The Devil Went Down to Worship (Mark 1:21-23)
From the very onset of His ministry, Jesus was a tad unorthodox. He wasn't very old (only about 30) and He had no formal religious training. Although Jesus was in many ways very ordinary, He had a very extraordinary walk with God.
In one of His very first sermons at the local Synagogue Jesus gets interrupted by a guy in the back row who is ranting and screaming like a madman. Come to find out the guy was demon-possessed. Awesome.
But instead of allowing this distraction to totally derail the service, Jesus does something incredible. He commands the demon to get the "hell" out of there (literally).
But hang on now. What was the devil doing at church in the first place? Doesn't he hate being in the presence of God? Who invited this demon into God's house? Not only that, this was a spiritual gathering of God's holy people who had come to worship.
What's crazy is that this is one of the very first things Jesus does in this gospel to start His ministry. Of all the things He could have picked to showcase His talents, why addressing demonic forces at church?
From experience I can safely say that satan is actively involved in the life of the local church. Just like the devil found his way in and tried to shut down Jesus' message in the synagogue that day, he would love nothing more than to do the same in your church and mine.
Somehow we tend to think "unchurched" people out there somewhere are the ones who really need Jesus. But what if the people who need Him most are right under our nose sitting on the pew next to us? Don't "churched" people need Jesus too?
The answer is obviously yes. The devil really doesn't care whether we attend a worship service or not. His plan remains the same wherever we are, to "roam about like a lion seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). What's funny though is that Peter wrote those words to Christians, not unbelievers.
So do "good church members" need to beware devil? You bet! Of all the places to cause the most damage, the local church is choice meat, full of unsuspecting people with their guards down, ripe for deception and destruction.
If Jesus thought it necessary to address the work of the demonic in the churches in which He sought to reveal Himself, we might want to consider doing the same. We always have to be on guard because "jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. (James 3:15, 16 NLT).
If we're not careful, we can easily find ourselves offended, jealous of others, and seeking to selfishly promote our own agenda in God's house. Whenever such foolishness is tolerated, you can be sure that the devil is on the prowl.
In one of His very first sermons at the local Synagogue Jesus gets interrupted by a guy in the back row who is ranting and screaming like a madman. Come to find out the guy was demon-possessed. Awesome.
But instead of allowing this distraction to totally derail the service, Jesus does something incredible. He commands the demon to get the "hell" out of there (literally).
But hang on now. What was the devil doing at church in the first place? Doesn't he hate being in the presence of God? Who invited this demon into God's house? Not only that, this was a spiritual gathering of God's holy people who had come to worship.
What's crazy is that this is one of the very first things Jesus does in this gospel to start His ministry. Of all the things He could have picked to showcase His talents, why addressing demonic forces at church?
From experience I can safely say that satan is actively involved in the life of the local church. Just like the devil found his way in and tried to shut down Jesus' message in the synagogue that day, he would love nothing more than to do the same in your church and mine.
Somehow we tend to think "unchurched" people out there somewhere are the ones who really need Jesus. But what if the people who need Him most are right under our nose sitting on the pew next to us? Don't "churched" people need Jesus too?
The answer is obviously yes. The devil really doesn't care whether we attend a worship service or not. His plan remains the same wherever we are, to "roam about like a lion seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). What's funny though is that Peter wrote those words to Christians, not unbelievers.
So do "good church members" need to beware devil? You bet! Of all the places to cause the most damage, the local church is choice meat, full of unsuspecting people with their guards down, ripe for deception and destruction.
If Jesus thought it necessary to address the work of the demonic in the churches in which He sought to reveal Himself, we might want to consider doing the same. We always have to be on guard because "jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. (James 3:15, 16 NLT).
If we're not careful, we can easily find ourselves offended, jealous of others, and seeking to selfishly promote our own agenda in God's house. Whenever such foolishness is tolerated, you can be sure that the devil is on the prowl.
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