Acts 16:16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The above verse speaks of an encounter the Apostle Paul had with a certain damsel. This means to me I am going to have to know for one thing: what is this Spirit of divination. I was out shopping one day with a friend and an unknown woman approached us and said somebody she knew had a Spirit of divination. I asked her to explain herself, she could not and she went away quickly. This woman did not expect somebody to challenge what came out of her mouth. Before we are finish with this letter, we are going to find out both damsels in the above verse has a lot in common with us. First let’s not see it as only physical, because that’s the only way the carnal mind sees things. This damsel had masters that she made rich. We too have our spiritual masters and they dwell in the mind. Most of us would like to be made Spiritually rich in the things of God; but very few of us are willing to pay the price. It will cost us our life in this world or our own carnal minded thinking about the Bible.  Matthew 16:25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Nobody believes more about what I believe than me and I want to save these things even when God is trying to show me what I believe is a lie. These things are a false image of God I created in my mind when I first went to the Bible. Psalm 58:3The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. I read the Bible and thought I could spiritually understood it and the lying lips went astray. What I saw was my own wisdom about the Bible and what I imagined it made me spiritually rich. Everybody sees the Bible in their own wisdom at first no exceptions; when God reveal this to us we can see we made the Bible sin, by judging it in our own wisdom. The Law our carnal mind will find or produce when reading the Bible is called: THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH. Romans 7:21 I find than a Law. when I would do good, evil is present with me. The more scriptures a person can utter; the more they imagined they’re growing in the wisdom of God. God will allow you to believe a lie and send you a strong delusion that you might be dammed. 2 Thessalonians 2:11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. You will end up with the wisdom of men and imagined it’s of God and die in your sins. Why, you ask would God do such a thing? 2 Thessalonians 2:10
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. NO LOVE OF THE TRUTH! The damsel which followed the Apostle Paul could quote a scripture but had no idea what that scripture Spiritually meant. The damsel or woman in the story represent the Laws, note the Supreme Court uses the image of a woman to represent the nations law. The damsel is God’s word without the Spirit; when we read the Bible without God’s Spirit it’s the dead letter. Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
People love to quote scriptures you hear this in: movies, plays, novels and your favorite Politician knows the voting dumb: Christian Right, will declare him as their man. Acts 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. Was the damsel saying anything wrong? Note, it says the damsel was a soothsayer as the Old Testament 
Character Balaam also was. Joshua 13:22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them. Strange verse here: it’s says the children of Israel did slay Balaam, him that was among them. In other words, he wasn’t really for them just among them. We have many thoughts in our wicked thinking among the word of God that are there to curse God’s words or Israel. Spiritually we will pay these thoughts to curse God’s true thoughts which we never seen. Numbers 22:12 And God said unto Balaam, thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. God’s words can bring a blessing or a curse: the curse will be unto you: when we make them our own thoughts. Our carnal mind will deceive us into thinking we are becoming Spiritually rich and our promotion and honor will be that of a fool. Numbers 22:17For I will promote thee [Balaam] unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. We promote ourselves in the things of God, not knowing the things are His words, they’re also His sheep. When I’m in Divination I’m claiming to see what I cannot see. We have our so-called psychics who claim to know your future based on the things you tell them. The carnal mind of man can never tell us the things of God that it thinks it sees spiritually. Acts 16:17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. Note it says she cried as followed Paul and his companions.  Act 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Often many times as I’m in the marketplace, I hear people quoting scripture and with a little bit of discernment: you know that they have no idea of what’s coming out of their mouth. Spiritually these people are smiting God’s sheep or words unaware. Deuteronomy 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Sometime people might use big words in conversations to show their mastery over the King’s English and the same can be said about the King of Kings words. We have all wanted to be a master over God’s word. The same has been said about a famous general that could quote scripture and cuss like a stable boy. When we put our vain thoughts on God’s word, we have taken the Lord’s name in vain and becomes His enemy. Think about it, hundreds of Preachers come on cable television every day and take God’s name in vain.  Psalm 139:20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Now having looked at some of the verses with the word, divination in them, let’s look at a synonym of divination, divine. Some of us may have even heard of the phrase ''don’t you look divine darling''? Did not we all look divine as we spoke wickedly against God’s word: great swelling words of the fleshly puffed up carnal mind. Jude 1:16These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. I remembered as a kid if I even rolled my eyes at my parent or murmured something under my breath, it would mean a few extra wops from a belt. In short, we cannot divine anything Spiritual of God, those verses on the pages on the Bible do not hear our voice because we never heard God’s voice. How do Preachers of today get an advantage over people? Because through admiration we admire their opinion and God doesn’t: God’s doesn’t respect any man’s opinion or person. Romans 2:11For there is no respect of persons with God. We have respected men’s opinion because it was basically our own opinion and that gave them the advantage. 2 Corinthians 2:11lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. See how in the next verse, that the Bibles does not speak on the physical: can you physically eat your own thoughts? Our own wicked devices are thoughts. Proverbs 1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. Millions imagine they are filled with God’s Spirit because they shake rattle and roll, only to be filled with their own devices. When I’m in divination I claim I speak for God and know nothing as I should: I’ve divined a lie. Micah 3:11
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. We have all judged God’s word for a reward. Have you ever spoke in an unknown tongue? Sure, you have every time you spoke God’s word with no Spiritual understanding to what you were saying. This also what the damsel with the spirit of divination in the Book of Acts was doing. 1 Corinthians 14:13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. The unknown tongue is merely man quoting scripture thinking he knows what they mean: that’s why it says in the above verse pray that he may interpret.1 Corinthians 14:14
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth but my understanding is unfruitful. Prayer is your desire and we don’t need a special time of the day to receive from God. When I’m in divination I am praying or speaking in the flesh or my own understanding about what a verse means. That’s why in the above verse it says my spirit prayeth: it’s the spirit of error that doing the interpretation not God. If it was God Spirit your understanding would be fruitful not unfruitful! Preachers on any given Sunday get up quoting scriptures without any Spiritual understanding to what the verses mean: the Scriptures are in a higher wisdom or language that our spirit of error cannot understand. 1 Corinthians 14:19 yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. The above average Pastor can quote maybe a hundred scriptures but cannot teach you what they mean, why? They haven’t been taught by God’s Spirit. I observed a small child try to communicate a thought to it's mother, the child made sounds that were strange to the mother and she could not understand his manner of communication: it was trying to learn talk like the parent. When we are being taught by God's Spirit to speak the things of God that way He sees them: we are no longer strange to Him. Psalm 144:11 Rid me, and deliver me from hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh, and their right is a right hand of falsehood.
 Michael Rudolph Hodges 4/12/2020/ amended 4/13/2022/ 8/22/2022

DIVINATION/ TONGUES

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