While reading An Asian Harvest, an autobiography by Paul Hattaway, the Lord began to reveal something to me that I believe will set me, and others in the Body of Christ, free from bondages to many besetting sins, as well as physical ailments that have plagued some of us for a long time.
Paul was sharing about the time when, as a young man, he had come into contact with a young woman that he had become strongly attracted to, and was sure he would marry. They both had a heart for ministering to the lost, and in particular with the distribution of Bibles in nations that were in need of them.
Another young man who was interested in her told Paul that she had a serious boyfriend back home and was planning on getting married soon. It turned out that this Canadian missionary had just told him a “bare-faced lie” because he too was very interested in her.
After many other twists and turns in their relationship, Paul received a call from an elder leader of Joy’s ministry inviting him to dinner at their home. It wouldn’t be for dinner though, but instead to give him a very stern warning to stay away from Joy. They said they understood that he had taken a liking to her, but that they had been entrusted by her parents to watch over her while she was in Asia. Because of this, they had forbidden her from ever talking to or seeing him again.
For a long time afterwards, Paul said he was confused and in deep depression. He began to get a sense that this was from the devil and held onto a “flicker of hope” that their relationship was not over and would somehow still work out.
While on a scheduled visit to North America, Paul, who is from New Zealand, was invited by a friend to attend a prayer meeting in a home. After being introduced to the group of intercessors, one of the women said to him; “Young man, we have never met before and I know nothing about you, but I need to tell you that when you first entered this house I looked into your eyes and I saw that a spirit of witchcraft is oppressing you. Can we please pray for you.”
Paul writes, “I was taken aback. A spirit of witchcraft? My flesh wanted to cry out in protest, ‘I’m sorry, but you are badly mistaken! I’m a servant of Jesus Christ, and I’m not involved in any dark arts. I have seen the Lord moving in amazing ways…
Thankfully, before any boastful words came out of my mouth, the lady gently added, ‘Please allow me to explain what I mean. Witchcraft doesn’t only occur when someone actively engages in wickedness. It may also be defined as the ungodly spiritual control and manipulation of one person over another.’”
Paul then explained how he had lost the woman he believed God had chosen to be his wife. He described how he had been manipulated into agreeing to leave her alone by the elderly couple who had a good reputation in the missions community. The intercessors then gathered around him and, in his words, “prayed up a storm!” They encouraged him to renounce the moment he had submitted to the “ungodly demands” of the elderly couple, and then prayed against all demonic forces coming up against him to prevent God’s will from being done in his life.
Paul said, “My compliance [to the demands of Joy’s ministry leaders] invited a spiritual darkness into my life which had plunged me into confusion and depression.” Paul writes, “My fears [of hurting Joy and of showing disrespect to the missionaries] had provided a foothold for the enemy to bring spiritual bondage into my life. The Bible says, ‘Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.’ (Proverbs 29:25). This experience taught me how easy it is to be lured into the demonic trap of fear and intimidation…” (p.160-161)
Later, the true motives of the older missionary in his late sixties would be exposed. Through a lie late one night that a team was arriving at the airport and needed to be picked up, he lured Joy to a dark, isolated spot and declare his love for her. Paul writes, “He then grabbed her and tried to fondle her, but she pushed him away in disgust… After a year of being harassed, threatened, and groomed by a sexual predator, she felt utterly worthless.” Eventually she returned back to her home in America where Paul was reunited with her later. After some time passed, God restored her. Paul then proposed to Joy and they were married.
1 Kings 19:1-4 – Right after a great victory over the prophets of Baal, when he had actually witnessed fire falling from heaven, Elijah found himself being intimidated by the wicked queen Jezebel who vowed to kill him. Terrified by her extreme threats, he became so fearful and discouraged that he ran for his life and prayed that he might die. Fear and intimidation are the favorite weapons of the devil against a Christian. As Paul Hattaway learned, “left unchecked, [intimidation] will ultimately lead to our demise.”
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."
3 And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."
NASU
Witchcraft Defined
WITCHCRAFT [witch and craft]
The practices of witches; sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with the devil. [See the Bible study Fellowship Partners With Demons.]
Power more than natural.
The Seeking Of Control (By Derek Prince)
The dictionary defines witchcraft as “the art or exercise of magical powers, the effect or influence of magical powers, or an alluring or seductive charm or influence.”
One purpose common to all forms of witchcraft is control. Whenever any religious activity seeks to control other people, the influence of witchcraft is probably at work.
[One of the desired results through the practice of witchcraft is] to control other human beings—to terrify enemies in battle or to produce sexual desire in one person toward another.
“A friend of mine was sitting on an airplane next to a woman who refused all the food that was served. The woman told my friend she was fasting and praying. ‘I’m a Christian, too,” my friend said, ‘and sometimes I fast and pray.’ ‘Oh, no!’ the woman replied. ‘I’m not a Christian, I’m a Satanist.’ She went on to explain that she had two main objectives in her prayer: the breakup of Christian marriages and the downfall of leading Christian ministers.
In Galatians 5:19–21 Paul lists the works of the “flesh” (“sinful nature,” NIV). In the middle he mentions “idolatry, sorcery” (NKJV) or “idolatry and witchcraft” (NIV). This nature often manifests itself, even in infancy, in efforts to control other people. We feel secure if we can control others. Conversely, God never seeks to control us. He respects the free will He has given each of us, although He does hold us responsible for how we use that freedom.
There are three ways the desire to control expresses itself: manipulation, intimidation and domination. The goal is domination. People who recognize that they are weaker than those they seek to control tend to manipulate; those who feel stronger tend to intimidate. But the end purpose is the same: to dominate—that is, to control others and get them to do what we want.
A main tool of manipulation is guilt. A mother may say to her son, “If you love me, you’ll run to the store and get me a pack of cigarettes.” The child learns that if he doesn’t respond in the way the mother desires, it will be taken as a sign that he does not love her. Clearly this type of control is destructive to a child.
Once we learn to recognize the desire to control others as an evil, manipulative force, we will see it at work in many different areas. In religion it may be in the way a preacher appeals for an offering: “God has shown me that there are ten people here tonight who will each give a thousand dollars.” Or he shows tear-jerking pictures of starving children in a distant land, and anyone who does not respond is made to feel guilty. In politics it may be in the way a candidate subtly appeals to racial prejudice in order to win votes. In business it is often expressed in advertising that entices people to want what they do not need and to buy what they cannot afford. In every case it is evil.
Once we recognize these devices as disguises of witchcraft, we realize that in our contemporary culture we are being exposed continually to its pressure.
People who habitually use manipulation or intimidation to control others open themselves to the bondage and influence of a demon of witchcraft. If this happens, they will be unable to relate to anyone apart from these tactics. It will be no longer just the flesh at work, but a supernatural power that can bring whomever they control into a condition of spiritual slavery.
The demon of witchcraft can also work in many other kinds of relationships. A pastor may seek to control members of his staff or his entire congregation. A business executive may intimidate his subordinates.
The Sin Of Witchcraft
Cauldrons, potions, long warted noses, pointy hats and broomsticks. These are some of the images that may come to mind when we hear the word “witchcraft.” But what if I told you that most people have operated in witchcraft at some point in their lives without even knowing it? What if I told you that witchcraft doesn’t just happen in the dark, gloomy corners of society but in the bright, worshipful, energetic houses of worship throughout the world? The Bible has much to say about witchcraft in both the Old and New Testament, and we as believers need to be informed about this very dangerous sin that stretches its tentacles further than you would think.
Galatians 5:19–20 (NIV): The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Witchcraft in its most elaborate form is the use of spells, incantations, potions, drugs, and spirits as a counterfeit method of achieving certain selfishly motivated results. The use of witchcraft in its most primitive form would be the general pursuit of controlling others through ungodly means. Whether it be through spells, curses, or incantations, or through narcissistic behavior patterns that seek to dominate and abuse others. Witchcraft is listed as a work of the flesh right alongside things we would consider more ordinary such as jealousy and selfish ambition. The point is this, we can all fall into the temptation of seeking to control others because our fallen nature desires to do so, and when we do this we operate in the sin of witchcraft at some level.
James 1:14 NIV- “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”
The sin of witchcraft is born from a craving for power and control that lurks within our Adamic nature [see 1 Corinthians 10:6, and Psalm 106:13-15 in the Bible study. Nevertheless, it’s important to understand that although witchcraft is born from the fallen desire of our flesh it manifests itself within the demonic realm. That is, witchcraft when full grown acts through supernatural power that is not of God, mainly through spells and curses. Someone operating in the sin of witchcraft operates from the flesh and speaks words of death under the influence of demons. The unsuspecting Christian can fall prey to such spiritual powers without even knowing that the demonic is at work.
Galatians 3:1-3- “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
Paul points out that the Galatians had been bewitched by people who sought to misuse God’s Word to put them into bondage and gain the ability to control their lives. The spirit of witchcraft sought to replace the power of the Cross with a list of religious regulations that could be used to manipulate people. The reason that witchcraft seeks to replace the Cross of Christ with counterfeit religion is because the power of the Cross destroys the power of witchcraft completely.
Colossians 2:15- “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”
The Cross is God’s sole basis of provision for His people and by seeking to undermine the Cross of Jesus, the spirit of witchcraft intends to rob God’s people of their provision of spiritual freedom in Christ. Through the Cross, Jesus administered the devils total defeat, and through the power of the sacrifice of Jesus we can appropriate the victory of Jesus over and against the spirit of witchcraft. Through the Cross we find the place to put our sinful nature to death daily and live a life guided by the Holy Spirit and not the works of the flesh. As a child of GodGod, the spirit of witchcraft can only take hold of the places in your life that weyou allow it tolet it, therefore declare the power of the blood of Jesus which delivers us daily from the hand of the devil..
Sinning Against The Body, Individually and Corporately; An Open Door For Witchcraft
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 – See the note below.
12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!
16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, "THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH."
17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee immorality [4202]. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral [4203] man sins against his own body.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. [See the verses further below for more on glorifying God in our bodies.]
NASU
NT:4202 porneia (por-ni'-ah)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry:
KJV - fornication
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
fornication
a. used properly, of illicit sexual intercourse (Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25)
b. Used in accordance with a form of speech common in the O.T. and among the Jews which represents the
close relationship existing between Jehovah and his people under the figure of a marriage
porneia [NT:4202] – is used (a) of “illicit sexual intercourse,” in John 8:41; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:13, 18; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rev. 2:21; 9:21; in the plural in 1 Cor. 7:2; in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 it stands for, or includes, adultery; it is distinguished from it in 15:19 and Mark 7:21; (b) metaphorically, of “the association of pagan idolatry with doctrines of, and professed adherence to, the Christian faith,” (Rev. 14:8; 17:2, 4; 18:3; 19:2); some suggest this as the sense in 2:21
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
NT:4203 porneuo (porn-yoo'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:4204; to act the harlot, i.e. (literally) indulge unlawful lust (of either sex), or (figuratively) practice idolatry:
KJV - commit (fornication)
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. to prostitute one's body to the lust of another [See the note below in regards to a Christian becoming a
“temple prostitute” through sexual immorality, and idolatry.]
2. to give oneself to unlawful sexual intercourse; to commit fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18)
3. by a Hebraism metaphorically, to be given to idolatry, to worship idols (1 Chronicles 5:25)
porneuo [NT:4203] – “to commit fornication,” is used (a) literally, Mark 10:19; 1 Cor. 6:18; 10:8; Rev. 2:14,20; (b) metaphorically, Revelation 17:2; 18:3, 9.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
As I read Paul Hattaway’s experience that I described above, thinking about the definition of witchcraft as described for him by the lady in the prayer group, this verse immediately came to my mind. I believe the Lord was revealing to me the answer to being set free from the power of lust and oppression of the devil (i.e. witchcraft). As we indulge in, or give in to any form of sexual immorality, whether it be internal (fantasy of the mind) or external, we are sinning against our own body. It opens a doorway for the devil to control and afflict our physical body in some manner, causing sickness, disease, and even death (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).
In his letter to the Romans, Paul talks about those who know God, but do not glorify Him as God, causing their foolish hearts to become darkened. This means they had the light but were suppressing it through unrighteous behavior. Because of this they were given over to the lusts of their hearts, dishonoring their bodies;
“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over [3860- “to give into the hands/power of another”] to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent [808- “shameful, nakedness, shame”] acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty [489- “a reward given in compensation”] of their error [4106- “a wandering, a forsaking of the right path”].”
(Romans 1:24-27/NASU)
Through the practice of these “indecent acts,” sinning against their own bodies, they received within themselves “the due penalty of their error.” This refers to the reward, or wages of forsaking the right path of obedience to the Lord. (See the article Shelley’s Dream. My wife had a three-part dream over the course of a year, with each dream picking up where the last one left off. In them, Christians were leaving the “right path” for the broad path that leads to destruction. Once they exited, they could not return.)
We know biblically that sometimes, as in the case of Job for instance, attacks on us physically aren’t necessarily from any particular sin, but I believe the majority are. The Lord allows a Christian who truly desires to be set free, but is struggling, to go through these difficult moments in order to cause us to look up and cry out for deliverance, through which the Lord then answers. Oh, the wisdom and mercy of God! These are the “wounds of a friend” that heal us (Proverbs 27:6; see more below). Purity, with the acknowledged need of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to apply what is being revealed (i.e. “work together with Him”; 2 Cor. 6:1), is “the way of escape” (1 Cor. 10:13-14) from the bondage of sin, sickness, and even death.
Paul strongly warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:1-14, through the children of Israel’s journey through the wilderness, of their being set free from the bondage of enslavement in Egypt, the “house of bondage” (i.e. sin), to the Promised Land of our eternal inheritance in Christ (i.e. salvation) to not act as they did and were destroyed along the way, never entering in to the place promised them by God. As they would learn, the promise alone without their compliance would not be enough. Neither is it for us today in the new covenant.
Paul mentions that God killed most of them along the way because they craved evil things (idolatry in v.7, and immorality in v.8), causing them to fall (v.12). This passage of Scripture is a picture of the reasons why Christians will fall away in great numbers from Christ right before His return (2 Thess. 2:1-4). Paul says they fell away, or defected from Christ with an apostate heart “because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved… but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thess. 2:8-12) The conditions for falling away from devotion to Christ had already been established within them through continued rebellion and unfaithfulness.
Recalling the same rebellion during the children of Israel’s journey in the wilderness, David says;
“Our fathers in Egypt did not understand [7919- “give attention to, consider, ponder, to look at”] Your wonders; they did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea [remember, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23)]. Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known. Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. So He saved [3467- “to deliver, help, save”] them from the hand of the one who hated them, and redeemed [1350- “to ransom, act as a kinsman”] them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved [183- “to desire, to covet, to long for, to lust after”] intensely in the wilderness, and tempted [5254- “to try, to prove, to put to the proof or test”] God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease [7332- “thinness, leanness, scantness, wasting”] among them.” [See Isaiah 10:16]
(Psalms 106:7-15/NASU)
In David’s psalm he refers to the rebellion of the children of Israel during their wilderness journey. After “saving” them, and “redeeming” them from their enemy, they then “craved intensely” in the wilderness, asking for food according to their desires (Psalm 78:17-37). Every day the Lord provided manna from heaven for them. All they had to do was collect enough for each day. This taught them to rely on the Lord for His daily provision (i.e. “give us this day our daily bread…”). Not satisfied, though, with His provision, they began to ask for meat, so the Lord gave them what they wanted, in great quantity, and then sent a sever plague (i.e. a wasting disease) in their midst;
“Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail… But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and He struck them with a severe plague.”
(Numbers 11:31-33/NIV)
Using the children of Israel’s journey in the wilderness as a warning for us today, Paul says in his letter to the church in Corinth;
“Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased [see the Bible study Well Pleased]; for they were laid low [2693- “to strew (over the round); to prostrate, slay”] in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave [1938- “a craver; one who longs for, a luster after”] evil things as they also craved [1937- “to set the heart upon, to have a desire for, to long for, lust after, covet”].”
(1 Cor. 10:5-6/NASU)
Because of their rebellion against His leading (i.e. lordship), God killed “most of them” along the way. This rarely, if ever gets preached today which is why we are now inundated with Laodicean, lukewarm Christians. The fear of the Lord is never placed in the hearts of His people as a check against our naturally wandering spirits. (See more on this in the section Acting Wickedly Against The Covenant below.)
The Wounds/Stripes Of God
The following insights are from my entry for December 20, 2023 in My Journal Of Healing. It’s a portion of the article “The Meaning Of 49 – Rest” (https://godskingdom.org/blog/2023/08/the-meaning-of-49-rest/).
Healing is an aspect of entering into God’s rest, because one cannot fully rest when disease is present. For this reason, Isaiah 53:5 tells us, “By His scourging we are healed [7495- “to mend by stitching; to heal, to make healthful”; see the section Revival; Mending The Nets in the Network 153 Partner Vision].” This is explained in 1 Peter 2:24, 25;
“… and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds [3468- “a bruise, a wound from a stripe”] you were healed [2390- “to heal, to cure, to make whole”]. For you were continually straying [4105- “to roam, to go astray, to wander”] like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” [For more on our returning to the Lord so that He may return to us, see the notes further below for Jeremiah 3:1-9.]
Peter is saying that the Lord will wound us with the intent to heal us, to make us whole (Hosea 6:1-3). His scourging is in a judgmental sense, for the cleansing and purifying of His body. It’s used to keep us from straying from Him lest, because of an apostate heart, we never return to the “Shepherd and Guardian” of our soul. The final scourging of His people, right before we cross over at the end of this age, therefore, is to help prepare us from any defects of the soul, preparing us to enter His presence, and live. (Hosea 6:2) (See The Scourging Of Shittim Bible Study for more insights on the Body of Christ’ final purging from sin.)
Isaiah says that we are all like sheep who go astray, thereby receiving spiritual and physical wounds. But when we return to our Shepherd (Jesus), we find healing. This was the experience of those whom Jesus healed in Matthew 12:15. Jesus is the greater Joshua who is able to lead us into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:8-10) and bring healing to all.
(See the Bible study Wounded And Broken; Revealing The Way Of Escape.)
Proverbs 27:5-6 – See the note below.
5 Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful [539- “to support, to confirm, to be faithful, to uphold, to nourish”] are the wounds [6482- “a bruise, a wound”] of a friend, but deceitful [6280- “to be abundant, to be plentiful, to multiply”] are the kisses of an enemy [8130- “to hate, set against”].
NASU
The Lord wounds us in order to cleanse us and set us free. By His wounds/stripes that He places on us, we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). An enemy never addresses the root issue because they’re more concerned with themselves, what benefits them, not you. Someone who genuinely cares will not sugarcoat the issue that needs to be confronted. Because their motivation is love, they’re more concerned about you getting set free, about your welfare than whether or not you like them (i.e. a man-pleaser).
One of the definitions of the Hebrew interpreted as “faithful” is, “to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse.” When necessary, the wounds of God on one of His children are to remove that which is hindering our growth in Him. They are used to nurture us, to strengthen us so that we may become healthy, or be healed from certain inner ailments of the soul.
Deuteronomy 32:39 – The Lord clearly states here that He kills and gives life, and that He wounds and heals.
39 'See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
NASU
Psalm 38:1-5 – Wounds due to our “folly.” Our sin will cause physical ailments.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, and chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My wounds grow foul and fester because of my folly.
NASU
Isaiah 30:26 – See the note below. This supernatural event is yet to occur.
26 The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up [2280- “to bind up, to restrain, to bandage”] the fracture [7667- “breaking, fracture, breach, crash, ruin”] of His people and heals [7495- see def. below in Isaiah 53:1-6] the bruise [4347- “blow, wound, slaughter, stripe, scourging”] He has inflicted.
NASU
After warning Judah, through the prophet Isaiah, against an Egyptian alliance without consulting Him, the Lord then refers to them as “a rebellious people, false [3586- “faithless, deceitful, false, lying”] sons, sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the Lord.” (Isaiah 30:9) He then speaks of their chastising from Him that will cause them to cry out to Him for help, which they should have done in the beginning and saved themselves from all the trouble they would go through. The church in America has this same rebellious spirit in our midst. I see it in me.
The good news in this is the Lord’s heart toward His wayward people. He is willing to forgive and restore us from the necessary bruise He will inflict upon us in order to bring us back from our waywardness. There is a day coming soon when He will bind up the fracture of His people in our land, and heal the bruise He will inflict upon us (Hosea 6:1), if we will turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart; “For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite [1793- “crushed”] and lowly in spirit, to revive [2421- “to live, to remain alive, to be restored to life or health”] the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” (Isaiah 57:15/NIV)
In Isaiah’s prophetic word regarding the suffering servant (i.e. Jesus Christ) that would take the penalty for mankind’s sin upon Himself, he says;
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced [2490- “to wound, to pollute, to defile, to profane (a person, place, or thing)”] for our transgressions, he was crushed [1792- “to be broken, to be crushed, to be contrite, to be bruised”] for our iniquities; the punishment [4148- “discipline, chastening, correction”] that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds [2250- “a bruise, a stripe, a wound, a blow”] we are healed [7495- “to mend (by stitching), to heal, used of national defects or hurts”] . We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way [see Isaiah 55:8-9]; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
(Isaiah 53:1-6/NIV)
As with Judah, the Lord will soon wound us even further, as a nation, from our pride and arrogance in order to have His people return to Him for the healing of our national defects and hurts. Our Divine purpose in Him is yet to be completed.
Thank-you Lord for your chastising hand on the wandering hearts of your people! Without it we would most certainly perish. For one last time, in mercy You will revive us before You pour out Your wrath. It is your final plea. May some (i.e. the remnant) listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church in the closing moments of this age, and then do what He commands. Oh Lord, heal our nation through your wounds, for Your name’s sake! “Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O [faithless Christian in America]” (Isaiah 31:6), so that when He returns it may be for you!
Jeremiah 30:11-17 – Out of Your great mercy, may this promise be for our nation as well.
11 'For I am with you,' declares the Lord, 'to save you; For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly and will by no means leave you unpunished.'
12 "For thus says the Lord, 'Your wound is incurable and your injury is serious.
13 'There is no one to plead your cause; No healing for your sore, no recovery for you.
14 'All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel one, because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous.
15 'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.
16 'Therefore all who devour you will be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity; and those who plunder you will be for plunder, and all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
17 'For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'Because they have called you an outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one cares for her."'
NASU
“Why Wounds Are So Necessary”
by A. W. Tozer (Men Who Met God, p. 59, 62)
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word… It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” (Psalm 119:67, 71)
“It is amazing to me! There are people within the ranks of Christianity who have been taught and who believe that Christ will shield His followers from wounds of every kind.
If the truth were known, the saints of God in every age were only effective after they had been wounded. They experienced the humbling wounds that brought contrition, compassion and a yearning for the knowledge of God. I could only wish that more among the followers of Christ knew what some of the early saints meant when they spoke of being wounded by the Holy Spirit…
In every generation, the people who have found God have been those who have come to the end of themselves. Recognizing their hopelessness, they have been ready to throw themselves on the mercy and grace of a forgiving God.”
(See the Bible study Wounded And Broken; Revealing The Way Of Escape.)
In his letter above to the church in Corinth, Paul warned them, saying;
“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
(1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
When we repent and turn to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He sends the Holy Spirit as our guide into His holiness. We become His temple, His dwelling that He inhabits. At that point we have given up all rights of our own to do as we please in exchange for His eternal life.
The Greek for “immorality” is porneia (por-ni'-ah). It’s defined as “harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry; fornication; illicit sexual intercourse.” Through this and other similar Greek words we can see where we derived our word pornography from.
When a person engages in any type of sexual immorality, whether it be unlawful sex, pornography, or any type of lust through fantasy, you are submitting to the devil’s right of control over your physical body. This sin against your own body is an open door for him to afflict you (see the Bible study Samson And The Binding Of God’s Anointed), whether it be sickness and disease, mental health issues, or even death. This form of witchcraft has held many of God’s children inin bondage throughout history. In order to be set free from it, weIt must repented of and renounced immediately, in particular before the wrath of God is poured out on our nation, and the world.
(The following insight is from the Bible study Bent Double.)
Luke 13:10-17 tells when Jesus loosed a woman whom Satan had bound for quite a long time (see the Bible study Binding And Loosing). Verses 11-13 say, “And behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, ‘Woman, you are freed from your sickness.’ And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made erect again, and began glorifying God.”
This woman in a synagogue could not “straighten up” (i.e. rise up, stand up) because of the evil spirit that bound her. We all have something that the enemy uses to keep us “bent double,” of which one meaning is “to be completely overcome by.” It is taken from two Greek words, one being sun (soon) which is defined as “denoting union; with or together, i.e. by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession.”
She had it amongst those with whom she was associating, in fellowship with. Bondage through fellowship with demons (see the Bible study Fellowship With Demons), whether it be individually with the devil or corporately with others who are under the dominion of the devil, keeps us from rising up in Christ. This is why the Lord must reach out and touch those who have been bound in the religious systems of man that have been infiltrated by our enemy. They have become a great hindrance to His people, holding them in bondage since the deception in the Garden of Eden.
In Psalm 74, Asaph makes an appeal to God concerning the devastation of the enemy in their land. He says; “The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards [226- “sign, signal, mark, a miracle, a proof”] for signs [226].” (Psalm 74:3-4/NASU) The sanctuary of God is now within His children. This is the place that the enemy is always at work, through deception, to destroy through our acceptance of his lies, his false signs, wonders and miracles as truth.
While in the company of “hypocrites” the bent double woman was unable to get set free could never get set free. Neither can we. That union must be dissolved in order for us to be set free, for the “eagle saints” to gain their wings and fly (see 1 Corinthians 15:33 and Revelation 12:13-14 below).
The synagogue official was irate because Jesus healed her on the sabbath. Jesus responded to the foolish spiritual leader, saying; “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16) For much greater depth of insight on this passage, and the “release” from our bondages on the millennial, sabbath day rest, see the Bible study Bent Double, as well as the book The Womb Of The Dawn and The Bent Double Woman... (continued in part two.)
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