Christianity Oasis Forum

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Hello Christianity Oasis, All...

Blessings!

(Part 1) Discerning Good and Evil

Heb.5
[14] But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Below are several scriptures I use against evil when I discern its presence.

Scripture References:

(I) Matt.18
[18] Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
(II) John.15
[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
(III) John.14
[13] And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
[14] If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
(IV)2Cor.10
[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
(V) 1John.4
[2] Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
[3] And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(VI) 2John.1
(7) For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
(VII) Jas.4
(7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(VIII) John.6
[29] Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

In reference (II) above, What does it mean for us to abide in Christ and for His Words to abide in us? The Apostle John tells how we must live in order to abide in Christ. 1John.4 [16] And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Having the Lords Words abide in us requires no less love than in 1John.4 above...we must find ways to love God, our Heavenly Dad, (papa, daddy), continually. Here is wisdom. To avoid having your virtuous study and effort in service to God and our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus thwarted by the ear splitting noise of sounding brass and tinkling cymbal, (1Cor. 13:1-3), please do go to the Throne of Grace, plead the Blood of Jesus before the Father as the payment made to purchase your redemption and ask Him to shed His Love abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost. Then ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of your understanding and give you wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Keep on knocking, asking, and seeking those things and you will find His Words abiding in you.

What does loving God have to do with discerning good and evil? Just ask yourself this question when thoughts and imaginations fill your head. Are they God's love spawned? Or is it one of the following? Sins, sicknesses, diseases, sorrows, iniquities, griefs, or pains?

At one time or another each scripture posted above either individually or in combination helped me win a battle with an evil spirit during the course of the last 45 years. And I want you all to know that I'm still battling evil forces and those scriptures are still working because I abide in Christ and His Words abide in me. You all can trust in, have faith in, believe on, and have strong confidence in them to help you win a battle with an evil foe. Examples follow the answer to the question, what is a high thing?

What is a high thing? Typically anything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God...a high thing is typically any thought, word, phrase or command that we hear at the tip top of our mind that does not line up with the Word of God.

One principle I have learned from reference (IV) above in discerning good and evil is this. BE BOLD!!! If a high thing that is a single word or group of words oppresses you and makes you feel bad, even though you may believe it is ok to be depressed because of your circumstances, be bold in taking it captive and casting it down. God has not given us a spirit of depression any more than He has given us a spirit of fear. But He has given us the Garment of Praise. Put it on! Here is the garment of priase I use. It is found in the URL that follows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RADd7aH5PbU

There are also times when we hear a voice and cannot tell if it is good or evil. It is at this time we need to be bold in a different way. Here we demand of the spirt to confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh...if the spirit is of the Lord it will declare that Jesus came in the flesh. If not, you most likely will not hear anything except rare occurrences where the devil will attempt to trip you up by using a group of words that are similar to "Jesus has come in the flesh," but in no way declaring that Jesus has come in the flesh. An example might be, "god is good." Be bold and swift in demanding the spirit to confess, otherwise, the thing may haunt you for years. Not long after I was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit a spirit of trouble attached itself to me. And every time I headed out on an interstate highway I would hear the word, "trouble." Pretty soon a highway patrolman would appear. So I concluded, that since the spirit kept me from getting a speeding ticket it was a good thing...but then it morphed into bringing trouble into my life...that is when I finally demand of it to confess...and when it didn't and wouldn't then I realized I had allowed it get a foot hold and then morph into a stronghold. But praise God through whom all blessings flow, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds!!!

In another example of how one might be duped by an evil spirit working in a Christian organization I have this story to tell. I was attending a Full Gospel church during the age of the grand scam, that time 35-40 years ago when big tent so called ministers of the Gospel of our Lord preached seed money faith where you sow into an organization expecting a high return on your investment...sooo...not knowing the voice of the Lord, rather than being a sowee, I became a dupee...one evening a gruff, authoritative spirit demanded of me that I give a thousand dollars into the ministry of a Dallas based mega-church personality....soon there after he declared bankruptcy, and so I learned the hard way that God's voice is not gruff and authoritative. The voice of God is Agape.

Regarding reference (III) above, Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin teaches that the word, "ask," can also be rendered demand.

I attack evil spirits in this manner...all in the Name of Jesus...for example: Trouble: In the name of Jesus I take you captive and loose you from your assignment. And in the name of Jesus, Trouble, I bind you, and demand you cease from your manipulations and operations against me. And Trouble, in the name of Jesus I demand that you depart from me. At that point the Lord Jesus takes the initiative and gets rid of the evil spirit. He does so to give glory to the Father. This type of prayer is called the prayer of demand. It is reference (III) above verse 14, "If you demand anything in my name, I will do it."

Please notice, that in the paragraph above there are 4 powerful spiritual principles at work....the name of Jesus coupled with binding, loosing, and demanding. Reference (I) above discusses binding and loosing. And Jesus meant what He said. Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. When I loose an evil spirit from its assignment and bind it, it strips them of their power to wage war. But when I demand of it in the Name of Jesus to depart, it is the Lord Jesus in us that drives it away...thus, if we demand anything in His Name, He will do it!

Then there is Reference (VII) above where we resist the devil. We are told that if we do resist the devil it will flee from us. Scripture reminds me of Saul and David, where David would play his harp and the devils afflicting Saul would lift, and it reminds of Paul and Silas, when in a dungeon prayed and sang praises unto God and God delivered them. As mentioned earlier, when I feel really depressed and/or afflicted I open the URL reference above and blast the devil with magnificent praise and worship songs that glorify God, because in those mighty melodies, is the power to drive away the enemy. By practice, I have learned that right around 30 minutes into the play list the devil will depart and the oppression will lift. My part in the assault on the enemy is to love God with all of my heart and soul as I listen to the wonderful praises giving glory to God.

Finally we come to scripture reference number (VIII) above. This is work we do, believe on Him, (our Lord Jesus), who God has sent...having faith is work...hope that lifts its eyes to the future where glory awaits us is work...love that embraces God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength is work. But in doing these things we become very fruitful. But discerning and dealing with evil is also work. If we're lazy about it we'll get our little ol' hiney kicked. So let us be diligent in the warfare, for we will become strong in the Lord and the power of His might, and mighty through Him to the pulling down of strongholds!

Love you all in the Lord!


Blessings!