Tools

preparing for ministry

holy spirit led ministry

The Lord looks on the heart and sees who we really are, as well as the deep needs within us. Man is limited by what we can see, think, feel and understand. Therefore the Holy Spirit and our total dependence on Him are essential in ministry.
I Samuel 16: 6-7: …For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but The Lord looks on the heart..”
I Corinthians 2: 9-12: …”For what person perceives what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him?” Just so no one knows the thoughts of God except The Spirit of God.”

hearing God

The “voice of God” or the “word of the Lord” as spoken of by the prophets, was a very real and continuous theme in Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, men and women heard God’s voice speaking to them. Our Heavenly Father is a communicating God who longs to make His thoughts and will known to us. There is a voice of God that we can hear…not necessarily audible, but still no less clear. There is a knowing–described by men and women throughout scripture, that “the word of the Lord came to me”. May God ignite within each of us a passionate desire to tune our hearts to the flow of God’s voice.
John 10:4: …He walks on before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.
Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks…”
Rev. 2:29 “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”

foundational tools

forgiveness

Forgiveness as we see in scripture is not an option. Forgiveness is foundational to facilitate ministry, either in the person being ministered to or in the person doing the ministry. One of the first steps in ministry is to deal with the issue of unforgiveness by asking the Holy Spirit to reveal any area of unforgiveness. Also, in ministry, because of repeated abuse or offenses, forgiveness often comes in layers.
Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

exposing lies

Recognize that the person you are ministering to believes a lie, (something that does not line up with scriptural truths), about God or themselves. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the lie is “brought to light” and the enemy’s scheme has been revealed. By allowing God to define us, we begin to see a true reflection of who we are in Christ.
John 8:44 “…he (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Isaiah 32:7 “The scoundrel’s methods are wicked; he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.”
John 8:32 “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”

healing our image of God

By putting a “false image” of God onto the Godhead, we block our ability to see Him in truth. When people wound us, we can transfer the image of man onto God and we begin to see and believe that He has human flaws. We must examine ourselves, and the image of God the Father, God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit that we have, and align them with Scriptural Truths.
Romans 1:23, 25a “…and changed the glory of an incorruptible God into the image made like to corruptible man… Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”
Isaiah 40:18 “To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare Him to?”

advanced tools

breaking soul ties

Souls are knit or connected together in a covenant relationship through sin or unhealthy/ungodly relationships. People can also be tied or knit together to form emotional and mental bondage and enslavement. To break the tie one must “sever” the spiritual cord that connects the two together in the name of Jesus. You will need to “take back” that which was stolen from you through this relationship and “give back” what you took from them. There will be a spiritual “exchange” that happens
1 Samuel 18:1 “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him and his own soul.”
Proverbs 22:24-25 “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.”
Genesis 34:1-3a “Dinah the daughter of Leah went out to see the daughters of the land. When Shechem saw her, he took her, lay with her and defiled her. And his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob.”

breaking curses

Curses can come in several forms. A word curse spoken over oneself or another is one type of curse found in scripture along with curses that can be passed down through family lines. Generational sins and curses are sinful patterns of behavior that holds a person/family in spiritual bondage. Sins committed by earlier generations are passed down from one generation to the next, often creating a devastating cycle of abuse and torment. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the presence of a word curse or generational curse can be identified and broken.
Numbers14:18 “The Lord is long-suffering and slow to anger, and abundant in mercy and lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth generation.”
Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, becoming a curse for us…”

healing memories

Often times there are wounds and lies attached to a painful memory that keeps us from seeing truth. Scripture says that Jesus is always with us, that he was with us in our past, present and will be in the future. When God brings up a painful memory in ministry, we ask Jesus to show the person where He was during the painful event. We ask Jesus to reveal to the person any lies the enemy has told them about this event and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth.
Psalm 139:7, 12 “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Even the darkness will not be dark to you…for darkness is as light to you”
Job 12:22 “He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light.”
Matthew 28:20b “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 8:32, 36 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

bringing down walls

A wall is an inner defense mechanism that has been put up by a person for self-protection. Walls of self protections may stop situations or people from harming us, but it also prevents the Godhead from coming close to us. During a ministry session the person being ministered to may state that he or she feels as if they have a wall or the team may sense that they are coming against a wall. Begin by asking the Holy Spirit if it is safe to remove the wall, if so, then the team will walk the person through the removal process.
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the well.”

deliverance

One of the three primary ministries of Jesus was the casting out of demons. He commissioned the twelve apostles and the seventy-two disciples to continue this ministry. His word instructs us to do likewise. By breaking demonic strongholds, lives are set free from the spiritual pressures the enemy has placed on ones life.
Mark 16: 15, 17 “He said to them, “Go into all the work and preach the good news to all creation…And these signs will accompany those who believe; in My name they will drive out demons…”
Matthew 12:28 “If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”