Surrendering the Crown

Which is harder: preventing someone from taking something that belongs to you, or persuading someone to give you something that belongs to them? The answer should be obvious. If I understand that the thing I desire already belongs to me, I will aggressively defend my right to keep it, which puts me in control. But if I view the thing as possessed by someone else, then my access to it is determined by them. They are in control and I am powerless to obtain it.

Prayer works exactly the same way. When I base my prayers on the truth that WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED IS ALREADY MINE, then my prayers become declarations of my God-given authority, and I stand in a position of power to deny access to the enemy who seeks to rob me. I wear the crown.

…Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown. (Rev 3:11)

However, if I view satan as the one denying me access to the promise or provision of God, and attempt to confront him in prayer to take back what is mine, I have, unwittingly, removed myself from the position of power and, granted that power to satan. In effect, I have surrendered my crown to him, for THE ONE WHO POSSESSES THE PROMISES IS THE ONE WHO POSSESSES THE AUTHORITY.

This is true even when I pray and ask God for things He has already given. By ignorantly asking for such things, I’m audibly confessing that I don’t possess them. If I don’t possess them, WHO DOES? Not God, for He has declared them to be mine. By repeatedly asking for what is already mine, I wear out my faith, and become easy prey for the lies of satan.

In addition to this, since possession of the promises doesn’t rest with God, and I am not laying claim to them because I’m still pleading with God for them, the only head that remains to wear my crown of authority belongs, inescapably, to satan. And, according the book of Revelation, he has seven of them.

Another sign appeared in the sky: a fiery red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on its heads. (Rev 12:3)

The question we all need to ask is: how did the dragon get his crowns?

"Teach Us To Pray"

I recently had a wake up call about my prayer life I’d like to share with you. It happened while I was praying a very familiar and often quoted verse from 2Chronicles 7:14.

If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. (2Ch 7:14)

I suddenly realized that my prayer was distinctly flawed in that it was rooted in an Old Covenant understanding of God. It implied that unless I humbled and purified myself God would neither hear my prayers or forgive me. While this was certainly true of Old Covenant believers who had but the blood of bulls and goats to make them clean in the sight of God, it is not true of New Covenant saints who stand forever washed in the precious blood of Christ. Under the New Covenant I am no longer required to meet any such condition for God to forgive me. I AM FORGIVEN. Or to hear my prayers for…

This is the confidence we have before Him: whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1Jn 5:14)

Because Christ had not yet come and paid the debt of mankind to God, believers under the Old Covenant were bound to pray such prayers as…

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (Psa 51:10-11)

Or…

Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down… (Isa 64:1)

God has already “renewed a right Spirit in me”. And He has “rent the heavens and come down”. His work under the New Covenant is “finished”. When I pray to ask God for things like healing, prosperity, the salvation of loved ones etc. I’m, ignorantly, insulting His finished work by saying it was insufficient for my needs and I require Him to provide something more. Yet, until recently, this characterized the bulk of my prayer life.

But, as I said at the beginning, I’ve had a wake up call.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mar 11:23-24)

You won’t find statements like this in the Old Testament.





revealingrevelation.blogspot.com

Turning Stones Into Bread

When satan tempted Christ in the wilderness to turn stones into bread, he was exploiting the fact that Jesus had not eaten for forty days and was in a place of genuine physical need. This wasn’t a casual suggestion. It was about Christ’s very survival. But the Lord’s response, essentially that He would only eat when the Father told him to, immediately nullified satan’s challenge. It would have been foolish of satan to try the same thing again, like asking him to make it rain quail as it did for Israel in the wilderness, or even offering him something to eat from his own hand. By the Lord’s first answer it was clear such tactics would be futile in drawing Christ away from His purpose.

But consider for a moment what would’ve happened had Christ rationalized the way satan wanted him to and prayed to turn the stones into bread. First of all, I don’t believe the power to turn the stones into bread would’ve been at Christ’s disposal, since His power was of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy spirit would never be party to a prayer not born of the Father’s purpose, not even for Christ, Himself. The decision to rationalize the importance of His own survival above His calling would have forfeited both Christ's authority and the power that goes with it. Isn’t this exactly what happened to Eve in the garden?

Had Christ given in to this rationale of satan, He may well have spent the rest of his time in the wilderness praying for bread from stones, or quail from heaven, or pleading with satan to give him something to eat, all because HIS FOCUS HAD SHIFTED from the Father’s purpose to his own. From that day forward all satan would have to do to draw Christ away from His purpose would be to create new physical needs for him. The rest of Christ’s ministry on earth would then have been spent praying and working to alleviate one physical need after another, or in a word, SURVIVING.

This precisely describes the condition of so many in the Body of Christ today. By putting SURVIVAL issues above PURPOSE and calling of God, the church has surrendered much of her authority and power and doomed herself to a life of “stones into bread” ministry as she moves from one crisis to another. Turn on virtually any televised ministry on the air today and you won’t have to watch long before you hear that the ministry is in financial trouble, please send your tax deductible donations (so we can turn our stones into bread).

Praise God that Jesus did not respond this way. He understood satan’s strategy in the wilderness and employed the only possible defense against it – absolute submission and obedience to the Word and Spirit of God. That means the first fruits of my time, money, passion, thoughts, resources, talents, etc. belong exclusively to the King and His Kingdom. Anything less is rationalizing the importance of my own survival above His purpose, which means that, intentionally or not, I’m trying to turn stones into bread.

So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Mat 6:31-33)

Moving Mountains

What’s the difference between power and authority? Simply stated, power is the “ability” to do something; authority is the “right” to do it. Let’s say I want to move a mountain. I may have access to bulldozers and high explosives “power”, but I still need the appropriate state permits “authority” to proceed. And, even if I have both of these, I’m, nonetheless, subject to the “sovereign dominion” that rules over the land, in this case the federal government.

This is also how power, authority, and sovereignty function in the realm of the spirit. The angels in Heaven serve as the vessels of God’s power. They are, in a sense, the bulldozers and high explosives. The Kingdom on earth (aka the Church) serves as the vessel of God’s authority. It wields the jurisdiction over the use of angelic power. And the unchangeable Word of God serves as the vessel of God’s sovereign dominion through which He governs everything in His creation.

I will not violate My Word or alter what My lips have said. (Psa 89:34)

Angels have been granted the power to move mountains, but lack the authority to do so. Believers have been granted the authority to move mountains, but must submit to the dominion of the Word of God to release that authority. When my authority to speak, lines up perfectly with the sovereign Word of God, the power of Heaven to move mountains is at my disposal. Satan knows this all too well. His entire arsenal is geared towards getting me to compromise the Word of the Lord and my obedience to it. My prayer is that I won't make it easy for him.

For I assure you: If you have faith (in the Word of the Lord) the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Mat 17:20)


revealingrevelation.blogspot.com

The Tents of Shem

God will extend Japheth; he will dwell in the tents of Shem; Canaan will be his slave. (Gen 9:27)

This verse is a prophetic declaration made by Noah to his two eldest sons. It carries the deeper spiritual message that Japheth (Soul of man) is meant to dwell in the tents of Shem (Spirit of God) so that Canaan (Body of man) will serve them both.

However, scripture reveals that Japheth did not take this to heart. After the flood, he separated from his brother Shem, choosing instead to dwell in the north country. As a result, Japheth’s wife would give birth to seven sons in succession. The names given to each are very revealing.

The firstborn son of Japheth was GOMER. His name means “failure”. This says to me the first fruit of a soul not living in submission to the Holy Spirit is failure.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (Joh 15:5)


The second son of Japheth was MAGOG who’s name means to “overshadow” or “dominate”.

When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. (Rev 20:7-8)

MADAI was the third son of Japheth. His name means to “judge” or “measure”. JAVAN which means “intoxication” was the fourth son of Japheth. He became the father of the Greek empire. TUBAL was the fifth son. His name means “confusion”. MESHECH was the sixth. His name means “forceful”. And TIRAS was the seventh son of Japheth. His name means “intimidation”.

As we can see, the names given to each of Japheth’s sons signify the state of the soul when it is not in submission to the Spirit of God (dwelling in the tents of Shem). This illustrates, as Christ implied in John 15, that apart from the Spirit, the soul can produce nothing but failure, ambition, bitterness, and discord.

In truth, each of these aptly named sons of Japheth would grow into nations that would oppress Israel (Shem) throughout his generations. And all because Japheth rejected his father’s blessing and instruction that he dwell in the tents of Shem.

Lord of the Flies

It’s a fact that flies are attracted to decay, waste, and fecal matter. They can sense the presence of it from a considerable distance. When they find it, they lay their eggs and when the eggs hatch they produce maggots which, when mature, become flies causing the whole cycle repeat itself. But what if there was no decay, waste, or fecal matter for them to lay their eggs in? What, then, would become of the flies?

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
(Jas 3:16)

The same holds true for the demonic. Like spiritual flies they are attracted to the spiritual decay, waste, and fecal matter produced from unforgiveness, envy, a critical spirit, rebelliousness, even stubbornness.

I may choose to think that such behavior is, essentially, harmless. After all, it’s not as though I were actually living in sin. Besides, that’s just my personality. I’ve always been like that. Everyone in my family is that way.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry… (1Sa 15:23)

Make no mistake, demons, like natural flies, deposit their eggs (influence, confusion, destruction) in the very filth and stench produced by such an attitude. And once satan gets his eggs in you, there’s no stopping the maggots that will follow.

But, when I, by confession and genuine repentance, cleanse myself of all such attitudes and behaviors, I deny the fly a place to breed and, by my example, threaten his very existence in the world.

…for the curse without a cause shall not come. (Pro 26:2)


http://www.revealingrevelation.blogspot.com

Which of the Following Best Describes You?

(A) I am practicing a certain sin I somehow find myself unable to repent of.

(B) I am constantly bombarded with physical problems that monopolize my prayer life.

(C) I am constantly burdened with emotional problems I can’t seem to escape no matter how much I pray.

(D) I am yoked with a benefactor or partner who doesn’t know Christ but has become a blessing to me and/or my ministry anyway.

(E) I am walking in an intimate relationship with God that is bearing fruit in my Spirit, though not, as yet, in my ministry.

(F) I am walking in an intimate relationship with God that is bearing fruit in everything I put my hands to.

Solution to (A): Stop rationalizing the sin. When I rationalize, the enemy’s voice is the only one I hear. Remember Eve in the garden. Satan is using this sin to separate me from God, and by this, separate me from my authority and destiny.

Solution to (B): All my physical needs have been provided for, past tense, by the Holy Spirit who lives within me. Instead of praying for God to act and fulfill my need, I should be declaring what Christ has already done to fulfill my need. My prayer life is to be set apart for intimate fellowship with my Father in Heaven. Satan wants me to squander my prayers on physical needs (turn my stones into bread) because he knows God cannot answer that prayer, because He has already done so.

Solution to (C): All my emotional needs have been fulfilled in the Holy Spirit. When I ask God to help me find love, joy, peace, patience, understanding etc. I am asking for something that is already mine in Christ. Depression is a lie. Disappointment is a lie. Hopelessness, insignificance, rejection are all lies from the father of lies. When satan speaks depression into my soul and I become depressed I, like Eve before me, reveal who’s servant I truly am.

Solution to (D): The Lord is a jealous God. He will not share His glory with another. No matter how well meaning an unbeliever may be, only a true believer has the capacity (Spirit) to lay down, at the feet of God, all glory for what the partnership accomplishes.

Solution to (E): In time, every good tree bears good fruit.

Solution to (F): Resign yourself to become a seed that when planted in the ground will produce many good trees bearing much fruit.