Confronting the Spirit of Jezebel

The following article is by Joseph Herrin regarding his personal testimony of confronting the Spirit of Jezebel, both in his own home and in the church.  While we have spoken about this topic many times on this blog, it still remains the most neglected and yet most deep-rooted stronghold in the churchworld.

Although this is simply one man's testimony, I am confident that it is not so unique.  The foundation of God's church is in patriarchal leadership, and until the men of God take seriously their calling to be leaders in the home and in the church, then the churchworld as a whole will continue to suffer the corruption of rotten fruit, perversion, and death.

Are you not ready to see the power & life of God pouring through you as a living witness to Christ for a dying world?  Are you not tired of Satan running roughshod over your children as he uses the snares of this world to entice, deceive, and destroy them?  Do you not long for the glory of the Church as seen when it was first birthed at Pentecost, turning the very known world upside down in its glory?  If so, then you must decide to sanctify yourself from that defiling spirit and wage war against it.

God is raising up a standard against the spirit of Jezebel.  Will you be part of that standard?

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

Power to Break the Shackles

I have written before about how I used to really like a song by Mary Mary called Shackles.  In the song, these women sing about how God has released the shackles off of their feet so that they can dance.  While it is a blessing to be able to dance for and before the Lord, I think what man needs most is the shackles broken off of his mind.

We can dance wholeheartedly before God and still be bound. Too many in the church have hindrances in the mind which prevents us from walking fully in the light/life with which God has called.  These can & must be dealt with by the power of God, for God is preparing His people at this hour for the days ahead.

This past night, I had a dream that I was in a shopping mall (which is strange for me as I hate shopping).  The store was filled with people buying this and that.  Then, a loud voice was heard.  It was like it was being spoken over a loud speaker, but it wasn't.  The timber & depth of the voice was extremely loud, but it was as if you were hearing it from inside yourself and it reverberated within your soul.  As I (and everyone else) turned to see who was speaking, there stood the Grim Reaper towering over the people with the machete held high in his hand.  The store erupted in agonizing screams as people ran everywhere looking for cover, but there was no place to hide.  This spirit of death marched on after the people and the fear from man was palpable. 

No Grim Reaper - Part 1

The following message is from the Omega Church & Ministries Center.  Although it is four years old, it is very relevant for today.  I was reminded of this article via a dream I had last night, and am posting part one here for the edification of others (part two is also available).

The interesting thing is that various members would write articles for the Omega newsletters and I happened to write the Grim Reaper articles in the summer of 2007.  By the end of that year, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.   I am just now realizing that connection.

However, the thing to keep in mind is that we must be prepared to stand on God's word.  When we decide to proclaim His words, Satan will come to tempt us, to see if we really believe what we have proclaimed...and God will let him, so that we can prove & grow our faith in the trial.  I could write and say that Christians have nothing to fear about death, but what will I do when my own life is threatened? 

I pray that while proclaiming His truths, you will also pray to God to have those truths become life to your soul.  Never let your circumstances or doubts/fears rob you of what God has already planted in your soul.  Meditate on His words and let His life blossom forth within you so that what you do & say becomes merely an extension of who you are in Christ, and not just shallow dead works.

God is faithful to do all that He has promised.  Trust Him.  He will never let you done.  His words are a sure foundation.

"When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Psalms 126:1-6

The Spirit of Death

For centuries the world has portrayed the spirit of death as the Grim Reaper, a hooded figure in all black brandishing a scythe. This depiction originated from the tale of the Titan Cronus, the Greek god of the harvest. According to mythology, Cronus hated his father, and his mother (Gaia) was able to use this to her advantage. In an attempt to sever her relationship with his father, Gaia convinced Cronus to castrate him and provided a sickle to accomplish the task. Once Cronus had done this, he become god over creation and in turn began to devour his own children in order to protect his throne.

No Grim Reaper - Part 2

The following message is part two of a newsletter from the Omega Church & Ministries Center.  I was reminded of this article via a dream I had last night, and am posting it here for the edification of others.

In the last issue of The Omega Times, we discussed the root, response, and consequence of patriarchal rebellion. We examined how the doctrine of a Jezebel spirit inspires hatred of a father by encouraging disrespect for patriarchy.

When people choose their own way, come against rightful authority, and seek to do things opposed to the word of God, it is because they hate the image of a father. Sin is personal to God, whether we realize it or not. God stated it this way, "And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." (I Samuel 8:7)

God's response is to send forth the spirit of Elijah to confront this Jezebel doctrine. Just as in the days of Elijah, God will call on the people to make a choice - if the Lord be God, then serve Him. If Baal, then serve him. What is the precursor to this point of decision? A supernatural display of power. It must be shown once and for all who God really is so that the faith of man may be established, not in word but in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

The time of harvest is a volatile time, a time of decision and of war. In this edition of the newsletter, we will look at the steps the Church must take in order to prepare for the harvest.

Spiritual Warfare Against Dark Spirits

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The following message from Russ Dizdar of Shatter the Darkness is on how to walk in the freedom and power of Christ (and bring others to it).  He reviews:

• Demonic attacks can come from outside of a person.  In such cases, we can stand on and speak the word of God against that oppression which often come in the form of involuntary feelings, thoughts, etc.
• Uncontrolled anger can give the devil a legal foothold (an attachment) to latch on to a person and launch demonic attacks.
• Another type of demonic influence is when demons possess a person.  Only turning in faith to Christ can break such a hold in a person's life.  God has given Christians the authority to bind and cast out those demons in the name of Jesus.  Don't back away or back down from such manifestations.
• The Book of Acts is the best end time training manual on how to deal with unclean spirits and lead others to Christ.
• We are the midst of the largest wrapping up of manifest dark presence worldwide and biblical prophecy indicates that we must be fully sanctified to the Kingdom of God to wage war against it.

Search Me

I watched someone recently try to present the Gospel to an unbeliever while at the same time reassuring them that they have no desire to "judge" them.  "No, we are not supposed to judge", they said, "We are only supposed to present the Gospel."

It was torturous to see.  They were trapped in a religious loop of trying to demonstrate the person's need for Jesus while at the same time not convicting of sin so as not to seem "judgmental".

People, the presence of sin is the very reason why we all need Jesus so desperately because it is such which separates us from God.  We cannot separate salvation from the essence of that from which we are being saved (Romans Chapters 5-8).  If we do not judge ourselves as sinners, then we will never see the need for Christ.

Even churchfolks these days are adopting a "You can't judge" stance, although such is completely unBiblical.  The only reason others say, "You can't judge me." is because they assume that everyone else is a sinning hypocrite like themselves.  And I am saying that with as much "love" as I can muster.

I Knew You

The following is a message from Pastor Zac Poonen as he discusses what it means for God to have ordained not only the course of our lives, but even our very existence.

While this Scripture is a good reminder when we are in the midst of trials, what I love about the message is how Pastor Poonen addresses the human frailties we often let limit us with God.  If God has called us, then He has indeed equipped us to do everything He sets before us.  It is only when we look to our own strength that we feel weak and incapable for the task at hand.

It is also interesting to note that the process which is used to establish God's word in the nations is the same as what is used to establish God's word in our minds & hearts.  Oftentimes, new Christians are not prepared for the extreme renovation which will occur in their inner man as they submit to Christ.  In sin, our way of thinking, our feelings, and even our perceptions are largely defiled.  We must learn to "pluck up, break down, destroy, overthrow" every old way so that the word of God can begin to "build and plant" a new and living way in our souls; it is how we are made new creatures in Christ.  Yet even in this process, God has already ordained the path and is leading us towards victory...if we but follow Him.
 

The Lord called Jeremiah when he was a young man (Jeremiah 1:5, 6) and said to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I consecrated you and appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

God knew Jeremiah even before his body was formed in his mother’s womb.  There is a lot of dispute nowadays about whether an embryo is a human being or not.  Here is a verse that should clear that doubt forever - because God says He knew Jeremiah before he was formed.  When Jeremiah was a microscopic speck in his mother’s womb, God knew him and consecrated him to be a prophet.

That is a great encouragement for us - to know that God had His eye on us even when we were just microscopic specks just conceived in our mother’s wombs. He has a plan for our lives just as He had a plan for Jeremiah.

Just imagine, when Jeremiah went through all those difficulties, how this thought must have encouraged him: “I am facing a lot of difficulties right now. But God knew me when I was in my mother’s womb and He planned my life then. And that plan will be fulfilled. I am going to yield to God utterly.” All of us too should think about that whenever we face trials and difficulties. God chose you before you were born and His plan for your life will be fulfilled. So don’t ever get discouraged.

Transition

transition: movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change.

Last Saturday night, I had a dream that Google suspended all of my accounts (Youtube, this Blog, etc.) due to content stating that homosexuality is a sin.  In the dream, when I tried to reestablish the accounts, God told me not to.  He said that it was time to "transition" to the next thing He had for me.

I can remember a time before when God told me that within a year I would no longer have the job I held.  In response, I started training one of my team members to take over and manage the team.  Six months later, I was laid off.

The funny thing is that, when I was first informed that I was being let go, I was momentarily stunned.  As I started to question my supervisor, God spoke to me and said, "I told you that you were going to be out of this job."  I then remembered the word of the Lord and had peace in that situation.  Hopefully I have learned a little better since then how to hold on to God's words and not be moved by the things of this world (especially when He takes time to forewarn us). 

WHAT Was Crucified at Calvary?

The following sermon is from Pastor Gary C. Price and is called, "What Was Crucified at Calvary?" 

We know that Jesus came as the second Adam to crucify the old sin nature which man was born with as a result of the fall.  However, Scripture also makes plain what exemplifies that nature and Pastor Gary C. Price reviews these texts in order to show exactly what was crucified on the cross.

• The forbidden fruit was a forbidden nature.  Eve and Adam ingested the fruit or words of Satan and became a partaker of his defiled nature.
• God's answer is to kill off that nature via crucifixion.
• Religion creates a holding tank for you to indulge your lusts without being crucified.  It was instituted by man to make him think he is serving God when he is not.
• Most churchfolk are not saved; they are just churchfolk.  The devil has learned the church game.
• The way to be safe from deception is to know the real.
• Satan couldn't come to the head (Adam) to deceive, so he used the weaker vessel (Eve) to destroy Godly headship.  The devil can only rule through abdication by men.
• The spiritual legacy birthed in the Garden of Eden (when Adam abdicated authority to Eve) can be seen historically throughout the Scriptures, culminating in the harlot and the beast we see in the book of Revelation.

Prayer for Others

This last message in Min. David Pawson's series on prayer addresses praying for others or intercessory prayer.

• When we intercede for others, we are completing a circuit between Heaven and earth for God's power to flow on that person's behalf.
• Angels are also involved in the circle of power in intercessory prayer.
• Why we pray for others.  Our motives for prayer can get so mixed up that prayer can be perverted by self-interest.
• We also must be careful not to pray at others due to self-righteousness.  It can be easy to preach in our prayers at others who we feel are "not as spiritual" as ourselves. 
  
  

Prayer By Myself

A message from Min. David Pawson on the importance of secret prayer, praying by one's self.

• The secret of religion is religion in secret.
• In theory, having a secret life of prayer should be the easiest thing to do. 
• By nature we are blind and deaf to the Lord and we must learn to communicate without relying on our senses.
• In most things that we learn, we have to learn them as a duty before they become a delight.
• Let your feelings be hooked unto your faith; don't let your faith be hooked unto your feelings.
• When we persist in prayer out of love & obedience to God, we can come to the point where hindsight proves He was there all along.
• The more relaxed with, and related to, God we are in prayer, the more we are aware of His presence in the spirit.
• If you are having issues with being aware of the presence of God when you pray, ask Him to fill you with His Spirit.
• There is a level of prayer which is not limited by bodily senses or mental deduction, but is made real by spiritual awareness.

Prayer With the Saints

The following message is from Min. David Pawson's series on prayer and addresses corporate prayer:

• There is no such thing as private prayer for a Christian.  The very minimum in prayer for a Christian is four: Father, Son, Spirit, and yourself.
• Once you become a Christian you cease to be an individual and you become a member of the Body of Christ. (Isn't that wonderful?!  People spend all of their lives trying not to be alone and in Christ we never have to be, even is no one else is physically with us.)
• This is why Jesus said that when we enter into our prayer closet to pray to the Father in secret say, "OUR Father..."; "give US..."; "lead US"; and "deliver US". (Matthew 6:6-13)
• All prayer is therefore corporate prayer, even when you are physically alone.  Yet, it is also important to pray together with other Christians.
• There is a Biblical basis for praying together.  In the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation, there is more about praying with the saints than praying by yourself.  The promises in the Gospels are nearly all to people praying together.  The practice in Acts is nearly always praying to together.  The precepts in the Epistles are nearly always about praying together.  The predictions in Revelation are about people praying together.

Prayer Without Hindrances

The following message from Min. David Pawson addresses how to pray with hindrances.  I have been blessed by all of these messages, but especially this one.  I hope you can take some time to listen.

• For months Job wasn't getting through to God and he believed that he was in the right and that God was in the wrong in letting him suffer.  When you don't get any answers from God, stop arguing with Him and you might find that He can then bless you.
• Many of the difficulties we have in prayer are of our own making.
• There is one basic problem in prayer: unanswered prayer.  Not that you don't get what you ask, but you don't get any reply; when the Heavens feel like brass.  All other issues in prayer are related to this.
• Psalms is filled with such phrases as: "Answer me...Incline your ear...Hear my prayer....Hear my cry!"

Prayer Through the Son

The following message from Min. David Pawson is about how we are to pray to the Father through His Son Jesus Christ:

• Christians are the only ones who can call God Father.
• Christian prayer cannot mix with any other type of prayer because it is not like any other type of prayer.
• The main difference between religion and Christianity is Jesus Christ. Because of this, Christians have five things in prayer that no one else has:
• The teachings of Christ for our prayer
• The example of Christ to follow in our prayer
• The blood of Christ to plead in our prayer
• The intercession of Christ to rely upon with our prayer
• The name of Christ to use during our prayer
• Jesus taught the disciples how to pray as well as what to pray.
• In terms of how to pray, Jesus taught:
• Pray with sincerity.
• Pray with simplicity.
• Pray with humility.
• Pray with tenacity.
• Pray with intensity.
• Pray with charity.
• Pray with unanimity.

Prayer in the Spirit

So many people do not understand what it means to pray in the Spirit.  This message from Min. David Pawson breaks this down from the Scriptures.

• Prayer is not a natural thing to the flesh and we don't know how to pray as we ought.
• One of the main functions of the Holy Spirit is to help us in how to pray.
• Praying in the Spirit is an added dimension to all prayer and supplication.
• The Holy Spirit is the divine letter writer; He takes what we want to say but cannot express or put to words and gets it out on our behalf.
• Prayer in the Spirit has two distinct aspects:
• The Holy Spirit takes over your mind, giving you the right thoughts, which you have the responsibility to express.
• The Holy Spirit does not use your mind at all, but takes over your mouth, and it is your responsibility to move your mouth and tongue.
• Both of these kinds of prayer are praying in the Spirit.

Praying Against the Devil

Another message in Min. David Pawson's series on prayer.  This message deals with praying against the devil.

• Sometimes it is harder to pray as a Christian than as an unbeliever.
• Satan hates Christian prayer because that is what affects him.
• Don't underestimate the devil and don't treat him as a joke.
• Never pray against people because we war not against flesh & blood.
• The Bible does not portray the devil as a horned creature with a forked tail.
• The Bible portrays the devil as a real person with a heart, mind, and will; he is not simply a generic force of evil.
• Every rebellion against God can be traced back to one motive: the desire to say "mine" (of ourselves) instead of "Thine" (of God). 
• Satan is the god of this world, and he is the one most people in the world worship...whether they know it or not.
• God allows Satan to be the god of this world., because He gives His creation freedom to rebel.
• A true Christian takes the devil very seriously.

Praying to God

A message from Min. David Pawson about prayer to the Father.

• For a Christian, prayer is never private.
• For a Christian, prayer is not meditation, but conversation.
• Prayer is simple.  It is a child telling his Father what he needs.
• Prayer is a privilege.
• Our goal should be to develop a relationship with God and not ritual for God via prayer.
• For many, prayer is a matter of fortune; but for Christians it is a matter of faith.
• Seven requirements for praying in faith:
• I must believe that God is there.  The Bible is indifferent to whether you "feel" He is there or not, but you must have faith.
• I must believe that God is personal; that He is someone and not something. 
• I must believe that God hears me.
• I must believe that God will listen to my prayer.
• I must believe that God will reply.
• I must believe that God can act and that prayer can changes things as well as people.
• I must believe that God will give what we ask for.
  
• Don't try and "feel" your faith.
• Don't try and force your faith.
• Stimulate your faith by listening to other answers to prayer and reading the Bible.
• Stretch your faith by praying within your faith.
• Your faith needs to meet God's Fatherhood.

Evolution & the New World Order

Message by Pastor Mike Hoggard about the religion of evolution and its impact on the future of mankind.  By way of background, Pastor Mike goes into more detail about occult efforts at genetic evolution in the message The Mother of All Secrets.

• Is evolution supported in Scripture?
• People prefer to believe in evolution because it lets them believe that there is no God.
• God created all things for His pleasure and through the born again process, God recreates man for His pleasure.
• The "science" of evolution is in actuality mysticism and religion.
• Evolution is not about where we came from in the minds of its promoters, but where we are going.
• H.P. Blavatsky taught that "ascended masters" were responsible for man's evolution and will come down from Heaven once more to guide mankind into a phase of divine living: godhood.
• The serpent planted his corrupt seed and defiled man's genetic make-up by the words (seed) he spoke to Eve.
• Jesus says that in the day of His return, it will be like the days of Noah. This references the devolution of man which - as a result of this mixing with the seed of man (Genesis 6: 2-4; Daniel 4:23) - leads him to turn away from God's truth, prompting God to give man over to a reprobate mind (II Thessalonians 2:11-12).

Prayer of Deliverance

From the Sodomite Spirit

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves..."  II Timothy 3:1-2a

Most people, including most church people, do not truly understand why we need to be born again.  They know THAT we have to be born again, but they don't know WHY.

The truth is that fallen man in his natural state possesses the spirit of a sodomite.  It is a selfish spirit which only loves itself.  This is not about sexual acts.  The act of homosexuality is merely the outward manifestation of self-love; being so in love with yourself that you can only join with that which is just like yourself.  What I am speaking of is the nature of a sodomite.  One can possess the nature of a sodomite and never engage in homosexual activity.

Don't Believe the Devil

He's a Liar!

"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."  II Corinthians 10:4-5

You would think that the statement, "Don't believe the devil!" is a no-brainer.  I mean, it is common sense, right?  Who in their right mind would believe such a liar?  Yet, many times we do just that.  We let his lies permeate our souls, distort our reality, and disempower us for the Kingdom of God.

Years ago while I was pregnant with my first child, I had a car accident while on the way to church.  I somehow mis-steered a turn and wound up crashing into a tree at the front of our subdivision.  I seemed to black out for a minute or so, but when I came to, immediately Satan said to me, "You had better not go back to that church again.  If you do I will kill you."

So, I didn't go back...at least not for a while.  I determined that I could find another church which was preaching the truth.  However, this never happened because that had been the church God intended for me.  So instead, I found myself drifting further and further away from the Lord, becoming increasingly discouraged.

Set Apart Femininity

"What is the secret to great living? Entire separation to Christ and devotion to Him. Thus speaks every man and woman whose life has made more than a passing flicker in the spiritual realm. It is the life that has no time for trifling that counts."  Amy Carmichael

We spoke before about the need for a return to virtuous womanhood in the way we raise our daughters, but the following message is something which every young girl should hear.  This message, "Set Apart Femininity" is from Leslie Ludy of Set Apart Girl as she talks about the importance for young girls to understand what it means to be set apart for Jesus Christ.

This is an important & precious message for both young and older women alike!

• It is very easy in American culture - even for Christian young women - to get caught up in trivial pursuits that are not of eternal value.
• You can grow up in a Christian home, know all the right "Christian" answers, look like the perfect "Christian" girl, and still have a life that is all about you.
• The question in true Christianity is not, "How far can I go to the edge of the cliff before it is considered sin?"  It is, "How far can I go to glorify God, bring honor to His name, get closer to Him, and let others see His life through me?"