Notes on Waking the Dead

- by John Eldredge

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The Purpose of God is to give us LIFE

• What is the purpose of God? Saint Irenaus said the "Glory of God is man fully alive." Irenaus is saying that Christ came to give us life. While we always thought Christ came to "just" forgive sins, which is awesome, but there's more - He came to give us life - look at the Scriptures:
  • The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
  • Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. John 7:38
  • Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23
  • You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
  • In him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4
  • yet you refuse to come to me to have life. John 5:40
• This isn't talking about just eternal life - - but life here and now. (Eternal means "unending", not "later")
  • We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

"Original sin" vs "Original glory"

• We have heard that we were born in sin - - original sin - - and this is very true - - - but what about "original glory?" Before Chapter 3 of Genesis (the original sin chapter), there was Chapter 1, when man was created in the image of God and was without sin. Man was originally created in "original glory".
• Paul talks about this original glory he has received by grace - - given to him for the benefit of others:
  • Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. Eph 3:2-5
• Paul says we have a glory - a reflected glory - given to us by grace. Our story starts in Genesis 1, not in Genesis 3. Our story doesn't start with sin, and doesn't end with sin - it ends with glory restored.
  • 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing Phil 2:15-16
  • 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matt 5:16
• We don't see it this way (that we have a new, good heart full of God's glory) because the enemy has been so effective at not allowing us to see it.

Spiritual Battle - - for our hearts

• We know that there's more going on here than meets the eye. Eldredge uses movies (myths and stories) to make his point. But the Bible is also mysterious and consistently focuses on a theme of war and a theme of more than meets the eye - -Examples - - Elisha prays that the eyes of his servant be opened so he can see the armies of God; Peter, James and John witness the transfiguration
  • I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18
  • Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:16-18

"Fixing our eyes on what is unseen"

• A question that's often asked is why does Jesus speak in parables? The reason is that Jesus is explaining deep truths of the Christian faith, and to do this He needs to speak to our hearts, not just our minds. If he used facts only, these would speak to our minds - - and not our hearts; but the parables get past the intellectual and disarm (and speak to) our hearts.
• Speaking to the heart is what stories are all about - Eldredge gives examples from the Matrix, Star Wars, Narnia, Lord of the Rings and others to state that these "mythical" stories (like Jesus' parables), are meant to share 3 Great Eternal Truths:
  • 1. These stories remind us that things are not as they seem (in our world, we're not seeing with the eyes of our hearts -- we're seeing only with our eyes)
  • 2. A great struggle or quest is underway
  • 3. in this desperate hour, we have a critical role to play (this is the hardest one for us to believe, says the author, because we don't believe the world lies under the power of the "evil one" - the devil)
• The author claims we will not think clearly about our lives until we think "mythically" - - until we see with the "eyes of our hearts". The author shares a number of stories from the Bible supporting #1-#3 above to get the reader to understand the Bible is speaking to our hearts during a desperate time of war, which we currently participate in.

The HEART is central

• The subject of the heart is addressed in the Bible more than any other topic - more than works or service, more than belief or obedience, more than money, more than worship.
  • Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut 6:5
  • 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam 16:7
  • For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34
  • Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Proverbs 3:5
  • I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
  • These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Matt 15:8
  • For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." 2 Chronicles 16:9
  • All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. Proverbs 21:2
• God made the heart the central theme of the Bible, just as he placed it centrally in our bodies. To find our lives, we must make the heart central again to our lives.

The HEART's purpose

• Emotions are the voice of the heart (like desiring, hoping, rejoicing, despairing, fearing, anger, hate, sadness etc.) - but it is not the only way the heart expresses itself.
• Our motives (the "real reason" why we do things)(vs. what we actually say) comes from our hearts
• Scripture locates our conscience in our hearts
• Scripture says the heart is where we do our deepest thinking ("Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts" is common-place in the Gsopels)
  • For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Heb 4:12
  • But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
  • That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Rom 10:9-10
  • This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. Matt 13:13-16
  • For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. KJV Prov 23:7
• Memory is held in our hearts
  • I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
  • 9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deut 4:9
• Creativity is held in our hearts
• Courage is held in our hearts (which comes from the Latin "cor" meaning heart).
  • Churchill said "Courage is the quality which guarantees all the others." It takes courage to love, trust, to follow Christ, and all other actions, according to Churchill.
  • Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
  • He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. Deut 20:3
  • So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Nehemiah 4:6 (They worked with swords in one hand expecting an enemy attack)

All of life centers around the HEART

• Jesus said 2 things are important and summarize all of Scripture - - Love God and Love others - its all about the Heart!
• • To find God - - you must look with all your heart
  • To hear His voice - - you must listen with all your heart
  • To love Him - - you must love Him with your whole heart
  • You cannot be the person God meant you to be and you cannot live the life you were meant to live, unless you live from the heart.
• When we see with the eyes of our heart , we see that we are at war. We must fight for the life God intends for us - we must fight for our heart.

Eldredge states that true Christian's hearts are "good" - - and Christians who believe their hearts are "desperately wicked" are absolutely wrong!

• We received our sinful nature from Adam. We receive a new nature and a new heart from Christ.
• The new covenant has 2 parts: 1-give a new heart and new spirit 2-remove our heart of stone and give a heart of flesh.
  • I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws Ezekiel 36:26-27
• Believers know that their bodies are the temples of God:
  • Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 1 Cor 6:19
• Believers also know that the "Holy of Holies" is where God was in the Temple. The "Holy of Holies", for new Believers, is the heart
  • so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, Ephesians 3:17
• If God is residing in Believer's hearts - - He can only reside where there is no evil. Therefore, the hearts of Believers cannot be "desperately wicked".
  • You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. Psalm 5:4
  • Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:44-45
  • But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15

How Christ makes a person come "fully alive"

• Eldredge says the way Christ makes a man or woman come fully alive is through 4 "streams"
• A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. Genesis 2:10 (This is where Eldredge gets his 4 streams)
  • 1. Discipleship (Walking with God and hearing His voice...leads to...)
  • 2. Counseling (Receiving Intimate counseling or bringing up issues in our hearts that need speaking to....which leads to...)
  • 3. Healing (Deep restoration from those issues that "break our hearts"), all taking place in the midst of .....
  • 4. Spiritual Warfare

1. Discipleship - Walking with God

• We can either go back to work - tackle our "to do" list and get things done - guided by our morals or we can enter a dangerous story, as God's ally, following Him into the unknown.
• The point is -- the key to life is walking with God; intimacy with God. Only by walking with God can we find the path that leads to life:
  • Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matt 7:20-23
• To walk with God - - we need wisdom and revelation....

Wisdom

• • When the apostles needed help from some good men in the early church, they chose men "full of the Spirit (ie revelation) and wisdom".
• Wisdom is not cramming our heads with knowledge and principles, it is developing a discerning heart.
  • So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" 1 Kings 3:9 - Solomon's request of God

Revelation

• 1. Assume God is still speaking:
  • I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:12-13
  • He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47
  • The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:2-4
• 2. Pay attention to your heart
  • God speaks from within - - in the heart, the dwelling place of God in true Christians
  • The devil is a master at manipulating the heart - - so are many people - - (consider advertisers etc.)
  • All sorts of awful things can seem to issue from the heart - anger, lust, fear, jealousy - - but what really is happening is the voice of the flesh or attempts of the Enemy to distress us - - but the author maintains - our heart is good - - the author is differentiating the good things - which come from the heart and the bad things - from the flesh, the devil and the world.
  • Any word or suggestion that brings discouragement, condemnation or accusation - is not from God.
  • God will convict us from sin and bring us a desire for repentance but his voice is never condemning.
    • Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Cor 7:10
• 3. Stay close to friends
  • Approach the Scriptures not so much as a manual of Christian principles but as a testimony of God's friends on what it means to walk with Him, intimately.
  • Find these friends today......

2. Counseling - Receiving God's intimate counsel

• The purpose of the Christian life is that our hearts may be set free
• All sorts of damage has been done to our hearts over the years
• And - the worst blows to our heart typically come from family
• When the problems come - most Christians want to forget the pain quickly - deny - but this isn't the case with Jesus.... He seems to allow them to be bought up until we deal with them.
• Lessons that are laid down in pain can only be accessed in pain - so Christ will open the wound - sometimes He'll take us back there by having an event repeat itself years later - only with new characters
• Ask God what it is He wants to speak to - - Ask God to show you that your heart is good and that it matters to Him.
  • Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Psalm 51:6
• Counseling comes not only from Christ - it flows through His people as well. Just like all the great stories, the hero must turn to someone older, wiser for answers.

3. Restoration - Receiving God's restoration

• Their is a civil war waged between the new heart and the old nature (see Romans 7-8 for this discussion)
• Part of us wants to do "right" and the other half wants to do our own thing - we are not wholehearted!
• Many times - when something inside is compelling us to do something we don't want to do, it usually indicates a broken heart. And Jesus not only wants to forgive us, but He also wants to heal us - He wants to set our hearts free - - He wants to give us life.
  • For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Matt 13:15
  • The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalm 23:1-3
  • He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
  • Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jer 17:14
  • But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4:2
  • but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Luke 9:11
• Christ came not only to pardon us but to heal us. Jesus "stands at the door and knocks". We've given Christ the initial access to our hearts - called salvation - but we still have rooms in our heart that are locked - and we must give Him permission to come in and heal.
  • Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:11-12

4. Spiritual Warfare - fighting for our hearts

• Every story has a villain - because our real life does - - satan - we were born into a world at war
  • The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Rev 12:9
  • Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." Rev 12:12
  • Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Rev 12:17
• The enemy is trying to steal our freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life. We can't escape spiritual warfare - we must fight for our hearts.
• How the warfare works:
  • satan is the father of lies (John 8:44)
  • he makes suggestions to us - an idea, inclination or impression to us - and what he is seeking is some sort of agreement on our part
  • he's hoping we'll buy into whatever he's saying, offering, insinuating - -every single day
  • most of the time we don't recognize it as an attack. At first, we have an impression, a feeling that comes over us - the power of suggestion - we assume its our own, we accept them, agree with them and we are .... slaves. Any movement toward God will be opposed.
  • be careful what you're agreeing with - - the whole plan is based on agreements -- and when we make those agreements we come under the influence of demonic forces - - its a permission for the enemy to continue.
  • the enemy whispers "I'm such an idiot" - - and we agree with it - and we struggle with these feelings of insignificance for yrs!
  • we need to treat it as warfare - - break the agreements made and send the enemy packing.
    • example - something bad happens - - and we get ticked off - and we start telling ourselves "I'm such a jerk"
    • do we really think the source of this is just me? Do we think its God?
    • Who would take the most delight in it?
    • It ain't our "low self esteem" - - it's a subtle attack - - very subtle.....
• During any assault - - remember - - MAKE NO AGREEMENTS !
• Know this also - - whatever the enemy is doing to attack us - - he will have others do also.
• How many Christians do we know that practice spiritual warfare as a normal, necessary part of the Christian life?.....Not Many........

Spiritual Warfare - the battle is not over

• Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. james 4:7
• Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9
• Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 1 Tim 1:18
• Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. Prov 24:11
• Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 1 Corinthians 1:24-25

Spiritual Warfare - small groups

• The enemy's aim from the beginning was to divide and conquer (he got Eve alone and tempted her)- get them alone and attack. It is still his aim today.
• We must have a small fellowship - we hear each other's stories, we discover each other's glories, we learn to walk together, we pray for each other's healing, we cover each other's backs - Jesus modeled this with the twelve (and you see it any valiant story - we never go alone).
  • All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32
• Small groups don't work because they're usually a random group of people thrown together and they don't understand the true issue - - that hearts are broken, untouched and unknown, and issues are buried. So, what we do is get together, learn and then......go home - - we don't understand that we are at war, God has chosen us, and evil is hunting us. We need a small fellowship group to band together and fight this war
• The reason the small house fellowships in other countries work is that they know they absolutely need each other - - and there is no other option... To them, all the "one anothers" in Scripture make sense ("love one another", "forgive one another", "bear one another's burdens"). Acts of kindness become deeply meaningful because these folks know they're at war - they believe the Scriptures.....
• Could we do the same? - - knowing that each one in our group is going through battles of their own - - could we give one another the benefit of the doubt? This is why we must know each other's stories....We need to know them well because satan is attacking us all - - - and those comments that are made in group that hurt us - - perhaps if we knew where the person was in their battle, we wouldn't be so quick to be defensive......, but may be quick to defend and pray for them.
• Our simple acts of kindness can be so weighty - - a kind word can heal a wound, a choice to forgive can destroy a stronghold - - we must react this way within our small fellowship group.
• We need to check in with each other often - - but community (small group) is not a place for a person to bring every need to - - its not there to take the place of God.
• Go to God first alone - in solitude - - so that you have something to bring back to the community - - never meet for small group unless you first spend time alone with God.

The Heart Matters "above all else"

• Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Prov 4:23
  • Having so long believed our hearts are bad and evil, we assume "guard our hearts" is a command to watch it so it won't commit evil - - - but the verse above says differently - - it says our heart is the "wellspring of life"....it is a treasure because everything else depends upon it.
  • It also says "above all else" - the author states, above all else? we don't even do it a little bit, if at all.....
• God gives out of the abundance of His heart:
  • From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16
  • I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, Eph 3:16
• Caring for our own heart isn't selfishness; it's how we begin to love:
  • The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31
• And while a number of people have used "caring for my heart" as an excuse to divorce a mate, commit adultery - - the abuse of the idea of "caring for my heart" doesn't make the idea bad.
• Jesus had his moments of solitude. At times when it probably made sense to "grow his ministry", Jesus would avoid the crowd and go off alone to pray. Jesus did not live to other's expectations. We are just the opposite - our entire lives are ruled by the expectations of others, and when we live like that, our heart is the first thing we give up on to live up to other's expectations.
• Ask God - - what would you have of my heart? The author believes we would be stunned to discover where God might guide us. (Listen for His voice in your heart and act on His guidance)
• Listen to your heart - where God is trying to take you - - We have undoubtedly missed hundreds (maybe thousands) of God's promptings over the years, simply because we weren't open to them or we really didn't believe our hearts really mattered to God.

Know thy enemy

• Caring for our hearts is the first blow against the enemy's schemes.... Start doing it now....
• The first wave of any strike against us is to rob us of the heart to fight it. It starts with us saying "I'm too tired" or "I'm overwhelmed" - - when you say this, be ready - becasue satan's main assault is on the way
• The strategy of our enemy in this age is "busy-ness" and "driven-ness"... Ask anyone how they're doing and 9 out of 10 say "really busy". That's the enemy's strategy - -keep them running, that way, they'll never take care of their hearts, then, the enemy will burn them out, then take them out. (like a pack of hyenas, constantly badgering the lion until he tires out, and then they take him)
• An empty heart is more vulnerable to temptation.

Eldredge's Daily Prayer for Freedom

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, to renew my place in you, my allegiance to you, and to receive from you all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honour you as my sovereign Lord and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to you. I give you my body as a living sacrifice; I give you my heart, soul, mind and strength; and I give you my spirit as well.

I cover myself with your blood, my spirit, soul and body, and I ask your Holy Spirit to restore my union with you, seal me in you and guide me in this time of prayer. In all that I now pray I include the members of my family (by name). Acting as their head I bring them under my authority and covering and I come under your authority and covering. Holy Spirit please apply to them all I now pray on their behalf.

Dear God, Holy and victorious trinity, you alone are worthy of all my worship, my heart's devotion, all my praise and all my trust and all the glory of my life. I worship you, bow to you and give myself over to you in my heart's search for life. You alone are life and you have become my life. I renounce all other gods, all idols, and I give you the place in my heart and in my life that you truly deserve. I confess here and now that it is all about you, God, and not about me. You are the hero of this story and I belong to you. Forgive me God for my every sin. Search me and know me and reveal to me any aspect of my life that is not pleasing to you, expose any agreements that I have made, and grant me the grace of a true and deep repentance.

Heavenly father, thank you for loving me and choosing me before you made the world. You are my true father, my creator, my redeemer, my sustainer and the true end of all things, including my life. I love you; I trust you; I worship you. Thank you for proving your love for me by sending your only son Jesus to be my substitute and representative. I receive him and all his life and all his work, which you ordained for me. Thank you for including me in Christ, for forgiving me my sins, for granting me his righteousness, for making me complete in him. Thank you for making me alive with Christ, raising me with him, seating me with him at your right hand, granting me his authority and anointing me with your holy spirit. I receive it all with thanks and give it total claim to my life.

Jesus, thank you for coming for me, for ransoming me with your own life. I honour you as my Lord; I love you, worship you, trust you. I sincerely receive you as my redemption and I receive all the work and triumph of your crucifixion, whereby I am cleansed from all my sin through your shed blood, my old nature is removed, my heart is circumcised unto God, and every claim being made against me is disarmed. I take my place in your cross and death, whereby I have died with you to sin and to my flesh, to the world and to the evil one. I am crucified with Christ and I have crucified my flesh with all its passions and desires. I take up my cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, unbelief and idolatry. I put off the old man. I now bring the cross of Christ between me and all people, all spirits, all things. Holy Spirit, apply to me and my family all the fullness of the work of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for us. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my life.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my new life, my holiness and sanctification, and I receive all the work and triumph of your resurrection, whereby I have been raised with you to a new life, to walk in newness of life, dead to sin and alive to God. I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. I now take my place in your resurrection, whereby I have been made alive with you; I reign in life through you. I now put on the new man in all holiness and humility, in all righteousness and purity and truth. Christ is now my life, the one who strengthens me. Holy Spirit, apply to us the fullness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for us. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my life.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my authority and rule, my everlasting victory over Satan and his kingdom, and I receive all the work and triumph of your resurrection and ascension, whereby Satan has been judged and cast down, his rulers and authorities disarmed, all authority in heaven and earth given to you, Jesus, and I have been given fullness in you, the head over all. I take my place in your ascension, whereby I have been raised with you to the right hand of the father and established with you in all authority. I bring your authority and your kingdom rule over my life, my family, my household and my domain.

And now I bring the fullness of your work, your cross, resurrection and ascension- against Satan, against his kingdom, and against all his emissaries and all their work warring against me and my domain. Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. Christ has given me authority to overcome all the power of the evil one, and I claim that authority now over and against every enemy and I banish them in the name of Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, apply to me and my family the fullness of the work of the ascension of Jesus for us. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my life.

Holy Spirit I sincerely receive you as my counsellor, my comforter, my strength and my guide. Thank you for sealing me in Christ. I honour you as my Lord and I ask you to lead me into all truth, to anoint me for all of my life and walk and calling, and to lead me deeper into Jesus today. I fully open my life to you in every aspect and dimension, my body, soul and spirit, choosing to be filled with you, to walk in step with you in all things. Apply to me, blessed Holy Spirit, all of the work and all of the gifts in Pentecost. Fill me afresh, blessed Holy Spirit. I receive you with thanks and give you total claim to our lives.

Heavenly Father, thank you for granting to me every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

I receive those blessings into my life today, and I ask the Holy Spirit to bring all those blessings into my life this day. Thank you for the blood of Jesus. Wash me once more with his blood from every sin and stain and evil device. I put on your armour, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation. I take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and I wield these weapons against the evil one in the power of God. I choose to pray at all times in the spirit, to be strong in you Lord, and in your might.

Father, thank you for your angels, in the authority of Jesus I ask that you would release them to war for my household and me. May they guard me at all times this day. Thank you for those who pray for me. I confess I need their prayers and I ask you to send forth your spirit and rouse them, unite them, raising up the full canopy of prayer and intercession for me. I call forth the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ this day throughout my home, my family, my life and my domain. I pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, with all glory and honour and thanks to him.

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