How to Walk According to the Spirit

Taken from notes from a teaching by Mike Bickle on "How to Walk According to the Spirit".

We live according to the Spirit:

• By living by what the Word says concerning who we are in our spirit in Christ. ("But He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him." 1 Cor 6:17)
  
• By living with awareness of our born-again spirit that has been made righteous. ("If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation... that we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Cor 5:17-21)
  
• By continually dialoguing with the indwelling Spirit.
• By the confession of faith, that is, speaking back to the Lord what He has said about our spirits.
  
• By growing in confidence that we are enjoyed by God.
• By using the authority of the name of Jesus to stand against the works of darkness in our lives and in others'.
• By being aware of our commission or divine assignment that gives us real purpose

We live according to the flesh:

• By living in ignorance and unbelief about who we are in Christ.
• By our primary orientation to life coming from our natural experiences (bodily appetites, five senses, emotions, and circumstances) without any reference to the truths of the Word.
• By approaching God with condemnation and with a sense of defeat and intimidation when sinful desires arise in us.
• By filling our minds with immoral things that stir up lust.
• By speaking things, going places, and yielding to peer pressure that comes from friends walking in sin.
  

The Royal Air Force / St Louis

The Battle of Britain in World War 2 was Germany's campaign to gain air superiority over Britain in order to pave the way for a ground invasion; it was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. The German Air Force had many more planes and pilots than did the Royal Air Force, and yet they failed to accomplish their goal. Germany's failure in this campaign was considered its first major defeat and one of the main turning points of World War 2. Who was it that held the highly trained and numerous Luftwaffe in check and maintained Britain's air supremacy? It was the Royal Air Force, a company small in number and inefficiently trained. What secured their victory? Among other things, radar intelligence (a new development that Germany had not yet integrated) and a willingness to die for their cause. Many of them lost their lives, and it was of these men that Winston Churchill proclaimed "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

In St Louis for the past three weeks, a small company of young intercessors met and covenanted together to lay down their lives for their country. They had received a word that they were like the RAF - that there was a battle in the air (the spiritual realm) over America, and though the enemy was great, the battle could be won. The keys to the battle would be intelligence (getting revelation from heaven about what God wanted to do and how He wanted to do it) and a willingness to lay down their lives to see God's will done. These keys, mixed with humility, worship, purity and obedience would ensure victory.

This company entered into 21 days of seeking God with fasting, worship and praise, receiving many dreams that gave them specific prayer direction, and seeing answers to prayer take place following their prayers. One such testimony was the day they received direction to pray that the many "adult" businesses on I-70 between Kansas City and St Louis would be shut down. The following day the governor of Missouri signed a bill severely limiting these establishments. Seeing the answer to a prayer in the next day's news gave them faith to pray all the prayers the Lord gave them, though they may not see immediate visible results. The primary focus of most of this company's prayers was to see 100,000 salvations and healings in the homosexual community. The word of the Lord was that these testimonies would be instrumental in turning America back to righteousness before it's too late. The fruit of most of those prayers is yet to be seen, but I believe they will be seen in America.

Radiant was privileged to serve that small band of people by leading prayer and worship sets. It was an honor to work and pray along side of those who would give their lives to see many in bondage set free. Lord, remember the prayers and sacrifices of your saints; let the Lamb receive the reward of His sufferings in America. Send revival, send salvation, bring healing, for Your Name's sake.

It has been said that "history belongs to the intercessors." America is in a desperate time; when one takes in the way wickedness is abounding, even to the point of the legalization of the murder of unborn babies and the forced acceptance of all kinds of sin, it seems like certain defeat. But could it be that the tide could be turned by a few who are radically obedient to God? Just a few who will fast and pray, dream dreams from heaven, and pray the promises of God until angels are released, demonic strongholds shake and crash to the ground, and millions are set free from sin. I want to be one of these few. How about you?

Dare to believe it. Your prayers can move mountains!

Belated Updated

Despite the spurts of motivation I experience to keep my blog current, the reality remains that I am just intimidated by the thought of boiling my life and thougths down into a few good points and fashioning them into paragraphs, so I end up procrastinating the task. At some point I will learn how to do this well. I am not there yet. : ) But anyhow, below is a short video of a few testimonies from our Texas tour.

This tour was marked by tons of healings! Maybe the most profound story came when a team member was asked to pray over the phone for a girl who was in a coma, dying of cancer. She had said her goodbyes to her family, and the doctors were sure she wouldn’t wake up. But when he prayed, she immediately woke up singing, and was able to talk and eat and sing all that day. A friend with leukemia in the same hospital came into her room and put her hand on the girl, was instantly healed of leukemia and was discharged from the hospital that same day! Praise the Lord! That tangible release of healing power is what we’re praying will increase across the nation, resulting in harvest.

Currently we are finishing out a 21 day prayer strike in St Louis, MO. More on that soon... I hope. : )

Texas Tour Day 1

Last night was a great way to start off a tour. After an extended time of high praise and worship, which ended with spontaneous singing and dancing and rejoicing before the Lord in joy and freedom, Richy gave a specific altar call for those needing to give their lives to the Lord. About 10 people responded to come into right relationship with God. Praise Jesus! Angels are rejoicing!

After this, we invited trEd Prophetic Dance to come and do a piece on spiritual warfare and the overcoming Church. The weight of the Presence of the Lord came into the room and as the Radiant team then came forward to prophesy and minister to individuals. There was a release of joy (the wine of the Spirit) and fire before we did any individual ministry at all. Then we prayed for healing for those who had back pain and several people went away with no pain. Then we prophesied and prayed for nearly the whole room, including all who needed physical healing.

The service went til 11:30, and it was all just great quality ministry. Thanks Lord!

See where else we're going to be this week below. Would love to see ya there!

As Mary

In the stillness

I wait

You are always speaking

Maybe if I sit

And look and listen

I will hear You

For a word

As sweet as honey

I will wait

And waiting

And watching

And loving

Oh the sweetness

As I gaze

For You are worthy

Our Prayers, Another's Deliverance

"Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn

out for my deliverance through your prayers and the

provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," Phil 1:19

Recently I was talking to a friend and she began to share her brother's story with me. Her brother was a believer who had struggled with homosexuality for a number of years. He fought with it but was unable to find deliverance in the church, in freedom programs and counseling, even in fasting. He became discouraged and is now living the lifestyle fully.

The story broke my heart. That a man who is searching for deliverance in the church and from the Lord with fasting would not be able to get free. That the spirit of homosexuality would be able to cling to a man who wants freedom. I wondered if a group of believers had joined with him in fasting and prayer, demonic influence would have been held at bay long enough for him to be fully delivered and established in freedom. It has launched me into a time of intensified prayer for those bound in this specific sin, which I have seen to be so controlling, but which I know must bow to the name and the authority of Jesus.

Paul was confident of his salvation and deliverance from prison based on two things: the prayers of the saints and the provision of the Spirit of Christ. I am encouraged to believe that my prayers release a fuller measure of the provision of the Spirit to aid struggling men and women to freedom from their emotional and spiritual prisons.

How many souls can be saved if we, the Church, take up the cause of our struggling brothers and sisters, and through prayer and fasting hold back demons and release provision? Let's try it and see! : )

Perseverance

Today I mowed the lawn. Now, I am a person of relatively small stature and build. Pushing a 50-70lb pile of metal on tiny wheels up and down hills and over rocks and around stumps in the sun represents a bit of a challenge for me, but for some reason I cannot bring myself to abdicate the responsibility. Maybe it's that I'm unwilling to be defeated... or maybe somebody along the way taught me that if don't give up when you do hard things now, you'll be able to do harder things later.

When you persevere, you gain victory in each moment by setting your face like flint and not quitting. Before you know it, you look back and see you've conquered a whole hill. And you're energized to go after the one ahead, which just happens to be a little steeper. : ) In the end, the righteous Judge "will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." (Rom 2:6,7) If you don't quit, you win!

--------------------

Radiant is heading out tomorrow for a 12 day trip to the North and to the East! Check out the schedule below, and pray with us for breakthrough, salvations, deliverance and healings!

Songs of a Great Awakening

Today, our drummer Matt and his family come up from Texas. And then...

Let the rock and roll begin.

We'll be in the studio for an intensive 5 days or so, creating and tracking 4 or 5 songs. Some will be covers, some will be never-before-heard originals. But they will all be a more accurate representation of what Radiant is currently doing than what we have released up to this point.

There is a group of intercessors up in Boston right now, praying and fasting for 40 days for a revival in New England that would sweep across the rest of the USA. They're targeting college campuses, specifically the Ivy League Universities, with prayer and prophetic evangelism. They're contending for another Great Awakening to break out, like those of the past and greater.

Though we cannot be there on site, an intercessor friend of ours had a dream that suggested our involvement. In the dream, some members of Radiant were looking out across the Charles River in Boston. Through a series of other dreams, we began to wonder if this might be a reference to Charles Wesley, who wrote a multitude of hymns that were sung during the Great Awakening.

And we had a thought: what if our part to play this time is in writing the songs of a Great Awakening?

Lord, be with us as we write and arrange these songs this weekend. Anoint us with Your power and Your Spirit. Let this project be a part of the release of a Great Awakening in the nation. Anoint the songs with delivering and healing power. Let us hear the sounds of heaven and communicate them on earth. Amen.

There's an autocrat in my belly, and its name is Self.

I have found an autocrat living inside of me. It goes by the name of Self. Self has somehow remained nearly undetected in spite of the fact that it is determined to exercise absolute authority over my life. Most of the times that I have felt the most selfless and charitable have been when Self is satisfied. Self doesn't mind me doing things for other people as long as It is taken care of first. The trouble occurs when Self is not satisfied. When Self is not satisfied, it rears its ugly head, and all of a sudden I am no longer seeking to meet other people's needs. Self steps up, pulls in the reins and demands that I satisfy its desires. And the killer thing is, I often obey.

I'm currently reading Rees Howells, Intercessor and haven't been able to get past Chapter 5: "The Holy Spirit Takes Possession." At this point in Rees' life he had been a believer for a few years, and the Lord was coming to collect what Rees had promised him: his life. For the first time, Rees had an encounter with the Holy Spirit, who explained to him:

"I am God, and I am come to ask you to give your body to Me that I may work through it. I need a body for My temple, but it must belong to Me without reserve, for two persons with different wills can never live in the same body. Will you give Me yours?" And then He said "But if I come in, I come as God, and you must go out. I shall not mix Myself with your self."

The question Rees came to after struggling with giving up the areas of Self that the Lord highlighted was "How can self be willing to give up self?" The Holy Spirit had a good answer: "Are you willling for Me to make you willing?" It was enough. Rees was willing. As soon as Rees made the decision to give up Self completely, the Holy Spirit came in to possess him completely, and he became a new man.

I want Self to be completely eradicated from my heart, motivations and life. It will take the work of the Holy Spirit to show me where Self is currently ruling, and it will take His help to be willing to lose my Self-will entirely. But I am willing to be made willing.

TheCall Crisis - Houston TX

Something astounding happened in Houston this month. Ten thousand gathered on a Sunday night at an event that was planned in literally weeks, to pray for the ending of abortion and injustice. The following morning, Martin Luther King Day, as many as 14,000 rallied to pray and protest the presence of what will be the largest abortion clinic in the western hemisphere when it opens later this year. Again, this rally was planned in about 20 days. How did an organization such as The Call mobilize that many people in that short amount of time?

My favorite number is the final count of people standing in Silent Siege around the new clinic. 4,200. Four thousand two hundred bodies, standing as a wall, praying and contending against the raising up of this monstrosity. Four thousand two hundred people, in unity with the heart of God, equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit, backed my myriads of angels. Four thousand two hundred people who needed no instruction, no motivation, no inspiration. Four thousand two hundred who came, stuck a piece of LIFE tape over their mouths, and took their place on the wall, some of them not budging for 6 hours as they prayed silently for destinies, LIFE and the ending of abortion in Houston.

As I stood before that building, one in a line of 4,200, I was imagining the battle going on in the spirit. Sure, the spirit of death is huge and scary, and he has a lot of control and power. But if one person, with God, can put a thousand of the enemy to flight, and two can put ten thousand to flight...

What can 4,200 do?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radiant's job this month was to book and complete a tour (in two weeks, mind you) to mobilize for TheCall Crisis. We headed to Texas on January 1 and poured ourselves out to see this event succeed. We were so blessed to see the outcome of the event. However, we as a team did suffer some losses. Besides those of sleep and health :), nearly all of Radiant's stage gear was stolen from the back of our drummer's Tahoe. For details on how to help:

Radiant Restoration Fund 2010.