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The medical name for the syndrome is hydrophobia, and there are a surprisingly large number of people in the world that suffer from this disorder. In fact, some researchers believe that of all the phobias in the world, that hydrophobia is one which has the most chronic suffers. Hydrophobia is the fear of water and sufferers of this disorder freak out when offered a glass of water, don't wash their hands, have trouble going into a bathroom, and avoid baths, pools, and rivers. In extreme cases, it can show up as potamophobia -- the fear of rivers or running water -- so much so that they will not even travel in an automobile across a bridge. Sometimes it shows up as hygrophobia, the fear of all liquids, dampness, and moisture. More commonly, it comes in the form of ablutophobia, the fear of washing and bathing. At its most severe stages, sufferers can stay up at night fearfully thinking of water and worse case scenarios that might cause them to have to come in contact with it!

I have never suffered from the phobia, but I did go through a stage growing up where I had a case of abulto-rebellion, in that I didn't care much for taking baths and could have done without such things! I looked forward to Youth Camp, where I could for one week be free!

The closest living thing that suffered from hydrophobia that I have ever had acquaintance with was my dog, named Nebuchadnezzar. Nebbie had a severe case of hydrophobia, probably heightened by my wife spraying him with the water hose at 3 a.m. when he would bark at night. For a dog that was supposed to be part lab and who was huge -- about 75 pounds or so, Nebbie was a chicken when it came to water. He didn't like swimming pools. It took great coaxing to get him to get into the river at the park. He even would stay away from his water bowl if something looked out of the ordinary to him. And don't even bring out the water hose or the sprinkler -- I read of labs playing in lawn sprinklers and kiddie pools: not Nebbie. He was a canine hydrophobic. When it rained he would mournfully bark at the sky as if mad at God or something.

One day and night it had rained continually and Nebbie had been outside barking at the sky and was covered with mud, head to toe. My wife and I decided to give him a bath in the guest bathroom. My wife ran the water and got the stuff ready, and I -- dressed in old clothes -- went outside and picked up and carried this gargantuan dog into the house. Nebbie was fine until he heard the running water and realized where he was headed, then it became a fight. I couldn't let him go because he would have ruined the house running through it with mud all over him. My wife was screaming "don't let him go." But this 75 pound mutt was not going in the bathtub. He first almost clawed my eyes out trying to go over me out the door. Then when I picked him up and began forcefully advancing towards the bathtub, Nebbie put one paw on one wall, and the other paw on the other wall (it was a narrow bathroom) and dug his claws in. Afterwards, you could see the paw marks going down the side of the wall and we had to put wallpaper up to cover them.

There are times when a man just has to be a man and I wasn't about to let this mutt get the best of me -- big dog or no big dog. But the only way that he was going in the bathtub was for me to go with him, so it got personal and, in a wrestling move that I learned on Saturdays as a kid, me and the dog went down into the tub. And I held him there while my wife bathed him (and at times me). It took us two days afterwards to clean the bathroom up.

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I mention my former dog's fear because it reminds me of a principle that is found in the scriptures that we read as our texts today. He's not a human or a dog, but he too is a hydrophobic. I'm talking about the devil. From the scriptures that we read today, it seems that Satan hates water. The one who tries to get you to fear many things, doesn't want you to know that he also has a horrible fear.

In Luke chapter 8, we read the story of Jesus stepping off of the boat with His disciples on the shores of Gadara. He was met there by a demon-possessed guy who was the talk of the town. This man was troubled by a legion -- at least six hundred -- devils and they had driven him out of his mind and to do things that normal human beings don't do. He lived as a wild man and the inhabitants of the town had tried to bind him with chains and leg irons, but with supernatural strength he had broken them and so when Jesus find him, he is living in the tombs outside of town, naked, with broken chains around his hands and feet, screaming in the night. A man truly tormented.

When Jesus steps on the scene, the many devils within this man are the first to realize it and they rush to the scene. Knowing the power of the One who has just come before them, the devils began to cry out to Him, "why are you here to torment us?" "What do we have to do with you?" And then, knowing that they were about to lose their home within this man's life, they begin to beg Jesus "please don't send us into the deep." The Greek word here is literally "abyss" which means "a deep, seemingly bottomless pit." They are standing on the shore of the deep lake of Galilee and they are begging that Jesus send them anywhere but the deep region of water beside them. "Anywhere but the water, Lord!" "Send us anywhere but the water!" "Don't send us into the depths of this lake -- we'd rather go anywhere but there."

Some of you know the story, Jesus cast out the demons from the man and commanded them to go into a nearby herd of pigs, which the Jews weren't supposed to be raising anyway. The pigs -- proving that they are smarter than some humans -- decided that they would rather die than live for the devil and bailed out over a cliff -- into the water. We never hear of those devils again, but it is clear that they ended up in the end, in the place that they desperately did not want to go -- the water.

It's a good story and would just be a curious event if not for our other text. Here, we have Jesus teaching on the matter of devils, and devil possession, and deliverance, and He said:

Another translations puts it thus:

Now I don't pretend to understand every thing about this verse of scripture, but obviously when it has been kicked out of a person, an evil spirit is homeless and destitute and a little desperate. Seeking rest, it heads to the place that it is the most comfortable to find solace. And that place is the "dry place"; the desert; the waterless places. The devil and his counterparts are the most "at home" away from water. They'd rather go anywhere besides the water! I believe these stories teach us that it is a desperate situation when the devil is faced with water. He'd rather go anywhere but there! The devil is a hydrophobic of the worst sort!

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I don't know the whys or the hows of the other part of that verse, but I have a fairly good idea from scripture why the devil dislikes water and avoids it like the plague. On a website this week that was selling psychiatric counseling sessions to try to help hydrophobics to recover from their fear, they said "the vast majority of cases of hydrophobia come from a traumatizing or negative experience with water in the past." Such is the case with the devil and I think that he's beyond help for his fear! Let me preach to you today why the devil hates water:

When the devil sees water, he can't help but think of the Genesis Flood. And he doesn't like to think about that because it is a constant reminder to him that God will judge sin and will not bless it even if the majority of people are participating in it. The devil wants people to believe that if everybody is doing something or the masses out there are doing it, then it must be alright despite what God's Word has said, but the Flood stands as a stark reminder that such beliefs are a lie from the pit of hell! Because the world grew worse and worse and everybody except one person on the earth was doing evil, and God decided to bring judgment upon all of them! The devil doesn't like to think about that because it is the truth. The Flood is a reminder that God will not bargain with sin. Either you change to match His truth, or judgment will eventually come. Either you submit to His will, or you are in rebellion to His will. You are either for God or against God. The devil doesn't like you to know that. But the Flood clearly reveals that, and the devil doesn't like to think of it.

When the devil starts thinking about the Flood, he is also reminded of the fact that he was the closest to winning that he ever got. He knew that he could do nothing personally to mankind, so he convinced them to go against the Word of God so that God would judge and curse them. That's all the devil can do: get you to go against God's Word so that you curse yourself. And he had almost done it. In fact, he succeeded with every family and man and woman on earth except one! Think about that!

But when God was about to destroy His prized creation because of sin, there was found one faithful man, a man named Noah. Oh, Noah! The devil hates that name and he hates to think about the waters of the Flood, because it is a constant reminder to him that despite the devil's best efforts and even if he succeeds with the majority of the people, God will have somebody who will love Him and serve Him and be faithful! Noah was the man whose love for God foiled the plan of Satan. Noah was the one who got the attention of God so that for one man, God provided a way of escape.

Such is the love of God that even for one, He would be willing to do whatever it took to provide a way out of judgment! The scriptures say that Noah found grace in the sight of God! He found favor and blessing that he did not deserve to receive! But because he stood faithful to God despite the wickedness around him, God reached down and provided a way of escape!

Now you can start to see why the devil trembles in his shoes -- if he wears shoes -- when he is around water; now you can begin to realize why the demons seek dry places. They don't want to think about water because they don't want to think about the Flood. They don't want to think about that God will judge sin. They don't want to think about that despite their best efforts God will have a church and someone who loves Him and does right! And they don't want to think of that dreaded word -- grace! And salvation! Just thinking about water causes the devils to begin to tremble with horrible memories!

The devil also hates water, because:

It took the devil thousands of years to recover from the Flood and yet he worked diligently and got the majority of the inhabitants of the earth again to do much against the Word of God. And then comes this Jesus. Here comes one man in the form of God Almighty born to Mary. The devil should have known that the baby formed in the water sac of Mary was going to bring him trouble!

But then for thirty years, virtually nothing happened. And just as the devils of this earth were getting relaxed again, then a man named John the Baptist went out in the wilderness -- their home turf -- and in a place where there was much water began baptizing people to get ready for the coming of the Messiah! And then comes the baptism of Jesus and a change of action for Him! And a fresh anointing and a ministry beginning. The devil was nowhere near that baptismal grounds, but waited until Jesus was in the desert in a dry place to tempt Him. And yet the anointing and purpose of the baptism kept Jesus through the dry place. The greatest ministry that ever took place was beginning and the devil's thirty-year rest of ease was coming to an end because living water was coming to the desert!

And then came the day where walking around the Sea of Galilee that Jesus called ordinary fellows whom the devil had not given much thought towards and yet Jesus called them to serve Him and follow Him. Who are these guys? They've never given hell any trouble. The devil had to go look their names up. Simon Peter? He's just a fisherman. His daddy ain't nobody special. James? John? Andrew who? And yet a call from a body of water that day began a transformation of ordinary men who would become the devil's worst nightmare! I know why the devil hates water, because it reminds him that an ordinary, average person, heeding the call of God and submitting to His will, can become a spiritual dynamo for Jesus! Water makes the devil think of the shore of Galilee and some ordinary fishermen that he would now rather forget and it gets him nervous because it means that anybody and everybody has the potential to be great in God and the devil's worst nightmare!

The devil hates water because it makes him think of God's ability to do the miraculous in the impossible situation. It's just a wedding feast and just a human mistake of not planning for enough drink for the guests. And then Mary has to get involved and get Jesus involved. The devil doesn't like to be reminded of those words of Jesus that day that they ran out of wine: "fill the waterpots with water." Because that command of water brought the first miracle of Jesus' life and began a powerful ministry that would lead to the devils being cast out of the demoniac and the sick healed and the blind restored and the lepers cleansed and the crumbling of Satan's little kingdom! The devil hates water! It makes him think of the command to the blind man: "go wash in the pool of Siloam!" It makes him remember that in the impossible situation, there is hope when Jesus is involved!

Thinking of water, makes the devil think back to a dark stormy night, where he had succeeded in bringing a spirit of fear upon the twelve disciples in a boat in the middle of a Galilean storm! And yet it reminds him that in the worst storm that the devil could stir up and in the most greatest moment of fear, Jesus came walking through the situation like it was a walk in the park. It reminds him -- oh how those words haunt him -- of Peter saying "if it is you, Lord, then bid me come." And that ordinary fisherman who was a nobody and whom the devil hadn't thought twice about climbed out of the boat and began to walk on the waves toward his Savior! "Great," the devil thought, "now I've got to worry about twelve more of them, because they are starting to act like Him!" The devil hates water because it reminds him of Jesus' ministry and it reminds him that he is powerless to stop somebody getting their touch and healing and becoming great in the kingdom of God and how easily God can turn a spirit of fear into a spirit of faith by showing His power in the storm! No wonder the devil hates water! It brings back too many bad memories!

Water! The devil doesn't like to think about it. He'd rather dwell in the desert where he is not reminded of it. He hates it! He hates the fact that I'm preaching about it today!

It reminds him of too much. It reminds him of the night where he had managed to get a traitor in the midst of the twelve and a plot to kill Jesus and get rid of this problem. And yet water reminds him of a basin and a towel and the God of glory manifest in flesh, bending before these ordinary men, and even Judas Iscariot who had already betrayed him, and washing their feet. What is this? God is humbling Himself to serve His creation? What is this? God is coming down to the lowest level? Why?

The devil would find out very soon. It would be the next day that this God-Man would die on the cross and the devil would begin to prematurely rejoice. But he would not rejoice for long because as the spear pierced the dead body of the Christ, and blood and water flowed out, there was a foreboding that perhaps this death hadn't been such a great idea after all! Now, years later, and post-resurrection, the devil hates to think about Calvary because of the allusions to blood and water. It is his greatest defeat. He hates the fact that the cleansing stream of forgiveness flowing in blood and water that day, has purchased a church of ordinary people who have found grace and favor and power!

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And so now, because of the living church that was purchased on Calvary, the devil has even more reasons to hate water! The devil still hates water today because of this church here and some of you that are under the sound of my voice!

You see, water haunts him because:

Pilate washed his hands to rid them of the blood of Jesus, but now the church washes themselves in the waters of baptism to apply the blood of Jesus! Need I remind you of these scriptures, the first by the fisherman called from the Sea of Galilee?

And how about when the enemy of Christ, Saul, was converted and Ananias told him:

And Peter, that fisherman who became the devil's worst nightmare, later wrote:

The devil hates water baptism in Jesus' name because it reminds him of too much! It reminds him of his defeat in Noah' day and the salvation that God provided from the Flood! It reminds him of Calvary and the blood and water that began to flow from Calvary! And it reminds him that the guilt and condemnation that he has used so effectively against a person once they have sinned against God, can be washed away in a moment of obedience in the waters of baptism! All the dirt and all of the work of Satan that has taken a lifetime to accumulate in your life, can be gone instantly forgiven and washed away by the work of Calvary applied to your life! The devil doesn't want to hear me proclaim to you as Ananias did, "why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of Jesus!" Because the devil doesn't want you to realize that you can be forgiven and cleansed of your past! He doesn't want you to realize that you can have a fresh start and a new beginning! That you don't have to live with the guilt of the past and the condemnation of those things hanging over you! The devil hates water baptism and he hates water because it reminds him of it! He wants you to be like him and not go anywhere near the water!

He hates the water because:

Let me take you to a scene from the last moments of Jesus' ministry:

Jesus often used water to represent receiving the Spirit of God that was to be poured out. He told the woman at the well:

From John 7:39, we know that this "living water" of the Holy Spirit was not poured out until the Day of Pentecost after Jesus was "glorified" and resurrected and ascended into heaven. But when it was poured out, it became available for everyone: Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, great and small! And it truly is living water! The Holy Ghost is the only thing that will quench the thirst of your soul! Drugs won't do quench that thirst! Alcohol won't do it. Relationships won't quench it. Neither will money, fame, or fortune! Because of sin, man is born with a God-sized hole in his heart and the only thing that will quench that longing and desire for completeness is the Spirit of God! It is the "living water" of your spiritual man!

The devil hates when people get the Holy Spirit and began to worship God in spirit and in truth. Because then the lie of this world is revealed for the farce that it truly is. Once you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and partaken of His Spirit, you can go back to the things of the world, but they will never satisfy you or make you happy again. Because once you have tasted of the living water of His Spirit, the stagnant cesspool of sin seems unappetizing and unappealing! You realize the mask of sin for what it is and see Jesus for who He really is! I'm talking about the effect of the well of salvation, the living water of the Holy Spirit in your life!

The devil would much prefer that you choose to live like him in a dry place. He would rather you not receive the Holy Spirit and not come to a church where the living water flows freely. He would try to convince you to stay in the arid, waterless regions of religion and -- like him -- avoid all of that water stuff! He doesn't want you to get baptized and filled with the Spirit because that brings the defeat of his at Calvary to your life. The scripture says:

When you step out in faith and get baptized in the water and receive the Spirit of God, it causes three things to come together in your life and agree: Spirit, water, and blood. Is it no wonder that the devil hates water? Because look at what the water is associated with! The Spirit of God and the blood of Jesus! No wonder that the devil is a hydrophobic!

And I would be remiss if I would fail to mention that these cleansing agents are brought about into your life by preaching! The scripture says:

Christ cleansed His church "by the washing of water with the word." The preaching of the Word of God has a cleansing effect, because hearing it brings faith and faith brings obedience and the obedience brings salvation! The devil hates what I am doing right now because he doesn't want you to obey God's Word with faith because of the great cleansing effect it will have on you. He doesn't want you to have this testimony:

It bothers the devil for the preacher to preach about such things, and whatever he preaches, don't mention the water! Because the devil hates the water! It just represents and reminds him of too many things!

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And so as I close today, I remind you that the devil hates water last but not least because:

Let me read you a couple of short passages from the book of Revelation:

When you read of the New Jerusalem, you read of a mighty flowing river of life streaming from the throne of God that brings healing and life to all that dwell there. Heaven is far from a dry place because it is reserved for those who receive the living water of God and allow God's power and Spirit and blood to work freely in their life.

That's why the devil wants you to be as he is. He wants you to be a spiritual hydrophobic. Because he wants you to live in a spiritual desert, far from the cleansing and life-bringing work of truth in your life! He wants you to avoid the water of God at all cost because the devil doesn't want you to inherit the eternal life of God! But he wants you to spend eternity with him in a spiritually dry place.

There is another phobia that spiritually I want to have. It is called xerophobia and it is the fear of dryness. Spiritually that's not a bad fear to have. I refuse to have dry church. I refuse to live my life in the desert of sin. I refuse to not be in the waters of baptism and refuse to not receive the living waters of the Holy Spirit. I refuse to miss out on eternal life on the shores of that great river in the New Jerusalem! I refuse to live my life spiritually dry and destitute! The waters of God prove to me that God can use me and save me and forgive me! The waters of God prove to me that there is hope and forgiveness and power available! The waters of God speak of His life-transforming blood, and of his work of Calvary, and of His mercy and grace! No wonder the devil hates water! But I will not make the same mistake! Let the devil tremble and seek the dry places, but I will seek the pouring out of God's Spirit! I will seek the water!

Perhaps that like the devil, there will be those who resist all attempts to bring them near to the living waters of God. But I refuse to be that person! I will seek the water! And there are some of you who feel the same way, today. You and I are the reason that the devil hates the water!

If sin has a stronghold in our life, you are too dry spiritually! The devil is at home in your life because the spiritual climate is such that he is most comfortable. If you want him gone and sin out, you've got to wash them away by becoming spiritually drenched! The devil hates the water, therefore come drink freely!