The Spirit of Pride AKA Leviathan By MaryEllen McCloud
I will say that Leviathan is one spirit that I encounter on an almost hourly basis. It is so easy to spot on facebook for sure. Just tell someone that they are misguided about the latest facebook scam post that they are spreading around, and you will surely feel their wrath 3 seconds later. Wow, we have become a people who just do not want to look into the truth about much of anything before we post it as fact as well. Do we think that we are not guilty just because we choose to be ignorant about the messages we spread around. Ignorance is not a viable excuse to God. He gives us plenty of ways to gain knowledge; both in the natural and spiritually. Gossip is a nasty beast that all people are guilty of, but few see passing around wrong information as gossip. It does not matter if you believe it to be true.. A lie is a lie. When we think this lie is less important than another, then we miss the integrity and character that God desires us to walk in. If we are known to not be truthful or careful in our actions in the small and insignificant areas, then how will anyone take us seriously in all other matters. People see far more than we think that they do. Mistakes happen and there should be grace, but know that what you do on an everyday basis has weight and matters to God.
In all the years, I have not called pride out in the open. I have seen plenty of others doing it, but for some reason, I didn't think that I should. Many years ago, God was increasing my anointing for psychotherapy. He was showing me an even deeper level into what was going on in the spirit realm with people that I was helping. Within this knowledge, I began to understand why the Holy Spirit never urged me to deal with Leviathan.
Job 41 (read the whole chapter) describes a battle of this nature so precisely and verse 8 couldn't be any plainer. “Lay your hand on him; Remember the battle [with him]; you will not do such [an ill-advised thing] again!"
Many Christians believe they can take authority over the enemy anytime they choose. The truth is far from this. The biggest problem is that they hear others doing it and think it is some job of theirs. But they fail to learn about how do actually do spiritual warfare God’s way and thus reap the consequences when they are not protected from attacks. God will not protect us when we are out of His will or authority structure.
I have a simple rule: If God did not tell me to deal with that problem, then I don’t. It does not matter if I find the cause worthy or not. God is the One who has my back, and if He is not telling me to do something, then I will not go in without Him. Not everything is my assignment even if others think that it should be. It does not matter about my mantles or anointings. God has the final say as to whether I will take on that task or not. My good intentions mean nothing if God will not stand with me.
I posted this video before, and I want to add another one.
John Paul Jackson did an excellent teaching on Spiritual Warfare and has a book that goes into more depth, “Needless Casualties of War”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG2rnSSC08M
Katie Souza just did a video post on Leviathan that will help you deal with this spirit appropriately. You can find this video on her facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/109461955751607/videos/1228592200505238/
The last point I will make is that you cannot do anything against a demon, power, or principality if you have something in common with it.
In Mark 5, Jesus comes along a man that was living among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 7 and screaming with a loud voice, he said, “[c]What business do we have in common with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God [swear to me], do not torment me!”
Understand that God does not mention anything in the Bible that will not give us clues to a more in-depth revelation. When we think of tombs, we think of dead things from the past. This man was being tormented by his past; mistakes, sins, regrets, missed opportunities- you name it. Gateways were opened to his wounded soul which the demons attached to because they had the legal right. Remember, the right to our soul was given to the enemy at the Garden. When we are wounded, he then gains the legal right to us. Notice that no one could bind him. This is also a spiritual problem. If we continue in the passage, we see that after the man was delivered and healed, the people in the town and surrounding areas were afraid and wanted Jesus to leave. Why? Because they were influenced by the same demonic spirits. They had everything in common with these demons and therefore could not bind the man in the natural either. Jesus had “nothing in common” with these demons in verse 7; meaning without a soul wound, in our terms, and therefore had complete authority over the demons because they could not afflict Jesus like they did this man and the people in the area.
Before we go into spiritual warfare, we have to deal with our own issues. Any unrepentant sin and issues not dealt with will impact our ability and effectiveness to help someone else break free. You cannot remove a spirit of offense when you have that same issue. Getting offended at random drivers is all it takes aside from all of the other avenues we have to be offended in a day. You have to be clean of it and the person you are helping must also do their part to repent and forgive, but also ask Jesus to make their soul healed and whole again. This is the part of the Resurrection that people miss. They are great at using the Blood on a sin, but were never taught that it is a the Resurrection that heals them. If you have repented and forgave time and time again and nothing changed, this is the part you are missing. Take that issue before Jesus again and ask Him to heal your soul wound and remove any demons that got attached to that wound.
I will tell you the dangers of just casting demons you have authority of without addressing the soul wound that the demon was attached to in the person you are helping. There are many who only want to walk in a deliverance ministry or others that only want to walk in a healing ministry. It is true that not all healing requires deliverance and not all deliverance requires a healing, but more often than not, you will need both and in the right order. For the demon to leave, you have to deal with the wound first because it is the healing of that wound that removes the legal right that the demon has on that person. When Jesus healed someone, He would make a statement after that indicated what the root cause was. He did not always say that their sins were forgiven. Sometimes it was just faith and belief that healed them.
Matthew 12:41-45
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Here Jesus is stating that when the person is delivered of a demonic spirit, they will come back with more if that gateway is not dealt with and closed. Here Jesus is stating the gateway is sin. Nineveh had repented and thus has the right to stand in judgement, blameless before God.
It does not matter if I have full authority to remove a demon from someone, if they have not done their part, and wounds are not dealt with that are giving the demon authority, all that I do is worthless and even more harmful to that person.
We are wounded by: Sins we do Sins done to us Generation sins passed through our bloodline Traumatic events
We must deal with the condition of our own souls with far more attention than we have been giving this. You cannot flow in your spiritual gifts when you a walking around with a wounded soul and demonic authority in your life. Yes, Jesus came to break all of that, but we still have to deal with the daily and past issues that we have not taken fully to God for healing and restoration. Nothing is automatic. God gives us free-will and will not force anything upon us. We can choose to live in our sin and wounds, and choose not to come before God with any of it. We prosper as our soul prospers.
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Our soul dictates every aspect of our human experiences. Soul wounds affect our physical health, as well as, our emotional health. The Condition of our Soul matters to God. Just do a word search of soul in the Bible. It will be an eye opener.
The number one thing you can do to change the spiritual atmosphere is pray for the hearts and minds of the people to change towards God. This is authority that you can always tap into without being out of God's order. When the people change their mind and turn away, the demonic powers lose their control and power over that region. Again, you are praying for the people and not praying against the demonic powers. There is a huge difference as you will understand if you watch the above videos.
God wants you to flourish. Take time to spend it with God so that you can learn what you must do, not only in your personal life, but also for God’s Kingdom. Be on purpose and for God’s honor, and you will find less pitfalls that you get trapped by.