Gregory Dickow - Healing Your Soul - Part 1
Hi, I'm Gregory Dickow, and welcome to "The Power to Change Today". And it's so good to be with you. I know something really good is going to happen in your life today. Now recently, I heard the Lord speak to me and he said, "Talk to my people about pain, and show them how to stop hurting, and how to start really living". He said, "I hear them and I heal them". You know that God hears you and God heals you? We live in a world full of pain and suffering caused by broken promises, disappointment, broken relationships, sickness, financial loss, disease, and so much more. But we have a high priest that sympathizes with our weaknesses. Jesus understands because he felt the anguish and the pain of betrayal, rejection, abuse that you might have gone through. In fact, every form of pain you can imagine, Jesus experienced it one way or the other.
So, God knows what you're going through, and his will without question is to heal you. Today is your day for healing, are you ready? Jesus took all of your pain and suffering on the cross so you don't have to live with it anymore. God's will for our lives is that we would be healed from pain, spirit, soul, and body. That's why God put this message on my heart, because he wants us to stop living with pain, and start really living without it, living life to the fullest. I believe God's going to use today's program to bring healing as you watch this program. Listen, no pain, no abuse, nothing that you've ever suffered, no hurt is too great for God's healing hand. I'm talking about emotional pain, physical pain, relationship pain, you name it. And I pray you'd open your heart and watch this entire program, and let God minister to you through it. Get ready to be changed forever. Check this out and I'll be back to pray for your healing today. God bless.
So, open your Bible with me to Luke chapter 8, verse 27, and let's talk about healing the soul. Luke chapter 8, we're going to begin in verse 27. And it says, "When Jesus had stepped out into the land". Luke chapter 8, verse 27, "When Jesus stepped out onto the land, there met him a man from the city who had demons for a long time". So, he was in this condition for a long time. And the devil loves to keep people in bondage for a long time, and God loves to set people free. And it says, "And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but he lived in the tombs". And I really want to get, I want you to get ahold of this because this miracle is going to show us something. This miracle that is about to happen demonstrates Jesus's dominion over the devil. And Jesus has dominion over the devil. And if Jesus has dominion over the devil, so do you.
Because Jesus said in Luke chapter 10, verse 19, "Behold, I give you authority and I give you power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means injure you, hurt you, or harm you". We've been pushed around by the devil far too long. We don't need to be pushed around by the devil. We've been given more authority than he has. But what he has done is he's deceived people into thinking that he has more authority than we have, but God wants us to know that we have more authority than the devil has. Jesus said, "I give you authority". Say, "God gave me authority to trample on serpents, and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy".
How much of the power of the enemy? How much does that leave for the enemy? How much does that give to you? All right, you ought to rejoice, man. And nothing, and nothing, and nothing, and nothing, and nothing, and nothing, and nothing, these are Jesus's words, not mine. And nothing shall by any means hurt you. So, we got to learn how to walk in this authority so that nothing by shall any means hurt us. If we don't learn how to walk in this authority, God has given us authority through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, we reign in life. So, if we're not reigning in life, it's because we don't understand the abundance of grace and we don't understand the gift of righteousness. And that's what happens when you don't understand God's grace, and why is it so important that we are a church of grace? Why is it so important that we're a church that believes in the righteousness of God? Why is it so important? Because only through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness can we reign in life.
So, where there's an absence of grace and an absence of understanding of the gift of righteousness, there will be an absence of victory. But where there is an abundance of grace and where there is an understanding of the gift of righteousness, there will be an abundance of victory. Can anybody say amen? I don't know why a Christian would want to go to a church that tells them that they'll be defeated, and they should expect defeat and they should expect to the devil to, watch out, 'cause the devil's been sent by God to teach you a lesson. The devil has not been sent by God to teach us anything. God has taught us through the apostles.
The Word of God has been sent to us to teach us we have authority over the devil. The Word of God has been sent to us. The Holy Spirit has been sent to us. The Word of God has been sent to you. And the pastor has been sent to you. God gives us pastors that teach us and equip us to fulfill the purpose and calling and destiny that God has on our lives. The devil has not been sent to teach you, the Bible teachers and the pastors have been sent to teach you. The problem is we got bad teachers in the body of Christ that just confuse the Word of God and confuse Christians because they just can't grapple, they can't grasp the reality that, hey, we live in a fallen world, and sometimes tragedy happens and bad things happen, but that doesn't mean that we should lower our guard and simply expect those things to happen in the name of trusting God. We should trust God, but we have the power to hold up the shield of faith, to thrust forth the sword of the Spirit, to wear the breast of righteousness so that no weapon formed against us can prosper.
Now, you want to live that way, you came to the right church. You want to go be a miserable, mealy mouthed, banana back, flimsy flamsy, mamsy pamsy Christian, you have found the wrong church for that. If you look in Matthew chapter 8, verse 16, I'll put some of these Scriptures up here, Matthew chapter 8, verse 16, the miracle of what Jesus is about to do when he casts this legion of demons out of this man in Luke, we'll come back to in a moment, but this miracle demonstrates his dominion over the devil and your dominion over the devil. And it says in Matthew chapter 8, verse 16, it says, "When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon possessed". And what did he do? He cast out the spirits with a word, and he healed all who were sick. He cast out the demons with what? He didn't need some chant, he didn't need some oil, he didn't need some magic, he had a word.
And you know what the devil listens to? Your words. And that's why death and life are in the power of the tongue. And that's why, when you speak words of death, you give access for death into your life. When you speak words of life, you give access for life into your life. That's why our words are so powerful and so important, and this is what Satan wants to make us all deaf, dumb, and mute. He wants us to not be able to hear what God has to say, he wants us to not be able to see what God is doing, and he wants us to not be able to speak what God's Word says. But guess what, God has given you a mouth to speak, ears to hear, eyes to see, and we need to use this authority that God has given us.
I love what he says in the Living translation, the New Living translation of this verse. It says, "That evening many demon possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick". He didn't say, "Oh, you know what, I can't do that one. Oh, cancer. Uh, you know what, I can't handle it. Oh, you know what, you're mentally ill? Sorry, I'm not equipped for that one. You know, maybe the Father has some other children he can send one day". No, when he sent Jesus, he sent all that we would ever need, amen? He sent all we would ever need. And you say, "Well, that was then. He healed all the sick, that was then". Well, Hebrews 13, verse 8 says, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever". Don't you love that verse? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, if he healed all the sick then, he heals all the sick today.
Now, I know there are preachers out there that say, "Well, sometimes God heals and sometimes God doesn't". Well, that's why they're not your pastor, you're smarter than that. You're smart enough to believe the Bible more than a preacher, amen? The only reason why you come here is because I'm saying what the Bible says. I'm not trying to make up something that sounds better to try to explain everything that's happening in people's lives. Look, the Word of God explains itself. There's a real demon, we live in a fallen world. There are real demons, there's a real devil. We live in a fallen world, people make bad decisions. We wreck our lives.
We grow up being abused. We grow up with bad parenting sometimes. We grow up making bad choices. We grow up and something is done to us that hurts us and harms us. We grow, every one of us grow up with a DNA of some sort of sin. The DNA, the propensity, the tendency to err in one way or another. Some people grow up and their tendency is they're really susceptible to alcohol addiction. Other people are really susceptible to pornography. And other people are really susceptible to some opioid or some drug. Other people are really susceptible to craving everybody's attention and craving everybody's affection. Everybody grows up with some craving of some kind. You know, and some of us just ended up have, some of us just ended growing up with all of those things, you know, all in one.
You know, that's why, you know, when God saved me, he saved the worst first. He said, "Let me get this guy because if I can get this guy". People like me, "Let me get these kinds of people 'cause if I get these crazy ones, if I can get these out of their mind ones, if I can get these out of control, if I can get these true sons of Adam, you know, these true, these sons of Adam that have most of Adam's sin all lodged up in them, if I can get them saved and get them delivered and get them healed, then they will be a picture of what God can do in anybody's life," amen? The English Standard Version of this verse says back in Matthew 8:16, "That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick".
Well, this Scripture shows Jesus's compassion for oppressed people, his commitment to see his finished work in you, and his fearlessness of Satan and anything Satan can do. When we look at this man back in Luke 8:27, you're going to see Jesus's compassion for an oppressed person, you're going to see his commitment to see his finished work in you 'cause he never leaves unfinished business in your life, and you're going to see his fearlessness of Satan. I love how nothing is too much for Jesus 'cause when he steps in, he sees this guy, he'd been demon possessed for a long time, he wore no clothes. Look at what it says. "He wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but he lived in the tombs".
Now, notice the work of the devil in verse 27. He was controlled by the evil one. This man was controlled by demons. Now, you may not be controlled by demons, but many people are controlled by demonic thinking. Even if the devil doesn't live inside you 'cause when you're born again, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, but the Holy Spirit doesn't live in your brain. The Holy Spirit doesn't live in your thinking. You have control over your thinking. And so, Satan has possessed occupancy in your mentalities, your mindsets, and the way that you think. And you have to dispossess him by filling your thought life with God's way of thinking. And as you do that, it leaves no room for the devil. You understand what I'm saying?
So, and then he's got to go 'cause he can only ride on the saddle of wrong thinking in your life. He can only ride on the saddle of wrong thinking. As soon as you change the saddle and put right thinking, God's way of thinking in your life, in your mind, then Satan can't ride that horse. He's got to get off and get out of town 'cause this town ain't big enough for the both of us, amen, all right. Notice it says that he wore no clothes, he was naked. He had no clothes. Let me tell you something, being naked anywhere outside of the privacy of your bed or your bath is never a good idea. The only place to be naked is your bed, your bath, but not beyond, okay? That's one of my favorite Scriptures.
Look at verse 29 of this passage. Or we're supposed to just go to 28, you know? Let's just read it all. "When he saw Jesus, he cried out, he fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, 'What do I have to do with you, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!'" He was already, this man was already tormented by the devil, he didn't want God to torment him too. And this is the problem with religious-thinking people. They think God's tormenting them, but it's really the devil. "What do I have to do with you, Son of God, Son of the Most High? I beg you, do not torment me"!
Why would Jesus torment him? The only reason for him to think Jesus could torment him is because he had heard some wrong stuff about Jesus. Because when you meet the real Jesus, the thought that he could torment you will never cross your mind. The thought that he would put sickness or disease or trouble in your life is...the thought will never cross your mind when you meet the real Jesus. Everywhere he went, he lifted burdens. Everywhere he went, he cast out demons. Everywhere he went, he fed the hungry. Everywhere he went, he had mercy on the hurting and compassion on his suffering. Everywhere he went, he healed the sick, he raised the dead, he cleansed the lepers, he cast out demons.
The only people he tormented were the religious people that thought they could be right with God through their own action and through their own self-righteousness. He tormented their religion because their religion was man-made, not God-made. Verse 29, let's keep going. Verse 29, "For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for it had been, it would often seize him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness".
So, notice the condition of this man and what the devil has done. This devil has given this guy supernatural strength that he would actually break chains and shackles. And he was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Now, I need to read this to you from the NIV. This last part of the verse says, "He was driven by the demon into solitary places". He was driven by the demon into solitary places. Now, this will be very relevant to us today because I want you to see how Satan operates in people's lives and where violent people are born.
I want you to see where terrorists are born. I want you to see where terrorism originates from and where violent crimes originate from. Where they originate from is when the demon, when the devil drives you into a solitary place, a place of isolation, a solitary place represents a place where you're isolated from being teachable, you're isolated from a church, you're isolated from family, you're isolated from people that love you and care about you and will speak the truth to you in love. When we isolate ourselves, this is when we become fertile soil for the seeds of violence, fertile soil for the seeds of hatred, fertile soil for the seeds. When we isolate ourselves from God, when we isolate ourselves from Jesus, when we isolate ourselves from the church, we isolate ourselves from the Word, when we isolate ourselves from the truth, see, this is what happens in solitary places.
That's where the devil is driving people. Satan is trying to drive people to solitary places because that's where they remain abused, that's where they remain bruised from how they grew up, that's where they remain lonely, that's where they become loners, that's where they become people that have no other voices to challenge the voices in their head that are telling them to kill themselves or develop esteem to kill other people. It's solitary places that Satan is trying to drive people to. That's why God puts people in families. That's why God puts people in churches. That's why God puts people in relationships. That's why God puts people in community.
And we need community, and we need church, and we need the family of God because Satan's trying to drive us into solitary places. Not where we hear from God. I don't mean your prayer closet. He's trying to drive people into solitary places where they're isolated from getting the help that they need. And I think if anyone of you have a husband, or a wife, or a loved one, or a relative, or somebody who's being given over to some forms of addiction and some forms of self-injury and self-mutilation, where they're given over to some sort of thing that has just defeated them and it's got control of their life, it's usually because first that person was driven to a solitary place. I don't mean like, you know, Iowa. I mean in their soul, they've withdrawn and retreated.
And every person who does one of the heinous crimes we've seen displayed over the last several weeks, months, and years, they're usually loners. They've been driven to a solitary place emotionally. And what we need to realize is that's the first place where we can operate in spiritual warfare, not just by binding the devil over their life, but by saying hi to them. Greet the loner. Like, I was a loner in school. I was a loner in junior high and high school. I was to myself, I was withdrawn, depressed.
And of course, many of you know my story, on drugs by the age of 16, 17 years old, addicted, alcoholic. All of those things, I believe, came from an emotional place of isolation. I could have become one of those lone wolf attackers, one of those lone wolf, violent, extremist killers. I could have become that because I was in solitary place in my soul. I wouldn't let anybody in. I wasn't somebody who I would tell anybody what I was going through, I wasn't somebody that was open. I was very guarded, very invulnerable, I had a hidden life inside. My soul was in bondage, and I was afraid to let anybody in to that soul that was so damaged, and so afraid, and so depressed and discouraged.
So, I guarded it and I protected it with external things. And I'm just trying to tell you, what I'm trying to say is, folks, if somebody, you know, the best thing that ever happened to me was somebody busted through that solitary confinement that I was in and said, "Hey man, how you doing? You want to come to a Bible study with me"? "Bible study? I'm going to get high. I'm going to do drugs". "Well, man, whenever you feel like it, come join me at this Bible study". Somebody cared, somebody reached out, somebody greeted me. Who knows what I would have become two years later if nobody would have reached out to me?