How Did Jesus Deal With Demons?

"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." - Matthew 16:23 KJV

When Jesus dealt with demons He didn't deal with them like they were people. Pride, selfishness, greed and the whole list of other negative 'emotions' are not natural. They are demonic in origin. Demons are not people. They are a 'host'. They are more like bees or ants than people. The individual has a will but it is lost in the group.

"When Jesus arrived on the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men who were possessed by demons met him. They lived in a cemetery and were so violent that no one could go through that area. They began screaming at him, "Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God's appointed time?" There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding in the distance. So the demons begged, "If you cast us out, send us into that herd of pigs." "All right, go!" Jesus commanded them. " - Matthew 8:28-32a NLT

If a group has a favorite place to hang out they build a sentimental attachment to that place. If they have a bad experience in that place once or a couple of times they will find some other place to hang out.

Bringing Jesus into the room gives darkness a bad experience. 

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hands on him; remember the battle--you will not do it again!" - Job 41:1-8 ESV

Darkness works in darkness for a reason. Leviathan (which can represent that organized darkness) is so seamless and strong that most people don't even know what they are dealing with. Demonic powers are nearly invisible to us in the natural.

"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And [that] they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." - 2 Timothy 2:24-26 KJV

Jesus always ruins darkness' day because His light exposes leviathan. He can no longer take pride in his victory in a place. He is greedy and makes reasons to move on to greener pastures.

Don't reason with the Devil. Just bring Jesus into the room and make Him the focus. Tell darkness Christ owns the place, situation and people. 

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7 KJV"

--

Bridging The Distance

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness." - Genesis 1:1-4 ESV

God created distance first then He made light to bridge the distance. That light was then divided in a way that created a means to note the passage of time.

Creation was made out of nothing to be a place of choice... near and far... night and day. God approves and approves until mankind disobeys and sides with a negative point of view.

"And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." - Revelation 12:9 ESV

It seems that God made this great distance (in part) so the He could put Angelic iniquity far away from Himself. But He also made it so that there could be nearness.

We were not made to be far away from God or each other but we are aren't we? Light bridges the gap between the small and the large. It brings the far away thing close.

"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called 'the uncircumcision' by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands - remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." - Ephesians 2:11-16 ESV

Grace does something for us spiritually. We become connected and incorporated while still retaining the distance of identity. We are no longer cut off but we are still ourselves. It is amazing... really.

For the moment evil is close but it will be made to be far away on it's journey downward. Earth was just the first stop on that journey. Things are going to keep breaking here to make room for that passage.

John the Babtist said this...

"Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." - Matthew 3:10-12 ESV

The barn is near and protected.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ESV

Ministry brings people nearer and puts evil outside so it can continue it's journey at a distance.

"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." - Jude 1:20-25 ESV

Oh God... please make us creative gatherers. Distance is a funny thing. It grows when we aren't looking. Thank you for people who are joined by love and mercy so that a bond has formed. Make us to be gatherers and not scatterers. Thank you for gathering us from far away places and drawing us close to Yourself.

--

Water On Mars' Hill

Water on Mars? Not surprising. Nor does the method NASA used sound very conclusive either.

"So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.' " - Acts 17:22-31 ESV

I see NASA as a great example of man 'feeling their way' towards God. The Greek word used there is pselaphao (Strong's G5584) and it means to grope or look with your hands for something.

Man tries to put God in a box but it is God who has limited us in our place and time but He did not limit us to keep us limited. Just as we are wise not to limit Him we can truly move and have our being in Him.

Here Paul is speaking to Greek philosophers and people who had gathered from other people groups. It was a place where ideas were presented before people who were curious. Many of them had a type of 'wisdom lust.' You know those people just as I do. They crave news and new ideas all the time but that knowledge does not seem to change them very much. They have become immune to it.

Paul's Spirit inspired approach is good for them and for us. Maybe we think more knowledge will save us. We grope along the terrain of ideas looking for something lost or a switch that will illuminate the room but all the while God is very near. God understands our groping and actually has designated a time for it in His plan but now it is time to repent (turn to Him) because there is One who was raised from the dead. There is One who has ventured into the greatest unknown terrain and returned with a message.

Perhaps there is water on Mars. Maybe it is some low gravity multicolored sand sculpture. I'm sure man will continue to grope for answers as long as we have the resources and means to do it.

Those of us who have found Jesus because He looked for us first have also found a light switch for the dark places. He becomes our spiritual illumination.

God isn't far away and beyond our imagination. He is here in the room. The room is in Him. Knowing that we can begin to converse with Him. He has things to say if we will pour out our hearts and listen.

--

The Light Of No Condemnation

"But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.' " - Ephesians 5:13-14 NASB

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12 ESV

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:1-5 ESV

The Greek word there for overcome is katalambano (Strong's G2638) and it speaks of a struggle to possess or best something.

The dark mind can not possess the light. Light must come in and illuminate the darkness. But if light does come in then things get revealed.

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil." - John 3:19 ESV

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - John 3:16-17 ESV

The darkened mind can not come to this conclusion by itself. It must be told. Then when the light truly comes in that mind is illuminated. The light is the light of 'no condemnation'. It isn't just knowledge. It is love and a man who bore our sin for us so we could become the righteousness of God.

Grace coaxes us out of hiding. Grace is the gentle voice that awakens us from sleep by serving us. Rules and regulations just make us want to hide under the covers but grace invites us into the adventure of a new day.

--

Awakened To The Supernatural

It is amazing how people adjust. The very abnormal can begin to seem normal. Natural seems normal. Seasons seem normal until you move to a place where there are no seasons. Abuse can seem normal until you are in an abuse free relationship. We see things and the alarm bells are ringing somewhere in our soul but we do not know the source of the sound. They are muffled or they are so loud that a person is surrounded by the noise and just reacts.

People can go through life like a sleeper who turns off their alarm clock in the morning but it doesn't wake them up.

The Bible teaches us that there are two supernatural kingdoms that overlap humanities experience. God's eternal kingdom and the powers of darkness that form as a seamless web.

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?... Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; for him sling stones are turned to stubble." - Job 41:1, 26-28 ESV

Darkness dwells in powerful arrogance. Humanity can not pierce it's armor.

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel... Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." - Hebrews 12:22-24, 28-29 ESV

Darkness is not normal and neither is light. Darkness is an aberration and light is eternal. Forces overlap on us and even inside us that are not us. Sickness isn't normal. Death isn't normal. Hatred isn't normal. These are common things but not normal things. Immorality is not normal yet we adjust to it. The alarm bells are ringing but we don't know why.

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:17 ESV

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." - Romans 15:13 ESV

When will will wake up? What will will it take to show us that being victims is not normal? What friend needs to come and show us another way. When will we listen? Much energy has been invested in adjusting, rationalizing and explaining. Denial can seem safer because it is done on our terms.

Hope makes our expectation of the future wonderful. We expect things that are not normal. We look for the side effects of blessing and we can live like a child on their way to an amusement park that they have never been to before.

Grace awakens us to God's dynamic. We see kingdoms and things begin to make sense to us. See what is natural and what is not. We begin to discern.

Faith is not normal but it is real and it has power because it is aligned with God's kingdom. Faith is revolutionary. It always has been and and it always will be.

--

Treasures in Darkness

"Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever." 1 Kings 8:12-13 KJV

That little phrase 'thick darkness' stopped me this morning. It speaks of a darkness that is full not empty. Like the darkness that you might have in a thick fog. Something full but unknown because it is unseen.

"And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night." Exodus 14:20 KJV

"The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all." Ecclesiastes 2:14 KJV

One group sees because of positioning of the light. The other is blinded. It is the same event that happens to both parties.

"He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail." 1 Samuel 2:9 KJV

Obscurity can not be overpowered. If there is a cliff in the darkness you can send one man in or one hundred and it will not matter. The wicked are silent because they are listening and hoping one of their other senses will provide insight into the situation.

God brings light on the inside that brightens my outside in degrees. The Word becomes a lamp in my hand and a light in my mind. The Trinity has made a home in us that the Son has made possible. In that home there is a warm cheerful fire in the fire place even on the dark fog filled nights.

"with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness." 2 Samuel 22:27-29 ESV

"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3 KJV

God can and does live in obscurity because of the separation mankind suffered in. He sees but we did not see Him. We don't have to live there anymore.

"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness." John 12:46 KJV

"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me." Micah 7:8 KJV

Even when we do there for seasons either on purpose or because the circumstances seem to put us there... God will find us again.

"As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." Ezekiel 34:12 KJV