I’ve Seen the Light!
The electromagnetic spectrum is made up of radio waves, microwaves, infrared and ultra violet light, x-rays, gamma-rays and visible light. What we see with our eyes is a very small part, less than 10 percent, of the electromagnetic spectrum. There is a whole lot more flying through the air than what we see. If we were to declare that we don’t believe in any of that other stuff because we can’t see it, we would get laughed out of town. We have seen the visible light with our physical eyes, but there is a whole lot more to "see."
The same is true in the spiritual realm. There is a whole lot more flying through the air than what we see. What we see of the spiritual realm with our physical eyes is only a tiny part of the whole spectrum of spiritual reality. There is a whole hierarchy of invisible evil spirits (aka demons) that have been cast out of heaven and now dwell on the earth with us. If we were to declare that we don’t believe in any of that stuff because we can’t see it, we wouldn’t get laughed out of town (or church) unfortunately, because that’s about what everybody believes these days... that there are no devils.
Jesus came to destroy the devil and his works and to set the captives free to know Him personally and intimately. He did that by proclaiming the truth, healing the sick and casting out demons. Everywhere Jesus went He did the same thing. He proclaimed the truth, healed the sick and cast out demons. That’s the way Jesus evangelized.
Not only that, when Jesus sent out the twelve Apostles to spread the gospel, He told them to do the same thing He did:
"He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick... Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere. (Luke 9:1f)
Next Jesus sent seventy two disciples out on mission and gave them the same marching orders, proclaim the truth, heal the sick and cast out demons. (Lk 10:1f.)
Then finally Jesus spoke to all of us and said: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation... signs like this will accompany those who professed their faith, they will use my name to expell demons... and the sick upon whom they lay their hands will recover." (Mk 16:15f)
Jesus never changed his mission statement and the methods he wanted his disciples to use to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He never separated evangelism from healing and deliverance. We did. The only change He left us was: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12). When Jesus says "Amen, amen", that means listen up, this is very important for you to know. Not only does Jesus want us to do the same works He did, but even greater! We are not free to change the mission statement Jesus gave to us.
The bible says that "the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." (1Cor 4:20). All we do nowadays is talk about the gospel. We have no power! St. Paul would say to us, you senseless Americans, who has cast a spell over you (Gal 3:1). We proclaim the truth, but we don’t heal the sick and cast out demons. We are operating at 33 % efficiency and wonder why our evangelization programs are so ineffective.
Some churches at least make a stab at healing the sick by conducting a "healing mass", but no one ever seems to get physically healed. Why are there miracles up to and including the dead being raised in places like Africa, but here in the good old USA, nothing. At least part of the answer is we don’t "need" Jesus here. We have told him he is not welcome in our governments, schools, businesses, neighborhoods, homes and sadly even in some of our churches. We also live in an oppressive atmosphere of unbelief. Ever been to LA on a smog alert day? The spiritual cloud of unbelief over our country is stifling, oppressive and wrecking more havoc than any smog. We need to declare an unbelief alert in our churches! We also desperately need to hear the word of the Lord to us:
"I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent."
(Rev 2:1f)
As far as casting out demons, to the church in America, that’s about as rare as raising the dead. The general Christian population is just about totally ignorant of demons and how they operate. The most neglected person in our current American church theology is the devil. And he says: Thank you very much. I couldn’t have asked for a better setup to reap the havoc that I have planned!
We need to start talking about demons!
Demons are invisible spirits with a will, personality, emotions, intellect, speech, and authority structure. They tend to operate in groups, much like the German U-boats operated in "wolf packs" in WWII. Demons attack our minds. They place their thoughts in our minds and try to convince us that these thoughts are our thoughts. They will defile your mind with repulsive thoughts and make you wonder how can I be a Christian and think this way. Filling our minds with Oprah, Dr. Phil, John Edward, movie and TV garbage instead of the bible, gives the demons fertile ground to work with. The demons job is to mess up our lives to the max. Why do we make their job easy for them?
Demons harass us. They are like horse flies. Horse flies are attracted to horse manure. Demons are attracted to the "smell" of sin. One of the ways they gain influence over us is through sin. We invite them into our life by repetitive unrepentant sin. Sin committed long enough gives demons an entryway. Persistence in sin = invitation. We are not talking about demon possession, but everyday garden-variety demon harassment that we all experience. The demon’s job is to make your sin addictive, compulsive and a stronghold for the demon to operate out of. They will push you to do things you even hate doing.
Another way demons attack us is during times of trauma. Sometimes physical trauma, but more frequently emotional trauma that leaves us hurt, wounded and vulnerable. Satan is completely evil and loves to attack wounded and vulnerable people. He will exploit your circumstances and do anything to cause you mental torment. He will fan the flames of any hurt you have experienced. He will plant all kinds of destructive thoughts in your mind at your moment of greatest weakness.
When we are wounded and in great pain from trauma, we are like wet cement. Satan’s demons can come and plant a lie in that wet cement, like "you can never forgive that person for hurting you that way and you certainly can’t ever trust God again for letting that happen to you." The lie is now "buried alive" and will infect the wound and prevent healing. The lie is still active long after we may have even forgotten about the trauma and wound. It will still broadcast into your mind long after the wound is forgotten. It will fester there and keep after us for the rest of our life until the wound is lanced, the lie extracted and the wound healed.
Of course any involvement in any occult practice is like putting out the welcome mat for any and every filthy spirit that comes down your street. Everything from horoscopes to ouija boards, seances, and consulting the dead, should be avoided like the plague. You really will be sorry if you meet some of those demons while you’re "crossing over" with TV’s John Edward. If Jesus were to open your eyes to see what you are playing footsie with, you would screech with horror.
God and the devil are NOT equals battling it out for the souls of men. Jesus crushed the devil. It’s like Roger Clemens pitching against a six year old in the little leagues or an elephant compared to a flea. There is no comparison. Some of us just need to get a bigger God. The Jesus in you is bigger than any demon that harasses you. Just step on the devil like a flea! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4).
***** JESUS IS LORD *****
