Ghosts

Ghosts in my room

Ghosts are familiar spirits.

 

Lev 19:31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

What are familiar spirits?  One interpretation of familiar spirits, is that they are evil spirits that masquerade or pretend to be someone that is known to us.  They present themselves as past loved ones and can even replay or re-enact horrific events.

One of the reasons why spirits imitate loved ones is for us to invite them in.  Often people become deceived into believing that the ghost of their loved one has come back from the dead.  However not all ghosts are known to us. You may move into a house where there is an existing spirit.  Spirit’s seem to occupy places where an entry has been created or they can attach themselves to people who have opened themselves up.

Are Ghosts biblical?

1. Ghosts were known to the people of the bible.  Mat 14:26 “When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.”
2. Jesus spoke about ghosts without refuting them.  He drew a distinction between his risen body and that of the form of a spirit Luk 24:39 “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
3. In 1 Samuel 28. The prophet Samuel is called up from the dead by King Saul.  It is the only clear biblical example of an interaction with a ghost.  Some could also argue that the transfiguration is another example of “ghosts” form the Old Testament speaking to Jesus.

Biblical guidelines for what ghosts are

The bible is clear on this – to contact any dead spirit, or spirit another than God is strictly prohibited.

Lev 19:26 … “‘Do not practice divination or sorcery.”

Lev 19:31  “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”

Deu 18:10  “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft…”

Deu 18:14  “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.”

In the new testament, we are taught in Ti 2:5  “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  If there is one mediator, then to contact spirits for seek divine or supernatural aid, would be to use something that is apart from God.

Why is the bible so against people contacting the dead or “entertaining” the dead?

Because, according to scripture, once you have died, you are no longer present to this world. Heb 9:27  “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”  After Judgment, you either go and be with God and therefore will not breaking God’s commandment and communicate with the living, or else you go to the “dark side” from which there is no return. Luke 1627ff gives us a clear example of the rich man who wanted his family to hear about God after he ended up in hell.  If it was possible for him to go and warn then, he would have, instead he begged Abraham to send Lazarus, but Abraham refused to because they have the prophets and the law.

What then are ghosts if they are not humans who have passed on.

They are familiar spirits.  They are demons that mimic and re-enact past events and people.  They can copy specific behavior patterns, sounds, smells and have a clear knowledge of personal private information as we are surrounded by the spiritual realm, which witnesses everything that happens in our world. So when we think we are alone, we are observed, by God, the devil, angels, demons and all the saints who have gone before us. Heb 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…”

The Bible teaches us that Satan can masquerade as an angel of light and pretend to be or copy good. 2Co 11:14  “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”   The enemy is fake and a phony, he pretends to be “good” and offers his “goo”’ all the time – like at Jesus’ temptation, he offered bread, the kingdoms of this world.  He always presents himself as he is not.  Jesus said in John 14:6, “That He is the way, the TRUTH and the life.”  God is who He is with us.  He never pretends, manipulates or withholds from us.  He is open and fully disclosing.  God never misleads us.

The enemy always pretends to help but then later turns that into disaster for us.  Many have at first been pleasantly surprised to experience a familiar noise from a deceased love one.  They may have found comfort from these familiar noises and behaviors.  But with time, these episodes will become more and more disturbing to the point where fear and spiritual turmoil will erupt. It is the same in the case where the “ghost” may not be known to the people who experience. Again, at first it may be dismissed as being their imagination or a harmless soul looking for rest. But in time it will intensify and grow in evil.

Just pure common sense should tell us, that it is neither natural nor healthy to co-exist with ghost.

 

 

PURPOSE OF GHOSTS

Ghosts don’t just want to haunt your house or scare you

John 10:10 tells us the enemy wants to “KILL, to STEAL and to DESTROY” us.

KILL – To kill us spiritually -  to cut off our relationship with God (like Adam and Eve)

STEAL – To steal our identity as God’s children. To steal what belongs to us. To steal our inheritance from God

DESTROY – To destroy relationships/ to destroy or Image and likeness of God

God has armed us to OVERCOME the purpose of the devil (or Ghosts)

2 Cor. 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”

 

Pulling down strongholds –

Strongholds are places fortified by the enemy – places where he controls, and from which he influences and affects our lives – he establishes places where we can’t find breakthrough in our own strength (eg. Addictions / hurts / sin / mindsets / oppressive relationships)

Casting down arguments –

Mindsets that don’t align with God.  Romans 12:2 says that our minds need to transformed.

1 Sam 15:23 – rebellion as witchcraft and arrogance as idolatry – the devil affects the way we think and understand. As the devil influences us, he builds up arguments that move us to a place of rebellion against authority and relationships and even God.  We may become negative and fixated on ourselves and our desires, even to the point where we focus on death.

Every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge –

The enemy gets us to focus on, or reprioritizes our lives so that God is not our highest priority.  We become focused on other things – seeing other things as being more real, more powerful or even more interesting than God. These demonic distractions will eventually lead to fear and loss of hope and control in our lives. We begin to believe and have a sense that God is not real.

Even though the above speaks about the devil, remember ghosts are demons and so their purpose in our lives is to do the same – they don’t want to just haunt.  They want to set up a base of spiritual influence that will continue to grow and strengthen until the enemy is in complete control.  This process is very, very often subtle and takes place over a long period of time.  Not everyone whose house haunts is controlled by the devil, but he certainly has begun to put his foot in the door.

ENTRY POINTS

Spirituality is not contagious – if you sit next to a Christian on a bus, you can’t catch Christianity like you can catch a cold. – People still think this way; millions come to church weekly, throughout the world attending church services believing that it will make them Christians or right with God.

It is the same with the evil, you can’t catch it like a cold – you have to invite it in! You can invite it in without being fully aware that it is evil, because evil doesn’t always present itself as evil.  But still YOU have to invite him in for it to begin to operate. An innocent invitation is still an invitation.

Ways that Ghosts / evil spirits can get into our lives

Direct invitation – direct and deliberate means of contact with these things (Satanism / mediums / divination/ new age practices )

Gross Sin – Continual sin that is clearly prohibited in the bible. Lifestyle of disregard for God – often ethically wrong (especially sinning against the body)

Rebellion – spiritual rebellion that rejects God or the existence of God (Atheism)

Divination – any form of spiritual contact with spirits apart from God (including cultural traditions)

Unanswered Oppression – Any form of unanswered oppression that may exist in or over our lives.

The devil’s choice – Jesus was tempted by the devil – he was without sin – sometimes the devil goes for us deliberately.

Objects / Beliefs / and cultural practices

Objects – no object can be evil on it own – it needs to have a spiritual connection.

Eg – wind-chimes or African art – it can’t be evil if it has no spiritual connection.

What we watch / listen to also can affect us – it is not the DVD or music CD that is evil , but the spirituality / spiritual curse from the artist behind the movie or CD. For example, Heavy Metal is not evil, but if the Band is evil and pray over their music, it will become an entry point.  Your TV is not evil, but u can expose yourself to watching programs that present a lifestyle contrary to God, which can carry a demonic spiritual influence, imparted by the creators, it can open your life to evil because it can challenge your mindset. It doesn’t need to bring a “ghost” or demon into your home, all the devil needs is to get you to start thinking apart from God (Phil. 2:5) Once you begin to think apart from God, the demonic will come.

We don’t need to go hunting for ghosts or evil behind every bush; rather we should be vigilant of evil and open to the guidance and prompting of the Holy Spirit.  If you are not sure of a program or music, then rather don’t expose yourself to it.  God often speaks to us through the voice of the Spirit within us.  If you watch something unaware out of ignorance and you are a Christian, you can’t just catch evil.  This is why it is so important to regularly pray through your home – to pray against any way that the enemy has tried or is trying to enter your home.  Every Christian should pray for their spiritual protection, that is why Jesus included it in the Lord’s Prayer.

Beliefs – any belief which is not in alignment with God can create an entry point if you depend on this believe for guidance, strength or blessing – eg. Astrology, telling the future, masonry, yoga, martial arts, meditation and any form of healing which is spiritual.

Culture – where culture contradicts the bible, the bible needs to supersede culture.  Christianity cannot be mixed with cultural practices; rather cultural practices need to be transformed by Christianity.

 

 

 

REMOVING THE GHOSTS

There is no FORMULA, no BIBLE (niv or nkj or any other kind), no LITURGY, no SYMBOL (including the cross), no HOLY WATER or special PERSON, no other SPIRIT, nothing but Jesus Christ.

It is only in JESUS CHRIST and through His presence in our lives that the enemy leaves our lives.

1 Sam 45:23 ; Romans 14:11 – “ As I live, says the LORD,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

 

Jesus Christ will cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess – even the demons and ghosts

However, this is not the issue

BECAUSE if the ghosts bows its knee and leaves, but we don’t bow our knee to God, we are in trouble…because Jesus teachers us in Matt 12:45

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.   Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Not only should the spirits bow to Jesus, but in order to get rid of them, we need to fill our lives with Jesus.  The focus should not be on getting rid of the Ghost, it should be on filling our lives with JESUS.

How to practically pray.  We use oil to anoint our home – on the door posts (as was done in Exodus) of each room,  making a small cross with our finger – as we do these we ask God to fill the room with his presence.  A sincere heart is what God answers not a ritual.

Ask God to fill each room and help you to live right, invite his angels to guard and minister in each room of your home.  Also if you feel uncomfortable in any room(s) you can command in Jesus name any evil or influence of evil to leave.  Just keep commanding over and over until you feel comfortable.

Do this as a Christian family, and do this regularly in your homes (at least every six months).  Pray over your animals, your vehicles, and your travelling.  Pray over each other, asking God to guard your relationships and to bless your children and their education.  Pray over your pets and ask God to make them a greater blessing to your family (exercise the dominion that God gave us over animals).  Pray that anyone entering or leaving your home would be under the authority of Jesus as they enter your home and that they would not be able to bring into your home or lives any evil from the enemy.  Live for Jesus and He will crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:19b-20).