What Do You Mean By "Luck"?

I often hear people -- even Christians -- say to me, "Good luck with that!" Or else they simply say, "Good luck!" What do they mean by wishing me luck? Luck is for bunnies! I don't need it. It's a worldly myth or superstitious belief that the chances of good fortune or misfortune are increased by certain objects, words, actions, and events apart from God. People who don't know God attach superstitious significance to certain things like four-leaf clovers, rabbits' feet, horse shoes, and crossing their fingers. They wish each other good luck, and even ask others to wish them good luck. However, as the children of God, we rely on the grace, favor and blessing of Yehova, the one, true, and living God, who is sovereign over all the events that take place in the universe. For more on this, please see my article God's Sovereign Plans and Purposes.

We acknowledge His over-ruling power and providence, the effects of which may seem to our mortal minds to be casual, and we might call them "chance" or "coincidence," but actually they are according to God's predetermined counsel and foreknowledge. All your days were written in His book before one of them came to pass (Ps 139:16), and He ordained all your days before you were even born. Before a word is on your tongue, He knows it fully. See my article Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.

Men's best efforts are broken, and their hopes are shattered by his sovereign providence. He teaches them that man's course is not merely up to them to decide, but it is subject to His divine will. As the proverb says, "In a man's heart he plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Pr 16:9). And another proverb says, "A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" (Pr 20:24). Jesus taught us, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." (Joh 15:5b). We must employ our efforts and use the means He has placed at our disposal in life, but we must not trust in them; if we succeed, we must give all the praise to God alone (Ps 44:3; Zech 4:6). As the psalmist said, "Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." (Ps 115:1). All things are from Him, and through Him, and to Him. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Ro 11:36).

It was not because of luck that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary (Lk 1:28), or that she conceived Jesus the son of God in her womb while she remained a virgin (Lk 1:35; Mt 1:18,25), or that the star of Bethlehem guided the Magi from the east to the newborn King of the Jews (Mt 2:1-11), or that they were warned in a dream not to return to the evil king Herod (Mt 2:12), or that Herod was unable to kill the baby Jesus when Joseph escaped to Egypt with the child and his mother (Mt 2:13-14). It was not on account of luck that Simeon just happened to be there at the temple to see the baby Jesus when His parents presented Him to the Lord (Lk 2;22-35), or that Jesus' parents found Him in the temple at age twelve after he went missing during their return from Jerusalem (Lk 2:41-50), or that the Spirit of God descended upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized in the river Jordan (Lk 3:21-22), or that the Father's voice spoke from heaven to Him saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22).

It was not on account of luck that the ten lepers were healed (Lk 17:11-19), or that the man born blind received his sight (Joh 9:6-7), or that Peter's mother-in-law was instantly healed of her fever (Matthew 8:14–15, Mark 1:29–31, Luke 4:38–41), or that the deaf mute in Decapolis could suddenly hear and speak (Mark 7:31-37), or that the paralytic man was healed at the pool of Bethesda (Joh 5:8-9), or that the blind beggar Bartimaeus could see (Mark 10:46-52), or that the centurion's servant was healed (Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10), or that the woman who had been bent over for eighteen years was suddenly cured (Lk 13:10-17), or that the man's withered hand was restored (Mt 12:9-13), or that the hemorrhaging woman suddenly stopped bleeding when she touched the edge of Jesus' garment (Mt 9:20), or that the Gerasene demoniac was delivered from a legion of demons and restored to his right mind (Mark 5:1-20).

It was not because of good luck that Noah and his family survived the flood that destroyed everyone else on earth (Gen 8:15-18), or that Lot escaped from Sodom and Gomorrah right before it was destroyed by burning sulfur (Gen 19:23-24), or that Rahab the prostitute was spared, with her family and all who belonged to her (Josh 6:25), or that David was anointed king by Samuel (1 Sam 16:12-13), or that he defeated Goliath the giant (1 Sam 17:41-52), or that Daniel was able to tell the king his dream and its interpretation (Dan 2:26-47), or that he was promoted as ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men (Dan 2:48), or that he shut the mouths of the lions (Dan 6:21-22), or that the three Hebrew young men quenched the flames of the furnace (Dan 3:26-27), or that Lazarus was raised from the dead (Joh 11:1–44), or that the widow's only son sat up in his coffin and began to speak (Lk 7:11-17), or that the daughter of Jairus was raised from the dead (Mk 5:35-43), or that the water was turned to wine at the wedding (Joh 2:1-11), or that Peter found a coin in the fish's mouth to pay for his and Jesus' taxes (Mt 17:24-27), or that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea as on dry land (Ex 14), or that the lame man at the Gate Beautiful could suddenly walk (Ac 3:1-25). It was not because of luck that an angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to send for Peter in the home of Simon the tanner at Joppa (Ac 10:1-6), or that Peter just happened to receive a vision and hear the Lord's voice telling him to go downstairs and meet the three men sent from Cornelius just as they were knocking at the gate (Ac 10:9-20).

It was not because of bad luck that the homosexuals wanting to rape the angels that came to rescue Lot were struck with blindness (Gen 19:1-11), or that Lot's wife became a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26), or that Esau lost his birthright (Gen 25:29-34), or that pharaoh and the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea (Ex 14), or that Joseph was thrown into an empty cistern by his brothers (Gen 37:23-24), or that he was sold by them into Egypt (Gen 37:12-36), or that he was unjustly thrown into prison (Gen 39:20), or that Jeremiah the prophet was lowered into a muddy cistern (Jer 38), or that the three Hebrew youth were thrown into the blazing furnace (Dan 3:19-23), or that Daniel was thrown into the lions' den (Dan 6:16), or that John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded (Mk 6:14-19), or that James was put to the sword (Ac 12:1-2), or that Stephen was stoned to death (Ac 7:54-60), or that Ananias and Saphira dropped dead in front of the apostle Peter (Ac 5:1-10), or that fire devoured the 250 men who rebelled against Moses (Nu 16), or that the ground opened up and swallowed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram alive (Num 16), or that Elymas the sorcerer was suddenly struck blind (Ac 13:1-12), or that Paul and Silas were thrown into prison (Ac 16), or that Peter was imprisoned (Ac 12:3-11), or that King Herod was struck down by an angel of the Lord, eaten by worms, and died while giving an important public address (Ac 12:21-23), or that the ship Paul was sailing on was wrecked on the island Malta (Ac 27:41), or that John was banished to the Isle of Patmos (Rev 1:9). It was not because of bad luck that one of Jesus' twelve disciples was a devil who betrayed Him, or that Jesus was arrested, flogged, beaten, and crucified on the cross (Joh 18-19).

It was not due to good luck that Jesus rose from the dead after three days (Mt 28; Mk 16; Lk 24; Joh 20), or that Paul and all the others sailing with him survived the shipwreck (Ac 27:44), or that the Philippian jail was shaken by an earthquake and the doors swung open while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God at midnight (Ac 16:25-28), or that Peter's shackles fell off and the prison doors opened for him while the guards all remained asleep (Ac 12:3-11). It was not on account of luck that people were suddenly healed as Peter's shadow fell on them when he walked by (Ac 5:15), or that people were healed when they touched an apron or handkerchief that had touched Paul's body (Ac 19:12).

You won't find luck in the Bible. It's not in the Law or the Prophets, nor is it in the Psalms or Proverbs. It's not in the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, or the Apocalypse. Neither Jesus nor His apostles ever wished anyone good luck or taught that we need it at all. Nobody will ever enter the kingdom of heaven by their good luck (Joh 3:3; Eph 2:8; Rev 7:9-17; 21:26), nor will anyone ever be thrown into hell because of bad luck (Mt 10:28; Lk 12:5; Ro 6:23; Heb 12:14; Rev 20:11-15).

From a Christian perspective according to Scripture, there is no such thing as luck, since God is in control of everything. If something good happens, it is God's gift and blessing, according to His grace. For every good and perfect gift comes from above, flowing down from the Father of the lights, who changes not like shifting shadows (Jas 1:17). There is a time for everything. In fact, there is a proper time and procedure for every matter (Ecc 8:6). God answers believing prayer, and no matter what happens, He is in control, not Satan. Jesus Christ disarmed the devil and his minions at the cross, triumphed over them, and made a spectacle of them (Col. 2:15). He has given us authority over them. If we put on the full armor of God, use our faith in God, call upon the name of Jesus, stand upon His promises, and proclaim the truth, then we can overcome the enemy in the battle against darkness every time. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 Joh 5:4).

Even if Christians mean well when they say, "Good luck," they are using a worldly cliché that has no Scriptural basis and is not based on truth. The Bible says we should not conform to the world (Rom 12:2), and Jesus said that we would have to give an account on judgment day for every idle word we speak (Mt 12:36). So let's get the word "luck" out of our vocabulary, and replace it with truth. If you want to wish someone well, then why not say, "God bless you!", or "The Lord be with you!", or "I'll be praying for you that it goes well." Better yet, since Jesus promised that our Father in heaven would do for us whatever two of us on earth agree to ask for in prayer (Mt 18:19), then why not stop and pray for the person right at that moment before you part? For we trust in the name of the Lord our God!

Grace, mercy and peace abundantly to you all who are in Christ..

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, where noted. Images may be subject to copyright, and are used here for commentary and educational purposes only, according to the Fair Use Act.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also read Grace, Mercy, and Peace, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, God's Sovereign Plans and Purposes, The Authority of the Believer, A Time for Everything, The Sudden Nature of God's Kingdom, God's Amazing Plan for Your Life, The Lord Will Rescue You, Speak to the Storm, God's Supernatural Provision Using People, Is the the Self-Help and Actualization Movement a Sham?, From Self-confidence to Confidence in the Lord, The Kingdom of God as Revealed to James Agboola, Overcoming the World, Personal Proclamations of Faith, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Remember Lot's Wife, and Angelic Escape from Terrorist Assassins, You may access the Main Directory for The Kingdom of God is Like This, and you may also my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission.

The Authority of the Believer

If we as believers realized the authority that we have in Christ, we would not allow the devil and his demons to do the things they do to us and to others, but would exercise that authority to the fullest extent. So what authority do we have according to God's Word?

Made in God's Image
In the beginning man was made in God's image. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Gen 1:26-27). This is our fundamental starting point, because God's original design was for man to be in His own image.

Being made in God's image has many aspects to it, including things like the ability to love, to know God, to worship, to reason, to think independently, and to understand. It also includes the aspects of our physical features, as well as our spirit man. It also means that once we are born, we exist forever, since the human soul cannot be destroyed and even after the death of the body the soul continues on its existence in either heaven or hell. But the aspect of being made in God's image that I want to discuss today is that man was given authority on earth. What does that entail?

Authority to Subdue the Earth
First it involves authority to subdue the earth. "God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Gen 1:28). The word "subdue" here comes from the Hebrew word "kabash", which means to tread down, conquer, subjugate, bring into subjection, or subdue. God gave man authority to subdue the earth, which includes everything in it such as the ground, the trees, the plants, and the wildlife. But let's not forget that the wildlife includes the serpent, which represents the devil. This means that God originally gave man authority to subdue the devil and all of his demons.

Authority to Rule Over the Earth
The second aspect that is involved in man receiving from God authority on earth is the express authority to rule over it. God said to them, "...and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" (Gen 1:28). God gave man authority to rule over every living thing on earth. The Hebrew word for "rule" here and in verse 26 means to have dominion, prevail against, reign, or rule. Once again, this not only applies to every living thing that is seen but every living thing that is unseen as well, including the devil and his demons.

Perhaps you may question whether God originally gave man authority over the devil and his fallen angels before the fall, so that he might subdue them and rule over them. But there are some very good, biblical reasons why I believe Adam and Eve's authority extended even to the unseen spiritual realm of satan and his demons. Let me enumerate them.

1. To be made in the image of God, as the first Adam was, means he was a type of Christ, who is the second Adam (1 Cor 15:45). Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that he had the same level of authority on earth, before his fall, that Christ the second Adam had on earth, which included authority over all demons.

2. The term "image" of God comes from the Hebrew word "tselem" meaning "resemblance or representative figure." It can also mean "idol or physical image," similar to what we would call a statue, except that a statue is an inanimate object and Adam was a living human being. The Greek word used for "image" in the Septuagint is "eikon," meaning "likeness, representation, statue, or image." From this Greek word we get the modern English word "icon." This is the same Greek word the apostle Paul used in reference to Christ in his epistle to the Colossians, in which he wrote, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." (Col 1:15).

The apostle says in Hebrews that Christ is the "exact representation" of God's nature (Heb 1:3), which is what you would expect an icon to be. If you hold a mirror in front of you, you expect to see an exact representation of yourself reflected in it, and so it is with Christ's representation of God. Likewise, since Adam was also made in the image (eikon) of God, we should expect that he accurately represented God in all respects, except for His actual divinity. The Lord is God and God alone, but as one made in his image on earth, Adam possessed that same God-given authority that the Lord walked in. We would not expect anyone who is a representation of God on earth to lack authority over the devil and his demons, because we know God most definitely does have authority over all of them.

3. Adam was "the son of God," according to the genealogy of Christ in Luke 3:38. This doesn't mean he was the son of God in the same sense that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, because Adam was not divine, as I have already stated. Although Jesus was fully God and fully man, Adam was fully man and not God at all. But the term "son of God" with reference to Adam does mean that he was a direct creation of God, and not an offspring of someone else that God created. The term also implies by parallelism or analogy that he walked in the same authority over the devil and his angels.

4. The Lord would not have put man on the earth to subdue it and rule over it, knowing that the serpent was here to tempt man, subdue him, and rule over him as the god of this world. That would have been setting Adam and Eve up to fail, if the authority God had given them to subdue the earth and rule over it had not included authority over the serpent. In fact, the Scripture explicitly names the serpent as one of the wild beasts (Gen 3:1), so there can be no doubt that the serpent was included among "every living thing that moves on the earth," over which God had given man authority.

Therefore, according to Scripture, God gave man authority to rule and reign and to have dominion over the devil and his demons, and every other living thing on earth. His plan was for man to rule over the earth (Gen 1:26), which was the original state of man made in the image of God before the fall.

Image of God Marred
However, the image of God was marred by the fall of man into sin. Up until that time everything that God made was good. He created it and He saw that it was good. That pattern is repeated all throughout the six days of creation (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). In fact, when He finished, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." (Gen 1:31).

After that the only thing that was not good was for man to be alone. Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." (Gen 2:18). So God put Adam into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs out and closed up his side, then made a woman out of it and Adam called her Eve. They became one flesh together as husband and wife. "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." (Gen 2:25). So obviously that was good, too! It was all good.

They also had something holy, which was the seventh day that God rested on, which God blessed and sanctified (Gen 2:2-3). And they had a command from God, too. The command was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Aside from the positive commands to be fruitful and multiple, to subdue the earth and rule over it, this was the only negative command God gave them for something they were not allowed to do. They were allowed to eat from any other tree in the garden except for that one.

Then entered satan into the scene. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?'" (Gen 3:1). The serpent subtly tricked the woman through deception to eat of that one tree that God had commanded her and Adam not to eat from. Once she ate from it and tasted its fruit, she also gave some to her husband and he ate it. This implies that Adam was right there with her when the devil deceived her and she ate it, and it explicitly states that he also ate of the fruit after that when she gave it to him. This is how man fell into sin and the image of God he was made in became marred.

In order to understand the magnitude of what happened at that moment, we have to remember that Adam and Eve were made in God's image and given authority to subdue and rule over the earth. Eve was supposed to have dominion over the serpent, subdue it, and rule over it, but instead she allowed it to subdue her, deceive her, and get the upper hand over her. By allowing him to do that, she sinned against God, and she relinquished her authority to the serpent. Once she did that, then he was able to rule over her as one of his agents to get Adam to do his bidding also. Once Adam ate of the fruit, and committed his first sin, he too allowed satan to subdue him and rule over him. Now the tables were turned and God's original design was twisted. The image of God in man was now marred.

At that point we see Adam and Eve ashamed, covering themselves and hiding from God. This is the point at which they become separated from God, which is one of the terrible consequences of sin. God comes looking for them, questions them, and then pronounces a curse on the serpent and consigns him to crawling on his belly, licking the dust beneath Adam's feet all the days of his life. He says the serpent will still be able to do damage by striking and bruising man's heel, but that man will bruise him on his head. This is also a prophetic allusion to the work of Christ on the cross, bruising the serpent's head. And God said there would be enmity between the serpent's seed and the woman's seed. This, too, was another prophetic word about Christ the woman's seed being at enmity with the devil's seed. There was destined to be warfare between Christ and the devil, as well as between all who are Christ's and all who are the devil's.

God then pronounces a judgment over the woman for listening to the serpent, being deceived by it, and eating the forbidden fruit. He also sentences the man to punishment for listening to his wife. God then makes coverings for them out of animal skins, so they can cover their shameful nakedness, which is a type of Christ. It typifies Christ giving His life just like those animals did whose skin Adam and Eve were covered with, so that He could take away our sin and enable us to cover our shame before God.

But at that point the image of God they were made in was marred. They had to be removed from the Garden of Eden, so that they would not eat of the tree of life any more and live forever in that condition. That was how mankind fell into sin and his authority was first abdicated to the devil.

Now since all men have sinned, the image of God that man was originally made in at the beginning has become disfigured by sin. It's like when you look at yourself in one of those concave or convex mirrors at the amusement park, and you see yourself looking either too fat or too skinny. You no longer look the way you are supposed to look, but you appear very strangely. That's what sin has done to the image of God in fallen man. Now man has a caricature of God's image that is distorted and no longer accurately represents God on the earth. This is satan's plan, since it brings pain to God's heart and goes against His will.

Image of God Restored
When a person repents of his sin and puts his faith in Jesus Christ, because of His finished work at the cross paying the price of sin for us, and rising from the dead, then his sins are forgiven. Then God begins to restore His image in that person. The apostle Paul said, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2Co 3:18). It's a kind of metamorphosis like a caterpillar goes through when it becomes a butterfly. We go from being lowly worms, crawling on our bellies like the caterpillar and the serpent, into beautiful butterflies that float and fly effortlessly through the air far above the serpent and the ground. We who know Christ are being transformed from glory to glory into the same image as Christ.

That means the image of God in us is being restored to it's original condition. That means we also begin to exercise the authority originally given by God to man to subdue the earth and rule over it and every living thing in it, including satan and his minions.

Authority can only be given, it must never be usurped. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'" (Mat 28:18)

He has given authority to His disciples over the devil and all disease. "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mar 16:17-18).

As you read through the book of Acts, you can see the acts of the Holy Spirit performed at the hands of the apostles. "The Lord...confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders." (Ac 14:3, NIV). And the Lord continues to do the same thing today through his disciples around the world.

Jesus gave us power and authority over all the demons, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. And He sent us out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. (Mat 10:1; Luk 9:1-2). We  have received of the fullness of Christ (Jn 1:19).  We have the authority to do the same works that Jesus did, by doing them in His name (Jn 14:12)

Now we can say with the apostle Paul, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (2Ti 4:18) Now we can say as T.L. Osborne did, "The Man at God’s right hand, Jesus Christ, who loved me and died for me now lives in me." (Gal 2:2). The devil and his demons are eternally defeated, since Christ has triumphed over them through the cross (Col 2:15).  We as believers have overcome them, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (1 Jn 4:4). Jesus has given us authority over all the power of the enemy and nothing will injure us, when we exercise it (Lk 10:19). In all our difficulties, we have complete victory through Him who loved us (Rom 8:37).

Through faith in Christ, all things are possible to us (Mk 9:23). Because we have faith in God, we say to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea." We do not doubt in our heart, but believe that what we say is going to happen. It will be granted us. All things for which we pray and ask, believing that we have received them, they will be granted us. (Mar 11:22-24). Once you begin to get a hold of this, understand the authority you have in Christ, and begin to obediently exercise it, then I can truly say with the apostle Paul that the God of peace will soon crush satan underneath your feet (Rom 16:20).

Illustrations
There are many examples that I could give to illustrate what it means to have dominion, and I will not attempt to give them all. But a couple will suffice.

One evening when I was in Bible school, I had gone out for a prayer walk in the neighborhood adjacent to our campus all by myself. When I returned and was coming up the walkway to my dormitory, a vicious dog charged at me unexpectedly from in front of me off to my right. I cannot recall what kind of dog, but seem to remember that it was a German shepherd. I had never seen this dog before and it was unknown to me. In an instant he was standing right in front of me barking ferociously, looking up at me with his jaws located right between my legs. I steeled myself from showing any fear that my natural man was inclined to feel at that frightening moment. I said to him in a loud, commanding voice, "I bind you in Jesus' name!" I may have also said, "Go!" but I am not certain about that. At that point, he immediately stopped barking and ran away. That is an example of taking dominion over the wild beasts, and I've done the same thing with other threatening creatures like wasps, whereby I command them in Jesus' name to go.

The other examples would be related to healing, miracles, and casting out demons, which I have experienced firsthand over the past 30 years. One time when I traveled to Bulgaria, I preached at a gypsy church in Kalekovits, Bulgaria.  Fourteen people wanted healing, and the Lord healed many of them. One young lady manifested a demon that made her mute, and received deliverance after about 45 minutes. She was able to speak again! As the demon was coming out, she began coughing and spitting up blood. She later told us that as we were casting it out, she could feel something like a heavy, metal ball in her stomach that began coming up through her throat.

At another church here in the States in New Hampshire, my wife and I ministered to the sick one evening. One lady had suffered from scoliosis since age fourteen. After having her sit down with her legs out in front of her, I checked them and found that her left was longer by one-quarter to one-half inch. I spoke to her right leg and commanded it to grow out, which it did right before our eyes, until the two legs were perfectly even. She was then able to walk around without pain. She later said she felt a gentleness and had a vision of grapes when I prayed for her healing. My wife was led to minister inner healing while laying hands on her chest. She later said she felt a lump come up in her chest as my wife prayed.

All the glory goes to God for what He did for these people. They were healed and delivered by faith in Jesus' name according to Scripture. Without Him we can do nothing. My purpose in sharing these examples is to illustrate what I am teaching, and to emphasize the fact that this is not something that man taught me, but it is something I have experienced firsthand in my life.

Putting it All Together
To summarize, man was originally made in God's image with authority to subdue the earth and rule over it. However, that image became marred by man's fall into sin. That problem remained until Christ came and died for us on the cross, paying the price for sin, and rising from the dead, so that we could have peace with God and be restored to our original state before the fall. That restoration includes all respects of the image of God that Adam was made in.

By putting your faith in Christ, you receive a full restoration to the original condition that God intended for man when he was created in the beginning. That means you are put back into right standing with God and fellowship with Him like they had in the Garden of Eden, when God walked with Adam in the cool of the day. It also means you are transformed from glory to glory into the same image as Christ. Therefore, the same authority that Christ walked in on earth, we also have in His powerful name.

The reason that some disciples are not experiencing that dominion on earth is that they deny the power of God in their lives through doubt and unbelief. But we are not among those who do so. Rather we are those who believe the full gospel and have experienced His power first-hand in our lives personally. We have seen the wonderful results of taking the dominion God has given to us in Christ and exercising it, and it is glorious. That same dominion is available for every true disciple of Christ, and it begins with receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, where noted.  Kingdom Authority image may be subject to copyright, courtesy First Baptist Church Loveland, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's Note:  If you enjoyed this message,  you may also like other articles on the Home page of this blog. I recommend reading Supernatural Power for All Disciples, Baptized with the Spirit, The Laying on of Hands, The Power of God to Heal, Healing is in the Atonement, Against Entropy, Delivered from Voices and Dizziness, Pastor Raised from the Dead, Healed from a Breathing Obstruction, The Origin of Sin, Satan, and Secular Music, Sin, Satan, and the Submerged Sphere, The Kingdom of Darkness, Holy Fire Baptism, Changing the Atmosphere, The Link Between Two Realms, Loud Voices and Shouting in God's Kingdom, Personal Proclamations of Faith, Walking by Faith, Against Entropy, Demonology 101, and The Role of Demons. I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at "Writing for the Master."  Now let me ask you a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Changing the Atmosphere

We hear a lot these days about how the earth's atmosphere is changing. We also hear about geoengineering, in which man is intentionally changing the atmosphere. While that can and does occur in the natural realm, it can also occur in the spiritual realm.

Here is another illustration on a smaller scale that we can all relate to. Have you ever walked into a room and discovered that it had an odor you didn't like, and you decided to open some windows to refresh the air? That's just a simple example of one way to change the atmosphere in the natural realm. Likewise, there are times when the spiritual atmosphere needs to be changed, and there is a biblical way to do so, which we will examine together in detail here in this article.

Link Between the Spiritual and Natural Realms
As I explained in my previous article, The Link Between Two Realms, there is a direct connection between the natural and spiritual realms. Things that we do in the natural realm transfer over into the spiritual realm, and things that are happening in the spiritual realm transfer over into the natural realm. For example, if there is an oppressive spirit in a particular place, then it will be reflected in the way people feel. Consequently, their words, actions, and attitudes in that place will be in accordance with that oppressive atmosphere, unless they resist it. Likewise, if the music in a place glorifies satan, like the way rock music does, then there will be a tangible darkness in that place and the actions of the people there will be in accordance with it.

Conversely, if there is a spirit of faith in a given place, then it will lend itself to a tangible openness and a heightened expectation for miracles and healing to happen. I recall that it was this way on the Bible school campus that I attended at Zion Bible Institute in Barrington, Rhode Island. And indeed miracles were rather commonplace there. On the other hand, I have been to other places where there was a spirit of darkness, doubt, and unbelief. In Jesus' own hometown, even He was unable to do many miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them, because they didn't believe in Him. (Mar 6:4-6). In fact, He wondered at their unbelief.

Now let's give some examples from Scripture of changing the atmosphere.

Jesus Changed the Atmosphere
At the synagogue ruler's house, Jesus changed the atmosphere. Let's observe how:

"While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, 'My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.' Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples." (Mat 9:18-19, NIV)

"When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, 'Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.' But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region." (Mat 9:23-26, NIV)

Why did Jesus put the crowd out of the house? It was because they were noisily mourning the girl's death, playing sad and mournful music on the flutes, and the atmosphere was not one in which to raise her from the dead. It was not conducive--in terms of faith--to her being raised up, but a disorderly one that gave way to grief over the girl's death. It was an atmosphere of fear, doubt, and unbelief.

By putting them all out of the house, Jesus changed the atmosphere. That is also why he did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, James, John, and the child's father and mother (Lk 8:51). Then He went in and took the girl by the hand, her spirit returned to her body, and she got up.

Perhaps you think that Jesus raised her from the dead, because He was God. Certainly He was God from His very birth and even before He was conceived in the womb (see Is Jesus God?). The apostle John says that in the beginning He was with God and He was God (Jn 1:1). But the apostle Paul also tells us that Jesus emptied Himself of the glory and power He had with the Father before He came to earth. He said, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Phil 2:6-7, NIV).

This is known in Christian theology as His kenosis or self-emptying. In simple terms we can all understand, it was essentially His humiliation. He reduced Himself to the same level that all other men are at without ceasing to be God. It was like He tied both His hands behind His back in a sense, and had to do things the same way He expected His followers to do them, which is through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. That means that all of the miracles and healing He performed were done by the power of the Holy Spirit, as I wrote in my article, By the Spirit of God Alone. He Himself was baptized in water and with the Holy Spirit, and then declared that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because He had anointed Him to preach the gospel, bring recovery of sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed captives free. (Lk 4:18). Therefore, He was our example in all things, and the way He went about doing things is the way we must go about them, too.

Peter Changed the Atmosphere
Following Christ's example, Peter also changed the atmosphere before raising Dorcas from the dead. All healing and miracles are done by faith, and he first removed all distractions that would interfere with faith, which meant the weeping mourners had to leave the room. Scripture states:

"Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, 'Do not delay in coming to us.' So Peter arose and went with them."

"When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord." (Act 9:36-42)

Elisha Changed the Atmosphere

Do you remember how Elisha changed the atmosphere? It was through music.

"Then the king of Israel said, 'Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.' But Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?' And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, 'Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.' Jehoshaphat said, 'The word of the LORD is with him.' So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

"Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, 'What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.' And the king of Israel said to him, 'No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.' Elisha said, 'As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel.' And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him." (2Ki 3:10-15)

He called for the minstrel to play his instrument, and when the minstrel did so, the hand of the Lord came upon him, so that he was able to prophesy. The music effected a change in the spiritual realm. Something changed in the atmosphere that made it conducive to prophesying. 

David Changed the Atmosphere

Not only did Elisha use music to change the atmosphere, but David did, too.  He did this in the presence of King Saul, who had an evil spirit that made him experience outbursts of anger.

"Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. Saul's servants then said to him, 'Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.' So Saul said to his servants, 'Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.' Then one of the young men said, 'Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him.'" (1Sa 16:14-18)

"Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, 'Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.' So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him." (1Sa 16:21-23)

The Scripture says that whenever the evil spirit came to Saul, David would play his harp, and Saul would be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him. The music of his harp produced a change in the spiritual realm that changed the atmosphere such that the evil spirit would not want to remain there. Glory to God!

Praise Changes the Atmosphere

In the same way, praise changes the atmosphere. That can happen when someone is praising the Lord without musical accompaniment (i.e., a Capella), or it can happen when someone sings praises to the music of instruments. The reason is simple: God builds His throne upon the praises of His people. David wrote in the twenty second psalm, "Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel." (Psa 22:3). Therefore, when the praises go up, the glory comes down. He lives within the praises of His people. I encourage you to try it yourself. Praise His name and you will never be the same. The glory of the Lord will fill the place where you are.

When I was in the Army, I came to know Christ, and He set me free from my life of sin. Now I found myself living in a military barracks as a young, single man with other soldiers that were still bound by sin as I had been, yet they had no intention of changing. The rock music, pornographic videos and magazines, cigarettes and alcohol, course joking and foul language, were all around me. The atmosphere during off duty hours was similar to college dorm life in that respect, except with a little more discipline. One thing I did to cope with this dark and ungodly atmosphere was to wear a portable audio-cassette player clipped to my belt that I could carry about as I went about my tasks in the evening. That was before the days of CD players and MP3 players. I wore my light headphones and listened to Christian music that changed the atmosphere for me and made it one that glorified God, so that I was able to bear living in that environment.

My wife Jennifer tells me of what she did on one particular occasion when she was a teenage girl experiencing a sense of darkness about her. At that time she was probably fifteen or sixteen years old. She went into her bedroom and put an album on her record player and the first song that came on was called "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." The vocalist on the album began singing the opening lines that go like this:

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn you eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

So she knelt down beside her bed and turned her face upward, turning her eyes upon Jesus. As she did so, the atmosphere in her room changed and she experienced the light of His glory and grace upon her.

On another occasion when she was a young, single adult in graduate school at Regent University, she was in her apartment feeling rather depressed. So she turned on her radio in her bedroom and listened to a two-hour, praise-and-worship radio program. She occasionally prayed, but she mostly just sat and listened to the praise and worship music. At the end of that time, her friend Janice came and knocked at the door to her apartment to get her for work. They both worked for Regent University's Housekeeping Department cleaning apartments there in the village. When Jennifer opened the door, Janice took one look at her face and said something to the effect that, "Wow! What's happened to you? You're glowing!" What happened was that she changed the atmosphere through praise and worship.

Likewise, in our home today, our children change the atmosphere through praise and worship. Sometimes it is when one of them is going about her chores, sweetly singing praises to the Lord. At other times, it happens when they gather around together while one of them plays the guitar, and perhaps another plays the keyboard, while they all join in singing praises to God. It creates a wonderful atmosphere in the house, which I am able to sense even when I am downstairs in my office. Heaven comes down and fills the place.

Paul and Silas Changed the Atmosphere
When Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi, they changed the atmosphere in that place through their prayer and praises. Prisons in those days were not like the prisons we have today, where there are beds, sinks, toilets, heating, and a cafeteria. They were cold, dark, probably dank, and infested with pests such as spiders, centipedes, perhaps lice, and various bugs, as well as mice, rats or bats. First they were beaten with many blows, and then after being thrown into prison, their feet were fastened in the stocks. Here is what happened in that place.

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened." (Act 16:25-26)

At midnight, they could have been complaining or sleeping, but they didn't yield to their flesh. Instead these two men chose as an act of their will to pray and sing praises to the Lord. Prayer and praise changed the atmosphere, such that it actually caused a sudden great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison. What they did in the natural realm caused something to change in the spirit realm, which in turn affected a change in the natural realm in the form of an earthquake. Not only did the ground shake, but all the doors opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

Scripture Reading Changes the Atmosphere
There are many other things that can change the atmosphere. One of them is reading Scripture aloud. When you begin to read the Word of God out loud or play back a recording of someone else reading the Bible, such as you can find on various audio Bibles available for free on the internet, you will notice that it changes the atmosphere. Light comes into that place. In fact, even if you read your Bible silently, it changes the atmosphere. When you open up the Bible, it is like a great flood light is shining up at you and as you read, that light will enter your soul. But reading it aloud is the best way to experience the most powerful effect of it.

Proclamations of Faith Change the Atmosphere
Another one is making proclamations out loud like the ones I have written about in my article, Personal Proclamations of Faith. If you begin to activate your faith and declare what you believe out loud, it will change the atmosphere. The demons fear your faith, and they will not want to be around if you keep boldly declaring those things aloud.

Thanksgiving Changes the Atmosphere
Finally, it will change the atmosphere when you begin to just give thanks to God for everything you can think of, such as I have written about in my article, Giving Thanks in Everything. Thanksgiving to God is a type of offering, and while it may be a sacrifice for you to do so, assuming you have your fair share of burdens and cares, it will bring a change in your environment. It will create an atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit feels welcome and God's presence envelopes you. Try it and you will see what I mean.

Putting it All Together
As I have just explained, there are positive ways that we can change the atmosphere we are in, according to the Word of God. They include removing the noisy voices of fear, doubt, and unbelief that are all around you, and entering into prayer, praises, and thanksgiving, as well as faith proclamations and Scripture reading, especially aloud. As you do these things, you will experience the shift in your environment. You'll be blessed because you did so. Something will change in the spirit realm and that will in turn be tangibly felt in that place.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from NASB, copyright the Lockman Foundation. Other Scriptures from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, where noted. Image by First Assembly Roxas Missions, Inc. in the Philippines is used according to Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only. It may be subject to copyright.

Author's Note:  If you enjoyed this message,  you may also like other articles on the Home page of this blog. I recommend reading The Link Between Two Realms, Praise the Lord, Personal Proclamations of Faith, Crying out to God Loudly, Loud Voices and Shouting in God's Kingdom, Giving Thanks in Everything, Songs of the Holy Fire, and The Sudden Nature of God's Kingdom. I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at "Writing for the Master."  Now let me ask you a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.