The Four Types of Spirits You May See
A young girl saw a demon and it scared her. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she told her youth group leader. She wasn’t sure who to talk to and who would understand her.
I asked God what to share with her. My first thoughts were about God being her protector and that “Greater is He (God) that is in you, than he (Satan) that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) And the verse, “Submit yourself therefore to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). But, as we talked about it. The Holy Spirit reminded me. This is not the first time she has seen a demon. This will not be the last time she sees a demon. The gift of discerning spirits is a gift from God. If it is a gift, then the gift should be received with joy and it should produce gratitude to God and bring the fruit of the Spirit. As she unwraps the present and asks the Holy Spirit how to use it, then the Holy Spirit will be glad to show her why He gave her the gift.
I met with her and said, “I want to tell you about a special gift.” She wanted to know if it was a new phone or new clothes. She wanted to know if it was from me. I said, “No. This is a special gift from God. Now that you are old enough, God wants you to understand more about the special gift He has given you.”
I explained, “God has given you the gift of seeing four types of spirits. Most people can’t see what you see, that is why it is a gift. Because it is a gift, it should bring joy as you get to understand what it is. And, God will have a special time with you, teaching you how to use it. ”
God is one God and He is three persons … The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. When the Father talks it is often one word or a short sentence. He may just say, “Peace” or “Go.” The Son often says one or two sentences like, “I love you.” But the Holy Spirit is The Teacher. He will often say several sentences or several paragraphs. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit how to use the gift He gave you. He will have fun telling you about it. Be like Samuel who learned to hear God’s voice at a young age. (1 Samuel 3)
The first spirit that a person with the gift of discerning spirits may be able to see is a person’s spirit. If a man is angry, you may be able to sense the angry spirit on a street a block away from your house. I said, “You may have seen me before when I was angry, and my angry spirit scared you. So you may be afraid of me.” She agreed. It may seem scary, when it seems a person has two spirits. Especially if you are used to seeing them one way.
On a side note … if you know someone very well, you may be able to easily find their spirit in a crowded place. I recently found my wife at a water park. She did not know I was coming and did not have her cell phone. When I met her in line to a ride on the far side of the park, she kept asking, “How did you find us so fast? How did you know where we were?” I realized that I had used my gift to go directly to where she was.
The second spirit that you may be able to see is demons. They love attention. They often volunteer to teach you about God or try to scare you with fear. They love to tell lies and deceive people. Do NOT listen to them. They are full of lies. In order for a lie to have power, it has to be believed. That is why sorcery is so bad. People think they are controlling the demon, but they are being deceived. The demon is really playing with them and filling them with lies. People think the demons are giving them powers, but the demons are just getting the person to follow them.
Do not chase demons. They love to play hide and go seek to waste your time. They will peak out from behind a wall, hide and then move somewhere else. Do not go looking for them. Treat them like flies. If flies are far away, then ignore them. Don’t waste your day looking for them, they want to waste your time. If flies bother you, then tell them to leave. Tell them you are a princess, because your Father is the King of the Universe. If they mess with you, then the King is going to get upset with them.
If you see a demon on someone, don’t immediately cast them out. That person may want their demon. The person may like being bitter, and they have a demon that likes bitterness. The two of them like getting together and talking about the people they are mad at. If you cast the demon out, and the person does not give their life to Jesus and make Jesus King of their life, then the demon is allowed to come back. The person will say, “I miss you, come back.” Then the demon is allowed to bring seven more demons with him, when he comes back into the person. Just tell the demon to “Stand Down.” That means they are not allowed to talk, touch, shoot or do anything in your presence. They need to stop and leave your presence. Focus on sharing the gospel with the person. If they give their life to Jesus as their King, then tell the demon that it cannot come back.
The third spirit you may be able to see is angels. Angels don’t often show themselves. If you look at them to be amazed at their beauty, they will often hide themselves. Their purpose is to bring glory to God, not themselves. In the angel stories in the Bible, the focus is on the message from God or what God wants to do. We respect angels, because they are much stronger and more powerful than we are. We help them accomplish their goal by giving glory to God, not them. They love God and often volunteer to do what God wants done. If we are doing what God wants, they are allowed to help us. But, they usually won’t do our job for us. Even though Angels can do it better, it is not their turn to do certain jobs. God is giving us people the opportunity to do what He told us to do.
The fourth spirit we may be able to see is the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit showed himself as little flames about the size of a tongue on people’s heads. (Acts 2) Most of the times, when I see the Holy Spirit, is during the invitation portion of the message on Sundays. As people are talking to the Holy Spirit, I see little flames in their chest, just below their heart. Then they start thinking about lunch or something else and the flame goes out. That may explain why Paul uses the word picture, “Don’t quench The Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Remember, God gave you the special gift. If you ask Him how to use it and you follow God, then it will bring you joy.