An eagle is a free bird. It cherishes freedom more than anything else; and it will do anything to stay free. An eagle will take any risk to protect its freedom; just as much as Christians are supposed to be taking risks to live by faith, so as to protect our freedom in Christ Jesus.
A Christian who is living by faith takes risks every day. That’s how the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus is protected by the Lord. The Lord then works through this in prospering everything that we do.
Living the lifestyle of faith involves risks every day. A Christian who is not taking risks is not applying his faith to prosper himself. Without faith no one can please God (Hebrews 11:6).
We had been redeemed from every curse of the law and made free by the blood of the Lamb (Christ Jesus). There is therefore no reason why any born again child of God, should be in bondage at all to anything in this world (Galatians 3:13-14).
However, there are many Christians who are struggling to stand in the freedom that they do have in Christ Jesus. A Christian who is not living daily by faith will struggle to stay free in the Lord.
He will struggle to stay free from sin, just as he will struggle to stay healed in the body and live in good health. Living a prosperous life will become a struggle to him, because it’s the lifestyle of faith that keeps us strong and firm in our freedom, while we are enjoying the benefits of those things which Christ has given us.
The Spirit of God will not enlighten our pathway into the blessing of the Lord without our faith in Him.
The Apostle Paul said:
“So, Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
Galatians 5:1 NLT
A Christian who is entangled to his past in the absence of the freedom that Christ has given him, will be bond with the yoke of slavery to the law of sin and death.
It’s therefore our responsibility as the people of God to retain the freedom, that we do have in Christ Jesus. Staying free in Christ Jesus means staying free from the habitual lifestyle of sin. Being free in Christ Jesus is about staying healed. It also means that we are staying healthy and prosperous in everything that we are doing.
Christ had made us free indeed. We therefore must be standing strong and firm, in the freedom that we do have in Him.
The enemy will do anything to steal your freedom away from sin; just as he will do anything also to steal your healing and prosperity away from you. That’s what he does all the time. Jesus said about him:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJV
When a thief steals, he will do it with sophistication and in a manner that will prevent you, from noticing what he is doing, even though you may be observing him. A thief will steal before your very eyes, without you even noticing that he is stealing from you.
But an armed robber will use fear with weapons of intimidation, so as to forcefully rob you. The devil is both a thief and an armed robber. He will disguise his evil deeds with good intentions; but his ultimate goal is to steal or rob you of your salvation, healing, peace and happiness.
Resist the devil by staying free in Christ Jesus
That’s why we are to be resisting the devil everywhere he shows up. And our resistance has to be forceful, if we are to be victorious against him. There is nothing good about the devil at all. He is to be resisted and opposed at all times, if you truly want to stay free.
That’s why the scripture says to:
“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7 NKJV
Being free as a Christian doesn’t mean that we are not accountable to any godly authority on the earth. We submit first of all to God’s authority, and the final authority in His written word over our lives.
The godly authority that’s positioned by God over your life guarantees your freedom in Christ Jesus. That’s why every Christian needs to be very careful about, who they are submitting to as earthly authority. The person that you have as spiritual authority over your life, says a lot about the extent of the reach of your freedom to do exploits for the Lord.
And to be able to resist the devil a Christian will have to be first of all be submissive to God. All authorities in Heaven and on the earth comes from Him.
Therefore:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”
Romans 13:1-2 NKJV
We don’t resist the godly authorities that are over our lives. It will only invoke the wrath of God on your life. God sees that type of resistance as rebellion against Him, because that authority figure is recognized by God as His voice into your life.
But we are to be resisting the devil and every appearance of his evil works everywhere. Those who are resisting godly authorities in their local Churches are rebellious. God will not treat such rebellion lightly. He will respond to it with speed in judgment.
There are also a lot of Christians with good intentions at heart, who will resist the devil when he attacks them with sin in tempting them. But when he attacks them with sicknesses and diseases, they don’t do anything at all in resisting him, as they are resisting the temptation to sin.
Instead of resisting the attacks of sicknesses and diseases in the same manner as they’re resisting sin, they will succumb to their normal means of getting healed with medical treatment.
And there is nothing wrong with seeking medical treatment. However, the tenacity of your faith in resisting sin will be affected, if you are not using it to resist every other thing, that the devil brings across your pathway in life.
Resistance to sin, sickness and disease is the biblical definition of the Christian suffering. It’s what you are doing in resistance to these things, that brings to light your Christian suffering.
Christian suffering has nothing to do with being sick or poor. God doesn’t use sickness or poverty to teach us anything in life. The devil is the author of both sicknesses and poverty on the earth.
But you suffer in your resistance to sin, sickness and disease; because you do know that Jesus had already borne them all for your sake on the cross at Calvary.
That’s why you don’t need to be living in sin anymore. You don’t need to be sick anymore. You don’t need to be broke or poor anymore.
But the suffering of a Christian in the resistance to these things, identifies him with Christ Jesus in His own suffering on the cross. Jesus suffered on the cross, so that you don’t have to be suffering like the people of the world anymore. The world has no hope in their suffering. You however have a hope that is unshakable in Christ Jesus.
Apostle Paul explained this better with these words to the Church in Thessaloniki:
“You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 1:6 NIV
The Christians at Thessaloniki had received the gospel of Jesus Christ with joy, even though they knew that they would be persecuted for it. Their joy of knowing Christ purely outweighs the severe suffering that they endured in persecution.
Their freedom to endure in the midst of the suffering, made their faith in God so precious before the Father.
But it’s the absence of submission to God and His word, that is the evidence of rebellion in the life of a person who professes to be a Christian. There is nothing like partial submission before our Father God. Partial submission is rebellion.
There are a lot of Christians today who are walking before the Lord God in partial submission to Him and His word. They are doing this because they want to satisfy the world in which they are living. But before God who can’t be seen as they are seeing people, this is rebellion. You can’t be pleasing the world, so as to please God. It’s a double standard, and it’s sinful before God.
Our submission has to be willingly and quickly in obedience to God, if we are to be enjoying the freedom that we do have as Christians. Being submissive to God’s word and His will, as the final authority in our lives, is a prerequisite to our ability in being able to enjoy the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.
The scripture says:
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;”
Isaiah 1:19 NKJV
Being able to eat of the good of the land is an expression of the freedom or liberty, that we have in Christ Jesus. A willing and obedient Christian prospers by doing this.
There is a supernatural protection available for those who are willing and obedient to obey God. They are protected from the attacks of the enemy. It’s therefore impossible to resist the devil effectively, if you are not living a submissive Christian lifestyle to the authority of God’s word.
Our freedom in Christ Jesus is protected for as long as, we are living in total submission to the authority of God and His word in our lives. Our submission to God has to be quick, willing and complete at all times.
We are quick and willing to submit, because we know that He loves us. His love for us forms the basis of our willingness and quickness to submit under His authority. His love for us has made us free.
A Spirit filled life guarantees your freedom
The scriptures went further to let us know that the only way we can stay free in Christ Jesus is by living in the Spirit. Paul told the Galatians:
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Galatians 5:16, 18 NKJV
By walking in the Spirit, we guarantee our freedom from the law of sin and death. It’s the observance of the law without the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, that keeps a person in bondage to sin, sicknesses and poverty. But it’s the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets free from these bondages.
Your enemy will always be afraid of you, for as long as you are standing strongly and firmly in your freedom by the Spirit. He will use fear against you with all types of deception, because he knows that the entrance of fear into your life, will deprive you of the ability to use your faith in staying free.
That’s why we are enjoined by the Apostle Paul again:
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:25 NIV
A lot of Spirit filled Christians do not know how to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. They are not in tune or in fellowship with Him, even though they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not being manifested in their spiritual lives, because they don’t have a desire for them. And they cannot desire spiritual gifts, if they are not being taught about them in their local congregations.
The scripture says:
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:”
I Corinthians 12:1 NKJV
Ignorance about the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is holding them back from the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. They are unable to enjoy the freedom that they have in Christ Jesus, because they had not been instructed about the operation of these gifts.
It’s however through our fellowship with the Holy Spirit that we do have the access into the presence of the Father. God is a Spirit, just as you are a spirit man who is living in a physical body (John 4:24).
It’s only by the spirit man in our hearts, that we can fellowship with the Father of all spirits – God Almighty (Numbers 27:16).
The Holy Spirit leads us into God’s presence, as we are yielding our hearts to praying more and more in the spirit. As the scripture says:
“For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”
Ephesians 2:18 NKJV
It’s through our faith in Christ Jesus that we have access by the Holy Spirit to the Father of all spirits. You are the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. God Almighty is strong and powerful in you and through you. But it’s important for you to be walking in the reality of who you are in Christ Jesus, so as to be able to stay free in Him (Ephesians 2:22).
The access is there for every child of God into His presence. But how many Christians are actually using this access point, to approach their Heavenly Father in boldness, so as to get their requests in prayer granted?
The scripture says clearly that:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16 NKJV
You can’t be bold in the spirit if you’re not walking by the Spirit of God. Boldness in Christ Jesus comes when we are practicing His presence and walking by the leading of His Spirit. The understanding of this spiritual truth concerning our freedom in Christ Jesus, gives us the strength to be able to stand boldly before the Father.
Our ability to walk in freedom by the Spirit opens the door for us into the realm of the spirit. What is spiritually vague then begins to get clearer, as we are standing firmly in this freedom. That’s why the enemy will do everything to prevent you, from standing firmly in your freedom as a child of God.
Don’t be taken advantage of in your freedom
The Apostle Paul said about what is seen when a Spirit filled Christian is in the spirit:
“For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
I Corinthians 13:12 NKJV
Spiritual truth has to be searched out as we are praying in the spirit to the Father. This is especially important about what has already been vaguely seen or spotted in the spirit. We search out the complete revelation of what is vague by praying more in the spirit.
There is a reason why we are only allowed to see vaguely or dimly into the realm of the spirit. God does not want the enemy to take advantage of us in that realm. God will not allow His precious pearls to be given to the “spiritual dogs or swine” – the evil ones.
As Jesus once said:
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”
Matthew 7:6 NKJV
Whatever the enemy has access into concerning you in the spirit, he will eventually use against you. But the Lord God will never allow him to see a complete picture of what belongs to you. He can only see and understand in part. However, everything that he has access into about you before God, he will eventually weaponize against you.
For example, as Jesus was being baptized in the water by John, the scripture says:
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””
Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV
Obviously, the devil heard this testimony of heaven about Jesus. He was able to recognize Him as the beloved Son of God, even though he never knew that He was the coming Savior of the world.
But he wasted no time in using that information against Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness. He told Jesus:
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Matthew 4:3 NKJV
Satan heard that Jesus is the Son of God; and that information was enough for him to use in tempting Him. He was trying to use the temptation to get more information, about the purpose of God in sending His Son to the earth.
The moment any word of Prophecy is announced over your life, all of hell goes to work in opposition to that word.
That’s why God will always rescue us from all our troubles, by allowing us to be seeing into many things, that the enemy is plotting against us in the spirit.
As long as you are yielding yourself to be praying in the spirit, the Lord God will illuminate your heart to be seeing into the realm of the spirit.
He will never allow the enemy to have the leverage over you in the spirit. He wants you to be free in that realm, so that you can be able to do spiritual warfare as He is leading you by His Spirit.
And in most cases the leading of the Holy Spirit comes with the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. That’s why it’s important to be taking notes about how the Spirit is leading you. He will use the gifts that He has given you to lead you, into the truth that will make you free.
However, in that realm of the spirit your protection is important to the hosts of heaven. There are angels all around you who are watching out for the fulfillment of that word of prophecy over your life. It’s therefore important to stay free in the spirit, so that God’s word of prophecy can fight that battle for you.
The devil is very limited in what he has access to in the presence of our God. He does not know as much as we do know.
What is dimly or vaguely seen becomes clearer, as we yield ourselves to be praying in the spirit more and more. This is how the fullness of the purpose of God for that word of prophecy will become clearer to you.
The Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians at Ephesus, that:
“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”
Ephesians 1:18-21 NKJV
The mighty power which God worked in Christ Jesus is in you. But you have the primary responsibility to be stirring up that power every day by praying in other tongues. This is how your eyes of understanding will start opening up to know the hope of His calling in your life.
The ultimate goal of all Christian endeavors is to bring the glory to Jesus, especially in the vessels of honor that are yielded to Him. We however do need His grace to carry us into His glory. And for us to remain and stand in the glory of God, we must be steadfastly free in the spirit.
Your spiritual prosperity is connected with your freedom
A Christian can only prosper in the freedom that he or she has in Christ Jesus, based on the standard which he or she has established on the promises of God for his or her life. Freedom in Christ Jesus creates the atmosphere for us in the spirit to prosper.
Being grounded and well nurtured in the word of God creates a spiritual atmosphere for you to prosper. God’s word reveals His love for us. When we are strong in God’s love, we are able to prosper as we share that love with others.
Our ability to share His love in prospering others is connected with our ability to remain free. There are Christians who have allowed the love of this world to take their freedom in Christ Jesus away from them. They equate the freedom that Christ offers with the freedom that is in the world. This is why they are in bondages and living under the curse of the law.
The Apostle Paul described the love of God in the Spirit among the Colossians as follows:
“And he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit.”
Colossians 1:8 AMP
The Church at Colosse was free and matured in the spirit. And that was the reason why the believers in it were prospering.
Paul said that the secret to their prosperity was in their ability to grow in the love of God by the Spirit. This was how they were well grounded and nurtured in spiritual matters. God’s love working in our lives creates an atmosphere for our spiritual prosperity.
It’s the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that brings, the prosperity of the Lord into the Body of Christ. Wherever the Church is free to function with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the prosperity of the Lord abounds.
The local Church prospers, and the members of that Church prospers also. Their prosperity affects every part of their lives – spirit, soul and body.
Prosperity comes with ease to those who are free in the spirit. God’s love working in their lives, causes them to shine brighter and brighter into the abundance that comes from His presence.
If the Lord is taking you higher in Christ Jesus, then you had better be prepared to stay glued to God’s presence, because that is where your real and genuine freedom in the spirit is.
The devil is aggressively seeking for various ways to bring you down. He wants to take your freedom away from you.
But as long as you are in God’s presence, the Lord will take you to where you need to be. So, stay free! Stand strong and firm in the freedom that Christ has given you! It’s in that freedom that you will abound, and bring forth the spiritual fruit for your prosperity:
“Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
Philippians 4:1 NKJV
So, start using your freedom in Christ Jesus to advance your prosperity in all that you are doing. Your best days are just ahead of you. Live free in Christ Jesus! Stand strong in your freedom. You will be glad that you did when your prosperity begins to shine.
