DAY 15: Enforcing the Victory

David and Goliath

Our responsibility is to enforce the victory as we also meet the powers of darkness. It is interesting to know that Jesus used the same word, luo, to describe what we, the Church, are to do through spiritual warfare.

Matthew 16:19 tells us, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The word loose in this verse is luo.

Now, the question is: "Did Christ luo the works of the devil or do we luo the works of the devil?" The answer is yes. Although Jesus fully accomplished the task of breaking the authority of Satan and voiding his legal hold upon the human race, someone on earth must represent Him in that victory and enforce it.

With this in mind and remembering that the Hebrew word for intercession, paga, means to meet, let's state it this way:
We, through prayers of intercession, meet the powers of darkness, enforcing the victory Christ accomplished when He met them in His work of intercession.

Several years ago in Guatemala, a friend of Dutch pointed out a vibrant, healthy young woman and told him the following story. When he first saw her just a few months prior to this time, she was paralyzed from the neck down. She could move her head slightly, but could not speak. "The young lady has been this way for two years," he was informed by her pastor. "And the puzzling thing is that the doctors can find nothing physically wrong with her to create such a problem."

He  who was visiting the church as a guest speaker, discerned that the cause was demonic. Not knowing the church's position about such matters, he discreetly approached this wheelchair-bound young lady, knelt next to her and whispered in her ear. As he did he was going between (intercession) her and the powers of darkness, meeting them with the power of Christ.

He prayed: "Satan, I break (luo) your hold over this young lady in the name of Jesus. I command you to loose (luo) your hold over her and let her go." No manifestation or immediate change occurred. A week later, however, she was able to move her arms a little. The following week she was moving her arms normally and her legs slightly. The recovery continued for a month until she was totally free and well.

She then told my friend the following details about the cause of her condition and why the doctors could find no reasonable explanation. "A teacher in my school who was also a witch doctor made a sexual advance toward me, which I refused. He grew angry and told me that if I didn't have sex with him, he would place a curse on me."

She knew nothing about such things and didn't think much about it. A short time later, however, this condition of paralysis came upon her. Her inability to speak prevented her from communicating with anyone about what had taken place.

What happened to bring about this girl's freedom? An individual stepped between this young lady and the powers of darkness, meeting them in the name of Jesus, enforcing His victory. That...is intercession!

A meeting can be a good and pleasant experience or it can be a violent confrontation between opposing forces. The intercessor is either going to meet with God for the purpose of reconciling the world to the Father and His wonderful blessings, or he is going to meet Satanic forces of opposition to enforce the victory of Calvary.

The purpose will vary, but one thing is certain:
The prayers of an understanding intercessor WILL create a meeting. And when the meeting comes to a close, something will have changed.

Don't be intimidated by the size of the giant. Jesus has qualified you to represent Him. And don't be intimidated by past failures. Be like the small boy playing in the backyard with his bat and ball:
"I'm the greatest baseball player in the world," he said proudly.

Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed. Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said to himself, "I'm the greatest player ever!" He swung at the ball again, and again he missed. He paused a moment to examine bat and ball carefully. Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said, "I'm the greatest baseball player who ever lived." He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "What a pitcher!" 

Deny unbelief access. You can do it!

Let's have a prayer meeting!

Shalom,

Rev. Obadiah Swen

Pastor, BWOC-VA