A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


May 10, 2017

"But This Scares Me"!

     That is probably the most common response I get when I suggest that we, as the Body of Christ, should be doing the things that Jesus commanded His Disciples to do to advance the Kingdom of God.  I realize that the idea of stepping out and laying hands on someone to heal them, or having the confidence that we could stand up to a demon and command it to leave a person are unfamiliar concepts to most of this generation of Christians.  Those activities are usually assigned to "charismatic" movements, which the more traditional (and dare I say) "powerless" denominations oftentimes want to label as being on the fringe of Protestantism.  Combine those deeds with speaking in tongues and, well, the conversation is over.
     And there are lots of reasons to be uncomfortable [or afraid] that seem legitimate to our human minds ...  the fear of being ridiculed or judged; no one wants to look stupid, and we certainly don't want to find ourselves at odds with the generally accepted practices of our fellow Church members.  And then there is the fear of failure -- even if I am bold enough to believe and DO what Jesus commanded, what if I do it wrong? What are the consequences of making mistakes?  But probably the biggest cause for fear is the possibility that we will have to engage the Dark Side.  That's a huge unknown and we don't really know what to expect, or even if we have the courage to find out.  Never mind that it speaks volumes of how we may be elevating Satan's power over the Power of God.
     Believe me, all of these arguments are ones that I have had myself.  But the more that I studied exactly what Jesus said, I could not deny His instructions to us to do "the works that I do" (John 14:12). And a study of that word "works" reveals that it is the Greek word ergon, which means "act or deed".  And if that wasn't enough confirmation that I could move forward [without fear] in healing the sick and setting people free from demonic torment, there is the actual Greek translation of John 14:10-12 ... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?  The words which I am speaking to you, not from myself as a source am I speaking.  But the Father who in me is abiding. He is doing the works.  Be believing me, that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me.  But if not, because of the works (acts and deeds) themselves be believing.  Most assuredly, I am saying to you, he who believes in me, the works (acts and deeds) which I am constantly doing, also that one shall do. This Scripture has so convicted my heart, that I can confidently put forth several Biblical premises for you to consider:
     1.  I don't have to be afraid, just obedient as Jesus was.  I don't have to fear doing it wrong, because it's not me doing the works, it is God in me who uses His Power deposited in me when the Holy Spirit came into my heart.  Will we feel awkward at first? Yes, but when we love Jesus and follow His commands, the Bible says that a "doer of the Word" will be "blessed in his doing".  Obedience is the first step.
     2.  There is assurance in the fact that Jesus states all Authority has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18) and He has given us authority to overcome all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm us (Luke 10:19).  I have given lots of long, hard thought to the big picture that I think Jesus is conveying here.  And it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  God gave mankind (made in His image) dominion over the earth and the authority to subdue it (Genesis 1:26-28). Adam and Eve were tricked into giving over that authority to Satan when they disobeyed God and gave into temptation. Satan actually boasts of this transfer of authority when he tempts Jesus in the wilderness: And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish (Luke 4:5-6).
     But the joke is on the devil!  Jesus defeats him at the Cross and after His resurrection, He appears to the Disciples and tells them, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. He has taken the Authority back, and then tells them "now I am giving you the Authority [back] to overcome all the power of the enemy".  That promise extends to us!  But there is a responsibility that comes with regaining that Authority ... we must teach and do all the works that He commanded the Disciples to do.  So, there should be no fear or doubt that this is what we are to be doing!
     3.  The Bible says that the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the Devil.  If we stick with God's plan from the beginning in the Garden of Eden, we can see that there was no sickness, no death, no demonic torment or oppression.  But ever since Man's Fall, the works (acts and deeds) of the devil have been to cause sickness and pain, death, and destruction of our souls -- all with the purpose to separate us from a relationship with the Father.  He comes to kill, steal, and destroy that relationship. But Jesus came to destroy the works of the Enemy by doing the works of the Father ... healing the sick, casting out demons, and securing the ultimate victory over Death.
     We were never designed to have cancer or Alzheimer's; or to be tormented in our souls and flesh.  I mean, we were never even supposed to die! But our spiritual parents were tempted and disobedient, and sin entered the Garden. There has been a spiritual battle ever since between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness.  Satan's authority has included sickness and disease and spiritual torment.  Until Jesus came, he also ruled over death.  But Jesus conquered Death, and when He returns, He will wipe out all the remaining works of the devil.  Until then, we are to continue in the spiritual battle, and take back territory with our Authority to heal and deliver.  And since Jesus has given us the opportunity to overcome the greatest fear of all (Death and eternal separation from God), then we can proceed in our duties as Sons and Daughters of the Kingdom, and continue to defeat the works of the devil.
     4.  The works of Jesus [which we are to do] amount to spiritual warfare, and that's why we have been given spiritual armor.  Pain, sickness, disease, and demonic torment come from the devil, and are his weapons in the battle to keep people from a relationship with Christ. Therefore, Jesus's works of healing our minds and bodies, and delivering us into freedom from spiritual bondage and oppression are His weapons in this spiritual war.  And if we follow Jesus's model, our source of power is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.  He used both to fight the Enemy.
      Prayer plugs us into the power source, connecting us to God and allowing His power to flow to us [through the Holy Spirit] for any battle we may be facing.  It is easy to think that we are battling natural forces or enemies.  But behind these natural enemies are spiritual forces that are opposed to the Kingdom of God. And besides the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, Jesus has given us spiritual weapons that include Prayer (plugging us into the power source); Fasting (helps to break the power of pride and rebellion, and humbles the soul); Authority (given by Him to tread on the power of the Enemy); Binding and Loosing in the Spirit (with legal authority, as spoken in Matthew 18:18); Praise and Worship (which connects us to the presence of God); Prophetic Anointing and Words of Knowledge in the Spirit (which break down strongholds established by the Enemy).
     If you carefully study the Word, you will find that Jesus used all these weapons in His destruction of the spiritual works of the devil.  And we must not forget the Spiritual Armor that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6.  This is armor that God gives us to protect us in the fight we will most certainly be engaged in.  It is my sincere belief that this armor is given to us precisely so we will get on the battlefield.  I do not think it is given to us with the idea that we are to sit safe and secure in our bunkers, while the battle rages on all around us. Jesus engaged on the front lines of the battle and so should we!
     By now, I'm sure that you have a pretty clear idea that I wish to encourage every Believer to renew their mind in the matter of the Power of the Church.  When Jesus makes the statement in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church, it is important that we understand [in the culture of His day] that the importance and strength of "gates" made them viewed as synonymous with power; in this case, figuratively as the power of hell. It is pretty clear to me that He is saying there will be a power struggle on earth between the power of hell and the power of Heaven as exemplified through the Church .  But in order for hell's power not to prevail (win), then we need to strap on our armor, secure our weapons, and get in the fight.  Just wearing the armor for our protection [with no action on our part] will not win the war.
     Now, I know there are those who will quote Scripture that says the Battle is the Lord's; it is not yours.  That was so in the Old Testament and before Jesus came and transferred the Father's Power and Authority from Himself to us.  We are now commanded to continue His works against the devil.
     So, can I tell you that Jesus has called us to a life of comfort, peace, and joy? And that there is nothing to fear? That is certainly what He desires for us. But we have an Enemy who wants to kill, steal, and destroy our lives and that means we need to plug into our Power Source, strap on our armor, and be prepared to battle for our King and His domain here on earth!
     When God came to earth as His Son, Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven collided with the Kingdom of Darkness here on earth -- and mankind experienced a real encounter with God, Himself. That encounter exhibited the power of God in signs and wonders through Jesus Christ.  That power was never designed to fade away.  We have access to it [through the Holy Spirit] to invade the nations and demonstrate what an encounter with God looks like.  With more encounters, comes more Heavenly power, with the result that the works of the devil will be destroyed ... and the powers of hell will not win against The True Church of our Lord!

2 Corinthians 10:4    "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have Divine Power to destroy strongholds".

 
       

8 comments:

  1. The lack of comments on this instructional blog makes me think when the masses of christians are called to move from theory to action they get shut down with fear. If you have been following this blog then it should come as no surprise that a call to action would go out. I say lets take this momentum and start firing our spiritual cannons at the dark side.

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    1. I love how you see the truth! And a call to action [within the Body of Christ] to take this message to the world is so needed right now! Thanks for serving the Kingdom with your encouragement!

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  2. Kingdom falls squarely in the court of action. I agree with your earlier blog that the proper context of faith in a kingdom model must involve the believer actually moving into spiritual warfare. I got a bit lost in my own head thinking the great commission was a stand alone act of loyalty to Christ but since reading your blog Ive come to realize that all aspects of Kingdom are warfare in the spirit and overlap what Jesus calls for in Kingdom work. Im ashamed to say that Ive been staring at the Gospels for darn near 40 years and your message is just now becoming clear. How did I miss such an important message all this time? Im baffled that I couldn't glean what Jesus was telling us about Kingdom on my own. I believe the shepherds will pay a steep price for not drilling this into their flock. Maybe they were never taught it in seminary? At least GOD is moving and educating his people. Now we must move from head knowledge to acting on this message. Belle do you think that people are moving to engage Satan on the field? I don't see much activity in my religious circles. Thank you for waking me up!

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    1. Thank you for being one of those with ears to hear! And all the glory goes to God, because I am just willing to be His instrument to share what has been revealed to me. And I know how you feel... to realize that we've been on the wrong path in our understanding for so long, and that even now, the shepherds are reluctant to see what we're seeing! And do I think people are moving to engage on the battlefield? Yes, but only a remnant. But I also see that God has only needed a remnant to be obedient in order to have His will be accomplished. And the remnant that is taking the battlefield now knows the Enemy's tactics and knows they have the Power of God behind them! So, I have so much confidence that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are behind this spiritual army and we will begin to see mighty victories!

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  3. I love this. I feel such a strong calling to go out and encounter people, especially the homeless. I have prayed for them and whatever else the Spirit prompts me to do. It is one of those things that does cause you to feel a littler nervous at first but once you do it you don't want to stop :)

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    1. Yes, Laura, once you know you have been given the Authority by Jesus to act and that the you have the Power of God, Himself, backing you, there is nothing to fear, let alone feeling self-conscious. Just keep moving forward! Bless you in your service to the Kingdom!

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  4. Do you know what is even scarier than trying to heal and deliver people? Not trying to! I know what it is like to be one of those people who desperately need help finding their way. I was the girl sitting in the dirt because while my demons wouldn't let me get help, the last part of my self knew that leaving the people who could help would mean death. I do not want to go back to being that person, nor do I want to leave anyone else in that place. Despite all the hardships that go along with healing and delivering people I wouldn't live my life any other way, because I know how bad it can get for them. I also know that without the knowledge and guidance you and PLW provided me I would not be where I am today, so I hope I can do that for someone else. People need to get over their fear, because it just doesn't matter. Those fears are not given to you by God, do not let them control you. This is THE single most important thing you can do for someone.

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    1. Your testimony is so inspiring! You have stepped out in faith, even when it seemed uncomfortable or you weren't quite sure how to proceed. You have personally seen Jesus work in your life, and your desire to share that experience and see others benefit from His mercy, grace, and power is yielding fruit in the Kingdom. Your inheritance in Heaven will be measurable! We may have given you advice, but it was you who had to decide whether to be obedient to what God was calling you to do, so I give you great credit for faith and your perseverance. But I sincerely hope that people take your words to heart --- once you step into that spiritual relationship with our Lord, and your mind is truly renewed, and your heart is turned from stone to flesh, there is a burning desire for more of Him. You are on a righteous path, my friend, and don't ever stop!

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