Life Together: Showing Mercy June 1, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, personal.Tags: Christianity, devotions, fellowship, Life Together, mercy, purpose driven life, Showing Mercy, what is fellowship
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Almost done this series! Continuing onward we’re going to look at showing mercy. The title of the devotion was “Life Together: Don’t be Reluctant to Show Mercy”.
You can read the devotion here.
Rev Warren comments that,
“In real fellowship people experience mercy. Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren’t rubbed in but rubbed out. Fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice.”
I mentioned an example of this in my second last post on Authentic Friendship , where my church came around me and supported and accepted me when I confessed a sin to them. That’s just showing mercy in action – true fellowship!
I like what he says here:
You can’t have fellowship without forgiveness because bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowship. Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship.
How about marriage? I’m sure my wife would agree with the above statement right now – massive amounts of mercy and grace…. ”Fellowship” is usually seen in the context of friends, or a small group, or a church… but reading that above statement, I’m sure that the family should be a microcosm of true fellowship. You have to forgive to maintain any relationship.
Quoting the Scripture, Rev Warren continues:
The Bible says, “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13 NLT).
The mercy God shows to us is the motivation for us to show mercy to others. Whenever you’re hurt by someone, you have a choice to make: Will I use my energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution?
It’s easy to retalliate, hard to choose to forgive – but God says it’s necessary. (Did I just say that? Lord, help me to obey!)
I like the contrast he makes between forgiveness and trust:
Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don’t understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior.
Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time.Trust requires a track record. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you. They must prove they have changed over time. The best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small group that offers both encouragement and accountability.
“Forgiveness must be immediate….trust must be built over time” I’m working this out in my own marriage right now… it’s not easy rebuilding trust… and every slip back jepordizes the whole process. I’m pushing ahead, though, with my friends and loved ones who are like Aaron and Hur, holding up Moses’ hands so that Joshua could win the battle
The passage is from Exodus 17:10-13:
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
I’m Joshua, fighting my battle against the Amalekites – my flesh and demonic oppression – but I have awesome friends and family who are like Moses, Aaron and Hur… interceding to heaven on my behalf!
…..
Now I have been fortunate, and I have been exposed to some of my readers’ and online friends’ struggle with spiritual abuse. I know that some reading this may be going through a mix of emotions as they deal with memories, reading how things should be and remembering how they were treated and abused…. just let me say that THE LORD LOVES YOU! No matter what others have done to you or with you…. just know that God loves you. Also, I want you to know, in the words of one of my blogging buddies, that you are safe with me. I know that trust takes a while to build, I know that people who promised to love you abused you… but here, you are safe.
My encouragement, then, is ask God to help us all to forgive, and to show mercy towards each other – that is true fellowship!
Thoughts?
Life Together: A Mutual Dependency May 27, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, personal.Tags: A Mutual Dependency, blog series, Christianity, devotions, friendship, interdependence, Life Together, purpose driven life
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Continuing on with the current series, I will be commenting on the next devotion in the Purpose Driven Life – A Mutual Dependency.
To read the whole devotion, click here.
How many Christians would see that authentic Christian life can be seen in the word interdependence? Rev. Warren starts of this devotion by saying,
“In authentic Christian fellowship people should experience a mutual dependency. This mutuality is the art of giving and receiving; it’s depending on each other.”
Now, personally, I don’t like depending on people. Honestly, I find it hard to ask for things. I willingly give of myself, but when it comes to asking … well… ummm… let’s say I’m still working on that. This devotion cuts across that, though. We are encouraged to depend on each other – for “no man is an island” is the popular adage, right?
I love The Message. It makes things so clear and understandable. Check this out:
The Bible says, “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part” (1 Corinthians 12:25 MSG).
Now that’s clear! The church is seen as a Body… how much does the ’smallest’ part NEED the ‘bigger’ parts? It wouldn’t be a fully functioning Body without every single part! Interesting thought….
All of us are more consistent in our faith when others walk with us and encourage us. The Bible commands mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, and mutual honoring.
I know that’s true in my own life, for sure. Who hasn’t tried to work out alone? 
Have you been able to stick it on your own? No. I didn’t think so…. 
Reminds me of one of my most quoted Scriptures – Ecclesiastes 4:10-12
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Isn’t that powerful? “If one falls down, his friend can pick him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up?” I’ve been down a lot recently (I’m going through a painful process), and thank God for my friends who are constantly there to help me up – through encouragement, prayer and support – several of them, who don’t live in the same country as me (thank God for Internet friends – long live the Blogosphere!) have independently mailed me books and resources that can help me through this time. I have cried thinking about how much my friends love me – some without seeing my face in person! I wouldn’t trade them for the world….
*wipes tears* Ok, where was I? Right… *cough* *cough*
Rev. Warren next says this:
Over fifty times in the New Testament we’re commanded to do different tasks for “one another” and “each other.” The Bible says, “Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19 NIV).
Derek Prince makes mentions of the “one anothers” in Scripture. Over FIFTY TIMES!!!!!! WOW! I know that when God wants to emphasize something he repeats himself, “I, even I, am the Lord….” So what is he trying to say by repeating the same point over and over? Go figure. This isn’t supposed to be a solitary faith walk. No sir-ee…
The concluding statement is this:
You are not responsible for everyone in the body of Christ, but you are responsible to them. God expects you do whatever you can to help them.
So, what are you responsible to the Body of Christ with? What can you help with? How do you see yourself being of assistance to the Body?
Life Together Series: A Shared Life May 19, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, House Church, devotional.Tags: A Shared Life, Christianity, fellowship, Life Together, purpose driven life, what is fellowship, what is the church
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I remember the last time I did a series off of my Purpose Driven Life devotionals that come up in my in-box. They were on love – love is an action, a decision, a habit, and others. This is another series from the same source.
Coming off of the last two posts on The Shape of the Church (part 1 and part 2), this series, taken from the Purpose Driven Connection – the weekly email devotional from Saddleback Church and Pastor Rick Warren is called the “Life Together” series – dealing with the focus of the church. The first devotion deals with “A Shared Life.”
To read the devotion yourself, click here.
Rev. Warren starts off with this:
God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared experience “fellowship.”
Today, however, the word has lost most of its biblical meaning. Fellowship now usually refers to casual conversation, socializing, food, and fun.
Isn’t that the truth? But what is the real meaning of ‘fellowship’?
The Greek word for ‘fellowship is “koinōnia” and according to the Blue Letter Bible its definition is “fellowship, communion, communication, distribution, contribution, to communicate.”
Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other “one another” commands found in the New Testament.
That’s so true… as Rev. Warren also comments in this devotion:
When it comes to fellowship, size matters: smaller is better. You can worship with a crowd, but you can’t fellowship with one.
Once a group becomes larger than about ten people, someone stops participating—usually the quietest person—and a few people will dominate the group.
The small group is the heart of fellowship – of sharing life. My own home assembly is about ten people and I see this in practice – even although we can learn to do it so much more practically! It’s really humbling to see the entire church come out to help when one member is sick, or in need… I remember when I was low on funds for an extended period of time and some of the money we were collecting as tithes showed up unanounced under my door one evening – and a couple members of the church felt the need to contribute out of their pockets as well. All in all that day my wife and I saw about 3 envelopes that had almost $1000 all collected! All this without asking for any assistance!
Rev. Warren comments that, “The body of Christ, like your own body, is really a collection of many small cells. The life of the body of Christ, like your body, is contained in the cells.” This is the goal for small groups, although in practice I have found that when ’small group ministry’ is tacked on to a larger assembly’s DNA it doesn’t always achieve the fullest potential. Instead of a small group of people learning how to have real koinōnia through extended periods of sharing life by being vulnerable, being real – when it is tacked on to a larger assembly participants tend to retreat into the big meetings and never really connect.
When all you have is ten people – there is nowhere to hide! The quiet ones are encouraged to communicate, and the ones who are more dominant are more easily encouraged to let the others particpate. It’s easier in a small group to share hurts and pains, to confess sins and receive forgiveness, to ask for and receive practical assistance – and even to keep in contact!
How many of you really know the people in your church? What aspects of life do you share? Are you comfortable letting down your guard? Being yourself?
Thoughts?
Blue Letter Bible. “Dictionary and Word Search for ‘fellowship’ in the KJV”. Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2009. 19 May 2009. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?
Criteria=fellowship&t=KJV >
Family Devotions! April 15, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, House Church, new churches, personal.Tags: House Church, church, Christianity, family devotions
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I had an interesting experience last night….
My wife called when she was on her way home with our elder son Nikao. She said that he had not wanted to come home, but he wanted to go to church. There was no official church meeting for him to go to, so my wife said that we’d have church at home! Now it was just transplanting the structure of Nikao’s grandparent’s church to our home, and to be honest I was grudging (because I was roped in at the last minute and I wanted to study!) but God was there regardless….
She had Nikao (who is 4, for those who haven’t read the About page) 
sing any song he could remember – he knows a lot of songs … we sang “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” – and then he wanted to sing the alphabet song (“A-B-C-D-E-F-G….’) lol My wife said, no honey, we’re in church…. I started Chris Tomlin’s song “How Great is Our God” and the whole family sang along – even 23 month old Jonathan… that’s one of our family songs!
Then Lesanne gave a testimony and we encouraged Nick to say what God did for him… as four year olds do, he rambled a bit, but I think we got him to say something coherent … or not (ha!)
She wanted me to bring the word… so we talked about Samuel, when God called him and he was told by Eli to ask the Lord to speak to him. I encouraged my boys that God can call them at their young ages and I prayed that God would speak to them. I also prayed that we, the adults, would not take as long as Eli did to recognize when the Lord was speaking to our children, and encourage them to follow where God was leading.
I told them about when God called me and gave me my first prophetic word and I said that it was hard for me to give that to my leader too, but God honours obedience. Samuel became the most respected prophet in Israel because he was faithful to give the entire word to Eli, even although it wasn’t pleasant, and I can say that I have seen the fruits of obedience in my life as well.
So it was a wonderful session – my wife and I decided that we’d have to do that more often… so let’s see what God does!
Repost: The True Meaning of the Cross April 8, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, devotional, links.Tags: Christianity, Easter, ponderings, true meaning of the cross, what is the cross, who is Jesus, why did Jesus die
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I am reposting this article here for two reasons – it is the most sought after post on my blog (still!) AND Easter is coming! Fine time to think about … The True Meaning of the Cross! Here we go…
I am putting a link here that I want people to visit. This website is so deep! It is Biblical teaching at its best. I’ve been reading things about House Churches and the Biblical fear of God…. but it was the teaching on THE MEANING OF THE CROSS that made me put up this blog entry. (The above link opens a new window.)
God sent his son who lived a perfect life and then, according to the plan of God, they rejected Him, whipped Him etc and God looked at all Jesus’ suffering at the hands of men and considered that to be payment for all our sins against Him.
That is heresy. The deepest form of heresy. You can be wrong about a lot of things but if you are wrong about the cross you are in trouble.
What? Our common conception of what happened on the Cross is heresy? What does the Bible teach about the Cross, then?
God‘s word says that if anyone declares the sinner to be right when he is not right is an abomination before Him. So if God declared you to be right when you were not right, If God simply forgives the wicked, He would become an abomination, according to His own word. He would become wicked. Imagine a judge sitting up there in his place on the bench, forgiving a murderer and letting him go. He would no longer be a just judge.
God is a just judge and God justice demands he throw men in hell
Therefore if God is a just God He cannot forgive… He must punish the wicked, That is the point of the whole Bible. All through the Old Testament we see animals dying.. it is symbol and type of the final and ultimate sacrifice.
More excerpts ….
Perhaps it is becoming a little more clear as to why God had to die. If he justifies the wicked person and declares the sinner to be righteous He, according to His own word, becomes an abomination. God can not simply forgive.
The law… God law demands that the sinner has to die.
Now the only way that God can forgive sinful men is if God who made the law and God who demands satisfaction .. comes down Himself and pays the penalty.
So what are we saved from?
When some one says they have been saved, the question to be asked is saved from what? Many people will say from sin. This is simply not true! Sin was an act you did. Sin isn’t going to throw you in hell. You have sinned, but sin is not a living being that going to judge you then throw you into hell.
What you have been saved from is not a what, it is a who.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. Romans 5:9. [Emphasis Added]
You have been saved from God. God is the judge of all the universe. YOU have sinned and made yourself an enemy of God. So when you stand before Him, He will judge you and throw you into hell.
Wow…. really…. never looked at it like that…. that’s – well, that’s true! ouch.
So we realize we have to be saved from God and His punishment, but how is that punishment to be done away with? When Jesus was dying on the cross it was not the nails in His hand, or the crown of thorns or the Roman spears that save you. The suffering that men heaped upon Jesus is not that which pays for the crime. God did not look on that suffering and okay Good Enough!. What paid for your sin is written in Isaiah 53:10 and 12
Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
Usually when you hear a sermon or preaching on Isaiah 53, it usually centers around verses 3,4,5, and six, which talk about the suffering heaped on Jesus by men. Very rarely do you hear about Isaiah 53:10.
It pleased the Lord to crush Him.
Isaiah goes on to say
“…[He] was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)
So how is the Cross the way of salvation?
How is it that that cross saves you? Because Jesus bore on the cross all the sin that God hates. The sin of all God’s people, from the first man ever saved on the face of the earth to the last man ever saved on the face of the earth was placed on His son.. the sins of all of God’s people. Everything that should be poured out on sinful creatures through out eternity, God throws down on His only begotten Son in a matter of moments. Crushes Him under the weight of His own justice.
When Jesus said let this cup pass from me, people think it because He did not want to go to the cross. They usually imagine it was the physical agony that He did not want to go through…
No, Jesus wasn’t thinking about nails in His hand, about spears and crowns of thorns or Roman soldiers. He was thinking about the fact that He had never been out of the Father’s bosom. That He had never been separated from His Father and now the Father was about to turn His face away from His Son. The Father did not turn His face away because He did not want to see His son suffering, He turned His face away Because His son had become detestable. Which is why Matthew 27:46 tells us..
“About the ninth hour [3:00 PM] Jesus cried out [quoting Psalm 22:1] with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani?’ that is ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’”
Wow. Lord, Jesus…..
And so, the conclusion:
And if the day comes that you stand before this Holy God who is about to pass judgment on you without having your sins paid for by His Son, then be afraid, be very afraid, as the wrath which made Jesus say ‘let this cup pass from me’ is about to descend on your shoulders.
Remember that when you hear about Jesus dying for you, you know now that it is more than just some whips. While one cannot possibly depreciate the physical suffering it was nothing compared to the Son of God being crushed by His own Father. Comparatively those whips were nothing. And when He cried out “It is Finished” that meant ‘Paid In Full’. If you are a Christian, God can never pour out His wrath on you. It is impossible because His son drank it. It does not exist anymore. There is no more punishment left for you. But if you are not a Christian you don’t even want to know what awaits you..
Why did Jesus die on a Roman cross? He died for the sins of ungodly mankind, to save us from the wrath of God, and to make peace between us and God. “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1).
It was a long post… and there’s much more to that article…. but … I’m speechless.
If you are reading this right now, and you have been impacted by these excerpts, or this article, and you don’t yet know Jesus – if you would like to escape God’s wrath and become a positive son of God because Jesus paid your price in full…. say this prayer with me.
Father God, I recognize now what you have done in the Cross. I acknowledge that I have sinned and deserve your punishment. However, I recognize that Jesus has paid for my sins with his own blood… and all I have to do is receive him. I turn away from my sins now, and accept what Jesus’ blood has bought for me – my life! I repent of my sins, and say to you, “I want to be a new creature in Christ.” Thank you Jesus! Amen
If you have prayed this prayer…. respond to me by posting a comment. If you have been impacted, share the site with others.
Deliverance – The Purpose February 6, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, deliverance.Tags: deliverance, deliverance foundations, the purpose of deliverance, what is deliverance
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This is Part 3 of my series “Deliverance Foundations”.
In the last article, I dealt with strongholds and how Satan uses open doors to gain legal access to our soul and body regions, and how Satan’s kingdom is founded on a legalistic view of the law. It is that legalistic viewpoint which makes it difficult to remove demonic oppression unless those contracts have been legally nullified.
What is the purpose of deliverance? It was part of Jesus’ ministry – he declared it as he referenced Isaiah 61:1 -
Isaiah 61:1 (New International Version)
The Year of the LORD’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a] (my emphasis)
The purpose of ministering deliverance is to set free those who are in bondage. As Jesus was sent fourth to preach deliverance to the captives (Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to… preach deliverance to the captives…”), so we are also sent out (John 20:21, “Then said Jesus to them… as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”) to do the works He did (John 14:12, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also…”), and this includes casting out of devils (Matthew 10:8 )
The ministry of deliverance is about bringing spiritual victory and freedom to those who are in bondage. It doesn’t matter what you call it (demonized, possessed, oppressed, etc.), if they are in demonic bondage, whether they need to tear down a stronghold, break up a legal ground, cast a demon out, or all three… it’s still deliverance, because it’s setting the captives free. Casting out demons, is just part of the overall ministry of deliverance.
Inner healing: Many times when a person has been abused, rejected, wounded, or hurt in some way, there is an emotional wound that needs to be healed. Demons will use these wounds and weaknesses against the person, as leverage to hold them in bondage and get them to re-open doors so that they can re-enter. Inner healing is a vital step in the overall restoration process that needs to take place in the lives of many who are seeking deliverance. There is more information on this process in the teaching Steps to Inner Healing.
Inner healing needs to take place so that memories and past experiences can’t be used against the one seeking help.
Tearing down strongholds: Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns that people develop over time, and are often set up and nurtured by demons through lies and deception. Demons thrive on strongholds, and use them to hang around a person and torment them. I recommend reading the teaching onStrongholds for a clear insight into exactly what a stronghold is, and how to go about tearing them down. Failing to tear down strongholds can hold up a deliverance and prevent us from walking in complete spiritual freedom.
Take the time to go to the links – they’re good to get more information about areas that you are interested in.
Removing legal rights: Legal rights are things that give demons permission to enter and remain in our lives. Before demons can often be cast out, it is important to address and remove these legal rights. The teaching on Legal Rights lists the most common legal rights and how you can go about removing them. Failing to remove legal rights can hold up a deliverance very easily.
This expands what I mentioned in my former post on Strongholds and Legalism.
Casting out the demons: This requires two basic elements: knowledge of your authority in Christ Jesus over the powers of the enemy, and faith in that authority. Demons are cast out with a simple spoken command, such as, “I command the spirit of fear to come out in the name of Jesus!” You can learn more about your authority and how it works from the teaching on Spiritual Authority.
I like the fact that we are all called to the ministry of casting out demons. In fact, we’re called to the same ministry as Jesus, with it’s three fold emphasis – evangelism, healing and deliverance!
Mark 16:15-18 (New International Version)
15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.“
In my experience so far, deliverance is not a one time event. The Scripture says that when an evil spirit is cast out it will search for another “house” and if it doesn’t find one, it comes back looking for an entry point…
Matthew 12:43-45 (New International Version)
43“When an evil[a] spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Remember, demons see a person’s body as their ‘house’. If they are removed, they look for another ‘home’, but finding none, they go back to their first residence. If it is clean, swept but ‘empty’ the demon will reenter, and the last condition is worse than the first.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
What would you fill the house with? It is not as easy as praying that the Spirit of God ‘fills all the empty spaces’ – although there is benefit in praying that prayer. No, those who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who are ‘doing the will of the Father.’ With that in mind, the person who does not start “doing the will of the Father” is in jepordy of re-infestation, as obedience to the Lord will keep one from putting oneself in a position of danger.
I spoke of the purpose of deliverance in this article. In the next installment of this series, I will give a case study of an actual deliverance session that I performed recently online. I have recognized that God is truly omnipresent – and God’s power is evident whether his word is spoken by mouth or typed online! Stay tuned for the final installment on deliverance in this series!
Strongholds and Legalism February 1, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, deliverance.Tags: deliverance, deliverance foundations, legalism, open doors
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This is Part 2 of my series “Deliverance Foundations”…..
In my earlier post, I described how the term ‘possession’ in the context of the demonic is better seen as ‘control’ rather than ‘ownership’. I discussed the triune nature of man (body, soul and spirit) and spoke of strongholds, which are, as was said before, “well defended areas that hold up against attack.”
As before, let’s start with a dictionary definition. A “stronghold” can be defined as:
- “A well fortified place; a fortress”
- “fastness; a fort or fortress; a place of security”
- “fortified place; refuge”
- “a strongly fortified defensive structure”
A stronghold is a defensive structure. For the purpose of this study, it represents areas of your life that are not fully under God’s control – a habit or compulsion to do something that is not easily brought under control. The reason why things like ‘anger’ or ‘jealousy’ or even ‘gluttony’ are strongholds is that demons use these areas in the soul (which consists of your mind, memory, emotions and will) as defensive structures. You will find that there will be one area of your personality that you can’t control and you can be assured that at least one (and usually more) demon is entrenched under that area and will not leave without a fight.
Remember the analogy from the previous article?
Think about an appartment building. Each tenant has access to their own room, and each has their own key. ”Good” people can live in one part, and “evil” people can live in another part – but it is still the same building. Even if the ownership of the appartment building changes hands, just because the new owner gets the title deed does not automatically eject the ‘evil’ people from the apartment. If I am the new owner, I may still need to work at physically removing unwanted people from my building.
Using this analogy, the apartment building represents you, specifically your soul. Demons will reside in your soul and manifest in uncontrollable or compulsive behaviours or thought patterns. These are strongholds. Remember that a ’stronghold’ is a defensive, fortified position. Using the analogy, the strongholds would represent the rooms that the demons reside in. Are you always angry? Do you have an uncontrollable jealousy? Can you never see a member of the opposite sex without wanting to have sex with them? Then there are strongholds in your life; areas not totally under God’s control – and not under yours, either. But you’d better believe somebody’s controlling!
How did the demons enter? The tenants in each apartment building would all have keys, which give access to the rooms they occupy. In the same way, demons enter though what I call ‘open doors’. Behaviours such as unforgiveness, idoatry, unconfessed sin and others give demons legal access to your soul; these actions are the keys to the apartment’s rooms.
In Matthew 18:23-34, Jesus gave the parable of the unforgiving servant. He was forgiven a great debt, but wanted to haul a fellow servant out of the coals for a smaller debt.
Matthew 18:34 (King James Version)
34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Unforgiveness was the reason that this servant was ‘released to the tormentors.’ Did you see it? Unforgiveness was the key to the apartment. The other thing is that the master delivered the servant to the tormentors…. the servant’s choices started the ball rolling, but the consequence of the sin is that the master (God) delivered him up to be tormented.
So what does God do through deliverance? Here’s another quote from the last post, with a couple additions.
What God has to do is, through the power of the Holy Spirit, remove the legal right for the demonic to have access, which forces them to leave when commanded out by a child of God. In essence, the owner of the house (God) gets the help of a lawyer (Jesus) who effectively writes up and enforces an eviction notice (through the power of the Holy Spirit) on the former tenants, which breaks their legal right to be there. Then, they can legally be evicted by the police force (a Spirit filled believer.)
Satan is a legalist. Looking up the definition of “legalism” we see that it means:
- Strict, literal adherence to the law or to a particular code, as of religion or morality.
- The judging of conduct in terms of strict adherence to precise laws.
- Excessive respect for the letter of the law, and the forms and institutions of law, at the expense of wider moral and social considerations.
Satan is a master manipulator, but knows and enforces a strict, unhealthy adherence to the law. He uses his knowledge of that law like a prosecuting attorney – in an accusatory manner. He is a master of judging conduct in the light of strict adherence to law, even while he manipulates people into breaking that law. One can see this when he challenges Eve in the Garden of Eden - “Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Gen 3:1) He manipulates Eve to see the forbidden fruit as desirable and “good for food”, and thus causes man’s fall. He tried to manipulate God by questioning Job’s motivation for serving him (Job 1:9; 2:4), accusing Job of only serving God because God protected him. He showed his legalism again in the temptation of Jesus because he knew that he had the authority to offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world “…they have been given to me….” (through the Fall) and he could give them to anyone he chooses.
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7)
He even quotes Scripture, trying to manipulate via corrupting the context of Psalm 91:11-12
9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]” (Luke 4:9-11)
The fact is, Satan knows how we should live better than we do! He manipulates us to break the moral code, and then accuses us unmercifully when we fall for his schemes. When we succumb to his tempations, he and his kingdom use our sin as legal right to harass. Without the legal right being removed by repentance and renunciation of the sin, it is commonly experienced that the demonic oppression stubbornly refuses to lift. This is the reason why, in my deliverance sessions, I lead those who I am ministering to through a process of identifying and dealing with these sinful areas, called open doors because they give unrestricted acccess to the enemy.
I attempted to get to how deliverance works in my own ministry, but dealt instead with the concept of open doors, strongholds and legalism. I am building a solid foundation for my experience, and I will get into the deliverance experience in the next post in this series. Stay tuned!
A Christian – Possessed? January 28, 2009
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, Christianity, deliverance, testimony.Tags: can a Christian have a demon, Christianity, deliverance, deliverance foundations, demon possession
16 comments
This is the first post in my series “Deliverance Foundations”
This is for my friend Archie, who essentially asked whether a Christian can have a demon. I was going to answer him in a comment reply, but I realized it would be more effective as a blog post for two reasons: (1) I’d probably start to type and realize that it was much longer than a normal comment reply, and would be better suited as a post; and (2) this way, others asking this question can be led here and have an answer.
I will say here also that although I am speaking through experience plus my understanding of Scripture, I respect others and their viewpoints. If you, after reading, still believe that Christians can’t have demons, I won’t have a hissy fit. It isn’t one of the ‘tenets’ of the faith, like Jesus being raised from the dead – so we can safely agree to disagree. That being said, this one’s for you, Archie….
(BTW – this is a long post! Be warned!)
Can A Christian Be Possessed?
“Possession.” A hard word – especially in light of the subject matter – demon possession. But what do dictionaries say? The word ‘possession’ has several meanings:
- The act or fact of possessing.
- Ownership
- The state of being dominated by or as if by evil spirits or by an obsession.
- Anything owned or possessed.
- Being controlled by passion or the supernatural.
- In law, actual holding or occupancy, either with or without rights of ownership.
- Domination, actuation, or obsession by a feeling, idea, etc
I believe that the issue when it comes to ‘demon possession’ is confusion over which definition of the word appies. Most people who say that Christians cannot be possessed take ‘possession’ to mean ‘ownership’. They say, in essence, that as a child of God no Christian can be owned by the devil. And they’re right. God says in his word:
John 10:27-29 (King James Version)
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Nothing we do can separate us from the Father’s love … it isn’t directly related, but it has a reference to demons so….
Romans 8:38-39 (King James Version)
38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And, one more Scripture – Isaiah 43:1, where ownership is solely claimed by God himself:
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
No, ‘possession’ in the subject of this article speaks to one of the other definitions of ‘possession’, namely “Being controlled…” or “domination, actuation, or obsession …”
What the Bible shows is not that the person is ‘owned’ by demons, but is controlled, wholy or in part, by the demonic.
The Triune Nature of Man
Most believers would say that we are made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit. Some point to Gen. 2:7 where all three elements are made reference to:
Genesis 2:7 (King James Version)
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
There is also this Scripture:
1 Thessalonians 5:23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Some people have said that man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body.
The three parts of man
When you are not yet saved, your spirit is dead in its sins:
Colossians 2:13 (King James Version)
13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
And again
1 Peter 4:6 (King James Version)
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
When you are a Christian, your spirit is resurrected, made alive (or ‘quickened’ (KJV) in Christ.
Ephesians 2:1
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ephesians 2:5
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
“But a Christian cannot have a demon!”
This is the ‘internal makeup’ of a Christian:
Born Again Man
The spirit is renewed and resurrected! This makes you a ‘new creation in Christ’. But -
Normally, if you had a broken foot before salvation, chances are you still have it afterwards right? (I am not discounting supernatural healings in this article. I am only saying what is generally accepted.) If you had an issue with anger, chances are you still have that anger problem, and will have to work with the Spirit of God to get over it.
The fact is, evil spirits live mostly in the soul realm (emotions etc) and sometimes manifest through the body. This can happen even when the spirit has been renewed!
These issues in our lives are called ’strongholds’… a well defended area that holds up against attack.
Strongholds weaken man
So although the Holy Spirit lives in your spirit, in the other areas of your life there are areas where Christ does not yet have full control. This is where the enemy has access. Satan gains access through our soul – our emotions, mind, memory and will.
I think about it this way.
Think about an appartment building. Each tenant has access to their own room, and each has their own key. ”Good” people can live in one part, and “evil” people can live in another part – but it is still the same building. Even if the ownership of the appartment building changes hands, just because the new owner gets the title deed does not automatically eject the ‘evil’ people from the apartment. If I am the new owner, I may still need to work at physically removing unwanted people from my building. It is a crude analogy, but I believe it makes my point.
God is sovereign, yes. But because of our free will, he cannot automatically evict the tenants living in the apartment building of our body because they have had legal access to their rooms (because they have a key.) The keys in this analogy would be our sinful actions such as unforgiveness, idolatry, unconfessed sins, pride, sexual sins…. and such the like.
What God has to do is, through the power of the Holy Spirit, removes the legal right for the demonic to have access, which forces them to leave when commanded out by a child of God. In essence, the owner of the house gets the help of a lawyer who effectively writes up and enforces an eviction notice on the former tenants, which breaks their legal right to be there. Then, they can legally be evicted by the police force (Wow, love that analogy! Have to encorporate it into my formal teaching!)
I will end this article here and take it up in the next post. I will eventually explain how deliverance works in my experience and what happens when we stand against Satan in the name of Jesus Christ! In my next article, we will deal with strongholds and Satan’s legalism.
More Testimony from the Christian Mission March 28, 2008
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, personal, prophetic, testimony.Tags: Christian Mission, prophetic, testimony
3 comments
God is awesome!
I went back to the Christian Mission last night to speak on the Gifts of the Spirit. I gave examples of the empowerment of believers in the Old Testament (Bezalel and Oholiab – Exodus 31:1-7 (craftsmanship); Joseph – Gen. 40, 41; Daniel -Dan. 2:24,27-45 (dream interpretation); even King Saul (1 Sam. 10:10) and King David (1 Sam. 16:13) I mentioned the difference between the Old Testament’s view of empowerment and the New Testament’s: in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit ‘came upon’ select individuals – sometimes only for brief moments to accomplish certain tasks, whereas in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit came down and remained: starting with Jesus, (John 1:32-34) and then on the Church (Acts 1:5, 8; 2:1-4).
I mentioned the result of this empowerment (Mark 16:17-18) and spoke about one way that the gifts were received – the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; 19:6; 1 Tim. 4:14)
I then spoke about some of the gifts in Scripture – Rom. 12:6-8 and 1 Cor. 12:4-11… and went on to tell my own story about how I was introduced to the gifts and started to operate in them (ask nicely and I might put it in another blog post!) From there I mentioned 1 Cor. 13, and used it to speak about love as the chief motivator for the gifts: no love, gifts lose significance.
And, like I say: then the fun started!
I told everyone what I always say: God can’t drive a parked car. He requires our particpation and willingness in order to work in our lives. I encouraged them to let down their guard, believe God and step out in faith.
Laid hands on one lady, and just quietly started to ask the Holy Spirit to come. As my hands started to get warm, she started to shake and praise. I was encouraging her to listen to see if she heard any ‘gibberish’-like sounds in her mind and to say them out in faith – but honestly, I just released the Lord to do whatever he wanted…
Prayed for another lady and prophetically spoke the teacher gift into her life – I told her I saw a shovel, and it spoke to her digging into the word of God and finding nuggets that were to be meditated on personally and then taught. I laid hands on her and prayed it into her life. Yet another lady was prophesied to about asking the Lord for what she wanted.
I went to a young lady, Maria, and reminded her that when I was there last I had told her that I f felt God wanted to start her off with tongues… I told her that her gifts center around her mouth, around speaking. I laid hands on her and prayed in tongues, encouraging her to speak out – she started to mumble softly, I could barely hear her. When I asked, she told me that it was there, but it was only coming out in mumbles. I kept praying for a bit, and prayed against shyness, and self consciousness, and then I told her to just keep practicing, keep asking God for more.
Prayed for the pastor’s daughter – she said she didn’t feel anything when I prayed; I said that you receive by faith, not merely by feelings. However, I did pray for her to be used in evangelism. I went to the pastor and started to pray that the Holy Spirit would fill him – started to see chains breaking, so I cut off hinderances and blockages that were stopping him from moving forward. I prayed that God would give him more authority even in evangelism and I started prophesying that God set him free from the things in his life that no one knew about, but that he was struggling with.
I prophesied to the entire body then, reminding them of their call to warfare … I told them that they needed the empowerment of the Spirit and exercising their gifts to be impactful in the community and I found myself breaking off words spoken against the assembly about irrelevance. I said that they were called to go out into the community and reach the lost.
I prophesied to the oldest member of the church – a lovely 90 something year old lady (the mother of the guy who invited me: saw her at about 6 years old or so, running through the canefields… the Lord was reminding her he still saw her as that child, still saw that joy within her, even if old age has taken away mobility and physical strength. I told her she should continue to pray for everyone, because everyone needs a praying mother.
Then we started to worship as I finished that time of prayer… and a guy slipped in the back from outside. We had just finished doing what I call a ‘Victory chant’ using Psalm 47:1 I would call out “Clap your hands all ye people….” (everyone would clap as loud as they could) “… and shout unto God with the voice of triumph!” (and everyone would shout out to the Lord in praise at the top of their lungs!) I had to coax them to break out of their sleepiness and shout! During that prayer time, the lady who was told to ask God for what she wanted spontaneously started to shake and cry out while in worship – I was like, “Finally!” – I went and prayed with her some more.
Anyway, the guy who came in went further up to the front of the church, where he was met by the assistant pastor. David spoke quietly to him while we worshipped – and then said he had come to give his life to the Lord! WOW – talk about prophetic confirmation about reaching the community! David led him to the Lord, the pastor prayed for him, and then I felt led to pray for him as well – I sensed addiction to alcohol and nicotine, so I asked him if he used to drink. He said, “Yes,” and I broke the spirits of addiction to nicotine and liquor off him… GOD IS GREAT! He knelt on the floor when I was praying for him, and I believe he’s now free.
The first lady – her name is Shontell – came up to me afterwards and she told me that she was the one I was referring to when I said that someone was called to go out into the community – she said that she has had dreams that always came true, and that even before she came back to the Lord that a lady had told her that she was called to prophesy. She’s asked me to keep her on her prayer list, and she said she needs Bible study too… I felt like this is ‘my church’, in a sense… that the Lord placed me here to assist them … so I’ll be back!
Report on Preaching at the Christian Mission March 14, 2008
Posted by bajanpoet in Bible Study, personal, testimony.Tags: Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Christian, Christian Mission, Holy Spirit, preaching, testimony
2 comments
Last night I spoke at a Christian Mission church about the baptism of the Holy Spirit…. it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! I was invited to speak by the assistant pastor, who I befriended while I was in Tampa. We were talking about several things including prophecy and hearing the Voice of God … he invited me to speak to his church about prophecy and then to prophesy to the congregation, but when we really got to planning it, we decided that I could speak on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as it is the empowerment for the gifts of the Spirit in any case… I carried Jason, one of the guys from my church.
It was sooo cool! I had asked the Lord what he wanted to say to the group (it was the church’s prayer group) and I got Joshua 14:6-13, where Caleb was claiming his inheritance within the Promised Land. He was 40 years old when he, Joshua and the other ten spies were sent to scout out Canaan, and is now 85 years old, but is still “as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.” (vs 11 – NIV) He calls for his inheritance – “Now, give me this mountain….” (vs 12, KJV) which is populated by giants “the Anakim (KJV) and he’s going specifically to drive them out – at 85!
God was telling the church that they are not to old to serve God by being empowered by his Spirit to wage war against the enemy… God kept him strong and fit for 45 years so that he could get his inheritance. I then started to speak on the Promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:14-17, 26), the Purpose of the Spirit (Luke 24:49), the Power of the Spirit (Matt 28:19-20 and Mark 15:15-18) and the Presence of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4)
Then the fun started!
I prayed for my friend who had invited me to the church to speak. He has a bad shoulder – if he wants to raise his arm he has to lift it up by using the other hand. I tried to pray healing for his shoulder, raising his hand and trying to get it to stay outstretched, but nothing happened. Oh well, I’m one step closer to seeing a miraculous healing, right?
At first no one else was coming up… then Jason encouraged them, asking them what their purpose was. He challenged them to continue meeting with the purpose of prayer and seeking God.
One of the ladies then stood up and came to the front. I was asking God how to pray as I laid hands on her; as I was asking God how to handle this I thought about one of the Scriptures I had spoken about (John 20:21-23) where Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. So, I did the same thing – breathed gently on her face and said, “Receive…” Did that a couple of times and then her eyes started to blink a bit faster, and the power hit her She started to call on the name of Jesus and shake a bit … I told her that I would come back to her and moved on.
While praying for her, another lady in the congregation who was still in her seat, started to feel God’s Spirit on her as well, so I went to her and laid hand on her and started to prophesy over her…. I felt the word about Caleb was for the corporate body, but was also for her specifically… while speaking to her I called for a Bible and started declaring Isa. 61 over her, saying that she has been anointed to release captives and bind up the broken hearted.
I prayed for a young girl who I learned later was the last lady’s granddaughter. As I blew gently on her, I touched her head and watched as small tears trickled down her face. I hugged her and told her that I represented Jesus, and Jason piped up saying that she was loved. She hugged me tighter as the love of Jesus washed over her and as I broke off spirits of shyness and self consciousness.
I went back to the lady who was at the front and blew on her some more… she started to praise God and went down on the floor! I prayed for the pastor, calling for gifts of wisdom and knowledge. I started to sing a song by the Grace Thrillers “Thank you Lord, for one more year….” and quoted from Isaiah, as I told the church that the anointing allows me to proclaim the ‘year of the Lord’s favour’ and ‘the day of vengeance’ over them; I started calling the church into a season of warfare. As I was singing the song, the lady on the floor was reacting as I sang. Jason prayed for the pastor’s daughter as well.
As I was calling the church into warfare, I reminded them again of Caleb; that he was empowered to kill giants at 85, but that the baptism they have requested – the empowerment they were receiving – was not to be trifled with. I warned them that, like the parable of the talents, God would judge them for receiving his gifts and sitting on them. I mentioned that the baptism is not to jump up, drop on the ground and feel chills, but is empowerment for service.
After the service, the grandmother told me that the night before she went to a prayer and fasting service, where the preacher spoke to them about Caleb – saying that God was saying that they were ‘well able’ …. just like Caleb was telling the Israelites that they were ‘well able’ to defeat the giants in Canaan when they had originally spied out the land. Confirmation!
I enjoyed myself immensely seeing God work I’m already planning to return and do more teaching and activations. I know that God had done something there – because Satan wasn’t pleased – by the time I got home, I was sick! I had a fever and an upset stomach…. some ginger tea and prayer made me right again, though …
GOD IS EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!
