A Controlling Spirit - Poison in the Pot by GMCM Let me first make a distinction between a spirit of control or a controlling spirit and having diligence to fulfill ones responsibilities. Many people confuse those two and rationalize their controlling spirit by saying something like, “well, I’m just trying to live up to my responsibilities.” That is why it is so vital for each of us to know and understand the difference. Living up to your responsibilities simply means that you work hard and diligently to fulfill those responsibilities, whatever they are at home in your family life or at work or in any relationship you have. We know what God says about slothfulness and laziness. He really has no place for the lazy. That is why God’s Word says “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). I don’t think that working hard or vigorously, faithfully with diligence at whatever you do, whether it is to fulfill your family responsibilities, your professional responsibilities, ministry responsibilities or marriage responsibilities, whatever it is, we have the command to be responsible, diligent and hard working. But that is very different from the controlling spirit. Controlling people work hard to manipulate other people, events and circumstances to make things go their way. Controlling people spend their waking hours trying to figure out how to spin, engineer and manipulate situations to their advantage and gain. Controlling people get very upset and angry, when things don’t go their way. Controlling people convince themselves that the world around them will fall apart if they are not in control, whether it is at home or at work or where ever they are in what every position or situation they are in. They must be in control to be comfortable. They think that nothing can be done right; nothing can happen that is any good without them, without their input, without their direction and control. Believe me when I tell you that their are people that think that even God can’t do anything without them. They think that they know better than God and that God needs their help, their input, their planning, their scheming, their ideas and plans in order for things to go the right way, to get done right as they see it. They believe that their way is the only possible right way, the only proper way and beneficial way and of course it is always for their own best interest because they are so self-centered, thinking they are the center of the universe. I know that everyone knows someone like this. Please listen to this. All of us without exception, me included, know what it is to struggle with this issue. But the degrees and level of struggles differs from one to another. Why is this topic so important to the issue of living by faith for a believer in the midst of such a faithless and unbelieving world and society around them? What does this have to do with a controlling spirit? That is a question that needs an answer. The controlling spirit is the number one enemy of faith. The Controlling spirit is the biggest hindrance to the work of faith in my life and yours. The controlling spirit can overwhelm faith every time. The controlling spirit leaves no room for faith to operate in our lives. The controlling spirit leaves no room for individuality and individual freedom when a person with a controlling spirit is trying to exercise control over you. But more than all this, the controlling spirit ruins relationship and causes headaches and causes loneliness and isolation and ultimately squeezes God and faith out of a life and is very grieving to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot work in a life with a controlling spirit for He is a gentlemen. The Holy Spirit is totally blocked and stopped from operating and working in the life of a person with a controlling spirit. Until they are delivered of this spirit and it is a spirit and not just the person, they cannot come to Christ; they cannot put their faith in Christ or trust or believe in anyone or anything but themselves. It causes the person with the controlling spirit to worship self. Self sits on the throne of their heart and rules everything and all they can think of, the only perspective they can see and understand is their own. Any idea or though contrary to their way, their ideas is unacceptable and they will fight such, even “tooth and nail”. People with a controlling spirit are heady, high minded, head strong, overbearing, implacable, highly opinionated, ungiving, uncaring people who struggling to have things their way, even against all odds. Let us look at a Scriptural example of the danger of the controlling spirit. 2 Kings 4:38-41 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.” One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. This is a live example of how the controlling spirit wrought intrusion into God’s provision. This is how this intrusion into God’s provision could have brought misery and possible death to the whole community. This is how the person with the controlling spirit sought to improve on God’s plan and purpose and how such an effort to change and improve on God’s plan can be devastating and cause death. The one with the controlling spirit not only hurts the one who yields themselves to this controlling spirit, but it hurts families and communities and the people of God and can hurt the work of God. Anytime we try to do things our way instead of God’s way, we poison the pot. We hinder the blessing of God; we stop His blessings for us dead in their tracts. It’s a dangerous thing to operate your business your way, ministry your way, to raise and bring up children your way, to serve God your way, to do anything your way that is contrary to God’s way. These things will always poison the pot. The resurrected Jesus Christ is the only one who can give you the power to overcome the spirit of control. The resurrected Jesus Christ is the only one who can give you power to nullify the power of the controlling spirit so you can do His work. The question is, will you confess to Him and then let Him take over. Will you let the flour come into the pot of your life and neutralize the poison of the controlling spirit? Every time, the spirit of control will stop the miracle of blessing and provision that God has for you. If you are facing this spirit, ask God to deliver you from it today so that you can be free to serve Him and do His will instead of your own.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 23:01:10 +0000
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