A Demonic
Pawn
2014-04-13
Acts
19:11-20
11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to
the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus
named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a
vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might
regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard
from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at
Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to
bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go,
for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and
kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much
he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and
entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord
Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you
may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And
immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his
sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was
strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And
immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of
God.”
Paul
begins his 3rd journey at Ephesus, which was the center for occult
practices & demonic activity.
· Satan/demons
are not ‘omni’-anything
o
There are not fewer demons so there is no reason to
believe there is less demonic activity today.
· We in the
High-tech West find it hard believe in demons: We can’t perceive it with our 5 senses.
o
Demons MAY influence and unusually cause a strong
irrational fear, anger, hatred, bitterness, lust, greed, sometimes disease
and/or sickness. Acts 8:7, Lk. 13:
11, Mt 17:15, 18 & 4:24, Mk 9:17-18, 1 Cor. 12:10
§
Not all evil and sin is from Satan/demons, but some
is.
Look at
the Text: God’s has power/authority over demons to advance His kingdom. Acts 19:11-16
· The seven
sons of Sceva did not accepted as Messiah, but used His name to cast out
demons.
o
In the New Testament, there was not a formula to
casting out demons, it was always a matter of authority from God...knowing
about Jesus is not the same as knowing him.
· God does not
approve of inappropriate and/or unauthorized associations with His name.
It backfires
if people try to use or manipulate God. Acts
19:17-20, 16:17, Ex 7:22, Mt 7:22
· To the pagans:
Christ’s name now had divine power/authority & the Gospel and what Paul was
saying was proven true.
· The new
Ephesian believers repented, turned from sin, & burned their occult books: they
did not sell it or give it away…as to no infect others with evil.
o
Victory over a demonic attack usually is not an issue
of casting out demons, but repenting & yielding to the Holy Spirit. Eph. 6:10-12, Gal 5:16-17; Col 3:3-5, Jam
4:7
o
Accept responsibility to obey Jesus Christ &
not shift blame to demonic force.
§
To repent & make a clean break from sin is sometimes
costly.
·
50,000 silver (1= 1 days pay)=192 yrs. of work
o
@ $9/hr. ($19,000/yr.) = 3.6 mil. today!
The fruit
of repentance is freedom/blessing….Destroy evil books, gain sacred books.
· 1 Cor.,
John’s gospel & 3 epistles written in Ephesus
o
1 & 2 Timothy, was written to Timothy as a
pastor in Ephesus
A
Christian can NOT be demon possessed: speaks of ownership & no Christian is
owned by a demon.
· There are
varying degrees of demonic attack/influence on Christians. Eph. 6:12, Rom 6:14, 1 Cor. 6:19-20, Eph. 4:27, 30-32,
2 Cor. 12:7-9
o
Persistent sin CAN give a foothold to demonic
activity.
o
Usually the enemy is trying to keep a Christian from
more effective ministry/growth.
The New
Testament recognizes demonic activity, but the emphasis is not on influence of
demons, but power of Gospel to triumph over works of Devil. 1 Jn. 3:8, Lk. 4:41, Heb. 2:14, Col
2:15, 1 Jn. 4:4, 5:4, Rev
12:11, Lk. 10:20,
· The cross of Christ is the ultimate basis for
victory and authority over demons.
o
Membership
in God's family is the only position to engage in spiritual warfare
· In prayer
for self & others occasionally ask Jesus to rebuke demons. 2 Cor.
10:3-5, Lk. 9:1, Acts 8:7, 16:18, Eph. 6:10-18, 1 Pet 5:8-9, Jude 9
o
Sometimes one can GENTLY verbally rebuke demon in
Jesus’ name or quote relevant scripture if there is a sense of demonic activity.
o
This does not
have to be highly dramatic, rather briefly tell evil spirit to leave in Jesus’
name.
§
The main focus is not on the demon but the truths in
the Word.
· Whether a
demon or sin, the Holy Spirit can make changes in your life.
o
Satan is a defeated foe & thru the Holy Spirit
we have the power to overcome him and walk victoriously with hope & joy.
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