God is so awesome! He is so BIG! Do we really realize the awesomeness of our God? Do we really understand the awesomeness of His mighty power? If we did, we would be living quite differently than we are now. We would be taking authority over sickness and disease, casting out devils and commanding the devil to loose his hold on our families and children. If we could just get a glimpse of his power! Just a glimpse! It would cause our feet to dance and our mouths to shout His glorious praise! We serve a mighty God. He is a God that loves us even though we are so unlovable. He is a wonderful God!
That was an introduction, now comes the good stuff.
What is a religious spirit? Today, we are going to look at some of the warning signs of a religious spirit. If you find that one or more of these signs are manifesting in your life, don't be frightened. God is your deliverer and He will set you free.
1. Religious spirits like to tear down other people and the work that they are doing for God.
2. They are unable to receive correction or rebuke, especially from those who they believe are less spiritual than them.
3. They will not listen to what people have to say, they only listen to GOD.
4. They are quick to see the wrongs in other churches, ministries, people etc., instead of seeing what's right about them.
5. They often times feel an overwhelming sense of guilt because they can never measure up with God's standards for their lives.
6. They feel good about themselves if they have done good deeds or if they have gone to more meetings, read their Bible more etc.. They tend to keep score of their spiritual life.
7. They believe that they have been appointed by God to fix everyone up. They are always giving their opinions and telling people what they ought to do.
8. If they are in leadership, they tend to be bossy and intolerable of the weaknesses of others.
9. They believe they are closer to God than other people and that their lives and ministries are more pleasing to God.
10. They take pride in their spiritual maturity and compare it with others.
11. They believe they are on the cutting edge of what God is doing.
12. Their prayer life is very mechanical.
13. They will do things so that people will take notice of them.
14. They don't enjoy seeing people expressing their emotions to the Lord. They believe that is emotionalism and are repulsed by that kind of behavior.
15. They are encouraged when their ministries look better than others.
16. They tend to glory more in what God did in the past than what He is doing now.
17. They tend to be suspicious of new movements, churches, etc.
18. They reject spiritual manifestations that they don't understand.
19. They overreact to carnality in the church.
These are just a few of the warning signs of a religious spirit. If you have some of these signs manifesting in your life, you need to start asking the Lord to deliver you and set you free. Be more intimate with the Lord. Spend more time in His word and consume yourself with His presence. No spirit will be able to stay, if you draw closer to Jesus.
Make it a point to think more highly of others than you do yourself and your ministry. When you sense that you are being bossy, repent and take authority over that attitude immediately. Don't allow that spirit to continue to operate in your life. The Lord will help you as you seek to follow Him.
