Faith Won't Work With Fear)

Open your Bibles with me to the sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians. Verse eight, "Knowing this, whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall he receive from the Lord". Now how many people have that verse committed to memory? Well you should. Look at that. "Knowing this, whatsoever good thing any man does the same shall he receive of the Lord". Isn't that good? Now verse 10. "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and then the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God". That means you have to put it on... that you may be able to stand against the wilds of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers. Now this is from the bottom up, not the top down. Notice this. Let's start again. "Against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, stand therefore. Having your loins gird about with the truth, having on the breast plate of righteousness, your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all taking the shield of faith where with you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God praying always. With all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints". So this is prayer armor. Now go with me to the fifth chapter of the book of Mark. Mark chapter five. Now look up. Let's begin reading with the 37th. "There arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow and they awake him and say unto him, 'Master or rabbi, carest thou not that we perish?' And he arose and he rebuked the wind and he said unto the sea. He spoke to the wind and the sea, 'Peace. Be still.' The wind ceased and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, 'Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?'"

Now I've been saying that to you. I wanted you to see that that's not something I just made up. There it is right there. Faith and fear will not operate at the same time. "'How is it that you have no faith?' And they feared exceedingly and said one to another, 'What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey?'" A faith man and it'll obey you, faith woman. Faith man. Amen. And they came over to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. Now I have had experience in this. So, would somebody like to move this podium downstairs for me please? I feel I'm preaching on sermon on the mount. Thank you, sir. Get down there where I can see the whites of your eyes. Thank You, Lord. Now, chapter five of the book of Mark. "They came over to the other side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit". An unclean spirit. A ruler of the darkness of this world. One. One unclean spirit. Now I want you to see that so that you have good understanding now of what's about to happen. I was standing at the foot of the bed of a man that had gangrene in his leg. And I just walked up there and I put my finger, just right there on his foot and he growled at me. And I said, "No you don't. In the name of Jesus, get out of here". And I believe I receive the power of God... Instantly delivered. Instantly delivered. Amen. You have to deal with these things.

Prayer, now there are times you just keep praying for somebody and all that, but it comes a time that prayer won't be enough. You're going to have to deal with the devil. God's not going to deal with him. He's already dealt with him. Amen. You have to realize this. God created the heavens and the earth and he created man and gave the earth to the man. That's the reason he had every right to commit high treason to God and turn this planet over to God's enemy. It was morally wrong, but he had the legal authority to do that. And his lease is about to run out. It is just about to run out. And the second it does, the horn is going to blow. All right. "He had his dwelling among the tombs. No man could bind him. No, not with chains because that he had been often bound with fetters or shackles and chains and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, the shackles broken in pieces. Neither could any man tame him". Now this is Sampson in reverse because this man had to be skin and bones. But the strength was that unclean spirit. One. Just tear there. There's this power of that demon had come on him and just ripped those shackles apart. They couldn't tame him. And always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying, crying and cutting himself with stones. So he didn't sleep. Now he's a cutter. So anybody in the sound of my voice, that for some reason or other, you've started cutting yourself, Hey, you see right here, it's the spirit. Now stop that. But the only thing you have to deal with the devil to do it. And if you haven't received Jesus as your Lord and savior, you do it right now. You just say, "Lord, you just come into my heart and you just take me over. Praise God. And I'm tired of this. I'm fed up with being fed up. And I need you, Lord Jesus". Now wonderful friend of mine, praise God, was baptizing some young women, some of them had been in prison and they were heroin addicts and some of them were cutters. And Todd White, he baptized them in water and when they came up out of the water, the scars were gone. Praise God. So they thought he was some kind of God. He never did sleep. When he saw Jesus a far off, he ran and worshiped him and cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with Thee Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God" "I adjure Thee by God that Thou torment me not"! For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of the man thou unclean spirit". Now everybody out there heard that conversation and he asked him, "What he is your name"? And he answered it, "My name is Legion. For we are many". And he besought him much that he would not send him away out of that country.

Now isn't that interesting. Satan had a sign, that devil right there. Can you figure out why? Well that's in Jesus neighborhood and it's also a place right there where the Roman army had all of their pigs out there. This is Roman army food, 2000 hogs. Dear Lord. And he besought him. Now there was there. Now a legion is from three to 6,000. Nigh unto the mountains, a great herd of swine feeding and all of the devils besought him. And now the people didn't hear this. Only Jesus heard this. They heard that conversation between the man, which was the voice of the devil and Jesus, but this they didn't hear. All the devils besought him saying, "Send us into the swine that we may enter into them". Now listen to me. Any spirit being, the Holy Spirit, unclean spirits, cannot have full range in this earth without some kind of body. That's the reason God was, and is, so vitally interested that we not only have the Spirit in us, but that we have the Spirit of God on us and with our heavenly language intact. So full expression. And you can speak a language that is between you and God and the devils have no idea what you just said, unless you interpret it and you have the authority to interpret what you say in the Spirit in the name of Jesus. That's what I said in tongue. Think about what happened at the Tower of Babel. All of the languages were confused. And then on the day of Pentecost, suddenly there came a sound as a rushing mighty wind. Didn't say there was a rushing, mighty wind. Said it was a sound. But I know, I'm thinking about a young man right now. It not only came as the sound, but it blew right there in the meeting where they were. Hallelujah. God with full expression. That ought to make you want to be baptized in the Holy Ghost as bad as you can't stand it. No. So good you can't stand it. Amen. And don't struggle at that. It's easiest thing you ever did in your life, just all you have to do is yield. And when Gloria and I received, we didn't know not to. We were scripture illiterates. I didn't know Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John told the same story. And I mentioned it to Gloria. She said, "Yes. Isn't that wonderful"? So, the men laid hand on me and the women laid hands on Gloria and I didn't know what they wanted me to do in there. Shouting and praying in tongues, "Hang on brother. Turn loose". Old time Pentecost way of doing things. No instructions at all. And so I really enjoyed it. Felt real good about it, but nothing happened. Dr. Reed came over there and said, "Let's pray for Gloria," and I said, "Okay". And I walked right up behind her. Nobody's right behind her. All the women were around in front of her. And I walked over there and he said, "Lay your hands on her". I said, "No". My own wife. Can you imagine that? I just, no, no. And finally he said, "Lay your hands on her". And the moment I touched her, oh. Oh Lord. Oh. I staggered back there and he is in a hotel ballroom. They just made a little platform. And I stumbled up there in that chair and he touched me on the head and said, "No more English". But I had to fly back that night. January, 1963 from Henderson, Texas. Cold, clear January night, flying back to Little Rock in that little single engine piper airplane. And I'm flying along there. No autopilot in that thing. It's too small. And I was thinking, I said, "Lord". I said out loud, I said, "Lord, I don't know what all I know about what happened back there. But I'm going to say some of those words again". There's no old time Pentecost person on earth that would've dared to do. But that's just the way God wants you to be about it. It's a gift. It's a gift. I said it's a gift. I said, "I'm just going to say some of those words again," and I just and just kept on. And I can see the lights of Little Rock. I might have to talk to somebody here. And I thought, "Well, I'm still talking in tongues and I'm thinking this". I said, "Lord". And then finally I stop and I said, "Okay, God. All right". Okay God. I'm thinking, "I've got to talk to these people. Now I might either have to speak in English or you're have to do something with their ears". That's totally illiterate. I didn't know. I had no idea what the Bible said about it. They gave an invitation and I turned around to my mother and I said, "Is that something you ought to have"? She said, "Yeah. You ought to have that". I grabbed Gloria by the hand and we just jumped and ran. I didn't know anything about it. And got out of the airplane. I'm telling you, I blessed that airplane. I blessed the concrete. I blessed the hangar. I blessed the sky. I blessed everything on that airport. I prayed in tongues all the way through the house. Well Gloria stayed and the next morning she received. Amen. Full expression. That's what I wanted you to get. Now that was what was happening this day, right there across the Galilee from Capernaum. Now, we'll wind this up by this. Now watch this. "They that fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country and they went out to see what was done. And they come to Jesus and see him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid. And they that saw it, told them how it befell him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine and they began to pray him to depart their coast. Just leave, just get out of here. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but sayeth unto him, 'Go home to your friends. Tell them how great then'... Go home and tell them". He called him to preach right there. "Go home and tell your friends how great thing the Lord have done for thee and have had compassion on thee, perfected love cast out fear". Isn't that a great message to preach around that whole area? And he departed and began to publish in Decapolis, that's a 10 city area right around there, how great things Jesus had done for him and all men did marvel. Amen. Isn't that marvelous? They come to Jesus, see him that was possessed with the devil, had the Legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind. Where did they get the clothes? Faith always prepares. There's corresponding action either before or after. This man was naked and Jesus sent him on to preach. "No. You can't do that". Jesus had to have prepared this beforehand because he already knew what was going to happen. He said, "I only say what I hear my Father say and I only do what I see my Father do and he had a long day planned here". He headed right there, delivered this man. He obviously took clothes with him. He took clothes with him and you know good and well he didn't get them at the Goodwill. They were nice clothes. Can't you just see him calling those men around him and saying, "Hey listen. Now Judas, I want you to dig deep in that bag, son. We got some clothes to buy here. There's a man over there just across the lake. And the father has directed me to deliver him from our enemy. Now he's in a mess. He's skin and bones. He hasn't eaten. He never sleeps, but he's got to have some clothes. I'm going to call him to preach and he has to be well dressed when he goes home". Glory to God. I wanted you to see two things from this scripture in the life of Jesus. One, faith and fear will not work at the same time. Now you can have faith in your heart and doubt in your head. That's a different thing. Now doubt, there's no such thing as non-belief. You believe in something all the time. But unbelief is when you choose not to believe something. "I do not believe that. I'm not going to believe that". That's unbelief. Or like Jesus in his own hometown. And I'm paraphrasing. Who does he think he is? We've known him since he was a little boy. I mean, he makes nice furniture and shoes, but come up here and tell us that he is a prophet. I don't think so. But what made it worse, they got mad and that's when they lost it. In Mark chapter six, well we're right there. Look at it. And somebody may probably need to come get my Bible so I'll know when to quit here. Verse five. "He could there do no mighty work". It didn't say, "He wouldn't," it said, "He couldn't". "He could there do no mighty work, say that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and heal them. He marveled because of their unbelief and he went around about the villages teaching". Well teaching is the cure for unbelief. Amen. And that whole area there around that madman was full of fear. And Jesus told him to go preach compassion. Check it out for yourself. Just do a little study there. Jesus came right back to that same place and they rushed him to hear from him.