Dealing with Unclean Spirits, part 1

And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons." (Luke 11:14-15 NASB)

This section is, in a way, still a part of Jesus' teaching on prayer. Certainly no demon can be cast out unless we pray to God for it to be accomplished. 

In this passage, Luke gives an account of a man who had a demon of muteness. It caused him to be unable to speak but, when Jesus cast the demon out, the man who had been mute was able to speak. There were at least two kinds of responses in the crowd that day. Some of the people watched the miracle and marveled at the power of Jesus. They saw the man who had been set free from the bondage of evil and rejoiced at what God's Son had done.

Some of the people, however, saw the man who had been set free from the bondage of evil. They recognized the presence of the evil spirit, recognized the man's bondage, and recognized that Jesus had set Him free. Seeing all that, they missed the truth of the situation. They looked at the facts, assimilated them, and came up with the wrong interpretation. "He casts out demons by the devil instead of by God." It's a little like taking 2+2 and calling it 5. 

We will look tomorrow at Jesus' response to the naysayers. For today, let's consider the two responses to Christ. Some of the people saw His work of power and knew it was from God. They immediately believed what they saw and heard. Others saw the same work of power and immediately rejected what they saw and heard. What is unexpected about those who rejected the truth is that some of those rejecters were "church people", just like me. 

Jesus had taught about prayer, then invited His disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit. He gave a demonstration of what He had taught by performing a miracle. The "church people" (Pharisees, Levites, etc) were not accustomed to such demonstrations of power. The "church people" of Jesus' day were accustomed to their ritual and routine, just as we have become to our hour-long service before lunch on Sunday. It happens every week exactly like the week before. We don't have surprises. Nothing unusual or unexpected happens. 

When the unexpected occurred, the "church people" rejected it at once. "This is not how we do it. This can't be God. It must be wrong." The problem with their response was that it was God. It was right. It was how our Lord intended it to be done, and the way they had been "doing church" was not what God had intended. 

That's the problem with some of our service routines, as well. The "plan" is for the Holy Spirit to be present whenever two or more believers are together. The "plan" is for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself when He is present. We've just spent quite a few days looking at the manifestations of the Holy Spirit (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues).  If we expect the Spirit to be present in our services, we should also expect to see some of those manifestations in our services. (At the very least we should have a word of wisdom or knowledge from our minister that is clearly Holy Spirit breathed.) Do we? If not why not?

For today, let's spend some time considering our expectations of Christ and of the manifestation of the Spirit in our worship services. Have we become content with the routine of ritual or do we expect the Spirit to move according to Scripture? If not, why not? The most important expectation we should have is the same one Jesus has for us, so let's be sure that we allow the Spirit to move in whatever way He desires. When the Spirit is unbound instead of unplugged, He will draw believers and unbelievers alike to Himself. 

The Recognition, part 15: expectations

But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27 NASB)

In this verse, Jesus hints at something that will happen a few days later. Some of the disciples, He told them, would not experience death before they experienced, or saw, the Kingdom of God. As we often do, they likely interpreted that to mean Jesus would soon establish His Kingdom on earth, defeat the Romans, and establish a Davidic-style reign. Knowing how we like to day dream, the disciples were probably no different. They likely envisioned palaces, regal robes, and princehoods (or at least exalted positions) for themselves. If they had only known, they would have been shocked by what Jesus would do and what was to come. 

In just a few days, some of the disciples would go with Jesus to the mountain where they would "see" the Kingdom of God, as Jesus was transfigured before them and joined by Moses and Elijah. It was not at all what they thought He meant when He said they would see the Kingdom of God, but they never forgot those amazing mountain-top sights.

Perhaps you never do this, but some us have trouble with making assumptions about the words of God. I have to be particularly careful when I decide to "claim" a verse because I want to presume that the promise it contains will unfold the way I want it to unfold. I, like most of us, would like to have my way, and for it to be an easy, comfortable way.  I have to constantly remind myself that God's way, no matter what it is, will always be better than mine. Here it is again, that business of Thy will and not my own. It runs throughout Scripture and is particularly pertinent here. 

What the disciples likely expected from these words had little to do with how events would unfold. Instead of a temporal kingdom on earth, Jesus was about to establish an eternal Kingdom that would transcend time, transcend earth. Instead of lives of ease, the disciples would be hunted like criminals, experience hardship and loss, mostly die martyrs' deaths, and be instrumental in spreading the gospel around the world. The events that they didn't expect are the very ones that made it possible for us to have the good news of Jesus today. What a good thing the truth of Jesus, rather than the daydreams of the disciples, dictated the events that followed. 

As you read and "claim" Scripture for your own, be careful to avoid "dreaming up" what the fulfillment of those promises will be. Leave the plan to God, confident that His way is best. Just like Jesus said, some of those disciples saw the Kingdom of God before they died. It may not look like what we expect, but He always keeps His word. 

Expectations (Luke 4:18)

"T he Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor..., (Luke 4:18 NASB)

Jesus was reading a passage from Isaiah 61. It is hard to comprehend this, but as He read, He was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. Isn't that amazing? God did exactly what He said He would do, in exactly the way He said He would do it.  Isaiah had prophesied the Messiah would come, and that He would come proclaiming the good news. People may have expected a warrior and king like David, because that is what they understood of God's deliverance. God, however, was doing a totally different, and much better, thing. 

The problem with expectations is that they get in the way when we confront reality. Jesus was exactly Who God said He would be, but because He didn't arrive as they expected Him to arrive, didn't do what they expected Him to do, they didn't recognize Him. They didn't want to recognize Him, because they would have to give up the expectations to which they had clung for so many years - expectations of power and deliverance from foreign oppressors, expectations of wealth and military might. 

Sometimes our expectations get in the way of recognizing God at work in our lives, too, don't they?  We pray long and hard for something, expecting God to move in a powerful way, yet what happens is nothing like what we expected. Recently, I prayed for God to work in a situation. I was certain I knew the outcome. In fact, I could barely tolerate the idea of any other outcome but the one I wanted. Have you ever been there? Much to my surprise, God's plan was to change me in the situation, not change the situation. I nearly missed it, but God's sanctifying grace is patiently persistent with me, and in the end, it was my heart that was transformed. What He did was much better than what I expected. 

Today, look at the expectations you hold about what God is doing, will do, or should do in the lives of our loved ones and in your own life. Let's just lay those preconceived notions down and invite God to do whatever He wants to do, in whatever way He wants to do it. His word tells us He is not willing for any to perish. We know He desires that all come to repentance. Redemption for our loved ones is His will. Today, invite Him to accomplish His will in His way. It's the prayer that never fails.