This is a summary of the Courts of Heaven teaching (COH):
1. There is a modern western style criminal justice court system in heaven.
2. Satan has access to heaven's court acting as prosecutor, from which he accuses us.
3. Your current sins and generational sins from dead relatives give Satan legal right to prosecute.
4. There are secret scrolls that have to be opened in COH for court to start.
5. These courts are secret, and require secret knowledge to discover how to function in them.
6. There are clouds of witnesses, dead Christians in heaven, who will speak on your behalf.
7. If we function in COH we grant Father God the ability to 'fulfill his fatherly passion'.
I've already shown the oriental court...
...the Bible talks about is not the same court system COH teaches. Does an oriental king hear cases and make judgments, yes. But it isn't procedural like a western court system. No.
As I've shown, the judgment has already been made on our behalf. "Who shall lay any charge against God's elect? It is God doing the justifying. Who condemns us?" Romans 8:33.
I've shown how Satan was cast out of heaven...
...who once accused us before God. But now he is on the earth, walking around as a roaring lion, accusing us here on earth - everyone of us has heard those accusations, and they are right here, on this earth. Not in heaven.
I've shared how there is no generational curse we must renounce, rebuke, repent of to be free. The soul that sins shall die. The soul that believes on Jesus is born again. Individual responsibility.
There are streams of the faith that make God our adversary.
If only we prayed enough He would send revival. If I fasted enough I could convince Him of my sincerity, or of my urgent need. There is another stream that is devil oriented. They feel if they don't do everything perfect the devil will have an open door into their lives. OR, he has an open door and they must find the way to close it.
From what I've seen in my life and others, and patterned in scripture, is that 99.9% of deliverances happen when a person decides to live right, and the demon leaves because there is no longer any place for them. Once a person realizes they have Christ in them AND the authority to use the name of Jesus against the demons, AND they are secure in their authority and place in the heavenlies in Christ, they decided to live for God and not sin. It is game over for demons.
Our will is stronger than any demon, or God for that matter
Christians can sometimes get so caught up in 'spiritual warfare' mentality they forget our will is stronger than any devil or God. Neither God nor the devil can make us do anything.
Every year millions of people all over the world, who don't know the Lord, quit destructive habits, overcome fears, and find their personal victories - just by their will. But there is big business in the Christian world marketing formulas which lead a person to believe they are weak, are continual victims of demons, and if they just find that one spiritual key, blessings will be unlocked and their life will run smoothly.
Satan tempts us that's true, and God works from within to empower and strengthen. But neither can make us do anything.
In John 8:11 Jesus told the woman caught in adultery:
"Go and sin no more." It meant break it off with the man she was caught in bed with. Jesus knew it was difficult emotionally for her. It didn't change his command. Maybe the man provided money or her own home, but she had to end the relationship. What Jesus commanded was difficult, and would mean emotional pain for her, but she had to do it to walk in righteousness.
That's tough love. No rebuking the spirit of lust or adultery here. Simply:"Go and sin no more." And certainly Jesus knew how difficult it would be for her. But He didn't spiritualize it. Just, stop sinning.
The COH teaches we must take back our authority through a heavenly court room with Satan as the prosecutor fighting to retain his will in our lives, while 'witnesses in heaven' - dead Christians - testify on your behalf. And if you do everything just right, you may win your case and your troubles will be over. Jesus said just do it. Just live right. Just decide for righteousness and walk it out.
Who do we wrestle with?
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers and authorities and world-rulers of darkness in the spirit realm and forces of evil in the heavenlies." Ephesians 6:12
We do wrestle, but not in a heavenly court patterned after modern western court systems. This verse is the middle of Paul's teaching in v10-17. It is about being strong in the Lord and the power of His might, putting on the armor of God. He states that with all these things we will be able to 'stand against the wiles of the devil.'
We are to put on the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the shoes of the gospel, the sword of the Spirit. It says this is the 'armor of God'.
If we were to say, "This is William's jacket" we understand William owns the jacket. So when Paul writes we are to put on God's armor, whose armor is it?
Isaiah 59:16-18, in a prophecy about Messiah, tells us this was Jesus' armor:
"And He saw there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore His arm brought deliverance (Hebrew), and His righteousness sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as His helmet, the garments of vengeance for His clothing, and zeal as His coat. According to their actions, He will repay..."
In our wrestling, we are wearing Jesus' armor that has already been tried in battle and found victorious. He faced temptations in the 3 areas (spirit, soul, body) and won. His friend insisted He not go to the cross. He rebuked that temptation. We wrestle from a position of having already won. Christ is in us. It is HIS armor. We have the authority to use His name. We are clothed with Jesus' armor so we can stand against the methods of Satan, and having done all to stand, stand.
Why does it say we wrestle against spirits in the heavenlies? That's for next week.
Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
Email me at [email protected]
http://www.cwowi.org