The Holy Spirit, the flesh, and the demonic

 

The devil offers a counterfeit of that which God also offers.  The Holy Spirit, the flesh, and the demonic are usually around:  All three of them – every where, every day.  This is true in church also. All three attend stiff churches where neither God nor the Devil are manifesting at all in anyone.  God is not the only one who comes to church.  People come too.  They bring their flesh.  Demons come also.  They may manifest as they are leaving a person, but at least they left.  So you have to learn how to flow in the Holy Spirit when you have the flesh and the demonic around you.  

 

  1. Being judgmental and critical will not help you flow in the Holy Spirit.
  2. Doing nothing and lacking the power of God manifesting in your meetings is disobedience to Christ’s miraculous commands.  
  3. Do not stumble, or cause stumbling:
    1. Submit to local church leadership with regard to debatable matters, like extra-biblical manifestations.
    2. Recognize when you are in an “anything goes” atmosphere, and either leave or relinquish the need to judge or control others.
  4. Do not be in fear of “getting a demon”, especially if you are not living in sin.  Demons like to inhabit people who do things that demons like to do.  Demons like fear/stress/worry/anxiety, judgment, criticism, blaspheming the Holy Spirit by attributing his work to the Devil, seeking a sign, jealousy, and any other kind of sin. Avoiding demons has to do with avoiding sin, not with avoiding demonic manifestations.
  5. Walk in love towards the demonized and even toward those practicing counterfeit signs and wonders (few).  Jesus and his disciples did.
  6. Focus on Jesus, not on the way that someone else responds to their flesh, the devil, or the Holy Spirit.

 

Do not receive every spirit

Could it be that a few individuals in a few churches have opened themselves up to occult powers by seeking the gifts of the Holy Spirit more than the Giver?  The purpose of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit is to strengthen the Church in its obedient pursuit of the great commission.  Seeking the gifts at the expense of obedience can open one up to other spirits. Signs and wonders should follow us.  We are not to follow them.  

 

Extra-Biblical Manifestations

I have not found the following manifestations spoken of in scripture in a positive light:

 

  1. roar like a lions
  2. massage the wall with their body
  3. Speak or make noises supernaturally
    1. Multiple voices, or noises coming out of one person (like Charles Manson)
    2. Incredibly accurate bird calls and animal noises (like African witchcraft)
  4. The preacher acts drunk and sings rock and roll songs instead of preaching the word.
  5. Blame God for a maladaptive “spirit of stupor, slumber, or drunkenness” that lasts for days, months, or even years.

 

 

Read for yourself to see if you think that many of these un-biblical manifestations were prophesied in God’s word (see long scriptures at bottom). 

 

Response

Keep in mind that biblical manifestations of the Holy Spirit (such as speaking in other tongues) are also seen in these circles. Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Paul did not command the Corinthians to quit the Pentecostal experience, but encouraged them to use the gifts of the Spirit more wisely—or biblically.  You need the fullness of the Holy Spirit in order to obey God’s individual and collective commands to eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, so that we can all be empowered to fulfill the great commission.

 

 

 

 

 

The Devil’s Counterfeit?

 

Does this group of scriptures prophesy some of the weirder manifestations that have occurred within the “New Wine”, “Holy Laughter”, or “Toronto Blessing” movement?

 

Isaiah 5:20-29

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
        Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
        Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 
        Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
        And prudent in their own sight! 
        Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
        Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
        23Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
        And take away justice from the righteous man! 
        Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble,
        And the flame consumes the chaff,
        So their root will be as rottenness,
        And their blossom will ascend like dust;
        Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
        And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
        25Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people;
        He has stretched out His hand against them
        And stricken them,
        And the hills trembled.
        Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. 
        For all this His anger is not turned away,
        But His hand is stretched out still. 
        He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
        And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
        Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
        27No one will be weary or stumble among them,
        No one will slumber or sleep;
        Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed,
        Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
        28Whose arrows are sharp,
        And all their bows bent;
        Their horses' hooves will seem like flint,
        And their wheels like a whirlwind.
        29Their roaring will be like a lion,
        They will roar like young lions;
        Yes, they will roar 

30 In that day they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks at the land,
he will see darkness and distress;
even the light will be darkened by the clouds


Isaiah 35:8-9

A highway shall be there, and a road,
        And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
        The unclean shall not pass over it,
        But it shall be for others.
        Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
        Shall not go astray.
        9No lion shall be there,
        Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
        It shall not be found there.
        But the redeemed shall walk there,

       

Isaiah 29:9-10

The Blindness of Disobedience
9 Pause and wonder!
        Blind yourselves and be blind!
        They are drunk, but not with wine;
        They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
        10For the LORD has poured out on you
        The spirit of deep sleep,
        And has closed your eyes, namely, the prophets;
        And He has covered your heads, namely, the seers.

 

 

Jeremiah 51
1 This is what the LORD says:

"See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer
against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. [1]
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon
to winnow her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
in the day of her disaster.
3 Let not the archer string his bow,
nor let him put on his armor.
Do not spare her young men;
completely destroy [2] her army.
4 They will fall down slain in Babylon, [3]
fatally wounded in her streets.
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the LORD Almighty,
though their land [4] is full of guilt
before the Holy One of Israel.

6 "Flee from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the LORD's vengeance;
he will pay her what she deserves.
7 Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand;
she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
therefore they have now gone mad.
8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.
Wail over her!
Get balm for her pain;
perhaps she can be healed.

9 " 'We would have healed Babylon,
but she cannot be healed;
let us leave her and each go to his own land,
for her judgment reaches to the skies,
it rises as high as the clouds.'

10 " 'The LORD has vindicated us;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the LORD our God has done.'

11 "Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes,
because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
The LORD will take vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,
prepare an ambush!
The LORD will carry out his purpose,
his decree against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by many waters
and are rich in treasures,
your end has come,
the time for you to be cut off.
14 The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself:
I will surely fill you with men, as with a swarm of locusts,
and they will shout in triumph over you.

15 "He made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 "Every man is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
His images are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,
including the tribe of his inheritance-
the LORD Almighty is his name.

20 "You are my war club,
my weapon for battle-
with you I shatter nations,
with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,
with you I shatter chariot and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
with you I shatter old man and youth,
with you I shatter young man and maiden,
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
with you I shatter governors and officials.

24 "Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia [5] for all the wrong they have done in Zion," declares the LORD .

25 "I am against you, O destroying mountain,
you who destroy the whole earth,"
declares the LORD .
"I will stretch out my hand against you,
roll you off the cliffs,
and make you a burned-out mountain.
26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
nor any stone for a foundation,
for you will be desolate forever,"
declares the LORD .

27 "Lift up a banner in the land!
Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
summon against her these kingdoms:
Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.
Appoint a commander against her;
send up horses like a swarm of locusts.
28 Prepare the nations for battle against her-
the kings of the Medes,
their governors and all their officials,
and all the countries they rule.
29 The land trembles and writhes,
for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand-
to lay waste the land of Babylon
so that no one will live there.
30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting;
they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Her dwellings are set on fire;
the bars of her gates are broken.
31 One courier follows another
and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
that his entire city is captured,
32 the river crossings seized,
the marshes set on fire,
and the soldiers terrified."

33 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

"The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest her will soon come."

34 "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us,
he has thrown us into confusion,
he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
and then has spewed us out.
35 May the violence done to our flesh [6] be upon Babylon,"
say the inhabitants of Zion.
"May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,"
says Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:

"See, I will defend your cause
and avenge you;
I will dry up her sea
and make her springs dry.
37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,
a place where no one lives.
38 Her people all roar like young lions,
they growl like lion cubs.
39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,
so that they shout with laughter-
then sleep forever and not awake,"
declares the LORD .
40 "I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.

41 "How Sheshach [7] will be captured,
the boast of the whole earth seized!
What a horror Babylon will be
among the nations!
42 The sea will rise over Babylon;
its roaring waves will cover her.
43 Her towns will be desolate,
a dry and desert land,
a land where no one lives,
through which no man travels.
44 I will punish Bel in Babylon
and make him spew out what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
And the wall of Babylon will fall.

45 "Come out of her, my people!
Run for your lives!
Run from the fierce anger of the LORD .
46 Do not lose heart or be afraid
when rumors are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
rumors of violence in the land
and of ruler against ruler.
47 For the time will surely come
when I will punish the idols of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced
and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
will shout for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north
destroyers will attack her,"
declares the LORD .

49 "Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain,
just as the slain in all the earth
have fallen because of Babylon.
50 You who have escaped the sword,
leave and do not linger!
Remember the LORD in a distant land,
and think on Jerusalem."

51 "We are disgraced,
for we have been insulted
and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
the holy places of the LORD's house."

52 "But days are coming," declares the LORD ,
"when I will punish her idols,
and throughout her land
the wounded will groan.
53 Even if Babylon reaches the sky
and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
I will send destroyers against her,"
declares the LORD .

54 "The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction
from the land of the Babylonians. [8]
55 The LORD will destroy Babylon;
he will silence her noisy din.
Waves of enemies will rage like great waters;
the roar of their voices will resound.
56 A destroyer will come against Babylon;
her warriors will be captured,
and their bows will be broken.
For the LORD is a God of retribution;
he will repay in full.
57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep forever and not awake,"
declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty.

58 This is what the LORD Almighty says:

"Babylon's thick wall will be leveled
and her high gates set on fire;
the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames."

59 This is the message Jeremiah gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon-all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, 'O LORD , you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate forever.' 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64 Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.' "

The words of Jeremiah end here.

 



 

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