Prophetic Decrees

by Todd Bentley

Matthew 16:13-19

13.) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14.) So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15.) He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16.) Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17.) Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18.) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19.) And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

God is building His church on the rock of revelation. When God gives you a word, however it comes, it is for you to build, plant, loose, birth and pull anything down that is opposing the word. The keys to the kingdom lay in every prophetic word and revelation that you have. Some of us are running around with a key-chain full of keys. And they have been there for so long that we do not even know what they are for anymore. But every key that is on your chain is a piece of your place in God's kingdom and your destiny. And with every key or word, comes your responsibility to open up the heavens and loose whatever piece of your destiny lays there.

God is not going to show you something that He does not want you to have now. I believe He has a timetable, but I do not think He wants to dangle a carrot on a string. I believe that many times we have not walked in the fulfillment of what God has said about us, not because of the prophet, God or the devil, but because of ourselves. We do not know what to do with what God gives us. We are to hasten the word of the Lord. We have a responsibility to birth prophetic promises that are given to us. When God speaks something about you, it is a potential that He is releasing. But we must posture ourselves to be what He said about us. What you do or don't do with what God gave you can determine where you will be.

Revelation 19:11-16

11.) Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12.) His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13.) He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14.) And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15.) Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16.) And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

All of this was taking place in the heavens. We can judge and make war in the heavens when it concerns our destiny so that the word can come to pass. Before I was first thrust into full-time ministry, I had an experience with the Lord where He revealed to me that I must make war for my destiny. There were things in the heavens that I had to loose in order to have them on earth. And as a direct result of my obedience to the Lord, He spoke to a woman who released me into ministry after the Lord had already shown me that she would. There is a place where we need to begin to operate on "upon this rock I will build My church." Whatever the Lord reveals to us that He wants to do, we need to begin to war in the heavens for it so that it can come to pass on the earth.

2 Kings 13:14-17

14.) Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, "O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!" 15.) And Elisha said to him, "Take a bow and some arrows." So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 16.) Then he said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 17.) And he said, "Open the east window"; and he opened it. Then Elisha d, "Shoot"; and he shot. And he said, "The arrow of the LORD's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them."

The king of Israel needed a natural breakthrough. Have you ever been in the place where you needed a word from God for now instead of for tomorrow? It is great to have God's word concerning your destiny and who you will be in ten years, but sometimes we need a word for the place that we are in. The king knew that Elisha was a prophet. In the Old Testament when men went to the prophet for a word from God, it was as if they were going to God. It is a picture of coming before God to know what to do for the battle that you are in. He must have been thinking, "it's great to hang out with the prophet and shoot arrows out the bedroom window, but I need more than this for the people who are in war and dying!" Why did Elisha tell him to say "the arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of the Lord's deliverance from Syria?" Who was the first arrow of deliverance for? The arrow of the Lord's deliverance from Syria was the natural. The arrow of the Lord's deliverance was the spiritual. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. The weapons of our warfare are not natural weapons. We are talking about a spiritual battle. How do you release the arrow of the Lord?

Psalms 18:14  He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them.

Psalms 64:1-4    Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, 3Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows--bitter words, 4That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;

The balance to the whole issue of speaking something into existence is that you cannot speak something that you want and have it, unless it is something that God has already said that you can have. But if God has said that it is yours, you have the authority to get that word from God. We can release arrows of life by speaking over someone what the bible says about healing.   We are shooting arrows.  The arrows of the Lord are words. The bow is your mouth. The arrows are deliverance and God uses them to deliver you from your foes.

1 Kings 17:1  And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."

It is our responsibility to find out what the condition is on the promise that God gives us. There is always a condition to every prophetic promise. Just as the Lord required that the arrow strike the ground six times, and not three, so does He require our fervency and obedience. We have a partnership with God such that He requires our prophetic decree on earth of what He has already said about us in heaven.

What has God said about you? You need to proclaim it into the heavens. The devil is trying to keep what is yours. Take authority over things in the spirit that are coming against what God has already said about you and watch your destiny unfold.