Gtoctr/ws020211
Mark 1
Verses 16-20 - Jesus calls the first four disciples who were fishermen.
· Two were casting nets
· Two were mending nets
· James and John were people of evident means
Mark 1
21 Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.
22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23 ¶ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,
24 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!"
25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"
26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.
27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
What we see from these verses is
· If you want to be like Jesus you’ll need to go to Church
Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
· We see the “Authority” theme continued by Mark
· And then: The Doctrine of “Deliverance”
· Authority and Power are mentioned 10 times each – Demons 16 for an average of once for each chapter by Mark.
Deliverance from demonic possession is a consistent part of the New Testament experience. With this in mind it is important that we expose ourselves to what the New Testament teaches about demons and demonic possession, oppression, influence and deliverance. Jesus dealt with demons in His earthly life and ministry as did Peter, Paul and others such as the seven sons of a Jewish Chief Priest named Sceva recorded in the book of Acts.
Acts 19
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 ¶ Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches."
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
· I think it a reasonable note to find that Mark record of the first demon possessed person Jesus encountered was in the Church.
· The question often asked by concerned citizens of the Kingdom is “Can a Christian have a demon?” The answer I love to share comes from what I heard the late Pastor John Osteen who was asked this question at a “faith” conference in Fort Worth a number of years ago. He said, “The way I read the Bible … a Christian can have about anything he wants!” What I hear in this excellent answer is that “Demons are subject to the believer.”
· At any rate: Note that the demons knew Jesus in Mark 1, also that they said that they knew both Jesus and Paul in Acts 19.
· A person who does not know Christ has no power over, position with, or protection from demonic oppression, possession and influence.
· Just because you go to church on Sunday does not mean that demons will leave you alone.
· Demons have been known to: tempt; entice; manipulate; cause sickness; withhold blessings; speak through others; control the actions of others; dominate governments and world systems; divide relationships; and cause destruction, chaos and death.
· Demons hate and often attempt to frustrate Believers.
· The world and the unsaved are at their mercy but the Christian is their target. Demons hate peace and the Prince of Peace.
Mark 1
32 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
34 Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.
· Again – the demons knew Him and Jesus cast them out and did not care to hear anything they had to say. He does not need the testimony of devils to prove He is the Son of God nor does Jesus want to expose others to the lies or half truths which come from the world of darkness to confuse the minds of men.
How does a person get deliverance?
· Through salvation
· Through the prayer of faith by a believer who is exercising their God given voice of command
Acts 16
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
· A Believer has the right and power (again what Mark teaches: Authority and Power) to command the demons to leave. Jesus battled the devil in the wilderness for Himself and did not allow Himself to be influenced by those demonic temptations.
If there is something in your life which has been continually bothering you, haunting you, controlling you or withholding from you and it just won’t seem to stop – or – if you know that you have gotten involved in practices or activities which are evident areas known to be controlled or influenced by demons, witchcraft, and dark elements of this world … you need to address these things spiritually.
Spiritual matters must be dealt with spiritually. It was common in the ministries of Jesus and the early church leaders to deal with demonic influence in the lives of people they encountered.
During the past few decades there have been a lot of doctrinal error taught both in and outside of the church. In fact the Apostle Paul spoke of “doctrines of demons” infiltrating the church in the last days. However, Demonology, when not taught or embraced in error, is a powerful truth and a powerful tool to helping people get free from the devil’s influence and control.
Not everything is a spirit but we know that some things are. And for the demons we do encounter, we have the power to cast them out and make them leave.
Remember: Don’t be afraid of demons … if you know Jesus … demons are afraid of you! And, in the Name of Jesus, demons will obey your command.
