Understanding Curses & Blessings Pt 4, Ep 2-9
Welcome Back! I am your host Dawn Simmons and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are going to be continuing and completing our discussion on behaviors and activities we do that result in Curses having a legal right to operate in our lives. We have already discussed what is a curse and what is a blessing. We reviewed Deuteronomy 28 discussing obedience and disobedience relating to blessings and curses, we discussed events or occurrences that suggest or reveal a curse may be operating in our lives. This is the second part of last week's episode in our series "Understanding Blessings and Curses" and before this series ends, you will know how to break curses and usher in blessings that are being blocked by curses.
So let's review again the definition of a curse. A curse is defined as: a solemn utterance intended to involve a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something. One of the things we discussed in part 1 was Deuteronomy 28 and verses 1-14 reveal the Blessings for Obedience, while verses 15-68 reveal the Curses for Disobedience.
If there is a curse in effect, it has a legal right to operate. Our job is to find out why, and eradicate or break that legal right. As we talk about this, know that I am being very blunt about all of this purposefully. I don't want to hide behind anything out of fear of offending anyone, or sugar coat anything. Truth can be offensive when it is contrary to God's word and I am not going to water down what His word tells us will produce the consequences of a curse. This episode is a little more direct, more convicting than last week so that is going to come across in my words. I could feel it as I was preparing.
Last week we started this conversation of behaviors or activities that give a curse a legal right to operate and those areas we discussed last week were:
· Self Imposed Curses by our words or actions
· God alone has absolute authority. When we participate in activities overtly or secretly that are an act of rebellion against an authority that we are subject to, we are opening a door. Matthew 28:18
· Illegal activities
· Legalism, apostasy (turning our back and renouncing God) carnality
· Genesis 12:3, Antisemitism, God will bless those who bless His people and curse those who curse His people.
· Exodus 20, 1st and 2nd Commandments, no other gods before him and no idols
Our first are to discuss that will allow a curse to operate should be pretty self explanatory but because it encompasses so many little things we often overlook we will try to go over several of the pitfalls. The overall area we are discussing here is witchcraft and witchcraft related activities. There is confusion today about what is harmless and what is truly Satanic. His primary purpose is to deceive us, so when we don't know the Bible, the true character of God, you won't know when the Bible is being manipulated to serve a purpose other than Godly. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-2, As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Paul here is talking about satan and we know that God clearly tells us in Deuteronomy that disobedience brings a curse. A big way confusion enters the picture for naïve believers is through New Age type activities. The use of crystals, meditations, chakras, moon cycles, yoga, incense, smudging are all intended to replace the One True God with fake, ritualistic activities. It presents as promoting self-help, but behind it is just the marketing of a peaceful form of witchcraft. It's all garbage. Anything that intends to create in you a focus that is directed toward anything other than the Lord is satanic. Any centering of self or meditating on anything other than the Word or the Lord himself is going to produce a curse in your life that you will not be able to feign ignorance of later.
Of course, there's also the other forms of witchcraft that are easier to discern, tarot cards, psychics, games, rituals. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of places in the world which still allow animal and even human sacrifice. In January of this year, Detroit's city just approved animal sacrifices for religious purposes. This is not God's way because Jesus became that sacrifice for us. Any sacrifices for religious purposes after Jesus are satanic. Clearly the participation in any activity that is satanic in nature puts us in operation with satan and will produce a curse in our lives.
Did you know that just as Christians work to evangelize and bring others to Christ, Satanists do the same thing, but also then take it a step further and pray against us for complacency? They pray for the Antichrist to appear much the way we pray for Jesus to return. Those activities that we engage in as Christians, there is an opposite counterfeit operation intent on stirring up and growing the population of those against Christ. I remember a number of years ago, my oldest son was a travel hockey player and so we used to travel all over the country for his games. He did play internationally, but I couldn't attend those games because it would have been difficult with 3 other younger kids at the time. Anyhow, we were in a town known for sinful activities and we were there for a weekend. It is by far not my favorite town, it has a lot of twinkling lights, okay, I like lights but the rest of what goes on in that town I could care less about. One of the afternoons we were walking down a major walkway area and I was approached and a tract was shoved at me. I hate it when someone does that regardless of what the tract is. Even if it were a Christian tract, don't shove it at me, that does no good. How will that benefit anyone if you are out there forcing your way on someone. In this case, however, it was not a Christian tract, it was a satanic tract. I had never seen one before so I was quite surprised. I couldn't help but wonder how many people were drawn to it. If you are given something like that and you hold on to it, don't even read it but hold on to it, you have opened a door. Objects in our possession as we have discussed previously are problematic particularly when they are specifically demonic in nature whether overtly or subtly.
These next few topics I want to go over are surprising I think, well, they should be surprising, that's probably more accurate. So what I am referring to here are Christians who slander, gossip, speak with malice in their heart of other Christians. Now to be clear, what we are not referring to here is when there is an issue of sin and the church is going through the steps of discipline with a member. What we are talking about is baseless, unnecessary, rumor mill tearing down of each other. It creates division and allows the enemy to enter into the body of Christ and begin tearing down the foundations of the church. I remember a time when we left a church and were looking for our new church home. One Sunday after we found a new church I was standing outside talking to someone and I noticed a woman staring at me, we will call her Jane. I knew of her from the previous church we attended. We weren't friends, but we had mutual people we knew. One of the mutual people was someone who practiced Wiccan, we'll call her Wic. So suffice it to say, I wasn't much interested in deepening the relationship with Wic. Aside from that fact, Wic was manipulative, deceptive, and had a cruel streak in her that affected someone close to me. Wic was not a fan of me either. I got the impression she could not stand me. I was not someone she could manipulate and anytime deception was attempted, I called her on it. I refused to do what she wanted and didn't really care what she thought of me. I wasn't rude, I wasn't argumentative, when she wanted something, I just said no. I tried to disassociate with her entirely. The person close to me, however, still had to deal with her at times and was becoming more resistant to being manipulated. This didn't bring out the best in Wic and as a result, she chose to lash out at me by lying about me. The fact that she did this, I didn't care, Wic was working with the father of lies, so whatever she said meant nothing to me. The issue was now we were planning to attend this new church where Jane also attended, and I figured at some point this situation was going to come up. I liked the new church so I wasn't willing to leave and I asked the Lord how I was to respond if anything was said. The Lord said, "Exodus 20:16" nothing else, just that verse was all I was allowed to say. In case you are wondering, Exodus 20:16 says “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." I thought it was genius. Fortunately, it never even came up, Jane ended up leaving the church.
My point with that story is to explain how we can ask the Lord how to handle anything. When we hear gossip, we don't know the truth, it's not our life. Can you imagine if Jane had repeated to others in the new church the lies a Wiccan had told her about me and how easily that would have been to take fire. What if you are the one hearing the lies? If you knew the source of the lies was from a Wiccan, would it change your perspective? Would you be willing to repeat it? The Lord took care of this entire situation for me, and I never had to open my mouth, but He was kind enough to prepare me in case in my own mind I needed a defense. Examine your heart if you know of this going on around you and talk to the Lord about it. If you are one who participates, repent and ask for forgiveness. If you are someone who has had this happen to you, don't hold any bitterness, let the Lord fight the battle and move on with what He has planned for you. If we don't, we are allowing a curse the right to operate in our lives.
The last area we are going to discuss is even more surprising to me, the most surprising of all of them, I think. Actually, I am going to call this one, shocking. Have you ever known someone who prays but what they are praying for is contrary to God's word? It happens for a few reasons, first one is easy, people don't read the Bible and therefore don't know who God truly is. They think their own thoughts are right and true and so they appeal to God through their warped sense of wanting justice or a narcissistic plea in an attempt to manipulate God. God cannot be manipulated and praying in such a way is an abomination to Him. When we are jealous of our fellow Christians or feel slighted we can have a tendency to maybe not wish the best for their lives. The problem becomes when we start to pray to God about that. When we do that what position do you think that puts us in? We, in essence, become the accuser, the same role that satan plays. God sees our behavior for what it is, and we put ourselves right smack dab in line for a curse over our lives for that behavior.
Well, that's it, those are all the areas I wanted to address and as you can see, all of these behaviors and activities are within our control. There is no reason why we should from this point forward be participating in activities that invite, encourage, engage, entertain, illicit, provoke, generate, prolong, develop or create a place for satan to legally operate a curse in our lives. Curses should not have any room to have a place with us and we want to keep it that way.
I hope this has been helpful to you. If you know anyone who is experiencing any of the issues, please share this podcast. Addressing these demonic influences and getting them out of our lives is life changing if we are willing.
As always let’s recap Top Show Points:
· Discussing behaviors and activities we do that result in Curses having a legal right to operate in our lives
· A curse is defined as: a solemn utterance intended to involve a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.
· Deuteronomy 28 verses 15-68 reveal the Curses for Disobedience
· If there is a curse in effect, it has a legal right to operate. Our job is to find out why, and eradicate or break that legal right
· Areas we discussed last week were:
o Self Imposed Curses by our words or actions
o God alone has absolute authority. When we participate in activities overtly or secretly that are an act of rebellion against an authority that we are subject to, we are opening a door. Matthew 28:18
o Illegal activities
o Legalism, apostasy (turning our back and renouncing God) carnality
o Genesis 12:3, Antisemitism, God will bless those who bless His people and curse those who curse His people.
o Exodus 20, 1st and 2nd Commandments
· The overall area we are discussing here is witchcraft and witchcraft related activities.
· Clearly the participation in any activity that is satanic in nature puts us in operation with satan and will produce a curse in our lives.
· Christians who slander, gossip, speak with malice in their heart of other Christians.
· Gave you the story of Jane and Wic
· Someone who prays but what they are praying for is contrary to God's word
· All of these behaviors and activities are within our control.
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
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I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
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