Raiders for Christ
Weekly Message
Building a Relationship with Christ

As Christians grow in spiritual maturity, we hunger for an intimate relationship with Jesus, but at the same time we feel confused over how to go about it. How do you get closer to the invisible God? How do you hold a conversation with someone who doesn’t audibly talk back? Our confusion begins with the word “intimate,” which has become cheapened because of our culture’s obsession with sex. The essence of an intimate relationship, can be like a long-Distance Relationship between a man and women. In today's world when it comes to making a choice in following one's career is a serious commitment to choose to live hundreds -- or even thousands -- of miles away from the man or women you love. Career, school and family are just a few of the factors that keep lovers whispering sweet nothings into the phone instead of each others ears. But if you think a relationship is doomed because of distance, think again. The myth that most long-distance relationships fail is just that: a myth. The reality is that more couples are making it work than you might think. Thousands of couples are living in separate U.S. cities today, couples are actually staying close (and get even closer) when you're so far apart? It's not easy, but it's not impossible? As one should be committed by our ever changing world.

By writing out 'rules for one's relationship, couples are able to make it work by calling at least once a day, by emailing their spouse as the day unfolds, along with texting, seeing each other as much as possible as their schedule permits. The ground rules are remarkably the same in building one's relationship with the Lord, with Jesus, one requires sharing one's heart. Jesus has already shared with us the gospels which are remarkable books. Even though they are not exhaustive biographies of Jesus of Nazareth, they give us a compelling portrait of himself. If you read those four accounts carefully, you will come away knowing the secrets of his heart. The more you study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the better you’ll understand Jesus. When you meditate on his parables, you’ll discover the love, compassion, and tenderness that flow from him. As you read about Jesus healing people thousands of years ago, you begin to grasp that our Living God can reach out from heaven and touch our lives today. Through reading God's Word, your relationship with Jesus begins to take on new and deeper significance. Jesus revealed his emotions. He got angry at injustice, showed concern about a hungry crowd of his followers, and cried when his friend Lazarus died. But the greatest thing is how you, personally, can make this knowledge of Jesus your own. He wants you to know him. What sets the Bible apart from other books is that through it, God speaks to individuals. The Holy Spirit unfolds Scripture so it becomes a love letter written specifically to you. The more you desire a relationship with Jesus, the more personal that letter becomes.

When you are intimate with someone else, you trust them enough to share your secrets. As God, Jesus already knows everything about you anyway, but when you choose to tell him what’s hidden deep within you, it proves you trust him. Trust is hard. You’ve probably been betrayed by other people, and when that happened, maybe you swore you’d never open up again. But Jesus loved you and trusted you first. He laid down his life for everyone of us. That sacrifice has earned him your trust. Many of my secrets sadly have been from a broken heart, and maybe yours are too. It can hurt to bring them up again? If you haven't given them up to Jesus, that is the path to intimacy. If you want the closest of relationships with Jesus, you have to risk opening your heart. There’s no other way. When you share yourself in relationship with Jesus, when you talk to him often and step out in faith, he will reward you by giving you more of himself. Stepping out takes courage, and it takes time. Held back by our fears, we can move beyond them only through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

At first you may notice no difference in your connection with Jesus, but over weeks and months, Bible verses will take on new meaning for you. The bond will grow stronger. In small doses, life will make more sense. Gradually you will sense that Jesus is there, listening to your prayers, answering through Scripture and promptings in your heart. A sureness will come upon you that something wonderful is happening. Jesus never turns away anyone who seeks him. He will give you every help you need to build an intense, intimate relationship with him. Beyond sharing to enjoying when two people are intimate, they don’t need words. Husbands and wives, as well as best friends, know the pleasure of simply being together. They can enjoy each other’s company, even in silence. Long distance intimacy with Jesus is what brings deliverance of our old ways of thinking... resulting in spiritual maturity.

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"

Raiders for Christ
"Hating the sin, but love the sinner"

In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, violates due process and equal-protection rights under the U.S. Constitution. The ruling met immediate criticism from Mormon and Catholic church leaders and cheers from gay-rights advocates. "Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples," Walker wrote.

The judge added in the conclusion of the 136-page opinion: "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license." His ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians. The landmark case is expected to be appealed and could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Homosexuality, like all other types of fornication, has no place in the family of God. Regardless of what modern promoters of “gay liberation” might wish to believe, sexual perversions are not inherited genetically but rather are learned behaviors and willful sins. Like alcoholism and other such sins of the flesh, they may become very difficult to give up for those who have been enslaved by them, but God is able to give deliverance to any who sincerely desire true freedom and salvation. To “straight” Christians in the church, however, the familiar old admonition to "hate the sin, but love the sinner" surely applies in such cases. Homosexuals, long accustomed to being looked upon with disgust by most people, are understandably anxious for acceptance by society. Nevertheless, they must not be encouraged to continue in their wickedness, for it may well cost them their eternal souls. Instead, they need to be “loved into the kingdom,” being delivered first of all from their rebellion against God, then to Christ for salvation and healing.

The first thing that love demands is that we repent for the unkind, unchristian and unloving ways in which Christians have in the past responded to those who struggle with homosexual confusion. We have condemned them in our hearts. We have reacted with revulsion and fear. We have considered ourselves better than they. Many of us have simply turned away and offered no help at all. We have sinned as great a sin against them as they may have sinned against God (provided they have responded to their homosexual inclinations in ways that make them culpable before God). Scientific studies have shown that people are not naturally born homosexual. But what is also true is that most people with homosexual neurosis never consciously choose to have it. In fact, many (perhaps even most) spend endless years begging God to take it away. It is a condition of arrested emotional development primarily caused by circumstances outside of the control of the person and against which most children and adolescents have little defense.

Hollywood has propagated the myth that when it comes to marriage "all you need is love." This is simply not true. Marriage is not based on emotion any more than any other partnership in life is. Marriage, like many human activities, involves emotion but it is not constituted by the presence of any particular set of emotions. I do not deny that many homosexuals feel deeply for their partners; however I do assert that no matter how deep the feelings, what they have is not a marriage in God's sight. It is a beautiful deception. Just because an emotion is deep or powerful does not justify acting upon it. Like drugs, like adultery, like the abuse of alcohol or the love of money, or the power rush of human ego trips, there are emotions which are powerful and addictive and ultimately terribly destructive. Same sex marriages must satisfy criteria other than emotion. A marriage is more than a sexual pleasure center. A marriage is a social unit that is interwoven with dozens of other lives. Same sex marriages do not last. Less than 5% of gays have ever had a relationship that lasted 3 years or more. Sex is not enough. Passion cannot sustain an inherently unstable social unit.

Marriage is a fundamental social institution that does not exist just for the emotional satisfaction of two individuals but for the greater good of the community which stands under the blessing or curse of God. Societies that put emotional fulfillment before right actions and principles will soon give way to a multitude of addictions and deep corruptions and collapse. God will judge any society that institutes same sex marriages. His Word stands over society and when it is deliberately flaunted in the name of progress and enlightenment, then it is not light but deep darkness that results. We cannot bend the principles of God's Word to suit vocal minority groups. While some nations may enact laws permitting these evils, the true church of God must stand resolutely firm and never allow the sanctioning of same sex marriages by Christian clergy. No church that takes the Bible seriously can sanction a union between homosexuals or lesbians. For the Bible-believing Christian, there can be no doubt that homosexuality is a grievous sin in the sight of God. The awful catalogue in the first chapter of Romans of the sins practiced by the ancient pagan world began with this sin.

It is true that at some point, many become co-conspirators in the development of their condition - through "sins of response" judging, condemning, dishonoring, seeking identity, completion and fulfillment in the creature rather than the Creator, welcoming unholy fantasies or acting out immorally. However, the original orientation is mostly the fault of others who are beyond the control of the individual. Like the person with an inclination to alcohol abuse, they can either respond in rebellion against God through "sinful tantrums" and self-medication or they can embrace the trial of their condition as an opportunity to grow in the knowledge of their absolute dependence on God and eventually find healing and transformation in Him. It is the call of the Church to show them the way that the Father has provided through His Son Jesus Christ. We must do this with unconditional love and with wisdom and knowledge.

Until the Church reforms, how can we ever expect society to reform? Today, we elect pedophiles to Congress, we sell their books and frequent the stores that stock them; we make bishops, priests and pastors of men and women known to live sexually immoral lives; and we endow seminaries and colleges that teach their students not to believe the true Word of God. On the other hand, when fellow believers waver and fall, we shoot them and bury their memory rather than lead them to repentance through grace and love; we teach and we model salvation by works, performance righteousness, and the dishonest posturing of sinless perfection. I do not believe that the so-called "gay church" would exist today if it weren't for these and other sins that we, the Church, have committed. And so our first task is to repent, and just maybe the world will take us seriously.

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"

Raiders for Christ
The flesh and the devil
6th of Several Messages

Many who criticize the deliverance ministry will claim that we tend to blame everything on demons to avoid personal responsibility. That is simply not true in most cases in this type of ministry. I do not intend on ignoring the flesh or overemphasizing the demonic, but I would like to clearly explain how the two work together to carry out Satan's plan in our lives. The flesh is the gateway to the demonic. Many times (unless it is generational, etc.), it is through the flesh that the adversary gains entrance into a person's life. We are first tempted by demons (the enemy works through his army of fallen angels) because they are seeking to gain entrance into our lives or carry out a plan to kill, steal or destroy us (see John 10:10), then once we give in, they become welcomed into our lives, and once they enter, they will serve as bad friends who will constantly seek to negatively influence us.

Having a spirit of lust will be like working in an adult bookstore... it will work to wear you down and get you to give in. Without having that spirit, it is much easier to resist the temptation. But wait a minute, what about plain old temptation that is thrown our way on regular bases? We are not immune from that, are we? No, unfortunately we will probably be tempted to a certain degree until we leave this earth. But let me illustrate the difference between normal temptation and having a demon which is pressuring you to sin: When you drive down the road and see an adult bookstore alongside the road, you can easily resist thinking about what is inside that store... that is temptation. Now let's say that you had to work in such a store, and have sex videos playing on the TV screens all day long... that is what it's like to have a spirit of lust. There is a VERY big difference! If you simply feel a little temptation once in a while and find it very easy to resist, then you are likely experiencing simple temptation from the enemy and your goal is to resist it and move on.

However, if you feel driven to lust or pornography (or other sinful behavior such as anger, hate, rage, etc.), then you likely have a spirit that must be driven out. As I said earlier, the flesh is the gateway to the demonic. Demons cannot simply walk up to us and enter... they must be welcomed, and our flesh is their tool to get the job done. If they can tempt us to sin, and our flesh opens the door, then they will have 'permission' to access our souls and/or bodies. This is why you cannot effectively minister to a person who is not ready to let go of their bondage. If somebody is not willing to give up lust, then even if you do get them delivered (by casting out all spirits of lust, addiction, etc.), that person will likely (without even knowing it) re-open that door all over again and the demons can come right back.

Sin is a work of the flesh: Is it possible for a demon to take complete control over a person, and cause them to murder, rape, etc.? Yes! But in most situations, that is not the case. Unless the demon takes complete control over the person, it is the flesh that commits the sin. Take for example a person who has a spirit of lust and then commits adultery... it is their flesh that has sinned, but it was coaxed along (or pressured) by the spirit of lust (or similar spirits). Having a spirit of lust can pressure us to sin, but it cannot force us to sin. This is why the Bible still refers to various sinful acts as 'works of the flesh': Galatians 5:19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Demons are like bad friends: So what if you have a spirit of rage, and you are driven to violence? Wouldn't at least some of it be the demon's fault if you fell into that type of sin? Having a demon is like having a bad friend who has access to your mind and can sit there and inject thoughts or feelings in your system day after day. If you hang around bad friends all the time, what happens? You begin to become like them... they will wear off on you! That is what happens when a person has a demon; the demon's ways will wear on that person's flesh and break it down... making it hard to resist temptation and sin! Can a demon take control over a person and use their body to commit gruesome acts of murder, etc.? While it can happen, it is rarely the case. Devil's are great at working the flesh up to the point of sin and putting pressure on them that can be very hard to resist. This is usually how they do their dirty work in our lives.

Conclusion: The flesh is the open door to the enemy, and the demons are here to ruin our lives. The two work together to carry out Satan's plan to destroy us! The flesh must be crucified (or consider ourselves dead to sin - see Romans 6:11), and demons must be cast out. If we try to crucify the demon or cast out the flesh... we are wasting our time! It is vital that we accomplish two things when seeking deliverance: Make sure that our flesh is not joining hands with the demon or giving it any permission. Get rid of any unclean spirits that may be working against us. It is pointless to constantly discipline the flesh yet allow the old mind-set to remain, and it is also useless to cast out the demons, but allow the flesh to re-open the doors to them again.

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"

Raiders for Christ
5th of Several Messages
Ambassadors of Christ

Many today feel that it would have been better off to live back in the days of Jesus' ministry, so that we could physically walk up to Him and receive a healing or deliverance. However, did you know that Jesus did not do the miracles because He was the son of God? That's Right! The Word of God tells us that Jesus went about doing good because He had the Holy Spirit:

Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." Notice that it doesn't say, "for He was God" or "for He was God's son"... it tells us that the works that He did, was done because the Holy Spirit was with Him, not necessarily because He was the son of God. The Holy Spirit is with us today as well, and so we are enabled to go about doing the same works that He did in His ministry!

John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." Does that really include casting out demons, healing the sick and things of that nature?? Yes!! Look at what Jesus tells His disciples after He rose from the dead: Mark 16:15-18, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

As the body of Christ, we are considered to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:20, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." If we look up the word ambassador in this verse in the Greek, we are given the word presbeuo, which means, "to be a senior, that is, (by implication) act as a representative." An ambassador is somebody who represents another person or group. We, as the body of Christ, are supposed to be representing Jesus here on earth today! John 20:21, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so I send you."

We are ambassadors for Christ... that means that we are to go forth doing His work here on earth the way that He demonstrated to us with His own ministry... we need to be healing the sick, casting out demons and ministering in the footsteps that Christ has established before us! The only difference between living in Jesus' day and living in today's world, is that rather than Jesus casting a demon out of you, you can turn to a brother or sister who had made themselves available to the Lord in that area of ministry, and they can cast it out for you because of the authority that Jesus has invested in them! Jesus is relying on the Body, that is you and I, to carry forth His work in today's world!

Whenever we refuse to cast out demons, pray for the sick, etc., we are doing the body of Christ a disservice. If Jesus came to you with a need for healing or deliverance, would you dare refuse to help Him? I would hope not! Yet, Jesus clearly told us that when we serve even the least of the brethren, we are serving Him!
Matthew 25:40, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Every time that we cast out a demon for our fellow brother or sister or pray for their healing, it's as if we are ministering to Jesus Himself! That is how special it is to be used by God in the area of deliverance, healing or any type of ministry for that matter!

Matthew 10:8, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." I count it a great honor to minister deliverance and healing to my fellow brothers and sisters amongst the Raider Nation, to be honest even though we should all have an understanding of the battle against evil and sickness it can be overwhelming as one becomes an ambassador. Ephesians 6:11 tells us that all of our warfare is combating the wiles of the devil. At the end of the day it is completely irrelevant if the particular opponent we face is a principality, a power, or a ruler of the darkness of this age. Collectively, they are all members of spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. They are all part of a spiritual army that is organized and established into ranks - and under the headship of Satan, the devil, who comes against us with his wiles...

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"

Raiders for Christ / How to overcome rejection

4th of Several Messages


This is such a big cause of demonic bondage, and it's one of the most common things to address in being set free. I had one highly experienced deliverance minister tell me that spirits of rejection are among some of the most common demons that he has encountered throughout his ministry. It seems that almost everybody is affected by rejection to some degree. It's vital to understand how it works, and how to apply the cure.

Why does rejection wound us so deeply?

Because it attacks the very person that we are. It destroys our self-esteem, and attacks who we are and our purpose in life. This is why it is one of the most common tools the devil will use to destroy a person's life. God never wanted us to feel rejected or abandon. He desires for you to know who you really are, and realize how deeply God loves, accepts, and appreciates you, so that you can live out the fullness of what all God has ordained you to be. God's Word tells us that without being rooted and grounded in the love (and acceptance) of God, we cannot experience the fullness of God in our lives: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Ephesians 3:19 Rejection has a way of destroying a person's life in a way that few other things can. The sad fact is that the number of people who are affected by rejection is staggering. If we want to be all that God has created us to be, then overcoming rejection and it's affects is vital and absolutely essential.

The fruit of rejection

Many people who have faced rejection and abuse as a child, grow up with unresolved emotional wounds. Rejection causes emotional wounds, which if not cleansed and released, will grow and fester into spiritual wounds (such as unforgiveness, envy, blaming God, jealousy, etc.). Those spiritual wounds open us upto evil spirits which love to take advantage of this opportunity to invade us. The goal of the enemy is to get us built up with emotional baggage inside and negative feelings in our hearts against one another, ourselves, and God.

Rejection has a lot of fruit which can widely vary from one person to another. Some of the common symptoms of rejection include: Rebellion in both children and adults, Fabricated personalities (being somebody you aren't, in order to be accepted) The tendency to reject others, so that you aren't the first one to be rejected. A tendency to always wonder if a person rejects or accepts you. The need to fit in or be accepted by others and be a part of everything. Self-pity where a person feels bad for themselves being all alone. Inability to be corrected or receive constructive criticism. Rejection creates an environment where you are starved for love or just don't fit in. A tendency to blame God ("Why did He give me this big nose? Why did God make me so short?") A sense of pride that says, "How dare they reject me!" Opinionated personality and the need to be right about things. Feelings of worthlessness, insecurity, or hopelessness. Seeking a parent's approval is a sign that your basing your identity upon what they think of you. Envy, jealousy, and even hate can be rooted in rejection. Fear of confrontation (because your identity is based upon what they think of you).

A person who has a hard time admitting they are wrong, or receiving constructive criticism has an underlying problem with rejection. How do we know that? Because they are basing their identity, who they are, upon their ability to be right about everything. Stubbornness can also be rooted in rejection as well for this same reason. They have to be right, or else they feel worthless... that's because "who they are" (their identity) is based upon them being right. This also ties in with opinionated personalities, who are always there to tell you all about something, even if they have little or no real understanding to speak from.

Then we have performance orientation and drivenness, certain variances of OCD, etc. where a person is basing their identity and who they are upon how well they perform at something in life. Whenever we base who we are upon our performance, or our being correct about something, then we fail, it is a blow to our identity. Those who struggle with rejection can also become what we call fixers; a fixer is a person who is eager to tell everybody else how they need to be doing things, but many times have little understanding or experience in such matters. Such a person attempts to be the Holy Spirit in other people's lives, where they have no authority or right to step in. They find their identity in fixing other people's problems, and they love it when people come to them for help or advise.

The truth is that we were created to be loved, accepted, and appreciated. Rejection is an anti-Christ spirit because it opposes the very nature that God created in us. Rejection starves a person from love and acceptance that they were designed to receive. The problem is that when we turn to others or even ourselves for that love and acceptance, we are setting ourselves up for failure and the damage of rejection. Only God can be trusted as the source of our identity.

Self-rejection is another piece to this puzzle. Self-rejection is where a person rejects them self. They do not like who they are. This can often lead to self-hate, self-resentment, etc. It is often tied in with self-unforgiveness, if the person has made mistakes in their life which they deeply regret. Just as it hurts when others reject us, it can do just as much damage when we reject ourselves. Then there's perceived rejection, where a person receives something as rejection when it really isn't. For example, "Why is that person not coming over here to talk to me?" When the person may not be trying to reject you, but just feel shy at the time in stepping out and meeting you (or anybody else for that matter). People who have spirits of rejection can have a tenancy to receive perceived rejection, because the purpose of a spirit of rejection is to make us feel rejected.

A person who feels like God is always angry at them usually has issues of rejection. Perceived rejection can also make a person feel as if God has rejected them. This is a very common scene that we encounter in the deliverance ministry. A good example of rejection, which caused feelings of envy, jealousy, and even hate to surface in King Saul can be found in 1 Samuel: And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed [literally meaning that he looked with jealousy upon] David from that day and forward. And it came to pass on the morrow [the next day], that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

1 Samuel 18:7-11; I was reading my Bible one day, when this passage really stood out to me. First, we see the women praising David for slaying his ten thousands, but Saul for slaying his thousands. This rejection made Saul angry with David, and jealous of him. The very next day, an evil spirit came upon Saul and caused him to become exceedingly angry, to the point of attempting to murder David! Now there's some ugly fruit that all started with rejection. It wasn't rejection that opened Saul up to the evil spirit, but rather his reaction to his rejection.

The same is true when a person becomes stubborn or rebellious, or any other ungodly reaction to rejection. The rejection isn't the sin, but their reaction can be a serious sin. This can open the person up to unclean spirits, and lead them down the path of destruction. God's Word puts stubbornness and rebellion, for example, in the same category as witchcraft and idol worship! For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 1 Samuel 15:23;

The root of rejection

The root of rejection is actually incredibly simple: damage from rejection is the result of a misplaced identity. Whenever we base our identity on somebody or something other than what God's Word has to say about us, we make ourselves vulnerable to the damage of rejection. Many of us will base our identity on what our parents, teachers, or friends think of us. This sets a lot of children up for Performance Orientation bondages later in life, because their parents give them conditional love based on their grades or performance.

What or who defines who you are? Is it your job? Is it what your parents thought or think of you? Is it what your friends think of you? Is it how well you perform in the workplace? How much money you have? Is it how good of grades you get? Is it what you think of yourself? Is it how physically strong, fit, or tall you are? When you die, will those things continue to define who you are?

Rejection and rising above rejection is all about identity and what you base your identity upon. The key to overcoming rejection, is to solve the identity problems. Let's say that you are basing your identity on what your mother and father think of you. Now the moment that any hint of disapproval comes from them concerning you, that is going to hurt because they are the source of your identity. Anytime we base our identity on what we think of ourselves, or what others think of us, we are virtually trusting that person with our identity. Not even ourselves are capable of truly determining who we are; only God is qualified for that job. That is why it is absolutely vital for us to understand the person that God has made in us, and who we are as new creations in Christ Jesus. We were never made to live apart from God or base our identity on things of this world. When we base our identity upon what the Word of God has to say about us, we will become virtually rejection-proof. We can become immune from the wounds of rejection as long as we are not basing our identity upon what that person thinks of us.

Some dynamics of rejection

The closer a person is to you, the deeper their rejection can wound you. Authority figures are also able to deeply wound you, because you look upto them and rely upon them. Parents often pass rejection on to their children when they say things such as, "I'll love you when you get good grades." Conditional love causes feelings of rejection and bondages such as performance orientation and drivenness. Whether you love or hate a person doesn't immune anybody from rejection. You can literally want to kill somebody, but still be affected by their rejection. The question is, are you looking to them for approval? Are you basing your identity upon what they think of you? Does their approval of you give your life meaning and purpose?

A person's age also has a lot to do with their vulnerability to rejection. Children are especially vulnerable to the damage of rejection, because they are still developing their identity and learning about who they are. A lot of damage is done by peers in school. Either your too short, too tall, too fat, too skinny, you have brown eyes when you should have blue eyes... you name it, and kids will pick on it! Insecure children can be very cruel and damage other children through rejection. Why? Because their own identity is not based on the right things. They do not know who they really are, or who they are called to be, so they go around putting other kids down to make themselves feel better. If they knew who they were in Christ, it would be an entirely different story! They would seek to edify other kids, and help them find their identity and calling as well. Is it possible to receive rejection from a child or even grandchild? Yes! Nobody is immune, providing that they are basing their identity on what that other person thinks of them. You can be 100 years old, and be damaged by the rejection of a caretaker.

Get your identity from God's Word!

As I mentioned earlier, it is vital that we base our identity, who we are, upon what God's Word says about us. When we do, we become virtually immune from the devastating and hurtful effects of rejection. God promises never to leave or forsake us, so when our identity is based upon what He says of us, we can be assured that we're not going to face rejection coming from Him. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5; So what exactly does God's Word tell us about who we are in Christ?

Because of God's great love for us, we are adopted into His family [1 John 3:1], and made joint heirs with Christ [Romans 8:17] We are made to sit in heavenly places (of authority over all demons, sickness, etc.) with Christ [Ephesians 2:6] We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ [Ephesians 1:3] We are the righteousness of Christ through faith, thus being made right before God [Romans 3:22] We are entitled to a clean conscience before God because of the Blood and can have full assurance of faith when we go before Him [Hebrews 10:22] Our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west [Psalms 103:12], and God Himself has chosen not to remember our failures [Hebrews 8:12] We are loved with the same love that the Father has for Jesus Himself! [John 17:23] I could go on and on, because the Word of God is so rich and powerful in helping us define who we are in Christ. One of my favorite books to recommend when it comes to this subject is Victory over Darkness by Neil T. Anderson. His book on this subject is an incredible tool to change the way we see ourselves through the eyes of God's Word. There's one verse in Psalms that really puts the light on how we can be freed from the devastating effects of rejection:When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Psalms 27:10;

Overcoming religious strongholds is necessary to overcome the effects of rejection. You're not going to settle rejection issues fully until you get it down into your spirit that you are accepted, loved, and appreciated by God. Dealing with religious strongholds is vital to this process, as religion paints God as distant, cold, and impersonal. Bringing your relationship with God into proper perspective is a vital step in the process of overcoming the strongholds of rejection. Tearing down the strongholds of rejection is as simple as merely receiving, with childlike faith, what God's Word has to say about your identity, who you are as a new creature in Christ, who is called to life, purpose, and meaning in Christ.

Other factors for healing

Intensional rejection is basically emotional abuse in it's most simple form. It wounds a person's spirit, sometimes slightly, other times those wounds can be deep and very painful. Those wounds must be healed, and there are some articles on this site which address the subject of inner healing which can be very helpful in this healing process: Pillars of Inner Healing Defense Mechanisms Inner Healing 101 Is God upset with me? Steps to inner healing. The one thing that you absolutely cannot overlook is correcting your identity. You need to start seeing yourself for who you are in Christ, and the person that God has really formed within you. Your identity must come from Him and what His Word says about you. Printing out lists of Bible verses which speak of who you are in Christ are incredible tools to help renew your mind and tear down these strongholds. In the healing process of rejection, many times strongholds need to be torn down. Some helpful pages on this site include: Who we REALLY are It's vital to love yourself! What's on your mind? The power of your thoughts Anti-stronghold Bible verses (print these out and speak them aloud daily!) How God sees us A Thankful Heart A Love Relationship w/Jesus Blessing Confessions (print these out and speak them aloud daily!) Forgiven sinner or saint?

The Holy Spirit has shown me that whenever we feel the hurt and pain from rejection, it's because we our identity depends upon what that person thinks of us. If our identity didn't depend on what others think of us, we would be virtually immune from the damage of rejection. That is why our identity must be based upon the Word of God, and what God has to say about us. That is the unshakable rock to which we need to build our house upon.

The wounds of rejection can open a person up to spirits such as abandonment, rejection, worthlessness, etc. Those who have ongoing struggles with rejection should go through the deliverance process to have those spirits removed. There are often other bondages that result from rejection, such as performance orientation, drivenness, rebellion, etc. Rejection is an open door to a wide variety of bondages. Lack of love as a child, for example, can cause that child to turn to pornography and lust to fulfill their need to be loved, and now we have unloving spirits, lust, pornography, etc. to deal with. As with abuse, it's not so much the rejection that opens us up to unclean spirits, but rather our reaction to the rejection. As a said, true rejection is just an emotional form of abuse.

God spoke to me one time and said, "How is your heart towards that person who's rejected you? Do you love them as I have commanded you?" Forgiving that person who has rejected us is a vital step in this process. If we want God's help in this healing process, then forgiveness is not an option. Sometimes we even have to forgive God in cases of rejection, such as "Why did God give me this big nose? Or this short body?" I've even struggled with unforgiveness against God because I thought He was just too hard to please, as a result of a religious bondage. Religion, as with so many other things, can also tie in with rejection bondages.

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"

Raiders for Christ
Weekly Message 3rd of Several Messages
Deliverance from the Voice of Condemnation

The act of delivering or freeing from restraint, captivity, peril, and the like; rescue; as, the deliverance of a captive. The bible tells us that Jesus was sent to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10) This is another one of those common tactics of the adversary that we see literally all the time in the ministry of deliverance. The accusing spirit is an anti-Christ spirit, because it approaches people with no love, but a tone of condemnation. It works through a voice; the voice of condemnation. It constantly tells you how much of a failure you are. It tells you how your heart is not right with God. It tells you that if you don't read your Bible every day, that you aren't serious about your relationship with God. It basically tells you that you're never good enough. This is the exact opposite nature of God. It tears down rather than builds up. The accusing spirit uses the letter of the law to lay heavy burdens and crush it's victims, just as the Pharisees would do:

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. (Matthew 23:4) Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:6) The accusing spirit works hand in hand with the family of religious spirits and strongholds, including legalism.

The accusing spirit will manifest in a variety of ways. It can cause accuse a person directly, it can cause them to accuse others around them, or it can accuse God in a person's mind. Anytime the adversary brings up your past failures, that is the work of the accusing spirit. This spirit feeds on past mistakes, in order to justify how that person is supposedly a failure, even though the Blood of Christ has washed away those failures and cast them into the depths of the sea! In this way, the accusing spirit is an anti-Christ spirit, because it deliberately writes off the work of Christ and the shed blood of Jesus.

How to discern Condemnation and Conviction. Who speaks the voice of condemnation? The accusing spirit! Even when the accusing spirit seems to be pointing to the answer, the burden that it lays on the person is overwhelming or irrational. For example, it may tell a person that they must go back to everybody that they have ever wronged, and apologize... then they can be forgiven. That is not only unBiblical, that is salvation by works, and God's Word tells us that if we try to be made right by works, then we have fallen from grace: Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace. (Galatians 5:4) And getting us to fall from grace, that is, to stop trusting God's mercy and grace for our salvation and justification, is exactly what the accusing spirit wants to do. As I said earlier, the accusing spirit is a voice. It speaks to us. It may even sound righteous, because it speaks of how failures are bad.

It's true that failures are bad, but what Christ has done for us is a remedy to our failures. What the accusing spirit wants us to do is overlook or even discredit God's game plan for our failures! Sound like a Satanic mission? That's right! This spirit has all the makings of being righteous, even a minister of righteousness, but inside is a raving wolf seeking whom he may devour. He's busy carrying out the work of his father, the devil.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). The whole motivation behind this ugly demonic spirit is to discredit the work of Christ in our lives. We failed, Jesus forgave, but this spirit keeps pointing to the mistake, as if Christ did nothing to erase it! Isn't that terrible? It is SATANIC!

The fruit of the accusing spirit is widely varied. Self-hate almost always involves the accusing spirit. Guilt, and fear resulting from guilt (when you feel ashamed, you'll be afraid like Adam and Eve were when guilt drove them to hide from God). Doubt, unbelief, hate, judgementalism, critical spirit, resentment towards God, feelings of hopelessness, shame, etc. The list goes on and on.

What does the accusing spirit really want to do? Tear apart your faith and wear you down spiritually. He wants you to walk in guilt, condemnation, and never feel worthy of God's glorious game plan for your life. It's goal is to wear you down, and make you weak as a child of God. The accusing spirit thrives on repeated failures or bondages, or iniquities. Pornography or lust, for example, is a perfect example. A person can keep failing, but have their heart right before the Lord. They feel terrible each and every time they fall into that sin.

Paul told us in Romans chapter 7 that he struggled with repeated failures in his own life as a Spirit-filled believer! A person who doesn't understand their bondage may have no clue that pornography is usually a bondage with roots that need to be ministered to. The accusing spirit, however, is right there to tell them how dirty and sick their mind is. This is, again, the work of the accusing spirit.

The accusing spirit is a finger-pointing spirit. It is a blaming spirit that specializes in digging up the past, and blaming somebody for it. That somebody could be you, others, or God. It works hand-in-hand with a critical spirit, or judgementalism. Bottom line, the accusing spirit will always point to the problem (even if it's been washed away by the work of Christ), while the Holy Spirit will always point you to the solution. If there is a case of true guilt from un-repented sin, then once the person confesses it and is forgiven, the guilt should be an issue of the past. If the person continues to struggle with guilt, then (a) they have not mentally accepted the fact that their sin has been washed away, or (b) the accusing spirit is at work. Once a sin is confessed and forgiven, the Holy Spirit stops convicting, but the accusing spirit doesn't stop, but continues to badger the person over their failures. The accusing spirit will also work in conjunction with spirits of guilt, shame, condemnation, hopelessness, etc.

How do we combat this deceitful spirit? For one, we need to fill our mind with the voice of God's Word (concerning the forgiveness of sins, God's love and mercy, etc.). We need to learn to recognize the voice of the accusing spirit and cast it down. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Being that this is a spirit which builds strongholds in our minds, we need to be diligent in renewing our mind with God's Word, in order to undo the damage that it has done to our thinking patterns. It's also possible that the accusing spirit, along with other related spirits such as religiosity, legalism, shame, etc. need to be driven out as well. You can tear down strongholds all day long, but if a spirit needs to be driven out, it will keep working against you to rebuild those strongholds.

As we make that choice to turn the table on the adversary in understanding the truth of God's word! We realize the Spirit of truth will prompt us to minister to others? Our past failures can be used by God to comfort and heal others around us, delivering them from wrong thinking...in Jesus Name!!

Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"