You Will Reap, If You Faint Not
In a previous testimony, God Sells Our House, I shared how God sold our house and moved us into a 2 bedroom - 900 square foot apartment, and after almost two and a half years, we finally overcame. Some things seem to take longer than others to overcome, and this was one of them. But thank God we will reap, if we faint not.
In my spirit I knew that God was the one who put us there, but He was not the one keeping us there. The whole time we were there, I fought day and night - reading, praying, and fasting to overcome what seemed, at times, endless. But the last three months of this long journey, there was a 'surge' of power in my spirit (that is all I can think to call it) to press in the spirit more than before.
The first week in June (1998), it rose up in my spirit and I remember saying something like, "I am going after this Jezebel spirit until I overcome this wicked spirit." I knew this was the faith of God inside of me standing up to this spirit head on. And when God does this in you, look out because things are getting ready to change. God started leading me to drive around Plano in my car, praying as hard as I could, binding the authority of the Jezebel. I had sat in that apartment praying as long as I was going to, and had also overcome what people thought or heard -- and I am sure there were some that thought and heard, but I did not care. God will take the 'care' of what people think out of you, and He started taking that out of me years back. I sure did not pray to be heard (and in an apartment it does not take much to hear anything!), but there were days where I absolutely did not care even if they did hear me. I was fighting to get out of a situation that was no fun at all. And yes, God will put you in one of those situations and say, 'Okay, now you are going to pray your way out.' And that is exactly what had happened, and it was the love of God. If you have never been in one of those situations - thank God. But thank Him when He puts you in one, because it will be one of the most beneficial and productive times in your walk with God.
Because of the foundation of the apostle and prophet ministry that Doyle has laid in my heart, I was able to stand in prayer believing and overcome, as in the case of every situation that God has led me in. If your foundation has been built on the sand, then when the pressure hits, you will fall at the drop of a bucket. But if that foundation is built on the Rock, and that Rock being Jesus and Him crucified, you will stand by the power of the resurrected Christ every time. The Spirit of Christ in you will never fail or fall.
Anyway, I would drive around in my car praying with everything within me, and the devil hated it because he knew I was about to overcome in this situation by doing it. Shortly after I started this, I was driving north on Custer Road right past Highway 121 when I heard this loud noise and I knew something had happened to my tire. I pulled over and got out of my car, and sure enough my tire was flat. I knew exactly what this was, because over the past several years when I was fighting this spirit, it had done similar things to my car. I have had numerous attacks on my cars and it always occurs when I am in a wrestling match with the Jezebel. And as I have stated before, because of a lack of perfection in my faith and things in my soul, the devil can do this to me. This spirit hates me and I know it. But God is greater than the Jezebel and Jesus overcame this spirit when He was raised from the dead, and His grace is always sufficient for me to overcome too. Praise God!
So getting back to what happened, I stood there for a few seconds and said, "Okay Jesus, you had better get someone here to help me now!" And as soon as I got those words out of my mouth, a young man in a truck pulled right up behind me and asked if he could help me. When he got the tire off, he pulled out this huge railroad tack (I believe that is what he called it) and he said, "This is one wicked looking thing." I thought to myself, "This is one wicked spirit I am fighting that did this to me." It had ripped my tire to the point it was ruined and I had to buy a new one. I had two other similar incidents (not as bad) that happened also after this. What this Jezebel spirit was trying to do was put fear on me and scare me about getting stranded somewhere so that I would quite driving and praying. But it did not work! When I overcame that spirit, I was finally able to drive out of Plano. God then started leading me to drive north and out of Collin County. The Jezebel ruler, that rules Plano, did not want me out of this county, because that is what it was going to take for me to overcome this spirit up to this point. Do not ever think that God will not lead you out of town to pray and overcome a spirit, because He will. In Mark 8:23, Jesus took a blind man out of town to pray for him. So this was totally scriptural how God was leading me. (And it always will be, when He is the one leading you.) In Ephesians 6:12, Jesus said we would wrestle with powers, principalities, rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits. If you do not believe this, I can understand that, because there was a time when I would not have either. But if you walk in the Spirit, this is how God will lead you.
I ended up driving to Sherman, Texas, which is about 45 miles north of Plano. He then led me to drive into Oklahoma on many of these days. And this lasted for about the last two months. I started out doing this five days a week and the last month or so, I was going seven days a week. On Sunday mornings I would go out and pray for about an hour before church. Almost everyday after I would finish driving and praying, I would then come back and read the Psalms through out loud, and many times I would go back out praying. Every single day I would overcome things in the spirit. It was an incredible experience. I am telling you all of this to show you the kind of determination it takes to overcome the powers of darkness in your life. You may say, "I do not want any part of that kind of Christianity." But I am here to tell you, that is the only kind there is. Christianity is not a cake-walk. It is a fight and a war, but it is a fight and a war that has already been won when Jesus was raised from the dead. So going into these wars, you will always know what the outcome will be - VICTORY! That is why in Ephesians 6 it talks about putting on the whole armour of God, so that you can stand against the wiles (or methods) of the devil because you are going to wrestle. And after you have overcome all, you stand praying. After you get through one of these battles, you will say, "Oh, that was not too bad!" I am reminded of the scripture in John 16 that talks about the woman in travail, but after she is delivered of her child, she no longer remembers the pain for joy that her child has been born. After you overcome, the benefits or rewards of what you have reaped are no comparison to how you fought to get them.
One day after I got back to the apartment, I was putting some clothes in the dryer and the Lord spoke to me and said, "I am the one who put you in this apartment, but I am not the one keeping you here - it is the Jezebel spirit." That confirmed what had been in my spirit all along. It did encourage me to keep fighting this spirit because I knew I had the victory and nothing or no one could move me on what I believed. This was a 'prosperous journey' that God was leading me on!! Later on Jesus spoke to me and told me He was leading me in a final overcoming of the Jezebel. So I just kept pressing and fighting in the Spirit, because I knew the end was near, at least for this battle.
During these drives, God would have me bless people. Jesus said to bless your enemies, and an enemy is one who opposes the will of God for your life - and there were some of them out there, no doubt. It was amazing what would come up out of my spirit and what I would overcome as God would lead me in my praying and blessing people. You know, Job had to bless his friends before God turned his captivity. And I have heard Doyle share more than once, how when he was in Argyle he had to bless his religious friends, because spirits in those people were binding up his blessings (money). All I can say, is that it is an incredible thing when God leads you by His Spirit to walk in this Word. And when it is by the Spirit, it will produce results every single time. It just may take longer than you think.
Over this three month period, I put about 7,000 or so miles on my car, and it ended up having 120,000 miles on it. I had no idea God would have me drive one with that many miles, but He did. And it did not bother me one bit. Back in 1991 God had given me this car by the Spirit and it was a nice one. It was at a place, though, where it was needing alot of work to be done on it which was going to cost quite a bit of money. I would believe God every time I went out in it, and not one time did anything ever go wrong. But towards the end of this three months, I knew it was time to either spend some money on it or buy a new one. I told the Lord it made no difference to me which one he wanted me to do (and I meant it), but one or the other needed to be done. One Sunday morning before church, I was driving and praying and the Lord said, "Go and buy you a new Cadillac." I said, "No problem." The next day I went to the Cadillac dealership in Plano and traded mine in and bought a new one. God knows even the best time to send you. This was the very last of August and I was later told that at the last of the month the salesman are trying to get their quota, and God gave me the exact salesman He wanted me to have. He was new to the dealership and God set the whole thing up and saw to it that I got a good deal. I also preached the gospel to this man!
But getting back to the apartment, we had tried several times to get out of it and we absolutely could not. This spirit had us nailed to the floor, and we could not move. It was so frustrating, at times, and unless you have been there, you have no idea. And it had to be overcome before we could get out. But thank God that at the name of Jesus every name that is named has to bow, and that includes the Jezebel. I would feel paralyzed by this spirit, but I would not let those feelings rule me. I would gird up my loins and fight with all that was in me. That is Christianity -- but most people do not want to hear this. They want that easy, laid back, peaceful Christianity. But there is a peace that the devil gives, and he will lull you right to the pit. In Romans 14:17 it says, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." And in Acts 14 it says through much tribulation (pressure) do you enter into that kingdom. Through much pressure do enter into that righteousness, peace and joy. And this is exactly what has happened to me. Through that pressure, I have received a kingdom that cannot be moved - and any of that other kingdom will. Praise God. But I knew I was coming out, no matter what it took -- and it took much grace, much prayer and reading, much fasting and much determination.
There were days I felt like I could not drive another day and fight like I was fighting, but I would get up and go and I would always overcome. Right before you are ready to get the victory, the devil will really try to get you to quit. But a servant of God will fight until the end. There was definitely a work of patience (continuance) going on in me. But the day came, where we finally got out of that apartment - obedience was producing blessings. When the Spirit of God gives you something, you will know you have fought the good fight of faith to get it. If the devil blesses you, and he can, he will just offer it to you, just like he did Jesus. All you will have to do is worship him. And if you love the world, you worship him. After you overcome all the powers and principalities that you have been fighting, though, these blessings will come upon you and overtake you and that is when it will be a breeze -- until the next battle!
The first of September (1998) we finally got out of the apartment, and it was the will of God for us to lease a house instead of buy one. JR had found one house that was fairly new, a one story and about 2400 square feet. We were going to sign an agreement on it, but the night before JR and I were talking, and in the spirit this house was not right. There was another house that JR had found and I will not go into any detail here, but that was the one God wanted us to have. It is a 5 year old, 2 story, 3000 square foot house - and it is nice. It is no comparison to the other one. Thank God He will never let you make a mistake. Plus we moved in for a fraction of what the other one was going to cost us to get into. The people we are leasing it from let us live in it 3 weeks before making our first payment and all they required was 1/2 month's rent for the deposit. Usually you pay a full month's rent deposit plus the first month's rent right up front. And this one even cost a little less a month than the other one that was smaller in size! But that is how God works.
All of these righteous paths God has led me down, have been ordained by God for my perfection. I did not choose any of them, I just obeyed Him and went down them, sometimes rather reluctantly. But they have always produced the peaceable fruit of righteousness in me. It has not been easy having God deal with my heart, and in the process of it, there has been some 'moaning and groaning'. But God in His great mercy has always brought me through in victory, and He always will. He is no respecter of person's - He will do the same for you. All that is required is laying down your life and picking up His, and doing His will from the heart.
My prayer for you this day, is that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will lead you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake, and that you will obey this gospel from the heart.
Until next time, God Bless You!
