Sermon for 10/31/2004
Doctrines of Demons
1 Timothy 4:1-5
Introduction:
Ben Alexander in a recent Lookout said that he and a friend went to a nearby town called Cassadaga in Florida. In this town Spiritualism abounds and many homes are occupied by psychic mediums. It was a Sunday afternoon and the town was crowded with visitors. We asked many of them if they attended church that morning and found that the vast majority of them were churchgoers. When we asked why they were in Cassadaga, they replied that they came in the hopes of getting a message from a dead loved one. He said, “Are we really contacting the dead? As a former spiritualist medium involved in the highest form of the occult, I can attest with all certainty that there is something on the ‘other side.’ I thank God that I was able to realize this ‘something’ was not a departed spirit, but something more sinister impersonating our dead loved ones.
WBTU:
A. There is a dark side to Halloween. Witches and séances and pentagrams and ghosts and goblins and poltergeists, etc. Things are gory and scary.
B. There is something more serious than all of this and it is the teachings of the devil that the world believes. When we think of the devil we think of a being all red with a pitch fork and a long tail that goes around scaring people. This isn’t serious at all. The real devil and his demons are serious and scary. They don’t go around frightening people but they spread their dangerous teachings and get mankind to believe them. They lead the world away from the truth.
C. In John 8:44 Jesus is speaking about the devil and he says, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
D. Time is growing short. Read 1 Timothy 4:1-5
E. Doctrines of Demons vs. 1 a good time to talk about the doctrines of demons.
Thesis: This morning let’s talk about some of the doctrines of demons.
For instances:
1. No Hell
A. There is no such a place. We cease to exist after this or we go to the place of the dead. The Song Imagine by John Lennon.
B. Only the badest of the bad go to hell.
C. God is a God of love and he is not going to send people to hell. As long as we have some good in us, God will forgive and let us into heaven.
D. There is a place called hell. It is called the abyss, the fiery furnace, lake of burning sulfur, lake of fire. It is called the place of condemnation, darkness, eternal fire, eternal punishment, everlasting destruction, and judgment. It is called the second death.
E. Hell is forever. Hell is exclusion from God. Hell is a place of suffering. It is a place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Hell is separation from the righteous. It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
F. Who will be there? The devil, his demons, wicked angels, the lawless one (the Antichrist), evildoers, and all unbelievers.
D. The Archbishop of Cantebury. Hebrews 9:27- Man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment.
I. Not many are going to hell. No, Jesus said, “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.
J. 1 John 5:12- He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
K. John 3:18- Whoever believes in him (Jesus Christ) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
L. Not a scale and God measure good deeds vs. bad deeds. All stand condemned unless come to Christ.
M. Plan of salvation. Mark 16:16- Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, but whoever does not believe is condemned.
N. John 3:3- I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Must have a change for Christ and by Christ. No amount of self effort will deliver us.
2. Don’t take your spiritual life seriously.
A. With salvation, a little dab will do you. Philippians 2:12- Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
B. Bitten by a poison snake. They come with a container full of antidote. Just take a teaspoon full but they want you to drink the whole thing. Oh, a little dab will do me.
C. Don’t go to church, maybe a few times like Christmas and Easter just to check in.
D. Don’t give money, it is for you.
E. Don’t give your time to some church project. What a waste!
F. Don’t go and visit that person. They will be fine without you.
G. Don’t pray and read your Bible, you will be OK without it.
H. Don’t hang around people at the church. They will not advance you in your business. Takes time away from important things.
I. Don’t take the preachers sermons seriously. He’s not important and what does he know.
J. Don’t tell anyone about your Christian faith. It gets in the way. It makes us look like Bible thumpers. It makes us look like we are intolerant
K. Just do the least you can to get by!
L. Do you love the Lord? Love the Lord Your God with all your…
M. If we love someone we will do the most we can to please them.
O. Neglecting our first love causes us to be lukewarm, and the Lord said that he would spew us out of his mouth.
Q. Matthew 6:24- No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
R. Who do you love?
3. Must satisfy lusts and desires now.
A. The Lord is not helping you. The Lord does not care to satisfy your desires.
B. This is how the devil enslaves. He talks about how wonderful something is and then when we do it, he accuses us of how bad it was to do it. Like Raymond Webb saying after a big meal, You are getting fat.
C. With sexual desires. Do it now! Don’t wait for the right one; you have to have it now!
D. Psalm 103:5- Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
E. 1 Peter 4:1-2: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
G. Billy Blanks- If my body has control over me, I am in trouble.
4. No second coming
A. Nothing is going to happen to you. If the Lord came back now??! Don’t think about that, you can ask for forgiveness later.
B. Some do deny the truth of the second coming. 2 Peter 3:3- First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.
C. It is not going to happen today. I can put off this and that. I can put off becoming a Christian. I can delay. I have all of the time in the world.
D. 2 Corinthians 6:2- I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
E. We are not promised tomorrow.
5. We are gods.
A. Might be that there is no God.
B. Evolution.
C. Appeals to our pride.
D. This was the first sin. It was the sin of Satan. Isaiah 14:12-14: How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.
E. Garden of Eden- For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.
F. I don’t need God. He has never done anything for me. We are our own god. I believe in myself.
6. No absolute truth
A. No such thing as right or wrong. What is right for me may not be right for you? What is right for you might not be right for me?
B. Every situation is subjective. Every thing is relative. Phil Curry- Whatever
C. Most Americans believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth.
D. As long as you are sincere
E. It is in the experience
F. It just feels right
G. No sin.
H. There are absolutely no absolutes! How absurd!
I. Isaiah 14:20- 21: 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. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
J. This is just a clever way of justifying ourselves.
K. Take for instance the 9-11 bombings. What would we call this? Evil. Almost everyone says this was wrong. It wasn’t wrong for the terrorists and Osama Ben-Ladin, they were dancing in the streets.
7. The Bible is full of mistakes, errors.
A. Anything to keep us away from the Word of God.
B. If it’s old, it’s no good.
C. More reliable than Plato and Homer’s works. Copies are good.
D. Most reliable scholars from the time periods says that so and so wrote them. Who are we 2,000 years later to say that they didn’t?
F. Archeological findings are supporting the Bible everyday
G. The effect of it on people’s lives is more than any other book.
H. Jesus said in John 10:35- Scripture cannot be broken.
J. Anything to keep us away from the Word of God. The Word of God tells us how to live and what to believe.
K. Why are there so many crazy ideas out there? We have abandoned the Word of God.
L. Election on Tuesday. Cannot comment on opinions like Social Security, Health Care, Economy, the war in Iraq. No clear words from the Book. However, we can talk about things like homosexual marriage and abortion. The Bible makes these things very clear. Most of us do not know that. Keep us away from the Book even politics.
M. Attach the Biblical Jesus. At the name of Jesus!
8. All religions are the same.
A. Take a little of this and a little of that. Whatever floats your boat?
B. Not saying that we should never discuss or know about other religions.
C. She’s buying her stairway to heaven.
D. John 14:6
E. John 18:37-38
