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5 min read https://www.givehim15.com/post/january-12-2023 January 12, 2023 The Creative Power of God’s Word I am constantly amazed at how many prayer meetings I attend where so little of the Word of God is implemented. The greatest weapon God has given us often goes unsheathed! If Christ, our greatest example, used the spoken Word as His number one weapon when confronted by satan himself, shouldn’t we use it regularly? And God’s Word is more than just a weapon. The Hebrew word asah (Strongs 6213), translated “create” in the Genesis account of God creating the world, also means “to accomplish, do, or perform.” It is used in the following verses, referencing the speaking of God’s Word/s: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has he said, and will he not do [asah] it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19). “So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing [asah] what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). “Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform [asah] it’” (Jeremiah 1:12). God’s Word “does.” God’s Word “accomplishes.” God’s Word “performs.” Yet, here is something most Christians do not consider. In each of these references, humans spoke the words God used to do, accomplish, and perform! Let that sink in. “I’m going to use My words to accomplish some things,” He said in these passages, “and I’m going to use you to speak them.” The Lord actually told Jeremiah in the first chapter of Jeremiah mentioned above, “I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the Kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant,” (Jeremiah 1:10). He began by saying, however, “I have put My words in your mouth,” (verse 9). The Lord followed these instructions by saying, “I am watching over My word to perform it,” (verse 12). There is absolutely no doubt Holy Spirit was saying to Jeremiah that He was going to “accomplish” some judging, tearing down and rebuilding, and that He was going to do so through Jeremiah’s words. This - speaking words - is how authority is released! Apart from the power of the tongue to wound people, slander, encourage, edify, etc., our words also: Activate our salvation (Romans 10:9) Release death and life (Proverbs 18:21) Remove mountains of adversity (Mark 11:23) Defeat spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:17) Heal the sick (Acts 3:6) And more. We’re obviously not teaching that we can create (asah) physical matter with our words, but they certainly create God’s desired results in human lives and situations. And, of course, our declarations must be based on God’s word and will, agreeing with Scripture, and inspired by Holy Spirit. The literal meaning of the New Testament word for “confession” actually means “to say the same thing.” In other words, we must say what God says. We do not have carte blanche authority to command our will into anything and everything. First John 5:14-15 tells us: “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” We must find out what the Scriptures teach about situations, then make our biblical confessions and declarations accordingly. We are then “saying the same thing” God says, which honors Him and offers Holy Spirit a decree He can truly empower - a biblical declaration. This is a powerful facet of intercession. Hebrews 3:1 states that Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (which, again, means “say the same thing”). When we speak God’s words and will on earth, He can and will back them up from heaven, just as He did for Jeremiah. In the dream we discussed last week, God has instructed us to do this to close and open doors. We are to close doors that have been opened to demonic activity in America and open the door of awakening and transformation. Let’s do it now after this short prayer. Pray with me: Father, You are not a man that You should lie. What You have said You will do. Your words do not return to You void, they accomplish everything You intend them to accomplish. We agree with Your prophets who have said a great awakening, in fact, the greatest revival ever, is now coming to planet earth. We call in a billion souls and declare boldly they will come into the kingdom. And Lord, You have shown many what You want to do in the government of America. We come into agreement with that also, declaring that America will have righteous government and the evil being propagated in Washington DC, and other parts of our nation, will fail. You will give us godly and righteous people in Congress, as judges, and in the Executive Branch of our government. We bind the evil forces that oppose this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Release these decrees with me: We decree that satan’s ability to devour and destroy America will no longer be successful. We speak to his door of access and command it to close! We declare our faith in the mercy and blood of Jesus - that God has heard the repentance offered up by millions of believers on behalf of America’s sins and is healing our land. We decree that people in government and business will no longer feed our nation to the dragon through sins, compromise, and unholy alliances. We decree that their evil will be exposed, their funds will dry up, and their influence will end. We close the door to their control. We decree that the evil pictured by Nero - violence, lust for power, tyranny, murder, persecution of the church, insane laws and edicts - will no longer rule America. We close the door to the spiritual powers causing this destruction. We close the door to the destruction of our children, our families, our homes, our cities, and our nation. We speak to the door of promise - the door of the awakening and transformation of nations - and command you to open. We call forth revival, refreshing, remodeling and reformation into America and the world. We prophesy to the wind of God: blow on the dry bones of America and the world. Reconnect our scattered bones, breathe life into us, and make us a great army. Salvation, healing, purpose, and destiny are in this wind - we decree its release NOW! In the mighty name of Jesus! ************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. Part of today’s post is taken from my book Essential Guide to Prayer.

7 min readhttps://www.givehim15.com/post/january-11-2023 January 11, 2023 Why Do We Decree and Declare? Today’s post on releasing apostolic decrees is taken from the Give Him 15 devotional. The lessons in this book are not only to inspire you; they are also to instruct you as you become a powerful intercessor. We are receiving wonderful feedback from this book of 30 short teachings. It WILL help you on your spiritual journey. It was 1980, and I was fresh out of Bible school. I was radical enough spiritually to pray for anything that moved…or grew. That’s why I was standing in the middle of a field, reading Bible verses to a crop of maize. No, I’m not kidding. I was taking my cue from Jesus, who spoke to a tree on at least one occasion. He spoke a death sentence to the tree, and the next day it was dead (see Mark 11:13-14, 20). He also spoke to a storm, commanding it to be still (see Mark 4:39), and even addressed a corpse, giving it life (see John 11:43). One of His disciples also did the latter (see Acts 9:36-41). No, I’m not trying to start a communing-with-nature cult. Jesus knew that nature and dead people weren’t “hearing” Him, but that His words were releasing the power of Holy Spirit to impact those realms. Our words, when they are God’s words and Holy Spirit leads us to speak them, also release divine power. That’s why I was reading the Bible over a field. Actually, I was reading it to the field and some flies that were invading it. I read the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 concerning the crop: “Blessed shall be . . . the produce of your ground . . . The Lord will command the blessing . . . in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you . . . And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity . . . in the produce of your ground” (vv 4, 8, 11). I read Psalm 91:3 concerning the flies: “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence.” The flies died and the crop lived. The situation was as follows: A Guatemalan farmer, already in financial trouble from previous losses, was in danger of losing thousands of acres of maize to these flies. He was about to spend approximately $25,000 to have them crop-dusted and wasn’t even sure this would stop the plague. We spoke to this new Christian about the biblical principle of tithing and the promise that God would “rebuke the devourer” (see Malachi 3:10-11) for those who obeyed Him in this regard. We then read him the verses mentioned above and asked if he would like us to join him in reading and declaring these words of God over his crops. He did, we did, and God did. The crops lived, the flies and their larvae died; the crop-dusting wasn’t even necessary. Not only was the crop saved, but the $25,000 the treatment would have cost was, as well. This may seem radical and you may find it odd. However, when scriptural principles are followed, the spoken Word is a powerful weapon of intercession. This little-understood truth need not lead to imbalance or weirdness. However, being balanced biblically does not mean we do nothing that contradicts human understanding or reason. It means we stay within the parameters of biblical teaching and the leading of Holy Spirit. Much so-called balance in Christianity is simply a desire to stay totally in the realm of our human understanding and natural laws. This eliminates many spiritual laws and much of that which requires faith, which certainly includes speaking the word of God as a weapon. Jesus not only spoke Holy Spirit-inspired words to a storm and a tree, as mentioned, but when tempted by satan, the spoken Word of God was His primary weapon against the attack (see Matthew 4:1-11). Ephesians 6:17 calls this “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” The Greek term translated “word” in this verse means “spoken words,” as opposed to written words or unspoken thoughts. The verse, used in this primary New Testament passage on spiritual warfare, is telling us that the word of God on our lips is a powerful weapon against satan, as Christ demonstrated. God honors His Word above His very name (see Psalm 138:2 KJV). A person’s name means nothing if his word can’t be trusted. When we consider the Word of God as unfailing and all-powerful, we are giving Him the greatest honor we can give. We’re stating that we know He cannot lie (see Hebrews 6:18), that His Word is eternal (see Isaiah 40:8), and that He can be trusted implicitly. A Roman centurion came to Christ asking Him to heal his servant. Christ was willing and offered to go with the man to minister to his servant. The centurion gave a startling answer, however: Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, “Go!” and he goes, and to another, “Come!” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this!” and he does it (Matthew 8:8-9). This man understood the authority of God-inspired words and declarations. Jesus did speak the Word, and the servant was healed. Several years ago I faced a situation in which evil spirits were obviously involved. In order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved, I must be vague as possible regarding the details. Generally speaking, however, great anger and strife had arisen in a family. A strong possibility existed that the next day this family would be torn apart for years, if not forever. I prayed late into the night about this very volatile situation, asking God to intervene. After a couple of hours of prayer, I clearly heard Holy Spirit say, “Speak the Word.” The instruction came with such force, I knew it was God talking to me. Obeying Him, I began to aggressively declare Scriptures Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance, also making declarations based upon them, which I felt were appropriate. It went something like this: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you” (Luke 10:19). “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). I declare that God has given me authority over the spirits involved in this situation. Holy Spirit in me is greater than any power they can muster. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exaltheth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV). I declare that my weapons are fully able to disarm this situation. In Jesus’ name I tear down the strongholds of the powers of darkness in this family situation. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). I am fully submitted to God and know that as I speak His Word, the evil forces at work must flee. I command you, demonic powers, to leave this situation in Jesus’ name. I free these individuals from your influence. I’m sure I used a few other verses, as well - this was many years ago - but I’m sure you can understand what I was doing. After 10-15 minutes of this, I felt great peace in my heart and went to bed. The following morning every person involved had a change of heart, and total peace prevailed. The power of God’s Word had overcome the evil spirits and positively influenced the minds and hearts of the individuals. I was NOT carrying on a conversation with these spirits nor was I trying in some extrasensory way to speak to the people involved. I was simply using God’s Word as a weapon in the situation, which released the power of Holy Spirit to prevail, accomplishing what He knew was necessary. In the dream we discussed last week, God instructed us to release apostolic decrees in order to close and open doors. We are to close doors that have been opened to demonic activity in America, and open the door of awakening and transformation. Let’s do so now, using the following decrees: Release these decrees with me: We decree that satan’s ability to devour and destroy America will no longer be successful. We speak to his door of access and command it to close! We declare our faith in the mercy and blood of Jesus - that God has heard the repentance offered up by millions of believers on behalf of America’s sins and is healing our land. We decree that people in government and business will no longer feed our nation to the dragon through sins, compromise, and unholy alliances. We decree that their evil will be exposed, their funds will dry up, and their influence will end. We close the door to their control. We decree that the evil pictured by Nero - violence, lust for power, tyranny, murder, persecution of the church, insane laws and edicts - will no longer rule America. We close the door to the spiritual powers causing this destruction. We close the door to the destruction of our children, our families, our homes, our cities and our nation. We speak to the door of promise - the door of the awakening and transformation of nations - and command you to open. We call forth revival, refreshing, remodeling and reformation into America and the world. We prophesy to the wind of God: blow on the dry bones of America and the world. Reconnect our scattered bones, breathe life into us, and make us a great army. Salvation, healing, purpose, and destiny are in this wind - we decree its release NOW! In Jesus’ name, Amen! *********************** Click on the link below to watch the full video. Today’s teaching is taken from my book Essential Guide to Prayer.

https://www.givehim15.com/post/january-10-20235 min read January 10, 2023 Prophesy to the Breath Last week we addressed a dream that instructed “the apostolic Ekklesia” to make “decrees”. This was to be done for the purpose of closing doors to demonic activity, and opening doors of awakening. Though I defined Ekklesia somewhat when unpacking the dream, yesterday I gave a more complete teaching on this all-important subject. Today I’m beginning a short series, adding to my previous comments on why we decree. This is not a new spiritual activity - it was mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis! Most Christians have no idea of the power of God‘s Words. The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) - the spoken Word - is our most powerful spiritual weapon. For it to be the weapon of choice for Jesus Himself when resisting satan, should be all the proof we need that it is the number one way to deal with the devil. Not only is God’s Word a weapon, however, it also does much more. The Scriptures refer to God‘s words as “seeds.” The root Greek word is speiro (Strongs 4687); another form of the word is sperma (Strongs 4690). As you can hear in these words, we do, indeed, get the English words “sperm” and “spore” from those Greek words. Holy Spirit used them in order to communicate that His Words have creative life in them. Just as physical seeds do, they reproduce life; they multiply. First Peter 1:23 references this, telling us we were born again by the power of the “incorruptible seed” (Greek: spora [Strongs 4701]), the Word of God. The parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8 ) also refers to God’s Word as seeds, possessing the power to reproduce and multiply fruit. Job 6:25 reads, “How forcible are right words!” (KJV). Right words would obviously include the Scriptures. “Forcible” is the word karats which also means “to press.” As the signet ring of a king presses a document with his seal, our spoken agreement with God acknowledges submission to Him, releases our faith, and seals or settles a matter. Speaking God’s words seals our salvation, the promises of God, our destinies, and many other things. Ecclesiastes 12:11 tells us, “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies” (KJV). Our words, when agreeing with God’s, act as nails, constructing lives, circumstances, events, etc. in the spiritual realm. Just as a nail is used to keep a board “in place” and to build structures, words are used to keep God‘s promises in place, allowing them to build and construct things in the spiritual realm. Hebrews 1:3 says all of creation is held together by the power of His words! Jeremiah 23:29 says God’s Word is also like a fire that consumes and a hammer that breaks rocks. Declaring His Word against the plans, strategies, and powers of darkness causes them to be consumed and destroyed. There is no more powerful weapon against the enemy than releasing the Word of God from our lips. As a hammer, it breaks and crushes. Luke 1:37 says it is filled with explosive power (Greek: dunamis from which we get the word dynamite). No wall, not even a mountain, can stand against the power of God‘s explosive, crushing words. Speak them! Psalm 107:20 tells us we are healed by His Words, also. The most effective way to release your faith for the healing of your body is to speak God‘s Word over it. His Words, filled with life, will go into your body and begin rejuvenating and restoring. The Word of God is never ineffective - it will always produce. When we speak it into situations, we are sowing God-seeds, which enables Him to bring forth life! In the dream from last week, we were told to open a door, behind which was the wind/breath of Holy Spirit, through our apostolic decrees. This is biblical! Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones is an example of God’s life being released through words spokiien by a person. “Speak to the bones!” God first said to the prophet (see Ezekiel 37). Can you imagine what Ezekiel must have thought? Speak to them? God, if You want something said to skeletons, why don’t You just do it? But Ezekiel obeyed and said, “O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.” And they did! Bone came to bone, flesh came on them. There was no life in the bones, however, and Ezekiel’s next assignment must have startled him more than being told to prophesy to the bones. The Lord said, “Prophesy to the breath.” Later in the passage we’re told that the breath he was prophesying to was Holy Spirit. God didn’t say to Ezekiel, “Prophesy by Holy Spirit,” nor did He say, “Prophesy for Holy Spirit.” God said, “I want you to prophesy to Holy Spirit. Ezekiel obeyed and the Spirit of God performed what a man prophesied/decreed. Incredible! Did the prophet actually give a “command” to Holy Spirit? Is Holy Spirit now to follow the dictates of humans? Of course not. Ezekiel wasn’t commanding God; He was commanding for God. As has been God’s plan and heart from Creation, He was partnering with a human. “I’m going to allow you to make the declaration for Holy Spirit to release the wind, Ezekiel. He’ll wait for your decree” Amazing! In that situation, God chose to work through the prophetic declaration of a human being. Sometimes we must ask, petition, or appeal to Him - He is in charge, after all! - in other situations, He needs or wants us to be His voice, releasing His words and will. In the dream we discussed last week, God instructed us to release apostolic decrees in order to close and open doors. We are to close doors that have been opened to demonic activity in America, and open the door of awakening and transformation. Let’s do so now, using the following decrees: Release these decrease with me: We decree that satan’s ability to devour and destroy America will no longer be successful. We speak to his door of access and command it to close! We declare our faith in the mercy and blood of Jesus - that God has heard the repentance offered up by millions of believers on behalf of America’s sins and is healing our land. We decree that people in government and business will no longer feed our nation to the dragon through sins, compromise, and unholy alliances. We decree that their evil will be exposed, their funds will dry up, and their influence will end. We close the door to their control. We decree that the evil pictured by Nero - violence, lust for power, tyranny, murder, persecution of the church, insane laws and edicts - will no longer rule America. We close the door to the spiritual powers causing this destruction. We close the door to the destruction of our children, our families, our homes, our cities and our nation. We speak to the door of promise - the door of the awakening and transformation of nations - and command you to open. We call forth revival, refreshing, remodeling and reformation into America and the world. We prophesy to the wind of God: blow on the dry bones of America and the world. Reconnect our scattered bones, breathe life into us, and make us a great army. Salvation, healing, purpose, and destiny are in this wind - we decree its release NOW! In the mighty name of Jesus..! **************************** Click on the link below to watch the full video.

* 5 min read https://www.givehim15.com/post/october-11-2022 October 11, 2022 Don’t Crack Under the Stress “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). When hearing these words, Joshua was about to embark on one of the most significant and challenging assignments any person could ever receive. The great leader, Moses, had died, and Joshua was assuming leadership of the nation Israel. His challenge would be more than simply leading a nation governmentally, which would have been challenging enough, but Joshua would also be doing so as a general, leading them to war. He would need to walk in great levels of faith, obedience, discernment, and wisdom. He would also need to have a hearing ear, listening carefully to Yahweh’s instructions. Success or failure would depend solely on these things. God gave him a little pep talk as these roles began. You can find this in the first chapter of Joshua, verses 1-9. Holy Spirit kept it simple: “I am now going to give Israel the land I promised Abraham; you will be the leader; I will give you victory over your enemies; be strong and courageous - don’t fear; be very careful to do everything I tell you; remember and think always about the instructions I have given you through the writings of Moses; I’ll always be with you; so, don’t dismay, allowing stress or pressure from these responsibilities to overcome you.” When Yahweh told Joshua not to be “dismayed”, the Hebrew word used is chathath, which has the meaning of cracking or breaking. One lexicon said it would be the equivalent today of “cracking under stress.” I’m not sure how encouraging it would be to receive an assignment from God, along with the admonition, “Oh, and by the way, don’t crack under the stress!” Of course, Holy Spirit wasn’t stating it in this manner. I believe He was, however, warning Joshua that great pressure came with this job, and stress overload was possible if he didn’t remember and obey the basics. If stress were allowed to steal his peace, discouragement and “dismay” would follow. The biblical definition of “peace” is consistent with being told not to “crack” under stress. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom/shalem, means unbroken, whole or complete, the opposite of chathath. An untroubled mind - that which we normally think of as peace - is actually an unbroken, un-fractured mind or emotions. To the contrary, worry is when the mind is torn or divided. (Shalem actually refers to all of one’s being, not just the mind and emotions. To be shalem is to be healthy or whole - spirit, soul, and body. The King James Bible often speaks of physical health as being “whole.” John 5:6 is but one example.) Yet another biblical word addresses this concept. Don’t be “double-minded,” James told us (James 1:8). The Greek word for double-minded is dipsuchos, which literally means “two souls.” As opposed to walking in peace - an unfractured soul - a double-minded individual is a person that has allowed his or her peace to be stolen! Trust controls part of their mind, and worry controls the other, James said this person will be unstable and unable to make a consistent stand of faith; to the contrary, they will “waver.” There is much happening in our world today that has the potential of dividing our minds, stealing our peace, and “fracturing” our souls. This can erode our faith, cause dismay, and distract us from hearing what God says. If we yield to this, not only will it produce ineffectiveness but can also rob us of health. This is why Holy Spirit tells us in Colossians 3:15 to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Rule is the Greek word, brabeuo. This interesting word is taken from the athletic games of that era. Just like athletic events today, the Greeks had referees, judges, or umpires - brabeuo. We are being told by Holy Spirit to make sure the peace of God is the umpire over our souls. “Make certain you allow My peace, and only My peace, to control your mind,” God says. “This will not only keep you healthy, but it will guide you. Allow Me to make the calls regarding what you will think about, believe, and act on.” A different form of this same word was used for the “prize” or “reward” (brabeion) given to the victor in the Greek athletic games. Paul said, “I press toward the mark so that I can win the prize” - brabeion, (Philippians 3:12-14). Let me simplify Joshua’s and Paul’s theology: God’s peace will keep us stress free and in health, guide us to victory, declare us the winner, and give us the prize! Paul said to “let” the peace of God do this. How do we let or allow God's peace to be this umpire? One key is to realize that His peace is already inside of us. Galatians 5:22 tells us peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our spirits. Peace is not something we have to generate; peace is something we release. It’s not something we try to attain from without; it is something we maintain from within. When attempting to walk in peace, do not look to an outside source. Look into your heart where God has already placed His Spirit. Quieten your soul (mind and emotions), and allow your inner nature to be released. David said he had to compose and quiet his soul, like a weaned child rests against his mother (Psalm 131:2). Tell your soul to be still and allow the voice of God to be heard from within (Psalm 46:10). Pray with me: Father, just as Joshua did, we are embarking on an incredible campaign of possessing our inheritance - a national destiny of helping You redeem the world. The war for America‘s destiny is a war for worldwide harvest. We are not wrestling for material possessions, but for a spiritual inheritance. Our battle is not to maintain our American dream, but Your dream for America. As we do, many giants confront us, attempting to steal our peace. Voices clamor, confusion abounds, deception fills the atmosphere, and demons harass. But we have something stronger than all of this, we have Your peace. It is beyond human understanding, and is a life-giving, healing force within us. And Your peace is in charge! The umpire! The ruler! So we pray now for the body of Christ here and around the world, that they would allow Your peace to rise up from deep within, and be the stabilizing force they need during this season. We resist all fear, anxiety, confusion, dismay, and double-mindedness. We are strong in You, we will not waver, we will not yield, we will not lose. We pray these things in the always victorious name of Jesus, Amen. Our decree: We decree that we, the body of Christ, will be led, ruled, and sustained by the peace of God within us. *********************** Many of you have sown financial gifts to the two Hurricane Relief funds we mentioned last week. Thus far, you have given a total of almost $200,000! Thank you for sharing your love and financial support with so many who need it in Florida. If you would like to contribute, here are two pastors/churches whom I personally know and are giving 100% of the monies to those in need (no admin fees). Victory Florida (arrow down to Hurricane Relief) Kingdom Gate Worship Center (arrow down to Hurricane Ian Relief Fund) Click the link below to watch the video: