Learning to Listen - Part 3
by Linda S. Van Fleet
How to Know Who's Talking to You
There is an awesome truth that many people do not
understand:
Demons and angels live in the
same realm: the
spiritual realm;
they speak to you in the same place: your mind.
If this were not true, the Scripture
would not admonish us not to believe every spirit but
to test the them to see whether they come from God or the evil one
(1 John 4:1-3). We are also told in the Scriptures that Satan
(the evil one) disguises himself as an angel of light in order to
deceive us (2 Cor. 11:14). Because of Satan's ability
to disguise himself, it is oftentimes very hard - almost impossible
to tell who's talking! Take a look at the account of Adam and
Eve and the "great deception" in the Garden of Eden at the dawn of
time.
You know the story: Satan disguised
himself as a serpent in the Garden of Eden and enticed Eve to partake
of the fruit of the tree of good and evil - something God had expressly
told her husband not to do (Genesis 3). The Bible
identifies one of Satan's character traits in the first verse of
that chapter:
Cunning. In my American English language that
word means "sly; clever in deceiving; crafty, artful, guileful; ingenuous,
skillful."
Do you get the picture? Eve had
no idea from whom she was receiving advice that day! Satan,
the crafty, skillful and sly fallen angel had "disguised" himself,
presenting himself in a manner that was totally acceptable to the
first human citizens of earth. Quite frankly, I would be very
skeptical (and downright terrified!) if a snake started talking to
me - but I suppose Adam and Eve were accustomed to that kind of strange
phenomena. :) What they apparently did not know was that Satan,
God's enemy, could disguise himself as one of their "garden companions".
We are still living with the results of that trick of the old, "Sneaky
Snake."
Does Satan still use that sort of trickery
today? Certainly, he does not present himself in the form of
a serpent. Yet, he utilizes the same techniques he used in the
Garden of Eden. Let's look closer at his method in the Garden
of Eden.
1. He used something common and ordinary (the
serpent);
2. He spoke a partial 'truth'; ("Has not God said . . ." )
3. He elevated the first family's minds to think they were
smarter than God. ("Of course you won't die!)
I received an email in October of 1997 from a young
man in England. He wanted to tell me about how he and a group
of his friends had "accidentally" called up the angel, Gabriel, in
a s?ance using a ouiji board. The "angel" told them that it
was okay with God if they used the board - except at Halloween.
According to this so-called angel, God was against using the board
on Halloween, but not at other times.
Notice how the "angel" deceived this
group of young people: First, he used something that was common
and ordinary to them: the name, "Gabriel." Then he presented
them with a partial truth saying that "it is okay to use Ouija boards
EXCEPT on halloween". Did you recognize the "half
truth?" God IS against using any form of
witchcraft (ouiji boards, s?ances, incantations, spells, magic, etc.)
at ANY time! The statement: "except on Halloween"
- is NOT true. Don't be deceived! God is
against witchcraft ALL the time. (Please see the question
on Demons
for Scripture refrences.) These young men were not talking to
God's holy angel, Gabriel. They were entertaining a demonic
spirit from Satan, a very dangerous situation because Satan's chief
aim is to "kill, steal and destroy" the children of God. He
hates us. He will use any means to destroy us.
Let's look at another example of Satan's
deception in today's time. Belief in Angels - i.e. angle-mania.
Yes, you read it right. Modern society is so riveted to the
subject of angels that they have become common and ordinary in conversation,
decoration, religions - angels are everywhere! We are all affected
by the craze. You are, or you would not be reading this article.
I am, or I would not have started the web site. Do you see what
I mean? Angels are accepted by every nationality, religion and
creed. Hence, wide-spread deception is possible - using
that which is common and ordinary. Enter Satan.
We have to keep in mind Satan's ultimate
goal: Get even with God by destroying His children. Satan
hates God; therefore, he hates God's children. We
must also keep in mind Satan's nature: He is a liar and a deceiver.
But, he's extremely smart. He knows we would never knowingly
listen to his voice, so he uses crafty, cunning methods to deceive
us into thinking it is God (or His messengers) who are talking to
us. In this "angel craze" that has swept the world, he gets
us so focused on angels that we leave our Heavenly Father out of
the
picture.
How does he do that? Here
are a few ways I have discovered.
- 1. He tries to trick us into believing
that: angels are our spiritual guides. NOT
TRUE! Our spiritual guide is the Holy Spirit - the
third person of the Godhead - who lives within everyone who has
accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. (If you
have not done this, please do! Click
Here.) Angels were not sent to earth to be our inner
spiritual guides; they were sent to serve us from the
spiritual realm in our physical realm.
(Some people say you have an "angel within you,." If you
do, then you are demon-possessed. God's holy angels DO NOT
indwell you, control you, manipulate you. Only the Holy
Spirit indwells God's children.)
- 2. He tries to trick us into believing
that: we should pray to angels for help. NOT
TRUE!
Our prayers should always be to God, the Father,
in the Name of Jesus. Nowhere in the Scriptures will you find instructions
to pray to angels. In fact, when John started to kneel before
an angel, the angel quickly admonished him, "Don't do that!" An
angel of God will never receive your prayers or worship.
- 3. He tries to trick us into believing
that: we should learn to communicate with our angels, and
daily seek advice from them. NOT TRUE! God
is not pleased when we spend hours, days, months trying to learn
how to talk to his created beings. He is pleased when we
spend that time communing with Him. Nowhere in the Scriptures
will you find anyone seeking an angel for advice. They sought
God. He SENT angels to them. Holy angels may bring
you advice, comfort, physical help, direction, etc. - but only
at the command of God - never because you sought their advice
through prayer and worship.
- 4. He tries to trick us into believing
that: it is easier to pray to or commune with angels than
it is to approach God. He wants us to believe
that God is too busy; too high and mighty; too stern, too unapproachable.
NOT TRUE! On the contrary, the Scriptures
tell us to come with boldness into the very throne room of God
where we will find grace and mercy to help us in our times of
need. When we approach God through His method (Jesus Christ)
He always accepts us with open, loving arms. When
you accept Jesus into your heart, God becomes your "abba, Father"
- your very personal "daddy." As a child I would crawl up
in to my father's lap, lay my head on his chest and tell him all
my problems and secrets. He was my father - yet I
called him, "Daddy." Very personal. Very close.
I could tell him anything. His love for me enabled me to
do that. In the same way, I go to my heavenly Father - my
"daddy." There's not anything I can't ask of Him or tell
Him. I am His special child. I dare to come into His
presence with boldness because of His love for me. That
love drives out all fear.
Our Heavenly Father says, "Beloved children, there
are many spirits in the world. Some of them are not from me.
Put them to the test. Don't just believe everything you hear!"
(1 John 4:1 - my paraphrase) Direction from God comes in many
forms: His Spirit within us; His Word (the Bible), sermons,
books, letters, people around us; "coincidental" circumstances;
angelic encounters, etc. God is not limited just to he supernatural. He
will use many methods to get our attention and to speak to us.
Yes, it is hard at times to know who
is doing the talking. However, by spending time in prayer and
in reading the Scriptures, we learn to discern His voice; His
gentle guidance in our lives. It's a tightrope, I agree, not
to believe everything you hear - yet to remain open to hear spiritual
things. Only by His Spirit can we walk the thin line.
But, oh the joy that awaits those who do!
The lyrics of a song I used to sing has
a wonderful message appropriate for this day: "There is an unseen
hand to me That leads through ways I cannot see ; While going through
this world of woe This hand still leads me as I go. I'm trusting to
the Unseen Hand that guides me through this troubled land ; And some
sweet day I'll reach that strand still guided by the Unseen Hand."
Trust in His "unseen hand" dear friend.
Learn to listen for His voice. He will never lead you in the
wrong way. As we spend more and more time with Him, we will
recognize the source of all the "guidance" that comes our way.
We will be able to resist the un-holy and cling to that which is righteous
and pure. We have His promise, "my sheep (children) know
my voice . . .They will not follow the voice of a stranger (the evil
one)."
(For More information on how to recognize
evil angels, Click Here)
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