Hindering Spiritis (8)

The Spirit of Apsinthos: Can Hinder the Flow of the Spirit and the Release of the Presence of God in Your Life!

Revelation 8:10 “The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.”

Where did this great star fall from and what did it fall into? The great star fell from heaven and it fell into one third of the rivers and springs of waters!

Does this great star have a name and why did many men die because of this star that fell from heaven?

Revelation 8:11 “The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”

What does the name Wormwood mean? The word for Wormwood is APSINTHOS and it means “BITTER.”

Today, I want us to learn about a demonic spirit named APSINTHOS that wants to make you BITTER!

So, let’s examine three things:

I. The LITERAL Interpretation of this PASSAGE!

Revelation 8:10 “The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters.”

I personally believe there is a seven year period of time in front of us known as the Tribulation.

This is a period of time when God judges the unbelievers who have rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

It is also during this seven year period of time when God eventually removes the spiritual blindness of Israel and they embrace Jesus Christ during His Second Coming to the earth to rescue them from the evil plans of the Antichrist!

The seven years of judgment are introduced upon the world through three successive sets of divine judgments. The first is seven seals being broken and seven horsemen introducing their worldwide judgments!

The second set of judgments are introduced when seven vials or bowls of God’s wrath will be poured out on the world!

The third set of divine judgments are introduced when seven angels are given seven trumpets and when each of these angels sound their trumpet, divine judgment follows the sound of these trumpets being released from heaven.

The spirit of APSINTHOS falls from heaven to the earth after the third angel releases the sound from its trumpet!

This is the Literal Interpretation of this Passage, but I also want to address:

II. The SPIRITUAL Application of this INVASION!

Revelation 8:11 “The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”

King David symbolically and prophetically describes the Church when he wrote these words:

Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.”

Psalm 46:5 “God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”

King David is speaking of streams and rivers which is a spiritual picture of the Believer living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and in Unity flowing together like a might river of God’s Presence and Power!

The apostle John sees a great star named Wormwood (APSINTHOS), which means BITTER!

Notice how much of the rivers and streams BITTERNESS affected:

Revelation 8:11 “The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”

There are demonic spirits who partner together to hinder the flow of the Spirit of God and stop the flow of the Presence of God in and through the life of a Believer!

The Jezebel spirit wants to control you and seduce you to do things that are immoral!

The Leviathan spirit wants to twist things in your mind so that truth becomes twisted in your and you lose the benefits of the power of the pure Word of God, and then Leviathan flees from you to make room for other hindering spirits!

The spirit of Python wants to flatter you and then choke the spiritual breath out of you by keeping you from your intimate place of prayer and connection with the Lord!

The spirit of APSINTHOS will use an OFFENSE to sow a seed of bitterness in your soul! If you take the bait of Satan and become offended or take up someone else’s offense, you become snared by the devil and begin doing his will:

2 Timothy 2:24 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,”

2 Timothy 2:25 “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,”

2 Timothy 2:26 “and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Bitterness always through an Offense, and an Offense always results in Anger, and Anger always has a Object, but it is usually not the correct object!

The Spiritual Application teaches us that as much as one third of the Body of Christ has become affected by the spirit of APSINTHOS or Bitterness!

In Closing, I want you to show you an example of Bitterness from the Old Testament book of Ruth!

III. The PERSONAL Manifestation of this CONDITION!

Ruth 1:5 “Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.”

The name “Naomi” means “pleasant”, and she was not only pleasant to look at, but pleasant to be around.

However, hardship in life can tempt you to become bitter and bitterness will change the way you look and think!

What are some of the symptoms of bitterness in your life?

First, bitterness eventually leads to IRRITABILITY with OTHERS!

Ruth 1:6 “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food.”

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, and Naomi heard that the Lord had visited His people . . .

Naomi’s two pagan daughter in laws, were willing to return with Naomi to Bethlehem, the house of bread in the land of Judah (Praise) because they had heard Naomi talk about The Almighty, the Most High God for a long time when they first met each other.

But Naomi was what we call backslidden, bitterness had entered into her soul and she had fallen from a place of faith and confidence in God.

Four times she begged her daughters in law to return to Moab (Ruth 1:8,11, 12, 13), and the pagan god Chemosh, the demonic god that kept women in bondage, rather than go to Bethlehem, the house of Bread in the land of Judah and meet the Great I AM!

Each segment of her journey back to Bethlehem, the seed of bitterness grew and eventually became a root of bitterness and she became Irritated with her two daughters in law and it resulted in an outburst of anger toward them!

Second, bitterness leads to Hopelessness in your Soul!

Ruth 1:12 ““Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope . . .

Ruth 1:13 “No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.””

Third, bitterness robs joy from your soul, and changes your outward appearance!

Ruth 1:18 “When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.”

Ruth 1:19 “So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?””

Bitterness is a state of the soul that is without JOY! At the core of this is the attitude of anger brought on by an offense in your soul!

Fourth, bitterness leaves you feeling empty in life!

Ruth 1:20 “She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.”

Naomi means Pleasant, Mara means Bitter!

Ruth 1:21 ““I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. ”

Fifth, bitterness will cause you to use the Lord’s name in vain!

Ruth 1:21 ““Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?””

The LORD=YHWH the covenant making, covenant keeping God, the Great I AM!

The ALMIGHTY= EL SHADDAI the God who nourishes, provides, strengthens and matures!

Ruth 1:13 “No . . . it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.””

The Hand of the Lord is against me= The Hand of the Lord is His Presence, Power, and Provision

Sixth, bitterness will lead you into spiritual bondage!

2 Timothy 2:26 “and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

How do you get the root of bitterness out of your soul?

Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;”

The grace of God is available to you, but you must choose it over bitterness!

The children of Israel experienced many hardships that would reveal what was inside of them so that they could choose to get it out of them:

Exodus 15:23 “When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah.”

It was at Marah, the place of bitterness that Moses was shown a tree, the branches of which would be thrown into the bitterness that made the bitterness sweet!

This tree is a picture of the Cross of Jesus Christ! When we cast our understanding of the Cross into the bitter waters of our lives, Calvary, the Cross of Christ sweetens our bitter waters!

Christ suffered far more than we will ever suffer, but He never became bitter!

At the end, with the lashes upon His back, the thorns upon His head, the nails in His hands and feet, He prayed, “Father forgive them . . .!”

Today, is there someone you need to forgive? Do you need to bring your bitterness to the Cross and let Christ remove the bitterness from your soul?

The answer is YES, you do need to bring your bitterness to the Cross but the question is, will you choose to do so today?

Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;”