A few weeks ago Brett and I were at a church conference. It was the second time we’ve attended this conference. Last year we saw amazing fruit from this conference; we knew we had to go again. It’s been a couple of weeks now since we got home from the conference, and I can say once again the fruit has been great! The Lord has shown me personally the path I am supposed to be on. He has given me some big jobs to do with him, and I am super excited for the next year! 

Moses

During one of the sessions at this conference, the pastor talked about Moses and the three signs Yahweh gave him to prove to Pharaoh Moses was given authority to free his people.

The First Sign

The first sign Yahweh gave Moses to show the authority given to him was throwing his staff down. When he did that, the staff turned into a snake. Then Yahweh told Moses to pick up the snake by the tail, and it became his staff again. We read this account in Exodus 4:2-4 (ESV),  “The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand.”

God Asks His People To Do Scary Things

God often uses the things that seem scary or intimidating to us to show us what he sees when he looks at us. I know I’ve experienced this in my own life. God has asked me to do things that I feel so not equipped to do. One such example is when God asked me to lead and plan a women’s retreat a few years ago.

First of all, I had never even attended a women’s retreat. How was I supposed to plan and host one? This was a time when I had to rely on God to show me what to do every step of the way. I first had to ask where the retreat would be. Then I needed something to teach. Perhaps the most intimidating part was finding the music we would use for worship. While I am a gifted teacher and writer, I am very ungifted in music. I relied on God to show me each song we needed to sing and what order to put them in. It was a time of great reliance on God to speak and me to hear. The retreat went better than I could have imagined! Stepping out in faith when God asks you to do something scary always pays off!

Moses Was Scared Too

Moses was scared to confront Pharaoh and was afraid the people wouldn’t believe God sent him. He had to learn to completely rely on God to give him the words and actions when leading the Israelites. “I don’t speak well.” “What if they don’t believe you sent me?” And the list goes on with excuses Moses gave to Yahweh as to why he was not the guy to lead the Israelites. 

God is so patient with his kids. With each excuse God gave Moses answers and solutions. I know God has done similar things with me as well. We, as humans, are really good at making up excuses as to why we aren’t the right pick for the things God wants us to do. 

Furthermore, Moses was apparently afraid of snakes because it says he ran from the snake. What does God tell Moses to do? Pick it up. God was teaching Moses he was given authority over the snake because God gave him that authority. God was showing Moses he didn’t need to be afraid of the snake because his power is greater than the threat of the snake. 

Structure Of Demonic World

This concept of authority over snakes is important to understand. You see, in the Bible snakes represent Satan and his crew. Satan appeared as a snake to Eve in the garden. In fact the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible talks about a snake being crushed. ”I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬ (‭ESV).‬‬ This prophecy is talking about Jesus conquering Satan at the cross. 

A few years ago Brett and I met with a man who has spent the last several decades doing deliverance with people. As a result, he has learned a thing or two about the hierarchy of demons. There are two basic classes of demons: 1. Snakes, which represent and enforce the governmental structure of the demonic world. 2. Scorpions, which represent the military branch. 

Just like people, the spiritual world has structure and a hierarchy of control. Something Brett and I have learned over the past several years of ministry is that demons are extremely legalistic. They will leverage a vow we make as children and hold us to it when we are adults. 

The Woman Who Made A Vow

There was a girl who was being pestered by the boys in her class. They were at the age when hormones were kicking in, but emotional maturity hadn’t yet caught up. She happened to be a girl who went through puberty earlier than many of her peers. As a result she caught the eyes of the boys in her class. They would come over and tease her, and overall just annoy her. 

This girl befriended a few other girls who were experiencing similar situations with the boys. One night, as the girls were complaining to each other, one girl suggested they make a promise to never get married. Right then and there they created a secret club they called, The Single Girls Forever Club. 

What this child didn’t understand is she just made a vow to be alone for the rest of her life. What this 12 year old didn’t understand is that someday she would grow up and want to be in a relationship with a man. However, this vow she made without understanding its consequences allowed for the spiritual realm to hold her to this foolish contract. 

The Result

Years would pass and she would have trouble connecting with the opposite sex. She would go through her high school years as single. Then she would enter her 20s and go to wedding after wedding after wedding, but she just could never seem to find “the guy” for her. Then came her 30s with still no prospect of a husband. She became increasingly isolated and depressed as she began to realize she may be doomed to be single forever. 

This woman came over for prayer, and as we heard her story, we quickly realized her problem was in fact this vow she made as a child. The spiritual world was holding this contract as proof she needed to stay single. We prayed with this woman, and asked the Father and Judge to make this contract null and void. The woman spoke out and prayed and renounced this vow. I am happy to say that soon after this prayer session this woman met a man, and they did in fact get married. She and her husband are happy together and doing well!

Yahweh Gave Moses Authority

Having Moses throw down his staff, it turning to a snake, and then picking it back up only for it to turn back into a staff, was God showing Moses he had the authority over anything the enemy may throw his way. The staff itself was a symbol of authority. Think about it. What did Moses hold up when it was time to cross the Red Sea? His staff. What did he strike the rock with to make water come out? His staff. Moses’ staff was a symbol of the authority Yahweh gave him to do the miracles. Not to mention the snake turning back into the staff was showing the authority God gave Moses over spiritual snakes. 

Jesus Gave You Authority

Jesus tells us we have been given authority to tread on snakes and scorpions in Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬ ‭(ESV),‬‬ “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” As children of God, Jesus has given us authority over demons. We have talked about the relationship Christians can have with demons in other posts, such as  Can Christians Have a Demon or Breaking the Chains of Evil Spirits. I encourage you to go back and read these posts if you want to know more. Suffice to say, demons are real, they do torment Christians, and we don’t have to live with them because Jesus gave us the authority to kick them out. We can live a life free from torment and hardship caused by demons. 

Jesus’ 1st Miracle

As we were at this conference, it occurred to me that Jesus performed miracles that aligned with the three signs he gave Moses. 

Do you recall what Jesus’ first miracle was? Did you say turning water into wine? If you have been in the church world for long, you have likely been taught that his first miracle was turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. 

I submit he had a miracle before turning the water to wine. First, let’s look at what the word miracle means. 

According to Webster’s dictionary the word miracle means: 

1. an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2.  an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
3. Christian Science : a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law

The Blue Letter Bible tells us a miracle is:

1. wonder, sign, miracle, portent
   1. wonder (as a special display of God’s power)
   2. sign, token (of future event)

Finally, Strongs tells us a miracle is: The Hebrew word is Mophet and means: a token or omen:—miracle, sign, wonder(-ed at).

What Does This Mean

So a miracle is a sign that is a display of God’s power that manifests in an extraordinary way. 

With this definition in mind I believe the first miracle Jesus performed was not sinning when tempted by Satan. If you recall, Jesus was led into the wilderness to fast for 40 days after he was baptized. At the end of the 40 days Satan came in the flesh and tempted Jesus. 

Jesus showed his authority and power by not succumbing to the temptation to take the “easy way out.” He did what none of us could ever do in our own power. I’d say that’s a miracle! How about you?

Jesus displayed what it looks like to tread on snakes and scorpions by trampling over the biggest snake there is, Satan himself. 

What Can We Learn From This

We have talked about the first sign Yahweh gave to Moses and how Jesus displayed a similar sign before entering into full time ministry. We, as followers of Jesus, are capable of showing the world the same kind of power and authority. Jesus has given you the authority to tell the demons in your life to leave you alone. They must obey because they have no choice but to obey Jesus himself. Do you believe you’ve been given this authority? 

You are much stronger than you think. Remember God gave you armor. Why would God give you armor unless he sees you as a warrior? After all, who do the earthly kings give armor to? Their warriors of course! Earthly kings don’t give armor to the common citizen. So if God himself has given you armor, that means he sees you as a warrior too. Just don’t forget to put on that armor! 

Be blessed my friend, and go out there and stomp all over those snakes and scorpions!