God loves you. Amen. Thank you, Connor. I need that reminder sometimes, just like everybody else, you know? Jesus gave warnings and illustrations. He used word pictures. And all of this was to help His followers comprehend things that were beyond our sight. beyond our vision, beyond what is seen. And we find this in his brief teaching in the 12th chapter of Matthew's gospel record in three short verses, verse 43, 44, and 45. And that's where it's written, when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none. Then he says, I'll return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. And then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they enter and dwell there. That's not something we like to hear. How do they get in? If they've been cast out, how do they get in? I hope that I can express that through the message today, that each of us would learn that we have the power to block that entrance. When we look, as it continues there, He says, "...and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first." Have you ever seen somebody that was off the path, they get on the path, then they go back off the path? Sometimes we call it the wagon. Get on the wagon, get off the wagon, so on and so forth, and you see they get worse. This explains that. Whether we like to believe it or not, this explains that. And Jesus goes on to say, so shall it also be with this wicked generation. So he takes this example and he says, not only does this apply to people, individuals, it also applies collectively to the generation. And we see in the world today, and I don't say our world, because it's not our world. This world is not ours. It's been turned over to Satan and his angels, his messengers, his demons, we call them, they've been given rule here. And we need to keep ourselves from getting immersed in their world. It's like Jesus said, we're in the world but not of the world. Those weren't his exact words, but that's the message. Now some might deny the fact that this teaching applies to us. They might think that it doesn't apply to this day because it was for Jews at that time. Jesus was a Jew and He was speaking to Jews, and therefore this teaching is specifically for Jews. And I've heard people say things like that about things that Jesus taught. You might say this, but it's not true. It applies to everyone. He told His followers to teach everything that He taught. That's the whole premise of the series that we're going through, is that we are teaching what He taught. Whether we're comfortable with it or not, we're teaching it. And it's written in 2 Timothy chapter 3 that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Why? that the man of God may be thoroughly, excuse me, it's all Scripture, may inspiration get profitable for doctrine, can you switch to the next slide please, Terry? Thank you. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work, and it's not just speaking of men. It's for everyone, so that the people of God can be equipped. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God so that we may be able to do what we are to do while we are here on this earth. And so this is my motivation. I want everyone within the sound of my voice to be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work. That's why I do what I do. That's why I share as much Scripture as I do in every message, as I'm led by the Lord. Sometimes I trim some out before we get to the actual delivery of the message. And you know, I have to tell you, I've also personally witnessed real life current fulfillment of Christ's words there when he said he'll bring back seven more. I've seen that. I've seen it happen. I have watched it with my own eyes. I have watched people who were walking with the Lord, on fire with the Lord. They're going to tell the world that Jesus saved them. He fixed their lives. They're all better now. And then they go right back into the world. And it's worse for them. I've seen it. I have seen it with my own eyes. And this is why this message strikes me so hard, because I don't want to see that anymore. The last few weeks I saw it happen. I'm watching it happen. I'm experiencing it personally. Someone that I know, has walked from the Lord, and yet they'll proclaim they still know him, but they're on the wrong path, and the demons are jumping on their back. God have mercy. Oh, we might say, well, he's got a monkey on his back. No, it's not a monkey, it's a demon. The very first thing that we hear our Lord say in his warning is that when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes and through dry places seeking rest and finds none. The demon wants to be somewhere. It wants a place to live. It wants a place to experience life on this earth. And it does it vicariously through God's created beings. They're always looking for a place to dwell, and nothing illustrates this better than when Jesus cast the legion out. We find that in three of the gospel records I chose Luke to read from today. Luke chapter 8, beginning at verse 26. I don't have it in my notes, so we're going to do it here. See, they were out on the sea. There was a storm that blew up. Jesus calmed the storm. Then they landed. And when they landed, they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when he stepped out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but he lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me. Now, the demon that was speaking there knew who he was. He knew exactly who he was. No mistake about it. where he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Now the part that wasn't initially said, it's not in order there, is Jesus said, come out of him. Come out of him. He pointed to the man, he said to the man, come out of him. And the demon didn't come right out. It resisted. What have I have to do to you, or for you, or with you, right? For it often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles. He obviously wasn't chained and shackled now, was he? Next slide. And he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon, and it's actually demons, into the wilderness. Jesus asked him saying, what is your name? And he said, Legion, because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. They don't want to be out there without a body. Okay? They don't want to be without a body. Now, a herd of many swine... Now, Mark tells us there were 2,000 swine. Okay? A herd of 2,000 swine was feeding there on the mountain, so they begged Him that He would permit them. Now, notice they had to ask permission from Jesus. He cast them out. They had to ask permission to go somewhere else, because he could have just cast them out into the abyss. And they knew that. That's why they said, don't do it. Please don't do that to us. And the herd ran violently down the stoop place into the lake and drowned. And there are times whenever I have had to pray to cast a spirit out or off of someone sometimes, and I have instructed them, go into the fish. We got a little creek out here, we got a little fish in it. Go into the fish! Out of whatever! Off of whatever! Out! You're not permitted here! Now, when those who fed them, fed the swine, saw what had happened, they fled and told it to the city and the country. Then they went out to see what had happened. So they came back. He came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at his feet, and clothed him in his right mind, and they were afraid." Wait a minute. They were afraid because the guy was made whole? They were afraid because he was no longer possessed? They were afraid because the demons had left? They were afraid. They also, who had seen it, told them by what means, he who had been demon-possessed was healed. So some of the people went into town, and they told everybody, and then all of those people came back, and the ones that were still there said, he's the guy, he's the one that did it. Because now this whole herd of swine, I don't know what 2,000 swine would be worth, but it'd be some money, they lost their pigs, okay? They were drowned in the sea. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And he got into the boat, and he returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying..." Now pause there for a moment. Again, we're not in chronological order here, okay? Sometimes the gospel writers, they tell you as they received it, this happened, this happened, oh, and then that happened, and then this happened, and that's right, something else happened. So you get a little bouncing around there, okay? "...Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Go tell everybody. Return to your own house and tell what great things God has done for you. Who did it? God did it. And He went His way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what the great things God had done for Him, Jesus had done for Him. None are more... Excuse me. Back it up, Terry. He told everybody. He became an evangelist. Dan was telling everybody in the hospital, weren't you, Dan? Dan had an interesting experience in the hospital, and I'm going to share it with you because it ties in. He was sharing with somebody about the book that God gave me to publish, and later that day, a Catholic priest came in to visit the guy next to him, and they were talking about, somehow my book came up and this priest was bad-mouthing me. saying all kinds of bad stuff about me, horrible stuff. And I said, well, that doesn't surprise me. There's a lot of people that don't like me in the ministry, because I speak the truth of God's Word without apology, okay? And that's just the way it is. I don't care who it offends, not that I'm trying to offend people. But Dan and Sherry, Dan, he thought, you know what? That curtain was open. But it wasn't. And fortunately, Dan and Sherry were able to maintain their composure, even though they got upset about this guy bad-mouthing me. The man obviously doesn't know me. From their description, I don't know him. I don't know who it would be. And I don't have any idea why he'd be compelled to speak bad on me, except that I work for Almighty God. That's all I can say. And I don't know why that would happen, except maybe God wanted me, and sharing, Dan would share it, is that I would be able to share it with you all, because I know that I'm on track whenever the devils are coming out against me. Okay? Now, not everybody who's in the ministry is without sin, obviously, and obviously not everybody who's in the ministry is working for God. And I would suspect if this man was bad-mouthing me in a hospital, he's not working for the same God that I work for. I don't know who it was. And I would sit and talk with him face to face and see if we can come to terms or something if I knew who it was. Maybe somebody listening will know and they'll be able to tell me. Anyway, those unclean spirits, they were also upon the ministers of that time. And you have to remember, okay, Those unclean spirits that he spoke about, they're also demons. Don't let anybody tell you, well, unclean spirits are one thing and demons are another. Jesus put them both together. He called them unclean spirits and he calls them demons, okay? And don't let anybody tell you that demons can't possess animals. I've heard people say that. Here's an example. He possessed animals. He said, let us go into those pigs. And Jesus said, go. They jump into the pigs, and the pigs run over the hill and into the lake and drown. Okay? This was very real demonic possession. And it serves as an example of the spiritual state of the people at that time, because Jesus said, such shall it be. Whenever we read the former passage, when he said this is what he was talking about, when the demons leave and then they come back with their buddies, he said this is what's going to happen to this generation. It's going to get worse. I think we're in that generation that is getting worse. You know, Jesus offered to deliver them from evil, even the most religious at that time. And I appreciate, Jamie, your words today were right on spot on because we don't have religion, we have a relationship with Almighty God, amen? God is our Father! We are His children! He wants the best for us, yes, but sometimes He will spank us when we get off the path. He's trying to protect us from those seven more. Jesus tried to deliver them from evil, but the highly educated, the most religious, those he could have helped, they shunned him. And I think it's funny that that kind of stuff still happens. It's not funny, like laughing funny. I think it's just ironic, I guess, is a better word. Because I see it happening even in my day-to-day life. And the example of Sherry and Dan at the hospital, just, okay, I see now, Lord, But Dan said this morning, his eyes are open, he's understanding, like, this is real, this is not, it's not like something that's just in a book. You actually get to see it and experience it. I know Bob and Judy have experienced it, most especially down in Costa Rica. Those most religious people of that time publicly expressed their disapproval and their disrespect of him, publicly, out loud. Some of it's recorded for us. They said he had a demon. They said he cast demons out by the father of the demons, Beelzebub. Of course, Jesus had to say, well, wait a minute, a house divide is going to fall. So if I cast demons out by the head of the demons, seriously? But they had it out for him. And eventually their contempt and hatred of him led them to kill him. This is a real life story. And it speaks to the world today also. Many highly educated teachers and preachers lack comprehension of the truth or they ignore it. Many deny demon possession. And they even treat with contempt anyone who points out their error. Scripture points out their error. So do they have contempt for the Scripture also? I would say they do. They also condemn anyone who points out the sin of exalting and elevating demon-possessed people into positions of authority inside the organized church of today. I watched a little video clip this week. In fact, I shared it with a number of you. Eileen, I remember giving it to you. The fellow that had this rainbow thing around his neck, and he's preaching. What was it he said, Eileen? I don't remember the exact words. God was gay or something? Drag is holy, that's what it was, yeah, drag is holy. I say that man's demon-possessed, and he's in a position of authority that he shouldn't be in, and yet the church has elevated him into that position of authority, and they haven't removed him from that position of authority, and therefore they will be held in contempt of Almighty God's court. They violated the sanctity of Almighty God's house of worship. Demons! You know, the demons want to sway whole congregations away from the true spiritual teaching of Christ. He sets lost souls free. It's like when he called Lazarus out of the grave. Loose him and let him go! You know, it was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who once said, next slide, Terry, none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. I love that quote. I've shared it throughout my life from the first time I learned it. Because when people are falsely believing they're free, They are more hopelessly enslaved than anyone can possibly be. And the next quote is another one like it. It's difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. People jump into the chains, okay? Lock those chains on me. I want to be locked down. I do not want to be free. I can't handle being free. I want to be chained up. And then they are. locked into the chains. They're locked into the prison, the very prison that Christ came to set us free from. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We look at his death burial and his resurrection and we say, praise God, he set us free. And yet there are people within buildings like this meeting house who lock themselves down in the chains and they think they're doing something good for themselves. And I say, God have mercy. They are not doing anything good for themselves, and it sometimes infuriates me, and I believe it's because Almighty God is angry. He doesn't want us to be enslaved. He doesn't want us to be in bondage. He wants us to be free. Jesus, in Luke chapter 4, we learn He read from Isaiah 61, And that's where it's written, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And then he said, and this really caused an uproar, he said, today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. They did not want to hear that, because now He just said, I'm the one. And that to them was blasphemy. Oh, yeah. Oh, that started the ball rolling. They wanted Him dead. In Matthew chapter 12, verse 44, we learned that Jesus said, the demon will return to the one that was set free. Now, I'm not going to suggest to you that somebody who's Holy Spirit-filled can be demon-possessed, because that spirit cannot enter. Darkness cannot dwell with light. But if you choose darkness, you have free will. You have free moral agency. If you choose darkness, you will be in darkness. The Holy Spirit's a gentleman. I heard a professor tell me one time, the Holy Spirit's a gentleman. You tell him to go, he'll go. He'll leave. There are those who say, oh, he can't, no matter what I do, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free indeed, and yet they got themselves all chained up. I've watched people. I know a young man that is locked into crack cocaine addiction. He's fully developed psychosis. The seven more have come to dwell with him. There's no doubt in my mind. The last time I saw him, he's like this, looking under his vehicle. Do you hear that? Do you hear that? I don't hear anything. I think my lug nuts are loose. The vehicle was sitting still. Now, that's just part of the conversation, and I'm telling you that because I want you to understand I have watched it with my own eyes. I know this is true. I've seen it happen time and time again. People who call themselves believers, who have sat in this room, who have gone out into the world, and they've gotten lost, more lost than they ever were before. And yet they still proclaim the name of Jesus. When the demon comes, he finds an empty, swept house that's been put in order. And why? Let's read from Ephesians chapter 2, and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh. fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as others." We were there, but He set us free! He cleaned us up! He swept the house! You've been delivered from evil by the One who made you alive! Don't go back! You know, I've been in the rooms from time to time. My dad was an alcoholic, and he stopped drinking after the doctor told him he was going to die. And I've listened to a lot of testimonies, and the ones who went back are the ones that have worse testimonies. They've been set free, and yet they've gone back. They've been set free, and then they've gone back. Call it falling off the wagon, There's other terms that are used, and I'm sorry they're not coming to mind right now. We're instructed in 1 John chapter 2, do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is in him, right? The love of the Father, oh, is not in him. Don't love the world. You have to love your Father and His work, whatever that is for you. Next slide. For all that is in the world, the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. Who's in control of the world? Scripture tells us Satan is in control of the world. Next slide. The world's passing away and the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. And Jesus said, those who abide or remain till the end shall be saved. Let that sink in. In Romans chapter 12 it's written, "'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.'" You are alive and you're living your life sacrificially for God. holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Is it God's will that you destroy your body? Is it God's will that you destroy your mind? Is it God's will that you be bound in anything? You look at the world events, and it could, like the big storm yesterday, could have made everybody afraid, right? There was a couple times whenever I felt like the house was whole, like I'm seeing somebody on a bicycle flying by. It wasn't. There was a moment when I was like hit with this, be afraid. I said, no, I'm not being afraid. It's my time, the Lord will take me. I'll just fly up to heaven. We may not be bound in anything, including fear, for example. I don't want to be bound in fear. There's no reason to be afraid. God said He hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but that of love and of power and of a sound mind. And that's not in there, Terry, sorry. I remember proclaiming that during the pandemic response. Some people, you're taking that out of context. All right. I'm not afraid! You're going to kill people! No, I'm not going to kill anybody. Nobody died. We're not to be bound by anything, okay? But remember also, we're not to be conformed to this world. The world is afraid. In 2 Peter chapter 2, It's written. But there also were false prophets among the people, false proclaimers, false preachers, you could say, today. Even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And one of the most popular false teachings today is that you can go out into the world and you can do whatever you like, that you can sin it up, because after all, you're in the flesh, but your sins have been forgiven. Jesus has cast your sins away from you as far as the east is from the west, and you can go sin it up. That's sending more people into destruction than any other doctrine in the Christian church ever. It's called greasy grace. Oh, you're under grace. You're not under works, brother. You're absolutely right, I'm under grace, and grace leads me out of sin, not into it. It's often overlooked or ignored. that the whole body of Scripture teaches and instructs the exact opposite of that doctrine. In fact, blatant, willful sinning opens a man or woman to demon possession. Now, I'll stand by that because I've watched it happen. Now, I don't find a particular Scripture that says exactly that, okay? But I watch whenever Jesus said, Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. That's what he said. Now, I gotta go with my boss, okay? He said it, I gotta live by it. I can't go back to that old life. I can't go back to that prison. I may not go back there and expect no consequences. He said a worse thing will come upon you. Now, I want you to understand again, I'm not saying, spirit-filled believers, if you have the Holy Spirit within you, I'm not saying that the devil can come in too, okay? Light cannot exist with darkness. We're already bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Christ. The Scripture makes that clear. Nevertheless, we still have our free will, and as a result of our free moral agency, we're able to turn from freedom to bondage. We can willingly put the shackles on. That's an unfortunate reality. God didn't save us to turn us into robots, okay? I love you, Lord. I love you, Lord. No. Love you, Lord. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for setting me free. All of my life, I was looking for you. All of my life, I owe everything to you. My breath, the very breath is yours. You know, we find many examples of Christ's followers turning from Him and being delivered to the enemy, or even worse. And I have to wonder sometimes if some of those examples aren't actually blaspheming the Holy Spirit. It doesn't say they are, but I wonder. In Luke 22, verse 3, we learn that Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. He was one of the twelve. He's hanging out with Jesus. I mean, how much closer can you get? And yet Satan entered him. And there are those today who say, no, no, the devil can't touch you because you're with Jesus. All right. Well, I'm not going to argue that. Just leave that one go. Let's go on to the next reference here in Luke 22, 31. Satan wanted Peter too. Jesus said, Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you, asked, asked, asked for you that he may sift you as wheat. And we know what happened there. Peter denied him three times and the Lord had to restore him three times. In Acts 5, verse 3, we learn that Satan filled Ananias' heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price for the certain thing that he had sold. Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? Who did that? Satan. He entered Ananias' heart. And Ananias was a believer, so was his wife, and they lied, and they dropped dead right there in front of the congregation. Now, wouldn't that freak everybody out? Well, they were freaked out. Great fear came upon that congregation, and they said, oh, we better do things right, because if we don't, that's going to be us. Peter said, the very same feet of the men who carried your husband out and buried him, they're coming for you. Whenever his wife lied, down she went, picked her up, hauled her out, put her in a hole out in the backyard there. And that was the end of that. And the whole church then was covered with fear, not unrighteous fear. It was the fear of the Lord. In 1 Timothy 1, in verse 20, we learn that Paul delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan, that they would learn not to blaspheme. And that was because their faith was shipwrecked. They shipwrecked their faith. Now, we can't overlook what's written about false teachers in 2 Peter. In fact, I'm going to read that from the screen. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who lobbed the wages of unrighteousness. But he was rebuked for his iniquity, a dumb donkey, speaking with a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet." That was a prophet of God, okay? These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, much of the preaching in this land today is exactly that, they allure through the lusts of the flesh through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption. For by whom a person is overcome, by him also is he brought into bondage. Do you see the connection to Jesus' words there? After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome the latter and is worse for them than the beginning. Do you think Peter got Jesus' message? Or do you think he made this up? He knew exactly what Jesus meant when He said, Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, a dog returns to his own vomit, and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire. They went back and got dirty. They went back and got dirty. These were God's people He's speaking about, okay? And Jesus, it's written in John chapter 8, most assuredly He said, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a, what's the word? Slave of sin. Next slide, Terry. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. If we go and live in sin, we have turned ourselves into slaves of sin. There's no way around it, folks. The Scripture's clear. It doesn't say, except if you say a little prayer. It doesn't say, except if you say Jesus is your Savior. It says, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Now, we can repent of that sin. We make an error, we overstep, we speak wrong, whatever it is, and I'm guilty. We turn from that sin. We have a change of mind. We have a change of heart. We don't stay there. But he makes it clear someone willfully sinning does not abide in the house forever. In Proverbs 5, in verse 22, it's written, "...his own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin." There's probably where Jesus got the idea from. It's going to be worse for you. You're going to get tangled up in it. In Galatians chapter 6 it's written, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever you sow, you will reap. For he who sows to his flesh will reap of the flesh corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And does it say except if you're a believer? If you're a believer, you sow to your flesh, you're not going to reap corruption, right? That's what they would have you believe. You think that somehow you can sow the flesh and not reap what you have sown? Then you are mocking God, because that is not possible. I watched some of the videos from Brazil, where they had their big party. And they were mocking God. They had a man dressed as Jesus. He was hanging from something. And then they had a guy dressed up as a devil with a pitchfork, jabbing this Jesus character down on the ground as they're walking. And then this horrible storm came in and wiped out a bunch of people and flooded the whole area tremendously. They think they can mock God? They think they can mock God? Almighty God will have His wrath upon this world. There will be none that escape it, if in fact we're here. And we're only going to be here if we're not His. He makes that clear. We're not going to go there today. We will at some point, though. 1 John 3, verse 10, It's written, in this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. And we see this infighting in the body of Christ, and I say, wait a minute, don't go there, because the Word tells us that that's not a place to be. That makes us children of the devil. I've had people, as I mentioned with this man in the hospital who blasphemed my name. Who's he a child of? Well, the Scripture makes it clear. I would never! I would never! Now, there are times when I will speak the truth in love, especially to the brother or sister who's in my presence. If they refuse to hear the truth, then I can take it to another. but to just blaspheme someone in the body of Christ? Remember what's written in John, or excuse me, Romans. I'm sorry, Terry. I mean to just... Terry's getting a twisted look on his face. Where are you going, pastor? Romans chapter 6, likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts, and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. You see, that's the point of grace. We're set free from sinning. Yes, our sins are forgiven, and we're set free. We're no longer required by that sin that we once committed. We're no longer required by it to stay in it. We've been set free. As a minister of the gospel, I have to heed the Word of the Lord. I must. I am called to that. And sometimes it's difficult. Like today, as His servant, I must follow what's written in 2 Timothy chapter 2, and a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition. You see, I have to correct. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has them ensnared? The devil. having been taken captive by him to do his will. So God's servants lead others out of sin, not into it. We don't excuse it. We don't say, oh yeah, it's okay because you're under grace. No, we say you come out of that sin. Come out in the name of Jesus. Why would anyone who calls their self a believer yield to the devil and submit to sin? Why? You've been set free. The big one today is believers that enslave themselves to habitual use of alcohol and other mind-altering drugs after surrendering to Christ. But on any particular day or night, you might find them intoxicated with some intoxicating substance, and that is one where the devil's opening. You're opening the door. You're letting them in. You're saying, come on in, buddy, and bring your friends. We're going to have a party. The Scripture tells us in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Why would believers worship at the drug or alcohol source? As I was writing this, I had a vision of an eight ball and a case of beer, bottle of whiskey, bottle of vodka. Those weren't necessarily my sins, okay? Don't take me wrong, but I've known a lot of people that were locked in those things. Don't they know that the devil who went out will come back? Don't they know that when the devil returns and finds the place cleaned up, he's going to bring his friends with him? In Matthew 12, 45 it's written, then He goes and takes with Him seven other spirits more wicked than Himself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first, so shall it be with this wicked generation. And I believe the church is going to be surprised on that day whenever the sky opens up and Jesus comes and He doesn't take a whole bunch of people to think they're going. because they've turned their back on him. They're not walking with him. They've walked away from him. And they said, we've got Jesus. And he says, you don't have me. I don't know you. Those are the words of Jesus of Nazareth. He sets the record straight. It gets worse for you if you open the door to demons. You can't return to your enslavement and expect that He's going to be right there, except if you turn away from that sin. Too many self-proclaiming Christians blaspheme the name of God by running with the devil. I remember an old rock song, Running with the Devil. They ring hell's bells by living deliberately sinful lives. It's past time to come out of the world. It's past time to turn from wickedness. It's past time to get away from idolatry. And do you know whenever we're in addiction, that's our idol? Do you know that? It's idolatry. That's one of the sins that you have there. It also could be spiritual fornication, because as an idolater, you're turning from Christ, you're turning from God, you're turning from being the bride, the spotless, wholesome, holy bride, and you're defiling yourself with the world. It's past time to come out of the pig pen. It's past time to refrain from consuming that vomit of sin. It's past time to turn from fearful living and self-indulgences. It's past time to surrender everything to God. We sing those songs. I surrender. Do we? Really? It's time to stand tall and love your Lord, your God, completely and love your neighbor as yourself. And that means you do it with His help. Loving God completely includes refraining from destructive behaviors that allow demons to run in or on or ruin your life. Loving others implies loving yourself because He says you have to love others as yourself. You have to keep that prison door shut. You have the power. You have the Holy Spirit. Shut the door. No. You can say it out loud. No, I will not give in to this sin. You have the power. But the devil tricks you into thinking that you don't. He tricks you into thinking that somehow he's going to make you do something. He can't make you do anything that you don't willfully go along with. OK, mark that word. Loving others as yourself means you'll keep that door shut. It means not justifying your own sin with worldly explanations that shift responsibility from you to anything else. It's nobody else's fault. It's not your heritage. You can't blame your parents and your grandparents and great-grandparents. You have to take that responsibility and say, God, I give it to You. Because You give me the power to say no. You can't justify your sin, folks. It means yielding only to God through Jesus Christ. He is your master. Not anything else. Not worldly fear, not alcohol, not drugs, not any other addictions, which I don't need to name. And as I wrap this up, I want you to remember that when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. And sin shall not have dominion over you. No more. No seven more. Amen? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I trust, Lord, that You gave me this message to deliver today, and I ask, Lord God, if there's anything in it that does not line up with Your Word, that You would erase it from our minds. But everything is from Your Word, Lord, and therefore I ask that You would seed it in our hearts, so we would know with certainty that this is Your Word and that it is for us, those who have heard it today and all who will hear it later. I pray in Christ's name that You would take us and use us to Your glory, Lord, set us free from the prison. If there's anybody, Lord, who's locked in sin right now, I pray that You would raise them out of their seat, bring them up to the altar, and we'll pray for them, Lord, to be set free, that there'd be no seven more. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.