How Religious Spirits Destroy Intimacy With God

The concept we have of God in our heart and mind very much determines whether we will seek Him with our whole heart and whether we run after Him in times of trouble.

If your concept of God is that He is an angry God, why would you want to run to Him in times of trouble?

If it is that He is domineering and controlling why would you run there?

If He is a distant God, you wouldn’t run to Him because He doesn’t care anyway.

But if He is only a loving God, we tend to make Him into a doting God, and not a God who corrects us or helps us to become better.

Our concept of God is critically important to us.

Scriptures gives us a complete picture of the true living God.

1. He is Righteous God (Ps. 11:7). He is the only one who is right all the time, every time. When we’re wrong we can run to Him and He’ll help us get it right. When we’re unrighteous we can run to Him and He’ll make us righteous. He won’t just beat us up.

2. He is Almighty God (Gen. 17:1). And He wants you to walk with Him.

3. He is Everlasting God. He never wears out!

4. He is Omniscient God (Ps. 139:4).

5. He is Holy God. Holy means set apart exclusively for sacred use.

For 40 years Moses walked the mountainside with his sheep, and when he went to look at a bush that was on fire, God said, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Wait a minute! It’s just a mountain side.

Not anymore. Because God’s presence is there—now it’s holy!

The Dean that grew up in Spokane, Washington, was evil and wicked. If you’d known me back then, you wouldn’t want to have me for your friend. You wouldn’t want to hang out with me. I was evil. I was wicked. I was mean. I was violent. But July 3, 1964, the Holy Spirit drew me to an old bull-pine log altar where I gave my life to Jesus Christ. And Jesus took up dwelling in my life. All that I used to be, God forgave, and made me just as if I’d never sinned. He said, “All that you did before—I’ll never remember it again.” And He made my life … holy!

Jesus came and lived in me.

Isn’t that amazing?

And the heavenly Father says “I want you to seek Me and enter into the secret place with Me.” That’s where He wants us to live and dwell.

But God, You’re holy!

Yes, and I will make you holy. Come and live with Me!

God wants us there.

But you have to have the right concept of God because if you don’t, you wont think you can.

And I want to tell you today that you can.

Because God’s Word says you can!

Dr. F. Dean Hackett has served in full-time Christian ministry since October 1971. He has ministered throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, serving as pastor, conference speaker and mentor. He has planted four churches, assisted in planting 15 others, and currently serves as lead pastor of Living Faith Church in Hermiston, Oregon. Dr. Hackett founded Spirit Life Ministries International in 2001 to facilitate ministries in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to open a training center for workers in those nations. You can find him at F. Dean Hackett – Foundational, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.