Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! 11 Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. 12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. 13 So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. 14 Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate, 15 and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom. 16 Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17 And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; 18 as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.

19 And pray for me, too, that whenever I open my mouth, the words will be given to me to be bold in making known the secret of the Good News, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak boldly, the way I should.

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

We do need recognize the enemies schemes, but let’s not look for a “demon” under every rock.

We need to keep our focus on Yeshua. It is vital we study the “Authentic” so as to recognize the counterfeit.

Today we are going to learn about “religious spirits.” and what their activity is concerning spiritual warfare.

One of their aims is to trap a person or/and a group into dead works with no spiritual power or thrust.

As a reminder, the anointing is like the wind that empowers and accelerates the purposes of Yahweh.

What exactly is a religious spirit? It is an unclean spirit which uses religious structures to entangle people into bondage, prevent transformation, and enforce the spiritual status quo.

It fight revelation, defies prophetic insight, hates apostolic authority, and uses tradition to build structures of limitation.

Living in the kingdom of Yahweh demands the precious oil of The Holy Spirit.

Every where Yeshua went, there were supernatural results. This was one of the most distinguishing aspects of Yeshua’s ministry.

Hebrews 13:8 Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Matthew 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap Him with a word. And they sent to Him some of their disciples, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are honest and teach the way of God in truth. And what others think doesn’t concern You, for You do not look at men’s appearance. Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Yeshua, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they said to Him. Then He said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And hearing this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

The religious elite of the day were trying to trap Yeshua in a trap. They were furious because He was preaching a message of love, power, and the kingdom.

They were preaching a message of defeat, bondage, and condemnation.

In the passage of the above Scriptures, there are some telltale signs of the religious spirit. These markers helps us to understand and know the makeup of this spirit.

They conspired against Yeshua. The religious spirit will rally allies in offense and anger. Secrecy is one of the enemies great strategies.

2 Co 4:4-5 In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they might not see the light of the Good News of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Messiah Yeshua as Lord—and ourselves as your slaves for Yeshua’s sake.

They used flattery to His face, yet their ultimate goal was to take Him out. The enemy uses flattery to speak to the egos of people and drive in a nail of bondage. They spoke to Yeshua with the intent of flattering Him while secretly plotting against Him.

Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

They were offended by truth yet honored dead traditions. The religious spirit does not honor the Word of Yahweh. It twists The Word to strip away the power of God.

Mark 7:7-8 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ Having left behind the commandment of God, you hold on to the tradition of men.

They held secret meetings joined together by a common offense. When the oil of The Holy Spirit is removed, the atmosphere becomes dry. When there is a religious person, church, or ministry, there will be an abundance of offense. God unites people by spiritual purpose, assignment and legacy. The enemy rallies people around anger, bitterness and offense

Teaching brings liberty. The work of the religious spirit must be counter acted by teaching and training. Many moves of Yahweh are aborted too quickly by the attacks of a religious spirit. In the void of proper teaching, people succumb to the mental attacks of a religious spirit.

Teaching plays a vital role in renewing the corporate mind of the Body of Messiah. The operations of the religious spirit will attack and attempt to discredit any teaching that holds power to set people free.

Teaching is essential to the formation, maintenance, And healthy establishments of new wineskins and new Wine.

Mark 2:22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins; and the wine is lost, also the skins. But one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.