Reclaiming Followers of Jezebel ~ Ch.12

There seemed to be nothing to do but to return to what he knew -- fishing. For three years Peter had ministered beside Jesus. He had been included in His inner circle of disciples and been on the Mount of Transfiguration. In the end, however, Peter denied his Lord when it counted the most. Even though Peter was thrilled to see Jesus after the resurrection, he felt a sense of shame because of his denial. As Peter began to return to his old way of life, Jesus knew that Peter needed encouragement to embrace his calling. After breakfast by the seashore, Jesus asked Peter a series of questions designed to mend his broken spirit and restore him in the church (John 21:15-17).

Similarly, individuals who have been truly freed of a Jezebel spirit need to be encouraged and restored. They will need to be reminded that if we are faithful to confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Besides, what sin could be worse then Peter’s three denials of Jesus at the most crucial moment in Jesus’ life? Although He felt the sting of the betrayal from one of His closest friends, Jesus forgave and restored Peter.

No wounds are more painful in life than those we suffer at the hands of our friends, especially those whom we follow. These wounds will need to be touched by the Lord so that He can bring healing and wholeness. It makes no difference whether you are a pastor or a church member. All wounds from a Jezebel spirit must be healed.

Jesus anointed His Church to carry on the work of His Kingdom -- healing the brokenhearted and setting free those who have been held captive by the wicked one (Isaiah 61:1). True healing comes when the following areas are addressed:

Tearing Down Strongholds

Ministry to a Jezebelite’s followers will involve tearing down mental strongholds. In his book, Healing the Nations, John Sandford defines a mental stronghold as a practiced way of thinking that has become ingrained and automatic. It has a life and will of its own. Strongholds are areas of the mind in which we are held captive and our perceptions are completely distorted.

For example, I once had a silly discussion with my wife over the color of flowers along the roadside. I saw them as coral flowers. My wife saw them as white flowers. I “knew” I was right, because of my perceptions. I could not understand why she kept insisting the flowers were white. It wasn’t until I removed my yellow-tinted sunglasses that I realized my wife was right! The flowers were actually white. The tinted lens had distorted the flowers’ color and caused them to appear coral. Because I thought I was right, I responded indignantly to my wife’s protests with passionate conviction. This illustrates how strongholds can distort our perception of actual situations. In a similar way, we can interpret what happens through lenses that are tainted and distorted by our wounds.

As you walk-out your healing, you will need to bravely take a ruthless, personal assessment. It may be a shock to face reality and abandon your delusions. If we are to open the door to self-discovery and self-disclosure, we will need God’s grace. As we open our hearts to the truth about ourselves, the healing journey begins.

The following areas may have allowed the enemy easy access to our lives and fueled the drive to follow someone with a Jezebel spirit.

1. An Emotional Dependency Toward Others

People who follow someone with a Jezebel spirit tend to be emotionally dependant. They have a great inner drive to be connected with someone or to have a special relationship with a particular person in order to heal their wounded self-esteem. While it is normal to need other people, over dependent people feel as though they need someone in their life all the time, fearing physical or emotional abandonment. Instead of developing healthy intimacy, they seek to enmesh and merge with another. Trying to fill the loneliness, emptiness, and lack of self-love has driven them into codependent and often abusive relationships.

God has placed deep within every human spirit a heart cry. He designed us to be relational people with a longing for fellowship. But unless we allow our heavenly Father to fill that core need, our identity will become like that of an orphan. We will drift along, desperately looking to others to meet our needs and adopt us.

For such wounded souls, God is the healing balm. God gently woos and draws us to the only place where our deep hunger can be satisfied, Our misplaced longings can only find true rest in God the Father. As the Holy Spirit bears witness that God is our Father, He will also attest that we are His children (Romans 8:16). We will be given a spirit of adoption, by which we are enabled to cry “Abba, Daddy!” To know Him as Father is to love and accept His authority over us. Our dependency then falls on Him, rather than on another person.

2. An Attitude of Fearfulness

Fear usually begins through unholy imagination. The mental aspect of our soul begins to focus on things that can potentially harm us. A spirit of fear then takes root in our soul.

Often those who follow someone with a Jezebel spirit have a history of enslaving fears of neglect, of rejection, of being punished, of loneliness, and perhaps of missing the will of God. These fears arise from our past experiences and are projected onto today’s circumstances.

A spirit of fear is a sign of spiritual enslavement. It leads someone into being subservient to the control of others. Those who have followed a Jezebelite will have recurrent fears of being deceived again. The will be tempted to view authority as being tyrannical. All fears of being dominated or controlled must be brought to the Cross. Recent fears, as well as those rooted in childhood, must be reckoned as dead on the Cross (Romans 6:11) in order for new life to begin (2 Corinthians 5:17). Dying to these fears will free us to relate to others without fear.

To begin our healing, we must ask God to show us the circumstances that led to opening our soul to fear. We must -- through faith -- cast down what the Bible calls “vain imaginations.” By faith, we need to cleanse ourselves of fear and ask other Christians who are free from fear to stand with us in agreement. We also need to ask God to fill us with love, power, and sound reasoning because His perfect love casts out our fear (1 John 4:18).

When our mind is ruled by our spirit, we will focus on the virtues that spring forth from the Lord. We will be able to concentrate on that which is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

3. A Fear of Decision Making

When we relinquish our choices and decisions to another person, we run the risk of causing our spirit to atrophy. It will lose the ability to discern what is from God. We also risk falling into the sin of lawlessness (Hebrews 5:14).

God gives us our ability to exercise free will -- the freedom to make choices and decisions. Without a will, we would be like Data, the android on Star Trek who only did whatever he was told. By giving us free will, God empowers us to follow through and complete the decisions we have made. Therefore, when we yield our will to another person, we have given that one the right to make decisions on our behalf. We then forfeit our ability to receive insight and revelation directly from God. In doing so, we have made Jezebel our idol, who now takes the place of God.

When we avoid making decisions, our motive may lie rooted in self-condemnation and a sense of incompetence. We may never have been taught how to make responsible decisions. Or, we may feel incapable of making good decisions. If that’s the case, we may have been raised in a harsh and critical home where punishments for making mistakes outweighed the actual offenses. Hence, it seemed as if we could never do anything good enough! So, we avoid making decisions due to the fear of being penalized for making bad ones. To compensate, we acquire a mind-set that anticipates failure. We become afraid to take risks. Instead, we listen to the whispers in our head that predict eventual failure. Shying away from responsibility, we then grow up unable, indifferent, unmotivated, or disinterested in making decisions.

To overcome a fear of failure, we will need to change how we think. We will need to learn how to envision success, not failure. The healthier we become, the more we will be able to practice making good decisions. Remember, God is faithful to show His will to any who humbly seek Him and are willing to obey His will.

4. A Deep Sense of Shame

Shame is the sense of feeling fundamentally bad, inadequate, defective, unworthy, or not measuring up to standards. Many need healing from a deep sense of shame.

At some point in our life, all of us feel shame. But for those who have followed Jezebel, shame will be a constant painful memory. They will doubt their ability to hear from God, as though they are eternally flawed or blemished. They may believe that God is disgusted with them. Therefore, it may be helpful to remind them that all is not lost. Instead, a great lesson has been learned.

It’s often at our lowest point that we discover the wonder of God’s amazing and profound grace. Grace is contrary to shame. While shame brings depression, grace brings hope and lightheartedness.

Grace refers to God’s undeserved kindness directed toward us. It is unearned and unrepayable. Through God’s grace, we are able to bond with our loving heavenly Father who longs to lavish His great love upon us. As we embrace His Son Jesus, who is atoning sacrifice for our sins, He calls us His “sons and daughters.” When we journey through the “dark night of the soul,” we may be able to hear God whisper to us, “I love and accept you. The plans I have for you are for good and not for evil” (Jeremiah 29:11).

5. A Fear of Trusting Again

Whenever we appeal to another person for our spiritual strength, our heart turns away from the Lord. We have allowed the other person to be our source of strength.

Scripture admonishes us to place our trust in the Lord (Psalm 37:3; Psalm 71:5; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 50:10). Personally, I do this by quieting my heart and looking to God. Knowing that I belong to Him helps me to trust and obey His will for my life. Knowing what He wants me to do, moment by moment, is a daily quest. God calls us to live our faith by trusting in Him. Prayer helps me to wait on God for His direction instead of acting impulsively in my own self-interests. When we put our trust in God, He enables us to trust the spiritual authority that He has placed in our lives (1 Peter 2:13-3:6; 5:5,6).

Bonding with God is the basis for rebuilding relationships with others. The stronger our bond with God, the greater our ability to form healthy relationships with others. Our courage to trust again flows from our connectedness with God.

While Jesus touched many people, He only disclosed His heart to a few close friends who were committed to Him. Likewise, we should only trust another individual to the degree that we see Jesus rather than a religious pretense, manifested in their life (Micah 7:5-13).

6. The Consequences of Naiveté

Naiveté can place a person at great risk. Naiveté implies that an individual is simple-minded, ignorant, foolish, and able to be ensnared and mislead (Proverbs 27:12). Such people are gullible and are often exploited by the Jezebelite. Those who are controlling and manipulative will instinctively sniff our an opportunity to take advantage of them.

Naiveté can also foster our need to idolize another individual. Whenever we feel an excessive admiration toward someone, we will begin to form unrealistic expectations of them. We will exaggerate their good points and become blinded to their faults. This unhealthy esteem and affection actually hinders, rather then edifies, the idolater.

Throughout Scripture, we are encouraged to embrace wisdom, knowledge, and discretion which preserve our life and protect us from evil (Proverbs 2:10-13). Our being wise and discrete will repel those who seek to oppress and dominate us.

It is never too late to learn godly wisdom, discretion, and discernment. No matter how many mistakes may lie in your past, God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). His ability to forgive is greater than our ability to fail.

7. A loss of Joy and Innocence

A loss of joy will be evident in the life of someone who is recovering from the pain of following a Jezebelite. The followers’ withered souls will make it difficult for them to express their emotions. They may begin to slide into a dark depression. As they begin more and more to embrace God’s grace, their joy will return, bringing strength.

God has created us to be full of joy. Knowing Him intimately brings joy, which enriches our life. I have discovered that joy is like a fountain of youth. It prevents, alleviates, and cures the diseases of our soul (Proverbs 17:22). Joy gives us spiritual vitality. Experiencing joy also empowers us to cultivate healthy relationships with others (Nehemiah 8:10).

Walking in a deep, abiding sense of joy requires childlike innocence. Innocence allows us to embrace simple faith that looks to our loving heavenly Father to solve all of our dilemmas. In time, as our relationship with the Lord deepens, our spontaneity and childlike innocence will be restored. As we let go of trying to control others, we will stop trying to predict what others will do, and thereby, rediscover a childlike wonder and innocence.

8. Fearing The Supernatural

Those who have been wounded by a Jezebelite may fear anything that hints of the supernatural or of the spiritual realm. This fear will come as an overreaction to having been deceived initially. Thus, a thick wall of protection is erected in their soul to guard against further deception.

Sadly, this overreaction will hinder a wounded follower from appreciating the endless variety of God’s supernatural gifts such as dreams and visions. They may regard anything beyond their five senses as being suspicious. They may feel uncomfortable during a worship service when God’s presence is powerfully manifested. However, this reaction will only cause them to hold God at arm’s length.

Did you realize that supernatural gifts are actually tools by which we attack the enemy’s camp? It’s true! By disdaining such supernatural gifts, we inadvertently play into the enemy’s plans and we revert back to the old adage, “What we don’t know can’t harm us.”

Our ability to embrace supernatural gifts is founded on knowing God as our loving heavenly Father. As a Father, God yearns to give good gifts to His children. When God manifests His presence supernaturally, we see His awesome glory and majestic splendor. He is truly a God like no other! He is a living God who dwells among an innumerable company of supernatural beings (Hebrews 12:22-24).

9. Believing a Lie

Unfortunately, many followers of a Jezebelite have been deceived by demons, and thereby, blinded to the demonic grip that ensnares them. They have formerly viewed others -- even pastors -- as being deceived and demonically influenced. They will see themselves as being an elite spiritual force, immune to demonic attack. Sadly, those entangled by the web of deception will erroneously look to the Jezebelite, instead of the Lord, as a fortress of protection against the demonic realm.

Trusting in evil spirits -- whether you know them to be evil or not -- places you under their authority and false protection. Thus, you have given these spirit you will need deliverance, ask God to remove any stronghold that you may have and that blinds you to seeing the answer to your healing.

10. Telling Other Voices To Stop

For a season, demonic spirits will test former followers to see if they really mean business. These people will need to command the voices and masters in their mind to cease instructing or beguiling them. If these seductive spirits return to tempt them, they need to resist them.

From now on, they are free to follow no other voice but the voice of Jesus. They need to embrace the words of Jesus, “My sheep hear My voice… I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).

11. Refusing a Jezebelite’s Influence

Former followers should not receive the counsel, prayers, or the laying on of hands from anyone whom they sense operates with a Jezebel spirit. It may be wise for them to consider getting rid of any personal items -- clothing, jewelry, books, music, art, knick-knacks or photos -- that have been given by the Jezebelite. These items can represent soul ties that will hinder their journey to freedom. They may want to ask the Lord if they need to destroy such items (Deuteronomy 26; Acts 19:19).

12. Reconciling With Family and Friends

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift ~ Matthew 5:23-24.

While operating under the stronghold of a Jezebel spirit, it is easy for us to become blinded to the wounds we have inflicted on others. Ask the Lord to help you recognize your actions and to see them through others people’s eyes. This will open your eyes as to how your manipulation and control brought injury to others.

Forgiveness does not mean excusing someone’s behavior. Rather it acknowledges the actual offense and then chooses not to hold that offense against the person. When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, His blood was the payment for our sins so that we could be truly forgiven. Likewise by extending forgiveness to someone, we mirror the depth of God’s forgiveness to us.

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you ~ Ephesians 4:31-32.

Followers of a Jezebelite will need to ask forgiveness of individuals they have wronged or hurt, and leaders whose church or ministry they have maligned. They may want to ask God to help in making their confession. They may want to communicate that they realize their actions were intolerable. As they feel some of the pain they inflicted on someone, they will be able to ask sorrowfully for the person’s forgiveness.

Former followers may feel compelled to make amends with their loved ones. Such reconciliation will bring about restoration and greater spiritual release. As a result, curses spoken by the spirit of Jezebel are rendered void and powerless.

The process of forgiveness will take time. They will need time to recuperate and reenter old routines. Family chores that have been left undone will need to be resumed, not begrudgingly but in an attitude of gratefulness. This kindness will help restore healthy relationships. Godly counselors can also be beneficial in the healing process.

13. Creating Healthy Relationships

The energy needed to initiate new relationships may be hampered by lethargy, which comes as a by-product of being dominated by another person. Walking through the process of healing will be tiring. Former followers of a Jezebelite may feel exhausted physically and emotionally. At the same time, they will need to be encouraged to participate in church activities and not to isolate from others. They will need to be motivated to embrace self-discipline and to establish healthy boundaries with others. In this way, they will recapture a Holy Spirit-led will.

14. Embrace True Humility

Humility and obedience always lead us to God. They open a door for God’s grace to be extended to us. True repentance is the ultimate act of humility. We know that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Each day, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to convict us, so that any hurtful or harmful thing in our life is exposed. Then, we should come to our heavenly Father and to one another with godly sorrow. True repentance will always set us free from bondage.

15. Trust Jesus Daily

When our needs for love go unmet, codependency and the impulse to “bend into” another person is bred. Instead of looking to another person who is limited and unreliable, we need to develop our spiritual well-being. Each day, we need to look to Jesus, who is sufficient to supply all our needs -- emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational. He is the all-sufficient One! In Him resides the fullness of abundant life (John 1:4).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths ~ Proverbs 3:5-6.

16. Cleansing Prayer

Former followers of a Jezebelite may want to pray these words of repentance and deliverance along the journey toward wholeness:

“Heavenly Father, I need Your Holy Spirit to help me not think and live according to my old ways. I place my childhood fears and bloodline curses behind me and ask You to cancel them. By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I choose not to be enslaved to them any longer!

“Today, I lay aside my fear of facing the pain from past friendships, romances, lovers, and relatives. I renounce the spirits of pride, bitterness, lying, self-exaltation, rebellion, witchcraft, and the occult. I choose to not walk in these any longer. When I am tested by these deceiving spirits, I want to respond in godliness. God, please remove any mental strongholds and to help me think and see clearly.

“I choose not to listen to other spiritual voices. Instead, I choose to listen to Your voice. From this time forth, I will not trust in lying spirits nor the spirits who claim to offer me protection from evil. I close every door to Satan. I will not seek a false defense to shield myself from wrong, exploitation, or harm. I look to You, Lord Jesus and place my trust in You to protect me from the harm of well-meaning people and from demonic spirits. Jesus, I choose You to be my Savior and Holy Spirit, I choose You to be my defender. “Lord Jesus Christ, please forgive my sins. I confess that I have not loved rightly. I have resented others. I now recognize this as sin and confess this to you now.

I choose to forgive those who have hurt me. By Your blood, I forgive myself as You have forgiven me. I am sorry for my sins. I confess and renounce them, known and unknown. I believe You died on the Cross for my sins, and that you rose from the dead and ascended to God the Father. You now sit at His right hand. With repentance in my heart, I ask You, Lord, to deliver me from the snare of the fowler and to set me free. Your truth is a shield to me. Under Your wings, I seek refuge.

“Lord Jesus, I claim Your promise in Psalm 91:14-15: Because I have set my love upon You, You will deliver me. You will set me on high because I have known Your Name. I will call upon You, and You will answer me. You will be with me in trouble. You will deliver me and honor me.”

In Summary

It is my prayer that those who have been cleansed and healed of the Jezebel spirit and its influence will become strong in the Lord Jesus Christ and go forth to build the Kingdom of God. May the Lord’s wisdom greatly increase in His Church, and may He grant us the ability to minister restoration to one another.

As the Holy Spirit is being poured out upon the Lord’s menservants and maidservants in these last days (Acts 2:18), may God-breathed prophesy, signs, and wonders arise and transform our generation. May His Kingdom come, may His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven!