House Cleaning (Spiritual House Series Part I)

  
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?~1 Corinthians 3:16. 

If you are a born again believer, then you are the temple God resides in. He is omnipresent. Meaning God can be in more than one place at the same time. His Spirit resides in those who are born again. He takes up residence in us. 

We are body, soul, spirit:

We see a body. When we look at people we see flesh. Yet we are more than flesh. We are body, spirit, soul (mind, will, and emotions). They are all connected. The Spirit empowers the body. The spirit, our human spirit, is purified at conversion. We are told to be led by the Holy Spirit. 

The body (flesh) is not perfected. The soul is being renewed, transformed, and made more like Christ. Scripture to support this. 

I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will~Romans 12:1-2. 

…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things,~Phillipians 4:8. 

So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls,~James 1:21 (AMP)

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,~Matthew 26:41. 

There are so many verses that tell us to renew our minds, cast down thoughts and vain imaginations, deny the flesh, be even tempered and self controlled, take every thought captive…

It is true there is evil in the world that impacts the soul and body. Yet our mind requires renewal. Our emotions need the work of the Holy Spirit. Our wills need to be submitted to God. We can still choose to sin after being saved. Our bodies still need to be Spirit led as well. 

Why bring up the body, soul, and spirit? Glad you asked. I’ve read so many things that say we can live however we want because our spirit is saved. We can choose sin; God doesn’t force us to obey Him. Yet there are not many people talking about what sinful choices do to the body and soul. You can keep sinning once saved yet it’s detrimental to do so. Just read Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus said many will claim Him and He will say, “Depart from me I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness.” 

The Bible is very clear, sin brings destruction and death. It’s like a cancerous poison. There’s nothing good about it. 

I’m going to give some illustrations so hope it will be fun and interesting (maybe). 

Let’s suppose you have a shack in the woods. It’s pretty beat up and dead looking. One day a man knocks at the door and says, “Can I come in? I’d love to live here with you and turn this shack into a mansion?” You may think, “What’s the cost?” He smiles at you and shows you His credentials. He’s a King! The King of all Kings. After listening and seeing the enthusiasm in His eyes, you agree to join your life with His for life. 

At that moment He looks around and sees there are so many doors, rooms, filled with who you were before. Some are dark. Some are filled with pain. He smiles because His vision is the best vision. The old you disappears and the new you stands before Him. Your shack becomes a new building. You still look the same on the outside. Some of the rooms still look the same. Yet some are gone. Your place is no longer a dead looking shack it has life. He’s there, this King with you. 

I like how C.S Lewis put it. 

  
You notice over time He’s moving stuff around. There’s transformation happening in your mind, emotions, and will. As you spend time with Him you are growing to want to be like the Master Builder. He’s pulling stuff out of the rooms that aren’t like Him. 

If a person had demonic oppression, addictions, emotional problems, ancestral issues, strongholds, soul sickness, etc…at conversion, that does not mean those rooms in their soul are immediately cleaned out. For some people things are broken off instantly; for some they are broken off as they are delivered. I call deliverance house cleaning/inner healing. 

I had someone tell me the soul was saved so it could not be impacted by an evil spirit. This is not true. I will address in another post in more detail about oppression. 

Here’s a testimony from my life. 

I’ve had many traumas in my life. Won’t bore you with them all. I will tell you about my battle with fear. There’s healthy fear (of the Lord, the body’s natural fight or flight to real danger). And there’s a spirit of fear. It’s an evil spirit that comes to torment, harrass, hinder, bind, and constrict. God’s perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). There’s no need to cast out something that’s like God, right? So fear, like all evil spirits, is an intruder. He tries to set up a room in your soul (mind, emotions, and will) to bring turmoil into your life.

I recall when fear entered by life. It was the day I was taken from my adopted parents and placed back with my biological mother. It was one of the most traumatizing moments of my life. Fear came in and set up shop. I became afraid of so many things. Later in life after breaking off a relationship that man threatened my life. I knew he had partnered with a spirit of rage and the fear in me increased. A year after that I was in a car accident trapped under water, the people who saw the accident left me to die. 911 never came for me. Fear increased to the point of panic attacks and the inability to be in enclosed spaces. The room marked fear was taking up more and more space. Add to that being under a program manager and manager who bullied and harassed me for years without help from Human Resources. Church people who turned on me…and well that room was massive. I did not function normally. I continually thought, “Something bad is about to happen.” Did I have the Holy Spirit? Absolutely. Was my soul sick and oppressed by an evil spirit? Yes! 

Holy Spirit is all powerful: 

Much of my life story is God shows up and does the deliverance. I’ve been blown off by a few Christians and some, though well meaning, had zero clue how to help me. But God knew. One day I was crying out to God for relief from panic attacks. He touched me that day. It was like fire ran through my body and I never had another one. For the other things, fear of loss, persecution, rejection, etc…those were all tackled in process. I would soak in God’s love. I asked for belief of His word as unbelief opens the door for torment. I had some inner healing with trusted mature Christians. That room marked fear has been infiltrated by the incredible love of God. He continues to purge out what’s not of Him! He’s so good. 

There are rooms there at conversion and some we open after accepting Christ that bring torment, addiction, or oppression into our lives. 

Ways we open doors (invite guests other than Holy Spirit): 

Unbelief 

Coming into agreement with lies 

(Fear entered my life because I came into agreement with the lie that God would not protect me. The initial trauma of being removed from my home started a snowball effect. Once I believed the lie, circumstances reinforced the lie. A foothold became a stronghold.)

Unforgiveness 

Bitterness 

Jealousy 

Sexual Sins (fornication, pornography, adultery, fantasy lust, sex outside the covenant of a man/woman in marriage)

Judging others (saying something is not right is not judging a person. Judging a person is to pass sentence on them-God judges (determines the eternal fate of a person.))

Gossip/slander/hate speech/complaining 

Rebellion (against God or those in authority)

Unchecked Anger

Idolatry (worshipping anything or anyone other than God).

Gross sin

Occult Practices 

Drug use

Negative vows 

Sins that are committed against us or traumas can also open doors in our lives. 

What’s the solution: God! 

I recommend starting with God. I ask God to work in my foundation and purge what’s not of Him. I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any lies I’ve come into agreement with or to reveal any hidden idols of my heart. I ask so I can renounce lies and confess my sins before the Lord.

Rescources I recommend: 

The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson 

When the Enemy Strikes by Dr. Charles Stanley

Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer

The teaching series Breaking Free by Beth Moore

Father may we yield our entire lives to You! I pray Your love saturates the heart of each person. May we invite you to clean house. May we surrender every lie we have believed to You! May we renounce partnership with any lie. Forgive us for our unbelief. Replace it with truth and faith. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

You are deeply loved!

Erin 

The Spiritual House (Intro)

  
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain,~Psalm 127:1. 

I love Psalm 127:1. God is central in all things; when He’s not placed at the center it leads to all kinds of terrible things.

If you look around the world, you’ll notice that the majority of problems with humanity are rooted in mankind (humans) being central (exalting their desires above God) and God is often an afterthought. 

Adam and Eve were the first humans to choose doing their will above God’s and it brought sin, shame, death, sickness, disease, separation from God, broken identities, and fractured hearts into humanity. You can read about it here. Genesis 3 (The Fall). One act of choosing to live independent of God’s will led to the corruption of humanity. Thank goodness for Jesus who came to redeem humanity! He came to restore. 

Our world is seeking independence from God and His ways…

There are current campaigns that say, “Everything is permissible. I’m okay, you’re okay.”  There’s also a lack of reverence for God and His ways. 

How do followers of Jesus respond? 

How do we respond rightly to the condition of the world today? How do we deal with the pressing questions of “Is this okay? Did God make me this way? Do I have to stay this way?” What is santification? Why does God provide guidelines for living? Why does He say yes to some things and no to others? Why does choosing our own way lead to eventual destruction? How do we love people without compromising the truth and holiness of God? 

It starts with our own understanding of God and who we are in Him. 

Knowing God and our identity is where it starts. God loves us! Adam and Eve were already like God (created in His image). They didn’t need to eat the fruit. If they had believed 1. God is good and withholds nothing good from us. 2. God’s given us everything we need. 3. We can trust God. 4. God loves us and wants the best for us…then maybe they would’ve made a different choice. 

We are the house God built.  

God handcrafted Adam and Eve. We were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are a spiritual house. Yes, you and I are spirits inhabiting bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 tells us that those in Christ are blood bought children of God. God breathed life into man. Our lives are no longer our own. We are called temples of the Holy Spirit. 

Before we accept Jesus the Bible tells us we are dead in trespasses and sins (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1-2). Without relationship with God, there’s no Holy Spirit and the human spirit has not been forgiven, cleansed, renewed, awakened, or made new. After Christ, we are transformed and being transformed into the image of the Son. God intended for us to reflect Him. 

So what happens when our house is filled with what’s not of God or society says, “You were born this way you must stay this way?” My response, “There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.” 

Our spiritual house is meant to be filled with love, light, joy, hope, faith, truth, purity, goodness, kindness, and the character of Jesus. I wish this process was instant. Some of it is and some of it takes time. We are transformed and being transformed. 

I know many people, myself included, who have had their spiritual house cleansed and rebuilt by God. 

Names changed to protect people… 

There’s John who was addicted to pornography. This brought great pain to his wife and family. Though he did these things in secret, it affected his ability to truly represent Jesus. His heart was divided. God broke the addiction and lust off his life. God restored his marriage. Though He was a born again believer, he had opened a door in his life for demonic oppression, lust, addiction, and self gratification. 

There’s Mary who spent a good portion of her life living as a man. She dated women, lived with women, and had no desire to be who God created her to be. Mary had a radical encounter with Jesus. Mary now lives as a woman and is a radical worshipper. She said coming to know Jesus she regretted her time living as a man. It brought confusion, loneliness, and pain in her life. 

There’s Mark who had told his parents he sold his soul to satan and was threatening to kill others. He was a rageaholic, and his family feared him. Mark had a radical encounter with Holy Spirit and he’s now an evangelist. He’s kind, and last I know representing Jesus well. 

There’s Todd who was a drug addict and dated men. He too had a radical encounter with God and was delivered of drug addiction and no longer dates men. 

There are more stories that I will share throughout this series, including some of my own.

I will say God comes into a house to inhabit it, not leave it the same. At conversion the old man is crucified with Christ. The new man has come. The Holy Spirit then works within to reveal the love, righteousness, holiness, and goodness of God. We come to God as we are. He loves us purely as we are. He loves us so much He works within so we are transformed into original design, pre-fall. 

I hope you stay tuned for this series! I hope it gives you hope that God loves you and there are no hopeless cases

When God is invited into every area of our lives and we yield to His leading there are so many good things that take place…May we receive His great love, believe Him, believe who we are in Him, pray to Him (He responds to “God help”-I pray this prayer), and yield to His leading. 

You are deeply loved and prayed for. 

Love in Christ, 
Erin