Discerning the Various Spirits - Day 339 Through the Bible

THIS WEEKEND: 13^th Annual Christmas Pageant – West Burnsville Baptist Church – “Redeemed” Friday, Dec 6th – 7pm; Saturday, Dec. 7th– 7pm; Sunday, Dec. 8^th – 3pm; Christmas parade on the town square in our historic hometown, Burnsville, NC Dec. 6 (3:00); Santa Claus at Town Center Dec 6, (6:00-8:00 pm); TRAC Studio Tour - Dec 6, 7, and 8

My Meditations on Today’s Readings

(Ellipses are mine and are used for contemplation.)

Key Words/Phrases: Israel’s harlotry and Gomer’s harlotry, God’s love and Hosea’s love; no truth, no mercy, no knowledge; lying, stealing, swearing, killing, committing adultery, bloodshed upon bloodshed, they break all restraint, never enough, let him alone; by this we know, of God or of the world, He who is in you, do not believe every spirit, love one another

Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge of God – Hosea 3 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized) Like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, Hosea is called to use his life as an object lesson for Israel.  Hosea is to marry an adulteress, who goes after other lovers – just as God is wedded to the adulteress nation, Israel, who goes after other idols.  Hosea does this and tells the woman to not play the harlot nor have a man, “so, too will I be toward you.” God’s word to and his charge against Israel: 1) There is no truth…or mercy…or knowledge of God in the land.  2) By lying…swearing…killing…stealing…and committing adultery…they break off all restraint…with bloodshed upon bloodshed. 3) Ephraim is joined to idols…Let him alone. 4) They commit harlotry continually. 5) Her rulers dearly love dishonor. God’s Judgment Against Israel: THEREFORE, 1) the land will morn, 2) Everyone will waste away. 3) I will destroy your mother (Israel)  To the priests of Israel:  My people are destroyed for…lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priests for Me…because…you have forgotten the law of your God.  The Pattern – Never Enough:  1) The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me.  2) They eat up the sin of My people.  They set their heart on…their iniquity. 3) They shall eat, but not have enough.  The Cause: Because they have ceased obeying the LORD. The Result/The Warning:  Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.  Principle:  We are responsible for knowing and keeping God’s Word.  We are without excuse…with both His general revelation (Creation) and His particular revelation (His Word.) The Chosen People – and we – refuse to know and obey His Word at our own peril.  Charles Stanley commentary on Hosea 4:10:  When we obey the Lord, He can take a little and make it stretch a long way (2 Kings 4:2-7).  But when we disobey, He can take a lot and make it seem like nothing. (Eccl 6:3-6.) The choice is ours.  Life Principles Daily Bible – pg. 1480  This is also illustrative of today’s proverb (Proverbs 29:18) Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.  But happy is he who keeps the law.

Trusting in the Knowledge of God – Psalm 138:7-8 (Facts: What It Says Summarized) The Psalmist’s State: Walking…in the midst of…trouble.  His Confidence/ His knowledge of God: 1) You will revive me. 2) You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath…of my enemies. 3) Your right hand will save me.  4) The LORD will perfect that which concerns me. 5) Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever.  His Plea and Prayer: Do not forsake the works of Your hands.  Principle: The Psalmist has learned what we have by studying and meditating upon God's Word: to then pray the Word of God and His promises back to Him as we lay our fears, our supplications before God.

Discerning between the Knowledge of God and That of the World – John 4 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized)  John’s Warning to Believers: Beloved, do not believe every spirit…but test…the spirits…whether they are of God or not.  Why? Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Which spirits are of God? 1) Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.  And this is the…spirit of the Antichrist…which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because…He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.   2) They are of the world.  Therefore, they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.  We are of God.  He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.  BY THIS…we…know…the spirit of truth…and the spirit of error.  Reminder to love one another: Again, John reminds us to love one another, as Christ is our example, as love is of God.  1) He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love… 2) and manifested His love to us by sending His only begotten Son into the world…that…we might live…through Him.  3) If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.. BY THIS…we know…that we abide in Him…and He in us…because He has given us His Spirit.  4) Perfect love casts out fear.  5) We love Him because He first loved us. 6) This commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God MUST love His brother also.  Principle:  We become discerning through knowledge of the Word; we become like Christ and manifest ourselves as children of God by loving the brethren, and we are given power to overcome the spirit that is in the world through the Holy Spirit within us. - all because we are in Christ.

My Lessons and Applications – Two close Christian friends of mine taught me this past year to beware of various spirits in the world – even in the church – that are not of God.  I had never – through all the years of deep study of the Bible – ever focused on the different types of spirits.  I just recognized or acknowledged that there was the godly spirit and the evil spirit.  In our readings for today, the following 6 spirits are mentioned:  1) “For the spirit of harlotry caused them…to stray…and they have played the harlot…against God. (Hosea 4:12) 2) The Apostle John acknowledges their presence in the plural: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits…whether they are of God. (1 John 4:1); and then the following: 3) the Spirit of God (1 John 4:2), 4) the spirit of the Antichrist (1 John 4:3); 5) the spirit of truth (1 John 4:6) 6) the spirit of error (1 John 4:6).  A search online reveals numerous articles that cite the various good and evil spirits mentioned in the Bible.  Each year as I go through the Bible in a Year, I feel the Holy Spirit leading me to focus on particular subjects that will be important in my walk of my faith.  This will be one of my focuses next year – being aware of and discerning the various spirits mentioned in the Bible that I see manifest around me.

The saved should look for victories through them. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37  We will dethrone the powers of darkness in this world through our faith, zeal, and holiness.  We will win sinners to Jesus. We will overturn false systems of belief.  We will convert nations, “for God is with us” (Isa. 8:10), and thus no strategy against us will stand.

Even now, Christian warrior, sing the battle song and prepare for war.  “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) Charles Spurgeon: Morning and Evening