WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.059 Ephesians chapter 6, verses 11 and 12 will serve 00:00:04.059 --> 00:00:07.299 as our jumping -off place tonight in the Word 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:10.699 of God as we talk about the theme of the demons 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:18.120 of darkness. We have before us in these two verses 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:25.800 an encouragement to us to fight against our enemy. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.160 And our enemy is explained as being not human 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:36.539 primarily, but rather being spiritual. Ephesians 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:41.799 6, 11 and 12. Put on the full armor of God that 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.060 you may be able to stand firm against the schemes 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:49.539 of the devil. For our struggle is not against 00:00:49.539 --> 00:00:53.840 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:58.329 the powers. against the world forces of this 00:00:58.329 --> 00:01:03.070 darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:08.010 in the heavenly places. That phrase, heavenly 00:01:08.010 --> 00:01:11.370 places or the heavenlies, is one that is unique 00:01:11.370 --> 00:01:14.010 to the book of Ephesians and refers to the spirit 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:18.790 realm. The apostle is outlining for us here the 00:01:18.790 --> 00:01:22.390 hierarchy of Satan, which you and I battle with 00:01:22.390 --> 00:01:28.579 throughout our lives. Before we have said that 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:33.719 the devil is not God, thus he is not omnipresent, 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.760 everywhere present. The question logically comes, 00:01:39.079 --> 00:01:43.799 why does it seem that he is then? The answer 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:48.099 is that Satan works through his army of spirit 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:52.519 beings, which are called, among other things, 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:59.969 demons. There are many. these creatures. They 00:01:59.969 --> 00:02:03.329 are numbered, and yet their number is not given 00:02:03.329 --> 00:02:08.550 to us in the Word of God. It has been suggested 00:02:08.550 --> 00:02:12.490 to us that perhaps as many as a third of the 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:16.569 angels of God fell with Satan, and these would 00:02:16.569 --> 00:02:22.590 be the demons. The idea of demons and their influence 00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:27.629 on people has become a matter of of curiosity 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:32.710 and fascination in our society. We see that in 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:35.770 the movies, for example, that seem to be developed 00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:39.889 around this theme, as an example, the Exorcist 00:02:39.889 --> 00:02:46.430 series. Other similar horror flicks have merchandised 00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:50.050 the idea of the supernatural, and particularly 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:54.969 supernatural evil. It has been merchandised. 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:58.680 and made a product of Hollywood to the point 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:04.159 of almost making it seem fictional or unreal 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:08.819 or otherworldly, something like Star Wars. And 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:11.979 thus it becomes a matter of fascination, but 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:14.960 it's a rather innocuous topic, not too harmful, 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:18.819 so our society is led to think. Other portions 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:23.789 of our society, though, feel that... Such a subject 00:03:23.789 --> 00:03:26.629 as demons and the supernatural is ridiculous. 00:03:27.590 --> 00:03:31.270 In our enlightened and scientific, secularized 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:33.789 society, there is no place among intelligent 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:36.710 people, they would say, for discussions of such 00:03:36.710 --> 00:03:41.150 things. No one seriously believes in a devil 00:03:41.150 --> 00:03:44.889 after all. I mean, if you believe that, you must 00:03:44.889 --> 00:03:48.189 believe that the earth is flat and that the sun 00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:52.400 rotates around the earth. You must be someone 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.939 out of the Dark Ages if you really take seriously 00:03:54.939 --> 00:04:00.379 such a reality as Satan or demons. But if you 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:02.800 leave this culture in which we live and you go 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:04.979 to other cultures, such as the one represented 00:04:04.979 --> 00:04:07.300 by our missionary here tonight in Africa and 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:11.280 other parts of what is normally called the heathen 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.180 world, you would find that there is, in many 00:04:15.180 --> 00:04:18.720 of these places, a superstitious fear of spiritual 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.660 powers. In many of those areas, there is lots 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:28.839 of overt, open evidence of supernatural evil. 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:34.000 You see it in the voodoo of the Caribbean islands, 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:38.319 in the witch doctors of the pagan tribes, in 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:45.360 the medicine men of the Indians, etc., etc. It 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.199 is possible to purchase various books these days 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:52.819 which deal with the topic of the occult and demonic 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:57.019 powers, but the only reliable source of information 00:04:57.019 --> 00:05:00.660 we have comes from the Bible, the Word of God. 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:05.560 The Bible reveals the existence of a system of 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:12.040 evil, a kingdom of darkness, an army of wicked 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:16.610 beings. which is headed by Satan and obediently 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:21.250 follows him. These are the demons of darkness. 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:26.410 What is the origin and what is the nature of 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:30.850 demons? There are three theories of the origin 00:05:30.850 --> 00:05:35.550 of demons. Actually, the scripture is silent 00:05:35.550 --> 00:05:39.870 on the subject, and so all we can do is conjecture 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:45.519 regarding it. One theory is that demons are actually 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:51.540 the spirits from a race of beings that God created 00:05:51.540 --> 00:05:57.100 on the earth before Adam. This theory espouses 00:05:57.100 --> 00:06:00.060 the idea of what is called a pre -Adamic creation, 00:06:00.360 --> 00:06:04.180 which for some reason was judged by God, and 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:06.839 they say part of that judgment is that the spirits 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:12.000 of those people who lived then are condemned 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:19.899 now to Satan's army and to be demons. This presupposes, 00:06:19.899 --> 00:06:25.740 of course, a gap between Genesis 1 .1 and 1 .2. 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:30.339 Such a theory is actually built on the silence 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:32.779 of Scripture. There is not a word in the Scriptures 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:36.759 regarding it. There's a second theory. which 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:39.560 says that demons are the souls of those who were 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:43.500 produced by the unique event which seems to be 00:06:43.500 --> 00:06:46.120 described in Genesis chapter 6, that is, the 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.519 union of the sons of God with the daughters of 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:53.699 men. An event that was so heinous and reprehensible 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:57.120 in the sight of God that it produced giants of 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:59.620 wickedness in those days just before the flood 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:03.180 of Noah. And that race was entirely obliterated 00:07:03.180 --> 00:07:06.949 by the judgment of the flood. And so this theory 00:07:06.949 --> 00:07:11.089 says that these beings who were half human, half 00:07:11.089 --> 00:07:16.089 angelic, are the demons of today. But once again, 00:07:16.269 --> 00:07:19.149 the Scripture does not say that. It is a theory 00:07:19.149 --> 00:07:21.350 that is built actually upon the silence of Scripture. 00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:24.529 And to say the least, when we argue from the 00:07:24.529 --> 00:07:27.509 silence of Scripture, our arguments are a little 00:07:27.509 --> 00:07:32.329 tentative. A third theory, I think, is the best 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:34.750 one, and that is the one that I've alluded to 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:37.970 earlier, that the demons are actually the angels 00:07:37.970 --> 00:07:42.509 which fell with Satan when he, in his pride, 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:45.709 was cast out of heaven. They joined with him 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:48.750 in that rebellion against God. It seems to me 00:07:48.750 --> 00:07:51.709 that that is the best explanation of what demon 00:07:51.709 --> 00:07:56.470 spirits are today. Whatever their origin, the 00:07:56.470 --> 00:07:59.569 fact is, of course, that they do exist. And they 00:07:59.569 --> 00:08:02.730 observe us here tonight. They are in this auditorium. 00:08:03.290 --> 00:08:06.589 That should not surprise you, because they observe 00:08:06.589 --> 00:08:09.730 you and me all of our lives, as do the angels 00:08:09.730 --> 00:08:13.149 of God. What is the nature of demons? What are 00:08:13.149 --> 00:08:15.790 they like? Well, in the first place, they are 00:08:15.790 --> 00:08:20.089 spirit beings. Ephesians 6 .12 indicates that, 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:25.230 that they are spiritual forces of wickedness. 00:08:26.410 --> 00:08:28.670 You can also go to the Gospels and see where 00:08:28.670 --> 00:08:32.090 Jesus dealt with the demon -possessed person 00:08:32.090 --> 00:08:35.210 described in Matthew 17, 18. You compare that 00:08:35.210 --> 00:08:38.649 with the parallel account in Mark 9, 25, which 00:08:38.649 --> 00:08:40.389 we don't have time to do in the service, and 00:08:40.389 --> 00:08:43.230 you will see that in one instance the thing, 00:08:43.450 --> 00:08:46.950 the being, is called a demon. In the second, 00:08:47.009 --> 00:08:50.149 it is called a spirit. Thus, demons are spirits. 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:54.909 They are real. They have personalities. They 00:08:54.909 --> 00:08:57.350 have existence, but they are not flesh and blood 00:08:57.350 --> 00:09:01.350 as we are, because they are angelic, how be it 00:09:01.350 --> 00:09:05.470 evil. They're not only spirit beings, but they, 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:10.889 as the holy angels, are intelligent beings. They 00:09:10.889 --> 00:09:15.509 know, for example, who Jesus was. In Mark 1 .24, 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:17.870 they announced who he was, and Jesus commanded 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.029 them to be silent, because such an announcement 00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:23.340 was premature for his purpose. They know, for 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:26.759 example, their judgment, as Matthew 8, 29 says, 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:29.940 and they apparently are aware of the plan of 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.799 salvation, James 2, 19, yet they are not saved, 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:36.720 but they are aware of it. They are intelligent 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:40.120 beings, and their experience with human beings 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:43.519 over the process of time from the Garden of Eden 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.340 until today gives them a great deal of insight 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:50.899 and cunning wisdom as to how to tempt. and ensnare 00:09:50.899 --> 00:09:56.559 us in sin. Thirdly, they are deceitful. 1 Timothy 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:01.940 4 .1 warns us about deceitful demons, spirits, 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.279 which would espouse false doctrine, particularly 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.419 in the last days. Why are they deceitful? Because 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:11.200 they are like their leader. their captain or 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:15.000 their general, Satan, who is a liar and a deceiver, 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:17.600 and they are the same. They are like him. They 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:20.519 carry his characteristics. Fourthly, they are 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:24.399 unclean, and that word is used of them several 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:30.179 times, unclean spirits. The idea behind that 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:35.980 is that they are impure and immoral. Their desires 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:41.539 are filthy. and sinful desires. And that is what 00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:44.700 they seek to promote. Again, I refer to 1 Timothy 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:48.720 4, verses 1 and 2, where we are warned that in 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.659 these last days, these deceitful spirits will 00:10:51.659 --> 00:10:54.700 produce doctrines of demons, that is, doctrines 00:10:54.700 --> 00:10:58.220 originating with demons, and that these doctrines 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:04.679 will promulgate immorality. And we see that taking 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:08.279 place. By the way, false doctrine always produces 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:12.220 false living. And true doctrine produces true 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:17.080 living. Finally, demons are by nature evil and 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:22.379 cruel beings. They are unbelievably cruel. They 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:27.539 hate God. They hate believers. They hate people. 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:31.620 And they seek to inflict upon people suffering 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:35.909 and torment. We see this in the Gospels, for 00:11:35.909 --> 00:11:42.009 example, Matthew chapter 15 and verse 22, where 00:11:42.009 --> 00:11:45.909 we have an anguished cry. It says, And behold, 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:49.669 a Canaanite woman came out from that region and 00:11:49.669 --> 00:11:52.149 began to cry out, saying, Have mercy on me, O 00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:56.350 Lord, son of David. My daughter is cruelly demon 00:11:56.350 --> 00:12:01.519 -possessed. Cruelly demon -possessed. The demon 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.460 tormented and used and abused that poor daughter 00:12:05.460 --> 00:12:09.399 of that woman. She was delivered by the grace 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.679 and power of Jesus Christ. And so by nature they 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:16.600 are spirit beings who are intelligent yet deceitful. 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:20.220 They are unclean and they seek to promote uncleanness. 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:22.960 By the way, I believe without any doubt in my 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.820 mind whatsoever that it is the particularly unclean 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:30.179 particular unleashing of demons in this land 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:33.899 of ours, which has created the flood of pornography, 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.279 perversion, and immorality within the last 20 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:40.740 years. I have no doubt in my mind at all that 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:43.299 there are demon spirits behind all of that, and 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:46.720 their desire is to destroy this society, and 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.379 they are well on the road to doing it. And finally, 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:51.879 they are evil and cruel. What is the work of 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.980 demons, secondly? Well, the answer to that generally 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:58.740 is that they serve Satan. That is their purpose 00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:02.899 for existence. They follow him and do his bidding. 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:07.860 They afflict people in serving Satan. I hope 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:10.220 you turn to Matthew, in case you didn't turn 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:13.240 there anyway now, to Matthew 9, verse 33, and 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.320 let's see what it says here regarding the affliction 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:22.629 of demons upon people. It says, after the demon 00:13:22.629 --> 00:13:28.009 was cast out, the dumb man spoke. And so we see 00:13:28.009 --> 00:13:30.830 in this case, the man was afflicted by dumbness. 00:13:30.870 --> 00:13:33.970 He was unable to speak. Not because there was 00:13:33.970 --> 00:13:36.169 something physically wrong, but because a demon 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:40.690 held his tongue and he was unable to speak. Now 00:13:40.690 --> 00:13:42.889 we could turn to other passages, but you can 00:13:42.889 --> 00:13:45.710 look them up on your own. Demons can also afflict 00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:49.429 other symptoms of diseases. For example, blindness. 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:54.740 deafness, deformity, and symptoms which are similar 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:58.320 to epilepsy. Now, please understand I am not 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:00.659 saying that everyone who is afflicted by these 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:04.799 problems has a problem with a demon. I'm simply 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:07.080 saying that demons can cause those same kind 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.539 of symptoms. All diseases are not demonic. In 00:14:11.539 --> 00:14:15.019 fact, in the book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 34, 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:17.919 Mark... The Holy Spirit, through Mark, clearly 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:22.419 differentiates between diseases and demon possession. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.759 Mark 1, 34. And Jesus healed many who were ill 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.580 with various diseases and cast out many demons 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:35.299 and was not permitting the demons to speak because 00:14:35.299 --> 00:14:39.419 they knew who he was. And so there's a clear 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:42.460 delineation in this text and in some others in 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:47.000 the Gospels. showing that disease is not the 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.440 same as demon possession, or demon affliction, 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:56.519 rather. But demon affliction can cause some curious 00:14:56.519 --> 00:15:00.279 symptoms. Not only the symptoms of disease, but 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.179 also the symptoms of insanity. Turn to Luke chapter 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:14.100 8, and we see a rather terrifying account. Luke 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:17.399 8, verse 26. And they sailed to the country of 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:21.080 the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:24.840 when he, Jesus, had come out onto the land, he 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:28.039 was met by a certain man from the city who was 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:32.259 possessed with demons and who had not put on 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:36.440 any clothing for a long time and was not living 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.779 in a house but in the tombs. And so here's a 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:43.929 poor individual who is demon -possessed, who 00:15:43.929 --> 00:15:49.710 is naked and whose home is in the tombs. And 00:15:49.710 --> 00:15:52.289 seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before him 00:15:52.289 --> 00:15:54.929 and said in a loud voice, What do I have to do 00:15:54.929 --> 00:15:58.409 with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I 00:15:58.409 --> 00:16:02.909 beg you, do not torment me. For he had been commanding 00:16:02.909 --> 00:16:05.549 the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Apparently, 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:08.490 before they even met, Jesus recognized what the 00:16:08.490 --> 00:16:12.519 problem of this man was. silently perhaps, began 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:14.740 commanding that demon to come out of him, and 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:16.639 the demon responded through the lips of this 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:20.960 man. It says, It had seized him many times, and 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.220 he was bound with chains and shackles and kept 00:16:23.220 --> 00:16:26.080 under guard, and yet he would burst his fetters 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.080 and be driven by the demon into the desert. And 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:31.600 so here was a man possessed with unusual strength 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:36.600 and could not be contained. And Jesus asked him, 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:39.840 What is your name? And he said, Legion. For many 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.759 demons had entered him, and they were entreating 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:45.879 him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.740 Notice that. I want to talk about it later. And 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:50.940 there was a herd of many swine feeding there 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:53.659 in the mountain. The demons entreated him to 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:56.039 permit them to enter the swine, and he gave them 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:58.279 permission. And the demons came out from the 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:00.480 man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:02.820 down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:05.700 And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:07.680 they ran away and reported it in the city and 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:10.460 out in the country. And the people went out to 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:12.599 see what had happened, and they came to Jesus 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:16.160 and found the man from whom the demons had gone 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.680 out, sitting down at his feet, clothed and in 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:23.279 his right mind. And so here was a man who was 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:28.440 possessed by symptoms of insanity. Jesus delivered 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:31.420 him from all of that. And immediately he was 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:34.180 clothed, and he was sitting quietly, subdued 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:37.039 at Jesus' feet, and was there learning from him. 00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:41.630 We see also in Matthew 17, verses 14 and 15, 00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:44.150 the demons attempt to drive people to suicide. 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:51.750 I have had people say to me, there's a voice 00:17:51.750 --> 00:17:56.730 that tells me to kill myself. It is possible. 00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:01.250 You cannot diagnose this in general. I am not 00:18:01.250 --> 00:18:03.769 attempting to do that at all. It is possible 00:18:03.769 --> 00:18:07.960 that that is the influence of demons. On that 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:10.500 occasion, they drove a person to throw himself 00:18:10.500 --> 00:18:14.819 into the fire and other things. So they attempt 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:20.579 to cause people to commit suicide. They also 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:23.220 afflict people by causing immorality. I have 00:18:23.220 --> 00:18:26.460 already talked about the unclean spirits that 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:29.339 are mentioned. And finally, they cause violent 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:31.680 behavior. We see this man, for example, could 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.980 not be contained. And there's other activity 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:37.200 recorded in the gospel of some who are demon 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:42.220 -possessed that was very, very violent. Demons 00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:45.960 then work by afflicting people. A second work 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:48.859 that they have is that of at least the possibility 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:52.799 of invading animals. And we see that here in 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:56.029 this account. They did not want to be dispossessed 00:18:56.029 --> 00:19:01.250 and have no body to indwell, and were content, 00:19:01.390 --> 00:19:04.950 if they had to, to even indwell the bodies of 00:19:04.950 --> 00:19:08.170 the swine. And that is what Jesus, on that occasion, 00:19:08.210 --> 00:19:11.650 gave them permission to do. And they caused the 00:19:11.650 --> 00:19:15.170 swine to kill themselves, but they obviously 00:19:15.170 --> 00:19:21.509 can invade animals. A third work is that of opposing... 00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:26.650 God's purposes in the world. We see, for example, 00:19:26.730 --> 00:19:30.210 in Matthew chapter 13, Jesus warning us that 00:19:30.210 --> 00:19:33.410 when the word of God is preached, Satan will 00:19:33.410 --> 00:19:36.269 seek to steal that word before it can take root 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:39.609 in the heart. Now, Satan can't be everywhere 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:41.789 at once seeking to take the word out of every 00:19:41.789 --> 00:19:46.380 heart, so of course it is Satan's demons. They're 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:48.339 at work whenever the Word of God is preached, 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:51.799 seeking to snatch that Word back from the hearts 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:54.599 that have received it before that Word can take 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.980 root and bear fruit. They seek to oppose the 00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:01.039 work of God. Later on in that chapter, verses 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:05.200 38 and 39, Jesus tells us that Satan is also 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:11.759 involved in sowing false believers, professors 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:18.269 only, in the work of God. who weaken and undermine 00:20:18.269 --> 00:20:22.170 God's work. And that as well is his work in opposing 00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:26.170 the purposes of God in this age. Satan works 00:20:26.170 --> 00:20:28.369 through his demons to do that. That's their work. 00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:32.210 They oppose the purposes of God. And fourthly, 00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:35.609 and I've already suggested this, they promulgate 00:20:35.609 --> 00:20:41.049 false teaching, 1 Timothy 4 .1. It's time to 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:43.049 turn there and read that passage since I've talked 00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.569 about it two or three times. 1 Timothy 4 .1, 00:20:46.730 --> 00:20:51.369 but the Spirit explicitly says that in later 00:20:51.369 --> 00:20:56.329 times, some will fall away from the faith. In 00:20:56.329 --> 00:20:59.130 other words, they will be professing people who 00:20:59.130 --> 00:21:02.130 will apostatize. They will fall away and then 00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:07.180 deny the faith. Someone just recently was expressing 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.519 such alarm to me about another individual who 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:13.440 at one time solidly professed the faith, but 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.359 now totally denies it and blasphemes the name 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:20.779 of God. That is apostasy. And he says, what happens? 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:24.220 They pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines 00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:28.859 of demons. Demons seek to promote false teaching. 00:21:30.019 --> 00:21:33.920 Examples would be occultism. You can read about 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.579 it in Acts chapter 16, where that was the confrontation 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:40.319 of those missionaries in the particular city 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.680 they were in. They confronted those who were 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:45.900 involved in occultism. Satan seeks to promote 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:49.160 that today, and he does it in very clever ways. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:53.759 He also seeks to promote astrology, which is 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:58.119 close to occultism. By occult, I'm saying O -C 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:05.720 -C -U -L -T. Occultism. That involves necromancy, 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:09.779 it involves fortune -telling, all of those kinds 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.500 of things. And astrology, of course, is the reading 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:16.279 of the stars and predicting the future on the 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:19.859 basis of what the heavens say. Those have long 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:24.099 been the promotions of demons. Never pick up 00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:28.809 a horoscope and use that. That is demonic. They 00:22:28.809 --> 00:22:32.890 also seek to promote idolatry, the worship of 00:22:32.890 --> 00:22:36.369 idols. And they will do this in clever ways by 00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:38.630 making people say, well, I'm not worshiping the 00:22:38.630 --> 00:22:40.710 idol, I'm worshiping what the idol represents. 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:46.250 Well, how true that is. Because what the idol 00:22:46.250 --> 00:22:49.970 represents is demon spirits. And the worship 00:22:49.970 --> 00:22:53.809 of idols is actually the worship of demons. So 00:22:53.809 --> 00:22:55.589 that is their work. They seek to promote false 00:22:55.589 --> 00:22:59.099 teaching. They do it through cults. We have various 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:03.099 cults and explosion of them in our day. They 00:23:03.099 --> 00:23:07.200 seek to use what I would term today liberalism, 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:11.039 that is apostate Christianity, which uses the 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.000 terms, some of the terms that we would use, but 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.599 they redefine the terms. An example of that would 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:22.480 be represented by a commentary I read in our 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.359 local newspaper someone gave to me just a week 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:30.750 ago. It was a commentary written by a priest 00:23:30.750 --> 00:23:38.990 in Minneapolis regarding his understanding of 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:42.089 a letter that is going to be published by the 00:23:42.089 --> 00:23:45.230 National Conference of Catholic Bishops sometime 00:23:45.230 --> 00:23:47.910 this fall, winter, spring, in that neighborhood 00:23:47.910 --> 00:23:53.609 somewhere. And in this letter, which the Catholic 00:23:53.609 --> 00:23:58.420 bishops are going to... publish and approve, 00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:04.940 they denounce capitalism and embrace communism 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:09.880 and socialism. And that is being promoted by 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:12.920 the local gentleman here in St. Paul, who is 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:17.420 the head of this area, Mr. Roach. Now, in that 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:21.359 article, there is redefining of Christian terms. 00:24:22.109 --> 00:24:24.390 And it embraces what has been called liberation 00:24:24.390 --> 00:24:26.670 theology, which takes some of our theological 00:24:26.670 --> 00:24:29.910 terms, and you apply to that Marxist teaching 00:24:29.910 --> 00:24:35.910 communism under the guise of Christianity. You 00:24:35.910 --> 00:24:38.750 see, that's the work of demons, seeking in any 00:24:38.750 --> 00:24:45.329 way possible to twist or pervert the truth, trying 00:24:45.329 --> 00:24:48.670 to have a semblance of it, but then slipping 00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:52.099 in false doctrine with it. or in place of it, 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.839 so as to lead people into deeper darkness and 00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:00.539 ultimately to hell. By the way, demons do not 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:03.819 guard hell. Satan does not have his headquarters 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:06.000 in hell. He's trying to stay as far away from 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:09.980 there as possible. Their headquarters is here 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:12.720 in the world. Their headquarters is here in the 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.779 world, and that is where they work. That is their 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:17.559 sphere. Let's talk thirdly and quickly about 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:21.039 their judgment. It is clear from the Bible that 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.720 the judgment of demons was made secure at the 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:29.380 cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, by the cross, 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:35.539 not only redeemed us who are saved, but he condemned 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:41.039 Satan and his army to their eternal judgment 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:44.140 so that there's absolutely no doubt whatsoever 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:48.650 that they are defeated at this point. He came 00:25:48.650 --> 00:25:54.150 to make inoperative the power, the powers of 00:25:54.150 --> 00:25:57.269 the devil. Now it is true that they are still 00:25:57.269 --> 00:26:01.430 free in some sense to work today because that 00:26:01.430 --> 00:26:03.990 is the purpose of God, but never forget that 00:26:03.990 --> 00:26:08.170 their ultimate judgment is already sealed. And 00:26:08.170 --> 00:26:12.230 they know that. They know that. It is interesting 00:26:12.230 --> 00:26:17.109 that one of the demons spoke and said to Jesus, 00:26:18.100 --> 00:26:23.259 We know who you are. Why have you come to torment 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:28.500 us before the time? That was his statement. So 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:30.859 they know that their judgment is coming. They 00:26:30.859 --> 00:26:33.640 know that it has been sealed by the cross work 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:37.559 of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a suggestion, 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:40.599 at least, from Luke 8, 31, that there are some 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:44.279 demons who are already incarcerated in a place 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:49.130 called the abyss. The abyss. Those demons and 00:26:49.130 --> 00:26:52.589 that man and Gadara did not want to be cast into 00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:56.230 the abyss. That may indicate that some had already 00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:59.009 gone there to that place called the bottomless 00:26:59.009 --> 00:27:03.910 pit. It may be that these who are already incarcerated 00:27:03.910 --> 00:27:07.509 there are the ones who will be released someday 00:27:07.509 --> 00:27:10.829 according to Revelation 9 verses 1 through 11. 00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:14.039 during the tribulation period, and they will 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:16.500 set forth upon the earth tremendous destruction 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:20.460 and will be used ultimately by God to bring together 00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:24.920 the final battle. It may be, I say, that those 00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:26.720 demons that are incarcerated are the ones that 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:29.140 will be released then. We don't know that for 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:32.200 sure. But apparently there are some who are now 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.279 already incarcerated. Ultimately, though, and 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:39.119 permanently their judgment, their destiny is 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:43.400 the lake of fire. Matthew 25, 41 tells us that 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:46.759 that place of suffering and torment was created 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:51.200 for the devil and his angels, which we understand 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:55.160 to be the demons. Now I want to talk just briefly 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:57.019 about some of the common questions that come 00:27:57.019 --> 00:27:59.880 up regarding demons, and I would be quick to 00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:03.690 profess that I am no expert in this area. and 00:28:03.690 --> 00:28:05.869 really don't intend to become one either, as 00:28:05.869 --> 00:28:08.690 a matter of fact. But I'll be glad to share with 00:28:08.690 --> 00:28:11.609 you my understanding, such as it is at this point, 00:28:11.750 --> 00:28:15.670 regarding this matter of demons and their relationship 00:28:15.670 --> 00:28:19.190 to people, and particularly Christians. The question 00:28:19.190 --> 00:28:22.049 is commonly asked, what is demon possession? 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:25.549 That term is used, as we have read even here 00:28:25.549 --> 00:28:29.789 tonight in one of our texts at least. I think 00:28:29.789 --> 00:28:34.309 a better term would be demonization. than possession. 00:28:35.289 --> 00:28:38.069 The word in the Greek is actually that they were 00:28:38.069 --> 00:28:42.329 demonized. Now, I don't like the word possession 00:28:42.329 --> 00:28:46.009 because it connotes ownership, and that is not 00:28:46.009 --> 00:28:49.450 the meaning of what is taking place in those 00:28:49.450 --> 00:28:53.049 instances, nor is that, I think, connoted by 00:28:53.049 --> 00:28:56.190 the Greek language. It's not the idea of ownership 00:28:56.190 --> 00:28:59.630 which the English word possession gives to us. 00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:05.319 but the idea is control and influence over. It 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:09.700 is the control of a person's faculties, even 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:14.700 his ability to speak, and his personality. That 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:20.359 is demonization. How is one brought under such 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:25.130 control? Well, the answer is, number one, People 00:29:25.130 --> 00:29:28.250 can be brought under such control by direct contact 00:29:28.250 --> 00:29:33.670 with the occult or with another demonized person. 00:29:34.809 --> 00:29:41.950 One can be brought under the control and influence 00:29:41.950 --> 00:29:47.390 of demons by playing around with the occult. 00:29:48.029 --> 00:29:50.869 That's why it is a very serious thing to have 00:29:50.869 --> 00:29:56.819 anything to do with... those practices which 00:29:56.819 --> 00:30:01.200 are called occultism. I want to come back to 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:05.460 that as I close. A second way that one can be 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:08.440 brought under the control of demons is by choosing 00:30:08.440 --> 00:30:14.460 to deliberately yield to demon powers. I don't 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:16.839 have any proof of this, but in my own mind, I 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:20.420 don't have any doubt that there are certain entertainers 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:23.110 in our world, particularly those entertaining 00:30:23.110 --> 00:30:26.710 the youth culture and rock music who have given 00:30:26.710 --> 00:30:31.069 themselves to demon powers for the purpose of 00:30:31.069 --> 00:30:34.089 becoming well -known or wealthy or influential 00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:37.609 in the world. And I also have no doubt in myself, 00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:40.589 though I do not have proof, that that is the 00:30:40.589 --> 00:30:42.789 reason that many of these people are taken at 00:30:42.789 --> 00:30:46.410 a young age. I believe that they very much do 00:30:46.410 --> 00:30:49.869 sell their souls to the devil. And their choice 00:30:49.869 --> 00:30:53.859 is to be under the power of demons in order to 00:30:53.859 --> 00:30:56.619 gain certain things, even if it is for a temporary 00:30:56.619 --> 00:31:03.559 period of time. A warning to us is that one can 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:08.279 be brought under the influence of demons eventually 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:13.579 if we begin to give footholds in our lives to 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:17.079 Satan. That is why the apostle says in Ephesians, 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:23.000 neither give the devil an opportunity. If you 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:27.099 and I allow sin to go on unconfessed in our lives, 00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:33.299 or if we harbor certain sins, that gives a foothold 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:38.500 to the devil in us. Thus, we need to beware of 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:42.460 sins that are not repented of. We need to beware 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:46.940 of sins that are not confessed. Furthermore, 00:31:47.140 --> 00:31:50.039 we need to beware of giving the devil an opportunity 00:31:50.809 --> 00:31:54.470 By doing such things as playing certain games 00:31:54.470 --> 00:32:00.690 like Dungeons and Dragons or the Ouija board. 00:32:01.509 --> 00:32:04.809 Now those may seem simple in themselves or even 00:32:04.809 --> 00:32:08.910 fun. And I know that there are some Christians 00:32:08.910 --> 00:32:14.710 who laugh at the idea that these could be instruments 00:32:14.710 --> 00:32:17.549 of demons to bring people eventually under their 00:32:17.549 --> 00:32:22.059 control. It is sad that they laugh at that. In 00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:25.359 a church that I worked in, in another state, 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:29.779 as a youth pastor, we had a group of girls who 00:32:29.779 --> 00:32:31.960 were having a pajama party together one night, 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:34.819 and they decided it might be fun to get an Ouija 00:32:34.819 --> 00:32:36.740 board out, which one of them had, and so they 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:39.779 did. And this was late at night, and they began 00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:44.720 to ask this board certain questions. And lo and 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:47.640 behold, the pointer on the board began to move, 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:51.769 and it began to give them right answers. And 00:32:51.769 --> 00:32:55.349 they became very frightened. And so they decided 00:32:55.349 --> 00:33:00.690 that they would talk about Jesus. And so they 00:33:00.690 --> 00:33:02.990 talked about Jesus to the board, and the whole 00:33:02.990 --> 00:33:05.990 thing flew off their lap and hit the wall, and 00:33:05.990 --> 00:33:09.369 then crashed to the floor. I can guarantee you 00:33:09.369 --> 00:33:11.029 that was the last time they played with the Ouija 00:33:11.029 --> 00:33:15.809 board. They saw firsthand that it was not just 00:33:15.809 --> 00:33:20.019 an innocent little game, a parlor game. But in 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:22.500 fact, it is one of the many of Satan's subtle 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:26.160 little ways of getting people interested in the 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:29.799 powers of darkness. I think that we also need 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.299 to be careful of allowing our children to watch 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:39.019 cartoons which are built around weird and demonic 00:33:39.019 --> 00:33:43.960 kinds of creatures. And these somehow seem to 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:46.799 be popular on Saturday morning, and it's not 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:49.579 accidental. I believe that our whole society 00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:53.180 is being prepared for another great influx of 00:33:53.180 --> 00:33:57.559 demonization as we head into the period of the 00:33:57.559 --> 00:34:00.680 Antichrist. So how is one brought under such 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:05.480 control as demonism, demonization? Well, by direct 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:10.099 contact with the occult, by deliberately yielding 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:14.280 oneself to demon powers. Or it can happen eventually 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:16.820 if one begins to give way to the devil and allow 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:21.039 him to have foothold in one's life. How is demonization 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:26.380 recognized? That is not a simple, well, it's 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:28.380 a simple question, but there's no way to simply 00:34:28.380 --> 00:34:33.460 answer that. How does one know if a person is 00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:36.699 actually demonized, under the control of a demon? 00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:46.800 can produce symptoms that would be very similar 00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:50.679 to what one would expect with a demonized person. 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:55.599 It is not something that should be, that is this 00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:58.019 kind of discernment is not something that should 00:34:58.019 --> 00:35:02.420 be undertaken by an inexperienced person. But 00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:04.500 I would suggest a couple of things to you. Number 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:10.480 one, I think that you can have a clue by noting 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:14.579 the person's speech. For there are people who, 00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:16.760 under the influence of demons, are able to speak 00:35:16.760 --> 00:35:19.340 different languages than their own language, 00:35:19.460 --> 00:35:23.639 or which speak with an entirely different accent 00:35:23.639 --> 00:35:30.300 or a manner of speaking. Several years ago, I 00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:34.929 met a gentleman who was a missionary for a number 00:35:34.929 --> 00:35:37.090 of years, a graduate of Bob Jones University 00:35:37.090 --> 00:35:40.150 in the South. He was doctrinally just where we 00:35:40.150 --> 00:35:42.269 would be, I'm sure, as far as the fundamentals 00:35:42.269 --> 00:35:47.389 of the faith. He was a man that has dealt to 00:35:47.389 --> 00:35:51.050 some extent with demon powers, and he related 00:35:51.050 --> 00:35:54.889 on a tape recording, which I have in my possession, 00:35:55.030 --> 00:35:59.050 the story of a woman in Louisiana who was delivered 00:35:59.050 --> 00:36:04.119 from demons. In fact, on the tape, they record 00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:09.920 a couple of those exorcisms. And it is a hairy 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:13.559 thing to listen to, I want to assure you. But 00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:15.579 one of the things that I have noted in listening 00:36:15.579 --> 00:36:17.820 carefully to that tape is not a good quality, 00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:23.699 but you can distinctly tell when different demons 00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:26.820 are speaking through the woman because of the 00:36:26.820 --> 00:36:30.179 way that she speaks. There are different personalities 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:33.500 involved, and when one demon would be cast out 00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.940 and she would be delivered, another then would 00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:38.460 speak, and it would be a completely different 00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:42.139 accent, different manner of speaking altogether. 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.380 Now, this woman was dealt with by a psychiatrist 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:47.699 at Tulane University. This whole thing has been 00:36:47.699 --> 00:36:50.519 documented. This is not something that happened 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:53.500 in a back alley somewhere. The whole thing has 00:36:53.500 --> 00:36:55.639 been documented. And by the way, the doctor made 00:36:55.639 --> 00:36:59.809 an interesting comment. He said that he would 00:36:59.809 --> 00:37:04.010 guess that probably, as I recall, it was 70 % 00:37:04.010 --> 00:37:07.789 to 75 % of the patients he has dealt with who 00:37:07.789 --> 00:37:10.789 have this particular problem that she suffered 00:37:10.789 --> 00:37:17.210 from all had the same symptoms as Jane did. And 00:37:17.210 --> 00:37:20.630 so the implication of that was that a good deal 00:37:20.630 --> 00:37:24.369 of the people he dealt with in his practice may 00:37:24.369 --> 00:37:27.119 well have been under the influence. of demons 00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:33.019 if the speech is out of character if it is blasphemous 00:37:33.019 --> 00:37:36.920 if it is filthy then there is the possibility 00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:40.760 that a demon is involved and i want to say especially 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:43.440 if that's out of character for the person and 00:37:43.440 --> 00:37:48.360 then a second way in which one can have a clue 00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:51.280 as to whether demon influence is involved is 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:55.260 by The reaction of the individual to the blood 00:37:55.260 --> 00:38:01.000 of Christ. For demons hate anything to do with 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:05.659 the blood of Jesus Christ. And again, I have 00:38:05.659 --> 00:38:08.980 heard that illustrated myself with my own ears 00:38:08.980 --> 00:38:12.139 on the tape recording that I possess. Whenever 00:38:12.139 --> 00:38:14.320 the blood of Christ was spoken about or when 00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:16.820 it was sung about, which they did, the demons 00:38:16.820 --> 00:38:22.480 screamed in terror and anger. because of the 00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:27.000 blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:29.719 emphasize to you that if you suspect someone 00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:33.980 may be under the influence of demons, you need 00:38:33.980 --> 00:38:36.400 to be very careful before you would ever say 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:40.139 anything to anyone about that. Don't take it 00:38:40.139 --> 00:38:44.920 lightly. Don't by yourself try to diagnose the 00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:47.980 case. You could do great damage to a person who 00:38:47.980 --> 00:38:51.750 may have some other trouble. than this but i'm 00:38:51.750 --> 00:38:55.010 simply passing on along passing along to you 00:38:55.010 --> 00:38:58.829 some of the the things that i have come to understand 00:38:58.829 --> 00:39:03.269 regarding demons and how they can be detected 00:39:03.269 --> 00:39:08.309 a common question is can a christian be demonized 00:39:08.309 --> 00:39:11.949 she usually asks can a christian be demon possessed 00:39:11.949 --> 00:39:15.269 well again i say it's a wrong term because it 00:39:15.269 --> 00:39:17.849 connotes ownership no christian can be owned 00:39:17.849 --> 00:39:21.570 by a demon But the fact is, I believe that demons 00:39:21.570 --> 00:39:27.570 can influence and control believers. I think, 00:39:27.570 --> 00:39:29.449 in fact, we have a couple of biblical examples 00:39:29.449 --> 00:39:32.829 of that. One of them is found in Matthew chapter 00:39:32.829 --> 00:39:57.429 16. Let's look at verse 21. From that time Jesus 00:39:57.429 --> 00:40:00.269 Christ began to show his disciples that he must 00:40:00.269 --> 00:40:03.590 go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the 00:40:03.590 --> 00:40:06.030 elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed 00:40:06.030 --> 00:40:08.510 and be raised up on the third day. And Peter 00:40:08.510 --> 00:40:11.510 took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 00:40:11.670 --> 00:40:13.690 God forbid it, Lord, this should never happen 00:40:13.690 --> 00:40:16.969 to you. But he turned and said to Peter, Get 00:40:16.969 --> 00:40:21.849 behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to 00:40:21.849 --> 00:40:25.199 me. For you are not setting your mind on God's 00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:28.559 interests, but man's. Now, would you note that 00:40:28.559 --> 00:40:32.880 Jesus spoke to Peter. I should say he spoke to 00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:36.960 Satan through Peter. And the implication is that 00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:39.980 as Peter spoke, Satan was influencing him to 00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:46.039 say those things. And so he spoke there the words 00:40:46.039 --> 00:40:48.599 that Satan wanted him to speak. So to some degree, 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:51.980 I would not say to what degree, but to some degree, 00:40:52.539 --> 00:40:55.920 He was under the influence of Satan at that point. 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.820 And Jesus recognized it and rebuked Satan in 00:40:59.820 --> 00:41:03.699 Peter. I think another example of this is Ananias 00:41:03.699 --> 00:41:07.820 in Acts chapter 5. And you know the story, I 00:41:07.820 --> 00:41:13.179 trust. And, well, let's turn there so we can 00:41:13.179 --> 00:41:21.489 look at it more precisely. Acts chapter 5. Ananias 00:41:21.489 --> 00:41:23.269 and his wife had sold some property and came 00:41:23.269 --> 00:41:26.869 to give the money at the apostles' feet, but 00:41:26.869 --> 00:41:29.010 they were not giving at all. And notice in verse 00:41:29.010 --> 00:41:32.849 3, Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled 00:41:32.849 --> 00:41:36.769 your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep 00:41:36.769 --> 00:41:40.920 back some of the price of the land? And so Satan 00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:43.780 was involved in the lie of Ananias, and the interesting 00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:46.780 thing to me is that the verb filled in verse 00:41:46.780 --> 00:41:49.380 3 is the same word that's used elsewhere in Acts 00:41:49.380 --> 00:41:54.539 for the filling of the Holy Spirit. And so Ananias 00:41:54.539 --> 00:41:57.699 was empowered by, under the influence of Satan, 00:41:57.800 --> 00:42:02.460 in saying what he said to Peter and offering 00:42:02.460 --> 00:42:06.780 up hypocritically the price that he claimed the 00:42:06.780 --> 00:42:09.920 land had been sold for. And so the answer is 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:14.659 yes, to some degree, Christians can be demonized. 00:42:14.800 --> 00:42:18.300 But the objection is, how is it that a demon 00:42:18.300 --> 00:42:23.119 can control what belongs to God and is indwelt 00:42:23.119 --> 00:42:27.280 by the Holy Spirit? Well, an answer to that is 00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:34.019 that sin does. Sin still indwells us along with 00:42:34.019 --> 00:42:37.079 the Holy Spirit, and sin can still control us. 00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:39.699 So is it too much to think that though we belong 00:42:39.699 --> 00:42:42.400 to God and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that 00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:45.019 it's possible, if we allow it to happen, that 00:42:45.019 --> 00:42:47.420 Satan could have influence in us, control us? 00:42:49.139 --> 00:42:54.059 Now, there is today a ministry that is mushrooming 00:42:54.059 --> 00:42:59.019 called the deliverance ministry. The idea is 00:42:59.019 --> 00:43:03.139 that demons are cast out of Christians. And I'd 00:43:03.139 --> 00:43:05.460 like to point out to you that there is no scriptural 00:43:05.460 --> 00:43:09.710 precedent. for doing that none whatsoever there 00:43:09.710 --> 00:43:12.750 is precedent for fighting against them wrestling 00:43:12.750 --> 00:43:16.329 against them ephesians chapter 6 but there is 00:43:16.329 --> 00:43:18.829 no precedent in the word of god for a ministry 00:43:18.829 --> 00:43:25.409 of casting demons out of christians i don't believe 00:43:25.409 --> 00:43:28.449 that kind of thing is necessary i believe that 00:43:28.449 --> 00:43:32.469 by the grace of god we are able ourselves to 00:43:32.469 --> 00:43:36.170 wrestle against satan and to ward off his influence 00:43:36.170 --> 00:43:39.989 that we may have given to him in our lives. I 00:43:39.989 --> 00:43:42.610 have heard evangelist James Robison, as perhaps 00:43:42.610 --> 00:43:47.230 you have, a man who in recent years has been 00:43:47.230 --> 00:43:49.989 used mildly of God in evangelistic meetings throughout 00:43:49.989 --> 00:43:53.949 the South, tell about how he was delivered from 00:43:53.949 --> 00:43:56.030 demons, how his wife has been delivered from 00:43:56.030 --> 00:43:58.869 demons. And they are now heavily involved in 00:43:58.869 --> 00:44:03.150 the charismatic movement. And so that was a... 00:44:04.150 --> 00:44:07.289 to their turn into that particular movement. 00:44:08.710 --> 00:44:12.570 Deliverance ministries, in my opinion, are not 00:44:12.570 --> 00:44:16.070 biblically sound. There is no precedent for it 00:44:16.070 --> 00:44:19.250 in the Word of God. And by the way, James Robison 00:44:19.250 --> 00:44:21.110 claimed to be delivered from the demon of ice 00:44:21.110 --> 00:44:27.309 cream. Somehow that doesn't ring true with me. 00:44:27.369 --> 00:44:30.150 I really do not mean to make fun of it, but somehow 00:44:30.150 --> 00:44:33.280 it... that does not settle well within my spirit 00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:37.179 that there's there's truth there how should we 00:44:37.179 --> 00:44:39.539 respond when faced with a person who's definitely 00:44:39.539 --> 00:44:44.900 demonized who's definitely demonized we do not 00:44:44.900 --> 00:44:47.239 see a lot of that or we have not i should say 00:44:47.239 --> 00:44:49.079 in our society but i believe that we're going 00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:52.300 to see more of it we're going to see more of 00:44:52.300 --> 00:44:54.579 it because of the tremendous and now prolonged 00:44:54.579 --> 00:44:58.420 influence of rock music And we're going to see 00:44:58.420 --> 00:45:00.280 more and more of it because of the influence 00:45:00.280 --> 00:45:03.420 of drugs in our society, both of which are open 00:45:03.420 --> 00:45:06.599 doors, wide open doors for the invasion of demon 00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:10.300 spirits into people. How are we going to respond 00:45:10.300 --> 00:45:13.960 to people who are definitely demonized? Well, 00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:16.400 there are some people who take the position we 00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:19.619 should do nothing. I would not agree with that, 00:45:19.679 --> 00:45:21.860 but I do believe that we ought to be careful. 00:45:24.300 --> 00:45:26.719 I believe in the first place that we never should 00:45:26.719 --> 00:45:33.300 face such a situation alone. But if we have need 00:45:33.300 --> 00:45:35.920 to deal with that person, we should always do 00:45:35.920 --> 00:45:38.679 it with a group of believers so that we can support 00:45:38.679 --> 00:45:42.599 one another in prayer. We need the support of 00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:45.940 other believers in such a situation. And then 00:45:45.940 --> 00:45:48.599 the demon should be dealt with only as directed 00:45:48.599 --> 00:45:51.739 by the Lord, as that group prays, because I want 00:45:51.739 --> 00:45:55.170 to tell you that's serious business. It is not 00:45:55.170 --> 00:45:57.469 for the immature, and it certainly is not for 00:45:57.469 --> 00:46:01.869 the carnal Christian. Indeed, I shared with you 00:46:01.869 --> 00:46:04.110 several months ago the story of a pastor who 00:46:04.110 --> 00:46:07.349 has written a book on depression, who was a man 00:46:07.349 --> 00:46:11.349 of God, a man who was greatly used of the Lord, 00:46:11.449 --> 00:46:13.650 but who dealt with a demon -possessed young man 00:46:13.650 --> 00:46:16.849 at a Bible conference center and was afflicted 00:46:16.849 --> 00:46:25.300 for months afterward by demonic spirits, darkness 00:46:25.300 --> 00:46:31.760 of depression that descended upon his life. It 00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:35.059 is serious business in dealing with demons. Do 00:46:35.059 --> 00:46:39.059 not do that carelessly or lightheartedly. I would 00:46:39.059 --> 00:46:42.679 encourage you to get the advice of an elder or 00:46:42.679 --> 00:46:46.260 myself or one of our staff before you would ever 00:46:46.260 --> 00:46:48.960 begin to approach a person that you felt was 00:46:48.960 --> 00:46:53.179 demonized. Folks, So much more could be said. 00:46:53.219 --> 00:46:55.860 Our time is long gone. Let me encourage you to 00:46:55.860 --> 00:47:06.539 avoid... ...thing on the devil. They see the 00:47:06.539 --> 00:47:08.480 devil involved in this, the devil involved in 00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:10.039 that, and behind everything there's a demon. 00:47:10.519 --> 00:47:14.420 That's an extreme. Avoid that. The flesh is still 00:47:14.420 --> 00:47:18.659 plenty powerful to lead us into sin. And so there's 00:47:18.659 --> 00:47:22.010 not a demon behind every sin. though they can 00:47:22.010 --> 00:47:25.110 use sin to get into our lives and influences. 00:47:26.510 --> 00:47:28.829 The other extreme is treating the doctrine of 00:47:28.829 --> 00:47:31.630 demons with disdain or contempt, because that 00:47:31.630 --> 00:47:38.090 is equally as dangerous. Don't be overly curious 00:47:38.090 --> 00:47:42.789 about demons. I beg of you to, if you're going 00:47:42.789 --> 00:47:45.010 to study this doctrine, study it first of all 00:47:45.010 --> 00:47:47.510 biblically, because that will keep you balanced 00:47:47.510 --> 00:47:51.050 and will keep you in the truth. Do not go out 00:47:51.050 --> 00:47:54.889 and buy secular books about the occult or demons 00:47:54.889 --> 00:47:57.949 or the powers of Satan. Do not buy those books 00:47:57.949 --> 00:48:02.829 and get involved in them. Because anything that 00:48:02.829 --> 00:48:04.969 might be worthwhile there would be so couched 00:48:04.969 --> 00:48:08.429 in lies and half -truths, etc., that it would 00:48:08.429 --> 00:48:10.750 never be worth what you would have to expose 00:48:10.750 --> 00:48:13.989 yourself to. If you're going to study this truth, 00:48:14.050 --> 00:48:17.150 study it biblically, because that will keep you 00:48:17.150 --> 00:48:21.349 positive and keep you balanced. in truth. Secondly, 00:48:21.469 --> 00:48:23.449 study it prayerfully if you're going to study 00:48:23.449 --> 00:48:27.750 it. Don't ever go out and just study it without 00:48:27.750 --> 00:48:30.869 praying because you need the armor of God upon 00:48:30.869 --> 00:48:33.449 you if you're going to undertake it. And I have 00:48:33.449 --> 00:48:36.590 sensed even this summer a need to pray more regarding 00:48:36.590 --> 00:48:38.650 the Sunday evening services since we are even 00:48:38.650 --> 00:48:41.829 undertaking the study of Satan. And thirdly, 00:48:41.849 --> 00:48:43.969 if you're going to do some study in this area 00:48:43.969 --> 00:48:50.000 of teaching, then study it slowly. Don't go hog 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:53.739 wild in it. Indeed, I would encourage you to 00:48:53.739 --> 00:48:56.760 almost make it a peripheral matter of study and 00:48:56.760 --> 00:48:58.659 not a focus of study. Do you understand what 00:48:58.659 --> 00:49:01.960 I'm saying? Put it on the side and just do a 00:49:01.960 --> 00:49:04.280 little bit at a time, but never make it the focus 00:49:04.280 --> 00:49:08.519 of what you are studying. Because it can result 00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:11.699 in depression in your life, and Satan can use 00:49:11.699 --> 00:49:14.719 that to bring discouragement and defeat to you. 00:49:15.550 --> 00:49:18.590 So while this is an area of doctrine we need 00:49:18.590 --> 00:49:22.090 to know about, there are other things that are 00:49:22.090 --> 00:49:24.170 more important for us to know about, and we need 00:49:24.170 --> 00:49:27.329 to major on those things and involve ourselves, 00:49:27.449 --> 00:49:30.730 if need be, only peripherally in the kinds of 00:49:30.730 --> 00:49:34.010 things we've been talking about tonight. My prayer 00:49:34.010 --> 00:49:36.550 is that you have not been stirred to go out and 00:49:36.550 --> 00:49:38.789 to do some kind of investigation that's going 00:49:38.789 --> 00:49:42.809 to harm you. Accept what I have said. Study what 00:49:42.809 --> 00:49:46.420 I have said in the light of God's Word. and let 00:49:46.420 --> 00:49:52.699 God teach you the truth about the enemy. I'm 00:49:52.699 --> 00:49:55.239 glad after a message like this, which is really 00:49:55.239 --> 00:49:58.920 kind of heavy to me, that the truth in God's 00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:01.800 word is that greater is he who is in you than 00:50:01.800 --> 00:50:04.280 he who is in the world. And somewhere in our 00:50:04.280 --> 00:50:07.539 hymnal we have that chorus. I'd like us to close 00:50:07.539 --> 00:50:11.519 just by singing that. Greater is he who is in 00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:14.030 you than he who is in the world. Well, let's 00:50:14.030 --> 00:50:15.849 try it this way. Greater is he that is in me. 00:50:16.090 --> 00:50:24.489 97. There we go. You may have questions regarding 00:50:24.489 --> 00:50:29.050 this area. If you feel it's an area that you 00:50:29.050 --> 00:50:32.389 want to do some study in, I'll be glad to suggest 00:50:32.389 --> 00:50:35.510 to you a couple of Christian books that might 00:50:35.510 --> 00:50:38.070 be helpful to you. Give me a call at the office 00:50:38.070 --> 00:50:41.469 and let's talk about it. 97. Greater is he that 00:50:41.469 --> 00:50:44.760 is in me. than he who is in the world. Let's 00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:45.860 stand together as we sing.