A DEMONIC RECOGNITION

AS I BEGIN THIS TEACHING, LET ME SHARE SOME THOUGHTS I HAVE ABOUT DEMONIC ACTIVITY, SO AS TO GIVE YOU CONTEXT AND CLARITY ON THIS SUBJECT!

AS A RECOVERY LEADER I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS MATTER PREVIOUSLY. BUT WOULDNT YOU EXPECT THAT? FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY NOT BELIEVE IN DEMONS OR DEMONIC ACTIVITY, THE ENEMY HAS YOU, RIGHT WHERE HE WANTS YOU! ALSO JUST BECAUSE YOU DONT BELIEVE IN THEM DOESNT DENY THEIR EXISTANCE BY THE WAY(JUST SAYING)

(TELL THE STORY ABOUT THE YOUNG TROUBLED LADY FROM THE SHELTER) ALSO SHARE ABOUT THE WOMAN WHO HAS EMBRACED WITCHCRAFT NOW AFTER COMING TO CELEBRATE RECOVERY

— Acts 19:15 “But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

The evil spirits in the demon-possessed man in Acts 19 were very familiar with both Jesus and the apostle Paul.

However, the demons did not recognize the seven sons of Sceva who were trying to exercise authority over them. We can know this from the original Greek in Acts 19:15, where the evil spirit responded to the seven exorcists: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”

The words translated “know” in those two phrases — “Jesus I know” and “Paul I know” — are two distinctly different words in the Greek text.

In the phrase, “Jesus I know,” the word “know” is the Greek word ginosko. The word ginosko has a wide range of meanings, depending on the context in which it is used.

The foremost meaning of ginosko was to recognize a person or a thing, to acknowledge, or to have a full comprehension about the person or thing being acknowledged.

There is no question that the use of the word ginosko here means the wicked spirit that inhabited this man admitted, conceded, and affirmed that the name “Jesus” was well known to it.

Like all evil spirits, this demon was familiar with Jesus — it fully comprehended and acknowledged who Jesus was — and had possessed this knowledge for a long time.

So when the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know,” it was saying, in effect, “Jesus I know and fully comprehend with absolute certainty…”

AT THIS TIME LET ME SHARE A COUPLE OF PERSONAL ILLUSTRATIONS, FOR YOU:

In your home, you may notice conflict arising among family members that feels unusually intense or manipulative. I BELIEVE THIS HAPPENED TO ME AND MY FAMILY DURING THE TIME MY OLDER BROTHER STARTED BECOMING MORE AGITATED AND BELIGERENT. HE WOULD EVENTUALLY GO TO PRISON. WHERE HE HAD A BIBLE THAT HE WROTE IN QUESTIONS AGAINST GODS WORK THROUGHOUT THAT BIBLE. HE WOULD LATER BE RELEASED FROM PRISON BUT WOULD EVENTUALLY KILL HIMSELF THROUGH DRUG USAGE

ANYWAY LET ME CONTINUE: This can be a sign of spiritual opposition.

Take time to gather your family and pray together regularly, asking God to reveal and remove any negative influences. REMEMBER 1 JOHN 1:8-9 (EVEN IF THIS SEEMS ODD TO YOU, WOULD YOU RATHER DENY IT AND TAKE A CHANCE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND YOURSELF?) Create a space in your home dedicated to prayer and worship. Regularly reading Scripture together can fortify your home against demonic influences and foster a loving environment centered on Christ. Encourage your family to share any tensions or fears they have and address them biblically.

LET ME STOP RIGHT HERE AND BLUNTLY ASK YOU, DO DEMONS KNOW OF YOU, AND YOUR SINCERE BELIEF IN JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR? OR DO DEMONS JUST “KNOW” OF YOU?

On the other hand, in the phrase, “and Paul I know,” the word “know” is translated from a completely different Greek word.

It is the word epistamai, which describes a knowledge obtained by outward observation. In other words, Paul’s reputation was growing as one who had authority over demons, and it had captured the attention of the spirit world in Ephesus. Local demons were “tuning in” to observe Paul’s activities.

The word epistamai implicitly reveals that the dark spirit world in Ephesus had recently become familiar with Paul’s ministry. The apostle’s activities were a great threat to the demonic forces over that city, and they were taken aback by his spiritual power. Therefore, the evil spirits of the territory were scrutinizing this newcomer and carefully watching him move through each situation as one who possessed great authority. ANOTHER ILLUSTRATION FOR YOU:

If you find that your home is filled with anxiety, sleeplessness, or a heavy atmosphere, it could be a sign of demonic presence. To combat this, conduct a 'spiritual cleaning' of your HOME. Begin by praying throughout your home, asking for God’s presence in each room. Remove items that may promote negativity or conflict, such as certain music, films, or books. Replace these with worship music and uplifting materials. As a family, create 'prayer corners' in various rooms where you regularly invite God's peace into your home through prayer.

MAYBE THIS ALL SOUNDS TO CRAZY TO YOU? DEMONS ARE REAL, WHETHER YOU CHOOSE TO BELIVE IN THEM OR NOT! TRUTHFULLY THEY WOULD RATHER THAT YOU DONT BELIEVE IN THEM. BUT WE BELIEVE IN GODS WORD, RIGHT?

This word epistamai also implies that these demonic spirits were spying and conducting surveillance on this newcomer who had invaded their dark stronghold — so they could stay aware of what Paul was doing and look for ways to oppose him.

The word epistamai therefore carries the idea: “…and Paul I know because I have recently become familiar with him by carefully following and observing his activities.”

But then the evil spirit asked the seven sons of Sceva an interesting question: “But who are YOU?

This question should be understood in the context of the entire verse. The reader should understand the text to mean: “Jesus I know and fully comprehend with absolute certainty, and Paul I know because I have recently become familiar with him by carefully following and observing his activities. But I have no idea who you are! In fact, we know nothing about you! We don’t recognize you or your authority at all!” NOW LETS FINISH THE SCRIPTURE TO GET THE FULL CONTEXT OF GODS WORD Acts 19:16–20 “And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

YOU KNOW WE DIDNT TOUCH ON PAUL AND WHAT HE WAS DOING IN THE EARLIER VERSES OF THIS CHAPTER. CLOTHING PIECES THAT HAD “TOUCHED” HIM WERE USED TO CURE SICKNESSES, AND DEMONIC OPPRESION. ISNT THAT COMPLETELY AMAZING? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I HAVE SHARED PREVIOUSLY, THAT SATAN SHOULD TRUTHFULLY BE AFRAID OF YOU!!

YOU HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU, BECAUSE JESUS IS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR. SATAN IS A LIAR AND AND LOOSER FORGIVE ME FOR DIGRESSING (SMILE)

One would think that demonic forces would recognize exorcists who regularly delved into occult practices; however, the evil spirit in the man didn’t recognize these exorcists at all.

But oh, what a glorious thought that this spirit knew the name of Jesus and knew Paul because Paul was in Christ and was an authorized user of Jesus’ name!

You can fit that description too! If you are in Christ, you are an authorized user of the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit!

LOOK AT James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” says that demons “tremble/SHUDDER” when they hear that name. The word “tremble” would be better translated that they are “spooked” or “terrified” when they hear the name of Jesus spoken with bold faith by an authorized user!

If you are a Christian indwelt by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have all power in Heaven and earth given unto you.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

You are authorized to speak on behalf of Jesus and to take authority over any evil presence that comes your way. And it must obey! FAMILY ITS TIME THAT GODS CHILDREN FLEX THESE SPIRITUAL MUSCLES BY USING THESE GOD GIVEN GIFTS!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I am thrilled and grateful to learn of the authority that I have in the name of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful that I am a real, born-again child of God — and that You have authorized me to use Your power and Your name at any moment that it is required. I need never be afraid of the devil because demons recognize that the power of God inside me is greater than all of them put together. Thank You for encouraging me to be bold when I sense the devil is trying to manifest his presence or wage an attack!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

AT THIS TIME WE WILL DISMISS OUR ONLINE FAMILY UNTIL WE SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT TIME! THANK YOU FOR JOINING US IN OUR NUTS & BOLTS VIDEO. WE WILL RETURN IN 2 WEEKS TIME

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I declare that the Son of God lives inside me — and I am in Him — and when I am required to speak to an evil presence and command it to go, that evil spirit recognizes Jesus’ voice speaking through me. I am not afraid. I do not give way to fear. I do not listen to communication that would incite anxiety or fear. I receive from strong, Word-based teaching resources, like this one today, in order to build my faith and prepare me to take action when it is needed!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

Have you ever thought about how sad it is that people involved in the occult are playing with powers that will ultimately work against them? Do you know someone personally who is operating under this kind of self-deceived influence?

Demons know the name of Jesus — and if you are in Jesus, they know your name too. So let me ask you — have you ever had an experience where a demon spirit recognized you and obeyed your authority? Or have you heard of someone else who had that type of experience?