Casting Out Demons

Up to this point in history, the world has seen the power of God manifest many times. The main example of that power manifested in the Old Testament came as God used Moses to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. God truly put on a show there! In the New Testament God is putting on a greater show through Jesus. God is using his Son to bring people out from the dominion of the world to His Kingdom. Nobody has seen that kind of power manifest before; nobody has seen demons scare and flying off of people. But God was about to put up another show, this time through the church. In Luke 9:1-2 the Bible tells us, “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons…” Luke 9:1 (ESV)

The word power here is the Greek word, dunamis “ability, physical or moral, as residing in a person or thing; power in action.”^[1] This is where we get the word dynamite.  It is the same word use in Acts 1:8.^[2] The word authority here is the Greek word, exousía; meaning, “Permissible, allowed, right, liberty, power to do something.^[3] We have the divine power to cast these demons out; but this power goes further, is dynamite and it only operates when you and I take action. We also have the right to cast these demons out. We can’t ignore this; it may make you a little uncomfortable, it may take away a little of your sense of dignity in ministry, you may even be one who experienced a bad deliverance ministry; but you can’t take anything away from the biblical reality of demons and the power and authority we have, from Jesus, to cast them out of people’s lives.

One chapter after that, in Luke 10:17-20, Jesus sent out the 70 disciples. He sent them by two all over the known world. This is the report they gave when they return,

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Luke 10:17 (ESV)

Compare this report with the report we see in Numbers 13:32-33 when Moses sent out the 10 spies, 

So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” (ESV)

With the exception of Joshua and Caleb these spies gave the people a bad report; they could not believe they could take these giants, even after witnessing the power of God. Even as the 70 disciples were not dealing with physical giants or Nephilim, as discussed before, they were dealing with the same spirits. Demons are the spirits of these Nephilim. Back to Luke 10 Jesus answered and made sure the 70 disciples focus on the right thing. 

18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (ESV)

Jesus made sure that these 70 disciples stayed focus on what is the most important thing of all, the SALVATION of the lost. We can’t be walking around focusing on demons.  Nevertheless, Jesus did not minimize the importance of God’s people walking in the authority to cast out demons, Jesus continued by stating,

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Luke 10:17-23 (ESV)

As I always say, demons should never… ever, be comfortable in the presence of a man or a woman of God. Casting out demons is biblical. When a demon come against us, we have the right to strike back, but only in the name of Jesus. You may ask, what about the principalities or the gods of these nations and regions around the world? I have not one Scripture telling us to rebuke the devil or any rebellious god. What I see is a Scripture that tells us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (ESV) Any good deliverance ministry starts with 1) our obedience to God and 2) resisting the devil. The result of doing these two things is a devil that will indeed flee from us. But if we are living our lives any kind of way, if we are rebellious against God ourselves, if we are loose in our approach to righteousness, don’t expect any deliverance. 

Because I don’t see any Scripture telling me that I need to rebuke the gods of this world, I simply don’t do it. However, I see plenty of Scripture telling me that Jesus has all authority. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus gives us his last words and the instructions we should focus on,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

We must remember that Jesus has all authority now. So, we can pray for God to protect us from the principalities of this world and to protect us from evil as we move forward trusting God to save folks and to anoint us to make disciples as we teach them the ways of the Lord. God is literally taking these nations back and, just as the children of Israel were a part of what God was doing then, we are a part of what God is doing now.

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^[1] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 2.

^[2] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (ESV)

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

Believing in God and trusting him goes together. Believing in God’s existence is not enough. Demons know that God exist also. John 2:19 tells us, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” Actually, demons are a step ahead of those who approach God as if He is a mere human; demons have enough sense to also tremble. Furthermore, God’s existence is really undebatable. Romans 1:18-21 tells us, 

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (ESV)

This verses clearly tells us the truth about Atheism… it does not exist! What is real is hatred against God, rebelliousness, ungodliness, unrighteousness and suppressors of the truth. However, the existence of God is, as the Bible states, in plain sight. The issue for humans is not God’s existence but trusting him. As a matter of fact, Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (ESV) 

Notice that just believing in his existence is nothing special; there must be trust in knowing that there is a reward for those who trust Him no matter the circumstances.  Folks who fall apart over every challenge or obstacle in life are not placing their trust in God; they are placing the problem above God’s power and that my friend, is very offensive to the Almighty. That is why without faith it is impossible to please God. It amazes me that faith is so important that is not only a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), but also a gift of the same Spirit (First Corinthians 12:9) and, a crucial ingredient in our own salvation (Ephesians 2:8). 

America seems to be synonymous with freedom and opportunities for all. After all, America is known as the home of the brave, the land of opportunities and a place where all dreams come through. That is, of course, the utopian America; the one that conservatives love to defend, and liberals love to hate. But even as America is still a great country; America is part of the world and, like each one of us individually, America is not perfect. 

Today, I want to address the Cancel-Culture. I defined Cancel-Culture as a vigorous attempt to cancel and, in some cases, destroy anything or anybody that stand or represent a different view from what the progressive principles determine to be right or wrong.

The cancel culture has always been around. The idea that this is a new thing is simply ridiculous. Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (NIV) 

The folks who do the canceling are the folks in power; the folks who get canceled are not. It has and, it will always be like that. The people in power chose who the good and the bad guys are; they decided who gets the spotlight, who stays in the shadows and who the heroes and losers are. They have the power to edit the pages of our history and tell it in whatever way they want and, they are in charge of the laws to. 

For example, these days I have been reading on boxing and baseball history. In that study I saw the cancel culture in action as I looked at two sport legends: Jack Johnson, the first black world boxing champion and, Babe Ruth, considered by many as the best baseball player that ever lived. They were both immoral, they were both adulterous and, they were both womanizers. However, one was protected by the folks in charge and, the other, put in jail by the same people. You can guess who was protected and who went to jail. 

All through our history, the ugly face of discrimination has shown her face. Those who have the power to discriminate are in charge of the cancel culture. Today, it seems like those who were discriminating then have lost significant grounds in our culture today. It was ok some years ago to be a racist; definitely not ok now. That is a good think. However, we are now looking at the same discrimination from the other side. You may say, “well Angel, that is justice.” I want to reply by reminding you that, as believers, we are told “…not repay anyone evil for evil.^[1] I guess it is the old saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

In the midst of her greatness and love for freedom, America has always had a part of her that is disgusting, a part of her that fights to keep certain groups of our society in chains. It used to be blacks and minorities in general on the receiving end of such hate. Today, we can say, that it is the conservatives and Bible believer Christians who are the main recipients of such hate. Furthermore, it is God the main target for that hate. The nations of the world turned against God thousand of years ago. In Psalm 82:3-7 Asaph prayed by stating, 

Defend the weak and the fatherless;
    uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
    They walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
    you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.” (NIV)

This is why we encounter so much evil in the world; these gods or principalities have been influencing regions and cities around the world to resist anything established by God. That is exactly what they are doing today. America is not exempt from such principalities of hate. 

In conclusion, this idea of a certain gladness for knowing that at least, in America, we are free, all through our history, it has always been at the expense of other groups. The cancel culture was, is and, it will be a central part of our culture and the cultures around the world until the time of the gentiles is over.^[2] The principalities will continue to vigorously attempt to cancel God and his church, but at the end of this dimension of life; more specifically, at the end of the millennium, all evil will be cancelled from the face of the earth for all eternity… you better believe that!

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^[1] Romans 12:17

^[2] They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:24 (ESV)

The responds of churches to the Coronavirus was helpful in our quest for a Church Family here in Arizona; it actually made it easier. The first church we attempted to make our home church closed before the governor even ordered to close churches in Arizona. I wonder where all that preaching about God’s power went. It seems like they were very comfortable with the online church. So, they left us! 

After weeks of watching church online we were hungry for fellowship with brothers and sisters. I will always thank God for Danielle, one of my wife’s co-workers who invited us to visit her church. I met her husband Allen and we connected right from the start. They introduced us to their pastor, Pastor John. Pastor John, like me, loves golf. He asked me for my Handicap first and then told me that he will call me for a game of golf on a Saturday. For my surprise, Pastor John did call me to play. We had a great fellowship in the golf course. My wife and I visited that church several times without making any commitment. 

It was in that church, Harvest Outreach, that I received the first invitation to preach. I played golf with Pastor John a few times. As we were playing a round of golf, pastor John told me that he felt the Spirit telling him to let me preach. When this invitation came, we were also visiting a church in our community. We got a quick invitation to sing in that community church and quickly after, the pastor expressed that he wanted for me to be a pastor there. 

We decided to choose the church in our community over Harvest Outreach, probably more out of convenience than anything else. We actually got involved in the music ministry. I never felt at peace there, but it was within walking distance from home. A few months later it was obvious that we made a mistake. No need to go into any details. We left that church; we should have never joined.

My wife and I decided to, for the first time, take our time in finding this home church. At the end of last year I said, we will look and visit churches in our area, and I trust that by March of 2021 the Lord will show us our home church. One Sunday morning we went online and look for churches inside of a half an hour from our home. We had a basic standard. After about 9 hours of searching, we only had five churches in our list. 

We visited these churches and again, I don’t want to go into details, but looking for a home church is not easy folks.  We found churches consumed with Hillsong, Bethel and Elevation music, we saw churches that looked like shows, we saw churches where a pastor was preaching out of some book outside of the Bible. We went to a church where the front doors were lock with no usher at the door. When they finally open the door, everybody inside was masked up, social distancing; the people were cold, folks afraid of saying hi. After a few songs from the worship team the pastor made his entrance with his bodyguard. We also saw a church that was losing their minds over Trump loosing. The whole service was political; they made it obvious they were Republican. 

After all these experiences my wife and I looked at each other wondering what we were willing to compromise. I continued to pray, and my wife continue to pray for God to give me wisdom. 

A week or so ago I can’t say that an angel spoke to me or I heard the audible voice of God, but out of nowhere I started thinking deeply about Pastor John and the Harvest Outreach Church. By then we have had good fellowship with Danielle and her husband Allen; we ate at each other’s home a few times. I ate breakfast with a few men from the same church and enjoyed the fellowship and, definitely enjoyed playing golf with pastor John.

I realized that Sunday that Harvest Outreach is our local church. It was the church that was there for us during Covid-19; they kept the doors open and received us with great love. We realized that we are no longer joining churches for the two-hour show on Sundays; if it does not feel like family is not a home church for us. We feel that this church is part of our family. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do there in us and through us. We are looking forward to learning and serving at Harvest Outreach. 

Points to Take Into Consideration Before Engaging in Spiritual Welfare Effectively

If you have any old Pentecostal up bringing, you definitely have heard about spiritual welfare, fighting the devil, fighting demons, taking authority and so on. The reality is that many times we just don’t know what we are talking about. We out there looking for spiritual fights, but many times, not even realizing that we are getting out butts whip. We cast out demons publicly while privately we let them entertain us with R rated movies, pornography and all kind of secret sins. 

When involved in spiritual welfare you have to 1) be saved. If you are not saved, you still belong to the devil; he is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). 2) you must have authority. Second Corinthians 10:6 gives us one of the most powerful tools in spiritual welfare, “being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” (ESV) So first step? Let us work on our basic obedience. Wives respect your husbands, husbands love your wife, young man honor your parents, man and woman of God stop all that gossip and be obedient to your supervisors, pray for our leaders and lest bear some fruit, shall we? 3) Even more importantly, you must understand that, that kind of authority comes from Jesus, NOT FROM YOU! Acts 19:13-16 tells us,

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (NIV)

Did you see what happen here? Seven men against one man; but because that one man was demon-possessed; he had supernatural powers. The Bible tells us that one man gave these seven men “…such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” That takes us to point number 4) casting out demons cannot be done in our strength or in the strength of our flesh, our knowledge, education, physical abilities or how loud we yell. Our flesh does not have a chance when facing demons. 

So how do we engage in spiritual welfare? Well, let’s do a little summary of the enemies we have identified in this series. Who are our enemies,

• The Devil (He is the leader of all evil)
• The fallen angels (Genesis 6) I am not sure what is the role of these fallen angels or if they deal with us directly. I know that some of those fallen angels are in the Abyss that we spoke about previously and they will be release at the end of the Millennium. They will attempt to fight God one last time, but you know how that’s going to go.
• The Nephilim were genetically and spiritually corrupt creatures who were the result of the fallen angels having sex with the women. Genesis 6 introduced us to them. Jude gives us the impression that they are amongst us (Jude 1:3-4), but it is obvious that they no longer look like giants; they look like normal humans. It is not surprising to me that Satan will continue to duplicate the iniquity of Genesis 6. 
• The gods who rebelled against God (Psalm 82). These are the gods whom God placed in charge of the nations of the world (Genesis 10) according to Deuteronomy 32. These gods are the principalities Paul speaks about in Ephesians 6:12. These principalities or gods are over regions.  

• And then we have demons; as I discussed before, these are the spirits of the dead Nephilim. Demons have an advantage over the rest of the demonic realm in that demons know us more intimate. They know how to walk in our bodies; they know what we feel, how we think and so on. Do you find it a coincidence that Jesus also came to us through the womb of a woman just like the Nephilim did? Something to think about!

Now, as it relates to spiritual welfare, we are not told in the Bible to rebuke the devil, we are told to resist him. But again, let’s not forget the important point about obedience; James 4:7 tells us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (NIV) Our submission to God is first and foremost. Let’s learn some more about spiritual welfare with Jude, 

In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. Jude 1:8-10 (NIV)

Jude 1:8 is talking about the homosexuals in Sodom when they wanted to have sex with the angels in Genesis 19; there we see Genesis 6 in reverse. Notice that in verse 8 the Bible uses Archangel Michael as an example, because even as powerful as he was, he did not rebuke the devil when fighting for Moses’ soul. Michael understood his place and that his authority came from God, “The Lord rebuke you!”. The word Rebuke means to punish and to charge… Only God has that power! Verse 10 is describing these ungodly people in the church who slander each other; they are compared with those homosexuals in Genesis 19. So, in Spiritual welfare we do not rebuke the devil, we submit to God and we say like Michael, “The Lord rebuke you.” We love to say “I rebuke you Satan in the name of Jesus”, but it is not biblical… that is not our job. 

There is nothing in the bible about us going against the gods or principalities of this world. Again, when Jesus taught the disciples how to pray, he told them to say “…deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13 (ESV) It is God’s job to deliver us from evil. But Jesus did give us one green light to fight the evil realm. In our next article we are going to learn what the Bible has to say about casting out demons.

To be continue…

Demons in the New Testament 

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Absolutely nothing in the Bible is an accident. Jesus did not choose this particular location by accident either. Caesarea Philippi is “a city built in upper Galilee near the sources of the Jordan River, at the foot of Mount Hermon, called Paneas because it was the center of the worship of the heathen god Pan.”^[1] Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel. The meaning of Hermon is, “Anathema or abomination, devoted to destruction.”^[2] It has that name for a reason, it was in Mount Hermon that the fallen angels or, as Enoch calls them, the Watchers, planned the abomination of all abominations, to have sex with the women. 

And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto ² them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men ³ and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not ⁴ indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations ⁵ not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves ⁶ by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn ⁷ and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, ⁸ Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaq1el, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens^.[3]

In Matthew 17:1-8 the Bible tells of Jesus Transfiguration. The transfiguration of Jesus did not take place at the foot of Mount Hermon; he led three disciples up a high mountain. “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” (ESV) 

Again, this is no coincidence. Jesus builds the church and revealed himself to three of them right in the same place where the iniquities and all iniquities was planned; a place of abomination, devoted for destruction. I am sure that there was some serious demonic activity there. 

Jesus’ work is far greater and more complex that we can ever understand. Jesus did not only address our sin issue that started with Adam and Eve, he also addressed the iniquity of iniquities in Genesis 6 and the issue of the lost nations of the world (The Tower of Babel) and he left us in charge of fulfilling the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus tells the disciples,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is through the great commissions that people are change, not through political powers, not through Trump or the Republican Party, but through the Great Commission. Now, in this process of sharing the good news to the nations of the world we can’t be ignorant of demonic forces. Demons are causing all kinds of trouble around the world; they are following Satan’s agenda. That agenda can be clearly seen all through Scripture. Satan comes to kill, still and destroy (John 10:10) through the work of demons we see that agenda in action.

• Demons can cause physical sickness: (Luke 4:39 / 8::2)

• Demons can cause insanity:

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Mark 5:15 (ESV)

• Demons can make people do evil things:

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. Luke 22:2-3 (ESV)

• Demons promote false doctrine:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, First Timothy 4:1 (ESV)

• Demons perform signs to deceive humans:

And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. Revelation 16:14 (ESV)

• Demons can harass even believers: 

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 2 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)

• Demons can cause muteness: 

As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. Matthew 9:32 (ESV)

• Demons can cause blindness:

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. Matthew 12:22 (ESV)

• Demons can cause deafness: (Mark 9:17-29)

The next chapter is going to be dedicated to teaching how to properly engage in spiritual welfare.

To be continued…

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^[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[2] https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/hermon/

^[3] https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/260enoch.html

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)

God’s ways are not only different from ours, but indescribably better. The very wisdom of the world, the best men have to offer, is foolishness before the Lord (1 Cor. 3:19). We may not understand God, but Hisjudgments are truth and righteous (Psalm 19:9). He is All Knowing (1 John 3:20). God is the Alpha and the Omega… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8 (ESV). We, on the other side, are dust (Psalm 103:14). 

God can actually challenge each one of  us with the same questions he challenged Job in Job 38 to 40 starting with, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?…” It did not get any better for Job from there. God ended by stating, “…Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Job 40:1-2 (ESV). Job answered by stating, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. ⁵ I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.” Job 40:4-5 (ESV)

Job understood how small he was compared to God, but the secular world: the mainstream media, the progressive social media, the liberal entertainment industry, the corrupt politicians and the far-left sports figures never will, unless they are born again. The secular world will always enslave his people with immorality. The secular world will always advocate for Satan’s agenda. 

Let’s now take a look at 5 Biblical truths that are currently rejected by the mainstream culture in the USA. I am sure we can find more, but these 5 are obvious. Anybody that dares to teach on these topics from a biblical point of view will be hated and ridiculed by the world. 

• Everybody is responsible for making their own living not the Government

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, First Thessalonians 4:11 (NASB 1995)

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NASB 1995)

I said this often, the Adversary has found a way to destroy people, especially minorities, particularly blacks, Latinos and Native American with the welfare system. It has been the kindness way of destroying our potential as human beings. Many rather be on welfare than to work. Many, and this is in all races, rather get a disability check; they rather fight to prove a sickness, than to seek healing or arrive to the Apostle Paul’s conclusion that, even in the midst of any sickness, God’s grade is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  

• In the Bible there are only two genders, male and female

When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 

Matthew 19:1-6 (NASB 1995)

This is a huge one! In todays’ American culture, this one can really get you in trouble. This is a rebellion against God’s creation, the devil himself is behind this. The devil heard what God said in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” (NASB 1995) The devil has come against our seed ever since. 

The Adversary has managed to find ways to genetically, spiritually and morally corrupt God’s creation. There is nothing new under sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The rebellion in the Garden in Genesis 3; the rebellion of the fallen angels having sex with women in Genesis 6 and, the rebellion of the Tower of Babel as the nations of the known world turned against God in Genesis 11 pointed at one thing, the Adversaries attempts to corruption God’s creation. This obsession with adding genders that do not exist, flows out this same rebellious spirit against God and his creation. It is the idea of transforming humans into what they are not; it is all about corrupting God’s holy bloodline. 

The detailed genealogies that we see in Scripture are hard and, at times, boring to follow, but they are there so we can see the pure blood line from Adam to Noah to Abraham and all the way to the Messiah. Side by side with this holy bloodline, there is an evil one that will always be against God’s creation, His righteousness and his plan of salvation.

• Homosexuality and Same Sex Marriage is an abomination

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. Leviticus 18:22 (NASB 1995)

If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them. Leviticus 20:13 (NASB 1995)

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, Romans 1:26-28 (NASB 1995)

The word abomination in Leviticus 18:22 is the Hebrew word, tōʿēḇāh “This word is primarily understood in the context of the Law. It identifies unclean food (Deut. 14:3); the activity of the idolater (Isa. 41:24); the practice of child sacrifice (Deut. 12:31); intermarriage by the Israelites (Mal. 2:11); the religious activities of the wicked (Prov. 21:27); and homosexual behavior (Lev. 18:22). In a broader sense, the word is used to identify anything offensive (Prov. 8:7).^[1]

In Leviticus 20:13 the Bible uses the word detestable; that is the same Hebrew word used in Leviticus 18:22. In Romans Paul states that because they abandoned their natural function God gave them over a deprave mind. The Greek word for deprave is the word adókimos; meaning, “Unapproved, unworthy, spurious, worthless. In a pass. sense meaning disapproved, rejected, cast away (1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor. 13:5–7; Heb. 6:8 [cf. 2 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:16]). With an act. usage meaning undiscerning, not distinguishing, void of judgment (Rom. 1:28); although in this text it may be understood in the pass.: a reprobate abominable mind, a mind to be abhorred by God and man.^[2]

There is no other way to look at homosexuality and same sex marriage; this is the way God looks at that sin: it is detestable before the Lord and, the end result of this sin is a deprave mind. Look at what the LGBQ Mental Health pamphlet have to say, 

We use “sexuality” to describe the ways an individual experiences (or doesn’t experience) attraction, and the related identity they claim for themself. Although the LGBQ acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer/questioning, each identity may mean something different to the individual who holds it — everyone’s sexuality is unique. Many people identify with one, many, or none of these labels. On Brown’s campus queer is often used as an umbrella term that can include all (a)genders and (a)sexualities outside of cisgender/heterosexual. If you do not feel comfortable using these labels, or any other, you do not need to. *This pamphlet is specifically directed for students who identify as LGBQ, though it may also contain information relevant to ace-spectrum folks, trans folks, or folks with other identities.^[3]

In other words, you are what you feel; there are no absolutes. God is taken completely out of the picture.

• The husband is the head of the wife

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. Ephesian 5:23 (NASB 1995)

Let me make clear that the authority of men is not greater than the authority of God. The Me-Too movement falls short in comparison to God’s standards. God does not approve sexual harassment, fornication or adultery. God gives the husband the mandate of loving his wife; but also give the wife the mandate of respecting her husband (Ephesians 5:23). That is the holy balance. The man is not called to rule over his wife, but to love her; nevertheless, he is the head, not the wife. 

• Abortion is a sin

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NASB 1995)

This nation is divided on this topic also; nevertheless, the advocates of abortion are gaining more ground. Pay attention to what a nation does to his children; you can always judge that the end is near when culture allow the sacrifice of children. Again, Satan is in the business of corrupting God’s creation, but he is also in the business of killing children. God has a covenant with Israel and, because of that covenant God will ultimately save them; however, they fell into the same judgment of the rest of the nations of the world by sacrificing their own children. Psalm 106:34-43 tells us,

They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.

40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity. (ESV)

The sin of sacrificing their own children to idols was and is at the center of the nations that rebelled against God in the Tower of Babel. Even before we are formed in our mother’s womb God already knew us and had a plan for us as he did with the Prophet Jeremiah. The blood of each one of these babies is crying out before God just like the blood of Abel, who was murdered by his brother Cain, cried out before God (Genesis 4:10). 

Conclusion

These are some of the hardest topics for the church to teach about today; notice that many completely stay clear of these. The time will come when the government will make the discussion of these topics, from a biblical perspective, illegal. Many will cave in because they are more interested in the money their mega churches are bringing in than in God’s righteousness. Other, I am convinced, will be forced to meet in secret, from home to home; but be encourage, Jesus is speaking to us today just like he spoke with Peter by saying, 

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 (ESV)

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^[1] Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament(Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 1218.

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[3] https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/support/counseling-and-psychological-services/sites/brown.edu.campus-life.support.counseling-and-psychological-services/files/uploads/LGBQ_Brochure.pdf

Hermanos, el dolor y las traiciones a nuestro Dios no terminan; continúan aún hoy. Aún tú y yo lo hemos traicionado con nuestras transgresiones. El mundo está lleno de iniquidad. El mundo secular sigue bajo la dirección de Satanás y estos dioses rebeldes. La Iglesia también se ha prostituido, pero una vez más, le servimos a un Dios de Pacto y, debido a ese pacto que fuese consagrado con la sangre de Cristo, Jesús le dice a Pedro en Mateo 16:18, “Por eso te digo que tú eres Pedro, y sobre esta piedra voy a edificar mi Iglesia, y el poder del abismo no la vencerá.” La Palabra (Hispanoamericana).

Hermanos, Dios es un Dios experimentado en la traición. El ha aguantado mucho dolor causado por nuestros pecados, nuestras transgresiones he iniquidad. Mas Dios es un Dios de juicio; su juicio es perfecto… y su juicio se aproxima. El no olvida su pueblo Israel y, ¡Gloria a Dios! que dos mil años atrás Dios levantó la Iglesia. 

Amados, así como el arca de Noé fuera la provisión para la salvación de Noé y su familia, la Iglesia es un arca mucho más grande, reservada para los escogidos de Dios; su pueblo Israel primero y luego la Iglesia de Cristo. Esto no se trata de denominaciones; se trata de un arrepintiendo genuino por nuestros pecados y el creer y aceptar a Cristo como nuestro Señor y Salvador. Todos somos culpables de pecado; nadie es inocente; solo encontramos perdón a través de Cristo. Solo a través de Cristo podemos encontrar libertad, paz y gozo. Jesús ha vencido a Satanás; en el desierto lo venció personalmente y en la cruz lo venció por sus escogidos. Satanás creía que con la muerte de Cristo el declararía victoria sobre el plan de Dios, pero la Biblia nos dice, 

Ninguno entre los poderosos de este mundo ha llegado a conocer tal sabiduría, pues, de haberla conocido, no habrían crucificado al Señor de la gloria. La Palabra (Hispanoamericana)

Hermanos, la palabra poderoso es la palabra griega árchōn, gobernante, principal, príncipe.^[1] Es de donde sacamos el prefijo “arc”, por ejemplo, arcángel. En este caso podemos decir que ni los romanos, ni los fariseos, ni satanás, ni los dioses sabían del plan redentor de Dios. La muerte y resurrección de Cristo es la esencia de nuestra fe. Por eso es por lo que Cristo, antes de ascender a los cielos después de su resurrección dijo, en presencia de mas de 500 testigos^[2],

— Dios me ha dado pleno poder en el cielo y en la tierra. Mateo 28:18 La palabra (Hispanoamericana)

Jesucristo es mas poderoso que satanás, que sus ángeles, que todo gigante, que los dioses de este mundo, que los demonios y que todo hombre. ¡A EL sea la gloria y el honor por los siglos de los siglos… amén! 

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^[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[2] Primera de Corintios 15:6