The 'Parresia' Anointing-Freedom and Right of Bold, Free Speech Needed Now!
Our friend, Rose Murdock wrote this a few years ago but I feel it is important to visit this topic in light of recent crackdowns on free speech, especially targeting Christians and righteousness. There is a link in the first paragraph to the first part also worth reading.
Rose posted this update a few days ago: It helps with the big picture for us as believers and sons of God to stand firmly, with confidence in Christ alone in the face of the onslaught of the cancel culture and gives insightful ways to pray and intercede. Thank you Rose!
"In regard to the question how do we convince someone in deception that they are being deceived—
I’ve spent a lot of time studying/praying about deception because reading Matthew 7:21-23 and 2 Thessalonians 2 early in my Christian walk scared me to the point of giving this topic a lot of attention!
In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 we read that God Himself will send a strong delusion to those who don’t love and believe the truth but take pleasure in wickedness.
So if this kind of strong delusion can be prevented by loving and believing the truth (and not taking pleasure in wickedness) then it makes sense that all deception can. The very definition of deception is that you’ve accepted as true that which is false, so you don’t know you’re deceived! Yet if deception is prevented by having a LOVE of the truth (not just hearing it) then it becomes more of a heart matter. People who have deceptive strongholds of thinking will mentally reject anything that opposes that, even if its truth. It has to get past their blinded minds.
In Acts 4 we read about Peter and John ‘s arrest and the prayer they prayed for confidence. That word confidence means parrésia or freedom of speech. It’s also translated as boldness. I wrote a couple blogs on this a long time ago, but the short version is that parrésia is like an unobstructed speech which is able to penetrate into the heart. When accompanied by signs and wonders then it has a witness to it being truth. They prayed for boldness and for the Lord to do signs and wonders (Acts 4:29-31). This is what is needed to bring truth to the heart. Even Paul said his speech and preaching was not with persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4).
However, its more than just that because a person needs to love and believe the truth themselves, not just hear truth and see signs. In John 6, Jesus did a miracle feeding the 5000 yet the next day the people asked Him to perform a sign “so that we may see and believe You.” (John 6:30). If a person’s heart isn’t right, hearing truth and seeing miracles won’t convince them.
Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds—those with hardened and unbelieving hearts—but explained the parables to His disciples (Matthew 13:10-17). He told His disciples that He spoke in parables to the crowd because it was given to them (His disciples) to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but not to the others. So why even bother talking to the crowds? I think Jesus was trying to spark a seeking heart in those who didn’t believe. I think He was trying to get them to ask questions. By telling a parable, if a person would hear and ask themselves, “What does He mean?” They become a seeker. They begin a step towards seeking Him and looking to understand what He says, which is truth. This kind of seeking heart is fertile ground for the bold words of truth to be planted in, fertilized by miracles.
I believe God wants us to have this parrésia boldness and do more miracles in our midst. Yet, maybe we’ll need to tell some parables and stories too!"
Friday, April 8, 2016
The Parrésia Anointing
On July 4, 2015 I posted a blog called God's Freedom of Speech Definition. (Read it here). It is about Peter and John being arrested for preaching in the Name of Jesus. It's taken from Acts 4 & 5. I discuss the word parrésia which is used to describe the confidence of Peter and John that the authorities saw, as well as the confidence they prayed for so they could continue to speak the word. Parrésia is also used to describe the boldness they continued to preach with after this happened. As I explain in the blog, parrésia means freedom of speech and confidence. When reading these Scriptures, you can replace the words confidence and boldness with "freedom of speech" to get a better understanding.
I bring this up again because there is more we need to see about this type of freedom of speech that God gave them, and will give to us if we ask for it as they did. There are three different levels to this kind of free speech.
1. The freedom to speak freely without harassment or persecution.
This type of freedom of speech is what we have enjoyed in America for so long, up until recently. We've had the freedom to say what we want and others have the freedom to disagree with us. We have not had to fear being persecuted or arrested for speaking of Jesus or preaching in His Name.
2. The courage to speak freely even if there is persecution or consequence.
This is the kind of boldness I typically thought of when reading about Peter and John's arrest in Acts 4. This is the kind of courage that some American Christians are starting to have to display because of persecution and laws that are attacking our freedom of speech. This is the kind of courage a true believer must have in order to stay loyal to the Lord during times of opposition. The early church displayed this type of courage, many of them to the point of death.
3. The power-filled, anointed speech that brings light and freedom to blinded minds.
This is the kind of speech that not only reaches the ears of the deceived because the speaker had the boldness to speak, but these are words that carry the power to penetrate into the brain of the person bringing light, understanding, freedom and faith to the hearer! This is where we see God backing the words we speak with power. We see this displayed throughout the book of Acts and described here:
...After it (the Word) was spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:3-4
Words are more than sound waves that hit an eardrum. Sound waves continue through the ear and into the brain where they are decoded so the hearer understands what the speaker meant. God-anointed words have the power to eradicate the darkness of deception that blinds the minds of unbelievers so they can see the truth and believe!So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Mark 16:19-20
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:3-4The minds of the unbelieving are blinded by darkness. They don't see the light of the gospel. They don't see the glory of the Lord. They don't see that He is the image of God Himself. We need to have the courage of level two described above, but also the power of level three. We need to speak the Word of God with the anointing of His Spirit so His Light can penetrate the darkened minds.
The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130 NKJVSo how do we get this level three kind of God-anointed words? We first display level two courage, but look at what Peter and John also did. After they were threatened by the authorities they went to their own people and they all prayed.
"And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence (parrésia), while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. (parrésia). (Acts 4:29-31).They gathered with their people and prayed for parrésia. When they did the whole place shook and they were filled with the Spirit. We know that they were already filled with the Spirit, but they received a fresh, or greater anointing of the Spirit. Rather than backing down and giving in to the dark threats of the authorities, they responded by asking the Lord for more parrésia so they could speak His word while the Lord healed and displayed signs and wonders. This kind of parrésia anointing on our words brings the light and power of God into the earth in such a way that the works of God are demonstrated and God is glorified!
If you grieve over a loss of the level one kind of freedom of speech, make a decision to speak the Word courageously. Pray for this parrésia anointing and for the Lord to display signs and wonders through His Name. Remember, the light shines brighter in the darkness. There may be a stronger conflict, but light overcomes the darkness!
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