Sandie Freed: "Spiritual Warfare is Transitioning! Seeing Through Heaven's Eyes"

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

God calls us long before we ever feel qualified or anointed in our calling... this is mentioned many times throughout Scripture... so we are not alone in feeling like we don't measure up!

I really like this new article by Sandie Freed in which she shares how she felt years ago... and also shares a NOW word for this hour.

Sandie shares about herself from an encounter long ago: At the time of this vision/encounter, I was still shy, fearful and timid. It was difficult for me to stand before people and prophesy, preach...or even be used to make announcements! My background is one where I believed that I could never measure up...

And this now word: ...we are transitioning into a season where we view specific things through Heaven's eyes. In the encounter I just shared, I was seeing myself (and God's children) as being fixed, determined, and full of faith concerning my/their promises.

As you read through this word, I pray you be full of faith and encouragement in whatever God has called you to!

A Vision Within a Vision: "Get Off My Promised Land devil!"

I was standing toe-to-toe with the devil and staring him straight into his evil eyes. With my finger pointed at him, I boldly declared, "Devil, you and your cohorts get off of my Promised Land! The devil snarled and then puffed up a bit with a haughty countenance. But, I held my ground! I knew who I was in Christ and I knew what the Lord had promised me. I was not backing away!

What you just read is a portion of a supernatural encounter I experienced, long ago. Before I share any further, let me back up a bit and give you some background to this vision. It was what I often refer to as a vision within a vision. In fact, I feel as if I were actually translated from one place to another.

Some of you reading this article might not understand my experience, but what happened to me also happened to Philip in the Bible. Acts 8 tells the story of Philip preaching the Gospel to a eunuch who received Christ and was also baptized. Then suddenly, Philip was caught away (also known as being translated) by the Spirit to another city with the purpose of continuing his evangelistic call.

Let me explain why I was translated! I was watching television, intensely listening to a message concerning spiritual warfare and how we, as Believers are called to be warriors. Right in the middle of the minister's sentence, I was suddenly in another place! It was as if I left my body and ended up in an entirely new setting. In fact, I believe I truly was! One minute I was listening to a minister preaching and the next moment I was marching with a massive army; in fact I was leading this particular regiment!

I'll never forget what the surroundings were like because the setting reminded me of places I visited while in Israel; dry, sandy and desolate. I realized that I was actively participating in this encounter, but also positioned to watch myself. (There are many different understandings of "a vision within a vision", or even if it is equal to being translated, but for the sake of this article I will now refer to this as a supernatural encounter). During this encounter, I was unafraid and was marching boldly forward into a battle against satan and his cohorts. I was dressed for battle! (Photo via flickr)

With every step I took, the army regiment I was leading took steps as well. I looked ahead and I saw the enemies of God. I stared them straight in the eyes and I became even more determined to keep marching. As I continued to march, I kept thinking to myself, The devil is on my land and I am going to drive him off and possess what is rightfully mine. The entire army of the Lord will possess their inheritance as well! We all continued to march forward, fearlessly, determined to possess our land.

Next, as I shared earlier in the beginning of this article, I was standing toe-to-toe with the devil. And, actually, the army of God that I was leading stood right there with me, staring straight into the enemies that blocked them from possessing their Promised Land! I commanded that the devil leave the territory that was rightfully mine. He snarled in a prideful way. But I was determined to not back off. I knew that I was anointed and called to lead others to possess their promises. As a result of our fearless determination, the enemy had to surrender! Yes! The devil had to get off our land!

The next thing I realize, my eyes were upon the television again and the same minister was on television. He was finishing the sentence that I heard before I was translated. Suddenly, I realized I had an out-of-body experience and a heavenly encounter.

Seeing Through Heaven's Eyes

So, why am I sharing this?

First of all, let me express my heart concerning this fact: we are transitioning into a season where we view specific things through Heaven's eyes. In the encounter I just shared, I was seeing myself (and God's children) as being fixed, determined, and full of faith concerning my/their promises. I was seeing myself as God sees me, and He allowed me to see the Body of Christ as He sees each of us. Seeing this way challenges our perspective on what we have been taught in the past; our way of life, our culture, and our religious mindsets so that Biblical values, the truths that Jesus taught, can be reestablished.

Many of you reading this may think, "Of course you were boldly confronting the enemy! You have had years of experience and have walked in your anointing doing just what you described!" No! At the time of this vision/encounter, I was still shy, fearful and timid. It was difficult for me to stand before people and prophesy, preach...or even be used to make announcements! My background is one where I believed that I could never measure up.

The way I and others have viewed God was changing. For me, I grew up with a very unhealthy fear of God. I always thought He was out to punish me because I believed I could never measure up to a certain standard of holiness and righteousness. I tried with every fiber of my being to be righteous, believe me! Yet, I always missed the mark it seemed. I now know that I am righteous because of all that Jesus Christ accomplished at the Cross. You see, I believed a lie about the Father. In fact, many Believers have believed as I did. (Photo via pixabay)

I believe that we are in a time where we see the Father as Jesus saw Him. Think about it. Everything Jesus did He did so because He saw the Father do it first! Therefore, the Father was healing His children. The Father was delivering His children. The Father was blessing His children. Jesus came to represent the Father, but also to re-present Him! In other words, Jesus came to show us the true heart of the One that sent Him. Our Father is a loving, caring, giving Father! He is not a God that takes away; He is our God that gives!

Therefore, Jesus came to earth to give the Father the glory which He deserved. The religious system of Jesus' day served God out of fear, but Jesus pointed out and demonstrated that He was a God of love. We serve Him out of love; therefore, we have a reverential fear and not a fear connected to religious performance.

Secondly, I am sharing this because I believe the Lord desires that we see ourselves as He see us. When I was caught up in this heavenly encounter, it could have actually been that I was completely caught up in an open vision, yet maybe even translated. The terminology doesn't really matter; what matters is that I experienced something supernatural from God and it completely changed my life!

Confirmation of My Encounter... He Never Stops Pursuing Us!

Some time after this encounter, I was traveling through Israel. Our tour guide took us right to the place where David fought Goliath, and it was the very same place I saw when I was caught away in the spirit. Coincidence? No way! This encounter was intentional. It was clear in this supernatural encounter that I was facing a Goliath and so was the Body of Christ. Dear Believer, God has victory planned for each of us!

At the time this encounter occurred, God was showing me that I was able to lead others into victory; which is what I attempt to do every time I minister, write or share the Word. After this supernatural experience, a new boldness overtook me because I saw myself through the eyes of Heaven. When I got my bearings again after this encounter, I stood up boldly and made a declaration against the enemy to back off! I was now determined to take my Promised Land! ...And, dear reader, the rest is history.

My life is jam-packed with testimonies concerning the goodness of God. In most of my books that I have written, I have been transparent concerning my many challenges in life and how the power of God and His grace have empowered me to succeed in life and experience victory after victory. Because of His grace, I have been able to write over fourteen books, travel nationally and internationally, preaching and prophesying... and I'm not through yet! But, let me be honest, I've had my battles! I have almost died at least three times. I have had seizures, threatening heart issues and near heart failure. I am a living testimony of God's abundant grace and also this fact: He never stops pursuing us!

We Are Not Victims – We Are Victors!

In my recent book, Faith After Failure: Reconnect with Your Destiny, I share how I was able to pick myself up again and move forward after believing I was a failure. I have written in great length to share how many Biblical characters, such as the disciples, overcame times of failure and moved forward to achieve destiny.

There are many pastors and spiritual leaders who are once again recognizing the fact that the enemy is bent on stealing our destiny. My book, Destiny Thieves: Defeat Seducing Spirits and Achieve Your Purpose in God, was written to expose seducing spirits such as the Jezebel and the Amalekite spirit that attacks church leaders and especially targets the Aaron's and Hur's (those called to serve their leaders) in the Body. There are several churches that use that particular book for leadership training for the purpose of exposing the enemy and how he targets potential and godly destiny.

One of my best-selling books, Silencing the Accuser: Eight Lies Satan Uses Against Believers, exposes the many lies I believed and others believe which rob us of power, authority and victory. Any one of these books will prove to be a mighty addition to your arsenal to use against the plans of the enemy.

You see, in this heavenly encounter, I did not see myself as a victim any longer but a victor! I had this encounter at least twenty years ago, long before I was an author and traveling nationally and internationally preaching the Word of God. At the time of the encounter, as I said, I felt afraid of the enemy, intimidated, shy and totally incapable of being used of the Lord. But, God saw me differently! He saw me unafraid, bold and as a leader who was capable of leading others into great victory! It is my heart that you see yourself as victorious, too!

My entire ministry is based upon empowering others to see themselves as God sees them. We all need to see ourselves through Heaven's lenses! I have devoted my life to re-present the Father's love to His children and fulfill the divine commission. All of my books, articles and ministry are for the sole purpose of exposing the lies of satan and empowering others to walk in complete freedom and victory. I am truly a FREED one...Sandie Freed!

We Must Transition

Believers, we must transition. To transition means that we change from one form or "style" to another. This is why I previously stated that we are to see things through the eyes of Heaven – it's a transition. I found it interesting that when I studied different sources concerning the definition of transition, one source noted that it involved changing from "defense" to "offense." Hmm... how true this is in spiritual warfare. Many have interpreted Matthew 16:18 as meaning that the gates of Hell are pressing against us and we are battling like crazy just to hold our ground. (Photo free images)

However, read this carefully: Matthew 16:18 states, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." We are not on the defense, barely holding on until Jesus comes! No! We are taking our land; we are completely on the offensive because of the Cross! In fact we are so aggressively bombarding the enemy's camp that he cannot prevail against our forward progression!

A few other sources brought out the fact that trans (as in "transition") means to "cross" so, therefore, we are to cross over at this time with complete confidence that God has great victories ahead for His children. Dear ones, it's crossing over time! Just as in my encounter, we crossed over into our Promised Land – so can you!

Warrior Sons and Daughters

Another area of transition has to do with our understanding that we are an army, yes, but an army of sons and daughters! Think about it. In history, when a king declared war on a territory, it was his army that went into battle. The citizens of the territory stayed home. The family of the king, such as sons, daughters and other close relatives (along with other magistrates of the state) usually stayed close to court. That was the case UNLESS the son led an army into the battle. We need to understand we are not just an army...we are sons and daughters of the King!

So when we go into warfare, we fight from a sonship perspective! We fight with a greater level of authority because we are God's sons and daughters! When I truly realized this, I was able to actually exercise my spiritual authority over the enemy in a more dynamic way. I fight now as a daughter of the most High God! Precious one, if you will see yourself as Heaven sees you, as a son or daughter, you will be able to tell every enemy to get off of your Promised Land with greater authority! (Photo via pixabay)

It's time to make a bold declaration! Rise up and pray this prayer:

Father God, I thank You that you are opening my eyes and causing me to see through Heaven's eyes. It is my heart's desire that I see You as You truly are! And also, to see myself as You see me! I praise You today and thank You for establishing my Promised Land and securing it through the finished work of the Cross. I choose to continually praise You because You are worthy of all praise. I decree today that as I speak forth Your Word that it becomes a two-edged sword against my enemy that attempts to steal my Promised Land.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

I thank You that You are cutting me away from the old and unlocking all of Heaven's best for me. I embrace Your identity for me for the future. As I do, I let go of old mindsets and expectations that are no longer pertinent to my future. Thank You for empowering me with supernatural grace to fulfill divine destiny. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Believer, I'm praying for you to be all that God has purposed you to be!

In Christ,

Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries
Co-pastor, Lifegate Church, Hurst, Texas
Email: zionministries1@sbcglobal.net
Website: lifegatechurch.org

Dr. Sandie Freed co-labors with her husband, Mickey Freed, doing the work of the Lord as a ministry team. In addition, they are the founders of Zion Ministries Training Center in Bedford, Texas, and Lifegate Church International. Sandie has traveled nationally and internationally teaching dreams and visions seminars and on spiritual discernment. Her ability to adequately prophesy and discern spiritual strongholds over regions has released numerous breakthroughs for individuals and ministries. Sandie has authored, Dream On, and eleven other books, most of which are in several different languages. Dr. Sandie and Apostle/Pastor Mickey are ordained with Christian International Ministries, serving on their Board of Governors. They have been married since 1973, and have one daughter, Kimberly.

To subscribe to The Elijah List go to:
http://elijahlist.com/subscribe