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    • More Church History Articles >
      • 11-1-2016, The Second Century Church, part seven
      • 11-15-2016 The Second Century Church, part 8
      • 12-1-2016 The Second Century Church, part 9
      • 12-15-2016, The Second Century Church, part 10
      • 1-15-2017, The Second Century Church, part 11
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #1: The Love of God, from I John
    • #2: God's Love - Isaiah 58
    • #3: The Greatness of Jesus
    • #4: Our Sufficiency is in Christ
    • #5: The Importance of Our Words
    • #6: The Greatness of Jesus #2
    • #7 The Wisdom of God
    • #8 Faith and Prayer (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #9 Faith and Prayer (from Romans)
    • #10 Faith and Prayer (from Hebrews)
    • # 11: God Gives us Hope
    • # 12: Mercy and Compassion
    • #13: The Lord is our Refuge
    • #14 Jesus is our Righteousness
    • #15 The Peace of God
    • #16 The Joy of the Lord
  • More Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #17 Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One
    • #18: The Wisdom of God (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #19 The Spirit of Truth
    • #20 The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13)
    • #21: The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13, part two)
    • #22: The Spirit of Truth, part two
    • #23: Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One, part 2
    • #24: The Whole Armor of God, part 1
    • #25: The Whole Armor of God, part 2
    • #26: Victory over all the power of the evil one, part 3
    • #27: Faith and Prayer, part 4
    • #28: Our God Gives us Hope, part two
    • #29: Victory over Fear
    • # 30 Freedom through Jesus Christ
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    • #31: Seeking the Lord
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    • Declaration Proclaiming Forgiveness
    • Create Blessings!
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  • Miscellaneous Articles
    • # 1: "And the plague was stopped"
    • #2 "Let the Sun of Righteousness Arise!"
    • #3: The Pulling Down of Dagon
    • #4 The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two
    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
    • # 6: When a King and a Prophet agreed in prayer, part 2
    • #7: A Wall of Fire for our Nation

#16:  JESUS, THE STRONGER ONE,
OVERCOMES THE EVIL ONE

(Matthew 12:22-23, 43-45)​


​A summer morning, A. D. 28, Capernaum in Galilee
 
One morning in Capernaum some people bring to Jesus a man who is blind and mute because of a demon spirit. Before the crowd, the Personal Deliverer drives the spirit out of the man and the man speaks and sees. He is healed! For greater is the light and healing of the Son of God than any power of darkness in this world (I John 4:4).
 
Messianic Prophecy Fulfilled:
(Given 712 B. C.)

“He is coming to save you. And when he comes,
he will open the eyes of the blind
and unstop the ears of the deaf . . .
those who cannot speak will shout and sing!”
(Isaiah 35:4b-6a, NLT)

Messianic Prophecy Fulfilled:
(Given 712 B.C.)

“I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will guard and support you, for I have given you to my people
as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide all nations to me.
You will open the eyes of the blind
and free the captives from prison.
You will release those who sit in dark dungeons"
(Isaiah 42:6-7, NLT)

Jesus then describes to the people what happens when an evil spirit is cast out of a person: “But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of a man, goes through dry places looking for rest, and getting it not. Then he says, ‘I will go back into my house from which I came out’; and when he comes, he sees that there is no one in it, but that it has been made fair and clean. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and they go in and make it their living-place: and the last condition of that man is worse than the first” (Matthew 12:43-45, Bas).
 
Jesus compares his casting the demon out of the man to one cleaning a house. After he expels the demon, a spiritual empty space is in the man where the demon had been. If the man allows his house (his life) to remain spiritually empty, the demon can come back and bring other wicked spirits in with him. But if the man keeps his heart and life filled with obedience to the Word of God, then the evil spirit will have no room to come back in. When Jesus taught this lesson on another occasion, He summed up its message saying, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28b)
 
Comment: The Amplified Bible translates this verse as, “Blessed (happy and to be envied) rather are those who hear the word of God and obey and practice it!”  Jesus taught here that evil which is cast out must immediately be replaced with what is good, or else a greater evil will come in and fill the vacuum.

Jesus wants to bring into our lives that which make our lives more whole and abundant. The devil brings us his thoughts that will steal from us if we accept them (John 10:10). What thoughts are those? I believe you could name some of them: thoughts of discouragement and of doubt concerning God’s goodness and faithfulness, thoughts of resentment, unforgiveness, and bitterness, of pride and self-righteousness, of love for the world and of immorality. These are some of his favorite “trains of thought” that he, the evil engineer, seeks to drive into our thought life.

When we detect these thoughts coming, we should immediately begin to praise God, because praises to God are like great and mighty gates which shut out the enemy and his thoughts (Isaiah 60:18). With the high praises of God and by speaking the Word of God, we can bind the enemy and stop his toxic trains of thought which he tempts us to think upon (Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 149:6-9).

As soon as we detect these evil thoughts coming to us, we must command them to leave us. Resist the devil and he will run from you (James 4:7). Then we immediately replace those thoughts with praises to God and with quoting Scriptures we know which help us the most. And since words are more powerful than thoughts, we speak out loud when we tell evil thoughts and spirits to go and when we praise God and quote His mighty Word.

The sword of the Spirit and praises to God drives the devil and his trains of thought away every time! So let’s shut out the devil and his thoughts with the gates of praise and speak to the devil, “It is written” followed by a Scripture which helps us the most at that moment.

In our next devotional, we will continue with this account in the life of Jesus, as he endures and overcomes the hateful hostility of the religious leaders of his day.

Note: much of this devotional is from The Life of Jesus Foretold, pages 95-97.

© COPYRIGHT 2021 by Stephen Long. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Polycarp and the Second Century Church
    • The Life of Jesus Foretold
    • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • 300 Things I Like About Who I am in Jesus
  • Reviews
    • Reviews of Polycarp and the 2nd century church
    • Reviews of The Life of Jesus Foretold
  • Devotionals & Articles
    • Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #1 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #2 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #3 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #4 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #5: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #6 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #7: Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #8 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #9 LIfe of Jesus Devotional
      • #10 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 11 Life of Jesus devotional
    • 2nd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #12 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #13 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #14 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #15 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #16 Life of Jesus devotional
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      • # 18 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #19 Life of Jesus Devotional
    • 3rd group - Life of Jesus Devotionals >
      • #20 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #21 Life of Jesus devotional
      • #22 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #23 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #24 Life of Jesus devotional
      • # 25 Life of Jesus Devotional
      • #26 Life of Jesus Devotional
    • Church History Articles >
      • 8-1-16 The Second Century Church, part one
      • 8-15-16 Second Century Church, part two
      • 9-1-16 The Second Century Church, part three
      • 9-15-16 The Second Century Church, part four
      • 10-1-16 The Second Century Church part five
      • 10-15-16 The Second Century Church, part six
    • More Church History Articles >
      • 11-1-2016, The Second Century Church, part seven
      • 11-15-2016 The Second Century Church, part 8
      • 12-1-2016 The Second Century Church, part 9
      • 12-15-2016, The Second Century Church, part 10
      • 1-15-2017, The Second Century Church, part 11
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #1: The Love of God, from I John
    • #2: God's Love - Isaiah 58
    • #3: The Greatness of Jesus
    • #4: Our Sufficiency is in Christ
    • #5: The Importance of Our Words
    • #6: The Greatness of Jesus #2
    • #7 The Wisdom of God
    • #8 Faith and Prayer (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #9 Faith and Prayer (from Romans)
    • #10 Faith and Prayer (from Hebrews)
    • # 11: God Gives us Hope
    • # 12: Mercy and Compassion
    • #13: The Lord is our Refuge
    • #14 Jesus is our Righteousness
    • #15 The Peace of God
    • #16 The Joy of the Lord
  • More Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love
    • #17 Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One
    • #18: The Wisdom of God (from the teaching of Jesus)
    • #19 The Spirit of Truth
    • #20 The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13)
    • #21: The Love of God (from I Corinthians 13, part two)
    • #22: The Spirit of Truth, part two
    • #23: Victory Over All the Power of the Evil One, part 2
    • #24: The Whole Armor of God, part 1
    • #25: The Whole Armor of God, part 2
    • #26: Victory over all the power of the evil one, part 3
    • #27: Faith and Prayer, part 4
    • #28: Our God Gives us Hope, part two
    • #29: Victory over Fear
    • # 30 Freedom through Jesus Christ
  • Proverbs of Faith, Hope and Love, third group
    • #31: Seeking the Lord
  • Declarations of Faith
    • Declaration Proclaiming Forgiveness
    • Create Blessings!
  • Poems
    • #1 Poem Describing Heaven
    • Poem #2, A Great Battle at the End of Time
    • #3 Poem, the trials of Job
    • #4 Poem, God's Love from Romans
    • Poem #5: Receiving God's Rest
  • Miscellaneous Articles
    • # 1: "And the plague was stopped"
    • #2 "Let the Sun of Righteousness Arise!"
    • #3: The Pulling Down of Dagon
    • #4 The Pulling Down of Dagon, Part Two
    • #5: When a King and a Prophet Agreed in Prayer, part one
    • # 6: When a King and a Prophet agreed in prayer, part 2
    • #7: A Wall of Fire for our Nation