You have
to understand that at that time,
the disciples believed that Jesus
was going to imminently establish
the kingdom of God on Earth!
(See Mark 1:15; 9:1; 9:34.)
Therefore, when Jesus gave them
power to heal the sick and cast
out all kinds of demons, this
amazing power caused them to
think more highly of themselves
than they should have.
Jesus sent them out with this
amazing power to validate
a prophetic message but
the disciples thought this power
was a personal validation of
their importance to God!
Because of their arrogance,
selfishness, and self-seeking
(the original sins of Lucifer)
they had broken their connection
with God and this left them
powerless and they did not
realize it.
The Holy
Spirit embarrassed the disciples
by refusing to heal the boy when
they called upon the name of
Jesus! I imagine they took
turns at healing the little boy
and all of them failed.
Later, when the disciples asked
Jesus why they could not cast out
the demon, Jesus did not mention
their sin. Instead, He
jumped to the point that the
power to cast out demons is from
God and this power is only given
when God has a purpose for
it. God will not be used by
men; God uses men. The
moral of the story is if any
person is called to cast out a
demon, let him seek God’s
will through fasting and
prayer. If God informs the
seeker that He will give him the
power to cast out the demon, the
seeker can humbly go and cast out
the demon. Otherwise the
seeker must report that God has
not given him power to cast out
the demon. He should excuse
himself from the matter or the
demons may beat him up!
(See Mark 9:29 KJV and Acts 19:13-17.)
Demons
Are Masters at Influencing People
to Sin
When a
person chooses repeatedly, of his
own free will, to knowingly and
willfully violate his conscience
and integrity, knowing that he is
doing evil (for profit, thrill or
because of peer pressure), that
person is fair game for demons
because there is no hedge of
protection when he continues to
willfully sin. (Hebrews 10:26,27)
Such a person is on a road that
can end without any help from God
and the demons know this.
So they watch for our response to
temptation and when we let down
our guard and willfully
choose to do wrong, a
door is opened for them to speak
to us. They know how to use
their power of suggestion to
cause us to commit more serious
sins than we would otherwise
commit.
A person
will often do a greater sin than
he intended when demons are able
to insert their suggestions into
his mind. How many times
have you heard a person say after
his actions are presented on
video, “That is not
me! I’m not that
way!” Each time a new
low in conduct is reached, the
demons rejoice. They keep
careful records and they have
good memories. If a sinner
does not notice any immediate
consequences for his wrong doing,
demons know the sinner will
minimize the event and soon
forget it. This is exactly
what they want. When the
time and circumstances are right,
the demons will insert another
evil suggestion and if the sinner
reaches another new low in
conduct without any immediate
consequences, the sinner becomes
more comfortable with his
unrealized downward spiral.
This is how gradualism
works. One sin opens a door
for another. Soon, the
thoughts inserted by the demons
will drown the efforts of the
Holy Spirit and this is what
“the gentle giants”
want. They know that
everyone who sins becomes a slave
to sin. (John 8:34)
So, they make sin exciting,
sensual, daring, and
thrilling. The pleasures of
sin may be many and irresistible,
but the consequences are
inescapable (Galatians 6:7) and
they often prove to be unbearable
later on.
As the
old gospel song says, “Sin
will cost you more than you want
to pay and take you farther than
you want to go.” Sin
is like the drug, Novocain.
It numbs the conscience and
causes the sinner to minimize the
seriousness of his deeds.
If a person does not stop
violating his conscience and
personal integrity and repent of
his sins, the Holy Spirit will
respect his free will and leave
the sinner alone in his
slavery. When a sinner
complies with the thoughts
inserted by demons, he will
become increasingly degenerate
and decadent. This is their
purpose and goal. Over time, they
strengthen their efforts.
One final
point: Being set free of
demonic oppression or demonic
possession is not the end of the
story. Jesus said,
“When
an evil spirit comes out of a
man, it goes through arid places
seeking rest and does not find
it. Then it says, ‘I
will return to the house I
left.’ When it arrives, it
finds the house unoccupied, swept
clean and put in order. Then it
goes and takes with it seven
other spirits more wicked than
itself, and they go in and live
there. And the final condition of
that man is worse than the first.
. . ” (Matthew 12:43-45)
When a
person is set free of demonic
possession, he must understand
that he cannot live as he
previously lived. If
necessary, He must abandon his
previous life, friends, and
family. He must totally
separate himself from his past
and make every effort to do what
is right and holy in God’s
sight. He must read
God’s Word, hold on to
God’s truth, and claim
God’s promises, asking for
strength to do what is
right or the
demons will surely ambush him in
a weak moment and his final
condition will be worse than
before!
If God
did not overrule, demons would
control the whole world.
They have gained control of so
many people that we now have the
same situation that existed in
Noah’s day. If you
want to be free of demonic
oppression, then ask God for
help! Make every effort to
do what is right and honorable in
God’s sight. The Bible
says, “Submit
yourselves, then, to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from
you. Come near to God and
he will come near to you.” (James 4:7,8)
If you know someone who wants to
be set free from demonic
oppression or possession, find
someone who has spiritual
discernment. He or she can
meet with the victim and assess
their condition. Then, they
should fast and pray, seeking
God’s will and His
power. This is not a
trivial topic. We can be
sure that with the Lord’s
help in removing the demons, they
will come out fighting and
shrieking as they lose their
control over that person.
