Our Lord shows us three ways to address God in the Book of Luke, as Father, Friend, and Judge. When the disciples ask how to pray, He instructs them with the first step in our relationship with God:
“...Our Father who is in Heaven…” (Luke 11:2 AMPC)
The most important place to approach God is as Father. We must see Him as our kind, compassionate, loving Father. This can be quite challenging if we don’t have that kind of dad here on the Earth.
The Holy Spirit has been encouraging me to worship God in a unique way. Worship music fills the room as I crochet. My hands are busy with the simple task while my heart and mind worship the Lord. Last week, when I worshipped this way, I had one of the most unique encounters with Jesus when he strengthened my spiritual body (CLICK HERE to read about that).
This is a Moses generation. God wants to bring all His children to “The Secret Place” where He can speak to them face-to-face. He did this with Moses, and it was His original intent to have all of Israel visit Him this way. It can be seen in the recorded psalm of Moses:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty… (Psalms 91:1)
Even though the week wasn’t over, it had been a hard one. Two days before teaching about discernment, the Lord was kind enough to bring a correction that will help many avoid the traps of the enemy when receiving discernment from the Holy Spirit. I had been under attack from the enemy for a while and couldn’t find the cause. At one point I literally felt blows to my spirit man. When the situation was resolved, I felt lighter, surrounded by a peace that I didn’t know was diminished until the fullness of it returned. When I look back now, I can see the warning and information given by the Lord, all applied to this correction… as they say, “Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
That afternoon, I followed the gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit: I set aside the pile of work waiting for me and put on some worship music while I was working on crocheting the afghan for my husband. The night before I had discovered some more yarn for the project - if I took out a few rows, this yarn would really make a much better looking finished project.
Did you know that our thoughts travel as neural pulses in our brain at a speed of around 275 mph? No wonder it can be difficult to ‘catch’ what God is saying to us because He speaks to us through our thoughts. Journaling helps us to slow down our thoughts so we can connect with our motor skills and write them down. From this we can learn to slow our thinking down and begin to hear God’s responses to our conversations with Him.
Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. (Acts 19:19 KJ20)
Destroying written words is not a new thing. As
long as there have been books or even scrolls, there have been book burnings.
God commanded people to destroy the written works of any prophet who spoke presumptuously by saying “Thus saith the Lord” and the prophecy didn’t
come true. We see this repeated in the New Testament with books that have other
spirits upon them: witchcraft books. Why is this?
Many
Christians read a book and say they can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit
upon the book. Is it inconceivable that the presence of other spirits may be
upon books? Perhaps this is why God had His people destroy writings of people
who claimed that the information came from God but was later proven not to be
from Him. These writings would allow other spirits to influence people who read
or own that book.
This was
not an easy revelation for me to accept because I am a Kindle bestselling
author and a lover of books. I believe that this is why God revealed to our team the power of
tainted books in a very miraculous way:
The Lord brought
guidance to our team that books could, indeed, hold a spirit other than the
Holy Spirit. To our great surprise, even some books about God could hold an
evil spirit. When we talked about this in a previous tea & coffee meeting
online, we also spoke about contaminated objects. The Holy Spirit led me to
bring a picture from my bedroom for testing. Several people were stunned by the
level of contamination. They stated what they were feeling in the meeting and
said as much. I set the item aside to deal with at a later time.
The meeting
continued, led powerfully by the Holy Spirit. The picture sat on the desk next
to me. As I began to pray for others, my nose became increasingly stuffy, my
eyes itched, and my throat was scratchy. The Holy Spirit told me it was coming
from the picture. I got up and took it to the garage and threw it into the trash.
This was how I
discovered one of the ways that the Holy Spirit brings discernment to me. I had
received guidance like this before, but only upon entering rooms where there
were hordes of demons afflicting someone. Now I knew the Holy Spirit was continuing
to use this type of discernment with me.
A few weeks later,
a member of our church asked for help, let’s call her Mary. She was in her 90s
and had been collecting books for decades. Confusion plagued her no matter how
much of the Bible she read. She couldn’t seem to hold onto the teachings about
the Courts of Heaven, often asking the same question week after week.
The Holy Spirit
suggested to Mary that perhaps there were spirits attached to her books which
were contributing to this issue. I drove
45 minutes to her house on a Saturday to help her discern which books were
contaminated.
On the way there,
the Holy Spirit said to put the books in my car and throw them away for her. I
wasn’t at all surprised when Mary told me that her husband might be upset if he
found boxes of books in the garbage: I offered to take care of them for her.
There were four
large boxes of books that were tainted, written by well-known men of God. I had
an additional 20-30 set aside and called members of our team to double check them
for me. All but one of those had to go.
Not long after I
got into the car, my eyes began to itch. “It’s probably just the dust,” I told
myself. Halfway home, my sinuses were so clogged, it felt like I had a massive
weight upon my face. My nose began to bleed and my back ached like I was
carrying sandbags on my shoulders for miles.
Stopped at a light
a few miles from my house, I began thinking about one of the books in the
boxes. It had really helped me understand the power of the blood of Jesus and
the name of Jesus… it neglected to mention that I should only use these things
with the guidance from the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, a thought came into my head,
“Who do you think you are telling people they need more than the name and blood
of Jesus?”
The thought was
mean, harsh, condemning. This was not my Counselor who had led me to teach on
these things just the week before. This was a demonic spirit! Since I get
discernment through my nose, that is why I had the bloody nose first: it was a
warning from the Holy Spirit showing me there was a strong enemy spirit
present.
It took a great
amount of self-control to not pull over at the next gas station and put all the
books into the closest dumpster. If these books could have that effect on me,
it’s no wonder Mary was so confused! Oh, and she did let us know that following
the cleaning out of her bookshelves, the confusion had left. Since this time,
the Holy Spirit has been talking to me about books and gifts. There is danger
in both of these things.
Books
We do not want to be religious about getting rid of books. For this reason, I am not going to give a list of which books we have discovered that carry a wrong spirit. Instead, I will give general guidance that the Holy Spirit has shown me.
Fiction vs Nonfiction
Fiction, by definition, means that you are accepting it as “not true.” Where nonfiction is claiming to be true and accurate. This means if you have spiritual nonfiction books, you are accepting it is fact, true. A fiction book, you are accepting it as fake, not true.
This makes fiction books a lot less dangerous than nonfiction books. Anytime we overly focus on things that are not of God it can be a distraction or worse. Some fiction books can be dangerous for these reasons:
If they have actual spells in them.
If they have materials that will train young minds in ways against God.
If they have dragons on the cover.
If we focus too much on the things in them.
As many Christian parents have done, I didn’t let my kids read the Potter series for many years. These books contain magic spells and rituals used in real life and are probably the most dangerous of any fiction books. After I established God's way with them, when they were over the age of 12, I let them watch the movies. They only watched the first couple of movies then lost interest. The Word of God tells us:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 KJV)
I had told my kids why reading the books was not right for many years. Then when they reached the age of accountability where, according to God's Word, they should know right from wrong, I began to let them become exposed to more things. I did this, placing my trust in God to show them right from wrong.
The book of Romans chapters five through seven speaks of how the law tempts man into sin. When there are rules, many are tempted to see if they can get away with breaking them. There is nothing as alluring as "forbidden fruit."
I have heard stories of kids whose parents forbid many things, then when they get out of the house, they go wild. I didn't want a series of books to create this desire in my kids. This is why I let them be exposed to it while under my protection, under my roof.
The book-burning days of fiction may have been well meant, but I think they accomplished little other than giving into a religious spirit. Many people went out and bought those fiction (untrue) books because they wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Nonfiction books are a different matter. As the book of Acts states, burning may be necessary for those books and artifacts.
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [but diminishes or adds to the doctrine of Christ], do not receive or welcome him into your house, and do not give him a greeting or any encouragement; or the one who gives him a greeting [who encourages him or wishes him success, unwittingly] participates in his evil deeds. (2 John 1:10-11 AMPC)
This clearly states that if we accept or encourage those who have added to the message of Jesus, then we are guilty of the same sin. There are many ways to encourage or support those with the wrong teachings:
Purchasing their books
Subscribing to their blog or YouTube channel
Being a member or partner of their ministry
Giving tithes or offerings
By supporting them you are compliant in their sin. I'm not saying leave if it is just one thing. Pray and ask God to grant them wisdom. Send them a message with scripture to back up what they are doing wrong. If they don't correct the issue, then if the Holy Spirit tells you to, shake the dust off of your feet and leave. The biggest danger are those walking in unauthorized authority because you will be guilty by association.
Many books which have formula prayers in them are the most dangerous.
Any book that tells us to trust in a certain prayer or ritual instead of telling us to rely on the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit is provoking us to pride. We have discerned the spirit of Leviathan working through prayer books from many well-known and well-respected ministers. Several people have become instantly healed by removing these books from their homes.
We are the Body of Christ: He is the Head. Would you want your mouth speaking, declaring, or decreeing without your head telling it to? In the natural world this is a disorder known as Tourette Syndrome. Unfortunately, the Body of Christ is suffering from this condition as well.
What is right for one situation may not be right for another. Just because you find it in the Bible, doesn’t mean that God wants you to declare and decree that in the Name of Jesus for your situation. When our Lord walked this Earth, His disciples asked if they should call down fire upon those who were preaching about Him without being part of His group. He said, no, not at this time.
Would an earthly king appreciate it if he gave you his name and you began using it for whatever you thought was right at that moment? Or would he want you to use it for the things he told you to use it for?
We have the name of Jesus to use. He told us to use it, but we must read the rest of the book to know how to use it. “If it is the will of God,” then it will be done. How do we know if it is God’s will?
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 ESV)
We must be led by the Holy Spirit. Then we will know what to ask for in Jesus’ name and it will be done! Let’s get back to the topic of books: Which books should you get rid of? I will only give you the name of one:
Keys to Authority for Every Believer
by Lynn Hardy
The first edition of my book needs to be thrown out. It was based on the word of faith teaching I grew up under before God brought the deeper revelation about needing the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead of learning formula prayers. If you have a copy you received before 2019, please throw it out and send for a new one (they are free).
You can refresh the Kindle copy from your Amazon account online. I have taken out the old wineskin teaching and put the relevant scriptures to using authority guided by the Holy Spirit in their place. Look in the copyright area for the edition information and the new publication year of 2019.
We are all learning and growing together. Thank you for your patience as God corrects me when I leap out ahead of Him.
Gifts
I would not take a thread or a shoelace or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. (Genesis 14:23 AMPC)
Abram knew not to take gifts from people who felt a certain way about him. It is the heart and intent of the giver of the gift that counts. If someone has spoken against you or your destiny with God, you should ask the Holy Spirit before accepting a gift from them. God showed me in a miraculous way that accepting a wrong gift could allow the enemy to hinder you.
If I hadn’t experienced a miracle to show the truth of what was happening, it would have been much harder to accept. Even though I have seen angels and demons on numerous occasions and helped hundreds of people become free of curses, there is a depth of the influence of the spiritual realm I hadn’t imagined.
As often happens during the Christmas season, people you may not have seen or spoken to in a long time will come back into your life. Could accepting gifts from someone be dangerous? Before I tell you of the incredible example of this, let’s see what the Word of God says. 2 Kings 5 tells a story that may shed some light on this. It is a long chapter, so I will summarize, but please take time to read it for yourself if you are able:
A rich king had leprosy and tried to buy a healing from God’s people by sending him to the King of Israel. The prophet Elisha heard of this and demanded the man come and see him so that God could prove His power.
Elisha told the king to go and dunk himself in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed by God.
The King was upset and angry that Elisha didn’t just wave his hand and have the healing done with. The king’s servant however, convinced him to do as the prophet said.
The king was healed and returned to thank Elisha and offer him all the gold, but the prophet refused to take it. So then the king declared he would only offer sacrifices to the God of Israel.
After the king left, Elisha’s servant ran after him and asked him for some gold as payment. The servant was struck with leprosy.
This shows two very important things:
Miracles shouldn’t be bought.
Accepting a gift can bring a curse.
We know that a positive spiritual influence, the anointing of God, can be carried and transferred through a garment:
Jesus' garment heals (Luke 8:40-48)
Handkerchiefs and aprons of Paul (Acts 19:12)
It makes sense that objects can carry a negative spiritual influence such as curses to aid the enemy as well. Here is where it is mentioned in both the New Testament:
[Strive to] save others, snatching [them] out of [the] fire; on others take pity [but] with fear, loathing even the garment spotted by the flesh and polluted by their sensuality. (Jude 1:23 AMPC)
It is clear that though we should try and help the lost, we must keep a distance from things which may be made unclean or tainted by the enemy through them. This is often done without their knowledge.
Paul told the Corinthians that food sacrificed to idols was fine to eat as long as you had faith to do so. However, he warned them not to let their freedom to eat food sacrificed to idols become a stumbling block for other Christians. This is not the same thing as accepting a gift from someone. The food was purchased and bought just as we are purchased for God by the blood of Jesus. This warning concerned food and not cursed objects.
A gift is something you accept and receive from another. If you are aware that the person’s feelings toward you are negative, you are accepting that person’s opinion with the gift. Also, if there is a spirit on them, it can flow through the accepted gift. Here is my real-life example:
I received a gift from someone, let’s call her Rachel, who hadn’t been in my life for a while. Despite the many miracles associated with my calling, she couldn’t accept it. She actually told me that if God chose me for this job, she believed that He chose wrong. This was her opinion about me and I knew this. I was also aware that the Lord was still freeing her from a Jezebel spirit.
Rachel sent me a Christmas gift and on the same day I came down with an awful cold. The present was in my garage for a couple of days, before it was brought inside the house. Since I brought it inside my house, my throat became so sore I could hardly swallow medicine. Trying to figure out if I had an open door, I spoke to Lydia, one of the Agape board members. Our conversation flowed to a new topic, directed by the Holy Spirit.
She told me that she was giving away some really nice jewelry. It had been given to her by an old friend who she now realized, was operating in the old wineskin. Lydia was now aware that the Lord was still in the process of freeing this friend from Jezebel when she received these gifts. When they parted ways, this “friend” had cursed her with some negative words. Now, Lydia saw a curse on those objects when she looked at them.
The Holy Spirit brought my new gift to mind and the fact I had gotten sick as I received it. I asked Lydia to take a look at Rachel’s gift. During a video chat, Lydia saw black snakes all over the items and suggested that I call another team member, for verification without telling them anything about the gift.
Within a few minutes of speaking with the Agape Team member on the phone, he looked carefully at the gift and said, “My eyes feel weird and my arm too. I feel the Holy Spirit is saying that these will hinder your destiny, your work for God.”
“You’ve had experience with things like this, haven't you?” I asked, disappointed that there was confirmation. “Shouldn’t the blood be able to take care of this? This is a super nice gift. I don’t want to throw it out!”
“I had a blanket given to me by a family member who was influenced by a spirit and struggled with accepting me. I tried everything, pleading the blood of Jesus and anointing it… nothing worked. I finally had to get rid of it,” they confessed. “I think it has to do with the heart of the person who had given the gift. That is not something we can change.”
“Shoot,” I thought, “Looks like I will have to get rid of the gift.” As soon as I had accepted that thought, the pain in my throat left! It was instantly gone! “Oh no,” I whined, “The Holy Spirit just confirmed that you’re right!"
I put the gift back in the garage. I still felt a little yucky and had a bit of a stuffy nose, but nothing like before: I was 90% healed! I pursued the Holy Spirit and asked about the remaining 10%. He stated that it was the natural sickness and the 90% that was an attack of the enemy was now gone. Who knew that a gift could bring a curse or an attack of the enemy!
When receiving a gift, we should always listen to the Holy Spirit for direction on what to do with it such as if we should get rid of it or ask God to cleanse it. We can only anoint that which is dedicated to use for God. Is this item suitable for His work?
The next day I spent time worshiping and thanking God for what He had done. I also thanked Him for being my healer and provider. By the end of the day I was back to 100%. Totally healed.
This is often the missing ingredient. After we receive some relief, do we spend time thanking God and worshiping Him or are we just waiting for the rest of the healing to come to pass? Are we waiting for the plants to grow and bear fruit before we praise God for healing us?
In the CoH, the enemy’s attack may be removed from your life. After that, you need to draw close to God and let Him bring the final pieces into place. This is not only true of healing in our bodies, but in relationships as well. That is why the Courts are not a magic pill that solves all of life’s problems. It gets the enemy out of the way so we can have a deeper relationship with God and so that He can begin to help us out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves.
Removing the Curse
In many cases, a cursed object can be redeemed, especially if it is something you have purchased. Here is a sample of how to pray over an item to redeem it:
Father, I take the Sword of the Spirit and I cut all soul ties with (name item) _____ and I renounce all covenants, oaths, unholy words spoken over it, especially if it was used in a ritual. Your Word says 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed' John 8:36.
Lord, I want to be disconnected from this item and be holy unto you ‘Be holy just as I also am holy.’ 1 Peter 1:16, I ask that the Blood of Jesus wash me clean, and I ask that all defilement cursing this object be removed and washed clean in Jesus name. Amen.
Look for more information on soul ties in an upcoming chapter.
If you'd like to know more about tainted or defiled gifts, here is the questions and answer session of the meeting where we discussed what may be defiled and how to deal with them: Please note, some things can be redeemed through the blood of Jesus and one must seek the Holy Spirit on a case by case basis.
Defiled Objects video
More Articles with messages from God can be found in:
Many people think of boot camp as a place you train for combat. Any veteran will tell you that basic training is about three things:
Knowing what weapons are available
Learning how to use those weapons
Receiving orders and following them
Believer’s Boot Camp series is a collection of books which teach us how to hear more clearly from God with the goal to ready ourselves for a face-to-face meeting with our Lord, Jesus. The series reveals the “weapons and tools” God has given us and how to use them, so we can bring God’s kingdom to Earth. Each book in the series focuses on a single topic to clearly define one tool or weapon from our Heavenly Father.
The series uses the Word of God to reveal all that He has given us through Jesus. The Bible is our instruction manual and the Holy Spirit is our guide to understanding it.
Volume 1: Why Doesn't God Speak to Me?
Eager hearts cry out, hoping for a single word to confirm that He hears us. Yet, many times the only sound is silence. Over the years I have heard several reasons why God speaks to some and not to others. One night, as I tossed and turned, I brought each of these reasons before the Lord, stating why each of them did not line up with who I thought He was.
Words rose from my soul, pleading for Him to reveal why He has remained silent when a single word from Him would mean so much to so many. For the next few hours, God used things I learned about years ago and things I had just discovered to show why He talks to some and why He doesn’t, and in demonstrative ways.
In His grace, He also showed me how people could hear more from Him. Basic instructions on how to hear more from God and how to be led by Him are included in this book. Thank you for taking time to consider the answers I received and share with you now.
There is untapped power that is easy for every Christian to access in the form of authority. The keys to this authority will unlock weapons we can use to free ourselves from the attacks of the enemy. We must be intimately aware of the bounds and limitations of our weapon if they are to be used effectively.
