Will We Be Filled Up Or Fed Up, Or Both?
Good Morning Friends,
The work of the Holy Spirit occurs repeatedly in one’s life and the life of the church dealing with evil. For confronting evil is not a task for humans to face alone. It requires supernatural intervention. We need help, not so much in understanding the problem, but to act effectively in resolving it. Mark Twain said, “It’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that cause me problems, it’s the parts of the Bible I do understand and don’t want to do that cause me problems.” This same situation faces the church. The thing is that light and dark cannot coexist and the church has some very dark demons that need to come out of its body much like the evil spirit in today’s text. So, the question is this: Will We Be Filled Up Or Fed Up, Or Both?
Scripture: these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:10b-16 (NRSV)
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! 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!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
Luke 4:31-37 (NRSV)
Message: Submission to God’s power is the goal but it is not always easy. Sometimes we must confront evil. And it is naïve to think that evil cannot come into a church or invade our home to keep us from what God would have us to do. It is naïve to think that any of us are immune from evil. In today’s Gospel reading we see an example of Jesus’ power to heal the spiritual afflictions that possessed a human soul. By God’s power we can experience freedom from our demons too. No, this is not exactly a psychological healing but a spiritual one. Let us see what we can glean about this real-life problem from today’s Gospel reading. The beauty is that Jesus understood that people needed real answers for real problems. While Jesus was preaching to the people a man came walking down the aisle. The man does not say, “I have an unclean spirit in me and I am trying to deal with it.” But Jesus knew what an evil spirit was like. Evil can be in different shapes and forms of self-destructive habits, addictions, dysfunctional conflicts, patterns of negative thoughts and behaviors, temptations, divisive and destructive actions. Minds filled with negative thoughts and wrong beliefs generate harmful feelings and actions. So, we are to put off our old self and be transformed by a renewing of our mind. But we cannot do this alone. Indeed, the church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. Thankfully true believers in Christ have the Spirit residing in their hearts and this same Spirit of God points out and reveals the sin and evil in whatever silhouette or shape in which it appears. Friends, we are all to be filled up with the Spirit but sometimes it is all right to be fed up too. A collective transformation is needed. The goal is not to destroy but to silence the demon and remove the offence. When we are filled up in the Spirit there is no room for demons.
Pray the God of peace, sanctify us through and through. Pray we realize the need for grace and forgiveness…the need for help… but never forget the need to truly repent and be transformed. Pray our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray those called to service are worthy. Pray we not be discouraged. Pray we fully use the spiritual gifts we have been given beyond the degree individually humanly possible because we have supernatural help in the work of glorifying God. Pray we decide to daily turn our will and our lives over to the care of God and make fuller use of the Holy Spirit to free ourselves from our controlling sinful behaviors of mind and body. Pray we understand that the power belongs to God but that the willingness and the decision to allow this power to sanctify our lives in ours. Pray we realize that fear is contagious, worry is contagious, and negativity is contagious. Pray we realize that faith is contagious, victory is contagious, and joy is contagious. Pray we are sealed in the growing power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for a supernatural resolution to the demons in the church.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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