Keep on Shooting

Keep Shooting

Author: Pastor Gary Keesee | Posted: Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 5:42pm
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I received a big box from Montana this week. In it was an antelope head. Yes, I said antelope head.
Last year at this time, a group of guys up there asked me to come teach, and hunt. They had gotten a hold of my book Faith Huntand they wanted to learn the principles and see them in action. So, I went up there to teach and then we went hunting the next day for antelope.
We went out for about thirty minutes, climbed over this ridge, and saw this herd of antelope. Now, keep in mind that antelope are the second fastest animals in the world. They’re second only to the Cheetah.
So, I had this moment. There was this antelope. I shot at him and I missed. Then I shot three more shots and missed all of those, too. Then the antelope all start running. All except one. I grabbed Tim’s rifle and I got the antelope. When I did, those guys went ballistic. They all started dialing people up on their phones saying, “It was just like the book! They all ran away but that one! The buck was held by spiritual law!”
But I had missed the antelope the first four times I shot.
What happened? Why do we miss sometimes? Why do we deal with failure and disappointment?
Look at Mark 4. This is my favorite chapter in the Bible. It’s critical. In fact, Jesus said that if you don’t understand this chapter, you won’t understand how the Kingdom of God operates. It’s Spiritual Law 101. It’s the Parable of the Sower. We learn here that the enemy comes and takes the Word from people’s hearts. There are people that hear the Word, but don’t really hear it. When people hear the word ‘cancer’ for example, they tend to think death because of their previous training. So, even if they’re taught about healing, they have a pretension that keeps them from believing new ideas.
Others, like seed on rocky places, have no root. A root holds the plant to the ground. When trouble and persecution come for the Word, they quickly fall away. These people believe the Word of God, but they’re not totally convinced. They cast aside the Word because of trouble and persecution. They’re moved by circumstances.
Others hear the Word and worries and pressures of life cause them to doubt. When you doubt the Word, you’re saying your problem is bigger than God, or that He lied to you. That’s not possible.
James 1:2 tells us to consider it pure joy when we face trials. Yes, it really does.
Look at Luke 4. TheSpirit of God led Jesus to be tempted, not Satan. What a curve-ball! Why would God do that? Because Satan is the god of this world. He has legality here in the earth. He has a legal right to contest what God is doing in the earth. So, to make it legal for Jesus to walk the earth, Satan had to have the opportunity to present to Jesus what he had presented to Adam. Jesus had to be tempted in order to maintain the authority that God had placed in him. He resisted with the Word of God every single time. He stayed in agreement with heaven. Satan couldn’t bring Him out of agreement.
He can’t stop what God is doing, but he can test our agreement. If he can bring us out of agreement, then we stand subject to him. He isn’t going to give up territory just because you showed up. He’s going to challenge you every step of the way. You have to exercise authority. You have to stay confident. You have to stay in agreement with heaven.
When you launch out on a God-idea, you will probably deal with some issues. Young believers are caught off guard by that. We need to teach people that they will have to pass some tests. They will have to deal with Satan. Unlike God, who knows your heart, the only way the enemy can find out where you really stand is by putting the pressure on. If out of your mouth come the Word and the anointing, he’ll say, “WHOA” and he’ll back off. But if you agree with him, he won’t be concerned with you. He really doesn’t care if you’re going to heaven as much as he wants to prevent you from having influence in this realm.
The Bible says that the God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. It says the grace and the empowerment are with you—you’ve been empowered to win. You’ve been giving the grace to deal with Satan when he messes with you. As you exercise that grace, God is going to crush him under your feet.
So, persevere! Persevere with the Word and by the Spirit. Remind yourself of what God has said about you constantly. And, remember that you’ve already won.