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I reckon most folks want to go to

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heaven when they die, even though they're runnin'

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in herds to hell.

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That Broadway that the world runs on is

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very accommodating to herds.

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In fact, there are all kinds of herds

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runnin' on that road at this very moment,

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runnin' and kickin' up dust while they're raisin'

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hell.

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Most folks are in a mad rush to

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make a name for themselves, grab as much

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money as they can for themselves, and gratify

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themselves as much as they can with this

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world, and then go on to hell when

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they are done.

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The title of my message today, friends, is,

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Runnin' in Herds to Hell, and my text

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can be found in Matthew's Gospel, in Chapter

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8.

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You can turn in your Bibles there now,

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friends.

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We will be in verses 28 through 32.

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Let me read us a striking passage of

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Scripture at this time.

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And when he was come to the other

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side, into the country of the Jerusalems, there

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met him to possess with devils, coming out

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of the tombs, exceeding fear, so that no

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man might pass that way.

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Let me pause here, friends, to say, I

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believe that's true, because I've seen it for

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myself.

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At Bridge Street Cemetery, in Northampton, Massachusetts, there

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lives a demon spirit among the tombs.

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I have been to the grave of David

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Brainerd numerous times throughout the years, and every

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time I visit that cemetery, I encounter the

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same demon spirit.

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It is a laughing spirit, a mocking spirit,

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about a hundred yards behind Brainerd's grave.

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The first time I heard it, I walked

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over to the sound of it, and nothing

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was there.

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When I walked away, it began laughing once

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more.

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No matter what time of year, year after

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year, I encountered that bodiless demon among those

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ancient tombs.

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I told a fellow evangelist about it before

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we traveled there together, and at first he

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was skeptical, but when he heard that same

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eerie voice himself, he wanted out of that

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cemetery as fast as he could.

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So here in our text we have two

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possessed with devils among the tombs, and Jesus

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confronts them.

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And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have

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we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son

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of God?

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Art thou come hither to torment us before

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the time?

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Let me pause here again, friends, to say,

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that the devils know where they are heading,

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and that a future judgment awaits them, if

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only we could convince men of the same.

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And there was a good way off from

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them, a herd of many swine feeding.

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So the devils besought him, saying, If thou

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cast us out, suffer us to go away

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into the herd of swine.

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And he said unto them, Go.

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And when they were come out, they went

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into the herd of swine, and, behold, the

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whole herd of swine ran violently down a

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steep place into the sea, and perished in

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the waters.

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I will stop there.

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What a terrible picture of lost humanity this

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is—men and women, and boys and girls, running

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in herds, crawling over each other's back in

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a mad rush to destruction and perdition.

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There are several herds running to hell right

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now, friends.

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I'm going to list six of them today,

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which run along the road to hell.

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Number one.

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There is the herd of unbelief.

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People in this herd don't believe in God,

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and they don't believe in hell.

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They are filled with atheism and unbelief, and

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the herd they run in runs down a

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steep cliff, just like those pigs in the

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water that ran to their destruction.

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Number two.

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There is the herd of self-pleasure.

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People in this herd are into self-gratification,

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and it doesn't make a hill of beans

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difference if they are outside the church or

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in it as the chairman of the deacons.

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Self is king in their lives, and self

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must have its way.

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This herd of self-pleasure will run over

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anyone who gets in its way.

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The crowd of men outside the door of

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Lot and Sodom represents this crowd today, filled

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with lust, and blind to God, and determined

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to have its way.

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Number three.

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There is the herd of religion.

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Whether you are a Buddhist, or a Muslim,

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or a Mormon, or some other religion, people

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in this herd wrap themselves in the garments

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of their religion, and feel they are immune

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to suffering in a place called hell, because

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they are religious.

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All the world religions run in this herd.

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That is jam-packed on its way to

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hell.

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Number four.

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There is a herd of ignorance.

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People running in this herd are ignorant of

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their danger, of downing their sins.

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They are ignorant of a future judgment that

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awaits all mankind, and they are ignorant of

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the strictness and severity of the law of

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God by which they will be judged.

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They run along in blind ignorance together, like

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those herd of swine dashing down that steep

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cliff to be drowned in the sea.

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These are people consumed with their careers or

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business, focused on the accumulation of this world's

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goods.

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They are like the rich man in the

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parable of building bigger barns to store his

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vast goods, who was rich in the things

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of this world, but not rich toward God.

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This herd will dine their ignorance to spiritual

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truths and to the reality of eternity.

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Number five.

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There is a herd of prestige.

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People running in this herd seek a name

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for themselves.

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They seek the honor of men.

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They want to leave their mark on this

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world when they are gone out of it,

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and leaving their mark is the symbol of

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their prestige.

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I used to run in a herd of

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the country club set, which was comprised of

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many society blue bloods, who were consumed with

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the opinions of others toward them.

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Their family name meant everything to them, as

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they came from a long line of blue

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bloods.

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Listen to me, friends.

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There's nothing wrong with being a blue blood,

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so long as you get under the blood

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of the slain lamb.

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The Lord Jesus Christ.

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But to run in a herd only, to

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be part of that envied herd, is certain

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destruction and a devil's hell.

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Lastly, number six.

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There is the herd of the holy huddle.

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The Pharisees and the scribes ran in this

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herd in third day.

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The self-righteous people who run in this

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herd run inside the doors of a church.

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They serve on deacon committees, sing in the

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choir, teach Sunday school, or do something in

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some other capacity.

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The folks in this herd have been baptized,

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and they've joined the church, believing that church

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membership is salvation.

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Somewhere down the road, they made a profession

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of faith and decided to become a Christian.

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They look good on the outside, but they

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have merely reformed themselves enough to pass muster

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at church on Sunday.

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The folks that run in this herd maintain

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a good opinion of themselves, but they have

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never experienced change from a work of grace

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that God performs on the heart in regeneration.

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Although they are baptized individuals, and they run

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in a holy herd at church with their

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church friends, they are not born from above

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nor washed in the blood.

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This herd comprises a good majority of our

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church membership today.

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Although each of these six herds differ somewhat

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from the others, they still kick up the

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dust and comprise one larger herd running to

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hell.

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Let me ask you, friend, what herd do

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you run in?

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Let us pray.