Jesus, The Devil And Blasphemy

ILL.- What about the fellow (Charles Carl Roberts IV) who shot those girls at that Amish school in Lancaster, PA? He was either crazy or possessed, although the people around him (including family members) considered him to be somewhat normal. But I don’t see how he could be considered normal when he murdered some children execution style by shooting them in the head.

The police said the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts, a 32-year-old truck driver from the nearby town of Bart, was bent on killing young girls as a way of “acting out in revenge for something that happened 20 years ago” when he was a boy.

In a note, Roberts said he was "filled with so much hate, hate toward myself, hate towards God and unimaginable emptiness..."?

Whether some people are demon possessed or just influenced by Satan, there is definitely still evil in our world. Evil exists! I don’t know how anyone can deny it!

ILL.- Let me remind you what preacher Billy Sunday of the early 1900’s said, “I know that the devil is real for two reasons: #1 Because the Bible says so. And #2 Because I’ve done business with him.”

Brothers and sisters, most people have done business with the devil and didn’t even know it. But Jesus is the person who can take the devil and evil right out of people.

How does Jesus deliver people from evil and Satan? When they come to believe in Christ and surrender to Him in faith and obedience then Satan will move out.

When that which is greater moves in, that which is lesser will move out.

Acts 2:38 Peter said at Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

When Christ moves into a person through the Holy Spirit the spirit of evil must leave! Evil cannot stay where Christ dwells. Of course, this is not to say that we won’t continue to have trouble with Satan at times. He will come knocking on the door of our heart just to see if he can cause us trouble. After Jesus was baptized it wasn’t long before Satan showed up to give him trouble.

ILL.- When I was in Bible College I sold Fuller Brush products door-to-door. My boss was a guy named Lefty. He took me out one to day to show me the ropes and he literally stuck his foot in the door when one lady said she wasn’t interested. As a result of that he ended up getting inside and selling that woman some Fuller Brush products.

The point is simply this. If you let Satan get his foot in the door by any means, he will try to force his way in to gain control and do even more damage in your life. DON’T LET HIM IN! Katy bar the door!

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

How do you bar the door to Satan? How do you resist? With the Word of God. With scripture. With prayer. With worship. With Christian fellowship. With Christian service. When you are busy in the Lord’s work you’ll have no time for Satan’s enticements.

II. JESUS KNOWS PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS