Hi all,
I've told the story many times, but it is important to this teaching. It is when Barb and I were first married and returning to her parent's home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Her parents were always in strife; theirs was a family of 'shouters'.
But it was more than that. Her mom would stand in the kitchen and angrily yell at her dad who was watching TV in the other room, and he would angrily yell back. Back and forth it would go, and we perceived a spirit was involved. It was more than a simple difference of opinion, something was enticing them to fight - that was a spirit of strife.
That first Thanksgiving holiday we stayed with them after we got married was a nightmare. Barb and I were soon in strife with one another too. It was a miserable weekend full of arguments and bad moods, punctuated by a few moments of peace here and there.
Once home we realized what it was - staying in their home we had unknowingly allowed ourselves to be submitted to the evil spirits in that home. We determined that would never happen again.
What the Lord showed me
Matthew 10:12-13:"When you come into a house, let your peace settle upon it if it is worthy. If not, let your peace return to you."
Jesus is talking about the traditional greeting at the door of someone's home:"Shalom aleichim" which means 'Peace to you'. The response would be 'Aleichim shalom', which is "To you peace." But Jesus said; "Let your peace settle on (the) house." I had never seen it expressed as a 'presence' that may be given out and/or taken back. The concept of letting my peace 'settle' upon a house was new to me.
Until that moment I had never been taught, never heard, never thought of peace as something I had control over. That God's peace in me, in my spirit, could be extended towards someone and their home, and if needed taken back, hit me powerfully.
Peace can be a weapon for good. Every teaching about peace I had ever heard or read about was defensive - 'Give me peace to get through this', for instance. Or in the midst of the storms of life I will have peace. Things like that.
I thought on what He taught me on and off for the year. The next Thanksgiving trip to her parent's house was different. Before we ever left our home for the 1200 mile drive (1931km) Barb and I did this:"Father, thank you for showing us we can let our peace from you dominate our time at her mom and dad's house. We let our peace settle on that house according to Matthew 10:12-13, in the name of Jesus."
"Now Satan. In the name of Jesus, we take authority over the spirits of strife and unforgiveness, and any other spirit in that house and command it to be silent while we are there. Our peace, the peace of the Lord, will dominate and settle upon that house."
That weekend was a good weekend. Her parents would have words a little back and forth, but the demonic fuel for strife had been silenced, and peace reigned. Barb and I were at peace throughout, as were the rest of her family. Wow, what a difference. Peace as a weapon for good!
Other uses
When I was on staff as the Bible school Director at a mega church we had regular 'Administrative Team' meetings on Wednesdays at 12:30. We were the 'elders' of the church - the local newspaper estimated it had about 13,000 attendees at the time. The 'A-team' as it was known, consisted of department heads, a Trustee, the Pastor and Associate Pastor.
Those weekly meetings were the 1 chance each department head had to talk directly to the pastor. One of the men in particular was always vocal about what he was doing, elevating his department above the others, taking lots of time to talk about how good he was and how much good he was doing.
Unfortunately, in elevating himself he criticized the rest of us. It was subtle, but it was regular. I would often pray about my day on Wednesday mornings, mentally going over the day while I prayed in tongues.
I would mentally walk through the day - coming through the office door around 7:30 - I oversaw about 35 people, so I imagined the morning, the classes I would teach in the morning, and then school was out at noon.
I shifted to the 'A-team' meeting and sometimes I would sense a negative witness in my spirit. I would 'hover' over that meeting in my mind, trying to discern what that negative was. It felt like a grievance, a pain, a heaviness, a sudden lack of peace. Very often it was a spirit of strife that I recognized would try to become involved in the meeting.
I would simply say:"In the name of Jesus I take authority over the spirit of strife and command it to be silent during the meeting." I would then ask the Father to let His peace be on the meeting, also stating 'I send my peace to settle upon that meeting like in Matthew 10:12, in Jesus' name.' I would then ask the Father to direct our conversation and decision making and so forth.
Each time, and I mean every single time, we would get to the point in the meeting where I knew strife wanted to rear its ugly head, and there would be nothing there. Like a dragon breathing fire, suddenly the fire had gone out. The man described above had nothing, he held his peace or he refrained from attacking one of us.
Once again, peace was a weapon for good, and I learned more about how to let my peace settle upon a home, a meeting, an event. I became even more aware of Christ in me, the hope of glory.
Next week I'll share how I overcame fear and worry in prayer through peace, and more - until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
I've told the story many times, but it is important to this teaching. It is when Barb and I were first married and returning to her parent's home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Her parents were always in strife; theirs was a family of 'shouters'.
But it was more than that. Her mom would stand in the kitchen and angrily yell at her dad who was watching TV in the other room, and he would angrily yell back. Back and forth it would go, and we perceived a spirit was involved. It was more than a simple difference of opinion, something was enticing them to fight - that was a spirit of strife.
That first Thanksgiving holiday we stayed with them after we got married was a nightmare. Barb and I were soon in strife with one another too. It was a miserable weekend full of arguments and bad moods, punctuated by a few moments of peace here and there.
Once home we realized what it was - staying in their home we had unknowingly allowed ourselves to be submitted to the evil spirits in that home. We determined that would never happen again.
What the Lord showed me
Matthew 10:12-13:"When you come into a house, let your peace settle upon it if it is worthy. If not, let your peace return to you."
Jesus is talking about the traditional greeting at the door of someone's home:"Shalom aleichim" which means 'Peace to you'. The response would be 'Aleichim shalom', which is "To you peace." But Jesus said; "Let your peace settle on (the) house." I had never seen it expressed as a 'presence' that may be given out and/or taken back. The concept of letting my peace 'settle' upon a house was new to me.
Until that moment I had never been taught, never heard, never thought of peace as something I had control over. That God's peace in me, in my spirit, could be extended towards someone and their home, and if needed taken back, hit me powerfully.
Peace can be a weapon for good. Every teaching about peace I had ever heard or read about was defensive - 'Give me peace to get through this', for instance. Or in the midst of the storms of life I will have peace. Things like that.
I thought on what He taught me on and off for the year. The next Thanksgiving trip to her parent's house was different. Before we ever left our home for the 1200 mile drive (1931km) Barb and I did this:"Father, thank you for showing us we can let our peace from you dominate our time at her mom and dad's house. We let our peace settle on that house according to Matthew 10:12-13, in the name of Jesus."
"Now Satan. In the name of Jesus, we take authority over the spirits of strife and unforgiveness, and any other spirit in that house and command it to be silent while we are there. Our peace, the peace of the Lord, will dominate and settle upon that house."
That weekend was a good weekend. Her parents would have words a little back and forth, but the demonic fuel for strife had been silenced, and peace reigned. Barb and I were at peace throughout, as were the rest of her family. Wow, what a difference. Peace as a weapon for good!
Other uses
When I was on staff as the Bible school Director at a mega church we had regular 'Administrative Team' meetings on Wednesdays at 12:30. We were the 'elders' of the church - the local newspaper estimated it had about 13,000 attendees at the time. The 'A-team' as it was known, consisted of department heads, a Trustee, the Pastor and Associate Pastor.
Those weekly meetings were the 1 chance each department head had to talk directly to the pastor. One of the men in particular was always vocal about what he was doing, elevating his department above the others, taking lots of time to talk about how good he was and how much good he was doing.
Unfortunately, in elevating himself he criticized the rest of us. It was subtle, but it was regular. I would often pray about my day on Wednesday mornings, mentally going over the day while I prayed in tongues.
I would mentally walk through the day - coming through the office door around 7:30 - I oversaw about 35 people, so I imagined the morning, the classes I would teach in the morning, and then school was out at noon.
I shifted to the 'A-team' meeting and sometimes I would sense a negative witness in my spirit. I would 'hover' over that meeting in my mind, trying to discern what that negative was. It felt like a grievance, a pain, a heaviness, a sudden lack of peace. Very often it was a spirit of strife that I recognized would try to become involved in the meeting.
I would simply say:"In the name of Jesus I take authority over the spirit of strife and command it to be silent during the meeting." I would then ask the Father to let His peace be on the meeting, also stating 'I send my peace to settle upon that meeting like in Matthew 10:12, in Jesus' name.' I would then ask the Father to direct our conversation and decision making and so forth.
Each time, and I mean every single time, we would get to the point in the meeting where I knew strife wanted to rear its ugly head, and there would be nothing there. Like a dragon breathing fire, suddenly the fire had gone out. The man described above had nothing, he held his peace or he refrained from attacking one of us.
Once again, peace was a weapon for good, and I learned more about how to let my peace settle upon a home, a meeting, an event. I became even more aware of Christ in me, the hope of glory.
Next week I'll share how I overcame fear and worry in prayer through peace, and more - until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
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