Setting the Captives Free - 9/13/2026

Thank you, worship team.

Yeah.

Well, good morning.

My name is Adam Caseel.

I'm the lead pastor here on staff.

Um, I just want to say happy NFL opening weekend to all of you who celebrate.

Yeah, hope spring's eternal right now.

Uh I hope all of your teams go undefeated.

Uh and that they just all have fun.

Uh every week uh we have prophetic discerners who sit along that wall back over there.

Uh if you believe that God um is speaking to you, that might be for the church.

Feel free to go back and share it with them.

Um they will discern along with you, whether that's uh for now or for later, uh, for the whole church, or maybe just for you.

Uh this morning, before I even get to the message, we're gonna have a number of just family items that we're gonna uh go through.

Um as you uh came in, you should have received a bulletin that's got a list of all the the ministries that are are meeting and various upcoming events.

Um as a reminder, our mission is to encounter the love and power of God and give it away to the world.

Um so those are some opportunities that are are happening.

Um, if you're new or looking to get more connected, the best thing to do is to fill out a connect card.

There should be one in the seat pocket in front of you, or there's gonna be a QR code up on the screen if you want to uh do that digitally.

I'm gonna highlight just a couple of things this morning.

Um, as we've been doing, we took a little break last week, but we've been showing a series of videos by John Wimber, the catalytic leader of the Vineyard Movement called MC510, Miracle Signs and Wonders.

And we're showing those here every Sunday uh from 4 to 6 p.m.

So highly encourage you to come on out.

It's a time of learning and equipping, and we've seen God move in in these times.

People are are receiving healing and words of encouragement.

And so if you don't have anything going on this afternoon, we'd invite you to come on out for that.

Uh also, it's finally going to be here, one week from today, our church's 40th anniversary celebration.

And uh a couple of things as we talk about that, um, Joy Walston is coming up um to share some things.

Joy's been amazing and um overseeing all the kind of the coordinating of volunteers and all that.

And um, so in just a second, I'm gonna let her share about what we need.

But a couple of things, we will be blocking off some parking um so so that we have plenty of uh space to gather.

We've we're gonna have different activities going on uh throughout that day, and we'll be eating outside and all that.

So looks like the weather forecast right now is good.

Let's pray that it continues to stay amazing.

Um so because we'll be blocking off some parking, for those of us who are more physically able and walking, is uh let's keep the uh closer spaces for those who are are a little more limited.

Also, families, those with uh kids in the children's ministry, we're gonna have this back door open.

So if you want to park around the back and come in that way, uh that would be great.

So with that, hand it over to Joy.

Okay.

So just a short list for you guys, but information that we would love for you to know.

First off, to everybody who's already signed up to volunteer, thank you.

We appreciate you.

You most of you gave us email addresses.

Please keep an eye on your inbox this week.

There's going to be information coming with instructions, schedules, contacts for team leaders, and the like.

So keep an eye out for that.

If you have not signed up to volunteer, you are not too late, and we still need you.

So uh today would be the perfect day to sign up.

If you're wondering how to get that done, you have options.

So if you received your bulletin, there is uh a slide that has upcoming events right about the center of the page.

There's a QR code.

You can use that to access a Google form to fill out all of your volunteer information.

Volunteerism in this case includes both day of service and those of you who plan to bring food.

So the uh that QR code, that link will work for both.

Um, for those of you who plan to bring food, anything works.

You can bring an old family recipe, you can bring a bag of chips or a liter of soda, we'll take it all, but we would like to know what's coming.

One of the reasons is that we need to know how to lay out our space and how many heating elements and how much ice and that sort of thing to buy.

So if you could please provide us with that information, that would be great.

In addition to the QR code here, there's the same QR code is at the volunteer table in the welcome lobby, along with a paper and pen sheet that you can fill out if that's what you prefer.

If you have specific questions or um details that you would like us to know as far as your availability or interests for volunteering, um Carol, Fred, and I will be at that table immediately after service.

You can also access some of this information on the website, just look on the home page.

Um lastly, um we have merch.

Yes.

So there is uh going to be anniversary t-shirts, trucker hats, mugs, all of that sort of thing available.

Um there is information for you to place your orders online again on the home homepage, just under the volunteer link, you can find that.

It's also on the events calendar.

Um, I think that is it.

So I'll hand it back over to you.

Awesome.

Thank you, Joy.

So if you call Indie Vineyard Church your home and you have not signed up, today is your day.

If you're wondering, should I sign up to volunteer?

The answer is yes.

All right, so uh really all hands on deck as we've been talking about.

All right, we also want to welcome any uh first-time guests.

If you are new, this is your first time.

We have a gift for you.

We are not going to ask anything of you.

If you want to raise your hand, one of our greeters will come around and drop off a little gift and say, Welcome, we're glad that you're here.

All right, welcome.

Awesome.

Well, another thing that we like to do as a church family is to recognize and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.

So if you have a birthday in the month of September, why don't you stand up?

Really is uh yes, every every month is a great month to have a birthday, but September is the best month.

So if somebody is standing up near you, extend a hand in their direction and just join as I uh speak this blessing.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future, then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Lord, we thank you for each person standing this morning, and we celebrate the gift of their life today.

As they begin another year, we ask that you would continue to guide them in your word and help them trust in your goodness and grace.

Bless them with every blessing.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

All right, anybody celebrating a wedding anniversary in the month of September?

All right.

Amazing.

Same thing.

So if you see somebody standing, extend a hand in their direction.

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Lord, we thank you for all the years that these couples have had together.

Today, as we celebrate their anniversary, we ask that you will continue to bless them in the years ahead.

Let their life together be one of love and forgiveness, and may it be a help to other couples as they start their own journeys into married life.

Lord, we pray that you will honor their commitment to each other and to you by granting them many more years of happiness.

Amen.

All right.

Congratulations.

All right, as I said, lots of family business this morning.

Uh, wanted to let you all know um we've had as a staff an office suite a couple of uh doors down.

Our lease ends at the end of this month.

We're gonna be exiting um that space, largely because it's uh just an extra expense that we couldn't really justify.

Um so wanna let you know we are not moving our office space back.

We still have plans to kind of open up that that lobby area.

Um we'll just kind of set up a couple of temporary work spaces um for any staff who maybe need to be someplace other than kind of working from home.

So um I know there are a number of people that will utilize the building throughout the week.

We're not displacing them or or asking them to adjust, but just wanted to communicate that to you all uh that that's happening.

And um, so we're starting to move some things out the weekend of the 26th and 27th.

If you're available and and could help us move some things, that would be amazing.

So uh, like I said, just wanted to give you that heads up.

Next, we are uh really doing a push for life groups.

Um, meeting in small community is essential for following Jesus to doing this life to growing.

And so um, we're gonna be having um some different testimonies about the impact of a life group.

And so this morning I'm gonna invite up Katie Griwe to share her testimony of her time in her life group.

Yeah.

Hello.

Uh good job on the last name.

Thank you.

Not everybody gets that right.

It's a hard one.

Yeah.

Um, good morning.

My name is Katie, and I have been attending Indy Vineyard.

It has been four years.

That's wild.

I feel like it has not been that long.

Um, okay, so I wanted to share a little bit about Life Group this morning.

And I think the thing that just is on my heart to share is that when I started coming to church here, which a story for another day is a very cool Holy Spirit story about how I ended up here in the first place.

But I found myself here in a stage of life where life had really been um lifing.

Do we know what that means?

I've grown up in the church.

I spent my whole life in the church, in church ministry.

I've done full-time ministry.

I'm very familiar with church, but man, life had done some lifing.

And I rolled in here kind of messy.

Um, and I felt like I don't want to get involved in anything.

I feel like a lot.

I feel like I'm a lot for myself.

I feel like I'm probably a lot for other people.

Um, I just I'm a mess.

So I sat in the seat for a really long time and just came and kept to myself.

And what I found over a period of months is that as the dust kind of settled from my life situation, my heart didn't settle, right?

Like I'm I'm frustrated with the Lord, I'm disappointed with things that have happened, and my heart needs some repair that I think you can't always get to on your own.

So, in case you didn't know, uh we are created for community.

This is a part of God's design for his people, is that in community we support each other.

So I wanted to share um a verse from Ecclesiastes 4 that says, Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

So after, I don't know, maybe nine months or so, I began to feel like, okay, I probably need to go to small group.

A life group, life group, sorry, rebrand.

Um I was like, I really to be completely frank, I don't want to.

It's hard and I feel like a lot.

And I know how to uh participate in a discussion and answer all the questions the right way.

I know how to do that.

I'm currently standing in a place where I don't know if I believe all those right answers, or somehow they're not ringing true in my current life experience, and I don't know what to do with that.

And I don't want to go and just be fake.

So I'm gonna go, but I'm gonna be authentic and we'll just see how that goes.

Um, how's it going, guys?

Are we doing okay over there?

So I've landed in a life group that has just been such a blessing to my heart.

I think I was able to go and say sometimes, you know, okay, but is that true?

I mean, the Bible says it's true.

I want it to be true.

It doesn't feel true, that life experience.

Or you're talking about hearing God, and I feel like I'm not hearing God and I don't know why, or whatever it is.

Or sometimes I'm the one coming saying, You guys, God did the coolest thing this week, and then I can share that and then it encourages somebody else.

So sometimes I think being willing to be authentic and vulnerable and having a mindset of I can admit that maybe I've got it wrong here a little bit because somehow what's in the Bible is not jiving with what I'm experiencing.

And if I'm willing to listen to other people's life experience with the Lord, maybe I can learn from that has really helped me.

And I'm in a much better place now.

So not that you know all of life's problems don't get fixed, but so no pressure, group leaders.

You don't have to solve all the problems or answer all the questions, but I think being in community and being known really is a part of God's design for us.

So I would encourage you if you are, if you've been around the block a million times and you're like, I'm tired of that, I don't want to do it.

I still think you need it.

And if you've never been to a small group and you life group, life group, and you think, I don't want to go because I don't know how to answer any of the questions, I think that's okay too, right?

Showing up authentically and being willing to participate in community is a piece of what God is offering us for the real depth of life that there is available.

And I want all of it.

So anyway, it's been a great experience for me, and I encourage you to do it.

That's great.

Thanks, Davey.

That's amazing.

So if you are looking for a life group, uh the best thing to do would be to interact with John and Nancy Riggshead.

Will you two stand up briefly?

Thank you.

So they John and Nancy are overseeing our life groups now.

Um if you're looking for a group, connect with them and they will they will help you out.

So let's all stand and greet one another, find somebody that you've not met before, look them in the eye, smile, and say, I'm glad you're here.

It increases joy as we connect with one another.

And our brains run on joy.

So thanks for uh refueling one another's brains and capacity to for growth.

All right.

Uh well, last thing before I uh get to my message.

Um, as we shared uh I think a couple of months ago, uh, we were looking for another uh youth pastor.

We have found our next youth pastor.

Uh yes.

Thank you for praying.

I know a lot of you have been praying for us in that process, so thank you so much.

Uh now I don't believe in coincidences, uh, but the this person lives out of state, and it just so happened.

It just so happened that he was in this part of the country for this weekend.

So, John Urban, why don't you come on up?

Thanks.

So this is John Urban.

If the last name sounds familiar, he is related to Nate.

He is his uh older brother, I hear the the better of the older brothers.

Is that true?

Um it depends on who you ask.

Okay, all right.

Uh so really excited to have John coming on on staff with us as um as I said, he does live out in California, so um we're looking at next month for him to be able to be here, hopefully, Lord willing.

So you can be praying about that as he um kind of finishes that chapter well uh out in Reading, California, and prepares to uh to come here.

And so just real briefly wanted to ask John a couple of questions.

Uh here's the thing, uh, students, youth, and and you parents of youth, please be sure afterwards to introduce yourself to John.

Uh unfortunately, he's not gonna be able to join us for youth group tonight.

Um he's got he is in grad school and he's got to fly back.

So um make sure to to find him afterwards, introduce yourself.

But one of the questions, um, John, as you were going through this process, was there anything specific that gave you a sense that this opportunity was for you?

Yeah, it's interesting sometimes when you're like making decisions.

Um, the voice of God is super strong and sometimes it's subtle.

And in my journey, like one of the things that I was sensing from the Lord wasn't a super loud voice.

It was more of a little nudge, and you lean in a little closer, like a little whisper, and it's like, okay, I'm gonna lean in a little bit closer to that.

And by the end, it was by a bunch of little nudges, little steps, little inclinations.

It was very clear to my heart that it's oh, I need to, it's time to take a jump and move back to the Midwest.

And one of the passages of scripture that I thought about in that process was in Matthew 11, where uh Jesus is talking about, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest and take my yoke upon you, which is light.

And it was interesting how in my journey, where initially I was like, no, I got a great community out in Reading.

I have so many friends that have developed over years.

But lo and behold, I was thinking, like, oh, the burden that I had from the Lord kind of there was almost this weight that was lifting when I had the thought of moving out here to Indy.

And so it's stuff like that, where it's like little decisions along the little decisions that lead you to lean in closer to the Lord, and then you look back and like, wow, this is a clear, let's move out to Indy.

That's great.

That's such a great uh I mean, just example of the the process of discerning things when scripture is not super clear on on what to do.

So thanks for for sharing that.

So as you come into this new role, what's something that you're uh really excited about?

Okay, I'm I'm excited about um like developing and growing myself, but also developing and growing the people around me.

So all the youth and growing into a closer image of the Lord.

And that's something that I think there's an element of that we can learn in ourselves by taking action and not just studying.

And so I feel like I've spent a lot of time studying, a lot of times um in church serving, and it I'm so excited to get out and build something, whether and w going through the highs and the lows of it, because it's I know that no matter what, it's not gonna be smooth sailing from the get go.

There'll be ups and downs and lefts and rights, and so I'm excited for the journey of that.

Excellent.

That's so great.

Well, um, I just want to pray uh for John real quick.

So if you want to just extend a hand um in agreement and we just bless him.

So, Father, we thank you for John.

Um, thank you for calling him here to serve in this role, uh, to do this thing that you have set apart for him and him uh for this.

And um we just ask for a greater anointing of the Holy Spirit on him, and as he wraps up this chapter of life out in Reading, you continue to guide him and watch over him as he heads our way.

And so um just continue your work of preparing him and and us for him in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Exactly for you.

All right.

Well, uh in on January twenty-eighth, nineteen eighty-six, seventy-three seconds after liftoff, the space shuttle challenger exploded.

Now, uh I was just I was not even five and a half years old, and I remember being at my grandmother's house that day, watching it live.

And because it was uh completely unexpected, this tragic event, they kept showing it over and over and over as the news does.

And at some point, like I said, I was at my grandmother's house, my mom was there, and my my sister, somebody decided, let's turn off the TV.

And my grandmother was in her kitchen sewing and uh hemming some clothes, uh making some alterations.

My sister and I were in the kitchen with her.

Uh, I grabbed a pair of scissors and I don't know what I was doing with it, but I cut my finger.

And um, you know, I responded very calmly, as all five-year-olds do when they hurt themselves.

And my my grandmother, she was the mother of seven, so she's seen plenty in her time, uh, gets a band-aid for me.

And I remember her starting to put the band-aid on, and then the next thing I know, I'm looking up at the ceiling of the kitchen.

And my mother and my grandmother's faces are over top of me, and my sister is in the background, like looking, what in the heck just happened?

So something about that caused me to pass out.

Now, from that time on, for as long as I can remember, anytime I saw blood or bandages or heard stories of people, like I would get woozy.

It's like, what like people would tell me about something and I could see the thing that they're describing.

It was not fun.

Like I'm working so hard to like not pass out as this person's talking to me.

That that was my life for nearly 40 years until about uh sometime last year.

I had I signed up to get prayer with Orbis Ministries.

I talked about Ken Fish last week and the ministry that that he he has, and and I received prayer from them, and this thing came up um around me responding this way when I when I saw or heard heard stories.

And the sense was there was uh a malevolent spirit attached to me that caused me to respond that way.

So as they were praying and and going through this repenting and and renouncing and and all this, I start coughing violently through the through the midst of this time.

And at the end, I felt lighter.

And something changed because now when I hear stuff or see somebody, like I don't have the same response.

So this something that happened, I firmly believe it was connected to January 28th, 1986, would cause me physically to respond to hearing stories or seeing things that would make me feel woozy.

The worldview of the Bible is that there are malevolent spirits who hate humans and want to harm us.

The ones that affect us the most on the on a personal level, the Bible calls demons or unclean spirits.

So, with that, why don't you turn with me to Matthew chapter 12?

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

The verses will be on the screen.

I'm not gonna read just yet.

Uh, because as a reminder, we're in this new series that we started last week that we're calling already and not yet.

We're looking at the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God is an expression that did not originate with Jesus, but it was his topic of his main topic of teaching and demonstration throughout his life and ministry here on earth.

And we talked last week about the kingdom of God as the action of God's rule.

The action of God's rule is the short, kind of concise definition for what the kingdom of God is.

And there are ways that we see the kingdom of God manifest, which is what we're gonna focus on.

We're gonna we're gonna talk through, um, we talked last week about how we're called to seek the kingdom and we keep seeking it, and we keep seeking it, and we keep seeking it.

And we see that we'll see the kingdom of God manifest in healing, deliverance, salvation, growth, uh, evangelism, etc.

This is one of the key theological topics for the vineyard that we believe when when things happen, it's because of the presence of the kingdom of God, that it's already here, but it's not yet here in its fullness.

So that's why we're calling this already and not yet.

So I'm going to read from Matthew 12, verses 22 to 37, uh, and then I will pray.

Matthew 12:22–37

Matthew says, Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and he cured them, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see.

All the crowds were amazed and were saying, Can this be the son of David?

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, It is only Beelzebel, the ruler of the demons, that this man cast out the demons.

He knew what they were thinking, and he said to them, Every kingdom divided of itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided of it against itself will stand.

If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself.

How then will his kingdom stand?

If I cast out demons by Beelzebel, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out?

Therefore they will be your judges, but if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first trying up the strong man?

Then indeed the house can be plundered.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against this the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil?

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

The good person brings good things out of the good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.

I tell you, on the day of judgment, you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Father, we pray, as our Lord Jesus taught us, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We want your name and yours alone to be honored.

Would you open us to the possibilities of what happens when the kingdom of God comes near?

And with the authority that you give, we bind up any work of the strong man that might try to happen among us this morning in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to very briefly look at kingdom conflict, tying up the strong man, and plundering the house.

So again, the kingdom of God is here to free those imprisoned by the enemy.

We're going to look at uh kingdom conflict.

Now, let me just say this is a massive topic that I am foolishly trying to engage with for roughly now 10 minutes.

So I'm going to tell you, I've got tons more in my notes.

Those are on the website.

Um I realize I'm probably going to leave some of you with more questions than answers.

And some of you are going to be frustrated that I've not talked about certain things.

But I'll do what I can and hopefully the Lord blesses our time.

So as I said, the the worldview of the Bible is that there are a number of different spiritual beings, both benevolent and malevolent.

We often conflate them into angels and demons.

There are different types, but uh, as I said, for our purposes this morning, we're going to talk about one class, and that is demons or unclean spirits, because those are often who afflict us on a personal level.

And let me say, if you've given your life to Jesus, you have experienced deliverance.

You were delivered out of death into life.

You were delivered out of serving sin to serving righteousness.

You're delivered out of the dominion of darkness and into the kingdom of light.

So we all have experienced a level of deliverance.

And such is the nature of our lives that there's a process in which we have to experience further ministry that we call deliverance ministry, because there's things that happen to us throughout our lives.

We read here the account of Jesus who cured a man who was blind and mute.

And so these are physical issues, but the source of them was demonic.

And I want to say a couple of things about the worldview, again, of the scriptures.

It can be easy for us to have, um, I think C.S.

Lewis called it chronological snobbery, where we think, because here we live in the 21st century, that those nearly 2,000 years ago were really simple and dumb.

But actually, when you look at the world at uh world history and around the world, we are the ones with the minority worldview where we diminish the role of evil spiritual beings that it that it plays in our life, afflicting people.

And as Jesus went through doing healing ministries, I did some research on this.

Four out of ten times that Jesus healed somebody, there was a demon viewed as the source.

So let me draw two things from that.

One, it was a big part of Jesus' ministry, oftentimes afflicting people physically, emotionally, and mentally.

And at the same time, they did not look at people and say if there was something wrong with them that you could see physically or that uh expressed like a mental or emotional sort of thing, and they said, Oh, that person has a demon.

They were able to separate those two things out.

And uh C.S.

Lewis is very helpful in the screw tape letters.

He says there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race, meaning humanity, specifically Westerners, can fall about the devils.

One is to disbelieve in their existence, the other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.

They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.

To come a little more contemporary, at the end of the classic movie, The Usual Suspects, verbal Kint says the greatest trick the devil ever performed was convincing the world he didn't exist.

Oftentimes I think as believers, especially for the uh those of us living in the West, and many of us have grown up in here, we we have some under some thoughts about the enemy that don't line up with the scriptures.

I think we have a false sense of security that we're impervious to the attacks of the enemy because of Jesus.

Now we don't have to, this is not to cause fear, but to really offer a word of caution and admonition that just because we are in Christ and we are saved and we are uh, I think preserved from a lot does not mean that the enemy cannot or does not impact us negatively.

So I read a longer passage, but the time remaining, I'm gonna focus just on verses 28 and 29.

Now it says here that Jesus cast out a demon.

That's a very violent word.

Jesus threw the demon out that was in this man.

It talks about drive out, expel out, send out, take out.

This is a word of conflict.

We're seeing two kingdoms in conflict with one another.

The kingdom of God, which is the kingdom of light, and then the dominion of darkness, this counterfeit kingdom of Satan.

So Jesus did not escort this demon out or kindly ask it to leave.

Mr.

Demon, um, you are in restricted area, this property of Holy Trinity Inc.

LLC.

I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.

Thank you very much.

And don't come back.

No, this is a word, a military word.

This was a fight.

And Jesus won.

Friends, you and I are born into a war zone.

We may not like warfare language, may feel like the church militant makes us a little uncomfortable because of how that's been abused in the past, but it's the reality.

Uh I'm not going to read it, but Ephesians 6.12 talks about how we are we we do not battle against flesh and blood, but against these different spiritual powers, right?

We have an enemy.

That enemy does not have flesh and blood like you and I.

Right?

The person that even if we're in relational conflict with or has a different religious view or ideology, they are not the enemy.

The enemy wants us to believe that they are, to take the focus off the true enemy.

Right?

It's easy for us to point fingers at different people.

But the enemy, this enemy, our true enemy, is a terrorist in the truest sense of the word.

They use false promises to entrap us and to and then make us think that we can't get free.

The way Jesus sees the kingdom of God gaining ground is by casting out demons from people to set them free.

Jesus came to set the captives free.

Now, this expulsion is not always pretty.

Again, I'm not going to read it, but just reference Mark 9.

There's this time of a boy who uh has seizures.

He has epileptic seizures caused by demons, and the disciples, based on their previous experience, were not able to cast it out, and Jesus deals with it.

Now, it's so significant that everybody around them thinks the boy is dead.

Again, we can maybe think of that and think, oh, how simple.

They don't know what a dead person looks like.

No, they probably knew better than we do.

They were around death more than we are.

We're sheltered from it.

Similarly, more recently, um, a pastor and author named Derek Prince wrote a book called They Shall Expel Demons.

And in there he tells the story of this woman who was a believer.

She was a believer, but they prayed for her for many hours, casting out various demons.

The the demons were called hate, fear, pride, jealousy, self-pity, infidelity, and death.

He recounts that as she's as they're doing this, she's literally strangling herself.

So this these demons had such an influence that she was trying to strangle herself while they're praying for her.

And he said that after this death spirit, the last one came out, that um her skin was waxy and cold.

Her face looked like death.

She had no color.

She was laying on the floor, and after about ten minutes, she raises her hands and starts praising Jesus and speaking in tongues.

This woman left that time of prayer freer than she came in.

So there's a conflict between two kingdoms, and we're and we're born into that conflict, and we're gonna be a part of that until we die or Jesus returns.

Again, the kingdom of God is here to free those imprisoned by the enemy.

So the next part that we see here is that is uh tying up the strong man.

Now, let me say, as we talk about this and the impact of the demonic, this is not to abdicate responsibility.

Right?

And we don't say, well, the devil made me do it.

That doesn't free us.

It's like, nope, sorry, we are still responsible, no matter how great the influence is.

Uh but Jesus in there, he he talks about he's tied up the strong man.

Now I think Jesus did that two times.

The first during his ministry was uh in the wilderness when he was tempted by the devil and he resisted those temptations.

And in Matthew 4, he talks about as he's as the devil tries to get Jesus to worship him, he says, Away with you.

I think he's he's send he sent Satan away, he tied him up to be able to free people.

And then furthermore, at the cross, Jesus tied up the strong man.

Colossians 2, 13 to 15.

Paul says, You were dead because of your sins, and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away.

Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.

He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

So I'm gonna come back to this in a little bit, but the enemy loves to use legalism.

When we are legalistic in our beliefs and our practices, we're actually partnering with the enemy.

And the enemy is more than glad to allow us to do that.

The good news is we can, if we repent, get free from whatever legalistic agreement we may have made.

I've been learning a lot more about sort of deliverance ministry.

There's um a podcast and a book called The Exorcist Files done by a Catholic priest.

And he tells the story of somebody that he calls Jeremy.

Now, Jeremy, as a boy around 12 years old, had an older brother, and his older brother and his friend and his friends were playing with a Ouija board.

And uh he was watching them, and afterwards, after they had all gone, uh Jeremy was often teased for being small and weak.

He used the Ouija board and said, Can you make me strong?

And it responded, Yes.

And that night, a dark figure, shadowy figure, appeared in his room.

And he uh what he can remember, it had the cat uh head of a cat and a human body, and it basically asked for access, and he said, Okay.

And um this thing entered into Jeremy, and he did get strong.

He athletically and and physically had muscles upon muscles, and he would, as life went on, would black out, lose days at a time, had a horrible anger problem.

Finally, he was brought to this priest, Father Carlos, and Father Carlos was able to pray with him and to get that demon out of Jeremy so that he would experience freedom.

So there was a strong man that entered Jeremy, but he was no match for the strength of Jesus who set Jeremy free.

When the kingdom comes into conflict, the king the kingdom of God ties up the strong man.

The kingdom of God is here to free those imprisoned by the enemy.

I want to talk about plundering the house.

Now, as a um, as I said earlier, some of us can be lulled into a false sense of being impervious to the enemy.

Um, but I think as we read through the scriptures, we see some places where there's warnings that were given, and they must be for some purpose that they.

Can give the enemy access, a foothold into our lives.

The first verse connected to this Hebrews 12, 15, both um these are going to be up on the screen.

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.

Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Then Ephesians 4, and don't let sin, don't don't sin by letting anger control you.

Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Now I don't think either of these authors are talking about those times that we may feel bitter or angry, but rather when we stay in these places of anger and bitterness, allows the enemy to come in.

Even if we don't do anything wrong.

But I think there was something about fear from that day, both watching what had happened, and maybe my mom's and my grandmother as I passed out and their response, but it allowed something to gain access.

Does not mean that that's the thing that comes in.

Does that make sense?

Maybe it will as I go through.

All right.

So four common doorways that we talk about that the enemy can come in.

One is false religion, the occult, or witchcraft.

In the early church, when people became believers, the assumption, the church operated from the assumption something has a hold of you.

You came out of a false religion.

And so this practice of deliverance was a part of the process of becoming a believer.

Before people could get baptized, they would often have to go through a series of deliverance uh sessions.

This uh the occult, the story of Jeremy was an example of the occult in pop culture, the Ouija board.

When I talk about witchcraft, not just necessarily a formal coven, but this desire for control.

Witchcraft is really about control.

Power without relationship.

Another door is sexual sin.

Paul says, run from sexual sin.

No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does, for sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

This does not mean that sex is dirty.

Let's be clear.

It's such a gift that the Lord said it it works really only in one context, in marriage between a man and a woman.

So the sanctity of sex is lost in porn and promiscuity.

I'm uh friend, I'm not a prude.

I just want to hold the gift of sex the way that the Lord does.

As I said, the enemy does not fight fair.

And I I hate this, but even victims of sexual assault or abuse can be demonized.

That does not feel fair to me, but that's the reality of what happened.

Next is anger or bitterness.

I'd read the verses from Hebrews and Ephesians.

Again, it's not just feeling angry or bitter, but staying in those places.

The enemy loves anger and bitterness and feeds off of that like energy.

Same with fear and anxiety.

That's the the fourth doorway.

Not anxiety is a mental health diagnosis, right?

But that's sort of perpetual state where we're anxious and just feeling like things are not going to work out.

Staying in this place of worrying that is antithetical to faith and love.

Jesus tells us not to worry, but to trust God's provision.

Fear as opposed to love, first John 4 18.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love.

Cast out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

So again, the more we grow in love, we should see fear reducing in our life.

Now I read at the very end where Jesus talking about uh the types of trees and the fruit that they produce.

That's really about uh sort of the character of our lives, that the evidence of the influence of the Holy Spirit in our life produces very different fruit from the enemy, um, which Jesus is is is addressing the Pharisees, that they're ascribing what Jesus did to Beelzebel.

Um I know I'm close on time, but I do want to touch on this sort of signs of us maybe perhaps being demonized.

Let me just say also real quickly and get to it.

Our English translations are not helpful because they talk about a person being possessed by a demon.

The Bible doesn't use those categories, they just talk about demonized.

So there are levels in which a person can be influenced, I think, by the enemy, but this idea of like possession versus oppression or affliction, whatever, those aren't biblical categories.

So here are some signs that um there might be some demonic influence on our life.

Again, this comes from uh Derek Prince in his book, They Shall Expel Demons.

So also as I say this is not necessarily like once in a while you feel it, but kind of this habitual place.

So we have obsessive emotions or attitudes that inhibit life and relationships, negative obsessive emotions and attitudes.

They can afflict our mind, causing doubt, unbelief, confusion, forgetfulness, indecision, compromise, humanism, or even insanity.

Our tongue, as we are maybe prone to exaggeration, gossip, criticism, or slander participating with what the enemy does.

In the area of sex, inability to get freedom from sexual sin or demonstrate self-control.

I think a lot of times for for us if we as we struggle with different sins, we might think we just need to try harder.

Or there might be a personal being working against you that you and I are not strong enough on our own to be able to resist.

We are strong with the Holy Spirit, but yet there's something that we need to get some freedom.

Another area might be our physical appetites, consistently overeating or overindulging.

There are times that the the enemy can manifest that if out of nowhere you start feeling nauseous or having uh a severe headache, we also see more significant, uncontrollable shaking.

I think feelings of sudden despair or fear is when the enemy is is attacking us.

But the good news is it's relatively easy to get free.

If we know what it is or how the thing has gotten access, repentance allows us to experience freedom.

As I said, the enemy is legalistic, but when we repent, when we renounce, we're able to take back that ground and they have to go because we do belong to Jesus and Jesus will deal with them.

We also, all of us, have authority to help others.

You don't, there's no spiritual gift of deliverance.

That's not one of the gifts listed.

It's authority, it's the authority we have in Christ.

That as a follower of Jesus, you don't have to be a pastor, you don't have to be recognized.

It's the authority that you have in Christ to be able to tell demons to go out.

Jesus equipped the disciples early on to be able to do that.

One of the ministries that we have, where um people have been equipped to walk through, is our Sozo ministry.

So if you're wondering, as I'm walking through this and you're wondering, might you be afflicted or affected by something, email sozo at indivineyard.org and they will gladly meet with you to pray for you.

So as we conclude, reminder, the kingdom of God is here to free those imprisoned by the enemy.

We looked at there's kingdom conflict.

There are two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the counterfeit kingdom of Satan, and they're in conflict with each other.

And we are we are a part of that conflict.

We will not ever get out while still in this life.

We looked at tying up the strong man.

Jesus has bound the strong man by re resisting him in the wilderness and then on the cross, and then one day Satan will be fully defeated when Jesus returns.

And then plundering the house.

There are ways that the enemy gets in, but we have authority to kick them out by Jesus and to gain freedom.

Why don't you stand with me?

Michelle, if you want to prayer ministry team, if you want to come forward.

I know we have gone over a little bit, so um, if you have kids and children's ministry, you could get them shortly, but do you want to give you an opportunity to respond because we know that the Lord is here and He cares deeply for us.

Um if you have any emotional, uh physical or spiritual need, our teams would love to pray for you.

Maybe things are going really well, and you just want some more uh prayer, or you are open to see if the Lord has anything to encourage you with this morning.

They would love to listen on your behalf.

Um as I was kind of preparing for for this time, a sense that maybe as I was going through, someone maybe was feeling some heaviness as I was talking about this.

And I think what's happening is that the light has been shown on the enemy.

Um, and so if you were kind of experiencing some of that heaviness or any of the things that I uh went through of the ways that the enemy can can afflict us, um I think the Lord wants to give some freedom this morning.

Um I also had the sense there's maybe at least one person with kind of a throat or and it's like a throat issue that's affecting your speech.

Um, and I think that that that is more than physical, that the Lord really wants to set your voice free this morning.

So if that resonates, our teens would love to pray for you.

Um also I just I think there might be somebody kind of afflicted with a spirit of infirmity.

Um that could be a couple of ways.

Um just constantly getting sick or things just happening.

Um that's not just bad luck, right?

I think there's something there the Lord wants to give you freedom.

So just a reminder, if if the enemy gets um a foothold, that's not a reflection on you.

It's not an indication of you've done something wrong or you're immature, it means you're human.

It means the enemy hates you and wants to inhibit the life, the abundant life that Jesus has available for us.

So if there's any of those things or anything else that you'd love a team to pray for, I want to invite you to come forward to get prayer.

As I said, if you have kids in children's ministry, please go pick them up or send somebody you trust to get them.