The soul is made up of many layers and each layer contains deposits that come from everything we see and hear. No matter the purity or the debauchery of the content we take in, all of it will find its way onto a layer of our soul. With so many images and sounds mucking up our eye gates and ear gates, it’s easy to be overcome by a little darkness if we aren’t regularly addressing these layers of the soul in prayer. Regarding the issue of immorality, for example, the Apostle Paul said, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed, Christ our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).
Simply put, one overlooked deposit on a layer of the soul can become a springboard for much larger issues if we don’t immediately address an area in the soul that may be dark.
The layers of our souls can become cluttered with debris—those things we place on our souls through the materials we watch and read, or even the things we hear and speak. Images and words have power and our words will determine whether we walk in the power of God’s light or if we will walk according to the spirits that govern darkness. We all have the gift of choice; one choice may lead to life everlasting with abundant blessings; while another may lead to death; either way, we make the choice to follow God or to follow Satan.
The Bible says the power of life and death are in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) and it also says that believer’s in Jesus have the choice to embrace life or to embrace death (Deuteronomy 30:19). We determine the fruit that will be produced in our lives based upon the things we speak into the atmosphere. We also determine the fruit that will be produced in our lives when we make a conscious effort to read and listen to messaging that can either edify or damage our soul. It is up to us to choose those things that edify our souls and bring God glory. It is also up to us to foster an environment that produces the conditions necessary for improving our circumstances and manifesting our destiny.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God; this is true, but the Bible also directs us to see the Word of God with our eyes:
Proverbs 4:20-23
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart; for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Therefore, not only are we held accountable for what we hear, but also what we see. Additionally, not only should we be hearing the Word and seeing the Word, but we should be allowing Holy Spirit to strip away deposits formed on the layers of our souls from poor choices we make like watching, listening to, or consuming materials that do not edify the Spirit of God within us. Now, that isn’t to say we shouldn’t be well-rounded people with special skills, talents, abilities and hobbies; after all, God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27) and He placed those skills and talents within us for His own good pleasure. If someone is called to be a carpenter for example, they wouldn’t forego reading manuals or watching videos on how to become an expert in their craft. Excellence in one’s profession or hobby only serves to enhance one’s God-given abilities. Equally, if another enjoys fly fishing, they certainly wouldn’t be penalized by Holy Spirit for reading up on how to improve their fly fishing technique or how to master special fly fishing knots. God is actually a God who likes to have fun and He wants His children to enjoy life; but if we’re professing to love Jesus Christ, then we must make the choice to avoid reading certain materials or viewing certain images we know will grieve the Holy Spirit of God. At the close of every day, each one of us should be able to say with confidence before the Father that our lifestyle choices actually added value to the kingdom of God and brought Him some glory.
What fellowship does light have with darkness and what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?
Do Christian’s really need to be educated about the damage caused to the soul when they consume materials laden with witchcraft, or watch incredibly violent movies, or listen to extremely dark music? In the same regard, do believers really need to be told that it’s wrong to read books that contain spells or demonstrate storylines that magnify the devil or indulge in content that promotes illicit sex and adultery?
What we take in through our eye gates and our ear gates matters; and if we’re taking in garbage, then garbage is what will be produced in our souls, and garbage is what we will manifest when the time comes to move in faith.
There are a lot of voices in Christianity right now who are preaching kingdom authority and manifesting for God, but they are not speaking to “lifestyle”. The glory of God cannot be improperly handled by half-baked Christian’s who treat the sovereignty of God like it’s a toy they can draw from a toy box at will. Handling the glory comes with a cost; and the child of God interested in moving in the higher realms of authority must live a crucified life. That means no more consuming a diet of junk that weakens faith and produces spiritual lack. Sweet and bitter water cannot come forth from the same fountain and darkness and light cannot come forth from the same spirit, so it is incumbent upon us to make choices that edify our souls and choices that produce kingdom results. The glory of God can only be manifested through a sanctified vessel. We cannot live like the children of the devil and expect to handle the power of God.
In Luke 11:33-36, Jesus told the disciples that if the eye is dark then the entire body will be dark:
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore, take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Thankfully, we have the blood of Jesus to cover us when we miss it. We also have the Word of God to show us how to remove darkness from our souls if we consume things that are not God’s best for us.
Jesus said, “So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:9-13).
We can simply repent for any error on our part and be restored to fellowship again with God.
Matthew reads: “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).
If we have indulged in something that is unhealthy for our soul we can clear it away with prayer. Any shabby debris left behind by bad choices can be loosed from our soul and we can bind them to the dry places to never return (Luke 11:24). We do this by speaking to the darkness and commanding it to go. Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7).
2019 needs to be a year of consecration for many—a stripping away of those things that clearly grieve the Holy Spirit of God and produce death in our souls. The times and seasons of God demand we lay ourselves open and bare before Him so He can remove what is keeping us in bondage to carnal living and fill us with those things that bring Him glory—like the Word, the Spirit, and our commitment to His kingdom agenda. Once we make the determination to be a vessel of honor for His plans and purposes, nothing will be impossible for us to accomplish in this earth, nothing; but we have to be free from the demonic clutter that comes from participating with evil and we have to say no to anything that keeps us in bondage to carnal living.
Say no to mindless junk. Verbally loose the garbage from your soul by repenting and commanding all that shabby debris on your soul to flee seven ways to the dry places, then don’t consume anymore junk. Keep your eye gates and your ear gates clean with the Word of God and prayer and if you do have a misstep and inadvertently consume something through your gates you know grieves Holy Spirit then just repent and keep it moving. There is absolutely nothing too difficult for God and He will honor us if we’re honoring Him. The earth is crying out for the sons and daughters of God to manifest for the kingdom and establish regions of light for the goodness of God (Romans 8:19), so be willing to be the one in your generation who establishes His will in the earth just as the scripture proclaims in Matthew 6:10.
It begins today. It begins with us. Come to a higher purpose in God beloved, and taste and see that the Lord is good.