ABOVE ALL: Walking in the Victory of Jesus - Part 2: Spiritual Oppression | Pastor Pablo Morales

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. Above all, walking in

the victory of Jesus. The first thing that we

learned in the study before was that Jesus came

so that the work of Satan over identity and fear

will be destroyed. And he faced Satan in the

temptation and Satan tried to get Jesus under

his power, but he couldn't. And we are so glad

that Jesus accomplished that because now he invites

us to walk in the freedom of identity. That we

know who we truly are and that we're able to

now live freely for him and not enslaved to any

distortions. If you missed that study, it's available

for you on our website and in our app as well.

But today we're going to explore a different

area of victory that Jesus came to accomplish.

And I would like to start the study by simply

asking you this question. Are you stuck? That

place where you feel there's more to life, there's

more to your relationship with God, but somehow

you are not getting there. You feel held back.

You feel pushed down. And there's need for a

breakthrough to get you to that place, but you

do not know how to get to it and how to pinpoint

what is holding you back. Sometimes being in

that space is accompanied by feelings of deep

shame, a sense of hopelessness. You've been trying

so many things and nothing works. This place

that leads you to isolation and just feeling

oppressed. You cannot pinpoint it, but there's

something and you don't understand it. The Bible

talks about these feelings and these struggles.

From spiritual perspective. And it wants to make

us remember as followers of Jesus. That sometimes

the root cause for some of these things. Is not

just on the physical. It's actually on the spiritual.

And when we understand this. And we understand

what Jesus came to accomplish. Then we are equipped

to follow Jesus. More effectively because we

learn to discern the struggles that are spiritual

and therefore we face them with the victory of

Jesus. Talking about this, the Apostle Peter

mentions it. The Apostle Paul also mentions it.

Look at what Peter says to us Christians. Stay

alert. Watch out for your great enemy. Who? The

devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking

for someone to devour. Stand firm against him.

Be strong in your faith. Remember that your family

of believers all over the world is going through

the same kind of suffering you are. Sometimes

what you're experiencing is spiritual oppression.

It's that there's a spiritual enemy that is antagonizing

you, that is attacking you, and that struggle

you are facing is not just unique to you. All

the people that are following Jesus are experiencing

the same thing. And not only here, but around

the world. Because this reality of spiritual

struggle is part of the reality of following

Jesus. The Apostle Paul. Says the same thing

this way. At the end of his letter to the Ephesians.

In chapter 6. He says look. Let me tell you a

final word. Be strong in the Lord. And in his

mighty power. Because there's a struggle. That

you cannot face otherwise. Put on. All of God's

armor. So that you will be able to stand firm.

Against all the strategies of the. Devil. Not

only is it going to oppose you, but it's very

strategic. And this struggle is going to be something

that is customized for you. And he continues,

and he says, For we are not fighting against

flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers

and authorities of the unseen world. Against

mighty powers in this dark world. And against

evil spirits in the heavenly places. Paul says,

look. The struggle that you are going through

often is going to be caused not by physical.

Caused by spiritual ones. And you have to wake

up to the reality. That there is a spiritual

world. That is unseen. Unless you have the gift

of being a seer. And you can see into the spiritual

realm. But this is a reality. And there are forces

of darkness. There are spiritual entities. There

are evil spirits. With mighty power. And they

work in an, think of it like an organized mafia.

And you are the target of it. So be on the alert,

says Peter. And Paul tells us, be strong in the

Lord and in His power. Because when you face

these things, you will have to face them as a

spiritual reality. That's why we talk about these

things as spiritual oppression. And spiritual

oppression comes in all flavors and intensities.

Think of spiritual oppression as the reality

that as you follow Jesus, you will experience

spiritual opposition that comes from the spiritual

enemy of the kingdom of darkness. And that opposition

is going to be experienced in a degree, in a

spectrum. And that spectrum can move depending

on the situation, the conditions, and the factors

that involved that oppression. Imagine you are

walking into a place and suddenly there's these

bees, this beehive. And suddenly they start flying

all around and they start trying to attack you.

And it's like, oh, I better get out of here because

these things are going to... Harming. That's

an external type of attack. Imagine that you

are at home and there's a mosquito that starts

bothering you. And then you go to sleep and you

go... And it keeps coming back and you try to

kill it but you keep missing it. That's very

bothersome. It's a struggle that keeps happening.

And you are trying so many things, but you don't

get it. It's still there. That's an external.

But sometimes there's this experience that is

a little bit more intense, more like a parasite.

I remember that my mother came to visit us in

the U .S. one time, and we took a trip. We wanted

to get out of the city, go into the woods. We

rented a cabin in Arkansas, a beautiful place,

and we would take walks in the woods. Then my

parents went back to Mexico City where they were

serving as missionaries at that time. And a few

days later, mom called me and says, you know,

I went to the doctor because I wasn't feeling

well. I started having these symptoms. I thought

it was a cold. I took medicine, but it wasn't.

It was something else. So I kept trying to self

-medicate, and I realized this is not working.

There's something else going on. So I went to

the doctor, and the doctor found that I had a

tick. So I'm calling you to let you know because

we were walking in that forest together and check

the kids, check yourselves, make sure you don't

have the tick. And the only reason why she knew

she had the tick is because she was experiencing

the symptoms. This was also external, but it

feels a little bit closer because now whatever

tick she has is producing these effects in her

system. It's not like the bees, it's not like

the mosquitoes, but still it's something that

is. attacking you, oppressing you, causing you

harm. And when we talk about spiritual oppression,

this spiritual reality, you have to think of

it as spectrum. Because the spectrum will determine

whether you need to go to someone to remove the

tick from you or whether you just have to go

like this to the mosquito and kill it and see

the blood splash all over the place. The way

we face spiritual oppression will be determined

by the type of spiritual oppression we're experiencing.

But we have to come to terms with the reality

that following Jesus has this dimension. And

because this is true, what happens is that the

Bible says that Jesus came specifically to address

this. In the human experience. So that we will

not have to walk under oppression. But that we

will walk in the freedom that he came to pay

for us. And that's why the word of God talks

about these things. But I know that before I

get into it anymore. When we talk about these

topics. We have a spectrum of people. Some people

that believe in it. Some people don't believe

in it. Some people that believe a little bit

of it. And some people that believe too much

of it. And there was a journalist, Billy, he

works for CBN in the U .S., and he was invited

to write a book. He called it Playing with Fire,

and he says on the subtitle part, A Modern Investigation

into Demons, Exorcism, and Ghosts. And that brought

him into this journey of understanding what was

this from the biblical perspective, but also

from people's reality, people's experiences.

and people that work with these kind of things.

So he started trying to understand the whole

spectrum of things that were happening. And at

the end, he concludes in his book, he says, you

know, I discovered an audience of people, people

that come from a materialistic worldview, that

don't believe in these things. They think that

all of this is myth. Then you have the Christians

that believe in these things, but Satan somehow

is real, but very, very, I'm familiar. It's like

he is messing up with people over there, far

away from us, but it's not really part of our

reality. And then you have the other Christians

that believe so much of it that they almost like

sacrifice their intellect for these things. And

no matter where these different people will come

into the topic, he says, you know, we have to

wake up to the reality that this thing is real.

So if you have no background on these things,

and you want to learn a little bit more about

these things in a way that is more like inquisitive,

you want to kind of get an idea because you're

already feeling comfortable with the topic. This

is a good starting point. It's written as a very

non -threatening space of a journalist that is

trying to understand these things, a Christian

journalist. After saying that, let's go back

to the scriptures. Jesus came specifically for

this purpose. And what he accomplished on our

behalf is something we have to understand if

we are going to experience the freedom that he

came to give us. Let me show you, for instance,

what the Apostle John wrote about what Jesus

came to accomplish. He said, the one who does

what is sinful is of the devil because the devil

has been sinning from the beginning. Pay attention

to that first. He says, when you are engaging

in sinful behaviors and rebellion against God,

you are engaging in demonic things because sin

by itself belongs to the devil. The devil was

sinning from the beginning. And therefore, anytime

I engage in things that belong to darkness, I'm

going to start inviting spiritual oppression

in my life. And that's why he says at the end

of this section, the very reason the Son of God

appeared was to destroy the devil's work. In

case you missed it, let me highlight it there

for you. Would you read it with me? The reason

the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's

work. Jesus came to destroy the work that Satan

had already established, the strongholds that

he had established in people's lives. He wanted

them free from that. So when he started his ministry,

he engaged in lots of different places and with

different people, and he engaged with spiritual

forces of darkness, both men and women, both

adult and children. People experiencing these

different levels of oppression and different

symptoms of this oppression. And there was a

point in which the religious leaders started

criticizing him and saying, how can you do this?

What kind of power are you using to fight these

things? And it's like, it seems to us that you're

using the very power of Satan to do this because

you seem to be serving Satan. And Jesus turns

to them and says, that makes no sense. The argument

makes no sense. How can a divided kingdom stand?

How can Satan fight Satan? It doesn't make sense.

He says, but let me tell you, what you see is

true. I am having power over these spiritual

entities. But let me tell you something. If I

drive out demons by the finger of God, then the

kingdom of God has come upon you. It is the presence,

the rulership of God over humanity that I came

to establish and it's happening now. And that's

why you are seeing it. Because my power is the

power of God over the kingdom of Satan. And when

Jesus later is going to enter Jerusalem, During

his last trip before the cross and the resurrection,

he makes a statement that tells you the purposefulness

of what Jesus has been doing. Now is the time

for judgment of this world. Now the prince of

this world will be driven out. And I, when I

am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people

to myself. Jesus talks about the very reason

that he came to do was to destroy the rulership

of Satan, the prince of this world, for that

to be broken. So we cannot really understand

the centrality of the mission of Jesus until

you understand the reality, the palpable reality

of the kingdom of darkness. And you cannot walk

in the freedom of Jesus until you understand

both. That's what we're going to start focusing

the rest of this study on understanding what

is that Jesus came to do. Because as he was serving

during that period of time to break the power

of Satan. There are moments in which he did certain

things, but there's a particular moment that

is described both in Matthew and also in Mark

and also in Luke, not in John. But in the Gospel

of Luke, chapter 8, tells us the details of everything

Luke 8 · chapter mention

that happened leading to this purpose, for him

to destroy the work of the devil in the life

of one specific individual. And this very specific

individual is very important because he's going

to fulfill a very important mission in God's

purpose. And you will see it as it unfolds. But

we're told that Jesus is serving in the area

of Galilee. And this area of Galilee, if you

are new to the Bible and that you don't understand

these things that much, let me show you this

map. And this map is Google Maps. Because this

area that we're describing still exists today.

You can actually travel there. You can even rent

an Airbnb and stay there if you wanted to. Jesus

was serving in this area. And there's a big lake

called the Sea of Galilee. It's so big that it's

called a sea, even though it's a lake. And that

is the place where the apostles... Live their

lives. They were fishermen. That's where they

worked. That's where Jesus met them, called them

to serve him. And that area surrounding that

lake is an area that Jesus did lots of his ministry

and his teaching. In the 1980s, there was a drought

in that area. So the level of the Sea of Galilee

went down and revealed some of the mud underneath.

and it was discovered that right there, a boat

from the time of Jesus has survived. It had sunk

in that place, but imagine after 2 ,000 years,

still intact, they were able to get it out of

there, and it's in a museum today. And Jesus

is in that area, and he is going to tell the

apostles, let's take a trip to the other side

of the lake. On the one side, it was Jewish territory

where he's been serving all this time. But on

the other side is a Gentile territory. It was

an area known as the Decapolis because there

were all these Gentile cities in that place.

Now you have to understand that Jews typically

would not go to Gentile places because they were

considered unclean. In their Jewish tradition,

their rabbinic writings, they would be told,

don't go to the places, don't even walk into

their homes. Because all of that is considered

unclean for them because these pagan places,

they worship idols. The food they eat is sacrificed

to idols. They eat pigs, which is unclean for

us to eat. So for the Jewish mindset to go to

that area was completely not only unnecessary,

but something you had to avoid. But Jesus tells

the apostles, let's take a boat trip to the other

side of the lake. He has a mission. He doesn't

tell them what's going to happen. He doesn't

tell them what the mission is. He just invites

them in the journey. And it says there, one day

Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to

the other side of the lake. So they got into

a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep.

A squall came down on the lake so that the boat

was being swamped and they were in great danger.

So a storm breaks out. And he becomes very dangerous.

The disciples went and woke him, saying, Master,

Master, wake up. We are going to drown. So he

got up, rebuked the wind and the raging waters,

and the storm subsided and all was calm. Just

like that. And then he turns to the apostles.

Where's your faith? He asks his disciples. In

fear and amazement. They are looking at him.

And now they start talking to each other. Who

is this? He commands him in the winds and the

water. And they obey him. And this journey turned

nothing into what they were expecting. They had

taken journeys in boats with Jesus before. But

this was something that completely reframed the

way they started seeing Jesus. What is amazing

is that Jesus is in this trip. And he has already

told them, look, we're going to go to the other

side. They get in the boat. He falls asleep.

And suddenly, because the circumstances are becoming

so dangerous, the apostles say, we're going to

drown. That was a logical deduction after everything

that was happening around. We're going to die

here. But that's precisely what Jesus confronts

them. And he says, where's your faith? Didn't

you pay attention to what I told you? I said,

we're going to go to the other side. And when

I say we're going to go to the other side, guess

what's going to happen? We're going to get to

the other side. It doesn't matter what storm

is surrounding the boat. So where's your faith?

Why did you doubt what I told you or forgot what

I told you? Why did you freak out in the middle

of the circumstances? Didn't I tell you that

we were going to go to the other side? So it

was a moment of really paying closer attention

to Jesus and valuing His Word. But why did they

have to go to the other side anyway? Well, the

story continues. Jesus knows he has a mission.

He came to destroy the works of the devil. And

he has authority over creation. The apostles

now just discovered that. And the story says

that they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,

which is across the lake from Galilee. And when

Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon possessed

man from the town. Ah. Now things will start

making sense. Jesus wants to go into that territory

because he has a mission. To break the work of

the devil from this person's life. And the whole

area is going to become the most. Like nightmare

for a Jewish person that has learned to live

under the laws of purity. First of all, the area

is a gentle area. Secondly, there's a guy that

is being afflicted by an unclean spirit. You

will discover that there are... a bunch of pigs

in the area, which are unclean animals that they're

not supposed to have nor eat. And then on top

of that, this guy that we just met will discover

that he's been living among the dead in cemeteries,

in graves. I mean, Hollywood could make a horror

movie out of this scene. And in the midst, Of

that filthy environment. Spiritually speaking.

In the midst of the deepest darkness. You have

Jesus showing up. And he's the first one to touch

that ground with his feet. And you would expect

if Jesus was anything but a normal person that

the moment you enter darkness, darkness will

enter to you. But with Jesus, this is very different.

He is the game changer. So look at what happens.

This man appears in this story is described as

one who has been demon possessed. And he was

from that town. Now, just to be clear and to

be fair on the description of the study of spiritual

oppression, this phrase is one of the phrases

that has done the most disservice to our understanding

of spiritual oppression. Because this phrase,

demon possessed, is actually not in the Bible.

It's not right there in the Greek. It simply

says, the man had a demon. There are three descriptions

to talk about level of spiritual oppression here

in these passages whenever Jesus encountered

one of these spirits that was manifesting in

the lives of these people. The person was demonized,

the person had a demon, or the person was afflicted

by an unclean spirit. These are the words that

the Bible uses. It never talks about a demon

possessing you. So, take that understanding out

of your mind. Because when people ask, well,

can a Christian be possessed? And that's the

only category that they think of. It's like,

forget about that category altogether. Talk about

spiritual oppression. Can you be attacked by

the enemy? Yes. To what degree? We don't know.

Until you're in it, you'll know. But the power

of the enemy is secondary. The power of Jesus

is the center. And that's what matters. So this

guy is one that is experiencing this deep level

of spiritual oppression where he has a demon.

And then we are told, for a long time this man

had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but

had lived in the tombs. Wait, the guy was naked?

So Jesus showed up after surviving the storm.

What a trip. And he's like, what is this guy

doing? He looks out of his mind and on top of

that he's naked. Didn't I tell you this looks

like a horror movie? When he saw Jesus, he immediately

cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the

top of his voice, what do you want with me? Jesus,

son of the most high God, I beg you, don't torture

me. That's amazing about every encounter that

Jesus has with the demons. They immediately recognize

who he is. By the way, if you're an atheist,

I pray God opens your eyes to spiritual oppression.

Because the moment you realize what spiritual

oppression is true, you will know the power of

Jesus. And you will know that Jesus is real.

Because these guys knew it. And they recognized

Jesus as the son of the most high God. And immediately

in that interaction. For Jesus had commanded

the impure spirit to come out of the man. Did

you see the phrase impure spirit? Now that tells

you a glimpse of what kind of spiritual reality

we're talking about. Impure. Filthy. They have

all evil desires and they want to attack. They

hate you. Jesus had commanded the spirit to come

out of the man. Many times he had seized him

and though he was chained hand and foot and kept

under guard he had broken his chains and had

driven by the demon into solitary places. Which

is A common experience for people that are manifesting

this type of level of oppression. Typically they

have strength that is beyond human. And this

guy had been chained but they couldn't hold him.

He would break the chains with this amazing strength

that was superhuman. But then this demon would

drive him to solitary places. And Jesus asked

him. What is your name? Legion. He replied. Now

the word Legion was a Roman word that was used

for military purposes. It described a group of

500 to 600 soldiers. Legion? Imagine that Jesus

said, what's your name? And it says army. Marines.

Something like that. It has a very specific meaning.

So, it's like the demon is saying, you know,

we are an army here. Many of us. Legion, because

many demons got into him, and they begged Jesus

repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss.

Wait. Can these things work together to afflict

one person? Not just one to one, but many to

one? Yeah, it says it there. And it says that

there was a place, the abyss, that these entities

didn't want to go to. And it doesn't explain

what it is. But we understand from biblical theology

that there's a place, that is a place where these

spiritual beings of darkness are being imprisoned

until the day of final judgment. And they don't

want to go to this place. And for some reason,

the text doesn't tell us. It says there a large

herd of pigs was fitting there on the hillside,

and the demons begged Jesus to let them go into

the pigs, and he gave them permission. And when

the demons came out of the men, they went into

the pigs, and the herd rushed down to steep bank

into the lake and was drowned. So horrifying.

This guy is speaking with a voice that is not

his. Before you know it, it's like not one demon,

but many of them. And before you know it, they

come out of the guy and all these pigs start

going crazy and they start running crazy and

they all died around in the lake. Jesus, why

did you give him permission to do that? Why not

send them to the abyss right away? I wonder about

that. It doesn't tell you, but I just, I'm trying

to guess. He wanted the apostles to see all of

this happening because he was training them.

He is going to give them the command later to

go throughout this whole region and start also

commanding the spirits of the enemy to come out.

And they needed to understand the level of depth,

of darkness and struggle that these entities

could cause. One man, but all of this chaos,

it was unmistakable chaotic and dark. And now

they could see it. If these demons could cause

so much death in a second like that. What would

have happened to this guy if Jesus didn't show

up? He was in deep trouble. And the text says,

when those standing the pegs saw what had happened,

they ran off. I would have run up with you guys

too if I was there. What a scary moment. What's

happening here? It's like in a few minutes, boom,

boom, boom, boom. Wow, they started running and

reported this in the town and the countryside.

And the people went out to see what had happened.

Before you knew it, there's a crowd coming, showing

up, curious, what's going on? They knew this

guy. Everybody knew the guy. And what they find

is not what they were expecting. They show up,

and when they came to Jesus, they found a man

from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at

Jesus' feet, dressed, and in his right mind.

We have tried to chain this guy. We had kept

him in rooms. We had guards to make sure that

he would go nowhere, and no one ever. Could do

what you just did. And who are you? So as they

are trying to figure out what had happened. They

were afraid. So those who had seen it told the

people. How the demon possessed men had been

cured. And then all the people of the region

of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them. Because

they were overcome with fear. So he got into

the boat. And left. What a sad story. They could

have invited Jesus to free more people. But wait.

They were idol worshippers. They were pagan worshippers.

The Bible says that to worship an idol is to

worship demons. So this guy was not the only

guy that was affected by demons. Perhaps it was

the most extreme of all the cases. But they didn't

want the kingdom of God to start destroying the

kingdom of darkness. So what we are told here

is that the man from whom the demons had gone

out begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus sent him

away saying, return home. Tell how much God has

done for you. You're going to follow me by staying

and by telling people what has just happened.

Tell people what God has done for you. So the

man went away and told all over the town how

much Jesus had done for him. And in just a few

verses, you see the deity of Jesus established.

The demons recognize him as the son of the most

high God. And when Jesus tells the guy, go and

tell what God has done for you, he says, sure.

So he starts telling people what Jesus has done

for him. Because Jesus is God. I didn't expect

that the first missionary, To the Gentiles in

the history of Christianity. Was this a guy?

You a missionary? But how could. Are you ashamed

of your past? I mean look at all what you did.

You lived in a graveyard. You were the temple

of demons. You're damaged goods. There's no hope

for you. Now, when Jesus shows up in your story,

Jesus meets this guy in a case of spiritual oppression

that was the most extreme that we have seen.

But it doesn't matter. Because when Jesus shows

up in the darkness, it's not the darkness that

takes over him. It's him that takes over the

darkness. It was not the uncleanness of all the

setting that makes him unclean. It's his holiness

and his power that breaks the stronghold of the

impure spirits from this person. And now he is

completely transformed. Jesus is the answer to

the darkest darkness. To the most hopeless of

cases. Because Jesus came precisely to destroy

the works of the devil. So that we can walk in

the freedom of Jesus. The new calling of Jesus.

The new purpose of Jesus. The new mission of

Jesus. From aimlessness to mission. From darkness

to light. That is why the power of Jesus matters.

Before I continue, let me pause for a second

because I understand. Whenever we read these

things, we have maybe 10 verses, but we have

a thousand questions. about demons and this and

that. And if you want to spend more time like

studying about what demons are, what the Bible

says, what the Bible does not say, what different

opinions are about all these things, there's

a book written by Michael Hazer who is now with

the Lord. He died of cancer. But he wrote a book

called Demons. And it was just a theological

book to try to describe everything the Bible

says about it, what people, Christians, have

thought about these things historically, what

is the biblical evidence, etc., etc. So this

is a book if you want to learn more about that.

And also I know that some of you don't even believe

in the Bible. In fact, you've been sitting here,

invited by a friend, feeling all uncomfortable

because Pastor Pablo sounds so weird. And you

came here not knowing what to expect, but to

hear about demons and the devil and all of that

myth. It's like these people are weirder than

I thought. If you are in that case, I understand.

So there's another book I want to recommend for

you. It's called Demonic Foes. It was written

by Dr. Gallagher. He is a... a psychiatrist from

Yale University. He had been working on his practice

for many years. He was not like a pastor or a

theologian or anything like that. He was a psychiatrist.

But one day, a Catholic priest contacted him

and said, hey, can you do me a favor? Can you

check this case of this woman I'm working with?

I think there's something different about it,

and I just want your professional opinion. So

he met the woman. And that was what began his

journey into understanding the reality of the

spiritual realm and these demonic entities. So

he writes the book sharing about the experiences,

what they have discovered, some of the history

and stuff. But he writes it not as a religious

book. He writes it as a topic. as a scientist

himself, and as a psychiatrist himself. And then

he concludes the book saying, look, you have

to wake up to the reality that there's a psychological

thing, the physical thing that is true, but there's

a line that we cross that is no longer physical.

It is spiritual. And Satan and demons are real.

That is my professional conclusion. So that's

a good book if you are in that context. I give

it to you as a reference. But let's go back to

the story. Because here you have this man that

first meets Jesus naked, living among the dead,

enslaved in a solitary life, completely aimless.

And the moment Jesus encounters him with his

power, the rulership of God now coming into the

life of this man, suddenly this man becomes closed.

at the feet of Jesus, free and with purpose.

And little did he know, when he woke up that

morning, at the graves where he lived, that encountering

Jesus was going to turn him into the first missionary

to the Gentiles in the Christian history. Powerful.

Jesus came with a mission. To destroy the works

of the devil. And he has authority over creation.

He is the only answer to spiritual oppression.

Because there's only one name. That demons and

Satan have to submit to. And that is Jesus. So

as we talk about these things. Remember what

Peter said. Read it with me. Stay alert. Watch

out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls

around like a roaring lion looking for someone

to devour. Remember that. So I would like to

conclude this last part of the study by just

putting a mirror in front of you and asking you

a few questions because maybe, maybe what you're

experiencing is not rooted in the physical, but

in the spiritual. And maybe you're experiencing

spiritual oppression somewhere in the spectrum

of where that is. We've worked with some people

throughout the years on these things. Other people

have worked in this field as well. And I am by

no means expert on the topic. But there are certain

things that typically seem to indicate there's

more than physical here. Let's check the spiritual

side. In case there's spiritual oppression going

on here. Intense sense of worthlessness. You

know the gospel. You know Jesus. But you are

constantly struggling with this weighty sense

of feeling unworthy. And the thoughts that you

speak in your mind typically are on the second

person. You don't say, I'm so worthless. Oh,

I'm such a loser. I am. No. That's not how it's

felt. It's felt more like you are such a piece

of trash. You are. You see that? You are. You

are. Pay attention to that. Because typically

that is external. You are this. You are that.

That's not the Holy Spirit speaking to you. That's

not Jesus speaking to you. And that is not you

speaking to you. You would say I am. Pay attention

to that. Maybe you have a mosquito that is bothering

you. Or you got a tick. Either way, it has to

be dealt with. Another symptom that is a common

symptom of spiritual oppression is intrusive

thoughts. These thoughts that come to your mind

that you don't want to be thinking, but why am

I thinking that? Stuff that is just not good.

It was this woman that had a lovely marriage

and a lovely family. Kids had grown up. And if

you look at them from the outside, they were

like a very nice family. But she had to start

going to the psychiatrist because she could not

understand why she had all these thoughts that

were horrific. Thinking how she would stab her

husband with a knife and picturing him on the

floor with the blood flowing. And she says, I

love my husband. I will never do that to him.

Why, doctor, please tell me, why am I thinking

these things? Intrusive thoughts. They're not

coming from you. Other symptom is self -harm

desires. The gospel accounts about this man,

the first missionary to the Gentiles that we

just met, tell us that this guy will cut himself.

Self -harm. Whenever you are in that place where

the intense need and this intense urge to start

hurting yourself comes over you, often it's a

sign of spiritual oppression. The other one,

spiritual restlessness. When you are in environments

that are consecrated to God and you feel very

uncomfortable. Sometimes close to things that

are sacred. To the Lord. And personally has this

reaction. That is almost like negative. And you

don't know what it is. There was a. A person

a few years ago here. That we pray with at the

end of one of our services. And she says Pastor

Pablo. The moment I walked in. I had this voice

telling me. That I'm wasting my time. That nothing

is going to help. And it's laughing. And it is

just cursing. Saying all these. a bad language

cursing in my mind. I'm trying to worship. Other

people talk about how they're in the middle of

wanting to worship God or in the midst of a sermon

and they start having all these impure sexual

thoughts that are just coming out of nowhere.

They don't want to be thinking that. But they

start feeling this spiritual restlessness in

a place that is spiritually sacred. And you can

feel it physically. That's a spiritual oppression.

Oppressive dreams. You are sleeping at night,

going on your business, and suddenly you have

these weird dreams that are very unsettling.

Sometimes even you are choked in the dream, or

you have sexual encounters with these beings

that are, it's just, or you're being raped in

your dreams. There are things that are completely,

And you try to speak and say Jesus or something,

and you can't. And suddenly, spiritual oppression.

Also, when you have desire for defiled things,

things that you just don't want in your life,

but you have this inclination for, why am I feeling

this desire? We have worked with people that

have sexual desire towards children. And they

don't want that sexual desire towards children.

Or the people that have desires that are completely

so shameful and distorted that just to talk about

it is very difficult because it's so shameful

even to speak that I'm having these things. Because

what would you think of me if I tell you that?

But this desire for defiled things that bring

deep shame, that you feel it's like, it's not

me, I don't want this, what is it? Spiritual

oppression. And also paranormal activity. Sometimes

you may be in a place where you see shadows passing

by, entities passing by, a presence that changes

the environment of the room. Sometimes you see

things that move around. I worked with a guy

that a night when he's sleeping in this room,

they would pull the blankets from him like that

or get pushed off the bed. We have worked with

people that wake up with scratches, marks, even

in places they couldn't reach themselves. Paranormal

activity. All of these different things are often

signs of spiritual oppression. If any of these

things are true of you, remember, be on the alert.

You have an enemy that is like a roaring lion

looking for someone to devour. And it is possible

that what you're experiencing is spiritual oppression.

So if it is spiritual oppression, then what?

You have Jesus. So this is not a problem. It

has a solution. And the first part of the solution.

It's to remember that Jesus came to break the

power of the devil over my life. So God is on

my side. And he wants my freedom. So four things

that I want you to keep in mind. First, recognize

the authority of Jesus. If the apostles knew

what they knew after they got to the other side,

they wouldn't have freaked out. Because they

knew who Jesus was. And if Jesus said, we'll

get to the other side, we'll get to the other

side. Because my Jesus can command the sea and

the wind and we'll have to obey him. You see,

once you know that Jesus has all authority and

you recognize his authority, then you know that

you are walking in this space of struggle in

Jesus' authority. So therefore, you have the

victory on your side. And you have to recognize

that the root of some of these things is spiritual

and not physical. And what it is, you will know.

Second thing is that you have to repent. Because

sometimes the reason why the mosquitoes show

up in your house is because you left the door

open. You have engaged in a sinful behavior that

have opened the door for spiritual oppression.

And you can pray all you want, but you need to

close the door before the mosquitoes stop showing

up. And that's why if you are engaged in any

sinful behavior that you know is bringing you

shame, confess that, bring it to the light, walk

away from it, repent. Because as long as that's

there, the spiritual oppression will continue.

It doesn't matter if even Pastor Pablo prays

for you. You are inviting it. Don't be foolish.

Third, renounce it. Because sometimes the reason

why the oppression is happening is because we

have given it authority by establishing certain

links with these things. And this is often the

case for people who have engaged in idolatry.

If you grew up in an environment where you were

worshiping idols, maybe you were dedicated as

a baby to idols. Maybe you were in your wedding

and there was a ceremony done for idols to bless

your marriage. Anything that is related to the

direct invocation of the blessing of an idol

over your life has invited the authority of demons

to oppress you. And that's why you have to break

that agreement. You have to renounce it. And

if it was done by someone in authority over your

life, whether your parents, your grandparents,

You can break that by renouncing it in the name

of Jesus, but that has to be broken. And finally,

you have to remove it. Sometimes the reason why

this spiritual oppression is happening is because

you have invited objects that are cursed, that

were dedicated for idols or for demons. And this

is real. One day I was working with a person

that had bought... Antiques from Japan. And she

brought them into their home. And suddenly she

started having manifestations happening in the

house. And until that was removed, all of that

stopped. Do you remember the case of Achan in

the Old Testament when they are conquering with

Joshua and conquering the land? And God tells

them, don't take the gold, don't take the clothes

because they are cursed. Remember that? And this

Achan says, well, it's just gold. It's just clothes.

I can use it. Let me put it in my tent. And now

God says, my power cannot flow through you anymore.

I cannot give you victory over your enemies.

Because you have brought the cursed things in

your midst. These were people that worship idols.

And when that gold and those clothes were dedicated

to the idols, they're cursed. Now we have the

power of Jesus over that. So if you have come

to know Christ, you are following Jesus, but

you still have idols at home, statues, things

that were dedicated, don't think of that as,

oh, it has emotional value. No, it has spiritual

darkness value. And you must get rid of it. I've

also learned, because I like decorations, interior

design, all of that, I'm that kind of guy. Yes.

But, When I buy things here in Thailand, sometimes,

you know, decorations that are used things that

you find, oh, this will look good here. You know,

I've learned. I have no idea what the background

is. So when I take that object, I'm going to

pray over it. If it was dedicated to idols or

anything, I'm going to break its power in Jesus'

name. This thing now belongs to a child of God.

It's dedicated for God's purposes. I sanctify

it in Jesus' name before I bring it to my house.

Because this is real. I understand if it feels

too much. But welcome to reality. Welcome to

following Jesus. Welcome to the invitation of

walking in the victory of Jesus. So if you are

experiencing any form of spiritual oppression,

remember, recognize the authority of Jesus. Recognize

the source of the oppression. Repent of anything

that has given you the authority. Renounce. any

link that has been given to them as authority

of your life, and remove any object that has

been cursed or dedicated to demons from your

domain. This is what we do intentionally because

we believe what the Word of God says. We will

stay on the alert and we will be intentionally

about standing firm in our faith. Finally, if

you would like... something that is more hands

-on to help you deal with things that you are

feeling internally. We have the course Freedom

in Christ that is designed for this, but actually

the book Freedom in Christ, you can order it

online yourself. And it's a systematic exercise

that takes you through seven areas of your life

with specific prayers written through it. So

you can go systematically breaking anything that

has been given authority to the spiritual darkness

in your life. Say it with me out loud. The reason

the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's

work. Are you walking in freedom? Or are you

bound? Are you oppressed? If so, there's an answer

to that. And the solution is Jesus. Call out

to him. Lord, I ask you, in the powerful name

of our Lord Jesus Christ, to break any strongholds

that have been established by the enemy in our

lives and anything that you have revealed to

us today through this study. Lord, give us a

pathway forward that we may experience your freedom

because you came for our freedom, not for us

to live oppressed. In Jesus' name. If God is

calling you to support our ministries, you will

find giving options on our website. And remember

to join us next week. God bless you.