Decree Your Creed

by Donnie Bostwick

February 11, 2021

1026

What do others say about your team? It is one thing to tell people how tough you are, but it is a much more powerful revelation when others decree those words. It is not until you have established your will on another, that your will has become real. When fear of your team’s will cause an opponent to lose confidence and tap out subconsciously prior to or during your game, that is when you finally see evidence that you have a creed.

Did you just ask “What is a creed?” According to oxford, a creed is a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone’s actions. Do you have a creed? It might sound silly, but if you ask my kids what Bostwick’s are all about, they will likely laugh and say, “Bostwick’s always do their best, with a great attitude, and we never give up, never surrender”. As little kids, I made them repeat that saying often. In case you are wondering if you have heard the final words of that decree before, they come from one of my favorite movies, Galaxy Quest. You see, my father and I always stayed up watching Star Trek, Galaxy Quest is a comedy poking fun at Star Trek, but to me it was a legendary reminder of one of the many powerful things my father taught me that I desire to pass along to my children. One night my 3-year-old son Gunter and I had rented a video game. We had conquered twenty plus levels of the game, but had come to the point that seemed impossible to beat. It was around midnight and I told G that it was getting late and the level was simply impossible to overcome. I will never forget G’s response. “Dad, Bostwick’s never give up.” G fell asleep after another hour trying to conquer the level, but around 2:30 a.m., I woke him up to let him know that I had conquered the level and that he was correct, “Bostwick’s never give up, we never surrender!” Looking back, I realize I was establishing a creed that my children would live by. Maybe it is time you and I intentionally establish a creed for our family and team.

In order to understand creed, I believe it is important that we also define and understand the word “decree”. A decree is a rule of law usually issued by a head of state, such as the president of a republic or a monarch. According to certain procedures, usually established in a constitution, the decree has the force of law. After researching, I realize that decrees are used in both the legal and political world, but the most powerful and important decrees we must own and voice come from the KING OF KINGS.

Decrees such as the one we find in Luke 9:1-2, “Now Jesus called together the twelve disciples and gave them the right to exercise power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases. Then He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to perform healing.”

Jesus spoke another powerful decree for us in Acts 1:8! Lord Jesus let this become our Creed as followers you, the King of Kings, “But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be witnesses to tell people about me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” We have Jesus’ authority in which to speak a decree, thus always speak and write decrees in the Name and Authority of King Jesus.

Recently I heard the Navy Seals Creed. It left an incredibly impact on me. It was one of the most powerful decrees I have ever heard. My Grampa Don was one of the original navy seals in WWII. They were referred to as frogmen, naked warriors, and UDE (Underwater Demolition Expert). Today they are the elite of the elite special forces. I challenge you to read the Navy Seals Creed. Doing so has impacted and influenced me to come up with a creed for my team and even more importantly a creed for my own personal walk with Jesus.

Do you just walk through life without a creed allowing circumstances to control you or do you speak to your circumstances and make them respond to your creed? I don’t know about you, but I am not called to be a bystander in God’s Army. I am called to be a member of my Kings special elite force, part of a brotherhood of warriors that will not leave any lost behind.

My pastor is my close friend and without a doubt a special forces member in God’s Army. He asked the question in his message Sunday. Are you afraid of the dark? Most everyone can admit at one point or another in life, the answer to that question is simple. “Yes”. You might have matured over the years and can now say, “No, not anymore.”

That might be true or at least until you are caving through a large cave that you have never explored before and the battery in your flashlight fails. You see for the first time a level of darkness and fear that you have never experienced. When Pastor D asked that question on Sunday though, I felt God rise up in me and say, “No, I am not afraid of the dark, the DARK IS AFRAID OF ME!” Now that is a DECREE! God decreed that Demons must flee when we speak JESUS POWERFUL NAME with the authority He has given us.

Let me first acknowledge a couple things. Until January 2020, I had never even used the word decree. After a long fast, God woke me up in the middle of the night and spoke to me through a prophecy that was playing on my air pods. I was listening to a message from one of my favorite pastor’s, but fell asleep. Four hours later, it was like God tapped me on the shoulder and woke me up. After one message is over on YouTube, it randomly skips to another message. When I woke up, a prophecy was being given from a random message. I can’t explain, but I knew it was for me. I won’t go into detail, but I felt compelled to write down what I had heard. I had heard recently a message about the importance of decreeing what you believe God has spoken to you. I honestly had never used the word decree, must less decreed anything, but I felt compelled to make a written decree about what God had told me. So, for the first time in my life I wrote the words, “I DECREE”. I spoke that decree for months. In case you are wondering, yes, every single word that that I decreed amazingly, and I do amazingly, came true nine months later.

I believe that the words that come out of our mouths are far more powerful than we understand. Not only do you become who you believe you are! I believe the odds of you becoming who you believe you are increase dramatically when you write a decree and vocally proclaim each and every word in detail. Jesus said, “IF, YOU ONLY BELEIVE”. Decreeing is believing!

God says in the last days we will dream and have visions. If God gives you a dream or a vision, then write it down as a Decree and Decree it in Jesus Name. The Bible says we have not because we ask not. I believe it is time we search His Word and ask God for dreams, visions, and wisdom to write creeds to live by and decree missions that He gives us to fulfill His will. Seeking a message from God begins with getting your heart right with Him through repentance and then setting your focus on Jesus and only Jesus. Once you have done that, then it is time to DECREE YOUR CREED!