READ THIS ARTICLE....DOES IT SOUND FAMILIAR?.....THIS EVIL RELIGIOUS TERRITORIAL SPIRIT IS WHAT IS INFESTING MANY, IF NOT MOST CHURCHES TODAY. AND DENOMINATIONS ARE GUILTY OF THIS TERRITORIALISM MORE SO THAN OTHER CHURCHES.....THIS EVIL SPIRIT OF RELIGIOSITY AND TERRITORIALISM IS A FORM OF WITCH-CRAFT.....AND MUST BE REPENTED OF.....THE BOOK BY THOMAS RANIER....THE AUTOPSY OF A DECEASED CHURCH COVERED THIS EVIL TERRITORIAL RELIGIOUS SPIRIT AS ONE OF THE SIGNS OF A DYING CHURCH..... Advanced Spiritual Warfare Training Discerning Religious Spirits: The Murdering Spirit of Religion Religious spirits are the strongest opposing forces against Christ Church. One of your greatest opponents against transition into apostolic ministry will be the religious spirit. Religious spirits fear loss of position, new things and being wrong. They will oppose all whom they feel threatens their sense of importance. We discover the beginning of apostolic ministry and the apostolic Church in Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus. Shortly after His resurrection the Church was persecuted by the religious spirit and scattered throughout the entire region. scripture says, “Now they which were scattered abroad because of the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only” (Acts 11:19). Stephen was a disciple of Christ. He was man full of faith and power that did great signs, wonders and miracles among the people. Sometime during the course of his ministry he found himself being challenged by the leaders of a religious stronghold. The spirit of religion is always frightened by those who are anointed by the Holy Spirit because religious spirits sit in seats of governing authority that do not belong to them. To hold on to their usurped positions of authority they mounted up an offensive attack on a man that carried God’s true governing anointing. As the testimony continues, “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke” (Acts 6:8-10). Notice these men formed a confederacy of religious leaders from at least three different synagogues that were unable to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which Stephen spoke. So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes to join with their opposition against Stephen. Religious spirits have a dark ability to inflict fear and strife as they motivate others against the things of God. Religious opposition and persecution is often evidence of entering into an apostolic dimension of ministry. The old always seems to resist the new and the dead always fear the living. APOSTOLIC AND RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION Religious spirits are murdering spirits. As these men conspired together against Stephen, “They furnished men, which said, we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council” (Acts 6:11-12). Councils are religious courts that religious leaders use to defend their seats of authority and exercise territorial control over the people. Historically disciples of Christ regularly meet religious persecution or occult opposition as soon as they began to obey the Holy Spirit. That’s because the anointing activates spiritual authority that confronts anything that hinders the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Here, in typical slanderous fashion, the religious spirits set up false witnesses to build their case against Stephen, a man who was moving in the apostolic and doing a lot of good works among the people. A key to remember is that Stephen stirred up trouble while ministering on the streets, not in any local church. Ministering outside the four walls of the local church and in the market place where the people are is one of the earmarks of apostolic ministry. Religious opposition and persecution is evidence of entering into an apostolic dimension of ministry. One time I took a team of believers with me to minister on the streets in a small town in Belgium. I will never forget the call one of our team members received by the town’s religious council asking by what authority were we preaching the Gospel in their village. I sent a message back to the caller, “We got permission from headquarters.” We never heard from them again. The apostolic mantel of authority will expose a religious spirit every time. At Stephens’ meeting with these religious folks they, “Set up false witnesses, which said, this man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us. And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:13-15).
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:49:55 +0000
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