Monday, 18 March 2019
Thursday, 7 March 2019
Spying into the Spirit World
Spying into the Spirit World
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her
masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried,
saying, These men are the servants of
the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she
many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command
thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same
hour.”
Acts 16:16-18
The “Discerning
of Spirits” gives us a glimpse into the spirit world. It gives us understanding of both the bad and
good that exists in the realm of the spirit.
What This Gift is
Not
It is not “mind reading”, the “gift of discernment”, or the “gift
of suspicion”. It does not have
anything to do with psychology or the power of the natural mind.
The “Discerning
of Spirits” does not require that we be some sort of “Spirit Hunters” looking for a spirit behind every tree.
Kenneth E.
Hagin in “Concerning Spiritual Gifts” highlights
that the “Discerning of Spirits” is
not the ability to discern people’s faults.
This is known as “fault finding
and is not a gift at all” (anyone
can do that). He states, “the
gift of discerning of spirits is not discerning of character or faults. It is the discerning of spirits.”
What This Gift Is
It is a supernatural revelation of the Spirit and allows
us to know whether or not something or someone is of the:
Ø 1. Spirit of God.
Ø 2. Spirit of Man.
Ø 3. Spirit of Devil.
This means that the “Discerning of Spirits” allow us to know whether the spirit of a
person is of God or not.
It may even allow us to identify certain spirits
that have attached themselves to a person or have taken possession of the
individual. Lee Stoneking in his book “Gifts
of the Spirit” claims that many of these demons take advantage of the works
of the flesh mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21.
The person possessed will begin to manifest the nature of the spirit
that has possessed him. The “Discerning of Spirits” will allow us
to identify these ungodly spirits and cast them out. We will deal with casting out demons in other
lessons. This lesson is to provide basic
understanding of the “Discerning of
Spirits.”
George Shalm in “Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts” reveals a number of different
spirits mentioned in the Bible.
Spying on Bible
Spirits
Unclean
Spirit Matthew
12:43
Lying Spirit 1 Kings
22:22
Tormenting Spirit Matthew 4:24
Spirit of
Infirmity Luke
13:11
Spirit of
Fortune Telling Acts 16:16
Spirit of
Jealousy Numbers
5:14
Evil Spirit Judges
9:23
Familiar
Spirit 1
Samuel 28:7
Haughty Spirit Proverbs
16:18
Perverse Spirit Isaiah
19:14
Spirit
of Whoredoms Hosea
4:12
Dumb Spirit Mark
9:17
Foul Spirit Mark
9:25
Spirit of Fear 2
Timothy 1:7
Spirit of
Antichrist 1
John 4:3
Spirit of error 1
John 4:6
Spirit of the
World 1 Cor.
2:12
Seducing Spirits 1 Timothy 4:1
Spirits
of Devils Revelation
16:14
The Spirit Test
We are called on to give the spirits a “test.”
“Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God...” (1
John 4:1)
This verse seems to indicate that each of us has the
ability to try the spirits. Sometimes we
see a demon manifesting itself by foaming at the mouth or speaking utterances
through a person’s mouth. Neither of these is the “Discerning of Spirits”. In
some cases even the general public would be able to tell that a person is demon
possessed. Is this “Discerning of
Spirits”? No, of course not.
In the example given below you will quickly be able
to see that it did not take a “Discerning
of Spirits” to know that this man was demon possessed. How can you tell that he was demon
possessed? What were some of the signs?
“As Jesus
got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and
graves. No one could restrain him-he
couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down.
He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the
chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong
enough to tame him. Night and day he
roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself
with sharp stones.” (Mark 5; The
Message)
A demon possessed person can discern someone who has
a godly spirit or who is spirit filled. Legion identified Jesus in Mark 5:7.
“And cried
with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
the most high God? I adjure thee by God
that thou torment me not.”
In Acts 16:17 there was a young girl, demon
possessed, that cried, “These men are
the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of
salvation.” Most would think that
this was great. The girl was drawing
attention to the men of God. Paul sensed that this was the devil at work in her
and cast out the evil spirit immediately.
Examples From the
Book of Acts
Ø The “Discerning of Spirits” was used to reveal Elymas in Acts 13:8-12.
Ø Paul was also able to
discern that the girl in Acts 16:17 was demon possessed.
Ø Peter was able to discern
the spirit of Simon a sorcerer who became a believer and in Acts 8:12-13 he was
baptized. When Simon saw “…that through
laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them
money.” (Verse 18) Peter discerned that his heart was not right,
that he was “in the gall of bitterness,
and in the bond of iniquity.” (8:
23)
Ø In Acts 5:1-3 Peter also
discerns that “…Hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?”
When Ananias came with his money the man of God immediately discerned
wrongdoing and lying.
We need the “Discerning
of Spirits” to be able to know whether certain miracles, signs, and wonders
are of God or not.
“...For they
are the spirits of devils, working miracles...” (Revelation 16:13-14)
“...For there
shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders: insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
Therefore, it is necessary to have the “Discerning of Spirits” in times of
supernatural manifestations to determine what is of the devil and what is of
God. Not everything that happens
supernaturally is of God. The devil is a
supernatural being also. Some things
that appear to be miracles may not come from God at all. With this gift we can determine the spirit
behind the manifestation.
This gift would be of absolute necessity to
ministers that are involved in deliverance ministry.
This gift would also enable us to judge prophecy to
know whether the prophecy is of the Holy Ghost or not. (1 Corinthians 14:29)
Of course, it does not always take some with the “Discerning of Spirits” to judge
prophetic utterances. If a prophecy were
not in line with the Word of God anyone would know that it is a false
utterance.
“Discerning of
Spirits”
would come by a supernatural revelation and you would need to be born again as
a prerequisite of receiving any of the “Gifts
of the Spirit.”
Like the “Word
Twins” the “Discerning of Spirits”
is a “Knowing Gift.” It reveals what God knows or what He is
thinking.
Number one Secret to Prayer
Secret to Prayer:“Just Do It!”
“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple
at the hour of prayer...”
Acts 3:1
“And it came to pass as we went to prayer…”
Acts 16:16
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they
were assembled together...”
Acts 4:31
Browsing through the twenty-eight chapters of the Book of
Acts we quickly see the importance the early church placed on prayer. (Acts
1:14,24; 2:42; 3:1; 4:24-31; 6:4,6; 9:40; 10:2,4,9,31; 11:5; 12:5; 13:3; 14:23;
16:25; 22:17; 28:8) Prayer provided the
basis for the spreading of the Gospel to the known world. The church began with prayer when about one
hundred and twenty gathered together in the Upper Room to await, in prayer, the
outpouring of the Holy Ghost. This
resulted in a ten-day prayer meeting yielding results that are still being seen
two thousand years later. Thus, prayer
served as the launching pad for the birth and growth of the church.
Prayer was a way of life for them and it was a
priority in their Christian walk. Surprisingly, there is very little teaching
on the “how to” of prayer in the
Book of Acts; however, there are a whole lot of examples. Many books have been written on Prayer and I
have read some of them. I have reached
the conclusion that the best way to learn how to pray is to pray. Like the slogan says, “Just do it!” When Jesus walked on this earth, he
really spent a large portion of his ministry in prayer; sometimes whole
nights. He also taught others how to
pray; not by running seminars and special conferences, but by being caught in
the act of prayer. He took his disciples
through the “School of Prayer” by
giving them on-the-job training. He
showed them by example and they then tried it on their own. We must all develop a prayer life; a
lifestyle of prayer.
Prayer isn’t a method…
It’s a way of life.
A pastor traveled by ship to visit a church across
the ocean. While on the way the ship
stopped at an island. There the pastor
met three fishermen. When they found out
that he was a pastor they excitedly said, “We
be Christians too!”
The pastor asked them if they knew the “Lord’s Prayer.” To his surprise he learned that the fishermen
had never heard of it.
“What do you
say when you pray?” inquired the pastor.
“We pray, We
be men, you be God, have mercy on us!”
The pastor was appalled at the primitive nature of
their prayer and spent the day teaching them the “Lord’s Prayer.” The
fishermen were willing students and could recite the prayer with no
mistakes. The pastor was so proud of his
achievement.
On the return trip the ship stopped at the same
island again. As the ship drew closer to
the shore he could see the three fishermen rushing toward the ship. They cried, “Pastor, we come hurry to meet
you!”
“What is it
that you need?” asked the pastor.
“We be so
sorry. We forget your fine, fine prayer.
We say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name... and then
we forget the rest of the words. Please
tell us the prayer again.”
The pastor replied, “Just go back and pray, We be men, you be God, have mercy on us!”
Martin Luther, when he was a monk, had so many
responsibilities that he became too busy to pray. He was supposed to quote from his prayer
books every day. He would “stack up” his prayers for weeks and
then he would take some days and get “prayed
up.” In 1520 he ended up sick in bed
for five days. He got further behind
with quoting from his prayer book and soon he was three months behind with his
prayers. Then, he simply gave up!
Prayer is not a matter of quoting prayers from a
book. It is not mere repetition of words
that we recite three times a day. Some tend to force prayer into a place that
it was never supposed to be. Prayer
should never be a struggle. Prayer is
not a chore; something that is endured.
We have made prayer difficult and painful. It is not a ritual but time we spend with a
friend who hears, and answers our needs.
“Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16)
When Jesus walked on the earth, prayer had become a
formality rather than free expression.
There were written prayers for all occasions. Prayer had become a ritual rather than
something that was spontaneous from the heart.
There were set prayer times much like the Muslims have today as they bow
towards Mecca at specified times.
Prayers had become very long, filled with big words. It was believed that whoever was longer in
prayer was heard more quickly. The
louder and wordier the prayer the better.
They used repetitious words and phrases.
(Matthew 6:5-8) These
tendencies should not creep into our churches.
Prayer can become a matter of pride rather than an expression of our
heart and our being in need. Listen to
the brand new Christians pray. They have
not been taught “how to” yet. They talk to God as their friend.
A famous preacher once said, “It is
not that prayer has been tried and found wanting. It is rather that it has not really been
tried.” It is unfortunate and
incorrect for us to look to God as a last resort. We go to him because we have nowhere else to
go. “Then we learn that the storms of life have
driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.”
Mark Foster said in his selected sermon outline, “When God Builds You a Prayer Room” that we should “never make God a last resort.
If you don’t pray now, while you have the chance, He may put you in a
place where you will have to pray.”
The first and only thing that
will work is the last thing that we will try:
PRAYER!
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times
to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
Why should we only go to God in times of emergency,
when we don’t have anyone else to turn to?
It is common for people to pray in times of emergency. At these times prayer is never far from our
lips. Mother Teresa had a better idea
when she said, “Prayer is the mortar
that holds our house together.” Why
wait until our house is falling apart before we pray? If you want to know how to pray; “Just do it!”
https://youtu.be/hmBTSAQhA1I
Satan, Your Kingdom is Coming Down
Satan, Your Kingdom is Coming Down
“...They came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city;
which opened to them of his own accord; and they went out, and passed on...”
(Acts 12:10)
“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the
foundations of the prison were shaken:
and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were
loosed.”
(Acts 16:26)
What do gates and
doors have in common? Both are designed to keep the unwanted out
and the wanted in. In most cases they
help us keep the good in and the bad out.
However, in the two cases given above they were designed to keep the
good in. Gates, doors, fences, and walls
also represent boundaries and are usually easy to see. They bear an unwritten message:
“THIS IS MY PROPERTY
KEEP OUT!”
These boundaries also exist in the spiritual realm but they
are just more difficult to see.
“And I say unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Matthew 16:18)
Wrapped up in this one verse is the purpose, plan, mission,
and vision of God. This was the reason
why Jesus came to the earth. He came to “build His church” and He still
continues to build it through us.
Many times when we read this verse we picture hell on the
attack and the church on the defensive.
We picture ourselves almost sunken under the pressure of hell’s
onslaught and God finally is able to bring together enough forces to overcome
the wicked one. That is not the picture
portrayed here at all. Have you ever
seen a person attack with gates? No,
a person does not attack with gates, he defends with gates. Do you get the picture? Jesus and His mighty army (the church) are
attacking and the devil is on the run.
Let us go back into history and get a clear picture. In this case “history” will become “His-Story.”
One of God’s leaders in the angelic realm was Lucifer, the “son of the morning”, (Isaiah 14: 12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-17) who
tried to overthrow God in a coup. He
became God’s adversary (enemy). Because
of this, Lucifer moved from being one of God’s archangels to God’s
archenemy. Revelation 12:4-9 tells us
that Lucifer tried to get all the angels to follow him, but only one third of
the angels joined him in the coup attempt against God. They were cast down and had to organize their
own kingdom. Two thirds remained in
heaven.
The Bible is a battle between “good” and “evil”. When you look at the back of the book you see
who wins. Until then we will constantly
be in battle against Satan and his demons.
1 John 5:19 allows us to know that our world lies in the power of the
evil one. We are looking for a “breakthrough.” We must pull the seat out from underneath
Satan. It is true that Satan is our
enemy and we are coming against the gates of his kingdom!
The gates of hell cannot withstand the mighty army of Jesus
Christ! Satan’s gates are being pulled
down and his doors kicked open. Hell
represents Satan’s entire domain and the church is aggressive and triumphant
against it.
The church shall prevail
against the gates of hell.
“And from the days
of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force.” (Matthew
11:12)
The New International Version says that it “was forcefully advancing and forceful men
lay hold to it.” God is looking for
people who will take things by force. We
need to “be strong” like Joshua and
remember that no one can stand before us all the days of our lives. The Apostles were powerful men who dominated
wherever they went. (Acts 17:6) They were overcomers. (John 16:33)
The church is to free Satan’s powerless captives. (Revelation 10:11;
14:6)
“The law and the
prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and
every man presseth into it.” (Luke
16:16)
We are pressing our way into the kingdom of heaven. We have knocked down the gates of hell in our
lives, in our cities, in our country, and in our world. We are pressing into the kingdom.
“...I have written
unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you,
and ye have overcome the wicked one.” (1
John 2:14)
“Ye are of God,
little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.”
(1 John 4:4)
Satan is the god of this present world. He controls it along with his demons and evil
spirits. He has organized the world into
political, cultural, and religious systems that at times, stand as gates to the
kingdom of God and prevents people from believing the truth. Although Satan has a powerful kingdom, Jesus
came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8)
and free us from his dominion.
God has enabled us to enter into spiritual warfare with Him. He has given us powerful weapons and a
promise that “no weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper...” (Isaiah
54:17)
“(For the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God…” (2
Corinthians 10:4-5)
No matter what the gates of hell are in our lives, homes,
and city; we can knock them down with the weapons provided. Whatever demonic powers are in effect in our
lives; we can knock them down!
Our weapons are mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-17. In Ephesians
6, we see the enemies that we face; the armor that we are to use; and the
weapons that are available to us. They
are given so that we can “stand against
the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians
6:11)
They are given to us to wrestle against principalities,
powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places. We will win the battle and
knock down the gates of hell with the “whole
armor of God.” It includes:
Spiritual Armor and Weapons
ü Loins girt about
with TRUTH.
ü Breastplate of
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
ü Feet shod
with the preparation of the
ü GOSPEL OF PEACE.
ü Shield of FAITH.
ü Helmet of
SALVATION.
ü Sword of the
SPIRIT (Word of God).
We are an army that is marching through the land. We have a made up mind. We will not and cannot retreat. God has meant for us to move forward;
therefore, none of our weapons are designed for a soldier to retreat.
“Blessed be the
LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to
fight.” (Psalms 144:1)
Put On Jesus
First of all we must “put
on Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:12,14;
1 Corinthians 1:29-31). According to
Galatians 3:27, we can do this through water baptism in Jesus name.
We can also use the name of Jesus to speak to the enemy and
resist him (James 4:7); You must first submit before you can resist.
Power in the Blood
The blood of Jesus is another powerful weapon. We can plead the blood of Jesus. When we plead the blood of Jesus we are
applying Jesus’ shed blood as protection against the enemy. In Exodus 12:1-13 when the death angel saw
the blood on the doorposts he passed over that home. When we plead the blood we are telling Jesus
that we trust Him and we are telling Satan that he cannot touch us as long as
we are under the blood.
In one country there is a song that says,
“I’m going to dive right inside the blood.
I’m going to dive right inside the blood. Where
the devil can’t do me any harm!”
Ø We can also bind the strong man.
(Matthew 16:19; Mark 3:27) This will
stop him from continuing his destructive activities.
Ø We have been given authority to bind
the devil. (Matthew 18:18) The devil is
strong but the church is stronger!
Prayer is another weapon that should not be forgotten. This is called “Prayer Warfare.”
Prayer
Daniel prayed and fasted in Daniel 10 and God sent an angel
to answer. The angel revealed that God
had heard him on the first day but that he had been in battle with the Prince
of Persia for twenty-one days. This
prince had withstood him but Michael had come to his assistance. It is just a matter of time before we “possess our possesions.”
Promises for
Possession
“That in blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of
the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall
possess the gate of his enemies.”
(Genesis 22:17)
“...
and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.” (Obadiah 17)
“Fret not thyself
because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of
iniquity. For they shall soon be cut
down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.” (Psalm 37:1-2)
“Then he answered
and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto_________, saying,
not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? Before
____________thou shalt become a plain...”
(Zechariah 4:6, 7)
There are so many Scriptures that promise us that we will “possess”. Have you ever looked up the three words “possess the land” in your Bible?
According to Eastwood Anaba in Breaking Illegal Possession, the word “possess” means “seize, capture, take hold of something by legal right and by military
violence. In terms of legal right, Jesus
bought the land for us with His blood.”
It is true that the enemy has built his gate very close to
where we live. “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest,
even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied
my faith...” (Rev. 2:13)
Satan tries to hinder the preaching of the gospel. It is his desire to hide the truth from
people. He knows that there is one God
and trembles.
“But if our gospel
be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2
Corinthians 4:3-4)
“Or else how can
one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind
the strong man? And then he will spoil
his house.” (Matthew 12:29)
“To give light to
them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the
way of peace.” (Luke 1:79)
According to Ephesians 6:12, Satan
seems to have a highly organized kingdom on the earth.
ü Principalities
(series of leaders)
ü Powers
(Authorities, demons placed over assigned territories.)
ü Rulers of
darkness of this world (princes of the age)
ü Spiritual
wickedness in high places. (Destructive with only wickedness in mind.)
We must use our spiritual might to put out the enemy who
occupies our territory illegally. We can
possess the land. It is ours!
“...Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are
well able to overcome it.”
(Numbers 13:30)
Promises to Those Involved
in the Battle
“When thou goest
out to battle against thine enemies...be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy
God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt...ye approach
this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not,
and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them. For the Lord your God is he that goeth with
you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)
“... for the
battle is the Lord’s...” (1 Samuel 17:47)
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