Archive | March, 2012

The Church Exodus, Part 1

31 Mar

A FORMER PASTOR WARNS: LEAVE THE CHURCH! Part 1

by Pam Sheppard

Even though I was an atheist without church background, born again at home 34 years ago, I still became a product of the church when I joined it in 1979 and entered into ministry in 1981.  At a bare minimum, I preached at least 52 sermons a year for 25 years, having pastored 3 different churches.  Yet when I look at the fruit of my ministry, I find little to none. You see, no one is really getting saved at church altars. At least, not since the 70′s. The old saints knew that “church” had grossly changed from their recollections of the  30′s, the 40′s and 50′s. They KNEW that the people had not been born again but they did not know the reason.

Does that make me sad that I had no fruit?  No, it doesn’t.  The irony is that if I had remained in church, I would have had a completely different assessment from “being inside.”  For churchfolk have a broader yardstick by which they measure fruit. In fact,  I would have been considered “one of the most fruitful” for my effect upon people with my preaching appeared to have a profound impact upon the congregants. Yet, for one who now has “an ear to hear,” I can hear the enemy’s mocking derision. “Pam, you thought that you were all that and a bag of chips but you were no different from the rest of your sinful,uninspiring colleagues. You have no fruit because religions demons have been in charge of the church since the Holy Ghost left it!”

Once I was willing to come face to face with this truth, then my spiritual eyes were opened to the fact that these times of ours are like a puzzle made easier if we can discern the grand design and rid ourselves of assumptions gleaned from“churchdom” that primarily consists of faulty biblical interpretations.  For example, the church has interpreted the Lord’s parables about the kingdom of God as evidence of the Church’s great triumph and victory, as we assume we know what the Lord meant when He said, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against the “church,” a subject that I have addressed in  several of my articles and books.

The fact of the matter is that the enemy has assigned religious demons to every church in the entire world  and the evidence confirms that either God is dead or if the Holy Ghost was ever in the organized church, He has certainly left it. My faith causes me to only accept the latter.  So, once we discard the assumption that the church will ultimately bring the world to Jesus Christ, then we can better interpret the truth.  For the Lord’s parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven point to the spread of apostasy and corruption over centuries of time, particularly in light of their scriptural context in connection with other scriptures.

Nevertheless, as I have tried the spirits for myself, I have certainly looked into my own heart to see if there is any bitterness due to never really being embraced, accepted or loved by the organized church.  I anticipate that those who remain steeped in ”church business” will counterattack with various rationalizations to discredit my belief that “the church age is over.”

I expect that. Yet, it is important to note herein that 3 years AFTER I left the denomination, a Bishop made me an incredibly good offer that  I turned down. This  bishop offered to support every aspect of my ministry–an offer that would have made me a best selling author. Yet God spoke clearly. He said “the Bishop’s offer did NOT come from ME!”  The truth of the matter is that  my very life is at stake if I return. I will be turned over to Satan for the destruction of my very soul.

So I speak on behalf of  no one but myself.  For surely, if I had been embraced by the organized church, I would certainly not “know what I know” today.  In fact, I believe that God has given me great grace by allowing me to experience non-acceptance so that my eyes would not be blinded by what I perceived to be “my success” in ministry.  In truth, after 30 years in ministry and 34 years saved, I can count the fruit on one hand, with perhaps a finger or two to add-on.

The bottom line is this: I was one of the most dynamic preachers, one who was considered a healing evangelist with power to cast out demons. Yet I have done my own assessment and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that many who responded to my invitation after hearing one of my sermons  were not saved. Moreover,  those from whom I cast out  demons may have been  delivered from torment but  only one of them that I know of is actually saved.

I also can remember my laying on of hands to many who claimed to be healed yet they  were not or the “healing” was only a temporary remission of symptoms and persons died from the very diseases that they had confessed that they had been healed of.  No fruit.  This is not fruit.  Once I humbled myself to this truth, more truth came.  You see the hearts of the godless have already been hardened  and the hearts of countless believers have been blinded by the god of this world.  Souls are still being saved, but my ministerial  experience is that the Lord is not saving people in church.

The work of the Holy Spirit is being conducted during a period of transition where the former church order has ceased as an effectual system, where a remnant of sincere people have been brought to salvation in spite of the powerlessness of the organized church. The work of the Holy Spirit today is not with the crowd but with the individual.    My ministry today is  directed toward the distracted, the deluded and the deceived believer because the gospel has already been preached worldwide.

I don’t think there is a soul in the world who has not heard of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  Yet churchfolk STILL don’t understand the cross or the resurrection, so it is understandable that there is very little fruit of salvation occurring in the church.  The reason why they don’t understand is that preachers continue to preach doctrines of devils.  Without the power of the resurrection, no man is saved.

The book “Come Out of her, God’s People,” provides a detailed account of my memoirs as a pastor and an evangelist in a well-known African-American Denomination.  This book is less about me and more about why I believe that the candlesticks have been removed from the entire organized  church.  Click the books cover for the e-book and the title link for the softcover.

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The Church Exodus, Part 2

31 Mar

“Should I?  Shouldn’t I?  Can I CHANGE the church…thru my prayers?”

By Pam Sheppard

When I left the church in 2004, I did not know that it was a permanent move.  I expected that the Lord would lead me to another church affiliation.  I had my eye on Rev. Paul Morton’s organization, the full gospel Baptist.  It seemed a great choice for me because I had been  ordained and served in a denominational church  very compatible with  the Baptists, yet I was also a Pentecostal in orientation, belief and practice.

So when 3 years passed and I did not have a leading to join another church, I wondered why. It didn’t take long for me to be answered once I sought the Lord in prayer.  In less than a week, a kind of telepathic communication took place to let me know that I was not to join any organized church.

I was spoken to in a kind of parable.  I was asked, “Pam, would you put curtains up at the windows of a condemned building.” I thought of all of the condemned buildings I had seen growing up in the inner city.  I answered in my mind. “No, I would not.”

Then came a kind of speech that went something like this.

“A homeless person will make a home in a condemned building.  To escape the elements of the weather on the outside, he will satisfy himself and “make do” with no heat, no running water, no lights, and he will share his dwelling with its occupants: the rats and the roaches.”

Then I was hit in the face with the next outrageous statement.

“If you try to edify the organized church with seminars and conferences, you will be putting up curtains at the windows of a condemned building.”

Wow.  I was stunned. I had already begun to conduct deliverance seminars with the first one in Bermuda and the second one in Lawrenceville Ga. I was planning the third when this spiritual conversation transpired.    Metaphorically speaking, it was clear to me that the condemned building was a symbol of the entire organized church.  If this “strange conversation” was from the Holy Spirit—then the metaphor clearly suggested that the organized church is condemned, in other words, judged already.

In keeping with this parable of sorts, sheep who attend church regularly are those who are afraid of the outside elements of a dangerous and sinful world—and rightly so. Therefore, it makes sense to run inside of church walls for protection.  Yet in keeping with the symbols, when churchgoers run inside, what they find is no light.  God is light.  In Him there is no darkness at all.  No light–No “God!!!  The “voice” went on to say that the rats were the pastors and church leaders and the roaches were those who sat on the pews.

No running water in the condemned building means no rivers of living water, No Holy Spirit.  No heat.  No fires of the Holy Spirit. This parable was clearly saying that the Holy Spirit has left the organized church.

I didn’t want to believe that I had heard from God about this.  I was pastoring a church that I myself had founded in 1996 and I did not want to close it down.  However, I knew that if this was God speaking to me, I MUST close it down.

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Are you a minister or minister-to-be and you believe God has called you OUT of the church?  Sheppard Counseling Center would be blessed to coach and mentor you in ministry.  We don’t believe in the spiritual covering practice or in authoritarian oversight.  We will simply help, edify and support you so call 518-477-5759

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Birthing our Destinies? Or Demons?

30 Mar

By Wenona Russ

I was googling ‘Spiritual Midwives’ – expecting to see such greats such as Juanita Bynum, Cindy Trimm, or TD Jakes.  This is in light of my last post about birthing Ishmaels/false conversions.  And you will be surprised at what I found!

In my last post, I went into detail about birthing things that were of God, and birthing things that are NOT of God.  We hear a LOT of talk about birthing our spiritual destinies.  We hear people boast about being ‘spiritual midwives,’ in the church.  I personally don’t remember hearing this term until maybe a decade or so ago.  Well known preachers brought in this teaching and doctrine that THEY were needed to help ‘birth out’ the destiny of others.  Supposedly, whatever the will of God is for our lives is so ‘hard’ to manifest on its own so now God needs the help and arm of flesh to bring about what HE has purposed and destined for our lives?

Let the Vision Come From Within You – Bishop TD Jakes

Really?

How presumptious.  How arrogant.  How prideful for us to think that God needs OUR help to do what HE wills to do in our lives!

And many jumped on the bandwagon because it sounded so religious and deep…never questioning where this concept or teaching came from.

Well, anyway…

I came across this lady named Ina May Gaskin.  She came up with the term/phrase Spiritual Midwifery in the 1970s.  She is considered the Mother of Midwifery.  She started out a hippie trying to make the childbirth experience for mothers a more pleasant and intimate one; in the 60’s and before, women were put to sleep and woke up no longer pregnant.  Without the ability to bond with their babies in those crucial moments immediately after birth.

Gaskin actually wrote a book entitled Spiritual Midwifery.  I want you to read this excerpt from the book in the late 70s. You will be amazed!

“The following discussion on spiritual energy is based on observations made at more then 750 birthings. Every birth is Holy. I think that a midwife must be religious, because the energy she is dealing with is Holy. She needs to know that other people’s energy is sacred. 

Spiritual midwifery recognize that each and every birth is the birth of the christ child. The vow of the midwife has to be that she will put out one hundred percent of her energy to the mother and the child that she is delivering until she is certain that they have safely made the passage. This means that she must put the welfare of the mother and child first…”

Do you see that?

This ‘Spiritual Midwifery’ thing we see being pushed in the church has its roots in the New Age.  The whole concept of it worships the birth experience, even the child!  She speaks of energy and religious…terminology very well known in the New Age movement.  Take a look at other info found about spiritual midwifery at http://www.birthcenters.org:

“Spiritual Midwives are trained ministers of the seminary whose clairvoyant abilities are an essential ingredient in their spiritual counseling and healing with birthing families. They are trained professional spiritual counselors and spiritual healers. A spiritual midwife smoothes the way through prayer/meditation and spirit to spirit communication for the spirit to enter its body.”

Other spiritual midwives I found on the internet speak of their ‘spirit guides’ and operating in the 5th spiritual dimension….

We have been religiously taught that the birth of anything is wonderful, blessed..and holy.  This concept was borrowed (YES, I SAID BORROWED) from witches serve the agenda of the enemy to copy God’s (and man’s) ability to create.

We have to know why we do what we do and where did these things originate from in the church?  We have to ask the tough questions and make sure that what we are doing lines up with the Word of God.

These famous preachers were nothing more than instruments of satan to introduce doctrines of devils into the church.

Spiritual midwifery, birthing things in the spirit, is one of them.

Let’s stay prayerful in these end times.  Let’s try the spirits BY THE SPIRIT and see if they be of GOD!

Shalom!

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Want to learn more about ministry and make sure you’re not birthing out a demon?  Get your copy of

The Makings of a False Prophet

The Makings of a False Prophet will have you asking the tough questions before entering into any type of work for the Lord.

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Are Bishops Needed Today????

30 Mar

NO!

Bishops are not needed in the Ekklesia.  Just like butlers are not needed for a building that is about to be demolished.

If a building is condemned to be demolished, then what sense would it make to hire butlers and maids to come to the condemned building?

Likewise, bishops are NOT needed in the REAL church.

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Entangled Roots….There are No Quick Fixes

29 Mar

Have any of you ever had to untangle a bunch of cords?  How about untangle hair that has not been combed in a while?

It can take a long time to untangle something that has been tangled up.  And if that something has been tangled up for a LONG time, it can take even longer!

When someone comes seeking deliverance, their deliverance is like a tangled web that needs to be untangled.  Many who seek deliverance want to ‘hurry up’ and ‘get delivered.’  To ease the torment or for some other reason.

What they have failed to realize is that deliverance for many is an intricate, tedious PROCESS.

As far as it come to the (religious) demon, most of the time, it has taken your entire life spinning a web of deceit, lies and perversion in you.

Many fall for the trap of the enemy to get enraptured with the supernatural…and when they are seeking deliverance, they expect one supernatural event or occurrence to rid them of all their demons.  And that is simply is not the case!

The enemy likes having a hold over your life, and it ensure he will stay there, he has masterfully devised the ‘entangled roots’ where demons hide.  Then he leads you to ‘deliverance ministries’ that glorify demons and superstitution and rely heavily upon supernatural experiences and the public’s obsession with signs and wonders to keep you fascinated and fixated on their ministry….instead of the delivering power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

When Jesus Christ walked the face of this earth and conducted his ministry, He spent MORE time teaching the people than casting out devils.

It makes no sense to cast out a demon in a vessel who is NOT submitted to the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ-or who is not saved.  Because that demon will come back with more…

When seeking deliverance, you MUST realize that it MAY take TIME.  You MUST be patient.

Magicians and sorcerers do tricks and pride themselves on the speed of which they perform the tricks.

If you’re seeking deliverance out of a hidden fascination with spiritual, supernatural ‘tricks’ and ‘gimmicks’ that were pre-learned in the institutional church, then your focus is wrong.

And you won’t get delivered.

The devil knows how to turn tricks, too.

But if you’re seeking LASTING deliverance from lifelong demons that you have secretly been struggling with, then there is a team of deliverance ministers who will love you, tell you the truth, and patiently, meticulously, and carefully untangle the webs in your spiritual life and walk through deliverance WITH you.

Just call (518) 477–5759 TODAY!

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Deliverance: Not A Quick Fix!

29 Mar

 Consider the case in scripture where the apostles were not able to cast out a demon from an epileptic.  After rebuking them for a lack of faith, Jesus also pointed to two other  conditions for this particular deliverance to be possible—-conditions that the apostles had not fulfilled, namely, prayer and fasting. I have personally discovered that where the religious demon is concerned,  an essential condition is  agreement  and respect between the captive and the  one who stands in the position of the deliverer. Simply put, those who have continued to challenge my authority and anointing are those who have not been set free. There are several other conditions.

    Since all of the demon’s wiles and devices are set in motion to keep both the captive and the deliverance counselor in the dark, both parties must maintain the ground of attack by making sure that dominion over sin has been accomplished.  For any un-crucified or weak spot in either party is an open target for the enemy to deceive.   Moreover, since each deliverance is an education in the spirit that must be patiently mastered, the captive as well as the deliverance counselor must open their minds to all truth, and close them to  all error.   Discernment requires accuracy in discrimination relative to perceiving the character and motives of  those involved, particularly those aspects of a situation  that are not clearly evident to the average intelligence.

     I believe that it is crucial to point out that I take great care not to be derailed into a necessary search for historical origin of demonic doorways  to such an extent that I overlook the captive’s responsibility to fight and the Lord’s desire that the captive be free, in spite of what his ancestors have done.  I encourage the captive to become familiar with his own inner strongholds and how the religious demon may have used his own weaknesses to keep him bound—driven to act in accordance with the religious demons strategies and devices. Once a particular weakness has become visible to me during counseling, it is my job to make the captive aware of its influence upon his captivity.

 With each new face of the religious demon exposed, new insights progressively lead to new challenges that neither the captive nor the deliverance worker has encountered before.  Yet I have found that in spite of all of the individual variations, the crucial conflicts around which the religious demon thrives are embedded with repetitive factors like competitiveness, hostilities between people, fears, and diminished self-esteem.  All parties in a deliverance must commit themselves to literally scrutinize everything.  Scrutiny is effective when close attention is paid to detailed, precise and   objective observation in a search for defects, errors and sins. All parties must press toward enlightenment in an aggressive fight to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Although each and every relevant element of the client’s bondage must be examined and understood, one thing remains constant.  As a deliverance counselor, I must “go beyond the rope” and “work it through.”

     Nevertheless, in every case, my approach is basically the same–search for the hidden and the obscure; bring what I have found to the captive’s awareness; cause him to recognize how he has been working against himself; teach him who he is in Christ; and enable him to stand against all of the fiery darts of the enemy’s attack and counterattack. In this regard, I have also found through experience that there are four primary reasons as to how the religious demon obtains ground in a professing believer in Jesus Christ: a lack of understanding of the nature of true repentance and why repentance is absolutely essential to the new birth, a belief in “another Jesus”, an extreme seeking after signs and wonders without trying the spirits, and the influx of charismatic witchcraft, the fruit of  “out of context” preaching.

     As a former medium and astrologer, in all humility I confess that I know what it feels like to be caught up in a supernatural deception of false power.  Satan and his demons DO have the ability to transform themselves into beings of light. The word of God warns us in more than one scripture that many of the elect shall be deceived in the last days.  I believe that there are several seekers today who may be among the elect who are living under the power of a strong delusion.  In these last days, it is crucial to repeat the words of Hosea the prophet in this matter: “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” With humble contrition, I thank the Lord that although I myself was almost destroyed for the lack  an ability of discerning good from evil, He showed me the way to the truth.

Click cover for ebook, click title for softcover       In retrospect, a common thread throughout the book “Faces of the Religious Demon  is that the biggest enemy to complete deliverance  from religiosity is not the demons, but it is the flesh. As we have seen, the capacity of the captive to recognize the consequences of demonic deception is limited without a commitment to stand against the forces of darkness, regardless of the apparent ruthlessness of the truth. Going beyond the rope embraces several aspects of spiritual warfare including those attributes of deliverance counseling that help the captive translate the messages obtained through learning how to read the subtle messages that the trends, seasons and cycles of his life unfold.

     In the final analysis, life itself is a very effective teacher, not within our own control but in the hands of the Holy Spirit. If we do not grieve Him or quench Him with our carnality, we can  help Him to set the captives free in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. For me, this is like swimming beyond the rope of merely commanding a demon to depart, which I will do, as the Holy Spirit leads me.  Yet to be truly effective, I must stop the religious demon in its tracks by FIRST imparting truth. Jesus Christ has left his disciples with His word, His armor and His name.  As long as we do not allow the lust of our flesh for religion to grieve and quench the Holy Ghost, we will win!!!!

If you either suspect or know that you are demonized  and you are willing to cooperate with the process of deliverance counseling, then call 518-477-5759 to set up a telephone session.

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The Church Rat Race

28 Mar

I am sure many of you have heard of ‘the rat race.’

For those of you  who haven’t, allow me to enlighten you.  The rat race is a phrase coined for very ambitious people who want to attain to a level of status in life, in pursuit of ‘the American Dream.’

They go to college, they get married, have 2.5 kids, buy the 4.5 bedroom house with the white picket fence.  They bust their tails to climb the corporate ladder, to become a success.

Many sacrifice their relationships-even their relationship with God-to ‘successfully’ climb the corporate ladder and run that rat race to the TOP of corporate success.

Many work tirelessly and endlessly-burning the midnight oil-to trump their co-workers’ three-figure salary, or their neighbor’s newly constructed 6 bedroom home and Cadillac.

Then when they get there…they are making that BLING!  They are ‘ballin,’ and ‘high callin’.  They have reached the top of the corporate ladder.  They ran their race…and made it!  Frazzled as they may be, littered relationships all along the track where they ran the rat race…but it’s all been worth it, right????

No.  Sadly enough, once they reach the top, many realize that it was NOT worth it.  And feel hopelessly empty and unfulfilled once they have reached the top of the corporate ladder.

I want to let you know that there IS a rat race that goes on IN THE CHURCH as well.

Do you see that priest running that race up above in the picture?

That is how it really is in the church today.

The sad thing is that many who start going to church do not start going to enter into a rat race, but are attempting to get OUT of the rat race that they were in, in the world.

New converts blindly and trustingly start going to church after they realize that they ‘need Jesus.’ So culture and tradition has taught most that Jesus Christ of Nazareth can only be found within the confines of a church building.  So that’s where they go.  After being there for a period of time, it is expected of these converts to become apt enough in the Word and the things of God to go and witness and teach others.  Pretty soon, the ‘ministry bug’ hits them.  They hear a sermon, a false prophecy, or get a false confirmation from somewhere that they are called to ‘preach the gospel.’

It is the next step in the order of the church.  First, you join the church, become a member.  Then you sit and learn for a few years.  Then the pastor gives you a work to do.  It may be preaching behind a pulpit.  It may not.  It might be working in children’s ministry.  Or on the praise team.  Or teaching new convert’s class.  Or nursing home or prison ministry.  Pretty soon, it becomes a unspoken rule that ‘la creme de la creme’ of any work done in the church is to get behind a pulpit and ‘preach the gospel.’

If the pastor calls you out and says before the congregation ‘you are called to preach,’ or ‘prophesy…’ then that person is automatically revered above someone who just may work with children.  And because of the lack of TRUE identity that lies within the walls of the church-due by the very nature of its structure-breeds insecurity, competition, envy and jealousy amongst its ranks.

There is something about the almighty pulpit that spiritually and physically-in the eyes of the people-put ministers on pedestals.

Soon, these ministers-to-be find themselves thrust into a church rat race, towards the pulpit!

They climb the ministerial ladder that has been set up among the errant religious church system, that pits people against each other…who are supposed to be part of the same body.

They do this believing that this is the will of God for their lives…because a preacher said so.  The reason so many in the church lack identity is intentional.  It is a plot of the enemy to make ALL of the people JUST ALIKE.  To get the masses to come to one organization, and be ‘faithful’ to that organization.  To give their all to that organization.  To be loyal to a man or a woman of God…even moreso than to GOD Himself.

Its a rat race I believe most are thrust into ignorantly, sucked into the church ministerial system, because a leader saw their natural gifts and talents and are trying to benefit from them.  Most leaders raise up leaders so that when that church system is up and running, THEY will get the tithes and offerings from the church they helped raise up.

Some people intentionally enter the church rat race because it is their nature to be competitive and they seek power and control within the religious system.  They need a following, someone to cheer them on as they pursue their ‘careers’ in ministry, as well as needing the financial backing of the church.  Especially in the uncertain economic times we are living in, where else can one with virtually no education or viable work experience can gain a following and a sure income but within the ministry?

There are people that will literally kill folks to get to the pulpit.  Their ambitious natures are so strong that they will sacrifice their very relationships with God to enter into-and stay-in ministry.  In ‘The Makings of a False Prophet,” I go into detail as to why this is the case.

No matter the reason why people enter the church rat race, they do.  And sad to say, once they reach the pulpit, once they reach the heights of ministerial success, they realize that the price they paid to get there was NOT worth it.  They look back at all the littered, wasted relationships, the sacrifices made, the tears shed, the money spent, the time wasted….and get there and still are very much unfulfilled, still very much miserable, not feeling like they still are not doing what God would have them to do.

I personally know many people who have reached the heights of ministerial success, and yet are VERY miserable on the inside.  I get calls all the time from them.  They have more than one church, happily married, 5 bedroom house with the white picket fence, get invited to preach at this conference and the next….yet they are on the verge of suicide.

We all witnessed someone climbing the ministerial success ladder and his very public and shameful demise…that of Zachary Tims.  I mean if anyone had ‘made it’ ministerially, Tims was it.  He looked like Will Smith, was hosting TBN almost every day, pastored a mega church in Florida, beautiful wife and kids, the bling, the endorsement of Benny Hinn…yet in the end, his life was ramsackled with adultery, scandal and drug abuse.  And it literally cost him his life…

I am convinced most people who enter the church rat race do so blindly, not knowing what to expect. Not knowing what demons can be picked up along the way of running this rat race…They enter in only desiring to do what God says…they just mistakenly hear a religious demon that is interested in trapping them and destroying them.

If you have entered the church rat race and can’t get off the wheel alone, there IS help for you.

Just call (518) 477–5759.

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“I Need A Word From God…” Part 2

27 Mar

In my last post, I talked about why we may not be able to hear from God.  This next post is another testimony and wisdom on learning to tune out the voice of the enemy…

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HOW SATAN USES FALSE ASSUMPTIONS AND CONFIRMATION

By Pam Sheppard

The enemy really designs his deception based upon his knowledge of us.  The secret desires of our hearts  and our assumptions provide religious demons with  both the blueprint and the building blocks of the grand deception that fuels  the enemy’s overall  plan.  The plan begins as a kind of conspiracy theory which answers the questions , “what makes him or her tick? And if I do THIS,  then will he or she do THAT?”  What the religious demon has to do is to find a way to “guide our steps.”  There is no greater thrill than for a religious demon to manipulate and control a child of God and cause that person to become both his prey and his captive.

So I believe that we overcome by first knowing ourselves.  When you know yourself better than the enemy knows YOU, then you are on your way to victory.  For example, if you are an achiever, your desire to succeed CAN BE a key contact point on the blueprint and the religious demon will begin to “build the plan.”

Consider the movie “the Devil’s Advocate.” An advocate is a lawyer, and Keanu Reeves, “the advocate” was a lawyer in the movie, as was the devil, played by Al Pacino.  The  devil’s plan to guide the steps of   his advocate began with setting Reeves up  to win every case as a defense attorney.  By doing so, Pacino said to himself, if I  cause Reeves to win every case, will he  to literally do “anything” to win when it appears that he may lose his first case? Will he neglect a sick wife?  Will he ignore his mother’s warnings?  Will he even cheat to win? Will he hide evidence?

In the movie,  the devil had been watching the advocate from the time he was born, and he wanted to see if he knew  Reeves better than the advocate  knew himself.  Just in case the advocate had any surprises in his back pocket, the devil  had a back up plan.  His first plan was to cause Reeves to risk everything in order NOT TO LOSE A CASE.  And when that didn’t work, Pacino’s final plan was even better.  What was the foundation of the entire devil’s conspiracy?  It was the vanity of the advocate relative to his desire to always succeed and excell.

Vanity was the advocate’s Achilles heal. Where Reeves went wrong was in his assumptions. He assumed that he was winning each and every case because of his skill, when in reality, the devil was helping him to win.

So point number one in trying the spirits is this: When you go wrong in your assumptions, you have given place to the devil.

What is an assumption?

An assumption is taking for granted that a particular supposition, fact or circumstance is true. It is prematurely accepting as truth, what is merely an hypothesis or a guess.   For example, when I reflect upon my very first assumption as a Christian, I “assumed” that because I had power in my hands to heal, that:

1.  the healing power was from God;

2.  that God was calling me to minister healing.

It took about 25 years for me to find out that “the healing power that I had was NOT from God.”  So logically speaking, if the power was not from God, and if it was not from ME, then it must have come from the enemy.  If the power came from the enemy, then what was his agenda in giving me the power?

When I “tried the spirits” on this matter, I realized that I had first manifested healing power while I was a new age occultist.  When I became a Christian and I saw in the bible that Jesus is a Healer, I just “assumed” that since I was now “born again,” I could simply transition occult healing into my Christian work for God.   WRONG!!!  Along this same train of thought, we “assume” that because what we are doing is similar to what the early apostles did, that we are doing “the same thing.”  It ain’t necessarily so.

With every Christian, the enemy assigned to you is going to “set you up” to be disappointed in God, so that eventually, you will be so frustrated with failure, that you will throw your spiritual hands up in the air and declare, “I’m done with this.”  This was the intent of the healing power I operated in.  The religious devil’s  motive was to frustrate me when those I laid hands on did not “keep” their healing.  This works also in the opposite direction.  If the sick keeps the healing, then “the healer” will assume that he is operating off of divine power, when he is not.

Consequently, the devil remains in control and can exercise authority in the healer’s life whenever he sees fit.

Assumptions are constantly made by Christians who believe that  “the 3 witnesses rule”  is an indication that a sign, wonder, message or circumstance is  “a confirmation” from God.Confirmation!  Its a twelve letter dirty word that covers a wide field of consideration! In fact,  Satan and his crew get many chuckles out of this one.

There are so many varieties of “confirmations” that it is hard to present one representative example, so I’ll have to  make one up.  You had a dream that you should move to Georgia. Or perhaps someone from your church prophesied over you—“God has called you to minister in Georgia.”   The same day, you heard Ray Charles sing, “Georgia on my mind.”  Then  someone called you on the telephone from Georgia, but it was a wrong number. In the afternoon, a friend stopped by and gave you some peaches.  Georgia peaches.

“So there it is” you say to yourself.  I got 3 signs or witnesses that provide “confirmation” to my dream or prophetic word.  God wants me to move to Georgia.

I use  such a ridiculous example to highlight what foolish believers do constantly.

The”confirmation” thing is nothing but an assumption, not based on fact, not based on truth. When God sends a message, He does not have to confirm it. He may, or He may not. Here is an instance in my life where God supernaturally “showed and proved.”

I had recently divorced my last husband because his drug addiction became unbearable.  However, I still loved him very much so I was vulnerable to him  if he attempted to reconcile. I thought, “since he had not cheated on me since we were married, perhaps I should not have divorced him.”

One morning, I dreamt I saw a mudslide.  My husband jumped into it.  When he got up, a woman was hidden underneath him—in the mud.

As I lay there, considering the meaning of the dream, the phone rang.  It was my ex.  He wanted to reconcile.  I listened but I was quiet, remembering the dream I had just 5 minutes before the call.

I got up out of my bed, and walked into a room that had once been his den.  Laying in the middle of the floor, in a room that I had cleaned several times was an application for credit, made out by my ex.  What I noticed was that he used a different address and phone number on the application.  So I dialed the number. A woman answered.  I asked “Can I speak to Rich?”  She replied, “He is not here right now.  Who is this?”  I said “his wife..”

The woman went berserk.  She screamed “you are not his wife.  You have divorced him.  I have been his woman for the last 3 years.  So you need to go about your business and leave him alone because Rich is MINE!!!”

So when I try the spirits, this was rather supernatural.  It all occurred within the space of 20 minutes. Something appeared on my floor that was not there for two months!!!!  I dreamed about the hidden woman, “under the mud” of my ex’s secret life 5 minutes before his call.

Was this the devil trying to get me to go over there and shoot somebody and end up in jail? For I also had her address.

Not THIS time! lol. Both God and the devil know that I am too wise and too much in control of my emotions to fall for THAT one. The Lord simply provided me with the hidden information that I needed to stop punishing myself for divorcing an adulterer and for NOT TAKING HIM BACK!!!!  I had every right to divorce him.

At times, God WILL confirm.  When he does, it will not be an assumption.  IT WILL BE FACT AND TRUTH THAT SETS YOU FREE.

 Take it from one who knows. Most confirmation comes from the devil.

Here is another personal experience.   I may have used this real life example before, but it bares repeating because it clarifies my point.  In 1979, I had a dream that I saw a minister standing on my church’s steps, with a robe across his arm.   He looked at me and said, “Girl, I’m gonna marry You!” In the dream, he was wearing a navy blue suit purchased from Sears and a pair of navy blue swede shoes.

Two weeks later, on a Sunday morning, “a force” was trying to stop me from going to church.  I “assumed” it was the devil. So I persevered and went out of the door, walking to church.  Looking back today, I realize that it was God who tried to stop me from going, or at least an angel sent from God.

When I arrived, the new visiting pastor was at the church, robed and wearing a navy blue suit and blue swede shoes.  I was sitting in the congregation and he set his eyes on me from the pulpit chair.  Later that evening, my pastor called, claiming that the visiting pastor wanted to meet me.  When we met he said “Girl, I’m gonna marry you cause you sooooo pretty!” I asked, where did you buy your suit?  He said “Sears and Roebuck.”

Plenty of confirmation here!.

Without the dream and all of this “confirmation”, I would  never have given this man a second glance.  He was simply not my type.  So because of all of this “confirmation,”  I assumed “this must be God.”  To make a long story short, it was not.  This minister was one of the worst men to ever enter into my life.  He was a Satanic setup for things that could have literally “taken me down and out!.”

So when you have circumstances occur that are similar, with all kinds of confirmation, a try the spirits tip is this—- ,

Run like a bat let out of hell.  Its the devil.


The excuses that we make to explain why we find ourselves under demonic attack are another form of an assumption.  My meaning is better explained by illustration.  I founded a church with a name that I discovered more than a decade later, was given to me by a religious demon.  My kind of vanity was that I “assumed” that because the Denomination I was ordained in was defiled, that my ministry was clean.  You need to know that just because your opposition may be wrong, that doesn’t make you RIGHT!!! I was unaware of this truth,   so I “assumed”  that the church that I founded was superior to any of the churches in the Denomination.

So when my church and I came under a persistent attack from all sides, I assumed, “we must be doing great things and the devil is angry.”  So the attack caused someone with a personality type like mine to brace myself and hold on to my church and ministry with an even stronger grip.  Little did I know that “this was the motive for the attack—that I would hold on to what God wanted me to let go of, as long as I assumed that I was doing God a service.

Usually when demons bombard you with frequent attacks, they are already in control.  They simply want you to assume that you have a fighting chance.  According to Jessie Penn Lewis, “They attack a person because they are in possession, but make him think and believe it to be an indirect attack, ie. through another person.  The blame is placed on the man himself or someone else, or on anything but the true cause, so that the intruder may not be discovered and expelled.  It is therefore important that all ‘excuses’ should be examined, i.e., the ‘reasons’ for such and such an unexplainable manifestation.

The causes should always be gone into, for by believing a wrong interpretation of the manifestation, more ground is given to the lying spirits.  The believer may be refusing ground on the one hand, and giving new ground on the other, unless he examines all the suggestions which come to his mind concerning his condition.” (War on the Saints, pg. 176)

This is what the enemy is looking for when he takes advantage of the assumptions you make.  He is looking for “new ground” to continue to deceive and control you. Those who are most vulnerable are those who love their ministry more than they love Jesus Himself.  Anyone who has a ministry should not assume that it was God who gave it to you.  So go back to what was going on in your life when you assumed that God called you into ministry.

Since I have “been there and done that,” it is easy for me to recognize those who are themselves possessed  by a ministry that they assume  God gave to them.  I can recognize an obsessed worker, one who is consumed with either revival, deliverance, setting captives free, healing, even saving souls, which no one does but God.

Those who are obsessed by “their” ministries are blind to their condition.  Certainly, helping others, giving of your time, teaching and  preaching,  and un-deceiving the deceived are all rightful things.  Nevertheless, very often, the enemy uses ministry as a distraction to the worker’s own need of deliverance from the enemy’s deception.

If you put yourself into the hands of workers like these, you will be subject to both their confusion and their contradictions.  Such workers will seem strong, yet they are weak, loving but they are really stoical and distant.  Why?  Because they are  un-trusting and  afraid of every dark shadow.  Remember.  The Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Anytime you assume that God can’t do His work without YOU, you are in the devil’s hands.

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“I Need A Word From God…” Part 1

27 Mar

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God…” ( Matthew 4:4)

We all have been here, at that pivotal moment in our lives where we literally NEEDED a word FROM THE LORD.  Those who are truly hungry for God have been at a place where we have been starving for a Word from God.  And rightfully so….God said those who hunger and thirst after righteousness SHALL be filled.

Yet, we all have been at that place where we have NOT been able to hear from God…or we felt that we needed ‘confirmation’ from the Lord regarding ‘a word’ either we ourselves have heard, or a word given to us from others.

This is the reason many are (I can say) literally addicted to church, to sermons, to conferences, to conference calls, to convocations…

Addiction is NEVER a good thing.  I know BeBe and CeCe came out with a ‘gospel’ song years ago called ‘Addictive Love’ and it’s supposed to be talking about how we as believers are addicted to the love of Jesus Christ.

I know we have been saying this cliché for years in the church that they are ‘addicted’ to ‘the word,’ when really they are addicted to CHURCH.  Because the only time they get any ‘word’ is when they are inside of a building being fed ‘a word’ from a man or a woman.

But addiction can be a dangerous thing, even in a spiritual connotation.

If we are not careful, we will become ‘addicted’ to miracles, signs, wonders, and FALSE words said to be from God.  We can be addicted to the supernatural, never questioning THE SOURCE.

Where did this need for ‘confirmation’ of a word that proceeds out of the mouth of God come from?

Do you remember Gideon in the Bible?

Read up on the story of Gideon in Numbers 6.  To make a long story short, Gideon heard from the Lord…yet in verse 17, he turns around RIGHT AFTER hearing from God and asks for a SIGN!

You know…in the Old Testament, God had to deal with people with signs and wonders because MOST of the Israelites simply could NOT hear from God for themselves.  So the Israelites depended a LOT upon others to bring them the Word of the Lord.  This was because Israel stayed in rebellion and disobedience TO GOD almost more than they walked in obedience to God.

Disobedience will MUTE your ability to hear from GOD!

And walking in continued disobedience gives people over to strong delusion!

I can remember one time I was parked in a parking lot, needing a ‘WORD FROM THE LORD.’

Funny thing was it was regarding whether  or not I should stay at a church I was attending (that’s when I was still part of the organized church system).  I had just gotten off work and was bone tired and I had to preach that night.

I heard a voice so clear…”That is your church home.  I have a work for you to do there….”  Then this voice went onto tell me “…and the pastor is your husband…”

I won’t lie to you:  I did a Sarah when ‘God’ said that…LOL.  Yes, I laughed!  I was like ‘there is NO way that that man is my husband!  He is 15 years my junior…my oldest son is almost his age!’  Then some other things were said about how we were going to build ministry together, blah, blah, blah….

I got a LOT of confirmation on that ‘word’ from several different sources.  We would go to churches and people would prophesy marriage to us both. MANY ‘prophetesses’ and ‘prophets’ prophelied about how we were going to take the city.  The co-pastor of the church even came to me to ‘counsel’ me on several occasions to prep me for marriage to this pastor (who also happened to be her son!)

That word I got in that parking lot led me to stay with that church for a total of 5 years.  And we didn’t end up marrying:  come to find out he was on the DL…and had an incurable STD, all while STILL pastoring that ‘church.’

When that lying spirit of Baal saw that I was not going to fall for that, he sent a ( false) prophetess to this same church to prophelie to an armorbearer and the pastor -a ‘prophecy’ that set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to a church scandal and the pastor marrying a 19-year old…they are still ‘married’ and have a son.  And he is still in his lifestyle, and the young girl plays along as the dutiful first lady of the church…

And the prophetess of Baal that lied to those two has a church of her own now, too.

Let me tell you something:  there is a false spirit out there that knows the desires of our hearts.  It knows what we crave and desire the most.  No secret:  most of us go crying on the altar or blabbing on Facebook how bad we want a mate, or a ministry, or a car or a house.  So the devil heard your prayers.  So now all he got to do is send a prophet of Baal to lie to you, tell you what you want.  And then we get fooled into thinking these prophets of Baal are really from God because what they said does come true.

That is not the only prerequisite of knowing if someone is a TRUE prophet of God or not.

A TRUE prophet of God is not only going to be able to tell the future-fortune tellers can do that.  A TRUE prophet is going to utter what THUS SAITH THE LORD and THAT ONLY.  A TRUE prophet of God is going to be soaked in OBEDIENCE TO GOD.

When we get hooked on needing confirmation of words from God and seeking after a sign, we are treading on DANGEROUS territory.  VERY DANGEROUS.  Because the enemy mimics EVERYTHING God does.   The enemy can do signs, perform miracles, prophesy, speak in tongues, dance.

So if your diet of the Word of God is more of ‘I-gotta-see-a-sign-I-gotta-see-a-move-I-need-a-confirmation,’ then you are subject to be deceived by the devil.

STOP SEEKING CONFIRMATIONS!!!!

The Word says MY SHEEP KNOW MY VOICE AND A STRANGER THEY WILL NOT FOLLOW in John 10.

Learn to crack open the Word of God, study, get in the Presence of God and learn to Hear from God for YOURSELF.

Needing confirmations is a sign of YOUR UNBELIEF and LACK OF FAITH.  AND LACK OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.  If you are not hearing the voice of God, then you are NOT HIS SHEEP.

The people in the Old Testament stayed in rebellion and disobedience, which is why they could never hear God for themselves.  So that’s why you always saw folks asking other folks to tell them what God said.  And the Holy Ghost was not yet given, so they had to rely on others…

But God promised there would come a time when He would write His Commandments on the tables of OUR HEARTS (Jeremiah 31:33).

That way when we sin, the law that is NOT DONE AWAY WITH, but WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS, would convict us of sin…and-if one is submissive to the work of the Holy Ghost in their lives-will repent of sin.

An unrepentant heart can NEVER hear from God.

I repeat:  AN UNREPENTANT HEART CAN NEVER HEAR FROM GOD!

The only thing that that person will hear is God telling him to repent.  And if he waits TOO long to repent, the Word says God will give him over to a reprobate mind.

So I said all that to say this one thing:  if you need a word from God, make sure there is no unrepentant sin in your life or that you’re NOT walking in pride, disobedience or rebellion.  Because once you do, that’s when a deceiving spirit will come in and tell you THUS SAITH THE LORD…

And MOST OF THE TIME-IF NOT ALL THE TIME-those words and any accompanying ‘confirmations’ will ALL BE A LIE from the PIT OF HELL!!!!  SENT TO DESTROY YOU!!!!!

HE THAT HATH AN EAR LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS SAYING….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you hungry and thirsty for the WORD OF GOD, but long to learn to study for yourself?

Do you long to no longer be tainted by religion when hearing from God?  Do you want to make sure the Words you are hearing are not filtered through religious sifters?

Click here for resources that teach YOU how to hear CLEARLY from God for yourself!

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!

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The Many Masks of the Spirit of Antichrist

26 Mar

Many have heard of the spirit of Antichrist.  When we hear of this spirit, we think of something openly, blatantly evil, easily recognizable.  We believe that this spirit will announce itself to the world, to the church, much like the wide open forum that President Obama has when he gives the State of the Union address.

This is NOT so.

Because the enemy knows that he was to fool, to deceive, the very elect, that means he has upped the ante on how he manifests himself.  The Word of God states that satan has seat in the institutional church (Revelations 2:13).  We would laugh and joke about sitting in the first lady’s seat or the mother’s seat in the front of the church…but few churchgoers even realize that right in the midst of their ‘holy’ tabernacle, their devout temples, their powerful ministries-replete with many signs and wonders and operations of the gifts of the spirit…that satan has a SEAT…RIGHT THERE!

His seat doesn’t have his name on it, or he would be found out.

His seat exists in the institutional church…no doubt.

WHERE?

I know you have heard a lot of talk on religious spirits.  If you are new to church (as we know it), or if  you’ve been in church for over 40 years, this term may baffle you because you have been taught that – as the song goes ‘Religion SO sweet…’

We all have been lulled into a semi- or fully-delusional state where we are drugged into believing something we know deep down inside ‘just isn’t right.’  We just went to church and went along with the programs to get along.  We didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak, out of fear that we would be labeled ‘rebellious,’ ‘unfaithful,’ ‘unteachable,’ or a host of other names leadership likes to place on thinking people who were blessed with common sense AND wisdom to know game when they see it.

Yet even the most discerning, the most wise, the most street-wise of us check our brains in at the door of a church once we enter therein.  We erroneously think that we are NOT supposed to use the wisdom and common sense GOD HIMSELF has blessed us with once we walk through the doors of a church.  We erroneously believe that God does NOT deal with our minds at all.  So any inkling deep down in our guts and minds that game is being played we suppress that, thinking that it’s the devil trying to get us ‘out of the ship.’

How do we properly discern a Religious Spirit?

Well, for starters, I want to present to you that after we are born again, we should not check in our brains at the door.  EVERYTHING that God has allowed you to learn-whether it was via books and a teacher, or on the streets, or by life experience-EVERYTHING has been allowed to happen in your life so that you can LEARN A LESSON from it.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful.  We have to learn to not have any regrets…even over mistakes.

Human beings are learning creatures.  From the moment we are born into the earth, until the hour we breathe our last breath, we are supposed to be in a CONSTANT state of learning, and probably re-learning, too.

If your gut tells you something ain’t right, then TRUST YOUR INSTINCT!

A religious spirit knows how to look holy, righteous.  Just by first glance, you can’t tell the difference between a holy person and a religious one.  They will look just like the woman above.

But as time goes on, and you start spending time with that person, you will start to notice inconsistencies.  Certain things just wouldn’t line up.  You will start seeing glaring imperfections and brazen outright sin in their lives…but the more those weeds in their lives manifest, the more they try to COVER IT UP with works of righteousness, more church work, more random acts of kindness to strangers, more religious works.

The more works of religion and righteousness they do, you will begin to notice that their life does not line up with the Word of God.  They will sin and not be convicted of it.  They will not respond to the conviction of the Holy Ghost of sin and justify sin, or be in outright denial about their sinful state.  And the more they do this, the more active they get in the church.  They do more ‘church work,’ hold more revivals, conferences, and convocations, preach harder, prophesy harder…all in an effort to gain their OWN righteousness, to atone for their sins on their own.  Their mindset is ‘If I stay in church enough, that will make up for my fornicating last night,’ or ‘If I do A & B, then that will make up for my dealing drugs at that school…’

The demon starts to manifest by then.  And it looks a little something like this:

By now, the church lady is cussing, drinking, smoking, lying, threatening to cut folks.  When she goes to church, she has her hands upraised.  Praising God, speaking in tongues, running around the church, preaching….the whole nine.  But when you see her in situations that require her to have patience, she has none.  This religious spirit has NO patience.  It wants what it wants, when it wants it!  They gotta preach…NOW!  They gotta prophesy….NOW!  They gotta get married…NOW!  You wanna see if someone has a religious spirit, tell them NO…or WAIT.  If they go off in a tantrum, then you got a religious spirit on your hands!

A religious spirit also is very unaware of the very real fact that they are, too, flawed individuals…with sin.  They swim in a pool of SELF-DENIAL.  They are in self-denial about EVERYTHING.  But the one thing they are in self-denial about is the state of their own selves.

A religious spirit is a potentially dangerous spirit, for there is nothing-NOTHING-a religious spirit WON’T do to protect THEIR IMAGE!  THEIR IMAGE IS EVERYTHING TO THEM!!!  They don’t believe in self-exposure or disclosure.  When they fall into sin, drastic measures are taken to COVER UP their sin.  If the religious spirit is a pastor, he/she will employ the help of the church to participate in the cover up.  They will use fear tactics and mishandle the Word of God to manipulate and control people into doing what THEY want them to do.

A religious spirit NEEDS an entourage.  They need a following.  If they dont have anyone following them, they feel useless, rejected, persecuted even.  This is when a religious spirit-that demonic spirit-will FULLY manifest….right before your eyes!

A religious spirit is a proud one.  It won’t ever admit to being wrong, or doing wrong.

When you have discerned that you are dealing with a religious spirit, the only thing to do is to get away from them.  Because until the person comes into the realization and revelation that they have something DEMONIC that’s driving them to do things in church, or do ministry, or for a good cause, there is nothing that can be done for them.  Religious spirits are SO insidious and subtle that its hard to recognize….at first glance.  It takes TIME to observe a person in all their various atmospheres to determine if they have a religious spirit or not.

In ‘Faces of a Religious Demon’ by Pam Sheppard, many faces of the religious spirit/demon are exposed.  It is one of the most thorough teachings on religious spirits that I have ever read.

To find out more on how to discern a religious spirit, get your copy today!

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