Because of His Birth (video sermon)

The Cross (poem)

 In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure never till my latest breath,
Shall I forget that look!
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou mayest live."

Thus while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too!

—John Newton

Finish Well (song)

Spirits

There are many different opinions out there regarding spirits. It is certain that spirits were formed by God, but how evil spirits came to be is unknown. Many people don't realize that the Bible has a lot to say about Spirits and what they can do.

Let's look at what the Bible has to say about Spirits. 

Luke 24:39- Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Spirits don't have flesh and blood. They are a sort of like wind or air- you can feel them and see the effects of them, some times even see them, but you can't touch them.

Ecclesiastes 3:21- Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

Every living thing contains a spirit. When a body dies the spirit leaves and goes somewhere. However, not all human spirits are the same.

Numbers 14:24- But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

This stands to reason that each spirit is unique, just as each individual or animal is unique.

Revelation 1:4- John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

There are spirits which stand around God's throne and they represent churches.

Some things that many people don't realize about spirits is that even though they are unique and individual, they can be shared among people.

Numbers 11:16-17, 24-25-  And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

II Kings 2:9, 15-  And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

Notice when Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit that he wasn't told it was impossible. He was granted this double portion.

Spirits operate in a different world than we do, however they can interact and influence our world.

Some influence our emotions and our decisions. They manipulate us into believing lies, becoming jealous, they can even make us sick- all without actually possessing our person.

Numbers 5:14- And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Judges 9:2-3 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

1 Samuel 16:14-15- But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1 Kings 22:22-23- And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Isiaha 19:14- The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Luke 13:11- And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

Some can possess a physical body, and again they can possess in singular or plural. This is true of both good and evil spirits. When they do possess the body, they can control it. And, they can possess both human and animal.

Matthew 12:43-45- When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself 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. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Ezekiel 3:23-27- Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

The Scriptures refer to the third part of the Trinity of God as the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost.

I Thessalonians 4:8- He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 6:19- What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

When we get saved the Holy Spirit comes and indwells our bodies. This indwelling is taking up residence, but the Holy Spirit never takes control of a Christian's body!

I Corinthians 14:32- And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

Ephesians 1:13-14- In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Spirits also have different abilities and levels of power (if we may call it that). In the Bible, evil spirits are referred to as both spirits and devils. 

Familiar spirits are those that consult with humans and speak as a loved one to deceive people. They don't generally have the power to possess, they only communicate. The Bible tells us that we are not to communicate with spirits or the dead.

Deuteronomy 18:11- Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

1 Samuel 28:7-8- Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

In this instance the woman was scared to death when the actual spirit of Samuel came up. She was expecting her familiar spirit to appear and play the part.

Isaiah 29:4- And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

These familiar spirits can only talk with certain people. There are other more powerful spirits than can do much worse. They possess humans. There is only one instance in the Bible, which is previously mentioned that shows a good spirit possessing and controlling a human. In every other passage of Scripture they are evil spirits.

Matthew 10:1- And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

These spirits know the Lord and those who are faithfully serving Him. They also know when a poser is trying to use them to get their own personal glory- it doesn't end well for these people.

Act 19:13-16- 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.

Luke 9:38-42- And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father

 Some are so powerful that it takes days of prayer and fasting by a Christian before they can be cast out of a person. The person can become re-possessed if they don't get saved.

Mark 9:29- And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Act 16:16-18- 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.

Why did Paul wait several days before casting this spirit out? Possibly because he was praying and fasting. He may have been able to discern that this was a powerful spirit that needed that extra bit to cast it out.

We need divine help to be able to discern whether a spirit is good or evil. There are many different spirits around us daily and as we have seen they can influence our lives. Paul says that it's one of the blessings that God gives to some Christians, not all Christians get this ability.

1 Corinthians 12:10- To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

However, even if we don't possess this gift, John has told us how we can try the spirits to see if they are good or evil. Only good spirits will confess that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh.

1 John 4:1-3- Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Spirits will be tried by God sometime around when the devil is judged by God. Their fate will be the same as Satan's if they are evil.

I Peter 3:19- By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Matthew 8:29- 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?

They know there is a time when they will be judged and tormented for their wickedness.

Revelation 21:8- But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.