A One of the dangers of spiritual warfare is giving the enemy access back into your life.
1 The Old Testament refers to this as “chords of wickedness.”
a The chords wrap themselves around the wicked like a snake.
b Ps. 129.4-5; Proverbs 5.22-23
2 In Acts 16, we learn of a young woman who is being squeezed to death by a spirit (Python) that had coiled itself around her.
a Acts 16.16
b The enemy wants to coil around you and squeeze the life out of you.
B Python is often a voice of the past.
1 The word for this word in the Old Testament is “ ‘owb”, which also means “familiar spirits.”
a The slave girl consulted people who were dead to guide her present.
aa People from the past controlling her today!
bb Is. 29.4
b The is spirit of python/divination speaks from the dust of the ground, tries to wrap itself around you and squeeze the life from you.
2 Often times this spirit uses our past history (family, personal, professional) to bring us despair, death & destruction.
a Sometimes it can be just elevating the “good ol’days” to sacred status.
aa Often the case in churches! (Nothing wrong with the good ol’days, but when they strangle the new thing God wants to do at the alter of religion, something is wrong.)
bb Tradition is the living faith the dead; religion is the dead faith of the living.
b There is a way to build from our past to gain a perspective of our present circumstances in order to build our future.
C Moses & God have a conversation that helps us identify what a healthy view of past, present, & future looks like. (Exodus 33.20-23)
1 If anybody knew about the past, it was Moses.
a He chronicled creation, fall, lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Past? He got it!
b Moses also knew that the only way he could lead Israel into the Promised Land was see God’s face fresh, anew.
2 Moses learned that our God is always on the move.
a God could have drawn a picture of Himself, given a written description of His glory, said “no” to Moses’ request.
b God gave Moses a certain place, certain time to catch a glimpse of where He (God) had just come from.
3 There is no future in your past.
a God is always moving forward!
b We can linger in the halls of yesterdays achievements, triumphs only long enough to learn from our mistakes.
c We linger too long we will miss what God is doing right now and His promise for our future.
D Python- The Piling up of Bad Circumstances
1 Job 27.20
a When you’re winning nothing hurts. When you’re losing everything hurts.
b In football a team can be penalized for “piling on” after the tackle. (Worst is usually after a fumble.)
aa When we make a mistake (or spend too much time celebrating a victory of the past), he will pile on.
bb The hebrew word for “flood” means to be surrounded by waters.
2 Python will surround you!
E Python- The Power of Wrong Relationships
1 1 Cor. 15.33
a Peer pressure is nothing more than a cluster of demons that come together around those who are not living right.
b Families, they can masquerade as dream killers.
aa Sometimes they are momma’s apron strings.
bb Sometimes they are a controlling person in your family.
2 Python loves taking new Christians and cause them to doubt God’s Word, Commandments, Law, Love with peer pressure/dream killers. (Feels like a flood)
a If your not grounded in the Word, you’ll be swept off your feet.
b Gen. 12.1-5
aa Abraham had to get out of his culture, away from his family, all familiar to find his true purpose.
bb Paul had to leave the suffocating spirit of the Pharisees.
F How does one break free from the Python Spirit?
1 We must pray & fast.
a (Ps. 32.6; Is. 58.6)
b As we pray & fast, that which surrounds us is broken!
2 We must seek His presence.
a Ps. 32.7
b We find His presence in the gathered church; in the Congregation of God He unwraps python and wraps us in songs of deliverance.
3 We must experience the power of the Holy Spirit
a Is. 59.19
b The Holy Spirit lifts up a banner against the enemy. Jehovah Nissi - Our flag of victory.
4 We must confess the promise of the Word.
a Isa. 59.21
b You have chose on whether on python comes out of your past, piling bad circumstance, and rot into your relationships.
c You can change your destiny and the destiney of your descendants forever!
aa By saying the Word of God!
bb Put the Word in your mouth, the mouth of your children, family.
cc God’s Word, Testament, Covenant can change your family forever!
Prayer
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
