Warfare in the Marketplace

By Rick Heeren

Excerpts From "THANK GOD IT'S MONDAY!"

Click here to learn more about Rick Heeren and "Thank God It's Monday!"

What you don't know can hurt you!

How many Christian-led companies have been cursed and the owners have no idea why their financial results have been so negative? How many Christian leaders have generational curses in their family lines and do not understand how these curses are hurting their performance in the marketplace? It is certainly true that what you don't know can hurt you! It is time that Christians in the marketplace understand that they are in a battle. It is time that they understand, like David un­derstood when he came up against Goliath, that we have to fight, and that when we fight with "divinely powerful weapons," we cannot lose.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Samuel 17:45 which says, in part, "that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine." There was no question in David's mind that he would win the battle with Goliath. He knew that he was a mobile Ark of the Covenant. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says it this way, "I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

Performing a spiritual audit

I began my business career with a public accounting firm. During that experience, I spent one whole year on the audit staff.

I went to basic audit school and learned about the subject of auditing the accounting processes of a client company so that our auditing firm could render an opinion about the financial statements produced from those accounting processes. I also learned how to organize our auditing process so that the resulting documentation of the audit could be reviewed by a manager and then by a partner from our firm. The point here is that having an outside firm audit the accounting systems and render an opinion about the financial statements produced from those systems is a recognized business practice today.

Auditing the spiritual condition in a Christian firm is not a recognized business practice today. In 1999, Chuck Pierce and Rebecca Sytsema wrote a small book entitled, Ridding Your Home of Spiritual Darkness.' In essence these authors are say­ing, "You need to audit the spiritual condition of your home because what you don't know about your home can hurt you!" Right at the beginning of their book they quote John 10:10. This is such a good foundational text that I am going to begin with it as well. Jesus said,

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

The thief referenced in this Scripture is satan. Pierce and Sytsema say the following:

Jesus' words in John 10:10 are not only a great comfort to His followers, but a profound key to understanding the war in which we as Christians find ourselves. There is a thief who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He is the enemy of our souls, and it is important that we are wise to his schemes.'

Satan brings death. Jesus Christ brings life. What a simple representation of the concept of spiritual warfare. Pierce and Sytsema continue,

How is it that satan manages to make so many of us as miserable as he possibly can in this present life? He del­egates. At the enemy's disposal is a vast demonic host assigned to see that Christians never reach their full po­tential while on earth. In so doing, they have not only succeeded in causing us distress and grief, but they have also succeeded in keeping us from fulfilling the destiny that God has for us in this lifetime.³

Pierce and Sytsema continue,

Demons are masters of disguise. They can inhabit people, objects, portions of land, or whole territories, depending on their purpose. They do not care hat they inhabit, as long as they can accomplish their assigned objectives.⁴

In chapter 4, I told the story of performing a spiritual au­dit of a publicly traded company. Twenty intercessors were given authority to perform this spiritual audit. One of the in­tercessors, with the gift of the discerning of spirits, led us to an art object that was used to curse the finances of that company. Then I received a word of knowledge that showed us how to nullify the spiritual power that had been attached to that art object. This is where I received the idea that we are mobile arks of the covenant. I am sure that this firm had a regular audit by an independent accounting firm. For the first time, they were having a spiritual audit, and that spiritual audit re­vealed that spiritual forces had been aimed at destroying the financial viability of that company.

Ed Silvoso tells a similar story about a professional soccer team in Argentina that was losing all of its games. The presi­dent of the soccer team contacted an evangelical pastor and asked him to come out to the stadium and see if there might be some spiritual reason for such an extensive losing record. The pastor arrived at the stadium and, in prayer, invited the Holy Spirit to take charge of the investigation.

Within a short time the pastor asked the president of the soccer franchise if he had a shovel. The soccer leader produced a shovel and then accompanied the pastor to the center of the immaculately manicured stadium turf. Once at the center of the playing field, the pastor took the shovel and began dig­ging a hole in the ground. After a few minutes of digging, he produced a fetish, which had been placed there as a form of witchcraft to curse the soccer team. The pastor started a fire in a nearby receptacle and then took authority over the fetish before burning it in the fire. Immediately, the soccer team be­gan winning again. Shortly after witnessing the power of Jesus Christ over the power of witchcraft, several players, members of management, and even a broadcaster gave their hearts to Jesus Christ.

This was clearly a case where the pastor saw himself as a mobile ark of the covenant bringing the power of God into the marketplace in order to destroy the gates of Hades that were operating there.

Pierce and Sytsema also assert that demons can inhabit land and property.

In the story of Elaine, we see that her young son was tor­mented by spiritual darkness that was not related to any object, or even any sin in which Elaine had been involved. The land on which they lived, however, had been defiled through sin (child abuse committed by a previous ten-ant), and that sin left an opening for demonic invasion that, until it was dealt with through prayer, continued to torment.... If the earth is the Lord's (Psalm 24:1), where do demons get the right to stake a claim to a particular part of the earth? The answer is through sin. Sin has a direct effect on lands

Pierce and Sytsema define the sins that defile land,

While any sin can be an opening for demonic activity, there are certain sins that can defile (bring a foul, dirty, unclean­ness) in the land. These sins leave the land cursed and particularly susceptible to demonic footholds. They are:

1.     Idolatry.... God hates idolatry. Just as the worship of God brings blessing upon the land, the worship of false gods brings curses.

2.     Bloodshed. Earlier we mentioned the story of Cain and Abel. From this story we see that blood shed affects the very land on which the violence occurred. As the blood of violence penetrates the ground, the Prince of the Power of the Air gains access to the land through the cursing caused by violence and blood-shed.

3.     Immorality.... satan knows that every immoral act opens up a greater legal right for him to infiltrate land and homes. With the advent of the internet, there is even greater access to things like pornography and adult chat rooms. None of these things is benign. What is done in secret can bring serious consequences through defilement-not only of those involved, but of the land on which their sin occurred.

4. Covenant breaking. During the reign of King David, a great famine came on the land. When David in­quired of the Lord concerning this famine, God said to him, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites" (2 Sam. 21:1). The Gibeonites were a group of people who had en­tered into covenant with Israel in the days of Joshua. This covenant guaranteed their safety. Yet Saul broke the covenant with the Gibeonites by murdering them. ... Many of our homes in the United States have been built on land which was taken through broken trea­ties with Native Americans. Those broken treaties from years ago can defile and give the enemy a foot-hold in the land where we live today!'

I normally perform spiritual audits on Saturday nights while no one except those in authority are present. Often, other hand-picked intercessors are present. The first thing to do is to have the person or persons in authority pray over the meeting appointing the "presiding Jesus" to be in charge.

This prayer would also cover the intercessors, bringing them under covering of those in authority and then commis­sioning them for this work of intercession. Then the lead in­tercessor should pray submitting to those in authority and blessing them and the company they represent. Then there is a time of fellowship, in which those in authority describe the situation within their company. Some intercessors prefer not to have any natural information about the company. I tend to welcome the fellowship aspect of the assignment and take many notes in my notebook. Then there is a time of listening to the Lord.

I usually quote James 1:5 and ask the Lord to provide in-formation about the problems that have been experienced. Here is that Scripture:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Often a walk around the office or operational facility will allow the Lord to disclose important information about how to pray. For instance, I once prayed for a man who had a big manufacturing facility. He gave me a tour of the facilities and we prayed prayers of blessing and applied anointing oil everywhere we went.

When we arrived at the CEO's office, he went to sit at his desk and I sat facing him across from his desk. Suddenly, my eyes noticed a family crest on a plaque right behind him. I got up and examined the crest and found that it contained a symbol of the Queen of Heaven, an occultic goddess. I told the man about this symbol and asked him to remove the plaque and destroy the symbol. He thought that I was being a bit extreme, but complied with my request.

We have found that artwork can often have symbolic or spiritual meaning.

Redesigning to eliminate risk (a new strategic plan)

I have recently teamed up with my friend Bob Wood to do strategic planning sessions for Christian CEO's. The process begins when I am called in to perform a spiritual audit and pray through the entire company. I also teach the company owner how to engage in spiritual warfare using the biblical principles of prayer evangelism.

Then, a short while after the spiritual audit, I suggest that Bob and I do a strategic planning session for the CEO. These planning sessions usually take three to four days to complete. During that time, Bob and I practically live with the CEO and his or her family. We review the company from two perspec­tives, (1) spiritual best practices, and (2) business best prac­tices. In strategic planning terms, this is called a "gap analysis."

During the review process, when we come across some-thing that should be factored into the new strategic plan-"a gap"-we document that item on flip chart paper. After a couple days of that we usually have the room covered with flip chart paper. Then we go back over each of the gaps and develop a strategy for "filling each gap." When the Lord directs us to minister to the couple, we stop the business plan­ning process and minister.

Later, the new strategic plan is typed up and provides a foundation for a project plan to implement it. Bob and I stay in communication with the CEO as the plan is implemented.

Endnotes

1.         Pierce, Chuck D., and Sytsema, Rebecca Wagner, Ridding Your Home of Spiritual Darkness, Wagner Leadership Institute, Colorado Springs, 1999.

2.      Pierce, Sytsema, ibid. pages 8-9.

3.      Pierce, Sytsema, ibid. pages 13-14.

4.      Pierce, Sytsema, ibid. page 15.

Copyright 2005 Christian Counsel for Companies
Created by Exodus Design Studios