About a year ago my youngest brother was living on his
own. A friend came over with an
acquaintance (a person my brother did not know) to play video games. My brother played video games for a while with them but then
told them he was going to bed.
Sometime later that night my brother awoke to a knock on his bedroom door. My brother asked who was it and his friend answered. Come to find out the friend’s friend was acting strangely. My brother got up and indeed something was very wrong. The young man was talking with a different voice and his behavior was anything but ordinary. After several times of asking the young man to leave and him not doing so my brother called the police.
When the police arrived they too asked the young man to leave. The young man grabbed a knife from the kitchen. The police seeing the threat drew their guns and ordered the young man to put the knife down. He said, “ok” but resumed coming towards the officers with knife in hand. Again the officers told him to put down the knife. The young man rushed the officers and shots rang out in the night.
The young man incurred several serious
gunshots was rushed to a nearby hospital.
I don’t know what came of him... if he survived his injuries he is probably
in some mental hospital somewhere.
Knowing some law enforcement officers and being related to several these aren’t unfamiliar stories.
Jesus says, “For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and
guards his palace, his possessions are safe— until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of
his weapons, and carries off his belongings. Anyone who
isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually
working against me.
This scripture has repeatedly come to my mind often these
past few weeks as we have discussed our spiritual house.
Jesus refers to a person influenced by evil as a “palace for Satan".
Only by the power and name of Jesus can one cast out and over power Satan and strip him of his weapons and free the people in bondage to Satan.
Jesus
says "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they
will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink
any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and
they will recover."
Jesus then says the evil spirit leaves the person to seek rest in the desert. Interesting is the word “desert.”
A desert in most cases is a dry place almost entirely void of water.
But water is also an illustration of the Holy Spirit, Who is the Living Water.
Jesus says the evil spirit goes to the desert to get away from God but can’t because God is everywhere.
“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:24
David said, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7
So finding no place to hid from God, it returns to the person it left. Interesting it goes back to the person from in which it came. It goes back to the person who can deny God as LORD of their life. It’s like a person can be a stronghold for an evil spirit and they, blinded by the evil spirit, aren’t even aware of it. They are blind to what is real and God who is not only real but life giving.
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
A human, created by God, is given the ability to choose to love God or not love God, to accept God or deny God, to trust God or not trust God, to obey God or not obey God, to find life or stay lost to life. He is either a vessel for God or a vessel against God.
When I gave my life to the Lord I remember looking for those dark influencing “feelings” I once had before but they were gone. They were instantly gone but what had come of them? I didn’t know at the time but the living power of the Spirit of God chased them away and kept them from coming back. He then supernaturally put a seal on me telling evil I was now a child, possession and temple of the living God.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promise of the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:3
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
When the Holy Spirit comes into us, who believe Jesus as Lord and Savior, He fills us up like a glass of water to the top so nothing else can be poured in and He, being Living Water, continues to keep that glass full.
Jesus says “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:14
This is not true of someone who doesn’t give his or her life God.
I have often wondered about those who hear the life saving news of Jesus Christ and they seem to accept it with joy in their hearts. There is this moment of clarity in their life and they seem relieved of their spiritual pains but after a short time they go back to their old way of life and live more rebelliously then they had before. So even though they had their spiritual house “swept and put in order” there was no genuine acceptance in their heart- so no seal was given by God and the seven more evil spirits then the first come in to their lives and they are worse off then before. They live as the rest of the world or worse.
So a word of caution here... when praying over those burdened by evil. Are they "only" wanting relief from the burden of evil or are they wanting Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior over their life? If they are only wanting relief from the burden of evil then you are doing them no favor but could be be making their situation worse off then before.
Jesus continues his thought with:
“But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” Luke 11:28
I find “putting the word of God into practice” is not just reading the word of God and trying to orchestrate those things on our own but us seeking and surrendering God to make those things become a reality in our life. Where our spiritual house is His palace.
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