In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the presence and influence of the devil in the world. He explains that the devil operates in the air and on earth, seeking to devour those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The preacher warns against being friends with the world, which he defines as being enticed by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. He encourages listeners to focus on what God says and to believe in order to see the glory of God.

We urge you to listen to all the tapes in the series in numerical order, so that the whole teaching can be received and understood. Listening to a part of the series, or to the tapes out of sequence, can lead to a misunderstanding of the nature, the intent, and the importance of the series. The powers of darkness are defeated by covenant. And that's the message that we're going to see, and we're going to look at, and then we're going to be following that up with the Lord's Supper, the covenant of the Lord's Supper that he has with us. And I believe that's going to be a tremendous blessing for you. Now turn with me, if you would, as we begin, to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. We'll start right there. The first chapter of Colossians. We're speaking about how the powers of darkness are defeated by covenant. Colossians chapter 1, verse 9. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Now I want you to notice what he's saying, and I don't want you to miss this. As you walk with God, did we see last night that God gives you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him? That the work and role of the Holy Spirit is that you might have a knowledge of revelation and wisdom in knowing who Jesus is, so that you may see Jesus. Now notice what this says. He's praying for them that they be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all spiritual wisdom, and what's that next word? Understanding. Now make note of that word understanding. It's a very important word, and we're going to see in a moment how the only way Satan can get at a believer is to begin to steal his understanding. Are you with me? Now we're going to see that. Now notice this. That you be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and then when you're filled with the knowledge of his will, in spiritual wisdom and understanding, that's taking the Word in your heart. As you get the Word of God, fill yourself up with the Word of God. Let Christ dwell richly in your heart, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Here's what happens. Now this is how you do it. So that you may walk in a manner, what? Worthy of the Lord. To please Him. And how many respects are you to be pleasing Him? To please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Now that's God's will and desire for you. Is it God's will that you please Him in all things? Let's read again verse 18 of that chapter. He, Jesus, is also the head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. Jesus is to have first place in everything in your life. Listen, not just in your church activities, not just in your religious services, but your whole life, Jesus is to have first place. Your thoughts, your ambitions, your attitudes, the things that you plan, all of that is to be centered in Jesus. Are you with me? Alright, and He says, now notice this, He says that when you do this, verse 10, that you walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, you please Him in all respects, and as a result of that, what happens to you? You bear fruit in every good work. And you increase in the knowledge of God. In other words, you see Jesus more clearly. Now notice this. Then what happens to you is that you are strengthened with all power, according to whose might? His glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience joyously, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us or made us able. Who's done that? Notice this, you didn't qualify yourself, you didn't make yourself able, but Jesus has made, the Father has made you able through Jesus or qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in life. Now I want you to notice verse 13. This is where I was going to. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. How many of you see that verse? Alright, now when it says that He delivered us, He delivered us from the domain of darkness, that word delivered us or domain is the word jurisdiction. Now that's an important word, because jurisdiction is a strong word. If for example, if I were a, to use an illustration that we used earlier this week, we had a hostage crisis again, this country did, this nation did, in another land. Now one of the problems in getting those hostages back was that this country had no jurisdiction where they were. Is that right? It had no jurisdiction. It had no domain or dominion where they were. So we had to use other means to get them back. But now if there were hostages here in America, had that taken place here, would we have had jurisdiction to do whatever we desired to do? Absolutely. Now see, that means it's a place of authority. To be out of the jurisdiction of Satan means you're not under his domain, you're not under his authority anymore. And God has delivered you from under His authority, His domain, His jurisdiction. Which means that when He comes to you, He has no jurisdiction over you. Are you with me? He has no legal right, no legal right to harass you. He has no legal right to control you, to dominate you. He has no legal right to attack you because you've been delivered out of His jurisdiction. Therefore, for Satan to enter the life of a believer, he is a trespasser. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Out of His jurisdiction and domain. Now, that's only true, listen to me, that is only true if you have been transferred to the kingdom of God's Son and you're living in God's kingdom, which means you're walking in Christ Jesus. Are you with me? Now, that's the place of no jurisdiction for Satan's activity in your life. Alright? Now, I want you to go with me to another Scripture. Colossians 2, verse 9. Colossians 2, verse 9. For in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in what kind of form? Bodily form. And in Him... I want you to notice how many times He mentions in Him. In Him is Jesus. In Him, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And in Him, you've been made complete. Where are you made complete? In Christ Jesus. And He is the head over how much rule and authority? All rule and authority. Which means, not only have you been delivered from the domain of Satan and translated out of His jurisdiction, but the One to whom you now pledge allegiance has domain and jurisdiction over all of Satan's kingdom. Are you with me? And here's what He says. Verse 11, And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. Now, what? Circumcision is a sign of the covenant. Is that what we've been seeing? But God's not interested in a circumcision of the hands. He's interested in a circumcision of the heart. That's why Romans 2, the last few verses there, speak of the fact that He's not a Jew who's one outwardly, but who's one inwardly. A circumcision, not of the hands, but a circumcision of the heart, that we might obey God rather than men. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So that's the kind of circumcision He's talking about. And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. What it means is that God gave you the power in Christ Jesus to put off the fleshly lust rebellion of the flesh if your heart is circumcised and pure toward Him. Are you with me? Alright, we're going on. Now, the way you showed that was after you had made the circumcision of your heart, you were baptized. Now, Jesus was also baptized. When Jesus went down into the water, He signified His death. He comes up again, and it signifies a resurrection to life. But it was deeper than that in that Jesus was saying, I now am identifying totally that I no longer... I didn't come to do My will. I came not to live for Myself. I came to live for My Father. But He's also saying, I came not only to live for My Father, and everything that I do, what I speak will be what He speaks. What I do will be what I see Him do. I can do nothing of my own initiative. And I'm doing that, not for my own sake, but on behalf of My Father, from the sake of My Father, but I am doing it on behalf of those who will come to Me. Are you with me? Now, that's what His baptism meant. Likewise, what does your baptism mean? It's not simply that you just get buried and raised again as a symbol and a sign, but you are saying, I have entered covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ. I have made covenant now, and I pledge with my circumcised heart, a heart that's totally His, to no longer live for the lusts of my flesh. I'm not living for Myself anymore. I'm not living to please Me anymore. It's not just the fact I've entered salvation. I've entered a covenant whereby I no longer belong to Myself, but I now belong to God through Jesus. Are you with me? And so, when I am baptized in water, I'm signifying an outward sign of something that's happened inwardly, and that my heart no longer lives for itself. Are you with me? Alright. Now notice what He says here. Verse 12. Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith, in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. We've got just a little technical problem. And since I'm not technical, I'm going to let Him handle it. Alright, let's go on. Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith, in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us how many of our transgressions? All our transgressions. Having canceled out. Now remember, we said in covenant, remember what we said, when you enter covenant with God, all of your... when you enter covenant with someone, all of your liabilities, debts, and assets become theirs, and all of your covenant partners become yours. Is that right? Alright, now this is a sign of what that means, because God's... all of His debts, everything He owed anybody, became your responsibility. Every transgression He had, you bore. Are you with me? Every liability placed against God, you had to bear. The only problem is, He didn't have any. So, you did though. So He took all of your assets, all of your liabilities, and all of your debts, and that means everything you are, it's not just a tithe that belongs to God, everything you have and are, you know what the tithe is? The tithe is just a symbol of the fact that He has your whole heart. Are you hearing what I'm saying? That's what it is. You're saying to God, God, you own the whole thing. And this is my pledge to show you that you have my heart. Are you understanding what I'm saying? That's the same thing, a tithe of your time, a tithe of everything you have, it belongs to God. Alright, now notice what He says. Verse 14. And having canceled out the certificate of debt, what did He do with that certificate of debt? He canceled it out, consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us. He's taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Now when He did that, look what He did in relationship to your life. Here's what it says. Verse 15. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Now, would you look at that? He disarmed the powers of darkness. Is that what it says? Alright, how did He do it? We've been talking about covenant, have we not? Is that what we've been talking? Is baptism, is that covenant? Is canceling the debts, is that covenant? Well, He also, in covenant, He absolutely disarmed the rulers and authorities. How did He do that? Because He walked as your representative. He walked in total faithfulness to the covenant. Remember, the covenant was a walk of death. If you broke faithfulness in the covenant, you were worthy of death. And so, Jesus was just as faithful to God the Father as God the Father was to Him. He never did anything of His own initiative. He lived a life totally pleasing to the Father. Are you with me? And He walked that on your behalf. Now, so He, in doing that, disarmed the rulers and authorities. He absolutely took away their jurisdiction. And then when you, like Mephibosheth, as we saw this week, come to the king's table, and you enter into the king's house to live in his domain, you no longer are under the jurisdiction and domain of Satan. Are you understanding what I'm saying? But may I say to you, that only applies as long as you walk in Christ. When you come back under the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, when you come back to those things, you walk in the jurisdiction and domain of the powers of darkness. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? Now, I want you to notice something. Turn with me a second. Now, look carefully at what it says here before we turn there. Let's look at it again. He disarmed the rulers and authorities, and He made a public display of them, and having triumphed over them through Him. Do you see that? Now, how does that affect us? Well, turn with me to 2 Corinthians 2, and we'll see how that affects us. 2 Corinthians 2. If He did that for Him, how does that affect us? What does that do with us? 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2. Verse 14. Just one verse is all I want us to look at there. Verse 14. 2 Corinthians 2. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in whose triumph? In His triumph in Christ. So our victory over the powers of darkness are in Him and His victory. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, listen to me. For this reason, Christians are too victory conscious. My friend, the only way to get the victory is to be in Christ Jesus, which means I deny ungodliness, worldliness, and everything contrary to His will. I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, ready to punish all disobedience. I choose His way, not my own way. I choose to seek to be pleasing to Him with all of my heart. And when I do that, I then walk in the train of His victory or His triumph and disarm the powers of darkness in my life. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, here's what he says. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Now, let me just show you that in Galatians 5, what we're talking about. Galatians 5. In other words, I choose what pleases Him and in that way, I walk out from underneath the jurisdiction of the powers of darkness. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? Galatians 5. Now, here's a characteristic. If I am in God's kingdom and I do belong to Christ, then here is what I do. This is a characteristic. Again, I'm just going to read one verse. But this is a characteristic of all those who belong in Christ. Galatians 5, verse 24. Now, those who belong to Christ Jesus, what have they done? They have crucified the flesh with their passions and desires. In other words, they have a recognition of the fact that the flesh... Now, it says they've crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Does it say they've crucified the passions and desires? No, the flesh still has passions and desires. Are you with me? You can't eradicate those passions and desires. But now, listen to me. You can resist them with a whole heart. And then, as we've been seeing all week, the power of God, the grace of God, the God of grace Himself, comes to strengthen and establish your heart. The Holy Spirit works within your heart to give you obedience and sanctify your heart that you may obey Jesus. It's by His power that you crucify the flesh, not by your own. Are you with me? Have we made that clear this week? Alright, now, I want you to notice this. Turn with me then to James 1. James 1. James 1. James 1. Verse 12. If you belong to Christ, then you have crucified the flesh. In other words, you're not yielding to its passions and desires because you don't live for yourself anymore. You don't live for the flesh anymore, but you live to do the will of God. Is that right? Have we seen in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the will of God is your walk of holiness? Alright, now notice this. James 1. Verse 12. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial. Who's going to be blessed? The man who perseveres. Now, did we see what those trials were? In 1 Peter 4. Verse 12, we saw that don't be surprised, brethren, if you are faced with fiery trials that come to test you. Is that right? And we saw in 1 Peter 5 that those fiery trials were the fiery temptations and trials of the devil. But he said, Resist him firm in your faith. Suffer in the flesh so as to resist the devil no longer to do his will, but to cease from sin and do the will of God. Is that what we saw last night? Alright, now notice this. They're going to come. For once he's been approved, what's going to happen to him? He's going to receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Did we see in John last night that those who love Him will keep His Word? They will walk with Him? They'll keep His Word? 1 John 2 says that if you say that you love God, but do not keep His commandments, the truth's not in you and you're a liar. If you're not walking according to His Word and you say you love God, you don't really love God. And it says that if you love God, you will keep His Word or His commandments. 1 John 2, verses 5-6. That's what it says. Now, notice this. And it also says in verse 6 that if we are in Christ, then we ought to walk just as He walked, which was what? Resisting the devil, resisting the temptations. Whenever the devil approached Jesus in Luke 4 and began to tempt Him, he began to say to Him, turn these stones into bread and worship me. Did he do it? Was he hungry? The Word says he was hungry and he resisted the temptation of the flesh and he chose the Word of God. And then he was taken up on the high mountain and shown all the kingdoms and said, now, if you just worship me, I'll give you all that's been handed over to me. It was handed over to him by Adam. And he said, if you'll just do this, if you'll worship me, I'll give you all these kingdoms. You know what he said? It's written, I'm to worship my God, my Father only with all my heart. That's paraphrased, but that's what he was saying. And then finally, Satan came to him again. See, I want you to notice what he tempted him with. He tempted him with the lust of the flesh to satisfy the hunger. He tempted him with the lust of the eyes to see all the kingdoms. And then, he tempted him again. He took him up on the pinnacle of the temple and he says, now jump off. If you jump off of this place, then all these people... You know what's going to happen? My goodness, if you jump off of this place, you'll get the people faster because they'll know that you are the Son of God. They'll know then. In other words, I've got a good suggestion for you. I know the Father sent you to do it His way, but I've got a better way. Let's go this way. Boy, I tell you, you'll just lift yourself up and all these people will just be drawn to you. But Jesus never lifted Himself up. He says if we lift up Him, He'll draw all men unto Himself. But Jesus only lifted up the Father. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You know why? He was in covenant and He wasn't living for Himself. Are you with me? And so He resisted the boastful pride of life and in doing so, He overcame the world and the temptations of the devil. Are you with me? And we're to walk as He walked and that's what that means. Now notice this. Here's how Satan comes though. Verse 13, Let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone. Who does the tempting then? Satan through the powers of darkness. Now notice this. But each one, here's how they do it, is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. But if you belong to Christ Jesus, what do you do when that temptation comes? You crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And you walk as Jesus walked and you take the Word of God as your weapon against the powers of darkness. Are you with me? Now, your heart then is protected by a shield of faith because Jesus has your whole heart. You don't want to live for yourself and you don't want to walk that way so you choose what pleases Him not what pleases your flesh. Are you with me? I say are you with me? Alright, now notice this. Satan comes to tempt you and carry you away and entice you by your own lust and then when lust is conceived it gives birth to sin and when sin is accomplished, what does it bring forth? Death. Now I'm not going to go into any more detail on that because we covered that in the first message that we had that night. But now I want you to notice something. Turn with me to Hebrews 2. Here's what God promises you. Hebrews 2. The second chapter of Hebrews. We're talking about the fact that the powers of darkness have been delivered over in the covenant. But does that mean that they won't come against you to entice you? Absolutely not because He was talking to brethren. By the way, I didn't read it, but in the 16th verse of 1 John 1 it says, Do not be deceived, beloved brethren. Are you hearing what I'm saying? He's warning the brethren this is the way Satan's going to come against them. Now listen to me. We've already talked about it. You have been delivered from Satan's jurisdiction and domain. Is that right? And God has supplied His Spirit to live within you to walk in victory over the flesh. Is that right? By the Spirit you crucify the flesh and then you'll live. But if you don't resist the powers of darkness, if you don't resist the temptations of the devil, whose jurisdiction do you come under? Satan's. Now notice what God promises you. Hebrews 2.14 Since then the children share in flesh and blood. He Himself, that is Jesus, likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might and notice this, He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil. How many of you see that? He has rendered the devil how? Powerless. How has He rendered powerless? Because He overcame him. He nailed to the cross your debts and liabilities consisting of decrees against you and He triumphed over the devil and disarmed him and overcame him and made a public display of him. Is that right? And you move in the train of His triumph. Are you with me? Now, that means that you follow Jesus with all your hearts. And when you follow Jesus with all your heart, the devil is rendered powerless over your life. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now notice this, and He might deliver, verse 15, those through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Alright, now, but we've got a problem because we said temptations are going to come. Is that what we saw? You are going to be tempted. But now notice, God not only delivered you from His kingdom and jurisdiction, He not only rendered him powerless when you crucify the flesh with its passions and desires and choose what pleases God and choose the Word of God and resist the flesh, but now listen, even when you're tempted, here's what He says I'll do. Verse 17, Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make a propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are what? Tempted. See, when you resist, He doesn't just leave you alone to battle the enemy. What does He do? When you resist, He comes to your aid in the midst of your temptation. Are you with me? That's why 2 Corinthians 10 says, verse 13, that God is faithful and no man has undergone any trial or any temptation that's not common to another man. But God is faithful and with the trial, will provide a way of escape. Here's what He means. I, God, when you resist the devil and you resist ungodliness and you resist those temptations, you stand against them, suffer in the flesh, I, God, as your covenant partner, will come and do battle with your enemy and I'll come to the aid of you who are tempted. You just give me your whole heart. Are you with me? But now see, if He doesn't have your whole heart and if your heart is going after the lust of the flesh, the lust of eyes and boastful pride of life, He can't do anything to your aid because you are in His jurisdiction. The jurisdiction and domain of the power of darkness. Are you with me? That's why Satan is called the God of this world. You've made covenant with the devil in your hearts rather than with God. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? Alright? Now notice, that God promises something. Here's what He says. Turn with me to James 4. James 4. James 4. Verse 4. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world... What is friendship with the world? What does God call it? If you're going to be friends with the world... Now, what is He talking about? Is He talking about being friends with some worldly people? No, that's not what He's talking about. He's talking about the world again. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the boastful pride of life. If that's where your heart makes friendship, then you are declaring that you are hostile toward God. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And here's what you become. Therefore, whoever wishes... He wants to. He wishes to be a friend, even if you're not doing certain things, but in your heart, you're committing those things. Why do you think Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount that it's not just the person who commits the acts of adultery that is an adulterer, but even he who lusts to the point where he wants to commit those acts, but doesn't do it, he too is an adulterer. Why? Because in his heart, he wishes to be a friend of the lust of the flesh. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now that's a serious place to be because when you do that, God says you make yourself an enemy of God and that's not good. When you make yourself an enemy of God, you have joined your heart with the God of this world, and the heart of God is set against you just like it is against us. Are you hearing what I'm saying? It makes sin pretty serious. Now come with me to Revelation 9. Revelation 9. Revelation 9. Throughout the word of God, you're going to see a reference to a pit. How many of you remember seeing that? It talks about people who fall into a pit. It talks about people who live in a pit. It talks about a pit in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Now let me tell you what the pit is. It's not some big old dark hole you're going to fall into. It is a place of reference to the activity of Satan. You can be walking on level ground and be in a pit and not even know it. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Because a pit is a place where Satan has domain and jurisdiction. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now let me show you. Revelation 9. Verse 1. And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven, which had fallen to the earth, and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. Now let me tell you why. The only people that are ever spoken of of being in the bottomless pit are Satan and his angels. Now let me tell you why. People, men, until the coming of Jesus, are never said to be in the bottomless pit. A pit is the place of Satan's activity. Are you with me? But you're not said to be in the bottomless pit. Only Satan's in a bottomless pit because every other pit you can be lifted up out of if you come to Jesus with a whole heart. Are you hearing me? But Satan is in a bottomless pit. A pit. He and his demons where he can never be redeemed. Are you hearing what I'm saying? It means when you see bottomless pit, it doesn't mean a pit with no bottom to it. It simply means a place of Satan's activity where he can never be redeemed out of. Are you with me? Now notice this. Verse 2. And he opened the bottomless pit and smoke went up out of the pit. By the way, when you see the word abyss, it means pit. And smoke went up out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke came forth what? Locusts upon the earth and power was given them as the scorpions of the earth had power. Now we ought to know something about that because Jesus said when some people came back from casting out demons and healing the sick and preaching the gospel and seeing people running to the kingdom, they came back with joy, rejoicing, and said, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And Jesus said to them, Behold, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy and the tread upon serpents and scorpions. So they refer to the powers of darkness. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? Now look at verse 10 and 11. We're going to see who's in charge of this pit. And as they have tails like scorpions and stings and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months, they have a king over them, the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon or destruction and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon or destroyer. May I ask you, who is he? Now, I want to kill a myth if you hold it right now. The pit and hell are not the same place. Let me tell you something. Satan is not the lord over hell. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Hell was created for Satan and his angels to be cast into. Are you hearing what I'm saying? It's not a place he operates from and runs and rules and has dominion over. God has dominion over hell. Are you hearing what I'm saying? But now listen, he operates in the pit. He's the god of this world. He's not off in a hole somewhere. He's operating in the air. Are you hearing me? He's operating on earth, roaming to and fro across the earth to seek someone to devour. Are you with me? Now, that way we can just knock Hollywood out of it. But notice what he says. Because Hollywood's painted another picture. Verse 4, And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. May I tell you, that's the only people he's able to touch. Are you with me? The seal of God on their foreheads. We saw what that was last night. The Holy Spirit is the seal or pledge of the covenant. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So those who don't have the seal of God on their forehead, now listen to me, those who don't have the seal of God on their forehead are those whose thoughts and desires are on their father the devil. They want to do the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, what does Satan do with them? He puts a seal. Where does he put it? He puts a seal on their forehead and on their hands. Are you with me? You know why that is? Because they think Satan's thoughts. Now listen to me. They think Satan's thoughts. Pride, lust, ego, selfish ambition, greed, idolatry, jealousy, envy, strife, bitterness, criticism, hatred, anger, outbursts of temper. They think his thoughts. They have his seal on their forehead. They think his thoughts. They don't take their thoughts captive. They think his thoughts. And so, therefore, everything they do, they do by the works of their own hands. And that's why they have a seal on their hand and their forehead. Are you hearing what I'm saying? But the people of God are different. They have a seal of God on their forehead. Who is the seal of the covenants? The Holy Spirit. They don't think the thoughts of themselves and the lust of flesh, the lust of eyes and the boastful pride of life, but they think the thoughts of God. And the Holy Spirit is able to manifest Jesus to them and take the fathers that's given to Jesus and disclose it to us and give us the eyes of a heart enlightened to know his covenant. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And we don't have a mark on our hands because the work is not by our hands, not by power, nor by might, but by my spirit, sayeth the Lord. So we don't need a mark on our forehead because we don't do it by the work of our hands. We do it by the work of the power and life of God. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Alright. Now I want you to turn with me to Isaiah 24. Isaiah 24. Now we've seen that the powers of darkness have been delivered over in the covenant when we walked in Christ Jesus. Is that right? But now here's how Satan is able to attack. He is the god of the pit. Is that right? The pit's not a hole, is it? No? Let's look at it in Isaiah 24. Verse 15. Therefore glorify the God in the east, the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the coastlands of the sea. Verse 16. From the ends of the earth we hear songs. Glory to the righteous one. But I say, woe to me, woe to me, alas for me, the treacherous deal treacherously and the treacherous deal very treacherously. May I say that these people who are dealing treacherously... Now look what he's saying. Don't miss it. These same people who are dealing treacherously are also singing songs. Glory to the righteous one. How many of you see that? I said, how many of you see that? They're singing songs to the glory of God, but they're dealing treacherously. Where are they really? Verse 17. Terror and... What's that word? Pit and snare. Is a pit the place of Satan's activity? Now here's where they are. They're in terror, a pit and a snare confront you, O inhabitant of the what? Of the earth. So the pit's on the earth. Is that right? You can be an inhabitant of the earth and still be in this pit. Is that what that says? I said, is that what that says? And when that happens, what confronts you? The glory of God? No. Even though you're singing songs to the righteous one, you deal treacherously in your hearts. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You give God lip service and your heart's far from me. Is that right? Alright, now notice this. Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster, what's he going to fall into? If you flee the report of disaster, he's going to fall into a pit. In other words, if you walk treacherously in your heart, giving God lip service, but your heart not being joined to Him, and then God sends a warning of disaster, of judgment to you, and says if you don't come to God with a whole heart, but you flee the report and you flee the warning, then what happens to you? You then walk in a pit, which is the jurisdiction of the activity of the powers of darkness. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Is that serious? Notice how serious it is. You know, things will just start to get better. You know, even when you're walking in a pit, living for yourself and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes of boastful pride of life, flesh rebellion, you know, at one point you just make a change and you just decide in your heart, just make a little change in your heart to try to just make it just a little bit better and you just, it's just like things were really bad, but now they're getting a little better and you just kind of climb out of the pit just a little bit, but look what he says. And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare. Did I tell you who the snare is? It's the snare of the trapper spoken of in Psalm 91. It's the snare of the devil spoken of in Ephesians 6. Are you hearing what I'm saying? See, if God doesn't have your whole heart, you may even make a resolution to do better. Now listen to me, to do better. But if he doesn't have your whole heart, as soon as you climb out of that pit, he's got another snare for you and guess where you end up? Back in the pit. Are you with me? Turn with me to Matthew 15. Matthew 15. Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15. Just a few more scriptures. Matthew 15. Verse 1, Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands. Now what were they transgressing? Traditions of the elders. Now look what happens. And he answered and said to them, Why do you yourselves transgress what? The commandment of God. Which one is it better to obey? The commandment of God or the traditions of the elders? Now drop down with me to verse 6. He is not to honor his father and his mother. Now here's what I want you to say. And thus, what do you do? You invalidate what? The commandment of God. Let me say it this way. You invalidate the Word of God for the sake of your what? Of your traditions. Are you with me? You invalidate the Word of God for the sake of your traditions. You hypocrites. Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this people honors me with their lips. But what's wrong? Their heart is what? Far from me, in vain, all of their worship then is in vain. Do you see that? In vain do they worship me. It's not any good. All the times you've read the Bible, studied, prayed, gone to church, taught Sunday school, preached sermons, it's all in vain if God didn't have your whole hearts. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Is that what that says? Now notice this. He teaches doctrines. What do he teach as doctrines? The commandments or precepts of men. And then when you do that, now notice this, you've been delivered from the jurisdiction of the powers of darkness by the Word of God. Is that how we saw Jesus withstood the powers of darkness? But see, when you let the traditions of men get your heart, you invalidate the Word, which means it no longer works to keep you out of the pit. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now here's what happens. Verse 11. Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man. Then the disciples came and said to him, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement? Well, they shook Jesus up, they didn't. But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. Let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind, and if a blind man guides a blind man, then both will fall into a pit. Are you hearing what I'm saying? In other words, they both fall into the jurisdiction and domain of the powers of darkness. Is that what we saw? I say, is that what we saw? Turn with me to John 11. I just must share this with you before we close. John 11. John 11. I want you to see how Satan works to get you into the pit. Now, we're going to go through this so you can see it, and I want you to understand. Now, when you're walking no longer for yourself, but walking in covenant with God, the powers of darkness are delivered over in the covenant. Is that right? And you're not living for yourself. All you desire is to please God to do His will. Is that correct? Satan does come to tempt you, does he not? He does come to oppose you and draw you away by the lust of the flesh. Is that right? And the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life. And he tries to get you to walk in the same pit that he's in where is the place of his activity. If you listen to the traditions, the elders, and the Word of God is not your only guide. If Jesus doesn't have your whole heart, but men have your heart, and doctrines have your heart, and traditions have your heart, where do you walk? You walk in the pit. Is that right? Now, notice this. To walk in the kingdom of God is to walk in the will of God. Is that right? Satan will come against you in various ways to get you to not walk in the will of God. Now, John 11 is an illustration of that. Now, I'm just going to go through it quickly, but you can go back and study it later, but I want you to see some things. All Jesus wanted to do was go do the will of God. He just wanted to go do the will of His Father. Now, let's see what the will was. Verse 1. Now, a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. But when Jesus heard it, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified by it. He wasn't too bothered by it, was He? Because He had heard from the Father. The Father had told Him that this sickness was not unto death. The Father had told Him that He was to raise Lazarus from the dead. Now, all Jesus wants to do is go do the will of His Father. That's all He wants to do. Are you hearing what I'm saying? He just wants to go do what the Father told Him because He's not living for Himself. He's in covenant. He's living for the will of His Father. And that's what He decides He's going to do. But I want you to know what He has to go through before He gets to do the will of His Father. The first thing that happens to Him. Verse 5. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When therefore He heard that He was sick, He stayed with them two days longer in the place where He was. Then after this, He said to His disciples, Let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, the Jews... Now, who's saying this to Him? The disciples. Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and are you going there again? See, when you decide to go do the will of the Father, even some of the disciples will say through the voice of fear, Oh, but you better not walk that way. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You better not walk that way. Don't you realize you'll get killed if you walk that way? Are you hearing what I'm saying? And so, you'll hear from the disciples the voice of fear when you decide to go do the will of God. If you listen to the voice of the fear, you come back to the peace. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, notice this. Verse 11. This He said, and after He had said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go that I may awaken him out of sleep. Now, look what the disciples... Now, here's what Jesus said. Jesus said, No, I've got to go and Lazarus has fallen asleep, so I've got to wake him out of sleep. Now, here's what the disciples say. Verse 12. The disciples therefore said to Him, Lord, if He's fallen asleep, He'll recover. Now, when Jesus had spoken of His death... Now, Jesus had spoken of His death, but they thought... Would you mark that? They thought. They thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. You see, here's what happened. The disciples don't want to go... Listen to me. They don't want Jesus to go to where Lazarus is because they're not afraid of Him being killed. They're afraid of losing their own life. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And so they speak the voice of fear. And then, whenever they find a little loophole that maybe will be able to keep them from going... Are you hearing me? Just a little loophole to keep them from going. He says He's asleep. And they think He's asleep. And so they say, Oh, that's it! Praise God! Now, notice what it says. Lord Jesus, it's alright. He's just asleep. We don't have to go now. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And so, when you decide to go do the will of God, even some of the disciples will speak fear to you. And not only that, but they may not understand at all why you're going the direction you're going. Are you hearing me? To listen to them means to go back to the pit. Are you with me? Now, there will be some people around you that will just simply decide, well, if I can't discourage them, I'll walk with them a little ways. And we see in verse 16, Thomas, therefore, who is called Denimus, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go away that we may what? Die with him. He revealed his heart. What were they thinking about all the time? They weren't worried about his death. They were worried about their death. But false boldness came upon them. Oh well, we'll just suffer with him. And we'll just die with him. May I say to you, they still do not believe the word of God. Are you with me? Notice this. Verse 12. He gets to the place, and he meets Mary and Martha. And Martha, verse 21, said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have died. Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. That's the voice of too late. Well, I guess God... Because see, when you're walking to do the will of God, my friend, may I say to you, there will be circumstances that come that will make it look like you missed it and it's too late. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And there will always be somebody there to tell you, it's too late. You just missed it. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? Now, this next voice has absolutely plagued the church. I'm saying it's absolutely plagued the church. You know why? Now, I want you all to be careful that you don't fall into this trap. We just love to talk about heaven. But may I say to you, don't forget about the victory that you have in Christ Jesus right now. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, look what he says. Verse 24, Martha said to Him, I know that He will rise again on the resurrection on the last day. But Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall live even if he dies. You know what Martha said? Martha said, well, I understand you can raise Lazarus, but he'll be raised up on the last day. Oh, we'll all go to heaven someday. That's the voice of praise God someday. Boy, when we all get to heaven, we'll get out of this mess. Man, boy, when we all get to heaven, we just won't have to walk in this old sin anymore. No, you don't have to walk in it right now. You've been delivered from the domain of the power of darkness now. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Not praise God someday. Praise God right now for what He's doing. He is the God of today, of now. Are you with me? Verse 31, as He's going to the tomb, then Jews, then who were with her in the house and consoling her when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. And so, just like always, people come with false comforts. False comforts. They just go weep with you. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Be real careful about false compassion. Are you listening to me? When you go pray for the sick, even then, be real careful about false compassion. False compassion is not what God's looking for. Comfort of the flesh is not what God's looking for. The Word of God coming out of your mouth, from your heart, is what God listens to. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Verse 34, and they said, Where have you laid Him? And they said to Him, Lord, come and see. And what did Jesus do? Jesus wept. Do you know why Jesus wept? Because the people are no longer following Him to the tomb. They're saying, Oh, Jesus, come follow us. We'll show you. You got here too late. Just come follow us. They said, Lord, come and see. Come and see this. You come and follow us. Are you hearing what I'm saying? You come. They're no longer following Jesus. Verse 37, But you've always got, 36, the voice of the crowd. So the Jews were saying, Behold how He loved him. But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of Him who was blind, have kept this man from dying? You'll always hear, when you go to do the will of Jesus, the voice of the crowd. And there's always the voice of blame to try to keep you from going to do the will of God. Are you hearing what I'm saying? If you listen to those voices, you end up back in the pit. Are you with me? I say, are you with me? And then finally, you'll hear this one. If you keep listening to all of these other voices, and you don't keep your eyes on Jesus, then you do this very thing. Verse 38, Jesus therefore again became deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. And Jesus said, Remove the stone, Martha. He gave him a direct order. Did He not? The sister of the deceased said to Him, Lord, by this time there will be a stench where he's been dead four days. But Lord, you don't understand. And that's the voice of excuse. Are you hearing me? I say, are you hearing me? And every one of those voices will come against you to keep you from doing the will of God. Are you with me? And then finally, Jesus said to her in verse 40, Did I not say to you, and that is the issue, my friend, what God says, not what the voice of the crowd says, not what the voice of the other disciples say, not what the voice of the well-meaning people say, not what the voice of the fear says, or of accusation, or of false comfort, but what did God say? Are you with me? Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God. And so they removed the stone, and you know the story. They saw the glory of God. But only when they did what He said. Praise God. This concludes tape number 13. Please proceed to tape number 14, where this message continues.