True brokenness, complete submission is the only way to Christ. There is a spirit coming against the Church in these last days, actually there are a few. (The capital "C" church meaning the whole body of Christ.) This spirit is mentioned in Revelations. There is more than one spirit coming against God's people, the Church, and He is speaking to me about these spirits. There are two I will talk about here, that when they come together they are powerful and we have to be aware. These two intertwined with the spirit of familiarity are deadly.
The world is run by theses spirits. The first is a spirit of control. We are taught in the world that if we want to run a company, or anything for that matter, we have to learn how to control. We will need to control others and their thinking. When speaking of the Holocaust, Andy Andrews wrote, "How do you kill a million people? You lie to them." The seeds of this spirit are manipulation, greed, idol worship (self) and of course deception. The more that you control in this world, the more you are recognized and admired (in the world). You can become your own false God and a false God to others. Everyone of us are influenced by this spirit of control. It is a battle we fight daily to let go and let God. It is to the degree that we let this spirit control us, that affects the degree of intimacy/relationship we have with Christ. To be closer to Him we must be submissive to Him. The more submissive, the more obedient to Him the closer we are to Him. This is why the spirit of control is attacking each of us. We want control over our lives, our children, our friendships, etc. This spirit battles against everyone of us, male or female, though it is a Jezebel spirit. For it to operate, it needs an Ahab spirit. What better people for it to attack than submissive believers.
One of the signs that an individual or church is under the influence of the Jezebel spirit is compromise. They might say sin is sin, but the bible says there are sins God hates, like divorce. The individual or church who compromises and lives according to the right and wrong of the world could be under the influence of the Jezebel spirit. God wants His people to faithful and not hide under the umbrella of grace. Repentance is also something the Jezebel infested church does not practice. Sin is allowed in the congregation, leadership, and even the pastor. God wants us willing to change, to be like Him and we cannot do that without repentance. You don't hear repentance or Godly correction of sin preached in a church under Jezebel's influence. Those that are corrected are the individuals who are not afraid to speak up against this spirit. In The spirit's leadership role, no matter how indiscreet it is, those willing to expose are quickly "Disciplined" right out the door of the church.
The other spirit coming against us is a spirit of judgment. Often times those with true spiritual gifts of discernment are accused of judgment while the person under Jezebel's spirit pretends to have the gift of seeing demonic. Some of us are so programmed to judge others that we don't even recognize it in ourselves. We use many excuses for the need to judge, but when we make decisions through our judgment of others, we are making decisions from our flesh, not our spirit. What if we only listened to the Holy Spirit and trusted His decision and not our own. I don't think any of us will be completely free of judgment as long as we reside in this world. But judgment does not belong in the Church, only God shall be our judge. This spirit is a spirit of religion. Religion is man made rules followed by judgment of how well they were followed.
These two spirits combined with the spirit of familiarity are doing damage to the Church. They are dividing the Church body that God has called to be one in the spirit.
Ephesians 4:1-16
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Humility, gentleness, patience, and love are not characteristics of someone consumed by control and judgment. A seed of the spirit of judgment is division. Divide and conquer. Right now I am constantly hearing about division among believers. If you think about it and examine the relationships around you, you will see it too. Marriages are breaking up, friendships are splitting, leadership is struggling, women are divided as well as men. Beliefs are what divide us. Theology can and has divided the Church. This is where denominations were born. Spiritual gifts in the Church cause division.
Why would things of God cause division? They don't. It is our belief system and our desire for control and our judgment of others that causes the division, though it uses the things of God to do it. Another seed of judgment is jealousy. Pastors and others called to leadership are most often attacked because of jealousy, judgment and the desire for control. Those who want to be in control aren't submissive to authority, because they want it. So they judge.
We all should have a healthy fear of false prophets and teachers. I said a healthy fear, which to me isn't fear at all, it's a dependence on God to keep us aware. In what I have been reading, false prophets and teachers are most often true Christ following believers who have been wounded or still suffer from unhealed wounds of their pasts. Because of those wounds and the spirits against these people they are looking for validation, admiration, purpose and love and they want the Glory that belongs to Christ alone. They want people to glorify them instead of our Father. They want to feel good about who they are and because of their wounds they have not realized who they are in Christ so they settle for a false validation that they are somebody of importance and value. Everybody wants to be a hero. The enemy is an imitator and many insecure leaders act more like celebrities than humble spirit filled leaders.
We all should have a healthy fear of false prophets and teachers. I said a healthy fear, which to me isn't fear at all, it's a dependence on God to keep us aware. In what I have been reading, false prophets and teachers are most often true Christ following believers who have been wounded or still suffer from unhealed wounds of their pasts. Because of those wounds and the spirits against these people they are looking for validation, admiration, purpose and love and they want the Glory that belongs to Christ alone. They want people to glorify them instead of our Father. They want to feel good about who they are and because of their wounds they have not realized who they are in Christ so they settle for a false validation that they are somebody of importance and value. Everybody wants to be a hero. The enemy is an imitator and many insecure leaders act more like celebrities than humble spirit filled leaders.
The spirits of control and judgment can even convince a group of believers to think they know better than their leaders. For instance, we may believe that a teacher, obviously gifted in hearing the voice of God, should be a prophet, so instead of trusting that he is hearing from God about his ministry, our little group begins to pray that this person changes roles. If this is not God's will and we are praying against it, we are causing division. We are setting ourselves apart and above others in the Church. We are trying to control and get what we want, thinking we know better than God? Or the man who is truly hearing Him? This is witchcraft.
If during the Goliath problem, God would have come to the earth and taken a poll to find out who the people chose to come up against Goliath in battle, do you think it would have turned out so good? Admittedly we would have all picked the larger, more experienced warrior brother, instead of little David. I believe these stories are proof that God is all knowing and His ways are not our ways. We have earthly thinking - the big guy for the big battle. We have earthly solutions for earthly problems.
When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He said,
Matthew 6:9-13
New International Version (NIV)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
The tongue has the power of life and death. Words are powerful, prayer is powerful and the Lord tells us to pray His will be done. Now God doesn't answer all prayers and I am deeply thankful for that, but what does happen when a group of us pray for something outside of His will? I really don't want to find out. We should pray for our leaders, preachers, apostles and prophets, but be careful not to pray for them, that which we want to see, but what God's will is for them. I have become more careful how I pray. Usually an increase in hunger for the Lord and His word, for an abundance of courage to step into His will, and for the ability to hear Him, a deeper relationship, and the things the bible says God wants with His kids. I was praying protection around my kids one morning when I heard God speak to me, that I was protecting them from Him. I began to pray for them to be released into His will and for strength for me to handle wherever He took them and not interfere. I strongly believe that we need to be careful what we ask for, because we just might get it. I spend a lot of time praying for people's ability to hear God. I don't know His will for others and I surely don't want to be a roadblock to anything God has planned for me or others. There is no way we can understand the journey God has chosen for an individual. Can we even understand completely the journey He has us on?
This prayer also says, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" which to me means, heavenly answers to earthly issues. Proverbs 18:1 says, "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desires, he breaks out against all sound judgment." I see this in groups of people in the Church. They are in every church in every city. A small group of men or women who get together regularly and talk about everything that is wrong in their church. (Even after they have removed themselves from that church) They may not pray together, they may not share scripture or they quote it out of context, but mostly what they do is judge and then try to control, sometimes by prayer and sometimes by talking others into joining them. I trust God to choose my friends. Sometimes God will take me out of the life of a true believer on fire for God, and I can't see the reason clearly. I believe it is always for growth, mine, theirs, or both. Maybe we were holding each other back and didn't realize it. Maybe we were holding each other up instead of allowing God to lift us. I don't know all the answers so I depend on Him to direct my walk, to draw out my path and to choose the people I meet. I have noticed the majority of the people he puts in my life, either support me, or test me.
Isolation is a tool of the enemy. I isolated for a long time. If the friends you surround yourself with stay close enough to you, you cannot be swayed or fall down. We can't compromise. Compromise is an open door to the enemy. If the Lord says to stay away from someone, something or some place, trust Him. It may not have anything to do with you and you may never know for sure what it was about.
At a time when the enemy's attack is so strong, I pray a willingness to submit replaces any desire to control. I pray for any judgment to be replaced with discernment. Our weaknesses are where we minister from and our strengths are what destroy our willingness to give it all to God. Anything not submitted to God is available to the enemy for his use. I saw three people delivered from bondage this last week and I realized that each of them had the root of rejection. Fear of being rejected causes a need to control. When you have been raised in survival mode, you are forced to judge those around you, to decide whether they are friend or foe. Rejection and abandonment are at an epidemic level in this country and the enemy is using this every chance he gets. This was part of his plan when the original rejection took place. The enemy orchestrated it. Remember this, the enemy was the first one to reject, when he rejected God and refused to worship Him, when He decided he wanted the Glory and praise that only God deserves. When we want control, we want the praise and glory and we judge, we are following in the footsteps of the prince of darkness. God on the other hand says, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." He doesn't reject us.
In these days unity is so important for the whole body of Christ, not only the like minded. Where would the enemy be if 1/3 of the angels had not followed him? He is not like God in that he cannot be everywhere. These angels, we now call demons, do the dirty work. That's how the enemy causes division. Once he gets a firm hold on someone with the spirit of control or judgment, he then works on followers. This is why it is so important for us to take responsibility for what we listen to. The Lord has been working with me lately on this. I have had to speak up and say, "I don't want to hear this." This is difficult for me, and I have failed more times than I have succeeded. But the Lord is changing me. Listening to certain music or watching TV we think isn't affecting us can be a form of compromise. Ask God to shine his light on all the areas you need change.
Secrets. We are only as sick as our secrets. Control and judgment are sneaky spirits that hide behind concern and protection. How many times have we been approached by someone who whispers another's downfalls in the pretense of wanting prayer for that person. How many times have we requested prayer for a friend just so we can share the story of what is going on in their life? I am guilty. I have fallen into this trap. Secrets are a dangerous game. They feed on insecurities. How many of us have been uncomfortable when two people in the room begin to whisper to each other? Yet, we turn around and do the same thing. This is a powerful weapon of the enemy to cause division, especially when the secret is exposed. Any area that we use to put ourselves above others causes division. This can be intelligence, physical beauty, spiritual gifts, biblical knowledge, even years of belonging to the same church, leadership, and wealth. We should be using our blessings to bless each other.
Controlling another human being through any means is abuse. We are called to lead people to Christ. The bible uses the example of sheep because they follow the shepherd, not cows who need to be herded. We want to make sure we are following a shepherd heading in the right direction.
Judging is a sin and through it we put ourselves in the position of God. Notice in a courtroom the judge sits higher than everyone else. There is only one judge.
When we walk into a church we are all looking for acceptance and freedom, two things that come through Christ's love for us. It makes sense then that the enemy would come at the Church with control and judgment, two things that come through the enemy's hate for us. It's a choice. We reap what we sow. In the end, we will all be judged.
In these days unity is so important for the whole body of Christ, not only the like minded. Where would the enemy be if 1/3 of the angels had not followed him? He is not like God in that he cannot be everywhere. These angels, we now call demons, do the dirty work. That's how the enemy causes division. Once he gets a firm hold on someone with the spirit of control or judgment, he then works on followers. This is why it is so important for us to take responsibility for what we listen to. The Lord has been working with me lately on this. I have had to speak up and say, "I don't want to hear this." This is difficult for me, and I have failed more times than I have succeeded. But the Lord is changing me. Listening to certain music or watching TV we think isn't affecting us can be a form of compromise. Ask God to shine his light on all the areas you need change.
Secrets. We are only as sick as our secrets. Control and judgment are sneaky spirits that hide behind concern and protection. How many times have we been approached by someone who whispers another's downfalls in the pretense of wanting prayer for that person. How many times have we requested prayer for a friend just so we can share the story of what is going on in their life? I am guilty. I have fallen into this trap. Secrets are a dangerous game. They feed on insecurities. How many of us have been uncomfortable when two people in the room begin to whisper to each other? Yet, we turn around and do the same thing. This is a powerful weapon of the enemy to cause division, especially when the secret is exposed. Any area that we use to put ourselves above others causes division. This can be intelligence, physical beauty, spiritual gifts, biblical knowledge, even years of belonging to the same church, leadership, and wealth. We should be using our blessings to bless each other.
Controlling another human being through any means is abuse. We are called to lead people to Christ. The bible uses the example of sheep because they follow the shepherd, not cows who need to be herded. We want to make sure we are following a shepherd heading in the right direction.
Judging is a sin and through it we put ourselves in the position of God. Notice in a courtroom the judge sits higher than everyone else. There is only one judge.
When we walk into a church we are all looking for acceptance and freedom, two things that come through Christ's love for us. It makes sense then that the enemy would come at the Church with control and judgment, two things that come through the enemy's hate for us. It's a choice. We reap what we sow. In the end, we will all be judged.
Proverbs 18
English Standard Version (ESV)
18 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to[a] the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool's lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18 The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to[a] the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool's lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18 The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
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