MENTORING LETTER 38

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Resisting the Devil Part 3

RESISTANCE BY REFUSAL

To understand why I don't go to church, the newly release book, "the New Idolatry" should answer your questions! To watch a brief video trailer about the book, click its cover below!

Consider Jonah and his disobedience and sudden flight from God to a ship filled with men about to be shipwrecked because of Jonah's folly. So to find out why they suddenly entered into a severe storm, the men on board cast lots and the lot fell to Jonah. Once Jonah was revealed, he confessed. You would have thought that the men would have immediately picked up Jonah and thrown him off of the ship. Instead, they tried to row faster. Yet when all human effort failed, they reluctantly threw Jonah overboard and peace immediately prevailed for them. Why didn't Jonah just jump overboard himself? Perhaps it was not physically possible and he needed someone to lift him up and cast him into the sea. My suspicion is that as it is in most cases, the people who are bringing storms into our lives are "all about self," especially when their needs are being met by us. However what I have learned by experience, is that once the cause of an attack has been

uncovered or revealed to me, my next step is to refuse. Sometimes you have to refuse a condition or persuasion that is within your personality or in other words, a refusal may have to be made to your flesh. For example, if you are a person that must be liked or approved of by others, you will have to refuse your flesh in this regard. If you can answer an emphatic "yes," to the following statements as conditions of your own flesh, refusal will eventually be in order, if you are going to effectively resist the devil:

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I try to avoid being alone I let other people decide what to do. I get upset when people don't include me in their activities; I am stressed if I don't include other people in my plans; I am easily led; I hate any form of confrontation; I can't stand being left out of things; I am emotionally dependent upon people.

So one way to crucify your flesh is by refusing to act out its nature. Besides refusing your former nature without Christ, there are times when you also have to refuse your former perception or understanding as it relates to spiritual and religious matters. In fact, refusal is one of the ways that we cast down our imaginations, and every thought that is contrary to our obedience to the inner leadings of the Holy Ghost. For example, if you have assumed that God would not allow the enemy to deceive you under any circumstances, to resist the devil that is assigned to you, you will have to refuse every thought connected to this false assumption. I personally know from experience that I can be

deceived by the enemy because I have been, several times in fact. Here is a personal example. It has been revealed to me that in 1996, I founded a church based upon the nature of my flesh and the leading of the religious demon assigned to me. Certainly, I believed that I was led by God at the time. However, with the discernment and the enlightenment that I have received over time, I can look back now with such understanding. What was confusing and complicated in 1996 is obvious and simple today. Once my eyes were fully opened in 2008, I had to exercise refusal by closing the church doors. Certainly I had to face opposition to closing it. In fact, for a year, services continued in a members home, until her eyes were also opened and the doors of the church were permanently shut, never to open again. As soon as I took the first step of refusal as I resisted the devil, the next revelation followed. Since the enemy was the secret force that led me to start this church in the first place, it logically and spiritually follows that each and every person who played a significant role in its operations was sent by the enemy also. In 13 years, several people were involved. Out of all of them, I have contact with two persons from the former church. Recently, I had a inner sense in my spirit that I was to "back up" in these two relationships. Since our contact is infrequent, it was not difficult to do. Actually, I have withdrawn in ways that are really not discernible to people who are busy in the world, living their lives as the world does. So as sleeping dogs lie, people have naturally faded out of my life, without knowing my concerns and reservations. Well, after six

years without any personal contact, a former church member who I will call Diana contacted me through facebook. While Diana was a member, she was perhaps the most involved in my ministry. Cosequently, I discerned immediately that I could not accept this request. So rather than refuse it, I simply ignored it. About 3 weeks later, I was half asleep when I heard a voice say to me "Diana is dead." I ignored the voice and went to sleep. Yet as I woke, the voice repeated it again. I heard "Diana is dead" a second time . Once awake, my mind was filled with accusations. "Diana is not quite dead, but her demise is imminent. You are mean and cold to deny her your facebook friendship. She needs to be able to read your posts and articles in order to get her life in order before she passes away, and you are cruel to deny her that opportunity." My next thought was "this is different." Demons rarely accuse me or challenge me for the purpose of imposing guilt and condemnation on me because it doesn't work. My personality does not readily accept guilt, shame or condemnation. Then when I realized that the enemy was caught in an obvious lie, I asked myself "what is the meaning of this. Doesn't that demon know that my facebook page is not restricted to friends, but that it is open to he public? Doesn't he know that Diana can visit my website and search through several videos, articles, newsletters, books, and other tools and resources?" I said to myself, " most of the demons who deal with me are just not that stupid to be caught out there making such an obvious mistake." In two days, the demon's motive became clear,

for Diana sent me a second friendship invitation on facebook. Obviously, the demon KNEW that she would do so and he was setting the stage for me to accept it. Why this particular person? Because she had been my most promising church member. There are issues between us that are un-resolved. From past experience, I know that a reactivated friendship with Diana would not only be distracting and draining, but clearly, she is a receptive vessel for their use. The demons desired and then led Diana to contact me, and after 6 years of silence. Worth mentioning, since I remain fond of her, the enemy hoped that if I thought that her life was about to end, I would accept her facebook request and disobey the revelation that is in my spirit which is "don't look back. Everyone, including Diana, was sent to you by the devil in the past. Don't give place to the enemy again." So what did I do? Obviously, ignoring the first request did not work. So I had to refuse it. I sent Diana a private facebook message, explaining the situation in a direct yet tactful way, so that she graciously responded without feeling personally rejected. I am not refusing Diana or any of the other former members. I am resisting the devil that is assigned to me. There is a difference. Once you overcome a fear of personal and social rejection, the tool of refusal will cause the devil to flee from you.

PAM'S BOOK CORNER:

An Excerpt from "Come Out of Her, God's

People"
Yet deliverance from church is no easy feat because Church attendance can evolve into an addiction. Once you get hooked, you need to be detoxed. As substance abusers go into a 28-day detox to get clean, church addicts need to stay out of church for at least 28-30 days. As creatures of habit, I have found that any addiction can be physically broken in that time period. Even so, once the 28 day fast is completed, the addiction in the soul is yet another story. The mind, the heart and the emotions must be renewed and for that, a drug addict will go into either a 90 day out patient facility or a 6 months residential program. So too with the church addict. From 90 days to 6 months, perhaps a year, the church addicts mind must be re-trained. False doctrines and practices that the churchgoer has believed in for decades must be challenged so that the soul can be renewed. As God Himself has compared false worship to prostitution or whoredom , I am not out of line in making a similar comparison. A church addiction can be compared to good sex with someone you know does not really love you. Simply put, you get hooked to the thrill and the feeling. Those of us who have never been there and done that wonder what the thrill is for a masochist. Masochism from a psychiatric perspective is defined as a condition in which sexual gratification depends on suffering, physical pain and humiliation gained from despair, deprivation, and degradation. The perpetrator can be others or it can be self inflicted. Unfortunately, masochists are known to find pleasure in self denial and emotional pain. I can relate on a spiritual level because sexual masochism is like self imposed martyrdom. For example, it is not a part of my normal personality to tolerate a lack of regard or disrespect from anyone, yet I passively allowed myself to be frequently humiliated over a 25 year span by ignorant church bishops, elders and members who would have been of no consequence to me in the world. It is actually in my carnal nature to chew up the meat and spit out the bones of folk like this. But in the church, I allowed these abusers to ascend themselves over me with their spiritual feet in my back, tacitly enduring their verbal abuse and complete disregard of my personhood, over and over again. Why? Because I ignorantly assumed that I was suffering for Christ. Notwithstanding, like a spiritual

masochists, a sensual, carnal thrill was obtainable through believing that I was more righteous than they because I was faithfully doing Gods will. What a shock to find out after more than two decades, that God never sent me there for ANY reason. He simply used what the enemy meant for evil for my personal and spiritual good, so that I could be used by Him to help others help themselves! Nevertheless, as one who was addicted, I never wanted to leave that Whore on my own so God made HER PUT ME OUT!!!! Ignorant of my own emotional condition, I foolishly submitted myself to the spiritual abuse that those I pastored inflicted upon me. Whatever they needed, I was there for them. I spent quality time with most of them---shopping, vacations and other outings, cooking for them, you name it. I was at the jails, hospitals, homes. I was a devoted pastor, never controlling or demanding with anyone. I even came from behind the pulpit and taught them as Jesus did. Yet none of my efforts bore any fruit in them for Jesus Christ. The irony is that the devil used those I pastored in three different churches to try to cause me to change my definition of the word "pastor". Religious devils used church members to try to beat me down with discouragement by causing them to treat me with a lack of appreciation, regard and respect. In other words, I was not loved. For some time, I thought it was because I am "not a man." I have seen men revered who were known to be homosexuals, abusers of all kinds. But my gender was not the cause. The only distinction between me and them was that I was not raised in church and I came to know Jesus Christ outside of church walls. As I reflect, I do not recall that I ever really pastored those who were truly saved. Even when I started my own church in 1996, I was remained abused by people who actually chose to follow me. Yet, as I remember each one of them, I see no fruit for Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that I preached a powerful message, the word fell on ground that "was not good." Why? There is a simple answer, taken straight from the Lords own lips. When folk are serving two masters, they end up hating one and loving the other. Therefore their hatred of me was not personal. It was scriptural and it was prophetic. The sheep I served were serving two masters. Since I belong to Christ, I was despised. Therefore, it is understandable to me now, that it was not God who called me to ministry while I was in the Denomination. I could be wrong but I dont believe that God would call anyone of His to serve Him within such a filthy, corrupt system.

Once I embraced this truth, I realized that my situation can be compared to the first predicament of His servant Moses. While he was in Egypt, Moses tried to help his own people but he failed. It was not until he was forced out of Egypt into the wilderness, that God prepared him for ministry. In like manner today, I believe that to be used by God effectively, one has to actually leave the organized church. Not a few hours after I accepted this revelation, my "first' sheep telephoned me. George is a man who was a member of the first church that I pastored in 1989. To make a long story short, it was revealed in the spirit that George was sent to me to serve as "a constant thorn in my side." I was set free from George about 4 years ago when I asked him to leave my church. A faithful tither and church attender, he was literally "tearing down the church" with his relapses into drugs and sexual sin. In fact, no loose woman or drug addict was safe in my church because of him. I couldn't completely avoid all contact with George because one of his relatives is also a member of my family through marriage. So with this phone call, since I now have an ear to hear, I actually heard a religious devil speak through George to me. George purred: "you were such a dedicated pastor, preaching to people who never appreciated you and who did you so wrong. Just know that I appreciate you and I have much fruit in my life for Christ because of your ministry." I could have spit and uttered "Get thee behind me, Satan." Instead, I simply replied, "thanks for the kind words, but I see no real fruit borne in anyone because of my ministry to them. It was all a lie. The only reason George is NOT on drugs right now is because he barely survived two recent strokes, his diabetes is off the chain, but most of all, his drinkin and druggin partner died two years ago--his brother, Bobby. Today George is really afraid to use drugs because he is not yet ready to die!!! Sexual sin has stopped because his libido is gone, even though his pride will not allow him to admit it. George still lives in a motel for the homeless, a hovel that is indescribable---an active member of a holiness, Pentecostal church. We had not engaged in a spiritual conversation in well over a year. Yet, some how, George chose to call me with this compliment on the very day that I embraced the fact that "God didn't call me to pastor in the organized church." What do I make of this? Well, THE DEVIL DOESN'T STOP TALKING TO US AS LONG AS HE CAN FIND A CHANNEL TO BRING FORTH HIS MESSAGE. Yet, don't get me wrong. I suspect that I am certainly chosen by God as a handmaiden unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides writing and counseling, I just

don't yet know exactly what I am called to do yet. Moses waited 40 years. I've only waited 33 years. I anticipate that I'll be knowing "soon enough!" When I do, I'll be ready!!!!

Sheppard's Counseling and Publishing Center, PO Box 356, East Greenbush NY 12061

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