Demons & Exorcism

I was just wondering about the “why’d that happen” question. You know… when that demon pounced on those 7 brothers who were casting out demons. Let me first, reference all the text here, so you can think about it better…

From Acts, Chapter 19 – beginning at v13 (KJV)

13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.

19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

I know this is all a little confusing, but basically this passage presents the WHY for the need of purity in the spirit of the Lord, and remaining honest and true to that calling deep within your heart… but, it also serves as a warning that His love and His power can not just be ‘put on’. You MUST have a surrendered heart, and life to be used of the Lord, and to be an instrument… especially against the evils before us. For we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and darkness.Look closely at v13, and notice that these 7 brothers are referred to as vagabonds, and exorcists (mystics), and even the wording here (in the King James) reads ‘they took on themselves’. See that?? This all means that these guys were ‘in business’. Even better, you can see at the very end of that same verse, they were calling out these demons by saying stuff like “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth”. Now… ‘adjure’ really translates to a less-heavy word like “PLEASE”, or “we are asking you”, which may not seem all that important… but, when you REALLY thread this needle… you’ll see… these guys were pulling these demons out rather passively…. I mean, they were NOT ‘commanding’ them. Remember Jesus’ approach?? Whenever He spoke to a demon, or Satan, He was VERY stern and forthright… “Satan, I commandyou…”. You may remember the scene beside that ocean/lake where all these demons were in this one guy… and Jesus ‘caught’ them, because they ALL were torturing this guy… and they begged mercy of Jesus… and Jesus sent them out of the man, and into a nearby herd of pigs… who all promptly ran, squealing, into the ocean/lake and drowned. See?? He didn’t ask them to ‘come out’… He told them!! But, by the authority of “His Father, in Heaven”.So… these 7 guys approach this man (to them, a simple man) with a very powerful demon. And they ‘ask’ the demon to come out… and the demon just says… “uh…. yeah…. right!!” And the demon even tells them… “I don’t have to obey you… You have NO authority to boss me around… You have no REAL power” (see v15). Now remember… these guys were sons of the CHIEF of the Priests of the Jews. So.. they were sons of a very strong and important man…. religiously, anyway! No matter… outside the true, genuine authority of the Lord, you are VERY doomed if you face these demons without His authority in your life – and over your life!!In so many ways. See that??How many ways can you apply this nugget of truth to your own PERSONAL life?? As you walk around your spiritual neighborhood (within)…. spotting ‘people’ within your heart who are SO held captive by these various demons… these tiny places within you very own life where you have not ‘surrendered’ a piece of you to the Lord… these little places make up the whole, you know (Deep End of the Pool)…

See??

We both ‘find’ these demon possessed areas in our hearts… and we want SO badly for them to be cleansed of this menacing demon… from the torture… from the actions this demon causes… leaving me (us) so helpless… and causing others pain too…The main difference, my precious friend… is that Jesus lives within you… and these 7 brothers just knew OF Him (the Lord), they were not known BY Him… there’s a difference. Spiritual from without, not from within. So… when you find these areas in your life… you can boldly step up there, with the peace and security of the Lord, and ‘command’ them to release you from this pain… this torture… this anguish… freeing your life… opening another wonderful segment of your heart and life to Him… and ultimately to others.So… often times, like the 7 brothers, the demon realizes that you are not claiming His strength (Jesus says “when you are weak, I am made strong”), and acting on that inheritance we have in His love…. and in His family! Tough to do… I know… my ‘sin’ has haunted me now, since I was 13 or so… Subsiding off and on… yet, still raising it’s nasty head, and causing me and others pain. But, through His grace and mercy, I have ways to hold me accountable… to remind me… to encourage me… accept me… support me… Through you!  Through YOUR faithfulness.So… I wonder if you are concerned or afraid to approach these demons in your life. Scared that they’ll pounce on you… beat you up… tear at you… make you hurt more. If you are concerned about all that… then, NO… they won’t even bother with you!!

See??

Confusing, huh?? Well… they won’t have to!!

See??

You are already afraid of them… they WON even before the battle began!! You haven’t even put yourself in a place to fight them… to fight for your rights to your own precious life… the life the Lord MEANT for you to live… the very special life the Lord intended for you to ALWAYS live, but, instead… you quit before you even start (yes, I am preaching to myself!!). I know… I quit too…. I am scared too…. I am very tired too… So, I don’t even have the energy to stand for my rights… my rights as God’s precious child… to stand for my ‘crown’… to wear my robe of righteousness… to hold my head up straight, my shoulders back strong… not arrogant..no!!

Proud, and SURE!! I am a child of the Living God… the King of ALL the Kings!! Every knee SHALL bow, and every tongue SHALL confess that He is Lord!! Satan has no more dominion over you!! Not since that precious cross!! That wonderfully empty tomb!!You GO!! GO!! Step-up and tell that demon to ‘go to hell’ in the precious name of the Lord, our Savior!! He HAS to obey!! Zing!!  And stand back and listen for the whoosh!!Now then… the Ephesians… this all just freaked them out (v17-19)!! As you can read, though… it impacted the Jews and the Greeks too… but, those that were ‘believers’… it MOVED them!! It moved them right into action!! See that?? So cool to see the Lord move amongst believers… just His presence causes us to ‘repent’ and come clean of our divisive ways… the spirit within agreeing with the moving of the spirit around us… confirmation, if you will… assurance that the Lord ‘was in this place’. It a pretty special time when your heart is moved like that… so sensitive to His leading…So, this evil-pouncing-evil act has a definitive affect on the believers. They bring all their possessions that ‘could’ be construed as ‘idol worship’ or ‘distracting’, or especially mystic… and they had a huge ‘burn-fest’!! Getting rid of any and ALL items that might lead them astray!!! This is one of the very reasons why (when I was first saved) I moved away from any music, except Christian, for so long… An effort to cleanse my outside life… to ensure that my outside life was not influencing my inside life… that the spirit within me had every chance to grow.. the freedom to minister to a pure, and clear heart… to be able to whisper things in the stillness… and not have it misconstrued as ‘half-truth’. This is VERY core to the motivation behind Monks for their isolation… trouble is, they do NOT bring that wonderful knowledge and insight BACK to this life… at least, not much.The point being, as the Bible says “if thy right hand cause thee to sin, cut if off. Better that you enter into heaven missing one hand, than the whole body NOT enter in”. This is to say… “Work out your own salvation”… see how that all fits on YOU. Asking the Lord, first, to show you these demons… being willing to face them, dear… and even harder, be willing to let go of these areas of you life… to Let Go and Let God. It is a journey, my love… a wonderful journey.

Never arriving, yet always growing.