The Faith That Moves Mountains

The Faith that Moves Mountains 

               And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. Luk 7:2-10

               What faith from a man that didn't even deem himself worthy to have the Lord set foot in his house! What glorious, rock-solid belief from a man of the Gentiles who didn't even imagine he was worthy to be in the very presence of Jesus!

               Knowing that his beloved servant was dying and all hope was lost, he couldn't even bring himself to go before the Master to ask for this healing. He had to send others to ask in his stead, because he knew he was unworthy to even behold the face of Almighty God, come as a man. And yet, such faith from one that wouldn't dare to even look on the face of Christ! What faith!

               This man was a Gentile, a Roman officer; and yet he had more faith than any of the children of Israel. How could that be?

               He hadn't been brought up in the synagogue, hearing about the coming Messiah. He hadn't received the finest religious education that the Pharisees could offer. He had probably never even heard the word of God spoken, much less preached. And he still had mountain-moving faith! He had saving faith!

               Jesus had come to minister to the people of Israel, not their Gentile occupiers. Later, when asked by a Gentile woman to deliver her daughter from a demon, He would refuse her first request. Jesus was not sent to the Gentiles, and was not at all afraid to turn down their requests for His aid.

               And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Mat 15:22-27

               But still, the Roman officer had the nerve to not only ask Jesus to heal his servant, but to simply speak the word, knowing it would be done at His command. Regardless of who the officer was, or the fact that he was not even Jewish, he had one quality which Jesus responded to. It was the same quality he responded to when the Canaanite woman with the possessed daughter asked Him for His help: it was faith. When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Luk 7:9

               Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Mat 15:28

               Even though these people were unclean, Gentile by birth, and unconverted, their faith was astounding. Even as the children of Israel, with their great knowledge of scripture, debated the who's and why's of Jesus Christ, the uneducated Gentiles knew Him for what He was: the Son of God. And their faith in Him caused Him to move on their behalf and to meet their need.

               Jesus, King of the Jews, became a servant to the Gentiles, just as surely as He was sent to serve the Jews. Why? How? Saving faith. The same faith in Him that caused Him to bless Peter, proclaiming him to be a rock.

               And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Mat 16:16-19

               Any of us that have accepted the Lord's gift of salvation have experienced saving faith, at least once. For many of us, it is that faith that rises up when there is nowhere else to turn. When we finally hit bottom, and have nowhere to look but up. That is generally when we experience saving faith, or what I call desperate faith.

               When we hit our lowest point, the Spirit of the Lord will begin to tug at our heart strings, reminding us that there is someone that can solve the problem at hand. Regardless of the situation, there is someone powerful enough to turn it around, and His love is so intense, that He is willing to get involved in our mess. There is someone that knows our desperation, and is reaching out to us in our time of greatest need.

               You know what I mean. When the last straw falls and breaks the camel's back, there is someone to Whom you can turn.

               It is at this point when a light in our spirit begins to shine, and we positively know that there is a Jesus Christ, and He is standing close by, just waiting for an invitation to help. It is at that moment when we experience saving faith. When the Holy Spirit reveals to us that Jesus Christ did indeed die for us, and He is waiting for us to respond to His offer to help. It is that desperate faith which causes us to run to the One that we have rejected for so long, believing that we could handle our lives without Him.

               And when we finally give in to the urge to turn everything over to Him, and to allow Him to embrace us and comfort us, it is at that point when we finally feel the release of the pent-up pain and frustration. It's like knowing that your big brother is right behind you, begging you to let Him have a talk with that bully that keeps oppressing you, making you fearful and miserable. It's like seeing your big brother step forward, and watching that bully turn and run for cover.

               Relief like that cannot even be described. It has to be felt to be understood. It cannot be effectively enunciated. It has to be experienced.

               And after that desperate faith rises up and we turn it over to Him, we feel like a burden as big as a house has just been lifted off of our shoulders. The peace that comes from that experience is so real and so wonderful that trying to describe it just doesn't do it justice. That is saving faith. Desperate faith at work, bringing about a much needed change and sense of relief from the worry and fear and oppression we've been struggling against.

               Saving faith is not supposed to be a one-time experience. But for many of us, it is just that. We get saved, the crisis passes, and the next time we're in a bad situation, we find that we don't have the faith to believe God for the solution. We've all been there: in a crisis of faith at the worst possible moment in our lives. That is exactly when we need that saving faith, but cannot seem to locate it.

               We all go through it. Even the great men and women of the Bible experienced it. Many of them, on several occasions. Just look at the life of Peter. Or Abraham. Or Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. Hey, I've been there.

               It is at those moments, when I don't even have the strength to pray, that I look for that saving faith and cannot seem to locate it. It seems to have just disappeared. Gone without a trace. Now I'm really in trouble. Not only am I in a crisis situation, but because I have temporarily misplaced my faith, I have become my own god.

               Believe me, that is the last thing I want. I do not want to be my own god. I tried that for a number of years, and I just went from one crisis to another. Eventually, I even misplaced my faith in myself.

               While misplacing faith in yourself would seem to be a huge problem, for me it was actually a blessing. Once I lost faith in myself, I was able to see where my faith really should have been invested all along. In Jesus. Not in Paul. Paul just messes things up. Jesus has never messed things up.

               So how do we go about finding that saving, miraculous faith when we need it? We've already discussed one option. Find yourself in such a low condition, that you have only one place to look: up. I must admit, this is not my  favorite approach. It can be a little hard on the nerves. And on relationships.

               There is another option. We can go running to Jesus before we hit that low point, and allow His faith to carry us through. That is what Martha did when her brother died.

               Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Joh 11:20-40

               Lazarus has died, and neither of his sisters have the faith to believe that Jesus can and will raise him from the dead. Instead, they focus on the fact that it is now too late. God waited too long, and now all hope is gone!

               Not having the faith to believe for their miracle, they do have one redeeming quality. They run to Jesus. Even though their faith is weak, the faith of Jesus carries them through it.

               Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Joh 11:41-44

               We've all done this. I call it a "meltdown". I get into a situation that I don't have the faith to get out of. I begin to struggle with depression, just like Mary. I just sit there instead of running to the Lord.

               Then God sends someone to get me; to motivate me to go searching for Him. Once I do so, I have a meltdown. I just lay it all out, and proceed to tell Him that if He had just acted a little quicker, I wouldn't be in this mess. Sound familiar?

               Even though I do not have the faith to believe for my miracle, His faith carries me through. He acts on my behalf, believing in my stead, and things change. Suddenly I come to the realization that even though my situation stinks, Jesus is moving in the midst of it. Then it dawns on me that if He had acted sooner, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see Him at work. I wouldn't have recognized His miraculous touch in the situation if He hadn't waited until there was no other hope left. And then I  realize that this has been a situation which the Lord was using for my benefit. He was teaching me to hold on to my faith regardless of my situation.

               Of course, there are more proactive approaches to building one's faith. There are ways to build up one's faith before the crisis hits, and so to be prepared for it. Of course, that makes it much easier, and where's the fun in that?

               For those of you that don't like having that kind of fun, you can always build your faith by reading the word on a regular basis.

               So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom 10:17

               Of course, time spent in prayer, especially praying in the Spirit, builds up faith. Especially so, when we ask for more faith.

               And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. Luk 17:5

               But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Jud 1:20

               Faith can also be a gift.

               To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 1Co 12:9

               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. Rom 12:3

               Oh, and by the way, faith is required by God. It is essential to the Christian walk.

               But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6

               And faith helps us immensely in our walk with God, because of the help it give us.

               Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Rom 3:28

                But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  John 1:12

               That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Heb 6:12

               Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Rom 15:13

               And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Mat 21:22

               Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand. 2Co 1:24

               So by faith we receive justification in Christ Jesus; we are made by faith into sons of God; we inherit the promises of God; abound in hope; receive from the Lord; and by faith we stand.

               Oh, and just one more tiny little point.

               And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Rom 14:23

               Faith is our shield against the works of the enemy, so it is the first thing he usually attacks. Stand firm, and hold on to what the Lord has given you. Build your faith through prayer and through the word of God. Use it like a muscle, understanding that it grows larger and stronger with every use. And above all, never surrender it, because the just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17).

               Because faith is a gift from God, there isn't anyone or anything that can take it from us. It must be willingly surrendered. Hold fast and stand firm, knowing that in the end, even the faith of the size of a grain of a mustard seed can move a mountain.

               If you have a mountain to move, speak to it in faith. Then wait expectantly for it to get up and walk away.

For more articles by this author, please go to www.thelighthousespeaks.blogspot.com

              

              

Braiding the Whip

Braiding the Whip

               And the Jews Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when He had made a scourge (whip) of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said to them that sold doves, “Take these things from here; make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise” (John 2:13-16).

               There are some important things that we need to take away from this passage of scripture. First, it was Passover, just like it is today. Second, Jesus, when He found unrighteous behavior in the temple, He didn’t just charge in and drive them all out. He stopped and braided a whip, first.

               Why did He hesitate? He had all power on heaven and earth. Why would Jesus need a scourge (whip) to drive out those that were turning His Father’s house into a den of thieves?

               Saying to them, “It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves.” (Luke 19:46)

               Jesus was famous in Jerusalem. Anywhere He stopped, hundreds of people would gather around to hear the famous healer, teacher, and Rabbi. You can assume that as He sat down and patiently braided His whip that hundreds of people gathered around to see what He was doing. I will guarantee you that everyone in the area knew exactly what the famous Rabbi was doing. Why would He do so? The answer is multi-faceted.

               First, it is the whip that brings discipline.

               For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges (whips) every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chastens not? (Heb. 12:6-7)

               Second, the whip brings repentance. Notice that in John 2, Jesus drives out the money-changers, but He speaks to the sellers of doves, and tells them to remove their wares from the temple. Why didn’t He drive them out as well? They had a repentant heart. Otherwise, He would have treated them like the money-changers.

               Third, the whip brings healing. I know this makes no sense to our logical mind, but it is the truth.

               Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,

should live to righteousness: by whose stripe you were healed. (1 Pet. 2:24)

               It is the striping of the whip that brings repentance, discipline and healing to the Body of Christ. So why did Jesus stop and make a whip before charging into the temple? He was giving them a chance to repent and exit the temple with their wares before He came charging in.

               And notice what He called them in Luke 19:46: a den of thieves.

               Saying to them “It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but you have made it a den of thieves.”

               And what does a thief do on the temple?

The thief comes not, but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10)

I can already some of you saying, “That’s great, but how does this apply to me and to my life?”

               In this day and age, we are the temple.

               Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

 (1 Cor. 3:16)

               The sad truth of it is, that most of us are defiled temples. We build altars to self, altars to Ba’al, and altars to sex and drugs, and altars to wealth, and every other unholy thing.

               If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (1 Cor. 3:17)

               In this Passover season, Jesus is once again braiding the whip. He is giving us a chance to repent, to come before Him once more as purified, and righteous, and clean, as the Bride of Christ. Passover is a special season in the kingdom. It is a time when God looks to see who has the blood of the Lamb on the doorposts of their hearts. It is a season for repentance and coming back into perfect alignment with the Lord. It is a time when we need to destroy every altar in our lives that is not of God.

               For those that are unrepentant, refusing to come back into alignment with their Lord and Savior, they may experience the fourth use of the whip. Notice from John 2:15, that the fourth reason Jesus used the whip was to drive the thieves out of the temple.

               So what, exactly does Jesus consider to be a thief? Anything that steals our destiny in Him. Anything that kills our relationship with Him. Anything that destroys the plans He has for us. It doesn’t matter what it is, or where it comes from. Anything that is operating in our lives that is not of Him is a thief. And Jesus is once again driving the thief out of the temple to bring abundant life to His Body.

               I want to encourage all of my readers to prayerfully observe this Passover season. Search your heart and your spirit. Repent for anything that the Spirit of the Lord reveals to you. Seek forgiveness for the sins in your life. Then take communion. Right there in your home, with your family. Jesus will be looking for the blood on the doorposts. Will He find it at your house?

If you would like to read more articles by this author, please go to www.thelighthousespeaks.blogspot.com.

                www.thelighthousespeaks.blogspot.com

Witchcraft and the Church

Part 5 – The Forbidden Fruit of the Forbidden Tree

               In the last four parts of this series, we have discussed witchcraft in the Body of Christ, spirits of witchcraft, and even gone into some depth as to how witchcraft enters the Body. To fully understand how witchcraft operates, and how it manages to enter into the Body, I think it is extremely important to discover how witchcraft deceives individual believers, and how it enters the lives of our people as individuals. In order to do this, we will travel back to the very first time the Bible records witchcraft being employed against the people of God – in the Garden of Eden.

               The Bible gives us a very detailed account of the events in the Garden, and there is much we can learn from this account. For instance, in Gen. 3:1 we read: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, ‘Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the Garden?’ “

               The first thing we need to understand about this passage is that the serpent is the universally recognized symbol for witchcraft. Secondly, notice how the text describes the serpent, the symbol of witchcraft, as “more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”

               So right off the bat, we understand that the serpent, the symbol of witchcraft, was not a creature God created. At least not in the form we see it represented here. Second, we are told that the serpent is very subtle; more so than any creature on earth. In this sense, “subtil” (Strong’s #H6175) means “shrewd, crafty, or sly”.  So now we know that God did not create this serpent in its present form, and that this serpent, the symbol of witchcraft, is the craftiest, the slyest creature on the earth.

               How does Eve respond to this sly creature? “And the woman said unto the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the Garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the Garden, God hath said ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’ ‘ “ (Gen. 3:3).

               Right away, I can see three major problems, here. First of all, Adam and Eve were given authority over every living thing that moved upon the earth (Gen. 1:28). Why doesn’t she just use that authority to tell this wily beast to stop tempting her? After all, she certainly had the God-given authority to expel it from the Garden, but she didn’t. I’m not sure why she didn’t use that authority, or why we still aren’t using our authority today. We have the same authority over witchcraft, but we make the same mistake she made – we negotiate with it and become deceived.

               The second problem here is that she does not answer truthfully. Check out Gen. 2:17. “But of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” She has perverted the Word of God in her own mind. She has in fact created the world’s first religion. God says don’t eat from the tree; her religion says don’t touch the tree. As in most religions, she has added to the Word of the Lord, rendering the Word of God useless when combating the enemy. Now she has given this serpent room to prove to her that God is a liar. Hang on just a moment and we’ll see this in action.

               The third problem I see here is this: God wanted a relationship with Eve, but in her own mind, she created a religion. Relationship is the way that God reaches out to man on His terms. Religion is the way that man tries to reach out to God on man’s terms. And boy, does it get her into trouble!  But here is the problem with Eve’s religion: relationship is a covenant with God; religion is a broken covenant. Even before the serpent successfully tempted Eve, the relationship had already been replaced in her heart with a religion; a religion of works. It is the broken covenant with God that really gets Eve into trouble, here.

               So witchcraft has begun its’ operations in the heart and mind of Eve. It has exposed the fact that she does not have a relationship with God, but a religion. It has worked its’ way past her defenses, and now is going to negotiate with her. She has given up her God-granted power over the entire earth, and her relationship with God, and is now going to seek illegal power in the form of a forbidden fruit. Sounds a lot like Jezebel, doesn’t it?

               And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:4, 5) The first point that needs to be made here is that she was already like God. She already had what the serpent was promising her. And what’s more, she already had the knowledge of good and evil within her in the form of the Holy Spirit. She didn’t need a conscience of good and evil, because the Spirit of the Lord provides that service for all of God’s children.

But this is the promise that witchcraft makes to all of us. God is lying to you. I can show you how to attain enough power that you will be a god in your own right. And what’s more, she has given the serpent room to prove what he is saying by allowing the lies of religion to replace her covenant relationship with God.

               And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Gen. 3:6).

               Can you picture the scene? The serpent says she won’t die. Her religion says that if she touches the tree she will die. So she hesitantly reaches out to touch the tree, and guess what? She doesn’t die! God has lied to her, and this wonderful new friend of hers has pointed it out, exposing God for the liar that He is!

               This is religion at work. Instead of giving our people the truth of God’s Word, we give them religion and denominational rules that God never intended for us to be bound with. As a result, we give the serpent the opportunity to deceive our people because we have deceived them first. And they blame it on a lying God, when in fact it was us all along. And witchcraft wins again. Sure wish someone had told us that was going to happen!

               And notice what Eve was pursuing in her quest for god-like power: she was pursuing knowledge. I am not saying that the pursuit of knowledge in itself is a bad thing. It is when we get the idea that knowledge is power that the pursuit becomes a manifestation of witchcraft.

               Eve already had the Spirit of the Lord within her. He would have convicted her of any wrong doing. Instead, she needed to satisfy some inner need for power over her own circumstances; to be like God. We do the same thing every day.

               Let’s take one very well known example. Albert Einstein began to pursue the science of the atom in the hopes of developing technology for medical science. After some advances in his studies, he is approached by the U.S. government to develop the technology for them. Well, we all know how that turned out. The x-ray machine was developed, and so was the nuclear bomb. The pursuit of nuclear technology for use in a bomb was witchcraft. The pursuit of the science of the atom for medical use was godly wisdom. The knowledge gained was the same. It was the intent for which it was gained that makes the difference.

               Eve does the same thing. She does not desire knowledge to live a godly lifestyle. She desires knowledge to replace the godly lifestyle she has already been living. After all, if you have become like God, why would you need to obey all those silly rules?

               We do the same thing every day. We don’t need to trust in the Lord to supply all our needs. We can work and save our money and put our trust in Charles Schwaab. We don’t need to have faith in God to heal us. We have health insurance. We don’t need the Spirit of the Lord to lead and guide us, we have that Ph.D. in Divinity gathering dust up on the wall.

               Don’t get offended with me, yet. There is nothing wrong with saving your money, having health insurance, or seeking higher education. That is not what I’m saying. What I’m trying to get across, is that those things can replace God in our lives, and it is at that point that they become witchcraft. Understand?

               How many times have we turned on a Christian Television Network to hear a fire and brimstone sermon promising hellfire and damnation if we don’t repent. I must have gotten saved over fifty times before I truly sought out a relationship with God. Fear is a great motivator; it is also witchcraft. Every time we hear one of those sermons that scares everyone to the altar, we have seen witchcraft in practice in the Church. Don’t tell them about the love of Christ. Don’t tell them about God’s grace. Don’t trust the Spirit of God to bring them to the altar. No, play God yourself. Scare them to the altar. It’s for their own good, anyway. I know it sounds silly in this context, but it happens worldwide every Sunday morning.

               So the lack of truth in Eve’s religion has left an open door for the enemy. She has taken the forbidden fruit. What next?

               And (she) gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat (Gen 3:6f). There we go. Witchcraft strikes again. Wait a minute! What did that say? She gave also unto her husband with her? Adam had been there all along? Yep. Good old Ahab (Adam) was afraid to use his authority to slap that serpent, and then he followed Eve straight into hell!

               One more thing we need to make a special note of here. Witchcraft always works in pairs. One partner will always be the dominant personality and will lead the other around by their nose. In this case, it is the spirit of Jezebel leading the spirit of Ahab. It does work the other way also, though with Ba’al and Ashteroth.

               And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Gen 3:7) Witchcraft always exposes the ugliness of the flesh; the shameful things. We are lied to and deceived; told that if we do this or do that, we will have more power. The truth of it is that all of our power will be taken from us, leaving us exposed to the ugliness of our flesh; filled with shame.

               Before this encounter, Adam and Eve already had all authority on earth, just as Jesus did when He came to earth as a man. How much more power can a person need? Regardless of the fact that they already had what they were seeking, they were deceived. They failed to be wise and vigilant. They stepped into witchcraft without truly thinking it through.

               We do the same. We have all power on Heaven and on earth (Mat. 16:19). We have been sent to this world, just as Jesus was sent to this world (John 20:21), with all the same authority. Yet, most of the Body struggles with witchcraft in one form or another. Just like Adam and Eve, the pursuit for carnal knowledge has surpassed the pursuit for godly wisdom. The pursuit for power over the Church has surpassed the pursuit for brotherly love. The pursuit of religion has surpassed the pursuit for relationship. Need I continue?

               The serpent dangles something in front of us that we have already been given, and we choose to bite. We choose to manipulate the pastor into doing things our way. We choose to use fear tactics to run our home or discipline our children. We choose to lead others astray in our religion instead of leading them down paths of righteousness. We get together on Sunday afternoon and choose to tear up Mr. so-and-so behind his back because he is obviously a sinner and not worthy to be in our midst. We choose to take the Word of God out of context in order to condemn or exclude others. We choose to look down our noses at that young teenage girl who “got herself” pregnant.

               And what is the price for our choices? God is casting down witchcraft. He has declared war on the trespasser in His Garden, and He is going to be rid of it. Those that choose to continue practicing idolatry with witchcraft may find that God turns a deaf ear to them until they repent. They may find that things in their lives don’t go so well until they stop using their mouths to hurt the anointed of the Lord. They may even find that, for a time, the Lord allows them to reap what they’ve sown.

               Ministers that choose to continue to minister through fear and condemnation may find that the Lord dries up their ministries. They may find their own sin issues exposed. They may find that the Lord makes good on His promises to cast Jezebel down from the pinnacle of her temple; their temple. They may find that the fires of God come down and consume everything they’ve built in the name of Ba’al. It might just happen in front of a whole crowd of onlookers or a television audience.

               This is the time to repent and come out of agreement with witchcraft in all its forms, and turn our hearts back to the Father. This is the time when the fear of the Lord will be manifested in the true Body of Christ; those that are Spirit fed and Spirit led. This is the time to search our hearts and ask the Lord to reveal our sin covenants so that we can serve Jezebel and Ba’al a notice of divorce and come back into covenant with Christ. This is that time.

               When God visited His Garden He cast out those that practiced witchcraft and sent His Son to bruise the head of the serpent. If we are saved, living by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, we are in the Garden and the serpent has been cast out. Why are we allowing a half dead snake to poison our Body? This is the time to kill it. God is doing just that. In this season, witchcraft is a dead thing, and the dead cannot affect the living. Let’s act like it.

               Let’s truly become the Church, the Body of Christ. Let’s come back into a state of unity with God and with one another. It’s that time. It’s about time, isn’t it?

               I encourage all of my readers to simply ask the Lord to reveal to you if there are any sin covenants in your life. Then confess your sin and repent. Don’t make excuses. Don’t hide from God. Cast the serpent out of the Garden, and walk with God in the cool of the day once more. It’s time.

               The love of God is greater than any sin you have committed in the name of witchcraft. Don’t make Him come looking for you. You cannot hide from Him. He sees you as you are: His child in need of love and restoration. Accept His love. Ask for restoration. He’s there for you. It’s time to accept His forgiveness and move past witchcraft. It’s time to move back into full blood covenant with Christ Jesus. It’s way past time.

Witchcraft and the Church

Part 2 – Jezebel and Ahab

Jezebel – The Queen of Witchcraft and her Pawn

“And he answered, ‘What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?’ “ (2 Kings 9:22)

               Historically, Jezebel was an actual person, the daughter of a Zidonian king, the queen of Israel, and an avid worshipper of Ba’al (1 Kings 16:31). It is not the historical aspect that I am interested in so much as the spiritual aspect. Jezebel, spirit of witchcraft, is so common in the Church in this day and age, that we must learn how it operates, who it is operating through, and how to stop its’ operations.

               God knew that Jezebel would be a problem in the Church. In Rev. 2:20, He tells us: “Notwithstanding, 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.”

                God was so adamant that Jezebel should not be allowed to operate in the Church that He even goes so far as to promise a special reward to those who use their authority in Him to overcome her. Rev. 2:26-28 says, “and he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the Morning Star.”

               But what are the works of Jezebel? How do we spot her in operation? How do we overcome her? What happens if we just sit idly by instead of confronting her?

               The works of Jezebel, and her partner Ahab, are outlined in 1 Kings 16-22, and in 2 Kings chap. 9. There is more Biblical material about this particular pair than any other adversary of God and man. God gave us an incredible amount of information about her so that we would be able to spot and to stop her in her tracks.

               When it comes to stopping Jezebel, the only option is confrontation. An anointed man or woman of God who is in authority in the Church must confront her. That is the only way. Why? Because one of her main operations is the illegal assumption of power within the Body. How does she pull that off? Let’s take a look at the Biblical evidence, shall we?

               The book of 1 Kings details the lives of Jezebel and Ahab, king and queen of the nation of Israel. The spirits of Jezebel and Ahab have taken the names of these two evil individuals because their operations are the same. We also need to remember that the nation of Israel WAS the Church of their day. Anything which happened to them can also happen to us. She assumed illegal authority in Israel, and has also assumed illegal authority in many churches. How does she do that?

               First, she finds a man in authority. Through manipulation, she bends that man to her will, and begins to assume power that is not hers. We must remember that if there is a Jezebel, there will always be an Ahab. The two work together. Always. No exceptions.

               1 Kings 16:31-33 tells of the coupling of Jezebel and Ahab: And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethba’al (meaning “with Ba’al”) king of the Zidonians (Phoenicians), and went and served Ba’al, and worshipped him. 32 And he reared up an altar for Ba’al in the house of Ba’al which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

               So first off, we notice that Ahab’s first mistake was looking outside the Body (the nation of Israel) for a partner. Why was this such a massive mistake? 2 Cor. 6:14-15 tells us:  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial (satan)? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Rule number one in avoiding Jezebel: seek a mate from among the people of God.

How many Christians do the same thing today? How many of us are willing to accept spouses that are not part of the Body? Or better yet, how many of us yoke ourselves to partners who may come to church but are not serious about God? What happens when we do that? Well, let’s take a look at what happened to Ahab.

               Notice from reading 1 Kings 16:31, that it is only after Ahab couples himself to this wicked woman that he builds a temple and plants a grove for the worship of Ba’al. Now, to be truthful, the worship of Ba’al was common all throughout Canaan during this time. In fact, it was common all throughout the known world, and still is. When we get to the article on Ba’al and Ashteroth, we’ll discuss this more in depth.

               So Ahab makes the mistake of taking a wife from among the heathen. Then he makes the biggest blunder a man can make: he allows her to convince him to worship a false god. Like most new husbands, he was probably willing to do whatever it took to please his new bride, and she took full advantage of it.

               Even as the king of Israel, Ahab did not have the fortitude to stand up to her and say “no, I only worship Jehovah, the one true God.” We see this a lot in this pairing. Ahab never has the strength to stand up to Jezebel. She always gets what she desires from him through manipulation.

               Manipulation can take many forms. It may be sexual favors, as Ahab always struggles with some kind of lust (see the text in 1 Kings 21, where Ahab lusts for the vineyard), and sexual lust is nearly always present. It could have been bouts of tears or displays of temper, or even just persistent nagging. Whatever the type(s) of manipulation used, he will never stand up to her, at least not for long.

               This is one reason why Jezebel is so adept at running the church from behind the scenes. She manipulates her husband to carry out her will, or gets on the board herself and manipulates the pastor or other board members. However she chooses to work, she will always be running things from behind the scenes while it appears to most of those in the area that Ahab is actually in charge.

               I want to stop right here to make a point. The reason that church boards are so vulnerable to Jezebel and Ahab is because they are not a Biblical form of Church government. I know, I just made many of you so angry that you are now red in the face, hurriedly searching for any key that will make this article go away.

               Those of you that have a more even temper, or just a sense of curiosity are saying, “wait a minute! Didn’t the church in Jerusalem have a board of 11 apostles, plus James as the Pastor?” The answer is definitely “yes”, however that particular council of 12 anointed apostles of God does not even come close to resembling most church boards. The council in Jerusalem contained 12 anointed men of God who had all proven their allegiance to Christ, and were called to minister to the nations.

               What do most modern church boards look like? Let’s just think about a few examples. Many church boards are popularity contests. The people with the most friends get elected by the congregation.

My favorite example is the guy who puts the most in the offering plate gets placed on the board by the Pastor. Got to keep those tithe checks coming!

               Or how about this one? The Pastor’s best friend is reserved a seat, regardless of whether he has a call on his life, or not. Or the woman who won’t quit hounding the pastor for a seat is given one just to shut her up.

Every example from above, regardless of how ridiculous it sounds, is taking place in churches all over the nation. And every example from above is an example of Jezebel and Ahab at work. Let’s examine the evidence.

Nowhere in the Word does it give an indication that church board members should be elected by general election of the congregation. Even the 11 apostles in Jerusalem asked for the voice of the Lord before numbering Matthias as one of the 12 (see Acts 1:15-26). The board should be agreed upon by those presently in leadership because of the voice of the Lord on the issue. The Council in Jerusalem was appointed by Jesus Himself, and that is the way it should be today. Jezebel is likely to always be very popular, especially with the women. Women whom do not know what to look for will see her as strong and confident; a woman who runs her household well and gets the desired results. Popularity contests need to be avoided at all costs.

Jezebel and Ahab are likely to be very prosperous, and will almost nearly always be good givers when the offering plate is passed. Although Ahab is a very passive personality type (which he will try to hide with false bravado, see 1 Kings 20:11), Jezebel is driven to have the good life, and will drive him to provide her with the very best. As a result, they will most likely have plenty of money, and giving in large amounts gets her noticed, feeding her vanity (2 Kings 9:31). And giving in large amounts also gives her negotiating room to enforce her will on the pastor (Ouch! Just lost a few more of my readers!)

Board membership because of friendship with those in charge is an invitation for disaster! It has been estimated that 9 out of 10 Pastors deal with the Jezebel and Ahab syndrome in their own homes. As a result, a Pastor with an Ahab issue will always surround himself with Jezebels and Ahabs, and a board of “yes-men”. I can just about guarantee that the guy who is always the pastor’s right hand man (in the instance of a pastor with an Ahab issue) is probably either a Jezebel or Ahab. Satan excels at manipulation, and will try his best to place a Jezebel or Ahab next to any pastor. For safety’s sake, close friends of other board members should not be given any special considerations. And if you are asked to join a board full of “yes-men”, run as hard and as fast as you can!

The person who won’t quit hounding the pastor for a seat on the board, whether for her or her husband, is nearly always a Jezebel. She has a drive for power, and will acquire it at any cost. Conversely, the man that keeps humbly approaching the pastor offering to serve in a position of leadership should be carefully considered in prayer, as Ahab may well be pulling the strings.

Church governmental leaders need to be chosen by the Holy Spirit. The pastor should seek members of the five fold ministry from within his church. If an apostle is not within his own assembly, then the Pastor needs to bring his church under the umbrella of an apostle nearby. Regardless, an apostle should always be present on any board because it is the apostles which are given the responsibility for governing the church (I cite the entire New Testament as a reference). It is also the apostles which build the Church as a body.

A Prophet/prophetess should always be present on any board. It is the prophets which build foundations in people. It is also the prophet that has the necessary gifting to determine whether others are truly hearing from God or just speaking out of their flesh. And the prophet also has the gifting to determine if a false prophecy has been spoken.  Jezebel flows in false prophecy and will endorse, promote and elevate false prophets at every turn (Rev. 2:20; 1 Kings 18:19). 

It is also the prophet/prophetess that is the number one enemy of Jezebel and Ahab because it is the prophet that has the gifting to reveal the unholy operations of this pair in action. Notice the wording of 1 Kings 21:20: “And Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?’ And he answered ‘I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord’ “. Nowhere else in the text does Ahab call anyone else an enemy. Even when he goes to war against neighboring kingdoms, he never calls them HIS enemy. And notice his question: “Hast thou found me?” It doesn’t seem like it would be difficult to find a king! What Ahab was asking, is if the man of God had found him out. It is the prophets of God that are equipped to find and root out Jezebel and Ahab, and to not have a prophet on any church board is just like sending them an invitation to have their way and destroy the assembly.

Evangelists are always an important part of any church government. The evangelist is equipped to minister forgiveness, restoration, and healing to anyone oppressed by this pair and should always be included.

The importance of Teachers in church government is largely under-rated in most assemblies. It is the teacher that builds godly foundations in our people so that they will have the inner strength and wisdom not to become a victim of witchcraft in the first place.

One of the primary goals of any spirit of witchcraft is the breaking of covenant relationship. We see this twice displayed in the story of Jezebel and Ahab. First, she convinces him to break covenant with God by  building a temple and an altar to Ba’al, then she convinces him to break his covenant with the children of Israel by allowing her to assume his rightful authority in order to satisfy his lust (1 Kings 21).

And then there is the inevitable lust for power, which is ALWAYS present in Jezebel, even though it may not be so easily seen. In the text of 1 Kings 21 she assumes Ahab’s rightful authority and has one of his subjects killed. In Rev. chap 2, she assumes the teacher’s position, and teaches the Church unrighteousness and prophesies falsely. Either way, it is always her goal to acquire a position of authority in the Body. It is of paramount importance that any Pastor or member of church leadership only delegate their authority after prayerful consideration. Any authority delegated to Jezebel will cause no end of problems within the Body.  

So how do we deal with Jezebel and Ahab once they have taken power in a Body? They must be dethroned by a man or woman of God with the anointing and the authority and the will to do so. If you are a pastor of a body that is struggling against Jezebel and Ahab in the ranks, I would suggest that the first thing you do is to prayerfully check your own household. Sorry, no offence meant. Then I would suggest that you sincerely ask the Lord to send in the anointed man or woman of God that He has chosen to use to orchestrate deliverance in your assembly. This must be someone that is not afraid to deal with deliverance on a large scale. He or she should also have the anointing, experience, and will to do so!  And you must be willing to step down from the Pastor’s position for long enough to receive deliverance and restoration counseling. It is a big commitment, but the health of the entire Body is at stake!