For the longest time, I have hated any conversations revolving around witchcraft or evil patterns. As a child, I grew up in a place that was believed to be the home of several witches. I do remember once the whole village was called to throw away a certain mama who had been caught red-handed performing witchcraft. I remember the villagers storming into her house and coming out with some very weird-looking and wrapped things. The mama was chased away and her hut burned. Even after witnessing that, I refused to believe that it was real. I refused to believe that there are people who would do some despicable things just to get ahead or to ensure someone else doesn’t. I so desperately wanted to believe that the world is made up of good people and those struggling to be good; not people who intentionally choose wrong.
As I started growing up, I started hearing stories about these things. I would hear a whisper of why nobody has a successful marriage in that particular family, or why I should never step foot in a particular homestead. Did I believe these stories? Absolutely not! To me, these were just folktales. I believed that witchy stories are just that…stories that should be enjoyed in books and movies. I refused to believe that someone could do something that would seal the fate of another person, an entire family, or even a territory. As I started learning about prayer, I quickly realized the kind of prayers I wanted no to part in; spiritual warfare prayers.
I am now all grown up. I now know better. The kingdom of darkness is just as real as the kingdom of light is. I have come to realize that there are agents of the devil who work harder than most of us to bind mankind and ensure that we never get to experience life to the fullest as God meant it. I have also come to realize that there are mistakes that we make that end up having crazy supernatural consequences. These realities can seem quite scary. Perhaps ignorance is better, right? Wrong! There is a reality that is a million times better than these scary realities. That reality is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice for us on Calvary.
This is why I am very excited about the Altar of Calvary series that we are doing here at Kingdom Network. I mean, it is so amazing to learn all that Christ did for us and how we can walk in that truth. Enough stories. Lemme loop you in on what we learned last Tuesday.
The Altar of Calvary Part II
Manifesting Dominion
We ascertained last week that what man lost in the Garden of Eden is dominion. Thus, Jesus came so that He may restore that which was lost.
Romans 3: 23-24 NKJV
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
The Bible says that we all “fall short” not that we have fallen short, indicating that this is a continuous thing. What makes it difficult for us to walk in dominion is sin. Sin and dominion cannot walk together. While it is the nature of man to fall short, it is also possible to stay without sinning. It is only when we learn this that we can now walk in what God meant for us.
Hebrews 9:23-28 NKJV
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be [a]purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are [b]copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
The relationship between altar and sacrifice
Altar and sacrifice go hand in hand. A sacrifice cannot be made if there is no altar. An altar cannot be activated without a sacrifice. Jesus was not just carrying a physical cross. He was establishing an altar for any sacrifice has to be made on an altar.
Jesus had to shed His blood since without shedding blood, there is no atonement for sins. In the Old Testament, the high priest had to offer annual sin sacrifice for atonement of sins, first for himself and then for the rest of the people. Jesus had to become the perfect sacrifice, not just to atone (cover) the sins of mankind but to take away sin. His perfect sacrifice means our sins are taken away, completely removed from us so that we can live without constantly being conscious of our sins.
The altar of Calvary that Jesus offered Himself upon means that when someone repents of their sin, Christ does not need to die again for their sin. It means that Christ does not need to die ever again. Not for our healing or victory. Dearly beloved, you do not need Christ to die again for you to walk in whatever reality; all you need is to gain an understanding of what Christ did for you. As you gain this understanding, you can now walk closely with God until these realities become real for you. This is why you need to become one with Christ. For Christ has been made unto us wisdom and we have been given the mind of Christ. This means that your reasoning should not be like that of an ordinary person, but you should not reason like Jesus. Fasting should not even be necessarily to ask for things. Rather, it should be a time of suppressing the flesh and amplifying the spirit so that what is already a reality in the spiritual realm can now become a reality in the physical realm.
How Jesus secured Victory for Us
Every covenant was sealed with blood. This is in the old days, and in the bible, virginity was highly championed since marriage is a covenant like any other. This is why atonement of sins had to be done through the shedding of blood. But that was not all, every victory that has been made available unto the believers was sealed with blood.
Five places that Jesus shed His blood and the implications
Matthew 27:27-37
Head
The soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and placed it on his head. As this crown pierced his head, the blood flowed so that the mind of the believer could become renewed. The head is like the CPU, it is what helps us (in the physical) connect with the spiritual realm and access realities meant for us. Christ wore a crown of thorns so that He can redeem us from the curse of the law and the implications of this curse. Now, as a believer who is one with Christ and has the mind of Christ, you can have access to unique ideas and witty inventions that can change the world.
Revelations 5:9 NKJV
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Jesus had to pay the price so that the believer’s mindset would not limit us to think like slaves but as kings and priests who have been given dominion.
On His Back
Jesus was given 40 minus 1 lashes on His back. To the crucifiers, this was just messing with Jesus before finally killing Him. To us believers, this was done for our healing. For it is by His stripes that we are healed. Your healing is provided, not the minute you start praying or walking in it, but it was purchased on that cross.
On His hands
Christ’s pierced hand
Jesus was nailed (hands pinned) to the cross. Blood had to flow as these nails pierced His hands. This was done so that whatever we do with our hands will flourish. A friend of mine once tweeted something that, seemed like a joke, but it was some very serious stuff. In her tweet, she was saying that nothing dies in her hands. People were laughing (because of the context that I won’t go into) but her words stuck with me. Your hands as a believer have been redeemed and blessed. This is why you have the power and authority to lay hands on the sick and they receive their healing. This should become a declaration you make every morning. That thanks to the sacrifice that Jesus made by being nailed on the cross, your hands are blessed. Everything you touch is blessed. Nothing dies in your hands. Can I hear an Amen?
On His feet
Not only were Jesus’ hands pinned on the cross but His feet as well. Every land that you step your feet on, I have given you. Blood had to flow from His feet to restore us to that place of dominion so that wherever we step, that place is blessed. Do you know what this means for you? It means that when you step into that office, the office is blessed just because your feet stepped into it. That business is blessed because you stepped into it. That land grows fertile, yielding a good harvest just because your feet are blessed.
On His side
Jesus was already dead when one soldier decided to pierce Him on His side. Perhaps the soldier was angry that He did not get to cut down His feet as they did other people crucified with Christ? As the soldier pierced His side, there flowed water and blood. The blood from His side is a representation of the establishment of the believers as the bride of Christ. This brought the birthing of the church (by church I mean believers, not the physical institution). So, by shedding that blood, you now qualify as the bride of Christ.
Final thought
If Jesus is the head of the church, then that means that we as His body, can manifest the same realities as Him. This means that if Jesus is victorious, then we are victorious. It is why Jesus said that if believe in Him, greater things than this (what He did while on the earth) shall we do. And the good news is, you already have whatever it takes for you to walk in these realities for the price was paid once and for all on that altar of Calvary. The question is, how solid is your relationship with Christ? Are you ready to subdue the flesh (for we already established that dominion and sin cannot coexist) and become one with Christ? To walk in these realities, you need to first of all:
- Follow Him. Christ first of all calls us to Himself. This is where the relationship with Him is solidified.
- Become. As you sit with Christ you are made to become. This is where He qualifies the unqualified.
- Sent out. Are you patient enough to sit with Christ, to learn of Him until He now sends you out?
Are you ready to walk in these realities that Christ already won for you on the altar of Calvary? Let’s start with a little practice, shall we?
This week, take time to find out from the scriptures what Jesus has availed for you and begin contending for it. Let this become your reality.