Spiritual Discernment: How to Overcome Curses, Spells and Witchcraft

Learn how to spiritually discern and overcome curses, spells, witchcraft, and black arts sorcery. This information provides insight into how to identify and overcome spiritual witchcraft, curses, spells, and demonic spirits. It describes how the apostles exposed Simon's black arts sorcery and how Apostle Paul used spiritual discernment to detect a Python spirit in a damsel. To protect yourself from spiritual witchcraft, it emphasizes the importance of spiritual discernment and testing the spirits.

Remember the damsel that followed the apostle Paul? Naturally, it appeared that this was a lovely young lady enjoying the gospel services. She followed the ministry for several days, declaring, "These men are servants of the most high God, who show you the way of salvation." Sounds great, right? But something wasn't sitting right with the apostle Paul's spirit. After a few days, the apostle turned around and said, "Come out of her!" As a result, a he emerged from a she.(Transgender anyone?) Notice that a he came out of a she.

"And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, that a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation," according to Scripture. She did this for several days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." "And he came out at the same hour" (Acts 16:16–18).

SPIRIT OF DIVINATION

It's worth noting that this was a divination spirit. The Greeks call it a pneuma of Python or Python spirit. This was a fortune-telling spirit. We would call it a demonic prophetic spirit. Demons love prophetic people and prophetic groups. This slave girl brought her masters lots of money, but after her deliverance, the ability to prophesy stopped. This stirred up her owners, and they brought Paul and Silas to the city rulers and magistrates, looking to fine or jail them.

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT

Spirits like this python spirit must be spiritually discerned. Spiritual discernment is not soulish suspicion. Left undetected, this spirit of divination would have caused all kinds of problems for this apostolic team. Scripture says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). There are many spirits in the Bible, but the word of God exposes them.

WILES OF THE DEVIL

Wiles are chicaneries, tricks, or strategies of deception. These stratagems are used to get you out of the will of God. Jesus said the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). 

 
OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL WITCHCRAFT

 

 

DEMONIC SPIRITS

Most demons will use flattery and mystical words that are hard to understand to get you to trust them. If you fall prey to their demonic lure, you will suffer much grief. I have seen good people allow others around them to operate in prophetic divination. In the beginning, things seemed great, but little by little, the python spirit began suffocating them and finally releasing full-blown word curses and witchcraft control.

BLACK ARTS SORCERY

Even Evangelist Philip was almost taken in. He went to the city of Samaria, preaching Christ. The entire town was blessed seeing and hearing the healings, miracles, and deliverances by the Holy Spirit. During his crusade, there was a man named Simon who also believed the gospel of Christ and was water baptized. This is what people do today. (They repent of their sins and get water baptized as an outward sign of an inward change.) Simon, however, had a problem. He was not free from demonic influence. "Because for a long time he had bewitched the people with sorcery" (Acts 8:11). "Mageia," which means "magic," is the Greek word for sorcery. Simon, in other words, was a practitioner of black arts sorcery.

The way things were going, Simon was getting really close to Philip until the apostles were sent from the church in Jerusalem to see what was going on. When Peter and John got to the city of Samaria, they saw that none of the new converts were filled with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. They were only water-baptized. As the apostles laid their hands on the believers, they were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

SPIRITUAL DECEPTION

Simon witnessed the believers receiving God's power through the laying on of hands. To Simon, this was awesome, and he offered to buy the ability to do it. Peter answered Simon's request. "And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." But Peter told him, "Thy money perishes with you because you thought the gift of God could be bought with money." Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. So repent of your wickedness and pray to God that the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. "For I perceive that you are in the gall (poison) of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity" (Acts 8:18–23). Look what was still in this man: bitterness and immoral character. What would have happened if Simon had been able to get on Philip's ministry team?

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PYTHON

• They were well camouflaged and hid themselves.

• Constrictors.

• Kill their prey by squeezing them until they stop breathing.

• ambush their prey.

• blend easily with their environment.

• Cold-blooded.

SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Spirit discernment is vital for you. Both of these examples are of people who tried to get close to someone in ministry. This could happen to you too. Spiritual discernment belongs to the spiritually mature. "But strong meat belongs to those of full age, even to those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:13–14).

TRY THE SPIRITS

Curses cause bad things to happen. Scripture says, "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). Demonic spirits can cause you lots of problems when undetected. If you don't stop them, they will destroy your life, family, and ministry. Don't let this spirit hinder your spiritual life. Read the Bible and start working on sharpening your spiritual discernment.

Your partner,

Apostle Jonas Clark
www.jonasclark.com