Friendly Fire Sermon Series
(Inspired by Perry Stone’s book, “Judas Goat”)
“Letting Go Of Hurt” 3 of 3
2/2/2014 Chester’s FBC Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson
Introduction:
A In Matthew 15 We see Jesus ministering at a place out of His normal circuit (Tyre & Sidon) when a Canaanite woman came to Him about her daughter. (Son of David - Messianic title)
Matthew 15:22 (KJV)22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
1 In the NT there are three words that describe the work of the devil/demon in a person’s life. (Demonic possession, Demonic oppression, Demonic vexation)
a Demonic Possession (Strongest level of control; dwells in the human spirit)
aa To be totally controlled by demon, Puppet on a string that fulfills the thoughts/desires of the demon possessing him/her.
bb Mark 5:1-9 (KJV) 1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
Gadarenes Demoniac (cut himself, broke chains, lived in the graveyard.)
cc The man’s life was in ruins, mind tormented & his body abused - Jesus stepped into the graveyard & set him free.
b Demonic Oppression (Exercises power in the spirit or controls the mind & thought process)
aa Acts 10:38 (KJV) 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Prevents you from thinking clearly; Feelings of hopelessness, despair, darkness.)
c Demonic Vexation (To disturb, trouble, harass)
aa Matthew 15:22 (KJV) 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
Luke 6:18 (KJV) 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
bb Vexation can be spiritual, physical, mental.
cc Spiritual will keep you from light/truth of gospel; Physical causes illness.
Luke 13:11-13 (KJV) 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Mental will impact your thinking, create negative & depressing thoughts.
2 Believers can not be demon possessed. But both non-believers & believers can come under attacks of vexation & oppression.
a I will introduce these forms of demonic attacks to help us deal with the subject of unforgiveness in a believers life.
b Withholding forgiveness has demonic roots.
B Matt. 18 has a parable of a king who forgives one of his servants of a tremendous debt then finds out that the forgiven servant refuses to forgive a fellow servant of a much smaller debt.
1 Matthew 18:34-35 (KJV) 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
a The unforgiving servant had refused to release his co-laborer and was put in prison until he learned to forgive.
aa Not federal prison - This place had a tormentor!
bb Whip, put on a rack, stockade, beat until he confessed of his crime - or paid for his crimes.
b I believe when a Bible-believing Christian refuses to forgive/release others they can forfeit the protective covering/spiritual hedge.
2 The OT tells of Job having his “hedge of protection” removed from him (through no fault of his own) which had prevented any Satanic attack from penetrating his health, wealth & family.
a When the hedge was lifted all hell broke loose.
b The hedge was removed for a course of several months.
aa 3 friends came to Job to try to explain why he suffered so greatly. (Philosophical/Spiritual)
bb Finally God told Job’s friends they were speaking the wrong works to Job. (Bring Job an offering & they’d be forgiven)
Job 42:7-9 (KJV) 7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.
cc For months these friends were harsh, condescending, accusatory - Job didn’t attempt to retaliate against them, send them home, refuse to speak.
c Job 42:10 (KJV) 10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
aa Job took his friend’s offering & began to pray for his friends.
bb The hedge was reset & double portion was restored to him!
C I believe the misuse of words we speak at other believers can trigger a Satanic attack by removing the hedge surrounding us.
1 The power of life/blessing & death/curses is in the tongue.
Proverbs 18:21 (NASB) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
a James 3:10-14 (NASB)10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
Warns about a double standard that should not exist in the Kingdom of God. But sadly it often does.
aa Come to church, worship, say “Amen” etc... At lunch complain about worship, songs, sermon, leadership, etc.
bb James 5:12 (NASB) 12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
Words can bring us into condemnation (kjv) or judgement (nasb)
cc Matthew 12:37 (NASB) 37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
(Words will show if your righteous or guilty!)
b (IL) Police arrest, Miranda rights are read “Anything that you say or do may be used against you in a court of law”
aa Actions/words can either set the person free or put them in prison.
bb Our words/actions are viewed by a heavenly judge in the same manner.
c A right word is life silver or apples of gold set in silver.
Proverbs 10:20 (KJV) 20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
Proverbs 25:11 (KJV) 11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
The wrong word is like a sword/arrow.
Psalm 64:2-3 (KJV)2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
2 When we begin to have negative opinions of other believers we start a dangerous journey that leads us in the wrong direction - out of our hedge of protection.
a Our low opinion of another bro/sis, if allowed to go unchecked will create within us a judgmental spirit.
aa You become their judge & judges become the prosecutor/accuser of the brethren.
Revelation 12:10 (NASB) 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
bb Believers are not given the assignment of being God’s watchdogs over the church that goes around biting everyone they don’t agree with.
cc Neither are they to become the judge or jury.
D How does the hedge come down?
1 Job’s came down by request by Satan himself, however in Psalms is tells us that when wrong words are released as arrows/swords on the saints... He shoots back!
Psalm 64:7-8 (NASB)7 But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded. 8 So they will make him stumble; Their own tongue is against them; All who see them will shake the head.
a When we speak words/accusations about other brothers/sisters that are not justified, the arrows tend to have a boomerang effect.
b The person doing the shooting will suffer from their own curse they intended for the other person! (Haman principle)
2 I believe each believer has a hedge/barrier that prevents the enemy from striking us at will.
a The spiritual world operates under the spiritual laws like our physical world has laws.
aa One of those laws is that God alone has control over life & death.
bb The devil could touch Job’s family, health, wealth, but not his life.
Job 2:6 (NASB) 6 So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life."
cc Jesus has the keys!
Revelation 1:18 (NASB) 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
b The devil cannot kill a Christian who is in covenant with God.
aa However, we must be with the right people, at the right place, at the right time; not with the wrong people at the wrong place at the wrong time.
c Exception: Proverbs 18:21 (NASB) 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
aa “Power” is yad - means “open hands” vs “closed hand.”
bb In other words you place the power of life & death in your own hands with the words that come out of your mouth!
cc (IL) Jr. at Don & Jayne
d Your mouth is a door & it’s closed when we’re silent, speak, the door is open.
aa Words of life/death can be spoken into a situation/over a person - sometimes we open the door to the enemy because we don’t keep our mouths shut.
bb The words we speak (or don’t speak) engages things to happen in the spiritual realm.
E When Jesus commanded evil spirits to leave He always used words.
Mark 1:23-26 (KJV) 23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
1 The apostles overcame demonic influences with words.
Acts 16:16-18 (NASB) 16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.
a When we are in agreement with God’s written word, & we are speaking His world aloud, it is as if the Lord Himself were standing beside us speaking the same words - out of our mouths comes the phrases that come from God’s mouth.
b Our words, when in agreement with God are powerful, when we open the door & speak our word... death/destruction.
2 Breaking the laws gives law enforcement the right to arrest me; breaking the spiritual law opens the door for Satanic attack.
a One way we break the spiritual law is when we speak in judgement, hatred, unforgiveness against a bro/sis in Christ.
b The hedge is lifted!
Conclusion
A (IL) Mean drunk’s wife gets saved at church & goes home to a mocking husband.
1 Hits her & asks “What can your Jesus do for you now?”
a She replies, “He can help me forgive you.”
b Jesus will help you to forgive those who have hurt you.
2 By refusing to let go of hurt/unforgiveness you are allowing the door to stay open in your hedge.
a (IL) Satellite dish gets obstructed. Don’t get signal.
b We don’t get blessing, protection, anointing with an open hedge.
B Letting go of hurt opens you up to blessing!
1 Matthew 6:14 (NASB) 14 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
2 Ephesians 4:32 (NASB) 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
3 Colossians 3:13 (NASB)13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
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My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
