The Christmas season is coming to an end and things are only now starting to
calm down to a panic. You no doubt can’t wait for things to get back to
normal so that you can regain you composure and get into your routine again.
You have also most likely over-indulged in all the good things the festive
season has to offer and now face the long and lengthy process of losing the
Christmas flab that has stopped you from fitting into those tight jeans that
you fitted into just before Christmas began.
Well today I want to ask you, what about you spiritual state? Where are you
at? Have you let it slide due to all the hive of activity? Have you just not
had the time to keep it on track?
If so why not pick up from where you left off and get back on track? First
however, I would like to encourage you to go through this simple check list
that I believe will help you lose a lot of extra spiritual pounds.
Checklist to Starting the
New Year Right
1. Gain back you control
Even though the festive season is supposed to be one of rest and relaxation,
I for one find it rather a busy time. There are people to see and things to
do and you never seem to get a minute’s break do you?
This is one of Satan’s favorite tactics. He loves to make you lose control
and have you running around like a headless chicken. If he has you doing
this you are too busy to be any threat to him and you are certainly too busy
to do anything for the Lord.
The solution is simple – STOP! That’s right! Take a break and get into a
quiet spot and rest, and let the Lord’s peace come over you. Rest in the
Lord and you will find that you will start to see things in their right
perspective, and you will find yourself able to handle everything better and
still be effective for the Lord.
2. Break spiritual links
Starting with Thanksgiving and heading to the New Year, this season is all
about being together with family and friends. It is about sharing the joy of
Christmas with the ones you love, but with it comes a price!
Apostle Les D. Crause covers this very well in his book ‘The Way of
Blessing’, under the subject of curses. You have, by interacting with
everyone, picked up curses that could affect you in the near future. Now
this is not to say you need to get paranoid about it and lock yourself up
like a hermit. No! It just means that you need to get rid of them before
they take effect!
So what should you be looking for? Here are a few things to look out for and
break over yourself and you family:
2.1. Family Generational
Curses
Even though you are a Christian your spirit is still able to be
contaminated. It is still able to be influenced in a positive or negative
way. Television, newspapers and radio are doing it all the time, but the
strongest influences come from the people who are the closest to you, and
those are your family members.
Your mother, father, sister or brother, uncle or auntie, if not free for
curses in their own lives, will pass it on to you just like a virus is
passed round. It might well be very subtle, but you will find things going
wrong in you life just like Uncle Bob. You will find yourself falling ill at
the drop of a hat like granny does, or find yourself accident prone just
like your mom or dad are! Get the picture? Has that happened to you?
That is because you have picked up the curse that is operating in their
lives. Just by you talking to them and opening your heart to them, you have
opened a door for the curse on them to take effect in your life.
Does this mean we are not to talk to or see these people? Not at all. It
just means that every time you are with them be sure to break spiritual
links with them afterwards and keep you spirit free of curses. So how do
with deal with it? It is very simple. Just like you do for all curses, you
apply James 4:7! 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.
2.1.1 Submit yourself to the Lord
and break all curses over you and your family. If any come to mind deal with
them by name.
2.1.2 Then you address the enemy
and take away any license that was given to him. You see, by opening the
door you gave him license to enter into your life and do what he wants. Now
by closing the door you have stopped him or any other demonic force from
coming in. He can no longer use that door.
2.1.3 Now that you have closed
the door and you have dealt with the curse there is just one more simple
thing to do! You need to tell the enemy to leave! That’s right! This is one
step many people forget to do and then wonder why everything is still going
wrong!
You see it is like this. You have opened the door to your home and a thief
entered and started to steal and take as he pleased. You then realized that
the door was open and closed it. There is only one problem. The thief is
still inside the house! He did not leave because you closed the door. He is
still in the house going about his business.
What you need to do is tell him to leave! You invited him in, in the first
place by opening the door. Now you need to tell him to leave, because you
are the only one who can! It is simple and it does not have to be a fight.
It is as simple as “I have closed the door to you and the curse, now I am
telling you to leave too!”
2.2 Curses Through
Association
Another type of curse that comes into our lives is through association. Yup
- your friends and workmates can bring a curse into your life.
Not everyone you know is walking in right standing with the Lord and in so
doing they are opening a door to the enemy and bringing a curse into their
lives. Now by you associating with them you are also allowing the curses to
be a part of your life. That is why the Lord told the Children of Israel to
never get involved with or take anything from the cities they conquered. And
when they did, it led to their fall!
So to deal with this sort of curse all you need do is apply James 4:7 as we
did above, and you will stop any curse dead in its tracks!
2.3 Curses Through Objects
One of the most subtle and most dangerous is curses through objects. The
major contributions to this are:
2.3.1 Family Heirlooms
That object that has been in the family for years and years and is now
sitting in your house could be bringing a curse into your home. It could be
keeping a family generational curse in you household and preventing the Lord
from bringing complete blessing into your home.
What makes family heirlooms so dangerous is that they have sentimental value
and that is what brings in the curse. When you look at the object it links
you with all the people involved in its past and you open your heart to them
and their curses.
Now comes the crunch! What do you do with them? I for one would say get rid
of them. It is not worth the curse in your life! If you cannot do so due to
family issues, seal in the demonic force and keep it in a place as far away
as you can from you. You will be amazed how a simple thing like that can
cause such trouble in your life.
2.3.2 Written Objects
If you are like most people you have most likely received Christmas cards
and letters. They are very precious to you, but they could bring a curse
into your life.
How can this be? Well it is very simple. When you write you are flowing out
of your spirit and you are putting it onto paper. In those words are a piece
of your spirit and it is captured for time and eternity. However it also
captures the curse that you are going through too.
We have found that the greatest contamination comes from hand- written
letters. On many occasions we have ministered to people who are battling
with a curse in their lives only to find out that they have a box full of
old love letters from their courting days or some other event. Once these
where removed so was the curse and the person instantly found freedom.
What should you do? I have found that the only way to deal with the curse is
to throw away the letter, due to the fact that it has the writing on it.
This might seem a little harsh, but it is the only way!
2.3.3 Hand-made Objects
What makes hand-made objects different from any manufactured object, is that
like hand-written letters they capture the spirit of the person who created
it. The object is a creation that came out of their spirit and therefore
holds what was in their spirit.
Now there is good news to this story. From experience we have found that by
offering it up to the Lord as the priests did the different object for the
Tabernacle, so you can give the item to the Lord and let him come and
cleanse the item for all contamination.
There are also other hand-made items that fall into this type of category
and I am going to call them Native handwork.
These are items that are made by the Native people of a country or area and
can be found in many Curio Shops. In Africa where I come from the big thing
that visiting tourists purchase would be carved wooden images made by the
Native people.
Now that in itself is not such a bad thing and can be dealt with as we
mentioned above, but where it becomes a problem is many of these images are
fashioned after the Native people’s gods and are used it demon worship! Just
as you would not put a Buddha or a pentagram in your house, be careful that
you are not doing it in ignorance with one of these items.
Should you have one of these items, I would suggest you destroy it and get
it out of your home.
2.4. Backlashes
As you have spent time with everyone you have no doubt had times of sharing
and ministering to them about the Lord. Whether it be counseling and praying
or just telling them about Jesus, you could have opened yourself to a
backlash in the Spirit.
A backlash is simply when the person you prayed for or ministered to does
not accept what you had to say or does not break free completely from what
you dealt with. This causes the very thing you dealt with to come back at
you and attack you. For more information on it you can read an article
called ‘Dealing with Backlashes’ in our article archives.
A simple solution to stop a backlash it to apply James 4:7 as we spoke about
earlier.
3. Find Your Track and
Purpose
Every Christian in the Body of Christ has been called to do something. Not
everyone is called to be the head, but you have been given a very important
job!
Why not find out what part you have to play and do it to the best of you
ability! Do not believe the lies of the enemy that you are a nothing, Do not
believe the lies that say your past sins and failures are disqualifying you.
You are a King’s kid and you are washed by the Blood of the lamb that was
shed on Calvary. You have the name that is above every name and you have the
authority over every demon force known to man, from the smallest demon to
Satan himself. It is time you know this and act on it and see that the Lord
has an important work for you to do, and you are the one that can do it!
Get in His presence and ask and He will show you and confirm it to you. It
could be that the very desire you have in you to do something for the Lord
could be the very thing He is asking you do! It is not just you making it up
and it is not just a silly idea. It is the Lord meeting you where you are at
and starting you on the path He wants you to walk in!
4. Follow It With All Your
Might
Now that you have dealt with all these curses and excess baggage, have found
your place and know the route you must take, I want you to run with it!
As you walk this path you are on you will go through many stages and
changes. You will find it change every now and again to be more effective to
your growth
and your calling, but as you follow the path with your eyes set on the goal,
you will see the Lord’s hand moving in your life!
You are now ready to face this New Year and so I speak to each and
every one of you and say:
May the Lord’s blessing rest on each and every one reading this! May you
find this year breaking every obstacles that has stopped you from being
effective for the Lord and His work in your life in the past. May you rise
up not only in authority and power but in every area of your life! For we
serve a wondrous Lord that has all blessing. We are to not only be rich in
Spirit and in His Word but to have our every need met.
Rise up now and take your inheritance and take back what the enemy has said
was not yours. For he has lied to you and he has stolen what the Lord Jesus
gave you! He has taken your inheritance and said in was your greed and your
flesh, but it was an answer to you prayers. It was an answer to your faith
and it is the answer you were waiting for!
Now take back what the enemy has stolen and let this world know that our God
is the only god and that He is the only way!
Amen!
Blessings to each and every one of you this year!
Now
is the time to get prepared!
Start your ministry training this year at the GMR
Fivefold Ministry Training Center:
