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FROM MY
SPIRIT
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Introduction
Have you ever had a sick feeling in your stomach when someone said something? Did you ever wonder why something didn't seem right when someone said something? Did you notice, that same sick feeling in your stomach also happens when you did something that you knew was wrong, but you did it anyway?
Did you know that every person born into this world has a conscience? Did you know that your conscience is in your spirit? Did you know that your spirit is in your belly?
What's wonderful about living today is that the LORD God created the heavens and the earth. And the LORD God created all that exist today. Colossians 1:16 says "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."
The good thing about when the LORD God created man is, that He put a spirit in man (in his belly), so He can help man to do right and to know what is truth and what is not true. In our spirit we know things that others do not recognize, but we know them; because God has revealed them to us.
Our conscience is in our spirit, and God uses our spirit to teach us things that we may not know naturally. God always works with people from their spirit (which is in their belly). People work from their mind, which is in their head. Our mind, reasoning, intellect, understanding, will, and emotions are all a part of our soul. We control what happens in our soul, but God controls what happens in our spirit (where our conscience is).
There is a lot to learn about our spirit and our conscience that can help us in our daily lives here on earth. The first thing we need to understand is that God created man, and God loves man. In Isaiah 43:7 it says, "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." The LORD God created man for His glory. That's how much God loves us. He created us above all other creatures, and gave mankind dominion over all the works of His hands. The world is in the control "mankind (male and female)" whom God created for His glory.
As people, living on this earth, God loves us and has placed within us a spirit; whereby, He can guide us into everlasting habitations with Him in heaven for all eternity. But unknown to man, before the LORD God created this world as we see it now, the devil was already here, seeking to destroy all that God desires to do.
Satan is a destroyer, and God is Love. We know Satan by the works in our minds (our soul). But, we can know God by how He works in our spirit and our conscience (which is in our spirit).
Satan, the devil, is a god. But, he is only the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). He does blind the minds of those who do not know the truth of the gospel. But, he cannot touch our spirit, for it belongs to God. God works through our spirit, Proverbs 20:27 tells us, "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly." We know God and understand God from our spirit. Job 32:8 tells us, "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." It's from our spirit that God Almighty gives us understanding.
Here is wisdom: if you want to hear from God, don't listen to your mind, listen to your spirit! When we listen to our mind, the god of this world speaks to us. When we listen to our spirit, God Almighty gives us understanding. Which one do you want to hear from, the devil or God?
Please keep in mind as you read this book, we are not talking about how God does work through our mind (by putting thoughts in our minds). That is a different subject. We are only dealing with true "spiritual operations" of the Holy Spirit (which operate from the "spirit" of man), thereby, exposing false "spiritual operations" (which operate from the "minds" of men).
The flesh operates from the mind of man. The Holy Spirit operates from the spirit of man. These two are contrary to each other (Gal. 5:17). Therefore, Romans 8:1 tells us, "therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." To be free, we must walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.
FROM MY SPIRIT
For many years I did not know how I knew certain things, I just knew it had to be God giving me the knowledge. This was before I was born again of the Word and the Spirit (1 Peter 1:23, John 3:6,7). Many times, I knew in advance exactly what was about to happen before it happened.
Many times in my life, even before I was born again of the Spirit I received thoughts from God within. A knowing, without any previous knowledge, or any explanation of how I knew. I just knew.
One time I was driving my car in town, about 25 miles per hour. It just started to rain and freeze on the road. I was very careful in my driving, watching the other cars ahead of me and behind me. I was coming to a corner and watched the car in front of me turn the corner. It had no problem, traveling about the same speed as I was.
As I came near the corner (about fifty yards away) I noticed a telephone pole straight ahead of me on the corner. At that instant of time, I knew within myself, that my car was not going to turn when I turned the steering wheel. I knew the brakes would do me no good, and my car would hit the telephone pole just to the right of the left headlight. The car would bounce back from the pole, and the car (about 25 yards) behind me would also strike my car in the rear and drive it into the pole a second time. I knew that when that happened the steering wheel would be driven into the drivers seat, and if I were in the car at that time, I would be crushed between the seat and the steering wheel. I also knew, that "at the exact moment the car hit the telephone pole and bounced back, I had to pull the handle on the drivers side door, and jump out of the car before the car behind me hit my car in the rear and drove it into the pole the second time."
At that precise moment, I pulled the door handle and jumped from the car. The driver of the car that hit my car from the rear didn't realize that I purposely jumped from the car. He came, thinking I was thrown from the car and wanted to know if I was hurt. I didn't have a scratch on me, no injury whatsoever.
How did I know what was going to happen before anything happened? How did I know what to do at that precise moment? It was a "knowing," without thinking. I believed it was God, for the natural man does not know these things naturally. I don't believe the devil would have given me that information, for he is not out to save my life but destroy it.
I was not born again at the time of the above accident. After I was born again, I realized that God was working for me, from my spirit to help me, and preserve my life. I noticed that the information I would receive in a "knowing," without previous knowledge, would come from my spirit (in my belly) and not from my mind in my head.
I had numerous situations like the one above before I was born again. I always knew it was God helping and protecting me, but I didn't know how He was doing it. I did not understand the difference between my mind and my spirit. I did not know that my conscience was in my spirit. I knew it operated from my belly, for that is where I get a warning when something was not right. But, I didn't know that my spirit was in my belly.
For many years I belonged to a denominational church, which I thought was teaching me the ways of God. But, what I didn't realize is that they didn't know the difference between the soul of man and the spirit of man. They taught along the line of your soul and your spirit are united. Therefore, they taught that you had to make yourself perfect before God. You had to obey the Ten Commandments. Yet, they did teach that if you disobeyed any of the Ten Commandments, you could ask God to forgive you and He would.
The thing this denomination didn't teach was "how to become born again of the Word and the Spirit." Therefore, for many years I went to church, read my Bible, got involved in church work. Yet, I was not born again. I called myself a Christian, because they called themselves Christians. What is sad about these types of Christian churches is that Jesus said, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). They did not understand what that meant, so they had their ideas of "born again in water baptism." Believing that I was born again in water baptism, kept me from knowing the truth from the Word of God on how to become born again (John 1:1-13).
After many years of belonging to that denomination, I found that my self-righteousness caused me a lot of problems with my conscience. In my spirit, I knew something was not right, but I didn't know what to do to correct it. I failed so many times to keep all the Ten Commandments, that I became discouraged in my mind and wanted the LORD to take my life. I didn't even want to keep on living. My mind was telling me, just die and get it over-with, there's no use in living.
Today, I know that was the devil speaking to my mind. He wanted me to die before I became born again of the Word and the Spirit. The devil uses our minds to work against us, but God uses our spirits to work for us.
God was working in my life from my spirit, trying to help me and guide me. I knew it was God, yet I couldn't understand why I wanted to die and end it all. But, thank God for His love, He loved me when I didn't know what was happening in my life.
One day, when I wanted to die, I went into my basement in the evening to pray for the LORD to take my life and end it all. That evening I began to pray and cry out to the LORD, please take my life, I don't want to live any more.
After hours of crying out I prayed to the LORD to take over and come and be my LORD, and live His life in me. A change came into my life. My mind, and my thinking changed. I had peace in my mind and in my spirit. I knew the LORD came into my life and took over for me.
From that day on, I had a desire within me (within my spirit), to read my Bible every day. Not just read a little, but I wanted to read, and read, and read. I couldn't get over how the Bible meant so much to me. I understood things I never understood all the years I read my Bible and went to church with the denomination I belonged to for forty-five years.
God is for us and not against us. God works from our spirit not from our mind. When I gave up trying to please God with my mind, and asked the LORD to take over, my whole life changed. I was like a new person with a new attitude on life. I wanted to live, and not die. I wanted to study the Bible over and over, it meant so much to me.
Within a short time, I had a desire in my spirit to receive the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I read about speaking in tongues in Mark 16:17, where Jesus said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues." Jesus said it was for me and I wanted it. Even at that time I did not realize that the desire I had came from my spirit, not my mind. Then there were other Scripture verses that encouraged me to desire the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. There was Luke 11:13, John 14:15-17, Acts 1:4,5,8; 2:4; 8:14-17; 10:44-36; 19:2,6. The more I read these Scriptures, the more I wanted to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
The day finally came when I did receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. From that time on I realized that the speaking in tongues came up from my spirit (in my belly), and not down from my head, or my mind. I could sense the words coming from my belly up my throat, and out of my mouth. I noticed the words came out of my mouth at the same time I heard them with my ears. I could actually tell the difference between what came from my spirit and what came from my mind.
O' how I wish other Christians would know the difference between what comes from their spirit and what comes from their mind. It helps us to understand, what is of God and what is not of God.
Once we know the difference between our mind and our spirit, and what comes from our mind and what comes from our spirit, then we can enjoy living in this day and age. God is for us, not against us. God works from our spirit, and Satan works from our mind. It is important to understand the difference between the two.
When God speaks to us, it always comes from our spirit. Before we are born again, God works with us to lead us to the knowledge of the Truth which is in Jesus Christ. Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit works from our spirit to lead us to Jesus, while also working in us to protect and deliver us from the works of the devil.
After we are born again, the Holy Spirit works with us from within our spirit, to help, guide, teach, lead, and comfort us in everything we do. We must learn to be led by the Spirit, "from our Spirit," and not let our mind control what we do or believe.
Before a person is born again, God is "with us," working through our spirit. After we are born again, God is "in us," in our new created spirit, working for us. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
There is a big difference between God working in a persons life before they are born again and after they are born again. Yet, all the time, God is always working in our lives from our spirit (which is in our belly). Once we learn this, and know the difference, then we can have victory in our lives, through Jesus Christ. Jesus gives us the victory, by the Holy Spirit working from within our spirit, to do the will of God in our lives.
God does not work in our lives so we can do our own will. He only works in our lives to do His will. The devil works in our minds to do our own will of the flesh. Whatsoever we do of the flesh will in the end reap corruption (Gal. 6:8). That is Satan's plan for Christians, to get them to walk after the flesh and not after the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-7).
God works from our spirit, not our mind. There was a time when I was in the Television repair and sales business. I was excited at the time, because I had just become born again a few months before. I wanted to talk to everyone about the LORD.
One Saturday afternoon a young couple came into my store to buy a Television set. I didn't realize that the devil uses people who say they are Christians to cause problems for other Christians. He wouldn't be able to do this if all Christians knew how to know what comes from their mind and what comes from their spirit.
That Saturday, this couple came in after the Banks were closed, thereby, I would not be in a position to find out if their check was good or not. That's a trick of the devil.
When they came, they came in a Taxi Cab. As I was showing them different Television sets, they mentioned that the Taxi Cab would come for them about 3:00pm, when I was to be closing. So, it seemed there was a lot of time to show them different Television sets, and explain to them the difference between each set. Within about an hour, they said they were still trying to decide which set to buy.
Then the conversation got over into talking about the LORD and the Bible. They seemed to know a lot about the LORD and the Bible. We were enjoying ourselves, talking about the LORD and the Bible. I enjoyed it myself, talking to Christians about the LORD.
Then it got to be about 3:00 PM and they said they decided to buy a Television that I had there in the store for $500. So I made out the sales slip, totaling everything up for them. I gave them the sales slip, so they could pay for the Television set.
As soon as the man took out his check book, "in my spirit," I knew I should not take that check. I didn't know why I shouldn't take it. But I did know I should not take it.
Then my mind started to analyze things concerning what I knew in my spirit and what I thought in my mind. Finally, I decided that, these were good Christians, they wouldn't give me a bad check. So, I over-road my conscience and received their check. I helped them put the set into the Taxi cab and said "thank you" as they left.
The following Monday, I deposited the check into my Bank. Within three days the check came back, "closed account." I went to the Bank first to find out more about the "closed account" and was told they opened the account, then shortly after, drew out all the funds and closed the account, all within one month.
I took the check to the Police Department and they told me that these same checks, written by the same person have been showing up all over the area. I had to leave the check with them as evidence, if they should catch the person who wrote it. I never did receive any more information from the Police Department concerning that check. Therefore, I was out $500. "for not listening to the Holy Spirit," when He warned me before I took the check.
Christians beware! You can't go by what your mind tells you, but you can go by what comes from your spirit. God is for us, not against us. The Holy Spirit will do all He can to help, guide, teach, lead, and comfort us. But, we must learn to know what is coming from our spirit and what is coming from our mind. God works from our spirit, the devil works from our mind.
We should never over-ride our conscience (which is in our spirit). Every time we go against our conscience or a witness in our spirit, we will pay a price. It could be costly, if we disobey the leading of the Holy Spirit within us.
I know of a man who his wife wanted him to take her to where she was from to attend a graduation of her youngest son from High School on a Memorial Day weekend. She mentioned it to him about two weeks in advance. For about a week before they were to leave, he had a check in his spirit, "not to go." So, he mentioned it to his wife the Monday before that weekend. She simply said, "there's nothing wrong with going, there's no reason not to go." Once or twice before the weekend he would get that check in his spirit again, "don't go." So, he would tell her again, I don't feel we should go, I don't know why, but I don't feel we should go.
She keep saying, there is no reason not to go, you just don't want to go. Finally, on Saturday morning he gave into his wife and said he would take her. It was about a six and one-half hour drive. The roads were good, the sun was shining. Everything looked ok in the natural. But, he did notice that for almost all the way he felt he needed to "pray in the Spirit." He must have prayed in the Spirit for almost six hours while driving.
Then at about only fifty miles to go (the roads were perfect for driving), he noticed a pickup truck coming toward them. At about thirty-yards from them, the pickup truck crossed the center line, coming right at them. He had the cruse control set at fifty-five miles an hour, and it happened so fast he hardly had time to think. He quickly got over to the right as far as he could (off the pavement, onto the grass with the right side of his Van). The pickup truck struck his Van on the left side, just past the drivers door and continued to push against his Van until it hit the Van's rear bumper. At that time, the pickup truck swung around and went headlong into the ditch on the other side of the road and rolled over on it's back.
At the same time, he was too far into the ditch to turn back toward the road, so he went down into the bottom of the ditch, thinking, once he got to the bottom of the ditch he could turn and come back out of the ditch without rolling over. But, as soon as he got to the bottom of the ditch he hit a farmers drive "head on." The farmers drive was as high as the hood on his Van. He hit it at fifty-five miles an hour. His Van flew up in the air and landed with it's back wheels on the farmers drive and the front in the ditch on the other side of the farmers drive.
His wife, sitting in the front seat, had her stomach pushed up under her rib cage. His elbow bone was chipped when it hit the door on his side of the Van. There they were, the front of the Van in the ditch, the back wheels on the farmers drive (with no tire marks on the farmers drive).
What happened? When the vehicle hit the farmers drive it became air-bound. At that time, they were in the air, ready to land... At that same time, he saw a bright flash in the Van, as though someone was taking his picture with a flash-camera. The flash was extremely bright, yet he was not blinded by the light. When they landed with the front of the Van in the ditch, the engine was still running. He had to turn off the key.
He went across the road to the farmers house and they called the County Paramedics for them. His wife was taken to the hospital, but he remained with his vehicle until after the police and tow-truck came and made out their reports.
A Pastor friend of theirs prayed for his wife at the hospital, and they released her that same evening. The Lord healed his chipped elbow bone. The insurance Company said the vehicle was a complete loss--beyond repair.
Even though, in this situation the Holy Spirit did all He could to help this couple, and no lives were lost. Yet, the Vehicle was declared a total loss. Which, if they had obeyed the witness in his spirit, the accident would not have happened at all.
It's not good to go against a witness in our spirit, even if we don't know why the Holy Spirit is warning us. He doesn't always give us all the details. But, we must learn to trust His judgment, He knows things we don't know. He is working for us, not against us.
Never go against the witness in your spirit. God gives you a witness in your spirit because He loves you, and wants to help, lead, guide, and comfort you in every area of your life. No matter what you do, or how you do it, God knows what's ahead and will warn you if you listen to your spirit, and never over-ride your conscience.
God wants to use those who are His children, His sons and daughters. Usually, He gives us a witness in our spirit when He wants to use us. Many times, I would only get a slight indication in my spirit that I should pray for someone.
One time I got a slight indication that I should pray for another Christian's legs, that they be adjusted by the Holy Spirit. (Many Christians have a condition where one leg is slightly shorter than the other. Many times they do not realize they have that condition, but do notice certain things, like pain in their back. Most of the time the pain in their back is caused by miss-adjustment of their pelvic bone). The first time I had this indication in my spirit to pray for this person, I just passed it by and did nothing. The next day, again I got this slight indication that I should pray for this person's legs. When I asked her if I could pray for her legs, she replied "sure, I was hoping you would."
Almost every time the Holy Spirit wants you to do something that involves another person, that person also wants you to do what you pick up in your spirit. One thing I noticed about the Holy Spirit is, that if there are two people involved in something the Holy Spirit wants to do, the both of them agree, without question. The Holy Spirit always works with both people, not just with one.
When I asked this person to sit back and raise up her legs so I could see if they were even, she did. What was amazing to me was that they both seemed to be the same length. Yet, knowing it came from my spirit to pray for her and it was not my idea; I began to pray. As I praised the LORD for adjusting her legs, one leg came out about three-quarters of an inch more than the other. Then, it went back to normal and the other leg came out about three-quarters of an inch longer, then it returned to it's right length.
Why this happened, I don't know, but the Holy Spirit knew. There are things the Holy Spirit knows that we don't know. It's up to us to know what the Holy Spirit wants us to do and when and how to do it. But, it's very important that we learn to recognize the witness in our spirit when the Holy Spirit wants us to do something.
It's very important to recognize the difference between our spirit (in our belly), and the thoughts in our mind. The Holy Spirit works from our spirit, the devil works from our mind.
THE MIND OR THE SPIRIT
There are many Christians today, in the ministry who cannot discern the difference between their mind and their spirit. There are also many Christians today operating from their mind, thinking it is the Holy Spirit giving them the information they receive. This is not good, to say the least. It causes many other Christians to get off into spiritual operations that are not from the LORD! This could be dangerous in anyone's life. Spiritual operations that are not from the LORD or the Holy Spirit are "Satanic." Anything connected with Satan is a good thing to stay away from to say the least.
To understand if it's from the spirit or the mind it is helpful to understand certain things about the spirit and the mind. There are many teachings within the body of Christ today that do not agree with the Scriptures on this subject. Why is it that way? Because Satan can present himself as an angel of light, causing Christians to think they received their information from the Holy Spirit, when it was not God at all.
How does this happen among Christians? How can Christians teach things that are not from God? It's simple, they do not understand the difference between the soul and the spirit of man. They think that man is a spirit and has a soul and a body of flesh and bones. Why do they think that? Because they use Bibles that are translated into English by people who made mistakes in their translations. This is a trick of the devil, and they don't know it.
The important thing is not what others have done, but what are we going to do about the Word of God. Will we study the "inspired Word of God," or just take for granted that whatever translation we use, is what God said? I, for one believe we should stick with what God said, not what some person translated into English and implies that, that's what God said.
Why do I believe it's important to be sure that the Bible we use is correctly translated from the original "inspired Word of God"? As I was explaining, we must learn to hear from our spirit when the Holy Spirit wants to show us something, or teach us something. The Holy Spirit always uses the original "inspired Word of God" to go by. Yet, that does not mean the Holy Spirit only speaks in Hebrew or Greek. But, it does mean that what the Holy Spirit shows us will agree with the Hebrew and Greek, but not always with the English translations.
There was a time, while I was working on a job, not praying, or reading the Word, or studying; that these words come to me, "God is Spirit." It took me by surprise, being my mind was not on anything concerning "God is Spirit." Yet, many times when these revelations come to me the Holy Spirit also brings to remembrance things I have been taught by the Word and things I have been taught by man. I knew this was referring to John 4:24.
I knew for years that many have been teaching a doctrine that "man is a spirit" and has a soul and a body. That teaching does not agree with the Scriptures. It is a result of men, "reasoning with their minds" according to what they have read in an English translation, which is incorrect.
I knew for years that, that teaching does not agree with the Scriptures. According to Genesis 2:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:45-47, man was created a living soul, and has a body formed of the dust of the earth, and a spirit given to him by God. I knew for years, those who taught that doctrine got their idea that "man is a spirit," from the way the King James Bible is worded in John 4:24, which says, "God is a Spirit."
When the words "God is Spirit," came to me that day, I stopped doing what I was doing and went to my Bible. In checking it out in the Greek, I saw that the words "is" and "a" were added by the translators when translating from Greek to English. They are not a part of the original Greek writings. After seeing that, I looked at the New King James Version. They corrected that error, and translated it to "God is Spirit."
The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Teacher. He reveals things to us from the Word of God that we can know the truth, and walk with God in truth. If we continue to believe the teachings of men we will never come to maturity in Christ. God cannot use us to the fullness He desires, if we hang on to man's doctrines and teachings. We must be taught and lead by the Holy Spirit from within our spirit if we are to do the will of God.
The Holy Spirit never reveals anything to anyone unless it is important. He doesn't play games, or give us bad advice.
It is important to the Holy Spirit that we do not get involved in believing man's doctrines or teachings. As Jesus said in John 6:45, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." This is very important to the LORD and the Holy Spirit. The LORD and the Holy Spirit are not pleased when we believe the teachings of men that do not agree with the "inspired Word of God." This is one reason why the Holy Spirit dwells in the spirits of all who are born again of the Spirit and the Word (John 3:6, 1 Peter 1:23).
As individual Christians, in the body of Christ, it is important that we be taught by the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2:27 it says, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." This is very important to the LORD that the Holy Spirit should be "our personal teacher." The Holy Spirit teaches us by the anointing, from our spirit, not our mind.
It is also important to understand that the LORD has put into the body of Christ "teachers" (Eph. 4:11). But, we must understand, the teachers the LORD put in the body of Christ are "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). Yet, they are not in the body of Christ to take the place of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our "personal" teacher, and He will never teach us anything that does not agree with the "inspired Word of God." Therefore, the Holy Spirit comes "first" in our lives as a Teacher, then secondly, those the LORD put in the body of Christ to teach. Teachers in the body of Christ never come before the Holy Spirit Who teaches from our spirit, not our mind.
Why did the Holy Spirit bring to my attention the fact that "God is Spirit"? Mainly, because the Holy Spirit cannot confirm the doctrines or teachings of men. To be led by the Spirit, we must know the Truth from the Word of God, and not believe what others teach from their minds.
Why is it important to understand that man is a living soul, and has a body and a spirit (as the Scriptures teach)? Knowing the truth concerning that man is a living soul makes a lot of difference when it comes to "false operations of spirits within the body of Christ." Many Spirit-filled Christians have given heed to false operations of spirits, not knowing the true operations of the Holy Spirit.
A living soul is not a body like that of man. It is not a spirit like man's spirit. It is a spiritual part of man that contains man's mind, intellect, reasoning, understanding, will, emotions, etc. The mind is the main function of the soul of man. The mind is "psychic," that is, it can contact the natural realm or the spiritual ream of this creation. That means, with our mind we can operate in spiritual operations which are Satanic, and not of God.
Every person born into this world is "a living soul." Every person born into this world is able to contact the "Satanic spirits" with their mind. Being that a person is a living soul, Satan can operate in the minds of every person born into this world, for he also operates in the spiritual realm.
Even though a person is born again of the Spirit and the Word, and is a child of God, Satan can still operate in their minds and they can still operate in the spiritual realm the same as witches, sorcerers, mediums, channelers, etc. whose operations are all through the Satanic realm. This is where many of the false prophets come from that Jesus spoke about, that would be performing great signs and wonders in these last days (Matt. 24:11,24). A false prophet is one who prophecies falsely... Their prophecies are not true... Their information did not come from their spirit, it came from their mind, their soul (psychic).
Why are there so many prophecies that never come to pass, coming from Christians who say they are a prophet? Mainly, because of the teachings of men, who teach Christians how to prophesy from their mind, rather than let the Holy Spirit speak through them from their spirit. The meaning of the word prophesy is "speak by the unction of the Holy Spirit," not by the will or mind of man.
All true prophecy must come from the spirit of man, not from the mind of man. All true prophecy must come to pass, otherwise it is not of the LORD. In Deuteronomy 18:22 it says, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously..." In Jeremiah 28:9 it says, "The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him." In Numbers 23:19 it says, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"
Why are we so concerned about those who prophesy falsely, and their prophecies never come to pass? Mainly, because it is not the will of God that any should perish, or be cast into the lake of fire. Yet, the Scripture does teach that the false prophets will be cast into the lake of fire. That's not a good place to spend eternity for anyone. We love the people who prophesy, but are also concerned about those who prophesy falsely, because we know they have been deceived by the devil, and we need to get them back before it's too late.
Unless Christians learn how to be taught by God, and how to recognize that which comes from their spirit and that which comes from their mind, they can easily be deceived. Among those who call themselves prophets today, there are many who are prophesying from their minds and not from their spirit as the Bible teaches.
Concerning prophecy: The inspired Word of God teaches that,
1). True prophecy must always come to pass (Deu. 18:22; Jer. 28:9).
2) The words of the LORD will surely come to pass: Isaiah 55:11 says "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." In Ezekiel 12:25,28 it says, "For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass...Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD." I Daniel 9:12 it says, "And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us..." in Luke 21:33 Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away."
3) Numbers, Chapters 22-24 reveals: "Only the words the LORD puts in my mouth" (Num. 22:38) "And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth" (Num. 23:5,12) "All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?" (Num. 23:26) "what the LORD saith, that will I speak?" (Num. 24:13).
4) True prophecy comes from your spirit, in your belly. In Job 32:8,19-22 it says,
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding....
Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer.
Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man.
For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
5) False prophecy will deceive people. In Jeremiah 29:8,9 it says, "For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed....For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD."
6) False prophecy is considered a lie. In Jeremiah 23:21 it says, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." In Jeremiah 27:15 it says, "I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name..."
Note also: The word "heart" used in the King James Bible in the Old Testament should have (at times) been translated "mind or intellect" especially in Jeremiah 14:14 where it says, "Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart (mind)." Also in Jeremiah 23:16 where it says, "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart (mind), and not out of the mouth of the LORD." Notice this about Jeremiah 23:16, the LORD said, "and not out of the mouth of the LORD." True prophecy must come out of the mouth of the LORD!
It is very important that Christians follow the leading of the Holy Spirit from their spirit, not the imaginations of their minds. Operating in the spiritual realm with our mind is not of God and is considered Satanic by the Word of God. O' how important it is to know the difference between our spirit and our mind. We must be led by the Holy Spirit (from our spirit), not led by other spirits from our mind.
If there is any question in your spirit as to that which a person calling himself a prophet said, wait and see if it comes to pass. I had an experience one time, where a person calling himself a prophet was ministering in a church I attended. While we were having praise and worship, this person walked up and down the isle looking at different people in attendance.
Before he began to minister he made the statement, the reason he was walking up and down the isles was to see who the LORD would have him minister to. Then he prophesied to a number of those in attendance. After some time he came to me and said, "the LORD is saying to you, don't concern yourself about the money you have coming, you will receive a check." At first I did not understand what he was talking about. Then it came to me...
That same day I had done some work for someone but didn't get paid that day. The person who always writes the checks was not there when I delivered the work to them. So, his Secretary told me to come back the next morning and she would have a check for me.
Now, I had been doing jobs for this person for a few years. He always paid me when I delivered the job to him. That day, it so happened that he wasn't there to write the check when I delivered the job.
I went back the next morning and he gave me the check for the job I had done the day before. There was no question in my mind as to whether I would get paid or not. I had no doubt that when I went back that morning I would get paid.
But I did have a question about the prophecy that evening. Why would the LORD have him tell me not to worry about a check I already knew I would get? Why would the LORD have some prophet say to me, "the LORD is saying to you, don't concern yourself about the money you have coming, you will receive a check"? Didn't the LORD know that I was not concerned or worried about getting paid the next day? Doesn't the Spirit of God search our hearts and minds and know what we are concerned about and what we are not concerned about?
There is something fishy about those kinds of prophecies. I was not concerned about it, why would the LORD tell me not to be concerned? My question is, where did this so called prophet get his information from? Secondly, why did he need to walk up and down the isles seeking who the LORD would have him minister to? The Bible teaches, all true prophecy comes from the spirit of man, not from his mind. The Holy Spirit reveals the knowledge of God when He wills, and does not need man going around trying to find out what God is going to do in the future.
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES
Many Christians are having spiritual experiences, thinking it is always God. Many are deceived and mislead by these experiences. They don't know how to hear from their spirit and they think what happened was God.
I was teaching Bible School one time, operating from a rented building. A person came to me and said, "Merle, the LORD took me out-of-my-body and showed me a building which you will have for the Bible School. I saw the building, it was like a school building with the name Hands For Jesus over the door."
I knew in my spirit what she was telling me was false. But, I tried to be nice to her and explain to her the difference between out-of-the-body experiences and visions. Even though I knew she did not have either from the LORD. What she had could have been another spirit working in her mind.
I said to her, let me ask you, where is this building you saw. She said, it's somewhere here in Milwaukee, I saw it. Then I said to her, where in Milwaukee? She said, I don't know, but I saw it.
Then I began to explain the difference between a vision and an out-of-the-body experience. In a vision we can see things that do not exist at the present time, but if it is of the LORD it will surely come to pass. But, in an out-of-the-body experience, when the LORD takes our soul out-of-our-body and shows us something, the thing He shows us does actually exist, otherwise we could not see it. In out-of-the-body experiences we can be taken into heaven, and see things in heaven. This has happened to many Christians in near death experiences, or actual death experiences where the doctors revived them with equipment to start their heart after it stopped working.
But, we must be aware of the fact that Satan can also operate in the spirit realm and cause out-of-the-body experiences. One of Satan's great out-of-the-body experiences is called "astral-projection," whereby a person can leave their body and travel great distances, into places that do exist, and see and remember people and places where they have been. This is a Satanic operation and Christians should never get involved in anything that is of Satan.
Therefore, there are true out-of-the-body experiences, which the LORD causes to happen and their are other out-of-the-body experiences that Satan causes to happen. We need to know the difference, and understand the end result.
Satan's operations are always deceptive, and they are used by Satan to lead Christians into greater deception. When we know it's Satan, we must turn away from it. We must repent, for permitting Satan to use our mind and soul for his purposes. If we do not repent, Satan will lead us into greater and greater deception until it's too late to repent.
Many Christians get over into these false operations because they want to do more for the LORD than what the LORD wants them to do. Every spiritual operation of the LORD is begun by the Holy Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit, from our spirit, not from our mind. The Holy Spirit operates from our spirit, Satan operates from our mind.
Just because something does come to pass, that does not always mean it was the LORD or the Holy Spirit. Let's take an example from the Bible. In 1 Samuel 28, it tells us about the time when King Saul went to "a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor" (1 Sam. 28:7-25) This woman that had a familiar spirit was not getting her information from the LORD. Her information came from the Satanic spiritual realm. This woman brought up the voice of Samuel. It says in 1 Samuel 28:15-19,
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.
Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
It's important to understand, the LORD does not use those who are operating by a familiar spirit and serving the devil to prophesy. Even though what was said to King Saul did come to pass, it was a Satanic operation, not the Holy Spirit.
Many Christians today are being deceived by Satanic operations of spiritual nature, thinking it is the LORD. King Saul did not receive the information he received from his spirit, he received it from another source. This is very important for Christians to understand.
In the Old Testament times, the Priests, Prophets, and Kings had the Holy Spirit working in their lives. The same operations of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 operated in the Old Testament (except tongues and interpretation of tongues), the same way they operate in the New Testament. At times, King Saul "prophesied," and when he did, it came from his spirit (1 Sam. 10:10, 12; 19:23,24). Yet King Saul, like anyone else could not prophesy when ever he wanted to. True prophecy only comes "as the Holy Spirit wills" (1 Cor. 12:11).
True prophecy comes from the spirit of man, not from his mind. There are many Christians today, going around prophesying, saying they can prophesy to every person they come to, that the LORD will give each person a Word through them. Be careful, the Bible does not teach that kind of prophesying. The Bible only teaches that all true prophesy comes as the Holy Spirit wills, not as man wills (1 Cor. 12:11).
Most of the time when a Christian goes to someone who calls himself a prophet, to get a Word from the LORD, they receive a Word from the wrong spirit realm. If the LORD has a Word for someone, the Holy Spirit will make it known to them "in their spirit."
The Holy Spirit works from the spirit of man, not from his mind or intellect. He doesn't need those who claim to have special gifts whereby they can prophesy to anyone they wish at any time they wish. Satan always raises up men and women, God never raises up people. God only raises up Jesus! We must learn to follow the Holy Spirit "from our spirit," not from our mind.
ONE GOD
In the world, there are many god's. In some countries there are god's wherever you go. Throughout the world, there are many religions; each claiming their's to be the only true religion. Even among Christians there are many beliefs disagreeing with each other. What happened to the one and only true God, even among those who call themselves Christians?
Jesus warned us about the last days (Matt. 24:5,11,24). Talking about the time before the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened in 70 AD, Jesus said,
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
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 (Matt. 24:21-24).
The LORD did shorten the days before the destruction of Jerusalem, that the very elect would not be deceived.
Yet, it seems that history repeats itself, over and over again. Could it be that what Jesus spoke in Matt. 24:21-24, will repeat itself again? It certainly looks like it could.
As we look at the Bible from the beginning we see that at the time of Noah, those who were led by the Spirit of God were no longer listening to the Holy Spirit (Gen. 6:3). They were going about, choosing for themselves wives and whatsoever else they desired to make themselves whatsoever they wanted to be. They became "mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (Gen. 6:4). The word translated "renown" in this verse actually means "name; reputation, authority, etc." That tells us, that at that time MEN were being raised up, not the LORD. Certain men were looked upon as having "authority, reputation," which focused upon themselves, not on the LORD.
The world was looking to these men of renown, and no longer following the leading of the Holy Spirit. This continued until "GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). Therefore, the flood came upon the earth, and only Noah and his family were saved.
Notice how that history repeats itself. After King Saul, the LORD gave the children of Israel a king by the name of David, who brought all ten tribes back into one kingdom. The LORD Himself is a King, of the linage of David.
But, look what happened at the time of King Hezekiah. The ten tribes of Israel had gone so far from following the LORD, that they were taken into captivity by the King of Assyria. From that time until now, the ten tribes never again became one nation unto the LORD.
Then, what happened to the two tribes of Judah at the time of Jechonias? The tribe of Judah had gone so far from following the LORD that they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. For years following the captivity by the Babylonians, the tribe of Judah was under the captivity of the Persians, then the Greeks, then the Romans.
For about four-hundred years, there was no recognized prophet in the land. Zechariah and Malachi were among the last recognized prophets before John the Baptist. Why? The children of Judah were no longer listening to the LORD.
Then Jesus came, preaching the true gospel, which the Pharisees and Sadducees, and most of the leaders of the Jews would not receive. They would not believe "the true gospel." Therefore, following all the great signs and wonders that Jesus and His disciples performed, they still rejected the LORD and the true gospel that He preached among them. Therefore, Jerusalem was destroyed in about 70 AD.
Since then, the gospel was preached for about 70 to 90 years while the books of the New Testament were being written. Today we have the writings of the Apostles, and those who the LORD chose to write the New Testament. What has been happening since then?
What happened to the leading of the Holy Spirit among the Christians? How many have gone following after "another gospel, another Jesus, other spirits, doctrines of men and doctrines of devils?"
Will history repeat itself? Will the time come, like in the days of Noah, when those "who were led by the Holy Spirit" would no longer follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? (Gen. 6:3).
When will Jesus return? Will Jesus come when the Christians are dancing and shouting and singing? Or will Jesus come like a thief in the night (Matt. 24:29-31, 37-39). Did Jesus also prophesy of His second coming, when He said, "...except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved..." (Matt. 24:22).
Christians should be aware, that there are other gospels being preached among those who call themselves Christians. Yet, there is only one true gospel. There is only "One Holy Spirit,"
one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Eph. 4:4-6).
All of the "true gifts of the Spirit" operate by "One Holy Spirit," and He controls all of the gifts "as He wills" (1 Cor. 12:7-11). The Holy Spirit is "One Spirit," not many spirits as those of this world. The Holy Spirit is not confused, not joking, not misleading, and He never makes a mistake. He is God, with the Father and the Son. These three are One God, as it tells us in 1 John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
What's happening today among those who call themselves Christians. Many of the Bibles they are using do not even have 1 John 5:7 in them? Where is their respect and reverence for our LORD Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit whom He has sent to be our guide, helper, teacher, leader, and comforter? Are we in the last days that Jesus could have been speaking of, just before His second coming?
I believe Christians should go back to the original inspired Word of God, the one the Holy Spirit inspired Himself and make sure they are following the right Jesus and the right Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit operates from our spirit, not from our minds. We must learn to follow the Holy Spirit as He leads us, not the teachings of men, not the doctrines of men, especially not the doctrines of devils. If men want to take the Truth out of our Bibles, that's their idea, not mine. Each one of us will give an account to the LORD on that last day. How many will be following another spirit, another Jesus, another gospel?
One day, out of my spirit came these words, "look up 1 John 5:7 in a certain Bible." That day I was working on a job, paying attention to what I was doing, when all of a sudden there came from my spirit these words, "look up 1 John 5:7 in a certain Bible." In my mind, I thought, why look it up in a certain Bible, I always use the King James Version? Yet, knowing that came from my spirit, and I must prove all things (1 Thess 5:21), and try the spirits if they be of God (1 John 4:1), I stopped working and went and got that certain Bible to look up that verse. Would you believe, that verse is not in that certain Bible? Then I found that there are many verses left out of some of these newer Bibles; besides 1 John 5:7, there is Matthew 18:11, John 5:3,4, Acts 8:37 just to mention a few of the important ones.
Are Christians today accepting Bibles that are the works of men, and not the Holy Spirit? Are Christians today, following "men of renown," like before the flood? Have they left following the Holy Spirit for another spirit? Is the world, and the things of this world more important than the true Word of God?
Why would the words "look up 1 John 5:7 in a certain Bible," come from my spirit if it was not important? The Holy Spirit does not play games with the Word of God. The Holy Spirit does not confuse His people, with all sorts of ideas, which disagree with what is written in the "inspired Word of God."
Christians should take their "relationship" and "fellowship" with God very serious. It's not something to joke about, or take for granted. God is serious, and so should Christians be serious about their "relationship and fellowship" with God. There are other god's in this world, and many have departed "...from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Tim. 4:1).
What's happening among Christians today? There seems to be all sorts of manifestations, and no one says anything.
Some of the false operations in the church today are not new. The same devil that was around during the Early Church is still here today. He is still trying to bring in his "false, counterfeit" operations he used from the beginning.
How many Christians today understand how Satan has brought in false teachings? In the first printing of the King James Bible (1611 Edition), there was included 14 Books called "Apocrypha." Yet, in the 1617 edition of the King James Bible they were then taken out.
These books were included in the Vulgate. History tells us, there was a debate in the Early Church concerning these books called "Apocrypha." They were considered as not being canon, that is, they were considered as "fiction." Yet, in the Early Church they were admitted into the Bible under the title "Apocrypha" meaning "false or fiction." Those who knew what the word "Apocrypha" meant, knew they were not of God, but of men.
Another important thing about these books is that they were placed in the Old Testament, yet never considered a part of the Jewish (Old Testament) Scriptures. The Jews refused to accept them as a part of their Scriptures. Therefore, when they were accepted into the Vulgate, they were called "Apocrypha" meaning "fiction."
Look what is happening in the church today? There are many books being written, and placed in the Christian book stores under the category of "fiction." The Christian book stores have many shelves full of books called "fiction." There are teachings and movies, Video Tapes, CD's and DVD's promoting "fiction." Who is behind all this "Christian fiction"?
Why do Christians need "fiction" in their lives if they want to continue on serving the LORD? One Pastor was asked, why did you write a book you knew was "fiction"? His reply was, "that is what the people want to hear"! It seems that the general idea is "please the people, who cares about pleasing God"? Do what you have to do to get the money, that's the important thing today.
What's the difference between the word "fiction" and the word "lie"? There is no difference, it's just another word to describe the same thing. Fiction and a lie are both the same. Why are Christians enjoying "lies"? What's so good about lies, that Christians love to hear "lies"?
The truth is, Christians today want to operate from their mind, and not from their spirit. They think they can serve God with their mind. Yet, the Apostle Paul made it clear in Romans 1:9, saying, "he served God with his spirit". The Apostle Paul taught a lot about serving God with our spirit, and actually taught that it was wrong to serve God with our mind.
Jesus never taught that we should serve God with our mind, He was always talking about "deny yourself," and come and "follow Him." When Jesus was talking about following Him, He was talking about doing things the way He did them. Jesus told us how He did the will of the Father in the following verses, John 4:34; 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28;12:49;14:10; plus many others.
Self-denial is "not going by your mind, but going by your spirit within you." Although Jesus could not teach a lot about believing from your spirit and being led by the Spirit, because the Spirit was not yet given, for Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:38,39).
But, Jesus did make it clear in John 16:12-14,
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Jesus was talking about the New Covenant, when the Holy Spirit would be given to become our Helper, Guide, Teacher, Leader, and Comforter. Therefore, without the Epistles written after Jesus went to be with the Father, we cannot understand the teachings of Jesus Himself.
Who ever came up with the idea that "I love Lucy, Lassie, etc." are good Christian entertainment? Are they confused between what is of God and what is of man? Where in the Bible does it tell us we need "Christian entertainment?" What happened to the Holy Spirit? Don't Christians need Him anymore?
Those who justify "Christian entertainment" as good for Christians do not understand the difference between "the flesh and the spirit." To entertain the flesh is to "neglect" "the very purpose" for remaining in this world after we are born again of the Spirit. Jesus said in John 17:15, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."
The evil in this world is the lies of the devil. "Fiction" keeps Christians focused upon this world and the things of this (which is not the will of God for Christians) (Col. 3:1,2, 1 John 2:15,15, Rev. 2:4). We are not in this world to please the flesh, but only to please the Father (Heb. 10:38, 11:6).
Today, there are many Christians believing the teachings of men, based upon "fiction." Fiction is "a lie in disguise," and is no different then "Satan, presenting himself as an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). Where in the Scripture does it tell us to believe a lie? Where does it tell us it's OK to teach lies? Where does it tell us to bring into the body of Christ "fiction"? Are we entering the end times Jesus spoke of, blinded by the works of the devil?
I was at a three day meeting in a Spirit filled church. The first day, during the worship time I got an "unrest in my spirit." There was an "uneasiness" in my spirit and I didn't know why. The people were dancing and praising God. And there is nothing wrong with dancing and praising God, the Holy Spirit will cause us to dance and praise God sometimes. But this time there was something wrong with the praise and worship.
I noticed one woman on the stage different than the others. Most of the praise and worship team were alert and watching while they led the praise and worship. This one woman had her hands up in the air, her eyes closed, and it seemed as though she was in a daze. It didn't seem as though she was a part of the praise and worship team. She didn't seem to be leading anyone in praise and worship. Yet, I didn't know why I had an uneasiness in my spirit at the time.
After the praise and worship was over, the Pastor got up and announced that if anyone wanted to get some good praise and worship music, they should buy this woman's tapes and CD's. Then he said, "if you will listen closely, you will hear the drum beat of the Congo in the back ground."
Does anyone know what the drum beat of the Congo is? It's what the witch-doctors use to call upon the evil spirits. These evil spirits hypnotize people so they can get them to do what they want them to do. The evil spirits get control of the persons mind through hypnotism. Some of the people dancing could have been hypnotized and didn't know it.
Counterfeit operations like these are operating in the praise and worship of many churches today. If we are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit, in our spirit, we will not know the difference. The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Truth." He will show you the Truth when the counterfeit is in operation. There were many Spirit filled Christians at that meeting. I did not hear of anyone who noticed the counterfeit in the praise and worship.
You can go to what is called "Christian Television" today and see a lot of people, claiming to be praising and worshiping God. If you are sensitive to the Holy Spirit within you, you will get a check in your spirit, letting you know there is something wrong with some of the praise and worship today. Yet, they continue to broadcast day after day and multitudes of Christians support their broadcasts.
What happened to the gift of "discerning of spirits" that every Christian has within them. When you received the LORD as LORD and Savior of your life, you were born again of the Spirit and the Word. When a person is born again "of the Spirit," they receive all "the fruit of the Spirit" and "the gifts of the Spirit" within their spirit. Anyone who is "in Christ," also has "Christ in them." Christ, means "the Anointed One."
When you are "in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17), the Spirit of Christ will lead you to desire the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4,5, 2:4). When you receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the "nine gifts of the Spirit" are ready to operate "as the Spirit wills" (1 Cor. 12:7-11). If you will listen to your spirit, and not your mind, the Holy Spirit will use the gift of "discerning of spirits" to alert you when something is going on that is not of God. You should get a witness in your spirit when other spirits are in operation. The Holy Spirit is working for you, not against you. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
Is it God's good pleasure to have other spirits operating in praise and worship? The Bible doesn't teach that! The Bible teaches the opposite...
When spiritual operations "that were not of God" appeared in some of the churches that the Apostle Paul ministered in he addressed the issue, and made known to those churches what was happening and also what to do about it. The Apostle Paul was "led by the Holy Spirit" in what He wrote in the Epistles. Therefore, we could say, the Holy Spirit used the Apostle Paul to write to the churches and expose the spirits that were not of God. If the Holy Spirit did that at that time, and the Holy Spirit is the same today as He was at the time of the Apostle Paul, then He will do the same today.
Jesus also rebuked certain Churches in Revelation 2,3 for things they were doing that was not of God. Look what Jesus said to the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:2, "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." Then in verse 4, He said, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Jesus spoke to the church in Thyatira, saying "I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols" (Rev. 2:20). We are to try the spirits, if they be of God and not condone false operations.
Christians who do not expose, but rather condone spirits that are not of God are not obeying the Holy Spirit. To disobey the Holy Spirit is a sin. James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
I recall a well known brother in the LORD, who has now gone to be with Jesus. He said, he went to a meeting of one of the larger denominations. At that meeting they discussed an issue concerning a certain Pastor. The whole meeting that day was concerning that certain Pastor. They decided the Pastor was wrong in what he did and should be removed. This brother in the LORD, who went to the meeting, didn't say anything at the meeting, just listened to what the others said.
That evening, when he turned out the light in his bedroom to go to bed, he said the room got brighter instead of darker. The LORD appeared to him, standing on the other side of the bed. The LORD questioned him concerning what he said to another Pastor that evening, concerning what was decided during the day by those in head of that denomination.
Then the LORD said to him, "who are you to condemn my brother," and He mentioned the Pastors name. When this brother in the LORD answered, and said "I didn't condemn him." The LORD said to him, "in so much as you did not disagree with them, you are as guilty as they are"!
Christians who have the Holy Spirit are accountable to speak out when others are going in the wrong direction. When you know in your spirit there is something wrong going on, it's your responsibility to speak to those who are in error. Galatians 6:1 says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
Christians who claim to be called to the ministry, have an obligation to the LORD and the Holy Spirit to inform those who are operating in the wrong spirit realm, "they need to repent, and turn back to the LORD." They cannot continue to operate in the wrong spirit realm and serve the LORD. Romans 1:18-32 teaches that the wrath of God could come upon them if they do not repent.
From our spirit, we should know when there are other spirits operating in the churches today. We need to set aside our pride and self, and help those who need help to be free of all spiritual operations that are not of God.
In 1 John 4:1 it tells us, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." This is talking about trying "all the false spirits," not just the spirit of anti-Christ. How do we try the spirits? One way, it tells us, in the next verse is "by the words that come out of their mouths." Another way, is by their actions.
How was the man with the legion of spirits acting when Jesus came to the shore? It tells us in Matthew 8, Mark 5, and Luke 8. When someone acts like the devil, you should know there is something wrong... After Jesus cast the devil out of the man, it tells us they found him sitting at Jesus feet, clothed and in "his right mind."
There should be some discernment when it comes to what is of God and what is not, when it comes to praise and worship. It's one thing to get a person away from the devil, but then it's time to get the devil out of them. They may need deliverance...
They need to repent from the way they worshiped the devil before they were born again, and worship God the way God desires to be worshiped. God and the devil are not the same...
Satan manifests through the minds of people. Until their mind is renewed, they need to be ministered to, not ministering to babes in Christ. The more we see what is going on in the churches today, the more we question, "are we getting closer to the days of Noah, when Christians no longer listen to the Holy Spirit"?
The flesh does not belong manifesting in the presence of the LORD! The flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other. Galatians 5:16,17 tells us,
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Galatians 6:7,8 tells us,
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
It's time to bring the flesh under subjection to the spirit, that the Holy Spirit can perfect us, by His ability, not by works of the flesh. We must learn to know the witness in our spirit, and be led by the Spirit, not the flesh.
Those in the ministry, especially, should be hearing from their spirit, receiving directions from the Holy Spirit, not their mind, and not their flesh. When we know something is not right, we should turn away from it.
One time I was invited to a meeting where some people I knew were ministering. There were two speakers besides the Pastor of the church speaking on different evenings. The one meeting I went to, after they were through ministering the Pastor took up the offering. When the offering was taken, he had one of his people count the offering. Then he said, "this is not enough, God told me how much we were to receive, and so we will take up another offering to give those who didn't give what they should have given another chance." After taking up the second offering, the Pastor had it counted, and again he said, "it's not all here, God showed me, someone here is to give $100., so we will take up another offering so that person can give what God told them to give." Then he took up the third offering, and counted it.
In my spirit I had a check, already the first time the Pastor said, "this is not enough, God told me..." After the meeting was all over, I mentioned to one of the Pastors I knew, "that wasn't God on that offering." He said to me something like this, "you have to do what you have to do to get the money"! In my spirit, I got a check, and I knew something else was wrong, not just the Pastor who took up the offering.
There is a bad spirit that manifests in the Churches today, it is not of God. That spirit operates through many people in the ministry. I have noticed, this spirit is working everywhere. Christians are doing whatsoever they have to do to get what they want. It's in the churches, it's in the homes, it's wherever you go.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is only "One Spirit." He is God with the Father and the Son. He never changes, He never lies, He never deceives, and He doesn't play games...
What the Holy Spirit reveals is always TRUTH. Truth will never deceive or make a mistake at anytime or anywhere. If He said it, it shall come to pass (Isa. 55:11; Eze. 12:25,28; Dan. 9:12).
Whose voice are some of these Christians hearing, when they say "God told me"? I know of a woman who told her husband, God told her she had to be at a certain meeting on a certain day. When her husband didn't take her, she got upset and went by herself. When she got to where the meeting was to be there was no one there. The building was dark and locked up. She called a friend and asked her if she knew what happened? Her friend told her the meeting was canceled.
Didn't God know the meeting was canceled? What spirit was she hearing from?
One day I was listening to a certain preacher tell how he hears from God. He said, "he prays in the Spirit" a few minutes, then he asks God to interpret what he said. "In his mind," he receives his answer from God as to what he was praying about while praying in the Spirit. He said, "he teaches all his people, that's the way to hear from God, when you need answers."
He said, he got that from 1 Corinthians 14:13,14. When he said that, in my spirit there was a sick feeling, I knew there was something wrong with what he said.
Sometime later, it came from my spirit, "look up 1 Corinthians 14:13." As I looked it up, I then noticed in the King James Version it says, "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret." If you look in the Greek, you will find that the word "unknown" is not there. Men have added that word themselves (not having full understanding of what the Holy Spirit inspired to be written).
But, more important than that was that it said, "that speaketh in a tongue..." It doesn't say that "prayeth" in a tongue, it says "speaketh" in a tongue. What I had not realized was that "speaking in a tongue" and "praying in the Spirit" are not the same thing.
Speaking in a tongue is "speaking as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance." When we "pray in the Spirit," we do the praying, from our spirit as Paul put it "my spirit prayeth," Look at 1 Corinthians 14:14 closely, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful." Did you notice, he said "if I pray"? Now Paul is talking about himself doing the praying, not the Holy Spirit giving him the utterance in a tongue. Paul changed the subject between verses 13 and 14. In verse 14, he is not talking about "speaking in a tongue," He is taking about himself "praying in the Spirit," or "praying in a tongue."
"Praying in the Spirit" or "praying in a tongue" is an operation of man, from his spirit. Speaking in a tongue is an operation of the Holy Spirit, started by the Holy Spirit, not by man. Speaking in a tongue, is as the Holy Spirit wills (1 Cor. 12:11).
"Speaking in tongues" is a ministry gift of the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ. "Praying in the Spirit" or "praying in tongues" is a gift to the individual, to help the individual build up his faith (Jude 1:20). Also, to pray when he doesn't know what to pray for, or how to pray (Rom. 8:26). Praying in the Spirit or praying in tongues" is the preferred way to pray in the New Covenant (Eph. 6:18).
If we study the New Testament Scriptures closely, we find that every time "speaking in tongues" is mentioned it is referring to an unction of the Holy Spirit. It includes speaking in a language unknown by the person doing the speaking, therefore, it needs to be interpreted (1 Cor. 12:10, 28,30; 14:2,4,5,6, etc.) As in 1 Corinthians 14:2, it includes speaking by the unction of the Holy Spirit in a language no man understands. According to 1 Corinthians 12:28,29, not every Christian speaks in tongues.
Yet, there is another gift for every Christian, that is the gift of "praying in the Spirit," or "praying in tongues." This is a prayer language, that everyone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit should have. In Ephesians 6:18 it says, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit..." In Jude 1:20 it says, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." This is prayer, something we do as Christians of our own ability, "praying from our spirit."
In the Greek, there is a difference between "speaking in tongues," and "praying in the Spirit" or "praying in tongues." If you study the Scriptures in the Greek you will see the difference. Our "praying in the Spirit" should not be interpreted. It is very likely, when Christians try to interpret their "praying in the Spirit" another spirit, will give them the interpretation.
Notice something else. When the Holy Spirit gives the interpretation of a tongue, it comes from your spirit, not from your mind. The Holy Spirit operates from your spirit, not your mind.
When they receive what they think is an interpretation of their "praying in the Spirit," it comes from their mind, not their spirit. Satan works from their mind.
Christians should learn to listen to their spirit, not their mind. Deception comes from our mind, but the Holy Spirit will never deceive us. He ministers to us from our spirit.
The whole issue in 1 Corinthians 14 is "speaking in tongues" "without an interpretation." If the ministry gift of "speaking in tongues" is in operation, there should also be the ministry gift of "interpretation of tongues." When the Holy Spirit brings forth a tongue, He is also ready to bring forth the interpretation. It's up to the individual to respond to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not force a person to give the interpretation. If you speak in a tongue, and someone else does not give the interpretation, then "pray that you may give the interpretation" (1 Cor. 14:13).
Christians need to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). Christians should learn how to please God, not man.
With our spirit, we serve God (Rom. 1:9). With our mind we please men. We must learn to know the difference between our mind and our spirit.
RELIGION OR CHRISTIANITY
Many Christians have let the world tell them what the word "Christian" means. The world says, a Christian is "one who believes in Christ." The world says that "Christianity is "a religion based upon the divinity of Christ."
Why is it that Christians let the world tell them what "Christianity" is? We should listen to the Holy Spirit and study the Scriptures to see what a "Christian" is, and what Christianity is?
The Word "Christian" comes from a Greek word "christianos" which comes from another Greek word "christso" meaning "anonited." Which comes from a prime Greek word "chrio" meaning "to anoint with the idea of contact." Thereby, a Christian must be a person who is anointed and in contact with Christ, the anointed One.
That means, Christianity is not a religion, it is a personal anointing in contact with "Christ" who is the "Anointed One." That anointing abides within us. We are One spirit with Christ (1 Cor. 6:17). We are "in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Christianity is not a religion. A Christian is a New Creature "in Christ." Christians are not like the rest of the world. We are not in Adam, we are in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22). We are not of this world, we are born from above (John 3:6,7 17:16). God is our Father, and we are His children.
This is totally different than religion. Christianity operates from the spirit of man and religion operates from the mind of man. Two totally different operations, by two totally different parts of man.
Yet today, most of the Christians are still "carnally minded" (Rom. 8:6). They are still babes in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1,2). They are operating from their mind instead of their spirit. They are walking after the flesh and not after the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). Hebrews 5:12 says, "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat."
Christians need to get their information from the Word of God and not from the world. Don't let the world tell you what is happening and who you are. Search the Scriptures and see what God says about you. See what Jesus said about us. Learn to walk after the Spirit, and not after the flesh.
There are many religions in the world today. No matter which one you search out, you will find they all operate through the minds of people. Some of them follow one god and others follow other gods. But, no religion follows God.
God does not lead us by our minds. God leads us by our spirit, from within our spirit. In the Old Testament times, God was with His chosen people, working through their spirit. In these days, from the time Jesus arose again from the dead; God works with His children from "within" their spirit.
The fulness of the Godhead dwells in our "New Spirit" which we received when we were born again of the Spirit (Eze. 36:26, John 3:6). God is in our spirit, He dwells in us. We are complete in Him (Col. 2:9,10). We are in Him and He is in us, we are one Spirit with the LORD (1 Cor. 6:17).
Religious people do operate in the spiritual realm, but it is not of God. They perform great signs and wonders, but it's not of God. Be careful, don't get over into the wrong spirit realm to obtain spiritual operations. Don't seek things from the wrong spirit realm. What God has promised us, He will do ACCORDING TO HIS INSTRUCTIONS, not by another means.
In the world today, there is evidence of Christians getting into the wrong spirit realm to accomplish what they think God wants to do. Just because it's supernatural, that doesn't mean it's God...
There are many books and articles available today, where Christians can learn how to obtain spiritual help to operate in the spiritual realm. Stay away from those who teach you how to operate in the spiritual realm, there are too many in the wrong spirit realm.
The Bible teaches that we should be taught by God, not by man (Isa. 54:13, John 6:45). In 1 John 2:27 it tells us, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." The Holy Spirit is our personal teacher. We must be taught by the Holy Spirit if we are to know the things that are of God. The teachings of men will lead us astray. We do have "teachers" in the Body of Christ, set in the body by the LORD Jesus, Himself. But, the Holy Spirit comes first as our personal teacher, then those who are called as "teachers" in the body of Christ.
Stay away from those who claim to be "teachers" and you get a sick feeling in your spirit when you are around them or hearing what they teach.
I know a Christian, who is in the ministry. She began with a true anointing, flowing with the Holy Spirit in some of the gifts of the Spirit. Then, some things happened in her life and she wasn't getting enough meetings and speaking engagements to satisfy her own desires.
First, she turned to "motivational speaking," and it helped her get more speaking engagements for a while. Yet, she was not satisfied, so she continued to pursue other avenues of getting speaking engagements. The more she turned to the worlds system of motivational speaking, the less she experienced the working of the Holy Spirit in her life.
It came to a time when she had problems getting healed when she prayed for healing. When other Christians prayed for her, she still didn't receive healing. So she turned to "a spiritual healer" for healing. She did receive healing when she went to the "spiritual healer." But, her whole life changed, including her attitude toward others in the body of Christ. She became very self-righteous, and self-justifying of her actions.
When we tried to talk to her about some of the things happening in her ministry that were offensive to others in the body of Christ, it was as though she blocked her ears and could not hear what we said. She justified herself in everything she was doing.
Anytime a Christian turns to self-righteousness, self-justification, self-promotion, self-desires, etc. they are on their way to opening themselves up to Satanic operations. Once a person opens themselves up to Satanic operations they are on their way to total deception by the devil.
I was told of a Pastor, who at one time operated in the gift of "a word of knowledge." After years in the ministry, the word of knowledge was no longer working for him. So, he began observing certain individuals before he went up to minister. Then he would call them out, identifying them by certain clothes they were wearing or some other identifying object they had. Then he would speak "kind words" to them, to exalt them. Saying, "the LORD is going to do great things for them..."
At one of his meetings another brother in the LORD was in attendance. He knew in his spirit what this Pastor was doing was not of the LORD. He met with that Pastor alone later and said to him, "that was not a word of knowledge from the LORD." The Pastor said, "I know, but the word of knowledge doesn't work in my ministry the way it use to. I don't want the people to know, so I fake it."
That is not of God, that's the devil speaking to this Pastor's mind and he is following the wrong spirit. This is very dangerous to say the least...
I know of a Christian who at one time had many good experiences with the LORD and the Holy Spirit working with him. But, then he had the idea he was so super-spiritual that he could go into a "witches meeting," and sit with them, and nothing would happen to him because he is filled with the Spirit.
He went to a "witches meeting" and after that meeting he began putting curses upon other Christians who didn't do what he thought they should do, or just plainly didn't agree with him. He said, he cursed some Christians with cancer, and they died of cancer.
Be careful of Christians who think they are super-spiritual and can operate in putting curses upon others. Jesus didn't come to curse Christians, He came to save them.
All of these "false" operations operate from the minds of people, not from their spirit. When Christians start operating in the gifts of the Spirit from their minds, they open the door for other spirits to operate in their lives.
There's another way of looking at James 1:17, which says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Every spiritual gift of the Spirit comes from God, not from man. God operates all the gifts of the Spirit, not man. God only uses man to operate through... If the gift didn't come from God, it was not God, it was man, and sometimes it's another spirit...
Some Christians are so desirous of operating in the gifts of the Spirit that they try to operate without the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is not good to say the least... I was at a meeting one time when the Spirit started setting people free... Some were just praising the LORD. Some even started running and jumping... But, then the person in charge said, "if the rest of you, sitting down, want to get in the spirit, you must start in the flesh and the Spirit will take over..." When he said that I had "a check in my spirit." There is no Scripture for that kind of statement. The Holy Spirit didn't tell him to say that, that was the flesh...
At another meeting I was attending, a minister was teaching on "the Holy Spirit causing holy laughter." The teaching was out of the Psalms. There was nothing wrong with the teaching. I have at times, been in meetings when the Holy Spirit caused people to laugh. It happened to me, and when it happened I could not prevent it, neither could I stop it.
But, after this minister finished his teaching, he went around, doing all he could in the natural to get the people to start laughing. That is not the Holy Spirit, that's the flesh... We need to keep the Holy Spirit in charge of what is manifesting in meetings, not to try to get manifestations ourselves. If there's no manifestations, just praise the LORD! If there are true manifestations, thank the LORD for them...
There are a lot of spiritual manifestations in the churches today that are not of the LORD. It's not the Holy Spirit, it's the flesh, and sometimes it's another spirit sent by the devil. We don't need the flesh or the devil to manifest among Christians. We only need that which is of God...
God works though the spirits of Christians, and Satan works through the minds of Christians. We must become mature in the Body of Christ, that only the Holy Spirit manifests according to His will.
I was at a meeting one time many years ago. At that meeting the person in charge was still in-mature in the things of the Spirit, but wanted to have spiritual experiences. You could say, he desired spiritual operations.
That evening he used 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Then he said, tonight we are going to seek Jesus' face. He instructed those in attendance that they should all get down on their knees and pray. He told them the way to seek Jesus' face was to close their eyes and repeat the words "LORD, we're seeking Your face, LORD, we're seeking Your face..."
Over and over for about an hour this group were on their knees repeating those words. After and hour or so, the leader asked if anyone saw anything while seeking His face? Out of the group, there were a few who told of different experiences. Some told about seeing people doing things out of the ordinary. Others even saw some who they knew, getting into situations, some good and some not so good. Some saw flashes of light, stars, clouds, rays of light, etc.
Each one who claimed they saw something, described what they saw and no one even indicated that what they saw could have been from the wrong spirit realm. Everything was accepted as of the LORD.
This is the way the occult operates in the spirit realm. That is how many in the occult get into contact with their spirit-guides. Once they contact their spirit-guides, then they can receive all sorts of information from the spiritual realm.
This type of contact with the spiritual realm is forbidden by the LORD. Any person who "deliberately tries to contact the spiritual realm with their mind" is in dangerous territory to say the least. Many who try to contact the spiritual realm with their minds know it is not of God in their conscience, in their spirit. Yet, they still continue to experiment with the possibilities of spiritual experiences.
Our human soul is "psychic." It can contact the spiritual realm by using certain methods. All these methods used to contact the spiritual realm are forbidden by the LORD. Christians do not belong contacting the spiritual realm with their mind.
All the true gifts of the Holy Spirit operate as the Holy Spirit wills, not as the individual wills. Christians don't belong doing their own will in the body of Christ. Especially, they don't belong operating in spiritual operations that the Holy Spirit does not inspire. Those who desire to operate in the spiritual realm from their mind are the ones the devil uses to bringing in false manifestations.
In Jeremiah 14:14, it says, "Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart (mind)." Unless the LORD puts the words in their mouth, it's not the LORD, it's another spirit. Be careful of those who tap into the spiritual realm with their mind to receive information. The Bible teaches against it.
OLD TESTAMENT OR
NEW TESTAMENT
There is a major difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the LORD operated with people who were "in Adam." They were "in the flesh" (Rom. 8:9). They lived according to the flesh and lived for the things of the flesh. That's one reason you see so much killing in the Old Testament. The most important thing to them, is what they could have and gain in this world.
For those living after the death and resurrection of our LORD, there is a New and Better Covenant. This New Covenant is based upon better promises. It operates differently than the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was after the flesh, the New Covenant is after the Spirit.
In the Old Covenant, no one was born again of the Spirit, therefore, they did not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them (in their spirit). In the New Covenant Christians are born again and have the Spirit of God dwelling in them.
Many times in our lives we learn by experience, rather than by what someone told us. So it was with me when it came to knowing about faith. It started shortly after I received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
I was having some people over for fellowship and study in the Word of God. One evening we were studying about praying for those who had short arms, that the LORD would lengthen their short arms.
We discovered that there were two people there that had short arms (one man and one woman). They asked if I would pray for them. I really didn't want to pray for them and I even suggested that another person pray for them instead. But, they insisted that I do the praying.
The main reason I didn't want to pray for them was that I had read in Mark 16:17, where it said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe..." In my mind, I did not believe that their arms would come out if I did the praying. I was 100% positive in my mind that if I prayed nothing would happen. Yet, they insisted I do the praying.
I was rather new at praying for others, I started by praying in the Spirit, waiting for something to happen to help me. Nothing happened that I knew of, and I knew if I didn't do something all the others at the meeting would start to wonder, what's wrong? I didn't want to tell them that I was 100% positive that if I prayed for them, nothing would happen. So, after a few minutes, I just simply said, "in the name of Jesus, I command this arm to come out"! Just as I said that, the short arm came out to the same length as the other one.
I was more surprised than anyone else. I just couldn't believe that the arm did come out, but it did. Then the other person was waiting for me to pray for his arm. Again, I was 100% positive that it would not come out when I prayed. Yet, I had no choice, I had to pray for his arm also. Again, I prayed in the Spirit for a few minutes, and then I knew I had to do something so, again I said, "in the name of Jesus, I command this arm to come out"! His arm came out, just like the woman's arm had come out.
I could not understand what happened, especially knowing that I was 100% positive in my mind that it would not work. How could they come out when I was so positive they would not come out.
It took quite some time for me to get information from my spirit as to what happened. Gradually, over a period of time, things would come to me from my spirit, such as look up certain Scriptures. There must have been a number of Scriptures that came to me from my spirit. It came to me a little at a time until I understood "faith comes from God, and it operates from our spirit, not our mind." Believing operates from our mind, but faith operates from our spirit, where God dwells.
Over the years, many Scriptures came to me to see clearly; that, those who are not born again do not have faith (unless God gave it to them, such as Abraham, and others in the Old Testament). Most of the people in the Old Testament did not have faith, all they had was "believing," they believed.
As Christians, we need to know what the Scriptures teach concerning faith, and who has it and how it operates? In Romans 10:17 it tells us, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God." This tells us that "faith comes," not everyone has faith unless it comes... Then it also tells us that faith comes by hearing the "rhema/Word" of God. A rhema word is when the Holy Spirit brings the Word alive in our lives. Not everyone receives a "rhema/Word" from the Holy Spirit. Only those who the Holy Spirit wills to give a "rhema/Word" to. It's not a work of man, it's a work of God.
Then in Romans 12:3 it says, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." God deals to everyone a measure of faith to do what He has called them to do. That doesn't mean "everyone has a measure of faith." It means everyone that God gave a measure of faith to do something has faith to do what God chose for them to do. Many Pastors have used their minds on this verse and said "everyone has faith, God gave it to everyone." That is not true, as we will see...
Then we look at 2 Thessalonians 3:1,2 where is says,
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
Who are these "unreasonable and wicked men" that it is speaking of here? They are those who do not have faith. It says, "for all men have not faith." If all men do not have faith, then why don't they have faith? The answer is, only those who God gives faith to, have faith. Those who God does not give faith to, do not have faith.
But, many have faith and don't know it. They received "faith from God" when they were born again of the Word and the Spirit (John 3:6, 1 Peter 1:23). This "faith" was shed abroad into their heart by the Holy Spirit the same time the "Love of God" was shed abroad into their heart. Romans 5:5 says, "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
All the "fruit of the Spirit" were given to us when we were born again into the family of God. The "fruit of the Spirit" are listed in Galatians 5:22,23. They are, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance." There are nine fruit of the Spirit in total and "faith" is one of them. These fruit came with the New Birth, when we were born again. A person cannot be born of God, without having these "nine fruit of the Spirit" abiding in them. You cannot have a part of God without having all of God. God is not divided, and cannot be divided.
Some will ask, then why don't we see some of these fruit of the Spirit operating in the lives of some Christians? The answer is simply this, many are ignorant of who they are in Christ. Many are without knowledge of how to permit these fruit to manifest. Others are simply operating from their minds, and not from their spirit. The latter is the number one cause for the fruit of the Spirit not manifesting in the lives of Christians.
No matter which of the fruit of the Spirit we look for, none of them manifest unless the person permits them to manifest. We must "walk after the Spirit," for these fruit to manifest. If we walk after the flesh, they will not manifest in our lives. This applies to all of the fruit of the Spirit, including "faith."
Faith operates from our spirit, not from our mind. With our mind we can all believe... And, as Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). Yet, there is a difference between "faith and believing." If there was no difference between the two of them, then God would not use two words, He would only use one of the two. God is not a man that He should lie, neither will He deceive anyone in His Word.
Believing operates from our mind (our soul). Faith operates from our spirit, where God operates from. God gives faith to whosoever He pleases. Therefore, God gave Abraham faith, and Abraham used his faith to serve God. It was the same with everyone who served God by faith, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. they all served God by faith, which God gave them.
But notice something in Galatians 3:23-25,
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
How could faith be "shut up" under the Law? How come "faith didn't come" until after Jesus came? How come "faith is now," but wasn't then? Who is in the control of faith, God or man?
When we understand how faith works, and who controls faith, then we can understand why some have faith and some do not have faith. We can also understand why Christians, who have faith, don't operate in faith.
Why do Christians have problems using their faith? Why doesn't faith work for everyone, all the time? Two reasons... Sometimes, Christians are trying to operate in faith from their mind, not their spirit. Faith operates from our spirit, not our mind. The other reason is, doubt and unbelief hinder faith...
Doubt and unbelief are a work of spirits in our minds, not our spirit. God is in our spirit, there is no doubt or unbelief in our spirit, it's all in our mind (our soul, our heart). Our heart and our spirit are not the same thing. When Jesus said, "...and shall not doubt in his heart..." (Mark 11:23), He was not talking about doubting in our spirit. In Romans 10:9, where it says, "...and shalt believe in thine heart..." it is talking about "believing in our mind" (soul), not our spirit.
The word "heart" in the New Testament, usually means "the innermost part of our soul," or it could also mean "the innermost part of our spirit." Therefore, we must keep everything in context when we want to know if it is talking about the soul or the spirit of man. Knowing the subject of the context we can discern which heart the Scriptures are speaking of when it uses the word "heart."
It's our responsibility to get rid of doubt and unbelief. It's God's responsibility to make faith work. Faith works when we operate from our spirit, where God dwells. Doubt and unbelief operate when we operate from our mind.
How do we get rid of doubt and unbelief? Jesus gave the answer to that in Matthew 17:21, saying, "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Jesus was not talking about the spirit that some of His disciples could not cast out. He was talking about "their unbelief."
It says in Matthew 17:19,20, "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?...And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief..." Jesus was teaching them the same thing that Jude said in Jude 1:20, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost."
Now, why did the arms come out when I prayed and commanded them to come out, even when I was 100% positive in my mind, that they would not come out? Because, at that time I was use to praying in the Spirit a lot. And before I commanded them to come out, I also prayed in the Spirit, first, then commanded them to come out. It's praying in the Spirit and fasting that overcomes doubt and unbelief...
Whenever God does something in our lives, He does it from our spirit, not our mind. Our spirit is where God operates from. Our mind is where the devil operates from.
Let me give another example of how God works "faith," and what we must do to walk by faith. A brother in the LORD, told of how he got started into the full-time ministry. At about the age of thirty, he had been working for a lumber company. Working eight hours a day.
He and his wife made a decision, he had to answer the call of God in his life. He quit his job and partitioned off a small room in a building they had rented to hold church services.
That small room he used as his "prayer closet." Every day he spent at least eight hours praying in the Spirit. He said, if he could work eight hours a day for the world, he could spend eight hours a day working for the LORD, "praying in the Spirit."
For months he was faithful to spend at least eight hours a day, praying in the Spirit. Everything you can imagine came against his mind. Every thing you can think of concerning what he should be doing to provide for his family came at him. The thoughts in his mind were constantly coming against him as he was continuing to pray eight hours a day.
At times, things did not look good in the natural. There was no food in the house, no money to pay the bills, etc. Yet, he kept his commitment to pray in the Spirit eight hours a day.
After some months of every day praying in the Spirit, God begin to show His faithfulness. People would stop by the house and give them groceries and things they needed to live on. As he continued his praying, months and months went by and it seemed as though it was of no avail. Nothing was happening, except he was just continuing to "pray in the Spirit."
Then one day, a woman who he knew came and invited him to attend a meeting of her denomination. Now, her denomination didn't believe in speaking in tongues, but it would be a chance for him to get out of "the prayer closet" for a short time. He decided he would go to the meeting.
While at the meeting, he sat in the back of the room. He had gotten to the meeting a little late, and did not notice that the elderly woman sitting next to him came in using a crutch to walk with. During the meeting, he looked over toward the elderly woman sitting next to him, and it was as though he had x-ray vision. He saw, as it were, her hip socket, it had a dark substance around the ball joint, extending three or four inches down the leg.
As he saw this, he started to pray, "O God, O God, what is this? Do You want me to pray for this woman? What in the world do You want me to do?" God did not respond. After a while he said to the woman, "Ma'am, you have trouble with your hip"! She turned and looked at him, and all of a sudden the word "arthritis" came out of his mouth. Then he said, "it's arthritis in your hip"! She said, "that's what the doctor tells me, young man"! Excited, he said, "God wants to heal you. Ma'am, may I pray for you"? Thinking "he must mean when he gets home," she said to him, "Yes, you may pray for me"!
As soon as she said that he leaped out of his chair, laid hands upon her and prayed. The LORD healed her instantly, and she leaped up shouting and praising the LORD for what God had done. The whole assembly got up in wonder. They had never seen a miracle and healing like that in their church.
Following that meeting, people were healed, and baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. The LORD opened up this brothers ministry that day. He has been flowing in the gifts of the Spirit ever since; healing and miracles happen wherever he goes.
This brother in the LORD still "prays in the Spirit" three or more hours every day. His ministry always has signs and wonders following. For hours, during his meetings, he gets a word of knowledge of problems in the lives of those attending. The LORD always heals those who need healing, and delivers those who need deliverance. True, signs and wonders do follow those who are faithful to continue to "pray in the Spirit."
Another well known brother in the LORD (who is now gone to be with Jesus) said something like this, the LORD appeared to him and instructed him concerning the anointing. The LORD said to him, "if the anointing leaves, fast and pray until it comes back."
"Praying in the Spirit' is a gift to all Christians who are baptized in the Holy Spirit. It is "a personal gift," to help us in every area of our lives. It is from God to help us in our everyday lives, and help us fulfill the calling on our lives. It could be one of the most important gifts God gives to individuals for their personal life.
Let me relate an example from a Christian friend in Ghana, West Africa. He said, for five years, he and a number of his friends would spend all night on Fridays praying in the Spirit. Then on Saturday mornings they would go to a certain hospital and pray for the sick in that hospital.
He told me that for five years, not one person died in that hospital. Every person in that hospital went home healed, not always the same day, but by the next Saturday there were all new patients in that hospital.
Can you imagine, not one person dying in a hospital for five years! That's what "praying in the Spirit" can do for those who will be faithful to "pray in the Spirit." Their faith was built up, so that when they prayed for others or laid their hands upon them for healing, they received healing.
Some may ask, "how can someone pray all night"? Two thing are important, don't try to do it of your own ability, but do it for the LORD. Concentrate upon doing what the LORD wants you to do, not on doing your will of the flesh. The flesh will pull you down. Another thing to keep in mind, don't give into the flesh, don't sit down or lay down, keep walking, keep moving.
Another thing that helps us when praying in the Spirit for hours at a time is "reading the Scriptures while we pray in the Spirit." Remember, when you are praying in the Spirit, it is your spirit that does the praying, not you mind (1 Cor. 14:14). Therefore, you can read the Scriptures with your mind while you are praying in the Spirit with your spirit. This is one of the best ways to pray in the Spirit for long periods of time.
Be careful, not to get into "psychic operations of the mind" at any time. Whether it be while praying in the Spirit or otherwise. Satan will try to get you to use your mind to contact the spirit realm whenever he can. He'll even try when you are "praying in the Spirit." One way Satan uses is called "meditation: thought meditation - imagination meditation - imaging meditation -hypothesis meditation, etc." These are all ways that Satan tries to get a person into the wrong spiritual realm while praying in the Spirit.
Never let Satan have any control in your mind at anytime. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought (noema) to the obedience of Christ." Never open your mind up for the devil. The word "thought/noema" in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is also used to identify a work of Satan in our minds. This Greek word "noema" is also translated "minds" in 2 Corinthians 3:14; 4:4; 11:3; and Philippians 4:7. Satan will try everything he can to get you into the wrong spirit realm, and into false manifestations of spiritual operations.
Many Christians have been taught to operate in the spiritual realm with their mind. The Bible does not teach that. God operates from our spirit, and Christians should also operate from their spirit. We should learn to "walk after the spirit, not after the flesh" (Rom. 8:1-8).
Back to comparing the Old Testament with the New Testament. In the Old Testament times, they were not "born again" of the Word and the Spirit (John 3:6, 1 Peter 1:23). They were not heavenly creatures. They were "of this world," even as Adam was of this world (1 Cor. 15:44-48).
This is still the same today with those who are not "born again." They are still in Adam, in the flesh (Rom. 8:9, 1 Cor. 15:22). They are natural people, not in Christ, not having the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in them. Whatsoever they do, they get their information from their minds, except for when they are alerted by their conscience which is in their spirit.
Everyone has a spirit and a conscience, but only those who are born again of the Spirit have a new spirit, wherein God dwells (Eze. 11:19, 36:26, 2 Cor. 5:17).
In the Old Testament times, some of the Priest', Prophets, and kings had an anointing of the Holy Spirit to help them in their positions. God chose these individuals according to His foreknowledge. Not all the Priest', Prophets, and kings had the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Certain individuals were "led by the Spirit," such as Moses, Caleb, Joshua, etc. But, the position of the Holy Spirit was not the same as we have today, "for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39).
Everyone operated from their mind, according to the thoughts of their minds. Everyone had "a spirit" within them, whereby God could work with them and operate by a witness in their spirit and by alerting them in their conscience.
There is a major difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Therefore, there is also a major difference between the way the world lives and the way Christians should be living.
Christians are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:9). Christians are no longer in Adam, but in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22). Christians are no longer earthly, but heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49). Christians are no longer of this world, but born from above (John 3:6, 17:16). God is no longer with them, He is "in them," and they are in Him.
As our lives were changed from "eternal death," to "eternal life" everything else should change in our lives. Being that the world is no longer our home, we should no longer seek the things of this world (1 John 2:15,16). In Colossians 3:1,2 it says,
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
If God tells us to not seek the things on the earth, then God would not lead us to seek the things of this earth. Somehow, God has a better plan for everything He does in the New Covenant. There's a total difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
First, let us look at what happened when we were born again. We became true Children of God, born of the Word and the Spirit. This makes us "related to God, God is our true Father." This eternal life is the very life of God dwelling in us. We are not God, but we are God's children, born of God into the family of God.
After that we are born again into the family of God, as one of His true children, we should also receive the "baptism in the Holy Spirit," whereas the Holy Spirit comes into our lives with all the powers of God to be used in our lives "as He wills." All the fruit of the Spirit are within us. All the gifts of the Spirit are within us. The fullness of the Godhead dwells in us.
Therefore, being who we are in Christ, the way we live should also be like the way Jesus lived when He walked this earth. Jesus had the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in Him.
Jesus said, "...I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him..." (John 8:26). Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (John 5:19). Jesus said, "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5:30). Jesus said, "I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things" (John 8:28). There are many examples that Jesus gave us from His own life here on earth. He said, "follow Him," meaning "do as He did."
As in the Old Testament times, many people died, not knowing the true and living God of all creation. So it is today, many people die, not knowing the true and living God of all creation. Just as there were many false Prophets and false Teachers in the Old Testament times, there are also many false Prophets today.
We must be careful which group we follow and which voice we hear when they say, they are of God. Some who claim to be Christians are Christians in word only. They are not truly born again. They operate from their mind, their intellect, their will, and emotions.
Some have tapped into the wrong spirit realm, and are doing great signs and wonders, receiving their powers from other spirits. Some are Christians who have gone following other spirits, unknowingly or possibly knowingly.
To some, just to operate in the supernatural is more important than to deny themselves and follow Jesus. Some love the world and the things of this world so much they think nothing of operating in the wrong spiritual realm. They have been blinded by the devil and don't know it.
THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT
There has always been a battle between the flesh and the spirit of man. Galatians 5:17 says, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." Galatians 6:8 tells us, "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
How can we tell the difference between the flesh and the Spirit? It's easy, when you learn the difference between your mind which operates from you head, and your spirit which operates from your belly. But, for many today, they still don't know the difference between what is of God and what is of man.
We should not be ignorant of Satan's devices. Satan always works through our mind, whereas God works through our spirit. When Spirit-filled Christians start to reason in their mind what they hear with their ears or pick up in their thoughts based upon natural understanding, Satan gets an advantage over them. Already in Proverbs 3:5 it tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Our own understanding of natural things will defeat us when it comes to knowing the truth, and that which is from God.
When the Holy Spirit gives us information, it will agree with the Written Word of God, "that which He inspired." When Christians use their natural understanding, and thoughts that come to their minds, they can easily miss the truth and receive from the spirits of this world instead. Let me give you an example of a Spirit-filled Christian who used his natural understanding to teach (not listening to the Holy Spirit from within).
I heard of this preacher saying, "God is going to set up 'Pools of Bethesda' all over the United States." When I heard this, in my spirit I just felt sick. I knew that this did not come from the Holy Spirit.
This preacher is operating from his natural mind, not from his spirit. There are things about that statement that prove that he was not hearing from God.
Number one, he evidently did not study the "Pool of Bethesda" in John 5:1-9,14 in the Greek. Many translations have changed what it says in the Greek to fit their understanding; thereby, making the Word of God of none-effect. Others have left half of verse three and all of verse four out of their Bibles, being they do not understand that the Holy Spirit had purposely put them in the Scriptures for our benefit.
In Jo