Mark 1:21-28 A Church of Spiritual Deadness (Revised)

Mark 1:21 - 28 tells us that every Sabbath day, Jesus went into the Synagogues and taught the people, and they were amazed at His teachings, for He taught as one with Authority, unlike the teachers of Religious Law.  A man possessed by an evil spirit was in the synagogue, and (at this time) began shouting, "Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, you're the Holy One sent from God!"  But Jesus cut him short by saying, "Be silent!  Come out of the man!"  And at that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into convulsions, and left him.

So what we have here is a spiritually-dead synagogue: A Demon was present (either nobody noticed, or nobody cared: the sin of indifference), and the demon was threatened by Jesus and His teachings.

But isn't it interesting that the demon didn't reveal or manifest himself until people began to respond to Jesus' teaching?  So the demon was actually "safe" until people began to actually listen and respond to Jesus' teachings.  So the synagogue was already spiritually dry before Jesus arrived, for demons can't normally exist in God's presence. Also, the fact that the people were amazed at Jesus' teachings because He spoke as one with authority, unlike the teachers of Religious Law, tells us that the Word of God (prophets, psalms, history, psalms, the reason for the Law, etc.) was not being taught, there was no passion for pleasing God, and that everybody was basically just going through the motions.  So the demon's influence of spiritual deadness was not only on the people, but also on the teachers of Religious Law.

It needs to be noted that this problem isn't only something of the past, but also of today.  Yes, demons dwell in our churches today.  They may not be possessing people, but they are influencing them, and by doing so, they confuse them in their faith-walks.  Why, just the fact that so many people have left the Church and/or the faith, youth continue to question their faith and its relevance in their lives, churches have become more of a social club than a place of worship, preachers focus more on good-feeling and self-help messages than the promotion of holy living among God's Chosen People, the promotion of Liberal Christianity, indifference about sin among Christians, and all the so many other complaints you'll read about in my posts throughout the years, gives evidence to this.

Demons do a great job of keeping "Christians" comfortable and content with what they're doing in their church and in their faith. They're encouraging them that they're doing fine, and no changes or mind-stretching is needed.  They're keeping them idle in their outreach and church mission, and they're causing Christians to become indifferent to sin.  Understand, demons don't always need to wreck havoc to accomplish their goals, for that all too often brings attention to themselves.  Satan knows that he can do so much more damage if he simply takes people's passions and focus' off God.  He can influence people into thinking they're doing God's will and keeping to the scriptures, when in fact they're not.  And in doing this, Satan's done just as much damage, if not more, for now his subjects don't even realize the damage he's used them to do.

The other day while working out with some of my friends, the topic of Kentucky came up.  When my friend explained to everybody else there about all my struggles in ministry while there, they were surprised.  See, they figured that at a church, you'd only find Christians who loved Jesus, knew and accepted His Gospel, and would warmly welcome somebody like me who taught it, and were surprised to hear that, within my own church, I'd experienced just the opposite.  Many people in churches are comfortable with what they know, what they're doing, and what they believe.  They don't want anybody refining their faith. The don't want anybody telling them they need to step it up, or challenges them in their faith, or insists that they need to not only read their Bibles, but also obey what God is telling them to do in them.  So when somebody like me comes along telling them this, their first response is to do what it takes to get rid of him.  

Understand, demon-influenced people are OK with hearing the True Gospel, as long as that person teaching it doesn't stay, and people don't respond to it.  And when they do respond, then they'll respond as the demon-possessed guy did: try to rile people up, make false accusations, and cause trouble.  "Why are you bothering us?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are...!"  It was calling Him out, putting Jesus on the spot, and trying to cause a riot in order that it may keep everything in order, as it's worked so hard on accomplishing.  And notice that the demon mentioned "us", "Why are you bothering US?"  He's not talking about there being other demons there, but only itself and all those that it's influenced.  We know this because he said "I know who you are", but nobody else did, and all demons know who Jesus is.

"Evil" spelled backwards is "Live".  Hearing the Gospel brings life to the dead.  Singing praises to God with our hearts and not just our mouths causes discomfort to demons.  Responding to the Word of God causes demons (as well as demon-influenced people) to respond and attack.  But when they do, we need to respond as Jesus did: "Be silent!"  Jesus stood up to it, silenced it, exposed it, and banished it.  If the Church continues to allow demons and such people to influence others, then we'll be in the same position as the synagogue in this passage.  Too many have fallen backwards, too many have fallen away, too many have taken on the influence of demons, too many, too many, too many................it's time that they be silenced!  It's time to act!  It's time for the Church to return to its Groom and prepare for its wedding.  It's time for Christians to remind the world of who in fact Jesus really is as according to His description in His Book, the Bible.  It's time for the Church to show the world that there's power in Jesus' Name.  Christians everywhere need to be in agreement, as Scripture says, "of one mind, Body, and Spirit".  It's time for the Church to step out of its comfort zones and into the world (stop expecting people to come to you, go to them!).  It's time for the Church to stop taking casualties, and begin counting victories.  It's time for the world to be amazed by our teachings of Jesus Christ, as ones with HIS authority. There's no reason why a demon should feel comfortable and safe in the Church or among any of God's Chosen People at any time.

Christians, Church, it's time to step it up....it's time to fan the flame...set shop at the top of the Rock.   (Pillar: Eschelon)

 ---Pastor Andy G.