Sometimes the spiritual battles in your life are not so much personally about you, they are related to the territory you are about to take.

Therefore as you seek to advance and take new territory, be prepared for opposition and obstacles. Your territory could be a physical space or place, but it’s also your influence, family, ministry, job, finances, purity, impact, and inheritance.

We see this clearly in Mark 4 and 5. When Jesus crosses over to “the other side“, He is advancing into Gentile territory. It should come as no surprise then, that as he travels towards this new territory, He encounters a fierce, destructive storm.

When you are seeking to move forward and take new ground for the kingdom, don’t be surprised if all of hell comes against you. In fact, the resistance is a sign that the enemy knows his days are numbered. Resist and rebuke the storm and keep moving forward.

Then, when Jesus gets to the other side, He is confronted with a deeply demonised man. We read that the demons don’t care about leaving the man, they just don’t want to leave the territory. In other words it’s not personal, it’s about the territory.

Understand that not every battle is about you personally, it’s about the territory that you occupy or will be advancing into. Don’t withdraw, shrink back, or panic. Press on because on the other side there are people who need to know the love, freedom, deliverance, healing, salvation and power of Christ. Take the territory, own your zone.

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Mark 4:35-37; 5:1-2;

“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped....

Mark 5:1-2 NIV

“They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. a When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him...”