Driving out demons is dangerous business
and not an activity to be undertaken lightly.
Especially in a culture that has invested heavily in them.
We (our culture) have a fascination with demons because we think we’ve made them up.
We’re so sure they’re something we’ve conjured, like the boogie man or genies in bottles or monsters under the bed, that we feature them in TV shows, bestsellers, and movies without a second thought.
There’s nothing to fear from fiction, after all. Just stories to tell in the dark. Switch on the lamp, and all is well. Right?
But what if courting demons like groupies after rock stars puts us and those around at risk? What if there is a spiritual world full of beings we don’t control anymore than we can set limits on tornados, hurricanes, or tsunamis?
What if the spiritual world is more real than we ever imagined
and what if wandering through it alone is more dangerous than strolling down an inner-city street alone after midnight covered with thousand dollar bills and cocaine?
Don’t ever go alone. Take someone who knows.
Jesus knows those streets like the palms of His nail-scarred hands.
Jesus cast a legion of demons from a man in Gerasene. He commanded them to enter a herd of pigs who then threw themselves off a cliff. The man walked away healed and whole.
His neighbors missed their pigs.
That’s right.
They asked Jesus, the man who could command demons, to leave their town. They had money invested in the pigs. Making a neighbor whole wasn’t worth an entire herd.
This is still a popular theme in our culture. Demons in our town? Not a problem as long as our economy is sure.
In the name of Jesus, Paul and Silas cast a demon out of a slave girl who had a spirit of divination. She was finally spiritually free.
Her owners responded with violence and anger because they’d been making money from the girl’s fortune-telling. In freeing the young woman, Jesus destroyed their cash cow. Paul and Silas were mobbed, beaten, and jailed.
They lived in a culture that had invested in demons.
Freedom for a young girl’s soul? Not worth it if she can no longer bring in a profit. Leave us the demons as long as we can throw down gold coins at the end of the day to pay for our bread and board. Proving people will serve the darkness if it offers a 401K.
Sound familiar?
Besides the angry bystanders, there’s actual danger from the demons themselves. Ask the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest. These young men didn’t follow Jesus but used His name to attempt to exorcise the evil spirits from a possessed man.
They paid dearly.
“But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Acts 19:15-16
Hm. People need to think about setting up a demon-hunter business independent of Jesus. It hurts when they’re unhappy and you’re unarmed.
Demons are angelic beings who serve the darkness rather than the light.
As powerful as angels are to protect, to wage war in the heavenlies, and to rescue from danger – so are their fallen counterparts powerful to wreak havoc on earth.
But those who follow Jesus have nothing to fear.
“ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:11-14
Again. Those who follow Jesus have nothing to fear.
Walk with Jesus down any street, even in the dark, and you will walk in Light.
But we live in culture that has invested in demons, formed alliances with darkness, profited from the forces of evil.
It will not welcome the light when it starts to lose herds of pigs, piles of gold, and moneymaking slave girls.
So brace yourself, loved ones, brace yourselves in the arms of Jesus Christ – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Driving out demons is dangerous business
The Conversation
Totally agree, Lori. We, as a culture, have no idea what we’ve unleashed by our naive and thoughtless involvement with the demonic. We get a glimpse of it when school children are murdered but we don’t recognize it as a spiritual problem then either.
The demonic themes are so much a part of our culture that they hang around, virtually unmolested, in our houses, our movie theaters and even in our schools. School libraries in my community are full of books on the topic, in one form or another, and they’re very popular. God help us.
I appreciated your post. It is a scary world that we live in. We have to stay in our armor that is provided at all times. I hope we can still reach some who are overcome by this evil while there still is time. God bless you.
So often the demonic is made to look sooo innocent. “What’s wrong with Harry Potter? At least my kids will read.” I’ve heard that so often. And prayed that the child’s mind will not be given over to evil so he/she never learns the Truth. Every day, as we ready ourselves for what the day will bring, we should be putting on our whole armor of God to protect us from the evil we have invited into our culture. Spot on again, Lori. MOMMA
This post is scary in a good way. Yes, the opposition can be frightening, but recognizing it drives me deeper into the arms of the One who protects me. Thank you again.
Great post Lori, I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments; we have let the enemy worm his way into our everyday lives, seeing nothing wrong.
When I was a kid, vampires were something to be afraid of…..now teens want to have their babies. The enemy knows his time is short…
We need to return to the basics–Jesus is LORD, the King above ALL kings. Oh Lord, save us…