Wednesday, June 26 2002

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of The Lord for ever. (Psalm 23:1-6 RSV)

Evil Spirits Are Always Overcome By The Holy Spirit

There is a saying that “nature hates a vacuum,” in that when something is “empty,” there is always something that naturally wants to fill it. The same seems to be true of how demons are able to prey on some humans.

In The Bible there are numerous examples of people who were possessed or troubled by demons, but no where in the Bible will you find a person with the Holy Spirit of God possessed or troubled by demons. People with the Holy Spirit encountered demons, but the demons were always overcome and driven away, not by the people themselves, since no human alone has that power, but by the Holy Spirit of God. Demons are powerless against the Holy Spirit – like water displacing the air out of an “empty” glass, the Holy Spirit will always displace an evil spirit from someone who is troubled by a demon.

“it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons” (Matthew 12:28 RSV)

“And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the Synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their Synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, “What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth ? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” (Mark 1:21-27 RSV)

“And He called The Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal.” (Luke 9:1-2 RSV)

“The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name!” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20 RSV)

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to Him.” (Acts 2:38-39 RSV)

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 RSV)

Fact Finder: (a) Who did Jesus Christ say we should fear (in the sense of what He is going to do to those who reject and disobey Him)? (b) Is the fear of God the beginning of (true) wisdom?
(a) Matthew 10:28 (b) Proverbs 9:10

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