As Christians we are not to be like those who do not understand what is happening in the world and are helpless to do anything about it. Instead, we must separate ourselves from the influence of this world and deal with the spiritual causes that are actually influencing it, just as Christ did in His ministry.

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Show Notes:

We live in an era of anger, rage, outrage, and division. It is what we are fed every day in the media. We are continually bombarded by social media with content that is keyed to polarizing our society, our lives, and our hearts. It is dangerous because it motivates people to take negative and destructive actions. It is a serious problem that we as Christians need to be better equipped to deal with. We need to recognize that all this hatred and violence occurring between people is not just rooted in human thoughts and actions; it is being driven by spiritual forces.

The Gospel of Mark gives an account of a man who was continually screaming and cutting himself with stones, and no one could restrain him because he would break their shackles to pieces. Yet after Yeshua (Jesus) cast the demonic spirits out of him, he was seen sitting calmly and in his right mind. Clearly, when Yeshua delivered this man from the spiritual forces that had possessed him, his violent behavior stopped. Delivering people from the effects of demonic power was central to Christ’s ministry. But we today consider ourselves too educated and scientific to believe in things like demon possession or that the spirit world impacts human behavior.

That is not how we should be thinking as Christians. Yeshua did not deal with problems by reacting on a human level, but by dealing directly with the spirits behind the problems. Why are we not doing the same thing? One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the discerning of spirits. As those who have the Holy Spirit, we should be able to discern the spirits behind what is taking place in the world around us. We should not be struggling with flesh and blood. We should have the discernment and authority as the Body of Christ to cast out the spiritual forces that are the real cause of the problems in the world.

Key Verses:

• Mark 5:1–18. “‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ … And he said to Him, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’”
• 2 Corinthians 4:4. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.”
• John 12:31. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
• Revelation 12:12. “The devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:8–10. “To one is given … the distinguishing of spirits.
• Ephesians 6:10–13. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness.”
• 2 Corinthians 10:3–4. “The weapons of our warfare are … divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
• Matthew 16:13–19. “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

Quotes:

• “I don’t think we’re simply supposed to pray and be throwing prayers up to heaven saying, “Oh, dear God, please change this; stop this.” I think that we need to be a voice on this earth that is going to have the same authority that Christ had in order to end the demonic control.”
• “We’re not being moved by what Facebook says, by what YouTube says, by what the media says, by what the nightly news says. That is not what’s moving us. But instead, we’re moved by revelation, the revelation that comes from God the Father in heaven.”
• “We cannot turn this battle into one against flesh and blood. We must see that it is ours as the Body of Christ to bind on earth that which has been bound in heaven and to see these forces that are holding humanity captive cast out once and for all.”

Takeaways:

1. As Christians we are not supposed to be part of this age of outrage and spread division and polarization. Instead, we are supposed to spread the love of God, the oneness, and the truth of who we are as children of God, as God’s creation.
2. The world thinks it is too smart to believe in the influence of spiritual forces, while at the same time accepting false beliefs and being driven by anger and violence.
3. As Christians we are to follow the example of Christ who did not deal with people’s problems on a human level but dealt with the spiritual forces that were actually causing the problems.

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