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Deception In End-times: God Is In Control!

8 Aug

By Pastor Pam Sheppard

In order for truth to set us free, we are going to be challenged in all ways, spirit, soul, body, and mind. Challenges emerge from  people, places, and things, attitudes, and beliefs. The  main challenge  is linked to our assumptions.” Many of us don’t realize it but we assume God is not in control, and that we need to help Him out with everything. Part of walking in the spirit is to walk by faith knowing that God is ordering our steps. If you’ve had a false conversion and you know it, that was God. God has ordered your steps to know it. The word of God says that God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Now you have some knowledge that you can work with.

Don’t panic and try to figure out  “what must I do now?” What you must do now is wait. We need to learn how to wait. If things are going along the way God wants them to go along, then you may not hear from Him. Think about walking a dog. The dog is on a chain, and he’s walking along, and then he moves over into an area or a location where the one who’s walking him doesn’t want him to go, and a tug is placed on that chain. That’s kind of how walking in the spirit is. You’re walking by faith. God has got the path laid out, and He’s even got the trouble spots there for a reason. Don’t just think that because you ran into trouble or it looks like you failed in a particular situation that God was not guiding your journey. With decades to look back on and review, I  see God  in my failures because in His divine wisdom, He knew  that I would learn and retain  more wisdom from my  failures than from my apparent successes, particularly where my  productivity was not a struggle.

Bearing fruit is cultivated and refined by trouble and tribulation. So, when you have a piece of information that doesn’t sit well with you, and you say “Well why didn’t God tell me before? Why is it that I spent so many years in the Institutional Church and I was blind? Why didn’t He come to me before?” when I was finally undeceived, I never asked God such questions.  Why not? Well, because I have been blessed with  too much respect and fear of the Lord.  Not fear derived from panic, but sheer homage and respect.  So I am careful not  to question Him about His timing.  Even though I came into the church without any religious background, God took  28 years before my  blinders started coming off.  The issue I had to come to terms with is an assumption that the three dreams I had that compelled me to go to a particular  local denominational church DID NOT COME FROM GOD. As the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil,  the Holy Spirit led me into a a local church to be deceived. As such,  He allowed the enemy to send me those three dreams. Why would God do such a thing? Well,  He had His reasons. I  could not do the work that I  am chosen to do if I  had no background in the IC.  I would not be able to understand what those of you who He is calling out  of Her now have been through if I  had not been through it myself.

So yes, the enemy is put into the plan by God Himself.

Consequently, I have  never asked  God, “why did You wait so long?” Nor did I  go running around to other people or to other ministries to desperately confirm what God was saying and doing with me. Actually,  I  never looked for anybody’s approval or disapproval.  I  just kept moving forward. I simply  shook  all  religious dust from my feet. If people reject what I teach and practice, I leave them alone.  I don’t sulk.  I am too busy  preparing myself for those who WILL hear my voice. . As far as those who don’t hear, I say to myself  “Maybe they’ll come back around again, perhaps  they won’t.” that is it.  My thoughts on those who reject my teachings are brief and impersonal. The problem is too broad, too severe to get stuck on any individual.  When I am about the business of moving forward, I don’t challenge my equilibrium by turning around to look back.  I keep in mind that God is in control. He is in control of what He will allow the enemy to do to one of His own. He is in control. Period.

Think about Job. The enemy could do this, this, and this, but couldn’t do that. He couldn’t take Job’s life. There was something that God wanted Job to learn from that experience and he learned it. What Job learned was to stop being so religious because his religion was based in fear. After all, the very thing Job feared came upon him.  So Job learned to trust God, because He,— God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit— is in control, and He’s guiding our steps.

So be warned that the Lord will resist the proud. Spiritual pride can be our strongest enemy. .

So when you feel and even say things  like “how could I have been deceived, how could I have been so stupid,” you should understand this.  Present day deception is not new.  In fact, it  has been going on for centuries. So just be happy when God wakes you up. Don’t get all offended. God resists the proud. So receive your grace  by your humility.

Are you being undeceived and you want some personal advice, complete the contact form below:

If you think you need help contact 1-888-818-1117.

For all books by Pam Sheppard go to  http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/pam_s911

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Learning From Your Mistakes

20 Jul
By Pastor Pam Sheppard 

 

Mistakes and Deliverance

Image result for learning from your mistakes

 It has been my experience that the doorway UNKNOWINGLY left wide open to demonic torment is a captive’s fear of ever making a mistake. Demons take great pleasure in tormenting people who they can control with criticism, shame and accusation. As a deliverance counselor, I realize that for each captive, there is a different root cause. For the most part, a fear of making a mistake comes from how you were raised. Those who have been under the authority of extremely judgmental, critical parenting are inclined to either become passive or aggressive in their response to this fear.

The passive ones try to “always be correct and proper” because they are afraid of suffering the consequences that judgmental parenting brings. On my web caseload over the last 14 years, those who are constantly hearing critical, accusing voices in their minds have been raised by critical, judgmental parents. Perfectionism in passive people also leads them to be ardent people pleasers–a breeding ground for depression.

The aggressive folks tend to become the rebels of the world who often seem to make mistakes on purpose and by design because they simply enjoy annoying people. In other words, “if you made me the black sheep of the family, I’m going to play that role with style and gusto! If you told me when I was 10 years old that I am going to be no good, just like my father, well, I am going to be “my father” to the 25th power. So watch me, Mom, as I go through the revolving prison door of recidivism. Watch me and suffer Mom, because you have tried to frame me with a fear of being like a Dad that I didn’t even know, because of you and YOUR failures!

Here is another pattern. January 2 of every year  could be renamed “Get Rid of the Fat Day. There are unseen reasons why some of us got fat. Here is the scenario for the rebel:  ” If you have called me “fat” all of my life when I was not fat but voluptuous and my sensuality disturbed you, Mom—-I am REALLY going to become fat just to show you what FAT REALLY IS AND that I don’t care what you think of my body type!!!!”

Scenarios like these are often played out on a sub-conscious level. Anytime you don’t know who you are and why you are behaving the way that you do, you are a prime target for demonic interference. As a deliverance counselor, this is the reason  why I am less concerned about whether or not you ever experimented with the occult or drugs than I am about how you deal with “making mistakes.” It does not take a great deal of education to become a great learner. Learning involves listening and mimicking. Even if we can’t read or write, life itself is going to teach us something!!!” If you have never made a mistake then you have not learned very much.

For the Christian in particular, God designs the lessons of life disguised in the form of obstacles, mistakes and difficulties through a maze of trials, tribulations, troubles and tests. Why? Because the Christian walk in the spirit by faith in God alone is what earns us our eternal crowns. Without any ashes, there is no beauty. Without failure, there is no glory. Without falling, we really don’t know how to stand. We are sinners who must totally rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading in order to please a perfect God. He is pleased when we can resist the pride of our sinful nature and embrace our ashes.

I was born 73 years ago. I was born again 40 years ago. All I have to give to God is a life of mistakes and failures. These are my infirmities, and like Paul, I actually glory in them. I know that I glory in them because when I speak or write about my mistakes, I have no inner pulling of sorrow, shame or regret in my heart. I know that I glory in them because I give practically no thought or expression to the things that man would consider successful accomplishments. I glory in my mistakes because I have come to know that the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is all over me when I can acknowledge my own weaknesses.

There is a difference between making a mistake and being a mistake. If I am in Christ, then I am not a mistake. On the contrary, if I rely on “self,” then I am functioning as a mistake. What the bible confirms is that God did not believe that I was a mistake or I would not be here. God does not believe that YOU are a mistake or YOU would not be here either. When we begin to see even an iota of how big and all-consuming God is, then we will stop worrying about our mistakes and the demons that are assigned to us will be bound and gagged.

Twenty eight years ago, I committed a serious sin that brought about its consequences and its ramifications. On last Friday, the religious demon assigned to me sent me a dream that showed me committing the exact same sin and “loving it.” Demons rarely accuse me of sin because they know that I don’t receive or respond to their guilt trips. However, THIS time, they “got me good” because the dream disturbed at least half of my day. The dream was a mockery. What I found offensive is that I was shown that I still have the desire to do the exact same thing, a sin that would be extremely hurtful to God as well as to other people whom I would certainly hurt.

Do I have the desire to commit the sin again? Absolutely not. Would I do so if tempted? Absolutely not. However, here is the truth of it. The flesh DOES NOT CHANGE! In my flesh, I am STILL capable of committing the exact same sin TODAY!!! Yet, though I am capable, I WILL not do it. Why not? Because I don’t walk in the flesh. I walk in the spirit. And because of Jesus Christ, the desires of my heart and my spirit HAVE CHANGED. There is NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS.

You see, Brethren, Christians who are afraid of making mistakes focus on self-righteousness and not on the righteousness of God in Christ. They are not looking to the cross. They are looking to self. They are trying to please God just as they tried to please their earthly parents. Yet our understanding and practice of perfection is totally different from God’s as it pertains to His people. Take Job, as our classic biblical example. He was as perfect as man can get, pleasing to God, yet prior to Calvary.

That was Job’s problem. He was toooo perfect. He had no mistakes to draw from. Without the mistakes, Job really did not know God very well. Once God allowed the devil to attack Job, Job’s hidden mistakes were revealed. He was focused on “self-righteousness. The true nature of God was also revealed. Once confronted by his religious friends, Job became defensive. Defensiveness is an outgrowth of pride. If you are defensive, then even the very thought of making a mistake becomes a bondage to you. On the real, face it. Mistakes are part of our lives and we will keep making mistakes till our last breath. In my book, “Faces of the Religious Demon” are scores of case summaries of professing Christians who religious demons tormented because their captives were afraid of making mistakes.  For one reason or another, deliverance counseling uncovered   a complicated pride system at the root.

If I am speaking to YOU, then deliverance counseling or mentoring will help you get the victory in 2017. So call and book a telephone session. 1-888-818-1117

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Eternal Security? Yes—And No

2 Feb

I do not believe in the doctrine of eternal security. Yet I do believe that as long as a child of God desires to be saved, he or she can certainly remain so.

For as long as we abide in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, our salvation is eternally secure. Nevertheless, Satan has assigned a religious demon to each and every one of the elect of God, with two primary assignments: Either to cause us to lose our salvation or to destroy our flesh. Consider the fornicator in Corinth. Paul warned that unless this man repented of his sin, he would be turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that the man would not LOSE his salvation. This warning suggests to me that sins of the flesh can cause the saved to become unsaved. Rather than see that happen, God apparently has an agreement with the devil that un-repented sinners are in his hands and quite frankly, that Satan can kill them as a means to protect their eternal life.

So where it comes to trying the spirits in your own life, it is important that you know that Satan is after either your salvation or permission from God to kill you. Certainly the devil would prefer that you lose your salvation but I suspect that he will settle with the opportunity to kill you before your appointed time. This is the reality.

In order not to depart from the faith by giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of religious devils, it behooves us to know the enemy. All else is wishful thinking and downright foolishness. Without a doubt, we have an Advocate with the Father who serves as both Intercessor and as Mediator. As our heavenly lawyer, He stacks our case with grace and mercy. Yet Jesus needs us to provide Him with a victorious defense. Therefore, learning about the tricks, schemes, wiles and overall agenda of the enemy cannot be done if we concentrate on God alone.

This was the lesson of Job. He was afraid of evil and consequently he wrongfully assumed that ignoring Satan by focusing solely on God would keep him safe. Most assuredly, the enemy cannot stop God from saving us. However, once we have been born again, the enemy has the right to attempt to sift us like wheat and thereby hinder our spiritual growth and render our works as wood, hay and stubble. If or when we enter the kingdom, it is as by the fires of a very narrow escape.

So it is crucial to always keep at the forefront of your mind the knowledge that you are in an invisible war. You are either an overcomer or a captive. There is no middle ground. You are either a victor or a prisoner of war. The manner in which you try the spirits is the essential factor in your plan to first of all, “stay saved” and secondly to “not be turned over to Satan for the destruction of YOUR flesh.” Jesus Christ of Nazareth must remain the Vine. We are the branches. If we abide in Him, we bring forth much fruit. If we don’t, then we are cast forth as a withered branch and we “are burned.” (John 15 1-12.)

If you have left or if you are considering leaving the church, then you might want to consider allowing Pam Sheppard ministries to equip and prepare you for such a time as this.  If so, give us a call at 518-477-5759.

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