SPEAKER_01 0:02

What does it mean to have faith and truly believe in Jesus? Are believers still subject to demonic attack? Join Reverend Daniel as we look at the scripture together and behold the power of God.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Then he, Jesus, went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, He is out of his mind. Verse 22. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He is possessed by Bizzal, and by the Prince of Demon, he cast out the demons. And he called them to him and he said to him in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against itself and is divided, he cannot stand. But it's coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven, the children of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. For they were saying, He has an unclean spirit. And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. And he answered them, Who are my mother and my brothers? And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Today we'll be looking at Mark chapter 3, verse 20 to 35, and we'll be exploring together what it means, the question of what it means to have faith and to truly belong to Jesus. Let us pray. Father, we pray that by your spirit you take these words that I will say and bring life to our hearts this morning. We pray and ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen. So the setting of Mark chapter 3, verse 20 to 35 that our sister Vanessa read for us begins in a house. Jesus went home, and the crowds gathered again, so that they could not even eat. So the only house identified in Mark's gospel so far has been the house of Peter in Kapanon, where Jesus, if you recall, had healed the paralytic in Mark chapter 2. The same house may be intended here. We see again the pattern of uh Jesus' ministry in Kapanon. Each time Jesus was present, his presence drew crowds. And in this instance, the crowds gathered such that those around could not eat, so that they could not eat. And when his family heard it, scripture tells us they went out to seize him, for they were saying, He did, he is out of his mind. The word for cease here used in Mark 3 21 is a very strong word, meaning almost to arrest, to bind someone, often violently. It's like how uh the soldiers seize Jesus, they uh grab hold of him and uh they uh grasp him violently. So not only that Jesus' family went to seize him, but they make the comment, they said he's crazy, he's out of his mind. Uh so we wonder why. Scripture is silent on on this point, no reason is given why the family reacted that way. We don't understand from the context what's happening, it's just said that uh this is what happened. Right? Umly to indicate that for us up to this point that not only the scribes and the Pharisees misunderstood Jesus. Now we see that the opposition from Jesus came from his own kin and family, the ones who are closest to him. So that is troubling, right? He did not only face opposition from the scribes and the Pharisees, but Jesus faced opposition from his own kin and family. At the same time, we see that the opposition from the scribes is getting much more bolder and more confrontational. In Mark chapter 2, uh, a few sermons back, when Jesus healed the paralytic, the response of the scribes present was the response of the of the scribes was this. Why does this man referring to Jesus speak like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? In Mark chapter 2, verse 13 to 17, again, uh few weeks back when we read from the passage, Jesus called a Levi, who was a tax collector, and the response of the scribes, of the Pharisees again was, Why does he, why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners? And last week when uh Pastor Richard preached, uh, it is relating to the Sabbath day where some of his disciples began to pluck heads of grain, and Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? And in the same uh account in chapter 3, the Pharisees began to watch Jesus whether he would heal on the Sabbath. And Mark chapter 3 tells us Jesus healed on the Sabbath. A man with a shivelled hand was healed. So the accumulated actions of Jesus have infuriated the Pharisees, who then went on and held counsel with the rulers of the day, with the Herodians against Jesus, how to destroy him. Mark chapter 3, verse 6. So this is the context, the opposition uh against Jesus is getting more and more stronger, not only from the scribes and the Pharisees, but also from his own family. So in Mark 3 22, we now read that the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, now they hurl an accusation at Jesus. He says, He, referring to Jesus, is possessed by Beusabu and by the prince of demons, he casts out demons. The term Beelzabab appears only rarely in Jewish literature, and it occurs nowhere outside the Gospels. So it's a word that is very rarely used, and oftentimes the root meaning of the word Beelzebub refers to a Syrian god of Akron. 2 Kings chapter 1 verse 2. 2 Kings chapter 1 verse 2 mentions that. So the original meaning of Beelzebubab is something like Lord of the Dwelling. So according to the commentary, those have done deep studies and considered other possibilities, they came to the conclusion that Bel Sabab actually means uh Bill's abode or dynasty. Sorry, not to Jesus, to Yahweh in the Old Testament, and is a Canaanite fertility god, if you all recall in the Old Testament. So in this instance, it was a very serious accusation. They are saying now that uh the Pharisees are saying that Beelzebub is uh Jesus is possessed by this uh God, you know, and is by the prince of demons he casts out demons. So the scribes here do not actually deny the power of Jesus to perform miracles. They saw his miracles, but rather they call into question, which is the more serious thing, the source of his power. What is your legitimacy of Jesus showing his power? So he said that the power, the source of Jesus' miracles and works belongs to Beelzebub rather than to God. So this was a very serious accusation. So in response to this, Jesus uh responds in Mark chapter 3, verse 23 to 27. And he called them to him and said to them in parables, how can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, the that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he may plunder his house. So Jesus uh his understanding or his logic goes like this if his work is diametrically opposed to Satan, then how can Jesus be empowered by Satan? If what the scribes say is true, then Satan is clearly at cross purposes with himself, which will only hasten his fall. Because if a kingdom is divided against itself, the kingdom cannot stand. In verse 27, uh the words highlighted about a strong man's house is likely a wordplay of the word Belsabuth, which means the house or dynasty of Bill, the evil God. So a strong man's house means a Bill's house, uh Bill's dynasty. So no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man, then he can rob his house. Then the mission of Jesus we see is found in invading and conquering Beelzeba, the head of the house. Verse 27 of Mark 3 tells us no one can enter a strong man's house unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he can plunder his house. So the two uh words being used: binding and plundering. So Jesus has plundered the strong man's house by releasing the people from Satan's power. Therefore, he's stronger than the strong man. Jewish exorcism at the time of Jesus often involves putting someone or even a demon under an oath or under the name of someone greater by invoking a higher power. So, unlike Jewish exorcist, Jesus did not appeal to any higher power as his legitimate authority. He's able to bind Satan and plunder his goods because of his authority as the Son of God. Jesus goes on to say in Mark 3, 28 to 30, truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven, the children of men, and whatever bless blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. For they were saying he has an unclean spirit. Earlier in Mark chapter 1, verse 7 to 8, we see that John the Baptist heralded the coming of a more powerful one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. So Jesus here depicts himself as a more powerful one who by the power of God's Spirit binds Satan and routs his demonic spirits. The gravity of the offense of the scribes and the Pharisees is that they blaspheme, they slander, they defame and accuse Jesus of having an evil or unclean spirit. This is an eternal sin because anyone who calls good evil and evil good fails to see the truth, revealed in what Isaiah 5 verse 20 instructs us. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. So it is an eternal sin because uh you are rejecting the very foundation of the spirit who saves and redeems and forgives sin. So if you reject the very uh God who gives his spirit to forgive sins, uh then how can you be saved? So Mark concludes this unit by again returning to the house imagery. In Mark 3, verse 2021, we also see that there was also again a crowd gathered, similar to the earlier account. Mark 3 31 to 32 reads, and his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. And the crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. So interestingly, or in a very uh unique way, uh Jesus' mothers and brothers are somehow they are outside. So you see the those uh the words highlighted in in green, so they are actually outside, whereas the crowd was sitting around him, they were inside the house. So the mother and brothers actually sent for Jesus and called him, and they were actually on the outside seeking him. So this is strange because households normally have family members on the inside, and crowds usually are on the outside. But here the order is reversed. Somehow, Jesus' family is outside calling him, attempting to assert a claim on him, as they did earlier when they said that uh he's out of his mind, they went to seize him, but now they are still on the outside, still somehow not understanding what Jesus is doing. Then Jesus turned the question on his head in Mark 3 33 by asking the crowd gathered in the house, who are my mother and my brothers? He looked around at those who sat around him and he said, Here are my mother and my brothers, he declares. In so doing, Jesus redefines family to include all who will do God's will. So everyone who does the will of God is my mother and my brother. So let's try to tie things together uh a bit from this passage. So who truly belongs to Jesus and does God's will? Right? This is a question that I like to explore with us, as I mentioned in the beginning. So who truly belongs to Jesus and who truly does God's will? We see that faith in Jesus goes beyond blood relationships or kinship. Those closest to Jesus, his family, his mothers and brothers, or those the ones of him who are closest to him seem to be on the outside, you know, calling, seeking, and not understanding. In fact, they oppose him, they seize him, they said, you're crazy, you're out of your mind. So proximity, blood relationships uh doesn't mean that just because you are family of Jesus, you are the next of kin, you are related by blood, uh means that you are truly uh belonging to Jesus, you truly know Jesus. So blood relationships or kinship is no substitute of being called by Jesus, it's no substitute for being uh following Jesus in faith. Secondly, faith in Jesus involves goes beyond observing his works and miracles. So all of us today, we can observe God's great wonders and works, but that does not save us. Just looking at what God does in the world and standing in awe or hearing testimonies or miracle stories doesn't save us. If they do, then the scribes and the Pharisees would have been saved. But they actually saw what Jesus did from Mark chapter 1, yet they couldn't come to terms and to an understanding of who Jesus was and what his works and miracles point to. And the worst thing is now they ascribe all his works and all his miracles to the devil, to Beelzebub, saying that this uh by the Satan, by the works of Satan, he drives out. Um he does his ministry. So faith in this case is not automatic or necessary consequence of witnessing the works and miracles of Jesus. The works and miracles of Jesus are indeed evidence of God's presence, but the evidence demands a decision from the beholder as to its source and significance. So let me move to my main point of Mark chapter 3, verse 20 to 35. So those of us who have uh been through BSF, I'm not sure whether you have studied the book of Mark or in your own uh connect groups. Uh Mark is a wonderful uh work of uh literary work and peppered throughout the whole uh gospel, there is what we call sandwiches. Uh and here what is what we call a composite sandwich in terms of the the literary structure where a main point is packed within uh framing devices, right? Uh and the main point is actually right at the center. That's what we call a sandwich, right? Uh you know, a sandwich has uh a beef patty and then the the two buns, right? So what is the most important uh is actually what is at the center, right? None of us will go to uh McDonald's or Burger King and say, uh, can I have a uh cheeseburger without the beef? None of us will say that, right? It'll be quite crazy. It's like going to a hawker center and say, uh, can I have chicken rice without the chicken? So it doesn't happen. So similarly, the sandwich works because the meat is the main point. Right? So uh so this works like a kind of uh sandwich, uh, and we can, in terms of structure, look at it as A1, B, and A2. So A1 and A2 are a kind of framing devices, and B is the main point, is what Mark wants us to see in this section of the gospel. So A1 talks about the house and the crowd. Remember, as I began, we talked about uh Mark chapter 3 verse 20. Jesus was in a house, the crowd was gathering, and then the family was upset, they have no place to eat, they say Jesus is mad, they went to seize him. So, house and crowd, like that. They were in the house setting, there was a crowd. So, again, the whole idea of wanting to arrest Jesus, seize him, control him, suppress him, take charge of him, bind him, right, is quite clear, at least on uh the second reading, as we look at that, and then when look. At A2 again, uh verse 32 uh onwards, we see again the house and the and the crowd uh picture. Once again, Jesus was inside the house, people were within, he was teaching them, and uh the family mothers and brothers were outside. Again, it's a house setting. The crowds now came into the house, but the family members who should understand, who accuse him that he's out of his mind, is out of the house, right? So, again, the theme of controlling Jesus, they are looking for him, they are seeking him, they are wondering when he will be done with all this uh ministry and teaching and casting out demons and all. So they seek to control Jesus. They were calling for him, looking for him, and perhaps maybe uh they were seeking to bind him, to harass him and say, Ah, come on, Jesus, you know, it's enough, enough of ministry. Right? So at the heart of it, the the be petty or the main point is that Jesus binds the strong man, he binds Satan and is himself unbounded. Right? Jesus is not bounded by his family in terms of their expectations of what ministry should be like, he's not bounded by what the Pharisees think that he's possessed by Bill Suburb. So at the heart of Mark chapter 3, verse 20 to 35, faith in Jesus and belonging to him involves recognizing his works and miracles. All that Jesus is doing as one of binding the strong man and plundering Satan's house. This is Jesus' ministry. He is binding the strong man, he's binding the work of Satan, he's plundering Satan's house. Satan is bounded, and Jesus, the unbounded one, frees the captives of Satan to become followers of the strong son of God. And we see that peppered throughout the Gospels. As Jesus sends out the 72 to proclaim the kingdom of God in the Gospel of Luke, the written mission was that even demons are subjected to them in the name of Jesus. Jesus, in Luke 10, verse 17, Jesus then said to them in Luke 10, 18, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. As the disciples were going about proclaiming the kingdom of God, preaching the kingdom, uh delivering people from demons, Satan was being cast down. Jesus saw in the spiritual realm the fall of Satan. And this is the ministry today. Each time someone comes to the Lord, each time we proclaim the gospel, you know, Satan. Satan's so-called house is being plundered. Similarly, Paul describes his commission from God before King Agrippa in Acts 26, 18, or one of opening the eyes of the Gentiles so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. So, church, today Satan is a defeated foe. He's being bounded by Jesus and now falls like lightning from heaven under the name and authority of Jesus. So at the name of Jesus and in his name, demons are subjected to and will bow down to his name and his authority. When Jesus dries out demons, his action is part of the destruction of the powers opposed to God and the establishment of God's reign. Luke 11, verse 20 says, Luke 11, 20, but if by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come unto you. How we know the signs of God's kingdom is present is at the preaching of the word, uh demons are being cast out. The territory of Satan is being invaded. Satan's house is being plundered. So it's no surprise that Mark records Jesus, the very beginning of his public ministry in Kapan, in Mark chapter 1, verse 21 to 28. He's at the synagogue teaching with authority, and suddenly a man with an unclean spirit started to manifest. And power encounters a huge thing in the gospel of Mark. He would again deliver a man with an unclean spirit. We'll live for next time in the country of Jerusalem in Mark 5, you know, the demonic man who can't be controlled. Again, Jesus would deliver a man with an unclean spirit. In our recent visit to uh Rainforest Wild Asia, I've not been to the zoo for a very long time. After my children grew older, in the younger days, we kept renewing, kept renewing uh the zoo pass, and after a while we realized it's quite a waste of money because once they started go to school, it's just not worth it, you know, because we don't even go there uh twice a year. So we we decided to uh lay aside the membership. So as they were as they get older, so uh Caleb is actually in in he's already in SAP two this year. So he was just uh looking up, he said, uh one day he came to me and said that oh, I've signed up as a rainforest member. So if we go to uh this this we're gonna have a discount and so on. So he actually helped us as a family. He went to book all the tickets and he said, Yeah, I think we should go, right? Why don't we make use of Monday, which is my off day? And since it's a Chinese New Year period, yeah, I think it should be less crowded. Yeah, so let's just take a trip. I mean, after all, we have not been in the zoo for I think maybe coming to 10 years. Let's just have a visit to Rainforest, Wild Asia, and you know, maybe can recommend it to people, right? So I think it's a nice, uh, nice place to be, right? Uh and and it's uh wonderful. So we entered a 220-meter cavern inspired by the ancient caves of Gunung Mulu National Park in Borneo. Right, so it's it's a rainforest wild Asia, right? So uh the cavern kind of was inspired by that. Uh so we towards the end, towards the exit point, if you are there, you probably will not miss it because it's it's it's near the exit point. We found an interesting exhibit known as the Oculus. The Oculus. So uh as water actually dissolves the limestone, uh a cave ceiling can become so thin that it collapses. Uh this geography, right? Okay, so this creates a natural opening called an oculus, meaning an eye in Latin. So an oculus, or rather, an opening in the cave actually lets in light, but it also helps in the ecosystem because when light comes in, it spurs algae, bacteria, and plant growth. It also serves as an entry point for animals. So I kind of took a picture of that and and a short commentary on that just because I find it quite uh quite a unique thing, right? So I usually go around and uh the weird thing is Dani has always wanted to take uh to take family pictures. So when I go around when I visit places, I actually don't take family pictures, I actually take pictures of what's what I'm curious about. So this is one thing that I find wow it's very interesting. And there are people that take photos alongside this, you know, and and so on. So the light of Jesus is like an Oculus that dispels Satan and darkness. You know, imagine being in a very dark cave. There's no light, no hope, and then suddenly a natural opening, the oculus happens. It dispels the darkness, exposes the darkness and also paves the life, paves the way, sorry, for life and growth to happen. So, do we see a need for an Oculus experience in our lives today to allow God's light into our lives that will dispel Satan and darkness so that life and growth can happen in our lives? One of the authenticating marks of what it means to belong to Jesus, what it means to have faith in him, is to embrace the reality of what Jesus can do in our lives. Do you believe today that Jesus can uh deal with uh the demons in our lives? Do you believe that he has the power to give us a breakthrough over sin, over darkness? Because this is all about the kingdom of God and about what Jesus is doing to invade uh the kingdom of Satan, to plunder his house, and to bring in the harvest. So to follow Jesus truly and to say that we belong to Jesus means that we need to be open to what Jesus can do in our lives. You know, we cannot stay the same five years from now, ten years from now, you know, we still with the same habits, we still struggle with the same sins, or we still have the same demons in our lives, you know, then we have not changed, we have not grown. But when God confronts us with the kingdom of God, everything changes. Satan's house is being plundered. So Jesus, at the heart of the text before us today, is all about Jesus ushering the kingdom of God by binding the strong man and plundering Satan's house. So I'd like to, in closing, just uh just give us a brief understanding about this whole idea of uh demonization or demon possession. I know it's quite a controversial topic because um some of us don't believe that Christians can be possessed by evil spirits. Some of us do, right? My my here, my point here is not to argue uh but to see the bigger purpose of you know uh that Jesus precisely came to cast out demons, to restore us back to God. So to be demon possessed means to actually have a demon, right? It's a possession. You somehow you have a demon, right? Um so I like to say that demons can possess a person, right? Demons can possess a person, but they do not own them, right? Uh my growing belief and in terms of you know uh the understanding is sometimes Christians will say that Christians cannot be possessed by evil, you know, but Christians uh can be oppressed. That means we say we did distinct we draw a distinction between oppression and possession. That means we say Christians can be oppressed from the outside, but they cannot be possessed by Satan. But theoretically it sounds very nice, but practically, and talking to pastors who minister to people who are demonized, it's very hard to draw the distinction whether you are uh oppressed from external force or from within, whether you are possessed, right? So the point is this I believe demons can oppress or possess a person, even a Christian, but they do not own them, right? That means we are a child of God, we belong to God. So the ownership belongs to God, right? We are owned by God, but because of perhaps uh certain things that our family have doubled with in the past that have been passed down from the generations, perhaps not in all cases, but for some cases. Uh that's why we need deliverance, we need prayer to break the curse. Sometimes unknowingly, we can bring back certain things, maybe charms or you know, that we unknowingly inherited. That how we know it affects us because it affects us, it affects our family, we realize certain things are not going well, and then we find out, oh, because of this, right? So we can uh somehow be oppressed or possessed, but I think theologically we cannot say that demons own us, especially if we are Christians, because we are a child of God, we are owned by God, He's sovereign over our lives. Yet we are also living in a world of sin where we are also affected by uh sin, the world, and the devil. So why I say this, because in the Old Testament, remember Saul himself, he was an anointed king, right? Was he anointed by God? He was anointed, right? God he was prayed, he was anointed, you know. Yet he was possessed by a harmful spirit and he acted against David, right? So 1 Samuel 18, 10 tells us a harmful spirit came upon him. How can God's anointed? How can? Can the Bible say it happened in the story, right? So he was possessed somehow by this human, uh harmful spirit, and then he acted against David. How about Judas Iscariot? Iscariot? Didn't Jesus pray for him the whole night and before he he called the disciples? Yet one of them becomes, betrays Jesus. And Luke 22, verse 3 says Satan actually entered. So is it a possession? Sounds like it. Satan entered Judah's Iscariot, a disciple and follower of Jesus. How can Judas? Jesus handpicked you, Jesus chose you, and yet you are possessed by Satan. At least the text tells us it can happen. Right? Satan entered Judah's Iscariot, who was a disciple and follower of Jesus. Was he a believer? Probably at some point, right? He he he believed and followed, right? Now how can? How can he be? How can Satan enter him? But it's possible, right? So he came, he went away, he conferred with the chief priests and officials how he might betray Jesus to them. Luke 22, verse 3. Right? So these are just uh isolated cases, but just trying to make the point that uh practically it's very hard for us to differentiate whether someone is uh oppressed or possessed by uh evil spirit. But what we know is in the book of Acts, whenever the gospel is preached, demons are always cast out. You know, we don't have time to look at the references, but Acts chapter 5, verse 12 to 16, Acts 8, 5 to 7, Acts 19, 11 to 20 all tells us as the gospel is being preached, demons are being cast out. It's almost as if it comes along with the proclamation of the gospel. Satan's kingdom is invaded, and he's unhappy about it, but that is a demonstration of the kingdom of God. In closing, I just like to share with us uh some symptoms of demonization. So it doesn't, this is actually taken from uh uh Reverend Joel Liao, who gave uh kind of uh a course on the Christian and spiritual warfare. So I think he was from YCCA at some point, right? So uh just to give us a sense of perhaps what are some symptoms of demonization, right? So demons can attach themselves to certain physical symptoms like being deaf and mute, right? Again, not all people who are deaf and mute are demon-possessed, of course, but at least in the gospels, look at Matthew 17, verse 14 to 21 for your reference. Uh throwing the deaf and mute boy into fire and water to kill him. I mean, all this is demonic because why would such a thing happen? Why would a person, maybe born with being deaf and mute, be subjected to such distress? Certainly it's demonic, right? So the demons can attach to a physical symptom, right? But again, not all physical symptoms are demonic, right? So this is just for us to take note. Secondly, uh physical and psychological symptoms. Um we encounter Mark V, the Jerosin demoniac, right? The the way it's being described, he's naked, he's living in tombs, screaming, cutting himself, uh shows that there were many thousands of demons controlling his body and controlling his mind that affected his mental capabilities. So, and causes him to respond that way. So psychological symptoms can be also demons can attach to uh our mind to control and manipulate us. Again, does it mean mental people with mental challenges are demonic, are possessed by demons? No. Right? But demons can attach themselves. So that's why in prayer, in for people for deliverance, we always talk to the person to discern, to find out. So, but one of the signs uh whether someone is demon-possessed or struggling with a mental or physical condition, is if it's demon-possessed, it's actually quite easy. You know, you uh you cast out the demon, the demon should live, right? If it's uh anything beyond that, if it's a prolonged mental or physical disability, it's probably not that fast. You've got to go through treatment, the usual process, right? But if it's demons, uh just gather around them, get a worship leader to start singing songs around, declare the name of Jesus. Just see whether the demon will react. Most of the time they will. I've seen it happen, uh, I won't elaborate, but I've seen it happen before my eyes. So demons can't stand the name and authority of Jesus. Right? And thirdly, which is perhaps something more near to us, is that in our thoughts, attitudes, and behavior, right? So if we don't guard our mind, sometimes our mind can be influenced by Satan. Right? So Judas perhaps was influenced by Satan in his thoughts, and eventually he entertained those thoughts of betrayal and he acted on it, right? Ananias and Sapphira, uh it says in Acts 5 3, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? So lying spirits uh could be satanic, right? Uh a pattern of lying because the Satan attached himself to our minds, to our personalities, and to deceive us. Right. So why am I sharing with us all this? Just to just to just to say that um there is power for breakthrough. There's power for breakthrough because the kingdom of God is about invading the kingdom of Satan. And this is at the heart of the ministry of Jesus. But a lot of times in the church we don't talk about it because we think that a Christian to be demonized is a sin or maybe something we do wrong. So we hush, hush, we don't talk about it, and we try to deal with it separately. But I want to encourage us if any of us do identify with any of the symptoms that I mentioned of demonization, do come forward and speak to me after the service or to one of the pastors directly. Okay, uh, we'll find some time to engage you and to pray with you.

SPEAKER_02 43:36

We pray that you've been ministered to by the Word of God today. If you'd like to know more about eastern Christian Church, please visit our website at yccanglican.com. Have a blessed day.