occult or other gods, and believe these things are “no big deal” or “they are art”. I know I sound crazy. But even in the short time I have been doing spiritual deliverance, I have seen the devastating effects of giving these ‘harmless’ diversions or objects our time and attention.
In Deuteronomy 18, God warns Israel and us:
“Let no one be found among you who . . . practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18: 10 – 12 NIV).
I believe that Moses is not just warning about practicing divination or sorcery, but also about giving these ‘detestable’ things our time and attention, including watching TV and movies, and reading books.
Renouncing these practices was a critical part of spiritual and emotional healing in Taiwan. In our experience, the same is true in America. This is one way that Christians defeat the power of satan, push back the darkness, and defeat the power of evil.
I know some Christians are afraid of ‘hearing’ from Jesus, fearing that they might be hearing from the devil instead. Jesus will always speak words of life, and His words will never contradict Scripture. Once you experience this healing, you will know – it was Jesus. I suppose there are even Christians who believe that God does not speak directly to them – the only way to hear His voice is through His word in Scripture. That is a good way to hear from God, but not the only way. God speaks to us. We just need the ‘ears’ to hear.
The Biblical Mandate to Heal and Cast out Demons
At one point in our training the pastor of the church we were visiting began to weep. When Seumean asked why the pastor was weeping, the pastor answered, “I never knew there was so much hurt and pain in the hearts of the members of my church”. I don’t think that condition is unique to Taiwan.
Jesus wants us to be healed emotionally, spiritually, and physically. He told us that in His manifesto. He told His disciples to go and heal. And Jesus made it clear in His Great Commission that His Church is to go into the world and carry out all of His commands – including His command to His disciples to ‘go’, heal the sick and cast out demons.
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me . . . “ (Luke 4: 16 –18 NIV).
The full text of Isaiah 61: 1 reads:
“The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those how grieve in Zion” (Isaiah 61: 1, 2 NIV).
Some call this passage, which is included in Luke 4: 16 – 21, Jesus’ manifesto. Jesus concludes this monumental chapter in Luke with these words, “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent” (Luke 4: 43 NIV). Why was Jesus sent? To preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God, which if you take Luke 4 literally, begins with healing the sick and casting out demons.
In these next two passages, Jesus sends the disciples and then the seventy-two out with a command: “Go! Heal the sick and cast out demons.” This was the first and greatest assignment He had given them up to that time. They came back exclaiming with joy, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10: 17 NIV).
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach (which means to ‘proclaim the gospel’) the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9: 1, 2 NIV).
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out two by two ahead of Him . . . Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves’ . . . Heal the sick who are there and tell them the Kingdom of God is near you” (Luke 10: 1 – 9 NIV).
Jesus summarizes all of this in the Great Commission, where He tells the disciples:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28: 19, 20 NIV).
And what was one of His most memorable commands to them? Go! Heal the sick and cast out demons. If the Church goes as Jesus commanded, then we will heal diseases and deliver people from demonic oppression. If the book of Acts is any indication, healing is a powerful tool for evangelism. In this way, the Kingdom will be released. People will walk in joy and freedom! Without this type of freedom – for both the disciple-maker and the disciple-receiver – it is difficult to make disciples.
Healing Is Important to Jesus, but It Is Not the Most Important Thing
But, while healing is important to Jesus, it is not the ultimate objective. The ultimate objective for Jesus, and therefore for us, is the restoration of the world, the defeat of the devil. In other words, releasing the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the world to take back the territory, push back the darkness, and defeat the power of satan. Jesus has called the Church to accomplish these objectives in partnership with Him. This requires that we, His Church, be healed and whole ourselves. Angry, ashamed, and brokenhearted Christians cannot hear God; or at least cannot hear Him clearly. We typically hear another voice saying, “you are not good enough, your situation is hopeless, you are powerless.” We walk in fear. And if we cannot hear God, we cannot obey God. And if we cannot obey, we cannot partner with Him to accomplish His mission.
Healing is not just a by-product of Christianity. It is at the heart of the gospel. We heal in Jesus’ name for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Spiritual deliverance and emotional healing are how Jesus sets us free from darkness and bondage. And only the Church can do it, because deep, permanent, and perfect healing comes from Jesus. But if healing becomes an end in itself; if we make healing our source of value, the ‘thing’ that most excites us in our walk with Jesus, we have missed the mark. And missing the mark is one definition of sin.
In my next post I want to share how I met Jesus in Taiwan.
John