Dr. Sandie Freed:
Don't Listen To The Whispers Of The Enemy
Dear
Believer, it's no secret: The enemy targets God's children. Why? I
believe it is due to the fact that we belong to God, as His children,
and since satan hates God, he will target those who are close to His
heart – us! Another reason is because we have a divine destiny to
establish His Kingdom on this earth. And, in order to establish the
King's domain, we are given dominion.
The original commission
for mankind, which was given in the Garden of Eden, has never changed;
Genesis 1:28 (AMP) states clearly that "...God blessed them and said to
them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using
all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living
creature that moves upon the earth'" (my emphasis added).
I find
it interesting that both the words subdue and dominion are used in the
same sentence, and both represent divine authority that was given to
mankind. Subdue is a Hebrew word, kabash (pronounced kaw-bash'), and is a
root word meaning "to tread down"; it implies in a very positive way
"to conquer, subjugate, and violate." Further study of the word subdue
means "to bring into bondage, (use) force, (to) keep under."
Keeping
that in mind, when we look closely at the word dominion, we find that
in this passage (Genesis 1:28), it is the Hebrew word radah (pronounced
raw-daw'), and it is also a root word. Interestingly, just as the word
subdue, it also means "to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to
crumble off, and to prevail against." Yet, its definition adds one more
dimension of authority over our enemy which is "to rule over."
Dear
one – listen up! It's one thing to subdue the enemy, and yet it's
another thing to also maintain rulership over that which we have
subdued! So, how do we do that? How do we tread down our enemy, cause
him to crumble in our presence, and then maintain our position of
authority, continuing to rule over the King's domain entrusted to us?
The Accuser Of The Brethren
Though
I have written on the accuser of the brethren before, I believe that it
is time to remind others that the enemy is sly, cunning, and seductive.
Let me be blunt – the devil does not want you to rise up and "subdue"
and also take "dominion!" He is out to lie, seduce, outwit, and
out-think us so that we are completely blind-sided by his lies.
I
have always believed that the biggest battleground is between our ears.
The enemy comes against Believers with seductive whispers and false
accusations. Yes, it is satan's attempt to seduce us into doubt and
unbelief and cause our faith to waver.
When we are bombarded
with fiery darts from our enemy, our faith may waver a bit. I believe we
can all relate to times that we feel shaken to the core of our being
when the enemy hits us hard in one way or another. However, we need to
get concerned if we find ourselves trapped in a sea of unbelief.
Unbelief
is different than our having wavering faith. Unbelief occurs whenever
we come into "agreement" with the voice of the enemy. Unbelief is a
serious spiritual condition, because when we have it, we are then in
covenant with the lies of satan. Dear one, there is nothing more the
accuser would love than to get you to partner with him rather than God!
In
my recent book, Silencing The Accuser: Eight Lies Satan Uses Against
Christians, I go into great detail to discuss how the accuser of the
brethren seduces us into unbelief. One of the lies of the enemy about
which I write concerns listening to the evil whispers of the accuser.
Saint of God, keep reading. This revelation will empower you with
greater faith so that you can maintain dominion over the enemy.
The Evil Whispers
How
many people do you allow to whisper in your ear? Most of the time, we
allow only those who are "close" to us get close enough to whisper in
our ear. (Yes, pun intended!) The enemy would like nothing better to
stand beside you, speaking lies to you. Let's do a quick study of
Zechariah 3:1-5. You will notice as you read the following passage a few
areas that need pointing out so that you can shift into faith, victory,
and dominion!
1. The accuser (satan) is standing right beside Joshua, the high priest.
2. The Lord, Himself, rebukes the enemy.
3. The priest is a burning stick snatched from the fire.
4. Joshua was dressed in filthy garments.
5. Joshua was cleansed from his sins.
6. Joshua received rich garments.
7. Joshua received a clean turban for his head.
Zechariah
3:1-5 NIV Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the
angel of the LORD, and satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
The LORD said to satan, "The LORD rebuke you, satan! The LORD, who has
chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched
from the fire?"
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he
stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before
him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I
have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you." Then I
said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on
his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.
Yes,
the accuser was close enough to Joshua, the high priest, to falsely
accuse him – maybe so close as to even seductively whisper lies into his
ear! (Photo via Flickr by Jamin Gray)
Of what could he possibly
accuse Joshua? Well, his lies could have sounded like this (and maybe
you can relate to some of these lies as you read):
• "Shame on you, Joshua! Yes, you should be ashamed of yourself."
• "Everyone knows you've messed up."
• "Everyone is talking about you. If I were you, I would run away and isolate myself from others."
• "You aren't qualified to be a minister unto God."
• "You have sinned – therefore, you deserve to be punished."
• "You are not holy enough for God to use you as a minister unto Him."
The
enemy would love to also get up-close and personal with you! I
certainly know he has attempted to put shame on me – to the point that I
have felt so guilty that I believed that I was unworthy of His love.
The accuser seeks to remind us of our past to keep us in our past! How
can we possibly keep the accuser underfoot and maintain dominion if we
are positioned to believe his lies? Remember, when we agree with his
lies we are opening the door for unbelief! And, dear reader, unbelief
will consistently set us up for a lack of authority to take dominion
over the enemy.
Whispers And Witchcraft
Please allow me to write a quote from my book Silencing the Accuser: Eight Lies Satan Uses Against Christians:
"If
the devil is whispering into your ears, then he is way too close. In
fact, if you are not careful, you might even become comfortable with him
being there" (Page 71).
Believer, are we challenging the
whispers of the enemy, or have we become way too familiar with his lies?
If his whispers go unchallenged, it can open the door to witchcraft
assignments against us. Read on.
King David offers some practical accounts of just how the enemy whispers against God's people:
"All
my enemies whisper together against me; they imagine the worst for me,
saying, 'A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the
place where he lies.' Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who
shared my bread, has turned against me" (Psalm 41:7-9 NIV, my emphasis
added).
This previous passage reveals familiar friends (or
"familiar spirits") that are whispering, who have plans of evil intent.
The word for whisper in this passage is lachash, which is a Hebrew word
meaning "to whisper, to charm, and to conjure." The word, therefore, is
strongly connected to sorcery, witchcraft, and the occult. Allow me to
once again write a quote from my book previously mentioned:
"In
other words, when someone familiar to us is used by satan to whisper and
devise plans of harm, the enemy uses his or her words as a curse of
witchcraft against us. Dear ones, every time we speak evil of one
another, it empowers satan. The prophet Isaiah also warns us about
consulting those who whisper. He says that we should be forewarned never
to consult gossipers or whisperers, or we will be exposed to spirits of
darkness, distress, and anguish (see Isaiah 8:19-22)" (page 78).
Positioned To Hear The Whispers Of God
I
believe that we are entering into a season of divine positioning. Just
as Elijah was prepared by God to hear His still small voice, so are we. I
know that Elijah ran from Jezebel, ended up in the wilderness and then a
cave. However, God used it all to re-position Elijah for his future.
Scripture
says that Elijah was a man just like us. Therefore, we can conclude
that just as there was greatness in Elijah – there is also greatness in
us. When Jezebel sent her evil messenger to Elijah and threatened to
kill him after the great victory at Mt. Carmel, I believe the message
came as a seductive whisper to Elijah's ears. Actually, Elijah "saw" his
defeat and took off – running away from his destiny!
I believe
Elijah was empowered with dominion to defeat Jezebel, yet when the enemy
whispers life-threatening, witchcraft-fueled words into our ears, we
all too often shift into unbelief. Unbelief took Elijah to the
wilderness, and thus he ended up in a cave. Yet, all the while, God was
positioning Elijah to hear a new sound. Elijah had heard the wind
before, heard how God thundered, witnessed the fire. But God's presence
was not in any of those. Elijah witnessed His presence in the still
small voice – a whisper!
Isn't it just like the devil to attempt
to deceive us? He loves to imitate God's voice to us. All too often we
mistake his voice for God's voice – thus finding ourselves in the
wilderness again. Dear one, let's put the accuser underfoot by refusing
to heed his lies and evil whispers. It's time to remain in our domain –
spheres of authority, which God has given to each of us. Don't you
agree?
New Garments And A Clean Turban
God desires to do
the same for you that he did for Joshua when the accuser stood next to
him. The Lord is promising to rebuke your accuser today! And, know this
for certain: Your sins are forgiven – this was established at the Cross!
If you have sinned, silence the voice of your accuser today by
reminding him that Jesus' Blood has cleansed you. Remind him also that
God gave Joshua rich garments and a clean turban.
Yes, you have
royalty garments – you are a child of the King. And your turban? Oh my,
the Lord is promising to empower you to renew your mind! Yes, it's time
to renew your mind concerning your identity. Rise up and make these
declarations today; as you do you will shift into great faith and
dominion:
• "I have been cleansed from all sin due to the shed Blood of Jesus Christ at the Cross."
• "I am not ashamed. Shame has no place in me."
• "I have been created in the image of God."
• "I have been given all power and authority over the enemy."
• " I am empowered to subdue the accuser and take dominion."
• "I have the mind of Christ." (Photo via Pixabay)
Take a few moments and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into making more declarations concerning your destiny...
Step Into Your Sphere Of Authority In Faith: The Battle Is The Lord's!
In
closing, I want to once again encourage you! You are anointed! Yes –
you really are! The anointing on your life will break off yokes of
insecurity, inferiority, fear, and unbelief. How is that? A good start
is to begin to confess what God says about you. Since you've just done
that as you made the previous declarations, know that you are now
Holy-Ghost empowered to declare that all yokes of oppression have to
flee!
Next, simply step into your sphere of authority in faith.
Know that He has ordered your steps and that He promises to empower you
to put every enemy underfoot. The battle ahead is not yours alone – no
way! When David went to battle against Goliath, he declared that "...the
battle is the Lord's." Dear reader, when you battle the Philistine
stronghold that attempts to oppose you – you can also declare to that
enemy just as David did: "...(satan)...the battle is the Lord's."
A
Philistine spirit is an unclean spirit. Unclean spirits manifest in
many different ways. One way they attack is through attempts to keep us
silent – to shut our mouths. This spirit directly targets our
testimonies of victory and God's goodness. Another manifestation of the
unclean spirit is a demonic attempt to clothe us with legalism. Legalism
involves a strict adherence to doctrines of man, the Law, and religious
performance.
Religious performance will not empower us with
victory – nor will it ensure any form of dominion. Performance robs us
of strength. Yes, if we are working hard to perform for God, it will
exhaust us – therefore leaving no strength to take true dominion!
Believer,
it's time to trust God, allow Him to clothe us with Himself as He did
Gideon, and defeat the enemy and take dominion! (Photo via Wikimedia
Commons)
Allow me to pray for you:
Father God, I thank
You for revelation that empowers Your children. Revelation reveals all
that the enemy has attempted to keep hidden and opposes all witchcraft
and occultic practices. As declarations of truth were made, I thank You
that the enemies which have opposed our taking dominion have had to
loose their hold that has held us back from achieving our destinies.
Father,
I thank You that you are releasing each of us to our spheres of
authority and that we are each empowered to demonstrate Your Kingdom on
earth with renewed power and godly authority. In Jesus' name. Amen!
Dr. Sandie Freed
Zion Ministries
Co-pastor, Lifegate Church, Hurst, Texas
zionministries1@sbcglobal.netwww.lifegatechurch.org