Declare.

One of the most helpful tools to build your faith and renew your mind is to declare out loud what the Scriptures say. Paul told us that, “faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). As you hear yourself speak God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will cause faith to come in the promises you are declaring.

Notice this gem from the book of Job (22:25-28) “Then the Almighty will be your gold and choice silver to you. For then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will pray to Him, and He will hear you . . . You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.”

Notice that in the context of prayer and delighting in the Almighty, Father hears our prayer and then we decree a thing and it will be established for us. As beings created in the image of our God, we speak to our situation and say, “Let there be light!” We call for a revelation of the truths that Jesus purchased for us.

In the New Testament, Jesus put it this way: Mark 11:23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”

Take note that Jesus is talking about our declarations. Speak to the mountain. Believe in your heart that what you are saying is coming to pass and you will have whatever you are saying. Another translation puts it this way: “For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says” (WEB).

Observe that he believes that what he is saying is happening. It doesn’t say anything about what he feels or what he sees with his natural eye, but rather what he is believing in his heart and saying with his mouth - because it is based on what God has said - is happening.

Consider for a few minutes some other similar thoughts from Jesus. In Luke 17:6 Jesus says, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.” The Passion Translation puts this quite clearly: “If you have even the smallest measure of authentic faith, it would be powerful enough to say to this large tree – ‘my faith will pull you up by the roots and throw you into the sea’ – and it will respond to your faith and obey you.” Certainly you have “even the smallest measure of authentic faith!”

And at another time He commented, “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). Take note of the things Jesus said would be the result of faith-filled words: The mountains in our life would be removed. The problem we speak to would obey us. Nothing would be impossible for us.

So as you go through these promises and declare them, remember that God “watches over His Word to perform it.” And as the apostle Paul said, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4:13)

This is from a devotional series Joe McIntyre is preparing: Declaring Your Faith

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.]

Dutch Sheets speaking about 2015: Apostolic Grace

Dutch Sheets has a prophetic word for 2015.

The video portion of this is really ugly (someone aimed a camera at a computer monitor). But the audio is clear enough to understand well.

This is worth hearing.

As usual: eat the meat and spit out the bones. There's good meat here, but there are always some bones in meat.

FASTING, BUT NOT LIKE BEFORE

Post by Kriston Couchey.

IDENTITY

Post by Kriston Couchey.

Leaders Who Build Their Own Kingdoms - A More Effective Prayer Strategy

We've all met leaders who seem bent on drawing attention to themselves and building their own kingdoms. A typical response from the body of Christ to such leaders is to point out their errors and to accuse them of being prideful and self-seeking. Even though our accusations may be true, this kind of response will never help them. I don’t believe it is God’s strategy to have us engage in gossip and slander against people who could be helped by our prayers. In order for us to help these leaders, we must take a look at what is causing their problem.

Many of these leaders have suffered repeated rejection throughout their lives. The cause of their self-seeking behavior is that they have an unmet need for affirmation and approval.

Most people who draw attention to themselves suffer from feelings of inadequacy. They believe they are just not good enough. Although they point others to their many accomplishments to gain approval, their inner self-talk is full of negativity. The need they have to hear people say good things about them is an attempt to drown out the voices of criticism they hear internally. Drawing attention to themselves is the only way they know of to receive affirmation and validation. (Trust me on this one. I have plenty of personal experience to speak from.) What they really need is to receive affirmation and validation from Jesus himself.

Some people can read the Bible and accept the fact that Jesus approves of them and affirms them, but for many people, approval and affirmation must come from a personal experience they have with Jesus.

If we want to be effective in helping our leaders to be overcomers, we might pray for them to have personal encounters with Jesus where he validates and affirms them personally. Once they receive his stamp of approval, the unmet need they have for validation is removed and generally, they no longer need to be validated by others. The validation they receive from Jesus crushes the lie from the enemy that says they are not good enough. This usually ends their attempts to build their own kingdom.

So instead of speaking bad about leaders who build their own kingdoms out of a need for validation, we might consider praying for them to be touched and affirmed by Jesus in person.

The Intimate Kingdom

By Ron McGatlin

Although there are similarities in earthly kingdoms and the kingdom of God, there are also vast differences. Earthly kingdoms are usually ruled by the king’s decree of law and order with severe consequences for failure to keep the law.

There is very little access for the people to the king’s throne room, and that is only by special invitation from the king.

The king usually provides little incentive beyond punishment for keeping the law of his kingdom. Equally, he provides no inner strength or empowerment to his subjects to keep the law and live in the order of the land.

A natural worldly king may or may not show mercy upon subjects who break the law. However, He has no capacity to impart within his subjects the grace empowerment to live in the order of his kingdom.

The Love Kingdom
The kingdom of God / kingdom of heaven is indefinable in human understanding with human words. Multitudes of parables can be used to portray aspects of the kingdom. However, only by the Spirit of God may the realities of the kingdom be communicated or understood. Human beings do not have capacity to see or understand the kingdom of God with their natural minds (1 Cor 2:14).

The kingdom of God is a Spiritual kingdom that is far above all other kingdoms. Christ Jesus is the King through whom and for whom all things were created and in whom all things consist. All the fullness of God dwells in Him, and He is before all things (Col 1:15-19).

The natural realm was created and is sustained (continues to exist) by the realm of the Spirit. The realm of the Spirit is supreme and preeminent over the natural realm.

The predominant characteristic of the kingdom of God is the LOVE of God. The kingdom of God is ordered by God’s love. The reestablishment of the kingdom of God on Planet Earth is the work of Christ Jesus. The kingdom of God is established on earth by Christ Jesus flowing His resurrection life by His Spirit into and through the hearts and lives of redeemed mankind.

The kingdom of God is the only kingdom in which the King supplies the inner incentive of His love drawing us into His kingdom, and reflecting out through us to the world around us. His love and grace empowerment within us causes us to keep the law of God effortlessly. Our hearts are overcome with love for Him and the desire to please Him. His will and desire becomes our will and desire. We become one with Him in love. His grace empowerment flows through us, and all things are possible to Christ in us. As we continue to live by His Spirit and walk in His Spirit like branches attached to the Vine, we bear the fruit of the kingdom.

The Intimate Kingdom
The kingdom of God is the only kingdom in which the subjects or servants become sons of God and have full open access into the throne room of the King. Access is through intimate relationship with Christ Jesus. The kingdom of God flows from heaven into His people through the Spirit conduit of intimate relationship with God.

The pure and holy love relationship of a godly man and his godly bride in the created world is a parable or picture of the spiritual intimate love relationship to the KING. The pure holy passion a man has for his beautiful holy bride is a picture of the love of God for His Bride and Wife, collectively the New Jerusalem. The complete love, adoration, and awesome respect that a godly bride has for her husband is a picture of the passionate love, adoration, and worship we have for our Husband, Lord, and King: Christ Jesus.

The kingdom of God coming on earth is the product of intimately relating to God.

For many centuries we have traded the intimate relationship with God by the Holy Spirit for religious understandings, rituals, and practices. Because of His mercy and desire for a people (a true Bride and many sons), God has used the religious church systems as much as He could. Our loving powerful God, Who skips upon the hills like a gazelle or a young stag, will not break through or leap over the walls we created. He will not break in uninvited to take us by force.

He has waited outside, peering in through our fancy windows, longing for us and calling to us to come into intimate relationship with Him in the Spirit. As we open the door and enter into intimate oneness with Him, the kingdom of God is within us and flows out from us to love and change the world around us into His kingdom.

Song 2:8 -10: The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. My beloved spoke, and said to me: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Many sons of God were in the religious church systems asleep to the intimate Spirit-to-spirit relationship with God that leads to the reality of Kingdom of God life now. Yet, our hearts began to awaken within. We heard Him knocking at the door, and yet we found it did not fit in with our religious routine to arise and answer the call to come away with Him. As we hesitated we missed our visitation, and, when we went to open the door, He had left. Longing for more we left our walled houses to seek Him.

Song 5:2-6: I sleep, but my heart is awake. It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night." --- I have taken off my robe. How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet. How can I defile them? My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, And my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved. And my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened for my beloved. But my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

I thank God to be a part of the forerunner generation receiving the uncovering of the depth of the reality of becoming one with Christ – the mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory, that was first unveiled 2000 years ago. For two millennia, it has been buried under a world of religious false doctrines mixed with truth and sustained by traditions of men. The gospel of the kingdom – the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand - is again being preached on earth. A people in love with God are being formed to experience the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

" Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” –

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” ~Jesus~

Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.

Ron McGatlin

www.openheaven.com