picturesfromheaven

"BANNER"

Can you believe it? Summer is over... it seems like yesterday, I was planting my flowers. But since those rainy cool days of spring, my daugher has moved to South Africa to do missions and my youngest son has come home from a year of ministry and training Mexico City, engaged. So maybe the days haven't just flown by after all. My point is that life is constantly changing. It is challenging to say the least. I pray that this word picture from the Lord will help you right now with all that is going on in your lives.

Picture…angels marching into the room in which you are sitting right now. They are not the seraphim that fly around the throne of God, each possessing six wings. Neither are they cute little cherubs that you might find on romantic cards and decorations. These are warrior angels wearing heavy armor and a fierce expression upon their face. One might even be afraid of them if it were not for the banners they are waving that proclaim the victory of the Lord. Solomon in describing the beauty of his bride exclaimed her as majestic as troops with banners. Such is the scene you need to picture right now. Angels that are fierce and beautiful, declaring the victory of the Lord are approaching you at this very minute.

Hear…the Lord say, “Is there anything to difficult for me to handle? Is there any battle that I cannot win on your behalf? I am sending warrior angels to battle on your behalf. You are not in this alone. Do not be fearful or discouraged. Know that I, the Lord, am fighting on your behalf, and I cannot be defeated. Rejoice, for victory is now.”

Consider: Whatever the battle you are waging, whatever the problem that you are facing, the Lord wants to give you victory today. He is especially concerned about cycles in your life, patterns of behaviors that have been repeated over and over again. He wants to break these cycles. It is like you are chained and you can’t seem to break free. It’s like you keep running in circles. Just as the children of Israel kept circling the same mountain, you have been caught in a loop that keeps bringing you back to where you started. It could be that every time you think that you are going to get out of debt an unexpected bill or financial obligation hits you. It could be every time you determine you are going to pray everyday you get sick and get side tracked. It could be a compulsive behavior, addiction or attitude that you just can’t seem to shake. It could be unhealthy relationships that you just can’t seem to break, or a compulsion that drives you. It could be gambling, drugs, alcohol, shopping, cleaning and even exercise. Compulsions come in all shapes and sizes and God wants to break them off of you once and for all. But this isn’t going to be a one-man show. God needs your cooperation, yes, He needs you cooperation and participation in the process.

• The first thing that you need to do right now is repent, because God cannot intervene in your life if the enemy has a legal right to keep you chained. Jesus bled and died so that you could be free from sin and the bondages of the devil. But you must appropriate that forgiveness and liberty through repentance and RECEIVING God’s forgiveness.
• Next you need to forgive anyone who has harmed you, including yourself. Un-forgiveness keeps you in changes. If you doubt it just read Matthew 18, especially in the King James Version. I love paraphrases because they help me to understand a lot of passages, but many of the paraphrases water this passage down. So if you can get your hands on a KJV please do so.
• Now declare the will and purposes of God in your life. Do not pray the problem. Use the Word to declare victory in your life. If you have a prayer partner have them join you in this declaration.
• Remember that this victory is His idea, His plan. He has dispatched angels to fight on your behalf, so declare God’s purposes with passionate faith.
• Then spend much of the day and even tomorrow in praise and worship. Use the Word to declare God’s victory in your life. Create an atmosphere in your life that continues to break chains.
  
  Pray: “Father, in your name Jesus, I thank you that you have come into this place to break chains of fear, discouragement, sickness, poverty and compulsive behaviors. I thank you Lord for fighting on my behalf. I couldn’t do it all on my own, and neither could you. You ordained that we would be partners in your purposes. I’m sorry that I have just asked you to do all of the work in the past. I have said, God do this or do that for me. But enough of all that…I repent of ___________right now in Jesus name. I forgive ___________________right now in Jesus name. I declare your purposes in my life right now. I declare with your Word that nothing will be able to separate me from your love…not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture. None of this fazes me because Jesus loves me. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely nothing can get between me and God's love because of the way that Jesus has embraced me. I am victorious.” (Rom. 8:35-39)

posted by pastorc @ 5:15 PM