DSM has been blessed with a wonderful, hard-working, and loyal team. Ceci and I are going to do a staff retreat with them, then she and I will take a much-needed vacation. I have asked some of my close friends and associates - many being regular contributors to the Give Him 15 posts - to fill in during this time. You will recognize most of the names; and I’ve thrown in one or two whom perhaps you haven’t heard from. You’re going to love the insights from all of them - this will be a wonderful smorgasbord! Enjoy!
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Glory Warfare - Becca Greenwood
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:1-3 NASB).
Glory. We have heard statements such as, “He is glorious!” “Lord, bring Your glory.” “What a powerful service; the glory was strong.” I have made these comments. Allow me to pose a question. What does this word mean? How does glory, spiritual warfare, and authority work together? The Hebrew word for glory is kabod. Meaning splendor, honor, wealth, the manifestation of power, glorious presence, reward, glory in the inner person, ruler, men of high rank, one who governs with Him (Strong’s #H3519). Our heavenly Father has chosen to anoint us in His throne room, in His glorious presence to be used mightily by Him to see captives, peoples, and nations set free and transformed.
Jesus stated, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28; NKJV). A kingdom has a government led by a king. Jesus was the occupying King. The kingdom He waged spiritual war against also had a government, with satan as its king. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, humankind was under the evil dominion of the prince of darkness. Satan has never nor will he ever play fair. He is complete evil; our adversary; the great deceiver; the enemy of our souls; the prince of the power of the air; and the mocking, prideful, rebellious foe of our Lord. But things radically changed when God sent His Son. He made a way for salvation and redemption for all mankind and creation. He positioned those who believe in Him as ones who have access to go beyond the veil into His throne room.
I believe we will all agree that darkness is increasing. Satan is sounding out a deafening roar as a ravaging lion looking for prey to devour. That being said, once we are saved we are enrolled in the most powerful army of the universe. And friends, we have not been left to fight on our own.
The Word of God repeatedly discloses power encounters Jesus had with satan and his army of darkness. The Bible reports that the first encounter happened to Jesus after God audibly announced, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” We then read, “Jesus was led up…into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 3:17; 4:1 NKJV). Peter Wagner pointedly states: “Jesus’s public ministry began with an eyeball-to-eyeball power encounter with satan himself!”1
In the real world, Jesus talked about, taught about, and personally confronted the devil and the demons under his command regularly. When the apostle John looked back at the ministry of Jesus, he characterized it this way: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 NKJV).
From Jesus’ time until now, the battle has intensified. Satan’s fury is raging because he knows his time is short. There is a spiritual army of warriors God has raised up to partner with Him in the demise of the evil foe—satan and his kingdom of darkness. You and I, as sons and daughters of the heavenly King, have been given the privileged position of enlisted spiritual warriors of this heavenly appointed army, engaging satan and his army of darkness not for victory, but from victory—with victory!
When we encounter our King in the glory of His throne room, when we ascend into His presence, we become awakened. Scripture tells us, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10 NKJV). As we faithfully enter “the much position” of His glory and encounter Him, we move from acquaintance to awakened ones—to friends, trusted ones, intimates, glory-empowered Kingdom ambassadors. Our hearts are vitally united to His and set aflame with His Kingdom purposes. The more time we spend in His presence, where we are surrounded and empowered in His glory, the better we know Him and His voice. He entrusts us with strategies to release, intercede, prophesy, decree, and implement so that the powerful light of His Kingdom is made known, causing darkness to be dispelled and evil to flee. Holy Spirit deposits in each of us a distinct sound that comes from the roar of the lion of Judah that sets captives free and awakens cities and nations, ushering them into a transformational breakthrough.
I would like to share a recent prophetic revelation the Lord released while in intercession for our nation and the nations.
“In the midst of all the storms, the chaos, the stirred-up tensions, and the nations raging, there is a sound that is arising. It is a distinct sound rising in a unified composition being played before My throne and echoing throughout the land and the nations. It is the sound of an awakened prayer army—My Ekklesia.”
He then opened my spiritual sight to see and hear the following. “There is a sound of groans of intercession in total dependence and abandonment to our heavenly Father. A sound of a groaning in the spirit over the land, coming from the land. It is not a sound of death, but a sound of holiness, consecration, hope, life, awakening that is designed by our Father. A season of pressing through a narrow place and coming through the eye of the needle into a place of His designed Kingdom purpose and destiny. Even though the floodwaters have risen, the fires have burned, cities and nations have trembled, quaked and are raging—there is a resounding cry of intercession reverberating out in the spiritual atmosphere. An awakening that is sweeping this nation. An awakening of believers, intercessors, prayer warriors. A united strength that all felt was lost in past seasons is now being ignited, rediscovered, rebirthed, and released.
“There is a new sound of surrender, repentance, dependence on Him. A sound of intercession that comes from the surrendered bowing of the knee in His glorious presence. It is a sound of worship, awakening, and of the spiritual warriors arising with Holy Spirit fire in this new era. A sound and a stirring of authority rising up—a spiritual warrior’s cry resounding out into the atmosphere.
“There is a culminating voice of unity arising and being expressed in a remnant that many thought had been silenced and divided. While the chaos comes to a fullness of expression, the sound of this new, repentant, humbled, empowered, and emboldened prayer army is rising to the heavenlies.
“Yes, chaos is raising its head for a time, yet the sounds arising from the awakened intercession and Ekklesia are resounding to overpower the sound of chaos. Hold fast to the Lord. Keep your abiding gaze focused intently on Him and rise up!”
Pray with me:
Father, we declare that You are the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). The earth is Yours and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). All of heaven is filled with Your glory and resounds with praise—holy are You, Lord!
Father, we thank You we have been given a rich inheritance in Your Kingdom. As Your sons and daughters, we have been given the privilege to enter Your throne room presence where our gaze is set on You and strategies are revealed.
Father, we say in this new era, we will no longer separate glory and Holy Spirit presence and fire from the awakened authority and responsibility to push back darkness. We say that it is not either/or, but it is both/and. Holy Spirit, cause the fire ignited in us to expose those hidden things and secrets done in darkness. May they be brought to the light of Your presence and glory and may the enemy’s evil schemes be dismantled and destroyed. Father, empower and embolden us in Your glory presence to see captives set free, the lost saved, people healed, cities and lands freed from the grip of principalities, and ushered into Kingdom transformation.
We decree:
The voice and authority of the glory-anointed Ekklesia is awakened and reverberating out in the spiritual atmosphere. Your glory and manifest presence are awakening and releasing transformational glory in people, families, businesses, governments, spheres, and gates of influence, neighborhoods, cities, and regions. As prophesied in Habakkuk 2:14, "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD” (NASB).
Portions of today’s post were taken from Becca Greenwood’s book Glory Warfare: How the Presence of God Empowers You to Destroy Works of Darkness. You can learn more about Becca here.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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1. C. Peter Wagner, Confronting the Powers: How the New Testament Church Experienced the Power of Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare (Ventura: Regal Books, 1996), p 121.
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