A house unoccupied

A house unoccupied

Scripture:

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:43-45

Observation:

In this passage, the Lord describes the picture of an impure spirit being cast out of a person and after failing to find rest, goes back to the original person to see if it can reenter that house again. Finding it empty, the spirit goes and brings seven other spirits worse than itself to live there. The condition of the person thus becomes worse than it was before the demon had been cast out. This occurrence is applied to the condition of “this wicked generation”.

There are a few things we can learn about evil spirits from this passage. Firstly, after they are cast out, they go through arid or dry places seeking rest. In the book of Enoch (which is not a book of the Bible but is referred to in a few Scriptures), evil spirits are described as spirits of the evil offspring giants called the Nephilim formed between the union of a special class of angels commissioned to teach men and human women. This class of angels, known as Watchers betrayed their position and instead committed great evil by taking human wives for themselves and creating abominable offspring. The Nephilim were destroyed in the flood, but their evil spirits continue to roam the earth restlessly and they seek to take possession of human bodies when they can, which is like a house to them.

How are people demon-possessed? Sin is the gateway. Naturally, impure spirits are attracted to sin and everything impure. Therefore it is so important not to allow sin to reign in us. When demons are cast out of a person and a person’s sins forgiven, the house becomes unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. However, the demon will return and how terrible it is if the house is still empty. That demon will bring seven other demons worse than itself to join it in the person. From here, we note that there is a hierarchy of demons, with some more evil than others. The important thing then is to not let that house be empty! Every person who has had demons cast out must ask our Lord Jesus to come in and fill our hearts with His Holy Spirit. When the Spirit of God dwells within us, demons cannot come in.

However, can a true Christian still be demonized? If a Christians allows himself to sin persistently or dabbles in the occult, demonic influence can come in and certain demonic manifestations may occur. The Scripture says “be filled with the Holy Spirit” which implies that we can be “less filled” or “emptied” of the Holy Spirit. Scripture warns us not to quench the Holy Spirit. There are different degrees of experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe a true born again Christian will ever have the Holy Spirit completely leave but there will be different degrees of His habitation. If we love Jesus and spend time in worship and meditating on God and His Word, the Spirit’s presence will surely be strong, and demons will flee away in fear. However, if we instead spend time doing or watching things demons like, we open ourselves again to possible demonic influence. Therefore, we need to be on watch and guard our hearts, keeping a close relationship with God.

Application:

Praise God that while demons have no place of rest, we who believe have the deep peaceful rest of God, given us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that through Christ, we are made clean through the forgiveness of our sins through His blood. Therefore, we must not return to sinful ways again. Does being a Christian mean we will never sin again? No! But it means that we are not to continue sinning. We may have some areas of difficulty overcoming some areas of sin, but we must not give up but press on in prayer and worship till we conquer those areas in the Lord. Remember that persistent sin is an attraction to demons that follow their master, the devil, who comes to steal, to kill and destroy.

Prayer:

We praise You, Heavenly Father, for Your great love for us. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that in You, we have authority over every demon, and we are not subject to them. Give us wisdom and self-control, O Lord, to move away from the temptations of the world that attract us to dark and sinful things. Instead, fill us with more and more of Your Holy Spirit, even as we abide in Your presence. Praise You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.