How to Turn the Eyes of Your Heart to Jesus
You have two sets of eyes; the physical eyes in your head and the eyes of your heart. The eyes in your head see the physical realm, while the eyes of your heart can “see” the spiritual realm. The eyes of your head are analytical, taking in data and detail while the eyes of your heart are designed to see kingdom concepts.
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”
You have two sets of eyes; the physical eyes in your head and the eyes of your heart. The eyes in your head see the physical realm, while the eyes of your heart can “see” the spiritual realm. The eyes of your head are analytical, taking in data and detail while the eyes of your heart are designed to see kingdom concepts.
While the “eyes of the heart” may be a metaphor, we do have the capacity to “see” or more accurately perceive with our hearts. An aspect of our new heart is spiritual and able to interact directly with the spirit of God.
The beautiful truth is that you can choose which eyes to use at any moment. You can choose to get out of your head and into your heart, by turning your spiritually perceptive eyes to Jesus.
At any moment you can turn your awareness to Him and regain true sight. True sight is achieved when you see how God sees. When you see yourself how God sees, you have true sight. When you see a circumstance as God sees it you are seeing clearly because God’s perspective is THE truth.
Watch the short video above for a bit more on this topic.
IS FORWARD MINISTRIES A BLESSING TO YOU?
Please consider becoming a regular supporter.
DOWNLOAD ALL MY TEACHINGS AND TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Become a MEMBER of my website and gain access to all of my teaching series as well as my Tools for Transformation. I also give you discount codes for my online courses as well as other MEMBER-only resources.
Personalizing the Psalm 91 Prayer of Protection
Trusting God is a choice. You know He is trustworthy, and you know you’re supposed to trust Him, but do you? Do you believe at your core that God will protect you? Do you deeply and confidently believe that every time you go to God He will be there for you? You know the answer should be “yes.” But life’s circumstances can cause us to doubt at times.
There’s a way to persuade your heart of God’s character, so your confidence in Him remains strong. The simplest way to say it is, believe the Word of God. But there is a process to believing the Word of God. Not just agreeing with it, but allowing it to be your core truth, no matter what.
“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””
Trusting God is a choice. You know He is trustworthy, and you know you’re supposed to trust Him, but do you? Do you believe at your core that God will protect you? Do you deeply and confidently believe that every time you go to God He will be there for you? You know the answer should be “yes.” But life’s circumstances can cause us to doubt at times.
There’s a way to persuade your heart of God’s character, so your confidence in Him remains strong. The simplest way to say it is, believe the Word of God. But there is a process to believing the Word of God. Not just agreeing with it, but allowing it to be your core truth, no matter what.
Decide that you will believe the Word of God, especially what it says about God, in spite of your circumstances. Choose to believe that it is true above all.
Personalize the Word. When applicable, see God’s Word as a personal promise to you. A good way to read the Word to accomplish this is to change it to the first person, as if it’s written about you or you are writing it yourself.
Confess the Word. “Say of the Lord He is your refuge and fortress.” Say it, or confess it because it is already true of you, not to make it true.
Psalm 91 is attributed to Moses. He most likely wrote this poem after experiencing God’s power in His personal life and after seeing God deliver the Israelites from Egypt. These phrases were facts for him from his experience with God.
You may currently be in a situation where you need these promises to be true. Rest assured, God is no respecter of persons. God is who He is, no matter the situation. You can always assume that God will be Himself in any circumstance. Experiencing specific facets of the character and nature of God is not a matter of convincing God to be God for you, it’s being persuaded in your heart that this is who God is.
Confessing the Word of God in the first person until it feels like your truth is a powerful exercise. I have reworded Psalm 91 below to read in the first person. Read the confession section aloud to anchor your heart in God’s promises and character. You don’t have to whip yourself up into an emotional frenzy, but say the words with conviction, acknowledging that God is who He is. He is the great I AM. He will not change.
The spiritual tipping point of experiencing these facets of God in your life happens as you believe. All things are possible for those who believe. Doubt keeps you from experiencing God’s influence in your life. As you get rid of doubt and make God’s Word your truth, something happens in your heart that allows you to let God be these things for you.
Try it now. As you read the first-person statements, tell your mind that God’s Word is true and that God’s character doesn’t change. He is a protector, no matter where your mind drifts. You may read statements that are hard to believe. Choose to believe the Word. Choose to believe the truth about God. This is who He is. I am not suggesting that my phrasing is THE Word of God. If you would prefer to personalize Psalm 91 in slightly different phrasing, do so, make this process your own.
Say of the Lord!!!
First Person Confession of Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I dwell in the secret place of the Most High. I am hidden with Christ, in God forever. I am so close to God that His shadow covers me. Nothing can harm me because I am seated with Christ in God.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
God is my refuge. God is my safe place. Being in God is like being in a strong tower that nothing can break into. I can trust God. I will trust God. I do trust God. I trust God because God can be trusted.
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He will deliver me from the traps of the enemy. He has delivered me from the power of darkness and has translated me into the kingdom of his dear son. He will protect me and deliver me from disease in the land. No pandemic can harm me because God is my protector, and I am safe in Him.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
He holds a powerful shield in His hand, and he stretches His arm over me to protect me. I am safe from the enemy and disease because I rest in the strength and power of God, who actively protects me.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
I have nothing to be afraid of, during the day or at night. God protects me when I sleep. God is with me when I sleep. I fall asleep aware of God’s presence. If I become fearful in the night, I can turn the eyes of my heart to God, and he is there to comfort me and give me strength. I can willingly turn to God at any moment and be strengthened by Him. He is already willing, and able to help me when I am afraid. I have nothing to fear because God is with me.
I am not afraid of any disease or pestilence. Sickness is not from God, health and protection are from God. He gave me a robust immune system, and His spirit is giving me abundant life. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is giving life to my physical body. I am not afraid of any disease because God’s mighty arm protects me.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
Even if people get sick or lose all their money because of what is happening in the world, I can trust God and God will protect me. God is actively protecting me, even at this moment. I can feel His protection because God loves me and chooses to protect me. Because I am safe in the Lord, I will not be destroyed like the wicked. I am the righteousness of God in Christ.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling
No evil will happen to my family or me, and no disease can come into my home because God is my refuge. God is a protector, God is a healer, and God is my redeemer. I am safe and protected in God because He is my protector.
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Not only is God protecting me, but He also sends angels to keep me healthy and safe. God’s angels are real, and they are active in my life. Everywhere I go, God’s angels go before me to clear a path of protection for me.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
Even if I encounter an enemy of God, a difficult situation, a disease, or any other hardship, God is there to protect me and walk with me.
I acknowledge verses 14 through 16 as God’s answer directly to me. This is not just God’s answer to my confession, and this is a direct promise from God to me.
“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
I love God because He first loved me. And because I love Him, He will ALWAYS deliver me and lift me up, far above the circumstances of my life, and far above the plague or destruction in the world. Because God loves me and I love Him, God will protect me. I know the authority of God, I know the character of God. God is a protector. God is MY protector.
I can call on God, and He WILL answer me. I can expect to experience every facet of the name of God because He loves me, and I love Him. If I am in trouble, I can reach out to God, and He will ALWAYS be there to help me, protect me, and show me the way out of my trouble. I WILL follow and obey Him because He loves me, and I love Him.
My God, my Heavenly Father loves me. He promises to satisfy me with long life. I do not have to be afraid of disease and destruction on earth because God actively protects me by giving me health and long life. I trust God because God can be trusted. I choose to believe the truth about what God says of Himself, and I choose to accept the promises He has made to me. God keeps His promises, and I will trust Him every moment of my life.
More first person confession resources:
Find more translations of Psalm 91 here: https://biblehub.com/kjv/psalms/91.htm
Stay Connected with Me
Subscribe to my email list: http://eepurl.com/dMcXIE
Subscribe on YouTube: Weekly Sermons | My Podcast
Become a Resource Member
Become a supporter of Forward Ministries.
Walking In Deliverance
Believers HAVE BEEN DELIVERED from the power of darkness, but what do you do when the enemy attacks? You magnify the supremacy of Christ, acknowledge your identity in Him, stand firm in your authority in Christ and don’t allow your thoughts to run away. God’s spirit of love, power and sound mind will strengthen you until the enemy leaves you alone. Join us today for the final message in this series.
#6 in Know Your Enemy
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.”
Believers HAVE BEEN DELIVERED from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:3), but what do you do when the enemy attacks? You magnify the supremacy of Christ in your heart, mind, and soul. You acknowledge your identity in Him, and stand firm in your authority in Christ. And don’t allow your thoughts to run away. God’s spirit of love, power, and sound mind will strengthen you until the enemy leaves you alone.
You don’t have to be afraid of the enemy. Even if he manifests right in front of you and tells you he’s going to kill you, you can tell him to go away from you, and he must obey because you possess something greater than him, the authority of Christ. When you tell demons to leave, it’s as if Jesus is telling them to leave. You have the same authority and right because Jesus gave it to you.
The problem is you may not have confidence in your position in Christ. As a result, you may not always live from your new identity in Christ. So you must renew your mind and walk in the deliverance Jesus has already executed.
You don’t have to tie up the enemy and make him obey Jesus when it comes to deliverance. You can’t do that anyway. All you need to do is enforce God’s established authority and cast the evil spirit away from you or whomever you’re ministering to.
If you find yourself in a situation where you’re experiencing manifestations or strange occurrences, there is a way to connect with the power within and stand in the deliverance Jesus has given you. Psalm 34 is a powerful process you can apply. It’s not just a poem or the heartfelt, worshipful expression of David. Psalm 34 can be acted upon. You can read it out loud and put it into practice.
Try it, read through the Psalm and DO each thing. Actually bless the Lord. Actually praise Him. Actually allow confidence to rise in your soul and make Him bigger in your heart and mind. The next time you feel attacked, afraid, insecure, guilt-ridden, or ashamed, read this Psalm, act it out, and see what happens. Your inner man will switch from being influenced by carnal thoughts or even evil spirits, and turn to the Lord. That’s the key to walking in the deliverance already provided in Christ.
You don’t need to engage in a deep and introspective ministry process, like a sozo or inner healing session, you simply need to humble yourself and magnify the Lord with all your being. It doesn’t matter what secret society your parents were in, it doesn’t matter if you have sin in your past, and it doesn’t matter if you have unforgiveness in your heart. All of that is resolved as you bless and magnify the Lord.
God’s spirit, who lives in you, through His Word, will lead you to exercise your authority over any familiar spirits sniffing around your genealogy. He will lead you in the forgiveness of others if necessary. He will heal you inwardly.
Yes, seek help if you get stuck, but don’t think that someone else’s ministry program is what will set you free. What happens between you and the Lord in your heart is what will set you free. You HAVE BEEN DELIVERED from the power of darkness, and you HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED into the kingdom of Jesus. You lack nothing. You are not incomplete. You don’t need more of God’s spirit and you don’t need to receive a fresh anointing. Bless and magnify the Lord and walk in your deliverance!!
I received lots of positive feedback on the sermon above. It was a bit emotional for me, given the loss of two people connected to our church over Thanksgiving week. I pray the sermon is a blessing to you.
I recommend reading a different translation of Psalm 34 each day for 7 days. Act it out. Put action to each phrase that’s actionable. Don’t be a hearer only, DO THE WORD and watch what happens in your inner man.
Psalm 34
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as [d]have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
IS FORWARD MINISTRIES A BLESSING TO YOU?
Please consider becoming a regular supporter.
DOWNLOAD ALL MY TEACHINGS AND TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Become a MEMBER of my website and gain access to all of my teaching series as well as my Tools for Transformation. I also give you discount codes for my online courses as well as other MEMBER-only resources.
Winning The Battle in your mind Requires A Clear Conscience
Spiritual warfare is not when you wrestle with demons, it’s when you wrestle with your own thoughts, to make sure they’re in alignment with the Word of God regarding Christ’s authority and your identity in him. When those are in place you simply stand and resist by resting in Christ, and the enemy will flee. A key to resting is a clear conscience. Join us today to discover the power of a clear conscience in the mental battle of spiritual warfare.
#5 in Know Your Enemy
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Spiritual warfare is not when you wrestle with demons, it’s when you wrestle with your own thoughts.
We DO have an enemy that tries to attack us with fiery darts of deception and illusion, but those strategies only affect us if we allow those darts to have a place in our minds. If we keep our minds focused on the Lord and His Word, the enemy can not influence our life. The enemy will come, but he can’t stay long because he will flee from you as you stand in your identity and keep your mind on the Lord and His truth. His truth about Himself AND YOU!!
How can keeping your mind be the winning strategy for an enemy as evil and powerful as the devil? Because he has already been stripped of any and all authority, he has no right to your life.
Know, and stand in your identity and authority in Christ!!
There is another crucial factor in standing and resisting successfully - a clear conscience. You will have a more challenging time standing and resisting the enemy’s lies if your conscience is burdened with fear, insecurity, guilt, and shame. If your conscience is distracted by carnal thinking, it could take your focus off the Lord and cause you to entertain the lies of the enemy.
What are his lies? It sounds like this; Maybe you’re not saved. God is disappointed in you. You will never succeed. You’ll always struggle with this sin. No one likes you. You’re an impostor. Your mother was right about you. You should have been a comedian because your life is a joke. You have cancer. Your husband doesn’t love you anymore. You have fallen out of love with your wife. etc…
If you are already struggling with those thoughts, the enemy will try to reinforce those lies. It’s easy to send away obvious lies from the enemy, but he’s subtle. He will whisper things to you that are already rolling around in your heart and mind. How do they know what’s in your heart and mind? They listen to you and observe your behavior. They can’t control you, read your mind, or make you think things, but they can reinforce what’s already in you.
Humans are designed to perceive spiritual beings, so it’s not a mystery that we can perceive signals from angels and demons. The key is to be able to turn your thoughts and the eyes of your heart back to the finished work of Christ and the truth of God’s Word.
You can develop the discipline of putting off those thoughts, along with their associated emotions, and put on the truth. It’s already in your heart, just nourish it by spending intentionally thinking on a feeling God’s Word in your heart and mind
The Sin Factor
I’ll take it a step further. If you are struggling with sinful habits or thought patterns, your conscience will most likely struggle with guilt and shame, making you an easier target for the enemy. The enemy will wait until you’re weak, vulnerable, and afraid to fling his wimpy arrows at you. And the state of your conscience will be a major factor in the effectiveness of those puny darts.
So avoid sin!! But if you fall, remind yourself that Jesus is your sin offering, offered once for all of your sins. Recapture your confidence in the complete salvation Christ provided. And change your thoughts to be in alignment with what Christ accomplished in His obedience. Walk yourself through these truths to recapture confidence, then deal with the guilt through confession of sin.
When your conscience is burdened
Acknowledge the presence of God in your life
Acknowledge that He loves you and will not forsake you because he forsook Christ in your place
Acknowledge that Jesus bore your guilt and shame so you can roll it on to Him
Acknowledge that God gave you a new nature, so you are not locked into those sinful patterns
Stand firm in your new identity in Him
Exercise your authority and tell the enemy to leave
Sometimes the enemy is your own thought rather than an evil spirit. Turning your own thoughts to the truth of God’s Word can be a more challenging task than running off a demon. A clear conscience is paramount in this scenario.
How to Clear Your Conscience
Acknowledge that you’re forgiven in Christ
Acknowledge that you are a new creature and you are not doomed to repeat the cycles creating the guilt and shame
Confess your sin and failures to the Lord
Allow Him to strengthen you as you stand and resist
Confessing sin is not when you convince God how sorry you are, and He gives you more forgiveness. Instead, the process of confessing sin is more related to clearing the air between two people who love each other and are committed to a loving and healthy relationship.
For most Christians, confessing sin feels like you're turning yourself into the police and preparing for the judgment and punishment of your crime. It's more about clearing your conscience and being honest with God. He's faithful to help you when you are weak but you have to own where you are so you will allow Him to help you.
A large percentage of the church teaches that God is angry with you, or disappointed in your sin, and separates himself from you for a period of time. And once you confess your sin God can then fellowship with you again. Some even teach that if you don’t confess ALL your sins you might not be saved.
God is a righteous judge, but he tried, judged, and punished Jesus in your place, giving you Christ righteousness once the sentence was com[pleted. Because of that, God is not holding your sin against you. Confessing sin is more about releasing the burden on your heart and experiencing the forgiveness that’s already available in Christ.
When you experience God’s already given forgiveness, it will cause confidence and boldness to come back to you and strengthen you amid the battle. In addition, a clear conscience is more receptive to turning back to God’s truth and ways of thinking, making it easier to stand against the enemy.
We are our own worst enemy oftentimes because we weaken ourselves through our behaviors and destructive thought patterns. In the sermon above, I go into much more detail about this process. I pray it is a blessing to you as you make a stand against the enemy and live in the freedom available to you in Christ.
IS FORWARD MINISTRIES A BLESSING TO YOU?
Please consider becoming a regular supporter.
DOWNLOAD ALL MY TEACHINGS AND TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Become a MEMBER of my website and gain access to all of my teaching series as well as my Tools for Transformation. I also give you discount codes for my online courses as well as other MEMBER-only resources.
Generational Curses and Familiar Spirits
The Word of God must shape every belief we have about spiritual matters. Every belief we have about God must be shaped by Jesus, specifically what he accomplished in his atoning work on the cross and his ascension.
We must know what the Bible says on any given matter if it's going to shape our beliefs. Yes, it's true, there are things the Bible doesn't address, but when it does address something, we don't need to develop theories or ideas in addition to what's clearly stated. This is a helpful principle in the subject of generational curses.
#4 in Know Your Enemy
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me”
The Word of God must shape every belief we have about spiritual matters. Every belief we have about God must be shaped by Jesus, specifically what he accomplished in his atoning work on the cross and his ascension.
We must know what the Bible says on any given matter if it's going to shape our beliefs. Yes, it's true, there are things the Bible doesn't address, but when it does address something, we don't need to develop theories or ideas in addition to what's clearly stated. This is a helpful principle in the subject of generational curses.
What Is A Generational Curse?
The only place in scripture we see generational curses is when God made a covenant with the Israelites, otherwise known as the Mosaic or Old Covenant. God rescued the Israelites out of Egypt and offered a covenant of protection to them. They didn't want to approach God on his terms, so they asked Moses what God wanted them to do to uphold their end of the covenant.
Anytime a covenant is instituted, both parties promise to offer the strength of their families or kingdoms to protect the other. A list of promises and curses is also agreed upon. The promises or benefits of one party may be, "you can use the river on the south end of my land to water your animals but do not use the northern section. If you do, I will take half of your cattle." For the one party, losing half their cattle would be a curse of breaking the covenant.
In the case of God's covenant with the Hebrew nation, he spelled out the promises, blessings, and curses at Mt. Saini.
Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.
This was God's first stipulation on the covenant, to worship no other gods.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
This is the curse for worshiping other gods, God will visit iniquity on a few of their generations.
6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
But if they uphold the covenant, he will bless 1000 of their generations.
The generational curse of iniquity is restated later in the story.
Exodus 34:7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Numbers 14:18 'The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.'
A generational curse was enforced by God for the sin of idolatry. That's it. That's what the Bible says about generational curses. There is nowhere in scripture that says demons install and enforce generational curses. There is no mention of evil spirits gaining the right to attach themselves to a bloodline for involvement in secret societies, generational sin patterns, or anything else like that.
I go into much more detail about modern-day deliverance ministry and what's misnomered as generational curse breaking, but I will move on to the good news for this article. We are not under the covenant where God curses people for the sin of idolatry. Instead, we are under a new and better covenant where Jesus upholds our end of the covenant for us.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Under the Old Covenant, you were cursed and punished for breaking the Law, OR you were blessed for keeping God's commandments.
Under the New Covenant, Christ bore ALL of your punishment for breaking God's Law AND fulfilled the Law for you, so you are qualified for ALL of the blessings and promises and NONE of the curses.
Even if you were to bow down and worship satan himself while playing with an ouija board, wearing a pentagram, and swearing Masonic oaths, with Slayer playing in the background, you would not fall under a generational curse. Even if ten generations of men before you in your family were 33rd degree Free Masons, you are not at risk of a generational curse. Don’t do those things, obviously, the point is, they are powerless now that Jesus has all authority in Heaven and on earth.
Demons can not install and enforce curses, period, no ifs, and or buts about it. They sure want you to believe they can. They want you playing around in that minefield of loose theology all day long. Many well-intended modern deliverance ministers have sought to help people break free from demonic oppression with one foot still in the Old Covenant.
I believe in deliverance ministry, but there is no need to break curses or scare people half to death, making them feel like they have open doors for demons into their lives for things their ancestors were into.
Demons are real. They do try to deceive and attack us today. And yes, they do tend to stick to the same bloodlines or families, but not because that family is cursed, it's because we tend to repeat the same patterns our parents did, which makes us think the same way they did, which makes us vulnerable to the same deceptions they fell into. So yes, turn from the destructive patterns of your parents and grandparents, but don't live in fear that you may be cursed for something you didn't even do.
There are generational deceptions and lies, but God or a devil enforces no curse. If we repeat the patterns of our parents, it's related to how we think and make life choices, otherwise known as strongholds.
A stronghold is not a powerful demonic presence in your life, it's a belief, thought, or pattern that promotes deception and isn't built on the word of God. The way to "break" a stronghold is to repent, change the way you think, put on the new man, and you will experience transformation, and that demon will lose its grip on your mind.
The demons that try to torment and deceive us in the same way they tormented and deceived our ancestors are familiar with our family's customs and culture, so they repeat the same tactics from generation to generation. They are what the Bible calls familiar spirits.
Yes, you can end the cycle and forever "break" the pattern. So I'm not mad at that language. But the breaking is not done because someone pukes in a bucket, gets hit with a Bible, or completes an elaborate sozo or inner healing deliverance session. It's broken when the individual wakes up to the finished work of Christ and lives in the power of their new creation identity when they renew their minds and put on the new man.
The truth is we have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Jesus. Jesus was cursed for us, qualifying us for the blessings. And demons were stripped of their authority. So let's quit playing around in the mixed covenant world of generational curses and help people live in the power of who they are in Christ.
Familiar Spirits
Demons are masters of human observation. They have watched us for thousands of years. They know us better than we know ourselves. But they always overplay their hands. They always seek to control, pervert, lie and destroy; it's just in their nature.
If you find yourself irrationally repeating the sin habits of your ancestors, you could possibly be entertaining a spirit that's familiar with your family. The good news is you can change your patterns and walk away from those cycles at any minute. But you're going to have to process through your heart beliefs. You're going to have to identify the areas you still identify with those familial patterns and send them away.
How to renew your mind and experience deliverance.
It's called put off, put on. Identify the problem area. Define the patterns you want to be free from. Identity a new way of life or set of patterns that are rooted in your identity in Christ. Find some passages related to your identity in Christ in that specific area, and memorize them. Each time those old thoughts or emotional patterns arise, quote those passages, acknowledging that this is who you are. You are not that old pattern, it has no power over you, and you are free from having to repeat those cycles. You may have to take an action like removing yourself from the opportunity to engage the cycle. Eventually, you will rebuild your identity to reflect who you are in Christ in that area, and it will lose its influence in your mind and heart.
Not Everything Is A Demon
Science has now identified an aspect of our physiology that shapes our lives. It's called epigenetics.
Epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence, but they can change how your body reads a DNA sequence.
Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression (active versus inactive genes) that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence — a change in phenotype without a change in genotype — which in turn affects how cells read the genes.
Several lifestyle factors have been identified that might modify epigenetic patterns, such as diet, obesity, physical activity, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, environmental pollutants, psychological stress, and working on night shifts.
To put it simply, your parents not only pass down genes that determine your gender, your eye color, and your body shape, they also pass down energetic information in the form of beliefs, habits, and life philosophies. The good news is you can change these things.
The influence of the epigenetic material passed down from your parents is more of a threat to you than devils are. With a devil, you can tell it to leave, and it'll go. With epigenetic information, you must renew your mind and adopt a new identity if you want to change a hereditary destructive sin habit.
The devil gets way too much credit for the problems in the world. We create most of them ourselves. The enemy is a factor, but only to the degree we are willing to be deceived and stay stuck in our patterns.
I hope you take the time to watch this whole series. I believe it will help you become confident in your authority in Christ and will empower you to rise above the deceptive influence of any devil that may dare to enter your life. You are not under a curse, you are already delivered, and you don't have to be afraid.
Luciferian Doctrines of Demons
The enemy does not want you to trust God. I believe the primary way the enemy undermines our trust toward God is by disparaging His character. The devil wants to make God look bad. The goal of Luciferianism is to undermine God's character by persuading mankind to question the character and benevolence of God.
#3 in Know Your Enemy
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?””
Click to read #4 on Generational Curses and Familiar Spirits
The enemy does not want you to trust God. I believe the primary way the enemy undermines our trust toward God is by disparaging His character. The devil wants to make God look bad. The goal of Luciferianism is to undermine God's character by persuading mankind to question the character and benevolence of God.
Did God Really Say?
It started in the Garden of Eden. Let's look at what the serpent said, what Eve said, and what God actually said.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
In the first interaction between Eve and the serpent, Eve had to correct the serpent regarding what God said because the serpent twisted what God actually said in his question. This is a common tactic of the enemy to ask a question from an unbiblical basis that doesn't accurately reflect God. If you take the bait, from then on you are not standing on the Word of God but a misconception of God’s Word. I dare say many people’s beliefs are actually based on half-truths and misconceptions of what God really said.
Let's go back and see what God really said.
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."
What do you notice? Eve added to what God said in 3:4. God didn't say "don't touch it," but when questioned by the serpent, she added her own thoughts to God's Word. Moreover, she added a legalistic tone. Rather than accepting God's warning that she would die if she ate it, she took it further and made God's decree about an even more stringent legalistic behavior. When we are struggling with God’s word we tend to perceive Him as more legalistic than He actually is.
The enemy twisted what God said, and Eve added to what God said. If you don't know what God said you'll be led astray. If you add to God's Word, it usually turns toward legalism.
As we take a closer look at the serpent's question, we see a strategy to persuade Eve to question God's character. "Did God really say?" The strength of the question was not the serpent's accusation of God but Eve's willingness to ponder the question for herself. She entertained the question and began to doubt if God really was telling her the truth.
Eve fell prey to the fiery dart but only because she doubted the character of God for herself. The seed of doubt had been planted and she cultivated it. Eve could have easily not entertained the thought and gone about her day, but she held on to it and allowed it to roll around in her heart and mind until she acted out on her doubt.
The seed of questioning the character and nature of God is still in the earth today. It is the heart of Luciferianism. To expand on the idea, adherents believe that God is an oppressive, vengeful deity who should be resisted and that the so-called fallen angels were only trying to help mankind.
This idea is repeated throughout antiquity in every ancient culture. And we still see it to this day in pop culture. For example, the book of Enoch lays out a scenario where the Watchers, a species of angel, fell from their abode by mating with human women and giving birth to a race of giants known as the Nephilim. We see this idea displayed on the big screen in movies such as Noah, starring Russell Crowe, and the more recent Marvel’s Eternals.
Luciferianism In Church
The Luciferian strategy to question the character of God remains in the earth to this day. It is clearly seen in atheism and other anti-god ideologies, but the main place I see it is tough to admit. I see the seed of questioning the character of God in pulpits across the earth.
The serpent presents the idea that God is not telling us the full truth and you can't really trust his plan. In ancient literature attributed to the Nephilim cultures such as Sumerian, Egyptian, Vedic, and Babylonian civilizations, we see that same story. The story goes like this. The creator god made mankind in an ignorant state, so angels or "gods" decided to leave their heavenly abode to bring knowledge to humans to advance their state and help them become gods for themselves. They warn that the angry, vengeful creator god sends disease and calamities to oppress mankind, and you must fight against his oppressiveness by knowing good and evil for yourself.
The remnant Nephilim perversion we see in religion today is that the creator god is experimenting on humans today. He's arbitrarily sending calamities upon mankind to keep them humble and submissive. He has a plan, but he keeps himself hidden and plays games with humanity.
The reality is that God desires mercy over judgment. He has fully revealed Himself in the person of Christ, and anything known about God must be reconciled and redefined in the person of Christ. The Old Testament accounts are true but they must be understood in light of Jesus.
I expand on these ideas in much more detail in the sermon above. I pray it is a blessing to you and helps you know the tactics of the enemy better so you can stand in the victory you already have in Christ.
IS FORWARD MINISTRIES A BLESSING TO YOU?
Please consider becoming a regular supporter.
DOWNLOAD ALL MY TEACHINGS AND TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Become a MEMBER of my website and gain access to all of my teaching series as well as my Tools for Transformation. I also give you discount codes for my online courses as well as other MEMBER-only resources.
Winning Spiritual Warfare
What is spiritual warfare? Are you battling demons? Do you fight to make them obey Jesus? Do you tie them up and send them to the abyss? Or do you battle your own thoughts to believe the truth and resist the enemy?
Yes, we do wrestle with demons, but not in our own flesh and blood strength. The weapons of our warfare are not physical, they are spiritual and soulish. They are spiritual in that we stand in our authority in Christ and they are soulish because we are to put off thoughts that are in line with demonic trickery.
The way you fight or wrestle a demon is by reminding yourself who you are in Christ and being confident in Christ's power in you. You simply stand firm in your trust in the power of Christ, and the enemy must flee from you.
In no way can you fight a spiritual being, but you can stand still in peace, fully persuaded of the supremacy of Christ. Then, when your heart is confident in who Christ is in you, you will yield to his grace to strengthen you to resist the lies and deceptions the enemy brings your way.
#2 in Know Your Enemy
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
What is spiritual warfare? Are you battling demons? Do you fight to make them obey Jesus? Do you tie them up and send them to the abyss? Or do you battle your own thoughts to believe the truth and resist the enemy?
Yes, we do wrestle with demons, but not in our own flesh and blood strength. The weapons of our warfare are not physical, they are spiritual and soulish. They are spiritual in that we stand in our authority in Christ and they are soulish because we are to put off thoughts that are in line with demonic trickery.
The way you fight or wrestle a demon is by reminding yourself who you are in Christ and being confident in Christ's power in you. You simply stand firm in your trust in the power of Christ, and the enemy must flee from you.
In no way can you fight a spiritual being, but you can stand still in peace, fully persuaded of the supremacy of Christ. Then, when your heart is confident in who Christ is in you, you will yield to his grace to strengthen you to resist the lies and deceptions the enemy brings your way.
Devils can't control you, they can't make you do things against your will, period. You may allow them to deceive you to the point that you THINK they are controlling you, but that's a lie. All a demon can do is lie to you to the point that it evokes emotion in you, and you receive the deception as your own thought or desire.
Essentially they broadcast a spiritual message to you. Our hearts and minds are connected to the spiritual realm, so we can perceive these messages. The enemy will speak to you from an external position, but God speaks to you from inside of you.
The enemy watches you and broadcasts signals to you that align with your current self-destructive beliefs, fears, or delusions. The enemy broadcasts a signal, much like a radio wave, to you, and if you agree with that message, it will reinforce the lie. It's much like hypnosis or brainwashing. If a message is received enough, it will become your reality. But if the suggestion from the enemy has no place in you, meaning you are not willing to believe lies about yourself, then the message will fall flat.
How to Withstand Demonic Influence
Someone who knows their identity in Christ, is honest with themselves, and keeps their conscience clear is virtually impervious to any devil.
They're attracted to our weaknesses, specifically the identity-related issues in our hearts. But when you know how to put on your armor, put off the old man, and put on the new, you can resist any trick or strategy of the enemy, every time.
The enemy is real, he's trying to lie to you and destroy your life.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But he is powerless if you know your identity and can stand confidently in the finished work of Christ.
How To Put On Spiritual Armor
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
This is the power you stand in, Christ in you, not you attempt to ward off a demon with fervor and emotion.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Demons are spirits, they are to be resisted with spiritual weapons.
13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
You don't attack, you stand. Stand in Christ as Christ stands in you. Standing includes receiving God's grace to not give in to temptation or act out in sin. Standing means to stay at peace, knowing your identity in Christ. Standing means not giving in to fear, hopelessness, darkness, depression, or anything contrary to scripture.
This is why it's so important to know what Christ accomplished in His death, burial and resurrection, so you can stand in the effects of his atoning work.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,
The truth around your waist indicates balance. Allow the truth to be your center of gravity. You must always be able to pull your heart and mind back into alignment with the truth and wisdom of God as your center. Then, in the moment of a demonic episode, you simply think on and speak out what is true as it relates to who you are in Christ.
For example; "I have been delivered from the power of darkness, I have been translated into the kingdom of Christ, I am currently seated with Christ in Heaven, God is my Father, he loves me and protects me, greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world, I need have no fear for my God loves me and keeps me safe."
The breastplate guards your heart. Persuade your heart of your righteousness in Christ. If the enemy can convince you that God is angry with you or will judge you, he can evoke fear and influence you to make choices that will bring destruction.
On the other hand, if you know how to persuade your heart of your right standing in Christ amid an attack, the enemy will flee from you because his power of deception will not take root.
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the Gospel of peace.
You stand on the Gospel, meaning the good news that you have been forgiven in the blood of Christ. The enemy will always accuse you in regard to your behavior, making you question if you truly are saved. The Gospel affirms that you are if your trust is in the blood of Christ as your righteousness.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Faith is not what you do to get God to move, it's your response to what God has already accomplished in Christ. So to use the shield of faith is to declare who you are due to what Christ has done in you and for you. The enemy will bounce of your proclamation of your victory in Christ.
17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The helmet guards the head, or your thoughts. Remind yourself that you are saved by grace through faith alone. It's not because of your works. So if you didn't earn it through works, you can't lose it through works.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
When your spirit prays, you are opening your heart and mind to direct influence from the Spirit of the living God who dwells in you. It's like opening the door and allowing the Spirit to strengthen you as you stand. Click here for more on praying with your spirit.
Standing In Your Authority
What does it mean to stand in your identity or authority in Christ? Simply put it means to know the following truth and be persuaded of it in your heart.
For example, if you are under attack and have a bout with fear, you can hold these truths in your mind until your inner state changes and your emotions agree with these truths. It's one thing to know this information, but it becomes active in your life when you feel the truth of this reality to the point that it strengthens you with boldness.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
This is a statement of authority. You have authority in the heavenlies because you are in Christ.
Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (more below) us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
You are already in a position of higher authority than demons, and that authority protects you. It protects you because you have already been seated in that heavenly place of victory and authority.
Word Study On “Translated”
Thayer's - methistēmi - 3179
to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another
of change of situation or place
to remove from the office of a steward
to depart from life, to die
The root word is histēmi
to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set
to make firm, fix establish
meta means - with
The context of being translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the son of God is this; you have been moved from one realm to another, and you are made to stand with Christ. That means the enemy doesn't have access to you by yourself, he must contend with the presence of God in you, which ensures your victory.
If you allow your mind to be influenced by the world, then you will become susceptible to the enemy's lies and influence. But if you keep the eyes of your heart on Christ and renew your mind with the truth of who you are spiritually, it is strength to you, and you can resist any and all tactics, strategies, and tricks of any level of devil. There is no reason ever to be afraid of the enemy, ever!
Strategies on Withstanding
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
No need to fight, simply stand firm in Christ.
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Never forget this powerful truth!!
2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
This passage clearly states that the way we resist the enemy is in our thought life. We must primarily put off the old way of thinking full of hopelessness, doubt, and fear and put on the truth in our minds. This strengthens us to withstand until the enemy flee.
You do not have to make devils obey Jesus, you make your thoughts obey Jesus. More specifically, you cause your thoughts to align with what Christ was obedient to. Meaning hold in your mind the truth that Jesus hung on the cross for you, became sin for you, paid the penalty of sin for you, and then died for you. In his death, he overcame the enemy and gained the keys to all spiritual authority.
The amazing reality is Jesus now shares his authority with you. So your ultimate weapon against the enemy is Christ in you, the mighty king whom no one can overcome. In him, you are an overcomer. Your role is to become convinced of his power in you and allow it to strengthen and transform you.
There is so much to say on this topic. I look forward to giving a couple more teachings stay tuned. For more on this topic and to hear my personal story of deliverance from demonic possession, check out my book Devil Walk.
IS FORWARD MINISTRIES A BLESSING TO YOU?
Please consider becoming a regular supporter.
DOWNLOAD ALL MY TEACHINGS AND TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Become a MEMBER of my website and gain access to all of my teaching series as well as my Tools for Transformation. I also give you discount codes for my online courses as well as other MEMBER-only resources.
The Origin of Demons
Why do demons exist? Where did they come from? Genesis 6 and Jude tell us that a group of fallen angels, called the Watchers, mated with human women and gave birth to a corrupt species of creature called the Nephilim. The Nephilim were giants that sought to rule and defile mankind. The Watchers taught mankind all sorts of perverse mystical secrets which eventually led to the great flood in the days of Noah. The Watchers that fell are now in chains but the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim still roam the earth today seeking to oppress and defile humanity. But Jesus had other plans.
#1 in Know Your Enemy
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Why do demons exist? Where did they come from? Genesis 6 and Jude tell us that a group of fallen angels, called the Watchers, mated with human women and gave birth to a corrupt species of being called the Nephilim. The Nephilim were giant human-like beings that sought to rule and defile mankind. The Watchers taught mankind all sorts of perverse mystical secrets which eventually led to the great flood in the days of Noah.
The Watchers that fell are now in chains but the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim still roam the earth today seeking to oppress and defile humanity. There is a rank and order to their authority in the spiritual dimensions but the good news is that Jesus has stripped them of any and all authority. They are now only equipped with deceit and trickery. If you know their origins you can be better equipped to not fall prey to their strategies and attacks.
In this article, I will start with the historical origin of these evil spirits by looking at the Bible and the Book of Enoch. While the Book of Enoch is not Biblical canon, it is referenced in the Bible and many passages from Scripture mirror the older Book of Enoch. We will regard Enoch as merely a historical record that speaks to the fall of the Watchers and the origin of the evil spirits we know as demons or devils.
In the next two articles in this series, I will go on to address what demons are doing now, how to stand in your victory in Christ regarding spiritual warfare, and how to never be afraid of or be deceived by any devil. As well as how to help others live in the deliverance from darkness we've already experienced in Christ. We'll end by talking about binding and loosing, as well as how to bring your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ as the method of enforcing the victory you already have in Christ.
The Fall of the Watchers
Genesis 6:1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
There is debate on who or what the "sons of God" are, but for our purposes, we'll classify them as Watchers, which is a higher level spiritual being. These beings must have had the capacity to manifest into our dimension and interact physically with humans. The Book of Enoch will give us insight into the nature of these beings.
Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. NKJV
It agreed within orthodox Christianity that the fallen spiritual beings that fathered the giants (Nephilim) were captured and placed into chains. The Lake of Fire, which we will see at the final judgment, was created for these beings, as well as the beast and false prophet of end times. Humans that do not accept Christ will also be cast into this "lake" at the final judgment. The state of the human soul after being cast in the lake of fire is debated as well. Whether a human experiences conscious eternal torment or is destroyed, we're not sure, but we do know there is no coming back from the Lake of Fire.
In the following passages from the Book of Enoch, we will see conversations between Enoch and the Watchers and conversations between God and Enoch. The content may be a little confusing regarding who is talking. The main point is to understand the strategies of the Watchers as well as their corrupt offspring. You will see what the Watchers taught mankind and how it corrupted us to the point of the flood.
The great flood was not solely out of God's anger toward humankind, it was an act of mercy to preserve humanity in pure form and protect the bloodline of the Messiah. Had the Watchers and Nephilim gone unchecked, all of humanity would most likely have been lost.
I will bold passages that mirror the Bible and passages that describe the strategies of the Watchers that shed light on how demons work today.
The Book of Enoch
VI 1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations (a spoken curse) not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.
Enoch VII 1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
VIII 1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl,
IX 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. 10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. 11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, [paragraph continues](taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
X 8. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin.'
XV 8. And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. 9. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men, and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; ⌈they shall be evil spirits on earth, and⌉ evil spirits shall they be called. [10. As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] 11. And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, ⌈but nevertheless hunger⌉ and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded ⌈from them⌉.
The Corruption of the Giants
Isn't that amazing? To see it spelled out so clearly where these evil spirits (demons) came from? We see from the beginning that these evil spirits sought to corrupt, defile, and oppress mankind. They are still trying to do the same things today. They set themselves up as gods and kings over man when in bodily form, and they're still trying to do it now in spiritual form. They are actually trying to hijack mankind's authority through deception, but more on that in weeks to come.
I believe they are trying to separate us from God in our hearts by teaching us to be dependent on creation, hence their teaching mankind mystical secrets, astrology, root cutting, and all the other stuff. Through the use of plants and root cuttings we know from antiquity these methods were used for psychedelic and mystical purposes.
It is believed that through these chemicals and rituals, they taught humans to see into the spiritual realm and misuse their God-given authority to manipulate the created realm. It was a deception because mankind already has dominion over creation. They wanted us to use our authority to either over-throw God and render him useless in the created realm because of the mystery knowledge they could teach mankind.
We will see this today in New Age and demonic religion practices. We're even seeing a surge in the use of psychedelics like DMT and ayahuasca, which I believe is designed to deceive its users, making them think they are gods. Or at least don't need God because they can reach spiritually enlightened on their own through these substances and the experience they generate. But Jesus ruined their plans.
Our Authority in Christ
Jesus stripped them of any spiritual authority they had. Each being has a certain kind of authority, spiritual beings have levels of authority in the spiritual realm, while humans have authority over the earthly realm. Humans never lost our authority to the devil, we just didn't know the authority we had. Jesus came along and stripped the fallen beings of their authority and claimed it for himself. In fact, Jesus now has all authority.
Humans still have dominion over the earthly realm, but now through Christ, we also share in his authority. Meaning we have authority over all created beings, physical or spiritual. So demons, or any other kind of evil being or spirit, can not touch us legally. When we make mistakes, it does not give devils the right to attack us because Jesus has all rights and authority.
We may be deceived and fall prey to the enemy's strategies through ignorance or unbelief, but they never have the right to attack you or mess with your life. The following passage from Colossians 2 reveals that we have been delivered from the power of darkness, we are new creatures in Christ and the enemy has no authority over us.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
To make a public spectacle refers to a ritual when one king conquered another king's army. It is said the conquering king would strip the losing king naked and cut off his thumbs and big toes. He cut off the thumbs and toes so the losing king could never again hold a sword or run in battle. He would drag the conquered behind his horse through the villages of the defeated kingdom to establish authority and then drag him through the victor's own kingdom so his people would no longer be afraid of the opposing king. Jesus indeed made a spectacle of the devil and all spiritual authority that sought to oppose him.
Jesus Shares His Victorious Authority With You
The phrase "raised us up together" in the following passages refers to our authority in Christ. It's not necessarily a phrase that describes our location as much as it describes our position of authority. Paul prays that our spiritual eyes would be opened and we would know who we are in Christ, including our position of authority over principalities and powers. He established the authority and supremacy of Christ then reveals that we share the same authority in Christ.
Ephesians 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and [power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus
This is not describing where we will go when we die, this is describing the authority we have now. It's a statement of power and authority. We share the power of the throne, the power of the king.
In the weeks to come, I will discuss how to stand in that authority for yourself and for others. Subscribe and stay tuned.
God Walks Among Us
From the beginning of time, God has desired to be with his people. He walked with Adam in the garden. He asked Abraham to build a tabernacle. He asked Moses to build a temple. And through Christ, God now lives in his people. God has always had the desire to walk among his people, enjoy their presence and lead them to be a blessing to the nations of the earth. You are the fulfillment of his desire, you are the holy nation through which he is seeking to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.””
From the beginning of time, God has desired to be with his people. He walked with Adam in the garden. He asked Abraham and Moses to build a tabernacle. David and Solomon built him a temple. But now, through Christ, God lives in his people.
God has always desired to walk among his people and bless them as well as enjoy their presence, AND lead them to be a blessing to the nations of the earth. You are the fulfillment of his desire, you are the holy nation through which he is seeking to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
God told Adam to subdue and rule the earth. That mandate still remains, but we gain more insight into how to reign over the earth in God’s commission to Abraham.
Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
God promises to bless Abraham so that he can be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. The blessing is not only for Abraham, but also for the sons of Abraham, which is those who have placed their faith in Christ.
Galatians 3:6 Just as Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, recognize that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
In Moses we gain even more insight into God’s desire for his people.
Exodus 19:5 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Not only does he desire to be with his people and bless his people, he desires that his people be a blessing to all the people and nations of the earth. God is seeking to bless his children so we can be a blessing to the world.
God’s capacity to bless his people changed in Jesus. No longer would he be separated from his people, he could now live in his people and guide them into blessing from within their hearts.
Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The veil between God and man was torn!! We can now have direct interaction with the presence of God, before his heavenly throne, and within our own hearts.
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
As carriers of the presence of God, we can experience blessing from God, exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine. Why? So the blessing we experience can overflow and become a blessing to the nations of the earth.
We carry the same message Jesus proclaimed when he announced the agenda for his kingdom in the earth.
Luke 4:18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
We carry the same mandate; to receive the blessing of God, become a blessing to the world, and spread the good news of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, which is seeking to release the captives, restore the blind, heal the sick, free the oppressed and proclaim freedom in the New Covenant that is secured in his blood.
Are you experiencing God’s favor and blessing? If not, it’s time to open the channel through which blessing flows, your heart. You can not earn God’s favor and blessing, but you can intentionally become a conduit of it. If you will walk uprightly, your conscience will be clear before him, to allow him to guide you.
And if you will intentionally become generous and loving toward people,m your heart will become more confident to receive his blessings and allow them to flow through you to others. You are a priest in God’s kingdom. It’s time to put the agenda of his kingdom first in your life and participate in the increase of his kingdom.
How do you do that? Be a blessing everywhere you go. Make it your daily goal to bless someone in some way, with the intention to make Christ known. The holy nation of God has work to do, we must be busy ministering to the nations because we are priests in God’s kingdom, equipped with his authority and his good news.
Your friends and family are starving for something that is real in their lives, give them the Gospel! Don’t be ashamed, it is the power of God unto salvation.
Take a few moments to commit your intentions to the Lord to be a blessing. Pray this with me; Father, I want to fulfill my role as a priest in your kingdom. I will be a blessing everywhere I go. Thank you for the boldness to spread the good news of your kingdom. I open my heart to be led by you into opportunities to be a blessing, as I represent your kingdom. Amen and amen!!
Was this article and sermon a blessing to you?
Click here to listen to more sermons.
STAY CONNECTED WITH ME
Subscribe to my email list: http://eepurl.com/dMcXIE
Your Prayers are Powerful and Effective
Prayer is the secret weapon of the believer if done so from the proper perspective. If you pray "if it be thy will" prayers, I wouldn't expect much to happen. But if you stand in your identity and authority in Christ, you can expect to see everything Jesus paid for manifest in your life and the life of others.
You don't have to ask God to give you things he's already given you in Christ. In Christ, you have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Jesus. Jesus bore your sickness and disease on the cross. He delivered you from the wrath of God. You have the mind of Christ so that you can have peaceful mental health. God promised to meet your needs exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask or imagine. His spirit is in you, guiding you into all truth. He gives you wisdom just by asking. He has given you power to minister to others.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE
If Christ is in you, you are righteous in him. Your prayers are powerful and effective.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Prayer is the secret weapon of the believer if done so from the proper perspective. If you pray "if it be thy will" prayers, I wouldn't expect much to happen. But if you stand in your identity and authority in Christ, you can expect to see everything Jesus paid for manifest in your life and the life of others.
You don't have to ask God to give you things he's already given you in Christ. In Christ, you have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Jesus. Jesus bore your sickness and disease on the cross. He delivered you from the wrath of God. You have the mind of Christ so that you can have peaceful mental health. God promised to meet your needs exceedingly, abundantly above all that you can ask or imagine. His spirit is in you, guiding you into all truth. He gives you wisdom just by asking. He has given you power to minister to others.
All of these things are already yours, right now, in Christ. Plus, God already knows what you're going through before you even ask. He knows how to help you.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Not only does he already know what you need, he wants to help you.
Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
And He's willing to help you.
Matthew 8:1 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
He has already given you what you need.
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Jesus has given you power
I give you power, lay hands on the sick... Luke 10:19
So pray from a place of confidence and authority. If what you're praying for doesn't come to pass, stand firm and trust God. Don't blame him or concoct some mysterious doctrine that God must not want you to have what he's already given you in Christ. Don't fall for the "timing" excuse. If Jesus paid for it, it's yours. If you don't see it, don't blame him. Just keep persuading your heart until you're convinced of Christ's finished work.
I realize that's easy to say and hard to believe at times, but it's the truth. God is not withholding the things he's already given us freely in Christ. We still see problems in the world because humans introduced sin and death and messed it up. But we still have dominion over the planet so we can believe, pray, and affect the world with the kingdom of God that is in us.
MANKIND HAS DOMINION OVER CREATION
From June to July 1993, the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa, experimented on the impact of prayer and meditation on the crime rate of Washington D.C. You can read the details of the experiment from these two links.
https://research.miu.edu/maharishi-effect/reduced-violent-crime-in-washington-dc
https://www.worldpeacegroup.org/washington_crime_prevention_full_article.html
The summary of the experiment is this: A group of people who practiced meditation wanted to measure the effects of focused intention on a large city. The experiment was led by quantum physicists who understand that humans can affect the behavior of matter merely through observation.
The physicist hypothesized that a large enough group of people could intentionally affect a large city's violent brain wave frequencies. So they organized an experiment to lower the violent crime rate of Washington D.C., which is one of the most violent cities in the United States.
The experiment was successful. They saw a dramatic decrease in violent crime for as long as they meditated, which was a few weeks.
If unbelieving human beings have that kind of influence over a violent city, imagine what the body of Christ can do if we were united to make positive change in the earth. But, unfortunately, we are too divided, too busy figuring out who is right and condemning those we think are wrong.
Humankind has dominion over the planet. The body of Christ has the authority of Heaven, influencing our natural dominion. It's time we use our power to influence the world for Christ. If every believer spent at least 5 minutes a day praying peace, hope, and love over our nations, we would see amazing fruit.
I go into more detail about this experiment and the power of prayer in the sermon above. I pray it is a blessing to you as you seek to exercise your authority as a member of the body of Christ.
Watch the video above for the full sermon on this topic.
Watch the Spiritual Practices and Disciplines Series on YouTube.
STAY CONNECTED WITH ME
Subscribe to my email list: http://eepurl.com/dMcXIE