The Church is Being Shaken - Do You Feel It?

In this episode, I talk a little bit more about Jezebel and Leviathan in the church. It's a subject that is controversial and complex, but nevertheless extremely important for the church to understand. God is shaking things to expose what's at work. We just need to pay attention to the signs. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Welcome back to the Dissatisfied Podcast. I am Rochelle Smith. Thank you so much for joining me. And I wanted to just start off by saying I have some good news. I am officially a mother-in-law for the very first time because my oldest son got married this past weekend. And it's still kind of sinking in. It doesn't feel real that he's a married man. But we had the best day. It was this beautiful little backyard wedding, and God gave us the most perfect day for a wedding. It was just amazing. But what's funny, well, it's actually not funny, it's just part of life, I guess, because we're up against an enemy. But the enemy just kept throwing things at all of us, especially my son and his wife. All of these things were coming at them basically about a week before they got married, it started. So many things just coming against them to try to discourage them, to try to throw them off track, to try to make them question their love for one another, all of that type of stuff. And one of the things that happened was three days, three days before their wedding, the man that was supposed to marry them will say, we'll just say he had some issues and he couldn't marry them. So, you know, we asked a couple of other pastors that we knew, but understandably they were not able to do it because they didn't know the bride and groom at all. And that's, you know, that's their rule. They're going to marry people, they need to know that. That makes sense. But unbeknownst to my family or anyone, about three and a half weeks ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table and I was just thinking, thinking about life, thinking about lots of things, thinking about the upcoming wedding. And I started to think, what if something happens and that person can't officiate? Or what if somebody gets sick? What if they back out? You just never know with this life what's going to happen. So I did some research online and I ended up getting ordained online. And I didn't tell anybody because I honestly thought, surely I'm not going to have to use this. But God knew. God saw exactly what would happen. And so He was preparing me. So I had the absolute honor and privilege of marrying my son and daughter-in-law. It was amazing how God lined that up. So after all of that, after all the stuff leading up to the wedding, I just realized that this topic of the spiritual battle that we're in is so important. So I wanted to revisit the subject of Jezebel and Leviathan and the church in this season we're in and just what that looks like, some other examples of that, how it operates. And if you didn't listen to last week's episode, episode 13, I would encourage you to listen to that one first before you continue with this one. Because this is going to be kind of a continuation from last week's, because, you know, it's just a subject that is so deep and so wide, and it's affecting so much of the church realm. So it just needs more of our time. It needs more of our attention. Why, you might ask, it's because people are being hurt. Lots of people are being hurt by these things that are going on inside the church realm. So I'm going to start today with elaborating on the spirit of Jezebel. So just a quick recap. You find the story of Jezebel in one and two Kings in the Bible. So she was married to the king of Israel, Ahab at the time, and Jezebel worshipped Baal. And she also led the Israelites into Baal worship. Ahab even built a temple for Baal. And last week I said that the characteristics of Jezebel are these domineering, controlling, unrepentant, mocking, and ruthless in her pursuit, let me say that again. Ruthless in her pursuit of power to get what she wants. So, you know, it's no surprise that she hated God's prophets and she sought them out to kill them. So on top of all those other characteristics, she's also a murderer. And then last week I mentioned that Jesus told the church in Thyatira in the book of Revelation, he said, This I have against you. You have tolerated that woman Jezebel. And Jesus wasn't speaking about an actual woman named Jezebel. It's symbolic. The name is symbolic. So there's a correlation there with the Jezebel from the book of Kings. So they're tolerating Jezebel within the church. They're tolerating a false teacher who leads people into deception. And it also says in that verse that she is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. So the sexual immorality part is pretty self-explanatory there. But to eat food sacrificed to idols, that could be literal, but some interpretations see that as more symbolic, and I would agree with that interpretation that the food is representing the words that you're being fed by those who are teaching you or leading you. So remember, the word of God is presented as food throughout scripture. Jesus called himself the bread of life. So it's symbolic. So there are false teachers who feed people words that belong to other gods. And I don't think we take this seriously enough. I don't think that we even pay attention to these things. Because we think that if we are inside a Christian church, that these things surely couldn't be happening. But it's my opinion that the church is saturated with these types of teachers. And unfortunately, most people just don't even realize it, or they're in denial, or they just choose to ignore it because they're fearful of what would happen if they admitted it or confronted it. So what does that even mean? Words that belong to other gods. Well, it means that their teachings and preachings are mixed with deception and manipulation and probably some other things. So many times in those types of church environments, you will have lots of gossip amongst leaders. You will have lots of times where they use the pulpit to attack their own congregants, right? Who stepped out of line or didn't agree with something, or maybe a person had a question or brought a concern to them. And so they use their platform, they use the pulpit to attack people that they're supposed to be leading. And listen, there's a difference between using your life experience to teach a lesson and using people to feed your own ego, to lift yourself up. But it happens all the time from the pulpit. Because leaders who are under a Jezebel type of oppression, I guess we can call it, they step into spiritual abuse and they call it a spiritual battle. We had a leader post passive aggressive social media posts about us before we left that church. So we were still in that church, and we there were passive aggressive posts made about us on social media, and I knew they were about us. And when we asked him directly, he admitted it, but he said he was fighting demons. So it that's a type of spiritual abuse, but he calls it a spiritual battle. So one of the things that we have to remember as Christians is not to fall into the trap of thinking that the spiritual battle that we're in is a type of you know, us inside the church versus them outside the church. Because even though a lot of our battle is outside the church, so much of it is coming from within. It came from inside, from people who call themselves followers of Christ. But when you're lying and slandering and assassinating somebody's character, I don't think it's Christ that you're following. So the Jezebel that Jesus was referring to in Revelation, it still exists today in so many churches, and it's so destructive, it's dangerous, and it's leading people away from God. And from personal experience, which is still ongoing after two and a half years, we're still dealing with some of this crazy stuff. I can tell you that it's like there's a hit out on our lives, that there's an assassination attempt to kill and destroy us. And that might sound over the top to you, but until you've experienced it, you won't understand it. But just know that it's true. And I know that there's people who have experienced it that totally get what I'm saying. Maybe you've experienced it. You should email me at dissatisfiedpodcast at gmail.com and tell me your story. But one of the things we need to be aware of is that Jezebel not only wants to control people, but also wants to control information. That's why you see the assassination of people's character, right? With slander and lies. They have to control the narrative. Because there's a picture that the person is trying to paint. And nowhere in the picture would any bit of fault rest on them. Because they want all the arrows pointed at you, and they want all the praise pointed at them. And one of the ways that that spirit will control information on top of the slander and the lies is to bend the truth. Right? If there's a bending and a manipulating of the truth, that way you will view them in a certain light. So they twist words, which is where I believe you can identify that not only is Jezebel at work, but now you have a Leviathan type of thing going on. And again, it's my opinion that where Jezebel has a foothold, you will ultimately see Leviathan gain a foothold. Like I said last week, right? They work in tandem. In Isaiah 27, it says, In that day, the Lord with his great and strong sword will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. So obviously that is symbolic imagery, right, to show God's victory over Satan and demonic powers, but Leviathan is a twisting demonic power. It uses words to confuse and manipulate people, to cause division and chaos. And scripture says Leviathan is the king of the sons of pride. So he's the king over pride. And I'm going to say this again: if you are in a church environment where it seems the leaders struggle with any type of accountability or being challenged, or maybe people can't have concerns without being gossiped about, that kind of stuff, you know, that that's not a healthy church. That's a toxic environment. But let's examine this twisting of words thing. And, you know, it's so well camouflaged and subtle that you don't even see it in the moment when it's happening. So when we were at the Colti church that we left a few years ago, one of the leaders who we considered a close friend would often tell us stories about people, her interactions with people in the church. And, you know, I would just sit and listen and I'd be so surprised by the craziness that she had to deal with with people. But then I slowly started to see what was happening. So here's an example. They had moved to a really beautiful home on this amazing property full of trees and fields, and it was amazing out there. And it was the talk of the church, you know? And my friend, this leader, was telling us that somebody from the church had talked about building a tiny home on their property. Like literally making it sound like this person actually asked to build a tiny home on their property. And she didn't say the person's name, but I remember saying, Are you kidding me? Like, what the heck is wrong with people? Why would somebody think that that's okay? How could somebody think that you would give them permission and on and on and on? Well, a few days later, I met a friend from church for lunch. Now, this friend is one of those people, she's super funny, fun, quirky, great sense of humor, she's super high energy. And she was telling me how she had been talking to that friend, the leader, and she was just joking around saying, Oh, I'm gonna build a tiny house out here on this property, but you'll never see me because it's so big, and so it was a joke. It was this playful, fun banter, and it was very clearly that. It was very clearly a joke. But when Leviathan, the twisting serpent, has influence over someone, it will take the most harmless things and turn them into arrows of confusion and accusation and manipulation. So, you know, I would find myself defending this leader based on the words that were twisted to make herself look like a victim when she was actually the offender. But that's what happens. You know, you'll get sucked into defending these types of leaders even though they are the ones who are the aggressors. It's absolutely cuckoo. But that is a sign that you know that a Leviathan spirit has control over that environment. But that was the day that I started to revisit a lot of different conversations, and I realized oh no, this had been a place so many times where certain people were painted in a bad light to make herself look like a victim or to elevate herself, which is pride. And listen, if a leader can't be trusted not to take normal everyday conversations and turn them into a weapon, how can they be trusted with what they speak from the pulpit? They can't. If someone is twisting the words of their own friends for self-serving purposes, how can that person be trusted to lead people with the word of God? They can't. They can't be trusted. So, you know, it's sad because many Christians have placed themselves in churches that operate this way. And the reality is there are signs and there will be signs, but the longer you're under that deception, the more difficult it will be to see it and remove yourself from it. It was very difficult for us to leave that place. We had been there for close to seven years. So it was a very, very difficult process. But that's why I will keep saying that it is a very cult-like. You know, and it does not take much to look into what's happening right now in this season that we're in in the church. Look at all the leaders across denominations and look at what's happening. There are some serious problems with cult-like leadership, toxic environments, outright demonic activity in the church. Just go to Google. Google Mike Bickle, Michael Brown, Jeremiah Johnson. Google what's happening at Daystar, one of the largest and most influential Christian networks in the world. And those are just a few of the things that are going on right now. So to me, it feels like God is literally turning the church inside out. It's like what he said in Matthew 23, 25. Jesus said this. He said, What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy, full of greed and self-indulgence. So God is exposing what's going on on the inside. And it's not just about the big dogs, right? God's going to expose what's on the inside of all of us. That's why we need to be praying the prayers of David. We need to be praying Psalm 51, create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me. We need to be praying Psalm 139, search me, O God, know my heart, point out anything in me that offends you. These are the things we need to be praying and on our face before God, and then listen to what He has to tell us, because believe me, there are probably many things in each one of us that are not pleasing to the Lord. But, you know, I've been hearing a lot of people saying things like, you know, God is cleaning house, he's cleaning house, the exposures are happening, he's cleaning house. And I would say, yes, that's true. There's no doubt that he's cleaning house. And you know what? I bet there's going to be a lot more that comes. And I want to say this sharing stories of spiritual abuse and toxic church environments is not slander. It's not slander, it's not touching God's anointed and all that kind of stuff that people try to defend themselves with. I mean, are you kidding? That's what the picture is that the enemy wants to paint. He wants you to think that it's slander. He wants you to think that it's wrong to talk about this type of thing because he wants it to stay hidden. But you know what? Jesus warned against false prophets. Paul warned against false teachers who would twist the truth. That's what it says. Peter also warned against false teachers and false prophets. They warned against spies in the church, hypocrites, evil people, deceitful workmen. And listen, I understand there's a lot of people who feel very uncomfortable with these types of conversations because they feel that it's unloving. Probably because they've been in environments that have cultivated that mindset, right? Oh, it's not loving. So it's all love and not any truth. Especially when it comes to things inside the church. But listen, it is not loving if you sacrifice the truth on the altar of love. It's the truth that actually sets people free. It's not the love of God if you are compromising the truth or ignoring the truth. It's interesting that when it comes to the armor of God that Ephesians 6 talks about, right? It's the armor that we're supposed to be putting on every day. There isn't one piece of that armor that is love. So it's the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the spirit, the shield of faith, the belt of truth, and the shoes of the gospel. So why do you think the belt of truth made it in there as part of the armor? It's because truth is under attack. The enemy wants to dismantle the truth so that people are led astray. And if you don't protect yourself with the truth, the enemy will use the lie that love is all you need. Love's all you need. And I refuse to idolize love to the point where truth is forgotten. You know, where you can never confront anybody, you can never hold the liars and the manipulators and the abusers accountable for their awful behavior because we gotta be loving. And when you go through something like we did, and there's many people who have, it can actually push people away from the Lord, which I think is one of the goals of the enemy through those types of situations. But thankfully that did not happen to us. We have continued keeping God and His Word at the forefront of our lives. And it's funny, you know, when we were leaving, it was actually the day that we were having the conversation with our friends who were two leaders, and we were letting them know that we were leaving the church. And that day I received a text from someone who was also a leader in the church. And they gave me this word, right? It was a word from the Lord according to them. And I'm gonna share this with you because this is a picture of why God tells us to test the spirits, to test the prophecies. We are supposed to test them with his word and with our own discernment and with the Holy Spirit. So I got this text, and also can I just interject this too? How about we not send this type of word through a text message? Okay, so it says, Rochelle, there has been an attack launched against your family. It is one of spiritual suicide. The attempts for physical suicide have failed. So the enemy has pivoted to spiritual suicide. Do not partner with it, recognize it and rebuke it. Okay, a couple of things here. Number one, this leader who I had known for many years knew my history with suicide, with my dad and my brother committing suicide. Also, our youngest son, when he was about 11 years old, was struggling with some suicidal thoughts. And I had shared that with the leaders and some people there so they could be praying over him. So it's interesting that suicide was used several times in this word. Do you think that's a trigger word? Do you think that's a word that the enemy would love to bring up to me to try to stir up some emotions and some feelings that are not of God? Absolutely. Also, the enemy knew our plans to leave that church, to leave that manipulative, controlling environment. And he hated that. He wanted us to stay in that place. Because when you're in those environments, you yourself will become like it at some point. So I believe the enemy was involved absolutely in this word, trying to discourage us, trying to throw arrows at us. And honestly, I think that it's a sad thing that people have not been taught what a biblical prophecy would look like in this New Testament era, right? In this time that we're living in, what does it look like for the church to operate prophetically? What does it look like to give someone a prophetic word? I'll tell you this, it doesn't look like that. And so I actually responded in a way that was bold, and I just said, I don't receive this word. I believe that this is a curse, and I cancel any curses that have come with it. And, you know, she responded, we responded a few times back and forth. And of course, she was not willing to receive anything that I said. She was standing by the fact that she heard from the Lord and that it was her responsibility to deliver that word and on and on and on. So again, no accountability, no receiving of any kind of challenge. So that's another example of how those spirits operate. So my relationship with God has not changed. There was no spiritual suicide that happened. In fact, my relationship with the Lord is even deeper and stronger. But what it did do, what this experience did do, was change my relationship with the church. And I'm just gonna be honest with you here because why not, right? Why, why can't we be honest? Right now, I am not a fan of going to a church building to do church. And I've been told by lots of Christians, you know, well, you can't really build community outside of the church. You need the body of Christ to build community with. And although I agree that, yes, I need the body of Christ, I want other Christians in my circle, right? I'm just not sure that it looks the way we think it should. I'm not sure that the structure and the system of the Americanized church is what it's actually supposed to look like. And listen, this is just me. This is my opinion and my thoughts, and it's okay that if you disagree with me. But I just know that the Lord has taken me personally on this journey. He's taken our whole family on this journey, and he's just peeled back all these layers of wrong ways of thinking. And he's also removed these layers of heaviness that were actually put on us from being inside some of these churches. So there's just no doubt that God is shaking things, right? He's shaking things up, and we need to pay attention because it's not just people that he is exposing and removing. I think that he's exposing an entire system that he wants to remove. In Hebrews 12, 25 through 27, I'm gonna read this. It says, See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, speaking of Jesus, how much less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. The words once more indicate the removing of what can be shaken, that is, created things so that what cannot be shaken may remain. I know that was a lot, you should read it, Hebrews 12, 25 through 27. But it's basically just telling us God is shaking things. He's shaking the things that are not eternal. And instead of trying to ign ignore it, I think it's time we lean into it and we pay attention to what's being uncovered in this process of shaking. What is God revealing? What is he showing us? What needs to change? I guess that's probably a loaded question. Because I think a lot needs to change. I guess that's a conversation for another day. But what are we doing? What are we even doing when it feels like most Christians are just ignoring what God is doing? It feels like most Christians are just continuing to go through the motions to check the box of, oh, I'm a Christian because I go to church every Sunday and I lift my hands in worship. And although those aren't bad things, those are good things, I feel like we're missing a lot. And if there's truly going to be, you know, reformation and change and unity within the church, we have to start paying attention to what God is doing. We have to start being willing to speak the truth and hold people accountable and not continue to just play the game of church. So here's what I will leave you with: an encouragement. An encouragement to pay attention, to keep your eyes and ears open to what the Lord is telling you, what the Lord is showing you. Don't get caught up in only listening to those who are leading you. Don't get caught up in listening to only the preachers and the teachers. Seek the Lord yourself to see what he has to say. So, thanks again for listening. I hope you join me again next week.