Going Deeper - part 2

Spiritual Warfare Message of Bau (Hercules)

In yesterday's blog, we took a deeper look at the spiritual warfare message of Gibbor (the Strong Man - Christ) and Nachash (the serpent - the devil). Today, let's go a bit deeper with the spiritual warfare message found in Bau, which portrays the Strong Man (our Messiah) battling against the fruits of the serpent. This constellation, as we will soon see, is presenting a message of Christ-like, Spirit-empowered, character development. It is the essence of practical godliness and sanctified living.

But before Christ's power in us can defeat the fruits of the serpent (which are the works of the flesh - see Galatians 5:19-23) we must first discern those fruits and their many manifestations in our lives.

Yesterday - because it embodies the message of Gibbor and Nachash - I shared chapter 1 from my husband's and my book titled, Keys to Living Like You've Been Saved. Today, I'll be sharing chapter 2, which thoroughly addresses the subject portrayed in the constellation Bau.

In the church board meeting, when faces may be taking on a reddish hue, veins may be popping out from strained necks, and voices may be intensifying to a rather strident pitch; most Christians do not recognize the underlying dark element working in this situation. 

We understand that intercessory prayer is a vital part of true Christianity. But without a true understanding of what a demonic attack looks like, we do not find ourselves rightly responding in the crisis, and the powerful, Heavenly weapons lay unused.  All too often, our human nature commands our response. Soon our own blood pressure rises and we are hard pressed to resist bitterness toward the person(s) involved.

The Bible tells us plainly who the enemy is in every encounter.  

Ephesians 6:12 - “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”   

In other words, that lady in church, who seems to have nothing better to do than gossip about you, is not your enemy. That man who gets angry in business meetings and demands the church be painted in a color you can’t stand is not your enemy. In every negative encounter, where it would naturally appear that you are up against a human, you are really in a spiritual warfare encounter.

Going back to our illustration in the church board meeting, if one of the board members began speaking in multiple voices, and demonstrating super human abilities, most Christians would quickly acknowledge that a spiritual warfare encounter was taking place.  But the devil does not usually manifest his presence so obviously. Thus, Christians need spiritual “laser vision” in order to perceive what normally would be overlooked.

This vital, spiritual eyesight is one of the things the Heavenly Father counsels us to acquire from Him.   As it says in Revelation 3:18:

“I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.”

Having this spiritual eyesight to recognize what spirits (whether the Holy Spirit, or demon spirits) are involved in our lives, is the first step in living a victorious Christian life.  We can’t even discuss what to do about a demonic attack until we first recognize the attack for what it really is.  Thus, we begin with a simple, biblical test which will give us the spiritual laser vision we desperately need if we would “withstand the wiles of the enemy” (Ephesians 6:11 & 13).

Simply put, this test might accurately be called the “Fruit Test.” The Scriptures tell us to use the Fruit Test to recognize what spirits are influencing, or even controlling us.  By using the Fruit Test, we will be able to discern what is really going on in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. The fact that the Fruit Test gives us spiritual laser vision to recognize spiritual reality is found in Matthew Chapter 7:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:15-21).

We are all designed to be spiritual temples. A temple is intended to house a spiritual entity.  As the Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man   defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”  

We are all called to be pure temples for GOD. Learning to use the Fruit Test begins with acknowledging this fact. Never is the human being devoid of a spiritual driving force. Either the Heavenly Father, through the presence of His Holy Spirit, is in residence in our body temple; or one or more demon spirits are present. The fact that our body temples cannot be left “swept clean” and devoid of a spiritual presence is clearly conveyed in Luke 11:24-26.

Once we acknowledge the reality of a spiritual presence always dwelling in the body temple, we have taken a vital step in being able to rightly discern the spiritual battle. Next, we must carefully dispel our own natural biases regarding spiritual discernment. It is tempting to predispose ourselves to thinking a person too spiritual to be under a  demonic influence for a time.

However, thinking this way deprives a godly person, now sinking in sin, of the intercessory prayer he or she most needs of you. The apostle Peter was certainly a Holy-Spirit filled man who served the Heavenly Father in a mighty way. Yet, on at least one occasion, the devil had become the driving influence affecting his thoughts, words, and actions. The story is recorded in Matthew Chapter Sixteen. 

“But He (Yahshua) turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23).

Because losing touch with Christ for even a microsecond results in having a demonic influence working in our lives, we must be prayerfully on guard. It is also why we must never overlook the need for spiritual warfare because of who a person is or how “godly” that    person may have seemed to be in the past.  No one is above being influenced, worked through, or even controlled by Satan. We must all be constantly on our guard against being under the influence of the enemy.  As it says in 1 Peter 5:8:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

So, how does the Fruit Test work? How can we discern the fruits at work in a life, thus identifying the driving spiritual forces at that point in time? The Fruit Test is delightfully simple to understand and remember. It is found in    Galatians 5:22-25. 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law… If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

To use the Fruit Test to determine what spirit is at work in your life or the life of someone around you, simply prayerfully ask: is this thought, behavior or attitude found in the Fruits of the Spirit? Is it of love? Does it bring joy? Is it born of Heavenly peace? Is it of selfless long-suffering? Is it gentle? Is it good? Is it born of faith? Is it meek? Is it temperate?

If the answer to even one of these Fruit Test questions is negative, then the thought, action, behavior, or attitude cannot be born of the Holy Spirit’s influence. And if it is not of the Holy Spirit’s influence, it is of the enemy.

Never for a moment believe that a thought, behavior or attitude, which fails the Galatians 5 Fruit Test, is spiritually neutral.  There is no Switzerland in the battle over human souls. In other words, things like bitterness, fear, rage, unforgiveness, depression, doubt, lust, and intemperance are all evidences of demonic influences in our lives.

Many of the demonic “works of the flesh” are also listed in Galatians Chapter 5. 

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,   emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Actually, these “works of the flesh” are the names of the demons who work to achieve these characteristics in us. The Bible shows many examples of our Saviour’s power working through godly people to cast out demons. Christ Himself cast out demons.

Knowing that demons are to be cast out, adds another dimension of understanding to the following Scripture. In 1 John 4:17-18, the Bible clearly states that fear is to be cast out. 

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Thus, the Fruit Test may open a whole realm of understanding before our eyes. Demonic attacks against humans can be thoughts, they can be feelings, or they can come in the form of a brother or sister in Christ who is, at that moment, moving and speaking in a Fruit-Test-failing manner. 

Recognizing instances of demonic attack for what they really are, totally changes the way we respond.  For example, when our daughter Katy was five years old, she began to be heavily affected by a spirit of fear. She could not walk down the long hall to the bathroom by herself for fear of what might be lurking behind the darkened doors along the way.  The attack of fear culminated in her being awakened in the night, crying out in terror, and tearfully telling us that something was in her room.

Rather than simply doing the proverbial “monster check” that parents often do to soothe their little one’s fears, we recognized that Katy was under attack and immediately responded to the situation with spiritual warfare. (The details of how to use the Heavenly weapons in effective spiritual warfare are explained in Chapter 7 of Keys to Living Like You've Been Saved. If you would like to receive a copy of this book in order to go even deeper, please let me know and I'll be glad to send you one.).  The result was that Katy was delivered and able to make her way unaided to the bathroom as needed and to sleep peacefully at night thereafter.

How tragic it would have been for our little one if we had not been aware of the real source of fear. Had this been the case, she likely would have continued to be tormented by fear for several years to come. This has certainly been true in several cases with which we have been acquainted. Frequently, the attacks of fear have not lifted even into adulthood.

Perhaps this is why Paul warned us that if we are ignorant of how Satan works, he gets the advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:11). In the spiritual battle taking place over every human soul, the outcome of which is either eternal life or death, it is vital that the devil not have advantages over us.

Thus, we know the Heavenly Father would not have us remain ignorant. Rather, we are to be watchful, prayerful, informed, and aware.

The most difficult place to use the Fruit Test is in our own lives. It is far easier to see what is going on in others than it is to identify dark powers in our own hearts. But, recognizing the source of the Fruit is vital to giving a godly and right response to the sender.

A demonic attack may come in the form of a thought planted in our minds by the enemy of souls. Never would we propose that Satan can read a Christ-centered mind. As it suggests in Psalm 91, our minds, when connected    prayerfully toward Heaven, are the “secret place of the most High.” But the devil certainly knows what we’re thinking when he put the thought in our minds in the first place. He is also a master at reading our body language.

The idea that thoughts can be born of an evil origin is certainly pointed out in 1 Corinthians 13:5, which warns us against thinking evil. But, the instant of sin is not the moment the evil thought materializes. We have not sinned simply because Satan decided to implant one of his ugly thoughts into our minds. Remember, Christ was “tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

To deepen our discernment of how Satan attacks, and to more fully reveal the hidden gems of the constellation, Bau, let us continue with listing the forms that a demonic attack may take.

Usually, when a demonic thought is implanted into our minds, it is accompanied by all the emotional and even physiological baggage that will make it most likely for us to succumb to the satanic suggestion. This means that we will not feel like resisting the temptation. Indeed, our emotions and even our bodies betray us by “wanting” to fall into sin.  But, thankfully our choice to serve our Heavenly Father is not based upon emotion or physiology. Thus, we may still avail ourselves of the divine Fruit Test and rightly respond to the tempter. As we do, the demonic emotions, which were part of the temptation process, will be dispelled.

But, what about using the Fruit Test to determine the spirits at work in the lives of our loved ones and friends? One may wonder if the process of subjecting spirits in others to the Fruit Test is dangerously close to judgmentalism. 

Actually, there is a huge difference between judging someone and testing the fruit in their lives. When we judge someone, the end is to drive a wedge between us and that other person. In a deep way, we no longer view that person as having access to the grace of God. Thus, they are outside of grace in our eyes, and deserve whatever strikes of lightning the Heavenly Father might deign to send.  Sadly, like Jonah of old, we actually secretly hope a stray lightning bolt might take that irritating person down a notch or two.

This attitude is not of God. When the Holy Spirit is in control in our own lives and we pray for spiritual laser vision to recognize the fruit in the lives of those around us, our purpose is not judgment; rather, it is intercession. As we submit ourselves to our Heavenly Father to be used in the vital work of an intercessor, God will continue to sharpen and hone our spiritual vision making us increasingly more and more sensitive to the deficiencies in the precious ones around us, as well as the assaults on ourselves.

A dear friend of ours had a very powerful experience in this area which is an example of how this works. Julie (which is not her real name) had traveled some distance from home to attend a special series of meetings given by a very prominent preacher. The building, able to hold about 2000-3000 people, was packed.

Julie and her husband settled in to enjoy a powerful message. But, it was slow in coming. Rather than glorifying God in his message, the preacher began to glorify himself and his own ministry. To Julie it truly sounded like a self-righteous, “look-at-me-and-how-right-I-do-everything” presentation.

In disappointment and disgust, Julie quietly exited the building and was soon marching around the parking lot complaining to God about what appeared to be a total waste of time. Frustrated, Julie cried out to God, “I don’t want to see this man’s sin! Why don’t you show him how prideful he’s being? Why have You showed this to me?”

To her great surprise a still small voice spoke into Julie’s thoughts with a heart-changing message. “Julie, I have showed you this man’s sin because I want you to pray for him.” Stunned and instantly humbled, Julie stood in the parking lot for a repentant moment. Then she quickly changed the purpose of her prayer. In that parking lot, unbeknownst to the besieged preacher who would probably never even meet Julie personally, she began to pray warfare prayer interceding for this man.

As she was ending her prayer, Julie quietly re-entered the rear of the auditorium. Suddenly, the preacher stopped. After a brief pause he pleaded with the congregation for prayer and help, “Help me, pray for me right now. I’m impressed that there’s been entirely too much of me on this stage and not enough of Jesus. I would like to ask God to forgive me and help me change that right now.” Through joyful and amazed tears, Julie bowed her head with the rest of the congregation as the preacher prayed. 

The sermon the group heard thereafter was powerful with the impress of Heaven.  And to her humble amazement, Julie realized that God had accomplished this miracle because He had first called her to pray on behalf of a struggling brother.

In other words, “spiritual laser vision” is not used to criticize or compare the fallen one to our own “holy” living, rather such insight is given so that we will quietly lift our weakened brother before the Throne of Grace in intercessory prayer. This is the purpose of spiritual laser vision. This is the reason why the Heavenly Father gives us the gift of insight into the failings of others. May we always seek greater measures of this gift for godly use.  Such is the objective of “knowing them by their fruits.” 

This is the meaning and powerful message of the beautiful constellation, Bau! What a Heavenly Calling to us all! Imagine how powerful and effective the Body of Messiah will be when the light of Bau's Message finally reaches us all.

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