Suddenly

In this season, it’s vitally important that the people of God refrain from judging situations and circumstances prematurely!

I recommend a short prayer to you…

Lord Jesus, your Word clearly tells me not to judge matters before the time.  Please grant me the grace to see as you see.  Help me to defer judgement against my brothers and sisters of the kingdom to you; the ONLY RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.

I’m not sure about you, but the last few years in the kingdom of God have presented unprecedented temptations to judge matters prior to witnessing the manifested perfect will of God in a given situation.  II Timothy 3:1-4 tells us that perilous times play a significant role in the increase of affliction, agitation and frustration.

In this post, I would like to share some insight on a biblical account that brought me into a place of revelation and maturity concerning judging matters prematurely.

If you were asked to share your opinion concerning the biggest lie circulating among believers in the body of Christ, what would you say?  My answer would be the lie that there are two equally powerful forces always at war against one another and that the outcome of that battle is uncertain.  Satan loves nothing more than to entangle men and women of God in this web of lies and doubtful uncertainty concerning the perfect will of God.  This particular lie is usually wrapped in sayings like “The Battle of Good and Evil”, “God versus Satan”, etc…  Here’s the truth, Satan is ABSOLUTELY no match for the God of Heaven; Jehovah or the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the reason Jesus could openly declare “the gates of hell would NOT prevail against the Church” (my paraphrase).

Okay, on to the revelation the Holy Spirit graciously revealed to me concerning a number of situations in my personal and professional life.  I invite you to consider the following passages of scripture.

And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.  Genesis 30:11 (KJV)

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.  Genesis 49:19 (KJV)

“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will strike back at their heels.  Genesis 49:19 (GW)

Gad, a troop shall press upon him; But he shall press upon their heel.  Genesis 49:19 (ASV)

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Mark 5:1 (KJV)

Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.  Mark 5:4 (KJV)

And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God art thou come hither to torment us before the time?  Matthew 8:29 (KJV)

And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.  Mark 5:9 (KJV)

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.  Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.  Mark 5:18-20 (NIV2011)

The more I grow in my knowledge, understanding, faith and relationship with God, the more I understand that His ways are beyond our understanding.

Apostle Sheraine Lathon and the leadership of my church have declared “Suddenly” to be the theme of our New Year’s Eve celebration.  The moment I heard this, I immediately discerned the excitement of the Holy Spirit at this declaration.  The passages above weave an intricate narrative fabric of God honoring the declarations of those He has preordained to play a role in the unveiling of His perfect will.  Many times the participants are unaware of their participation and significance in God’s master plan.  Never the less, God seems to always cause all things to work in harmony with His perfect will.

Let’s take a panoramic view of the story of the Gadarene Demoniac, as he’s frequently referred to by bible expositors.  Here’s something to note, it amazes me that every time we refer to the biblical account of this man’s life, he’s referred to as the Gadarene Demoniac instead of the perfect will of God that manifested in his life, as recorded in scripture.

Instead of exploring every aspect of the text, what I’d like to do is bullet point the highlights.

  • Leah is barren.  Just like her grandmother, Leah gives her handmaid to Jacob to produce a child.  Genesis 30:11 tells us that Leah’s handmaid gave birth to a boy and Leah named him Gad (Leah said to herself, I have received a troop).  Names carry profound significance, Gad’s name was no different.  The proper name Gad means a troop in Hebrew.  The Hebrew meaning of the word troop essentially carries the same meaning as the Greek word Legion. Although scripture provides no evidence as to why Leah gave this profound name to the first child between Jacob and her handmaid, we shall soon see the profound significance of this name.
  • In Genesis 49:19, we see Jacob at the end of his life pronouncing blessings over His sons, the twelve tribes of Israel.  In this prophetically empowered series of declarations, Jacob taps into a realm that allows him to prophetically see the bloodline of Gad through the annuls of time.  Jacob’s utterance over Gad is profound due to the fact that it appears Jacob reverses the prophetic destiny of Gad as assigned in the meaning of his name.  Jacob doesn’t say Gad shall be a troop, Jacob says a troop shall overtake Gad.  BUT WAIT…Remember, we’re learning not to judge a matter prematurely.  Jacob doesn’t stop there, he goes on to say that although a troop will overcome Gad, Gad shall overcome at the last.  The terms strike back at their heel or press upon their heel both refer to actions of establishing apostolic dominion over a region.  Which means that Gad would ultimately drive the self-same troop that overtook him out of the region thereby obtaining dominion over that region.
  • Mark 5:1 tells us that the region inhabited by the Gadarene Demoniac was referred to as the Gadarenes.  Scripture makes it clear that this is the very same region given to the tribes of Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh.  So this was the God ordained parcel of land given to the bloodline of the Gadarene Demoniac’s ancestors.  Let’s pause and think about this for a second.  Leah said Gad would be a troop.  Jacob, through prophetic revelation says Gad would be overcome by a troop.  This passage clearly reveals the fact that Jesus received an assignment from God the Father to go to this region specifically to honor the declaration of the Father of the tribe of Gad.  Don’t miss this, it’s critically important that we all understand the power in the spoken words of our mothers and fathers.
  • Mark 5:4 is the biblical fulfillment of the prophetic declaration of Jacob waaaaaayyyyy back in Genesis.  The Gadarene Demonic was bound with chains in the natural realm, which didn’t have the power to restrain him.  However, scripture in Luke and Matthew also reveal that the Legion or troop of demons also placed chains and fetters on his mind.  We know this because scripture clearly tells us that the Gadarene Demoniac was found in his right-mind after encountering Jesus.  For a full account of this story, see my blog titled “Jesus Heals Mental Illness“.  I wonder what the poll results would look like if we asked the people of Gadara whether the perfect will of God would ever manifest in the life of the Gadarene Demoniac?  Given all that everyone knew about him, I’m willing to bet one would be hard pressed to find a citizen that still held out hope for the life of this man.  I can just imagine Satan and the Legion of demons sincerely believing they’ve so infiltrated this man’s life, that there was absolutely no way he could ever fulfill the purposes of God for his life.  BUT GOD…  While it seems the citizens of Gadara have already judged the Gadarene Demoniac, something tragically profound happens right before Jesus encounters the Gadarene Demoniac.
  • Matthew 8:29 allows us to hear the conversation between Jesus and the legion assigned to forbid the will of God in the life of the Gadarene Demoniac.  What’s profound about the conversation is the fact that the Legion of spirits understood clearly that their assignment in the region wasn’t over at that moment.  What’s also crystal clear is that they knew their destruction could not happen until the appointed time.  I find this profound and troubling, given struggles we have in trusting the promises of God.  My prayer is that this article will restore your faith in God’s ability to Suddenly… intervene in every situation in your life.
  • Finally we arrive at the profound revelation I received from the Holy Spirit.  After being totally delivered, the Gadarene Demoniac wants to leave the place where the troop overcame him and travel with Jesus.  If that doesn’t sound like you and I, I don’t know what does; moving on.  Instead of Jesus honoring the request of someone who had just been delivered from a horrific set of trials, Jesus in a totally unexpected fashion, sends the Gadarene Demoniac back to the same people that chained, bound, rejected, ostracized, ridiculed, shamed and afflicted him.  The word Decapolis is where the profound truth is revealed in this passage of scripture.  The word Decapolis, in this context, refers to the ten regions on the East Side of the Jordan river.  Gadara was one of the city’s in the Decapolis.  Scripture plainly tells us that not only did the Gadarene Demoniac go and tell his family about all God had done in his life and the mercy God had on him.  He also went on a ten city evangelistic crusade.  His anointing was so powerful that the very people that wanted nothing to do with him or Jesus were amazed at the transformation in this man’s life.

It’s my understanding that real Apostles are special messengers commissioned by Jesus Himself.  Given this fact, going forward, as I continue to write about this man’s life, I’ll refer to him as the Apostle of Gadara.

Returning to the title of this article and my opening thoughts, consider how many people gave up on this man.  Consider how many truly believed that all hope was lost and that this man was beyond redemption.  The Holy Spirit used the revelation in these passages to help me truly understand something profound about our God.  Our God has the power to Suddenly intervene in any and all situations of His choosing.  That which seems hopelessly impossible to us only serves as a stepping stone for the God we serve.

As a result of the prophetic utterances spoken over this man’s bloodline, God…

Suddenly Delivered…

Suddenly Healed…

Suddenly Restored…

Suddenly Exalted…

Suddenly Anointed…

Suddenly Transferred Dominion of Ten Regions Over to the Kingdom of God…

Suddenly…

If you have a situation that seems hopelessly impossible, understand this, you serve a SUDDENLY… TYPE OF GOD!

I recommend a short prayer to you…

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to see as you see.  Teach me to wait on your sudden entrance into every situation in my life.