Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. We want to understand first of all the reality of the world of demonic darkness and evil. A world of demonic Activity. a world of evil. Yes, demons exist.
Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Do you believe in the devil? Or do you believe the devil and demons and the forces of darkness are simply fiction? Perhaps even a joke? Yet Holy Scripture tells us that Satan exists.
Today, we're learning more about the reality of evil and the authority of our Lord Jesus, who is the light of the world. To get us started, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled, Demons and Disease. Do you believe in the devil? Is it all myth, a fiction, a bit of a joke? What is undeniable is that evil and spiritual darkness abound in our world.
The scriptures make it clear that there is a devil, Satan, the adversary, who is described as a murderer from the beginning. He's the father of lies. He's a master of deception. We read in the Gospels that during the time our Lord Jesus was on earth, there was an outbreak of the forces of darkness against him. our Lord was tempted by Satan himself in the wilderness.
people were possessed by demons. And Jesus cast them out. But we'll learn Jesus has authority over everything, including the devil. The demons darkness and disease. Many people have a fascination with the world of the occult.
The world of witchcraft, wiccan witches. Horoscope, superstition. Fortune telling, ghosts, vampires, astrology. Satanism. Seems to be a common feature of many movies and T V programmes to deal with the occult, to deal with the paranormal, to deal as it were with the blackness of the supernatural.
What are followers of Jesus to make all of this? What is the biblical perspective on the dark world? that so many people have the fascination With well, we're going to learn today of the reality of evil. Yes, there is evil. Many of you remember.
after the attack on the towers in New York City. The then president, or president then George Bush, was criticized when he said that was an evil act. People today can even deny the reality of evil.
Well, we're going to learn that there is evil. We're going to see the consequences of darkness, of demons, of disease, of evil, and of sin. And we'll also see our magnificent Lord Jesus. Our magnificent Lord invading that world of darkness and demonstrating his supreme authority over the forces of darkness and of demons and of disease, and later in Matthew's Gospel over death.
So let me ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter eight. Verse twenty And when he came to the other side, To the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him coming out of the tombs so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out. What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?
Now, a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. And he said to them, Go!
So they came out. and went into the pigs. And behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city, they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed man. And behold, All the city came out to meet Jesus.
And when they saw him, They begged him To leave the region. Isn't that a fascinating passage? Of Scripture, can you picture it in your mind? We want to understand, first of all, the reality of the world of demonic darkness and evil. One is the thing a little broadly.
Before we think of the particulars here, of the reality of a world, a world of darkness. A world of demonic Activity. a world of evil. Yes, demons exist. Another figment of Hollywood.
But demons are evil spiritual beings. They are one hundred percent. evil. You say, where did these demons come from?
Well God is the creator of all. And God created all of the angels. Demons are angels. We're going to see their fallen angels, but All of the angels were created by God. To love God, to serve God, and to serve the people of God.
Hebrews 1 refers to them as ministering spirits that are angels. who are there to help us, the people of God. Isn't that wonderful to know?
Some people think all of us have one guardian angel. I'm not sure if you can support that from Scripture. But certainly there are angels, good angels, who worship God, who cry holy, holy, holy to God, and also help us as the people of God. And in particular, they're watching over the church. Today.
Now Satan was created by God As an angel, a beautiful angel, a very powerful angel, a very high angel. And Satan, wanting to be like God in pride, puffed himself up, thought he was better than God. And uh tried to, as it were, overtake God, and so God cast him down. You can read about it in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. And when Satan fell, when he was cast down, many angels fell with him.
So incidentally, be careful in calling someone an angel. Guys, you call your girlfriend an angel, just be careful. And and incidentally When people die, We do not become angels. Do you hear those people?
Someone died, and they said, Oh, now that's another angel in heaven. No, no, no, no, no. When I die, when you die for a follower of Jesus Christ, you don't become an angel. I'm glad I don't become an angel, because, in a sense, we're greater than the angels. We are sons of God.
We're part of the family of God, so we don't become angels.
Now think of angels, God created all of them.
Some of them are cast down with Satan.
So there are two basic classes of angels. There are fallen angels. demons and there are unfallen. Angels.
So there are the angels who are perfect. Who continue to worship God, who continue to serve God. They're there as our guardian angels, so they're there to help us. We read in the Gospels of them coming close to Jesus and ministering to Him.
Now of the fallen angels there are two classes of them.
So Unfallen angels? Fallen angels. In the class of fallen angels, there are two divisions. There are some of the fallen angels who are imprisoned in a spiritual. Prison.
Turn in your Bible. To 2 Peter chapter 2. This is fascinating, isn't it? 2 Peter, Peter wrote two epistles, Peter, one of the apostles, the disciples of Jesus. And in 2 Peter 2, verse 4, we read this.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.
So here are some angels. They're thrown out of heaven, they're cast down, don't you find this fascinating? And they're cast into hell. And they are chained, they're committed to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the day of judgment. You got that?
Some of the angels are there. Jude. Over a few pages. Little epistle of Jude just before Revelation. Another scripture.
Jude verse six. Just one chapter in Jude. There's Six. And if the angels Who did not stay within their own position of authority? That's what I've been referring to.
Their angels who did not keep to the position that God had for them, and so they're cast down, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. You following this?
So some of the fallen angels who fell with Satan, some of them are in a spiritual prison, a prison of gloomy darkness. They're kept in chains and they are awaiting the final judgment. What's the final judgment? Matthew chapter 25. Let's read it.
Remember in Revelation 20, Satan is going to be cast into the eternal fire, we read. Matthew chapter 25. Verse forty-one. Here's the separation. of the sheep and the goats when Christ returns.
Then He will say to those on his left, the goats, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire. prepared for the devil and his angels.
So, hell is prepared for the devil and his angels, but also. in this separation, the final judgment, those unbelievers are also going to be cast into hell. But Jesus is reminding us that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels.
So some angels, fallen angels, are imprisoned in this gloomy darkness.
Now what about the fallen angels who are not bound? Not all of the fallen angels were put into the prison of gloomy darkness. The angels which are not presently, the fallen angels which are not presently, In that judgment, Are the demons we're reading about here? in the New Testament. They are an active, invisible enemy.
They are Satan's army. To realize that Satan has a huge army. I don't know how big it is, none of us know how it is, but it is absolutely huge. Satan is not omnipresent. God is omnipresent.
Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is limited. He's very powerful. He's very devious. He's very intelligent.
And he is 100% evil. And in order to carry out his evil purposes, he has all of these demons, fallen angels created by God, but now doing Satan's bidding. Do you understand that? And they did you notice Verse 29 that these demon-possessed men Ask a curious thing to Jesus. Verse 29, what have you to do with us, O Son of God?
They recognize who Jesus is. Have you come here to torment us before the time?
Look when he gives this account of this. Miracle in Luke chapter 8 refers to the demons not wanting to go into the abyss.
So the humans understand that At some point, they're going to be cast into hell itself. And they're saying to Jesus, Oh, you're the Son of God. Have you come here to torment us before the time?
Satan, I want you to understand this, my brothers and sisters. Satan and his demons hate the sinless Son of God. Satan and his demons hate the gospel. They are utterly opposed to God. To the people of God, to goodness, to purity, to holiness, to the church of Jesus Christ.
If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you know that. The more serious you take your faith. The closer you desire to follow Jesus Christ. The more convinced that you're going to commit your life to Jesus Christ and live for Christ, you will certainly experience. the forces of the enemy against you.
Don't be surprised. There is an active, invisible enemy against us. Do you think as we proclaim the gospel, as we seek to exalt Christ, as we seek to preach this book? And to Bring children and students and adults to saving faith in Jesus Christ and to nurture them in their faith. Do you think that Satan and his demons just stand by?
Of course not. They attack the very church of Jesus Christ. But remember, Jesus says, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. But hell itself is prevailing against the church. And Satan and his demons actively promote evil Wickedness.
You ever been tempted? Of course you have. They promote sin and crime and lies and idolatry, immorality, drugs, and cults, and wickedness and rebellion. They're sometimes described in Scripture as unclean spirits. Evil spirits, polluted spirits.
They hate God. They hate the gospel. They hate the light of God and they love Darkness. Jesus says men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. And Satan and His demons, their acts are always evil.
And They are I were relentless. I'm choosing that word carefully. They are our relentless. Enemy. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 6.
Just for a moment. where Paul describes the spiritual warfare. If you're wondering if what I'm saying is true, read and study Ephesians chapter six from verse ten. I'll just read a couple of verses. From verse 10 of Ephesians 6, where Paul describes not only the spiritual warfare, but the wonderful armor that we have, the armor of God.
Finally, says Paul, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might, you need to be strong. To resist the enemy is the point. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The devil is there to knock you down. The devil is there to discourage you, to attack you, to destroy your family, to destroy the church, to destroy the Christian witness that you have.
As you serve God, I can guarantee that Satan and his army are trying to mess it up as best as they can, but stand strong. When you have the armor of God, you can resist the enemy. But be aware of the schemes of the devil. Verse 12, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Our enemies, not one another.
Sometimes in church we fight one another. That's not the point, is it? No, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. But against the rulers. Here's a description of the invisible army of demons.
Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Just think, you say, well, I don't see them. No, that's the part of the problem, isn't it? There is an invisible wicked army. against the people.
of God.
Now think back to our passage. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Has said to his disciples in verse 18, let's go over to the other side. As they're going over to the other side, as we saw last week, there is this tremendous storm, and the disciples are afraid. Jesus stands, a majestic Christ, and says, Peace be still.
And there's a great calm. And the disciples say, What kind of man is this? that even the wind and the sea. Obey him.
Now, why do they go to the other side? I think if it was one of the disciples, I would say, you know, we've survived that storm, and all we're doing is meeting these crazy men who are full of demons, and the people tell us they don't want us. That was a wasted trip. No, it wasn't. By the way, when Jesus says, let's go over to the other side, we always go to the other side.
What's on the other side? Verse 28, the country of the Gatherines. Jesus and his disciples now are in Gentile territory. Isn't that wonderful to know that when Jesus comes, He comes not just to Israel, yes, first Israel. But God's love embraces the whole world.
It embraces the gatherings. It embraces men who have given themselves over. to demons. And having survived the storm, At sea, they now get into a storm. When they reach the land of the Gatherings, what a reception!
They receive two demon-possessed men meet Jesus and his disciples. With the coming of Jesus To earth, there is an increased activity of demonic demons. That's not surprising. And these men And we read, live in the tombs. Imagine that.
That's your home, in the tombs. They are aggressive. They are anti-social. And they're violent. Mark says that they were cutting themselves.
There is a self-destruction. in the demonic worlds. hating themselves and hating others. There's 28, as they came out of the tombs, they were so fierce that no one could pass that way. They are violent men.
They are hateful men. No one can get past them. These are strong, violent, anti-social men. There are people like that today. You notice in our society, there's a lot of self-hatred.
Self-hatred. Self-destruction. Self-loathing. Suicide. I've met people who have said they can't look at themselves in the mirror.
Self-hate.
Some cases people actually cutting themselves. This man are anti-social. They live alone among the tombs, the place. of death. They live in a very dark place.
They are possessed by demons themselves. Do you really want to go the way of sin? That's what happens. Today, many people are living lonely, isolated lives, not just because of COVID-19. But because of their lifestyle.
How many people? Understand alienation.
Sometimes from yourself, but also from others. I almost guarantee that every single person here. Today has a problem relationship in their life. Maybe your own family. Maybe you're divorced.
It may be you've got a problem relating to your father. And maybe you've got a child that you can't speak with. Maybe you got a brother or a sister. that you haven't spoken to for a long time. It may be a business partner.
That you've fallen out with, and you can't speak with that person. And maybe you're a best friend that you had 10 years ago, that relationship has ended, and you can't even speak to the person. This is a result of sin. You know what sin does? It alienates us.
from one another. And there's anger. Self-hate.
People retreat into themselves. Take to drink, take to drugs, take to immorality. Uh and end up in depression. Sin alienates us from others. Resulting in arguments, accusations, assaults, violence, strife, divorce, hate, violence.
characterizes our world, doesn't it? Speak to a police officer. Speak to a social worker. Open your eyes. And you see the result.
And Did you notice that there is nothing that the gatherings can do for these two men. If they approach the men, the men reject them. Your problem of sin, you say, Well, I'm not demon-possessed. No, you're probably not. But your problem of saying I hope you understand it However, it surfaces in your life, it's too big for you.
You cannot deal with sin by yourself. This is what sin does. This is what darkness does. It destroys us. It tears us apart.
It tears our relationships apart. This is the world. of darkness. of demonic activity, sin and evil. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. But to find truth and certainty about who we are, and find peace, we find We must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity.
Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more. Your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you convinced that there are forces of darkness and deception? Isn't it true that people have a fascination with the occult, witches, vampires and the like? Many movies and TV shows are based on the occult. and evil is a reality in our world.
Where Jesus comes as the light of the world and dispels the darkness. And through his resurrection, our Lord demonstrates that he is greater than the devil and death and disease. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus, who is holy, pure, and absolute light. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies.
Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
