Spirit World, Spiritual Life
The Spiritual Word – Part 4 (Emotions & Evil Desires)
This note is an excerpt from Peter Tan’s book “The Spiritual World” which can be downloaded for free here: The Spiritual World
(Other parts in this series can be found by following the links at the bottom.)
Emotions and Evil Desires
Emotions are visible like a fire in the spirit world. Wrong emotions of hate, lust and anger stir up and attract evil spirits like filth attracting flies (Ephesians 4:26, 27; Matthew 5:22). Passionate agape love is like a bright light in the spirit man that lights up the darkness and draws ministering spirits together to the service of the individual.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear the Lord (Psalm 34:7). One should be careful of allowing negative emotions to dominate one’s life. Only the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and temperance should be allowed to remain in our character (Galatians 5:22, 23). It is clearly visible in the spiritual world whether one is cold, or lukewarm or hot and has the first love for the Lord Jesus (Revelation 2:4; 3:16).
People unwittingly are used by evil spirits when they are in a fit of anger or some other strong negative emotion. They innocently become direct instruments of evil without realising it. Evils spirits literally have a field day causing destruction and mayhem upon the earth through their physical bodies. They also use them to influence other innocent humans to do evil. Those whose lives are run permanently by negative emotions became sadly the permanent habitations of demons who draw more and more of their kind to dominate and possess more innocent humans. We need to be careful of uncontrolled negative human emotions because one can easily cross the line between human emotions into uncontrolled emotions which allow evil spirits to work (Ephesians 4:26, 27).
Fierce looking evil spirits and horrible hideous evil spirits ascend out from the depths of darkness underneath the earth and are magnetically attracted to the strong evil emotions and desires of the humans. Under normal circumstances, they cannot dwell on the earth plane but the darkness of the human desire draws them to him and their domination causes chaos and destruction through the circle of humans affected by the evil emotion and desire. They cannot remain long for when the dark desire and emotion is weakened, the bond that attracts them to the surface of the earth is broken and they descend again into the deep darkness underneath the earth.
At times in societies where an entire community, city or country is taken by a deep set of dark emotional outbursts, feelings of hate or anger that dominate them, it is like the gates of hell are let loose and all manner of evil looking spirits are attracted out from the deep darkness underneath the earth and dominate the entire community or society; causing humans under their power to do their bidding like possessed zombies destroying everything in their path.
This sometimes happens when a society has experienced deep seated oppression and injustice for a long time. The undercurrent of pent-up indignation and anger burst like a volcanic eruption and attracts the worst kind of evil spirits to the earth plane. Anarchy takes place and all manner of evil and wickedness are committed by men irrationally.
In society as in personal life, forgiveness is the only key to releasing the work of God and angels in a community. The thirst for revenge is not of God, it is of the devil. We must not only pray to ask God to forgive our sinful actions, we must also pray and ask God to forgive our wicked thoughts, emotions and desires. We should cultivate positive emotions in line with the fruit of the Spirit by being passionate for the things of the Spirit. Many people think that yielding to the Spirit of God is just a passive matter of letting go and doing nothing. The Holy Spirit will not work without some contribution of free will from us. We need to desire the things of the Spirit.
When our desire for the things of the Spirit and of God becomes overwhelmingly high above all other desires, when our passion and love is undivided for God and God alone, there is a spiritual union that takes place in the bond of the Spirit with our spirits such that the energy of the Holy Spirit, and all the might of the work of God’s angels guides our lives and destinies. A mighty stream of abundant life and energy carries us throughout our daily earthly life and we are able to accomplish things of great impact even in our earthly bodies.
This desire for the energy of the Spirit and of angels to work mightily through our lives is not by the rejection of all things in the physical life but rather of a recognition that only in harmony with the realm of the Spirit can we truly experience abundantly all that we are supposed to be and to do in this earthly domain.
Jesus said that He has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). This is not just speaking about the abundance of mere materialism but rather it speaks of the abundance of spiritual energy and life that will propel us through our physical earthly destinies. We need to be conscious of the spiritual while we go about our physical lives. In that manner the kingdom of God, which is a spiritual kingdom, is in dominion upon the physical world through our obedience to the spiritual realm.
We need to learn to set our minds and affections (our passions, consciousness and desires) upon things above while we walk the earth below (Colossians 3:2). Pursue love, peace and joy for anything outside of this is outside of the boundary of the kingdom of God.
Related:
Part 5 (Unforgiveness and Spiritual Progression)
One Comment
Schuler Murdock
I like that he brings up the spiritual disciplines of setting the minds and affections on things above. By submitting to the dominion of the Kingdom of God, we can walk in dominion here on earth.