Consuming Ownership or Humbling Stewardship
My wife and I enjoy listening to older sermons and are big fans of Derek Prince. We have been listening to some of his sermons lately. A particular one we recently listened to was on the Nature of Witchcraft recorded in England in October 1988.
He started with a couple of verses from 1 Samuel.
1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”
“Rebellion is a twin of witchcraft and stubbornness is a twin of idolatry.” – Derek Prince
One of the works of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-20 is witchcraft (sorcery). I have always thought of witchcraft as praying to spirits or demons, using Ouija boards, or pushing needles into a doll that looks like someone. After reading the verses in 1 Samuel, the verses below in Galatians 5, and listening to this particular Derek Prince sermon, it seems like witchcraft is far more subtle than we realize.
Galatians 5:16-24
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
We live in a fallen world and have a fallen nature. Christ can and will give us the strength to overcome that fallen nature. But our old nature hates that. Derek Prince describes witchcraft “in its essence is the attempt to control people and make them do what you want by the use of any spirit, which is not the Holy Spirit.”
Our old nature loves control, and we typically will allow our flesh to control as much as we allow it to. It often comes as manipulation, intimidation, or domination of others around us. This type of old nature behavior (among others) can be present in all of us and can leave a destructive and chaotic path behind us. It can break the bond of Christian love that we are to show to others around us (both non-believers and believers). The end purpose of our old nature getting what it desires through control, especially in the context of manipulation, intimidation, and domination.
Pastor Davis had a powerful message recently. One line he spoke especially hit hard in light of this Derek Prince message. During his sermon, Davis quoted another pastor who once said, “Are we consumed by ownership or humbled by stewardship?” It really seemed like the Holy Spirit was trying His best to get this point across to me. When I’m letting my old nature control, whatever it may be, my plans, resources, and my life, or others around me, I’m actually allowing the opening and opportunity for Satan and the demonic to leverage that for their advantage. They absolutely will do anything that they can to get us to give up and give in to the old nature.
Why? Because they know that when we experience Christ’s power of overcoming the world, the flesh, and Satan, the heart position we are in will actually lead us to be ready to become His bride. Something that the devil and his minions will never get to experience. Satan in his pride wanted to be made like the most High. He tried to do this himself – which is control. Through Christ and positioning ourselves as humble servants He will prepare us to be one with Him by allowing Him to make us more like Him each day (living sacrifice). Satan attempted this process in his own power. Satan attempted to get something outside of the authority and submission structure God set up and that is what caused him to fall like lightning from heaven. Now he does everything he can to get us to attempt Christlikeness without Christ because he knows it doesn’t work and desires to take anyone down with him that he can.
Our flesh will never be able to perfect us no matter how much we attempt to let it do so. Christ was revealed to us by the Spirit. Now do we in our suffering try to perfect ourselves in our own strength? No! By faith we hear the word of God, allow the Spirit to animate us and that is counted to us as righteousness! Hearing God’s word without doing is living in deception.
James 1:22
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Doer, Greek = Poietes, a maker, producer, author, doer, perfomer
God expects us to kill our flesh so that Christ can produce the word of God through us so we can perform the word. Christ is the word made flesh! Christ is the only one that can perform the word, our role is to put our old nature to death. So when we see the flesh rearing its ugly head, and wanting to take control, especially controlling our plans, resources, life and others around us, remember that living outside of God’s authority and submission process is rebellion. And rebellion is a twin of witchcraft. I’m not saying that we are actively pursuing some of the more mainstream ideas of witchcraft, but in allowing our old nature to control we are actually allowing the will of Satan to move us rather than the will of God to move us.
Yes we will fall and fail, we are human. Get back up, ask for a strong believer to help you up, look at your Savior, repent, and get under His Lordship to experience how He can rule your plans, resources, and life to bring forth His life through you.
Returning back to 1 Samuel we can see that obedience is better than any of the physical sacrifices happening at the temple. To listen to His word is better than the savory smell of the fat burning on the alter. Why? God desires obedience. The effect of obedience is tied to a living sacrifice in the unseen realm of our hearts. When we listen and obey He receives a sacrifice that actually is pleasing to Him! This is living in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Christ is the momentum that we need. He is the one to animate us. He is the one to speak through us. We need to let it happen.