February 1 House in Order?

Luke 11:24-26 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”  
 
JESUS continues his teaching on Luke 11:23 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” You must know how necessary it is you are with him.
    First, as he talks of an evil spirit seeking rest. This means the demon is seeking someone to inhabit to torment. A demon’s rest is a person’s strife! But the demon returns to the “house” he left. He returned to the person he had left.
    Two questions arise here. Why did the demon leave a person? How can he go back? There is no specific reason the demon left or returned. Demonic activity is helter-skelter, moving on a whim of evil to disturb God’s creation. It is like a pickpocket surveying the crowd, deciding whom he will victimize. He will choose the most accessible and vulnerable to victimize. That is why the demon returns to the person it left. That person is empty, without Jesus. His soul is still accessible to evil. Thus, the demon can re-enter.
    Even worse, the demon brings eight more. It is the intruder who comes to steal a television. When he then finds the house easy to access, he calls his friends to come take the furniture, jewelry, and all possessions. When the “house” is vulnerable, demons enter and destroy. The person ends up much worse than he was in the lone demon possession.
    Does this sound strange to you? Do you wonder if demons really cause trouble in empty souls? But stop and consider some troubled people you know. Some have a sinful habit or destructive personality that seems to get worse over time. Sometimes, in their own ability or a “self-help” course, they are able to remove disturbing habits from their lives and become “clean”. You’ve heard the term, “I’m clean.” haven’t you? No drugs, alcohol, abuse or other addictive behavior is in that person – for a time.
    But if that person has done this without Jesus’ saving resurrection power through the Holy Spirit, he remains empty and vulnerable. At some point, the helter-skelter evil re-enters. Then as we often see in people, the person’s addictive behavior rages worse than before.
    There is only one answer to sin. Our Lord affirms how essential he is to our salvation. As we learned yesterday, he must be with us. We must welcome him to abide in our “house”, to inhabit the very core of our being. God’s Spirit under Jesus’ authority is the only power that will heal our sin. He is the only holy authority to keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. The kingdom of evil is death and agony. God’s kingdom alone is the real power and everlasting glory.
    Who is in your house?
 
Prayer: In Jesus’ salvation, Spirit, I pray I am free of evil. The demons cannot touch me, Lord, because you are my Savior, Shield and Strength. In Jesus’ name I rejoice. Amen.