2228 Know Your Enemy

Studying the miracles of Jesus, sometimes we see a sickness or condition was the result of a demon’s torment. Not every problem was because of a demon, but some no doubt were.

And the same is true today. Some sickness, some conditions and some circumstances are precisely because a demon has zeroed in to attack and bring torment. Does it mean that person is evil? No. It means they are tormented. There’s only one answer – the power of Jesus needs to force that demon to leave.

But how do you know when the problem you’re encountering is a natural human condition and when it’s a spiritual attack? How can you be sure of when you seek God’s hand of healing and when you declare darkness must leave?

May I be totally vulnerable and honest with you – I don’t yet know. I only know to stay close to Jesus and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit. I see that with every encounter of Jesus in scripture, he knew precisely the cause of each person’s problem. He recognized that which needed his touch and that which required his word evicting of authority.

As we watch Jesus do what he did, we better understand the call to now do what he did. We seek the same discernment of the Father. The knowing of what is a physical battle and what is a spiritual battle, and how to stand in God’s power for both.

What we see is regardless of the problem, the sickness or the condition, the answer was always Jesus. Jesus could heal any disease, he could raise the dead and restore life again, and he could free a person from a lifetime of torment from a demon. And now remember, Jesus says to us his followers in John 14:12, “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works.” How? Through the power of the Holy Spirit that now lives in you.

Yes, we are supposed to be laying our hands on the sick in the name of Jesus. Yes, we are supposed to be casting out demons in the name of Jesus. We are not supposed to be running in fear of either or backing down from the spiritual battle around us. We are equipped and we are called. Let’s be doing the things Jesus did!

In Mark 7: 31-35, a deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to Jesus to heal. Jesus took him away from the crowd and put his fingers into his ears. Then he spit on his own fingers and he touched the man’s tongue. “Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, ‘Ephphatha,’ which means, ‘Be opened!’ Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!”

What a miracle! Jesus healed this man of his problems.

But we also read of another man who had nearly the same exact condition, but scripture says it wasn’t a sickness, it was the torment of a demon targeted on this man. Matthew 9: 32-33, “A demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak.”

Is every sickness a demon – No. Are some – Yes.

It’s real, my friends. And we don’t need to be afraid, but we need to be aware.

Satan has done a great job of creating an image of what he looks like and what his attacks would be like. We think all demonic work must be sheer terror and evil, when in fact the greatest attacks sneak right in and look so ordinary we don’t even notice. Demons often do their greatest and most destructive work completely undetected. We medicate it, we excuse it, we accept it, we ignore it – all while Jesus wants to cast it out.

A person plagued by a demon isn’t a scary person hiding in a dark alley. They’re the pretty people you see on social media. They’re the people you work with. They’re even the people you work with. Sis, it might even be the person looking back at you in the mirror.

Look at Mary Magdalene – the woman who followed Jesus so closely. The beautiful soul who was right there with Jesus when he was crucified on the cross, buried in the tomb, and even among the first to see the resurrected Jesus. She supported his ministry and devoted her life to him. I think she was likely a beautiful, gentle, devoted and humble woman. And she was the woman who had 7 demons once tormenting her. SEVEN!

Let’s really understand spiritual attack and torment. It’s not always scary little beasts hiding in the corners. Demons were angels. They were with God in heaven, created to worship and aid in the good purposes of God here on earth. Satan was one of those angels. But when Satan became filled with pride and wanted to become greater than God, he was cast out of heaven and he took 1/3 of the angels with him. Those angels that went with him, twisted in pride and hungry for power, those are the demons of today.

You believe in angels, right? You believe they can be with you to guide you and protect you. Well demons are much the same, but with ill intent. They can’t be everywhere, they are not omnipresent, but they can be on assignment. An assignment from Hell to torment. And where they are sent, they bring their destruction. That destruction can show up as sickness, disease, crippling, addiction, mental illness. Specifically in scripture we see demons responsible for blindness, deafness, the inability to speak, seizures and convulsions, physical disabilities, isolation, and self-injury.

Again, let’s be clear – these things are not always the result of a demon – but sometimes they are and Jesus always knew the difference.

Can we begin asking for wisdom to know the difference? James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

Father, we need wisdom. We don’t want to play little in the battle. We no longer want to ignore the reality of what is happening all around us, even to the people we know and love. Help us to know when a spiritual attack is happening. Give us wisdom to know when we’re dealing with the torment of a demon. Then give us the courage to call on your name and stand in your authority to insist that demon must flee.

I don’t see Jesus being afraid of this topic – in fact, I read that everywhere he went he shared the Good News, he healed the sick and the demon possessed. He lifted the oppression, the freed them from torment, and he command the demons to leave every person he encountered.

And remember, Jesus said, “Now you, my followers, will do the same things I have done.” Let’s get to doing it. Let’s not be afraid to talk about these things. Let’s remember the power of the Holy Spirit in us and be moved by the things that moved Jesus. Don’t walk on by – you carry their answer. You carry their healing. You carry the end of their torment.

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