This Is War!
By pastortim | July 22, 2008
This Is War!
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a government indicating that a state of war exists between that government and one or more others.
Spiritual warfare exists in the unseen, supernatural dimension, where God is all-powerful and Satan is in revolt. As any Christian soon discovers, although spiritual warfare is unseen, it’s absolutely real. The Bible speaks of spiritual warfare in many places, but most directly in Ephesians 6:12, where Paul speaks of putting on the full armor of God. Spiritual warfare is an image that many of us would rather reject. However, since the Bible uses terms of warfare, it’s best that we accept God’s imagery, so that we’re properly prepared for real battle. As Christians, we’re going through more than a mere “struggle” on earth – and it seems that war imagery captures this reality better than anything else. Since it’s warfare, God instructs Christians to use a very specific set of armor and weapons in Ephesians 6:14-18
IDENTIFY YOUR ENEMY!
What are “Principalities, Powers, World Rulers of Darkness, and Spiritual Wickedness in High Places”?
The Apostle Paul tells us to put on our spiritual armor because our battle in this world is a “spiritual” one. A warfare that is against the trickery and power of the devil, as opposed to a human battle. Even though human beings will certainly play a role in this spiritual warfare, they are being used by these entities for the purposes of accomplishing evil. Evil spirits are the true power behind such people. We read, Eph 6:12: For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Our Spiritual Warfare is Against “Principalities”
The concept of principalities is understood by the Greek word arche meaning chief or ruler. These principalities are ruling demonic spirits possessing executive authority or governmental rule in the world. This ruling power usually involves a particular nation, people or race. There are evil angels ruling the kingdoms of the world that oppose the truth of God, and of which Satan is the chief prince or ruler, of both the world system and its organization of demons, as noted in the gospel of Matthew.
In Matthew 12:24 the devil is called “Beelzebub” meaning lord of the dwelling, in which these wicked spirits are subject to and operate under Satan’s dominion. They, like their chief prince, direct, control, rule and carry out the present darkness of this world.
They are defined as:
1. A territory ruled by a prince or from which a prince derives his title.
2. The position, authority, or jurisdiction of a prince; sovereignty.
The idea of prince devil spirits ruling or controlling a region is supported in the Old Testament book of Daniel, chapter 10. Daniel is visited by an angel in response to his prayer to God. This angel, who was sent by God to answer Daniel’s prayer, was delayed for 21 days because of a battle that took place between God’s angel and “a prince of the kingdom of Persia.” Daniel reveals the angel’s message in the following verses:
Dan 10:12-13
“Then said he [the angel] unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten [humble] thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
The spiritual battle, for this angel, was of such magnitude that Michael, the archangel of God and designated prince of Israel, assisted the angel in battle.
Another enemy of God, the prince of Greece, is also mentioned in the verses below.
Dan 10:20-21
“Then said he [the angel], Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.”
The book of Daniel gives us an excellent example of how these unseen spiritual entities fight to increase and maintain their realms of influence and control in order to hinder God’s purposes. In addition, as previously stated, these princes are named after the nations or rather their principalities in which they rule.It is Satan’s purpose to deceive these nations and to keep them from obtaining a knowledge of God’s truth and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
In the book of Revelation, chapter 20, Satan is depicted as a deceiver of nations. The Greek word for deceive is planaho, and according to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, this word means to “cause to roam from safety, truth or virtue, go astray, seduce, wander, and to be out of the way.”
Satan’s major success, in deceiving a nation, is due to a lack of discernment on the part of the people. The people are blind to the invisible forces of supernatural evil that are operating and influencing their visible human agents of political, social, religious and philosophical programs. Satan’s greatest victory would be to convince the world that he just doesn’t exist. However, God signifies the devil as the author of sin, sickness and death, and warns us to be alert and vigilant because the devil, as a roaring lion roams about seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). The devil controls the kingdoms of the world and we are not to underestimate his influence and power, nor believe that this is the will of God. God is telling us to “stand” against these evil forces by equipping ourselves with the power of God, and looking unto Christ as our example.
Luk 4:5-7 And the devil, taking him (Jesus) up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered (to surrender or yield up) unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
These are “kingdoms” - From G935; properly royalty, that is, (abstractly) rule, or (concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively): - kingdom, + reign.
There will also come a day in which we are told in the book of Revelation,
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.
However, until this Scripture is fulfilled we can only conclude, as the Apostle Paul instructs, that our wrestling involves principalities or peoples or regions under the influence and deception of Satan. Satan is the prince or ruler of the kingdoms of this world, also described in the Bible as the “kingdom of darkness,” in which we have our spiritual warfare. In addition, let us not be fooled, because Satan can and does prosper evil people in the world.
Our Spiritual Warfare is Against “Powers and World Rulers of Darkness”
The Greek word for “powers” is exousia which means derived or conferred authority, the warrant or right to do something, or delegated influences of control. In keeping with the context of this verse, this would include all high-ranking, evil supernatural powers and the power of sin and evil in operation in the world. The fruits of this type of evil can probably be seen in drug cartels, gross poverty, plagues, terrorism, and other heinous crimes against humanity, even toward the animal kingdom. Some Christian authors also associate “world rulers” with magic and demonic pagan gods such as the Ephesians’ Artemis and seems to be in line with the pagan culture of ancient times, in which temples were dedicated to these demonic pagan deities. And let us not forget “Molech,” the national god of the Ammonites’ in Old Testament history. The priests would place the sacrificial children into the brass hands of the image, in which these helpless victims would slip into the fire below. This is described in Scripture as the “abominations of the nations” (2 kings 16:3 ASV).
Our Spiritual Warfare is Against “Spiritual Wickedness in Heavenly Places”
The Greek word for wickedness is ponēria and means depravity and particularly in the sense of malice and mischief, plots, sins, and iniquity (Strong’s Gk. Dict.).
Malice is defined as:
1. A desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite.
2. Law — The intent, without just cause or reason, to commit a wrongful act that will result in harm to another.
Satan is also depicted as the prince of the power of the air
Since Satan is the prince of the power of the air, these wicked spirits, in high places, are often understood to be the collective organization of all of Satan’s devil spirits. These malevolent spirits work evil and mischief and operate in our atmosphere. They operate as close to the very air we breathe, and reach to realms beyond. All kinds of spiritual filth are propagated , in these realms, for the purpose of humanity’s deception and subsequent destruction. It is our responsibility to establish spiritual authority in this world. Though Satan is known as the Prince and power of the air, we have been given power over him by the King of Kings!
Authority doesn’t beg; authority doesn’t ask; authority commands! We are not told to ask God to cast out demons, we are told to do it ourselves! We are not told to beg demons to come out, we are told to CAST them out!
One thing that made it clear that Jesus was the son of God, is because He exercised authority that nobody else had access to in history!He cast out demons using His authority: Mark 1:27, “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.”He cast out demons with His spoken word: Matthew 8:16, “When the evening was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word…”We need to believe that Satan has already been completely destroyed (Heb. 2:14) and simply enforce his defeat.The only power he has is the power to deceive. Our battle should be against the wiles (trickery) of the devil (Eph. 6:11), not the devil himself.The only weapon Satan has is the power we give him when we believe his lies.
Warfare only takes place between two undefeated foes. Once an enemy has been conquered, the war is over. Remember, Satan is a defeated foe.
Colossians 2:15 says, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” The archaic meaning of the word “spoiled” here is “to plunder; despoil” (American Heritage Dictionary). This means that after Jesus defeated Satan, He stripped him of everything he had, specifically the keys of death and hell (Rev. 1:18). Satan has no power to imprison anyone.
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What Do You Have In Your Hand?
By pastortim | July 9, 2008
What Do You Have In Your Hand?
When God calls us to fill a position or to perform a certain task, He always supplies us with what we need in order to accomplish whatever we have been assigned to do. From this point forward we determine the level of success that is achieved. The level of success experienced then becomes a matter of obedience, trust in God, His purpose and design for us. What we do with what has been placed in our hand is now our responsibility, and not His.
Gen 2:15 says, “ And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it”. When God created man and placed him in the garden, He supplied him with everything needed to live a prosperous and fruitful life. As a matter of fact, God commanded man to be fruitful and to multiply. Man’s fall was not a result of any failure on God’s part, but rather a lack of man’s ability to completely trust that God had only his best interest at heart and not His own.
It’s All About Stewardship!
Mat 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
A talent of gold is not a trivial amount. In today’s market its worth would be about $300,000 dollars. This was not a small matter. However, the value of this parable cannot be measured by the value of each talent, but rather in the servant’s attitude towards his master, as well as what had been committed to his care.
The question is simply this. What has God entrusted you with, and what does He expect you to do with it? Always remember, when God places something within our care, we immediately become His point of increase. It is through our faithful stewardship over it that increase comes.
It’s All About Attitude!
Deut. 8:18 states, “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day”.
God has included in His design and purpose for man, the power to create wealth. It is a part of His covenant that was established between Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Himself. It is COVENANT!
There are a couple of key words in this scripture that I would like to point out. The first is “power”. Strong’s defines it as a force or capacity to produce. It is an inherent ability or strength to produce substance and wealth.
The next word is “wealth”. Strong’s also defines wealth as a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an ability or activity. It also denotes power, riches, strength, substance and virtue.
So how does increase come? It comes through your obedient availability to this power or force that produces resources, strength and substance in your life. This power or force that we speak of is the covenant that still stands today, because of Jesus the Christ and his blood, that sealed it throughout eternity.
In the Christian life, ability is developed through application. Lazy Christians tend to make excuses just as the unfaithful servant. They tend to go throughout life and would rather pay someone else to do their job for them rather than to do it for themselves. They are always trying to tag along on someone else’s faith and works. They are always trying to gather where they themselves have not sown. They bury their God-given talents and abilities, relying upon someone else to carry them through life. But God has given each of us the same ability to sow as well as to reap a bountiful harvest. But a garden is never planted without effort on someone’s part.
In the end, those who submitted to their master, acting responsibly with the resources he provided, were greatly rewarded, while the lazy one was condemned. The talent was also taken from the lazy servant and given to the one who proved most able and responsible. That is the kingdom principle by which we are to live by! God will only give more to those who prove responsible with what has already been entrusted to them.
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I Have Called You To Rule and Reign
By pastortim | October 24, 2007
Life Word!
For I have called you to be a discoverer of new things in me. I have set before you a path that few have dared to follow because of fear. But I have called you not unto fear, but unto faith. Faith that will cause you to dare to believe in Me for what seems to be impossible in your eyes. But these things that seem to be impossible to you, I have not only seen, but I have created for you. As you believe in Me, you shall possess the things I have created for you. You shall discover new joys in Me through your unwavering faith, for I am calling you into a higher level of understanding. In this place of new understanding, you shall grow into a new man in Me. For I have seen and I know exactly what you need in order to fulfill My calling upon your life. I will not leave you abandoned and fatherless as an orphan. I have adopted you, and ordained you as an heir to My kingdom. But you would say that one must die in order for another to receive his inheritance. Did not my very own son die, and did He not receive His rightful inheritance? Does he not sit at My right hand with the earth as His footstool, and have I not placed all things beneath His feet? Haven’t you died to flesh and self, and haven’t you received the promise that if you have suffered with Him, you shall also reign with Him? As He rules and reigns from My right hand in the heavenlies, so shall you rule and reign upon the earth. As you lay hold of my promise to you, overcoming power will draw you into new paths that will cause you to possess the lands that I have created for you. The resistance that the enemy has set before you as you have pursued My will for your life has provoked Me to move you beyond your limitations and into your desire. For have I not promised that as you delight yourself in me, I will give you the desires of your heart? For I will take the hidden treasures and reveal them unto you.
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It’s Birthing Time!
By pastortim | October 1, 2007
This morning as I woke, I realized that today was the first day of October. The reason this became significant to me is because I had expected September to be an extrordinary month of prophetic birthing. But to my disappointment, I could not say that anything significant to my expectation had come to pass. Don’t misunderstand me. God has and continues to be such a faithful Father in my life and ministry. However, there were some things I expected to see happen over the last thirty days that did not manifest. Then the Holy Spirit began speaking to me. He reminded me of the incredibly powerful manifestation of the Spirit that we experienced this past Sunday (Sept. 30th). The anointing of the Holy Spirit came into the building like a title wave, flooding the place with the prophetic anointing. During praise and worship, there were sounds being heard, sounds of angelic praise and worship that joined with us as we worshipped God. For an hour and a half everyone in the room was captivated by the Holy Spirit, caught up in a spirit of worship that transcended human emotion and understanding. Songs of prophetic psalms flowed from the hearts of those who worshipped. As I began to reflect back upon this, the Holy Spirit said that “now is the time for birthing. Now is the appointed time of delivery. Nine months is complete, and now October will bring forth, not a premature birth, but a full term, fully developed manifestation of your expectation. He said that Sunday the spiritual waters broke, and that the birthing is now at hand. So prepare yourself for delivery. Accomodate your miracle with a heart of healthy anticipation, for the birthing hour is at hand”.
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Prophetic Word of the Lord!
By pastortim | September 28, 2007
Prepare yourself for a flood of my blessings says the Lord. Bread that has been cast upon the waters is about to be forced upon you like a title wave driven by a mighty wind. It will bring in as well as carry away those things that have stood in the way of my plans for you. Because you have trusted me in the midst of what seemed to be a season of drought, I am going to bring you to a place of refreshing. You shall drink from my own hand says the Lord your God.
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Prophetic Word of the Lord!
By pastortim | September 28, 2007
As you step out of the will of man, you will step into the will of God. And as you step into the will of God, you shall step on the neck of your enemy. As you step on the neck of your enemy, you shall spring forth into your prophetic place of victory.
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Prophetic Word of the Lord!
By pastortim | September 28, 2007
There is a blessing inside of you that, once revealed, will progressively increase and enlarge itself beyond anything you have imagined, hoped or dreamed of. This blessing is for you, your family, and will flow forth from you into the lives of those connected with you and the vision that God has given you. But for a season and you shall see these things come to pass!
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