Spiritual

Principles of Engagement

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Make sure you have authority to act.

In Acts 19 we read: A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Yeshua in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Yeshua, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Yeshua, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.

 

Our commission to engage comes from our relationship with Yeshua - just like an ambassador, we must go in merely as proxy for the King, not with our own credentials and not acting outside of rank or protocol.

 

Luke 10: When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

 

“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

 

If we have not been spiritually reborn, i.e. saved, we cannot operate in the realm of the spirit from a position of victory. Being right with God, spiritually reborn or saved has NOTHING to do with our families’ religion, our participation in church or any other rite or ritual done on our behalf. You can identify as a Christian and still be dead in your sins.

 

How can we be sure that we are in fellowship with YHWH?

First of all, we must recognize that we are born in a state of separation from Yah. Adam sinned and every one of his children has inherited his spiritual condition (death). We have to agree that we are in a fallen state and therefor cannot please or be in fellowship with Yah in our condition. The Bible tells us that all have sin and fallen short of God’s glory.

 

Then we must humble ourselves to see that we cannot bridge the gap in our own effort - we cannot become good enough to reach Yah. We must come to accept that our sin  problem can only be “fixed” by someone who did not sin. Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) is the physical manifestation of the Creator God - His arm of salvation. Yeshua emptied himself of all that made Him God so that He could come in our likeness and form to live a life of perfect obedience to His Father and pay the price our sin demanded so that we could be reunited with YHWH.

 

Yeshua was born of a virgin, lived the sinless life we could not and willingly offered himself to bear the punishment of our sin. He was crucified as the Passover Lamb, buried and on the third day (Feast of First Fruits) rose again to eternal life. His resurrection demonstrated victory over hell and the grave. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, in Heaven, making intercession on our behalf, and will one day return, thus fulfilling the prophetic holy days of the fall.

Every book in the Bible, sacrifice, commandment, holy day, etc. points to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob making a way for perfect fellowship to be restored. His plan/gift of salvation is of grace, undeserved favor, and there is nothing that we can do to earn it.

 

The Bible says that those who call on the name of YHWH, who trust in His plan and confess with their mouths that Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) is Lord will be saved. The evidence of our salvation is being filled with YHWH’s Spirit and obeying His instructions. In James 2, we read the importance of coupling our faith with actions of obedience.

 

If you have never made a mindful decision to place your trust in Yeshua and His ability to bring you back to spiritual life and fellowship with the Father, you can use this simple prayer to do so.

Yahweh, Most High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth,I pray in agreement with Psalm 51 where it is writtenHave mercy upon me, O God,According to Your lovingkindness;According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,Blot out my transgressions.Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,And cleanse me from my sin.For I acknowledge my transgressions,And my sin is always before me.Against You, You only, have I sinned,And done evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak,And blameless when You judge.Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,And in sin my mother conceived me.I recognize my need for Your forgiveness so I also say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” I trust in Your ability to cleanse me from my sin and regenerate my spirit through the life, death and resurrection of Your Son, Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) according to Romans 10:9-10 that says those who confess with their mouth and believe in their hearts will be saved. Please fill me with Your Spirit so I can obey Your commandments as it is written in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart… I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances”. Yeshua, I welcome You into my life as Savior and Master. Thank you for making a way for me to be reunited with God and for serving as my High Priest in heaven. I give you access to all of my being and ask for Your guidance and protection. Be glorified in my life, I pray in Your name, Amen.

 

If you have just prayed that prayer, please tell someone that can rejoice with you and look for a congregation of believers so you can be baptized into the body, be discipled and serve.

 

Remove the lawful rights the enemy has to work

YHWH has established a legal system to govern by - this includes His commandments, decrees, etc and the blessings and curses (right judgements) that are executed based on His code and our actions. He is pictured as being in the courtroom, Satan is actually called the Accuser (meaning prosecutor) and he gains access to us through the legal rights we or our forefathers have given him.

 

Proverbs 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a flying swallow, so an undeserved curse does not land.

 

Sin, aka iniquity, is the biggest loophole he has. Types of iniquity include unrighteous bloodshed, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft, pride, greed, etc. Other areas are covenants and other agreements like dedications, assignments and even transactions on our bloodline where we have been bought and sold over time. This area can be personal or have been passed down through DNA (Deut. 5:9).

 

This is why we see verses in the Bible that tell us to confess the sins of our forefathers and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Yeshua’s blood that was spilled IS the only true remedy to any of these issues and it is powerful enough to cover. He is called our Advocate (Defense Attorney) in scripture so we appeal to His ability to mediate between the Adversary and the Father. We, though, have to come into agreement so our hearts can be properly adjudicated. This is part of walking in sanctification. Even though we are cleansed and declared righteous at the time we accept Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice (positional sanctification), we also have to walk in personal sanctification which is a daily process of allowing ourselves to become more and more like Him.

 

Removing legal rights is done by first knowing what they are, agreeing with the charges, appealing to the Father’s desire to forgive through Yeshua’s blood and righteousness and then taking the necessary action to rectify the situation.

 

Recognize that our hearts/minds, bodies, homes and businesses are territories in dispute.

There is no neutral ground in the spirit. YHWH’s right to establish His presence/Kingdom is constantly being challenged by the enemy. His right to rule will always result in victory but we are called upon to join Him in the fight.

Jerusalem is a great example - YHWH has the ultimate right to that land because He created it. The enemy gained access to it and made a claim on it through man’s sins which compromised Yah’s presence. Eventually, it was built up both in the spirit and the physical to become a Jebusite fortress - one of the 7 Canaanite nations that were occupying the land Yah promised to Israel (part nephilim). Over the course of military maneuvers, the almost undefeatable fortress was won back by King David and restored to its proper function and called Jerusalem or Mt. Zion. It has been occupied by different spiritual kingdoms from the beginning. During our times it is once again disputed territory and will eventually be ground zero as the center of worship for the one who comes to take Yeshua’s place - until the Real Yeshua returns and places His foot upon the Mt. Of Olives and splits the city in 2.

Just as in a physical battle, we need to make sure that we are mounting a proper defense of our territory by identifying weak spots (soft targets) and fortifying with the tools that we have at our disposal. For the body we have been given armor, for places we have been given walls, gates, etc. Not only do we have God’s word we can apply as both a defensive and offensive weapon but we also can take advantage of legal petitions and nature itself to be called on to act on our behalf.

 

Become vigilant of threats

The enemy can gain access or execute a mission against us in many ways. One of the easiest ways is via trauma, which we all experience from one degree to another. He can deceive us into making a decision that puts us at risk, tempt us to sin and come outside of the protective covering that obedience provides, or send people/entities on assignment to carry out his desire. We read in scriptures about hooks, nets, snares, pits, traps, arrows, teeth, swords, conspiracies, false accusations, etc. that come against us. Fortunately, YHWH is able to reveal and deal with all of these but we will fall prey to them from time to time, especially when we don’t know this battle exists and/or we are not walking closely with our Creator.

 

Often he will use our own thoughts, feelings, predispositions against us but as we become more in alignment with God and looking more and more like His Son, he has less access. The enemy will also use witchcraft and attacks from other beings.

 

Recognizing when we are being targeted allows us to do a tactical threat analysis and take action.

 

Taking Action

We have a bigger, more powerful and wider range of arsenal in YHWH's kingdom than the enemy has in his. In fact, all he has are lower frequency versions of what Yah has created.

 

The first course of action should always be prayer! We have immediate access to not only the resources of heaven but also the throne room of the King of the Universe. He assures us that He will answer us when we call out to Him.

 

Scripture contains the most powerful words ever spoken and written. The occultists even use the Bible to perform their most destructive magic. If we knew what it did in the spirit realm, it would be our most accurate, deadly weapon and defensive shield.

 

Making declarations and doing prophetic acts are material ways to demonstrate what our intention is to the spiritual. These include things like anointing, baptism, laying stones, presenting petitions, writing scripture in strategic places, etc.

 

There are other action steps to take but none of these will be effective if we are doing things that invalidate them which is why pressing into Yah and keeping His word, His commandments, is crucial. On one hand, we can’t be praying for protection against witchcraft and then be doing witchcraft (which we often do without knowing). There is grace for things we do that we don’t know - His mercy triumphs over judgement - but He also says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge”. So we also have to be seeking Him and allowing Him to refine our hearts and practices.

 

In conclusion

Judges 3: These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

 

Great victories only come out of great battles. We are each walking through our own Promised Land and encountering various giants along the way. And we are walking collectively, on a mission to take back the land and make it a place that God’s Kingdom of peace and righteousness can manifest.

 

Joshua, the great military leader of Israel, gave 2 commands - “Be of great courage” and, “If it is evil in your eyes to serve YHWH, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the YHWH.”

 

Every single person has made an alliance to some elohim (Hebrew for spiritual being) either through personal choice or family association. Those of us who choose to come under the banner of the King of Heaven’s Army have no real reason to fear - the battle belongs to Him!