Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: God caused the whole spiritual realm to get upset—all of the spiritual realm. It was a cataclysmic event when the Son of God stood and walked out of the Jordan River and said, "Now I'm ready to begin My ministry in the fullness of the Spirit." He cast out; no demon could stand its ground. Every person was healed. That's the same name we call on, worthy of it all! Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Son of God, worthy is Your name. Praise and glory and honor to You and to You alone.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on *Regaining Lost Ground*, we hear a special message called "No Greater Name + Prayer Dismantles Satan's Kingdom."

James 5:16 tells us to confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed because the prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much. Join Pastor Shane today as he teaches us how we can overcome the enemy of our soul and walk in true peace and true liberty when we take all things to the Lord in prayer. Listen now. You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today.

For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the *Idleman Unplugged* weekly podcast. And now, from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here's Pastor Shane Idleman.

Pastor Shane Idleman: Maybe we need a short message and more time with prayer. And if that bothers you, I don't know how to say it nicely: the exits are lit up. And I'm not being mean. Honestly, hear my heart. I'm not being mean, but we need a remnant right now in our church and in our nation, those who want to pray. If you don't want to do that, then what are you trying to get out of church? Are you just going through the motions, checking it off? Like I said, I can give many messages, but five minutes with God... Some of you need to pray. You need to spend a lot more time praying. You need to prioritize prayer.

They were on their way to pray, and a certain slave girl was possessed with a spirit of divination. And this is a different word for "possessed" here: *daimonizomai*. It's not *daimonizomai*; that's what's normally used and it means "has a demon." This word actually means "the breath of Python." In Greek paganism, they believed that the python, the serpent, was a spirit of divination, and this woman had this spirit.

So she's following them around, harassing them basically. "These men are the servants of the Most High God! These men are the servants of the Most High God!" and harassing them. They were trying to pray. They were trying to get alone with God, and something was distracting them. And I will tell you, that's probably one of your greatest hindrances in your life right now: busyness and being pulled away from that intimacy with God.

And that's why it was hard to come up because these are special moments. I don't know if you realize, but there's not a lot of time we have throughout our day to stop and to worship God for an hour, to really just focus on Him and to go deep and to drink deeply of that well that never will run dry. "Woman, I have water of which if you drink, you will never thirst again." That well is here in worship and to seek Him.

And like I was just reminded during worship, "You've left your first love." Many people have left their first love. Remember that intimacy with Christ? Remember when prayer was so special? Remember when you couldn't wait for the next prayer meeting? You couldn't wait to open your Word. And where does that drift come in? It's subtle, isn't it? It happens to me, too. It's a subtle drift.

And they were on their way to pray, and she kept bothering them and bothering them. And then it says Paul was greatly annoyed. I'm glad he's not the only one. Because there's lots of verses: Jesus cast them out, He gave His disciples power and authority to cast them out, He went into other cities and cast them out. He could not do many works there because of their unbelief and didn't cast them out. And what is the casting out? It's basically—and this weekend I was thinking about it—I think this is what it boils down to: a greater authority is present.

This is what is remarkable about Jesus' ministry. A lot of people don't understand. Something cataclysmic happened in the spiritual realm. That's why even with that verse when Jesus said John the Baptist, when he was here, the kingdom suffereth violence and the violent take it by force. There's a spiritual upheaval now. Now the demons have to bow to the name of Jesus Christ. Now they have to say, "Do not throw us into the abyss, O Son of God."

No demon ever negotiated with Jesus. No demon ever stayed. They were brought under His rule, His reign, His authority. A greater was present. And when a greater is present, the insubordinate have to listen. They have no authority, they have no framework on which they can stand their ground. They are underneath Him. Greater is He that's in you as a believer in Jesus Christ than he that is in the world.

So we don't have to be worried about this. And again, please listen to the first service. I went into all kinds of examples and different things. We need to take authority in our homes, and in our churches, and in our families, and in different things. You can take that spiritual authority and you can say in the name of Jesus... and it might be a battle. You might not see that son come home immediately, or that daughter, or the marriage repaired, because it's travailing, it's prevailing in prayer. Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, taking every thought into captivity. It's that casting down, it's that casting out, it's that turning away and pushing away.

And there's just marks in a person's life and there's marks in the church's life where there are seasons where you can really go deep with God. You can press in like never before. You can pray like never before. You can worship like never before. And that greater, that greater authority that's in you is greater than the demonic realm. Did you know you don't have to be scared of demons? You don't have to be scared of the dark side.

Many times I'll say what I'm going to do, like, "I'm going to walk in the fortune teller there in Quartzsite and I'm going to..." "Pastor, don't do that!" What? Their authority has to sit underneath Jesus' authority. You can go and you can speak life into the situation. Who is going to overrule God? What sovereign King overstays and tells God what to do? What army can defeat God? God won't even send out Himself against an army, He'll send out an angel. One angel defeats 185,000 Assyrians.

Ask Egypt what happened at midnight when you mess with God. God is sovereign, and you are calling down the God of the universe. That's what Paul said: "By the name of Jesus Christ, I command! I speak life into the situation. I speak that this girl would be delivered." And how many of our kids are suffering? How many of your grandkids are suffering? How many of your spouses or family members are suffering because we're not going into a position of prayer and worship?

It's called warfare for a reason. It's called doing battle for a reason. Put on the whole armor of God so that when you stand against the wiles of the enemy, you will stand your ground. Prayer is the only weapon he fears more than anything else because prayer dismantles his kingdom. And you combine that with fasting, that's a one-two punch, baby. You go deep into seeking the heart of God.

And I'm not up here just giving hype. I've seen God do incredible things, but you receive... you have not because you ask not. What a verse. Have you ever thought about that? You have not because you ask not. And Jesus gives the example of the lady who keeps going to the judge and knocks on his door, and finally, the unjust judge gives her what she wants. He says, "How much more My Father who loves you will give you what you need." Keep asking, keep seeking, keep petitioning. "But Shane, I've got a stronghold that can't be broken." Let me tell you about a stronger God that can break down any stronghold in your life.

That's why I said earlier, with all the broken, with all the hurting, with all the destitute, with all those who are confused about sexual identity, with all the—any type of pain, any type of hurt. Jesus says, "Just come to the cross." But many in the church have left their first love. How many of you remember that time when the prayer meeting was special? When you didn't want worship to hurry up? When you couldn't wait to get to church? When did it become a drudgery and not a delight? When did it become a difficulty and not a passion?

Maybe you've never experienced this, but some of you I know you have. Or you should want to. You should say, "Lord, break my heart for the things that break Yours. Give me that fire and that fervency." I almost couldn't come up during "Worthy of it All." He is worthy of it all. Worthy of our praise, worthy of our adoration. The goodness of God.

Oh, come on, let's be honest. How many of you should be dead by now? Let's be honest. Come on. Balcony? Hello? That car accident, that disease, that crazy ex-spouse. You've had guns pulled, you've had knives, you've had gangs, you've been so close to hell your clothes still smell like smoke. Oh, but for the goodness of God! The grace of God! Shouldn't that change our worship? Shouldn't that drop us to our knees in adoration? Worthy of it all, worthy of it all. Lord, You've kept me from the enemy's hands. You've kept my kids from the darkness and deception of just even from suicide to drugs and addiction.

Or maybe those who are caught into those things, you call down heaven and you say, "Not my child, Lord. I'm calling on a name greater than every other name." That's why the name of Jesus causes the whole spiritual realm to get upset—all of the spiritual realm. It was a cataclysmic event when the Son of God stood and walked out of the Jordan River and said, "Now I'm ready to begin My ministry in the fullness of the Spirit." He cast out; no demon could stand its ground. Every person was healed. That's the same name we call on, worthy of it all! Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Son of God, worthy is Your name. Praise and glory and honor to You and to You alone.

And we worship Him. And we plead, and we ask. We intercede. Oh, the power of intercession. I don't quite understand it, but I've seen it throughout all of Scripture. People would intercede and Jesus would heal because of the intercessor, not the person. So there goes that "name it, claim it, faith it, and blab it, grab it" group. If you just have enough faith... Well, people were healed and didn't have any faith. They didn't know they were being prayed for.

Dads would go and say, "Oh, my daughter, she's severely vexed with the devil." Moms would come. And Jesus—I talked about that Wednesday—they would come and they would plead, and Jesus wouldn't even answer. And they would dig deeper in worship. And He said, "I came for the lost sheep of Israel." And she said, "Oh, but Lord, please help my daughter. She's demon-possessed." "But it's not good to give the dogs the children's bread." And she's like, "Oh yes, Lord, but even the little children eat the crumbs that fall from the Master's table." "Oh woman, your faith is great. I've never seen great faith like this in all of Israel. Your daughter, that's not here right now, is healed."

"Jesus, Your disciples couldn't heal my son. Just believe." "I believe, but Lord, help my unbelief." "I pray he's healed." That name we call on. That name we still go to. Who can stop a funeral when the casket's going by? He says, "She's just sleeping." And they ridicule Him. "Talitha koum, I say to you, little girl, arise." He presented a son, dead days, back to his mother, rose from the dead.

"It's been four days. That body's corroded." Jesus said, "Didn't I tell you if you believe?" "Oh, I believe. I know the resurrection's coming." He said, "I am the resurrection. I am the resurrection. Look at Me, look at Me and Me alone. Lazarus, come forth! Woman, thou art loosed from your infirmity!" Everywhere He went. I know we can't do that because we don't know the perfect will of God; we are flawed. But we can call on that name. We can praise that name. And we can say, "Worthy of it all, worthy of it all."

And I truly mean that. I'm not just saying that. When we go back into prayer and worship, that's more important than any sermon you will ever hear. A moment with God will change you unlike anything man can tell you. Call upon that name. When the devil meets you, we're supposed to confront him with Christ, with the armor of God.

And I know there are heavy burdens in here. Many of your children are not walking with the Lord. Prodigals are not walking with the Lord. Grandchildren... some of you are not walking with the Lord. You were not expecting this today. Neither was I; I've got a whole sermon here. But this is just so important, especially as we were singing that worship, those songs "Worthy of It All."

Do you know what that means? That means I put You above everything else. I will seek You until I find You. There's another song we used to do about waiting, waiting on God. "I will worship while I wait. The more I seek You, the more I love You. The more I love You, the more I seek You." Ronnie, do you remember that one? Way back then? "The more I seek You, the more I find You. The more I find You, the more I seek You." I've seen people healed, so have you. Delivered, set free, strongholds broken, addictions broken, fear, anxiety, depression lifted because the Savior has decided to step in and intervene. And they've called upon the name, the only name that saves.

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. There's no other name that can save. We need to look to Him and Him alone. Ezekiel... God said—this is amazing. Some scripture, I'm like... I just put down my Bible, like, "Lord..." God says—this is God speaking—"I sought for a man. I sought for a man from among them. I looked for somebody from among them. Would you stand in the gap for California? Would you stand in the gap for your family? Would someone intercede? Would someone grab My heart? Would someone plead the blood? Is there anybody?" "I looked, I sought for a man who would stand between Me and My judgment and the people, and I found no one. I found no one." Does the heart of God break?

"I sought for a man from among My people who would stand in the gap and build a wall that I might not destroy My land, but I found no one." The power of the intercessor. We could do a whole sermon on that. Abraham: "Lord, would You not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for 50 righteous?" "I'll spare it for 50." "45? 40? 35? 30?" He's interceding. Did you know God was going to wipe out the nation of Israel and start over? But somebody by the name of Moses interceded.

We need to get back to intercessory prayer. The old saints—I'm talking books from the 1700s, 1800s—would call it "prevailing prayer." It's amazing. I would read, they would say, "We prayed all night and we laid hold of God, and God answered. We prevailed in prayer." How did they know they prevailed in prayer? Because you get to a point when you spend time with God, when you know, when you know the Father heard your cry. You know. You know there's a time, there's an intimacy, there's a moment with the Creator and He touches you. And you just know. It's like the Holy Spirit saying, "Son, your Father's heard your cries. He's heard your plea. You're tired, but there's peace because you prevailed in prayer."

Look at all the great saints. Jacob wrestled all night with God until he prevailed. Did he beat up God? Of course not. He prevailed. He laid hold of God and he held on and he prevailed. There are so many stories of intercession. So you can stay seated if you want; it's not about coming forward. But there's something special that happens when you say, "You know what? I'm going to do what's uncomfortable. I'm going to get out of my seat. Lord, I need You. My kids have drifted, my marriage is on the rocks. Lord, I'm so confused about so many things."

The power of prayer, that's the only thing that literally moves the hand of God. And I want to be careful here because I love the Word of God, I read the Word of God, I cherish the Word of God, but it's prayer that moves the hand of God. Because you can read and not obey and live in deception, but you can't pray, really pray, and live in deception. Because a deceived heart, a prideful heart will not pray. Prayer is where we're all exposed. We're open, we say, "Lord, I need You." Anybody else need God this morning or just me? Amen, amen.

So again, you can exit quietly out the back. I know we've got to get kiddos at some point. You can stay where you're seated, you can come forward to the balcony. Intercede. Intercede for your family members. But guys, we've got to pray for our nation. We are a mess. There are statistics that would blow your mind, literally, on satanic worship an hour from here, sex trafficking... How do you traffic a two-year-old, a three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine? How is that even conceived in the mind of a monster? What's going to break that? The power of Christ, the power of prayer. And we can pray.

I still have people that tell me, "Why do you even care? America's the Babylon, she's the great whore, she's the great harlot, she's going down." I'm like, "So I'm supposed to just go home and be a coward? Maybe so. Maybe we're going down, but I'm grabbing a lot of people and pulling them out and getting them up." I don't know about you, but my Master says do business until I return. Don't give up, don't become a coward. This is the time you press in like never before. Oh, when Zion travails, sons and daughters are born. There's something about travail, there's something about prevailing, there's something about grabbing... If I could just touch the hem of His garment, that's all I need. I don't know about you, that's all I need. I'm trusting in God, not in negative Nellies.

That's it. Let's go to prayer and worship. Let's go ahead and stand if you'd like to stand. Thank you. Let's go ahead and stand. And Yvette, thank you. Are you still in here? I think you're back there. When she came up and prayed, I've been struggling honestly, like, "God, this is going to be tough. Not everybody's going to like this message. People are going to want to leave." But I don't care because I want the remnant. I want... if you don't want to be here, you don't like... you don't want to seek God, we're in the wrong building. We need the remnant church to get on their face like never before and call out to God.

If you're not saved, the Bible says repent and believe in the Gospel. Repent and believe. Believe that you cannot get to God on your own good works and on your merit. Nothing good is in us but Christ and Christ alone. And we remember the blood that was shed and the body that was broken.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to *Regaining Lost Ground* with Pastor Shane Idleman. You can find more information at westsidechristianfellowship.org. That's westsidechristianfellowship.org. And for all the latest on what God is doing with His ministry here, please be sure to follow us on most social media platforms.

Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of *Regaining Lost Ground*, where we are reminded daily: times change, truth does not.