Moving From Sword to ScepterPaperback
By Wanda Alger
Price: $18.99
This is a warning to those who feel victimized, oppressed or disenfranchised. Be careful what you give your allegiance to and where you put your focus. Your quest for justice is opening the door to seducing spirits.
Our culture is screaming at you to voice your pain. If you have felt victimized, you are being told that justice will be only found by pouring out the wrongs you have suffered and the inequalities endured by the sins of others. Whether it's racial discrimination, gender bias, financial disproportion or some other personal disappointment, your constant declaration of injustice is supposed to somehow set you free. Instead, this misguided devotion to your pain is leading you into a trap. Any bitter offense against others and any need for validation has made you easy prey for seducing spirits. In focusing on your wounds and recounting the wrongs done, you are only feeding demons and nullifying the cross.
"Now the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith and pay attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
In a dream a few nights ago, I was approached by a seducing spirit. But it was not coming through some rebel on the street—it was coming through a pastor. As he stood beside me and looked me in the eyes, I felt the pull as he was giving me his undivided attention and admiration. He then said, "Just say it! You know you want to."
I knew what he wanted me to say. He wanted me to tell him, "I love you." He was drawing from a deep need I had to feel recognized and cared for. I could also tell that he was in a weakened condition. My declaration of devotion to him was like a drug that strengthened and empowered his hold over me. Even though I knew it was wrong, the attention he gave and the sense of personal gratification I received was greater than my conscience.
So, I said, "I love you" and repeated it as if on cue. Eventually, this seducing spirit led me into a dark place where I only felt shame and remorse with no way out. Declaring my allegiance to him did not bring the freedom I hoped for. It merely put me in greater bondage and separated from the power of Christ. Upon waking, I knew this was a word for believers to recognize the seducing spirits among us and renounce their hold.
Counterfeit Causes
The doctrines of demons are not just theological deceptions; they are counterfeit causes. Unmet needs, misplaced expectations and bitter wounds from our past are like magnets to the demonic realm. They feed on our bitterness, keeping us in the dark and separated from the power of the cross. Not only are victims vulnerable to these dark forces, but religious leaders are being manipulated and used by these seducing spirits to deceive and immobilize the saints.
This prophetic dream exposes those church leaders who are being influenced by seducing spirits and leading their flocks into bondage. They may sound spiritual and pious, but they are seeking a reputation among men instead of laying down their lives for the gospel. In hopes of gaining an audience, they are taking up social issues instead of taking up their cross. In hopes of becoming saviors to the disenfranchised, they are supporting the riots instead of praying for deliverance.
These counterfeit champions may appeal to our flesh, but they are destroying our faith. For those who are being drawn into this trap, it's time to recognize the demonic source and refuse to give it our attention and devotion.
This is a warning from heaven to stop following the seducing spirits among us. We must realize the power we give the enemy when we continually voice our pain. That devotion only serves the devil and will not bring about true justice. The pure message of the gospel is one of repentance, forgiveness and freedom through the cross.
The message of the kingdom brings power and deliverance from any inequality and every scheme of the devil. This can only come by crucifying our flesh and laying down our need for revenge and payback. Let's stop feeding the lies, find freedom through the cross and give our devotion to the only one worthy of our worship.
"For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to myths. But be self-controlled in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and prove your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:3-5).
Wanda Alger
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