2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV) Biblos.com
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
The greatest challenge for Believers in this age is to walk in love, power and wisdom. 2 Timothy (NKJV) tells us this “We have not been given the spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind.” These navigational tools allow us to follow God without the clutter that fogs and obscures His glory. The Holy Spirit never dominates us; he leads us and we willingly follow. Compulsion is a fruit of religion and works. It is not a fruit of the Spirit. Theology that produces fear, powerlessness and confusion is spawned by man or the evil one. It only leads people into deeper bondage. When we are Spirit led, we transform our lives and influence others; when we are controlled by various types of spirits we end up infecting others and deploying evil into the world.
Unfortunately we have false teachers that use threats of divine retribution if people don’t follow them and the saints continue marching under the whip and image of a tyrant they have been told is God’s Spirit.
I have written this to help you answer a question. Are you Spirit led or controlled by a dominant spirit? Here is the difference: A spirit led believer resolves all of their challenges and problems, internal (sinful and natural deficiencies) and external (demonic forces, barriers and day to day problems) through reliance on God and the various means he provides. A spirit dominated believer is dependent on others (people or demonic beings (1)– see notes below) and consistently overcome by challenges and looks everywhere for relief other than God and His ways. I have met many saints that are probably saved, but will never defeat: anxiety, status striving, depression, pride, envy, religiosity, lust, vanity, greed or numerous other idols erected in their lives. They are fruitless saints.
Once we are redeemed we are eternally secure, but our walk and witness needs attention and consistent devotion. Salvation is our initial point of contact with God. However, what we become as saints and our value to the kingdom is in our hands and will be depend primarily on one thing obedience to God. How will He communicate? He will use various means, but always through His spirit.
Here are some scriptures to muse over.
Ezekiel 13:3
3‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.
Galatians 5:18 (ESV) Biblos.com
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
1 Samuel 16:14 (NIV) Biblos.com
“Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
LORD tormented him.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV) Biblos.com
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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (ESV) Biblos.com
14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do
with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
The study of God can reveal many important things to us, but ultimately God has to reveal himself. It’s important to let him speak for Himself. We create doctrines from our limited understanding and can fall into traps laid out before us by the evil one. Paul spoke about this when he talked about the days we live in 1 Timothy 4:1:
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
One of the primary things taught by Jesus and the Apostles was obedience to God and His instruction. The enemy crafts doctrines to ensnare us in obedience to a false god. The scriptures tell us that we obey God through walking in the Spirit. The Law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. We became one with God upon salvation and were commissioned to be ambassadors for Him. So why the confusion and division within the church? It’s simple, we are not Spirit led, we are spirit dominated.
The idea behind this post deals with compulsion or a dominant thought process that fuels people over a period of time. Eventually it becomes a compulsion that forces them to act in ways contrary to scripture. This is the way the devil dominates belivers and unbelievers alike, his spirits have deceived many by their lies. John 8:34 makes this clear: “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” The world is filled with captives and those that truly walk in freedom. I admonish you today to read the words of Paul and be conformed to this type of service. Be free and be kind to the captives. You are needed now more than ever!
2 Timothy 24 -26
24And the Lord’s servantd must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26and they may come
to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by
him to do his will.
1. Notes: People can be loners but dependent on deceiving spirits. This is not uncommon at all and often leads to sorcery or vain philosophical musings that lead away from Christ and his teachings. Although the individual believes they are depending on God, they have linked up with a supernatural being impersonating the Spirit. They Bible states “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2nd Corinthians 11:14