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 BIBLE STUDY 

 

• Initiation is the process or ritual by which an individual is admitted into a covenant-binding society.

• The rites, ceremonies, ordeals, or instructions with which one is made a member of a sect or society or is invested with a particular function or status

• The condition of being initiated into some experience or sphere of activity : KNOWLEDGEABLENESS

Demonic dedication is the process or ritual of consecration or setting something or somebody apart for an unholy or evil purpose or for an evil deity. Initiation can also be defined as Satan’s method of evangelism. He (Satan) does not come openly, but he employs deceitful ploys and tricks. M Anyone who has at one time or the other been involved in some form of cult, false religion, voodoo, palm reading, Halloween, or star reading needs deliverance.

There are different types of satanic initiations and dedications. Some initiations are easily recognizable while others need special illumination and spiritual revelation from God for them to be exposed. Some initiations are done openly, while others are disguised. Whatever the case, an initiation is binding, no matter the process. There is no such thing as a big or small initiation; all initiations are deadly.

Deuteronomy 18: 9 – 12 (GNT)

9. “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don't follow the disgusting practices of the nations that are there.

10. Don't sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars; and don't let your people practice divination or look for omens or use spells

11. or charms, and don't let them consult the spirits of the dead.

12. The Lord your God hates people who do these disgusting things, and that is why he is driving those nations out of the land as you advance. 13 Be completely faithful to the Lord.”

 

 

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV

13. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

He won't always be easily detected, either: "Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Jesus gives us great insight for how to spot Satan's tactics: "He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).

Whenever we discern deception and hatred at work in a situation, even in church, we can know that the enemy is prowling. We need to employ God's battle plan to defeat the enemy:

James 4: 7

"Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

“Div·i·na·tion” /ËÅ’divəˈnāSH(É™)n/ noun

The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.

The Celtic art of divination.

The above Scripture reveals some examples of those who need deliverance. People practicing or visiting those who practice divination, necromancy, palm readers, false religion, etc., need immediate deliverance, for they have been automatically initiated into the kingdom of Satan. There are a variety of other examples that are not quoted in the above passage.

My grandfather was a very strong and powerful in the occult realm. When I was six years old, my grandfather took me for a walk in a thick forest, heading towards a river; it was around one o’clock in the morning. I was carrying a satanic concoction on my head while my grandfather was walking behind me chanting some incantations. I was instructed not to look back, or else I would die. An evil spirit was waiting for me at the other side of the river to receive the concoction I was carrying. Once I handed it over to him, I found myself (translated) back in my house.

Isaiah 14:12-13

12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Ezekiel 28:12-18 KJV

12. Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

 

 

BIBLE STUDY
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL FASTING?
Spiritual fasting is to deny your body its physical needs (usually food) so that moves your focus from the physical to the spiritual (faith).
In simple terms, it is fasting for spiritual growth because it helps you to grow closer to God and is often a regular part of prayer life.
All throughout history, there were seasons of feast and famine. The body and soul naturally went through times of hard work and lack and times of ease and abundance.
However, today in western culture, we have 365 days of abundance. Our diet is not dependent on weather, season or location.
We can eat all kinds of foods anytime we want. We can have Chinese food at midnight if we so desire.
However, with all this abundance of foods comes a greater need for self-control. We must decide on the kinds and amounts of food that are appropriate for a healthy lifestyle.
But even with a healthy standard for eating, we most likely won’t experience famine without choosing it. Our bodies were designed to experience both feast and famine. We feast to celebrate. We fast to transform.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SPIRITUAL FASTING?
Psalm 63:1
“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;”
Spiritual fasting has many wonderful benefits that can improve our spiritual and physical lives.
We can start out by simply fasting a meal and work our way to fasting an entire day. Little by little, we can show our flesh that our spirit is stronger, and we can invite God into a greater capacity of our lives.
While the spiritual blessings of fasting are numerous, here are 7 spiritual benefits of fasting that you can expect.
1. Spiritual Fasting causes us to Rely on God
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Food is one of the basic needs of life. Physical hunger is not a pleasant experience. It can actually be a difficult trial to endure, but God’s grace rises up in our lives during hard times.
When we fast, it forces us to seek God and lean into Him for help and comfort. God meets us powerfully during times we are desperate for Him. Fasting shows God that our hunger for Him surpassed our hunger for anything else.
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63.1).
2. Spiritual Fasting Helps us be Filled with the Fruits of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-25 KJV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
When we fast, we can become irritable and negative because our flesh is not happy. However, God calls us to bear the Fruits of the Spirit.
Fasting forces us to bypass the emotions of our flesh (which tend to be negative when hungry) and reach for divine emotions given to us through Jesus Christ.
When we feel irritable, we can grow our capacity under stress and choose to show goodness, gentleness, and self-control instead.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5.22-23 NIV).
Related: What Are The Fruits of the Holy Spirit?
3. Spiritual Fasting Opens our Heart to Hearing God’s Voice
Galatians 5:16
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
When we fast, there is almost nothing distracting us from hearing God’s voice. We have emptied ourselves of our most basic need so we can put our full attention on God. This is the best time to make those difficult choices in life.
When we are at a crossroads and don’t know which way to turn, fasting helps us to hear God’s direction. As we walk in the Spirit, we won’t be hung up by the desires of our flesh trying to hold us down and keep us off course.
We will be able to hear more clearly from God when our spirit is stronger than our flesh.
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5.16).
4. Spiritual Fasting Renews our Appreciation for God and His Blessings
Joel 2:12 KJV
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:”
We tend to forget how blessed we are. What once used to satisfy us now isn’t enough.
More food, more clothes, more television, more trips. Whatever it is, we can forget how much God has given us, and our unquenchable desires become stronger than our love for God.
When we take God’s blessings for granted, we take Him for granted. But God wants our hearts to be turned toward Him. He wants us to appreciate all that He has done in our lives.
When we fast, we force our hearts to turn to God and our appreciation for God’s presence in our lives will grow.
That is why the Lord says, ”Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning’” (Joel 2.12 NLT).
5. Spiritual Fasting Gives Power to our Prayers
Mark 9:28-29 KJV
“And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
Jesus said there are some breakthroughs that are only gotten through prayer and fasting. If we have been facing the same unanswered prayer for a long time, it may be time to fast.
The prayer that is powered by both faith and fasting can be the very thing that unleashes God’s promises in our lives.
There are some spirits, like the spirit of lack and the spirit of chaos, waging war on our promises, and we have to fast for added power to defeat them.
“Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, ‘Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?’ Jesus replied, ‘This kind can be cast out only by prayer’” (Mark 9.28-29 NLT).
6. Spiritual Fasting Creates an Environment for Miracles
Matthew 6:16-18
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
Fasting forces the flesh to go under the authority of God’s Spirit in us. When we are effectively fasting, we are letting God have all the room. His Spirit becomes powerful and mighty in our words and actions.
This is the perfect atmosphere for heaven to touch the earth and transform our circumstances of lack, chaos, and fear into God’s ordained circumstances of supply, peace, and faith. However, we must ensure that our fast is done for heavenly rewards, not earthly rewards. God blesses us when we keep our fast secret unless our testimony of fasting is used to edify others.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6-16-18 NIV)
7. Spiritual Fasting helps us to Consume God’s Word
Matthew 4:4
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
John 4:32
“But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”
We are both flesh and spirit. Many times, we keep our flesh well-fed, as our spirit wastes away. When we fast food from our bodies, we open the way for our spirit to consume God’s Word like never before.
Our starved spirit feasts on God’s Word, supplying itself with much-needed sustenance and nutrients it desperately needs.
Whenever we take something out of our life, we must fill it with something else. When we take food out, we fill it with the Bible. As we read the Bible, the reigning Spirit of God within us will teach, grow and transform us and the world around us.
“But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about’” (John 4.32 NIV).
“Jesus answered, It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4.4 NIV).
Fasting for spiritual growth is such an important part of growing stronger in our faith and growing closer to God. Spiritual fasting causes us to focus more on relying on God instead of the physical things of this world.
In what ways have you experienced God move after a spiritual fast?