Here's the MP3 of the sermon I preached on Saturday night, December 19, 2009. Find out how Cain, Abel and Christmas relate! Please give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Click on the headphones to listen or the down arrow to download.
Cheers, and God bless!
Hoss
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Peace
I'm not the kind of guy who finds demons around every corner. If a rake leaning against a tree falls, it's because the wind blew the tree and it caused the rake to fall. It isn't a sign. The devil didn't push it over. I think sometimes Christians, especially pentecostal Christians, do mare harm than good with the hyper-spiritual, exorcistic mindset, casting demons out of everything and everybody and attributing normal bumps in the road to "attacks of Satan" and so forth.
All that being said, I think many more Christians have a "I don't see it so it doesn't exist" mindset, which is weird considering we believe in God, though most have never seen Him. And I think this mindset is even more dangerous. There is a very real spirit realm and simply because we don't see it, does not mean it doesn't exist or doesn't affect us.
Furthermore, I would submit that this reality we live in is in fact a shadow of the spirit world. There are angels and demons that exist in the spirit world that we can't see with the natural eye. They have an ability to interfere or influence the lives and affairs of man, but because we don't see them, we often don't think they're there.
Why am I talking about demons and the spirit realm? Because we've had a recent encounter and I need to first and foremost glorify God and testify of His goodness, and second of all, because our experience and the truths gleaned from it can and do apply to the lives of others and I believe there are important lessons to be learned.
We have had no peace for the last several weeks in our home. Quinn hasn't been sleeping at night. We've had round after round of sickness in our home. Nobody has been sleeping well due to the sickness, sick babies, etc. Lack of sleep and the stresses of finances, children and life in general have overwhelmed us. Everyone has been cranky, snapping at one another, filled with anxiety, frustration, bitterness, etc.
This does not sound at all like God, does it? But it's flu season, so the sickness makes sense. The economy sucks, so the financial struggle makes sense. The kids have been sick and really busy with the holidays and stuff, so the lack of sleep and late nights make sense. All of this added up makes us cranky, frustrated and full of anxiety and stress. It all makes sense. Everything is accounted for.
Well all that changed two nights ago. Quinn went to bed Sunday night and went to sleep just fine. At 1:30AM, about two and a half hours after going to sleep, he woke up screaming. Brooke went in, loved on him, sat with him and rocked in the chair and put him back in bed once he had fallen back to sleep. He instantly woke up, started screaming and wanted out of his crib. Brooke said "I love you, but you need to go to sleep. Now lay down, okay?" And she left the room. She stood outside his bedroom door as he screamed and suddenly, his scream changed. It went from an upset toddler to a petrified, terrified little boy. And suddenly, Brooke heard other voices in his room. She immediately went in and he was screaming, rubbing his head saying "Owie! Owie!"
Again, we aren't the kind of people who see demons around every corner, and we certainly don't want to give Satan more credit than he deserves. But this was obviously a demonic attack and not just a frustrated, over-tired toddler.
Brooke came and got me and asked me to come in and pray. When I walked in the room, I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel any eerie presence. No goosebumps. No hairs standing on end. But I sat with Quinn and held him as he trembled, and we decided to bring him to bed with us. But before we did, I wanted to pray. I began to pray, but felt no eerie presence. Until I started rebuking and binding Satan and his demons. That's when whatever it was showed up. And it made the hairs on my neck stand up. And it didn't go away. As I began to pray against it, the baby who was sleeping in our bedroom began to scream.
We took Quinn back to bed with us, but I didn't feel the issue was resolved and none of us slept well. In fact after I finally went back to sleep, I had a horrible nightmare that instantly woke me up and kept me awake for another few hours. When I got up for work, I went to the kitchen to make coffee, and still felt eerie.
I called my mom, told her what had happened, and asked her and Dad to come over after work and pray with us over our home. That evening when they came over, we anointed to doorposts of our home and bedrooms, Quinn's bed and room, and we began to pray. After we prayed, we all felt a peace that we hadn't had in weeks.
Quinn went to sleep last night at 8PM. After putting him down so peacefully and easily, I called my mom to tell her and Dad and to thank them for praying. My mom then told me when they left our house, she asked my dad "Did you feel anything when you walked in there?" My dad said "No. Nothing. Until I started praying and called it out. Then it showed up." And I know exactly what he was talking about...right in the middle of his prayer, that same eerie feeling rose up and every hair on my body stood on end. Whatever this demonic spirit was, it's assignment was to hide its presence and it only "came out" to terrorize my son at night or when we directly called it out.
We prayed, cast it out, and it didn't return. We all slept great last night. Quinn slept from 8PM to 915AM without waking up once. We all felt an amazing peace that hadn't been there in weeks.
God taught me several valuable lessons through all of this.
#1. Don't discount the spiritual realm; it is very real and can and does affect our lives.
#2. Don't always just assume that the sicknesses and sleepless toddlers are attributed to natural causes. It very well could be the work of Satan, and we as God's children have authority and power. Jesus said in Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
#3. There is massive amounts of power in several people praying in agreement together. Whatever this thing was, I didn't cast it out when I prayed. But when we called in reinforcements and all prayed together, it left and didn't return. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." The power of prayer exponentially increases when we join with other believes and "agree as touching any one thing. (Matthew 18:19)"
One more thing...There are rules and laws for the spirit realm just as there are in the physical. That demonic spirit had no legal right to be in our home. He was violating the spiritual law, and as such, had to leave when we cast him out. Had we had some kind of unconfessed secret sin in our lives that allowed the demon in, he wouldn't have to leave because by our sinful actions, we allowed him in. Since that was not the case and he "snuck" in somehow, perhaps "piggybacking" in on someone else or something, he had to leave when we confronted him.
So in closing, when you experience something in life that just doesn't seem right, realize that it might be a demonic attack. Search your heart for unconfessed, unrepented sin. If there is sin, get rid of it by turning from it and asking God's forgiveness. If there is not, then the demon has come against you illegally. You have absolute authority and power to vanquish it. However, if by praying you cannot, call in reinforcements. Have other believers join you and agree with you in prayer against the enemy and cast him out.
Here's a flowchart I made (just for fun).
All that being said, I think many more Christians have a "I don't see it so it doesn't exist" mindset, which is weird considering we believe in God, though most have never seen Him. And I think this mindset is even more dangerous. There is a very real spirit realm and simply because we don't see it, does not mean it doesn't exist or doesn't affect us.
Furthermore, I would submit that this reality we live in is in fact a shadow of the spirit world. There are angels and demons that exist in the spirit world that we can't see with the natural eye. They have an ability to interfere or influence the lives and affairs of man, but because we don't see them, we often don't think they're there.
Why am I talking about demons and the spirit realm? Because we've had a recent encounter and I need to first and foremost glorify God and testify of His goodness, and second of all, because our experience and the truths gleaned from it can and do apply to the lives of others and I believe there are important lessons to be learned.
We have had no peace for the last several weeks in our home. Quinn hasn't been sleeping at night. We've had round after round of sickness in our home. Nobody has been sleeping well due to the sickness, sick babies, etc. Lack of sleep and the stresses of finances, children and life in general have overwhelmed us. Everyone has been cranky, snapping at one another, filled with anxiety, frustration, bitterness, etc.
This does not sound at all like God, does it? But it's flu season, so the sickness makes sense. The economy sucks, so the financial struggle makes sense. The kids have been sick and really busy with the holidays and stuff, so the lack of sleep and late nights make sense. All of this added up makes us cranky, frustrated and full of anxiety and stress. It all makes sense. Everything is accounted for.
Well all that changed two nights ago. Quinn went to bed Sunday night and went to sleep just fine. At 1:30AM, about two and a half hours after going to sleep, he woke up screaming. Brooke went in, loved on him, sat with him and rocked in the chair and put him back in bed once he had fallen back to sleep. He instantly woke up, started screaming and wanted out of his crib. Brooke said "I love you, but you need to go to sleep. Now lay down, okay?" And she left the room. She stood outside his bedroom door as he screamed and suddenly, his scream changed. It went from an upset toddler to a petrified, terrified little boy. And suddenly, Brooke heard other voices in his room. She immediately went in and he was screaming, rubbing his head saying "Owie! Owie!"
Again, we aren't the kind of people who see demons around every corner, and we certainly don't want to give Satan more credit than he deserves. But this was obviously a demonic attack and not just a frustrated, over-tired toddler.
Brooke came and got me and asked me to come in and pray. When I walked in the room, I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel any eerie presence. No goosebumps. No hairs standing on end. But I sat with Quinn and held him as he trembled, and we decided to bring him to bed with us. But before we did, I wanted to pray. I began to pray, but felt no eerie presence. Until I started rebuking and binding Satan and his demons. That's when whatever it was showed up. And it made the hairs on my neck stand up. And it didn't go away. As I began to pray against it, the baby who was sleeping in our bedroom began to scream.
We took Quinn back to bed with us, but I didn't feel the issue was resolved and none of us slept well. In fact after I finally went back to sleep, I had a horrible nightmare that instantly woke me up and kept me awake for another few hours. When I got up for work, I went to the kitchen to make coffee, and still felt eerie.
I called my mom, told her what had happened, and asked her and Dad to come over after work and pray with us over our home. That evening when they came over, we anointed to doorposts of our home and bedrooms, Quinn's bed and room, and we began to pray. After we prayed, we all felt a peace that we hadn't had in weeks.
Quinn went to sleep last night at 8PM. After putting him down so peacefully and easily, I called my mom to tell her and Dad and to thank them for praying. My mom then told me when they left our house, she asked my dad "Did you feel anything when you walked in there?" My dad said "No. Nothing. Until I started praying and called it out. Then it showed up." And I know exactly what he was talking about...right in the middle of his prayer, that same eerie feeling rose up and every hair on my body stood on end. Whatever this demonic spirit was, it's assignment was to hide its presence and it only "came out" to terrorize my son at night or when we directly called it out.
We prayed, cast it out, and it didn't return. We all slept great last night. Quinn slept from 8PM to 915AM without waking up once. We all felt an amazing peace that hadn't been there in weeks.
God taught me several valuable lessons through all of this.
#1. Don't discount the spiritual realm; it is very real and can and does affect our lives.
#2. Don't always just assume that the sicknesses and sleepless toddlers are attributed to natural causes. It very well could be the work of Satan, and we as God's children have authority and power. Jesus said in Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
#3. There is massive amounts of power in several people praying in agreement together. Whatever this thing was, I didn't cast it out when I prayed. But when we called in reinforcements and all prayed together, it left and didn't return. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." The power of prayer exponentially increases when we join with other believes and "agree as touching any one thing. (Matthew 18:19)"
One more thing...There are rules and laws for the spirit realm just as there are in the physical. That demonic spirit had no legal right to be in our home. He was violating the spiritual law, and as such, had to leave when we cast him out. Had we had some kind of unconfessed secret sin in our lives that allowed the demon in, he wouldn't have to leave because by our sinful actions, we allowed him in. Since that was not the case and he "snuck" in somehow, perhaps "piggybacking" in on someone else or something, he had to leave when we confronted him.
So in closing, when you experience something in life that just doesn't seem right, realize that it might be a demonic attack. Search your heart for unconfessed, unrepented sin. If there is sin, get rid of it by turning from it and asking God's forgiveness. If there is not, then the demon has come against you illegally. You have absolute authority and power to vanquish it. However, if by praying you cannot, call in reinforcements. Have other believers join you and agree with you in prayer against the enemy and cast him out.
Here's a flowchart I made (just for fun).
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