Series 4 of 7: Overcoming the Spirit of Accusation, Ep 22
Welcome Back! I am your host, Dawn Simmons, and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are continuing our focus on our 7-part series for the next for the next 4 weeks including this week, which is the remainder of 2022. We started the series discussing the Spirit of Bitterness, we've also talked about the Spirit of Strife and the Spirit of Impatience. This week we are going to be discussing the spirit of Accusation. This is a big one guys, and I know there are people out there struggling with this and don't even realize it's a demonic spirit that is demonizing them. This series focuses on 7 demons that are so common in our lives that I wanted to address them directly and really focus on understanding them and evicting them as we end 2022. The plan was to enable us to start 2023 with a new heart for the Lord, but the plan got so much better which I will share again in a moment as a refresh. With 3 weeks left after this week, the 3 demons we will be addressing in the next 3 weeks are: Insecurity, Worry, and Cursing, not necessarily in that order but that is the remaining 3. Then on week 8, we will have a wonderful new beginning as we enter into 2023.
To remind you how this series began, as I sat down to hear from the Lord on specifically what content He wanted included, it became clear He wanted me to address the marriage between Him and His church. This is what He asked me to share with you, these are His words for you, not mine.
"There are mainstay areas that need to be cleared out so people can move on and develop their time and relationship with Me in a new way and rid themselves of their heavy burdens and areas that have controlled them or limited them. Break chains and release them for more. My love is waiting to heal deep wounds. Some will think it cannot be done, but they are closing their heart and mind and believing the same lies the devil told Eve and created the first divide. I came to create a bridge over all divides until the divide can be resolved once and for all. You are to show people there is a bridge, they are to take a step onto it and I will meet them there. That's all I ask. Some will walk farther than others, it doesn't matter, I'm on the bridge waiting for everyone."
When the Lord said at the beginning, there are "mainstay areas" I wanted to make sure I understood what He meant. The definition of Mainstay is: a person or thing on which something else is based or depends. (idols, incorrect understanding of Him, demonic influences) He said there are mainstay areas that need to be cleared so we can develop our time and relationship with Him. In doing that we will rid ourselves of burdens and things that have controlled or limited us. He specifically said we need to break chains. Friends, He wants us to get rid of demonic influences in our lives that are holding us back from our John 10:10 relationship with Him. The fullness He can provide. Whatever wounds we have, He can heal them, He is willing, He is able if we come to Him. The enemy created a divide with sin, but Jesus came to redeem us and as a result provide us a bridge over that divide, so it no longer exists for us. The only thing he asks is that we take a step onto that bridge. That's it. He knows some of us will take one step, some will take ten, some will run up on it to meet him. He just asks us to take a step to meet him. So, let's work some more on getting things out of our way so we can get ourselves to that bridge.
The Spirit of Accusation is an incredibly ugly, ugly spirit. It works as both a quiet spirit at times as it leads us to attack ourselves and a loud spirit as it leads us to attack others. Let's dig a little deeper into who this Spirit of Accusation is and what they are about.
The Spirit of Accusation is a Stronghold demon. Accusation is a Spirit of the antichrist; it is a very powerful demonic spirit. Typically, you will find the Spirit of Judgment, the Spirit of Criticism and the Spirit of Faultfinding associated with Accusation. Remember there are a lot of associations in these 7 spirits we are discussing in this series, so you could find bitterness working to gain hold, Strife could appear due to Judgment, Criticism or Faultfinding. There are also frequently Religious spirits that will worm their way in to create conflicts.
Let's talk a bit about why the Spirit of Accusation is such a powerful Spirit. First, one of the names the Bible uses to describe and name Satan is our Accuser. One place we find this is Revelation 12:10, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." This event is in the future, so during the past, which is part of our present, describes the accuser going before God day and night against us. The Accuser has invested a great deal of time in coming against us, so we need to understand how that impacts us and use discernment to rebuke it when it is happening.
Second, we need to understand that the Spirit of Accusation is a legalistic spirit. What does that mean exactly? Well, a legalistic spirit wants to look for the wrong in others to then present judgment or condemnation. The Spirit of Accusation will often use guilt or shame to get to us and bring us down. As a believer, the Spirit of Accusation will bring up our past sins, our old life and failures to bring us to a place of condemnation. The reason the Spirit wants to do this is to convince us that our past sins remain, and cause us to doubt that our sins have already been forgiven by the blood of Jesus. There are so many, too many Christians who have accepted Jesus as their savior that are still carrying their sins, carrying a burden they were never asked to carry. He died for us so that those sins would no longer be a part of our lives. If we allow the Spirit of Accusation to gain a foothold in our lives with this thinking, then we are telling Jesus that what He did for us is not good enough.
Where Christians get confused is understanding the difference between condemnation from the Accuser and conviction from the Holy Spirit. They are two entirely different events. Condemnation places our sin burden back on us. Condemnation tells us we have to do something to earn our forgiveness, works, acts, to make amends for our sins. Saddling us with tasks that are meant to get us to focus on the tasks or the sins. It heavily uses guilt and shame to tear us down and manipulate us to believe we are still not worthy. In doing this it creates a chasm in our relationship with the Lord. It will also then take those feelings and turn them on others. Using finger pointing techniques, and accusing others to not only bring you down, but anyone you can criticize, judge or find fault with, whether it is true or not.
The Holy Spirit works entirely different in us. The Holy Spirit uses conviction in our hearts to lead us from our sinful life, no matter how big or small, to Him. He uses His right and true ways to lead us to repentance and back in relationship with him. He does not accuse, that is not His way. He encourages and uses His loving ways to guide us on the right path. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Proverbs 3:6 tells us, "In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." The Bible us full of direction from the Lord that will lead us to success in Him. Think of it the way Proverbs 24:3 describes it, "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." We can't get that through condemnation of the enemy; we need to recognize condemnation versus conviction and correction.
Think about Job, he was an upright man, but the accuser was allowed to continually demonize him. He tried several tactics, but Job remained strong, not perfect, how many of us would. I can tell you I don't know that I would come close to maintaining the composure and faith of Job if I were in his position, but he remained steadfast to the Lord. If you haven't read the book of Job, it's a good read, it's long, know that going into it, but it's a good read.
Think about Joseph, he was wrongly accused of sleeping with or attempting to sleep with Potiphar's wife, and was wrongly imprisoned, that's after being sold by his brothers. He too remained steadfast and rebuked the attempts of the enemy to accuse him and take him into judgment against God or his brothers, or bitterness against the chief cupbearer for forgetting Joseph and leaving him in jail. Those stories are in Genesis 39 and 40.
Here is what Jesus had to say when speaking to the Pharisees, (a legalistic religious group in his day) in describing the Accuser in John 8:44, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native tongue, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, we'll call him John, was in a conversation with someone that he trusted. Both men are believers. In the conversation, John's well-meaning friend told him he thinks John is carrying around guilt and shame from something in his past. John considered this friend someone he trusted, so he couldn't think of any guilt or shame he was feeling but said he would pray about it. John spent 3 days, praying, asking the Lord, asking those close to him if he has ever alluded to or spoken of anything where he exhibited guilt or shame. John came up empty handed and was a little frustrated. John again went back to the Lord and wanted to know why the Lord wouldn't just let him know if this was an issue, he would gladly have dealt with it immediately if he had known it was an issue. He kept asking the Lord, what is it, Lord, I just can't find anything in my heart that feels this guilt or shame. John knew he wasn't perfect, but he had done a lot to change his life. He also knew that just 36 hours before this comment was made to him that he was helping someone else let go of their past and remind them that the cross took all of that away. That was how John lived his life. On day 5, John finally settled down enough to actually hear what the Lord had to say to him in response to his questioning and it was this, "The words I gave to your friend were meant to be an encouragement to you. They were presented to you not as I intended, but based on what was in his heart, not yours. It's ok, don't let it change your relationship with your friend."
John situation is unusual and unfortunate. Sometimes we say something to one another with the best intentions, not realizing we might be being used as a tool of the enemy to accuse us of things and even couch them directed toward our Christian friends. These are all tactics, ways the enemy will use to tear us down and get us to question who we are in Christ and how God sees us. John's friend meant zero harm. John knows that, but the enemy could have used this situation to trap John into getting upset with his friend as well. John didn't let that happen and understands that sometimes, even with the best intentions, people don't always get it right.
If you have someone gossiping about you, saying things to try to destroy your credibility, or blaming you continually for things you truly are not responsible for, then you are likely dealing with a Spirit of Accusation coming against you. On the other hand, if you find that you are the one criticizing, making accusations that are false, gossiping, keeping a record of wrongs, then you likely are being demonized and are enabling the Spirit of Accusation to use you and work through you to tear down others. If you are allowing yourself to be used, you will need to take responsibility for it.
6 Steps to Evict the Accuser
1. Acknowledge it: Identify if what you are feeling is condemnation or conviction. Confirm if what is being said is true or a false accusation. We have to be honest with ourselves here if we have a sin issue. This is also the point where we need to decide and take a stand that if it is false, we don't accept the lie as a truth.
2. Understand it: Identify condemnation tactics and why used? Have they worked in the past? If we are feeling convicted, make sure we understand biblically why we are having sin issues that need to be addressed.
3. Accept Conviction and correction: This is what we need from the Lord, so don't turn away, turn toward God even if we don't like it.
4. Repent: Break ties, Rebuke the enemy and prepare for the enemy to come back and attempt to demonize you again. They are waiting for you to be worn down and become weak. We want to rebuke in situations of both false accusations and any attempts to tempt us back into the sin we were participating in when we experienced conviction from the Holy Spirit. In both situations, we want to evict the enemy.
a. False Accusation: Rebuke the enemy for false accusations – name them (gossip, bitterness, jealousy, criticism)
b. Sin Conviction: Rebuke the enemies associated with your sin issues – name them. (addiction, jealousy, gossip )
5. Seek Forgiveness: Release it to the Lord: Take whatever occurred, whatever is triggering you and hand it over to Him and let go of it. This means forgiving yourself as well. Some people really struggle with this and that is telling the Lord his forgiveness isn't enough. Hand it over and let go of it.
6. Replace it: We want to ask the Lord to reveal the truth in all situations. Invite the Holy Spirit into the situation. If we are going to evict the enemy and his influence, we need to replace accusation and fill ourselves with what the Holy Spirit provides. Use your scriptures, here are two that reveal the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
John 15:26, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me."
John 16:13, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
If you are struggling with replacing it, go back and check if you completed all the steps.
I hope this has been helpful to you, a lot of believers don't realize this Spirit is out there on the prowl as we read about in 1 Peter 5:8, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Accusation can devour us quickly if we do not recognize it and take our stand against it. If you know someone who would benefit from this series, please share this podcast. It can change their life if they are willing.
Ok so as always let's recap the Top Show Points:
· We are continuing our focus on our 7-part series for the next 3 weeks, which is the remainder of 2022. We started the series discussing the Spirit of Bitterness, then the Spirit of Strife and the Spirit of Impatience. This week we are going to be discussing the spirit of Accusation.
· A few weeks ago I sat down to hear from the Lord on specifically what content He wanted included, it became clear He wanted me to address the marriage between Him and His church. I shared what He wanted me to share with you.
· Accusation is a Spirit of the antichrist; it is a very powerful demonic spirit. Typically, you will find the Spirit of Judgment, the Spirit of Criticism and the Spirit of Faultfinding associated with Accusation. There are frequently Religious spirits that will worm their way in to create conflicts.
· The Spirit of Accusation is such a powerful Spirit.
o First, one of the names the Bible uses to describe and name Satan is our Accuser. One place we find this is Revelation 12:10
o Second, we need to understand that the Spirit of Accusation is a legalistic spirit. What does that mean exactly? Well, a legalistic spirit wants to look for the wrong in others to then present judgment or condemnation. The Spirit of Accusation will often use guilt or shame to get to us and bring us down.
· The Spirit of Accusation will bring up our past sins, our old life and failures to bring us to a place of condemnation. The reason the Spirit wants to do this is to convince us that our past sins remain, and cause us to doubt that our sins have already been forgiven by the blood of Jesus.
· Christians get confused is understanding the difference between condemnation from the Accuser and conviction from the Holy Spirit. They are two entirely different events.
o Condemnation places our sin burden back on us. Condemnation tells us we have to do something to earn our forgiveness, works to make amends. It heavily uses guilt and shame to tear us down and manipulate us to believe we are not worthy.
o The Holy Spirit works entirely different in us. The Holy Spirit uses conviction in our hearts to lead us from our sinful life, no matter how big or small, to Him. He uses His right and true ways to lead us to repentance and back in relationship with him. He does not accuse, that is not His way. He encourages and uses His loving ways to guide us on the right path. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16
· Additional scriptures we referenced: Proverbs 3:6, Proverbs 24:3
· Jesus gives us a description of the Accuser, satan, in John 8:44
· Gave you a story of my friend John dealing with a situation of someone saying something to him that was untrue and how he handled it.
· 6 Steps to Evict the Accuser
o Acknowledge it: Identify if what you are feeling is condemnation or conviction.
o Understand it: Identify condemnation tactics and why used? Have they worked in the past?
o Accept Conviction and correction:
o Repent: Break ties, Rebuke the enemy and prepare for the enemy to come back and attempt to demonize you again.
o Seek Forgiveness: Release it to the Lord:
o Replace it: We want to ask the Lord to reveal the truth in all situations. Invite the Holy Spirit into the situation. If we are going to evict the enemy and his influence, we need to replace accusation and fill ourselves with what the Holy Spirit provides. John 15:26 and John 16:13
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
· Also, I want to encourage you to visit our website and join our Warrior community. I am working on planning some live events and the only way to be included in that is to be a part of our Warrior Community. Just visit our website, www.conqueringourunseenenemies.com, and join from the Home page or the Resources page.
Have a great week!
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