A Journey on the road to Freedom
Contents 2 | Egypt 4 | Boundary Lines 32 | Enemies of our Inheritance 38 | Gaining Spiritual Ground 42 | Spiritual Warfare
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Egypt
Egypt
From Egypt to the Promised Land
Egypt • Land of “Not Enough” • Land of Deliverance • Land of Slavery • Land of Vision • Land of Captivity
Greatness of God 2|
Desert
Promised Land
• Land of “Just Enough” • Land of Preparation • Land of Occupation • Land of Process • Land of Liberty
• Land of “More than Enough” • Land of Promise • Land of Possession • Land of Inheritance • Land of Intimacy
Commitment of God
Purposes of God |3
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Boundary Lines
Boundary
Lines
Living in Pleasant Places
YOU
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SECURE / PLEASANT BOUNDARY
• Hosea 5:10 / Proverbs 22:28 - Tampering with a boundary line is a criminal act.
• Psalm 16:6 - Boundary line declares my identity. - Boundary line protects me from attack. - Boundary line guarantees my inheritance.
• Numbers 34:12 - God’s pleasant boundary line has no gaps. - God’s pleasant boundary line is effective. - God’s pleasant boundary line has authority.
YOU “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” - (I Pet 5:8)
ESTABLISHING YOUR BOUNDARY • Boundary lines are established by the Lordship of Jesus. “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). • Christ’s victory over the devil establishes His rule and reign in our lives. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col 2:15). |5
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Boundary Lines
GEORGE
VULNERABLE BOUNDARY • We must keep our circle closed do not add or take away from the boundary line. • We must inspect our boundary line regularly: - Nehemiah 2:13-15 6|
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 - Lamentations 3:40 • Examine, check, explore, investigate, probe. • We must know what our boundary line is made up of. • We also break the boundary line by adding things to our lives that are not part of our inheritance.
OUR LIVES ARE NOT SEGMENTED • What I do in one area of my life is not contained to that area. • Decisions in one area affects the rest of my life
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Boundary Lines
GEORGE
MY LIFE IS A UNIT • “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Cor 5:6). A broken boundary in one area can result in trouble in another area. • The results of a broken boundary are often not seen immediately, but only experienced later. 8|
• The results of a broken boundary in the lives of parents are often seen in the lives of their children.
Family
School
Entertainment
Thoughts
GEORGE Language
Church
Finances
Work
JESUS ONLY PARTIALLY RULING OUR LIVES • Where Jesus is not Lord, the boundary line is broken. • Pleasures lead to consequences “Choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb 11:25). • The enemy might delay, but will always use the gap in our boundary line. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal 6:7). |9
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Boundary Lines
GEORGE
AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO ESTABLISH BOUNDARY LINES
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• Moral Life • Spiritual Life • Work Life • Physical Life • Emotional Life • Mental Life
• Material Life • Financial Life • Family Life • Social and Community Life • Recreational Life • Church Life • Marital Life
THOUGHT LIFE What you think (Prov 23:7)
GEORGE
CONDITION OF YOUR HEART Who you are (Prov 4:23)
KINGDOM CULTURE How you live (Jam 2:14-18)
COMPONENTS OF OUR BOUNDARY LINES “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16-20).
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Boundary Lines
NEGATIVE
NEGATIVE CONDITIONS OF THE HEART
• A proud heart
• An evil heart (Gen 6:5 - focused on evil).
• A presumptuous heart
• A hard heart (Heb 3:7 - not flexible or moldable. God cannot work with it).
• A despising heart
• A sinful, unbelieving heart (Heb 3:12 - refuses to trust and rely on God). 12 |
• A deceived heart (Deut11:16-17 believing a lie as truth - false gods).
• A hypocritical heart • An offended, bitter, resentful, unforgiving heart • A foolish heart • A divided heart
• A wounded heart • A faint heart • A Spiteful heart • A heavy or troubled heart • A reasoning heart • An envious and striving heart • A greedy, lustful heart • An uncircumcised heart • A condemned heart
POSITIVE
POSITIVE CONDITIONS OF THE HEART
• A fixed and steadfast heart
• An obedient heart
• A confident heart
• A believing heart
• A merry heart
• An enlarged heart
• A willing heart
• A new heart
• A pure heart
• A stirred heart
• An understanding heart
• The Father’s heart
• A wise heart
• A purposed heart
• A perfect heart
• A pondering heart
• A tender heart
• A forgiving heart
• A faithful heart
• An open heart
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Boundary Lines
1. FOOTHOLD
GEORGE
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FOOTHOLD - A SCHEME OF THE ENEMY
- It’s a secure initial position or advantage.
“And don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. “ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil” (Eph 4:26-27).
- Established at any price.
The Word “Foothold” is a military term.
- Gives control over a specific area and influence over an extended area. - Military strategy to put 80% of your effort where the enemy is most vulnerable. - The aim is to establish a couple
of footholds to vary the source of attack. - Through ungodly activity or decisions we give the enemy footholds from which he can work into our lives.
There is a story of a Haitian pastor illustrating to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ. His parable: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would
retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door. After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unliveable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The Haitian pastor’s conclusion: “If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation.”
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Boundary Lines
2. BRIDGEHEAD
GEORGE CUT THE SUPPLY!
BRIDGEHEAD - This is another Military term. - A foothold leads to a bridgehead. - This is a fortified position held in enemy territory to assist in bringing in men and material. - A bridgehead releases demonic activity in our lives. 16 |
- We will be aware of foothold activity, but bridgehead activity happens quietly. Example: Offence - foothold. With offence comes - anger, discouragement, gossip, depression etc. This is the bridgehead working. - Bridgeheads are the activities that enable footholds to produce strongholds.
3. STRONGHOLD
GEORGE CUT THE SUPPLY!
STRONGHOLD “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds� (2 Cor 10:4). - Military term. - A foothold leads to a bridgehead which supplies the stronghold. - A fortified place, secure refuge, centre of support for a cause, a
strategic place of operation. - Satan uses the opportunity we give him to build strongholds as strategic places of operation from which he can use his lies and demonic forces to destroy our relationship with and testimony for Jesus. - A stronghold is a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes me to accept as unchange-
able something that we know is contrary to the will of God. - Bad self image, fits of anger, alcoholism, depression, etc. - Strongholds established over many years are not destroyed with one prayer and then everything is fine. - We have to destroy the supply (lifestyle / habits) and then we deal with the stronghold. | 17
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“WE ARE MADE TO BE PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE - WE ARE NOT VICTIMS�
- Often the supply is cut through repentance and forgiveness - then we take on the stronghold. - After dealing with the supply, we have to deal with the established thought patterns that come as a result of experiences. - All this may take time, but has longterm results. 18 |
- Notice that the enemy cannot take
ground, we give it to him. - His activity in our lives is based on our response to thoughts and temptation.
- Sin gives him legal jurisdiction in my life.
- You are not a helpless pawn of Satan.
- Anger (foothold) leads to bitterness and unforgiveness (bridgehead) and not dealt with leads to a stronghold.
- If I desire or cherish sin in my heart I give the enemy an opportunity to establish a foothold (Ps 66:18).
- Sin will take you further than you wanted to go and make you stay longer than you wanted to stay .
Notes:
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Boundary Lines
BODY
SOUL
SPIRIT
THREE PRIMARY BOUNDARIES “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:23). We must give attention to all three areas to keep the boundary to our lives closed. We can become so spirit conscious that we neglect our body, etc.
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• Body - temporal • Soul - eternal • Spirit - eternal
SALVATION
WORSHIP
SPIRIT INTIMACY
FELLOWSHIP
SPIRIT Our spirit enables us to relate to God, communicate with Him and draw from Him. In order to keep the boundary of our spirit secure there are 4 areas we need to attend to: 1. Salvation - John 3:7 - You must be born again. 2. Intimacy - You must relate to God in a love relationship. 3. Worship - You must relate to Jesus as Lord. 4. Fellowship - You must relate to God as friend through the Holy Spirit. | 21
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Boundary Lines
DIET
REST
ISE EXERC
ESS CLEANLIN
PURITY
BODY
BODY If we neglect our bodies we will not function at our best and be vulnerable to the enemy. Five Areas that make up the boundary lines of our bodies:
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1. Diet - A healthy diet with a good mix of all the food groups - limited junkfood. 2. Rest - Regular rest and holidays (rest, not laziness). 3. Exercise - Gym, jog, walk, cycle. Do what works for you and do it regularly (Don’t worship exercise). 4. Cleanliness - not just washing (Do that too!), but no drugs, alcohol etc. 5. Purity - No sex until you are married and once you are married, stay faithful.
EMOTIONS
WILL
MIND
SOUL / HEART
SOUL / HEART In order to keep the circle of the soul closed there are 3 areas that need attention: • Mind - thoughts, conscious and sub-conscious. • Will - decision making. • Emotions - feelings. | 23
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Boundary Lines
HEALING THOUGHT LIFE
INPUT
SELF TALK
MIND
MIND
It’s a complete and total change like a caterpillar to a butterfly.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be *transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
“Be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph 4:22-24).
*Transformed = “Metamorpho” 24 |
GOD’S WORD
Exercise and train your mind in the things of God: • Our mind and thought life is the battleground. • Temptation start in our thought life.
• Habits start in our thought life. • Ways of living start in our thought life. • Choices start in our thought life. • Decisions start in our thought life. We spend the bulk of our time being vulnerable in the workplace to carnal thought and actions. We have to make an effort to expose our minds to the things of God
Set your mind! The Amplified bible says “Fix hour mind”. Tell your mind, ”Mind, this is what you are going to think on right now. You are going to think on this part of the Bible, or this attribute of God”. What do we do with wrong thoughts?
• “Junk in, junk out” • Starve negative and destructive thoughts. (If we dwell on the negative input we receive via TV, advertising, books, magazines and internet etc. we develop thought patterns that are controlled by these things). The pattern does not start with the evil spirit, but with us entertaining and acting on ungodly thoughts. This then gives the evil spirit the right to make itself at home. What you set your mind on is what you live. We are able, in God, to overcome temptation. The Bible tells us that we will not be tempted beyond what we
can endure. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Ps 1:1-3). This Psalm tells us what the result of filling our time and minds with the Word of God. “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:2).
- We make it comfortable, we entertain them. - We dress it up, make it look acceptable. - We feed it, we cause it to grow. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). This is war talk. We are at war and the war is in our minds. To take captive means to take control. | 25
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Boundary Lines
THE MIND - Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”
Useful thoughts
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What it means
Useless thoughts
Example
True
In accordance with fact or reality
False
I won’t have problems if I had another wife
Right/ Just
Correct and Moral
Ignoble
I will tell this story to make him look bad
Pure / Holy
Faultless and Unmixed
Impure
If I could just have one night with that girl
Lovely
Pleasing
Ugly
I hate that family
Admirable (Of good report)
Respect and Approving
Disrespect
He is such an idiot
Excellent (Truly Worthwhile)
Extremely Good
Bad
Did you see what a bad mistake he made
Praiseworthy (To be glad about)
Commendable
Negative
Our thoughts affect our lives! Our thinking, attitudes, expectations, belief, performance, values, vision, faith, Kingdom culture .... all affected by our mind!
LONG TERM VISION
BIBLICAL VALUES
BIBLICAL INSTRUCTION
ACCOUNTABILITY
KINGDOM CHOICES
WILL
PRIMARY MOTIVATION
HEALING WILL To make godly decisions and not give the devil a foothold through my decisions I have to make sure that the following seven aspects are evaluated on every major decision I make in my life: • Is my decision directed by past hurts?
• How does this decision fit in with the long-term vision I have for my life?
• Am I making kingdom choice or is my decision based on personal preference or convenience?
• Have I been accountable to godly leadership regarding my decision (not, have I informed them)?
• Is my decision guided by Biblical values?
• Is my decision violating any Biblical instruction? • Is my motivation pure or is it motivated by greed, fear etc.?
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Boundary Lines
CONTROL HEALED POSITIVE
RELEASE
EMOTIONS
EMOTIONS To keep the circle of our emotions closed against enemy activity we must: • Control our emotions - take responsibility for our emotions - don’t blame heritage etc. • Release our emotions - bottling up our emotions can lead to outbursts 28 |
of anger and violence. • Make sure that we are healed of all past hurts, disappointments and failures (repentance and forgiveness) - if not it can lead to unstable emotional behaviour or a lack of growth due to a fear of being hurt again. • Maintain a positive attitude in all circumstances - thoughts often determine and control emotions.
Three examples of maintaining Biblical boundaries in a specific area:
DEBT
OFFERING APOSTOLIC GIVING
GENEROSITY ALMS
FINANCES
TITHES
FAITH
FINANCES • Tithe (Mal 3:8-12) - 10% of gross income
• Offering - Giving over and above tithe - Sowing
• Apostolic Giving (2 Cor 8:1-3) - Sowing - Investing in the work of reaching the nations
- To local church (storehouse )
- For things - maintenance and equipment
- Protection
• Alms
- Opens windows of heaven
- For poor and needy
• Do all of these with faith and thanksgiving.
- This is not generosity or sowing
- Lending to God (Prov 19:17)
• Get out of debt.
• Always be generous.
- For people (tithe was for Levites ) |29
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Boundary Lines
LOVE
OBEDIENCE
FAMILY
SUBMISSION
FAMILY Three areas that keeps our families safe: • Husband love your wife. • Wife submit to your husband. (This can be summarised as: Husbands and wives must commit themselves to bringing the best out of one another, to protect one another and to spur one another on to spiritual maturity).
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• Children obey your parents. (Parents and children are a team working towards producing a next generation that is a testimony to the saving power of Jesus ).
CONFIDENTIALITY
FORGIVENESS
HONESTY
REPENTANCE
INTEGRITY
FRIENDSHIPS
FRIENDSHIPS Five boundary lines that will keep our friendships healthy and cause them to last longer than the first time someone is offended: • Forgiveness • Repentance • Confidentiality - no gossip (including “prayer gossip”) • Honesty • Integrity | 31
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Enemies of our Inheritance
Enemies Of our Inheritance 1. TRAVELLING DISCIPLINES There are ways of travelling that get us to our destination and there are ways of travelling that will never get us to our destination. • PIT STOPS BECOMING CAMPSITES BECOMING DESTINATIONS (Deut 1:6).
INTRODUCTION God has an inheritance for us. It is an inheritance that will give us peace, satisfaction, hope and fulfillment. (Deut 1:1-6, Deut 2:1-3).
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The first part of the inheritance is God himself (Deut 10:9). Our relationship with Him, getting to know His character, hearing His voice and
experiencing His love. The second part of the inheritance is the life He has planned for us to live – the places of influence, the places of ministry, the emotional and spiritual wholeness that He has for us. There are a number of enemies that we find in the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land that hinder us from entering both aspects of our inheritance.
We have to continue moving forward. So many of us start the journey, but when we get to a comfortable spot we set up camp and then decide that this is far enough. God brings us to places on the journey to our inheritance where we are seemingly living in His abundant provision, but is merely a training ground for possession. He brings us to places where He teaches us and instructs us in what we need for the journey and what we need to be to complete the journey. These places are not the destination, but pit stops to refuel, receive maintenance and encouragement. If we make these our places of inheritance we will never be satisfied and it will lead to the
next two travelling problems. Some pit stops are baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, foundations, home cell, a ministry trip, an area of ministry, Sunday meetings etc.
- A lack of interest in spiritual development (i.e. study). - A lack of interest in being involved in ministry (local and nations).
• TURNING BACK (Deut 2:6)
• GOING IN CIRCLES (Deut 2:3)
Often when things don’t seem to go our planned way, our first instinct is to turn back (Num 14:4). For others, when life seems to be good (enough money, no perceived problems) we forget where we are headed and we begin to turn back. This is a subtle process of slipping back to our old ways (lack of prayer, lack of fellowship, hanging out with the wrong people, stop being financially faithful).
Many don’t settle at the pit stops, they don’t turn back to there old ways, but they spend their lives going in circles. Activity is not a sign of growth! Focussed activity causes forward movement (not circular).
People start to drift away from where they are supposed to be – pressing on to the Promised Land. Warning signs of slipping back are mostly in attitudes that develop: - A passion for pleasure, so many breaks, you need surgery. - A lack of interest in meeting with believers (social and ministry). - A lack of interest in our spiritual disciplines.
We need to make sure that the things we are involved with and the things we do are not just “treading water” but are moving us forward towards what God has for us. The reason most people are going in circles is that their activity is faithless. We go through religious routine not expecting God to do anything or that anything will change. We need to look at what we are doing and why. We need to raise our levels of faith and expectation. We need to begin to rise beyond our own abilities and expect God to use you. The first sign of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The moment the Israelites started to move forward they started to take land.
2. TERRITORIAL ENEMIES There are enemies that we encounter on the way that oppose us. They want to stop us from moving forward or from taking the land. (Deut 2:30). We will use the enemies of the Israelites, as they entered the Promised Land, as a picture of the enemies we face:
APATHY & SELFPRESERVATION AMALEKITES ((Ex 17:8-16, Num 14:43) • Dweller in a valley - Satisfied with living in the low country. - Our inheritance is in the mountain tops. • The mother of Amalek was a cave dweller. - Dwells in darkness, not in light - Hidden • Descendants of Esau - Sellers of birthright (Gen 25:29-34). - Willing to give up their inheritance for short term satisfaction and pleasure. | 33
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Enemies of our Inheritance
- Looks for short cuts. - The less effort the better. - Unwilling to be inconvenienced for the nations, prayer, etc. • A people that “lick up”. - Satisfied with the leftovers. - Satisfied to just survive. - Day to day living. - Lack of spiritual authority. - Unwilling to take responsibility. • Nomads - Would move on from convenience to convenience. - When things get tough they move on. - Group together with others with the same habits. • Influential - They convince others that the cost is too great. - Negative talking. • Defeated through: Faith, vision, willingness to pay the price and to be inconvenienced, discernment, conquering spirit.
SELFISH AMBITION
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- Wants recognition - Wants to be known as successful - Will sacrifice anything for perceived success. - Wants to be seen as a leader. - Will compromise for prominence and perceived success. - Will use money to buy prominence. - Success becomes an idol – replacement of God. - Unable to perceive kingdom success. • Mountaineers / Hill people - Will climb over others to get to the top. - Will use any means to become prominent.
- (Chain, to collar, as if strangling) To squeeze the life out of - Controls your breathing and so your movement. - Causes you to hope to just survive - Strangled by work, expectations, fear, money, unforgiveness, sickness, depression, tradition, culture, cares of this world, medication, generational curses, etc. - Strangled by good ideas and not godly advice. • Control - Wants to control you like a puppet. • Great strength – known as giants.
• Warlike - Aggressive in their desire to achieve prominence. - Aggressively pursue promotion.
• Causes terror
• Defeated through: Humility, faith, service, security in God, submitting plans to God, vision – not ambition.
• Defeated through: Faith, confidence in God, godly self-image, priorities.
BUSYNESS, DEMAND AND CONTROL
AMORITES (Num 21:21).
ANAKITES (Josh 15:14).
• Prominence
• A necklace.
• Don’t try to dig own cistern (create own freedom) – look to God for freedom.
MATERIALISM BASHANITES (Num 21:33-35). • In ivory, fruitful, fine cattle, productiveness. - Fruitfulness measured in things - Accumulation of things.
- Desire for more is never satisfied - Wealth shown by the abundance. of things as opposed to spiritual wealth. - Worldly fruitfulness as opposed to spiritual fruitfulness. - Must understand that God is more than enough. - Defeat through: kingdom values, obedience, faith, grateful hearts.
LOVE OF MONEY CANAANITES (Num 21:1). • Merchant, trafficker, conducts mercantile caravans, a peddler, commerce. - Desire for easy money. - Vulnerable to financial compromise. - Driven by the love of money. - Unable to be stable in a job because we move easily for better money. - Money controls our decisions. - Zealous for business, but not for God. - Will compromise our faithfulness in the kingdom for more money. • Commanded to utterly destroy - Descendants of Ham who was cursed by Noah. - This enemy brings us under a curse
Canaanites • Defeated through: generosity, taking authority in financial matters, financial faithfulness.
SPIRITUAL PRIDE AND SPIRITUAL POVERTY EDOMITES (Num 20:14). • Name given to Esau after he sold his birthright. - Spiritual poverty.
- Lack of inheritance causing hopelessness. • Hatred - Hatred of others who live in their inheritance. - Hatred of others who are passionate for God. • Proud, self confident, idolatry - Protects themselves through looking down on others. - Will make others feel small. | 35
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Enemies of our Inheritance
• Strong and cruel
- “Heth” = trembling, fear
• We have enough to do here
- Harsh to others. - No sensitivity and uncaring.
• To prostrate; to break down, either by violence, or by confusion, fear or intimidation.
- We need to see ourselves as “potent”, not small.
• Beat down, discourage, go down, scare, terrify.
- Brings you under a curse.
INSECURE AND CAUSE DRIVEN GIRGASHITES (Deut 7:1). • Dwelling on clay soil. - Vulnerable. - Insecure. - Emotional roller coasters. - Not strong or courageous. • Who arrives from pilgrimage - Keeps on moving around. - Does not commit or settle in a local church. - Cause motivated. - Conference or teacher driven. • Defeat through: repentance and healing.
FEAR AND INTIMIDATION HITTITES (Deut 20:17). • One who is broken • One who fears 36 |
• Sons of Heth
• Israel commanded to destroy, but did not destroy totally. • Causes hesitation, loss of momentum, loss of hope, indecisiveness, frustration (considering cost, now what), confusion (many voices, did we do the right thing), division, unbelief, inactivity, negativity and death (giving up on inheritance). • Defeat through: repentance, faith and healing.
SMALL THINKING AND SINFUL LIVING
• Descendants of Ham - Small thinking brings you under a curse. • Wicked, wickedness - Involvement in evil activity. - Occult practices. - Sexual immorality. - Small thinking causes us to seek significance in dark and hidden activities. - Often there is extreme occultist activity in small towns. - Sinful living - knowingly. • Defeat through: faith, vision, going and holiness.
DEFEATIST AND INSECURE
HIVITES (Deut 20:17). • Villagers - Small thinking. - Oppose the apostolic heart of God. - “Let us keep our little thing going”. - “It was so nice when the church / home cell was small”. - Anything that needs more effort attracts opposition.
MIDIANITES (Num 25:17). • Strife - A continual struggle, never seems to overcome. • Patronymic
- The history of their family has great influence on their decisions. The opinion of their ancestors directs them. • Midianites lived from plunder - Unable to get their own spiritual food, they live off what others have gathered for themselves. • Delights in finery - Finds fulfillment in showing off themselves and their achievements. - Loves compliments. - Unable to direct all the glory to God.
- If we don’t have the living water of Christ flowing through us, death sets in. • Threshing floor - An unwillingness to submit to the threshing of the Holy Spirit. - Unwilling to yield to the sometimes painful work of the Holy Spiritremoving the things that are not of God in our lives. • Loath - Reluctant and unwilling. - Ps 51:12
• Deceived Israel into sin
• Be polluted
- Enemy wants to deceive us into sinful activity.
- Allowing the things, values and thought patterns in this world to control us .
UNYIELDING, UNWILLING AND DRY JEBUSITES (Deut 20:17). • Trodden hard under foot - Like a path that has had many people walk over it. - Hurt and disappointment has made us hard and inflexible. • Waterless - Water produces life.
• Defeat through: forgiveness, intimacy and yieldedness.
GENERATIONAL CURSES MOABITES (Num 25:1). • Moab the result of incest • The seed of the father - Lives under the sin of the father. - Unable to break free from the history.
• Defeat through: the blood of Jesus.
INDEPENDENCE PERIZZITES (Deut 20:17). • Inhabitants of villages of the open country, dwellers in unwalled open country. - Don’t like to be hemmed in - Perceives accountability as being hemmed in. • Were not totally destroyed and intermarried with the Israelites. • Defeated through: submission and accountability.
CONCLUSION God wants us to beat these enemies What are His instructions? (Deut 2:32-34). - We must totally destroy these enemies. - If we don’t they will rise up again against us. - We cannot be half hearted in our approach to these things. - We need to be aggressive with sin. | 37
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Giving and Gaining Spiritual Ground
Spiritual
Ground
Giving and Gaining INTRODUCTION This section focuses on giving spiritual ground to the enemy and gaining spiritual ground from the enemy.
1. CAN A CHRISTIAN BE DEMON POSSESSED? • The Greek word that we have generally translated as demon-possessed is “daimonizomai” we literally means “demonized”. • The word possession implies ownership and seems to include present and future control. • It would be impossible for someone to be owned and controlled by Satan and have a saving relationship with Jesus at the same time. • The answer to the question is therefore “NO”. • We were bought with a price and there is no place in the scripture where it is indicated that Jesus would sell us back to the devil.
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• The Bible takes it as a given that we can be influenced by the devil and demonic forces – therefore we are told to “not be ignorant of his
schemes” and to “put on the full armor of God so we can stand against his attacks”. • We are told to “take captive every thought” and to resist the devil”. • If the devil could not influence our lives these warnings and instructions would be a waste of time.
2. INFLUENCE • The key word here is influence. • When it comes to God’s people, evil spirits are spirits of influence only. • This is not true for unbelievers – they are firmly in his grasp and under his control. • Ephesians 2:2 tells us that they are members of the kingdom of darkness. • Demons can only influence believers to the extent that we allow them to do so. • It is up to us how we will respond to the temptation. • We make the choices about what we will watch and read, about where will go and not go – these choices allow the devil to have ground in our lives and influence us.
3. GIVING GROUND TO THE ENEMY • Ephesians 4:27 tells us not to give the enemy ground. • This word “ground” or “topos” can be translated as:
- Place - Foothold - A strategic place of operation - Opportunity - Chance - No room to move
• Through any ungodly activity or action that we don’t deal with we give the enemy ground to work from into our lives – we will look at some ways through which we do this later. • This is then ground onto which he establishes strongholds.
4. BUILDING STRONGHOLDS • Satan uses the ground that we give him to build up strongholds as strategic places of operation from which he can come with his lies to
undercut our relationship with and testimony for Jesus. • A stronghold is a mind set impregnated with hopelessness that causes me to accept as unchangeable something that we know is contrary to the will of God (e.g. a bad self image, fits of anger, fits of violence, depression etc.) • Patterns of thoughts get burnt into our minds through bad experiences over a period of time and if we don’t deal with them we give the devil a chance (i.e. Rejection, disappointment etc). • Notice that we as believers can give ground to Satan. He cannot take it without our permission or cooperation. All he can do is influence us; plant evil thoughts, make suggestions, place temptations in our paths – we choose how we will respond • No Christian is a helpless pawn of Satan – he wants you to think you are, but you are not! • If I desire or cherish (Ps 66:18) sin in my heart and decide to hold on to it, I give the enemy the ground he needs to launch his destructive | 39
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Giving and Gaining Spiritual Ground
attacks against me. He will exploit it. • We don’t give Satan ground every time we sin, but if we hold on to it, refuse to repent and turn away from it, then we are in trouble. • Any area in my life I do not yield to Jesus the enemy will seek to try and control. When I give the enemy ground it is legal jurisdiction – I give him legal permission to attack me. • If Satan gets a firm enough foothold in a person’s life, he can turn an act of sin into a regular practice of sin, and from there it degenerates into a habit which leads that person downwards into bondage – alcohol is a good example – sin does the same – before you know it you are entangled. • Anger that is stored up and turns into bitterness and unforgiveness gives a foothold
5. AREA’S THAT GIVE THE ENEMY A FOOTHOLD • Dabbling in the occult – fortune telling (horoscopes, tarot cards), 40 |
witch doctors, seances, divination - receiving answers from a source other then God etc. (Any organization that deals in the occult is trouble, so are secret societies – on the surface they are good, when you get in deeper it is occultic – Free Masonry). Curiosity is dangerous – don’t play with fire. • Unforgiveness and bitterness – toward parents, brothers or sister, anyone who has hurt or disappointed you. • A conscience that is not clear – deal with guilt, old offenses. Release people you hold grudges against, before it turns to bitterness. Let go of the past. • Rebellion against God’s continuing authority – willfully choosing not to submit to God and His ways. • Pride – raising ourselves up above God and others – deciding to run your own life outside of God’s input. • Sexual bondage – sexual abuse as a child, sexual relationships outside of marriage (Pornography). • Illegitimate authority in the home, the husband not the head of the
home. Either the wife or the kids are the head of the home. This is not God’s pattern for the team and opens us up to demonic activity.
6. STEPS TO FREEDOM • Genuine repentance – not feeling sorry or apologetic but a God-given remorse and turning away from. This includes confession of sin to God and a commitment to letting go of the sin. Repentance opens the door for God’s grace to work in that issue. • Taking back ground that has been yielded to the enemy. This means verbally asking God to take back ground that has been given to Satan, and renouncing the works of Satan in my life. Now we can command the enemy in the name of Jesus and under the covering of His blood to leave. • Tearing down strongholds. We now have to attack the strongholds of lies the enemy has built with the truth of God’s word – read, declare it, sing it, listen to it. Shape our thought pattern by dwelling on Philippians 4:8.
• Build towers of truth. Establish yourself in the truth so that when the enemy comes with his lies you can flee into the tower of God’s truth. He will lie to you about your freedom, about being forgiven, about being saved, about your identity in Christ etc. • Take thoughts captive (2 Cor 10:5) We are to bring our thought in line with what God desires and with what pleases Him. This is a daily practical practice. Any thought that contradicts God’s plan and purpose needs to be dealt with severely. Sometimes we can deal with strongholds ourselves. Sometimes they are so well established we cannot see that we can be free and we cannot deal with it on our own – please come and speak to us so that it can be dealt with – you must want it!
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Key Principles in Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual
warfare
Key principles in Spiritual Warfare 1. THE ENEMY IS STRONG There is a battle underway for our hearts, minds and lives. One of the biggest mistakes we make is to believe that the devil cannot touch us as Christians irrespective of our actions and behavior. We have been tricked into thinking that the devil doesn’t really exist or that we are immune to his tactics. We have to stand against the enemy, otherwise we will live a defeated life. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Eph 6:11-13).
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- Satan and his followers have a definite plan to come against us and defeat us.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8) - Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10). - But God has a good plan for you life. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, ‘‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29:11) First Satan wants to steal the eternal significance of your life. He wants to get you so wrapped up in your problems and circumstances that you never reach out to others. He wants to steal the Fruit of the Spirit in your life. That is why every attack is designed to take your eyes off Jesus and onto yourself and your problems. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2).
Second, Satan desires to kill you. He cannot do this without God’s permission, so He will try and get you to do it for him. We get so wrapped up in our failures and inadequacies that we begin to think that the best solution for ourselves and those around us is to kill ourselves. Thirdly the devil seeks to destroy our relationships. Churches, families and friendships are daily torn to shreds as the enemy attacks relationships through lies, misunderstandings, insecurities, unmet expectations and disappointments. When we allow these elements to infiltrate our thinking and dictate our responses then we give in to the works of the enemy • But Satan is a toothless lion. • He was stripped of his power at the cross. • “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15). • “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Pet 5:9).
• If this is true then why are we seeing these things happening? Because we have been delivered from the power, not the presence of darkness – we have to enforce and live out the victory that has been won. • Even though a country has been defeated in war, soldiers have to go into that country and occupy and enforce the victory , otherwise the defeated foe will start to try and do things they are not supposed to do • “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (Col 1:13). • “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19). • So Satan’s power then is in the lie, to get us to believe he has no power or that he is not serious. He wants us to believe the words of people and the devil, rather than that of God.
2. OUR SPIRITUAL IDENTITY Our spiritual identity as children of God gives us the authority and
power to repel the enemy’s attacks. • We are to be more than conquerors. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). • If we understand who we are in Christ, what the enemy’s tactics are and what we can do about them we can live victorious. • Often we allow the devil a foothold for many years through bitterness, pride, the occult, illegitimate authority or sexual relationships outside of marriage and then when things go wrong we want to pray
one short, quick prayer of defense against the enemy and then we are upset if everything doesn’t change instantaneously. “And do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4:27). • We have to first destroy the devil’s strategic place of operation and then we can make inroads on living the life God has for us. • Sometimes this is quick, sometimes a slow process of recovery, but there is always hope in God. | 43
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WHO AM I IN CHRIST? The phrase “in Christ” appears 90 times in the New Testament (NIV).
I am accepted ...
I am significant ...
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• I am God’s child. (John 1:12) • As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. (John 15:15) • I have been justified. (Romans 5:1) • I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17) • I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) • I am a member of Christ’s body. (1 Corinthians 12:27 ) • I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. (Ephesians 1:3-8) • I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. (Colossians 1:13-14) • I am complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:9-10) • I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 4:14-16) • I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. (John 15:5) • I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. (John 15:16) • I am God’s temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16) • I am a minister of reconciliation for God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) • I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 2:6) • I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10) • I may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12) • I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
I am secure ...
• I am free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2) • I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. (Romans 8:28 ) • I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God. (Romans 8:31-39) • I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) • I am hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-4 ) • I am confident that God will complete the good work • He started in me. (Philippians 1:6) • I am a citizen of heaven. (Philippians 3:20) • I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) • I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)
”The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!”
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4. ARMOR God gives us mighty armor to resist the enemy’s attacks.
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“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when (not if) the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righ-
teousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Eph 6:10-18).
• These are the keys to resisting the attacks of the devil. • If these weapons are used properly we can stand against the enemy.
Notes:
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Notes: