Freedom From Oppression
JULIAN ADAMS • August 22, 2017
Because of the cross, every one of us has access to freedom from oppression. Julian shares keys to stepping into freedom in Christ. This sermon was recorded at Harvest Church.
– TRANSCRIBED
Julian: Tonight, I wanna talk a little bit about freedom from oppression but before I do, I need to do this. I just wanna introduce you to a friend. Many of you know that our ministry, Katia and my ministry, is called Frequentsee and we’ve based it at Harvest in this season. We’ve got our offices up here which is really great. And we’ve got an incredible friend who’s come all the way from the U.S.A. Is this okay? Cool. From the U.S., and he’s joining us to volunteer and work with us for the next eight months. He is not a refugee, but he is in this country from the U.S. And his name is Jeshua, it’s like Joshua but with an E. And he is an amazing young man, he did three years at Bethel, and he is part of what we’re doing. And so Jeshua, why don’t you stand up so people can just see you, wave at them? A really cool guy.
Great, I’m gonna be talking a little bit tonight on freedom from oppression. We’re gonna talk about demons and how to get rid of them. Are you up for that?
Congregation: Yeah.
Julian: It’s gonna be awesome. I wanna just make a few disclaimers. Am I allowed to do that? And they’re one or two disclaimers. Firstly, I’m not an expert on this but Jesus is. Secondly, I might say some things that you might theologically disagree with.
Now, the aim of good preachers are not to tell you what to think, but to help you in how to think. So if you disagree with me theologically, that’s okay, you don’t have to stone me. Because all it means that we can hold disagreement and still love one another. Is that okay? And so if you find…I personally don’t think I’m going to say anything too controversial, so relax. But this is very clingy up here. Is there any way we can help the sound a little bit? Thanks, Ed. He’s working hard over there. That’s better.
So just I wanna encourage you to be open, is that okay?
And just to give yourself some time to think through what it really means for us to understand what freedom looks like in the Body of Christ. There is a lot of teaching out there. I’ve read manuals that have more than 2,000 pages on how to get free from demons that have made me fall asleep. And the Bible makes it look very easy.
Okay, why don’t you turn in your Bible please to the letter to the Ephesians? We’re gonna be reading through three bits of scripture and then I’m gonna unpack and hopefully help you cope. Ephesians 6:10.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm.”
I want you flip over to the book of Colossians, and we gonna read from Chapter 2:8.
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of this world, and not according to Christ. For in him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
That’s a good word right there.
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh or carnal nature, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, past, present, and future. By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body is nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, and grows with a growth that is from God.”
And then I want you to flip further on to 1 Peter 5:6
and then we’re gonna unpack this.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all of your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
Now, I wanna unpack biblically what it means to bring freedom to people. Now, I want you to notice that I’m intentionally not using the word deliverance, not because I have anything against deliverance. But because for most people when we use the word deliverance, we think of the exorcist and we think of people screaming and shouting and demons coming out. And actually, when the Bible talks about deliverance, it’s talking about the ever-increasing freedom which we already have in Christ, that we now get to enjoy. Amen, and so it’s important for us to understand. Do you know that the word possession is not in the Bible in the original Greek? No one can be possessed by a demon. The word in its original refers to a level of demonization. In other words, the greater the stronghold the greater the control that demonic influence will have on us. But when you are a Christian you belong to God, you cannot be possessed by anything else.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: And so I just wanna lay that quick foundation because I now want to unpack what it means for us to come into freedom. One of the things that I have noticed particularly in western societies that have been governed by the intellect is that there has been a disconnect between our understanding of the spiritual world and the physical world. And what happens is we live in a dualism where we are more governed by what we see around us physically than really understanding that the spirit and the physical world are connected. You cannot separate them, all right? And you’re not to live in a way that separates them, which means your work is very spiritual to God. Your family life is very spiritual to God. It’s not just a practical outworking of something physical. Everything is intertwined and interconnected. Do you understand that?
In Hebrew mindset, the Jew understood that it was as spiritual to take a day off and have fun as it was to go to the temple. Everything is spiritual. And when you begin to understand that, you also understand that in this dynamic realm of the spirit and the physical world, there are demonic influences which come from the enemy. Now, I just want to remind you about the enemy. I wanna remind you about the devil just for a moment. I promise we won’t stay here too long. And I think some of what I’m about to remind you is gonna produce some incredible joy for you.
Firstly, the devil is not God’s equal. He’s not the opposite of God so you don’t need to worry because he is a created being. Which means that God is still large and in-charge. You don’t have to get nervous in the service when you’re thinking, “Oh, my gosh, is the devil coming after me?” Because I’ve got even better news for you, the devil is not omnipresent. He can’t be everywhere at all the time. And I promise you, I doubt whether his headquarters are in Durban, just for the record.
And even if you have done some lay lying and some, you know, research I promise you the devil is not really that concerned about Durban. And if you saw him last night in your bedroom, I’m really worried about you then because you must be very important to him.
The devil is not omnipresent and it is a more biblical way of speaking to talk about the enemy rather than about the persona of the devil. Paul talked about the enemy of abhorred, he talked about our battle against the demonic realm, okay? So you need to understand that he is not omnipresent.
The other thing I wanna tell you about the devil which is really helpful for you to understand is that he does not own the world. The Bible says the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. In other words, the reality is that the devil does not have the final say or authority in this world. We just read that scripture in Colossians, the Bible says that Jesus made a public spectacle of him on the cross by making him obedient to who Jesus now is as the exalted king. The devil cannot and does not have authority in this world. We will talk about how he exercises his authority in a moment.
But when you begin to understand some of those fundamental positional realities, you begin to understand that the enemy’s schemes are a lot less complicated than you think. That’s good news. Not only that, you need to understand that whilst we are in a fight, in a battle, we now have come into the reality of victory which was purchased for us at the cross. You need to understand that the cross deals with three things. The cross deals with my vertical relationship with God, the cross deals with my horizontal relationship with people around me, and the cross deals with the cosmic powers and authorities that have been set up across the earth to now bow its knee to the Lordship and the Kingship of Jesus. Oh, that is such good news.
It means that all of history is working to one thing. All of history is working to the moment where they will bow its knee before the throne of Jesus and declare he is Lord of all. Now, whilst that victory is immediate because the cross had immediate effect. Immediately people were getting saved, immediately people were coming into the reality of this kingdom. It also has a…how do I put this? It’s got an immediate effect and it’s got a future effect as it’s breaking in on earth now. The presence of the future is the reality of God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Do you understand that?
And there is a tension that is in that context which means that the enemy has some influence to the degree that we give it to him in our lives, so as to work out his purposes in a way that contradicts the purposes of God. And here’s what I mean. How many of you remember there’s a difference between D-Day and what’s the other? And the end of world war, can’t figure which one it is?
Congregation: D-Day.
Julian: D-day, all right, it is D-Day. So there’s an announcement in D-Day, World War II is over. It’s done. Everything is fine. But there are some people on the battlefield who are still fighting with the enemy because they haven’t got the news yet. You get that? The D-Day for the Christian was that moment when Jesus died.
He disarmed all principalities and powers of their authority. That is such jolly good news. All power and authority has been disarmed. The enemy is not walking around with AK-47s. He’s been disarmed, okay? But he’s still taking part shots because until the kingdom fully comes and swallows up and deals with all of the kingdoms of this world we’re gonna be in a bit of a battle.
But our battle is secure because it’s not only focused on D-Day, the cross of Jesus, it is also focused on his resurrection, his ascension, and he’s soon coming back and return to planet earth. It means that our hope in this tension right now is not, “Oh my gosh! What’s gonna happen if the devils take on? What am I gonna do?”
Our hope is no matter what the devil throws at me, there is a day coming when the kingdom of God will break in on the earth and all things will be made new. And all things will be as God intended it to be. So our battle is never for victory. Our battle is always from victory. That’s good news. So when we talk about spiritual warfare and we talk about the reality of the spirit world, we do not approach it from the place of fear. We approach it from the place of authority.
Secondly, that’s just a little introduction about the devil. You got that. Now, we’ll move on to the freedom stuff.
One of the most phenomenal moments, the most phenomenal moment in your life was the day that you became a Christian. Something radical happened in that you didn’t just become a better version of your old self, you become a brand new creation.
And the Bible says that you died in Christ. It means that your sinful carnal nature which was predisposed to sin, which was predisposed to the demonic, which was predisposed to everything that is contrary to God, is dead and buried. There is no evil left in you. You do not have a dual nature on the inside of you. You are holy, holy, holy to the Lord.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: And here’s why. I need a big guy. Greg, why don’t you come and help me quickly. Here’s just the reality of it. Again, I just wanna quickly show you this. This man is Jesus, look at him. He kinda looks like him. Why don’t you step forward just a little bit? Two things very quickly, my original nature is not sinful. My original nature was found in Christ before it was ever found in Adam. It means I am Christ-like. Sin distorted that nature. Sin distorted that image.
And the Bible says that I was in Christ when he was on the cross. When the Father looked at me he sees Jesus. And the payment Jesus made for my sin past, present, and future, that’s good news, by the way. Past, present, and future was dealt with at the cross. All of the judgment, all of the debt that was needed to cover that sin has been dealt with. That means we now are unpunishable. You need to get this, friends.
There is never a moment where God is out to punish you. Can I be even more cheeky? There’s never a moment where God is out to punish the world because Jesus died for the sin of the?
Congregation: World.
Julian: The whole world. And so when things go wrong, when the demonic is on display, it’s not the judgment of God. He is perfectly good all the time. Well, that went over like a lead balloon, but anyway. The Bible says I was in Christ when I died. My old nature, that sinful nature is completely gone. I then was resurrected in Christ, so as Jesus is alive today I am in him. Can there be a demon in Jesus?
Together: No.
Julian: That’s good news, by the way. I am in him which means the reality of my now new life is not dualistic in nature. There’s not some little thing that’s gonna pop up and go, “Whoo, I got you now.” I’m in him, I’ve got a new nature. The old is gone, the new has come. And the reality is that new nature is now expressed in the resurrection life of Jesus. Which means my empowerment as a Christian is not based on my ability to stay holy or keep holy. My empowerment as a Christian comes from his life which now flows through my veins. Thanks.
Now, that is important to say because here’s the deal with the enemy. There is a difference between power and authority. Authority is the delegated responsibility to act and to initiate and to do something. Power is the ability to do something. So, for example, the difference between me and a local traffic officer in stopping traffic is that the traffic officer has authority to stop traffic and they will stop. Me I might think I’ve got the power to stop traffic but I don’t have the authority to.
Power is the ability to act, it’s the ability to do something. Authority is the delegated commission to do something.
The Bible says that the enemy’s authority was taken from him. Now, listen, he’s powerful. The Bible says don’t be fooled, the enemy is out to get you. He’s powerful, but he doesn’t have authority to do that. And the only way he gets to have authority to work in your life is by you making agreement with him and his lies concerning your identity. And in doing so, you give him the permitted authority to then being to outwork that demonic influence in your life.
The greatest battle that ever happened was on a hill called Golgotha, where Jesus stripped the enemy of his authority. The greatest battle happened on that hill, Golgotha, meaning the place of my skull. The greatest battle for the Christian that will ever happen is not on some high mountain where you’re trying to bring down some demonic stronghold. It is gonna be in the place of your skull, which is why what you allow in here is very important to evaluate and monitor because not every thought that gets into your head is from God.
And until you understand your identity, you will never be able to fight thoughts that come into your mind. And in doing so, you agree with the enemy because you’re now authorized and deputized to be a kingdom reality to people around you. So you got authority. When you agree with the enemy, the Bible uses that word symphoneo. It means the coming together of many sounds to make one sound.
When you start resonating with the sound of the enemy, authority is given to him so that he can act in power in your life. Which is why we see Paul instruct us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to the reality of the living Word. Because if we don’t, the enemy finds a place of strength in your mind, which then begins to distort your identity and beings to impact the way you behave. Did you get that?
Congregation: Yes.
Julian: I have found that in dealing with deliverance, if I can get people to believe the truth, we don’t need to have to worry about the bucket parade and vomiting and all that rubbish. I promise you. And because people love sensationalism, we think the louder the better. I wanna tell you truth brought in the context of love changes the way people think so they are empowered to deal with the demonic voices that are coming into their head themselves.
My aim in this teaching is not to teach you simply how to cast out devils. I’m aiming to teach you how to recognize what’s happening in your mind. Because what you allow in the seedbed of your mind begins to grow and produce fruit which then begins to have some measure of authority and control in your life. So that’s the foundation, when we agree with the enemy, we give access for controlling forces to take root in our lives. So that does mean for some people, there is a level of demonization but not possession. Okay? There’s a level where the enemy is able to oppress and able to control.
But I’ve got good news for you because the gospel is good news. When you change the way you think about who you are in him, you certainly have power and authority to overcome that which the enemy brings to you. It’s really important to understand this because I see in the Body of Christ books written that emphasize what the Bible doesn’t emphasize. The Word of God emphasizes your new creation reality. It does not emphasize the demonic.
So, I wanna give you some helpful… let me get to where I need to go, here we go.
Here we go. I wanna just quickly touch on doorways that begin to open up in terms of the way we understand how the demonic influences us. And then at the end, we’re gonna pray for people because remember, we’re working towards a few weeks’ time where we’re gonna give you tools to do this for other people. But the reality is only to the degree of your own freedom, do you get to bring freedom to others.
And I wanna say to you there’re numbers of who might be struggling with some stuff and because you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you maybe have settled with behavioral patterns, that you think, “Oh, well, my father did this or my father, it must be a generational curse.” We’ll kill that one a little later, don’t worry.
The reality is that God wants you to live completely free. Completely free and he wants you to be a freedom-bringer wherever you go. And so the aim of this teaching is to do two things. To help you understand how to recognize the enemy’s voice and kick that thing out, and two, how to bring freedom to others, okay?
So here are some doorways for influence in terms of the demonic. Deception. I wanna say to you that discernment operating in the context of fear is suspicion, not discernment. And often, we are so afraid of deception that we try to discern things that actually all we are doing is being suspicious, sometimes even of the things that God is doing. So I wanna change the way you think a little bit. Openness does not lead you to deception. Sin, consistent sin, leads you to deception.
The reality around deception is that when you emphasize the main and the plain… I’d love that, thanks. The glory heat is here, thanks. When you emphasize…oh, it smells lovely.
When you emphasize the main and the plain of the gospel, you will be hard pressed to go into deception, hard pressed. Because the reality is the gospel is so exhilarating you don’t need anything more. Deception comes in and I can guarantee you, when you see a book go like this, “Five Secrets on Going Deeper with Jesus,” you need to start getting warning bells already. Because brothers and sisters, there is no new truth other than that what is already revealed in Jesus Christ.
It is finished. When he said it was finished, he meant he is more than enough. You don’t have to try and look for the deeper hidden meaning of reality. If you’re struggling to do miracles it’s not because you’ve got the technique wrong, it’s because you’ve got your identity wrong. So you don’t need another course on how to do more miracles.
And there is in the Body of Christ a fascination with finding out the deeper meaning. We just need to figure out how many numbers are in that verse so we can work it out. And if there are three sevens then it’s holy unto the Lord. That’s a load of nonsense, said very lovingly. Because in Jesus everything is revealed. There is no new revelation, there is no new truth. And if it is new to you, it’s only because you’ve just discovered it, not because it wasn’t there before.
When Paul writes to the church in Colossian, in particular, he is hitting a particular gnostic heresy. Gnosticism means the pursuit of the hidden things. I mean, gnostic heresy in those days was that there must be more to Jesus than what was revealed on the crossing in the resurrection and our forgiveness of sin. And you had to find that more out by dealing harshly with your body called asceticism. So they would fast long, they would beat themselves, they would deny themselves in order to get a deeper revelation of Jesus.
The problem is dear brothers and sisters, Jesus is fully revealed in His glory on the cross and in His resurrection and accession. There really is nothing more because of that truth is gonna take us on for eternity.
And deception often comes in for the believer when you’re trying to pursue something out of the bounds and realms of what’s clearly revealed in scripture. What’s revealed in scripture is a whole lot of stuff already. And I often tell people… I’ll just go here for a moment. I heard of a course called, “How to Translate Supernaturally.”
You know, in the Bible, there are people who translated supernaturally, and so this is a course to teach you how to go deeper in translating supernaturally. And I thought to myself, most people in the church can’t even heal tummy aches. Why are we trying to do that when we haven’t got the main in the plain done well? I’ll move on.
The second area of doorways that can open up is ignorance. What you read, what you watch does have influence over you but you do not get demons by osmosis. Like, oh, I’m gonna try not to rent right now. I need to just control myself. There are some people who take to Facebook about some of the most stupid things that you mustn’t watch. You better not, it’s demonic, you better not watch this. My friend… Oh, here’s a little one and I know I’m gonna offend some people, so please forgive me.
Reading “Harry Potter” is not gonna give you a demon, but not understanding some of the implications and not helping your children understand what they are reading can open them up, not always but can. So when my little boy comes to me at the age of about 10 maybe and he says, “At school, we need to read “Harry Potter.” I’m not gonna go, “I forbid it, you will not read “Harry Potter.” I’m writing a letter, I’m starting a protest. I’m gonna get up there and I’m gonna shut that school down. How dare they read something satanic?”
I’m gonna teach my boy how to discern what he is reading so that he has the ability to think and process, so that whenever anything else comes up he’s got the skill set to do that again when I’m not watching. But ignorance of the demonic often looks like us putting our head in the sand and not being aware to the fact that there is a demonic world and be more aware of the fact that we have authority over that world. Does that make sense?
Congregation: Yeah.
Julian: I must press on. Unrepented involvement, in particular, occulted practices. Now, I wanna say this right at the beginning, the minute you became a Christian, the hold of sin was broken. Please say amen to that.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: You got a new nature. You don’t even have a generational curse on you anymore. You got a new bloodline, your bloodline is not connected to your parents. That is good news, however, acting when you didn’t have renewed mind the same influence that might have happened in your parents or your parents’ parents will visit you. And if it finds a space to agree with, it will start to have an influence in your life, which is why it looks like you’re doing the same thing your parents did. All you need to do is change the way you think.
And it’s the same for occulted practices. Sometimes people come out of, and I’ve worked with a lot of Satanists, I have seen incredible freedom. And again, the reality is not so much about trying to cast a demon out of them, but simply trying to help them understand who they now are and being brave enough to say, “I’m not associated with that stuff anymore. I’m now a Christ follower. I’m a new creation. The man who did those things is no longer living because the life I now live, I live in Christ.” But because some people have not dealt with some of that and their mind is therefore not being renewed, they still live in the power of it. And the simplicity is tonight we’re gonna prayer and we’re gonna break some of that. Amen.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: Repeated sin, this is just a very simple one. Sin is stupid. If you’re involved in repeated sin, sweet Jesus, wake up. That is not your new nature. You got a new nature, you don’t have to live in that. And the power of sin is always in its secrecy. What you keep secret in the area of sin will always have power over you. And the Body of Christ is disabled not because they don’t have power but because they do not understand that in the kingdom, there is no shame.
Which means I can be authentic with my struggles. One of the greatest moments for me was when I shared with someone as a youth pastor, my struggle with pornography. Oh, that went over well. I have mentioned the word pornography in church. I struggled with pornography. I’ve got to make sure that my heart is consistently turned towards God because that’s my new nature. And I’m making sure I’ve got friends who I can talk with when back in those days, I had to share with them, it was the most vulnerable thing. But in the vulnerability and in the contest of no shame, where I didn’t have anyone to, “Oh my God, he’s a youth pastor and he’s struggling with pornography? Oh, we need to disqualify him from ministry.” No, no, no. They went, “Okay, we’re gonna take you on a journey into your freedom,” and the result is freedom.
And we have got to break shame in the church because shame and secrecy go together. And if we’re to be an authentic community, it’s gonna start by saying to someone, “Hey, I don’t have my stuff together. Can we talk about that?”
I’m just, I wanna linger here a little bit because in the Christian world, we have prized performance over authenticity. And we’re gonna have to break it down somewhere because if we can’t be real in church, where can we be real? Because I can tell you this much, when people come in off the street who are not Christian and they walk into here, they can spot a fake smile a mile away. We’ve got to be authentic about some of this stuff.
I remember some young guy sitting down with and saying, one particular young guy in my church coming to me as a youth pastor saying, “I’m really struggling with homosexuality.” And in that moment I could have called down hellfire and brimstone, “You’re an abomination to the Lord.” But I didn’t, I loved on him. I said, “This is okay, we can work this thing through.” Now, he is happily married and got kids. And even if he wasn’t, I’d still be loving him. And I just wanna say there is no such thing as a homosexual demon, but I’ll move on. Amen, Julian, Amen. Just thought I’d say that. I’ll move on because I think that might have offended somebody.
Guys, if you’re in repeated sin and you’re struggling with repeated sin, we want this place to be a safe place where you can share because your performance is not connected to your value. Am I giving license to sin? Absolutely not, don’t be silly. It’s inconsistent with your new nature. But am I saying God’s grace covers to the worst of the worst? You bet you I am. He’s just that good, friends, he really is.
One of the other things, and this is the last thing and then we’ll talk about how to fight, is unforgiveness. Now, this is a big one and I wanna help you understand how unforgiveness works because many Christians don’t understand this. And they quote scriptures like, he will hand you over to the oppressors if you don’t forgive, almost like a judgment. When we’ve misunderstood what the Bible is saying. When the Bible talks about falling from grace and oppression by the enemy because of unforgiveness, this is how it works.
We all, before we were saved, were living in the realm of the law, right? Which meant that the law kept accusing us saying we have done something wrong which we had. Correct? And so the enemy could join with the law and go, “You’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong.” And the enemy was right, so he could take pot shots, he could do what he wanted in this realm of the law because he was right about our wrongness.
We then get saved and we come up to a much more beautiful expression called the law of grace. And the law of grace says that I am free not because of what I have earned or achieved, not because of me trying to keep my law, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory, all have broken the law. I now am up in this place of grace because Jesus decided to lift me up out of the miry clay and put me in his grace. What a beautiful day that was.
And I live now in the realm of grace. So when the enemy comes going, “You’re wrong,” I go, “I’m a new creation, I look like Jesus, he wasn’t wrong.” That’s good news. That is such good news. When the enemy comes and goes, “You’re such a loser,” I go, “Actually, no, I’m not. I’m seeded in Christ now above all principalities and powers and authorities.” This is what the Bible says about you. The problem is there’s that work colleague who snubbed you and took your job from you and you want some justice. And so now you’re in a place of unforgiveness because they did something wrong to you.
How could they wrong me? I demand retribution. I demand justice. The problem is grace has treated us better than we deserve, therefore we have to treat others better than they deserve. And when we don’t and demand payment for what they have done wrong, we fall from grace back into legalism. And when you fall from grace back into legalism the enemy goes, “You’re wrong,” and he’s right about you being wrong again.
And when you’re in this place the enemy can torment you, can bombard you with thoughts about you because you’re demanding law to be applied to someone else. And in demanding the problem is that when you demand law from someone else, you need to live by the same law.
When you’re in a place of unforgiveness and some of you are getting pictures of people right now that you need to forgive. There are some of you sitting in this room and you thinking, “Oh, my gosh, there’s that person, there’s my brother, there’s my sister, there’s my mother, there’s…” When you live in this realm of unforgiveness where the law operates, you default your inheritance which is found in Christ and your protection which is found in grace. Not because God is making something difficult for you, not because he’s handed you over, but because you’ve chosen to step into the realm of law.
Brothers and sisters, if you’ve got unforgiveness, the aim and the key to overcoming that is not simply by going, “Okay, I’m gonna try to forgive them.” The key is to lean into grace and realize how much God has treated you better than you deserve. So that you can then go, “I forgive and I release. Because I’ve received what I did not deserve, I’m able to give what they do not deserve.”
I wanna say to you my dear, dear friends that these things open up the door to the enemy and you will have oppressive thoughts. And here are some of the things that you will see in the way that you know that maybe there are some demonic oppression. Bondage to particular sin, addictive behavior, dominating irrational thoughts, anger, irrational fear, ongoing sickness in particular circumstances, not all of them, okay, particularly family sins that seem to be destructive that we seem to get, it’s because God wants to unbreak that so you know that that generational thing is broken.
Suicidal thoughts, fascination with the paranormal and the dark side, those things, those kinds of things are showing a predisposition towards the enemy having some kind of stronghold in your life. But I’ve got some good news for you, it does not have to be that way after tonight.
And in a moment, I’m gonna pray for people and it’s not gonna be like mass crazy deliverance. God is just gonna set you free. For some of you, there might be some manifestation. That’s okay because when demons manifest in church, is because they are going not because they are coming. But I wanna say to you, the reality of freedom is not in the manifestation of the demon leaving or breaking its stronghold off of you. The reality of freedom is in changing the way you think about who you are.
So, here are some keys very quickly. You’ve got to recognize the activity of the enemy. Our prayer, the weapons of our warfare are not of this world. They are not carnal in nature, they are spiritual. God is giving you an ability to discern things, God is giving you the ability to walk in authority. You can use that.
For some of you tonight, some of the stuff that I have mentioned in terms of behavioral patterns, things that you’re really under, all that you need to do is to do some self-talking and go, “Hey, Julian, you’re a new creation. That is not your behavior is like.” Therefore, today we’re gonna stop and we’re gonna break the power of it, so that we can start working in the name of Jesus, we’re gonna start walking into freedom. All right?
I do wanna say this very quickly because I think this is very important. There is in the Western church, an incredible disdain and disapproval of psychiatry and psychology. And I wanna say to you there are some physical dynamics, I’m married to a doctor, so I’ve had a long chat with her about this, physical dynamics that impact your emotional disposition in your body.
And often, what we might think is demonic is actually just needing a little bit of help with medication. And I wanna say this that medical miracles are still miracles, all right? I wanna also say this that God has released grace to you, and you can get what you need from him and sometimes that’s gonna be a journey. Did you get that?
Congregation: Yes.
Julian: And it is okay to go on that journey. Okay? Because sometimes we think that the kind of freedom that we get from God is a one-size-fits-all. Freedom is incremental but positionally, it’s in abundance. It’s as I renew my mind, I get more and more freedom. Does that make sense?
Congregation: Yeah.
Julian: If you’re on medication for anxiety, if you’re on medication for some of these things, it is not a lack of faith to stay on your tablets while you journey into the place of freedom. Now, I have seen a number of people particularly with bipolar get set free instantly. They come off all their medication, but I wanna encourage you if you’re in that place because at best, in fact not at best, always any sickness is demonic in nature. Okay?
So we can deal with that and the root. Okay? And we recognize that it’s demonic but for some people, it’s gonna take a journey and I think there are more complexities around faith and how God heals than a one size fits all. Okay. I just wanna say that and I wanna say that that’s not a lack of faith, it’s not a lack of faith. But I do wanna say you can position yourself in a place where you’re saying, “God, I know you can do this, I’m gonna believe you. Even if it takes a few years to get there, I’m gonna believe you.”
I have seen instant healings of bipolar and I have seen the progressional healings of bipolar. Both are valid and both are equal. I know some people might have a different position on medicine in terms of healing but the goal of the kingdom is a 100% health, amen?
Congregation: Yeah.
Julian: Anyway, that happens by means of grace is God’s work in our lives and God has given doctors to help some of us in that area. In a few weeks’ time, I’m gonna be teaching on the gift of healing and then the next day I’m gonna go in for an operation, not because I have a lack of faith. Just thought I would say that very quickly.
We need to learn to recognize the voice of the enemy and the activity of the enemy and deal with it quickly. Don’t play around with the devil, all right? Get truth and apply it into your situation as often as possible, God’s truth. If you can’t get it yourself, get your friends to tell you who you are, not who you are not. All right? Understand your authority. You’ve got authority, resist the devil, he must flee you. I can promise in the Bible, resist the devil and he will flee. Plan opting for the devil.
Remind yourself of how you are covered by a spiritual armor that has been given to you by grace. I know some people put on the spiritual armor every day. I have never taken it off from the day I got saved. Why would you do that? His spiritual armor is very comfortable, by the way. You can sleep in it. Your dreams get covered by it.
Lastly, sometimes spiritual warfare looks like standing. And having done all…
Congregation: Stand still.
Julian: Because in the words of one of my favorite saints of old, Saint Julian of Norwich, who actually was a woman, by the way. She said this, “In the end, all will be good, and if it’s not good, it’s not the end.”
Sometimes spiritual warfare looks like I’m not moving. And here’s the beauty of that. The enemy does not have the fruit of the Spirit. He doesn’t have patience. And sometimes in the words of my wife, the enemy wants to play a game of spiritual chicken with you. He wants to see who’s gonna be the first to move. And if you, with the empowerment of patience by the spirit, the fruit of the spirit that you now have, can simply just stand and outpatient the enemy, you will get your victory.
Having done all…
Congregation: Stand.
Julian: I am gonna outpatient, he can be running at me at a thousand miles per hour but he’s the one that has to move. Man, that’s good news. And so when you feel like you got nothing to do, when you feel like you have spoken in tongues for five hours and your quota for the day is now over, stand. This is my background, I ain’t moving from the enemy. You can run at me but you’re the one who’s gonna have to move, not me. That’s good news. You’ve got the fruit of patience, the enemy doesn’t. Sooner or later, you’ll see God’s goodness on display. That’s good news.
Now, I wanna pray for some people in a number of areas and I’m believing God for breakthrough. Remember, we wanna be free because here’s the deal, hurt people hurt people, free people free people.
You cannot lead anyone beyond the level of freedom you enjoy. And so I know that there are numbers of you who’s struggling with demonic oppression. There are some of you in habitual sin. There’s some of you who are struggling to control your thought life with negative thoughts that are bombarding you. South Africa is going downhill. It’s never gonna happen. Can I just say this at all? I feel the Holy Spirit on this one. You will never have authority over that which you don’t love.
How many of you love Jacob Zuma? Can I get an amen in this place? What sound are you agreeing with over this nation? If you can’t love him, you can’t pray for him. It’s not even in my notes.
Listen, if you want South Africa to change and if you want a voice of authority in your sphere of influence, you gotta love it. Because the difference between the enemy’s power and God’s ability to move is love. God is always motivated in his power from love. His ability to act is not connected to his strength, it is connected to his love. If you don’t love it, you will not be able to pray for it and you won’t have authority over it. Amen.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: And there are some of you who are struggling with thoughts, I feel like there some of you who’ve got people in unforgiveness. As I touched on that some of you immediately started thinking about people you need to forgive. God wants to bring some freedom to many of you. There’s some of you who have made inner vows. You’ve gone, “I’ll never be like this person,” and now you’re living in that same weight of sin and difficulty because of judgments that you brought against other people. You need to break that today. If I had more time I’d talk about end of hours, but we just don’t have enough time. There are others of you who are struggling with anxiety. God wants to bring freedom to you. I believe there are numbers of you struggling with depression, God wants to bring freedom to you.
Somebody said this, “People often think that the demonic is only found in places like deep dark Africa.” He said, “No, no the demonic is found in the West. It’s just that the Western demons are a little bit more sophisticated.” And we’ve confused sometimes what is demonic work, “Oh, well, this is just the way I need, just the way…” Everyone thinks like this, everyone does. No, no, no. Your highest life in God is outrageous radical freedom. That’s what Jesus paid for and Jesus wants to get what he paid for, friends. And so tonight, we’re gonna get what Jesus paid for in your life because you don’t have to live under oppression, you don’t have to live in anxiety.
You know, I struggled with depression for myself in my early to last 20s. I was on medication, but you don’t have to live there, friends. If you’re on medication I wanna encourage you to please work with a wise doctor and help them understand you’re on a journey of faith. Can you work with them to the place of being weaned off medication? Don’t just come off unless God has spoken to you very clearly and you’ve submitted it to wise counsel around you, do not just make that decision.
Please, hear me that it’s not a lack of faith, it’s called wisdom. But I believe God wants to bring freedom for people, it doesn’t underestimate the fact that God wants to do that. And so what I wanna do is I’m gonna ask you in a moment to stand and I’m not gonna make you put up your hand to say, “Oh, I’ve got a stronghold.” But what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna ask you to open your heart and allow God to put his finger on areas of your life that have not come under the understanding of the new creation reality. Okay? And then we’re gonna break those things and if it’s as unforgiveness, we’re gonna break it. If it’s anxious thoughts, we’re gonna break it. If it’s decisions that you’ve agreed with the enemy around, we’re gonna break that. Okay?
Listen, just the simplicity of saying, “I’m such a loser,” right there, you’re agreeing with the enemy’s assumption of you and you’ve given him power. Your words are important because your words create realities.
So how many of you are up for some freedom?
The emphasis is not gonna be on the technique, the emphasis is gonna be on the freedom. Amen.
Congregation: Yeah.
Julian: Let’s stand. Guys, if one of you could just come and play on the piano for me, please, it’d be really helpful.
If could just have some of the house lights down just so I could see, that would be wonderful too, please. I think these banks of lights just need to come down a wee bit. Actually, no. That’s almost perfect, there we go.
Now, here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m just gonna pray. Now, for some of you, there’s gonna be some demonstration of freedom, that’s okay. This is a safe place. Amen.
Congregation: Amen.
Julian: You’re not gonna be judged on what happens tonight, okay? Because the kingdom of God is shame free. I wanna say this again, it is shame free. And if you’re struggling with shame, we’re gonna break that thing off you too because some of you actually need to process what you’re going through. Here’s what I do not wanna do tonight. I do not want you to think that being prayed for tonight removes the responsibility of processing some of these things with close friends in order to not only get the immediate freedom but the long-term freedom.
Because so many in the Christian world, we avoid pain thinking that is faith’s fault. A Christian perspective of pain is that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death because we know he’s with us. We face the pain and we come out victorious. And there are some of you who have unprocessed trauma and pain which is causing the way you think and the way you behave to be evident in your life. You’re gonna have to process that with someone. Amen.
Because part of renewing your mind is helping unpack and process what’s happening in your heart and in your mind so you can come into freedom. So I wanna encourage you to, follow Roseanne’s diary or whoever, close people that you know who are mature in God. Who you can say, “You know, I need to process. I need a half an hour of your time just to talk through one or two things.”
Your home group leaders, people you know they’re spiritually more mature than you, or not even spiritually more mature because that’s such performance language. Someone you can trust, who you know is living in freedom, all right? Just get with them. Talk with them. Because part of the process of freedom is gonna be in the way that you communicate and talk and face the pain of some things. Is that okay?
Congregation: Yes.
Julian: We’re gonna take 10 to 15 minutes and then we will be done, we will be done by half-past eight. I know it’s a bit late, but these meetings are becoming so much fun, aren’t they? God’s freeing so many people now. It’s like we got a whole new sense of anticipation in God. So why don’t you close your eyes and if you wanna put your hand on your heart, you can.
You are a good Father. You’re so good and you want such outrageous freedom for us, Father. Jesus, you wanna get what you paid for, you want us to walk in full freedom because who the Son sets free is free indeed. And so Father, we come knowing that you are good and you wanna bring freedom. We come knowing that the enemy is defeated for. We come knowing that Jesus is resurrected, ascended, and seated at the right hand of the Father, and that’s exactly where we are right now. But Father, we come knowing that for many of us we’re gonna renew our mind around some truth, we’re gonna come into some freedom. And we wanna be people who bring freedom to others. And so here we are saying God, come put your finger on areas in our life that are dominated by demonic inspiration and thinking. Put your finger in areas of our life that are governed by trauma or past hurt or unforgiveness that we now need to process and deal through because we know that freedom is positionally ours and now we want to experience it. We don’t wanna wait till we get to heaven to enjoy freedom because it will be of no use there. We want freedom here on earth so that we can set many people free.
I’m gonna begin to go off to some things and declare breakthrough over you. If some of these things make sense to you, I want you to agree in God. And as you do that, just to simply go, “I’m free from this now.” And then in a moment, you’re gonna declare what you’re free from because you’ve got authority over the enemy.
So Father, right now in the name of Jesus, I take authority over demonic thoughts, inspiration, and strongholds in every area right now. I speak to anxiety and depression. In the name of Jesus, I break your hold right now. I break the authority that says this is a life sentence. I speak to suicidal thoughts that have governed people’s thinking right now in the name of Jesus. I break the hold that says, “There’s no other way, there’s no other escape,” and in the name of Jesus, I say, “You must go right now. Go right now, in Jesus name. You no longer have authority. Truth has exposed you so you cannot stay, we break agreements right now. Agreements with the enemy that says I have to look live like this forever.” I speak to long-term illnesses and sicknesses, when men and women have said, “I just have to live with this,” and right now I break agreement with the enemy and I say, “Healing is your portion in Jesus name.” I break the back of addiction saying that this is just part of my DNA I just predisposed to this. I say to you, you’ve got a new DNA, you’ve got the DNA of Jesus. And I break addiction, I break sexual addiction right now. I break substance addiction right now in the name of Jesus. Go right now, freedom right now.
Some of you are actually starting to feel things physically in your body, right now, that stuff is just lifting. Lift right now, go, go right now. There are about four of you, you’re feeling like a tight band around your head right now. I’m gonna break that because you’ve been living in the place of oppression for a long time. In the name of Jesus, oppressive thoughts, you must stop now because truth has exposed you. Now go in Jesus name. Lift off right now in the name of Jesus. I speak to fear right now in Jesus name, irrational fears right now. Fears that dominate, fears around safety, fears around dying young, fears around getting cancer, fears around health scares. Right now in the name of Jesus, I declare God has not given you a spirit of fear, but he has given you a spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind in Jesus name.
There’s a lady here, you fear going insane because your mother went insane in your teenage years and was put into an asylum. In the name of Jesus, I break that off of you right now, the fear of insanity, the fear of mental health issues that will get you to put out into a mental health clinic. Right now, I break that off you in Jesus name. Lose the people right now truth exposes you, the truth is a person called Jesus. Right now.
There’s some freedom coming to people right now. Some of you are feeling stuff lifting off of you, lift off right now. There are some of you, you’ve had thoughts in your mind that keep coming particularly at stressful time that you’re just gonna drop dead of a heart attack. Some guy here who’ve been dominated with those thoughts, right now I break that off of you. And I declare that heaven says you will live a long fulfilling life, in Jesus name, that his predisposition towards you is life.
There some of you who have been involved in the occults and you’re still having some of the similar occulted experiences. And you’re really afraid that somehow the demonic is gonna have influence over you. God’s gonna break that right now. In the name of Jesus, I break and if you’ve been involved in occult, God’s gonna free you. Just agree with me right now. I break the back of the power of the occult over people not because it’s happening now but because it happened 2000 years ago over your people. And so in the name of Jesus, I break the lie of the enemy that the occult still has power over you, whether it’s fortune telling, whether it’s Satanism, whatever it is, right now, I break that off of you in the name of Jesus and I declare freedom. Freedom right now, freedom right now, freedom right now in Jesus name.
Now, here is the one I really wanna go for. If you’ve been living in the realm of the law because of unforgiveness, and you’re wondering why your sleep is disturbed, and you’re wondering why you can’t find peace and anxiety seems to plague you. If there is someone who you need to forgive or people you need to forgive right now, there’s is grace to lift you up because that’s where you’re already seated. And so you’re gonna need to, in your heart, right now begin to picture that person. And you need to begin to picture the pain of that hurt, the disappointment, the anger, the frustration. I wanna say to you that this does not justify what they did to you. This does not give a sense of, “Well, it’s okay, it’s irrelevant what you’re feeling.” It doesn’t, my friends. If you’re been in a place where you were abused, if you’ve been in a place… I actually feel like there is a lady here who was raped and you’ve lived with it for a long time, that is not okay. There’s a particular man who was robbed of a lot of money in this room right now as I’m speaking, it was not okay that you lost that money. For some of you, your relationships with your parents were emotionally abusive, it is not okay. But grace means that despite what was done to you, Jesus can heal you.
And so if there’s…I feel like there are a number of you who have been abused, spiritually abused by leaders, it’s not okay. But right now if you will choose to forgive, God’s gonna lift you up into the realm of grace where the enemy cannot accuse you and you get what you don’t deserve. You get freedom, you get liberty, you get joy. So I want you to just right now picture that person and I want you right now to say, “Father, I choose to forgive them and I hand them over to your grace because I’ve received much grace.” Just do that right now. And right now I break tormenting spirits that have been given to people because of unforgiveness. In the name of Jesus, I say right now that you no longer have right to torment in the midnight hour, you no longer have right to torment in people’s lives. And in Jesus name, you now have to go because there are angels that are filling this room right now, assigned to men and women to protect, to cover, and to walk with us in light of the joy and peace of knowing that our sins have been forgiven and that he does not count them against us anymore. And I release forgiveness right now. So right now, God is setting people some people free.
Some of you right now, this is could be a moment where it’s really gonna be difficult. I now want you to release them, literally release them. Say, “God, I choose to give them over to you because I know you’re much kinder in dealing with some of these things.” Some of you are gonna have to say, “I want the best.” I’m not excusing what happened but I’m saying grace heals what happened. Jesus, now I declare freedom in this place. I declare freedom in this place. I declare freedom in this place right now. I declare freedom and joy right now in Jesus name.
Roseanne: I also feel there are some people here, you’ve taken on responsibilities that actually was never for you to take on. You’ve carried things that you were never meant to carry. I feel, for instance, somebody took over a parents’ role because the parents did not parent as they should have. So you took on the role for your siblings and your family and you’re carrying that because that is what you thought you had to do. You’re carrying things that you feel that you need to carry the burden for somebody else. I feel the Lord is saying he wants those garments that circled upon you, the garments of heaviness to come off you, to lift off you tonight. So I’m gonna ask you if you will just put up your hands and just…if that’s you, we can all lift up our hands so that nobody is sort of looked at. If we can just lift our hands and I just say, “Father, I thank you, that you lift the garments of heaviness off everyone here Lord, that has carried things that they were never meant to carry. I ask that you lift it off in Jesus name and I thank you, that you cloth them in garments of praise and garments of joy. Lord, that they will walk out of here free from those things that are have clothed them in heaviness in Jesus name. I thank you for freedom, free indeed in the name of Jesus, be free indeed in Jesus name. And I thank you that every garment that is upon you, feel it being lifted off you now. Feel it coming off you now in Jesus name. You will feel it being lifted off you in the name of Jesus.” Some of you are feeling it coming off and I thank you for that freedom in the name of Jesus.
Julian: Come on, let’s just lift up a shout for a moment. God, you’re so good. I do wanna honor Roseanne for pioneering freedom literally in hundreds of people’s lives. And just as she prayed I felt something really shift over people right now. Okay, God is bringing such radical freedom. So I just want you, maybe just one more time, I’m just gonna ask God just to feel you and then in a moment, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to turn to the person next to you and just pray God’s best on them. I often say, you get what you sow, right? So if you sow good stuff, you’re gonna reap a harvest of good stuff. So why don’t you sow some prayer into people’s lives and we’re gonna end by just praying for one another. How many of you sense God’s done something in your hearts tonight in terms of some of this stuff? That’s wonderful. Can I encourage you in your small groups, in your connect groups, with friends, begin to talk about some of this stuff to process it, okay? Because God’s gonna liberate many of you. We want stinking thinking out of our minds, don’t we? We want the reality of who Jesus to take root in us. Amen.
Thank you, Lord, there is somebody here, just a quick word of knowledge, and I’m gonna ask you to respond. I see somebody here who when they were a baby they were dedicated to some kind of a demonic influence or demonic guard or an ancestor or something. Your mom told you, your father told you about it that we’ve given you over to this thing. And you’ve been living with an incredible sense of fear since then. If that’s you, I don’t wanna embarrass you and I’m not gonna make a big spectacle, I just wanna declare freedom over you. If that’s you, can you just quickly lift up your hands, God wants to bring some freedom to you. Your parents literally told you, they gave you over to a deity or something that now you recognize as demonic. If that’s you, just quickly lift up your hands. Maybe if you could all close your eyes for a moment, no one looking around because in the lifting up of your hand, God’s gonna do something. All right? I’m not doing this because I wanna be proven right but because God wants to bring freedom. If that’s you, quickly lift up your hand and you can put it down as quickly as you put it up. You know that that happened to you, that somehow you were given over to a deity of some sort that was demonic that you recognize now. If that’s you, quickly lift up your hand and put it down. I’m just gonna wait.
If that’s you, just very quickly. Okay. Father, I declare your radical freedom over people. I thank you tonight that people have been set free through the renewing of their mind. And God, I pray that you would release grace on people to stand. Okay. I encourage you praying tones is one of the most underrated forms of spiritual warfare. Praying tones, as often as you can, when you’re driving your car, whatever you’re doing, make it a habit because it’s one of the ways that we get to stand against the enemy without even focusing on the enemy because prayer is to Him, is to God, it’s beautiful. And so your whole focus is on Him and while you’re focusing on Him, the enemy has to move away. It’s such good news. So, hey, why don’t you grab the hand of the person next to you, just take a moment and pray for the person on your right. In a moment, we are gonna pray for the person on our left. Just take two seconds, just pray for them, just release the goodness of God on them.
Expect the power of God to fill them right now. Except God’s anointing to break out on their life.
Now, pray in the opposite direction. The lefts can pray for the rights.
And so Father, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your kindness. We thank you for the grace that sets us free. And we’re gonna enjoy this freedom for the sake of kingdom extension and for your glory. And I wonder would you look up, a huge shout of freedom and joy like you’re really free, just go ahead and shout like you’re free. Come on, lift up a shout. Come on, let’s do it for one minute. Let’s just shout the shout of victory. Come on, shout the shout of victory. Shout the shout of victory. Come on, keep going, keep going, keep going. Keep going. Shout the shout of victory. Whoo, ha-ha. Yay, God. Can I encourage you to download Katia’s preach on what the enemy wishes you didn’t know? It will really help you in terms of spiritual warfare. And just remember this, you and God make the majority. Plus He’s got two-thirds of the angels. The enemy is on a losing streak, in fact, he’s already lost. And so if you’ve run out of energy just keep standing because soon or later, you’re gonna see the goodness of God. And may God bless you.
By Julian Adams
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January 3, 2025
We are living in a world of dramatic change. The relentless pace of development often leaves us breathless and exhausted. The demand for innovative ways of communicating, inventing, and staying ahead of cultural trends can feel daunting and demoralizing. It can push us into a space where we find ourselves trying to copy rather than be authentic, to imitate rather than create. This pressure can lead us to believe that we need to be more creative, and that our individual stories do not matter. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your story, no matter how small, matters and is powerful. One of the remarkable aspects of ancient manuscripts, like the Bible, is that they tell the stories of individuals whose lives may seem small and insignificant. Yet, God chose to make their lives a memorial of what He could do with a life that the world deems insignificant. The incredible power of the gospel is that it changes lives one at a time. God is as interested in the individual story as He is in redeeming the cosmos. The aim of the gospel is not just dealing with personal sin; it is about restoring individuals to a relationship with a kind Father. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis beautifully said, "The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God." Justification addresses our standing before God, but our adoption invites us into a relationship with the Father. It allows us to partake of who He is and to live in a place of deep joy from who He is. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Many of us forget that the work of salvation has turned this verse around. Through Jesus, we have been restored to the glory of God. One description of the word "glory" refers to the divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor. It is the revelation of God's intrinsic worth and beauty. Do you see that? We have been restored to His divine quality, splendor, and beauty. In a world where it can be easy to feel like just another face in the crowd, remember that your story is significant. Your experiences, your journey, and your voice matter. Embrace the unique narrative God has given you and let it shine. You are not just a spectator; you are a vital participant in God's grand story. Your authenticity, creativity, and individuality are valuable. As you navigate the rapid changes of our world, hold on to the truth that your story has power and purpose. God sees you, knows you, and has a plan for your life that is uniquely yours. Let us celebrate the beauty and significance of each individual story, knowing that together, we contribute to a tapestry of divine splendor and glory.
By Julian Adams
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July 17, 2024
Rejection is a powerful force that can shape the trajectory of our lives, often in ways we don't fully realize until much later. For me, this journey began in childhood. I was born with a cleft palate, which affected my ability to speak, and coupled with my passionate devotion to Jesus, I faced daily ridicule and rejection throughout my school years. My speech and my fervent faith made me a target, and I found myself isolated and misunderstood. Despite the rejection, something beautiful began to grow within me: a deep and abiding friendship with Jesus. Through profound encounters with the Lord, I began to walk in the prophetic. This newfound gift led me to public ministry, where I started releasing prophetic words. However, beneath the surface, I was carrying an immense amount of pain that I hadn't dealt with. This pain manifested as a lifestyle of performance, driven by the need for acceptance and validation. Though I was a new creation in Christ, I was living as if I were still bound by my old wounds. In Matthew 23:27-28 (MSG), Jesus describes the Pharisees as "manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin, you're total frauds." These words struck a chord with me because I realized I was living like a professional Pharisee. Outwardly, I appeared to have it all together, but inside, I was disconnected from the healing process that God wanted to take me through. This disconnect had a significant impact on my prophetic ministry. My words, especially those concerning sin, were often harsh and unkind, reflecting my damaged perspective of myself and the world. It wasn't until I began to address my heart issues that my approach to the prophetic truly changed. God started speaking to me about the connection between my gift, my performance, and my worth. Through this process, He took me back to moments of pain and difficulty from my childhood and even into my adult life. In one profound moment, God said to me, "Son, I want you to grow up and be a child." This statement might seem paradoxical, but it revealed a crucial truth: the posture of the kingdom is one of childlike fascination and trust. My journey into sonship transformed how I viewed the prophetic and how I ministered to others. No longer driven by judgment and legalism, I began to approach people with love, kindness, and the heart of the Father. Understanding my identity as a beloved child of God allowed me to see others through His eyes. This shift not only brought healing to my heart but also enabled me to minister more effectively and compassionately. Rejection and pain had shaped my early years, but God's love and healing power brought me to a place of wholeness. This journey has taught me that dealing with our heart issues is essential for authentic and impactful ministry. As we pursue wholeness, we open ourselves to deeper intimacy with God and greater effectiveness in serving His people. If you find yourself struggling with similar issues of rejection, pain, or performance, I encourage you to invite God into those wounded places. Allow Him to heal and transform you, just as He did for me. Embrace the posture of childlike wonder and trust, knowing that you are deeply loved and valued by your Heavenly Father. In this place of wholeness, you will find the freedom to live and minister authentically, reflecting the heart of God to a world in need.
By Julian Adams
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July 21, 2023
In my years of teaching people the prophetic and how to hear God's voice, I've learned several practices that help people hear Him. Here are a few of my most helpful!
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