Sunday Words of Encouragement May 7, 2023 - Battling Evil Spirits

We shared prayer requests as always this morning. Then our guest Sunday School speaker from last week finished his lesson from Luke 18 and 19.  God wants us to trust Him.

Our church service started with lovely worship and a move of individuals to praise and give thanks to an Almighty God who has no equal.

Pastor’s sermon was titled “Battling Evil Spirits”. It started in Ephesians 6:12 but included many other scriptures. Sometimes our lives seem like we are on a roller coaster. We are up and down with good and trouble. We need to remember that we are fighting a spiritual enemy. The enemy wants to divide us by attacking each other. This is true in families, church, and nations.

A big area that Satan takes advantage of is the anger and bitterness of unforgiveness.  2 Corinthians 2:10-11. Jesus tells us to forgive as God has forgiven us. We are to pray for enemies. We need to give forgiveness before asked, not just when we are asked. Unforgiveness can cause resentment against church members, the church at large and even against God. Unforgiveness can damage the church.

Make sure you are forgiving. Remember that love keeps no grudges. 1 Corinthians 13:5.
Set your mind on things of God not of the world. Peter tried to rebuke Jesus for telling what he would suffer, but Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’ because he was thinking on human concerns. Mark 8:31-33.

We won't always understand. Jesus rebuked his disciples when they wanted to punish a town for rejecting him. He said to his disciples: “But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Luke 9:55.

There are times we do the right thing with the wrong attitude, because it is from a wrong spirit.
A friend admonished our pastor once because he noted he was preaching from frustration instead of compassion. The message was right but given in a wrong spirit.

There are many improper spirits such as anger, immorality (Revelation 2:12-20), and imposters (2 Timothy 3:12-13) . “…[E]vil doers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” There is an antichrist spirit that appears to be right but is evil. Matthew 7:21-23. We must ask the Holy Spirit for discernment so that we can judge leaders by their fruit not just by their appearance. Those who are not repentant for trouble and are always blaming others may be deceived by their own pride.

Then there are people who are oppressed by those evil spirits. This can occur when the church or people tolerate the spirit of the imposter, Jezebel. Our inner beings need to be aligned with God so we can know if a situation is being directed by a wrong spirit. Division is not of God.

There are many spirits to avoid and here are three evident in our world today:
The Spirit of Jezebel: a manipulative spirit more interested in controlling the process than caring for the person. (The church needs to return to modesty.) This spirit undermines the authority of God.
The Spirit of Absalom: This spirit possesses a desire to be in authority, but not with any kind of purity of heart. It typically harbors camouflaged bitterness, unresolved offenses, disappointments, and anger. It thrives on hidden agendas and wars against leadership.
Absalom was the third son of King David. Absalom took offense to the wrong done to his sister Tabor and instead of allowing proper justice, he went into rebellion. He wanted to take over the kingdom so he stole the hearts of the people away from King David. He presented himself to the people as a servant but really brought anarchy.

The Spirit of Python: Pythons constrict their prey, cutting of their breath and suffocating them. This spirit is revealed in the story of Paul meeting a girl with a spirit of divination. Acts 16:16-24. She was exhorting the public to listen to Paul but her actions were muting his message - restricting the breath of the Holy Spirit. This spirit can be seen in outside voices speaking to teens but stealing the voice and impact of their parents.

Remember to forgive and clothe yourself in spiritual armor.

I had a song in mind but couldn’t find the one.
So I found this and it fits today’s message:
Now It’s Our Turn.

Verses for Today:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.


Lord, please fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me to be discerning of spirits around me.