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I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself
Gen 3:10
Because Adam transgressed the word of God and sinned, he picked up a spirit of fear, became aware of his nakedness, and for shame, hid himself. He lost his status with God, his body became corrupt, and he became subject to death. From Adam we all receive a sin nature, a corruptible body, and a date with death. Unless we make amends with God through the blood of Christ we will experience death. But if we are in Christ, though our body perish, our spirit will live eternally with God and we will not experience spiritual death. That is the good news of the gospel. In one Corinthians twelve St Paul lists the gifts of the Spirit and one of those gifts is the discerning of spirits. We see that in the garden that the spirit of fear entered Adam through sin. Many times due to sin a spirit can attach itself to us which can cause sickness and ultimately death. We see in John's gospel chapter eight that he who yields to sin is a slave to sin and that this slavery is due to spirits and only the truth can make us free. Not every time that we sin can a spirit enter but if we yield to sin we are subject to their entering and because of generational curses we can be born with spirits just as we inherited a sin nature from Adam. So the gift of discerning of spirits is an important gift not only for freeing us from yielding to sin but also from sickness that is a result of sin and the entrance of evil spirits. Sexual sins can lead to migraines and sciatica; a spirit of fear to anxiety and acid reflux; anger to high blood pressure and heart problems; witchcraft to mental illness and demons; and legalism to auto immune diseases like lupus and diabetes. All are the result of sin going all the way back to Adam. So the gift of discerning of spirits is relevant especially today with so much darkness and spiritual wickedness. In the gospels we see Jesus dealing with evil spirits like the demoniac. We also see Jesus giving the power to cast out spirits to the disciples and finding out that the disciples weren't always able to cast them out. Now the fruit of the Spirit associated with discerning of spirits is faith. Faith is one of the gifts of the Spirit but it is also a fruit. As a gift faith can come early in one's walk with God, but as a fruit, it is the product of working out one's salvation and being clean inside. Unless one has become sanctified and has overcome sin and the lusts of the flesh, the gift of discerning of spirits and the power to cast them out will not be given to us. The fruit which is faith is the product of a holy life and works hand in hand with the gift and unless we are pure those spirits do not have to respond to us. We see this evidenced in Acts with the sons of Sceva. “Paul I know and Jesus I know but who are you?” and the spirits almost killed them. In today's world where sin, sickness, and evil spirits are so prevalent, we need people who have made a commitment to live by faith in order to respond to the needs of so many around us. Fight the good fight of faith and live in holiness and be ready to heed the call. amen |