He started down the question for me. He laid some foundation in the last class, which I appreciate because the question has come in. Can a Christian be possessed with the devil? Can a Christian be possessed by a devil? I have you in First Timothy chapter four. I think some of the question might have pertained to maybe what was preached a little bit on Thursday night there with sorceries and dealing with sorceries and drugs and the addiction of drugs. And sometimes even as believers, you get drugged, you can get drugged up. You can go through a sickness, you can go through some infirmities, a real sickness there, and it puts you on some drugs, and it can kind of take you out of your right frame of mind, and when you get out of that right frame of mind, what can happen to a person, right? Well, there is a spirit world. And the battle you have and the battle you and I have is not a flesh and blood. It is a spiritual battle. There is a spirit world out there. And as much as you don't want to concentrate on it, and I'm not saying you need to, and I'm not saying you delve into it or look into it, but you just realize the battle around you is a spirit world, the devil, the devil does hate you. and the devil to do best he can to destroy you. I'll start out by saying this in the class, the one thing the devil cannot touch is your soul if you're saved. That's one of the greatest teachings and doctrines you have in the New Testament. There's that spiritual circumcision that took place when you got saved that your soul, your soul was cut free from your flesh. That means when you're saved, as you know, I trust you know from the Bible, we would consider two-thirds saved. That means you're signed, sealed, delivered for heaven with eternal security, and your soul is saved, but your body, your flesh, is still not saved. There's still wickedness in that flesh. That flesh is capable of doing anything at any time. And that's what the devil goes after. He cannot touch your soul. So a devil, if you want to say, can a devil possess you, he can get on your flesh, he can't get in your soul if you're saved. And to that you say, amen, thank God. He cannot touch your soul. But he'll go after your flesh. He'll go after to possess it. And here in 1 Timothy chapter 4, let me just try to give a little answer from the Bible here, and maybe some help, and a way to guard yourself. Because any one of us is susceptible to this. Does not Paul say, unless ye fall? Well, one of the reasons that would cause us to fall as believers, and many are falling away today, is they got another spirit that got a hold of them, and they're no longer controlled by the Holy Spirit. You want to make sure you're filled with the Spirit of God, and He's the one who's controlling. But 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse number 1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith. Why? Why are they departing from the faith? It's not talking about losing your salvation. You cannot lose God's salvation. You know what the devil can rob you of, what the devil tries to get you with? He tries to take away your assurance of salvation. Now he's done that with plenty of Christians that are saved. He's taking away that assurance and they doubt it every time listen if you put your faith and trust in the blood of Jesus Christ And him alone for your salvation and that's what you put it in and that's it. You're trusting in nothing else. You're saved Anyway in as much as the devil wants to come along flesh come along just because you end up Getting involved in something or sinning after you're saved doesn't mean you're lost Just means you lost some fellowship. You need to get right with God But the devil wants to rob you and take away your assurance of salvation But here here is a depart from the faith and why is that here's what comes along giving heed? Giving heed. So now you're giving attention now you've made yourself you've given a place You're giving a place. He tells you in Ephesians give no place to the devil So if he tells you to give no place to the devil that must mean you can't give him a place. I Even as a Christian, even as a believer there, you step outside this book, you no longer believe the Bible to be the word of God, you no longer want to go to church, you no longer want to do things that are right, you've opened yourself up to the enemy, to the devil. It says, giving heed to seducing the devil. spirits and doctrines doctrines of Devils take your Bible if you would please and go to Luke chapter 11 a Luke chapter 11. So what are there out there? There are seducing spirits. There's spirit world out There's devils out there Bible talks about another spirit. You can get another spirit and preachers preach another spirit there, but he talks about seducing Spirit and the guy just tell you this as he told you in the last class The devil's had a long time to pay attention to mankind as he not and you know what the devil knows the best about you He knows your weaknesses. You know what the spirit world knows most about you. He knows your weaknesses where you're weak Spiritually where you're weak where your flesh is weak. He doesn't go after your strengths. He Some of you in here, if you're like me, just the smell of alcohol makes me want to vomit. Just looking at it makes me want to vomit. That's not my weakness. I don't have a weakness as a Christian in that part of my life. I have other weaknesses that the spirit world will know about, seducing spirits will know about, that he would come after me in. But one of the things I don't necessarily have to worry about too much in my life is ever getting involved in that kind of stuff. But some do. Some Christians came out of that and that's something that then they kind of get it they get the smell of it They get the look of it and it the devil knows that and that seducing spirit can come along and if you're not careful They'll seduce you right back into that. It's a seducing spirit. He comes after your Weaknesses he knows exactly what to entice you with the devil doesn't entice you with things You're not interested in he entices you with things you're interested in You might wanna consider that. All right, so he tells you here in Luke, Luke chapter 11, let's take it up here and see what happens here with this one in verse number 24. It says, when an unclean spirit, Bible talks about the four spirits there are, spirit of man, spirit of the beast, unclean spirits, right? Three spirits there the Bible talks about, and then the Holy Spirit. And so you have a spirit of man, you have a spirit of beast, that's in the animals, there's unclean spirits, and then there's the Holy Spirit. Well, here it's talking about an unclean spirit. when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man. Now I realize where we're at here in the book of Luke here and that flesh and spiritual circumcision wasn't taking place back then, but this is in this man. He walketh through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. He sayeth, I will return unto my house whence I came out. So you have a man that was filled with the devil, was possessed by a devil and the unclean spirits come out of that man. Now he's been delivered to the unclean spirit, verse 25. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. So the unclean spirit came out of this man. This man now has, he's empty. He's empty. That place where the unclean spirit was is out. That man is now empty. Now here's your teaching on that, all right? You better fill it with something. When you come out of something there, you come out of your life there, and you got saved out of that, and you listen to certain music there, and wrong music, and you're realizing what he just told you there in the last class, and the spirits that are in that music, and all that stuff there, you can't just leave yourself empty. You better fill it with right music. Because what's going to happen here, look what happens in verse 26. If you just leave yourself empty and say, well, you know, that's good. I just got rid of that. But you don't fill it with the truth. You don't fill it with right things. You don't be filled with the right spirit, the Holy Spirit. In verse 26, it says, then go with he. and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So someone there, if you would, take your Bible and go to 2 Timothy 2. So there it's showing you there about a spirit there and an unclean spirit there. I mean, I just suggested before you got saved, that's all you had all over you was an unclean spirit there. And that's what you were given to the God of this world was your father. That's the devil. That's the devil, that's what's the god of this world tonight, is the devil himself there. So after you get saved there, one way you can protect yourself, because seducing spirits know your weaknesses, and they're going to come after your weaknesses. So where you were weak, and very weak, and things like that, before you got saved, you might want to strengthen yourself and say, you know what, I'm going to get far away from that, but I'm going to replace that with right things. I'll replace it with prayer, I'll replace it with going to church, I'll replace it with reading my Bible, I'll replace it with separating myself from the world. But you better get rid of that, but fill it with the right things. Oftentimes people get rid of the bad things and don't get the right things, and the next thing when you hear the bad things again, you're right back to it. Cause it's something's gonna fill it. Alright? Either a clean spirit or the Holy Spirit. You want it to be the Holy Spirit. So Paul picks it up for us in 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And this will probably be the better teaching for us here tonight. As believers, as Christians tonight. And what do we do, and what is it, what is the action that we take that gives a place for the devil to enter in at? Well, look at 2 Timothy chapter 2. For sake of time, I'm going to start in verse number 22. The Bible says, 2 Timothy 2, 22, flee also youthful lust. Even old men have youthful lust. Just go to the nursing home and listen to the old men talk out there, or go to the golf course and listen to the old men talk out there. That's seducing spirit and all that, so you got to put that junk away. Amen, amen. And I'll stop there, but amen. Flee also youthful lust, but follow righteousness. So he's going to give you some things to follow. This is a good list. You put away that stuff, flee that, but you follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace. with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So he's identifying them there. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid. That'll keep you from a lot of trouble. That'll keep you from a lot of things there. I'm not going to stop there. Knowing that they do gender what? Don't you think the spirit world knows that? Don't you think seducing spirits know how to get your goat? And then get you to lose your temper, lose your testimony, lose some things? All right, gender strifes 24 and the servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle That's all of us. Now. It's not just preachers. You're a servant of the lord. If you're saved unto all men apt to teach Are you apt to teach tonight? Can you teach? Preacher i'm not a teacher brother. John's the teacher, you know, no, can you teach? You should be able to teach someone the bible If you're saved tonight and you got the holy spirit inside you should be able to sit down with an open bible in your hand an open bible in your hand and be able to teach something out of it. Well, I don't know a whole lot. Well, learn some more. Jesus said, learn of me, right? A right spirit in you, the right spirit, the Holy Spirit controlling you, you'll desire to know more about Him. You'll desire to know more about his book. You should be apt to teach. What? Patient. That's a good one for all of us. And meekness. Instructing. Here you go now. Instructing those that oppose themselves. So there's those, these are those that are opposed. You're instructing those that oppose themselves. If God, Paradventure, will give them repentance, to the acknowledging of the truth. Let me just stop there for a second. What takes place here? A Christian, listen, you can be taken captive by the devil here in a moment here for you hearing the truth, but rejecting the truth. What you heard tonight from the King James Bible, if you say, well, I just don't believe that that Bible's inspired, you heard truth. That truth came from the Word of God, did it not? Holy Spirit inside your inner man saying, amen, amen, amen, amen, and amen. But that flesh gets in there and says, I don't think so. I think every Bible has a little bit of this or this. Or I just kind of think that, I don't know. I just kind of think man got in there. No longer now. Now you're rejecting truth. And you know what happens when you reject the truth? When you reject what the Holy Spirit brings to you? Look at verse 26. and that they may recover themselves out of the snares of the devil, of the who? So who has you? The devil has you. Who are taken captive by him at his will. A Christian can be captive by the devil, not your soul. Not your soul, but your flesh. Seducing spirit can come along here. The Lord will grant a man repentance if he will acknowledge the truth. Dear people, take your Bible and go to Proverbs 5. Proverbs 5. That's why when you're sitting in church or you're reading your Bible, something comes along there and you know it's the word of God. Bible says, sanctify thyself, thy word is true. It's truth. So you know his word to be truth. And so when you hear the word of God, And when that truth is presented to you, you have a choice, do you not? You're either going to choose to believe what the Bible says, or you're going to reject what the Bible says, even as a Christian. There's plenty of Christians today that are rejecting what the Bible says. And there, Paul warns you, you could be taken captive by the devil at his will. Why? Because you're no longer acknowledging the truth. You're no longer saying the Holy Spirit's right and what God's Word says is right. I'm going to go with what I think. And that opens yourself up to the devil. Proverbs 5, verse 21. He says here, he says, for the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord. and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquity shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be boldened with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction, and in the greatness of his folly, he shall go away. Again, verse 21, for the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord sees, the Lord knows. Go to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 again the question. How's a Christian get possessed? What's the Avenue? What's the door if the Bible tells you an apostle Paul tells you in Ephesians chapter 4 give no place to the devil, but what happens before that that place he gives he tells you don't let the Sun go down upon your Wrath now you're either gonna believe that and believe that's what the Bible says or you're gonna reject that And you're gonna say it doesn't matter. I'll live angry. I'll be angry. I'll carry this vengeance I won't forgive and those things and then eventually up in that passage there. He tells you you grieve The Holy Spirit. Do you not you quench him? or isn't the isn't he the one who keeps it straight and right for you and helps you keep the unclean spirit out of your flesh and So you might want him on guard. You don't want him not on guard. If you let him off guard and you're trying to guard yourself, then you give a place for the devil to enter, and he could take you at his will. You're not stronger than the devil. Even Michael fighting over the body of Moses there, and the devil shows up. He had a call on the Lord, didn't he? Didn't he even have to deal with the serpent? Didn't the Lord Jesus Christ have to deal with the devil himself? He used what? It is written. It is written. You better believe what is written, otherwise you are going to open the door for the devil to take you at his will. And then you'll wonder why you all messed up and departed from the faith. Why all these people departing from the faith preacher? Why are they all these people that used to hold a King James Bible in their hand stand and sing the same hymns and songs that we used to sing and sing and we still sing today and would come to church and stuff like that. Why is it now? They don't even care about God. I mean to the point where they'll deny God. Well, you open yourself up the devil. He'll take you farther than you ever thought. You take you and that captivity is not like just it's bad news. So he says so snares Hebrews chapter 12 verse number one Bible says Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside heavy weight, heavy weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us. Those besetting sins, all right? The devil goes after those sins, those ones that so easily beset you. He knows those sins. Show you kind of how maybe it might work for us there. Most in here would probably agree if I'd ask you, you might have a temper issue or an anger issue, right? Temper, anger. So man, when that time comes and something doesn't go your way and that begins to rile up inside of you, and it's getting ready to cut loose on you, and it says, you know, and there's going to be a spirit that's going to come to you. And God's going to say, lay it aside. Holy Spirit's going to tell you to lay that anger aside. Don't punch the wall. Don't throw things. You know don't throw temper temper your own kid. Don't have a foul mouth. That's that's God saying lay it aside, right? There's gonna come another spirit along that's gonna be an unclean spirit. They're a seducing spirit. So they say you have every right to be mad You have every right to lose your temper right now. You have every right you have every right now. What are you gonna listen to? You're gonna fall boy, you're gonna lay it aside That besetting sin or you're gonna let that spirit come in and say yeah. No, no, no cut it loose. I And he can seduce you away. You're going to believe the book or not. But you got to put the book to practice. Romans chapter 6. I tell you all the time that one of the greatest teachings you had going on in church right now is the book of Romans. Book of Romans will answer all these questions for you. It'll help you in everything he's showing you here and what you're dealing with here. And it answers the question of this. But I will tell you this. The Lord wants you to keep a clean house. The Lord wants you to keep. You realize the Lord wants your heart to be clean. What's David say? Creating me a clean heart. That must mean you can have a dirty heart. He needed a clean heart, right? Don't remove that spirit. Don't take that. I realize it, but he was wanting to be in fellowship. A clean heart. You realize God wants you to have a clean heart? A holy God's looking for a holy heart, a heart that's filled with his spirit. Hence, he tells you, be filled with the spirit. Well, preacher, I got saved. I got the Holy Spirit. You sure did. But you better be filled with him every day. Otherwise another spirit come along get a hold of your flesh and jump on your flesh there and you're going to cause you a lot of problems. Caused you to lose the fellowship here in Romans chapter 6. Look at verse number 11. Romans 6 verse 11. Let me just say this. David said Lord search me and try me right and see if there be any wicked way in me. You know that's a good prayer. How often do you ask the Lord to do that? You know, oftentimes we just think we're good, we're clean. You know, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good with God. Well, if you get down there and really get down there and start to search and ask Him to try it, you might find some things. Because I want to make sure I really do have a clean heart with God, don't you? I need Him, don't you? I want to give a place to the devil. You think about your thoughts and what goes through your mind, and sometimes you ask that question, ask the Lord to do that for you. He'll bring something there. Aren't you glad you could put it under blood and get it right and get it clean? So David asked it Bible says I have your enrollment stay there but in 1st Samuel 15, it talks about rebellion and When you rebel against the Lord, what's it do it condors up another what another spirit doesn't it? rebellion is as the sin of My we get a hold of that Paul kind of reminded you that didn't he why because when you don't believe the book that's rebellion and When you don't believe God's word, when you don't believe God, you're rebelling against God. It's a rebellion. And the Bible likens it to a sin of witchcraft, which is a spirit. It conjures up another spirit. So when you sit in church, or you're reading your Bible, or truth comes along, and the Spirit of God taps in in there and says, hey, hey, you're like, ah, nah, I ain't listening to that. You've condoned up another spirit. And then you're going to get the snare. You get caught in this snare. And the devil walks around seeking whom he may, please say the word. He ain't looking to be your friend. He's looking to devour you. He'll show up trying to say he wants to be your friend as an angel of light, but he's looking to devour you. That snare isn't for your good. It'll hurt you. Many homes are being destroyed because of the snares of people just rejecting the book. Amen, amen. It gets on you. So he says here in Romans chapter 6, a spirit came up there. I'll say this to you. Either the Holy Spirit's going to tell you what to do or the devil or your flesh will. Those are your options. I'd rather listen to the Holy Spirit, wouldn't you, than the world, the devil, or my flesh. Romans 6, 11. Two minutes. I'll try to get it done. He says here likewise Reckon ye also yourselves To be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore. What's the next word? rain rain control rain, right Rain where in your mortal body not your soul your flesh a mortal body that ye should obey it in the lust thereof neither Here's your instructions. Yield ye your members. So you can yield your members. All right? You're going to yield them to somebody. You're going to yield them to the Holy Spirit or you're going to yield them to another spirit. All right? But the devil's going to come in. If you yield them to the flesh, that means you're going to yield them to the devil. You're going to give a place to the devil. Neither yield ye your members of instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God. Those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under Grace listen, it matters where you yield your body You do not have to yield it unto sin and that a blessing I don't have to give a place to the devil Don't you don't have to well preach it. Well, I'm worried about being possessed by a devil You'd be filled with the Spirit of God. You want to worry about being that devil possessing your flesh Your spirit will help you with your flesh It's when you deny that and if you're denying it down to that inner man to the spirit and you give it over and let your mortal flesh reign Then you open it up for a spirit for a work spirit world for the devil to come in Give him a place and you give him a place. He'll take the whole place One left seven more came back and He ain't interested in you. He hates you. He's interested in being God. And one way he gets to God, he thinks he gets to God by destroying God's people. That's why he hates you. And I'll say it again, he hates you. He doesn't love you. The world doesn't love you. You're going to go home here in just a minute. You're going to turn on the television and go ahead. I understand. I got it. You can list all these people trying to tell you all this kind of stuff, you know one place you better get your truth from It better be right here Why the God of this world will set the course of this world as we told you last week when we went through that and the Bible here and the devil will get a hold of anyone that'll bow down and worship him as he just told you in the last class and in every idol, there's a spirit Every idol is a devil. That's why they want worship and God's looking for any man the devil's looking for any man that'll do his business and And that's what happens in setting the course to this world. But aren't you glad you have this book? This book gives you great comfort, doesn't it? It's the greatest book on earth. I trust you read it. It'll keep you from all that stuff. It'll keep you from giving a place. Romans 7, I have it right there in this last verse, 18. For I know, this is Paul now, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present to me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. Can I just tell you, you're in a spiritual battle. You're in a spiritual battle every day. And this, Ephesians chapter six might be something you want to get up every morning and read. Why? Because I want to put on all the armor of God I can put on to protect myself from what the enemy wants to do. And that's to destroy you, your family, your kids, your ministry, and everything about you. I heard one preacher say it this way, and I kind of like it. He said, a spiritual EMP went off in our nation. You know what an EMP is? It takes out all the power, right? It takes out all the electronics. It just shuts everything down if one would go off. And he said, the devil has set off a spiritual EMP in our nation. I believe that. but I hope it hasn't turned the light out on you. I hope you're still open to that Word of God and let the Word of God shine light in you and shine light from you. So the question comes, can you be possessed by a devil as a Christian? The answer to that would be yes. Your flesh can be controlled and possessed and have an unclean spirit on it, but your soul can't. Aren't you glad as well with your soul tonight? And if it's well with your soul and your inner man, it'll certainly keep those things off of your flesh, if you'll just keep your flesh dead and the spirit alive. Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you.