A source refers to a thing or place where something is originally obtained. A resource however is a stock of supplies or information that can be used to perform a particular thing or function. Over the years, Satan has toiled tirelessly to provide resources that can create a parallel world to what The Almighty God, the source of all good things, promises for mankind.
One of the conversations I wish to engage in is the rise of counterfeit worship in the church of Jesus Christ, the resources that have risen from it and their functionality which appears as full of light. In Paul warns that this practice is no surprise seeing ‘Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light’. Because he has the liberty to transform into such a light, many believers are deceitfully drawn to these parallel resources that may seem as light, or as enlightening, without realizing that they are worshiping and sacrificing to other gods, out of ignorance.
It is written that God’s people perish for lack of knowledge and the mandate upon every true believer is to seek diligently, for their finding is a guaranteed reward and to bear witness of that which they found and the end of this is that all should come to the saving knowledge of truth (
1. Yoga
… don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. MSG
The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning ‘to join’, ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’. Sanskrit is a sacred language for hinduism, as we have Hebrew and Greek for the Bible. In Greek, the word ‘yoke’ means to unite two elements to work as ‘one unit’. According to Yogic philosophy, this is a practice intended to unite individual consciousness to universal consciousness, that is mind-body-man and nature.
It is also viewed and often defined as a technology or practice that aligns the individual with the universe as a means to achieve the highest level of perception by your inner being, or otherwise called enlightenment. Scripturally, it is written that it is not in man to know himself hence the need to be guided and what better than by the one who made man? Such doctrines or schools of thought are found wanting because there is a heavy reliance on man who has already been proven not to have his ways in himself. Beyond that is also a reliance on nature and creation which causes a dissonance in the divine order in which man is to have dominion over creation. When man demands dominion from creation by worshiping it, as many schools of hinduism and universal consciousness teach, deception is unavoidable for creation was wired to be the one placing its expectation in man and not the other way around.
In our theme scripture, we read that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation on which we ought to ponder and meditate on day and night. In other words fill ourselves with, sate our minds with, that we may be aligned in practice to what it says and therein is a promise tied to that instruction: you will succeed. It was never God’s intention for you to be emptied with no intention to be filled. When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we put to death the person filled with all fleshly manner and put on the instruction of the Spirit that has raised us in Christ and we begin to be filled with the things that are good, commendable, noble, true, and worthy of praise
When it comes to practices such as yoga, it is often presented as something that benefits your health, balance, and improves your posture. However, it carries a heavy spiritual aspect to it making it a discipline that encourages emptying your mind and soul of everything and being self conscious of your body as a gateway for intuition – what is referred to as the buddhist practice of ‘zen meditation’. These meditations consist of emptying one’s mind and soul while the meditation and pondering of scripture paired with prayer actually fills one’s mind and soul.
There is never a time where a man’s soul and mind can or should be empty because we are made after the likeness of God in whom is fullness of the Godhead When we participate in the exercise to be emptied, we are simultaneously participating in tidying up for the next thing that will fill us and yoga is one of the gateways to certain spirits notably the kundalini power – which is the serpent power, from whence it derives its origin.
“When a defiling evil spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone, it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return it finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse off than if he’d never gotten cleaned up in the first place. “That’s what this generation is like: You may think you have cleaned out the junk from your lives and gotten ready for God, but you weren’t hospitable to my kingdom message, and now all the devils are moving back in.” MSG
Jesus gives a perfect example of what happens when a man has been emptied for the glory of God to be made manifest in him but neglects the active participation to be filled with things ethical and divine. This is done through The Word, spiritual disciplines, and the fellowship of the saints. Carnality and spirituality are like two contenders in a boxing match. The one who has been fed the best, trained the most both physically and theoretically is set to win the match. The same is for us. When we feed the carnal man which is mainly concerned about physical relationships and the desires of the flesh, we will harvest every fruit that comes from nurturing the latter. When we choose to feed the spirit man on the other hand, the pleasures that sustain the carnal man grow strangely dim. You inevitably find yourself in a state of dissatisfaction with things that starve the soul and as told in you are conscious of a hollow space in your heart that needs to be filled and the Bible is exclusively clear on what or who is able to fill it – God Himself.
In our example in we see that a demon was cast from an individual. Upon this cleansing by the power of the spirit, this individual was given a clean slate to fill their brand new soul with The Word, community and fellowship but they did not do so. Remember what Paul tells us in ‘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, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled’. The high things Paul is talking about are not necessarily physical or detectable by our physical eyes.
Demons (or evil spirits) do not operate without a body so they roam about seeking for a dwelling to perform their evil agendas until they find a body to possess. That is also true for the Holy Spirit if it must dwell in the earth it needs a terrestrial body to function through. Thus, the spiritual realm cannot be fought or accessed with physical tools like microscopes, telescopes, guns, rods or neutralizers. An empty man as in our scripture is one that does not have the correct tools that were created to concur this realm that is not physical although they wear a terrestrial/ physical body. The lack of these tools expose such a man to be manipulated by the evil rulers, principalities, and powers that rule the darkness in the world
In a nutshell, every Biblical truth must be accompanied with a pattern and a principle in order not to fully equip the beholder. Satan knows this and by his cunning craftiness he seeks to gauge how much you, the believer – know your stance of authority and dominion. We see an example of this when he tempted the Son of God in the wilderness but Jesus did not budge and responded with the word and a pattern Understanding scripture requires a purity of heart and a submission to seeing the way of God above your way and comfort. Any other way can easily drive you down the path of deception.
Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. KJV
If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, and you feel that this is the perfect time, pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I thank you because you died for my sins and you were raised for my glory. Today, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I am born again. Amen.”
