Is there ever a time when a person is clearly demonized but deliverance is not in order?  We all want to help.  We all want people to experience the goodness of Jesus. We all want to push back the borders of the dark kingdom.  But is deliverance always in the best interest of the person? There is probably a part of each of us that initially says, “Of course!”  But Jesus shared a story that raisesa caution flag in this area.

After being accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan and then being asked for a miraculous sign, Jesus said, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first” (Mt.12:43-45). He then compared the nation of Israel to that man.

A lot of believers find this story disconcerting. Without understanding the issues, it creates fear about deliverance and the enemy coming back in force.  The issue for the man in the story was not that he had been demonized and set free.  The problem was that the demonic spirit left a vacancy that was not immediately filled by a new tenant. The new tenant should have been the Holy Spirit, so that when the demon returned, he would have found a “no vacancy” sign.  Any demon that is cast out is likely to return in an attempt to reclaim his territory.  If the same demon that was cast out doesn’t return, another will come along.

There is an old adage related to spiritual warfare that says,” The first battle is getting free; the second battle is staying free.”  The key is in understanding what gave that spirit a place in that person’s life in the first place.  Demons set up a habitation in men and women because something has given them a legal right and an open door to do so.

The danger in just ministering deliverance to someone is that the individual may have a wide open door in the spiritual realm that will allow that demon or others to quickly return.  Before deliverance, some discipleship is usually in order and, for none believers, an introduction to Jesus.  We need to remember that the demonized individual has probably coexisted and functioned with the demon for years, so a few more days or weeks won’t be the end of things. (A person tormented by a spirit of suicide might be the exception if they seem unstable.)

There are three main entry points for demons: persistent, unrepented sin in the past or present, generational sins and curses, and trauma.  If a person has lived a life of sin in the past or has been involved in the occult, demons may have set up residence then and, even if the person has repented and come to Jesus, there may still be a demon or two to deal with. The door may be closed to new residents, but the old residents may still be renting out a room.

If a person is currently in a sinful relationship or hiding secret sins such as an addiction, the door is open.  If the person is divisive, angry, a chronic gossip, or has refused to forgive someone, etc. then there is currently a wide open door. If they do not acknowledge their sins and repent, the door will stay open, the demon will return and, perhaps, bring others, so that the person may be worse off in the end than in the beginning.

Sins of the fathers as well as curses coming down to the children to the third and forth generation may also constitute open doors that need to be closed before deliverance.  A great deal of demonic oppression comes down through bloodlines. Curses established by the words or actions of ancestors carry demonic assignments.   Until the sins that established the curse are renounced and the curse is broken, those demons will have a legal right to continue to afflict the person. Occult involvement, violence, and sexual sins of the fathers seem to be primary doors for demons to establish a stronghold in families.

Demons also seem to find entrance into the mind and emotions of individuals who have experienced trauma. Prayers for healing and the touch of Jesus to mend broken hearts is often in order, as well, before deliverance.

The warning related to the words of Jesus is not to rush in and create spiritual vacuums that may be refilled by the enemy because they remain vacant.  Spending some time discovering the broken places in an individual, past life styles, ungodly relationships from the past or present, generational sins, family patterns that suggest a curse, and, especially, unforgiveness is time well spent. In addition, exploring whether or not the person you are ministering to is actually saved is always a good idea. Many demonized people go to church and identify as Christians, but have never actually surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus.  Until they do, they have no defense against the enemy. Dealing with sin, curses, and trauma closes the door so the enemy can’t return. Asking Jesus to fill that person with his Spirit takes care of the vacancy.

If a person is not willing or is not ready to repent of sins, exit an ungodly relationship, forgive someone who hurt him or her, or is not ready to make Jesus their Lord, deliverance might make things worse rather than better and you may want to pass on setting them free – at least for the time being.  The same is true for physical healing.  The same things can get in the way of physical healing that get in the way of deliverance, so visiting about those issues and aligning the person with Jesus may increase the number of people who actually get healed when you pray and the number that maintain their healing.  Spirits of infirmity are behind many physical illnesses so deliverance may also be needed before physical healing can be accomplished.

So…to parody Hamlet…To deliver or not to deliver…that is the question. Take your time, pray about it, and visit with the individual.  Ask pertinent questions.  If you free a person and the demon returns, they will assume that deliverance doesn’t work or isn’t even a real thing. It may even be difficult to cast out a demon when that spirit’s legal right to afflict the person still stands. If they cannot get free or experience nothing as you minister deliverance, then they may not be open to deliverance again. Just know that it is not always in the best interest of a person to minister deliverance until some basic discipleship and discovery occurs first.

This is our 7^thand final installment of the Beattitudestaken out of the beginning of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.  Again, these are important teachings because most scholars believe that Jesus taught the principles and commands in the Sermon (Matthew 5-7) over and over during his ministry.  Repetition suggests that he thought these were not elementary, but rather essential teachings for every follower of Jesus, so it is wise for us to revisit these teachings from time to time.

The last two beatitudes are in an interesting juxtaposition.  Blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. The positioning almost suggests that peacemakers can anticipate persecution.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that they are in good company.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons or children of God.  A son or child of God is one who has the character of God.  “Like father, like son” is the old expression.  A peace maker is one who has a heart for peace, harmony, reconciliation, and unity.  A peacemaker is not a pacifist in the sense of avoiding conflict at all cost. Jesus is the Prince of Peace but he had numerous confrontations with the Pharisees. He is also pictured in Revelation as the commander of the armies of heaven going out to war.  The idea is that this person’s first desire is peace. He or she will endure a personal wrong and not insist on his or her rights in order to maintain a relationship. This person will be forgiving, longsuffering, and patient in order to maintain peace.  He or she will constantly work toward reconciliation as long as there is the possibility and even sacrifice for the restoration of a relationship.  That is also the heart of God who gave his only Son so that the world might be to reconciled to himself.

The reason peace making often invites persecution is because peacemaking often appears to the world as weakness.  When you turn the other cheek, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who despise you…those whose hearts are hard and self-centered will see you as timid or a pushover and will often move quickly to take advantage of your willingness to be wronged without striking back.

I have noticed that, for the most part, when we obey Jesus, we are put in vulnerable situations in which people can “use us” or take advantage of us.  Jesus taught that if someone sues us for our coat we should give him our cloak as well.  If we are compelled to carry something one mile, carry it two. Our vulnerability requires us to depend on the Lord for protection, provision, and vindication. Paul knew the risk better than anyone but pointed to peacemaking as long as it was possible.  “Do not repay anyone evil for evil…If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom.12:17-19).

The peacemaker must trust God, perhaps more than anyone, because they will be vulnerable in many situations. Note that Paul said to be at peace as much as is possible.  Even for the peacemaker, there is a time to go to war when all avenues of peacemaking have been exhausted and evil will prevail if not confronted. Remember, we are to resist the devil and seek justice for the weak.  We are to care for the widow and the orphan.  Jesus sternly confronted the Pharisees because their legalistic perversion of God’s Law was keeping men and women from a relationship with the Father. Paul often confronted sin and wrongs in the churches he had planted because the toleration of such things would eventually infect the church and put the salvation of other believers at risk. He did so after an extended time of pleading with patience for those in sin or those tolerating sin to repent. He would rarely oppose evil on his own behalf but would certainly “go to war” on behalf of the church or the weak when his attempts to make peace were rejected.

Peacemaking will eventually invite persecution or, at least, will put us in a position to be taken advantage of. Our desire for peace and reconciliation reflect the heart of God so that we can be counted as his children, but remember that the world hated Jesus and will eventually hate those who carry his image. The “up side” is that vulnerability and persecution force us to maintain a true dependence on God which then draws his presence to us.  The presence of God reveals the glory of God and his glory reveals his goodness. His goodness always blesses. There is clearly a price to be paid for his presence, but it is s always worth the cost.

Jesus gave us a list of things that create a state of blessedness for his people.  They are clearly counter-cultural but the kingdom always is. We all want to be blessed but blessing often comes with risk…of not being like everyone else or of placing ourselves in vulnerable positions.  My problem is that I want to be at peace with the world while I am at peace with heaven as well.  Biblically, I can’t pull that off. The world and the kingdom are at odds. I must choose one and if I want to live under a state of blessedness, I must choose the kingdom.  If you search through the Sermon on the Mount, the message of choosing is imbedded in the texts.  Our challenge is to choose Jesus everyday and then trust the rest to him.

We are continuing to work through the “beatitudes” of Christ as presented in Matthew 5.  We’re doing so because Jesus taught these things over and over as essential qualities in the life of a believer.  These qualities are really fruits of the Spirit that increase our intimacy with God which, in turn, increases our authority and anointing for ministry.  The declarations of Jesus that I want to consider this week is…

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 We need to notice that blessedness comes from developing qualities that belong first to the Father and making them our own. Mercyis one of those qualities that is almost wholly assigned to the Father in the Old Testament.  “For the Lord your God is a merciful God” (Dt. 4:31). Mercy carries with it the idea of having empathy for the plight of a person and not requiring perfection in order to continue a relationship.  Related to mercy is the realization that men are but flesh and blood and will all stumble at times – even the best. Because we are imperfect we cannot require perfection of others.  That constitutes judgment rather than mercy. Righteous judgment sees to it that s person gets what he or she deserves.  It is the opposite of grace through which we receive underserved favor. I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t want to get what I deserve but rather grace and mercy that overlooks my great imperfections and failings. Jesus is saying that God will extend mercy to us in the same proportion we extended it to others.

A definitive illustration of mercy is found in Matthew 18. You know the story.  Jesus tells of a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. These were servants to whom he had entrusted money for investment or to whom he had loaned money. One of his servants owed the king ten thousand talents and, when the time came, was unable to repay the king. The king ordered that the servant, his wife, and his children to all be sold as bond servants to pay off part of the debt. The text says, “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the enormous debt, and let him go.”

The king recognized the servant’s inability to keep his financial commitment and that he would never be able to pay back the debt with his own earnings. The servant had taken the money, promised to pay it back, and then had made foolish or even unethical decisions that caused him to loose much. If not all,  of the money. The king had every right to jail him or sell him into slavery but decided to forgive the servant for his immense shortcomings. The twist comes when the forgiven servant goes out immediately and demands that another servant, who owes him a small amount, pay him immediately.  When the servant couldn’t pay, the forgiven servant had him jailed.  When the king discovered what had happened, he called the forgiven servant, and rebuked him saying, “You wicked servant…I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”  He then revoked the mercy he had originally shown and turned the man over to the “tormentors” until he could repay the debt. Jesus went on to say that that is how God will treat us if we do not forgive others from our hearts – not just the words but sincerely.  The story illustrates the connection between forgiveness and mercy.

The parable reveals that forgiveness flows out of the mercy we extend to the imperfections of others.  We are to extend mercy to others because God has had great mercy on us.  The psalmist said, “The Lordis compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lordhas compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psm.103:8-14).

We tend to reserve our mercy, our forgiveness, our charity, or our empathy for those that we believe ”deserve it.”  James tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment (Ja.2:14).  The truth is that when we withhold mercy, we  have judged another person as unworthy of our care and concern.   Jesus warns us when he says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Mt.7:1-2). Mercy triumphs over judgment because when we show mercy, God withholds judgment from us.  There are two aspects of God that must always be satisfied – holiness and love.  Judgment relates to his holiness that demands payment for wrongs.  Mercy relates to love and is considered a higher virtue than even righteous judgment because the greatest of qualities is love.  The cross has satisfied judgment so that I;n love he can extend mercy.  He fully expects us to do the same.

There is a true blessedness when we give up the role of judge and release all of that to the Father for his perfect judgment. When we judge others we always fall into the trap of comparisons.  We judge that we are more righteous, more deserving, smarter, etc. so that we somehow have the right to condemn or point out faults that we presumably don’t share. As we do, we will always be measuring ourselves against others and either feel “less than” or we will have to justify our shortcomings in order to judge another. Both of those options leave us in a bad place with God. Blessedness comes from our freedom from comparison, judging, and justifying.  We simply extend mercy because God extends it to us and there is a blessedness and peace in knowing that we live under the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father who does not treat us as our sins deserve. Jesus has covered our weaknesses and failings. Like the forgiven servant in Matthew 18, we should be quick to extend that mercy to all who cross our paths.

We are in a series on the beatitudes which are the opening verses of Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount”z beginning in Matthew 5. The next two beatitudes spoken by Jesus are:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

There is no more counter-cultural statement in the New Testament that the promise that those who are meek will inherit the earth. Another way of saying this is that those who are kind and gentle will win in the end.  Clearly, those who appear on The Viewand similar talk shows do not subscribe to this teaching. The beatitude of this slice of our culture would be, “Blessed are those who rail, who scream, who attack and who label those with whom they disagree.  Blessed are those who are “in your face” and who angrily impugn the character of others.  Blessed are the slanderers and the bullies for they shall ultimately get their way.”  That seems to be the bent of our culture at the moment and the role models our children are be offered for how to get ahead in the world.

Jesus, however, calls his people to be meek.  In both Hebrew and Greek thought the word does not mean “weak.” It is, in fact, strength under control. It could be used of a wild horse that has learned to control his power under the direction of a bridle. In our case, the bridle would be the Holy Spirit.  Jesus used the word to describe himself. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt.11:29). The KJV translates it as meek and lowly in heart.  Jesus was no weakling and neither was he timid.  He was, however, gentle and kind with the weak and the broken of this world. Moses himself is described in that way. “ Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Num.12:3). Moses was also not a timid man to be pushed around.

Individuals who are meek do not demand their way. They do not push to the front of the line. They do not Lord it over people, insist on winning, or demean others while getting in the last word.  They can talk about hard issues and even point out sin when needed, but they do so in a kind and gentle way.  However, they can also push back and “take the gloves off” when the moment demands it.  Jesus did not mince words with the Pharisees when their “religion” had become a yoke of bondage for the masses and when their hypocrisy turned people away from the Father.

These are men and women who believe that God is directing their steps and if they deserve recognition or promotion, God will make the arrangements. They are not concerned about getting their way but only about the needs of others being met or God’s way winning the day.   We can aspire to have each of the qualities Jesus calls us to develop in our lives because, like the fruit of the Spirit, these are the qualities that Jesus possessed and, subsequently, that the Father possesses. Jesus is simply calling us to be like our heavenly Father. Graham Cooke, an international speaker with prophetic gifts, often says that God is the kindest person he has ever met.  As we become more like him, our intimacy with him increases and then so does the blessedness that comes from being in his presence and the confidence that he will always be there for us.  Meekness, like these other sources of blessing, is a fruit of being dependent on God.  It is a fruit of the Spirit that harnesses our egos, our demanding nature, our anger, and our sense of entitlement Ultimately, meekness will be a quality that defines the inhabitants of heaven and eventually will be clearly evident in those who rule over a restored earth with Jesus.  They truly will inherit the earth. They do win in the end.

As soon as he calls us to meekness, he calls us to hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Many of us believers want to settle for a morality slightly better than the world around us as if we get to heaven on a graded scale. We sort of  think that if we can live a more righteous life than 70% of the population we will gain entrance into heaven…sort of like a spiritual SAT.  None of us really believe that theologically, but we tend treat righteousness in that way. There may a part of us that doesn’t want to be too righteous or we might be rejected all together by co-workers, friends, and even family.  I think there may be a part of us that even suspects that a life lived too righteously might take all the fun out of everything and so we push back against too much.

We feel that way, however, because we view righteousness as a set of do’s and don’ts rather than as a state of heart that always wants to respond to God’s love by pleasing him. Remember that Jesus hung out with the prostitutes and tax collectors.  He hung out where people sometimes drank too much.  He attended weddings.  Jews always dance at weddings so I think he danced. I think he laughed. I think he got giddy when people were healed and smiled mischievously when he walked across Galilee. Jesus had fun, but without sin.  It is possible because he always did those things that pleased the Father…even when those around him were not.  Righteousness is not keeping rules but aligning our hearts with the Father in every circumstance.

We also need to remember that righteousness is not about pointing out the sins of others. It is about loving God, pleasing him, and demonstrating the richness of life that comes from doing so. Jesus made righteousness attractive because by living to please God we are blessed and live free from the bondage of guilt, shame and selfishness.  When we hunger and thirst, our highest priorities are to please God rather than trying to fill a hole in our soul by pursuing all the empty promises of the world.  When we hunger to please God, the empty places inside will surely be filled and our needs will surely be met. That is blessedness.

We are beginning to consider the Beattitudes recorded in the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount.  Many commentators believe that the themes developed in Matthew 5,6, and 7 were preached on numerous occasions which tells us that Jesus thought these truths and attitudes were essential to our walk with him.  If taken literally his entire sermon is very demanding but it is these essentials on which we must build even supernatural ministries if we are to maintain the blessing of Christ on what we do.  After all, he said, “Blessed are….”

Jesus began with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The Greek word used is for “poor” in this verse is a word that speaks of poverty so deep that a person is forced to beg in order to survive.  It would describe Lazarus in the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.  Lazarus was a beggar who was covered with sores.  He was laid by a rich man’s gate every day hoping for some kind of help and was so immobilized that dogs would come and lick his sores and he apparently could not chase them away. The word describes a desperate and destitute person as opposed to a person who has very little.  This is a person who has nothing.

Jesus is literally saying that a man or woman who is destitute in spirit or who is a spiritual beggar is blessed  blessed and can expect his/her inheritance to be the kingdom of heaven. So what does it mean to be destitute in spirit? Those who face life at this level of poverty are dependent on others.  They cannot afford pride or self-sufficiency because they have no capacity to provide for themselves. The American value of pioneering self-sufficiency does not translate into the spiritual realm.  Our desire to be independent and self-determining does not gain us entrance into the presence of God.  Satan’s first recorded temptation was an offering of independence and self-sufficiency to Adam and Eve.  He said, “Eat of the tree and you will be like God.”  His statement implied that they would be equal with God and know all that he knows. They wouldn’t have to bow down or depend on God any longer. When they bit, they lost everything they had been given by the Father.

We shouldn’t think of “poor in spirit” as being spiritually poor.  Jesus is not calling us to a languid spiritual life of self-loathing and a sense of being unworthy, weak, and deplorable.  In Christ, God has made us just the opposite. He is calling us to a realization that for anything beyond this realm we are totally dependent on the grace, power, and authority of Jesus.  What we have is simply on loan and we are simply stewards of whatever gifts and opportunities he has given us.

Jesus himself set the standard.  He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it issomething He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (Jn.5:19).  Even as the sinless and beloved Son of the Father, Jesus lived as a man completely dependent on the Father for provision, direction, and power. Luke tells us, “One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick” (Lk.5:17). This verse suggests that, like us, Jesus healed when the power of the Lord or the Father was present.  In other words, the power to heal was not inherent in Jesus but rested on him by the grace of the Father. Jesus more than any other seemed to be totally dependent on the Lord for power, provision, protection, and or direction in what to do and what to say.  I believe we all get to that place from time to time but for Jesus it was a 24/7 condition. Undoubtedly, that is why Jesus often went off to spend time alone with God and pray.

The key is in noticing that God honors our chosen dependence on him.  Paul said that when he was weak, then he was truly strong. When he truly felt his need for the Lord, then the Lord graced him with strength and power. That is why Jesus taught us to pray for daily breadbecause that mindset keeps us dependent on the Father.  Jesus talked about how difficult it is for the rich to be saved.  The problem is that the wealthy and powerful are prone to feel self-sufficient. They find security in their possessions and bank accounts. They sense no need for daily bread because they have enough set aside for years to come. In that state it is easy to forget about God or only give him lip service.  The kingdom seems to be reserved for those who truly sense a deep need for God’s care.

Perspective is key.  The most important things in life and after this life are truly unattainable in our own power. The less I feel a need for God, the more he will withhold his help. He honors our attitudes.  We must remind ourselves daily of how dependent we truly are on the Father for health, life, spiritual blessings, protection, and provision. All of that can truly be lost in a heartbeat.

We need God….every day. When we know that andacknowledge our dependence on him, then the Kingdom of Heaven is open to us…now as well after our funeral.  God withholds nothing from his children…at least the ones who know that he is their source and those who are truly thankful for his gifts. So…One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick^[1]blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven. Ironically, the poor in spirit are truly the strong in spirit and the powerful in God.

^[1]The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Lk 5:17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Deliverance and Discipleship

As he approached his departure to the Father’s right hand, Jesus gave a directive to his followers.  He declared that he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  As a result, he had the right to command those who follow him to go into all the world and make disciples of both people and nations.

Ultimately, all that we do should be an identifiable element of making disciples.  Spiritual warfare is the element that produces freedom from spiritual bondage so that those who have been set free can make progress in their walk with Jesus. Deliverance or healing is not a stand alone event but part of our effort to disciple a person.  It is extremely important to realize that if the other elements of discipleship are not established in the life of the believer (faith, identity, prayer, repentance, time with the Lord, and so forth), those who receive healing and deliverance will quickly lose what they have received. Jesus warned, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first (Lk.11:24-26).

The man was set free from a demon but the vacancy was not filled with the things of God that are the elements of discipleship. Since a spiritual vacuum remained, the unclean spirit was able to return along with others. The man was then worse off than before he experienced deliverance. Because of that, we must be concerned with fully “discipling” those to whom we minister healing and deliverance.

That process is referenced in John 21 as Jesus asked Peter to affirm his love for him three times – the number of times Peter had denied him.  As Peter professed his love, Jesus charged him to care for the flock of the Chief Shepherd as evidence of that love. He responded to Peter’s responses by saying, “Feed my lambs…Lead my sheep…Feed my sheep.”  In a recent trip to Israel on a study tour, our guide explained that shepherds in Israel will rise early when new lambs have been born to carry them, speak to them, and examine the lamb the for weaknesses that will need attention as the lamb develops.  The shepherd bonds to the lamb, imprints his voice on the lamb, and becomes acquainted with the weaknesses of the little one for whom he will be responsible.  He then will lead the flock into places of protection and nurture and will make sure that they receive their “daily bread” of fresh grass and water. That is the process of discipleship and we are to see to it that those we bring to the Lord or set free in the Lord will receive the care and feeding they need with some special attention given to their weaknesses.

The process takes time.  It will be inconvenient.  It will even be frustrating.  But it is the life of a shepherd and that is what it means to make disciples. “Drive by” deliverance and “on the spot”  healing can be dangerous if we don’t disciple the individual or connect him or her to those who will continue to help that person grow in the Lord. As we continue to press into the realm of spiritual warfare, we must always remember it is not an end in itself but a step in the call to make disciples.

This is Part One of the three part series on the supernatural power of the believer’s  words.

Many of us speak as if our words don’t matter…as if they go out like bubbles and then evaporate into the atmosphere. We write off hurtful words we have spoken with the rationalization  that “we didn’t really mean what we said” or claim that we were  “just kidding”. But scripture says our words are very significant…even having the power of life or death.  To understand the importance of our words, we need to remember who we are. We are those who have been made in the image of God and those who have been made his children through Christ.  We are those who have also been delegated the authority of Christ.

The idea of being made in the image of God is a bit mind-boggling. Theologians have debated exactly what that means for millennia. Whatever it means to be made in God’s image, it certainly means that we have enough characteristics in common with the Creator to communicate with him, to give and receive love from him, for his Spirit to take up residence within us, for deity to put on flesh and live among us as a man, to think as the Father thinks, and to be called his children and his friends …not his pets.

The Psalmist declared, “What is man that you are mindful of him…you made him just a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” (Ps.8:4-5). Of all creation, including powerful and majestic angels, only man is said to be madein God’s image. Scripture implies that we have even greater standing in heaven than majestic and glorious angels. Although we were made a little lower than the heavenly beings, Paul reveals that those of us who are in Christ will actually sit in judgment over angels (I Cor. 6:3).  The writer of Hebrews tells us that the angels were created to minister to those who will inherit salvation (Heb.1:14).  In Luke’s genealogy, tracing the fleshly lineage of Christ back to Adam, Adam himself is described as “the son of God” (Lk.3:38).  Luke is not saying that Adam was deity, in the sense that Jesus is God, but that the Father had given Adam the positional standing of a son just as we too have been made sons and daughters of God.

The implications of being made in God’s image are significant.  He has made us to be eternal beings just as he is. God has no beginning and no end.  We do have a beginning but no end. The question is not whether we will live forever, but only where we will live forever. God by nature has free will, therefore, we have free will. Since the spoken words of God have power and authority to create something out of nothing and since we are made in his image, we must consider the possibility that our spoken words also have power and authority to bring things into being…both good and bad.

God, by nature, reigns over all things.  It is also man’s nature to reign since we are made in the image of the King and were made to reign at the outset. When we are willing to reign in submission to the Great King, our impulse to reign is blessed. When we want to reign without being submitted to the Great King, disaster is waiting in the wings.  All men still carry the image of God to some degree, even though it has been twisted by sin and rebellion.  The words of all men still carry some level of authority and creative power.  The words of those who are in Christ, however, carry much more authority and creative power as we represent the King. Because of that, we have a great responsibility to govern our words.

If our words have power and authority, then shooting off our mouth may be the same as shooting a loaded gun into a crowd and then being surprised that someone got hurt.  Jesus declared that on the day of judgment, we will have to give account for every careless word. Obviously. God takes our words seriously as if each one has a consequence. We live in a culture so saturated with words that we tend to discount them, but the spiritual realm appears to hang on every word we speak. Because we are sons and daughters of the King and are seated with him in heavenly realms, what if our words mobilize the spiritual realm to fulfill what we have spoken either as a blessing or a curse over others and  ourselves?  Think about the assignments you have been issuing with your words.  Have your words been accomplishing the work of God or the work of the enemy? This is an uncomfortable question but an important one.  Pray about it.  Ask others if you tend to be a dispenser of blessing or negativity to those around you. Determine to make changes in your speech patterns if that is needed. As believers, we all need to heed our mothers admonition to watch our mouths.

Part 2 will be posted next Tuesday, July 17.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me…Isa. 61:1

The word anointed or some form of it appears nearly 700 times in the Old Testament. Anointing oil was used extensively in the temple services. In Exodus 29, God gave Moses specific instructions for consecrating the priests who would serve in the Lord’s presence.

This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests…Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breast piece…Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head…And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.

Anointing oil was poured on priests, prophets, and kings in order to consecrate them for service to the Lord. It was also used to consecrate the altar and furnishings in the temple. To consecrate something is to dedicate it and set it aside for sacred service unto God. Anointing oil represents the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 61, Jesus revealed that he had been anointed for his ministry because the Holy Spirit had come upon him. When Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit descended from heaven and rested upon him in the form of a dove. From that moment on, Jesus was led by the Spirit and empowered by the Spirit. In the same way, when we committed our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit took up residence within us and marked us as those who belong to God. The Spirit is our anointing. The anointing marks us as those who belong to Jesus and empowers us for ministry.

The anointing oil used in the temple was made up of specific ingredients and was to be used for no other purpose. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil^” (Ex.30:22-25).

According to David Diga Hernandez in his book Encountering the Holy Spirit, each of these ingredients symbolize a quality that is important for us to recognize regarding our own anointing. He says that myrrh represents purity; cinnamon represents sweetness; calamus represents the fragrance of worship; cassia represents roots and growth; and olive oil is an essential substance produced by pressure. Purity, sweetness, worship, deep growth, and pressure are all elements of our anointing that we must willingly engage.

The greater the purity in our lives, the greater the anointing. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (MT.5:8). Anointing is all about the presence of God. Purity invites the presence while impurity discourages the presence. If we desire a greater anointing, we should be more concerned about purity…not with the world as our standard but with God as our standard.

Sweetness is the opposite of bitterness. Bitterness in our hearts places a ceiling on the anointing that can be released. Grace, forgiveness, generosity, etc. allow increase in our anointing. We should do a spiritual CT scan of ourselves on a regular basis to root out any bitterness that may be infecting our soul through envy, jealousy, unforgiveness, a judgmental spirit etc.

Worship is essential to anointing. The face of Moses glowed after being in the presence of God on Sinai. Worship brings us into his presence. It includes thanksgiving as well as praise. An increase in genuine thankfulness and praise should bring an increase in anointing.

Rootedness also is a key to our anointing. Jesus said we should build on solid rock rather than sand. We should provide good soil for the word to grow and put down deep roots. We should plant ourselves by the river of God (the Holy Spirit) so that we grow like well-watered trees bearing good fruit. We should never be satisfied with our current level of relationship with Jesus, but should always want to go deeper.

Finally, we should not despise pressure or difficulties, since it is pressure that squeezes the olive until the olive oil runs out. In a sense, olive oil is the medium that ties all the other elements together. When trials come, we tend to “press the Spirit for more.” If pressure causes us to press into the Spirit for more, then our anointing will increase. If we take offense at God because hard times have come our way, then our anointing will decrease. Perhaps, that is one reason that James counseled us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (Ja.1:2-4).

So then, as we ask for a greater anointing from the Spirit, we should cooperate with the Spirit by being mindful of those things that defile our hearts and minds and beware of any root of bitterness that is starting to plant itself in our soul. We should increase our worship and set our roots deeper in the Word of God.   We should also experience pressure and difficulties without complaint as we press the Spirit for more.

That is how we partake of the anointing oil of the temple now that we ourselves are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not to pour it on sparingly but abundantly as we consecrate our hearts and lives to the one who sent his anointing to us. The anointing oil produced a sweet, almost heavenly fragrance that should be evident in our lives. Paul declared, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing^” (2 Cor.2:15). The anointing produces fragrance. The more of it that rests on us, the more attractive we are both to the saved and to the lost as we present Jesus.

Very often we forget that the greatest heroes in the Bible typically began as those voted least likely to succeed in their graduating class. One of my favorites is Gideon. We are told in the book of Judges, “The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’ ‘But sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.’ The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’ ‘But Lord,” Gideon asked, ‘how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family’ (Judges 6:11-15).

The context of the story was that God had indeed turned Israel over to Midian because of decades of unrepented sin and idolatry. Midian had totally oppressed Israel and had taken everything of value from God’s people including the crops they harvested. Israel had little food, less money, and no standing army or even a cache of weapons. In addition, during seasons of Israel’s rebellion, the Lord was often very silent and his word was heard only on rare occasions.

In the midst of that, Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press as he hid from the Midianites. An angel of the Lord appeared on the scene and opened the conversation with a strange statement. He said, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.” Undoubtedly, Gideon must have thought this was a case of mistaken identity. As far as we know, Gideon had no military experience. He certainly didn’t view himself as mighty or as a warrior. His identity was that of a poor, insignificant man from an insignificant family.

Interestingly, he didn’t even bother to respond to the “mighty warrior” part, but simply asked, “if God is with us, then why are we in such a deplorable mess?” It was his way of saying, “Yeah. Right.” In his lifetime, he had not seen any of the miracles he had heard about when God brought Israel out of Egypt and into the “promise land.” He had not experienced the “milk and honey” of Canaan that God had promised through Moses. He had not witnessed great victories by the Jewish military as in the days of Joshua. All of those things must have seemed like bedtime stories or exaggerated legends from the past.

We are not so different. God tells us who we are in Christ. He tells us that we are children of the King walking in great authority. He tells us that he has given us power to heal, raise the dead, and cast out demons. He tells us that we each have great destinies in Christ. In essence, he tells us that we are mighty warriors and too many of us respond just as Gideon did. Our view of ourselves doesn’t match God’s declaration over us so we think, “Yeah. Right. I sure don’t see any of that in me and where are the miracles I used to ask for?”

The truth is that, at some point, we are all Gideon’s. God sees us differently than we see ourselves and begins to speak a destiny over us that we must choose to accept or reject. The question is always whether we give God’s word more authority than our feelings or past experiences.

The praiseworthy quality in Gideon was first honesty and second was his willingness to work with God on the proposition that he might be a mighty warrior who would eventually free Israel from Midian’s oppression. There are three things we must always keep in mind about our God.

1. God does not lie (Titus 1:2).
2. When God sends forth his word, it accomplishes his purpose (Isa.55:11) .
3. God calls things that are not as though they were (Rom.4:17).

When God called Gideon a mighty warrior, it was not flattery but destiny. The qualifier was that God would be with him. For God to be with us in a venture, we must exercise some level of faith. Gideon’s faith was a bit tenuous to start, but he took first steps. The first was to ask for confirmation that he was hearing from God through this “man” and not from some misdirected prophet or from the jumbled wells of his own imagination. God honored the request. The angel who had appeared as a man, touched a rock with his staff where Gideon had placed an offering. Both the offering and the angel disappeared in a burst of flame.

As you read the story, Gideon kept asking for more confirmations and taking next steps. In asking for confirmations such as the fleece he put out twice, Gideon wasn’t doubting the character of God but rather his own ability to hear God. God was willing to work with Gideon’s imperfect faith because Gideon was willing to take next steps as God answered his requests for confirmation. In the end, Gideon did become a great warrior through whom Midian was defeated and in the process saw the miracles of God he had only heard about before. God did not lie; his word did produce a mighty warrior, and what he had called out that did not exist before, did come to pass.

When God speaks our identity and destiny over us through his written word, through a whisper from the Spirit, or by a prophet, he wants us to believe enough to engage in the process. Take next steps and even ask for confirmation that we have heard him correctly. In the beginning, Gideon could only see himself as a man who was an insignificant son tin an insignificant family in Israel. Like all of us, he hoped for more but could just not see it with his own eyes. But God had planted that hope in him to be more and, at the right time. invited him to become more than he ever imagined. He wants the same for us and has promised to be with us.

Our part is to believe. Engage with God in conversations about what we think we are hearing or sensing and, at least, be willing to take the next step of faith as God prepares the way. So…mighty warrior…what will you do for Him today?

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.