In the realm of spiritual warfare, we often hear conversations about making declarations over a circumstance or a person. So…what is a declaration anyway and why and what should we declare?

The spiritual realm operates on the basis of authority. As followers of Jesus, we live under grace, but the rest of creation operates under law. Law operates on the basis of authority. That is one reason the New Testament speaks so often about the authority of Christ. As he commanded his followers to go into all the world and make disciples, Jesus himself declared, “All authority in heaven and in earth has been given unto me” (Mt.28:18). Later Paul taught, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Eph.1:19-21). Jesus has all authority and has delegated a measure of his authority to us.

As representatives of Christ on the earth, when we declare the word of God or the name of God over a situation we establish our legal ground and our authority for prayers or commands that follow. As representatives of Jesus on earth, we have been given authority to do what he would do in the same circumstance. The most important declaration we make is, “In the name of Jesus.” The Pharisees asked Jesus by what authority he baptized, cleansed the temple, and performed miracles. He stated that he had authority because he represented the Father. In the same way, we act in the authority of Jesus Christ and should clearly state that truth when we command sickness, infirmity, or demons to depart. We preach in his name, we baptize in his name, we heal in his name, and we command spirits in his name.

To attempt to operate in our own authority is a dangerous thing. In the book of Acts we are told, “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:13-16).

When we declare the word of God and the name of God over a circumstance, we not only release his authority but also confirm our authority to work on his behalf. In other words, we declare that we are acting in his authority and that what we are doing is lawful for us to do. That is not too different from FBI agents showing up, displaying their credentials to establish that they are representatives of the federal government, and then producing a warrant which demonstrates that what they are about to do is lawful.

God assured Israel that if they were careful to obey his covenant and stayed aligned with his word, then he would exercise his authority through them and give them every place they “set their feet” (Dt.11:24). The Hebrew phrase translated as “set their feet” embodies the idea of soldiers marching to conquer or establish dominion over an enemy. Our declarations establish our authority and lawfulness to take dominion over a circumstance because of the one we represent.

As a young man, David declared his victory before charging Goliath, the surly Philistine warrior who stood over nine feet tall. “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.’ When David declared victory in the name of the Lord, he “set his feet” or stepped out to establish the Lord’s dominion in that place.

We are reminded of the verse from Job. “You will also decree a thing and it will be established for you” (Job 22:28). I feel certain that God put that decree on David’s heart. It was prophetic but not a prophecy. David never said, “Thus sayeth the Lord…” Notice that David did not identify himself as a man representing Saul or even Israel but rather declared that he opposed Goliath in the name of the Lord Almighty. Earlier in the chapter, he asked who the man was that was defying the armies of the living God…not the armies of Saul or Israel, but of God. When you have that heart, you can declare a thing and it will be established for you.

Speaking the word and name of God over a situation releases authority. If you begin to minister to people in the arena of deliverance, it won’t be long until you will have an unclean spirit begin to argue that the person you are ministering to belongs to him. We should respond with the Word of God, using scriptures declaring that the person in question does not belong to the demon but has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We should also declare scriptures that establish our authority over the enemy. Demons will always attempt to persuade the person they are afflicting that they have every right to remain and that we have no power against them. That is when it is time to take out the sword of the Spirit and establish our authority in Christ to evict the unwanted intruder. When he came face to face with Satan, Jesus simply declared, “It is written…”

Declarations are divine weapons that undermine the position of the enemy. They have power in the spiritual realm to dislodge demons by releasing power and authority and to shore up our own faith in moments when that is needed. Every believer should make extensive use of this weapon as we charge the giants that occasionally get in our way as we are about the business of the kingdom.

When I first became a follower of Jesus in my early 20’s, I lived with the impression that all the neat, clean people that sat on the pews around me on Sunday mornings were sinless, happy, and healthy people who lived worry free lives of contentment. However, after decades of serving in churches, I can say unequivocally that my impression was wrong.

If we are honest, a great many believers today are saved but remain in bondage to sin, addiction, shame, and a host of other hindrances to their walk. The truth is that other than church attendance and having their sins forgiven, a large percentage of believers differ little from the people they work with or go to school with who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them. Divorce rates in the church rival divorce rates in the culture at large. Christian teens seem to have little power over the cultural pressure to drink, experiment with drugs, or to be sexually active. A significant number of believers live on antidepressants, tolerate marriages dominated by anger and rage, live with bitterness toward the past, and are crippled by an overpowering sense of unworthiness and rejection. In short, they continue to live out their lives in emotional brokenness and bondage.

I’m not scolding these believers for not being “the Christians they should be.” Through the years, I have struggled with many of those issues as well. These believers are desperately looking for freedom and healing, but for the most part have not been able to gain victory over the issues that rob them of the joy and peace they long for.

Jesus declared that he came that his people might have life and have it to the full – abundant life. He also declared that he came to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free. For many believers, there is a huge gap between the promises and the reality. Why? We can say with confidence that the shortfall is not on the part of Jesus for Jesus has done everything perfectly.

The truth is that, in many cases, these men and women have not been shown by their churches how to access the freedom and healing that Jesus promises. The majority of churches in America, offer their people the forgiveness purchased by the cross but not the healing and freedom. When confronted with brokenness and bondage, they send the children of God out into the world to find solutions. They are left to seek healing and freedom from those who often do not believe the core values of our faith or even that God exists.

Even when they are referred to “Christian counselors,” those good men and women have nearly always been trained to use the weapons of the world rather than divine weapons. There is something terribly wrong with that picture. Doing so implies that Jesus has no answers for the emotional suffering of his people, so we must look elsewhere. The weapons of the world can help but cannot go far enough for real victory. They tend to provide “coping skills” rather than lasting freedom.

A gospel that only gets us to a place of forgiveness, but does not radically change us through the healing and freedom that is ours in Christ is not the gospel that Jesus preached. When Jesus preached the gospel, there was always a demonstration of life-changing power with it. Paul pointed to this truth when he said, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Phil. 2:14-16).

Stars stand out in stark contrast to the darkness around them. Jesus himself declared that his followers were to be the light of the world. Those who wear the name of Christ should stand out in the crowd by their sheer “differentness” and have a testimony of his powerful work in their lives. Jesus spoke of being “born again,” not as figurative language for trying harder, but as a reality where something real and essential has been altered in everyone who comes to him. After a short while, that essential difference should become apparent, not a as a reflection of our efforts but as a reflection of the power of God working in us and Christ being formed in us.

If the world can provide the healing and freedom that Jesus promised his people, then much of what Jesus paid for with this suffering and death was unnecessary. Paul clearly stated that the wars we truly fight, must be fought with divine weapons rather than the weapons or strategies of the world (2 Cor. 10:4, Eph.6). Most churches have little idea about fighting in the Spirit and little access to those weapons. Therefore, their people continue to struggle with emotional brokenness and bondage.

We need a shift. We need to be willing to say that what we have been doing is lacking. We need to be willing to say that we have meant well but have missed something important in the scriptures because our fruit does not yet rival the fruit we see in the New Testament. My hope is that many senior pastors and elders will begin to ask for more, seek more, and risk more so that their people have access to everything Jesus purchased for them. The power of Jesus is immense and its impact should be profound and visable. Our people should stand out from the world and walk in victory over the things that burden most of the earth. It is not that we will be trouble free, but that the trouble will come from without rather than from within where Jesus lives – and that makes all the difference.

Somehow, in the last few centuries, the sermon became the central event when the church came together. I distinctly remember my early training as a pastor when we were told that worship was to prepare the hearts of the congregation to receive the Word of God through the sermon. The centrality of the sermon is clearly expressed by the number of churches that record and offer the sermon each week. In fact, the bookstores in larger churches will offer dozens of sermon series with a sprinkling of worship CD’s thrown in. No one seems to question the emphasis. But what if we gathered primarily to experience the presence of God rather than to study God? How would that change our gatherings?

I am not saying that preaching or studying the Word is not important. It is. But is it more important than His presence? Even under the Old Covenant, the presence of God was everything. The Ark of the Covenant was the central furnishing in the temple. It sat in the Holy of Holies with the stone tablets on which the commandments were written, a sampling of manna, and Aaron’s priestly staff within the ark. The lid of the ark depicted the throne of God surrounded by cherubim. God said to Moses, “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you…” (Ex. 25:22). The amazing and fearful thing about the Holy of Holies was that the presence of God was there. The entire point of the temple was that it housed the presence of God and The Presence was a source of blessing.

During the wilderness wanderings, the presence of God was also experienced as a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud which hovered above the tabernacle except when it was time for Israel to move. In those moments, the cloud moved ahead of Israel. Speaking of that pillar, Moses said to God, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Ex.33:15-16). It was the presence of God that set Israel apart from all other nations. It is the presence of God that sets us apart.

First of all, the presence of God dwells within each of us as the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit should cause each of us to be observably different from all other people. But there is another dimension of the presence of God that can be experienced when God’s people gather together. When gathered and hearts are focused directly on the person of God, there seems to be a synergism of the Spirit that manifests the presence and power of God in amplified ways. Jonathan Welton describes such a moment in Brazil. He says, “ I was with 5,000 home group leaders at a church in Manaus, Brazil. The presence of God was incredibly tangible during worship…as she (Kathy Oates) took the microphone, she began to prophecy over the nation of Brazil, and a powerful wind began to blow through the church…Inside, the wind was whipping around like on the Day of Pentecost – a mighty, rushing wind had come in to the house. It blew the potted plants on the stage wildly and even blew open two large arched doors on the stage. While this was happening, I stepped outside the church to see if there was any natural explanation for the wind. Outside, it was eerily calm and peaceful…team members were later to talk of strong winds blowing in a circular motion around them as they ministered…virtually everyone prayed over that day was instantly healed.”

I noticed that Welton said the wind began to blow as they worshipped. The scriptures declare that God inhabits the praises of his people (Ps.22:3). Praise draws the presence of God in ways that preaching will not. On the day of Pentecost, the tiny group of Christ-followers were in an upper room praying and fasting when the Holy Spirit showed up in spectacular fashion. The Spirit seems to manifest the presence of God in greater ways when his people are encountering him directly through praise and prayer.

One of the reasons that the 21^st Century church has been rendered powerless is because we have exchanged experiencing God for the study of God. When the early church met, the presence of God was manifested through worship that was offered in spirit and truth, through intense prayer often fueled by fasting, through the gifts of tongues and prophecy and the expectation of healing. Seeking the presence of God brought those manifestations and the church turned the world upside down.

Again…preaching, teaching, and the study of the word are essentials but our goal must be His presence. Rather than worshipping to prepare our hearts for the message, perhaps the message should prepare our hearts for worship. Instead of an opening prayer, perhaps we need a season of prayer. Even in our personal time, we should give more thought to experiencing the presence of God rather than simply reading about him. It is his presence that changes everything.

The axiom that “we should begin with the end in mind” seems to be simple common sense. If I begin a journey without the end in mind, I risk ending up in a bad place, driving in circles, or becoming the next Forrest Gump – simply running until dirt turns to ocean and then turning and running the other direction with nothing more in mind. And yet, many of us live that way when it comes to very important elements of our lives.

King David wrote, “ Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life”(Ps.39:4). David’s prayer is prompted by the knowledge that life goes by incredibly fast and that every day should be lived with great intentionality. He wanted God to remind him to live each day mindful of his priorities and purpose.
That would be an excellent prayer for us as well. In the end, what do you want to be able to say about your relationship with God, your spouse, and your children? What do you want to be able to say about the mark you left on other people and the world around you? What do you want to be able to say about how you fulfilled God’s purposes for your life?

By temperament, I am not wired to set concrete goals and stay on task. I can be a rabbit chaser and enjoy the chase. If I’m not careful, I can let daily circumstances and other people constantly set my agenda. When I do, my priorities suffer. Days and weeks can go buy without me investing in the most important things. If, however, I partner with God’s Spirit to think about how I want to finish my life or what I want my life (my marriage, my family, my ministry, my health, my finances, etc.) to look like in ten years, I can begin to lay in strategies that will get me where I want to go.

In my church, we talk a lot about being Spirit-led. Some believers think that the Spirit leads only with spontaneous and unexpected moments, as if long term planning and staying on course is not spiritual. Although the Spirit may reveal tasks on the spur of the moment, he is still the ultimate long-term planner whose priorities never waiver. Although, Jesus seemed to have days filled with spontaneous and unexpected moments, he always knew where he was headed and what his priorities were. First of all, he had to preach the gospel to the cities of Israel. On numerous occasions, Jesus would simply leave in the middle of a “successful meeting” while the crowds were clamoring for more and go somewhere else to preach because he had a clear agenda to preach to more cities and a limited amount of time in which to do so. At other times, he would leave the crowds who were hungry to hear more and go off by himself to refuel with the Father because he knew that the days ahead would demand that close relationship.

Eventually, he knew that to finish his mission, he would have to submit to rejection and accusation along with crucifixion and would have to do so with faith, love and forgiveness on his lips. He began the final three years of his life with two preparatory events: his baptism that brought the anointing of the Spirit and forty days of fasting in the wilderness. He and the Father began with the end in mind. The Holy Spirit and a disciplined flesh would be required to finish well and to fulfill his primary purpose in life. Knowing how he wanted to end his life, he received the things that would prepare him for the final hours. He did not dodge or resent the heat or the hunger of the desert nor the temptations Satan dangled before him. Those moments were strengthening him to fulfill his purpose. Even in the spiritual realm, a process of growth and development is by far the norm rather than a full-blown and immediate impartation of maturity and gifts. Gifts, positions, and opportunities that run ahead of character are dangerous.

King Saul was anointed by Samuel and made king over Israel in a short period of time. He had not been trained to be king or even a leader of men. His sudden responsibilities and power led to numerous disasters for himself, his family, and his country. Proverbs declares that the “earth trembles when a slave becomes king.”   That is true when the slave has not been prepared for a wise exercise of power, wealth, and leadership.

The very thing a person wants can destroy him or her if the individual is not prepared to steward those things well. Many people who have suddenly become wealthy through the lottery are prime examples. The very wealth they thought would make them happy destroyed their lives. The same can be true of us if we are given gifts or positions for which we are not prepared. Preparing ourselves for the use of gifts and positions of leadership avoids the disasters. Preparing ourselves for relationships we desire also avoids disasters. When we contemplate the end or the goal, we can “reverse engineer” what it will take to get there. We can pray into the goal, align ourselves with mentors, obtain training, and develop the character traits that we will need to succeed.

Too often, we just wait on the Lord to fulfill a prophetic word spoken over us, to supernaturally gift us, or to place us in a position of leadership without envisioning how we would want to lead, exercise the gift, or live out the prophecy. As a result, we don’t set priorities, equip ourselves, or develop strategies for growing into the vision we have for our lives. Too often, we neglect the most important priorities in our lives, thinking that we can focus on those later when we are not so busy. But life goes by quickly. David said, “ how fleeting is my life,” and when you hit the sixty mark you feel it going by at light speed. You also realize how little time you gave to the most important things because the lesser, non-eternal issues of life kept you so busy.

Let me encourage you to take time on a regular basis to think about where you want to be in ten years or even at the end of your life. What do you want your relationship with God and your spiritual life to look like? What do you want your marriage or your relationship with your children or your ministry to be like? How do you want to be able to describe your physical health or your finances? Even more importantly, what would God want those things to look like?

Once you are clear on the end product you want, its not that hard to know what you need to be doing now to get there. You might even get a small group of trusted friends together who begin to envision those things for their own lives and then each of you can encourage one another and keep one another on track over the next twelve months or a lifetime, while you consistently build some things into your life that will take you where you want to go and where God wants you to go.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV).

“Movements are always birthed by dreamers who first envision life as it ought to be and not as it is. Dreamers stir people’s imaginations, agitate their souls, and inspire their hearts. George Bernard Shaw expressed the dreamer’s attitude when he said, ‘Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ Others dream of things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’” Dreamers are the cultural catalysts, reformers, and history makers. In order for us to experience the fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Mt.6:10), it’s vital that we begin to envision the world, not as it is, but as it ought to be” (Kris Vallotton, How Heaven Invades Earth, P.187).

I like what Vallotton says in this brief paragraph. It echoes the proverb I quoted at the beginning of this blog. Where there is no vision, people perish. The reason is that a vision for the future is what keeps us on course and what keeps us slogging through the muck and mire of everyday life. Most believers have a general vision for Christ’s kingdom on earth after his return. They look forward to the day when the heavens will split and Jesus will once again stand on the earth to judge the wicked while rewarding the righteous. After that, we will all live in health and prosperity for eternity. That is a worthy vision, but one that is out of our control. Jesus said that not even he knew the day or the hour of his return…only the Father knows.

But what about a vision that we can affect? What about a world in which entire nations are being discipled and leaders are actually governing with justice and righteousness? What about entire cities that willingly bow the knee to Jesus so that crime is almost nonexistent, divorce is the rare exception, poverty has been all but erased, and gifts of healing make the ER the least visited room in the city?

If you are not careful, you will immediately dismiss that vision as “pie in the sky” and not possible. And yet, would that not be God’s will on earth as it is in heaven? Did Jesus instruct us to pray for something that was not really possible or only possible in small, insignificant patches? Or did he expect us to carry a vision for massive changes in the earth before his return as we “make disciples of all nations.”

The power of a specific vision for the areas we can touch is that it focuses our efforts, our resources, and our prayers. Advancement is noticeable, measurable, and strategic. A shared vision unites and energizes believers. What if every church in a city shared the same vision and prayed into the same specific outcomes? As you think of a vision you begin to see the possibilities and begin to think of creative strategies to accomplish the vision. I love Bethel Church in Redding, California. It has a very clear vision for their city and even a sharper vision for their campus. They intend to evangelize their city and make it a city on a hill where Jesus truly is Lord from the City Council on down. They want their campus to become a cancer free zone in which any one with cancer can find healing there without exception.

I suspect that very few of us have anything but a vague vision for our life in the kingdom. If a life without vision causes people to perish, then living with a God-given vision should impart life. Sometimes I realize that my vision for serving God begins to get fuzzy and drift. When it does, my motivation wanes, my energy levels seem lower, my focus broadens, and my effectiveness slips. Recapturing the vision makes all the difference and if you have other believers in your life who share the same vision, the synergism of that is amazing.

We live in the Permian Basin – oil country. Years ago, the Western Company sold drilling rigs, oil field equipment, etc. and had an advertising slogan that declared, “If you don’t have an oil well…get one.” I think the Lord might say, “If you don’t have a vision, get one.”  It doesn’t have to be a vision for a worldwide ministry. It may simply be a vision for your ministry at your church, your family, or some way to serve your community. Ask God to give you a vision for your kingdom assignment. You may also find someone who already has a vision that the Holy Spirit causes to resonate in your heart. Then join with that person. Invest yourself and your resources in that cause. It will energize your life as you begin to partner with God to accomplish a dream given by him. Vision is the beginning of his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s…The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:1-5, 8-14

This section of the Psalms should be a great encouragement to every believer because it reveals the heart of God towards his people. Too many of us doubt the answers to our prayers and godly desires because we feel as if we don’t measure up or because some failing from our past haunts us. On top of that, many of us still see God as a distant father whom we must somehow beg or persuade to answer a prayer.   Too many of us imagine that God hasn’t immediately answered a prayer because our ‘spiritual performance” has not been up to par and, therefore, quickly give up on the prayer. Too often we focus on our performance rather than the heart of God and the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus.   When we do that, our faith easily gives way to discouragement.

Notice that David says nothing about his spiritual prowess or personal righteousness in this section. Even when David failed catastrophically in his sin with Bathsheba, he trusted in the heart of God for forgiveness and restoration. Real faith rests on our confidence in the character and faithfulness of God, not on our own righteousness. It stands on our belief that God is always good and always wants good things for his children. If David was confident of that goodness, how much more confident should we be as we live under a better covenant, drenched in the blood of Christ, as well as hosting the Holy Spirit within us.

According to this Psalm, here are some things in which we can have complete confidence. God is always ready and willing to forgive and heal. It is his nature. When we trust in his love rather than our own righteousness, we can easily own our weaknesses and sins and confess them – which brings immediate forgiveness and blessings. We can also trust in the heart of God to pull us out of the pits we so often dig for ourselves and to be eager to restore us to full standing in his house. The prodigal comes to mind.

David also declares that it is the heart of God to fulfill the desires of his children with good things. When God isn’t answering our desire for a certain relationship or for a big lottery win, we can be assured that that those would not produce good things in our lives in the long run. Trusting God to sort through our desires and grant us only those that will ultimately bless us may be the ultimate test of our faith. Contentment is the fruit of that trust as we ask for our desires but then take no offense at God when he does not say yes to every desire of our heart.

Finally, David sums up the most amazing thing about God when he declares that God does not treat us as our sins deserve. He recognizes our inherit weaknesses. James wrote that mercy triumphs over judgment (Ja.2:13) and that was David’s hope. Remember, David wrote these words hundreds of years before the cross but still received a revelation that God’s immense love for us prompts him to remove our transgressions from us. David’s claim to this grace of God reveals that the blood of Christ must have flowed backward as well as forward from the cross for those who had faith even under a covenant of law. Although David had only a prophetic glimpse of God’s answer for sin, he was convinced that the love of God and the goodness of God would find a solution to the problem of our alienation. Even after his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, David found hope in the heart of God. Psalm 51 is his lament after that sin and he begins with, “Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love.” His hope was never in his ability to do enough good to cover his sin or in convincing God that someone else actually had caused him to sin. He made no attempt to rationalize or minimize his sin or to declare that he just wasn’t himself that day. His trust was in the unfailing love of God for his people and a belief that somehow God would be willing to forgive his worst sins and take away his transgressions.

We need to live by that same confident expectation. Too many of us doubt that God’s blessings are for us because of past mistakes or present stumbles. Too many of us doubt that God will work through us because we are still trying to unravel the issues in our lives. James tells us that we “have not because we ask not.” We ask not because we do not live with an assurance of God’s unfailing love, his relentless desire to bless his children, and his eternal willingness to remove our sins as far as the east is from the west through the perfect sacrifice of his Son.

Satan fuels those doubts in each of us because doubt prevents is from moving in the power and provision of heaven. As long as we feel that we don’t qualify for the best of heaven, we will have no faith for those things. We must remember that God has qualified us through his Son. We will never qualify ourselves except through a simple faith in God’s unwavering love for us, his constant goodness, and his desire to bless us in every way through Jesus. That was the foundation of David’s life and must be the foundation of ours as well. If you struggle with that assurance, spending time soaking in Psalm 103 on a regular basis would be well spent as you focus on the unwavering heart of the Father for you.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15

The writer of Hebrews declared that Jesus, through his death, has rendered the devil powerless. The word that is translated powerless, means to make insignificant or ineffective. Too often, those who are involved in spiritual warfare give the devil too much credit and, in their minds, give him too much power. Paul wrote, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?  He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things’” (Eph. 4:7-10).

Not only did Jesus render the devil powerless but he also descended into hell and either set those who had previously been held captive by the enemy free or brought enemy captives with him as trophies – figuratively or literally. Either understanding is possible. The probable picture Paul is painting is that of a Roman general coming home from war after securing a victory. Victorious generals were given a “triumph” by the Senate, which was essentially a tickertape parade through the streets of Rome. As he entered Rome, he would be riding in a chariot pulled by four horses. His chariot would be followed by prisoners that he had taken captive as a display of his power and his authority. After the prisoners, came all the spoils that had been taken from the enemy. Then the general’s soldiers and other dignitaries would come behind. After the parade, which sometimes took more than a day, the general would often throw a huge banquet, giving away gifts and providing food paid for by his part of the spoils of war.

This picture of Jesus confirms that by his sinless life, his willing death, and his resurrection he was completely victorious over the enemy. He rendered Satan ineffective and irrelevant for those who are in Christ. After the cross, the only power that Satan has over God’s people is the power we give him through sin, unbelief, fear, and agreement with his lies and deception. Ultimately, we are in the same condition Adam and Eve were in while living in the Garden. In the Garden, Satan could not assault them, kidnap then, take their lives, or even harass them until after they agreed with his lies and surrendered their authority to him.

Today, as believers, we also give him the authority to harass us and afflict us by coming into agreement with him. Apparently, Satan has the ongoing right to tempt us and cause others to persecute us because we are told to beware of his schemes and that persecution will come to the righteous. But, he does not have the legal right to constantly afflict us, take our lives, or harass us year after year unless something in our lives or the lives of those we are attached to has given him power. When those things are submitted to the blood of Christ and realigned with God’s truth, his authority is revoked again.

I like what Jonathan Welton says about this. “ I do believe demonic forces are at work in the world, but not in the way many think. Most true spiritual warfare takes place in the arena of truth versus lies. The devil is a liar, and he uses his craftiness to get us to lay aside our identity and authority. Our battle must be understood as a battle to maintain our identity, because the authority we have been given as believers is contained in our identity. Many Christians have reached a point emotionally where they feel as though they have been stripped of their armor. They have been beaten to a pulp. They have been chained and are being dragged behind the devil’s chariot as his spoils of war…The truth regarding our identity is that we have been put into Christ. ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). We abide in Him and he in us (Jn.15:4). We have been seated with him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6)…If we understand that we abide in Him (which also means that we abide in his authority), then our spiritual warfare is very different: we are not fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory” (Jonahtan Welton, The School of the Seers, DestinyImage Publishing, p.155).

In our own lives, when Satan shows up, we need to remember who Christ is and who we are in Him. We need to take a personal inventory and inquire of the Spirit to see if anything or anyone is giving the devil a key to our front door. If we find something, then we should immediately deal with it through faith and the blood of Christ. Having done that, we should reassert our authority as those who speak for Christ and represent him on this planet. When we command the enemy, we should do so with full confidence that we have the authority to do so and that he must comply because he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. The first step to resistance is remembering who we are and what Jesus has accomplished for us. When we remember and stand in that truth by faith, the battle is essentially over and the devil will beat a hasty retreat.

We already have the victory over Satan because Christ already has the victory. We should have no fear of this enemy who has been rendered powerless, but rather he should fear us for we sit in judgment on him. If we want to be effective in spiritual warfare we must maintain that mindset. When we go onto the field to face the enemy we should walk on with the swagger of those who already know that the game and the victory is theirs. It is that swagger in Christ, the certainty of who we are, and the total confidence that victory is already ours that intimidates demons and causes the devil to flee.

If we walk onto the field fearing defeat, being unsure of our Captain, and thinking that the enemy looks bigger, stronger and faster than we thought, we will be ineffective. We will empower and embolden the enemy by forgetting who our Captain is and who we are in him and we will not win the lopsided victory that was ours.

David is our model for facing the enemy. When he stood before Goliath, his mind was not contemplating his own strength but the strength of God Almighty. Goliath had taunted him and had pointed out how hopeless David’s efforts would be because Goliath had vast superiority in physical strength and experience. But David looked beyond Goliath’s taunts and intimidation. In his mind, the battle was already won because God was with him and God cannot lose. With his faith that God was with him, he declared victory over Goliath and charged him with a few stones and a slingshot. The rest is history. It never entered David’s mind that Goliath could win because David was representing the God of Israel. How much more confidence should we have because God is not only with us but in us and our commander cannot and will not lose.

We will face the enemy this year but he is defeated and rendered powerless in our lives when we remember who we are and whose we are. Like David, we have the right to declare victory in the name of Jesus and to charge the enemy. As we do, he will flee. Be blessed immensely and victorious in every skirmish with the enemy in this year to come.

Have you ever known or been a double-minded person? Many believers try to live with one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world, never quite giving themselves fully to either one – obeying the commands of God that are comfortable, but participating in the values and ways of the world that satisfy the flesh. The truth is that all of us have to fight the battle against double-mindedness because the natural man (the flesh) wars against the spirit and constantly pulls us in the direction of the world while Satan provides every justification for ignoring or putting off the things of God.

King Saul is a classic study in double-mindedness. Anointed by God and made king by no effort of his own, he served God from time to time but served himself more consistently, while all the time convincing himself that he was being perfectly obedient to the God of Israel. His tendency is never more apparent than in his dealing with the Amalekites.

We are told, “Samuel said to Saul, ‘I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys’” (1 Sam.15;1-3). Through the prophet Samuel, God gave a very clear directive to Saul. He was to be the instrument of God’s judgment on the Amalekites for their attacks on Israel. The command was to attack and leave nothing alive or standing.

We are told that Saul mustered his troops, attacked the Amalekites, and routed them. “Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed” (1 Sam.15:7-9).

Notice that Saul did much of what God had commanded, but held back on some things that stirred the desires of their flesh. The king of Amalek, Agag, was spared. I have no doubt that Saul spared him because he too was a king (professional courtesy, so to speak) and because it made Saul feel powerful and exalted for Agag to be indebted to him. They also spared the best sheep and cattle. I sense that they thought some of those animals might end up in their pens as spoils of war. The text says that they were “unwilling” to destroy them completely, even though God had given a very clear command. They were not willing to destroy the things they desired but did destroy “everything that was despised and weak.”

In the same sense, in serving God we are often unwilling to give up the things of the world that give us pleasure, but freely give up the things we don’t particularly value. In doing so, we convince ourselves that we are obedient servants of Christ. When confronted about his disobedience, Saul was confident that he was pleasing to the Lord. But the scripture says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ‘I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions…When Samuel reached him, Saul said, ‘The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.’ But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?’ Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest’” (1 Sam.15:10-15). Saul’s first declaration was that he had totally fulfilled God’s command. When confronted, he blamed the miscue on his soldiers but imputed “godly” motives to them. “We spared the best for sacrifice.” In other words, Saul determined to serve God in ways that might profit him and on his terms while convincing himself that he had done all that was asked.

Ultimately, God removed the kingdom from Saul and gave it to David. The idea is not that David was perfectly obedient in all he did. Bathsheba comes to mind. The difference was that David did not justify his sins, ignore them, or blame others. Whatever God called sin, David called sin. He failed to live up to those standards at times, but he didn’t dilute the standards and when he failed he took personal responsibility and felt genuine sorrow. Saul only feigned sorrow when he was caught. In fact, David was so concerned about the deceptive capacity of the flesh that he prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).

We all live in danger of slipping into the double-mindedness of Saul. God’s blessings are very limited in that direction and he will be able to trust us with very little because we will want to do it our way and call it good. That approach to life is also an open door for the enemy because placing ourselves, our will, and our desires ahead of God’s commands constitutes idolatry in which we give ourselves greater standing than God. Some of our personal idolatry is subtle and hard for even us to detect, but the Holy Spirit is glad to make us aware if we truly want to know. David’s prayer is a great prayer for us to offer on a regular basis. Uprooting double-mindedness in our own lives is an essential key to seeing God do great things through us. It might be a valuable joint project between us and the Holt Spirit for 2018.

One of the most intriguing accounts in the gospels is the account of the Gadarene demoniac. The story appears in Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Any account that shows up three times in the gospels should be given a closer look.

You know the story. The apostles and Jesus got into their small boat to cross the sea of Galilee at night. The area is subject to sudden storms and so during the crossing a severe squall came up, waves were washing over the boat, and the disciples were terrified. Jesus was asleep, they woke him, and he rebuked the storm. The wind and waves ceased immediately and they were astonished that Jesus could command even the storm. As if that weren’t “weird” enough, as soon as they arrived at their destination, a man who lived in a shoreline cemetery and was tormented by demons ran to Jesus. This was a man who was naked, scarred by him cutting himself with stones, dirty, manic, and who had displayed supernatural strength when townspeople had tried to bind him. He ran to Jesus and the demons within the man cried out for mercy. The commanding spirit identified himself as Legion because there were so many demons afflicting the man. They asked Jesus to allow them to enter into a nearby herd of swine. As they left the man and entered the pigs, the entire herd rushed down an embankment into the lake and were drowned.

The Gospel of Mark then states, “Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed” (Mark 5:14-21)

Notice that the “possessed” man was now dressed and in his right mind. The supernatural flavor of all that had happened frightened the people who lived nearby. The supernatural quieting of the storm on Galilee the night before had the same affect on the twelve. Now the people asked Jesus to leave their region. Predictably, the man who had just been set free from terrible torment did not want to be separated from the one who had freed him.

If I had been that man, I would have been terrified that those same spirits who had made my life a living hell would return and take possession again once Jesus was out of sight. Jesus, however, told the man that he could not go with him but should simply go and tell people what God had done for him. A close friend recently pointed out that the story raises several questions. First of all, Matthew records that there were two demon-possessed men who were living in the tombs who ran to Jesus, but the gospels quickly focus on only one. Why? What happened to the second man? Secondly, what prevented the man from being “repossessed” after Jesus left? He did not have the Spirit of God living in him because the Spirit had not yet been given. He apparently was not part of a great “spirit-filled” synagogue where he was prayed over and discipled. He, in fact, knew very little about the man who had just set him free.

What we do know about this man is that he immediately became a Christ-follower and was obedient to Christ. Jesus told him to go and tell his family what God had done for him. Mark tells us, “So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed” (Mk.5:20-21). We have to speculate, but perhaps the second man left as soon as he was delivered to go back to the life he had known before his demonization. The other stayed close to the one who had set him free. His heart was turned to Jesus because of what Jesus had just done for him.

As his heart was turned to Jesus, he was willing to do what Jesus asked him to do. In this case, it was to go and tell others. Jesus said, If you love me you will keep my commandments” (Jn.14:15). Those who love Jesus are known and remembered in heaven. He was remembered in three gospels while the other man simply disappeared. Love and obedience also garner heaven’s protection and provision. I believe that is why the man was not lost again to the enemy. We can’t be sure about his friend.

There is a maxim among those who minister in spiritual warfare. “The first battle is to get free. The second battle is to stay free.” The Gadarene demonstrates that the second battle is won by loving Jesus and walking in obedience. A life of love and obedience provides no open doors for the enemy. We have delivered hundreds of people from demons. Those who draw close to Jesus afterward with a heart to obey, stay free. Those who drift back to old lifestyles and sinful relationships, find themselves worse off than in the beginning. Some of them, like the second man, have simply disappeared from the life of the church. Jesus give a stern warning in Matthew 12 when he said that if a man is freed from a demon, and does not fill the vacancy with the Spirit of God and the things of God, that spirit will return and bring others with him. Then the man will be worse of than before. I think the two Gadarenes may be an illustration of that truth.

In our own lives and ministries, we need to be very aware of that principle and keep ourselves close to Jesus, in love with him, and obedient. We must also warn those to whom we minister, of the spiritual risks involved if they receive healing or freedom from Jesus and then go their own way. The fruit of the Gadarene’s obedience is that when Jesus returned to the area, after first being asked to leave, multitudes were waiting to hear him. Sometimes, we don’t need a sermon of even a great deal of theology, we simply needs to share our own story to bring others to Jesus.

One of the most fascinating stories in all of scripture is the story of Jacob’s night at Bethel which he experienced when he was on the run from his brother Esau, whom he had swindled on several ocassions. We are told, “Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven’” (Gen.28:10-17).

Two millennia later, John told us in his gospel, “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’ ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.’ He then added, ‘I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”’ (Jn. 1:47-51).

Nathaniel was stunned that Jesus had known his thoughts. We can surmise that Nathaniel had been sitting under a tree meditating on the word of God – specifically this story and all the ways in which Jacob had defrauded his brother Esau. Jacob was an Israelite in whom there had been a great deal of deception so Jesus contrasted Nathaniel with Jacob. He then characterized himself as the ladder in Jacob’s dream.

In essence, the gospel of John reveals that Jacob’s dream was a prophetic picture of Jesus who would bridge the gap between heaven and earth. Not only that but, through him, the household of God would become a gateway to heaven. The idea of the church being a doorway to heaven is both encouraging and challenging. We know that ultimately Jesus is the way to heaven but the church presents him to the world. Jesus is the ladder that spans the gap but we open the door for others to know and experience Jesus. In that sense we can open the door or close the door to heaven by our representation of Jesus. That is both a privilege and a sobering responsibility.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being poor gatekeepers to the kingdom of heaven. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Mt.23:13). These “paragons of virtue” kept men from entering the kingdom because of their legalism and arrogance. They made “rule keeping” the cornerstone of their faith and piled on so many rules that everyone felt the impossibility of “being good enough” from the start. Many gave up before they even started and many felt the condemnation of the Pharisees who considered themselves righteous as they judged all others as those who would not truly make the cut. Pharisees would not even walk on the same side of the street as “sinners” so how could they ever lead a sinner to the kingdom and who would want to go with them anyway?

The Pharisees operated under the Law but some have done the same with the gospel of grace by turning the faith into a list of rules and expectations rather than a relationship based on our immense need for grace because none of us, by our own efforts, can make the cut. Many have felt judged and condemned by those in the church so that the gateway to heaven seemed cold and harsh rather than warm and inviting.

There is also a side to grace that is sometimes abused as well. Sometimes we make grace into a blanket policy that suggests that everyone and everything is acceptable in the kingdom of God and no one really goes to hell after all. God’s love is immense but so is his righteousness. Repentance is a prerequisite to entering the kingdom. If everyone gets in the door, there is no need for membership. The difference in legalism and grace is not the absence of standards under grace, but the basis for meeting those standards.

Under law, you must live up to kingdom standards by your own strength and efforts. Under grace, Jesus has lived up to those standards for us. We are credited with his efforts as long as we have faith in what he has done and a heart that wants to honor him with righteous living although we will have a number of miscues along the way. The kingdom offers salvation wherever we are in life, but calls us to something better, something cleaner, something healthier, and something greater than the world can offer. But it must be offered on the basis of love, grace and humility rather than with judgment and spiritual pride.

The truth is that each of us in a gatekeeper in the kingdom of God. In the eyes of those considering that gate, our lives and our attitudes reflect what is on the other side. If we are judgmental and arrogant, those outside the gate will expect to find a God on the other side who will make them cringe and crawl with fear. If we suggest that there is really no difference between the world inside and outside the gate, other than a “Get out of jail free” card, they will have the sense that nothing for them or their children will improve in this world so they may choose to look for another source of relief for their current pain.

As gatekeepers we must display the character of the kingdom. At the top is faith, hope, and love based on a relationship with a loving God whose grace and Spirit will make life significantly better on this side of heaven and that will make heaven a warm, inviting place for those in Christ rather than a frightening place of judgment and rejection. We are the house of God and the gate of heaven as Jacob put it. Let’s decide today to be amazing and inviting gate keepers for Jesus.