Breaking Forth: Using the Light to Dispel the Darkness

Breaking Forth: Using the Light to Dispel the Darkness, which is based on the life experiences of the author, will teach you how to overcome self-imposed limitations (such as self-rejection, self-hatred, self sabotage and low self esteem) and societal barriers (discrimination, lack of opportunities and a bad economy) so that you can break out and break forth into your life purpose, power, destiny and achieve personal fulfillment.

This book teaches you: the three main types of wisdom; how to use the power of your spoken words to create (or re-create) your world; the secret to maintaining discipline; how to use setbacks and disappointments to your advantage; how to use setbacks and disappointments to your advantage; how to effectively manifest an idea, vision, dream or concept into the physical world and much more.

Introduction

To break forth [my emphasis], to issue, to come out suddenly, as sound, light, etc. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.” --- Isa. lviii. 8;
Note: often with into in [sic] expressing or giving vent to one's feelings. “Break forth into singing, ye mountains.” --- Isa. xliv. 23
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)


There is a new dawn which is breaking over the spiritual horizon: the church is about to break forth into destiny and dominion, as a result of a new understanding of the kingdom. It is not going to have yet another breakthrough—it is going beyond that. It is not about to have a break out because this connotes a negative idea. A break out usually refers to an epidemic or rash. People who experience break out sessions in the church generally progress and have an impact in the secular world but it is often negative one. Instead of making a mark for the kingdom, these people make a stain. They give the church and God's kingdom a bad name. They present the kingdom of God in a negative light. The church is moving past having a breakdown. This means that the church will no longer be affected by what is taking place in the world, and, most importantly, the church will not be perceived as being stupid, weird, or strange. It is time for the church to break forth.


When light breaks forth it, most times, it travels in a straight line. Sound travels in a longitudinal direction. These two energy sources, therefore, travel in an orderly and purposeful way. God used the sound of His Word with His Light to create the universe from nothing. His Light and the sound of His Word broke forth into the darkness for a particular and defined purpose: for creation. When the church has the power to create and re-create like God then the world is no match for the church. When the church has the power to create and re-create, it is able to nullify and overcome the destructive powers of the devil, who is the god of this world and the Prince of the power of the air (II Cor.4:4; Ephesians 2:2).We will be able to penetrate and break forth into the darkness of this world and overcome in spite of the world, the devil, and even ourselves. When we, the church, break forth no one and nothing can hinder us because we have finally become a mighty force to be reckoned with in the earth realm.

Jabez's Formula for Success and Antidote for the Curse

“... If you don't help yuh parents do whatevah dey tell you to do, you will be forever cursed.”

“Yuh let yuh parents sey too much bad tings 'bout yuh—yuh cursed fi life.”


These words were said to me by a close family member. I now understand that these words were said out of frustration and anger and, as a result, I have forgiven this person—but it still hurts. She was not the only family member who had attempted to curse me. I have even had family members practice witchcraft to stop and hinder my destiny. Of course, this could discourage anyone. It was bad enough that people within my family were cursing me; but I also had a terrible habit of cursing myself by perceiving myself in a negative sense because of the spirit of self-rejection and low self esteem. I thought that I could not be or become anything. This perception of myself was mainly influenced by what I had allowed other people to speak over and in my life, especially persons who were in my family. They had spoken and done so many negative things to me that I eventually accepted what they said about and how they perceived me. I even allowed their words to define me because I did not have the sense to know that people who did not create me to define and validate me.


Witchcraft is primarily for the manipulation and control of a person's mind. I had been programmed mentally to not expect greatness in my life by people who were influenced by the devil. These people were, most times, the ones who were closest to me. The devil used these persons because he knew that the closer someone is to you the greater the harm that person can do to your morality and self-esteem. These people kept me mentally stuck by their negativity, manipulation, and witchcraft. They always gave me the impression that I was not good enough and that I was not going to amount to anything. Jabez felt the same way. He felt that he could not go beyond the condemning and damning name his mother gave him. Jabez means pain. In the Hebrew culture, a person's name represented his or her personality, character, and destiny. So when she named her son, Jabez's mother was essentially cursing Jabez's personality, character, and, most importantly, his future. She also caused Jabez to become stuck in small-mindedness.  Jabez's prayer was a turning point: it reversed the curse placed on his life by a family member. He prayed: “' I pray thee, bless me and grant me wide territories. May thy hand be with me, and do me no harm, I pray thee, and let me free from pain...'” (I Chron. 4:10 [New English Bible]).


This spiritually strategic prayer caused Jabez to be honorable than the rest of his brothers (I Chron. 4:9). Personally, I have never read the book ,The Prayer of Jabez, but God gave me the revelation of the significance of Jabez's prayer. This revelation was relevant for my life. Everything that Jabez went through I went through in my own life. To reverse the curse spoken over my destiny I had to follow the pattern of Jabez's prayer:


*I asked God to bless me.
*I asked God to take the limitations away from my thinking and enlarge my capacity in every area of my life.
*I prayed that God's hand be with me and not against me; that is, I prayed that God fight for me and not against me.
*I asked that God free me from the pain caused by members within my family who were opposed to my success or did not expect me to amount to anything. I wanted God to liberate me from their curse of low expectations.


Jabez first prayed that God bless him because who God blesses no man can curse (Num. 23- 24). The blessing goes to one thousand generations (1 Chr. 16:15; Psalms 105:8; Exod. 20:6; Deut.5:10), while the curse goes to the third and fourth generation (Deut. 5: 9-10). God had revealed to me the secrets of the paternal lineage or ancestry of my family. He showed me my paternal lineage practiced witchcraft and did many other evil things. It was because of these curses that they were unsuccessful in life. A curse is the empowerment to fail; while the blessing is the empowerment to succeed. They sowed curses instead of blessings and, as a result, reaped a harvest in their and their children's lives. I was greatly affected by these curses because I was forced to reap the harvest of curses in my own life which came as a result of the seeds my ancestors had sown. I felt like I just could not succeed. If I had succeeded in something I had to fight tooth and nail to get that success. I was like Jabez, in that, Jabez felt limited and restricted based on what others spoke over his life. That curse had him locked up in an emotional and mental prison. I believe that it was for this reason that Jabez prayed for “wide territories”. When he is able to do this then he would have the ability to increase his capacity to produce. I think this phrase alludes to more than just land and real estate properties. He wanted God to expand his mental capacity to think, expect, and do greater things than he had previously. The curse placed over Jabez's life by his mother created a stronghold in his mind.


This stronghold had him 'stuck' in the same place where he was doomed to repeat the same cycle of pain and failure. Jabez, like myself, wanted God to free him from this mental stronghold. Jabez felt that he could go only as far as his mother's words would allow him. When God enlarged Jabez's mental borders he was he was able to gain the freedom he needed to become successful in life. Jabez went a step further and asked that God's hand be with him. This is a very important point because if God is for you it does not matter who is against you (Rom.8:31). The devil would always use circumstances within my family and other areas of my life to discredit the fact that God was with me and that He was also angry at me. But the devil is still a liar. If you are righteous God is always with you.


Jabez also said he wanted God's hand to be with him so “that thou wouldest keep me from evil...” (I Chronicles 4:10 [KJV]). Jabez's negative attitude towards life (which was influenced by his negative thinking) attracted him to evil. Jabez's fear of pain attracted him to the very thing that he feared, as in Job's case (Job 3:25; 9:28). Do you know why? Fear is faith in the devil. Fear activates the devil's ability to operate in your life. Faith in God does the same thing. Jabez's life was so filled with negativity, pain, and fear that a cloud of despair, hopelessness, and despondency attracted the evil that he did not want in his own life. So when he asked God's hand to be with him, Jabez knew that wherever God is no evil or pain could dwell there because “at [God's] right hand there are pleasures forevermore [and not pain]” (Psalms 16:11 [New English Bible]).


When someone called Jabez's name it was a devastating blow to his psyche and self-esteem. The self-rejection and low self-esteem was attached to that pain. The pain spoken over his life, I could imagine, caused him to feel worthless and empty. I felt the same way. The pain of self-rejection and worthlessness plagued my life. Some of my family members made it appear as if I would not amount to much. They did not believe that I could become anything. But God gave me a fighting chance. God allowed me to see myself as He saw me instead of how others did. The Jabez formula for success was just the beginning for me. It was my starting point for bouncing back from low expectations, low self-esteem, and self-rejection. It was the launching of my comeback from my setbacks.

Resiliency and Resurrection: Making a Comeback from Your Setbacks


God gave me a potent revelation concerning resiliency or activating the resurrection power of Christ to work in your life. The complete power of Christ's crucifixion as not realized until He was resurrected from the dead. The stripes, wounds, bruises and the shame and disgrace of the cross would have meant nothing, if Christ was not resurrected from the dead. When Christ resurrected from the dead He did not only defeat death, hell, and the grave but he also reversed the curses associated with them. That is why being crucified and suffering with Christ is not enough to reverse the curse. After suffering and being crucified with Christ you have to be resurrected with Him. This is to ensure that the glory of God will be manifested in and through you. This might come as a shock for some people but the world does not truly consider you to be powerful unless you comeback from your setback. You are not considered to have true power until you move from the point of breakthrough to overcoming, conquering, and subduing.


There are many people in Christendom today who refuse or fear going through trials, testings, and tribulations. This should not be the case since Jesus said that we should take up the cross and follow Him (Matt. 16: 24; Mk. 8: 34; 10:21; Luke 9: 23). You should note in parentheses that there are five scripture references indicating the emphasis that Christ placed on this spiritual truth. You should also bear this in mind: to go up in the kingdom an individual must go down.


Many Christians miss the point of being saved. Most believers are of the misconception that they are saved merely to go to heaven when they die. Although to a certain extent this is true, these believers still have not yet grasped the fullness of the revelation of why Christ came to earth. Jesus did not come for the sole purpose of dying and suffering on the cross so that we might be saved from our sins, thereby receiving a free pass to heaven. Jesus came for the following reasons:


*Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected so that we might be crucified, buried, and resurrected so that we might be crucified, buried, and resurrected to a new life and new realm of glory in Him (Gal.2:20;6:14)

*He came to reverse the curse of sin and totally deliver us from its effects (Gal.3:13).

*Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

*Jesus also came so that He might establish the kingdom of God on the earth through representatives of Himself called Christians and miraculous demonstrations (Matt.4:23).


It is a deliberate effort on my part to place the main reasons Christ came on earth in the order in which I have placed them. Jesus Christ had to be first crucified, buried, and resurrected so as to open the Way of salvation, which will cause the Truth to be revealed that Christ is truly the Son of God (John14:6).When that happens, the veil of God's glory will be ripped open for us so that we can enter boldly in to God's presence through Jesus's blood.


After accepting that Christ is the only way of salvation through his death, burial, and resurrection then the curse of sin and its effects are reversed supernaturally although the reality of this fact does not instantly manifest in the natural realm. It takes a conscious decision to continually apply the blood to every area of lives as well as applying specific spiritual principles—some of which I will explain later on this chapter–to ensure that we do not operate under the curse.


After we do what is necessary to ensure that we are not operating under the curse then we have the freedom to experience life to its fullest in Christ Jesus. When this happens we will be able to represent Christ in the best possible light. People in the world will desire to have what we have and they will be motivated to be converts of the kingdom. The kingdom of God can then become established through the lifestyle and miraculous demonstrations of Christ's followers.


Nevertheless, all the above cannot happen if we do not choose to take up the cross and follow Jesus. We have to go through our own crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We cannot be spineless and cowardly Christians who do not want to go through anything. Many people in Christendom think that Christianity is a long, easy ride until we make heaven our destination. The early disciples did not have it easy while representing Christ. Some were crucified upside down, butchered, mauled to death by wild animals, placed in boiling oil or stoned. However, if the modern day Christian goes through things not as half as devastating as these then they get mad and either leave the Church or say something stupid like, “God doesn't love me” or “I guess prayer doesn't work after all.”


It is my personal belief and conviction that many persons in the body of Christ are shut out from understanding deep spiritual mysteries, revelations, and secrets because they are not willing to suffer or endure to have legal access to this realm of wisdom. The Bible says “many are the afflictions of the righteous” but the Lord will deliver him from them all (Psalms 34:19). That is why many today do not want to be in the company of the righteous goes through too many hardships. However, the Bible says that, “... [God's] secret is with the righteous” ;and it says that the “secret of the Lord is with those who fear him...” (Prov.3: 32 and Psalms 25:14 [New King James Version]). The only way you can know 7 God's secret is if you belong with the righteous. The only way you can be one of the righteous is if you go through the right of passage of suffering and afflictions for Christ's sake.


Many believers have not moved up in the spirit like they should because they should because they refuse to go down in afflictions, adversity, and tribulations. It is because these believers refuse to go through anything which prevents them from claiming things in the spirit since they do not have the right to do so. They attempt to grasp after blessings that the have no right to attain. The blessings and the keys of the kingdom are for those who have reached a level of spiritual maturity. It is spiritual maturity that ensures inheritance. Does it make sense to give a five-year old child the title deed for a piece of property simply because he is an heir? This explains why to receive certain blessings we have to ensure that we have spiritually matured; and trials and tribulations ensure this.


I will recount my own personal experience of enduring the spiritual maturation process. This process started in 1999 while I as in high school. I was involved with a set of persons who I thought were my friends. I experienced a great falling out with these persons. I attempted to reconcile with these persons, but it seemed as if it was not God's Will for me to remain in relationship with these persons because the reconciliation would lead to another disagreement. One day a disagreement occurred, which went beyond the ability of any reconciliation to repair the damage caused. I would like to add that one of the main reasons for the relationship with these people not being successful was rooted in envy and jealousy. I found out in the spirit that these people discovered a piece of information from satanic sources that I was special and I had a special assignment that I had to complete on the earth.


They found out that I had greatness within me. These satanic sources were a satanic secret society as well as a medium. These people attempted to attack my mind, my relationships, and, most importantly, my destiny by way of witchcraft and Satanism. These satanic attacks affected me to the point that I lost my sanity (I experienced strong bouts of depression and schizophrenia); I lost my friends (a satanic henchman was assigned to disrupt my relationships and turn as many people as it could against me); and I became disillusioned to the point where I wanted (and attempted) to commit suicide on one occasion. All of these things began to happen while I was just fourteen years old. I asked myself and God many times why I had to endure so many things. God told me any times that it was apart of the process. I did not understand what that He meant at the time but I continued to go through. I knew in my heart that God would not forsake me. I was innocent. I did not deserve people working evil against me and destroying my life the way that they did. If I did not deserve it then it must have been a trial. God was using that situation to try me in the fiery furnace of affliction. I had to realize that God had put me through the test so that He might be glorified in and though my life.


Many people wrote myself off and counted me out. They said that I would never become anything since I went through those things. That reminded me of the affliction Job endured. Job's friends wrote him off while he was going through is trials and tribulations (Job 4,5,8,11,15,18,20,22). They thought that the reason Job was going through was because he did evil in the sight of God. Nevertheless, Job and his friends was not in heaven when God was boasting about him being “perfect and upright” before the devil's face (Job 1:8 [NKJV]). How many people do you know (inclusive of yourself) that you are sure that God would boast about? Job was simply going through the pruning process that would cause him to bear twice the fruit he was bearing previously (Job 42: 10-13). His friends were ignorant of what was going on in the spirit; but God knew what He was doing and He is still in control.


A wise person does not judge a thing in the midst of its process. Even a diamond has to go through a process of refinement after it is taken out of the earth. When I was going through my processing some people thought that I did something to deserve persons working evil against me and my life. They thought I practiced witchcraft and persons were just getting revenge; but this was not true! I was and still am innocent! The righteous does go through afflictions; but, unlike the wicked, when the righteous man falls seven times, he will get up again (Prov.24:16). Job was perfect and upright and he still endured afflictions and trials. I need to add if you are going through something as a result of your behavior and actions you are not going through a trial. You are simply reaping what you have sowed (Job 4:8; Gal.6:7). Job had to endure affliction before he could get double for his trouble! He had to go through a trauma before he could have a triumph. A child of God needs to down before he or she can go up: that is the way of the kingdom.