The Devil at Church
Jerry Watts
Mark 1:21-28
• This story occurs in the normal flow of the life pattern of our Lord. He has just given the call to the fisherman to 'follow me' and now, in a very normal pattern for Him, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath to teach. This man who was possessed by an unclean spirit (demon-possessed) was in attendance. It would seem that this man had lucid periods in his life or he would not have been admitted. (If we make an application today we understand that those who are controlled by Satan do indeed have lucid moments where they are not recognized. Jesus referred to them as "wolves in sheep's clothing.")
• Quite likely, this was not this man's first trip into the synagogue. Perhaps he had been there several times with no incident. Yet, when God showed up he showed out. It took the presence of God to evoke such a response from him. All too often this is the way if happens. Church (as we call it) goes on with little or no response. Then God shows up and when He shows up, all bets are off. The very presence of God is enough to cause a reaction from Satan. Consider three lessons from this:
1. The Attraction to the Devil - Here are the religious people getting together ostensibly to worship God, so why in the world would Satan want to have 'his unclean spirit (a demon) at church? What would be the attraction? Why would he even want to be there? Think about it;
a. He's always been religious. He is monotheistic which means that he knows and believes there is only one God- James tells us this. While he is opposed to Christianity (living like Christ), he is not opposed to "churchianity". He loves to see people gather who are insincere about their worship. Where a crowd shows us (for whatever reason), the devil wants to be close by because he loves meetings.
b. He's always looking for easy prey to deceive. When you consider this 'demon possessed' man and consider the myriad of other reported demon-po ...
Jerry Watts
Mark 1:21-28
• This story occurs in the normal flow of the life pattern of our Lord. He has just given the call to the fisherman to 'follow me' and now, in a very normal pattern for Him, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath to teach. This man who was possessed by an unclean spirit (demon-possessed) was in attendance. It would seem that this man had lucid periods in his life or he would not have been admitted. (If we make an application today we understand that those who are controlled by Satan do indeed have lucid moments where they are not recognized. Jesus referred to them as "wolves in sheep's clothing.")
• Quite likely, this was not this man's first trip into the synagogue. Perhaps he had been there several times with no incident. Yet, when God showed up he showed out. It took the presence of God to evoke such a response from him. All too often this is the way if happens. Church (as we call it) goes on with little or no response. Then God shows up and when He shows up, all bets are off. The very presence of God is enough to cause a reaction from Satan. Consider three lessons from this:
1. The Attraction to the Devil - Here are the religious people getting together ostensibly to worship God, so why in the world would Satan want to have 'his unclean spirit (a demon) at church? What would be the attraction? Why would he even want to be there? Think about it;
a. He's always been religious. He is monotheistic which means that he knows and believes there is only one God- James tells us this. While he is opposed to Christianity (living like Christ), he is not opposed to "churchianity". He loves to see people gather who are insincere about their worship. Where a crowd shows us (for whatever reason), the devil wants to be close by because he loves meetings.
b. He's always looking for easy prey to deceive. When you consider this 'demon possessed' man and consider the myriad of other reported demon-po ...
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