The
Parables of Christ 6
The Unclean Spirit
Rev.
Brian Kocourek
This
morning we will examine the parable of the unclean spirit. In order to do so,
let’s open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 12, and also Luke chapter 11 to take
our text.
Matthew 12, verses 43 - 45 43: When the unclean spirit (that is a demon of unclean
thoughts and living) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he (the
unclean spirit)
walketh through dry places, (he begins to look for another host to
make his home in, and he looks to places where there is no watering, for they
are dry. And he is) seeking rest, and findeth none. In this verse
Jesus is speaking of a spirit that he calls unclean. The Greek word akathartos
simply means unclean in thought and life. The word is made up of two Greek
words, the first is the prefix “A” which means “not”, and the second is the root
word kathairo which means to cleanse of filth or impurity. It is used of trees
and vines but we know also that men are typed in Scripture as trees or vines.
In this particular sense, Jesus is using a word that pertains to the pruning
away of excess shoots. In other words, He is speaking of those demons that
would plant impure thoughts in a man that seem to just hang on, and these
demons seem to make the person vile in their life thus distorting that persons
life, even as useless shoots on a tree can make the tree twisted, and
unsightly, and thus preventing the tree from producing fruit the way it should.
Useless shoots prevent the tree from growing upright and reaching their
potential, and also prevents them from producing good fruit, because too much
of the energy that should be going into the production of fruit, must go to feed
those unsightly shoots.
Therefore we are looking at a spirit upon a man that
would just hang on that man, and literally personifies the man who has not
pruned off the impure thoughts, nor the impure life associated with those
thoughts, and because the life has not been sanctified, the life energies are
all going into the ceaseless ups and downs of a non victorious life. This is
that kind of person who never seems to get ahead spiritually. They are
constantly battling these shoots or thoughts that keep springing up in their
mind, and they never do come to a rest. When the unclean
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and
findeth none (Now, notice it tells us that this unclean spirit of
his own will leaves the man, and goes out looking for another to inhabit. I
think even the demons get tired of the same old non productive life that this
sucker plant is living.) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walketh through dry places, (And dry places are those places that
are not being watered. And we know that water represents the Holy Spirit in the
life of the believer. But this demon goes out from the man and goes to those
who are not watered. And how can you tell who is not watered? Brother Branham
gives a good illustration in the message…
ISRAEL AT KADESH BARNEA 53-0328 149 You
know, I travel around over the world a lot. And one of the most stickerest,
nastiest places to try to lay down, is in the desert. Everything there has got
a sticker on it. You know why? Every kind of a little old weed's a cactus. You
can't lay down nowhere; it's sticking you. The reason of it is, they ain't got
no water. Water makes it soft. Where there's lots of waters, you don't have any
thorns and thistles, where there's lots of water. And I tell you,
brother; you take an old church that's dry in his bone, and no Holy Ghost in
it, and no salvation, no Divine healing, no power of God, no shouting, no joy,
and it's always, "This, oh, she done this, and he done this, and he done
this," sticker, sticker, sticker... What you need is a good old fashion
outpouring, gusher, of the Holy Ghost (Hallelujah.), soften up a little bit.
Amen.
It doesn’t take discernment, this demon simply reads
your body language land knows who is watered and who is not. Who is occupied
with the presence of God and who is not.
When the unclean
spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, (He’s seeking a place to
call his home, and he is looking among those people that are not softened up by
the Holy Ghost, and Jesus says) and findeth none. This one goes out looking for
another host and when he doesn’t find a suitable host, or at least one that was
as comfortable as the host he left, he decides to return again from whence he
had left.
44: Then he
saith, I will return into my house (Notice he claims that vessel as his own. He says,) I will return into
my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, (in
other words, no other spirit has come into this host, and he also finds it ) swept (which
means the person is trying to keep it clean, they are trying to be moral), and garnished (and
the word garnished tells us that this person might even have gone to the point
of changing their appearance, so as to look clean, and changed. But because no
other spirit has come in to occupy the host, it takes that for a signal that it
is now welcome to come back, and it not only comes back but it will bring other
demons back with it.) 45: Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: (they
make their home there. And then what happens?) and the last state of that man is worse than
the first. Now, Jesus had been talking about the Son of Man and His
presence among the people and the generation that would see Him and yet would
not believe, even though a greater than Solomon is here, and he goes on to say,
Even so shall it
be also unto this wicked generation.
Even so shall what be? Even so shall the generation
become seven times more wicked in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 11, verses 24 - 26 24: When the unclean spirit is
gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding
none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25:
And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26:
Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself;
and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse
than the first.
Now, in the reading of this parable we cannot read
without asking the question, why did this demon leave in the first place, and
why did he go back?
INVESTMENTS 63-0803B 59 A
very beautiful picture, Jesus said, "When the unclean spirit is gone out
of a man." Did you notice He never said, "When he's cast out of a
man"? But when he goes out by his
own will, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, and he
returns back to this man and finds that
the house that he lived in has been swept, garnished, then he goes and gets
seven other devils, demons, unclean spirits, and enters into this man; and the
last estate of this man is seven times worse than it was at the first."
Did you notice the devil went out by his own will, and he returned by his own
will? Now, if this house had already been occupied, when he returned, he would
not been able to get in. But, you see, he just found it swept and
garnished. 60 It's
a very beautiful picture of a moralist, as we would think today of a man
that's a--a--tries to think he's going to heaven just because that he quit
gambling, or maybe he quit running with the woman that wasn't his wife, or
stopped his drinking, on New Year's Day, and turned over a new leaf and joined
church. See? You see, he doesn't--he really isn't converted. He's just a
moralist. And the--the devil using moralists just to--to go out and--and make a
foolish representation, when really, the real power of the living Christ isn't
there. See, they--they...61The world is wanting to see Christ. Jesus said,
"I am the Vine; ye are the branches." And the branch bears record of the Vine, because it draws its energy and
Life from the Vine. Well, the first Vine, first branch that came from this
Vine, if they wrote a Book of Acts behind that branch. We see the way the Holy
Spirit acted in that first church, that
So we see, that it is not just a matter of sweeping
out all the cobwebs in your life, but more important, we must become filled
with the Spirit of the Living God, in order for the House or tabernacle we live
in might bring forth the fruit of The Spirit, which is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, patience etc. God is a husbandry-man, and He wants
all of his trees of the field to bear fruit. Remember, when Jesus cursed the
tree because it did not bear fruit? He said it was worthless. Therefore, we
must never forget that Faith is what gives us the victory, and negative faith
which is unbelief is all that is needed to take the victory away.
HEALING WHAT CANCER IS 53-0904 E-27
When that cancer goes out, when it's cast out, and you see
the very evidence of everything that was of the Son of God in His... in the
leading of His people, working and showing His signs and wonders and that demon
is pronounced gone and you feel it's gone, and then in two or three days, if
you start doubting again, the very faith that taken it out, unbelief will bring it back again.
And the Bible said, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a
man, walks in dry places, and when he returns he brings seven other devils
worse than he was." Is that right? And the last estate of this man is
seven times worse. You're going to die then.
E-28 You remember what I tell
you every night, "Go ye and," what no more? And what is sin?
Unbelief, is right. See? "Go ye and disbelieve no more or a worse thing
will come upon you." You understand?
WHAT IS THAT IN THINE HAND
55-0611 E-9
It may get worse for a little while. No matter what happens, you just
keep on believing. You see? And as long
as you'll keep your faith... Now remember, when the unclean spirit is gone
out of a person, it walks in dry places and returns back again with seven other
spirits worse than it was; and if it can, it'll
enter in and take over, and the condition will be much worse. But if the good man of the house isn't
there, which is your faith to keep it away... Just don't fight at it. It'll fight you back. Just refuse; just ignore it. That's all. Just go on. Just
say it's over; that settles it for good.
Now, for the next few minutes I would like to read
several quotes from brother Branham concerning this subject on deliverance from
demons and demon possession. Now, demons and demon possession are a real thing,
and don’t ever let anyone tell you they are not. But we have a promise from God
that “Greater is
He that is in you than He that is in the World.” And have you ever
wondered what it is that attracts these demons to a person? I believe it is the
things they are feeding on. If applying the token is to get rid of all the
trash, the TV’s and vulgar newspapers, etc. then that is because the Holy
spirit of God will never dwell in an unclean vessel. But what about these
horror movies and things that people feed on? YOU start glorifying these demons
and pretty soon you begin to live in fear. I wonder what it must be like for a
man like Stephen King who writes these murder mysteries, and these gruesome
books that deal with all kinds of sordid and wicked spirits. He must live in
constant fear, and yet we have a promise that “Perfect Love will cast out fear because fear
has a penalty.” So, let’s read now from brother Branham’s sermons to
find out more about this study on demons and demonology.
EXPLAINING. HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 E-12 Now, I
don't deal with the lump. I deal with the spirit that's in that piece of
flesh. Now, when the spirit's called out, the spirit goes away from it.
How many hunters, deer hunters, are in here? Let's see your hands.
How many butchers are in here? Let's see your hands. Is there anybody that ever
killed animal, and knows this to be the truth? When you kill anything, you're a
hunter, or an undertaker, a human body... When you die, anything shrinks for
about seventy-two hours. And then it'll start swelling, and it'll get bigger
than it ever was. Look at a little dog run over on the street. Let him lay
there in the hot sun a few days and watch what's happening. He's bigger than he
ever was, he swells up. Now, the patient, when the
unclean spirit's gone out of the person, when it's cast out by Divine healing,
powers of God, when the unclean spirit's gone, the patient feel better and they
rejoice. And about seventy-two hours, I warn with this thing, they'll start
feeling bad, getting sick. Well, sure they've got to. They'll say, "Well,
you know, I felt so much better, but I guess I just lost my healing." That's the way to lose it. That's right.
"For the unclean spirit," said Jesus, "when he's
gone out of a man, he walks in dry places, and returns again, with seven other
devils." Is that right? If the good man of the house isn't there to
protect that house... And the good man
of your house is your faith, if it isn't there to war him off, he will come
in, force himself in. Then the life, the same power of faith that taken devil,
the life out of it, your unbelief will
restore it again. Didn't Jesus say, "Go ye,"
and what no more? Would you all say it
together? "Go ye," and what no more? [Congregation says, "Sin no
more."--Ed.]
E-13
Well, what is sin? See? Drinking whiskey is not, and smoking cigarettes,
and committing adultery is not sin. That's just the attributes of sin. You do
that because you're sinners. That's what you life bears. Smoke... Just like I
said tonight outside, "How much this is nice, the whole thing's
nice." And you're a sinner, because
you believe not. "He that believeth not is condemned already."
You're a sinner, because you don't believe. And when... That's what makes you
do those is, because you do not believe, and yet you profess to believe. That
ought to make all the holiness preachers say, "Amen." And a Calvinist
is saying it. All right. But anyhow, your
life is known by the fruit you bear. And if you just simply do these
things, and think there's no harm in them, it's because it hasn't been right
down here, yet. See? You do that because you are a unbeliever. Now, I know
Baptists will disagree with that. But listen, brother, the tree's known by its fruit it bears. Jesus said, "By
their fruit, ye shall know them."
E-14
Now, if the life is in here is God's faith, and it's of God, it can
produce nothing but a Christian life. That's all. You can't make apples grow on
a thorn tree. Whatever the tree, if its got sycamore bark on it, looks like a
sycamore tree, and bearing apples, it's a apple tree, 'cause the life in it is
a apple tree life, and it's producing apples. See what I mean? Don't make any
difference whether it's Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Full Gospel,
Pentecostal, whatever you are, Nazarenes, if you're bearing the fruits of the
Spirit, you got Life in you. See, see?
E-15
Now, the life is known by what's on the inside. Now, if that unclean
spirit is gone out, and their life that it is in here is faith, "Go
ye and sin no more," that is, disbelieve no more,
"or a worse thing..." sure, seven others will come with him, and come
in by force and take it. See what I mean? So, when you come to the platform at
any time here, you come with one purpose. If you don't believe, if you don't
believe this to be of God, stay off the platform. Stay away from here. See? All
right. And if you--if you do believe, then do just as you're told to do. Go
right on and believe, because it's backed up with God's Word. See? And you've
got to receive it.
E-16
A little testimony about a linger, and I hope I'm not taking too much of
your time. Recently, there was in a meeting. I've told it several times. I
always refer to this, because it just seems to so good to me, or nice. Seeing
this woman come along with stomach trouble. And when I was talking to her, and
It said, before it knowed what I was saying... And everybody was weeping; I
wondered what it was. And I picked it up on the tape recorder, and as the tape
recordings, to see what was making it, and It said... The Holy Spirit spoke out
and said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, eat what you want to; you're healed."
And the woman went on rejoicing. And a woman down the line farther, the same
night, had a lump on her throat, sticking out like that. And It said the same
thing to her. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you're healed." And told her what
she had done, something or other; and she was going to make restitutions for
what she'd done. Anyhow, she was healed.
E-17
But a woman went home to try to obey what the Voice of the Lord had said
to eat. And the poor thing, she tried to eat, and she'd vomit, and she--stomach
would burn; and she'd tried to force it down her. It'd just... It was weeks
past, and just--just still as bad as it ever was, if not worse. Well, she just
kept on believing. And her people around the neighborhood, they started making
fun of her, said, "Why, that woman, that preacher run that woman
crazy." Well, it wasn't me that told her that. It was Him. So she just
stayed right with it, and one morning when her family had left, her stomach was
burning her and hurting so bad, three or four weeks afterwards, she got real
hungry when was washing the dishes, so she picked up a piece of toast and eat
it. That ordinarily, she'd vomit it right up. And she started eating the toast,
and taste pretty good, so she kept that down. And one thing that hurt her was
oats, and some of the children had some oats left in the plate, she said, so
she just taken a few bites of that oats. And didn't bother her any, so she just
drank her a cup of coffee, so just fine and dandy. She waited a few minutes,
she said, "The funniest feeling..." And she got so happy, she run
down to tell her neighbor, down the street, which was the lady that had the
lump on her neck, that said, "Why, she was--just how she was
feeling." She run down, and she heared somebody screaming in the house;
she opened the door and run in; the woman was shouting, running all over the
floor. The lump had just left her neck.
E-18
And so, she come to the meeting, both of them, and come to the meeting
where we were at. And she said to my brother, asked about it, and wrote a note
to me; she wanted to get up us, so the manager, he come and ask me. Well, I
said, "See, when a blessing is pronounced of God, just like God's Word
about the millennium, and everything else, it's got to come to pass. See? Now,
what happened... God maybe not answer spontaneously. I believe Daniel prayed,
and it was about twenty-one days before the Angel... Wasn't that right?
Twenty-one days later, the Angel got to him? But what it was, when the Angel of
the Lord had pronounced that, it was weeks later, two or three weeks, it was
Him passing through that neighborhood confirming the Word (See?) that had
already been spoken by God. See? Just...
Not what if the woman during
this time, would've got to--with some critics and unbelievers, say, "See,
there ain't nothing to it." Well, there'd been so much unbelief built up
there... See what I mean? Just like anything else in God's Word, it takes the
same thing. So have faith in God. May the Lord bless you now.
DEMONOLOGY 1 PHYSICAL 53-0608A
74
Notice, but any man that
claims that he's a healer, he's a storyteller, 'cause he can't do it. For the
Bible said, "I'm the Lord Who forgives all your sins and
heals all your diseases." I've
been to studies. And in my room, some of the best of doctors across the nations
has come. You don't know the back of a life, friend, to know what's been, and
things I don't tell out in public. Men come secretly, and don't you think there
ain't a lot of Nicodemuses yet in the world; it sure is, thousands of them.
They look on that and come in the meeting, set there with a t-shirt on,
something another like that, with polished names that you'd be surprised, set
right in the meeting. In a few days slip around and call in by secretly, and
send someone in for an interview. And set right there and say, "Brother
Branham, I believe that's the truth." They're human just same as we are.
Sure, and every man's desire, and they look beyond that dark veil yonder he has
to go through someday.
76
But them cancers and things are absolutely devils enformed in a body of
flesh, moving up, taking your life. Now, if I would do like the doctor, if I
could cut it off, lay it on the ground... Or, just like say for instance, you
was a cancer yourself on this earth. Now, here's Divine healing. If I wanted to
get rid of you in the way of the doctor's way, I'd just have to rub your body
or something another till it just all vanished off the earth. There wouldn't be
no more of it, just like the doctor takes the growth off of you. But in the
form of Divine healing, if you was a cancer, I'd just call your life out of you
and you'd go on. Your life would leave you, but your body would be here just
the same as it was.
78
Now, there's where sight and time is God's worst enemy in Divine
healing. I don't know whether Brother Baxter ever gets to these things in
meeting. I set down, explained it to him and Brother Bosworth over and over.
But here's what's happened. I doubt whether many of the people get it, because
after while you begin to find the people coming back, saying, "I had my
healing, Brother Branham, for two or three days, but bless God it left
me." I find it. I think it's because they don't set the meeting right. The
people don't understand. I've had men to come to the platform and be totally
blind, cancers or cataracts over their eyes, and read this Bible after being
prayed for, walk down, in three or four days be just as blind as they was in
the first place. What happened? Anyone knows that when the life has gone out of
any flesh, it shrinks for a while. Is that right?
79
Anybody ever, here, kill a deer or a cow, or anything like that? Sure.
All right. You weigh it tonight, you hunters out here, friends of mine. You
kill the deer and you throw him on the scale, tell the boys how much he weighs.
Watch out. In the morning he's going to be several pounds lighter than what he
was. When a human being dies, the undertaker, the first thing, takes the false
teeth or an eye, whatever it is in there, takes it out, because it shrinks,
it'll push out, because the human body shrinks. Every other flesh shrinks. When
the Life's gone out of the cell it begins to move down and shrink. It'll do
that for about seventy-two hours. And then it'll start swelling. Let a little
dog get run over out here on the road. Let him lay out there in the sun for
about three days, and watch what happens, he's a bigger dog than he ever was.
Just swells up. Is that right?
80
Well, that's the same thing takes place when a demon is cast out of a
sick person. The first few days, "Oh, I feel wonderful." Then begin
to say, "I'm sicker than I ever was. I've lost my healing." Just as
sure as faith took it out, unbelief brings it right back again. As faith kills
it, unbelief resurrects it. Jesus said, "When the unclean spirit's gone
out of a man, he walks in dry places and he returns back with seven other
devils. And if the good man of the house isn't standing there to protect that
door, he will come right on in. And the good man of your house is your faith,
say, "Stay away." That's it.
81
But now you watch a patient that's healed, and ordinarily--'less it's an
outstanding miracle. Which, Divine healing and a miracle is two different
things. Divine healing is one thing and a miracle's another thing. But an
ordinary run of Divine healing, when the unclean spirit's cast out, a cancer
devil, when it leaves the person, oh... Now, or say we'll take something so you
can see more visual. I'll say the cataract. What happened when that man... If
you'll notice a blind person. I don't know whether I've ever had any here or
not, yet, cataract eyes... I'll let them stand for a few minutes. Why? So that
that shrinkage begins to take place. Tell them to come back, give us a
testimony. Oh, my. They can see wonderful. "Oh, my. Just, I can see
things. Yes. I..." What's the matter. Life is gone. The body of the
cataract is shrinking. Well, it'll do that way for a couple days. Say,
"Oh, I'm getting so well."
82
And after while they begin to get a headache. Don't feel so good. Get up
the next morning, "I'm losing my sight again." Some of them said,
"Uh-huh, he just was worked up; that bunch of holy-rollers got you worked
up." Don't you believe that. That's a lie of the Devil. If you believe
that, you'll go right back blind again. But if you'll just hold on, say,
"No, Lord, I believe."
Then what happens? That body
swells for so long. It covers over that sight again. That cancer in the body
will swell. You'll become hurting and aching again. Then you'll get horribly
sick, terribly sick. Why? That big growth of dead flesh in you is laying there,
dead. You go back to the doctor and he will say, "Oh, that's nonsense.
There's a cancer right there. I can see it." Sure, it's there, but it's
dead. Hallelujah.
86
Now, the bloodstream has to purify the body. Every time the heart pumps,
it throws the blood around the body, and it picks up that infection. Sure,
it'll make you sick. What if you had a chunk of meat hanging in you somewhere,
or long as a snake, or something big around as your finger, and hanging in
there, and it was dead, that much dead meat hanging in you, and it's rottening?
Well, of course, your bloodstream has to keep that pure, as it pumps through.
But there's a dead body, the thing hanging there, because the life is gone from
it. The power of God through faith drove it out. He's a demon; he has to leave.
87
But the reason, the people's not instructed; they go away, and give up,
and that same devil's standing right there to take over again. When God tells
you anything on this platform through His Spirit, when you under inspiration,
don't you doubt that, or a worse thing will come upon you, He said. For Jesus
said, "The last estate of that man was seven times worse than it was at
the first place." Is that right? When the unclean spirit went out of a
man, he walked around in dry places, come back with seven other devils. So
don't you disbelieve, stay right with It. Mean It from your heart. Say,
"No, sir. I'll not be moved. No matter how sick I get, that doesn't have
nothing to do with it." Then the first thing you know, you'll be getting
cleared up. Everything will be all right then. See, it's dead. The--the
operation that the doctor would've taken from you, that same growth is laying
in you with no life in it.
88
You say, "Life in it, Brother Branham, will it take my life?"
No, sir. That life is a separate life from yours. I've just showed you that you
are a life and become a being, and it's a life and becomes a being. And you're
of God, and it's of the devil. You see what I mean? Demonology. Now, you ought
to see what that thing looks like when you stand and look at it.
Oh, my, I'm sorry, it's
almost three-thirty. I'm sorry. Look, friends. Oh, what this world needs.
90
I've been about seven years teaching across
91The whole armor of God is by faith. We
haven't got one natural thing of this world. Everything of the Christian church
is a faith act. Look at the armor of God, love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience. Is that right? Everything's
supernatural, nothing natural. So we don't look at the things natural, because
we're operating supernatural. And the only way we can base it, is faith, is on
what God said was the truth, and we look at the unseen. And we call those
things which are not as though they were, like Abraham did when he got his...
Amen. Abraham called those things which was not, like God did, as though they
were. Being a hundred years old, staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief.