Repost from the Elijah List.
"Protect Your Soul From the Destructive
Forces of the Enemy!"
Victoria Boyson, Montgomery, TX
"You must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and all your
mind. And, love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27, NLT
Our world is
inundated with intense and even frightful events. We who are the reigning spiritual
power on the earth are called on to pray boldly for the will of God to be made
manifest in any horrendous situations.
Intercessors
are the legs the Church stands on and intercession should be the core substance
of every Believer. Due to the important position every intercessor holds in the
world, we must be on guard against the enemy's tricks to deactivate our
authority in the spirit realm. None of us are perfect, and we all have
weaknesses, so, we must all remain watchful of the impact we are having on the
world by remaining alert to the hindrances our own souls.
I've seen
many who've prayed positive declarations into the spirit realm one minute, yet,
slander their brother the next. Naturally, this grieves my spirit, not just
because I know it will injure the person being slandered (that's inevitable),
but because I can feel in my spirit how deeply it will injure their own heart.
Every word we speak affects our soul – either for good or for bad. Even those
who are careful to make only positive, life-filled declarations over themselves
simply have no idea the poison they release in their own lives by speaking evil
of others.
Slandering a Brother
Any time we accuse or slander a
brother, we are reducing our authority in the spirit realm. God can only give
us authority if He can trust us to use that authority to benefit His Kingdom.
Of course, I
am burdened for those who have had their reputation assassinated by the
flippant defamation of their character, but I feel in my spirit a very weighty
and increasing burden for those who choose to release the slander. I sense the
darkness they've released into their own lives and what they will have to
battle in the future because of it. (Photo
via Pixabay)
They've been
targeted by the enemy and satan has infected them with his agenda against a
brother leading them to cause strife. It seems like most Christians have winked
at this sin, thinking other sins were much worse, but God's not winking.
Proverbs
6:16-19 lists seven sins which the Lord hates and intensely abhors the most,
those He considers to be an abomination: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands
that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run
rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies and one who spreads strife
among brothers.
I think it's
healthy to remind ourselves of the things the Lord hates – the sins He
considers to be an abomination (a vile, shameful or detestable action,
condition, habit, etc.). Slander is quite sneaky and often attempts to disguise
itself as a noble action or a warning about someone. It is a deadly, preemptive
strike against a brother or sister, a sect or church or other group of people.
Slander lays the groundwork to disparage the value of anyone the enemy wants to
target and destroy.
The enemy
sent slander in advance of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany. The people were
prepped in advance to lend their souls to embrace the annihilation of an entire
race. We are seeing that today against Believers and much of it is being done
by other Believers.
Guard Your Heart
Satan "prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8), someone he can
destroy with hatred, jealousy and strife. When he finds his prey, he infects
them with his twisted agenda and they begin to do his work for him. Sadly, they
believe they are accomplishing a noble service for the Lord, but, truly,
they're allowing the enemy to use them to spread strife in the Body. (Photo via Wikimedia)
It's a
double whammy! Most often, the enemy will target those who truly have a great
destiny, corrupting their soul with the bitter demon of slander and accusation
against others, thereby thwarting their destiny in God. Replacing it with a
perverted copy of their true destiny, the enemy can kill two birds with one
stone by luring the once greatly destined warrior to do his work for him.
Those in the
Body who seem to make it their job to attack and slander – the petty police who
watch those visible in the Church as the Pharisees watched Jesus – may never
change. I understand that. Yet, they use other Believers to do their dirty
work, like the Pharisees used the Roman government to kill Jesus (John
18:28-31), and like Jezebel used the city elders to kill Naboth (1 Kings
21:1017). Truly, the Lord warned us of wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew
10:16).
Treat Your Neighbor As Yourself
My hope is
to reach out to those dear souls who love the Lord with all their heart, soul
and mind, but who have been misled by someone and have become a helper used to
spread their agenda of strife against a brother or sister. To you, precious
ones, I say: Guard your
heart, guard you soul, guard your strength and guard your mind BY loving your
neighbor as yourself (see Luke 10:27).
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus said, "So
in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums
up the Law and the Prophets" – that includes what we say about
others. In everything we say, in every article or message we forward, in every
Facebook post we share, we must stop and ask ourselves: "Would I want this said about
me?"
How
would you want your neighbor to treat you?
So, you may
ask, "Victoria, are you saying we should never address the wrongs done by
others in the Body?" Well, let me say...
Eli, the
high priest, showed us how very easy it is to misconstrue another person's
actions and motives and made a painful experience even more painful when he was
convinced Hannah was a horrible sinner who'd come to church drunk (1 Samuel
1:9-17), the complete opposite of which he found out later to be true. He had
bumbled his way into Hannah's pain and threw around false accusations against
her, humiliating himself.
So be very
careful when you are "sure" of a brother's motives before you accuse
and slander him. Eli, at least, approached Hannah personally with his presumptive
ideas about her. Indeed, is there any honor in slandering a brother or ministry
without first at least talking to them about your offense against them? – There
is NO honor in slander, period!
What's Your Religion Worth?
Our words
are extremely powerful, much more than most Christians recognize. We invite
trouble into our lives by not controlling our tongue as the Word says in James 1:26-27, "If anyone
thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this man's religion is worthless."
Truly, life
and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). If our tongue
produces death and trouble, you have to stop and wonder, "What have I said
lately?" And this goes double for those in positions of leadership.
If we are
given a sphere of influence, we are responsible to protect that influence from
the enemy's schemes. We are held responsible for what we've been given.
Moreover, if we use our influence to slander others, it will come back to harm
us.
Years ago, a
dear friend betrayed me and set about on a campaign to "warn" people
about me. I honestly felt instant fear for them the moment I heard what they
were doing.
I do not
think I am any more special than any other Christian, but I do know how much
God loves me. He is protective of the work He has done in me and is doing
through me.
I feel
genuine pity for those who attack and slander their brothers and sisters in the
faith. Truly, I am afraid of what they are inviting into their own souls as
they embrace the work of the adversary. For those lies produce a harvest of
death as we are warned in Proverbs 6:14-15, "...who with perversity in his heart continually
devises evil, who spreads strife. Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;
instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing."
((Gulp!))
There's an old quote from World War II
which says, "Loose lips sink ships" and they also create an
atmosphere of death! (Photo
via Huffington Post)
Protect Your Love
Yes, we
should obviously guard our tongue when speaking of those beloved of the Lord
and those in service to Him. However, we need to guard our tongues for our
enemies as well. Fight for them – wrestle with the demons who've taken over
their heart, using your authority to liberate them from the lies of the enemy! Pray for the love God has for you to
invade and penetrate their heart.
Pray
for them to know and experience the love of the Father because, as they do
that, love will manifest in their treatment of you. If they refuse His love and you keep
sending it to them, that love will come back on you and you will benefit from
it. If, however, you send curses instead of blessings, the curses will come
back on you in one way or another.
Our Lord
taught about praying for our enemies and blessing those who attack us. Why? It
wasn't so much for those who are attacking us, but to protect our own hearts
against the bitterness of unforgiveness that would inevitably destroy us.
I'm not
asking you to lay down and let people injure you. No. I have a saying, "I
don't do stupid twice!" If someone betrays you, don't give them place to
do it again (unless the Lord directs you to). You have a responsibility to
protect the work the Lord's accomplished in your life; don't let your compassion
destroy you.
You must guard your heart against
bitterness and protect the love of God in your heart. Use the authority of your
words to speak constructively about your enemy what you would like to see
manifest in their lives, not what is actually manifesting through them. (Photo
via flickr)
As the
extension of Christ on the earth, we should use our tongues to produce the life
He destined for us to live. With our words, we can transform our world by using
our words productively to speak forth the love we'd like to see manifest in our
brothers, not give way to the destructive lives of the enemy. We must decree and declare the will of
our Father, not the lies of the enemy.
Sharing! Sharing! Sharing!
Sometimes I
like to scroll through what my Christian brothers and sisters are sharing on
Facebook. I feel like it gives a quick overview of the hearts of the saints.
Usually, I'm blessed by what I see, yet, sometimes I am astonished at the
things I read that are openly slandering other brothers and sisters in Christ.
When I see a
ministry or fellow Christian sharing slander about another brother or ministry,
a GIANT RED FLAG goes up in my spirit. I don't want to have anything to do with
strife-spreading, God hating, abominating SLANDER! I won't forward it, I won't
read it and I'm not curious about the lies. I don't want to take part in
anything that smells like Hell. And I don't want my cherished friends to
either, because I care for you.
Our Father
sees what we share or like on Facebook, Twitter, etc. He hears the words you
speak. He sees how you treat those you think are beneath you. He sees it all
and it hurts Him when you enter into the adversary's agenda.
BUT, it
totally and completely blesses God when you come to the defense of a brother.
When you speak out truth and love in support of those being slandered, His
heart overflows!
Our
Father is generous, slow to anger and quick to love (Joel 2:13). He is not a vengeful
Father. His forgiveness is unfathomable. Even though I know it hurts Him
significantly when we get caught up in slander, He readily forgives us when we
ask Him to.
You see, He
sees where souls spend eternity. He weighs the devastation a human causes
against the judgment of their soul. He sees the cost they will have to pay if
mercy doesn't have its way in them. So, even though it hurts Him to hear the
slander against His children, He waits hoping His beloved child will return to
Him and learn to love others.
Learning to Love
Loving your
neighbor IS loving yourself. It's protecting your soul from the devices of the
enemy; it's creating a harvest of mercy in your future when you need it. It is
WORSHIP to your God. Love is also warfare, releasing a destructive force to the
powers of darkness. Satan cannot understand love. He is hopelessly defensive
against it.
Love is the greatest power on the
earth and, for those who understand it, it holds the key to great blessings.
Mercy has no equal in the realm of darkness and when we embrace love, not hate,
we annihilate the plans of the enemy. We cause him catastrophic damage when we
bless those who curse us. And we protect our own soul when we release the
Kingdom of Heaven through our words. (Photo
via flickr)
Think about
it! Who do you want to hurt more... your brother or sister in Christ, or your
adversary, the devil? Yeah, I know... me too!
