"Friendly" spirits

Let's set aside the more obvious activities of evil spirits for now and look at what I'll call "friendly spirits." These are in fact evil spirits that don't look like spirits at all, but blend in with our human desires and become difficult to distinguish from our own human qualities. I'll give an example. One day, my wife and I were hastily cleaning our home and preparing dinner before some guests arrived. We had plenty of time, but it somehow felt like we wouldn't make it. My wife and I were snapping at each other and getting all worked up. We were rushing and there was no joy in getting ready. And this was a familiar pattern that seemed to happen each time we got ready for company. Suddenly I felt the Lord telling me that there was a spirit of Panic in our home. I thought about it, and it made sense. Suddenly I could see that we had willingly partnered up with panic as a means of getting ready faster. But we paid a price. Each time we had company, we were flustered and irritable by the time our guests arrived. It wasn't worth it. It never is. A holy disdain rose up in me for this ugly spirit of Panic. I wanted him out. I silently commanded the spirit of Panic to leave our home in Jesus' name and not return. The air lifted. The pressure was gone and peace returned to our home. And to this day, when we are getting ready for company, we have peace and joy.

So did my wife and I willingly invite that spirit of Panic into our home? Yes, in a manner of speaking. We didn't overtly do so. We didn't proclaim, "I invite the spirit of Panic…" But we became willing to panic. We became sympathetic to this spirit, or at least its nature, as a means to get the house ready in time. That's the key. These friendly spirits become a means to an end. If we will act in accord with these spirits, they begin to gain entry, and it might seem like we are making progress as a result, but we are never better off.

I knew a business man who was very successful. He was a great Number Two person, the right hand man for the CEO. His strength was in details. He thought everything through and anticipated many problems in advance. This made him very successful in the eyes of people. But it came at a price. While this was a very godly man who loved the Lord a great deal, he was often controlled by a spirit of Anxiety. He could not stop worrying. It seemed that Anxiety was his best friend throughout his business career, often "helping" him to anticipate and avert problems. But he could never enter the Lord's rest. He couldn't take the Lord's gentle yoke upon him, because he was already wearing a very heavy yoke of Anxiety. Even after he retired, when cares and worries should be greatly diminished, this man could not stop worrying, often losing sleep over very small things. This "friendly" spirit had gained an entrance and refused to leave, because this man allowed a spirit of Fear and Anxiety to motivate and control him. A literal spirit of Worry was very comfortable around this man, because Worry was welcome. This spirit helped him get the job done, but it did not bring about the peace and joy that God has for us.

As parents, one of our primary roles is to teach our children good behavior. But we also must teach them the right reason for good behavior. Ultimately, as they grow and mature, our desire is to see them make godly choices out of love and respect for God, themselves and others. But it can be tempting to take shortcuts. Shame and guilt are powerful motivators, but they are not going to produce the heart of Christ in our children.

When we impose guilt upon others as a means of getting them to behave the way we want, we are actually practicing witchcraft. That means drumming up spirits to do what we want. Guilt is a spirit. We can say things that give the spirit of Guilt power over other people. But it is a demonic means of influencing others.

Jesus once said that Satan cannot cast out Satan. When we try to rid our children of ungodly behavior by applying ungodly shame or fear, we are trying to use tools of Satan's to cast out Satan. It will not work. We cannot destroy the works of the devil, if we are collaborating with demonic spirits in our cause.

Fear is another tempting tactic for parents. There is godly fear, but there is also an unholy gripping fear or terror that comes not from God but from the evil one. Fear is a spirit. Paul tells us that God did not give us a spirit of fear. He's telling us two things: fear is a spirit, and it is not from God. When we use a spirit of Anger or Rage to instill this kind of fear in a child, we are inviting demonic influences to "help" us parent.

Our heavenly Father is our role model for parenting. He gives us freedom to obey or disobey. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" and freedom. Our God is not a controlling Father. Out of love for us, He provides consequences for acting outside of His will. But His ultimate goal is for us to obey Him out of love. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love is the middle and the end.

Instilling a paralyzing fear in a child is a definite shortcut. If you had more time, you would patiently teach and explain. But in a time crunch, it's much easier and more effective to just use threats. It gets the job done. But there is a terrible price to pay.

This spirit promises to help you succeed, if only you will let him help you. And if it's in ministry or a good cause, the Spirit of Ambition will look pretty godly. You would never guess that it is demonic or evil. It has the appearance of being very good. But it places you first, while the Spirit of God calls you to be last.

If Jesus had operated out of a spirit of Ambition, He would have done much greater miracles. And He would not have done so many miraculous works in private. But the Lord was not into ambition, He was solely driven by doing His Father's will in His Father's timing with His Father's character.

If John the Baptist had any spirit of Ambition in him, he would have become jealous when Jesus' ministry began eclipsing his own. Failure and being bested is the ultimate test for knowing how much this spirit is at work in you. We tend to think that the Lord only wants us to have great success in ministry, but He just might be more interested in seeing us stay faithful and trust Him even when it feels like we are failing. (See High Calling of Obscurity.) The antidote to this subtle and deadly spirit is to take Jesus' advice and follow His lead: Whoever is first will be last, but whoever is last will be first.

There is a subtle but huge difference between loving people and caring too much what people think about us. When we begin to alter our behavior out of fear that others will reject or ridicule us, this is not love. It is bowing to a spirit of Fear of Man. This spirit is not our friend. That is why James warned us that friendship with the world is hatred toward God and an act of adultery (James 4:4), for only the Lord deserves such devotion and worship.

This spirit of Fear of Man can create a very humble appearance in us. We are called to humility, but true humility puts others above ourselves out of love, while false humility will out ourselves down out of insecurity. Insecurity has long been mistaken for godly humility, but the two have nothing in common. Consider this: the bible says that Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Who wrote that text? Moses! So was he bragging? That doesn't sound very humble, does it? But true humility means allowing the Lord to lead us where we don't want to go, out of a deep love and trust for the Lord. It requires humility to declare that you are the most humble person on earth!

I knew of a man who had a very difficult time confronting other people. He didn't feel like it was his place. He didn't feel like his own needs counted. And fear caused him to stay silent. So he held back and allowed people to walk all over him. Who in their right mind would permit that? No one in their right mind. But a Spirit of Unworthiness was at work, along with Fear, constantly telling him that he couldn't possibly voice his concerns to others. When this man finally hit the boiling point, he would at last speak up. But it could never be words of love or truth. It could only come out as rage and anger, because the only way he could possibly speak up is when he allowed a Spirit of Rage and Vengeance to take over the controls. So for him, confronting meant losing friends, not restoring them.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But sometimes church can look the opposite. Many religions impose a strict adherence to rules as a means of creating morality. This is a man made effort that bypasses the Holy Spirit's conviction, the work of the cross, and the resurrecting power of the Lord. Instead we settle for cleaning the outside of the cup by corralling our members into submission to our idea of God's will for them.

For example, the Holy Spirit might me stirring people's hearts during fellowship and causing people to desire to confess sin and repent. But a nervous pastor or leader might feel like this is out of (man's) control and shut it down, directly or with a wet blanket statement like, "This is not the time and place for this."

The Control spirit is a spirit that "helps" people to control other people through any means possible: guilt, shame, fear, manipulation, or even lies. It is often rooted in fear and insecurity. If we are secure in the Lord, we will be able to patiently wait and allow His process to work in people's hearts. But if we feel we must control every situation ourselves, then we are at risk of collaborating with an unholy spirit of Control, and directly opposing the work of the Holy Spirit.

In every case, these evil spirits try to work along side of us when we are looking for a convenient means to an end. They offer us shortcuts that are actually paths that lead away from the Lord and His purposes. Jesus tells us that we can know each tree by its fruit. If we are trying to produce godliness through ungodly means, we will get ungodly fruit in the long run.