DEALING WITH COMPETING SPIRITS (14 OF 52)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:1-20
This content is part of a series.
Dealing with Competing Spirits (14 of 52)
Series: Descipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Samuel 28:1-20
It is too easy for us to get sidetracked with issues that keep us from dealing with the issues that actually pertain to us. We allow ourselves all too often to chase rabbits down side trails such that our focus falls away from what should be our major concerns. It takes energy and focus to tackle the real issues at hand, and it is often simply easier to ignore them.
Western society has not known what to do with the concept of evil spirits. Many believers simply want to shove the concept aside and refuse to deal with it. Others simply consider the issue one of superstition stemming from a prescientific period. Still others want to give so much credit to the realm of evil spirits they miss the distinction the Bible would make between those beings and God. All too often, the Bible is our last recourse to truly look at framing our discussions. Instead of reading the Bible to see what it actually tells us, we tend to read it from our preconceived notions and force the Bible to fit what we have already determined as true.
There are many passages in the Bible that deal with the realm of spirits, and they do not all teach from a point of agreement. Some passages will deal with the spirits as all fulfilling the bidding of Yahweh, others making a distinction between Yahweh's servants and adversaries. Then Isaiah will come along and consider all those entities, the gods of the nations, as nothing more than the artistic expression of human craftsmen. We recognize some progression in God's revelation through these various expressions, but the essential concern is how we relate to an opposing spiritual entity. How do we respond if and when we do encounter what we might call a demonic or spiritual entity apart from God?
At the close of the first half of Samuel, we find that the prophet, priest, or judge has died. Saul had become king, but was not coming to grips ...
Series: Descipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
1 Samuel 28:1-20
It is too easy for us to get sidetracked with issues that keep us from dealing with the issues that actually pertain to us. We allow ourselves all too often to chase rabbits down side trails such that our focus falls away from what should be our major concerns. It takes energy and focus to tackle the real issues at hand, and it is often simply easier to ignore them.
Western society has not known what to do with the concept of evil spirits. Many believers simply want to shove the concept aside and refuse to deal with it. Others simply consider the issue one of superstition stemming from a prescientific period. Still others want to give so much credit to the realm of evil spirits they miss the distinction the Bible would make between those beings and God. All too often, the Bible is our last recourse to truly look at framing our discussions. Instead of reading the Bible to see what it actually tells us, we tend to read it from our preconceived notions and force the Bible to fit what we have already determined as true.
There are many passages in the Bible that deal with the realm of spirits, and they do not all teach from a point of agreement. Some passages will deal with the spirits as all fulfilling the bidding of Yahweh, others making a distinction between Yahweh's servants and adversaries. Then Isaiah will come along and consider all those entities, the gods of the nations, as nothing more than the artistic expression of human craftsmen. We recognize some progression in God's revelation through these various expressions, but the essential concern is how we relate to an opposing spiritual entity. How do we respond if and when we do encounter what we might call a demonic or spiritual entity apart from God?
At the close of the first half of Samuel, we find that the prophet, priest, or judge has died. Saul had become king, but was not coming to grips ...
There are 10162 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
