Since you have been raised to new life
with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in
the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not
the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden
with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole
world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things
lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust,
and evil desires” (Colossians 3:3-5 NLT).
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on
the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
But
Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not
fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 NLT).
“The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase
them and catch up with them.
I will plunder them and consume them. I will flash my sword;
my powerful hand will destroy them.’ But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you among the gods, O Lord—glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders? You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies (Exodus 15:9-12 NLT).
Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the
oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because
of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have
come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of
Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk
and honey—” (Exodus 3:7-8 NLT).
Truth is, I am quite the hoarder.
No, no! Please, let me finish.
It’s true.
After years of going around in circles, in certain
areas of my life, The Lord brought me to a place where I can shut down any
lingering self-deception and admit it:
I am quite the hoarder.
And I’m not talking about one of those hoarders from
that show, on A&E, Hoarders, during
which viewers get to gag at how people live under piles of garbage, along with
ten stray animals, a few dusty kids, and a disgusted spouse, who is ready to
bounce.
No, my hoarding is a bit different. And a lot more detrimental as a Christian who
is supposed to be allowing the Lord Almighty to cleanse me, sanctify me, and develop
me into who He wants me to be.
I am talking about the hoarding of the past. Yes, that’s right. I tend to hoard everything from useless
memories of failure, to failed friendships, to ideas that never came to pass,
to issues I have with people.
And that issue is exactly what allowed Satan his access
into various areas of my life for years.
Yes! Even after I got saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. Even after I would continually pull down those demonic strongholds in my life, the enemies of God would return and I couldn't figure out why. But Satan knew. Yes, Satan knew that hoarding—or holding on to
things of the past—was a sure way allow demonic doorways to keep opening and reopening. Worse than that, my "hoarding" sometimes hindered my growth in Christ.
I am not going to say it made my progress as a Christian impossible, because Luke 1:37 tells me that nothing is impossible with
God. Yet, because of our own free will,
and because God refuses to force me to allow Him full control, Satan knew that
I was holding on to things God had removed, or wanted to remove. Those things I held on to, were the exact things the enemy kept using against me.
“But how, Vacirca?”
Satan knew that holding on to the past could make the
process of transformation and sanctification—essentially deliverance—a slow,
painful, repetitive process. Just like
the Israelites who could have crossed over into the promise land in forty days,
rather than forty years, Satan—along
with the help of my flesh—definitely wanted to delay my deliverance. The two worked hand-in-hand to keep me from
experiencing God’s promise to transform me by the renewing of my mind (Romans
12:12). My holding on to baggage
definitely slowed down the process of being made into the image of Christ, from
glory to glory, by the Spirit of God, (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Satan knew that I wasn’t willing to let go and let
certain things die—or stay dead after God had killed them—and it was one of the
ways he kept me in bondage for years. I
can’t blame it all on the enemy. God had
to minister to me about the ways that holding on to the past, while refusing to
release that which God has shown is not for me, could limit my ability to move
forward into my God-ordained destiny.
Not only that, but whenever the Lord did
go ahead and remove something from my life, by closing a door, on that person,
place, or thing, my knocking on that door allowed that thing to slowly creep
back into my life, in order to destroy what God had for me.
I know I seem like I am repeating myself, but I feel led to make sure that if you missed the point in one sentence, you will surely get it in the next...or next sentence. It's a matter of life or death.
Truth is, there are many ways we can hold on to things. In fact, there
are many things we can hold on to in many ways.
Even as I share what God ministered to me about in my own life, I pray
the Holy Spirit allows you to identify any dead thing you are keeping on life support
in your own life. I will go on to share a
couple of the areas that I was keeping alive, and how doing so impacted me, but please
let the Lord search your hearts to determine if any of what I share relates to anything in your life—especially in
section 2!
As for me, God had to reveal to me, through various
circumstances, teachings, and events, that not only was I refusing to let
things die that needed to be long-buried, but that the enemy was coming against
me to keep me in bondage to things of my past.
He revealed to me that I was under attack by the enemy and his
demons. One of those demons, the Spirit
of Pharaoh was operating in my life, and he definitely had to go!
What
is the Spirit of Pharoah?
Before we dive further into these waters, I want to
briefly take a look back at a very familiar account in the Bible, during which
the personification of this spirit called “Pharaoh” was first detailed for the
Church of God.
In the Book of Exodus, we are told the
story of the deliverance of the Israelites
out of the enslavement they faced in Egypt.
Although the entire journey of the Israelites, from bondage to freedom,
seemed to be nearly impossible, we see our God, in all His glory, as He used His
great power to deliver His people in order to fulfill His promises. We read of how God called 80-year-old Moses,
a fugitive-in-hiding from the land of Midian, and sent him back to Egypt. God commanded Moses to lead His people out of
their slavery (Side Note: that shows
that we’re never too old, or too late, for God!) Together with Aaron, Moses
obeyed the Lord and returned to Egypt to fulfill the call of God on his life—a
call that had been delayed more than 40 years, by the way.
But,
of course, there was a Pharaoh in the way! Pharaoh was an ungodly and
proud man, who ruled over the Egyptians, as well as the enslaved Israelites,
without an ounce of humility or compassion.
When Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh to demand the Israelites be
released from bondage, Pharaoh refused.
In spite of many plagues sent against Egypt, by the One True God, as far
as Pharaoh was concerned, no man, and no other God, was going to tell him what
to do! He was determined to continue to
enslave the people, and continued to operate with a hardened heart to the point
of bringing great calamity to his land and losing his own child in the process.
I
don’t think it’s right giving the whole story away because I do want urge you to read the entire Book of Exodus, on your own, during your
Bible study. What I will say further, to
finalize my little summary, is that Pharaoh,
and the spirit he was operating under,
represented the “stumbling block” to the release of the children of God from
bondage. Whenever Moses and Aaron petitioned
him to let the Israelites go, he treated God’s command as a big joke. Pharaoh did not care that the Israelites were
the children of the Most High God--the same God who continued to plague his land. Pharaoh did not care that his magicians were
no match for that God. What Pharaoh
cared about was keeping God’s children enslaved—no matter what!
Just
like Moses (along with Aaron) had a call on his life, placed by God, Pharaoh,
had a call on his life too. He was on
assignment from the devil to destroy the children of God. And although that Pharaoh is long-dead, and most likely dealing with the eternal
judgment of God, we children of God must continue to contend with the Spirit of Pharaoh to this day. The enemy clearly continues to send that
Spirit of Pharaoh to keep the children of God from moving on into their promised
land.
You
see, just so we are all on the same page, that spirit that was present in the
Pharaoh of Exodus is the same spirit that brings up all the “pharaohs” in our
daily lives today. And that spirit is a
dangerous spirit. This is what the Lord
has taught me so far through various scriptures, research, sermons,
and revelations right from the Spirit of God:
1)
“Pharaoh” means destroyer or curtailer;
also means the king, mouth of the sun, or "the sun."
2)
The spirit of Pharaoh is a strongman--a principal
demon controlling a person, family, place, or thing to the point of great bondage. This spirit has one purpose: to prevent the enslaved from every being free. As a curtailer, he curtails
your spiritual, physical, financial, marital blessings, and all freedom that will enable
you live your full potential for the Lord. The Spirit of Pharaoh is a very
stubborn spirit that not only likes to see people in bondage, but is on assignment from Satan to keep them that way.
3)
The spirit of Pharaoh is a destiny
terminator. The first Pharaoh depicted
in Exodus was operating under that spirit when he gave instructions that all
male children of the Israelites must die.
In fact, the baby Moses was going to be eliminated, but for God’s
intervention.
4) Speaking of destiny termination, this spirit of Pharaoh is
the spirit that destroys kids with divine leadership potentials.
5)
It is a spirit that puts one to task: the task of working hard, but living below the poverty line; the task of marital distress even after so many attempts to work things out--along with other failed relationships (i.e family relationships, needed friendships and
business partnerships); the task of doing all that you can to move forward only to find yourself in a worst position when it is all said and done--(see Exodus 5:1-13 when Moses simply asks for the Israelites to be given three days off to worship God; Pharaoh sent taskmasters to increase their labor and remove the resources the Israelites needed to fulfill their tasks to make their work harder!).
6) It is the spirit behind hardened enemies. Pharaoh’s heart
was so hardened that the Lord had to bombard him with ten plagues, and even
after the ten plagues, he still pursued the Israelites. It is the strongman leading an evil army
against the people of God. If you have dreamt of a crowd coming to fight
against you, the leader of that crowd is the spirit of Pharaoh.
7)
It represents enemies who want to
re-capture us and bring us back to "Egypt"-whatever person, place, or thing that enslaved us. By the grace of God, we have left
Egypt. Whatsoever wants to grab a Christian and take him back to Egypt is from the Spirit of Pharaoh, and should be resisted with all the energy at the person's disposal.
8)
It represents enemies that are
insulting our God. You know when Moses went to Pharaoh and said, “Let my people
go,” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord.” However, he knew the Lord when he got to the
Red Sea! (**This is what will happen to your Pharaoh today, in the name of
Jesus, when you self-deliver yourself in prayer, praise God!).
9) It is the one of the spirits that gets people to employ sorcerers
and magicians against us. They say, “Catch this person,” or “spoil this marriage,” or "make this child rebellious,” or “wreck this business” and so on and so forth. It represents arrogant enemies that say,
"I can do anything I want to do against you and there is nothing you can
do about it." The spirit of Pharaoh is any spirit that challenges your God
by magic, witchcraft, sorcery, and divination.
It is also the spirit that challenges any man or woman of God who is
working by the Holy Spirit to set people or communities free from bondage. When the Spirit of Pharaoh is coming against God's ministers, it is often in conjunction with the Spirit of Jezebel (1 Kings 18-19).
10) It represents spiritual exploiters which use other people’s labor
for their own advantage and advancement. Pharaoh held the Israelites for over
400 years and put them under hard labor.
It represents hard slave masters who convert people to captives. It is that spirit who will cause you to do
all the work at your job/career, while someone else prospers and reaps the
benefits, without your ever getting the promotion, credit, payment, or
accolades God would have you to receive for your prosperity (refer back to #5).
11) It is any stubborn spirit that chases you around, anywhere
you go, to bring you back to bondage. It is that ex-boyfriend--your first love that you still wonder about--whom you used to party with, who only shows up when you're finally dating a Godly, responsible man; suddenly you miss the "excitement" (aka DRAMA) the crazy first boyfriend brought you. All of a sudden, the decent, stable, Christian brother, who wants to marry you, and help raise your son, has been renamed "boring." That spirit is also in that "one way out issue" that forces you back into stripping or selling drugs to make a fast buck, since your car suddently needs a new engine and your mom needs surgery she cannot afford...you get what I'm saying.
How Does the Spirit
of Pharaoh Operate in Our Daily Lives Today?
As I said earlier, the Lord had to not only show me
that the Spirit of Pharaoh was operating in my life, especially in my refusal
to let things die, but the Lord had to show me how.
There are always many things I can pinpoint, but for
today, I am going to focus on three main areas where there was a “pharaoh” operating
in my life. My goal here, however, is not to vent, but to share examples, with my reads, so that you all can apply them to your own life; I pray God will lead you to determine if you need
deliverance from this issue as I did.
So
as you read about me, ask yourself, “Do I have a “pharaoh” in my life?”
I.
Relationships
There are many ways in
which I refused to let things die in the "relationships" area
of my life, but for the sake of
keeping this a blog, rather than a novella, I will choose
one example that God
had to teach me about recently.
Many
years ago, after I got saved, I learned that there was no way I could continue
to live with my fiancé. Even though I
had stopped sexual relations, we were sharing an apartment. Not only was that needed to be addressed immediately, but God began to show me
that my fiancé, at the time, was not the
right man for me. I suppose He’d been
showing me for years, but once God opens your spiritual eyes, you can really see what He is telling you. Eventually, God orchestrated some events to
assist me in leaving that apartment and relationship (in that order). Surprisingly though, that was not the part I
had the most trouble leaving behind—even though it hurt to discover I would not be marrying the man I spent a lot of time, energy, finances, and
effort fighting to get us both to a good place.
The relationship I had most trouble leaving behind was the one I had
made with my fiance’s best friend’s girlfriend. Let's just call her "Cherita" for the sake of this discussion.
Yes, after getting saved,
God began to move people out of my life.
Sometimes it was gradual, and sometimes it was a lightning strike that
abruptly eradicated a person from my life.
It only got more frequent after I‘d learned to pray, “God if this person
isn’t from you, remove them,” because God would do just that. And each time, I had no choice but to grieve
the relationship, from a distance, and let it happen. However, the relationship I had most trouble
letting die was one with my best female friend—the one I had met through my
ex-fiance.
Cherita was the long-time
partner of my ex’s best friend. They
were raising four children together.
She’d been through hell and back and was a survivor. Several years older than me, she seemed like
my older sister, rather than just a best friend, even though she often relied
heavily on my advice too. We had so many
things in common—dreams, desires to get out of NY, career goals in the arts,
and most of all, a desire to see our men get their acts together so they can
marry us already! She was the one I
spent hours on the steps talking trash about my ex to, whenever he got on my
nerves. She was the one who knew all my
secrets and weaknesses. And I returned
the favor. I became Goddaughter to her
fourth child, her only daughter, and she was my road dawg. Yes, we had everything in common…
Everything, that is, except Jesus.
One day, I got saved. But no one else in my circle got saved—not my
fiancé at the time, nor his best friend, and not my best friend. Suddenly it
became 3 against 1, as I slowly, but surely, became more and more scarce, often
leaving our double dates early to make sure I got up for church Sunday morning; or found myself refraining from that drink or that hit of weed during a party. Slowly, I stopped hanging out at our favorite
restaurants, bars, and lounges altogether. Not only
didn’t I want to “run the city” with my ex-fiance, but I stopped doing it with
my best friend too. She actually took it
harder than my ex did. Needless to say,
when our men neglected date nights, and failed to plan romantic outings, in favor
of watching a fight or a basketball game together, she was my friend-date, and
we would have girls’ night. We would
always have a good time. And we both
loved it. That is, until one of us
didn’t love it so much anymore. Jesus
began to change my desires and with that, the things I enjoyed doing. I couldn’t stand the dank, dark, loud, pulsing places we practically lived in after work any longer…and my so-called friends could barely stand me any
longer. Every time I did show up, Jesus
showed up with me, because I couldn’t get the Savior’s Name, and all He had done,
out of my mouth!
Finally God began to
draw us apart, and she was cool with it, because she stopped calling, stopped
initiating time to “catch up” or hang out, and stopped visiting.
Me? I knew what
was happening, but I kept fighting the ending of our friendship. I would call and call. I would invite her over, and even though I did
not budge about going back to the clubs and bars, I tried to invite her to
church events, or “clean fun” such as a gospel concert, or a decent film. I would invite her to have lunch— that way I
wouldn’t have to have the discussion about not wanting to drink. And I tried everything to “keep it clean” and still have a good time.
For a while, she just remained aloof, refusing my invitations for "clean" events, but eventually the door was reopened. After hashing things out with her, about how she resented my becoming an "old church lady," we did try to hang for a time. And I was determiend to have "clean fun." But guess what? whenever we did hang, I found myself allowing a glass of wine.
Then a curse word would slip out. Then I would laugh at the references to
fornication and the drama we used to share, then reminisce with her, actually missing some of the chaos God delivered
me out of! Then I would be missing my
sex life, because she is describing her sex
life, and I am celibate, and then, suddenly, the Christian life seemed a lot
harder than I thought!
Each time God
closed the door, I would knock on it again and let this friend back in. She wasn’t deliberately trying to destroy me, but because she was unsaved and I was "newborn-saved," darkness kept fighting my
slowly-building light. And each time, I
got close to letting the light die—that is until God came back and closed the door again. That relationship
finally had to die. When we do “touch
base” it’s hi- bye, and how are your kids? I miss her, but guess what else? I’d
miss eternity with Jesus more. She was
the one the enemy wanted to use to slowly cause me to return to the life I
lived; it was so subtle each time that it took months to notice how spiritually dry I was feeling and how after not drinking for months and months, suddenly I had to try that wine.
The
Spirit of Pharoah will keep you in bondage in relationships with mates, family,
or friends. Sometimes God desires you to
love a person from a distance (such as your brother the drug addict, for example. He shouldn’t go anywhere!) But there are
times when God requires you to let that relationship die in order for you to
live!
Keep in mind that this “pharaoh” can represent
different things to different people. My example of my relationship to my
former best friend, of eight years, was an obvious one. But pharaoh can show up in any type of
relationship that keeps us in bondage, stagnancy, and keeps us in slavery. It is present in anything or anyone that has us trudging through life under the dictates of “the world, the flesh and the
devil” (1 John 2:15-17).
The spirit of pharaoh can also represent a relationship in a
business—such as to a business partner or even a superior. Your “pharaoh” can
actually be operating in a relationship you have with a dead church system that
keeps you so “submissive and loyal” that you have no authority of your own in
Jesus’ Name! Pharaohs may be present in your
relationship to a belief system or culture that causes you to believe things
that bind you more than release you into the purposes of God—such as the many
people in bondage to the witchcraft-based religions and cultures. Many people in my own family have
relationships with ancestral spirits that have kept them enslaved.
As you examine your relationships with people, places,
and things, we must always remember that if that relationship prevents you from
being obedient to God, it is because the devil—and his strongmen such as the
spirit of Pharoah—are having their way and preventing you from having what God
desires for you to have.
II. Ideas, Visions, Dreams, & Schemes
I can list a thousand examples in this area, but I will speak on this because there are many times when I just
knew an idea, a thought, a vision (writers are often visionaries!), a plan, or
even a get-rich scheme came from God. I
would bang on the door of opportunity—praying, fasting, decreeing the promises
in the Word over the thing. I would have
my church family pray and fast. I would
beg and plead. I would cry and come against
Satan. And what happened?
That plan, that idea, that vision, that dream, or
scheme?
It ain’t come from God!
Before I get further, I want to say that having a plan
or idea or vision or “quick fix” is not a
sin. God has never said we cannot think,
or use the gifts He has given us, to do well.
As a matter of fact, God states that He is willing to cause whatever our plans are to succeed…but that is if we commit them to His hands (Proverbs
16:3)! God said we can be blessed in everything we put our hands to the plow
to do…that is if we choose to be blessed by obeying
his commands (Deuterononomy 28:8).
God is even willing to grant us the desires of our hearts…if we delight ourselves in HIM (Psalm
37:4). So God is clearly willing to
grant our desires and bless whatever we do…but not without Him involved.
Is it because God is a tyrant that makes Him want to be
at the head of everything we do?
No. It is for our own
protection. God sees the end from the
beginning…as a matter of fact, God is the
beginning and the end. He knows what is
coming, and knows what to do about it, before we even know it exists. Why wouldn’t you want God to be at the head
of whatever you do? God also says He is
willing to give us wisdom if we lack it, whenever we ask (James 1:5).
But those plans that we come up with on our own—such as
a notion of being a dancer, when God is calling you to full-time ministry; such
as moving to another country when God did not ordain you to flee from your
current location; or the idea of having a certain family, in a certain way, with
a certain man/woman God has already made clear is not
His best for you? Those are not just
rooted in the sins based on disobedience.
Those decisions/actions can be traps designed, by the enemy, to keep you
in bondage; those "opportunites" could be the devil using the Spirit of Pharaoh in your life to keep you from moving
forward in the promise land God has for you.
Remember, the Spirit of Pharaoh can operate through “anyone”
or “anything” that prevents us from being free in the purposes of God, in the
here and now--not the past! Also remember, one of the meanings of the name “Pharoah” is
“sun.” Another meaning of that name is
“his nakedness.” Pharaoh’s effects and dominance, in the affairs of our lives,
scorches and burns us in the wrong way. He strips us bare, leaving us destitute
and naked, exposed, and defeated. He
reduces us to slaves in a slime pit—just like the Prodigal Son in the Bible,
who found himself in the mud pit of swine, rather than operating under his
divine destiny! (Please see Luke 15:11-32).
I was under such bondage when it came to the idea of
how I was gonna help God finance my
career in full-time writing ministry. I
had this plan, from long ago, of being a psychotherapist. I would not only use my gift of counseling
and solving problems to help others, but be able to make a great living,
working for myself in private practice.
While doing so, I was going to have the freedom to write at my own
convenience. Perhaps I would marry the
two careers sometimes, allowing my experiences in mental health to inspire my
writings.
I held on to this plan and held on. And yes, God made use of it because He does
make all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are
called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
But the circles and hoops and hurdles and jumps I went through were
mostly unnecessary. Instead of simply
trusting God for the “how” as much as for the “what,” I decided I would tell God how He would manifest the
answer to this call on my life. I have
spent years going around and around trying to make it happen in my own
strength—working as a clinician to earn money, take time off to write, run out
of money, stop what I am doing to work again, then go back to writing. I would feel
horrible that I was five months late on a book I should have released
already. It has been this way for three
years. And now, God has shown me that
this career I chose was never needed.
And He has said it before…I’ve even shared it with you all in my
previous blogs…and STILL went back to the same choice. All this served to be is a distraction to
keep me involved in something for months at
a time, instead of allowing the Lord to provide as He built my career in writing ministry His
way. I was afraid of hard times, being
broke, being a failure in my Haitian elders’ eyes. I kept allowing this bondage of working in a
career that was not God’s best for
me, rather than allowing Him to provide work/income His way while I developed
as a Christian entrepreneur.
Truth is, I don’t think God thought it was wrong for me
to want to work to earn money. What I do
believe is that God was grieved every time I failed to trust Him or obey His
instructions or failed to walk by faith and not by sight. That doubt and unbelief, that unsurrendered
territory, allowed the enemy to make all kinds of trouble during times I
attempted to manifest God’s call upon my life in my way. It is God who must
act and will within us to do fulfill His purposes in our lives (Philippians
2:13)…but only when we allow Him to do so.
It took a long time, but I have been learning that
sometimes God will change the plan—for our own good, for the good of others
involved, and for His glory. Sometimes
He may change the timing you had in mind, or change the details of how you will
travel to a destination. Sometimes He
may change the plan altogether. The
truth is, whenever we choose to do our own thing, we have to handle the
consequences.
Since then, after the Lord put me through a very in depth
study of the Book of Judges, I’m learning that it’s one thing to want to do
God’s work. It’s a whole other thing to
fail to follow the instructions in how to do that work, or when, or where. No longer can we allow Pharaoh to keep us in
bondage to the ways we are used to doing things, out of fear. Lord knows it had to be that pesky Spirit of Pharaoh that wanted me to remain a
Social Worker in New York City!
III. Refusing to Forgive annnnnnnnd Forget.
Ever heard someone say, “I will forgive, but I won’t
forget!” And you take that because
you’re grateful that person is willing to even lay eyes on you, at that point,
after all you’ve done to them to disappoint them. But then, that person continues to hang out
with you, and do things for you, and even hugs you when you’re in tears over
foolishness, but…
They never forget.
Meaning that they take every opportunity to remind you
of the thing you’ve done, or the fact that you ought to be grateful that they
“forgave” the thing you’ve done.
Truth is, I am like that. Without the Holy Spirit checking me, you
might hear me say, “You know I had fun taking you out on your birthday…even
though you’ve forgotten my birthday every year since we were kids! Humph!” (Tiny Haitian jab). I might be the person who “forgave” but
reminds you of every single time you’ve hurt me, during an argument that has
nothing to do with any of that old stuff.
I am not going to lie.
I can be that way.
And you should not lie, either…so can you!
But let me keep the focus on myself and not forget to
remove the beam from my own eyes…yeah, I can be that way. And the devil knows that God requires our forgiveness of others so we can be forgiven. My flesh
knows it too. That is why the devil
worked with my flesh to come against me and hinder my progress.
That is a bondage—that pesky Unforgiveness, that is the
child of Pride and Bitterness. And the
Spirit of Pharoah is its nanny!
I used to believe, with all my heart, that I was truly
a forgiving person. I used to say all
those prayers saying, “God, as You forgive me, I forgive _________, who had the
nerve to….”
But I had to learn that saying, “I will forgive, but I
won’t forget!” is a trap. There is no
way to forgive if you don’t try to forget it…to let it go…to let it die.
God Himself states that if we confess our sins, He is willing to forget. He states that He is the One“…who blots out
your transgressions, for [his]own sake, and remembers your sins no more” (Isaiah
43:25).
You read that?
God of the Universe, the only One who has a right to remember, is the One who is willing to remember our sins
no more…He is willing to forget! Not only will He forget…but He says it is for
His own sake. Hmmm. I am quite sure that He is giving us a
message of how we are supposed to be. I
am also quite sure that He is informing us that forgetting (the past, our
issues with others, even our own failures) is for our own sake too!
Hmmmm.
Remember that spirit, Pharaoh, who is of Satan—God’s
enemy—wants us to be enslaved to the bondage in our lives. Bitterness hinders us from having healthy
relationships, from having good health, and from receiving God’s
forgiveness. Mathew 6:14-15 states
clearly, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you
do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
The enemies of God know that it goes beyond just not
receiving God’s forgiveness. It is also
a way to cause us to stumble in our Christian walk; it is also a way to hinder
our prayer life. When we have
unforgiveness in our lives, it allows the enemy the opportunity to breach God’s
hedge of protection upon us because our own sins cannot be covered when we
don’t forgive. As a result, we are not
walking in the fullness of the authority of God in Christ.
We need to know that Christianity is all about our
rising up to exercise the authority that God has given us in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit. The overcoming life (where we live in the
authority of God) is not something that “just happens.” It is ours when we have
seen the authority of God within us conquer the opposing Pharaohs in or against
our life.
One of those ways to conquer the “Pharoahs” is to obey
His word—such as letting things go from the past, even if we have to ask the
Holy Spirit to help us. It is an area in
my life that continued to plague me—being angry at things people had done or
failed to do; saying I had forgiven, but continually bringing it up to throw at
them when angry. Truth is, I needed to
let those old hurts die…let the past die—even
those aspects in which I had failed and needed to forgive myself. Once I did that, God began to move.
How
to Defeat the Spirit of Pharaoh
So we’ve discussed merely three areas where this Spirit of Pharaoh was
oppressing me, keeping me in bondage to the things of my past—even as a
Spirit-filled Christian. Once God
provided these revelations, it was time for war! No sense in knowing your enemy if you ain’t
preparing for battle.
Repeat after me, “My Pharaoh shall die today, in Jesus’
name!”
To defeat your Pharaoh, you must understand that he
does not need to be negotiated with. The
only language the spirit of Pharaoh will understand is the language of signs,
wonders, fire, and power, demonstrated through us, by the Spirit of God—just like the
biblical Pharoah who fought against Moses in Exodus. The glory of God is the greatest instrument
of defeating your Pharaoh. Strive to stay in the presence of the Lord until you
are filled with His glory. In order to walk in
the realm that can bring defeat to this spirit, along with all of Satan’s
troops, you must engage in spiritual warfare.
Using the prayer resources from the sermon “My Pharoah
Must Die,” written by Deliverance Minister, Dr. Daniel Olukoya; “Overcoming
Pharaoh Prayers” from The Open Heaven Global Ministries; and scriptural
references from the article “Who is Your Pharaoh?” by Rodney Francis, I have
engaged in battle that has cast this force out of my life.
As the scriptures say, “A final word: Be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that
you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen
world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in
the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12).
Below are some prayer points that may assist you. But please remember this: If you have not repented and accepted Christ
as your Savior, you might as well set up a room in your house for the demons to
come and live. Without Jesus in your
life, and His Blood covering you, and His armor protecting you, what will
happen is that these demons will leave, go into the arid places, and return
with seven more, making the problem worse than ever! (See Matthew 12:45, Luke
11:26).
Your first step is to just stop it. Stop acting like you don’t need Jesus. Repent and ask Him to be Your Savior. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is
God’s armor (see Ephesians 6:13-18).
So first things first:
If you know, like I know, that we are ALL sinners who can only be saved
by the One Savior, Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer out loud (or whisper if
you have to):
Father
God, I come to You to confess I am a sinner.
I ask for Your forgiveness for every sin I have ever committed against
You and others. I repent of my
sins. I ask for Jesus to be my Lord and
Savior. I believe He died on the Cross
for my sins, and rose on the third day.
Please, Jesus, come into my heart. Please cover me and cleanse me with
Your Precious Blood. I ask for You to
fill me, right now, with Your Holy Spirit and take control of my life. In Your Name, I pray. Thank you.
Amen.
And if you are coming back to Jesus, you can say the words
above, and modify where needed, saying instead, “Jesus, please once again be my
Lord and Savior. I rededicate my life to
you.”
So you’ve handled the most
important business with the Lord—your salvation in Christ.
And NOW! it’s
time to battle the Pharaohs in your life.
It’s time to be delivered. Below
are prayers that can assist you.
Please ask the Holy Spirit to cover you with the Blood
of Jesus and anoint you with the Fire of the Spirit. Ask Him to lead you in this time of prayer
and to bind any spirit from coming against you in retaliation with seven more
evil spirits. Ask Him to surround you with His angels to protect you. Is that
necessary for God to hear you? No. Does it help?
Well, it’s helped me.
Say these prayers out loud:
Prayer
Points
1. Father,
Thank you for your power to deliver me from stubborn situations and spirits. Please display your signs and wonder in my
life against the spirit of Pharaoh, in Jesus Name.
2. I cover
every single area of my life with the Blood of Jesus, in Jesus Name.
3. Father,
mark my face with the Blood of the Lamb in Jesus Name.
4. When
the enemy will see the blood, they will pass over me in Jesus Name.
5. Every
covenant that established servitude to Pharaoh in my life, be broken by the
Blood of Jesus, in Jesus Name.
6. I
declare: from today, my 400 years of captivity is over in Jesus Name.
7. By the
power in the Name and the Blood of Jesus: any wizard, sorcerer, witch, warlock,
Satanist, psychic, magician, and shaman working with my Pharaoh, be disgraced
by the miracle working power of God in Jesus Name.
8. Let the
power of God swallow Pharaoh's rods of affliction upon my life in Jesus Name.
9. Affliction
of captivity will not arise the second time in my life in Jesus Name.
10.
As I escape from the land of my Pharaoh, Father, shield me with
the Pillar of Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night, in Jesus Name.
11.
Father, trouble the troops of my Pharaoh, and destroy their
instruments of power in Jesus Name. Let
the spirit of Pharaoh operating and oppressing me at night be overthrown by the
Pillar of fire in Jesus Name.
12.
The spirit of pharaoh pursuing me by day, be overthrown by the
pillar of cloud, in Jesus Name.
13.
I cut off every link between me and the spirit of Pharaoh, in
Jesus Name.
14.
Blood of Jesus, remove the Egyptian mentality from my life in
Jesus Name. I declare, I shall not
return to any person, place, or thing causing bondage in my life in the Name of
Jesus!
15.
Father, clear any red sea situation in my life for me to pass, in
Jesus Name.
16.
By the blood of Jesus, I command every curse of captivity in my
life to break, in Jesus Name.
17.
I
recover my marriage from the hands of Pharaoh, in Jesus Name. (Also add friendships, family relationships,
business relationships, or any relationship that was hindered by oppression).
18.
Father,
transfer the riches of the gentiles to me in Jesus Name.
19.
Let
the spirit of Pharaoh pursuing me, perish at the red sea, in Jesus Name.
20.
Oh Lord,
trouble the spirit of Pharaoh that trouble me in Jesus Name.
21.
Father,
overthrow the Egyptian army pursuing me in Jesus Name.
22.
Lord,
fill my mouth with Testimony this month, in Jesus Name.
23.
I receive dumbfounding and destiny changing deliverance today, in
Jesus Name.
24.
Enemies that have refused to let me go, O God, arise and scatter
them, in the name of Jesus.
25.
This very day, I must experience breakthrough in all fronts, in
Jesus’ name.
Final
Words
This is the day that the
Spirit of Pharaoh is being brought down. He has ruled for too long! He has kept
us down for too long—causing us to be like dogs, returning to our own vomit. He has distracted us with things from the past
that needed to be put to death a long time ago, therefore robbing us with what
God has for us today and tomorrow. He has robbed us
of our Godly inheritance and it’s time for change. Whoever, or whatever, your
Pharaoh is, don’t let him continue to distract, confuse, or delay you from your
promised land that God has for you any longer.
Don’t allow Satan, and his evil forces, such as the Spirit of Pharaoh,
trick you into believing you have no rights to rise up, that you cannot be any
different from the ways you have always been. Jesus Christ is our true
authority. He lives in the hearts of all true believers and He has told us to
use the authority of His All-Powerful name! Even Pharaoh has to bow to the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, as it is genuinely and sincerely exercised by you!
Remember, those “Pharoahs”
cannot keep us enslaved because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Not only
that, but whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
So tell Pharaoh to let you
(and your people, and your destiny) go!
