The Lord has been reminding me lately of a truth I know well, but still sometimes forget.  It is the authority with which we speak as children of God.  Sometimes my prayers feel powerless and my commands seem to have little impact.  Sometimes I begin to forget who I am in Christ and feel totally ineffective. I begin to feel as if my words don’t matter. Sometimes I need a refresher course in the power God has entrusted to his people. 

The first chapter of Jeremiah is incredibly instructive about the power of our words.  Early in the chapter, God reveals to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer.1:5).  Like many others called by God, Jeremiah’s first response was, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young!” Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, and others strenuously objected when God called them to their destiny.  Each felt inadequate.  Each was acutely aware of his weakness.

But then God goes on to say, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.  You must go to everyone I send you and say whatever I command you…I have put my words in your mouth. See. today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and over throw, to build and to plant’” (Jer. 1:7-10).  

As you read the remained for the book, you discover that Jeremiah never led an army or directed a revolution.  Yet, by simply declaring the words of the Lord, he launched initiatives in the heavenly realms that tore down nations and built them up.  God could have certainly done those things without any prophet declaring them.  But God chose to use men to whom he had given authority on this earth. God waited on his people to declare what he was going to do before he would do it.  God honors the authority he has given us.

Remember, God’s original intent was to give men who represented Him dominion and authority over all the works of his hands (Ps. 8:6). Jesus demonstrated that perfectly in his ministry.  He walked in the Father’s authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, multiply bread and fish, and still the squalls of the Sea of Galilee…with words.  Then he gave authority to his disciples, who also healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demon…with words. Jesus then declared that those who would follow and believe in him would not only do what he had been doing but would do even greater things (Jn.14:12).…with words.

As followers of Jesus, our words have power and authority.  But how often do we feel helpless and weak.  In a sense, just as Jeremiah recognized his own inadequacy, we too are inadequate by ourselves.  But, like Jeremiah, God makes us adequate by giving us and our words authority and backing up that authority with the power of heaven.  Our failure is to focus on our own abilities rather than His.

When we pray, we pray with authority.  When we command demons, we do so with authority.  When we command illness, we do so with authority.  Certainly, the outcome is not always immediate or automatic.  ‘There are many times we must contend for the outcome with persistence, faith, and fervor.  But when we are aligned with God’s word and will, then it is his word going forth from our mouths just as it was with Jeremiah. Then the promise is that whenever God’s word goes forth, it always fulfills its purpose.  

In the moments when you feel weak and are on the verge of giving up, remember who you are and the authority God has granted you. His word does the work, but we are the ones who must declare it. As followers of Jesus, we walk in authority.  When we are aligned with the Father, heaven heeds our words and the spiritual realm moves on our behalf. The key to authority is believing that we possess it as representative of Christ on the earth. From time to time, I encourage you to refresh your faith and remember who you are because of Him.

In judges 6, we find one of the great stories of the Old Testament…the story of Gideon.  As the chapter opens, we are told that because of Israel’s sin, God gave had given them into the hands of the Midianites, who severely oppressed Israel for seven years.  This was a familiar cycle in the life of Israel.  God would give them victory over their enemies and bless the land with fruitfulness.  But after a few years of blessing, Israel would forget God and reject his commands.  They often pursued the “gods” of the nations around them and slipped fatally into idol worship. In an effort to turn the nation back to him, God would then discipline them by letting their enemies oppress them once again.  They would then cry out to God and repent.  In response, God would raise up a man or woman as a judge over Israel who would lead them in victories over their enemies and restore their freedom. After a season of blessing, they would turn away from God once more.

In Judges 6, the people began to cry out to God again and he raised up an unlikely champion to lead them in battle against the Midianites. If you read the account, you will see that Gideon was highly resistant to the call of God to lead the nation, but finally began to trust Jehovah and won Israel’s freedom.  When God first commissioned Gideon to lead his people, his initial command was for Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it (Judges 6:25).  Baal was the god of fertiltiy and Ashera was his concubine. He was then ordered to build a proper altar to God in place of the pagan altar.

The Old Testament is clear that behind every altar and idol was a demonic spirit.  When the pagans offered sacrifices on these altars and prayed to their “gods,” demons were released to fulfill the desires of the worshipper.  You may recall in Numbers 22, that Balak asked Balaam to place a curse on Israel so that he might defeat them in battle.  Hoping that God would give him permission to do so, he built seven altars.  We are told that Balaam was a sorcerer and we can safely assume that he would have offered sacrifices on those altars and called on the powers of darkness to wage war against Israel if he had the opportunity. God did not allow him to do so, but it was in his heart to do it if he could.

Here is the principle.  When demonic assignments are made from an altar dedicated to demons, the assignment stands as long as the altar stands.  The demon is honored and empowered by the sacrifices made on that altar. In addition, the altar Gideon destroyed was a family altar that would have continued to give demons access to Gideon.  Perhaps, that is where his initial fear and doubt came from. That is one reason God always commanded the altars to be utterly destroyed.  Not only would remaining altars tempt Israel to begin to worship at them again, but their assignments against Israel would stand as well.  

You cannot maintain peaceful coexistence with demons. By their very nature, their only intent is to kill, steal and destroy. While you ignore them, they are plotting new strategies for your destruction. That is why Israel cannot trust in treaties made with their enemies because their enemies are not just driven by politics but by the dark forces of evil.  Any treaty simply allows the enemy to regroup and rearm themselves for the next inevitable attack.  

We would also be naïve to believe that there are not thousands of demonic altars operating in America right now where witches and warlocks are offering sacrifices and repeating incantations in an effort to curse God’s people, his churches, and those who stand for life, biblical values, and freedom in this nation.  We need a worldviews that includes spiritual dimensions for Paul says our true battle is not against flesh and blood but the spiritual powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12).

As I mentioned earlier, we cannot peacefully coexist with these agents of darkness.  We need to be clear that there is more than politics going on with these agendas.  We are not to hate the men and women Satan is using for his enterprise, for they are truly deceived. But we must resist and take back the territory that has been relinquished in this nation to Satan in the arenas of government, media and education. Prayer and spiritual warfare will need to increase among God’s people.   Holiness and alignment with the Lord will have to mark our churches.  We will need to begin to operate in the authority of Jesus Christ at a much higher level if we are going to be the instruments God uses to restore America.  Ultimately, turning the followers of Satan into followers of Jesus is our best strategy to save this nation.  

If this sounds like an impossible task, it is not. In Acts 19, Paul preached the gospel in Ephesus which was a stronghold of witchcraft and pagan worship. God did “extraordinary miracles through Paul” (Acts 19:8) in that city. .  As a result, a godly fear fell on the population and the name of Jesus was held in honor.  We are told that a number of sorcerers brought their scrolls and burned them in the public square. Many Satanists have come to Jesus already in America.  A Satanist does not have to be convinced of the reality of Jesus. He or she already believes that. What they need to discover is that Jesus is more powerful than Satan.  Once they discover his power, they know they have been deceived by the prince ion this world and they quickly embrace the kingdom of light. In view of that, the church must begin to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit more than ever before and tear down and utterly destroy the altars of demons in this nation. 

The future of America and even this election will not be determined by politics but by spiritual warfare on both sides.  We must pray, fast, declare, and evangelize if this nation is to stand.  I hope we will all take our assignment seriously at the altar of the Lord.  

Throughout the gospels, Jesus healed people in every village and crowd. On numerous occasions, he healed them by casting out a an unclean spirit. Typically, it was a spirit of infirmity or a deaf and dumb spirit. These spirits manifested as physiological conditions. Among those who were healed when spirits were cast out were the deaf, the mute, the blind, those with chronic back problems and those who suffered from seizures and mental illness.

As you scan the gospels, these healings by deliverance were fairly common. When the spirit was cast out, the source of the condition was removed and healing followed quickly. These spirits produced conditions that mimicked real physiological and psychological conditions. But Jesus and his disciples knew the difference.

In his gospel, Matthew records, “Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics; and He healed them” (Mt.4:24; NKJV). Later Matthew tells us about a father who sought the Lord for is son. “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water” (Mt. 17:15; NKJV). In that case, Jesus drove out a deaf and dumb spirit and the boy was healed.

Over the past few years we have seen many healed as a result of deliverance. Two of those we have seen healed were told by doctors if they could not find the cause of the illness their lives were in jeopardy because their health was deteriorating so quickly, One woman was in her 40’s and had already been told by doctors to quit her job and stop driving. She was weak. She could not lift her hands above her shoulders and she was losing ground quickly. After visiting with her, we discovered that she had been raped in college, but had never told anyone. She had not forgiven the rapist…a professor of hers. She had not forgiven herself because she felt partly to blame. After forgiving him and herself and after breaking soul ties with him, we cast out a spirit of infirmity. She could immediAtely raise her arms above her head and within a week was back at work and driving again. Ten years later she is still going strong.

A second woman told us that the doctors had given her only months to live but they could not diagnose the source of her illness. Her health was simply deteriorating at a rapid pace. After visiting with her, the Lord revealed that a witch was putting a curse on her. Immediately, she knew who the woman was that was directing demonic spirits against her. After breaking the curse and casting out a spirit of infirmity, her health was restored within weeks.

Certainly, not every illness or condition is demonic. But many are…especially those that defy diagnosis or treatments that are usually affective. When you pray for people to be healed, be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. If you sense a leading that the illness is spiritual, then deliverance is in order. If, as you begin to pray, the pain gets worse or begins to move around within the person, that definitely suggests a spirit’s involvement.

Sometimes we are hesitant to bring up the possibility of demonic affliction because it seems too weird or we think it will “freak out” the person we are praying for. But their healing is worth it. However, before commanding any spirit to leave, a brief interview is in order. You may need to visit with them too see if they were ever involved in witchcraft or occult activities of any kind; if there is someone they need to forgive; or if their is a sin they need to confess and repent of. Those things can give the afflicting spirit a right to be there and so that right needs to be removed before deliverance.

Deliverance is not always instantaneous. In fact, that is the exception. Usually you will need to command a spirit several times as well as declare the Lord’s authority over that spirit before it will leave. The spirit will often resist in an effort to tire you out or intimidate you so you give up. But persist. If the spirit continues to remain after a reasonable amount of time, you may need to visit more to see if there is something else giving the enemy a right to continue the affliction. Those rights are often found in the sins of the fathers or, in our culture today, the source may be witchcraft targeting the individual. If you can discover who might hold a grudge agains the sick individual, you may know the source. If a wrong has prompted the curse, then the sick person can repent and do their best to make amends. You can then cancel the curse by the blood of Jesus and cancel any assignment a demon might have on that person. Then you can drive out the enemy.

What I find among believers is that we often jump right into healing prayer without discovering whether there is some sin that may hinder our prayer or some spirit that is the source of the illness. Taking a few minutes to ask the right questions can make your prayer and ministry much more effective. Blessings in Him.

We usually take great pleasure when our enemy falls or fails.  After all, they would delight in our demise as well.   We may take their defeat as personal vindication or as a triumph of justice.  The following scripture adds a different dimension to our reaction that we should consider:

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. Proverbs 24:17-18

We know that David was deemed to be “a man after God’s own heart,” so his life should be instructive to us.  King Saul falsely accused David of wanting his thrown and made numerous attempts to kill him.  Finally, when Israel engaged in battle against the Philistines, Saul and his three sons are killed. Saul had relentlessly hunted David and his men for several years.  David had been forced to live in the desert wilderness during that time with the threat of death hanging over his head daily.  

When the report of Saul’s death reached David, it seems it would have been cause for celebration, but his response was somewhat unexpected.  The text says, “Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan…” (2 Sam. 1:11-12). Saul would have gladly killed all of them if he had been given the opportunity.  He had branded them as outlaws and many had been separated from their families for months or years because of Saul’s jealousies. And yet, instead of celebrating they mourned.

This response reveals the heart of God toward those who oppose him.  Sometimes we view God as an angry God who takes delight in destroying the wicked. However, God laments, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live” (Ezek. 18:23).

This does not suggest we cannot celebrate a victory, but our heart towards our defeated enemies must be one of compassion rather than vengeance.  We should, at least, regret the loss of what could have been if a nation or person had taken a different path.  We might regret the fact that a wicked man will never have an opportunity to repent and be saved if his life is taken. The key is to value all men and women who have been made in the image of God and to mourn or regret what could have been if other decisions had been made.  Remember, Jesus still calls us to “love our enemies.”

As we enter the last few months of this heated election season, it might be good to remember that those who hold very different views than we hold are still made in the image of God and are still loved by him.  Some may even be destroyed politically in this season and we, as God’s people, should not gloat or rejoice at their demise.  Instead, we might that God might use their humiliation to bring them to a place of repentance and salvation if needed. 

We see wickedness in this world and want it to be defeated.  That is a godly desire.  But how we view those we see as enemies is a place where we all need to guard our hearts.  I am sure that you, like me, would love for God to say that we are a man or woman after God’s own heart.