Brown's Daily Word 2-3-09

Good Morning,
The Gospel reading for this past Sunday was taken from Mark 1:21 ff. Jesus, our Lord, went to the synagogue on the Sabbath as His custom was. He taught there with authority. He confronted and confounded Satan. Jesus, the Christ, during His ministry on earth, dealt with several demons to show us that they are real, that they exist in this world, and, that we can have authority over them through Him and the Holy Spirit!
Perhaps a little background would be helpful! The town of Capernaum was situated on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was an important town on the caravan route to Damascus. It was also the site of a customs station and the site of a Roman garrison. We also know that it was the home of Peter, Andrew, and John! The synagogue there was the center of Jewish worship for the area! During the worship service on one particular day, there was an unexpected disturbance. A man having an unclean spirit (a demonic spirit) suddenly cried out - launching a tirade against the guest preacher. It was more than likely that he upset the congregation greatly by his outburst! Clearly, none expect someone in the "House of Prayer", the Lord’s House, the synagogue, to behave in such a fashion!Nevertheless, Satan and His demons do come to church on rare occasions, trying to soften the stand of Christians and instill an easy believism that imperils the Christian's power. It did not work this time because the guest preacher was Almighty God Himself in the Second Person of the Godhead. He was empowered and enabled by the Third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit and, sent by the First Person of the Godhead, God the Father! Suffice it to say that this particular demon never stood a chance! We do not hear much about people being possessed by evil spirits any more, though I wonder why. Whatever the reason, we can safely say that this man was deeply troubled! Today, with all of the world-wide problems that exist, with the wars and rumors of wars, with fears of economic collapse, with the failure to have honest and truthful leadership, with a selfish and hedonistic society that wants instant gratification (and, that does not care how it gets it), there are many people who are deeply troubled! In the June 2004 edition of "The Journal of the American Medical Association," it was reported that 26 percent of Americans showed symptoms of emotional disorders! Can you imagine what that number must be today! Perhaps one of these deeply troubled people is in our own family - or, perhaps he or she is one of our co-workers. They can cause us much heartache! Some of them are powerless to help themselves, and we need to understand that as a fact! Some have problems so deep that they never will think themselves aside from their problems. They need some outside intervention! It took a command from the Master Himself to set this individual free from his unclean (or, demonic) spirit! The Disciples were given the Power of Jesus, the Christ, to cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead, and, do even greater works than those but, on one occasion, as recorded in Mark 9:17-29 (KJV), they could not cast out a demonic spirit. When they asked Jesus, the Christ why, He told them, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Not all troubled people need psychiatrists or psychologists. However, all need someone with whom they can share their problems, who will listen to them and not judge them! There are problems, sometimes, that we simply cannot handle alone. Almighty God’s help is essential. We should also be ready to access competent medical or psychological help! We dishonor Almighty God when we refuse to take advantage of the care, the counseling, and the medical expertise of professional people in the health care industry! Christians know that no doctor can heal like Almighty God can heal and no counselor can listen with the understanding that Almighty God possesses. Yet it should be as a source of healing, understanding, and support that is in addition to, and goes beyond, human efforts!
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind 2 Timothy 1: 7
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7YPaOD4PPQ