Scripture: Isaiah 53 v 4: "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
1 Corinthians 2 v 13 - 15: "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."
Until we learn and understand what the Holy Spirit teaches us about spiritual matters in our newly awakened and alive spirits, we make assessments based on our natural experience, and are mostly wrong! The Spirit of God working in and through us is very different to how our carnal mind perceives situations.
In Isaiah 53 is the prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus and in this verse He took upon Himself willingly all our hurts, grief and sorrow. Those who crucified Him believed Him to be sinner worthy of death under Jewish and Roman law. He was no-one special to them as they had crucified thousands of people by then.
We likewise judge those who are going through hard times and suffering, to have God's wrath upon them! Many times the struggle they are having is on behalf of others they are praying for. Romans 15 v1 says we who are strong must bear the burdens of the weak. In bearing those burdens we sometimes sag under the weight and are judged unfairly as being punished for some sin.
People may also appear afflicted when they are being released from bondage as the demons leave. Some demons have to be removed slowly because of an ancestral curse so the person seems to have many long afflictions. People who have been deeply involved in the occult or satanic practices need to be aware of this.
When demons leave your soul and body they manifest their nature on their way out. If you were subject to rages and tantrums, there will probably be a big rage episode when it finally departs. It (the demon) is furious that it is being sent back to Hell and that it has lost its grip on you. It faces dire punishment for failure to carry out Satan's will. The peace and calm within you after it leaves will be with you forever. Just give all praise and glory to Jesus for setting you free. It is His perfect answer to Anger Management.
Seek God's face for answers as to why people are afflicted before you make a false judgment or wrong perception. You may be surprised at what He reveals and how He leads you to pray. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit you receive gifts that help you perceive correctly.
The "word of knowledge" is when you need insight into someone's problems who has turned to you for help. The Holy Spirit drops a single word into your mind that not all the books of psychology or wisdom can give you. Years of therapy with little victory can change to instant relief when our Creator touches our lives with His power through His people being obedient.
So let us turn from wrong perceptions to true spiritual ministry, from trying to assess people through unenlightened carnal minds to allowing the pure truth of God to bring miracle healing to each one who is part of the Body of His Son.
Pastor Dave Hunt authored a book in the 1980's called "The Seduction of Christianity". He was alarmed at the 'Christian Psychology' that had invaded the Church in America and spread across the globe. Psychology was replacing Biblical ministry and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
From about that time the Lord had blessed me with the Holy Spirit gifts of discerning of spirits of good and evil, the word of knowledge and given me boldness to deal with demons. It is so much easier and costs nothing to work with God to set the captives free.
Two men visited me one Saturday morning. One needed prayer ministry the other was his friend. One way of discerning spirits is when you get a sharp pain in your head or back and while praying for the man I got this bad pain in my back. I asked him if he suffered from back pain. He said no. His friend said he had severe back problems.
I prayed for him laying hands on his back. He was instantly set free. He told me he had been boarded, unable to work, for 19 years but was going to go back to his job first thing on Monday. When you see it happen in front of you you know that Jesus is alive doing what He has always done. Healing the sick and casting out demons. All the glory belongs to Jesus.
Psychology can describe the effects of demons perfectly, it just can't fix them. If you are in the throes of manic depression and suicidal tendencies, seeing a psychiatrist is like putting band aid on gangrene. There is a demon in your head that loves tormenting you and driving you to suicidal thoughts.
Alcoholism is a demon. Alcohol is even called spirits. You can be fined or jailed for driving a vehicle under the influence ..... of alcoholic spirits. You will is bound when one of these demons gets loose in your soul. The demon will push you to behave erratically, violently, recklessly until you have alienated family and friends. Only Jesus can destroy its hold over you.
Through psychology and many books people do not believe demons exist. Prisons and asylums are full of people needing to hear the truth. They can be set free, sometimes instantly, other times gradually. In Exodus the Lord says little by little will I drive them out from among you.
Exodus 23 v 27 - 30: " I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land."
All these tribes were under strong demonic influence so the Lord wanted them driven out of the Promised Land or there would be conflict, war and never ending problems. Little by little they were overcome. It is similar to deliverance now.
These alien spirits, evil unclean spirits, are inherited or find a way into your soul like germs, bacteria, fungi or viruses enter your body and cause disease. Before we are born again we are sinners who do not know about divine protection. We collect 'baggage' through involvement in drugs, alcohol, the occult, witchcraft, books, movies, free sex, some types of music, cults, crime etc.
Demons take control as they have taken control of governments. The government's are increasing demonic control over their citizens. Borders are increasingly porous and criminals, terrorists, false prophets invade. Demons control churches and various denominations through traditions, decrees, synods, that depart from the truth in the Bible.
We are under attack all the time but have wrong perceptions about where the attacks are coming from. Study the Bible until you get the whole picture. Satan is defeated but refuses to accept it. He wants to blow the whole world up in a nuclear war. Communist Regimes like North Korea are begging to nuke Washington D.C.
Marching for peace, protesting against transgender transformation of children in schools rattles the cages but does not stop the rot. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He said I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me!
Jesus has given us spiritual weapons to clean up the demonic principalities .... The aliens Hollywood enjoys making movies and series about. From Klingons to Area 51, aliens are amongst us. We have figurines of them in our children's bedrooms. He Man etc. Idols that open our minds, souls and flesh to demonic invasion.
Dementia means controlled by demons. How do we fight against these things? James says Submit to God, resist the devil, he will flee.
Submit to God means be born again, baptized in water and then in the Holy Spirit. Sins are cleansed through the Blood of Jesus. Only then can you resist, fight, cast out, bind the Devil. Only then will he flee. We have a free will. It's our choice to live in the freedom Jesus gives us or not.
Acts 19 v 13 - 16: "Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
Satan knows who are born again Christians. His demon said Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you? And he did not flee, he attacked. This is real. We are in the war zone slumbering, ignorant and perishing. Jesus loves us, He gave us the power to deal with every spirits. We need to rise up in prayer and ministry to overcome the world and set the captives free.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, as Jesus carried our burdens so must we learn to help those who are struggling. Change our wrong perceptions about them so we can be more like You. Let us wisely use the precious gifts You have given us so we can discern correctly the way You do and teach others. Freely we have received and must freely give. In Jesus' name. Amen.