[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Well, take your Bibles, if you would, and open into Mark chapter 1.
[0:13] And I'm going to read with you one more time, verse 24. And I'm going to show you the wildest thing in the world. Mark chapter 1 and verse 24. Now, Jesus has gone to the synagogue.
[0:25] And when he got there, in their synagogue, they had a guy who attended the synagogue there with them, who had an unclean spirit or a demon, a devil. And in verse 24, he says, saying, Let us alone.
[0:38] What have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know you and who you are, the Holy One of God.
[0:51] Now, take your Bible with me. Go back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. This isn't part of the message, but it sure helps you get the picture here. So just picture this. Jesus walks in the synagogue. And when he walks in the synagogue, there's this man who has, that's demon-possessed.
[1:05] He has an unclean spirit. And walks up to Jesus and he says, Hey, what are you doing here? We know who you are. And why are you here? Have you come to destroy us?
[1:18] So if you've been studying the Bible and the book of Mark, you know we're in a spiritual war. You know that there's the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, and there's the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Satan. And you know that there's this big war going on.
[1:30] And it all started back in the book of Genesis. In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had the clear opportunity to obey God and eat of the tree of life. They chose to disobey God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[1:42] When they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then death entered in. They died spiritually. And sin came into the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men.
[1:53] But when all that was happening, it was God who loved man and God who came seeking man. And God who found Adam and Eve and said to Adam and Eve, He said, Where are you?
[2:03] And they said, Well, we're naked and ashamed that we've hidden ourselves. And he came looking for them. It wasn't man looking for God. It was God looking for man. But then he made a promise to the devil. He made a promise to the devil.
[2:15] He made a promise to that old serpent. Look at what it says in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. In verse 14, it said, The Lord said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, and upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
[2:35] And I will put enmity. I will make you enemies between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed, and her seed shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
[2:50] So here's a wild prophecy. All the way back, and right as soon as they're out of the Garden of Eden, a prophecy. God's gonna let this woman have a baby. Woman is gonna have a baby.
[3:02] And that baby is gonna be God in human flesh, who will come to earth, and he will stomp your nasty head. You will bruise his heel, but he will stomp your nasty head.
[3:16] Now Jesus shows up in the book of Mark, as Mark tells the story. Jesus shows up in the synagogue, and in the synagogue there's a guy with an unclean spirit, and the guy with an unclean spirit, the demon inside of him speaks and says, Hey, what are you doing here?
[3:29] We know who you are. You are the Holy One of God. You are Jesus of death, the Holy One of God. And what are you doing here? Did you come to destroy us?
[3:41] Well, here's the great deep truth. Yes, he did. And yes, the war is on, and Jesus is here on the planet. So if you're back in the book of Mark with me, in Mark chapter one, in verse 22, in verse 23 it says, And there was in the synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, Let us alone.
[4:04] So as I read this, I thought, Oh, you know, I don't know how many of us really know a lot about unclean spirits. So not long ago, just a few weeks ago, we looked at angels, and now in this batch of scripture, we've come up on unclean spirits or demons.
[4:17] And so you probably tend to not think about the devil, and you probably tend not to think about demons, and you probably tend to think, if anybody thinks about that, it's crazy.
[4:27] But I want to show you what the Bible says about it. There is a real devil. He is a real enemy. He is a real adversary. There is a real war going on right now. And it's a war for the souls of men.
[4:39] And so I want to show you a little bit about that. Take your Bible, if you wouldn't, go with me to Ezekiel chapter 28. We want to find out about Satan and his angels who rebelled against God. Now, Satan's a created being. You'll see that in the passage we're about to read.
[4:51] He's a created being. And everything that God created was good when he finished. But sometime between the time that he finished and the time that the temptation takes place, he has fallen, been cast out, and he is in the business of trying to destroy the work of God.
[5:07] And that's when that old serpent showed up in the garden. Read with me, if you would, in Ezekiel chapter 28. Here's a story about the king of Tyre. And it's a prophecy that is given.
[5:20] And it talks about who Satan is. The Bible said, More of the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation about the king of Tyre, and send him, Thus saith the Lord, Thou sealest up the sun, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
[5:38] So he was a beautiful creature. And the Bible says, And thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God. So he's back in the garden of Eden. Well, we know Adam was there, and Eve was there, and the Lord was there.
[5:50] Who else is there? And every precious stone was I covering, the sardis and topaz, the diamond and beryl and onyx, and so on. Go down to the last three words in verse 13.
[6:01] Thou wast created. In the day thou wast created. So Satan was created by the Lord. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth. I have set thee so.
[6:14] Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day thou wast created.
[6:26] Created again. Till iniquity was found in you. So this being that we're talking about here, this reference, the king of Tyrus was in the garden of Eden, and he was created, and he was made perfect, and he was beautiful, and he was an anointed cherub, like the right-hand guard of the Lord in heaven, the most important position there.
[6:47] And he was great until iniquity was found in him. Verse 16. By the multitude of thy merchandise, they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. I will cast thee out as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub from the midst of the stones of fire.
[7:08] Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You hast corrupted, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground.
[7:18] And that's a picture of the very devil who's in this war. Created, created. So he's not equal to God. He is a creation, and he was created right, and he was created good.
[7:30] And then one day, like you, iniquity was found in his heart, and he disobeyed God, and he rebelled against God, and he sets up a war that will go on between them. Now go with me to Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 12.
[7:42] And Isaiah chapter 14 and verse 12, we find out what his sin was. What was it that was in his heart that caused this great war to go on? It's been going on now for 6,000 years.
[7:54] It's been going on now as Satan attacks everything about God and tries to destroy everything. This will help you understand what's going on in politics even. This will help you understand what's going on in the war, in the world when you do that.
[8:05] Here's the sin. In Isaiah 14, 12, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? Fallen from heaven. You were there, but now you've fallen.
[8:15] O Lucifer, son of the morning. How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations? And here's why. Look if you would in verse 13. For you said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.
[8:29] I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.
[8:43] You know what happened? This cherub, this anointed cherub, this angel, angelic being there with God thought, I don't like God being number one. I think I'd like to be number one.
[8:55] I'm beautiful. I'm great. I'm fantastic. My brightness, look at me. I've been here with God. I've watched all of these things that he's doing. I've watched his creation. And I've seen all this happen.
[9:08] And I wish I could be number one. I will ascend. And I will be big. And I will. And I will. And I will. That was his problem. So look what God said to him.
[9:19] If you would in verse 15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble?
[9:32] So just look this way just a second. Let me show you something. So all the way back in the very beginning, God created everything that is. He's the only one that ever was. He always was in the past. And he always would be in the future.
[9:43] And all honesty, he's eternal. Eternal in the past. Eternal in the future. Everlasting. That's kind of what we are. We're going to keep on lasting. But he had no beginning and no end. I have a beginning and I have no end.
[9:54] You have a beginning and you have no end. All of us will live forever. And this created being up in heaven enjoying all that God was doing. Created right. Created good. God didn't make him sinful.
[10:07] One day in his pride and his thinking he's something decides, I will rebel against God and I will take God's place. And I will fight against God and I will be like the most high God.
[10:17] And God said, oh no, you won't. I made you and I can unmake you. You're down. You're out of here. And he threw him out. But ever since then, there's been this great war going on.
[10:27] Between the devil, between Lucifer, between Satan and God over the souls of men and the creation. And it's all through your Bible if you read it with me. So I want to take you through some Bible verses.
[10:39] I want you to get your Bible and look this up. Because you see, when Jesus walked in the synagogue, you might not have understood what was going on. But immediately that devil did. Immediately that unclean spirit and that man was like, I know who you are.
[10:53] And I know why you're here. Are you here to destroy us? Are you here to have our heads stomped? Are you here to prove that God is greater? We've been fighting and waring all this time.
[11:03] 4,000 years we've been doing this and getting away with it. Is that who you are? So Satan is in rebellion against God. An all-out war for the souls of man.
[11:14] Look if you would in your Bibles. They'll put it all up on the screen. You can write it down and check it out later. Look up in your Bible. If you would in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 24. His name here is Beelzebub.
[11:25] The prince of the devils. He has a whole lot of different names throughout the whole Bible. He's the serpent in the beginning. He has a whole lot of names. He's Beelzebub. Prince of the devils.
[11:36] These are unclean spirits. These are devils. These are demons. These are powers that stand against God's people. I know you probably had a hard time accepting angels the other day.
[11:47] You were kind of like, I don't know about the angels. Well, the Bible is pretty clear about it. And now you're probably going to have a little bit of a hard time. But the Bible is pretty clear that there are demonic forces at work in the world. And the Bible is pretty clear that that's going on.
[11:59] If you would look with me at Ephesians chapter 6. And you'll understand that at this very moment. At this very moment, according to the scriptures. There's a whole lot of junk going on. You know, pushing you to sin.
[12:11] Pushing you to rebel against God. Trying to keep you from hearing the gospel. If you're not saved. Trying to get you to not believe in God. Look at Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God.
[12:23] That you may be able to stand against the wiles, the tricks of the devil. Verse 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against principalities.
[12:35] Against powers. Against the rulers of darkness of this world. Against spiritual wickedness in high places. Now you got your Bible up. Look at this. There's all sorts of things. There's principalities.
[12:47] There's guys in charge of big areas. There's powers. There's rulers of darkness. There's spiritual wickedness in high places. So what's going on is there's a bunch of stuff going on right here in this room.
[13:00] There's a bunch of stuff going on all around you. There's a real live active devil who hates missionaries. Who hates Christians. Who hates God. Most of all he just hates God. Anything about God.
[13:11] And he's at work around the world. In John 14 30. He's called the prince of this world. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 3. He is the god of this world.
[13:24] I need to stop and tell you what that means. You remember when we talked about world? In the Bible the word world is not referring in that sense. The word world is not referring to the planet. It's not referring to the stars and moon and the sun.
[13:35] It's referring to the god of this world. There's this whole system that under Satan lifted up itself against God and shook its hand in the face of God and said, We will not obey you. We will not do what you want.
[13:47] We don't like you. We don't want you to rule over us. I will ascend into heaven. I will make myself a name. I will be somebody big. That's the whole system. There's a system in place in the world right now that rejects God.
[14:02] You can see it on the news. You can hear it in the science classrooms at your school. Because at school they're going to get up and tell you, No, God didn't make the world. They're going to tell you it was an accident.
[14:13] It was a big bang. It was an explosion. And it was evolution. It brought all this about anything to get rid of God. They're going to do anything to get rid of God. God, that's the God of this world. In other words, there's this world system that lifts itself against God.
[14:28] A whole world system that lifts itself against God. And he is the God of this world. He's the prince of this world. And when he got cast out of heaven, he was allowed to be on the earth and he was allowed to be in the sky.
[14:40] Look at what the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 2. In Ephesians 2, 2, he is the prince of the power of the air. Underline that. He's the prince of the power of the air.
[14:52] The Bible says, Where in a time past you walked according to the course of this world. What's that mean according to the course of this world? Well, here's what the course of this world is. The course of this world is I don't believe in God. The course of this world is nobody will tell me what to do.
[15:04] The course of this world is I have my own plans and my own ideas and I will do what I want to do. The course of this world is I will ascend into the heavens. I will, I will, I will.
[15:14] Just like old Lucifer said back in Isaiah chapter 14. That's the course of this world. That's how we used to walk. Every one of us in this room at one time were saying, I'll do whatever I want to do.
[15:25] I'll do what feels good to me. And then one day the Lord spoke and convicted us and moved in our hearts and showed us our sin. And we said, I'm moving away from that. But we used to walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, according to that spirit that works in the children of disobedience.
[15:41] If you're saved, you're a child of obedience. But there's this demon spirit. There's this wickedness that works in the hearts of all of those who say, I will not obey God.
[15:52] But it's everywhere. It's everywhere. It's everywhere. When they say, I will, I will not accept what marriage is supposed to be because I think we've got our own plans. I will not accept gender.
[16:03] And what I think it ought to be, I will not accept. I will not accept how sex ought to be handled, whether it ought to be in between a man and a woman or between anybody you want to do it. But it's all about, I will do what I want.
[16:16] That's this world. That's this world. That's this world that says no to God. That's this world that walks in a spirit of disobedience. Go with me back to Mark chapter 1 if you would.
[16:28] The unclean spirit is just one of this list that we've seen. Principalities, powers, and rulers. All this is going on. Now, by the way, you're not going to be able to believe the Bible if you're not going to believe these unclean spirits.
[16:40] If you're going to be a Bible believer, you're going to believe in angels. If you're going to be a Bible believer, you're going to believe in the devil. And you're going to believe in demons. And you're going to believe in hell. Look at what it says in Mark chapter 1 and verse 23. And in their synagogue, that's funny, in their synagogue, they had their own place of worship.
[16:55] And they had a demon-possessed man in church. And they didn't even know it. I wonder if there's any here. In their synagogue, a man with an unclean spirit cried out and said, Let us alone! Isn't that funny?
[17:07] A man, one man, with an unclean spirit, one spirit, said, Let us alone! Because he knew he was a part of something bigger. He knew he was a part of a whole network of people trying to destroy the work of God.
[17:18] And he cried out and said, Let us alone! What have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know you.
[17:30] I know you, who you are. You're the Holy One of God. Isn't that amazing? He walks in there and the demon knew exactly who he was and knew why he was there.
[17:43] You need to remember, there is a war going on between two kingdoms right now. We've discussed that. We have discussed that since we've been in the book of Mark. There's a war going on between two kingdoms.
[17:56] Satan wants to destroy all God's work. Satan wants to take God's place. Satan is our adversary. Look at 1 Peter 5 and verse 8.
[18:07] You need to understand that it's all through the Bible. The very idea and understanding is we're in a war. We have adversaries. We're supposed to be wearing armor.
[18:18] It's all through the scriptures. In 1 Peter 5, he said, Be sober. Pay attention. Be vigilant. Keep watching. Keep looking out. Because you're adversary.
[18:30] Adversary. Adversary. Your enemy. Your fighter. The guy that's against you. Like the devil, as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour. Peter said, you've got an adversary.
[18:41] Y'all need to wake up and pay attention. One of the things the devil likes to do is get you to not believe in him. Because if you don't believe in him, he gets to work even better. Kind of like hiding. Nobody believes him. Nobody thinks he's who he says he is or who God says he is.
[18:54] You know what he's trying to do? Let me show you what scripture says he's trying to do. Look with me, if you would, at 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4. One of his main goals is to make sure you do not believe the gospel.
[19:06] You say, how do you know that? Well, I'm going to read it to you. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4. Look at what the Bible says. 2 Corinthians 4. In whom the God of this world. Underline God of this world. That's the rebellious system against God.
[19:20] That's his whole system on the planet that says no to God. And yes to self, no to God, and yes to whatever I want. Not what God wants, but what I want. It's a system. It's those whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not.
[19:35] Look at that. He has blinded the minds of them which believe not. Lest so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God, can't shine to them. You know what the devil's doing?
[19:47] He's running around covering their eyes. He's running around plugging their ears. He's running around doing everything he can to keep them from hearing the gospel. Read the verse. In whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not.
[20:01] Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God, should shine on them. So according to the Apostle Paul, according to the Holy Spirit of God, in 2 Corinthians 4. There's a war going on. God wants them saved.
[20:13] God wants them to go to heaven. The devil's doing everything he can to keep people from hearing and keep them from believing. Jesus told something similar to that. Look with me if you would at Matthew 13.19. Look at Matthew 13.19.
[20:23] The Bible says, When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart.
[20:35] This is he which receives seed by the wayside. Jesus told a parable. And he said, When you throw the seed out, the birds come and eat the seed and keep it from getting under the ground. And Jesus said, You mean to what I was talking about when I said that?
[20:47] There's this wicked one, this wicked person, this devil, Satan. He is doing everything he can to blind eyes and cover ears. He's doing everything to get the seed out.
[20:59] So when the seed is even sown, he comes in and gets the seed to keep them from believing. Satan is real. He doesn't want people to believe the word of God.
[21:12] You may be praying for somebody in your family. You say, I wish they didn't accept Christ. But it's like they can't see it. That's what the Bible said. I wish somebody could say, but it's like they can't understand it. That's what the Bible said.
[21:23] You need to get a hold of God in prayer, which you'll see that tonight. But you need to get a hold of God in prayer and ask God to do a work in your life and ask God to work there in that. Satan's trying to keep him to get saved.
[21:34] Satan's building false religions. So if you could build enough mirages, if you could build enough fake things that look real good, maybe people would pick the wrong one.
[21:49] So go with me, if you would, to 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 13. Let me tell you what Satan's doing. Satan is so busy over here crafting Hinduism. He's like, I can make Hinduism look good.
[21:59] Fact is, I'll give you a million gods. Pick any one you want. You can pick this god or that god, this god or that god. Any gods you want. I've got millions of them. I've got millions, but just pick one. Just be a Hindu. Then he goes over and says, hey, how about being a Muslim?
[22:11] I've got this whole process. Hey, I've got this other. I sent an angel to talk to Joseph Smith, and I've got this Mormonism going, and I've built a whole other one. And he goes over here, and he's got Buddhism going, and he's got all these religions going because if he can get enough false religion and make it look really good, you'll buy into it.
[22:31] And you won't get saved. He's building false religion. You say, how you got that? 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13. Look what the Bible says. The Bible says, for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, not really apostles, and they're lying, tricking workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
[22:52] Did you know there are really people out there that even stand in the pulpit and hold a Bible in their hand and claim to preach, but they're not really Christians? They don't even believe the Bible.
[23:02] They preach. They don't even believe in God. They don't believe Jesus is the only way to be saved. They've learned how to make money out of being a preacher. All right. All right. And no marvel, the Bible says in verse 14.
[23:13] For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. You see, Satan, biblically, Satan doesn't come with little horns and a pitchfork and a tail, and everybody's like, whoa, that's the devil.
[23:26] Let's run. That's not how he comes. He comes looking beautiful. He comes looking appealing. He comes looking like something that you might like because he's transformed into an angel of light.
[23:38] Verse 15. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose ends shall be according to their works.
[23:50] So it shouldn't surprise you that the devil's at work trying to keep you from getting saved. He's even building false religions so people won't believe. He's going to do everything in his power to keep people from trusting Christ.
[24:03] 2 Peter 2 and verse 1, if you would. This is a verse everybody ought to write down and look at and understand. Look at what it says. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as the false teachers among whom you shall surely bring, who privately bring in damnable heresies.
[24:23] Look at this. False prophets. False prophets. In other words, people that aren't saying what God said. You see, when I preach, you should always bring your Bible. And you should always look it up.
[24:34] That's why we put it on the screen so you can see it. Because you ought to be saying, Austin, we're going to check you out. Because if you're telling the truth, it'll be written in the book. That's why we're checking. So you say, why do people carry so many Bibles in your church? Because they're supposed to check me out.
[24:45] Let's find out if what I'm saying is in the book. If it's in the book, then you've got to say, my problem's not with Austin, my problem's with the book. But if it's not in the book, then you can have a problem with me. He said they're false prophets.
[24:56] They're false teachers. And they're bringing in damnable heresies. Underline that in your Bible. Damnable heresies that send people to hell. The Jehovah's Witnesses.
[25:07] They have developed a whole system that says Jesus isn't God. They've even translated their own Bible. Sorry. But the truth is, it's a false prophet, a false teacher bringing a damnable heresy in.
[25:19] Something to get people to go to hell when they die. Look at this. A lot of those guys were saved, it looks like. Even denying the Lord that brought them, that bought them.
[25:33] And bring upon themselves swift destruction. Look at that. Heathens that learn how to make money off of teaching the Bible. So the devil's at work.
[25:44] You found out where he came from. He's a proud, arrogant guy who lifts himself against God. He's at work right now. He's trying to keep people from hearing the gospel. He's building false religions. And he's teaching false doctrine. Go into 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1.
[25:57] 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1. I want you to understand, we're in a war. If you're saved this morning, you need to understand that Satan's at war against you.
[26:09] He'll do everything he can to keep you from witnessing and talking about Jesus. He'll do everything he can to keep your marriage from staying together. He'll do everything he can to make you not have a clear testimony about Jesus.
[26:19] He will teach you truths that are false truths that will keep you from witnessing. He'll do everything he can. He's at war with us. You say, brother, that sounds a little bit extravagant. Really?
[26:30] Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the day. But you may be able to withstand Satan when he comes. Put on the breastplate.
[26:41] Put on the helmet. Put on the shoes. The foot. The gospel shoes that are for the sharing of the gospel. 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1.
[26:53] Now the Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, speaks clearly, expressly, that in the latter times, in the last days, some shall depart from the faith.
[27:04] Some people that will be in the faith are going to depart from the faith. And here's what they're going to do. They're going to give heed to seducing spirits. There are spirits that are going to come, demons, seducing spirits, unclean spirits, impure spirits are going to come.
[27:19] And they're going to deceive people into believing what's not true. Now let me tell you how you defeat that. Because what you're going to have to learn to do is be a Bible person. Let me explain something to you.
[27:32] The sword of the Spirit and shield of faith. Shield of faith is, I believe what he said, the sword of the Spirit. I'll chop the head off the stinking devil. And anybody else that comes to attack, because I've got the Word of God on it. But here's what happens. So many of us read all kind of books.
[27:43] You're reading theology books, and you're reading religious books, and you're reading all these other things. But it's just good reading some theology. No problem with that. I'm not saying that. But you know what?
[27:54] You're not reading the Bible. And by the way, there's whole sects of Christianity, whole groups of Christianity. They've gone way off. One group says that Jesus isn't really God.
[28:05] And they've got all kinds of books you can read about that. The Roman Catholic Church came up with all sorts of things. They're lifting up Mary and actually putting down Jesus in the way they did that. There's a whole bunch of that going on.
[28:16] There's only one way you're going to know the truth. You're going to get in the book. You're going to have to get in the book. That's how you won't depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits. Because they're going to come and try to get you to get away.
[28:28] And they're going to bring doctrines of devils. Look at that and underline it. Doctrines. The devil has some things he wants to teach us. Watch this. 1 Timothy 4, verse 2.
[28:38] Speaking lies and hypocrisy. Having their conscience sheared with a hot iron. These guys, these seducing spirits, doctrines of devils, these false teachers are coming.
[28:49] They're lying. And they've gotten to the point they don't even realize or feel it. In verse 3. What do they tell you to do? They say don't get married. And don't eat certain foods.
[29:00] See, it's not really an emphasis about you shouldn't get married as much as anything goes. You live in America today? Do you realize how this doctrine has spread?
[29:12] Do you realize how all of a sudden I'm not sure if I'm a man or I'm a woman? Where'd that come from? That's a doctrine of a devil. Huh? Just be honest with you. That's a doctrine of a devil.
[29:23] You got the anatomy. You are. Sorry. And so here he comes in. He says don't get married. I'm going to destroy marriage any way I can. I'm going to destroy marriage any way I can. You ought to just have sex with anything you want to have sex with.
[29:35] Anytime you want to have sex. Homosexual sex is all right. Sex outside of marriage is all right. Not having sex is all right. Whatever you want to do. Pornography is all good. Who told you that? A seducing spirit.
[29:48] Huh? You say well how in the world do people get so dumb that they can't figure out things? Seducing spirit. Spirit. Doctrines of devils. The spirit said in the last days that was going to happen.
[29:59] Maybe you ought to think about that in just a second. The spirit said it was going to happen. Forbidding to marry. Then they're going to tell you what kind of foods to eat. All of a sudden don't eat this meat.
[30:10] Don't eat that meat. Be a vegetarian. Do whatever. They're going to come up with all sorts of things. Because if they can get you to treat your body harshly. They want you to feel like your body's what's wrong.
[30:22] Not your body what's wrong. It's your heart and your body. Let's take you to the next. Let's go back over it. Satan was created right.
[30:34] He found iniquity in his heart. He determined that he would rebel against God. He said I will lift myself up and I will do what I want to do. And he lifted himself up against God. And he was cast out.
[30:45] He was cast out to the ground and the sky. And he could go around and operate on the world. He goes into the Garden of Eden. And he helps Eve to know that the Bible's not true. He says to Eve, well, did God really say that?
[30:59] Because that's where the devil likes to work. His biggest attack is on, I don't believe the Bible's the word of God. And you live in a society today that would tell you that the Bible's only an ancient text. And how do you know that it's right?
[31:11] And there's so many things wrong with it. And so many different things are going on. It couldn't be true. That's all the devil. That's been his game plan since the very beginning. It's been his game plan since the beginning.
[31:21] Don't believe God's word. Don't believe God's word. Eve, don't believe God's word. That's been his game plan. And he got Eve and Adam to eat that fruit and disobey God. And God still lovingly came and gave salvation.
[31:34] And God has allowed this war to go on all this time. But he even told him at the beginning, he said, The devil, let me tell you something. I'm going to let you run free and let you do some stuff. But I tell you what, I'm going to let this woman you tricked have a baby someday.
[31:45] And her seed will stomp your head. By the way, if I had the time I could take you through and show you that Eve, when she had that first baby, she was like, I've gotten a man child from the Lord.
[31:57] Is it that one? And the next time she said, I got a seed from the Lord. Is it that one? But it'll be 4,000 years. But all of a sudden, the woman who lost her dignity by being deceived by the devil is waiting because she knows at any moment I will bring forth the baby.
[32:13] The baby. The one that comes from God. The one who will stomp the devil's head. And then one day, a little girl named Mary, still a virgin, not had sex yet and not married.
[32:25] An angel showed up and said, You're the girl. Been waiting on you for a long time. God said, It's time. He's going to give you a baby. Goes over to Joseph and says, Hey, Joseph, she's going to get pregnant.
[32:36] And you didn't do it. Nobody else did it. You know that. But just trust me. God's doing something special here. And Jesus was born. God. God with us.
[32:46] Emmanuel. And on this day, in the book of Mark, he walked into the synagogue. And when he walked into the synagogue, the devil looked up and said, Hey, I know who you are. Why are you here, Jesus of Nazareth?
[32:58] Have you come to destroy us? We know you are the Holy One of God. See, the war's been going on. And it's still going on. And he's at war with us.
[33:10] And we have victory. You can have victory. Don't you ever let anybody make you think the devil can beat you or win over you. Because I'm going to give you now some verses. We have victory.
[33:22] Satan can't beat us. Satan can't beat God. But we're in a war. By the way, in the story here, the people marveled because Jesus told the unclean spirit, Get out. And the unclean spirit left.
[33:32] And they were like, Wow. This guy's unreal. He can cast out unclean spirits. Mark chapter 1. Go with me, if you would, now to James chapter 4 and verse 7. James chapter 4 and verse 7.
[33:44] This is one of my favorite passages of the Bible. Some of you might look at me right now and say, I don't know what this has to do with it, but I just can't seem to beat fornication.
[33:56] I just can't seem to quit pornography. I can't seem to get victory over this sin. It seems like depression and ugly thoughts and bitterness just eat me alive, and I can't get victory.
[34:07] Well, that's simply not true. You are under attack. You are under attack. He is coming to bring that depression. He is coming to bring those lies to you. He is trying to get you to look at the porn.
[34:18] He's doing anything. It's one of his doctrines, look at porn, because he doesn't like marriage. And so he's doing all that. But you might be thinking, Well, I just don't know if I can have victory. Oh, you can have victory.
[34:29] Look at James 4, 7. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Underline the word submit. You see, here's the whole deal. What's the world do? The world says, I will do what I want.
[34:43] You will not tell me. I live my life my way. I'll do what I want. That's what the world says. You know what we say? I bow the knee. I submit.
[34:54] What do you want? You tell me. So marriage is right. I believe in marriage. So the Bible's true. I believe in the Bible. I submit. Whatever you say, you are God, and you're above me.
[35:09] I don't make decisions. I trust you. Submit to the Lord. Then look what happens next. Look at the verse. Resist the devil. Once you submit to God, you can turn around the devil and resist him and just say, I'm not going to do what you say to do.
[35:21] I'm obeying God. And when you do that, look what the devil will do. He will flee from you. Now the word flee is a beautiful word. I figured this out in language school.
[35:32] But, you know, I never paid attention to flee. I guess if I'd have thought flee, I'd have thought a little bug. I mean, I didn't understand. What's that word flee mean? But see, the word flee means he runs scared.
[35:45] So what happens is, when you tell God he's in charge, and then you tell the devil, I told God he's in charge, the devil's like, okay, you don't know what that guy. See, God can't, the devil can't whip you if you'll just submit to God.
[35:57] In verse 8, James 4, 8, you draw nigh to God, and he'll draw nigh to you. So you know what you're going to do? You're going to say, today I choose to obey God.
[36:12] What do you think about homosexuality? You don't think about homosexuality. You think about what God said about homosexuality, and that's what you believe about it. Period. You say, but they got a lot of medical facts. Don't matter. You believe God.
[36:23] That's what submitting is. So I'm not sure if I agree with all this marriage stuff that sometimes Christians seem to be real tight on that. Well, it really doesn't matter. See, you submit. You just do whatever God says to do. Well, I'm not so sure pornography's all that bad.
[36:35] Well, you just submit to God. So whatever God says, he said, don't look at a woman and think on her in your heart, so you probably ought not buy a picture of her and look on it either. And so you just say, I'm going to submit.
[36:46] And then when the devil comes, says, won't you look at porn? You say, I would, but I'm submitted to God again. And the devil takes off running. And then you run and say, God, hey, I just told him to go. Can I get close to you? And God says, yeah, come on over here.
[36:57] Let's get close. You draw not on me. I'll draw not on you. Is that what it says or not? One more verse and we're done. First Peter chapter five and verse eight. James, he thought that by the Holy Spirit, if you would submit to God and resist the devil, the devil would run.
[37:13] First Peter chapter five and verse eight, the apostle Peter said, be sober. Hey, be serious minded. Stop playing. Stop thinking you're not in the middle of a war.
[37:25] Stop thinking that this ain't for real. Be sober. Be vigilant. Keep your eyes open and be looking around and be watching. Watch and pray. Watch and pray.
[37:36] Because your adversary, there he is, the adversary, as a roaring lion walks around seeking whom he may devour. But verse nine, he said, but you resist steadfast in the faith.
[37:48] You know what you do? You just say, I'm just gonna believe God. I'm just gonna believe God. And the devil comes and says, but that's wrong and it won't work.
[38:02] And maybe the Bible's got a mistake in it. And you just say, sorry, I'm just gonna believe God. Devil ain't listening to you. But maybe, but maybe, has God really said that? I'm not gonna listen to you.
[38:13] Maybe God's trying to take away from you, Eve, because if, Eve, maybe he knows you become a God if you just eat that fruit. I'm just gonna believe the Bible. I'm just gonna believe God. I'm just gonna believe God.
[38:26] You have victory. None of us can ever say we can't quit sinning because you can quit sinning. You can have victory. You can have victory.
[38:37] Submit to God, resist the devil, he runs. Submit to God, resist the devil, he runs. Submit to God, resist the devil, he runs. That's what the Bible said. And Paul said, or Peter said, resist.
[38:49] Hold on to your faith. Believe what the word of God said. Resist. And you can know this, a lot of other people are going through the same kind of mess you are, but we're all just gonna stand against the devil. This is a room full of resistors.
[39:02] This is a room full of submitters. This is a room full of people who say, I just believe God. You're gonna go out into the world tomorrow when you walk into your workplace, they're all gonna be like, anybody believes that? God stuff's foolish. And you're gonna say, I have submitted and I will resist.
[39:18] And you can say all you wanna say, you can make fun of me, all you wanna make fun of me, but I chose to put God first. I'm gonna honor God with my life. I'm gonna honor what he said in his book. You know how we know what God said? It's in the book. That's where we get it.
[39:31] So back to the story in Mark chapter one. Jesus walks into the synagogue and in their synagogue, they have a man with an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit takes over and begins to speak and he looks at him and says, hey, we know who you are.
[39:44] Why are you here? Have you come to destroy us? And Jesus said, shut up and get out of him. But in just a few days, I'll be on a cross and I'll die and I'll pay the sin debt of the world so everybody can be saved.
[40:00] I will shed my blood and bring salvation. I will fulfill every promise I've ever given. I'll keep my word. God told you I was coming and I am here.
[40:12] And Jesus died on the cross so we could be saved. The devil knew who he was. Jesus knew who the devil was. And you today need to know this. Are you in the resisting God or the resisting sin?
[40:25] Do you resist what's going on around us? Or do you resist God? Some of you still aren't saved because you are still hanging on to I will ascend into the heavens.
[40:36] I'm a good guy and I will do good stuff and I do right and I'm strong and I'm powerful and I think positive thoughts and I'm a good guy. I'm a good neighbor. I pay my bills.
[40:46] I'm a good guy. You can't go to heaven that way. You see, when you talk like that your head's lifted high. I'm a good guy. But submission says I'm not a good guy and I can't.
[41:00] Jesus told a story of two men that went into the temple to pray and one man lifted up his head and faced him towards heaven and held his hands up and he said God, I thank you. I'm not like this guy right here. He is obviously not a very good guy.
[41:12] He's obviously a tax collector and a sinner. He's a wicked guy but I pay my tithes. I do all my good stuff and you know it. Came time for the other guy and he smote his chest and said God, I'm a sinner.
[41:24] And Jesus said the sinner went home justified. The other guy didn't. You can't come to God on your own terms. You come to God realizing you can't and you aren't and you can't get yourself saved and you can't go to heaven.
[41:38] You come to God realizing Jesus is the only way. Trust him. Give up your pride. And some of you as Christians, man, you're still playing with sin. Just to be plain honest with you, you're still playing with sin just like the world.
[41:52] It's like you think porn's okay. It's like you think sex outside of marriage is okay. It's like you think you're accepting the world's philosophy. We are to submit to God and resist the devil.
[42:07] Today might be the day you ought to say, God, I bow the knee and I submit. We are to give you ressentirForce.com audio and video recordings.