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| Rev. Canon George Sinclair |
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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, April 21st , 2013)
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Broadcast Notes:
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‘Demons Are Real’
Read verses 30-35.
30 Jesus then asked
him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”, for many demons had entered
him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into
the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the
hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them
permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered
the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were
drowned.
34 When the herdsmen
saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then
people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the
man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in
his right mind, and they were afraid.
The pigs are really important in
this story. The Bible in fact does make a distinction between demons and mental
illness. But in this story, if someone is healed of mental illness it does not
go into the pigs.
The Bible always teaches that
Demons are real. This text just makes it clear. Demons are not a metaphor for
something else.
1. The Bible teaches that Demons
are real.
Demons are not humans after
death.
If Demons are real, then the
world is different than many in our culture things.
Purely material accounts of
reality are wrong.
What about white magic? spirit
guides? why only talk of demons?
Read verses 26-30.
26 Then they sailed to
the country of the Gerasenes,[a] which is
opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus[b] had stepped
out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time
he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When
he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do
not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to
come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under
guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be
driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What
is your name?” And he said, “Legion”, for many demons had entered him.
Note what the demons do to the
man.
2. Demons are evil and hostile.
Why 'love the sinner and hate the
sin' does not apply to demons.
There are only two options: being
a demon or being part of God's realm. There is no middle ground.
What are the criteria? If the spiritual
being exalts Jesus and only points to Jesus, then it is of God, if not, it is a
demon, even if it appears good.
To the social sciences, evil
itself is a problem. The social sciences cannot prove or disprove demons.
The common Canadian problem is to
ignore demons. The Bible gives a balanced view.
3. The Bible teaches that Jesus
is more powerful than any and every demon and their doom is certain. Read
36-39.
36 And those who had
seen it told them how the demon-possessed[c] man had
been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country
of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great
fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from
whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him
away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God
has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how
much Jesus had done for him.
We should never oppress those
involved with Demons. We go to Jesus to deal with demons.
The death of Jesus upon the cross
is His ultimate defeat of sin and evil and all demons. The resurrection is the
vindication of Jesus.
In spiritual conflict, the
lowliest disciple of Jesus is fully protected by Him.
Let’s Pray,
Dear God, please
grow in me, a humble trusting knowledge of the greatness of Jesus.
Rev. Canon George Sinclair
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