1 Life is a series of power struggles and choosing which ones to engage in is a large part of operating in this wonderful power. How well do you choose your power struggles? Do you sense God s energizing power in those choices or are you left operating in your own strength? You don t have to look for power struggles they will come to you but you can choose how to engage. That explains the life of Jesus. He had his own power struggles and He got involved in helping others in theirs. We first read about his own initial power struggle in the wilderness against the devil. Jesus operated within the power from God, relying on scripture and came out of this key power struggle victorious. Jesus went into the desert full of the Holy Spirit and came out full of the power of the Holy Spirit. This would set the tone, a victorious theme for further power struggles in his earthly ministry as well as the ultimate power struggle at the cross, through his death and resurrection. 6 times in the gospels Jesus is approached or confronted by demons in other people. He is faced with other people s serious power struggles. Each time Jesus initiates a power encounter that tears down what the devil had been doing and releases the individual. 1. Demoniac Matthew 8:28-34 Region of the Gerasenes Healed from madness, isolation, self destructive behavior and 2000 demons. 2. Mute man Matthew 9:32-34 Could not speak because of a demonic influence healed the spiritual was responsible for the physical. 3. Blind and mute man Matthew 12:22-28 Similarly healed 4. Man in synagogue Mark 1:21-28 impure spirit cries out - tormented The demon is cast out 5. Young boy with seizures Matthew 17:15-21 self destructive behaviors due to a demon healed 6. Little girl Mark 7:25-30 - suffered terribly These are overt power struggles between darkness and light. 1
2 When Jesus tore something down in always resulted in lifting people up, being built up. That is how you know God s power is present. These encounters represent the most important power struggle of all and the one we are authorized to walk in power. A struggle for souls and eternal matters. There are many battles and struggles I am not promised to win, but there is one I am and it is the most important one. The battle against the devil and the forces of darkness through the power of Christ. I want to say 3 things about spiritual power struggles: Sobering, Inspiring and Spectacular. Coming from the last miracle. Mark 7:24-30 Jesus left that place (Capernaum) and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was (cruelly) possessed by an impure spirit (and was suffering terribly) came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus ( Lord, Son of David ) to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 First let the children eat all they want, he told her, for it is not right to take the children s bread and toss it to the dogs. 28 Lord, she replied, even the dogs under the table eat the children s crumbs. 29 Then he told her, For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter. 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 1. Sobering means Reality, not negative or pessimistic. The devil does not love children or families. Most people want to discuss the conversation. Was Jesus being rude, racist or nationalistic? He wasn t. That is not what catches my attention. I think of a little girl demonized who suffers terribly. It makes me think of children and youth who suffer terribly in our community and in this world. I have a younger half sister who shared with me years of cutting herself. 2
3 A sobering reality is young people suffer. 46% of all young people in our country are known to experience some type of episodal emotional or mental disorder. 20% have chronic conditions and therefore labeled as serious mental or emotional issues. 1 in 5. When children suffer, parents suffer. Questions?? Is any of this suffering of young people or even adults today demonic like it was in this story? How much influence can the devil have? How much of our depression is demonic? How much of our shame is demonic? How much of our violence is demonic? How much of our self destructive behavior is demonic? Or is it simply a chemical imbalance, a mental illness, a personality disorder? Are there spiritual factors behind these ailments? Or are these biblical writings of people who simply did not know how to diagnose or describe schizophrenia or paranoia and so they attached demonization to them? I don t believe so. Conclusions: Not every ailment is because of demonic activity, but some are. Not every psychological problem is because of the demonic? But some are. Not every physical ailment is because of the demonic. But some are. Not every social phobia or personality disorder is because of the demonic? But some are. My observation along with spiritual and social commentators conclude that in our Western society, which is relatively wealthy, technologically advanced, industrialized we are behaving more like naturalists than spiritualists. Therefore we underestimate the role of demons in our society and therefore underutilize the spiritual weapons available and consequently give the demonic realm not as much resistance as we should or could. Resulting in less people freed. Not this Mom! 3
4 Making demons more comfortable by providing less resistance is not the direction we want to go. The bible says resist the devil, not ignore the devil. Jesus made demons highly uncomfortable. Do we? The devil is just as active today as he was then but has multiple approaches depending on the culture. The devil doesn t need you to believe in him to have influence on you. The devil is an expert on building, patiently and strategically strongholds in individuals, societies and nations. A stronghold is space in people s lives that is fortified and resistant to the grace of Jesus and activity of the Holy Spirit. It is a combination of a rationale (line of thinking), the consistent behavior of sin and ongoing demonic reinforcement. You don t need to know you have a stronghold in your life to have one. Many times a stronghold is allowed because we don t know that we don t know. That is why we need people to speak the truth in love to us. A wake up call! How is this child vulnerable to the demonic? Context: This is a woman who is a Greek living in the Phoenician sector of Syria. In Matthew s account she is called a Canaanite. Context: You know who originally put this area on the map? Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. Jezebel, a Phoenician herself introduced Ball worship to Israel. A fertility cult that practiced temple prostitution and child sacrifice, came from this area. This mom is also a Greek who worship mythological deities like Zeus, Hercules and Aphrodite s. A society built upon a belief and worship a mythical gods with sex cults, open and public child sacrifice, Greek gods and goddesses. She lives in a society and culture ripe for the devil to build so many strongholds. This is a home reflecting generations of systematic spiritual darkness. Demons feel fairly comfortable here. 4
5 So it is not surprising that in this loving home the daughter is vulnerable to the demonic. She is a victim of a stronghold of a particular society. Are there strongholds here we are not aware of? We are not a culture like ancient Greece with deities all around us, like maybe India, a pantheistic/polytheistic culture, but a culture with less and less spiritual emphasis. It started in 1963 when the Supreme Court ruled on removing prayer from public schools. Several more rulings sent a message that we are less and less tied to a faith found in scripture. There is a phasing out of the supernatural involvement of God, the place of scripture within mainstream politics, media and pop culture. Here is an implication: A growing secular approach to moral issues ceases to be a spiritual issue but becomes a medical issue. More and more we describe unhealthy moral behavior with medical terms therefore prescribing medical treatments. Consequently we medicate and suppress the human demise. We approach morality in strictly medical language and become more and more a world of medication and prescriptions. We suppress but don t heal. Jesus did not suppress the bad behavior of a spiritually troubled person. He healed them of what caused the behavior in the first place. It is a strategy the devil is using. Jesus healed, he didn t just suppress. One more sobering thought from this story. This is a loving mom who contributed to the demise of her daughter. It happens through ignorance. Ignorance is blindness. Spiritual blindness creates a fertile environment for the devil to work undetected. I grew up with a loving Mom but was subjected to high levels of spiritual darkness. Why? Ignorance and blindness. My Mom loved me but was a product of the surrounding worldly culture. We weren t Baal worshippers or worship the goddess Aphrodite s. But we simply bought into the prevailing culture of the world in ignorance and blindness. 5
6 The ungodly ideas of the 60 s and 70 s created strongholds in our home in which I became subject to. Sobering to consider the spiritual reality behind the human condition. Chicago: There is a demonic stronghold of violence there. 2. Inspiring This Mom contributed to the deliverance of her child. This woman is kind of a hero. This can be true of all parents. Some inspiring things from this Mom. She had to go against the grain of culture. She pressed through the reluctance of her peers. Her methodology was radical for her community. This would not be supported by good Canaanites in the Greek culture of Syrai. To go to a Jewish rabbi to seek healing of her daughter. This would be outside her normal or approved options. Sometimes you have to do something different to get different results. She had to go somewhere she hasn t gone before. If you want the same results just keep doing the same thing. Not this Mom. Status quo wasn t cutting it. She had to rethink her spirituality she inherited. It wasn t working. She converted! Who is Jesus? She addressed Jesus as Lord. She recognized his power and understood this was a spiritual power struggle and concluded Jesus was truly sent from God. This is someone who understands the Lordship of Jesus Christ! She had to be determined in the face of resistance - Are you determined? What are you determined about? Is what you are determined about going to foster a power encounter in your life or a power drain? Determination by itself is not virtuous. The devil is determined, that doesn t make him godly. She was determined to get to Jesus! This determination based in hope because of who Jesus was. Jesus complimented her in the highest way, because he said she had great faith. 6
7 Here is a Mom who had a power encounter in her home with her daughter. I am so happy for this Mom! If we can all be determined because of a hope in Jesus we can see power released into our lives and the lives of others. This is inspiring. 3. Spectacular This is a remote miracle. It happened right away. At that moment. In one moment her home ceased to be a comfortable place for the devil. Isn t that what we all want. Homes that are resistant to strongholds and receptive to the King of Kings? The devil left immediately and the girl was sleeping. The devil is only scared by one thing. He is not scared by education, talent, intelligence, charisma, positions or accomplishments, etc. But he is afraid of Jesus. Get to Jesus is your answer for every power struggle you will ever face. His power will then flow through you. Our power is based on a person. The person of Jesus. Jesus relationship to the devil is like David s relationship to Goliath. Your home: 7