Shifting Atmospheres
Page 10
At this point, Cory made an even greater mistake. Having identified the presence of the demons, he did not renounce their presence. Instead, he partnered with them by giving in to their harassments. Tim, on the other hand, started singing worship songs and invited the Lord’s presence. In the meantime, Cory cowered beneath his blankets and witnessed visions of angels and demons swirling over his cottage. After what felt like hours, Cory finally fell to sleep.
In the morning, Cory and Tim descended the stairs. Tim looked comfortably rested, but Cory was obviously still fatigued. In truth, he had not slept well at all. As we found out, he had been battling demons all night long. On the way to the airport, Cory poked his head between the front seats of the car.
“You mind brushing me off?” he said. “I feel slimed.”
I looked back over my shoulder and gave him the routine clean-up inspection.
“That’s because there’s a demon on your shoulder,” I said.
“There’s a what?!” Cory jumped back.
“No, worries. Tim will get it off.”
Tim reached over and brushed Cory’s shoulder, saying, “In Jesus’s name, I brush off the spirit of chaos!”
Upon saying “chaos,” the spirit leapt off Cory’s shoulder and flew out of the car, raising Tim up along the way as he hit his scalp on the ceiling of the car. Tim began rubbing his head while Cory, meanwhile, sank down into his seat, relieved.
“Thanks,” he said. “I feel better.”
Tim massaged his skull and looked over at his brother with horror.
“What happened to you last night?”
Many times, we learn as much if not more from our failed attempts than from our successes. In this humorous and educational encounter, Cory learned a few things. He is now more relaxed when confronted with demonic spirits and his confidence of knowing who he is in Christ makes him a much more powerful warrior.
MANY TIMES, WE LEARN AS MUCH IF NOT MORE FROM OUR FAILED ATTEMPTS THAN FROM OUR SUCCESSES.
Cory’s above experience is a semi-comical example of how not to partner with evil spirits. When we see, hear, or come into contact with them, we are first and foremost not to give in to fear. Tim’s victory happened because he was confident in his authority. When the enemy tried to intimidate him, he simply rejected it. Cory, on the other hand, partnered with fear and allowed its false authority to harass him.
I hope this story encourages you in your own walk. Realize that when you come into contact with or are attacked by the enemy, it is not God’s way of punishing you. Use these attacks to train yourself to grow your spiritual authority and allow the Holy Spirit to give you strategies so you can emerge victorious.
NOTE
1. Blue Letter Bible, s.v. “Epiphauskō,” February 12, 2017, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm ?Strongs=G2017&t=ESV.
SHIFTING ATMOSPHERES OVER YOURSELF AND YOUR HOME
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
—GENESIS 1:28, KJV
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
—LUKE 10:19
The word dominion in Genesis 1:28 means “to rule, have dominion, dominate, and tread down.”1 Just as God commanded Adam and Eve to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and beasts of the field, so too has He given us authority over all the powers of the enemy. We are to exert this authority over our own lives, homes, cities, and regions.
Part of wielding our authority comes through the declarations we make and the actions that follow these declarations. Jesus instructed His disciples to release the good news into the atmospheres wherever they went and to match these declarations with action:
And proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay (Matthew 10:7-8).
The word for proclaim in this verse translates as “to proclaim loudly as heralds.”2 The disciples were literally told to shout loudly as they journeyed through cities—declaring that the Kingdom of heaven was near. In addition, they were told to prove their claims through the demonstration of signs and wonders. This assignment has not been revoked.
PART OF WIELDING OUR AUTHORITY COMES THROUGH THE DECLARATIONS WE MAKE AND THE ACTIONS THAT FOLLOW THESE DECLARATIONS.
The first part of this verse is an example of how one seeds truth into the atmosphere. This truth, tuned into and received by others, becomes a reality that others can step into. As I go throughout my day, I consider—what am I seeding into the atmosphere? When people are near me, what reality am I offering?
The goal of shifting atmospheres is not just to fix your city, region, or home but also to learn how to steward your own broadcasts. This starts with your heart:
But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them (Matthew 15:18 NIV).
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23 NIV).
We guard our hearts by stewarding what we allow into them. When we evaluate what flows out from our hearts, we recalibrate ourselves so that the next outflow more resembles Christ. This is the basis of stewardship:
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes (Luke 12:42-43).
A steward is someone who supervises arrangements, manages, or keeps order. God has entrusted us to keep order over this earth and to be good stewards. This call to steward-ship also extends to our hearts.
You can shift the atmospheres over your heart by first identifying the mindsets that drive your actions. These mindsets are at the root of your “normal” and either sprout from a truth or lie that has been accepted in your life. If it is a lie, you must work with the Holy Spirit to uproot its influence.
Inner thoughts like I can’t trust anyone and no one likes me are rooted in our past experiences. This is why many people who have been hurt in previous relationships have trouble opening up to others. Their inner beliefs, warped by pain, are broadcasted into the atmosphere. Soon people begin to pick up and respond to them.
Some examples of lies and their related mindsets are listed below:
LIE MINDSET
“Everyone is against me.” Victim
“I have to fend for myself.” Orphan
“Success is achieved through sabotaging others.” Bully
“Someday I will win, but not today.” Resignation
“I will never succeed.” Hopelessness
“God does not care if I do this little sin.” Deception
“It is okay to lie a little to keep peace.” Manipulation
“I have to make sure people’s intentions are favorable to me.” Control
“It is my job to make people happy.” Performance
“I am doing a better job than most of these other guys.” Pride
“I am a realist. The glass is half-empty, not half-full.” Pessimism
When we partner with ungodly mindsets, we allow their messages to be broadcast from our hearts. Pay attention to how people respond to you. If there is a pattern, it is quite possible they are simply responding to the messages you are releasing.
It is not enough to simply identify the mindset to reverse its effect. Freedom from these mindsets comes as we remove lies and exchange them for God’s truth. As you take ownership over the lies in your heart and exchange them for God’s revealed truth, the atmospheres you release will change. An encouraging verse for me is:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Galatians 6:9 NAS
B).
Many times when my husband mentors people regarding their finances, he counsels them to stay on the path of sowing new “seed” (healthy habits) even before they begin to walk in the benefit of new fields. If you find yourself reaping an old harvest even after sowing new seed, take heart. Your new field will break forth and produce good fruit. It might just be one more step away.
FREEDOM FROM THESE MINDSETS COMES AS WE REMOVE LIES AND EXCHANGE THEM FOR GOD’S TRUTH.
In my own life, my struggles with judgment and criticism made it impossible for me to meet new people without instantly sizing them up. My internal Pharisee discerned the things these people were dealing with and I gladly partnered with judgment in order to protect myself from them.
Instead of interceding on their behalf, I relegated them to either safe or unsafe categories of people. When the Lord healed my fear of being hurt by others, I was able to break agreement with judgment and forsake partnership with a Pharisee mindset. People who knew me both before and after the breakthrough were stunned at the change in my demeanor.
In my case, a judging mindset and critical spirit took root in my heart and seeped out into the atmosphere around me. Even though I tried being a good Christian, I still broadcasted ungodly messages of aloofness and criticism that others picked up on and responded to.
If you feel a mindset is transmitting ungodly atmospheres from you, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the lies you are believing. Simple prayers like the ones below may be all it takes for discovery:
Holy Spirit, would you reveal to me any ungodly atmospheres I am giving off?
Holy Spirit, what mindsets am I believing that manifest in this atmosphere?
Show me the lies, Holy Spirit, I am believing that make up this mindset.
Who do I need to forgive for first teaching me these lies?
What truth do You want to give me to replace these lies with?
Thank You, Holy Spirit, for healing my heart. I plant Your truths deep inside my heart so I can begin to transmit healthy atmospheres.
If you need to work through more lies and mindsets, I suggest you seek personal inner healing. You will learn how to walk through your own inner healing as you partner with God to expose lies, heal wounds, and release truth. The more you steward wholeness into your heart, the easier it will be not to partner with atmospheres that reflect your own inner wounds.
Once we fix our own broadcasts, we can begin to shift the atmospheres in our homes. Wherever your home exists—in the suburbs or the country, in a wealthy or developing area—realize God has placed you there for a purpose. Like pieces on a chess board, God has strategically placed you to contribute to His design. Your home, the environment from which your family operates, is your control center in shifting atmospheres. Think of it as your base of operations.
Our homes, rented or owned, are physical manifestations of the spiritual territory we possess. When friends, family, and other guests enter our homes, they should literally step into a God experience. This is much like when the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, tested his wisdom, and experienced how he outwardly expressed his inner atmosphere. She was left breathless (see 2 Chron. 9:3-4).
We are told what to think, believe, and embrace as normal through our media, education, and government. Agendas of perversion, misinformation, and division work to tear apart the family unit. These are just some of the worldly leaven being broadcasted through certain societal venues. We must be careful of what we allow into our home environments. Everything we bring in, good or bad, affects our atmosphere.
YOUR HOME, THE ENVIRONMENT FROM WHICH YOUR FAMILY OPERATES, IS YOUR CONTROL CENTER IN SHIFTING ATMOSPHERES.
Years ago when my boys were very young, the Lord began to convict me of the entertainment we allowed our kids to watch. At first, I was confused because I felt we regulated their cartoons and movies very well. The Lord, however, kept prompting me to take a look at what my boys were watching, so I laid out all our Disney movies and asked God which ones we should keep.
I ended up throwing away nearly half of the Disney movies we owned as the Lord prompted me, even though it was not easy for me to do. At the time, we did not have a lot of money and these movies were not cheap. It was also hard on my kids because they did not understand why they could not watch some of their favorite characters. Looking back, I should have invited my family to pray with me about which movies to keep.
I was vindicated, however, one day when my kids and I went to drop off groceries for our friends. We had just gone shopping, and I had put aside one of every “two for one bargains” I had been able to purchase. One was assigned to our family. The other was for our friends in need. Again, it was at the time in our lives when we ourselves had very little income.
On the way to drop off some food, my boys began to complain about not being able to watch Aladdin any more.
I told them, “I’m sorry, guys, but I just don’t feel like we should celebrate him being a thief.”
“But Mom,” they chimed in. “He is not all bad. He turns out good. Besides, what he steals he shares with poor people.”
I thought for a moment, then heard the Holy Spirit say through me, “Should our friends steal food to eat, or should we help provide for them?”
I am sure my boys still missed their shows, but they never complained about it again. In fact, I overheard them many times telling their friends, “No, we’re not allowed to watch that one.”
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes (Psalm 101:3 NASB).
To see the complete transformation and change within society, we must take ownership over our own homes. Once God sees us as trustworthy servants, He entrusts us with more. When we look to create a safe environment in our homes, we must ask—what does a healthy atmosphere in a marriage, home, or family look like?
If a family follows Jesus and partners with the Holy Spirit, the atmospheres in their home should reflect love, peace, acceptance, contentment, trust, and connection. When a husband and wife partner together and install heavenly atmospheres over their lives, the hearts of their children and their home should reflect a healthy, similar quality.
Over the years, we have had many people help out around the house—cleaners, gardeners, and handymen. Our cleaner continues to tell us how much she loves working in our home because she feels so much peace. We have also lost many handymen over the years because after they started working for us they began to prosper in their businesses. They became too busy to continue pampering us. They stepped into and came under the covering of our home’s spiritual atmosphere—peace and prosperity.
TO SEE THE COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION AND CHANGE WITHIN SOCIETY, WE MUST TAKE OWNERSHIP OVER OUR OWN HOMES.
When a family fails to partner with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, atmospheres like hostility, suspicion, bitterness, fear, disconnection, or sexual impurity may develop. The Christian home should be a representation of God’s Kingdom on earth. Just as Father God provides protection, provision, and security for His children, so should earthly fathers provide a safe spiritual, emotional, and physical environment for their families. The father’s authority should not be wielded for abuse, manipulation, or control. Healthy fathers bring stability to the home rather than fear and control. Jesus said:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:25-28).
Paul echoed this in Ephesians when he encouraged husbands to love their wives even to the point of death:
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Wives, like the Holy Spirit, are designed to be helpers, instructors, and comforters. Given the important task of bearing and rearing children, it is a woman’s call to see the next generation brought up in truth, health, and wholeness. This is more easily attained when the home is united as a place of safety, encouragement, and love.
In the modern world, it is sometimes uncomfortable to talk about women as helpers rather than powerful forces to be reckoned with. Any mother, however, can tell you she has been a powerful force for her family. When the family unit works as designed, all members of the household are respected and thrive. A great teaching on this is Stephen De Silva’s “The World’s Tallest Man.”3
Sometimes, people skew verses to promote their own theology regarding the family unit. This is particularly true in the case of women. Many have used the following verse as an excuse to exercise control and dominance, even to the point of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24).
Rather than use this verse as an excuse to suppress women, I see it as a strategy to keep conflict out of the house by imparting an atmosphere of mutual respect. Just as the Holy Spirit is sent alongside us to minister and guide us, so do wives and mothers provide encouragement and support. I personally do not feel any less significant than my husband, for we are one flesh. Our ability to run our home with confidence (knowing that he is for me and I am for him) removes ecosystems of distrust and replaces them with environments of peace.