The Demon Dynamic - 5/17/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

>> I believe I really believe he's done all

things well. And you you know I I think

sometimes we we convince ourselves that

because of what he does, he's worthy.

And I know y'all hear me say it all the

time, but it really ain't what he does.

>> Right. Right.

>> And uh cuz he don't have to do anything.

>> Right.

>> And uh I think if we'd ever get that

through our head,

>> that he really just ain't obligated to

do nothing.

>> Right.

>> Everything he does for us is just cuz he

wants to,

>> right?

>> Amen. You parents got children. Amen.

And you do things for them just cuz you

want to. I hope you do. Amen. Some

sometimes you probably do things just

cuz you have to. Um but you love them.

You'll do things just cuz you want to.

Amen. And you understand everything

God's done for every one of us is just

cuz he wants to.

>> Amen. And he's just good. That's just

who he is.

>> And I bless his name for it. And

appreciate them singing that this

morning. Mark chapter number nine. If

you have a Bible, when you find your

place, if you can't and you're able,

would you like to stay in on reference

to the reading of God's word, Mark

chapter number nine?

Got a signup sheet here. Far as next

Sunday goes, um got volunteer spots on

it here. Brother Kyle's been putting

everything together for us on next

Sunday. So volunteers for food,

volunteers for workers, um different

things, ice machine, inflatable games,

stuff like that. People to be around to

uh to watch for that. And so look after

the children and they'll be playing on

those. Um also all the can bring bag

desserts that won't melt. So um that's

on here. We'll have that at the back.

And if you have any other questions, you

can see brother Kyle on that. Um, I got

u want to say this about next Sunday.

Um, be praying about that service. There

is a chance of rain. Let's pray that'll

hold off and pray that God will give us

a good dry day on next Sunday. And I'll

be honest with you, I'd love to see it

rain. And we need some rain, don't we?

And pray that God would send some rain

our way. Um, but I'd love to be able to

have that outside on next Sunday. And

so, you just pray about that. And let's

pray this way. Just pray God's will be

done. Amen. And let's pray God will have

his way in everything that's said and

done on next Sunday. All right. Mark

chapter number nine. He needs to have

his way today though, don't we? Amen.

And uh bless his name. I appreciate all

that he does. Mark chapter 9. Let's

Mark 9 · chapter mention

begin reading in verse number 14. Mark

Mark 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9 verse number 14. And you pray

for us this morning as we look at this

text. The Bible says, "And when he came

to his disciples, he saw a great

multitude about them. And the scribes

questioning with them, and straightway

all the people, when they beheld him,

were greatly amazed, and running to him,

saluted him." And he asked the scribes,

"What question ye with them?" And one of

the multitude answered and said, Master,

I brought unto thee my son, which hath a

dumb spirit, and wheresoever he taketh

him, he teareth him, and he foamth and

nashethth with his teeth, and pineth

away. And I spake to thy disciples that

they should cast him out, and they could

not. He answerth him, and saith, Oh

faithless generation, how long shall I

be with you? How long shall I suffer

you? bring him unto me." And they

brought him unto him. And when he saw

him, straightway the spirit tear him,

and he fell on the ground, and wallowed,

foaming. And he asked his father, "How

long is it a ghost since this came unto

him?" And he said, "Of a child, and off

times it cast him into the fire, and

into the waters to destroy him. But if

thou can't do anything, have compassion

on us and help us." Verse 23, Jesus said

unto him, "If thou can't believe, all

things are possible to him that

believeth." I want you to notice with me

in verse number 18, the Bible says that

last phrase of verse 17, he brought unto

him his son, which hath a dumb spirit.

Verse 18, and wheresoever he taketh him,

he teareth him, and he foamth and

nasheth with his teeth and pineth away.

and I spake to thy disciples that they

should cast him out and they could not.

And I want to look this morning out of

this text. We'll preach again here

tonight, Lord willing, whatever God has

for us. That's what I want. But I want

to look out of this text on a thought

out of verse number 18 on the demon

dynamic.

The demon dynamic. Now, you'd be very

foolish this morning to say that demons

are not at work in this world today.

>> Right? They're at work, I dare say, as

hard as they've ever been.

>> And I think if there's anything we ought

to be aware of as the children of God,

we need to be aware of the influence of

the other world.

>> And if you're lost this morning, you

realize that you are a twofold child of

hell this morning.

>> And you cannot You say, "Preacher, I'm

not I'm not possessed. I'm not." You're

You may not be, but the reason you're

not is because you're headed the same

direction they are.

>> They're going to hell. And if you're

lost, you are, too. And we need to pray

that God would help us this morning in

this service. Father, thank you so much

for this time. God, I ask you for

wisdom. I ask you for discernment this

morning. And God, I love to encourage

the people of God. And Lord, I pray,

Father, that Lord, that whatever is

needed, Lord, your will would be

accomplished. God, I realize, Father,

that Lord, you told me in your word that

my responsibility is to repu, reprove,

rebuke, and exhort. And so Lord, I pray

God that you would help me to do just

that this morning. And Lord, to set a

warning, set a watch, God, as the

shepherd of this flock, the

undersheperd. Lord, I pray you would

help me help me say everything I should,

nothing I shouldn't, get all glory to

yourself. And Lord, I pray, Father, for

that sinner here today that's lost

without God. I pray today would be the

day of salvation for them. And Lord, for

maybe one, God, that's grown cold on you

and backsliden from you. I pray that you

would deal with them this morning, draw

them back to a place of fellowship,

Lord, they might enjoy the presence of

God again in their life and not grieve

the Holy Spirit. Help us, God, today,

get all glory yourself. And we'll thank

you for what you do because we ask it in

Jesus name. Amen. And amen. You can be

seated. Thank you for standing with me

this morning. Now, in Sunday school this

morning, if you miss Sunday school, you

missed the introduction to this message.

And I hope that you know this text. I

want to put this out there. All right.

Sunday school is for you. Amen. It's not

just for me to get up here so I can hear

myself talk for another hour. Amen. But

it's for you. I want to be an

encouragement and a help to you. And

when I what I've been doing here lately

is I've been introducing text here

introduction, giving a u a little

thought before we get to the message on

Sunday morning. And I noticed in this

text we talked about the

transfiguration. In Mark 9 deals with

the the uh event of the transfiguration

of Christ. In verse number 2, 3 and 4,

the Bible tells us that Jesus took

Peter, James, and John up in the

mountain, and he transfigures himself in

front of them. They see him exalted.

They see him encompassed by glory. And

they see the expression of who he is in

light of the fact that standing beside

Moses and Elijah, law and prophets.

Amen. The Jesus Christ, the fullness of

everything that the word of God is. He's

completing the puzzle. He is finishing

the image. He is the finished work of

God. He is the will of God, the work of

God, and the witness of God allin one.

Jesus himself here in this text allows

these three men to see this miracle of

holiness. And this miracle expresses to

them his deity and how he is great and

exalted. And let me just say this this

morning. The Bible says there's coming a

day that every knee shall bow and every

tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

And I'll say this, you may never bow in

this lie, but one of these days you

along with Satan and every other person

in this world is going to bow at his

feet. And Jesus has allowed these three

men to come in on this instance here of

his transfiguration. But out of this,

they descend from the mountain. They

come back down and Jesus finds the other

nine disciples here in the text. And the

Bible says verse 14, when he came to the

disciples, he saw a great multitude

about them and the scribes questioning

with them. So immediately after Jesus

and Peter, James, and John come off the

holy mountain, they are faced with an

argument. This argument here has been

brought by the scribes, of course,

because his disciples that were left

behind were not able to cast the demon

out of the boy in this text. And so

they're arguing over the power that had

been invested in them. And I want to say

this this morning, I'll tell you, let me

just remind you, I talk's cheap.

>> Amen. You can argue all over all kinds

of things. Amen. And there's people,

preachers doing it on Facebook, arguing

over all types of different things. But

here's what it comes down to. At the end

of the day, we're called to preach the

gospel. Amen. And my platform ain't

Meta. Amen. My platform is Meta's

Baptist Church. Amen. That's the pull

pit that God gave me to preach. And I'm

responsible to preach in this pullpit

what God lays upon my heart. Anywhere

else, amen, that's out of my

jurisdiction. And I want to say this

this morning. If you're always wanting

to argue about something, let me just

tell you, that's not God. Amen. God has

never argued with anybody. Amen. God has

always just given the truth and it's

take it or leave it. Amen. And I notice

not only the argument in the text, but I

notice the amazement in the text. There

is the scribes that are arguing with the

disciples. But when Jesus comes back and

verse number 15, the Bible says

straightway all the people when they

beheld him were greatly amazed and

running to him saluted him. And so

obviously as Jesus descended off of this

mountain where he was transfigured,

there must have been some traces of the

glory that was still upon his face. And

you say, "Preacher, how do you know

that?" Well, I don't. But I know this.

The Bible says that when they saw him,

they were all amazed. There was

something about Jesus that was just a

little different than it was the last

time they'd seen him. And you say,

"Preacher, how is that?" Well, you

remember when Moses come off the

mountain in the book of Exodus in

chapter number 33, the Bible says that

he wis not that his face shone. And

those children of Israel looked upon him

and they had he had to cover his face

with a veil because the brightness of

the glory of God that was on his face

was blinding the children of Israel.

Jesus had been in that very same

presence and come off of this mountain.

And they are amazed at the complexion of

our Lord, the brightness of his glory.

And I notice out of this amazement, we

see that there is an appeal. They're all

gathered around to Jesus here in the

text. He asked the scribes, "What

question ye with them?" And in verse 17,

a man speaks up and says, "Master, I

brought unto thee my son, which hath a

dumb spirit." And so there's the

argument of the strides and the

amazement of because of the shining of

Christ's face. But then there is this

man that makes an appeal for his son.

This man's son here in the text is vexed

by a demon. And the Bible says in verse

number 18 or verse 17, he hath a dumb

spirit. So that literally means he's

this this demon that's on him has taken

away his ability to speak. He has no

ability to communicate. But all that

he's able to do is be controlled by this

demon in the text. And you notice what's

said about this demon here. The Bible

says, "And worse he taketh him, he teeth

him, he foamth and nasheth with his

teeth and pineth away. and I spake to

thy disciples that they should cast him

out and they could not. And when I think

about demons in the scripture, often

times my mind only comes to three

accounts. When I look at the New

Testament, there's other instances we

could talk about, but I really believe

you see it prevalent in the life of

Christ because when Christ was here on

this earth, the devil knew that Jesus

was headed to Calvary. And he knew that

if Jesus made it to Calvary and if he

didn't stop him before he got there,

amen, if he didn't stop him in his death

on the cross, if he couldn't stop him

before he rose again the third day, he

knew that his plan was over. Amen. But

we know that during that time, his

period of life on this year on the 33

and a half years on this earth, our Lord

had that the devil unleashed all the

forces that he had available to try to

undermine the work of God.

>> Right? And I want to talk to you about

that this morning. The demon dynamic.

Now, that dynamic literally talks about

a is is a moving force. It's a a if you

look think about dynamics in college,

that's a study of force moving force.

That's what that is. And I notice in

this text, what you always see in the

scripture when there's a demon present,

the demon will not be silent.

>> He's never quiet. And you know, I'll say

this. I'm not saying everybody that

spouts off the mind, Amen, is

demonpossessed.

But I'll say this, it's not a holy thing

for somebody that just lets their tongue

loose all the time.

>> Amen. James said it this way. He said,

"If any man seemth to be religious, am

onion bridleth not his tongue." He said,

"This man's religion is what?" Vain.

Amen. It's empty. And so, I want to give

you a few things out of this text and

put from some other text this morning

concerning this thought. I I notice in

this text about this young man. You see,

there is the harm that's mentioned here

by about this demon, this young man. And

and every time you see an individual who

is possessed or oppressed by a demon in

the scriptures, there is harm that's

involved with that. But I notice

specifically there's some terms that are

used in these verses to describe the

power of this demon here in the text. I

notice first of all when I see in this

text concerning the demon dynamic, I

notice first of all that there is

confusion that's taking place. The Bible

says that this man has brought his son

under the Lord because the disciples did

not have power to cast him out. And the

Bible says that he has he has a dumb

spirit. Now from what I understand of

this text, I I don't believe that this

boy has ever been able to talk. The

Bible says uh in verse number 21, Jesus

asked his father, "How long is it ago

since this came unto him?" And he said,

"Of a child." And so that literally

speaks of a little small baby. And so I

don't I don't know how long that he's

had this. I just know that he's he does

not have the ability to speak and he

should he should have the ability to

speak, but he is not able to speak. And

when I You say, "Preacher, how does that

correlate with the work of demons?"

Well, you see it directly in the text,

but applicationally, you think about the

world in which we live today where young

children are being uh they're being

prayed upon by perverts all across this

country and they're being paraded

through different trafficking

organizations throughout this country.

And what is always done, what is always

seen about those children, what are they

commanded to be? They're commanded to be

in signs. They have no voice. And the

and the marks of devil worship, the

marks of demon oppression is that there

is a dumb spirit. There is a a mark of

silence upon that.

>> It's confusion. You say, "How is it?"

Well, the demon here is very loud, but

the but the boy is real quiet,

>> right?

>> The demon is making his presence known,

but this boy is not able to do anything.

And you say, "Preacher, well, how does

that translate to confusion?" Well, the

Bible says that the enemy, devil

himself, is the author of confusion.

>> And so, he's the father. He's the

author. As Jesus is the the alpha and

the omega, the beginning and the end of

all that is confusion is the authorship

of the devil.

>> Right?

>> Amen. And we've said it before and I'll

say it again. The devil has no new

materials.

>> He can only take what God has made and

corrupt it. So he'll take a per an

individual who has a good sane mind and

you know what he'll do? He'll make them

insane. He'll take a person who has a

good sober mind and a good sober life

and what he'll do? He'll make them

intoxicated. He'll take somebody who has

purity. Somebody help me preach this

morning. He'll take somebody who has

purity and somebody who has perfection

in their life. God has blessed them. And

what will he do? He'll take that purity

from them. He'll take that perfection

from them. and he WILL WRECK WHAT GOD

DESIGNED to be a blessing. It's

confusion is what it is.

>> It's just like over there in the book of

Genesis. Amen. That rebellion of that

man Nimrod built that city and you know

what all it did was it left a bunch of

people with broken lives in a place that

was broken and a and plans that were all

broken and busted up. There was nothing

left behind BECAUSE IT WAS ALL OPERATING

on rebellion. And that's who the devil

himself is. HE IS THE PRINCE of

rebellion. And this young man is

controlled. You say, "Preacher, how is

it that it's is such a small child?"

WELL, LET ME JUST SAY THIS. The devil

does not care what medium he has to use.

>> Right?

>> He'll use anything.

>> And I'll say this, he don't have to use

people much anymore.

>> He just takes what we've got in our

pockets, amen, and on our screens at our

home. Amen. And he does use people, but

he uses just a few select people to

broadcast to the world.

>> You're right. the wickedness that he

desires to confuse people's mind with.

He has a dumb spirit. He's not able to

speak, but he should be able to speak.

Notice this. Not only there is the

confusion, but then there is the control

in the text. Look what the Bible says in

verse 18. What's that first phrase,

church? And wheresoever, what you Bible

say? He taketh him. This demon has not

only brought this boy and his family a

state of confusion because he's not able

to speak, but he has this young man

under control. He is literally in the

grips of this demon itself. And I'm

reminded of what Paul said to the

Ephesian church. He said, "Be not drunk

with wine wherein is excess, but be

filled with the spirit." What was he

talking about? He was talking about that

control of the alcohol over the mind of

an individual who would intake that

drunken uh material into his body and

then he himself becomes controlled by

that influence in his life. And the

demon influence is that same way. It's

an influence OF CONTROL. THERE IS NO WAY

TO escape it when it is present in your

life. That's right.

>> He said he taketh him and out of that

taking his control leads to, notice

this, not only confusion, but it leads

to corruption. The Bible says, "Woroever

he taketh him, he tearth him, and he

foamth him nasheth with his teeth and

pineth away." And and I and I think

about all of that, what he's saying in

this text. Wheresoever he taketh him,

that implies a place. That implies

around people. that implies all types of

other things. But you understand what

this leads up to is is that the the

sanitary the and let let me just put

this in in a sense of of a physical term

so we can understand what I'm getting at

here. There's a gentleman in this church

that just a few months ago he was in a

an accident and and his foot it he it

got tore right between his toes. And out

of that tearing, what happened was he he

went to the doctor and that thing got

sewed up again. But what happened? the

wound was not clean.

>> You know what? Because of that, there

was an infection that set up.

>> And out of that, he has been dealing

with a problem that should have been

fixed in a matter of hours, but he's

been dealing with it for months.

>> And here's what I'll say to you in this

text. The Bible says that this demon, he

teeth him. You think about this young

boy. He's opening, this demon's opening

him up to corruption. You're

>> right.

>> He's opening up to corruption. Here's

what here's what demon influence in your

life will do. It'll open you up to

things that you have no business messing

with.

>> That's right.

>> Amen. When somebody tries to introduce

you to alcohol, when somebody tries to

introduce you to drugs or some type of

of marijuana or or or anything like

that, you know what that is? That's a

demon influence,

>> right?

>> You you've never had that in your life.

You've never been involved with that.

Now, that's come into your life. You

know what that is? That is a demon

influence in your life. He is

introducing you to corruption. This boy

who would have been otherwise healthy.

Get what I'm saying this morning? This

young man who would have been otherwise

healthy because of this demon is now

susceptible to infection.

>> Right?

>> Amen.

>> That's why we got to pray for our

children.

>> Amen. Our children because of the way we

raised them should be otherwise healthy.

Amen. We put them in a good Christian

school. We take them to a good church.

Amen. We read the Bible and we have

family altar and we pray for them. But

you understand, you can't do everything

perfect enough to keep the enemy's

influence OUT OF YOUR CHILDREN'S LIFE.

>> YOU CAN'T DO ENOUGH. You can't be

enough. IT DOES NOT MATTER. The enemy is

going to find a crack in the door

somewhere to get through to influence

your children so he can slip corruption

into their lives.

>> Notice the text. He take if he teareth

him. literally speaks of the harm of his

flesh and and he falth and nashethth

with his teeth. He's crazed. His mind is

loose. HE HAS NO CONTROL because he's

under complete control

of this corrupt individual. I think not

only about the confusion, the control,

the corruption, but I think about the

consummation. You see this demon's got a

got an end goal in mind. You say, "What

is that, preacher?" Well, notice the

text. You see this harm is described in

verse number 18. He is his his flesh is

tor. He's foing at the mouth. He is

nashing with his teeth. The Bible says,

notice that last phrase, verse 18, the

middle of verse, and he pineth away.

He's getting weaker by the day. You know

what? That's what that's what sin

corrupts. That's what what demon

influence will do to you.

>> You get weaker every day.

>> You know what? You'll find the thing

that you once had to really, really try

hard to get involved with, you'll just

find it just happens naturally.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> Anybody will tell you this, it's a good

illustration, but when you get out of

church, it's always easier to leave

>> than it is to come back,

>> right?

>> It's always easier to get out than it is

to get back in.

>> You see, his the end of his goal is to

consume

this young man. You say, "Preacher,

WELL, HOW DO YOU KNOW that this demon's

going to take his life?" Well, his harm

is described in verse 17 and 18. His

harm is displayed in verse 20. Notice

what the Bible said. "And they brought

him unto him," speaking of Jesus. "And

when he saw him, when Jesus saw this

young man, straightway the spirit tear

him, and he fell on the ground and

wallowed foaming." You see, the display

matched the description. Everything that

the daddy had told Jesus about when

Jesus came near, you know what this

demon did? exactly what the daddy had

said. And let me say this, when Jesus

gets near that demon influence, when

Jesus gets near that demon oppression,

you know what? They're not going to sit

there.

>> They're not going to BE SILENT. THEY'RE

NOT GOING TO STEP BACK, BUT THEY'RE

GOING TO REAR UP THEIR POWER. You ever

seen somebody that in the face of truth,

they always want to stand up in

rebellion? THEY ALWAYS WANT TO STAND UP

and speak out and they'll spew the most

awful, wicked things from their mouth

and spew some OF THE MOST UNGODLY THINGS

that could ever COME OUT OF ANYBODY'S

LIPS. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? THAT'S

DEMON INFLUENCE IS what that is.

>> The spirit tear him. He fell on the

ground. His harm is displayed. But

notice the destruction of his harm.

Well, look what look how it said in

verse 21 and 22. And he asked his

father, "How long is it ago since this

came unto him?" And he said, "Of a

child." Verse 22. and all times it have

cast him into the fire and into the

waters. What's that next phrase? To

destroy him. He's trying to get rid of

him.

>> Right.

>> This he says, I've had to get him out of

fires and I've had to get him out of

waters from drowning. I've had to save

him from being burned alive because this

demon desires to destroy him. And let me

say this to you. We can rejoice. And and

I'll say this in this text. This demon

was not able to destroy this boat. And

I'm thankful, amen, that we all, thank

God, we can have deliverance because of

Jesus Christ. And I'm going to say more

about that in this evening's service.

BUT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE

CASE.

>> RIGHT?

>> Not everybody WHO IS INFLUENCED BY the

devil OR DEMONS MAKES IT OUT.

>> RIGHT?

>> You say, "How is that, preacher? Have

you got some kind of personal example?"

Well, it is a personal example. It's a

scriptural example. That's

>> right.

>> Amen. When I think about demon

oppression in the word of God, there's

at least three individuals that come to

mind. One being this young man. Jesus

delivers him in this text because the

desire of his father to deliver him.

Jesus meets the intercessory prayer of

that father. Let me say this this

morning. YOU GOT TO BE PRAYING FOR YOUR

CHILDREN. YOU GOT TO BE PRAYING FOR YOUR

FAMILY. HEY CHILD, YOU MAY BE SAVED AND

YOUR PARENTS ARE LOST. YOU GOT TO BE

PRAYING FOR YOUR PARENTS THAT GOD WOULD

DEAL WITH THEM BECAUSE HE IS THE ONLY

ONE THAT'S ABLE TO DEFEAT THE VOICE OF

THE DEVIL IN THEIR LIFE.

>> HIS INTERCESSORY PRAYER BROUGHT

DELIVERANCE. But you know what? There's

another man in the Bible that found

deliverance. Turn with me to Luke

chapter number eight.

Jesus makes a journey across the sea

just to meet this man. Luke chapter 8

Luke 8 · chapter mention

and verse number 26. And they arrived at

the country of the Gatherines, which is

over against Galilee. And when he went

forth to land, there met him out of the

city, a certain man, which had devils

long time, and wear no clothes, neither

abode in any house, but in the tombs.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell

down before him, and with a loud voice

said, "What have I do to do with thee,

Jesus, thou son of God most high? I

beseech thee, torment me not." And Jesus

tells the story of how this young this

young man in the text, the Bible says he

was possessed with demons running about

in the tombs. He had a legion of demons

within him. And after Jesus casted THOSE

DEMONS OUT, THEY went into that herd of

swine. 2,000 demons took out a whole

herd of swine and they drowned in the

lake. YOU SAY, "PREACHER, WHAT ARE YOU

SAYING?" I'm saying everywhere there's a

demon involved. THERE'S GOING TO BE

DEATH INVOLVED. AMEN.

You say, "Preacher, but that other boy

didn't die." Well, look at the text with

me again.

Mark chapter 9 verse 26.

Mark 9:26

Bible said, "And the spirit cried when

Jesus spoke to him and ran him sore and

came out of him and he was as one dead

in so much that many said he is dead."

But Jesus Jesus took him by the hand and

lifted him up and he arose.

>> Amen. You see, his life was near death.

The gatherinian man would have died, but

those swine died.

>> Right?

>> You say, "What's the emphasis of that,

preacher?" Well, this young boy got

delivered. That man and the gatherines,

he got delivered. But you know what? The

most notable possessed man in the New

Testament, he didn't get deliverance.

You say, "Who is that, preacher? I can't

think of another." Well, you might know

him as the betrayer.

know him as the one that Jesus spoke of

called him the son of predition.

Listen to what Jesus said in John 13.

John 13 and verse number one. Now before

the feast of the Passover when Jesus

knew that his hour was come that he

should depart out of this world unto the

father having loved his own which were

in the world he loved them unto the end.

Jesus knew his plan was drawn to a

close. And in verse number two, the

Bible says, "And supper being ended,"

notice this, "the devil having now put

into the heart of Judas's Scariot,

Simon's son, to betray him." You see,

Jesus tells us that the devil entered

into Simon. You can look at the account,

I believe it's Luke's Gospel, chapter 22

and verse number three. I think it's

where it is, but it literally says, "And

Satan entered Jesus." Entered Judas. You

say, "Preacher, what is that?" Well, we

think about Judas. You turn to Matthew

chapter number 27. The Bible says that

he they betrayed he betrayed the Lord

for those 30 pieces of silver. You

remember Matthew 27, the first part of

the chapter, he comes back to the chief

priest and he throws that money down at

their feet and said, "I've I've sinned

and that I've betrayed the innocent

blood." The Bible says he repented

himself, but it didn't mean that he

repented of his sin, but he was

remorseful over what he did,

>> right?

>> Not really wanting to believe the Lord,

but he was just sorry. And so in that

text, he throwed the money down and and

the Bible says that those Pharisees took

that money. They went and bought the

field of blood there. According to the

book of Acts, chapter number one, they

purchased that field, Peter said, with a

reward of iniquity is what he called it.

And out of that reward of iniquity, the

Bible says that after Judas left that

money, he went to he went outside of

town and he hung himself in a tree,

killed himself. You say, "Preacher,

what's the end of demon influence?"

Well, you see, the devil took Judas out.

You know, I You don't have to agree with

me on this this morning, but I believe

Judas could have gotten saved. I believe

that. I'll say this. I don't think that

I don't think that he ever would have

because Jesus knew his heart. Jesus

looked at him. He knew he was he called

him friend. He loved him. Even though

it's hard for us to understand that

Jesus loved the devil.

He was that individual of worship in

heaven, Lucifer. How art thou fallen

from heaven, thou son of the morning,

right?

>> He said that, "You're the most beautiful

creature until iniquity was found in

thee." But I believe Judas could have

gotten saved. And what a story of

redemption that would have been.

>> But you know what? The devil had to

finish him off,

>> right? I believe that Judas could have

been forgiven, but because of the demon

influence in his life, Judas, when he

throwed that money down, the devil

convinced him that it was over

>> and he went outside of town and he hung

himself.

>> You know, I'll say this to you this

morning. You said, "Preacher, I'm not

going to let any demon influence me."

>> Well, here's the thing about that this

morning. No, you probably won't

willfully. But I'll say this, he doesn't

care who you are,

>> right?

>> He doesn't care how young you are.

You're

>> right.

>> He doesn't care how old you are. He

doesn't care how much Bible you know. He

doesn't care anything about you,

>> right?

>> Or anybody else for that matter.

>> Right.

>> And this is what he knows. If he can get

you going his direction,

>> you say, "Preacher, what is that? I'm

not a drunkard. I I'm not a I'm I'm not

a I'm not a drunkard. I'm not a

fornicator. I'm not an adulterer. I'm

not a homosexual. I'm not. I'm not. I'm

not. But here's the problem about that.

If you if you've never been saved, it

don't matter how much stuff you don't

do.

>> Right?

>> It don't matter how good of a moral

person you are.

>> That's right.

>> You know why he don't bother you? Is

because you're headed the same direction

he is.

>> Right.

>> The reason why you don't feel NO

OPPRESSION IS BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING THE

SAME WAY. WHEN YOU GO AGAINST the grain

on something, you know what? It ain't

comfortable, is it?

>> Right. Right.

>> You know why? It don't feel like there's

any opposition in your life. When I got

saved, man, I was introduced to an enemy

that I'd never seen before.

>> Right,

>> man. I could tell you the story of my

life and and and tell you things of how

I've seen him try to work against me.

And I've seen it in just recent days,

how he would love to just shut out the

light of God.

>> But here's what I come back to in my

thoughts. You know, I'm thankful that we

believe this from the scripture that a

saved person cannot be possessed

because we're possessed by the Lord

Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God

lives inside of us. We're not our own.

We're bought with a price.

>> Jesus, the Holy Ghost, the person of the

spirit of God lives on the inside. But

I'll tell you this, you can grieve the

Holy Spirit and be oppressed,

>> right?

>> By a devil. You say, "How is that?"

Well, you remember the Bible says over

there in the book of Peter, I'm just

giving you scripture this morning. I

could give you personal examples. I

could give you all that, but you

understand that ain't going to help you.

Okay? The Bible says that Lot when he

was down at Sodom and Gomorra, the Bible

says he vexed his righteous soul, you

know what that was doing? He was

willingly suspecting himself

to demon influence.

>> Right?

>> He willfully allowed himself looking at

that filth every day of his life. He

vexed himself by seeing and hearing. The

Bible says their unrighteous deeds.

And this is the greatest sin we have in

this day and time is the sin of

fornication.

>> And you know it goes on in public, but

I'll tell you where it's at. It's on the

telephone,

>> right?

>> That's where it's at.

It would blow our minds to know how many

people have been involved with it even

today.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "How is that, preacher?" Well,

it's what's killing us. Because here

here's the thing about it's demon

influence.

>> Right?

>> God said Lot. Peter said, "Lot vexed his

righteous soul in seeing and hearing

>> their unlawful." He vexed his righteous

soul with their unlawful deeds in seeing

and hear. You can turn there and look

look at Peter. That's what he said. And

so it's not it's not just your

relationships with people, but it's what

you allow yourself to intake.

>> You're right.

>> Through your eyes, through your ears.

>> And here's what'll happen to you. Your

life will end in destruction.

>> Amen.

>> You're right.

>> If you do not allow the Lord Jesus

Christ to give you victory.

>> Amen. Now, I've left a lot of this out.

We're going to preach the rest of it

tonight. This is the message I want to

get want you to get today. You do not

have the power in your flesh to defeat

the enemy.

>> Right. Amen.

>> You can't put up enough walls. You can't

have enough accountability. And I

believe in walls. And I believe in

accountability. And probably more than

anybody else in this room, I've got more

than anybody else. And I'm not saying

that pridefully, but I just know how

sorry I am. Okay? Can I just be real

with you? I've got walls in my life

that's high. I've got accountability

that's high. My wife, my wife's password

and my password to our phones are

exactly the same, aren't they?

>> Right.

>> We have open lines of communication. She

knows more about me than any other

individual in this world.

>> And I wouldn't change a thing about it.

>> That's right.

>> I have I have all of that. But I'll say

this, all it takes is one moment of

weakness.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

one

one decision

one one time the devil says all you

nobody know nobody's going to know

>> come on

>> nobody's going to see that

and before you know it what what was

just a moment of confusion

led to him ultimately controlling you

>> right

>> corrupting your life and then consuming

you eternally you say preacher but if

I'm saved I can't be consumed eternally.

You know, the Bible talks about

John said it this way. He said uh he

said, "My little children abide in him."

1 John 2, he said, "My little children

abide in him that when he shall appear

that we may have confidence and not be

ashamed before him at his coming."

That's

>> right.

>> You know, I'd hate to know that I wasted

my life.

>> Come on. as a child of God

>> and I'll enter heaven and I would I

would enter heaven enter the presence of

God ashamed because of the way I live my

life down here you say preacher but all

tears are going to be wiped away but

what about when we get those rewards

>> what about when the crowns are given

what about when you walk through that

fire and all the works of the flesh are

burned up

>> right

>> and what you come out the other side

with is all that's going to be left and

you come out the other side and all that

wood hay and devil's burned up and

you're left with nothing to put at the

feet of Jesus. I don't know how I don't

I don't see how I could not cry.

I don't see how I could think to myself

all that he's done for me and I have

nothing

nothing to offer him.

Every head bowed and every eye closed

this morning.

You're here and you're lost this

morning.

You don't know what I'm talking about.

Okay? The demon influence in your life

is going to destroy you.

And the reason this is so serious is

because Jesus could come today.

He could come in the next five minutes.

And you know what? Demon influence right

now for you sinner is not that you

would, you know, go look at pornography

or that you would go get a beer and turn

it up or that you'd go smoke a joint.

demon influence for you right now is

saying you're okay.

It's saying you're fine. You don't need

what that preacher's offering you. You

don't need that blood. You don't NEED

THAT GOSPEL. YOU'RE all right. You can

go out of here and you you can come to

church every now and again. God will

judge your good works and your good

works will outweigh your bad. You know

what that is? That's a demon influence.

THE HOLY GHOST OF GOD IS SPEAKING TO

YOUR HEART and he's saying, "I love you.

Jesus died for you." And God the Father

says, "Come."

And at the end of the day,

you've got a choice.

Are you going to allow that little voice

tell you you're all right?

Are you going to listen to the voice of

God that says

you need to be saved?

You say, "Preacher, how do I know the

difference?" Well, I can say this to you

with assurance this morning. If you have

never asked the Lord Jesus Christ to

forgive you of your sins and save you.

If you've never asked him, if you've

never trusted him by faith, if you have

never asked the Lord, "Please forgive me

and save me, Lord Jesus."

If you've never done that, you're lost.

If you have never done that, you are

lost. You say, "Preacher, I've done

that. I'VE PRAYED A PRAYER, BUT NOTHING

EVER CHANGED. NOTHING WAS EVER

DIFFERENT." YOU WANT TO know the

difference between the voice of God and

the voice of en the enemy in your life?

God looks at you and he says, "I love

you."

The enemy says you're worthless.

The enemy says you're not valuable.

You have no worth. You're the sorryest

human being alive.

You don't need what he's got.

And what'll happen is if you walk out of

these door lost today and he's told you

you're okay. You know what? The moment

you walk through those doors, he's going

to try to give you some false comfort.

Well, you went to church today.

All the while, Jesus is saying, "Come."

The voice of God and the voice of the

enemy

in your life

could be the thing that

changes your destiny. You say,

"Preacher, how is that?" Well, you

realize that I would have never heard

the voice of God if I hadn't heard the

voice of the enemy.

You say, "How is that, preacher?" Well,

that night that I got saved, 7 years

old, God spoke to my heart and said,

"Son, you need to be saved." And the

enemy said, "You're a preacher's kid.

You're all right."

But you know what? God said, "That

doesn't matter.

It ain't about your mom and it ain't

about your daddy.

It's not about none of these people that

you're sitting around, but son, I love

you and I want to save you. And if Jesus

is speaking, if the Holy Ghost is

convicting your heart

and telling you right now that he loves

you and he wants to save you and he's

showing you that you don't have to go to

hell, you know, I do, if I was you, I'd

get up and I'd run.

I wouldn't wait another second.

It doesn't matter what anybody thinks.

Doesn't matter how long you've been a

member of this church. Doesn't matter

how much work you've done because there

ain't no amount of works that you can do

to save you. It matters that you know if

you were to die right now that you would

go to heaven.

A good way to know that God's speaking

to you

is that that preached word for the first

time in your life's making sense.

For the first time in your life, you're

realizing that I really don't got what

he's talking about.

You say, "Preacher, I'm here and I I

don't know that I'm saved. Preacher, I'm

having a hard time. I don't know.

Would you be honest enough? Nobody's

looking around but me, but to raise your

hand,

say, "Preacher, would you pray for me?

I'm not saved."

Be honest between you and God. Just

raise your hand up. I'll pray for you

this morning. Nobody's looking around.

Some of you, it's written all over your

face.

God knows your heart.

And I don't I wouldn't scare you for

nothing, but I want to tell you this

might be the last opportunity.

>> Do not miss it.

Don't miss it.

For those of you that are saved this

morning,

the most precious truth that we have

is that when the devil gets so loud in

our mind, we have a book

>> that we can come back to where God's

words are written down.

They're settled in heaven. They're a

lamp to our feet and a light to our

path. And if we'll just read his word,

God will speak. And he cannot. The

devil, listen to me, child of God. The

devil cannot overcome the word of God.

The Bible says re book of Revelation,

they overcame him by the blood of the

lamb and by the word of their testimony.

You know what that is? That's the word

of God.

He cannot overcome the word of God. If

you take him to that Bible when Jesus

was tempted, you know what he did? He

took that Bible and he said, "Devil, you

got no business talking to me that way."

You know what? You ought to do the same

thing. Father,

Lord, I thank you for this time this

morning. Not trying to drag the

invitation out this morning. I just feel

like somebody needs to be saved today.

God, I pray you'd please deal with their

heart because Lord, this truth about the

influence of the demonic world is real.

God, we see it in all of our lives.

Lord, would you help us, God, as your

church to be aware of it, but God, also

to be attendant to your voice, Lord,

it's not that we need to uh Lord, learn

the voice of the enemy, God, we don't

need to do that. We need to learn your

voice. And Lord, when we know your voice

the way we should, God, we'll know when

it's not you. Lord, would you help us to

be obedient to you, Lord? I pray for

that and it's here today and lost. God,

I know you wouldn't put this on my heart

if there wasn't somebody here today

that's lost. God, I pray you'd deal with

them. Draw them unto yourself,

Lord. For those that are backslid and

drawn back to a place of repentance

and help us, help us all to be obedient

to you. Lord, I love you. Thank you for

loving us. We ask it all in Jesus name.

God's children say it.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988

Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 7:00 p.m. For

more information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.