Faith

We are entering some dark times, probably the darkest days that the Earth as ever seen. What we are presently seeing in the world today is only going to increase and get worse. As the Church, we should not be surprised or worried at this reality. The darker things get, the brighter your light will be in these dark times. So, what do you do in times like this? Think about it like this: before an airplane takes off, everyone receives a safety brief about what to do in case the cabin pressure drops. In this situation, masks will come down from the ceiling. Put your mask on YOURSELF FIRST, AND THEN help the person next to you. The cabin air pressure can happen so fast, if you don’t focus on getting yourself air, you can pass out trying to help the person next to you. As followers of Jesus Christ, we want to be there for others during a time of crisis, but what about you? You may have given your life to Jesus and dedicated your life to Him, but what about your home? Why would you not dedicate everything you have to God, including your home and/or your business?  

When we dedicate something to the Lord, we are declaring it holy and set apart to God. God cares about our homes. When we look at Deuteronomy 11:13-21, we can see how important our homes are, and what we do WITHIN our homes knowing they are in full view of God’s eyes. “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you. Could there be consequences happening around us because we have not dedicated our homes to the Lord, and served other gods in the home that the Lord has provided for us? Continuing to read the remainder of this verse, we see what God expects for us to do, “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.” Think about it. God wants us to write His teachings on the doorposts of our homes.  You can put a “Mezuzah” on the actual doorpost of your home, which has an actual scroll of the Old Testament from the book of Deuteronomy. This is obviously under the teachings of the Old Covenant. Jesus IS the Word of God, and when we put God’s Word on the doorpost of our homes, we also put God’s Word on the doorpost of our hearts.   

When one man decided to give his life and family fully to the Lord, he was shocked to find out that there were sudden unknown sounds taking place in his home in the middle of the night. His story will surely get your attention. As Ephesians 6:12 reveals, “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Truth of the matter is, there are spirits that are all around us.  There are evil spirits. This is what Ephesians 6:12 is referring to. You can’t punch a spirit. You can’t stab a spirit. So, what do you do? We have to think about that which the Lord has given to us. If we have a business, or a family, or a home and we give our life to Jesus Christ, the light of Jesus comes INTO US. But, what about everything else? If we look at the life we lived before dedicating our lives to Jesus, our business, our home, our family wasn’t holy unto the Lord.   

When God gave specific instructions to Moses to build the Tabernacle and the specific items to be made and placed within the Tabernacle, He instructed Moses to ANOINT these items with oil. Exodus 40:9 highlights the specific instructions the Lord gave to Moses; “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy.” For us, when we are anointing something, it represents the blood of Jesus Christ. When something is holy, it is no longer used for common things, it is set apart for the Lord. It’s no longer used for sinful purposes. We can decide to do this to businesses, to furniture, and to homes. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. This same authority has been given to you as a believer to anoint your own home. You don’t have to call on a priest or a pastor to anoint your home. You need to be able to do this yourself. Not only did Jesus give us authority, but the things we declare with our mouths in the natural impact the spiritual realm as well. Matthew 18:18 points out, ”Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” You can deal with that environment by taking authority over it with the authority that Jesus has given us. You have authority over satan and ALL of the demonic realm through the Blood of Jesus Christ and THE AUTHORITY that Jesus Christ gave you as a follower of Him. Look at what Jesus specifically said in Mark 16:15-17, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons…”. As believers, we have authority over every demon of hell. When we go into a place, we can tell demonic spirits to LEAVE! You might not have known that you had authority over your home, or over your business, BUT YOU DO IN JESUS CHRIST!   

This is the power that Jesus Christ has provided for us when He shed His blood on the Cross. Revelation 12:22 declares, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” There is power in the blood of Jesus and when we declare truth with our words. Don’t stop sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ just because you see demonic activity. There may be demonic activity happening because the church has stop teaching about the power of the blood of Jesus. When one man received a warning dream from the Lord regarding how a pastor was being spiritually attacked, it was the Blood of Jesus that overpowered this demonic attack and stopped the plans of the enemy. If we have given our lives to Jesus, we cannot continue to have open sin in our lives. If we do, the end result will be worse off than how it was before we gave our life to Jesus. This is what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 12:43-45, “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” We can’t play around with this reality. If we are really a disciple of Jesus, then we obey His teachings and follow His ways.   

Watch “Empty House, Open Doors” by Greg Lancaster.  This message address this very reality of what, why and how we should fill hearts and minds with the teachings of Jesus and to follow them.   

If you are at that point in your life deciding whether you are going to dedicate your home to the Lord, you need to decide. Either its yes, or its no. I’m going to dedicate my home to God. I’m going to dedicate my business to God. If so, it’s time to deal with things. If you decide to dedicate your home and/or business to the Lord, then it’s time to decide to also live your life in these places in a holy way before the Lord. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do if you are going to continue to live a sinful lifestyle, to live with open sin in your life, home and business. It’s not that we don’t sin and repent for it; it’s when we are choosing to openly choose to live a sinful lifestyle.   

If you have decided to dedicate your home and/or business to the Lord, the first thing to do is to check yourself; as 2 Corinthians 13:5 shares, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”  If you failed the test, you can pass the test by receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. How much more important are you than your house, or your business, or your property? If you want to give your life to Jesus and would like more information on how to do that, we have that information for you. Now that you have decided to dedicate your home and/or business to the Lord, we follow the leading of the Lord. God may show you that there are idols in your home that you previously didn’t even realize. Jonah 2:8 (NIV 1984) highlights, “Those who cling to worthless idols forsake the grace that could be there’s.” You may have stolen something before you gave your life to Jesus, or maybe you have furniture that sinful acts have been committed on before Jesus Christ came into your life. Whatever it may be, ask the Lord to show you, and He will. That doesn’t mean that you sell it at a pawn shop so that idol can end up in someone else’s home. It could be that the Lord directs you to completely destroy it. It could be music that worships the devil. It could be something on your hard drive. If we hold on to these items, we are giving satan and his demons access and authority in our lives. We do not want to forfeit the grace that God freely offers us.    

When you’ve decided to dedicate your home and/or business to the Lord, carry out what the Word of God says. Use a bottle of olive oil and anoint the different areas of your home or business. Walk through the different areas, doorways, hallways, and rooms, speaking out the Word of God in those places and speaking out the truth of what God says over them. If you’re not sure exactly what to say in each area, you can use the following blessing as a guide to lead you through that. As you do, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to pray over and speak out what He leads you to do.   

Here is a blessing you can speak over your home as you anoint it and dedicate it to the Lord:   

Blessing On A Home  

Anoint the door posts and top of door posts, symbolizing the covering of the Blood of Jesus.   

I pronounce that the (Name) family are overcomers by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.   

In the Bedroom: I pronounce blessings of restful sleep. Psalm 3:5 KJV “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”  Psalm 4:8 KJV “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” In the Bathroom: I pronounce promises of health. Exodus 15:26 KJV “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee.”   

In the Kitchen: I pronounce God’s promises of provision and strength. Exodus 23:25 KJV “And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.”   

In the Living Room, Great Room or Den:  Joshua 24:15 KJV “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” May singing and praise, and talking of God’s goodness and faithfulness be often heard in this room.   

In the Entry and Hall: God said, He will bless your goings out and your comings in and that if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct our paths.   

Act of Dedication  
Having been prospered by the good hand of the Lord and enabled by His grace and power to purchase and build this house to be used for the glory of His Name, we now dedicate this land and home:   

To Almighty God and to the glory of God our Father, from Whom cometh every good and perfect gift.   

To the honor of Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Savior.   

To the praise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Source of Light and Life, to Thee we dedicate this house.   

Here shall the Word be loved and obeyed. Here shall direction and God’s will be learned and revealed.  

 Here may the inhabitants of this home and their relatives and friends enjoy supernatural peace and safety from all acts of violence, including break-ins, theft, fire and storm.   

Arise, O Lord, and enter into this house.   

Put Thy Name in this place. Let your eyes be open toward it. Harken unto the supplication of this family. Establish the work of their hands.   

In Christ’s Name, we ask it.  

Source of Blessing | JohnKilpatrick.org | Media | Downloads | Blessing on A Home   

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