Relationship or Rights

Mike Connell

Page 8 of 10
I'll tell you. I'll just give it to you briefly, and I'll show you quickly how to get out. This is what it means; what it means is you don't enjoy the flow of grace from God. Your life is burdensome. What does it mean? It means demonic spirits have direct access to your mind. What will they do? They'll keep you angry. They'll keep you stirred up in anger, they'll keep you stirred up for every little injustice that takes place. They'll stir it up, and you'll hear someone, and someone will be talking, and they'll share an injustice; and something will rise up, and you'll be angry, and it was nothing even to do with you! You're tormented. You're actually in a spiritual prison house with tormentors. You can't walk in liberty, joy, love and grace and freedom. Why? You put yourself there! When you chose, when someone failed you - who knows why they did? Who knows what's in their heart? You just know that they did something that hurt you. Instead of judging, finding fault, demanding they pay, shutting them out, paying them back, retaliating in some way, avoiding them, all that kind of thing - extend grace. Why? So you can reap grace in your future. This is a classic example of "if you judge, you yourself are judged". What you sow, is what you reap. That man had a choice, having come out of his experience with God, his encounter with God, and the goodness of God. He had an experience when he came out, and he had to choose whether he was going to keep his experience; or lose it. How did that happen? When he faced a hurtful situation with another believer. At that point, you choose whether you stay in the life flow of God; or whether you take yourself out from it and open yourself to demonic harassment, which often includes arthritis, pains in the body, various spirits of infirmity, all kinds of things.

Listen, I've seen it too many times, and prayed for too many people; life-changing sicknesses, and it was all due to roots of bitterness in their heart. They'd come into grace, but would not extend it, and they were open to a spirit of infirmity. God wants us to walk in blessing, wants us to walk in grace; so if you're in the prison, you once started out so good, but here you are, you walked as a Christian for a few years, and now you find: I don't know why, it's just not fair, but somehow I'm in torment! Somehow - I mean, it's not right what's going on to me! Now you've got to find someone to blame. There'll be a pastor, there'll be a leader, there'll be a this, there'll be that. It was the last church, it was the - you'll find someone to blame; instead of saying: God, what is going on in my heart? What do I need to face?

The way out is: one, is you want more of God in your life, and you say: God, whatever it takes, show me what's in my heart. Show me what I need to face - then you come with a heart that's truly repentant. A repentant heart forgets the faults and failures. It starts to see people as broken and damaged, and no longer says: well I'm going to hold a thing against them. It says: God, I don't want to pay them back. I don't want to do anything like that. Father, I repent of that attitude, repent of my pride, the judgements, the bitterness, the things I've held in my heart. I repent of it and let it all go. Then it begins to sow kind - then you receive forgiveness. We've got to receive forgiveness from God - God, forgive me. Now I forgive and release them, and I start to bless them. Simply desire to be in the presence of God, and live and walk in the presence of God, that nothing breaks the flow with Him.