In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of not committing sexual sins and using our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness. He highlights the need to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God and to be transformed by renewing our minds. The speaker also discusses the concept of the "great omission" and the need to understand the full gospel message. He concludes by mentioning the Great Commission and the call to make disciples of all nations. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the need for believers to live holy lives and fulfill God's purpose for their lives.

Difficulty didn't know how to get out of it. He was very responsible. He had a high position in his community. He was respected He went to church Sunday morning Sunday evening went to a small group of Wednesday night But I agreed to spend a little time with him And so before you come down I asked if he would in the drive about six hours or so if he would listen to our Set of tapes when he entered my office on a Saturday morning. He handed the tapes back and said they're all blank Well after about two or three hours of counseling this man, he listened to the same tapes on the way home I'd like to have you hear what he said to me Dear Neil, I contacted you because I had been experiencing a host of seemingly inexplicable psychologically related attacks My emotional troubles were probably rooted in my childhood experience with horror movies Ouija boards, etc I clearly remember fearing a visit from devilish forces after I saw the movie titled the blood of Dracula My father had a pretty hot temper and was given to emotional outbursts My survival response was to sulk and blame myself for upsetting him Bottling my emotions inside became a way of life as I grew into adulthood I continued to blame myself for any and all personal shortcomings and misfortunes Then I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior I Grew spiritually over the next several years, but I never enjoyed complete peace There was always a lingering doubt about my relationship with God whom I saw as distant and stern. I Had difficulty praying reading the Bible and paying attention to the pastor's sermons. I Seriously questioned the purpose of life. I Experienced horrible nightmares, which woke me up screaming It was during my time of prayer with you that I finally found freedom in Christ. I Realized that God is not a harsh aloof Disciplinarian but a loving father who takes joy in my accomplishments I also experienced a great release when I prayed to cancel out all demonic working that had been passed on to me from my ancestors Now when I read God's Word, I understand that like never before I have developed a more positive attitude and my entire relationship with my Lord has completely changed Since our meeting I haven't had one nightmare Neil I'm afraid there are many Christians like me out there leading lives of quiet desperation Due to the attack of demonic forces If I can fall prey to these forces and seem alright So can others? Is he right I Suspect he is right. For instance in Southern, California. We have researched 1725 professing Christian young people as we got data back from them We realized that 71% said that they're hearing voices like there's a subconscious self talking to them Now do I believe that 71% of our professing Christian young people are paranoid schizophrenic or psychotic? I don't believe that what I believe is first Timothy 4 1 where the Holy Spirit Explicitly says that in latter days people will fall away from the faith paying attention to deceiving spirits and literally Teaching the demons is that happening that's happening all over the world It really matters not where we go in our ministry We find basically the problems are the same and the answer is always of the same now that same group We found out that 74% 3 out of 4 of our young people believe that they are different from others Christianity works for others But it doesn't work for them. Is that true? Well, of course, that's not true But if they believe that would it affect the way that they live their Christian life and I find that at least 50% of our adult Population believe basically the same thing if they play the game like Dungeons and Dragons a fantasy game I wish about 280 or so of the sample head of that group 43% have impulsive thoughts to kill people like grab that knife and stab somebody now, where's that coming from? Are these people just mentally ill or is there a battle going on for their mind? Let's explore some of the I Think common misconceptions that the church is labored under let me share several one Demons were active when Christ was on earth, but their activity has subsided today I think it would take an unusual Blinding to take that kind of position in light of what's going on in our world No matter where you go There just seems to be evil in the immorality that seems so resistant to to just even common sense Even our police departments are trying to tell our mothers and fathers listen mom and dad your children Just aren't into sex and drugs anymore. Some of your young people are into Satanism. There is a battle going on This is not an option for us We are clearly told in Ephesians 6 that we rustle not with flesh and blood but principalities and powers So we can't decide why I don't believe that and it will go away. That would be New Age type thinking it is there It's real We have to come to terms with it and learn how in a biblical way to interface with the world that we're living in secondly What the early church called demonic activity we now understand to be mental illness whether or not specifically stated I think in a practical sense most would hold to that terms like schizophrenia paranoia Psychosis are merely labels classifying symptoms. All they're describing is is the results of what is taking place They are establishing no sense of causation If we just looked at mental health, how would you define mental health? Well, typically in our Western world is defined as on two bases one You're in touch with reality and two you're relatively free of anxiety Now on that basis, I would tell you that anybody caught in a spiritual conflict would fail on both counts If somebody comes in and says that there's a battle going on for their mind that they're hearing voices or they're having trouble Concentrating or thinking the secular world would just naturally assume that there must be some neurological or psychological problem in My experience of working with adults for the last 10-15 years. I found that to be totally untrue Well, I've sat with probably seven eight hundred or so Christian people who have shared that kind of a symptom and problem with me It takes an hour an average of about three hours four hours Maybe at the most in most cases to get a person free from that and to find a peace of God that path is all Understanding the primary battle for their mind has been spiritual and then secondly Relatively free of anxiety. Well forget that one people because fear is that is the basic issue from that? We're going to talk about that more later But let me just suffice to say that fear of anything other than God is mutually exclusive of faith to God or in God And so therefore these people are struggling out there But that fear is just kind of passed off as some kind of a psychological disorder instead of a real spiritual attack Thirdly some problems are psychological some are spiritual. I Think the most common question that I used to get asked was well, tell me Neil. When is it psychological? When is my problem spiritual? I honestly believe it's a false dichotomy Your problems are never not psychological There is no time when mind will emotions develop mental issues human Responsibilities are not contributing to the problem much less the resolution, but your problems are never not spiritual There is no time when God is not here He holds all things together according to the counsel of his will into my knowledge There is never a time biblically when it's safe to take off the armor of God the possibility of being deceived accused and tempted It's just a continuous reality Now if we'll accept that we'll stop polarizing into psychotherapeutic ministries that ignore the Spiritual reality or jump into some kind of deliverance ministry that ignores developmental issues and human responsibilities I don't believe either paradigm is adequate to help our people come out of their problems and live a whole life free in Christ Fourthly Christians aren't subject to demonic activity I think we've kind of naively assumed that when we suggest to a Christian that their problem may be spiritual Usually it follows with some kind of disclaimer can't be I'm a Christian Well if Christians can't have this kind of problem Then why are we required by God to put on the armor of God to stand firm to be alert? What's the necessity to take every thought captive to the beatings of Christ? I've often told people I said if you think because you're Christian you're immune I think the opposite if you're Christian your target and frankly if you're in ministry, you're probably a bullseye Fifthly demonic influence is only evident in extreme or violent behavior and gross sin. I think that's another complacency that we've fallen back into that is totally wrong and The reason is is that we would look at the gathering Demonic or some extreme case or hear some horror stories on the mission field and come back and say yes There's some seem to be some evidence that that is going on and we miss the subtleness of it What we're primarily up against is deception most of my personal counseling is restricted to pastors and missionaries They're wives and their children There is that battle going on and it's not always evident in extreme cases Most of the people that we will talk about here are people in ministry or living relatively normalized externally but dying internally Struggling with nightmares and a battle going on for their mind Sixly freedom from spiritual bondage is the result of power encounter with demonic forces Well, here's a subtle thing people That's not necessarily the nature of the battle it is far less related to power than it is related to truth The power for Christian lies in the truth the power of the enemy is in the lie He is a defeated fool you expose the lie. You'll break that bondage We're going to talk about this more later on too But the important thing to keep in mind is this we are not to pursue power why because you have it We are clearly told in Ephesians chapter 1 that that our eyes would be open To know the hope of our calling and to know the power that's been extended towards us who believe So we already have that the problem is we just don't see it If you start looking for power when you already have it You're probably going to look for some experience or go Somebody to do something to you or something to happen to you that's already happened to you in Christ So that has led to I think a distortion as to what really has to happen what we're primarily up against is deception and because of that We have failed in our Western world to understand the nature of the world that we're living in we are always looking for some Natural explanation to explain everything and yet that is not possible biblically It's just impossible for us to understand the world from a naturalist scientific world view It's going to leave something out Paul Hilbert scholar at Trinity Seminary has coined the term the excluded middle we operate in our Western world as though God is somehow up in some higher territory in the heavenlies and maybe the demonic is up there But it doesn't impinge upon the natural world Well, that's just not true in fact about 25% of all the healings that took place in the Gospels are really deliverances from demonic Influences there was a woman who was bent over with the spirit of infirmity for 18 years and the answer was is that God had to set her free and He did that and she stood up and she was normal from that time on Even Romans 8 talks about the fact that the spirit gives life to the body You cannot separate the natural from the spiritual even as human beings We are obviously have a physical identity, but we also have a spiritual identity We are children of God we're created in the image of God and God is a spirit When we talk about the Great Commission, we are talking about going into all the world making disciples I believe what we're talking about here is to come to terms with what I call a great omission What is evident in all four Gospels? John puts it in a rather interesting way. He said it's time now for the Son of Man to be glorified What would follow after that what comes to your mind when you hear a verse like that the next verse says verily verily I Say unto you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone But if it dies it bears much fruit in the other Gospels, you will read a statement like this It says then Jesus said to his disciples if anyone wishes to come after me Let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me for whoever wishes to save his life Shall lose it whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it for what will a man be? Profited if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? It seems so austere so demanding of God that we're to somehow Give everything to him and seemingly get nothing back, but nothing could be further from the truth You're really dealing with the whole issue of Lordship Who is in charge there can only be one authority in one sphere at one time? and what he is requiring of you and I to do is to come under his Lordship and As we do that we will be fully restored and recovered in Christ Before we look at some of the dynamics of that let's take a look at what the real gospel is when God created Adam and Eve they were both physically and spiritually alive and He cautioned them do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in the day you do that you shall Well the eight of it did they die physically no, but they died spiritually they were separated from God and from that time on Everybody you and I come on planet earth. We are physically alive, but spiritually dead separated from God So during those formative years of our lives we learned how to live our lives independent of God We had neither the presence of God in their life nor the knowledge of God's ways But when we come to Christ we're transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son The old things have passed away all things have become new then you ask the question Well, how come I don't seem to feel any different? And the answer is really kind of subtle because truth of the matter is when I become a brand new creation in Christ Nobody pushed the clear button everything that got programmed into my mind is still there now Realizing we are no longer to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind We have to come to terms with the fact that we were we were dead in their trespasses and sins We had learned to live our lives independent of God and there is going to be a battle going on for a mind and that's going To include both the world the system that I was raised in the flesh that part of me That was developed to learn to live my life independent of God, but also the devil now what we want to focus on is what Paul has to say in Romans chapter 6 about our Tremendous position that we have in Christ and let me just read part of this because as we do this keep in mind something That's just critical to realize that when you come to the Greek New Testament That the verbs are very very precise you can tell when something is past tense present tense future tense Whether it's continuous action or a point of time I bring that all only to point out that your English translation is sufficient, but sometimes not quite as obvious Well, let's just look at this critical passage Romans chapter 6 verse 1 says what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase may never be how should we who died to sin still live in it? You see that's the tough question isn't it? How do you die to sin? The answer is you can't this is past tense You already have died to sin. It was like a pastor who came to see me one time He said he said Neil I've been struggling for 22 years of my Christian ministry It's just been one battle after another he said I heard of your ministry And I finally begin to realize what I think my problem is I was doing my devotions And I read Colossians 3 3 for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ. He said that's it isn't it? I said yes, it is he said well How do I do that? Oh? I said read it again this time just a little bit slower for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ For 22 years this man has desperately been trying to become something He already is and so have most Christians today We're suffering under the Galatians heresy you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you How did you come to Christ in the first place by the works of the law or by hearing by faith well as Protestants? We've got that one nail justification by grace alone through faith But then how are you perfected? Well by the same way you receive Christ by faith you walk by faith It's what you believe that counts because you don't do anything without first thinking it so the critical issue is not trying to change somebody Behavior, but try to change somebody belief and what we're going to look at in these next few passages is not what you can do But what you can believe now notice what happens It says or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death How do you do that you can't and the reason is you already have been that's past tense for his forces Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father So we too might walk in newness of life For if we have become united with him in the likeness of a death and we have we certainly have Certainly it says we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection Now let me stop here and tell you what the gospel is we have I feel Presented only half a gospel We have told people that Jesus is the Messiah who came on planet earth who died for our sins And if we will receive him into our life when we die, we'll get to go to heaven I said what's wrong with that? Well, what's wrong with that is this it would give you the impression that eternal life is something you get when you die Which is not true because he who has his son has the life What he came to do was to give me life To lie it to have that spiritual life is to have my soul in union with God in the eternal life is not something you Get when you die on the bread of life on the resurrection and the life Your name is written in the last book of life, and that's what Christ came to do Secondly, it's only half a gospel people if there was a dead man there and you wanted to save him What would you do? Well give him life. Well, if you did that he would only die again You'd have to first of all cure the disease that caused him to die and we are clearly told in Scripture that the wages of Sin is death. So Jesus went to the cross and he died for our sins. Well, thank God he did that But is that it? No, then he gave us life. You'd have to do two things and that's exactly his argument here It's great that we're identified with his death and his burial, but certainly also in the likeness of his life We are alive in Christ right now, that's why verse 6 says knowing this not something you can do We're going to give you something to do in a moment or so But knowing this that our old self was crucified with him We try and try and put the old man to death and we can't do it Why not because he's already dead you cannot do for yourself But only Christ can do for you and has done for you and we have to do that first What happens is we begin to reason there's something wrong in my experience and it's not working for me So we falsely think that I must have some other experience or some new thing happened to me in order for this to be true well the only thing that had to happen in order for this to be true happened over about 2,000 years ago on that cross and The only way I can enter into that relationship with him is by faith I do not do the things that I do in hopes that God may someday love me I am loved by God. That's why I do the things that I do I don't labor in the vineyard and hope that God may someday accept me I'm accepted in the beloved and so are you that's why I labor in the vineyard You see the point of it is we we falsely reason what? Experience must I have what must I do in order for this to be true? You'll never get there You'll be like that dear pastor for 22 years struggling in your Christian faith Scripture says you take this by faith you believe this verse 6 is Knowing this and the only response to that is to believe it and you walk by faith and it will work out in your experience Reverse the order and you'll be stuck all your life the end of verse 6 says That our body of sin might be done away with that We should no longer be slaves to sin We're going to come back to that in a moment verse 7 says for he who has died is freed from sin Question have you died with Christ? Then are you also freed from sin? The answer better be yeah, so you have a problem with Scripture Well, I don't feel that way well rain on your feelings that will never get you out of this It's what you believe that counts and you got to believe this first now if we have died with Christ We believe that we shall also live with him Knowing that Christ now something you can do only what you can believe Knowing that Christ haven't been raised from the dead is never to die again death No longer is master over him for the death that he died He died to sin once for all but the life that he lives he lives to God even so Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but a life to God in Christ Jesus that little prepositional phrase in Christ Jesus in him in the beloved is the most repetitive Prepositional phrase in the New Testament every child of God is considered by God a saint who occasionally sins But we're children of God. That's who we principally are and we're alive in Christ because we are in him We are in Christ. You say well sin is still out there and death is too. Yes it is Let me refer to Romans chapter 8 verses 1 & 2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law sin and of death Now is the law sin and death still here sure it is. It's a law. That's why it's still here How do you overcome a law by a law that's greater than it for instance? You can fly in an airplane, but you can't do it by your own power You turn that switch off about 20,000 feet and you realize that the law of gravity is still in effect Well, we're in Christ Jesus we're seated with Christ in the heavenlies and as long as I operate in Christ and According to his spirit walk by the Spirit. I will be free from the law sin and of death Because he's overcome that with a power greater than it and that's the power of Christ's resurrection and the power of the cross Now all that sounds great, but I still struggle in my sin. What's wrong? Well, that's what God has done you can only enter into that by faith What do we get to do verse 12? Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey us less careful now. That's our responsibility How are you going to do that? one negative two positives verse 13 and Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness In other words, don't use your body your physical body as an instrument Don't ever allow your body or your person to be exposed to sin to be used for sin But it says present yourselves to God. Why couldn't I do that negatively because you belong to God He'll never leave you nor forsake you as Those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God in other words consciously present yourself to God Now, let's put some common sense to this if we can here. Let's look at the big one sexual sins First of all, first Corinthians 6 implies that sexual sins are in the class by themselves Every other sin is outside the body I don't fully understand that court can explain that other than maybe the fact that God is the only Creator in the universe and you and I can't create anything But he does allow us to participate with him in one act of creation and that's procreation And he really soberly warns to watch over that process very very carefully Now think about this for a moment There is no way that you can commit a sexual sin and not use your body as an instrument of unrighteousness And if you have done that What's going to happen? You're going to allow sin to reign in your mortal body If I could summarize God's plan from from Genesis to Revelation in terms of restoring your fallen humanity I would summarize it the way Paul did in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 I urge you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship and Do not be conformed to this world But be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and Acceptable and perfect now, let's look at two issues here One issue is who am I as a child of God and why is it so critical to realize that I am a child of God I'm told to pray our Father who art in heaven His spirit will bear witness with my spirit that I'm a child of God and to show you how relevant and practical Important that is I want you to hear a letter that was sent to me from a dear missionary Dear, dr. Anderson. I am writing in response to reading victory over the darkness I'm sure you've received many letters at least I hope you have because that means people like me have had their eyes opened to God's truth We are missionaries and have been blessed to be able to work in the Ukraine area Even though I have been a Christian for 21 years since I was 12 I never understood God's forgiveness and my spiritual inheritance. I have been a bulimic since 1977 I was in Bible College at the time. I began this horrible practice and Never thought this living hell would end I have wanted to die and I would have killed myself had I not thought that that was a sin I felt God had turned his back on me and I was doomed to hell because I couldn't overcome this sin I hated myself. I felt like a failure But the Lord led me to purchase your book and bring it with me. I began reading it last week I feel like a new Christian like I've just been born again My eyes are now open to God's love. I Realize I am a saint who sins not a sinner I can finally say I am free free of Satan's bondage and aware now of the lies. He has been filling me with Before I would confess to God beg his forgiveness when I binged and purged Yet the next time I fell deeper into Satan's grasp because I couldn't forgive myself and I couldn't accept God's forgiveness. I Always thought the answer lied in drawing closer to God yet. I went to him in fear confusion Acting as a sinner who couldn't be loved No more Through the scriptures and the way you presented them. I am no longer a defeated Christian. I don't consider myself a bulimic I consider myself a saint salt of the earth Christ's friend a slave of righteousness Food has no power over me. Satan has lost his grip on me That's exciting That's the potential for the power that we have as children of God to overcome that kind of sin in their life Now the question is what happens if I have used my body as an instrument of unrighteousness and I think the answer lies in Romans chapter 7 verses 15 through 25 and That struggle that we have when we know what we want to do We know what's right, but for some reason can't do it and then you have to ask the question. Well, why not? I'm a Christian. I'm a child of God Listen in to a conversation that I have with a fellow named Dan Dan let's look at a passage of scripture that seems to describe what you are presently experiencing Romans chapter 7 for verse 15 reads for that which I am doing I do not understand for I am NOT practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate would you say that this verse describes you? Exactly. I desire to do what God says is right, but sometimes I find myself doing just the opposite Well, you probably identify with verse 16 as well quote it says but if I do the very thing I do not wish to do I agree with the law confessing that it is good Now Dan how many personalities or players are mentioned in this verse? There's only one person and it's clearly I well It's very defeating when we know what we want to do, but for some reason can't do it How have you tried to resolve this in your own mind? Well, sometimes I wonder if I'm even a Christian It seems to work for others, but not for me Often I wonder if the Christian life is even possible or if God is really here Well, if you and God were the only players in this scenario It would stand to reason that you would either blame God or yourself for your predicament But now look at verse 17 it says so now no longer am I the one doing it But sin which indwells me how many players are there now Dan? Apparently two, but I don't understand. Well, let's read verse 18 and see if we can make some sense out of it It says for I know that nothing good dwells in me That is in my flesh for the wishing is present in me. But the doing of the good is not I Learned that verse a long time ago. It has been easy to accept the fact that I'm no good That's not what it says Dan. In fact, it says the opposite Whatever it is that is dwelling in you is not you if I had a wood splinter in my finger It would be nothing good dwelling in me, but the nothing good isn't me. It's a splinter It is also important to note that this nothing good is not even my flesh But it is dwelling in my flesh if we see only ourselves in this struggle It would be hopeless to live righteously These passages are going to great length to tell us that there is a second party involved in their struggle whose nature is different from ours you see Dan when you and I were born we were born under the penalty of sin and we know The Satan and his emissaries are always working to keep us under that penalty when God saved us Satan lost that battle But he didn't curl up his tail or pull in his fangs. He's not committed to keep us under the power of sin We also know that he is going to work through the flesh which remained after salvation Let's read now on to see if we can learn more about how that battle is being waged It says for the good that I wish I do not do but I practice the very evil that I do not wish But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish I'm no longer the one doing it But sin which dwells in me I find then the principle that evil is present in me The one who wishes to do good Now Dan, can you identify from these passages the nature of that nothing good which dwells in you sure? It's clearly evil and sin But isn't it just my own sin when I sin I feel so guilty Well, there's no question that you and I sin but we are not sin as such evil is present in us But we are not evil per se this does not excuse us from sinning because Paul wrote earlier that it is our Responsibility to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies Do you ever feel so defeated that you just want to strike out at someone or yourself almost every day? Well when you cool down, do you again? Entertain thoughts that are in line with your identity as a Christian always and then I feel terrible about lashing out Well verse 22 explains this cycle It says for I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man when we act out of character with who we really are the Holy Spirit immediately brings conviction because of our union with God and We often take it out on ourselves But soon a true nature expresses itself again, and we're drawn back to God It's like the frustrated wife who announces that she has had it with her husband She went out couldn't care less about the bum But after she acknowledges her pain and expresses her emotions, she softens and says well I really love him and I I really don't want to get a divorce, but I just don't see any other way out You see damn that's the inner person the true self being expressed verse 23 describes the nature of this battle with sin he said but I see a different law in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and Making me a prisoner of the law of sin, which is in my members according to this passage Dan Where is the battle being fought the battle appears to be in the mind? That's precisely where the battle rages now saying can get you to think you are only one You are the only one in the battle you will get down on either yourself or God when you sin Let me put it this way if a dog came along and bit you on the leg Would you beat on yourself or beat on the dog on the dog? But in my struggle with sin nobody has ever told me that it's the dog sin, which is inflicting the pain Exactly, so you beat on yourself, but I find that people eventually get tired of beating on themselves So they walk away from God under a cloud of defeat and condemnation Paul expresses feeling in verse 24 Wretched man that I am who will set me free from the body of this death He's not saying wicked man that I am he's saying miserable man that I am he is defeated because he's not free His attempts to do to do the right thing are met with defeat. He wonders Is there any victory at all? Well verse 25 gives the answers. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord So then on the one hand I myself with my mind and serving the law of God But on the other with my flesh the law of sin, I think I'm getting the picture I've been blaming myself for my inability to live the Christian life. I See Paul frustrated about his failure, but he doesn't get down on himself. He accepts his responsibility But he doesn't blame himself More important he expresses confidence by turning to God because the Lord Jesus will enable him to live above sin Well, you're on the right track Condemning yourself won't help because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus You need to understand the nature of the battle for your mind Then you need to discover where you are losing that battle in your own life by allowing sin to reign in your body When you discover it and deal with it, you can find your freedom in Christ And I'd like to say for all the listeners right now that potential exists for every one of us. Sure We're going to sin, but Jesus said Even though you do sin I've written that you don't you have an advocate Jesus Christ the righteous Unfortunately, you have an adversary and he is just going to try to win that battle for your mind Get you to believe a lie and live as though you have no way out of this I want you to hear a tremendous testimony that was sent to me recently and how she really finally won that battle for her mind Dear Neil, I just wanted to write and thank you for the time you spent with me last month I guess I felt like nothing happened at the time we prayed and that perhaps nothing demonic was at the root of my problems. I Was wrong. I have not had one self-destructive thought or compulsion since that day I believe the deliverance process actually began in me through the prayers of other Christians in the months following my suicide attempt But since I met with you something is really different in my life, and I feel free today I haven't cut myself in a month and that is a true miracle Well, thank God for that because God is still doing that and people all around the world today and helping them find their freedom in Christ this poor girl was told by Counselors that she was mentally ill and would be all her life Not so she got married a few months ago and she's now working on her doctorate a delightful child of God And we just thank God for what she's done in her life We were talking about the value what it really means to be in Christ here We are down on planet earth where the God of this world the prince of power of the air is roaring around like a hungry lion Seeking for someone to devour, but are we powerless against that? Hardly, let me just share again. How important it is to realize this position that we have in Christ This is not just positional truth that oh, it's good that that's true And it has no practical practical value for us Nothing could be further from the truth nor the intention of God in the book of Ephesians in six chapters There are 40 references to you being in Christ or Christ being in you Let me just point that out because this is so rich to realize how Christ does meet the most critical needs of our life Listen to some of this Ephesians chapter 1 Verse 3 says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in? Christ Just as he chose us in him before the foundations of the world Verse 6 goes on to say to the praise of the glory of his grace Which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved verse 7 says in him in Christ We have redemption through his blood verse 9 says he may know it to us the mystery of his will According to his kind intention which he purposed in him With a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times that is the summing up of all things How will all things be summed up in Christ things in heaven things upon the earth? Verse 11 starts in him also We have obtained an inheritance Verse 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of his glory First 13 starts out in him in Christ you also After listening to the message of the truth the gospel of your salvation Haven't also believe you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance 10 verses 10 times God is trying to tell you and I that we are in Christ We are spiritually alive. Our souls are in union with God right now Now it's not that that's not true. That is clearly told us in Scripture Our problem is we just don't see it So Paul prays twice in the book of Ephesians in chapter 3 prays that our eyes will be open That we would know the love of God that goes beyond knowledge. We will just never fully comprehend God's love for us In this first chapter his prayer sounds like this in verse 18. I Pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling? What are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints? It doesn't say sinners You will never see a an epistle written to the sinners and classy or the Ephesus or wherever is to the Saints Every child of God is a saint because we're in Christ Now it's not that we don't have that rich inheritance We just don't see it So he is praying that our eyes would be open then verse 19 says and what is the surpassing greatness of his power towards us? Who believe these are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might this power has been conferred to you? And I it's like Paul Exhausted the Greek vocabulary He chose every possible word for distinct Greek terms there to try to tell us about the scope of this authority that we have in Christ now, let me back off here for a moment because you and I have that position in Christ We're seated with Christ in the heavenlies according to chapter 2 verses 4 and 5 We've been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness in the kingdom of God's beloved son to