In our last issue we looked at the scriptures regarding some of the last instructions that Jesus gave his disciples.
Mark 16:15-20 15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Here we have some of the last teachings that Jesus gave just before he ascended.
According to verse 17, if a person would only believe, they would be able to cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ. As I shared in last month's issue, people are very touchy about this subject of casting out demons.
It is very evident that the church that is complacent and spiritually stagnant will frown on such an outrageous teaching as to cast out a demon. It is easier for that church to remain comfortable in religious ritual than to take God at His Word.
If you take the time to read the Gospels, you will quickly find that Jesus spent a very large amount of time dealing with demonized people.
Matthew 9:32-33 32As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.Mark 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.Luke 4:35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
We could go on and on. You can hardly read through the gospels without seeing Jesus engaged in spiritual warfare. When he sent out his disciples to preach about the kingdom, he told them to cast out demons.
Luke 9:1-2 1Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.Acts 16:16-18 16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
This verse holds a great truth on HOW to cast out an evil spirit. Paul did just what Jesus had taught his disciples back in Mark 16:17. He cast the spirit out in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:5-8 5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8And there was great joy in that city.
Philip did the same, and there is an interesting insight here in verse 8. It said there was great joy in the city (the people). Spirits oppress people. One of the signs of an evil spirit at work is a lack of joy in a person's life. An evil spirit will endeavor to eat all the fruit of the spirit that it can.
Spirits are like insects, and when an insect gets around fruit, it will begin to destroy it. When a person is tormented by a demon, they have a very hard time resting. Many times they will feel hopeless and condemned.
When Philip saw that the people of Samaria were in need of help, he got right in trench with them and got his hands dirty (figuratively.) As a result of his love to reach out and help people, there was great joy. Had Philip decided not to get involved because of accepted beliefs and the standards of the religious authorities of his day and time, there would have been very little joy in Samaria.
It doesn't matter where you go in the scriptures, the battle between the true God and the devil is always raging. If you don't see it, you need to take your head out of the sand; it is there all around us. These truths concerning demons should be studied and in practice in the Church!
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
The latter part of the verse said to speak with new tongues. Now, believe it or not, everything I wrote regarding people's unbelief concerning demons goes for tongues also. Perhaps more churches have split over the teaching of speaking in tongues than over demons or healing.
When the charismatic movement hit the US, thousands of people were in an uproar over it. Many preachers blatantly declared that if anyone spoke in tongues, they were devil possessed and would be excommunicated from the church. Thousands upon thousands of Christians split, and hundreds of new churches formed to worship God in spirit and in truth. Life-long friends and families soon found themselves at opposite sides of the spectrum over this issue. Many stopped talking and refused to fellowship or associate together anymore.
Christians grew up in the same church, and whose children played together, now no longer speak. I encourage some of the older believers who have been exposed to this type of division and stupidity to remember that God never intended any of this - the devil does. Any time God begins to move, the adversary will see to it that he is met with opposition. It is sad to say that sometimes the ones who should know better are the ones doing the most harm.
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
This makes a great refrigerator verse. However, God never intended His Word to remain on the refrigerator for show. His will is that you would believe His Word and act on it so you can experience the power of his resurrection.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
I know this verse is talking about tithing; however, the second part of the verse is still true and can be applied to all of God's promises. God wants you to prove him. If you never get around to proving God, you will live a lifetime and never experience the Almighty working in your life. God is looking for men and women to rise up and step forward to take him at His Word.
II Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
God is looking for someone to believe Him so he can work a great work in the lives of His people.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things though Christ which strengtheneth me.
You will never do until you believe and act. God expects us to believe all of His Word. We dare not pick and choose. If we are going to preach the full gospel of Jesus Christ, we must present it the way it is recorded, God's way.
Romans 15:18-20 18For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
We must learn about the ministry of deliverance, so we can engage demons and set people free, so they can have great joy also. We must learn of the power from on high and speak in tongues, if we want to enjoy the blessing in our lives that speaking in tongues produces. We must learn to minister healing and believe God to deliver His people in this day and time.
All of these ministries should be functioning in the church.
We need to be a full gospel church for our Lord and savior. We live in a time where God's Word is so abundant and free. We should be able to go places with God and do things that took our Fathers in the Word years to accomplish. We can glean from their teachings and their mistakes so we can stand on their shoulders and see farther into the great truths of God's Word.
NLT Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!NLT I Corinthians 2:9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
It is my prayer that you would rise up in your believing and experience God in your life this day. Challenge yourself to, believe and prove God now and see if he will not open to you the gates of heaven and pour you out a blessing that you won't have room enough to receive. Casting out demons, speaking in tongues and ministering healings should be part of the normal Christian experience. They are all authentic and need to be active in any complete gospel church. ÿ