When Alli, an esthetician and graphic designer for our church, meets new people, just like Rose she sees movies play in her imagination. She has learned over time to accept this as her “heads-up” from the Holy Spirit. “It’s great when it’s positive,” she said. “But when it’s negative, it’s hard to accept.”
Alli explained that a movie will start with a thought and then turn into a story in her mind. She clarified that these movies in her imagination are not accurate in their details, but are how her mind processes information that she has just discerned. She once met a woman who was married, and a random thought popped into her mind: She’s not being faithful. And then the thought turned into a movie in her mind, and Alli watched a quick movie of this woman not being faithful. Alli did not say anything about it, but she also declined all the woman’s social invitations.
“Over time it all came out,” Alli remarked. “She was caught red-handed, cheating on her husband.”
3. Pay attention to your peace
Jesus taught His disciples a supernatural way to discern the intentions of people, in one case the intentions of strangers who offered to house them as they traveled. He told them, “If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you” (Matthew 10:13). His disciples, then, would know who was for them or who was against them simply by paying attention to their peace.
Peace does not always reveal what the issue is, but it does reveal when there is one. It is like an internal red light or green light that lets us know if we should move forward with someone or move away from the person. Jesus gave us His peace, and His peace leads us and rules our hearts (see Isaiah 55:12; John 14:27; Colossians 3:15).
My first job after college was in the marketing department of a large company. The manager of that department convinced the company to outsource all the marketing to him so he could start a personal business. He invited me to join his new business, which made sense since I would no longer have a job after the contract went into effect. Only I did not have a peace about it. In my excitement for this new adventure, I ignored what I felt and then regretted every moment of it. My boss turned out to be a classic narcissist, and I could not escape fast enough.
I have learned since then to be led by God’s peace, and it has never failed. My first trip to China was a test of my faith and being led by peace. The Holy Spirit could not have been more clear in what He said: Go to China! I just could not make the right connections inside that nation. And all my Chinese missionary contacts told me not to come because it was too dangerous. To make a long story short, the Holy Spirit miraculously connected me with a young man who seemed to have all the internal connections that I was looking for. Still, it was risky because I did not know this young man at all.
Once inside the nation, we decided to minister at an orphanage located outside Beijing. My team and I, mostly young females, got into an unmarked van and drove off to who knows where. As we drove, my mind began to panic, realizing we could be kidnapped, sold or worse, and no one would be able to trace our whereabouts. I still had tremendous peace, however. That peace told me we were safe and with people we could trust.
Have you ever noticeably discerned something happening in your knower, in your imagination or through your peace before? Were you able to distinguish who was for you or against you as a result? Again, the gift of discerning of spirits comes with a learning curve, and we learn through practice to discern good from evil. My prayer is that this short list of paying attention to your knower, paying attention to your imagination and paying attention to your peace will raise your spiritual awareness enough to bring the right people into your world and keep the wrong people out.
Discerning the Enemy Within
There are still those, however, who seem to avoid detection even by the most sensitive discerners. That is because they are empowered by a demonic spirit that is an expert at disguise. This demon is known as a “religious spirit,” and it sits in our churches each and every Sunday going undetected—that is, until it rears its ugly head.
Jesus asked His disciples a question: “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15–16). Jesus blessed Simon powerfully for his words, even using his name, Peter, which is a Greek word for “rock,” to describe the unconquerable strength of His Church: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [hell] will not overcome it” (verse 18).
Afterward, Jesus gave His disciples fair warning about what to expect in the near future. He told them that He would suffer greatly in Jerusalem at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders (the Pharisees and the Sadducees), would be killed by them and then would be raised to life again.
Peter, who was previously so full of heavenly revelation, took Jesus aside and rebuked Him: “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” (verse 22).
In response, Jesus gave Peter a shocking rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me . . .” (verse 23).
Was Peter really Satan? No, but his words revealed to Jesus that he was acting from self-interest. When people speak and behave from a selfish agenda, they are never in the will of God. And if Peter was standing against the will of God, like Satan, he had made himself an enemy of God, even if it was just for that moment. The well-deserved rebuke from Jesus was intended to shock him back into alignment, which meant he must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Christ (see verse 24).
Have you ever acted in self-interest, ahead of God’s interests? I believe we all have. Community and healthy accountability with other Christians should generate those needed rebukes when we go offtrack like that. Where there is no rebuke or when a rebuke goes ignored, that creates conditions for people unwittingly to be used by Satan to fight against the things they are supposed to fight for. This is what happened in Jesus’ day with the religious leaders, the very leaders who crucified Him. They fought against the One they were supposed to embrace, all because of jealousy and self-interest.
The Pharisees and Sadducees demonstrated a spirit, attitude and behavior that undergird what is commonly known as a religious spirit. I believe Peter was teetering along the same line, except that Jesus rebuked him back into a right spirit. What began to happen to Peter, then, is a warning to us all. A religious spirit does a lot of evil things in the name of God, even murder, but God has nothing to do with it. It is legalistic and power seeking, and it uses religion to suppress or even kill off anyone genuinely moving in the Holy Spirit. This was the supernatural power source behind the majority of opposition we had been experiencing within our church. It was a spirit now being discerned, confronted and uprooted in order to make room for the Spirit of God.
My husband had greeted a long-standing church member, at least fifty years in attendance, just before a church service. She always sat in the same seat, and she would come early, sit down, fold her arms and frown the entire service. She habitually complained about the worship leaders, too, the new music and the music volume. When my husband greeted her, she said quite venomously, “I am praying for the worship leaders to leave!”
In true Jesus style, my husband rebuked her and said, “That is not the Spirit of Christ.”
I wish it had ended right there, but I have learned over the years that those who pray are powerful, even when they pray the wrong things. This is why Jesus instructs us to bless and not curse, because we have the power to do both (see Matthew 5:44 NKJV). What ensued was a horrible sin, with a resulting divorce and the loss of two families from our fellowship, which included our worship leaders. While the people involved were ultimately responsible for the choices they made, looking back, we should have taken this woman’s curse against our worship leaders more seriously. That kind of prayer can empower demonic spirits to attack people and is fueled by the spirit of religion. What happened naturally, I believe, was a reflection of the battle happening spiritually—a battle that might
have been prevented if only we had understood what we were dealing with.
I know of a pastor of Middle Eastern descent who began having terrible issues with his church board and some of his ethnic congregants. Not only would they not allow him to lead as the Holy Spirit was directing him, but they also challenged his leadership at every turn, even in the middle of his sermons. Remember that a religious spirit will go so far as to murder you if it can. Because this pastor was in the United States on a work visa, his dissenters threatened to fire him and thus force him back to his native land if he did not do what they wanted. Going back to his country meant jail and death for him and his family. This is a religious spirit at its worst. Thankfully, another church intervened and took this pastor on staff to prevent the worst from happening.
Verna Brown, senior pastor of Soul Harvest Worship Center in Modesto, California, also encountered this kind of spirit in some of her congregants, one person in particular. “It’s so deceptive,” Verna said. “It looks like a Christian, worships like a Christian and even performs signs and wonders!”
Verna had inadvertently allowed a woman with a religious spirit to come into her church and even join her leadership team. The woman pretended submission to her leadership, but really had a hidden agenda to divide and conquer, saying it was all “Jesus.” Verna admits she missed a clear point of discernment, the manifestation of a spiritual scent she described as “the smell of a dirty diaper.” She thought the smell indicated a plumbing issue in her church and kept using air fresheners to try to remedy it. That smell was not the bathroom, however, but was an actual spirit attached to this person with a religious spirit. The same identifiable smell was on every person she had infected. In the end, this woman took several people out of Verna’s church to herself.
The good news is that another woman showed up at Verna’s church around this time, but did not have the kind of smell associated with her that the previous woman had. Actually, this time it was a taste so distinct that Verna knew she was discerning a friend and an ally in the new woman. Verna tasted honey, like candy, in her mouth. It proved to be true. This new woman and her family have become strong pillars in her church, and Verna could not be more grateful.
The gift of discerning of spirits reveals people’s hidden heart motives to us, for better or worse. This gift is like a Holy Spirit security alarm that tells us when people are safe or not, or if they are somewhere in the middle. There are some spiritual conditions that are harder to discern than others since they are extremely deceptive. We learn to distinguish the “hard to discern” by studying the nature of spiritual beings, both the angels and the principalities and powers. That is my next chapter’s topic.
Kingdom Principles
The gift of discerning of spirits will reveal people’s secret heart motives, whether they are sincere and genuine or evil and deceitful.
When you discern a demonic assignment against you, it can be alarming within your emotions. You need wisdom and patience, not reactiveness, to handle it properly.
We will discern both kingdoms, not just one or the other. We don’t shut our eyes to the demonic kingdom out of personal preference. We need to know what God is doing, as well as what Satan is doing, so we can respond responsibly.
We can begin to discern the motives of the heart by paying attention to our knower, our imagination and our peace.
A religious spirit can go undetected, even by the most sensitive discerners, because it is an expert in disguise.
Thoughts for Reflection
Have you ever overreacted to someone you have negatively discerned? What did you learn from that episode?
Which kingdom, God’s or Satan’s, do you discern more? Has God set the balance in what you discern, or do you notice tendencies to see only what you want to see?
Have you ever noticeably discerned something happening in your knower, your imagination or through your peace? As a result, were you able to distinguish who was for you and who was against you?
Many confuse reading a person’s outward behavior for the gift of discerning spirits. When have you supernaturally discerned someone’s motive, a motive imperceptible to the natural eye?
Has the behavior of someone with a religious spirit ever caught you by surprise? If so, looking back, what were some points of discernment that you missed, if any?
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Discerning the Angels
As I sat to write this chapter, I began to study about the element of faith needed to discern the presence of angels. The Bible tells us, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience]” (Psalm 34:7 AMP). Do you fear and reverence Him? I sure do! We know, then, that the angels are right here with us. The apostle Paul prays, “And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know . . .” (Ephesians 1:18 AMP). This prayer was not only for the Ephesians, but was a prayer that extends to you and me. This is what the prophet Elisha prayed for his servant when their lives were threatened. He prayed that the servant’s spiritual eyes would open to see the angels protecting them (see 2 Kings 6:17).
Author and minister Bobby Connor once said that we need to “invite the angels to make themselves known.” I want to encourage you, then, to go ahead and ask the Lord to open your eyes to see the angels who are with you. Allow your faith to lay hold of God for this, knowing that your eyes are blessed to see (see Matthew 13:16).
This is how I prayed as I began this section of the book: I asked the Lord to allow me to see His angels, knowing from His Word that they were nearby. Almost immediately, I saw an angel standing to my right, floating up in the air. He was about six feet tall, and I could feel God’s light and heat radiating off him. I even went so far as to ask him, “Why are you here?”
He replied, “I’m here to help you!”
You and I both know that was a biblical response, and I was highly encouraged, to say the least (see Hebrews 1:14).
Why is it important to see and discern the angels? There are several reasons, but the most important is that angels give us an idea of what God is doing. Angels are servants of God and of us, and they do a lot of things, such as help us, protect us, guide us, and more. Yet they function primarily as God’s messengers, something I understand to mean that angels will communicate a message both verbally and even indirectly by their actions (see Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7).
I once saw four angels come and stand on our church platform, and I discerned by the Holy Spirit why they had come. These were angels on assignment from God for provision. God provides for us, but it is the angels who facilitate His provision (see Genesis 24:40; 1 Kings 19:5). These angels remained motionless until after we received the Lord’s tithes and gave our offerings—an offering I made sure to give to once I saw the angels. After the offering they left very quickly, I believe to cause the Lord’s provision to come. When we understand the message of the messengers, often observed in their actions, then we can co-labor with God and complete what God has already initiated in heaven.
How to Discern the Angels
I have discovered that there are a few specific ways in which you will discern angels. These are that you will see them, you will feel them and you will hear them. Let’s look at each of these ways in a little more detail, along with some specific examples of them taking place, so that you are more aware of how they might occur.
1. You will see them
After Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal, his nemesis, Queen Jezebel, threatened his life, so he ran for cover. Exhausted and emotionally spent, Elijah asked God to take his life. He then fell asleep, only to be awakened by an angel—an angel he saw with his own eyes! Surprisingly, the angel made him food to eat before telling him it was time to get up and go (see 1 Kings 19:1–7). Isn’t that amazing?
Over and over again, we read about angels being seen by people in both the Old and New Testaments. Angels appea
r in the Bible 273 times. In the New Testament, an angel appeared to Zechariah to announce the miraculous birth of his son, John, and then the same angel appeared to the virgin Mary to announce that she would become pregnant with Jesus (see Luke 1:5–31). In John 5, we read about a very special angel who “went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (verse 4 NKJV). Later, we read about the angel who woke Peter up from sleep in prison, told him to put on his clothes, sandals and coat, and then supernaturally escorted him out to freedom (see Acts 12). I believe the disciples and other converts were so accustomed to angels that when Peter showed up at Mary’s home, they did not believe it at first, thinking it must be Peter’s angel and not really Peter himself (see verse 15). My point is that as New Testament believers, we should think of seeing and discerning angels as normal, not weird or “out there.”
Many people have seen angels as quick flashes of light in their peripheral vision. I have seen them this way as well. They look like a quick flash of small blue lights, and I will see them for a month or so and then they will stop. Other people have told me they have seen the same, only as white or gold lights and some other colors. Although there are different interpretations for the meanings of these colors, I learned from John Paul Jackson that the color blue usually means revelation and communion. When I see the blue flashes of light, then I co-labor with what God is doing and pray for deeper revelation and deeper communion, knowing the angels have been sent on assignment for this. Although this phenomenon of seeing lights peripherally might signal a possible medical issue for some people, as with many things, I believe that more often than not we have rationalized the supernatural with this explanation. The last time I posted a description of this way that we might see angels to my Facebook page, I received 155 comments, almost all from people who have seen angels just the same way, as flashes of light.
Seeing the Supernatural Page 8
