LAKEVIEW MISSIONARY CHURCH

Weekly Update for June 1, 2022

CAUTION! DEMON WORK AHEAD

The study of demons is a little scary, but let’s take a look at it together. Demons were angels in heaven with God, but when Satan rebelled against God those angels followed Satan and became demons (Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19).
     Demons oppress and possess humans causing harm. The violence of demons is seen when Jesus arrived in the region of Gadarenes and he was approached by two demon-possessed men. Matthew described these men as so “violent” that no one could travel through the area they lived (Matthew 8:28). They also “screamed” at Jesus when approaching him (Matthew 8:29).
     Demons give extraordinary powers to those they indwell. When Paul and Silas arrived in Philippi they met a demon-possessed slave girl who was a fortune-teller that earned a lot of money for her masters (Acts 16:16). Paul commanded the demon to come out of the girl (Acts 16:18) and when the demon left the girl could no longer tell fortunes (Acts 18:19). In the book of Acts there were some Christians traveling and casting out evil spirits. When they approached one demon-possessed man, the man “leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered” (Acts 19:16, NLT). Demon possession seems to not just have a spiritual effect on people but also a physical effect as well.
     In the future there will be deceptive spirits and teaching that will come directly from demons. “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons” (1 Tim 4:1-3, NLT). The false doctrines that demons use to deceive people will continue all the way throughout the book of Revelation, “But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!” (Rev 9:20, NLT).
     Demons are a threat to your spiritual walk because they are Satan’s army sent to cause harm to God’s holy people. There once was a sign at a textile mill that read, “When your thread becomes tangled, call the foreman.” A young woman was new on the job. Her thread became tangled and she thought, “I’ll just straighten this out myself.” She tried, but the situation only worsened. Finally she called the foreman. “I did the best I could,” she said. The foreman replied, “No you didn’t. To do the best, you should have called me.”
     And that’s how it is supposed to be with our relationship with Jesus Christ. To do our best we need to call on Christ. We can’t battle demons alone. We need Christ’s help by memorizing His Word and proclaiming His name when we feel threatened.       
Pastor Christopher