Satan Unmasked, a book by Colin Dye. Click here to read more on this topic.

The Jezebel spirit

So what is the Jezebel spirit? This is the spirit that is named after Queen Jezebel who was the wife of King Ahab who was a king of Israel. This spirit seeks to affect our marriages, family life, self image, relationships, sexuality, ministry and so much more! This spirit is at the root of the demonic kingdom and seeks to destroy all that is of God in the earth. This is a spirit that seeks to dominate everything in our spiritual and national life.

The beginning

The strategy of Satan has always been to take from mankind the authority that God has given to us. This strategy can be seen right from Genesis chapter one where mankind rebels against God and the battle of the sexes commences. God’s intention was for men and women to work together in partnership to subdue the world. But Satan’s distortion brought the temptation for women to manipulate and rule men and for men to dominate women. Men and women have equal status and worth in the eyes of God but they do have different, but complimentary, roles. The role of the man is as the head and that of the women as helper. The man’s role is as the loving leader and the woman’s as a suitable helper. Together men and women can subdue the earth!

Ahab and Jezebel

In 1 Kings 16 we see the supreme example of the Jezebel spirit. This evil queen Jezebel brought great sin into the nation and an incredible conflict occurs with the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel. Jezebel encouraged Baal worship which promoted immorality and perversion. A great victory is won on Carmel and the nations sees the fire of God descend. But even after that amazing victory Jezebel threatens and intimidates Elijah to the extent that he runs for fear of his life. Jezebel then institutes a period of persecution and the prophetic figures in the nation are killed. This is a spirit behind a woman who manifests incredible control, seduction and manipulation and Ahabhas given in to that control. Jezebel operates out of a spirit of witchcraft. Ahab had given up the headship of his home and of the nation. This Jezebel spirit is passed from one generation to another until it is stopped by the power of Christ. Ahaziah became the new king of Israel and indulged in all the sins of his parents.

Jezebel’s defeat

In the book of Revelation chapter 17 the spirit of Babylon or the Jezebel spirit comes into focus once again. Babylon is that great system of the world which is dominated and controlled by Satan. Babylon is everything that the devil has built around himself, it is the system of antichrist. He controls governments, the arts, media, finance, education, science and so much more! In fact he even tries to control the church. But at the same time the city of God, Zion, is rising to defeat Babylon. Babylon will fall. As believers we need, by repentance, to come out of Babylon and to live holy lives.

Freedom from the Jezebel spirit

As the conflict between the Elijah generation and the Jezebel spirit increases we need to know how to confront that spirit. God has given us powerful weapons in order to enforce the victory that he has already accomplished – the name of Jesus, faith, the word of God, praise, binding and loosing, prayer and the blood of Jesus. Incredible weapons by which we can wage warfare.

Living Free

We have been set free so we must live free! It is crucial that we do not yield our lives to sin. If you have sin in your life then repent of it now and shut off those areas of your life from the devil. Sins that might be relevant for you include pride, self-righteousness, abdicating male headship, usurping male headship, greed and adultery. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s light to shine on your life. Do not allow the devil to have access to your life. Today you can start to walk the path of freedom by:

• Confessing your sin
• ?Forsaking your sin – walk towards Jesus and away from your sinful lifestyle
• ?Forgive all those who have sinned against you
• ?Ask God for deep cleansing and forgiveness; ask Him to extract the sin out of your personality
• ?Expel every evil presence in your life
• ?Praise God
• Seek a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit

This new path needs to be your continual path. You can maintain the lifestyle of freedom in Jesus by pursuing God with all of your heart, by filling your life with prayer and intercession, by living in the word and walking before Him in obedience and service. Jesus has set us free so let’s live free!

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"People with a passion", a landmark book

• lack of confidence in the gospel
• doubt and unbelief
• spiritual coldness
• fear and intimidation
• spiritual ignorance
• prayerlessness
• mistrust and division
• civilian mentality (non-engagement in the spiritual battle)
• hardness of heart
• barrenness
• lovelessness
• minding the things of self
• neglecting the things of God.

Passion brings transformation
We begin by refusing to allow our spiritual environment to dictate the level of our spirituality. Isaac sowed in a time of famine and reaped a hundredfold in the same year (Genesis 26:12). He refused to accept that his environment had more influence over his fruitfulness than the promise of God for his life. He sowed expecting a harvest, not paying attention to the negative surrounding conditions. God rewarded his faith.
?Christ lives in me?
The secret of passionate and vital Christianity is Christ. He lives in us individually and corporately. He is the source of our life, our joy and our fruitfulness. The apostle Paul spoke of living by the faith of Christ at work in his life (Galatians 2:20). He taught that when we die to the old life, Christ actually becomes our life and the ?faith of Christ? begins to operate in us. Jesus credits us with the benefits of his sacrificial death and indwells us with his sanctifying life. We are united with him. This is the summit of individual and corporate spirituality. We are joined to each other in him and he becomes our habitation, our true spiritual environment.
In John chapter 15, Jesus stresses that without him we can do nothing. But that also means joined in vital union with him, we can do all things. When we live in the conscious experience of this truth, we are transformed spiritually. Our repentance, consecration, wholeness and spiritual desire flow from Christ in us. When we stop trying to produce the life of Christ ourselves, we discover that very same life is being supernaturally reproduced in us. Sustained by our true spiritual habitat, our fellowship and witness become natural expressions of who we are.
?I am making a difference?
God has a plan for you far beyond your imagination. You have been masterfully re-created in the image of Christ and shaped by God himself to fulfil his divine purpose for you. Ephesians 2:10 teaches that God has a specially-prepared and tailor-made purpose for you on planet earth. It so perfectly fits you, that you will be able to say, ?This is what I was born for!? When we reach out with Christ?s love we become the hand of God to those he is touching with his grace. The partnership is powerful and irresistible.
The ?salt and light? image Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount brings hope to everyone who would otherwise think they are insignificant. Our good works shine before men and bring glory to our Father in heaven. Traditional church models say to the world, ?Come and hear.? Cell church turns this on its head by equipping its members to be salt and light in the world. We say to our people, ?Go and show? Christ to the world.
Cell groups bring structured and organised intentionality into the church?s mission to the world. We build microcosmic expressions of the good news in every corner of the ?market place? of our generation. We take Christ himself to the multitudes and show them he is alive.. As the Anglican Bishop, David Pytches wrote, ?The meeting place is the learning place for the market place.? Serving Christ in the context of Christian gatherings is not enough to win the world.
A constant refrain in my preaching is, ?Your occupation is the location for your true vocation.? We train Christians to be active in every aspect of modern life and to influence their world for Christ.
Conclusion
Prayer and intercession, the crucible of spiritual passion permeates the community of believers who throw themselves upon God?s mercy and grace. Spirit-empowered living reaches the lost, the lonely, the broken-hearted and the hurting. First individuals and then whole communities are transformed. Intentional discipleship mobilises the whole body of Christ to rise up and be counted. That is how we can transform our spiritual environment.
 

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