Why Did You Receive That Lie Into Your Spirit ?
PPT 1 Series Title: Words
This is the fifth week of our series on words, one more next week and we will wrap it up. (I think) We have talked about the fact that words can hurt or heal, we can injure with our words or we can build people up, last week we talked about how the words of Jesus are different from the words of anyone else. The words He spoke were spirit and life. Once He passed by a fig tree and there was no fruit, and He was expecting some, He said to the tree no man ever eat of your fruit again, and the next morning they passed by the same tree again, and the disciples were amazed to find that the tree had shriveled up from the roots. His words had power! Next week that will be our the text of our message.
PPT 2 message title (Pic with man who has tattoo of devil speaking into his ear)
Why Did You Receive That Lie Into Your Spirit?
By that I mean this, I am going to try and address why do words take root with some people and not with others?
This applies to good words as well as bad.
PPT 3 text
Psalms 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. (AV)
Psalms 77:2 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal. When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right," I didn't believe a word they said. (MSG)
In this text the Psalmist says he tried to be comforted but his own heart and mind wouldn't let him get there.
Like a sick person they refused all offers of nutritous food.
They were strong in reasoning against their own souls, and resolved against everything that might be a comfort and support unto them.
PPT 4 resist receptive
Here is the summary of my message: Be more resistant to negative words and more receptive to good or encouraging words.
Be more resistant... (Elaborate)
Be more receptive... (Elaborate)
When Moses first told the children of Israel God would free them they were very resistant:
PPT 5-6
Exodus 6:6 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ' am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
Exodus 6:7 When I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exodus 6:8 And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.'
Exodus 6:9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.
What great promises, what a poor response. Jesus would explain that it all comes down to soil condition in Mark 4.
PPT 7 text
Mark 4:20 "But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."
Seeds won't grow well in a lot of soil conditions, but with the right conditions 30x 60x 100 fold.
Some people carry the wounds of words for decades, and they blame others. While others have a responsible part the real truth is that the wounded person had the soil conditions that let that hurt take root and have not applied spiritual roundup to get rid of it.
As in the natural there are products to kill weeds so in the spiritual there are remedies for hurtful words that have been spoken into your spirit that can dislodge them even though they may have been there for decades. The blood of Jesus, forgiveness, and resolving to stop nurturing and protecting the negative words.
Some people have it backwards, they have been resistant to good words, and receptive to bad.
Words in and of themselves have no power over you it is the spin you put on them that decides how they will settle into your heart.
What affects our ability to resist the bad and receive the good:
PPT 8: list of factors affecting communication
Timing
Temperament
Self talk
Life Experience
Spiritual condition
Current events
Now I want to tell you a story from my life. Forgive me if you have heard it before, but it depicts a time when I wasn't very resistant to bad words, and how God turned that around. (Personal testimony of my interaction with a demon possessed man appended to this message)
Close:
Be resistant
Be receptive
Prayer for those who have had words or lies spoken to them that have lingered far too long. Prayer for those who have received a lie that they prayed in the name of Jesus and nothing happened. Prayer for those in need of healing....
*My testimony of a meeting with a demon possessed man:
It was a normal Saturday night, about 8 PM, I was in my home office preparing my message for Sunday's sermon, and then the phone rang. It is amazing all the ways a life can change with a phone call. A car accident, a death, a birth, a suicide, an illness, we have all had those kinds of calls in our lifetime, but as a pastor we usually get more than our fair share. I hesitated slightly before I answered, having been trained by life to try and be ready for whatever was ahead.
This call was different, it was another pastor on the line. A friend who also pastored in my city, and he had an unusual request that stirred some different emotions in me than those other types of calls would have. He told me he was talking to a young man, and the young man told him that he was either going to get saved or commit suicide that night. My friend then said some words that triggered something in me. He said that he knew I was a Pentecostal preacher and that I had more experience in dealing with these types of things, and then asked, "would I come help him." I asked where he was, and told him I would be there right away.
What he didn't hear me say, was the things I was saying to myself. "That's right God's man of faith and power is on the job and will be there as quick as a flash." What he triggered, through no fault of his own, wasn't confidence in and dependence on God, but human pride. I left with my chest pumped up with self confidence, but that is not the way I would return home later that night. (Interestingly, I shared this story while on a missions trip to El Salvador, preaching to a congregation on the top of a mountain. We had just built them a rudimentary church, which wasn't finished but the block walls were up. The whole time I spoke a rooster walked back and forth on a opening that was for a window, above and behind what would be called the pulpit area. Back and forth he strode crowing, like he was king of the world. A fitting representation of the way I left my house that night.)
It didn't take long to be brought down to earth. I went up the flight of stairs to the 2nd floor apartment, and met my friend, and "Joe." Joe had a beer in his hand, and we began talking. I quickly realized He was going to be a tough nut to crack. He then started saying some really bizarre things, "I want to punch you, but you are lucky you are protected." "I want to throw you out the window, but you are lucky you are protected." By this time I was thinking we were dealing with mental illness and all this guy was doing was disrupting my Saturday night preparation time. He then excused himself to go to the bathroom. While he was gone, my friend leaned over to me and said, "have you noticed every time we mention the blood of Jesus he starts going off and acting really weird." That was an "aha," moment for me, this wasn't mental illness it was demonic. I felt like slapping myself for having been so blind to what was so painfully obvious. "I want to throw you out the window, but you are lucky you are protected," - that wasn't Joe speaking, that was a demon who recognized that because I was a believer I was protected by God.
I told my friend, that I believed he was right, and that now I knew what to do and how to handle the situation. My chest swelled higher, I was ready to take charge, who was a puny demon to mess with me, a Pentecostal preacher. Joe came back in the room, and immediately, without any hesitation on my part, I asked him, "do you want me to cast the demon out of you." What happened next wrecked my understanding of how these things were supposed to go. I had it all figured out, he would say yes, the demon would get told to leave, he'd get saved, and I would have a wonderful testimony of God's power (and my prowess) to share in the service the next morning. But that isn't what happened. He looked me square in the eye, and he said "no."
That was not an answer I was prepared for. At that point it was if I went into a time warp, and it seemed as if time around me slowed down, but thoughts were racing through my mind. I searched every file and database in my mind trying to think of an example from the bible or the life experiences of others where a similar situation had occurred. I drew a blank, a complete blank, I was in uncharted territory. It would never have occurred to me that someone vexed by a devil, wouldn't want the demon cast out. I was knocked off kilter, but that was only the first blow others would follow in short succession, and I would leave that room reeling, beat up from the feet up. Not literally, but spiritually. I did a little boxing in my early teens, and I remember one fight where my opponent hit me in the back of the head, I was almost knocked out, and that gave him the opportunity to wage all out war sensing victory was at hand. That fight was stopped, because there was a referee there who said the blow to the back of the head was an illegal blow and his interruption of the fight gave me time to recover. His answer of "no," had the same effect of knocking me for a loop. It was a blow I wasn't expecting, wasn't prepared for, and it hit me dead square in my vulnerability of being puffed up with pride, and ill prepared for my opponent.
Now years later, I have the luxury of hind sight, and realize that I am not the first person to be caught off guard by the devil. Many times I have asked pastor's more seasoned, and knowledgeable than I this simple question, "can you cast a devil out of someone who doesn't want you to." Their answers have shown me that few of them would have been better prepared for that day, than I was, though they may have dealt with it much better than I did. In all honesty I don't think anyone has ever answered that question for me in a way that satisfies. But this is the best answer of all those I have heard, and even though it deflects from the original question it is the only one that has ever satisfied. "Jesus could."
Before I get back to my story I want to share part of a message I heard preached before that day, and if I had let it sink in, it would have really helped me then. It's based on a scene in Matthew 17 where a father brings his demon possessed son to several of the disciples. Peter, James and John weren't there, they were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. The man implores they cast the demon out of his son, which caused him to fall into fires and into water. The preacher talked about the disciples being full of pride and reaching for their spiritual six shooters and started saying all kinds of religious things, but to no avail. "We bind you satan! We command you to come out!" They made a lot of noise with their spiritual guns but in reality they were shooting blanks. They did not cast the demon out, after their failure the father comes to Jesus and begs him to do something, and tells them the disciples didn't get the job done. Jesus rebukes (the disciples?) saying ... "O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." (Mt. 17:17 NAS).
Jesus casts the demon out, and the disciples later asked Him privately why couldn't they do it? Jesus told them it was because of the smallness of their faith, and some translations add the need for preparatory prayer and fasting. One interesting point that pastor made in the sermon, was that it wasn't in the middle of the battle Jesus called them faithless and perverse, it was when they gave up and thought it couldn't be done that he rebuked them. He when on to say God doesn't rebuke us when we are fighting, even though the battle may not be going our way, but when we give up and stop trying, that is when He rebukes us. If only I had remembered that sermon, that story, that message that night.
Though Joe had knocked me off balance I was still somewhat in the fight, so I tried another question.
Since he didn't want the demon cast out, I asked if he would let me pray for him. (Like that was going to go anywhere.) Again, he said, "no." It was like another shot to the back of the head, this time though I seemed to get my wits about me quicker, I thought to myself, "you can't get a demon's permission to pray, why are you asking for it, just do it!" Then, the only time that night I was aware of it, I felt like the Lord spoke to me and told me to do something. I felt like He said, I was to bow my head and close my eyes when I prayed. Which in a group setting is probably what I would normally have done, but not on that night. No one around me knew the conversation I was having with God that night. "Lord, this guy is threatening to punch me in the stomach and throw me out the window, and you want me to close my eyes?!" No way, I thought, I'm keeping my eyes on this guy, the whole time. But God, it that convicting way of His made it clear I was to bow my head and close my eyes. In my mind I submitted to the will of God, and bowed my head and got ready to pray. Perhaps this was the step of faith needed to give us the miracle to get the upper hand and turn this situation around. I bowed me head began to pray, and the unthinkable happened...
Joe began to speak out louder than me, in a demonic tongue. What I mean by that is he was speaking in a language I didn't understand, one I'm sure he didn't know, and I knew it was the devil speaking through him. That completely knocked me off my balance. I got confused and couldn't think straight and it took everything I had to keep my thoughts straight and finish my prayer. I'm not even sure what I prayed that night, his actions so rattled me. The only thing I remember is something about God getting the devil out of him, in Jesus name. But I was more blown away by what he was doing than by what I was doing. This was so far from the script of the way I thought and expected this evening was going to go. I was going to waltz in the room, cast out the devil, and leave the conquering hero. That is very far from what happened, but that wasn't the final blow of the evening, not by far. As I finished praying I lifted my head and looked at him, he looked at me and said one of the most crushing things I have ever heard in my life, "you didn't do anything to me." I knew I was hearing directly from the devil at that point, and he had just told me the score of the game was devil 100 points Christian zero. I was devastated and in shock, I had my clock cleaned, and had no biblical frame of reference to handle it. (I had forgotten the sermon I told you about).
I said something about things weren't getting anywhere and excused myself and went home completely blown away by what had happened. I don't remember much of what happened the rest of that night other than I felt very defeated, and I don't remember what I preached on the next morning, but I know it wasn't the victory sermon I was expecting. How could I be a pastor, and be beaten so badly in a fight with the devil?
I did two things for the next couple of years over and over again. One was inconsequential the other of extreme importance, though I didn't fully realize it at the time. The first was to ask every pastor and Christian leader I could, "can you cast out a demon from someone who doesn't want it cast out." I heard every possible answer under the sun. The one I heard the most was they were unsure and needed to think about it. I never took a course on casting out demons in bible college, but I also never heard discussed someone dealing with the situation I faced that night. I was perplexed and didn't know where to look. The truth is I didn't get a satisfactory answer because I wasn't thinking about the situation the right way, but help was on the way.
The other thing I did, was every time I thought of the situation, I prayed for Joe to be delivered and set free by God. The strange thing was that every time I prayed I felt like I was back in that room and I felt the oppression of that night all over again, it was like I was still fighting face to face and toe to toe with that devil. It was hard praying, I would often hear an echo from that night, "you didn't do anything to me," and though it would discourage me, and though it was difficult to pray for Joe, I plodded on. I had more spiritual warfare praying for that man than anyone I have ever had in my life. One year turned to two. Whenever I would pray for Joe I would feel very uncomfortable, the kind of uncomfortable that would make you not want to go there again. Some people talk about spiritual warfare as if it is pull out your sword smite the enemy smile and grab the spoils. I suppose there are times like that, and I have had times like that. Yet in this case, it was more of a gruel and a grind, than a shout and a happy time.
A couple years had passed and I went on a trip to southern California, to be with my best friend, who was working with an evangelist. Among other things they did street ministry in South Central LA, and I went (with my wife) to be with him and minister for a few weeks. My friend (Jack Lagatella) was getting ready to transition to work for another Christian ministry, led my a man named Ed Silvoso. One evening Ed was speaking in a church nearby and we went to hear him, Jack wound up working at his product table, as Ed had brought no staff with him that day. During Ed's sermon he shared a story, that rocked my world, and turned my whole situation with Joe upside down. Here is that story, as best as I remember it.
A woman hired a mason to take down a stone wall in her house. She wanted to give it a more open feel to her living area. The man, a slight in stature Italian, brought with him a small sledge hammer. (As opposed to a normal much larger one.) He began to hit the wall, with his small hammer seemingly having no effect at all. The woman observing what went on as he hit the wall repeatedly with no observable difference asked him if he didn't think he needed larger equipment. As he told the story I pictured it in my minds eye in an almost cartoon like way. I have memories a seeing a cartoon where one of the characters hid a solid object with a sledge hammer and it would always seem like it had more effect on the character than on the thing they were hitting. It would be like the wall was impervious but the force of the blow had to go somewhere and they would portray a shock wave going from the hammer, through the arm, and knocking the cartoon character silly.
The mason didn't say a word, held up his hand, and if to say just be patient, on the 39th swing cracks appeared in the wall, on the fortieth swing the wall fell down. I don't remember what else Ed may have said or preached that day, I'm sure it was something about not giving up in prayer, but I had heard all I needed to get victory in my situation with Joe. It was if the Holy Spirit slapped me (as in slapped me to my senses), and said, "why did you receive that lie into your spirit that when you prayed in the name of Jesus thinking nothing happened, and your prayer didn't do a thing to that demon that day?" The combination of that illustration and the rebuke of the Holy Spirit put everything in proper perspective for me. The question I was asking others was the wrong thing for me to do, I should have been asking myself, "why would you believe anything the devil says!"
I am a pastor but I also have experience in the construction trades. I have lain block, and brick, and poured concrete so I know a little about masonry. When a mason wants to break a block he doesn't take a saw and cut, (though he can) he will simply tap an imaginary line where he wants to break the block. As he does so, outwardly it doesn't appear as if anything is changing, but below the surface molecular bonds are breaking. As he continues to tap, eventually the sound will change just before the block breaks, but up until that point every time he hits the block it will appears as if nothing has happened or changed. That was a message from God to me that day, one that because of my background in the trades I perfectly understood.
In Luke 18:1 we find these words: "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;" The word translated faint is ekkekeo and it means to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, to be exhausted. It also implies quitting and giving up. Though I had not quit praying for Joe, I was utterly spiritless that night a few years earlier. I had been beat silly, and it wouldn't have been so bad if I weren't so puffed up with pride when I went over there that evening. I went over there with my chest puffed out and left with my tail between my legs. I went there confident and cocky and left humiliated and confused. Sometimes Christians get knocked down in their fight with the enemy, but we have a great trainer working in our corner, who won't let us live in defeat over an enemy He conquered at the cross.
That day in California I determined when I got back to NY I was going to look Joe up and go another round with him in the ring, confident this time I would win, not because of who I was, but confident in who Jesus is, and that prayer in His name always accomplishes something. I got back to NY and didn't know where Joe was living at the time or how I would see him, but a few days later I was at the local supermarket and I saw him at the far end of the store, and he saw me at the exact same time. We started walking towards each other, a smile came on my face as I thought this time I am really ready. Strangely enough I noticed he was also smiling. We met near the cash registers in the middle of the store, and I said, "I got something to say to you." Then he said, "I got something to say to you too." Though I wanted to take charge of the conversation, for some reason I said, "Ok, you go first." He then told me that three weeks earlier he had gone to a church, had given his life to Christ and was now a saved man. I told him how happy and excited I was for him, and never mentioned what was on my mind.
As I walked away I rejoiced knowing that God was always in control, even though I got knocked down in the first round of my fight. I have shared this story at many churches and whenever I say the line, "why did you receive that lie into your spirit, that when you prayed in the name of Jesus nothing happened?" it is as if the Holy Spirit is going around the room gently slapping people back to their spiritual senses. I am not alone in the mistakes I made that day. Many have quit praying for their spouse, or their health, or their children, or unsaved loved ones because a lie has been told to them that it isn't making a difference. Or because they felt such warfare when they prayed they were tricked into quitting. Remember it isn't when the battle is hot, and your are fatigued and things aren't going your way that Jesus will rebuke your unbelief, it is when you quit and give up stop trying that gets Him upset. May God by His Holy Spirit pull out all the lies of the enemy that have been sown into your heart and that you have watered by complicit agreement with them.
God didn't let me lead Joe personally to the Lord, perhaps knowing that old mister pride would show up again, and soil the work of God. He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. But He was kind enough to not let me know that Joe had gotten saved until after I learned my lesson about not quitting and not believing the devils lies. I am so grateful I got to meet Joe that day, after God had straightened me out. I was knocked to the ground in my first fight the enemy, but I went back to my corner, fell on my knees and kept praying. I wonder how many have given up too soon? Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
