Message
For everything we do, whether it is something we are saying, an action we are taking, or a decision we are making, there is a spirit within us influencing it. In , Peter was saying to Jesus Christ in one moment that He is the Christ, to which Jesus Christ said flesh and blood could not have revealed it to him, implying that only the Spirit of God could have revealed that to him. Not long after, the same Peter said to the Lord, “You will not die,” and the Lord turned to him and said, “Get thee behind me satan.” This tells us that we must always check what spirit is influencing our actions. You can be a powerful man of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, and still be influencedby the devil.
When you read in that you should test all spirits, don't just conduct tests on the spirits in other people; conduct a test on the spirit influencing you too. Check the things that you are doing, saying and believing; check if they are in line with the Spirit of God.
How do you check what spirit is influencing you? says:
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Check the fruits you are bearing. Check if they are in line with the fruit of the Spirit in .
If what you are doing does not show love, you are not being influenced by the Spirit of God. If you are doing something that is opposed to peace, it is another spirit influencing you. If a Christian decides to do something outside the will of God because he or she does not want to suffer for God's will, he or she is following the will of the devil.
Beloved, you must always check what spirit is influencing you at every point in time. Agood way to know is to check if your decisions and actions are in line with the variousexpressions of the fruit of the Spirit listed in . If you are not born again, you should surrender your life to Christ so that you can be influenced by His Spirit. If you are a Christian and your decisions and actions do not reflect the fruit of the spirit, retrace your steps to being influenced by the Spirit of God only.