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You You All right, good morning everyone welcome to Mountain Baptist Church take your actually take your mountain Baptist song books the blue folders your mountain Baptist Psalms hymns and spiritual song books and Turn to page number 16 Page number 16. We got a new song. We're gonna try out It is called don't hang your harp on the willow tree All right, if you would stand we'll sing song number 16 I Sad with the heartbroken weary Saints the song of the harpers was gone. I Wondered how sweet songs of Zion's part could possibly ever go on To gather we wept in the silent night as Babylon flower by our side The heart gently swayed in the willow trees that stood on the strange riverside Don't hang your harp on the willow tree the music of Zion goes on Don't hang Your harp when hope of the future is gone The song that you sing if your heart is sad will carry the burden away Don't hang your harp Revive the music today Today The breeze is a blowing from heaven sure the pilgrims remember the song They reach for the harps in the willow branch though Everything seems to be wrong and tune with the music of glory land the loveliest song ever heard Resounds from the shore of the river bank tell every sad pilgrim astern Don't hang your harp on the willow tree the music of Zion goes on Don't hang your harp When hope of the future is gone The song that you see if your heart is sad will carry the burden away Don't hang your harp Revive the music today The theme of the song they are singing now is over and over the same All power and glory to Christ the Lord all praise to Emmanuel's name The place where they sad is no longer sad. It's changed by the power of God Since pilgrims of Zion are tuned to see his wonderful praises abroad Don't hang your harp on the willow tree the music of Zion goes on Don't hang your harp When hope of the future is gone The song that you sing if your heart is sad will carry the burden away Don't hang your harp Breathe the music today All right, let's pray Heavenly Father Lord again We just want to thank you God for Another day that we get to gather in your house and to hear your word preached I pray Lord now that you would receive all the honor and glory out of everything. It's done We love you for it's in Jesus name. We ask all for it. Amen. All right may be seated and keep your Mountain Baptist song books and turn to page number four Page number four in your song books. We'll sing Psalm 67 page number four God be merciful unto us and bless us and cause us face to shine upon Us that thy way may be known upon Thy saving health among all nations Let the people praise thee oh God Let all the people praise thee. Oh let the nations be glad and seeing for joy For thou shalt judge the people Righteously The nations upon earth Sela Let the people praise thee. Oh God Let all the people praise thee. Oh, let the nations be glad and seeing for joy Then shall the earth yield her increase and God even our own God shall bless us Gotcha, bless us in all the ends of the earth shall Fear him let the people praise thee. Oh God Let all the people praise thee. Oh, let the nations be glad and seeing for joy Amen so welcome to Mountain Baptist Church on this Sunday morning and just some announcements here we have our Normal service times today. So nothing's out of the ordinary here We'll have our afternoon service at 4 p.m. And then we'll have our before that though We'll have our main soul winning time or first only time at 1 p.m So if you want to go out so winning with us meet up here a little before 1 o'clock We'll get teamed up and then we're gonna go out soul winning this afternoon It's always good to try to get partnered up before that time just so that it's not like Taking us a whole whole bunch of time to pick partners and everything But either way we'll get you we'll get you teamed up. And so so we had the main soul winning time But then we also have our regional so winning times there. So Monday Tuesday Wednesday Saturday And if you want to know about those times, obviously the men that are in parentheses there Get with them but also on the church group there on the whatsapp It's always sent out the location time and everything when it comes to where they're gonna be going soul-winning I believe that the football Game was a big success. I mean not surprised on the victor but Pastor one Deacon zero and so but they was talking about getting like a trophy, you know Where you kind of have or like a plaque where you have like, you know, you put the year of like championships And he said, you know like pastor over here Deacon over here but you know, I have I have a problem very OCD about things being symmetrical and This whole thing about it being lopsided on this side of like two thousand twenty three twenty four twenty five twenty six twenty seven It would just get out of sorts. No, but all joking aside. It was a lot It was a lot of fun. Sorry if anybody couldn't make it out to that or if you had If you had to work or whatever It's hard. I was I was I was Talking to some friends this past week and I was like, you know when I was younger I was in college and stuff like that. Like all we want to play football game be like now We can do it now, you know anytime But now it's like I got to schedule it got to make sure my family Can be without me for a couple hours, you know, like in everybody's working and all this stuff. So it's like this big big thing to schedule that so But hopefully everybody have fun I think brother Richie's the one that had the major injury, but I think it's his hands doing all right but I'm feeling good. I'm a little sore, but I'm not that old yet. So But yeah, so it's fun time Being prayer for those that may be traveling I know brother Joseph's out He went all the way out the Montana area Wyoming Montana area on an elk hunt. So So yeah being prayer there for traveling but also just with When we get into the holiday season here everybody a lot of people travel for for events and everything Or as far as like family stuff also being prayer for those That may not be feeling well. This is the time of like the flu colds all that stuff So just being a prayer there that everybody stays healthy as much as possible And so and I know we have a family visiting I didn't get your last name brother Beauvais am I saying that right? Okay, Beauvais the Beauvais family So I got to talk to you for a minute But but welcome and obviously if you haven't got a chance to talk to them after service definitely talk to them there and then As far as upcoming events, we have the harvest party. So that's coming up this Tuesday And so we are tentatively looking at 6 p.m and Plan on getting here a little early, you know like I'm we're gonna be setting up stuff and everything what we're gonna do because As far as it's gonna be cold. So just know that I think the I think it's like high in the 40s that day So it was like 70 some degrees on Friday. Now. It's like gonna be in the 40s What we want to do is that obviously At 6 p.m I think that we should really just try to try to get a lot of the games in with the kids because it's gonna be Light it gets dark really quick We had the pavilion and we can use that but we can utilize that light. We're gonna have the food inside So I say we do that And so if you if you want to get here with your kids as soon as possible that day To where we can do a lot of the games and stuff like that. So we're gonna have a bunch of candy all that And have some fun Who remembers the donut game? From last year, but that was hilarious It's probably more hilarious when the adults are doing it where you hang a donut on a string And you have to eat the donut without touching it with your hands It's pretty healthy without the donut falling off. You have to eat the whole thing without the donut falling off the string. So So we're gonna have stuff like that We're having some games for the for the adults as well. We're having soup This is how you know that it's not a one-man show because if it was up to me it would not be the case so But you know, I guess who here doesn't like soup who here is like me that doesn't like soup Okay, so I got a man I see that hand I got brother Charles back there. I got brother brother Nathan. So everybody else who else who likes soup You know, we used to have unity But all joking aside we're gonna have like a basically soup kind of fellowship there And so if you can make it out to it, it's great. If not, I understand especially with Wednesday being the next day So that's two nights in a row of being here and all that. So Obviously if I were gonna pick a day to miss I would I've missed a party before I miss church but You know that being said, you know do it dude that you have freedom in Christ I'm not I'm not lording over you as far as what anybody does so But and I'm not gonna preach against you be like, oh you were here on the party, but you weren't here on Wednesday You know, I'm not gonna be judging you. I'm not gonna be preaching against you, but At least at least Sunday, I might wait a little bit. No, I'm just kidding as far as a Chapter memory we were going into November. I know we're at the end of October. And so I know we had Psalm 110 so obviously We still have a couple days here, but Romans 10 is what we're gonna go into this this coming month in November I know we've probably had this on here before but this is always a good chapter. I memorize so if you if you Have memorized it make sure you haven't memorized if you haven't memorized Romans chapter 10 It's a great chapter. I memorize. I mean, this is the sole winning chapter And there's so much good stuff in chapter 10. It's not a super long chapter, but it's a good chapter that I've memorized Second Timothy 1 7 is our memory verse for the week for God hath not given the spirit of fear But a power and of love and of the sound mind and so that is our memory verse for the week especially when you get into the idea of Halloween and all that and the fact that it's just a celebration of fear and death and We are not to be Fearful people, you know fear is that you know, you're not made Perfect in love if you fear and fear had torment so I'm not about You know trying to make myself afraid so unless it's fearing the Lord and so all that Birthdays Where we have what day is it the 29th? So we have to get my dad So I'm not gonna forget about you And then brother Shane You're on the 31st all Halloween birthday right there. So actually my my pastor pastor Huggins was on the 31st as well so we'd always give him a hard time about being Halloween birthday, but So did we miss anybody else? Does anybody have a birthday is coming up this week? That wants to admit to it Or last week or did we miss your birthday brother Jacob you have birthday coming up When is your birthday brother what is it February? We're just gonna make you stand every Sunday and Make sure you get counted there. So my dad's birthday was last week And then we got brother Shane's coming up and then my parents anniversary was on Friday, so How many years is it now? Too many Always remember my dad's and he you told me this so I mean you can't be like hey You know why would you say this behind the pulpit? I always remember my dad's birthday and his anniversary because he says that that he was born one day and died the next But all joking aside So, let me let me think I can do that I could do the math in my head right so 44 yeah, cuz you're was it on 79. Is that the year 79? Well, congratulations And then on the pregnancy list there We have Alyssa Anastasia and tabby and so be in prayer for these ladies And to be in prayer for those that just had a little ones as well, so so we have Amanda Tiara and Jennifer and just be in prayer there sometimes that's probably where you need most the prayer is actually after you give birth and so The recovery process the transition with a new baby all that. So don't forget about those on the list there as well I Think that's about all I have for announcements that I can think all I'm going to say this because I so kids Bring I'm bringing back the questions after the morning service. Okay. So what did you say? What's the question? So the question is it meaning that when I preach a sermon you need to listen Because I'm gonna ask questions and if you get it, right You get some candy. So So always be paying attention on the the Sunday morning specifically and so I'm gonna be asking specific questions dealing with the sermon And so if you get it right then I get the chuck a piece of candy at you So and I apologize in advance But you know what, you know, I did pretty good on Friday, you know, I mean pretty much call me Jason Brady Because I was lacing it, you know Joking aside when I throw candy, it's bad like it hits people that it's not supposed to hit so Apologize in advance, you know after the service and we do that. What's that? What are you trying to show me something hey, I'll check my phone I I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking at. I got like five different messages Brother Anthony you were sick when we didn't sing happy birthday. We didn't sing happy birthday to you I Just rubbing it in. All right, so we'll say happy birthday brother Anthony as well. I Think that's about all I have for announcements though honestly, if any questions about the the harvest party coming up, let me know or let they know or any of us but The offering boxes in the back there if you want to give a tithe or an offering The mother baby rooms for the mothers and babies only and Are they just gonna sing one song? Who's who's reading Brother David so brother David's gonna be reading revelation chapter 18 for us after we do all the other stuff All right, take your song books and turn to song number 86 Song number 86 And your song books will sing in the garden but before we do that we need to sing happy birthday To Mr. Robinson Shane Anthony and Jacob. All right You guys are all stand up and Anthony how old are you brother? You know, let me let me let me touch Let me touch on some real quick I hate I hate to hey, hey to bring this up with the visitors here But you know, I don't do I'm not gonna make excuses for me losing but I will deal in facts Okay, and I'm sorry you have to hear this but we've got a church of cheaters here Okay, and we're supposed to be playing flag football and I have video proof of pastor literally suplexing me Into the ground and let me tell you that much weight coming down on you. I Mean there's no way I would have won after that. It was like the first play of the game and So once I recover and heal from that dump truck coming down on me I'm sore. It feels it feels like I did get hit by a truck this whole and the sting of the loss is probably the worst so Anyway, okay So mr. Robinson, how old are you? 68 brother Shane 30 all right Jacob No, okay. Okay, and Anthony you're like you're like around 37. All right. All right, we'll sing. Happy birthday. There you go There you go. Yeah, here we go. All right, sing happy birthday to these three. Here we go. Ready? Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday God bless you Happy birthday to you By the way, it wasn't me that texted it was miss Holly that actually texted a pastor. Yeah. Yeah, I'll show you the text I got the proof All right, and then we're gonna sing happy anniversary. You gotta say stand it up brother. It's a hey Get you all to stand up Sing happy anniversary to the Robinsons There we go ready anniversary to you Happy anniversary to you Happy anniversary God bless you Happy anniversary to you All right, well happy anniversary to you both and we will sing song number 86 I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roll Says and the voice I hear Falling on my ear the son of God Discloses and He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me And the joy we share as we Terry there Has ever known He speaks and the sound of his voice Is so sweet the bird touch their singing and the Melody that he gave to me Within my heart is ringy And He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me And the joy we share as we Terry there I'd stay in the garden with him Though the night around me be falling But he bids me go through the voice of home his voice to me is calling And He walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me Zone and the joy we share as we Terry there Another has ever known All right, so your Bible's and turn to the book of Revelation chapter number 18 Revelation chapter number 18 and we'll have brother David come and read that for us Revelation 18 if you found any place amen and the Bible reads and after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power and the earth was lightened with His glory and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen Has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies I heard another voice from heaven saying come out of her my people that you be not partake us of her sins That you receive not of her plagues for her sins have reached into heaven and God have remembered her iniquities Word her even see we wrote at you and double under her double according to her works in the cup But she hath filled filled her double And hum how much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her cuz he said that her heart I said a queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow Therefore saw the plagues come in one day death and running and famine and so and cease to be utterly burned with fire But strong is the Lord God who judgeth her and the kings of the earth who have committed fornication I'll live deliciously with them so the whale her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of a burning standing Afar off with the fear of atonement saying alas alas that great city Babylon that might that mighty city for in one hour Is thy judgment come and the merchants of the earth shall weep and moan over her for no man buy at their merchandise anymore the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and a pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all fine wood and all manner of vessels of ivory and all manner of vessels of most precious wood and the brass and of iron and marble and cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and seep and horses and chariots and slaves and souls of men and The fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee in all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee And that shall find them no more at all the merchants of these things which were made rich by her shall stand afar off the fear of her torment weeping and wailing and Saying alas alas that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls For in one hour so great riches has come to naught and every set master in all company and sips and sailors and as Many as trade by sea stood afar off and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning saying what city is like under this Great city and they cast dust on their heads and cried weeping and wailing saying alas alas that great city Wherein wherein wherein were made rich all the heads sips in the sea by reason of a costliness for in one hour is he may desolate rejoice over her that heaven and he holy apostles and prophets for God hath avenged you on her and A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast into the sea Saying thus with violence how the great city Babylon be thrown down So we found no more at all and the voice of harpers and musicians and of harpers and trumpeters So being heard no more at all in thee and no craftsman of rush over crafty beat shall be found any more in thee And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee and the light of a candle So sign no more at all in thee and the voice of the bridegroom the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee For thy merchants were the great men of the earth For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived and in her was found the blood of all prophets and of saints and of all That was claimed upon the earth. Let's pray your Lord I thank you for this opportunity to come back to your house for that You feel past with your spirit and let us be unified Jesus name. Amen Amen so you're there in Revelation chapter 18 and this is the chapter dealing with the destruction of Babylon now I personally this is end times prophecy obviously future Babylon not not the Babylon of the Calvary's back in the Old Testament, but I Personally believe that if it's in our day that the Lord comes back that we're dealing with America and the destruction of America But what I want to preach on is not necessarily talking about Babylon in particular But I'm actually going to be preaching on a sermon called habitations of devils habitations of devils so this might be kind of a creepy sermon or a sermon to where you might You might think is a little kind of scary but here's things sometimes the truth is scary when it comes to that but but ultimately we shouldn't fear because we have the Lord and You know the Bible says he hath not given us the spirit of fear But a power and of love and of a sound mind and so we're not the fear these things but we can understand that they exist meaning that there are devils and Where are they? What what's their habitation? Where do they reside and And look at Revelation chapter 18 and verse 1 Revelation chapter 18 verse 1 It says and after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having Great power in the earth was lightened with his glory and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the greatest fallen is fallen and has become the habitation of Devils in the hold of every foul spirit in a cage of every unclean and hateful bird So this kind of has a haunting type of feel to what this place is going to be like after it's destroyed and The first thing I want to get hit on there is the fact that Devils reside in certain physical locations there's physical locations where they basically make their abode and So you're gonna have physical locations. You're gonna have the fact that they can inhabit people and Also animals and so this is something that I'm actually gonna be preaching probably other sermons on just dealing with angels and Devils in general as far as like getting into what the Bible teaches about Angels and what they teach what the Bible teaches about Devils now the term demon is not a bad term It's not it's not used in the King James Bible. So I stick with the word devil, but Literally, it's the same thing That's like the Greek word for that's used here and all that stuff. It doesn't matter It's it so if someone says demon, I'm not like how dare you use that term? But at the same time a synonym and what the what the the Bible uses here is devil So when I when I'm talking about people being possessed or or anything like that I'm gonna use the term Devils because that's what the King James Bible uses and I believe that's what we should use But but at the same time I don't I don't come down anybody's throat They're like, well that person's demon-possessed be like, whoa, buddy It's devil It's the same thing. Okay To me. It's kind of like the same between between like spirit and ghost, you know in the Bible that's used interchangeably So it's not not a big deal But but that being said is that there's physical locations where Devils will reside notice What are we dealing with here? We're dealing with a place that has been made desolate right a place has completely been destroyed And I think about this especially around the time where you know There's a Halloween is celebrated and what you'll see a lot of times before people will go to like desolate places like like some like abandoned warehouse or some abandoned like site psychiatric ward or or prison or something like that and The thing is is that they're usually going there looking for like all you know Is there a ghost roaming around like some like person that died here and the thing that you have understand is that? That people that are in hell first of all, they don't just go up and roam around on the earth You know, they're not just like specters that are just like walking around on the earth The only people that you'll ever see coming back That you would see in the Bible that that would come back from the dead are saved people the Saints But even in those cases, you're not dealing with like a ghost you're dealing with a physical person coming back from the dead So Samuel, for example, he was an old man when when when the woman saw him the witch at Endor It was an old man Unless you want to say that when you die, you just die at the age that you are and you're that forever Then if so take me now, you know because I don't want to be like 105 and it'd be like for all eternity. I Look a hundred and five, you know, but Even in the New Testament at the resurrection of Christ. It says the Saints which were in the graves Came up and were witnesses in Jerusalem but you'll see physical people there. Okay, and so So that being said is that when you're dealing with physical locations This is something that people are usually you know associating with you know, where they'll say they've seen things and or they've they've heard voices or whatever and and I'm here to say That I don't think they're all out to lunch There is a spiritual realm out there and there are Devils that are here upon the earth and there are habitations where they reside Now the difference is is that I don't think it's like the spirit of your Ulysses Grant When you're at like some battlefield or something like that, you know, like that's walking around Or whatever, you know or you know, like if you went to like some prison and be like Well, this is the spirit of Jeffrey Dahmer, you know, because he died in this prison over here No, usually, you know what what they're probably dealing with is Devils You're dealing with a spiritual realm where Devils do exist and there's certain places where they reside there's certain Habitations in the Bible stating here. This is in the future You're like, well, is that still a thing? Well, it's still going to be a thing. It's not even that it's still a thing right now It still will be a thing in the future now that could be near future to us That could be a hundred years from now We don't know as far as when this takes place But no, this is that it's not like that's the only place where there's a habitation of Devils It's just the fact they reside in a place that is kind of cursed if you think about it. It's been destroyed It's cursed. It's desolate and think about like haunted houses Haunt, you know, like like I said, you'll have some like psych ward you'll have some kind of like prison over here to where it's just like seems to be the place where everybody seems to hear things or see things or whatever and I don't think that it's just all made up You know, there's definitely things that are made up There's people that make stuff up and all that stuff right, but we as Bible believe in Christians we believe that God is real, but we also believe that the devil is real and That there are angels and there we're not Sadducees We believe in the resurrection and we also believe that there's angels and spirits so You know, this isn't something that is like well, you're getting charismatic. They're talking about Devils. It's like facts the Bible talks about the devil and then there's his Devils and And So what there's there's habitations for them. So this is and listen, you know, I'll confess my sins I've been to one of these like ghost hunt things that like At like a prison or a psych ward and stuff like that And I was even sitting here like well were you unsafe and it's like what's under the blood, you know Because it's unsafe. No, I was saved when when I went to these things now, I obviously didn't believe That there was actually like ghosts like roaming around But the thing that I was thinking about is like if there is anything It would be like a devil. It would be like spirits and Devils and stuff like that and I you know, I'm not here to say like oh, you know, did you have an experience where you saw something now, but At the same time I was thinking about is, you know Because I was there with a bunch of safe people I'm like Would we see something though? Because the point that I'm gonna be making Really at the end of the sermon is the fact that we as believers don't have to worry about The devil possessing us or Devils possessing us it is impossible for a believer to be possessed with a devil The Bible says greater seed is in you than heat is in the world and we ever we are of God little children and I've overcome them and so You know, we don't have to worry about being possessed with Devils But that doesn't mean that we still want to be around them or be in that vicinity We don't want to be hanging around with witches and wizards and and necromancers And like you don't want to go get your fortune told by some some Medium or something like that all that stuff's garbage and here's thing When I say it's garbage, that doesn't mean that there's not real things going on in there Like witchcraft necromancy and all that stuff where you're dealing with people talking to Devils and speaking to Devils There was a story where I This is a long time ago where I went soul winning and I was with a guy and and I know I've told the story before but I think it's pertinent to the to the sermon but there was this Young lady that answered the door And we asked her if she knew 100% sure she was going to heaven and she says she says no I'm going to hell and I want to go there and I'm like And she was pretty young so I was just like kind of shocked by that I'm like what in the world, you know, usually you get the typical answer like I think so I hope so, you know not like I'm going to hell and I'm glad you know, it's like good night and I said well why you know, why do you say that and she said well, you know, I've basically she was talking about like a Ouija board And the fact that she speaks she's spoken to though to Devils and the devil said Told her that hell is a great place and that they want her to be there with them and I'm I'm like Yeah, I mean I that what they're they're saying that they want you to be there with them is exactly what the devil's want That's what the devil wants in general is wants everybody to go with them right now the devil and the devil's aren't there yet But I showed her Luke 16 and the fact I said this is not a place you want to be And if you're there, you don't want anybody else to go there Cuz I showed her to the rich man and how the rich man was in torment and he wasn't having a party down there with his friends Cuz that's what the devil will tell you. He's like, oh, it's just a big party, you know, you have AC DC The the rock band where they're their frontman died from choking on his own vomit I think and He died and he's in hell and they sing a song basically About hell and how they're gonna go party with their friends And then like hell's just a big part, you know, it's all you know, I'd rather you know Rain in hell than live in and then serve in heaven. It's like you're not raining in hell The devil will be in the lowest hell He's not the devil's not there down there right now with a pitchfork token people and tormenting people. He's not the king of hell He's not raining over hell. He will be suffering worse than anybody else in hell And he's not there yet, but he will be And he he knows his end but he wants to take as many people as he can with him Anyway long story short she ended up getting saved because I showed her that this is what hell is They're they're lying to you saying it's a good place. And of course they want you to go there because that's their end They even told you there yet. Are you here to torment us before the time they know what that their time is coming The devil even knows when he comes down on the earth in the very end He says he knows that he has but a short time They know their end, but they want to destroy as many people as they can with them Okay, so when it comes to physical locations, I want to show you another place here Habakkuk chapter 2 Habakkuk chapter 2 so moral of the story You don't want to be going to these places where devils would be hanging out So If you have if you have a scheduled time to go to like some psych ward like haunted house thing I'd advise against it You say well, I can't be possessed That still doesn't mean that you should be around it and be associated with it and be in that realm I mean, does anybody say hey, I want to go hang out in this place No, this is that people that are demon-possessed can still hurt you I'm gonna show you a story about that Meaning this is that just because you can't be possessed with devil doesn't mean that you can't be hurt by others that are I I Think it was just this this story. What was it? Where this shooting happened up in Maine? The guy said that he was hearing voices in his head about one of the commit a mass murder Do you think devil possession is not still out there? If people that play with that stuff Especially unsafe people that play with that stuff are just opening themselves up and I'm getting ahead of my sermon here But they're opening themselves up to this but know this is that you as a Christian if you're around that if you if you're around that Type of stuff can still be hurt physically from it. You can't spiritually be hurt Because obviously that's untouchable, but you can still be physically hurt You know the idea is like not not playing with fire, even though like, you know that spirits are speaking. Nothing can touch you You still have the physical Flesh that's here. You can still be hurt physically Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 8 here I'm dealing with the idea of haunted houses or areas that are kind of like spiritually devilish if you will You say why you preach on this well Halloween's coming up so why not, you know, let's let's preach about something that's true Let's preach about the reality of the situation and that hey instead of like instead of celebrating it let's Realize that the the horrors of the reality of devils and in that that spiritual realm that's there. We're not just counting it We're not saying well that stuff doesn't exist. No, we're saying it exists, but it's to be rejected It's to be it's to be basically Shunned to where you're not around that type of stuff Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 8 here knows what says as if it and this is dealing with With Babylon as well, okay It says because thou hast spoiled many nations all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee Because of men's blood and of the violence of the land of the city and of all that dwell therein Woe to him that covereth an evil covetousness to his house that he may set his nest On high that he may be delivered from the power of evil thou hast consulted shame to thy house By cutting off many people and has sinned against thy soul, so we're talking about basically murder and violence that's going on And he's saying you cut off many people and Has sinned against thy soul for the stone shall cry out of the wall and the beam out of the timber shall answer it Woe to him that buildeth the town with blood and stabless a city by iniquity Now you can Now I want you to what did it say the stones gonna cry out of the wall and the beam is gonna cry out to the timber Now you can say well, that's just poetic being hyperbolic metaphorical or maybe it's literal and That when violence and wickedness happens in a place There's there's a certain spiritual Attachments that's there and you say well, you know, how do you know it's devilish? I don't know maybe because that the devil is a murderer from the beginning Right the Bible talks about the devil being a murderer so the devil and devil is being involved with murder and bloodshed is Not out of the ordinary and the idea that there's this attachment that even inanimate objects would cry out And say well is that is that a real thing how about Jesus says when they're going when they're there he's riding on the the cult the fall of an ass and They're saying Hosanna in the highest in Luke 19 and verse 39 It says and some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him master Rebuke thy disciples and he answered and said unto them I tell you that if these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out Did you believe that's true I can't believe that it that a stone would cry out or that a timber would cry out There's a spiritual realm that's out there And I don't think that Jesus is just making that up like oh, you know, I'm just kind of being hyperbolic here No, I believe that they didn't say anything the stones would have spoken up You're like, how's that? How's that possible? It doesn't matter how it's possible. It's the fact that it's the Bible. It's true. I mean, do you believe that that That Balaam's ass spoke to him I do I don't believe that's just a fairy tale I don't believe that's just being a metaphor Metaphorical never feel like oh, you know the creations that's all allegorical. That's all just a picture You know like Adam and Eve that's all just a picture Yeah told you exactly how many years he lived when he died how many sons he had what his son's names were Yeah, that's all just allegory. Where did it end? You got this genealogy going down the line and then Jesus genealogy goes back to Adam, where's the allegory? When when did that stop? It's like well Adam and Eve is an allegory was Noah then is Abraham is Israel the twelve tribes Where does this stop? It doesn't because it's all that's all literal And so when it comes to this There's some things in here to where People will say things like they'll be like all this is haunted by the the spirit of you know, I Don't know, you know some some dead person that died a long time ago. And this is the spirit of them That's living in this house Because these things have happened. It's like well what they said about why it happens may not be true but the fact that there are that there are spiritual things being done as far as like there's Voices or there's things being said or or maybe there's things that they've seen That may not be untrue the question is is what's causing it And I don't know about you, but that's kind of creepy to me Right to think that this is actually a real thing where where a sin in a house Let's say there was like a murder that happened in a house That that building the physical objects are tainted with that sin There was a murder that happened in Clarksburg. I was telling some of the guys about it And I won't go into detail but it made national news, but it was in a Hardee's And we used to always, you know as kids you make jokes You're like, hey, let's go down the Hardee's and get a a murder burger with a homicide fries, you know But it was bad, you know what they did to that building they leveled it Obviously, they didn't just like open business the next day Okay, they leveled it. It's a bank now. So but that being said is that We always get to the Bible for truth. And sometimes there's things out there where you'll hear things You're like, is that true though? Are they just making that stuff up? There may be a little bit of truth to it, but the source of what's going on may not be what they to be true So we know that Devils can have inhabit a place also sin contained a place How about this is that and you may say well, this is more spiritual meaning, but how about Abel when Cain killed Abel? What did God say? To Cain obviously Cain's like am I my brother's keeper But in Genesis 4 10 it says and he said what hast thou done the voice of thy brother's blood Cryeth unto me from the ground They can say well that's spiritual because Abel saved and I agree with you that Abel saved but maybe just like Habakkuk There is something to do with the fact that that that ground was tainted Think about this. I mean you think about the the iniquity of land talks about how the land will vomit them up There's obviously spiritual applications to that but that I don't Just automatically take out the physical as if that's not there The idea that the actual physical land the rocks the stones the timbers Even the physical blood that was spilled can cry out And so get a biblical understanding on different places and and all that how about Let's you know, we're talking about the Israel Palestine conflict, you know, not that we're talking about But you know, that's all you ever hear about nowadays. It's like all you know, are you for Israel? You're for Palestine, you know Not for either one of them, but go to Revelation chapter 11 Revelation chapter 11. So let's hit on Jerusalem Jerusalem Physical Jerusalem that is now we know that Jerusalem which is above is the mother of us all Jerusalem which now is isn't in bondage with her children. There's two different Jerusalem's there's a physical and there's the spiritual You Know people are gonna be like all Jerusalem, you know, that's that's being blessed of God and you know That's that's the holy city that we need to be praying for Well, let's see what it says here in Revelation 11 8 It says in their dead body shall lie in the street of that great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt Where also our Lord was crucified? So where was Jesus crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem right on Calvary on Golgotha And that city is spiritually called Sodom in Egypt now just to give you a little history, but Jerusalem was completely desolated after the resurrection of Christ 70 AD That it was completely completely desolated and you know what Jesus said it was going to be go to Matthew chapter 23 Matthew chapter 23 Matthew chapter 23 Say well, where is there a habitation of Devils? I think you can see where I'm going with this Think about certain locations places Obviously you think about like desolate places that have sin attached to it violence murder all that type of stuff that Devils would hang out there How about places that are still inhabited though with people That there's a spiritual I mean we just got done preaching about or you know going through Taking on the whole armor of God and the fact that there's spiritual wickedness in high places So obviously you can think about just in high places throughout the world That there's Devils abiding in these offices and in these places and all of that Right, if you don't think that in in America in the capital that there's not an abode of Devils up there Then you're not paying attention. I Forget the statistic but this wasn't a Baptist statistic on how many people that are in public office as far as in in the capital That are that are would be clinically considered psychopaths It was like 20 some percent Like well, that's not that much well consider that if you were to look at the whole population which is ridiculous That's not that much one out of one out of four, you know, like if you One out of four politicians are a psychopath Okay, but if you were to look at like just if you were to look at America Right as far as psychopaths as far as percentage. It's like one to two percent Why is it so skewed when you get into public office, right? So But in Matthew chapter 23 in verse 24 it says wherefore behold I send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes And some of them you shall kill and crucify and some of them Shall you scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed Upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barakas whom ye slew Between the altar and between the temple in the altar barely I say unto you all these things shall come upon this generation Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem now that kills the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings and you would not Behold your house is left unto you desolate And it was desolated And 70 AD, I mean the whole city was destroyed the temple was destroyed it was left desolate and if you think that well no in 1947 1948 that it's been restored then then you're out to lunch Because the only time that the Bible says that they'll be restored is it that Britain that branch will be grafted in if they continue not in unbelief And as last I checked they still reject the Lord Jesus Christ They still don't believe on Christ You know who is a liar, but he that believe that g or who's a liar But he that denied that Jesus is the Christ He is anti Christ to deny the father and son whosoever denied the son the same hath not the father But he that acknowledged that the son hath the father also Well, he they had the father but they don't have the son wrong You don't have the son you don't have the father Well, you know they believe they believe that they believe Moses They believe the Torah wrong if you would if you believe Moses you wouldn't believe me For he wrote of me. That's what Jesus said So you're dealing with a bunch of anti-christs that are living in Jerusalem That are in Israel Sounds like a perfect place for Satan to abide but guess what the Bible even teaches that in the fact that when it comes to religions Specifically the Jews specifically Judaism it is a habitation of Devils Go to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 9 Revelation chapter 2 and verse 9 You're like, oh you're picking on the Jews you're picking on Israel. I can't just I can't help it. I mean the Bible just talks about it all the time You're like, oh you're preaching about the habitation of devils, how'd you get into Israel? Because that's what it mentions I Mean when you're talking about like, okay our time in the future. What are you dealing with? I don't know Maybe Jerusalem that's Sodom and Egypt To where the Antichrist is going to set up his palace to where you're gonna have the abomination of desolation set up And where the Bible calls the synagogue of Satan Notice what it says in Revelation chapter 2 and verse 9 It says I know thy works in tribulation of poverty thou art rich And I know the blasphemy of them that which say they are Jews and are not but are the synagogue of Satan For not now you say well, how do you know that those aren't just people that are saying they're they're they're Jews but they're they're you know, they're just kind of lying about it like oh, you know, I I'm circumcised I'm just lying about that or I'm not circumcised But I'm just lying about being circumcised and it's just like this whole like thing No, he is not a Jew which is one outwardly and circumcisioned is not that which is outward in the flesh For he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the hardened spirit That's what the Bible teaches. So they're saying they're Jews because they're outwardly Circumcised but they're not inwardly circumcised and that God doesn't regard that as being Jews But notice what it says in verse 10. It says for none of those things which thou shalt suffer I'm sorry fear. None of those things which thou shalt suffer behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that she may be tried and you shall have Tribulation ten days be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life now Let me ask you a question back in this time who was persecuting Christians Was it the Romans It's definitely the Jews right? I mean Jews were number one enemy the Bible even says that they are the enemies They are your enemies for the for the gospel sake You know what the Romans were actually saving Christians from the Jews I mean if you look at the book of Acts And you look at Paul's like where he he they they're trying to tear him apart and Lysias had to go in with his soldiers and Britain to save Paul from being killed by the Jews And even the Jews are just like all this he has came in with violence It's like yeah, this guy came in and just like roughly took away Paul from us. So we couldn't kill him The Jews are like taking there's all these Jews that are taking oaths as they we're not gonna eat until we kill Paul So in here we see okay the synagogue of Satan which say they're Jews and are not and Then the devil shall cast some of you in the prison who is casting people actively casting Christians in the prison for what they believe The Jews now you say well later on in history, you know you have Romans that are doing that. Okay, but where are we at in the timeline of events here? Especially when the Jews still had Jerusalem and it wasn't destroyed yet but here's think Go to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 13 You say we're talking about where devils abide abide. Well specifically where does Satan abide? In Revelation chapter 2 verse 13 It says I know thy works and when where thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is And thou holdest fast my name and has not denied my faith Even in those days where an Antipas was was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. I Want you to I want someone to give me a better, you know case of who killed Who killed Antipas? Does it sound like the Romans did? Or does it sound like it was a synagogue and And What the Bible is saying is that the synagogue of Satan you say well you're spiritualizing it with the Jews Am I or is the Bible? Well Jerusalem you're spiritualizing that you know the physical Jerusalem, you know, are you spirit am I spiritualizing or is the Bible spiritualizing it? And You know revelation 39 says behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not But do lie behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. I Just want to throw that one in there. Just so you know, well, you know revelations about the Jews, you know The Jews are gonna come back to Christ. The only mention of the Jews is them being called the synagogue of Satan In Revelation, so try again Now so that's places right so you can think about like Desolate places like let's say an insane asylum like a Places where murders happened where violence has happened and the devil would be attached to that or Devils would be attached to that so I When you're dealing with these type of places like haunted places if you will I Don't think it's all out to lunch. I don't think I think there are spiritual elements there and I Don't particularly want to be there now Now if you're talking about like a haunted house where you like go to Rich's Fright Farm and they're just making stuff up That's not what I'm talking about. Okay, you know like where you do like a fun house like haunted house type thing Where there wasn't actually people being murdered and violence happening But I'll say this about that, okay There are psychopaths out there and this is something I've always thought about when you think about like these haunted Hayrides or haunted houses and stuff like that You Know you go through those things thinking like well everybody's in on it This is all just a game everybody's everybody's making up stuff, you know, like they're just kind of like It's all just to get you scared Who's to say some psychopath doesn't jump in there? When that's going on and that there's actually a physical psychopath that's actually gonna try to kill people and then run off into the dark You're like, oh that wouldn't happen some guy just went into a bowling alley Just shot up a whole bunch of people said their voices were speaking to him. That's not even a haunted house That's just a bowling alley. I Mean as a father With children the one thing that I think about too is that I'm always trying to make sure I'm assessing the situation As far as how I'm going to deal with a situation, right? Like if I go to a place where there's there's a lot of people I'm always kind of just check making sure like checking my surroundings making sure that hey Okay, I you know, I have a gun on me. I got this. I'm you know, I'm ready to go You know, I don't for example I don't go to an event just wearing flip-flops no gun and just and then I got my Family with me and I'm just like well something happens. I'm just You know, I Still try to defend them. Don't get me wrong Barefoot no gun, but at the same time Why put yourself into a situation where it makes it even more difficult. It's like dark There's people that are just jumping out and then you don't know if that person's actually trying to hurt you or not You're like you're paranoid I'm actually not paranoid at all When I'm carrying a gun, I'm I feel pretty safe You're like, oh, you know, you're not trusting in the Lord Well, Jesus said if you don't have a sword sell your garment buy one So get your extra spiritual stuff Adam out of this church Because Jesus said to buy a sword and if you think that we shouldn't buy a sword then you're contradicting What our Savior said? Now Devils can also inhabit people. Okay, go to Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, so places They could be there But people and this is throughout the New Testament that you'll see this okay, I mean it's hard you can't read through The Gospels without finding a story where someone is possessed with a devil Or multiple devils actually in a lot of cases you'll see multiples. Okay? And this is one thing that if you're saved today, you know, you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Praise the Lord that you can't be possessed with the devil right that this is not going to happen to you. Okay? But you know, you need to see the reality of the situation and that this isn't just gone away Matthew chapter 12 verse 43 says when the unclean spirit is Gone out of a man He walking through dry places and seeketh rest and findeth none. Then he said I will return into notice this my house From whence I came out Now is he talking about physical house or is he talking about a person talking about the person right? He's talking about he's gone out of a man. He's walking through dry places and he's seeking He's trying to find a place to reside So think about it you get these places where there's just devils inhabiting You know what they're waiting for something to jump into They're looking for a residence Okay It says then he said Seth I will return Into my house from whence I came out and when he has come he finds it empty swept and garnished now Let me ask you a question. Does it sound like this person got saved? No, because if you're saved the Holy Ghost is within you Know you not that your body is the temple the Holy Ghost and that the Spirit of God dwell within you You you had and that's why the Bible says you're of God little children and Have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he is in the world and just like Jesus says, you know in order for you to to basically spoil a house of a strong man, you have to first bind the strong man and Then you can spoil that house, right? And that's when Jesus was casting out Devils, which means that Jesus is obviously stronger than devil And Obviously the Holy Ghost is stronger than any devil that's out there So if you're saved, you're not this person that's empty swept and garnished, right? the idea here is that this person was possessed with devil the devil left them and he's like I'm coming back and This person isn't saved and it says in verse 45 Then he'd go then go with he and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell There in the last state of that man is worse than the first even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation So you have this case where this guy was possessed with a devil now He comes back with seven others that are worse than him, which also shows you that there's levels to the how bad Devils can be Which is interesting, you know if you want to be creeped out for a minute But You have the fact that you have seven Devils that are coming back now Mary Magdalene It says that that Jesus cast out seven Devils from Mary Magdalene And that's real that that actually happened But once you get saved, she didn't it's not like Jesus is constantly casting out Devils. There's this weird doctrine out there People just saying like Christians can be possessed with a devil, you know Because there's some unsaved heretic talking about how he's possessed with a devil all the time And he has to rebuke the devil from himself It's because you're dealing with an unsaved heretic I mean shouldn't there be a telltale sign like this guy's not saved because he's constantly foaming at the mouth and like Peeping and muttering and and he's like possessed with a devil You're like, how did you know? You know I know that the Bible talks about and I'm gonna be I'm doing a whole series I'm starting a new series this afternoon on spiritual gifts and one of those is discerning spirits How did you know that this guy over here was not a good prophet I don't know, you know the whole idea that he's barking like a dog And and he started like he had this real deep, you know voice starts spitting and foaming at the mouth I mean, I don't know something like something around that area of Being creepy that it was just like no this person is not saved but So we see that you know that can happen now go to Mark chapter 5 Probably one of the most famous passages of someone being possessed with a devil is the man that's possessed with the Legion You're like man, this is rough for a Sunday morning This is when I always do my fun sermons just so you know Okay This is probably gonna my Sunday mornings are usually the roughest sermons just because Why not? You know, this is the time that most people can make it This is the time that most people are gonna be here and you know What there's nothing like waking up on a Sunday morning hearing about habitations of devils, you know, but all honesty though This stuff is important because if I were talks about it, it's not something that we should leave off and you know What when people are celebrating and having fun with like devil type stuff? We need to see the severity of it and say hey, no, we don't be messing with that garbage We don't want to be even even being associated with that type of stuff and and all of that There's nothing wrong with candy. There's nothing wrong with with, you know, having pumpkins and all these different things. It's not like Everything around Halloween is inherently bad But the idea of like horror movies and like haunted houses and stuff like that that is just not Biblical it's not what we should be attaching ourselves to okay. I've never liked horror movies never understood. I mean, I Can't yeah, anyway, that's not a certain for nothing but Like all you're just scared. You just can't handle it's like no, I don't like people being mutilated I don't like watching people getting murdered. I don't know about you, but that just doesn't appeal to me So Mark chapter 5 verse 1 it says and they came over onto the other side of the sea into the country of the Gatherines and When he was come out of the ship immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit Who had his dwelling among the tombs so notice the dwelling? Where is he at? I know we talked about desolate places, but I want you to think about graveyards dwelling Among the tombs and no man could bind him no not with chains Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains and the chains had plucked been plucked asunder by him and the fetters broken In pieces neither could any man tame him another thing that you'll see and this is something that I mean you could see videos On this type of stuff, so if you want to be creeped out even further look up videos about About people basically being demon possessed and the idea of that the superhuman strength that they have We're talking about breaking iron fetters Breaking iron and to where like many men can't can't hold them down And this kind of superhuman Supernatural spiritual type of strength that's that's happening because of these devils that happen when someone's possessed with a devil And it says in all ways night and day He was in the mountains and in tombs crying and cutting himself with stones So we have this guy like cutting himself dealing with you know You know self-mutilation All this you'll see this in the Old Testament to where they're like they have these gods And they're like cutting themselves to the blood gushed out and you have Elijah over there Just like yeah, man. Just cry a lot Maybe he's sleeping you know and Elijah if they're mocking them as they're just like cutting themselves open like basically just self-mutilation But no, this is that in idolatry and all those things there's always devils attached to that that when they are sacrificing on the idols They're sacrificing unto devils. This is something that was in the Old Testament New Testament. You know, it's still going on and So this guy is basically Obviously possessed with this this extreme Unclean spirit, but what we're gonna see is that it's not just one It says in verse 6 it says and when Jesus saw I'm sorry, and when he saw Jesus afar off he ran and worshiped him and cried With a loud voice and said what have I to do with thee Jesus thou son of God the most high God I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not. Now, this isn't the man speaking This is the devil speaking. This is the unclean spirit speaking. What you'll see is that the devil's know who Jesus is And they'll even trouble you know This is where this is, you know People take James 2 out of context all the times like the devil's believe God to believe that there's one God Now believes that there's one God thou doest well the devil's also believe in tremble, right? And the thing is they they know who God is they know who Jesus is, but they still tremble before him Even in this case, right? They're just like are you here to torment us before the time and they're they're asking Jesus not to do it Okay It says for he said unto him come out of the man that one clean spirit So this is why they're saying that like, you know, don't torment us, you know, don't send us out, right? It says and he asked him what is thy name and he answered saying my name is Legion for we are many Is anybody that has a pronoun obey them might as well just label them Legion. That's what I'm gonna call you This Idea of like multiple personalities and all this Or you know just obviously this crazy wicked gender bending world that we live in right now But this is a real thing where there are people possessed with devil So if someone says hey, you know, I need to be referred to as they them Straight up Legion. I'm like your name is Legion And the reason it's Legion is because for we are many if you think about a legion of angels like Jesus talks about a Legion of angels in the idea that there's many now later on we'll talk about 2,000 They're gonna go into swine and there's 2,000 that are killed. So At least 2,000 at least Right because they who's to say that there can't be multiple devils in one pig, right? That's a lot of bacon going down the road down down. It's kind of You know the people will run away and they're there they wanted to go out of the coast because they care more about bacon than this Guy, so listen, I love bacon, but I do care about people more than that. So at least I hope so But when you're dealing with these these Devils obviously there's things that you can notice about them Is the way they speak but they'll know the Bible talks about these these people that are with familiar spirits another term that uses a familiar spirit unclean spirit evil spirit is That they peep and mutter and if you want you can look at Isaiah 8 19 to see where it talks about the fact that They peep and mutter And so you'll see people kind of like talking Within themselves. They're kind of saying stuff that doesn't make any sense, you know, kind of like speaking in tongues, you know, I Was just watching this video where this woman that used to be a witch She says she got saved I don't know if she saved But She was saying the salvation was a free gift and as by the blood of Christ and all that so hopefully this person's safe but You know just the the stuff that she was saying as far as Dealing with Devils and and and dealing with that that whole realm You know It just it made a lot it just like lined up with the Bible as far as what's going on there and I Mean I need to keep moving. I'm like getting so I'm getting I'm getting off on too many tangents there Go to Acts chapter 19 Acts chapter 19 Acts chapter 19 You know what some people will say is to say well there was definitely Devils in Jesus day But in the New Testament, it's no longer there because obviously Jesus didn't die in the cross You know the New Testament doesn't start until Jesus dies on the cross So say after the resurrection They say that like the Devils are no longer around or whatever. Well revelation 18 How can it be a habitation of Devils if the Devils aren't around Case a point but you also see stories in acts way after the resurrection Where you have people being possessed with Devils now here it says on evil evil spirits Okay, but that like I said familiar spirits unclean spirits evil spirits Devils it uses a lot of those different types of terminology and really just showing you the different aspects of what you're dealing with, right? It's unclean Right. It's evil You can think about like why the Bible uses different terminology to describe the same type of things, right? Acts chapter 19 verse 13 notice what it says here then certain of the vagabond Jews Exorcists took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits The name of the Lord Jesus saying we adjure thee we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches So get the picture who we dealing with here Certain Jews that are calling themselves exorcists, okay They're calling over to them people that have that are possessed with evil spirits and They're saying we're gonna adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches notice that they're not saved. They don't believe in Jesus But They're saying like oh, well, you know Paul's like casting out Devils over here We're gonna do it but in Jesus name just like whom Paul preaches, right? They're not even attaching Jesus to themselves at all So I want you to see this and this is something to be honest That I never really noticed the wording here on What's going on in this story and this is why as Christians Even though we can't be possessed with the devil Okay, because these these guys here obviously aren't saved the guy that had the people that evil spirits aren't safe No one here is saved. Okay, that's dealing in the story, but I want you to think about this it says and there were seven sons of one skiva a Jew and Chief of the prince which did so so basically it's not just one person, you know, obviously there's vagabond Jews, but there's seven of them There's seven of them That did this the same thing and the man in Whom this evil spirit was leaped on them who leaped on them Now I always read this and I thought of this as far as like the spirit came out of them and leaped on them Right kind of like these evil spirits came out of these guys and came on to the sons of skiva That's not what said here the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on him and overcame them and Prevailed against them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded You know what happened? Is that that devil possessed man one of the devil possessed men that they were saying? That we're gonna call this devil out of you right out of Jesus name that person Like took them to task They say well, I can't be possessed with the devil, okay, but can a demon possessed person hurt you Can some physical person hurt you? Of course they can So This is why we shouldn't be messing around with that type of stuff now as far as like, oh well I'm gonna be around this. I'm gonna go to this place where there's a bunch of devil It's like what if a devil possesses this person that's unsaved and then that person comes after you The devil knows that he can't take away your salvation. He knows he can't spiritually hurt you But he knows he can physically hurt you I Say well the Lord will protect me. Well ask the question. Is that where the Lord wants you to be? When you want the Lord's protection, you know what you need to be in the will of God So unless you're going there saying I'm gonna go preach the gospel of these people But again, it's like well, do we go to a bar to preach the gospel to people? You know that we do we could go find the worst places in the world and just go in there where it's not Gonna be receptive. I mean think about it people that doing ghost hunts. You think they're gonna be like, yeah I want to hear how I go to heaven I'm not saying it's not possible I'm just saying that Listen, that's not the best when we talk about fruitful places and low-hanging fruit and like honey holes when it comes to soul winning A ghost hunt is not the best place Okay And unfortunately, I can say that from experience because I tried it a Long time ago we went on one of those things and you know, you try to give the gospel to people you try to talk to people about it and Let's just say this people that are into ghost hunting and that type of stuff aren't exactly like on the top of the line Of people that are like what must I do to be saved? You know, I'm ready for salvation someone please show me not say it's not possible I'm just saying that hey, let's let's find the people that are more receptive So When it comes to inhabiting people obviously that can still happen we need to stay away from that how about animals Well in that same story in Mark chapter 5 They beseeching Jesus to send them out into this herd of swine that are feeding and guess what they do Notice what it says in verse 13, Mark 5 verse 13 Mark 5 and verse 13 So The last point here is that they can inhabit animals as well It's not just a place But know this is that they're trying to get into something right? They didn't just say hey We're just gonna go out into the coast. They didn't want to just be out and nothing They wanted to be in something they prefer but they prefer If you're Children on the you know, like Your pastor's up here speaking tongues They prefer To possess people I believe I believe that's what they would prefer but Outside of like a place to dwell I think they'd rather be in an animal, okay It says in verse 10 here verse 13 It says in forthwith Jesus gave them leave and the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine in the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea They were about 2,000 and were choked in the sea. They didn't last very long But They went into the swine The Bible says they entered into the swine So can Devils be in animals? Yes, they can. I want you to think about this in Revelation chapter 18 I preached a sermon on crypto zoology a long time ago And I kind of touched on this a little bit on the idea of that. There's demonic creatures maybe out there and animals Revelation 18 to our you know passage that we're dealing with it talks about it that Babylon has become the habitation of Devils and of every and then hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird Go to Isaiah chapter 19 Isaiah chapter 19 Isaiah chapter 19 And I don't have time to go into this. I had this also in my notes, but I want you to think about this What kind of creature is the devil? Well, he's an angel, right? But specifically what kind of creature is he? Well in Ezekiel chapter 28, it says that he was the anointed cherub that covereth That was his job. Okay You think about it There was four cherry bins that are mentioned in Ezekiel But I believe he was the one that was supposed to be covering if you think about the Ezekiel He had the cherubs that were underneath the throne That were going giving praise unto the Lord That Satan was the cherub that cover it and you think about the wings and everything else as far as that goes What does a cherub look like? And this is your homework which you can look in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 and you'll see the physical description of a cherub They have four faces One of them is a man one is a lion one is an eagle and one is an ox the feet are like calves feet and he has hands like a man and he has four wings and There's all there's other descriptions about it. Okay So what I'm gonna show you here you say wow, you're kind of lunch, you know with this Is it out to lunch to think that there's like this creature that kind of looks like a centaur looking Creature where it's kind of half human half, you know part creature that God created Meaning this is that there are The we're talking about Devils, aren't we? Talking about angels I didn't get into the seraphims, but they're similar You say well all all are all angels cherry bins or seraphims. I don't know but I do know this is that there are certain angels that are and the devil himself is called the Anointed cherub that cover it. Okay Isaiah 13 and verse 19 here. It says in Babylon the glory of kingdoms and beauty of Calities Excellency shall be as when God overthrows Sodom and Gomorrah So sound similar, you know talking about Babylon has fallen has fallen That's what our text passage was dealing with it shall never be inhabited neither shall it be dwelt from generation to generation Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there neither shall the shepherds make their fold there But while beasts of the desert shall lie there and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures and owls shall dwell there and satyrs Shall dance there and the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses and dragons in their pleasant palaces and Her time is near to come and her day shall not be prolonged So we're talking about the desolation of Babylon and it says that there's going to be like these creatures there Everything from owls to dragons and other places talked about vultures and all these different things So you think about like hateful birds, right? And that revelation talk about but what is a satyr This is mentioned twice and it's also mentioned in Isaiah 34 now you could say that it's just a goat Okay But if you were to look up what a what a satyr even is and be careful Okay, don't look up images of satyrs, okay I'm just warning you don't look up images of satyrs because there's some Bad stuff in there, but basically they say it's like a half animal half human type creature Okay, whether it's like a goat or like a horse or you know, whatever right, but it's basically like this half type thing Well, you have one place where we're talking about this Saturday The other place is talking about devils and foul spirits and Thing is the devil is some kind of creature that's kind of looks half human half beast like right there living creatures They're not they're not humans. Okay There is a difference between angels and humans and being mankind right? We're made in the image of God They're not now the devil can transform himself into an angel of light and he can look like a human being right? So that's why angels can look human Because they're able to transform themselves to look that way But ultimately they're a creature that's kind of like this animal type of like person animal type creature And you think about like this as far as that the last thing I want to point out is well how many devils are out there Well in Revelation when it's talking about the angels that are worshiping God It says that there's ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands Okay Now that and some places talked about innumerable angels, right? But let's just use this as a benchmark. Okay, this is minimum minimum amount of angels that there are in heaven right now 10,000 times 10,000. How many is that? 100 million Thousands of thousands so it's plural. So let's take the lowest plural amount of thousands two, okay so two thousand times two thousand four million a Hundred and four million at least are in heaven that are worshiping God and praising God, right? How many angels fell with Satan one third a third part of the angels fell So how many devils that make 52 million There's 52 million at least Devils that are out in the world right now Kind of creepy, isn't it? Right? You're not just dealing with like a thousand 52 million that are out in the world And here's thing you know what Jesus said to his disciples because the disciples were and here's the kind of end on a light Note is that we have power over these devils We have the Holy Spirit inside of us they can't enter us but also You're out preaching the gospel. Listen, the Word of God is how Jesus it talks about they cast out devils with the Word of God and The fact is is that they rejoice because they had power over the devil's because they had power over these spirits and Jesus says Rejoice not and and I'm paraphrasing. They don't have you know in front of me right now. He's like basically rejoice not Basically don't just rejoice because you have power over the devil's or these spirits but rejoice Because your names are written in heaven It's kind of like that's a side note right a side note that you have power over these devils and over these spirits Your name is written in heaven your name is written and You know as the Bible would say with Job with an with an iron pen and The point of a diamond and you are sealed into the day of redemption and nothing can change that But we also have power over these devils that that we don't need to be afraid of them But we also don't want to be Foolish to just like hang out where they're at. Does that make sense? Like the sons of Sceva, you don't want to be like Well, I'm around these people that are just possessed with devils and I'm around this situation because you can still be hurt physically But I'll say this if you're if you're in the will of God and you're loving Lord I believe that God will keep you safe from all these devils that are out there Whether they're possessed, you know, they're possessing somebody and something's going on or some animal or in some place Listen, if you ever go to a place and it's just like yeah, this feels demonic here It's like you just pray that the Holy Ghost Deals with it. He's greater than any spirit that's out there, but we shouldn't be seeking those places. Does that make sense? We shouldn't just be like hey, let's go seek out where the devil's hang out I'm curious No So I thought that'd be an interesting sermon dealing with habitations of devils both physically or physical places physical people and animals and I believe the Bible teaches that there are People still being possessed with devils. There are places where devils abide that aren't necessarily possessing people but want to And then there's also animals That they could be possessing and there are I believe demonic type creatures that are out there and welcome to West Virginia so You know when you know, they talk about Bigfoot, you know, it's just the devil out there and I'm just kidding. I don't know But you know what the thing is that there's a lot of undiscovered stuff that's out there both in on land and in the ocean when it comes to that the Leviathan is The king of pride and is liking them to the devil and to think that there's not demonic creatures even in the sea When it comes to that that there probably are but but know this our memory verse is what? He has not given us the spirit of fear, but a power and of love and of a sound mind We're not the fear of this stuff We're not the fear the devil. We're not the fear. You know who were to fear God If God before so you can be against us this stuff's out there, but know this is that we are more than conquerors We have the Holy Ghost inside of us and listen. God is stronger than any of these devils that are out there He's stronger than the devil himself and we put our trust in him and we don't need to be worried about this type of stuff but We do need to know it exists. So let's end with a word of prayer. The Heavenly Father We thank you today. Thank you for your word and praise you be with us throughout the rest of day Praise you be as if we go out soul winning and Lord praise You lead us to people that are that are ready to hear the gospel ready to get saved and Lord We love you in prayer also in Jesus Christ name. Amen Now before before brother you come up here brother. I mean brother Nick go sit down but I'm gonna ask some questions real quick. So we're just gonna do a few questions. So for the kids out there Do you remember and I'm trying to think of questions here that aren't too easy, but aren't too hard either. Okay Do you remember the place That there was a habitation devil. Do you remember the the name of the city the name of the place? Yes Babylon, that's right. You want to receive mounds Hershey? I Was gonna throw it to you Yeah, no problem Besides places Where can Devils abide where can they habitate or have it inhabit? Yes Lincoln What's that Well, that's true that's place I'll give you that but besides places you can come up or I can just throw you a Reesey or something What do you want? besides places though Where can Devils inhabit? Yes, Bella People that's right. I Well, I can't really promise but hopefully do you want to Reesey or do you want to Smarty Sorry, we don't have any of that We have a cow tail thing. We have chocolate we have a KitKat Cow, but it's not a cow tail, but it's like one of these You want that? Okay, I Threw all my good passes on on Friday, so sorry I'm sorry. There was a cow tail. I lied my bad I Besides people in places, where's another place that Devils can be yes Animals, that's right. What would you like? Hershey's there we go Good job Do you remember how many devils there can be that that at least do you remember the number? I Think you got it. He's like, I'm not even waiting for someone to say you got it. You got it All right, and the last question is Can a Christian be possessed with a devil yes or no I Go with Brooklyn No, what would you like? And that's right So if you get anything out of the message you get saved lay on the Lord Jesus Christ and you have the power of the Holy Ghost, what would you like Brooklyn? I'm gonna throw a Reesey at you if you don't tell me I'm sorry Bella It's a little different at a football So, but we're gonna try to keep doing that after the first service And I can't promise anything but hopefully it's a little more light-hearted on this next time But they will come and sing another All right, if you take your song books turn to song 423 we got a real good Halloween ish October type song for you joy to the world and And apparently we're starting Christmas songs early if you would stand we'll sing song 423 Joy to the world the Lord is come let earth receive our King Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature Sing and heaven and nature sing and have and have and nature sing joy to the world the Savior reign Let men their songs employ While fields and floods rocks hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy repeat the sounding joy Repeat repeat the sounding joy No more let sands and sorrows grow nor thorns infest the ground He come to make his blessings flow As the curse is found far as the curse is found far as far as