Reversing Demonic Consequences

The goal of demons is to always take you downhill.

It is to defeat your life, tie up your life, destroy your life. Dr. Tony Evans says once we come to terms with the existence of demons, we have to understand their agenda. Demons have one goal, that is, you go down.

Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans. Author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. Some Christians who believe everything the Bible says about God don't necessarily believe what the Bible says about Satan or the demons that serve him. Well, Dr. Evans will shed light on that issue today as he talks about how to reverse the consequences of demonic influence.

Let's join him. Now, throughout Jesus' life and ministry, he had to deal with demons. One of the more famous encounters of Jesus with demons is in Mark chapter 5.

Jesus has crossed the sea in verse 1 of chapter 5 of Mark, and immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. The root of this man's problem was demonic engagement, demonic involvement that had created within him a mental illness. So this demon thing is real. The problem is it's unseen.

It's invisible because it's spiritual. And this man's life has been taken over by the demonic, and he is now out of control. This man, however, sees Jesus in verse 6. He ran up and bowed down before him in a posture of worship and submission, and shouting with a loud voice, he said, what business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

I implore you by God, do not torment me. Okay, this now is getting very confusing. The man runs and drops down in a posture of worship, but then the man says, what do we have to do with you? So what the man does is he drags his demons to Jesus, because the demons are inside of him.

They're controlling him. But he brings his demons to Jesus, and so the question now is a group question. What do we have to do with you, O Son of God? Do not torment me.

We ain't going back to singular, because the man is battling with himself. When demons take over, but Jesus is brought into the equation, there is not a conflict inside of him that is erupting between the Jesus he's bowed to and the demons that do not want their lifestyle interrupted. They don't want to come out, so they're holding on for dear life. You're tormenting me, and I'm caught between bowing before you and this inner pull that will not let me go. You ever been there? Standing before the Lord, wanting to please the Lord, desiring to please the Lord, but that thing in you keeps pulling you back. Well, that thing in you is bigger than a desire, quite possibly.

It could be the demons that do not want to leave. Jesus asked him in verse 9, What is your name? What is your name? Tell me your name. My name is Legion, for we are many.

Whoa. A legion was a group of up to 6,000 Roman soldiers. Up to 6,000 Roman soldiers made up a legion. You're going to discover in a moment this guy had 2,000 demons. The more demons you have, the crazier you are, the more addicted you become, the more you can't control yourself, your anger, your speech, your tongue, your passions, your whatever it is. The more demons that are in control, the more out of control you become. We are legion, for we are many. So whatever the uncleanness was in this guy's life, it drew a legion. Since he uses a Roman term, since the demons use a Roman term, a legion, up to 6,000, you need to know something about a Roman legion. Roman legions operated in unison. You've seen a parade or a group of soldiers, left, left, left, left. They march in unison.

Why? Because they operate together. That's why the Bible makes such a big thing about unity.

And that's why the devil keeps us fighting. Because if he can keep us dis-unified, while he is unified, he can run the show. He can control the agenda.

In the home, in the church, in the country, he can control the agenda. The Bible says there are demons that watch over whole nations in the book of Daniel. That nations have demons assigned to it to keep the races divided, the classes divided, the culture divided, the politics divided. But if you don't believe in demons, if you don't believe that there's this spiritual covering out there that's creating the division while they march in unison so that they can control the show, then you're going to have meetings and conferences, and can't we all get along, without ever addressing the spiritual reality that is at the root of the problem.

The legions operate in unison. You need to know something. If you ever kill a roach—not that I know anything about that— but if you ever kill a roach, you need to understand it has cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles. What you killed was the scout. You killed the lookout roach. You killed the one who was sent out there before he called his peeps to come join him.

So you can get all excited because you stepped on him and cracked him, and the roach goes down. You've not solved the problem because behind the wall, behind the, you know, the cupboards, behind the—there's a whole family. There's a whole family. They're just waiting for enough darkness. See, the darker it gets, the more carriage they have. When it's bright light, they want to hide, but if they can see some dark— so that's because that's why you need the orchid guy.

You need somebody who can get to the dark, the dark places that are unseen. Jesus is saying, come out of him. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons employed him, saying, send us into the swine so that we may eat them. Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits entered the swine.

The herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about 2,000 of them, and they were drowned in the sea. Number one, the demons asked for permission. That's because even the devil can't do anything without God allowing him. They asked for permission, and what they asked for is, if you're going to make us leave this man, give us another place to go, because as you see in the movies, demons need hosts. They need something alive in order for them to express themselves, because they are spirit. They're invisible, although they are persons.

They have intellect, emotion, and will. So they are persons, but they are invisible persons, and so they need a visible thing in order to express themselves on earth. So Luke chapter 11 verses 24 to 26 says that when they're in waterless places, that is, places without life, where there's no water, there's no life, when they're in waterless places, no life, they're looking for a place. They've got to express themselves, and so when they see dirt in our lives, unaddressed, then they come upon us so that they can express their uncleanness in our uncleanness, making our uncleanness worse than the uncleanness it was before they arrived.

And so they express themselves in us. Jesus says, come out. They say, well, will you allow us to go to the pigs?

Why? Why did Jesus say you can go to the pigs? Simple, they're unclean animals. So He lets them leave an unclean man for an unclean animal, because they can only flow where there's uncleanness. Dr. Evans will share a story about how to keep what God drives out of our lives from finding its way back in when we return in just a moment. Stay with us. There are so many ways that God has demonstrated His faithfulness to me and to this ministry over these 40 years. You know, there were times when we just weren't sure we were going to make it. We got down to our last paycheck.

After that, there was no money to pay anyone. And I remember us having a special prayer time and asking God to intervene. And then, out of nowhere, a donor's heart was touched, and they wrote us a note and said, God placed it on my heart to send you this gift, and it was able to sustain us until we were able to rebuild. So I am not a doubter about the greatness of God nor His faithfulness, and I'm certainly grateful for all the friends He's given us who have been faithful, too. And I'm very grateful that for 40 years, we've seen His kind hand of favor on this ministry. This radio program, Tony's Television Ministry, our work with pastors and congregations all around the world, none of it would be possible without the faithful contributions of people like you. And that's why I want to let you know about a special package we put together as our way of saying thank you when you make a donation to keep this ministry going. It starts with Tony's latest book, U-Turns, Reversing the Consequences in Your Life.

In it, you'll discover how to reverse the flaws and failures you've been struggling with that you may have thought were absolutely irreversible. We've bundled this book along with all 12 audio messages in the U-Turns series on both CD and digital download, and we'd like to send them to you as our thanks for your contribution. Be sure to contact us right away because today is the last chance to take advantage of this special offer. Just visit tonyevans.org to get the details and make the arrangements. And if you want to explore the subject of spiritual turnarounds even further, be sure to look into the companion U-Turns Bible Study and DVD kit Dr. Evans has created. Again, that's tonyevans.org, or let one of our resource team members help you day or night at 1-800-800-3222.

That's 1-800-800-3222. I'll have our contact information for you again after part two of today's lesson and this. How do you share the Gospel with confidence? What's God's plan for our communities?

Why does the Old Testament matter to your faith today? Those are just a few of the questions you'll get answered when you enroll in the Tony Evans Training Center, an interactive online study experience with Dr. Tony Evans where you can grow in your knowledge of God's Word and learn to advance His Kingdom agenda in your life. Visit tonyevanstraining.org to get started today.

That's tonyevanstraining.org. A few years ago I had an infestation of bees in my bathroom. Dozens of them would be in the bathroom. So I call an exterminator over and he finds a beehive in the attic. He destroys the beehive. I paid him, I thanked him, and I felt better. But a week later, I have now a new infestation of bees. I did the best I could.

Then I paid a professional to do the best he could. And I'm still stuck with the same problem, an infestation of bees. A guy tells me about another guy who he says, I think he may solve your problem. I call this guy off.

He comes over to my house. I said, I've been killing bees and they keep coming. I had the exterminator who I paid and they still coming. He said, your problem is neither you or the person you paid asked the right question.

He said, y'all were doing the best you can, but the question was wrong. Is there a hive in the attic? The question is, how are they getting into the house? It's a different question.

Because given enough time, if you don't solve how they're getting in, they'll just build another hive, that hive will produce more bees, and you will keep having to fix up your bathroom. So let's go outside and walk around your house. So I go outside with him and walk around the house, go out, walk around the house. And then he says, ah. He said, there's your problem. There's a pipe coming outside.

Look up straight to the pipe entering the house. He says, you see that little space around the pipe that's open? He says, it's a little tiny space, little tiny space. He told me, they don't need a lot of space. All they need is just a little bit of space. Because if you give them a little bit of space, they know how to wiggle in that little bit of space and call their posse to come right behind them and set up a new hive so that it can now come down into your bathroom. They don't need a little space, he says, because that space has gone unaddressed. They feel free to enter your attic, which leads to them entering your bathroom.

They feel free. So what we've got to do is we've got to close the gap because you've created what Paul calls an opportunity for the devil. We've got to close that little space, even though it doesn't look like a big thing, even though it doesn't look like a deep thing, even though it doesn't look like anything worthy of your attention, they don't need much. And if you will just close that space, I think we will solve your problem.

He went and got a little mesh, put the mesh in the little teeny space around the pipe, and the big problem was solved because I closed up the little gap that allowed them to enter the bigger house. I asked him, how much do I owe you? He said to me, you don't have to pay me, I got you covered.

That sounded like Jesus to me. The enemy looks for spaces, and we've all given him some at some time or another. He doesn't need a lot of space.

He just needs it to be open and dirty. And if it is, he will seek to enter that space, bring his family behind him, in order to bring demonic downturn into our lives. The herdsmen, verse 14, ran away and reported it to the city and in the country, and the people came to see what had happened. And when they came to Jesus, they observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had legion and became frightened. All because Jesus overruled the demonic, the spiritual.

And when he overruled the spiritual, sanity came to the insane. Now, this man is way off because he's had 2,000 demons. How many demons do you have? Or do I have? Maybe you only have two.

Maybe you have 200, or maybe 2,000. But the more the demon, the more the oppression, influence, and possession. And as long as the opening stays open, the demons flood in. Verse 17, and they began to employ him to leave the region. They told Jesus, get out of here.

We don't want you here. You would have thought they would have been grateful. You would have thought, boy, this man has a power to get rid of demons, to make insane people. Let's send him to Taro so he can work with everybody. You would have thought he would have said they would have been glad. They said, get him out of here.

Why? Get him out of here because he's costing us money. See, they were pig herdsmen. So when their pigs drowned, their money got funny.

They said, no more pork chop, no more pig feet, no more chitlins, no more ham hock. This man is costing us money. And a lot of us keep paying money for stuff that money can't solve. But because folk don't want to lose the money, they keep you coming back. If I wasn't doing what I do, I'd probably be a non-Christian, secular psychologist, because then I could charge people $250 an hour to tell them why they need to come back next week. You just keep that thing going and keep that thing going, keep that thing going and keep that thing going and keep that thing going so you can keep it coming in and keep it coming in. And Jesus, if you are going to, if you're helping people, it's going to cut down on our revenue.

Don't help nobody. Because what's more important to us is the money, not the transformation of lives. And whenever money is made the test and criteria for the transformation of lives, so that Jesus has to be put to the sideline for profit, you know it's not legitimate. Nothing wrong with profit. But when Jesus has to be put to the sideline for it, get rid of Jesus. Keep the business coming, even if we've got to keep the folk hooked.

It closes with this statement. The man wanted to get in the boat with Jesus in verse 18, who was demon-possessed, employing Him, Jesus, that He might accompany Him. And Jesus said to him, uh-uh, you go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you. That tells me right there, the man needed mercy because of how unclean he was. And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him.

And everyone was amazed. Dr. Evans will come back in a moment with a final challenge about seeking the Lord's mercy. So stay with us. First, though, I wanted to remind you that you can request your own copy of Tony's current teaching series, U-Turn, Reversing Spiritual Consequences. As I mentioned earlier, today is the last day to receive all 12 life-changing lessons in this powerful two-volume collection, along with his brand-new book, U-Turns, as our gift when you make a donation to help us keep Tony's teaching on the station. Visit tonyevans.org to make your donation and request your copy of the U-Turn series. And be sure to take a look at the U-Turns Bible Study and DVD kit. This package makes a great addition to your personal study and includes tips and teaching guides for leading others in the study of how God can redeem the bad choices they've made in the past. Again, drop by tonyevans.org today or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222.

Team members are standing by to help you with your request, and again the number 1-800-800-3222. The world believes religion ought to be so private that it doesn't show up in public or even have any influence there. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at what happens when we let that lie go unopposed. Right now, though, Dr. Evans is back with this closing challenge. I challenge you to approach the downward hill of your life spiritually first. Do that first. Let's get to the right question first, the whole first, and see if there's a demonic thing by throwing yourself at the feet of Jesus in worship and submission. And yes, it may be tough at first because if it's demonically influenced, they don't want to come out.

They want to hold on to you as long as they can. But you keep throwing yourself at the face of Jesus. And like Jacob say, I will wrestle with you till my chains come. But I am going to throw my face and submission to you, Jesus.

That's what I am going to do. And then when he delivers you from your demonic infestation, you better not keep that to yourself and you let it be known from family and friends and everybody you know in the surrounding neighborhoods. Jesus Christ has delivered me and I'm not keeping this to myself. Anybody who can deliver me from what I could not deliver myself from, I'm going to tell it, I'm going to tell it, and then I'm going to tell it again because I am not ashamed of anybody who can deliver me at no charge. The alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by the Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.