Throughout history, Flags and Banners have represented the beliefs and purposes of those who carry them. Flown as signals, rallying points and standards of identification, flags define battle lines, and give direction and encouragement. They declare the victory and identify the one in authority. They are an outward expression of the praise that is in our hearts.
In a worship service, Flags and Banners are used for God’s people as a visual tool on which to focus. They can declare a time of battle in spiritual warfare, God’s love, His grace, holiness and power. As the Spirit of God (the watchman) directs, the waving of Flags and Banners will open the “spiritual gates” of heaven allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely among His people with healing, deliverance and encouragement. Flags and Banners are vital to the Body of Christ. They make a statement – a statement of our worship, our praise, our warfare, and a statement that reflects our work with the Lord. They are a form of visual worship and they make a powerful statement to the non-believer. They are a silent witness in ministry but they speak volumes to anyone who looks at them.
Flags and Banners:
- minister to the Lord, to give Him Glory, Honor and Praise.
- open personal communication with God.
- rally the troops to war.
- create an environment of Worship.
- tell people who you represent.
- signal or attract attention to an event that is happening.
- herald an event.
- unify the company. In the Tabernacle in the desert, each of the 12 tribes had their own banner Numbers 2:34. Each clan and each family had their banners with the tribe logo and the family name on them.
- show victories won.
- are a demonstration of God’s presence lifted up in our midst.
- can be a rallying point of healing. In the desert when Moses lifted up the serpent on the stake, that was a form of a visual banner for healing.
- put the enemy to flight.
- expose and destroy the works of the enemy through worship.
- communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach the lost.
To Bestow Honor - To declare a name and an aspect of God's character. As we wave it, we minister in love to our King and proclaim the magnificence of who He is.
To Communicate - As a particular Flag/Banner is raised, the prayer behind it is somewhat like a phone call. We are speaking to our Lord in the aspect of His character depicted in the Flag/Banner, asking Him to reveal Himself and related matters of His heart to us. For example, if a Flag/Banner exalts Him as Jehovah Rohi (The Lord Our Shepherd), we are asking to speak to Him as the One Who leads, protects, and comforts us. Perhaps our hearts are crying out to Him to bring us to that place of restoration, or to show us specific direction for a situation. We ask, then await His response.
To Signal God's Presence - Lifting flags in worship follows the action of Moses as he lifted his rod (a shepherd's staff, a spiritual type or symbol of a flag) as a visible sign of God's presence, power and authority over the armies of Israel.
To Declare Our Allegiance - As we wave our Flags and Banners in worship, we admit our loyalty as members of our Lord's army in the presence of men on earth and before powers and principalities in the heavens.
To Rally the Troops - We know our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, powers and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places Ephesians 6:12. Raising a flag stirs unity and loyalty in the King's army, gathers soldiers together for strategy and strengthens commitment to victory.
To Direct Warfare and Praise - Early records show that in ancient Egyptian battles, soldiers looked to Flags and Banners (ribbons or fabric tied to poles) to determine the direction of the wind, then shot their arrows accordingly to reach their target. In terms of spiritual warfare, a particular flag might be flown to say in the physical realm what is happening in the spiritual: it relates the direction of the "wind" of the Holy Spirit on a particular day. To Put the Enemy to Flight - Isaiah 59:19 tells us, "...When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Flags and Banners are a God-given, God anointed, Word-based standard that displays His truth. Truth and light cause the enemy to flee.
To Boast of Victory - The Hebrew word for lift up a banner is "degel" and the definition of it is "to flaunt, be conspicuous, set up with banners." Psalm 20:7 says "we will boast in the name of the Lord..."
To Be a Touchpoint of Faith - God directed Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole as a focal point and promised that whoever would have faith enough to look on it would be healed of the deadly serpents' bites. As we look to the Cross in faith, we find healing in the blood of Jesus. Flags and Banners are not idols and do not contain healing, nor any other manifested gift of God, but serve the Body of Christ as visual reminders of His faithfulness as Jehovah Rapha, The Lord Our Healer, or Jehovah Shalom, The Lord Our Peace, or any of the wonderful qualities of El Shaddai, the All Sufficient God, God Almighty.
To Herald an Event - Flags and Banners declare a specific event or season. Through the use of Flags and Banners in worship, at such a time as this, the Bride of Christ is announcing in the spirit of Elijah and John the Baptist, "The King is coming! Prepare the way for Jesus! The King is in the land!
Worship and Warfare
All worship should be glorifying to God, and lead anyone watching to a greater depth of worship to Him. As with choreographed "presentation" pieces, we can also worship Jesus by just dancing freely as led by the Spirit. We must listen to the Holy Spirit and do exactly what He tells us, even if we don't understand why. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6.
Praise and worship are powerful spiritual weapons against the powers of darkness. Christian ministries are prime targets for spiritual attack, which may come in many forms such as illness, discord, mechanical failures and opposition. Intercessory prayer is needed for all ministries! Many of us have such a, comforting picture of the cross. We see the forgiveness of our sins, our reconciliation to the Father, and provision for our healings. But do we see the rest of the picture? Jesus was in physical and emotional agony on the cross. Jesus was also in spiritual warfare on the cross. Numerous people view the cross as completely foolish. Many also consider worship to be foolish and weak, when in reality it too, is a form of warfare. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."
Who would have thought that David could really slay Goliath with one small stone? Who would have believed that the walls of Jericho would fall down flat at the shout of the people? Or what about when Samson slew a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass? To the natural eye each of these things seems totally foolish. Yet God was at work in each one of them. So really how foolish is it to stand in front of the entire congregation waving a Flag or Banner around in the air? Just as there was no actual power in David's stone or Samson's jawbone; there is no actual power in the Flags and Banners. They are symbolic weapons. Praise and worship are weapons in themselves because they lift up God, and tear down the enemy's kingdom. Every time you give true praise unto the Lord a spiritual missile is hurled into the enemy's camp. A missile that causes confusion and destruction. That is why the enemy hates and fights our praise and worship. "Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." Psalm 144:1.
Flags and Banners are very effective weapons to use against satan and his armies. They are made mighty by the Spirit of the Lord to pull down strongholds and bind their works.You must remember this: This is Warfare.....not just waving a Flag/Banner. By using these instruments of praise and worship you are entering into spiritual warfare. We are an army! We are the militia of the Lord. A militia by definition is an assemblage of armed citizens brought together for the common defense. In Colonial America, when the militia was mustered, you would see men armed with whatever they had - some with rifles, some with shotguns, some with muskets, others with just pikes and spears. They were there, armed, ready to defend their liberty, their homes, and their families from the onslaught of the enemy.God has given strength, authority, and warfare to men. It is part of His plan, and is built into the nature of man. Women, no matter what their personality, or spiritual maturity is cannot bring the same strength into something that a man does. We encourage men to join the Flag/Banner ministry as God leads them.When you are giving praise to the Lord with your Flag/Banner or even just your bare hands, you, too, are standing up to the onslaught of your enemy. You are in battle for, and with, the Lord. You are a member of the army of the Lord.We have all heard of hand-to-hand combat. In man's army hand-to-hand combat is a physical one-on-one confrontation with the enemy. In God's army hand-to-hand combat is lifting your hands in praise. Although our enemy is unseen - the combat is real.
When Flags and Banners are lifted as a statement, it becomes a wave offering to the Lord. The diversity of colors represents the multi-faceted dimensions in how our adoration can glorify God for his unique and phenomenally awesome character. These weapons of aggressive worship become faith statements whereby we can agree with God for victory. They are for joyful celebration. They cause us to rejoice in jubilee. They inspire us, like a signal, to break forth into exuberant demonstrations of praise. Aggressive worship often combines with dance as spiritual eyes open and natural senses dull. The focus is for the Audience of One, and our eyes are not on the congregation. The flags in brilliant splendor are richly graced with symbolism. In our weakness, God becomes our strength. As we raise our Flag/Banner toward the heavenly realms, volumes are spoken as the devil's airspace is invaded with shouts of faith calling forth victory. Flags, as well as banners, are used in worship to exalt Jesus and His name before men and also before the powers of darkness. They may also declare our redemption through Jesus and His Blood. During worship or during ministry time, our flags proclaim the dominion of God's Kingdom and mark our spiritual territory. The flag makes a proclamation before heaven and earth, angels and demons through the one raising the flag, on behalf of all those present, whom the flag bearer represents. The flag bearer is truly "raising the standard" to rally the troops in spiritual unity. The flag minister must be following the Holy Spirit, who is also guiding the worship leader, the dance leader, and the covering of the house. If we all remain submitted to the Lord, He will ensure order, and be enabled to move in power through the unified body. In Worship, the flag may be speaking the heart of the people toward God, or God's heart toward His people. It declares His awesome power, reminds Him, and us of His eternal word and covenant promises. In Warfare, The flag proclaims the Kingdom of God, and declares our authority over the powers of darkness. We raise our flags in victory as we go into battle, giving honor to The One who has already won all our battles.
Our Worship is intercession. There is no choice to be made, no conflict of interests. As we magnify the Lord with our praises, His presence naturally enforces our covenant rights, fulfills His promises, and releases Kingdom reality into our circumstances. He is passionately seeking passionate worshipers to restore the tabernacle of David. In that temple, there was no separation between God and Man, and it was 24 hour worship that replaced the veil, creating a safe interface between His holiness and our need. He has promised to re-create it in our day. Flags and Banners are visual worship. You don't need words to understand this form of worship. They are symbols that transcend language and racial barriers. People of different languages and backgrounds understand that you are praising the Lord. The Holy Spirit can use these visual expressions to reach out and penetrate a hard heart. Just as more traditional forms of praise and worship prepare the atmosphere and soften the heart to receive the word of God, this too is anointed to do the same.This visual worship is a form of communication. We use these instruments of praise to proclaim who God is to us. They can represent a name, a character trait, or an attribute of God that we are lifting up. Be aware that it is not only communicated to God, but also to others who may be around us.
The prince of the power of the air is satan. Ephesians 2:2 As we each raise the flag, we are pressing into his territory. We can use a flag as a tool of intercession both in worship and exaltation of the Lord God Almighty and in warfare to take back what God has already given to us. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12 We need to realize what we hold in our hands. If we don’t know the authority the Lord has given us, we will not use that authority and in turn, will have minimal effect in our efforts against the forces of darkness. "The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell in it." Psalm 24:1
Lifting a Flag and/or Banner is a Kingdom tool of identification, proclamation and glorification. In worship and warfare, the function of a Flag and Banner is to attract the attention of the people of God, to proclaim a message of identification or focus for a biblical truth and purpose, to impact the heart of God, the heart of the people and the spiritual realm for a positive outcome. God uses the things of the natural world to affect the things in the spiritual world.
The Lord created all forms of worship to be used for His Glory and to usher in His presence. It is time to take back the arts from the enemy’s hands and to use them in the way the Lord always intended. We want to be obedient to what pleases Him.
The Spirit of God is stirring the hearts of men and women to express their worship in ways that may seem uncommon to some and a more expressive visual means to others. The fullness of worship will increase in the arts as the spirit of David is reborn within the body of Christ.
The Father speaks to His people through the means of visual arts, music, and manifestations. Using visual arts in worship is one method of crossing over a language and physical impairment boundaries, as well as cultural and denominational lines.
God created us for worship and within each one of us is a desire to worship Him that is just waiting to be released unto Him. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father is Spirit and truth for the Father is seeking each to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.” John 4:23-24
There is nothing more heart-stirring than an altar full of believers waving Flags and Banners in Praise and Worship to the Lord.
Purpose & Use of Flags
Waves of Worship
Flag Ministry
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." John 4:23
 | ||||||
| ||||||
