Parresia · Praying from the Perspective of Our Position

Transcript/ notes from Session 1, “Praying from the Perspective of Our Position”

Introduction – the empathy of Jesus

Welcome to Session 1 of our new series focused on revival. This session is entitled, “Praying from the Perspective of Our Position.” 

Over the past few years I have been praying for revival and a great awakening to Jesus and a grace tsunami. And as I have prayed, I have often felt the empathy of the Lord for individual families who are suffering because the darkness of this world has touched their own loved ones.

Jesus is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He feels what we are feeling, and He understands what many of our families are going through. 

I sensed His empathy a few days ago, when a thought crossed my mind: “Revival can be happening all around you, but until it happens in your own family, it doesn’t really feel like revival yet.”

I have sensed the Lord saying He is going to go back and get back what has been lost or stolen from Christian families. On 7-17 of this year, I included in my prayer notes several “re” words for families:

REturn, REgenerate, REstore, REnew, REfresh, REconcile, REpent, REscue, REvive, REpair, REbuild, RE-kindle, RE-create, RE-align, RE-direct, RE-ignite; REdeem; REwire; REgain; REcompense, REward, REceive, and REjoice,

This is the will of God not only for our families, not only for the church, but also for the world.

1 Timothy 2:4 – [God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

John 1:29 – “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

1 John 2:1-2 – My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation [sacrifice] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

2 Peter 3:8-9, NASB – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [metanoia –  change of mind – that’s why often talk about awakening, and we pray for the minds of the unbelieving to know the truth that will set them free!]

I feel more and more compelled by the love of Jesus to give hope and stir up faith for revival. I sense the empathy of the Holy Spirit for those who have been praying for a long time for miracles and for those who perhaps prayed at one time, but somewhere along the way gave up hope. I want this series to give hope as we look to God’s will as laid out in the scriptures. 

1 John 5:14-15 – Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Our work: to believe

We can take all of the promises of God from the Old and New Testaments; and we can take all of the scriptures that express God’s desires; and we can look at them through the lens of the New Covenant, and we can receive every promise based on the finished work of Jesus at the cross. 

If there is a curse, it only applies to our spiritual enemies, not us! [remember – our enemies are not flesh and blood. They are spiritual forces of darkness. Jesus said “love your (human) enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”(Matthew 5L44, NASB)] If there is a blessing, it is for us. Why?

1 John 4:17 – As Jesus is so are we in this world. 

So what is our primary work? To believe this truth. The disciples asked:

John 6:28-29 – “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He [God] sent.” [Believe who He is, what He has accomplished, and what He has said.]

What has He said?

Luke 18:1-8 – Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, [NLT and NIV say, “always pray and never give up.”] 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ [Who is our adversary? The devil. In 1 Peter 5 – You adversary, the devil, prowls around seeking whom he may devour, but we “Resist him, steadfast in the faith.” What is THE faith? It’s THE faith to believe who Jesus is and what He has accomplished. And unlike this woman, we have a righteous Judge who judges righteously – and He has judged the work of His Son as perfectly perfect and completely complete, putting us in a position to go boldly before the throne of grace and EXPECT to obtain mercy and find grace because of His justice.] 4 And he [the unrighteous judge] would not [grant her request] for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me  I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” [The unrighteous judge was moved by self-interest. That’s why we don’t appeal to man. We appeal to God even if He works through a man.] 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. [And then Jesus makes the contrast] 7 And shall God [our Righteous Judge] not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? [makrothymeō – meaning He’s in it with us for the long haul!] 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” [The Message: “that kind of persistent faith.” TPT: “this kind of undying faith”]

When Jesus returns, will He find the kind of faith that this widow had? The kind that never loses heart and never gives up? And think about it – she was dealing with an unrighteous judge who only regarded himself!

How much more should we never give up knowing that we have a righteous Judge who so highly regarded us that He sent His own Son as a sacrifice to ensure our victory over our adversary?

Grace is most important to God

Recently Mark and I met a dear Christian couple, who like so many parents are praying for their adult child to return to her faith in Jesus. While we were at dinner together, we talked about the state of the world. The man said, “The most important things to God are righteousness, justice, and truth!” I wanted to add “Grace” to his list, but I felt it was wisdom in the moment to just listen.

While he seemed to be a very gracious and kind man, I don’t recall him mentioning Jesus. He was more focused on the horrible things happening in the world. And honestly, it’s hard not to be these days.

But in reality, those things he listed as important to God have been accomplished in Jesus. Jesus has become our righteousness because Justice was served at the cross. Jesus is the Truth – which means He is the exact representation of the nature of God. What does that look like?

John 3:16-17 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

This is the gospel of grace. This is most important thing to God because God loves people. And this is the message we have for this dying world. And it’s not the bad news we hear every day. it’s good news:

“Hear ye! Hear ye! Jesus has come! Jesus has died! Jesus has risen again! Jesus has washed our sins away!

Why? Because He loves everyone so much!!! He loves you unconditionally! Receive the superabundance of His grace!!! God is not counting your sins against you because all of your sins were counted against Jesus!! Do you believe this?!! Will you receive His forgiveness and grace today!”

Grace is a paradigm shift. It’s a shift from bad news to good news. The gospel of God’s grace is the good news about Jesus.

Because I think of grace as a Person whose name is Jesus, I don’t believe we can have a the perspective of grace if our eyes are not on Him, and if our minds are constantly on the things of the earth. When we hear about the corruption of the world, we need to constantly recalibrate and renew our minds to Jesus, or else we will have no hope.

Spiritual logic

So to lay some groundwork on our position in prayer, I want to present some spiritual logic. It’s spiritual deductive reasoning. “If this is true, then that must be true.” 

And once we are established in this objective biblical truth, irrespective of our feelings, we can then approach prayer and God and life from that perspective. And from that perspective we can see what God sees, we can know the will of God, and we can understand His ways.

And from that perspective we will know our calling in this world, the power we have, and our authority in prayer.

Ephesians 1:17 – …[Paul prayed that God] may give to you the spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION [apokalypsis – unveiling] in the knowledge of Him [Jesus],…

So what is this “knowledge of Jesus” that Paul was referring to?

Ephesians 1:17, TLB – …wisdom to see clearly and really understand who Christ is and all that he has done for you.

This knowledge is the gospel. It is the revelation of His grace. It can only be revealed by the Spirit because it doesn’t make sense to the natural mind. 

Ephesians 1:17-18 – …[Paul prayed that God] may give to you the spirit of WISDOM and REVELATION in the knowledge of Him [Jesus],[and how does the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation work in us so that we might have this knowledge of Jesus?] 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;…

Enlightened is the Greek word “phōtizō” from the same root word from which we derive our word “photo.” Spiritual enlightenment is like when the shutter of a camera lens opens and light of truth comes in, and then the eyes of our understanding are opened. 

“Understanding” is the Greek word “dianoia.” Dianoia, in the spiritual sense, is where we have imaginations, dreams, visions, and the ability to grasp heavenly things and see from the heavenly perspective – 

The hope of His calling

Ephesians 1:18, continued – …that you may know [3 things – #1] what is the hope of His calling 

The word “know” is the Greek word “eidō” which means to see with eyes, to turn the eyes upon, to perceive, to understand; to experience. This knowing is a spiritual “seeing.” I like the JB Phillips translation which says this revelation of Jesus “will make you REALIZE how GREAT is the hope to which he is calling you.” God is calling us to hope!

The riches of the glory of His inheritance

Ephesians 1:18, continued – [The Spirit also wants us to know – #2] what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,…

That’s not talking about YOUR inheritance. That’s talking about JESUS’S inheritance! What is His inheritance? YOU! Jesus is your inheritance, and you are His! “The riches of the glory of His inheritance” is YOU!

You are His treasure! You are the treasure hidden in the field that He bought the whole field to acquire. God gave His only begotten Son, the Son that He loved, for YOU! Because you are that valuable to Him. And you know what? God loves each and every person in this world the same way.

While our adversary and and his minions scheme, the God of heaven laughs because He has given His Son the nations as an inheritance.

Psalm 2:4-8 – He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them [those enemies] in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King [Jesus] On My holy hill of Zion.” [And Jesus responds – ] “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.’”

Psalm 22:27-28 – All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.

You want to know if you can pray for your lost family members – your nieces and nephews and in-laws? Of course you can! God has given Jesus the nations as His inheritance!

Revelation 7:9 – [John had a vision of heaven. He wrote] After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes.” [What an awesome sight! Lord, help us to see it, too!]

The exceeding greatness of His power

So the Spirit of wisdom and revelation enlightens us in the knowledge of the Person and work of Jesus so that we can know #1, the hope He has given us, #2, His inheritance of the nations, and #3 – verse 19 – 

Ephesians 1:19-23 – and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power [JB Phillips – “how tremendous is the power AVAILABLE to us who believe in God.” TPT – “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith.” And what is this power? Verse 20 – it’s the power] 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…

The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the explosive power of the Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God to those who believe. (Romans 1:16) Why? Because once you believe it, the power of the resurrection raises you from being dead in your sins to being alive in Christ.

Jesus paid it all

Jesus being raised from the dead is heaven’s divine receipt that our sins have been taken away. Analogy: When you see an inmate being released from prison, you know that he has completed his sentence. He has paid his debt to society. No one can charge him again with that same crime.

When he is released, it is proof that the crime has been paid for. In the same way, the resurrection of Jesus is proof that we are no longer in our sins. Once we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we are released from the prison of sin just as Jesus was released from the grave.

Jesus did not rise from the dead because He is God’s Son. He rose again from the dead because not even one tiny morsel of our sin remained on Him.

Colossians 2:13-15 – And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him [Jesus],  having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, [the law] which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, [of the weapon of the law, used to accuse us & tell us we deserve what’s happening] He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

At one time we were dead in our sins.  Rich or poor, moral or immoral – we were dead without Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive.

He made us alive by forgiving us of ALL our sins. All of our sins, past, present, and future have been paid for. If you aren’t forgiven of ALL, you aren’t forgiven at all.

Jesus fully met all the divine claims of God’s holiness and righteousness. Mercy and love sent Jesus into the world, [For God so loved the world…God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)] but mercy did not justify us. God forgave us based on an objectively righteous foundation: the cross. Inflexible justice has been satisfied on our behalf.

We stand before God as righteous not because God overlooked our sin, but because Jesus paid for our sins and washed them away in His own blood.

Hebrews 10:12 – this Man, [Jesus] after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

Why did He sit down? Because the work was finished forever. And where did He sit down? At the “RIGHT HAND of God.” Which we’ll talk about in a second.

Hebrews 10:13 – [verse 13-] …from that time waiting till His enemies [plural] are made His footstool. [That’s from Psalm 110:1]

The Father’s right hand

Psalm 110:1 – [In Psalm 110, by the Holy Spirit David wrote of the coming Messiah -] The LORD said to my Lord, [The Father said to the Son] “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

Jesus himself quoted David in Matthew 22 – 

Matthew 22:42-45 – [Jesus asked the Pharisees – ] “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: [And then Jesus quotes Psalm 110] 44 ‘The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’? 45 If David then calls Him [the Christ] ’Lord,’ how is He his [David’s] Son?” [Jesus is proclaiming His preeminence as God’s Son there.] 

When did the Father say to Jesus “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”?  This was a prophecy written over 1000 years before it would happen. 

The Father spoke this to the Son after Jesus had conquered sin and death at the cross, and after He rose again and went back to the Father.

Hebrews 1:3 – [It was at that time, that -] …when He [Jesus] had by Himself [without any help from us] purged our sins, [that Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Jesus, having finished the work, was raised by God to the place of highest honor in heaven – the Father’s right hand – 

Acts 2:32-33, NLT – [At Pentecost, Peter preached – ] God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he [Jesus] is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand.

Isaiah 48:10 – [The prophet Isaiah said – ] Your right hand is full of righteousness.

The right hand of God is the place of honor, righteousness, [right standing, worthiness] and authority. The right hand of God is the place of victory.

Psalm 20:6, NIV – [David wrote] The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He [The Lord] answers him [from where?] from his heavenly sanctuary [How?] with the victorious power of his right hand.

The right hand is also the place of security and safety for us. I read that in 2020, the most searched, shared, and bookmarked verse on the YouVersion App was Isaiah 41:10 – 

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” [Amen?!]

Back to Ephesians 1, verse 20 –

Ephesians 1:20-23 – … and [God] seated Him [Jesus] at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He [God] put all things under His [Jesus’s] feet, and [God] gave [Jesus] Him to be head over all things to the church, [for the benefit of the church] 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

This is the heavenly perspective. Once we know and believe the victory that Jesus has won for us, we can then receive that victory and live from that perspective.

And we can pray from that perspective. We are not praying to victory, but rather from victory.

Not only is the enemy under Jesus’s feet, the enemy is under our feet because we are in Christ Jesus. He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)

Colossians 3:1-3 – If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [Where? At the right hand of God – the place of righteousness and honor and authority and safety]

It is from the position of the right hand of God on the throne of grace that Jesus is our eternal Mediator, Intercessor, and Advocate.

Romans 8:33-35 – Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [No one!]

We must get this perspective – the throne attitude – in order to understand our position. While we walk around anchored to this earth in an earthen vessel, our spirit is in union with Jesus Himself seated in heaven in His righteousness, in His power, in His authority.

The Footstool

In Psalm 110, the Father told Jesus to sit down until the Father makes His enemies Jesus’s footstool. Who does this work? The Father. He makes the enemies the footstool.  And in Hebrews 10, the writer said the same thing – Jesus sat down and –

Hebrews 10:13 – [verse 13-] …from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

Although Jesus has won the war and conquered the enemies of satan, sin, and death, He has been waiting from that time for every enemy to be made His footstool. The enemies must be made to bow. 

The last enemy to be destroyed will be physical death. When will that happen? When Jesus returns for us. Since physical death is the last enemy, every other enemy will be made His footstool during this time. 

Every day, we are one day closer to the return of Jesus, and that tells me that one by one every other enemy is presently being brought under the feet of Jesus to serve as His footstool, and therefore, our footstool.

God has filled the church with power and authority. Just as Jesus is not peripheral to the world, we – His body – are not peripheral to the world. The world is peripheral to Jesus. The world is peripheral to the church because He speaks and acts through us! He is using us – through our faith in His word – through our spirit-directed prayers and decrees – to make our enemies our footstool.

Why did they use the analogy of the footstool? It was the custom of ancient kings to stand on the necks of the vanquished to celebrate their triumph. 

The victor would then drag the defeated king, his general, and his captains in chains on all fours and parade them in shame before the people, making a spectacle of them.

Then the victorious king would sit on his throne and make the vanquished bow before him. The king would then put his foot on them so that they became his footstool.

The Father said to Jesus, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Sit down means to rest. It’s the same for us. “REST until I make your enemies your footstool.” That is our perspective. One by one our enemies are being made our footstool by God Himself.

We rest, He works

Our work is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Always pray, and never give up. We refuse to meddle. We rest. He works. If we must, we will sit on our hands to keep our flesh out of what only God can do. We wait for His timing. We only do what the Spirit of Wisdom instructs. We operate according to the presence or absence of peace.

How do we win the battle for a generation? We REST in the finished work of Jesus by believing and receiving without compromise all of God’s promises, praying according to His will, and never giving up – even – 

• while the relationship is still broken, 
• while the dreams still haven’t come true, 
• while the culture is getting darker,
• while the church is being persecuted,
• while the prodigal is still running in the wrong direction,
• while the symptoms are still there, 
• while the bills still haven’t been paid, 
• while the enemy gets up in our face, stares us down, and taunts us.

As we declare the preeminence of Jesus, we will see the principalities and powers brought under His feet, one by one.

As we rest in the victory of Jesus, from our position in heaven, we will see the enemies which have caused our broken relationships, the discouragement, sickness, addiction, and poverty be brought under our feet, one by one.

As we pray the will of God and hold fast to His promises, we will see the demons who deserve the millstones hung around their necks being  drowned in the depths of the sea – all of those enemies of unbelief, doubt, fear, abuse, depression, perversion, confusion, and rebellion that have attacked our young people will be made our footstool – and thus releasing a lost generation to come home, one by one.

What is our battle? The only battle is the battle of the mind to stay at rest and believe it is finished in heaven, and we will see it on earth.

1 Timothy 6:12 – [Paul said] Fight the good fight of faith.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ

As I prepared for this first message of this new series on revival, I heard this in my heart: “We are righteous not only in our identity, but also in our position.” When we speak about the doctrines of grace, we often speak about our identity as righteous. 

We don’t just wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness, we are righteous to the core – in our innermost being. You may have thought that God only sees you as righteous because He is looking at you through Jesus.

but the blood of Jesus has not just covered our sin. He has taken it away. Righteous is our spiritual identity. But I want us to grasp in our thinking what that means in terms of our position. 

Again – it’s spiritual logic. If I am the righteousness of God in Christ, then I am seated in Christ in heavenly places at the right hand of God “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named.” 

If that is true, then I have exceedingly great power and authority when I pray.

And because I know that you know that this is true, I want to take advantage of the understanding and faith in this room.

Matthew 18:19-20, NASB – [Jesus said] Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Agreement is powerful. If we can agree, on earth about anything we ask, it shall be done by our Father who is in heaven!

Prayer walk, 2011

So I have an exercise in agreement that I want to do with you today as a foundation for this whole message series. But first, I want to tell a story to set it up.

Over 13 years ago, many of us participated in prayer walks in Birmingham to pray for revival. We were partnered with the man who was, at the time, the Birmingham police chief, a wonderful man named AC Roper. On March 19, 2011, our organization met downtown in the Titusville community to walk the streets and pray.

Now, about a year prior to that, I had had my awakening to grace in an encounter with Jesus, and you know that story. And you all know how in one flash of light, Jesus showed me who I am in Him – I am the righteousness of God in Christ, I am holy and blameless and worthy. And what I saw I can never unsee. And you also know that at the time, I oversaw a very large deliverance/ inner healing ministry, and we had a conference twice a year. Part of what we would do was go through these exercises where we would read responsive confessions out loud. I would read a line, and the people would repeat it.

These confessions were often focused on the devil and curses and breaking the power of the devil’s curses. I did not realize at the time, but it was all from the perspective of an unfinished work. So over the course of that year, I went back and re-wrote all of those confessions from the perspective of the finished work of Jesus.

The first confession I wrote, however, was a brand new one completely written from scratch based on all of the truth that I was immersing myself in as I studied the scriptures. It was entitled “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” 

The prayer walk in Titusville was a couple of months before the conference where I would use these new confessions, but I decided to go ahead and introduce the new one – “I am the righteousness of God in Christ” – at the prayer walk. So on one of the corners of Tuscaloosa Ave, I took the microphone and declared what I am going to share with you in just a minute. And all the people repeated after me as I read each line.

I knew that what I was proclaiming was bold and different than what many of us had understood before. I remember thinking “I am going to put my stake in the ground here in downtown Birmingham! I am going to proclaim the gospel!” But, little did I know that there was one person there who had a deep understanding and who was in full agreement with these truths.

That person was Steve Nelson, Debbie’s husband, who led a large prayer ministry at the time. I want to share an excerpt from an email he sent me about a month after that prayer walk:

Thank you, Tricia. What you say is true.  At the prayer walk in Titusville – the power of this confession was so evident – clearly a path to new heights. This is what I have been chasing for over 10 years. I’m in agreement with what you wrote… The first ministry revelation God gave me was 1 John 5:13-15. Right after that, God gave me, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”  As I did, He has been faithful. In response, I wrote that righteousness is available in Christ… I have prayed through all the other confessions – but the confession of righteousness has the best of God’s word (for me) in it, and I have been praying through it. I was impressed the first time I heard it. Thank you so much for your time and effort – I pray it will be worth it to the kingdom. Steve

So today I want to declare that confession again, with you if you will join me. These biblical truths are the basis of our position as we pray for revival. So after I read each line, repeat after me if you agree!

I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST, confession

*Read at Prayer Walk in Titusville community of Birmingham, March 19, 2011

I believe by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ –

the Good News that He has saved me, 

delivered me, made me whole, and given me peace 

by His blood shed for me on the cross. 

If by the sin of one man, Adam, 

death has reigned,  

how much more do I reign in life 

through the one man, Jesus Christ! 

I receive God’s abundant provision of grace 

and the free gift of righteousness. 

I am in Christ Jesus 

therefore I am no longer condemned. 

The law of the Spirit of life has set me free 

from the law of sin and death. 

I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 

God remembers my sin no more. 

God so loved ME that He gave His only Son. 

While I was a sinner, Christ died for me. 

Behold the Lamb of God, who took away my sin! 

The blood of Jesus has cleansed my conscience. 

One sacrifice for all my sins forever!   

Jesus has taken away the handwriting against me, 

nailing it to the cross. 

Satan has been disarmed. 

I set my mind on things above 

where Christ is seated, where I am seated. 

I am hidden with Christ. 

I fix my hope completely on Grace. 

My mind is fixed on Jesus. 

I trust Him. 

I receive His peace. 

I will not let my heart be troubled. 

I know and believe the love that God has for me. 

As He is so am I in this world. 

Perfect love casts fear out of me. 

I prosper in all things 

because my soul prospers. 

Thank You Holy Spirit for convincing me 

that I am righteous before God. 

I am a new creation. 

What God began by the Spirit 

will be completed by Him. 

I am an heir of the world. 

I seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, 

and I am blessed. 

As I behold His glory, I am transformed 

from glory to glory. 

I am rooted and grounded in love. 

He is able to do exceedingly above 

all I can ask or think 

according to the power working in me. 

I have a good opinion of God 

and my faith grows daily. 

The devil has no hold on me. 

The devil stands condemned. 

I have the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead

living in me. 

Nothing shall separate me from God’s love. 

Nothing! 

He has given me authority 

over all the power of the devil. 

Christ redeemed me from the curse. 

So I am no longer under any curse.

I stand firm in my freedom 

I resist the devil, and he must flee. 

Through the One who loves me 

I am more than a conqueror. 

It is finished! 

AMEN!!!

(Scripture references: Romans 1:16; Romans 5:17; Romans 8:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 8:12-13; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; John 1:29; Hebrews 10:21-22; Hebrews 10:12; Colossians 2:13-15; Colossians 3:1-3; Ephesians 1:20-22; Ephesians 2:4-6; Isaiah 26:3; John 14:26-27; 1 John 4:16-19; 3 John 2; John 16:8-9; Galatians 3:3; Galatians 3:29; Romans 4:13; Matthew 6:33; Ephesians 3:17-20; Romans 4:19-22; John; 14:30; Romans 8:11; Romans 8:38-39; Luke 10:19; Galatians 3:13-14; Romans 8:37; John 19:30)

Today, right now, no matter how you feel about it, you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 

You may feel that you are in no position to pray for miracles or revival or anything because you haven’t behaved well or you lack “faith.” But The only faith required is the faith to believe that the cross worked.

And that’s the point of this message. You are actually in the best position that you could possibly be in, seated in Christ at the right hand of God.

So I want to close with a few of the prayers from my prayer journal. Please agree in your heart as we share them.

Lord, we will continue to fight the good fight of faith for this generation. We will fight til we win because You have already won. We keep our eyes fixed on things above, not the things of the earth because we are seated in Jesus far above every power – human or spiritual. We use the authority given to us through Jesus Christ to pray that this generation is protected, immersed in love, showered with grace, flooded with Truth, and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Lord, we have put all our hope in You, and we will not be disappointed. You will contend with those who have contended with us, and You will save this generation from this present darkness. Lord Jesus, You are the Light for this generation that will drive out the darkness in their lives. You will make the road home straight and level. You will lead all of them and nourish them. You will heal them and restore them. Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time for the sons and daughters to return. Lord, will You send the fire of revival to this generation? Will You send a Jesus Revolution to Birmingham? Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers and answering us. 

Lord, we pray for spiritual spontaneous combustion for this generation. We ask that You supernaturally intervene in the lives of  unbelievers. We pray for the kairos moment of refreshing coming from Your throne. We pray for the window of grace to open. We pray for true enlightenment. We pray for the rebels to turn to Jesus, and for the veil to be taken away from the eyes. We pray that they see the face of Jesus in all His glory and grace. We pray for the mirror of Your glory to overwhelm them with gratefulness.

Lord, will You open doors of opportunity for us to bring hope to those who are struggling to hang on to hope? Will You give us open doors to bring the good news of Jesus and bring glad tidings of good things? Will You give us the joy of encouraging people that You WILL come through for them?

Lord, will You give us open doors to share the gospel in these dark times? Will You first penetrate the hearts of our own family members with Your mercy? Will You soften their hearts to receive Your grace? May our own families be the breakthrough that blasts the doors open for us to reach millions if not billions of people – in small ways and big ways. May our families boldly carry the glorious gospel to the world around us!! 

Psalm 115:14-14, TPT – God himself will fill you with more. Blessings upon blessings will be heaped upon you and upon your children from the maker of heaven and earth, the very God who made you!