Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/bbcsylmar/sermons/27209/our-adversary-the-devil-his-might-cont/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Well, good morning, everybody.

[0:21] Glad to be with you this morning. All right, let's get back into our study. Oh, I wanted to put it on the screen here for you this morning.

[0:33] Maybe. No, I guess I'm not. There it is. So that's just what we're going to do here over the next who knows how much longer, and I'm just going to let you know where we're at in the study.

[0:49] We got through the first part of our adversary, the devil, his making, and saw some pretty interesting things there. And now we're covering his might and a quick review from the book of Job.

[1:03] If you want to go there, we're not going to really get into the passage, but just to review it, there was quite a bit of information there when we looked at the story of Job that we could discern the ability that our adversary the devil has.

[1:20] And, again, I said it's power that's used by permission as far as I can tell. But what we saw is that he has power over people groups like the Sabaeans, the Sabaeans and the Chaldeans, for them to travel and to assemble however many it was and to go after Job and to not just steal his cattle and substance, but to murder his servants and to orchestrate this on the specific day that they did together.

[1:57] That was the working of Satan. He was behind all of that, orchestrating that. So he has power to move people groups. We saw that in Revelation 20. He's going to show up and he's going to do it to all the nations of the world.

[2:08] So this is small stuff for him to be able to get them to do what they did. And then we saw that he has power over nature and over weather, the elements to manipulate them, to control them.

[2:18] In this passage, he used the fire. He made fire fall from heaven. The servant said the fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up the sheep and consumed them.

[2:30] Not only that, but in verse 19, a great wind from the wilderness. So he manipulated the elements in that way as well and has the ability and power to do that. That's pretty impressive, in my opinion.

[2:46] Finally, I don't know where I'm at in this page. Last week, we kind of put all of these details together and studied that there were some key phrases that showed up in Job chapter 1.

[3:00] If you recall this, there was, I only am escaped alone to tell thee. So one person got away each individual time. And then the third thing is, there was four different events that took place there.

[3:18] And one person escaped the fire of God. One person escaped the wind coming and knocking the house down and killing everybody. We could presume that person wasn't in the house.

[3:29] I don't know if that would be true or not. But one person escapes. And that was the one key phrase. The other key phrase was it kept recurring, verse 16, 17, 18, while he was yet speaking.

[3:39] And so what we learned is that what I call this was Satan's ultimate engineer of evil. He engineered this, all of these four things to happen in a very specific manner and manipulating these people from different regions and areas to come and the exact timing of it all in the fire and the wind in different places.

[4:01] And for that to happen, come on. You're dealing with a highly intelligent, very powerful being that can do this, that can manipulate these things and orchestrate it, all for that dagger in Job's heart, not just to lose his camels or to lose the oxen and the sheep and the she-asses, not just to lose those things but to have his children at the very end.

[4:25] They're all dead. And it's all happening one after the other. It was all the finishing blow. It was all on purpose. This is impressive stuff. And it makes me wonder, what can't he manipulate?

[4:37] What can't he control if he can move in groups or people or nations? And if he can manipulate them and if he can control weather, if God allows him to, what can't he do?

[4:48] So he's the master of devising and orchestrating evil plans, we might say. He has the capability of organizing multiple major events and to time them to the very moment.

[5:02] And I think, again, this is small stuff. This is small-scale stuff for him to do this in the life of Job. He showed it in Revelation 20 with the organizing of the nations to come together to battle.

[5:16] That's a little bigger scale, wouldn't you say? And that's just on this planet. It probably gets bigger than that, his ability. So let's go on from there and let's take a look here at the fourth thing of his might.

[5:32] Satan has power over man's body. Now, I'm not just going to say these big blanket statements and then leave you to wonder, what's he doing to me right now?

[5:43] Is he making me walk into this alcohol store and buy alcohol? Oh, is Satan making me do that? No, he's not controlling you like a puppet, manipulating you to do things that are wrong.

[5:54] But he can, and we'll see it from the Bible every time, he can possess or indwell the body, man's body. Now, we already cited some of these verses.

[6:06] We'll just review them on the way through here. The first one, we won't go here, but was Ezekiel 28. That's where we started all of this, with this prince of Tyrus or the king of Tyre. And studying that, God's addressing Satan in the man.

[6:20] Now, come to Matthew 16 again. And let's just read this quickly and we'll move on. Just to rehash this. That he has the ability to indwell a man.

[6:35] He has power over man's body. Matthew 16 and verse number 23.

[6:47] Verse 22, it's Peter, took him, Jesus Christ, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. And in verse 23, but he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan.

[7:00] And I have to say it every time. This is not Christ's normal way of talking to his disciples. He's never called anybody, Satan, to their face. He means it.

[7:11] He's talking to Satan. Don't try to just, you know, brush it off as if, oh, he's doing something Satan would have him do. No, he's talking to Satan. Get thee behind me, Satan.

[7:23] Thou, Satan, art an offense unto me. For thou savers not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. So, he's addressing Satan in Peter. That ought to kind of perk you up a little bit to consider that.

[7:38] He has power to enter a man's body. Look at John chapter 13. John, the gospel of John 13. If you think, oh, not me, I wear a crucifix.

[7:56] Not me. You're kidding yourself. You're believing some foolish religious superstition. That has nothing to do with, he's probably, he's deceiving you to think that way.

[8:08] All right. John 13. And look at verse 27. And after the sop, Satan entered into him.

[8:19] That's Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And Jesus said unto him, that thou doest, do quickly. Is there any question? Satan entered into him. He has the ability to do that.

[8:30] Now, turn to Acts chapter 10. And we'll carry down this road a little bit. And there comes some speculation in this, and I'll give you that. And I'll be as upfront and honest as I can be with what I understand the scriptures to be teaching.

[8:45] And the truth of the matter. And the truth of the matter. I never want to just read a verse and make a big statement and then not really back it up or not really cover all the bases with it.

[8:57] So we'll try to be cautious. Acts chapter 10. And look at verse 30. I'll start in 37.

[9:08] Peter's preaching here. He opened his mouth in 34, and he's just preaching to these people. And he says in verse 37, that word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism, which John preached.

[9:21] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. Now, that's what we're studying right here. Satan's power. He anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.

[9:36] For God was with him. Healing all that were oppressed of the devil. Now, I'm not sure in reading that verse if that's just referring to those that were possessed by the devil or unclean spirit.

[9:52] All through the Gospels, you see that. There's many, many instances of this in the ministry of Christ. Sometimes it just makes a statement that many that were possessed with devils, he healed them or, you know, cast them out.

[10:03] We have no idea the amount of what was going on there. But it happens over and over again throughout the Gospel writings. Now, I don't know if he's specifically talking about those possessed with devils and spirits, or if this is talking about sicknesses and diseases.

[10:22] We're going to get to that here in a moment. Because the word heal in your Bible applies both ways to healing somebody of their blindness. And then it also connects the devil with some of that stuff.

[10:35] And stay with me. Don't try to jump to conclusions because I don't want to make any conclusions yet. Come back to Luke chapter 6. In Luke 6, here the word heal is applied both to what we might call organic diseases or infirmities, as well as devil possession.

[10:59] Luke chapter 6, look at verse 17 and 18. Where the Bible says, And he came down with them and stood in the plain in the company of disciples and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, and came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

[11:21] Verse 18, And they that were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were healed. So it seems to differentiate there, right? Healed of their diseases, and they that were vexed with unclean spirits.

[11:33] And then it says, And he healed them. They were healed. All right, go back to one more. There's a couple here, but I'll just give you two. Matthew 4. Matthew 4.

[11:55] Start in 23. Matthew 4, 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

[12:11] And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those that were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy.

[12:23] And he healed them. So the healing certainly applies to just what we might call sicknesses, diseases, as the passage says, as well as to the possession, in verse 24, possessed with devils.

[12:39] So when he says that in Acts chapter 10, I'm just pointing back to that case. You don't have to go back there. But the statement said that he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.

[12:51] So I don't know if that's just referring to the possession, but we know that that happens. Or if it's referring to diseases as well. And we'll get to that right here in a second here.

[13:04] So, but before we do, understand this, and I fully believe this, that diseases and sicknesses, some of them for sure, are just the organic outcome of fallen bodies in this fallen environment.

[13:23] And we can't control some of that stuff that comes upon us. We can't fully fight it off. And so what I'm saying is I don't give Satan credit or hold him responsible for COVID or for the swine flu or for having an allergic reaction to food or some plant.

[13:43] You can't blame that on the devil. That's our fallen world. And I certainly don't believe that everything that happens to a human being or every disease or sickness or having the measles or whatever, that that's satanic or that's being oppressed by the devil.

[14:00] However, however, I'm trying to give you both sides here. The Bible does show us that Satan has power over man's body. Not just to possess their body, but maybe then we'll use the word oppress, if that's the right word, to oppress their body.

[14:16] The ability to torment man, the ability to inflict disease. And for that, let's go right back to Job. Job chapter 2. And again, I'm not saying every sickness or every disease is the devil or his hand.

[14:29] I would never say that. I don't believe that's the case. But he does have that ability. All right, Job chapter 2. So we already went through the passage in the first chapter, this first round.

[14:52] And as horrible as it was, Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly. So Satan comes back for round 2. And in verse 5, God gives him permission.

[15:04] Or sorry, verse 6. The Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. And what did he decide to do? He smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

[15:20] How in the world did he do that? Now, if he can cause fire to fall from heaven, I guess it's not so hard to believe that he can inflict a man's body with boils.

[15:35] But seriously, where did he get the boils? Does he have them? Is it like he sneezed on him and is that how it happened? Did he get it from some lab in the Wuhan district?

[15:49] Where did he get the boils? I want you to notice God didn't tell him to use boils. God didn't tell him what to do. He said, quote, He is in thine hand.

[16:03] So that was the permission. It could have been poison ivy. It could have been measles. It could have been leprosy. It could have paralyzed the man. He did it to somebody else.

[16:17] But he made the decision to use boils. Where else do we see people being smitten with boils? Take a look back at Exodus chapter 9. Exodus 9.

[16:30] This is the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. And it's a disease of choice here.

[16:42] To put upon the Egyptians. And upon their livestock. Exodus chapter 9. And look at verses 8 through 11.

[16:53] And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron. Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace. So I'm showing you how the boils came about here.

[17:04] Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace. And let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt. And shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast throughout all the land of Egypt.

[17:18] And they took the ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven. And it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils.

[17:31] For the boil was upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. That's some pretty nasty stuff going on there. It was something from a furnace. Dust sprinkling toward heaven.

[17:42] Some supernatural miraculous thing that God's doing here. Getting involved as far as we can tell. And then Satan has this incredible ability to do the same thing to a man.

[17:55] Come back to Deuteronomy. Go a little bit further here. Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28.

[18:10] Deuteronomy 28. So Satan has an incredible ability and power and might to use diseases against mankind.

[18:24] If I guess again he's granted permission to do so. But what I'm trying to really get you to see is this is a God kind of thing. He's up in that God only atmosphere with his ability.

[18:35] And look at Deuteronomy 28 verses 27 and 28. This is the curses upon Israel if they disobey and refuse to keep his laws and commandments. It says in verse 27.

[18:46] And the Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt. And with the emros and with the scab and with the itch. Whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart.

[18:59] Thou shalt grope at noonday. And it's going on. Who's doing this? The Lord shall smite thee with something that you won't get healed of. The Lord will inflict disease upon your bodies.

[19:12] That's terrible news. That's a scary thought inside and nature of God. That he's content to do that too if you deserve it. And yet there's a man or there's rather a being Lucifer fallen granted.

[19:25] But still has this same ability to inflict man with disease. Just in case you're not sure. Look at Luke chapter 13. This will settle it for you. Luke 13.

[19:43] I'm absolutely not suggesting that Satan and God are equal in power. But I'm pointing out that in this case and the others. Inflicting men with disease is not outside the spectrum of his ability.

[19:56] Luke chapter 13. Luke 13. All right. Verse number 11. Now we'll start in 10. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

[20:10] And behold there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity 18 years. And was bowed together and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her he called her to him and said unto her.

[20:23] Woman thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. And of course the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation.

[20:35] Because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day. And said unto the people. There are six days in which men ought to work. And in them therefore come and be healed. And not on the Sabbath day. And the Lord then answered him and said thou hypocrite.

[20:48] Doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall. And lead him away to watering. Now catch this in verse 16. And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham. Whom Satan hath bound.

[21:00] Lo these 18 years. Be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day. Who is speaking here? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who did he say bound this woman for 18 years?

[21:14] Satan hath bound this woman. She had a spirit of infirmity. 18 years. She couldn't in no wise lift herself up.

[21:26] And Satan is credited with doing this. Now Christ identifies the spirit of infirmity. As at the very least as the working of Satan.

[21:37] If not the person of Satan. Which something we'll study that in the next lesson. But you can't get around that. This is Jesus Christ saying. That's the work of Satan.

[21:47] And it's a physical. Deformed. Or rather handicapped. Whatever you want to call it. And it's Satan. Christ identified it. So we're not going to be able to dismiss it.

[21:58] Alright. Come back to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. We've got a few more here. On this thought of Satan. Having power over man's body.

[22:09] Either to possess their bodies. Or at the very least. To oppress them. In. Infirmities. Or in diseases. 2 Corinthians.

[22:21] Chapter 12. This is the apostle Paul. And. He had an infirmity. That he calls a thorn. In the flesh. And he even gives us a little light.

[22:33] As to what is going on. As far as. Satan being involved. Verse 7. He says. And lest I should be exalted above measure. Through the abundance of the revelations.

[22:43] There was given to me a thorn in the flesh. The messenger of Satan. To buffet me. Lest I should be exalted above measure. And he asked God to take it away from him.

[22:55] And God wouldn't do it. It was the messenger of Satan. To buffet him. To beat him down. To wear him out. And understand. He said it's a thorn in the flesh.

[23:08] The messenger of Satan. Was in Paul's flesh. Tormenting him in some physical manner. And people have speculations on what that was. Whether it was his eyesight. Whether it was his body.

[23:19] Almost comparable to that woman. That was. Couldn't no wise lift herself up. That his body was getting deformed. Degenerating. Things like that. Whatever the case. Somebody's name popped up there.

[23:30] Satan. And it has to do with being in the somebody's flesh. Tormenting him. Buffeting them. Look at Mark chapter 9. This will be our last reference on this thought.

[23:41] But Mark chapter 9. And I want to try to make clear. That not every disease.

[23:54] Or not every cold virus. Is an unclean spirit that got in you. And you're going to fight it off with vitamins. Look at Mark chapter 9.

[24:09] And verse number 17. And one of the multitude answered and said. Master I have brought unto thee my son. Which hath a dumb spirit. What does dumb mean?

[24:20] You understand. It means his mouth. His tongue. He can't speak. He's dumb. He's speechless. So he hath a dumb spirit. Look at verse 25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together.

[24:33] He rebuked the foul spirit. Saying unto him. Thou dumb and deaf spirit. I charge thee. Come out of him and enter no more into him. So it's called a dumb and deaf spirit.

[24:46] So the child. It happened of a child. So I don't know how old he is. The son of this man. Has got a. He is dumb. And he is deaf.

[24:57] And Christ identifies it as a spirit. It's affecting his speech and his hearing. Now what I want to point out. And get this clear. Is this is not necessarily a proof text.

[25:10] Or a case to show that all infirmities. Or all diseases. Or all deaf people. Or dumb people. Or any of those blind. Is a result of Satan. Or that they're possessed. Or it's the working of Satan.

[25:22] It does not mean this is evidence. And look at this. Verse 29. He said unto them. This kind. This kind. Cometh. Can come forth by nothing.

[25:33] But by prayer and fasting. He identifies. This foul spirit. As a specific kind. And what I want you to see is. This kind. Exhibited. Some extreme behavior.

[25:45] Far beyond. The infirmity of hearing. And speaking. Look at verse 18. It says. Wheresoever he taketh him. That's the dumb spirit. Wheresoever he taketh him.

[25:56] He teareth him. And he foameth. And he gnasheth with his teeth. And pineth away. That's not just can't hear. That's something else. Much more.

[26:08] It's being manifest in certain ways. Inside this boy. But it's an unclean. It's a foul spirit that he has. That is. Messing with this guy's body.

[26:20] All right. Look at verse 20. It says. And when he brought him unto him. When he saw him straightway. The spirit tear him. And he fell on the ground. And wallowed foaming.

[26:32] So this is some scary stuff. Verse 22. Oft times it hath cast him into the fire. And into the waters. To destroy him. That is not the evidence. Of somebody that can't hear. Okay. So.

[26:42] Making this clear. That not every. Organic. Handicap. Or disease. Is evidence of Satan. Or can we even say that. We can't. Some people.

[26:53] And I've read it. They'll. They see a passage. And say. See. That deaf spirit. And they just. They don't. Take the whole book. They're so quick.

[27:04] To just jump to some wild thought. That's foolish. And we can't teach that way. So. Let's be careful with this. But do understand. The real point of this study. Is to show that he does have the ability.

[27:16] To mess with men's bodies. And to possess men's bodies. He absolutely does. And I think it's a lot. Subtler. And a lot more. More involved than anybody in this room.

[27:27] Believes. Or considers. I really do. And I'll maybe. Bring some of that out. At the end of all of this. Satan has the ability. Does he not? To possess.

[27:39] To influence. To harm. Men's bodies. He has power over the bodies of men. All right. Now let's look at another one. We'll get this one started. Go back to Revelation chapter 12.

[27:50] And this is. The fifth. Evidence. Or point here. About his might. Is that he can source out. His power. Satan has the ability.

[28:01] To empower. Other beings. You say. That's crazy. Where do you get that? From the Bible. Revelation 12. Look at verse 9.

[28:13] We're just looking at this. To understand. Who he is called. Here in verse 9. And the great dragon. Was cast out. That old serpent. Called the devil. And Satan. You see that?

[28:25] He's called. The great dragon. So when we read about. The great dragon. It's identifying. Satan. No questions about that. The next chapter. There's the dragon. Doing something.

[28:36] Revelation 13. And verses 4 through 7. The great dragon. Satan. Is empowering. Some other being.

[28:47] To do something. He has this ability. Verse 4. They worship the dragon. Which gave power. Unto the beast. And they worship the beast.

[28:58] Saying who is like unto the beast. Who is able to make war with him. The beast is a man. And we see that later. In verse number 18. Is the number of a man. And this is.

[29:10] We call him the antichrist. The devil incarnate. In a man's body. Speaking great things. And causing the world. To worship him. So the dragon empowers.

[29:22] Another being. And he's called the beast. And in verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth. Speaking great things. Where did he get that? From the dragon. This guy's got a big mouth.

[29:32] And he can say some stuff. That just makes everybody. Just drool. Just. I've never heard of him. You remember what they said about Christ? Never man spake like this man. You know what they're going to say about the beast?

[29:43] Wow. Never man spake like this man. Speaking great things. And blasphemies. And power was given unto him. To continue forty and two months.

[29:56] And he opened his mouth. And blasphemy against God. To blaspheme his name. And his tabernacle. And them that dwell in heaven. Notice in verse 7. And it was given unto him. To make war with the saints.

[30:07] And to overcome them. And power was given him. Over all kindreds and tongues. And nations. The dragon gave power unto the beast.

[30:18] And two times he gave. Or was given power. Or power was given unto him. The phrase said. There's another one. Look at verse 11 and 12. There's another being. Another beast he's called.

[30:30] Later he's called the false prophet. In verse 11 it says. I beheld another beast. Coming up out of the earth. And he had two horns like a lamb. And he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power.

[30:43] Of the first beast before him. And causeth the earth. And them which dwell therein. To worship the first beast. Whose deadly wound was healed. So the dragon is empowering. Some other beings.

[30:55] Now there's other mentions. Of this very thing. And let's see them. So that you know. Know your bible here. Look at what Paul said. In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. 2nd Thessalonians 2.

[31:08] And then I want to run back. To Daniel chapter 8. And see that Daniel. In his visions. Of the end times. Was talking about this very thing.

[31:20] We just read. In Revelation 13. Paul prophesied of it. In his letter. To Thessalonica. 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2.

[31:40] And look at verse number 9. Here's a reference to the. We call him the Antichrist. Here he's called. That wicked. In verse 8. With a capital W.

[31:51] He's called the son of perdition. In verse 3. The man of sin. And in verse 9. Even him. Whose coming is after the working of Satan. With all power and signs.

[32:03] And lying wonders. All of the signs. All of the wonders he does in the sight of man. He's got the power. And he got it from Satan. His coming is after the working of Satan.

[32:17] Alright. Look back at Daniel 8. And verse 24. And the very beginning of the verse. Tells you the same thing we just read.

[32:27] Again. In this vision. Of the end. He's seeing things he doesn't understand. But it says in verse 24.

[32:40] And his power shall be mighty. But not by his own power. He got it from somewhere else. He's going to destroy wonderfully.

[32:51] And shall prosper. And practice. And destroy the mighty and the holy people. There's references to that. All through. Revelation. And God destroying through. That time.

[33:01] The tribulation. And you can read on. You know who you're talking about. He's going to stand up against the prince of princes. But in the end of verse 25. Shall be broken without hand. And so there's Daniel referencing that same thing.

[33:15] But his power. There's a point here. It's not his own power. Where'd he get it from? Satan. He can source it out. Now he has the ability to transfer his power into other beings. Can you do that?

[33:29] Can you do that? Okay. Here's the case. Your wife says to you. Honey. Can you help me out? I can't open this jar. Can you open it for me? What do you do? Stay there.

[33:41] Do you give her the power to do it? Do you. To telepathically. Or however it actually happens. Do you just. You see that stuff on the TV.

[33:54] For the last 20, 30 years. Of this. Putting power into beings. And they coming to life. You see that. There it is. Can you.

[34:04] Can your wife. Open that jar. Because you gave her the power to do it. The ability to. Do. There is somebody. That can do that.

[34:15] Look at Matthew chapter 10. And I'm careful to show you these. Because it happens over and over and over.

[34:25] And again. This. The ability of Satan. We've probably missed this. And not really put it together. We want to separate him from God so much. But my. My. My.

[34:37] We don't probably understand the realm that he's in. And we want to put God so high up there where he belongs. And we probably consider Satan to be closer to us.

[34:49] When. And if we'd say it right. And study it right. He's much closer to God. Than he is to us. In the ability. Look at Matthew 10. This is Jesus Christ.

[35:00] And when he had called unto him his 12 disciples. He gave them power. Wow. He gave them power. Against unclean spirits. To cast them out.

[35:11] And to heal. All manner of sickness. And all manner of diseases. Isn't that something? And in verse 8 he tells them to heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. What? Are you kidding me?

[35:23] Men. Like you and I. That grew up from an infant all the way up. And Jesus Christ says. Here's power. I'm giving it to you. And now you can go out there and raise dead people.

[35:36] So Christ said that. That's no surprise to us. Satan has the ability. To empower other beings. He's pretty powerful.

[35:48] There's another case. Where Satan demonstrates. This same. Or this rather is another case. Where Satan demonstrates this power.

[35:59] The ability. To give it to somebody else. We don't need to turn. But remember going back in those plagues. Where we just were with the boils. And Exodus. The land. You remember when.

[36:09] They threw the rod down. And it became a serpent. You know what else happened? The magicians of Pharaoh. Use their enchantments. And what do they do? They turn their rods into serpents too.

[36:21] And then to show who was who. That serpent ate those. But. Did you ever see somebody throw a rod down on the ground. And it become a serpent? Where did they get that enchantment?

[36:32] Where did they get that power? Oh. And that's men. On earth. There was a few other things that took place. And then they couldn't. They did the water to blood.

[36:43] They did that too with their enchantments. And then it says the frogs. They were able to do that one too. And then when it came I think to the lice. If I'm right. That's where it was cut off. And they said this is the finger of God. And they couldn't do that one.

[36:56] But that's some wild stuff. To consider that man can be empowered. To do things beyond his fleshly carnal ability. Now. This brings up a question.

[37:07] And we'll just deal with it briefly. And quit here. But people always are curious about healers. They're always curious about it. They always have questions about healers. And I'm not talking about healing.

[37:18] But rather the man. The men. Healers. They claim to have this gift from God. This power to do some supernatural things. Now first of all. Healing. To differentiate between healers and healing.

[37:31] I can say. Well. I guess. I can never say for certain. That when somebody is healed. To say that was the hand of God. God did a miracle there. God healed me.

[37:43] Of my cold. And don't. Don't ever misinterpret. Or misunderstand what I'm saying. I can't necessarily say that. God did that. As a special event. Versus just.

[37:54] God created this body. To heal itself. To fight off diseases. To develop and grow these antibodies. And you understand that.

[38:05] God made us. To kick out certain things. That do get us down. Sometimes that happens. Or. God has. There's been advancements. In modern medicine.

[38:15] That have absolutely assisted. And provided help to the body. To overcome. Those diseases. And those things that would otherwise get us. Get an infection.

[38:25] Get something as. Deep down in your ear. And you just can't get rid of it. Start popping some pills. And all of a sudden. It's cleared up in three days. And that's a wonderful thing. But understand.

[38:36] That whatever was in that pill. Man did not fabricate that out of thin air. That came from. Ultimately the earth. In some manner or form. Got manipulated.

[38:47] Got extracted. Got paired with this. Got tested. And all of that stuff. What they do in the labs. But it's still. It's still. Ultimately. God. Created that. From the beginning. And gave man the ability.

[38:58] And the mental capacity. To figure it out. To help. So. Whether God healed. Or your body did it. Or man's medicine did it. Or helped to do it. Whatever.

[39:09] I can't say. In every situation. However. However. When professionals. That work in certain fields. Every day of their life. Make statements like this.

[39:19] I never saw that happen before. Or. We did not give them a chance. Everyone we've ever seen. Like that. Didn't last. And. They're doing better than we ever.

[39:30] When they start talking like that. And saying. We can't explain it. And they start saying. It was a miracle. I tend to think. The Lord God got involved. I tend to think.

[39:40] If they're blown away. From what they see every day. And say. This is. Absolutely. An anomaly. In our field. For that person. In that condition. To be walking out. Of here. On their own two feet. That doesn't happen.

[39:52] It's not physically possible. With our medicine. And care. Something else happened. Then I tend to think. The hand of God's been involved. And I fully believe. As I'm sure you do.

[40:02] That God can. And will heal. According to his will. And answer prayer. Now that's healings. But the healers. What about healers? And you know. Where I'm going with this.

[40:12] From what we've already led up to. That Satan has the ability. To empower other beings. And in Revelation 13. He's using. They're using that power. To do what? To deceive them. That dwell on the earth.

[40:26] Well if that's his MO. Why would we be surprised. If he would not. Allow a little bit of that. Going on today. If God allows it. If a man has the ability.

[40:36] Or claims the ability. To heal. In the place of God. As they claim. And believe. Or by the power of God. Then we're talking about. Something different. Than just. Somebody getting healed.

[40:47] Versus the man. Calling himself a healer. And. There are those. You talk about it. You challenge them. They'll say. It's in the Bible. Jesus. The apostles. The apostle Paul. The gifts of the Holy Spirit.

[40:57] They've got the verses. They'll take you right to it. They insist. That it's evident today. And that God's power to heal. Is given to men. That's what we're worried about.

[41:09] That they claim. It's God powering men. To heal today. And. Generally. Just this is kind of a side note. Generally those in that realm. Are pretty shallow. In their Bible study.

[41:21] And they're pretty big. In. Sensational stuff. In the action. In the life. In the liveliness. In the. You know. Music driven services.

[41:32] And. External displays. And all of that. A verse or two. Is just. For the most part. Generally good enough for them. Mark 16. Okay. They're done. That's all they needed.

[41:43] Acts chapter 2. Run to. Run to those. First Corinthians 12. The gifts of the spirit. That's. That's their ministry. For here to. Eternity. Now what they don't. Study out fully.

[41:53] Is that those things. Those signs. And those gifts. Where God empowered men. Like he empowered his. Apostles at one time. And like he empowered others.

[42:04] Early in the church. They don't. Study it out. That that stuff. Phased out. By the end. Of the book of Acts. And. When I say the end of the book of Acts.

[42:14] Then they say. But if it shows up past the book of Acts. Then that's not true. But they don't. They don't understand. And I've got to stop here. But. The book of Acts covers history. They cover. It has a start.

[42:24] And a stop. And inside the book of Acts. Is the ministry. Of Peter. And then the ministry of Paul. And Paul wrote letters to churches.

[42:34] Like the church of Corinth. During the book of Acts. But by the. His early epistles. Reference healings. And gifts of the spirit. But his later epistles. That come near the end of Acts.

[42:46] And after. That stuff. Doesn't talk about it at all. Like. Study them out. He doesn't reference. Anybody getting healed. Or anyone having power to heal. He doesn't talk about it one time.

[42:58] In his later epistles. Look at Titus and Timothy. These are letters to pastors. Preachers of local churches. Why doesn't he tell them. Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Show the power of God.

[43:10] When he tells them. To stir up the gift. That is in them. He says nothing about. Miracles. And signs. That stuff is phased out. And it takes a bigger. Overview and study.

[43:20] Of the scriptures. To see that. But they don't want that. They get a verse. They love it. And they run with it. Now. Anyway. Getting back. We'll close this. What about somebody. Claiming power to heal. For somebody claiming.

[43:32] That they were healed. And they'll say this. I felt something. There's a ton of people say that. Well number one. Satan's not short of his ability. To perform miracles. And to empower other beings.

[43:43] To do them as well. And number two. If God permits him. To use his power. It's certainly worth considering. That he just might use it. To deceive men. To allow men.

[43:53] To believe that it was the Holy Ghost. And therein. Pervert the gospel message. Of Jesus Christ. And so I believe this. I believe that if there's anything. If. There's actually anything supernatural.

[44:05] Not some fake stuff. And not some trickery. And all that nonsense. That's been exposed. In these big crusades. But if there's anything supernatural. That's going on.

[44:16] If there's any feelings. That's happening. Or any spiritual encounters. I believe it's devils. And I say that without apology. To anybody in this room.

[44:26] Or anybody in the planet. I believe that it's the working of Satan. To deceive men. And there's a little study. When we get to the end of this. To his ministers. And see that he's got men.

[44:37] They're men. They're always men. They're not like these. Fallen angels. Walking around. In disguise. They're men. Like you and me. That are doing things for him.

[44:49] And don't even know it. They're corrupt. They're deceived. Deceiving and being deceived. Or whatever. So it's wickedness. And it's deceiving souls to hell.

[45:00] With a feeling. And now they don't need faith. They don't need Jesus Christ. Because I was there. And I felt it. And God's okay. He's okay with me.

[45:10] He healed me. He fixed me. And I felt the power. I felt the jolt. And just understand. Satan has the ability. To do these things.

[45:20] And he will absolutely use that ability. To deceive men. And that makes a lot of sense. All right. So we'll stop there. And we'll go on then next week. To the sixth thing. It's kind of related.

[45:32] This was number five. Four and five here. But number five was about him having power over men's bodies. And then we're going to show you that he can perform supernatural feats. And including a multitude of miracles that goes far beyond just healing somebody.

[45:47]  If that's even the case. All right. All right. So wife and I. Look at some human lamb.