“The Exorcist”
The title of my sermon this morning comes from perhaps the most memorable horror movie of all time. It premiered in 1973 and is due out again September of this year. The movie is entitled simply “The Exorcist.” Although I don’t think I’ve seen this entire movie myself, when I was a teenager I caught parts of it... and the parts that I saw left a lasting impression on me. In the movie, one of the main
characters was a little girl who was possessed by a relentless demon that made it his mission to reak havoc on her and everyone else around her. The demon used it’s supernatural powers to cause many strange things to happen; for instance it would cause the room to become freezing cold, levitate the entire bed, speak in a demonic voice through the girl, throw her body around like a rag doll, and perhaps the most memorable affect of all; spinning her head around 360’.
Now as you can imagine, this is not something you can take a couple of Tylenol for and it will simply go away. I’m afraid her condition was much more serious than that. The girl’s mother tried a
variety of different remedies to cure her daughter, but unfortunately nothing seemed to work. It appeared as if this demon was determined to take up permanent residency inside the body of this helpless child.
That’s when they called in the experts; the Exorcists. If I remember correctly, the demon seemed to enjoy terrorizing the first few priests that were sent to drive him out. But to make a long story short, in the end I think the demon was either destroyed or reluctantly relocated. In any case, the little girl and her family finally had peace once again.
Believe it or not... this movie was supposedly based on a true story. I, myself did not know that until one morning, not too long ago, when the Early Show had as a guest, a priest who was actually
present at the exorcism of the little girl depicted in the film. This priest said that, as graphically violent as the movie was, it was amazingly pretty accurate in it’s portrayal of what really happened. Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t necessarily believe that this was in reality a true story, nor do I encourage anyone to see this movie, in fact I would strongly urge you not to. But because of it’s widespread popularity and it’s claim to be based on a true story, I believe the mention of it is quite relevant to our message today.
I remember when I was a child and I first heard of demon possession, I tried to convince myself that it was no different than Frankenstein or the Wolfman; totally fake--a figment of someone’s wild
imagination. But years later when I began to really study my bible, I realized to my amazement, that demon possession is quite real and has indeed taken place in the past and what’s more; it continues to happen
even today. Even so, there a very few sermons preached today alerting us to this topic of which is so prominent in the scriptures. And because the most dangerous enemy is the ‘unnoticed’ enemy,. this morning it is my intention to share with you how to identify and overcome these spiritual forces of evil that we call “demons.”
Let’s begin this morning with our featured scripture for today. It’s found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in 6:10-12.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(NIV)
Now, in our study this morning, the first thing we need to do is to identify these ‘spiritual forces of evil’ or these ‘demons’ that Paul is talking about. And you don’t have to search too hard to find that Paul himself gives us a clue as to their identity right here in verse 12 by saying that these ”forces of evil” are in ‘heavenly realms’. If you have a King James version it says; ‘high places.’ Now as I studied this passage, neither translation really satisfied me, because based on what I’ve learned from my research, I can’t imagine any kind of evil residing in heaven. So I looked up the Greek word for ‘heavenly realms” which is “epouranios’ which can mean; things that take place in heaven....or things that are of heavenly origin.” This makes much more sense because we all know that the angels which followed Satan into rebellion had in fact a ‘heavenly origin’ and as Hebrews chapter one tells us; angels are ‘spiritual beings.’ So in light of the fact that these beings had to have been created by God and that they obviously had to have fallen, our only possible conclusion is that demons are fallen angels working in one accord with Satan. And because the scriptures tell us that a third of the angels fell from grace and that the number of the remaining “holy” heavenly angels is ‘ten thousand times ten thousand’ then we have to realize that there are on the loose today millions of demons.
So as Paul so accurately stated; our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan and his spiritual forces of evil ....of heavenly origin. The New Testament is full of instances of demonic possession but this morning, because of time restraints, we want to focus on one instance inparticular.
But before we read this passage of scripture, let me bring you up to speed on some of the circumstances that brought Jesus and His disciples to this peculiar encounter. Just the day before,
Jesus had taught a very large crowd by the Sea of Galilee. The crowd became so large in fact and pressed so close to the Lord that He decided to teach from a boat pulled just off shore. That evening Jesus
and His disciples headed out across the lake maybe just to get away from the crowd for a while or perhaps it was by Divine appointment. Anyway, exhausted from the day’s work, Jesus was asleep on a cushion
in the back of the boat when a terrible storm engulfed the small craft. The disciples were terrified and quickly awoke their Master-maybe just to let Him know that they were all going to die! But as you remember;
Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and the waves saying “Quiet...be still!” and the storm promptly obeyed His command. In fact the scriptures tell us that the lake immediately became COMPLETELY CALM.
Needless to say, the disciples were in awe.....in fact they turned to each other and said; “who is this man that even the wind and waves obey Him?!”
Well here is where we pick up at; Mark 5:1:20
“1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind
him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you
won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”
Now that you have the jest of the story, let’s take a closer look--in fact, let’s immerse ourselves into this situation. First, let’s examine the demoniac himself; here is a man who, the scriptures say, was
‘possessed’ by an evil spirit. What kind of affects did the evil spirit or ‘demon’ have on this man? Well for one, we’re told that he was driven by the demons to live, not with other people, but in a solitary place....among the hills and the tombs carved of limestone. The demons within him tolerated no one to get near him -- in fact, they made the man so violent that no one could even pass by that way because of him. Not only was he violent to others....but he also was forced to do physical harm to himself by depriving him of much needed mental and physical rest and by constantly gashing himself with sharp stones. One thing we need to realize about demons friends, is that their ultimate goal is to destroy us; spiritually, mentally and even physically. The bible doesn’t tell us how long this poor soul was possessed, but it appears that he must have been that way for a fairly long while.
Numerous attempts were made by the people of the region to bind and subdue him but no chains could hold him and no one was strong enough to subdue him. This poor soul was almost totally controlled by
this legion of demons that had entered his very being. His situation appeared hopeless and his fate seemed sealed......but then enter “the Exorcist.” Now I hope you don’t think my calling Jesus “the Exorcist” is intended to be flippant or even sacrilegious--no my intention is quite the opposite because Jesus does indeed fit perfectly with Webster’s definition of an exorcist. By definition, an exorcist is; “someone who casts out or frees a person from evil spirits.” In fact, Jesus Himself reads a certain passage from Isaiah and then tells those at the temple that He was the fulfillment of that scripture. This is what He read in Luke 4:18,19 as taken from Isaiah 61:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the
oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
So, Jesus and the disciples land on the shore within sight of this demoniac--this man who was being held captive by this legion of demons. Now the bible doesn’t tell us of any specific reason that Jesus came to this region which was inhabited mainly by Gentiles. But the more I study this passage, the more I believe that Jesus came for the sole purpose of healing this particular man. He and His disciples get out of the boat (remember, chances are it is still dark--with only the light of the moon shining) and as the made their way up the beach; the first sound that caught their attention was the dreadful screams and terrifying shouts of a madman echoing from
the tombs. As they paused to listen, they noticed that the screaming was getting closer and closer. Then , by the light of the moon, they see him... running towards them, almost if not completely naked, covered with blood and scars from his own hand, maybe he had pieces of chain or leg irons on his ankles and wrists. It must have been a horrifying sight because inspiration tells us that all the disciples fled, leaving Jesus standing there alone to confront this maniac.
What brought this demon, who fully knew who Jesus was and that He had the power to destroy him......what brought him there--to kneel at the feet of the Son of God? Did the demons desire audience with the Lord? I hardly think so! But the man whose body was being hi-jacked, he desired to come to Jesus, and despite the physical control that those demons possessed over this man, they could NOT prevent him from coming to Christ!! In fact Satan
himself does not possess this kind of power. Dear reader, always remember; no matter what kind of demons or sins have possessed or controlled you in the past, no matter that some still control you even now, be for certain that not even Satan himself has the power to keep you from coming to Christ!...
So, the man made his way to the Lord with the demons inside him screaming and shouting all the way. And the scriptures tell us that when he got to the Lord, he knelt in reverence before Him.
Now here’s the part that puzzeled me; Jesus told the demon; “come out of this man you evil spirit!” But the demon did not go.......rather than obeying the Lord, the demon shouted at the top of his voice; “what do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?!---swear to God that you won’t torture me!”
Why did the Lord allow this demon to be so defiant to His command? The only conclusion that I could come to is that He did it to teach the disciples and us a very important lesson; and that is that the demons or sins in our lives need to be realized or identified before they can be driven out...that’s why Jesus then asked him; “what is your name?” Of course the cooperate name of the demons was Legion because there were so many of them. And as it is with the many forms of demons or sins in our lives; there are many and they each one need to be identified and addressed. Demons like self pride, greed, sexual immorality, prejudice, jealousy, spiritual
complacency, and covetousness just to name a few. Brothers and sisters, we have to identify them--be aware of them in order that we might request Jesus to “evict” them!
Well, Jesus drove the demons out of the man and into a herd of pigs which were feeding nearby. This was kind of fitting I think--unclean spirits into unclean animals. And in a last ditch effort to hinder the work of Jesus in that region, the demons drove the entire herd off of the steep embankment and into the lake where they were all drowned.
And there, at Jesus feet kneeing before his Deliverer, was a man once held captive by spiritual forces of darkness but now freed by the Light of the world. The bible tells us that by the time the
townfolks came to witness the strange event told them by the pig farmers, the man was dressed and in his right frame of mind. The people flocked to see the lake filled with over two thousand floating swine
carcasses, but they were even more amazed to see this demoniac who had been miraculously transformed into a normal and very grateful human being.
Now I don’t know why --maybe because there were many more pig farmers in the area that feared for the safety of their investment, or perhaps they were simply afraid of such an awesome power that they couldn’t understand, whatever the reason, the people begged Jesus to leave their region. The crowd begged Him to leave......and the man he had healed begged the Lord to take him with Him. But Jesus, knowing where the man would best benefit the Kingdom, told him rather to go home and tell everyone how much the Lord had done for him. In doing so, Jesus sent out the first evangelist into a Gentile city.
And as we read in the book of Acts, this former demoniac did his job well because when the disciples made their way back to the cities of the Decapolis with the gospel message, they found the mission fields ripeand ready for harvest.
Now that we’ve studied a biblical account of demon possession, how does it compare with the type of demon possession that we see today? Well the objective is quite the same, but the strategy it
seems has been modified. I think that through the ages Satan and his demons have learned to operate “incognito” as it were, where they will be less likely to be recognized, identified and exorcised.
And today, they choose very intelligent people to do their work. Be for certain that people like Adolph Hitler, Charles Manson, Timothy McVay, and those suicidal terrorists that committed the
unthinkable on September 11.......all these people were possessed by demons. They were all controlled by these ‘spiritual forces of evil.’
But you may ask; how did these people come to be so under the control of these evil forces? The scriptures help us to understand the answer to that question; After Jesus had driven out a demon,
He spoke these words to those who were present. (Matt 12:43-45)
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house
unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Brothers and sisters, the whole key to protecting ourselves against the danger of evil forces taking up residency in us is to make sure that there is NO VACANCY. That’s why when we try to give up certain sins in our lives but find ourselves falling back into that same sin and even worse.....it’s because we don’t fill that void left by the sin with Jesus. It is so vital for Christians today to understand that we can’t face these demons alone and think for a moment that we have a snowball’s chance! Luke records in the book of Acts the account of seven sons of a Chief Priest who went around ‘driving out demons’ but one day found themselves being beaten and driven out “naked and bleeding” by the demons! They trusted too much in their own abilities and not enough in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You may have ’heard’ of Jesus and ’know someone who knows Him’ but it is only through a one on one personal realationship with the Lord that we will be given the power to defeat our enemy.
I want to close this morning with a profound statement of Paul in Galatians 2:20. “ “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
If you gain only one piece of knowledge from our message today, let it be this; If Jesus is the Master of your house(not just a good friend or an occasional guest--but the Master--occupying every
room in your house...) then you can be sure that no demon would dare seek residency in your life. May God bless you as you seek Him through His word.
