A Demon Comes to Church part nine

And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, "What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out." (Luke 4:36 NASB)

Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on this eventful day. The demon-possessed man was shouting. Jesus turned His attention from the Scripture to the man and his demon. With a single sentence, really just two commands, He changed everything for the people of  Capernaum that day. "Be quiet! Come out!" He said, and the demon did. They had never seen anything like it before. Jesus spoke, the demon left, and the man was sitting on the floor in his right mind again. Wow! 

We can not really comprehend how astounded these people must have been, but imagine a screaming, raving, insane man in your church service, a command from the preacher, and the man is suddenly thrown to the floor and as sane as anyone else there. It was not just unexpected, it was unprecedented. 

There was no disputing the suddenly sane man's transformation, yet every person turned to the man next to them and began to say, "Wow! Did you see that? How did He do that? Who is this Teacher? How does He have the authority to cast out a demon?" No one had any answers, but there were plenty of questions and plenty of speculation. 

There were several things everyone agreed about. Jesus had cast out the demon. The man was sane again.  Jesus had an inexplicable authority and an unprecedented power. They were not yet sure what it meant, but they knew immediately that it MEANT SOMETHING. 

Jesus, filled with divine authority and divine power, astonished everyone present that day, not the least of which was the suddenly sane man. This entire exchange likely took only a few seconds. That's how fast Jesus can move to change a life forever. 

Jesus can still move in a matter of seconds to transform lives today. He is not limited by the type or duration of the sin or the unbelief. Jesus can move. Pray today that our Lord will move just as quickly in our loved ones and that, in a matter of seconds they will be transformed by the power of the Most High God and set free from all that enslaves them. 

A Demon Comes to Church part 8

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. (Luke 4:35 NASB)

Without doing him any harm. Isn't that an interesting phrase? The word here is not suggesting that the demon had never done the man any harm. It is saying he did no more harm. You might expect an angry, spiteful demon to create some serious havoc as a parting shot, but, at least this time, he did not. Surely it was the presence of Jesus that constrained him and limited the destruction.  

The man was able to begin his newfound faith without interference from the evil one.  What a blessing!  

Today, pray that we and our children would engage in relationship with Christ without further interference from the evil one.  Pray, too, that Christ would both limit and prevent further destruction in the lives of our loved ones so that they can be free to enter into relationship with Our Lord. 

A Demon in the Church - Part seven

And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. (Luke 4:35b NASB)

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. (Isaiah 40:11 NASB)

When Jesus rebuked the demon and commanded him to leave the man, the demon had an unusual response.  He did leave, as commanded, but on the way out, he "threw him down" in the midst of the people. The image here is of a cranky, angry child throwing down a broken toy in frustration or, perhaps, of someone discarding rubbish of no value. 

Once Jesus intervened in the man's life, he was no good to the demon, for there was no place for the demon to reside. Not only was there no place for the demon, but there was no power for the demon. The man had no value if he could no longer be controlled, so he was discarded as worthless. In casting out the demon, Jesus removed his place and power, but in granting mercy and grace to the man, the position of tormenter and tempter was also removed. An opportune time might, and surely would, come again, but for the present, the position of tormenter was eliminated. No place, no power, no position. The only concern the demon had for the man was what evil could be done to and with him. When that opportunity was gone, so was his value, and he was tossed aside as quickly as used tissue. 

Contrast the demon's care of the man to that of The Good Shepherd. He sees the little lambs, too small and weak to keep up with the larger sheep, and is filled with compassion. He gathers them in his arms and snuggles them "in his bosom" and close to his heart. Perhaps He leans His head in to that soft lamb's fur and breathes in the scent of little baby lamb. Ahhh. How precious those lambs are to the Shepherd. They are the joy of the present and the hope of the future. 

Two very different scenarios and two different choices are available to us. Pawn of demons or the joy of Jesus. We WILL have relationship, with the world or with Jesus. Which one will it be?

Keep the image of those baby lambs nestled next to the Shepherd's heart as you pray today. Pray that you would snuggle in the loving arms of Jesus and allow Him to comfort you in your pain, heal your wounds, strengthen you for any task. Pray, too, that our loved ones would grow so tired of their struggle that they would long for, and welcome, the loving, healing embrace of the Good Shepherd. Close to His heart. Ahh. What a sweet place to be!

A Demon Comes to Church - part six

The demon possessed man was shouting in the synagogue and Jesus had heard enough. He did not offer sympathy to the distressed man, nor warmer clothes, nor a hot meal. The man's greatest need at that moment was to be rid of the demon. He needed a Savior, and no doubt about it, but this man could not serve both God and the demon. One of them would have to go, and you can be certain that Jesus was not the one backing down.  Jesus spoke directly to the demon. "Be quiet and get out!" He commanded. 

We do not know how long this man had been possessed by the demon, how it came about, nor whether he wanted to be free. What we do know is that it was only in the presence of Jesus that he found freedom. 

Jesus came to set the captives free, and those who are possessed or oppressed by the devil are certainly in great need of that freedom. It is not only the demon-possessed, however, who are captives needing to be set free. The truth is that we all have been in bondage, to some degree, because of our propensity to sin. Freedom and relationship with Christ is only possible when we do as Jesus did. "Be quiet and get out!" to those things that occupy the position Christ should have. We cannot serve both Jesus and the sin to which we cling.  

It is a hard task to stop doing, thinking, saying something that does not please Jesus, but, just as in the Capernaum synagogue, He stands ready to help. Take a few minutes today to allow Christ to examine your heart and reveal to you the major deterrent to your relationship with Him. Once identified, speak the words Jesus spoke, "Get out!", and allow the sweet Spirit of God to fill the void left behind. 

Pray today that our loved ones would be so tired of their sin and lostness that they would be willing to embrace change. Pray, too, that they would be drawn to the presence of Christ and allow Him to set them free. 

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, without doing any harm. (Luke 4:35 NASB)

A Demon Comes to Church - part 5

"Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!" (Luke 4:34 NASB)

(This should be our last day on this verse)

The choice of the word for knowing is interesting and worth understanding. The Greek word here is oida and it is used 335 times in the New Testament. It is used to mean understanding, perceiving, cherish, and appreciate. It is the word used in the phrases "God knows our needs" and "Jesus knew their thoughts". (1). This statement by the demon-possessed man was one of knowing with certainty. No doubt. The question for the demon-possessed man was not whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. The question was whether or not he would submit to Christ's authority and whether or not He would allow Jesus to set him free and change His life forever. 

It is a question we all must answer. What will we do about Jesus? The answer has eternal consequences, so searching and questioning are not bad things, but ultimately searching must end. Questioning must cease. A decision must be made. Bonhoeffer once said, "One ... Must give Him everything or nothing."  He was right. 

Today, pray that questioning and seeking about the truth of who Jesus is would come to an end (for us and our loved ones) and that, at the decision point, we would stake our eternity on Christ alone. 

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(1)http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G6063&t=NASB

A Demon Comes to Church, part 3

And he cried out with a loud voice, "Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!" (Luke 4:33, 34 NASB)

There are many things I would expect a demon-possessed man to shout, but this is a little surprising. When the man shouted, "Let us alone!" he was probably not speaking of the crowd in the synagogue. "Us" implies the man and his demon. He recognized himself as separate yet intertwined with the demon, but he is not asking to be freed. He is asking to stay in bondage. There are those who would say that "the devil made him do it," and there may be truth in that. Regardless, however this demonic force first entered his life, he was not seeking release. 

That's not an uncommon reaction when the subject of life-altering change is broached. People with addictions frequently say, "I can't" when asked about giving up their addiction. Life without whatever it is on which they depend, whether a physical addiction or a spiritual oppression or possession, seems impossible to achieve, much less to maintain. 

People who live their lives separate from Christ cannot begin to imagine the life Christ would bring. They are often comfortable in their routines and have succeeded in the world's eyes to a degree that makes change seem both unnecessary and unwanted. Children who renounce their faith for one reason or another often do not see a need to return. 

Even without seeing a need for change, without wanting change, this man had a divine appointment for which he was in attendance. His life was about to change in a remarkable way. Imagine that! He was not seeking Jesus but Jesus was seeking him. 

I like the idea of an appointment with God, and I have a standing appointment with Him every day. It's life-changing. Perhaps a divine appointment is what our loved ones need. Pray today that our Seeking and Saving Lord will arrange a "divine appointment" and draw our loved ones to a life-changing encounter with Him.  

A Demon Comes to Church, part 2

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, (Luke 4:33 NASB)

The story of this demon-possessed man is not included by accident. There are multiple lessons to be drawn from this pasage, but today we will look at the response of the Capernaum congregation. You may remember that the Nazareth congregation was so filled with murderous rage by Jesus's teachings that they tried to throw him off a cliff. The  Capernaum group seems to be of a different mindset. They have a shouting, demon-possessed man in their midst, and apparently no one throws him out, no one tries to quieten him, no one moves against him at all. In a village as small as Capernaum, they certainly knew him, but no one blocked his entrance to the synagogue.

Think about this a minute. How likely is it that a demon-possessed man would even want to go to the synagogue? Undoubtedly, it was previenient grace that drew him there, but it seems that he went to synagogue that day knowing he would be allowed in the meeting. Remember, this was a special day at Synagogue. The miracle-working teacher ( who some said was the Messiah) was the "visiting preacher" that day. As humans do, the people of Capernaum had probably talked about it to their friends and were probably excited and expecting something special. Our inclination would be to impress the visitor and try to "look good" for him. An out-of-control demon-possessed man doesn't really fit with that plan, yet he was there. 

Can it be that they loved the unlovely and welcomed the unruly? I suspect so, or at least this particular unruly man. 

The important point is that, in welcoming him and allowing him to be present when Jesus came, they ushered in the circumstances that led to his healing and redemption. How amazing is that? In welcoming the unruly and unlovely, we can have a part in bringing them to Jesus! 

I often look around my church and wonder why everyone looks just like me. Maybe the building is too big and fancy for the unruly to risk entering. Maybe they aren't sure of a welcome. (I think they would be welcomed, though) The real reason is probably that we are not doing all we could to bring them in. Those of us who live under the Great Commission are supposed to be making disciples (rescuing the perishing), and a part of that requires that we bring them to Jesus and welcome them as we do. 

Today, pray that we have hearts that recognize the need of those around us and eagerly bring them to Jesus, no matter how different or unlovely they are. Pray that we would welcome all who come, just as Jesus welcomed us. Pray too that our children and loved ones will find the body of Christ to be warm and welcoming and that God would send the perfect laborer to bring them back to Christ. 

A Demon Comes to Church

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, (Luke 4:33 NASB

My intention was to take multiple verses this morning and cruise right past this one, but here we are. A man was in the synagogue that day, and he was demon possessed. Just so we are clear, the Greek word here is dī-mo'-nē-on, and, according to Vine's Expository Dictionary, it means an agent of the devil, an evil spirit that seduces us into wickedness and idolatry. We can certainly come up with evil on our own, but the demon's job is one of luring us into evil and, if possible, keeping us there indefinitely. I realize it is not politically correct to believe in the existence of demons, but either the Bible is 100% true or it's merely an interesting book.  If it is not true, then we are a pitiful people, basing our eternal hope on a fairy tale. The good news is that Scripture IS truth, including the passages about demons. They exist. 

Starting from that premise, let's talk about this man who was possessed by the demon. It was an unclean demon, so it filled him with impure thoughts that surely led to wrong actions. We don't know what those actions were, but it's obvious that the demon had him under tight control, because in the meeting, he began to shout at Jesus. 

Selah. Pause and consider. 

Think about this demon-possessed man and his presence in the synagogue that day. How likely was that? As a Jewish man, he was expected to be there, so perhaps he went as a matter of routine. It could have been that a concerned friend or family member invited him to hear the visiting preacher. Maybe he went out of curiosity. 

Regardless of how he thought he arrived in that church, Scripture tells us that prevenient grace drew him there. He had a divine appointment with Jesus, and the only way to keep it was by attending the synagogue meeting that day. 

It is the prevenient grace of God that draws all of us to Jesus. Sometimes, it's like a warm, inviting fire on a dark and cold night that draws us in to the light. Other times, it seems the Hound of Heaven pursues us relentlessly until we are captured by what turns out to be His great love for us. 

I suspect someone had been praying for that man, just as we have prayed for our loved ones.  When they least expected a miracle, Jesus came. He WAS  the miracle. 

Today, continue to pray that our Lord will draw our children and our loved ones to Christ. Pray that God will use someone they trust to bring them to Jesus in a redemptive, transforming way. Pray, too, that as parents, we will come to Jesus again and experience His grace in a fresh way today. 

Take heart. He has overcome the world. He can handle any problem we or our children face. He can handle any sin in which we indulge, and wash us clean. He is able to deliver.