DISCERNMENT:

LEARNING TO SEPARATE

THE HOLY & THE PROFANE

An 85 page teaching from Sandy Warner

SWauthor@usa.net

www.thequickenedword.com

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OUTLINE

PART ONE - WHAT IS DISCERNMENT?

I.  DISCERNMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

A. What is Discernment?

1. B. We are to Discern Spiritual Food

   C. We are to Discern Prophesy

   D. We are to Discern Spirits

   1. the spirit of man

   2. the Spirit of God

   3. angelic spirits

   4. demonic spirits

        E. We are to Discern Fruits

        1. false apostles

        2. ravening wolves

        3. thorns & thistles

        4. grapes & figs

II.  DISCERNMENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

A. Who used the gifts to discern?

1. Kings Discerned

2. Elders Discerned

3. Prophets Discerned

4. Watchmen Discerned

5. Priests Discerned

III.  DISCERNMENT IN THE LAST DAYS

A. The Need for Discernment

B. Exposing the Enemy Plans

C. Pitfalls of Discernment

1. Judging

2. Condemning

3. The dilemma of discernment

4. A watchman’s downward spiral

D. Overcoming the Pitfalls

1. Article on overcoming word curses and judgments

2. Standing in the gap

3. Two kinds of "throne room ministry"

IV.  THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF DISCERNMENT

A. Become like Jesus

B. Kings & Priests

V.  DISCERNMENT LEADS TO A FORK IN THE ROAD

A. Summary of Above

B. The Decision

C. The Choice

PART TWO - HOW DO WE  DISCERN?

I.  ABOUT THE SUPERNATURAL

A. Exposed to the Supernatural

B. Pursuing the Supernatural

C. Making Decisions About the Supernatural

II. ABOUT DISCERNING PEOPLE

A. Discerning the Gifted Vessel

B. Separating the Gray of the Vessel

C. Giant and Flesh List

D. Giants, Thoughts and the Enemy

III. ABOUT DISCERNING EVIL SPIRITS

A. Rebuking enemy thoughts

B. Discerning counterfeit spirits

C. Renouncing occult participation

D. Discerning enemy dreams and visions

IV. ABOUT DISCERNING A MESSAGE

A. Discerning misunderstanding

B. Discerning the message

1. Quickening

2. Revelation

3. The good and perfect gift

4. In Jesus’ Likeness

5. The nature of His Words

V. ABOUT KNOWING GOD

1. The list of the character and nature of God

2. List of discernment questions

PART THREE

I.  SUMMARY

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PART ONE - WHAT IS DISCERNMENT?

I.  DISCERNMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

A. WHAT IS DISCERNMENT?

Discernment in the Greek language means judicial estimation, discern, disputation. It comes from a word meaning to separate thoroughly, withdraw, oppose, discriminate, decide, hesitate, contend, make to differ, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver. (#1) So if you wrestle with wavering in what you discern, now you know why. These words describe the process the receiver of discernment goes through! When the discerner is confronted with something that appears good on the outside, but isn’t, it becomes a stumbling block to his spirit. His flesh sees good signs, but his spirit is disputing, opposing, hesitating, contending, differing, doubting, staggering, and wavering against the outward appearance. Discernment is an internal war as one grapples to line up what they perceive, with Who God is, and what is being offered.

In the Bible, we have numerous examples in the Hebrew & Greek language revealing that discernment is connected to words having to do with the judicial process. Further on, there will be a bible study to reveal this. The bottom line is that discernment is like a pair of judicial balance scales. A person carefully weighs evidence, both pro and con. They separate the evidence into two piles…. Good and evil, right and wrong, true and false, holy and profane, etc.

Note that discernment is the actual PROCESS of separating into two piles, it is NOT the decisions based upon what is separated. As compared to a judicial court case, the word discern would be equivalent to the process of hearing a case and separating the evidence. Discernment would be separating the facts, good and bad, then distributing them into 2 piles. In one pile would be the bad and on the other would be the good. This process is like what a jury goes through to deliberate evidence. The jury does not have the power to pass a sentence of punishment for the results of lawlessness. They merely separate the facts and decide whether someone is innocent or guilty.

B. WE ARE TO DISCERN SPIRITUAL FOOD

When we receive spiritual food, through any means, we are to chew the good and spit out the bones. This happens when we separate what is from the Lord, from the enemy and from flesh. The following are 3 different translations of the scripture about discerning spiritual food. Each are worth reading to get a better understanding on discernment.

Heb 5:12-14 NLT "You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right." "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb 5:14 NKJV) "But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law." (Hebrews 5:13,14 AMP) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Numbers to the Greek words:   But solid [4731] food [5160] belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use [1838] have their senses [145] exercised [1128] to discern [1253] both good [2570] and evil [2556].

SOLID FOOD

As a baby grows, eventually he or she comes off pure milk and needs solid food and meat to grow strong and healthy. During the breakdown of food in the stomach the particles separate. The good part is sent to the cells, the waste is sent away.

Discerning spiritual food is similar to the process of digesting various Words from the Lord, through an impure or a mixed source, including our own distorted perceptions. First we separate what we hear by pondering it in bite size pieces. After we swallow, the food unravels or separates mixture: nutrient vs. waste. The nutrient feeds our relationship with the Lord, and the waste is unused and discarded.

As an example of this lengthy discernment process, I went through a long blind season when I couldn’t see what the Lord was doing in my life. At first I questioned what was happening, and the Lord told me it was a season of "winging it on in." Having little idea of what that meant, I continued to plod through my days. The season stretched on and on and I began to doubt if I heard the Lord about the season and if I was in His will. I was at a loss and could not discern the answer. Prior to this time, I had received a little bird house for Christmas. The inscription said, "Wing on in." So when the Lord had said, "Wing on in" I thought of that birdhouse. I interpreted it to be something like, "Fly by the seat of your pants!" That didn’t sound too great to me. It was solid food, (strong meat) and I wasn’t sure I liked chewing it.

Later I began to complain about being so blind and without understanding, and finally His 3-fold answer came to me. One night I was watching Star Trek about Diana Troy who had lost the gift of her unique intuition. She said it was as though she had lost her sight and had become blind. (That grabbed my attention because I had been complaining how blind I was to the Lord.) They said her loss was an opportunity to develop her other assets and make them stronger. So my first answer was "OK, He has put me in a blind season to help me develop other capabilities."

That night as I was pondering this answer, I flipped through some magazines and read two stories. The first one was about a student who was painstakingly learning to write the alphabet. The letters seemed almost perfect to the student. He held his breath waiting for the instructor’s feedback. "No, no, you are trying too hard!" the instructor said in exasperation. "There is no feeling." He took the student down the hall into a darkened classroom. "Now work here in the dark" and closed the door. Stunned, the student sat there fumbling with the pens. But gradually he began to relax and let his feelings rather than his eyes guide the pen. He began to let his creative side take over and felt the freedom of expression. He was no longer struggling to perfect his movements. He let the process flow.

I thought about how this applied to me. The words wing on in, inner abilities and now creative side seemed to have something in common. It still shouted fly by the seat of your pants! But what for? I thought, like the student writer, maybe I had been too uptight about discerning His will in my life. Maybe He wanted me to learn to relax and trust that He was leading me on the inside, in my conscience.

The last story was about a young girl who landed a small airplane because her father had a heart attack. Not knowing specifically how, but being a passenger many times in childhood, she operated the plane by a little knowledge and memories. When she approached the runway she knew she was going too fast to make the landing in a difficult cross wind. She closed her eyes to all the dials and buttons and listened to the motor. At first she would slow down too much, then would readjust her speed. She finally heard the right pitch to the motor and subconsciously knew it was right and landed successfully.

Thinking through this second story, I again saw the connection with "wing on in, inner abilities and creative side" but literally added, "Fly by the seat of your pants!" However this time I realized the girl wasn’t using just her instinct to come up with guesswork. She was NOT making uneducated choices. She had been trained and educated in past experience, she just hadn’t realized it.

Finally the three stories came together and I realized He wanted some hidden training I’d had in my past to come to the surface and become stronger. That was enough for me! Realizing I was in the Lord’s will, I was just going to have to tough it out and hang in there. I needed to stop struggling with this season, knowing He was silently with me in this sightless place and I was to hang in there until it was over.

When I went through this process to unravel the three stories that night, (Diana Troy, the student writer, and the pilot) a crimson thread of blindness tied them together: lost insight, placed in a darkened room and flying with closed eyes. They matched my situation (were quickened) and I knew (revelation) the Lord was trying to answer my complaints. But the process of how I figured out WHAT He was saying was discernment. It was just like digesting the good parts of the stories that were pertinent to me, and discarding the rest. That process took effort on my part to think it through.

Digestion, using the helpful and discarding the waste, takes time. To run a long race you need the strength of muscle which is built by protein. Protein or meat is not quickly assimilated into the body. Meat takes longer to break apart and be assimilated, in order to release energy. In comparison to the quick burst of His quickening energy of something sweet, God gives us something to discern (meat to chew on) to give us strength to run the race.

When the Lord quickens solid foods, the energy received is not a quick burst as from milk, but a gradual process of increased strength. Therefore the quickening and revelation of solid food is not easily identified as milk. The quickening of spiritual mild is an instant, "OH that fits!" and "OH, that’s Him!" Solid food doesn’t give a quick OH! Rather, it’s an "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" It’s the same Holy Spirit, and the same quickening and revelation, but one takes longer!

In the previous example of the three stories, there is a difference between quickened "milk" Words from the Lord and quickened solid food from Him. The night I received the answer to my questions was milk - they were concepts, like blindness and instinct, that were quickened right on the spot. I knew (revelation) He was talking to me. Now that’s the kind of Words we like to hear from Him all the time! Quick and easy.

However, the original Word from Him was, "Wing on in," and that was not quickened at the time, rather it caused me to question what it meant, and eventually whether it was actually Him speaking. "Wing on in," was solid food. I didn’t like it. It took a long time of chewing (thinking about it and questioning) before I was able to finally "swallow" that Word from Him.

Solid food is sometimes a barrier to Christians. They are used to receiving milk from the Lord and assimilating it quickly. The fact that solid food requires time to chew and time to digest, causes some to spit it out because it is not a familiar process.

"But solid food belongs to those who are of full age,
that is, those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb 5:14 NKJV)

BY REASON OF USE

This Greek word use [1838] is only used one time in the Bible. In context, it means that our senses are consistently trained until they become a habit. A habit happens by doing something over and over again. It is interesting that a foundation word [5157] for the word meat in this scripture, means revolution or turning. It is like a cow chewing its cud over and over again. Food rolls around in the mouth and breaks down into parts.

In this case it is our senses that are turning over and over again, becoming practiced and trained in the process of turning. It is similar to "gears" turning round and round in someone’s brain while he is thinking!

SENSES

The word senses [145] implies using our cognitive abilities to understand. Sometimes when the original Greek or Hebrew words do not give us a full understanding of a meaning, we can look at other scriptures that use the same original word and see the context of how they were used. In this instance the only other place this Greek word is used is where Jesus had just told his disciples that He was going to be betrayed. "But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive [145] it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying." (Luke 9:45 NKJV)

EXERCISED

The word exercised [1128] comes from a word having to do with training. It is our perceptions that are to become transparent, laid bare, naked or have nothing hidden or cloaking our understanding. This comes through a training process of doing something repeatedly over and over again. It is like stripping our thought process bare until we finally come to the naked truth.

DISCERN

This word discern [1253] perfectly describes the process of discerning between good and evil. When one perceives something that opposes the Holy Spirit, he will naturally withdraw, oppose, hesitate, doubt, waver, stagger, even if he does not have the words to understand why he feels this way. It is like an inner wrestling contest to try and distinguish between the real truth and the false.

This wrestling happens while what is being wrestled with turns over and over in the mind, like the cow chewing his cud. The mind might weigh the pros and cons, it might compare with the scriptures, might compare with the nature of God or the testimony of Jesus, it might test it to see if it is quickened by the Holy Spirit.

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between good and evil spiritual food. By discerning the difference, we examine, prove or try it as though closely observing under a microscope, or taking it through a test of questions and answers or pros and cons.

C. WE ARE TO DISCERN PROPHESY

The scripture says, "Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil." (1 Thess 5:19-22 NLT) Notice that this Greek word test is also translated discern.

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between true and false prophesy.  When we discern prophesy, we discern the message.  How to discern a message is in part two.

D. WE ARE TO DISCERN SPIRITS

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all… to another discerning of spirits… (1 Cor 12:7-8, 10) The more acquainted we are with the HOLY Spirit, the easier it will be to recognize the unholy ones.

1 Cor 12:7-11 NKJV

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits [4151], to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."

There are four types of spirits in the above Greek word: man’s spirit, God’s Spirit, angelic spirits and evil spirits. The gift of discerning of spirits is the ability to discriminate these four types of spirits. In discerning spirits, this is the same word "discerning" already discussed in the strong meat scripture. It is the same gift, the same process, only this is the ability to discern spirits.

1. The spirit of man

Samuel went through the process of discerning the spirit of man, in choosing David to be king. God told him not to look on the outward appearance when going through the selection process. He discerned the brothers who stood before him, refusing each as the choice to be king over Israel. God allowed Samuel to go through this process until David stood before him. The Lord then spoke and said, "This is he." (1 Samuel 16:6-13)

The Lord discerned Saul’s heart when He said to Samuel: "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." (1 Sam 15:11 NKJV)

Achish discerned David’s spirit to be like an angel: "And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle." (1 Sam 29:9 KJV)

When we discern the spirit of man, it is more like discerning their motives. Motives are the intent or reasons for ones choices and behaviors. We can discern evil motives like ambition, jealousy, compromise, lust, competition, anger, unforgiveness, rebellion, unteachableness, pride, etc. These evil motives are like seeds within man’s heart that eventually lead man into making sinful choices. (If we do not repent of these things, they are nurtured and come to sinful fruition within our lives.) When we have the gift of discernment, we will be able to easily tell when people say things, why they are saying them and from what "motive" it is coming from. Most of the time this will be quite obvious and be an instant knowledge.

2. The Spirit of God

Eli discerned God’s Spirit was talking to the boy Samuel, when Samuel could not:

"So now the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "What do you need?" Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, `Yes, LORD, your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went back to bed. And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Yes, your servant is listening." (1 Sam 3:7-10 NLT)

The easiest way to discern God’s Spirit, outside of comparing it with the scriptures is to check whether it is quickened to your own spirit. "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63 KJV) God’s Spirit gives life. He can give only good gifts. (James 1:17)

3. Angelic spirits

Hebrews 13:1 says, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." (NKJV) The Lord’s angels are not always obvious in their appearance. Sometimes we need to discern that they are angels.

Every one of us who are Christians have seen angels in our dreams! They appear as people that we do not know personally. They have personalities, appearances, countenances, voices, and within our dreams they are our helpers and encouragers. "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14 NKJV) They may speak to us in our dreams and because they appear human, we do not know they are angels.

We can also see pictures, which are quick flash visions of angels. I have seen many, many pictures of angels. Sometimes they appear as flashes of light, sometimes lightning, sometimes in human attire, sometimes with gold or bronze skin with powerful muscles, sometimes dressed in battle armor, sometimes smiling faces.

We can also hear angels. I have heard conversations of angels where they are talking to one another and not to me. I have heard them sing. I have heard them talk to God. I have heard them talk to me. Many have felt the literal and physical touch of an angel.

Angels play an important role in our life, for they serve us as a gift from God. One of the reasons they do not make a habit of openly declaring themselves is because they are created to glorify Jesus and to serve, not to publish their own identity and find followers.

In this day and time there is much renewed interest in angels. Unfortunately, the new age movement has also incorporated this. So beware when you listen to angel stories. Be on guard for any enticing story that would encourage a long time relationship with a guardian angel or even a friendship. The Bible says the enemy can be camouflaged as an angel of light, and the new age movement encourages having spirit guides who can appear in the form of an angel. They say each person should get in touch with these beings and have a relationship with them.

The difference is subtle, for angels are active in our lives, and they do love and encourage us, and sometimes talk to us, as the Bible says. I have read many stories of people who were delivered by angels, and I believe in times of intense long term trauma, an angel can have a temporary relationship with that person. However, the Lord wants us to seek Him and have a relationship with Him. He doesn’t want our faith displaced towards angels being our source, HE wants to be our source.

I personally believe that angels are dispatched with assignment, at the moment we pray. "Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands. Yes, bless the Lord, you armies of his angels who serve him constantly" (Ps 103:20-21 TLB) I also believe an intercessor’s faith can actually strengthen the angel’s ability to fight through enemy territory as well as dispatch immediate help to people in need. (Daniel 10: 12,13) However the angels do not want the glory for this, as they are here to serve the Heavenly Father and us who are heirs of salvation. Stories about angels can be very encouraging, just keep your priorities straight and love our Father more for sending them to help us. (Colossians 2:18)

I had a funny experience having to do with angels. The Lord was trying to teach me that angels are my helpers, and they are dispatched with assignment the moment I pray. They are actually waiting for us to understand our authority, so they can get busy and do what they do best. Often we have the resources available to help many people, but they are not dispatched via the angels because we do not pray.

Anyway, I had been thinking about angels, and wondering about my guardian angel. Because I hear so much from the Lord at night, I often get enemy opposition. So I have learned to take authority over such until I hear Him clearly. One night I was wondering what giant, husky, warring angel the Lord had posted beside me and feeling kind of cradled by the thought. Then bam, I heard the enemy, so I rebuked it in Jesus Name, then prayed the blood of Jesus over our door posts and then asked for a nice giant warring angel to stand guard.

I heard the enemy say, "I think they want us to leave!" As I heard that, I realized the enemy was talking about the angel standing guard as well as myself and I was encouraged. Then I saw a picture vision of the face of a very pretty girl angel. Her smile was so loving and precious and it was kind of a tongue in cheek smile. I saw her eyes literally twinkle, and then she winked at me! I was so astonished and then immediately I thought, "THIS is my husky, giant, warring angel?????" My faith went to about zero. Then I remembered the subtle ploy of trusting in angels, instead of the Lord, and also the authority He’s given me. It was very funny and I instinctively knew that the reason she winked was to say, "I guess we showed them!"

I learned something that day. Number one, I was a chauvinist! Number two, the Lord wanted my faith in Him and in the authority He’s given me, not my faith in the angel standing guard. Number three, my authority must be more than I thought, or else with so much opposition, I would certainly need a nice, burly angel to protect me - at least one with a sword! [Sorry Lord, I just had to put that in!] The whole thing was very funny to me and we all had a good laugh.

4. Demonic spirits

Paul opposed the evil spirit that was actually saying something good: "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." Paul discerned the spirit to be one of divination, and rebuked it. (Acts 16:16-18 NKJV)

Demons also appear in our dreams. They appear as wicked people opposing us and all that is good and righteous in our dreams. Often they will have weapons to try and wound us, or perhaps we will be fighting them. The scripture also says that the enemy can be disguised as an angel of light, therefore we must discern whether the angel serves the Lord or the enemy. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1 KJV)

As I was reading the following scripture one day I noticed something I had not seen before: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know [1492] his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know [1492] the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them." (John 10:1-6 NKJV)

I realized that in this scripture it does not say that the sheep will not hear the voice of a stranger, rather it says it will not follow the voice of a stranger. The word "to know", both in knowing the Lord and not the stranger means to see, perceive, to understand, to know. As sheep, we follow Jesus, becoming more like Him, and recognizing Him the more we know Him and follow Him. We resist following the stranger because he is not like Jesus and we have the eyes of our heart set upon Him.

I had a false visitation that shows how subtle the enemy can be. I heard a voice say that I needed to make myself available and receive this visitation of the Lord Jesus. Then I saw a light on the corner of our property, shining in the darkness. I had the impression that something baring light was approaching our property. Then I saw cloven tongues of fire.

The speaker had spoken the words, "Lord Jesus." Whoever was approaching had light, and the tongues of fire was Biblical. I had been visited by the Lord before, and in those times my soul and spirit leaped at His approaching because His Presence was so near. When the Lord approaches, we know His Presence, even if we can not recognize His voice.

In this instance, I had no feelings at all as I watched this light walk closer to the corner of our property. I could not see who was bearing the light because our hedge was covering the view. I could only see a dim light coming closer and growing brighter and larger as it approached. I prayed, "Lord it has been a long time since You have visited me. I would love for You to come in a visitation! However, if this is not You, I bind the forces of the evil one and command you to leave right now in Jesus Name!" Immediately I saw an evil face and heard yucky things and understood the enemy was trying to deceive me with this visitation!

As a background to this, Wayne & I have always prayed a hedge of protection around our property lines. We have consistently told the enemy he can not cross our borders. It was interesting to me that the voice was saying I needed to make myself available to receive the visitation, all the while approaching our property line. It was saying without admitting this, that it needed permission to come to me.

I was then taken up and wrestled with a baldheaded principality. He had a very powerful grip and we tumbled in circles and we wrestled. I bound and rebuked and called on the name of the Lord Jesus as we fought. Finally I came out of the vision and prayed and warred in my cognizant state.

When I fell back asleep and had a vivid vision, this time from the Lord:

It was starting to rain. The rain was not drops, but like falling mist that was glistening in the sun beams. I ran outside saying, "Oh this is the kind of rain that brings rainbows!" I searched for a rainbow and saw the tail end of the left hand side of a rainbow. Only instead of it being rainbow colors, it had three distinct color stripes that were red, white and blue. As I noticed the American colors, the view changed into a panoramic vision where I realized that the arch I had seen was just a small portion of the side of a huge, red, white & blue gigantic crossbow that literally filled the sky. It looked like the scroll thing } that is placed on a musical staff, only it was a giant bow. I heard the Lord say, "Do not fear. The captain of the Lord of hosts is with you."

One might ask why I had this wonderful vision back to back on the same night as the demonic visitation. The scripture says the following back to back: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:7-8 NKJV)

When Bobby Conner was given his Shepherd’s Rod visitation 2000, he was told by the Lord to expect a visitation on the night of the Day of the Atonement. He had set aside all for seeking the Lord and had been preparing himself for this. When the time came, he saw a warrior-being fly into his window and look around the room for Bobby. When he saw Bobby, he immediately flew to him and Bobby felt his head become dizzy so Bobby cursed the thing in Jesus’ Name and rebuked it. He watched it melt and shrivel onto the floor before his eyes. Then Bobby was excited and ready to get down to business! The point is that when the Lord sends us visitations, the enemy knows this and sends opposition along the way!

Paul opposed the evil spirit that was actually saying something good: "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." Paul discerned the spirit to be one of divination, and rebuked it. (Acts 16:16-18 NKJV)

Remember some of the Greek definitions for discerning have negative connotations: dispute, oppose, hesitate, contend, differ, doubt, be partial, stagger, waver. These words also happen to describe the process the receiver of discernment goes through. The enemy is a liar and deceiver. He tries to camouflage his works by attempting to look good. When the receiver of discernment is confronted with something that appears good on the outside, but isn’t, it becomes a stumbling block to his spirit. His flesh sees and hears that it is good, but his spirit is disputing, opposing, hesitating, contending, differing, doubting, staggering, and wavering against the outward appearance.

I had an occurrence where I heard a spirit say to me that there would be a break through in a meeting that I was attending that day. It was a good message, and even said something about the Lord. But my spirit hesitated even though it was a good message and then suddenly I knew that this was a religious spirit. I rebuked it in Jesus’ Name, and it gave me all kinds of clack, being very angry because the Lord had made it manifest. It was a lesson that not all things heard, even though they sound like the Lord’s voice, are truly His voice. Christians need discernment, especially when it comes to the supernatural.

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between good and evil spirits.

E. WE ARE TO DISCERN FRUITS

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don't pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit." (Matt 7:15-18 NLT)

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (Matt 7:15-16 KJV)

In looking up these words I thought it most interesting that the words ravening and fruits had identical foundation words. One is speaking of the evil wolf and the other is speaking about good fruit. These identical words are: to seize, catch, pluck, pull, take by force, to take for oneself, to choose, to lift up, to take up or away, to raise, keep in suspense, to sail away, away with, bear, carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take.

It is also interesting that Jesus connected false prophets, wolves, thorns and thistles together in context. Ravening wolves have sharp teeth in which to seize, catch, pluck, pull, take by force, to take for oneself, etc. Thorns and thistles are sharp and can catch prey.

These are a very good description of false prophets! A wolf may dress like a sheep, but when it bares its mouth, there is no disguise. Likewise, we shall know a false prophet by his mouth. Is he biting and devouring others? Does he slander, gossip, criticize, judge? Does he seize the sheep for his own ambitious purposes? Does he pluck them for his own use?

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between good and evil spiritual fruit.

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II. DISCERNMENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

A. WHO USED THE GIFTS TO DISCERN?

1. Kings Discerned

The two predominate duties of the king were to judge the people and lead them in warfare against their enemies. The Israelites demanded that they be given a king patterned after other nations: "Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge [8199] us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." (1 Sam 8:19-20 KJV)

Similar to our Supreme Court, issues not settled by the elders were taken to the king to judge. Listen to Solomon’s prayer as he begs for discernment:

Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. (1 Kings 3:9-13 NKJV)

God said Solomon needed discernment for:

a) matters that needed justice,

b) people that needed sentences passed for their unlawful behaviors. Solomon asked for discernment between good and evil.

• The purpose of discernment in this context was to discern between good and evil behavior and possibly motives.

2. Judges Discerned

In the process of Moses judging [8199] and settling problems, he was given advice from his father-in-saw to set up elders who helped. They were appointed as leaders over groups of people to judge between right and wrong and resolve the two with justice. And later, just as Solomon prayed for discernment to judge between right and wrong, the elders duties and needs were the same.

Ex 18:13-25 NLT

"The next day, Moses sat as usual to hear the people's complaints against each other. They were lined up in front of him from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "Why are you trying to do all this alone? The people have been standing here all day to get your help." Moses replied, "Well, the people come to me to seek God's guidance. When an argument arises, I am the one who settles the case. I inform the people of God's decisions and teach them his laws and instructions." "This is not good!" his father-in-law exclaimed. "You're going to wear yourself out--and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people's representative before God, bringing him their questions to be decided. You should tell them God's decisions, teach them God's laws and instructions, and show them how to conduct their lives. But find some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as judges over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. These men can serve the people, resolving all the ordinary cases. Anything that is too important or too complicated can be brought to you. But they can take care of the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice, and if God directs you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace." Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice and followed his suggestions."

And now scroll up to the above translations of these Old Testament words, understanding, discern, judge and judgment and compare them to the New Testament words for discern: "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern [1253] both good and evil." (Heb 5:14 NKJV) They are very similar. They are connected to the judicial process.

NEW TESTAMENT:

Discern

NT:1253

diakrisis (dee-ak'-ree-sis); from NT:1252; judicial estimation:

KJV - discern (-ing), disputation.

NT:1252

diakrino (dee-ak-ree'-no); from NT:1223 and NT:2919; to separate thoroughly, i.e. (literally and reflexively) to withdraw from, or (by implication) oppose; figuratively, to discriminate (by implication, decide), or (reflexively) hesitate:

KJV - contend, make (to) differ (-ence), discern, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.

NT:2919

krino (kree'-no); properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:

KJV - avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

• The purpose of discernment in this context was to discern between good and evil behavior and possibly motives.

3. Prophets Discerned

Daniel, the seer was given discernment to understand visions and dreams. With this gift he was able to separate the various symbols and nuances the unravel the mysteries of God.

Dan 1:3-4, 17

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding [995] science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans… As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding [995] in all visions and dreams.

He was given end time revelation of the antichrist and because of his discernment he was able to discern between the good and evil of those days to come:

"His army will take over the Temple fortress, polluting the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and setting up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. He will flatter those who have violated the covenant and win them over to his side. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him. "Those who are wise will give instruction to many." (Dan 11:31-33 NLT)

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between good and evil spiritual food.

4. Watchmen discerned

The watchmen looked for good and bad news and then announced such with their voices or their trumpets. In the Hebrew language they had 3 different words that described the various watchmen.

a) Sentinels on the city walls and in watchtowers. Because of the height of where they stood, they were able to see long distances and their voices traveled a great distance too. They rotated various hours keeping the watch. It was their duty to peer in the distance looking for any possible danger, or even good news coming from without the city walls. There also built watch towers in the middle of vineyards. These were placed to protect the harvest from being stolen or rampaged.

(2 Sam 18:25; 2 Kings 9:18; Ps 127:1; Isa 62:6, Isa 21:6, Isa 5:2; Matt 21:33; Mark 12:1)

b) Watchmen that go about the city. These were perhaps like roving security guards whose duty it was to protect the innocent from unlawful behavior and answer the questions of wanderers.

(Song 3:3; 5:7)

c) Watchmen on a hill top. These were warriors who stood their ground to defend their turf, or to offensively take ground by secretly waiting to besiege territory.

(Jer 31:6, 4:16)

Like the various duties of the watchmen in the cities, walls and towers, the Lord used this analogy to appoint spiritual watchmen to alarm of incoming danger. These spiritual watchmen brought messages from God showing people their sins, threatening judgment, calling for repentance and announcing pardon. Although scripture does not tell us that they had the gift of discern, the very nature of their calling required discernment. Even as the watchmen on the walls looked for good and bad news and then announced such, so it was for the spiritual watchmen. The spiritual watchmen needed to discern between the good and bad news and announce accordingly.

The prophet Ezekiel, was commissioned from the Lord to be a spiritual watchman. The people of that day were acquainted with the duties of a watchmen and so the allegory communicated well.

Ezek 33:1-9 NLT

"Once again a message came to me from the LORD: "Son of man, give your people this message: When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he blows the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action--well, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the warning but wouldn't listen, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn't sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their deaths. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman accountable. "Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to warn them about changing their ways, then they will die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die in their sins, but you will not be held responsible."

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to discern between good and evil news.

5. Priests Discerned

Priests

The priests were to approach God on behalf of man. They were like mediators standing in the breach of man’s sins against God. They did this through identification as one person, on behalf of all the people. The sins of many (the people) became the sins of one (the priest) and the sins of one (the priest) became the sins of many (the people). Trespasses & consequences were passed both ways. (Ex 28:12, 19, Lev 4:3) The priests’ function were to offer sacrifices for the atonement of these sins. (Heb 5:1; 8:3). They were also to teach the people the difference between the holy and the profane and to judge in matters of controversy between people.

Neh 8:7-9

And the Levites, caused [995] the people to understand [995] the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [995] them to understand [995] the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught [995] the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God;  

Ezek 44:23-24 KJV

And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern [3045] between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment [4941]; and they shall judge [8199] it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

• The purpose of discernment in this context is to understand the laws about good and evil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

III. DISCERNMENT IN THE LAST DAYS

I have attended many special meetings where special speakers have blown through the doors and out the other side again… and they have left their mark. Some of these marks have come through genuine role models that shine such love, compassion and humility that my heart has swooned and I am left feeling that Jesus Himself has held me in His arms. Unfortunately other marks have left great wrestlings indelibly printed upon my heart. And this has put me at the feet of Jesus agonizing and groaning with these wrestlings of discernment. Anyone with the gift of discernment understands EXACTLY what those wrestlings are because the scripture says, "Judge not, lest you be judged." It also says we are to discern between good and evil. (Matt 7:1, Heb 5:14) Anyone along the road of discernment eventually comes to the same stop sign and questions, "How do I discern and not judge?"

THE PARADOX

In attending these various meetings I perceived ALL of them were supernatural meetings. What I mean is that I experienced the Lord’s Presence, I saw gold teeth, gold dust, gold flakes, people falling under the power, people thrown under the power, people healed, people delivered, and people saved. I also saw supernatural & prophetic manifestations in the worshippers who were responding to His Presence. I love it when He shows up, when we experience His Presence and He displays awesome signs of His love! So by the end of some of these meetings, why was my heart genuinely aching with intercession?

This is what I discerned operating in a few speakers in some meetings:

1. Control, domination, and intimidation. These were a type of witchcraft which attempted to force or override people’s free will. These characteristics were consistently used against God’s flock in areas like:

a) giving of their substance.

b) being pushed into falling, etc.

c) condemning those who did not respond to words of knowledge, salvation, etc.

d) blaming those who did not receive healings or touches from the Lord.

e) stopping people’s worship prematurely for personal agendas and self promotion.

2. Arrogance, boasting, strutting. Pride is the opposite of gracious humility and the Lord’s servants are to SERVE and to lay down their lives. In certain ministers, I saw them strut their gifts like a circus parade in peacock’s attire. Their tones of voice, mannerisms and messages were arrogant and boastful. I was deeply grieved over this.

3. Anger. Anger is a short fuse in someone who does not get their own way. God’s love is patient and suffers long. Using anger to preach God’s Word does not represent a shepherd’s heart. A good shepherd does not whip and beat God’s sheep. I heard chastisement and abuse over those who were sick, in poverty or broken.

I was agonizing in great quandary: "Lord Your people are so hungry for You, they are so sick, they are so desperate for You, they’ll take anything offered them in Your Name." "And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd." (Mark 6:33-34 NKJV) Father, bring in Your godly role models. Please raise up a holy standard, that the people would know the difference between the holy and the profane!" I felt this was a serious wake up call to the times we are now in.

There is a new level of supernatural ministries being released and within these ministries, there are some who are or will become the false ones. All will preach Jesus, all will have signs and wonders, all will cast out demons. But not all will know the Lord. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matt 7:21-23 NKJV) If ever there was a need for discernment, it is now.

THE HARVEST

Bob Jones prophesied that before the great harvest of souls, the Lord is going to harvest US. The good and evil seeds within our lives are coming to fruition. These things that have been hidden for so long are coming to the surface and bearing fruit. This is going to become a great time of deliverance, where the Lord is going to open our eyes to the demonic realm and the fact that the body of Christ needs massive deliverance.

In several intercessions I have seen Leviathan, the great dragon. In one particular vision I saw him wrestle in the sky with some white eagles. (White eagles represent the prophetic.) It was his intention to make them fall to the ground. Then I saw him dive into a river that a school of chosen leaders were swimming in, and he began going after those leaders. I believe he is wanting to claim the harvest of his evil seeds and entice these leaders to choose the wrong path based upon seeds he has planted in their individual pasts.

When the turn of the century passed, it became very obvious to me that the Lord had changed courses in His river. Up until then, He was giving His loved ones a refreshment and renewing by His Presence. Now He is beginning to go deeper and bring hidden things to the surface, so that they be purged and healed. The change in the river is a definite mark in holiness.

Those who continue on the party path, and continue to indulge in carnal compromise will find themselves being given over to spirits of deception. They may find exactly what their hearts really want, and they may end up in a supernatural life, but it will be fed by Leviathan. They will be given over to counterfeit spirits, familiar spirits, spirits of delusion and doctrines of demons. I knew all of this when I attended these meetings. That is why I agonized so deeply.

A. THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT

Beloved of the Lord, all that glitters is not gold and we are fast approaching some very serious years of counterfeit infiltration of signs and wonders. Jesus said, "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matt 24:24 NKJV) The enemy’s long range intent of these deceptions is to eventually lead many into taking the mark of the beast and losing their soul. We wonder how that can happen to a seemingly educated population, but if we understand the subtlety of the deception, we will see how serious it is. It is for that means that I have compiled what the Lord has taught me in my journey of learning to discern good from evil. It is my prayer that this can truly make a difference in your years to come.

It is true that the greatest detectors of counterfeit bills have gone to school. And in spite of what one might think, actually their schooling is in handling real money. They have spent so many hundreds of thousands of hours touching the real thing, they are able to detect counterfeit money merely by its "feel." Even before their brain knows, they can feel the difference.

In my journey, after my calling and anointing, the Lord took me to "Alphabet School." He spent several years teaching me the language of how He speaks, how to discern it is Him speaking and how to understand what He is saying. The result of those wonderful years of sitting at His feet are compiled in my book, "101+ Ways God Speaks (And How to Hear Him). It was in those years that I spent countless hours touching the "real gold", so to speak.

However, I discovered in my pursuit of the Lord that I also had an enemy that stood in my way. In the process of much warfare against opposition, I learned valuable things that I feel important to pass on about the counterfeit. However it is my hope and intention that this file will be edifying and in the end you will know how to discern better, because you will know Him better. To begin I want to share with you several visions that reveal the plans of the enemy. If you are not aware that these plans are even now taking place, the exposure of these may be startling to you.

B. EXPOSING THE PLAN OF THE ENEMY

1. VISION OF THE ENEMY’S BATTLE PLAN

Given to Hollie Moody

hlmoody61@aol.com

As I was praying on April 25th, 2000, I began to see in my mind a picture of the Lord. He was sitting on a rock and groups of people of all ages were gathered around Him. They all seemed to be laughing and talking together. I felt joy and peace and happiness as I viewed this scene. At times, the Lord would reach down and bring a child onto His lap. Or, He would reach out and a baby would be placed into His arms. He would then gaze down into the face of the baby and speak softly and tenderly to the baby. At other times, someone would draw close to His side, and He would place His arm around them, and draw them closer to Him.

An angel approached the Lord. The crowd before the Lord parted to allow the angel to draw near to the Lord. A silence fell over the laughing, joyous crowd as the angel stopped before the Lord and began to speak. From the way this angel was dressed, I sensed immediately that this was a warring angel. Being a warring angel and well aware of the coming battle plan of the enemy, he spoke with a strong sense of urgency and even perplexity in his voice. He was very concerned.

"There is work to be done," the angel said to the Lord. "Why do the people only sit here idly? These are dangerous times. The people should be doing battle in prayer and in the spirit. Instead, they sit here at Your feet, laughing. They are completely unaware of what is even now transpiring in the courts of hell." With great concern in his voice, the angel asked, "Why are You allowing this?"

[Before continuing the vision, as a side bar to that conversation, I had the impression the angel and the Lord had been in each other's presence numerous times and had many conversations with one another. What the angel said did not sound disrespectful or challenging at all. I could feel how he was feeling, and it was a genuine question in the midst of such perplexing opposition to come.]

The Lord gazed with love at the angel before Him. "Before I answer your questions," the Lord replied, "take this child of Mine and show them what is being planned by the enemy."

Both the angel and the Lord then turned their heads and stared at me. "This will be too much for her," the angel protested.

"Take her, and show her," the Lord repeated. (The angel bowed his head to the Lord, then turned towards me.)

I began to back nervously away as the angel approached me. "Where are you taking me?" I asked the angel.

"To the enemy's camp," the angel replied.

"Go with him," the Lord instructed me.

I felt very nervous and afraid, but allowed the angel to touch me. As soon as the angel touched me, we were in darkness. I felt fear engulf me.

"Fear not," the angel said to me, and instantly, the fear vanished.

The darkness seemed to dissipate, and I discovered that the angel and I were in what appeared to be a great court. A man was sitting on a large throne, and before him were gathered all types of creatures and men. (This "court" had the appearance of a cave. When I first viewed this scene, I felt stunned. I'm not sure why. It was like something "rebelled" in me at what I was seeing.)

"Who is that man on the throne?" I asked the angel. "And who are the creatures and men gathered before him?"

"That is the accuser of the brethren and his armies," the angel replied.

I then realized that I was in the presence of satan. (When the angel informed me that this man was satan, the fact that he was sitting on a throne amazed me. Later, when I prayed about this aspect of the vision, I felt that the Lord said that satan was trying to copy everything that was God's in heaven, for himself.)

Satan was speaking, and I heard him say, "This will be our strategy." He then got up from his throne and went to stand in front of a large map on the wall behind him. As I stared at the map, I became aware that it was a map of the entire world. (It is very hard to describe this "map." The map wasn't actually "pinned" or "hanging" on the wall, but it was in front of the wall. But, it was like I could see it from all angles. And also, I could see like "air waves," "wind currents," the tides of the seas, etc. I could also see the hemisphere around the world ~~ moons, stars, planets, etc. I really have no words or way to correctly put down the appearance of this "map.")

Satan began to divide the world into sections. Then, he called out some names. I saw the creatures and the men gathered before satan part, and very large and strong looking angelic beings approached satan. (I saw four of these mighty looking angelic beings.) I could sense the power of these beings, and sensed the evil and wickedness of that power. A hush had fallen over the crowd.

"Who are these beings?" I whispered to the angel who I was with.

The angel I was with seemed concerned. "They are satan's princes."

Satan began speaking again, and he was assigning sections of the world to each of these "princes."

"You will need your armies," satan said to them. "Choose whoever you will. All is at your disposal."

The large beings then began to pick and choose who would be in their particular army. (This was by no means "orderly." There was a great deal of arguing, bickering, etc.) When they were finished, they all turned back to satan and stared at him.

"Each prince will teach you our strategy to deceive and to destroy and to slay mankind," satan said. "Go with them."

The princes and their armies began to exit from the presence of satan. The angel and I began to follow one of the groups. They went into what appeared to be a school room. The prince went to the front of the room and began to instruct his army on how to deceive, destroy and slay the people in their particular section of the world that had been allocated to them. The angel and I then went to each "classroom." The same plans and strategies were being "taught" in each "classroom." (By the "same" plans, I don't mean each class was teaching the exact same thing. What I mean, is that each class was very thorough in what it was teaching, and on how to apply what was being taught.)

In some of the classrooms, they were studying political leaders. Their families, homes, lifestyles, etc., were being closely scrutinized. I felt very frightened and helpless, very overwhelmed, as I saw and heard how very thorough these "lessons," for lack of a better word, were. Nothing was left to chance. Every area of these political leaders' lives was being dissected and investigated and studied. Demons were being assigned on how to "attack" and influence and "control" each of these political leaders, their families, and even their friends and co-workers. Nothing was left to chance. Nothing was overlooked. The books they read, the radio stations they listened to, etc., everything, everything was being discussed. The enormity of all of this was absolutely mind boggling to me. This also occurred with the religious leaders.

It was the "religion" classes that frightened and shocked me the most. In these classes, religions of the nations were being studied and discussed. Even New Age and occult, wicca, tarot, etc., were being discussed. Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., were being discussed. The bibles and books and other writings for all of these religions were being read and studied. Each denomination of Christianity was being studied. The Bible being studied was the major source of information for these "lessons." This was truly horrifying and shocking to me that demons were reading and studying the Bible. And, it was all for the intent to twist what was written, and to seek ways to misinterpret, misrepresent, etc., it to Christians. The demons were discussing ways to "dilute" the Gospel. They were discussing ways to "incorporate" major beliefs from all the religions into one big acceptable "gospel for humankind."

Some of the demons in these religion classes were ordered to "infiltrate" churches, were being taken into actual churches, and were watching how the people prayed, worshipped, sang, etc. They were studying how messages were being delivered to the congregations in numerous churches. They were studying the individuals who were used in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit. These individuals were followed around constantly by assigned demons, who watched and listened to everything these people said and did. The friends and family members of these individuals were also studied. The demons discussed ways to drive wedges, etc., between those people who were truly being used of God, and the people they went to church with, and even how to cause these peoples' own pastors and spiritual leaders to lose faith and confidence in these people who were used in the gifts of the Spirit. I felt so angry and frustrated and helpless as I saw and heard how this was to be accomplished, and how it had already been initiated in many, many congregations, and how it was largely succeeding.

Many of these "religious" demons, for lack of a better word, were being taught how to sing in churches, how to dance in the Spirit, how to pray and teach. I felt at times as if I were going to vomit as I witnessed many demons in these classrooms "practicing" how to worship the Lord, and how to be a Christian. Seeing a demon "dancing before the Lord" is so awful, and so sickening, that there are just no words to describe it adequately.

Some of these more "major" demons, could also work "signs, and wonders, and even miracles." Some of these demons, were also being taught how to be "Christ." This was being done, by actually studying the scriptures. Seeing some of these demons acting and speaking like Christ, shocked me speechless. Seeing them reading the Bible, was like an abomination to me.

In some of these classes, even UFO's and aliens were being discussed, and how to deceive people through these phenomenon. There were classrooms where food and dress and slang words — yes, slang words(!) were being studied. Crops were being studied and discussed. All of this was just so vast, it overwhelmed me.

Suddenly, the "classes" began to leave the rooms. The angel and I followed them. They congregated back in front of satan.

"Report," satan said. "How will we deceive, destroy and slay mankind?"

One of the princes came forward and began to outline their plans and strategies to satan.

"The people want signs and wonders and miracles from their religious leaders," the prince said. "We know that our enemy will be, and has begun already, to grant this unto his children. We will slip in with a counterfeit move, and deceive many. We have taught our armies how to mimic worship, praise, and looking and acting like a true believer. We will give unto our armies the ability to work signs, wonders and even miracles. But while all become focused upon these outward manifestations, others of us will begin behind the scenes to dilute the message of the gospel. We will accomplish this partly through speaking to the people about God's 'true' nature. We will allow the people to create God into what and who they want Him to be."

"Good," satan said. "Very good."

The prince began to speak once again. "When the people have created their own version of God, then, we will give them OUR god."

The crowd before satan began to cheer wildly.

"We must depart !" the angel urged me.

Suddenly, we were back before the Lord. He was still in the midst of His children; laughing with them, talking to them, touching them.

A silence fell over the group once again as the angel I was with once more approached the Lord. The angel reported to the Lord all we had heard and seen in hell.

The angel was very concerned and distressed, asking, "Why are You just sitting here with the people? Why haven’t they been sent to begin battle? How will they be able to discern this coming great deception if they aren't even aware that one is coming?"

The Lord became grave. His face as He looked at His children was alight with His great love for them. I noticed tears in His eyes. Then, He turned His head and looked at the angel speaking with Him.

"My children will know the false, by knowing the true," the Lord said. "The longer they spend in My Presence, the more they will know My voice when they hear it. A voice of a stranger, they will not follow."

"But the enemy has those who have been taught to speak just as You do," the angel protested. "They sound almost just like You."

"Almost," the Lord replied gently. "Almost they sound like Me. Only My sheep who have lingered long in My Presence will know the voice of their true Shepherd. And this is why I spend so much time with My children. I spend as much time with them as they allow Me to. I know very well what the enemy is planning. My plans are plans of love and fellowship."

The angel and the Lord both fell silent as they gazed at the crowd before the Lord. "Love them well!" the angel replied.

"Yes, a battle is coming," the Lord sighed, and I saw tears in His eyes. "Great wickedness and persecution upon My children; My true children who know My voice. A time of wickedness and persecution such as has never been seen or experienced. Yet in the midst of it all, I will move, I will bless, I will speak, I will love. I will win. There are those of My children who sense much of this. They are the ones who will never stop praying and interceding; not even in times of seeming peace."

"What about me, Lord?" I asked.

The angel and the Lord looked at me. "Pray," the Lord replied. "Tell the prayer warriors to strengthen themselves and their brothers and sisters in the times of peace. I will be pouring out of My Spirit upon all nations and peoples. It will spread to even the most unlikely of places: television, magazines, newspapers, radios, even the Internet. And it will be here that the battle will truly begin, and the deception begin."

The Lord stood up.

"It is time?" the angel asked Him.

"It is time," the Lord replied.

Then, I was no longer with the Lord or the angel, but praying once again.

John 10 is in my mind; especially verse 14: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."

2. LYING SIGNS

FROM ANNIE’S VISIONS, BK 2, PG 64

Annie Schisler

[Her books are sold at www.thequickenedword.com]

"After a couple of hours I was able to press through the opposition the Lord had appointed for me. Through that most glorious cross of tangible light He brought me, and there in the awesome presence of that great Cloud of glory-fire He sent forth His love, covering and enveloping me. How unlike that love is from anything known of His love here upon the earth! Covering and filling my whole inner being with that love He directed me to look.

There upon the earth I saw the souls of the sons of light to whom had been given a work of power to do. This work was a miracle to them and was a true sign of His working - a gift of power that had come from Him.

As soon as the sons of light began to work rejoicing in this manifestation of Jesus in their midst, the sons of darkness accompanied by the shadows of the enemy forces of evil also began to work miracles and do wonderful things. The signs that they brought were even greater and more spectacular than those of the sons of light - Deriding the lesser signs and wonders that the others had worked, the evil ones mocked and scoffed with great delight. Not only did the false lying signs and wonders show greater power but also they were far more numerous. These false wonders deceived many, and some, who at first had looked to the true works of God, now turned away after these greater, yet false signs. When the Lord would do one work as a sign, then the enemy would work many even greater wonders.

He said to me, "I have given this power unto the enemy, yet he shall not deceive My own unto whom I shall give sufficient light so that they shall be able to discern and know which are the true works of My hand. I shall do this to refine and purify them. They will have to choose which wonders are right and which are of Me. Those who truly desire to follow Me shall correctly define things as they are and shall not be deceived or led astray. But those who are not truly following after Me and do not desire Me shall choose the way of the greater and more numerous wonders and false signs. Deceiving themselves, these shall follow after the lying workers and miracles because they seek not to follow Me and are deceived in themselves."

As I watched, I saw great numbers follow after the greater, yet false signs and miracles, being greatly deceived. (Yet His own were not deceived.) Following after the false wonders they did not return to those sons of light in whom He was present nor look any more at those apparently lesser miracles that He was working in their midst. Those who followed the lying signs became ensnared and at last were destroyed.

No longer were those who accepted the false wonders present among the sons of light who remained alone with Him."

3. THE DISGUISED ONES

ANNIE’S VISIONS, BK 2, PG 32

Annie Schisler

[Her books are sold at www.thequickenedword.com]

"Because I was in considerable pain and discomfort I found it difficult to rise above it to meet with Him. Nevertheless, He enabled me to push it all aside and draw near unto Him. Welcoming me from out of the glory of His Cloud, He showed me far below upon the earth a great road. In that road was Jesus, not in the manifestation of His great Cloud of fire, but much reduced in size, His glory being greatly hidden. Following Him in that road were a large number of people.

Suddenly I saw a dark, deformed monster of evil. As I watched, I saw this huge, horrible being put on a mask that completely covered its hideous features, making it appear nice and good. Then it took white clothing of a certain imitation shining which did not look like the light that shines in celestial regions, but appeared more like a much inferior manmade light of some kind. Gathering together many smaller but equally disguised evil beings, this evil monster and his wicked consorts mixed with the multitude of those who were following Jesus. Scattering out among them, they began to deceive and to persuade some to follow them out onto a side road and to leave the way in which they were walking.

With some they were successful. Others paid them no attention whatsoever, but went right on following the Lord. After a while - for this seemed to be a long process and not a short incident - in which a large number of His own had been deceived and drawn aside from the way, He turned and beckoned unto them, not allowing them to be completely drawn away. When He beckoned to them, I saw that a light went out from Him and illumined them. They immediately comprehended the truth about the disguised ones. Although the evil ones were not stripped of their masks or customs of false light, His own were given to see through all their disguise and deceit.

To a number of those who were not His own ones that light did not come, and they went right on following the evil ones into the ways of deceit and destruction. They remained blind and deceived, being greatly attracted to those evil ones who appeared to be good.

Jesus spoke to me, saying, "I will not let My own ones be deceived nor led astray." He opened their eyes in such a manner that they could see right through those disguises and know the hideous evil that was underneath the mask. As I watched I saw that He destroyed those deceiving ones and those who allowed themselves to be deceived by them."

4. THE FALSE LIGHT

ANNIE’S VISIONS, BK 4, PG 49

Annie Schisler

[Her books are sold at www.thequickenedword.com]

"After being caught up into the heavenly spheres, I saw a dazzling and powerful light full of strange forces being directed by some unseen will and flowing out to some who were among His own ones. God told me that this wasn’t His light and that He hadn’t sent it; it was a light sent forth to deceive those who were not of the elect.

Although this light was already operating and trying to deceive, it could in no way deceive His own ones, for it was utterly different from the light that comes from God. They rejected it because it was lifeless and lacked those high qualities of glory, purity, holiness, and radiant life of the light of God. Although this other light did not attract nor deceive His own ones, nevertheless, many of those who were among His own ones were deceived and did receive the false light."

5. THE EVIL MAN REIGNING

ANNIE’S VISIONS, BK 2, PG 76

Annie Schisler

[Her books are sold at www.thequickenedword.com]

After a difficult battle I was enabled to come through the door of the cross of light into the presence of that mighty Cloud of highest glory and fire. After bathing me in His love for a while and speaking away my fears and renewing my whole being in Him, He told me to look.

There upon the earth was a terrible throne upon which a great man of evil was reigning as if he were God. He was frightening in his power and prepotency. His kingdom grew until He had brought all the people of the earth under his dominion. Terrible in evil and great in power, he took upon himself all the kingdoms of the world, usurping the place of God.

I saw that not only was he taking unto himself all power over all the people of the earth, but also over the sons of light who were greatly hindered under his reign. They were so blockaded that they were unable to reach unto God. This amazed me greatly. So terrible was the power of this great one that the sons of light were apparently overcome. Many who had appeared to belong to Jesus left the ranks of the sons of light and were captivated by this great king of evil who took full power over them.

Then I heard the Lord speak to me from out of His great Cloud: "All those who have accepted the reign and kingship of this reigning one shall see his destruction." After this He reached forth and took that great one of evil in His control and wrung him out, squeezing him as one would wring a garment dry. When He had wrung from him all of his power and strength, He destroyed him without mercy.

Furthermore, I saw that all those who had belonged unto the kingdom of the evil one and had accepted his evil reign watched the destruction of this man of great evil. But even this great destruction did not cause them to repent, turn back to God, or come to their rightful King. Rather, I saw that they persisted continually in their same ways until at last they, too, were destroyed in the same way. The sons of light, now set free, were no longer persecuted or hindered.

6. SPYING ON THE ENEMY'S WAR ROOM

A Word to intercessors through Rance Ramsey, Port Lavaca, TX

Rance's email: ranceramsey@usa.net

April 07, 2000

Our intercessors began to receive direction from the Lord this week through dreams and visions that I feel is a directive for intercessors worldwide. One lady saw a black book that was opened to her and she understood that it was the enemy's play book. She had full access to the book and could go through it as she willed. Another lady had a dream in which she was instructed to plant listening devices into the enemy's camp.

We began to seek the Lord on what He was saying and what we were to do with this information. He instructed us to symbolically and prophetically go into the enemy's war room and plant listening, seeing and other spying devices. The Lord told us that the room was empty and led us inside. The atmosphere was very calm. We were able to do what He told us to do and get out again simply and without danger or complication.

We felt like the Lord was saying that just as Gen. Schwartzkopf of Desert Storm knew the strategies of the enemy, their placement, their weapons, their strongholds, etc., it is necessary that we know the same things about our enemy. As we were obedient to symbolically place the devices into the enemy's war room, we understood that the Lord would begin to show us the very plans and strategies of the enemy against His Bride, the church.

Intercessors will begin to strategically see by the Spirit with pinpoint accuracy the exact plans of the enemy against the move of God, the revelation of God, against youth and old alike, against the local church and against the church universal. The plans will be

revealed in a depth of detail that He has never released before. As the plans are revealed to the intercessors, the church is going to be enabled to launch an offensive against the enemy and take new ground and territory with speed and accuracy. New understanding of the structure, rank and formation of the kingdom of darkness will be laid out for us with names, maps, etc. Great advancements for the Kingdom of God are eminent.

I feel like the Lord is saying that intercessors should "plant listening devices" in the enemies camp and be ready when his "play book of schemes" are revealed. The Lord is going to give us keys to avert the enemy's attempts at personal, corporate, national, and worldwide destruction.

Prayerfully,

Rance Ramsey

Cornerstone Assembly

Port Lavaca, TX

C. PITFALLS OF DISCERNMENT

1. Judging

People with the gift of discernment have an inward sense, an instinctive knowing that is sometimes without words. It is a common quandary that when these feelings rise to the surface and become "opinions", so does guilt. This is because Jesus told us not to judge. Many with the gift of discernment become frustrated, confused, condemned, ashamed, and even self loathing simply because they are not able to understand how to use their gift nor understand what it is for!

Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matt 7:1-2 NKJV)

Judging is clearly defined in the Bible as wrong behavior and Jesus said that whatever portion we judge others we will receive the same portion of judgment back. It is like a boomerang principal; a counter punch. If we punch a punching bag it comes back to us the same measure of force we sent it!

2. Condemning

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

(Luke 6:37-39 NKJV)

In this second scripture Jesus said that the same counter punch principal works for forgiving and giving. In other words, if we sow judgment, we will reap judgment, if we sow forgiveness, we will reap forgiveness. Notice that in these two scriptures, they are both in context to the same Greek word measure. The harvest of judgment and forgiveness in our own lives depends on how much we sow the same in others.

I witnessed an excellent example of condemning and judging.

Condemn: I heard a lady say that her Mother had cancer and the Lord told her it was because the mother had not learned to forgive. Whether this was accurate or not, she had pronounced her mother guilty of unforgiveness.

Judgment: Then she said that her sister had breast cancer and had been clean for 6 years. But the Lord told her that the cancer would come back if she did not learn to forgive. Then she said that the Lord told her that she too would get cancer if she did not forgive. These were statements of judgment or consequences for the unforgiveness.

3. The dilemma of discernment

The dilemma: The word judge in the Greek is the same root word for discern! To unravel this, let us consider that in the above scripture Jesus said not to judge and not to condemn. Even though they are similar, these are 2 different steps within the judicial process. They are two different Greek words. To condemn means to declare someone guilty of misconduct. To judge means to state the reward for such behavior.

If we were to add discernment in this judicial court case, to discern would be equivalent to hearing the case, all the while weighing the scales with evidence. Discernment would be separating the facts, both and good and the bad and distributing them into 2 piles. On one side of the scale would be the bad and on the other would be the good. In logical order, this discernment process would proceed the condemning, then judgment.

Notice again the following scripture and its word for discern. This word starts with #1253, saying that word is from #1252, and that #1252 is from #1223 and 2919. The history of this word displays the same process. It says to discern means to dispute or argue. And that leads to separating the evidence and separating the facts leads to the final judgment:

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern [1253] both good and evil.

So we see that the very process of discernment, which is what we are required to do in separating good from evil, easily leads to judgment! Help Lord! Can this be resolved? Yes, keep reading.

4. A watchman’s downward spiral

It is natural for a prophetic person to see what is wrong, because by the very nature of their calling, they are watchmen. In the Old Testament, the watchmen stood on the towers and scanned in the distance for good and bad news. They called out what they saw. If they saw something of concern coming, they gave warnings. These warnings were for the protection and welfare of all those involved, not for their destruction.

It is easy for a watchman to go downward into a descending spiral when they discern evil. They can become:

1. Critical
2. Faultfinding
3. Judgmental
4. Pessimistic
5. Skeptical
6. Angry
7. Bitter
8. Resentful
9. Depressed
10. Hopeless
11. Apathetic

There are various degrees of all of these. On the lower end of the scale is a critical nature. This is the personality of a faultfinding person. The person tends to have a pessimistic attitude about most anything, and even if you say how pretty the sky is, he will note the cloud in the distance. It is as though these kinds of people wear tinted glasses and everything they see is viewed through a negative lens. Because of this, they can become angry, bitter or resentful, or depressed, hopeless and apathetic.

I have seen these kinds of prophets take a downward spiral and instead of pleading the case to the Lord, they plead it to people. They complain and murmur, and when that doesn’t relieve them, they backbite and slander, eventually they assassinate the character of the Lord’s anointed or the Lord’s work and they end up passing judgment. It gets worse, they prophesy judgment as a deserving penalty for what they "discern" and it gets worse, for they will eventually pray the judgment come to pass.

Jesus rebuked his disciples for this same kind of spirit. In this scripture the disciples had come up with a sentence or judgment for their enemies: "And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village." (Luke 9:53-56 NKJV)

"As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?" (Ezek 33:10-11 NLT)

If one has either a critical nature, a pessimistic attitude, or even a critical sprit, and does not forgive they become judgmental. Judging is clearly defined in the Bible as wrong behavior and Jesus said that whatever portion we judge others we will receive the same portion of judgment back. It is like a boomerang principal; a counter punch. If we punch a punching bag it comes back!

Judging is making a decision about a person and what he deserves. The word judge (#2919) in the Greek means to distinguish, decide, try, condemn, punish. The word is translated as avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

When one judges a person, they make a decision about that person and their deserving punishment. When one discerns, they make a decision about the person’s behavior and intercedes so the person does not get what the behavior deserves. In other words, judging is making a decision about people, discerning is making a decision about behavior. Jane Doe is an evil criminal and needs to be in jail verses Jane Doe is making sinful decisions and needs the Lord’s deliverance. The response to a judgment is a sentence of punishment. The response to discernment is to plead for good.

It is natural for a prophetic person to see what is wrong, because by the very nature of their calling, they are watchmen. In the Old Testament, the watchmen stood on the towers and scanned in the distance for good and bad news. They called out what they saw. If they saw something of concern coming, they gave warnings. These warnings were for the protection and welfare of all those involved, not for their destruction.

When the Lord gives someone discernment, it comes with the responsibility to pray and cover what they discern. Love covers a multitude of sins. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Cor 13:4-7 NLT)

God is a just God. He is perfectly holy, perfectly righteous and holds a perfect standard to measure us and our behavior by. We simply can not measure up to His standard. However, He is also perfect love. And in His love, He sent His beloved Son to stand in our place and die for us, so that we could come to Him. In all cases, love triumphs, love balances the scale of justice. The bottom line of deciding whether or not we are judging or discerning is to ask ourselves, "Is my response to this person or situation loving?"

D. OVERCOMING THE PITFALLS OF DICERNMENT

1. ARTICLE ON OVERCOMING JUDGMENT (From the Quickened Word newsletter)

LABELS, LABELS AND MORE LABELS

A revelatory teaching from Sandy Warner

SWauthor@aol.com

Website: www.thequickenedword.com

11/14/00

Hi Loved Ones,

I had an interesting prophetic thing happen a few days ago. He had already been talking to me about "opinions" before this happened. It happened on a day where there was a war going on in my mind about a particular person. I had been criticized and felt judged and so I forgave, I released, I prayed, and I still had this war going on inside my thoughts. It became really ridiculous and I knew that this was a spiritual thing of fighting spirits, certainly not the person. Even after I understood this, I went right back to the mind war. I thought, "Whatever I do, it is not good enough."

At that moment in history I was reaching for an envelope on a shelf and bumped into a plastic box the size of a very large drawer. The box turned upside down and hundreds and hundreds of labels fell out on the floor in a huge mass. I stood there staring at the contents of this box with my mouth hanging open. I saw little round garage sale stickers, filing labels, sticky notes, diskette labels, removable labels, Xstampers and ink, filing labels and plastic inserts to hold the labels. The tally continued, and with my mouth still hanging opened, I realized what I had just thought was an opinion that was exactly like a label. It was like a word curse upon myself in the form of a self applied label.

THREE STORIES

Years ago as a newly born, naïve, prophetic child the Lord sent me to a person of authority, who formed an opinion about me. He labeled me, eventually judged, and finally rejected me. From the beginning, I was instantly hurled into a spiritual battle of such magnitude, that I did not know what hit me. It was my training ground and my teeth cutting days. All prophetic people go through this training, and I learned a lot of lessons back then. One thing I learned was that since this person was very anointed, he carried a lot of authority in the spiritual realm and his opinions of me were actually loosing evil spirits upon me. I knew this was true, but could not find the scripture to support this revelation. Through the years I saw this happening to others when they were judged, and I kept asking the Lord to send me confirmation. During the past couple of weeks, He finally answered that prayer. Before I share with you the scriptural insights, I want to share 2 more stories.

A couple of years ago, I was listening to a father speak negatively about his daughter. He was upset about a decision she had made and he brought several things into the conversation about her past mistakes. Feeling awkward about correcting an elder, I listened and by the time I was finally able to disconnect myself from the conversation, I felt slimed. I had compassion for the gal whose father had spoken like this about her and I prayed for her. That very day, a few hours later, I ran into her and she told me that she had a particularly bad day of bombarding negative thoughts. During a lengthy car drive that morning, she suddenly started thinking about all her past mistakes. Her mind was a battle ground of trying to overcome condemnation, guilt, shame and also trying to defend herself to no one but her own miserable thoughts. She said it was such a war that she had to finally yell at the devil to stop bugging her and she started speaking the Word of God over her past. I was so amazed at her volunteer confession, I asked her what time this happened. It was the exact time that her father was speaking these things about her. Then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that people’s opinions, conversations and judgments release evil tormenting spirits to others.

A few days ago I was listening to a sermon on a cassette tape. It was the story of a traveling speaker who discovered that sometimes after he spoke at various churches, he would have these terrible wars going on in his mind. He would wake up and start thinking, "Maybe I should have said, this, or that.. I didn’t quite cover that right, I meant to say this… etc, etc!" It was becoming quite an issue of unrest with him. He realized it was a spiritual battle and started praying over it.

After one battle, he called one of the churches where he had just ministered, and mentioned to the pastor that he had not heard from him, and wondered if everything was all right. The pastor told him that they had not received what he had shared. When he got off the phone, he realized his thoughts of condemnation were bombarding him via evil spirits sent to him from the congregations’ inability to receive what he had shared. He started declaring out loud to the spirit world, "God’s Word will not return void!" A couple of days later, he called the pastor back, and the pastor said everything had changed and they had received him. In another church he had no bombarding thoughts, and so he wondered why! He called, and the pastor and congregation were very pleased with what he had shared. This was a real revelation to him of why he was having such unrest and this bombardment of ‘thought wars’.

As I listened to this tape, I knew the Lord was speaking to my prayer of so long ago. Here a preacher had also discovered that people’s opinions can loose curses in the form of evil spirits upon us. At the same time, I was working on a deliverance file for ministry teams (eventually to be placed at my site) and I was doing a study on curses. The scriptures came alive to me and gratefully I finally found the scripture connections to back up this revelation. I hope that I can relay this to you in a way that you can see it too. It has really helped me and given me some good tools in overcoming what I call ‘word curses’ that are sent to us from opinions of others and even ourselves.

THE SCRIPTURAL REVELATION

Scripture One: "Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight." (Prov 26:2 NKJV)

King James says, "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come." The word causeless in the Hebrew means devoid of cost, devoid of reason or devoid of advantage.

What this means is that a curse will not land upon us unless we give it a reason to stay. Most often, that reason is our own sin or our own unforgiveness. The scriptures tell us that all of have sinned and deserve all the curses for disobedience to the laws of God, but that Jesus became a curse for us and paid the cost so that we could be set free of those curses. (Deut 28:15, Matt 18:34, Rom 3:23, Gal 3:13-14)

Please note that in Matt 18:34 it is a PROMISE that if we do not forgive, we are delivered to our tormentors! "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the TORMENTORS, till he should PAY all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Scripture two: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…" (Matt 5:44-45 NKJV)

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…. Repay no one evil for evil… Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom 12:14,17,19 -21 NKJV)

This is a command to bless when we have been cursed and a promise that this "subdues, conquers, prevails and gains the victory" over evil. (Greek for the word overcome.) This very promise took place in Job’s life.

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10 KJV)

Scripture three: "When you are invited into someone's home, give it your blessing. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. If a village doesn't welcome you or listen to you, shake off the dust of that place from your feet as you leave." (Matt 10:12-15 NLT)

King James says "And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you." (Matt 10:13 KJV) The word return means to revert, come again, to convert. When we give something away, we receive it back again.

To me, this verse implies that when we give a blessing to someone unworthy, it returns to us and we get blessed. Therefore, when we bless our enemies and those who curse us, it comes back to us as a blessing. I can see that this is similar to the concept that a curse will not stay without reason for it to stay. In the same way, a blessing will not stay without reason for it to stay. It comes back to us and we receive the benefit.

In pondering this verse that Jesus said first bless, then shake the dust off your feet, I wondered how these connected together since they seemed opposed to one another and implied some kind of a judgment against the unworthy enemies. I knew that couldn’t be correct since we are commanded not to judge, but to forgive. (Matt 7:2, Luke 6:37) And that was the moment of revelation.

Scripture four: "So it [the demon] returns and finds that its former home is all swept and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before." (Luke 11:25-26 NLT)

Back then they did not have carpeted floors. When the people literally swept their homes, they swept dirt and dust carried in on their feet. In this scripture Jesus was comparing a swept home with being clean of evil spirits. I suddenly understood that when He told the disciples to