SPIRIT
OF DIVINATION
Acts 16:13-18,
"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city
by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made;
and we sat down, and spake unto the women which
resorted thither (14) And a certain woman named
Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira,
which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended unto the things which were
spoken of Paul. (15) And when she was baptized, and
her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have
judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my
house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (16)
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain
damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us,
which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
(17) The same followed Paul and us, and cried,
saying, These men are the servants of the most high
God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. (18)
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved,
turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came
out the same hour."
Paul and Silas were
ministering to a group of ladies by the riverside. It
was a gathering of believers and Lydia was one of the
women in attendance. By profession she was a fabric
dealer. It speaks of her as one who "worshipped
God … whose heart the Lord opened."
In addition to
Lydia, these passages reference a second woman whose
name is withheld, but she is identified as a
"damsel" who brought her masters much gain
by soothsaying (fortunetelling).
One's first
impression might easily be that this
"damsel" was a believer, because she was
proclaiming the truth … Paul and Silas were
indeed servants of the Most High God. And they were
showing the way of salvation. At second glance, it
might also seem she may have had a "religious
spirit" for she "cried" or
"shouted loudly" as found in the Amplified
Bible. How many services have we all been in where
someone, (oftentimes a woman), gives a loud
"word" or "exhortation" which
rings of truth but just doesn't sit right in your
spirit?
Clearly, the damsel
was speaking the truth, but it was the voice of a
"spirit of divination". Keep in mind, the
devil knows the truth and can quote Scripture, can
give a "word of prophecy", an
"exhortation", a "message in
tongues". There are many "false
tongues" operating in the body of Christ.
The church, for the
most part, is not teaching on spirit, soul and body.
Many believers who operated in these "false
gifts" in the world have brought them into the
church and are moving in a mixture. Absent the
believers' own involvement, the fact is, these
spirits can have a legal right to operate because of
the sins of the ancestors and curses that are upon
their lives. Just because they are saved and filled
with the Holy Ghost does not necessarily mean that
the word of prophecy they gave in that last meeting
wasn't a spirit of divination operating in and
through them.
We cannot be
deceived into believing that just because God has
anointed someone to teach … yes, even minister
the word of deliverance, that a spirit of divination
cannot still be operating from time to time. We are
all still a mixture and it behooves each one of us to
seek the Lord for continued deliverance in our lives.
When the enemy came to Jesus he could find nothing in
him, and we should strive for nothing less.
On the flip side,
just because a word or proclamation is given in a
loud voice does not necessarily mean it is a spirit
of divination. We must have discernment to identify
what spirit is behind it. 1 John 4:1-3 instructs us
on how we are to try the spirits. "… Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is of God: …"
Paul finally got
tired of dealing with this woman and her spirit of
divination (note: it was not the woman, it was the
evil spirit), and cast it out in the name of Jesus.
The Amplified aptly puts it in verse 18, "And
she did this for many days. Then Paul, being
"sorely annoyed and worn out", turned and
said to the spirit within her, I charge you in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! And it came
out that very moment." How many times do we
"tolerate" a wrong spirit ... either in
ourselves or in someone else until finally we do what
is needed to be done from the beginning? Cast it out
in the name of Jesus Christ!
We see that many
marvelous things happened as a result of this
deliverance. The fortune-tellers owners got upset
because they knew Paul and Silas had just cast out
their "cash cow" (verse 19). They managed
to get them thrown in jail. This was not just a
misdemeanor. Verse 23 says they "laid many
stripes ("blows" - Ampl.) upon them".
They were severely beaten and attacked.
But at midnight,
Paul and Silas began to sing and praise the Lord
(verse 25). We all know the story. In verse 26, a
great earthquake opened the doors of the prison. Now,
that's not too difficult to believe. But it also
loosed everyone's bands! The Amplified says,
"Everyone's shackles were unfastened". And
if that wasn't enough, the jailer and his whole
household got saved. What power there is in praising
the LORD. Spiritual bands are broken and loosed!
Salvation comes to the unsaved. And this entire
series of events began because the damsel received
deliverance from a "spirit of divination".
Looking to the
bottom line of this study … we should all be
inspired to seek God for our own life, that the
proclamations and utterances coming forth from us are
not rooted in a spirit of divination or religious
spirit. Let deliverance flow in you. After that, ask
the Lord to give you discernment, wisdom and
understanding of how to deal with those you see it
operating in.
The good news is,
those spirits can be cast out. Jesus has destroyed
the works of the evil one. Just as Paul exercised his
authority in the name of Jesus, so we must move
forward to do the works of Jesus.
**********
Some of the
following taped messages deal with this subject in
greater depth and with additional understanding. The
anointing that broke the yokes of bondage in these
services can also set you free as you listen to the
teaching and participate in the ministry.
98LH7-4 -
Carol Cannada - SPIRIT OF PYTHON - $4.00 Donation
- The spirit of python is connected with the spirit
and practice of divination. Sis. Carol examines some
of the ways this spirit operates in our lives to
destroy our families, our ministries, and us. We must
understand our position and authority and put the
enemy under our feet. Deliverance prayers are
included on the tape.
00LH8-10 -
Mildred Coffey - THE SPIRIT OF PYTHON - $4.00
Donation - Using Matthew 16:18, Mildred
explains how the python spirit is ruler over the
gates of Hell. He is a spirit of false prophecy and
divination. This spirit will squeeze the spiritual
and physical life out of you, and will try to pull
you away from God. Learn how to discern this spirit
and his works.
89LH7-2 -
Blanche Reynolds - EXPOSING ATTITUDES OF DIVINATION
IN THE END-TIME CHURCH (1 of 3) - $4.00
Donation - This message takes a shot at Satan's
kingdom with both barrels. Included is an exposé of
python, tracing it all the way back to Greek
mythology, and a look at the origin of divination.
The mind of man has become such a mixture partially
because of the tremendous amount of psychic
infiltration within the church. Why is satan using
divination to so control the minds of man? Because he
knows when confusion controls your mind you are not
going to be able to separate the precious from the
vile. The meanings of Ephesus, Smyrna and Pergamos
are discussed and how their definitions relate to
attitudes within the Church today.
85LH12-19A
& 19B - Gene & Earline Moody, Glen & Erma
Miller - INSIGHT INTO PAGAN HOLIDAYS/DIVINATION
SYMPTOMS/DELIVERANCE - (2 tape set - $6.00 Donation)
- The climax in deliverance during this camp meeting
came following these teachings. The response of
parents and teen-agers was phenomenal. For many it
was the first they'd heard that Valentine's Day,
Halloween, and many other traditional holidays are an
abomination and stench to God. Erma explained about
the "powers" of darkness that come into us
after participating in sin, and how these
"powers" cause us to do and think the way
we do - against God's ways. God's mighty presence was
in our midst, to bring resident demons of hell to the
surface and to force them out of God's children!
97LH7-18 -
Dr. Bill Null - THE OCCULT PART 3: DIVINATION - $4.00
Donation - Divination involves obtaining
supernatural knowledge through a familiar spirit in
order to control people or events. Dr. Null covers a
number of ways in which people participate in
divination. The only spirit through which a Christian
should receive supernatural knowledge is the Holy
Spirit! Deliverance prayers follow the teaching.
99DELTR-9 -
Null, Mulkey, McGhee, Johnson - QUESTIONS TO PANEL (2
OF 2) - $4.00 Donation - Panel of
deliverance ministers addresses additional questions.
Topics include the following: clarification of John
Fletcher's testimony told in 99DELTR-6; demons
counterfeiting withdrawal; effect of mind-altering
drugs; ability to bind curses in relatives;
hindrances to receiving prayer language; validity of
ministering deliverance when minister himself needs
deliverance; need for fasting in deliverance;
discerning false tongues; questioning demons vs.
divination; reality of putting people "in
cages"; concept of "pleading the
blood"; is there a "talkative" spirit;
purpose of being "slain in the spirit."
86LH3-3 -
Glen & Erma Miller - FORBIDDEN OCCULT PRACTICES
& DELIVERANCE FROM PRIDE - $4.00 Donation
- Forbidden practices of the occult (spiritual
fornication): enchantments, witchcraft, sorcery,
divination, wizardry, necromancy (praying to dead
saints), charming, stargazing, and astrology will
deprive you of God's best. If your focus is to rule
and reign with Jesus then you must continually submit
to deliverance to stay in focus! God's provision for
deliverance makes reaching complete maturity in Him
attainable. Many invaluable experiences have been
God's teaching tools to bring forth discernment here
at the camp. God considers pride an abomination and
He will destroy us if we don't repent. Many mature
Christian teachers and leaders fall in pride -
wanting to exalt themselves and their own ministries
with some great, new revelation, which ironically is
usually a gross error. Signs following were evident,
with the demons crying out with loud voices as they
vacated many lives.
These tapes may be
ordered from LHBC, PO Box 21516, Hot Springs, AR
71903. Individual tapes are $4.00 - A & B Sets
are $6.00. Please include postage as follows: 1 tape
- $1.50 / 2-4 tapes - $2.00 / 5-9 tapes - $2.50 / 10
or more tapes - 10% of the total
Back to May/June 2003 Voices