Disarming the Demonic (4)
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Please turn to Matthew 16 and Luke 13. During the last several weeks we have emphasized that Christ has disarmed the demonic. That comes from
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
We mentioned last week that because of the Cross (i.e. death and resurrection of Christ),
Satan and all demonic spiritual beings have no legal authority or power over those in Christ Jesus.
I emphasize legal.
Even though the demonic has no legal authority or power over Christians - Christians can acquiesce or yield authority. We can open the door to demonic influence or oppression. We can believe the lies of enemy …. So, they have no legal authority, but we can yield if we’re not careful.
We also mentioned last week that these rulers and authorities in
Col. 2:15 specifically refers to the sons of God (bēn-a-ělō·hîm in Hebrew) – also known as the Watchers, members of God’s Divine Council who became the gods of the Gentile nations.
, who for whatever reason rebelled against God. Consequently, they will face judgement and mortal death (Psalm 82). Their judgment is to be cast into the eternal fire (Jude 7). Jesus affirms this in
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
“Then Jesus will say to those on his left [humans], ‘Depart from me, you cursed [i.e. you who chose the wrong side - and go] into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
That is a direct reference to 1 Enoch 10:6.
Hell was NOT created for humanity as a punishment for sin.
Hell was specifically created for Satan, the rebellious sons of God and all demonic spirits. The only reason humans go to Hell is because they choose to reject Christ and align themselves with the devil and/or other demonic spirits. So, they have a judgement coming. Until then, the King, Jesus Christ has dethroned these rulers and authorities, and has shared His authority with us.
Back to what I said earlier. Even though the demonic has no legal authority or power over Christians, Christians can yield authority or power to the demonic.
Yielding (or “opening a door”) makes room for what we call demonization or demonic oppression.
Those without Christ can be oppressed and/or possessed (literally owned). The Christian cannot be owned or possessed by the enemy but can be demonized or oppressed.
Demonization comes in many different forms such as enslavement, harassment, or influence, etc.
- to sin, a false thought or ideology, or something physical. B) It can be some form of harassment or persecution through physical, mental, spiritual means. C) Christians, if not careful can be susceptible to demonic influence or control.
We must be careful. This requires serious spiritual discernment. Not every ailment or problem is of demonic origin.
So, what do we do with this? Let’s revisit our passages from last week and see what happens.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Let’s treat this passage as if Jesus truly means what He says. What are the keys, and what is binding and loosing?
To Bind means to restrain, tie shut, imprison, shackle, or to silence.
To loose is the opposite.
To Loose means to unbind, untie, set free, unshackle, or allow to speak.
This is not complicated and there’s no hidden meaning. Where does the binding and loosing take place? Simple - on earth (i.e. the physical realm in which we live) and in heaven (the spiritual realm). Think of it like this - not Heaven with a capital H (God’s place of residence), but heaven with a little h, the spiritual realm that overlaps our physical realm. What are these keys to heaven?
The keys are a reference to authority.
Keys give you the right or authority to lock or unlock something (i.e. to bind or loose). Think of a deputy – they have the authority to put the cuffs on (to bind) and take them off (to loose). Plain and simple.
Let’s connect the dots. Jesus was telling Peter, and the disciples, and subsequently
All in Christ have His authority to bind the demonic and to loose the captive.
Luke 4. Jesus said it – what might happen if we believed Him?
Turn to Luke 13, see how this works, and then we do some hands-on training. We’ll need a few volunteers ….
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
This was a disabling spirit and probably not a demon.
Demons are typically called unclean spirits and prefer to inhabit the host and thus need cast out (commanded to come out).
Remember, Christ has given us authority over all the demonic don’t need to split hairs over this. However,
It is important to note that this is a spiritual being causing a physical malady.
A spirit in the spiritual realm (heaven) has bound a person in the physical realm (earth). Now, not all disabilities are of demonic or spiritual origin, but this one is, and we see both in Scripture. Unless you have the gift of discerning between spirits, this will be difficult. So, we need to be careful.
Here we have a Jewish woman, a Believer, a child of God (daughter of Abraham) physically oppressed by a demonic spirit for 18 years. I imagine she went to doctors, chiropractors, had steroid injections, sure she prayed – nothing for 18 years until Jesus showed up.
Another thought – in church – no one knew she had a disabling spirit.
When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”
And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.
How did Jesus heal her or set her free?
No theatrics. No shouting. Didn’t ask the spirit’s name. No counseling or digging up the past to find out what she did to open the door for the demonic. None of that. Simply, “You are freed from your disability.” What was the disability? It was the spirit. In other words, Jesus said, “You are loosed from the spirit that has bound you.” There is no cookie cutter approach. Mark 9 tells us there are different kinds.
And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
There’s the binding and loosing language. Jesus bound the spiritual culprit to set her free in the physical.
I don’t know the answer to this, but I wonder did Jesus free her by binding the disabling spirit, or did Jesus help her believe in the authority she has as a child of God? I don’t know.
So what do we do with this?
We have the keys of heaven, the authority to bind and too loose. We have the authority to bind the demonic so people can be loosed – set free. What do we do with this? I have a few suggestions.
1) Believe what Jesus said.
2) Pray for others (in private) using the binding and loosing authority of Christ.
(not a magic formula …)
3) Practice with people you trust.
As you begin to see fruit and your confidence increases,
4) Believe God will use you to set people free.
Paganism is increasing in this country. We mentioned that on the first Sunday of this series. The demonic is increasing and becoming bolder. Why bolder? Because the Church doesn’t believe. We need to believe our Bibles. As the demonic increases, people will need the Church.