21/02/2024
Chapter 1: Hostage Rescue (Part 2)
Luke 11:21-22 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
The illustration is simple to grasp. The strong man is Satan, or a demon, which controls the emotions, body and thoughts of an individual. He will only cede control when someone stronger displaces him, as the lions dislodged the seven abductors. And who is stronger than the devil? Who has the power to cast out demons? Speculation is uncalled for as a practical demonstration was given before the illustration was given.
Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
Jesus is stronger than he, Christ is the only hope for the demon-possessed, devil-harassed hostage.
“But”, the exclamation can be instantly heard, “Jesus is not with us today in 2020. He died, resurrected and ascended almost two millennia ago”. True, today He is not physically with us on earth, but we have someone just as effective, just as powerful as Christ was. In fact, not only are we discussing a deliverer who is just as powerful as Christ was, but the Bible shows us that the power that Christ used to cast to devils is still available on earth today. You see, Christ said that He was evicting Satan from the hearts of men by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matt 12:28-29 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
It is by the Spirit of God that Jesus was stronger than Satan and it is by the Holy Spirit that Christ cast out devils. What follows is the sweet part. The Holy Spirit is still with us today. How do we know this? Jesus promised that the Spirit of God would be with us even after His ascension. The Comforter has been with us and will continue to do so as long as time shall last, as is clearly shown, the Comforter is the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16, 26 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;… But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
No demonic force, singular or combined, can ever possess the heart, mind and body of the person who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him or her; for the Spirit of God is stronger than all legions of demons united. You may be bombarded by Satanic influences: as a tsunami, temptations may violently pour against the soul, uninvited demon inspired music may blatantly advocate impure thoughts, movies may aggressively fuel violent impulses, social influences may pressurize you to indulge in a health-destroying substance, but God’s Word promises that the Holy Spirit will rise up in your defence.
Isaiah 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
Common sense concludes that “the stronger than he” needs to have a permanent residence, rather than leave after expelling the abductor in a once-off encounter. Even the lions knew that. They remained stationed, protecting the girl for about half a day before the Ethiopian police arrived. In like manner, we are only secure from demonic influence and control if we enjoy the unceasing occupancy of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The foe will return with a sevenfold vengeance if the strong man is absent.
Lk 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Herein lies the secret of every secure Christian – it is the unceasing presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart.
There is, however, a fundamental difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the safeguarding by lions. The average person would describe the appearance of lions as “luck” or “chance”. I would prefer to call it providential. In any case, the 12-year-old girl did little, or nothing, to enjoy the protection of the lions. Not so with the security that comes from the Christian’s strong man. Christ’s presence by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does not take place without the believer playing a part. I hear you inquiring, “What must I do for the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart?” The fact that you can ask a question means you are able to take the first step towards experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
“You must ask” is the initial answer to your question. Christ enters the heart; the Holy Spirit takes possession of the Christian after a deliberate step is taken in asking for the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives.
Luke 11:9-13 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Christ will not execute a coup in your life, He will not wrest the reins of your heart from Satan except as you ask Him to do so. As anguishing as it is for Him to watch anyone suffer at the hands of demon possession, He respects our freedom of choice. We are to make our choice whether we want to continue to be under the government of our ruthless foe or experience emancipation at the hands of Jesus.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Although we are to take our first step in asking, although we need to give Him permission, He has already demonstrated His desire to set us free, even before we knew, or had shown interest, in such freedom. He has long been standing at the door of each heart, knocking, patiently and ceaselessly. In various ways and in a multitude of circumstances, His knock on the door of hearts is heard. On the hospital bed, when the business fails, at the death of the loved one, after a face-to-face encounter with death, when the family ship hits turbulent waters or even during the Covid-19 lockdown. Many will testify that they have come to realize their need for a deliverer after a bitter experience. But it needs not ought to be so. The birds that sing in the early morning, the innocent laughter of children playing outside, the daily provision of food, a scholarship to further one’s education or the proliferation and easy access of the Bible are all meant to open our ears to the voice of our wonderful Saviour seeking permission to enter our hearts.
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
After asking for the presence of the Holy Spirit, we need to study God’s Word, His Holy Bible and obey the truths that are taught therein. When the strong man is given permission to enter the house, He immediately expels the abductor and also cleans up the house. You see, Satan’s vice grip is released by the acceptance of truth, for it is the truth that makes you free (John 8:32). It is for this reason that we need to take time to prayerfully study the Bible and by this, the Holy Spirit leads us into emancipating truth.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
We then hasten to add that God’s Word heard or truth read, without acceptance and belief, will do nothing for us. It is therefore important to exercise faith in the truths revealed in the Bible, it is faith in God’s Word that sets us free. This is demonstrated in one episode when the disciples failed to cast a demon. The reason was a lack of faith.
Matt 17:15-20 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
After hearing and believing God’s Word we must obey what the Word says, for disobedience is sin, and sin grieves the Holy Spirit. Persistently clinging to any known sin will, bye and bye, become so repugnant to the strong man that He will depart, leaving ready and easy access for the devil to repossess the soul, with greater fiendish intensity.
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Hebrews 3:7-13 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
2 Peter 2:19-20 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bo***ge. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Luke 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
The reader can only imagine the relief of the 12-year-old Ethiopian girl after she returned home as a result of the deliverance by lions. It is up to each one of us to picture and also experience the rescue that comes from Jesus, the prevailing lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Make that choice right now, surrender to Him, begin studying and obeying His truth and eternal freedom will be yours.
This is the subsequent part of the free Chapter 1 reading of my book “Stronger Than He”. Future instalments shall be posted in the coming days. You can also get your full copy of the book.
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Blessings. TMSD
References
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/22/3
http://www.vh1.com/news/54889/12-possessed-musicians/
