Phil Beach Jr. emphasizes the urgent need to cast out witchcraft from the church, identifying it as a work of the flesh that leads to disobedience to God's truth. He explains that witchcraft, often overlooked in sermons, manifests in subtle ways within believers, causing them to stray from the truth. The preacher highlights the importance of being led by the Spirit to overcome the desires of the flesh and warns against hypocrisy, which allows witchcraft to thrive. He encourages believers to acknowledge their potential for witchcraft and to seek the Holy Spirit's power to live in obedience to God's Word. Ultimately, Beach calls for a return to a deep relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit to combat the deceptive nature of witchcraft.

To Galatians chapter 5, we're going to, by the grace of God this morning, bring to an end the message that I began last Sunday. Last Sunday's message was entitled, Exposing Witchcraft in the Church, and this Sunday I would like to continue a little bit along the lines of exposing witchcraft in the church, but this will be entitled, Casting Out Witchcraft in the Church. Let's begin in Galatians chapter 5. Part of the foundation that we laid last week was that we saw witchcraft was one of the works of the flesh. As we will read in Galatians chapter 5, beginning in verse number 16, this I say then, walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth, or another translation would be desires, against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one to another, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Verse 17 is simply saying that the flesh has desires that are contrary to the spirit, and the spirit has desires that are contrary to the flesh. If you are to fulfill the will of God, you cannot walk and be led by the desires of the flesh, and likewise, if you want to overcome and conquer the desires of the flesh, you must be led by the spirit. In Romans chapter 8, I just want to read this in passing, verse number 13, for if ye live after the flesh you shall die, but if through the spirit, but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. Another translation is, if you live after the flesh you shall die, but if you through the spirit, you make to die the deeds of the body, you shall live. It's interesting to note that it is through the spirit that we are able to put to death the deeds, the works of the flesh. It's through the spirit, and that's important for us to remember. Now, going back to Galatians, we want to read as a foundation before we go into this second message. Galatians chapter 5, verse number 18, but if ye are led of the spirit, you are not under the law. For the works of the flesh are manifest, or revealed, or known, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, and there we find witchcraft or sorcery. I have found that oftentimes witchcraft and sorcery are used interchangeably in the New Testament. Now, let's just read on for the sake of familiarizing ourselves with the works of the flesh. Following witchcraft is hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, and such like. So it's obvious that this list itself is not exhaustive, because Paul then says at the end, and everything else like this. So you could probably think of a work of the flesh that's not specifically mentioned here, that is part of the flesh. Of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do repeated and continuous action, is what the word do there means. Those who are repeatedly, continuously, non-stop engaging in these things, it says, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, the subject that we're dealing with is witchcraft or sorcery, and therefore we're going to take the word witchcraft here, which is found in Galatians 5.20, and as we did last week, we're going to make it very clear, according to the Scripture, that witchcraft is an inherent sin within the flesh, just as envy is, or jealousy, or drunkenness, or adultery, or fornication, or division. Now, you and I have heard many, many sermons, messages on the need to beware of hatred, have we not? The need to beware of jealousy. The need to beware of adultery, fornication, uncleanness. But very seldomly, matter of fact, I can never remember a time in my Christian life when I ever heard a preacher warn me of the work of witchcraft that potentially could manifest itself in my flesh if I walk after the flesh and don't heed the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Let me ask a question, and you can answer it by way of raising your hand. Who here has ever heard a message on the works of the flesh where witchcraft was particularly focused in on and you were warned against it? One good message that you remember, besides last week. David Wilkerson, apparently, has preached a message on this. But, all right, now let me say, rather, who has heard a message on the works of the flesh where the subject of fornication, or adultery, or immorality was every hand goes up? Well, what about the warning of being jealous, or envious? Most of us have heard messages on that. So, immediately, we need to be alarmed that there is a particular work inherent within the flesh that can, if we are not careful, become productive in us and could bring havoc into our lives and into the lives of those that we come in contact with. So, let's begin by a very poignant question, a very clear question. What is witchcraft? Last week we saw the setting in Acts chapter 8 where Simeon was engaged in sorcery and witchcraft, and then he entered into the church, at least outwardly. He got baptized and he became numbered among the believers, and we saw the circumstances surrounding his life, and we saw certain characteristics that he possessed, which are characteristics of witchcraft. We won't go into that now. Get the tape if you want to listen to him. But specifically, I want to define witchcraft. Again, the word witchcraft is interchanged with sorcery. Now, again, if I was defining hatred, everybody would say, wow, this is something that I need to be careful of, particularly if I defined circumstances where hatred would easily be yielded to, such as somebody bitterly betrays you. You can become hateful if someone bitterly betrays you. You can become hateful if somebody dreadfully hurts or even murders somebody that you love. Imagine one of your children driving in a car with your neighbor, and lo and behold, you get a phone call from a state trooper. I have dreadful news. I must come and visit you, and the trooper comes, and lo and behold, he brings you the terrifying news that on the way to the store, the vehicle that your young child was in was struck by a drunken driver, and I'm sorry to have to tell you, ma'am, but your child was killed instantly. Think of it. Think. And they brought you to the police station, and they brought you to a room where you looked through a window, and they couldn't see you, but you could see them, and there you saw a man, drunk, the murderer of your child. Now, I don't think the immediate response would be an overwhelming love for that person. Do you? Do you think you'd want to go in and shake their hand and give them a hug and a kiss on the cheek and say, please to meet you? I couldn't wait the moment the trooper told me that you murdered my child. I couldn't wait to meet you. Would you like anything? There's some cold soda in the other room. No, your immediate tendency after the flesh would be anger, and anger breeds murder, and murder and hatred are one. If you hate someone in your heart, you're a murderer. That's what the Bible says. Hatred is equivalent to the outward act of murder. Hatred is inward murder. So therefore, if I painted those circumstances, you would immediately say, oh God, keep me from the temptation to be a hater or to be a murderer. You would immediately recognize the tendency within yourself to fall prey to that sin and most all these other works of the flesh. Idolatry. My idolatry. We must beware lest we actually fall into the sin of idolatry. Anything you possess that possesses you has become a form of idolatry. Anything that has become more important to you than God's will and loving God, it's a form of idolatry. Even good things can become idolatrous. God was so concerned about idolatry that he asked Abraham to offer up his son Isaac, the very promised child. Why? So that Abraham would not in his heart inordinately look to Isaac. Okay, understand what I'm getting at. How many of us are going to listen to this message and say, oh God, within me is the potential to fall prey to witchcraft and sorcery? Let me tell you, beloved, just like you don't need to go to a house of ill repute to fall into the sin of adultery, likewise you don't have to go to a satanic church to fall prey to witchcraft or sorcery. You don't have to go. You don't have to seek it out. It's seeking you out. So please do not, do not equate this teaching and this message as something not applicable to you. Be not deceived. Witchcraft. What is it? The word witchcraft actually means—listen carefully—a spell-giving potion. A spell-giving potion. Witchcraft is the power operating in the world and the power that is latent within sinful flesh to cast a spell upon you. Now, it's very important that we understand the nature of this spell, because the nature of the spell will be the all-identifying feature that you can use to determine whether or not you are currently engaging in sorcery or witchcraft. I want to invite you to turn your Bibles to Galatians. You're already there. Chapter 3. Listen closely, because this is a word from the Lord. Something that will aid us if we listen. The word sorcery and witchcraft means a spell-giving potion. So therefore, putting together the Scriptures, putting together the Old Testament Scriptures, the New Testament Scriptures, praying, I have come up with this definition. Now, a spell-giving potion is not my definition. That's literally what the word sorcery and witchcraft means. But putting it all together, I have come up with the power either working in the world through the spirit of witchcraft or the latent power within your flesh to cast a spell upon you or others. The nature of this spell. Galatians chapter 3, verse number 1. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? Who has cast a spell upon you? Listen. Who has possessed you with witchcraft? Say it any way you want. The spirit of this text is saying, O you foolish Galatians, you have been seduced by sorcery. You have been seduced by witchcraft. You have been seduced by magic. You have been deceived. Notice the nature of the deception. That ye should not obey the truth, period. You are under the powers of witchcraft any time you become deceived into not obeying the truth, period. Therefore, witchcraft is any kind of power which exerts itself over you, resulting in any form of disobedience to the truth. Simple, isn't it? It's not profound. It's not an earth-shaking, mysterious, secret revelation. It is simply the word of God. The bewitching effects that were upon the Galatians were simply resulting in them not obeying the truth. Just as there is the latent potential sin of uncleanness within the human heart, fornication or adultery, inordinate physical pleasure, just as if we are not washing ourselves in the word of God, washing ourselves in the truth, washing ourselves in the presence of God, we could be inclined toward the desire for that which doesn't belong to us. Whenever there is a rumbling within you, whenever there is a stirring within you, whether it's in the depths of your soul or you feel it physically on your body or you have it in your mind, I don't care where it is, if you have a feeling, a desire, a compulsion to do something that will result in not obeying the truth, you are under the power of witchcraft. It is simple. It is true. It is the word of God, and it is obviously clear that being aware of this proclivity, this tendency within our very flesh, is not something that the church is privy of. They're not aware of it. They're not aware. We write it off. We write it off, but every time there is a movement within us, a desire within us to do something that's contrary to the truth, to do something that will lead us not to obey the truth, we are wrestling with the very powers of witchcraft that are resident within the crooked, sinful nature and flesh. Revelation chapter 18. Turn your Bibles there, please. I want to show you that, as I mentioned earlier, Revelation chapter 18, as I mentioned earlier, sorcery and witchcraft is the ultimate cause of deception. I'll show you right here in the Bible. Revelation chapter 18, beginning in verse number 23. This is a long discourse here of the judgment that's coming upon Babylon. Verse 23, And the light of the candle shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. So it is the power of witchcraft working with this evil system of the world, which not only includes the secular world, but it includes the religious world. The power that is working within the religious slash secular world that God's word calls sorcery is that power that is exerting itself upon us, tempting us, pushing us, enticing us to disobey the truth in any form or fashion. Now, in light of this, if I just defined hatred and then asked the question, now in light of the definition of hatred, how many have found this dreadful sin lurking within your own spirit or your own flesh where you've had to make a conscious effort to resist it or it might ensnare you? Most of us would say, oh yes. Or what about some form of uncleanness? Oh yes, my God. Well now, what about witchcraft? It's there, isn't it? It's there. The tendency, the proclivity, the inclination that comes upon me or comes within me, the power to do something, and the ultimate effect is to turn me away from the truth and to turn others from the truth. Now, the spirit of witchcraft has a huge spectrum that it works in. It can be seen in many different ways. It is certainly working within groups that claim to be Satanists, but what's the ultimate intention? What are these people engaging in? A power that is turning them from the truth. So whether you are confronting it within the ranks of Satanism or within the ranks of those who claim to be witches and warlocks, or the other spectrum, whether you are seeing it and confronting it right within the church itself, what is the ultimate sign or the ultimate effect of witchcraft or sorcery within the church today? Turning from the truth. It is a lot more subtle in the church because we retain the outward system. We retain the outward form. We retain the songs. We even got the word in our head. We preach the word. But see, I was reminded this morning of the words of Jesus to his disciples when he got into the ship and went somewhere. It says they forgot bread. And Jesus said, Beware of the leaven of the scribes and the Pharisees. And they thought he was talking about their bread because they had forgotten bread. But Jesus wasn't. He then qualified it by saying that he was referring to the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Now he said that their teaching was a leaven, and he said, Beware of it. Now if you read through the words that Jesus spoke to Pharisees and Sadducees, you'll find that the outstanding characteristic was hypocrisy. They were hypocrites. Hypocrisy. And the spirit, listen, the spirit of witchcraft in the church thrives on hypocrisy. Only in the church can you profess to know the truth, but then in your actions deny it. In the world, you don't profess. In a coven, or in a witch coven, or in a Satanist church, they don't claim the truth. They don't claim light. They don't claim the knowledge of the true and living God. You don't really need too much hypocrisy. So the danger of this work of the flesh witchcraft, particularly to the church, is that this can be working in our lives when at the same time, outwardly, we look good. And the only way to safeguard against this tendency is to pray God, through his word, will cut and destroy and deal with every form of hypocrisy in our life. Because witchcraft can't function when we refuse hypocrisy. Because of power, the power of witchcraft can't move me to go against the truth if I acknowledge my sin. I acknowledge my failure. I acknowledge, and I come to God and beg him to change me. The ultimate intention of witchcraft and sorcery is deception. The Galatians have become deceived. They fail to obey the truth. The attack in the church today by the enemy is to stir up that crooked part of the sinful nature which desires — listen — which desires untruthfulness. That's witchcraft. The part of us that desires deceit, the part of our flesh, just like there's a part of our flesh if given the opportunity, will run at hatred, will run at jealousy, will run at idolatry, will run at uncleanness, will indulge itself in it. That's the part of us that we want to disown. That's the part of us that we don't want anything to do with. That's the part of us that, according to God's work, we've been severed from, we've been divorced from. And so likewise, there's a part of that body of sin that Paul said no good thing dwells in that wants, that has power, and when the two come together, the want and the power, it leads us to disobey the truth. So, I believe that it would be worth our contemplation, our meditation, and our prayer into these things. That we might, by the Word of God, and by the Holy Spirit, and by much prayer, pray that God will deliver us from these things. Very quickly, we have already dealt with this a number of times. The power to cast witchcraft out of the church lies in our continuous affirmation, continuously acknowledging our relationship to the works of the flesh now that we're Christians. Our relationship to the works of the flesh now that we are Christians. We must affirm and agree with the Word of God, Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ. All that I am in the flesh, or after the flesh, all the desires of my flesh, sinful, the sinful desires, I am no longer related to them. I am no longer connected to them. I am no longer in union with them. Though they live in my flesh, I have been divorced from them. I am now united to Christ. This is the revelation of being a new creation in Christ Jesus. All things have passed away. All that I was as a sinful person, I am no longer related to. I am now, listen, united to the sinless one. We need so much revelation on this simple truth. There is too much preoccupation within the body of Christ on me and myself, and I. Instead, our preoccupation should be on the Lord. I am united to the sinless one. I believe there's so much struggle over sin in the church today because we haven't seen the sinless one. We are yet to identify with what we are after the flesh, and we're not seeing what we are in Christ without sin. Holy, blameless, connected to the one who says, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. And if he overcame the world and we're connected to him, then we have the power in him to overcome. If you abide in him, you will not sin, the word says. It's there, isn't it? He's the sinless one. I am connected to him. I've been divorced from my sin. I do not claim to be without sin as long as I carry about the body of sin, but I do claim to be free from its dominion as long as I live by the power of Christ. Luke chapter 9, I won't read it. You can write it down. Verses 18 through 24 are the words of Jesus affirming the need for every disciple to deny, disown himself, disown the sinful desires, disassociate himself with them. Get to the point where we say, I don't know this sinful flesh anymore because I've come to know the sinless one. I'm not interested in fulfilling the flesh anymore because I'm not interested in fulfilling the will of God. I'm not interested in walking in the dregs of sinful nature. I'm too interested in walking in the heights of divine nature. Why are we so conscious of what we are as sinful when we could be so preoccupied with the sinless one and being made like him? Oh, we need heaven to come down and to deliver us from earthliness. So the power to cast witchcraft out of the church, number one, lies in, first of all, the truth of God has got to expose it. We've got to see our personal responsibility to acknowledge that given an opportunity, I have the very nature and tendencies of witchcraft latent within my sinful flesh. The first step in being freed from deception is acknowledging the possibility that you're deceived. As long as you are persuaded you're not deceived, I don't care what is said, you're not going to be free because you basically say, it doesn't apply to me, doesn't apply to me, doesn't apply to me, doesn't apply to me, applies to this one, applies to that one. So number one, acknowledge the possibility when given the right opportunity, you can engage in witchcraft. Number two, after you acknowledge the possibility, then you lay hold of the truth of God's Word, the truth of God's Word regarding the flesh, the truth of God's Word regarding the fact that as a new creation in Christ, you've been united to Christ and that you can draw from Him the truth that God's Word, as you feed upon it and live upon it, will nourish your spirit and strengthen you in spirit. Casting witchcraft out of the church has to begin by casting it and its influence out of our lives, out of our homes. Has God shined light into your heart, showing you the tendency of this dreadful sin in your own life? What will you do? Now remember, listen, remember, the ultimate effect of witchcraft is who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth. Let me give you an example in Acts chapter 19 of the effect of the Holy Spirit. You know whenever you're under the power of witchcraft, truth is not what you're after. You know whenever you're under the power of witchcraft, obedience to God's Word is not what you're after. Whenever you're under the power of sorcery, pleasing God by obedience is not the end in your mind. But now, reading in Acts chapter 19, this is the effects of the Holy Spirit. And after this we're going to close. And that point will be entitled the final overthrow of witchcraft. We're going to show you right from the Word of God how witchcraft can totally be overthrown in your life. Acts chapter 19, 11 through 20. I'm going to simply read verse number 11. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. So here God is bringing to light the ministry of the Holy Spirit through this man called Paul. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is always a ministry of power by God to overthrow the works of the devil. And now let me tell you, beloved, too many times we talk about the works of the devil in some ambiguous way. Yeah, the works of the devil going on in the bar, or going on in the adult bookshop, or going on at the horse racing center. What do you call that? At the racetrack. But what about the works of the devil in our own life? What about the bottom line? Any power exerting itself in us to cause us to disobey God is a work of the devil. And until that work of the devil is overcome, there's no going forward. There's another message that the Lord is birthing into my spirit. I'm just going to mention it now. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, against the church. God's thought for the church is that she would be able to go right into the gates of hell, tear them down, and go right into hell, and snatch the spoil that Satan has taken for his own, and bring him to the kingdom of God. You're looking at a triumphant church there. You're looking at a New Testament church. Did the gates of hell stop Peter and Paul? Did the gates of hell stop the early church from exploding wherever they went? No. Right here is a picture. The Holy Ghost was moving through the apostle Paul, and now it says here in verse number 17, this is after the sons of Sceva tried to cast out a devil in the name of Paul, or in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches. But just listen to this. Where's that watch? What time is it? Okay, good. Listen to this. Verse 15. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus. And fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came and confessed, and showed their deeds. Beloved, one of the outstanding characteristics of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is not only do people believe, not only do people become Christians, but as we are engaging in a relationship with the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, our deeds are constantly being exposed. Contrary wise, when you get under the power of sorcery or witchcraft, you might be engaging in all kinds of religious activity, but your deeds are not being exposed. That's the difference. There's not a transparency in our life. Now listen to this. Many of them, verse 19, which used curious arts, that's another way of saying which used forms of sorcery and witchcraft, brought their books together and burned them before all men. And they counted the price of them and found it 50,000 pieces of silver. So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed. Here's the effects. You see, you compare the two. The effects of witchcraft. I don't care what you profess. See, we've got to get deeper than what we're saying. You could profess what you want, but if there is an inability, an unwillingness to bring your deeds to the light, and there is a consistent sense of doing what is not right, contrary to God's will, the powers of witchcraft are working in your life. Period. Comparatively speaking, when the power of the Holy Spirit is working, then the things in our life that are displeasing to God, actions and deeds, are being burned. There is an exposure of darkness. There is an exposure of what is not right. And ultimately, verse 20, the Word of God grows mightily and prevails. The effects of the Holy Spirit in your life is that the Word of God gets a bigger and bigger and bigger place in your life and prevails and prevails and overcomes sin and overcomes darkness and overcomes wickedness. People are not communing with the Holy Spirit of God in the church today because the Word of God, for the most part, is not prevailing. The Word of God is not really growing. The Word of God is not really getting a hold of our lives the way it should, and think it not coincidental. When you find yourself where it is, call it witchcraft and deal with it. Deal with it. The final overthrow of witchcraft in the church. The final overthrow of witchcraft in the church will occur when every individual believer, listen closely, when every individual believer will recognize and affirm the true characteristics of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Listen, witchcraft is just like any other deed of the flesh, and what does the Bible say in Romans? How do the deeds of the flesh, how are they overcome? By what? If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh or the deeds of the body, ye shall live. The only way witchcraft or any other work of the flesh is going to be overcome in our life is a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit of God sent from above to empower us to live a life of holiness and godliness in this perverse world. In Matthew chapter 16, write these down. I won't read them. Matthew 16 verses 13 through 19, Jesus asked the profound question, whom do men say that I am? The final overthrow of witchcraft in the church will come when we honestly reassess the question, who do you say I am? Who do you say Jesus is? Listen, listen, answer this question. Who do you say Jesus is? Peter, of course, made the profound response, thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and many of us, if not all of us here, have made that right. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that's good, and it's that revelation, the revelation of who Jesus is, that enables a person to come to be saved. But let me assure you that it is not good enough simply to have a revelation of who Jesus is, but you have got to have a continuous revelation by the work of the Holy Spirit revealing to your heart the unsearchable majesty and beauty of Jesus Christ. That's the only way you conquer the deeds of the flesh. It's not a one-time experience so much as it is a daily thing. Now, turn your Bibles to John 14 as we close. I want to show you from the Word the characteristics of the Holy Spirit walking in your life. I want to show you what the Holy Spirit will do. If you are under the power and influence of the Spirit of God on a daily basis, these things will be happening in your life. If you are not under the power of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis, I assure you by the authority of God's Word, the deeds of the flesh will be working in your life, and one of those deeds is witchcraft. John chapter 14 verse 15, If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. So therefore, one of the effects of the Spirit of God working in your life is your heart is constantly seeing truth. Truth. You love truth. You seek after truth. You want truth. You honor truth. You buy the truth and sell it not. Are you a truth lover? Are you a truth seeker? Do you want truth at any cost? I don't care what it costs. Truth is what you're after when the Holy Ghost is free to work in your life. Truth. I love truth. This is how we overcome witchcraft. This is the effects of the Spirit in our life, whom the world cannot receive. When you got the Holy Ghost, you've got something the world can't receive. The world can't relate to it. If there's not something in you that the world can't relate to, I then would question how much of God I'm giving a place in my life. There's too much the church has in common with the world. We're too much like them, and the Lord says, don't you know that to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God? The only way we are going to be free from this horrendous, hellish battle that is warring against us is to come back to God in humble repentance and pray, God, give me a measure of the Holy Spirit that I've not known before. I need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. I can't go on being so specific here because we can go for another two hours. So I'm just going to read it as hard as it is just to read this, because my every word is a seed. You break it open and there's a whole world, you see. But we're going to try. Because it's, see if him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. Now, John 15, 26, write these down, read them, study them through. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me. Another characteristic of the Holy Spirit working in our life. Listen. There is a constant revelation going on in our hearts of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall testify of me. The Holy Spirit fills the heart of the Spirit-filled believer with an ongoing revelation of his majesty, of his purity, of his holiness, of his righteousness, of his lack of duplicity, of the fact that he is light and in him is no darkness. The Holy Spirit constantly holds up before us the standard of God which is Christ, Christ Jesus. When you've got the Holy Spirit really flowing through you, listen to me, you don't enjoy filling your mind with junk. You're not interested in filling your mind with all the things of this world. If you've got the Holy Ghost in you, you want to see Jesus. And let me tell you something, you don't see Jesus by most of the garbage that's in the world or on the TV or on the radio. So people who are simply Christians that have fallen to the place where they delight and derive pleasure from engaging in that unprofitable activity of just moseying around like other people, being entertained by the same thing the world's entertained with, enjoying the same thing the world enjoys. Beloved, it is clear the Holy Spirit is not working in your life. You can say what you want. You can believe what you want. But when your heart is divided and you are more interested in getting thrills from this life than you are in being thrilled from seeing Jesus, you are backslidden. Your heart has become hard. God, I don't want to sound like I'm being harsh. I'm really not. Forgive me. But it's just so clear. There's no formula to get free from witchcraft. It's coming back to Jesus. It's coming back to the Holy Spirit. It's repentance. It's saying, God, I want your word. Now, lastly, John 16, 7 through 15. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is necessary for you that I go away. If I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will reprove, convict of guilt. You're going to know conviction when the Holy Spirit comes to you. You're going to know conviction. You're going to know guilt. You're going to have the ability to confess sin. Let's bring it right down to where we live. You're going to be able to say, I'm sorry, I'm wrong to your wife, to your husband, to your children. You're going to have the quality of being aware of sin and being willing to confess it. That's not an inherent good quality that some of us have. That's what the Holy Spirit gives anyone. Don't you want the Holy Spirit more than anything? He'll convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they do not believe. Righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. Each one of them, believe me, can be dissected. But listen, I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them. How be it when the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into truth. He will not speak of himself, but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak. He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. Oh beloved, there it is. The ministry of the Holy Spirit dedicated to reveal the glories of Christ to the church. Let me ask a question. What kind of atmosphere do you live in? What kind of atmosphere is your home? What kind of atmosphere do you live in when you're alone? Oh beloved, are you calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ in humility? Are you seeking God with all your heart? Are you seeking the Word of God? Is the Holy Spirit working in your lives? Are you talking about Jesus, talking about his glory? Are you going to him for all that you have need of? You'll never find peace. You'll never find hope. You'll never find what you need. If you don't find it at the foot of the cross, bow down at the Savior in humility and brokenness, you'll never find it. Casting out witchcraft from the church, there it is, right in the Word of God. Shall we bow our hearts and pray? Thank you Lord. Father, we thank you for the Holy Spirit. We thank you for the Word of God. We thank you Lord for enabling us to see the true nature of what witchcraft is, but additionally Lord, the victory that we have over witchcraft, and that is Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. Father, we ask that you would create in us a hunger for more of you. Lord, I pray that you would show us our need for the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we might experience the power to see Jesus and to be transformed into his image. Lord, I'm asking that you would enable each one of us to acknowledge the powers of witchcraft and sorcery latent within our own sinful flesh, and like all the other works of the flesh, renounce them, and by truth and mercy, purge us from such things. God deliver us, I pray, by your power Lord, and in your name. Let's listen to the song. Let's sing. The Holy Spirit is now ministering. Lord, grant us power by the Holy Spirit against and over all witchcraft and sorcery and the powers of flesh. Deliver us, Lord, from the stronghold of this dreadful sin. We call upon your name to do it. Hallelujah. You're so lovely, Lord. Oh, give us love for you, Lord. Let us flee to you, Lord. Run to you for safety. Yes, Lord.