Conquering Our Own Demons
Mark 1:21-28
Introduction
We all have something in common with the Gospel message we heard a moment ago. Just like the man with the unclean spirit, we have our own demons to content with. We may not have an actual devil in us, but we do have issues which plague us from time to time. Issues that tend to control us and manipulate us. Issues that we can’t handle ourselves and that we keep turning back to. Perhaps situations that we know we shouldn’t be in, that we keep placing ourselves into. We require Jesus’ intervention to help us through these difficult situations, to get us back on the straight and narrow path, and away from the evils of this world.
We need His strength, His knowledge, His authority and especially His power to get us away from these difficulties, and towards the Grace that is the Promised Land.
Knowledge and Authority – Inter-related
Close your eyes and try to picture this situation. The same church you’ve been going to, every Sunday for the past, 2, 5, 10 years or more always has a speaker who gives the message for that week. Most of the time, your pastor speaks and the congregation responds to their words of wisdom. Sometimes, one of the deacons or elders steps up and takes over the pulpit or maybe even a visiting pastor from out of time.
You’re familiar with these speakers. Some you’ve listening to quite frequently. Some have spoken only once or twice a year. All of these speakers are respected from their communities. Well known, well liked, admired for their insight and treasured for their faith. You’ve grown accustomed to hearing these people speak. You’ve been encouraged by their words, led to follow a path because of what they’ve said, and maybe even brought others to hear their messages as well.
Each of their messages probably sounded something like this: “Brother Joe has taught us that we can only eat clean foods. Pastor Bob has showed us that it is proper not to work on the Sabbath. Minister Jim explained that we can not cook our food on the Sabbath. Therefore, we must cook only clean foods the night prior to the Sabbath to ensure that we meet the laws of Moses.”
But today, the message was much different. The speaker is not one of those you’re familiar with. Here’s this man that no-one seems to know. He’s come from … well… who knows where. He’s not from here, that’s for sure. He’s up there and He’s different. Where the pastors and the elders have always qualified their speeches with “Rabbi Johns has shown us…” or “Rabbi Isaiah explained to us…” or “Moses and the prophets directed us to…” This man doesn’t fall back on the authority of others to explain what he’s talking about. He doesn’t honor the teachers of old by using them as references. He doesn’t use others to help strengthen His arguments. Instead, He tells it like it is. It’s as if He knows something the others don’t understand. It’s like He was there when the scrolls of old were written, as if He can reach into the mind of God and pull out what our heavenly Father wanted us to know. It’s almost like He knew what was on our mind, and began with what would spark our interest. This man is different. He’s just not like the others.
You can almost picture it, can’t you? A stranger from a foreign land that speaks with previously unknown wisdom. A stranger willing to do things differently to get His point across. A stranger willing to spend time with people’s questions to ensure they understand what He has to say. He’s there to make His message known, and not just to hear Himself talk. A stranger valuing substance over form.
No one prior to Jesus spoke with the knowledge that this man had. No one prior to Jesus spoke with the authority this man had. He spoke on His own behalf and didn’t rely on the wisdom of others to justify His position. Instead, He was confident in what He taught. This amazed the people. Some were even alarmed at how He spoke because He didn’t teach, as the others before Him.
No one had to tell Jesus about the interpretations of previous Rabbis. He was the ultimate teacher. No one had to tell him what scripture had to say; He was there when it was written. Not only was He able to explain the word, He WAS The Word! His unique nature, put Him in a place no other human could’ve ever been. His authority came directly from God, because He was God. It was not derived from previous teachers of the law, prophets of old or even the traditions of the temple. These were new ways at looking at scripture and God’s word. They were new ways at addressing the teachings they already possessed. This was unprecedented. This was unknown. This was amazing!
Jesus has Power
Jesus showed that He had unique knowledge, wisdom and authority. When it came to the teachings of the church, He had all the answers. But, He wasn’t restricted to teaching only. His knowledge and authority extended to other actions as well, earthly actions and not just the spiritual domain. Jesus spoke directly, and when He spoke, the words had power.
His power is quite apparent when we look at the situation of demon possession mentioned in our Gospel tonight. This was not mental illness, but a creature with its own purpose and motives. It experienced emotions and cared about its survival. It knew who Jesus was and addressed Him out of fear. It was afraid of being destroyed. It knew who Jesus was, but not as a follower of Christ. But as one willing to do his own thing and go his own way.
The unclean spirit DIDN’T want to obey Jesus. But it didn’t have a choice. He knew who was in control. He knew who had power over him in. He knew what Jesus was capable of doing. When Jesus told him to come out, there was no doubt what the demon had to do. He obeyed and did as he was told.
Try to put yourself in the place of those in the temple that day. What must have seen, heard, and thought?
This Jesus of Nazareth, He understands things we can’t imagine, teaches with authority we haven’t seen, knows things we can’t dream about, and speaks with authority we’ve never heard of. But, it’s not just how and what he says. He has authority over the world as well and power to chase demons out of men. Who is this guy anyway? They must have struggled with what they experienced that day. They were dumbfounded and probably in a bit of disbelief at what had happened.
More importantly, how must the man with the unclear spirit have felt? He was now able to control his body. He was now able to control his tongue. He was now able to choose what he would and wouldn’t do.
Fighting Our Own Demons
Like the man with the unclear spirit in the Gospel message, we have our own demons to contend with. We may not be possessed with an unclean spirit, but we face our own problems. Where the man in the Gospel had a demon in possession of his body, we too might have sins that take possession of our lives and hate to let go.
Our demon could be unforgiveness, bitterness, an uncaring attitude or a willingness to lend a blind eye to something that we rightly should defend. Perhaps we put ourselves in places and situations we don’t belong. Maybe we compromise our values, with so-called friends that stir emotions in us that are not healthy, or bring us down a dark path toward things we know we should not be around.
Perhaps we dwell on the past and can’t see towards the future. Perhaps we have difficulties putting wrongs behind us and moving forward with a clean heart. When we choose not to forgive, when we chose to cause harm, when we chose to put our own desires before God’s will, we put a black mark on our heart, that can’t easily be dismissed.
All of have some sin, some figurative demon that we fight, maybe even on a regular basis. The Apostle Paul struggled with doing the things he did not want to do, and we are no different. Whatever our struggle is, we can rejoice that Jesus is able to help us through these situations.
Mark showed as a different path. When we struggle by ourselves, just like the man in the story, we continue to be plagued with the demons inside of us. When we rely on ourselves for the answers that we seek, we also continue to live with the sin, and can’t find a way to get rid of the burden in our chest
But with Jesus, all is possible. Where we have difficulties and see only our problems, He sees only the solutions. Only He has both the power and the authority to make those solutions a reality. He is there helping us through the situation and blessing us with His Joy.
Conclusion
Jesus has the knowledge to get us out of those difficult situations and back on the path toward the light. He has the authority over the demons in our life and can tell them to stay away from our fragile lives. He has the power to separate the light from the darkness, and keep us close to Him at the same time. He has the power to conquer any problems that we could ever fear to encounter, and a love to help us through even the most difficult of situations. He has the power to change lives and put people back on their feet.
Jesus showed through His actions, His words and His ministry that He has the power to overcome all things. He spoke with authority, and the Rabbis were puzzled. He spoke directly, and the unclean spirit obeyed. He showed that He has the knowledge, the authority and the power to conquer ALL things. He is in control, even when things seem totally out of control.
To us today, His words are life and His actions are an example to us all. Through Him, all things are possible, even the conquering of our own demons.
Jesus’ authority, power and knowledge extend to us today just as they extended to those in the past. He is completely in control. As believers, we don’t need to fear. We can rest secure knowing that He will be there to help us through our problems, Help us with our demons, and help us enjoy the Grace that only He can offer.
Amen.
