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Hebrews 5:12-14 so this hard food for mature Christians and its not intended for children.
This message is for any mature Christian who is going through something which feels like it’s spiritual imported into his space because it wasn’t there before. Let me ask you a few question to help you understand what’s going on around you:
- Does your life look like you want it to?
- Do you ever feel like it’s a daily struggle for even the smallest spiritual victory?
- What are you allowing into your house?
- What are you allowing other people to bring into your house?
- Is there tension in your house right now because all you speak is hateful words to each other?
- Is there division in your house right now because all you do is fight?
- Is there hate in your house because you haven’t forgiven a family member that has hurt you?
Believe me when I say that what you allow into your house can change the atmosphere completely. No matter what your situation, there are some practical things you can learn to do right now to shift your spiritual atmosphere, wherever you are. Don’t be terrified, don’t be scared of the enemy. That’s exactly what he wants for you. That’s why so many preachers don’t talk this topic because there are scared of offending the devil.
What Is An Atmosphere?
When I say atmosphere, I’m not talking about the weather: rain, heat, or snow. I’m referring to the spiritual climate that influences people, cities, and even nations. Always remember that we live in a world of duality whereby whatever happens on earth can determine how heavens respond. Simply because we can’t see the spiritual realm doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and hence it can’t affect us.It has the power to influence our lives —and the atmosphere in our homes, workplaces, and even our nation. Spiritual atmosphere has the power to shape our lives—to confuse or inspire, to affirm or reject, to make sad or happy, to restrict or empower.
That is why today I want to focus on helping you to get aligned with all God has for you! Jesus when praying he said in Matthew 6:10, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” When we come into agreement with Heaven, new things will open up. When you make this a lifestyle, your life will change forever.
What Is a Spiritual Atmosphere?
When we talk of spiritual atmosphere it’s taken from the book of Ephesians;
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV).
So, an atmosphere is defined by the dictionary as ‘the pervading tone or mood of a place…’ What is true of localities is also true of our families, our ministries and workplaces, or any group, church, or sub-community. With each of these powers mentioned here in Ephesians 6 we see that they create an atmosphere from where they govern from and this is what affects a place, a person or even a region. For instance, we see this in Daniel 10:12-14.
Many things can impact the atmosphere of a region, for instance:
- The history of a place, any injustices that have taken place
- The distinctive culture or culture-mix of residents in a particular region.
- Memories and emotions concerning events that have occurred locally or nationally.
- Spiritual strongholds that are unique to a particular area
- opinions related to politics, people, systems, and organizations
- Expectations (or lack of them) with regard to “a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11)
How To Create An Atmosphere
1.You can intentionally create an atmosphere by going to it or inviting it to you or your home. In simple terms It can be likened to a situation whereby you jump into a river, a lake or any other mass of water with your clothes on the one thing that happens is that you get wet when you leave that what mass. Remember you know it and even those around you know it too. For instance we read in the book of:
2 Chronicles 5:13-14 And it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Hence from this scripture we have read an atmosphere can be created through praise and worship and you can see it affecting people and even regions thereafter.
2. An atmosphere can come to you or you might enter it by mistake due to your actions
The same is the case if you enter a room full of smoke, by the time you leave that room and go outside you will notice that you are smelling smoke and even others can witness the same. What I am trying to say is that an atmosphere can affect you and even those around you like if you jump into the river you end up getting wet despite the fact that you didn’t want to get wet. What you are exposed to something good or bad for such a long time it can affect you in a bad way or in a good way.
Remember that atmospheres are created by a spiritual power with something in mind for a particular reason or person. 1 Samuel 16:23, and whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul,
3.An atmosphere can be forced on you or a region knowingly or unknowingly.
In the same way, we see in the book of Jeremiah 31:29-30 there are factors from the past, and things taking place right now, that may be affecting the atmosphere of your family or your personal life. Hence you see that according to Lamentations 5:7
Most of us are living in a spiritual atmosphere which was created for us by someone else. It’s like living in a house you never built and hence you have to accept it and it defects.
How Do We Know What Atmosphere Is Ruling A Given Place?
Right now there is a spiritual atmosphere in your home, your street and your community. What is it? Is it heavy with a dark emotional feeling that is generating discouragement? Is it an atmosphere of fear that is gripping your thoughts? It is an angry atmosphere causing you to react in aggression? Pay attention because as you will realize, these atmospheres have great power to cause a response from everyone around you.
The Bible says that “the kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). In other words when God’s Spirit is in charge in your home or elsewhere, you can expect to experience peace and joy. That is an awesome promise! We have authority in prayer.
On the other hand, the Bible tells us that we have a spiritual enemy who comes “to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). When these dark forces are at work, they rob our peace, our health, our finances, and our spiritual vitality.
How Can You Shifting A Spiritual Atmosphere?
As a mature Christian chose today to be a thermostat and not a thermometer. Remember that a thermostat shuts itself when certain conditions are met and that should be you who should say no if certain things are being done to you which you don’t agree with. Instead most Christian are like a thermometer keeps agree with the temperature of the room and instead of shutting up it keeps changing, so this Christians keep changing with the atmosphere around them and they never reject it or shut themselves out for fear of opposition from friends and family.
Did you know that shifting the atmosphere is like being in a room with many windows but all the windows are closed and then a person fats. So the only way we can quickly clear the air is by all of us opening the windows near us to let the bad air go out. But what most people do is close our nose,
while others spray their space, and even others become angry and start cursing and then there are others who are ok with what is happening. What I mean is if we identify something we don’t like in our community then we should immediately start chain prayers from our locations and by so doing we will affect what is happening those areas.
shift your internal and external environment.
The world is good at shifting atmospheres for example:
- “If Hollywood can artificially shift atmospheres in the movies, why are we not shifting the artificial atmospheres …” They can make you laugh, cry, be sad and even sometime divorce and all this is done in your living room without you going to them they import that atmosphere through the media to your room and it affects you.
- “If we’re going to affect and infect the world, we should be the best atmosphere shifters on the planet.”
- “Anything that takes me from the normal is a bait from the enemy to get me to agree with it and to take away from my authority.”
I have learned from experience that we can sometimes pick up on other people’s vibes, even when they haven’t spoken a word
Changing the channel
… demonic principalities are like radio stations, broadcasting negative messages all over the world. Each entity has its own assignment and territory. But here’s the good news—we have the power through Jesus to shift these atmospheres!
There was a climate of suicide over the region. asked God to shift the atmosphere from death to life.
The enemy seeks to create a passive environment clouded with pessimism and resignation to the status quo. We must, in return, understand the importance of checking out the atmosphere that is around us so we can partner with God to change it!
Did you ever stop to consider that God placed YOU in a certain job, church, neighborhood or family so you could partner with Him to create space for who He wants to be in that place?
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. — Romans 12:2 NLT
Our ministry is to go into a place, change the atmosphere and create a different environment.
Example Of Spiritual Atmosphere Shift In A School I Taught
I remember when I was teaching in a certain private university the children told me that other nine lectures came and went with a few months apart so the children wanted to know whether I will also go. So I shifted that atmosphere. We shift a negative atmosphere by partnering with God to establish a new environment in which heaven can easily connect with earth because they share the same atmospheric conditions.
How to Change the Atmosphere By Worshipping
When King Saul was being tormented by a demon, they called upon David to drive it out. How did he drive out the demon?
How did he change the atmosphere? He played the harp. He worshipped the Lord.
1 Samuel 16:23, and whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp, then Saul would feel better and the tormenting spirit would then go away.
Worship will change the atmosphere of your house. Worship will change the atmosphere even within your heart. So you realize that when you praise and worship God, the gates of heaven open.
Psalms 100 verse four enter into his gates with thanksgiving and praise.
How to Change the Atmosphere By Praying.
Mark 9:3-5After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
in that atmosphere, heaven and earth becomes one.
We see here that an atmosphere was created due to prayer offered at a certain place by only those who were ready to be part of that atmosphere. Remember it called an atmosphere because it surpasses the atmosphere you know and it has to break the laws you know of that atmosphere. For instance, in the old atmosphere Jesus clothes were not dazzling while he entered into this new atmosphere his clothes started dazzling and also more characters who operate in this atmosphere visited them and communed with them in short their spiritual senses where activated and heightened leading to them sensing this atmosphere and even enjoying it.
And so there are angels of war that can enter that atmosphere. Some of them may not even be involved. They may be traveling, but because you open that radar, suddenly they will break into it. And when they break into it, they will deal with one or two enemies before they go.
Hope you know that the angel that killed Herod (Acts 12:22-23), did not come for Herod, according to Acts 12:5-19. The angel that killed Herod came to save peter. But before he went back to heaven, the Bible said the church was to pray. So before the angel went back, the sword was to hang. And so he heard Herod talk against God and his step back was what slew Herod before he continued his journey.
How to Change the Atmosphere by Speaking Prophetic Words of Life
In the book of Acts, we learn of how the city of Samaria, once bound in deception to sorcery, heard the Good News about Jesus. The atmosphere of the entire city became one of ‘great joy.’ (Acts 8:8)
As followers of Jesus, we do not have to put up with or be affected by a negative atmosphere. Instead, we can partner with God to influence and transform the atmosphere.
How Can You Shift Your Atmosphere?
We learned a four-step approach to this that simply helped us to put this into action. “The Four R’s of Shifting the Atmosphere”
RECOGNIZE: When you come under an atmosphere, Holy Spirit will enable you to recognize what it is and will bring you into faith. He will help you to understand that you have become aware of it for a reason and that He wants to partner with you to do something about it. In Ephesians 2 we see how Paul explains that before we followed Jesus we were under the devil’s dark atmosphere (who is described as “the prince of the power of the air”) and lived under it’s influence. Satan is using the atmosphere all around us to try and manipulate people to his evil agenda.
But what a glorious revelation to know that Jesus has given us power and authority over the devil’s plans, and his evil ways can be silenced when confronted by a superior Name…JESUS!
REJECT: Once you have discerned the atmosphere, in the authority that Jesus has given you, you are then empowered to reject its influence over you and others. Later in that Ephesians chapter in verse 6-7, Paul then explains how we are no longer people living under the devil’s atmosphere of darkness but are now alive with Jesus above it all. Look at this, God has, “…raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” Now that’s a position of power!
In a very real sense we are seated with Jesus at the right hand of Father God and this spiritual reality can have a direct impact on our physical one if we know how to function from this heavenly position. That then leads us to the next R…
RELEASE: This is where you release the reality of God’s Kingdom realm into that situation, into that room or that moment of need that you find yourself in. Of course, the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray to God reveals this, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Later Jesus expands on this when He teaches in Matthew 16:19 (AMP), “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.” Yes, we have permission by Jesus to pull down to earth what Heaven has.
I am still unpacking this and learning to do it as a first response, not a last response. But how amazing to think that Heaven is not a far away place that is coming one day, but is a promise that we can access now. How much of heaven can we access now? I don’t know, but I will spend the rest of my life finding out.
REJOICE: When you have sensed the atmosphere shift, break-out in praise! As a matter of fact, why wait? Praise Him even before the miracle! To rejoice is to have a thankful attitude that God is worthy, faithful and far above it all. To rejoice is to live bigger on the inside than the outside circumstances are trying to dictate. I love Philippians 4:4 (NKJV), “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”
Brethren do something about your atmosphere and surely it change for the better!
Pastor Nathaniel.
