Steve Sampson - Discerning and Defeating the Ahab Spirit: The Key to Breaking Free from Jezebel

What Leaders Are Saying

My dear friend Steve Sampson has done a thorough and marvelous job of taking you step by step through the process of recognizing and unlearning the unhealthy and unaffirming behaviors of passivity and aggression. He also shows you the way into a life filled with the peace of God that passes all understanding and the joy that is your birthright in Christ. Steve effectively uses the templates of Ahab and Jezebel to personify these extremes in behavior, applying simple truths from Scripture to show you instead how to live assertively, the way Jesus lived.

from the foreword by Bishop Mark J. Chironna, Ph.D.,
The Masters Touch International Church (Orlando, Florida);
www.markchironna.com

Steve Sampson shares with us on a critical issue for all believers in this hour. We have passively withdrawn from the battle again and again, and our children and this nation have suffered from the consequences of the Ahab spirit. May God use the insights in this book to help us take back the high places and release once again the Spirit of Elijah.

Mahesh Chavda, senior pastor, All Nations Church (Charlotte,
NC, and Atlanta, GA); www.maheshchavda.com

With personal experiences to back him up, Steve Sampson shines light on the two emotions that control our lives: fear and love. Taking two characters from the Bible, Ahab and Jezebel, Steve uses these personality types to show how aggression and passivity can harm future relationships and your walk with God. With insight and passion, he reveals the key to overcoming both to live a fruitful and high-quality life with God at the center.

Presently one of the principalities suffocating the spiritual resources of many nations is the Ahab spirit. Steves book will definitely enlighten and assist you in your walk with God, and show you how to deal with these wicked spiritual forces.

Kim Clement, author, Call Me Crazy but Im Hearing God
and Secrets of the Prophetic; www.kimclement.com

I have known Steve Sampson for more than two decades. He has an unusual ability to unlock spiritual paradigms of behavior that are often seen in the lives of many Christians.

When we first met in 1985, he was immediately embraced by the Covenant Church family for his sincerity and transparency. He has this marvelous ability for self-deprecation, enabling almost anyone to identify with his message. He takes complex truths and simplifies them for everyone listening. I have long admired his insight into Scripture with a view toward producing practical insights for his listeners and readers.

Much has been said, taught and disseminated about the Jezebel spirit, but the polar opposite, the Ahab spirit, has remained hiddenuntil now. I believe this book will be a textbook for pastors, teachers and counselors to help people grow in their spiritual lives. And any Christian will benefit invaluably by Steves wisdom.

Bishop Joseph L. Garlington Sr., Ph.D., senior pastor,
Covenant Church of Pittsburgh; www.ccop.org

Steve Sampson has been given a unique prophetic anointing and is setting the captives free. His book Confronting Jezebel brought me life on every page. The illumination and insight caused the darkness around me to flee. Now he is giving us this new work that will continue where Confronting Jezebel left off, arming us with true revelation from Gods Word.

Dr. Joe VanKoevering, host, Gods News Behind the News;
www.godsnews.com

This book will not help you unless you read it! If you read it, you will have a guide for change and maturity that really works and will help you enjoy your Christian faith more. It is a bare-knuckled approach to the personal, social and spirit forces that alter or control our everyday lives. With love, grace and experience from years of ministry to troubled Christians, Steve walks where other writers avoid (and consequently leave the reader unchanged). This book is a spotlight on the reality of human decisions and what causes them.

Dr. Robert Cornwall, co-author, The Five Foundations of
Marriage; pastor to pastors (for 60 years)

DISCERNING
and
DEFEATING
the AHAB
SPIRIT

DISCERNING
and
DEFEATING
the AHAB
SPIRIT

The Key to Breaking Free
from Jezebel

STEVE SAMPSON

2010 by Steve Sampson

Published by Chosen Books
A division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.chosenbooks.com

E-book edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1362-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

To protect the privacy of those who have shared their stories with the author, some details and names have been changed.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided only as a resource; Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

Contents

T hank You, sweet Holy Spirit, for Your wonderful guidance and wisdom and for ordering my steps as You led me through my own personal process of healing and deliverance. I love You for the way You guide us into Your truth.

My heartfelt appreciation goes to my good friend Melodie Thomas for her invaluable assistance in completing this manuscript. Melodie, the depth of your own personal experiences has contributed greatly in revealing the compassion and glory of God. May He bless you for your willingness to be an overcomer.

Thanks also to Judith Vercher, LMFT, a Certified Relationship Therapist and an anointed counselor. Judith, your profound understanding of human behavior has provided so many insights into understanding the conflicts we all face in life. The Lord bless you for the professional input you provided toward better understanding this topic.

To Ann and Fred Goocher, my sister and brother-in-lawyou have been a continual source of encouragement in my life. Thank you for your prayers and the selfless time spent in helping me to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit.

I am especially appreciative of my friend Pastor John Crane for being a voice into my life and seeking God with me. It goes without saying that you have greatly influenced me in my walk with the Lord. The wisdom and the profound insight that the Lord gives you always leaves me amazed.

Lastly, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have prayed and stood with me through the unfolding of this manuscript. May God bless you and honor you for your unselfish devotion in seeking Him and lifting up the needs of His people.