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n revealing the symptoms of the psychotic and


 

neurotic, we establish the effects of demonic


 

affliction.  In the case of psychopathy the personality is seriously defective.  There is no mental or emotional stability and they cannot adjust to society.  The psychotic often builds castles in the sky and lives in them, while the neurotic is a person who has mental or emotional disturbances conditioned from past experiences. The neurotic often fantasizes; they have vain imaginations and preconceived ideas. He is apt to daydream and build castles in the sky but he doesn't live in them.

 

 

ANXIETY STATES

 

EXPRESSION OF PSYCHOSES

 

Prolonged depression or melancholia

 

Resignation to failure or misfortune

 

Habitual gloominess, morbidity and negativeness

 

Apathy - boredom and indifference

 

Introversion - persons spending a long time alone

 

Self-accusation of sins they may or may not commit

 

Contemplation of suicide

 

Living in a fantasy world

 

A continual flight of ideas

 

Attitudes are irresponsible, unpredictable, undependable and unreasonable

 

Delusions and hallucinations

Moods change quickly and frequently

Emotions may be violent and aggressive

a. Hate  b. rage  c. resentment  d. jealousy  e. suspicion 

f. envy  g. malice

 

The extreme may occur, this is characteristic of the manic-depressive psychotic

 

a. Joy  b. Happiness  c. Exhilaration  d. Optimism

 

 

EXPRESSIONS OF PSYCHONEUROSIS

 

 

Chronic fear or dread

 

A condition of morbid anxiety

 

Apprehension - viewing the future with dread

Consternation - amazed dismay and confusion

Panic - sudden fright

Hysteria - a nervous loss of emotional control

Strong nervous tension

A person living and working as a frenzied pace

Insomnia - prolonged or abnormal sleeplessness

 

Difficulty in making decisions

 

Feelings of inadequacy or immaturity

May have the fear of failure or success

 

Hypersensitivity - excessive or abnormal sensitivity

 

Irritability or impatience

 

Ill humored, argumentative, defiant, negative, always defensive and critical of others

 

Self pity and desire for attention

Hypochondria - depression of mind usually centered on imaginary illness

 

Feeling mistreated, misunderstood, misrepresented and disliked by others

 

Self-centeredness or self-love, narcissism

 

These individuals are difficult to counsel because they may lose attention, or the spirits closely identify with the individuals, and it is hard to differentiate between the personality and the spirit.

 

Compulsive thoughts and behavior

 

Phobias - an irrational persistent fear or dread

Obsession - preoccupation with a feeling or idea

Lying, deception, arson, infidelity, kleptomania

Preoccupation with peculiar and strange ideas

 

Anxiety states of the psychic realms caused by the demonic

 

Extreme bed wetting

Self will

Sexual perversion or lack or restraint

Fits of temper

Gossip

Blasphemous thoughts

Feeling of revenge

Sleep walking

Suicidal thoughts

Quarreling

Addiction

Nightmares

Alcoholism

Unforgiveness

Hallucination

 

 

SIMILARITIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEMONIC AFFLICTION

 

Characteristics Of Demonically Afflicted And Oppressed In Contrast To The Mentally Ill

 

     1. Demonized persons do not refer to oppression.  They are usually ignorant of any Satanic influence.  The individuals may be aware or indulge spiritual influences but do not consider them evil.

 

     2. They often speak several languages, possess special knowledge, and super-human strength.

 

    3. They avoid Christian contact, prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship.  They curse God or Christian symbols and

have a compulsion to disturb Christian meetings.

 

     4. Mental illness is likely when there has been no direct occult involvement, association with a cult, or a long term commitment to obvious sin.

 

     5. The mental ill and spiritually afflicted both hear voices and speak to strange beings:

 

        a. The demonic opposes anything Christian

        b. They encourage moral living but assert it is not necessary to trust in God, prayer or the Word.

        c. They scoff at forgiveness and the plan of salvation

 

6.       The mentally ill express their thoughts fervently, the oppressed has to be urged.

    7. The mentally ill is always ill while the spiritually afflicted are not. The demonically oppressed may have occasional signs of mental and emotional abnormality.

 

      8. The mentally ill will speak in extravagant tones about the demon.  The oppressed avoid mention unless someone approaches on a spiritual level.

      9. The oppressed resists Christ and repentance.  The mentally ill may involve themselves in the subject.

 

Suicidal Tendency

 

     1. A person may be prompted to suicide as a result of mental depression and confusion  built up over a long period of time.

     2. Demonic influence is sometimes direct and obvious:

        a. Suicides are generally sudden and with no apparent reason for them.  Depression is not even present.

 

        b. May be the result of occult involvement causing resistance to the gospel and salvation.

 

        c. A person may be plagued with thoughts of self-destruction and place themselves in constant danger.

 

Psychological Blasphemy

 

     1. The demonized do not repent, there is no sorrow or weeping for sins.

 

     2. The mentally ill has regret or remorse.  They are normally obsessive/compulsive.

 

     3. If one expresses regret, its reason is to dismiss oppression

 

4.       The mentally ill will attribute the problem to demons

 

 

The Problem Of Epilepsy

 

          Some Christians have tried to attribute epilepsy to the demonic.  It is true that a demonic person can express themselves by an epileptic type seizure.  However true epilepsy is a neurological problem.  There is a consistent abnormal brain wave     pattern revealed when tested.  The distinction between the epileptic and oppressed can easily be seen in the following scripture:  'Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.’  -- Matthew 4:24

          This new testament verse clearly classifies epileptics separately.  These people need the expert advice of a Christian psychiatrist and neurologist to determine the root cause of their problems.  As a lay person, it is in the best interest of the person to refer them to a professional.  The Lord is willing to heal anyone and He is able to perform all that we ask and more.

 

The Problem Of Schizophrenia

 

          Schizophrenia is a mental disorder.  A splitting in the personality marks its affliction by the loss of contact with reality, personality disintegration, and often hallucination.  The person who is schizoid will develop an ever increasing number of manias and delusions.  There is a gradual deterioration.  The demonic is oppressed and will experience some visual and auditory hallucinations.

          There is also a problem of counselors who have not surrendered their lives to the Lord.  There are those who want to jump in without the leading of the Holy Spirit.  In the church, as in the world, there are rebels, avoid them. For any counselors, the best advice is to get some form of medical training or attend classes on counseling.  We need to make use of every talent.  This includes reasoning, common sense, past experience, and most of all a heart that is born again or filled with the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, there will be problems for the people that we minister to and those who minister to them without the Lord’s direction.

          When a person is counseling, there is a possibility of coming in contact with people who are unable to exercise their own free will.  This does not mean a sure case for possession, oppression, or spiritual affliction.  There are other reasons for a person to be unable to exercise free will.  We have to be responsible.  They need to be diagnosed by professionals of the medical field.  The condition may be due to an organic, functional, mental or emotional disorder.  In any case we can still pray for them and ask the Lord to step into their lives to heal them.  When we are sure a person is in spiritual bondage through the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, we need to pray for ourselves, and then let Him lead us in our prayers.


 

SYMPTOMS OF SPIRITUAL DETERIORATION

 

The following symptoms of spiritual deterioration call to Christians to help others in their extreme need for understanding, compassion, a listening ear, prayer, and teaching.  The basic symptoms of spiritual oppression are:

 

1)  Indifference against one’s will to the Word of God, prayer, praise, worship and spiritual matters in general.  A person may lose a sense of value from spiritual oppression, they may lack concentration in relation to the Holy Bible, and avoid Christian fellowship.

 

2)  A person may have persistent doubts concerning scripture.  This will make it difficult to exercise faith.  This type of doubt will often lead to fear and bondage.  It will be difficult for them to overcome the fear and they may need intercessory prayer to set them free.

 

3)  Delusions, heresies, and religious errors will accompany people whose lives held a good foundation in Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior.  The  symptoms of these oppressed people are fanaticism, hardness of heart, or cynicism, and opposition to authority in the church.

 

4)  A recurring inability to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when elders lay hands upon a person.  It is a misconception if we believe a person who doesn't immediately receive the gift of tongues has not received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  There is a difference between the gift and the baptism.  The Scriptures reveal this:

 

Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. ‘If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ --John 20:21-23

 

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; ‘for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’  -- Acts 1:4-5

 

‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’  --  Acts 1:8

 

Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy

Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit

gave them utterance. -- Acts 2:1-4

 

          Those of us who do not manifest this gift of the Holy Spirit should not be concerned or alarmed.  When a person comes to the Lord they only need to reveal the fruits of the Spirit by their testimony of an inward change of heart.  The importance is that there is a change in their value system from a carnal viewpoint to a spiritual one.  The Holy Spirit will add on the gift when He knows they are ready to use it.

 

5)  A resistance to the reality of the occult and spiritual realm.  The usual cause of this symptom is a lack of knowledge.  A person knows the Scriptural basis and deception blinds them into believing there are no demons.  Deal with the deception by exposing the reality of spiritual beings working in there lives.  Another way is for them to renounce any form of occult involvement.  When they do repent, the release they experience from the anxiety of not worshipping the Lord will convince them.

          The love of God revealed through Jesus Christ has again provided for the healing of our spirits too.  Our healing begins with prayer and supplication through the intercessory prayers and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Forming a prayer chain can help accomplish this step.  This is a group of people who will let the Holy Spirit lead them into battle so to overcome the lies of the enemy.  We do this to show them the Scriptural basis for receiving the promises of God, and to reveal the errors preventing restoration.  If a person is not in direct opposition to God, the prayers will easily set them free.  Then with their lives balanced through the Word of God they can receive direction from the Holy Spirit and resume where they left off on the stairway to heaven.

          While Jesus Christ can set us free, we need to remember it is by the grace of God that we have deliverance from the enemy.  When Jesus died on the cross, God gave Him the authority and took away the keys of death and hell from the enemy.  We are free from the power of death, that is the power of sin, to walk according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  This is the only way to please God.

          Fortunately, God the Father accepts Jesus’ death as an atonement for all of our sins -- past, present and future.  He knows that we are only human and will not always resist the temptations before us.  For He so loves us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us of all unrighteousness. But if we continue to sin, we can expect to be disciplined.

          God requires us to hold fast to our profession of faith by remaining in His Word, faithful to His Spirit, and by showing love for the brethren.  As a witness to this covenant, He has sent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of adoption, into our lives as a deposit until He redeems us totally.  He is the very same supreme being that gave Jesus the power of His resurrection, and is in us waiting for the trumpet call of God to change us in a flash-in the twinkling of an eye-to be with the Lord forevermore.  Amen!

          Before we can truly come to maturity, we all have to come to the understanding and know in our own hearts that we are no longer slaves to sin.  To help us comprehend what it means to become a son or daughter of God and an heir to the promises found in the Holy Bible, please, take to heart the following godly advice:

          Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. --2 Ti 2:22-26

 

Examples Of Progressive Spiritual Deterioration

 

          Oppression over a long period of time can result in depression when a person yields through this weakening process to temptation and continues to sin.  For this reason we must consider oppression to be as dangerous as depression.

          As a precaution within any fellowship we need to extend the arms of warmth and friendship.  Our love for one another is lived out by giving unselfishly to each other for the strengthening of the body.  To be more hospitable and take care of each other is not spiritual; it is only what we can see in the world.  As my pastor would say it, 'We need to become vulnerable.'  Then we will find our place in the body where we are usable, and our local church will become our 'Home Sweet Home'.

          When trials and tribulations come our way, depression can follow and we become useless to the body.  There is a trend to regress if we don't understand that the problems of life are there to get us to move on, to grow, or, to change.  They are not a punishment from God.  Some people believe this, but they are wrong.

 

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. -- James 1:2-5.

          We don't really have an option when trials come our way. God knows what we need and He loves us enough to take us all the way through any problem we may face.  If we understand this we can walk with our hand in His and overcome any obstacle in life.  If we resist we will only have to face the problem later on.  Until then, we can expect to continue going around the mountain again and again.  Get the point!

          When a person becomes unteachable and they continue to go through the valley, life can be pretty depressing.  In this weakened condition the enemy can begin the attack again and continue dragging them through the mud.  To intercede for them we need to pray through for them.  This means to continue in prayer until the Holy Spirit gives us a release in our own spirits.  To correct the situation, we need to lift the person up in prayer and stay the course.  If we have genuine concern, we will lay our life down, pick up our cross and pray until their is a confidence

in our heart that God is intervening for them. 

          Experience is always the best teacher, but a wise person learns from others' experiences.  From the scriptures we have an innumerable amount of such testimonies of how God can give us wisdom through other peoples' trials and tribulations.  The following study will deal with these occurrences of people who suffered some form of spiritual deterioration:

      Now Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus and the apostles; even with his knowledge of the Lord and witnessing of the miracles, he betrayed our Savior.  Judas did not submit his life to God and become obedient, but remained a thief.  He continued to walk in sin and Satan possessed him.  This is very evident in the word of God:

 

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.    -- John 12:3-6

 

And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, -- John 13:2

When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’    -- John 13:21

 

Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, ‘Lord, who is it?’  Jesus answered, ‘It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.’ And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.  Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’ -- John 13:25-27

 

          Satan deceived Judas because of his unyielded heart.  It was through his unbelief and constant willful sin.  He lived according to his corrupt nature.  Therein, the father of lies took possession of Judas' soul.  The devil had the right because he was serving him until the end.

          It is not enough to serve God's permissive will.  Baptism alone does not save anyone.  We are to walk in the way of the Spirit.  Being 'born-again' is a process, we have to have knowledge and we have to be obedient to it.  It is a rebirth of water and of Spirit.  The Holy Spirit in our daily walk is the only way we can properly mature.  The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a matter of believing we have it.  Salvation is an everlasting event that is the start of an intimate relationship.  We know that He is living in our hearts because of the anointing we continually receive throughout our walks.

          Satan deceived two early believers and then they lied to the Holy Spirit.  Their unrepentant sin cost them dearly as we can see:

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife,

sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? ‘While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?’ And she said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.    -- Acts 5:1-10

 

Even being baptized doesn't free us from the bonds of iniquity if we have unrepentant sin.  Simon believed and was baptized but he had not received the Holy Spirit.  He was still unworthy and unclean because of his past unrepentant sins.

 

 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! ‘You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. ‘Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ‘For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.’ Then Simon answered and said, ‘Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.’    -- Acts 8:13-24

          Surely, Peter did pray for Simon.  Did his heart change?  It is for us to surrender our heart to God as individuals.  Simon's mistake was a common one.  Today many people still fail to realize that money or possessions cannot secure the blessings of God.

          God wants to bless us.  Remember, He first loved us and this He revealed by sending His Son to die for us even while creation was in sin.  Jesus will redeem us from sin and give us the power over sin.  All we have to do is ask for a change of heart and ask God for repentance.  Then we will be able to give up our own selfish ambitions and allow God to transform our lives into the image of His Son.  So when we pray, 'thy will be done', if we would surrender our life to Him, He will set us free from the worries and fears in the world.  Then we will have the confidence in Him to overcome any trial or tribulation coming our way.

          The obstacles in our path are there so we can lean on God, His Word and rely on the Holy Spirit.  We need to learn to trust God as much as He wants to trust us.  Faith in God is one of the foundation stones of Christian living.  We can lean on our own understanding and that is just what we will get.  Or, we can be obedient to God's word and receive the blessing.  God loves us and will time things perfectly.  Jesus will never allow an obstacle in our life we cannot overcome or a temptation we cannot resist if we trust in Him to live through us.

          Jesus commissioned Saul of Tarsus, whom the Lord renamed Paul, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.  While he was serving the Lord, God decided to use Paul for an example of how sufficient His grace is to take us through any trial.  Paul became a model of devotion and praise because of the things he suffered:

 

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am

strong.    -- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

 

          We all have to make the decision to trust in God and walk with Him as individuals.  It is not for us to question or judge the works and ways of God.  He is the creator.  God expects us to trust in Him.  To help us, He has given us of His Spirit as a witness to our hope, to wit, the redemption of our bodies.  By the grace of God we have received the gift of faith.  Our faith in God, and the leading of the Spirit, will take us through any trial or tribulation ahead. Through the word of God and His leading, He will bring us step by step and glory to glory, into the everlasting knowledge and kingdom of His Son.  As we mature we will see how God is working all things out for our good as we learn to walk according to His will and for His

purposes.

          At some point in our walk we may suffer from some sort of spiritual affliction.  This may happen because we have hardened our heart.  It happens in a non-believer's heart to break up the fallow ground so they might receive some of the water of the word and call upon Him.  All these things happen to get us to trust in God again after we stop walking in the light.  He cares and loves those who oppose Him, so then how much more do you think He will do for us who have called upon Him.  Our God is a God of miracles.  He is standing at the doors of our hearts waiting to miraculously heal us.  Whatever the reason is, the cure is the same, repentance from any sin in our life and breaking the curse of iniquity.  We can all find freedom by making a commitment to taking up our Cross and by letting our Lord Jesus Christ set us free to walk with the Holy Spirit.