This course can equip you to help lead people into healing and freedom, and empower them to live the life God created them for. To be effective at this, however, it is very important that you go through the process yourself so you can experience how the tools work. Plus, you’ll also become more free too!
Session 1
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
Matthew 10:7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
Afflicted = poor (no wealth, influence, position, honor), weak (helpless, powerless)
Deuteronomy 8:18 “But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 15:4 “However, there will be no poor among you, since the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 6:31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
Ephesians 6:10 ¶ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
Poverty spirit = living with few or no possibilities
Discussion:
Session 2
Bind up = as for a wound, in other words to bring healing
Luke 10:33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”
Matthew 4:23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24 The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.
Matthew 10:1 Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Mark 16:17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
How to release healing:
- Invite Holy Spirit to come with His presence, power and healing
- Take a moment and silently ask Him how He wants you to heal, restore or create
- Speak directly to the problem and command it to leave
- Verbally release healing, restoration or creative power into the affected area(s)
- If possible, ask the person to test it and do what they couldn’t do before
- Thank Him for what has been done, and when necessary repeat the process if the healing is not yet 100%
Brokenhearted = to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked, be crushed
Isaiah 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isaiah 42:3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”
Isaiah 61:3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
How to receive or release emotional healing:
- Recall an incident that was traumatic or negative
- Identify the negative emotions surrounding it
- Give those emotions to Jesus and ask Him to take them from you
- Ask Him to heal the wounds in your soul caused by that incident
- Tell Him you receive His healing, and thank Him for it
- If people were involved in that incident, forgive and release them from what they owe you (see Matthew 18:21-35)
- Ask the Lord to bless, save, heal, etc. them
Discussion:
Session 3
Liberty = a flowing, free run, freedom
John 8:31 “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Captives = taken captive by the enemy due to circumstances beyond our control, generational sin, etc.
Luke 13:10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” 13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. 14 But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Freedom = opening of eyes, figurative of freeing from dark prison
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Prisoners = tie, bind, imprison (consequences of sin, error, mistakes)
Matthew 5:25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Favorable = delight, desire, favor, (good) pleasure, goodwill
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
Vengeance = infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person. Vengeance could not be fully executed until after Jesus was risen.
John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
Romans 12:19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
Comfort = to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion and empathy
Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 14:14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
Matthew 15:32 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
Matthew 20:34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Mark 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Mourn = to feel or express sorrow or grief, to grieve or lament for the dead or because of great calamity. Can also represent depression, hopelessness, trauma, and other emotional pain that causes soul wounds.
Prophetically, mourning can represent the condition of every person before they say yes to God’s invitation to be reconciled to Him. (2 Cor. 5:19-20)
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Death is a separation of the soul & spirit from the body. Spiritual death is living as if we are separated from God, unaware of the kind of relationship with Him Jesus made possible.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Romans 8:19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Discussion:
Session 4
The Divine Exchange
To grant those who mourn in Zion
Grant = to put, set, lay, put or lay upon, transform into.
Giving them a garland instead of ashes
Garland = an embellishment, i.e. fancy head-dress:—beauty (represents a renewed mind)
Psalm 84:1 How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!
Proverbs 4:7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11a He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Ashes = represents feelings of unworthiness, guilt, and shame that can lead to repentance
Genesis 18:27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes.
Job 42:6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
The oil of gladness instead of mourning
Oil = represents anointing of Holy Spirit, His empowerment to do all things
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Gladness = exultation, joy
Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
Mantle = garment, wrap
Judges 6:34 So the Spirit of the Lord came upon [clothed Himself with] Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.
Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Praise = adoration, thanksgiving to God (represents a lifestyle that glorifies God)
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Fainting = dim, dark, as in a dimly burning wick (represents hopelessness and despair)
Isaiah 42:3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Oaks = represents strength, visible leadership
Mark 10:42 Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Righteousness = what is right or just or normal, rightness, justness (represents the characteristics and capabilities of Jesus)
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
Planting = something planted, i.e. the place (a garden or vineyard), or the thing (a plant, figuratively or men); by implication, the act, planting, a plantation. Represents the Kingdom of God on earth, the Genesis mandate He gave to us.
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Matthew 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Discussion:
Session 5
How to receive His Divine Exchange
Mark 4:14 “The Sower sows the word.”
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'”
God continually sows His word. He never stops speaking His wisdom, guidance and correction to us.
Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 24:13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; 14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’
Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Recognizing and removing the barriers to a Kingdom mindset
The Road
19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Kingdom = the rule of God upon the earth, in and through us. As in heaven, so on earth. Our partnership with Him to see it happen
Understand = Originally this word meant “to set or bring together, in a hostile sense, used of combatants.” It then came to mean, “to set or join together in the mind, i.e. to understand.”
Kingdom truth, vision, purpose, destiny, etc. cannot be understood via human ability, it requires revelation from Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
A person in this condition is not yet open to the truth about the Kingdom and their true identity. In fact, these things are so incomprehensible they seem like sheer lunacy, so they are immediately rejected, and the enemy sees to it that they don’t consider it any further by reinforcing their existing mindset. In many cases this mindset is created when a person has experienced tremendous trauma and negativity in their life, such that they can’t imagine a God who is good and loves them.
The root of this is human pride, where we do exactly what Adam & Eve did in partaking of the forbidden fruit: we take for ourselves the right to determine what is right and wrong, and what is truth. This is what the road represents.
Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
To reach people in this condition, we follow Jesus’ example and minister healing, deliverance, prophetic words, miracles, etc. There’s no greater proof than His touch!
If the Lord has given you a word of knowledge about their condition, tell them and ask if you can pray for them. If not, ask them if they need prayer for anything (but specifically focus on their physical or emotional condition). According to their need, use the physical or emotional healing steps.
For those who have accepted Jesus as Savior, the road represents a mindset that views everything via their intellect, as they try to understand the Kingdom by their human reasoning. I picture them as living right next to the road, where the soil is not as tightly packed down. They need to experience God as Solomon described here:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
The word “acknowledge” means far more than mere mental recognition of God. The Hebrew word means “to know by experience,” and it’s the same word used in Genesis 4:1 where we read that Adam “knew” his wife and she conceived.
What does this teach us? All revelation and truth is meant to lead us into an encounter with the Lord. And in that encounter we learn that something is true because we experience it in Him, who is Truth. It’s just like a child who never receives any physical affection but is told “I love you” by their parent. They learn something intellectually but never experience the reality of it.
Christians who live on the edges of the road may know things about God, but they don’t yet know Him experientially. This makes them easy prey for the “religious spirit.”
The religious spirit operates in these ways:
- Substitutes a relationship with rules for a relationship with God
- Demands continual striving to obey the rules perfectly (performance and works)
- Constantly judges and condemns for the failures of not obeying the rules
- Creates a deep sense of unworthiness to receive anything from God
- Creates Pharisees who deny their failures and judge others for their failure
Eventually most people burn out in this environment and harden their hearts toward God. They either leave the church or adopt a religious persona at church and lead another life in the world.
Because of unanswered prayers and unresolved traumas, people typically respond with a defense mechanism of building a wall around their heart, designed to protect them from further pain. So in this case, the hard-packed soil on the edges of the road can be defined as this protective wall.
This wall is usually created because of anger, fear, disappointment, and/or offense at God, blaming Him for the painful incident(s) that resulted in trauma. This deception of the enemy causes hearts to become hard, incapable of receiving His truth that sets free.
Isaiah 63:17 Why, O Lord, do You cause us to stray from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
Mark 6:45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.
The principality at work here is the orphan spirit, which works in these ways:
- Seeks to drive a wedge between my heart and my Father’s love, making me feel abandoned and uncared for.
- Convinces me that God is to blame for all my troubles and unanswered prayers.
- Causes me to look for answers and getting my needs met from any other source but Him.
- Creates confusion and distance between me, God, and others who are in my life for my benefit.
- Drives me to do everything in my power to satisfy my needs and wants
In the same way that unbelievers need a personal encounter with God to open their hearts to Him, Christians in this condition also need that same kind of encounter.
The good news is that they have come to you for help. Why is that good news? The only reason they would consider going anywhere for help is because Holy Spirit has been at work in their lives. He brings an awareness to them that something is very wrong, and the pain of that awareness makes them very open to getting help from the one Person they have not yet been willing to go to: God. So have that level of faith and confidence as you proceed.
How to lead someone into an encounter with God
- Ask them if they would like to experience God’s presence and love for them.
- If no, spend some time finding out why and addressing their concerns. If still no, move on to the next tool and believe they will encounter Him there.
- If yes, ask them to close their eyes and hold their hands out, palms up.
- Say something like, “Holy Spirit, I thank You that you are here with us, and that You love [name] more than they can imagine. I ask You now to reveal Yourself to [name]. Bring the weight of Your presence and the reality of Your love for [her/him], and cause [him/her] to feel You in a very real way.”
- Give Holy Spirit time to manifest His presence
- After the experience fades, debrief for a few moments and ask them questions like:
- What did you feel?
- What did that do for you?
- How did this experience change your perspective about God?
Dismantling the Wall
- Identify the major trauma(s) that I have blamed God for causing
- Identify the emotions associated with the trauma(s)
- Go through the steps for emotional healing and heal the wounds in the soul
- In your mind’s eye visualize the wall and describe what its purpose is
- Is it worth keeping the wall if it prevents me from receiving the healing and freedom I need so I can live a better life?
- If the answer is yes (I don’t want the wall to come down), we can revisit it at a later time.
- If the answer is no, i.e. I want the wall to come down: in your mind’s eye see that Jesus is standing at the wall, ask Him to give you a tool to dismantle and destroy it, then do whatever feels right to tear it down.
- See if the wall is completely gone. If so, thank Jesus for that.
- If there are parts or rubble remaining, repeat the above steps
- If there are still parts or rubble remaining, we will revisit it at a later time.
Session 6
The Rocky Places
20 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
Rocky places = one step up from the hard packed edges of the road, here there are pockets of good soil surrounded by rock. This represents a mixture of faith and unbelief… a mind that is not fully renewed.
Unbelief is defined as exalting my opinion about something above what God actually said about it. We question whether God will do for me what He promised.
What we think about God is the most important belief we will ever have. The rocky places represent all the lies we have come to believe about God and His love and goodness toward us.
Affliction = pressure, trouble, burden, caused by difficult circumstances
Persecution = negative reactions and behaviors by people who are against you in some way
Because of the word = every promise of God gets tested by our circumstances in the world around us. God allows this because He wants us to learn how to trust Him to be faithful to His word, and how to obey Him even when it seems impossible.
Falls away = a stumbling block, become offended, stop trusting, make an evil judgment against God
No firm root = no experience of the reality and security of God’s unconditional love.
Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Experiencing His amazing love for me changes what I believe about Him.
Isaiah 62:10 Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
Who Did It? Assessment: this tool is designed to reveal the lies we believe about God because of how others have treated us, heal the wounds and give us the truth about how He really sees and feels about us.
Click or tap to download Who Did It
Your Freedom Journey – a step-by-step guide to following the process in the Who Did It form.
The Father’s Love Letter: provides a scriptural first-person account of the ways He loves us.
Click or tap to download My Child
Session 7
The Thorns
22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Thorns = many things can grow in a garden, but not all of them are good. Thorns represent the bad seeds we’ve sown, which are the ideas and beliefs about ourselves that have created a self-image far beneath who God says we are in His eyes. When we don’t see ourselves as He does, we severely limit what He can do through us, because we can’t see all that’s possible for us to become and accomplish as His sons & daughters.
Worry of the world = to be drawn in different directions, distracted, a divided heart, unwise priorities. Because of our faulty self-image, we have many fears. Fear of lack, sickness, death, loneliness, failure, etc. This drives us to do whatever we can to avoid bad outcomes, and creates a victim mentality. When we speak negative things about ourselves we are sowing thorn seeds.
Deceitfulness of wealth = trusting in money and material possessions. The root here is pride, where we believe we must “look out for #1” and strive to get wealth in order to feel secure.
Choke the word = to be hemmed in so tightly you could suffocate, to choke completely. Because all these things compete for your time, energy, resources and attention there is no way for you to focus on what really matters… your identity and destiny as a son or daughter of God, i.e. what God says about you.
There are four doors the enemy uses to control us and choke our ability to experience abundant life:
- Hatred = bitterness, revenge, envy, slander toward people who have hurt, offended or disappointed you
- Fear = believing in a negative or devastating outcome instead of believing the promises God has made
- Lust (strong desire) = sex, money, power, position
- False religion = any belief system that does not accept Jesus as the Son of God, Savior and Lord. These especially include all occultic practices, witchcraft, satanism, etc.
Whichever of these are operating in our lives will be the root of all our thorns, because they are the enemy’s methods of defining us in ways that are completely opposite to how God describes us.
We sow seeds in the garden of our heart
Mark 4:26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
In this parable, it is the man who casts seed, not the Sower (God). So we have good seed (what God says about us) and bad seed (what the enemy says and what we therefore say about ourselves). The thorns that grow in the garden of our heart are there because we planted them. God continually casts the seed of His word into our hearts but it gets choked out by all the bad seeds we plant through our negative beliefs, speech and actions.
Matthew 12:34b “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Life Category Assessment 1 – this tool will identify our negative thoughts and beliefs.
After identifying our major negatives, we now must “flip the script” to remove and replace them with what God says about us.
Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Flip the Script – learn how to reverse every negative thing you discovered in the Life Category Assessment Form 1
Life Category Assessment 2 – begin sowing good seed by discovering what you can do to align your life with God’s purposes.
Discussion:
A Final Note
If you’ve made it through these 7 sessions, and used all the forms I provided, I congratulate you! You should feel much more free to pursue the life God created you for.
But if you would like some help with going through this process of freedom, and also get clarity on your life purpose and destiny, tap the link below to schedule a free phone session with Russ and explore your options:
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