Why a Christian Can Have a Demon

By John Eckhardt

There was a time when we taught in our church that Christians could not have demons. I preached long sermons stating that Christians could be oppressed, regressed, digressed, obsessed and suppressed, but never possessed. We believed that a demon could be outside a Christian oppressing him but that it could not be inside him. The reasoning I used to defend this position was that Jesus and the Holy Spirit could not live inside the same body in which demons reside.

The problem was, our experience did not match our theology. When we ministered deliverance, we frequently prayed for people we knew were born-again, Spirit-filled believers—and they manifested demons! We had to face the fact that either our experience was wrong or our doctrine was wrong.

We couldn’t question our experience because we knew what we were seeing. So we began to question our theology.

In our search for truth, we realized that in the Bible, Jesus tells us to cast devils out, not to cast devils off. Obviously, for something to come out, it must be in. We finally came to the conclusion that our interpretation of the Bible had been wrong.

Demons actually help promote the teaching that a Christian cannot have a demon 

Now I am convinced not only that a Christian can have demons but also that there are demons that operate in the realm of theology, encouraging us to argue and debate endlessly over doctrine rather than meeting the needs of people who are hurting. Demons actually help promote the teaching that a Christian cannot have a demon, because they gain strength from staying hidden. They can operate in their destructive ways without being challenged!

Some may argue that a believer cannot be possessed. But the dismaying fact remains that born-again Christians, including leaders, are experiencing difficulties that can find no solution in natural infirmities or the endless conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.

It’s time to acknowledge that we are dealing with real people who have real problems and that God did not save and commission us so we could argue over doctrine. He called us into ministry so we can help people who are hurting, wounded and bruised.

When you come into contact with someone who is controlled by demons, the answer is to cast the devils out, not to argue about whether or not the person is a Christian. The answer is to bring help to that person.

Possessed or Not Possessed?
I realize I’m not the only believer who has ever had an erroneous idea about Christians being possessed. And the sensationalized picture Hollywood has painted of demon possession has not helped. It has led us to believe that if we say a Christian can be possessed, we are saying he can be fully owned and controlled by the devil and will manifest, Hollywood-style, with head spinning and eyes popping out.

The word “possessed” is an unfortunate translation because it connotes ownership, and we know that the devil cannot own a Christian—that is, have complete control of him. But in the Bible, there is no real distinction between being possessed and being oppressed, digressed, suppressed, obsessed and so forth. All these terms mean that a person is, to some degree, under the influence of a demon.

Personally, I do not have as much of a problem with the word “possessed” as other Christians do. In fact, to me the word “demonized” sounds worse.

When I looked up “possess” in the dictionary, I discovered that one definition of the word is “to occupy.” My contention is that if a demon occupies your big toe, he possesses that part of you. It doesn’t mean he possesses your spirit, soul and body. But if he occupies even a small portion, such as a physical organ in your body—as a spirit of infirmity does—then there is possession to some degree.

I often ask those who are skeptical of demon possession whether or not cancer is demonic. Most will agree that sickness is of the devil.

So then, I continue, is cancer inside the body, or is there something on the outside that’s the problem? If it isn’t on the inside, doctors probably wouldn’t cut people open trying to remove it. Evidently, as a Christian, you can have something in you that is possessing a certain organ of your body and is not of God.

Knowing that a Christian can be possessed (or demonized) in some part of his being raises the question: Is any part off-limits to demons? Here is where we can reconcile the issue of Jesus and the Holy Spirit residing simultaneously within someone who needs deliverance.

A demon cannot dwell in a Christian’s spirit because that is where Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell.

One thing that has helped us in our understanding is the realization that every person is made up of three parts: spirit, soul and body. When Jesus comes into a believer’s life, He comes into that person’s spirit. John 3:6 tells us clearly, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (NKJV). A demon cannot dwell in a Christian’s spirit because that is where Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell.

It is the other components that make up a human being—the soul (mind, will and emotions) and the body—that are the targets of demonic attack. Demons can dwell in those areas of a Christian’s life. So when we say that a Christian is demonized or possessed, we are not saying he has a demon in his spirit but in some part of his soul or body.

To illustrate this truth, the Lord reminded us of the biblical account of Jesus’ going into the temple and cleansing it of thieves and moneychangers. The Greek word used for “drove out” in this account is ekballo, which means “to expel or drive out.” It is the same word that is used in Mark 16:17: “In My [Jesus’] name they will cast out demons.”

We know that according to the Bible God’s children are the temple of the Spirit of God (see 1 Cor. 3:16). In the Old Testament the temple had three parts: the holy of holies, the holy place and the outer court. This picture is a type or representation of who we are as His temple today.

The shekinah glory of God, or God’s “presence,” was in the holy of holies. This part of the temple represents our spirits.

But when Jesus went into the temple to drive out the thieves and moneychangers, He did not go into the holy of holies. He went into the outer court, where these evildoers were carrying on their business transactions.

The whole account is a picture of deliverance—of what Jesus wants to do in our temples. There may be demonic thieves in our lives that are operating in our outer courts (bodies or souls). Even though they cannot enter the holy of holies (our spirits), Jesus wants them expelled because the temple of God was never intended to be a place for thieves to operate. It is meant to be a place of worship and a place of prayer.

A Covenant Right
Those who believe that the ministry of deliverance is not for believers need to reconsider their position. The truth is, rather, that deliverance is not for the unbeliever.

What good would it do to cast demons out of an unbeliever, unless he is planning to get saved? Unbelievers cannot maintain their deliverance. In fact, according to Luke 11:24-26, after undergoing deliverance, the unsaved person is subject to receiving seven times as many demons as he had before.

The ministry of deliverance is the covenant right of believers.

The ministry of deliverance is the covenant right of believers. Like every other blessing from God—healing, prosperity, miracles and so on—it is promised only to His covenant people, those who believe in Jesus and come to God through Christ’s blood. God, in His mercy, will bless people outside the covenant because He is merciful. But primarily, His blessings are based on covenant.

The story of the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7:25-30 makes this clear. The woman sought out Jesus so He would deliver her daughter from an unclean spirit. But Jesus told her, “‘Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs'” (v. 27).

Deliverance is meant for those who have a covenant with God. 

In this verse, the phrase “the children’s bread” refers specifically to deliverance, and Jesus is saying it belongs to His covenant people. Those outside the covenant may receive a miracle based on God’s mercy, but deliverance is meant for those who have a covenant with God.

Luke 1:71-73 says Jesus came “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham.” He brought salvation from our enemies—devils and demons—based on a promise, of which we are heirs (see Gal. 3:29), that He made to Abraham.

The purpose of this salvation is stated in subsequent verses of Luke 1: “To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life” (vv. 74-75). God provides the benefit so that we may serve Him without fear, in holiness and in righteousness all the days of our lives. It is very difficult to live this way without being delivered. In fact, it is practically impossible.

One of the reasons it is so difficult is that demons are not always a result of sin in a person’s life. There are many different kinds of evil spirits, and not all of them are what I refer to as “spirits of sin.”

If a Christian is living in sin or living in the flesh, there’s no way he can escape demons. 

That is not to say that sin is not a huge entry point for demonic influence. For every sin in the Bible there is a corresponding demon. I maintain that if a Christian is living in sin or living in the flesh, there’s no way he can escape demons.

However, it is also possible for a Christian to be demonized as a result of someone else’s sin. For instance, a spirit of rejection or trauma can come upon a person because he is abused. Or demons may be inherited from a previous generation through a person’s bloodline.

We don’t question if the new believer has a demon, only how many he has. 

We have come a long way in our church since the early days when we believed Christians could not have demons. Now whenever a person gets saved, we automatically assume he needs some level of deliverance, and we lead him through the process. We don’t question if the new believer has a demon, only how many he has.

That may sound hard. But remember, demonization is not always the person’s own fault. Generational issues are a major entry point.

If we can be subjected to the consequences of sin to the fourth generation, as Exodus 20:5 says, and a biblical generation is 40 years, then we are subject to the demonic influence of what people in our family lines were doing 160 years before us. This means that, taking the year 2000 as a starting point, we are affected by what those in our bloodlines were doing as far back as the year 1840.

Think about it. Even if a person has a great genealogy, he can’t know everything his ancestors were doing in secret that long ago. And if, in addition to generational sin, he has committed personal sin or has been traumatized or victimized in any way, by the time he comes to the Lord, he is going to need deliverance on some level. There is just too much defilement and contamination on Earth to escape it.

We must accept the reality that we have been commissioned to minister to God’s covenant people, and part of our responsibility is to provide them with their covenant right of deliverance. If we deprive them of it based on some erroneous theological doctrine, then we are denying them what is rightfully theirs, and we cannot call ourselves able ministers of the New Covenant. Let’s do as Jesus did, and serve the children’s bread to those who need it!###

[Adapted from MinisteringFreedom From Demonic Oppression: Proven Foundations for Deliverance Book One, Doris Wagner, general editor, copyright 2002. Published by Wagner Publications. Used by permission.]
__________

John Eckhardt is the pastor of Crusaders Ministries in Chicago. He has written several books and produces a daily radio broadcast in the Chicago area

from: http://www.spiritlifemag.com/why-christians-can-have-demons

[Editor’s note: Nevertheless, we still prefer the term “demonized” (it’s the only word in the Bible original language translated to English for demonization) over “possessed” and believe it can be better understood for the reasons the author cites in the article. I wrote some very similar things as this article here and here. There are many other articles on the topic of deliverance you can find in the Archives.]

The “Law of Undulation,” or the Way of the Wilderness

“We didn’t count on suffering…we didn’t count on pain…but if the blessing’s in the valley…then in the river I will wait…” – Delirious

            Christians often speak of “seasons.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…”  One of these seasons is what Screwtape calls the “trough.”  In letters eight and nine of The Screwtape Letters, the elder demon, Screwtape, writes to his nephew, a novice demon, about “The Law of Undulation.”  This law is a major principle in the Christian walk.  While Wormwood, the novice, is thrilled about this condition of spiritual dryness, the trough, Screwtape is much more cautious, and writes at great length about how God (The Enemy) uses the trough to His advantage.  Screwtape’s terminology is of “troughs and peaks,” but Christians often refer to “wilderness” or “desert” seasons, and to “hills and valleys.”  It’s all the same concept.  All Christians, at some point, go through these ups and downs.

            While Wormwood is eagerly planning the ways he can use his “patient’s” trough to his advantage – and in fact, the demonic can use troughs to their benefit – he gets a stern correction from his uncle:  “Now it may surprise you to learn that in His [The Enemy’s] efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than the peaks; some of His special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.”  Consider Moses, who spent 40 years in the wilderness with the Israelites, but who remained faithful throughout.  Or Job, who had all kinds of horrible things happen to him, but still declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 15:1).   Or David, who often felt abandoned by God, and did not hesitate in saying so.  In Psalm 22, he cries out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent…” Perhaps even Jesus was in this trough, when he echoed David’s words on the cross.  Certainly these are good examples of God’s beloved experiencing deep valleys, or troughs, as Screwtape calls them.   Screwtape also says “Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”  All of the aforementioned people prove Screwtape’s point.  Despite their trials, their pain, or what seems like God’s absence, they ultimately remained faithful, and what’s more, they remained obedient.

            Troughs, or valleys, or wilderness seasons, generally do not constitute the fun part of being in relationship with God.  In these seasons, it is harder to hear God’s voice, feel His presence, or even see evidence of it anywhere.  Doubt and depression often enter in.  Screwtape harps on this when he encourages Wormword to get his patient to think in terms of “phases.”  We wonder if we ever heard God, if He was ever there, if we really witnessed those miracles.  We can even begin to wonder if we are really “saved.”  These are the times where we must rely on what we know to be true, not what we feel is true.  It doesn’t matter what the trial is.  What matters is our response.  Are we going to give up on God, write our whole relationship off as simply a “religious phase,” as Screwtape would like? Or are we going to take advantage of what God has for us in the wilderness?

            Looking through the Scriptures, it is interesting to note how often those in the wilderness are led there.  They didn’t just find themselves there, completely by accident.  The Israelites were led out of Egypt into the wilderness.  Not only were they brought out of slavery, but they witnessed miracle after miracle, like the parting of the Red Sea, bitter waters made sweet, manna sent from heaven, and water brought from the rock.  It might be safe to assume that God was with them.  And indeed He says “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand.  He knows your trudging through this great wilderness.  These 40 years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked for nothing” (Deut. 2:7).  Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He countered satan’s tempting with the Word (Matt. 4, and a good lesson for us).  And then there is Hosea 2:14-16, which is perhaps the most moving passage about the wilderness in the Bible. 

14)”Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Will bring her into the wilderness,

And speak comfort to her.

15)I will give her vineyards from there,

And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.

She shall sing there,

As in the days of her youth,

As in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16)”And it shall be, in that day,”

Says the Lord,

“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’

And no longer call Me ‘My Master.’”

           

While we may not see, hear or feel God in the wilderness, in the trough, in the valley, it is in this place that we are schooled in His grace, His provision, and His love.  The Israelites – though they complained bitterly – lacked for nothing, with all the miracles they witnessed and lived on. Job had everything restored to him.  David continued to offer that “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15,) and was considered “a man after God’s own heart.”  And I don’t need to describe what Jesus did.  In the trough, we have to walk by faith, and not by sight, which we as Christians are called to do, anyway. (2 Cor. 5:7).  We have to trust that God is with us, even if we can’t hear or feel Him.  And we know that He’s with us, because He promises to never leave or forsake us. While we may enjoy the mountaintop experiences, or the peaks, we grow in the wilderness, in the troughs.  Screwtape himself says, “It is during such trough periods, that it [the human] is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.  Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best.”  In the trough we learn to rely on God and on His promises.  We learn to seek more diligently after Him, and in doing so, can be rewarded with the some of our most intimate and rich moments with Him.  Look at what He says in Hosea:  He will “allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.”  Comfort in the wilderness?  Yes, it is possible.  And in verse 16, He says “You will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master.’”  What a picture of intimacy!  On the mountaintop, or on the peak, to use Screwtape’s word, we tend to become self-sufficient.  In the trough, we are unable to be self-sufficient.  We may find ourselves stripped of all that we once relied on, meaning that we must depend solely on God.  In this time, it helps to remember that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  And in the trough, we are indeed quite weak.

I don’t mean to paint such a glorified picture of the trough.  It is not an easy season to be in, and we can be quick to resent it, and resent God for it.  But as I said before, it is not simply our being in the wilderness that matters; it is what we do with our time in it that makes the difference (and often determines how long we remain there).  It can be a time of real intimacy with God and tremendous growth in our faith.  It can also be a time of depression, doubt, and even worse, self-pity.  This is when Screwtape and company can really enter in and rob us of what God has for us.  Doubt can destroy all the good God had planned for us.  Wormwood is advised about this:  “Do not let him [the human] suspect the law of undulation.  Let him assume that the first ardours of his conversion might have been expected to last, and ought to have lasted, forever, and that his present dryness is an equally permanent condition.”  It is easy, when in the trough, to see it as permanent, and lose hope, and even worse, lose faith.  Screwtape continues:  “When you have caused him to assume that the trough is permanent, can you not persuade him that his ‘religious phase’ is just going to die away like all the previous phases?”  We need to be like Jesus in the wilderness, responding to the devil’s taunting with the truth, the way Jesus responded with “for it is written…” each time the devil tempted Him.  And the truth is that the trough is not permanent; God’s love is.

We cannot reason our way out of the wilderness, the valley, the trough.  We may remember with longing the joyous feeling of being on that mountaintop, and work our hardest to get back up there.  But if we don’t pause, seek God and see what He has for us, we miss the potential for so much.  We might miss blessings, miracles, opportunity for growth, and worst of all, true intimacy with God.  Though it may be dark, the fire by night will guide us, and we will lack for nothing.  God will be with us, even if His presence is not as readily apparent as it once was.  It may seem like He’s gone silent, or even worse, left us.  It may seem like we are being punished for something.  This is not the truth.  The truth is that the wilderness – though difficult and often painful – is when we get to mature as followers of Christ, to learn to rely on God rather than people or things, to stand on His promises and not be swayed, no matter what may come against us, and above all, to really draw near to Him, knowing that He never has and never will leave us.  In the trough, if we respond well, Screwtape’s fears will be justified, and we will become just the sort of “creature” God wants us to be. 

by Kim Mitman

Seven Warning Signs Before Leadership Failure

From Joseph Mattera

  

Unfortunately, in every level and realm of life we have all witnessed serious leadership failure! It is no longer a surprise when we read about a high-level pastor, celebrity, sports figure or politician who is disgraced because of ethical or moral failure.

As one who has worked with many struggling church and marketplace leaders on a very personal level for the past 30+ years I have made the following observations regarding warning signs before a fall, which I teach younger leaders so they will avoid the mistakes of the present generation of many leaders.

All of us have fallen into the following in one way, shape or form. Hopefully we will have learned the hard leadership lessons of life so we can pass on wisdom to the next generation! Here are seven warning signs before leadership failure:

First, often before falling a leader will cram so much into his or her schedule for a prolonged amount of time that they don’t get enough time for personal renewal and rest. Much activity is not always kingdom productivity; when a person is constantly running around from meeting to meeting, from state to state, from event to event without seeking God and personal times for reflection, they do violence to their soul and will eventually be operating on will power and fumes instead of the Spirit of God. This can lead to them being tempted to escaping from the pressure of life with adulterous relationships, pornography, excess entertainment and foolish endeavors.

Activity without clarity will also lead to making poor decisions. When we are always in a rush we will not have the proper time to process things, which leads to a lack of discernment and disastrous leadership decisions. This will compound the pressure even more and create more work to get out of the mess they are in! Sometimes less is more!

I am not saying leaders shouldn’t be very busy or have a lot of responsibility. But what I am saying is there always has to be enough time in between events and days of meetings for daily reflection, prayer and seeking God so that our level of discernment is high and we are walking in the grace and power of God to do His work instead of our own will power and strength!

Secondly, I have noticed that before falling a leader avoids intimate contact with their peers or overseers who can speak into their life. They live a life of isolation which is very dangerous!

As busy as I am, there are a number of mentors and spiritual sons that I open up to who give input and prayer; I am always open to hearing God’s voice through their prayers or exhortations to me. The more responsibility I have the more community I need to keep myself on track!

We also need intimate relationships to keep the human side of us active. It is very easy to go from one productive business meeting or anointed service to another and always be in front of strangers or crowds of people or with leaders who don’t know us well. There is no real community in those settings; even in the midst of a crowd we can still isolate ourselves because in a crowd a leader doesn’t have to be intimate or accountable since they are the ones calling the shots, doing the leading and speaking instead of the other way around.

Third, a leader is heading for a fall when he or she is not spending adequate time with their spouse and/or family. God told us that it is not good for man to be alone. I have seen many leaders, especially those who travel a lot, who are not in regular touch with their spouses and who rarely ever spend time at home. Being with family helps keep a leader grounded. Without that, they will be surrounded by superficial relationships related only to their productivity as a minister or business person, where they are always receiving accolades (from sycophants), as opposed to being a father, mother, husband or wife who has to constantly strive to work hard at intimacy in their family relationships—which God intended for us to keep us humble and grounded. A leader may get praise from everyone around him but the spouse really knows them and will tell them like it is and keep them in touch with reality!

Fourth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t exercise self-discipline in eating and indulging their pleasures. If a leader cannot control their eating patterns then most likely that is a reflection of a larger issue; that is, they are medicating themselves with food and most likely are vulnerable to other lusts of the flesh that will enable them to escape from the pressures of reality. Obesity is a social sin that has become acceptable in the Body of Christ even though Jesus warns against it (Luke 21:34).

Furthermore, when we as leaders have bad diets it begins to affect our minds, emotions and spirits in negative ways because it creates sluggishness, fatigue, and clouds our spirits with our carnality. Many leaders have died or have serious health issues once they hit their forties and fifties because of a poor diet. God will judge us if we prematurely meet Him and miss half our lives because of our lack of discipline and obedience.

Fifth, leaders are heading for trouble when they don’t seek God for God and only pray and read the Bible when they have to preach a sermon or minister. Worse than our lack of intimacy with the Lord is the fact that we are only using Him to make a living or using His word to achieve certain outcomes. However good they may be, our highest call in life is to know and love God. Matthew 7:22-23 teaches us that we can minister for God effectively and still fail if He doesn’t know us! Leaders who only seek God for a sermon have a professional relationship with the Lord and will eventually not have the grace and spiritual power to deal with all the pressures of marriage, life and ministry, which can lead to moral failure.

Sixth, leaders who love titles, positions, recognition, constantly join boards, and get involved in large events for public prominence are heading for a fall unless they repent. When we exalt ourselves God says He will humble us (Luke 14:11) and he who seeks his own glory is not glory (Proverbs 25:27).

We are not far from a fall when we try to lift ourselves up, promote ourselves, or get involved in events without hearing from the Lord; we are like the Pharisees who loved titles, prominent positions, greetings in the marketplace and to be called leader or reverend or bishop or doctor (Matthew 23:6-7). Leaders who are broken have learned not to try to create names for themselves by marketing their accomplishments and hype; they have learned that only when God exalts a person does it really last (Psalm 75:6).

Lastly, when leaders use people as objects for their businesses or ministries instead of having a motivation of empowering people to walk in their purpose—when leaders put programs over people and tasks ahead of relationships—eventually they will have no one around them who is loyal or who they can trust. They will have burned many bridges behind them because, eventually, their followers will become weary of them and leave them! Leadership is a lonely road to walk; leaders more than anyone else need to minister to people with a servant’s heart. When leaders come into the ministry with the attitude of being served instead of serving others they develop an entitlement mentality that can lead them to pride, arrogance and eventually to destruction.

May God help all of us who serve the kingdom as leaders to glory only in knowing Him (Philippians 3:7-11; Jeremiah 9:23-24)!

by Joseph Mattera

Kingdom Commando Squad

This is a tactical post: specific tactics for carrying out a larger mission. 


Some of us have occasionally formed teams - temporarily or more long-term - and gone into harm's way. We've taken trips for the purpose of equipping people for war, or we've gone to do battle on behalf of a region or a people. Sometimes that battle has been in the paradigm of intercession; sometimes as evangelism; sometimes as equipping.


One of the dangers of such a team is not understanding how the team works together. Generally, everyone has a different role, and when we don't understand those differences, trouble is a result. One way - and it is only one model; there are others - to understand different members' roles in such a sortie is to consider the metaphor of a military commando squad. In such a unit, we can see how each team member relates to the others. 


Here is an explanation of the commando squad illustration from an apostle who leads these kind of teams regularly in cooperation with a member of a Special Forces squad in the Army. I'd like to suggest that you consider this staffing list next time you're on a ministry team or trip: what role is God assigning you to on this trip? Do others recognize that assignment? What is their assignment for the trip? How can you support others in their roles?





What is a Commando Squad?

A member of a military assault unit or team trained to operate quickly and aggressively in especially urgent, threatening situations, as against terrorists holding hostages.

The commando concept in modern warfare is one of small forces (2 - 12 men), that are highly trained in specialized missions that require them to go into or behind enemy lines. The missions are Search & Rescue, Strategic Recon, Hostage Rescue, Direct Action, and Guerrilla Warfare (organize, train, support and lead the local fighters to fight their own battles).

My team's missions have fit into 4 of these: 

Search & Rescue - These would be trips when we do prophetic prayer with many individuals in a group, we search for their calling and in many cases rescue them from the enemies lies.

Strategic Recon - we call these, "scout out the land" trips.

Direct Action - These are ones where he has given us a specific stronghold to take down

Guerrilla Warfare (organizes, train, support and lead the local fighters to fight their own battles). This has been primarily in training groups to do deliverance ministry, etc.

Secular Special Ops team	Apostolic Special Ops Team	Spiritual Gift
Team Leader	Apostolic leader	Apostle, Wisdom, Leadership
Team XO (2nd in command)	Leader and logistics person	Administration, Leadership, Service
Team Sergeant	The person who is most seasoned in spiritual warfare, specific to each trip	Spiritual warfare
Intelligence specialist	Spiritual mapping and intercession	Discernment of spirits, Word of Knowledge
Medical specialist (1)	Healing - Spiritual (deliverance)  Emotional (Inner Healing)	Gifts of Healing, Faith, Mercy
Medical specialist (2)	Physical healing	Gifts of Healing, Faith
Communications specialist (1)	Prophetic, words of knowledge, direction from home base	Prophecy, Intercession
Communications specialist (2)	Prophetic Intercessor (ie. call in the air strikes)	Prophecy, Intercession
Combat engineer (1) (demolitions)	Tearing down strongholds (Spirit Led Worship)	Service (Musician), Miracles
Combat engineer (2) (demolitions)	Tearing down strongholds (Spirit Led Worship)	Service (Musician), Miracles
Light Weapons – Sniper rifle, knife, Silenced small arms.	Specifically directed Prophetic prayer warfare	Teacher, Evangelism, Exhortation
Heavy Weapons – Bazooka, Mortar, Land to Air missiles	Specifically directed Prophetic prayer warfare	Prophetic Proclamation, Preaching

from Trevor Macpherson's Firefall Zine.

Surviving Mountaintop Experiences

Many years ago, I was asking God about my future, and He showed me a series of mountain tops. My destiny was to go from where I was up to the peak before me, and from there to greater and greater peaks. (In my youth, I was excited about it; it was some time later before I figured out that this is His plan for pretty much every human being on the planet.)

After He showed me the mountains, and after a dramatic pause, the scene shifted; it rotated sideways by about 90 degrees, and I realized that the path was not simply from one mountain top to the next, but that there were valleys between the mountaintops. Having spent decades hiking through valleys and climbing peaks and ridges, I realized how much work that represented. I found myself somewhat discouraged: if every “high point” experience is followed by a fall to approximately my starting point (or worse), then I’d be completely worn out before I ever reached the higher peaks of my destiny.

I’ve seen people who lived like that. They pursue mountaintop experiences, and because they pursue them, they also find them (there’s a lesson here somewhere: if you want something, it’s probably good to pursue it). But after nearly every peak experience, they’d go into something of a tailspin, and end up discouraged, maybe falling into sin.

Elijah was a man like that. We all know him for the battle atop Mt Carmel where he called fire down from heaven and killed 450 prophets of Baal, but one chapter later, he’s hiding in a cave, whining for God to take his life. Elijah had one of the highest mountaintop experiences in the Book, but he also fell as hard as anyone ever has, so hard in fact, that God fired him.

John the Baptist seemed subject to the same discouragement. Admittedly, he was in jail on death row when he got discouraged, but he experienced the same kind of hopelessness.

Fortunately, Jesus shows us a better model. He had a mountainside experience – actually, He had several – but He never hit the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” afterwards.

I wonder if we can learn something from Him?

Here’s how I see it.

Elijah had this amazing experience on Mt Carmel calling fire from heaven, killing pretty much the whole of the priesthood of the false gods. Right afterwards, he prays in the tiny little cloud that becomes the rainstorm that ends the drought (that he started himself years earlier).

And then Jezebel threatened him. It was a vague threat, no teeth in it really, but he ran for his life and prayed to die. God fed him along the way, and met him in the cave he hid in, but when he wouldn’t abandon his self-pity, He fired him. (“… and anoint Elisha prophet in your place…”)

John the Baptist did such a good job of prophesying the word of the Lord that he ended up in jail for his straight shooting declaration of God’s opinions of the king’s adultery.

And when he got there, he despaired of his life work. “Are you even the Messiah?” he sent his disciples to ask Jesus.

I find it interesting that both are prophets. In our day and age, the prophetic gifts are growing so very free. But perhaps it’s not without a cost, and a severe one, should we be less than careful.

Elijah comes down off the mountain top, and immediately immerses himself in more ministry (ending the drought).

John spends some time (admittedly, as a guest of Herod’s jailers) reflecting on his ministry.

By contrast, Jesus does something completely different. After His big dog experience with feeding the 5000, and what does He do? He sends the boys off rowing home as a storm rolls in, and He spends the night up in the hills praying.

I think that’s significant.

After the big ministry event:

Elijah goes on to the next big ministry event.

John reflects on the last ministry event.

But Jesus gets in God’s presence, and presumably unloads His soul to Him. (Afterwards, of course, He strolls across the storm-tossed lake to check on the boys.)

So when we have a big day with God, it seems that it would be good to spend some time unloading with Him. Debriefing.

I had a big day with him recently. Kind of an impromptu treasure hunt among believers for 10 hours. Afterwards, I needed to celebrate, yes. Worship is a good thing. But after that, I needed to spend some time reminding both Him and me that it was His work, and I was along for the ride.

A friend went through an intensive spiritual training school recently. When he came back, he spent some weeks just processing with God. Not doing. Not planning to do. Just sitting with God.

I think he was really wise.

Beware Gypsy Presbyteries

“Beware gypsy presbyteries!”

It has been fifty years since the warning was prophesied to the church in that city. It was one of the larger cities of the greater Pacific Northwest region, and the prophet declaring the word was known by the church of that city, and was respected. “Beware gypsy presbyteries!” he declared.

I’ve been thinking about that word, and I’m hearing God breathing on it for my region. In fact, I believe God is re-breathing that word to the entire Pacific Northwest. He’s probably saying it to more than just our region, but I have confidence that this is the season for the Northwest to hear it. Fifty years ago, the church didn’t hear, or they didn’t understand, and there was a price that was paid for their failure, but that’s not the story I’m telling here.

But before I tell the story, I need to be clear about the position that I tell it from. I am not opposed to traveling ministries; I am not opposed to prophetic ministries. In fact, I have good friends in both camps, and I serve ministries that are in both camps. What I am about to say is not a declaration that such ministries are in error. That would be an untrue accusation. In fact, the very prophecy we’re discussing here was delivered by a traveling prophetic minister.

Think with me about that simple sentence: Beware gypsy presbyteries:

· Beware: watch out. There’s danger here. Be careful here; don’t get caught in it.

· Gypsy: in the less-politically-correct times of a half century ago, a gypsy was “a member of a people with dark skin and hair who speak Romany and who traditionally live by seasonal work and fortunetelling.” They traveled from place to place, with no roots in the places they visited, and no accountability in those places.

· Presbyteries: Bill Hamon defines a prophetic presbytery: when two or more prophets and/or prophetic ministers lay hands on and prophesy over an individual, a body, or a region, to minister a prophetic word, to identify gifts and placement in the Body or in leadership, to impart gifts and callings, or for ordaining to an office of ministry.

It’s probably worth mentioning that this a metaphor: I am not suggesting that there are either individual prophets or groups of prophets wandering from town to town performing fortune telling under the guise of prophetic ministry just to make a living. I’m sure that does occasionally happen, but again: that’s not the primary warning here.

These days, we have a large number of traveling prophets, visiting town after town, prophesying. I would expect that, like the gypsies of old, they were tempted to declare what people wanted to hear in order to generate better offerings, but again, that’s not the primary warning here.

The warning is to guard against depending on prophetic words from traveling prophetic ministries who have no root, no stake in this region. There is good that can come from visiting prophetic ministries, even from ministries that we don’t well know; the warning is against depending on those.

And this is a warning to the church; I am confident that this is a warning to the church in my region; I suggest you ask the Holy Spirit if it’s a warning to the church in your region as well. Fundamentally, this is a warning that the primary prophetic voice in our region must not be from traveling ministries. Our primary prophetic voice needs to come from the prophetic people of our own region.

Thirty years ago, there were a relatively large number of traveling evangelists. They’d come into town, hold a week or two worth of meetings, collect that many offerings, and move on to the next town. A few people came to Christ, more folks renewed forgotten vows, and some of the saints were encouraged. Sometimes.

But it was not an uncommon occurrence that the evangelist would say some things that confused some of the sheep. In my community, the departure of an evangelist would leave uncertain saints worrying about “Can a Christian really have a demon?” or “Can I really lose my salvation?” “Am I really in danger of hell after all these years?”

Pastors would talk with respect about some of the evangelists; others, they said, would “Blow in, blow up, and blow out!” and the pastors would be left to clean up the messes, soothe their worried sheep and answer their difficult and sometimes unnecessary questions.

In our generation, we have more prophets than evangelists blowing into town, declaring a prophetic sermon, prophesying with varying degrees of accuracy over several people in the audience, collecting the requisite number of offerings, and blowing on to the next town. Again, the pastors are left to clean up the messes, soothe their worried sheep and answer their difficult and sometimes unnecessary questions. These days, the questions include, “The prophet said this would happen; why isn’t it happening?” and “Why won’t the pastor recognize me in the role the prophet said I am called to?”

In other words, there are a number of pastoral problems with the church depending on traveling prophetic ministers. In order to deal with the pastoral questions, there is a temptation to reject the traveling prophetic ministry; I’m not sure that’s the right solution.

But there are also significant apostolic problems when the church depends heavily on traveling prophetic ministers, particularly when she depends on un-connected gypsy presbyteries. Some examples:

· If we don’t stand up and take responsibility for hearing what God has to say for our region, then why should we expect people who have no investment in the region to labor to hear God’s heart for our region?

· Prophetic words often don’t come to pass by themselves; we need to labor with them: fighting for the promises, fighting with the promises. Prophets who blow into town, declare a word (even a good word) and then are gone to the next town cannot labor to birth the word that’s been declared.

· If we depend on guest speakers for our prophetic declarations, then what happens when we need to hear from God and there is no guest speaker in town this weekend?

· When a church, a region, depends on others to bring the word of the Lord for them, then they have no motivation, no reason to raise up their own prophetic community. The church is justly famous for teaching on the gift of encouragement, the gift of giving and others; recently, the church has begun teaching on the gift of prophecy and how to hear God’s voice, but how often has either a congregation or the church of a region taught the people of their own region about how to walk in the difficult office of a prophet?

· If there are no prophets raised up and recognized in the region, then how will the church of the region recognize and stand up to the agenda of darkness and declare, “You shall not pass!” As a result, the region stands with weakened defenses.

If we are to be a healthy people, we need to develop a measure of strength in all of the gifts in our region. We will do well to welcome traveling prophetic ministries, but we need to develop lasting relationships with them; fortunately, in this generation, it’s very possible to build lasting, distant relationships.

I believe the Spirit of God is calling for maturity in the prophetic (in all of the gifts, really). It’s time to raise up mature prophetic communities in our region, communities that have the maturity to declare the word of God to our region, both to the church and to the “secular” community, communities that are self-replicating, raising up their replacements, communities that can discern and judge the declarations of the gypsy presbyteries.

From Northwest Prophetic.

Larry Randolph - How to Receive a Prophetic Word

Larry Randolph teaches on how to receive, judge and act on prophetic words.