In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of surrendering everything to God's grace and mercy in order to fulfill our responsibilities. Doubting God's integrity and love hinders us from experiencing victory in our lives. The sermon also highlights the existence of counterfeits in the Bible, such as counterfeit Christians, ministers, gospel, righteousness, and church. The preacher mentions a personal anecdote about a parent realizing the negative influence of supernatural-themed cartoons on children and the unseen forces at work in drawing them towards such content. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the need for adults to be diligent in monitoring what their children watch.

It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge P.O. Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 or calling 214-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. It's possessed. Possessed. Turn with me to 2 Kings 6. 2 Kings 6. 2 Kings 6. I'm going to start reading with verse 8. 2 Kings 6. Verse 8. Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel, and he counseled with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there. The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there more than once or twice. Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel? You see, the king is upset. He's saying, Which one of you is telling where I'm going to set up an ambush for the king of Israel? Which one of you is leaking the information? And his servants reply and say, verse 12, No, my lord, O king, but Elisha the prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. You know, he says, God, it's not us, but this prophet Elisha has a pipeline to God, and when you talk about something in your bedroom, it gets out. God's releasing the information. So he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he's in Dothan. And he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city, all to get one man. They're going to go after the prophet Elisha. And so he sends a great army to Dothan, where Elijah, Elijah is. And he says, basically, he's Elisha, rather. He says that he's we're going to capture him, and then we won't have to worry about it anymore. But there's something taking place here that the king of the Arameans never anticipated, nor did his army. Verse 14, he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Now, when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? The servant walks outside. All of a sudden he looks up and hears this chariots and horses, this army, mighty army, completely surrounding the city, and they're not prepared to fight. They have no army for their, for their cause. But Elisha answers his servant and says in verse 16, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Now, that servant had to look at him and say, where are they? You've got to be kidding. I mean, here we are. Where are they? Where is this army? Now, remember, he's looking at an army with horses and chariots. Scripture says a great army, which means a large, well-equipped, fortified army. And Elisha says, No, you don't understand. We got more on our side than they have on their side. But obviously the servant, he doesn't, he doesn't understand this. And so Elisha prayed and said, Oh, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw. My, what a sight. Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Now, there's something going on here. The scriptures teach us that there are forces behind physical events in our universe. You and I live in a material world. We live in a world that's physical. We can see it. But the scripture says that there's something just as real that we cannot see as what we see as real. Just as real. As a matter of fact, the scripture goes ahead and indicates in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 4.18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. It says that the things that we can see are not going to last as long as the things we can't see. That there's more reality to what we don't see than there is to what we do see. Now, obviously, as I said, there's something visible going on here. There's an army, a physical army surrounding Elisha and his servant. But there's also something invisible taking place here. The Bible speaks very clearly of an invisible order of beings that break off actually into two categories. Only one category is mentioned here. We refer to them as demons and angels. One category of beings, but two, I mean, one species of spiritual forces, invisible beings, but two categories. Now, throughout America, there are spiritual forces that are unseen that are massively at work. Now, it's not just America, but that's what I'm concentrating on right now. And these unseen forces are especially at work in our time to spread an interest in supernaturalism. There is a deep interest in supernaturalism. I was, Saturday, I was in a barber shop with my wife and children. The children were, it's a place for children's haircuts. And they were getting their hair cut and one parent was talking about the children loving Ghostbusters. The movie Ghostbusters. And apparently there's a cartoon that's on every Saturday morning about Ghostbusters because this child had not gotten to see it that morning, was very upset and was talking about it. And the parent looks at the attendant that's cutting the child's hair and says, you know, I don't know why I allow my children to watch that stuff. He said, it was a husband, and he said, you know, that's not for kids. Well, I know why. He may not know why, but I know why. You see, there's an interest that unseen forces begin to play upon young children to be interested in this supernaturalism. And there is an interest on the part of these unseen forces to work in adults that they may not be so diligent to watch what their children are watching. And there is at work, massively at work, these unseen forces. Now, this father was not aware of the fact that he knew he should make a stand. He was saying, I know I shouldn't allow them to watch that. But he was not aware of the fact that there was a pulling and a drawing, something at work on his mind to blind him that he may not understand why he was doing it. Now, as a matter of fact, the scripture speaks of something here. It says, first of all, that our eyes have to be opened. You couldn't see and the servant could not see these unseen forces that were angelic of chariots and horses of fire, chariots of fire, these angelic beings. They could not have been noticed or seen except that Elisha prayed and the Lord supernaturally opened the servant's eyes and he was able to see. Verse 18 says, when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and he said, strike this people with blindness, I pray. So he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. Well, there is an incredible blindness in our world about this unseen forces. Don made a statement Tuesday night that I think it was either the governor or it was one of the senators had made a statement when the issue came up about Governor Cuomo believing in or pressing this issue of abortion. One of the local religious leaders in New York City had made the statement that that could send him to hell or was going to send him to hell. And apparently one of the senators, I think, wasn't it Don Moynihan, said that, well, nobody believes in hell anyway. And recently that same religious leader had made a statement in the papers about an exorcism. And a statement was made by one of our political leaders that he was embarrassed because he said, don't aren't we sophisticated enough to no longer believe that there is a Satan in this world? Well, I don't know how sophisticated that is. But the biblical revelation is very clear that there is a Satan in this world. Now, the Bible clearly says that God has an adversary and you and I have an accuser. I want you to notice the difference. Satan is not our adversary. Did you hear me? Satan is not your adversary. He's your accuser. He's God's adversary. You and I are not told to fight him hand to hand. He's an accuser. He's a liar. The scripture says in relationship to believers, he accuses them day and night. He's God's adversary. God's the one that handles the battle in relationship to Satan. Now, first of all, this being called Satan apparently used to be a bright, shining being, according to scripture, an angelic prince, if you would. According to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, he had these descriptive names. Day star, anointed cherub or guardian cherub. He's also called the son of the morning or Lucifer. And the word Lucifer, the name means light bearer. Now, the words of the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 28 apparently refer not just to the king of Tyre, but to a power behind the king of Tyre that is much more powerful. This does not describe an earthly king. It describes a type. This earthly king was a type. Now, I'm not having you turn there in Ezekiel 28 because I just want to read it to you. But it describes this personage that we know of as Satan and it says, you were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. Now, I want you to grasp this. This is what Satan was at one time. This is God speaking and describing what he was. You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was bejeweled with every precious stone. The ruby, topaz, diamond, crystallite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, carbuncle and emerald. All in beautiful settings of finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. And by the way, that's an important point. Satan is not omnipresent. He cannot be everywhere at one time. He was a... Neither is he a creature that can create. He's a created being. He's not like God. He's not on an equal par with God. God is the creator. He was uncreated, has been from the beginning and always was. The alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end. Satan is not that. He is a created being. They were given to you on the day you were created. Now God says this, I appointed you to be the anointed guardian cherub. You had access to the holy mountain of God. You walked among the stones of fire. You were perfect in all you did, in all your ways, from the day you were created until the time when unrighteousness was found in you. Now the description of Satan here is almost beyond imagination. Apparently as the light bearer of God. In some way, he manifested and reflected at one time before unrighteousness was found in him. He manifested and reflected the divine glory of God. He would have been endowed with the greatest of authority next to God. He held the highest throne of the angels. The prophet Isaiah records what happened to him. In Isaiah 14. This being, this invisible being, Satan said, I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. Now he's been trying to do that ever since. But then Ezekiel again describes how God responded to that sort of pride and arrogance. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I put you before kings that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore, I have brought fire from the midst of you. It has consumed you and I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the eyes of all who see you. Now I want you to realize that God is making a statement about what he's already done. He's not declaring what he's going to do at the end of the age to Satan. Are you with me? He is not saying one of these days I'm going to deal with that rascal. He's not saying that. I want to read it to you again because I want you to grasp it. By the multitude of... Excuse me, I want to start up a little bit. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I put you before kings that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuary. Now listen carefully. Therefore, I, God, have brought fire from the midst of you. It has consumed you. And I, God, have turned you to ashes on the earth. And then he says, in the eyes of all who see you. You see, Satan is not visible. But what he's saying is if we that are visible, physical flesh, really see him. Really see him in the position where he is now. Through the eyes of God, he's like ashes. He's like ashes. He's been cast down. Whatever glory and fire was in the midst of him. It says, I have taken the fire from the midst of you. I've taken it from you. Second Corinthians 2.11 says that we're to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. Now the title of my message is possessed. I want to talk to you about three kinds of possession. Possessed by the devil. Possessed by the flesh. And possessed by God. First of all, I want us to not be ignorant of his devices. What are Satan's devices? I see three of them. Three devices that Satan uses against individuals. First of all, he comes to deceive your mind. Secondly, his devices are designed to attack your body. But ultimately, his goal is to control your will. Now those are his devices. Whatever form they may take, they come in one of those three avenues of attack. Satan has from the beginning targeted the mind. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. He targets the mind. 2 Corinthians the 11th chapter. He has done this from the beginning. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Verse 2. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. This is Paul speaking to the Corinthians. He says, I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I betrothed you to one husband. That to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. That means you and I are to be married to one person. Christ. We're to be united body, soul, spirit to one person. Jesus Christ. And then he says, but I am afraid. Now I'm reading from the New American Standard. It's just a little bit different in the King James. But I am afraid. Less as the serpent deceived Eve. That takes us back to the beginning. By his craftiness, your minds. I said he targets the mind to deceive it. Your minds should be led astray. And what does he lead you astray from? The simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Satan targets the mind to lead astray from the simplicity. I want to say it again. Simplicity. Don't make it complicated. From the simplicity. When you start finding your walk with God getting so complicated. You're trying to figure out how do I do this and how do I do that. And all you can think about is what do I do? It's so complicated. What do I do next? How do I do this? How do I do that? How do I walk in holiness? How do I pray? How do I read the word? How do I do all of these things? How do I witness? You're being led astray from simplicity. He's at work. He's targeted your mind. But he also targets your purity. Mental purity. Let Satan deceive you by craftiness that your mind should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. In other words, the way he attacks your purity is to attack your devotion. I'm not talking about your devotional life, your devotional reading, but your devotion to Christ. How does a man commit adultery? He said, I betrothed you to one person. How does a man or a woman commit physical adultery? At some point. It doesn't just happen. I want you to understand. It doesn't just happen. I don't care how it appears to be. A man or a woman is not enticed into physical adultery simply because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And all of a sudden, just out of the blue, there it was. It doesn't happen that way. At some point. At some point, there has to be a weaning or a leaking away of devotion to that individual. You're no longer devoted to that individual. Maybe that individual, maybe the husband or the wife doesn't recognize it. Maybe nobody else sees it. You appear to be the model husband, the model wife, whatever you are. But at some point down deep in the recesses of the heart, you're no longer devoted to that individual. And so you become a target of Satan's devices. Now, the same thing is what happens in the spiritual realm. Satan works, first of all, on your devotion. And when you get slack in your devotion to him, then that's when you are vulnerable to his attack against your mind. Now, he goes on and he says, in fact, I'm going to have you go to Ephesians first. Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. Why would Satan be interested in attacking your mind? Why? Just to give you a hard time. Why is he interested in attacking you mentally? Think about it. Why? Why is it? What good is the mind to him? Say, well, the mind controls everything else. It's deeper than that. The reason Satan targets the mind is because that's where your image of God is framed. That's where you store the image you have of God. So Satan's purpose in attacking the mind is to somehow distort, to put in a false picture, an image, or somehow lie about the image of God that's presented in his word and leave you with an image that's not the right image. So he attacks the mind because he wants the image of God in your mind distorted and perverted. Now, he does that with some people by making them feel like they're so unworthy and they're so lost and they're so far away that God could never receive them back, even though the word of God is very clear in its application. Whoever wants me can have me. That's what he says. Whosoever will may. The Bible doesn't say anything about you getting to a place where God won't receive you. It speaks of you getting to a place where you won't want him. That's where the danger is. And some of you wrestle and wrestle, not many, but there are a few that wrestle. Ever since I've been in the ministry, there's always been somebody around that's wrestling tremendously with this idea of the unforgivable sin. Have I committed it? Have I committed it? Did I do it? Was that the unforgivable sin? You know what Satan's doing with you? And if you... I don't know of any preacher that can pull you out of it. I don't know of any preacher. But you are wrestling with the complications of Satan's attack on your mind. It's no longer simple. No longer simple. His grace is no longer simple. The question is, do you want him? Do you want him? It's not a matter, does he want you? Do you want him? Because if you want him, you have not committed the unpardonable sin. Nobody who ever commits the unpardonable sin wants Jesus. They don't want him. So you can wrestle with it and make it complicated. The only hope for you is that one day you'll finally say, wait a minute, this is not the way God talks. This is not the language of his word. This is becoming too complicated. I'm going to go back to the simple part. And if you go back to the simple part, God will supernaturally start working you through it until all the complicated part falls off. And you just see this pathway to Jesus. That's the way he works on our spirits, our minds, and our bodies. Now, it says here in Ephesians 4, verse 17, This I say, therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, Ephesians 4, verse 17, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds. Satan will do everything he can to make you futile in your mind, discouraged in your mind, a futility. What happens when you get frustrated and discouraged in the mind? Futile. And by the way, the word futile there means even more than that. Actually, what it means is that you go after things that are of no profit. And Satan will get you to go after things that are of absolutely no profit. Why? Because he has a goal. He wants to affect the image of God in that mind. See what he does? Being darkened, verse 18, in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that's in them. That word ignorance is not a hard word, a word that we would use to speak derogatorily to somebody. It's a word that describes there's a missing of the image of God. They're ignorant of God's image. And he says, because of the hardness of their heart, that's what he eventually works. See, if he can get the mind complicated and going after futile things, eventually your heart will get hard. And they having become callous. And here's what happens next. Have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. Leads to possession. That's what he's talking about here. Leads to possession. That eventually what Satan wants to do is to possess you. Now, there is an idea almost as if that Satan can possess anybody he wants to. Except for certain people. That's not what the... You know, everybody that walks the streets is not possessed. I think there's far too much emphasis upon what demons can do today. Now, in the world, there's an absolute denial that Satan exists. And that's understandable. He's blinded them. I mean, it's foolish. You believe in Satan? I thought you went to college. But you know that's myth. I always looked at you as smarter than that. But in the Christian community, that exists also. In the Christian community, there are those who... I don't think they're Christians if they don't believe in... Well, I'm not going to say that. You don't have to believe in Satan to be a Christian. But I question a person who can read the Bible and not believe there's a reality of the Bible. And be genuinely saved. But there's far too much emphasis upon what Satan can do. And there's another type of possession that's absolutely forgotten about. Fleshly possession. Did you know your flesh can possess you? And it doesn't have to be a demon behind it either. Your flesh can possess you. Now, we see the evidences in New York City. You don't have to walk very many blocks before you can see the evidences of demonic possession. You find people just talking to themselves. And I don't think everybody that talks to themselves is possessed with the devil. But you can tell. You can see the madness in the eyes. Satan has possessed them. Everybody that appears to be crazy, though, those are not the only possessed people. Jesus went into the synagogues among normal people. Nobody ever thought of them being possessed before. Just among normal people. And his presence, all of a sudden, started something to rise up on the inside of those normal people. And they begin to cry out. Listen, when it says that demons were crying out, it does not... And he cast them out of somebody. Doesn't mean they were bouncing off the wall. They were in somebody. And everything up to that point, they could have been your neighbor. They could have been the person you worked with. They could have been... But there they were. They appeared to be perfectly normal. And everything seemed to be fine. Until the presence of God began to stir up the demonic spirit on the inside. And all of a sudden, you set back aghast. Here's the guy you're sitting in the pew with. Jesus is preaching the word. Standing there with his presence. And this man begins to go into all kinds of fits. I've had more than one person, a wife, tell me, I don't understand. We've had them call the office. Pastor, something's happening with my husband. I don't understand. He's gone into this fit. He's gone into this rage. And his eyes are glazed. And he's somebody else. I don't know him. I don't understand. He's never done this before. I don't know him. Now, the way Satan possesses a person... It's always tied to sin of some form. It's always tied to sin. To the place where he's able to work with them and manipulate them. And draw them. To seek after their own pleasures. Until finally, they've practiced it and practiced it and practiced it. Until all of a sudden, they're possessed. He owns that part of them. There is a real satanic possession. Not just among those who walk the streets. But among those who sometimes sit in church. But that doesn't mean every weird behavior. And every desire that seems to control you is a possession of Satan. Your flesh can possess you. I want you to look with me at Ephesians chapter 2. And you were dead, verse 1, in your trespasses and sins. Now, this is describing someone before they came to Christ. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world. According to the prince of the power of the air. Of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Now, I want to clarify something about this scripture. This verse does not say that every person that's lost, that does not know Jesus Christ. Has a demonic spirit on the inside of them. That's not what it's teaching. The Bible frequently refers to a disposition that an individual has by the word spirit. For example, he has a spirit of meekness. Does that mean he's got a spirit called meekness on the inside of him? No, it simply means that he has a disposition toward meekness. Are you following me? And that's what this verse means. Don't try to make it mean that everybody that it's describing here has a demonic spirit. That's not what it means. Actually, what it's talking about is a tendency to a particular form of conduct. You have a bent toward a particular form of conduct. Before you got saved, you had a disposition to please yourself. Before you got saved, you had a bent to indulging your own fleshly pleasures, desires and mind. That's what it says. Among them two, verse three, we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh. Indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And were by nature children of wrath even as the rest. But folks, beware. That indulging of the flesh can eventually become a possession. And I'm not talking about a demonic possession. Now, I'm talking about a fleshly possession. Your flesh can possess you. You can indulge in a practice of sin, whether it be a thought pattern. Let me give you an example. Fear can possess you. Now, there is a demonic spirit of fear. There is a demonic spirit of fear. But I know many people that have tried their best. They've been through deliverances and they've gotten freedom. They've been through all the types of things that they can possibly go through to cast out a demon. And the fear remains and yet they have a desire to walk on with the Lord. Listen to me. Your flesh can possess you. And yes, demons work on the flesh. But there is a possession of the flesh. Where you have trained your mind to fear. You've trained your mind to fear. You say, well, what do I do? It has to be broken. It's not broken by casting out a spirit. And I want to say again, yes, there is a casting out of a spirit of fear. But some of you, and I'm speaking maybe to a small group of people. That have tried everything you possibly can try. To get rid of a particular habit. You've been through deliverance. You've been through counseling. You've been through this. You've been through that. My friends, listen. Have you ever considered that Satan has so attacked your mind. That he's caused you to forget the simplicity of devotion to Jesus Christ. And you have made it so terribly complicated. And you have learned to think in the habit pattern. Where Satan has targeted your mind. Because he wants to possess your flesh. Not necessarily possessing it with a demonic spirit. But possessing your flesh. How? By causing you to have a disposition. A bent. Toward reacting the same way. Every time you're stimulated by circumstance. Oh, that's such a binding thing. How does he do that? Well, he always brings a counterfeit. And the Bible describes a whole host and list of counterfeits that Satan brings. For example. Here's the way it starts. It says in this 2nd Corinthians that we read earlier. I'm fearful for you. Paul said, lest you be deceived the same way Eve was deceived. How was Eve deceived? I want you to, in your minds. Go back to Genesis chapter 3. I want you to think about it for a minute. How was she deceived? The first way that Satan deceived Eve. Was, first of all, to question God's word. Now, what we're being told in 2nd Corinthians 11. Is that Satan will always work the same pattern. He says, I am concerned that you be led astray. From the simplicity of devotion to Jesus. And purity of devotion to Jesus. How? The way Eve was led astray. The first thing was that Satan began to speak to the mind. He always comes in a subtle form. He came as a serpent then. He comes in a subtle form. And he questioned God's word. When you start having this incredible pressure to question God's word. Or this subtle device at work to question the word of God. Satan's targeted your mind. How did he do it? Well. He says things like. Has God really said? Has God really. Did God really say it that way? Is that what God really means? Perhaps. Perhaps you misunderstood what it's saying. Perhaps you should go back and rethink it. And see when you go back and rethink it. That's when you get in trouble. Because you've already made a decision. That it's really saying something different than that. So you actually begin. First of all to question God's word. Secondly. You literally begin to deny God's integrity. That's what he did with Eve. Satan said. The reason God doesn't want you to partake of the fruit of that particular tree. Is because God knows that when you do. Your eyes are going to be open. And you're going to be able to discern good and evil. You're going to be able to see. Now Satan may not say that to you. But first of all. He gets you to question God's word. And secondly. He begins to question God's integrity. In other words. It's almost as if God's withholding something from you. God's doing something. That actually he's mistreating you some way. He's holding something back from you. Now. To deny God's integrity is just a simple step. From questioning God's word. And then comes the third stage. That's when Satan said to Eve. Actually. He substituted his own lie. He said. When you do. You're going to be like God. Now again. I'm not saying that Satan is saying those things to everybody. He attacks in their mind. But the idea is that first of all. He gets you to question the word. If he can get you to question the word. He begins to get you to question God's integrity. You say. Well. Pastor Bob. I have never questioned God's integrity. Oh. Really. What about that time when you said. God. I guess. Maybe it works for them. But it doesn't work for me. Well. How's that in questioning his integrity. It's saying. He's a partial God. He's working over here. But he won't work over here. Or the time. You felt like. It was just too hard. And too tough. And God was just requiring too much of you. What do you expect from me Lord. That's questioning his integrity. Or. How about. When you said. It's not you God. It's really not you. It's. I'm the one that's totally at fault. When I get to a place. Where I'm worthy for you to be able to. Do that for me. Then God. I. I will have reached the stage. That you can love me. Enough to bless me. So. Is that questioning his integrity. Yes. Because. It's putting his love. On a purely. Selfish. Earthly. Human. Realm. That says. I'll respond to you. When you respond to me. God's love. Responds. And he's never put you in a place. Where. Well. You're just so unworthy. You gotta. Listen. If that were the case. You wouldn't have gotten saved. How did you get worthy enough to get saved. How did you ever get worthy enough. To take the first step. How did you. How did you do that. It's because. God's love. Lifted you up. And put you. Where you couldn't be. Yourself. Now. All of a sudden. You start looking at. God. As if. His whole character. Changed. He doesn't deal with people. Like that anymore. Now. You have to earn it all. Now. I'm not saying. There's not a responsibility. But I am saying. You'll never. Be able to perform. The responsibility. Until everything surrendered. To God's. Grace. And his mercy. To perform it in you. As long as you keep. Doubting his integrity. And the integrity. Of his love. You'll never know. What it's like. To walk in victory. The end of side one. You may now. Turn the tape over. To side two. We have in the Bible. Counterfeits. That Satan. The Bible speaks of. Counterfeit Christians. The Bible speaks of. Counterfeit ministers. The Bible speaks of. A counterfeit gospel. It speaks of. A counterfeit righteousness. Speaks of. A counterfeit church. Why all these. Counterfeits. Because. What Satan wants to do. Is to keep you from. Pressing on into God. And get you to say. Well. I'll just rest right here. In one of these counterfeits. For a while. Instead of pressing on. I'll just. I'll just wait right here. I'll. This gospel's fine for me. I'll just take this gospel. Or this church is fine for me. I'll just take this church. Or. I see other Christians. Doing the same thing I'm doing. I'll just. This is where I'll live. And I'll. I'll be alright. I'll go to heaven. Counterfeits. Counterfeits. Satan not only targets. The mind. But he also targets. The body. Please listen to me. Why does he target the body. The Bible's. I could turn to several scriptures. You know. First Peter 5 8. For one says that. Satan. Your adversary prowls about. Like a roaring lion. Seeking whom he may devour. We can read. Let me just. You don't need to turn there. But I'll read to you from Matthew. Just one. One scripture. Of a man whose. Body was targeted. And you read this. Throughout the scriptures. Matthew chapter 12. Verse 22. Again. Please don't turn there. For the sake of time. But it says. Then there was brought to him. A demon possessed man. Who was blind and dumb. And he healed him. So that the dumb man. Spoke and saw. Now this man was afflicted. With a demonic spirit. Now not every physical ailment. Is a demonic spirit. Not every sickness. Is a demon. That has to be cast out. I know some people get a cold. And they cast a demon of colds out. I'm serious. I know some people. That have spoken to people. That have had cancer. And. I'm absolutely appalled. At some of the stories. That I've heard. And seen. That have taken place. They got this person. Who was weak. And dying of cancer. And they begin to scream. And shout. And cry. And wail. Until they could kind of. Get a demon cast out. And then all of a sudden. I know of one particular person. Where this woman was about. I think she was about 54 years old. And she was convinced. Because she'd been told. That this cancer she had. Was a demon. And so she submitted herself. To this ministry. They put her in a room. For three days. She did not sleep. She literally did not sleep. For three days. And hardly ate anything. As they took shifts. And walked around her. Shouting about the blood of Jesus. And talking. And finally. Finally. She had some kind of a release. And she. She said. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free from this demon. I'm free. And she died. Six days later. And that group. That group said. Very conveniently. She must have let it back in. Now. I don't. You know. Some of you may. You may. You may be offended. By what I'm saying. But that stuff. Is junk. Now I want to tell you something. It destroy. It's destroying people. There are demons of sickness. It's very clear. There are demons of sickness. That promote sickness. That possess a particular area of the body. And have to be cast out. But Satan. Attacks the body. To possess it for a different reason. I'm not now talking about cancer. And I'm not now talking about sickness. But Satan attacks the body. To bring about suffering. Now I'm not talking about people. That just have demons. I'm talking about every single person. Sitting in this room. And every cold you have. Every time you stump your toe. Every time you turn your ankle. Or you bang your head against the wall. Accidentally. Or whatever you do. Every little thing like that. Is not a demonic spirit. Every car accident. Is not a demon. But now listen to me. Satan likes to bring. Circumstances. To bear. Upon your life. In order. To be able. To cause you. To do what? Why does he bring it? He wants to make you. Impatient. With God's will. And so he will bring. Every force. He possibly can. Against you. The more susceptible. You are. To being impatient. With the will of God. In your life. When he brings. Physical attacks. Against you. The more physical attacks. He's probably going to bring. Some people. Just don't like. Suffering. I personally am one of them. Don's with me. He said. I've never been encouraged. By suffering. But I have been transformed. By it. I've never liked it. Not a thing in me. That enjoys it. But I can. Praise God. I can stand here. And thank God. And praise God. That through. Sufferings. And through trials. Some of them. Physical. Some of them. Mental. Some of them. Otherwise. That God. Has moved. In those times. And transformed me. I would not be able. To stand in. Freedom and boldness. That I can today. Without some of those trials. And what Satan. Seeks to do. Is to possess people. In a different way. And I'm saying this to you. Because. It's not just people. That have some sort of. Demonic spirit. He likes to possess. Your dispositions. Satan likes to possess. Your mental frame. Of looking at things. Now how does he possess it? Putting a demon inside? No. What he does. Is he will create. The very circumstances. Around you. That cause you. To shrink back. From God's will. Make you weaker. In following the Lord. And cause you. To move. Away from devotion. To the Lord Jesus Christ. All of a sudden. You make things more complicated. I don't know about you. I have never yet. Figured out why. I went through every single trial. I went through. And there are some people. That just can't seem to live. Unless they can find out. Why they went through. What they're going through. Complicated. The simplicity is gone. You know. When you read the Bible. You find. The saints of God. Particularly in the book of Acts. Referring to. A completely different way. They go through. Sufferings and trials. Persecutions. Bodily ailments. Everything else. Yes. They come to God. As a healer. But listen. What they do. Is. They look at this. And they say. God. We're going on with you. Ultimately. We're still going on with you. See. God. God. Allows. These trials. To come. Because Satan. Is never. Really. In charge. I just read to you. In Ezekiel. Very clearly. God's not going to cast him down. Someday. God's not going to turn him. To ashes. Someday. God has. Brought him. To ashes. He is ashes. But then it adds. That little part. On the end. For all those. Who see him. He's only ashes. For those. Who see him. As ashes. He's a mighty roaring lion. For those. Who are afraid of him. And who see him. As a vulnerable foe. But for those. Who see him. Through the eyes. Of the cross. And begin to see him. Through the eyes. Of the victory. Of the resurrection. Where death. Couldn't hold him. He made a public display. Of satan openly. He declared to him. You'll not hold my people. He is ashes. I'm not taunting the devil. I'm not railing at him. I'm just declaring Jesus. That's all. And there's a difference. I've watched people rail at the devil. Like you can scream loud enough. And he'll run away. Or you can. Shroud the right words. And somehow that's going to. Cause authority to be there. No. It's proclaiming Jesus. Now. You proclaiming. I'm only. You proclaiming. You declare Jesus. And satan can't possess anything about you. You declare Jesus. And satan cannot. He cannot. Possess anything about you. You say. Well. How. How. How is that. I want you to turn with me. First. Or to. Deuteronomy. Twenty six. Because there's a third. Kind of possession. You know. You can be possessed. By God. You. You can literally be possessed. By God. That's the kind of possession. I want. See. The Bible says. Very clearly. In Ephesians. Chapter six. That satan. Has a strategy. Do you know it. He. He's defines having a strategy. Satan's got a strategy. It talks about. The fact that he has. Schemes. And the word schemes. There. Means. Military. Like. Strategies. Oh. But. Before you get too. Concerned about his. Military. Like strategies. God has a strategy. And. Here's. Here's. God's strategy. First. Of all. When you're going through. Mental anguish. And Satan's. Trying to possess. The disposition. Of your mind. Or. When you're going through. Physical anguish. And Satan. Is trying to. Possess. The disposition. Of your body. God. Has a strategy. Let me read it to you. It's not in Deuteronomy. Twenty-six. Yet. But just listen. Listen. And the Lord said. I have. Surely seen. The affliction. Of my people. Which are in Egypt. And I've heard their cry. By reason. Of their taskmasters. For I know. Their sorrows. And I am. Calm down. To deliver them. Out of the hand. Of the Egyptians. And. To bring them up. Not just to deliver them. But to bring them up. Out of the land. Unto a good land. And a large. Land. Unto a land flowing. With milk and honey. Which speaks to the blessings. Of God. See God is never. Just a delivering God. When Jesus died on the cross. He broke. All the power. Of Satan. He broke. He broke. The power. Of sin. But then. He did. Something else. Not only. His cross. And resurrection. Then. He ascended. Up. Into heaven. And sat down. At the right hand. Of God. On the throne. Which means. It's a type. Of what he wants. To do with us. God never wants. Just to deliver you. From mental anguish. He wants. To deliver you. From mental anguish. And mental torment. And oppression. And possession. And then he wants. To raise you up. And bring you. Into the land. That's always. His strategy. Now. God would rather. Have you. Go through. Some suffering. And some pain. Now. If it was going. To cause you. To be able. To stand. In a place. That he had designed. For you. Where. The next time. That suffering came. The next time. That pain came. The next time. That attack came. You were not. You were not. Susceptible to it. But you had a built in. Spiritual. Immune system. That. That circumstance. Could no longer. Attach itself. To discourage you. Or to defeat you. That nothing. Could possibly. Turn you away. From being. Patient. In the will of God. See. The scripture says. This. It says. Hebrews 6.12. Be imitators. Of those. Who faith. And patience. Inherit. The promises. Ultimately. God's plan. And strategy. For you. And I. Is that you. And I. May become. Inheritors. Of the promise. Now. Let me read another one to you. Hebrews 10.36. For you. Have need of patience. I know. That's a bad word. But. It's still in there. You have need of patience. So. That when you have done. The will of God. You may receive. What was promised. That's. That verse. Is so. Crystal clear. You can. Actually. Have done. The will of God. And still. Be going. Through. Trying. Difficult. Painful. Circumstances. Let me read it again. For you. Have need of patience. So. That when. You have done. The will of God. You may receive. What was promised. See. What. What the flesh. Likes to do. What Satan. Likes to do. Is he likes. To put you. Into this. This mode. So. That once. You've done. God's will. You expect. The blessings. Just to follow. One. After. Another. And it doesn't happen. That way. How many of you know. It doesn't happen. That way. Oh. It does. Sometimes. I praise God. For those times. If I have. My druthers. That's the one. I'll choose. I like. To be blessed. Immediately. That's my preference. But. I find. That most. Of the time. The obedience. Comes. And. Then. Comes. The patience. The patience. Because. After. Having done. The will. Of God. It's required. Patience. Why. Why. Does God. Do it. That way. Because. You see. God. Is a better. Parent. Than you. And I. God. Has. Something. Far. Far. Far. More. Valuable. For us. And. He. Realizes. That. Patience. Alone. Can. Bring. God. God. Let. You. Go. Literally. Through. Times. And. Seasons. When. Don't. Feel. His. Presence. Why. Would. He. Do. That. Because. When. Satan. Comes. To. Attack. The. Mind. And. Come. To. Attack. The. Body. Listen. It's. Hard. To. Feel. The. Presence. Of. God. When. Your. Body. Is. Wrapped. With. Pain. You. Got. A. Severe. Headache. It's. Real. Hard. To. Think. Of. God. But. When. You. Can. Be. In. That. Kind. Of. A. Condition. And. You. Can. Start. Worshipping. God. I'm. Not. Talking. About. Dancing. And. Jumping. Up. And. Down. So. Your. Head. Hurts. More. I'm. Talking. About. Dancing. And. Jumping. Up. Head. Dancing. I'm. Not. Talking. About. Dancing. And. Jumping. My head. Worry. chooses to establish his name now I want you to watch this carefully what happens and You shall go to the priest who is in the office at that time and say to him I declare to this date to this day The Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us Now I want you to see what happens This man is already in the land. I want you to make an imaginary line in your mind right here Over there's the land When he walked over into the land, he didn't stop and say I declare to you this day. I've entered the land No, this is a picture of a man who has long since crossed that line and he's now living in the land He's already living there. It says it very clearly in verse 1. It says when you possess it and live in it He's already living in it. But here's what he does He is very conscious of the presence of God's blessing and so when things are going real wonderful He takes the first produce of everything that he has and he puts it in a basket and he takes it to God And he says God here. I declare to you this day that I have entered the land. I Declare that I've done it. He makes a declaration of Jesus Christ Now verse 7 Then we cried to the Lord the God of our fathers and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and toil and our oppression and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm with great terror and with signs and wonders and he's brought us to this place and it's given us a land a land flowing with milk and honey and Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which thou O Lord has given me and you shall set it before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God and You and the Levite and the alien who's among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household Now, let me tell you what I'm not talking about I'm not talking about some mental gymnastics that you just start thanking God for all the good I'm talking about a man possessed of God That even when things are difficult and even when there are trials and there are difficult times and they had them in the land of Canaan That they still take this basket and they present it before God and regardless of what they're going through They make a declaration and out of that declaration says I have entered the land and I thank my God that he's brought me to The land it is a picture of a heart that's totally possessed with God and therefore there's an outflow of worship to God regardless of the circumstances regardless of the enemies that are around Regardless of what their heritage or how the pain is regardless of how well or how bad things are going they have an overflow unto God and That basket is your heart That basket for you and I as your heart God says you bring your heart to me Consistently listen if you're possessed of God, you don't have to get up and say now I'm not saying it's not hard Sometimes I do I I get up in the mornings and sometimes it's easy to worship God and sometimes it's not first of all Mornings are not my good times They just aren't good. I tried my best to make them good. They're not Well, actually they are good, but the mornings are like 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning. That's morning Those are great times for me from 10 o'clock till about 2 o'clock. Those are wonderful times for me I can have a wonderful time with the Lord 6 o'clock. No, no way 5 o'clock worse You people that talk about 4 o'clock. I don't even know what planet you're from So I'm not talking about specific hours in certain times the way people have done it But I am saying there will be an overflow of the heart to God that nothing can hold it back no matter what you're going through the fear can't hold it back because You're so full of the goodness that God's brought to your heart because he's delivered you from where you were and he's placed you in A new land and it flows out in worship You you know, you know what worship is Worship is not lifting our hands Worship is not singing our songs Worship is not clapping our hands. Those are all tools That are used in worship Worship is a heart that is so Satisfied with Jesus it's overflowing to express it. That's worship. That's worship If you don't have that in you you are not yet possessed of God Yes, there will be times when your body's racked with pain when your Circumstances seem to bother you more and it's harder to get into it. But even in the feeble attempts there has to come out a Satisfaction with Jesus that's when we're possessed of Jesus. That's when we're possessed. Look what he says. I'm gonna close with this. He says If you make that remember he's making a declaration Verse 17 you have today Declared the Lord to be your God. Oh, see when you walk with God like this you declare it Regardless of what you go. You just declare God. You're my God Yes, things are tough, but it doesn't you're my God You delivered me into a good land. That land is you I have you as an inheritance and You say you have today declared the Lord to be your God and when you do that You declare that you'll walk in his ways and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances and listen to his voice Well, look what God does and the Lord has the today declared you to be his people a treasured possession as he promised you and That you should keep all his commandments and he shall set you high above and That's the word. I want to leave you with when you make that kind of a declaration to God you're saying God I don't care what the devil is trying to bring against my mind against my body. Yes. I'm going to resist it I'm gonna come to you as the healer, but Lord Ultimately you are all I desire. I'm filled with overflowing worship because of your goodness I am possessed of you and I declare this day. You are my God. I declare you're my God Just like when the dove came down on Jesus and said this voice from heaven You are this is my beloved son a voice may be invisible, but you can hear it in the spirit It'll come down and it'll say this is my child my treasured possession. I declare to be your God You declare him he declares you Possessed by the Lord and listen no possession The devil has can penetrate that treasured possession. Would you stand with me? Would you stand with me? Father I ask in Jesus name that you liberate this morning You liberate Lord any possession that's other than you God you bring it to liberation this morning I ask it in Jesus name Lord. We honor your word. We honor your Lord God We honor your Lord God Blessed be your name Hallelujah Praise your mighty name Lord, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter Brother Don has said that so clearly in a message doesn't matter God what the enemy brings against us No, Lord, we won't be weak and passive. We'll resist you've declared that we're to resist but Oh Lord You said first of all submit to you Submit to you then resist Lord. That's what we do. We declare you brought us into a good land We declare you got Lord those that are going through trials and circumstances Lord, I asked that they don't make it complicated try to figure out who's causing it or they just declare Jesus Just declare you Lord that the circumstances in the trial won't possess their dispositions. Oh mighty God Let us be possessed by you possessed by Jesus Lord How sweet that is how sweet it's a possessed by Jesus Lord for those who don't know you've been possessed by the enemy God I'm asking you to liberate this morning in Jesus name I'm asking you to set free those that are possessed by the flesh and bound by habits I'm asking you to liberate Lord those that have been oppressed by demonic spirits and Lord I'm asking you to bring a freedom Lord. I'm asking to draw those With this invitation that they look only to you right now and They come with a heart wanting to be possessed only by you in Jesus name Amen, I want you to come now as we're singing the balcony the main floor. Would you just come right now? We're gonna pray we're gonna pray something's holding you and binding you if the enemy's already started those subtle things getting you to doubt the truth of God's Word or the integrity Think about it that the integrity the integrity of his of his character listen Have your circumstances been creating a dispossession in you? That's causing you to drift away from feeling the nearness of God if it has Let the Lord possess you Let him listen. Don't wait on God to come down to his circumstances to your circumstances God says I want to break you to the land bring you to the land and then I want to lift you up Seated with me. He don't want to come down to all your circumstances He wants to lift you above high above high above you come right now as we sing right now I Oh You believe that Sing it you say well, I I don't know I even if you're here You've never given your heart to Jesus. Would you sing that you you declare that see? That's what I'm talking about. You bring that basket of your heart and you say I declare this day Jesus breaks every fetter It's not middle gymnastic. You're bringing it. You're saying God. I want to be possessed of you just Jesus Just Jesus not of the flesh not of circumstances not of any spirit I just want to be possessed of Jesus and you say I declare you break every fetter singing You don't have to have a good voice. You just you just sing you say Lord you declare it You can sing it low. You can sing it high sing it loud or soft. It doesn't matter but in your heart you sing Jesus I know you break every fetter. I believe you're gonna set me free right now Would you declare that to him and then God declares? That's my possession. That's my possession. I claim that possession Let's sing that you come still if you need to come balcony Oh I Just can't get away from I feel like the Lord wants us to do this I feel like he wants us to just declare that the whole congregation not just these at the altar You you know, how many of you know, he's broken the fetters on your life How many of you how many of you that are out back there can say with confidence? I know what Jesus will do up here Let's let's sing that to the Lord as an offering as an offering. I mean, let's just shout it out to him Jesus breaks every fetter you set me free Declare it make a declaration this morning. God has set you free. Jesus has set you free Hallelujah, praise God Oh Hallelujah blessed be your name Lord glory to your name Hallelujah, hallelujah Hallelujah Lord Hallelujah Blessed be your name Lord at this altar. You've already broken some fetters You've already smashed some barbs, but Lord, I pray for everyone at this altar those that are weak in faith Lord you receive even the weak in faith When when they declare I'm weak in faith Lord, I need you you meet them right there Lord Let there not be a one at this altar. That's not touched by your spirit. Oh God Lord break it Those that have struggled with possession of the flesh Lord, let him not blame it on anything else But declare it and declare God that you're the answer and break that fetter now Lord set them free Break it Lord any that have been possessed of spirits. It doesn't take some mighty Program or or way of doing it Lord your presence breaks and drives out every spirit Lord Those that are bound by demonic spirits break it in Jesus name break the fetters and loose them this moment Hallelujah Lord. I ask you to bring possession of you into every heart into my heart into every one of our hearts Lord Lord possess us Possess us by your presence Jesus Lord. We declare we want to be possessed by you Lord those that have just entered the land a promise and salvation Lord possess them Those this morning Lord that for the first time that they right now are really getting saved. I ask you in Jesus name. I Ask you Lord put a wall around about them Lord as they just cry and say I've sinned and I want you Jesus. That's all it takes. That's all it takes Father in Jesus name wipe away the Disappointment the discouragement and bring new life into the heart and possess it with you. Oh Lord Hallelujah. This is the conclusion of the tape