APOSTOLIC DECREES OF JUSTICE
Date: October 20, 2004
Author: Revivalist Todd Bentley
Apostolic declarations, that are commissioned in heaven and sent by God, have tremendous authority to bring about His justice. The Lord will release significant breakthroughs when we declare, decree and proclaim His will and His word. An apostolic declaration is a powerful weapon that shatters destructive plans of the enemy! It's even like a pre-emptive strike!
DECLARE, DECREE, PROCLAIM
GOD'S MANDATE FOR THE YEAR - ISAIAH 61:2
God began speaking to me about apostolic declarations at the beginning of the year. He highlighted this key scripture, "To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn" (Isaiah 61:2). Next, He revealed that one of His (five) mandates for 2004 and beyond is: to declare, decree and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of the Lord's favor, or Jubilee. He is anointing us to carry out this mandate! When we make a decree like Moses and the prophet Isaiah, it's like we're saying, "Hear O heavens and earth…let heaven and earth give witness!" "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear O earth, the words of my mouth" (Deuteronomy 32:1). "Hear O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken…'" (Isaiah 1:2).
JUBILEE AND FAVOR
Did you know that Jubilee means total deliverance for us, cancellation of debts for each of us and our family, and liberation from any kind of a bondage, taskmaster, or oppression over our lives? In the anointing, we can proclaim "Jubilee!" and set into motion, like the laws of gravity, a power, or a force of power that causes everything in our lives to begin to come into divine order. Now, that's an anointing! We don't have to wait for the year of Jubilee! When God's word is declared, the angels of heaven act upon that decree, and a supernatural endowment of power comes into our lives that we never had before.
There's more! When the Spirit of the Lord God is upon us to proclaim "Favor!" everything around us will begin to change because of the favor of God. One moment we don't have this power, and then in the next moment, under the anointing, we can proclaim, "Favor, favor, favor!" Suddenly, a download of favor comes that was lacking two minutes before, like a tangible 'coat of many colors,' dropping out of heaven as an anointing. We will see the results!
Did you know that the same word for 'grace' is 'favor' and both words can be used in the same way? How many of us would just love a spirit of grace to come upon us today? God not only wants to give us favor, He wants to release the spirit of grace upon us, through a supernatural endowment of power.
It seems like everyone is trying to get favor, but there are principles involved that release favor upon our lives. First of all, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). Listen guys! God loves everyone the same, but the one who loves and seeks Him the most, is the one He will favor the most. God loves the wickedest, vilest sinner just as much as He loves us, but more of His favor is released to the one who deeply loves Him, who hungers and thirsts for Him. When we fail to seek God passionately, our favor level might not be the same as other believers who are pursuing the Lord with all their heart. Jesus said to "…seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). We can actually grow in favor by obedience and by diligently seeking Him.
When we think about getting the favor of God, so often we think it's a process of 'getting into' the favor. But levels of favor grow. Jesus grew in favor with both God and men. (Luke 2:52) When our favor with God grows, our favor with man grows.
King David's life of devotion to the Lord attracted the heart and favor of God even though at times there were some areas of his life that were quite messy. It was like God looked at David and said, "But this guy has a heart of passion for Me!" When David became captain over about 400 discontented men, the favor of God became evident and this favor grew until the people made him King over Judah and all of Israel (I Samuel 22:2, 2 Samuel 2:4).
So, growing in favor with God, hinges on our intense pursuit of Him. When God sees our love for Him and our determination to chase after Him with all our heart, He not only releases favor over our lives, He releases an anointing to proclaim "Favor!"
DAY OF VINDICATION
You know, there's more than Jubilee and favor coming! Our day of vindication is coming, too! Now, let's go back in Isaiah to, "proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn" (Isaiah 61:2). The second part of that verse is to declare and decree the day of the vengeance of our God. He will release an anointing upon us so that we can actually call court into session and call heaven to be our witness, when there is injustice. It's an anointing to declare God's vindication (Definition—vindication: defending against criticism or censure [Webster's Dictionary]). We can access the heavenly court system where the Holy Ghost presides as our advocate and counselor in matters concerning our lives, destiny, inheritance and death.
How many of us would like God to take up our cause right now? There are circumstances in our lives—sickness, disease, death, poverty, bondage, oppression, false accusations—that we know are not God's will for us. Yes, we can think of all kinds of injustice, but the Spirit of the Lord is upon us to declare vindication. We know the scripture where God says "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,'" says the Lord (Hebrews 10:30), but He has invited us, as saints of God, into a place of the power of the decree.
We can actually approach the heavenly court system, not only to gain justice on our behalf, but also to petition God for divine judgment against our enemies. God will plead the cause of His people, but we have to learn how to ascend the courts of heaven. As children of God we have a right to see injustice removed and it will be removed when we declare and proclaim God's word, His truth. God's word prevails and disarms injustice!
THE HEAVENLY COURT
Now, let's examine some background scriptures so we can more fully understand how our decrees disarm injustice in the heavenly realm.
BACKGROUND
Recently, I prepared an in-depth teaching series on 'encounters with the throne,' after spending an extensive period of time studying 64 scriptures about this topic. Due to time and space limitations here, we will examine just a few of these scriptures in this teaching.
The heavenly court system is known by other names in scripture:
a) Divine council—Psalm 82:1
b) Counsel of El (God)—Job 15:8
c) The council of Yahweh—Jeremiah 23:18
d) Council of the holy ones—Psalm 89:7
I'd like to define divine 'council,' and divine 'counsel.' When a group meets together like an administrative, advisory, or legislative body for discussion and advice, we call this grouping, a council. So, when the heavenly court is in session, the members of the court form a body called the 'divine council.' But, when these members of the divine council listen to the Lord's message and engage in discussion, the members are hearing God's advice and wisdom—His 'divine counsel.'
Below, I will list some of the members of the divine council:
a) God
b) The hosts of heaven—also called the stars of heaven: "They fought from the heavens; The stars from their courses fought against Sisera" Judges 5:20.
(The hosts of heaven include: the angels: the Cherubim and the Seraphim, Michael, the archangel, who is the leader of angels in battle and the archangel over the nation of Israel, and Gabrielle, who brings interpretation of divine revelation concerning times and seasons of the church.)
c) The cloud of witnesses: the apostles, prophets and saints of old
d) The prophets that are alive on the earth, and believers
e) The twelve disciples who judge the nation of Israel
f) The 24 elders
g) Devils
The divine counsel of God is described differently in several places in scripture. The heavenly courts can be found on earth or in heaven and both the counsel and council of God are always linked to the dwelling place of God. It can happen in the mountain—it can happen in the temple setting:
a) The mount of the congregation:
"For you have said in your heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north" (Isaiah 14:13).
b) The holy mountain of God:
"You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones" (Ezekiel 28:14)
c) An earthly picture linked to the tent or tabernacle of God:
"Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, A tabernacle that will not be taken down; Not one of its stakes will ever be removed, Nor will any of its cords be broken" (Isaiah 33:20).
THE THRONE ROOM
A GLIMPSE OF THE THRONE
When he comes before the throne in the spirit, the apostle John sees God, sitting on the throne, like jasper stone and sardius in appearance. He sees a beautiful scene of worship (Revelation 4:1-11). Later, in the book of Revelation (chapters five through eight), although the setting remains the same (the very throne of God), the scene changes to a courtroom that releases judgment.
As Christians, we often have a mental picture of two distinct places in heaven: one, the throne room where the saints worship and, two, the courtroom of God where judgments are made. However, in the book of Revelation, it appears that both worship and judgment happen in the same place, just at different times. In the throne room John sees and refers to each member of the Trinity. Firstly, he identifies God as "One sitting on the throne" (Rev. 4:2). Secondly, he describes seven burning lamps which symbolize the Holy Ghost (v. 5). Lastly, we see Jesus Christ revealed in the throne room (Rev. 5) as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the great overcomer. There it is—the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, in the throne room!
The prophet, Daniel, gives one of the best descriptions of the throne room to be found in scripture; both the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man are seen together in their governmental authority:
"I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire, a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9-10).
"I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him" (Daniel 7:13,14).
In the above passage, Daniel identifies the Ancient of Days as the One presiding over judgment and the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, receiving His glorious kingdom. Both Daniel and John describe the presence of the Lamb of God.
Revelation 4 and Ezekiel 1 and 10 both describe the throne, but in two different ways. The apostle John refers to a throne on the ground, on the sea of glass like crystal. On the other hand, in his vision, Ezekiel looks up to the throne through the firmament. He sees the throne, moving on wheels within the wheels and covered in eyes. Again, both prophetic books speak of four living creatures, but in different ways. Although Revelation doesn't speak of a throne with wheels, Ezekiel describes four living creatures that actually create a celestial chariot for the throne to ride on. That's why the throne has wheels, it moves. Did you know the throne of God rides on a chariot with wheels and that the four living creatures actually form part of the chariot that carries the throne? It's a prophetic picture of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant, which was a symbol and actual sign of God's presence (1 Chron. 15:2). Where the ark went, so did the presence of God.
Whenever we talk about the throne room we should picture it like the tabernacle of Moses (Exodus Ch. 35 to 38) and the temple of Solomon (1 Kings Ch. 6 to Ch. 8)—all the tabernacle imagery. We can think of every reference to the throne of God as a reference to the ark of God as well—both symbolize the presence of God, the place where God was. Also, both the ark and the throne moved as God's presence moved.
OPEN VISION IN KANSAS
In Kansas City, in November 2003, I experienced an open vision during a prophetic round table. In this vision, I was taken into a court scene in heaven that reminded me of our Canadian parliament when it's in session, with the Speaker of the House and members of parliament present. The scene followed the parliamentary procedure in which members speak in an open forum and discuss policies back and forth until Mr. Speaker says, "Enough!" Then everything goes quiet. He administers the entire session, but he's not the only one active in the proceeding.
Now, our image of God on the throne, in the heavenly court, may be that He is the only participant. But after I was caught up into the throne in heaven, I saw God on His throne flanked on either side by 12 thrones, making a circle, totaling 24 thrones. And then, as I looked beyond this circle, I saw more thrones as far as my eyes could see, arranged in tiers the way seating is set up in a stadium. There were thrones and thrones, and more thrones! In my spirit, I knew that the outer thrones were filled with angels and the cloud of witnesses, also called the cloud of testifiers: apostles and saints of old. They were like a jury. The apostle John reports in the Book of Revelation, "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them…" (20:4a).
The heavenly court was in session. Then I realized that cherubim, seraphim and the devil and demons, were a part of this divine council meeting. Below, I will discuss in greater detail, one example of demonic involvement in the heavenly court room.
ACTIVITY IN THE THRONE ROOM
The divine council room, also called the heavenly court, is situated in the Throne Room. Remember, it's a place where judgments are decided upon, but it also functions as a throne room of worship. Let's keep in mind that the devil can come before the throne of judgment, bringing accusations against believers, but he doesn't have access to the throne room of worship.
One descriptive scene of demonic involvement in the council room is found in 1 Kings 22:19-23:
Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, "Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, "'I will persuade him.' The LORD said to him, "'In what way?' So he said, "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, "You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."
This portion of scripture gives us a picture of a court session going on in heaven. Micaiah, the prophet, begins by describing the Lord sitting on His throne, surrounded by the host of heaven. We read that an evil spirit answers the Lord's question: "Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead? The demon comes forward, replying: "I will persuade him. …I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets." Then the Lord gives permission to the evil spirit: "You shall persuade him and also prevail. Go out and do it."
So, even evil spirits, at times, can be a part of the divine council of heaven to accomplish God's will! But evil spirits don't have the last say! We have a part in judgment against our adversary the devil, who is constantly battling against prosperity coming into our lives. Although we need God to bring judgment, He invites us to be involved in the divine counsel concerning our life and death, our fate and inheritance.
As well, past biblical and spiritual leaders, had access to the divine council room. Joshua, one such leader, was seen by Zechariah standing before the Lord in the heavenly courts. After Satan's unsuccessful attempt to oppose Joshua and after his filthy garments were replaced by rich robes, here's what the Lord said to him: "Thus says the LORD of hosts: "If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here" (Zechariah 3:7). Joshua was given access to walk among the heavenly council.
Also, we can see, after examining the life of the prophet, Jeremiah, that he was a godly, righteous, man of God who stood in the counsel of the Lord and then pronounced God's judgments. In the following verses, even though God is asking the question: "For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord and has perceived and heard His word?"—we can safely identify Jeremiah as one who stood in the counsel of the Lord while God's judgments were pronounced on the wicked:
"For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly" (Jeremiah 23:18-20).
In the last verse: "The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart," the word "heart," also means "counsel."
Now that you've taken a good look at all the action in the Throne Room, you will be ready to learn how to make decrees of justice for your life (which we discuss in the next part of this lesson). Next week, in Part 2, you will learn how to tap into the power of decrees to change situations and release breakthrough in your life and in the lives of others.
THE POWER OF THE PROPHETIC DECREE
Last week we discussed God's mandate for this season, including revelation about the heavenly courts and the power of prophetic decrees that activate divine justice. This week I will talk briefly about angels and their part in executing divine justice. Next, we'll discuss the importance of making decrees to activate the heavenly court before discussing the battle against God's plan to bring restoration in our lives. At the end of the teaching, we'll join together in a powerful prayer, seeking divine justice from the Ancient of Days by presenting our petitions and decrees before His throne.
In the last teaching, we explained the concept of prophetic decrees. Remember, God created Adam and Eve in the beginning to have dominion in the earthly realm, to have authority to make decrees on earth. But because they disobeyed God's instructions, the Devil succeeded in stealing their dominion from them. (Gen.3) To make matters worse, their disobedience caused all of humanity, all of us, to suffer under the curse of sin and to lose our dominion over the earth. We all lost the power to make kingly decrees. But God did not leave us in this helpless estate forever! He sent Jesus Christ to rescue us (Is. 53) and He gave us His living word to come boldly before the throne of grace to participate in the divine court system of heaven. (Heb. 4:16) God has given us a better dominion than in the beginning—now our dominion includes a spiritual dominion where we can take authority over the devil in the heavenly realm. We have a right to participate in that court room in heaven where the devil accuses and God and His angels carry out justice.
ANGELS ON ASSIGNMENT
Angels freely execute the judgments of God echoed in heaven after we decree what God has spoken to us on the earth. After a decision or judgment is made in heaven, a member of the divine council either serves as a divine messenger to announce the decision of the council, or an angel will come to execute the divine judgment. King David writes prophetically about the ministry of angels:
"The Lords has established His throne in heaven and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of his word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure" (Psalm 103:19-21).
THE HEAVENLY COURT SYSTEM
Failing to accept our responsibility to make the decrees that God has spoken hinders angels from intervening in our lives. We are called to make heavenly decrees or kingly judgments as His ambassadors. However, God wants us to stop making unrighteous judgments, to stop looking at situations through human eyes. Until we make righteous judgments and decrees about situations, God cannot release the true breakthroughs we desire!
Here's what the Lord said about His people's judgments: "God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? (Psalm 82:1). God is standing in the congregations of the earth, judging among the mighty ones or little "g"—gods, you and me. The word here for 'mighty' is also 'judges,' 'rulers,' or 'sons of God.' So, He's standing in the middle of the leaders, apostles, prophets and saints on the earth, ones like us, who are entrusted with power to make prophetic decrees and proclamation.
He's judging our judgments, our proclamations, to set the captives free; He's judging our mercy to the widow and to the poor. He asks, "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?" It's like He's saying, "Haven't I made you my judges? Have I not made you sons of God in the earth? I've given you power through the prophetic decree. Life and death are in the power of the tongue to announce My word, and the angels heed to the voice of your word in bringing about My divine judgment and justice."
God commands the mighty ones in verse three: "Defend the poor and the fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and needy." And then in verse six, God says, "You are judges and all of you are children of the Most High, you shall still die like men and fall like one of his princes." Judges refers to the supreme judges here on the earth, and you and me. Clearly, God is commanding us to bring forth justice on behalf of the poor and the fatherless. We are called, with great responsibility and power, to make judgments through the prophetic decree against the enemy.
Asaph concludes his Psalm by pleading with God: "Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations" (v 8). He invites God to bring His judgment back into the earth because we are failing to bring forth justice. But God command us, through the prophetic decree, to execute His divine judgment and justice.
Although we are called the mighty ones, and God made us judges, it's God, the King, who rules! He prepared a way and a place, a heavenly courtroom and a functioning heavenly court administration or system, where His will is to be executed. But, to participate in God's heavenly court system, to activate His saving, healing, delivering power on behalf of those who are bound and oppressed, it takes a prophetic decree by us, the mighty ones.
Several scriptures in the book of Job reveal the power of the prophetic decree, expressed through Job's friend, Eliphaz:
"You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. You will also declare or decree a thing and it will be established for you so your light will shine on your ways. 'When they cast you down and you declare.' When they cast you down and you make a decree and say, 'Exaltation will come!' then God will save the humble person and He will even deliver the one who is not innocent" (Job 22: 27- 29).
Job's friend understood the heart of God when he said, "You will decree a thing and it will be established" and "When they cast you down and you declare." This scripture gives us the key to victory—declaring God's will! Our breakthroughs are released when we obediently declare God's will; our words activate angels to heed the voice of His word. So, when we declare God's will—that prosperity and healing or exaltation will come, and victory or favor will come—we actually release God to save the humble. Remember, God shall plead the cause of His people.
As stewards and members of the heavenly court or divine council, when we declare and sing in faith, "Exaltation will come," then He will come and save the humble person. He will deliver the one, even the one who is not innocent, at our decree. (Job 22:27-29).
RESTORATION
Believers who place great value on what God values bring great delight to Him. Listen! He gave us the opportunity to be channels that release His saving, healing and delivering power, when we declare His word and His will. This is no small thing in His sight! But, today, if we fail to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, then their destiny is jeopardized, robbed and plundered. Isaiah expresses God's heart when he writes:
"But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder, and no one says, 'Restore!'"(Isaiah 42:22).
You know what? Nowadays, we're not doing a very good job speaking healing words to the sick, proclaiming liberty to the captives or decreeing freedom for the prisoners. (Our destiny is adversely affected, too, when we neglect to decree God's word and His will.) That's why God was judging the mighty ones in Psalm 82; He was saying, "You're not taking care of the poor, the needy and the afflicted. You're not making decrees of justice."
There are believers in the church today, caught in addiction and bondage, hidden in prison houses. There's so much defeat! If we're honest, we'll admit that there are times when our back is up against the wall. We think, "Hey, I know who's going to win in the end, but I'm losing right now and I don't know what's going on!" Yet, when we start to rise up in authority, making declarations to set captives free, we're still not seeing the victory we're contending for. Our problem is not in the words we decree, but in the faith behind them. We often don't really believe that there really is authority and power in our words.
God is actually hindered from saving the humble and wreaking vengeance on the enemy when we don't understand the power in the declarations: "Exaltation will come," and "Decree a thing and it will be established" (Job22:28,29). We must learn how to approach the heavenly courtroom and utilize the provision God made for us there in that setting. Remember, the angels either announce or execute the decisions made in the heavenly court. These heavenly ministers carry out our earthly prophetic decrees which line up with the truth of God's word and His will.
So, God wants to save and bring restoration to the humble! I believe that His power to restore is set into motion when we declare: "Restore!" "Restore!" Then the angels in heaven are released to execute this righteous and just decree!
BATTLING TO WIN
We're in a battle right now! We're being prevailed against! So often our back is up against the wall and we're getting the short end of the stick. Some of us are losing in the fight against sin and sickness, disease and death. We're contending for prosperity and fulfillment of our destinies. We're fighting for the promise of God and the fulfillment of the prophetic word in our lives. The fight is on for our kids to know Jesus. We're fighting for that mortgage, that land, that property.
This war has raged for centuries! The prophet, Daniel saw this war we would face today: "I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them" (Daniel 7:21). This war is with the anti-Christ, or the anti-anointing spirit. It's reminds us of the battle outlined in Daniel 10 about the Prince of Persia opposing Michael the archangel for 21 days. As the enemy opposed Daniel, so the anti-anointing and anti-Christ spirits oppose our every destiny and inheritance in God UNTIL…
"… the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom" (Daniel 7:22).
When the Ancient of Days comes to execute judgment on our behalf, we will have justice in our lives. Today could be the day! Right now, we could ascend the courts of heaven, approach the Ancient of Days, the Judge, and present our case! We could begin to act as sons of God on the earth with the power of apostolic declaration in our mouth! As we say "Exaltation will come!" we release God to save the humble and to deliver those who are bound. When we say, "Restore!" we release God's 'repairer of the breach' anointing (Isaiah 58:12) which will cause everything in our lives that is lost and broken to be restored—not just double, not just five times, but seven times—the thief must repay God's people. Restoration will happen when we declare, "Restore!" "Restore!" "Exaltation will come!"
Before we begin to approach the heavenly courts, I want you to think about every case that you have right now, every area of your life that you are waiting for a breakthrough. It could be that the Devil is keeping you from receiving your inheritance and stepping into your destiny. Or your difficulty might be concerning your health; he is bringing sickness and disease by stealing, killing and destroying. Any area of your life right now where you know there is injustice and you've tried to battle it through yourself—think about your case. Maybe you're trying to defend yourself by bringing vengeance by yourself. You need God to plead your cause.
When we petition the Ancient of Days in just a moment with our case, the angels are going to heed to the voice of His word spoken by us, the saints. Remember, whenever a decision is made, a member of the divine counsel either serves as a messenger to announce the decision of the counsel, or an angel will come to execute the divine judgment, so that the justice of God can come.
The Old Testament Church was entrusted by God to bring about judgments in their own courts in five matters: life, death, destiny, kingship or inheritance. (You know they had their own courts. Remember when they took Jesus before Pontius Pilate? There were certain boundaries to the courts that the Pharisees, Saducees and Jews had and so they turned Jesus over the Romans. Or, how they wanted to stone the woman who was caught in adultery.) Now if you can think of any area of your life right now that you are not living in the fullness of the promise and word of God in these five areas, you have a right today to ascend the courts of heaven and petition the Ancient of Days to come and pronounce judgment in your favor.
I've been in meetings when the Lord gave us permission to make decrees resulting in numerous testimonies coming out after. Supernaturally several people had thousands of dollars appear in their bank account right after the session! One lady said a court judge called her from his home at 11 p.m. leaving a message on her answering machine, "I was so troubled by the decision I made in the courtroom, I had to call you tonight." He said, "I am going review the case again!" As well, we were in a meeting in Atlanta, and within moments of making a certain decree about a business deal that had been waiting for 25 years, we heard that it went through for millions of dollars. Another report was a phone call from someone who learned that their son was released from prison right away, even though his sentence was originally set for much longer. There are situations that receive supernatural intervention by God when events are out of our hands because a higher court system has come into place!
God is inviting you to approach His throne to present your case right now. We can petition God together for His judgment and make apostolic declarations and decrees. Remind God of the prophetic promises you received and then name each injustice.
Now listen, God is also entrusting us today to begin proclaiming liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. We can say "Restore!" and "Exaltation will come!" We can begin to bring justice and mercy for the poor and needy, the afflicted and the widow, with the word of God in our mouths. He gave us authority to set the captives free, in Jesus' Mighty name! Now pray with me to execute judgment on earth and to proclaim God's favor in our lives:
PRAYER
God, today, we are petitioning the court of heaven and we are petition You, the One who is faithful and just, the One who is true! The Holy ones today are approaching the courtroom in heaven where judgment is made; divine judgment for divine justice on behalf of the bound and the afflicted and the oppressed.
Thank you, Lord, that today we can stand in the council of heaven as prophetic voices, as mighty ones and judges, and rulers on this earth with dominion to make the decree. Today, Ancient of Days, with all respect we come before your throne and we make petitions and we make requests.
God, together we are petitioning the council members in heaven right now, requesting that the host of heaven begin to hear, with You, the Ancient of Days upon Your throne, concerning where we need Your divine judgment and Your vindication to come. You are the God who rolls back the reproach. You are the God who pleads the cause of Your people, the God who pronounces judgment and favor over the saints of the Most High.
We petition You today in intercession and we present our cases. Hear them, please God! Let the courts of heaven be open right now and let the session come into place right now. We pray that you would come into our homes and congregations—into the midst of the mighty ones.
God, we are going to make a decree: Exaltation will come! Restore! Restore! Restore! God we loose it in heaven. Restore! Restore! Restore! Divine order coming now. In every area where there has been stealing and killing and destroying we speak the word of the Lord. We say over that loss, Restore! Devil, give it all back! The thief and the liar give it all back! God, we believe You will restore and we claim it! God, we ask for it! We declare it!
God, we proclaim the day of your vengeance. We proclaim that this is the year of Your favor! This is the year of the Lord's favor! This is the year! This is our acceptable year, liberation and Jubilee! Lord, I say it over the people today: Favor! Favor! Favor! Divine Favor! I proclaim and I decree: Favor! Favor! Favor! The vengeance of God! The vengeance of God! Ho!
Now, Lord, let the angelic hosts who execute your judgment go forth. Let the warring angels act to defeat the enemy and restore our kingly destiny. Let them overcome in the spirit-world, in Jesus name! And let the angelic hosts overcome every demonic power or stronghold and every assignment that is aimed against our inheritances! We throw it down! We take authority concerning our kingship over every power that resists.
We know O God, that You must come and make a judgment in favor of the saints; that's what we need right now. We thank you, Lord, today for the victory!
