Who Told You That?

DeAnna Willman painting in British Museum

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

When God returned to the garden to find Adam and Eve hiding from Him, He asked them why they were hiding. What reason did they have to hide from their Creator and loving Father? Hiding indicated a severance of their relationship with Him. Adam told God it was because they were ‘naked.” Adam was telling God that they were without covering, they were lacking, incomplete as they were, without honor and dignity. What was God’s response? “Who told you, you were naked?” Who would tell us that we must hide in shame from our Creator and loving Father?

I have mentioned a couple of times that in each situation the conscious mind will consider the probabilities presented by information being taken in by 1) the five senses, 2) the spiritual realm, and 3) the mind itself. From the spiritual realm we can receive information from two different sources; God’s holy spirit, or Satan and his lying spirits. Yeshua stated that Satan is the father of lies. A father has children. Satan’s children are all lying spirits. They do not speak truth. And they thrill in getting someone to believe their lies! When their lies are believed they distort our perspective toward God, ourselves, and others. This faulty perspective leads to faulty perceptions, sinful behaviors, and even problems in relationships. This delights our enemy!

Now, these lying and evil spirits gain authority in our lives three different ways. The first is when we choose to believe those lies. For instance, Satan and his spirits use other people to ridicule how you look and you begin to believe that you are ugly and not worthy of good things. You have agreed with the lie. Or you have a hard life and the spirits tell you that drinking, drugs, or other addiction will ease the pain, perhaps even make you feel good for a bit. So, you turn to something other than God for relief and validation. You have agreed with the lie.

Another way the lying spirits can gain authority in our lives is when we have opened a door in our lives that gives them authority. When we choose to operate in disobedience to God, we open a door that can give one of Satan’s children a foothold and eventually take authority in our lives. This is not the occasional slip up that we all experience in our walk. It is the repeated choosing of disobedience that gives the lying spirit permission to rule in our lives. For instance, you choose to have sex outside of marriage, and it’s not just once. It is your chosen lifestyle. This disobedience to God’s word opens the door for Satan to have authority in your life.

Third, a spirit can also be passed on as a generational stronghold. The most common spirit passed from one generation to another is the spirit of fear. This is especially true with mothers who are fearful during their pregnancies. The mother is living under the authority of fear and this opens the door for fear to also have authority in the child’s life which can be manifested in so many ways, physically as well as emotionally and spiritually.

What do I mean by “authority”? Well, when we live under the authority of God, we walk, think, speak, and live as He instructed. Our obedience to Him shows who has authority in our lives. When we walk under the authority of God, we are blessed by God. I don’t mean the foolish prosperity gospel of blessings so many like to preach. I mean real blessings from obedience to Him that include His perfect wisdom and shalom as His presence is with us. We have knowledge of who we truly are and have an intimate relationship with our Father. We exhibit the fruit of the spirit when we are under God’s authority. We do not look or act like the world. We have completely submitted every part of our lives to God’s instructions on how to live. He tells us what is good, holy, clean, and wise. We look to Him for how to operate in all situations in our lives. We seek Him and what pleases Him.

When we are under the authority of Satan and his lying spirits, we are not operating as instructed by God. Not in our thoughts, words, or deeds. We have accepted Satan’s authority in our lives and walk in agreement with his desires. We are doing the bidding of our enemy in our lives, which will always bring dishonor to God, others, and ourselves. (gossip, unforgiveness, criticism, resentment, unrighteous speech anyone?) We will be separated from God as we cannot have intimate relationship with Him and be under the authority of the enemy at the same time.

For every truth there is a lie. Let’s look at some examples.

God said: I created the heavens and the earth and everything within them, including

you.

Satan tells us: the world just happened, everything came from a few molecules and

evolved (progressed) into higher forms of being;

God said: I created you in the womb.

Satan tells us: you were an accident, a chance of evolution, descended from monkeys

You are not good enough as you are; you were born the wrong_______.

God said: I have given you my instructions (interpreted as “law”) that you may have

life and blessings.

Satan tells us: those instructions are a burden; they prevent you from progressing, they

Keep you from enjoying yourselves; they make you stick out like a sore thumb, etc

God told us: I have established them forever.

Satan tells us: they are done away with, obsolete, a burden, only for the Jews, okay- go

ahead and pick and choose which ones you want to follow, ignore the rest.

God said: I have loved you with an everlasting love

Satan tells us: you are not loved, God doesn’t care about you, you are not good

enough for God to love or accept you; you must earn God’s love.

God said: I will never leave you nor forsake you

Satan tells us: you are all alone; no one cares; God doesn’t want to be bothered with

your life or needs; no one understands you; you will always be alone/rejected

God said: I am your provider

Satan tells us: you don’t have enough; you are lacking; God will fail you; you will have

to provide everything for yourself;

God said: I will send you a savior

Satan tells us: you must work your own salvation; you are not worth saving; God will

save everyone except you.

God instructed unity within the brotherhood, to as far as it is possible with us to live

in peace with those around us-

Satan strives to bring division with the popular

“us vs them” mentality; bias, favoritism, self-righteousness, hating the sinner and

ignoring our own sins.

God instructed we wait for marriage to have sex, and it is to be with one man and one woman-

Satan tells us that is old fashioned, obsolete, failing to live in the moment, restrictive and you were meant to express love with whomever you desire; we have progressed beyond that silly notion. You are going to get married anyway, so why wait?!

God told us not to commit adultery.

Satan tells us that looking at someone of the opposite sex, thinking about them, even viewing them naked or fantasizing about them and being with them is harmless. You aren’t actually having sex with them, so what does it hurt to look/fantasize/view?

Contentment- envy, complaining, poor attitude, depression, etc

Praise- cursing others, complaining, focus on self,

Honor- curse, disrespect, dishonor, humiliate, criticize, judge harshly, ignore, abuse,

Rejoice with others- envy, belittle, fail to acknowledge their blessing,

Practice Hospitality- isolate, become a recluse, take from others but don’t give, ignore

another’s needs, fail to build relationship, fail to be friendly toward

Care for those within the Body who are in need, specifically orphans and widows-

let the government, non-profits, or pastor take care of it.

God instructed not to lie, steal, or kill.

Satan comes to lie, steal, and kill.

Can you see the schemes of our enemy? For every truth there is a lie, and that lie can often be subtle, just a tiny bit off, but enough to deceive if one is not fully immersed in the truth.

When my husband went to work at a bank many years ago, he was not taught how to look for counterfeit money. He was taught to continually be handling and looking at the real money. If a clerk has spent a great deal of time handling and dealing with true bills, the minute a counterfeit comes into his/her hands or sight, it will immediately be spotted as fake.

How much time do you spend learning and appropriately handling the truth- the word of God? If the enemy threw a lie, even a partial one, would you immediately be able to spot it as fake?

Next week we will begin naming and dealing with some of the lying spirits, the children of Satan and how many of them manifest in our lives. We will start taking a serious look at which ones we may have walked in agreement with or simply given authority within our lives. This week spend more time mindfully meditating upon the truths in God’s word. Think upon each one and make it a permanent part of your brain and life. You have the tools for doing that, now.

Until next time…

I am YHWH and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob “seek me in vain.” I YHWH speak the truth; I declare what is right. Isaiah 45:19.