Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 2
Patty is asking does the Bible say anything about how to control evil spirits?
Speaker 1
I’m glad you’re asking, Patty, because a lot of people probably try to do it themselves and end up getting hurt. What the Bible says really is God is the one that controls spirits. We don’t. And if we look at the story of Acts 1913 to 16, a really short time. But if you look at it, it tells the story of the seven sons of Skiva. And they went around and they tried casting out a spirit in the name of Jesus and Paul. And these spirits said, we know next verse. And the evil spirits answered and said, Jesus, I know, and Paul, I know, but who are you? And then what happens? Verse 16 and the man in whom the evil spirits leaped on them. So not even the spirits themselves, the man and overcame them, seven of them, and prevailed against them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. So this can happen to any of us if we try to control spirits in our own strength. In Matthew 410, when Jesus is being tempted, he tells Satan, you get behind me, you get away, Satan, because Jesus is God. He has the power to do that sort of thing.
Speaker 1
And we talked about Jude one, nine, where Jesus, Michael is there with Satan talking over the body of Moses. And does Jesus just go on and on arguing and trying to reason with Satan like you see some Exorcist doing, trying to reason with the devil, trying to all Jesus says is the Lord, rebuke thee, rebuke thee. And we actually see this a second time in Zechariah three, one to five, and let’s go there because this is a key verse, Zachary three, one to five. It says, then he showed me Zachary is having this vision and he sees Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord Michael, Jesus, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. So again, who’s doing the rebuking here? Jesus is there. Jesus is doing it. Is it the high priest? The high priest, is there? No, he’s even the high priest. If anybody should be able to do it right, maybe the high priest. But no, he’s just standing there. He’s letting Jesus do the rebuking. And if you keep reading it says, the Lord who is now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and he was standing before the angel.
Speaker 1
Then he answered and spoke to who stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, See, I have removed your iniquity from you. So again, he’s still standing here. He gets a new garment. Who does that for him? Does he do it or does God we’re going a little bit quick, but the whole time if you’re just looking in this vision, the high priest is just standing there. God does all the work. God rebukes Satan. God takes care of Satan. God takes care of our righteousness. God changes our dirty laundry. The more of a role we take on, the more of God’s work we try to do, the bigger problems we have. Now we’re into worst based religion or when you’re dealing with demons, now you’re putting yourself in position to be attacked by the demons. And we were talking a lot just now about Eve. One of Eve’s big mistakes was she was talking to the devil. She was talking to Satan, trying to reason with him. How did that go? Not too good. She got outwitted and that will happen to any of us. So more of the story, the lesson that the Bible teaches is just pray to God, because when you’re praying, you’re connected to God and then you’re letting God handle what God is supposed to handle.
Speaker 1
And I can tell you, I’ve heard stories many times with people who just prayed the prayers asking God to remove the demon, God to handle the situation. And God acts. They don’t get loud, they don’t do a big scene. They don’t try to reason with the demon. You don’t need to do any of that.
Speaker 2
We just claim Jesus, ask for him for his protection.
Speaker 1
Exactly.
Speaker 2
And let him take care of.
Speaker 1
Exactly. And with much prayer and fasting, you can, with God’s help, take care of these demons.
Speaker 2
Demons. What you’re saying is so true. And it reminds me of a story in Mark, chapter nine about when Jesus basically the disciples are trying to cast out a demon because his child was possessed. And it says in verse 25, it says, when Jesus saw the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and death spirit, I charged thee out of him and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried and rent sore. And it came out of him and he was as one dead and so much. And that he said, he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose. So here Jesus is the one that rebukes the devil. But the disciples had tried and they failed. They couldn’t rebuke this devil. And it says in verse 28, and when he was coming to the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could we not cast him out? And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. And so it’s really when you’re fasting, it’s that state of dependence. There’s nothing like fasting, I think spiritually just because it puts you in the right frame of mind of just reminding yourself of your complete dependence.
Speaker 2
You can’t feed yourself in and of yourself. You need food to nourish you. And when you’re fasting and you’re just kind of taking a break from that you’re in a different state of mind and just remembering your complete and utter dependence on God. And I think that’s where the disciples fell short is that they thought that they in and of themselves had some sort of power. And we don’t. We have nothing. We are nothing apart from Jesus Christ. And just like Jesus says in John, chapter 15 that I am the vine, you are the branches apart from me. You can do nothing. Just like a branch that falls off a tree, it’s going to die because it’s not connected to the source of life. And Jesus is that source.
Speaker 1
Exactly. And yeah, if you look at Luke 1017, I think this is a verse that a lot of people use to justify that we can cast out demons. In a sense, yes, but the 70 go out with God’s authority and power and they come back and they say, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. So they’re kind of boastful. And then the next verse, verse 18, God says, Jesus says, behold, I saw lightning, Satan fall like lightning from heaven. So Jesus now saying, look, yet I have the power, I’m the one that can control Satan. And then if you even go back down to Luke ten, verse 20, so jump two verses Jesus says, nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, referring to that they can trample on serpents and do all these amazing signs of wonders. Do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Jesus is saying, don’t get too proud, don’t get too boastful because that could be problematic. And really why we can’t boast because it’s God’s power, God is the one that’s doing it.
Speaker 1
And so going back to the verse Tina shared, Jesus says it takes much prayer and fasting. That prayer and fasting is about humbling ourself, about increasing our dependence on God. And like I said, binding in him, connected with him. That’s the key, Amen.
Speaker 2
And I think that’s such a great verse to end on that. It’s not something to be proud about. Even if you have some spiritual gift that God’s given you, even if in the name of Jesus you can cast out because it says in thy name, obviously not in their name, not any merit of themselves, but only in the name of Jesus Christ can the evil spirit go away. But again, Jesus is like, the most important thing is that your name is written in heaven Because that means that you have a right relationship with me. I think that’s such an important piece of that to always keep in mind. Amen.
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