When I read the striking sermon Clean and Unclean - Preparing for the Dedication of Pastor Chris, I remembered how we as a family struggled to break the Mesmerising Spirit. As we are counting down to Aviv 1 for the rededication of Messianic Israel, I felt that I should say something about the topic of cleansing which could be beneficial to some of our members.

We (our family) had spiritual labels hanging around our necks telling the world that we have been mesmerised, or put under a spell. It is like we were walking around with big, red, flashing lights above our heads with a sign that says: 'VICTIM!' And because of this, we had been (in the past) cheated by so many people we have 'trusted'. Not only that, we have been robbed at the till-points at different supermarkets. However, we were unable to figure out why these things were happening to us. By 'robbed', I mean that the till operator would covertly ring up an item (sliced cold meats, milk, bread, etc.) for themselves without us noticing, and then have it for lunch, on our account. And we always saw this only when we were back at home.

One day my wife picked up a teaching from Arthur Burk which dealt with breaking the Mesmerising Spirit. And we realised that this was our problem (we still have many, but this was one of them). You might wonder why I would bring in a teaching of the Mesmerising Spirit. It is because the teaching also applied to cleansing ourselves in general, so it does not only apply to breaking the grip of the Mesmerising Spirit.

First we must understand what it means to be mesmerised, so let us look what the definition is of the word. The Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines 'mesmerise' as follows: 'hypnotise, spellbind, arrest, bedazzle, catch up, enchant, fascinate, grip, enthral'.

The primary purpose of this spirit is to:

• 1. Defame Yahweh;
• 2. Create a false perception of Yahweh;
• 3. Discredit Yahweh; and
• 4. Pervert the appearance of Yahweh (hide the true nature of Yahweh).

Another way this spirit operates is when you give honour to someone who is harbouring sin because he/she will defile you when there is life-giving exchange between yourselves. That is very dangerous. Whoever you are connected with that is living in deep sin, and you honour that person because of some truth coming from his/her mouth, you become defiled by that connection. Wherever a person needs to blow his own trumpet (shofar!) in trying to get you to submit to him, he is walking in dishonour before Yahweh. Break these relationships immediately. I had to break the relationships with the few friends I had.

The Mesmerising Spirit can go to the extreme to draw your attention to the ONLY thing that is wrong, and ignoring all that is right. It gets you absorbed into the bad and exaggerate it to such an extent that you can't see the whole picture Yahweh wants you to see.

We should not get locked into a situation we cannot understand and then blame Yahweh, as I have done a few times. We should turn our attention to the full picture and count our blessings. For instance, my wife and I had physical illnesses and we kept on focusing on those, praying and asking Yahweh to heal us. But that did not happen the way we wanted. The thing is, we should ask Yahweh what HE wants. Every day. And we must look back at where we came from and count our blessings. If the Mesmerising Spirit can draw our attention and focus to the imaginary 'failings' of Yahweh, where He has not given us what we asked for, then the Mesmerising Spirit will zoom into our problems so close, that they are bigger than Almighty Yahweh, His plans and designs.

And another thing. The Mesmerising Spirit can make bad people look good, and good people look bad. Have you ever experienced something like this before? I have.

There are a couple of things we have to do in order to take up the authority Yah'shua (Jesus) gave us over the enemy when He said:

"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Luke 10:19, NIV).

• 1. Face your problem - Find out which problems are from the devil you have to get rid of, and which are 'Father-filtered' (assigned by Yahweh);
• 2. Name it - make a list of the problems and name them;
• 3. Own it - put your name on it, even if you have no clue how to solve it and keep asking Yahweh for a strategy to battle the problem and to get a breakthrough;
• 4. Bless it - bless the pain for the good (cleansing) it would bring; and
• 5. Thank Yahweh for it - James 1:2-4 (NIV) says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Once you have taken ownership of the problem and dealt with it according to the above, you must:

• 1. Bind the spirit in the Character and Authority of Yah'shua (Jesus) our Messiah so that it cannot operate. Bind every Mesmerising Spirit in your life that is keeping you from seeing what you need to see - either the good or the bad of yourself;
• 2. Ask Yahweh to shine His light exactly where HE wants to shine it in order to reveal what HE wants to reveal. Do not couch Yahweh on where to shine His light. You don't know what Yahweh wants to do. Forcing your will on Yahweh is entering into witchcraft. Ask Yahweh to shine His light on your 'blind spots' and continue asking Him this for the duration of the countdown to Aviv. Ask Yahweh to reveal to you which problems today are activated by evil and that you should war against, and which problems are from Him, which He wants us to solve. Ask Yahweh to grant you boldness and faith, and the ability to attack the problems, to walk into it, and to make it building blocks that bring you closer to Him. Ask Yahweh to reveal to you the solutions to your problems, and for wisdom. Get out of denial and see you for who you really are;
• 3. Some people believe they are nothing and useless. Once Yahweh is battling those misbeliefs, you will discover that you are worth far more than you thought. Others are like blowfish who think they are worth far more than they are, but Yahweh will expose them. Either way, walking in reality is both painful and profitable;
• 4. Once Ruach Ha'Qodesh (Holy Spirit) has revealed to you your sins, you should repent each one and turn away from them and turn to Yahweh. Ask that Yahweh cleanse you with the Blood of Yah'shua (Jesus) and accept His forgiveness for those sins;
• 5. The Mesmerising Spirit should no longer have any legal right once you have followed the above and should leave by itself. If you are unsure, you can cast the spirit into the abyss in the Name (Character and Authority) of Yah'shua (Jesus).

In times of pain and chaos be life-giving (this is difficult, I know!) - ALWAYS. By doing so, Yahweh will position you into a position of leadership to the degree you can receive from Him, to the degree that you can be life-giving to others, to the degree Yahweh will give you the honour of leading a new life, releasing the incredible revelation of where you belong. Then you can claim your birth right.

Just yesterday my wife went to one of the supermarket that have these robbers working at the tills, and sure enough, the operator rang herself up 1 litre of milk. She was so quick that my wife missed it. However, she checked the till slip and found the milk rung up. She confronted the robber, but she (the robber) made as if the milk was actually physically there, perhaps somewhere close by, maybe in the trolley? She even stood up from her chair in an attempt to 'find' the 'milk'. Needless to say, the robber had to call the Floor Manager to reverse the charge.

If you would ask me if I still have problems, I would say yes, I do. I think I have more assigned problems (opportunities to learn) from Yahweh now in my life than say, two years ago. But what I can say is that Yahweh assigned me the opportunities (problems) in order for me to learn and to grow spiritually. I became an overcomer and I'm now walking in dominion. Sometimes I still feel miserable over situations and problems crossing my path. And when those feelings hang over me, I start by naming the problem, owning it, blessing it and thanking Yahweh for this new opportunity to learn from Him and to grow in the Ruach (Spirit).