DESTINY THIEVES:
How to stop the seducing spirit from
stealing your future.
By Sandie Freed
As the care pastor followed me to my office, I prepared my
heart and my mind to hear the results of another evil
assignment. Once again I bowed my head as I was informed that
one of our leaders had forsaken the “call” and had chosen to leave the ministry and backslide into an old lifestyle. He and
his wife had returned to their spiritual Egypt, deciding it was
too difficult to live for the Lord. My heart sank.
My husband and I had been senior pastors for years. Our ability to survive and
remain in the Christian race consisted of continual re-commitments and renewed
decisions to “lock back in” to fulfill destiny. The battle with the |
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accuser of the brethren had been relentless. It
seemed as if we could barely catch our
breath from a previous onslaught before another “air raid”
targeted us.
Once again, I began crying out, begging God for an answer. “Why,
God, why? What is happening to our leaders? They are constantly
being attacked and they quit. Just when they are on the verge of
breakthrough, they give up!”
The Lord answered with an astounding vision. I saw a strong
seducing spirit, in the form of a thief. This thief was
successfully stealing God’s people, seductively drawing them
away from their position and inheritance. First, he would seduce
them into believing the lie that they didn’t belong, that they
didn’t “fit” any longer. As a result, each of
them would separate from the Church body. Once he had them
alone, unprotected and vulnerable, he would strip them of their
power and authority, stealing their destiny. Before the enemy
convinced them to exit, we would notice such complaints as, “I
can’t find my place in the body” or “No one cares about me in
this church.” Even though we made many attempts at contact and
tried every possible way to prove our love and concern, it was
never enough.
The seducing spirit in the vision was in the form of a type of
Jezebel, the “painted lady” in the Scriptures who dressed
seductively, murdered the prophets and threatened to destroy
Elijah (1 Kings 18-19, 2 Kings 9:30). In the vision her
countenance changed from a seductive-type person into a thief or
bandit-type character. A third time, the countenance transformed
into a person plagued with uncleanness and defilement. The
spirit had no gender.
Our church was not experiencing an isolated attack; this was the
enemy’s strategy against every ministry that made an impact in
the spirit realm! In the vision it was clear that the result of
this demonically-inspired attack was the seduction and apostasy
of godly leaders and saints. The spirit of deception was so
overpowering that it was deceiving the elect! Saints who had
tremendous calls of God upon their lives were being attacked and
seduced. The enemy had convinced them that it was just “too
hard” to remain in the race. Since we are all called to be
leaders and servants in the Kingdom, this vision affects the
entire Body of Christ.
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The Lord spoke clearly that He was taking me on a journey to
understand how the seducing spirit works through the Accuser of
the Brethren, the Amalekite stronghold, the spirits of Jezebel
and Belial, along with unclean and religious spirits. One sure
thing I have realized is that we must continually be determined
for destiny or seducing spirits will ensnare us. I have desired
to quit the ministry more times than I care to mention. However,
God has been faithful to bring breakthrough after breakthrough.
His divine ability delivers from ALL oppression of my enemy and
there is nothing too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).
Satan’s voice is very seductive and many times his voice is
familiar because we spend too much time listening to him! The
Scripture states that Satan is transformed as an angel of light
(2 Corinthians 11:14). Light is symbolic of truth. Therefore,
Satan’s words sometimes sound like truth. If we are not properly
trained to discern the Father’s voice, we can be deceived.
Spending intimate time with the Father guarantees levels of
accuracy in discerning the true Light. Through proper use of
discernment we will not easily be seduced by the enemy’s lies.
In most situations the battle is in the mind. This is why we are
encouraged to renew our minds and cast down every imagination
(from the enemy) that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God. Too often, in our minds, Satan has exalted his lies above
God’s plans and God’s wisdom. Unless we challenge the
negativity, these areas become strongholds of Satan.
Know this before we go further…we have already won the battle!
The blood of Jesus has cleansed and strengthened us to go forth
into great victory. But in order to appropriate our victory, we
must understand the tactics and strategies of the destiny thief.
We observe in Scripture that the devil’s day and night job is to
wear us out! “And he shall speak words against the most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the most High…” (Daniel 7:25)
Our enemy will attempt to do whatever it takes to obtain such a
hold on us that we will quit running the race and abort the
fulfillment of destiny.
The name Belial is another name for Satan translated as wicked,
ungodly, evil, worthless and good for nothing. The name also
applies to ruin, destruction, having lack and to wear out.
Perhaps you have heard a beguiling voice whispering into your
thoughts statements similar to these: “You are worthless!” “You
are wicked and good for nothing!” “God would never answer your
prayers!” “You should be ashamed of yourself!” “You would be
better off dead!”
If you have heard these words, a seducing, beguiling Belial
spirit is attempting to wear you out and wear you down. The
spirit of Belial is a demonic stronghold that reinforces
patterns of shame. The spirit attempts to convince us that we
deserve evil and that we will never “measure up” to the
expectations of others. The resulting hopelessness can cause
even God’s children to choose death over life. Belial targets
our children and suicide is at an all-time high among teenagers.
Belial’s seductions also include idolatry, illegitimate
authority, homosexuality, spiritual barrenness, and having one’s
inheritance stolen.
To overcome Belial requires the cleansing fire of the Holy
Spirit to burn away the agreements made with this enemy. Then we
must be determined to cry out to God for our blessing. Jacob
wrestled with the angel of God until he possessed his
breakthrough. Our God is the God of the possible. Our strength
and our ability to defeat Belial will be in our determination to
war over our inheritance! Break covenant with the lies of Belial
that you may have come into agreement with, and agree with God’s
Word and what He declares over your life. Then thank the Lord
for the Blood of Jesus which cleanses you and places you in
right standing for your promised inheritance!
“Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they
have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant
and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass” (1 Samuel 15:3).
The Amalekite, is responsible for a compromising attitude. When
God is commanding us to “get out the leaven” and to “utterly
destroy all” we are tempted to compromise and retain the best
part. The devil often speaks into our ears with a sly seductive
voice: “You don’t have to stop that sin; God loves you. You are
under grace and not the law. If you continue to sin, God will
forgive you.” “Did God REALLY say that? It was probably your
imagination or a false prophecy.” The word “smite” means to
strike, beat or kill. If we do not slay every trace of an
Amalekite stronghold, we will find ourselves backsliding until
finally our destiny is aborted.
Our obedience to God’s Word releases blessings upon our lives.
The king of Israel was to strike the arrows against the ground
to utterly destroy all of the enemy’s plans (2 Kings 13:18-19).
He smote the arrows only a few times, representing a limited
victory. Strike the enemy and make a bold confession against
compromise, lack of self-discipline, indulgence of the flesh and
selling your birthright. Be determined to smite your arrows
until all of the enemy’s plans are destroyed!!
A religious spirit always attempts to convince us to compromise.
When God is bringing forth a new truth or a new move, the
religious spirit rises up and manifests. Religious tradition is
legalism and the Word says that the law brings death. Only the
Spirit of God will release LIFE in a service.
To overcome the religious spirit, press into God and ask Him how
you can accommodate the Holy Spirit more! Allow His fire to burn
away traditions, mindsets and old religious structures that do
not present life.
Religious spirits team up with the accuser of the brethren to
speak evil reports concerning others, especially against
leadership. Negativity will stop a fresh move of the Spirit
because it gives place to doubt and unbelief. God always honors
faith. Doubt and unbelief abort breakthroughs planned by the
Spirit.
An evil report involves false accusation, a distortion of facts
and bogus information. Most of the time these falsehoods are
communicated with the intent to cause harm to someone or his/her
reputation. At first it may be received in total innocence but
if repeated, it later brings contamination. An evil report is
similar to an evil germ that becomes active upon infection. If
not treated, the infection moves into disease and possible
death. Whether we “receive” the report or “give” the report, the
defilement is the same.
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We will never reach destiny if we choose to believe negative
reports. The only way to move into our destiny is to believe God
and His Word. This involves believing what He says about others
and us! Rather than remaining critical of others, begin
confessing what God has declared over their lives. Believe me;
it will make a difference in your heart! Soon you will notice
your attitude (and motive) toward them changing!
“And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit;
and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone: what have we to do with
thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Hath thou come to destroy us? I
know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:23-24).
Webster’s Dictionary defines unclean as “being morally or
spiritually impure.” It also means being “infected with a
harmful supernatural contagion.” This is very interesting,
because the instructions from God have always been to touch not
the unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:17). We are instructed to
remove ourselves from every unclean influence and become holy
and blameless before the Lord.
The unclean spirit is a tremendous stronghold in the Body of
Christ. Sin causes defilement and defilement closes the doors to
spiritual breakthroughs. This is the very reason that unclean
spirits cry out “Leave us alone!” The spirits will persuade us
into believing that there is no power in the name of Jesus and
no need for deliverance. They work against our minds and feed
thoughts such as: “Go ahead and sin, no one will ever know.” “It
was easier BEFORE you were a Christian.” “Go ahead, take a
drink. God won’t care.” “God doesn’t really care about you. Give
up.”
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With proper discernment any spirit is recognized. However, there
are certain characteristics that are common when an unclean
spirit is manifesting within a congregation or individual: an
unkempt appearance and defiled speech; lust, sexual perversion
and pornography; rigid belief systems; doubt and unbelief;
bondage and mental torment; evil reports; and spirits of death,
sickness and disease, often with generational patterns.
Since doubt and unbelief always manifest with an unclean spirit,
the way to uproot its power is to begin to speak God’s Word in
FAITH. Fear will attempt to enter into the hearts of man when
this spirit is at work, however take a firm stand and remain in
faith. It takes clean hands and pure hearts to totally destroy
the unclean spirit. Are there areas of defilement in your life?
Take time now to repent. Sanctify yourself by the washing of His
powerful Word. When God calls you away from an old lifestyle, a
city or a relationship, don’t look back. Separate yourself unto
Him and He will be faithful to save you.
The scriptures speak of the spirit of Jezebel, which still
operates today, infecting churches with its manipulation and
control. Have you had an incredible breakthrough only to be
greeted with intimidation, false accusations, fear,
manipulation, control and seduction? “Then Jezebel sent a
messenger unto Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me and
more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by
tomorrow about this time.’ And when Elijah saw that, he arose
and went for his life…” (1 Kings 19:2-3). Notice the emphasis:
Elijah saw his destruction! Jezebel’s intimidating threats grip
not only our emotions but also our minds! The mental torment
leads us to envision defeat, hopelessness and despair BEFORE if
even happens!
The Spirit of Jezebel will operate through anyone who allows it
to control and use him/her. Every Jezebel has an Ahab who
co-labors with her in manipulation and control. Saints, God has
stated that we are NOT to tolerate this type of seduction!
(Revelation 2:20)
Jezebel attracts people with “soulish” connection – ungodly
“soul ties” – relationships of unnatural emotional dependence.
The spirit “binds” you to itself, so tightly that you feel that
you will never be free even if you try. The spirit will seduce
others into her control by using false flattering words that
appeal to PRIDE. Jezebel desires total control; she will not
remain in a place or relationship that she cannot control.
We are well able to slay the giant of Jezebel! Repentance always
brings breakthrough. If you have allowed any entrance to
Jezebel, take this opportunity to repent. Immediately separate
yourself from the spirit/person, remain submitted and
accountable to delegated godly authority, and seek servanthood
over positions and titles.
Each of us is called as a “priest of the Lord’ – chosen ones to
serve Him (1 Peter 2:9). We are descendents of a royal lineage,
called to show forth the praises of God and to rule and reign
with godly authority. We are assured of victory if we commit
ourselves to purification and consecration. By utterly
destroying all areas of defilement and committing to our
destiny, we will overcome the seduction of the destiny thief. It
is our season to take off old garments and exchange our clothing
for the righteous garments of Christ Jesus.
This article is taken from the book Destiny Thieves. Used by
permission.
Sandie Freed is the Founder and Director of the School of the
Prophets and Apostolic Training Center in Bedford, Texas. She
has a passion to minister deliverance and life transformation to
God’s people. Sandie and her husband, Mickey Freed are ordained
with Christian International Ministries, serving on their Board
of Governors and the Board of Directors. Together they serve as
the Mid-Southern Regional Directors of the Christian
International Network of Churches. She can be reached at
www.zionministries.us.
