LESSON ELEVEN: Final Words

If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
(Psalm 66:18 )

Throughout this course you have learned about being in right relation and in covenant with God.  This is mandatory if you want to work in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Consider Psalm 66:18 as written just above.  Scripture is clear that if we carry sin in our heart God will not hear us.

Telling lies is so easy we often do it and not even realize it. Gossip and slander of other people, ministries and denominations are almost second nature to many of us.  We are thieves.  The list is long and we often fool ourselves as we cloak things in false righteousness.  Consider closely the following scriptures:

Romans 1: 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”   

DANGER

Many ministries and ministers begin with clean hearts and strive to operate only within the will of God.  Unfortunately, some of these change with time.  We must always realize that:

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

You learned in the lessons on Deliverance Ministry that Satan is a liar and a terrorist.  One trick of the enemy is to use mostly truth in a teaching but to include a small deception.  That small deception of the enemy could be a spiritual death.  You must be prayerfully discerning in the books you read and the people you listen to.  However, with all this in mind, do not fall into the trap of speaking negatively about any pastor, minister, church, ministry, or denomination.  At best this is gossip, possibly is full of lies, and is wrong.  You cannot become a part of this and be in right relation with Christ.  If you hear this or see this, go somewhere else and do not partake in it.

2 Corinthians 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

These are verses we like to ignore, but we must always remember that God is a righteous judge.  On the other hand it is just as important to know God as love.  He loves each and every one of us more than we can possibly know.

Take what you have learned here and go in the joy of the lord, laying hands on the sick and infirm, spreading the great love of God through healing and miracles.