Into The Dark Realm – Part 5

0:00 So, into the dark realm. This is our fifth installment on this portion of our series together. And we've looked at this portion thus far, and that was number one. We saw that when we consider the dark realm, that is the invisible spiritual realm, that the Bible declares that every Christian has been delivered out of and placed into the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that, everybody. You have been brought out of the darkness, and the darkness was that life we had before we came to Jesus Christ, whatever that life might have been. Some people might say that they were living a horrific life, and then some people might say, well, I had a fantastic life. I just, we have this in common. We were empty. Somebody might have been very immoral, while the other person might have been very moral.

0:56 And yet very keenly aware that they are empty on the inside without Jesus Christ. And Satan doesn't care which end of the spectrum you are on. As long as you're somewhere on the spectrum. What Satan wants to do is blind you. And he wants to lie to you. And we live in an age right now where lying is almost impossible to detect. It's amazing.

1:24 there are those that are in the intelligence world and those that have been trained in we'll just say profiling and they have the human capability to detect a liar when they're speaking to one it's quite remarkable I've never seen anything like it like those that I've seen in Israel and ladies listen to this most remarkable, when you're being interrogated by somebody in Israel, you better hope it's not a woman. And I'm not talking about marriage. I'm talking about Israeli security. Let me tell you the reason why. When you show up, for example, in certain areas of Israel or sensitive areas, or maybe it's even the airport, before you can go any further, you'll first be talked to by two to three, maybe five young girls, young, remarkably young. I'm going to guess 20, 21, 22, 25, Israeli defense force. And one girl will ask you some questions, and she gives nothing away. You're not quite sure how that just went. And then you go over into the next room, and another girl will ask you questions, and it's kind of bizarre. Sometimes they ask you the same questions, sometimes not, but you go through this gauntlet of these young women who, in your mind, you think, what do they know? They're just young girls. They just, they went from Barbie to the IDF.

3:02 They can't know much, and it turns out that I found out that the Israeli intelligence agencies discovered that whenever they are interrogating somebody, questioning somebody, asking questions of somebody, they stop leaving it up to a man. And they found out that young women are the most effective at finding out who's lying. And so they developed that and they trained them in these tactics that are frankly secret and yet they're better than any machine.

3:38 but now we live in an age of artificial intelligence and things that are almost superhuman if you know what i'm talking about strange but just know this jesus said there'll be a time coming when the lies will be so deceptive that the deception will be so great that if it were possible even my very elect would be deceived

4:07 which is amazing. Jesus is telling us in the scriptures that evil will become so perfected that without the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to tell who's lying to you and what they're lying about. I believe we have entered into the opening throes of that time of the church life. And it's strange because people seem to love a lie as well. if it's packaged in the right package, people will believe it. We live in some pretty threatening days. But listen, in John chapter 16, verse 33, Jesus says, these things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. Hallelujah, right? That's good news. So church, we've seen this together. You'll see it on the screens, but this is where we're at, and this is where we'll end tonight. Number one, this is what we're building upon.

5:05 We've learned about what are the limits to the dark realm. What are the limits? We talked about that. We talked number two about who are those that are affected by the dark realm. That is the dark realm of demonic activity and the things that the Bible warns us about. Number three, we talked about the authority. What authority does Satan have within the dark realm? We talked about the powers last time that he has and the powers that he doesn't have. But we came to this conclusion. And I'm wondering if you remember.

5:35 Satan does against or toward the life of a believer has to be filtered by the Father above. And that's great news for all of us. And then we saw this last time in closing. What authority do fallen angels have? The Bible talks to us about fallen angels. We do not know how many there are. The Bible simply tells us that when Satan deceived in the heavens, both himself, he deceived third of the heavenly host, one third of the population, whatever it is, of the angelic realm, fallen angels, fell with Lucifer. He deceived them. You've got to wonder sometimes, I've wondered this, how many of those maybe do all of those fallen angels that were deceived by Satan, I wonder how much they hate him for having deceived them. I wonder what they think or feel. Or are they subject to the deception as he is? The point is this, Jesus said, Satan is the father of all lies. Jesus said, all men are liars. Isn't that something?

6:41 That said, the danger about a lie is that if you tell it a number of times, you will begin to believe it's true. That's part of the judgment of a lie. There are people who say things over and over again, and they actually believe it's true, because they've been telling that lie for so long that they now have been lost in trying to cover it up anymore. They wind up, I think somebody once said, a liar is somebody who believes his own propaganda. That's a terrifying thing. Yeah, you mentioned the word media. That's very, very accurate, sad to say.

7:19 I've seen that happen personally. That's a good call. By the way, we will talk about that. If you have my notes tonight, this guy must have read the notes. because number five, we talked about the authority that demons have. And I don't know if you were with us last time together, but I talked about the difference. I believe strongly that there's a difference between fallen angels and actual demons. I don't think they're the same. I think the Bible makes it very clear that they're not the same. And so here we go. As we depart from number five into number six, I want you to just take heed of this for a moment. There's something that we all want to be aware about when we talk about the dark realm, and that is things called entry points or entries. I'm not going to give the technical term that is used in the realm of demonism or witchcraft. I'm not going to use their words.

8:14 But I will say this. Be very, very aware, Christian, that the Bible warns us about things that can open the door to enemy activity. call them entries. Just like you can leave your door unlocked to your house, you can leave your spiritual door unlocked to your life. And you don't want to do that. Now, there are great protections as I mentioned earlier for the believer. But the unbeliever doesn't have those protections. And the unbeliever is open and very susceptible to the entries that they allow in their life. And you might be actually shocked to find out what some of those things are, but I'm not joking even though you might think it's funny. And again, that's one of the tactics of Satan is to get you to think that it's not serious. But when we talk about points of entry in the demonic realm, media, as my brother said a moment ago, is an actual point of entry.

9:13 When I talk about media, I'm talking about the broad spectrum of media. I'm not talking about the news networks alone. That would be soft for sure. I'm talking about media where things are bringing your child or your home or your thinking into a realm that takes away the threat or the danger of demonic activity. Things like white magic. Have you heard about white magic? White magic, what is that? Oh, white magic is done by good witches.

9:49 Yeah, okay, that's really remarkable that you would think that. God says no. Did you know that in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 13 and chapter 18, God says that if you consult a medium, if you go to a soothsayer, if you go to somebody that is an enchanter or a channeler, God says that you're to be put to death. You say, well, that's extreme. It's not at all extreme. You want to know why? to a channeler or to a witch or to a seance or a palm reader, the people that are sitting opposite you at the table, they're just mere mortals like you. That's not the problem. The problem is the entry. The entry is the opportunity whereby demons that are invisible can begin now to play a part because they've been invited in to this scenario. It's not a joke. It's a reality. And there have have happened in the lives of some people whereby their lives were never the same after they jokingly went to a seance because friends dared them.

10:59 And for us to fluff it or blow it off is something that is almost expected of us. Ha ha, that's ridiculous. Folks, it's true. There are things where people begin to even have altered personalities because they get so given into a media type of experience, or I'll call it entertainment, or it's more appropriately called amusement. A-muse. Do you know what a muse means? Do you know what muse means? Okay, muse means to ponder, to meditate, to just, you know, saturate yourself in it. A-muse is to unplug your brain from reality. Muse is to entertain reality. To a-muse is to avoid reality. So what do we do?

11:53 We build amusement parks. you go to amusement parks to get out of the normal world into a fantasy land we all do it right Disneyland the little mouse or rat whatever he is walking around uh Knott's Berry Farm uh all that kind of stuff but I'm going somewhere with this beware beware I'll give you a clue let's see and if you know shout it out um conditioning conditioning thinking that it's normal or at least benign. No problem. No foul. Part of the dark realm is to get you to lower your guard, bring down your sword, bring down your shield, and settle back as the Christian warrior and relax because, after all, it's just child's play. And so you would maybe see a movie, and it's very entertaining, very spectacular, very great graphics, very great acting. And then it becomes a series, and then it becomes a legend.

12:51 And then it becomes an amusement park and then you can go around at the amusement park and you can go into the store and you can get your wand and Harry Potter. You can get your wand and you see kids all the way, all around Universal Studios. I get it, it looks cute. The kids got the gown, the cloak or whatever it is. They're wearing that. The kids are running around their ones, and they're saying, at this point, say, you know, whatever, hookah, pookah, alamazooka, give me some pizookie, whatever it is, on a Kawasaki. I don't know. And they're laughing, and it's all cute. It's all cute. The problem is, it's preparing them to actually, when they're older think it's nothing. And I don't know about you, but I fell into that stuff. I fell into playing Ouija boards in junior high and high school. It was fun until it wasn't.

13:59 The last Ouija board I ever saw, I wasn't even a Christian. But when we were sitting at that table and this person that was known to be somewhat of a spiritually sensitive individual sat down at the table and that thing, you know that little deal, started to move at the table. Nobody even touched it. That's when I said, I may be ugly but I'm not dumb. And my feet, I was gone. That scared me to death, folks. But Satan wants to condition you into thinking. Some of you maybe right now are thinking, what's wrong with that? That's exactly the step. It's a slippery slope, and you want to be careful about that. Another entry, and I'm not going to go through many, but pornography, forget about pornography being sexual. Just forget about the sexuality of pornography. Just stop. Don't even think about it. I want you to think about pornography completely different from here on out. I want you to think about it as a demonic cruise missile launched in your direction. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about that stuff.

15:10 What he cares about is getting the entry to receive the deception. It's all done up in this physiology, psychology, sexuality that creates lust that burns within your heart.

15:30 That's the glitter. That's the candy coating. He doesn't care. Satan doesn't care. When that door is opened, he uses that stuff to gain a spiritual stronghold in your life and will take control over your life and will begin to take control over the lives of those around you until he has taken over a home.

15:54 And in light of global consumption of pornography, which we're just talking about it being spiritual, what do you think about the warning of Scripture that in the last days, there'll be doctrines of demons and deceiving spirits? I believe pornography is one of the greatest indicators of the last day's deception because it allows the enemy into a person's life a stronghold. It's spiritual way more than it is physical. So here we go, number six. What will be the end of the dark realm? I'm going to give you four things on this. What is to be the end of the dark realm? Thank God. This is very cute. My youngest grandson had no idea what we're going to be talking about tonight, but we're at dinner this evening, and Lisa has these cards that keeps kids off of their devices.

16:50 And me. And you know, she has these cards and it's questions. Like, if you had three wishes, what would they be? If you had three places in the world you'd like to go, where would that be? It's a conversation thing, right? And so one of them was, if you could have three things that you could pick to do right now, which one would it be? And it's very cute because my youngest grandson said several times, I'd like to kill Satan and see Jesus. what he said. Now, we got to remind him, well, that's great. That's awesome. That's a great request. But Jesus is going to take care of that part. And I want you to know tonight, Jesus is going to take care of that part. Okay? So when we talk about that, the end of the dark realm, note this. There's a two-phased, multi-purpose judgment coming to the dark realm. We would ask the question, when will that be?

17:47 Well, first of all, it's going to be at the second coming of Christ, where they were bound for a thousand years. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, when he returns in the second coming, at the end of the tribulation period, he's going to bind the demonic powers, Satan himself, for a thousand years. He's going to tie them up. So for the millennium, there will be no Satan messing with people and no demonic activity. That's pretty amazing. But the latter half of the two-phase judgment is at what we would call the end of the world, or that's when eternity begins for us. The end of the world meaning that at the end of a thousand years,

18:30 all things will be renewed, and the day of God, or what is known as eternity, as you and I would know, that's when we actually enter into the realm of eternity. eternity. You and I will be living with Christ on this planet when he comes back in the second coming for a thousand years with Jesus. You and I will be in our glorified body, okay? Before I came out here, I did not have a glorified body. I had a t-shirt on. I put on a jacket and I came out in front of you in a glorified body. Right now, you and I do not have a glorified body. You and I need to either get raptured or we need to die for us to enter into glory. When that happens, remember to be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord. When that happens, you go to heaven, you're with the Lord Jesus, and when he comes back, he's going to resurrect the bodies of the righteous, those who have died in Christ. If it happens tonight, we who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet them.

19:33 So notice, it is a collective event. We will meet them in the air and we will go back to heaven and be to that place or at that place that Jesus has been preparing for us. When he said, I'm gonna go away and prepare a place for you that where I am, there you may be also. When that time comes to an end, the millennium, you and I will be glorified with Christ. bodies. For a thousand years, we will rule and reign with him. You've read that in the Bible. And we're not going to be subject to COVID. We're not going to be subject to... Sorry, I just had to say that. Cold, sickness, disease. No way. It's going to be amazing. And we will, again, rule and reign with him. There will be mortals like you and I are now living on the earth for a thousand years. Isaiah says that when a man dies at the age of 100, everybody's going to mourn because it's as though a baby died longevity will increase among the mortals not you we will be glorified with christ can you say amen that sounds really good no more doctors no more vitamins right no more need for sketcher shoes because i can't bend over and tie my shoes so i'll just use my no more slip-ins that's when what about where where at the end of the tribulation period, which will be the commencement of the thousand-year monarchy of the Lord Jesus Christ from Mount Zion in Israel, by the way. Again, at the end of the thousand-year monarchy of the Lord Jesus Christ, the where will be that from that location. And here's another indicator, I believe, we're in the last days. People who are anti-Semitic, like the events of October 7th, which we celebrate tonight, three years it's been since October 7th, that the largest Jewish life since the Holocaust of the 1940s, 30s and 40s, happened three years ago on this day.

21:34 And it was a gruesome event, which that war in retaliation of that still goes on now to this very moment. That said, when you look around at a world that the same group that joins in Jew hatred is the same group that hates Jesus Christ. Let me prove it to you. You can't separate them. They might say, no, I hate Jews, but I love Jesus. That's impossible. Jesus is a Jew.

22:05 He's the king of the Jews. He's the God of Israel. He's the Messiah who died in Jerusalem, but the Bible tells us his throne is in Zion. Zion, just a little bit south of Golgotha on Mount Moriah. Zion. The Bible talks about this. And there are those who are very hateful and angry about Zion. Listen, let's be honest. Most of these people, they don't even know what Zion is. Have you talked to them?

22:48 End Zionism. Next time you see somebody with a sign, end Zionism. Do you know what you're talking about? What is Zionism? Stop the Jews. That's not what we're talking about. You said end Zionism. Stop the Jews. We're not talking about that. What is Zion? Ask them. What's Zion? They don't know. Because for them to know, they would have to know their Bible.

23:17 in fact you could ask most people on the planet nice people hey what's zion they might say i don't it's a band is it a band Zion is where when Christ returns, he will rule and reign forever. Do you think Satan wants people to believe that? Or do you think Satan wants people to reject that? Another indicator. Do you see my logic? Do you see what I'm saying? Look through life through the filter of the Bible. Interesting times. Why? Why?

23:56 justice, judgment, all these things are pure. The holy wrath of God Almighty must be executed upon all evil, both spiritual creatures as well as humans. That's why. And then how? Not the first coming of Jesus Christ and not the rapture of the church to come, but the second coming of Jesus Christ will usher in the coming judgments of the dark realm or the dark spirit realm. And so it's Very important. It will come to an end. The enemy's days are numbered. When the disciples went out to preach the gospel when Christ was on earth, Jesus rejoiced because he said as they went out preaching, he saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Isn't that awesome? Jesus said, I've seen the leader, the ruler, the Lord of this world. He's been judged.

24:52 He's been cast out. Satan is operating right now in his demonic host on borrowed time. And I'm grateful. And then what about the next one? Is this, as we look to number seven, is can anyone avoid the dark realm? And the answer is both yes and no to that. And the answer, yes, you can avoid the dark realm. You can, listen, you can avoid being exposed infiltrated, compromised by demonic activity. The only way you can do that is if you wind up making sure that Jesus Christ owns you, that you are his, you're his property. And I'm not saying that in a rude way. Believe me, if you understood fully the theology of Christ's salvation, you want to be his. And by the way, he's willing. Are you willing? That's the whole thing. He wants you into his family. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to eternal life. But he won't bend your arm. And you've got to choose to accept him. And that time is now, by the way. Whenever you hear the gospel, wow, this is a scary thought. Think about it. Paul the apostle said that to the Corinthians, when you hear the gospel, right now is the acceptable time. When you hear the gospel, today's the day of salvation.

26:19 warned, don't delay. When you hear that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the grave for your justification, and that Jesus has busted and broken the grave and defeated hell, and for all those who come to him, he will forgive them of their sins and give them eternal life. Every time you hear that and you reject it or you just ignore it or you don't take it seriously, you are beginning to seal your own fate by rejecting his offer. And Paul the apostle said, today's the day. The urgency of it. Maybe you're watching right now, or maybe you're here right now, and you're here because your neighbor, who's a Christian, they keep prodding you to come to church. Come on, come on, come on. And you've decided to just shut them up. I'm going to go, so they leave me alone. You know, they keep inviting you to listen to a sermon or to go to church or to read this book or whatever it might be because they actually love you.

27:21 and because they know way more than you know about how this all ends, they are more concerned about your soul than you are. think about that for a moment so an unbeliever the only way that they can avoid the dark realm is to immediately become a believer a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 17 verse 14 the Bible says and when they had come to the multitude a man came to him kneeling down to him saying Lord have mercy on my son for he is an epileptic or one that has seizures the word Greek is quite remarkable. You'll know it as soon as I say it. The man said, my son is a lunatic. You know what? Listen, they believed back then, luna, what's luna? The word is moonstruck. They believed that a foul spirit rode a beam of light from the moon and struck my son. You were moonstruck. If you were moonstruck, you're called a lunatic. The moon hit you under demonic powers and you were stricken insane. And some of your Bibles say, and this is unfortunate, the Bible here says, I mean some Bibles translate epileptic. And that is an unfortunate thing because that condition is actually a medical condition that people can have.

28:52 So that's not nice, but that's a modern translation in some Bibles. I would stick with the original Greek language of the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, or the, I should say, the authorized version, where this man is crying out to Jesus saying, my son has been stricken by a demonic spirit. he's actually referring to by lunatic or being moonstruck. Watch how this comes down. And he suffers severely, for he often falls into the fire, self-mutilation, and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Verse 17, then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you. Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked the demon. There you go. And it came out of him.

29:51 And the child was cured from that very hour. So church family, listen, this is going to be very unpopular, but it's got to be said. Everything that's going on in the world cannot be written off as mental illness. Let's just stop that right now. Now, I know the world has got to talk that way because they don't know what else to say. Everything's mental illness. This and that, that's mental illness. The guy, again, we talked about him earlier in the week, but the guy that tried to crash that plane into Tel Aviv, thank God, the Lord, I think, intervened in that. But that crazy pilot that tried to, by the way, it turns out that that crazy pilot that was dedicated, Yala Allah Akbar, he's going to crash the plane, that fly Dubai airliner into Tel Aviv, he grabbed the cockpit axe. And I'm thinking, who flies around with an axe?

30:46 But I just thought, Air Dubai flies around with an axe in the cockpit? I'm not flying that airline. But it actually turns out that all airlines have the axe. It's to break the window or the aircraft so the pilots can get out if they're ever in a situation. That Muslim pilot took that axe out and struck that other pilot three times in the head and in the chest, almost killing them.

31:14 Is that mental illness? Think about it. Listen. Today, a terrorist attack was foiled in Minnesota by Somalis.

31:35 Was that mental illness? I submit to you that not everything is mental illness. I would submit to you if all these things are increasing, there's a great part where spiritual activity plays its great role in deception, danger, and death.

31:57 we need to be very wise in discerning do we not there's a lot of people, maybe you're here tonight, and there's people that are going through things, even with children, and it doesn't make any sense, and it's quite scary, what's happening, you need to search your home, when I say search your home, spiritually search your home, ask God to show you, Lord, what is in this house, what is in this home, is there pornography in this home, is there some sort of spiritual, are there any idols, or statues, or things that have been given by somebody who may be a witch or a spiritist? Is it something going on? God, show me. The family ought to get together and pray. And ask God, show us what's compromising this home. Believe me, God will start speaking. He will show you.

32:49 But some of our children, I say collectively as our nation, America's children, how many of them could possibly be based upon the Bible? being compromised because of activity in their home that has opened the door to demonic activity to take control. In Luke chapter 8, verse 27, here the Bible says, and when he stepped out onto the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time, who wore no clothes. I think we talked about him last week. I'm not sure. We'll see. Nor did he live in a house, but in tombs. And when he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Jesus. voice said, what have we to do with you, Jesus, son of the most high God? Isn't that amazing? The demons knew who Jesus was. I beg you, do not torment me. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for he had often seized him and has kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles, and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

33:57 And 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 into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. And so they begged him that he might permit them to enter them, that is the swine, and he permitted them. And then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine. This is another reason why I don't think fallen angels apply here. These are demons looking for a body or a thing to possess. And the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. Didn't we talk about this at the close of last week? I'm not going to do that again. So this is where it's vitally important. I want you to write these three words down if you would. possession, oppression, and suppression. Possession. We don't have much time. Let me get to the point.

34:58 Possession. It is absolutely clear in the Bible. I don't care what anyone tells you. A Christian cannot be demon-possessed. It is impossible for a Christian to be demon-possessed. You might say, I know a Christian who was demon-possessed. If that person was possessed, they were not a Christian. they may have said they were

35:23 Listen, we have to be careful also, church, that we stop projecting onto other people the fact that we think they're saved, so they must be saved. You don't know that, and I don't know that. Stop assuming people around you are saved. You won't know until trouble comes. That's what the fiery furnace does of affliction in our lives. Possession. God says clearly in the Bible that you belong to him. He says, I will not share my glory with another. God says, what fellowship does the spirit of God have with the spirit of Beelzebub? God will not dwell in you and allow a demon spirit to come in also. Impossible. I don't care what kind of upbringing you had. It was wrong.

36:10 It will not happen. Christians cannot be possessed. However, a Christian can be oppressed Oppression We know that Paul the Apostle Quite possibly suffered oppression Where he was greatly discouraged In fact, the Bible, he tells us That the Lord came and stood with him in the night And encouraged him So a Christian can be oppressed Where there's demonic activity that harasses you

36:42 if you doubt what I'm saying get involved in Christian ministry and I'm not joking one of the great, listen, I have to tell you something I don't put on a show when I come up here I think that's one of the reasons why God has blessed this ministry for almost 40 years, is that what we do is that we traffic in reality and of course that based in scripture so my boldness doesn't come from me, I didn't take a class on boldness

37:10 tell me all the time, oh, you're the most courageous pastor. They have no idea how weak I am. If they think I'm courageous, they're just mistaking Jesus or me because Jesus is the reason. But let me tell you, we can be bold when we know what's going on. And here's what I think about the enemy in the area of oppression and suppression. The enemy blows it when they tamper with a real Christian because the Lord will always protect us and then we come out of it stronger. So listen, my strength comes from the fact that I've been delivered from unbelievable situations and from very dark things that I can't explain in this world. And so when I say in the name of Jesus, you must flee from me, and that vapor or that manifestation immediately goes away and a peace comes that cannot be humanly described, how can I be silent about that when you might experience the exact same thing and not realize that at the name of Jesus, every knee must bow and every tongue must confess.

38:18 we will be oppressed, that is attacked by the enemy. In fact, if we're not being attacked by the enemy, that scares me. And then suppression. Suppression is something, in fact, I should just read this to make it more clear. For the Christian, it must be said that at this point, that the Bible is clear that a true child of God cannot be possessed by satanic or demonic powers. However, the Christian can be oppressed demonic activity. Spiritual oppression can result in spiritual and or physical troubles and strong temptation to sin. Job was oppressed by Satan. What a great example Job was. That's a perfect example. You think Satan ever possessed Job? Are you kidding me?

39:06 But Satan got as close as he could. The Christian can also be suppressed by satanic or demonic is an ongoing attack against a Christian in order to hinder or to derail their spiritual maturity. Suppression is used by demonic powers to prevent a believer from spiritual devotion. When you find it hard to follow through with the spiritual devotion that you said to meet with Jesus, you're being suppressed. In other words, the enemy is somehow running interference to keep you from getting alone with God. He'll cause the phone to ring. He'll Because stuff will happen. If you think I'm joking, you set an alarm at 12 noon tomorrow. I'm going to read my Bible and pray. You can set your alarm right now.

40:01 Watch what happens. And if you take up this challenge, you should do it. And I hope I can hear you laugh from here when it happens. You can just say, ha ha! I see you, devil. I see what's going on here. so obvious not always but at times the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 you who once walked according to the course of this world listen before I was a Christian I walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air that's a reference to Satan the or that spirit

40:48 disobedience. If you're not a Christian tonight, you are under the control and the directive of the prince of the power of the air. That should freak you out. before I was a Christian I hope you can say the same before you were a Christian we used to work for Satan and we didn't even know it and we worked for free by the way

41:13 number eight when are you to engage the dark realm do I even answer this one all the time every moment Satan is a spiritual terrorist think of that at all times we're to be aware of his plots

41:34 tonight you're going to go to sleep some of us Did you know they're spirit beings? They don't sleep. If you're thinking about little puppies and daisy-covered fields and you're dreaming sleep and Satan, the demonic world's plotting how they can overthrow you, can you imagine how much grace God spends on just your life to get you through one day? Think about that. Just to get you to live through all the plots and plans that Satan has for you for one day, for you to come to the end of the day to lay down at night, I don't think we could fathom how much grace it took. Amazing to think.

42:24 Amazing to think. I'm sure most often, by far most often, we're never aware. Hebrews 5, verse 14 on this point. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age. That is, by the way, who are these people of fool age? Those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Did you hear that? You want to grow up? Get involved. Get into the fight. You know what's going to happen? By exercise and use of spiritual truth and engagement in the spiritual battle, your faith will grow, your walk will grow, you'll be a mature Christian, and listen, you're going to be discerning about what's good and what's evil. And by the way, let's be honest. Evil and good show up dressed in good. Good is good.

43:19 Evil looks good. Good is standing there and it's good. Evil shows up buying the same exact suit that good has on. How are you going to know? by exercising and by the use of you being a Bible-believing Christian engaged in this battle, you will, so to speak, sharpen your senses to what is demonic and what is of God. And you can be with, so to speak, hypothetically, 10 Christians and somebody's talking to you. One guy is talking to the 10 Christians. It's possible. Nine of them would say, amazing guy in the world. And the 10th guy could say, there's no doubt about it. The guy comes across as amazing, but I got this funny little check in my soul, man. Explain yourself. I can't. Give me some time. Something's up. Oh man, you're being rude. That's judgmental. You're being critical. Hey, listen, time will tell, okay? Back off. Let time tell. I'm a big fan, by the way, of time. Let time tell.

44:28 I don't care who they are, if they name the name of Jesus, let time tell. Don't be so quick to get on board. Let things unfold. And this is a very important thing. Because you'll have a check. Something's just not right. That's God, the Holy Spirit, speaking to you in the area of discernment. number nine what is your authority over the dark realm

45:00 yeah well it's awesome Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13 says in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise that's one of the reasons why a Christian cannot be possessed the Holy Spirit has filled you up He owns you. There's no room. You've been bought with a price. You're marked. You're sealed. That word sealed cannot be broken. You belong to him? Awesome. Verse 14, who is the guarantee of our inheritance? I like that. Maybe you don't have much of an inheritance in this life. That's this life. In the life to come in Christ, the Bible tells you all the riches or Christ are yours.

45:54 We're going to inherit. Look, I'll just be happy to be in heaven. Won't you be happy just to be there? I hope I get to mow the lawn. That'd be awesome. But God's got more for us, clearly, as the word tells us. But listen, your authority over these powers are all anchored to Christ. I'm going to say something. You're going to be upset with me, some of you, but we have to move on. Beware of people, and I know they might be sincere about this, But I don't see this in Scripture. When somebody says, I command you, evil spirit, to come out of them. I command you. I command you. Come out.

46:46 And you can boil all the water and make it holy and you can get all the oil and all the garlic and all the stuff you want to throw at the demon spirit. But when you say, I command you to come out, You're wasting your time. You never see Peter, Paul, or Mary say, I command the Spirit to come out.