Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:07 Welcome to the village church, sermon Q and a pastor Michael, here with you in the studio with pastor Craig, pastor Alex on September 12th, 2021, we preach our second sermon and our spiritual war series. And so today, pastor Craig, you get to answer, I think actually a very interesting question that many people are going to want to know the answer to what can Satan actually do to me,
Speaker 2 00:00:30 It depends. So how do you like that?
Speaker 1 00:00:33 That's great. I think we can add <inaudible>.
Speaker 2 00:00:37 Yes. If you are a, not a follower of Jesus, you're not in the same category as if you are a follower of Jesus. Yeah. So, um, this is where we get the statement. A house divided against itself cannot stand. You probably are familiar with that statement from scripture, but we are familiar with it in culture as well. It's a popular statement. Here's what that means. When, uh, when you belong to Jesus Christ, you can not belong to the other side when you don't belong to Jesus Christ. You only belong to the other side. And that's what we talked about. When we, when we talked about being born on a battlefield, right? We're born on the, on the wrong side. We don't know that, but clearly that's in scripture. One of our favorite verses is for God's love the world he gave his only son. Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life, John three 16.
Speaker 2 00:01:23 But it goes on to say, whoever does not believe is condemned already. We are, we are born on the wrong side. We were born condemned enemies of God. And that being the case, we are open to a lot of demonic influence because everybody wants us, right. God wants us. But the other side wants us to, the question is how much does does the other side want us on, on, uh, you know, if we're, if we're not followers of Jesus Christ, so same will go to extreme lengths in order to, to attach himself to us in any way that he can. His goal is to destroy everything that God made good and the pinnacle of what God made his human beings. So his goal mainly is to destroy us. Now, if we that. So that's on the side. If you're not a follower of Jesus, if you are a follower of Jesus, the bottom line is Satan.
Speaker 2 00:02:11 Can't do anything to you unless God permits, which is, which is an awesome truth. Yeah. Uh, we know that to be true because we have one of the greatest examples in job, in the book of job, Satan appears before God Satan can't do anything. God doesn't let him do. And he has to obey this authority structure that we've been talking about on Sundays. If Satan steps beyond that authority structure, he, well, I, I think he's going to go with the rest of the demons that are being held in, in, in despair and gloomy darkness. It says in scripture. So that being the case, Satan goes to God and says, Hey, job is only following you because you're good to him. And if you're not good to him, he'll stop following you. And God says, you know what? You're kind of an idiot, but you know, let's, let's put that to the test.
Speaker 2 00:02:55 Joe knows nothing of this is going on, right? But job's faith is about to be tested. And throughout generations and example to us, Satan goes, and he takes everything away from him. Job's still serves the Lord. So Satan comes back and God says, see, you know, basically when the bet Satan says, no, no, no, he's still got his health. And God said, okay, you can even take that away, but don't kill him. So he goes, and he takes that away. His wife says curse God and die. It's bad news. He gets cast out of the city. He's got boils and sources unclean, but ultimately he does not curse God. And they have an amazing, uh, conversation at the end of the book of Joel where God doesn't reveal what happened, but establishes his authority over job's life. And over the world that he rules Satan gets it now, you know, and we need to get that too. So bottom line, God, Satan and his cohorts can't do anything to us unless God allows it, permits it or, you know, gains it, ordains. It uses it for his glory.
Speaker 1 00:03:54 Can I read it? It's a text from a second grade thing. It's 12. And some people would surmise and I'm agreeing with you. Totally. So some people would surmise that once, uh, the demonic was disarmed through the death and resurrection of Jesus that now Satan has that God will never give him the ability to affect us physically. And so Paul says this, he says to keep me from being conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, meaning God gave him, um, really unbelievable insight into the third heaven, meaning that's where God dwells the spiritual realm. Uh, so to keep him from being conceded, a thorn was given me in the flash and then listen to the way this describes it. A messenger of Satan to harass me, interesting to keep me from becoming conceited. Now listen to how he describes it. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
Speaker 1 00:04:43 And somehow God was like, all right, if you like, if you ever, I don't know if you've ever done this, but if you've been like, God, I would love to see heaven. And apparently whatever you see is so glorious that your temptation to be arrogant or to think yourself better than other people that may be the consequence of that. The lifelong plight would be that God gives a demon for the rest of your life, the potential to harass you. And imagine what he, I don't know what it was. I don't know if it was a physical ailment if it was an emotional disorder, but it's very interesting. So, but on the one hand, this is where things get really interesting because he's appealing to the highest authority, Jesus to release this demon. And Jesus is like, no, now the demon has limits, right? The demon couldn't kill him.
Speaker 2 00:05:23 If it's a demon,
Speaker 1 00:05:25 He says Satan to harass. Some people have an analogy, but I, I feel like, I don't know. I feel like that would be really theologically confusing to the Corinthian church. Who's like, I don't know, not very mature, but maybe not. So there's, there's a little bit of debate in that, but I I'm inclined because of the way he talks about it, to say that it's a, a lower demon that has limitations to harass him. And, uh, but, but that is because he was given probably the most unique experience any human could ever have in all of history. Right. Which is to see the glory of God and heaven. It's
Speaker 2 00:05:58 Interesting. I mean, he had a lot of other, I mean he saw Jesus face to face. Nobody, nobody saw that after the cross.
Speaker 1 00:06:07 So there's, there's some apostles today who are, who believe they have. Yes,
Speaker 2 00:06:12 That's right. Your wife. No. So
Speaker 1 00:06:15 I was thinking about yours, but no. So you were saying,
Speaker 2 00:06:20 I don't know what I was saying. Totally. Um, does God give demons the ability to tap on the shoulders of followers of Jesus Christ in some way? Um, absolutely oppression. Yeah. Oppression. Um, I think both biblically and church history has proven that some of the greatest church fathers that we have suffered from depression and other things like that. And the only thing that can be explained because they were seeing multitudes turn to Jesus Christ. They were seeing huge fruit for their labor, but, uh, nevertheless, they would go home and fall apart. And so I do believe, and I think later on Paul, if I'm not mistaken says, you know, um, uh, in my weakness I can be strong. And so I think sometimes in order to strengthen our faith, that might be the case, but those demons cannot enter into a follower of Jesus Christ because you belong to Jesus.
Speaker 2 00:07:10 So you want to shut that door, then you need to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That's how the door gets shut. Now, let me also say, um, Paul was, uh, in the book of acts, there was a demon that he cast out of a girl who was a fortune teller. And this girl is stories in act 16. This demon possessed girl was able to tell the future. She made money for her master and they cast out the demon. And so then she had, didn't have the ability and they ended up going to jail because the guy's going to be born. But, um, when that demon got cast out, the reason they cast out is because literally it says the demon was saying, everybody should listen to these guys. They're followers of Jesus Christ. And they're telling the truth, oh my gosh. And she was just falling around telling them and this, but this was a demon speaking.
Speaker 2 00:07:59 And so even in telling the truth, that demon became an irritation. If you read the story, knowing that they were so even Jesus, Jesus would not let the demons proclaim truth because, because the miracles that he did and the faith that he gives us surpasses the authority of the demons and the influence of the demons. We don't need Satan to be fighting for God, God, God does that on his own. So they cast out this name. It's a pretty cool story, but it's awesome. Ultimately, um, demons can only do what they're permitted to do by God and not by saying he's not calling the shots. I mean, he may tell him what to do, but ultimately that realm has to get his permission from God. And if you belong to God, you are under his authority. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:08:45 Some people have brought up this idea that there's the sons of Skiva in acts 19. And, and, uh, that, well, if he can, if demons can beat up these people, can't they beat us up and people forget that the demons, even this is insane. I just pulled it off. Cause it was, you were talking. This came to my mind. I think it's also hilarious. There's so many funny stories about demons that if you think about them are just kind of hilarious, but scary. Funny. It says seven Danta seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Skiva. We're doing this, whatever, but the evil spirit answered them. Jesus, I know Paul, I recognize, but who are you? I don't know who you are. I don't know you. And you don't, you don't have the spirit of God in you and the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the, all the residents of emphasis, both Jews and Greeks and fear fell upon them all. And the name of the Lord, Jesus was extolled which I just <inaudible>.
Speaker 1 00:09:42 But like they can do that because these guys were not actually true believers. And so they were just trying to use Jesus's name, but we're interested in following Jesus. Absolutely. But it's with Paul when he talks about the thorn, uh, and the messenger of Satan, he's not afraid of the messenger. He's irritating, irritating. And I think there's a difference. And so we, you know, we preach like if you were hypothetically to come face to face with the demon, you don't need to be afraid. Even if God gives it permission to just be super duper knowing you don't have to be.
Speaker 2 00:10:08 Satan cannot take authority from God, God has Supreme authority over your life. If you're a follower of his, you do not need to be afraid of this stuff. And don't buy into all that screaming and shouting and holy water junk either because that's all Hollywood stuff, right? Ultimately when Jesus cast out demons, it was with a worth when, and that's because his authority is greater than the demons. And that is why in scripture, we are constantly told when it comes to the demonic realm, resist the devil. And he only has one option. He has to flee great graders. He then ends up. That is in you than he, that is in the world. And you are on the right authority. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you're under the right authority. So give God that authority because a same Hessman. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:10:50 Mm. Well, I enjoyed that thoroughly and I want to thank you guys for being here and processing this together, and I want to buy you back next time. As we have more questions on angels, demons, spiritual war, and more on sermon QA
