{"id":18287,"date":"2020-01-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/angelology-024-demonology-6\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:15:42","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:15:42","slug":"angelology-024-demonology-6","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/angelology-024-demonology-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Angelology 024 (Demonology 6)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[91],"series_event":[499],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18287","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-corinthians","series_event-angelology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Angelology 024 (Demonology 6)","sermon_date":"20200105","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2020","sermon_notes":19971,"sermon_slides":19972,"sermon_mp3":19973,"sermon_id":"15201249501063","series_or_event":499,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":91,"chapter_and_verse":"6:19","sermon_transcript":"Angelology #24\nDemonology\n1 Corinthians 6:19\nJanuary 5, 2020\nDr. Andy Woods\n\nOpening Prayer<\/strong>\n\n\u201cFather, we\u2019re grateful for this morning. We\u2019re thankful for a new year, new beginnings. We pray You will be with us in 2020. Thank You for getting into the New Year with the new decade. It's exciting to look back at the things You've done in and through us, and I just ask that trend and pattern would continue so that we could be those that abide in Your Vine and consequently bear much fruit. We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d\n\nGod's people said, \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nOpen your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 6:19 as we continue our study on the doctrine of angels. Having looked at the good angels and Satan, we\u2019re now taking a look at the third of the angels that fell with Satan, which gets us into a whole subject of demonology. Once we\u2019re finished with that, then we\u2019ll be looking at the Genesis 6 controversy. Then the series will have come to an end, believe it or not.\n\nHere's our outline for demonology. We\u2019ve look at the existence of demons. Clearly, they\u2019re spoken of Old Testament and New Testament. We\u2019ve looked at the origin of demons. Probably the best-case scenario is that they are the one third of the angels that originally rebelled with Lucifer.\n\nFrom there we looked at the personhood of demons. I know the new Star Wars movie is out, but it's important not to look at our adversaries through the dark side\/light side paradigm. We\u2019re not dealing with the dark side\u2014some kind of impersonal source of energy; we\u2019re dealing with actual beings<\/em> that have all of the elements of personality. In fact, personal pronouns are used to describe demons\u2014just as they\u2019re used to describe any human being or person in the Bible.\n\nFrom there we looked at the characteristics of demons. We saw that virtually every vile term you can think of in the Bible is used and applied to demons.\n\nThen we looked at the powers of demons, and we saw that they have tremendous powers\u2014far greater powers than ourselves. Although, as created beings they don't have as much power as God. When you understand the powers of demons, you understand the necessity of defending oneself against demons through the resources of God, which we\u2019ll be speaking of in this series.\n\nFrom there we looked at the works of demons\u2014all the things that they do\u2014including the fact that they allow people to traffic in the occult. Meaning that they allow people to experience supernatural power themselves.\n\nFrom there we got into the whole subject of demon possession because the Bible very matter-of-factly speaks of demon possession. We\u2019re going to continue with demon possession today. Last time we were together we looked at the definition of demon possession: how one or more spiritual entities (called demons) inhabit a person, thereby taking total control of the victim.\n\nIs there a cause of demon possession? The Scripture really doesn't tell us, but there is insinuation in the Bible that sometimes people can open the door to being victimized by demon possession through their dabbling in the occult.\n\nThen we gave what I think is a very important balancing statement, that the Christian doesn't just have one enemy, but how many? Three\u2014the world, the flesh, and the devil. Even if Satan had no influence over your life at all, you would still do evil things.\n\nIn fact, in our study in the Book of Revelation in the second session, we\u2019re going to see an example of that. Satan is bound during the thousand-year Kingdom; and yet the same rotten proclivity of man continues, and he still rebels against God at the first opportunity.\n\nFlip Wilson said, \u201cThe devil made me do it!\u201d That's not biblical, because we have the flesh to contend with\u2014the fallen nature\u2014the world system\u2014and also Satan himself. For whatever reason, when you get into the subject of demonology\u2014demon possession\u2014people go to an extreme and they want to find a demon behind every bush kind of thing. And that's not what the Bible presents either.\n\nPeople are saying, \u201cThere is no such thing as the activity of demons today.\u201d Or they\u2019ll say, \u201cEvery evil thing that happens is demonic. My coffee machine didn't work this morning; obviously a demon did that,\u201d etc. As you know, you want to stay out of the extremes! The truth is usually in the middle somewhere. And that's what the Bible presents: three-dimensional warfare.\n\nFrom there we completed looking at the characteristics of demon possessed people from many verses, but primarily Mark 5. And we saw last time that demon possessed people can be characterized by 10 manifestations.\n\nWhat we\u2019re getting into this morning is an important subject: demon possession and the believer. Clearly, the Bible talks about demon possession of unbelievers\u2014that's not in dispute. But the question sometimes comes up, \u201cCan an authentically born-again Christian\u2014whose body is a temple of the Holy Spirit\u2014be possessed by a demon?\u201d\n\nThe short answer to that is, \u201cNo. That cannot happen! Not the way it's described in Mark 5.\u201d Why is that? We opened up to the right verse, didn\u2019t we? 1 Corinthians 6:19. Our body is the temple of the what? Holy Spirit. Once a person trusts Christ, the miracle of regeneration takes place where the Holy Spirit comes into the life of the believer and dwells there.\n\nBy the way, how long is the Holy Spirit in us for? Forever! Our age of time (our dispensation) is very different than the Old Testament where the Spirit departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:13). That scenario cannot happen today.\n\nDavid\u2014in Psalm 51:11, a thousand years before Christ\u2014said in prayer to God, \u201c\u2026do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.\u201d<\/em> Now, that was a prior dispensation. The age of the church is different; Jesus, in the Upper Room, revealed the rules for this present age. And He specifically said that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will be in you forever.\n\nIn John 14:16-17 the disciples were very panicked about the announcement that Jesus was leaving. In the Upper Room Discourse He begins to tell them [paraphrasing], \u201cIt's actually advantageous to you that I'm leaving. Because when I leave, the Paraclete\u2014translated sometimes \u2018the Helper\u2019 or \u2018the One Who comes alongside to assist\u2019\u2014will come in My place.\u201d And He will not be on you (as was the case in the Old Testament age); but it says there in verse 17 that He \u201cwill be in you<\/em>.\u201d That\u2019s a radical change!\n\nAnd He will be in you for how long? It says, in verse 16, forever! He says, \u201cI will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper<\/em> [that's the Paraclete],<\/em> that He may be with you forever\u2026\u201d<\/em>\n\nNow, these Jews were with Christ in the Upper Room\u201411 saved men. Judas, the only unsaved person, had left the room a chapter earlier. No doubt, that was a statement that blew their minds because they knew nothing about that. They knew about the Holy Spirit coming upon people like Saul and David temporarily, but they didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit coming inside<\/em> someone. And they certainly didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit being inside someone forever.\n\nJesus says, \u201cI will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him\u2026\u201d<\/em> In other words, they knew about the Holy Spirit.\n\nThe Holy Spirit is evident in the Old Testament very clearly. The Holy Spirit shows up as early as Genesis 1:2 with the Spirit moving on the waters. So don't get the idea that the Holy Spirit is not revealed in the Old Testament; He's revealed all of the time.\n\nWhat Christ is announcing is a new set of rules that are now going to take place in the age of the church, beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Where this Spirit\u2014Whom they knew\u2014was actually going to be inside of them and was actually going to be inside of them forever.\n\nThe whole context of the 1 Corinthians 6:19 passage is sexual immorality and sexual sin. It had to do with the Corinthians going into the Greco-Roman system and participating in sexual relations with prostitutes. That's how you did religion back in the Greco-Roman world. The Corinthians, as Christians\u2014keep in mind\u2014as believers, were going and doing this.\n\nPaul doesn't say, \u201cYou guys must not be Christians if you\u2019re going to do something like that!\u201d He doesn't say, \u201cYou must've lost your salvation!\u201d What he says is, \u201cDo you not know\u2014it's a knowledge problem\u2014that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?\u201d He's articulating what Jesus announced in the Upper Room, that the Holy Spirit is inside of you forever. And he says, \u201cEvery time you join yourself to a prostitute sexually, you're bringing the Holy Spirit into that particular sin!\u201d\n\nThat becomes a pretty powerful motivation for holiness in the Christian life! That when we participate in sin as Christians, we\u2019re dragging Jesus Christ\u2014the Holy Spirit\u2014into that particular sin. So that becomes a very powerful moral injunction concerning this Holy Spirit Who is in us forever.\n\nYou say, \u201cWhat does this have to do with demon possession?\u201d Well, it's very simple! This is why a Christian, I don't think, can be demon possessed; because I don't think Satan and the Holy Spirit would make very good roommates. I don't think Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is in a joint tenancy relationship with the demons, see that?\n\nSo, I do think it's an impossibility for a Christian today to be demon possessed. That's why you have all of these kinds of statements in the Bible, such as 1 John 4:4 which says, \u201c\u2026greater is He who is<\/em> in you\u2026\u201d<\/em> Now why would John say that? Because John, who wrote John 14:16-17, was in the Upper Room to hear Jesus make this statement sixty years earlier.\n\nIn fact, in the Upper Room, Jesus made a promise that the Holy Spirit is going to bring all of these things one day\u2014speaking to the 11 saved disciples\u2014to your remembrance. That's why we have the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. At least Matthew and John were written by individuals who were there when Christ was making these statements in the Upper Room sixty years earlier. That's why John is unpacking these statements sixty years later in his little book called 1 John. He says very clearly, \u201c\u2026greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.\u201d<\/em>\n\nSo, \u201cCan a Christian be demon possessed?\u201d I think the answer to that is \u201cNo,\u201d based on the fact that the body of the believer is now the temple of the Holy Spirit. Beyond that, there are some other reasons I don't think a Christian can be demon possessed. The Bible makes no<\/em> references whatsoever\u2014that I know of\u2014to a Christian who is demon possessed.\n\nIn fact, we throw around this phrase \u201cdemon possessed.\u201d That's not even in the Greek text. The Greek text is \u201cdemonized\u201d; it\u2019s translated \u201cdemon possessed.\u201d But you have many examples of unbelievers<\/em> being demon possessed or demonized. You have no examples anywhere in the Scripture of a Christian, who has the Holy Spirit inside of them, being demonized or demon possessed.\n\nBeyond that, you have no biblical references in the Epistles. You say, \u201cWhat are the Epistles?\u201d I used to think the Epistles were the wives of the Apostles. The Epistles are the letters. Paul wrote 13 of them. Then there's what you call the eight general letters. And if that weren't enough, we\u2019ve got seven letters to seven churches in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 2 and 3). This area of the Bible called the Epistles is the part of the Bible that directly governs us.\n\nOne of the most important things to learn, as you become a Bible student, is that all Scripture is for<\/em> us, but not all Scripture is about<\/em> us. We don't get our definition of how the Holy Spirit operates today from David's writings in Psalm 51. Because David, in Psalm 51, was writing in a prior age where the rules were different. He was writing during a time period when the Holy Spirit did not come in<\/em> but upon<\/em> people and could leave<\/em> people. So, that's not what we call normative today.\n\nIf you want to discover what is normative today, you have to give your mind to the Epistolary literature. You\u2019ll notice that when a lot of people get into the subject of demonology, they don't draw that line of distinction for people, and that's why there's so much confusion today. But in the Epistolary literature you have no instructions whatsoever concerning how to cast a demon out of a Christian. You would think that if a Christian can be demonized, there would be some kind of instruction like, \u201cDo A, B, C, and D to get the demon out of that particular Christian.\u201d And the absence of such instruction indicates\u2014along with the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit\u2014that a Christian cannot be demonized, or demon possessed. So can<\/em> a Christian be demonized? No! Because your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.\n\nNumber two\u2014in the Epistolary literature there is no reference to a Christian being demonized. Number three\u2014in the Epistolary literature there are no instructions regarding how to cast a demon out of a Christian.\n\nNow let me just say one thing. I really wasn't sure where to bring this up, but a lot of people have asked me about this. I want to toss it in here because it's indirectly related to what I just said. There's nothing in the Epistolary literature concerning how to get rid of (for the Christian) what is called today generational curses.\n\nThere's a doctrine that's become very, very popular today on this whole subject of generational curses. Basically, what they're talking about is, \u201cYeah, you\u2019re a Christian\u2014you\u2019re born-again\u2014but you still have a proclivity to sin. Maybe you have a proclivity towards alcohol or drunkenness, and the reason you have that is there is someone in your family tree who gave into that sin.\u201d\n\nSo this generational curse has been passed down, if you will, through the family tree. \u201cAnd even though you're in Christ, you're still going to struggle with that particular sin until you get that generational curse removed.\u201d Have you guys heard this teaching and doctrine?\n\nIt's always marketed as, \u201cYou have to come to our<\/em> conference and buy our<\/em> literature and go through our<\/em> healing service to get rid of this generational curse. And if you are in Christ and this has never happened to you, then you\u2019re going to continue to struggle with that all of your life.\u201d\n\nThe reality of the situation is that the Bible\u2014particularly Epistolary literature\u2014knows no such doctrine! The Epistles say, \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed<\/em> [in other words, it's already happened] us with<\/em> [how many spiritual blessings?] every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 1:3)\n\nNotice that these are accessed in Christ! In other words, once you trust in Christ, you go from being a spiritual pauper to being spiritually wealthy\u2014your account is maxed out! If you go before God and you start to beg and plead with God, \u201cGod bless me?!\u201d God is looking at you saying, \u201cWhat else do you want? Your bank account, your assets, your holdings are totally maxed out!\u201d God says, \u201cI don't have anything else to give!\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ll notice that this verse doesn't say, \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ\u2026 BUT there's one thing you lack; make sure to get rid of that generational curse.\u201d It doesn\u2019t say that! Whatever was happening genealogically or hereditarily or in the family tree, that has now been cut off through your new position in Christ Jesus.\n\nGo over to the Book of Colossians for minute. You\u2019ll remember that Colossians and Ephesians are written around the same period of time. Colossians 2:10 says, \u201cand in Him you have been made<\/em> complete\u2026\u201d<\/em> It doesn't say, \u201cIn Him you have been made almost complete.<\/em> Now go to the right meeting, read the right book, and get rid of that family curse.\u201d\n\nThere is no such thing as a generational curse! There is such a thing as the law of sowing and reaping. For example, if someone who is pregnant gets involved with drugs, they can harm their child\u2014the child within them. That can happen! But that's not what we would call a generational curse or a family curse. That\u2019s just the reality of sin which affects innocent people\u2014that's the nature of sin.\n\nSometimes that kind of scenario could happen, and I think that's a completely different category than the generational curses that people are speaking of today. In other words, I'm trying to communicate that you should not feel some kind of compulsion or need as a Christian that what you have in Christ isn't quite enough.\n\nIf anybody is making you feel that way, they\u2019re directly contradicting Colossians 2:10, which says you\u2019re complete in Christ. And they\u2019re directly contradicting Ephesians 1:3 which says you've already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.\n\nSo, what you need to do as a Christian when you struggle with sin\u2014and we all struggle with it\u2014is you need to get in touch with the resources that you already have in Christ. You don't need another resource! What you need is to become familiar with the resources that are already there.\n\nIt's a lot like\u2026 You read these stories of homeless people living in boxes underneath bridges, and the story comes out in the newspaper that their Uncle Joe or Uncle Harry left them millions of dollars. Yet they're not aware of it, and they\u2019re living in poverty when, in reality, they\u2019re fabulously wealthy. If you can get that image in your mind, that's what it's like for the average Christian today who is struggling with different things.\n\nIt's not a lack of resources that are yours; it's a lack of being familiar<\/em> with those resources and accessing those resources moment by moment. And as we begin to access those resources, you'll discover that God has given you everything you need to say \u201cNo\u201d to the sin nature.\n\nIt's not a family curse that's bothering you; it's the old nature which you still have. And you\u2019re going to have it until death, glorification, or the Rapture\u2014whichever comes first. As long as you're in this body, you are going to have struggles with the old nature.\n\nBut now you have a new<\/em> nature\u2014that's why there's a struggle. And you have new<\/em> resources which will allow you to overcome that old nature. That's really what Christians need: they need to understand their wealth in Christ that\u2019s already been provided; they need to become familiar with it. That's why Paul says when he\u2019s writing to the Corinthians, \u201cDo you not know<\/em> that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?\u201d\n\nThat's the problem with your modern Christian: they don't know! They don't have enough information. And not only do they not have the information, but some of us sometimes have the information but we just choose\u2014because we like<\/em> sin\u2014because sin is fun\u2026for a season. Yes, you heard that from me: sin is fun for a season.\n\nSin does a great job marketing itself as enjoyable\u2014which it is. What it doesn't tell you is how brief<\/em> the enjoyment is. And it doesn't tell you the consequences that will come into your life as a Christian as a result of going back to sin. But when that old nature rears its ugly head, you don't need to feel like the reason that old nature is inside of you is because you\u2019ve got a family curse you never got rid of. What you need to understand is that's the normal posture in three-dimensional warfare. God, particularly in the Epistles, has given us every<\/em> single tool<\/em> at our disposal towards saying \u201cNo\u201d to that sin nature and yielding, instead, the members of our body unto Christ Jesus.\n\nThat's a diversion into generational curses. But the point I was trying to make is that I don't think a Christian can be possessed by a demon for reasons I've articulated. However, can a Christian be oppressed? Not taken over by demons, but can a Christian be oppressed by demons? I would categorically say, \u201cYes, that can<\/em> happen!\u201d I would even say this: most Christians are<\/em> oppressed by demons. They just don't know how to handle the situation because they've never been taught the principles of three-dimensional warfare.\n\nThe Old Testament and New Testament teach very clearly that a Christian can<\/em> be oppressed. What I mean by \u201coppressed\u201d is influenced.<\/em> Not taken over and subjugated, but influenced\u2014misdirected\u2014by the realm of the demonic. Old Testament and New Testament teach this.\n\n1 Chronicles 21:1 talks about how David was moved<\/em> by Satan to number the troops of Israel. I understand there are different rules in the Old Testament than in the New. But David was not being possessed<\/em>; he was being influenced<\/em> to do something that God didn't want him to do. The language there is very strong\u2014David was moved<\/em> by Satan to number the troops of Israel.\n\nMove into the New Testament. I acknowledge that this too is before the Day of Pentecost, but I think Peter was very much influenced<\/em> by Satan. Because Jesus began to make statements that Peter had never heard before up in Caesarea Philippi (up north), and He began to talk about how the Messiah had to suffer and die and rise on the third day. And that did not fit the Jewish expectation of a Messiah.\n\nYou know the story. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him (if you can imagine doing such a thing). Jesus addressed the force that was motivating Peter\u2019s statement in Matthew 16:23 and He said, \u201cGet behind me,<\/em> Satan!\u201d<\/em> So that would be another example of someone not being possessed but oppressed (or influenced)\u2014in this case by Satan.\n\nNow, it's easy to dismiss all that and say, \u201cThat's all pre Cross, pre Pentecost.\u201d But the pattern continues post Pentecost where you have other examples of believers being what I would call \u201coppressed.\u201d\n\nWhen you go to Acts 5:3-4, you see the example of Ananias and Sapphira. Now we\u2019re in the Church Age, Acts 5. The Church Age started in Acts 2. What does it say there in Acts 5:3-4? \u201cBut Peter said, \u201cAnanias, why has Satan filled your heart\u2026\u201d<\/em> The Greek word for filled there is PLEROO, which is the same word used in Ephesians 5:18 concerning the fact that we are to be filled\u2014be ye filled\u2014with the Holy Spirit. Be ye continuously filled with the Holy Spirit.\n\nThe same Greek word is used to describe what Satan now is doing to Ananias and Sapphira. \u201cBut Peter said, \u201cAnanias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.\u201d<\/em>\n\nYou know the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They had property and they sold it. People misinterpret this all the time; God is not upset at Ananias and Sapphira because they didn't give all of the proceeds of the sale to the church. Because he says right there in verse 4 [paraphrasing], \u201cYou were free to do whatever you wanted with the property.\u201d\n\nThe Marxists and the social justice people misuse this constantly; they make it sound like God is against the ownership of private property. That's not<\/em> what the passage is saying. If you look at verse 4, what is God upset about? They stood before the church and told everybody, \u201cWe gave all of the proceeds of the property to the poor.\u201d When, in fact, they had not. So, they lied\u2014or they misrepresented their level of generosity.\n\nOne of the things to understand here in early Acts is that we\u2019ve got a newborn infant\u2014the church. And you know how viruses can damage a newborn infant. You know how a newborn infant is vulnerable to viruses. It was the same of this new spiritual man that came into existence on the Day of Pentecost. So, God dealt with it very dramatically by exercising what I would call maximum divine discipline. In other words, He took Ananias and Sapphira home early. They were slain in the Holy Spirit, so to speak. Which is kind of funny because I've run into a lot of Christians that want<\/em> to get slain in the Holy Spirit\u2014not me!\n\nThe temptation in this passage is just to say, \u201cWell, they weren\u2019t Christians!\u201d But look at verse 11. \u201cAnd great fear came over the whole church\u2026\u201d<\/em> The church was afraid now, which was why God did what He did here in terms of maximum divine discipline.\n\nIf God had struck down an unbeliever, I don't think the church internally would be afraid. What's the big deal if an unbeliever is struck dead? But look here\u2014one of our own has been struck dead! So this had a natural purifying effect on the practice of the church, and this is how God kept His new infant virus-free at a very important transitional time where this infant was vulnerable to viruses.\n\nThe fact that these are believers, the fact that Satan filled their heart, the fact that the same Greek word PLEROO is used here which is also used to describe the filling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's life, to me is very clear evidence that a Christian cannot be possessed. But they can<\/em> be influenced by the realm of Satan or the demonic.\n\nFlip over to 2 Corinthians 12:7. We\u2019re now into the life of the Apostle Paul, and Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh. And what does he say about that thorn in the flesh? By the way, he looks at this thorn in the flesh as a gift! It's a different way of looking at suffering, isn\u2019t it? It kept him humble because Paul had been caught up to the third heaven, and he heard things that other people don't hear. Think if you knew a bunch of things from God that not everybody else has. Wouldn\u2019t that inflate your ego a little bit?\n\nHe says, \u201c\u2026to keep me from exalting myself,<\/em> there was given<\/em> [DIDOMI in the Greek\u2014a gift] me a thorn in the flesh\u2026\u201d<\/em> And in the process of describing this thorn in the flesh, he says in verse 7, \u201cBecause of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh\u2026\u201d<\/em>\n\nNo one knows what that thorn in the flesh was. Some think it was malaria. Some think it was declining eyesight. Some people think it was loneliness. My own view of it? It was probably the whole Corinthian church harassing him every time he tried to teach them anything\u2014they were always in rebellion against him. But I don't know that for sure. That\u2019s my own private revelation\u2014how\u2019s that?\n\nI know this much\u2014a thorn hurts! That's the nature of a thorn! In fact, the word \u201cthorn\u201d is probably not even the best translation! It\u2019s probably better translated, \u201ca stake stuck into somebody.\u201d Stake\u2014not Longhorn or Sizzler. This is Texas; we\u2019ve got steak houses within driving distance\u2014walking distance! Multiple steak houses! I take advantage of them quite frequently, but we won\u2019t go into that. And thank you for all the gift cards, by the way; they\u2019re going to good use!\n\nConcerning this thorn in the flesh, look at this, \u201c\u2026a messenger of Satan\u2026\u201d<\/em> So here's a great example where God is using Satan for God's purposes. God keeps Satan around long enough so God can actually use Satan to accomplish God's goals! Now, we\u2019re going to see a big example of this in our lesson in the second session concerning the Millennial Kingdom.\n\nPaul was tormented\u2014a Christian. \u201cTorment\u201d is a strong word. He was tormented by this messenger from Satan. That is another example I would point to concerning how Christians cannot be possessed but can be harassed or influenced by Satan himself.\n\nFlip over to Ephesians 4:26-27. This is obviously well into the Church Age; the church has been in existence now for three decades\u2014at least\u2014by the time the Apostle Paul writes these words. He makes a statement about anger! Boy, I\u2019m glad we don't struggle with that today. \u201cBe angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger\u2026\u201d<\/em>\n\nMy solution has always been that I want to move to Alaska where I can stay angry! Then they say, \u201cYou can only do that part of the year.\u201d But it allows you stay angry more than normal. That obviously is not the meaning; it's the idea of \u201cGet over it!\u201d\n\n\u201cBe angry, and yet do not sin\u2026\u201d<\/em> In other words, get over it! How do you get over it? We all are treated unfairly by people; it\u2019s part of living in a fallen world. When we're treated unfairly, we do what verse 32 says\u2014we forgive as we have also been forgiven.\n\nYou don't need to sit under multiple titles of sermons and read multiple books to deal with some of the basic issues in our lives. You don't have to submit yourself to tons and tons of therapy. I\u2019m not making light of that, I realize maybe some people need it, but the reality of the situation is you just forgive as you have been forgiven.\n\nIf in the year 2020 you forgive people as you have been forgiven by God, you'll watch the level of anger and bitterness in your life almost disintegrated into nothing! Anger and bitterness cause all kinds of other problems, right? Physical problems\u2026\n\nYou say, \u201cWhy should I forgive so and so? They don't deserve to be forgiven!\u201d Well, neither do you! Neither do I! Isn\u2019t it interesting that we bask in the grace of God\u2014which means unmerited favor\u2014and yet we turn around and treat other people with justice. That's what makes you angry!\n\nWhen you decide to not<\/em> let the sun go down on your anger, the level of bitterness in one's life decreases. And if that happens, Satan can't use you\u2014because Satan uses Christians. You know the story. Hurt people do what? They hurt other people! Hurt people\u2026hurt people!\n\nIf you\u2019ve got all of this angst and anger and bitterness in your life, then Satan is going to use you to vomit that anger out, probably on an innocent party. Because the human body\u2014being\u2014psyche\u2014is not designed to hold all of that stuff inside! It\u2019s going to come out. Tragically, it comes out on the person that you love the most\u2014your spouse, kids, grandkids, parents.\n\nIt just has to do with the fact that we\u2019re not putting into practice what the Lord tells us to do here, \u201cBe angry, and yet do not sin\u2026\u201d<\/em> Then He says, \u201cdo not let the sun go down on your anger\u2026\u201d<\/em> Did you catch the rest of verse 27? Look at this, \u201cand do not give the devil an opportunity <\/em>[or a foothold].\u201d<\/em>\n\nVery clearly, there's no way you can interpret this as being written to non-Christians! And this is not written to believers in a prior dispensation. This is very clearly written to the Church Age believer\u2014which is the section of the Bible which governs us. It says that if you pander to the flesh (in this case bitterness) you're giving Satan an opportunity\u2014or a foothold\u2014or you're giving him an opportunity not to possess<\/em> but to oppress<\/em> and to influence.\n\nGo to Ephesians 6:12\u2014also written to Christians. \u201cFor our<\/em> struggle\u2026\u201d<\/em> That's a wrestling match! If you're struggling with someone or something, it means that you\u2019re dealing with someone or something that's trying to influence your life.\n\nWho is trying to influence your life? \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood\u2026\u201d<\/em> Wow! Nancy Pelosi is not the source of all my problems! Thought she was! \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood<\/em> [then it mentions the realm of the demonic], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.\u201d<\/em>\n\nNow, if a Christian could not be influenced by Satan, why would it portray our contest against Satan and the demonic as a struggle? The very nature of a struggle indicates that we can be\u2014not<\/em> possessed but\u2014heavily oppressed or influenced by Satan.\n\nSo, when a Christian is<\/em> influenced by Satan, it typically is a temporary situation. It has nothing to do with a loss of salvation because you have been transferred (Colossians 1:13) out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light\u2014that\u2019s your position. So, we\u2019re not dealing here with the fact that you lost your salvation.\n\nSo, oppression doesn't mean you've lost your salvation; it's a temporary situation. And a lot of the time\u2014I would say most of the time\u2014we bring it on ourselves because we go back to the flesh.\n\nEphesians 4:26-27 says, \u201cBe angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger\u2026\u201d<\/em> In other words, don't give into the fleshly impulses for retaliation and demanding justice. Just forgive\u2014verse 32\u2014as you have been forgiven. \u201cBe kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other <\/em>[Why should I do that?], just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.\u201d<\/em>\n\nBy the way, if you want to see how ridiculous we look when we demand justice from other people when we ourselves have been treated by grace, there's a whole parable about that which Jesus gave in Matthew 18. It\u2019s about the fellow who had been forgiven a mass amount of money\u2014probably the sum of a million dollars. He found another guy who owed him a few bucks, and he demanded<\/em> that every nickel be repaid. And when the guy couldn't repay the loan, he had him thrown into the debtor's prison.\n\nYou see how silly<\/em> that guy looks? How could someone who\u2019s been forgiven such a great sum hold someone to a standard of justice for a few dollars? And yet that's what we<\/em> are\u2014that\u2019s why that parable is there\u2014when we are by nature unforgiving people. And when we are that way, it says very clearly (verse 27 and connection to verse 26), \u201c\u2026do not give the devil an opportunity.\u201d<\/em>\n\nSo, if I go back to the sin nature\u2014in this case anger\u2014Satan now cannot possess me but he can certainly influence me. I mean, there have been a lot of times in our marriage and home life where I'm mad at this person saying all this stuff. I\u2019m mad at the TV. I\u2019m mad at the newspaper. The mail comes, and I'm mad at the mail! And my wife will say, \u201cJust slow down. What's really bugging you? You\u2019re just mad at everything!\u201d\n\nAnd, you know, she's usually right! It's some other issue that I\u2019m bothered by. Somebody offended me or hurt me in some way. I just haven't forgiven them as Christ has forgiven me, so I've given Satan a foothold. And this anger is coming out all the time. It\u2019s coming out on her. It\u2019s coming out on my daughter\u2014God forbid!\n\nThe fact of the matter is that I don't need to sit under therapy for months and months and months\u2014and years and years and years. I don\u2019t need to go to 50,000 conferences and read a bunch of best-selling books to help me with that. I just need to read Ephesians 4!\n\nBeyond that, I only need verse 32. Just read verse 32! That's all you need to do! Whoever harassed you or bothered you? Just let them off the hook and watch your emotional well-being improve dramatically. That's an example of oppression and not necessarily possession.\n\nLook at all of these things we talked about related to the fallen angelic world. That leads us to number eight. If these fallen angels are so powerful, if Satan is as powerful as we've described him\u2014as the Bible describes him\u2014how do I defend myself against Satan? I mean, what hope do I have? If Satan is stronger and more powerful than I am, and one third of the angels fell with him\u2014and they\u2019re stronger and more powerful than I am\u2014then what am I supposed to do?\n\nThis gets us into number eight\u2014defense<\/em> against Satan. Those of you involved in sports or the basketball world know that teams who play defense are not just good. To quote Trump, \u201cNot just good, but great!\u201d\n\nI remember the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s. They were fantastic in terms of offense. In that era they had Dan Issel, they had Kiki VanDeWeghe, and they had Alex English. All three of which usually scored 30 points a game\u2014that's 90 points! And the Denver Nuggets basically averaged, in that era, over 120 points a game.\n\nIn fact, there was a game that came on between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. It went into overtime, and the score was up into the 170s, 180s. You can watch this on YouTube if you\u2019ve got some free time. These are things I like to give myself to in my carnal times.\n\nThe Denver Nuggets were very enjoyable to watch! But you know what? Even though they scored all those points, they gave<\/em> up<\/em> more points than they scored! The other teams would come to town, and, yeah, the Denver Nuggets would get their 120 points, but the other team would get 125 points!\n\nYou can have a lot of pizzazz on offense, but if you're not playing defense, you're not going to be a very good basketball team. I think the Denver Nuggets were around a 500 team, but they sure packed the fans in concerning their abilities on offense. So your defense<\/em> as a Christian is a big deal! And God has given us, essentially, some tools at our disposal to defend ourselves against Satan.\n\nNow one of the things I'm very happy about is God is already doing things right now to defend us against Satan. Doesn\u2019t that make sense? I mean, would we be allowed to meet like this? If Satan had his way, he wouldn\u2019t even allow this meeting to take place. Obviously, God is doing something on our behalf in terms of defense.\n\nSo, the first thing to become familiar with are the things that God is doing\u2014His responsibility. And then there are things that the Bible says we are to do in terms of our responsibility. So what exactly is God doing right now? He's already doing two things! Number one, He's exercising a ministry of divine restraint.\n\nSatan\u2014although he's the prince and power the air\u2014cannot do anything he wants to do. And which book of the Bible am I thinking of? The oldest book of the Bible\u2014the Book of Job\u2014tells us that in Job 1:12. \u201cThen the Lord said to Satan, \u201cBehold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.\u201d So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord<\/em>.\u201d\n\nJob 2:6 says, \u201cSo the Lord said to Satan, \u201cBehold, he is in your power, only spare his life.\u201d<\/em> What Satan was complaining about was a hedge of protection around Job's life. Satan is essentially saying, \u201cIf You lower the hedge of protection, I'll get Job to curse You to Your face.\u201d So God allowed Satan this opportunity. But even when the opportunity was allowed, Satan was on a leash, and he wasn't allowed to do certain things.\n\nSo, the reality of the situation is that right now as I speak\u2014over your life, over this church\u2014there's a hedge of protection. Satan can\u2019t do whatever he wants to do. And even when that hedge is lowered, Satan has parameters he has to work within. So, God is obviously doing something to defend us against Satan. Which would make sense, because I don't think we would even be meeting here if that weren\u2019t the case.\n\nGo to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. There is where you learn that Satan has certain handcuffs on him. Paul says, \u201cAnd you know what restrains him now\u2026\u201d<\/em> Who's the \u201chim\u201d? It's the lawless one\u2014Satan's man of the hour\u2014the Antichrist. The Antichrist himself, which we\u2019re all interested in, can\u2019t even come to power until God removes the restraint.\n\nTo make a long story short, I think the Restrainer here<\/em> is the Holy Spirit through the church. So, the Antichrist cannot come to power as long as the church is on the earth, but once the church is removed via the Rapture, Satan goes to work through a person.\n\nAnd I think he's probably always had somebody picked out. Because Satan doesn't know when the Rapture of the church will take place, so he's always had a man waiting in the wings. When you look at so many people in world history and see the things that they say and do\u2014and even people today\u2014you say, \u201cWow, that person would be a tremendous Antichrist!\u201d Because Satan has always had someone marked out.\n\nOne of these days, the church will be removed, and Satan will express himself perfectly through a human being. And the Antichrist will do what prophecy says he will do. But you'll notice that Satan can't just bring him forth right now because of the Restrainer. Paul says, \u201cAnd you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.\u201d<\/em>\n\nBy the way, that's where you put your political activism as a Christian. You're politically active and you vote\u2014not<\/em> because you're trying to bring in the Kingdom. You don't do that because your premillennialist, right? Because you go to Sugar Land Bible Church, and you know that Jesus Himself is going to set up the Kingdom! You do<\/em> it as the restrainer to slow down the progress of Satan.\n\nSee, every time you show up at the polls and you vote biblical values, you have not stopped the kingdom of the Antichrist, but you\u2019ve thrown a monkey wrench into it. All that to say, Satan can\u2019t do whatever he wants to do because God is obviously doing something first.\n\nIn 1 John 5:18 John says, \u201cWe know that no one who is born of God sins\u2026\u201d<\/em> Now, in context that's the new nature. He's not saying that Christians don't sin. If he is saying that Christians never sin, he wouldn't have said back in 1 John 1:8, \u201cIf we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d<\/em>\n\nJohn is not making a statement here that the Christian doesn't sin! What he is saying is the new nature that\u2019s in us doesn't sin. So when I'm tempted to sin, I know that can't be God through the new nature inside of me, because the new nature itself has no ability to sin. It must be a scenario where I'm going back to the old<\/em> nature, which I was a slave to prior to conversion. I'm no longer a slave to [the old nature] because of my resources in Christ. I just go back to that sin nature now because I want to.\n\nHe says in verse 18, \u201cWe know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him,<\/em> [watch this] and the evil one does not<\/em> [what?] touch him.\u201d<\/em> So, how do we defend ourselves against Satan? The first thing to understand is that God is protecting us.\n\nSomething else God is doing? He's interceding for us. When you look at these passages\u2014John 17:15, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25\u2014you discover that right now, as I speak, two Members of the Trinity are praying for you around the clock! Are you happy about that?\n\nI mean, we always feel good when a believer comes to us and says, \u201cI'm praying for you!\u201d That's a wonderful thing! But let's up the game a little bit! Right now, two Members of the Trinity are praying for you! We don't have time to look at the Scriptures\u2014we\u2019ll do that next time.\n\nBut in terms of defense, God is already doing things for us in this issue of spiritual warfare. The next time we\u2019re together, we\u2019ll take a look at what we<\/em> are supposed to do in terms of defense.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t