Category Archives: demons and devils

Judgment Against The Church

12 Monday Mar 2012

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1 Peter 4:16-18

 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

There are many that cringe at the thought of judgment hitting the ‘house of God.’  They fight statements that say that the church is under judgment.  They hold onto to error and teach people that the church is ‘under attack’ and ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church’ every time another scandal about a leader in church comes out, or their actions are brought into scrutiny.

Or criticism.

Criticism and judgment are two words that have taken on a bad meaning in what is known as the ‘church’ today.

To criticize means ‘to pass judgment on the credibility of a thing.’  To judge means ‘to objectively, wisely and authoritatively form an opinion upon. ‘

Another word in the dictionary for JUDGE is TO DISCERN.

I hear many pray for the ‘gift’ of discernment.  They erroneously think that discernment is this ethereal force we pull out of the air that breathes upon us and automatically gives us wisdom on all things.

And, yes…the Holy Ghost DOES give wisdom.  But obtaining wisdom is a PROCESS.  Sometimes, the Spirit will give words of wisdom…that is wisdom that comes from God.

But the Holy Ghost is also a TEACHER.  And the process of obtaining wisdom is by way of KNOWELDGE.

You obtain facts.  You obtain truth.  You measure it against the authenticity of the Word of God.

Sometimes, a LOT of times, actually, we get knowledge based upon EXPERIENCE.  Now experience NEVER trumps the Word of God.  EVER!

But the Word of God says ALL things work TOGETHER for the good of those who love the Lord…who are called according to HIS purpose.

God is so amazing that He can take everything in our lives and allow us to work for our good.  By allowing us to learn from them!

Life is a learning process.  Lifelong pursuit.

We gain knowledge by what we have experienced.  We gain wisdom by knowing HOW to apply the knowledge we have gained.

Knowledge are FACTS.  TRUTH.  Pillars.  Foundation.

The Bible is stock FULL of facts.  Events.  Circumstances.

But how we apply the Word to our lives….THAT’S wisdom!

Even in our mess ups, if we are willing to allow God chastise us and show us where we messed up, then He can cause that thing to turn around and be for your good!!!!

But its when we don’t confess our sins-individually or collectively-that God has no other choice but to pronounce judgment!

The corporate lack of discernment in the Institutional Church is because of the mass denial of truth…and the masses denial of judging ourselves as individuals.  The very nature and culture of the I.C. is such that it lends to covering up sin more than it does to dealing with and healing sin.

And the only way healing of sin comes is when it is confessed.

Because many fail to judge themselves as individuals, they gather together corporately to further play along in this mass denial of sin in the camp.

And since they won’t deal with sin, but deny it, and cover it up…with programs, conferences, mega ministries, making stars out of preachers, religious cliches and phrases and gross error…THEY LOVE NOT THE TRUTH as stated in Romans 1, God has given them over to reprobate minds.

So that they have to believe the LIE!

No discernment is operating because NO TRUTH is there.  In the buildings.

Only lies and cover-ups.

So God HAS to pronounce judgment on the church…He said He would in the Word…and because the church won’t pronounce judgment on HERSELF!

God gave her space to repent…and she would not.

It became easier to placate sin, to make excuses for it, to cover it up, to blackmail one another, and to murder one another…than to deal with the harsh reality that…

GOD HAS JUDGED THE CHURCH!

In ‘Come Out of Her, My People,’ Pamela Sheppard goes into detail about the judgment the church is facing today and what you as a believer can do to get OUT and not be partakers of her plagues.

The nature of a plague is that it spreads rapidly.  Plagues are contagious.  No matter what measures one takes to not catch a disease, if it is highly contagious, they will get it, sooner or later.

Remember getting the chicken pox as a child?  If a sibling or someone else in the house got it, it was only a matter of time before someone else would get it, too.  No matter what measures were taken to prevent it from spreading.

The plagues in the church are not airborne.  They are spirit-borne. Spiritstransfer.  No matter how anointed you are, no matter how holy and righteous you are, no matter how obedient to the Word you are, if you stay in that contaminated atmosphere long enough, sooner or later, that ‘chicken pox’ is going to get you, too!

You could have stayed celibate in your church for 23 years.  If you stay there, you will fall into sexual sin.

You could have been faithful in tithes and offerings all your life.  If  you keep ‘sowing’ into a church or TV network that’s under judgment, your finances will get WORSE.

You could have done all the right things in church, faithful, hard worker, the whole nine.  But if you stay there and YOU KNOW God said GO, judgment WILL hit your house.

You could be on the road preaching 8 times a week.  But if God said DON’T GO, you better not go!  The enemy got a trap waiting for you!

You could sing like a mockingbird, bring tears to balling and wailing all in the floor…but if God said STOP SINGING-cuz they’re not worshiping ME-you better zip it!  And don’t sign another contract!

Remember the plagues in Egypt?  ALL who were obedient to God suffered the plagues, man, woman and child.  NO one was spared!

If the Israelites had not followed the instructions of the Lord to the TEE, they would have suffered right along with the Egyptians in those plagues.

The church was given space to repent and she would not.  So she is under judgment…and all the ‘attacks’ you see going on in the I.C. are nothing more than plagues.

Do you want to partake of her sins?

If not, then it’s time you came OUT of the church.  She is under judgment…

To Judge…Or Not To Judge…?

12 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in deception, deliverance, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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“Judge Not, that ye be not Judged…” (Matthew  7:1)

We all are very familiar with this scripture-especially in today’s religious climate of being ‘anti-judgmental.’ It is almost a crime in the church to judge anything or anyone.  Even in the world, people who have NEVER opened the bible or attended church…who don’t even believe in God-quote this scripture…

And they ALL do so OUT OF CONTEXT.

I find that this is one of the most misinterpreted, yet overly quoted verses in the bible.  Most of the time, it is quoted when one’s life is brought to scrutiny and careful criticism. Or the actions of another.  Because of the very nature of most people, they don’t like to be judged.  They don’t want folks to know their issues, their sins, their flaws or shortcomings.

So they use this scripture (Im mostly referring to church folks right now) to justify not judging sin…which is the FIRST step in discerning it.  This fosters an unhealthy, sinful fear of judging (that God does NOT condone).  Of judging others, or even THEMSELVES!

I have figured out that the reason MOST people are afraid of judging others or refrain from doing so is NOT because they are aware of their own sin…but b/c they are hiding from their own sin!  Most people are terrified of coming clean and being real with themselves…so they can’t possibly be real with another!

So because everyone is comfortable in their shields and walls of denial, EVERYONE now automatically puts up this defense of ‘we are not to judge anyone….’ to justify not dealing with sin.

They turn around and make Matthew 7:1 a doctrinal statement, instead of reading it in its proper context and really getting what it is saying.

What that scripture is saying is that if we judge, we need to be prepared to be judged.  NOT run from it, or be afraid of it.  This scripture is NOT to be used as a blanket statement that automatically protects people from being judged.

In 1 Corinthians 6, the Lord tells us that we are going to judge angels and even the world.

1 Corinthians 6:3-5

Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Do you know what that means?

That means that if we’re going to be judgers of angels and the world in the future, then how much MORE should we judge things in THIS life NOW????

That means we are to judge even MORE things, circumstances and (YES) people IN THIS LIFE!

The religious devil has done a crafty job of making many people believe that it is a sin to judge, when, in fact, the Lord says THOSE WHO ARE SAVED and SPIRITUAL judges ALL things. (1 Corinthians 2:15)

God has admonished those who are saved that they are going to judge angels.

So it is NOT a sin to judge.

The Greek word used for ‘judge’ in 1 Corinthians 6:3 is ‘krinō,’ which means, ‘tobe of opinion, deem; to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong; to approve, esteem, to prefer.’

To judge then means to make a proper or correct assessment (of either oneself or another) that something (or someone) was right or wrong in a matter.

When we confess our sin, we are, in essence, making a judgment…against ourselves.

When someone commits a crime and confesses to it, they go before a court and a judge…NOT to be judged, but to receive the proper punishment for said crime.  Since the person has already admitted guilt, all they can do is throw themselves upon the mercy of the court.  No judging of evidence, no pondering of the facts, no CSI is needed.  They have confessed…

Well, when we confess our sin, we are honest with God, ourselves and others.  Once we do that, NO ONE can judge us, for we have judged OURSELVES and found ourselves guilty.

Then when we realized we have sinned, then we know to take it to God and confess to Him….and ask for forgiveness, repent.

Throw ourselves upon HIS MERCY!  Go before HIS MERCY SEAT!

That is the ONLY way we can obtain grace when its needed.

The self (or public) pronouncement of sin is not an indictment of death.  Unless you don’t repent.  Unless you don’t confess it.  Unless you continue to sweep sin under the rug and act like its not there, or it doesn’t exist.

I wrote an article a week or so ago about God exposing our sins.

I know most is not comfortable with this topic.  But it is in the darkness of hiding sin that the enemy is allowed  free access into our lives, into our very souls…as well as those around us.

It is why whole congregations are led by openly gay pastors and pedophiles.  It is why whole flocks are demonized instead of delivered…it is why children of unrepentant parents invariably suffer because of the choices of their parents.  It is why spouses have to carry the burden of wayward husbands and wives who won’t repent of their sin.

NO one wants to repent and come clean anymore.  No one wants to be honest about where they are.  So whole houses are subverted and corrupted.

To Judge…Or NOT To Judge????

THAT IS the QUESTION!!!

How Do I Leave The Church?

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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Just walk out…place one foot in front of the other and keep walking.

The STEPS of a good man are ORDERED by the Lord….

GOD WILL LEAD AND DIRECT ALL YOUR PATHS.  JUST TRUST HIM!

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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I know you have heard a lot of talk on religious spirits.  If you are new to church (as we know it), or if  you’ve been in church for over 40 years, this term may baffle you because you have been taught that – as the song goes ‘Religion SO sweet…’

We all have been lulled into a semi- or fully-delusional state where we are drugged into believing something we know deep down inside ‘just isn’t right.’  We just went to church and went along with the programs to get along.  We didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak, out of fear that we would be labeled ‘rebellious,’ ‘unfaithful,’ ‘unteachable,’ or a host of other names leadership likes to place on thinking people who were blessed with common sense AND wisdom to know game when they see it.

Yet even the most discerning, the most wise, the most street-wise of us check our brains in at the door of a church once we enter therein.  We erroneously think that we are NOT supposed to use the wisdom and common sense GOD HIMSELF has blessed us with once we walk through the doors of a church.  We erroneously believe that God does NOT deal with our minds at all.  So any inkling deep down in our guts and minds that game is being played we suppress that, thinking that it’s the devil trying to get us ‘out of the ship.’

How do we properly discern a Religious Spirit?

Well, for starters, I want to present to you that after we are born again, we should not check in our brains at the door.  EVERYTHING that God has allowed you to learn-whether it was via books and a teacher, or on the streets, or by life experience-EVERYTHING has been allowed to happen in your life so that you can LEARN A LESSON from it.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful.  We have to learn to not have any regrets…even over mistakes.

Human beings are learning creatures.  From the moment we are born into the earth, until the hour we breathe our last breath, we are supposed to be in a CONSTANT state of learning, and probably re-learning, too.

If your gut tells you something ain’t right, then TRUST YOUR INSTINCT!

A religious spirit knows how to look holy, righteous.  Just by first glance, you can’t tell the difference between a holy person and a religious one.  They will look just like the woman above.

But as time goes on, and you start spending time with that person, you will start to notice inconsistencies.  Certain things just wouldn’t line up.  You will start seeing glaring imperfections and brazen outright sin in their lives…but the more those weeds in their lives manifest, the more they try to COVER IT UP with works of righteousness, more church work, more random acts of kindness to strangers, more religious works.

The more works of religion and righteousness they do, you will begin to notice that their life does not line up with the Word of God.  They will sin and not be convicted of it.  They will not respond to the conviction of the Holy Ghost of sin and justify sin, or be in outright denial about their sinful state.  And the more they do this, the more active they get in the church.  They do more ‘church work,’ hold more revivals, conferences, and convocations, preach harder, prophesy harder…all in an effort to gain their OWN righteousness, to atone for their sins on their own.  Their mindset is ‘If I stay in church enough, that will make up for my fornicating last night,’ or ‘If I do A & B, then that will make up for my dealing drugs at that school…’

The demon starts to manifest by then.  And it looks a little something like this:

By now, the church lady is cussing, drinking, smoking, lying, threatening to cut folks.  When she goes to church, she has her hands upraised.  Praising God, speaking in tongues, running around the church, preaching….the whole nine.  But when you see her in situations that require her to have patience, she has none.  This religious spirit has NO patience.  It wants what it wants, when it wants it!  They gotta preach…NOW!  They gotta prophesy….NOW!  They gotta get married…NOW!  You wanna see if someone has a religious spirit, tell them NO…or WAIT.  If they go off in a tantrum, then you got a religious spirit on your hands!

A religious spirit also is very unaware of the very real fact that they are, too, flawed individuals…with sin.  They swim in a pool of SELF-DENIAL.  They are in self-denial about EVERYTHING.  But the one thing they are in self-denial about is the state of their own selves.

A religious spirit is a potentially dangerous spirit, for there is nothing-NOTHING-a religious spirit WON’T do to protect THEIR IMAGE!  THEIR IMAGE IS EVERYTHING TO THEM!!!  They don’t believe in self-exposure or disclosure.  When they fall into sin, drastic measures are taken to COVER UP their sin.  If the religious spirit is a pastor, he/she will employ the help of the church to participate in the cover up.  They will use fear tactics and mishandle the Word of God to manipulate and control people into doing what THEY want them to do.

A religious spirit NEEDS an entourage.  They need a following.  If they dont have anyone following them, they feel useless, rejected, persecuted even.  This is when a religious spirit-that demonic spirit-will FULLY manifest….right before your eyes!

A religious spirit is a proud one.  It won’t ever admit to being wrong, or doing wrong.

When you have discerned that you are dealing with a religious spirit, the only thing to do is to get away from them.  Because until the person comes into the realization and revelation that they have something DEMONIC that’s driving them to do things in church, or do ministry, or for a good cause, there is nothing that can be done for them.  Religious spirits are SO insidious and subtle that its hard to recognize….at first glance.  It takes TIME to observe a person in all their various atmospheres to determine if they have a religious spirit or not.

In ‘Faces of a Religious Demon’ by Pam Sheppard, many faces of the religious spirit/demon are exposed.  It is one of the most thorough teachings on religious spirits that I have ever read.

To find out more on how to discern a religious spirit, get your copy today!

The Dangers of Not Being THANKFUL

10 Saturday Mar 2012

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When we were all little kids, (hopefully) our parents taught us to say ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’

It was taught to us as a part of being mannerable.  It’s just good social etiquette to say ‘Thank you’ after someone has done soemething for you or given something to you.

But being thankful doesn’t just stop there…at good manners.  Being thankful is a biblical principle that protects us from spiritual deceit, corruption and error.

Being thankful to God does…

I want you to read Romans 1.  Study it.  Read it again.  As I read it again this morning, the scriptures seemed to jump out from the page at me…

Romans 1:17

The Just shall live by FAITH….

If the just lives by faith, this means that they do NOT worry or fret over how their bills are going to get paid.  They do NOT covet after the riches of another.  They don’t work 8 jobs to keep up with the Joneses.  They may have a job, or they may not…but one thing IS for sure…they live BY FAITH.

If more people understood that biblical principle, then the error of the prosperity doctrine would spread no further.  Replete among the followers and purveyors of the prosperity message are people who simply LACK FAITH IN GOD.  They covet after the riches and possessions of another.  And they are NOT thankful FOR WHAT THEY HAVE!

They are greedy.  Never satisfied…and certainly not thankful.  Not to God…and probably not to their fellow man, either.

There is a danger in not being thankful.  It’s not just it offends God.  But being unthankful is breeding ground for covetousness and seducing spirits to come in and cause one to err ‘from the faith.’

When we begin to trust in the arm of flesh-ours or anyone else’s-to provide for our needs, instead trusting God implicitly, then we start placing debt, lack, poverty and our not having certain things (even if those things are necessities) on a pedestal, of sorts.  The debt, the lack, the poverty…they all become IDOLS in our lives…that replace the POWER and PROVISION OF GOD.  We place pre-eminence on our lack instead of faith in our God to provide EVERY NEED that we have…

Once this happens, a domino effect takes place.  What starts out as idolatry and lack of faith starts to grow into not SEEING GOD as God in our lives.

Romans 1:21-23

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were THANKFUL; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

When we place our lack, debt, poverty and the such above God in our lives, that thing has become an idol in our lives.  God is taken off the throne and our lack, debt, poverty takes its place.  And how do we worship the gods of lack, debt, and poverty?

By trusting in the arm of FLESH to provide.  By making up doctrines and teachings that will help us feel ‘empowered’ to prosper.  Admit it: there is a certain helplessness that comes with lack.  Most people HATE it.  And will do ANYTHING to avoid feeling helpless.

The downfall of many a man has been that the enemy KNOWS that it is in the innate nature of a man to provide for his family.  When this ability is hindered or taken away, this emasculates the man…and many men will do just about anything to provide for their families.

Many of the mega preachers that are so heavily-revered sold out to the god of mammon…they began ‘ministry’ in lack, debt, poverty. Listen to their testimonies of being in poverty.  Shaking roaches out of their clothes.  Living in houses with the utilities cut off.  Wearing the same clothes to church over and over again.  Being homeless.

And now they are flying in private jets and living in homes that most would only dream of!

But there was a price that was paid for that fortune, and it wasn’t merely the check they signed over to the realtor when they bought the homes.

The very gospel that they now preach and teach is tainted with error.  It makes gods out of temporary circumstances and gets people to trust in formulas and methods and NOT in God.

Look what happens when we do that:

Romans 1:24-25

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

When we start trusting in the arm of flesh and NOT in God, then we start worshipping just that….FLESH.

When you finish reading the first chapter of Romans, you will see that the rise in sexual (and spiritual) perversion has its roots in not recognizing God as God, andNOT BEING THANKFUL.

This is the chapter that goes into the rampant homosexuality and lesbianism that is promised in these times.

And to imagine—it all began with just not being thankful!

The old song used to go like this:

“Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what the Lord has done!  Count your blessings, name them one by one….Count your many blessings!  See what the Lord has done!”

There IS a danger in NOT being thankful.

The enemy knows in these uncertain (economic) times that many will be vulnerable to fall prey to error, particularly in this area.  Falling for the prosperity message keeps one in a constant state of covetousness, all in the guise of appearing to walk in faith for the things that you don’t have…all the while you are missing the blessing of enjoying what you DO have.

God has been really, really good to America.  We need not forget that….what does the Word say?

Psalm 9:17
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

A Sign of False (Or Ineffective) Ministry….

10 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in deception, deliverance, deliverance ministry, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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We all have come in contact with a ministry that we later on deemed as ‘ineffective.’  For those who still attend church…It may have been a church we visited once or a few times.  Or a church where we had ‘membership.’

We may have encountered ineffective ministry at a conference we paid big bucks to attend, had planned on it for about a year.

Or we ran across a prayer partner whose prayer just ‘hit the ceiling above us’ and seemed to have NOT reached the ears of God.

Wherever we were, whenever we came across ‘ineffective’ ministry, we walked away from it feeling worse than what we had when we walked TO it!

I have had this experience on SEVERAL occasions. I would go to ‘church’ feeling fine, just going because I had made a habit of ‘going to church.’  There was no crisis going on in my life that compelled me to ‘come into the house of the Lord.’  All was well…

Then after I left the service, I (or one of my children), would take ill, have headaches or bodyaches and a spirit of confusion and strife would hit my house.

I was ALWAYS baffled by this.  I would say to myself ‘HOLD UP!  I’m supposed to feel better AFTER I leave church, right?’

I would sing ‘The Presence of the Lord is Here’ by Byron Cage at church, but it would be quite obvious that the presence of the Lord HAD NOT been there!  If in HIS PRESENCE is FULLNESS of joy, then why was I filled with so much dread and confusion-even pain-after leaving that house?

God reveals things to me as I write.  As I was writing something else this morning, He began to speak and tell me a sure-fire way of knowing you have come in contact with ineffective ministry…i.e. a false prophet, or apostle, etc.

One of the ways we can KNOW that we are part of an ineffective ministry is by watching, carefully observing, WHAT THAT MINISTRY FOCUSES ON THE MOST.

We are living in a day and time where there are more what I call ‘fragmented’ ministry. What I mean by fragmented ministry is a ministry whose whole agenda is to minister to you ONE aspect of truth.  They key in on one thing in the Word, one promise, etc., and they run and build a WHOLE ministry off that ONE revelation, that ONE truth.

For example, deliverance ministries are on the rise.  Deliverance ministries focus in on getting folks ‘delivered.’ There are several ministries that exist today where the word ‘deliverance’ is actually in the name of the ministry.  Their ENTIRE focus is to get folks delivered.  Not salvation.  Not healing.  Not teaching.  I imagine when you walk into these ‘ministries,’ there are nothing but buckets and sheets all over the place….ready just in case someone has to puke up a demon right during offering!

There are ministries that focus only on prosperity.  Some only on healing.  Some boast of being strictly a ‘word’ church, or ‘teaching’ church.

When you come across ministries that key in on one aspect of a thing, I can almost GUARANTEE that they are ineffective.

You see, the reason is because the enemy does NOT need to be 100% false to be false.  You can have someone with 4% truth and 96% error have a ministry.  They can operate in all kinds of sensational, flesh-pleasing gifts.  The crowds come in, in awe of it all.

Yet, the question is not how sensational or flesh-pleasing the gifts are…or even if one operates in those gifts.  The proof isn’t in how many attend a ministry.  The proof isn’t even in how well the leaders operate in those gifts, neither who endorses their gifts or ministry.

The question at the end of the day is WHO IS EFFECTIVE?  ARE PEOPLE GETTING SAVED…AND DELIVERED?  AND HEALED?  AND PROSPERING (THE RIGHT WAY?)

When you come across a ministry that pushes (or markets) one gift, one teaching, one aspect of truth, more than others in their ministry, it is because that is where their strength lies, so they have to ‘push it.’ To cover up the error that is there, too.

About five years ago, I wrote in another blog an article entitled ‘Why Stop At Deliverance?’ Here is an excerpt:

“… there are so many churches that are opened up just based upon deliverance alone. People stop at deliverance. They get so caught up in deliverance, in healing, in prosperity. They don’t realize that it doesn’t end there.

When the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, it is safe to say they were not in the will of God. For many, many years, they cried out to God for deliverance. He finally got tired of hearing His children being caught up in bondage that He sent a deliverer, Moses.

Now we all know what a mighty deliverance God wrought for the Israelites!

The signs and wonders that God manifested in that period of the Israelites was awesome!

The ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, His provision in the wilderness….

But how many of you know that the Red sea, the wilderness, the provision was not the end of what God intended for the Israelites!

But they got satisfied with the deliverance. With the signs and wonders. With lifting people up instead of the Promise.

Why did God deliver them? To get them to the Promise!!!!

To SAVE THEM!

But because they got satisfied with the signs and wonders and seeing God provide. With seeing Gods glory shine on Moses’ face instead of getting in the glory for themselves so that THEIR faces can shine…”

“..No matter what a great deliverance God has wrought in your life, if you just stop there, you may be missing salvation. You may miss out on what God wants to do in you.

There was an end to why God delivered the Israelites. Not just so they can be comfortable, or they could go around strutting and bragging on the deliverance. Yes, glorify God for it. 

He didn’t deliver them so they can go out and start a ministry in the wilderness!!!!! 

Moses had a ministry in the wilderness. God’s glory fell. His face shone with it. 

God used Moses to do many things. 

But as mightily as Moses was used, that wasn’t then end of it. That wasn’t the intention of God…just so a man could be lifted up.

That is part of the reason I believe God allowed Moses to die in the wilderness. Because folks started lifting him up and not lifting up God. 

As many wonderful works God wrought in the wilderness, the Israelites still did what they wanted to do. They still whored after other gods. They still were rebellious and disobedient. 

Even those in leadership were knuckle heads! Remember Aaron and Miriam? Aaron made other gods and Miriam had leprosy.

Many died in the wilderness. Why?

No, not because of what we think. But because they all lost focus on what the whole thing was about which is God getting His people to the Promise.”

Pamela Sheppard writes more about the danger of ineffective‘deliverance ministries’ in “Be Delivered From Delivered From Deliverance Ministry.”

Do know that there IS a danger in being a part of an ineffective ministry, or one that only deals with one aspect of truth (more so than other aspects).

How do you EVER expect to be made WHOLE if you keep dealing withFRAGMENTED ministries?

It is time for you to be made WHOLE.  Call (518) 477–5759.

The Great Falling Away…

09 Friday Mar 2012

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WHAT????  The souls who confessed Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham crusade may not be saved?

That CANNOT be!

YES!  It can!

If you need to re-evaluate your salvation-IN A SAFE, UNCONDEMNING, LOVING  ATMOSPHERE-CALL (518) 477–5759.

Don’t Go Back…IT’S A TRAP!

09 Friday Mar 2012

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Powerful video, uh?

You thought it was the Holy Ghost that sent you back to that church…when it was nothing more than a religious demon sent to trap you, to ensnare you, to trick and bamboozle you back into bondage.

Try the spirits, if you must.  Test them…but PASS the test!

If you need help or counsel getting out of church, getting INTO the Kingdom of God, and STAYING out of church, call  (518) 477–5759 TODAY!

The Church Rat Race

08 Thursday Mar 2012

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I am sure many of you have heard of ‘the rat race.’

For those of you  who haven’t, allow me to enlighten you.  The rat race is a phrase coined for very ambitious people who want to attain to a level of status in life, in pursuit of ‘the American Dream.’

They go to college, they get married, have 2.5 kids, buy the 4.5 bedroom house with the white picket fence.  They bust their tails to climb the corporate ladder, to become a success.

Many sacrifice their relationships-even their relationship with God-to ‘successfully’ climb the corporate ladder and run that rat race to the TOP of corporate success.

Many work tirelessly and endlessly-burning the midnight oil-to trump their co-workers’ three-figure salary, or their neighbor’s newly constructed 6 bedroom home and Cadillac.

Then when they get there…they are making that BLING!  They are ‘ballin,’ and ‘high callin’.  They have reached the top of the corporate ladder.  They ran their race…and made it!  Frazzled as they may be, littered relationships all along the track where they ran the rat race…but it’s all been worth it, right????

No.  Sadly enough, once they reach the top, many realize that it was NOT worth it.  And feel hopelessly empty and unfulfilled once they have reached the top of the corporate ladder.

I want to let you know that there IS a rat race that goes on IN THE CHURCH as well.

Do you see that priest running that race up above in the picture?

That is how it really is in the church today.

The sad thing is that many who start going to church do not start going to enter into a rat race, but are attempting to get OUT of the rat race that they were in, in the world.

New converts blindly and trustingly start going to church after they realize that they ‘need Jesus.’ So culture and tradition has taught most that Jesus Christ of Nazareth can only be found within the confines of a church building.  So that’s where they go.  After being there for a period of time, it is expected of these converts to become apt enough in the Word and the things of God to go and witness and teach others.  Pretty soon, the ‘ministry bug’ hits them.  They hear a sermon, a false prophecy, or get a false confirmation from somewhere that they are called to ‘preach the gospel.’

It is the next step in the order of the church.  First, you join the church, become a member.  Then you sit and learn for a few years.  Then the pastor gives you a work to do.  It may be preaching behind a pulpit.  It may not.  It might be working in children’s ministry.  Or on the praise team.  Or teaching new convert’s class.  Or nursing home or prison ministry.  Pretty soon, it becomes a unspoken rule that ‘la creme de la creme’ of any work done in the church is to get behind a pulpit and ‘preach the gospel.’

If the pastor calls you out and says before the congregation ‘you are called to preach,’ or ‘prophesy…’ then that person is automatically revered above someone who just may work with children.  And because of the lack of TRUE identity that lies within the walls of the church-due by the very nature of its structure-breeds insecurity, competition, envy and jealousy amongst its ranks.

There is something about the almighty pulpit that spiritually and physically-in the eyes of the people-put ministers on pedestals.

Soon, these ministers-to-be find themselves thrust into a church rat race, towards the pulpit!

They climb the ministerial ladder that has been set up among the errant religious church system, that pits people against each other…who are supposed to be part of the same body.

They do this believing that this is the will of God for their lives…because a preacher said so.  The reason so many in the church lack identity is intentional.  It is a plot of the enemy to make ALL of the people JUST ALIKE.  To get the masses to come to one organization, and be ‘faithful’ to that organization.  To give their all to that organization.  To be loyal to a man or a woman of God…even moreso than to GOD Himself.

Its a rat race I believe most are thrust into ignorantly, sucked into the church ministerial system, because a leader saw their natural gifts and talents and are trying to benefit from them.  Most leaders raise up leaders so that when that church system is up and running, THEY will get the tithes and offerings from the church they helped raise up.

Some people intentionally enter the church rat race because it is their nature to be competitive and they seek power and control within the religious system.  They need a following, someone to cheer them on as they pursue their ‘careers’ in ministry, as well as needing the financial backing of the church.  Especially in the uncertain economic times we are living in, where else can one with virtually no education or viable work experience can gain a following and a sure income but within the ministry?

There are people that will literally kill folks to get to the pulpit.  Their ambitious natures are so strong that they will sacrifice their very relationships with God to enter into-and stay-in ministry.  In ‘The Makings of a False Prophet,” I go into detail as to why this is the case.

No matter the reason why people enter the church rat race, they do.  And sad to say, once they reach the pulpit, once they reach the heights of ministerial success, they realize that the price they paid to get there was NOT worth it.  They look back at all the littered, wasted relationships, the sacrifices made, the tears shed, the money spent, the time wasted….and get there and still are very much unfulfilled, still very much miserable, not feeling like they still are not doing what God would have them to do.

I personally know many people who have reached the heights of ministerial success, and yet are VERY miserable on the inside.  I get calls all the time from them.  They have more than one church, happily married, 5 bedroom house with the white picket fence, get invited to preach at this conference and the next….yet they are on the verge of suicide.

We all witnessed someone climbing the ministerial success ladder and his very public and shameful demise…that of Zachary Tims.  I mean if anyone had ‘made it’ ministerially, Tims was it.  He looked like Will Smith, was hosting TBN almost every day, pastored a mega church in Florida, beautiful wife and kids, the bling, the endorsement of Benny Hinn…yet in the end, his life was ramsackled with adultery, scandal and drug abuse.  And it literally cost him his life…

I am convinced most people who enter the church rat race do so blindly, not knowing what to expect. Not knowing what demons can be picked up along the way of running this rat race…They enter in only desiring to do what God says…they just mistakenly hear a religious demon that is interested in trapping them and destroying them.

If you have entered the church rat race and can’t get off the wheel alone, there IS help for you.

Just call (518) 477–5759.

The Prosperity ‘Gospel’

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in deception, deliverance, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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1 Timothy 6:9-11

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

DON’T FALL FOR THE HYPE OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL!

But if you have, you’re not alone.  There IS restoration …only IN GOD!

Call 518-477-5759 or visit http://pamsheppard.com http://settingcaptivesfree.me/ebooks.

Falling In Love With Jesus…

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

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I remember singing this song right before a sermon in 2005, right before Katrina.  This song became the basis for a ‘cliche’ that we hear many in church say and proclaim like it is normal.

“Falling In Love with Jesus, Falling In Love with Jesus, Falling in Love with Jesus, is the best thing I’ve ever done…”

Now that I have shown you the dangers of ‘falling in love,’ I think I can safely inform you that ‘falling in love with Jesus’ is a dangerous thing.

“What?”  I know what you are saying.  ”How could falling in love with Jesus be a bad thing?”

Ok, to recap, the whole phrase and mindset of ‘falling in love’ is a gross misonomer.  It leads to making lifelong decisions based upon an emotional high, a delusion.  I have seen many people ‘fall in love’ and lose their lives, either naturally, or spiritually.

Remember, ‘falling in love’ means that we blindly jump heart-first into a relationship or alliance with someone who has not been proven or tested.  We fail to guard our hearts with ALL diligence, as the Word admonishes us to.

MANY people go to church, seeking after God.  The preacher preaches them happy, then tells them to walk down the aisle, shake their hand, and ‘accept Jesus into their hearts.’

Then they are told they are born again, they are saved.  That they are ‘in relationship’ with Jesus.

They haven’t sought God on their own.  They haven’t prayed.  They haven’t cracked open the Word to study to show THEMSELVES approved.

They just blindly-and prematurely-accepted the preacher’s spiritual assessment of themselves.

My question to you all that walked down the aisle is this:

WHAT Jesus did you enter into relationship with?

What’s His name?

What does He look like?

How do you KNOW He loves you?  What did He do for you?  Do you KNOW?

Did you repent of your sins?  Were you EVER told that you had to?

What do you know about THE CROSS?  The Resurrection?

DO YOU KNOW THE PRICE JESUS PAID FOR YOU?

Or did you merely get saved based upon what a preacher told you to repeat?

If you did, you got in relationship with the FAKE JESUS!

YES!  There is a REAL Jesus Christ of Nazareth…AND a FAKE ONE!

The fake Jesus’ name is Jesus Immanuel Sananda.  This is what he looks like:

The Word of God tells us that the devil can transform himself into an angel of light.  Jesus Immanuel Sananda is a fallen angel that seeks the love, adoration, praise, worship and devotion of the masses, much like Lucifer coveted after the worship of the angels in heaven.

This picture of ‘Jesus’ is in millions of churches, homes, as well as other paraphanelia across the WORLD. Many pray to the pictures, or whatever this image is affixed to, thinking that they are praying to the real Jesus.

Many are ‘in love’ with THIS jesus…but they think they are ‘in love’ with the REAL Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

It’s not their faults.  Just like many blindly fall in love with their mates, their boyfriends and girlfriends, without knowing the full details, without trying the spirits to see if they be of God, without doing a thorough background search, without withstanding the test of time….MANY people jump heart-first into a ‘relationship’ with a jesus they BARELY know!

Everything is hunky dorey, at first.

In Love with a Personwalks in the parks

holding hands

spending all their time together

much gift giving

hasty, rush-rush marriages

will stay in abusive situations

 In Love with the fake Jesusfaithful church attendance

loyalty to pastor/church

hours in fasting/prayer

sowing 1000s of dollars into ministry

hasty decisions to enter into ministry

will stay in abusive churches

But as time passes along, the beautiful fake Jesus they allowed to ‘impregnate’ them with a vision, a dream, a ministry, etc., starts to morph into something ugly, grotesque, demonic, much like the transition a woman trapped in an abusive marriage sees. How she watches as the man she loves and gave herself to on their wedding day turn into a monster who beats her almost every day.  Who mocks and laughs at her very existence…the very love he claimed to have had for her never really was…and now she realizes it…5, 10, 15 years into the marriage from hell.

By now, she feels trapped, even though she sees the dysfunction of her marriage.  Even though he brought home an STD to her, she stays.  Even though that evangelist saw the dysfunction of her ministry, she stays.

By now, the lady-who has caught her husband cheating on her more times than she can remember, she can barely remember when he said ‘I do.’

Many in the organized church system are like abused women stuck in abusive marriages.  They feel like they have invested so much time, prayer and energy into their churches, their ministries…and plus they are ashamed to admit that they have been duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled, so they stay.  They fall for the lie of the enemy that keeps lying to them telling them that they should stay so they can intercede for their churches, their marriages….

All because they ‘fell in love with A jesus…’ and NOT the REAL Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Don’t be so quick to give your hearts away….you NEVER know who you’re giving it to!!!!!

I Can’t Help…Falling In Love With You?

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

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That is a line for the song made famous by the late Elvis Presley.

We all have fallen in love.

We all have been weak in the knees, hearts skipping a beat, stars in our eyes. We all have been in love with a person, where all we could think about was that other person.  Or so in love WITH being IN LOVE, that all we thought about was our next conquest, our next relationship.  It became an obsession!

The whole phenomena of ‘being in love’ is nothing more than an euphoric high, much like being high on drugs…

OR MUCH like being in an altered state of consciousness!

Read this excerpt from ‘Emotional Programming To Falling In Love’ written by James Leonard Park:

Falling in Love as Temporary Insanity.  

“…Romantic love is an altered state of consciousness. We seem possessed by an alien force taking over our hearts. Everything seems wonderful—especially the object of our love. Our ‘spontaneous’ love-reactions pull us together into a whirlpool of hopeless, uncontrollable, overwhelming passion. ‘Falling in love’ is like surfing on an ocean wave —sliding down a surging force beyond our control. Romantic love is blind because we are really responding to our own internal fantasies, well-prepared by the romantic tradition. For years, we have been yearning for our Dream Lover. And when a close approximation appears, we project all our pent-up fantasies upon that unsuspecting victim. These experiences are really being in love with love.
Such ‘love’ is entirely an emotion, taking place inside our own skins.  

We can abandon these cultural delusions and begin to establish our relationships based on real information about each other and genuine commitment toward each other. Loving without illusions lacks the emotional high of romantic love, but for on-going relationships truth is better than fiction. Instead of projecting our pre-existing fantasies, we can get to know each other as we really are —and as the persons we are becoming….”(http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-HOAX.html)

If we keep in mind that we do the same thing with religion-deal with delusions instead of reality-it is not far-fetched to conclude that there is an ongoing agenda among the religious ranks to get everyone within its grasp ‘in love,’ if not with each other, than ‘in love’ with the institution or the organization of the church.  Or ‘in love’ with the people.  ’In love’ with the fake prosperity, the fake peace, the fake joy that the organized church always promises.

I was thinking about this the other day.  How falling in love is just another form of being in an altered state of consciousness.

Then I began to understand what the enemy is trying to do to folks in church.

There is a trend in church where more and more people are searching for their ‘soul mates’ in church.  There are people (in church) who are literally obsessed with the idea of getting married, finding ‘the one’ God has for them.  The search for love with the walls on the institutional church has become a ministry in and of itself!

We MUST be careful!

The organized church-and the religious spirit that rules it-makes MANY promises.  None of which it intends to or even is capable of keeping.  There are preachers that are setting up ministries AS WE SPEAK whose SOLE PURPOSE is NOT to help you find your soul mate, but to profit off of YOUR DESIRE to be married, to fall in love, to have kids, etc.

If they can keep you fixated and focused on what you DON’T have in your life, then they have succeeded in keeping you distracted.

The spirit of religion is nothing more than a matchmaker STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BELLY OF HELL…and it wants nothing less than YOUR ANNIHILATION.

MOST ‘Christian’ marriages that take place were NOT put together by God.  THIS is why the divorce rate is so high…That which GOD has put together….NO man can put asunder.

Furthermore, MOST of these ministries and conferences, conference calls and the such that are set up to help ‘save your marriages’ or make lofty claims that they are helping foster relationships are mere set-ups from the enemy to get you too focused on fighting a battle that GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR YOU TO FIGHT from the jump.

If all you can think about is your mate, then the RELIGIOUS DEMON has got you.

The spirit of Jezebel gets people to fornicate.  The spirit of fornication is derived from lust, which is mistaken most of the time for love.  The hormone oxytocin is released in men and women when they fall in love and even in greater amounts when they have sex.  Oxytocin promotes trust.  So while the Word of God admonishes us to guard our hearts – with ALL diligence – the world AND the church encourages and enables people to give their love away…freely, without discretion, discernment or caution.

And when one does practice caution in their relationships, they are falsely labeled as ‘wounded and unforgiving.’

No, that is wisdom to proceed with CAUTION.

The enemy’s job is to divert the believer’s attention AWAY from the purpose(s) of God.  To get people fixated upon THIS life ONLY…its comforts, its pursuits, its agendas, its happiness.

‘Falling in love, getting married, having 2.5 kids,’ is all part of what is called the ‘American Dream.’  Also included in that dream is home ownership, the white picket fence, the minivan and a 30 year career, followed by a successful retirement.

For many today, the home with the white picket fence part, as well as the 30 year career and retirement part of that dream is up in flames.  (Oops!  There goes the prosperity message!…UP IN FLAMES!)

So the last bastion of hope that we all can live the American dream is to still, at least, be able to ‘fall in love, get married and have kids.’

So what ‘dream’ is being sold now, more than that 3.5 bedroom, 4 bath house on the market down the street?

The ‘dream’ of falling in love!

There IS a reason why it is called ‘falling in love.’  Because you have to ‘fall’ to be in it.

STOP seeking the high of falling in love.  Because the enemy KNOWS what you like and will send it to you, hook, line AND SINKER!

Do you need help falling OUT of love with someone who just know is not good for you?  Even though they are a leader in church?  Caught up in an abusive situation with a leader in a church?

Or are you ‘in love with your church?  Your denomination?  Your pastor or leaders, yet you know deep down inside, something is wrong?

First, GET OUT OF DANGER.  LEAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP. FOR GOOD!

Then when you are out of danger-and ready for healing, call us at 518-477-5759  for help.

We are here for YOU!

“I Need CONFIRMATION!” Part 1

05 Monday Mar 2012

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Many have been found saying this very thing to themselves. Usually, they are at a crossroads, where they are trying to get an answer to prayer, or have received an answer to prayer, and want a ‘sign’ from God that what they heard was actually from HIM.

And most of the time, these people will heavily rely upon outward (supernatural) signs or ‘prophecies’ to back up what they have previously heard.

We all have been there, at that place where we heard from God, but thought we didn’t.  So we didn’t walk out the word we heard, at least not until someone ‘confirmed’ what the Lord God said to us.

For some, it took the pastor preaching on what we heard in the next sermon, or a prophet called us up to the front of the church and the prophecy ‘confirmed’ what we already had heard from God.

Or what we THOUGHT was from God…

What IS confirmation, anyways?

I found two different definitions of confirmation.  The first I was already aware of: confirmation is the act of confirming or verifying something.  It is additional proof that something that was previously believed is, in fact, true.  It authenticates a previously known truth or belief.

But did you know that a confirmation is also a rite of passage among the Catholic Church where a baptized person is given ‘full membership’ into the church?  According to http://www.catholicism.com, the confirmation 1) unites one firmly to Christ; 2) increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit; 3) renders one’s bond to the church more perfect; and 4) gives one special strength to become witnesses.

I had never heard of this ceremony within the Catholic Church.  It is usually performed by a bishop, but sometimes bishops delegate authority to priests to conduct the confirmations within their respective dioceses.

Right away, I can tell you that this ceremony reeks of religiosity.  It feeds the notion that one needs a mortal man-i.e. a priest-to stand between us and God…to speak for us.  To pray for us.  To ‘sacrifice’ for us, much like the Levitical priests did in the Old Testament.  They take on the role of the Holy Ghost and demand loyalty and commitment NOT TO GOD, but to the local church.

I liken the rite of confirmation to these ‘impartation’ services held with pentecostal, non-denominational and word of faith churches and ministries that encourage people to come to the altar and get hands laid on them so they can receive ‘an impartation,’ healing, deliverance, revelation knowledge, and the works.

I believe ALL such ceremonies and tendencies to ‘need confirmation’ are totally unnecessary, and actually hinders one in their own growth in their relationship with God.  

1) You don’t need to ‘pledge allegiance’ to a church, a denomination, a man, a woman, a fellowship and the such to be deemed faithful TO GOD.  God does NOT require such religious obligation from you.  HE SIMPLY REQUIRES YOUR FAITH.  WITHOUT FAITH, IT IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD (Hebrews 11:6).

2) You cannot be a member of the church.  You ARE the church, if you are born again.

3) There is NO ceremony that magically bonds us closer to Christ Jesus.  NONE.  All ceremonies are man-made traditions that actually open you up to be tormented by demons.  Most of these ‘bishops’-in both the Catholic and Protestant realms-are doing nothing more than imparting demons into unknowing people who think they are getting closer to God by participating in them.

4) You do NOT get the Holy Ghost by natural means.  ANY group that claims you can get it by means of participating in their ‘rites’ are lying to you.  You will NOT be receiving the HOLY Ghost.  You WILL be receiving ‘another spirit.’ (2 Corinthians 11:4-6)

The need for confirmation really speaks to the lack of faith in the one seeking confirmation.  They lack faith that God will do just what He said He would do.  It could be out of immaturity.  It could be because they have not gone through enough-and watch God bring them out enough-to have developed a healthy, mature, unwavering faith and trust in God.  It could be for a whole lot of reasons.

In ‘To Curse The Root‘ by Pamela Sheppard, she further discusses people’s need for confirmation:

“…By losing all confidence in our self esteem, we will gain His esteem. We will not be tossed to and fro by pride and vanity because He will cause us to be immovable, unshakable trees that are tooted and grounded in Him. His acts of consolation will serve as a confirmation that He can be trusted in every crisis, every temptation, every trial.”

Please continue on to Part 2 to understand where this mindset of ‘I Need Confirmation’ first originated, and why it has survived the test of time…

‘I Need CONFIRMATION!’ Part 2

05 Monday Mar 2012

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In the last article, I talked about the rite of confirmation in the Catholic Church, as well as the tendency of many within the modern day Protestant church to ‘need confirmation’ or seek a sign after they have heard a word ‘from the Lord.’

Seeing that I’m a history buff, I always like to do my research and study to find out where a thing or tradition originated from, how did it get started.  It is my conviction that when we do that, we will fully understand the SPIRIT behind a thing and proceed accordingly….WITH CAUTION.

In other words, when we know WHY something was started, if the ROOT of it was GODLY or UNGODLY, then we can make an informed and wise decision to NOT follow it or participate in it if we find it started out NOT FROM GOD.

Is ‘needing confirmation,’ ‘seeking after a sign,’ of GOD?

Or is that mindset and all proceeding ceremonies and rites instituted thereafter, a result of RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING and DECEPTION????

The very first time in the Word of God where a man actually sought a sign from the Lord was in the book of Judges. (Yes, there were times when God spoke to the Israelites with signs and wonders, delivered them by such.  But Gideon is the first account where a man asked God to ‘show him a sign.”)

We are all familiar with the story of Gideon.

The story is found in Judges 6.  The setting is starting from about Judges the first chapter, Joshua and the generation who remembered what God had done for the Israelites in the wilderness before they reached their promised land had died out.  One of the last things God commanded the Israelites to NOT do is to forget the precepts of God, to intermarry with unbelievers and to worship their gods.  Yet, after God gave them ‘their promise,’ that is EXACTLY what the Israelites did.  Read Judges 1-3 to understand just where Israel was before Gideon was born.  They were in rebellion and disobedience.  They had forgotten God and all that He had done for them.  They got the bling, the power, the fame and the very allegiance they promised God in the wilderness they gave it to other gods and allowed themselves to ‘fall in love’ with-and intermarry-with unbelievers.

In the 6th chapther of Judges, God has given the Israelites over to the Midianites.  After hearing their cries for help, God calls Gideon as their deliverer-calling him a ‘mighty man of valor’ in vs. 12. Instead of responding in faith, believing what God has said, what was Gideon’s response?

“…If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me….” vs. 17

The Lord God ‘confirms’ His Word with a supernatural sign in vs. 21.

Then Gideon LACKED FAITH and TRUST in God again, seeking TWO more signs from God in vs. 36-40, signs that God wanted him to do what He said.

Now, we often make Gideon out to be this great man of faith and valor, taking the scripture completely out of context.  What we fail to realize is that God had already chided Israel because in spite of His MANY signs, wonders and deliverance(s) to Israel, Israel STILL went awhoring after other gods, STILL walked in blatant disobedience and rebellion to the things of God and STILL worshipped other gods.

Because God is long-suffering and merciful, He granted ‘confirmations’ here.  He sent signs and wonders…to confirm His word to His people…THEN.

But NOW?

God is NO LONGER sending signs and wonders for the purpose of feeding the faith of those who profess to be believers in Him.  God has a proven track record of HIS Faithfulness to man.  He does NOT need to confirm or prove ANYTHING to us.

We simply need to take heed to HIS WORD, trust implicitly in HIM, and NOT seek after signs and confirmations.

We hear preachers preach on the 10 plagues in Egypt.  We hear preachers preach on ‘these signs shall follow them that believe…’ We hear modern day apostles taut that they are supposed to have signs and wonders following them.

Well, I present to you that those who seek after signs and wonders are WICKED and EVIL.

Matthew 16:4
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it

The Word here actually calls this generation ‘adulterous.’  Why?  Because seeking after signs is a form of idolatry!  And God sees idolatry as spiritual adultery.  Without FAITH, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  When God speaks TO US, we simply must believe it, and act it out accordingly…(of course, trying the spirit is totally different than seeking a sign. God tells us to try the spirits, yes.  But He actually grows weary of people who seek a sign…)

Mark 8:11-12

And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

It greatly displeases God when we keep asking for a sign.  Or even when we entertain ‘confirmations’ of words heard in the spirit merely by events that happen to occur, supernatural manifestations, prophecies, and the such.

Do you see where the Word says that God will NOT be giving signs to this generation?

God does not want us so caught up in signs, confirmations, miracles and the such in this hour.  We MUST understand that the enemy of our souls can perform signs, miracles and wonders, too.  The enemy can prophesy…ACCURATELY.  The enemy can raise folks from the dead, heal the sick, and the whole nine.  He got ALL kinds of tricks in his bag.  And he is waiting to pull one out JUST ON YOU, if you keep your spirit open to all kinds of confirmations…seeking a word…seeking a sign…stalking prophets and such.

That spirit of unbelief occurs in a people when they walk away from God in disobedience and rebellion to Him.  In sin, one cannot hear the voice of God.  NOT AT ALL.  So therefore, they have to rely on OTHERS to hear FOR THEM!

Whenever you find someone who cannot hear from God, who are always seeking a word, a sign, running from conference to conference, looking for that next prophetic ‘fix,’ they are in sin in some area of their lives.  SIN IS THE ONLY THING THAT SEPARATES US FROM GOD!

Another reason is that that person is IMPATIENT…which speaks to a LACK OF FAITH.

Faith requires you, at times, to WAIT ON THE LORD for an answer.  When we try to ‘make things happen’ in our own strength, in our own time, then that shows we don’t trust God the way that we should.  So we go about trying to help God out…when HE DOES NOT need our help!

One of the gravest errors of the Word of Faithers is that they believe that if they merely ‘utter the Word of God back to God,’ then He is somehow ‘obligated’ to do their bidding, whether it be money, a mate, a job, a ministry, etc.

But when God does not grant them ‘the desires of their hearts,’ then they go about seeking signs and wonders to ‘feed their faith’ in a false word.  And religious spirits LOVE to feed false words!  Religious spirits will feed one’s ‘faith’ in a word THEY believe it true ALL day, ALL year long!  By dreams, signs, wonders, prophecies, sermons, by ANYTHING they feel will keep them deluded and deceived.

Do you remember the movie, “Bruce Almighty,” in one scene after Bruce gets God’s powers, him and Grace, his girlfriend, has broken up.  He thought because he had God’s powers now that he could make Grace love him and take him back.  But he finds out he cannot.

So in an attempt to win Grace back, Bruce uses his newfound, supernatural abilities to create all kinds of signs and wonders around her that hopefully will point to her taking Bruce back.  The ‘Bruce & Grace Forever’ carved on every tree stump she passes on a morning jog.  The numerous TV commercials that play messages that encourages Grace to take Bruce back.  Their dog who gives Grace the phone and encourages her to call Bruce!

That is much how a religious spirit operates.

EVERYTHING around you will seem to point towards ‘what God said’ or ‘what God promised.’  You think, ‘I mean SURELY, if ALL of these signs are pointing towards this, this MUST be God, right?’

I know what you’re thinking: ‘But hey! In the movie, Bruce and Grace DOES get back together..’  Yes. But that was NOT because of Bruce’s supernatural manipulations and control, trying to ‘make’ Grace take him back.  It had to be her choice.  Anything other than that would have been nothing more than witchcraft…and if the reconciliation began out of witchcraft, it would only be maintained by witchcraft as well.

I go into all this to help you realize one thing.

When we ask God to show us a sign, we are actually trying to control and manipulate Him, attempting to relegate God to be nothing more than our Magician, to do our bidding whenever WE want.  Most of the time, when people seek after signs and wonders, it is out of an unhealthy desire within them for control and power.  Two very powerful yet dangerous entities when combined without the Holy Ghost to temper them both.

And people who seek ultimate power and control REALLY not only lack faith in God, but are weak, and feel powerless over their situations and circumstances.  Instead of trusting God, they trust in their control of things.  This is another form of self-righteousness that nullifies the work of the Cross AND the power of the resurrection in our lives.

And any spirit that does NOT embrace AND confess that the resurrection of Christ is legitimate is of the AntiChrist. (1 John 4:2-3)

We must also be aware that the Antichrist WILL perform signs and wonders.  This is how he will be able to get so many people to follow him. (Revelations 13:13-14)

If you are ‘addicted’ to signs, wonders and confirmations, it is time to get ‘detoxed’ from them, FOR REAL!  Continuing to seek after them can cost you your life!

I encourage those who love God to TRUST the voice of God speaking to you.  Try the spirit and see if it is of God.  ALWAYS.

If you need help ‘detoxing’ from signs, wonders and confirmations, just call (518) 477–5759.

Addiction & Religion Go Hand In Hand..

04 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in deception, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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I know you have heard a lot of talk on religious spirits.  If you are new to church (as we know it), or if  you’ve been in church for over 40 years, this term may baffle you because you have been taught that – as the song goes ‘Religion SO sweet…’

Karl Marx-a German philosopher-said ‘Religion is the opiate of the masses…’

What are opiates?  Opiates are nothing more than strong pain relievers. Examples of pain relievers are morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and heroin.

I remember when I was giving birth to my youngest son.  The labor was progressing so quickly that the doctors did not have time to administer an epidural, so they gave me a morphine drip.  I remember being in a dull state, awake but knowing something was going on and I needed to be fully aware of what was going on so I could proceed.

Well, as any mother who has given birth knows, when given pain relievers such as morphine and epidurals, these narcotic pain relievers can actually delay or prolong birth.  This is what happened with my son.  Yes, he was born-eventually.  But he slept for almost two days after birth due to the abundance of morphine I was given to help with the birth!

This is what religion does.

Religion dulls the senses. TRUE spiritual progression and growth is stunted by killing one’s own ability to discern what’s real and what’s not.

We all have been lulled into a semi- or fully-delusional state where we are drugged into believing something we know deep down inside ‘just isn’t right.’  We just went to church and went along with the programs to get along.  We didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak, out of fear that we would be labeled ‘rebellious,’ ‘unfaithful,’ ‘unteachable,’ or a host of other names leadership likes to place on thinking people who were blessed with common sense AND wisdom to know game when they see it.

Yet even the most discerning, the most wise, the most street-wise of us check our brains in at the door of a church once we enter therein.  We erroneously think that we are NOT supposed to use the wisdom and common sense GOD HIMSELF has blessed us with once we walk through the doors of a church.  We erroneously believe that God does NOT deal with our minds at all.  So any inkling deep down in our guts and minds that game is being played we suppress that, thinking that it’s the devil trying to get us ‘out of the ship.’

How do we properly discern a Religious Spirit?

Well, for starters, I want to present to you that after we are born again, we should not check in our brains at the door.  EVERYTHING that God has allowed you to learn-whether it was via books and a teacher, or on the streets, or by life experience-EVERYTHING has been allowed to happen in your life so that you can LEARN A LESSON from it.  The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful.  We have to learn to not have any regrets…even over mistakes.

Human beings are learning creatures.  From the moment we are born into the earth, until the hour we breathe our last breath, we are supposed to be in a CONSTANT state of learning, and probably re-learning, too.

If your gut tells you something ain’t right, then TRUST YOUR INSTINCT!

A religious spirit knows how to look holy, righteous.  Just by first glance, you can’t tell the difference between a holy person and a religious one.  They will look just like the woman above.

But as time goes on, and you start spending time with that person, you will start to notice inconsistencies.  Certain things just wouldn’t line up.  You will start seeing glaring imperfections and brazen outright sin in their lives…but the more those weeds in their lives manifest, the more they try to COVER IT UP with works of righteousness, more church work, more random acts of kindness to strangers, more religious works.

The more works of religion and righteousness they do, you will begin to notice that their life does not line up with the Word of God.  They will sin and not be convicted of it.  They will not respond to the conviction of the Holy Ghost of sin and justify sin, or be in outright denial about their sinful state.  And the more they do this, the more active they get in the church.  They do more ‘church work,’ hold more revivals, conferences, and convocations, preach harder, prophesy harder…all in an effort to gain their OWN righteousness, to atone for their sins on their own.  Their mindset is ‘If I stay in church enough, that will make up for my fornicating last night,’ or ‘If I do A & B, then that will make up for my dealing drugs at that school…’

The demon starts to manifest by then.  And it looks a little something like this:

By now, the church lady is cussing, drinking, smoking, lying, threatening to cut folks.  When she goes to church, she has her hands upraised.  Praising God, speaking in tongues, running around the church, preaching….the whole nine.  But when you see her in situations that require her to have patience, she has none.  This religious spirit has NO patience.  It wants what it wants, when it wants it!  They gotta preach…NOW!  They gotta prophesy….NOW!  They gotta get married…NOW!  You wanna see if someone has a religious spirit, tell them NO…or WAIT.  If they go off in a tantrum, then you got a religious spirit on your hands!

A religious spirit also is very unaware of the very real fact that they are, too, flawed individuals…with sin.  They swim in a pool of SELF-DENIAL.  They are in self-denial about EVERYTHING.  But the one thing they are in self-denial about is the state of their own selves.

A religious spirit is a potentially dangerous spirit, for there is nothing-NOTHING-a religious spirit WON’T do to protect THEIR IMAGE!  THEIR IMAGE IS EVERYTHING TO THEM!!!  They don’t believe in self-exposure or disclosure.  When they fall into sin, drastic measures are taken to COVER UP their sin.  If the religious spirit is a pastor, he/she will employ the help of the church to participate in the cover up.  They will use fear tactics and mishandle the Word of God to manipulate and control people into doing what THEY want them to do.

A religious spirit NEEDS an entourage.  They need a following.  If they dont have anyone following them, they feel useless, rejected, persecuted even.  This is when a religious spirit-that demonic spirit-will FULLY manifest….right before your eyes!

A religious spirit is a proud one.  It won’t ever admit to being wrong, or doing wrong.

When you have discerned that you are dealing with a religious spirit, the only thing to do is to get away from them.  Because until the person comes into the realization and revelation that they have something DEMONIC that’s driving them to do things in church, or do ministry, or for a good cause, there is nothing that can be done for them.  Religious spirits are SO insidious and subtle that its hard to recognize….at first glance.  It takes TIME to observe a person in all their various atmospheres to determine if they have a religious spirit or not.

In ‘Faces of a Religious Demon’ by Pam Sheppard, many faces of the religious spirit/demon are exposed.  It is one of the most thorough teachings on religious spirits that I have ever read.

To find out more on how to discern a religious spirit, get your copy today!

Demons In The Synagogues of Satan!

02 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in deception, deliverance, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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Could it be that demons are in the church?  Oh, we know about the people who come to church seeking deliverance.  They come to the altar or participate in private deliverance sessions in church…but they leave both no better than when they came.  Demons of addiction, pornography, perversion, depression, illness, varied forms of mental illness.

These are all obvious demons we KNOW about, KNOW they exist in the church.

But there are OTHER types of demons in the church.

They are called religious demons.

Religious demons are evil forces that mask themselves as good that will do ANYTHING to protect the institutionalized church, a ministry, a preacher, a fellowship, or any other religious-or even spiritual-entity.  Many of these are now functional cults and don’t even realize it!

I have seen demonic manifestations of the religious nature in CHURCH.  I have personally seen demonic manifestations while during a church service, one while we were still a part of the institutionalized church, the other occurred when we visited a service last year.

I have seen religious demons manifest, harass me, watch me, stare at me, and torment my children.  All while participating during so-called worship services.

My question has always been, ‘If the presence of God so permeates this place where I worship, how is it that these religious demons can have such free reign…in ‘the presence of God?’

The problem is many don’t even recognize when a religious demon is manifesting right before their eyes.  They mistake the manifestation for ‘a move of God.’  But over time, God started giving me discernment into what I really was dealing with.

I have seen religious demons manifest in the most mega of churches to house churches.

How do they manifest?

In ‘Faces of a Religious Demon,’ Pam Sheppard gets into detail on the many faces of religion.

Don’t think it is strange that this sort of thing happens today.  The Book of Revelations speaks of ‘the synagogue of Satan.’ Demons simply are dwelling where they have been categorically and openly invited to STAY.

You need to get a copy of ‘Faces of a Religious Demon’ to help you discern the religious from the godly.

It COULD be a matter of life and death…

God is An Exposer

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

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In today’s world, when we see someone being exposed, it is generally viewed as a negative thing.  Bad publicity.  A Scandal.

And-in the world-when the world exposes someone, it is usually with the intent to destroy the reputation and image of another.  They use the TRUTH they know about someone to totally ruin their image.

So this brings us to exposing someone in the church…

When we expose someone (and yes, there are times that we should!), it is supposed to be with the intent of bringing that person to a state of repentance.

Exposure:   The act or an instance of exposing, /Revelation, especially of crime or guilt.

Expose: To reveal the guilt or wrongdoing of/To make known.

It is only in the religious setting that exposure is deemed or looked upon as a bad thing.  But my grandmother used to say that a wound cannot heal unless you let sunlight shine on it and allow fresh air to hit it.  Her argument was that instead of putting bandaids on wounds, that we need to allow air and light to hit the wound, that it will heal faster.

I also have talked to some doctors that have advised me to let a wound ‘air out,’ that fresh air is actually better for some wounds than to try and cover it up or seal it up with gauzes or bandaids.

I chose the picture above because when we understand why the Ten Commandments were written-to show us that we have sin, it is our very nature-Romans 7:7, then we can also understand that GOD HIMSELF exposed ALL OF OUR SIN right then and there.  He had been doing it before then…we just didn’t realize it til Mt. Sinai.

That is why the Levites were consecrated to make sacrifices for our sin.  Because THEN, we knew about our sin.  We were found GUILTY…every last one of us.

But God had a plan of redemption-a way of escape-for us ALL.  And that way was through Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

A priest forever after the order of Melchezidek.

But that way could NOT have been made had we not known that we had sinned.  Until it was EXPOSED that we are all sinners until we are born again.

The very nature of the Word of God is that of an EXPOSER.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Dividing soul and spirit and discerning the intents of the heart sounds like a fancy way of exposing sin to me…how about you?

If God Himself was not an exposer, we would all still be in our sin.  On our way to hell …in a handbasket.

But because God LOVES us, He will show us ourselves.  He will show us FIRST…and if we don’t get it-or refuse to repent-then He will allow our sin to be aired out in public.

He will allow whatever to whomever to get us out of sin and bondage.

Let the wind of the Holy Ghost and the light of the Word of God shine on our sin-I will for mine-and let GOD’S exposure bring quick healing and deliverance!

You Can Deliver Yourself…

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

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By Pamela Sheppard

HOW TO HELP YOURSELF IN DELIVERANCE

Here are some practical ways to start the process of ridding yourself of demonic captivity by casting down imaginations and every high thing that would exalt itself above the knowledge of Christ and bringing every thought into obedience to Him:

  • Your Attitude Toward the Past: You should have no regrets or brooding over things done and undone.  To avoid an evil kind of thinking that leads to brooding, you must learn to discern for yourself if you are simply “thinking” or if you are being drawn into a state of regretting or brooding by the demon that is assigned to YOU. If you are to overcome, you need to know that success at   being set free requires victory over the past, in spite of all your failures that the enemy helps you to list and record in your mind.  Your failures should be dealt with on the basis of I John 1:9.
  • Your Attitude Toward the Future: You must concentrate on the Lord’s own words by “taking no thought for tomorrow.”  Not that you should not think about or even make future plans, but you should be careful not to fall victim to trying to make up in the future for sins of the past that already have been forgiven by God.  Once a sin has been repented of, cleansing will occur when you can forget what is behind and press toward the future that is God’s plan for the rest of your life.
  • Your Attitude Toward Devils and Demons: You should be trained to discern your own thoughts from those implanted into your mind by spirit entities.  You should realize that only the Lord knows your heart and that demons cannot read your mind.  Demons know only the thoughts that THEY have successfully planted into your mind–thoughts that you have received as your own because of the nature of your deception.  Remember this.  “He that doeth the truth, cometh to the light.”  (John 3:21)
  • Your Attitude Toward the Present Moment: Doubt can be a good thing, particularly when those fictitious foundations upon which you have built up your pride system become shaky.  Doubt of this kind can lead to sincere humility.  God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Against the enemy, your best weapon is God’s grace.  Your worst mistake in judgment is your assumption that because you profess to be a Christian, that God will protect you from being deceived.  Not so.  It is God Himself who has released strong delusion in our times.  So deception is a matter of course.  God has given us the weapons and the tools to be un-deceived.  Your best weapon is to look around you, and allow your doubt to assist you to question EVERYTHING!
Sheppard’s Counseling Center sets captives free!

Prison bars and walls in the spirit are a lot stronger and several times more sophisticated than they were in the days of Paul and Silas.  In this present complicated age of the 21st century, what we do at Sheppard Counseling Center is investigate, observe and interpret our findings.  The purpose of investigation is to unravel confusion and to unfold the mystery by searching for repetitive themes.  Through concentrated and intelligent inquiry, we gather the clues as to the hidden reason behind your captivity. Demons do their damage by invitation.  We need to find out how you made the invitation to them, and what you must do to rescind it. We also use our knowledge of personality disorders to ascertain the various strategies that your particular personality type will employ to resist your own freedom. We do not waste time on people who use all of their energies to hide crucial things from us or those who become hostile because they are threatened by any real discovery.

We offered you in this post some sound advice on how to begin the process of self deliverance.  If you need our help, call us at 518-477-5759. The lines are open.

Taking Things Personally….

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in deception, demons and devils, led out of the church, organized church, religious demon

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When God calls you out of the church, there will be people that will come up against you.  You MUST develop a thick skin and totally TUNE IN to the voice of GOD and TRUST IN HIS INSTRUCTIONS.

Knowing that people are people, I understand that some of you may have, in fact, become wounded by others in the church who sharply criticized you and even persecuted you because you stepped out in faith to the instruction and commandment of the Lord.

But just like when God protected and provided for the Israelites when they came out from Egyptian bondage, go on and walk it OUT!

You may not know where God has you next-if anywhere.  You may not know the next step.  But your steps TRULY are ordered BY GOD!

TRUST HIM!!!!

If you need help in transitioning from church to Kingdom of God, call  (518) 477–5759.