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Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn, and I just want to thank you for listening and watching wherever you get your podcasts, or if you're watching on our YouTube channel, really grateful that you've joined me for this episode and also thankful for your feedback as we've got a lot of your emails and DMs and messages about how the content is serving you and blessing you and strengthening you. That's our goal. Sound doctrine for everyday people is the tagline. And I love getting to serve you in this way. So thanks as well to our gospel patron community for your support. Your financial gifts are a huge blessing. And I hope you feel the love with impact reports, personal notes, some of our thank yous. We really appreciate it. It makes a difference. Your giving doesn't go unnoticed and it doesn't go wasted. We are using what you give to continue to produce more resources. Today I want to talk to you about demons because they are often the most misunderstood in Christian theology when it comes to warfare. The devil, generally easy to understand. Angels, even because of how much mention they get, and we can unpack cherubim, seraphim, what they do, what they look like, and we've done some of that in previous episodes. But if you only learned about demons from our culture, you'd think they were either Halloween costumes or box office entertainment. We've all turned on one of those streaming maybe programs or apps or something, only to perhaps turn it off or wonder how in the world do I change the home screen on these things. We have a lot of controls in our home because of the way that so much of media can be. And I remember one time just kind of innocently looking like for an animal show or something, and this Netflix lineup of exorcism thrillers and demonic stuff comes flying across my screen. Thankfully, no kids were in the room, but it's that quick. It doesn't matter who you are. Often witchcraft is just everywhere. And if you've used that for your theology of demonology, which is what theology of demons is, what you find is everything kind of looks like uh this sensational thing. And if it's not the demonic witches and the sensational excesses, I think it also is sanitized. There's another side to it. And it's it's like energy cleansing and protective crystals and tarot cards and all this stuff. But basically, when you're talking about demons and today's culture, you're talking about a marketplace of deception. And yet, a lot of churches have gone silent on the subject. We reduce everything spiritual when it comes to warfare and demons to psychology, or we label it just emotional, or we rationalize. I've noticed a lot of that. We've been going through a series on spiritual warfare at Shepherd's house where I pastor. And the feedback from a lot of the sermons is we just don't talk about this stuff in the church today. It's either oversensationalized or rationalized. And so what happens when you encounter something that doesn't bow to your shouts of rebuke in Jesus' name, or it doesn't respond to our pep talks? What happens when a bad habit starts to feel like bondage? I once met a college student who thought it was funny to dabble with Ouija boards and ghost hunts and all this stuff. And I'll never forget, within weeks he was tormented, sleepless, terrified, spiritually paralyzed. And we didn't make a spectacle and a huge deal. We just opened the scriptures together. We talked about sin and repentance. We talked about closing doors that never should have been opened in the first place. And he had submitted his life to Christ after that, renounced darkness. He understood and filled his heart with the truth and his mind with the word of God, and the nightmares begin to fade like kind of mist in the sunlight. And that was a real example, I'll never forget, of just how the word of God comes to bear on a very real thing: demons and demonic activity. You don't want to open, I would, I like to call them portals, just doorways where the enemy can get a foothold. That could be different kinds of addiction, could be pornography, could be alcoholism, it could be the occult witchcraft. These are real things. These are not magic and fantasy. Demons are real. They're not metaphors for bad vibes. They are intelligent, malicious, and strategic. And Christians don't need to fight them with superstitious phrases or showmanship. We fight them with the truth. We fight them with repentance and prayer and obedience under the authority of Christ. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Deliverance is conversion, and conversion is deliverance. When you get your life submitted to Christ, you're going to be protected from demons. And that is devastating to the kingdom of darkness. There are some things we need to know, but all in all, that's where we start. So I want to get clear with you today and offer you some key points about what demons are or who they are and what they can do and what they can't do. First, demons are fallen angels. They began as angels in heaven. And when Satan exalted himself with pride, a third of the angelic hosts followed him in rebellion. In the book of Revelation, chapter 12, it says that his tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and threw them to earth. Some of those fallen angels are already bound, some are imprisoned, and others are on the loose or active. And the Bible makes that really clear. They're fueling deception, temptation, and idolatry across the world. And if Satan is the general, you can view demons as his infantry. Their mission is simple. They oppose God's truth and sabotage God's people. They try to destroy his image-bearers. And Jesus summed up their entire campaign in one verse. When he said in John 10, 10, I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly, the thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy. That is the ultimate vision and mission of Lucifer. And therefore his demons carry out that mission. They are real and they rebelled with Satan against God. They think, they choose, they act. Demons are not an energy, they're not a fog. They are, if you will, uh, you know, persons without bodies in a sense. They are moral agents who despise holiness. They have a volition and a will. And scripture calls them unclean spirits because impurity is their trademark. And so they're spirit beings, much like you would say the Holy Spirit is a person in that sense, or personal, in that sense that he's a person, and yet he is spirit, God is spirit, and yet has these qualities of personhood. When I say that demons are persons or they're beings that have qualities like a person, that's what I mean. Volition, will, they go places, they do things. They're not just this uh mystical force, I think is a great way to say it. They are actual beings and they come for you. And that's just what they do, because they hate you and they're demonic and they're evil. And so they will do a lot of things, and they'll wear whatever costume the culture will applaud. It could be academic sophistication, and so demons will operate through the academic or intellectual knowledge, spiritual self-help, the new age, sexual liberation, this movement that has swept over our nation and the world. As long as the disguise will hide the chains, demons will use it. So we need to understand that. Number two, they are created beings. They're not gods, they don't share God's attributes, they aren't eternal, they're not omnipresent, they're not sovereign, and that fact alone would change how we stand against them. They operate with specific weapons, but we know they're not on par with God. Now, their first weapon is deception. Paul said in latter times people will fall away from the faith, and the word of God declares that they will get trapped by the doctrines of demons. They'll pay attention to deceitful spirits. And Paul says that to Timothy. He's saying demons don't haunt, they teach. They write books, they build platforms, they they preach false gospels, and they contradict scripture. They whisper half-truths like God is love, but never God is holy, grace, but never repentance. They twist the word of God just like Lucifer did in Eden. You know, did God really say that? Their classroom is any pulpit without a Bible, and any heart that wants God's blessings without God's lordship, and their second weapon is temptation. So they start with deception, they get you there, moving people into temptation. They do that through lies, just like Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Demons try to bait believers with the same old triad. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life. When you look at Matthew chapter 4 and the temptation of Christ or the testing of Christ, a phrase that I prefer to use, what you see is an appeal to, oh, feed yourself. Come on, turn that rock into bread. Aren't you hungry? Lust of the eyes. I your flesh. Hey, come on. Throw yourself down from the temple. The angels will come and rescue you, show off who you are, that fleshly appeal. And then, hey, look at all the kingdoms of the earth. If you would just bow down, I'll give you pride of life. The voice of temptation says, you deserve it. No one will know. God wants you to be happy. But every compromise buys pleasure on credit, and the bill always comes due. You end up indebted to it. And so we need to understand demons use deception, they use temptation. Third, demons oppress, they use oppression. They can't indwell believers, but they can harass mentally, emotionally, circumstantially. And so Paul describes a messenger of Satan in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 that tormented him. What was that? Oh, it was oppression. It was constant attack. He was being battered. Job was battered by storms that Satan stirred, but under divine permission. Oppression feels like heaviness. It feels like accusation or despair that won't lift. We all go through times where the enemy is attacking. He may use people or circumstances to bring oppression onto our life. You feel a weight. I've been through those seasons. I'm sure you have too, whether it's pastorally or if you've got a business or relationships, family, you stand for truth. Maybe for you, you started obeying God, you get saved, and you thought it was going to be awesome to follow Jesus, and it is, but then all of a sudden you start experiencing this weightiness and this heaviness and attacks from all different angles. Satan is seeking to oppress you. And demons will try to do that from the outside because they can't no longer get you on the inside when you're a child of God. They'll try to drive you away from God in vague shame and keep you in guilt. Guilt is good. You feel conviction and sorry for sin, but then you stay there. That's what demons want you to do and not turn to the grace of God. The spirit's conviction drives you to God in repentance. And so you've got to learn the difference. Fourth, demons do possess. They oppress, but they possess, but only the unregenerate, only those who are not Christians in the Gospels. Demonic possession showed total control. You had self-harm, supernatural strength. You had this bondage that people were under. They were under the total control of demons. But when Jesus spoke, they obeyed immediately. And it tells us something when you're dealing with demonic possession. Authority is not about volume and rebuke, it's a person, Christ. And so Christians need to remember not every mental anguish or issue is possession. No, not at all. Possession looks theatrical and sometimes psychological. And you're just looking at things that are keeping people in bondage and keeping them possessed. And what solves all of it? Not trying to discern, well, what is this exactly? And I need to know this and I need to know that. And what about this? Submission to Christ, the authority of Christ, deals with all of it. And so wisdom refuses both sensationalism and getting all caught up in it. And yeah, we're not, and also, though, denial. You know, there's no such thing. They're probably not possessed. That's probably just a little something. Oh, who knows? Some people are just weird. Maybe it's mental health. You know, you have a lot of these buzz phrases that people say or people use. They they'll dismiss the demonic, and then other times they'll over-emphasize it. Really important understand that scripture should define what you see as demonic. That's it. And how it's dealt with. Fifth, demons distract. They'd rather a numb church than for the church to notice them. If they can't ruin you, they'll doll you. Paul said that the God of this world in 2 Corinthians 4, 4, is trying to blind the mind of unbelievers. And blinding is not always ignorance. Sometimes it's indifference, just not paying attention. People constantly scrolling, endless noise, no space for scripture, no time for prayer, no time for worship. You don't need to bow to an idol if you're just completely distracted. Satan's not worried. Oh no, they're they're doing they're they're they're not worshiping idols or graven images like in the Bible days. No, no, he just wants you obsessed with the things of this world. Back then it was worshiping at the Temple of Artemis or having some crazy experience in Corinth and the Old Testament, you know, the Philistine gods and bowing to Dagon and the prophets of Baal and what have you. Now, oh, he just wants you addicted to some item or activity that takes you away from love for Christ. Now, behind all this chaos that I'm describing, scripture hints at organization. Paul says our struggle is not against flesh and blood. So that means it's not, it's not the phone, the physical phone, you know, or or or people, or you're not attacked. It's it's what's behind all of these things. It's not physical, it's spiritual, but against rulers, powers, world forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness. That's not random phrasing. It implies rank, it implies jurisdiction, and shows us that Satan is running a counterfeit kingdom with strategic order. In Daniel chapter 10, you have this glimpse of a spiritual battle behind empires. And the Bible says that a prince of Persia was resisting a heavenly messenger until Michael, the archangel, came to help. What's the point? What is that showing us? That evil is organized. It studies, it assigns, it adapts. The demons that peddle heresy in classrooms may not be the same that sow despair in the bedroom. And somebody could be sitting in their living room in depression, but they all share the same master and the same goal. Here's the good news for all of their organization, demons are still on a leash, if you will. There are things demons are not allowed to do, or they are not, period. And you need to commit these to memory. Number one, demons are not omnipresent, they can only be in one place at one time. Satan roams, he does not reign. Only God fills the heavens and the earth, only God is omnipresent. Important to know demons and the devil in the same category. They're not omnipresent. God is. Number two, they are not omniscient. Only God is. They observe, but they cannot read your thoughts. Only God knows the heart and knows all things. So your silent prayers reach the throne untouched. Even if you pray out loud, though, there's a third truth here: demons are not omnipotent, omnipotent. They're not all powerful. So you can pray silently and they can't read your mind. You can pray out loud, they don't have power outside of what God allows. In Job's story, Satan could go only as far as God allowed. You remember that? God gave him permission. When Peter denies the Lord, what did he get warned about before that? Christ said that Satan has asked for permission, Peter, to sift you like wheat. And when he is finished, Jesus allows it, you're going to encourage your brothers. You're going to strengthen your brothers. You're going to go on to be a leader in the church. How did the demons or the devil do this? With the permission of Christ. They are not omnipotent, they don't have all power. So your prayers, out loud, can go right past them and fly right in their face. And they can't touch them. They don't have power. It's God's permission that even allows them to do what they do. So you could say it this way: demons have fury, but they don't have freedom. They're not sovereign over believers. The Holy Spirit dwells in you, demons cannot. Your body's his temple. Light and darkness don't share the same home. And so Christians can be tempted and harassed, but yeah, they have no power over you, which leaves to then this truth that they can't possess you. They cannot possess you. God doesn't share his house. Demons are not able to possess Christians. He just doesn't do roommates. The Holy Spirit's not tolerating it. He's not doing time shares. He's not renting out space. Another thing, demons are not creative. They repeat the same old lies: pride, lust, greed, envy, unbelief, all of that. Just dressed as modern fashions now. That means that the ancient word of God is going to be your most modern weapon still. They've changed none. They still do the same thing. So we use what Jesus said. It is written, it is written, it is written. Why? Because the word of God crushes Satan. Wherever you are, you bring scripture, it is written, and you're bringing the authority of Christ wherever you are. Finally, they're not free from Christ's authority. Demons are not free from the authority of Christ. When Jesus speaks, they must obey. They beg him in the scriptures. They fear him. They triumphed over him at the cross. No, he triumphed over them. And he made a public display and a spectacle of their defeat. They don't have power over him. They don't have authority. Even when they thought they did, they didn't. Guess again, it was over. They thrive on confusion and compromise. They tried to assault humanity. Oh, but they can't overpower the authority of Christ. You don't need to chase the exotic things of this world or go to third world countries to discover the demonic. You just need to look in ordinary places where lies reign and truth is unwelcome. You need to be more discerning in the classroom that redefines identity, the boardroom where greed is really called just drive, and where a home has become full of bitterness and it feels justified, or a friendship that breeds gossip and slander as just venting, or even a pulpit that apologizes for preaching the truth. The devil is happy to take a soul by inches if he can't take it by a storm. Take heart, though. The same savior who silences a legion with just one word is the savior who rules over your home, your mind, your heart, and your future. And so the more clearly you can see his authority in the way that I've described it here, and see demons for what they are, the more calmly you're gonna stand when darkness presses in. The kingdom of darkness is not gonna yield ground very easily, but it does yield ground. Now let me answer one final question that I already alluded to a little bit, but I want to answer it in a deep and complete way. Can Christians be possessed by demons? The answer, absolutely not, and that absolutely not is drenched in gospel hope. Possession means dominion, but believers already have a resident who's taken over, the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6 19, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And so God does not timeshare his temple. You were purchased by Christ's blood, you were sealed by his spirit, and your ownership has changed permanently. The Bible says that when you get saved, you've been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. And so believers can be influenced by the enemy, attacked by the enemy, sifted, and go through trials that the enemy is firing at you, like Peter in the Bible and like Job. We can be tormented like Paul was with the thorn in the flesh, but none of that is control. It's conflict. God even uses it to humble and strengthen us. You think about a thunderstorm pounding on a house. The windows rattle, the dog freaks out, the lights flicker, but the deed never changes names. If you're in Christ, you are a spirit-indwelt house. You're under his ownership. That ain't changing. The storm may rage, but ownership is settled. And so I want you to stop fearing the loss of what Christ secured. You're not shared space, your occupied territory, occupied by the Spirit of the living God, sealed for the day of redemption. And demons, while they may whisper, accuse, threaten, or attack, they cannot set up permanent residence within you and possess you. And so stand firm, speak the truth, pray hard, and remember the one who lives in you is greater than he who is in the world. Thanks for listening and thanks for watching. If you watch this on our YouTube channel, don't forget to subscribe and get all of our content for free directly to your inbox. I pray this episode has either taught you things you never heard or thought about before, or maybe confirmed a biblical understanding of demons that you thought kind of sounded true or felt true, but now you've got definitive and objective proof. Thanks always as well for sharing it with people who could use helpful resources loaded with biblical truth. And as we close out this episode, I just want to invite you to partner with us again. If the Lord has put that on your heart and you've been blessed by the ministry here for the gospel, it was Hudson Taylor who said, God's work, done God's way, will never lack God's supply. And that's exactly what we've experienced here at For the Gospel through the faithfulness of our gospel patron community. And that's been our goal since 2020. Provide sound doctrine for everyday people, partner with incredible gospel patrons who want to make that happen, put everything out for free, and then just let the Lord handle all of the results. 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