Spirit Driven Rulers

By Gerhardt Smook

Following his attempted coup in heaven, satan with his angels were cast onto the earth. He that considered himself equal to God and qualified to rule the universe, suddenly found his domain reduced to one insignificant planet in creation. To add insult to injury, the Almighty had the audacity to create a little creature from the clay of satans kingdom with the instruction to rule over the earth. However, man can only fulfill this creative purpose to rule in the midst of these formidable spiritual enemies in total dependence on the Holy Spirit the very breath of God through which He literally spoke the very universe into being. The book describes in a practical way, through experiences from the authors own life, how to be a Spirit driven ruler.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Dec 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479757862

Gerhardt Smook

The author met the Lord Jesus as his personal saviour in 1973 alone in his room while he was confessing his sins. At the time of this powerful rebirth experience, he was employed by the then Department of Prison Services in South-Africa and busy with post-graduate studies to become a clinical psychologist. On the instruction of the Lord, he continued his career in this department where he eventually reached the rank of Brigadier. During his career with the Prisons Department, he also attained a diploma in Theology. He left the Prisons Department in 1994 to enter a new calling to establish a local church in Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal. At present he is still the lead elder in this local fellowship.

Book preview

Spirit Driven

Rulers

Gerhardt SMOOK

Copyright © 2012 by Gerhardt Smook.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

0-800-644-6988

www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk

³⁰⁴⁶⁰⁶

Contents

Prelude

The Arena in Which Mankind Was Created

Chapter 1

Purpose of Creation

Chapter 2

The Holy Spirit, The Power In Us

Chapter 3

We Are Appointed Priests and Kings

Chapter 4

Jesus Appointed Us

Chapter 5

Our Delegated Duties

Chapter 6

Our Job Description

Chapter 7

Our Fringe Benefits

Chapter 8

The Role of Trust and Faith

Chapter 9

Regent in the Name of Christ Jesus

Chapter 10

Father’s Dream for You

Chapter 11

Vision Casters

Chapter 12

Rule in the Midst of Your Enemies

Epilogue

He Is Coming Again

Prelude

The Arena in Which Mankind Was Created

Long ago, in the aeons of time, an event occurred in the home of the Most High, an event so significant, so far-reaching, that it is still rippling out in the history of earth.

Lucifer, the being of light, the cherub with wings spread out to shield the one who had been perfect in all his ways since the day of his creation, received pride in his heart. ‘I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas’ (Eze 28: 2). ‘For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High!’ (Isa 14: 13, 14). Then he filled his heart with violence. He mustered his angels, the third allocated to him and over whom he had command. ‘Our moment has come. The hour has chimed to usurp the throne of the Most High.’

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels waged war against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels waged war and they could not win the victory (Rev 12). When the battle had been fought and the dragon, with his vanquished force, appeared before the Most High, sentence was pronounced. The voice of the Judge, like the sound of many waters, reverberated through the courtroom: ‘thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire’ (Eze 28: 16).

Then the angels, the sons of God, raised a lament, and the Son of God, who would become the Only Begotten, saw how he, Satan, fell from heaven like lightning (Luk 10: 18). And the lament of the angels rose to a crescendo ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit’ (Isa 14: 12, 15). ‘And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him’ (Rev 12: 9).

Again the voice of the Judge resounded like the sound of many waters and judgment came over the one who had wanted to be like God, for the end of his sentence had not yet been pronounced: ‘I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure’ (Isa 46: 9, 10) you will be ‘cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, [you and all your multitude, and you] shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever’ (Rev 20: 10).

He had risen from the dust of the earth, this Lucifer who, in the greatness of his delusion, wanted to reign over the infinity of creation, over solar system upon solar system and now in utter humiliation, he was banned to one small planet in one tiny solar system. The magnitude of his humiliation grew in him and became greater and greater when he looked about him and gazed at his small kingdom. It began welling up in the depths of his pride, a consuming anger: and he rose in the destroying fire of his hate, he and his angels with him, and committed devastation upon devastation; until the earth was without form and void and darkness fell on the face of the deep.

The Most High, in all His longsuffering, beheld this and ached and grieved over the beautiful one who had once been perfect in all his ways ‘I who was set up in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I who was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was; I saw My Father’s grief and wept with Him.’ But when the time of mourning had passed, and the desolation of Lucifer’s bitterness was complete, Our Spirit, the breath of Our mouth, descended over the formlessness and the void, and moved upon the face of the waters (Gen 1: 2). And He who calleth those things which be not as though they were (Rom 4: 17) began to speak. By the Spirit of His mouth He spoke (Ps 33):

Let there be light.

Let there be a firmament.

Let the waters under the heaven gather themselves in one place.

Let the earth bring forth plants

Let there be lights in the firmament.

Let the waters teem with a teeming of moving creatures

Let the earth bring forth living creatures.

And it came to be. He commanded, and it stood fast.

I the Son, Who would become the Only Begotten, was there. ‘When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a compass upon the face of the depth; When He established the clouds above; when He strengthened the fountains of the deep; When He gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; Then I was by him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and My delights were with the sons of men’ (Pro. 8: 27 to 31), who completed creation.

Then the creating Most High created mankind in His image; in the image of God He created them; man and woman He created them (Gen 1: 28). Yes, the Lord God formed mankind from the dust of the earth and blew into their nostrils the breath of life. This same creating breath, the Spirit of God, through which all was spoken into being, filled mankind. The eternal life of Him who is, filled mankind to become living souls.

Lucifer was also there in the garden of Eden (Eze 28: 13) and saw it and began to understand that his humiliation was not yet complete. When God blessed the humans and spoke: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion’ he knew, the Most High had also deprived him of his rule of the earth. Every angel of God also read the message. The implications were clear: a Creature from the dust of Satan’s kingdom, a small image of God, with the Spirit of life in him, was greater than Satan. His wrath grew in him and bitterness possessed his entire being, but he had to stand and watch powerlessly, he and his hordes, while the angels who had not forsaken God delighted. The humiliation in his heart and mind was complete.

Then a command came from God, and the serpent realised that he could regain his kingdom. ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (Gen 2: 16, 17). The serpent heard this and understood,that God was also giving the humans the choice of eternally living in innocence before Him, or of taking of the fruit of the tree to become like God. Human rebellion would, of necessity, incur the same judgment as he was suffering. God would not have a choice. He would have to become the humans’ judge, speak the same judgment over them as He had executed over Satan, namely to banish him from the presence of the Most High.

His next task was clear. He had to entice the humans to eat of the fruit of the tree, for, according to God’s own words, the humans would die, the Spirit of life, God’s own breath, would depart from the humans the day they transgressed. The daily walk in the cool of the day would be no more, for God is Spirit and a relationship with humans is only possible by means of the Spirit of life. But, o, the glorious thought, the humans would come under hís control, for without the Spirit of God the pitiful little creature would not be a match for his greater Luciferian potency.

He would prove to God that the same desire to be first, to be the one wielding the supreme power, is inherent in all creatures. All created by the Lord would, after all, share the same desire to be number one itself. Ultimately he would be owed a grand apology. He would insist that it happen in public in the presence of the multitudes, just as he had had to endure his humiliation before eveybody. Delighting in the expected outcome, he threw himself into formulating his plan. He executed it meticulously and ensured that the carrot leading the humans to their fall would be equality with the Most High. And it succeeded!! His satisfaction was complete.

Then came the judgment over the humans and the serpent was thrilled to the roots of his hair: ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’ (Gen 3: 19). See, the Spirit of life departed from the humans and they were spiritually dead. They could no longer, like their Creator, create by speaking. Then to his rude awakening, the rest of the judgement penetrated to Satan. ‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ (Gen 3: 15). Later he often wondered why it would be so specifically the seed of the woman who would conquer him. Why was the seed of the man not mentioned? In the end he thought time would tell. But all was not lost. He had regained rule over the earth. It was a beginning.

The Serpent’s Vengeance

From then onwards he, the waster (Isa 54: 16) began to establish his kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, in the hearts of the humans, his subjects. Envy was followed by murder; Cain slew his brother Abel and pain and grief over a fallen child were born in the heart of a mother. So the works of darkness grew in the conduct of the humans and the serpent’s angels participated and had intercourse with the beautiful daughters of the humans so that giants were born in those days. When the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, the Father, the Creating God, took a decision ‘The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold [Noah My son], I will destroy them with the earth’ (Gen 6: 13).

After the flood the slate was cleared. Satan started his dark work, his destructive work from scratch. But every now and then the covenant the Lord had made with the humans niggled in the back of his head. Every time he saw a rainbow, it reminded him that God had called it an eternal covenant with the humans. God had clearly not written them off. Where would it end? When would the man arise of whom God had said, he ‘shall bruise thy head’? Then he resolved anew that, when it happened, his adder bite in the heel would be fatal. In his inmost being he knew there would be only one opportunity.

Nevertheless he, architect of evil, again began laying the foundations of his wicked works, his focus upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The vileness began manifesting in Adam’s descendants again. In the end the humans surrendered themselves to ‘vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.’ (Rom 1: 25 to 31).

Once again, the Most high intervened by destroying Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and fire. After that it was quiet and for a long time the serpent could continue his dark works undisturbed. Yet from time to time, incidents occurred that tormented his heart of hearts and this fear, that lay profoundly hidden in his inmost being, stirred this knowledge that he wanted to bury. God has not finished with the humans. Yes, from time to time men arose from among the children of men, and anointed by the feared Spirit of God, spoke to his deeply-secreted fear.

‘Therefore a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’ (Isa 7: 14), and furthermore; ‘he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel’ (Isa 8: 8).

Then, with renewed energy, he swept into the world and poured out his hate and anger on the people. His unflagging efforts were rewarded, for eventually the voice of the prophet muted in Israel, for hundreds of years, so that he calmed down and began to believe that he had vanquished God’s Word. The God who speaks and it comes to pass, says who? It never happens! All of it was just lies—ha!

And then the virgin became pregnant! And the fear ignited within him like a bleeding ulcer and spurred him to the feverish murder of all the babies in Israel. He fails. A last heated attempt to prevent the Son starting His ministry on earth. Tempt him with the carrot which has again and again tripped the humans—give Him all the kingdoms of the earth. He will also fall for the promise of grandeur and power. But Immanuel is a skilled swordsman and hits back with the sword of the Spirit—‘It is written’, and again, ‘It is written’—until he realises that this One will not be tempted like that. Then he enters into the scribes. This is more successful and in the end they do his dirty work for him. Smugly he regards a broken body, Immanuel on the cross—who dies. ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’ (Luke 23: 46). Ha! His bite in the heel was fatal. Now Immanuel could crawl back to His Daddy. He, the serpent, had beaten them! Satisfied he returns to his residence to celebrate his triumph with his subjects, the angelic host cast out of heaven with him, his evil armies, his vile spirits, his demons. Hell celebrates!

‘For Christ, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit’ (I Pet 3: 18), had not finished. In the midst of the celebrations, the great jollification, at the height of the revelry, a firm knock sounds at the door. The doorman opens and then the serpent hears the dreaded voice and he knows Immanuel is back.

I am come to preach to the spirits in the prison. I come to preach ‘the gospel, to them that are dead’ (I Pet 4: 6).

The words are an icy-cold stream that engulfs him, and he knows, he, the tempter of people, his bite was not fatal. He has lost!

The Bride

When the Son on the cross breathes His last, Satan is convinced that the battle has been won. When the spear pierces His side.and when water flows from the side of the second Adam, His bride is created and Satan misses it. But where was she the bride, then? In that time, when the Son descended into hell, she hid in the upper room. She was filled with fear that they, the scribes, would do to her what had happened to the Messiah. There the Bridegroom found His tiny bride, stricken with fear, behind a locked door. Only after He had shown them His hands and His side, did understanding break through, like a new dawn. He has not deserted them. He is risen indeed, He is truly the Messiah. Faith in His resurrection brings joy and also rebirth when He breathes on them, and says, ‘Receive ye the Holy Ghost’ (John 20: 22). Hereby the church receives back the breath of the Lord, his Spirit that Adam lost in the garden—eternal life.

But the Son, the Messiah, had not finished. That last day, before He was taken prisoner in Gethsemane, He promised to pray the Father to send them His Spirit

‘The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him’ (Joh 14: 17). This Spirit who will:

•   teach them everything and remind them of what He had told them (Joh 14: 26);

•   convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (Joh 16: 8);

•   guide them into all