Dear beloved: Today we are going to look at some scriptural examples of demonic oppression and see how the Lord deals with the situations, and to give us a better feel of the way that Satan operates in harassing Christians. In 1 Corinthians 5:1 we see an example of one who is in the body of Christ, the local fellowship of the Corinth, and he is trapped in the sin of fornication. v1 It is commonly reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not named among the gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. v2 And you are puffed up, and have not mourned, that he that has done this deed might be taken away from you. So Paul names the sin, points out the sinner, and then declare the solution in verse 4 and 5. v4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, v5 I have decide to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul doesn't explicitly state if the man is already saved, but it is likely that he is since he is part of the fellowship and verse 5 states that the purpose of the destruction is to preserve his spirit. The greek word for destruction is olethros, to ruin, destroy, plague, pest. This destruction did not kill the man, but brought him to his knees and to a state of repentance. We know from reading 2 Corinthians 2:5-8, that the man was brought to his knees and did come back into the fold and right standing with God. v5 But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me but in some degree-in order not to say to much-to all of you. v6 Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, v7 So that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow such a one be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow, v8,wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
So we can see from this that a Christian can carry great sin and demonic oppression and their spirit stiil be set aside for the Lord. The key is repentance, that is to turn away and renounce their agreement with the cords that attach them to the kingdom of darkness. God's will for all believers who are trapped in sin is restoration, and He will chastise those that need correction. Hebrews 12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation that was addressed to you as sons, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; v6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives. v7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? v8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. v9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? v10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness....So we see that God deals with our sin nature and demonic oppression, and for non believers, sometimes demonic possession, by disciplining our flesh until we repent and come into agreement with His will for our life. We then renounce and cut the cords to the demons that have been controlling our behavior, and move forward towards His holiness.
Do not be too harsh or quick to judge those around you according to what you see in their behavior, for repentance and restoration can come in a heartbeat, even on the deathbed. I had a young man stay with me for a couple of days this summer who had made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ as a teenager, then fell away into drug use and the party life when he went to college. At a drug party one night, God took him through the veil of death and took him down to the gates of hell to show him what was in store for him. The demons of hell were laughing diabolically and relishing his entry into hell; they were ripping and tearing at his flesh as he tried to pull away from them. He finally started to cry out to Jesus and Jesus came and pulled him out of the clutches of the evil ones; he was then taken back through the veil and dropped into his lifeless body at the drug party. Needless to say, he was quite shaken, and he got up and went home and started to read his bible. Prior to that night he did not believe that the Bible was the infallible word of God, in fact he mocked it at times; that all changed after his encounter with death and hell. And so you see God has many ways to deal with those trapped in sin and in bondage to the evil one. If you or your loved ones find yourself in that situation, just be faithful in praying for them and know that God will hear every word of your prayer and send ministering angels in response.
Hope lies in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Tomorrow we'll look at another example of how Jesus came to set the captives free. May God bless you this day as you move forward in His power. in Christ, Jim
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