So, we've seen a lot of stories, we're getting a big picture here of, okay, this is what's
going on.
People that are possessed, they're falling on the ground, they're foaming at the mouth,
they're self-destructive in some cases, they might have, you know, physical problems caused
by that, they're speaking with other voices that are not their own, other things are speaking
through them, other spirits that are not their own spirit, okay.
But turn, if you would, to 2 Corinthians, chapter number 11, and the Bible reads in
verse number 13, for such are false apostles, so the Bible talks about the fact that there
are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and
no marvel, verse 14, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers, referring to the devils that follow him, if his ministers,
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
Now let me ask you this, can being possessed with devils take on a religious component?
Because so far everybody we've looked at was just a foaming at the mouth psycho, right?
But wait a minute, how does having a possession of devils or being demon-possessed, how does
that tie in with religion?
Now remember I just showed you a scripture that said that Satan is transformed into an
angel of light, and that his ministers are transformed into ministers of light.
So let me ask you this, could these devils be impersonating a minister of light, impersonating
something religious, impersonating something righteous and spiritual and good?
That's what it says, right?
And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians, again, it says that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice unto idols, they sacrifice unto devils.
He's saying every time you see somebody bowing down to an idol or a statue, that is a devil
that they're worshipping.
That is not just a figment of their imagination, but it is actually a devil that is represented.
You know the Hindus have a thousand gods, there are a thousand devils is what they are.
So what I'm trying to say here is that religious people here are in a worship service and they're
exhibiting some of the same signs of people that are possessed with devils.
And let me tell you something, there are worship services today where people in the name of
Christ will basically yet exhibit the signs of being possessed with devils.
You can go to a church service tonight where people are falling on the ground and flopping
around uncontrollably.
You can go to a church service night where people are speaking with other voices that
are not their own.
You can go to a church service night where people are...
It's out there.
It's called the charismatic movement.
Now you say, well, how do you know those people aren't filled with the Holy Spirit?
Well because I'll tell you something, people in the Bible that were filled with the Holy
Spirit never did any of those things.
People that were possessed with devils did those things all the time.
Not only that, but the Bible very clearly talks about the spirit of the Lord in 1 Corinthians
14 when it says the spirit of the prophets is subject unto the prophets, meaning that
the Holy Spirit never takes over your body.
Are you listening?
Never in the Bible.
When people are filled with the Holy Spirit in the Bible, they allow the spirit to work
through them.
They allow the Holy Ghost to speak through them.
They speak as they're moved by the Holy Ghost, but the spirit of the prophets was always
subject unto the prophets, meaning that the Holy Spirit is not taking over their body
and just controlling them against their will like a robot.
But does the devil take over someone's body and make them do things that they wouldn't
normally do?
Absolutely.
And I'll tell you something, I've been to these charismatic services and I've seen,
I've been there physically in the service, and I've seen these people go into these convulsions
and they say, oh, the spirit of the Lord came upon them, praise God, oh, they speak with
tongues as they're flopping on the ground, as they're foaming, as they're rocking back
and forth uncontrollably.
I was at a service and I didn't know it was a charismatic church.
The girl in my row started rocking back and forth.
I thought she was having an epileptic seizure.
I was ready to call 911.
I'm not kidding.
I mean, think about it.
If we were in church right now and somebody just started going like, I mean, what wouldn't
you think?
Like, oh man, we need to, we need to get some, a paramedic here or something.
We know we need to get, this is epilepsy.
But you know, I was thinking, you know, is somebody going to help this girl?
Let's see.
Do I do something?
I'm just a visitor, you know, what are the regulars?
But then I saw people like smiling and thinking it was great.
And I'll tell you something, this girl was not in the driver's seat.
She wasn't in the driver's seat.
So people will say, oh, they're faking it.
Now I do think that there are some people who fake it, you know, they just kind of get
worked up with all the rock music and all the intense emotion and they just kind of
just forced some experience to pop out or throw themselves on the ground just to, you
know, just, just to see what it's like.
But honestly, this girl wasn't faking it.
I don't, I mean, I don't believe.
I mean, I looked at her and she was not behind the wheel.
Somebody else was running the controls.
Okay.
Now let me just prove to you right now in case you have any doubt and you say, no, Pastor
Anderson, those are manifestations of the gifts of the spirit.
Let me just prove it to you right now.
Everybody who believes in it, are you listening to me?
Everybody who believes in it, everybody who goes to these churches where people are flopping
around and jabbering and, and, and barking like a dog, everybody who believes in it believes
you can lose your salvation, all of them.
And they all teach some kind of a works-based salvation, all of them.
Show me a Pentecostal church.
Show me a charismatic church where people are falling in the aisles, where somebody
says that salvation is by faith alone and that it's eternal life and that he'll never
leave us or forsake us.
None.
Zero.
All your TV preachers, because they're all false prophets and false teachers with an
air-conditioned doghouse and a, and a, you know, five Mercedes covered in gold, you know,
like a Christmas tree.
Okay.
I mean, just decked out.
And so I'm telling you, my friend, when you see false doctrine and lies and then you see
people exhibiting signs of what the Bible shows as like a textbook demon-possessed,
you know, and you say, well, you shouldn't, that's like when they accused Jesus of being
possessed.
Where did Jesus flop on the ground?
Where did Jesus speak with a voice that was not his own?
Where did Jesus throw himself in the fire or throw himself in the water?
Where did Jesus rock back and forth?
Where did Jesus slobber on his self?
And I've talked to people that have had these experiences in these churches and later got
saved and I said, what was it like?
And you know what they said?
I don't remember any of it.
That's what they told me.
They said, you know what?
I was there.
The music was pumping.
We were in the spirit.
We were swinging and swaying.
And the next thing I know, several minutes have gone by and somebody's picking me up
off the ground saying, you spoke in tongues.
You got the gift.
And they couldn't even remember it.
Now I'm not saying that that's just, I'm not saying I know everything about this.
I don't want to know everything about this.
I don't want to study it.
I don't want to learn about it.
I don't want to go on YouTube and watch all the thousands of videos of people flopping
around and, and you know, you know, I mean it's all on YouTube, but you know, if you
want to, if you want to see, you know, this, go look at it.
I don't know.
You know, I don't, I don't need to see it cause I already read the Bible.
I already know that salvation is eternal.
I already know salvation is by grace through faith and I know anybody who teaches work
salvation is a liar and I, you know, and look, the Bible says, many will say to me in that
day, talking about judgment day, Lord, Lord, if we not prophesied in thy name and in thy
name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works.
So let me ask this.
Are there people who think they've cast out devils but didn't?
Are there people who are fraudulently casting out devils cause you say, well, I don't know.
I saw a Catholic priest on a video and he cast out devils, maybe Catholicism's the true
church.
Look, if they speak not according to this word, it's because there's no light in them.
Okay.
And so, you know, it's a fraud there.
They're going to be saying, oh, we cast out devils in thy name, but you know what he's
going to, he said, then will I profess unto them.
And they say, we've done many wonderful works and then will I profess to them, I never knew
you.
Depart from me that we're iniquity.
Notice he didn't say I used to know you, but then you lost your salvation.
You can't lose your salvation.
He said, I never knew you.
And so what I'm trying to say is that there's a lot of fraud out there.
There's a lot of people out there saying that they're casting out devils that are not.
They're false apostles because the apostles had the power to just cast devils out of anybody.
I mean everybody they went to, anybody they went to, they had the power to say in the
name of Jesus Christ, you know, come out of him.
And Jesus had the power to cast out every devil he came in contact with.
And when they couldn't cast out that one devil in Mark 9, they were surprised.
And Jesus said, well this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
But keep in mind, the apostles were also given the miraculous ability to just anybody who
they laid hands on would be healed.
Jesus laid hands on everybody.
We as believers do not all have that power at all.
Absolutely not.
Now, can we pray for someone and they'll be healed?
James 5 teaches that.
Should we anoint someone with oil and pray in the name of the Lord that they be?
I've done that as a pastor, okay?
That is biblical.
But I don't have the power to just lay hands on sick folk and they all recover.
But can we pray that they'll be recovered?
Yes.
But the bottom line is I don't just say, you know, come out of him thou unclean devil.
And then they just cast them out because I don't have that power.
Every believer doesn't have that power.
I'm not an apostle.
But there are many people who try to convince you that they are an apostle.
The apostle Paul was the last apostle according to the Bible.
That's a whole other sermon.
But you know, they'll try to basically convince you that, oh, we have the power to cast out
devils and we can do all these miracles.
Now look, we can pray and fast.
You say, well, I know somebody who I believe is possessed or I know somebody who cuts themselves
and I know somebody who, you know, just hangs out in the graveyard and sometimes they say
weird things.
It doesn't seem like it's coming from them.
Or I know somebody who's going to one of these church services where they flop around
and do all this, you know, and, and you know, what you can do for that person is, is pray
for that person and fast, you know, just like you would to see someone healed, you know,
but we want to just, you know, line up for Benny hand or whatever, but that's not biblical
and you need to try the spirits, whether they're of God and you know, you try them by seeing
if they line up with the word of God.
And so let's,
Father, we thank you so much for your word and that it's a complicated subject.
I definitely didn't get through all the material that I wanted to talk about tonight, Lord,
but I pray that people would read the book of Mark and read other books and just get,
get more insight from this by studying their Bibles.
But Father help us to stay away from Satanism and witchcraft and the occult, even though
we are not able to become possessed with devils, we shouldn't even want to dabble or get anywhere
near this stuff because frankly, our children, our young children that are not yet saved,
you know, they could get exposed to this stuff.
We need to keep them away from the nine inch nails and from the Harry Potter and just whatever,
whatever has to do with sorcery and witchcraft and Satanism.
Help us to keep it away from our children and help us not to be having fellowship with
devils and just help us to believe your word and to understand this truth and in Jesus
name, we pray.