Tag Archives: choices

THE BOOK OF ACTS – MESSING WITH DEMONS

Bible Study, ,

MESSING WITH DEMONS

“Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul’s “game”. They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, ‘I command you by the name of the Jesus preached by Paul,’ The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: ‘I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?’ Then the possessed man went berserk — jumped the exorcists, beat them up and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.” Acts 19:13-16 (The Message).

Such was the city of Ephesus, a city of idol-worship and a city of witch-craft and demon-possession! Like god, like people! Messing around with demons was okay until they got inside and then it was another story. Idols, demons and exorcists went together. Some let them in and others tried to get them out!

During this time of heightened supernatural activity, demons were making their unwanted presence felt. Paul was God’s instrument for dealing with them, both in the bodies of the sick and in the spirits of the tormented. But there were others who tried to do what Paul was doing without realising that they were on the wrong side!

How do demons get in in the first place? Choices! It’s all about choices. The first choice is to ignore or reject God as the rightful owner of your life. This happens every time you choose to follow the desires and appetites of your sinful nature instead of heeding the warnings of His Word. Until you acknowledge that Jesus is the rightful authority in your life and give over the reins to Him, you will have to go it alone under the influence of the unseen usurper, the devil.

Follow the patterns of sin long enough and the devil begins to make his presence felt. He offers all sorts of perks for following him without revealing the handcuffs that tie you to him. Eventually he sends in his “squatters” to occupy the territory he has illegally claimed and then it’s too late. He has you hooked and you are his slave; and remember, he is a destroyer. Only then will you begin to taste the fruits of his occupation.

Why were the sons of Sceva not only impotent to cast the demons out but also victims of their abuse? They were on the devil’s side. Only a radical relocation from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus will break the chains of the devil’s dominion over you. Only Jesus can set prisoners free.

He did it by dying, an innocent man as a criminal, condemned by those who were the devil’s emissaries and who thought they were right. He came back from the dead, not only to prove His innocence, but also to take His rightful place as Lord of the universe He had created and of all those who recognise who He is and bow to Him.

Jesus warned that a house divided against itself will not stand. People on the devil’s side cannot cast out demons. They only set themselves up for a beating. And likewise, believers who make it their business to oppose other believers also set themselves up, and the fellowship to which they belong, for serious damage.

We have to know to whom we belong and to whom we owe our allegiance. If we are God’s children, we belong to Jesus, and we are members of His body. We cannot take up arms against fellow believers and hope to emerge unscathed.

We can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe on me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” John 17:20 (NIV).

IT’S ALL ABOUT CHOICE

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family
Life is all about the choices we make. Whether rich or poor, in sickness or in health, young or old, we have choices. These choices will present themselves differently at different times in our lives, but whatever station we find ourselves in on any given day, we always have choices to make. Our reality is that the choices we make determine the lives we live, positively and negatively—it’s the principle of either sowing to please the Spirit or sowing to please ourselves. Very often it appears that the choices others have to make are a lot easier than ours, particularly when our bank balance is less impressive than others, or when our health limitations are more severe than others. I cannot, for example, choose to go on a world cruise if I have no means to do it, or to run the Comrades marathon when even my walking is impeded. That’s just silly!
Joshua, when he stood before the people of Israel at Shechem (Joshua 24), called on them to decide between the ways of the world and the ways of God where the following words are recorded in verse 15: “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
“But as for me…” powerful, insightful words. A decision had been made which would invoke a life-long clause to ensure that all his actions and that of his family would be subject to the will of God.
Jesus said it like this in Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
The most important choice we can ever make is obviously to give ourselves completely to God and to decide to follow Jesus in a sense every single day, but there are many, many times in any given day that we are compelled to make choices that are very often either for or against what His word teaches us.
For example, do I participate in the office gossip? Do I steal my employer’s time like everyone else is by getting to work late or leaving early or spending time on social media? Do I tell those little harmless untruths in order to save face? And so the list goes on.
Make it your mission in 2017 and beyond to always choose His will above your own, knowing that eternal consequences far outweigh our temporary earthly existences.
Every blessing!