The healing of the demon possessed man is the next miracle in our series…This miracle is recorded for us in Mar 1:21-28, Luk 4:33-37 .
In our study for this morning we find the Lord teaching in the synagogue. In attendance at this service was a man that had the spirit of an unclean devil. As the Lord taught, this demon possessed man cried out and said… “Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God”.
The Lord responded “Hold thy peace and come out of him”. We find the demon obeys the command of the Lord, throws the man down and leaves the body of this man.
The result of this great deed was that both the authority and the power of Christ was recognized by those who witnessed this great event. The account of this event closes with the statement,… “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”
Not only do we have the Lord’s authority over evil and His great strength on display, but we also can learn some important lessons about the evil powers in the world around us:
- The powers of darkness exist; they are not simply a figment of our imagination.
- The powers of darkness are in conflict with Christ and share nothing in common with Him.
- The powers of darkness recognize Christ and understand many truths about Him.
- The powers of darkness are under the authority of Christ; they MUST follow His commands.
Not only does this account help us to recognize the existence of the wicked powers at work in this world but it also points us to a very crucial aspect of saving faith. Here, we find that there were many truths about Christ that were sincerely believed by this demon…His identity (Jesus and the Holy One of God), His authority and His ministry. Although He recognized, and sincerely believed these things, obviously he was not saved.
As professing Christians, we must be aware of the possibility that we have exercised the same type of faith as this demon. It is a faith that is characterized by a decision and not a conversion. It is a faith that is based solely on an action of the flesh, not a faith that proceeds from a divine working of God within us.
May we all take this account very seriously. How will we know our belief is based upon an act of God? We will be changed into a new creature in Christ and we will have the indwelling Holy Spirit leading us to perform works of fruit bearing as evidence of that change.
Jas 2:17-19 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
May the Lord bless each one of us as we “Think On These Things”.
SIH Homepage: http://www.settledinheaven.org
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