Rely on Jesus Christ for healing-2

우리의 전한 것을 누가 믿었느뇨 여호와의 팔이 뉘게 나타났느뇨 ² 그는 주 앞에서 자라나기를 연한 순 같고 마른 땅에서 나온 줄기 같아서 고운 모양도 없고 풍채도 없은즉 우리의 보기에 흠모할만한 아름다운 것이 없도다 ³ 그는 멸시를 받아서 사람에게 싫어 버린바 되었으며 간고를 많이 겪었으며 질고를 아는 자라 마치 사람들에게 얼굴을 가리우고 보지 않음을 받는 자 같아서 멸시를 당하였고 우리도 그를 귀히 여기지 아니하였도다 ⁴ 그는 실로 우리의 질고를 지고 우리의 슬픔을 당하였거늘 우리는 생각하기를 그는 징벌을 받아서 하나님에게 맞으며 고난을 당한다 하였노라 ⁵ 그가 찔림은 우리의 허물을 인함이요 그가 상함은 우리의 죄악을 인함이라 그가 징계를 받음으로 우리가 평화를 누리고 그가 채찍에 맞음으로 우리가 나음을 입었도다 ⁶ 우리는 다 양 같아서 그릇 행하여 각기 제 길로 갔거늘 여호와께서는 우리 무리의 죄악을 그에게 담당시키셨도다. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-- every one-- to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:1-6)

¹⁴ 예수께서 베드로의 집에 들어가사 그의 장모가 열병으로 앓아 누운 것을 보시고 ¹⁵ 그의 손을 만지시니 열병이 떠나가고 여인이 일어나서 예수께 수종 들더라 ¹⁶ 저물매 사람들이 귀신 들린 자를 많이 데리고 예수께 오거늘 예수께서 말씀으로 귀신들을 쫓아 내시고 병든 자를 다 고치시니 ¹⁷ 이는 선지자 이사야로 하신 말씀에 우리 연약한 것을 친히 담당하시고 병을 짊어지셨도다 함을 이루려 하심이더라. ¹⁴ And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. ¹⁶ That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." (Matt. 8:14-17)

FCF: We tend not to rely on Christ’s suffering for healing.

주제: 그리스도는 십자가에서 우리의 질병을 짊어진 구원자이기에 치유를 위해 그리스도를 의지해야 합니다.

Theme: We must trust Christ for healing because He is our Savior who took our diseases upon Himself on the cross.    

Introduction: I found a war story germane to my topic in my Quiet Time. I got it from the Rev. Ho-Sung Ahn’s book “Release.” The story goes like this: Hang-woo, the king of the nation of Cho, had been warring for dominance with Yoo-Bang, the king of the nation of Han, for five years. But he was gradually thrusted by Han-Shin the general of Han. At last, he was surrounded by Han-Shin’s army at Hae-Ha. Han-Shin knew how powerful Hang-Woo was. So, he couldn’t recklessly assault his enemy even though he encircled Hang-Woo’s army. So, he forced the captives taken from the nation of Cho to sing a song of longing for their hometown. Hang-Woo, having heard of their singing from all directions, assumed that the rest of his people were already conquered by Han and became their captives. He fell into deep despair. Then, he ran into the midst of his enemies and killed himself. Hang-Woo was afraid of defeat. Without trying to find out what’s going on, he rashly made a foolish decision to end his life. In so doing, he and his country were conquered by Han-Shin, who was tactful and resolute. This story tells us that worry, or fear brings us despair and defeat. Hang-Woo was so powerful that his enemy dared not to assault him. However, Hang-Woo concluded from the nostalgic singing of the captives, which was the deceptive tactic of Han-Shin, that the rest of his soldiers were already captured. Hang-Woo underestimated the power of his army and overestimated the power of his enemy. So, he was gripped by the specter of dread and despair. He should fearlessly have fought the country of Han to the end. Unfortunately, he killed himself; in so doing, he killed his nation.

What do we learn from this story? Well, we are soldiers of Christ in the kingdom of God. Believe it or not, we are engaged in spiritual warfare against Satan and the kingdom of darkness. Unless we stay spiritually alert against sly, cunning deceptions, tactics of Satan and his evil spirits and fight them in the absolute power of our Captain Jesus Christ, we will be like Hang-Woo who fell into the mire of despair, depression, and defeat. We must rise up for the glory of God while relying on the power of Christ for all things, including our psychological, physical, or relational weaknesses and sicknesses. Last Sunday, we talked about the touch of Christ for healing. We must trust Christ for restoration because He is our Savior who took our diseases upon Himself on the cross. Matthew concludes from the healing story of Peter’s mother-in-law and Jesus’ casting out demons that Jesus fulfilled the prophet’s Isaiah’s word “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (v. 17). Matthew sees Jesus’ healing ministry as a fulfillment of the Messiah’s suffering on the cross. Indeed, Jesus’ death on the cross is the ground for restoration. All three healing stories, the healings of a leper, the centurion’s paralyzed servant, and Peter’s mother-in-law, demonstrate who Jesus is and what He does for us.

Therefore, we should rely on Jesus Christ not only for our salvation but also for our healing. We can be certain we will be forgiven. We can be certain we will be completely healed in heaven. With this confidence in mind, we must still pray for healing by relying on Jesus Christ. But if we are afraid of our spiritual enemies, we will lose courage to fight them. If we are focused on our frailties and diseases, we can’t defeat despair, depression, and disease. Evil spirits are so deceptive and cunning. We may feel dreadful about the power and presence of Satan and his servants. But who is stronger, Jesus or Satan? Who is stronger, the Holy Spirit or unclean spirits? The text tells that our Lord Jesus Christ has the divine authority over diseases and evil spirits. Thus, we are to rely on the power of Christ for healing, which is my second point. Let’s delve into this point now.

I.               치유를 위해 그리스도의 만지심을 의지하라.

Rely on the touch of Christ for healing.

II.             치유를 위해 그리스도의 능력을 의지하라.

Rely on the power of Christ for healing.

            Verse 16 describes Jesus’ continuing healing ministry after the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. All these events took place in Capernaum during the Sabbath day. In the synagogue, Jesus taught people with authority. The people marveled at His teaching because it was different from those of the scribes. Also, He cast out an unclean spirit by rebuking him. His authoritative word cast it out of a man. Again, the attendees of the synagogue service were astonished at Jesus’ authority. After this event, Jesus entered the house of Peter where He rebuked the fever of his mother-in-law, touched her hand and lifted her up. Then, she began to serve Him and His disciples. Due to His miraculous healing and exorcism, the whole town of Capernaum gathered at the door of Peter’s house, bringing the sick and the demon-possessed. The Lord Jesus cast out demons and healed the sick. All this demonstrates who He is and what He does. Certainly, Jesus demonstrated His divine power in His teaching, healing, and exorcism.

            There is nothing that can withstand His sovereign, supreme authority. Every disease, evil spirit, or falsehood bows out of His holy presence because Jesus is the Holy One of God. Evil spirits, sometimes called “unclean spirits,” cause some diseases. They are behind false teachings, cults, or spiritism. But some argue that evil spirits cause every sickness and weakness, trial, misfortune, etc. They pay too much attention to evil spirits. They try to explain every bad thing as a work of evil spirits. Apparently, they ascribe mighty power to the devil. However, evil spirits cannot do anything apart from the sovereign control of God. Think of the case of Job. Satan caused Job a series of disasters and physical illness under the permission of God. God allowed him to strike Job with such things to test the faith of Job. So, we must keep in mind Satan and his hosts are under God’s perfect control. If we forget this truth, we may fear them and treat them as if they were divine beings. They possess a limited amount of power, but not omnipotent. They may cause some diseases, but not all diseases. 

The gospel writers distinguish disease from demon-possession. It is true that we may say from the Bible that things such as epileptic convulsions, speech or hearing impediment, mental problems, falsehood, witchcraft, sorcery, or necromancy are attributable to demonic activities. As mentioned above, this doesn’t imply that every disease, every accident, or every bad event is caused by evil spirits. We need to keep balance in how to approach the matter of demon-possession. Some Christians flatly deny that we are completely free from the influences, activities, or temptations of evil spirits. This is an extreme position. Even Jesus was tempted by the devil. He fought evil spirits, rebuked them, and cast them out of people. So, it is wrong for us to deny the existence and activity of evil spirits in the world and in the church. Cotton Mather said, 사탄의 영향 아래 있는 자들 만이 악령이 존재한다는 것을 의심합니다. “That there is a devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influence of the Devil.”

Satan works behind the scenes so that people may be ignorant of his secret operations against God and men. Here is a funny story that illustrates people’s disbelief in the existence of Satan or evil spirits. Two 6 year olds struggled with the problem of the existence of the devil. One boy said, "Oh, there isn't any devil." The other, rather upset, said, "What do you mean, there isn't any devil? It talks about him all the way through the Bible!" the first replied, "Oh that's not true, you know. It's just like Santa Clause, the devil turns out to be your dad." We must affirm what the Bible tells us about Satan and his demons. Evil spirits are real, working against the faith of God’s people.

A Malayan boy, after having become a Christian, found himself in the midst of a truly demonic attack in the early weeks of his new Christian walk. Allah had been put behind him and the occult practices that had been woven together with this former Moslem faith had been turned from, but his Christian faith was like a tiny child’s first steps. This boy went through demon activity, which he had experienced before in his life, and his call went forth to God, “Oh, God, help me.” However, since there was no immediate, visible change, the boy fell into the trap Satan had set for him. “It isn’t working!” was the cry of his heart, and his old reaction pattern came forth: “I’ll try this, and this.…” And so next, he called, “Allah be praised!” and then used some Arabic words in a “magic” formula handed down for generations. The young Christian did not yet know that superstitious “crossing your fingers” is not a sign of faith. He was later to learn the joy and freedom of trusting the power of God alone. Faith asks not in unbelief, but in belief without doubting. Demons still attempt to keep people from believing in God and His power.

            Another extreme case is that some totally commit their entire energy and attention to exorcism. They call it as deliverance ministry. As I said above, they explain every bad incident is a result of the work of the devil. It seems that they blame evil spirits for their failures, sins, or diseases. They blame the devil for their hot-tempered explosions. It is true that evil spirits may tempt them to fall into sins. But it is they who commit sinning. So, they are to blame themselves for committing sin. However, some Christians have such a tendency, like Eve who shifted the blame to the serpent for her fall, to blame evil spirits for their faults and transgressions. Before they blame evil spirits, they should recognize their sinfulness and confess them as they ought under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the devil tries to do all things to tempt us to sin. He tries to employ every possible means for us to stay away from Jesus Christ. He hinders people from believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He tries to plant the seeds of doubt, fear, and anxiety in the hearts of people. He tries to paralyze the faith of God’s people so that they may be entrapped in the mire of dread.

            However, we shouldn’t blame evil spirits for our sins. Michael Horton, a Reformed theologian, warns us against such a wrong practice. He debunks the false teachings of the faith teachers. He says in The Agony of Deceit, (오순절 은사주의) 믿음 교사들은 아담이 범죄하였을 때 세상은 사탄에게 넘겨졌다고 주장합니다. 사탄은 이 세상의 법적 소유자가 된 것입니다. 믿음 교사들의 가르침은 영지주의, 특히 페르시아의 영지주의 종교인 조로아스터교를 수용한 것입니다. 이들의 가르침에 따르면 선한 신은 영적 세계를 지배하고 악한 신은 물리적 세계를 다스립니다. 이러한 철학에서 악의 문제는 잘못되는 모든 것을 나쁜 신의 탓으로 돌리므로 해결됩니다….두 신이 질과 양에서 동일한 능력을 소유하고 있다는 인상을 줍니다….이러한 복음을 전하는 자들에게는 개인적인 죄조차도 나쁜 신의 탓이 될 수 있는 것입니다. 왜냐하면 나쁜 신은 결국 이 땅의 모든 영역을 다스리는 주권자이기 때문입니다. 이는 선한 신이 영적인 영역을 담당하는 것과 같습니다. 이것은 예전의 영지주의자들의 가르침을 반영합니다. 이러한 이단이 중세 말기에 다시 살아났을 때 칼빈은 다음과 같이 지적했습니다: ‘그들은 사탄을 하나님과 거의 동등한 존재로 만들었다.’ 이런 식으로 죄의 문제는 사탄의 문제로 대치된 것입니다. 나 자신의 죄와 반역이 아닌, 사탄을 대면하는 것이 믿는 자의 삶의 큰 과제가 됩니다. 내가 문제가 아니라 사탄이 문제라는 것입니다. “The faith teachers maintain that when Adam sinned, the world was turned over to Satan. The devil became the legal owner of the planet. The faith teacher's position accommodates the Gnostic view (particularly evident in Zoroastrianism, a Persian Gnostic religion), in which a good god rules the spiritual world and a bad god rules the physical realm. In such a philosophy the problem of evil is solved by blaming everything that goes wrong on the bad god (the devil)…One is left with the impression that the two gods each possess equal power both in quality and quantity. Everything that is wrong in the world is the fault of the bad god….For these metaphysical evangelists, even personal sins can be attributed to the bad god, since he is, after all, sovereign over this earthly realm as the good god is relatively in charge of the spiritual domain. Here again, then, is the echo of the Gnostics of old. When that heresy was revived toward the end of the medieval period, Calvin said, "They made the devil almost the equal of God." In this way, the problem of sin is replaced with the problem of Satan. It is facing Satan, not my own sin and rebelliousness, that becomes the great task of the Christian life. I'm not the problem -- the Devil is! 

If this false teaching is endorsed, then the necessity of true repentance is denied. We must admit that we are responsible for our own sins, not Satan, even though Satan tempts us to sin. Satan won’t repent for us. We must take full responsibility for our sins and repent of them wholeheartedly. And we must be aware of what Satan and evil spirits do, so that we can fight them in the power of Christ. Sometimes, he may cause some diseases and depress God’s people. He may sow the seed of conflict, misunderstanding among God’s people, so that the church may suffer divisions. They may bring in false teachings among believers. Evil spirits never take vacations. They work relentlessly to destroy the church of Christ. However, they are already defeated by Jesus on the cross. They are not mighty. They are not omniscient. They are not good. We should know who they are and what they do, so that we can be prepared for their temptations.

We should know Jesus Christ came to destroy them. The author of Hebrews says,¹⁴ 자녀들은 혈육에 함께 속하였으매 그도 또한 한 모양으로 혈육에 함께 속하심은 사망으로 말미암아 사망의 세력을 잡은 자 곧 마귀를 없이 하시며 ¹⁵ 또 죽기를 무서워하므로 일생에 매여 종노릇하는 모든 자들을 놓아 주려 하심이니¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus died on the cross so that through His death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. We must remember this truth all the time and rely on the cross of Christ, which nullified the power and tactics of the devil. The devil thought he could defeat Jesus by killing Him on the cross. However, God employed the death of His Son to destroy the devil, who cheats and scares people through the specter of death. We see God’s eternal victory in the death of Christ. When He died on the cross and rose from the dead, He declared to the whole world, “Victory over sin and death, that is, eternal life with God for His people.” The kingdom of darkness was vanquished by the kingdom of light. This is what we see when Jesus cast out demons. He exercised His divine authority to cast unclean spirits out and set God’s people from the bondage and fear of demons.

Likewise, we shouldn’t be afraid of evil spirits as many are afraid of watching horror movies. Filmmakers maximize dread in the hearts of viewers so they viewers would be thrilled or terrorized with horror and enjoy their thrills. One of the popular topics is exorcism. I remember the first time I watched the movie Dracula when I was young. After having watched it, I couldn’t get out at night. I couldn’t go to the outhouse though I had a nature’s call. My normal life was hampered for a while because of dreadful images that haunted me especially at night. Some Christians, when they think of the devil and his host of evil spirits, they are so terrorized and petrified that they can’t live a normal life. It is true there are those who challenge evil spirits and try to cast them out in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. However, some Christians do not believe in the reality and activity of evil spirits. They only trust what they see and experience. They do not acknowledge the presence of invisible spirits. They are like rationalist Christians who do not believe the supernatural in the Bible. Even in Jesus’ day, the rationalist Sadducees didn’t believe in the existence of spirits. So, they didn’t believe in the existence of angels and the resurrection at the end of the age.

However, Jesus evicted evil spirits out of the minds and hearts of people. He set many free from the bondage and oppression of evil spirits. One day, a dad brought his son to the disciples of Jesus Christ. They couldn’t cast evil spirits out. They were so powerless that they couldn’t cast them out. Then, Jesus came down from the mount of Transfiguration. He found out what was happening. He rebuked people, including His disciples, for lack of faith. Listen to what He said to them: 믿음이 없고 패역한 세대여 내가 얼마나 너희와 함께 있으며 얼마나 너희를 참으리요 그를 이리로 데려오라 하시다. "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me" (Matt. 17:17). They brough the boy to Jesus. When the demon saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” The boy had been suffering demon-possessed pains from his childhood. The father asked Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus answered him, “’If you can!’” All things are possible for one who believes.” The father cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Then, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, saying, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” After crying out and convulsing him terribly, the demon came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of onlookers said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. The boy was immediately healed. Since the boy was controlled by the demon, he would lose balance and fall into the fire or the water. The demon tried to kill the boy. The disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not cast it out?” Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:18-20). Mark also records it this way: “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mk. 9:29).  

We see here how Jesus cast the demon out of the boy and brought peace into the life of the boy. We see here how to cast evil spirits out of our hearts and lives. Believe it or not, evil spirits always look for an opportunity to make us stumble in sin. They serve Satan. They are workers of the kingdom of darkness. Satan and his servants blind people to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says, 그 중에 이 세상 신이 믿지 아니하는 자들의 마음을 혼미케 하여 그리스도의 영광의 복음의 광채가 비취지 못하게 함이니. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). Unbelievers are under the control and influence of Satan and his allies. Before we got saved, we were under sin and condemnation. We were serving the purposes of Satan. Paul says, ² 그 때에 너희가 그 가운데서 행하여 이 세상 풍속을 좇고 공중의 권세 잡은 자를 따랐으니 곧 지금 불순종의 아들들 가운데서 역사하는 영이라 ³ 전에는 우리도 다 그 가운데서 우리 육체의 욕심을 따라 지내며 육체와 마음의 원하는 것을 하여 다른 이들과 같이 본질상 진노의 자녀이었더니. in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind (Eph. 2:1-3).

            Unbelievers are following the prince of the power of the air, that is, the devil who is now at work in the sons of disobedience. They live in the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. So, they are under the wrath of God. Here we see how the devil and his evil hosts work among people. They stir up sinful desires and passions so that people, including God’s people, commit all kinds of sin. In particular, they stir up sinful emotions and feelings and instigate people to take immediate action to satisfy their emotions and feelings. They deceive them into believing that if they satisfy them, they will be happy forever. However, there is no true satisfaction from sinful desires and actions. Also, the devil scares people and imprison them into the den of fear. Once they are terrified, they can’t do anything even normal.

Satan uses a fear tactics often to paralyze God’s people. Remember the people of Israel who were terrified at the negative reports of the ten spies who scowled around the Promised Land. The people of Israel fell into terror and complained against God and Moses. They complained why God and Moses brought them out into the wilderness. They cried out, “Let’s go back to Egypt.” They viewed themselves as grasshoppers before their enemies. However, Caleb and Joshua stood firm by faith in the promise, presence, and power of Yahweh. As Jesus said of the necessity of faith to the disciples who felt powerless before the unclean spirit, so Caleb and Joshua declared they should trust Yahweh. Listen to what they said: 오직 여호와를 거역하지 말라 또 그 땅 백성을 두려워하지 말라 그들은 우리 밥이라 그들의 보호자는 그들에게서 떠났고 여호와는 우리와 함께 하시느니라 그들을 두려워 말라 하나. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them" (Num. 14:9).

Fear of God is the antidote to fear of Satan. As the Lord says, prayer based on faith in God’s power is a key to defeating schemes, attacks of evil spirits. We shouldn’t be afraid of Satan and his evil ones. Christ is always with us. Like the apostles, we must stand firm by faith against evil spirits. We must rely on the power of Christ. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must put on the clothing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must take the sword of the Holy Spirit, that is, the word of God. Then, we must pray with all our hearts. This is what Paul advises us against spiritual warfare. Let me quote his word here: ¹⁰ 종말로 너희가 주 안에서와 그 힘의 능력으로 강건하여지고 ¹¹ 마귀의 궤계를 능히 대적하기 위하여 하나님의 전신갑주를 입으라 ¹² 우리의 씨름은 혈과 육에 대한 것이 아니요 정사와 권세와 이 어두움의 세상 주관자들과 하늘에 있는 악의 영들에게 대함이라 ¹³ 그러므로 하나님의 전신갑주를 취하라 이는 악한 날에 너희가 능히 대적하고 모든 일을 행한 후에 서기 위함이라 ¹⁴ 그런즉 서서 진리로 너희 허리 띠를 띠고 의의 흉배를 붙이고 ¹⁵ 평안의 복음의 예비한 것으로 신을 신고 ¹⁶ 모든 것 위에 믿음의 방패를 가지고 이로써 능히 악한 자의 모든 화전을 소멸하고 ¹⁷ 구원의 투구와 성령의 검 곧 하나님의 말씀을 가지라 ¹⁸ 모든 기도와 간구로 하되 무시로 성령 안에서 기도하고 이를 위하여 깨어 구하기를 항상 힘쓰며 여러 성도를 위하여 구하고. ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints (Eph. 6:10-18).

 This text tells us our enemies are not our fellow Christians in the church, but Satan and his evil spirits. We often get involved in church infighting. Our fellow Christians are our allies. They are Christ’s soldiers. But we often forget this fact and unknowingly serve as Satan’s allies to destroy the holiness, unity, and truthfulness of the church. We must not be used in the hands of Satan to create divisions, spread gossips, or defame fellow Christians. Rather, we must discern evil works of Satan and his allies in the world. We must fight them in the power of Christ. They never take a break in trying to make us trapped in sin, despair, and dread. We must stand firm by faith in the power of Christ to expand the kingdom of God. In His day, Jesus was falsely accused of casting out the demons by the power of Beelzebul. One day, Jesus healed a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute. People were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” They thought of Him as the promised Messiah.

However, the Pharisees ascribed Jesus’ healing work to Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “스스로 분쟁하는 나라마다 황폐하여질 것이요 스스로 분쟁하는 동네나 집마다 서지 못하리라 ²⁶ 사단이 만일 사단을 쫓아내면 스스로 분쟁하는 것이니 그리하고야 저의 나라가 어떻게 서겠느냐 ²⁷ 또 내가 바알세불을 힘입어 귀신을 쫓아내면 너희 아들들은 누구를 힘입어 쫓아내느냐 그러므로 저희가 너희 재판관이 되리라 ²⁸ 그러나 내가 하나님의 성령을 힘입어 귀신을 쫓아내는 것이면 하나님의 나라가 이미 너희에게 임하였느니라. "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matt. 12:25-28). Jesus indicted the Pharisees of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Jesus cast out the demons not by the power of the devil, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

            The two kingdoms cannot but to clash with each other. Satan’s followers without a break work against Christ and His church. I read a following story. One day, a Christian pastor was flying on the plane. He noticed that the man sitting two seats over was thumbing through some little cards and moving his lips. The man looked professorial with his goatee and graying brown hair, and he placed him at fifty-something. Guessing the man was a fellow-believer, he leaned over to engage him in conversation. "Looks to me like you're memorizing something," he said. "No, actually I was praying," the man said. He introduced himself. "I believe in prayer too," he said. "Well, I have a specific assignment," said the man with the goatee. "What's that?" He asked. "I'm praying for the downfall of Christian pastors." "I would certainly fit into that category," Steve said. "Is my name on the list?" "Not on my list," the man replied. We are the people of God’s kingdom. We must rise up to trust Christ to fight schemes, influences, or attacks of evil ones against Christ and His church.

Jesus, the king of God’s kingdom, had the authority to vanquish the kingdom of Satan. His teaching, healing works had nothing do with Satan. He was the Son of God who destroyed Satan through His death on the cross. We are followers of Christ. We are soldiers of Christ who fight the kingdom of darkness. Paul said to Timothy, 네가 그리스도 예수의 좋은 군사로 나와 함께 고난을 받을찌니. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:3). Like or not, we are called to fight against the kingdom of sin and death through the power of Jesus Christ. We are called to fight against the kingdom of Satan and this world. As I mentioned earlier, the kingdom of Satan was defeated by Christ on the cross. Jesus defeated His temptations in the wilderness. He defeated the devil on the cross. We must lead people to the king Jesus who set them free from the lies and bondage of Satan. People are blind to the falsehoods of Satan. They worship mammon. They relentlessly work for success and self-fulfillment so that they can reach perpetual happiness. They chase after power, popularity, and prosperity for success.

            However, the kingdom of God is different from the kingdom of this world. The kingdom of God is like the mustard seed which has life and vitality. We must turn to Christ for empowerment. We must turn to Christ for fellowship. We must turn to Christ for all things. We may feel afraid of demon-possessions. We may be scared of Satan and his hosts. But Christ is stronger than Satan. We need to listen to the word of God. John says, 자녀들아 너희는 하나님께 속하였고 또 저희를 이기었나니 이는 너희 안에 계신 이가 세상에 있는 이보다 크심이라. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.대저 하나님께로서 난 자마다 세상을 이기느니라 세상을 이긴 이김은 이것이니 우리의 믿음이니라 (1 Jn. 4:4). For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith (1 Jn. 5:4). We need to take the word of God by faith as it is.

If we lose sight of the truths above, then we may be controlled by fear. We must ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see Christ being with us. He fights for us. He is our Divine Warrior. He fought the devil on the cross and destroyed him. We are secure in Him. We must take it by faith to fight the demons for healing, physical, mental, or relational. The servant of Elisha was scared of the threatening presence of the Syrian army. But Elisha was not afraid because he knew the ones with him were much more than the Syrian army. Listen to the following: ¹⁶ 대답하되 두려워하지 말라 우리와 함께한 자가 저와 함께한 자보다 많으니라 하고 ¹⁷ 기도하여 가로되 여호와여 원컨대 저의 눈을 열어서 보게 하옵소서 하니 여호와께서 그 사환의 눈을 여시매 저가 보니 불말과 불병거가 산에 가득하여 엘리사를 둘렀더라. ¹⁶ He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Ki. 6:16-17).

Since Jesus is with us, Jesus and we are more than our enemies. We must rely on the supreme power of Jesus Christ for healing. We must rely on the power of Christ to fight evil spirits. However, if we keep sinning, Satan will trap us in powerlessness. Like Samson who squandered the power of God and defiled his consecrated status, we can’t defeat evil spirits. We must first repent of our sins and equip ourselves first with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in prayer against evil spirits. Years ago, I was attacked by evil spirits when I was sleeping in my brother’s house. I slowly fell asleep. I don’t know whether I was awake or asleep. But I remember vividly what happened to me. The hands of evil spirits were choking me to death. Some may call it a sleep terror. But it was so real that I felt my throat and upper body pressed down by the hands of something evil. They were trying to kill me. I instantaneously fought them back, trying to break their grips off in the name of Jesus. However, I felt as if they were making fun of me. I felt as if they were saying, “You have no power to take this grip off.” Indeed, I was about to give up fighting. Something hit my mind suddenly. I was reminded of some specific sins I committed during the daytime. So, I confessed them to the Lord. Then, the strong grip was slowly taken off of me. I was freed and relieved.

After this incident, I realized Satan uses sin as a weapon against us and repentance is a way to fight the grip of Satan. Indeed, the first message of Jesus is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Sin binds us, causing some diseases and demon-domination. We must fight them by repentance and faith in Christ. When we repent and trust Jesus Christ, sin releases its grip from us. Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. Paul carried out wonderful ministries among the Gentiles. God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. But some Jewish exorcists attempted to name over those possessed by evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13). They didn’t have faith in Jesus Christ. They were merely testing it to see what would happen. They didn’t have a saving relationship with Christ. They were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest. The evil spirit answered them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. As it is necessary for fighting sin and temptations, faith in Jesus is necessary for fighting and subduing evil spirits.

Conclusion: There are two things surprising about Satan and evil spirits. First, they know who Jesus is. Some evil spirits recognized Jesus as “the Holy One of God,” “the Son of the Most High God.” The devil recognized Jesus as the Son of God when he tempted Him in the wilderness. They had a correct knowledge of Jesus’ person and identity. This is something astounding. How could they have such a knowledge while rebelling against the Son of God? How could they continue to rebel against Him, knowing they will be totally destroyed into hell? We often assume that since they do not Jesus Christ as the Lord of heaven and earth, they rebel against Him. But the Bible shows that despite their correct theological knowledge of Jesus, they choose neither to believe Him nor to worship Him. Another surprising thing is that cannot but to obey the authority of Jesus who says, “Come out of that person!” Though they don’t obey Jesus in love, they cannot but to obey the evicting command of Jesus. They cannot withstand the divine authority of Jesus. In normal times, they use their freewill to disobey Jesus Christ. However, when Christ commands them to leave, they cannot but to submit to the authority of His command. They are overpowered by Jesus, who is sovereign over all things. Despite having a good knowledge of Jesus, they still rebel against Jesus and oppose the works of Jesus and His church. They never exercise their freewill to obey Jesus and carry out His commission.

            Here is an irony among God’s people who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They say they know Jesus and His divine authority. But they often don’t obey the authority of Jesus whereas evil spirits even involuntarily obey the authority of Jesus. We must learn here that an intellectual knowledge of who Jesus is is not enough to withstand the schemes, attacks of evil spirits. We must have a vital, saving relationship with Jesus. We must obey His authority to work as His agents to establish His kingdom in the world. We must trust Him as our Savior and Lord and worship Him as our God. Some of you here may claim to know Jesus as your Savior. But you have to ask whether you obey and rely on the authority and power of Jesus Christ for your everyday life, including your spiritual warfare against the devil and evil spirits. Unless you are spiritually alert and reliant upon the power of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, you can’t have spiritual victory. You have a freewill given by God. If you are saved, now you are called to offer your freewill voluntarily to serve and worship Jesus Christ. How can you withstand and defeat evil spirits? Well, you must stand firm by faith in Jesus for your life, including healing and fighting evil spirits.  Nothing can withstand the power of Jesus Christ. We must fight sin, evil spirits, diseases, or despair, by relying on the power of Christ which strengthens us.

The Rev. Ho-Sung Ahn said, 믿음은 실체를 확인하는 것이다. 하나님의 크신 권능이라는 실체를 확인하러 나아가는 것이 용기다. 또한 사탄이 하나님 앞에서 무너질 존재임을 망각하고 부딪쳐 보지도 않는 태도가 두려움이다. 영적 싸움은 믿음의 기세로 이기는 것이다. 하나님의 크심을 믿고 담대히 그분 뜻을 행하는 기개를 발휘하라. Faith is to ascertain what the substance is all about. Courage of faith is to go out and ascertain God’s mighty power. Fear is an attitude even to fight while forgetting that Satan will be destroyed before God. We must win in our spiritual battle by mettle of faith. Exercise your courageous faith to carry out the will of God by faith in God’s greatness. When we abide in Christ by faith, we can say along with the apostle Paul: 내게 능력 주시는 자 안에서 내가 모든 것을 할 수 있느니라. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). Jesus is our sovereign and supreme King. So, Paul says, 평강의 하나님께서 속히 사단을 너희 발 아래서 상하게 하시리라 우리 주 예수의 은혜가 너희에게 있을찌어다. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you (Rom. 16:20). Therefore, we must resist the devil by the power of Christ: ⁸ 근신하라 깨어라 너희 대적 마귀가 우는 사자 같이 두루 다니며 삼킬 자를 찾나니 ⁹ 너희는 믿음을 굳게 하여 저를 대적하라 이는 세상에 있는 너희 형제들도 동일한 고난을 당하는 줄을 앎이니라. ⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world (1 Pet. 5:8-9).

Benediction: ²⁴ 여호와는 네게 복을 주시고 너를 지키시기를 원하며 ²⁵ 여호와는 그 얼굴로 네게 비취사 은혜 베푸시기를 원하며 ²⁶ 여호와는 그 얼굴을 네게로 향하여 드사 평강 주시기를 원하노라. The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.