Hi all,
A word that is often talked about in Christian circles is 'curse'. As in, 'I am under a curse.' Or, 'I am under the curse of the generations.' It can be a phrase used for any pattern of sin or stress a person is trying to break and gain the victory over. And for some, literal curses from family members involved in the occult is very real.
Among the thousands of emails I get, a good number of them have to do with people saying they are under demonic attack. I have no doubt that is often very true. How and why does that happen to Christians?
A matter of authority
I had been thinking on Matthew 28:18, where Jesus said:"All authority (not power as KJV and others translate it) is given to me in heaven and in earth. Therefore you go into all the world and teach all nations, making disciples (lit; learners), teaching them to observe everything I've commanded you..."
I had been thinking how Jesus said all authority has been given to him....and I stopped. I thought:"If He has all authority, why is the world in such a mess?" Is the 'all authority' related only to sharing the gospel? How does it work?
So I asked Him one day as it was heavy upon me to know. He said:"I do have all authority in heaven and earth. Satan has none. The devil gets people to give him their authority, then he uses their authority against them. What you see in the world is the cumulative effect of generations and sometimes whole nations who have given their authority to him, which he has used to oppress millions upon millions, generation after generation, sometimes for centuries."
The greater detail was Him teaching me each person has been given authority for their life. Each person therefore can give their authority to Christ, which opens them up to all spiritual blessings, or they can give their authority to the devil which he will use against them.
What He said agreed with something the Father had told me when I was a teenager and asking Him about heaven and hell. At that time the Father said:"Your body gives you authority while it is alive on the earth. But when the body dies, a person's spirit and soul automatically become subject to the kingdom they're a citizen of." (I know, improper grammar, but I was a kid and He spoke to me as I spoke - He seems to do that with most people, lol).
What it means is that each person has the authority given by virtue of being created a free-willed spirit being. Jesus has all authority spiritually, so our choice is to give our authority to Him as an act of our will, or giving that authority to Satan in the form of accepting wrong thinking, wrong beliefs and such.
Once we have given our authority to Christ, we become one with His authority - which is why He said those who believe in His name will use His name to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, if they ingest poison it won't hurt them - all in His name by virtue of the fact He has given us His authority to use as He did in His life.
What that means...
It means no Christian is subject to anyone's witchcraft curse. But if you believe you are subject to demons or a curse, you are legally giving them your authority, which they use to torment you. It means the sins your dead or alive relatives can't affect you if you will rise up in your authority to reject their sins. It means no Christian should ever be afraid of the devil. But if a Christian has been taught in error that we are to pray against the devil, they will be at the mercy of demons and curses. If they are properly taught to obey Jesus by using His name against them, then they will live demon-free, no matter the devil's plans.
It means temptations in life are the devil's efforts to get you to give him your authority in that area, so he can use your authority against you.
Temptations
Think of your life as a large pizza cut into 12 slices. In 11 of those slices you are living fully for the Lord. But there is that 1 slice of sin that happens. Not just a character flaw the Lord is working on to bring you to maturity. But an outright temptation that happens regularly - because the demons that have observed you know your weaknesses. Temptation as we see in the temptations of Jesus involved two things:The flesh, and the enticement.
Jesus was hungry, that was the flesh. Satan enticed Him to turn stones to bread. Jesus came to show us who He is, that is the flesh. Throw yourself down and prove who you are, the enticement. Jesus came to save mankind and restore the world's governments to God, that is the flesh. Worship Satan and he will give the kingdoms of the world to him, to not follow the Plan, was the enticement.
Each of those was Satan tempting Jesus to either misuse His authority or give His authority to the devil. We must have an honest conversation with ourselves about how our flesh likes sin. Once you know yourself honestly, then you can fight temptation. You can't fight a temptation or a demon if you and the demon know you really want that sin....you will lay down your authority every time until you learn to value your fellowship with God more than you value that sin for a moment.
Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth.
Putting it in quantum mechanics let's think of it this way. Light is real, it can be measured, it has particles. Darkness is nothing literally, darkness doesn't exist as a 'thing'. Darkness is merely the absence of light.
I was driving across the very flat part of western Kansas, a state in the US known for flat fields and few trees. It was nearing sunset and the expanse of view was horizon to horizon in such a way I could see the darkness advancing across the land. I exclaimed:"Oh Father, look how the darkness advances!" He immediately responded:"It's not that the darkness is advancing, it is that the light is retreating." What a life-long lesson that was. That's how demons and curses get into our lives. We let the light in us retreat, which allows the darkness to advance.
Don't let the darkness advance by you retreating - it will fill that vacuum. Stand up in your authority, resist, command away, and Satan will flee.
Now realize this:Evil doesn't exist as a 'thing' that can be measured. Evil is the absence of Good. It is the absence of God in any given situation. In any given life. It is the rejection of all that is God. Only good can be measured. Evil is a comparison against the degree of good. Stand up and exert your 'good' - Christ in you - if/when you feel a demonic attack. Greater is He that is in you than he in the world - use the tools Christ gave us - His name, that fact we are one with Him. Don't give in to fear and intimidation by demons. Exert your will over demons - you are greater than they are by Christ in you!
We will pick it up there next week with generational curses and more...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
A word that is often talked about in Christian circles is 'curse'. As in, 'I am under a curse.' Or, 'I am under the curse of the generations.' It can be a phrase used for any pattern of sin or stress a person is trying to break and gain the victory over. And for some, literal curses from family members involved in the occult is very real.
Among the thousands of emails I get, a good number of them have to do with people saying they are under demonic attack. I have no doubt that is often very true. How and why does that happen to Christians?
A matter of authority
I had been thinking on Matthew 28:18, where Jesus said:"All authority (not power as KJV and others translate it) is given to me in heaven and in earth. Therefore you go into all the world and teach all nations, making disciples (lit; learners), teaching them to observe everything I've commanded you..."
I had been thinking how Jesus said all authority has been given to him....and I stopped. I thought:"If He has all authority, why is the world in such a mess?" Is the 'all authority' related only to sharing the gospel? How does it work?
So I asked Him one day as it was heavy upon me to know. He said:"I do have all authority in heaven and earth. Satan has none. The devil gets people to give him their authority, then he uses their authority against them. What you see in the world is the cumulative effect of generations and sometimes whole nations who have given their authority to him, which he has used to oppress millions upon millions, generation after generation, sometimes for centuries."
The greater detail was Him teaching me each person has been given authority for their life. Each person therefore can give their authority to Christ, which opens them up to all spiritual blessings, or they can give their authority to the devil which he will use against them.
What He said agreed with something the Father had told me when I was a teenager and asking Him about heaven and hell. At that time the Father said:"Your body gives you authority while it is alive on the earth. But when the body dies, a person's spirit and soul automatically become subject to the kingdom they're a citizen of." (I know, improper grammar, but I was a kid and He spoke to me as I spoke - He seems to do that with most people, lol).
What it means is that each person has the authority given by virtue of being created a free-willed spirit being. Jesus has all authority spiritually, so our choice is to give our authority to Him as an act of our will, or giving that authority to Satan in the form of accepting wrong thinking, wrong beliefs and such.
Once we have given our authority to Christ, we become one with His authority - which is why He said those who believe in His name will use His name to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, if they ingest poison it won't hurt them - all in His name by virtue of the fact He has given us His authority to use as He did in His life.
What that means...
It means no Christian is subject to anyone's witchcraft curse. But if you believe you are subject to demons or a curse, you are legally giving them your authority, which they use to torment you. It means the sins your dead or alive relatives can't affect you if you will rise up in your authority to reject their sins. It means no Christian should ever be afraid of the devil. But if a Christian has been taught in error that we are to pray against the devil, they will be at the mercy of demons and curses. If they are properly taught to obey Jesus by using His name against them, then they will live demon-free, no matter the devil's plans.
It means temptations in life are the devil's efforts to get you to give him your authority in that area, so he can use your authority against you.
Temptations
Think of your life as a large pizza cut into 12 slices. In 11 of those slices you are living fully for the Lord. But there is that 1 slice of sin that happens. Not just a character flaw the Lord is working on to bring you to maturity. But an outright temptation that happens regularly - because the demons that have observed you know your weaknesses. Temptation as we see in the temptations of Jesus involved two things:The flesh, and the enticement.
Jesus was hungry, that was the flesh. Satan enticed Him to turn stones to bread. Jesus came to show us who He is, that is the flesh. Throw yourself down and prove who you are, the enticement. Jesus came to save mankind and restore the world's governments to God, that is the flesh. Worship Satan and he will give the kingdoms of the world to him, to not follow the Plan, was the enticement.
Each of those was Satan tempting Jesus to either misuse His authority or give His authority to the devil. We must have an honest conversation with ourselves about how our flesh likes sin. Once you know yourself honestly, then you can fight temptation. You can't fight a temptation or a demon if you and the demon know you really want that sin....you will lay down your authority every time until you learn to value your fellowship with God more than you value that sin for a moment.
Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth.
Putting it in quantum mechanics let's think of it this way. Light is real, it can be measured, it has particles. Darkness is nothing literally, darkness doesn't exist as a 'thing'. Darkness is merely the absence of light.
I was driving across the very flat part of western Kansas, a state in the US known for flat fields and few trees. It was nearing sunset and the expanse of view was horizon to horizon in such a way I could see the darkness advancing across the land. I exclaimed:"Oh Father, look how the darkness advances!" He immediately responded:"It's not that the darkness is advancing, it is that the light is retreating." What a life-long lesson that was. That's how demons and curses get into our lives. We let the light in us retreat, which allows the darkness to advance.
Don't let the darkness advance by you retreating - it will fill that vacuum. Stand up in your authority, resist, command away, and Satan will flee.
Now realize this:Evil doesn't exist as a 'thing' that can be measured. Evil is the absence of Good. It is the absence of God in any given situation. In any given life. It is the rejection of all that is God. Only good can be measured. Evil is a comparison against the degree of good. Stand up and exert your 'good' - Christ in you - if/when you feel a demonic attack. Greater is He that is in you than he in the world - use the tools Christ gave us - His name, that fact we are one with Him. Don't give in to fear and intimidation by demons. Exert your will over demons - you are greater than they are by Christ in you!
We will pick it up there next week with generational curses and more...until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]
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