Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is
an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,
with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.
We invite you to connect with us from wherever
you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our
mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed
by this week's sermon. Above all, walking in
the victory of Jesus. The first thing that we
learned in the study before was that Jesus came
so that the work of Satan over identity and fear
will be destroyed. And he faced Satan in the
temptation and Satan tried to get Jesus under
his power, but he couldn't. And we are so glad
that Jesus accomplished that because now he invites
us to walk in the freedom of identity. That we
know who we truly are and that we're able to
now live freely for him and not enslaved to any
distortions. If you missed that study, it's available
for you on our website and in our app as well.
But today we're going to explore a different
area of victory that Jesus came to accomplish.
And I would like to start the study by simply
asking you this question. Are you stuck? That
place where you feel there's more to life, there's
more to your relationship with God, but somehow
you are not getting there. You feel held back.
You feel pushed down. And there's need for a
breakthrough to get you to that place, but you
do not know how to get to it and how to pinpoint
what is holding you back. Sometimes being in
that space is accompanied by feelings of deep
shame, a sense of hopelessness. You've been trying
so many things and nothing works. This place
that leads you to isolation and just feeling
oppressed. You cannot pinpoint it, but there's
something and you don't understand it. The Bible
talks about these feelings and these struggles.
From spiritual perspective. And it wants to make
us remember as followers of Jesus. That sometimes
the root cause for some of these things. Is not
just on the physical. It's actually on the spiritual.
And when we understand this. And we understand
what Jesus came to accomplish. Then we are equipped
to follow Jesus. More effectively because we
learn to discern the struggles that are spiritual
and therefore we face them with the victory of
Jesus. Talking about this, the Apostle Peter
mentions it. The Apostle Paul also mentions it.
Look at what Peter says to us Christians. Stay
alert. Watch out for your great enemy. Who? The
devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. Stand firm against him.
Be strong in your faith. Remember that your family
of believers all over the world is going through
the same kind of suffering you are. Sometimes
what you're experiencing is spiritual oppression.
It's that there's a spiritual enemy that is antagonizing
you, that is attacking you, and that struggle
you are facing is not just unique to you. All
the people that are following Jesus are experiencing
the same thing. And not only here, but around
the world. Because this reality of spiritual
struggle is part of the reality of following
Jesus. The Apostle Paul. Says the same thing
this way. At the end of his letter to the Ephesians.
In chapter 6. He says look. Let me tell you a
final word. Be strong in the Lord. And in his
mighty power. Because there's a struggle. That
you cannot face otherwise. Put on. All of God's
armor. So that you will be able to stand firm.
Against all the strategies of the. Devil. Not
only is it going to oppose you, but it's very
strategic. And this struggle is going to be something
that is customized for you. And he continues,
and he says, For we are not fighting against
flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers
and authorities of the unseen world. Against
mighty powers in this dark world. And against
evil spirits in the heavenly places. Paul says,
look. The struggle that you are going through
often is going to be caused not by physical.
Caused by spiritual ones. And you have to wake
up to the reality. That there is a spiritual
world. That is unseen. Unless you have the gift
of being a seer. And you can see into the spiritual
realm. But this is a reality. And there are forces
of darkness. There are spiritual entities. There
are evil spirits. With mighty power. And they
work in an, think of it like an organized mafia.
And you are the target of it. So be on the alert,
says Peter. And Paul tells us, be strong in the
Lord and in His power. Because when you face
these things, you will have to face them as a
spiritual reality. That's why we talk about these
things as spiritual oppression. And spiritual
oppression comes in all flavors and intensities.
Think of spiritual oppression as the reality
that as you follow Jesus, you will experience
spiritual opposition that comes from the spiritual
enemy of the kingdom of darkness. And that opposition
is going to be experienced in a degree, in a
spectrum. And that spectrum can move depending
on the situation, the conditions, and the factors
that involved that oppression. Imagine you are
walking into a place and suddenly there's these
bees, this beehive. And suddenly they start flying
all around and they start trying to attack you.
And it's like, oh, I better get out of here because
these things are going to... Harming. That's
an external type of attack. Imagine that you
are at home and there's a mosquito that starts
bothering you. And then you go to sleep and you
go... And it keeps coming back and you try to
kill it but you keep missing it. That's very
bothersome. It's a struggle that keeps happening.
And you are trying so many things, but you don't
get it. It's still there. That's an external.
But sometimes there's this experience that is
a little bit more intense, more like a parasite.
I remember that my mother came to visit us in
the U .S. one time, and we took a trip. We wanted
to get out of the city, go into the woods. We
rented a cabin in Arkansas, a beautiful place,
and we would take walks in the woods. Then my
parents went back to Mexico City where they were
serving as missionaries at that time. And a few
days later, mom called me and says, you know,
I went to the doctor because I wasn't feeling
well. I started having these symptoms. I thought
it was a cold. I took medicine, but it wasn't.
It was something else. So I kept trying to self
-medicate, and I realized this is not working.
There's something else going on. So I went to
the doctor, and the doctor found that I had a
tick. So I'm calling you to let you know because
we were walking in that forest together and check
the kids, check yourselves, make sure you don't
have the tick. And the only reason why she knew
she had the tick is because she was experiencing
the symptoms. This was also external, but it
feels a little bit closer because now whatever
tick she has is producing these effects in her
system. It's not like the bees, it's not like
the mosquitoes, but still it's something that
is. attacking you, oppressing you, causing you
harm. And when we talk about spiritual oppression,
this spiritual reality, you have to think of
it as spectrum. Because the spectrum will determine
whether you need to go to someone to remove the
tick from you or whether you just have to go
like this to the mosquito and kill it and see
the blood splash all over the place. The way
we face spiritual oppression will be determined
by the type of spiritual oppression we're experiencing.
But we have to come to terms with the reality
that following Jesus has this dimension. And
because this is true, what happens is that the
Bible says that Jesus came specifically to address
this. In the human experience. So that we will
not have to walk under oppression. But that we
will walk in the freedom that he came to pay
for us. And that's why the word of God talks
about these things. But I know that before I
get into it anymore. When we talk about these
topics. We have a spectrum of people. Some people
that believe in it. Some people don't believe
in it. Some people that believe a little bit
of it. And some people that believe too much
of it. And there was a journalist, Billy, he
works for CBN in the U .S., and he was invited
to write a book. He called it Playing with Fire,
and he says on the subtitle part, A Modern Investigation
into Demons, Exorcism, and Ghosts. And that brought
him into this journey of understanding what was
this from the biblical perspective, but also
from people's reality, people's experiences.
and people that work with these kind of things.
So he started trying to understand the whole
spectrum of things that were happening. And at
the end, he concludes in his book, he says, you
know, I discovered an audience of people, people
that come from a materialistic worldview, that
don't believe in these things. They think that
all of this is myth. Then you have the Christians
that believe in these things, but Satan somehow
is real, but very, very, I'm familiar. It's like
he is messing up with people over there, far
away from us, but it's not really part of our
reality. And then you have the other Christians
that believe so much of it that they almost like
sacrifice their intellect for these things. And
no matter where these different people will come
into the topic, he says, you know, we have to
wake up to the reality that this thing is real.
So if you have no background on these things,
and you want to learn a little bit more about
these things in a way that is more like inquisitive,
you want to kind of get an idea because you're
already feeling comfortable with the topic. This
is a good starting point. It's written as a very
non -threatening space of a journalist that is
trying to understand these things, a Christian
journalist. After saying that, let's go back
to the scriptures. Jesus came specifically for
this purpose. And what he accomplished on our
behalf is something we have to understand if
we are going to experience the freedom that he
came to give us. Let me show you, for instance,
what the Apostle John wrote about what Jesus
came to accomplish. He said, the one who does
what is sinful is of the devil because the devil
has been sinning from the beginning. Pay attention
to that first. He says, when you are engaging
in sinful behaviors and rebellion against God,
you are engaging in demonic things because sin
by itself belongs to the devil. The devil was
sinning from the beginning. And therefore, anytime
I engage in things that belong to darkness, I'm
going to start inviting spiritual oppression
in my life. And that's why he says at the end
of this section, the very reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the devil's work. In
case you missed it, let me highlight it there
for you. Would you read it with me? The reason
the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's
work. Jesus came to destroy the work that Satan
had already established, the strongholds that
he had established in people's lives. He wanted
them free from that. So when he started his ministry,
he engaged in lots of different places and with
different people, and he engaged with spiritual
forces of darkness, both men and women, both
adult and children. People experiencing these
different levels of oppression and different
symptoms of this oppression. And there was a
point in which the religious leaders started
criticizing him and saying, how can you do this?
What kind of power are you using to fight these
things? And it's like, it seems to us that you're
using the very power of Satan to do this because
you seem to be serving Satan. And Jesus turns
to them and says, that makes no sense. The argument
makes no sense. How can a divided kingdom stand?
How can Satan fight Satan? It doesn't make sense.
He says, but let me tell you, what you see is
true. I am having power over these spiritual
entities. But let me tell you something. If I
drive out demons by the finger of God, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you. It is the presence,
the rulership of God over humanity that I came
to establish and it's happening now. And that's
why you are seeing it. Because my power is the
power of God over the kingdom of Satan. And when
Jesus later is going to enter Jerusalem, During
his last trip before the cross and the resurrection,
he makes a statement that tells you the purposefulness
of what Jesus has been doing. Now is the time
for judgment of this world. Now the prince of
this world will be driven out. And I, when I
am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people
to myself. Jesus talks about the very reason
that he came to do was to destroy the rulership
of Satan, the prince of this world, for that
to be broken. So we cannot really understand
the centrality of the mission of Jesus until
you understand the reality, the palpable reality
of the kingdom of darkness. And you cannot walk
in the freedom of Jesus until you understand
both. That's what we're going to start focusing
the rest of this study on understanding what
is that Jesus came to do. Because as he was serving
during that period of time to break the power
of Satan. There are moments in which he did certain
things, but there's a particular moment that
is described both in Matthew and also in Mark
and also in Luke, not in John. But in the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 8, tells us the details of everything
that happened leading to this purpose, for him
to destroy the work of the devil in the life
of one specific individual. And this very specific
individual is very important because he's going
to fulfill a very important mission in God's
purpose. And you will see it as it unfolds. But
we're told that Jesus is serving in the area
of Galilee. And this area of Galilee, if you
are new to the Bible and that you don't understand
these things that much, let me show you this
map. And this map is Google Maps. Because this
area that we're describing still exists today.
You can actually travel there. You can even rent
an Airbnb and stay there if you wanted to. Jesus
was serving in this area. And there's a big lake
called the Sea of Galilee. It's so big that it's
called a sea, even though it's a lake. And that
is the place where the apostles... Live their
lives. They were fishermen. That's where they
worked. That's where Jesus met them, called them
to serve him. And that area surrounding that
lake is an area that Jesus did lots of his ministry
and his teaching. In the 1980s, there was a drought
in that area. So the level of the Sea of Galilee
went down and revealed some of the mud underneath.
and it was discovered that right there, a boat
from the time of Jesus has survived. It had sunk
in that place, but imagine after 2 ,000 years,
still intact, they were able to get it out of
there, and it's in a museum today. And Jesus
is in that area, and he is going to tell the
apostles, let's take a trip to the other side
of the lake. On the one side, it was Jewish territory
where he's been serving all this time. But on
the other side is a Gentile territory. It was
an area known as the Decapolis because there
were all these Gentile cities in that place.
Now you have to understand that Jews typically
would not go to Gentile places because they were
considered unclean. In their Jewish tradition,
their rabbinic writings, they would be told,
don't go to the places, don't even walk into
their homes. Because all of that is considered
unclean for them because these pagan places,
they worship idols. The food they eat is sacrificed
to idols. They eat pigs, which is unclean for
us to eat. So for the Jewish mindset to go to
that area was completely not only unnecessary,
but something you had to avoid. But Jesus tells
the apostles, let's take a boat trip to the other
side of the lake. He has a mission. He doesn't
tell them what's going to happen. He doesn't
tell them what the mission is. He just invites
them in the journey. And it says there, one day
Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to
the other side of the lake. So they got into
a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep.
A squall came down on the lake so that the boat
was being swamped and they were in great danger.
So a storm breaks out. And he becomes very dangerous.
The disciples went and woke him, saying, Master,
Master, wake up. We are going to drown. So he
got up, rebuked the wind and the raging waters,
and the storm subsided and all was calm. Just
like that. And then he turns to the apostles.
Where's your faith? He asks his disciples. In
fear and amazement. They are looking at him.
And now they start talking to each other. Who
is this? He commands him in the winds and the
water. And they obey him. And this journey turned
nothing into what they were expecting. They had
taken journeys in boats with Jesus before. But
this was something that completely reframed the
way they started seeing Jesus. What is amazing
is that Jesus is in this trip. And he has already
told them, look, we're going to go to the other
side. They get in the boat. He falls asleep.
And suddenly, because the circumstances are becoming
so dangerous, the apostles say, we're going to
drown. That was a logical deduction after everything
that was happening around. We're going to die
here. But that's precisely what Jesus confronts
them. And he says, where's your faith? Didn't
you pay attention to what I told you? I said,
we're going to go to the other side. And when
I say we're going to go to the other side, guess
what's going to happen? We're going to get to
the other side. It doesn't matter what storm
is surrounding the boat. So where's your faith?
Why did you doubt what I told you or forgot what
I told you? Why did you freak out in the middle
of the circumstances? Didn't I tell you that
we were going to go to the other side? So it
was a moment of really paying closer attention
to Jesus and valuing His Word. But why did they
have to go to the other side anyway? Well, the
story continues. Jesus knows he has a mission.
He came to destroy the works of the devil. And
he has authority over creation. The apostles
now just discovered that. And the story says
that they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,
which is across the lake from Galilee. And when
Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon possessed
man from the town. Ah. Now things will start
making sense. Jesus wants to go into that territory
because he has a mission. To break the work of
the devil from this person's life. And the whole
area is going to become the most. Like nightmare
for a Jewish person that has learned to live
under the laws of purity. First of all, the area
is a gentle area. Secondly, there's a guy that
is being afflicted by an unclean spirit. You
will discover that there are... a bunch of pigs
in the area, which are unclean animals that they're
not supposed to have nor eat. And then on top
of that, this guy that we just met will discover
that he's been living among the dead in cemeteries,
in graves. I mean, Hollywood could make a horror
movie out of this scene. And in the midst, Of
that filthy environment. Spiritually speaking.
In the midst of the deepest darkness. You have
Jesus showing up. And he's the first one to touch
that ground with his feet. And you would expect
if Jesus was anything but a normal person that
the moment you enter darkness, darkness will
enter to you. But with Jesus, this is very different.
He is the game changer. So look at what happens.
This man appears in this story is described as
one who has been demon possessed. And he was
from that town. Now, just to be clear and to
be fair on the description of the study of spiritual
oppression, this phrase is one of the phrases
that has done the most disservice to our understanding
of spiritual oppression. Because this phrase,
demon possessed, is actually not in the Bible.
It's not right there in the Greek. It simply
says, the man had a demon. There are three descriptions
to talk about level of spiritual oppression here
in these passages whenever Jesus encountered
one of these spirits that was manifesting in
the lives of these people. The person was demonized,
the person had a demon, or the person was afflicted
by an unclean spirit. These are the words that
the Bible uses. It never talks about a demon
possessing you. So, take that understanding out
of your mind. Because when people ask, well,
can a Christian be possessed? And that's the
only category that they think of. It's like,
forget about that category altogether. Talk about
spiritual oppression. Can you be attacked by
the enemy? Yes. To what degree? We don't know.
Until you're in it, you'll know. But the power
of the enemy is secondary. The power of Jesus
is the center. And that's what matters. So this
guy is one that is experiencing this deep level
of spiritual oppression where he has a demon.
And then we are told, for a long time this man
had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but
had lived in the tombs. Wait, the guy was naked?
So Jesus showed up after surviving the storm.
What a trip. And he's like, what is this guy
doing? He looks out of his mind and on top of
that he's naked. Didn't I tell you this looks
like a horror movie? When he saw Jesus, he immediately
cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the
top of his voice, what do you want with me? Jesus,
son of the most high God, I beg you, don't torture
me. That's amazing about every encounter that
Jesus has with the demons. They immediately recognize
who he is. By the way, if you're an atheist,
I pray God opens your eyes to spiritual oppression.
Because the moment you realize what spiritual
oppression is true, you will know the power of
Jesus. And you will know that Jesus is real.
Because these guys knew it. And they recognized
Jesus as the son of the most high God. And immediately
in that interaction. For Jesus had commanded
the impure spirit to come out of the man. Did
you see the phrase impure spirit? Now that tells
you a glimpse of what kind of spiritual reality
we're talking about. Impure. Filthy. They have
all evil desires and they want to attack. They
hate you. Jesus had commanded the spirit to come
out of the man. Many times he had seized him
and though he was chained hand and foot and kept
under guard he had broken his chains and had
driven by the demon into solitary places. Which
is A common experience for people that are manifesting
this type of level of oppression. Typically they
have strength that is beyond human. And this
guy had been chained but they couldn't hold him.
He would break the chains with this amazing strength
that was superhuman. But then this demon would
drive him to solitary places. And Jesus asked
him. What is your name? Legion. He replied. Now
the word Legion was a Roman word that was used
for military purposes. It described a group of
500 to 600 soldiers. Legion? Imagine that Jesus
said, what's your name? And it says army. Marines.
Something like that. It has a very specific meaning.
So, it's like the demon is saying, you know,
we are an army here. Many of us. Legion, because
many demons got into him, and they begged Jesus
repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss.
Wait. Can these things work together to afflict
one person? Not just one to one, but many to
one? Yeah, it says it there. And it says that
there was a place, the abyss, that these entities
didn't want to go to. And it doesn't explain
what it is. But we understand from biblical theology
that there's a place, that is a place where these
spiritual beings of darkness are being imprisoned
until the day of final judgment. And they don't
want to go to this place. And for some reason,
the text doesn't tell us. It says there a large
herd of pigs was fitting there on the hillside,
and the demons begged Jesus to let them go into
the pigs, and he gave them permission. And when
the demons came out of the men, they went into
the pigs, and the herd rushed down to steep bank
into the lake and was drowned. So horrifying.
This guy is speaking with a voice that is not
his. Before you know it, it's like not one demon,
but many of them. And before you know it, they
come out of the guy and all these pigs start
going crazy and they start running crazy and
they all died around in the lake. Jesus, why
did you give him permission to do that? Why not
send them to the abyss right away? I wonder about
that. It doesn't tell you, but I just, I'm trying
to guess. He wanted the apostles to see all of
this happening because he was training them.
He is going to give them the command later to
go throughout this whole region and start also
commanding the spirits of the enemy to come out.
And they needed to understand the level of depth,
of darkness and struggle that these entities
could cause. One man, but all of this chaos,
it was unmistakable chaotic and dark. And now
they could see it. If these demons could cause
so much death in a second like that. What would
have happened to this guy if Jesus didn't show
up? He was in deep trouble. And the text says,
when those standing the pegs saw what had happened,
they ran off. I would have run up with you guys
too if I was there. What a scary moment. What's
happening here? It's like in a few minutes, boom,
boom, boom, boom. Wow, they started running and
reported this in the town and the countryside.
And the people went out to see what had happened.
Before you knew it, there's a crowd coming, showing
up, curious, what's going on? They knew this
guy. Everybody knew the guy. And what they find
is not what they were expecting. They show up,
and when they came to Jesus, they found a man
from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at
Jesus' feet, dressed, and in his right mind.
We have tried to chain this guy. We had kept
him in rooms. We had guards to make sure that
he would go nowhere, and no one ever. Could do
what you just did. And who are you? So as they
are trying to figure out what had happened. They
were afraid. So those who had seen it told the
people. How the demon possessed men had been
cured. And then all the people of the region
of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them. Because
they were overcome with fear. So he got into
the boat. And left. What a sad story. They could
have invited Jesus to free more people. But wait.
They were idol worshippers. They were pagan worshippers.
The Bible says that to worship an idol is to
worship demons. So this guy was not the only
guy that was affected by demons. Perhaps it was
the most extreme of all the cases. But they didn't
want the kingdom of God to start destroying the
kingdom of darkness. So what we are told here
is that the man from whom the demons had gone
out begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus sent him
away saying, return home. Tell how much God has
done for you. You're going to follow me by staying
and by telling people what has just happened.
Tell people what God has done for you. So the
man went away and told all over the town how
much Jesus had done for him. And in just a few
verses, you see the deity of Jesus established.
The demons recognize him as the son of the most
high God. And when Jesus tells the guy, go and
tell what God has done for you, he says, sure.
So he starts telling people what Jesus has done
for him. Because Jesus is God. I didn't expect
that the first missionary, To the Gentiles in
the history of Christianity. Was this a guy?
You a missionary? But how could. Are you ashamed
of your past? I mean look at all what you did.
You lived in a graveyard. You were the temple
of demons. You're damaged goods. There's no hope
for you. Now, when Jesus shows up in your story,
Jesus meets this guy in a case of spiritual oppression
that was the most extreme that we have seen.
But it doesn't matter. Because when Jesus shows
up in the darkness, it's not the darkness that
takes over him. It's him that takes over the
darkness. It was not the uncleanness of all the
setting that makes him unclean. It's his holiness
and his power that breaks the stronghold of the
impure spirits from this person. And now he is
completely transformed. Jesus is the answer to
the darkest darkness. To the most hopeless of
cases. Because Jesus came precisely to destroy
the works of the devil. So that we can walk in
the freedom of Jesus. The new calling of Jesus.
The new purpose of Jesus. The new mission of
Jesus. From aimlessness to mission. From darkness
to light. That is why the power of Jesus matters.
Before I continue, let me pause for a second
because I understand. Whenever we read these
things, we have maybe 10 verses, but we have
a thousand questions. about demons and this and
that. And if you want to spend more time like
studying about what demons are, what the Bible
says, what the Bible does not say, what different
opinions are about all these things, there's
a book written by Michael Hazer who is now with
the Lord. He died of cancer. But he wrote a book
called Demons. And it was just a theological
book to try to describe everything the Bible
says about it, what people, Christians, have
thought about these things historically, what
is the biblical evidence, etc., etc. So this
is a book if you want to learn more about that.
And also I know that some of you don't even believe
in the Bible. In fact, you've been sitting here,
invited by a friend, feeling all uncomfortable
because Pastor Pablo sounds so weird. And you
came here not knowing what to expect, but to
hear about demons and the devil and all of that
myth. It's like these people are weirder than
I thought. If you are in that case, I understand.
So there's another book I want to recommend for
you. It's called Demonic Foes. It was written
by Dr. Gallagher. He is a... a psychiatrist from
Yale University. He had been working on his practice
for many years. He was not like a pastor or a
theologian or anything like that. He was a psychiatrist.
But one day, a Catholic priest contacted him
and said, hey, can you do me a favor? Can you
check this case of this woman I'm working with?
I think there's something different about it,
and I just want your professional opinion. So
he met the woman. And that was what began his
journey into understanding the reality of the
spiritual realm and these demonic entities. So
he writes the book sharing about the experiences,
what they have discovered, some of the history
and stuff. But he writes it not as a religious
book. He writes it as a topic. as a scientist
himself, and as a psychiatrist himself. And then
he concludes the book saying, look, you have
to wake up to the reality that there's a psychological
thing, the physical thing that is true, but there's
a line that we cross that is no longer physical.
It is spiritual. And Satan and demons are real.
That is my professional conclusion. So that's
a good book if you are in that context. I give
it to you as a reference. But let's go back to
the story. Because here you have this man that
first meets Jesus naked, living among the dead,
enslaved in a solitary life, completely aimless.
And the moment Jesus encounters him with his
power, the rulership of God now coming into the
life of this man, suddenly this man becomes closed.
at the feet of Jesus, free and with purpose.
And little did he know, when he woke up that
morning, at the graves where he lived, that encountering
Jesus was going to turn him into the first missionary
to the Gentiles in the Christian history. Powerful.
Jesus came with a mission. To destroy the works
of the devil. And he has authority over creation.
He is the only answer to spiritual oppression.
Because there's only one name. That demons and
Satan have to submit to. And that is Jesus. So
as we talk about these things. Remember what
Peter said. Read it with me. Stay alert. Watch
out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour. Remember that. So I would like to
conclude this last part of the study by just
putting a mirror in front of you and asking you
a few questions because maybe, maybe what you're
experiencing is not rooted in the physical, but
in the spiritual. And maybe you're experiencing
spiritual oppression somewhere in the spectrum
of where that is. We've worked with some people
throughout the years on these things. Other people
have worked in this field as well. And I am by
no means expert on the topic. But there are certain
things that typically seem to indicate there's
more than physical here. Let's check the spiritual
side. In case there's spiritual oppression going
on here. Intense sense of worthlessness. You
know the gospel. You know Jesus. But you are
constantly struggling with this weighty sense
of feeling unworthy. And the thoughts that you
speak in your mind typically are on the second
person. You don't say, I'm so worthless. Oh,
I'm such a loser. I am. No. That's not how it's
felt. It's felt more like you are such a piece
of trash. You are. You see that? You are. You
are. Pay attention to that. Because typically
that is external. You are this. You are that.
That's not the Holy Spirit speaking to you. That's
not Jesus speaking to you. And that is not you
speaking to you. You would say I am. Pay attention
to that. Maybe you have a mosquito that is bothering
you. Or you got a tick. Either way, it has to
be dealt with. Another symptom that is a common
symptom of spiritual oppression is intrusive
thoughts. These thoughts that come to your mind
that you don't want to be thinking, but why am
I thinking that? Stuff that is just not good.
It was this woman that had a lovely marriage
and a lovely family. Kids had grown up. And if
you look at them from the outside, they were
like a very nice family. But she had to start
going to the psychiatrist because she could not
understand why she had all these thoughts that
were horrific. Thinking how she would stab her
husband with a knife and picturing him on the
floor with the blood flowing. And she says, I
love my husband. I will never do that to him.
Why, doctor, please tell me, why am I thinking
these things? Intrusive thoughts. They're not
coming from you. Other symptom is self -harm
desires. The gospel accounts about this man,
the first missionary to the Gentiles that we
just met, tell us that this guy will cut himself.
Self -harm. Whenever you are in that place where
the intense need and this intense urge to start
hurting yourself comes over you, often it's a
sign of spiritual oppression. The other one,
spiritual restlessness. When you are in environments
that are consecrated to God and you feel very
uncomfortable. Sometimes close to things that
are sacred. To the Lord. And personally has this
reaction. That is almost like negative. And you
don't know what it is. There was a. A person
a few years ago here. That we pray with at the
end of one of our services. And she says Pastor
Pablo. The moment I walked in. I had this voice
telling me. That I'm wasting my time. That nothing
is going to help. And it's laughing. And it is
just cursing. Saying all these. a bad language
cursing in my mind. I'm trying to worship. Other
people talk about how they're in the middle of
wanting to worship God or in the midst of a sermon
and they start having all these impure sexual
thoughts that are just coming out of nowhere.
They don't want to be thinking that. But they
start feeling this spiritual restlessness in
a place that is spiritually sacred. And you can
feel it physically. That's a spiritual oppression.
Oppressive dreams. You are sleeping at night,
going on your business, and suddenly you have
these weird dreams that are very unsettling.
Sometimes even you are choked in the dream, or
you have sexual encounters with these beings
that are, it's just, or you're being raped in
your dreams. There are things that are completely,
And you try to speak and say Jesus or something,
and you can't. And suddenly, spiritual oppression.
Also, when you have desire for defiled things,
things that you just don't want in your life,
but you have this inclination for, why am I feeling
this desire? We have worked with people that
have sexual desire towards children. And they
don't want that sexual desire towards children.
Or the people that have desires that are completely
so shameful and distorted that just to talk about
it is very difficult because it's so shameful
even to speak that I'm having these things. Because
what would you think of me if I tell you that?
But this desire for defiled things that bring
deep shame, that you feel it's like, it's not
me, I don't want this, what is it? Spiritual
oppression. And also paranormal activity. Sometimes
you may be in a place where you see shadows passing
by, entities passing by, a presence that changes
the environment of the room. Sometimes you see
things that move around. I worked with a guy
that a night when he's sleeping in this room,
they would pull the blankets from him like that
or get pushed off the bed. We have worked with
people that wake up with scratches, marks, even
in places they couldn't reach themselves. Paranormal
activity. All of these different things are often
signs of spiritual oppression. If any of these
things are true of you, remember, be on the alert.
You have an enemy that is like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour. And it is possible
that what you're experiencing is spiritual oppression.
So if it is spiritual oppression, then what?
You have Jesus. So this is not a problem. It
has a solution. And the first part of the solution.
It's to remember that Jesus came to break the
power of the devil over my life. So God is on
my side. And he wants my freedom. So four things
that I want you to keep in mind. First, recognize
the authority of Jesus. If the apostles knew
what they knew after they got to the other side,
they wouldn't have freaked out. Because they
knew who Jesus was. And if Jesus said, we'll
get to the other side, we'll get to the other
side. Because my Jesus can command the sea and
the wind and we'll have to obey him. You see,
once you know that Jesus has all authority and
you recognize his authority, then you know that
you are walking in this space of struggle in
Jesus' authority. So therefore, you have the
victory on your side. And you have to recognize
that the root of some of these things is spiritual
and not physical. And what it is, you will know.
Second thing is that you have to repent. Because
sometimes the reason why the mosquitoes show
up in your house is because you left the door
open. You have engaged in a sinful behavior that
have opened the door for spiritual oppression.
And you can pray all you want, but you need to
close the door before the mosquitoes stop showing
up. And that's why if you are engaged in any
sinful behavior that you know is bringing you
shame, confess that, bring it to the light, walk
away from it, repent. Because as long as that's
there, the spiritual oppression will continue.
It doesn't matter if even Pastor Pablo prays
for you. You are inviting it. Don't be foolish.
Third, renounce it. Because sometimes the reason
why the oppression is happening is because we
have given it authority by establishing certain
links with these things. And this is often the
case for people who have engaged in idolatry.
If you grew up in an environment where you were
worshiping idols, maybe you were dedicated as
a baby to idols. Maybe you were in your wedding
and there was a ceremony done for idols to bless
your marriage. Anything that is related to the
direct invocation of the blessing of an idol
over your life has invited the authority of demons
to oppress you. And that's why you have to break
that agreement. You have to renounce it. And
if it was done by someone in authority over your
life, whether your parents, your grandparents,
You can break that by renouncing it in the name
of Jesus, but that has to be broken. And finally,
you have to remove it. Sometimes the reason why
this spiritual oppression is happening is because
you have invited objects that are cursed, that
were dedicated for idols or for demons. And this
is real. One day I was working with a person
that had bought... Antiques from Japan. And she
brought them into their home. And suddenly she
started having manifestations happening in the
house. And until that was removed, all of that
stopped. Do you remember the case of Achan in
the Old Testament when they are conquering with
Joshua and conquering the land? And God tells
them, don't take the gold, don't take the clothes
because they are cursed. Remember that? And this
Achan says, well, it's just gold. It's just clothes.
I can use it. Let me put it in my tent. And now
God says, my power cannot flow through you anymore.
I cannot give you victory over your enemies.
Because you have brought the cursed things in
your midst. These were people that worship idols.
And when that gold and those clothes were dedicated
to the idols, they're cursed. Now we have the
power of Jesus over that. So if you have come
to know Christ, you are following Jesus, but
you still have idols at home, statues, things
that were dedicated, don't think of that as,
oh, it has emotional value. No, it has spiritual
darkness value. And you must get rid of it. I've
also learned, because I like decorations, interior
design, all of that, I'm that kind of guy. Yes.
But, When I buy things here in Thailand, sometimes,
you know, decorations that are used things that
you find, oh, this will look good here. You know,
I've learned. I have no idea what the background
is. So when I take that object, I'm going to
pray over it. If it was dedicated to idols or
anything, I'm going to break its power in Jesus'
name. This thing now belongs to a child of God.
It's dedicated for God's purposes. I sanctify
it in Jesus' name before I bring it to my house.
Because this is real. I understand if it feels
too much. But welcome to reality. Welcome to
following Jesus. Welcome to the invitation of
walking in the victory of Jesus. So if you are
experiencing any form of spiritual oppression,
remember, recognize the authority of Jesus. Recognize
the source of the oppression. Repent of anything
that has given you the authority. Renounce. any
link that has been given to them as authority
of your life, and remove any object that has
been cursed or dedicated to demons from your
domain. This is what we do intentionally because
we believe what the Word of God says. We will
stay on the alert and we will be intentionally
about standing firm in our faith. Finally, if
you would like... something that is more hands
-on to help you deal with things that you are
feeling internally. We have the course Freedom
in Christ that is designed for this, but actually
the book Freedom in Christ, you can order it
online yourself. And it's a systematic exercise
that takes you through seven areas of your life
with specific prayers written through it. So
you can go systematically breaking anything that
has been given authority to the spiritual darkness
in your life. Say it with me out loud. The reason
the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's
work. Are you walking in freedom? Or are you
bound? Are you oppressed? If so, there's an answer
to that. And the solution is Jesus. Call out
to him. Lord, I ask you, in the powerful name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, to break any strongholds
that have been established by the enemy in our
lives and anything that you have revealed to
us today through this study. Lord, give us a
pathway forward that we may experience your freedom
because you came for our freedom, not for us
to live oppressed. In Jesus' name. If God is
calling you to support our ministries, you will
find giving options on our website. And remember
to join us next week. God bless you.