Presenting Your Body

Isa 64:1a.  Oh, that You would rend the heavens!  That You would come down!

Heb 10:5-7

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.

6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.  7 Then I said, 'Behold,

I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of Me – To do Your will, O God.'"

Whenever God wants to accomplish something in the earth, He chooses a people to operates through

Why doesn’t He do it Himself?

Gen 1:26.  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

• He gave Adam Authority, rule

Adam disobeyed God, ‘the earth came under the dominion of darkness’ – Col 1:13

Luke 4:5-7

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."

• Jesus didn't say, "No, you don't have all authority."        

1^st Adam gave Satan that authority, & 2^nd Adam had to take it back

2^nd Adam had to come from the adama (ground) 

God needed a body to enter the earth:  “A body You have prepared for Me”

Matt 1:23.  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Jesus came, and through His blood, took back the authority from Satan

• All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth. - Matt 28:19       

Jesus got ready to leave, so God needed another body

• 1 Cor 6:19.  Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you.       

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. – Acts 1:8

We are the ones who release God in the earth, or we limit God in the earth

Eph 3:20.  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

That’s why we are supposed to pray...

Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Matt 16:19.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and

         whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and

         whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

We don’t have to pray that God will “rend the heavens and come down”

We are operating under an open heaven

Matt 3:16 – When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened and the Spirit descended

God is looking for a Body

Heb 10:5  A body You have prepared for Me.

  7  'Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.'

Will you make yourself available?

Present your bodies a living sacrifice – Rom 12:1

Phil 1:20.  Christ will be magnified in my body

Pray to know the power

Eph 1:15-21

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  ²¹ far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Fasting With Expectation - includes 10-day Fasting info

Josh 3:5.  And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves,

For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."  

• Pull away from the ordinary; set yourself apart – as through fasting
• God’s going to do something wonderful, extraordinary, or difficult

How you sanctify yourself reveals your expectation 

What was the Sin of Sodom

Ezek 16:49-50

Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.

How many times do we see food connected to temptation & judgement in scripture? 

Gen 3:6.  The woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes.

Esau sold his future for a bowl of oatmeal – Gen 25:30-34

Ps 78:18.  And [the Israelites] tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.  KJV

• ·Preferred to be fat & enslaved ratner than freedom & manna

Rather have food than God

1 Cor 11.  Church was bringing judgement on itself at the Lord’s Supper…

The first temptation of Jesus was to eat

          This is no coincidence – the second Adam controlled his appetite

Temptation is connected to natural needs & appetites

      Appetites pushed to the extreme or perverted, i.e. food, sex, money, position

Food is often the first door of lusts – issues of self-control

The control of our appetites is linked to the control of our passions.

If we cannot control our appetite for food, how can we deal with other lust?

It actually becomes a form of Idolatry

Phil 3:19.  Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who set their mind on earthly things.

Rom 16:18a.  For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.

We will obey our stomach says, & not what God says

Reverse the Idolatry

Mark 14:38.  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

2 Chron 7:14.  If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

• Humble:  "afflict the soul," discipline self, syn. Fast - Lev 23:26-28; Ps 35:13      

Stomach, you are not my god!  Stomach, you are no longer my god

Why Fast? 

Expecting the Supernatural – “Sanctifying myself because I expect wonders!”

1. Aligning with the Supernatural, instead of the natural – making your spirit stronger

Fasting rearranges our priorities from the natural to the supernatural

Serves notice to our body and our carnal nature: You don’t control me!

Brings our carnal nature into subjection; discipline

2.  Supernatural Freedom – Isaiah 58:6

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

3.  Enhances Supernatural Communications, Intensifies Prayers – Isa 58:9

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

4.  Supernatural Victory over a certain order in demonic realm – Matt 17:14-21 

“This kind” does not go out except by prayer and fasting. 

 5.  Supernatural Deliverance & Healing – 2 Chron 20:3-22; Is 58:8

6.  Releases Supernatural Guidance – Acts 13:2-3  (many struggle in this area)

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,

"Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

³ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Isa 30:21.  Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.

7.  Supernatural Favor - Est 4:15-5:3

8.  Supernatural Reversals – 1 Kings 21:27-29

So it was, when Ahab heard those words [of judgement against him], that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. ²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹ "See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me?

Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days.

Remember Prayer w/ Fasting

While Praying & Fasting – Believe for a Supernatural Breakthrough

Many times while not eating, still thinking about food

Reach the Realm where you’re not thinking about food,

But thinking about the Word of God

I’d rather have God than food

Job 23:12.  I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. 

Sacrificing the natural to experience the Supernatural

Abundant Grace’s Corporate Fast for 2016 will be a 10-day Partial Fast  

YOU pick the 10 consecutive days that YOU will fast, between January 3^rd and 31^st.

It is a partial fast because we will only abstain from certain foods.

Choose one (1) of the two (2) different Partial Fast:

Daniel Fast (Daniel 1:11-15):   

This fast consists basically of vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and fruit.

• You will avoid meats, poultry fish, sweets (desserts), white flour, white rice, fried foods, caffeine, carbonated beverages,

No-Carb Fast: 

This fast consists mainly of vegetables and meats, poultry, fish and eggs.

• You will avoid all starches and sugars, including natural sugars in fruit, desserts, whole grains, breads, pasta, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, and dairy products.

While you are on this fast, be sure to Feed Your Spirit every day!

• Read at least on chapter in the scriptures every day.       

Let your fasting be accompanied with Prayer – see #4 on the first page

Ps 5:3.  In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice; In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Shut off the excesses that appeal to the flesh: TV, mobile devices, internet, etc.

Warning: to receive the full benefits of the fast, you must be careful to treat others fairly; you must not accuse, or speak critically or harshly of others.  Isaiah 58:9

Remember:  Fasting is not a hunger strike.  Fasting is not to change God, but to change You!

The control of our appetites is linked to the control of our passions.

If we cannot control our appetite for food, how can we deal with other lust?

Angels Pt 2

This season is filled with Angels, which we think of simply as messengers

1. Angels are warriors and worshipers
2. Angels are assigned to us, as believers
3. Angels protect us
4. Angels deliver us
5. Angels minister strength to us

Activate your Angels

1. Angels listen for and “heed the voice, or sound of His Word” – Ps 103:20
2. Angels come because of our words – Dan 10:12

We must Confess His Word:  “to say together with”

          Confession is made with the mouth

Angels are waiting to move when they hear the sound of His Word

Today, we look at Angels in relationship to the activity of God 

Luke 2:8-14

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."  13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  

14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Isa 6:1-4
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple. 
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
     "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

Angels created a tangible Glory.  How?  “By the voice of him who cried out”  

We have Angels singing, when they are actually “Saying”

Who are they Saying “Holy, holy, holy” to?  Each other!!!

Why is this important?   We must learn to create Glory

When we create Glory, we bring His Presence

          What were the Angel announcing in Luke?  His Presence

Take you to the Tabernacle, which is a copy of things in heaven – Heb 8:5

Ex 25:17-22 
"You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.

20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

Where we create Glory, He will meet us & speak to us – Presence

“Between the wings”

Our wings are our mouths

Matt 18:19-20

Again I say to you that if two of you agree (sound together) on earth about anything that they ask, it will be done (come into existence) for them by My Father who is in heaven.  20 For where there are two or three gathered together in My name,

There I AM in their midst.  IISB

I AM THAT I AM – I AM WHO I AM – I exist, I become – I exist to become

I will be what I have been – what I have been to your fathers…

I will be what I will be                    

I AM WHO I AM and I will become what I want to become

“I AM” will meet us where we sound together & create the glory!

He will become whatever we need Him to become

What is our Glory sound?  What are we “Saying” to one another?

Hint:  What are we seated on?  – Mercy Seat

2 Chron 5:13-14

Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:

"For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,"

that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

2 Chron 20:21-23

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

"Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever."

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

1 Chron 16:37 & 41

 So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark regularly, as every day's work required

41 and with them Heman and Jeduthun and the rest who were chosen, who were designated by name, to give thanks to the Lord, because His mercy endures forever.

When we produce Glory, we put ourselves in the place of the Miraculous 

What’s under the Mercy Seat?

Heb 9:4

1. The golden pot that had the manna,
2. Aaron's rod that budded, and
3. The tablets of the covenant;

We're sitting on Mercy & Miracles

If we just "Sound Together" to create His Glory & His Presence

"O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever!" 

Angels

There are principalities and powers standing against you and heaven

Eph 6:12.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

There are principalities and powers standing with you in the heavens

2 Kings 6:8-17

Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place." 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there." 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?"

12 And one of his servants said, "None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom."

13 So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him."

And it was told him, saying, "Surely he is in Dothan."

14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha

We mostly think of Angels as messengers, especially at this time of the year   Limited view, much of which does not come from scripture

Angels named in scripture & their assignments

Gabriel – Messenger “I stand in the presence of the Lord” Lk 1:19; Dan 8:16, 9:21

Michael – Chief prince, warrior (Dan 10:13, 21; Rev 12:7), archangel (Jude 9)

Lucifer – “cherub that guarded” the worship (Is 15:12-15; Ezek 28:11-19)

Rafael – (in religious writings) associated with healing: pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-4)

Angels are assigned to us, as believers

Heb 1:14.  Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Matt 18:10.  Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Angels protect us

Ps 91:11-12

For He shall give His angels charge (appoint) over you, to keep (watch) you in all your ways.  In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

An angel shut the mouth of the lion when Daniel was in the lion’s den – Dan 6:22

Angels deliver us

Ps 34:6-7

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.

Angels minister strength to us

1 Kings 19:5-8

Then as [Elijah] lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

Luke 22:43. Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

Matt 4:11.  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. 

Activate your Angels

Dan 10:12.  Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

Ps 103:20.  Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength,

who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.  Sound, cry 

1.  Angels listen for the sound of His Word 
2.  Angels come because of our words 

Angels are waiting to move when they hear the sound of His Word

Angels were activated to minister to Jesus because He kept voicing the Word

Gen 28:12.  Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

We must CONFESS His Word – more than just speaking the Word

Rom 10:10.  With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 3670. homologéœ:  from homoú (3674), together with, and légœ (3004), to say

          To say together with

Because the fulfillment of His Word will change your destiny… 

There are principalities and powers standing against you and heaven

We must PRAY His Word with Persistence – cry day & night (Lk 18:1-8)

Dan 10:10-13

Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. 11 And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and

I have come because of your words.

13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

There are principalities and powers standing with you  

Some things never happened because we were not persistent

Stay persistent because Angels are waiting to move at the sound of His Word

Seducing Spirits of Absalom & Delilah

1 Tim 4:1.  Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing, deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

The purpose of the seductions

1 Kings 11:1-2

King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.

The Seducing Spirits of Absalom and Delilah

The spirit of Absalom can hurt us worse than any other spirit:

He abuses his position as a “son”

Psalm 55:12-14.  For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng.

The spirit of Absalom is caused by unresolved offenses, un-forgiveness and bitterness.  It seeks revenge and control.

Because it is a spirit it can find others of like spirit, who in turn are drawn to him.

 

2 Samuel 15:1-12 

1. Absalom presents himself as important, spiritually wise and connected (15:1-2) 

He deliberately “stands at the gate” – the place of traffic and decisions.

The first move of this seductive spirit is to draw attention to himself by being in a visible place in ministry that gives him credibility with people, thus drawing people to him. 

2. He cunningly aligns himself with the people’s issues, causing people to align with him (15:3-4)
This spirit seduces and steals the hearts and loyalty of the people with caring and concern, and false humility.  He appears concerned with the hurts of the people.  He tells them “You’re right,” with the insinuation being that if they’re right, then leadership must be wrong or unconcerned – throwing doubt on leadership, which turns into seeds of discord. 

Since they obviously can’t rely on leadership, who can they trust?  It doesn’t take long before Absalom presents himself as the answer.

3. He presents himself as being closer to the hearts of the people than their leader, resulting in the people giving him the respect they should be giving to their God-appointed leader (15:5-6)
This seducing spirit tells people, “You are special to me and I love you more than the pastor does; I will spend the quality time with you he doesn’t”.

In gathering people to himself, initially he promotes it as fellowship times built around a Bible study, prayer or dinner, but his real purpose is to provide an opportunity where he can begin criticizing leadership.  At the outset of such gatherings Absalom makes sure that the attention isn't drawn to him – “God is our focus!”  This soon changes however, and gradually the gathering turns into a meeting of bruised souls expressing their sense of hurt.

This Absalom spirit will lead the group into demonic imaginations like, "I don't like the direction the church is going," or "I think he's in sin," or "He's probably stealing church money," etc.  He will begin to distort some of the teaching given by leadership, and

4. Absalom then uses spirituality to mask his rebellion (15:7-9)
To the leader (pastor), he presents what he’s doing as spiritual.  All the while this spirit begins to widen the seduction, inviting other individuals in the church into the circle of dissatisfaction; always making sure the hearer understands that this isn't gossip, but truth that needs airing. 

This spirit seduces by seemingly promoting God, the teachings of the Bible, etc, to validate the reason for speaking against leadership. 

5. The last phase is to have those who have been seduced, seduce others (15:10-12)
Circles of influence are used to seduce others, reaching as many in the church as possible.  Often, there is some formalized communication, with an accusation against the pastor, and encouragement to join them in this “greater” move of God.

Some people go along innocently. (15:11)  These are those who only wanted the best of church life, and to move into something greater. Sadly these ones don't see the truth until much later, and they become confused, and some ultimately leave fellowship altogether.

This spirit will even go after other leaders or those in training for leadership. For example, Absalom went after Ahithophel, who was David's Chief Military Officer and right-hand man. (15:12)

6. The final uprising against the legitimate God-appointed leadership is the setting up of a competitive seat of power (15:10b). 

Eventually, the rebellion becomes formalized, with a new church, or a new Bible study/prayer group, etc.

The reason why this spirit is so difficult to deal with:

People are emotionally attached to them through relationships.

Because Absalom was a part of the fellowship, and a “son or daughter of the ministry, everyone loved Absalom (even David).  Absalom is nice, lovable and popular.

If you deal with their seductions you have the appearance of being unloving or paranoid.  People have a hard time separating from this seducing spirit, because of the relationship.  Absalom tries to maintain a back door by using the spiritual reasoning, “We are still apart of the kingdom of God even if we are not in the same church.”

Warning:  Fellowship is not the true motive of this seducing spirit.  Remember we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

Deception of continuing in fellowship with Absalom takes the following form:

1.  I can handle it, I'm mature enough.

Even Superman had his kryptonite.

Charm is powerful and deceptive. Prov 31:30

2.  I am special to them

They prey upon our insecurities and our need for acceptance.

3.  They are my frends.  Your proble with them is not my problem.  Being their friends will not affect my relationship with my church.”

4.  They love God.  You should not judge them.

 2 Sam 15:11. 200 men went along innocently and did not know anything.

5.  I can help them.

We have false notion that we can love Absalom back into the kingdom. This gives him a greater inroad to influence, take advantage of, and shipwreck you. Their main purpose is advancing their agenda.

The only way to deal with the seductions of this spirit is to cut it off:

Titus 3:10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition.

                    Don’t stay there… it’s dangerous!

Spirit of Delilah

Judg 16:4-5

Afterward it happened that [Samson] loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."

Samson was dedicated to the Lord – he was a gifted man of God of purpose & destiny

God used Samson as a leader (Judge) and as a mighty deliverer of His people

          When the Spirit came upon him, he was supernaturally empowered

Samson was a major threat to the enemies of God

They tried, but couldn’t overcome him in fighting

So they hired Delilah

The Mission of Delilah  brought low
This spirit of Delilah is assigned to destroy all men and women of purpose and destiny – anointed, gifted leaders, who are effective in ministry.  This spirit seduces leaders in the lust of the flesh (emotional and physical adultery; and fornication), lust of the eyes and pride of life.  (1 John 2:16)  This spirit works to destroy their credibility – moral influence.

1. Entice him

This spirit is not aggressive, power-hungry or as blatant as Jezebel and Athaliah.  Delilah is seductive, appealing and gentle.  She uses the language of praise and creates an atmosphere of safety and peace.  Notice, Samson’s head was on her lap.

Delilah deceives you by being in church every Sunday, at every bible study and every all night prayer. She is on time and involved in many church activities as her way to get close to the leaders.

2. Find out where his great strength lies

Delilah is drawn to you because of your anointing and strength.  This spirit seduces to find out the source of your anointing and divine connection – your discipline and purpose.

3. Find out how he can be overpowered

Her assignment is to cause you to break your vow, and lose your power and anointing, resulting in losing your favor and removal from your place of leadership.  The outcome of her seduction is that you will be ordinary, like everyone else. 

4. How can he be bound

Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, pride of life.  Sex, Money, Power, Position

5. How can he be afflicted – oppress

This seducing spirit wants to make sure you are separated from your destiny and purpose, and left bound in shame.

Ministry is draining – leaves you thirsty

Judg 15:18.  [When Samson finished killing 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey] Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?"

Delilah offers to quench that thirst

Prov 5:15, 18-20

15 Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.

18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.

19 As a loving deer and a graceful doe,

Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.

20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,

And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

Samson thought he could handle Delilah; “I got this”

The enemy agitates when you’re worn down

Judg 16:16.  It came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death

You must intentionally set guards in your life

• Your spouse, if you’re married
• If you’re single, you need a father or a mother

          Who can you confess to and they won’t take advantage of you