Tag Archives: living from a place of victory

Living a Prophetic life (amid Coronavirus)

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Put yourself at the moment in this photo. Where is your focus? Looking at life or death or focussed on the fine line in the middle?

Whilst we are in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic, there is no greater time to be the true representatives of Christ here on earth. Throughout these past few weeks, my mind has often gone to the place of “if Jesus was living as a human at this time here on earth, what would He be doing and saying and thinking?”

Would Jesus go to the place of fear or joy? Binge-watch tv or use my time wisely? Wallow in thinking about how lonely I am or stretching myself by phoning a friend living on her own?

 

What does it mean to live a prophetic life?

I believe that it means that we are both bringing heaven to earth but also out the front of society guiding and developing the way ahead. Setting the atmosphere. Setting the pace. Demonstrating kingdom values.

 

How can I live a prophetic life?

  1. Operate from a place of rest.

Inner rest and reliance on God. Not striving or pushing for changes but operating from inner peace. When I lose my inner peace, to stop and ask myself, “What’s happened to cause this loss?” “How do I get it back?” (To delve into this deeper, check out my blog post on rest.)

  1. Be full of joy.

Joy is an assurance and confidence that God is in complete control of all the details of my life, and my choice to respond by praising God in all circumstances. The world cannot give you joy. Temporary things can bring happiness but only God and focussing on Him can help me to live full of joy. (More details on being full of joy can be found here.)

  • It is choosing to turn your focus on what God is doing and not of the things of this world or of Satan. To focus on the good, not the bad.
  • It is living a lifestyle of gratitude.
  • To count our blessings, rather than our burdens.
  • To let our faith, not our feelings, dictate our joy.
  • To focus on Christ, not on circumstances.
  1. Full of faith.

Hebrews 11 is a great chapter of faith and people of faith. Verse 1 says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” There is such a huge opportunity right now to be people of faith. To not partner with the fear that is so prevalent in our world that is magnified right now with the coronavirus. Ester 4:14b says “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Folks, perhaps right now, at this time in history in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, we are alive for such a time as this!!

Meditating on Isaiah 43 during the week, I had an ‘ah-ha’ moment about fear. Isaiah 43, verses 1-5 sum it up so well. God created me, and you, and commands us to not fear. Since He created me, He knows me and my inner workings. He knows what pushes my buttons and what stretches me, what brings joy to me and what I struggle with. Here He says, “I created you and am commanding you to not fear. I have called you by name. You are mine. Whatever adverse circumstances you are going through, I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” We know that where God is Satan cannot be. Wherever God is, fear cannot be. Fear is from the devil. John 10:10 says “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Fear steals, kills and destroys. Fear does not bring life. Wherever fear is, God cannot be there so when I go to that place of fear, I need to stop and recentre and reconnect with God.

  1. Being prophetic

Spending time with God seeking what is on His heart for this time and then asking Him what He wants you to do about it. What practical action does He want you to take eg showing love to your neighbours by going to the shops for them so they can continue to self-isolate, writing encouragements on the footpath, ringing folk to check how they are going, checking in on people living alone or elderly, amusing young children over the internet to give a young mum a break, cooking meals for health care workers, praying for the government and wise decision making etc. Asking God what He would have you say, write, or create to give to someone to encourage and comfort them during this time.

Our family wrote a note for the 60 neighbours in our street to let them know we are willing to shop for them etc. At least 20 households responded. Our neighbours were totally amazed that we would be so ‘selfless’ and help others in this way. The mental health in our street shifted significantly as this hugely impacted everyone in a positive manner. The hour of our time it took to do this communicated God’s love in more ways than we could imagine. Now is the time, folks, to be asking God how we can encourage, strengthen and comfort people (1 Corinthians 14:3) ie prophesying to others.

  1. Changing the atmosphere.

We are each responsible for our attitude and the atmosphere we carry. We need to also recognise that we can very simply change the atmosphere around us. (Check out my blog post about how I discovered this here.) When I encounter someone negative, I quietly say, “Spirit of negativity I see you and I choose not to partner with you. Instead, I release a spirit of joy.”  Almost immediately I sense a shift in atmosphere and negativity flee. We are spiritual beings and the spirit within us has the power to change the atmosphere where we are. Whenever you notice an atmosphere that isn’t of God, use this method to change it. It may even be your own children being grumpy, dishonest, defiant etc. You have spiritual authority over the situation, so just quietly say, “I see you spirit of…. and I choose not to partner with you and instead I release the spirit of…..(the opposite)”. See what happens.

  1. Renewing my mind

Whatever you focus on, grows. Whatever we feed our thoughts and watch and listen to will also reap fruit. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This is not the time to have the media broadcasting into your life 24/7. Yes, we need to keep up with the latest government requirements, but we do not need to be watching and listening to news broadcasts all the time, especially not our children. Have you thought about a media fast during this time and focussing on God’s Word instead? Perhaps meditating on Scripture and filling your home with Christian music. Focussing on what the answers are for now and for the future. Looking for the good. Looking for where God is working. (Here is a great blog on renewing your mind.)

  1. The power of our words.

Life or death can be in the tongue. The words we say are powerful. Whenever we speak, we are releasing the potential for positive or negative effect into the atmosphere. Our words have the power to create, to form and fashion something out of nothing and to change outcomes. In Genesis 1, God spoke and the world was created. He has given us the same creative power that by the words we speak, we create outcomes, good or bad. Do you speak life or death? God’s Word does not return empty and our words don’t either.

  • Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
  • Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
  • Romans 4:17 “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.”

Now is the time to be speaking the outcomes we desire for our life, our family, our country, the world. This is an amazing weapon. I find that a massively effective way of praying is to decree & declare that what is in heaven is done. Eg “I decree and declare that your back will be completely healed”. I find that this carries a lot more authority than praying, “God, can you please heal this person?” (Check out my blog on the power of your words here.)

Perhaps there are some things that you still desire for your family to come to fruition. I encourage you to write it down in the form of a declaration and begin to declare it. Start to use this time to change anything in your family/household that perhaps has fallen short of what you desired. Use this time to begin that change.

I would love to hear how you are finding this time and how you are managing to live a prophetic lifestyle at the moment. Please feel free to comment below.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Get some chalk or water-paints and write encouraging words on your footpath. Write and draw pictures of encouragement and tape to your front fence where people walking past can see them and be encouraged. Ask God if there is anything else He would like you as a family to do for your neighbours at this time.

2. Group Activation: Have a group member write group member’s names on slips of paper and put into a hat. Pull out one name at a time. The first name pulled out is to send a prophetic word to the second name pulled out. The second person, in turn, sends a prophetic word to the next name (third-person) pulled out etc. Before doing this, please ask everyone’s permission to participate in this plus for their email address to be shared with the person sending them a prophetic word.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to bring to mind all the people you know who live alone or are lonely or fearful at this time. Ask God to show you specific things that you can share with these people to encourage them. Spend time writing emails or ringing these people and sharing that which God shows and tells you for them.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to show or tell you how you can prophesy into and encourage a health care worker at the moment. Then do it.

5. Advanced Activation: Spend time with God, asking Him to show you what you can pray and prophecy for the leaders and decision-makers of your state and country. Then spend time doing that. Ask God if you are to share it with them and, if so, then find a way to let them know.

Our Authority in Healing

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AuthorityImagine your dad owned a huge company that employed many people. Over many years, your dad has been trying to implement a new method of operating. He has completed just about all the background work and it is nearly ready for the big day when it is going to be officially implemented.

You have spent a lot of your time just hanging around your dad whilst he had been working on it.

You weren’t an employee, you were the boss’s kid and so you had free reign where you went and what you did.

You loved the smell of your dad’s office and being with Him whilst He worked. He often talked aloud of what He was doing and you were passionate about what He was doing since you just loved being with Him. Your dad included you in the brainstorming of the solutions to problems. Your dad often allowed you to implement the changes.

The big day arrives and unexpectedly your dad can’t make the official opening. He asks you instead, as His representative, to be there as His delegated authority.

You know the workings of it nearly as much as He does because of all the time you have spent with Him and the intimacy of the working conditions.

Your dad has complete faith and trust in you. He knows that you understand what is required to be done and how to solve many of the issues. Thus, he delegates his authority to you.

 

Now take a moment to imagine this is God and He is asking you to heal the sick,

cast out demons, raise the dead, change nature. What is your response?

 

Knowing our authority and the manner in which we walk in it can change our life. It impacts the way we pray, how we pray, what we say, our actions, our lifestyle. In fact, it can completely change how we live our life.

 

Authority is delegated power.

 

Jesus has complete authority and He gave us authority to do whatever He did plus more. (John 14:12)

From the Bible, we see that:

  1. Man’s original commission – Genesis 1:28. God commanded Adam & Eve to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth. It was a command, not optional. God gave them dominion over the earth. God’s Kingdom on earth was an extension of God’s Kingdom in Heaven. God’s Kingdom went wherever Adam & Eve went.
  1. Satan rebelled. Satan & fallen angels were cast out of heaven and they took authority over the earth by deceiving Adam & Eve. God could have destroyed them but He had already given Adam & Eve dominion over the earth.
  1. Jesus came in the form of a man & retrieved what had been given away. He defeated Satan by rising from the dead – victory over sin and death.
  1. When we accept Jesus’ grace & forgiveness, we become an heir of God, a brother / sister to Jesus, a child of God. We share Jesus victory over Satan and have total access to Jesus’ delegated authority which Jesus took back from Satan when Jesus rose from the dead.
  1. Jesus, towards the end of His time here on earth, tells His disciples that “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater than these” (John 14:12). Matthew 28:17 has Jesus saying, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go…” He gives us the authority to do what He has been doing.

For today:

Matthew 16:18-19 says, “… I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be what is bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

Friends – we have permission from God. We have been given authority to go after that on earth that is not from God. Basically anything on earth that isn’t like that in heaven needs transformation and we have the authority to go after it and change it.

Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

For us to see the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, it will require us to go after it wholeheartedly. This is not for the faint hearted. Matthew 11:11 says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the Kingdom of Heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force.” I am not advocating violence. Here it is talking about violence as chasing after it with zeal and intense exertion. To press into it with fervour resembling violence and desperation. It expresses the earnestness that we need to have to be rid of all sin and unbelief in our life and to rid this earth of all power belonging to Satan.

Do you want to see God’s Kingdom established here on earth, here in your life? Do you want to see healing restored back to its rightful place as part of the normal Christian life?

Are you chasing after bringing Heaven (& all that is in Heaven eg health, freedom, love, peace, joy, extravagance etc) to earth?

How could you change your life or your belief system so what Christ commanded us to do and be, actually occurs within your lifestyle?

When Jesus Christ was on earth, He gave His disciples authority over demons, nature/weather, death, sickness, sin, poverty and everything that wasn’t in Heaven. We are given the same authority but it seems to be unusual to see us exhibiting that same authority that the disciples had and used.

For us to operate from a position of authority requires us to have some experience in that area. Heidi Baker prays with authority for anyone who is blind as she knows that they will obtain their sight. When Heidi Baker first began praying for blind people, she did not see any difference though for the first 100 blind people she prayed for.

But she persevered.

She then saw breakthrough and she now operates in amazing authority whenever eye problems are an issue.

What prevents us as Christians from operating in that realm and with that same authority?

I believe when we spend time with God and are intimate with God and truly know the Father’s heart for us, then we can’t help but know that He wants people healed and has given us that responsibility and authority.

Out of our identity and our intimacy with Father God comes our authority.

When we have a faulty belief system, it definitely shows up here. How we view and believe what God can and will do, certainly impacts the authority we operate in. When we believe that God is always good and wants to heal and can heal anything, it changes the way we pray for people and what we pray.

Next week I will look at some of the beliefs we have around healing.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Have paper and pens/pencils handy. Each person choose a neighbour. Ask God to show you what to write or draw (if a drawing, perhaps an adult can write what the drawing is about at the top) that will bless them and encourage them on a sheet of paper for that neighbour. Then post it in their letterbox or hand deliver it to them.

2. Group Activation: Have a device to play music on for a game of “Bob’s and Statues”. Explain the activation and then start playing the music. People are to walk or dance around the room. When you stop the music, have everyone either bob down or stand still as a statue. Have the caller with their back to the people so they can’t see what people are doing and they call out either “bob” or “statue” after the music stops and people have moved into their desired action. Those people that did the action that was called out are ‘safe’ and continue to the next round. Those people who did the opposite action to what was called out have to pair up and give each other a prophetic word based on a famous statue.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to tell you what He thinks of you at the moment. Listen and wait for His reply.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to show you a teenager who is sitting exams at the moment. Deliver a prophetic word to them about their future that will encourage and comfort them during this time.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to show you someone with special needs. Spend time with God asking Him for a prophetic word for this person. Ask God how to deliver this prophecy to them and when.

Prophesying over your home

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The other day I had an epiphany. I realised that I spent quite a bit of time praying for friends and their stuff especially when they contact me about urgent issues plus various other societal issues but I realised that I wasn’t spending much time praying and prophesying into my own family’s situation. I was often prophesying into other people’s lives but not stewarding well my own family’s prophetic words. Can you relate?

This realisation enables me to reassess my priorities in this regard and put in place some helpful practices.

I also spent time with God brainstorming some simple things for around our home. Various ideas came to mind during this time.

I remembered back to when my friend was redoing her flooring and she asked a number of her close friends to write prophetic words and draw prophetic pictures about what her house was going to become, and she placed these under the new flooring in the house. Whenever we visit, there is such a warm hospitable atmosphere and her home is often full of guests sharing deeply.

Have you physically placed any prophetic words around your home, under painting or flooring, dug them into the garden, placed artistic or creative expressions of them on your wall?

A number of friends have created canvas paintings depicting their children’s prophetic words and placed those canvasses on the children’s bedroom walls. They often refer to them with their kids.

I remembered back to when I first dealt with our original prophetic words and finalised them into a one to two sentence declaration. Sticking these declarations on the bathroom mirror and keeping a copy in my journal, Bible and handbag meant that they were always near where I was if I wanted to grab them out and meditate on them and declare them over myself and my family.

I realised that when I had kept worship music going continually in one part of our house, it changed the atmosphere in that area significantly and brought an amazing spiritual cleansing to that area.

I became acutely aware how we all flourish, but especially children, in an area of praise and encouragement and realised that I could adapt that to speaking positive declarations over my house and garden.

I also downloaded a copy of Arthur Burk’s (www.theslg.com) album “Deliverance for Children”. This is an absolutely revolutionary and transformational method of bringing freedom to people by playing the album quietly of a night in your bedroom (so quietly you can’t hear it but your spirit who never sleeps can) and dealing with any negative stuff in our lives. I highly recommend this album not just for children but for every person. The blessings and freedom that have come out of this for people have been huge. This can help release us from any negative stuff over our lives and aid in helping us become all whom we are created to be, thus being in a position where we can move forward in the process of fulfilling the prophetic words spoken over us.

I realised that it had been awhile since I had deliberately gone into every room in the house and released a blessing in that room and for the activity that usually occurred within each room of the house.

I realised that I needed to be asking God for new insights and prophetic declarations over our teenagers and hubby’s business.

How have you prophesied over your home? Have you discovered an amazing difference?

Start dreaming big with God and then look at ways that you can have ‘memory stones’ of that vision or prophecy by practically doing something in your home to remember often.

Friends, our prophetic gifting is for a myriad of uses. Let’s start using it to change the atmosphere in our own home.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Buy a canvas each, or use paper then laminate it, and have the children spend time painting, writing, or drawing something that depicts how God sees them and what He thinks of them. They may also like to add an appropriate Bible verse. Then mount the canvas or laminated sheet on their bedroom wall.

2. Group Activation: Get into groups of 3-5 people. Taking it in turn, focusing on one person at a time, spend time prophesying over each other’s homes and releasing a blessing on them.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend some time brainstorming with God and hearing His heart for your home. Write a 1-2 sentence statement/decree that you can then use to speak over your home. You may also like to write it out and place it somewhere within your home to remind you.

4. Intermediate Activation: Go on a prophetic walk around your street and neighbourhood prophesying over the area, especially any communal land like playgrounds, roads, footpaths etc If there are any houses for sale, prophesy over the selling of the house and new owners etc.

5. Advanced Activation: Find a barren area in your region (if need be, use google earth to see photos etc). Alternatively, you could identify a really rough area full of vandalism, drugs, prostitution etc. Spend time hearing God’s heart for this area and then prophesy and declare into the atmosphere God’s heart for that place.

 

Joy – Living from a Place of Victory (part 7)

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Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is my strength. How can it be my strength?

When we live life from a joy filled place, it is amazing what grabs our attention and what is no longer significant. What ‘burdens’ we can hold and what we can let go and not focus on.

When circumstances threaten to overwhelm us or take a turn for the worse, the joy of the Lord gives us the ability to stand firm and not be swayed emotionally or spiritually.

When the Joy of the Lord overwhelms you and becomes your new ‘go to’ or ‘live from’ place, then you find an incredible inner strength that changes your perspective.

Our burdens and grumbles turn into gratitude and blessings. Our outlook changes to focus on the good, not the bad. We focus on what Jesus is doing, not on what Satan is trying so hard to do to capture our attention and bring us down.

You may well say, “Jane, you don’t know my circumstances.”

You are darn right. I don’t know your circumstances but you also don’t know mine and how hard life has and can be for me. One of the biggest steps forward I have had in my life with God and my own personal growth was when I stopped focussing on my problems and started focusing on God’s goodness and giving thanks.

We begin to find things to be grateful for.

We change our perspective to how God sees the situation.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Paul said, “Always be joyful.”

Why?

Paul knew joyfulness is imperative in order to love the life God has given us.

But how do we do that when life stinks? When people hurt us? When circumstances seem hopeless? When our hearts are broken?

Paul then answers this question in the following 2 verses.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying”. To be joyful, we need to stay connected to God in prayer, asking Him daily to fill us with joy based on our walk with Him — not our satisfaction with everything in life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”.

This can be hard to start to do and to develop it until it becomes a lifestyle. It can feel phoney. It can feel like I am not being honest with myself or with others. Am I trying to hide stuff instead of facing up to the reality of my situation?

Being joyful always doesn’t mean walking around with a fake smile on my face. It doesn’t mean ignoring reality. It doesn’t mean ignoring negative emotions.

It means getting a grip on our life and realising that we will never have the perfect life this side of eternity but Christ is in us and He is perfect. His will is for us to live with joy. To contend for joy. Not because we are perfect or false but because Christ is perfect and He is in us.

We are commanded to intentionally focus on the good, instead of the bad.

To count our blessings rather than our burdens.

To let our faith, not our feelings, dictate our joy.

To focus on Christ not on circumstances.

Lift your heads, my friends and keep your focus on God. Be grateful and watch the joy of the Lord fill you to overflowing.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Make cupcakes and decorate them by writing on them a word to encourage someone. Give them away to the appropriate people.

2. Group Activation: Ask people present to put their phones in a box in the middle of the room. Ask 5 people to come forward and each pick out a phone but not turn it on. Get those 5 people to prophesy over the owner of the phone they have in their hand. After they have prophesied, ask the owners to step forward to collect their phone.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to highlight a person to you whom needs joy. Ask God to give you an encouraging prophetic word for that person.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to highlight a local business to you that is not prospering. Ask God what He would have you pray, prophesy and declare over the business and its future customers.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to show you where you can find a homeless person and what God would have you say and do and give to this person. Get prepared and then go and find this person.

Authority – Living from a Place of Victory (part 3)

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Imagine your dad owned a huge company that employed many people. Over many years, your dad has been trying to implement a new method of operating. He has completed just about all the background work and it is nearly ready for the big day when it is going to be officially implemented. You have spent a lot of your time just hanging around your dad whilst he had been working on it. You weren’t an employee, you were the boss’s kid and so you had free reign where you went and what you did. You loved the smell of your dad’s office and being with Him whilst He worked. He often talked aloud of what He was doing and you were passionate about what He was doing since you just loved being with Him. Your dad included you in the brainstorming of the solutions to problems. Your dad often allowed you to implement the changes.

The big day arrives and unexpectedly your dad can’t make the official opening. He asks you instead, as His representative, to be there as His delegated authority. You know the workings of it nearly as much as He does because of all the time you have spent with Him and the intimacy of the working conditions. Your dad has complete faith and trust in you. He knows that you understand what is required to be done and how to solve many of the issues. Thus, he delegates his authority to you.

Imagine this is God and He is asking you to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead, change nature. What is your response?

Knowing our authority and the manner in which we walk in it can change our life. It impacts the way we pray, how we pray, what we say, our actions, our lifestyle. In fact, it can completely change how we live our life.

 

                         Authority is delegated power.

 

Jesus has complete authority and He gave us authority to do whatever He did plus more. (John 14:12)

Last week I posted about identity and living from a place of how God sees us as that will always be more accurate and far better than how we see ourself. Out of our identity and our intimacy with Father God comes our authority.

When we have a faulty belief system, it definitely shows up here. How we view and believe what God can and will do, certainly impacts the authority we operate in. When we believe that God is always good and wants to heal and can heal anything, it changes the way we pray for people and what we pray.

I can remember being in a Board meeting of our Healing Rooms and the Director was sharing about a team member needing heart surgery and she went on to explain the condition. I was a Coronary Care specialist nurse for over 25 years so I knew what she was talking about. I just automatically went to the position of the operation would be the best outcome for that type of condition. As we prayed, I said, “Father God, if it is your will to heal this person without surgery…”. The Director stopped me right there and said, “Jane, we don’t pray that way.”. I was rightly reprimanded as that is not exercising my faith and authority as a daughter of the Healing God that we love and serve. God wants to heal everyone. Fair enough, some people’s healing does come through having surgery but we do not pray, “if it is your will to heal”.

I have had to intentionally grow my faith so that it is bold and so that I operate from a belief system that God can do anything, that the impossible can become possible with God.

Some of the ways that I have grown my faith have included:

  • I have intentionally blessed my spirit. I call my spirit to attention and bless it with increased faith. I bless it with knowing beyond a doubt that Father God can and will do the impossible. That Father God specialises in making the impossible the possible.
  • Personally experiencing miracles and healing.
  • Studying the Bible and what it says about faith, healing, God.
  • Surrounding myself with people of great faith, who know the Bible and live by the promises in the Bible.
  • Listening to great teaching about the promises in the Bible
  • Spending time with God asking Him the hard questions and growing in intimacy with Him.
  • Prayer ministry has been another way that has helped me to see some faulty beliefs that I had about God. When I now react in a manner that is inappropriate to a situation eg get angry, I try to take a few minutes to ask God, “Father God, can you please show me why I acted that way. What lie am I believing? After I have my answer, and confess that lie/belief to God, I then ask God, “What truth do you want me to know instead?”

Sometimes we don’t actually realise how much we have grown in a certain area until we are around people who have a different belief system to ourselves. This was very evident to me last week when I was asked to give words of knowledge at a healing course and then pray for people who came forward.  I was gobsmacked by how many people said, “My back’s killing me” and “I’m going blind and there’s nothing that can be done about it” or “God’s never healed me before”. It also struck me how many people assumed that the Doctor’s diagnosis of their condition was true and final.

One of the reasons I was astounded by these words were that I have realised that what we say out of our mouths has a direct correlation with what happens to us in life and whether or not we get our healing. (My next blog post will be on what we say and the impact it has.)

For us to see the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, it will require us to go after it wholeheartedly. This is not for the faint hearted. Matthew 11:11 says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the Kingdom of Heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force.” I am not advocating violence. Here it is talking about violence as chasing after it with zeal and intense exertion. To press into it with fervour resembling violence and desperation. It expresses the earnestness that we need to have to be rid of all sin and unbelief in our life and to rid this earth of all power belonging to Satan.

Do you want to see God’s Kingdom established here on earth, here in your life? Do you want to see healing restored back to its rightful place as part of the normal Christian life?

Jesus, towards the end of His time here on earth, tells His disciples that “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater than these” (John 14:12). Matthew 28:17 has Jesus saying, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go…” He gives us the authority to do what He has been doing.

Matthew 16:18 says, “… I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.”

Are you chasing after bringing Heaven (& all that is in Heaven eg health, love, peace, joy, extravagance etc) to earth?

How could you change your life or your belief system so what Christ commanded us to do and be, actually occurs within your lifestyle?

When Jesus Christ was on earth, He gave His disciples authority over demons, nature/weather, death, sickness, sin, poverty and everything that wasn’t in Heaven. We are given the same authority but it seems to be unusual to see us exhibiting that same authority that the disciples had and used.

For us to operate from a position of authority requires us to have some experience in that area. Heidi Baker prays with authority for anyone who is blind as she knows that they will obtain their sight. When Heidi Baker first began praying for blind people, she did not see any difference though for the first 100 blind people she prayed for.

 

                         But she persevered.

 

She then saw breakthrough and she now operates in amazing authority whenever eye problems are an issue.

What prevents us as Christians from operating in that realm and with that same authority?

I believe when we spend time with God and are intimate with God and truly know the Father’s heart for us, then we can’t help but know that He wants people healed and has given us that responsibility and authority.

My prayer is that you will ponder these questions and, if need be, make some life changing decisions and actions.

Feel free to comment below with your thoughts.

 

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Draw an outline of a person on a piece of paper. Give a copy to everyone. Ask everyone to colour in or write or draw on a particular are of the body that God shows or tells them. Share what body parts are highlighted. Ask if anyone present has a pain or injury or needs healing for any of those body parts. Pray for those people, preferably getting the people who had the word of knowledge about a body part doing the praying for healing for that body part. If no-one present has an injury or needs healing, keep a look out for the next person you see who needs healing of that body part.

2. Group Activation: Get into pairs. Ask each person to listen to God for what to pray over their partner, particularly in the area of identity, intimacy with God and authority. Ask them to call their partner’s spirit to attention and bless their spirit with what God has shown them. Take turns blessing each other with this.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God if there is a lie you are believing about operating in your God given authority that you have as a Christian? If He reveals a lie to you, repent and ask God to show you His truth. Then immediately start believing this truth and making it a part of your belief system and life style. Step out in faith in one area this week using your God given authority.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to show you a person in authority who needs encouragement. Spend time with God getting a prophetic word for that person. Take time to ask God how (eg written or spoken) and when you are to deliver it to that person. Then do it.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to show you a new area and level of authority that He wants you to grow in. Ask God to highlight this to you and begin to contend for this in your life.

Worship – Living from a Place of Victory

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Friends of ours live and work overseas and also have a house back here in Australia. They come back for a fortnight to Australia every 4-6 months. I will never forget my friend sharing how they always left Christian worship music playing on repeat in their Australian house when they returned overseas. My friend shared how they never had to worry about their garden as no weeds ever grew in it and she surmised it was due to the worship music saturating the atmosphere of her house and garden. One time, they had had someone stay at the house just after they had left for overseas. This person had turned off the Christian worship music whilst they had been at the house. They had not turned it on when they left. When my friends returned three months later, there were weeds two feet high all throughout the front yard.

Can worship make that much difference?

It seems totally absurb but our God is powerful and giving Him His worth through worship is extremely powerful.

I look at it from a different angle and say why wouldn’t it do that as worship changes everything.

When we worship, we give God all the glory and God can’t help but come and invade the praise of His people. With God present with us, our perspective changes, our actions change, and our problems seem smaller.

Worship changes atmospheres.

Worship changes our focus.

Worship helps us realise our identity and position in the heavenly realms.

I would rather be fighting from a position of worship and having ‘the joy of the Lord as my strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10) than be focusing on the devil and how to protect myself.

The devil will not co-exist with God and our worship. Thus, I much rather prefer to worship God and let the devil flee without giving him any attention.

When I was a young Christian, a lot of emphasis was put on “living a victorious christian lifestyle”. The only hassle was that it was all about living from a defensive position. The devil seemed huge and I had to build myself up and get rid of any sin in my life so as to be able to defeat him.

When I worship God, I am on the offensive, not the defensive. Worship becomes the first thing, in every situation. In fact, worship becomes a lifestyle. I love living from a lifestyle of victory and having the attitude and actions that we are coming from the position of the winning side. It changes my whole perspective.

We were made to worship God. If we are not worshiping God, then what are we worshiping? Whatever that is, it is an idol.

This is the first blog in a series of blogs covering living from a place of victory. This series will include blogs about the things we say and declare, living a godly lifestyle, changing atmospheres, blessing your spirit, spiritual ‘cleanliness’ before and after ministry, rest etc. If you are not a subscriber to this blog, I encourage you to subscribe so that you don’t miss out on part 2.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

The purpose of these exercises is to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and recognise God’s voice and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation: Buy an art canvas for each family member. Set up the paints and allow each person to paint their canvas background. When the paint is dry, grab some permanent markers. Write each person’s name in the middle of their canvas. Focus on one family member at a time. Brainstorm as a family the strengths of that person and the words that God would use to describe that person. Write these words on that family member’s canvas. You may like to hang each person’s canvas in their bedroom as a visual reminder of what God thinks of them.

2. Group Activation: Get into groups of 3. Elect one person to receive the prophetic word. The other 2 people in the group will play ‘prophetic table tennis’ – one person starts giving a prophetic word, the second person then carries on giving the prophetic word in the same vein of thought, then it returns to person number one to expand even deeper on that thread, then back to number two to expand deeper still. Try not to introduce any thing that doesn’t follow that thread. Instead, ask God how you can go deeper with just the one thread of thought. After you finish that one concept/thought etc, switch positions for someone new to receive a prophetic word.

3. Beginner Activation: Ask God to highlight to you an area of your home that seems dreary or unproductive or somewhere that you prefer not to relax in. Leave worship music playing quietly in that area for the next week/fortnight and see if it ‘feels’ any different or anyone else notices any change.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God for an encouraging Bible passage for someone undergoing a difficult season. Communicate this to that person in a loving, encouraging manner.

5. Advanced Activation: Ask God to highlight an MK (Child of a missionary) or a PK (Child of a Pastor). Ask God for a prophetic word for that child. Write a letter to that child highlighting what God has shared with you about that child and how great God sees them.