In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the power of Jesus Christ to set people free from the bondage of sin. He uses the example of a man possessed by thousands of devils, who was completely transformed when Jesus came into his life. The preacher highlights the importance of being in the presence of Jesus and surrendering to Him in order to experience true peace, rest, and freedom. He also emphasizes the need for the Holy Spirit to fill and guide believers, as they cannot change themselves through their own efforts.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, Efropie, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Well, praise the Lord. Glory to God. I greet you in Jesus' name. How many are glad to be back under the big white tent? Hallelujah! But you know, more than just the tent, but in the presence of the Lord. Amen? Amen. My heart thrilled when the phone rang and Brother Emmanuel called and said, we're going to extend the meetings. My heart said, Amen. Amen. But I would have been just content and well blessed to just stay sitting and hear your testimonies. So good. So good. God bless you. But I would have to share that, you know, all last week, from the very beginning, there was a burden on my heart to bring something here. And each time that it was my turn to preach again, I would seek the Lord. And I just didn't have a clearing. There just was no clearing. And so I let it go again. Well, all four nights came and went and the burden was still there. So it was no surprise to me when Brother Emmanuel called and said, we're going to extend the meetings. And I knew where God wanted me to go. So I covered your prayer. I don't feel in my heart that I said no to the Spirit. I just felt the timing wasn't right. Now here we are tonight and I don't know what it means. I don't know what it means. I really don't. But I just want to walk by faith here tonight, trusting the Lord Jesus. And you just open your heart. Just open your heart, myself included, to what God would have for us here tonight. Open your Bibles to Luke chapter 8. Thank you for your prayer, Kenny. Appreciate that. Keep praying. This is not a subject that I feel that I'm a scholar on, a student on. But God kept pressing it on my heart. And I just want to release my burden tonight, okay? I just want to release my burden. I feel confident in my spirit that this is where the Lord Jesus would want me to go. Here in Luke chapter 8, we have the disciples in verse 22. They are with Him in a ship. And they are setting sail to go to the other side of the lake. Probably the Lake Galilee. And they launch forth. And as they sailed, the Lord Jesus, you know, He was weary and He was tired. And He fell asleep inside the boat there. And while He was sleeping, there came down a storm of wind on the lake. And the boat was filling with water. And they were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and they awoke Him and said, Master, we perish. He arose and He rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased. And there was a calm. There was peace. Hallelujah. Oh, our blessed Lord Jesus, how that He has power over... All power is given unto Him over the storm and the water. And there's peace. Just a blessed peace. And then He says unto them, where is your faith? Where is your faith? A very pertinent question tonight. I'm not titling the message that. But I want you to remember that. Where is your faith? And they were being afraid. They wondered, saying one to another, what manner of man is this? For He commandeth even the winds and the water and they obey Him. You know, it's easy, maybe, to have faith in Christ. When it comes to those kinds of physical situations and calming the storm and calming the sea. But look what follows right after this portion of Scripture. Can we stand to our feet and read our text beginning in the verses that follow? Verse 26. Can we do that? Verse 26 of Luke chapter 8. And remember the context here. Where is your faith? I believe that that thought flows into the verses that follow. And they arrived in the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when He went forth to land, there met Him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wear no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When He saw Jesus, He cried out. He fell down before Him and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for oft times He had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters, and he broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, because many devils were entered into Him. And they besought Him, the devils did, that He would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them, and He suffered them. And when the devils went out of the man, then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done and came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in His right mind, and they were afraid. Glory! They also, which Saul had told them by what means he was possessed of the devils, were healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them, for they were taken with great fear. And He went up into the ship and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that He might be with him. But Jesus sent him away saying, Return to thine own house. Show how great things God has done unto thee. And He went His way and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto Him. And it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him, for they were all waiting for Him. May God honor the reading of His holy writ. And may He have His way with us tonight. You may be seated. You know, it's maybe a bit stretching sometimes when we think where is your faith when we look at a man in the situation that he is here in the text that we read. Where is your faith? Do you and I really believe that the God of heaven through the precious redeeming blood of Jesus Christ can change a man as He did right here in this text? Do you really believe it? Well, how many of you witness to a man like that today? You know, sometimes we struggle to believe it. And I know you believe it. I believe that. And I believe it too. And maybe you didn't encounter a man like that. So I don't want to put you on a guilt trip, okay? But, you know, when it comes to being set free, freedom from the bondage of the devil. Freedom from the bondage of the devil. That is the title of the message here tonight. It sometimes is a bit of a stretch of our faith. Amen? It's a bit of a stretch of our faith. Maybe a bit easy to have faith that Christ can take care of my situation and He can meet my need, and He can meet my physical need, and He can meet my spiritual need. Amen? We believe that. But what about a setting like this? Folks, the power of Christ. Sometimes we get the idea that the devil, you know, he's a counter power equal with Christ. And we know he's not. We know that Christ is all-powerful, almighty. And we know that the devil is not a match to him. And we see that right here in this text. All power is given unto me. What does Jesus say? Heaven and earth. Am I right? Am I quoting that right? Yes. Heaven and earth. Amen. Thank you. But let's consider the condition of this man just for a moment. Do we have that kind of faith? And I'll elaborate on that as we go along here. The Bible says here, and realizing here, that right after Jesus said that, said, where is your faith? It was right after He said that, it appears to me like the boat arrived at the Gadarenes, He stepped off the boat, and right away this man meets Him. And the Bible says that he had many devils were entered into him. And the Bible also says that he was this way a long time. Let's consider his condition for a moment. This certain man that met Him. The Gospel according to Mark says, he had an unclean spirit. Now this is in some of the other Gospels, and I'm going to pull that in. And Matthew says, he was a man that had devils. And it also tells us here in Luke, that he was this way a long time. You'll see that in verse 27. It also tells us that he wore no clothes. I mean, this is a very sad, bondage situation that this man is in. He wore no clothes. I mean, we know what that means. He was destitute physically. Naked, but he's also destitute spiritually. He has not the garment of salvation. He has not the robe of righteousness that is in Jesus Christ. He has not the rest that our brother Mel was reading about where Jesus said, you know, weary and heavy laden, come unto Me and I will give you rest. He didn't have that. He's under the control and the bondage of devils. And it tells us here that he lived among the tombs. He lived among the tombs. He didn't have a home. He didn't live in a home. He was a vagrant and a wanderer. In Grenada, we would say he was a drake. But he lived amongst the tombs. I don't know if it was caves or if it was tombstones. I don't know. I tried to study and find out. It doesn't really say. All it says is he lived among the dead. What a sad situation this man is in as he lived in what we would call maybe a cemetery. And some of the Gospels tell us that he was cutting himself with sharp stones and he went about crying aloud with so many devils in him. You can imagine his language, how vulgar and how debauchery and such forth it was. Can you not? This is a sad situation of a man that is in the bondage of the devil. And I would have to say, and I think you would agree with me, he was not only a nuisance to society, he was a nuisance to himself. Jesus says, where's your faith? Where's your faith? It tells us here in verse 29 in this very text that he was kept in bonds and chains and fetters, and they would try and put chains around him and hold him in bands. But the Bible tells us that he would break them. He was kept in bonds and chains and in fetters. And actually in verse 29, he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for oft times he had caught him. He was kept bound with chains and in fetters and he broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. A sad situation. Mark 5 tells us that this man, that no man could tame this man. No man could tame him. Chains couldn't tame him. He was in the bonds and in the grips and in the shackles of the devil. Jesus says, where's your faith? Where's your faith? Nothing could hold him down. Not even change. He had unhuman, unnatural strength and ability. And this man is running to and fro with no rest for his weary soul. This man is in the bondage of the devil. What a picture here this evening of a man in the vices and the bondage of the devil. A man that is without peace and without rest in Jesus Christ. Now, I would quickly like to say that this is a vivid picture, if you would, of a man that is outside of the rest and the peace and the beautiful life that's in Jesus Christ. And this is a picture of it. You know, as you think of that, you look at this and you say, you know what? This is what it looks like when a man is outside of... He's unconverted. He's not born again. He's not a new creature in Christ. He's without Christ. He's without salvation. He's without the blood of Jesus applied to his life. And he's lost. It's a vivid picture. There's many pictures like that in the Scripture where men are in darkness and they're without the light of Christ. And it's a vivid picture. But I'd also like to remind you that there's probably something deeper here. Something deeper. The Bible doesn't tell us how this man got to where he was. And you and I know that there's men that are not converted and they're not saved and they're not right with God. And they may not be to this level, but yet they are in need of salvation. They need Christ. They need forgiveness. They need repentance. And they need to be called upon the name of the Lord and be born again and be converted and be a new creature in Christ where old things pass away and behold, all things become new. And they're maybe not quite in this kind of bundle. Do you know what I'm saying? Do you know what I'm saying? But yet, it is a picture of a man outside of Christ. But there's more to it, I really believe here. And it revolves around that little statement where Jesus said, where is your faith? We'll get to it. Let's just think about it for a moment. Naked before God. Yeah, maybe there's some clothes physically on the body, but spiritually destitute and naked in the absence of the robe of righteousness in Jesus Christ when He looks upon you and when He looks upon me where His righteousness becomes our portion. Imputed righteousness, I think, is the word that I'm looking for. I'm not clear on that, but I think so. His righteousness is our righteousness. Am I right on that? Yes, okay. You know, I'm open there. It's ours, and God sees the righteousness of Christ through the death and the burial and the erection of Him and as we have called upon His name and we're saved. It's a garment of salvation. A robe of righteousness in Jesus Christ. This man was destitute and naked of that. Here's another one. Possessed with an unclean spirit. This man is possessed and controlled by the spirit of a foul spirit, an evil spirit. The Bible says devils. Listen, either we're under the control of the Spirit of the living God where He rules and reigns in my heart and life because I've given my allegiance to Jesus Christ and the Spirit of Christ rules and reigns in my life and I hear His voice and I follow. Now if that's not my portion, then what spirit are you under? Another spirit. A foul spirit. Maybe an evil spirit. There's only two. Are there not? There's only two. This man was outside of the Spirit of Christ. You're in one camp or the other here tonight. Either you're in the Spirit of Christ walking not after the flesh, but there's now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit of Christ. This man wasn't there. He has another spirit. It's an unclean spirit. He's living among the dead. Folks, today, many people, many people, though they live physically, they move and they breathe and they work, but their spirit is still dead in sin and trespasses. This man is living amongst the dead. Jesus there in Luke 10, He told the man, He said, I'll follow you. What did Jesus tell him? He said, I'll follow you, but I've got to go back and bury my dead. I think it was his father. I'm not sure. Luke 10. Jesus said, let the dead bury the dead. You go and preach the gospel, He said. This man is living among the dead. His spirit is dead. He's not alive in Christ. We're looking at just some pictures here, and then you have this idea that I'd like to elaborate a bit. No man could bind this man. No man could bind this man. No man can bind the sinner. They tried. Chains and fetters. But He would break them as He had supernatural power by the spirit of the devil, and He would be driven into the wilderness. Listen, tonight, there's only one power that could set this man free, and that is Jesus Christ. Christ alone. Folks, outside of the power of Christ, there is nothing that can bind and change the unconverted sinner. Nothing. You can't pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and try and do better, you know. You need to be filled with the Spirit of the living God. The Spirit of Christ. This man is in the shackles and in the bondage of sin, and no man could change Him. But when Jesus Christ came on the scene, hallelujah, hallelujah, it changed. This man was a changed man. He was set free from the bondage of the shackles of the devil. Now folks, the Bible tells us that this man was this way a long time. That the Bible tells us. He's in the bondage of devils. It says legion here in verse 30 where Jesus asked him. That word legion is a troop or a group of Roman soldiers. 6,000 of them, approximately. And this man has approximately 6,000 devils in him. And nothing could change him until Jesus Christ came on the scene. And the question I'd like to ask you this evening, how did he get there? How did this man come to this place? Does the Bible tell us? No. The Bible doesn't tell us. And I don't proclaim to know. But I think we need to consider just a bit how potentially did this man get to where he was. So many devils inside of him. Controlling him. And remember, this is in the context of where is your faith? And I think that gives us a little bit of a clue maybe in opening some things up maybe in how this man got to where he was. Where is your faith? Could it be that somewhere in this man's past he put his faith in the works of the devil? What do you think? Am I taking it out of context? Could it be that somewhere this man put his faith in the works of the devil? You see, the old devil, he's a thief and he's a liar and he's a destroyer and he wants to destroy your soul. And maybe somewhere this man, I don't know for sure, I'm assuming a bit here, put his faith in the works of the devil and that old devil got a hook in that man's life and took that man deeper and deeper and deeper into the depths and dregs of sin and control of the devil that eventually he was under the control of 6,000 devils. Let it be a warning to us, dearly beloved, that when we play and dabble in the things of the devil, he gets a hook in our lives and he will take us to this place. But let's not stop there. This man got set free. I don't want to spend all evening cursing the darkness. I mean, this man got set free by the light of Jesus Christ. But we need to consider this. Maybe this man did. You know, he's a destroyer and this is a vivid picture where the old devil will take you if you dab into the works and the deeds of the devil. And it doesn't matter even if you have your plain clothes on. He is no respecter of person. He has no partiality. You give him an inch and he's going to take a mile. I wonder if we believe that here this evening. You dabble into his things. You give him the finger. He's going to take your whole life. He wants to destroy you. But, oh, praise God for Jesus. Maybe somewhere, someplace, maybe he was innocent. Maybe he was innocent. Maybe as a child, his parents took him to some bra suger. You know what a bra suger is? A pain drawer. A witch doctor. And he was innocent. But you know what? The old devil got a hook in his life and in his soul and began to just draw him away and take him into the depths and the dregs of sin and debauchery as you see it here, that he's living amongst the two. Maybe it was a powwower. Is that alright? Maybe it was a powwower. Some witch doctor somewhere that had the craft of witches, the power of the witch of the devil. And somehow, and I'm assuming this, but stay with me, where is your faith? Maybe this man put his faith... Maybe he was legitimate. Maybe he was of age. Maybe it happened when he was a child. I don't know. I don't know. I'd just like to pull that in and just stir your thinking where the old devil will take you. You know what really burdened my heart last week? How many of you thought of it in the testimonies? How many people shared testimony how their parents or they themselves went to some works of the devil witch doctor? How many of you thought of that and caught that? Yes. Amen. Every time I heard that, God kept writing on my heart, Son, sometime, this needs to be brought up. This needs to be spoke of. Maybe it was. I don't know. I think I asked a brother and they said it wasn't really directly addressed. Now here we are. Here we are, brothers and sisters. Maybe it was by innocence as a child, you know, where the Bible says in Matthew 24, I'm sorry, Exodus 20, not 24, Exodus 20. Keep your finger here. In Luke 8, we're going to be back. I want you to see this. Here in Exodus 20, as the Lord spake these words, saying to the people of God, Israel, I am thy Lord God, which has brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You know what? These occultic practices, these demonic practices, the works of the devil, they came out of Egypt, the bondage of Egypt with our forefathers. And you know what? This county is just permeating with it. Occultic powers and witchcraft, demonic practices, the works of the devil. But hallelujah, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John... I didn't even write it down. Can somebody quote it for me? What reference is it? 1 John 4. Somebody look it up and raise your hand when you have it. Well, you know what? I'll get you there real quick. I think I have it marked plainly. It's 1 John 3, verse 8. For he that committeth sin is of the devil. The devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifest, that he might destroy the works of the devil. That's what Luke 8, where we are, is all about. Jesus Christ is destroying the works of the devil in this man. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But let's go back to Exodus 20. And here we have the Ten Commandments, the first and great commandment. I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image or any likeness or anything that is heaven above or that is the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God... Here it is. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. Notice there is a curse and a blessing attached with the first commandment. It's the first commandment. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is like unto the first. Love thy neighbor as thyself as we would know it in the New Testament. Notice the curse. Let's get the blessing first. The blessing follows right after verse 5. And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. We want to be on the blessing side where we don't put our faith in something that God hates. Deuteronomy 18 says that this craft of witches is an abomination to Him. And that means, the word abomination means it means His abdomen heaves with disgust where He's about to puke. That's what the word abomination means. Deuteronomy 18. You can find that. But He gives mercy to thousands that love Him and obey Him and follow Him. But look at the curse. Back up to verse 5. The curse. That if we hate Him, put our faith in demonic practices. And I believe in the most part I'm speaking to a people that would agree with me. But, you know, there's people listening to the phone and the messages on tape and things. We need to have our eyes open. The Bible says that when my papa, my mom, my grandpa, grandfather, back there somewhere has dabbled into the occult, that sin is going to come down three and four generations. Maybe that was this man's portion. Maybe it was his father. Maybe it was his mother. Back here in Luke chapter 8. Maybe it was his grandfather. Maybe it was his grandmother. But listen, hallelujah. We see here in Luke chapter 8 this man is delivered. He's free! That chain can be broken tonight! Hallelujah! If you're here and you have a brahsoohing grandma, a pow-wowing grandfather, folks, the promise is that that thing can visit you three and four generations. You need to come like this man did. Break your heart. Fall at the feet of Jesus. Renounce it. Repent of it. And that chain can be broken. Maybe it was willful. Maybe he understood. Maybe he understood and he put his faith in... Maybe it was... Oh, there's many of them. And like I said, I don't profess to be a... Maybe it was a personal choice. Maybe he went to a foot doctor. You know them old witches? They say all the nerves end in the feet and such forth. And there is absolutely no scientific proof of such nonsense. And then they put their faith in the foot. A foot doctor. Maybe it's erudology, iridology, looking into the eye where they put the faith in the eye. You see all of them. Where's your faith? Putting your faith in something other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Putting your trust in Him. And you know, these demonic things, they always have a crutch. You see, there's a crutch there. The first one was the foot. The next one is the eye. Maybe it's a palm reader. You put your trust in that thing that this old witch doctor's going to tell your future. You see the crutch? The old devil always uses a crutch. He hides behind that thing and he'll make you believe that it's just the eye. You can see what's wrong with your physical ailment in the eye. You know, the foot has all the answers. You see where you're putting your faith? In the witch doctor in the foot, the witch doctor in the eye, the witch doctor in the palm. Where's your faith tonight? Is it in Jesus Christ? Is it in Jesus Christ? Maybe it's reflexology. Maybe it's applied kinesiology, muscle testing. And I'm not going to name all of these. I mean, I don't know them all and I don't want to know them all. It's the occult and it's demonic practice and it's the orcs of the devil. But somehow, this man got to the depths of depravity and debauchery he did. Now, I wonder if he put his faith in that which the Lord hates. And each time he did it, another devil and another devil and another devil until he had 6,000 of them. Staggering. Staggering. Muscle testing. You know, they put certain medicine. And I don't know how all these things... I was never involved. Praise God. I was never involved. Oh, thank you, Lord. But I did find out that there was a... I want to be careful. A man laid hands on me that was a water witcher. I did find that out. Someone I appreciated. But when I heard that, my heart broke. My heart broke. My wife and I, the moment I heard it, we got on our face and we got on our knees before the Lord God of Heaven. And we said, Lord, that's transferred power. When you've got a witch laying hands on you, however he does it, it's transferred power. And I repented of that. We bowed our hearts and we asked the Lord Jesus to wash us in the blood. We renounced that thing in the name and in the blood of Jesus Christ just to be sure there is no occultic hook. When you dabble in this stuff, and you can go on and on and let the Spirit of the Lord make the application. When you dabble in these things, there's a hook comes into your life. And there's a darkness comes over you. And whenever there's revival meetings, and the Lord is wooing you to go deeper, and the Lord is wooing you to the foot of the cross, and He wants to deal with those things in your life that are maybe the fear and the doubt and the question and the unbelief. I don't know about this. You know, the old devil is just pulling that old hook and just dragging you down. And he's just got you hooked right on your seat. And when you want to go deep with the Lord, He just draws you back. When it's time to witness, He draws you back. When it's time to repent and get right with God and thoroughly get right with Him, He just draws you back. And He puts fear and doubt and question. What about my reputation? I mean, He just pulls you back. It's like an occultic hook. Draws you down. Pulls you back. But, oh, I've got good news for you. Hallelujah! Jesus Christ can even set you free from that hook. He can set you free! Freedom from the bondage of the devil. Let me just name a few more. Maybe it's acupuncture, acupressure, and on and on we could go. Chinese herbology and homeopathy and yoga. The crutch. Water witching. Water witching. I mean, the name itself gives it away, doesn't it? The water witching. The hickory stick. The pendulum. Put your faith in the stick. Put your faith in the pendulum. Put your faith in the watch on a string. Where's your faith tonight? Where's your faith? Is it in demonic, devilish practices? In Grenada they would put a ring. I mean, you go into any culture, they got it. They put a ring in a glass. They put a ring in a glass and then they would ask the glass questions. They put their faith in the ring. They put their faith in the glass and the old devil shows up, you know. And when they would say the right, whatever the question was, it was the right answer, that old ring would beep up around in the glass. Oh, that's the answer. Where's your faith tonight? Is it in Jesus Christ? Or is it in the devil's crutches? And on and on I go. And let me just remind you, one of the ways that you can clearly discern it is there's a crutch. There's a medium. The old devil will work through. Water witching for drainage pipes, sewer pipes, a well. Oh, I've got to tell you this story. It came to my heart very clearly this afternoon. Two brothers that I know very dearly, newly converted, seeking the Lord, and these things troubled them. Water witching. And it troubled them deeply. And they were newly converted. They were babes in Christ and they were seeking the Lord on it. And they said, Lord, if this is of You, just give us clear direction and a clear witness. And they were on a job site for an employer. And the employer had made arrangements for a water witcher to come in. And they heard about it. So they said, God, here's an opportunity for You to show us if this is of You or if this is of the devil. And they prayed, both brothers independent of each other. They were praying that God would reveal it to them. And so they prayed. Well, the old water witcher came, you know, and he did what water witchers do, put their faith in the old hickory stick, and he's going across that old property. And of course, they're inside the house. They're working. I think they were drywalling. And of course, they're about looking out the window, you know, about all the time, you know. As they're doing their work, they're wondering, you know, what's God going to do here? And after a bit, they heard the old water witcher tell the construction manager, the man that was in charge, he don't know what's going on, but this is the first time it ever happened. It don't work! It don't work! And of course, these brothers heard that, you know. And they had a little, you know, they got all excited, praised the Lord, glory, and they all looked towards the house, and they came out, and they testified for God, and they testified for Jesus Christ. But they prayed. They prayed that God would reveal unto them if this is of Him or this is of the devil, and this is not of Him, and God's power stopped the power of the devil. Hallelujah. And so the landowner, the property owner, he looked to the man, and he said, alright, he said, I need a well. I need a well. Where am I supposed to drill the well? Well, they weren't quite ready for that one, but they went back into the house, and they said, can we have five minutes? And they went back into the house, and they fell on their faces before the Lord, and they just had a praise and thanksgiving session with the Lord, giving Him glory that He revealed His truth. Water-witching is of the devil! But then they said, God, now show us Your power. Where should the well be? God, we, here's an opportunity for you to receive great glory and testimony that You're all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful. And they prayed, but they had a peace and rest about it, and they went out of the house, and as the one brother was walking out, he just picked up a little stake, and they were together walking across the property, and they were praying. He said, God, where would it be? Where would it be, Lord? Where would it be? You know, just like the Lord does. My sheep hear my voice, and my sheep hear my voice, and they follow, you know. Right here. So the brother put the stake in. He said, you throw the well right here. Right here. Now, don't you move that stake one inch one way or the other. You just throw the well right there. And they did. And the water, the landowner had beautiful, wonderful, crystal-clear water applanted for his property. And it was an honor and glory to the God of heaven that His power is greater than the power of the devil, and that water which is of the devil. And those brothers were convinced. And so am I. So am I. My mother needed a well. My mother needed a well. And my older brother and I, and my mother, she said, we need a well. And we sat together, and I sort of said, do we all believe that God can show us where the water is? And yes, we all agree. And so can we unite our hearts together in prayer in Christ, trusting the Lord? Where is your faith? And we did. We prayed and we begged God to show us where the well should be. And I told my brother, I said, now you grab a stake and you go put the stake. And he said, no, you do. I said, okay. All right, Lord. I'll do it. And so I grabbed the stake, and I walked out on the property, and I was doing the same thing that I heard the testimony of those brothers. And I give all honor and glory here. I said, God, where should the well be? Where's the water? God, you know where it's at. Where's your faith? God said, right here. So I put the stake there, and I told that well driller, don't you move that stake one inch one way or another. You put your bit right there. And he put the bit down, and he drilled. A few days later, and guess what he said? A beautiful, crystal clear water, aplenty. He told my mother, he said, who did you have come in here to tell you where to drill this well? He hasn't seen water this pure, this clear, and this much for a long, long time. Hallelujah. Folks, water witching. You dabble in that thing. You dabble in the cult. A hook. A hook. Maybe you can consult a familiar spirit. And that's what the Bible calls dowsing, water witching, all that stuff, consulting a familiar spirit or divination. And I need to move on. Maybe it's triangles. Maybe it's black boxes. Maybe it's G-machine. All of those are a crutch that the devil uses, maybe for prosperity of crops and maybe for good health. In other countries, and even here, there's spirit guides where you look to a certain spirit to give direction. And all of them, the fetish they call them in the other countries, maybe you have went to a charmer. One that charms people by hypnosis and yoga and on and on I could go. You know, Paul told Timothy, don't lay hands on any man suddenly because of the transmission of power. You know, when we went to Indonesia, those Muslim men that would give haircuts, and I'm not going to say there's a devil in every corner and a devil in every man. That's not my heart here tonight. I know this is pretty general. But we trust the Lord to make the application. But you know, those Indonesian Muslim men would give haircuts. And then they would give a massage. And I told the man, I said, brethren, those men are not going to massage me. No way. Who knows what for familiar spirit they may have. Who knows what for demonic powers those Islamic men may have. And while they're giving you a massage, they're laying hands on you. And all the while, you don't know it, but there's a demon getting a hook in your life. But I'm not suggesting that we can not be clear in Christ. But let's not dabble in it. Let's not open ourselves up to it. And you know, I boldly said, I will not... You know, I got laughed at. I got laughed at. I got mocked. Oh, come on, brother. You think there's a devil in every bush? Don't you believe the blood of Jesus can cover you? Well, yeah, I do, but I don't believe in opening myself up. Paul told Timothy, don't lay hands suddenly on any man. You don't know what you're laying hands on. And you don't know who's laying hands on you. And you don't know what he's casting and what power may be coming upon you from the occult. Whenever there's no scientific proof you have entered into the spirit world and marked it down, it's of the old devil, it's evil spirits. But if there's no scientific proof, you say, well, it works! It works! I know it works. I know it works. I've seen it work. I've seen it work on the farm. Many years ago, my dad, innocency, didn't realize, didn't understand, got a water witcher in, and that old hickory stick was... He's walking all over the place. That old hickory stick went this way and went that way. And I remember my older brother was standing there. He said, and I was just a little fellow, maybe about 12, 13 years old, and I was watching this, and there was something stirred in me. What is going on here? And his old stick was going up and down. And I wasn't born again. I wasn't converted. I was lost, and I was without Christ and without hope. But he finally told my brother, who was standing over there, he said, get out of the way! You're stopping the power! And I looked at my brother. What is going on here? You know, my spirit didn't bear witness with that thing, even though I wasn't converted. I thought, there's something strange going on here. Something funny going on here. Yeah! It works! Spiritual powers. Demons. Devils. And they were at work. And you know what? Then this old witch doctor said, do you want to try it? And my older brother said, yeah, he wants to try it. And so, he took the stick and he took that thing and he walked right where the water was supposed to be. And you know what? Nothing happened. That old stick was just an old hickory stick. There was no power there whatsoever. All the man said, he said, you don't have the power! And again I thought, what is this about? And he put his hand on my brother. Transmission of power. And whoop! Immediately, that old stick started to go like this. Right where the water was. By the way, a lot of these names that I got here this evening, I got from my brother. He goes around from church to church preaching against occultic practice. He renounced that thing later in life and he bled, pled the blood of Jesus upon his life. But the transmission of power from the witch doctor upon him, that needed to be renounced. And he did. Praise God! But it works! We drilled a well and it was exactly like he said. But guess what? We as a family renounced the demonic influence of that well later on too. We wanted nothing to do with the powers of darkness than the powers of the devil. Well, we must move on. I think you got the idea. Enough of cursing the darkness. Let's look at this man's marvelous acknowledgement. We want to move into the light. How this man gets set free. Note, I'm in verse 28. I'm back in Luke chapter 8. Verse 28. As Jesus comes into His presence, we see this condition. And he saw Jesus. He cried out. He fell down before Him. And with a loud voice, notice, he fell down before Him. Interesting. Now remember, this man has at least 6,000 devils in him. But watch this man. He falls down before Him and he cried out with a loud voice, said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God Most High? Notice his acknowledgement. Notice his confession. Even with those devils in him, he confesses that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Most High. A marvelous acknowledgement. Now, I want you to understand this. Here is an unconverted man, possessed with many devils, and he's willingly able to acknowledge who Jesus Christ is. The Son of God Most High. Think about it. Was that the devils or was that him? Anyhow, it's an honest confession. He confesses with all them devils in him and he's down before the Lord Jesus and he makes a marvelous acknowledgment. And he says, Thou Son of God, Jesus, Thou Son of God Most High. Note the way he comes to Christ. He falls down before Jesus. And we already mentioned the other evening about the sinner woman, how she came. He acknowledged his great need. See how he knew that Jesus Christ, it seems he knew, that Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. And he falls down and he acknowledges Christ, the Son of God Most High. There's acknowledgement there of faith, I'd like to suggest to you, of who Christ is. Is there not? This man could not change himself and he knew it. And this is why he fell before Christ. There was a great desire to be free. He wanted to be free of those powers of the devil. Look at the verse. The next thing I see in verse 28 is that he says, What have I to do with thee? Now I want you to understand this too. When this man, possessed with all them devils, came into the presence of the Prince of Peace with his love and his mercy and his grace and his goodness and all those divine graces which were the Lord Jesus' portion, when he came into the presence of them, all he could say is, What have I to do with thee? Don't you sense that maybe there is a request of need there? What have I to do with thee? Maybe there was desire there. He realized his debauchery and his lostness and his unconverted state and under the powers of the devil. And he realized who the Lord Jesus was the Prince of Peace. And he said, What have I to do with thee? Where's your faith? Where's my faith? What have I to do with thee? I feel like as I ponder this and meditate on this, you sense a humble plea for help that what the Lord Jesus has in forgiveness and remission of sin and that He could be set free from the shackles and the captivity and the bondage that He's in. What have I to do with thee? He's almost like maybe there's a sense of humility there. As he realizes his lostness and his condition of sin and filled with devils. We have a marvelous acknowledgement. And it seems to me that there's a bit of a plea of help here, for help, from a man who has fallen down at the feet of Jesus. Somewhere, someplace, dearly beloved, in this text, God honors this man's heart. Now, I don't know where it's all at. But I believe that there's a plea of help here. And I believe the man is on his face at the feet of Jesus. And all them devils are right there in him. But look at this man's posture. And somewhere in his heart, Jesus looked right past them devils and seen his need and met it. I believe that there was an acknowledgement of some sort here. And I don't know that I have it all figured out. But God met this man. Jesus met this man right where he was at with 6,000 devils in him, if you would. Now consider this text a bit further. Under the total control of those legions of devils, they could not stop him. And oh, this gets exciting. This is the good news. They could not stop him from getting to the feet of Jesus, falling down, and making a marvelous confession. What have I to do with thee, thou Son of God Most High? They couldn't stop him. You may be here this evening. And you may have dabbled into the occult. And there may be a hook in your life where Satan is holding you back. But listen, just as this man, them devils, and this man had a possession, more than likely, you're looking at an oppression because of where you've been. Maybe it's a possession. Those devils couldn't stop him. I tell you what, he could get off his seat tonight if you've been there and there's an occultic hook in your life that you've been involved in these things. Maybe your parents. Maybe your grandpa. Maybe your grandma. You've never renounced it. You've never came to the feet of Jesus and confessed it and repented of it and renounced it and turned away from it. Them devils can't stop you. They can't stop you! Oh, that gets me excited. The power of Christ is greater than 6,000 devils. And I don't think I'm speaking to people that have 6,000 devils. I really don't believe that. But you may have an occultic oppression because of where you've been and where you've done that. Where you've done and where you've been and what you've been involved in. And it seems those devils, they knew who Jesus was. It seems them too here that I need to bring this in. Consider this. How did them devils know who Jesus was? You know, the devils, they know who Jesus is. The Bible tells us that they even have faith and they tremble. They know who Jesus is. They also knew. And so they say, here I beseech thee, torment me not. And I know it's in the same sentence. And I don't profess to have it clear. I'll figure it out. Maybe you do. But they said, I beseech thee, torment me not. But let me ask you a question. Does Jesus torment people? Does He? No. No, no, no. Jesus is not a tormenter. He's a forgiver. He'll give you peace. He'll give you rest. He'll give you rest for your weary soul. But them old devils, when they came into the presence of Jesus, they're tormented. They know who He is. Torment me not. And you know, tonight, if there's an oppression or a darkness or a demon in your life, right now, He's tormenting you because you're being lifted into the presence by faith of Jesus Christ and He can set you free. And old devils are tormented. And you may be sitting here and you have an occultic hook and right now you're troubled. Where's your faith? Jesus can set you free. Just as He did this man. Even them evil spirits, they knew who Jesus was. And we need to renounce and forsake. There's something else I want you to see. In verse 28 as well. The old devil in this man said, I beseech thee, torment me not. I already mentioned that. The presence of Christ is always a torment to the powers of darkness. And you know, in the same account, in Matthew, it says, they said, are you going to torment us before the time? That's in Matthew 8.29. Are you going to torment us before the time? What are they talking about? That's in Matthew 28.29. Matthew 8.29. Those devils did not want the Lord Jesus to torment them before the time. What time? And here it just says, I beseech thee, torment me not. Listen, there's them old devils, they know. Them evil spirits, them foul spirits, they know that there is a time coming when they're going to be cast into that bottomless pit and a great chain is going to be in his hand and he's going to hold on to the dragon. He's going to lay hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, bind him up for a thousand years and cast him into the bottomless pit. Them old devils, they know that. And they fear that. And right here, them old devils that were in this man, they're saying, are you going to torment us before the time? You know, I would to God that we as God's people would fear the bottomless pit as the devils do. They were afraid here that the Lord Jesus Christ was going to command them to go to the bottomless pit before the time. And so they say unto him, are you going to torment us before the time? And I got those verses out of Revelation chapter 20. Every demon and every spirit will be cast into the bottomless pit of torment. And here in these texts, these devils are trembling for they know that the day, that day is coming. And they're trembling that the Lord Jesus will torment them this day and send them to that bottomless pit before the time that judgment comes as pronounced in the book of Revelation. They don't want to go there. They fear. Oh, I would to God that people in this county would have that kind of fear of the works of darkness and the works of the devil just like the demons do. They didn't want to go there. Oh, those that dabble in the occult and practice would fear the deep as these devils do. Repent of it. Renounce of it. Turn away from it. Confess faith in Jesus Christ. And turn away from those deeds of darkness. You know what staggers me? There are men today that are more interested in escaping the Gospel than they are in escaping the wrath of God in hell. Multitudes of men and women would rather escape the Gospel. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus. The Gospel that can change you, transform you, and empower you to be a servant for Him. The Gospel that can give you peace. The Gospel that can give you new life. The Gospel that can give you the hope of eternal life. Hallelujah! But they want to escape. Folks, Christ never came to trouble any man. Christ came into this world for one purpose, to seek and save the lost. He loves you. He loves me. And He wants to set you free here tonight. I've got to move on. Christ's power over the devil. Verse 33 on. Notice that the devils could not stop Him. Christ's power prevails over those devils. And there they besought Him that He would command them to go out into the deep. And there was there a herd of swine, many swine, feeding on the mountain. And they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them. And He suffered them. Now, don't you ever get an idea that the Lord Jesus Christ compromised with the devils here. The only reason that Jesus did not send those devils to the deep and the bottomless pit because it was not yet their time, but their time is coming. Jesus never compromises with the devil. And He allowed them to go into the swine because it was not yet their time. And those devils, those 6,000 of them, or however many it was, they came out of the man and they went into those swine and they ran down over the pit and they went into the devils and the man entered into the swine. Verse 33. And the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked. And when they that fed them saw what was done, they fled and they ran into the city and into the country. And then they went to see what was done and came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed in His right mind. And they were afraid. It's time to light a candle, isn't it? Folks, this man is set free. Them old devils, God honored the desire of his heart and I don't have it all figured out, but God honored the desire of his heart and here this man sits. He sits at the feet of Jesus. The rest that our brother Mel spoke about here this evening is his portion. He's free! Freedom from the works of the devil! Freedom from the bondage of the devil! Listen tonight, my sinner friend or whoever you are, if you dabble in the occult and there's a hook in your life, you've never renounced it. You never went to the feet of Jesus and renounced that thing in the name and the blood of Christ. You can be set free tonight. And if you have one of those things in your heart and in your life, right now you're troubled. You're not free. Your heart's in turmoil. I encourage you to come to the altar and renounce that thing. Repent of that thing. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus to forgive you of that thing, whether it was your grandpa, your grandma, somewhere in an ancestral sin that has come down through that you know about. Get your heart clear. Just as Jesus Christ set this man free, you can go home tonight free in Christ. When we know the truth, the truth will set us free. And whom the Son sets free is this man is free indeed. Is he not sitting at the feet of Jesus? Let's just consider real quickly. Number one, I'd like you to consider his rest. He's at the feet of Jesus. This same man that was running to and fro amongst the tombs, sitting peaceably at the feet of Jesus. Not doing his body any harm. No nuisance to society. No devils in him anymore. They're all gone. And here he is, gloriously transformed. A great change at the gatherings! And all I would to God tonight, if you've got occultic hooks, and you've got occultic oppression, and maybe even occultic possession in you here tonight, there'd be a great change at Whitehorse! And you could sit at the feet of Jesus, free, resting in Christ. A great change by the power of Christ. And he could do the same for you. But here's another one. Not just his rest. Look at his reason. He's in his sound mind. He's in his sound mind. He's no longer not troubled. He's sitting at the feet of Jesus in his right mind. Just moments before, he was in the bonds of the old devil, arguing with Christ because of the devils. Now he's in his right mind. Peace! Rest! It could be your portion as well. Freedom from the bondage of the devil. Here's another one. This man's raiment. He's closed. This man of foretime with no clothes lived among the dead. Now he's properly closed and sitting at the feet of Jesus. You know what? You don't know how to dress yourself until you're sitting at the feet of Jesus. Did you get that? We don't know how to dress ourselves until we are converted and born again. That it pleases Him. There he is. He's properly closed, sitting at the feet of Jesus. Just before time, he was naked. What a great change! Free from the bonds of the devil. A miraculous release from the power of the devil. Miraculous restoration. And he's in his right mind with a miraculous redemption. Saved from the works of the devil. Hallelujah, Lord! Do it again! But there's another one. Look at this man's return. Verse 39, Return! Here the Lord Jesus is ready to move on now and he wants to just be with Jesus. Hallelujah! Just wants to be with Jesus. Just wants to be in His presence. Listen, when you get your heart clear and you get all the sin and the cultic bondages out of your life, you just want to be at the feet of Jesus. Just be at the feet of Jesus. Oh, he just wanted to worship Him and praise Him and be with Him. Verse 38, Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that He might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away saying, Return to thine own house. Show how great things God has done unto thee. Yes. No. Go back to your house. Go back to your family. Go back to your friends. Go back to your neighbors. And tell them what great things God has done for thee. Look what he does. And he went his way and he published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. There's your empowered to be a witness. There it is. He didn't just go back to his house. He couldn't shut up. He couldn't slow up. He couldn't back up. He went through, what does it say, the whole city and he told the people the great things that Jesus had done unto him. Hallelujah. Folks, are you free tonight? Are you free from the bondage of the devil? Do you have a hook in your life? An occultic hook? Right now you're struggling. I just encourage you. Just as Jesus set this man free, He can set you free. Come and renounce that thing. Drive a spiritual stake. And then again, I would encourage you to put a stake in your Bible. The stake when we renounce that thing is not in this Bible. It's one of my older Bibles. Drive a stake. Where you renounce that thing. Repented of that thing. Broke that chain of three and four generations where the iniquity of our fathers can come down through. And you know what? Many of us, our fathers were involved in that thing. Probably most of us. Won't you come and break that chain so that you can pass on the blessing to your children? Just as it said there in Exodus chapter 20. You don't want to pass on the curse. You want to pass on the blessing. He'll show mercy unto thousands. To those that love Him. Where's your faith tonight? Where's your faith? It's your faith in Jesus Christ that He can set you free as He did this man. He can set you free from the hook. He can set you free from oppression of the occultic involvement. He can set you free from possession as this man was six thousand. It doesn't matter! You come to Christ and break your heart. You repent. You renounce. You call upon the name of the Lord. He'll set you free. That you can go and be a witness in your home and your community. Hallelujah. Where's your faith tonight? Where's your faith? Where's mine? Set free from the bonds of the devil. You can be set free too. Let's stand. God our Father, we thank You for this portion of Scripture. Hallelujah. Where there was a man who was in the bonds of the devil. In the bondage of the devil. In the captivity and the shackles of the devil. And Lord, we don't understand how it all happened. But we know it happened. Hallelujah. And Lord, I believe tonight You're speaking to our hearts. Where's our faith? Is it in Jesus Christ and Him alone? And Lord, I pray that if there's these kinds of things in our past and in our parents and foreparents and even in our own lives that we chose, maybe in innocency and in ignorance, we didn't know. But here we are tonight and we've been reminded, Lord, that You want to set us free. I pray that You would set free those that need to come. Woo them out. Draw them out. Oh, what a wonderful, loving Savior. It's Jesus Christ our Lord who can set us free from the works of the devil. Thank You, Lord, for the Scripture that tells us that You came to destroy the works of the devil. Thank You that Colossians tells us that those principalities and powers were nailed to the cross. And Lord, You made a show of them openly. They're defeated tonight. We can be set free in the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. Father, I pray You would set free those that are yet in the bonds and the shackles of an oppression of the devil. Set them free here tonight. Just give them faith, Lord. Give them faith to rise from their seat and come, Lord. Realizing, Lord, when we come and we fall down and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is King of kings, Lord of lords, coming soon. And Lord, acknowledge Him as our Savior. Our Lord. Our God. And we put our faith in Him. Lord, and repent. Turn away. And Lord, call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. You will save us and set us free. I pray You would do it. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. What would our song be, brother? 91. What is that song? Only trust. You just come quickly here tonight. I'm not going to carry long. Come quickly. If you need to do business with God, if you need to renounce something in your past so that you can be free, come and drive a stake. In the name of the blood of Jesus He'll set you free just as He did this man. Shall we sing? Come, every soul by sin oppressor's mercy with the Lord and He will surely give you rest by singing His word. Only trust Him. Only trust Him. Only trust Him now. He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now. Remember, my brother, my sister, my friend, then devils couldn't stop that man. Then devils couldn't stop that man from getting to the feet of Jesus and confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Most High. If you're holding back here tonight, don't you forget it. He's just going to keep leading you further and further away from the feet of Jesus. And I don't want to use scare tactics. The devils could not stop that man. If you choose not to come, you are just giving that devil more of a hook in your life to take you deeper and further away from God. Why don't you just renounce that old devil and say, like these brothers and sisters did, that man there at the Gadarenes, he could come. And if he can come, I can come. Old devil, I'm done with you! I'm going to get to the foot of the cross and I'm going to renounce this thing and I'm going to be done with you because Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. And you're going to be destroyed. Not arrogantly, but in faith in Jesus Christ. Where's your faith tonight? Shall we sing? For Jesus shed His precious blood Rich blessings to bestow Plunge now into the crimson flood And wash us white as snow Amen. Only trust Him. Only trust Him. Trust Jesus tonight for your needs. Only trust Him. Only trust Him now. He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now. Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way that leads you into rest. Believe in Him without delay and you are fully blessed. He will save you now. Amen. God bless each one of you who responded. Because of the nature of the message, I think what I'll get you to do is why don't we have the brethren go to the right side here. I'd just like to have a few counselors ask some questions. And sisters, can you move to the left here? Just to make sure that everything is clear and free in this area of occultic practices. Brethren to the right here. Sisters to the left. Sadie, did you want some sisters off to the left here? Thank you, Brother Raymond. God bless you, brother, for sharing that message. May many be set free as they hear it on the conference line. There's many of our community involved and steeped in these practices. Just like we heard our brother and sister Eli and Linda Viler the other evening.