Jonathan Edwards was one of the leading American thinkers, theologians, and pastors in the 1700’s. He once said, “When the church is revived, so it the devil.” His point, of course, was that then God begins to move in powerful ways on the earth, the enemy doesn’t just role over but doubles has efforts to oppose the work of God – in a nation, a community, a church, or an individual’s life.

When a believer who has been casual about his or her relationship with Jesus begins to get “seriously serious” about Jesus, it is not uncommon for “all hell” to break loose in his or her life. We typically expect God to smooth the road for us when we truly start pressing into our relationships with him and truly start serving him, so when everything starts blowing up we may begin to believe we were better off as a casual follower of Christ. Of course, that is exactly what satan is hoping for.

The problem is that, in most cases, believers have not been taught about spiritual realities or trained in spiritual warfare. We should all know that we will endure seasons of battle with the enemy throughout our lives because that is the nature of war and we are in a war. Instead of “throwing in the towel,” mature believers simply dig in and begin to exercise the divine weapons God has given them (2 Cor. 1:4-6). They also know that the battle will be theirs in time if they simply remain in Christ, persist in faith, and battle the enemy with prayer and the authority of heaven. Paul reminded the church in Rome of the same truth when he said, “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom.16:19-20).

If you have gotten serious about your faith lately and things have started to blow apart around you, don’t be surprised. And don’t be surprised if God allows that to go on for a while. If you are going to live a committed Christian life you will need to get into shape spiritually. If you have been sitting in the stands for a while and then decide you want to get in the game, the coach is going to put you through some hard workouts to build muscle and stamina in your spiritual life so that you can walk off the filed a winner. Paul often compared the believer’s life to an athletic contest. Athletes have to train and training is hard…even painful. Not only do you have to get in shape but you also have to develop skills and learn strategies. It is no different in the spiritual realm.

When you decide that you want in the game and that you want to be an impact player in the kingdom of God, the devil will show up. When he does, things will get crazy but God has not abandoned you. Rather, he is using that difficult season to train you. Let me tell you from experience, that you do not want to learn how to fight those battles through trial and error nor do you want to go it alone. You will need others to fight along side you and spiritual mentors to teach you how to wield divine weapons.

Remember that great verse from James where he tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us (Ja.4:7)? Sometimes we will have to resist for a season, not just a moment. But as you resist you grow stronger and wiser. You also gain more authority in the spiritual realm as you engage in the battle. At some point, the enemy will know that he is beaten and he will flee.

God is moving in amazing ways alI across the planet. At the same time, the persecutions of Christians is at an historic high. When the church is revived so is the devil. I also believe that God is preparing a great offensive in America because the enemy has been stirred. Even in the Bible Belt” of West Texas demonic activity is noticeably increasing – so much so that even those who don’t believe in the demonic are asking questions. Children and teens are manifesting demons in ways we haven’t seen before, people are sensing evil in their homes and asking believers to come and pray for their houses, the marriages and health of church leaders are under extreme attack, and so forth.

God’s people need to learn how to fight in the spiritual realm. We need to learn how to put  on spiritual armor and wield spiritual weapons.  If you have not been trained, find someone to train you. God has left it to us to drive back the enemy and this season of warfare is not going away for a while. Read books, get involved with credible ministries in your area that know how to pray, heal, and minister deliverance. Get in the word more than ever and build up your faith. Learn to fast and ask God for the spiritual gifts needed in this season. We do not need to fear but we do need to fight. Its time for every believer to get in the game! Be blessed and victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev. 2:26-29)

Here is the promise to the faithful at Thyatira. They had already displayed endurance and good works. Jesus praised them for their love and faith but again a warning came because of their tolerance for someone in the church who was misleading the faithful. Jesus called the woman Jezebel which suggests that she was a ruthless manipulator of people who led believers into idolatry and immorality. She apparently taught these things under the guise of a deeper spirituality that she undoubtedly attributed to deep revelations from the Spirit but Jesus declared that her teachings were from Satan.

Sometimes the Achilles heal of faithful churches is that they tolerate people in their midst who create division, dissension, and lead others into sins that are framed as “freedom in Christ.” The church’s first call is to love others and to refrain from a self-righteous judgmentalism. Because of that it is often hard for church leaders to confront sin because they feel as if they are “judging.” As soon as the church begins to challenge a “member” about questionable actions, teachings, or life style the person who has been challenged often begins to quote verses about love, acceptance and judge not lest ye be judged. Too often church leaders back off as soon as those cards are played.

To be sure, the church needs to instruct those who are immature, encourage the discouraged, and have patience with the weak. But a time comes when repentance must be demanded. When the actions of the person are consistently hurtful to the church or to individual members of the church and the offender is clearly not acting out of ignorance but willfully, then church discipline is called for.

God is gracious towards sins of ignorance and even weakness but not toward willful and rebellious sin. Jesus calls on the church at Thyatira to continue to persevere and to do good works but to also step up and deal with the woman Jezebel who is leading others into sin and knows it. To be fully aligned with the Father means that we deal first with any unholiness in our own lives but that we also confront sin in others when it is willful and destructive. Jesus was quite gentle and understanding with the woman caught in adultery and the Samaritan woman at the well even though their lives were full of sin. Their sin came out of weakness and brokenness not arrogance and rebellion. However, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were another matter. Jesus responded to their arrogance and rebellion with confrontation and warnings. To be like Jesus, there will be times when we must do the same thing.

For those at Thyatira who responded to the command of Jesus and who remained faithful to the end, he promised great authority and rule over the nations. The same promise comes to us. We can understand the promise in two ways. Of course, we can look to the millennium and see that those who are faithful now will be given places of authority and rulership over nations during Christ’s thousand-year reign. But since we are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (See Eph.2:6) we can understand is promise in an additional way.

We are already ruling with Jesus and affecting nations and people through the authority we already carry and express in prayers, declarations, righteous works, justice and evangelism. Remember David’s prophetic words, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps 2:8). As we align ourselves with the Father now by continuing to do good, love others, live by faith and confront evil we assure ourselves a place of honor and authority in the millennium but also increase our authority even now as we rule with Christ in the present. Jesus promises authority – not just a little but enough to dash rebellious nations to pieces as with an iron scepter.

Not only that, but Jesus said he will give us the Morning Star. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus identifies himself as the Morning Star. As always, Jesus promises to give us more of himself, more of his presence, and more of his Spirit as we align ourselves with his will – not just now but eternally. When we sync our hearts with the heart of Jesus, we grow closer to Him. As he shines like the Morning Star we too will shine like stars in the heavens in the same way that the face of Moses carried the glory of God when he came off the mountain. Jesus will give us himself but also will impart glory to those who love him so that they too can impart his glory to others.   Nothing the world can offer can compare to being in his presence.

We do a lot of equipping in the arena of spiritual warfare. Paul tells us that the church in his day was not unaware of Satan’s schemes. In other words, the mature followers of Christ in Paul’s day had an understanding of how Satan worked and how he laid traps for God’s people. We should have the same awareness, so we equip believers with that knowledge.

The downside of that equipping is that some people then begin to see every event in their life as an attack from Satan. A flat tire is an attack. A cold is an attack. Sugar ants in the kitchen become another harassment from the enemy. Let me be clear. I do believe and teach that many things in our lives that others see as simply events in the natural realm have roots in the spiritual realm and that we are targets of the enemy. I believe that in many cases we should look for spiritual causation before addressing causes that might rest in the natural realm. But, as in most theology, balance is important. The truth lies in the center of the road. Muddy ditches lie on either side.

The balance is that although Satan is real and that demons show up in many situations, we should not give Satan too much credit nor should we fear him. The New Testament teaching is that we should be wise and cautious regarding the enemy but not afraid. Peter tells us to be self-controlled and alert since the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. He did not say to be afraid but to be alert. And he said to avoid the Devil’s reach by exercising self-control. In other words, don’t get caught up in sin and don’t act in impulsive or foolish ways and the devil is not to be a big concern.

God’s word actually portrays Satan as being on the defensive and demonstrates the power of Christ’s authority over the enemy time and time again. Remember that Jesus declared that the gates of Hell would not be able to prevail against his church (see Mt.16:18). The image is the gates of a walled city under siege. The gates of Hell will not be able to withstand the assaults of God’s people. In scripture, gates usually represent power or authority. Jesus clearly says that the power and authority of the kingdom of darkness is no match for the kingdom of light. When Jesus sent out the twelve and the seventy he gave them power and authority over the enemy, disease, and sometimes even death. He has given the same authority to us. John reminded the church that he that is in us (Jesus) is greater than he that is in the world (1 Jn.4:4). Jesus declared that the prince of this world (Satan) had been condemned (see Jn.16:11) and that he would be driven out (see Jn.12:31).

When we begin to speak to a person about deliverance it is not unusual for that individual to begin to experience anxiety, fear, or even panic. They are simply sensing what the demonic spirit is experiencing as that spirit knows that he will not be able to withstand the authority of Jesus coming against him for very long….the gates of Hell shall not prevail. Remember the encouragement of James who declares that if we resist the devil he will flee from us (James 4:7).   When a spirit flees he is afraid.

When our lives are aligned with Christ and we have removed those things that might give the enemy some temporary authority to harass or afflict us then we need to be alert, we need to be self-controlled, we need to be submitted to God, but we do not need to be afraid. When I stand in the ranks with the Commander of the armies of heaven and pray for his protection over me, then I should expect it and not believe that everything that disrupts my life in a fallen world is demonic. If it is, then Christ can’t or won’t protect me. Christ can and will protect me because his name is above all names and he has all authority in heaven and on earth.

I will agree that there may be times when Jesus allows the enemy to harass me but it is so that I can learn to fight…not just for me but for others and, more importantly, so that I can experience the victory that is ours in Christ. In the first part of the book of Judges we are told, “The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua. These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath” (Judges 2:23-3:3).

God left battles for the Hebrews not only so they could learn the tactics of war but so that they could be strengthened in their faith. It is in the midst of battle that men learn that a faithful God partners with his people for victory. God can do all things without us but he typically gives the victory through us using our hands, our prayers, and our commands to overcome the enemy. In the process we mature and learn over and over again that he is faithful and that he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

So there are times when we will have to stand against the enemy while at the same time we must remember that the victory is assured. The enemy has been defeated. We are simply left to enforce and enjoy the victory that has already been won. The enemy loves to cast a large shadow and growl and boast of his power but when we stand against him with the power of heaven he flees.

Be wise, be aware, but don’t be afraid and don’t give him too much credit. You are in Christ and Christ is in you. When you know that then the devil is on the run.

“Remind Me Who I Am”

Jason Gray

When I lose my way, And I forget my name, Remind me who I am.

In the mirror all I see, Is who I don’t wanna be, Remind me who I am.

In the loneliest places, When I can’t remember what grace is.

Tell me once again who I am to You, Who I am to You.

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You, That I belong to You. To You.

When my heart is like a stone, And I’m running far from home,

Remind me who I am. When I can’t receive Your love,

Afraid I’ll never be enough, Remind me who I am.

If I’m Your beloved, Can You help me believe it.

Tell me once again who I am to You, Who I am to You,

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You. That I belong to You. To You.

I’m the one you love, I’m the one you love,

That will be enough, I’m the one you love.

Tell me once again who I am to You. Who I am to You.

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You, That I belong to You.

Jason Gray’s lyrics are so on target for our greatest post-salvation need – to know who we are in Jesus. Other than doctrinal misunderstandings, what is it that keeps believers from walking in the blessing, the power, and the authority that is theirs in Jesus Christ?  For most of us, it is either a lack of understanding about what Jesus has actually done for us or an inability to receive those blessings for ourselves because of our sense of unworthiness and inadequacy.

The wise man says, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”  (Prov.23:7, KJV).  My deep-seated beliefs about myself may unleash me for greatness because I believe I can do all things through Christ and that he has made me worthy of his blessings and gifts.  My deep-seated beliefs about myself may also put a ceiling on my destiny if I can’t see myself doing exceptional things in the kingdom or because I believe I am unworthy to receive amazing gifts and a destiny from the King.  Many of us are quick to believe those things for others but not for ourselves.

A great deal of our personal transformation, our ability to hear God, and our capacity to receive and exercise spiritual gifts depends on knowing and believing who we are in Christ.  The notion that we are only poor, struggling sinners saved by grace is not a biblical notion. It is true that we may come to Christ that way but he does not leave us there.  One of the hymns sung nearly every Sunday in the churches I attended after becoming a Christian put it this way, “Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
for such a worm as I? (At the Cross by Isaac Watts).

Watts may have meant that I was in that condition when Christ found me but I received a fairly steady diet of “worm theology” for several years after coming to faith. That theology emphasized my utter unworthiness to be saved so that I could appreciate the grace it took to save me.  The problem was that the “worm theology” left me believing “once a worm, always a worm.”  I was taught that there was really no difference between the unsaved and me other than the fact that the blood of Christ had covered my sins.   As a result, myself and those around me had fairly low expectations for ourselves and had little expectation for transformation in our lives much less for doing extraordinary things in the kingdom of God.

There is some truth in that theology in the sense that I was and am in need of grace and that I could never merit salvation on the basis of my personal righteousness. The truth is, however, that when we come to Christ we may go into the water a worm but we come out as sons and daughters of God Almighty.  At that point there is a vast difference between the saved and the lost. The difference is not just forgiven or unforgiven but also identity, capacity, authority, and destiny.

Coming to know who I am in Jesus and living up to my standing and privilege is crucial in becoming and accomplishing all that Jesus has for me.  Because of that, I am going to spend the next few blogs working out of Ephesians and exploring who we are in Christ. I have spoken about these things before but I feel that God is wanting me to dig a little deeper this time.  The prompting may be for others or it may be for me.  Identity drains you know and needs to be recharged from time to time.  My hope is that our study will write these truths a little deeper on your heart and remind you of who you are “in the loneliest places” as Jason Gray reminds us!  I hope these next few blogs will be a blessing to you.

“We have two types of relationship with the Lord.  First we learn to live before him as a much- loved child. We practice a childlike faith and innocence.  We learn to simply relax and trust his greatness.  When under utmost pressure, we know we can lift up our arms and expect his greatness to overwhelm us and lift us up into a higher place. Children are uncomplicated, simple and trusting. Second, we learn to say “Father” as an adult in the Spirit, to speak out of a place of growing maturity in who the Lord is making us to be.  “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”(Rom.8:14).

A significant difference exists between being a child of God and being a son of God.  We are all children of God, but not all of us, yet, are sons or daughters of God.  The difference between the two is “learned” experience. As we grow in Christ we experience the other side of the relational paradox.  We learn how to move from a different place of relational anointing. We do not outgrow the childlike stage so as to discard it. Rather we move across the range of relational power from Abba to Father. We need both.”  (Graham Cooke, Approaching the Heart of Prophecy, p. 220-221).

I ran across this section in Cooke’s book and thought it was an interesting point.  He goes on to say that in one sense we never lose the wonder and innocence of a childlike faith and relationship with the Father but on the other hand we must grow up into a spiritual adult who walks in the authority and power of a “royal” ruling over parts of the kingdom for the King who is also our Father.  Paul himself spoke about putting away childish things and growing up into spiritual maturity.  (See 1 Cor. 13:11ff).  There is an infant stage in our spiritual life but then we are called to grow up and become adults in the spiritual realm.

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb. 5:12-14).

I think many of us fail to grow up in our spiritual lives because we fail to take on roles in the Kingdom that require more maturity.  We tend to sit and watch others take on those roles as if that kind of maturity is for a few but not for all. That is like believing that adulthood is for a few but not for all.  God has given all of his children areas of the kingdom over which they are to exercise authority and stewardship.  Most of us will be given the role before we have fully grown into it. The demands of the position cause us to grow. If we wait until we are fully qualified to step into our role as a “son” or “daughter” we will always wait for another class, more training, or a more convenient time and life will pass us by.

Our goal then must not be just to get to heaven but to also serve God as mature sons and daughters on the earth who understand the kingdom, understand the mission, understand who we are, understand our authority, understand how to govern and understand how to fight.  Anything less leaves the church as an institution of children rather than a kingdom of mighty men and women who are royals in the household of God.

Paul underlines this principle with a kind of rebuke to the church at Corinth. He discovered that members of the church at Corinth were having disputes and going to secular courts of law to resolve their issues.  His response is interesting.  “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers” (1 Cor.6:2-5).

God has called his saints (that is you and me) to great things that must be managed by mature adults rather than children. You will judge the world.  You will judge angels. The expectation to mature and become strong is not for a few but for all. Perhaps, we haven’t thought about our own maturity and our God-given roles in the earth and have felt satisfied with just keeping the sin out of our lives.  That is a great start but it is only a start. God has much more for you in this world and the world to come.  He has given you great standing and wants you to step into that standing. Let’s get busy taking on the responsibilities of being God’s powerful, wise, holy, and authoritative representatives on the earth and grow into those roles as fast as we can. Let’s get busy moving from being a child of the King to honored sons and daughters of the King. Food for thought today.

We are about to kick off another season of Free Indeed at Mid-Cities and we were discussing deliverance as one of the components of this eight-week study and experiential weekend. We were discussing it in relation to new members of our team and their approach to deliverance.  As with many things in the kingdom, how well we do depends on two things: (1) who we believe Jesus is, and (2) who we believe we are in Jesus.

Graham Cooke has a great insight into this truth in his book Approaching the Heart of Prophecy.  In  his book he discusses the mindset of Moses as he faced the most powerful dictator of his time. Pharaoh was not only the supreme head of  Egypt, the most powerful nation of his day,  but also truly believed that he himself was a god.  Cooke says:

“Moses had to lead over a million people from bondage to a tyrant to freedom and then into their own territory. In order for this to occur, he had to see himself in a particular way.  The Lord needed Moses to step up into a higher place of awareness so that his heart could operate at a higher dimension of faith and power. In that context, the Lord speaks these remarkable words to him in Exodus 7:1: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I make you as God to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.’” If you do not see it you cannot become it. Identity must be visualized before it can be realized.  If Moses does not see this high place of living, then he will be forced to speak to Pharaoh from a lower state of being. He will be reduced to asking for favors, just like all of the rest of the people at Pharaoh’s court. Faith is then diluted to supplication rather than command. It is vital that Moses speaks to Pharaoh from this heightened sense of who he is in the Lord. Moses has to come to Pharaoh from a higher level of identity than Pharaoh himself possesses. Anything less and the assignment is impossible… Pharaoh has massive authority and will only respond to someone who demonstrates more” (p.96-97).

Moses, of course, is a type of Jesus and Pharaoh is a type of the tyrant Satan. As we represent Christ before the demonic we also must sense our high standing in the kingdom and come with a sense of identity superior to any demonic spirit. Anything less is supplication rather than command.  We must be clear about the superiority of Jesus over the enemy, that he truly does have all authority in heaven and on earth,  and  that he possesses a name that is above every name.  If we are uncertain about his greatness, his victory,  or his authority we will falter.  If we are uncertain that we are his ambassadors on the earth and walk in his authority to announce and enforce his will, then we will also falter.  Reflecting on those truths and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal those truths to our heart is an important practice.

We must also be sure of our assignment…to set captives free and to heal the sick.  Many of us come from “cessationist” churches or denominations where some theologies are uncertain as to whether God is willing to heal or whether he still heals at all.  Many of us come from backgrounds where some theologies don’t embrace deliverance or acknowledge demonic oppression in the 21st Century. With those perspectives in our backgrounds we sometimes find ourselves doubting what we are doing in the middle of the process. Our lack of self-worth also tends to seep to the surface when commanding healing or deliverance and suddenly we wonder who we are to think that God would do such things through us.  When that happens we must recognize the voice of the enemy and quickly dismiss the thoughts and reaffirm who Jesus is, what his death and resurrection accomplished, and who we are in him.

We, like Moses, must always have an identity higher than that of the enemy (whether demons or disease) because we are connected, appointed, and anointed by the one who has all authority. Before praying for healing or commanding demons we might do well to remember those things and  to visualize who we serve and who we are in him. There are many Pharaohs in the world that we will face.  We are not God but we do carry the very presence of the living God within us and are directed and empowered by that presence. No demon, disease, nor dictator on the earth can say what we can say.  None have our standing in the eternal realm and none can come before the throne where the creator of the universe sits with confidence and boldness – but we can.  So today have no fear. Remember whose you are and who you are and face every situation with that knowledge. Be blessed.

The gospels are the story of Jesus but they are also the stories of people touched by Jesus.  They are stories of ordinary people suffering in all the ways the world afflicts its citizens.  These people suffered from bondage to sin, physical disabilities, physiological conditions, psychological conditions, isolation, rejection, bitterness, loss, discrimination, hunger, spiritual thirst, and demonic affliction of all kinds. Some even suffered from death which is a fairly serious condition.  Jesus had an answer for each of those things.

Many Christians scan the gospels and accept the miracles of deliverance, healing, raising the dead, and transforming lives as true but attribute those events to the deity of Jesus.  “Of course he could do those things because he was God. But, we can’t expect to do those things because we are not God.” Certainly, he was God, but he didn’t come as God.  His primary identification was the Son of Man.

Jesus has the position of God but came in the condition of man.  He chose to face the devil and life on this planet as a man rather than as God in a man suit.  If he walked among us as God then he didn’t suffer temptation as we did. He never truly felt hunger or fear or rejection. But the writer of Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Heb.4:15).  Jesus wasn’t Jesus before he put on flesh.  He was the Word of God and Adoni sitting on a heavenly throne in Isaiah 6. Before he put on flesh he was God and manifested as God in all things. But when he put on flesh, he checked his God and creator- of- the-universe abilities at the door.

At the point of conception in a human body he became Jesus, Son of Man.  Paul declared, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim.2:5). Paul did not say the god Christ Jesus but the man Christ Jesus. I do believe God had given Jesus the right to pick up his divine capacities at any time if he chose to do so.  Jesus said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (Jn.10:17-18).  In another place Jesus said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels” (Mt.26:53)?   It seems to me that the Word and the Father had a deal.  “Okay, you go as a man, live as a man, suffer as a man, and face temptation like a man but if at any moment you think these people aren’t worth it, you exercise your deity and get out of there.” The miracle to me is that Jesus chose to stick it out as a man even unto death in the face of man’s worst scorn and brutality.

Jesus came to show us how a man could live on the earth when he walked in close fellowship with the Father.  He didn’t come to show us how God could live on the earth in close fellowship with the Father.  That example would have done us no good.  In addition, Jesus sent out numbers of ordinary men who performed the same miracles he did and said that those who believe on him would not only do what he did, but would do even greater things (See Jn. 14:12).   As Jesus walked the earth he touched lives that were radically changed by his love and power.  My point is that he expects us to do the same thing. Jesus expects his church to carry on his mission of preaching good news, binding up the broken hearted, setting captives free, giving sight to the blind, and facilitating radical change in the lives of men and women.

Our church offers a ministry entitled Free Indeed and it is the source of the material in my book Born to Be Free. For the past six years we have watched God dramatically change hundreds of lives in a few weeks rather than in decades. We just finished our most recent installment of Free Indeed and watched eighty people discover the love of the God and the power of the kingdom over a period of two months and a weekend.  Most were changed forever and set free by his touch and his power. People are amazed at what Jesus does in those few weeks but the truth is that we simply teach the basics of scripture – what Jesus did for us at the cross, who we are in Christ, the expectation of radical transformation in the kingdom, how to hear God and receive from him, how to walk in authority, and the basics of spiritual warfare.

We teach these basics over a period of eight weeks and then engage everyone in a weekend of experiencing Jesus through inner healing and deliverance and Jesus always does amazing things.  He does those with the basics of our faith and a lot of very imperfect vessels that serve as leaders – including myself.  People discover who they are.  They experience deep emotional and spiritual healing as well as physical healing.  They are set free from their past, the lies of Satan, and demonic affliction that has hindered their walk with the Lord for years.   In other words, we simply do what Jesus did every day.

My question is, “If we see that much power and transformation from simply learning and doing the basics of our faith, how much greater could our impact be on the world if we plunged into the deeper things of the Spirit and the kingdom?  How much greater impact could we have if we just did the basics in everyone’s church rather than in a few?”  When we take Jesus at his word that we are to do the things he did, faith becomes exciting. When we risk being disappointed because a certain person might not be healed or delivered we find that we are not disappointed because being willing to risk something for Jesus is its own reward.  Not only that, but many, many are healed, delivered, and transformed in the name of Jesus.  How fun is that!

So today, let me encourage you to just trust Jesus in the basics. Believe that whatever he did, he did as a man and as a man or woman of faith, he will do it through you again.   In doing so, he will bless many and you will feel the joy of partnering with your Lord and Savior in radically changing lives and destinies.  Go for it and be blessed!

But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the water and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.  (Ex.8:18-20)

When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. (Ex.31:18, See also Dt.9:10)

But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. (Lk.11:20)

This phrase, “the finger of God” shows up only four times in scripture.  The first time it speaks of the plagues on Egypt that ultimately forced Pharaoh to release the Hebrews. The second and third times referred to God writing his commandments on tablets of stone for the Hebrews and the fourth time is found in the gospels when Jesus is speaking about casting out demons. It’s an interesting phrase so I thought we might explore it.

The first three uses of the phrase are all related to the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt to the land God had promised the descendants of Abraham.  God told them over and over again that he was delivering them from slavery, oppression, and bondage in Egypt to make them a people of his own.

It’s interesting that when Jehovah sent the ten plagues on Egypt he described that judgment in the following way.  “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord” (Ex. 12:12).  He says in another place, “The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods. (Num. 33:3-4).

Moses didn’t say that God had punished Egypt but, in fact, had brought judgment on their gods.  Scripture clearly teaches that idols are lifeless and powerless in themselves but they do represent demons. When men worship idols (false gods0 and offer sacrifices to them, they are worshipping demons and offering sacrifices to unclean spirits.  Note the following passages.

They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear. (Dt.32:16-17)

They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations. (Lev.17:7)

They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. (Ps.106:36-37)

No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. (1 Cor.10:20-22)

God targeted the real perpetrators of bondage over Israel and that was the demonic realm.  That realm possesses power and uses that power to possess and oppress men.  To answer the challenge of Moses, Pharaoh’s magicians through down their staffs and they became snakes.   They also turned water to blood and summoned frogs just as Moses had done. The Bible says that they had been practicing their “secret arts” or sorcery which calls upon the demonic realm to do their bidding.  It wasn’t long, however, until the magicians realized a power much greater than demons was being manifested.  But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals. The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”

Every plague that God sent was a demonstration of his power over a specific God of Egypt. He judged these demons by making it clear that they were powerless before the God of Israel and so were unworthy of any worship or sacrifice. When the text says that the plagues were the very “finger of God” of God, I believe it reveals that God was very personally involved in the redemption of Israel.  In Genesis 2, we are told that God formed Adam from the ground. The text implies that Adam was formed by a very personal touch from God who then breathed life into his nostrils.

We are told that that the Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets by the “finger of God.”  The writing of those tablets was to establish a very personal covenant between God and the Hebrews.  It was likened to a marriage covenant which God made with his bride Israel.  God did not sent a representative to establish that covenant but because was so personal it was written by his own finger.

I believe God took the enslavement of the Hebrews in a very personal way and knowing that our struggle is not against flesh and blood executed judgment on the demons who had prompted Egypt to treat the Hebrews in such a way and who had also seduced many of the Hebrews into false worship. It’s as if God stepped in front of his angels and said, “I’ll take this one.”

Then in the gospel of Luke, Jesus says that demons were being driven out by the finger of God and that deliverance was a clear sign that the kingdom of God had been released on earth.  Deliverance is setting captives free. It is a redemptive act.  It is the same as God leading his people out of bondage to demons in Egypt. He is just leading them out of bondage to demons wherever they may be.  The words of Jesus suggests that God takes deliverance very personally.  He is present and working by his own hand to execute judgment on demons who are oppressing and seducing his people, his bride.

That tells me once again that God is all about redemption and loving relationships with his people. He is not a distant God.  He is not unmoved. He is the deliverer – the redeemer.  In the Exodus story we are told that he heard the cries of his people and moved in power. In the New Testament Jesus heard the cries of his people and he moved in power. When you partner with God to break the power of the enemy in the lives of his people, you are very close to the redeemer and you are about to see the “finger of God” at work.  Be blessed today.

We love the passage from James that says,” Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” It makes us feel powerful and in control.  But to truly understand the passage we need to look at it in context.

That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:6-10).

The promise that Satan (or his representatives) will run from us is found in the center of a passage that speaks about submission and humility. Jesus said that if demons are cast out by the finger of God then the kingdom of God has come to men (See Luke 11:20).  But he also said, “Blessed are the pour in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:3).  Humility is the key to power in the kingdom of God.  Don’t assume that humility is the same as timidity or a self-loathing view of ourselves.  Jesus described himself as gentle and humble in heart but he was neither timid nor unsure of himself.

Humility before God is simply knowing that we are totally dependent on him and spiritually bankrupt without him.  It is remembering who the Father is and that we are his children and remembering that he is King and that we are not. As long as we are clear about the source of power in our lives we can be entrusted with that power.  The moment we believe that we are the source of power that power will be diverted. Notice the comparison between Paul and certain Jewish exorcists in Acts 19.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 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 19:11-16)

Paul constantly fixed his eyes on Jesus. His view was that it was no longer he who lived but Christ who lived through him.  Paul was clear that all that he had and all that he was came to him by the grace of God. He was certain that whatever power was displayed in his life was from God and was exercised to bring glory to God rather than himself. As a result, God was pleased to display his power through Paul with “extraordinary” miracles.

In contrast, certain Jews launched their own ministry of deliverance undoubtedly for financial gain.  They used the name of Jesus for personal profit even though they had no relationship with him.  These first century “ghost busters” got away with their bravado and presumption for a while until they met a demon who did not flee but who beat the daylights out of them. Satan doesn’t run just because someone shows up shouting the name of Jesus. He s when men and women of standing in the kingdom show up because they carry with them the authority of Christ and the more submitted we are to the Father the more authority we carry.  James says that we should humble ourselves before God and he will exalt us or promote us.  Faithful servants, who do exactly as the master commands, are given more in the kingdom of God.

As always, the kingdom is paradoxical.  The first shall be last and the greatest must be the servant of all.  To have standing in the kingdom we must humble ourselves.  No trash talking in this league, no double-mindedness, no taking sin lightly. I stood in a long security line once at a major U.S. airport and overheard a group that had apparently just returned from an evangelistic campaign in South America. The leader of the group was literally talking about how amazing his preaching had been and how many had responded to his preaching.  In the two or three minutes I listened I never heard him give God glory for anything.  He was young and I chose not to speak into the situation but I wonder if he is still preaching today or whether he has been taken out of the game by Satan who had no need to flee from a man who had no humility.

Stewardship is our primary role on earth.  We steward the things of God either for his purposes or for our purposes. You know the parable of the talents. The faithful steward who remembers whose resources he manages and who remembers how the master wanted them to be handled is entrusted with more.  Those who forget their source or who ignore his ways because “they know better” will have those resources taken away.  Authority is a resource.  Satan flees from those who walk in the authority of their king.  The humble and the pour in spirit carry the most authority.  Be blessed today.

Have you ever considered all the moments when God said to someone, “Don’t be afraid.”  Sometimes, God spoke those words and at other times his messenger spoke the words.  By “messenger” I mean angels, prophets, or the Son himself.  At the same time, we find dozens of passages that command us to fear God.

If I were to summarize all those passages I might say:  If you fear God you don’t have to be afraid of God and if you don’t have to be afraid of God you don’t have to be afraid of  anyone else.

Let me explain.  Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (See Prov. 1:7).  A proper view of God as the sovereign Lord over all creation, holy, righteous in all he does, all powerful, all present and all knowing is the first step to a relationship with him.  To hold him in awesome respect as the judge of all the earth holds everything else in place.  Our first response to God should be the same as Isaiah’s response when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and seated on his throne – “Woe is me!” (Isa.6:1ff).  As great a prophet as Isaiah was his sense of sin and weakness in the presence of God’s majesty, justice, and holiness was overwhelming. That view of God keeps us honest and keeps us from abusing God’s grace and love.

Let’s be honest. Somewhere in our fallen nature is the capacity to take advantage of those who love us unconditionally and lavishly.  In response to that capacity, Paul asked the rhetorical question, “Should we sin all the more that grace may abound?”  In other words, should we sin intentionally and often and simply seek our own gratification because God is gracious and forgiving? The answer is no of course but a view of God that simply acknowledges his graciousness, long-suffering, and forgiving side places us on a track to abuse the relationship.

God offers us an intimate, Father/son or Father/daughter relationship in which we can be secure and come boldly before his throne seeking help. He has offered us friendship, forgiveness, patience and grace.  However, he can offer us that side of the relationship only as long as we remember who he is.  I have seen fathers who have become friends with their children in the sense that they played, teased, and laughed with their children.  I have also seen those children begin to abuse that familiarity and speak with a lack of respect or act as if they no longer needed to obey that father.  They confused his kindness and his willingness to communicate on their level with equality.  In those cases, the father was quick to remind them that he was still the father and the one in charge.

If we never forget that our Heavenly Father is still God Almighty, Creator, and Judge then he can extend to us familiarity (Abba Father) and even friendship because we won’t become careless with the relationship or take advantage of his love and kindness. If we fear God then we don’t have to be afraid of him.  When you consider Abraham, Isaiah, Moses and others to whom he said, “Don’t be afraid,” it is clear that they held an awesome respect and reverence for God.  Therefore, he could call them friends, welcome them into his throne room, and extend forgiveness when needed because the relationship stood on the healthy foundation of fear.

When we fear God we don’t have to be afraid of him because we have love and friendship as a bond.  When the one who loves you and counts you as a friend is the most powerful being in the universe then you have not need to fear anyone else.  God has your back and if God is for you who can stand against you?   I know there is tension between familiarity, comfort, friendship and the fear of God.  That tension is not contradictory but keeps us in balance between two extremes so that our relationship with the Father can flourish.  Meditating on his greatness and holiness as well and his grace and kindness is a healthy thing.  You may want to do that today and be blessed.