Pastor Rafael Ramirez | The Awaken Church – ELIM | ELIM Ministries | Lilburn Georgia | January 2022
First I would like to talk about the climate and atmospheric changes that can influence our daily lives, as a practical basis to develop the topic in a clearer and easier to understand way.
Air masses are gigantic atmospheric volumes with very specific temperature and humidity characteristics. When two different air masses come into contact, they do not mix. They push each other along a line called the front.
When a warm air mass meets a cold air mass, the warm air rises because it is lighter. At high altitude it cools and the water vapor it contains condenses. This type of front is called a warm front. It generates nimbostratus clouds, which can cause moderate rain.
However, when a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass, the cold air slides under the warm air and pushes it up. As it rises, the hot air cools rapidly. This configuration, called a cold front, gives rise to cumulonimbus clouds, often associated with heavy precipitation and storms.
On one occasion a storm arose in the middle of the sea. And Jesus and his disciples were in a boat in the middle of this storm. The place, I think, was irrelevant, the important thing is that the disciples were not alone, they walked or sailed with Jesus and something wonderful happened.
²³ And he entered into the boat, and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, a storm arose in the sea so great that the waves covered the boat; but he was sleeping. ²⁵ And his disciples came and woke him up, saying: Lord, save us, for we are perishing! ²⁶ He said to them: Why do you fear, you of little faith? Then, rising, he rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was great prosperity. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, What man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? St. Matthew 8:23-27
In this same story it is shared in the Gospel of According to Saint Mark, he is sitting on a different side of the boat, perhaps closer to the teacher or he was a little more detailed when expressing or telling what happened and he describes a very interesting detail to us. .
³⁹ And he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Be still, be still. And the wind ceased, and a great calm. St. Mark 4:39
Giving the interpretation that the boat was moving violently, making the disciples afraid, thinking that they were going to shipwreck, it was the movement of the waters, and these, influenced by an atmospheric phenomenon that was occurring, a phenomenon that caused a crash. of two atmospheric fronts, thus producing a storm in the middle of the sea.
He who walks hand in hand with the master, even if the atmosphere is affected, Christ has the authority and power to calm that atmospheric change.
Not discarding what is seen beyond human sight, what we see and understand with our understanding, Christ not only saw it this way but also understood that this was caused not only by a meteorological phenomenon, but was also able to see and understand that this had been brought about in the natural world by spiritual influence, caused by the Prince of the air, (Ephesians 2:1-2).
After having declared a time of drought….
¹ Then Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew in these years, except by my word. 1 Kings 17:1
He began to pray fervently three years later, thus causing a change in the atmosphere.
Elias changed, he influenced the atmosphere by declaring with his lips what the fervent mind prayed for.
⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; because a big rain is heard. ⁴² Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and prostrated himself on the ground, and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And he said to his servant, Go up now, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said to him again: Come back seven times. ⁴⁴ At the seventh time he said: I see a small cloud like the palm of a man’s hand, rising from the sea. And he said, Go, and say unto Ahab, Harness thy chariot, and go down, that the rain may not bind thee. ⁴⁵ And it came to pass, while he was doing this, that the heavens were darkened with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab went up, and he came to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he girded his loins, and he ran before Ahab until he came to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:41-46
This change or atmospheric influence, although it seems to be only physical, is one more example of how our prayers can change and affect the physical and spiritual atmosphere in our lives and homes for the glory of God. John 14:13
And whatever you ask the Father in my name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will.
But it is in prayer and search for the Lord. This is part of our consecration.
The psalmist in his relationship, in his walk, experienced many storms in his life, he understood, he understood, that all of them were of a spiritual and supernatural nature, which is why they had to be fought in the same way. He received this revelation when he was ministered to by God.
⁸ Come, see the works of the Lord, Who has laid desolations on the earth. ⁹ That he makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. That he breaks the bow, cuts the spear, And burns the chariots in the fire. ¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted on earth. Psalms 46:8-10
This is the same expression that hundreds of years later Christ would express in Mark chapter 8, when speaking to the storm, understanding that what was seen and experienced in the earthly, was influenced by the unseen, the spiritual. Therefore He had knowledge of how to deal with the situation they were in, (Psalms 46: 8-10) what caused the storm, and saying to the natural, be still, for I am God. Hallelujah!
We in the same way, because of our faith, in Christ Jesus have received the same authority, to bind, to loose.
¹⁸ Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. St. Matthew 18:18
Let us pay our attention to this text, the place from which we operate is not heaven, but rather the earth, because that is the place in which we have been given dominion.
Jesus was given authority, both in heaven and on earth, (Matthew 28:18).
¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. St. Matthew 28:18
And he in turn has given us authority as his disciples, or rather, he returned the authority that our parents, and we, gave up at the beginning of this world, because of disobedience and sin.
¹ Having gathered his twelve disciples, he gave them power and authority over all demons, and to heal diseases. St. Luke 9:1
Dreaming that our fight is not against flesh and blood, that it is not against material or temporal things, but against principalities, powers…
¹² For we have no struggle against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12
…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
It is important as believers to remember two things daily:
²⁸ Then Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command that I come to you on the water. ²⁹ And he said: Come. And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! ³¹ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him and said to him, “O man of little faith! Why did you hesitate? ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind calmed down. Ephesians 6:12
If we want the storm to stop, if we want it to subside, we must go out, trust in the power and authority that we have received, believe, trust in the word that God has spoken for our lives, and take authority, Here on earth, to bind and loose, in heaven.
The two witnesses of the book of Revelations or Apocalypse, these were not because of their own power and authority, they will cause or perform the miracles that they are going to do, it is because of their consecration and separation, which makes them exercise their will with authority and power. of God on earth.
³And I will give my two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours his enemies; and if anyone wants to harm them, he must die in the same way. ⁶ These have power to close the sky, so that it does not rain in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they wish. Revelation 11:3-6
Definition of Cilice:
Nineveh repents and dresses in sackcloth, and her king puts off his royal robes and dresses in sackcloth as well, a symbol of humiliation, humility, and repentance.
⁵ And the men of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. ⁶ And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his seat, took off his garment, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Jonah 3:5-6
Returning to the two witnesses of the apocalypse.
“These have the power to close the sky” influence the atmosphere, because they are its servants, (V3). Many in the churches lack power and authority, not because they are not saved, but due to separation, consecration, these are not faithful witnesses to God, they worry more about what people say, (pride, they need to wear sackcloth) , and because of what the enemy can do to them, without realizing that the God they serve is more powerful, (Job 2:1-7). We were called to be witnesses (Matthew 28:18-20).
There was a historical event here on earth that caused an atmospheric change influencing not only the natural world but also the spiritual world. The sacrifice that transforms the atmosphere, liberating, giving life, and access to the throne of God. This same sacrifice could have been made in Heaven, it needed to have been made here on earth.
⁴⁵ And from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? This is: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ⁴⁷ Some of those who were there said, when they heard it, “This man calls Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately, one of them ran, he took a sponge and soaked it in vinegar, and putting it on a reed, he gave him to drink. ⁴⁹ But the others said: Let us see if Elijah comes to deliver him. ⁵⁰ But Jesus, having cried out again with a loud voice, gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two, from top to bottom; and the earth trembled, and the rocks split; ⁵² and the tombs were opened , and many bodies of saints who had slept rose up; ⁵³ And coming out of the tombs, after his resurrection, they came to the holy city, and appeared to many. St. Matthew 27:45-53
In conclusion:
As heirs and co-heirs of the throne of Grace, (Romans 8:17), we have received authority and power, (Luke 10:19) even more Christ Jesus assures us that He would support us in whatever we asked for, for the glory of the Father. in the Son, (John 14:13). This means that there is a function, work that we must do, exercising our faith, to exercise our authority here on earth, and pray fervently so that we receive what we need. This was one of the greatest examples that Christ left us when he came to this world to exercise, take authority, supported by the one who sent him.
