A tragic story once occurred of a woman and her son walking along a river bank. The woman was in her latter stage of pregnancy and held her toddler son by the hand as they journeyed. Suddenly, the little boy slipped and fell into the river! The woman in her condition could not jump into the river to save her son’s life. She cried and cried for help. After a little while, a couple of men heard her crying desperately and hurried towards her. They jumped into the river and brought out the lifeless infant, who had drowned in the river. The woman had not realised the river was only knee deep! She realised this, when the men ran into the river to rescue her son. Thus, she could have run into the river herself, in spite of her condition. Alas, it was too late. She had been unaware of the approximate depth of the muddy water. A majority of people in life are like the pregnant mother, oblivious of the journeys of life.
The spiritual lives of many people are in this way; unaware of what lies ahead of daily activities. Spirit-filled Christians should be able to discern, who their true friends and neighbours are. The irony is that many Christians are dining with the devil. There is a veil of ignorance covering their spiritual eyes.
People are managing the affairs they know little or nothing about. For instance, there are teachers who should be students, deliverance ministers who need deliverance, “great men and women of God” who should be learning how to be true followers of Christ. This is a fighter who is not familiar with his or her weapon of warfare or a soldier who does not recognise his or her enemies and where they are located.
Paul the apostle simply stated this in his epistle to the Corinthians, that he was not an ignorant person. He was a spiritual man who knew his right from his left.
“I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air.”
1 Corinthians 9:26.
Paul did not mince his words. He spoke with directness. He did not waste his punches, by shadow boxing. He fought with spiritual precision, and his spiritual eyes were alert.
When Joshua took over the mantle from Moses, God admonished him concerning all round prosperity. In the book of Joshua 1:8, Joshua the new leader was ordered by God to ensure the word of God did not depart from his mouth, and to meditate on it day and night, meaning at all times he had to carryout God’s will. In the first instance, the key within this particular Scripture is to seek constant knowledge from the word of God.
The main hindrance to any form of success is lack of knowledge. Many homes, ministries, callings, finances and so on are destroyed as a result of ignorance.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
Hosea 4:6.
It is said that the mountain of problems people have is in their mountain of ignorance.
A pompous young man once sought Socrates, the great philosopher for knowledge. When he finally accosted Socrates, his arrogance and pride were very apparent to Socrates. The philosopher decided to teach the man a lesson, so he took him to a pool of water deep enough for the purpose. Socrates then asked the young man, “What do you want?” And the man answered, “I want knowledge.” Socrates then pulled the man down with great strength and held him under the water for some seconds before pulling him out. He gasped for air desperately. Socrates asked him the question again, “What do you want?”, and the boy answered “I want knowledge.”
The man was dipped into the water for the second time, this time a little longer, before he was pulled up. He was then asked the same question, “What do you want?” and he answered with great breathing difficulty “I want knowledge” Again, for the third time he was given the same treatment, and he was held under the water for even longer than the second time. Finally, he was asked the question again by Socrates “What do you want?” This time the man gasped and gasped for air and cried out “I want air!”
Until a man seeks knowledge as much as the air he breathes, it can be argued he is not prepared to learn. A person such as this will forever remain a spiritual mediocre.
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”.
2 Corinthians 2:11.
It is said that the first kind of ignorance is the unenlightenment of not knowing. This is the person that simply does not have the facts that can transform his or her life. He remains in the dark and will perish in the pit of life. It is a great tragedy for someone to be in this world without a clue about his mission on earth and the means to accomplishing it.
When Paul addressed the elite philosophers in the city of Athens, he made this statement:
“For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ’TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you”.
Acts 17:23.
You should ask yourself; do I fall in this category?
There is also the ignorance of acquiring inadequate facts. This person, unlike the first person has some knowledge, but the knowledge is not sufficient. Therefore, this man is worse than the first. This is because in actuality, he knows nothing. This is the category of leaders that should be led, shepherds that should be sheep and teachers that should be students. This is the proverbial one eyed man that is leading the community of the blind. Matthew 15:14 “…..and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch”.
If your facts have been insufficient to deliver you from any unpleasant situation that you have found yourself in, then you are definitely in this category.
The third condition is a lot worse than the second. The misinterpretation of information can be disastrous. In this instance, the man has the facts which might be adequate, but has the problem of application. He does not use the knowledge correctly.
Paul the apostle was well learned in religion and matters concerning the Jewish law, however, he was spiritually ignorant, until he encountered Jesus Christ.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief”.
1Timothy 1:12-13.
God made a way for him to become a Christian with a special mission after he had been a violent terrorist, responsible for the death of many Christians. He was misguided in his belief, until his encounter with God he had been a closed minded scholar wearing a veil of spiritual ignorance.
The fourth form of ignorance is that of wrong expectations. I was sometime ago, watching a programme called the Jewish Voice on the television, and the guest, Dr Larry Bates, was explaining the fact that wealth does not die but it is transferred. The ownership does change hands, but wealth itself does not die. What I am saying here is this, when the scripture says, for example in (Proverbs 13:22b) “... and the wealth of the sinners are laid up for the just”, this will not be available for you unless you have the knowledge of how to obtain it.
When a person has the right information, but has the wrong expectations, it is just as useless as not having any knowledge at all. This, of course, leads to the same tragic end as the earlier mentioned groups.
When we have the facts from God’s Word but we do not understand God’s purposes, our ignorance is more than tragic; it is deadly, in my opinion.
It has been noted, that before Jesus was born, Israel was said to have had the correct data about the coming of the Messiah or the Christ that God had promised them. They were aware that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David; that he would be born in Bethlehem; and that he would be a king that would restore God’s kingdom. They also knew he would rule in the power of God, but their expectation was that this Messiah would be a physical king who would restore the nation of Israel physically. With this kind of expectation, it meant that Jesus Christ could not possibly be the Messiah that God promised Israel. The ignorance created by wrong expectations is very common today.
“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices”.
2 Corinthians 2:11.
When Paul wrote this second epistle to the Corinthians, he alluded to the possibility that Satan might take advantage of them. He knew the importance of knowledge. They needed to be informed Christians. Informed Christians should not allow themselves to fall into a false sense of security, where they will be caught off guard by the enemy: Satan. The enemy’s advantage is always based upon one being ignorant of his strategies.
When the bible warns us to resist Satan, we are expected to be illuminated concerning his devices. We are to be aware of the methods he adopts to lead people astray, so that we can resist him successfully.
Satan erodes minds with lies. A man might never be greater than his thoughts. In fact, the bible says as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. The battle of the mind has to be won before anyone can overcome. It is ignorance for children of God to limit themselves. To limit oneself is to limit God. Though Joshua and Caleb observed great opposition to the Promised Land, they refused to negotiate in their minds or their hearts any limitation. Thus, what you see is what you get!
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
Romans 12:2.
We have a responsibility to consistently renew our minds with the word of God in order to promote our lives. The best way to achieve this is to avoid being hooked on the things of this world, so that one will not get to reason and rationalise like the world does. The ways of the Lord are contrary to the ways of the world. A regular meditation on the word of God renews one’s mind, thereby improving faith in God’s promises. Do not be ignorant of Satan’s strategies, guard your heart and mind with facts that come from the word of God.
I highly recommend that you keep company with those that you can share positive goals with.
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend”.
Proverbs 27:17.
Again, I must state that a man might never be greater than the company he keeps. Therefore choose a friend that has goals. Your level of knowledge or ignorance might be limited to the people around you. When the bible says in Proverbs 13:20:
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed”.
And,
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers..." (2 Corinthians 6:14a)
And finally the bible advises that:
"Come out from among them…” (2 Corinthians 6:17a)
Unforgiveness is often overlooked, but it is the most important. This is why Satan uses it as bait, and thus many people are getting offended every time. The closer a relationship is, the greater the offence. If Joseph could forgive his brothers who conspired together and sold him into slavery for so many years, one can forgive those that trespass against them. Satan will take advantage of an ignorant Christian that has refused to forgive.
I always refer to an unforgiving Christian as one devoid of understanding. Unforgiving Christians waste their time when they approach the Lord for blessings. The bible warns that it is better for a believer to go and settle with his brother or sister before opening their mouth to pray. Now wait a minute, the person you are claiming to have forgiven but have chosen not to talk to anymore; this is unforgiveness. If the Lord has forgiven your sins, but decides not to answer your prayers, how would you feel? You should not get trapped in satanic bait, get out of it! Christians who are unloving, unmerciful, and unforgiving, become stumbling blocks to the people around them as well as themselves.
The greatest deliverance a person can have is for God to remove the veil of spiritual ignorance covering his or her eyes. A child of God should have a discerning spirit. Their spiritual eyes need to be opened. When your spiritual eyes are opened, you will run the race of your life with certainty. You will never go for the wrong job or business; neither will you associate with unfriendly friends or reside in demonic houses. Finally, a lot of Christians will stop following supposed men of God that have been deceiving and ruining their lives.
An old woman at the end of a Sunday service was said to have gone to meet her pastor. She thanked the pastor for shedding much light during his ministration. The old woman told the pastor, “Until now, I had always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife” How ignorant can one be?
Before you continue, I would advise you to stop and pray the following prayers with anger in your spirit. You will have to pray these prayers vigorously, throughout the night, to prepare your foundation for the amazing spiritual revelation that is further on in this book. This will definitely give good groundwork for your deliverance.
Prayer Points:
1.Every satanic veil covering my spiritual eyes, catch fire in the name of Jesus.
2. My spiritual ears open by fire and hear your Creator in the name of Jesus.
3. My life, refuse to follow satanic agenda in the name of Jesus.
4. My Father my Father, open my eyes to see where I am, and where I am supposed to be and anoint me to fulfil my destiny in the name of Jesus.
5. Any satanic counsel and counsellors diverting my destiny, be wasted in the name of Jesus.
6. I fire back every arrow of stagnancy and misdirection fired into my life in the name of Jesus.
7. Any power that has vowed to waste my life, waste in the name of Jesus.
