The kingdom of God operates on spiritual laws that God Himself has established. These laws aren’t separate from Him. They originate from the essence of who He is, His divine nature.
When these spiritual laws are violated knowingly or unknowingly, we stand in opposition to Him (who He is) causing Him grief. He then withdraws from us at some point if we continue in that pathway. It gives place to the enemy starting to have access to our lives and the spheres of our influence.
Anytime, we are looking to set things right; it must first proceed from us seeing that we have walked contrary to God’s nature; hurting or grieving Him. Any other basis for repentance is incomplete or not genuine. In that light from God is where we clearly see how much we have broken His laws and the extent of the damage we have allowed the enemy to cause. In that light we also know what needs to be done to make restitution. Genuinely asking Him for forgiveness and doing what we need to do to make amends is what properly shuts the door and stops the enemy’s influence. Then we need to start to rebuild from the place we have allowed things to be broken.
Today, we rarely see this kind of repentance. It seems repentance if any is self-centered than God centered. It needs to originate and end in God. The truth that it is not the case shows a deeper problem in many of our circles. Everything is done/ built centered on self than God. It is an important point of discussion but for another time.
Now, we will just focus on spiritual doors that have been opened to the enemy in allowing immoral or corrupt men and women to minister. And the lack of genuine or proper repentance from those who allowed them to minister and how that has affected the body of Christ. It very much relates to what has happened in the charismatic/prophetic movement in recent years and one of the main reasons we are where we are as a movement today!
We will first establish a scriptural basis for our discussion on this subject.
Shepherds are responsible for the well-being of their flock! Their lifestyle and the choices that they make can serve as doors for GOD or the enemy to have access and influence over the flock.
In 1 Peter 5 :2 , we see that God entrusts the flock under the shepherd’s (leader’s) care. Hebrews 13:17 says that leaders keep watch over people’s souls. In 1 timothy 4:16, Paul asks Timothy to take care of his life and doctrine in the context of saving himself and those under him. These verses establish the truth that those in authority are responsible for the well-being of their flock. Also, their own life decisions can affect those entrusted to them in a positive or a negative way.
It is more than just preaching on Sundays or providing oversight whenever people need it. Shepherds are responsible for the welfare of the sheep, and we will stand before God one day giving an account on how we tended to our sheep or took care of those entrusted to us. We are responsible for their growth and well-being in Christ. Paul tells the Galatians that he travails for Christ to be formed in them. Every shepherd or leader should carry the same heart.
In the same context protecting the sheep becomes vitally important. Protecting them from bad outside influences or being diligent about one’s own choices with the awareness that it could affect the sheep adversely.
In the Old and the New we see examples of how when leaders miss the mark, those under them are affected as a result. David’s mistake cost the lives of many Israelites. Peter’s hypocrisy misled many, including Barnabas. Everyone who leads must be always conscious of the choices they make, that it glorifies God and in the best interests of His bride, regardless of how personal it may be.
It is the duty of the shepherd to make sure the sheep are protected at all costs! We also need to be careful as to whom we allow to minister over our congregation.
If we open our pulpit and let people who are defiled or who function under a wrong spirit minister, we expose the entire congregation to that defilement or spirit, allowing the enemy to harass and afflict them. Unfortunately, today, because of several such ministers (some of them false) going unchecked in the body of Christ and with no proper repentance and restitution from leaders who hosted them, the body of Christ has been defiled and continues to be under the influence of the enemy to some extent. Many of the doors that have been opened to the enemy are yet to be closed
Before we go on further with this truth, we need to establish certain things from scripture. Whether it be preaching or worship or any kind of ministry, it must be done in the spirit ( Romans 1:9 and John 4:26) under the governance of the Holy Spirit Many don’t get to this place as their outward man is not yet broken but for those that have been broken, they need to be aware that their spirit gets released along with Spriit of God or whatever else is behind it or in it.
Over the years, I’ve seen many examples of this. In a few instances, slime being released from worship teams over the entire congregation because the lives of those who were leading or playing were impure. There have been similar occasions where lustful spirits were released over the flock; spirits of pride and division… from those preaching or ministering…. Many a time under the guidance of the Spirit have openly brought these things to light and closed those doors during ministry time. We are building His body, preparing His bride and must zealously protect and confront all outside influences and hinderances that try to hinder that.
All these truths and examples we have seen prior, are to bring us to an understanding of the gravity of what we are about to focus on next. The prophetic movement and charismatic leaders ( not everyone) have allowed men who have lived in sinful lifestyles and who have constantly lied to minister over their congregation over the years. Even when brought to light, little has been done to set it right( maybe due to the ignorance of the truths shared here).
This is has led to devastating consequences in the body of Christ. When a minister who was living in a sinful lifestyle was ordained some years back, God clearly showed that lying spirits would be at work in that section of the body (Lakeland prophecy).
Anytime a person living a sexually perverse life is allowed to minister, sexually perverse spirits will have access to the entire congregation or anyone receiving from anywhere in the world from them. Any time a person who constantly lies is allowed to minister, lying spirits will have governance over that congregation or wherever that person’s influence spreads… The same could be true of prideful, jealous and other kind of spirits…I could give several such examples from years of co- pastoring a church, ministering in hundreds of places, being sensitive to the Spirit.
Dearly Beloved, as I am typing, one hand I sense the zeal of the Lord in wanting to drive away everything that has been allowed to affect His bride, at the same time also the gravity of our mistakes and how badly we who have been called to protect His bride have exposed it to harm.
Maybe we were ignorant but that is no longer an excuse! We need to set these things right immediately and radically; asking for cleansing by His blood and His Spirit in us and over the congregation we minister to.
Make no mistake, lying and deceiving spirits are at work! If we don’t see the current situation as it is, then how can we redeem it? It is still not too late…
