The title of the message is Don't Arm
the Enemy.
Don't Arm the Enemy.
And I'm going to give you a quick
synopsis.
Do you know what that is?
A synopsis is a sentence or two on
what the story is about.
If you look at the trailer of a
movie, that's a synopsis.
It tells you what you're about to get
into.
The synopsis for this message is this.
They have been disarmed.
I'm talking about the demonic realm.
Has been disarmed.
But we arm them again.
We have the power to win, but we
often lose.
And many times we sing that song about
being delivered and set free.
I'm set free, but then we're worshipping going,
but Lord, why am I in bondage?
Why do I keep falling in this area?
Why can't I get this under control?
I don't understand.
I'm free in the sun, but I'm bound
in sin.
There's an enemy there that I feel that
I can sense.
Verse 13, Then some of the itinerant and
Jewish exorcists, I don't know if you know
what that is, but they would travel around,
apparently held to the Jewish religion, they would
travel around and they would try to perform
exorcists on people.
Exorcisms.
We see that sometimes in old movies and
even maybe new movies now, I don't know,
I'm not up to speed, but it's not
a good thing to play with, for sure.
So they would travel around and supposedly do
this.
They took it upon themselves to call the
name of the Lord Jesus over those who
had evil spirits.
Now this is funny.
They're traveling around.
They saw clearly, clearly that God was moving.
Jesus was healing.
The demonic realm was being crushed.
And they say, okay, we're going to cast
out demons in the name of Jesus whom
Paul prays about or talks about.
So here's what they said exactly.
We exorcise you by the name of Jesus
whom Paul preaches.
That's like saying, you know, now, you know,
if a friend of yours is praying, I'm
praying.
I'm praying in the name of Jesus at
that church that Martha goes to.
There's no relationship there.
And also there were seven sons of Siva,
a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
And the evil spirit answered and said, think
about this.
The evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I
know, and Paul I know, but who are
you?
Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but
who are you?
Now, you can speculate a lot into this,
but obviously this person knows who the seven
sons of Siva are.
They know the demonic realm.
It's not saying, well, who are you?
I've never seen you before.
He's saying, I know Paul's power, and I
know who Christ is, and I know they
have the authority to cast me out, but
who are you?
You're nothing to me.
You actually have no authority over me.
You are on my side.
You can't command me to be removed from
this person, but who are you?
Then the man in whom the evil spirit
was, he leaped on them, overpowered them, prevailed
against them, so they fled out of that
house naked and wounded.
Now, when a person, and I've talked about
this before, and I don't want to get
into a long thing on it, but the
Bible really, possession is a word we use
that wasn't in the original language of the
New Testament, and we think of this word
like possessed, like a robot, right?
I'm possessed by the devil.
I've got to do, and you're just, and
really, he has a demon, is what they
would say.
He's demonic.
He has a demon.
There's something influencing that person.
He's lost his grip.
He's lost, it's a stronghold.
This demonic realm now is controlling this person.
So, in this area, they often lash out,
right?
When they're confronted by light, they lash out.
Now, this is sometimes why people are scared,
because there are, I just talked to a
lady, drove to Bakersfield, and visited somebody in
the hospital there, and a friend of his
was there, and she talked about being also
involved in the satanic church, and when she
had deliverance, deliverance, you hear about the foam
in the mouth, and she felt like throwing
up, and violently throwing up, and screaming, and
yelling, and this thing was taking place inside
her soul, and that is real.
That's real.
If you've seen, if you know, especially, talk
to missionaries in Africa or different places, the
Middle East, when the demonic realm exposes itself,
there's a fight.
They don't want to leave the battle.
There's a screaming.
So that's why Christians are a little taken
back.
You know, I don't want this to happen.
I don't want to run out of here
naked.
I don't want to run out of here
wounded.
But the difference is they had no power,
no authority.
The believer in Jesus Christ has the power
and the authority in the same way that
Jesus did because it's the same Holy Spirit.
Now, sometimes it took, like this lady I
talked to, I think she said she sat
in the church or praying with the people
for six hours.
Six hours praying for this release in her
heart.
But let's think about this for a minute.
Naked and wounded.
This is exactly what happens when the demonic
realm wins.
We feel shame and pain.
When the demonic realm wins in a certain
area, don't we feel shame and pain?
That's what happens.
There's shame.
Lord, how could I let this happen?
There's pain in our lives.
Now, I'm going to get to where the
rubber meets the road.
Are you ready?
That's not very encouraging.
I think the 9 a.m. is pretty
sleepy.
Nobody had any coffee this morning, right?
Very important fact.
This is undisputed, but it's important.
Very important.
It appears that the kingdom of darkness had
much more power and authority before Jesus' ministry
than it does now.
Than it did after Jesus' ministry.
They were running havoc.
They were creating a lot more turmoil.
Well, Shane, that's a wonderful idea, but do
you have Scriptural support?
Yes.
Are you ready?
Here we go.
Matthew 12.28 But if I cast out
demons by the Spirit of God, then the
kingdom of God has come upon you.
So Jesus is saying the kingdom of God
that you've been praying about is here.
I am the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God has come upon you
and actually, as a believer, it is within
you.
So now the demonic realm, who's running crazy,
they can do whatever they want.
Now there's a kingdom here that's going to
fight them.
There's a kingdom there that's going to bind
them.
The kingdom of God has come upon you.
Now you can cast out and remove the
demonic realm.
Matthew 10.7 As you go, heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead.
I forgot about that one.
Cast out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give.
And basically what that means is give freedom,
give hope, give deliverance.
This power of the Spirit has been given
to you freely.
Now you go out and you do these
things.
See, there wasn't believers in the Old Testament.
They couldn't go out and do these things.
Unless the Spirit of God came upon a
person, they could not overcome the demonic realm.
That's why you would read in the Old
Testament, and the Spirit came upon Samuel.
And the Spirit of God came upon Elisha.
And the Spirit of God came upon Samson
for a particular task.
But now in the New Testament, the enemy
is running for cover.
He's coming against authority he never came against
before.
One more in case you're not convinced.
Colossians 2.15 Jesus, having disarmed the principalities
and powers, He made a public spectacle of
them triumphing over them.
So He just disarmed them.
So what happens?
Satan will try to minimize or counterfeit those
things that are most important.
For example, your authority in Christ.
Who you are.
And actually, it's who the Holy Spirit is
residing in you.
Now, if you just think about this for
a second, I know it gets discouraging because
we get defeated a lot, right?
But if you have the Holy Spirit in
you, that's biblical teaching.
And the same Holy Spirit that's in you
was in Christ.
The Bible talks about the same Spirit is
in you that raised Christ from the dead.
That same authority, that same power, that same
unction, that same boldness, it's the Holy Spirit,
then now you can confront the demonic realm.
But He'll want to hide that, right?
And make it timid.
And I knew I grew up this way,
and sometimes it's still a struggle.
You think of God and the devil.
Who's going to win here?
They're kind of competing against each other.
We already know who won the battle.
We already know that Satan is defeated.
He's already defeated.
He's already defeated, so Satan will try to
hide that from us.
Or he'll use phony healings.
He'll want you to avoid application of the
Word.
Don't fast and pray.
Don't be filled with the Spirit.
All these things that are so important.
Actually, he doesn't care if you read your
Bible, as long as you don't apply it.
He loves the man who reads his Bible
and yells at his family, and doesn't go
to church, and curses and has illegal business
practices.
He's part of his plan to cause hypocrisy
and deception.
So you have spiritual authority over the demonic
realm.
And I'm going to talk about, as I
get into the message, it's a sobering message.
I'll just let you know up front.
The reason is, I believe the enemy, as
you do, is sent to kill, steal, and
to destroy.
So when I look around, and I see
the mayhem that is taking place, I see
the debauchery that is taking place, the perversion
that is taking place, and you see the
enemy is shooting and winning often, there should
be a righteous indignation that rises up within
you.
That he's stealing.
He's killing.
He's destroying.
This isn't reading a comic book.
This is real life.
You cannot arm and entertain the devil and
expect to win.
You cannot arm him and expect to win.
What we do here has enormous spiritual ramifications.
I want you to think about that for
a minute.
What we do here has enormous spiritual ramifications.
How we live actually affects the spiritual realm.
You must fight.
I know some of you didn't want to
hear that this morning.
We get this idea of following Jesus is
like laying in the grass meadow and looking
up at the clouds and waiting for heaven.
But it's not.
I challenge you to look at what the
Bible says about warfare.
It's the strongest language it could use.
If we wrote it today, it would be
like, and grab your nuclear bomb and your
stealth fighter and your navy battleship and go
to war.
It's the strongest thing you can bring to
this.
And this is why many fall back into
sin.
They've lost the battle.
So let's talk about this for a minute.
Don't arm the enemy.
Let's start at the bottom of the foundation
from verse 15.
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus
I know and Paul I know, but who
are you?
Believing and thinking about Him now and then
because of what others have told you is
not enough.
Now, call me naive.
Call me ignorant.
But I'm one of those types of preachers.
When I go into an audience, I'm pretty
convinced that not everybody sitting there is saved.
Oh, goodness.
There's a good chance.
Because many people know about Jesus.
That's why they don't have the power.
That's why they don't have the authority.
They know about Jesus.
Let me give you a good example.
My younger daughter, I won't say the name,
a while back we got cast iron pans.
And do you know they can stay hot
for a while after the flame is turned
off?
Right, so the flame is off.
You know, just sitting there.
And I'm like, no, don't touch it.
It's still hot.
They're like, okay.
But you know what kids, once you tell
them no, right?
I should have just said nothing.
Well, a couple minutes later I hear the
crying.
And I said, you know, what happened?
Well, I touched it.
I touched it.
I grabbed it.
And I realized she believed it was hot.
But it wasn't until she touched it she
experienced the heat.
See, many people can believe.
I believe there's a Jesus.
You know, He lived, right?
And there's a God.
I mean, look at this.
Listen, I believe, and they believe they're good.
They'll come to church.
Yeah, I believe.
They'll go through life.
I believe, but they've never touched the iron.
They've never experienced God.
They've never repented and embraced that gift of
salvation.
So that has to be the foundation.
Believing and thinking about Jesus is not enough.
James 2.19 paraphrased.
I love this Scripture.
You say that you believe there is one
God.
Good for you.
Even the demons believe in God and tremble.
Good for you.
When you say, in the name of Jesus...
See, when you say, in the name of
Jesus or pray in the name of Jesus,
there must be a relationship.
You're saying, in the name of my Savior,
in the name of my King, in the
name of my Deliverer, in the name of
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
That's what I'm proclaiming.
It's not in Shane's strength.
Not in your strength.
You're proclaiming it in the name of Jesus
because I have that relationship.
See, not only do I believe I've touched
the iron.
Oh my goodness, if I touch the iron,
that it set me free and redeemed me
and guides me and comes back and holds
me when the enemy is beating me up,
that's the Christ I know.
So I come with that power and that
authority.
That's what it means here.
I mean, do you know we sing a
lot, His name is victory.
His name is actually victory.
His name is deliverance.
His name is the Alpha, the Omega, the
beginning, the end.
His name is Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.
He carries all these names that denote authority
and power and ruling and reigning.
So you come in that name.
That's why you can walk into something and
you can preach or you can speak or
you can pray in the name of Jesus.
And the demonic realm has to take note
of what you're doing.
Now people will say the devil is after
me or the devil is this, and I've
been there myself too.
But I don't know if it's actually him
because he's not omnipresent.
He's not everywhere.
He's not omniscient, all-knowing, all-powerful.
He's not everywhere.
He has a demonic, that's why they're called
demons.
That's why so many of them went into
the swine.
So what you're facing many times are demons.
Now truth be told, I'll just be transparent,
I don't like this topic.
I just wish they didn't exist.
I wish that life just is hard and
I don't like the idea that there are
little minions trying to influence my children, trying
to influence me, trying to break apart the
church, trying to come into your lives.
I don't like that.
And so one aspect of not liking it
is sometimes I don't want to talk about
it.
I don't want to preach about it.
I don't want to give them any type
of recognition.
But on the other hand, if the Bible
talks about it, we have to come to
this realization.
Reading the Scripture this week, I came to
this realization.
Either we're supposed to cast out demons, and
I don't mean some weird stuff you see
on TV, but just go and help somebody
get through, they're bound by Satan, either we're
supposed to or we're not, as believers.
Either we're supposed to go and heal the
sick or we're not.
See, sometimes, like, oh, I know it says
that, but, you know, 2,000 years later,
I mean, it doesn't really, how can you
live like that?
We can't live like that.
Either the Bible means what it says or
it doesn't.
And there's nowhere in Scripture where it says,
now these things are going to wane.
These things are not going to occur anymore.
Now, granted, I don't have a perfect picture
of what this looks like.
I know when I get involved in ministry
and traveling around, for example, the hospital homes,
you'll look the demonic realm straight in the
face.
Curse you, tell you to get out, spit
at you.
Where does that come from?
That's just not a bad day.
I've had bad days, and I don't do
that.
There's something there.
If you don't know God, like I just
said above, if you don't know God, there
is nothing you can do.
You can try willpower, you can embrace positive
thinking, you can hope for karma, but you
will never be set free.
Shane, that's so depressing.
Well, I only depressed you to show you
where the light is, to show you where
the truth is.
What kind of pastor would I be if
I offered false hope?
Just offered false hope.
There's nothing you can do to fight the
demonic realm.
You must start here.
Repent and believe.
This is the first step in disarming the
satanic realm.
You must walk out of the darkness and
into the light.
Crystal clear on that, right?
That's the first step.
That's what happened here.
That's why these men were defeated.
So I'm going to give you some things
to help you.
How do we arm the enemy?
Now, granted, nothing is new, right?
If it's new, it's not true.
If it's true, it's not new.
A lot of this I've picked apart over
the last year or so here, but I'm
going to put it all in one sermon.
How do we arm the enemy?
Anybody think of that?
Don't arm the enemy.
Okay, well, Shane, how do we arm the
enemy?
Here's how we arm the enemy.
We give the enemy ammunition.
To arm somebody or something, you give them
the ammunition.
You give them the weapons.
You give them the things that are trying
to destroy you.
We give them the ammunition.
That's exactly what happens.
So let's talk about how we give them
the ammunition.
I know you're curious, right?
Number one, three things, and I'll be done.
You can go eat lunch.
What we allow in the mind.
Now, of course, I've mentioned this before, but
it fits perfectly in with arming the enemy.
What we allow in the mind.
A stronghold or a fortress cannot easily be
broken down.
So if the enemy has caused something in
your life to be a stronghold, this is
not coming out, right?
Except by prayer and fasting.
It's reached that level.
There's a fortress.
There's a stronghold.
I'm bound.
I can't come out of this.
2 Corinthians 10, 5 says this.
You cast down arguments, which is an argument
is you're self-excusing yourself.
No, no, you don't need to work on
that.
You don't need to.
And all these wrong ideas that are coming
into our mind.
And every high thing that exalts itself against
the knowledge of God.
So when something exalts itself against what God
has proclaimed, the media is a big one
on this one, right?
They come up and they say, no, this
is what we say.
God says, no, that's not true.
You need to come against those things, those
high things that exalt themselves against God.
Bringing every thought into the captivity to the
obedience of Christ.
And the brain is very interesting.
Study something or online neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity, it means the brain.
They used to think the brain was like
a computer, right?
Pre-programmed.
Pre-programmed to live a certain way.
Pre-programmed to die a certain way.
Your environment, there's nothing you can do because
you're pre-programmed.
Now they're understanding the brain.
Neuroplasticity means it can be changed.
It can be altered.
It can be renewed and restored.
A verse has come to mind on that
one.
Do not conform to this world, but be
renewed or be restored by the renewing of
your mind.
So the mind is being renewed.
So it really changes how...
I think personally, if we really thought about
how powerful our thoughts were, we would change
our thoughts.
Because sometimes, well, that's just a thought.
That doesn't really matter.
No, that's where he's coming in.
That's where he's firing those darts.
The Satan hears, we give the demonic realm
too much influence in our lives.
We act on the thoughts they plant.
For example, you remember when Jesus said, get
behind me, Satan.
What did Peter do?
He said, Christ, Jesus, you will not go
to that cross.
One of the most blasphemous, worst statements a
person could ever make.
Did Jesus rebuke Peter?
Have you ever thought about that?
Peter, that's not...
You'll see.
I know you don't know right now.
He said, Satan, you get behind me.
Now, was Satan planting thoughts in Peter's mind
to try to demotivate Christ?
I mean, who knows?
We know that Jesus said, get behind me,
Satan.
You don't know the thoughts of the Father.
So Satan will say, get back to that
relationship.
Go back to that relationship.
Click on that site.
Take that drink.
Pop that pill.
Take that hit.
Prove yourself right.
Show them how great you are.
Elevate yourself.
My favorite, get the last word in.
Now, this is why it's challenging.
Not only is the devil against me, my
flesh isn't my friend either.
That's why most, even theology many hundreds of
years ago talks about, especially if you read
the Puritans, that we're coming against the flesh,
the devil, and the world.
Those are really what's coming at us because
the demonic realm cannot maybe plant any thoughts
and just my flesh will want to go
somewhere because the world is influencing me, right?
Try fasting and driving by Carl's Jr. Smelling
it.
Seeing the signs.
Oh, see, just the flesh and the pull
of the world.
That's enough, right?
And then like, no, I'm going home.
And then those thoughts.
Why?
Come on.
Now, I know I'm minimizing this, but I
could really elevate this.
This is why a person goes back to
alcohol.
This is why they'll go back to medication.
Back to now, certain things that, oh, now
they're legal.
I guess it's okay.
They go back to bondage in this area
because he starts planting thoughts.
It's really in the thought life and in
the music people.
That's why I talk about music and entertainment.
Here's something you need to understand.
Especially young adults, they're listening to music.
Why just enjoy it?
But see, enjoying it and allowing it is
changing your mind.
To enjoy and to allow it, it actually
is affecting you.
You can't supposedly enjoy something and it's not
affecting you because our enjoyment comes in what
we're enjoying.
If I'm enjoying the things of the world,
those things are starting to shape my mind.
If I'm enjoying the things of God, that's
directing me in that direction.
I don't know if some of you, there's
not a lot of young adults in here,
but there was a person by the name
of Chester Bennington who recently committed suicide.
He was the lead singer for Linkin Park.
I don't know how many of you knew
that.
But they released a statement, the band did.
Talking with you about the years ahead together,
your excitement was infectious.
Your absence leaves a void that can never
be filled.
A boisterous, funny, ambitious, creative, kind, generous voice
in the room is missing.
Why did you read that, Shane?
Oh, it's not for that, I read this.
Wait until you hear this next paragraph, sentence.
We're trying to remind ourselves that the demons
who took you away from us were always
part of the deal.
This isn't a statement.
A statement his band made.
The demons were always part of the deal?
After all, it was the way you sang
about those demons that made everyone fall in
love with you in the first place.
You fearlessly put them on display.
You don't think that's why there's a spirit
of suicide in our young adults?
You don't think that's why there's cutting and
drug abuse?
Because he made a deal with the devil.
That's possible.
If you've talked to people coming out of
the satanic church or anything, they'll tell you
there's a point in their life where the
demonic realm was so strong, the darkness was
so strong, they had power and authority, the
fake kind, right?
Maybe some type of...
could read into mind something, but they said,
Satan, I'm yours.
I make a pact with the devil.
And then Satan can elevate you.
He might know some people in Hollywood.
He might get you that record deal.
And he can just...
I mean, who puts a statement like this
out?
We try to remind ourselves that demons who
took you away from us were always part
of the deal.
And I talk to people who listen to
this stuff.
Listen to this music.
I know Christians who are listening to this
hard, gothic, demonic music, and they're finding enjoyment
in that.
If you find enjoyment in that, something's wrong
with your heart.
That should not entertain.
You should not enjoy.
I mean, those change your thoughts.
I remember 30 years ago, I still remember
Metallica.
Those lyrics, darkness imprisoning me, absolute horror.
That's what I'm singing.
In my 20s.
See, they're planting those thoughts.
That's how he enters.
Wake up, folks.
That's how he enters.
Well, too bad for young adults.
No, too bad if you're older too.
That's still how he enters.
Entertainment and allowing these things in are basically
you're giving approval.
Hi, my name is Shane and I approve
this ad.
And just this week, God showed me so
many Scriptures.
Just reading through the Old Testament too as
well.
And it really stuck out.
I wrote it down yesterday I believe.
Like He told Hezekiah, do not listen to
those men who are coming.
Elisha, do not listen.
Do not listen.
Do not listen to those people who are
trying to get you to go astray to
the other gods.
Do not listen to those Hittites, Persites, Ammonites,
all these ites that are trying to get
you to fall.
Do not listen.
See, that goes before do not do.
Do not listen.
Woe be to the rebellious children who take
counsel, but not of My Spirit, who devise
plans, but not of My Spirit.
Do not listen.
See, it opens right here.
Now, there's a difference because I will read
books from different religions and things to try
to learn better for apologetics.
But the mind's not open to what they're
serving.
It's open to what God's Word says and
showing the inconsistencies.
And you can't just watch an R-rated
movie and say, I'm just trying to watch
it just to see.
I don't know.
See if it's good for my kids.
Five minutes into it, you already know it's
not.
And when it says R right there, that's
a good thing right there.
Well, what about The Passion of the Christ?
Oh, you got me on that one, I
guess.
And I just went online.
What is trending on Netflix?
What is trending?
Okay, I want to see what's trending.
Saw.
This movie Saw.
There's a head inside of a scale.
They weigh something.
The Dead Zone.
Jigsaw.
Happy Death Day.
The Evil Within.
Resident Evil.
The Snare.
Seven Witches.
That's trending.
In a society that is a so-called
Christian society with millions attending church.
I'll tell you what, it's not just unbelievers
putting that on the trending list.
Come on, church, wake up!
Where's the Christian who is fully surrendered to
God, full of the Holy Spirit, who wants
to denounce these things, who wants to fight
the darkness, not embrace it?
Where are they at?
Because that's what a true follower of Christ
is.
I'm not getting legalistic, I'm getting narrow.
The narrow road.
And I didn't even get into the...
I didn't even get into the...
I just picked the horror films.
You should see the sexual perversion ones.
It's just amazing.
Now, conviction comes in.
It's a wonderful thing.
This might be...
I mean, without fail, without fail, when I
talk to people about suicide, or severe anxiety,
or fear, or whatever it is, and I
say, tell me about your mental diet.
My mental diet?
What does that got to do with anything?
The mental diet.
What you're allowing in.
If a physical diet changes this, right?
A mental diet changes this.
I mean, I know, I do silly things.
I don't even know why I did it.
I went on Facebook and I liked it.
Antle Valley scanner report.
Why did I do that?
Let's go on like that.
I don't need to know every single crime,
and every single car crash, and every single
robbery, and every single shooting.
It's like, what am I doing?
Did that build me up spiritually?
Now I'm ready to come and preach.
Now I'm like, come on family, let's get
out of here.
But we allow, because see, here's the battle.
Here's the battle.
The weapons of your warfare are not carnal.
You're not going to fight the devil with
something like this.
Pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge
of God, you bring that thought into captivity.
You stop it here before it gets to
here.
Out of time.
Right, it's right here.
Right here.
This is where the battle, this is where
you're arming the enemy.
It's interesting too, I read this week, Mark
5, it's where Jesus cast out the demon
in the man with a legion of demons
within him.
And I always find it interesting that the
city actually asked Jesus to leave.
Would you get out of here?
They were comfortable with the demonic in their
area.
Many of you have grown comfortable with the
demonic.
Because you don't just walk out and see
Halloween decorations with a guy hanging.
Or exorcism and all these...
We forget he's an angel of light.
It's the demonic realm.
It's an angel of light.
He presents...
Listen, I don't even know how many.
For argument's sake, I say there's a dozen
people right now that I'm trying to help
with alcohol.
And in every case, it's like...
I can relax.
Or marijuana.
Now it's legal.
But see, what they don't realize is they're
comfortable now, supposedly, but the end result doesn't
look like where you start.
When the enemy starts you there, his goal
is to destroy everything.
So that's the direction it's going.
I'll just be truthful with you.
Right now, that's the direction it's going.
If you're hooked to something, if you're addicted,
if the enemy's got you bound, that's one
of the great deceptions is to get you
comfortable.
I remember reading a book, I believe it's
by Russell Moore, Tried and Tempted.
He talks about how cows now, they're just
at the slaughterhouse, and they're just on the
conveyor belt or whatever it is, and they're
just looking around, and before they know it,
boom!
A big heavy piece of metal.
They were comfortable.
They were walking.
Because they found out, they take them away
from seeing the death of other animals.
They take them away from all this chaos
and confusion and blood and gore.
They make the animals enjoy it because then,
I mean I could get into that more,
but how it affects the meat, because all
these toxins are released, adrenaline, cortisol, that gets
into the meat, into the food, they want
the animal relaxed.
Same thing.
Guys, this is where my heart really is
because I see people, I see people start
a medication for an injury, and then a
year later, it's destroying their house.
That's always what happens.
Ephesians 4.27, Do not give the devil
a foothold.
Give him no opportunity at all.
And I've mentioned quite a while ago, but
it might help a little bit.
You know what a foothold is, right?
It's when your teenage daughter's mad, and she
goes to close the door, and you just
put your foot in.
See, it's not closed.
I have an entry point.
Go right in.
There's a foothold.
There's something, there's this area.
That's why in this type of subject, you've
got to guard off these areas.
You can't give him a foothold.
What about family patterns?
People call this generational curses.
I've always just kind of strayed away from
that because I don't think that a certain
family is cursed from here on out.
Now, I think we're all trying to say
the same thing, but it's just not terminology
I use.
What I refer to often is entry points.
If there's something in a family that is
often passed down, whether it's sexual perversion, alcoholism,
anger, you know, right?
I'll never be like my father.
And then you realize, I'm just like my
father.
So there's entry points.
There's entry points where the enemy will be
able to work.
And this is why the home needs to
be a holy sanctuary.
See, what you do affects your family.
We forget this.
That drink you're taking, that website you're looking
at will affect your children.
It will affect your marriage.
It will affect your family.
These are entry points the enemy is looking
for.
And then the third point, what we allow
in the mouth.
Back to the point of illegal isn't always
good.
Marijuana, pills, alcohol alter how you think you're
no longer in control.
Now, this is an interesting topic because this
is probably one of the number one reasons
where I just talked about the thought life,
the entertainment, but this also, allowing these things,
because what they do is they alter your
mind.
And when your mind is altered, where does
it start?
So when it's altered, then you open the
door.
And you'll do things you'll never do.
You never thought I'd do.
Ask somebody the next morning after a busy
night.
They open the door to that.
There's also people I'm talking to, they don't
go here, but hooked on marijuana now.
But it's medicinal.
Yeah, but you lost your mind.
You can't even keep your job.
It's not just medicinal.
Now, disclaimer, I'm not against certain medicinal uses
for things.
I believe God has given us wisdom in
these areas, but medicinal use of anything is
about this much.
And abuse is about as long as America.
And we use the medicinal excuse to continue
in our addiction.
Anytime somebody who's addicted says that, I say,
uh-huh, that's your excuse.
I don't say it just like that, but
that's obviously their excuse, right?
So think about this.
It changes how you think.
And I personally have never met anyone who
is walking in the power of God, doing
the will of God, filled with the Spirit
of God, who is a user.
I'm hooked to anything.
Because it alters the mind.
Alters the mind.
I remember reading about a year and a
half ago, just reading the interactions or the
warnings on Xanax that you take for anxiety.
And after reading what can happen from taking
it, it's worse than what you're dealing with.
Under a doctor's care, to go off can
result in seizures, possible death, hallucinations, panic attacks
and anxiety.
Wait, aren't we taking it for that?
Read it.
Go online and study what these things are.
You're opening the door.
Now, somebody needed something for three days while
they're coming off of alcohol and withdrawals.
You know, there's a little bit of freedom
there.
But overall, you have to be careful because
many people, we like how we feel, then
we want to keep going back to it.
Right?
And the world is absolutely ready to feed
this addiction, isn't it?
I remember.
I told you before.
I got a root canal a couple years
ago.
He said, I went deep.
It's going to hurt.
Here's a Vicodin description for a month.
A month?
A month.
Yeah, if you need more, if it's still
hurting.
And it was bad that day.
Oh my goodness.
It was bad.
Next day, it was hurting.
I'm like, throwing these things away.
We don't need to use these.
But you can get really hooked on, oh,
this feels good.
My tooth is not hurting anymore.
This feels good.
I just need to go to sleep.
This feels good.
I need to go to sleep.
This feels good.
I need to cope with my day.
And you get hooked to that.
And then tolerance builds up and one's not
doing it anymore.
And see, that's how the enemy works in
all these areas.
It's interesting.
Alcohol, I believe from what I'm researching, I
could be wrong.
Alcohol comes from the word, the Arabic word,
which some say means, body eating spirit.
Ephesians 5.18, Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery.
Debauchery is excessive indulgence and sensual pleasure.
Now, and I know a few in this
room and others, I'm not talking about, the
person has a beer now and then.
Right?
You got it.
Or a glass of wine.
I'm also not condoning it, but I'm just
saying, that's not what I'm talking about.
Actually, the people who do that and do
it right, love exactly what I'm saying.
And they agree with what I'm saying.
I'm talking to the person who's now, it's
become an addiction.
Where now, it's become an ongoing basis on
a regular, you have to have it.
How do I know, Shane?
Just go a month without something if you
want to see if you have to have
it.
Most of you can't get through one day
without coffee and you'll know exactly what I'm
talking about.
There's this addiction that comes in.
Same thing with alcohol.
Ephesians 5.18, Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery.
Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
So, who gets the ammunition?
See, it goes back to who gets the
ammunition?
And it's interesting, in the Greek, there's a
word, pharmakia.
Some pronounce it pharmaki, I believe it's pharmakia.
It's drug-related sorcery, like the practice of
magic arts.
Do you know where we get that word
now?
Pharmacy.
Every time I drive by Walgreens, it cracks
me up because there's a big witches pot.
That's their logo.
Right?
There's a big, that's what it is.
It's a witches pot.
It's a witches pot, and the little thing,
whatever they're doing, little cat dung, and a
little, you know, but that's what it represents,
the logo.
So be careful.
I mean, maybe you'll leave here and go,
Shane, you just went over the top here
on this one, I don't care, but I've
seen, this is destroying many lives.
People close to me.
This is eating away at them.
Eating away at them.
Oxycontin.
Xanax.
Vicodin.
Valium.
All these things.
Opiates.
They dull the mind.
Dull the senses.
I can't get through life.
I need this.
And that's the deception.
I can't get through life, I take this.
Right?
And then a couple hours later, this isn't
cutting it.
And then things are falling apart, and then
I go back to this, and you go
back to the very thing that is destroying
you.
Galatians 5.19-20 Now the deeds of
the flesh, what the flesh wants to do
are evident, which are this, immorality, impurity, sensuality,
sensuality, idolatry, pharmacia.
Sorcery.
It's the lust of the flesh.
So here's how you give an entry point
to the enemy.
I mean, don't test this out, but try
doing a Bible study after two strong beers.
It's not going to work.
What about if I even came up here
and said, guys, I had a hard morning.
I just stopped and got a morose, or
what do they call this thing?
Champagne and orange juice.
You know, how could you?
How could you?
I don't know what it's called.
Mormosa.
Okay.
I saw some people we know serving those
at a garage sale.
Seven in the morning.
Problem.
But no, it's freedom.
It's my liberty.
No, it's a problem.
It's an addiction.
Anytime you open it up to this, that's
why people are struggling with pornography.
That's why they're struggling with their diet and
their eating habits because it's sensuality.
You open it up and it just comes
at you.
Isaiah 28.7 The priests and the prophet
have erred through intoxicating drink.
They are swallowed up by wine.
They are out of the way through intoxicating
drink.
They err in vision and they stumble in
judgment.
So you will not be able to see
clearly and direct your family and lead your
family and you will make bad decisions that
aren't aligned according to God's will.
That's what it does to you because now
the wrong spirit is guiding.
We can go to church and sing hallelujah
but if we go home and open up
the six pack, you just done done what
the spirit was doing in your life.
Or the pill, or the drink, or the
smoke, or the computer, or anything.
If you don't fight in this area you
will fall.
Here's what we need to do.
Confession.
Confession brings it to the light.
People get frustrated when it doesn't happen immediately
but it is a battle.
It's a battle.
Accountability helps the confession stay at the forefront.
Here's the one thing about accountability.
Don't trust in it in and of itself.
Accountability will not fix your problem.
However, it's a great tool.
Because when you bring something to the light,
if there's somebody there who keep you accountable,
they can keep bringing that to the light.
And as soon as you start to snap
at them and get upset at them, you
know that that sin is starting to get
back underneath that rock again.
So that's what confession does.
You bring it to the light.
You're accountable.
You open up.
Hey, this is in my life.
And people are given the ability to ask
you about certain things.
So do that.
Confess it.
Bring it to the light.
Oh, that was a quick hour.
My goodness gracious.
I thought I had like 20 minutes left.
Well, let me just...
Here's what I want to do during this
prayer time.
I just have such a passion for this
topic because I'm traveling over this way.
I'm going to prison sometime to visit a
friend.
And all of the chaos going on right
now around my life and around this church
and around this has to do with this
topic.
The demonic realm is winning in many lives.
And it's causing havoc.
So if you need to fan the flames
again, if your heart is cold to God,
then go to the heat.
Go back to Him.
2 Timothy 1.6 For this reason, I
remind you to fan into flame the gift
of God which is in you through the
laying on of my hands.
So Paul laid his hands on Timothy and
ignited something in Timothy.
It fanned those flames.
So we're going to have prayer next door.
If you need to fan those flames again,
you know exactly what I'm talking about if
you're right there.
Every Sunday, without fail, people come and pray
this prayer.
They've lost it spiritually.
They are declining and they know it.
They have no passion for God.
Worship is boring and they can't open their
Bible.
You need to fan the flames.
You need to get that passion back.
The prayer team needs to pray with you
and have that open up again.
Have you ever been there where you say,
I'm all churched out.
I'm discouraged.
I failed.
Discouragement is arming the enemy.
I also want to pray for you if
you've armed the enemy.
If you've opened yourself up to magic, Ouija
boards, to the occult, to drugs and alcohol,
but they say, here's where this word dabbling
comes from.
Right?
I'm just dabbling.
Have you heard that?
That just means I'm making an excuse to
continue.
That's what it means.
But you're not dabbling, you're actually arming the
enemy.
And if you've been into this music, like
I mentioned, and you've been allowing these things
into your mind, you've armed the enemy.
Come over for prayer.
If you're living in the darkness, if you're
living in the darkness, you're already on His
side.
If you've only believed in Jesus, but have
never repented and embraced that gift and experienced
God, we want to pray for you.
All week I've been wondering if I should
read this or not because I didn't want
to come across the message is already strong
enough.
But sometimes we need something to remind us
of the path that we are on when
we have given up to the enemy.
This is written from a girl, well, actually,
it's an unknown author, but they say it's
from a person who lost somebody and maybe
I think died themselves to a heroin overdose.
I'm only going to read a short clip
here, but this is the enemy condensed.
If I could condense it, this is exactly
what I'd say.
The nightmares I'll give you while lying in
the bed, the voices you'll hear from inside
your head, the sweats, the shakes, the visions
you'll see, I want you to know these
are all a gift from Me.
But then it's too late and you'll know
in your heart that you're a mind and
we shall not part.
You'll regret that you tried Me, they always
do, but you came to Me, not I
to you.
You knew this would happen many times you
were told, but you challenged My power and
you chose to be bold.
You could have said no and just walked
away.
If you could live that day over, now
what would you say?
I'll be your master, you will be My
slave, I'll even go with you when you
go to your grave.
Now that you've met Me, what will you
do?
Will you try Me or not?
It's all up to you.
I can bring you more misery than words
can tell.
Come take My hand, let Me lead you
to hell.
Folks, we need a wake-up call.
I'm all for love and grace and encouragement,
but there comes a time when you need
to confront the enemy.
Too many of your people are playing patty
cake with the devil.
They're playing games.
Well, it's no big deal.
It's my one vice.
There's so much brokenness around us.
I've got friends now that are getting divorced.
As they explain this to their children who
are crying, I don't know what happened.
Remember when you opened that?
Because that's what the devil does.
Well, that wasn't too bad.
He doesn't push you off the building.
If you've been coming to Westside for a
while, you've heard me say this before.
He rarely pushes you off the building because
you'll go, Oh, no thank you.
What does he do?
Well, that was comfortable.
And we keep walking and walking.
It takes a very humble, wise person to
look over the cliff and see that's where
I'm going.
That's where it's leading.
And this is why it's so hard.
You have to take action on something you
don't yet see.
You have to take action on something you
don't see.
Do you not?
Because you have to look and say that's
where it's leading.
That's where I'm going if I don't stop.
And the devil will come in and plant
thought that it's okay.
You deserve it.
You had a hard day.
You're tired.
It's a fight.
It's difficult.
It's challenging.
But the reward always comes after the fight,
doesn't it?
Always comes after the fight.