The Demoniac: His Deliverance & Declaration, Part 1

Father, we thank you for this wonderful day, the day, Lord, that you have set aside for us to come and to worship your glorious, precious name. We thank you, Lord, that you've given us your word that we can study and that we can understand your great character. And pray that today, as we see you and your wonderful power and glory, that we would truly subject ourselves to your authority, follow your will and thus honor you in all that we say and do. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 8.

Luke chapter 8 is the place we are at this morning, looking at a man who was delivered from demon possession. It's a very familiar story. It's a story that we have heard growing up in Sunday school. It's a story that we have heard preached on in church. And many of us know it by heart. But the meaning of that story is far-reaching. The Bible says these words in Psalm 50, verse number 15.

Call upon me in the day of trouble. I shall rescue you and you will honor me. God says if you call upon me in your day of trouble, I will deliver you.

I will rescue you. When I do that, you in turn will honor me. The Bible says in Psalm 34, verse number 4, I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

The Bible says when the psalmist sought the Lord, the Lord answered him and delivered him from all the fears in his life.

I wonder if you believe that this morning. The Bible says in Psalm 91, verse number 1, he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust, for it is he who delivers you. And then it says in verse 14, same psalm, because he has loved me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him securely on high because he has known my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him with a long life. I will satisfy him and let him behold my salvation. Our God is in the deliverance business. He delivered Israel from bondage.

We study that in the book of Exodus. He delivered Daniel from the lion's den. He delivered Rahab from the destruction of Jericho. He delivered Peter from prison. He delivered Esther from Haman. He delivered David from Goliath. He delivered Elijah from Jezebel. He delivered the apostle Paul from all the perils he faced. In fact, it was the apostle Paul who said these words in 2 Timothy 4 verse number 18, the Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.

To him be the glory forever and ever. Our God is in the deliverance business. In fact, the only time he denied delivering someone was his own son. The Bible says in Romans 4 verse 25, he delivered him up because of our transgressions.

He delivered his son up for your transgressions and mine. He gave his son up. You see, our God did that so that he could ultimately deliver you from a kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son. That's what the apostle Paul speaks of in the book of Colossians, the first chapter, verse number 13.

For he delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. God delivered his son up for your transgressions so that he could deliver you from the kingdom of darkness and transfer you into the kingdom of his dear son. Our God is a powerful God and only God can deliver you from whatever situation you face. We like to preach about that. We like to talk about that. We even pray about that, but very few people ever believe that.

Our story today is about a man, a man who was possessed by legion and the Lord God delivered him. It becomes a picture of what God does in the life of every man and woman who give their life to him. How he takes them from the domain of Satan, removes them, rescues them from the grasp that Satan has on their soul and then transfers them into a kingdom, his kingdom, the kingdom of his dearly beloved son. It's a wonderful story. It's a story about the power of God. We have seen the power of God over the sea and now you're going to see the power of God over Satan.

In a couple of weeks, you're going to see it over sickness, because God is the all-powerful God of the universe who demonstrates to us His coming kingdom. And how will it be when He rules and reigns from Jerusalem as the King of the world? Our Lord God, having calmed the sea, is now going to cure a man who is possessed by demons. Only God can do that, and so the Bible speaks of the supernatural power of God. He has power over that which is natural, over nature, but He also has power over that which is supernatural.

In fact, the greatest demonstration of the supernatural power of God is the incarnation of God—God becoming man. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3, that He is the exact representation of the Father. Colossians 1 tells us that He is the icon—that is, He is an exact replica of His Father, because in Colossians 2:9 it says that in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. Philip said in John 14 to Christ, "Show us the Father," and Christ says, "If you see me, you have seen the Father," because in Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead.

And the greatest demonstration of the supernatural power of God was when God became man. He is the express image of God, and so now as God on earth, He came to reveal to us His deity. He came to reveal to us His identity. He came to show us what God is like. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and because of Christ we understand God, because the Messiah is God in the flesh. That was the greatest demonstration of the supernatural power of God. The second greatest demonstration of that power comes as He shows His control over the demonic world, over Satan's system.

This becomes crucial for us to understand the greatness of our God. It's interesting to note that when you read the Old Testament, there truly is really only one occasion where there is a demonstration of demon possession, and that is in Genesis chapter 6, where the sons of God would cohabitate with the daughters of men. We have a tape on that when we went through our study in Genesis chapter 6. You can get that after our service is over, but it's all about how demons cohabitated with the daughters of men to try to produce some kind of hybrid race, which led to the destruction of the world, because God did not come to redeem demon-man.

He came to redeem man, and so God would destroy the world. But outside of Genesis chapter 6, you don't read much, if any, about demon possession. When you come to the Gospels, you see an outpouring of demon possession and how it manifests itself. But when the Gospels are over, you read about them on two occasions—Acts 16 and Acts 19. The epistles don't talk about demon possession. Why is that? When you go back and begin to study it, you realize that it was during the time of Christ where there was this overload of demonic influence in the lives of people, unparalleled to any other account in the history of the world except for one, and that's Revelation chapter 9.

For in Revelation chapter 9, there is this angel—presumably Satan—who receives a key to open the bottomless pit. And when he opens the bottomless pit, demons are let out. They are let out upon this earth as never before, but they can only do by permission what God allows them to do. They can't kill any man; they're not allowed to do that. But they are allowed to torment man for five months, and they do for five months. And it speaks of the woe, the curse upon the earth, as the fifth trumpet is blown.

When the sixth trumpet is blown in Revelation chapter 9, there are four demons released that are held captive by the great river Euphrates, and they let out an army of demons that number two hundred million. And they are unleashed upon the earth as well, and they have the power to kill a third of mankind. But interesting to note: at the end of Revelation 9, the world still refuses to repent.

They refuse to repent of their idolatry. They refuse to repent of their immorality. They refuse to repent of their sorcery. They refuse to repent of all their evil deeds, in spite of the terror that comes upon them because of demon possession. But that's the greatest period, and that is yet in the future. Like I said, only Acts 16 and Acts 19 do we see demon possession. We don't see it in the epistles. In the Old Testament we saw it in Genesis chapter 6, but in the Gospels, it's everywhere. It's everywhere.

The question comes: Why? Why does that happen? Well, when Christ came to earth, when God became man and dwelt among us, what it did was it caused Satan to manifest himself. It caused the demons to manifest themselves. They had to manifest themselves. They have to fall down before the sovereign King of the universe. Oh, there's demonic possession—it happens all the time—but demons don't like to be recognized. They like to function in anonymity. They don't want to be seen. They would prefer that you would diagnose people's problems under some kind of clinical terminology or some kind of psychological terminology.

They prefer it that way. They don't want to be seen as maniacs tormenting the souls of men. They don't want to be seen that way. But during the time of Christ, they could not hide. They had to expose themselves because they know of the sovereign authority of the King of the universe. They understand His power. They understand the supernatural power that He wields at will. You see, Satan is the prince of the air. We know that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. We do know that, because the Bible in 1 John 5:19 is very clear about that.

But the sheer presence of Christ causes demons to expose themselves. We already saw it in Luke chapter 4, in a synagogue in Capernaum, in the city of Galilee. It says in verse 31 that He was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. And there was a man in the synagogue possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

And amazement came upon them all, and they began discussing with one another, saying, "What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" And reports about Him were getting out into every locality in the surrounding districts. Here was Christ preaching in a synagogue in Galilee, there in the village of Capernaum. And as He was preaching, captivating the audience that was there, because they hung on every word that He said—because no one spoke like Christ spoke.

He spoke with great authority, and so people would hang on every word that He said. And yet there was a demon in a man—a demon that could not contain himself any longer—and in the presence of Christ, it caused him to scream out, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?" He couldn't contain himself any longer because of the presence of God. And that's the way it is with the demonic world: they cannot hide themselves, they cannot contain themselves, they can only cry out in great fear because of the presence of Almighty God.

I am awestruck by what demons know and what demons do. They know all about the Lord Jesus Christ, and they can't help but live in uncontrolled fear of the King. And our story this morning is a story about the power of God. Remember, Christ comes and presents His messianic credentials. To do that, He must show what the kingdom of God is going to be like, because the Old Testament would point to the coming kingdom and the ruler of that kingdom. So He comes, and as He reveals to the public His identity—that He is God in the flesh—the best way for Him to show His power is to destroy the works of the enemy.

In fact, if you read over in 1 John chapter 3, verse 8, it says these words: "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil." He appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Why? Well, 1 John 3:5 says, "And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin." Well, He came not only to remove your iniquity, but He came to ravage the enemy. He did that by revealing His identity, revealing His deity. He wants to rescue you from the adversary. To do that, He must remove your iniquity. To do that, He must ravage the enemy.

The prophecy was given in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, that the seed of the woman (singular) would crush the head of the serpent. That was a prophecy given in Genesis 3:15. Christ now has to do that. He did it at Calvary's cross, but throughout His ministry, He would demonstrate His power over the supernatural, over the satanic world, over the one who controls this universe because he's been allowed to do so by the King of the universe.

And so He comes, and listen to what He says in Luke chapter 11, verse 20. Christ says these words: "But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." How will you know that I'm the King, and how will you know that the kingdom of God is here? Because I cast out demons! And what does He say? "With the finger of God!" If you read the Old Testament, He talks about the arm of God, He talks about the hand of God demonstrating His marvelous power. But in the New Testament, He talks about the finger of God, as if He just has to flick His finger with virtually no effort whatsoever.

In other words, He's saying, "Look, if I cast out Satan, if I cast out demons with simply the finger of God, with virtually little or no effort at all, you know the King is here, and the kingdom of the King is upon you. That's how you're going to know." And that's exactly what He did. By just speaking a word, He would cast out demons. By speaking a word, He would subdue them, because He came to ravage the enemy. He has power over Satan. He has power over everything.

Sometimes we forget the power of Almighty God. Sometimes we think that Satan himself is omnipresent, that Satan himself is everywhere, that Satan himself is all-powerful. He's none of those things! None of those things! But Jesus Christ, the Lord God of the universe, He is those things. He is the one who is all-powerful, who is everywhere, who with the finger of God—and we know God doesn't have a finger; God's a spirit, right? He has no body. He doesn't have a finger, doesn't have an arm, doesn't have a hand. But those expressions come to help us as humans realize the power of Almighty God.

And so we realize in Luke chapter 8 that what we see is the power of the King. The storm is gone. The storm came—that was last Sunday. Christ calmed the storm. He has power over the natural. Now we see Him with power over the supernatural. Let me read to you the story. It will take two weeks to discuss the story because the implications of it are far-reaching. The implications for you and me help us understand how we are to live today.

Let's read the story. Luke chapter 8, verse 26: "And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He had come out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house but in the tombs. Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, 'What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!' For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

"And Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Legion'; for many demons had entered him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss. Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

"When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. And all the people of the country of the Gadarenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, 'Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.' So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him."

This story is absolutely fabulous when it comes to understanding the purposes of God in your life and in mine. The man who was demon-possessed was delivered and began to declare all around Decapolis, the region, the truth of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords. We're going to begin with the demoniac, the demon-possessed man. We'll move next week to his deliverance, and then the man's declaration as a result of what God did in delivering his soul from the grasp of Satan. This morning, we're just going to talk about this demoniac, this man demon-possessed, this man filled with Legion.

The story begins in verse 26: "And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes." Now, if you read Matthew's account, it's called the Gadarenes. So which is it—the land of the Gadarenes or the land of the Gadarenes? Well, if you go to Israel today (and those of you going to Israel with us this March will actually go to this place and actually see the tombs that are there and be able to understand how it was these swine would fall off the cliff and run into the Sea of Galilee—we actually visit this place on the journeys of Jesus because we want you to see and understand the power of Almighty God), the place today is called Gerasa. The modern name is simply Kursi.

It is not the same as Gadara, the land of the Gadarenes, but Gadara is a larger village, a larger city further south and more inland. But because of the largeness of Gadara, it was called the land of the Gadarenes. The exact village where this scene took place is Gerasa, or the land of the Gadarenes. So it is a very similar place, but this is the specific village. Luke gives us the specific place in the land of the Gadarenes, there on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee where this took place.

Remember, they had left Capernaum, they had gone out into a boat, they had traveled across the sea. The storm came, it blew them off course, it blew them further south. They would sail back up the sea after the calming of the storm, and they would arrive sometime around daybreak here in verse 26.

And it says in verse 27: "And when He had come out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons, and he had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house but in the tombs." Having docked their boats—you can go there today and see the proximity, the close proximity to the sea and Kursi, or the land of the Gadarenes—they would dock their boats. And as they docked their boats and were coming from the sea toward the village, you can see the tombs today from the Sea of Galilee.

This individual—Matthew's account says there are two men demon-possessed, two of them. Luke only deals with this individual. Evidently this man had a partner, but both Luke and Mark deal with this individual person filled with Legion. And so this person would come running down to meet Jesus. The man did not know who Jesus was, but the demon knew who Jesus was. The man had no idea about Jesus, but the demon had a clear understanding about Jesus. And the Bible says that this man was possessed with demons.

Now, if you go back to our study in Luke chapter 4, we talked to you about demon possession and at great length explained to you what that was. If you were not with us, you can go back and you can receive the tape on that in Luke chapter 4, dealing with Jesus as He is the Lord of Legion, as He is the ruler of the demonic world, and how it is the Bible explains demon possession. But this man was filled with Legion. Evidently there were thousands of demons in this one individual, and the text is very clear, because you've got to read Matthew's account and Mark's account to understand exactly what was happening with this man who tormented the village.

This man who, because of being possessed with a demon, lived a life of isolation in chains—not in a house, but in tombs—because the house could not contain him. He had to be chained up, he had to be guarded. Matthew's account tells us that people were afraid to even go near this location because they would fear for their lives. Matthew's account states it this way: "And when He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that way."

In other words, they were so violent, they were so ferocious, people were afraid for their own lives. Satan is a murderer. John 8:44 tells us that he's been a murderer from the beginning, so he so desperately wants to take the lives of people. So we know from Matthew's account that no one would pass by the tombs; they were afraid for their lives.

Luke's account says this man had not had any clothes on for a long time. In other words, this man was completely naked. Understand that Satan is into shamelessness, or the shamelessness of perversity. He wants—if you read Acts 16, the demon, when he jumped on the people, immediately disrobed them so they became naked. Ever since the fall of man, Adam and Eve were completely naked in the garden with no shame. But once sin entered into the world, what do they do? They immediately hid themselves, and they immediately sought to cover themselves. And Christ would then cover them with animal skins—a foretaste of things to come with the sacrifice that God Himself would ordain. But He immediately covered them. Why? Because of what Satan would want to do.

And so we see here this man had not been clothed for a long time. He was completely naked. Imagine this: if you've been to the land of Israel, it's a lot like California. It's cold at night—very cold at night—hot during the day. This demon would drive this man to be completely naked. Mark's account says that he would cut himself with stones, so he was into self-mutilation. He was suicidal. So not only was he exceedingly violent, not only was he naked, but he would cut himself. He would slash himself with stones, so there were scars and blood all over this man. So he was a sight to behold. Needless to say, he frightened everybody that was around who would come by him.

Remember, Satan is a destroyer. Revelation 9 calls him Abaddon or Apollyon, which is "the destroyer," and he wants to destroy the souls of man. That's his purpose today. And this man, the Bible says, was chained up. They'd chain him—they couldn't put him in a mental institution (they didn't have those), they couldn't put him behind bars, they couldn't put him in a house. A house couldn't contain him. He lived in the tombs. He lived in isolation. They chained him and tried to guard him, and yet he would break the chains. The adrenaline would run so strong through the man that he would be able to break those chains. This was a terrifying, terrifying place to be, and Satan had caused his demons to fill this man's life.

Verse 28: "He sees Jesus." He sees Jesus. He cried out and fell before Him. Mark's account says he worshiped Him. Not so—not that Mark's account is wrong, but the translation's wrong. It's proskynéō, which means "to fall down." Satan and demons don't worship Christ. They fall before Him because of His sovereign rule, because of His greatness. They don't worship Christ, they won't worship Christ, they can't worship Christ. But Philippians 2 makes it very clear with these words: "At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth."

Everyone bows at the feet of Jesus. And so this man, being possessed with Legion, comes running out because he sees Jesus. He can't hide himself. He has to expose himself. And so he comes running down, crying out, saying these words: "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?"

He's in panic. He is absolutely gripped with fear. He is tormented. He comes crying out, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God!" You see, we were introduced to that too, way back in Luke chapter 1, where Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High God—El Elyon in the Hebrew in the Old Testament. And usually in the Old Testament, it's followed by "the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth," to accentuate the sovereign rulership of the God of this world, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so we see that this demon comes running out, speaks for all the demons that are in this man, and says, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" He equates Jesus with God. Isn't it amazing that demons understand that Jesus is God, but the Mormons don't? That would be kind of humiliating to me if I was a Mormon—the demons know more than I do about who Jesus is. Or even those who are Jehovah's Witnesses—demons know more about Christ than they know.

You see, demons believe in God. James 2:19 says, "Yet they tremble" in fear of Him. Demons have a great Christology. Did you know that? They have a great Christology. They also have a great eschatology. They know all about the end times. Did you know that? They know exactly how what's going to play out. That's why the question comes with these words: "I beg you, do not torment me!" Matthew's account says "before the time."

What time? What time? Well, they know they're going to be incarcerated in the abyss forever. They do know that. So why are you coming now before that time? They know of Jesus and His first coming, and they know upon His first coming they are not to be thrown into the abyss. That doesn't happen until after the second coming. So in other words, "What are you doing here, Jesus? Why are you here before your time? Shouldn't you be in Jerusalem dying for the sins of the world? I mean, that's what you came to do. Why are you here? Don't torment me! Don't torment us before!"

That's why they ask for permission to go into the swine. See, demons must ask permission. They just can't do what they want to do. They have to ask permission. Remember, Jesus said to Peter, "Peter, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat. He's come to me, he's asked if he can sift you like wheat." He's asked for permission, because Satan can't do anything without the permission from the King of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord. They have to ask permission.

So you see, you understand their fear, their torment, as this one comes down from the tombs. And if you go to the land today, the tombs are up on the hill, so you can picture this man running down the hill to Jesus. They dock their boats, they're on their way out. The demon recognizes Jesus. He can't help but expose himself. So this man who was completely naked, having been cut up all over his body according to Mark's account, comes running down—this man who is exceedingly violent, and people flee and run and hide from this man. You don't want your children playing with this man. You don't want anybody around this man. He comes running down and recognizes Jesus, falls down before Him.

He has to. He has to fall before Him. He's not worshiping the Son, but he recognizes his sovereign executioner. He falls before Jesus, Son of the Most High God. "What do we have to do with you? Why are you here to torment us before the time? It's not our time to be sent to the abyss!" You see, demons and Satan are so wicked, are so wicked, that their wickedness causes them not to believe the inevitable. They don't believe the truth. They can't believe the truth. That's how wicked they are. And so they know their end. They know the end of the story. But they never give up. They never quit doing their evil deeds. They never quit trying to destroy the souls of man.

"What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" But this story is not about a man, nor is it about a man who's demon-possessed. This story is about Christ. It's a story about His delivering power and how Christ can deliver a man who is in such horrible straits because of His marvelous power. This story is a picture of what Christ does in the lives of unbelievers who live as dead men in tombs, chained and shackled in Satan's domain, totally tormented in their souls. And Christ came to deliver man from his sin.

And not only does Christ do that, but Christ is the ultimate deliverer of all things. And so many times we forget about that. We forget about the delivering power of Almighty God. Psalm 119:170 says these words: "Let my supplication come before You; deliver me according to Your word." Let me ask you a question: Is there something you want to be delivered from today? You've been delivered from your sin, you've been delivered from Satan's domain, and you are living in the kingdom of God's dear Son. And yet there might be some secret sin that has captivated your soul, and you need to be delivered from it. And the psalmist says as he cries out to God, "Deliver me according to Your word, Lord. In light of what Your word says and the power of Your word, I need You to deliver me."

Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 18. He says in verse 1: "I love You, O Lord, my strength." The psalmist begins with his love for the Lord God: "I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer." So he already states the fact that the Lord God is the fortress of this man's soul, his rock, his deliverer. And then he says these words: "My God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. I'm rescued from my enemies. I am delivered from my enemies."

He says these words in verse 46: "The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation, the God who executes vengeance for me and subdues peoples under me. He delivers me from my enemies. Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing praises to Your name. He gives great deliverance to His king and shows lovingkindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever."

That's what God does. But the psalmist begins with his love for his God. He says, "I love You, O Lord." "I love You!" And because of his overwhelming love for God, he experiences the delivering power of God. You see, there are times in our lives where we love our sin and the things that we do more than we love our God, and then wonder why we don't get deliverance when we ask our God. The psalmist tells us, "I love You, O Lord, and because I love You, You are my deliverer."

Listen to what Solomon said in Proverbs 28:26: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered." He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. In other words, you know what you need to do, and so you set your mind on doing it, and you think that you can accomplish it on your own. You cannot do that. The Bible says you're a moron. You're a fool. But he who walks wisely—how do you walk wisely? You walk according to the Word of God. "Deliver me, O Lord, according to Your word." You walk wisely by applying the principles of Scripture to your everyday life. That person is the one who experiences the delivering power of God.

God wants to deliver your soul from sin. He does. That's why He came to earth. He came to ravage the enemy. He came to destroy the works of the devil so He can remove all your iniquity, so you can live with Him forever, so you can restore your dignity. That's what He wants to do. If you've experienced the supernatural power of God to save your soul from sin, that same power is available to deliver your life from everything it encounters—every sin you might commit, every enemy you may encounter, every distress you may find yourself in. God promises deliverance, because that's who He is. That's why the apostle Paul says, "My God will deliver me from every evil deed." He will. That's who He is. That's who He is.

And if you don't experience—listen carefully—if you don't experience the delivering power of God, it's not God's fault. It's not that He's impotent. No, He wants to show Himself faithful to you. He wants to show you His power. But you've got to walk wisely, and you've got to love the Lord more than anything else in the world. The psalmist says He'll deliver you, because that's what God does. He is a deliverer.

Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your word, the truth that's there, and the opportunity we have to study You and all of Your power and glory. My prayer today, Lord, is that there be one with us who does not know You, that You would deliver them from Satan's grasp, that they might experience the true salvation of God. For those, Lord, who have experienced that deliverance, who have been transferred into the kingdom of Your Son, if they find themselves in situations that are overwhelming, that they themselves cannot handle, help them not to walk and trust in their own heart. Help them to walk wisely, trusting in Your word, to deliver them from every evil deed, that they might in turn then honor You. That's what Your word says: "I will deliver them. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me." That's what You want us to do, Lord—to honor Your name. I pray, Father, that through Your power and Your grace and mercy, You'd accomplish that in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.