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Do you feel that the devil has a hold on your life in some way? Is there a struggle in your life that seems to repeat itself over and over again? You could be dealing with spiritual bondage. As God releases the King-Priest anointing–empowering His people to lead with both heavenly authority and earthly governance–the enemy will attempt to increase spiritual bondage and oppression. He knows that when we are free and filled with God's Spirit, we are dangerous to the dominion of darkness.
I want to start out with a story. I was raised on a ranch in Montana, and my dad had a cow-calf operation. We had horses and often gathered or moved the cows. A boy on a good horse was as good as a 40-year-old man if he knew what he was doing. My dad came from a ranching background and was really good with horses, as was his dad. He took pride in teaching me everything he could. He also liked to do things the right way because he had done it before and hated having to do it over if we screwed it up.
What is the "Prayer of Faith"? One of the easiest ways to define something is to discover what it is NOT. The opposite of the prayer of faith is a prayer of unbelief. Why would someone even bother to pray a prayer of unbelief? Usually a person thinks the act of prayer or repetition of prayer and begging God will finally change His mind or get Him to give in. Jesus said in Matthew 6:7, "And when praying, do not use needless repetitions as the Gentiles do, for they expect to be listened to because of their multitude of words."
It is so common for God's people to fall for the misconception of false humility that feeds their lack of importance. Let's just set the record straight here. Jesus did not die for what He did not value. If you were not valuable, He wouldn't have wasted His time enduring a brutal death on the cross. His very sacrifice points to the reiterated fact that is replete through the Bible that we are valuable to God.
Some Christians are notorious for downplaying the Holy Spirit. Many churches lock Him in a box of tradition or just ignore Him. Others treat the third person of the Trinity as if He magically appeared in the book of Acts like a genie out of a bottle and then vanished after the early church was established. And strict cessationists deny that the Spirit works in miraculous ways today. Yet Luke, who recorded the account of Pentecost in the book of Acts, paid close attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel that bears his name.
People will go to extraordinary measures to protect their treasured belongings. They install security systems with cameras and alarms on their houses and businesses for protection against thieves stealing their valuables. They have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to protect their families against gas leaks and fires. As Spirit filled believers, we have a priceless treasure: The Holy Spirit dwelling within us, yet we underestimate the value of this gift.
God can restore whatever you've lost. And He wants to bring forth something beautiful. This world is hard. It's filled with people full of hurt and pain. Five minutes watching the news or scrolling through social media and you'll quickly be reminded of the brokenness of humanity and our deep need for a Savior. Many are dealing with the emotional pain of abuse or past hurts—pain that prevents us from enjoying the good life God has planned for us.
"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He promised afore through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 1:1-4).
In the final moments of his life, Jesus, battered and broken on a cross, uttered words of incredible grace to a man who had lived a life of sin. In what would become one of the most profound demonstrations of divine mercy, Jesus extended forgiveness to a criminal—a thief whose life had been defined by wrongdoing. This act, as captured in the Gospel of Luke, has long baffled and inspired those who contemplate its meaning.
Often, many people view the resurrection of Christ merely as a historical event that supplies us with Christian doctrine without understanding the vast implications it has for believers. The following points attempt to make the implications of the resurrection of Christ more real and practical to us.
