Jesus Casts out Demons

[Music] good morning let's stand together let's sing the [Music] lifted chorus love lifted me love lifted me when nothing else [Music] nothing else could help love lifted me love lifted me when nothing else could help love lifted me all my heart to him i give ever to him clean [Music] love lifted me love lifted me [Music] [Music] he will lift you by his love out of the angry waves he's the master of the sea pillow his will obey he you said he wants to be safe today [Music] nothing else could help [Music] amen you may be seated well good morning church it's so good to see you this morning that love lifted you right out of the bed and brought you here to north lake baptist church to worship our lord and savior with us it is so good to see you this morning guests we want to welcome you uh it's we're so happy uh that you've joined us this morning to worship the lord with us we have a gift bag for you and they're located in the chair uh right as uh at the door so please feel free to get one of those on your way out this morning there'll be a visitor's card in there a brochure and please feel free to take one of those this morning on your way out church let's open up our bulletin and look at our announcements this morning let's look at our schedule our ministry week immediately following the service we have our sunday school seminar in the awana building looking forward uh to being with uh pastor corbin for that and then tonight church we have our business meeting at 6 30. and so please join us this evening to talk about our church's business also uh our ladies bible study monday night at 6 30 and tuesday morning at nine o'clock and then wednesday our regular activities i just want to make sure there are one of clubs they start at 6 15 and not 6 30 they got a lot to do and so we get here at 6 15 and they hit the ground running so 6 15 and then youth and adult bible study and college and career bible study 6 30 to 7 30. also want to bring your attention to our first aid kit campaign for our international mission board missionaries you can see the bulletin board right outside and the instructions to participate in that campaign or right here on this insert so we'll hope you'll participate in that also seniors there's a senior rally at riverbend baptist on sept on thursday september 23rd and you are invited we will not travel as a group but if you would like to attend there is the information also church we want to let you know that anniversary sunday is coming up on october 3rd and just to prepare you our tithes and offerings that day will all go to our new sanctuary uh building funds so just so you're prepared for that on our anniversary sunday all right i believe that has it for our announcements as we saying that love lifted us i would like to read from the apostle john about god's love in this the love of god was manifested toward us that god has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him and this is love not that we love god but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation the payment for our sins beloved if god so loved us we also ought to love one another will you join me as i pray heavenly father we thank you for the honor and the privilege to come and to join together as a body of believers to worship you the true and living god lord we thank you that you've loved us and that you sent your son jesus to die upon calvary's cross that we might have forgiveness of sin and be in a relationship with you lord lord we pray that salvation would come to your house this day we pray all this in the powerful name of jesus amen well it's that love that should continue to draw us to christ amen amen it's that love in which christ displayed for us by dying on the cross and shedding his precious blood for our sins so that we could be found forgiven uh in him that we have reason to celebrate this morning to add to that this morning i want to read to you also from philippians chapter 3 and verse 8 as we begin to focus on what christ has done for us and the choices that we have in this world and how the choices we make today uh affect our daily walk with the lord and also have an effect on those we come in contact with says this in philippians yet indeed i also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord for whom i have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that i may gain christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that which is through faith in christ the righteousness which is from god by faith that i may know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being comforted in his death and if by any means i may attain to the resurrection from the dead when we look at our choices i ask do you wake up every morning and say everything i have is nothing really unless it's christ's what i do each and every day should be to glorify and honor christ it shouldn't be to help others see who i am see who derek is but it should be instead a reflection of christ in me and this morning i want to encourage you to look at your own life and examine your own life and when you have an opportunity to make choices do you make the choices that represent who christ is in your life or do you make the choices that seem to just bring you your own personal satisfaction without any thought of who christ is or what he has done for you now those are words that are easier said than done and i have to practice those a lot and i have to grow through those a lot but throughout all that i would still tell you as we're fixing to sing i would rather have jesus than anything this world can afford so let's stand together and let's sing through that this morning i'd rather have jesus and silver or gold i'd rather be his than averages untold i'd rather have jesus than houses or lands i'd rather be left by [Music] [Applause] [Music] this world of thought [Music] i'd rather [Music] i'd rather be true to his holy name than to be the king [Music] [Applause] [Music] he spends he's [Music] indeed [Music] in [Music] today [Music] hear the heart of heaven beating jesus saves jesus saves and the hush of mercy breathing jesus saves jesus saved hear the host of angels sing glory to the newborn and the sounding joy repeating jesus [Music] saves jesus and the wisest plow before him jesus saves see jesus sky alive with praise melting dark it's in its place there is [Music] christ redemption's falls while the empty tombs declaring jesus [Music] freedom's calling [Music] god is making all things [Music] is [Music] jesus is jesus [Music] jesus [Music] who shout together jesus saves jesus saves rising up so vast and strong lifting up salvation songs will sing forever up so fast and strong lifting up salvation [Music] will sing forever [Music] jesus [Music] rising up so vast and strong cleavage [Music] jesus said amen give glory to god this morning praise him jesus saves and if you'll please look at the back of your bulletin here we'll look at our prayer list today our prayer verse from the 40th psalm i waited patiently for the lord aren't you glad he waits patiently for us too and inclined to me and heard my cry we'll start off today with some praises we praise the lord for new members brett and jaina and jane joined this past week we continue to pray for those in their circle of influence those around you uh who you know have not yet made professions of faith in christ that the lord would use you to bring them to faith in him i have a lot going on with our church family be sure and pray for these folks we highlight brett earnest he continues to be in northeast georgia medical center recovering from covet and getting a little better every day so we continue to pray for him the kings on the second line marianne is facing salivary gland surgery she has cancer there and she's being referred to emory so be in prayer for her is she prepares for that and also her husband billy king they replaced his pacemaker this past week so we pray for his recovery next line brittany souza she'll be having vascular surgery on her arm this coming friday and also one other will need to add and that's pastor matt's daughter saralyn she had a accident with her horse and so she'll be having a follow-up at children's hospital tomorrow so be in prayer for saralyn we want to pray for our parents who are expecting children also extended family and friends there's one want to add and that's ms arlene barker's brother ricky smith is suffering with cobot as well so remember him in your prayers under long-term care pray for these folks every day you see uh sue cameron underlying that's christy waite's mother she's very low not doing well at all so being prayer for her joel hall is in the midst of radiation therapy bobby pethel her cancers came back and they're put her on hospice this past week but the thing is she's got a wonderful attitude about things we continue to pray for her healing but she said whichever way this thing goes i win and isn't it wonderful to be a christian and have that kind of perspective on life and death leland potter of course that's diane ford's father her mother passed away you see that under grief on your prayer list there the funeral i was in north carolina this past thursday so be in prayer for diane and her father and all the family there i also want to remember our missionaries again brother harris fortner from our churches in poland on a mission trip so we want to remember him as he ministers there also additionally under grief you see the family and friends of reverend royce winters that's brenda williams brother i think visitation is at memorial park this afternoon and the funeral is tomorrow at memorial park chapel and so let's go to the lord in prayer father we thank you for this day that you have blessed us with a beautiful fall day to come out and worship with our brothers and sisters in christ and those who are here and those who are joining online we thank you lord that you're listening as people worship you all across this land today and that you're capable of hearing all of our prayers and answering according to your good will and purpose and we thank you for that we also pray if there's someone here today that does not yet know jesus christ our savior and lord that today is the day that they would be able to be saved and also be able to sing and rejoice as we just did that jesus saves lord bless us today as we worship you we pray this in jesus name amen as i look back on this road i've traveled i see so many times he's carried me through if there is one thing that i've learned in this life my redeemer is faithful and true [Music] and everything he has [Music] everybody's mercies are new my redeemer is faithful and true [Music] my heart rejoices when i read this promise there's a place preparing for you i know someday i'll see my lord face to face [Music] is [Music] my redeemer is faithful and true and in every situation he has proved his love for me when i lack the understanding he gives more grace to me [Music] my redeemer is faithful and true and everything [Music] my redeemer is faithful and true jesus is faithful and [Applause] well thank you janey how many of you can testify to that that my redeemer is faithful and true amen if you have your bibles please open to matthew chapter 8 as we continue to study through this great gospel this good news of jesus christ matthew chapter 8. today we'll begin in verse 28. says when he that is jesus had come to the other side to the country of the gergesons there met two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs exceedingly fierce so that no one could pass that way and suddenly they cried out saying what have we to do with you jesus you son of god have you come here to torment us before the time before the time that be another sermon right there now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding so the demons begged him saying if you cast us out permit us to go away into the herd of swine he said to them go so when they had come out they went into the herd of swine and suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and perished in the water then those who kept the kept them fled and they went away into the city and told everything including what had happened to the demon-possessed men and behold the whole city came out to meet jesus and to thank him for the wonderful miracle that he had just performed that's not what it says and when they saw him they begged him to get out of town for killing all of our pigs hmm it's going to be a fun one today last study we had we saw jesus calming the storm proving that he is lord and by the way like i said he's doing wonderful things but while he's doing these wonderful things he's also showing to the world who he is so he's calming the storm proving that he is lord over all creation over the wind and the waves this week we'll see jesus casting out demons proving that he is lord and he has authority over the evil one over the devil the story of the demon-possessed man is recorded three times in the gospels um matthew 8 mark 5 luke 8 and so i'll be kind of putting them all together for you the matthew story is abbreviated you only see six verses here uh mark and luke have the most detail mark has 20 verses luke has 13 verses telling this story uh matthew called the area of the country of the gergazines and mark and luke called it the gadarenes and of course they're kind of synonyms one would be like the city the other would be like the county matthew says there were two demon-possessed men mark and luke deal with the worst of the two a man named legion a man possessed by many demons so let's begin our study by considering first of all the case of these demon-possessed men matthew says these men were demon-possessed mark calls it they they had an unclean spirit in luke's gospel he says that they had demons you know since biblical times the christian church has believed that there is a personality called the devil called satan or the evil one and that satanic influence and demon activity was part of the explanation for why there is evil in the world in both natural and man-made disasters the bible very early on teaches that the reason that the devil is present among human beings is because in adam the original human being we chose satan instead of god because we have inquiring minds we were just dying to know the difference between good and evil we already had plenty of good we're in the garden of eden everything is good there is no evil there is no bad but we just had to know so we chose to listen to satan and sure enough we discovered what evil is that was generally accepted in christian circles for 1600 years or so but in the 18th century mankind achieved enlightenment that's what this period of time was called the great enlightenment and man became so intelligence that he no longer needed god so not only did he jettison god he also jettisoned the devil at the same time and began to refer to god and the devil as figments of ignorant people's imaginations or as sigmund freud would later say god and satan were just projections of our superego whatever that means anyway encyclopedia britannica the 11th edition which was published in 1911. listen how optimistic we were in 1911. science has made so much progress in helping us understand our inner life that there is little room for interest in satan in the early 20th century there was so much optimism in science and technology and education that we were going to eradicate evil by the end of the 20th century and there would be no need to even talk about satan anymore so how well did we do about eradicating evil by the end of the 20th century two world wars later by the 1970s and 80s though the elites had accomplished a lot of their goal because most polls said that only about 40 percent of americans believe there was such a thing as the devil however since the turn of the 21st century polls are up about 60 says they believe that there's a devil probably because of islamic terrorism and also if you happen to flip on the tv first thing in the morning and listen to the daily news from atlanta alive's barely alive news desk you'll find out how many people were killed robbed mugged or whatever last night so we we've got to account for that evil somehow another gallup steel gallup polling says that the more education you have the less likely you are to believe that there is such a thing as the devil so what are we going to do with this man called legion that we see in matthew 8 mark 5 luke 8 i mean he's still running around the cemetery naked bleeding out of control threatening people scaring people to death if there is no demons if there is no devil then what's his problem well if we could time travel and bring this guy called legion to the 21st century how would we deal with him well i hear it all the time i'm sure somebody would say he needs counseling so anyway we'd take him to some counselors and the psychiatrist would classify him with a psych a psychological disorder characterized by self-destructive and violent behavior well duh but which one and i'm sure there would be a great debate among these folks about what was really wrong with him maybe it would be a form of psychosis known as schizophrenia well i don't know let's check that out the symptoms of schizophrenia or loss of boundary between self and non-self well i guess we could check that box he calls himself legion legion stood for a roman regiment of 6 000 men so apparently he thinks he's got a lot of demons in him another characteristic of schizophrenia is inappropriate emotional expression we could check that box that says he cries day and night inappropriate social behavior uh i guess we could check that one too he lives naked and tombs and terrorizes everybody who comes by it's another characteristic of schizophrenia is dysfunctional at work i think we'd check that box how many of you want to hire him and then dysfunctional in self-care luke chapter 8 verse 27 says he wore no clothes mark 5 5 said he was a cutter that he cut himself regularly with stones so he very well could be afflicted with schizophrenia but others would say no maybe what he has is a form of neurosis called multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder the symptoms from that are include anxiety and paranoia well we could check that box because luke 8 28 says he was afraid of jesus and was afraid jesus was out to get him which sounds paranoid sounds like paranoia also another symptom is hysteria and sleeplessness again mark 5 5 he was crying and screaming all day and night and it also said he has dissociative or different individual residing within him we could check that box as well luke chapter 8 verse 28 says one minute he is one man worshiping jesus the next minute in luke chapter 8 and verse 30 he is many men he is legion begging jesus to leave him alone so what is it is it schizophrenia or is it dissociative identity disorder well we'd have to leave that one for the scientists to try to figure out but suppose we took legion to church how would we deal with him in the church well liberal theologians would agree with us with a psychologist remember i remember reading after liberal c h god he believed that jesus really knew that there was no such thing as a devil or demons but he adapted his language or he just played along to try to communicate with a pre-scientific mind and since they wouldn't have understood psychology in the first century so jesus just kind of winked and went along with it you know because jesus thought they couldn't handle the truth so he went ahead and played the devil game well i always thought that was kind of strange because one of jesus closest disciples named john wrote that the devil was the reason that jesus came down to earth to start with so first john chapter 3 verse 8 says for this purpose the son of god was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil well why would jesus come down to destroy the works of somebody he didn't believe in now so i don't i don't think that works for us either but anyhow we've had doctors and theologians weighing in on what legion's problem is i couldn't help but wonder though what about hollywood what would hollywood do with a guy named legion well i think they would give him a guitar i think they'd put him on a stage somewhere as a rock star and make a few million dollars off of him of course for that we really don't need the time travel we have plenty of legions on stage across our land today a casual internet search will find you dozens of entertainers who claim to have sold their soul to the devil for a few minutes of fame now what do you think how many of you think that's a figure of speech how many of you think there's really some people out there that have sold their soul to the devil for a little bit of fame you know some claim to be demon possessed or a channel for demons i watched a clip about beyonce uh a interview she was involved in where she claims that when she's on stage she channels a demon or an alter ego named sasha fierce and she's not able to perform unless sasha shows up so folks out there we need to be careful in our selection of movies and music and are american idols be careful who you pick for your idol one of the older and most extreme modern day legions there's probably some better ones that are younger but i'm not actually in that very often myself so the one that came to my mind was a guy named marilyn manson anybody familiar with him he was born brian hugh warner in 1969 but he changed his name to a combination of hollywood starlet marilyn monroe and multiple murder mastermind charles manson he claims to be some kind of combination between those marilyn manson is getting a little older for a rock star now he's 52 years old but he still inspires younger generations to be just as demon possessed as he is it's hard to describe his music if it is music some say it's hard rock some say heavy metal some say shock rock some say death rock every member of his band is required to be as demented as he is he describes himself as a bisexual transvestite and reverend in the church of satan he is a ordained satanic priest he reads a satanic bible he gives satanic altar calls at some of his concerts i bet that's interesting on stage his costumes range from women's lingerie to vestments of the pope he uses mortician's chalk and black lipstick as makeup his props include caged and crucified girls his act features nudity vulgarity and simulated sex his album antichrist superstar sold over 2 million copies who in the world buys this stuff he made another album called holy wood with blasphemous songs about jesus christ and on the cover is a picture of manson himself as a rotting corpse on a cross at his concerts fans can buy t-shirts which read kill god kill your mother and dad and kill yourself and apparently some of these fans listened luke woodham murdered his mother and two classmates injured seven others at his high school in pearl mississippi in 1997. kip kinkel who murdered his parents in 1998 in springfield oregon andrew wurst who killed a teacher at an 8th grade dance in edinburgh pennsylvania in 1998 and who can forget the columbine high school killers eric harris and dylan clebo all were fans murdered 12 students one teacher and injured 21 others in 1999. the question is is what's wrong with these people what's wrong with legion back then what's wrong with our legions who are in this world today again psychiatrists call it psychosis or neurosis liberals call it psychological dysfunction or social maladjustment parents call it well it's just a phase my kid's going through hollywood calls it show business and the bible calls it demon possession so let's move on from the case of the demon-possessed man to number two the cause of demon possession again this story does not tell us how legion got this way or how his cousin or brother or whoever that guy is that's hanging out in the cemetery with him how did they get this way we don't know so we have to do a little background study in the bible to understand this thing called demon possession first of all there is a devil again we may have forgot about him we may have written him off to this modern age we live in but there is a devil ezekiel 28 isaiah chapter 14 tells us this devil began as lucifer who was created as a number one archangel serving at the throne of god but he was ambitious wanted to overthrow god and so he was cast out of heaven cast down to the earth with a grudge against god and against god's creation especially mankind second of all there are demons also known as unclean spirits at the time that satan rebelled approximately one-third of the angels from heaven also rebelled and were cast down with him we read about that in revelation chapter 12 verse 4 jude chapter 6. and in revelation chapter 12 satan and his demonic henchmen realize their time is short and that judgment day is coming notice how they responded to jesus in the passage that we read talking about are you are you here to torment us before the time that's what it's talking about judgment day they know they can't beat god so what they're out to do is deceive delude destroy as many of us as possible and they accomplish this goal through something called demon oppression and demon possession let's begin with demon oppression that is a satanic attack from the outside of a person for example in the old testament we have the story of job who was a godly man a righteous man who walked with god and god allowed satan to test job from the outside but he said you cannot touch his inside you cannot touch his person you cannot touch his soul you can mess with him on the outside but you can't touch his inside in a single day if you remember job lost his business his family his wealth and his health oxen donkeys camels all stolen sheep and shepherds were struck by lightning seven sons and three daughters were killed in a tornado and then job got sick and broke out with all kinds of sores and bowls he was in miserable condition and then job's wife and three friends if you remember they began to psychoanalyze him until he almost went off the rails drove him into depression so see the bible says that satan is powerful enough to bring all these evil things upon us to oppress us but he can't lay anything on us that god doesn't allow first corinthians 10 13 no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man but god is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but will with that temptation also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it and that's why we're to pray we're to pray every day lord lead us not into temptation but if i must then deliver me from the evil one that should be part of everybody's prayer as we begin our day so whether you are good or bad whether you're a believer or unbeliever you can be oppressed you can be tempted you can be troubled by the devil and it may be physical it may be financial relational mental spiritual medical that's demon oppression the next thing we're going to talk about is demon possession and that is a satanic attack on the inside of you it's a hostile takeover of your soul and there's only one way that that can happen and that is by your choice and by your permission during one of satan's temptations or oppressions you can give in and you can give the demons entrance into your life and soul and they will possess and torment and ultimately destroy a person some ways that satan goes about finding entrance into your inner life is given to giving in to temptations like sexual immorality or pornography proverbs 31 3 tells us that will destroy our heart alcohol and drug addiction proverbs chapter 23 verse 32 says that it bites like a serpent well who do you reckon is that serpent this is satan himself he uses these ways to gain entrance into your life another demonic portal is psychics and horoscopes and astrology and i know a lot of folks think those things are harmless and some i've had people tell me before say danny i know a lot of these things are fraud but you know some of this stuff really works the bible does not say it does not work the bible says leave it alone the reason it works is because satan is working it so just because you have a fortune teller who actually tells your fortune don't go out there and buy into it deuteronomy 18 says leave it alone then we got the occult witchcraft new age wicca in our movies video games fantasy role-playing games that involve the dark side like dungeons and dragons magic the gathering ouija boards harry potter even the cute little pokemons and new age cartoons from saturday morning that teach you to conjure spirits and cast spells all those are like a welcome mat at the door of your heart inviting satan and his demons into your life that's why god says he hates idolatry in the old testament he calls idolatry the doctrine of devils also well that's leviticus 17 7 and then the new testament first timothy 4 1 the same thing stay away from the doctrine of devils that give satan an entrance into your life the bible also documents how the devil gains foothold in people's lives through sinful emotions like bitterness unforgiveness resentment grudges hatred another of satan's favorite schemes is a love of money we read about that just a few moments ago in matthew chapter 8 verse 33 and 34 we see some other demon-possessed people no not legion and his cousin there we see these hog farmers they'd rather have their pigs than jesus they'd rather have their money than jesus another scheme is the love of power satan tried this trick out on jesus during his temptation he offered him all the kingdoms of the world all jesus would have to do was just bow down and worship satan and satan would make it happen for him all he'd do is sell his soul to the devil but you know we got many globalist bankers business bureaucrats politicians accepting the selling of their souls for a few moments of fame and we know who they are because jesus said you shall know them by their fruits so all you have to do is watch and see all these people are trying to take over the world and try to grab hold the reins of power and force us to do whatever they want us to do we know who they are of course probably the simplest subtlest way we go all the way back to genesis chapter three satan's old trick is denying the word of god i remember my preaching professor when i was in seminary he said preachers be careful of putting a question mark where god has put a period think about that that's the way it all started satan walks up to eve and says has god indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden see there god put a period what ques satan put in the question mark make her wonder about it make her think about it is that really why god want to do that to you that way has god indeed said has god indeed said the bible is true has god indeed said that unborn babies are really alive has god indeed said that there are only two genders as god indeed said homosexuality is wrong has god indeed said thou shalt not spend five hours each day worshiping thine electronic idols you know he's always he's always putting a little question mark out there you know uh i think god's trying to cramp your style buddy you know rules are made to be broken you don't have to obey that old book there's plenty of life to be lived out here god just don't want you to know how much fun you can have see see satan has many plans he has many plans to possess men's soul and some are not nearly as extreme and bizarre as legion or marilyn manson according to second corinthians 4 4 all satan wants is to blind the minds of those who do not believe in jesus lest the light of the gospel of the glory of christ who is the image of god should shine on them did you hear that you don't have to be extreme all satan wants is to blind your mind to the point you can't see jesus and then he's got you that's all it takes a blind mind a hardened heart is demon possession satan has many schemes to try to possess people but only by your choice someday when you stand before god in judgment and we're all gonna have to do that you can't use the old flip wilson uh comedy line the devil made me do it no that won't work on god he's gonna say the only reason the devil made you do it is because you let the devil make you do it that's the way it works so demon possession first we talked about the case that we see in the bible and then we've talked about the causes but matthew thank god goes ahead and tells us that there is a cure for these demon-possessed men and we see that in verses 29 and 32 of the passage see we're already discussing satan is powerful because he's not all-powerful only god is only the lord is omnipotent in verse 32 we see that displayed when jesus casts out these demons and cures these men here i remember my first day of pastoral counseling class when i was in seminary our professor went around the class asking us to be honest about what we thought of psychological therapy well one of my classmates was some kind of social worker counselor for the state of north carolina and he piped up and said well i never knew a patient who got well until the money or the insurance ran out well needless to say the professor was not amused he was he was very offended and he said we don't use the word well or cured because none of us are our goal is to make people functional so i knew i was in for a fun class before this semester was over but if you'll go back and read in matthew chapter 8 luke chapter 8 mark chapter 5 jesus goal was not to make legion psychologically functional or he was able to go back to work during the day but still spend his nights out in the cemetery barking at the moon no in mark chapter 5 verse 15 it says jesus left him cured it says it left him sitting clothed and in his right mind he had been radically changed from the situation that he was he was cured he was whole and it was great to have the demons gone and for him to be well again but you know what that's still a temporary cure let me tell you why jesus told us why jesus tells us in matthew 12 43 he says when an unclean spirit or a demon goes out of a man this demon goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none and then the demon says i'll return to my house that man from which i came and when he comes he finds an empty swept and put in order then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first well what's jesus saying here what jesus is saying is it's not enough to cast out a demon in order to affect a permanent cure man man's got to answer life's ultimate question and that is who's going to possess me is it going to be the lord or is it going to be the devil it's not enough to cast out a demon you got to say well who's going to take his place am i going to put the lord jesus in there or am i going to let some other demons come along because nobody stays empty for long you're going to be filled with something we you we see this all the time with alcoholics and drug addicts been one of the most frustrating things that i've dealt with in my over 30 years worth of ministry is trying to deal with folks who are alcoholics or drug addicts because you feel like you're making progress and it all gets dashed they go to detox to try to get that demon of alcoholism or drug addiction out they do the detox a few days of counseling somebody tells you that the patient is declared free or cured or recovered or whatever terminology they use and then about three months later they're bad or worse than they were before well the problem is is they cast the demon out but they didn't invite jesus in so you're sitting there empty and something is going to possess you later on some other demons come by and to find the house the soul the mind empty swept put an order and then they move back in i remember reading chuck coulson's book loving god and he tells the story of a frustrated prison psychiatrist who said i can cure somebody's madness but i don't seem to be able to do anything about his badness psychiatry properly administered can turn a schizophrenic bank robber into a mentally healthy bank robber a good teacher can turn an illiterate criminal into an educated criminal but they're still bank robbers and they're still criminals is there any hope is there any hope for any permanent healing and the answer is yes and his name is jesus i hope you haven't misunderstood this message i know preaching it trembling because i know it's going to be easily misunderstood but i'm not against modern medicine or surgery or pharmacology or psychology i'm just saying these things alone cannot cure a person in this world we're not just dealing with the physical or mental illness the bible says first peter 5 8 that we have an adversary we have an enemy the devil who walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and the only protection we have against him is faith in the lord jesus christ only jesus can give us a permanent cure for sin only jesus offers us real help real healing and real hope only jesus can cast out the devil and comfort and cure us notice luke chapter 8 verse 36 the story there says and he who had been y'all noticed past tense he who had been demon-possessed was all of a sudden made well and that's what that's what we see in that passage of scripture there it's past tense well how did he do that well not only did jesus cast the demon out but he comes along and said i have decided to follow jesus no turning back no turning back and that's what makes all the difference in the world and see that's the good news once your heart your soul your life is possessed by jesus christ you can never again be demon possessed did you hear that the only people that can be demon-possessed are those who do not know the lord jesus christ you may be oppressed but you cannot be possessed you know why because when jesus comes into your heart guess what he gives you his holy spirit and the holy spirit and evil spirits cannot dwell in the same house they cannot dwell in the same heart so again you may be picked on from the outside but once you give your heart and life to jesus christ he'll never be the devil never be able to get on the inside because it's occupied by the spirit of jesus christ and so that's what we got to work with so again we can have victory over this and it comes down to simple math i remember a story by corey ten boom who was a nazi concentration camp survivor and she once said in one of her lectures remember only one-third of the angels were cast down which means two-thirds are still working for the lord so again we've got plenty of resources we got plenty of help out there to help us through these tough times christians can have victory over satan through faith in jesus christ as it says in first john 4 4 greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world so again we have victory in jesus so the bible is clear our hearts our minds our souls are going to be filled with something what are you filled with will you be oppressed and possessed and filled with the devil are you going to be oppressed and possessed by jesus christ and filled with his holy spirit the choice is yours take some advice from a man call legion and come to jesus today amen let's go to the lord in prayer father i thank you for your word i thank you for these stories that are so important that you saw fit to give them to us three different ways with three different levels of detail to let us know that you love us and you came to this world not only to save us but to give us victory over the evil one and though he is still the prince of the and the power of the air in the age that we live in and he can oppress us that if we're one of your children he cannot possess us because you have given us victory through what you did for us on calvary's cross i pray today lord if there's someone here that's never trusted christ their savior that today is a day that they will be saved and receive your holy spirit so they never have to worry about being possessed by the evil one and lord we pray if there's someone here today that's struggling that satan is oppressing them putting them under great pressure lord that you help them to call out to you and say lead us not into temptation but lord i am being led into temptation so i ask you to deliver me from the evil one and we make this prayer in jesus name amen now is our time of invitation our altar is open if you need to come and pray and you can come and pray and know there's praying people throughout this sanctuary will be talking to god for you asking the lord interceding for you asking the lord to come in and give you the answer to the prayer that you're seeking if you've never trusted christ as your savior i'll be standing down front i'd love to show you from the word of god how you can be saved and know that you're saved also today maybe you've already been saved and never made a public profession of faith in jesus christ well we don't need undercover christians today we need people who are unashamed of the gospel of jesus christ and jesus said if you're ashamed of me then one of these days when you stand before god i'll be ashamed of you so don't be ashamed to come forward especially in a crowd that wants to see you saved come forward and be saved today now come forward and join the church be baptized today maybe today you've already been saved and baptized your church membership is somewhere else and you feel like the lord is leading you to join this church and find your place of service won't you join our church today listen to the voice of the holy spirit as he speaks to your heart during this holy time we stand together while we sing [Music] out of my bonded sorrow and night jesus i come jesus i come into thy freedom gladness and light jesus i come to thee out of my sickness into thy half out of my want and into thy wealth out of my sin and into thyself jesus i come to thee out of my shameful failure and laws jesus i come jesus i come into the glorious gain of the cross jesus i come to thee out of earth sorrows out of life storms and in to thy calm out of distress to jubilant jesus i come to thee out of unrest and arrogant pride jesus i come jesus i come into thy blue [Music] jesus i come to thee [Music] out of myself to dwell in thy [Music] like a dove jesus i come to thee out of the fear and dread of the two jesus i come jesus i come into the joy and light of thy home jesus i come to thee out of the depths of untold and into the peace of thy shaltering fold ever thy glorious face [Music] thank you for being here today for your attendance and for your attention i know it's a difficult subject but each and every week it seems like we have some kind of attack coming toward us and so remember that satan is a powerful enemy but who is omnipotent who is all-powerful the lord jesus christ so we can have victory through him and i pray that for all you folks who i call our family here at north lake ask brother charles if he will too dismiss us in prayer i just want to give public thanks to god for saving my wife daphne these storms that are going throughout our country with the covet virus and people that we still need to be praying for that are near death my heart goes out because god is i know he can either take us or leave us but our times are in his hands right and i praise him for that and i just want to give him public praise and honor for his healing his healing power and pray for those who are still sick today [Applause] our most gracious heavenly father we thank you so much that even though we are oppressed in this world father the faith that we have in jesus christ is the victory that overcomes the world the flesh and the devil and father we stand not in our own power and our own might but we stand in your strength in your power we give you thanks for being with us father we've promised to never leave us never forsake us and we just thank you dear god for the fact that as your children we are protected by you we love you we thank you give us strength give us power as we go our separate ways we pray in christ's name amen [Music] you

Channel: Northlake Baptist Church

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Id: zetBGB9ACio

Length: 64min 46sec (3886 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021