How Should You Pray Under the New Covenant?
I have this discussion alot, centered around this question, "how do I pray under the New Covenant." We must remember that in Christ we are complete, he has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness and all his promises are yes and amen. We are not asking God to give us something we don't already have in Christ. Prayer should be from the perspective to have our hearts and eyes enlightened to see and experience what is already ours in Christ.
How should I pray for myself if I am already complete in Christ?
The simple answer is this, your spirit is perfect and whole, but your body and soul need to experience the ongoing promises of God. Your salvation is secure, but the rest of your being needs renewal as you are continually conformed to the image of Christ. You experience that renewal the same way you were born again, by grace through faith. Everything the rest of your being needs to experience is also a gift from God. You can't earn it, suffer for it, or be good enough. You can only renew your mind and persuade your heart of the present reality that you are in Christ. As your mind and heart align with who God is in you and who you are in Him, it will shape your thoughts, desires, and choices, and your spiritual state will affect the rest of your being.
So you should still pray, but pray in such a way that you affirm your already completed spiritual identity. Remember that He has given you all things that pertain to life and godliness, and all his promises are yes and amen. We are not asking God to give us something we don't already have in Christ. Prayer should shift our hearts and eyes to see and experience what is already ours in Christ.
How should I pray for others?
When praying for others, you pray the same for them, that they would see who they are in Christ and what they have in Christ. One of the most effective things you can do in praying for someone else is to pray with your spirit for that person.
Concerning the enemy, if someone is oppressed, hindered, or believing a lie, pray in such a way that you reinforce their connection with God so that they would stand in their authority and display the strength and faith of Christ in them. The believer with a limiting belief or some kind of deception must resist the enemy by standing in the truth of their already accomplished victory in Christ. Still, even more so, they need to strengthen their hearts in what Christ has already accomplished.
The goal is not to chase away a demon; it is to strengthen the believer's heart/faith, so they don't allow the enemy's tactics to cause them to stumble.
Devils and demons aren't causing your hindrances, they're attracted to your hindrances. Those limitations and hindrances are in your heart, in your beliefs. Once you align those with God's word, the enemy has nothing else to reinforce in your life.
The most significant breakthroughs don't come from rebuking and binding spirits off your life. Instead, the most essential breakthroughs come when you know your power in Christ and are no longer susceptible to the lies or tactics of the enemy.
Truly, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. And when you stand in the power/authority of the one who is in you, the enemy has nothing in you to exploit. The church needs to wake up to the reality of the New Covenant, in which the enemy is already defeated and stripped of authority.
If you have no weaknesses in any given area, the enemy has nothing to exploit. But unfortunately, too many people pray as if the demon is causing the hindrance when in reality, the demon is just an opportunist.
The solution is to strengthen the believer, and the enemy will have no ground to apply any sort of tactic.
The Apostle Paul's prayers are a good model for us. You never see him rebuking a devil, breaking a curse, cutting a soul tie, or pulling down strongholds over cities. Instead, we always see Paul affirming believers' connection with God through Christ. He prayed that our hearts, minds, and spiritual eyes would be opened to see what is already ours in Christ. Because he knew that when a believer understands the finished work of Jesus and operates from that identity/authority, the enemy has no effect, and we will accomplish the purposes of God.
If you'd like to dig a little deeper, read through all of Paul's prayers and pay attention to how he prays. I created a blog a while ago that lists all of Paul's prayers. I pray it's a blessing to you and helps you understand better how to pray as a New Covenant believer.
Click here -> https://www.clintbyars.com/blog/2019/5/6/complete-list-prayers-apostle-paul
Also, jump in on the discussion under a similar Facebook post.
Feed on the Body and Blood of Christ
What does it mean to feed on his flesh and drink his blood?
John 4:31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
Jesus informs his disciples that there is a different kind of food available that nourishes us and strengthens us in place of natural food. It’s spiritual food but it is accessed with intention, by grace through faith. God will not spoon feed you the sustenance of his spirit like a baby, you must pick up a cup and drink.
How do you ;ick up that cup? Jesus said he did it by doing the will of his father and by fulfilling God’s will for his life.
“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
What does it mean to feed on his flesh and drink his blood?
John 4:31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."
Jesus informs his disciples that a different kind of food is available that nourishes us and strengthens us in place of natural food. It's spiritual food, but it is accessed with intention, by grace through faith. God will not spoon-feed you the sustenance of his spirit like a baby, you must pick up a cup and drink.
How do you pick up that cup? Jesus said he did it by fulfilling his father's will and fulfilling God's will for his life.
I can tell you that it is enriching and fulfilling when I'm serving, ministering, enjoying my family, or any other things that align with God's guidance for that moment. So many times, I preach and feel full as if I've eaten a meal. But that's just one example. We have access to be nourished by God's spirit in everything we do. Because we are children of God, we have access to his spirit as strength and nourishment in every aspect of life.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
The Apostle John records a detailed conversation and teaching from Jesus about this subject. Read through the following section slowly. Pay attention to what you notice. Keep your heart open to God and allow him to give you insight into how the flesh and blood of Christ can strengthen you. Identify areas where you are living in your own strength and decide to allow God's spirit to be your strength.
John 6:27-59 (read full chapter)
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—
46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you
54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
God Does Not Want to Judge You
Jesus bore God's wrath and judgment for sin in his body on the cross as the sin offering for the world. Now that Christ is in you, you don't ever have to worry about being judged by God. Jesus explains why throughout the Gospel of John.
““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
Jesus bore God's wrath and judgment for sin in his body on the cross as the sin offering for the world. Now that Christ is in you, you don't ever have to worry about being judged by God. Jesus explains why throughout the Gospel of John.
While speaking with Nicodemus, Jesus explained that God would judge him on our behalf.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up
Jesus is speaking of an event during the Israelite's time in the desert.
Numbers 21:4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Our first response to this story should be thankfulness that we are not under the Mosaic covenant, otherwise known as the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is not the whole of the Old Testament, it's just the arrangement the Israelites were in from their deliverance from Egypt to the time of Jesus when he enacted a New Covenant.
The Old Covenant included blessings AND curses. The Israelite's complaints against God and Moses brought upon themselves a judgment in the form of poisonous snakes. But when they repented and asked for deliverance, God gave them a way to be free from the judgment of their sin.
Under the New Covenant, Jesus has already been tried, judged, and punished for all your past, present, and future sins. You never have to wonder if God will judge you for your mistakes and sins. You have already been delivered from the curse of the Law. Also - you don't ever have to wonder if what you're going through is some judgment or trial from God because he is not relating to you that way because of the kind of covenant we're in through Christ. God is not sending poisonous snakes into your life in the form of depression, job loss, troubled relationships, poverty, disease, etc.
I love the glimpses we have into Jesus' heart. For example, he was highly stressed about the kind of death he was going to face. In several cases, he prayed to God for a different plan.
He said this about the kind of death Jesus would face.
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
I believe the word "peoples" in verse 32 should be the word "judgment." Some translations read, "I will draw all men unto me." But the word "peoples" or "men" was not in the original editions of John. It was added at the discretion of the translators.
When you think through the context of this story, you understand that Jesus is drawing the judgment on himself, not on people. When the Israelites looked to the serpent on the pole, they understood that their judgment was being transferred to the serpent. As long as they beheld the serpent, they were delivered from judgment.
The same is true for Christ on the cross. When we behold him and place our faith in what he's done on that cross in our place, we understand that our judgment has been removed from us and put on/in him on the cross.
When Christ was lifted up on the tree, he took in Himself our curse to deliver us from sin and death.
How can we live out this powerful truth in practical ways?
1. Don't sin, but if you do, don't forget about Jesus.
As I mentioned, you can live free of fear because Jesus has already eternally atoned for your sin. So don't sin, but if you do, remember that was already tried, judged, and punished for it.
1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
When you feel the guilt and shame from life's failures, and those fiery serpents come to bite you, behold him and allow the sting of judgment to roll over to Christ rather than worrying if you'll lose your salvation.
2. Don't judge others.
Living with the awareness that you are forgiven allows you to be more understanding of others.
Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
The context of this instruction from Jesus is horizontal, not vertical. Meaning when you judge others, others will judge you. This is not a warning and a threat of judgment from God.
Very simply, when you feel the desire to judge someone else, remember that Christ was judged for your sin. So if you sin or are tempted to judge others, the prescription is the same - remember that Jesus was cursed and judged for your sin.
If Christians lived aware of this truth, we would be much more effective in the world. Of course, we should not compromise God's truth and deny his natural order of sexuality and morality, but we should live judgment free of others because we live judgment free from God.
I pray this video is a blessing and helps you live free from the fear of God's judgment.
The Father’s Desire for you is Eternal Life
If you're going to have beliefs about God, base them on the instances where God describes himself, not your interpretation of a broken world's circumstances. God is not trying to make your life challenging to teach you lessons, he wants you to thrive and experience abundant life.
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
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If you're going to have beliefs about God, base them on the instances where God describes himself, not your interpretation of a broken world's circumstances. God is not trying to make your life challenging to teach you lessons, he wants you to thrive and experience abundant life.
God is a healer, not a disease-maker. God is a provider, not a thief. God is kind, not cruel. God gives wisdom, not confusion. God can be trusted and depended on, he's not the source of your pain.
Jesus came to represent God and show us what he is like, and he went around doing good and healing people. That's God!! The one who wants to do good things in your life and heal you as you enjoy the life he gives you. You then minister to others out of that overflow.
God wants us to know him. God is not difficult to understand. If you know Jesus and are aware of his works, you can know God. In fact, God is soo good, he desires to do good things in your life, just so you'll sit back and say WOW!! So that you may marvel.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. John 5:20
The world doesn't know God in this way. Instead, they've been shown a judgmental deity that looks more like a Greek deity than the one true God. If you know God is good and only good, then get busy helping others know him. If you struggle to believe that God is only good because you've had a traditional view of God, then it's time to change how you see him.
Jesus is the clearest picture we have of God, base your beliefs about God on him. I walk through John chapter 5 and some of 6 to highlight the point that Jesus wants us to know how good God is. I hope the message is a blessing to you.
God's Love Is More Than A Nice Idea, It's Power Within You
God's love for you is more than just how he feels about you. His love is more than just His motivation for sending Jesus. His love is an active force in your inner being that has an effect. His love is not just positive thoughts he has about you, it's an actual power than flows from Him into your heart that does things.
What does God's love do? It causes you to be whole.
The sacrifice of Christ made a way for your relationship with God to be restored. But His love, poured out in your heart, is actively making your entire being whole and complete, spirit, soul, and body.
God's love is more than just a nice idea to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, it's the most powerful force in existence, and it's active in you.
“Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”
God's love for you is more than just how he feels about you. His love is more than just His motivation for sending Jesus. His love is an active force in your inner being that has an effect. His love is not just positive thoughts he has about you, it's an actual power than flows from Him into your heart that does things.
What does God's love do? It causes you to be whole.
The sacrifice of Christ made a way for your relationship with God to be restored. But His love, poured out in your heart, is actively making your entire being whole and complete, spirit, soul, and body.
God's love is more than just a nice idea to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, it's the most powerful force in existence, and it's active in you.
Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
Ephesians 3:16 I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth 19 of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
His love is that power.
The fruits of the spirit are birthed out of a heart convinced of God's love. The power of God works through your life because his love for you has been poured into your heart. The more you are convinced of God's love for you, the more you will allow yourself to be empowered by grace to experience all God seeks to do through you.
So the conclusion is to become fully persuaded of God's love. I recommend finding 12 passages about God's love and meditating on them daily for a few weeks. Then, notice how that exercise affects you at work, with your spouse, when you're tempted, when you're inspired to pray for someone, and in other areas of your life.
Watch the message above for a deeper teaching on the powerful love of God.
Spirits, Ghosts, and Messages from the Other Side
Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in demons? Do you believe in ghosts? Do you think they are active in the world today? Christians have the capacity to distinguish between spirits and discover the truth. Jesus promised His spirit would come to live inside us and testify of Him when we are born again. His spirit inside us helps us not to be led astray by lying and deceiving spirits. Join us today and learn how to keep your hope anchored in Jesus and not be led astray by messages from the other side.
“You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.”
Do you believe in angels? Do you believe in demons? Do you believe in ghosts? Do you think they are active in the world today?
In this message I tell a story about possibly hearing a message from my mom on the third anniversary of her passing. While we don’t understand everything there is to know about the “great cloud of witnesses,” we do know that we’re connected to the spiritual realm. I give my clear opinion about what may or may not have happened regarding a message from my mom from Heaven. I hope you watch the message before commenting.
People in our time are craving spiritual experiences. The pain of loss can make us vulnerable to deceiving spirits, but the Lord also always wants to encourage us. We must have our spiritual senses tuned to truth to discern what’s the truth in our spiritual experiences.
Christians have the capacity to distinguish between spirits and discover the truth. Jesus promised His spirit would come to live inside us and testify of Him when we are born again. His spirit inside us helps us not to be led astray by lying and deceiving spirits.
In this message I discuss how to keep your hope anchored in Jesus and not be led astray by messages from the other side.
Quantum Entanglement and the Power of Prayer
Quantum Mechanics has shown us that there seems to be a different set of laws of physics at the quantum level. At that level, matter appears to respond to human observation rather than continuing along a deterministic course. From this understanding, we can glean insight into the power of prayer and how our prayer is powerful. Like the Centurion soldier healed by Jesus sending the word, we are connected by an unseen field that can manifest the will of God through prayer.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made”
You are quantum entangled with God.
I love the direction my mind goes when I think about a concept like this. I love geeking out on these kinds of sermons. I preach sermons like this because I want to de-mystify spiritual power and recapture hope in the power of prayer.
Quantum Mechanics has shown us that there seems to be a different set of laws of physics at the quantum level. At that level, matter appears to respond to human observation rather than continuing along a deterministic course.
From this understanding, we can glean insight into the gift of prayer and how our prayer is powerful. Like the Centurion soldier healed by Jesus sending the word, we are connected by an unseen field that can manifest the will of God through prayer.
I am not suggesting that the action of matter at the quantum level is spiritual power. It only helps us understand the unseen realm a bit more. I realize many strange ideas have been birthed from trying to manipulate matter due to knowledge of the spooky aspects of the quantum realm, I am not suggesting we try to manipulate the world through thought and intention. Instead, I am suggesting we use quantum-level action as a parable to understand more about the spiritual realm and the power in us.
I hope this series is helpful for you. Look for more messages on prayer from a non-mystical perspective.
If you like this sermon, here's an older series on the same topic: The Quantum Kingdom
You Become Like Him as You Get to Know Him
Do you need to make some changes in your life? Look at Jesus and you’ll change.
Ok, it’s not quite that simple, but it’s not much more complicated. The Apostle Paul said, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Most people would say this passage refers to Christ’s return, but it’s also a principle that applies now.
When you see Jesus for who he is, you become more like him. Conformity into his image is the natural fruit of a deeper revelation of who he is.
Do you need to make some changes in your life? Look at Jesus and you’ll change.
Ok, it’s not quite that simple, but it’s not much more complicated. The Apostle Paul said, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Most people would say this passage refers to Christ’s return, but it’s also a principle that applies now.
When you see Jesus for who he is, you become more like him. Conformity into his image is the natural fruit of a deeper revelation of who he is.
If you struggle with fear, you can magnify the truth that Jesus himself is your peace. Acknowledge that he and his peace is in you, and allow that peace to become your peace. Are you sick? Magnify Jesus as a healer. Don’t try to get healed, instead, focus on the truth that he is not just a healer, but he is life itself, he himself is life, and he is in you. Jesus even said, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Magnify his self-proclaimed intention to give you life.
When you invest in persuading your heart of who he is, you will experience the power of who he is.
1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
The more you know “him who is true,” the more you will experience the eternal, abundant life Jesus came to give you.
So how do you get to know him? You behold him or meditate on who he is. As you meditate on who he is and behold him in your heart, you will become more like him and experience that abundant life he came to give you. It’s a bit of a circular explanation, but it’s what I call a rolling truth. You have to start somewhere, but as you enter the cycle of knowing him, you will experience him, because he is true and he is in you to give you life.
Here’s a resource that may help you get to know him more. Click Here
Finished Work Inner Healing and Deliverance
When it comes to deliverance under the New Covenant, you need to know two things:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son - Colossians 1:13
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. - James 4:7
You don’t need to go through a complicated system to find the spiritual roots of the sickness, trauma, sin, or anything else that’s ungodly in your life. Instead, you need to stand in your identity in Christ and your authority in Christ. Then, as you stand and renew your mind, your heart becomes persuaded, and you become impervious to lies and deception. And the devil can’t touch you, just like Jesus.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. - John 14:30
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
When it comes to deliverance under the New Covenant, you need to know two things:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son - Colossians 1:13
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. - James 4:7
You don’t need to go through a complicated system to find the spiritual roots of the sickness, trauma, sin, or anything else that’s ungodly in your life. Instead, you need to stand in your identity in Christ and your authority in Christ. Then, as you stand and renew your mind, your heart becomes persuaded, and you become impervious to lies and deception. And the devil can’t touch you, just like Jesus.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. - John 14:30
Most deliverance and inner healing sessions put you on the warpath against a defeated enemy. They also get you operating in the flesh. If you are told you have to do some combination of these things, walk away and find someone that will help you rest in the finished work of Jesus.
Rebuke a curse
Break a soul tie
Renounce a demonic spirit
Repent from hidden sin
Close any doors they’re left open to the devil
Forgive people in their lives
Do a prophetic act
and the list goes on
All these things can be helpful, but they are not the things that will cause God to release healing. Deliverance and healing are provided in the atoning work of Christ. When these things are done to get something God has already given you in Christ, they become a dead work.
Tell me if this sounds familiar; someone prays for you, and healing doesn’t happen, so they ask you if you have any unforgiveness in your heart toward anyone. You go through a process of forgiveness, and nothing happens. Then the minister asks you if you have any soul ties that need to be broken. You break those, and nothing happens. Then they ask you if you have any unconfessed sin, you rack your brain and wrench your heart open to confess all your sins, but nothing happens. Then the list goes on.
The problem with that kind of ministry is that it has no end. There’s no end to the works of the flesh disguised as spiritual things.
Repentance, forgiveness, and confession are good and Biblical things. But if you have to do those things to get something from God, it’s a dead work of the flesh mind. You’re trying to earn or do a work to get something. When the reality is God has already delivered you, he HAS blessed you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, and you are already complete in him.
So what’s the solution? Rest in what Jesus has already accomplished. I go into more detail about that point in my last two blogs.
Ministering Deliverance to Others
We must first affirm people’s completeness in Christ when we pray for people. Then, we must help them renew their minds and stand in their authority in Christ.
If you make people feel like they have to do some work, no matter how prophetic or spiritual it sounds, you are putting a yoke of bondage on people. So, yes, we should repent, forgive people and rebuke lying spirits, but only from a place of completeness in Christ, to affirm what is already true of our spiritual identity. For the believer, the work left for us to experience freedom is to rest in what Christ has already completed.
I pray this video is a blessing to you as I go into much more detail about these ideas. Leave a comment once you watch the video, and let me know what you got out of it.
Beware of Spiritual Dead Works
Beware works that look spiritual but are actually efforts of the flesh mindset. If you’re trying to get something from God by doing something in the spiritual realm, you are probably “in the flesh.” Meaning, you think you can get something from God based on a work like giving, repenting, forgiving, rebuking, and so on.
“Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”
Beware works that look spiritual but are actually efforts of the flesh mindset. If you're trying to get something from God by doing something in the spiritual realm, you are probably "in the flesh." Meaning, you think you can get something from God based on a work like giving, repenting, forgiving, rebuking, and so on.
Last week I wrote about the difference between good works and dead works. Good and dead works can look the same outwardly but have different motives inwardly. Dead works are those things we do to try to get something from God that He's already given us in Christ. Everything you'll ever want or need from God is in Christ, and Christ is in you.
There is a type of dead work that is difficult to spot that I call "spiritual dead works." Spiritual dead works look and sound spiritual, but they still depend on our works rather than Christ's. Spiritual dead works may not necessarily be actions we take, they are more so beliefs we have that are rooted in us doing something in the spiritual realm to bring about a result.
Prayer is one of the most apparent areas of spiritual dead works. Many Christians think God decides to do things based on how long, hard, or loudly we pray. Flesh-based prayer believes it needs to pray just the right thing to motivate God to move. Or repent from enough sins for God to finally forgive and bless you.
When you pray, try allowing yourself to be moved in your heart to become more persuaded of what Christ has already accomplished. Then, as you are convinced of His finished work, the seed of whatever you believe for will be nourished and given a better chance to grow because your heart becomes more receptive.
Prayer can chase demons away and cause miracles to manifest, but to think that prayer is necessary to motivate God to do things already in His nature and character is a flesh-based spiritual dead work.
I'm sorry, intercessors, but your lengthy prayer session did not inspire God to get up and do something. Long times of prayer can be effective, but not if done from the mindset that your effort caused God to move.
Deliverance and Inner Healing
Unfortunately, we see spiritual dead works in most methods of deliverance, inner healing, forgiveness protocols, and other things done to bring about a spiritual end.
You are in the flesh when you feel like your efforts and actions are the catalysts that cause spiritual things to happen, and they won't happen unless you do them. By "in the flesh," I mean self-effort or something done in your own logic or strength rather than from a place of rest in Christ's work.
SARX - the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God
The flesh, or mere human nature that is opposed to God and prone to sin, was actually cut away from you at your new birth (Colossians 2:11). So doing works "in the flesh" does not mean you are operating in your dualistic evil nature. Being "in the flesh" is a mindset rather than a description of your nature. The flesh mindset believes it can bring about a spiritual end through methods, formulas, knowledge, anointings, and various other systems. Or, as Paul said to the Galatians, complete in the flesh that which was begun in the spirit.
One example of a flesh or self-effort-based spiritual method is often seen in deliverance and inner healing. Some well-meaning ministers have developed complicated structures that prescribe massive amounts of repentance. The rebuking of spirits, curses, and lies. The forgiving of people who have wronged you. The breaking of a soul tie. The list goes on.
Those things are not inherently wrong, but if you think you have to do them to receive something God has already given you in Christ, you are in the flesh, committing spiritual dead works.
If you're a minister using those methods, courses, and protocols, I ask you to consider shifting your approach to help people rest in what they already have in Christ. In our spirits, we are complete in Christ. Help people experience that truth rather than send them on a never-ending journey of flesh-based pursuits.
I ask you, is your faith in Jesus, or is it in the method? Is Jesus powerless until your favorite method is applied? Is that person not delivered until they go through your course? I know you mean well, but it's time to remove the mixed covenant theology and practices from your spiritual methods and disciplines.
The Frustration
The problem with flesh-based efforts designed to help one experience spiritual realities is that they never end. You constantly evaluate your works and actions to determine if you have done enough. As a result, you are on a never-ending journey to find the correct information.
Here's an example of the thought process in someone's mind that is on a flesh-based journey to experience a spiritual promise from God.
I'm not healed, maybe I need to forgive somebody. I'm broke, maybe I should give so God will bless me. I was born out of wedlock, so perhaps I need to repent from the spirit of fear. My mom was into psychics and ESP, so maybe I needed to repent from the spirit of witchcraft to receive my breakthrough. My third great grandfather, who was a Mason, gave me some coins, so now I need to break the curse of generational Luciferian spirits.
Ok, I've done that, and I'm still not healed, maybe I need inner healing. Maybe I need a Sozo session. Ok, I've gone through deliverance, inner healing, and all the courses I could find, but I'm still not healed.
I know! I need to forgive everyone in my life. Ok, I've forgiven everyone. Now I need to repent from all my sins throughout my life because there must still be some open doors. Ok, that didn't work, I'm still struggling, so maybe I need a minister with the right anointing to pray for me.
God, I've done all I know to do. So what am I doing wrong?
After trying everything, you are frustrated and disappointed and feel like God is not listening to you. Then, finally, you get to a place where you feel like you've done everything you know to do, yet the breakthrough still hasn't come.
Have you ever been there? Are you there now?
I have good news!
You can cease from your works and enter into God's rest. You can stop trying to figure out what you've done to "block" your breakthrough and rest in Christ's finished work. You can rest in the New Covenant that is secured by the blood of Christ. This New Covenant comes with great and precious promises already yours.
Hebrews 4:10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
The only thing left to do is to become persuaded in your heart of the nature and character of God and rest in all that Christ accomplished in His atoning work. Just like Abraham and Sarah, simply believe that God's promise shall manifest, it's already done.
In the video above, I discuss this process in much more detail. I hope you take the time to watch it. If this article struck a chord with you, I know this video will help you.