Part 3: Deliverance to Freedom

William / June 19, 2023

This is the final of my 3-part testimony. After finally surrendering my life to Jesus, part 3 explains how I went from deliverance to freedom!

This part is not meant to give step-by-step guidance because every situation is different. I just wanted to share the results to show the before and after. All I had to do is surrender. The Lord took it from there. It was as if I was no longer in the driver’s seat but a passenger observing Jesus putting all the broken pieces back together.

Post-Deliverance

I concluded the rest of the deliverance retreat and then drove home. There wasn’t a bang moment where everything changed immediately. It was all a slow progression that I wouldn’t notice until I would see it in retrospect. There were many changes, however, in the following 18 months.

Hell

Fornication

How I ever justified this activity is beyond me. The Bible is so clear on this topic. I was deceived by demonization and didn’t want to believe it was wrong. My enslavement to sin was too strong to resist. I assumed God understood that and turned a blind eye. Now that the Holy Spirit had full reign, He was not going to allow this to continue. He began to convict me heavily of this behavior. He would intervene while I was trying to make plans. A fellow Christian might text me out of nowhere or Holy Spirit would do something small just to let me know He was watching. After about three attempts I got the point and stopped permanently.

Soul-ties

Due to my past sinful lifestyle, I had numerous unhealthy attachments or soul-ties to other people. The Bible says that when a man and woman engage physically they become one flesh. This is great if it’s in marriage but a disaster in any other case. You are taking on baggage that another person might have. The person remains attached even if you never speak to them again. You are open to the demons they have let into their lives. These soul-ties can be renounced and the blood of Jesus Christ can break them. I preceded to write down every name I could think of and went through this process for all of them.

Religious Spirit

Sensitivity

I could no longer watch the entertainment that I previously did. There was zero tolerance for taking the Lord’s name in vain, cursing, sexual content, and any darkness. A radical change occurred in what went into my eyes and ears. I could no longer listen to secular music, trading it for praise and worship. While I try to find family-friendly entertainment, many times I just settle for the Andy Griffith Show.

Tithing

I had never previously fully committed to this practice. Occasionally I would as an investment, hoping that it would bless my finances. I began to be convicted about tithing permanently but kept dismissing it. It became such a burden that I finally decided I’d rather be more in the red than continue to resist this. My finances had tanked for some reason right after my deliverance. Once I started this practice, my financial situation did an immediate 180-degree turn. I had an abundance that far exceeded my previous life of not tithing. When we tithe, we are blessed financially. God will also rebuke the devourer for our sake. I had never believed that this practice would bless me so much until I experienced it directly. I have continued to give generously in offerings and increase the tithes above the minimum 10 percent.

Baptism of the Spirit & Tongues

I desired to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues. I approached and asked a group of Christians at my church to help. They gathered around me and started praying for me to receive this gift. Many were also speaking in tongues. The person guiding me said I would need to start speaking something as an act of faith. I gulped and told the Lord that I desperately need His help here. The worry was that nothing would happen and it would be embarrassingly awkward. As I began to utter it, an unknown language began to flow out. The group erupted in joyful praise. The Holy Spirit came down and washed over all of us. It was ecstatic love, joy, and peace. I still use this prayer on a regular basis.

Wings of Refuge

This is a free prophetic counseling ministry that I started visiting in Louisville, KY. After you sign up, a prayer team will start receiving prophetic words about you from the Holy Spirit. They encouraged me to stop fixating on hell and using fear as entertainment. They encouraged me to not stop speaking in tongues, as I had begun to talk myself out of it. They called me out for judging God which I had been very guilty of. They helped heal wounds and broke chains and soul ties. They focused on familial wounds and healing. This process was at times uncomfortable but helped tremendously.

Lust

This was a life-long struggle but the Lord began to slowly give me power over sexual sin. Initially, it wasn’t that easy but the conviction was so powerful it motivated me to find a creative solution. I installed software from Accountable2You on all of my electronic devices. This will alert another person anytime you attempt to look at anything of a sexual nature. It will also put up a firewall that will prevent you from seeing anything. Over time, the battle lessened more and more. I believe being baptized in the Holy Spirit was the turning point in finally having the power to say no to the enemy.

Wholeness

I haven’t yet attended the Wholeness Retreat at Bear Creek but plan to in the future. This process is meant to provide deeper healing and freedom following deliverance from demonization. The demons will attach to trauma and rejection and prevent the person from resolving it. Once the demons are gone, the wounds now lay open and must be dealt with and resolved. It’s like an alcoholic who stops drinking. For so many years he used alcohol as a crutch. Once he stops, now the battle is about living life without the substance. So it is with demonization. I was able to receive several months of wholeness counseling from a deliverance counselor at Crossroads Church. The main healing I received was from CFC.

CFC Ministries

CFC or Come Follow Christ Ministries is another ministry located in Georgia. Here I learned about intimacy with God and the secret place. I learned how to take every thought captive and not let my brain be in the way of my relationship with the Lord.

A major part of this process was going through prayers to renounce Freemasonry in my bloodline. The Holy Spirit revealed that my ancestors were part of this demonic organization. It had placed curses on my life that they showed me how to renounce.

I learned the process of how to lay things on the altar at Jesus’ feet. When events or people cause us trauma we can do this. We release and forgive them, forgive ourselves, forgive God, and break off the spirits associated with it. They showed me how to sever soul ties, especially unhealthy ones. All lost pieces must be cleansed in the Blood of Christ and returned by the power of the Holy Spirit. I went through this process with many people and situations. I finally was able to break a very unhealthy soul tie with my mother.

7-year Process

I was fired from the corporate job on 3/28/14. I arrived in Georgia for CFC on 3/28/21, exactly 7 years later. God had taken me through a 7-year process of deliverance and healing. For the year period before going to CFC, every day I would see the number 7. It was usually while traveling to my very discouraging job. I’d always look down at the GPS while exactly 7 miles from work. The Lord was showing me that this part of the journey was about to be complete. He’s so compassionate and full of love and knew I needed that encouragement.

I’m still trying to understand exactly what happened while at CFC. I went through so many prayers and prophetic healing my head was spinning. It was the final major step in my healing process because immediately after my life drastically changed. A few months later I met my current wife and my job situation drastically changed for the better. That 7-year chapter finally ended but a new one started.

Conclusion

When I started looking into Bear Creek, there was a lot of resistance. If you are considering this, prepare for that also from individuals and circumstances. It was unbelievable how other Christians tried to talk me out of it and assumed I was just looking for a shortcut. I’m so glad I pushed through and didn’t listen. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It didn’t eliminate the battle of the Christian life, it simply gave me a fighting chance. Now when the enemy sends temptation, I feel like I have a choice. Prior there wasn’t one. As soon as the temptation would enter my head, it was certain I would succumb.

I’m starting to finally understand what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light”.

This testimony is meant to try and help those who are not experiencing rest and are weary of white-knuckling their Christian walk. You don’t have to go through life in a cycle of works, failure, and condemnation. Jesus wants to carry the burden for you and He will!