Posted by: dananddeb | July 21, 2008

Do The Devils Know Your Name?

Do The Devils Know Your Name?

 

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.

And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Opening Prayer

            In the 1939 movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy decides that in order to save her little dogs life, her only option is to take Toto and run away from home. She doesn’t get very far along in her journey before she comes upon a very interesting man by the name of Professor Marvel. Professor Marvel is a traveling man who claims to be able to tell fortunes through the use of his “magic crystal ball.” So, as Dorothy is coming down the road, she comes upon his camp and their conversation goes like this:

Professor:             Oh, house guests! And who might you be? Oh, now don’t tell me. You’re traveling in disguise, no, that’s not right, I…you’re going on a visit? No, I’m wrong, that’s, uh, you’re, uh, you’re running away.

Dorothy:             How did you guess?

Professor:             Professor Marvel never guesses, he knows. Now why are you running away? No, no, no, don’t tell me. Uh, they don’t understand you at home, they don’t appreciate you. You want to see other lands, big cities, big mountains, big oceans!

Dorothy:             Why, it’s just like you could read what was inside of me.

Dorothy:             Why can’t we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?

Professor:       Do you know any? Oh, you mean the thing. [gesturing to his sign] I never do anything without consulting my crystal first. Let’s go inside, and I’ll show you..This is the same, genuine magic authentic crystal used by the priests of Isis and Osiris in the days of the Pharaohs of Egypt, in which Cleopatra first saw the approach of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. And so on and so on. Now, you, uh, you’d better close your eyes for a moment, my child, so I can be in better tune with the infinite. [looks through her basket] We can’t do these things without reaching out into the infinite. That’s all right now, you can open them. We’ll look into the crystal. What’s this I see? A house with a picket fence and a barn with a weather vane of a…of a… running horse.

Dorothy:             That’s our farm.

Professor:             I see a woman. She’s wearing a polka-dot dress. Her face is careworn.

Dorothy:             That’s Auntie Em.

Professor:             Her name is Emily.

Dorothy:             That’s right. What’s she doing?

Professor:             Well I, uh, I can’t quite see. Why, she’s crying. Someone has hurt her. Someone has just about broken her heart.

Dorothy:             Me?

Professor:             Well, it’s uh, someone she loves very much. Someone she’s been very kind to. Someone she’s taken care of in sickness.

Dorothy:             I had the measles once and she stayed right by me every minute. What’s she doing now?

Professor:             Well, she’s, uh…What’s this? Well, she’s, she’s putting her hand on her heart. Oh, she’s, she’s dropping down on the bed.

Dorothy:             Oh, no, no, no.

Professor:             Uh, that’s it, the crystal’s gone dark.

 

            Now, although this illustration is silly in nature, the purpose is to paint a picture for you of how ridiculous these people in our study truly were in comparison to how “mystical” they seemed to have seen themselves as being.

            Our Scripture that we are going to be examing to day is Acts 19:13-15 and if you’ll turn with me, we read, “Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” In verse thirteen, we read of these certain vagabond Jews. This word, vagabond, when studied in original Greek, is pronounced “perievrcomai” and means to “wander about without direction or lack of guidance. What we have then, are seven Jewish men that traveled from town to town with the sole intention of receiving money through deceptive practices. They would use different forms of fortune telling and would pretend to cast spells and charms in order to cure men of diseases. This sounds a little bit similar to our Professor Marvel, whom as we learn later in the movie is the man behind the curtain, aka, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!”

            Oftentimes, these wanderers, these deceivers, would and still do refer to themselves as exorcists because they would at times perform these tricks using forms of adjuration, or in other words, intense pleading. For example, in our Scripture today, these men were attempting to expel a demon by using the name of Jesus whom Paul preacheth. It’s an interesting fact that when you study the word exorcist, you will find that the synonyms used are words such as, “Magician, Sorcerer, Seducer, and Imposter.” Now, when I say magic, I’m not referring to the “what’s that behind your ear” trick. No, I’m talking about something much more serious and dangerous. What I’m talking about is the idea that one can control the natural world through mystical or paranormal means. This includes magic words or spells that are popular among modern day Wicca’s. It could include the use of wands or other such tools or the use of different pagan symbols; for instance the crystal ball in our illustration of Professor Marvel. Other examples include would include fortune telling, the practice of predicting the future through mystical means and typically for the gain of money.

            Numerology and astrology are even more examples. Gallop estimates that there are over ten million devoted followers of astrology in the U.S. and another 40 million who claim to dabble in it. What’s even more amazing than that is that 10% of evangelical Christians say that they believe in astrology! My question to them is whether or not they are truly saved! Astrology columns can be found in over 1200 newspapers. You can find your horoscope in department stores, grocery stores, airports, online, on television, and over the phone! It’s estimated that there are 1700 full-time astrologers and approximately 175,000 part-timers. If I was to take a poll right now, how many of us could raise our hands if I asked who here knows their zodiac sign. I know that I would. Like violence and sex, spiritual poison lurks around every corner. In Acts 8:9-23 we read, “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” Sorcery, magic, witchcraft…

            As these vagabond Jews were going about attempting to cast out demons by adjuration, let’s look at what the Torah said of such work. Leviticus 19:12, “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” Today, we believers who fall under the new covenant of the shed blood of Christ the Lord also have warnings concerning adjuration. James writes in chapter 5 verse 12, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” Our Lord spoke these words recorded in Matthews gospel, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne.” Swear not… Now the ministry of deliverance can certainly be a ministry in it’s own. However, we AS BELIEVERS have the authority through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost and the Holy name of Christ Jesus to cast out demons. The key is that we MUST be believers in the Risen Lord and that we not attempt this by our own authority but only by the authority of the name above all names, Jesus! These vagabonds were NOT believers in Jesus, but instead were out trying to throw their weight around by using the name of Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. They had no relationship whatsoever with the Lord of All, they were simply trying to profit from His Name!

            Although I loosely compare these men to a fictional character in a movie, the terrible and awful truth is that these men were not fictional characters. They were in fact in the very line of Aaron and had a responsibility to the Jewish nation and even more importantly to the Great I AM. These men we are told were the sons of Sceva, chief of the priests. This was no light duty. We remember that Aaron was called of God to be the High Priest of the Hebrews. Exodus 28:1, “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.” Leviticus 21, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother. And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. And Moses told it unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel.”

            The commentator Matthew Henry says this regarding our sons of the chief priest, “It is truly sad to see any of that race in league with Satan.” Oh, how far these men had fallen from their chosen position in the house of God! We can see this today where great preachers of God’s Word have allowed a small foothold for the enemy of our souls and by doing so they have fallen greatly! They’ve allowed sin to rule once again in their lives. They’ve allowed guilt to eat away at them like a cancer ravishes the human body rather than recognize their sin, confess their sin, and repent of their sin. They’ve allowed their witness to fail. They’ve allowed their light to grow dim. They’ve forgotten their first love of Christ Jesus, their Lord and Savior. They’ve forgotten the One that died on that hill called Skull Hill. The One that was spit upon, mocked, beaten, hung upon a cross, and pierced! They’ve forgotten that they were bought with heavy, and need I say, undeserving price. I agree, and I think you can too, “It is truly sad to see any of that race in league with Satan.”

            Although these seven were certainly in league with Satan, he did not possess them nor were they possessed of any demon. I was talking with a co-worker recently who informed me that the devil is everywhere. Although it would seem that way when looking at the world around us, the reality is that only God Almighty is omnipresent. Only He can be as the song suggests, “our daily bread, the air we breathe.” How many times have we heard people say, “the devil made me do it!” I personally don’t give the Accuser that much credit. No, Satan did not possess these men. They were sinful, prideful, and full of greed, and for them, most dangerously ignorant of the powers with which they chose to play with.

            We learn much about these demons moving further into our study. “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” This demon was able to recognize immediately that none of these seven were of the Most High God. Angels and demons (fallen angels) are created spiritual beings that have superior intelligence and strength that can be used to protect us from harm or cause us harm. I stress again, that the only reason we are able to battle demons is through the power of the Holy Ghost and the authority given us by the Lord Jesus. I am convinced that this is not an area that we can afford to be lackadaisical in or treat without absolute seriousness. We cannot battle the enemy by copying what is shown in movies. Holy water, crosses, crucifixes or such does not challenge demons. They are frightened by the use of His Name, the thought of Him, the sight of Him and from our Scripture today it is plain to see that they are knowledgeable of whether or not we know Jesus Christ, because they know Jesus Christ! “And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.”[1] “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”[2] “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”[3] “And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.”[4]

            The demons knew who Paul was because they were able to recognize Christ in Him. In chapter 16 verses 16-18 we read, “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” (This woman was a high priestess in the temple of Apollo and was highly respected by those who were not Christians). There is no doubt in my mind that demons are able to see Christ in you also and the lack of Christ in those who do not believe.

            To further prove my point of their recognition of Christ, I find it interesting that we have no account of demons failing to confess exactly who Jesus is, unlike God’s other intelligent creation, the human. “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”[5] “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.”[6]

            It easy for us to study and conclude that demons and Satan are aware of who is and who is not Spirit filled. We have an example here of what happens when people try to battle the enemy and are lacking the Spirit of God. These boys were whooped on! “And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

            What about the believer? If we are Holy Spirit filled and plead the blood of Christ against those wily foxes, what is the demons role in battling God’s saints? “O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”[7] I believe that these seven were beaten and then left alone because they meant nothing to the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. We read no more of these men being harassed or attacked. The demon beat them and left them wounded and naked. Oh how different things are for the believer! Sometimes, I feel like I could gauge my service to God by the number of attacks I have in a week or even a day! We my friends are under attack! We are recognizable to the enemy! They are going to try and stop us from serving our Lord. They will attempt to draw God’s Glory away from Him. Don’t we see this happening all the time with pride? I’m a great athlete, singer, musician, writer, or cook! Well folks, we are only great at something because God has blessed us with that gift and the true glory must go to Him! But oh how the enemy wants you to forget that! He’ll use other people to puff us up until before you know it, you can’t fit your head through the door anymore!

            They attempt to draw you and I away from God. Have you ever noticed how you get tired when you sit down to read the Word? Movies, secular books, television! The enemy wants to defeat the hope that we have in Christ. Have you ever had prayer go unanswered? There’s the enemy whispering in your ear, “God doesn’t hear you… He doesn’t love you…” God will not and it’s my belief that He cannot work outside His own will just as He cannot lie! Even our Lord while sweating drops of blood prayed, “Not my will but Thine will be done!” God searches our hearts and He knows why we are praying and I believe that He will answer it for us if it is in line with His will! Ultimately, Satan and his followers have the main objective of seeking to destroy the believer! “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”[8]

            The serpent is like a general in the Army planning and plotting and scheming. He and his troops will direct our attention to different areas in our life in order to keep us from working for God. It wasn’t long ago that Pastor Wayne had it placed on his heart to start Faith Works Fellowship. Soon after, his youngest son found himself pinned in a car trapped next to a young lady who unfortunately breathed her last breath in that vehicle. Pastor Wayne wasn’t focused on the church at that time; he was focused on his baby! Then, when that didn’t stop this church from being born, he finds himself laid up in the hospital preparing for surgery! But oh friends, as much as the enemy plotted and schemed, he failed miserably in his attack against this flock and it’s shepherd. If he can’t get to us, he’ll make his attempt through our family, our work or any other means available to him!

            Oh the Accuser, the Serpent, that wicked Dragon! From Eden to now, constantly casting doubts in the minds of God’s children. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”[9] Is the entire Bible really true? Does God really want me to love the unlovable? Am I really saved? He and those wicked ones are constantly trying to draw us into debate regarding sin. How many times have you heard Scripture twisted to fit a person’s agenda, causing division amongst the church? Does the Bible really say that homosexuality is wrong? If this is what the Bible teaches then why do we have churches ordaining gay men into the pastorate? Because the enemy is constantly trying to infiltrate our ranks! Wolves amongst the sheep waiting to leap and attack! Apostates! Oh they would almost have us believing there is no hope! Praise God this is not the case! We are sons and daughters of the Most High God and when the attack comes at us we can shout out with authority and strength and power, GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN FOR MY JESUS HAS OVERCOME! My Jesus has overcome. My Jesus has overcome Satan, and sin, and death and with Paul we can say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”[10]

            We are not weak worldly beings. We are new creatures in Christ, righteous and holy! The Spirit of God is our guide and He teaches us to be vigilant, to be sober, for our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.[11] He teaches us to stand fast, submitting ourselves therefore to God and resisting the devil.[12] We must do battle! Paul has told us to put on our battle suit! When I was in the Marine Corps we had many uniforms, but my favorite was always my war suit! We as Christians have a war suit! The Might Armour of God! “Put on the whole Armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”[13] Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon in which he directed us to “TAKE THE SWORD.” I can’t say this any better than he, so let me share with you an excerpt from this message preached by the “Prince of Preachers” April 19, 1891 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

            “It is clear from our text that our defense and our conquest must be obtained by sheer fighting. Many try compromise; but if you are a true Christian, you can never do this business well. The language of deceit fits not a holy tongue. The adversary is the father of lies, and those that are with him understand the art of equivocation; but saints abhor it. If we discuss terms of peace, and attempt to gain something by policy, we have entered upon a course from which we shall return in disgrace. We have no order from our Captain to patch up a truce, and get as good terms as we can. We are not sent out to offer concessions. It is said that if we yield a little, perhaps the world will yield a little also, and good may come of it. If we are not too strict and narrow, perhaps sin will kindly consent to be more decent. Our association with it will prevent its being so barefaced and atrocious. If we are not narrow-minded, our broad doctrine will go down with the world, and those on the other side will not be so greedy of error as they now are. No such thing. Assuredly this is not the order which our Captain has issued. When peace is to be made, he will make it himself, or he will tell us how to behave to that end; but at present our orders are very different.

            Neither may we hope to gain by being neutral, or granting an occasional truce. We are not to cease from conflict, and try to be as agreeable as we can with our Lord’s foes, frequenting their assemblies, and tasting their dainties. No such orders are written here. You are to grasp your weapon, and go forth to fight.

            Neither may you so much as dream of winning the battle by accident. No man was ever holy by a happy chance. Infinite damage may be done by carelessness; but no man ever won life’s battle by it. To let things go on as they please, is to let them bear us down to hell. We have no orders to be quiet, and take matters easily. No; we are to pray always, and watch constantly. The one note that rings out from the text is this:-TAKE THE SWORD! TAKE THE SWORD! No longer is it, talk and debate! No longer is it, parley and compromise! The word of thunder is-Take the sword. The Captain’s voice is clear as a trumpet-Take the sword! No Christian man here will have been obedient to our text unless with clear, sharp, and decisive firmness, courage, and resolve, he takes the sword. We must go to heaven sword in hand, all the way. “TAKE THE SWORD.” On this command I would enlarge. May the Holy Spirit help me!

             It is noteworthy that there is only one weapon of offense provided, although there are several pieces of armor. The Roman soldier usually carried a spear as well as a sword. We have seen frequent representations of the legionary standing upon guard as sentry, and he almost always stands with a spear in his right hand, while his sword hangs at his side. But Paul, for excellent reasons, concentrates our offensive weapon in one, because it answers for all. We are to use the sword, and that only. Therefore, if you are going to this fight, see well to your only weapon. If you are to have no other, take care that you have this always in your hand. Let the Captain’s voice ring in your ear, “Take the sword! Take the sword!”, and so go forth to the field.”

            Church, Mighty God has equipped us and we must suit up and move forward with all of the strength of the Spirit and continue in God’s work. Follow His commandments, the first being to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. The second is like it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. We are to go forward and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This means at school, at work, at the grocery store, maybe in your own home. Lastly, do as Paul taught and examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Ask yourselves this question, if you were to come face to face with a demon, would he cry out in fear at your use of the name of Jesus, or would he respond, Jesus I know, but who are ye? So I urge you, while examining yourself to see if you are indeed in the faith, ask yourselves this question; “Do the devils know my name?”

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


[1] Mark 1:34

[2] Mark 1:23-24

[3] Mark 5:7

[4] Luke 4:41

[5] Matthew 8:29

[6] Mark 3:11

[7] Acts 13:10

[8] John 10:10

[9] Genesis 3:1

[10] I Corinthians 15:55-57

[11] I Peter 5:8

[12] James 4:7

[13] Ephesians 6:11-17


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