1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,200 We're talking about the unseen realm still been in here for about a month. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:05,840 Mazzon, you can cut that down even some more. 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:06,840 I think it's a little loud, right? 4 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:07,480 Y'all good with this? 5 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:08,320 Is this a good volume? 6 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:08,580 Yeah. 7 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:08,880 All right. 8 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:09,180 Cool. 9 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:15,320 So we've been talking about angels and demons, and we've been talking about how the unseen realm 10 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,560 interacts with our world today. 11 00:00:18,620 --> 00:00:26,020 And one of the main ways that the unseen realm interacts with our today is demonic possession. 12 00:00:26,020 --> 00:00:30,500 And so we're going to talk about demonic possession tonight. 13 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:31,620 Now, maybe you're interested in that. 14 00:00:31,620 --> 00:00:34,060 Maybe you're like, oh, no, I should have skipped this Wednesday, but it's good. 15 00:00:34,060 --> 00:00:43,020 You need to know about this because here's something I'm really passionate about is, is we tend to discredit this as something that just happened in Jesus's day. 16 00:00:43,340 --> 00:00:47,500 When in reality, this has never stopped happening since Jesus's day. 17 00:00:48,180 --> 00:00:52,440 We still see demonic possession in our world today. 18 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:53,800 So here's what I want to clarify. 19 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:54,740 I wrote this down. 20 00:00:54,740 --> 00:00:58,520 I'm going to, I'm going to state this so that I don't get quoted out of context. 21 00:00:58,520 --> 00:00:58,900 Okay. 22 00:00:59,220 --> 00:01:00,540 Here's my clear statement. 23 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:05,360 Mental health issues are real and people need to take mental health seriously. 24 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:07,340 Everybody, you heard me say it. 25 00:01:07,900 --> 00:01:09,260 Mental health issues are real. 26 00:01:09,620 --> 00:01:11,440 We need to take mental health seriously. 27 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:17,140 I'm a huge advocate for that as someone who has struggled with his mental health for over a decade now. 28 00:01:17,140 --> 00:01:18,540 I'm a huge advocate for that. 29 00:01:18,540 --> 00:01:29,540 Now that I've stated that, I also believe that very often we attribute things to mental health problems that are more biblically explained by demonic possession. 30 00:01:29,540 --> 00:01:31,540 So do we understand the difference there? 31 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:36,540 Not everyone who struggles with mental health or has mental health issues is possessed by a demon. 32 00:01:36,540 --> 00:01:37,540 I'm not saying that. 33 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:47,540 What I am saying is that there are some extreme cases where people are trying to diagnose someone with mental health issues when in reality, the Bible would say, 34 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:52,540 actually, maybe they are possessed by a demon or at least demonically oppressed. 35 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:54,540 And so here's a simple question to start off with. 36 00:01:54,540 --> 00:01:57,540 Who is susceptible to demonic possession? 37 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:01,540 The unsaved. 38 00:02:01,540 --> 00:02:02,540 Yeah, that's right. 39 00:02:02,540 --> 00:02:03,540 That's the plain clear answer. 40 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:12,540 Any person who is not a believer who does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit is susceptible to demonic possession. 41 00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:14,540 You see this in 1 Corinthians 619. 42 00:02:14,540 --> 00:02:21,540 The Bible says, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. 43 00:02:21,540 --> 00:02:22,540 So you are not your own. 44 00:02:22,540 --> 00:02:26,540 So the Bible is saying that your body is not even your own body. 45 00:02:26,540 --> 00:02:30,540 So there's a whole nother argument to be had there for my body, my choice. 46 00:02:30,540 --> 00:02:32,540 Actually, no, your body belongs to God. 47 00:02:32,540 --> 00:02:34,540 You don't get to do whatever you want with it. 48 00:02:34,540 --> 00:02:36,540 That's another sermon for another day. 49 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:37,540 Stay tuned. 50 00:02:37,540 --> 00:02:43,540 But our body belongs to the Lord and says that if you're a believer, you are indwell by the Holy Spirit. 51 00:02:43,540 --> 00:02:45,540 And so your house is occupied. 52 00:02:45,540 --> 00:02:47,540 There's no vacancy there, right? 53 00:02:47,540 --> 00:02:49,540 It is an occupied house. 54 00:02:49,540 --> 00:02:52,540 2 Corinthians 614-16 says it this way. 55 00:02:52,540 --> 00:02:56,540 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. 56 00:02:56,540 --> 00:03:00,540 For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? 57 00:03:00,540 --> 00:03:02,540 Now I want you to pay attention to this passage. 58 00:03:02,540 --> 00:03:09,540 And as we're specifically talking about demonic possession, think about your house as a place that can be occupied. 59 00:03:09,540 --> 00:03:15,540 And the first thing that said here is what partnership has there between righteousness with lawlessness? 60 00:03:15,540 --> 00:03:17,540 The two cannot occupy the same house. 61 00:03:17,540 --> 00:03:18,540 Do you see that? 62 00:03:18,540 --> 00:03:19,540 There's no partnership there. 63 00:03:19,540 --> 00:03:23,540 Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 64 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:26,540 What accord has Christ with bellio? 65 00:03:26,540 --> 00:03:29,540 Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 66 00:03:29,540 --> 00:03:33,540 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? 67 00:03:33,540 --> 00:03:35,540 For we are the temple of the living God. 68 00:03:35,540 --> 00:03:42,540 As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. 69 00:03:42,540 --> 00:03:53,540 Now if you apply this to the topic of demonic possession, it's saying that you cannot have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you and also be occupied by a demon. 70 00:03:53,540 --> 00:03:54,540 There is no partnership between them. 71 00:03:54,540 --> 00:03:56,540 They can have nothing going on together. 72 00:03:56,540 --> 00:04:01,540 If your house is filled by the Holy Spirit, you cannot have a demon. 73 00:04:01,540 --> 00:04:12,540 And then 1 John 4, 1-4, the Bible says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. 74 00:04:12,540 --> 00:04:15,540 For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 75 00:04:15,540 --> 00:04:18,540 By this, you know the spirit of God. 76 00:04:18,540 --> 00:04:22,540 Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 77 00:04:22,540 --> 00:04:27,540 And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. 78 00:04:27,540 --> 00:04:33,540 This is the spirit of the Antichrist which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 79 00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:34,540 Now listen to this last verse. 80 00:04:34,540 --> 00:04:35,540 Okay, pay attention. 81 00:04:35,540 --> 00:04:39,540 Little children, you were from God and have overcome them. 82 00:04:39,540 --> 00:04:45,540 For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 83 00:04:45,540 --> 00:04:47,540 Now that's a comforting verse, right? 84 00:04:47,540 --> 00:04:48,540 We love that verse. 85 00:04:48,540 --> 00:04:50,540 Here's what I want to put to you, right? 86 00:04:50,540 --> 00:04:52,540 Who is he talking about there? 87 00:04:52,540 --> 00:04:54,540 When he says he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 88 00:04:54,540 --> 00:04:56,540 Who is he talking about? 89 00:04:56,540 --> 00:04:59,540 The Holy Spirit, right? 90 00:04:59,540 --> 00:05:10,540 Now John, if you look at this, John is writing this statement to Christians and it's meant to be that any Christian at any time can read this verse and it be true for them. 91 00:05:10,540 --> 00:05:13,540 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 92 00:05:13,540 --> 00:05:21,540 If Christians can be possessed by demons, then this verse cannot be true, right? 93 00:05:21,540 --> 00:05:24,540 Because he could be talking about anyone at that point. 94 00:05:24,540 --> 00:05:26,540 He who is in you, well who is in me at this point? 95 00:05:26,540 --> 00:05:28,540 Is it a demon or is it the Holy Spirit? 96 00:05:28,540 --> 00:05:35,540 The only way that this verse can be true all the time is if the only person who is in you is the Holy Spirit and no one else. 97 00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:42,540 So the Bible clearly teaches that it is not possible for Christians to be possessed by demons. 98 00:05:42,540 --> 00:05:44,540 Praise the Lord, right? 99 00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:46,540 Now you can still be oppressed by demons. 100 00:05:46,540 --> 00:05:49,540 It happened all throughout the disciples ministries. 101 00:05:49,540 --> 00:05:51,540 It happened to Jesus in his own ministry. 102 00:05:51,540 --> 00:05:59,540 But the good news for us today is that we cannot be possessed by demons because we have the Holy Spirit. 103 00:05:59,540 --> 00:06:04,540 So what does the Bible teach us about demonic possession? 104 00:06:04,540 --> 00:06:07,540 Well there are a number of passages that we're going to go to. 105 00:06:07,540 --> 00:06:11,540 We're not actually going to go to this one but you can write it down for a later reference. 106 00:06:11,540 --> 00:06:12,540 Mark chapter 9. 107 00:06:12,540 --> 00:06:14,540 It's an interesting story. 108 00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:15,540 Mark chapter 9. 109 00:06:15,540 --> 00:06:27,540 It records a father who brings his son to Jesus because his son is mute and deaf and possessed by a demon. 110 00:06:27,540 --> 00:06:32,540 And the demon not only made him mute and deaf but also gave the boy seizures. 111 00:06:32,540 --> 00:06:44,540 And most telling in this account is that the father tells Jesus that the demon often causes the boy to convulse and seize whenever the boy got around fire and water. 112 00:06:44,540 --> 00:06:46,540 Isn't that interesting? 113 00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:55,540 Anytime the boy got around fire and water, the demon would seize him, calls him to convulse, and then Jesus goes on, or the father goes on explaining to Jesus, and he says, 114 00:06:55,540 --> 00:07:04,540 And the demon has many times thrown him into the fire and the water trying to overcome him and destroy him. 115 00:07:04,540 --> 00:07:06,540 And so that's an interesting thing. 116 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:15,540 When you start looking at demonic oppression or demonic possession in the Bible is that the demon wants to destroy the one it's inhabiting. 117 00:07:15,540 --> 00:07:16,540 Do you get that? 118 00:07:16,540 --> 00:07:20,540 Anytime they're around fire and water, the demon throws the boy in there because he can just go get a new house. 119 00:07:20,540 --> 00:07:22,540 He can go find someone else. 120 00:07:22,540 --> 00:07:23,540 What is the goal there? 121 00:07:23,540 --> 00:07:28,540 Why would he want to do that? 122 00:07:28,540 --> 00:07:30,540 Okay, maybe one reason. 123 00:07:30,540 --> 00:07:31,540 Anybody else? 124 00:07:31,540 --> 00:07:32,540 Any other thoughts? 125 00:07:32,540 --> 00:07:40,540 Why would the demon go through the trouble of possessing someone for the sole purpose of killing that person if it just means he's going to have to find someone else to present? 126 00:07:40,540 --> 00:07:42,540 What's the point behind that? 127 00:07:42,540 --> 00:07:50,540 Is it just senseless killing or is there something more there? 128 00:07:50,540 --> 00:07:57,540 I think it's because demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God. 129 00:07:57,540 --> 00:07:58,540 They hate God. 130 00:07:58,540 --> 00:08:01,540 They wanted to overtake him, overthrow him with Satan. 131 00:08:01,540 --> 00:08:03,540 And what are humans? 132 00:08:03,540 --> 00:08:08,540 We are those who are made in the image of God. 133 00:08:08,540 --> 00:08:17,540 And so it is natural for those who hate God to hate those who are made in his image and want to destroy them. 134 00:08:17,540 --> 00:08:19,540 That's why this demon is trying to kill the boy. 135 00:08:19,540 --> 00:08:22,540 It has nothing to do with he just hates this particular boy. 136 00:08:22,540 --> 00:08:24,540 It's the fact that this boy is made in the image of God. 137 00:08:24,540 --> 00:08:29,540 This demon wants to kill him, move on to someone else, kill that person and so forth and so on. 138 00:08:29,540 --> 00:08:33,540 They hate those who are made in the image of God and try to destroy them. 139 00:08:33,540 --> 00:08:39,540 But one of the best passages on demonic possession in the Bible is in Mark chapter five. 140 00:08:39,540 --> 00:08:41,540 We're going to hang out there for the rest of our time. 141 00:08:41,540 --> 00:08:43,540 So if you have your Bibles, you can open up. 142 00:08:43,540 --> 00:08:44,540 It'll be on the screen. 143 00:08:44,540 --> 00:08:46,540 Mark chapter five. 144 00:08:46,540 --> 00:08:51,540 It's a lengthy section, but I'm going to read it for us. 145 00:08:51,540 --> 00:08:56,540 The Bible says they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the garrisons. 146 00:08:56,540 --> 00:09:03,540 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat immediately, there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. 147 00:09:03,540 --> 00:09:08,540 He lived among the tombs and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 148 00:09:08,540 --> 00:09:16,540 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart and he broke the shackles in pieces. 149 00:09:16,540 --> 00:09:19,540 And no one had the strength to subdue him. 150 00:09:19,540 --> 00:09:27,540 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 151 00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:32,540 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him and crying out with a loud voice. 152 00:09:32,540 --> 00:09:37,540 He said, what have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? 153 00:09:37,540 --> 00:09:40,540 I adjure you by God, do not torment me. 154 00:09:40,540 --> 00:09:48,540 Now it's interesting that the demon is in the name of God, trying to command the son of God to do something. 155 00:09:48,540 --> 00:09:52,540 For he was saying to him, come out of the man, you unclean spirit. 156 00:09:52,540 --> 00:09:54,540 And Jesus asked him, what is your name? 157 00:09:54,540 --> 00:09:57,540 He replied, my name is Legion, for we are many. 158 00:09:57,540 --> 00:10:01,540 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 159 00:10:01,540 --> 00:10:07,540 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside and they begged him saying, send us to the pigs, let us enter them. 160 00:10:07,540 --> 00:10:11,540 So he gave them permission and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. 161 00:10:11,540 --> 00:10:21,540 And the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. 162 00:10:21,540 --> 00:10:27,540 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country and people came to see what it was that had happened. 163 00:10:27,540 --> 00:10:35,540 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon possessed man, the one who had had the legions sitting there clothed and in his right mind. 164 00:10:35,540 --> 00:10:38,540 And they were afraid. 165 00:10:38,540 --> 00:10:43,540 Now what are some of the characteristics we see about demonic possession here? 166 00:10:43,540 --> 00:10:44,540 This is an interesting case. 167 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:51,540 It's one of the longest, I think it is actually the longest case in the Bible of demonic possession and it's very enlightening. 168 00:10:51,540 --> 00:10:58,540 I want you to notice one of the first things is that demonic possession, at least in this case, involves total isolation. 169 00:10:58,540 --> 00:11:00,540 Now you saw that there. 170 00:11:00,540 --> 00:11:03,540 It said that the man lived among the tombs. 171 00:11:03,540 --> 00:11:08,540 He was living amongst the dead and he was there by himself, totally isolated. 172 00:11:08,540 --> 00:11:15,540 And we actually see, if you read this account in Matthew and in Luke, they add another interesting detail. 173 00:11:15,540 --> 00:11:25,540 The demon possessed man had such an influence over this region that people would avoid the region altogether. 174 00:11:25,540 --> 00:11:29,540 The Bible says that they found an alternate route to take to get to their destination. 175 00:11:29,540 --> 00:11:36,540 So he had some sort of influence on this region that caused people to take a different way. 176 00:11:36,540 --> 00:11:46,540 And so if you notice what's going on here, you have a man who's possessed by a demon and it's such the case that people do not want to be in his presence. 177 00:11:46,540 --> 00:11:53,540 There is something about this man that rubs them the wrong way and causes them to avoid him entirely. 178 00:11:53,540 --> 00:11:59,540 This person ends up living an isolated life as a result of his demonic possession. 179 00:11:59,540 --> 00:12:06,540 Another interesting thing to note here is that this man had supernatural strength. 180 00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:15,540 The Bible says here that he was breaking the bonds and no one could contain him or overpower him because he was too strong. 181 00:12:15,540 --> 00:12:22,540 Now, Paul's, we have no reason to believe that this happens in every single instance of demonic possession. 182 00:12:22,540 --> 00:12:27,540 In fact, this is the only one in the Bible that I know of where someone has supernatural strength. 183 00:12:27,540 --> 00:12:32,540 But here is what is interesting is if you look at demonic possession in the Bible, 184 00:12:32,540 --> 00:12:40,540 it is often the case that the person who is possessed by the demon ends up getting some sort of supernatural ability. 185 00:12:40,540 --> 00:12:43,540 In this case, supernatural strength. 186 00:12:43,540 --> 00:12:46,540 In another case, a very interesting case from the book of Acts, 187 00:12:46,540 --> 00:12:54,540 there was a slave girl who was possessed by a demon who had the gift of divination, the Bible says. 188 00:12:54,540 --> 00:13:03,540 And Paul eventually cast the demon out of that young woman and she loses the ability to perform the divine arts 189 00:13:03,540 --> 00:13:06,540 and do divination and all that kind of stuff. 190 00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:12,540 Which is interesting that it's only when she's possessed by the demon that she has some sort of supernatural ability. 191 00:13:12,540 --> 00:13:21,540 And so it does seem that the person who is possessed by a demon has some other, otherworldly supernatural something going on with him. 192 00:13:21,540 --> 00:13:25,540 This might not always be the case, but we have examples in the Bible where it is the case, 193 00:13:25,540 --> 00:13:31,540 which, you know, there's something to be said there for those who do practice the occult and divination. 194 00:13:31,540 --> 00:13:34,540 It might be that they're not always fooling people. 195 00:13:34,540 --> 00:13:41,540 It could be that they're actually in touch with the demonic realm, possibly possessed by a demon, 196 00:13:41,540 --> 00:13:48,540 and therefore have some sort of supernatural ability that causes them to be able to perform divine arts. 197 00:13:48,540 --> 00:13:50,540 Something to think about, you know? 198 00:13:50,540 --> 00:13:57,540 It's easy to dismiss everything in our world that doesn't fit nicely into our nice little modern materialistic boxes. 199 00:13:57,540 --> 00:14:05,540 But if you're going to be a Bible-believing Christian, you have to come to terms with the fact that there are things beyond our understanding 200 00:14:05,540 --> 00:14:08,540 that are at power and operating in our world today. 201 00:14:08,540 --> 00:14:11,540 And rather than dismiss them sometimes, it's best to just say, 202 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:13,540 I can actually see a biblical category for this. 203 00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:19,540 I don't understand it entirely, but maybe it's there, which is why we're going to talk about Bigfoot next week. 204 00:14:19,540 --> 00:14:21,540 No, I'm joking. Could you imagine? 205 00:14:21,540 --> 00:14:23,540 But seriously, if you want to talk about Bigfoot next week. 206 00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:29,540 So another key characteristic here, I want you to note this, is extreme depression. 207 00:14:29,540 --> 00:14:32,540 You see that with the man. This is a tragic tale. 208 00:14:32,540 --> 00:14:37,540 The man, the Bible says, was constantly crying day and night. 209 00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:41,540 And now this is not to say, again, I'm going to make a clear statement. 210 00:14:41,540 --> 00:14:45,540 This is not to say that every person who struggles with depression is possessed by a demon. 211 00:14:45,540 --> 00:14:51,540 I've struggled with depression for over 10 years now, and I can confidently say I'm not possessed by a demon. 212 00:14:51,540 --> 00:14:53,540 I have the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. 213 00:14:53,540 --> 00:14:58,540 So just because you're depressed or struggle with depression does not mean you are possessed by a demon. 214 00:14:58,540 --> 00:15:05,540 However, what's interesting is one of the key characteristics, I think in almost every case of demonic possession in the Bible, 215 00:15:05,540 --> 00:15:11,540 is some form of extreme depression and overwhelming sadness. 216 00:15:11,540 --> 00:15:19,540 Another interesting characteristic that you see here is self-harm and self-destruction. 217 00:15:19,540 --> 00:15:28,540 The Bible says that this man was night and day cutting himself with stones, 218 00:15:28,540 --> 00:15:39,540 inflicting great pain upon himself. And so I think that this is going to apply across the board to every demonic possession. 219 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:45,540 Not just, you know, tailored specifically to this man, but every person who's possessed by a demon, 220 00:15:45,540 --> 00:15:51,540 I'm going to say has self-destructive tendencies, or at least the appearance of self-destructive tendencies from the outside. 221 00:15:51,540 --> 00:15:56,540 In the case of the boy who was possessed by a demon, it was the demon throwing him into the water in the fire. 222 00:15:56,540 --> 00:15:59,540 But to all the onlookers, it would look like the boy threw himself. 223 00:15:59,540 --> 00:16:02,540 Do you see the difference there? You wouldn't be able to tell. 224 00:16:02,540 --> 00:16:05,540 And so I think this man, he's crying night and day, he's cutting himself. Why? 225 00:16:05,540 --> 00:16:07,540 It goes back to what we were saying before. 226 00:16:07,540 --> 00:16:17,540 The demonic forces who have opposed God and hate God want to destroy and inflict pain on those who are made in his image. 227 00:16:17,540 --> 00:16:18,540 And so this man is cutting himself. 228 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:23,540 So listen, today you don't have to look for a man who's cutting himself with rocks in a cave, 229 00:16:23,540 --> 00:16:26,540 and that's the key characteristic you're looking for. 230 00:16:26,540 --> 00:16:35,540 But I would say when you start to analyze from a biblical perspective and you see someone who maybe has a lot of these other markers of demonic possession, 231 00:16:35,540 --> 00:16:41,540 and then you also see that they have self-destructive, self-harmed tendencies in their life, 232 00:16:41,540 --> 00:16:45,540 it gives even more credence to the possibility that they are possessed by a demon. 233 00:16:45,540 --> 00:16:46,540 Does that make sense? 234 00:16:46,540 --> 00:16:49,540 So they're not having to be cutting themselves with stones, 235 00:16:49,540 --> 00:16:53,540 but they will have self-destructive, self-harming tendencies. 236 00:16:53,540 --> 00:17:00,540 And then what's interesting, another characteristic here I think that you have to really dig in to see, 237 00:17:00,540 --> 00:17:07,540 is that there's this sporadic sanity or clarity with this man. 238 00:17:07,540 --> 00:17:11,540 In other words, one moment he's totally fine, he's himself, 239 00:17:11,540 --> 00:17:16,540 and then the next moment he's overtaken by the demon and he lashes out. 240 00:17:16,540 --> 00:17:23,540 You know, one moment he's there crying in the cave, another he's breaking chains and like nobody's able to hold him down and things like that. 241 00:17:23,540 --> 00:17:24,540 He's even crying. 242 00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:30,540 Now if you're a demon who's cutting yourself, I doubt that you can feel the pain that that man's inflicting upon himself. 243 00:17:30,540 --> 00:17:32,540 So who's doing the crying here? 244 00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:34,540 It's actually the man, right? 245 00:17:34,540 --> 00:17:42,540 He sees what his life has become, he sees how he is absolutely tormented and his life is ruined by this demonic possession that he's encountering, 246 00:17:42,540 --> 00:17:44,540 and so he's weeping and crying. 247 00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:49,540 That's a moment of clarity where he recognizes that he is not himself, that something else is going on here, 248 00:17:49,540 --> 00:17:57,540 but that same man who has this moment of clarity also will try to use the name of God to command God to do something. 249 00:17:57,540 --> 00:18:03,540 So there's this in and out kind of a drastic mood shift you can think of it. 250 00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:10,540 And then another very interesting characteristic that you see here is a familiarity with Jesus and his power. 251 00:18:10,540 --> 00:18:17,540 We might think of all demonic possession as people who are just atheists who deny God entirely. 252 00:18:17,540 --> 00:18:22,540 Like if you watch any movie and I don't watch movies like this, but horror movies or movies that have possessions in them, 253 00:18:22,540 --> 00:18:27,540 even from the commercials you can see it's like some little girl who's on the ceiling looking like a spider 254 00:18:27,540 --> 00:18:31,540 and she's cursing the name of God and like laughing at that idea. 255 00:18:31,540 --> 00:18:34,540 And what's interesting is you never see anything like that in the Bible. 256 00:18:34,540 --> 00:18:41,540 Every time a demon comes into contact with Jesus, none of them are ever like, you're not really Jesus, you're not really God, 257 00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:42,540 I'm going to curse you. 258 00:18:42,540 --> 00:18:49,540 They all immediately recognize who Jesus is, what his power is, and what he's capable of. 259 00:18:49,540 --> 00:18:55,540 I mean the Bible even tells us the demons believe in God and they shudder. 260 00:18:55,540 --> 00:18:56,540 That's right. 261 00:18:56,540 --> 00:19:00,540 So these atheists who are like denying God, not even the devil does that. 262 00:19:00,540 --> 00:19:01,540 Not even the demons do that. 263 00:19:01,540 --> 00:19:03,540 They all believe in God and they shudder. 264 00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:08,540 And so listen, when you're thinking about someone who may or may not be possessed by a demon, 265 00:19:08,540 --> 00:19:15,540 it doesn't have to be someone who is openly and outwardly opposed to Christ or has no familiarity. 266 00:19:15,540 --> 00:19:19,540 Sometimes it's people who say they do believe in Jesus. 267 00:19:19,540 --> 00:19:22,540 Sometimes it's people who go to church. 268 00:19:22,540 --> 00:19:29,540 There have been countless cases of people possessed by a demon who will enter into a church house and be there. 269 00:19:29,540 --> 00:19:32,540 Now there's normally some disruption that goes along with that. 270 00:19:32,540 --> 00:19:36,540 But, well, I was going to say something. 271 00:19:36,540 --> 00:19:37,540 I shouldn't say it. 272 00:19:37,540 --> 00:19:39,540 Oh, Michael says to say it. 273 00:19:39,540 --> 00:19:42,540 I was going to say some churches, a demon can feel more at home than a Christian. 274 00:19:42,540 --> 00:19:46,540 Now that I've said it, I'm going to be off YouTube and Facebook, but Michael asked for it. 275 00:19:46,540 --> 00:19:49,540 So that's another sermon for another day. 276 00:19:49,540 --> 00:19:53,540 But these are some of the main characteristics that you see in this passage. 277 00:19:53,540 --> 00:20:00,540 And I think what's really interesting is, again, we have this tendency to think we're modern scientific people. 278 00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:01,540 This doesn't really happen. 279 00:20:01,540 --> 00:20:07,540 Maybe you hear about this in a remote village in Nepal or something, but not here, not in America. 280 00:20:07,540 --> 00:20:13,540 I actually believe that I have had an encounter with a demon possessed person. 281 00:20:13,540 --> 00:20:23,540 I was at a person's house and I was ministering to a person and we were having a conversation and I was trying to minister to this person. 282 00:20:23,540 --> 00:20:31,540 And one second, normal conversation, we were sitting maybe this far from each other. 283 00:20:31,540 --> 00:20:40,540 The next second, this person lunged at me, started screaming at the top of his lungs and started screaming about death and killing people. 284 00:20:40,540 --> 00:20:43,540 And then started talking about Jesus. 285 00:20:43,540 --> 00:20:44,540 I was like, that is crazy. 286 00:20:44,540 --> 00:20:48,540 I don't know what I just witnessed, but I continued talking. 287 00:20:48,540 --> 00:20:50,540 And the same thing happened again. 288 00:20:50,540 --> 00:20:58,540 Totally normal conversation. And then all of a sudden lash out, jump, screaming, shouting, and then back to Jesus. 289 00:20:58,540 --> 00:21:01,540 This is a person who is totally isolated from other people. 290 00:21:01,540 --> 00:21:04,540 This is a person who has self-destructive tendencies. 291 00:21:04,540 --> 00:21:10,540 This is a person who has drastic mood swings and outbursts of violence. 292 00:21:10,540 --> 00:21:19,540 And a person who has moments of clarity and sadness that leads to weeping and crying and others where the person wants to kill and murder. 293 00:21:19,540 --> 00:21:35,540 And this type of thing, I never went back to that house by the way, but that is the type of thing where we are quick to try to put it into a category that would fit us nicely. 294 00:21:35,540 --> 00:21:43,540 When in reality the Bible says if you will look at all the evidence around you, it seems most likely that that person is possessed by a demon. 295 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:46,540 Now that is again something that we struggle with. 296 00:21:46,540 --> 00:21:53,540 And I said at the beginning that every single unbeliever is susceptible to demonic possession. 297 00:21:53,540 --> 00:22:01,540 But let me ask you another question. Do you think there are some people who are more susceptible than others to demonic possession? 298 00:22:01,540 --> 00:22:03,540 We are getting some nods. 299 00:22:03,540 --> 00:22:06,540 Do we think that some people are more susceptible than others? 300 00:22:06,540 --> 00:22:10,540 Or is it like all unbelievers are equally susceptible? 301 00:22:10,540 --> 00:22:12,540 There you go. 302 00:22:12,540 --> 00:22:14,540 Some people invite it. 303 00:22:14,540 --> 00:22:19,540 Right. So 1 Peter 5a verse that you are all very familiar with. 304 00:22:19,540 --> 00:22:22,540 The Bible says be sober minded, be watchful. 305 00:22:22,540 --> 00:22:29,540 Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 306 00:22:29,540 --> 00:22:41,540 So if you are not a sober minded person, if you are not watchful, meaning if you are not paying attention to your life and the things that you are practicing and the things that you are participating in and the things that you are doing. 307 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:52,540 The Bible says you are more likely to be a target of the devil and by extension the demonic forces who seek to do the will of their father, the devil. 308 00:22:52,540 --> 00:23:02,540 Which means I think that if you have a person who is living an open, unrepentant sin, who is engaging the darkness of this world, who is giving themselves to the evil of this world. 309 00:23:02,540 --> 00:23:08,540 And especially those who are tied to spiritual practices and occult practices. 310 00:23:08,540 --> 00:23:15,540 Now it doesn't even have to be occult because there are forms of spirituality today that seem innocent and harmless on the surface, right? 311 00:23:15,540 --> 00:23:22,540 But every form of spirituality that is not biblical spirituality is tapping into demonic spirituality. 312 00:23:22,540 --> 00:23:24,540 Do we understand that? 313 00:23:24,540 --> 00:23:31,540 Like spirituality, that does exist, but if it is not biblical spirituality, it is demonic in nature. 314 00:23:31,540 --> 00:23:37,540 And so if you have a person who is giving themselves to those kinds of things, I think you are inviting it like Jay said. 315 00:23:37,540 --> 00:23:41,540 Think about a person who is just harmlessly playing around with a Ouija board, right? 316 00:23:41,540 --> 00:23:43,540 They think there is no big deal. 317 00:23:43,540 --> 00:23:45,540 I don't believe any of this stuff anyways. 318 00:23:45,540 --> 00:23:47,540 But that is an occult practice. 319 00:23:47,540 --> 00:23:53,540 And when you are engaging in that and you are not so reminded, you are not watchful, what is going to happen? 320 00:23:53,540 --> 00:23:57,540 You are just inviting the demonic into your life by doing that kind of thing. 321 00:23:57,540 --> 00:24:02,540 I mean I think another example, if you think back to 1 John 4 that we covered earlier. 322 00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:09,540 This passage is obviously warning us not to be misled by false prophets who speak lies out of the mouths of men. 323 00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:11,540 But I think there is more to it than that. 324 00:24:11,540 --> 00:24:19,540 I think it means that it is possible that you could be one who receives one of those evil spirits into your life 325 00:24:19,540 --> 00:24:23,540 and then you begin to spread the lies that John is calling us to pay attention to. 326 00:24:23,540 --> 00:24:27,540 To make note of, to be sure that we are not part of that. 327 00:24:27,540 --> 00:24:36,540 That is why he says you have to test every spirit because if you are not careful, you could invite a bad spirit into your life. 328 00:24:36,540 --> 00:24:40,540 So the Bible is saying don't just accept some new word or new teaching. 329 00:24:40,540 --> 00:24:45,540 Don't just jump into every fad that has the air of spirituality to it. 330 00:24:45,540 --> 00:24:50,540 The Bible says test the spirits because there are many evil spirits in our world today 331 00:24:50,540 --> 00:24:56,540 that have actually taken up the residence in many false prophets who spread lies today. 332 00:24:56,540 --> 00:24:59,540 So demonic possession, it does still happen. 333 00:24:59,540 --> 00:25:04,540 We live in a modern scientific world and our world wants us to believe that everything fits into these nice categories, 334 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:06,540 but that is not the case. 335 00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:13,540 There are many people who struggle with mental health and have real psychiatric diseases that have nothing to do with demonic possession. 336 00:25:13,540 --> 00:25:15,540 Y'all heard me say it right? 337 00:25:15,540 --> 00:25:24,540 But again, there are many people today who have been diagnosed with a disease that they do not have. 338 00:25:24,540 --> 00:25:31,540 That science has made up for the sake of naming something that the Bible has already described. 339 00:25:31,540 --> 00:25:37,540 I mean, for instance, one of the reasons I think very often behind dramatic changes in behavior and attitude, 340 00:25:37,540 --> 00:25:42,540 self-destructive tendency, violent outbursts, multiple personalities, 341 00:25:42,540 --> 00:25:47,540 you can call it whatever thing you want from the DSM, whatever volume we're on now. 342 00:25:47,540 --> 00:25:51,540 But the Bible says there's actually another category that needs to be considered here. 343 00:25:51,540 --> 00:25:54,540 And so here's what I want to do as we end. I want to ask this question. 344 00:25:54,540 --> 00:26:00,540 It might make you uncomfortable, but that's okay because the Bible makes us uncomfortable sometimes. 345 00:26:00,540 --> 00:26:04,540 What do we do? 346 00:26:04,540 --> 00:26:15,540 As Christians today, if we believe that there is someone in our life who matches up a lot of these characteristics that we've described here today, 347 00:26:15,540 --> 00:26:19,540 and we say they're taking all the boxes, 348 00:26:19,540 --> 00:26:28,540 and I'm worried they might be possessed by a demon, what do you do as a Christian? 349 00:26:28,540 --> 00:26:36,540 Pray for them? Okay. Anybody else? 350 00:26:36,540 --> 00:26:43,540 This is where it's going to make you uncomfortable. 351 00:26:43,540 --> 00:26:47,540 First and foremost, before we get into uncomfortable things, 352 00:26:47,540 --> 00:26:51,540 it's always important that we ask God for discernment and wisdom. 353 00:26:51,540 --> 00:26:55,540 We need that because we get it wrong a lot. 354 00:26:55,540 --> 00:27:06,540 We'll talk more about that on Sunday, but wisdom is, I think, the only thing in the Bible that says if you pray for it, God will give it to you. 355 00:27:06,540 --> 00:27:12,540 No conditions. If you want patience, yeah, put you in a circumstance, you're going to have to learn patience. 356 00:27:12,540 --> 00:27:19,540 The Bible says if you ask God for wisdom, he'll give you wisdom. And so we need to be praying for wisdom and discernment so that we can test the spirits 357 00:27:19,540 --> 00:27:27,540 and know that it's not just our own sinful heart or our own tendencies or our own desire to believe something that's leading us to form a conclusion. 358 00:27:27,540 --> 00:27:35,540 We need God to guide us and direct us as we seek to discern whether or not someone is actually possessed by a demon. 359 00:27:35,540 --> 00:27:38,540 But then there's something else you can do. 360 00:27:38,540 --> 00:27:43,540 You seek the wisdom, you seek discernment, you certainly pray for them, as Teresa has said, 361 00:27:43,540 --> 00:27:48,540 and I think you should pray for any single person in your life that you believe is possessed by a demon. 362 00:27:48,540 --> 00:27:57,540 You pray and ask God to cast that demon out of them. What else can you do? 363 00:27:57,540 --> 00:28:01,540 Witness? 364 00:28:01,540 --> 00:28:07,540 Nobody wants to say it. 365 00:28:07,540 --> 00:28:12,540 How about command the demon to leave? 366 00:28:12,540 --> 00:28:16,540 Is that like an exorcism? Yeah, good question, Mom. Yes, it is. 367 00:28:16,540 --> 00:28:19,540 In many ways, it is exactly an exorcism. 368 00:28:19,540 --> 00:28:26,540 See, Christians don't like to talk about this today because we're like, oh man, they've made movies about that that are just like really cringe. 369 00:28:26,540 --> 00:28:29,540 We don't want to even think about that. 370 00:28:29,540 --> 00:28:40,540 Is there biblical reason to believe that Christians have the authority to cast out demons? 371 00:28:40,540 --> 00:28:42,540 Yeah, yeah. 372 00:28:42,540 --> 00:28:53,540 If you look at Jesus' ministry, the Bible makes it very clear that he was doing everything he did because his ministry was empowered by whom? 373 00:28:53,540 --> 00:28:56,540 The Holy Spirit, right? More specifically, the Holy Spirit. 374 00:28:56,540 --> 00:29:00,540 Everything Jesus did was by the power of the Holy Spirit. 375 00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:03,540 Who indwells Christians today? 376 00:29:03,540 --> 00:29:08,540 The Holy Spirit, the same spirit that empowered Jesus to cast out demons. 377 00:29:08,540 --> 00:29:12,540 It's the same spirit who lives in us today. 378 00:29:12,540 --> 00:29:14,540 More than that, think about the Great Commission, right? 379 00:29:14,540 --> 00:29:20,540 Before Jesus ever said, now go and make disciples of all nations, what immediately came before that? 380 00:29:20,540 --> 00:29:22,540 Anybody know what he said? 381 00:29:22,540 --> 00:29:30,540 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore go and do this. 382 00:29:30,540 --> 00:29:41,540 So Jesus has all power and all authority and then he commissions his followers to go in his authority and do things in his name. 383 00:29:41,540 --> 00:29:49,540 The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that we are ambassadors for Christ. 384 00:29:49,540 --> 00:29:50,540 What's an ambassador? 385 00:29:50,540 --> 00:29:58,540 If I'm an ambassador for the US but I'm stationed in Costa Rica, what does that mean about me? 386 00:29:58,540 --> 00:30:02,540 I have the right to speak for him, right? 387 00:30:02,540 --> 00:30:10,540 If I'm a representative of the US and ambassador of the US in Costa Rica, I have power and authority to speak on behalf of the one I'm representing. 388 00:30:10,540 --> 00:30:16,540 And the Bible says you are ambassadors for Christ in this world. 389 00:30:16,540 --> 00:30:18,540 You don't have authority in and of yourself. 390 00:30:18,540 --> 00:30:20,540 Do we understand that? 391 00:30:20,540 --> 00:30:23,540 We have no power and no authority in and of ourselves. 392 00:30:23,540 --> 00:30:27,540 The power comes from the fact that we have the Holy Spirit in dwelling us. 393 00:30:27,540 --> 00:30:36,540 And the authority comes from the fact that we have been sent in the name of Jesus to make disciples of all nations and to bring about the kingdom of God here on earth. 394 00:30:36,540 --> 00:30:39,540 That is what we're called to do. 395 00:30:39,540 --> 00:30:43,540 The problem is Christians don't even believe in spirituality anymore. 396 00:30:43,540 --> 00:30:45,540 We're materialists. 397 00:30:45,540 --> 00:30:49,540 And we especially don't like to think about things like having power from the Holy Spirit. 398 00:30:49,540 --> 00:30:52,540 Now we'll say it in church, right? We'll make it sound all nice. 399 00:30:52,540 --> 00:30:54,540 We'll go, I know the Holy Spirit has got power. 400 00:30:54,540 --> 00:30:55,540 The power of the Spirit. 401 00:30:55,540 --> 00:30:56,540 We preach it. 402 00:30:56,540 --> 00:30:58,540 We'll say amen to that. 403 00:30:58,540 --> 00:30:59,540 There's power in the light. 404 00:30:59,540 --> 00:31:00,540 Yeah, amen preacher. 405 00:31:00,540 --> 00:31:07,540 Do we ever once, ever live like there's any power involved in the Holy Spirit in dwelling us? 406 00:31:07,540 --> 00:31:13,540 How often do you think Christians live by the power of the Spirit in their life? 407 00:31:13,540 --> 00:31:14,540 Think about your own life. 408 00:31:14,540 --> 00:31:21,540 When is the last time that you felt the Holy Spirit empowered you to do something in your life? 409 00:31:21,540 --> 00:31:26,540 And you can say, I only did that and was able to do it by the power of the Spirit. 410 00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:35,540 I think Francis Chan was right when he said that the Holy Spirit is the forgotten aspect of the Trinity. 411 00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:37,540 We don't pay him any attention. 412 00:31:37,540 --> 00:31:38,540 We don't think about him. 413 00:31:38,540 --> 00:31:40,540 Most of the time he's referred to as it. 414 00:31:40,540 --> 00:31:43,540 God, the Holy Spirit is God. 415 00:31:43,540 --> 00:31:44,540 We understand that. 416 00:31:44,540 --> 00:31:46,540 I'm going to have to do a lesson on the Trinity for everyone. 417 00:31:46,540 --> 00:31:49,540 The Holy Spirit is God. 418 00:31:49,540 --> 00:31:52,540 But we don't treat him like he's God. 419 00:31:52,540 --> 00:31:54,540 Most of the time we call him it. 420 00:31:54,540 --> 00:32:05,540 And so what I want you to understand is that you do actually have the power from the Holy Spirit and the authority in the name of Jesus to command a demon to leave someone. 421 00:32:05,540 --> 00:32:08,540 Now it doesn't mean that the demon has to listen to you. 422 00:32:08,540 --> 00:32:10,540 It doesn't mean that the demon has to leave. 423 00:32:10,540 --> 00:32:21,540 And I would encourage you, if you were not 100% absolutely certain of your salvation, never, ever try to cast out a demon. 424 00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:25,540 And I say that specifically because of the sons of Sceva. 425 00:32:25,540 --> 00:32:26,540 Anybody remember that story? 426 00:32:26,540 --> 00:32:29,540 The sons of Sceva from the book of Acts? 427 00:32:29,540 --> 00:32:31,540 Very interesting story. 428 00:32:31,540 --> 00:32:34,540 We're going to get to it in Gospel group reading in a couple of weeks. 429 00:32:34,540 --> 00:32:37,540 But there were seven sons of Sceva. 430 00:32:37,540 --> 00:32:44,540 Sceva was a Jewish priest at the time and his sons were going around doing exorcisms. 431 00:32:44,540 --> 00:32:51,540 But what they saw was that Paul and the apostles had a lot more authority and they were much more successful at the exorcisms than they were. 432 00:32:51,540 --> 00:32:53,540 And so here's what they did. 433 00:32:53,540 --> 00:32:57,540 They found a guy who was possessed by demons and they said to the demon, 434 00:32:57,540 --> 00:33:02,540 I adjure you by the name of Jesus whom Paul proclaims. 435 00:33:02,540 --> 00:33:05,540 So notice the distance there, right? 436 00:33:05,540 --> 00:33:11,540 Hey, in the name of that guy that Paul talks about, leave him. 437 00:33:11,540 --> 00:33:12,540 There's no power there. 438 00:33:12,540 --> 00:33:13,540 There's no authority there. 439 00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:15,540 There's no connection to Jesus there. 440 00:33:15,540 --> 00:33:20,540 You're trying to use a name of a person that you have no association with. 441 00:33:20,540 --> 00:33:26,540 And so here's what really happened and what's really scary and interesting is that the demon actually responds. 442 00:33:26,540 --> 00:33:31,540 And the demon says, Jesus I know and Paul I recognize. 443 00:33:31,540 --> 00:33:34,540 But who are you? 444 00:33:34,540 --> 00:33:36,540 That would be terrifying, right? 445 00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:41,540 If you're trying to cast a demon out on someone, he's like, I don't even know your name. 446 00:33:41,540 --> 00:33:51,540 And what happens is the demon lashes out at them, overtakes them, strips them naked and they go running naked and wounded out of the city. 447 00:33:51,540 --> 00:33:55,540 The reason it failed is because they were not believers. 448 00:33:55,540 --> 00:34:03,540 They did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and they had no authority to use the name of Jesus because they were not his disciples. 449 00:34:03,540 --> 00:34:04,540 So here's what I would encourage you to do. 450 00:34:04,540 --> 00:34:12,540 If you're not 100% absolutely certain, not a shadow of doubt in your mind that you are saved, don't mess around with this. 451 00:34:12,540 --> 00:34:14,540 It's not something to play with. 452 00:34:14,540 --> 00:34:18,540 You know, they like to make it all Hollywood in the movies and they think you got to have a priest. 453 00:34:18,540 --> 00:34:19,540 He's got to have a cross. 454 00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:20,540 He's got to have holy water. 455 00:34:20,540 --> 00:34:21,540 There has to be this big scene. 456 00:34:21,540 --> 00:34:24,540 He's going to go in the bedroom and someone's going to crawl on a wall in the ceiling. 457 00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:27,540 And the Bible is like, it doesn't work like that. 458 00:34:27,540 --> 00:34:29,540 You don't need to be a priest. 459 00:34:29,540 --> 00:34:30,540 You don't need holy water. 460 00:34:30,540 --> 00:34:33,540 Whatever that is. 461 00:34:33,540 --> 00:34:36,540 Another sermon. 462 00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:44,540 The Bible says, if you are a follower of Jesus, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God and an ambassador for Christ here on earth, you don't need any of that stuff. 463 00:34:44,540 --> 00:34:46,540 Tell it to leave in the name of Jesus. 464 00:34:46,540 --> 00:34:49,540 If it doesn't listen to you, you pray. 465 00:34:49,540 --> 00:34:59,540 You should do that before and you should do that after because the Bible says also in Mark chapter 9, when the disciples are trying to cast the demon out of the little boy, you remember, who was thrown into fire and water. 466 00:34:59,540 --> 00:35:01,540 They said, we weren't able to do it. 467 00:35:01,540 --> 00:35:06,540 And Jesus says to them, this kind cannot be cast out by anything but prayer. 468 00:35:06,540 --> 00:35:12,540 So pray before, pray during, pray after, but make sure that you're praying. 469 00:35:12,540 --> 00:35:15,540 Pray for anyone you believe is demonically possessed. 470 00:35:15,540 --> 00:35:23,540 And if it's so bad and you're actually interacting with someone, do not be afraid to tell the demon to leave. 471 00:35:23,540 --> 00:35:24,540 Don't. 472 00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:25,540 It doesn't have to be weird. 473 00:35:25,540 --> 00:35:29,540 It doesn't have to be a spiritual movie thing. 474 00:35:29,540 --> 00:35:31,540 You have the Holy Spirit. 475 00:35:31,540 --> 00:35:33,540 You have the authority of Christ. 476 00:35:33,540 --> 00:35:37,540 And so this is what the Bible teaches us about demonic possession. 477 00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:47,540 It is a real thing that still happens in our world today that we have largely ignored for the past century and a half, probably two centuries now at this point. 478 00:35:47,540 --> 00:35:55,540 And all we've done by doing that is just let spiritual darkness spread further and further in our own country and around the world. 479 00:35:55,540 --> 00:35:59,540 So that's all I have to say about demonic possession for tonight. 480 00:35:59,540 --> 00:36:21,540 Gene McKinney hit us with a word of wisdom as we close.