Episode 2-30: The Demonic Spirits of Religion, Accusation and Perfection

 Welcome back!  I am your host Dawn Simmons and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are going to be discussing the Demonic Spirit of Religion and how it impacts our relationship with the Holy Spirit.  We will also take a look at the Spirit of Accusation and Perfection who often work closely with the Spirit of Religion.  We will see how it has damaged the church and continues to grow causing Christians, who are limited by these spirits, to cannibalize the move of the Holy Spirit in the church today. Given that we are in the process of going through each of the 9 Spiritual Gifts it is important to identify and address this demonic influence and remove it from our path as we progress. I will share with you some stories of how it has impacted the lives of people I know and how they are working to be free.

Top Show Points: 

·      The Demonic Spirit of Religion and how it impacts our relationship with the Holy Spirit.  We also took a look at the Spirit of Accusation and Perfection.

·      Discussed a family of spirits where the strongman is the Religious Spirit.  The family generally includes legalism, religiosity, traditionalism, formalism, doctrinal obsession, doctrinal error, fear of God, fear of losing salvation, lawfulness, obsession with being right, lack of tolerance for correction, and is works based. 

·      This spirit does not create a loving atmosphere, but rather a strict guideline, adherence to that guideline is what is considered important

·      A legalist does not seek to rightly obey and apply every word of the Bible to their own life. A legalist is someone who disobeys the Bible by adding to the Bible human rules and regulations for thought, life, and morality, and proceeds to judge themselves and others by these self-made rules.

·      Gave story of a legalist giving advice in a Christian Marriage Group that was blanket advice for everyone condemning second marriages

·      This demonic influence stresses performance over relationship and when it can get you to a place where you think you failed, then you cannot develop relationships that will lead you to freedom in Christ.

·      So what is the opposite of legalism that is also not in alignment with God?  Rebellion.  It looks similar to the fight or flight response we face when we encounter danger.  Rebellion is the fight aspect.

·      Accusation…This spirit functions by using Judgment, Criticism, and Faultfinding in everything you do.  It will twist your motives and make you question your beliefs in the Bible

·      In Revelation 12:10, Jesus refers to Satan as our accuser, “For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night,”.  The enemy enjoys listing our sins, continually bringing them up so we won’t accept the forgiveness that Jesus provides. 

·      Our Advocate, Jesus, as our defender and realize he is able to address the accusations against us. He paid the ultimate price for us.  I John 2 tells us Jesus, the Righteous One, is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, covering us in all our transgressions.

·      When dealing with the spirit of perfection, you are dealing with Pride, Vanity, Ego, Frustration, Criticism, Irritability, Intolerance, Anger, Impatience, need for approval, need for attention.

·      Story of woman dealing with a legalist upbringing struggling with rebellion and a spirit of Perfection.

·      Religious spirits, accusation, perfection, they all destroy from within and carry forward to damage the relationships you have with those around you.  This works to isolate you and pull you away from God.  It’s a common and basic tactic the enemy uses to pull us down and pull us apart.

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

·          If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, take a look at my book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice.  There is also a Study Guide available and two new devotionals out based on the Loving Conversations Book. 

I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!

  For the full episode, click the player below.