Wednesday, March 16, 2022 (Purim)
Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
SPIRIT OF “HALT”
Unsure
Lacking Determination
Can’t make up mind
Giving up easily
1 Kings 18:21 – Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you HALT between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ
God is a God of completion – the number seven. He’s all about finishing things, finishing well and fullness.
BREAKTHROUGH IS ABOUT BIRTH (8: New Beginnings)
Birth of nation, birth of a company, birth of a dream
Revelation 12:1-4 (The Dragon and the Woman) – Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
BREAKTHROUGH IS A MILITARY CONCEPT
When one army is able to weaken its enemy’s forces to the point of collapse, a breakthrough occurs, allowing that army to invade and take its enemy’s territory.
We serve a God of conquest and that we are to be about conquest—advancing the true, authentic Kingdom of light into the illegitimate kingdom of darkness.
Matthew 11:12 – …we know that since the days of John the baptist people of the kingdom take new territory through violence and by force
BREAKTHROUGH IS OPPOSED BY POWERFUL FORCES
Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Whether we’re battling for breakthrough against our own stubborn sin, the unbelief of a loved one or breakthrough in the advance of our local church, reaching the lost, rescuing persecuted believers, orphans, sex slaves, or the unborn, we are up against “spiritual hosts of wickedness or spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
We’ve already seen the dragon, or Leviathan Spirit, at work in the Spirit of Halt. Related to that is the Python Spirit. This is a spirit of witchcraft or false prophecy. (HOLD UP SHATTERING SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLDS PYTHON & LEVIATHAN BOOKS)
How does a Python Spirit bring halt?
1. It Squeezes
It squeezes the life, breath, joy, strength, faith, vision and hope out of people. Many people who know Jesus “feel” this spirit. They feel like everything inside of them is being squeezed out. You will hear them say, “I can’t do it. It’s too hard,” or “Nothing seems to work no matter how hard I try.”
2. It Silences
The Python Spirit seeks to silence the voice, prayers and praise of believers. It knows how powerful our declarations and decrees are. The last thing it wants is us, in one voice, declaring the promises of God.
3. It Delays
It causes depression, anxiety, fear and hopelessness. Every battle we have begins in the spirit. We must start our warfare in the spirit to win the things in the natural. The spirit squeezes the spiritual life out of you to delay your triumphs in the natural.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO GET YOUR BREAKTHROUGH?