In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the surpassing greatness of God's mighty power that works within believers. He highlights how this same power raised Jesus from the dead and is available to those who believe. The preacher also emphasizes the importance of abiding in God's word, as it is a lamp unto our path and sets us free from sin. He warns that failing to abide in God's word can lead to stumbling and reveals who truly belongs to the Gospel. The sermon concludes with a reminder to be attentive to God's voice and not dismiss His messages, as seen in the example of Pilate's lack of peace and eventual suicide. The preacher encourages listeners to heed God's words and avoid the influence of dark powers.

Thank you, Lord, to hear your word. It's a lamp unto our path. It shows us that through your truth we can be set free from our sins. And it tells us that even if we've been set free and we don't abide in your word, we are going to fall and be a stumbling block on the way. And even though we call ourselves virgins of the gospel, it will be revealed that some were free and others not. Work in our midst, inside our hearts, Lord. Amen. John 8, verse 30. As he spoke these things, many came to believe in him. Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed him, If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. At the time when the Lord Jesus spoke these words, there were some that were confused. They didn't understand what the Lord Jesus was saying. What caused that? At the time when the Lord Jesus was here on this earth, the Jews were extremely politicized. That was top of mind for them, politics. And that was a subject that set everyone talking. Politics can be a troublesome thing. Whatever the people said, what they thought, what they did, everything was with a political motive. At that time they were ruled by the Romans, under their heel so to say. And they were only busy with one thing, and that was how to get free from this yoke of the Romans. They were fighting for liberation, political liberation. But Jesus was busy speaking about spiritual liberation, to be set free in spirit. So at that time, everything they saw in a political light, all you people who are looking at him up there, you won't be able to answer the questions. Forget about him, look here. So all that was on their minds at that time was politics, how to be set free from the yoke of the Romans. When I saw that, When they saw the wonders, the miracles the Lord did, like when he broke the loaves and the fishes and fed the thousands, they wanted to take him by force, to make him king, and that he will lead the revolution, that they be liberated from the Romans. But because Jesus didn't fit into their agenda, the motives that they had, they wanted to kill him eventually because he didn't want to do what they wanted. Even the Lord's disciples themselves were busy with that. When Jesus had died on the cross and he rose from the dead, and he was together with his disciples again, they said, well Lord, are you now going to restore the kingdom of Israel? And Jesus, so to say, gave them a slap in the face. He said, that's it. He said, that's it. Jesus said to them, it's not for you to, it's not for you, these things are not for you, times are not for you to determine. That's not for you, but the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the Comforter will come, and when he comes, he will give you the power to be my witnesses. And when they received the Holy Spirit, only then were their eyes opened as to what it was really all about. And that it didn't have to do with the political kingdom or political agenda. Many are deceived and confused, they have no discernment. But when it comes to politics, when it comes to politics, when it comes to politics, there is no doubt, there is no doubt. With many people, their Christianity only goes as far as their politics go. It starts and ends with their politics. But they don't realize that these kingdoms of this world, they come and they go. Only the Lord's kingdom is the eternal kingdom. If you want something of value that is lasting, then be involved with the Lord's so-called politics. Jesus holds all the kingdoms in his hands. He gives one kingdom to one, and then he takes it from him and gives it to another. It's all in his hands. He controls the destinies of the kingdoms of this world. Daniel was very much involved in the time when Babylon ruled the earth. But even though he was so involved, politics never ruled his life. And when Jesus said that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free, they said, well, free from what? We are free, apart from the Romans, but otherwise we're quite free. Revolutionaries or terrorists have been around a long time. Even Barabas at that time was imprisoned because of terrorism. When Pilate gave them the option and said, who would you like me to set free for you, Jesus or Barabas, the crowd shouted Barabas. Barabas had fought for a political liberation and freedom. And Jesus said, if my kingdom is your kingdom, I will give it to you. And Jesus said, if my kingdom were of this world, then my subjects would be fighting for me now to set me free. But my kingdom is not a political kingdom. It's a spiritual kingdom. You will be set free in your spirit from Satan. Set free from the power of the devil. I'd like to combine this message with a word we find in Ephesians 6, verse 10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done, to stand firm. Let's stop there. It says here, finally. Now, in Greek, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the very last word that will be spoken. Or that it's the final conclusion. But in this context here, it means that once all has been said and done, but here is what is important for this moment, which you must take special note of. In this book, and even in this chapter, much is said about what should be done and what shouldn't be done. But then it says, after you've done all that, when all that is said and done, then take note of this, finally. Finally, put on the full armor of God that you will be able to resist the devil and his wiles. Jesus overcame the devil. He put him to open shame on the cross. And when the Lord was resurrected, that was the final blow to the devil. You need not fear the devil. He's overcome. Yet we still have to fight the good fight of faith. So let us stand firm in the strength of the Lord. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 19. Excuse me, I don't have my own Bible. I don't have my own Bible with me. Someone else just gave me their Bible for me to write something in it. So it's not written exactly in the same place as in my Bible, so I haven't found the right verse. And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe? These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. And when you read the Greek, you find that even Paul had difficulty finding the right words to describe the greatness of the power of God. He even used words that other apostles didn't use, just trying to describe how great His power is. I don't have time to go into it all, because we're trying to make this service short. And here it says how He speaks of the surpassing greatness of His mighty power, through which He works and with which He works in us. This great and mighty power He uses to work within us who believe. That great power. And then He says it again, He repeats it in order to try and get the message across, how great and mighty this power is with which He works in us. It's that same power that raised Jesus from the dead. When He was dead, that power raised Him from the dead and out of the grave. And it's that wonderful power that works within us that believe. So even if we're involved in a battle, we should not fear, for this great power works within us. And then in verse 12 we read here in the 6th chapter again, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers, and the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. The devil is sometimes referred to as the god of this world, prince of darkness. And it refers to His power and His reign and the rulers of this darkness. I'd like to just show you something small concerning this power of darkness. As you've heard, that Pilate threw himself into that river, jumped off the bridge, committed suicide. Remember when Jesus stood before Pilate, His wife wrote Him a letter, sent a letter, saying to Him, Lord please, I had no rest all night concerning this man, he's innocent, do not be guilty of his blood. And from the day that the Lord was crucified, Pilate was depressed. Suffered from depression. Could never forget the one who stood before him. Eventually he committed suicide. Jesus speaks to you in so many different ways. To Pilate He spoke through His wife. Here He can speak to you through someone who stands in front here. So when the Lord speaks to you, don't just brush it aside. The day you do that, you will have no peace anymore. You will be troubled, like Pilate. Pilate was ruling the earth at that time. He was totally free, so to say. Yet he was depressed, he had no peace, he was not free, until he committed suicide. I'd like to use an illustration here, just as an example. A certain person who was 12 years old. A girl. She went from home, down to the river, threw herself into the water. And then the people around there said that she did that because of the ancestral spirits. They told her. It says we are not involved here fighting against flesh and blood, but heavenly powers, principalities in heavenly places. So these demons drove her down there into the water. And she went home. The people there said it's the ancestral spirits. And it continued. Eventually, she ended up joining the Satanists. And then a greater battle started. And the spirits worked within her, and even took her out of her body, and she could move around in her spirit. You must be very wary of joining the Satanists. They do many things. Some are even expected to kill family members before they can really become part of it. So while she was in this state in her spirit where she moved around with other spirits, they went and troubled other people, even going into their nostrils and sucking their blood. So you come across people who are ill and sick. But it's not a physical sickness which can be helped medically by doctors, but it's something to do with the spirit and evil powers. So I'll just cut it short. Then she lived off soil, eating the earth, soil like certain Zangomas. And often she was driven by these spirits, these demons, not her, these people sometimes, to go to places where many people not just walk, but the places they use as a toilet, and she was forced to eat that soil. Now Lord willing, tomorrow night you will see something where they will perform a play on Joseph. Now he was sent into slavery, but there's no slavery that can be compared to the slavery of Satan. It's better if you become a person slave than to become the devil's slave. Now when she had eaten that soil, she could no longer go to the toilet. She was taken to different Nyangas and witch doctors, they tried all sorts of potions, even snake skin which they mixed with other potions, and she had to swallow that. Even taking certain fat from a tortoise, and she had to swallow that. Listen carefully so that you know what the end result of all this is. Maybe some of you have been involved in rituals where similar things have been done, where your body has been cut and certain potions have been smeared into them, and then later you wonder why you are troubled by sin and different types of things, where maybe the lust of the flesh, you cannot control anything anymore, and you wonder why. Sometimes people here say, well why can't the medical doctors continue to practice freely, why can't our own traditional healers have the same rights? If you go to a witch doctor, she will tell you, if you go to a qualified medical doctor who has been trained and he gives you medicine, all the medicine he gives you is properly accounted for, and all the ingredients to the finest detail is written on the bottle, you know exactly what's inside. But a traditional healer, if you go to him, he will also give you some type of medication when you go to him because you're sick, but he'll give you just something in a bag, you don't have a clue what's inside. So if you go to a traditional healer, he will give you medicine, He doesn't disclose to you what is inside, whether it's dung from a lion or hair from a corpse or fat of a human being, you don't know what's inside there, what he's mixed into it. When this child grew up, the Satanists told her, never go to the Christians, don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the day you do it, you will die. So when we were in a certain place, this person came to the service, heard the message, confessed her sin and was prayed for, and said, now I'm going to Sizabantu, they said don't, if you go there, you'll die. Her stomach hadn't worked for all this time, weeks and months, and her stomach didn't work. And then she came here and she was prayed for, and thereafter she could go to the toilet. But when she went there, a snake came out. First one, and then the second one, which was even bigger. Remember how she was given that potion with skin of a snake to eat, to swallow? She cried out for help that they would come and catch or kill these snakes. But they escaped down the toilet. And thereafter, a tortoise came out, a small tortoise, alive. They tried to catch it, but it also got away. And after that, a spoon came out and it was twisted and bent. Here's a picture, a photo of it. I didn't bring the spoon along, I thought I'd just show you the photo. And so her stomach started working again. And on another day after that, she brought up, she vomited. And this frog came out, alive. And this animal made noises like a chicken, like a hen. And then I said they should take and throw it to the boiler, and then it cried even louder. Now imagine living like this, snakes and frogs and spoons inside, is there greater bondage than that? After that, a big grasshopper came out of her mouth, alive. We also threw it into the fire. And after that, safety pins came out, coming out of her mouth. After that, one day when she was prayed for, they called us and said she needs to be, could we come for some more prayer because she had a pain in her ear. And as one looked, one could see a needle coming out, you can see it here. She was prayed for again. And I said, well, some people will just say it's just a fairy tale. And I asked them to capture it on camera, that people could see it, and I even asked a doctor to be present. And someone even when the needle came out of her tried to pull it out, and she couldn't bear the pain, it was so sore. And they thought well maybe it's also a safety pin with the other part still inside. But then it was just that needle. And then we prayed again, and then as we sat and watched, we saw that needle coming out on its own without anyone touching it. And we just sat there, just by the power of God, that needle came out until it fell down. That was from the left ear. I think Katrine didn't include that other photograph where another needle came out her right ear. Now this is not just a dream. Now this is not a dream or just a fairy tale, it's something we saw and experienced ourselves first hand. But I want to share it with you, and I'm sharing it that you can see the devil's power, the power he's got. But above that, the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, that great and mighty power that surpasses everything else, the power of his resurrection, that works within us. Satanist said if you become a Christian you will die. She didn't die. She's alive today because someone far greater than the devil, that great and surpassing power has worked in her. She's not the only one, there's another boy where a needle came out his foot, and someone else where over 20 needles came out. How many were there? 23. And with this other person, about 23 came out, they counted 23. And not coming out with a sharp side first, with a blunt side, the doctor would come and inspect and say well there seems to be nothing else coming. And that same day or the next day, another one would come out. And so we could experience this, where you could just sit there, see the power of God at work, where that needle would come out little by little until it fell right out. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians writes about the surpassing greatness of the power of God, the power of his resurrection that works within us. Now it says be strong in his power. You see now to you, if you're an unbeliever, you see what risk you're at, these spirits can, demons can come and trouble you at night, suck your blood. Satanists on the increase. Yet Mapumula at the registration office for motor vehicle registrations, the number 666 came up and they said well they don't want that one, that stands for the Antichrist. And someone else came along and said does it stand for the Antichrist, well that's the one that I want. The Antichrist. 666, that's human number 6. Three times standing for the Trinity, standing for a person who makes himself out to be God. But there are those who want that, who choose the devil, and there are those who say that they will make themselves God. But other people say they want the majority to rule, they don't say that God should rule. In Zulu it's very nice, it's the will of the majority. So it can be your own will, or it can be the will of the people, of the majority. But where are those who seek the will of God? If you look, as it says here, we don't fight with flesh and blood. But against heavenly powers, principalities in the air. And so we have to do with many different spirits. If you look, if you can walk down the street, anywhere you can buy pornography, where pictures are of naked people. And immorality and pictures, total perversion. And so we have to do with many different spirits. In America they did a survey of people that were in prison for murder. And when they asked them what was the root cause of it, where did things start going wrong in your life? And it came out that most of them said it started when they looked at pornography. And some people, they also get it because they get involved in occultic things. Others use it to play cards, and on these cards are pornographic images. Do you see where the seed is sown and where they get it? No wonder AIDS is rife in this time. And I spoke to someone these days and they say even many of our leading people, even in parliament, are HIV positive. You can stop praying in schools, you can say, and then you say all religions are equal. You see the power of darkness. Jesus said, I am the way, there is no other. But today every religion, whatever it is, leads you to heaven. The power of darkness that rules on this earth, but Jesus says, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The truth will set you free. Just recently there was an appeal case in court where they said that it is constitutional, legal, that gays get married to each other. But it's sad that even some churches say now that it's not wrong that you have a gay relationship. It goes against the law. It's even totally unnatural, two men, so to say, get married. They can't have any children, they adopt a girl, this girl grows up with these two men. It's not natural. How will that girl grow up? Imagine two boys, the one boy goes and has a relationship with another one. He takes his friend home and says, well, I'd like to introduce you to my bride-to-be. It doesn't make sense. The world is mad. And lives a lie, but Jesus said you will know the truth, the truth will set you free from this bondage. The truth will set you free from this bondage. There are boys that go to doctors for a sex change. Imagine when those people stand before God. How will they stand before him? In 1980, 1990, in Galilee. In about the 80s, when the doctors first announced that they can do a sex change on a boy, they said, well, in five years later, he'll be able to bring a child into this world. Well, it's nearly 20 years, they still haven't got it right. The power of darkness. Darkness. We need to preach the gospel. We need to preach the gospel in this time, where the world is standing on its head, where people are just living for political kingdoms. I'm saying come to Jesus and get involved in that eternal kingdom. And maybe you're just a bystander. You're just a spectator. You're saying, oh no, I don't want to get involved yet. I'm still young. Maybe when I'm older, but I say woe to you, because the devil will suck your blood while you're alive. There is no other way, other than the Lord Jesus Christ. If you haven't chosen him yet, choose him today. Otherwise, your future will be pitch black. Come to Jesus. He will set you free. May it dawn on you and your eyes be opened like it happened to the apostles when the Holy Spirit came upon them. When a person gets converted, becomes a Christian, and those demons are driven out, they go around and look for other people that they can enter. If you're not a believer, strong in the Lord, those demons will enter you. And you won't lord over these demons. They'll lord over you. They'll ride you. Let us bow our heads and pray. Lord, we've heard of the tricks, the wiles of the devil. We've heard that we're not fighting flesh and blood. But our battle is with principalities, rulers in the universe. The rulers of this darkness. But we thank you, Lord, because while we're fighting the devil, we know he's a defeated foe. He was overcome and conquered when you died on the cross and rose from the dead. Now we can fight the good fight of faith with that power, that surpassing, overwhelming power that rose Jesus from the dead and raised him from the dead.