Unclean Spirits; At Our Expense

June 10

Read: Mark 5:1-20

(5 of 5)

Unclean Spirits; At Our Expense

“…he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.”

Evil spirits always seek to drive the person they torment towards self harm. This is always the goal of the enemy (Satan) who is the “thief Jesus speaks of in John 10:10:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Satan and his fallen angels (a.k.a. demons / evil spirits / unclean spirits) only have one ultimate goal: to destroy… death. We see this outlined again in James 1:15; “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Satan’s primary tool - sin - always matures and grows into “death”. We see this self destructive pattern all around us, but in particular with evil spirits. Here in Mark 5 the man cuts himself with stones, in chapter 9 we will meet a boy with an evil spirit that “often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him.” Evil spirits will compel us… lead us… into self destructive behavior.

Self destructive behavior is behavior that comes at our own expense… at the cost of our well being. So what is the equivalent manifestation of the Holy Spirit within us? If evil spirits seek self harm, what does the Holy Spirit seek? We all know our natural selves and how selfish we are. Apart from the Lord, we would NEVER do something that comes at our own expense! It is the presence of the Lord within us, namely the Holy Spirit, that motivates us to be willing to “take a loss”… to do something that comes at our own expense for the sake of others. This is not behavior that seeks to destroy us like cutting our veins with rocks or throwing us into the fire or water… but it IS behavior that means we are willing to “take the hint” for someone else. Christ is our supreme example. Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was whipped, beaten, and had nails driven through his hands and feet! Jesus was willing to absorb that pain and suffering for those whom the Father would have him redeem. The Holy Spirit within him empowered, enabled, and motivated him to willingly suffer and act in a way that came a the most desperate cost to himself. This is what a spiritual presence within us will do; evil spirits will motivate us to harm ourselves towards the end of destroying ourselves, while the Holy Spirit will motivate us to be willing to live life on behalf of others… willing to suffer for the sake of others and God’s glory. They are very distinct ideas, yet related in a way. The origin of any selfless act from within us is The Spirit of God! One way to recognize the Holy Spirit within someone is to watch how the treat others and their willingness to “take the hit” for someone else. This includes but is not limited to generosity as well. The Spirit of God motivates and moves us to genuine generosity… giving to others at our own expense. (Some generosity is actually selfishness in disguise… giving with an agenda… but that is not what I am talking about here.)

What a powerful tool this passage is when it comes to understanding what our Christian life in the Spirit ought to look like! When we step back we see that:

1.) VOLITION: To be inhabited by a spirit does not mean we lose volition, agency, or choice. No matter if it is an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit. We still have a part to play… we still participate in our actions. This demon possessed man ran to Jesus, who or what are we running to?

2.) STRENGTH: The Holy Spirit will empower us and move us into supernatural work… grant us supernatural strength. This is strength that comes form somewhere outside of us… it is not our muscles or the calories form our food or anything else like that. Those filled with the Spirit will not be “subdued”. The presence of the Holy Spirit gives us strength the same way the presence of evil spirits empowered this man to break chains and not be subdued by anyone.

3.) KNOWLEDGE: The Holy Spirit grants us knowledge that is beyond our own minds… supernatural knowledge. We can rightly know and identify the Kingdom of God around us when we have been “born of the Spirit”. The Holy Spirit gives us words to say on behalf of God… God’s words spoken through us. The Holy Spirit gives us discernment and insight when we need the wisdom of the Lord not the wisdom of this world. The same way the demon possessed man knew Jesus was the “Son of the Most High God”.

4.) PROCLAMATION: The Holy Spirit will lead us to cry out in praise and proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit lets us to call out in worship, song, and prayers. The Holy Spirit shapes the “noises” we make… our words. The same way the evil spirits led this main to cry out in agony, the children of God cry out in worship and joy.

5.) COMMUNITY: The Holy Spirit motivates us to move into community. The Holy Spirit will call us away for places of “death” (such as the tombs) and into places of “life” (most importantly into Christ). This man was driven to the outskirts of town by these demons… utterly isolated outside of community. The Holy Spirit does the opposite of this. We are no longer isolated and alone in Christ.

6.) SELFLESSNESS: The Holy Spirit motivates us to be willing to take the hit for others… to care for others even if it means a short term loss for ourselves. In other words, the Holy Spirit motivates us to act at our own expense. Just as this man possessed by evil spirits cut himself at his own peril, so will we be willing to take the “cut” for someone else - Jesus is our example. Evil spirits drive towards death… this is a sacrifice of self for the sake of destroying the person; The Holy Spirit leads us into sacrifice of self for the blessing of others and our own REWARD.

This is life in the SPIRIT ! May we manifest deeply and fully these truths. As the children of God, the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us. Let us not be strangers… unaware of the one within us! May the presence of the Holy Spirit within us be made manifest… worked out in our day to day lives for the fame and glory of God. Love you guys. - JDP