We would like to welcome Maria who is visiting us for the first time! Please check our previous post--a new prayer request was added (
click here).
We heard about a mission trip taken by some from our church. There were miraculous healings, and at the same time there were spiritual attacks. But the people who went were just challenged and changed for the better by the whole experience. They recommend it, not just for the people they ministered to, but for your own personal benefit. Going out of your "comfort zone" can be a way to grow spiritually. We sometimes are like the Dead Sea, we don't give anything out, we just keep taking in. That is not how God wants us to be--we need to give perhaps in the mission field.
When we have concerns or even when we are attacked, that is the time to go on the offensive. You can't be followed if you aren't moving.
Mark 16:17-18.
Sometimes we don't get healed, sometimes we have to live with our sicknesses. We don't know God's ways, and we should be careful not to judge a person's spiritual life because of the afflictions they are going through. Suffering brings us closer to the Lord. When people suffer they are sowing crystals onto the bride's dress.
James 1:2. One person shared that the death of a mother, caused her to seek God and to be saved.
After hearing from those on the mission trips, perhaps we need to consider evangelizing, and reaching out to those here in our backyard. Passion is a catalyst.
I just wanted to add that today was a pretty powerful evening, even though we shared a lot about suffering--God was glorified. It was a wonderful time (do you agree?). We left full of the Holy Spirit! And we prayed and remembered
all of you who couldn't make it (no matter where you are)!
Today we continued with something we received from Dennis Cramer:
The Weapons of Your Warfare are MightyDennis CramerJune 1, 2005
Early this morning I heard these powerful words in my spirit, "the weapons of YOUR warfare…" (II Cor.10:4). The Holy Spirit clearly and dramatically emphasized the word "your" to me in this well-known Bible verse. You need to hear me! It's December 7, 1941 all over again! We are at war!
"The (supernatural) weapons YOU (should be) wielding are not merely human.They are divinely potent…demolishing all demonic strongholds."-You are in a spiritual war! A war you will ultimately win! Victory is imminent!
-You have deadly spiritual weapons. You are spiritually armed and dangerous!
StrongholdsThere is a time for peace and there is also an appointed time for war. You are in an appointed time or season of war! All natural wars have battlefields and all battlefields have pockets of resistance or strongholds where the enemy's strength has yet to be neutralized.
Similarly, there are spiritual battlefields and strongholds with the same dynamic - pockets of demonic resistance or demonic strongholds. These demonic "pockets of resistance" are cleverly designed by Satan to distract you and ultimately to destroy you. At the very least his strategy is to slowly wear you down, to gradually neutralize you, and to subtlety undermine your power to resist. Either way, whether his assault is indirect or direct you still suffer, either way, you lose.
Free, Free, Free!Specifically, a spiritual stronghold is anything that has a demonic strong hold on you. It is any physical, soulish, or spiritual force, power, or influence that robs you of the fruit and power of the Holy Spirit operating fully in your life. It is any thing or any being (human or demonic) which takes from the abundant life in Christ which Jesus Himself promised to you. It's time for you to recognize and tear down all these limiting, destructive strongholds. It's time to be really, really free!
Jesus said, "I've come that YOU might have life and have it more abundantly."
It is absolutely imperative that YOU discover today how to specifically and effectively "tear down" these very strongholds that are tearing you down in order to be truly spiritually free. You are to be 100% free of any and all entanglements, hindrances, yokes, bondages, shackles, chains, mentality, mindset, philosophy, or spirituality - anything or any one who might take from you the incredible liberty that exists in Christ Jesus for YOU. Yes, YOU are to be 100% free! YOU are to be free all the time and in every situation! Sound too good to be true? Even that (unbelieving) thought is a stronghold. Gotcha!
I believe this is YOUR season "to finally and (permanently) demolish strongholds!" It is high time for you to utilize the effective presence of God that is available to and for YOU. Again, it's time to go to war and it is time to win that war! Amen!
"You may be a prisoner and not even know it."Perhaps you believe you're free. Perhaps you are, perhaps you are not. However, as you prepare today for your typical "daily routine" I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you to make this verse (II Cor.10:4) a "prophetic" or "now" word for your life. In other words, I don't want to help maintain your daily routine, I want to severely challenge your daily routine in order to help you destroy or tear down every demonic stronghold in your life. Are you up for the challenge? You may be a prisoner and not even know it. I want you free and Jesus Christ wants you free! I want you to consider acting on this truth! I want you to war with it.
"Truth is not truth unless it can be acted on and the fruit of that truth experienced."I firmly believe this relevant verse is an actual prophetic word for you today - a supernatural timely "now" word from the Lord for this season of YOUR life. But, it must be acted upon to be effective. In other words, YOU have a part to play, YOU must do something. This is a time for YOU to act. YOUR faith must activate this truth. Truth is not truth unless it can be acted on and the fruit of that truth experienced. Hesitate and you may spiritually perish. Your natural life will go on, but your spiritual life will falter or possibly even reverse. It is time for YOU to advance. I hear the Lord shouting, "Charge!"
"Don't be naive, it's a fight to the finish."I want to speak directly to you about YOUR personal warfare posture. Yes, YOU are at war! YOU are involved in spiritual armed conflict like it or not! And don't be naive, it's a fight to the finish! Someone has to win and someone has to lose. The good news is YOU are suppose to be the winner! YOU are supposed to fight and YOU are supposed to win! The victory is all about YOU!
Today, YOU can use these "weapons" and change things…today, YOU can change your spiritual circumstances and alter your spiritual climate…today, YOU can experience a new level and degree of spiritual victory in your life. How? Fight for it! Go to war!
It's time to take an inventory of YOUR current spiritual arsenal. According to the Bible YOU are suppose to be armed and dangerous. So the question is, are you? "The weapons of YOUR warfare ARE (suppose to be) MIGHTY THROUGH GOD!" If this is true lets put your weapons to the test. Let's see if they work. Let's go to war.
It's Time To Go To War!I believe this is the word of the Lord for you: It's December 7, 1941 all over again! You have just been through your spiritual Pearl Harbor experience. You have just been blind-sided. You have just been hit below the belt. You have just been thrust into a spiritual war, a combat zone, a hostile environment, totally against your will.
A strong biblical response is necessary, and actually, you have no choice. You must fight back. You must defend yourself. You have been the target of a demonic "sneak attack" and you have suffered, nearly becoming another spiritual fatality.
Yes, YOU are (currently) at war whether you realize it or not. Chances are you didn't start the spiritual mess you're in, but you're going to finish it! You've been spiritually bullied around too long. You've been spiritually victimized too long. You've been spiritually defeated far too long. It's simply time to win. It's time to emerge as the victor! And to the victor go the spoils!
"You've been spiritually victimized far too long."Ready, Aim, Fire!The spiritual arsenal which has been deposited within YOU is a mighty supernatural one indeed. The Bible plainly states that YOU should violently deploy all of YOUR weapons against their intended target, namely, any demonic device hurled against YOU. It's time for YOU to change the way you think and act. I hear the Lord saying to YOU, "ready, aim, fire!" Specifically, it's time for YOU to go on the offensive! No one else can do it for you. It's up to you! You must make your personal declaration of war. There is no other choice. If you do not resist you will be the victim of a spiritual occupation by your enemy (Satan) that will never end.
"I hear the Spirit of God saying, 'Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.'"Yes, this battle you are in is a daily struggle - even a lifelong contest for your peace and joy as a child of God. Make no mistake about it. Satan came to kill you, steal from you, and to destroy you. This is his evil, eternal mission. He hates you and everything you stand for as God's representative on earth. You remind him of his ultimate defeat and eternal punishment. You threaten him through your mere existence as a redeemed child of God. No wonder he wants to take you out. No wonder he despises your every breath. You are made in the very image of his long-standing foe.
It's an historical fact: Your acting Commander-In-Chief has already handed Satan his most crushing defeat and your life reminds him of this every second of every day. To destroy you would represent a sweet victory for him and his dark forces. But that's not going to happen. Not if the Lord of Heaven's Hosts can help it. And YOU carry within you the Lord of Heaven's Hosts' authority and carry His same spiritual lethality within you. Yes, YOU are a living, breathing, lethal, potent, powerful, dangerous, and deadly warrior.
"Victory for you is imminent if you wield all the weapons entrusted to you."Today, your mission must be to counter this sneak attack on your life - to daily destroy the works of the devil. YOU can do this beginning today. Yes, you are in a terrible struggle. Yes, you feel discouraged, alone, and perhaps abandoned. You may find yourself today just hanging on, hoping for reinforcements to arrive. You may have been totally unprepared for what happened to you. However, the struggle you are in is a struggle God fully intends for you to win. Victory for you is imminent if you wield all the weapons entrusted to you. You may have lost the battle but you are going to win the war!
You Are Not Suppose To Be Defeated - Ever! The defeated believer is the believer who simply does not use what he has. Why not win the battle you're in? Clearly, God intends for you to do just that. He intends for you to openly prevail over your foe! The Bible references the weapons (plural) of YOUR warfare in almost a matter-of-fact-way. The Bible states that these awesome spiritual weapons not only exist in each believer, but that they were (and are) available on a daily basis. This is the word of the Lord to YOU my friend: All of these powerful spiritual weapons are available for YOU today! All YOU have to do is use them - deploy them.
A Deposit Has Been Made!These deadly weapons are in YOU - YOU are their host, their carrier. An actual spiritual deposit of incredible proportions has been made within you and you are more than capable of paralyzing all of hell. YOU carry within your spirit the actual ability to neutralize even Satan himself. Satan is scared to death of you. YOU actually terrify him - just the exact opposite of how you may be feeling and thinking at this critical time. Well, it's time to re-think who you are and what you have!
"You are an intimidator and don't even know it!"Within YOU, where the kingdom of God currently resides, there exists the potential to put hell on the run. YOU are an intimidator and don’t even know it. It is time for YOU to intimidate the intimidator, Satan. It is time to do more than just "stand your ground." It is time to advance! It is time to take new ground - ground you should have been occupying long ago.
Praise Him Now!So what are YOUR weapons, and how are YOU supposed to effectively use them? Here is what I want you to do: Obey the Bible.
"Let the high praises of God be in [YOUR] mouth and a two-edged sword in [YOUR] hand;
to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to
bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to
execute upon them the judgement written: this honor have all his saints." Ps. 149:6-9
It all begins with powerful, prolonged, prophetic warfare praise. All lasting victories always do! First YOU shout, then the walls come down! Start praising God as never before. Start doing it right here, right now. Let the high praises of God go forth from YOUR mouth. I'm convinced that praise is the number one weapon of YOUR warfare. And, perhaps the most underrated weapon. Use warfare praise to defeat your enemy. There exists no current defense in hell able to withstand the offensive strength of a believer violently praising God for his ultimate victory. It's time for YOU to get military and militant in your worship. Through praise it's time for you to execute vengeance, punish your enemy, bind evil forces, and carry out the judgement against all of hell.
Receive: Forgiveness, Healing, Deliverance, and Spiritual ProsperityAlso, as you praise God I want you to do something more. I want you to receive something from God. It's time for YOU to claim the four-fold guarantee of Christ's atonement. Humbly but aggressively accept His all-atoning blood for your sins and his healing power for your sicknesses. A warrior is no good if he is laden down with sin and sickness.
Plus, realize that his atonement was and is a finished work. Jesus didn't say, " It is over." He said, "It is finished." The work of the cross was and is a finished, completed, perfect work for YOU. Jesus did it all for YOU! There's nothing more you can do except to receive within YOU what Christ did for YOU. This includes total forgiveness, healing, deliverance, and prosperity for you as well as total defeat for your archenemy the devil.
"Jesus didn't say, 'It is over.' Jesus said, 'It is finished.'"Receive, Receive, and Receive…Receive now His forgiveness for all your sin past and present. Receive now His total healing for your life: spirit, soul, and body. Receive now any deliverance you may require to be free. And, expect to walk in total prosperity now, both in natural things as well as in spiritual things. Accept the total package Christ has for YOU now. Remember, YOU are the one who must do the receiving. No one else can receive the things of God for you. You must do it for you. You must start acting like a King's kid, like the redeemed of the Lord. This is your right and your responsibility.
"Now it's time to get down and get dirty." Bind Him Now!Let's
review the warfare process: So far you've worshipped as never before. Next, you've received all Christ has done for you on the cross of Calvary and you are whole. Now it's time to get down and get dirty. Satan cannot trespass into your life and rob you unless you allow him. Don't allow him. Shut the door in his face by binding the strongman. Put him in his place. The devil is a doomed despot.
"Greater is He who is within YOU then he who is in the world." The all-anointed "Greater One" lives within YOU. So take authority over your out-of-control circumstances…wage spiritual warfare…go on the offensive. Remember, binding the strongman is a process not an event. Here is what God wants you to do right now:
1. In prayer ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any pockets of demonic resistance to the will of God for your life. These pockets may exist around you or in you. Don't fear what He may reveal. He only reveals to heal!
2. In prayer carefully address these specific areas using the name of Jesus. Literally bind the strongman and loose the will of God. Do it until you know you've broken through. You'll know when you have.
3. In prayer begin (and continue) to quote Scripture. Jesus quoted Scripture to Satan. So should YOU. When is the last time YOU said, "Satan it is written…"? For some unknown reason the church has forgotten this awesome weapon of warfare. Satan hates it when we quote God's word. It is one spiritual barrier he cannot break through. He has no defense against God's ongoing creative spoken word. When you speak by faith (quote) God's word, all of hell panics! It's time to panic the demonic hordes who have been tormenting you. It's time to torment the tormentor! Amen!
"When is the last time you said, 'Satan it is written'?"P.S. Warfare Prayer Really Works!For some reason some in the church have forgotten about warfare prayer. Warfare prayer does work. It too is a tremendous weapon of YOUR warfare. Start warring in prayer, start prevailing in prayer…don't get off your knees or better yet, don't get up from "on your face" until you have broken through in warfare prayer…until you have prevailed in warfare prayer. It is "the effectual FERVENT (warfare) prayer which avails much." It's time for YOU to pray as never before.
In Review: The Weapons of Your Warfare
Radical praise and worship, a full acceptance and activation of the atonement (who you are and what you have in Christ), intense binding and extreme loosing, and warfare or offensive-prevailing prayer. These are four weapons God is currently emphasizing to the Church in this present season.
Go on the offensive today by engaging the enemy with these "secret weapons." Paul wrote that these (and other) weapons are "mighty through God." These are proven, powerful, spiritually paralyzing weapons. You must…
1. Enter into a season of radical, prolonged, intense, focused warfare praise and worship. Worship God not for a place of victory but from a place of victory.
2. Enter into a season of "activating" or releasing the unlimited power of Christ's perfect atonement with all of its wonderful components. Receive today!
3. Enter into a season of ruthlessly binding Satan as the Holy Spirit leads. Show no mercy! Binding the strongman is a process not an event
4. Enter into a season of prevailing or warfare prayer - praying like your life depends on it…because it does! Win the battle on your knees! Pray for the breakthrough!"Worship God not for a place of victory, but from a place of victory."Victim to Victor!As the old hymn goes, there is "Victory In Jesus!" Begin immediately to deploy the weapons at YOUR disposal and you will move from being a victim, to being a victor. Remember, fight to win. Go on the offensive. You will never win a defensive war with hell and the devil.
Great victories only come from one source: great battles. You may be in a great battle but you are about to win a great victory. Amen!
"You will never win a defensive war with hell and the devil."If this message by Dennis Cramer spoke to you, then we know you will be blessed by his anointed books and audio messages.
The Master's CallDennis Cramer
This book was written to help you combat the scourge of average in your life, to help you to successfully identify and immediately respond to the ever-changing call of God. By asking yourself nine simple questions, you will be instantly propelled to rise above average. It is time for you to respond to the Master’s call: The ever-changing call of God upon your life. After all, no one wants to be just average.
