WHICH SPIRITS ARE YOU CONTROLLED BY

WHICH SPIRITS ARE YOU CONTROLLED BY?

   Inside this physical body there is a continuous war going on. There are so many spirits, good and bad, fighting to take control of us. When we hear the word “spirit”, without knowledge, we can easily be deceived. To be able to fight a battle, it is best to know as much as you can about your enemy. From time to time, I will write about the different spirits we have to deal with every day. Do you want God’s spirit in control or the devil’s?

   Proverbs 20:27 “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” Belly means heart or womb. Proverbs 3:19 “For many walk…..that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” “Spirit” means “breathe”. It is thought to be the conscience given by God to aid in self-examination and self-control. It is an inner control just as chastening blows are eternal controls. Proverbs 20:30 “The blueness of a wound cleans away evil: so do stripes the inward man.” I used to wonder what the belly has to do with anything. Did you ever get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that something wasn’t right? Or you get the feeling you shouldn’t do a certain thing? It is called instinct. That definitely is a conscience control but it is not always obeyed. That is how we get in trouble.

   “The candle of the Lord” is like an x-ray or other tests doctors use to probe inside to find a disease. He cuts the bad parts away to give the rest of the body a chance to heal. God gives us the chance to control our own spirit or let the devil have his way. Proverbs 25:28 “He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” God is pleased when we pray constantly for Him to show us the way we should go.

   God gives this spirit to all men when we are born. It is up to us how we use it. This spirit was just lent to us to decide which way we want to go. Ecclesiastes 12:7 “Then shall the dust (our body) return to earth as it was: and the spirit is returned to God who gave it.” This statement should really humble us to make us realize we are nothing without God. We are nothing but a handful of dirt to be thrown back to the earth for man to trample over! God’s breath blown into man is what gives us life. Man was meant to live forever but sin caused death. God’s mercy gives that life back to us when Jesus died in our place. How great and loving is our God!

Looking through the Concordance, I was surprised to see how many different spirits are trying to control us. There are so many spirits we do battle with every day. The Holy Spirit is given to live within us to do battle for us to get rid of them when we do let him. They don’t give up. They keep trying to get back in. We are the ones who decide whether to let them in or not. We always have an out when we accept wrong spirits in ignorance. Isaiah 29:24 “They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.” There is always hope if we ask God to “Create in me a clean heart, O, God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10) And verse 11 “Cast me not away from your presence; and take not away your Holy Spirit from me.” We cannot survive without God’s Holy Spirit.

   The same spirits living in Jesus are the same spirits we should desire if we are to be like Jesus. It is possible because God has made man in His image. Isaiah 11:1 & 2 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the SPIRIT of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING, the spirit of COUNSEL and MIGHT, the spirit of KNOWLEDGE and of FEAR (reverence) of the Lord.”

   Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” Not only will Jesus judge the Gentiles but also those in the city of Zion and Jerusalem. Isaiah 4:4 writes “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of JUDGMENT, and by the spirit of BURNING.”

   I will give you some of the bad spirits you may be receiving. They may not reside there all the time but return for a “visit” when you open the door to them and don’t kick them out right away. Often we are not even aware when they come upon us. They are so sneaky. They attack when you are down in your spirit. The devil sends them to you to try to keep you from receiving God’s blessings when you are in His will. He especially likes to hit when you have had a mountain top experience. He wants you to tumble off that mountain.

   Here are a few scriptures mentioning bad spirits:

Numbers 5:14 “And the spirit of JEALOUSY came upon him.”

Deuteronomy 2:30 “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord your God HARDENED his spirit.”

Judges 9:23 “Then God sent an EVIL spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem: and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.”

I Samuel 1:15 “Hannah was a woman of a SORROWFUL spirit.”

I Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an EVIL spirit from the Lord TROUBLED him. (a troubling spirit)

   (God’s spirit can leave us when we turn from Him. The devil will then proudly step in and hit us with as many awful spirits as he can.)

I Kings 21:5 “But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is your spirit so SAD, that you eat no bread?”

Isaiah 54:6 “For the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken and GRIEVED in spirit” (talking about Israel)

   Can you see any of the above spirits in you at times, good or bad? It can be overwhelming. Later I will write about the spirit of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of the Lord rest on you and all else will fall into place. Thank God for His Holy Spirit.

May God bless you?

All scriptures are from KJB.