I was leading a lady through the Steps to Freedom when she suddenly reacted in fear. I asked her what she was hearing or seeing in her mind. She said, “You mean you don’t see him there.” “Who,” I asked. She said, “My father, standing right there!” I didn’t bother to look where she was pointing, because I know I wouldn’t see anything. There are people seeing and hearing things that another person, who is present at the same time, doesn’t see or hear anything. How do we explain that?

In the natural realm we have five senses. To hear something there must be a source for the sound, such as a shout from another person or a door closing. The sound is a compression and rarefaction of air molecules. It travels through the medium of air at the speed of sound from the sound source to our ear drums. A signal is sent from the ear drum to the brain. Astronauts cannot speak to one another in outer space, since sound needs the medium of air in order to travel.

In order for us to see anything there must be a light source, such as the sun or a light bulb. Traveling at the speed of light, light rays reflect off a material object back to our optic nerve, which sends a signal to our brains. Light rays can only be reflected off of material objects. So what are these people seeing and hearing? The apostle Paul would answer, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood [material], but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil [non-material] in heavenly places” (Eph. 12). This is not a physical battle discernable by our five senses, it is a spiritual battle for our minds. The battle is not external, it is internal. You don’t win this battle with anti-psychotic medications. The answer is the armor of God. The purpose for armor is to stop penetration.

A frightened child comes into your room and says, “Mommy, there is something in my room!” Most parents would go back to the room and say, “Honey, I looked under your bed and in the closet. There is nothing here, go back to sleep.” You’re an adult, and you saw something in your room, would you go back to sleep? What that child saw or heard was real, even though you couldn’t verify it through your natural senses. The skeptic might respond, “It was just a nightmare.” I’ll say more about that next week.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

I am not the only one dealing with people who are hearing “voices” or struggling with condemning, and blasphemous thoughts. Every psychiatrist and professional counselor is treating patients with such symptoms. They are experiencing a chemical imbalance is their likely explanation. When they don’t have a biblical worldview, or no understanding of the spiritual world, that is about the only explanation they can offer. When an anti-psychotic medication is administered and the voices are stopped or muted, it may seem to verify their diagnosis. But is that really true? Honest questions need to be asked.

How can a chemical imbalance create a personality or a thought? How can neurotransmitters randomly produce a thought that one is opposed to thinking? Is there a natural explanation for that? Did the anti-psychotic medication cure the problem, or did it mask the symptom? If the person stopped taking the medication would the voices still be there? Was the medication just a narcotizing agent, which is why many people take drugs and alcohol? They have no mental peace so they numb the mental confusion with chemicals, only to wake up the next morning a little worse than the day before.

Attend a secular recovery group in a chemical dependency unit and you will hear statements like, Don’t pay attention to that committee in your head, or You have to get rid of that stinking thinking. Is that describing mental illness, or a spiritual battle for the mind? Ask prisoners who are incarcerated for committing a crime what their thought life is like. They will probably tell you, but most people in our churches won’t disclose that. This is Satan’s greatest “scheme.” Since we can’t read each other’s minds, we don’t have a clue what other people are struggling with in their minds.

When I explain this in a church I am usually inundated with questions and requests for help. I had a crowd around me one night when an usher broke through and said they needed me to help a young lady who was desperate. She wouldn’t talk to anyone else. As I approached her she kept repeating, He understands. He understands. She has had two voices in her head that she referred to as guardians since she was three years old. She had attempted to deal with her voices by being a super discipled marine, but that only added to her driven lifestyle. Staying busy was her only means of staying sane, but one can’t do that forever. I met with her the next week, and helped her “submit to God and resist the devil” (James 4:7), and she was free.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

Eve was deceived by Satan and so was David in the Old Testament. Judas and Peter, two disciples chosen by Jesus, were also deceived by Satan. All thought they were doing the right thing. Eve was probably the only one who knew those thoughts weren’t hers.

After Pentecost the church was gaining momentum, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (Acts 2:42.43). They were all filled with the Spirit and speaking the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31), and had everything in common (4:32f). You can be sure that everything good that God does, is countered by Satan. “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostle’s feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it” (Acts 5:1-6).

Ananias could have kept all the property, but he lied and let people think that he had shared all that he owned. That would not normally be considered a capital offense! The discipline seemed to outweigh the crime. Since Sapphira was part of the lie, she died also. Why did God deal so harshly for such an offense? Because God knows what the real battle is, and He had to send a clear message to the early church. If Satan can get God’s children to believe a lie undetected, he can exert some control over them. The apostle revealed the true nature of the sin when he said, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.” The origin of the lie was demonic, and such lies will control you. To be filled implies to be controlled. It is the same word used by the apostle Paul when he wrote, “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). To whatever we yield ourselves to, to that we will be filled (controlled).

Suppose I told you something about yourself or God that was not true and you believed it. Would that have some negative affect on your life? Of course it would. What would the impact be on your life if you believed a lot of lies? Let’s believe the truth that will set us free. It is our choice.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

In my last blog I shared that Satan deceived David in the Old Testament. Like Eve, David believed a lie and the consequences were devastating.  Could that also happen to one of Christ’s apostles? It did! Luke records, “Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve” (22:3). In John’s gospel it is recorded that, “During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him” (Jn. 13:2). Judas was called by God, witnessed the miraculous ministry of Jesus, and yet betrayed Him. How could that happen?

Some may conclude that Judas was just a bad character, and therefore acting out his depraved nature. That may explain why he had stolen from the treasury, but that is not what Scripture teaches. The thought of betraying Christ was put into the heart of Judas by Satan. Having stolen the money is what made him vulnerable to Satan’s schemes (thoughts). When Judas realized what he had done, he hung himself.

Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. Peter said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death. Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me” (Lu. 22:31-34), and that happened.  I believe that Peter had a good heart, as opposed to Judas, which is why Jesus said “when you have turned again.” Jesus knew that Peter would be repentant. It is noteworthy that Jesus didn’t rebuke Satan and prevent him from controlling Peter. The context reveals what right Satan had to sift Peter like wheat? “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest” (Lu. 22:24). Pride comes before a fall.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

There are many divergent views about the second coming of Christ, but most agree that in the latter days there will be false prophets, false teachers, and false Messiahs. Jesus said, “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time” (Matt. 24:24,25). That passage raises an important question. Can the elect (saved) be deceived? There is some ambiguity in that passage, but the apostle Paul was saying yes they can when he wrote 1 Tim. 4:1, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). That is presently happening to believers all over the world. All the testimonies I have shared in my books have come from believers. Can Satan put a thought in our heads is the bigger question? What does Scripture say?

“Then Satan stood against Israel and incited (moved NASB) David to number Israel” (1 Chron. 21:1). How did Satan do that? Did he take on a human form and talk to David through the natural senses? No, those were David’s thoughts, or at least he thought they were. There is the deception. David had a whole heart for God. If he knew those thoughts were coming from Satan, he never would have obeyed them. Satan is not going to tempt a mature believer to sacrifice their babies, or do any other obvious satanic rituals. They would know where is it coming from and dismiss it.

So how would Satan deceive a mature believer like David?  He would tempt him to take his eyes off of God’s resources and focus on his own. David had slain Goliath and wrote in Psalm 33 that “The horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue” (17). David knew that he couldn’t serve God and live a righteous life by his own strength and resources, and neither can we. But Satan incited David to do just that even though Joab asked him not to do so. As a result, judgment came upon Israel and 70,000 died of a pestilence (21:14). It is interesting to note that David’s lapse in judgment came after some major victories (Chapter 20), which is similar to Elijah’s fall after slaying 450 prophets of Baal. Good people can be deceived.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

The co-ed I mentioned yesterday found her freedom in Christ. The root of her problem was abusive parents, and forgiving them set her free. The change was so remarkable that anyone who knew her couldn’t help but notice the change. I encouraged her to direct all questions to me, because I didn’t want her to be the center of any controversy. She was the part-time secretary of the Dean overseeing the School of Intercultural Studies. He called me the next day and said, “I have been instructed to ask you what happened to my secretary.”

At his invitation the three of us had lunch together where he proceeded to give us a cultural explanation of her new found freedom. Being a cultural anthropologist he believed he could explain everything on the basis of culture. Never once did he ask me what I did to help her. It was a strange experience and I told the co-ed to let it pass. We all see life from our own perspective. A psychiatrist would probably see her as schizophrenic, or say she has a chemical imbalance. A psychologist may concur or see her as having a split personality, or inner child of the past. A new age guru or spiritist would see her as a channeler or avatar.

Her ability to point out people’s sins was coming from the voices she was hearing. When she was free the demons were gone and her mind was quiet. Those voices had been her companions for years and she missed them. She had to learn how to live in her new found freedom. She did graduate and became a missionary to Africa where she later married.

I learned a lot from that experience. It was the last time that I dialogued with a demon in another person. When a demon manifests like that the person you are trying to help is being totally by-passed. They won’t recall anything that happened  during that time. Besides getting information from demons is not advisable since they all speak from their own nature and they are all liars. If you pay attention to a deceiving spirit yourself, or through another person, you will be deceived. Why should we want a demon to manifest anyway? That only glorifies Satan. We want to see God glorified and that happens when His presence is manifested. Then everything is done decently and in order.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

Having been a left-brained aerospace engineer, I was not prepared to deal with the spiritual battle for people’s minds when I first went into the ministry. My education was steeped in Western rationalism and naturalism. However, I was never pre-disposed not to believe in the reality of the spiritual world even though I had little awareness of it.  In my memoirs I write about some of my early exposures to the enemy’s tactics, which only heightened my curiosity. A man in our church said to me privately, “Pastor, I have this voice in my head!”  I really didn’t know what that was and even if I did, I wouldn’t have known how to help him. I believed with all my heart that Christ is the answer and that truth would set people free, but how?

When the Lord called me to teach at Talbot School of Theology, I went as a Prof seeking adequate answers. I started a Masters of Theology elective on spiritual warfare, which was breaking new ground at our seminary. The first year I had 17 students, which was a very good number for an elective. The next year I had 23, then 35, then 65 students. Then I opened up the class to local leaders and the numbers swelled to 150 and 250. I started to see the lives of many students dramatically change for the better. During that six year period I personally went through several paradigm shifts.

God was sending me a lot of hurting people and that was probably more due to the fact that I never charged for counseling than it was to my expertise. One student was an undergraduate missions major. She had been in counseling for seven years. She could supernaturally point out other students problems and would make statements like; She is using drugs and he has a sexual problem. She thought that was a gift from God. In our second time together she told me everything her counselor was going to do and say that afternoon. I noticed a slight smile and a hint of pride. I said, “You like having that power over other people don’t you?” The moment I said that another voice began to speak through her.

It was probably fortunate that I had asked my female secretary to sit in with me. The demon spoke through the young lady and said, You can’t make me go and I am not leaving. I said, I can make you go and you are leaving. When the demon said, Where will I go? My secretary said, Not here! I’m sure that was an experience she will never forget. In our next session the co-ed jumped across my lap, grabbed a pencil and raked it across our wrists, breaking the flesh, but not drawing any blood. I thought, Dear God, there must be a better way than this, and God was about to show me that there is. More tomorrow.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

Mental strongholds, flesh patterns, or defense mechanisms have been raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5a). That has happened in the past and will continue if we conform to this world, which we are encouraged not to do (Rom. 12:2). This fallen world can negatively influence us if we let it, and so can the devil. The apostle Paul switches from the past tense to the present tense when he wrote, “and we take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5b). “Thought” in this passage is the Greek word, noema. It is used sparingly in the New Testament, but five times in 2 Corinthians. How it used and translated is very revealing.

The first occurrence is 2:10,11, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs (noema). Other translations say “schemes,” but it is the same word translated as “thought” in verse 10:5. I will have a lot more to say about forgiving others later, but for now keep in mind the seriousness of what the apostle is saying. If we don’t forgive others as Christ has forgiven us, we are giving Satan an opportunity to attack us, and it will be by way of mental assault.

The second and third occurrences deal with people coming to Christ. “But their minds (noema) were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away” (3:14). “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds (noema) of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (4:3,4). Obviously noema is a difficult word to translate (thought, designs, schemes, mind), but the contexts clearly reveals the spiritual assault on our minds as does the last verse where noema is used 2 Corinthians, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts (noema) will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (11:3).”

There is a very sober warning from the Apostle. The fact that good people could be paying attention to an evil spirit and not know it is not a new revelation. The apostle Paul goes back to the beginning of recorded history to make his point. Eve was deceived by Satan and believed his lies and that is happening today as well. Eve was deceived when she had not yet committed any sin. Good people can be deceived, which is why we all have to know the truth.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com   For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

John baptized believers with water, but One greater than John would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Lu. 3:16; Jn. 1:33). Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn. 7:37-39). The promised coming of the Holy Spirit happened when Jesus was exalted at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33).

The resurrected Jesus appeared to many of His followers for forty days and instructed them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 4,8). The Church age began the moment believers received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Even though they saw the resurrected Christ, they could not be witnesses until the resurrected life of Christ was within them. They were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not a cosmic force, He is the third member of the Trinity. God’s Holy Spirit had inspired the Old Testament prophets, moved among God’s people, was present with them in the person of Christ, but is now in them as the Spirit of Christ. The Church or the body of Christ is comprised of those believers who are born-again spiritually with the Holy Spirit bearing witness with their spirit that they are children of God (Rom. 8:16). Every believer upon the simple condition of faith in Christ is reborn (i.e. regenerated, Titus 3:5), baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body (1 Cor. 12:13), indwelt perpetually (Rom. 8:38,39), sealed (Eph. 1:13,14) and given the privilege of being filled by the Holy Spirit continuously (Eph. 5:18).

Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:16). The Holy Spirit is first and foremost the Spirit of truth, and “he will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13), and that truth will set you free (Jn. 8:32). The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to communicate God’s presence to us. Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have the power to live a righteous life. The Holy Spirit will also lead those who are born-again, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). It is extremely important to know this, because the devil will seek to lead you astray. If you know God and His ways, you will not likely be deceived, because the counterfeit will be obvious. We must learn to discern by the Spirit, because the devil is a master deceiver.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com    For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog

This week we are going to look at the spiritual battle for our minds. Before I expose the schemes of the devil, it is important that we understand the superior nature and role of the Holy Spirit. Christ made the New Covenant possible. The Holy Spirit is the One who makes it real in our experience. Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn. 14:26). “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth . . . He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 14:13,14). The Holy Spirit never seeks His own glory. He came to shine light on the death of Christ for our sins, and the resurrection of Christ so that we would have new life. Spiritual pride on our part is contrary to the work of the Holy Spirit. Humility is the evidence of His work in our lives and Christ centered living is the result.

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled” (Acts 2:2-4). When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter immediately associated those spiritual manifestations with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:14-21, Joel 2:28-32).

The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is what distinguishes the Old Covenant from the New Covenant. Israelwas under the law of God, but the Church is under the grace of God. Prior to Pentecost, the presence of God was with them. In the Church age after Pentecost, the presence of God is within them. Old Testament believers had a legal relationship with God. New Testament believers have a personal relationship with their Heavenly Father. The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to testify “with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:16). “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:10).

In the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophets to the people, but in the church age, God personally leads every one of His children, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). God has also gifted every member in the body of Christ, some of whom may have the gift of prophecy, which is to be distinguished from the office of a prophet. The first is a gift, while the latter is a unique person who infallibly and authoritatively communicated the Word of God (Deut. 18:20-22).

Generally speaking, “the day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31) is an idiom used to emphasize the decisive nature of God’s victory over His enemies. Prior to Pentecost, Jesus disarmed the devil, and according to Paul, it is the eternal purpose of God to make His wisdom known through the Church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms which is the spiritual kingdom of darkness (Eph. 3:10-12). The enemy’s tactics are defeated when the children of God speak the truth in love in the power of the Holy Spirit. All the darkness of the world cannot dispel the light of one candle.

Dr. Neil            www.discipleshipcounsel.com    For Spanish see www.ficmm.org/blog