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darkness, delusion, discerning the spirits, evil spirits, exhortation, experience, eyes of the heart, false prophets, light, Michael Clark, prophecy, T.A. Sparks, the devil
The Evil Lurks at Every Corner
(Source Pinterest)
This is another joint article Michael Clark and I wrote which springs from our experiences with controlling spirits in family, friends and even commenters that have found our blogs as of late. It has been a steep learning curve as to what is the voice of the Lord and what is from the carnal desires of people.
If I (Susanne) was still after gathering as many followers, “likers”, and commenters as possible, I would never write such an open letter as I am now doing. 😉 First of all, as I had begun to moderate comments recently, completely splitting up with commenters and email contacts on the net, trashing comments that seemed to be very nice at first, unfollowing many blogs and unfriending a large percentage of people on Facebook… this was very difficult for me in the beginning. It was like a new habit that did not yet fit nor sit well with me. But of course, it has not become a real “habit” since God follows no hard and fast rules – ever! His leading is as unpredictable as can be. Sometimes it has simply been listening to the Lord’s gentle nudgings right at the outset and at other times I felt the urgent insistence of the Holy Spirit when He warned me about very dangerous spirits that tried to primarily influence me and then those people around me, including my readers.
God shows no partiality. If we belong to Christ and He eventually has enabled us to obey Him first instead of seeking men’s approval, then Satan knows that he lost the game. I love the following part of the Apostle John’s prayer where he said,
We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (1 Jn 5:18-21 KJV)
Would you believe it if we told you that someone who keeps sinning cannot be born of God? It makes no difference whether we call ourselves Christians or not, if we do not have His Spirit abiding in us, we are still dead. We also read that the Apostle Paul affirmed, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Rom 8:9 ESV)
T. Austin-Sparks wrote:
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18 NIV)
“The eyes of your heart enlightened…” discerning love. Love is as far removed from blindness as heaven from earth. “Love is blind”? No – not true love. The fact is that true love sees everything, but transcends everything. The love of Christ for His disciples was not blind love… No, “He… knew what was in man” (John 2:24). His love saw everything and could tell them beforehand exactly what they would do; but love persisted in face of it all. Love is a great seeing thing.
If you are consumed with a burning love for the Lord, you will be very quick of scent [detect] as to what is doubtful and questionable. You will not need to be frequently and continuously told when a thing is not right. No, love for the Lord will bring you quickly to see and to sense there is something that needs to be adjusted. You may not know what it is at the time, but you have a sense that all is not well. Love will do it. All the instruction in the world will not bring you to it. You may have the Word of God brought to you on all such points, and you might even say, “All right, because you say so, because it is in the Bible, I will do it, I will be obedient.” Do you think that is good enough? Such a thing has never come to you through the eyes of your heart. But, mark you, if this love, this discerning love, has really filled your heart by all the intelligence of the Holy Spirit indwelling you, you will sense it without being told…”
Do we believe it is easy to discern whether someone has been filled with God’s Spirit or another spirit? It is NOT easy, dear reader. If it had been, Jesus’ family would have reacted differently than they did toward Him. Actually, Jesus’ mother and brothers had come to take Him back home because they thought He was out of His mind (see Mark 3:20-21) and those who were meeting with Him said, “Your mother and brothers are outside wanting to see you.” To this Jesus replied,
“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matt 12:46-49, rsv)
So as it was with Jesus who only did the works He saw His Father doing, we should also not be moved by the fleshly desires of family members or carnal Christians that are not speaking by the will of the Spirit as they seek to direct our lives. Michael Clark lately told me (Susanne) as I had begun with my series on discerning evil spirits in others that certain commenters who were led by exactly these spirits would be drawn to my blog. And it was true, a prophetic word from the Lord so to say. Dear reader, you can be sure if someone touts that they have a “prophetic ministry” or to be a mouthpiece of the Lord, you can trash his words completely. Someone who still works in his old self and is full of pride about “doing” something for God cannot be useful for our Lord. But Satan knows his chances and fills those people with various evil spirits, including controlling spirits which are VERY dangerous for gullible and unexperienced believers.
Michael is so right with saying that there is a great danger in us being moved on by the souls of religious men and family members who desire to get us to do their wills instead of praying that we do the will of the Lord in all things. And there is also a presumption in people who try to use their soulish powers to influence us according to their own carnal desires and values. Take care, dear brothers and sister, the devil is not sleeping…
Entering the Promised Land 
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Thank you very much for the link to EPL, Michael. 🙂
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Thank you, Susanne for your prayers and input as to what has been going on in the spirit realm as we have given our hearts to seek out the will of the Lord for our lives and to follow only HIS Spirit and not heed the voice of strangers as His sheep.
God bless you always!
Michael 🐻
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You’re very welcome, Michael. Thank you for your very helpful advice and confirmation about many evil spirits we both discerned in different people. It has been a wonderful experience for me to discover and to uncover more and more of the spiritual realm with you through the constant assistance of God’s Spirit.
May His will be done in our lives – always!
God bless you and keep you in His great love,
Susanne 🐱
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Common ground dear sister!
I have been struggling with tuning into His Love for everywhere around me I am becoming aware of the onslaught of lies. The best lies are always the ones that mirror the Truth the closest. One site proudly proclaims “Serve the Church – Serve Christ!” As we are to serve Christ before all else and then the Body of Believers as He leads through His indwelling Spirit, where or why should we serve the church? These managing or controlling spirits are part of our inherited truths that are in full effort to cloud our spirits from simply believing His Word and then proving faith through obedience.
Fallow ground is being plowed and His Truth is coming out from His Spirit through His Body.
Thank you both for being obedient and doing your job.
Robert Bedinger
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Thank you so much for your encouraging and confirming words, dear Robert. 🙂
Indeed, serving “the church”? I wonder which one of those visible buildings (and of which denomination at that)?
I am glad to see we are guided by the same spirit, dear brother.
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Me, too, Robert!
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I think we are all adjusting to considering Who His Body is and where we can find the members that He has set into place. As many as are called and few chosen, then the rest of the called ones are going to push or pull the chosen so they don’t feel convicted. Recently I heard that if we are going to discuss doctrine, then we will find ourselves in sin. If we discuss Jesus, then freedom follows.
Blessings on all who seek His Truth!
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Great comment again, Robert!
Every blessing to you,
Susanne
PS
You are right… we cannot wish that God blesses those who do NOT seek His Truth. Sometimes God even hinders us to pray for those who resist His Spirit. That has been a strange experience for me in the beginning, but more and more, I try to listen to His ‘No’ now.
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Robert you are not alone in that. 🙂
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You post reminded me of this.
1 Corinthians 13King James Version (KJV)
13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Also thank you. This goes perfect with what I read in the book called Christian perfection.
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Very good reference, Fred. Thank you for weighing in and for your affirming words, dear brother. 🙂
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I too am sensing certain things. And right now I do not have peace as there is something within me that needs to be overcome. I would never claim to be a prophet. And the conviction is getting louder, even fearful. I do know that I too do not have many likes and that really doesn’t bother me so much. I just want to overcome this one thing that is really bothering me. And I sure hope it is not me that are sending attacks your way. Or Michael. Thank you so much for sharing this.
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Nooooooooo, it has not been you, Stacey. There is no need to worry. Please, rest in Him!
You’re very welcome as to the sharing, dear sister. 🙂
Much love ❤
Susanne
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Stacey, you might be confused sometimes, but that is not projected by you on us at all. What are the worst kind are those well meaning people that are so sure they have the changes that we need to make in our lives to please God or be made whole. They make judgements about His servants when they have no right to do so. That would not even be so bad if they did not have a design to bring us under their control in their OWN kingdoms for their OWN glory, instead of seeing that we belong to the Father alone and seeking HIS will in our lives with their prayers. Satan and His minions are always about CONTROL. But the Spirit of God is always about gently leading us into all truth and getting us to hear the voice of THE Shepherd first and foremost.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13, rsv)
Way too many people who want a “ministry” are speaking on their own and not out from the Spirit of Christ.
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Reading this I was thinking I might be one of the ones sending attacks. So you are not alone in thinking that. hugs
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Noooooooo, not you, either, Fred!
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Fred, one thing I have noticed about a message like this.. is that those who need to hear it, won’t. They have too big of egos to even consider that they are doing wrong. But those with tender hearts are more apt to question their own motives… The Spirit must convict us to repent… sometimes God just lets the blind go on leading the blind because they refuse to see as HE sees.
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Amen, Michael. That has been my observation too.
Whenever I wrote blog posts about dangers I saw coming from certain people, it was exactly these people who did not get it all. Instead, others who tried cautiously to follow the Lord felt “convicted” by my writings. That truly left me wondering, not only once… 🙄
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You are my new friend Fred. And I like that we are trying to help and encourage one another. An I know for a fact that I am not lording it over you. We are buddies on the same path.
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Stacey, I decided to not moderate your other longer comment because you mentioned several people of who I think they would not want to be mentioned publicly.
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Susanne, as I read what you said about the way the wrong people were convicted about what we write when it comes to others and their presumptous ways, I was reminded of when Jesus at the last supper told the disciples that one of them would betray Him… at first each of them EXCEPT the one He was speaking of said, “Is it I, Lord?”
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BIG GRIN… XD
I had been reminded of the same Scripture, Michael. 😉
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Susanne, I have experienced so many times His unpredictable leading. I have been walking in one direction and suddenly feel an awkwardness or this isn’t right, though it seems Christian of the stereotype in my mind, and even desires of my own (not from God) and I’ve turned, unsure why I seem to be (again) going against the grain. Being a former rebel to all this has condemned me more than once when I’m not “falling in line.”
I very much appreciate this blog post. As I continue to follow the Spirit, even learning so very much in recent weeks of the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives, this spoke to me.
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I am glad to hear that this post spoke to you, dear Becky.
It is indeed not easy for me, either, to get along with His unpredictable leading. Like you, “I have been walking in one direction and suddenly feel an awkwardness or this isn’t right, though it seems Christian of the stereotype in my mind…” Wouldn’t it be much easier to immediately KNOW why God leads us that way and no other? But sometimes I need to wait for quite some time until I feel that this awkwardness (that often turns into a heavy burden that makes me feel very low) eventually begins to leave me. Often times, this process begins when I start writing about it in a new blog post although I might be still awaiting more clarity and deeper insights from God.
Much love and every blessing to you,
Susanne
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Fred and Stacey, you both made me smile… I see in you humble, dear children of the Father who are so tender hearted to be turning inward right away to check if you might be at fault. Truly that is a sign of His Spirit indwelling you. And of course, I hope that my comments would not be deemed as attacking, if that were to be the case please come to me and let’s reason together in the mercies of God. I don’t ever want to be possessed by the need to be right. 😦
And Susanne and Michael, this article is a hard one… the issue of discerning correctly, and sometimes having to make those difficult decisions of separating someone from your life. It surely is a hard sentence “Would you believe it if we told you that someone who keeps sinning cannot be born of God?”, but it is the truth.
Then on the other hand, we need to make distinction if one is a habitual sinner or a young believer that’s transitioning from crawling to walking (who we know, will fall occasionally in the process). Growing into a mature believer has it’s own “growing pains”, and when I look back on my walk… I am very ashamed of my earlier years of ignorance and immaturity. I really hope the Father will erase those from His book. 🙂
As for “Likes” on here… I like you all, but since I don’t want to sign up yet for another account (I already have more than I want) I am not able to “like/dislike” anyone officially. So, please keep this in mind if you never see any LIKES from me, it means absolutely nothing. 🙂
E.
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I like your humor, Elli!
Thank you very much for your contribution on here.
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Thanks, Elli. I once read a book by Andrew Murray that called, “Be Ye Perfect.” In it he pointed out that what is “perfect” in the eyes of our Father is a kind of “sliding scale.” When a child is born with all its fingers and toes and has a normal body that a baby should have we say, “Isn’t she perfect?” And a few weeks later she is only able to lie on her back and look up at its fingers and toes and coo, again we say, “What a perfect child!” When it starts to walk and falls down a lot, we encourage them to keep trying! But when that child is five years old and is till falling down a lot and getting hurt all the time, we start to wonder if our “perfect” child has a problem.
Anyway, that is how our Father grows us up. He provides all that we need to be perfect for the age we are at IN Christ, and even commends us as children, but He keeps calling us into a more perfect walk as our years in Him progress. What He once winked at, he winks at no longer and sometime He has to get out His spiritual paddle and put “the board of education on our seat of learning” to get our attention. But, that is what good daddies do.
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That last statement from you had me grinning. Haha. And Susanne you’re right. about the moderation part. I don’t even remember what I wrote.
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As so many speak of Satan and his deceptive ways, I wonder how you see that fitting with the appointment that he is given of God; as the waster, given to destroy the mind of the flesh. Do you see him used only as in 2 Thes 2 for those not receiving truth, or always in the constant struggle between good and bad seed.
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Good question, Bob! ⭐ I decided to pass on your question to the whole forum here since I have had no leading to reply as yet.
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Thank you Susanne for having enough courage to be open about an awkward subject. I too flushed and wondered is it me? But the tough hearted will not usually question or otherwise become exposed. The Holy Spirit is so gentle and patient to teach us if we get still enough to hear. I love this conversation, it has been edifying from all of you ♡
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You’re very welcome, Skylla. Thanks for YOUR edifying response! 🙂
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Dear Susanne, you may have to chew on this a bit before passing on…
A viewpoint of Creation that was explained to me was that God allowed chaos to be introduced, knowing that sin would kill man. He allowed it so that man, of his own free will, would choose to have the relationship with God through Jesus. This meant that God would have sons and daughters to raise that freely chose Him rather than a set tribe or nation of “good” sons and daughters. The chaos setting causes His children to grow strong and yearn and desire Him only.
There are many possibilities that we will understand in His presence. This view embraces that He knows all that is, was and will be and is enthroned. Chaos will never have authority over His truth.
Edit as you will or rewrite as needed to give the best presentation to strengthen our brothers and sisters..
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Robert, I never heard about that viewpoint before although it reminds me a bit of the Armenian view regarding free will. In contrast, Calvinists oppose the idea of man’s ability to freely choose God. So, it might be a doctrine like many others.
From my own experience I would say that I had had no idea that I could “choose” God. It was Jesus who came into my life and God who drew me closer to Him, just as Jesus told His disciples,
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (Jn 6:44 ESV)
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (Jn 15:16 ESV)
As for God allowing chaos and knowing sin would kill us, yes, He knew it all before and we don’t understand Him regarding this. But when I looked at Adam after the fall, I often thought if he had not been ashamed of his disobedience and had instead answered God who would ask him, “Adam, where are you?” – “God, I am so sorry – here I am,” the story would have had another (happy) end, very early, so to speak. But now we have the Gospel and the Last Adam who died for all our sins. Everything is part of God’s plan, isn’t it?
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