Part 9 - Matthew 8:16-17 - ON DEMONS, CLAIRVOYANTS, HOROSCOPES AND WITCHCRAFT
I have always thought that some CLAIRVOYANTS and some of those who prepare HOROSCOPES got their knowledge from demons. I have never been in doubt that WIGI BOARDS ARE DANGEROUS because they open people up to DEMONIC INFLUENCES. I know that Witches aren't the broomstick riding, warts on noses, black magic kind in fairy stories, but I also know that they are not the Harry Potter's or Samantha's of this world either (What, you don't remember Samantha? She was a witch in the first TV show,"Bewitched!" that depicted witchcraft as a funny, but innocent kind of magic. She paved the way for Harry Potter.)
I was at Borders the other day and I noticed that most of the young adult best selling books had occult themes ranging from mythological warewolves to ghosts. And of course I can't not mention other demonically associated characters like vampires who fall in love with humans ("NEW MOON", etc and yes, no matter how much you cried over the books as they fell in love, we are still talking about figures traditionally associated with demons) but lets see what the Bible says in Matthew 8:16-17.
"That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and He healed all the sick. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, "He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.""
Now this is interesting. Demon possession, evil spirits cast out, people being healed and a prophecy from the distant past saying this applied to Jesus.
I've said before (Part 6 - Matthew 8) that a couple of things catch my eye, and strike my interest, and I have all kinds of questions. Who were these demon-possessed people and how did they get demon-possessed? Can a demon actually possess someone, as in OWN THEM? Can someone really be so controlled by demons that they no longer have any control, eyes roll back, and they become super strong and scary? Is this just talking about mental illness and attributed to demons? And who are these demons anyway? - Fallen angels, or some other weird spirit like ghosts and things conjured up by mediums and wigi boards? Should Christians read novels about demons? (I just read the Twilight series. Sorry to disappoint those who said the answer to that question was "No!")
This passage and others in the Bible indicate clearly to me that Satan (and yes, he exists) attacks us in many ways, including DEMONISATION or as it is translated here - DEMON POSSESSION. The original Greek word means "TO BE INFLUENCED, AFFLICTED OR TORMENTED IN SOME WAY BY DEMONIC POWER".
A person can apparently suffer under various degrees of demonization. Not all of them were totally out of control, because many of these people were brought to Jesus. If they were out of control this wouldn't have happened. And it says Jesus cast them out. Pastor John Wimber, who started the Vineyard Movement of Churches, preferred to use the word "DEMONISED" OR "SEVERELY DEMONISED". He believed that "POSSESSION" was not a helpful or Biblically accurate word. A demonised person may be simply troubled by their thoughts. Another demonised person may be almost completely controlled by a demon. I notice that later in this passage there are people in this uncontrollable state because of demons.
So what do I look for in order to recognise someone who is demonised? Some Christians are accused of seeing a demon under every bush. What does that mean exactly, because I don't want to miss it if someone is demonised and needs help to be free, but I also don't want to go looking for it. And can a Christian be demonised?
I think the safest thing for me to do is stick with Jesus and let Him direct me concerning anything that He may want me to do about the demonic. Jesus was known for His 100% success rate concerning casting out demons and healing the sick.
I feel uneasy leaving this topic of demons here, but there will be time to explore it further soon. The Lord has more to say in this chapter about those who are demonised.
God bless you Church as you are not to be afraid of demons and as we learn to discern when it is right for us to speak out in Jesus' Name and push back the forces of evil in this world, and even to cast out demons. Most of all, live a victorious Christian life by sticking close to Jesus today.
Pastor Ross
