Weapons Satan Uses, Spiritual Warfare, Training Your Hand for Battle, 18

Weapons Satan Uses, Spiritual Warfare, Training Your Hand for Battle, 18. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. People who hold these false doctrines are often the ones preaching from the pulpit, and so they deceive whoever listens to them, but since the ear is itchy, […]

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. People who hold these false doctrines are often the ones preaching from the pulpit, and so they deceive whoever listens to them — but since the ear is itchy, what is false, what is seductive, what is twisted, that is what pleases, that is what they gladly receive. So they deceive themselves even more by listening to others, but also, when they speak, they deceive others too.

And that's why the word says evil men will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, because they receive deception and then pass the deception on. They are deceived when they receive the deception, but then they deceive others with the deception they received. Greetings to you from Apostle Francisco Gómez, from Cleveland, Texas.

If you find yourself in our community, in our territory, or here in the state, you are welcome to visit us. We continue with this teaching series: Spiritual Warfare, Training Your Hand for Battle.

We will continue with the weapons Satan uses to fight against the church. The truth will set you free. One of the weapons we'll be talking about today is sin.

Sin — well, we already know the wages of sin is death. Whoever sins is opening a door to Satan, but sadly I think some of you can already notice that there are even people from the church, even people, for example, from this very church — even though I talk about sin very regularly and very regularly exhort, correct, and stress the importance of living a life for the Lord — there are people who come around who aren't necessarily truly part of the church, but to a certain extent think of themselves as part of the church because they follow us and things like that.

And it's very obvious to me that they live a life that is entirely sinful. Some of them come around even while, for example, being homosexual, and it's incredible how, in their minds — sometimes I hear conversations or questions they ask me — they believe they are fine with God. In short, there are many sins that are clearly abominable before God — they are sins before God and they are abominable.

They are worthy of eternal death, and somehow, in this time we're living in — the final time — the devil seems to blind and harden the heart to the point that even what is clearly sin, at times, cannot be seen. But sin is one of the — not only a weapon, it's an automatic legal right that he receives to harm us. We'll also talk about the twisted word.

Satan also uses the twisted word — he causes people to twist the word, erroneous doctrines, and through that doctrine they also put us into slavery. Sin brings slavery; the twisted word also brings slavery. Idols in the home.

Idols — Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and one of the dangers of idols is that, since he disguises himself as an angel of light, he often presents idols to us, or causes us to receive some idol, or to have some idol, that at the same time brings a kind of satisfaction to the flesh — it looks harmless. In order to escape from idols in this final time, we truly have to seek God with all our heart and have a great deal of humility, so that the Lord has mercy and opens our eyes, because suddenly, through the devil's deception and strategy — presenting idols in a very harmless way, that seem not harmful, that actually seem pleasant, that suddenly even seem like we're doing something good or that it's something good — through this he makes many stumble, and we must walk in fear and humility so that we don't stumble too.

Drugs — we'll also talk about legal and illegal drugs. This too is a subject that, in this time of wickedness, because of the apostasy, because of the hardness of heart, is also conflictive, because obviously marijuana is now legal in many countries, they tell you it's medicinal — so if you speak against drugs, especially legal drugs, many get offended. But drugs also bring slavery — we will talk about that too. Yet the truth will set you free: if what we sow is good, the fruit will be good; if what we sow is bad, the fruit will be bad.

For example, there are people who defend drugs, and it seems incredible, but it's certainly happened in the past that someone who follows this church, when I've preached against drugs, gets angry and bombards me, quite angrily, with insults and ugly words, asking why I'm speaking against drugs. But it takes a lot of deception for someone not to be able to understand that the fruit of drugs is slavery. How many marriages are broken because of drugs, how many boys and girls are abused because of drugs, how many people are in terrible shape out on the street.

I've had the opportunity to minister to the homeless and pray for them, and I believe about 95% of the ones I've encountered — and there have been many hundreds — are on the street because of drugs. Drugs are the root — sometimes just alcohol, and sometimes actual drugs like marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, and others. But drugs truly bring slavery, and it's Satan's strategy.

He uses many strategies to steal the freedom we can have, or already have, in the Lord. He uses different strategies, and the purpose is to subject us to slavery. The word says in First John 3:8.

'He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.' He who practices sin is of the devil.

How can a child of the devil fight against him — against his own father — since he is the king of the disobedient? He who practices sin is of the devil, and this is important, because in this time Satan distorts the mind, and there are people, for example, who come to receive deliverance or who want to be part of the church, and I correct them on the simplest thing, and they reject it and get angry and furious. But I say — how can they want to be free? How can someone want to fight against the devil in sin, if he is the king of those who live in sin? He has a legal right over everyone who lives a life of sin.

He has a right over everyone who is rebellious. So in order to overcome, we have to be humble in heart. Certainly, because of the deception of this final time, I do not condemn anyone.

We have all sinned. By mercy we are saved, but God gives grace to the humble. He who repents and turns away from evil finds mercy.

So it's important to be humble in heart and to use the word of God to examine our habits, our works, our activities — whether they line up with the word of God or whether they go against the word of God, whether the fruits we bear are worthy of the kingdom of heaven or whether the fruits we bear are worthy of the wrath of God.

If we want to overcome, we must, in humility, in love, in faith, seek God. We must seek freedom. Sin brings slavery, and when there is a bondage — and in that area I know some of you internally have a battle, and the reason for the battle is this.

Sometimes they battle with prostitution or with pornography, with sex, with alcohol, with drugs. Sometimes the battle is with a bondage where they have to carry out a daily routine that they can't stop. I've known many women who can't stop cleaning.

They spend eight hours cleaning a 300-square-foot house because they can't stop cleaning. It's a bondage. Or having to go out onto the street every day — that's a bondage too.

These are routines that bring bondage and steal fruit — through them the devil steals peace. And whatever the bondage may be, whether addiction to pornography, to drugs, to marijuana, especially to drugs — there's a great number of both men and women.

Unfortunately, even boys and girls who are already enslaved by drugs. The word says that whoever sins is a slave of sin. Whoever sins is a slave.

Once they've sinned, once they've used that drug, most of them become slaves. But even if they want to, it becomes hard now to get out of that bondage, and it's an internal battle. They don't want to, but somehow they do it anyway.

They don't want to smoke, but somehow they buy the cigarette. It's as if they already lose self-control. It's as if the powers of darkness, through that substance or that activity, now control the will and make the person do what they don't want to do.

And I have compassion for those of you in this situation, because it's not pleasant and it's not easy. I smoked for many years. For 20 years I was a slave to cigarettes.

For about 20 years I was also a slave to alcohol, and it's a bondage, and it's not pleasant. And I understand, and I have compassion, but the good news is that everyone can be free. There is freedom through the Lord.

It all starts with recognizing that that substance, that activity, is an offense before God. It is a sin. It's something he detests.

It's something that enslaves you and separates you from God. If you understand this, if you understand that the wages of sin is death, we repent. Repentance is very important, but it's not enough.

Those demons are enslavers. Those enslaving spirits don't leave just because someone repents of using marijuana or of smoking cigarettes. No, no, no.

When those demons come in, someone stronger has to come and drive them out. But on your part — for everyone who has a bondage — the first thing is to recognize that it is a bondage and that it distances you from God. That it's not a blessing, that it's destruction, that it brings destruction.

The second thing is repentance, and the third is that you have to be humble. You have to seek help from a person anointed by God. Obviously you also have to do your own part to clean yourselves up.

Fasting also helps a great deal. Fasting helps break the yokes of bondage. When we fast, we become more spiritual.

Our body, if we fast in faith, in obedience, in love, becomes less compatible with darkness — which makes it harder for them to remain, and easier for us to be free of them. But we have to seek to be free.

We have to turn away from sin. If we want to have victory in spiritual battle, we must fight the battle according to the word of God, in obedience, in holiness. We cannot walk in the enemy's territory and have victory.

Romans 6:16: 'Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?' The word states it clearly.

If we present ourselves, if we sin, we are already slaves. A slave has no freedom of their own — a slave has to do what the boss, the master, the owner, the lord tells them.

So if we present ourselves as slaves of sin, we are already slaves — it's as if we're already in a routine we can't escape, because the devil enslaves. But if we present our body in obedience for righteousness, then we are practically slaves too — but slaves of God, for the fruit of eternal life.

Slaves to do good, not to do evil. John 8:33-34: 'They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.'

'How can You say, You will be made free? Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.' This word can seem difficult to grasp at times, but it is exactly as it says — it is exactly that. That word means exactly what it says.

There's no need to try to interpret it in some extraordinary way. Simply, when we sin, what that word means is that we make ourselves slaves. In other words, when we sin, it puts us under subjection, under bondage.

It's as if we hand over our willpower, our strength, our decisions — we hand it over to someone else. Those who use drugs no longer have the ability to decide, 'I'd rather use these 20 dollars to buy food for my house.' The drugs make them spend those 20 dollars on drugs instead.

Even further — as that bondage keeps growing the longer they remain in it, they get to the point where they'd rather steal the food money to go buy drugs, because they are already slaves. They no longer have self-control.

They know food is needed — a father with his children going hungry, and he has those 20 dollars — and he'd rather steal the money, or spend the 20 dollars he has on drugs instead of on food. Because even though they know their children are hungry, they no longer have self-control. They have to do what the spirits behind the drugs that enslave them tell them to do.

So once there is a bondage, once someone has sinned — there are exceptions, by the grace of God. There are people with more willpower, and maybe the bondage isn't so deep, so with a little effort they can stop that activity that isn't good for them. But the great majority need help — they need someone, they need to put in their own effort and strive as much as they can.

Fast, pray — but they also need to be humble and seek help from someone anointed by God who can minister deliverance to them. And when they are set free from those spirits of drugs, then they truly recover their self-control and get their life back — they come out of bondage. Another strategy the devil uses to fight against us is the very word of God itself — because he twists it.

From the beginning, the Lord said, 'Do not eat of this; if you eat, you will die.' He said that if she ate of this, she would be like us — well, that's what the devil said. So he twisted it, and what brought death, he presented as something pleasant.

He tried to use that same strategy even on the Lord himself. The word says the Lord sends his angels so that our foot will not strike against a stone. So the devil said to the Lord, 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, because He will command His angels concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.'

He uses the word of God, only he twists it in order to tempt. And if we fall for it and bite that hook, we stumble. That's why we have to be careful whom we listen to.

The twisted word, just like idols, is a subtle snare for the soul. Because the problem is that the devil knows how to disguise evil as good. He himself disguises himself as an angel of light, and the word says it's no wonder, because his servants also disguise themselves as angels of light.

So he knows how to present evil, how to twist it, so that it looks pleasant, looks tempting, looks like, 'wow, nothing's going to happen, nothing's going to happen' — like with that fruit. 'What harm could it do to me? A piece of fruit? Just one little bite?' Who says a piece of fruit, in a holy place where there was no sin, in the Garden of Eden, is going to lead to death? Anyone at all could analyze it carnally and say, 'Maybe I misheard the Lord when he said I would die, because it's just a fruit, there's no sin here, there's no evil here.'

So look, very pretty. Satan uses the twisted word — he uses the twisted word to set a stumbling block. In churches there are many doctrines, many doctrines that oppose the word of God, that oppose the command of God, but he presents it in a way that the person settles comfortably into it — that's certain.

Many churches say the Lord no longer heals, for example. And of course, the flesh — I don't know why, but the flesh always finds it easier to submit to sin, to what is false, than to the truth. Because, of course, for you to go and rise up in faith and cry out for someone to be healed and to have faith, you have to put faith into action.

'Will God really listen to me? What if I look ridiculous, and I go and pray there, supposedly, and nothing happens?' But obviously it's easier to say the Lord no longer heals, that was for a different time — better go to the doctor.

But there are many doctrines, many twisted words in churches. The prosperity teaching — certainly in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, the Lord gives promises to those who, in faith, in love, obey his word and support his church. But the prosperity gospel isn't that either.

'If you give 100, the Lord will give you a thousand. If you sell your car and offer it to the church, donate it, the Lord will give you a mansion.' A little pact with God — that's what they say.

'A pact with God, and you'll be healed, you'll get up out of that wheelchair' — and you sell your house and donate it to the church. So the devil is twisting it. The Lord did say, yes, he wants to bless those who support his church, but those who do it with love, who do it in obedience.

He never said, 'Sell your house, because if you sell your house, I'll give you a house.' They twist it. When we do that, when we receive that twisted word, that word is not for edification, it's for a curse, it's for destruction — it's what brings destruction.

Later on, after we finish this series, we'll be talking about, exposing, the apostasy in churches. There, we'll speak in more detail and depth about the various doctrines that are antichrist, but many of which are seductive — that is, they are things that, if we look at them and rationalize them carnally, we don't see anything wrong with them. It's only when we interpret them spiritually that the real problem is found.

If, by God's mercy, we can already understand that they truly are blasphemy — they are blasphemy. For example, in the Bible — certainly, God said that we are saved by grace. And are we saved by grace? That is beyond dispute.

There is nothing I can do to earn my salvation or to buy my salvation. Only through what the Lord did for us can we be saved. But the devil also uses that to twist it.

'Oh, you don't need to pray, you don't need to fast, you're saved by grace, you don't need to read the Bible.' He twists things. We are saved by grace, but when we are truly saved, we are born again.

Therefore, when we are born again, we bear fruit, because we no longer live for the world, but for the kingdom of heaven. If we now live for the kingdom of heaven, we are going to read the Bible. If we live for the kingdom of heaven, we are going to pray.

If we live for the Lord, we're going to fast, because he said my disciples will fast. We don't do anything to be saved, but we do what the word commands, because if we are truly saved, we do it because we love God and because his spirit lives in us and guides us. The word says in Second Timothy 3:13: 'But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.'

People who hold these false doctrines are often the ones preaching from the pulpit, and so they deceive whoever listens to them — but since the ear is itchy, what is false, what is seductive, what is twisted, that is what pleases, that is what they gladly receive. So they deceive themselves even more by listening to others, but also, when they speak, they deceive others too. And that's why the word says evil men will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, because they receive deception and then pass the deception on.

They are deceived when they receive the deception, but then they deceive others with the deception they received. Another one of the lethal weapons Satan uses to fight against us, against those who seek God, and to keep those who don't know God in slavery, are idols. Idols too, just like drugs, just like false doctrines, just like sin, bring slavery.

An idol looks harmless, and here again, once more, he uses one of his subtleties — turning perversion into something pleasant, something that pleases the flesh, something that appeals to the emotions. For example — millions, and I myself was under that bondage — that if you have that little statue of the virgin, if you pray to her, the Lord will listen to you more, because the virgin will intercede for you.

'That's the mother of God, that's the mother of Jesus.' What's wrong with that? And they still put, supposedly, supposedly with baby Jesus — but Jesus is a man, he's not that child. Supposedly a virgin, supposedly still a virgin, and she has a child in her arms — and many times they even show the breasts, they make images with bare breasts — imagine, what mother, on Mother's Day, would be showing her breasts?

'Ah, if you pray to her, God will listen to you' — it sounds nice because, carnally, one relates the virgin, supposedly, to one's own mother, and so, 'oh, well, maybe if my mom comes and talks to me, maybe I'll listen' — as if God were a man like us, with a beginning of days and an end of days. And likewise there are so many other things — angels, they have pictures of angels, they have lots of things like that — but he presents it all as if Christmas were a family time, as if it were the birth of God, of the baby God, the birth of the baby God — God is not a baby — but that it's a family time, he presents it that way. Who doesn't want to celebrate family? Yes — the devil has caused a great deal of family division, in almost every family — so if they tell you this season is about family togetherness, well, 'wow, family togetherness' — then naturally, everyone in the world buys into it, because whatever belongs to the world, the world receives it. Satan is clever — so things like that, the whole world receives, because who doesn't — what belongs to the world, the world receives as its own — and since Christmas is an idol, the whole world receives it. Halloween is celebrated right now too — 'oh, well, so many have their houses beautifully decorated' — well, the whole world receives it, supposedly it's about family togetherness. But the point is that Satan disguises himself, he disguises evil as something good, something pleasant, something desirable. Who doesn't want family togetherness? We all want family unity, so, 'how nice, you present me with an idol that supposedly brings family unity — oh yeah, family unity, yes I want that, yes, let's take part in Christmas, let's have a dinner, let's exchange gifts, let's throw a huge celebration, because it's family unity' — but it's a deception. What he is really after, through that activity, is to receive worship, because to begin with it is based on a lie — Jesus was not born on December 25th, at least not in my Bible, none of the Bibles I've read — and I've read many different translations — none of them say he was born on the 25th. But besides that, the Lord is the first and the last, the Alpha, the Omega — the word says he has no beginning of days nor end of years, that he came into the world in the form of a man to give life to those of us who believe in him, not so that we would celebrate a date supposedly marking when he came into the world — he has no beginning of days nor end of years. The Pharisees got angry when he spoke of Abraham — they said, 'You're not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' — and the Lord answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Abraham came, existed, was here thousands of years before him, but he existed before Abraham. As for Mary — she was not a virgin forever, because she had more children besides the Lord — she was a virgin until she conceived the Lord, but obviously once she conceived him, she was no longer a virgin. How is a woman who gives birth going to remain a virgin? But she had more children after Jesus. Likewise the whole idea of 'the virgin' is obviously based on a lie, and sadly, many Catholics — I've spoken with many Catholics — when I tell them Mary had more children, they say, 'Mary had more children? You're a liar, she was a virgin.' And I say, let's read the word of God — look, here are the names, the word says: 'Are not His brothers with us? James, Joses' — and it mentions the brothers by name — 'and His sisters' — it doesn't give the names of the sisters. They're left standing there like, why don't they read the word of God? Because if they did, they'd know that Christmas, likewise, is based on a lie. So we have to ask whether Jesus was born on that date — he wasn't born on that date — but if we look further and further, we see that everything done, from the tree, to the very date it's celebrated on, is idolatry, and these are things that were done in the past by pagans, only now they've supposedly translated it into Christmas and changed it to be about Jesus, because it was celebrated even before Jesus. But who is the father of lies? We all know it's the devil — if something is based on a lie, it is not of God, it is of the devil. An idol is anything that is given reverence, anything that occupies first place in a person's life — it can be an object, an activity, things that people attribute a spiritual power to, a special power, anything that people believe that by receiving it or having it, will somehow improve their life, or things a person uses to represent God, images. An idol can be a physical object, an activity like fame, success, sex, a career, birthdays, Catholic baptisms — all those traditions of the world. For many, an idol can be a spouse, a child, a father, a mother — anything that gets in the way of your walk with the Lord, that prevents you from bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven, that keeps you from putting the Lord first in your life, that keeps you from keeping the word of God — that is an idol.

If there is something you love so much that, in order to keep that relationship or activity from breaking or ending, you would rather set the word aside than let it break, that is an idol. Anything that stands against your relationship with the Lord, that you prefer over the Lord — that activity, person, or relationship — is an idol, because you're putting it above God. Comfort, in this present time, is an idol.

What if the Lord wants us to go serve, to walk, for example, in a rural area where there's no vehicle access, where you have to walk for four hours, five hours — and because we can't avoid walking, we have to stay overnight there, there's no electricity, you have to drink water straight from the river, just as it comes, there are mosquitoes, it's not comfortable, you're going to sleep on a wooden bed? 'No, because I can't go there, because you have to walk so much, my car can't get through there, I can't drive in.' Comfort, at that point, is an idol — it's something many people would rather give up Christ over than be in a slightly unpleasant situation, because they put it above comfort.

It's an idol. Anything that distances us from the Lord, anything that prevents us from bearing fruit for the kingdom of heaven, that we prefer — 'no, no, I'm not willing to do that' — because it's an idol. Sometimes that idol is ourselves — the self, 'I want,' 'I desire.'

In this final time, the word says there will be men who worship themselves, lovers of themselves. When we put ourselves above the word of God, or put our own will above the will of God, we ourselves become our own idols. Because if we belong to him, and he is our God, we should seek to do what pleases him.

We seek to do the will of God, and there's the issue — that the will of God is often at odds with what the flesh desires, or what pleases the flesh, or what is comfortable for the flesh. For Paul, being adrift on a ship, on the brink of death — I don't think that was comfortable.

For him there could be a whipping, and there could be many things — even prophecies were given: whoever owns this belt, that man will suffer, will suffer a great deal. And everyone was weeping, 'poor Paul, no, Paul, don't go.' Paul said, 'I am ready not only to suffer, but even to die for Christ.'

The flesh — a carnal person would say, 'oh, you know what, better listen to all this — I'm not going to go, because they already told me I'm going to suffer and get whipped, I'd better just stay here.' What flesh wants to be whipped? What flesh wants to be adrift on a ship, on the brink of death, not knowing if a shark or a whale is going to eat you, or if you're going to drown, going eleven days without eating? And then thrown in prison after that?

So there's the issue. God's will for us, what brings him glory, is often not what we want. The flesh wants a private jet — 'yes Lord, use me, be glorified through me, give me a jet, a mansion, and let a million people come so I can preach to them, so everyone will listen to me and give large offerings.'

'Lord, I'm bringing you so much glory' — that's what the flesh wants; that's the kind of glory the flesh wants to give God. But sometimes the way God is glorified through us is through our trials and difficulties. God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses, Paul said.

So sometimes, in his wisdom — which is often hard for us to grasp — the way God is glorified through us requires us to go through certain situations, and that is truly how his name is exalted. So we can't — we have to remove the 'self' from our path. Say there are 20 roads that lead to Houston — the shortest one seems better, easier, right? The flesh wants the easiest way, because 'I want to go this way.'

But what if, in God's wisdom, there's another road — maybe it's under construction, it's more out of the way, it takes an hour longer — but God wants me to take that other road, because on that road I'm going to run into someone who needs a word from me for the glory of God, or a person whose heart is already ready, who is seeking the truth but doesn't know him yet, and Lord, by taking the longer road, I'm going to meet them, and I'll have the opportunity to give my testimony. So yes, we should learn to remove the self from the path. It's not that we have to make it harder — because sometimes the easiest way, the most practical way, really is the right one — but in the end, Lord, may your will be done in my life, not mine — because sometimes what we will is not what God wills; there are things our understanding is very, very limited about, and God is in heaven, he sees everything, he is very great, his plans are not our plans. So sometimes, for God's plans to be fulfilled, for his purpose in our lives to come to pass, he has to take us down a road that is sometimes harder — but on that road he is not just shaping us, he is breaking every stronghold that is a blockage keeping us from bearing more fruit. So there are things that sometimes we don't understand until everything is fulfilled — 'wow, look, the Lord was using this, and this, and this' — I didn't like that it was so hard for me, but the Lord used that whole process, and that, and that, that I lived through, was to make me the person I am today, was so that I could serve him the way I can now — so the will of God is perfect.

Colossians 3:5-6: 'Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.' Here is an example that an idol isn't only an object — if a little statue of the virgin is an idol, if the angel Michael and whatever other angel, they make images of them out there, those are idols — but there are more idols. Here in the word of God it tells us that greed is like a disordered desire to want money and material things — greed is already something in the heart, it's not a physical object, but the word says it is idolatry. When we love a thing, when we focus too much on something — when sports are an idol, many people — Lionel Messi, what's his name, Leo Messi, I don't even remember the names of these athletes — but it's an idol of the world. The world — a person, even if the Lord himself were to come right now, for example, or were here healing and raising the dead, would be despised by the world, would be blasphemed, criticized, despised, devalued — but a Leo Messi can kick a ball and get paid 50 million dollars. The one who heals people, who raises the dead, is 'a crazy person, that's nothing' — they blaspheme him, criticize him, despise him, slander him — but a boxer who punches another man, who nearly kills him — 'oh, that guy is good, he deserves 20 million dollars for that fight.' They're idols. The world receives its own and loves its own and values its own, but what is from above, it despises, it doesn't value — that's why those of us who serve Christ are nothing to it, we're like the scum of the world, we're criticized, rejected, despised. There are many kinds of idols — the holidays the world celebrates, all the holidays the world celebrates are idols, and they are held in honor of idols. From Mother's Day — Satan makes it a very pretty day for us — it's the same as with the Virgin Mary: when the Virgin Mary is worshiped, or when there are images of her, it's the same demon receiving worship as when Mother's Day is celebrated — it's a diabolical deception. The lucky elephant, the money elephant, the lucky frog, lions, sheep — everything used to represent God, and the church is full of them, made by man, by the hand of a sculptor, made from something corruptible, that decays quickly, that is perishable, trying to represent an incorruptible God, who does not perish — they are idols. Crosses — you have them representing God, they're idols. There are pastors who supposedly sell crosses — 'with this cross you can cast out a demon' — there's one called Bob Larson, here in the United States, he sells crosses that cost over a hundred dollars, because supposedly with that cross you can cast out a demon, you can minister deliverance with that cross — you're saying that cross is the Holy Spirit, because it's by the Holy Spirit, by his power, that demons are cast out. But churches have them representing God — God is not that piece of wood, cut in two. But if we look into history, and search in different places, or look at images made in caves from the time of Egypt, you're going to find that many of those things already had crosses — I'm talking about thousands of years before the Lord came — crosses existed, they existed because they were used to worship idols, it was an idol, it was to worship demons. Witches use it now, and they used it before the Lord came too, for witchcraft, for rituals. But even before the coming of Christ, people were also crucified on the cross — it was an instrument of death, like the electric chair, it was something cursed, used to kill people. But now there's a church that has 'Christ between,' because they have three crosses and supposedly that's Jesus Christ — what is this? And if someone speaks against that idol, they get angry and practically want to hit you — 'how dare you say this cross is something evil, that little cross represents God, that little virgin represents God' — there's no difference at all between the virgin, the cross, and Buddha, Santa Muerte — they are the same thing, they are idols, different names, but they are idols. And idolatry carries the wage of death if people don't repent. But for the purpose of this teaching — if they are committing a sin of death, how are they going to fight against Satan, who is the god of the dead? God is a God of the living — our God is a God of the living, the God of Isaac, of Jacob, and of Abraham is a God of the living — but Satan is the god of the dead. Idolatry brings death — the wages of sin is death. If you want to overcome in spiritual battle, you have to clean out your houses, you have to get rid of the idols, you have to get rid of those crosses, you have to get rid of those virgins, you have to get rid of those angels. I've visited houses full of things — they have lots of little clay figurines, supposedly angels, this and that, and they think their house is very nicely decorated, and they don't know their house is deeply cursed — it's under a curse, they have a lot of anathema in their house. Deuteronomy 7:26: 'Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.' Idols — from crosses to images of virgins — open a portal to Satan into your house, it's like a passageway connecting your house to the kingdom of darkness. You have to clean your houses, and you also have to clean your heart, because as we already know, there aren't just physical idols — there are also idols in the heart, like greed, sports, the love of sports, pornography, drugs — it's an idol for many, many can't live without drugs, coffee — many say 'I can't live without coffee.' On one occasion, the demon of coffee manifested in a woman I was ministering deliverance to — it said, 'I am her god' — like, 'you are her god?' the demon of coffee said. When people wake up, they don't say, 'I need your God' — they say, 'I need my coffee, because I can't start my day without coffee' — 'I am her god,' that's what the demon of coffee said, that it was the god of many, because when they wake up, the first thing they say is, 'I need coffee to start my day.' We need Jesus Christ to start our day — we don't need any substance, we need the Lord, he is the leader of our life, he's the one who gives us strength, he's the one we need. The devil is clever, because we all have to eat, but if we're not careful, even food gets turned into an idol for us — we think more about food than about God, and if we don't have something delicious every day, we're upset, we're fighting. Riches, success, become an idol — there are people who can't follow Christ, like the rich young man in the Bible, because of their riches. If someone values riches, success — right now there are only two paths: we either serve God, or we chase money, and we prefer to chase money instead of serving Christ — that's an idol, because we put it ahead of God. Whatever we value more than the Lord, whatever is our priority, is a god — God has to be the priority of our life. Martha and Mary were two sisters — Martha was worried with much serving; she said to the Lord, 'Lord, do you not care that Mary isn't doing anything, I'm so worried, tell her to help me.' The Lord said, 'Martha, Martha' — Martha has many tasks, but only one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen it, and it will not be taken from her. There are many tasks — we have things we have to do, and we should do them — but God is first, the priority is not the tasks, the priority is Christ, the priority is serving God. We must die to ourselves if we want to overcome — those who are truly overcomers, who will also receive the crown of eternal life, have to die to themselves — just as Paul said, I don't do what I want, nor do I think only about what pleases the flesh, what is comfortable. For Christ we are willing to be shipwrecked, we are willing to go to prison, we are willing to suffer whippings, we are willing to be rejected, hated by everyone — everything for Christ, even if it doesn't please the flesh, because he is first. We don't live to satisfy ourselves, we live to do his will. Everything used to represent God — the lamb, so many different images, I don't know how many there are, but without a doubt I believe there are at least a thousand different supposed images of Jesus — dark-skinned, white, tan, brown-skinned, of every color there is, with short hair, with long hair — and the lion, and there are many lions, not just one lion, many different lions, with lions wearing crowns — 'now that's it, well, that testifies' — even all these things testify that the word is indeed true, because it says, 'They exchanged the glory of God for the image of a four-footed animal,' or something made by human hands — sheep with crowns, where does it say God is an animal? God, in many Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New, warns us not to do such things — the New Testament says the Lord had overlooked our times of ignorance, but now commands all men everywhere to repent — repent of idols. All those idols — lions, sheep, crosses, pentagrams, the Star of David, the menorah, virgins, saints, toads, cats — because really, there is the lucky cat, the lucky frog, they even worship a frog, imagine that — the lucky frog, the lucky elephant, the aloe vera plant tied with a little red ribbon, 'so it protects you, so nothing bad enters the house' — now even aloe vera protects you with a little red ribbon, a little piece of thread. The truth is, Satan mocks people, he mocks us, he mocks — one has to think about how a little piece of aloe with a thread tied around it is going to protect someone from anything. It would be better to pay a man, say, two thousand dollars, who with a shotgun might actually protect you a little — but even then, the word says that if the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. A lion — many people have lions in their house, they look normal, but they're idols, idols they suppose are protecting the house. They have two statues — you'll see, especially here in the United States, many houses with two or three lions — they're idols, supposedly guardians, supposedly watching over their house. What can those two or three lions guard, when they don't even move? But the worst part is they don't know that those lions represent Satan, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and they don't know that the very thing they have is what's going to devour them if they don't repent, because idolatry gives Satan power over souls. Idolatry is a sin of death. Later on, we'll talk more deeply about idols, because it's a very important subject — unfortunately, because of the deception of this current time, and because of so much technology and how easy it now is to create things, almost everyone can make different objects, but many of those objects and things represent demons, they are idols. It's important that as soon as possible we give ourselves a good opportunity — I'm going to do a teaching, yes, and I'm going to show many different images that represent different idols, and we're also going to do a study together where we'll research different things and look at their roots, and that way it will be easier for all of us to begin cleaning out whatever hidden contamination may still be lingering. And to conclude, we'll talk about drugs — legal and illegal drugs are idols, idols that bring a great deal of bondage. All idols enslave, but some enslave more visibly than others — the bondage is more noticeable in the physical realm with some than with others. I would say drugs are one that ranks very high — it's no secret to any of us that in almost every one of our communities there are people in that situation, but in this final time it's clearer than ever — the bondage that drugs put a person under is very deep, to the point that right here in the United States you can see a person who is deeply enslaved to drugs — you can look at them and see that many times they are in a bad way — it's as if, through the drug, the devil damages the mind, the emotions, the personality — you can see they are a person who is not in their right mind anymore, who has already deteriorated mentally many times, who is in a situation that is not entirely normal. Drugs destroy — drugs cause people to lose self-control, they destroy families, they destroy lives — many people die from violence when they're on drugs or drunk, they even kill, they rape, they prostitute themselves — many people, women and men, in their right mind would never agree to commit ugly sins, sexual sins and so on, but when they're under the effect of drugs they'll sleep with anyone, they don't think twice about it. Last year, I believe, a woman came in very tormented, drunk — she had slept with her own son. 'Pastor, I was drunk, I don't know what happened to me, and I had sex with my own son' — drunk. It's the drugs, the drugs — even the simplest one — I know, especially when we talk about alcohol, it's a little bit conflictive for many, because many, even Christians, say and believe that there's nothing wrong with drinking, that as long as it's in moderation, it's fine — but the word says that by their fruits you will know them. I, in alcohol, in drugs, I don't see any good fruit — I see a lot of destruction, I see a lot of wickedness, I see a lot of bondage, I see the harm it does to many individuals and to many families. If we go out there to minister to the homeless, well, once again, about 90% of them are in bondage to alcohol or some other drug. For me, the result — what comes out of drugs — is not good, I don't know why we would do it, but it's already clear that it also puts many people into bondage. Many marriages are destroyed by alcohol — how many husbands are drug addicts, alcoholics, who come home drunk, and unfortunately even become violent with their wives, and the marriage becomes very unstable because the man is under that addiction, and it's something that dominates him, that controls him — even if he wants to stop, he can't. When I didn't yet know the Lord, I wanted to stop drinking and I couldn't. I wanted to stop smoking and I couldn't — for 20 years I tried many times to quit smoking, sometimes with effort I'd last 3, 4 days, but then I'd fall again. Only through the Lord was I able to be freed from that bondage. We don't want bondage — because you're going to end up under the dominion of that substance — a pack of cigarettes is going to cost you 10 dollars to smoke, it's going to turn your teeth yellow, it harms you in so many ways, gives you bad breath, and you can't live without it — who says that's good? What benefit is there in you being forced to go buy cigarettes that give you no health benefit at all, that don't fill your stomach, that don't do any good for your children or whoever's in the house? There's no benefit, there's nothing gained from it, it doesn't edify — all drugs bring bondage. But let me share with you — I was already starting out on the paths of the Lord, and I went to pray for a cousin of mine, a blood relative, while I was visiting the country where I was born, the Dominican Republic. In those days I was just beginning to seek the Lord with all my heart, and I had the opportunity — I still smoked cigarettes at the time, in my ignorance I didn't yet think cigarettes were wrong — by then I no longer drank, but I still smoked — and it happened that a cousin came to visit me, one of the older cousins, one of the first ones in the whole family to start seeking the Lord, because we were all Catholic. When I came to know the Lord, it had already been about four years since he had fallen away — he was already back in the world, because for four years he had fallen into drugs — but a year before that, he had been walking with the Lord. And oddly enough, he was one of the most upright of the cousins, not someone from the streets, he was one of the calmest of all the cousins in the family — we were the dancers, the drinkers, the whole bit — he was the calmest one, he didn't smoke, didn't drink, he was one of the calmest, never went to parties, none of that, and he was one of the most mature. But it happened that when I was down there, he came to visit me — I had heard he was no longer walking with the Lord, I didn't know much about him at that time, it had been a long time since I'd been back to the country — but when he came to visit me, I started talking with him, and obviously I did hear that he was into drugs and so on, and I told him, 'I can pray for you so you can be free from the addiction.' After we talked a little, he said, 'okay then, pray for me' — and when I started praying for him, I noticed — even though I was new in the ways of the Lord, I noticed something manifested when I began praying for him. I was learning — this was more than six years ago, that was at the very beginning — 'who are you?' — because I noticed something had manifested — and it said, 'I am cigarette.' And I just stood there — I asked it about five times, 'what do you mean you're cigarette, who are you?' 'I am cigarette' — but I didn't understand, I didn't understand, maybe I didn't want to understand, because I still had a pack of cigarettes in my pocket. 'Who are you?' — the demon nearly got angry — 'I am the spirit of cigarette.' And I — the spirit of cigarette, truly at that moment I didn't know what to think or what to say. There was an aunt visiting too, from here, from the United States, and she was cooking outside — I grabbed the cigarettes, went and threw them into that fire, and I regretted it deeply in my heart, and I said, 'Lord, I didn't know this thing represented demons, that there's a demon called cigarette' — that day I found out. I still had a pack of cigarettes in my pocket, and I believe that was the last time I ever smoked, because that day I threw the cigarettes away and that was it, no more — I never imagined this represented demons, that there were demons behind cigarettes. But the point is, then the demon told me — after I understood, that I didn't know there was a demon called cigarette — I asked it, 'and how did you get into him,' because I knew he wasn't — that he was calm, that it had only been about four years — the demon said, almost mockingly, that about four years earlier he had gone to a corner store — they call the little stores 'colmados' in the Dominican Republic — he went to a colmado, and I had one of my servants there, outside smoking — the demon of cigarette called to his servant, the one who was smoking, and I made him strike up a conversation as he was about to go in, and then I made him offer him a little cigarette, and he accepted it, and when he handed it to him, that's when I entered — and then I brought marijuana, and then cocaine and alcohol, and now we have him, now he's ours — that's what the demon said. First the cigarette came in, and through the cigarette the demon of cigarette entered, but then it brought the spirit of alcohol, of cigarette, of marijuana, of cocaine, and by then that cousin was deeply, deeply enslaved. So from experience, this is how it is — I've had many others since then. After that, thank God, I was also set free from cigarettes myself — after that experience, by the grace of God I too was freed from cigarettes. I've prayed for many people, for alcohol, for marijuana, for cocaine, and when the demons manifest, there's a demon called marijuana — often, many people have manifested a demon and said, 'I am the spirit of marijuana,' in others, 'I am the spirit of cocaine,' in others, 'I am the spirit of alcohol.' So, I don't know about you, but I want nothing to do with alcohol, nothing to do with any of that. And my exhortation to everyone is: if you are seeking God and you believe that drinking is nothing, think twice, it's not good for you. Do the math — put on one side, 'this is how alcohol benefits me,' and on the other, 'this is how it doesn't benefit me,' and send me, leave me a comment below the video, tell me in what way, what are the benefits, how does it edify you, how does that alcohol bring you closer to God, how is that alcohol a blessing for your home, for your family, how does that alcohol, or whatever you drink, bear fruit for the kingdom of heaven — if there's no fruit, then get rid of it, that's what I invite you to do, get rid of it, repent. And if anyone doubts that there truly are demons of cigarettes, of alcohol, and all these things, and you smoke, or you drink alcohol, or you use marijuana or cocaine — well, I'm available to minister to you, and you'll see for yourself, not because I say so, but it will manifest in you, that there truly is a demon of marijuana, that 'marijuana is medicinal' is a deception of the devil — through it, what the devil does is bind your souls. If you truly want to fight to overcome, you have to repent of all drugs — drugs bring bondage. First Corinthians 6:12 says: 'All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.' Drugs — that's what they do, they dominate you, those addictions dominate you. It's not unlawful — if we want, we can do it, everyone can do whatever they want, but why would I do something that puts me into bondage, that steals my willpower, my self-control? Galatians 5:21: 'envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.' Those who practice such things — drunkenness — will not enter the kingdom of God. Does anyone fear God? I fear him. When I read that word — that those who practice drunkenness will not enter the kingdom of God — without a doubt, I also used that word to make myself quit alcohol completely, because when I was getting to know the Lord and I heard that drunkards don't enter the kingdom of God, I don't want to burn — not for eternity, not even for a little while. So if cigarettes, if alcohol, if drunkenness, if all these things put our eternity at risk, then we must turn away from them. Isaiah 5:11: 'Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!' Woe, woe to the drunkards, the word says. Thank you for listening. Let's stand up now, let's pray — this was the word I had for this day, I hope it has been edifying. If you feel it has been edifying for your lives, please like the video and share it, it's a way to support us, so that more people can be blessed too. Also below every video there are different links — if it's on your heart to support our church with your offerings, you can send offerings from anywhere, from any part of the world, through our links. We'll be in prayer — let's come against every demon of deception, let's come against the spirit of sin and demons that twist the word, against idolatry and against addictions. I cover every person within the sound of my voice with the blood of Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, for your word, we thank you, Lord, for what you allow us to understand more and more every day, and in your name we come against the spirits that enslave, against every spirit that fights, trying to oppose your purpose in our lives — we come against it in the name of Jesus Christ. We bind the spirit of sin, we bind demons that twist the word, we bind the spirits of various idols that have our families chained to them, we bind any idol that may have someone in this church chained. I bind every spirit of addiction to drugs, legal and illegal drugs — may every chain of bondage break in the name of Jesus. The gates of Hades will not prevail against the church of God — he who is with us is stronger than he who is in the world. May all the waters of the enemy turn to blood in the name of Jesus. May there be a firestorm over the whole army of the enemy in the name of Jesus. May the skin of every demon melt off them while they are still standing, in the name of Jesus. I strike all darkness with the light. May fire come down and destroy every idol that opposes salvation, in the name of Jesus. Every worldly spirit that binds souls through images, through pagan celebrations, catch fire in the name of Jesus. Alcoholism, come out in the name of Jesus. Spirit of marijuana, out in the name of Jesus. Cocaine, come out in the name of Jesus. Addiction to crystal meth, out in the name of Jesus. May fire come down and consume every demon that binds souls through deception, in the name of Jesus. Spirits that bind souls through false teachings, come out in the name of Jesus. Confusion, come out in the name of Jesus. Spirit of self, come out in the name of Jesus. Spirit of comfort, out in the name of Jesus. Self-love, out in the name of Jesus. Spirit of vanity, come out in the name of Jesus. Spirit that makes what is right look twisted and what is twisted look right, come out in the name of Jesus. Demons of the final time that make evil look good and good look evil, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. Opposing demons that oppose those who seek God, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ. Attack on health, come out in the name of Jesus. Confusion, out in the name of Jesus. May all the waters of the enemy turn to blood in the name of Jesus. I strike the enemy's horses and riders with confusion and blindness. May fire come down and destroy all darkness in the name of Jesus. I strike all darkness with the light, may fire come down and destroy all darkness in the name of Jesus Christ. I strike all darkness with the light, may the whole army of the enemy be burned by fire. I strike all darkness with the light, may fire come down and destroy all darkness in the name of Jesus Christ. I strike all darkness with the light. Bondage, come out in the name of Jesus. Every spirit of Pharaoh that enters through drugs, I rebuke you, come out in the name of Jesus Christ. Addiction to alcohol, come out in the name of Jesus. Addiction to cigarettes, out in the name of Jesus Christ. Addiction to video games, come out in the name of Jesus. Addictive personality, come out in the name of Jesus. Bondage to a routine, come out in the name of Jesus. Wanting to stop sinning and not being able to, out in the name of Jesus. Demons that steal self-control through an activity or addiction, out in the name of Jesus. Addiction to sex, come out in the name of Jesus. Addiction to pornography, out in the name of Jesus. Every spirit of bondage, may it be burned by fire in the name of Jesus. I strike all darkness with the light, may fire come down and destroy all darkness in the name of Jesus Christ. May the skin of every demon melt off them while they are still standing, may the tongue of every demon melt in its mouth, may fire come down and consume all darkness in the name of Jesus. I strike all darkness with the light, may fire come down and consume the whole army of the enemy in the name of Jesus. I cover the conscience, the mind, and the heart of everyone who is part of this church, of everyone who listens to me, with the blood of Jesus Christ. May every program of bondage to a substance or activity disintegrate by the blood of Jesus Christ. May every demon that makes someone feel they can't live without an activity or a substance burn in the name of Jesus. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, our mind is the mind of the Lord — may all darkness that seeks to manipulate our body, our mind, disintegrate by the fire and by the blood of Christ, in the name of Jesus. I strike all darkness with the light, may fire come down and destroy all darkness in the name of Jesus. Bondage, come out in the name of Jesus. Lack of self-control, out in the name of Jesus. Bound will, come out in the name of Jesus. Wanting to stop an addiction and not being able to, out in the name of Jesus. May fire come down and destroy all darkness, may the whole army of the enemy be burned by fire in the name of Jesus. I cover every person within the sound of my voice with the blood of Jesus Christ, and I bless every one of you in the name of Jesus. Thank you for being with us, until the next teaching, see you soon.

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Pastor Francisco Gomez

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