Norman Vincent Peale, the editor of Guidepost Magazine,
said, Any faith is better than no faith.
You're better to be a Buddhist than nothing.
Any faith is better than no faith.
You're better to be a Buddhist than nothing.
I heard Eldridge Cleaver, former Black Panther, give
his testimony on one occasion.
As he stood before a crowd of thousands
of people, he was up there to give
his testimony of how he'd come to know
the Lord, and his testimony was this.
He said that, I was out one night
and I looked up in the moon and
saw the face of Jesus.
He looked up in the moon and saw
the face of Jesus.
That was his testimony.
And then the pastor came running up and
said, Well, brother, you did believe on Jesus
Christ and tried to cover up this obvious,
obvious, dubious attempt to talk about a salvation
testimony.
But he saw the face of Jesus in
the moon.
I also heard a millionaire one time, a
self-professed millionaire, give his testimony.
He was up before this vast throng of
people and he told us how he came
to know the Lord.
He, as a young person, decided that he
wanted to be a millionaire.
He wanted to be extremely wealthy.
He got Napoleon Hill's book on Think and
Grow Rich.
Napoleon Hill gave four things that you must
do in order to accomplish your goal.
And one of the things that he recommended
that you must do in order to accomplish
your goal is you have to be willing
to do the thing that you want to
do the least.
Well, this man stood before the congregation and
said that he had a mother-in-law
who was a Christian.
And the thing he wanted to do the
least was to become a Christian.
That's the thing he wanted to do the
least.
But in order to accomplish his goal of
becoming an extremely wealthy man, he went ahead
and did the thing that he wanted to
do the least, and that was to become
a Christian.
Now, let me say, my friend, there are
a lot of dubious testimonies that we have
heard in our day.
Do I have a witness on that point
right there?
And there is so much false doctrine today
that it's just about running out of our
ears, as it were.
And when it comes to the nature of
saving faith, I don't think there's any doubt
about it, that we have very muddy waters
in America today when it comes to defining
the nature of saving faith.
James chapter 2.
Take your Bible this morning and turn with
me if you would, please.
James chapter 2 and verse 14.
The book of James chapter 2 and verse
14.
What does it profit, my brethren, though a
man say he has faith and have not
works?
Can faith save him?
What does it profit, my brethren, though a
man say he has faith and has not
works?
Can that kind of faith, can that kind
of faith save him?
If a brother or sister be naked and
destitute of daily food and one of you
say unto them, depart in peace, be ye
warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give them not
those things which are needful to the body,
what does it profit?
Even so, faith, if it hath not works,
is dead being alone.
Yea, a man may say thou hast faith
and I have works.
Show me thy faith without thy works, and
I will show thee my faith by my
works.
Thou believest that there is one God.
Thou doest well.
The devils also believe and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that
faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he had offered up Isaac his son
upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works
and by works was faith made perfect?
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham
believed God and it was imputed unto him
for righteousness and he was called the friend
of God.
You see then how that by works a
man is justified and not by faith only.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified
by works when she had received the messengers
and had sent them out another way?
For is the body without the spirit dead?
So faith without works is dead also.
Now I want you to notice verse 19.
This is what we're going to talk about
here this morning.
The subject of demon faith.
Verse 19.
Thou believest that there is one God.
Thou doest well.
This is kind of sarcastically given here.
You say you believe in God.
You're doing tremendous.
James says the devils, the demons believe and
tremble.
Now James says that the demons, the devils
believe and tremble, but Baptists in America only
believe.
Could it be possible?
Could it be possible that demon faith is
superior, superior to the faith of many people
that attend a lot of our churches today
in the United States of America?
Now notice what the Bible says.
The Bible says that the demons believe.
They're enlightened in their minds.
The Bible says that the demons even tremble.
They are stirred in their emotions.
The spiritual reality is so great that it
causes a tremendous emotional upheaval.
They tremble.
And the Bible says that these demons, they
confess with their mouth that there is one
God.
Demon faith.
Demons are affected mentally.
They are shaken emotionally, but yet they are
unchanged spiritually.
You see, demons are informed, but not transformed.
Demons are convinced, but they're not converted.
Demons recognize Christ, but they did not repent.
Demons give mental assent to the facts of
the gospel, but not heart surrender to the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible says that demons believe.
Did you know that there is not a
devil in hell who is an atheist?
There are no atheist demons.
I'm telling you, they all believe, yet the
scripture says that they are still lost.
Now I want to talk to you this
morning for a few moments, first of all,
about what I'm calling the disturbing faith of
demons.
The disturbing faith of demons.
I believe that the type of faith that
James is talking about here in chapter 2
and verse 19 is disturbing.
Number one, it's disturbing because it so closely
resembles the kind of faith that the average
church member has today.
It's disturbing because it's almost identical to the
type of faith displayed in popular Christianity.
I say it's disturbing because it's orthodox, but
dead.
This demon faith is disturbing because it holds
to every fundamental tenet of Bible Christianity.
Now listen, the Bible says that demons believe.
Do you understand this morning that demons believe
in the deity of Jesus Christ?
That's better than the liberals.
The demons have no questions about the authenticity
of the sonship of Jesus Christ.
It says in Mark chapter 1 that there
was in their synagogue a man with an
unclean spirit and he cried out when Jesus
came in and he said, leave us alone.
What do we have to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth?
Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art, the Holy
One of God.
He said, this demon said to Christ, I
know who you are, the Holy One of
God, the perfect and righteous one without sin.
In Mark chapter 7, there was another demon
-possessed man and he cried with a loud
voice and said, what have I to do
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most
High God?
The Son of the Most High God.
Friend, there are no liberal demons.
There are no neo-orthodox demons.
I'm here to tell you this morning, my
friend, that these demons are just as certain
that Jesus is God as the Apostle Paul.
And I cannot find in any of the
gospel accounts where any demon denied the deity
of Jesus Christ.
Don't you find that disturbing this morning, that
demons believe in the deity of Jesus Christ?
I'll tell you, demons also believe that Jesus
Christ is the only way of salvation.
They believe in the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
That's better than the major denominations that we've
got today.
They believe that Jesus is the only way
of salvation.
Mark chapter 3.
And an unclean spirit, when they saw him,
fell down before him and cried, saying, thou
art the Son of God.
Thou art the Son of God.
Do you understand that's the redemptive title of
Jesus Christ?
The Son of God?
In John 3.16, for God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten
Son.
My brethren, they believe that Christ is the
way of salvation.
This demon in Mark chapter 3, he openly
confessed Jesus to be the Son of God.
It's the same confession that Peter made when
Jesus said to them, who do you say
that I am?
And Peter came forth and said, thou art
the Son of God.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
Look, in Acts chapter 16, the Bible says
that He came to pass.
Paul was there.
He said, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination
that is a fortune-telling spirit.
The Bible says that the same followed Paul
and us and cried, saying, these men are
the servants of the Most High God which
show us the way of salvation.
I say that demon faith is disturbing because
they believe that Jesus Christ is the only
way of salvation.
Number three, demons believe in the inerrancy of
Scripture.
Demons believe in the inerrancy of Scripture.
That's better than most pastors in America.
I'm telling you, they've got no questions about
the authority of the Word of God.
When it comes to the inerrancy of the
Bible, I can find no doubting Thomas' demons.
You understand, demons are fundamentalists.
Theologically, you know.
They really are.
And just like the devil, they are all
Bible believers, but they are not Bible obeyers.
I asked you this morning, how many cults
have been founded by men and women who
at first, at least claimed to believe the
Bible was the Word of God?
Do you remember in the wilderness temptation when
Satan took our Lord out into the wilderness
and put Him on the pinnacle of the
temple and He said unto them, just jump
off, take a leap, take a flying leap,
and then He quoted a Bible verse where
He said, for it is written that He
shall give His angels charge over thee and
in their hands they shall bear thee up
lest at any time thou dash thy foot
against a stone.
Do you understand that the devil knows the
Bible?
The demons believe the Bible.
It says in Revelation chapter 12 and verse
12, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth
for the devil is come down unto you
having great wrath because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time.
Now how does the devil know that he
has a short time?
Because the devil knows Bible prophecy.
He's an eschatological genius.
He knows this Bible better than you and
I and I believe that next to the
Spirit-filled Christian, perhaps the devil is the
most masterful user of Scripture in all the
world.
I'll tell you what's disturbing about this, folks,
is that demons will subscribe to every doctrinal
point on our doctrinal statement at Shenandoah Baptist
Church.
Every one of them.
They go along with every one of them.
They have no question marks.
But understand, demon faith is intellectual assent to
certain facts without any heartfelt submission to the
Savior.
I'll tell you, demons believe in hell.
This is disturbing.
Demons believe in hell.
This is better than most Protestants, I would
say.
The Bible says in Matthew chapter 8, and
we was coming to the other side of
the country.
There met him too possessed with devils coming
out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that
no man might pass that way.
And notice what these demons said.
And behold, they cried out saying, What have
we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son
of God?
Art thou come hither to torment us before
the time when the Son of God, when
Jesus Christ encountered these demons?
What did they do?
They were snarling and growling and griping.
And said, What are you doing?
Have you come here to torment us before
the time?
Contrast that.
Contrast that with the Apostle Paul, solitarious on
the Damascus Road, when he saw the Lord
Jesus Christ revealed brighter than the noonday sun,
and he said, Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do?
Notice the submission there.
Notice the surrender there, my friend.
Compare that to the demons who said, Are
you come to torment us before the time?
Demons believe that Christ is the judge.
They believe that their eternal destiny is in
his hands.
Demons believe in a set time and a
set place of torment when many ministers today
are denied.
My friend, I'm telling you, in listening to
popular teaching today, you would think that hell
has disappeared from the faces of the Bible.
But I'm telling you, my friend, demons believe
in hell.
I'll tell you what else is disturbing about
demon faith, is demon faith has even produced
answers to prayer.
Demon faith has even produced answers to prayer.
Don't misunderstand me.
Demons never pray unless they're forced to.
They never cry out to God voluntarily.
But do you remember that demoniac that was
possessed by that legion of evil spirits?
And when Jesus came into contact with this
man, do you remember what those spirits said?
Do you remember what they said?
They said, Cast us into the swine.
And what did Jesus do?
He gave them their request.
He answered their prayer and he cast them
into the swine.
I'll tell you, demon faith is disturbing because
it produced, it has produced answers to prayer.
It's disturbing because demons believe in the deity
of Jesus Christ.
Demon faith is disturbing because they believe in
the blood atonement.
Demon faith is disturbing because they believe in
hell and yet they are still damned.
Now let me talk to you very candidly
here this morning.
That's not going to be unusual to talk
to you very candidly here this morning about
the deficiency of demon faith.
You say, well good night.
They've got all of this going for them.
Could there be anything lacking in a faith
like that?
Can that kind of faith, the faith that
does not produce any works, can it save
anybody?
I want to talk to you this morning
about the deficiency of demon faith.
And point number one, demon faith exhibits no
enthusiasm for Jesus Christ.
Demon faith exhibits no enthusiasm for Jesus Christ.
You'll never find a demon singing what can
wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh precious is the flow that makes me
white as snow.
No other fount I know.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
You'll never hear a demon singing that song.
They're not excited about Jesus Christ.
Demons do not deny the fact of the
cross.
The problem is they don't celebrate it.
You'll never find a demon singing that hymn.
Oh, that old rugged cross so despised by
the world has a wondrous attraction to me.
I want to ask you something, friend.
Is there something magnetic about the cross of
Christ in your heart here this morning?
You know, I have a pastor friend, Brother
Ed Moore.
Some of you know him.
Comes to the prayer advance all the time.
You know what he said to me?
He said, Brother Harold, when we stand up
and sing that song, the old rugged cross
has a wondrous attraction to me.
He said, Harold, I'll tell you.
There is no wondrous attraction to multitudes of
people in our churches.
There is no wondrous attraction.
Their hearts are not drawn out to him.
You know what those demons said when Jesus
showed up?
They were not drawn out.
They were not just drawn to him and
attracted him and excited about it.
You know what they said?
They said, Are you come to torment us
before the time?
They have no enthusiasm for Jesus Christ.
Far from delight, these demons are disturbed when
they contemplate the victory of Calvary.
How many of you remember after the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and Peter making
a streak off to the tomb to see
perhaps if Jesus has risen from the dead.
And when they get there, who's whose lady?
Who knows who was there?
It was an angel, was it not?
There weren't any demons hanging around the tomb,
friend.
It was an angel there.
You see, demons have no enthusiasm for Jesus
Christ.
You see, if you have never seen yourself
as a sinner, there's really no use to
get too excited about a savior.
You see, you will never weep over somebody
else's sins until you've wept over your own.
You'll never weep over somebody else's soul until
you've wept over your own.
And my brethren, you will...
Spurgeon, let me give you a quote by
Spurgeon.
Spurgeon said, if you have no wish for
others to be saved, then you are not
saved yourself.
If you have no wish for others to
be saved, then you are not saved yourself.
You see, my friend, if there's no desire
and no effort to bring others to Christ,
then you have every reason to doubt whether
you've ever come to Christ yourself.
I was at a meeting.
There was this lady that came and trusted
the Lord.
You know, the first thing that came out
of her mouth, the first thing that came
out of her mouth, she said, now we've
got to get my husband saved.
First thing that came out of her mouth.
Why?
Because she had found and laid hold of
Christ and Christ had laid hold of her.
And brother, she wanted to get her husband.
She wanted to get everybody else in on
this great thing.
I asked you this morning, are you enthusiastic
about Jesus Christ?
Do you desire to bring others to Jesus
Christ?
Do you make attempts to bring others to
Christ?
Is your heart ever drawn out to Jesus?
Does your heart, heart, heart ever run hard
after him?
You said, well, brother, Harold, I believe the
Bible.
I believe in Christ.
Well, the Bible says that demons believe and
even tremble.
You know, I think we've come to a
point in America right now where some, let
me qualify this, where some crusade evangelists are
nothing more than ecumenical bureaucrats.
Ecumenical bureaucrats.
And the goal today in evangelism so often
is to replicate demon faith.
All they want to accomplish is to get
somebody's name on a card, get them down
the aisle and send them back to their
parish, God forbid, or send them back to
the church of their choice.
How many of you think it's about time
we got in the church of God's choice
for a change?
There is such a thing as separation in
the word of God, you know, but it's
come to the point where in this country
that the goal is just to get people
to make a decision, to give mental assent
to the fact that God exists and leave
the people precisely where they are.
My brethren, that's demon faith.
I want to ask you a question.
Is your faith any different from the faith
of demons?
Are you excited about the person of Jesus
Christ?
Oh, let me tell you a second thing
about the deficiency of demon faith.
If the demon faith does not lead to
repentance, demon faith does not lead to repentance.
Jesus said, repent for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
Jesus said, except you repent, you shall all
likewise perish.
Jesus said that after his resurrection that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in
his name.
Paul said he preached repentance toward God and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 17 and verse 30 and the times
of this ignorance God winked at but now
commanded all men everywhere to repent.
Romans chapter 2 and verse 4, it's the
goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance.
Do you see it?
It's the goodness of God that leads thee
to repentance.
How many of you think that perhaps repentance
is the missing ingredient in evangelism in the
land of the free and the home of
the brave?
We're so confused and we've gone off the
deep end and we've so redefined terms that
we've left out the essential ingredient.
Jesus said, except you repent, you shall all
likewise perish.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1937 described the heresy of
cheap grace and he called it the preaching
of forgiveness without requiring repentance.
My friend, the Bible says that faith without
worse is dead.
I'll tell you, faith without repentance is dead
also.
The word repent means to change the mind.
It means to change your attitude.
And when you repent, you change your attitude,
you change your mind, which leads to a
change of heart, which produces a divine change
of life.
Ernest Clark is going to be preaching next
Sunday morning.
I'm going to let the cat out of
the bag here, brother Ernest.
He's preaching on this great subject of repentance
and you know what he said to me?
He said the only demon, the only difference
between a demon and a Christian is that
demons have never repented.
They believe everything we do, but they've never
experienced God-given repentance.
I asked you this morning, how many people
today want heaven without holiness?
How many people today want consolation without consecration?
How many people today want blessing without brokenness?
How many people today want grace without government?
The demons believe and tremble, but they never
confess and forsake their sin.
Demons believe and tremble, but they never humble
themselves on the mighty hand of God.
Demons believe and tremble, but they never mourn
and grieve over their rebellion against God.
They never seek God's forgiveness and cry out
to God for mercy.
You see, their essential character remains unchanged.
They're not changed in their hearts.
Their mind is persuaded.
They are convinced, but they've never...
It's kind of like in the book of
Acts when Paul was preaching to Felix concerning
judgment and self-control and righteousness and judgment
to come.
And the Bible says that Felix trembled, but
he never repented.
I want to ask you a question this
morning, friend.
Have you ever repented in the presence of
God?
You say, what do I need to repent
from?
You need to repent from being self-centered
and sin-centered.
And my friend, we need to get to
the point where we have turned ourselves a
clear around and done a U-turn and
gone the other way.
You know what repentance is?
Repentance...
We're all born on the broad road, you
know?
And we're headed down the broad road that
leads to destruction just like this.
Repentance, my friend, is not when you put
up a yield sign and say, yeah, I'm
going to believe in Jesus and keep on
heading down the same road.
Repentance is when you put up a stop
sign when God flashes the red light and
you turn around.
Instead of walking on the broad road, you
turn around and swing all the way around,
take a U-turn on the narrow road
that leads to life and you start going
for God.
Are you with me here this morning, people?
This is repentance, you see.
I ask you this morning, have you ever
repented?
Have you ever repented?
I'll tell you another deficiency of demon faith.
Demon faith is deficient in good works.
It's deficient in good works.
A lot of confusion today.
I'm not talking about salvation by works.
I'm talking about a salvation that works.
And James, this morning, in the text that
we read, he reiterated three times.
In verse 17, faith without works is dead.
In verse 20, faith without works is dead.
In verse 26, faith without works is dead.
John Calvin said, you're saved by faith alone.
But the faith that saves is never alone.
It's always accompanied by good works.
Yes, praise God, you are saved by faith
alone.
But the faith that saves is never alone.
It's always accompanied by good works.
You know what the scripture says in Matthew
chapter 7?
Jesus said, not everyone that saith unto thee,
Lord, Lord, shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
But he which doeth the will of my
Father, which is in heaven.
And Jesus went on to say that many
will say to me in that day, Lord,
have we not prophesied, taught, preached in thy
name?
Have we not cast out devils in your
name and done many wonderful works in your
name?
And you know what Jesus is going to
say to that crowd?
He will, and then will I profess unto
you, Jesus said, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
You know what this verse is telling us?
Good works do not prove that you are
saved.
Don't misunderstand.
Good works do not prove that you are
saved, but the absence of good works prove
that you are not saved.
Good works don't prove that you're saved, but
the absence of good works prove absolutely that
you are not saved because the scripture says
here in Matthew chapter 7.
These people said, Lord, have we not done
many wonderful works in your name?
You see, good works do not prove that
a person is a Christian, but the absence
of good works prove that he is not.
Judas Iscariot was baptized by John the Baptist.
Judas Iscariot called Jesus Master performed miracles.
He even kissed the door of heaven, but
he fell headlong into hell.
You know why?
My friend, his heart was never changed.
He was never transformed.
He was never converted.
He even kissed the son of God and
he fell headlong into hell.
I'll tell you, my friend, this is disturbing.
It says in Ephesians chapter 2 that we
are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto
good works.
You know, folks, faith without works is dead.
I'll tell you another thing.
Faith without fruit is dead.
Also, faith without fruit is dead where there
is no fruit.
There is no root.
Oh, brethren, Jesus said, I am the vine.
You are the branches.
He said that if he that abides in
me, he will bring forth much fruit.
Oh, friend, there's going to be some that
have thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold, but
there must be something.
And Jesus said every branch that beareth not
fruit is cut off and cast into the
fire.
You know what the scripture says?
The fruit of the spirit is what?
Love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, goodness, meekness.
That's the fruit of the spirit.
But the fruit of a Christian is another
Christian.
And Jesus did speak of a fruit that
would remain.
I say this morning.
I say this morning that demon faith is
deficient in the area of good works.
But let me give you a fourth thing.
Demon faith does not affect behavior.
You see, demons are informed, but they're not
transformed.
Demons are enlightened, but they're not enlivened.
Ian Thomas, Ian Thomas, who wrote The Saving
Life of Christ.
He said the greatest mistake that we could
ever make is to mistake soul enlightenment for
soul enlivenment.
The greatest mistake we could ever make is
to mistake soul enlightenment for soul enlivenment.
You see, it's one thing to be enlightened.
It's another thing to be enlivened by the
spirit of God.
Have we not witnessed, have we not witnessed
in our lifetime people who hold to a
belief system that doesn't affect the way they
live their life?
Have we not seen that?
How many of you seen that bumper sticker
combo going around the Roanoke Valley now?
K92 FM on one side and Jesus is
Lord over Roanoke on the other side.
How many of you think there's a little
inconsistency there?
Give me a witness on that one.
Can you believe it?
Let me tell you something, friends.
The reason some of you have no discernment
on right and wrong is because you don't
have the spirit of God on the inside
of you.
And I'm telling you, when you get converted,
you'll not be perfect, but at least you'll
be different and you'll be changed.
And it will affect the way you live
your life.
My Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17,
if any man be in Christ, he's a
new creation.
All things are passing away.
Behold, all things have become new.
J.C. Riles said, where there's no holy
living, there's no holy ghost.
I'm telling you this morning, my friend, you're
hooked on your HBO television.
You're hooked on your R-rated movies.
You claim to be right with God.
And I want to tell you this morning
as a friend in the Lord that you
need to be converted because when you get
saved, you can't get away with that junk
anymore.
I'll tell you, we just about lost what
it means to be saved anymore.
It says in Romans 8, if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none
of his.
It says in Romans 8, 14, for as
many as are led by the Spirit of
God, they are the sons of God.
I want to ask you this morning, are
you led by the Spirit of God?
Say that you're not led by the Spirit
of God.
You're not a child of God.
It says in 2 Corinthians 3, 18, that
we all, with an open face, an unveiled
face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory
of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory even by the
Spirit of God.
You see, demons are not changed because they
do not have the Spirit of God.
And friend, if you're not being changed or
chastened, neither do you.
I'm telling you, demon faith is deficient because
it doesn't affect behavior.
And salvation is not just a matter of
correct information, it's a matter of transformation that's
wrought by the miraculous Spirit of God.
You know what it says in James 2,
14?
What does it profit brethren?
Though a man say he has faith and
has no works, can that kind of faith
save him?
Can that kind of faith save him?
James said, you believe in God, you're doing
tremendous.
The devils believe and tremble.
People, it's possible to cross all the T's,
intellectually, and got all the I's, theologically, and
still go to hell.
Demons believe in the deity of Jesus Christ.
Demons believe in the authority of the Bible.
Demons believe in eternal damnation.
Demons believe that Jesus is the only way
of salvation.
But if that's all you've got, I say
it as kindness, I know how this morning.
If that's all you've got, you're still in
league with demons.
What kind of faith do you have this
morning?
Is it saving faith, or is it the
same thing as demon faith?
You say, Brother Harold, how can I evaluate
the kind of faith that I have?
Well, what kind of faith is it?
Is it a faith that produces good works?
You know what James said?
He said, Pure religion before God the Father,
pure religion and undefiled before God the Father
is this, to visit the fatherless and the
widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world.
I want to ask you this morning, what
kind of works?
What kind of works?
What kind of fruit come out of your
life naturally?
You know, you really don't have to try
to work up the fruit of the spirit
of God.
You just need to get in tune with
him and abide in the vine, and the
fruit kind of comes out all by itself.
Do you have fruit?
Do you have works this morning?
Number two, is it a faith that leads
you to repentance?
I want to ask you, has your faith
ever led you to repent?
Have you ever changed your mind?
Have you ever changed your ways by the
grace of God?
Have you ever repented?
I want to ask you another question.
Are you still repenting?
You know, the best way you can tell
that you've ever repented is that you're still
at it.
Because Corinthians talks about a repentance never to
be repented of.
Friend, I'm telling you, you can't get over
eternal salvation.
You can't get over it.
And if God ever takes up his habitation
in you, the life of God and the
soul of man, I'm telling you, friend, you
are marked for time and eternity.
You can make a mess out of it.
You can get off the narrow way.
We all know it's the truth.
But brother, you can't stay there without inflicting
some chastisement from a loving Heavenly Father.
He's committed to us, and it's the goodness
of God that leads us to repent.
You know, some people talk about I don't
like to go to that church because they
step on my toes all the time.
That always bothers me.
Friend, if you don't like for the spirit
of God to come and show you some
things and you just like the demons that's
snarling and growling, are you coming to torments
before the time?
Are you going to get on a case
again today?
Are you going to bother us again?
And you see, this whole thing of holiness
is a burden and a duty rather than
a joy and a delight.
I'm telling you, when you get converted, my
friend, you love to have dealings from a
holy God.
You love to be led of the spirit
of God.
You didn't like it when the spirit of
God convicts you.
Why?
Because it brings you back in the right
relationship with him.
Have you ever repented?
Oh, let me ask you this.
Is it a faith that affects your behavior?
Now, let me ask you, does your life
back up?
Does your life back up what you say
you believe?
What governs the way you live?
Is it the Bible, the final authority, or
popular, psychological, or religious opinion?
Friend, I'm here to tell you, man, we're
so far off the mark in our churches
today that if we really come clean with
God, we're going to have to throw out
so much of the junk that we've sucked
up from the world if we're ever going
to have a Bible in the local church.
Do I have a witness this morning?
It's wrong.
It's flat out wrong.
And I'm telling you, God can't have fellowship
with the devil.
Light cannot have fellowship with darkness.
There's such a thing as the secular, and
there's such a thing as profane, and there's
such a thing as the sacred and the
holy.
Let me ask you, is your type of
faith the type of faith that causes you
to be excited about Jesus Christ?
I was listening to BBN on the radio
the other day that came out with this
song, My Heart is Stirred Whenever I Think
of Jesus.
You ever heard that?
My heart is stirred whenever I think of
Jesus.
And I just sit there and listen to
that.
I thought, boy, boy, this is tremendous.
Does your heart ever get stirred when you
think of him?
Friend, are you enthusiastic this morning about Jesus
Christ?
Not as a historical figure, not as a
great religious teacher, but as your personal Savior
that redeemed your soul from hell and saved
you from your sin and set your feet
on the solid rock.
Are you excited this morning about Jesus Christ?
I'll tell you, that's the kind of faith
that saves, man.
It's the kind of faith that does something
for you.
And brother, I'll tell you, in these days
of sophistication where we've gotten so...
I don't even know what to call it
anymore.
We've gotten so refined that very seldom do
people get saved in our kind of churches
anymore.
Very seldom.
And if nobody's getting saved, we've got every
reason to ask ourselves, what in the world
is the problem because the last time I
checked, the Roanoke Valley was full of sinners
on the broad road hitting the wrong way.
God needs to break some of our stony
hearts here this morning.
Oh brethren, what about it?
Is your type of faith the type of
faith that causes you to be excited about
Jesus Christ?
You see, believing and trembling are not conversion.
You can believe and you can even tremble
and still not be saved because the demons
are in that lead.
You say, brother Harold, what can I do?
What can I do?
This is disturbing when I think about the
faith of demons.
Well, number one, you can ask God to
reveal to you the state of your own
heart.
You can ask God to reveal to you
the state of your own heart.
Would you honestly do it this morning, young
people?
Would you honestly be willing to do it?
God, what is the state of my heart?
Have I passed from death into life?
Have I really been changed on the inside
out?
Has God done something for me?
Has the son of God come in to
take up residence in my heart?
That's the thing.
Ask God to reveal to you the state
of your own heart.
Number two, you need to narrow your interest
to life's ultimate priority.
You need to narrow your interest.
You see, we're so broad.
We're shotgunning today.
We need some rifle shots and we need
to narrow it down to our eternal relationship
with our God.
Listen, friend, I don't care if you make
a million dollars.
I don't care what you accomplish in this
life.
You're going to die.
Sure, you're going to die.
And you're going to spend eternity somewhere.
You need to make your calling election sure.
You need to seek the Lord while he
may be found.
You need to call upon him while he
is near.
You need to examine yourself and see if
you can be found in the faith.
And, brothers and sisters, we need to bring
forth fruit, meat for repentance.
What kind of faith do you have, friend?
Is it demon faith or saving faith?
Is it faith or friend?
Examine yourself.
Ask God to reveal to you to save
your own heart.
Narrow your interest.
Seek the Lord.
Let God do that miraculous work.
And by the grace of God, repent of
your sin and flee to Christ as your
Savior.
Isn't it good news this morning for sinners
that God's not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to forgiveness?
Oh, yes, but it's good news that they
should come to repentance and God can change
us.
And he can do it.
The disturbing faith of demons, I'll tell you,
it's disturbing because it's so orthodox, but it's
dead.
It's deficient of good works.
They had no enthusiasm for Jesus Christ.
I'll tell you, these demons, it does not
lead to repentance.
It does not affect their behavior.
Oh, my brethren, they have no fruit.
All the brethren, God this morning in his
mercy wants to give us genuine saving faith.
The demons believe and tremble, but the Bible
says there's something beyond belief.
There's something beyond trembling and being stirred.
There's that heart change that comes when God
comes to take up residence in a human
heart.
Do you have saving faith?
Heavenly Father, I pray this morning that you
would reveal to the hearts of everyone present
here this morning the state of their own
souls.
Dear God, be merciful and draw men and
women and young people and children.
Draw people to yourself.
God, don't let anybody be conned this morning
with a substitute, a demon faith.
Lord, God, don't let anybody be deceived and
miss heaven by 18 inches.
They got it all in their head, but
they don't have Christ in their heart.
God, don't let anybody miss it this morning.
Father, I pray that you'd take the invitation
this morning and Lord, repentance would take place
here and the new birth and saving faith.
Now, this morning we've had a moment of
prayer.
We're going to have an invitation here this
morning and I'm thoroughly convinced that there's some
sitting here today and you know in your
heart of hearts, you've known it for a
long time, that all you got is the
type of faith that demons have.
It doesn't say, but God's talking to you
and you've opened your heart this morning and
you're asking God to reveal to you the
state of your own heart and you're open
to the Lord and some of you here
this morning may be so convinced that you're
lost, that you want this morning to take
a stand and you want to publicly and
openly repent and you want to follow the
Lord with all of your heart.
I'm going to ask you to get out
of your seat this morning.
I'm going to ask you to come down
these aisles while the choir sings in a
moment and give your heart to the Lord.
You know, Christian, God might be calling on
you to repent of specific sins.
Lost friends, God's calling on you to repent
of all sin and I'm telling you, it's
the goodness of God that leads you to
repent.
You can't quit your bad habits and your
own strength.
You can't turn your life around in your
own strength, but you can surrender your heart
to Jesus Christ and you can get off
the throne and you can get out of
the driver's seat and you can give yourself
to God and God can do something for
you.
Let's stand this morning.
This morning, we're going to have a moment
of prayer.
Don Diven's is going to be down here
at the altar.
God's spoken to your heart.
Why don't you come this morning and why
don't you, why don't you get out in
the open and get out of the closet
and get real with God and give your
heart to the Lord this morning.
Would you do it this morning?
Christian friends, let's pray.
Father, have thy way this morning.
God help men and women and young people
to locate themselves.
Dear God, I pray that people that have
that demon faith, that kind of faith that
doesn't save.
I pray, God, they would chuck it this
morning.
They would turn from it.
Lord, we're not looking for recommitments and rededications.
Lord, we're looking for conversions here this morning.
And father, I pray that the goodness of
God would lead people to repent.
Lord, perhaps some are confused here this morning.
Lord, I pray you give them the courage
and the grace to respond openly, unashamedly, in
common.
Get help in time of need.
Father, may some people this morning call upon
you while you're near and seek the Lord
while he may be found.
Have thy way this morning.
Believers praying, choir singing, invitation is open.
You feel free to respond now as we
wait in God's presence.