In the letter to the Ephesians it is written that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing of heaven in Christ Jesus. [Eph.1:3] Paul also wrote to the Galatians that Christ has redeemed us from all the curses of the law, having become a curse for us. [Gal.3:13] But very often we may observe in our lives symptoms of all kinds of curses — poverty, sickness, problems in the family — and ask ourselves: “Why is this happening to me? The Lord has already blessed me with health, so why can’t I enjoy it?”

I think a good example for understanding this question is the story of the Israelites and the promised land. The Lord said to the Israelites while they were still in the wilderness: “See, I have set the land before you…“. [Deu.1:8] The land was already set before them — already given. You see, God had already given them the promised land, but many did not enter it because of unbelief. But of believers it is written: “For we who have believed do enter that rest…” [Heb.4:3]

Today our promised land is the land of rest, and when we believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, we entered this land. We no longer need to strive to enter rest or fear not getting into it. The words written in Hebrews 4:1 are addressed to the Jews who had not yet believed in Jesus and who wander in the wilderness, as the Israelites did in their time. That is why the author of the letter to the Hebrews warns them not to come too late and have the door shut in front of them, like the five foolish virgins who did not get oil (the Holy Spirit) in time and were late for the wedding feast. [Heb.4:1; Mat.25:1-12]

When the children of Israel entered the promised land, there were giants in their way who had built cities with very high walls. Today these cities are the strongholds, or false beliefs, sown by the enemy in our life. It is these strongholds that keep us from enjoying the blessings the Lord has already given us, just as He gave the Israelites the land before they entered it. He told them: “go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers; to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; to give to them and their descendants after them” [Deu.1:8] Notice that the Lord said go in, and also possess. When we believe in Jesus, we go into the land of rest. And when the strongholds in our mind come down, we possess this land and begin to enjoy the blessings the Lord has already given us. The word descendants (literally, “seed”) points to Christ, and therefore concerns us too. [Gal.3:16]

Faith Comes by Hearing

“That’s why, Brother Paul, we need to renew our mind,” someone will say. Of course renewing the mind, or tearing down the enemy’s strongholds, is necessary, but very often we think we must do something for it — listen to more sermons, pray a lot or read the Bible often. In that case we are trying to take the enemy’s cities by our own strength, as the Israelites tried to take Ai, or “with God’s help”, which is really the same thing. In fact, renewing the mind is not our concern, not our work and not our battle, but the Lord’s. The Word of God says: “for the battle is the Lord’s” [1 Sam.17:47] David fought Goliath himself, but the victory and the spoil went to the whole people of Israel. In this story David is a type of the Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ. So today too, it is not we who try to renew our mind and tear down the enemy’s strongholds, but the Lord who tears them down by His Word. His Word is the two-edged sword that comes out of the Lord’s mouth and with which He fights. [Rev.2:16]

The psalmist writes: “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” [Ps.119:105] When the truth of the Word of God comes into our life, it destroys the darkness and brings down the walls of Jericho. Here is what happened to the Israelites when they took Jericho: “…And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” [Jos.6:20] Notice that first the people heard the sound of the trumpet, then shouted, and only then took the city. That is why Paul writes: “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak” [2 Cor.4:13] And as we know, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [Rom.10:17] Reading Joshua 6:20, one may get the impression that the people shouted first and only then the trumpets were blown, but a few verses earlier it is written how it all happened: “And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city!” [Jos.6:16]

The seven priests in this story who blew the trumpets are the seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. [Rev.4:5] The horn the priests blew symbolizes the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, because the Jews always blew the shofar when they offered the sacrifice to God, once in the morning and once in the evening. [Exd.29:38-39] When Jesus was crucified in the morning, and when in the evening He breathed His last, the sound of the trumpet was heard in the temple — the sacrifice to God had been offered. Now the Holy Spirit has come to testify about Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished for us on the cross. And when we hear the Word of Christ which the Holy Spirit speaks to us, the light of the seven lamps destroys the darkness and tears down the strongholds in our mind.

My wife Svetlana had a “sick soul” for many years. She said it felt as if a large stone had been laid on her chest, and it oppressed her constantly. Even when she became a believer, heard the gospel of grace and knew about the Lord’s unconditional love for her, this pain still did not go away. One fine day, sitting in the kitchen, she heard a quiet, tender voice inside: “Could I ever cause you pain?” At that moment she realized that this pain was from the devil, and understood that she had unconsciously thought the pain was from God, who was trying to teach her patience and make her strong. It was a stronghold and a false belief sown by the enemy long ago. She got very angry at the enemy then and said: “Oh, you scoundrel, you’ve tormented me for so many years! Take your cursed pain and get out!!!” And in that very hour the pain left. About a month later the symptoms began to appear again, but she already knew clearly that it was the devil trying to impose them on her, and she sent him packing again. Many years have passed since then, and the pain has never come back. Glory to the Lord for this wonderful deliverance!!

Precious brothers and sisters, if there are still some symptoms in your life of the curses from which our Lord has redeemed us, I pray that the Lord, our true Lamp, will shed light on your situation and the walls of Jericho will come down. Daddy God loves you very much!!! He did not spare His beloved Son, personally for you!!! So He will put your enemies under your feet!

When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, he said: “You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD…” [2 Chr.20:17] When we live in the works of the law, we are lying down, but when we live in God’s grace, relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we are “standing in faith”. Only by abiding in the grace of God, when the veil of the law has been taken off our eyes, can we see the salvation of the Lord. [2 Cor.3:15-18] And who is the salvation of the Lord? Jesus, or Yeshua, means the salvation of the Lord in Hebrew. Jesus is the solution to any of your problems. He is the light of the world, and His true light will tear down every stronghold in your mind and set you free from any symptoms of curses. To Him be all glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!