And, behold there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed (bent over) together, and could in no wise lift (raise) up herself – Luke 13:11. And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? – Luke 13:16.

Infirmity –  Greek (Asthenia)  feebleness of body or mind, frailty, weakness – This woman Jesus was speaking of had an infirmity, she wasn’t sick or diseased, but she was restricted, she couldn’t move the way she desired to, she was bent over, and couldn’t lift herself up. Several things are being said in these two Scriptures. This woman had an infirmity, in other words, her back was bent over for eighteen years. She was a woman of faith because she was one of Abraham’s daughters. The infirmity she had was something Satan had put on her, it wasn’t physical, and Jesus was going to heal her on the Sabbath day. Her spiritual leader didn’t discern it was a spirit and not an illness.Imagine, this woman was attending the Synagogue for eighteen years, in the eighteen years, she was attending she was bound by Satan although she was in the Synagogue. She was hearing the Word of God, but she was still bound. Those who were ministering the Word of God didn’t discern this woman being bound by Satan, they probably just thought she was bent over, and there was nothing else to it. Secondly, those that were worshipping God were not allowing the Spirit of God to flow freely, if that were the case, she wouldn’t have been bound for eighteen years without receiving deliverance, or it could have just been her appointed time to receive her healing.

The Church is a place where Christian believers gather together to worship and praise God. The Church is a place where people should be able to come and receive, healing and deliverance. It should be a place where people can come and feel loved when they can’t feel or receive love from anyone or anywhere else. The Church is a place where spiritual surgery should be performed. It’s a place where people should be able to come and touch the hem of Jesus garment as He passes through the pews, it’s a place where people should be able to come and receive a blood transfusion.

This poor woman was in the congregation of believers, and no one had discerned she was being attacked by Satan because they were looking at the outer appearance rather than in the Spirit. How many times do people attend church, and members of the church are bound by Satan and other demonic spirits, and we have church as usual, and no one is being set free? Something is wrong when you never feel or see the Spirit of God moving in the Sanctuary; gifts of the Spirit aren’t in operation, people joining the church, but don’t stay connected with the Church.

For Satan to have attacked the woman as long as he did, he knew she didn’t have spiritual power neither the ones who was ministering to her. When Jesus detected it was a spirit of infirmity, the ruler of the Synagogue didn’t want Jesus to heal on the Sabbath Day. The rulers were more concerned about a day rather than seeing the woman healed. Just as the ruler of the Synagogue was more concerned about a day than seeing the Spirit of God being manifested, we’re having the same thing happened today in our churches where people are more concerned about which day we suppose to attend church, dress attire people are wearing than hungering for the Spirit of God to move in the Sanctuary. The Spirit of God is not being manifested in the church because of what people wear; He’s not being manifested because of the sin in the congregation.

Throughout the Bible, you don’t read about one Sanctuary or Synagogue being a deliverance ministry or healing ministry. When the Spirit of God is indwelling us, there should be a manifestation of the Spirit of God being manifested through the Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit.  When leaders and people of God come into the Sanctuary and being on one accord; having the Spirit of God indwelling them, the Spirit of God will give a visitation and people will not leave the same way they came in. People are attending church and are bound and trying to bind those that are free! We’re more concerned about how a person is dressed than what’s going on in the heart of an individual (For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies – Matthew 15:19). If we can get the individuals heart right through the Spirit of God using us as an instrument when the heart receives righteousness everything else will begin to line up with the Word of God.  God is concerned about our spirit, not our dress-code or the day we have come together to worship Him. If a day were the case, Jesus wouldn’t have said when two or three or gathered in my name, there I’m I in the midst of them (For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them – Matthew 18:20). Satan doesn’t care whatever he can do to have us divided as long as we don’t come together in agreement; because he knows if we come together in agreement the Spirit of the Lord will be there to heal and answer prayers. So what he does, he has us in disagreement over things that are not about life and godliness or the Bible.

If we stop pointing the finger and blaming others and begin to fast and pray and ask God to show us ourselves that’s when the Spirit of God will begin to move in our Sanctuaries. (Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting (pointing) forth of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness – Isaiah 58:9), We’re too busy looking at someone else’s flaws rather than looking at our sins and flaws. How can we see someone else need, and we can’t see our need for Spiritual growth? We must first get the darkness out of us to see darkness in someone else life, and we must be filled with the Spirit of God. We need more than Him coming upon us every now then; we need Him to live in and through us.

When God shows us something about an individual, it’s for us to either to confront them with loving-kindness and to pray with them and for them, until they receive deliverance, it’s not for us go about telling everyone else about a person sins or flaws. The Holy Spirit will convict you, not condemn you! Let us as; get in a place with God where He will allow us to see those among us bound by Satan and through His Spirit set the captive free!

The church is where people should come to be set free, there is not a demon nor a sin greater than God. He has given the Body of Christ the precious impartation of the Holy Spirit to be used to set those who are bound by drugs, bound by evil spirits, whoever or whatever they are bound by.