Elitism, Contol and Exclusivity
Kathie Walters
It is the Spirit who changes us (2 Cor 3-18). We are His workmanship- created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10). Unfortunately, in the midst of blessing it seems easy for us to forget it was only because of His great love, grace, mercy, and loving kindness that the blessing came. We begin to feel, with the encouragement of a few demonic forces, that somehow it had something to do with us. Gradually an attitude of resistance emerges against anyone who disagrees with anything the controlling person says or does. Instead of being open to receive input, pride sees anything that is not strongly pro (in agreement with the group or individual) as a threat to their position.
Control and Manipulation
When leaders start to operate in elitism, or exclusivism, - they often see others as subjective - and inferior to them in some way. Then deception come in the form of believing that this one person or persons are in a better position spiritually to know what is right, or hear from God and know the mind of the Lord. Gradually anyone who questions anything, (any decision or teaching etc.) becomes the target of some kind of spiritual attack. Often being accused of being a Jezebel or rebellious, the person bringing the word or question is dismissed as irrelevant. If that person stands their ground, they are usually rejected, and their own ministry gift is questioned, dismissed, and often aborted by the strong religious spirit coming against them.
When a spirit of control comes into a leadership, often the spirit of abortion is active and the move of the Spirit in the church and in the individual is aborted. If that happens, the person involved usually needs prayer for deliverance from the spirit of abortion, and also
ELITISM AND THE FALSE SHEPHERDING SPIRIT
(Control, Manipulation, Spirit of Abortion, Grief and Its Devastating Results)
Have you ever been around a church or group and gradually began to feel left out, excluded? Not part of the in-group or inner-circle?
What is this exclusiveness or elitism and where did it come from? How did it get there? What opened the door for this to enter? Elitism is a form of pride- and the Bible says that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
As Christians, what constitutes humility? True humility is a dependence upon God. Knowing that apart from Him, His power and care - we cannot make it in life or in ministry. We are kept by His grace. Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5).
Warning Signs
When an individual or group give the impression they have some kind of special calling or revelation, or when they feel and give the impression they have been called by God to fill some kind of special place the signals are flashing. The attitude of, WE are really doing the work of the ministry, is given out like an offensive odor. Other ministries are deemed as OK, but do not have the great importance our ministry has. Often this happens when there has been some kind of success in growth, or a move of God and blessings are manifested. Its often when things are going well, people are not on guard and this exclusiviity slips in. What begins as a cry of GOD is visiting us, gradually becomes God is VISITING us, to finally God is visiting US.
God pours out His Spirit because we are hungry and because we need Him- not because we have qualified or earned some special favor. He (Jesus) is the One who will present us faultless before the spirit of grief.
THE FALSE SHEPHERDING SPIRIT
The desire to control ( under the guise of overprotection ) opens the door to the false shepherding spirit. What exactly is a false shepherding spirit someone may ask? I guess the famous Ezekiel 34 chapter spells it out.
God the True Shepherd...Ez 34
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill;
yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them. There fore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock-- therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they many no longer be food for them.
For thus says the Lord GOD Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks our his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their won land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.
And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture-- and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat ant the lean sheep. Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them-- My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing: and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved the. And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. Thus they shall know that I , the LORD their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord GOD. You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am you God, says the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34)
The shepherd forgets his real calling, to care and tend and nurture, the flock of God, and begins to be only concerned about his agenda. A harsh spirit comes in usually in the guise of doing the will of God and the sheep are not loved, comforted or edified. Nor are their gifts and callings brought forth. They are not equipped to do the work of the ministry as commanded in Ephesians 4.
Paul also speaks of the false shepherds in Acts 20. The Apostle exhorts the elders of Ephesus church, Take heed therefore unto yourselves and unto all the flock of which the Holy Ghost has make you overseers, to feed the church of God, which HE HATH PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. ... also of your own selves, shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)
The true shepherds are called to take authority, and come against that which comes against the sheep to harm them, but this spirit turns it around and the leadership begins to come against the sheep to control and manipulate them. A good shepherd does not lead his sheep to a field, and pull up grass and ram it down the sheep's throat - he leads them to good pasture and they feed themselves. He makes available good food (ministry) and watches out for the sheep.
He sees it as an honor to be given charge among the precious Body of Christ. He can acknowledge the Christ in everyone, even the children and teens (they do not have a junior Holy Spirit) he is not threatened by their gifts and abilities. He will work to bring forth younger men and women and consider it delightful to see them begin to move out in God.
When my husband, David, has miracle meetings and God begins to use the children and teens,
which have been under his anointing, he sits down and allows Gods Spirit to use them. Many
miracles happen through the laying on of sticky fingers as David calls it. David loves to see
God use the youngsters in such a powerful way. It is life changing for them, as well as
those who receive healing. So is the heart of the true shepherd.
Mis-use of God- given Authority
I was once involved with a group of powerful evangelistic churches. The leader of this group was a man of great vision and faith. But he became very verbally abusive in his role of leader, and extremely controlling. People really did not have the opportunity to hear from God for themselves and be led by the Spirit. A kind of dictator type spirit manifested toward the people. Those who disagree were branded as rebellious Jezebels and accused of not having a submissive spirit.
When you come under a false shepherding spirit, you also end up needing deliverance from a spirit of false submission. True submission is not a matter of just blindly doing whatever you are told, but being open to others - that God may speak to you through whoever He wishes, especially a loving, caring shepherd. And, always being open to the fact that something may need to be corrected - in your direction, or your walk with God.
As people learn to yield to the Spirit, God will fit them into the right place in the Body of Christ, and the true shepherds of Jesus can help them to fulfill their destiny. The Lord gave me a word for the leader of this group of churches - I was not at all willing to bring it. Who do you think you are? said a voice in my ear - Well you know what? I'm not anyone at all ... but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor. 1:27-29)
Reluctantly, I delivered this word to a leadership meeting in which it was read out, You have one year to rid the ministry of the false shepherding spirit. That's all it was, so I left there. When God gives you a word, its not your responsibility to make it happen, its His. I continued to fellowship with this group and didn't think too much more about it. A year later at the same annual leadership meeting, the whole ministry began to become unglued. Three months later it was out of action and no longer existed as an entity. God removed the rod of authority because it was being mis-used and hurt the sheep. Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm (Ps 105:15) is often quoted with regard to leadership people as a way of saying "Leave me alone- you have
no right to question me or my decisions" but the anointed spoken of in the Psalm, also
includes the whole Body of Christ.
The elitist spirit ensures that leaders forget that every believer has the capability of hearing from God and being used by Him - a child filled with Gods Spirit can be used in a mighty way. That's why its so important to be open to anyone in the Body - God can use whoever He desires. The Life of Christ is deposited in each member.
What is the responsibility of the members towards the leadership? To be caring for them,
praying for them, helping, encouraging and working with them. Knowing that God has called
them to help His people be equipped for the Kingdom and ministered to and enabling the
church to be healthy. ...that ye may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ -
from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to
the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Eph 4:15-16).
You have the witness of the Spirit inside you - to teach you. It is ultimately your own responsibility to put yourself under godly men and women and receive teaching and instruction that comes from God and is really from the Word. Biblical grounding is important. Sometimes I admit I get a little impatient with people who have sat under control, deception, false shepherding for a long time. They are in a big mess, but when I questioned them, they sat there knowing inside that something was wrong, (thats the witness of the Spirit) instead of checking it out they just sat there and got deeper into it.
If you feel the Lord give you something for the church or leadership, present it humbly, (you could be wrong!) If the leadership is godly they will consider what you have, but you must leave it with them. God once put me in a position where I had to pray for many people who came out of a group who were operating in a false shepherding/ discipleship spirit.
These were young Christians being trained and discipled by a man who obviously had a great anointing for evangelism - he did get them saved and dedicated to God. The success of the group went to his head and he began to put pressure on these young men and women. If you really want to serve God you must do what I say, as I am your father (teacher) sent by God to be over you. Then came, You must do as I say - it is a test of your willingness to obey God. You can guess where it ended up; he eventually had sex with most of the young women. And then sent young single women to live with a married couple to be discipled. Really they were servants. I talked to one or two young women who had been told that part of the discipleship was to learn about how to be a good sexual partner for their future husband. Guess how? Of course the husband in the home they were living was told it was his duty to teach them ( in a practical way)!! When we got round to praying deliverance for these people- we prayed for the following and they got free.
*****
Elitism, false shepherding, false submission, false covering, false yoke, false responsibility, control, witchcraft, false brotherhood, bands (the group gets yoked together with a band that is not of God, they become a "family) Fear, fear of disapproval, rejections, grief, abortion (they were not allowed to operate in any spiritual gifts -I wonder why?) Guilt, shame, condemnation, false martyr spirit (suffering wrong doing for Jesus). This spirit told people that they just had to put up with all this unpleasantness as they were being a sacrifice for the kingdom. In this group, as in many others like it, there were a lot of other kinds of deception taught, i.e., If you really love someone and want them to be healed, you will pray for their sickness to come to you so they can be free from it!!!!!! Spirits of deception, unfruitfulness, barrenness, dead works, etc.
*****
Are there really all these spirits involved? Yes there certainly are - they roam around like a little army- each one in position to take over. These folks did not get free until we had broken the power of all these things. I believe everything would have been discovered much sooner if the gifts of the Spirit were flowing. Then a deaf and dumb spirit comes in, as they are not allowed to hear from God for themselves and certainly not allowed to speak up. THE FIRST SPIRIT TO ENTER IS ELITISM OR PRIDE _ that is why it IS SO IMPORTANT TO WATCH FOR THESE THINGS. The Bible says, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of
his devices. (2 Cor 2:11).
But sadly, so often we are ignorant and Gods people have not been taught to listen to the witness of the Spirit. That's why the anointing is there within us, the believer, it is to teach us. Please read these scriptures, they are so important to us all. And this is the promise that He has promised us, - eternal life. These things have I written to you concerning those who try to deceive you, But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that any man teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you , you will abide in Him. And now little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. (I John 2:25-29)
Does this mean that we no longer need teachers and instructors? Of course not! Paul urges instant in season and out of season. He exhorts him to teach sound doctrine. This means that when we receive teaching we must still watch the witness of the spirit within us. If you understand how these spirits operate you can pray and get free; you do not have to qualify to receive from God.
A Note for Pastors and Leaders:
This booklet is intended for people who have been abused by authority in the church. As you are aware there have been many leaders who have mis-used their position in the church and mis- represented the true leadership that is God appointed. Unfortunately many of these wounded sheep are not yet healed, but God is touching and restoring them and giving them understanding of the spiritual realm. I am aware that there are people that do not want to listen to anyone - but I am not addressing those people.
Gods people have not been taught to listen to the witness of the Spirit. That's why the
anointing is there within us, the believer, it is to teach us.
Kathie Walters
