By Pam Sheppard

I am not the only one who knows the dangers of inducing an altered state. I found the following statement in a book called “Knowing the Facts about the ASC”. By John Ankerberg and John Weldon:

There are no indications in Scripture that people should enter altered states or trances in order to draw closer to God, a common theme in New Age circles. According to 1 Peter 4: 7 (and other Scriptures), Christians are to be “clear minded and self-controlled” so that they may pray or study Scripture. Thus, the biblical means of spiritual growth and sanctification, e.g. meditation on Scripture, prayer, fasting, “are surely not meant to put us into altered states of consciousness” (2659: 79). Further, as we have argued all along, these states are clearly open doors to the intrusion of demonic spirits.”

THE ALTERED STATE AND THE DENOMINATIONS

I have written extensively about the altered state and the Charismatics. Yet even though the denominational side is different, it can be equally dangerous. Over the last few centuries in the US, particularly the southern bible belt and the migration of Southerners to the north, pagan belief systems and practices got mixed into church dogma for several decades. . For example, in 1979, I joined a denominational church where the members not only frequented root workers to deal with the vicissitudes of life, the founding pastor, a native Caribbean, was also a practicing Obeah warlock. Consequently, witchcraft influences coupled with the fact that most denominational pastors and ministers are also active members of a freemasonry lodge, denominational doorways to Satan are less obvious to pinpoint. Add to this mix the Hispanic influence on religion via the practice of Santeria as well as the pervasive mysticism of Catholicism, and denominational paganism, the denominational religious experience may even equal or surpass the pagan power of the Charismatic Movement.

I have found that the affinity for repetition and the stirring up of emotional outbursts, is the denominational doorway to the altered state. Personally speaking, I have seen preachers who hoop their message have the charismatic capability of transforming a quiet, sedate congregation to enter an emotional frenzy through provoking an ASC. Under the influence of the beat of the music and specific keywords within the lyrics, I have witnessed people literally ” go off”, when a soloist or a lead choir singer repeats Jesus over and over again. It goes from Jesus to JEAH, and then congregants start to literally fall out on or over the back of the pew or jump up into the aisle and do what is called the holy dance. Women dressed with fashionable hats, designer suits and high heels find themselves disheveled, hat and shoes knocked off, rolling around on the church rug. If you ask any of them to give a summary of the sermon, you will undoubtedly find that they cannot remember, as their minds went blank. Simply put, they were in the grips of an altered state of consciousness.

Now the denominational side is different but can be equally dangerous. How does one get into an altered state within a denominational church? Well, one of the ways is through repetition. There is a lot of repetition in traditional denominational worship services. I studied hypnosis decades ago. A part of putting a person into a trance involves repetition and visualization. Think of the songs. Many of them are hypnotic. Check out various preaching styles. When the preacher uses a repetitive cadence, it can cause people to enter an altered state. Repetition coupled with a hypnotic cadence can lead to the stirring up of emotional outbursts. For example, I have seen preachers who hoop their message, cause a quiet congregation to suddenly erupt into an emotional frenzy that provoked an ASC. I have seen people go off, when a soloist or a lead choir singer repeats Jesus over and over again. It goes from Jesus to JEAH, and then attendees start to literally fall out or jump up and do what is called the holy dance. You ask them to give a summary of the sermon and they cannot as their minds have gone blank.

Furthermore, the authors also warn about the influences and effects of paganism upon the modern world:

Altered states also have important commonalities. They can all impair one’s ability to test reality, to think critically and logically or to remember. They create a passive state in which mental events seem to develop on their own and are simply experienced rather that being controlled. Many also weaken emotional restraints, allowing moods to swing from wild jubilation to deep fear and depression. In addition, they can all create perceptual distortions and hallucinations and precipitate unusual bodily sensations like numbness, dizziness, tingling or rushes of energy…. They can make people hypersuggestible, so they are open to many strange beliefs and are easily influenced by the suggestions of other people. Altered states have the singular ability to make all kinds of improbable events seem exceptionally real and significant…. One final effect of altered states is their apparent ability to facilitate or enhance mystical experience … (2659: 69-70).

In conclusion, to develop ASCs is not to participate in a form of higher consciousness or true spirituality, as New Age proponents would have us believe. Rather, it often involves abnormal, regressive states of consciousness—ones particularly conducive to demonic contact and manipulation. The radical change in worldview is characteristically toward the occult, encouraging both occult practices and occult philosophy. The growing acceptance of altered states by millions of people, their use in psychotherapy, medicine, education, and many other fields is a reflection of the growing influence of paganism in our society. (Ankerberg and Weldon)

As evidenced and confirmed by my own experience with the occult back in the mid 70’s, I discovered by practicing the altered state through self-hypnosis and meditation, I opened a path of communication between myself and seducing spirits. I did not know this at the time as the spirits identified themselves as people I knew who had died– those whom I liked and wanted to communicate with. Then a sequence of events started to evolve in both the content and style of the communications, aka channeling. Through automatic writing, I received religious messages pertaining to both Hinduism and Buddhism. Since I was an atheist, I was neither interested or impressed with these prolific religious teachings. In those days, I simply wanted to know my future more than anything else.

My point is that evil spirits need the altered state in order to directly communicate with us. If you are not actively trying to enter an altered state through purposeful practice, YOU CAN ALSO ENTER AN ALTERED STATE TODAY THROUGH VARIOUS FORMS OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP LIKE PREACHING OR SINGING. . The most obvious practices are tongues as a prayer language , fire tunnels, slain in the spirit, various forms of wild intercession prayer, even some deliverance ministry practices. Yet for the sake of this article, I focus on the art of PREACHING, particularly among the denominations, especially the Baptists, the Pentecostals and ever increasingly, the Methodists.

PREACHING AND AN ASC

The last time I went to church, I had a memorable experience. This denomination had removed my name off the rolls in June 2004. Therefore, I did not know why I was returning to a place the Lord revealed that I must leave in order to be used by Him. Yet somehow, I knew in my spirit that I had the Lord’s permission. As I write this, I realize that God sent me back to the denomination for the last time, to be tempted by the devil. I was aware that the churches in the Northeast had recently been assigned a different bishop so I decided to visit the conference. IT WAS JULY23, 2008, a Wednesday afternoon.So I said to myself, “I will just sell some books.” The Fake Jesus had just been published so I brought some paperbacks with me to sell. The denomination’s annual conference was being held just a short distance from my home. I had an inner leading to attend.

I thought I was walking in on the business meeting but the new bishop had changed the programming. I actually walked in on a sermon.

Looking around, I observed that very few was paying any attention to the preacher, a man I knew well. Yet the Rev. seemed to be preaching directly at me but he did not even know I was there. I felt something grab me in the chest. This “force” was trying to make me respond to the invitation, come from the back and walk down that long aisle. They would think that I was returning to them. Or that I was repenting or something. I did not want to do it but it was like hands were pushing me in the back, I gave in and walked that aisle. The music was playing loudly, there were about 10 ministers and the Bishop behind the altar rail. I was in a TRANCE!!! I SNAPPED OUT OF IT WHEN I WAS ASKED “ARE YOU BRINGING YOUR MINISTRY BACK UNDER US? I CAME TO MYSELF AND HOLLERED OUT. NO!!! I JUST LOVED THE SERMON!

Actually Rev. Washington seemed to be preaching directly at me but he did not even know I was there. I paid particular attention to him because Rev. Washington was actually the only minister out of 100 of them who called to support me within a few days after they removed my name from the rolls under the guise that I did not pay my annual dues of $660. He informed me that in 3 months, I could be re-instated.

So as Rev. Washington was preaching, I felt something grab me in the chest. This “force” was trying to make me respond to the invitation, come from the back and walk down that long aisle. They would think that I was returning to them. Or that I was repenting or something. I did not want to do it but it was like hands were pushing me in the back, I gave in and walked that aisle. The music was playing loudly, there were about 10 ministers and the Bishop behind the altar rail. I was in a TRANCE!!! I SNAPPED OUT OF IT WHEN I WAS ASKED “ARE YOU BRINGING YOUR MINISTRY BACK UNDER US? I CAME TO MYSELF AND HOLLERED OUT. NO!!! I JUST LOVED THE SERMON!

Two days later, the Lord explained what happened to me. IT WAS THE PREACHING THAT PUT ME INTO AN ASC. AS TO THE PRESSURE I WAS FEELING IN MY CHEST, THE PUSH ON MY BACK, THE LORD SPOKE AND SAID. “IT WAS NOT ME.” I KNEW IT WASNT ME. SO IT WAS SIMPLE TO FIGURE OUT THAT IT WAS A SEDUCING SPIRIT AKA A RELIGIOUS EVIL SPIRIT OR DEMON.

When THE HOLY SPIRIT made The next statement, I was literally SHOCKED.. He said, the 3 dreams that you had in 1979 that led you to that church and to that denomination “did not come from ME. I NEVER SENT YOU THERE. NEXT He said, “that same power that came on you that Sunday in September, 1979, which fell on you and brought YOU to your knees, causing you to groan, wail and weep, IS THAT SAME SPIRIT THAT CAME ON YOU 2 DAYS AGO!!! Both times, IT WAS NOT ME!!!!!

SO DON’T SLEEP ON THE DENOMINATIONS. The preaching coupled with the emotional worship of the flesh, can also induce an altered state of consciousness and put you in contact with religious demons!!!!!

In conclusion, this particular experience with its subsequent revelations caused me to humble myself and ask God if I was called to ministry. For I recalled yet a similar experience that had occurred in that very church on the day that I responded to the call to ministry in the summer of ’81. At that time, A power DID come on me. A joyous power! The difference is that it was not sudden. Actually for months, I had received at least 10 signs that clearly revealed that I am one of God’s anointed workers. In more than one of those signs, I was called a prophet when I did not even know what a prophet was.

The Holy Spirit answered my question basically out of the scripture. In other words, look at the fruit. Even though He called me while I was in the denomination, He did not send me there as I had believed for 25 years. –I was not to minister to them, or for them or under their religious authority. In fact, the Holy Spirit only revealed my ministry FOR CHRIST UNTIL AFTER I HAD LEFT THEM!!!!

We must try all things.

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The words of the prophet Hosea ring true. The Lord’s people are definitely destroyed for
a lack of knowledge. With deliverance counseling, demons will often leave on
its own accord once they realize that through deliverance counseling, you have
been armed with spiritual truth. They leave because they sense that your faith
has increased to stand against them. In other cases, demons have been hidden
within a person’s personality for so long, that the Holy Spirit will set up a
situation so that the demons will be exposed and come out of
hiding.

We have been contacted by people from around the country who have sought us to conduct a deliverance. We have cast out demons from someone on another continent by
telephone. What you need to know is that Jesus Christ IS RISEN FROM THE
DEAD! He stood with one foot in Australia and One foot in our little town in
the USA! He is bigger than life. He IS life!!! His Name is Above Every Name.
The demons not only bowed but they came out peaceably without much struggle
and our client has been gloriously set free!!
If you as steadfast do ALL the work that shall be assigned to you, if you bite the
bullet and withstand the test by fighting your feelings, dealing with my
straightfoward style, believe me—NO ONE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WILL HAVE TO
TRAVEL TO NEW YORK, BECAUSE JESUS IS LORD OVER THE TELEPHONE!!!!! YOU TOO CAN BE COMPLETELY SET FREE!!!!

PRE AND POST DELIVERANCE COACHING

Coaching  before and after deliverance is extremely important. Both of these forms of counseling will be conducted by a combination of email and telephone. Be advised that we will not conduct a deliverance upon anyone without a commitment to pre-deliverance counseling. Post deliverance coaching, though optional, is highly recommended to maintain a lasting and continued freedom.
You may need deliverance coaching if the following applies to you:
A person is held captive when he or she has been brought under the power of something that would cause them to lose their God given self control. Even when drug free and not physically addicted, a captive is controlled by an obsessive and compulsive mind that will relive his addictive/compulsive behavior in his thoughts, keeping alive the experience with the help of memory cells in his body that create physical and mental cravings.
Satan and his demons are the unseen forces that send messages to an
unsuspecting mind. of this kind. The captive assumes that his thoughts and
feelings are his own, since he or she experiences powerful urges in his or her
flesh. Demons choose the weakest time and place to attack, and since a
captive’s impulsive and compulsive behavior is predictable, it is a simple
matter for demons to attract, lure and trap a person into addictive/obsessive/compulsive behavior.

The following moments, circumstances and or places of weakness may have acted as doorways to demonic influence that led to your captivity and/or a need for deliverance:
A family and or personal background in the occult or false religions.

False religions include those that are assumed to be Christian.

These so called Christian religions include Catholicism, Jehovah Witness, Christian Science and the Latter Day Saints. (Mormons)

Family or personal involvement with the occult or any form of witchcraft.

The occult also includes a family or personal background in freemasonry.

Pressures in early childhood, including but not limited to physical or sexual abuse.

Other negative family issues include rejection and sibling rivarlry.

Sinful Acts or Habits, including but not limited to the breaking of the 10 Commandments.

Addictions of all kinds.

“The ION’S of the SOUL’s
Condition

DEPRESSION
OPPRESSION
VEXATION
COMPULSION
ILLUSION
DELUSION
OBSESSION

The ION’S of Demonic Strategic
Action

ATTRACTION
SEDUCTION
DECEPTION
DISTRACTION
TEMPTATION
CONFUSION
ASSUMPTION

COULD IT BE YOU???

1.Patterns and trends— Within your family tree is a long line of substance
abusers giving the appearance of a genetic predisposition. This is NOT a curse
but a predisposition or tendency toward a certain lifestyle. Social and
cultural factors have been influenced by unseen demonic forces wherein by
example, you have developed a vulnerability to the substance abuse demon. A
review of Deuteronomy Ch. 27 points to the following as open
doors:
…idolatry or witchcraft
…oppression of the weak
…sodomy
…dishonoring of parents
…incest …theft
…injustice
…perjury

2. A background in the occult or false religions—If you have practiced
divination, sorcery, roots, santeria, obeah or some form of witchcraft, ie.
astrology, yoga, acupuncture, hypnosis, transcendental meditation, chanting,
reincarnation and the use of a Ouija board, to name a few, you have opened a
demonic doorway. These practices have also been linked to religious idolatry
or involvement in mediumship or psychic phenomena. I would include in this
list a family history of Catholicism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Buddhism, any
religion that calls itself Christian, but in any way adds to or detracts from
the gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly the divinity of the Son of God.
3.Pressures in early childhood— When as a child you were denied basic
emotional needs for love, safety and self esteem, you became vulnerable to
demons. Physical and sexual abuse are included here.
4.Emotional shock or sustained emotional pressure. Traumatic events such as
violence, incest or rape as well as a sudden and frightening accidents. These
kind of episodes are breeding grounds for demonic activity. Intense fear can
also lead to denial and escapism.
5. Sinful
acts or habits—Demons have a right of access when you made a conscious
decision to practice sin. Whoever practices sin over a prolonged period of time
is actually imitating the devil’s nature and character and cuts himself off
from the power of God. In particular, demons are attracted to sins of long
duration such as sexual immorality, including not only fornication but sodomy or
homosexuality.
6. Negative emotions —Anger, hatred, un-forgiveness, rejection, and self-pity can lead to rebellion. Rebellion is as
“the sin of witchcraft.”
7.Character defects. Unaware of the impact of unseen forces on your
personality, demons have been empowered to develop your mind, emotions,
feelings, and will. Your personality has become a mixture of your own soul
under the influence of demons.
Our major coaching goal is to help you to recognize hidden battlegrounds in your own life so that you can find victory in the blood of Jesus. There is no such thing as a
generational curse. Why not? Because The blood of Jesus broke all curses at
the cross 2000 years ago.

If most of this applies to you, complete the contact form below as a first step to deliverance coaching.

“What is covered, shall be uncovered, what is hid, shall be made known!”

To be made free by truth is our goal!

All courses are free. E-books are @ $10 each. No more than 2 books required per course, except for Deliverance Prep, where 3 books are required. .

The Truth About Salvation (17 videos)

The focus of this course is to both highlight and simplify the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth’s very profound statement concerning counterfeits, so basic and so elementary that we often neglect to consider that “we shall know them by their fruit.” In this course, 3 R’s are emphasized: Repentance, Rebirth and Resurrection. It will become clear to you whether we choose God or has God already chose us before we were born.

Deliverance Prep (18 videos)

Far too many of us neglect or minimize the danger of deception as a tool to put us in bondage. So simply put, you will learn how fallen angels and demons specialize, particularly how demonic seduction and temptation relates to you and your interactions with the people in your world. This course deals with essentials truths, principles and practices needed to overcome deception, by exposing false doctrine, the nature of seducing spirits, the unseen forcers in control of the institutional church as well as those personality and character traits that draw various evil spirits to us. Through this course, you will also learn how to detox from religion.

How to Try the Spirits (7 videos and several articles)

You will learn the difference between discerning of spirits and human discernment as well as why and how confirmation can come from the enemy. Some of the video titles within this course include : Recognizing the Voice of God,, How to Beware of Supernatural Set-Ups, A Historical Perspective of the Institutional Church, Why Catholics and Other Christian Cults Cannot Try the Spirits, Building Up Your Freewill, and How Doubt can be Your Best Friend.

Demonic Soul Ties

There are holy soul ties established by God and unholy ones joined together by Satan. this course focuses on the man/woman unholy soul tie that is entered into through sex. It also delves into soul ties with evil spirits that are not human by addressing subjects such as romancing Jesus, spiritual husbands, the Adam’s Rib and Boax syndrome, carnal worship or paganism, spirit rape and more. It will also address the culture messages that lead women into unholy soulties.

The Religious Demon

Besides defining what a religious demon actually is, this course will teach you how and why the religious demon manifests various anti-Christ traits, including but not limited to unknown tongues without translation, false doctrine, religiosity and odd extremes like Slain in the spirit,divination under the guise of prophecy, false conversion, personality distortion, repetition of the abominable sinners prayer. i.e ” I accept Jesus ” or ” Jesus come into my heart, practices. “ this course will also equip you to defeat and overcome religiosity as well as provide a model for detoxing from religiosity and churchianity.

I find that the easiest people for me  to work with in regards to  rational, commonsense conversations concerning   the evils within the institutional church  and the fact that their own local  church is not immune from Satanic deception, is when someone contacts me who is in torment, and who also is suffering from  the delusion that they are born again.  Does not the bible declare that  “God did not give us a spirit of fear and of torment, but He gave us a sound mind.” So if your mind is not sound and you are in torment, it becomes clear and logical to ask the question,  “How could I  possibly be   born again?

Furthermore, if you’ve been in a local church for several years , and the leadership  still has not recognized your problems, nor have they helped you with them,  it becomes a lot easier to ask yourself “how could  God be  in there?” When a churchgoer starts to think outside his or her religious box, the result is that  he or she is free to  also to take note of  how many people in his  local  church are patients in  the mental health system or the substance abuse system with all kinds of strange health and medical problems, yet  healing and deliverance is consistently preached.   Finally,  when you are free in your mind to  consider that  the pastor’s family is not delivered, aren’t these apparent contradictions signs that God is not there?

I find it  best to reason  with the deceived, rather than use  the bible as a weapon to   “bang, bang, bang, bang” folk over their heads.  People need to be encouraged to operate with a sound mind so as to come to their own conclusions.  When a sound mind is delivered from the bondage of passivity, churchgoers will pose their own questions like   ” how is this happening , and why  is that not happening?”Church folk quickly pick up the lingo, and will go about declaring  “I’m blessed! I’m blessed, I’ve got this, I’ve got that,  so  I’m blessed!” And most of the time, they either really don’t believe that; or they are in serious  bondage to  a delusion. And so, when I hear such a declaration, I enquire  “what does it mean to be blessed? ”  I will do a church folk thing and ask “how does the bible define the nature of being blessed?”  For example, in  Psalm 1. “Blessed is the man (or woman) that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” And then, I share with them that what their church is preaching is ungodly counsel. As the most important example of ungodly counsel, you have been taught that you can accept God.  The truth is that if you are to be born again, God has already chosen YOU and not the other way around.

 Then Psalm 1 continues with not  walking  in the counsel of the ungodly, or standeth in the way of sinners. Then I would ask the question,  “Can you  tell the difference between the folk in your local church  and  sinners by  the way they look, the way they operate, the way they talk, the places that they go? this is a subject for yet another post.

“Or sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” One of the things I get the churchgoer to notice   is that the devil loves to mock the church and people who present themselves as the pillars of the church. For example, with Benny Hinn, they haven’t been able to find anybody of all those people that he has waved his hands at, or prayed for, or declared healed. Among all those thousands upon thousands of people.  the last I heard is that there is no  proven record that even ONE really got healed.

So I think its important to ask church folk who come our way this important question.   “What is the I. C. really doing for you? Why do you say you’re blessed? Are you really? Is there any fear and torment operating in you or in your family? Are you in captivity to the devil? How can you be in captivity to the devil and you go to church every time the doors are open? Why are you suffering with this or that and you’re a faithful and committed churchgoer?” These are some of the kinds of questions that people will be offended by but they will ponder when the dust clears. . “Do you hear from God? Are your prayers being answered? Tell me some of the prophecies that have been said over you. Have they come to pass?”

When I was in the IC as a pastor, the devil was talking to me constantly.  I thought I was hearing from God.  He would make me promises in dreams that he KNEW would never come to pass. His motive was to cause me to weaken in faith and to distrust God.  Once my eyes were opened to the truth, I rarely hear from the enemy in this manner.  Once his tricks were exposed, he did exactly what the Apostle Paul wrote that he would do.  I resisted him and he fled from me.

So if you are constantly hearing things or receiving visions and you believe it’s the Lord, you need to check yourself by trying the spirits.  The devil was talking to me  just about every day, and every day I  thought it was God. His pattern was to  reveal 3 things about my future. When two things came to pass, I was duped into thinking the third and most important thing would transpire, BUT IT did not.

So what kind of blessing is that? To be mocked is NOT A BLESSING. 

So be bold and sincere enough to ask a deceived churchgoer this question.  “Are you being mocked as you sit there on that pew? ? Is the devil using sickness, disease, depression, substance abuse, pornography, to mock you?”

Well if he can mock you this way, without you figuring out the deception, and if you’ve been over to that church all this time, and you STILL  don’t see it, then perhaps you ain’t saved either, and God is not there.”

What stirred your own intellect that caused YOU to receive the truth and become  undeceived?

If the game is still being played, then why are you STILL stuck on stupid?

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