1Timothy 4:1
The Danger of Demons

Demons are real.
    1. Demons possess some.  The New Testament gives us many examples
        of demon-possessed individuals.  Those are not just stories.
        They are case studies.
    2. Demons influence others.  They influence their thinking, their
        judgment, their concentration, their sleep, physical health,
        and their mental health.
    3. They are gaining in influence \\#1Tim 4:1\\.
        a. These are the last times.
        b. People in our country are giving demons more "heed," that
            is attention, regard, than ever in the history of our
            nation.

It is hard to gauge demonic activity, but one thing is for certain.
It is growing. One way to tell is to count the number of television
shows and movies which include the occult: witches, warlocks, demons,
vampires, werewolves, zombies, or the dead. I do not know how many
shows there are where that kind of genre is the theme, but I
would wager it is very high. Another is to see how popular these
kinds of shows are, and they are very popular. I am not going to say
that every show with the occult in it is demonic, but I am going to
say that every shows with the occult in it demonstrates the interest
in such activity. While our nation has turned sharply from God in
the last 60 years, we have turned sharply toward demonism.

Let’s consider some thoughts.

I. How do demons manifest themselves?  There are many ways but the
    Bible outlines a few—most of them seemingly innocent or good!
    A. By revealing the future or present
        1. \\#Dan 2:1\\ Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream and wanted
            the magicians and soothsayers to reveal what the dream
            was.  He thought it logical to turn to such powers for
            the information he wanted.
        2. \\#Eze 21:21\\ Nebuchadnezzar looked into the liver of a
            dead animal (?) for guidance.  That is still practiced
            today.
        3. \\#Acts 16:16\\ A woman with the spirit of divination
            plagued Paul and his troop.  Paul cast the spirit out and
            she lost her ability.
        4. Such stories are not just Biblical.  One source gave this
            documented account.

A man 28 years old committed suicide. Since he just disappeared, a
police search was begun to find him. At the time, they didn’t know
he committed suicide. His brother-in-law consulted a pendulum
practitioner. The practitioner asked for an object belonging to the
missing man, and he was given a pair of socks. Putting these on the
floor, he walked around them in a rectangle, holding his metal rod.
Having done this, he was able to identify the missing man, state his
name, date of birth, the place where he could be found. Police went
there. They found him.
http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/1218/demons-and-magic

    B. By communicate with the dead
        1. \\#1Sam 28:7\\ Saul had a woman bring up what appeared to
            her to be Samuel for information on a battle.
        2. I am aware of two television shows, both hosted by
            Jonathan Edward, Crossing Over with John Edward and
            John Edward Cross Country, where he acts as a similar
            conduit between the living and the dead.
        3. Someone might ask, "Do you think this things are for
            real?"   I think demons are for real and that they have
            real powers!
    C. By a manifestation of power
        1. Four times as Moses did miracles to move Pharaoh to
            release the Israelites, the Bible says something like…
            "And the magicians of Egypt did so with their
            enchantments…."
        2. \\#Ex 7:11, 22, 8:7, 8:18\\
        3. More recent and documented accounts:

A man dabbled in black magic for years. He specialized in stealing
milk from the neighbor’s farmers.  He would tie a towel to a
doorknob, then murmur his magic phrases and squeeze milk
out of the towel. Neighboring farms found their cows going dry.
 A young man whom a doctor described as schizophrenic confessed
to the ability to kill animals at some distance away from him merely
through using his powers of magic.
In Toggenburg, Switzerland, on several occasions, serious people
confessed that they had the power to kill horses, cows, and pigs with
the power of black magic. In reply to the question how they received
their ability, the told the counselor they had subscribed themselves
with their own blood to the devil.
http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/1218/demons-and-magic

    D. Afflict suffering on self or others - The Bible records cases
        of those  endowed with strength and insanity \\#Mark 5:1\\,
        muteness \\#Matt 9:33\\, insanity, fits, and suicidal
        attempts \\#Matt 17:15\\—all because they were possessed
        with demons.
    E. To me, a more important question is how to demons influence
        us?
        1. I do not believe Christians can be possessed but we can
            be influenced.

1Jo 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world.

        2. Have they gotten to us?
            a. Is it possible that we suffer depression
            b. negativity \\#Rev 12:10\\
            c. argumentative
            d. hateful, mean
            e. bitter
            f. lazy, procrastination
            g. lustful
            h. worldly
        3. Could it me that there is a demon called "lazy"?

II. What do demons want?
    A. They want you to trust them.
        1. Demons appear as dead relatives or spirits to tell us
            about the present or guide us in the future.
            a. They promise love, peace, happiness, even victory over
                enemies.
            b. They create religions in which we worship.
        2. What they do can sometimes seem to be good.
        3. Why? They want you to believe in them and they want you to
           follow them by faith!
        4. If you stop to think about it, it makes sense.  The only
            connection the physical world has with the spiritual is
            by faith, that is by trust.  This is true of God and the
            devil.

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him.

Heb 3:12  Take heed, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God.

Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should
not enter into his rest, but to them that
believed not?

        5. Just like God wants us to believe in and trust Him, so the
            demons wants us to believe in and trust him.

        6. This is why demons present themselves through both black
            magic (obviously dark and evil magic) and white magic
            (seemingly good magic)!
            a. The danger is not just in what they do, but what they
                 want!
            b. They want your trust!
        7. That is what is dangerous about palm readers, future
            tellers, horoscopes, Ojai boards, spiritualists, mediums,
            and séances.  They are trying to earn your trust!
        8. It is especially dangerous with false religions!
            a. Look what ISIS and Islam are doing!
            b. They could be no more evil if they were worshipping
                Satan himself.
            c. Why do people behave that way?
                (1) They have listened to the demons and put their
                     trust those demons.
                (2) The very same thing that causes Christians to
                     follow God!
            d. These people are so blinded now that it doesn’t matter
                what the demons tell them to do, they will do it.

2Cor 13  For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the
apostles of Christ.
14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is
transformed into an angel of light.
15  Therefore it is no great thing if his
ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be according to
their works.

        9. They want you to be impressed with their power, their
            abilities, their knowledge, and their way of looking at
            things.
    B. And why do they want us to trust them?  So that they can lead
        you into darkness!
        1. No demon every helped a human being because he wanted
            their good.
        2. Demons want to push your trust and push you to see how far
            into darkness you will go for them.
        3. Case in point:

Mark 5:1  And they came over unto the other side
of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2  And when he was come out of the ship,
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man
with an unclean spirit,
3  Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no
man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4  Because that he had been often bound with
fetters and chains, and the chains had been
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken
in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5  And always, night and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting
himself with stones.

            a. This man had a multitude of demons within him.
            b. Why did they not make him smart?  strong to do good?
                inventive?  Why did he not preach that Jesus was the
                Messiah and do wonders to draw the people to Jesus?
                Why did the demonic crowd not do healings and
                miracles to help people?
            c. The sad truth is that quite often, the reason a person
                was sick or tormented was because he had a demon
                either in him or upon him.
            d. And what about the pigs?

Mark 5:12  And all the devils besought him,
saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter
into them.
13  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the
unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, (they were about two
thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

            e. Why did they run off the cliff?  To inflict pain,
                suffering, lost, rejection of Jesus on to those that
                were involved.
        4. The very fact that the demons are attempting to direct you
            and your are open to them, sets you up to go down the
            path of darkness.
            a. God has made it very clear in the Bible that humans in
                general and Christians in particular are to have
                nothing to do with demons.

Ex 22:18  Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Deut 13:1  If there arise among you a prophet,
or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign
or a wonder,

2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go
after other gods, which thou hast not known, and
let us serve them;
3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of
that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the
LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye
love the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul.

Deut 18:10  There shall not be found among you
any one that maketh his son or his daughter to
pass through the fire, or that useth divination,
(one who is able to predict the present or
future), or an observer of times (fortune
teller), or an enchanter (one who creates
incantations), or a witch (woman able to do
magic),
11  Or a charmer (one who can join himself to
another- medium), or a consulter with familiar
spirits (one who can talk to the dead), or a
wizard (male able to do magic) , or a
necromancer (one who does magic spells).
12  For all that do these things are an
abomination unto the LORD:

1Jo 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the world.

            b. Whether you are watching mediums on the television,
                seeking to place a spell on yourself or someone else,
                or bowing to the devil himself, you are being taken
                into darkness and away from God.
    C. Ultimately, they want to destroy you in body, soul, and
        spirit.

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly.

        1. Demons do not have one ounce of goodness in them.
            a. They want to damn your soul.
            b. They want to take your life.
            c. They want to make you miserable.
            d. They want to inflict pain, suffering, hurt, agony
                in ways that would defy our imagination.
        2. And they want to do all of this with your permission and
            cooperation.
            a. The more you turn from God and His Word,
            b. the more you open yourself to Satan and his demons,
            c. the more you trust and take pleasure in him,
            d. and the more you follow a demon’s leading,
            e. the more pain he is able to inflict upon you.
        3. I read an account which is too long to read to you, of a
            young man who was into drugs.  He was ruining his life
            with them and wanted to be free. He was introduced to
            witchcraft as a means for help.  It did.  There were
            temptations to return to the drugs but he was so intense
            in his witchcraft studies, he overcame them.  He mentor
            was a "destroyer," one who destroys not only things but
            people’s lives and minds.  Both through physical acts and
            spiritual powers, he wrecked havoc on others.  At his
            initiation black mass, a mother scarified her new born to
            Satan.  He involved one friend into drugs and played
            mind games with him.  That man was in a mental
            institution at the time of the article was written.
            Rape, murder, violence, and spells were used to hurt and
            maim others.  It was only by God’s grace that the man
            came to know Jesus as his Savior.

III. What should we do?
    A. Saved
        1. Don’t be afraid.

1Jo 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world.

        2. Don’t dabble in the occult but walk in the Holy Spirit.

Ga 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and
ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

            a. I have often said that the devil can’t do anything to
                you, that he can only trick you into doing things to
                yourself. Upon further reflection, I am not certain
                that is completely true.
            b. Just as the Holy Spirit becomes more and more physical
                to the believer, so it may be possible for demons to
                become more and more real to those who open
                themselves to them.
            c. I cannot verify the story but one Christian researcher
                who was studying demonology told of collect a good
                many books, even books written by demons—that is
                where the human writer acknowledged that he/she only
                wrote the words that were dictated to them.  All the
                sources I looked at indicated that this happen often.
                At any rate, he tells of having a stack of them in
                his bedroom by his bedside that he had been studying.
                His wife awoke him in panic as he was suffocating.
                They could make out the image of being sitting on his
                chest with arms stretched outward and its hands
                across the man’s mouth and nose.  He said that he
                could not breathe.  They both began to pray and
                gradually the being disappeared and his breathing
                returned.  He removed and destroyed the books and was
                never so afflicted again.
            d. I recount that story because there are so many like
                it and because I think that is exactly what the devil
                would like to do to you!  He wants you dead,
                especially if you are unsaved, for that seals your
                eternal damnation.  And nothing would make him more
                happy that for you to kill yourself.
            e. There is a reason why people kill themselves.  They
                are being tormented and directed by demons.
        3. Put on the whole armor of God.

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil.

        4. Be vigilant.

1Pe 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour:

            a. Satan is looking for cracks in your armor.
            b. music, movies, the worldly things you are attracted to,
                areas in your life that are not yielded to Christ.

    B. Unsaved
        1. Be very afraid.
        2. Things are going to get much worse.  Listen to some of the
            demonic activity of the future.
            a. A man who will be filled with the devil is about to be
                loosed on this world.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work: only he who now letteth will let, until he
be taken out of the way.

9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

1Ti 5:15  For some are already turned aside after
Satan.

1Jo 2:18  Little children, it is the last time:
and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we
know that it is the last time.

            b. \\#Revelation 9:1-12\\ - Locust/scorpion creatures
                under the direction of Apollyon.
            c. \\#Rev 9:13-21\\ - Four demons bound in Euphrates who
                are loosed to lead 200,000,000 beings who will kill
                1/3 of the earth’s population in just 13 months!
            d. \\#Rev 16:13-16\\ - Three demons which are pictures as
                coming out of the devil’s mouth to draw the kings of
                the world to the battle of Armageddon.

        3. My advice is always the same!
            a. Be saved.
            b. Live for Jesus.
            c. Flee the devil and his lies!

If you have never trusted Jesus, you need to today.  Time is fleeting
in more ways than you realize.  Turn from the devil, his world, and
his games.  Turn toward Jesus Christ.

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