Are Demons Real, and Should I Be Scared?

I remember when I was about 10 years old, I had a TV in my room. This was before we had cable — we just had a regular TV with bunny ears. So you only had a few choices on what to watch. Well, one night when I was going to bed, I had my TV on, and one of the channels — I don’t remember which one — was playing The Exorcist. I started watching it, and I immediately thought, “My parents would not approve of me watching this.” So of course I did.

It was right in the meat and potatoes of the movie. I’m sure none of y’all have seen it, but the idea is there’s this demon-possessed girl, and she starts exhibiting these troubling behaviors — one time she hops out of bed and goes down the stairs on her hands and toes, belly up. And I remember it scared the bejeebers out of me. So much so — the problem is, I had to pee. I had to go to the bathroom. I was not willing to go, but I had no choice. So what I did — and this is a true story — I got my Bible and brought it with me to go pee. I don’t know if there’s a demon out there I could whack, flip to Genesis 1:1 and start reading to it. I’m not sure. But man, that was probably the scaredest I’ve ever been in my life when it comes to the supernatural and the idea of there being demons.

There are few things as fascinating and as terrifying as the idea that there are demons roaming the earth capable of possessing you. So I think as a church, it’s important for us to talk about it. But I’m always a little cautious when I talk about it, because it’s a topic that can weird people out. It’s kind of like the end times — you do a series on it, you advertise it, and you bring all the weirdos from the rest of the churches, because it’s just one of those topics that’s uniquely fascinating and can get weird super fast.

But I want to say for the record: I believe that we are all influenced by unseen things, both good and bad. Just like God is always working even when you can’t see it, there’s also the devil, and there are also demons that really hate you, really hate your family, and would love nothing more than to destroy your life. They’re constantly motivated. I believe that just like we have an advocate in the Holy Spirit, we also have an accuser — the enemy — and he’s always at work too.

At the same time, I am a skeptic by nature. That’s just who I am. I don’t believe something just because one person says it — it doesn’t matter who that person is. I used to feel bad about that, but now I’m so glad to know that God doesn’t require that you leave your brain in the car. So I understand that this topic is a little unusual and possibly even uncomfortable for some people, but I think it’s worth talking about, at least for one week.

Good Versus Evil

Every great story — I’m sure you know this — involves the conflict of good versus evil. That is what every good story is about. Think about The Lord of the Rings. It centers around a hobbit named Frodo. Now imagine if the whole Lord of the Rings epic was just Frodo hanging out in the Shire, drinking hobbit beer, singing hobbit songs, and dancing hobbit dances. That would be a boring movie. Every author, every director, every screenwriter across every culture knows that a great story is about good overcoming evil. I think the reason for that is pretty clear: we as humans are wired to know that good and light exist, but also that evil and darkness exist too.

So today we’re talking about the other side of the story — without getting weird, without getting spooky. I want to start with a C.S. Lewis quote that some of you are probably familiar with:

“There are two equal and opposite errors in which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

So there’s a ditch on both sides. One ditch says, “Man, they ain’t real,” or, “Yeah, it’s kind of like Christian lore, but it’s not really real in our real life.” The other ditch is that you can become so obsessed with it, so scared of it, so weird about it, that it’s a ditch too. What we want to do is walk down the middle, where we’re aware but not afraid. Aware, but not afraid.

I’ve got four points for you to write down this morning.

Point One: Demons Are Real

Bummer. Demons are real — and not just as part of some Christian lore, like it’s part of the Christian mythology that helps us understand our ethics. No — really, actually, right now, there are demons roaming the world, roaming the city of Albuquerque. And so it’s something we take seriously, because it’s something Jesus took seriously.

In fact, if you look at Jesus’ ministry, fighting demons and demonic influence was really front and center of what he did here on earth. If you were to say what Jesus’ primary occupation was, post-carpentry, it was that he was an exorcist. That’s what people would say. The miracle he performed the most was removing a demon from a person. It’s not a fringe thing in Jesus’ life — it was front and center to his ministry.

For a lot of us, how we understand demons and the demonic world doesn’t necessarily come all that much from the Bible — it comes from Hollywood. You watch enough movies and you start to think these are the general patterns of how the demonic world must work. But the Bible tells a very different story.

So a few things you need to know right off the bat: demons are real, but demons are not disembodied human spirits. They’re not ghosts. Demons are not dead people. That’s what Hollywood will tell you — that there’s a person, they die, and their spirit hangs around the world moving furniture. But the Bible teaches that when a person dies, their spirit doesn’t just hang around.

I’ll say this — I think that sometimes demons can pose as people. People will have a lot of this anecdotal evidence, like, “I saw my dead Aunt Susie in the mirror.” And it’s like, look, you might have seen something, but it’s not Susie. That ain’t Susie. But that’s what people think.

You think about the movie The Sixth Sense. There’s this boy — you all remember what he says? “I see dead people.” In the movie, there are dead people roaming the earth with unfinished business, and they can’t leave until they finish it. Maybe it’s to right a wrong, maybe it’s to get the truth out about how they were killed. Only the boy can help them, and then they move on to the afterlife once they accomplish what they need to. That’s a Hollywood, non-biblical way of understanding the demonic world.

Look at Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27:

“People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

So we die, and then we face judgment. By the way, that’s only scary if you don’t put your trust in Jesus. I’m looking forward to it, because I’ll be judged on the finished work of Jesus Christ. But that is the path — you’re destined to die once, and then face judgment. So you don’t hang around the insane asylum making things creak and moving stuff around.

That’s point number one. Demons are real.

Point Two: Demons Have Already Been Disarmed

Demons are real, but demons don’t have the power that they once had. You might think the power demons have is straight across the board — that the power they had in Job, in Chronicles, in Samuel, is the same power they have in 2026. That’s not true. Because they’ve been disarmed.

What happened between Isaiah and Job and Joshua and now? The cross of Jesus Christ disarmed and defeated the enemy. Look at Colossians chapter 2, verse 15:

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Notice that word — disarmed. So demons, in a very real sense, have already been defeated. Jesus said this about himself, looking toward the cross. John chapter 12, verse 31:

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.”

Some people think, “Oh, is he talking about the end times?” No, he’s talking about the cross. That’s not something that will happen — that’s something that has already happened at the cross. The eviction has already happened.

But they’re still trying to convince you that it hasn’t happened. And when you believe them, you give the power you’ve been given back to them. Their strategy is to make you believe that lie. If you believe that Satan and demons have power over you, in a real sense you’re giving them that power through believing the wrong thing.

Let’s not forget that Scripture says you’ll know the truth, and the truth is what sets you free. I can think of no truer example of that than understanding the spiritual realm. You’ll live in bondage, in captivity, in fear — “Oh my God, demons are harassing me” — and the way you defeat that is by learning the truth. The truth breaks the chains of that deception.

I have a lot of conversations where maybe someone’s talking about how the kids saw a scary movie or something, and it turns into, “Y’all are opening a door. Stop, you’re opening a door.” Y’all heard that phrase? I just want you to know — maybe you can find some obscure verses for that, but that’s primarily a Hollywood image. The idea is that demons are in this other realm, but they can’t get into our realm unless you somehow open a door by this or that. I want to be clear: a demon doesn’t need a door to get physically close to me. They can do that.

But I want you to know that I know — and I have known my entire adult life, because I’ve grown up at this church — that demons and Satan have already been defeated. So I have zero reverence for demons. I have so much irreverence for demons, it makes people uncomfortable. It’s like people are hoping to fly under the radar of the demonic. I don’t need to. I’ll fly open skies. They can give me their best shot. I don’t respect them, I don’t fear them. Some people think, “They’re stronger than us, so we’ve got to stay away — they’re trapped in another dimension, but if you say something about them, that’s going to open the door.” I don’t even care about any of that. I believe in them. I just know that I am so much stronger because of Jesus, who lives on the inside of me.

People might ask, “Do you think a Christian can become demon-possessed?” I’ll tell you the answer: no. Because you’re already possessed. You already have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. And dark and light can’t coexist in the same place. That’s what darkness is, if you’re not familiar — darkness is just the absence of light. When you go into a dark room, it’s not because something is in the room, it’s because something’s not in the room — and that something is light. When light shows up, darkness flees.

So the good news is this: for you, the follower of Jesus, your house is not empty, to use Jesus’ language. You’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit. There’s no vacancy for a demon to come.

Number one, demons are real. Number two, demons have already been disarmed.

Point Three: Against a Christ Follower, Their Only Weapon Is Deception

I want to be careful here, because I don’t want to swing to the other ditch and say demons are nothing. They’re not nothing, for sure. Even in Scripture, you can see that demons — mostly prior to being disarmed — are capable of causing real damage. A good example is Mark chapter 9, where there’s a demon-possessed boy. He’s demon-possessed not because he did something wrong — it was just a choice the demon made, which is kind of a weird thought. He’s got a spirit that throws him in the fire, throws him in the water to kill him, and it’s been happening since he was a toddler. So that’s real, for sure.

I’m not playing around, but the qualifier here matters: for the Christ follower, on this side of the cross, demons have only one weapon against you — deception. That’s it. They can’t force you, they can only fool you.

“The devil made me do it.” The devil didn’t make you do nothing. The devil can maybe give you an idea. In fact, you look at the temptation of the enemy in Scripture, and without fail, you know what it is? The power of a bad idea. “Did God really say?” Over and over, that’s exactly what he gives you today. Did God really say you’re going to be healed? Did God really say that you’re forgiven? Did God really say you belong? That’s deception. He can’t force you, he can only fool you. That’s the first thing the Bible tells us about the enemy.

Genesis chapter 3, verse 1 says:

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

Notice when describing the devil — and this is true of all the demonic forces — it doesn’t say he’s the most powerful, the most terrifying, the most ferocious, the most deadly. You know what they say about him? He’s sneaky. When the Bible describes the devil and demons, it says, “Man, they sure are sneaky.”

And he approaches — this is what the books and movies usually won’t tell you — oftentimes as an angel of light. It’s not pitchforks, it’s not red. I think the enemy comes in the form of a good idea. A lot of spiritual warfare, if you want my opinion, is recognizing the truth from the lie — recognizing the voice of the enemy from a good idea. “You know what I could do to her? That’s a great idea.” No — it’s actually the devil. The weapon is deception.

Look at John chapter 8. Jesus is arguing with people, and he drops the mother of all disses. John chapter 8, verse 44, Jesus says:

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

This is not how I recommend, men, that you talk to your wife — “You’re just like your dad, the devil” — I’ll tell you, that’ll go great. But the devil lies. “When he lies, he speaks his native language.” That’s all that comes out of his mouth — lie after lie after lie.

Scripture also teaches that he blinds people from the truth. Paul says that the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they can’t see the truth. But it all comes back to the same thing: the devil and demons are liars. That’s the whole game. Because they’re not powerful — what they have is the power of deception. And what that deception can do, if you’re not careful, if you’re not wise about it, is get you to use your power for their purpose.

Think about Hitler. What was his power? It wasn’t physical power — he was short, wimpy, terrible facial hair. It wasn’t like The Rock came over. He had one skill: persuasion. Manipulation. He had the gift of making a lie look like the truth. Because of that, he got people who were strong to use their strength for his purpose.

That’s how Satan and demons work now, on this side of the cross — they’re using borrowed strength. They get us to do damage for them. When you hear some crime, some tragedy, some horrific thing in the news, I instantly think, “That’s the devil.” But it’s not the Hollywood way, where the devil just takes over the person. It’s implanting ideas and getting people to use their power for his purposes.

So here’s a picture to hold: demons are not terrifying monsters so much as they’re like annoying little flies. They’re always buzzing around — we’ve got bugs everywhere right now, a bug zapper outside and inside, hitting them at all angles. Or you could think of it like germs — small creatures all over the place that mean you no good. When you’re a kid learning about germs, it’s overwhelming — all these disgusting unseen creatures crawling around, in your spit, everywhere. But when you grow up, you realize you can just live your life. Knowing there are germs might change your habits — you should wash your hands. That’s a good thing. But you don’t need to obsess over it.

The same is true for demons. You don’t ignore them, but you don’t obsess over them either, and you certainly don’t fear them. You wash your hands and live your life. When you know their tactics, you can’t be fooled by them. That’s why knowledge is power. That’s why understanding this book is so important. That’s why orienting your life around Jesus is the only way to roll in 2026. If you just orient everything around “well, I reckon,” and there’s no metric by which you judge what’s true or not, then you’re liable to be manipulated by the enemy. The thing that keeps you from that is the life and teachings of Jesus. You have to know the truth so you can recognize the lie.

Truth is a weapon. When you’re scared of demons and you’re saying, “Yeah, I don’t know, don’t mess with them” — that just proves the lie is working on you. Because they’re trying to tell you that they’re powerful and scary and you ought not mess with them. That’s one of the ways we give our power over. Fear is proof that you’ve believed the lie. Truth sets you free from the fear.

So, number three: against a Christ follower, their only weapon is deception.

Point Four: You Carry Jesus’ Authority

You might be thinking, “What’s authority? Why do Christians always talk about authority?” Authority is a big recurring concept in Scripture. Let me give you a fast overview.

First off — can we all agree — God holds all authority. That’s the beginning. Genesis 1:1, God holds all the authority. There is no one else, no thing else. He’s in charge of everything.

But then God, in the book of Genesis, does this incredibly weird thing — some of us might question his wisdom in doing so — he gives us authority. He delegates some of his authority on earth to humans. Genesis chapter 1, verse 26:

“God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, and let them rule.’”

So he has all authority, but he gives us his authority. He hands us the keys to the kingdom — not unconditionally, but he hands them to us.

Around this time, Satan wanted authority. He wanted what God had, so he grabbed for it — and in doing so, he’s cast down. He loses everything, because you can’t take something from God. But also, in this story, you can’t force us to give you our authority either. So how does he do it? Does he go and overpower us, steal the keys? No — he tricks us. He deceives us into handing it over. In the garden, we give away the keys, and Satan rules for a while, because he has them. He’s the prince of this world.

But here’s the whole gospel in one solid move: Jesus comes and reclaims that stolen authority. He takes it back on behalf of God and on behalf of us. Then he gives it back to us — “Try not to lose it this time.” We held onto it for about three chapters, and there weren’t even other people yet — we already lost it. That’s how long it took.

But now he gives it back to us. And it’s not fragile like it was in Genesis 1, 2, and 3, where you buy one lie and it all goes away. No — now it’s the authority of Jesus. It’s the finished work of Jesus, and we just receive it by faith.

So demons are still roaming around, and they still want you to think they’re in charge. Here’s an illustration: imagine a guy who dresses up like a cop. He’s not a real cop, but he’s got the full uniform, sirens on his car, a fake badge. He lives in a small town, so everyone assumes he’s a real cop. He loves it — he can roam around, doesn’t have to wait in line, can speed and nobody pulls him over, can cut people off, can tell people what to do. He loves this authority, even though it’s made up.

But let’s say a real cop shows up. With the fake cop, there was always this bit of nervousness in him, because he knew the lie only worked so long as people didn’t look too close. When the real cop asks him real cop questions he doesn’t know how to answer — “What precinct are you from?” — the jig is up. The whole act falls apart. The closer he gets to real authority, the more exposed the fake authority becomes.

That’s how it is with the devil and demons. They’re roaming around in stolen uniforms, walking around like they own the place, wanting you to think they own it. They’re acting with authority they don’t have, hoping you’ll never look too close. They’ve got that nervousness, because when real authority shows up, the costume falls apart. You walk in knowing who you are. You walk in knowing who lives on the inside of you. They don’t have real authority. You do.

Look at what Jesus says — his actual words, Luke chapter 10, verse 19:

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

You have the authority to overcome all the works of the enemy. But what’s critical is this: you’ve got to recognize a false cop and tell the difference between a false cop and a real cop. People say, “I just feel like—” Okay, that might be true, but you’re giving them power that they don’t have. You can take authority.

Watch the next verse, Luke chapter 10, verse 20:

“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus is saying, “Don’t fixate on that, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” But catch what he said in passing — the spirits submit to you. You take authority, and they run off. You take authority, and they flee. They submit to you. This is as plain as I can put it: if you and the demon are in the same room, the one who should be scared is the demon. Not you.

So don’t give them any respect. Yeah, they exist. Yeah, we’re aware of their schemes. Yeah, we keep ourselves built up in the Word so we can recognize the truth and recognize the lie. But beyond that — don’t be scared of demons. Don’t be scared of the devil. Because greater is he who is in you. All you have to do is recognize the lie. Jesus reclaimed the authority. He fought for it. He died for it. And he put it back in your hands. So we maintain that position of authority, not because we’re brave, but because we know the truth.

The Challenge

Here’s the challenge this week: what’s one thing I can do this week to hear more of God’s truth and less of Satan’s lies?

Maybe for some of y’all it’s turning off the news and doing almost anything else. It’d be an improvement. It’s not that the news is bad, and it’s not that being informed is bad — just recognize that if you’re not careful, that can be a place where you hear the lies of the enemy, where you start thinking, “The darkness is so overpowering.” You can fixate on that bad news and empower it, because you start feeling like what’s on the inside of you is weaker than that. Just be aware.

Maybe for some of y’all it’s waking up five minutes early to read some Scripture about who you are in Christ. I think I can manage five whole minutes — just learning God’s truth. Maybe it’s spending a little less time with your work buddies and a little more time with people who build you up in the faith. What can I do in my life, in my situations, to hear a little less of the lies of the enemy and more of the truth of Jesus?

Closing Illustration

My last little illustration is Jesus at his baptism. You can read about it in the Gospels. When he is baptized, the Father shows up — a voice from the clouds. You remember what he says? “This is my son.”

I find it amazing that when Jesus is about to go into his wilderness temptation — that’s where he goes right after this — what the Father imparts into Jesus before temptation is not rules and lists, it’s identity. He says, “This is my son.” So Jesus goes into the wilderness temptation knowing who he is.

I think that’s one thing we would hope for all of you in this church — that you would leave here with a deeper sense of “I am a son of God. I am a daughter of God.” And with that comes all the rights and privileges and authority that come with it.

So when the enemy comes and says, “You don’t deserve to be here. You’re nothing like the rest of those people. You’re such a phony. You shouldn’t be going to God and asking him for stuff. You’ve got no right to be asking him. You’re a fake” — all of that is nothing. It’s the identity piece that will keep you from that. I’m a son of God, redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. Your identity is one of the things that will save you from the lies of the enemy, because the root of your identity is: I’m a son. I’m a daughter. And I have the authority.

Closing Statement

Demons are real. Not metaphor, not mood — a real enemy with real intent.

Two, demons have already been disarmed. Jesus has triumphed over every power, and fake authority is exposed when real authority enters the room.

Three, against a Christ follower, their only weapon is deception. They cannot force you, they can only fool you — and a lie only lands if you believe it.

Four, you carry Jesus’ authority. You are not weak, powerless, or alone. You are filled with the Spirit, and Jesus has already put authority back in your hands.

Be aware, but not afraid. The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.