5.  Agreements

per — Capturing God’s Heart Volume #29

The basis for all of our spiritual work and authority is the principle of agreement.

The foundation of all our spiritual work and authority is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6 ESV

In his death, burial, and resurrection, we have been given the keys to life in Christ, relationship with Father God, and the Kingdom of God on earth.

The key is agreement.

When we agree with the work done by Christ we come under the gifts of the cross and of his resurrection.

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”  John 10:28 ESV

Without agreement we have nothing.  The power of agreement is laid out time and again throughout scripture.

Initially we are introduced to the principle of agreement through the Jewish laws that declared there must be two or more witnesses before a charge could be laid.

“This will be my third visit to you.  “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  2 Corinthians 13:1 NIV 

Agreement amongst a few was necessary, and all that was needed, to go forward in matters of business, family, and village life.

Jesus Christ affirmed this and added to it the instruction of agreement in his name as that which would accomplish anything.

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 18:19 ESV

Jesus could say this because he represented God the Father in his life and work on earth.

It is in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all heaven and hell is moved.

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Romans 10:9 ESV 

Acknowledging this, working under this, agreeing with this, is our only work.  Everything of any value flows from the work of Jesus Christ.

“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.  Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”                     2 John 1:9 ESV

As believers and ministers of the gospel our agreement begins with the work of Jesus Christ, and then continues on out and over others.

Agreeing with Jesus regarding our own being is powerful.

Agreeing with Jesus regarding others is world changing.

So we must ask, what does Jesus say about you and I?

To what are we agreeing?

1.  First we agree that we need a Saviour, that there is waywardness and sin in our lives and that we cannot be rid of these things on our own.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9 ESV

2.  Second we agree to the character and goodness of God.  That no matter how it might seem to our natural eyes, that God is indeed good and worthy of our praise and allegiance.

“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.”               Psalm 33:4 ESV

3.  Third we agree to God’s creation of us as sons and daughters of The King.  Agreeing with this we embark on a journey of discovery, finding once more our place within the Kingdom.

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”         Romans 8:16 ESV

4.  Fourth we agree to our value and worth and purpose within the Kingdom of God.  All people are invaluable and esteemed by God and created for good things.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10 ESV

5.  Fifth we agree to the Father’s heart over humanity.  We agree to the spirit of God that seeks all mankind and loves all people.

“Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”                1 Timothy 2:4 ESV

6.  Sixth we agree, and give our lives over as a testimony to the goodness and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Father God.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  Colossians 3:17 ESV

And as we work out our lives in agreement with the heart of God we find peace and joy, purpose and celebration, belonging and deep gladness.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”  Romans 15:13 ESV

Regardless of our life circumstances we find God’s presence burrowing deep into our hearts and thoughts and understandings.   And even in the midst of difficulty we find that God’s presence makes all the difference.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28 ESV

We are strengthened, given wisdom, made glad.

Agreeing to the heart of God, the work of Jesus Christ, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is powerful.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.   And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20 ESV

Our lives are not the same.

We are transformed.

Prayer

“Dear God, thank-you for sending your son Jesus Christ to be our salvation.  We receive fully and completely the work of the cross into my life this day.  We agree in the name and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Kingdom of God in our lives.  We say yes and amen to the love of the Father, the encouragement of the Spirit, and the covering of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We ask this day for your favour and grace.  Bless us with your peace, make our hearts glad, remove from us worry and strain, we give our whole hearts to you this day.  Jesus Christ please come and live in every nook and cranny of our lives. 

We thank-you, we love you, we worship you.  We agree to your goodness, we agree to your salvation, we agree to your plan over our lives, we agree to life and we disagree with death from this day forward. 

We welcome you Lord Jesus, Thank-you.” 

Application

Our agreements with the enemy show up as bad fruits in our lives.  We see all that is wrong and bad in our communities and we may put much effort and strategy to ending the bad fruit.  There is nothing wrong with this of course, for we must invest in freeing our nations unto good things in the Lord. 

Yet, we may not know that the bad roots are the reason for the bad fruit.  We may not realize that our agreements with the enemy allow, and in fact invite, the power of satan to be at work in our lives, communities, and nations.  As this diagram shows, the roots of our lives create the fruit, and in the case of bad fruit there are always sins of the heart below the surface of our lives.   

These agreements with the enemy are hard to see for they are in the realm of our hearts.  Our hearts carry attitudes and judgments that do not reflect the heart and manner of God.  Our inner beliefs and perspectives participate in either the love and blessing of the Lord, or participate with the lies and condemnations of the enemy.   And our lives and communities reflect this.

Therefore, it is important to humbly go before the Lord and to begin to ask what is at the root of our problems and difficulties.  We must ask for the revelation of the Holy Spirit to our part in the problem, that we may repent, turn from our agreements with satan and make new agreements with God.  As we do this, our lives, communities and nations will be transformed by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is, in fact, the call of the body of Christ and part of being salt in the world.   Add a little bit of salt to the pot and all the food tastes better.  In the same way, as we live out Christ on this earth the whole world is blessed and made a little more glad and whole.  We are the ones to bless earth and it’s inhabitants.  We are the ones to bring Christ’s healing to our nations. 

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

We, therefore, require great sensitivity to the Holy Spirit so that we might hear and understand how we might repent.  The Lord will lead us as we draw close to him and as we listen with an intent to hear and respond. 

1.  Gather with two or three others from your church.  Set aside an hour or two for listening prayer. 

2.  Welcome the Holy Spirit and set the space: 

“God we gather together in the name and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We want to hear from you.  We declare this space and time covered and kept in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We stand against all lying, deceiving or confusing spirits, binding them to silence in the name and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We invite you Holy Spirit, to speak to us, to guide us.  Thank you for meeting with us.  Amen”

3.  Ask the Holy Spirit simple questions and wait for an answer: 

“Jesus, what is hindering your spirit from moving in this place?” 

4. Once you hear an answer, respond by taking responsibility for this hinderance and come in confession and repentance.  Confess the hindrance to the Lord, take responsibility for it.  Admit that it is there. 

*Use the prayer steps to freedom that begin on the next page. 

Summary – agreements

Our agreements establish the work of God or the destruction of Satan. 

Matthew 18:19,  2 Corinthians 7:14

• Agreement with God equals life.   John 6:35 
• Agreement with Satan equals death.   Ephesians 4:27

Our Agreements show up as: 

• • WORDS:  our words matter (for they create agreements).   Matthew 12:36-37, Ephesians 4:29
  • ACTIONS:  what we do matters.   Romans 8:13, Romans 8:6
  • ATTITUDES:  the attitudes of our hearts.   Ezekiel 18:32, Pro verbs 6:16-19
  • JUDGMENTS:  our condemnations of others reap bad things in our own lives. 

Romans 14:10-13, Matthew 7:1-2

To change our agreements we confess and repent, breaking agreements with satan and making new agreements with God.  NOTE:  the process for this is taught in the next lesson.