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Newsletter - Are you ASKING him or Telling him?
I
grew up riding and showing horses. I first rode at the age of 16 months
and showed for many years with my Aunt who is a national level trainer.
Until I married, my life had been filled with horses. I come from a
long line of horsemen and trainers. So, as I approached the age of 10
or so, it was time for me to begin to train and work with my own
gelding, to allow he and I to learn together. To get started, my
parents, who were trainers, would have me lunge my gelding and give him
commands. When used correctly, lungeing is a very useful training tool.
When lungeing a horse, the horse moves around the handler in a circle.
The handler controls the horse by using aids that ask him to move
faster or slower, bend on a circle or move closer to or farther away
from you. Aids include your voice and body language. By lungeing your
horse, you are given the ability to watch him from the ground, so you
can monitor his movement, his soundness and his natural frame. Lungeing
before a ride can decrease the inherent risk of riding a hot horse,
therefore increasing your safety. However, lungeing incorrectly can be
very dangerous for both you and your horse. Obviously, most 10 year
olds have not mastered the art of commanding the movements of the
horse. If not properly performed, the horse could potentially hurt you
while you are on the ground, but more importantly while mounted. A 10
year old child is no match for a 1,500 pound horse. However, if the
handler learns to communicate authoritatively and without doubt in
their voice or body language, the horse and handler will, in time,
become a team. They will anticipate each other's thoughts and
movements. They build trust with each other and the result is
absolutely beautiful. But learning this command of authority is not
always easy.
My mother would stand at the rail of the arena, watching and guiding,
as I learned and practiced my skill. I recall her words today as if she
were standing right next to me. "Are you ASKING him or TELLING him?",
she would say. She meant the tone and the underlying belief of the
commands I was giving. There is a difference in saying "walk?" and
saying "WALK!" The horse knows it and is confused by the directive. In
a very short period of time, I learned to assert myself with the horse
and make sure that when I spoke a command, he knew, without question,
what I expected of him. We did become a brilliant pair!
That lesson has stuck with me all these years, especially when it
has to do with the "principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness
of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph 6:12).
Jesus told us in Luke 10:19 that He has given " you the authority to
trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,
and nothing shall by any means hurt you." It's not about whether you
want that authority or not, it has already been given to you. Instead
of praying and asking God to do something about the devil bothering
you, YOU do something about it! He has already done all he's going to
do and there is enough power in that gift to you to make mountains
move. It's been left to us. He will come to our aid and our assistance.
It is his great pleasure to equip us and move in power through us but
he needs OUR words to move. God uses words to create. He uses words to
proclaim the blessing and the curse. Reinhard Bonnke received a word
from the Lord once, in which he was told "my words (God's words) in my
mouth are just as powerful as MY words in YOUR mouth!" That's powerful!
So my question to you, concerning the devil, is "Are you ASKING him or TELLING him"?
Mark 11 is another example of the power of words and faith. Let's begin
in vs 12 "Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was
hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see
if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found
nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response
Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His
disciples heard it." Jesus leaves that moment and spends the day and
night in Jerusalem taking care of some business. Now skip down to vs 20
"Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up
from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The
fig tree which You cursed has withered away.' So Jesus answered and
said to them, 'Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever
says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does
not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be
done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever
things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you
will have them'.". The understood subject of this direction from Jesus
is YOU. YOU have faith in God.
Matthew's account (21:21) of this same event says "if YOU have
faith and doubt not, YOU shall not only do this which is done to the
fig tree but also, if you'll say to this mountain be removed and be
cast into the sea it SHALL be done". He's very clear here. He's telling
the disciples that THEY could do what He did. That means YOU can too.
Are you ASKING him or TELLING him?
Nothing immediate happened that they could see with their eyes, but the moment he spoke to that tree, something began to happen. In a
manner of speaking, he applied spiritual herbicide to that trees root
system and by the next morning it was dead.
So what situation needs some commanding in your life today? What
area(s) have you been experiencing defeat in? Take hold of that thing
just like I took hold of that lead and with faith in God, and a resolve
in your spirit, TELL that situation to change. TELL the forces of
darkness to cease in their activities. Know in your heart that you
believe it will change before you ever speak it outloud. Don't be moved
by whether or not you see it change with your eyes immediately. Know
that you applied the spiritual herbicide and don't give it another
thought. Thank the Father for it and move on! Keep standing, keep your
words in check and don't speak words that will instead fertilize that
unfavorable situation. Don't continue to say things like "my bills are
just so overwhelming". NO! You stand up and say, and say, and keeping
saying, "I am on the increase and every bill is paid and every debt is
removed". Keep your words in line with what you told the enemy to do.
Stay in command at all times and watch as the Holy Spirit and you become a brilliant pair!
Expecting GOOD things to happen to YOU today,
Neil and Jody
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