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Astonishing Authority, Part 2 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll returns to a
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  Speaker 1: synagogue in Capernaum where the people were amazed at the
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  Speaker 1: way Jesus taught. He didn't sound like the scribes they'd
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  Speaker 1: heard all their lives. Jesus spoke with an authority all
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  Speaker 1: his own. But that same authority stirred something else in
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  Speaker 1: the room that day, something unseen. Last time, Chuck reminded
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  Speaker 1: us that Jesus called ordinary fishermen to follow him. Now,
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  Speaker 1: watch what happens when his truth confronts the darkness head on.
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  Speaker 1: Chuck continues now in Mark chapter 1. He titled his message,
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  Speaker 1: Astonishing Authority.
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  Speaker 2: Now, Mark doesn't tell us what he said, only their
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  Speaker 2: response to his teachings. Look at it. They were amazed
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  Speaker 2: at his teaching, verse 22. Why? Because he was teaching
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  Speaker 2: them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
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  Speaker 2: Meaning what? He didn't spend all his time comparing this
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  Speaker 2: with that and this authority with that authority and this
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  Speaker 2: scribe with that Pharisee. No, he had a message from God.
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  Speaker 2: And as he spoke, he spoke it with clarity and passion, enthusiasm, depth.
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  Speaker 2: They were amazed. Well, let me assure you, when that
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  Speaker 2: occurs and they're blown away with excitement, let me tell
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  Speaker 2: you who else is stirred, and that's the adversary. It
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  Speaker 2: is the adversary. It is the adversary. Because demons are
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  Speaker 2: not seen, because the whole demonic world is invisible, albeit insidious,
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  Speaker 2: we tend to forget them. They love that. They would
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  Speaker 2: love either to be forgotten or be considered as little
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  Speaker 2: red-skinned imps that sit on our shoulder, whispering nasty little
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  Speaker 2: things in our ears. They are not to be forgotten,
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  Speaker 2: but they are never to be considered little imps They
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  Speaker 2: are supernatural evil spirits that are innumerable and they are
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  Speaker 2: in this place today. Just as they were in that
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  Speaker 2: first century synagogue, except in this case, as the teaching
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  Speaker 2: of the truth is going forth from the lips of
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  Speaker 2: the Son of God, this demon could stay silent no longer.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, we're tempted to rush on in verse 23
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  Speaker 2: beyond the first two words, but I won't let you.
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  Speaker 2: Just then, the Greek says, and immediately. This is Mark's
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  Speaker 2: favorite word. Immediately. When? While the teaching was going on.
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  Speaker 2: While the preaching was being delivered. While the people were
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  Speaker 2: in amazement listening to this stranger from Nazareth Suddenly there
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  Speaker 2: is a shriek. Kratzo is the word. Anakratzo. It's the
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  Speaker 2: word to make an outcry. You know, in legal circles,
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  Speaker 2: when a child has been abused, has been molested, and
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  Speaker 2: when the child states the molestation, the abuse, to someone else,
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  Speaker 2: That statement is called the child's outcry. Outcry. It puts
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  Speaker 2: a chill up my back when I think about that.
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  Speaker 2: I think much abuse is demonic. The kind of things
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  Speaker 2: people do with children cannot be just simply a human evil. Now,
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  Speaker 2: I won't go there. I'll leave that. But what I
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  Speaker 2: want you to hear is the shriek. It is a
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  Speaker 2: vehement outcry. My lexicon says it is a shriek. It
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  Speaker 2: is a scream. And this demon cries out. Demons have
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  Speaker 2: no voice. The only voice they have is human vocal cords.
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  Speaker 2: So inhabiting individuals gives them the ability to speak. In
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  Speaker 2: this case, the individual with the demons is now in
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  Speaker 2: his victimized state at the mercy of the voice of
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  Speaker 2: the demons. And they scream out. You know, as I
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  Speaker 2: say that today in this, quote, enlightened 21st century, in
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  Speaker 2: this world where we live, not a third world, where
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  Speaker 2: most of the world lives, demonic presence is a scene
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  Speaker 2: with cynicism. Some of you are already doubting what I've
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  Speaker 2: been saying. I understand. You have been enamored of what
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  Speaker 2: you were taught at the universities. Very, very few university
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  Speaker 2: professors have any time of day for the demonic world.
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  Speaker 2: They are, in the words of my friend Howie Hendricks,
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  Speaker 2: educated beyond their intelligence. You must know there is a
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  Speaker 2: demonic world. And if you are ever ministering in the
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  Speaker 2: third world, you will encounter it. The darkness of the
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  Speaker 2: evil world seems to give rise to more of these shrieks.
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  Speaker 2: I've witnessed it. I've seen it. I've been in rooms
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  Speaker 2: where it happened. It puts a chill up your back
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  Speaker 2: like nothing you've ever experienced. You know you are witnessing
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  Speaker 2: something supernatural from the pit. Now, I have your attention, thankfully.
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  Speaker 2: In most circles, you would have been walking out by now.
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  Speaker 2: I commend you. We're going to encounter in this gospel
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  Speaker 2: by Mark occasions such as this, and you're going to
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  Speaker 2: find your mouth dropping open. Because in these days, when
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  Speaker 2: there was the presence of Christ on the earth, there
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  Speaker 2: were those demonic forces working against him, knowing that his
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  Speaker 2: mission was ultimately to destroy them. Satan knows he is
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  Speaker 2: a doomed entity. He will not endure forever. Certainly not
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  Speaker 2: on this earth in power. Hell has been prepared, that
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  Speaker 2: lake of fire, for the devil and his demons teaches
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  Speaker 2: Jesus in another place in one of the other gospels.
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  Speaker 2: These who are a part of his evil horde know
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  Speaker 2: that ultimately that is their destiny. They know that. And
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  Speaker 2: they fight for the attention of evil forces. And in
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  Speaker 2: the presence of all of this truth that came out
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus, like lifting a rock out in the wilderness,
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  Speaker 2: you find all kinds of squiggly things running when the
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  Speaker 2: light comes into that damp and dark place when it
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  Speaker 2: was under the rock. So the light comes from Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: the people are amazed, and there is one man sitting
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  Speaker 2: there who suddenly is the one used by the demons
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  Speaker 2: within him as he shrieks, And we're allowed to see
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  Speaker 2: from the writing of Mark what the demon says and
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  Speaker 2: what he was thinking. We read, just then, there was
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  Speaker 2: a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. Let's
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  Speaker 2: don't go any further. The word unclean could be rendered foul, F-O-U-L.
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  Speaker 2: There is a foul spirit. Unclean also suggests estrangement from God.
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  Speaker 2: Moving in the sphere of that spirit's power is this individual.
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  Speaker 2: Could have been the best kept secret in the synagogue.
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  Speaker 2: They may have never seen the man before, or he
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  Speaker 2: may have been among them before. But one of them,
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  Speaker 2: we read, in their synagogue. So it isn't his synagogue.
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  Speaker 2: I take it that he's come in to hear this teacher, Jesus, speak.
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  Speaker 2: And while there, he's hearing more than he ever expected.
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  Speaker 2: And the demon within him cries out. Notice 24. He
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  Speaker 2: is saying, what business do we have with each other?
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  Speaker 2: Look at the pronoun. It's plural. We. Remember that. Let
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  Speaker 2: me begin now in another direction. Let me give you
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  Speaker 2: four observations regarding this whole realm of demons from this passage.
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  Speaker 2: First is that people with demons can be in a
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  Speaker 2: house of worship. People with demons can be in a
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  Speaker 2: house of worship. By being with them, I mean they
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  Speaker 2: are inhabited by, oppressed by. Some would use the word
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  Speaker 2: possessed by. Though demon possession is not ever found in
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  Speaker 2: the New Testament. Demonized is. And the best we can
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  Speaker 2: come with a translation is demon possessed. This man is demonized.
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  Speaker 2: He lives his life at the mercy of the demon.
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  Speaker 2: The demon's drive becomes his drive. The demon's thoughts become
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  Speaker 2: his thoughts. The demon's words become his words. And this
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  Speaker 2: demon cries out literally, what to us and to you?
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  Speaker 2: Notice again, plural, what to us and to you? It's
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  Speaker 2: kind of a colloquialism in that day for what do
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  Speaker 2: we have to do with one another? So the second
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  Speaker 2: observation is that More than one demon can inhabit an individual.
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  Speaker 2: There may have been two. Could have been a host
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  Speaker 2: of evil forces at work in the man's life. But
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  Speaker 2: it was too much for the demon to endure, and
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  Speaker 2: so there was an outcry. The demon is in the
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  Speaker 2: presence of truth delivered in this peerless, flawless manner by
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  Speaker 2: the one who knew the truth better than anyone who
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  Speaker 2: has ever known it. And as the scroll is opened
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  Speaker 2: and as the truth is presented, the demon screams out.
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  Speaker 2: Look at the third. What business do we have with
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  Speaker 2: each other? Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to destroy us?
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  Speaker 2: I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
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  Speaker 2: Third observation. Demons are fully aware of who Jesus is.
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  Speaker 2: Demons are fully aware of who Jesus is. They acknowledge
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  Speaker 2: him as the Messiah before anybody else in Galilee did.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, note their theology in verse 24. Number one,
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  Speaker 2: they knew he was from Nazareth. So they'd been aware
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  Speaker 2: of him since his earliest years. Demons are ageless and
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  Speaker 2: demons are timeless. Therefore, they transcend all time. The demons
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  Speaker 2: at work today were at work in the first century.
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  Speaker 2: The demons at work now will be at work in
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  Speaker 2: the 23rd century. They have no age. There is no time.
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  Speaker 2: They have no resistance. They can move through space and
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  Speaker 2: move from here to another land in the blink of
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  Speaker 2: an eye. They're supernatural creatures. They also knew his mission.
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  Speaker 2: They said, you have come to destroy us. Notice again
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  Speaker 2: the plural. Third, they knew him to be deity. We
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  Speaker 2: know who you are. You're the holy one. Third, they
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  Speaker 2: knew him to be deity. And fourth, they knew his origin.
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  Speaker 2: You are of God. It takes some people years to
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  Speaker 2: come to the place where they fully grasp those four
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  Speaker 2: theological truths. Demons have known it throughout their existence. Let
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  Speaker 2: me show you a very intriguing verse of Scripture. Hold here.
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  Speaker 2: Look at James 2, verse 19. If you're not familiar
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  Speaker 2: with your Bible, you go toward the end, shortly before Revelation,
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  Speaker 2: you'll find some letters, and one of them is James 2,
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  Speaker 2: verse 19. This is going to surprise some of you.
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  Speaker 2: Others of you are fully aware of this. James writes,
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  Speaker 2: you believe that God is one, you do well. The
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  Speaker 2: demons also believe and shudder. Just look at that. Please observe,
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  Speaker 2: they not only know, but they shudder. The demons also
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  Speaker 2: believe those theological facts and it makes them shudder. Back
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  Speaker 2: to Mark 1. I want to add a statement here
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  Speaker 2: that I have so carefully crafted. I'm going to do
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  Speaker 2: what I rarely do, and that's to read the statement
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  Speaker 2: directly from my notes, because I don't want to mess
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  Speaker 2: it up. Whenever the authority of Christ is invoked in
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  Speaker 2: preaching or teaching, there is a violent confrontation with the
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  Speaker 2: evil spirits who are present in the gathering. possessing men
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  Speaker 2: and women's souls and ruling their lives. As they are
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  Speaker 2: brought into the presence of such light, they cannot and
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  Speaker 2: they will not remain passive or tolerant. This demonized man
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  Speaker 2: was under the sway of evil. The demon usurped the
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  Speaker 2: core of his being and even utilized his vocal cords.
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  Speaker 2: the unclean spirit so fused with his that he was
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  Speaker 2: coarse and foul and base within. That's what we have
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  Speaker 2: in this situation. The man finds himself screaming out, probably
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  Speaker 2: not expecting to scream. The demon is now speaking through him,
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  Speaker 2: in an attack on the one who is teaching and preaching.
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  Speaker 2: Please observe how Jesus responded, verse 25. Jesus rebuked him saying,
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  Speaker 2: be quiet, the word means to muzzle, to muzzle, and
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  Speaker 2: come out of him. So what does he do? He
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  Speaker 2: silences him, he muzzles him. It's like a judge will
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  Speaker 2: say to a witness that keeps talking, the witness will
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  Speaker 2: be quiet. It's amazing what that does to a witness.
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  Speaker 2: Suddenly you stop talking. If you don't, the judge says
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  Speaker 2: it more loudly. You will be quiet. And that's like this.
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  Speaker 2: Be quiet. And the second thing, he exercises him. He
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  Speaker 2: casts him out. Come out of him, he commands. So
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  Speaker 2: the fourth observation in our list, demons must submit to
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  Speaker 2: the authority of Jesus Christ. You know what I love
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  Speaker 2: about this right here? Jesus simply casts out the demons
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  Speaker 2: and the people, verse 27, are amazed. Now, if they
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  Speaker 2: thought his teaching was amazing, they ain't never seen anything
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  Speaker 2: like this in synagogue. Whoa, Reuben, did you see that? Whoa.
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  Speaker 2: You know what I love about it? Jesus doesn't set
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  Speaker 2: up a deliverance ministry. Come tomorrow night and bring your
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  Speaker 2: demons with you. I'll cast them out right here. Don't
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  Speaker 2: forget your money. There's no showmanship here. There's none. When
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  Speaker 2: you have the truth, you don't need showmanship. Sheep come
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  Speaker 2: where there's good food. You don't need to be a
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  Speaker 2: star of some show. That cheapens the gospel. There's no promotion.
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  Speaker 2: There's no look at me or watch how I handle
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  Speaker 2: these demons. He simply says, be quiet, come out. And
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  Speaker 2: he shut up and came out. Where'd he go? Well,
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  Speaker 2: come next week. Nah, just kidding. Why do I say
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  Speaker 2: things like that? I don't know where he went. But
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  Speaker 2: I know this, he doesn't want to be uninhabited. So
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  Speaker 2: he's looking for someone else. How do demons come in?
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  Speaker 2: I had a young man ask me following the first service.
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  Speaker 2: Sustained anger. will give entrance to demons. Unresisted and unrestrained
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  Speaker 2: lust will open a door for demons. Habitual habits of
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  Speaker 2: the flesh will open the door of the heart for demons.
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  Speaker 2: It's a treacherous thing. You often do not know they've
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  Speaker 2: come in. People who become uncontrollable are often that way,
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  Speaker 2: not because of mental illness, though there is mental illness, please.
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  Speaker 2: I know that. Don't write me. I know that. But
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  Speaker 2: I will say to you many times, those who are
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  Speaker 2: treated mentally are not really mentally deranged. They are demonically inspired.
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  Speaker 2: God raise up some brilliant physicians and bright counselors who
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  Speaker 2: know the difference. We need you to help us. They
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  Speaker 2: were all amazed and they all debated among themselves saying,
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  Speaker 2: what is this? A new teaching with authority. There again
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  Speaker 2: is that authority. That astonishing authority. They've never seen anything
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  Speaker 2: like it. Not only does he teach in a fresh way,
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  Speaker 2: but he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.
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  Speaker 2: What they didn't know is those unclean spirits have to
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  Speaker 2: obey him. They have no other choice. When he says
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  Speaker 2: come out, there ain't no staying. They're coming out. Isn't
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  Speaker 2: it great to serve a master like that? Now, immediately
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  Speaker 2: the news about him spread everywhere into all the surrounding districts.
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  Speaker 2: What makes teaching authoritative? First of all, it is sourced
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  Speaker 2: in the word of God. The closest you can get
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  Speaker 2: to the voice of God is the word of God,
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  Speaker 2: the book of God. Don't ask God for an audible voice.
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  Speaker 2: Don't stay up late hoping for writing on your window
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  Speaker 2: or for a cloud formation. that spells Jesus, please. Spend
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  Speaker 2: your time looking in the book. Look in the book.
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  Speaker 2: It's all right there for you. Teaching is authoritative when
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  Speaker 2: it's sourced in the scriptures, when it is empowered by
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  Speaker 2: the Spirit, when it gives witness to the authority of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Christ is the preeminent one. Cheap way to put it,
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  Speaker 2: but he's the star of the show. God deliver us
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  Speaker 2: from a show. He is the featured speaker. He is
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  Speaker 2: the magnificent one. Teaching is authoritative when you are brought
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  Speaker 2: face to face with Christ. Do we have authority over demons? No,
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  Speaker 2: we don't. Some of you say, wait, no, hold on.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not through. My no has an ellipsis. No, we don't.
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  Speaker 2: But in Christ, we do. You see, Christ has the authority.
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  Speaker 2: If you do not know Christ, you are an absolute
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  Speaker 2: helpless victim of demonic forces. You have no way of
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  Speaker 2: resisting them, none whatsoever. I don't care how many letters
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  Speaker 2: behind your name, and I respect the letters. But none
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  Speaker 2: of those letters will give you the shield to protect you.
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  Speaker 2: For you to have protection and authority over demons, you
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  Speaker 2: need Christ. Now, if we are in Christ, yes. 1
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  Speaker 2: John 4, verse 4, greater is he who is in
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  Speaker 2: you than he who is in the world. Yes, in Christ,
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  Speaker 2: we have authority. Why must we submit to God's authority?
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  Speaker 2: Because without it, we are hopelessly at the mercy of
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  Speaker 2: evil forces. You are hopelessly bound for a life of depression, discouragement, disillusionment, brokenness.
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  Speaker 2: Operating under that authority, we live in hope. How great
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  Speaker 2: is that? Kent Hughes writes it this way, and I
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  Speaker 2: close with these words. There is hope for the worst
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  Speaker 2: of us. You or someone you know may have the
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  Speaker 2: hardest heart in the nation, To you and everyone else,
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  Speaker 2: it appears impenetrable, irredeemable, impossible. Chances are, if you have
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  Speaker 2: the hardest heart in the city, it is a religious heart.
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  Speaker 2: You may have the proudest will. In quotes, he writes,
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  Speaker 2: a damned will. In the full sense of the word,
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  Speaker 2: it is bloodied, unbowed, unbroken, condemned. Since you are a child,
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  Speaker 2: you have never given in to anyone, and even your
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  Speaker 2: parents or your mate would be included. Yet there is
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  Speaker 2: one great hope for you. Christ can free you from
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  Speaker 2: the evil that has you in that bondage. Praise God
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  Speaker 2: for that. Bow with me, please. Some of you will...
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  Speaker 2: in this message with us and you will be frightened.
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  Speaker 2: If you have the Lord Jesus Christ, there's no reason
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  Speaker 2: to be. If you do not, there is every reason
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  Speaker 2: to stay awake at night. There's every reason you're not
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  Speaker 2: going to sleep well. You have no power in yourself
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  Speaker 2: to withstand. Therefore, I urge you in this moment right
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  Speaker 2: now that you give your heart to the Savior. Simple prayer.
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  Speaker 2: Lord God, I come to you helpless, hopeless, lost, sinful.
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  Speaker 2: I have nothing to offer you that would impress you.
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  Speaker 2: And I need everything you can offer me because I
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  Speaker 2: can't provide any of it for myself. I take Christ.
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  Speaker 2: I give you my sinfulness. I take his hope. I
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  Speaker 2: give you my hopelessness. I take his love and I
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  Speaker 2: give you my lovelessness. I take his deity, I give
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  Speaker 2: you my depravity. Thank you for coming into my life. Lord,
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  Speaker 2: fill us with a reminder that your word is truth
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  Speaker 2: and without it we are hopelessly ignorant. We have lost
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  Speaker 2: our way. Remind us again that it isn't the The
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  Speaker 2: book itself we worship. It's the Savior we worship, but
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  Speaker 2: the book leads us to him. So make it far
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  Speaker 2: more important than any newscast, any periodical, any opinion, any
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  Speaker 2: so-called authority. May we submit to your truth and may
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  Speaker 2: our lives reveal submissiveness to such. Now to him who
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  Speaker 2: is able to guard you from stumbling and present you
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  Speaker 2: faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy.
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  Speaker 2: To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and
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  Speaker 2: majesty and dominion and power forever and ever and ever
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  Speaker 2: and ever. And all God's people said, Amen.
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  Speaker 1: There's nothing quite like the authority of Jesus. When He speaks,
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  Speaker 1: even the darkness has to obey. If you're facing something
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  Speaker 1: today that feels bigger than you can handle, remember what
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  Speaker 1: we saw in Mark chapter 1. The same Christ who
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  Speaker 1: silenced that unclean spirit stands ready to meet you in
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  Speaker 1: your need. This is Insight for Living with Bible teacher
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  Speaker 1: Chuck Swindoll. Chuck titled today's message, Astonishing Authority. It's the
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  Speaker 1: fourth message in a brand new study through the Gospel
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  Speaker 1: according to Mark. The whole series is titled, Jesus, the
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  Speaker 1: Servant at Work. And because of the size of Mark's gospel,
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  Speaker 1: Chuck has divided this series into three volumes. All three
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  Speaker 1: Bible study workbooks for Mark are available today, well in
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  Speaker 1: advance of their release on this daily program. So for
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  Speaker 1: personal or group study, we invite you to purchase all
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  Speaker 1: three Searching the Scriptures workbooks for Mark. Just go to insight.org
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  Speaker 1: slash offer. You can also call us at 800-772-2700. And
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  Speaker 1: now a special word about Chuck's latest book. Most memoirs
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  Speaker 1: are written to impress. Awakened by Grace was written to reveal.
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  Speaker 1: Not Chuck Swindoll, but the God who has held him
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  Speaker 1: every step of the way. With remarkable candor, Chuck pulls
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  Speaker 1: back the curtain on his own life. The doubts, the detours,
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  Speaker 1: the disappointments, and the seasons when he couldn't yet see
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  Speaker 1: what God was doing. He doesn't write to earn your admiration.
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  Speaker 1: He writes so you'll recognize the same faithful hand at
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  Speaker 1: work in your own story. Awakened by Grace has just
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  Speaker 1: been released. It's hot off the press, as they say.
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  Speaker 1: And you're invited to purchase a copy from Insight for Living.
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  Speaker 1: Chuck wants to show you how you too can see
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  Speaker 1: a thread of God's artistry woven through the beautiful tapestry
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  Speaker 1: of your life. Reach out for Chuck's memoir, Awakened by Grace,
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  Speaker 1: by calling 800-772-8888. or go to insight.org slash memoir. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindoll gives us a
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  Speaker 1: peek at what he calls a page from the personal
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  Speaker 1: journal of Jesus. Tuesday on Insight for Living. The preceding message,
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  Speaker 1: Astonishing Authority, was copyrighted in 2010 and 2026, and the
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  Speaker 1: sound recording was copyrighted in 2026.
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  Speaker 2: By Charles R.
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  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted
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  Speaker 1: material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.