UnMasking The Jezebel Spirit Chap 9 & 11

Bishop Robert Middleton

The heart Of the matter • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

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ALLOWANCES FOR THE IMMATURE

A clear distinction must be made between an immature prophetic person and someone who has a Jezebel spirit. Those who are prophetically immature are merely trying to find their rightful place in the Body. They may lack wisdom and humility, however their intention is not to destroy the church. Overly eager and immature prophetic individuals will do things that seem foolish or unwise. But just as we don’t kill our children for their immaturity, neither should we kill those who are in prophetic infancy. Pastors and leaders must make allowances for a young prophetic individual’s childishness. Pastors and leaders must overcome their weariness of having young prophets who need to be trained. As we—in the wisdom and counsel of the Lord—sharpen and hone the skills of those with prophetic gifts, it will bring forth valor and purity in the prophetic ministry. Eventually, such individuals will bring insight, revelation, and wisdom to the Body of Christ. Thus, all the petty difficulties of this gestation period will seem worth the time and effort expended. During this developmental season, it’s especially important not to maim or abort the gifts of young prophetic Christians by accusing them of having a Jezebel spirit. Pastors and leaders must learn to discern how to bring correction and how to nurture budding prophetic gifts, without wounding or killing people’s spirits. Sometimes the difference between an immature

immature prophetic person and someone who operates with an immature Jezebel spirit is very subtle. To discern the difference involves looking at the heart of the matter. A young prophetic person begins with a heart to serve God. Those operating with a Jezebel spirit may have started out with a heart to serve God, but at some point they have departed from that path into one of self-promotion. Several additional points of departure are described more fully below.

1. SELFISH AMBITION As Scripture advises us: Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each of you esteem others better than himself—

Philippians 2:3 NLT

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

2. PERSONAL GAIN While a prophetic person goes through a costly breaking process an individual with a Jezebelite rarely makes such sacrifices.

Nehemiah 5:14–19 NLT

For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way. I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden. Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.

, an individual with a Jezebelite rarely makes such sacrifices. For the most part, a Jezebelite will express a persistent drive to demonstrate his or her “prophetic insight.” In doing so, he or she has an ulterior motive and will insist upon some sort of payback—recognition, fame, money, clothing, or various privileges lavished upon him or her by individuals easily infatuated with supernatural

For the most part, a Jezebelite will express a persistent drive to demonstrate his or her “prophetic insight.” In doing so, he or she has an ulterior motive and will insist upon some sort of payback—recognition, fame, money, clothing, or various privileges lavished upon him or her by individuals easily infatuated with supernatural insight.

3. A LUST FOR LIFE Sensual appetites will often run rampant in individuals who operate with a Jezebel spirit. A spirit of lust will eat away at their soul, until it gains control of them. Such lust is not simply sexually oriented. Money, favor, or recognition may feed their ambition and offer desired results. An insatiable thirst for self-indulgent pleasures will grow. Conversely, the work of the Cross will cease to be manifested in this person’s life.

4. DEMONIC ENTANGLEMENT As individuals approach an intermediate level of demonic entanglement, their purposes will become more cunning and deliberate. These individuals will try to control the actions of friends, families, and churches. Whenever false humility, lies, and flattery do not bring about the expected esteem and recognition, these individuals often resort to anger, condemnation, accusation, and domination.

5. A SPIRIT OF LAWLESSNESS Lawlessness is a term used to describe people who are not restrained or controlled by the law, especially God’s Word. In essence, all rebellion against God is lawlessness

1 John 3:4 NKJV

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

A spirit of lawlessness unleashes its attack on the Kingdom of God and drives individuals to rebel and oppose God’s appointed leaders. This spirit inspires innuendoes, rumors, lies, slander, manipulation, and control by creating schisms—or threatening to do so. Thus, whoever covertly challenges and slanders godly pastors and other ministries has violated God’s established rules for His Kingdom. Such thinking is rebellion or sin. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness—

1 John 3:4 NKJV

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 NLT

Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

2 Thessalonians 2:

2 Thessalonians 2:7–8 NLT

For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:7

2 Thessalonians 2:10–11 NLT

He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.

2 Thessalonians 2:

2 Thessalonians 2:11 KJV 1900

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

: 11

THE MYSTERY OF DECEPTION For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way—

7 For pthe mystery of qiniquity doth already work: only he who now oletteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

p , .

q So ver. 8 (Gk.).

o Gk. as ver. 7. . .

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

The word mystery is defined by Webster as “a religious truth that one can know only by revelation.” Thus, the mystery of lawlessness will involve the condition of being deceived. When individuals are involved in lawless acts, they are often unaware of being in rebellion. They are misled by a mental stronghold of self-righteous thinking and are fooled into thinking they are doing God—and the church—a favor. Thus, they have elevated their way of thinking and are trying to correct someone God has chosen as their authority. Their actions demonstrate that they actually despise authority.

CHAPTER 11 DISMANTLING JEZEBEL’S MANTLE

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them—

Numbers 33:55–56 NLT

But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

, ITALICS MINE.

A DEMONIC THORN

Any thorn will cause infection unless it is removed. A demonic thorn can prick the Church and cause infection, just as a splinter can inflame the skin and cause infection. The longer it is ignored, the greater the spread of infection. If neglected, the infection can spread and lead to amputation—or even worse, death. To resolve the matter of a Jezebel spirit, God requires His servants to remove the demonic thorn that infects His Body. Godly confrontation is necessary in order for conviction and true repentance to occur.

Conviction And Repentance occur with the help of the Holy Spirit. Pastors cannot force repentance upon anyone because we are the not the “convicter” of sin. The Holy Spirit has that responsibility.

We can pray that the Holy Spirit will convict an individual who operates with a Jezebel spirit. However, if an individual’s behavior becomes obviously malicious and damaging to others in the church, a pastor must confront the issue. Decisive and unified action is needed by the pastor and the eldership before God takes action, as He was about to do with Thyatira..

Responsibility For Removal

Responsibility for addressing a jezebel spirit belongs to the pastor. As an overseer of the flock, a pastor has the authority to confront and remove any troublesome person or problem in a Church.

A pastor should not expect a prophet to address this issue. A prophet’s responsibility is only to reveal an individual who covertly operates in a Jezebel spirit. Remember, the prophet Elijah ran from Jezebel. His successor, realized that only Kings had the authority to remove Jezebel.

thereby, God instructed Elisha to anoint Jehu to be King..

Remorse For getting Caught

Remorse has underlying tones of regret for being caught. In addition, it suggest the possibility that the individual will repeat their actions again, at another time. It takes a seasoned leader to discern the difference between repentance and remorse.

Church discipline must continue until true repentance comes forth, evidenced by godly sorrow

2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Godly sorrow is a sign of a broken will. Even if an individual repents, he or she must not remain or be placed in any form of leadership. The individuals soul and spirit must be renewed and restored. All of this takes time to heal properly.

Removal

If the individual is unrepentant and unwilling to undergo deliverance, he or she must be removed from the church. Scripture describes a man who challenged pastoral authority snd who was severely corrected and removed from fellowship

1 Corinthians 5:4–5 NLT

in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus. Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

These severe corrections require that leaders continue to demonstrate love, character, and valor.

Restoration

Because the apostle Paul was interested in the Kingdom and not harboring a personal vendetta, several years after advising of the removal of a man from the church in Corinth, he noticed the mans godly sorrow.

4 I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.

5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. 6 Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. 7 Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. 8 So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

9 I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

When the individual has been removed, if the stronghold over the Jezebelite is truly broken, then one must forgive and restore the person to the church. Obviously, restoration must be done wisely by those who can accurately judge the individuals sincerity and depth of repentance.

Time To Act

Jehu, Who was the ruler of the longest lived dynasty In Isreal, was anointed King by Elisha and given a mandate by god to eliminate Jezebel and the house of Ahab.

2 Kings 9:7 NLT

You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel.

At Jehu’s command, Jezebel’s own servants threw her down off the wall Her servants were eunuchs who did not yield to her seductions. As such, they where able to carry out Jehu’s orders, in order that the true watchmen of God could stand there

2 Kings 9:33 NLT

“Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.

Likewise, a pastor who is going to confront Jezebel must become a spiritual eunuch. He or she must not be tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life

1 John 2:16 KJV 1900

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Such a pastor must be as resolute and uncompromising as Jehu and as incapable of being seduced as Jezebels eunuchs.

As Gods people, we need to love what he loves and hates what he hates. We do not need to shrink back and become afraid of addressing and correcting lawlessness and rebellion that defile the boy of Christ.

The Antidote To Lawlessness

Lawlessness has a disease in our culture, Pastors must take a proactive approach by having on-going teaching on topics of spiritual authority and lawlessness.

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