Run Away!

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

Mark 3:13-15

The opposite of embracing a truth is not rejecting it. The opposite of holding on to and acknowledging and embracing a truth is to ignore it. That way I cannot be accused of being a “non believer.” I can say if someone brings it up, “Oh, I never really noticed that before.” That is much better than saying, “That is a part of God’s truth that I have decided to reject.”

Is it too transparent to say that there are some things in the Bible that make me nervous and which I prefer to ignore? Frankly, it is a pretty long list. Here are a few.

In the Old Testament God sanctioned a parent’s right to put his child to death for being disobedient. Somehow I have never found a good place to put that piece of life’s puzzle.

I ignore the scripture about “Baptism for the dead” and the one about foot washing. I think it is OK to do that ceremonially, but what if it was a command not a suggestion?

I totally disregard the possibility that I could pray for a dead person and have him come back to life. I haven’t even seen anyone attempt it.

On that list of things “my Christian life would be just fine without” is the work of “driving out demons.” Jesus sent the apostles out to preach and drive out demons. How do the two of those go together? Preaching is fine, but who today is “preaching and driving out demons?”

I do believe that there is the confrontational driving out of demons like we read about in scripture. But I also believe that preaching the Word of God as a man filled with the Holy Spirit will cause demons to flee. When I proclaim the very Words of God and speak them for the ears of other men the demons within the range of my voice must disperse.

It is the opposite of a very important truth. Satan knows that as a follower of Jesus I am not going to suddenly and completely abandon Jesus to join “the dark side.” All he wants today is for me to listen to his word. Satan preaches the opposite of God’s Word all day every day. I hear it from other men, from radio and television broadcasts, in movies and of course in the news. If I listen to the lies of Satan long enough he knows that it will be harder and harder for me to reject them.

So today when you hear one of the lies of Satan run away like Joseph did from Potiphar’s wife. If you listen to a lie long enough you will have trouble recognizing it as a lie.

Listen to the Word of God and let His Word drive out the influence of demons in your life!