Houses are built with doors to gain access from the outside of the house
to the inside and vice versa. Doors also keep things on the inside from
getting out, but more important they keep unwanted things outside from
getting in. The same holds true for in the lives of every person.
Although people do not have literal doors in their life, the term is
used as a metaphor for opening ones life for good or evil to enter in.
Jesus tells us a story concerning this...
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then
he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man
is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked
generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45)
For us to understand what Jesus is saying we have to look at what has
transpired. First, the Pharisees once again were looking for something
to accuse Jesus of, namely breaking the Law. His disciples were plucking
heads of grain and were eating them, it was the Sabbath. Basically, the
Pharisees were accusing them of breaking the law by working on the
Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-2) Jesus puts them in their place by referring to
what King David, one of their most respected patriarchs did, in that he
took the showbread that was for the priest only, ate it and gave it to
his men to also eat. Jesus also quotes Hosea 6:6, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." (Matthew 12:3-8)
Next, Jesus heals "a man who had a withered hand" and again it is on the Sabbath. The next thing that occurs is "a great multitudes followed Jesus and He healed them all." (Matthew 15::16) The people, "...brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw." (Matthew 16:22) The Pharisees, who refused to accept anything that Jesus said or did as anything from God said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
(Matthew 16:24) Jesus then gives the Pharisees a some food for thought
concerning any kingdom that is divided and even gives them a prophetic
word concerning what He would eventually do, "how
can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he
first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." (Matthew 12:25-29) (Jesus went into the devils house, bound him and plundered hid goods)
Jesus warns the Pharisees of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Although
the Pharisees have seen the Father working signs and wonders through
Jesus, it wasn't enough to soften their hardened hearts, so they ask
Jesus for a sign to satisfy their unbelief. Jesus' then reveals their
spiritual condition. (Matthew 12:38-42) Finally Jesus uses the above
illustration to expose what was going on in the lives of the Pharisees.
Jesus
speaks about an unclean spirit who, for some reason, has gone out of a
man. He wanders around and after a certain period of time, he then comes
back to the house (the man) from which he was thrown out. He sees that
the house (the man) is empty, swept and put in order. The Greek word
for "put in order" is kosmeo, from which we have the word "cosmetics."
It basically means decorated, tidied up or embellished. We notice that
the evil spirit does not move into the house and take possession of it,
but he goes away and finds seven other spirits more wicked than himself
to come with him to enter the house. Why would he do this? He was cast
out the first time, so by bringing seven stronger evil spirits more
wicked than himself, he is not going to be driven out that easily. Jesus
finishes this illustration by saying, "the last state of that man is worse than the first."
At the beginning, he was possessed by only one evil spirit. Now he is
possessed by eight evil spirits. This is why the spiritual condition of
this man had become worse.
This
illustration show us that humans are thought of as a house, a house
which is either going to be the house of God or the house of the devil. In other words, there are only two
possible situations: we live under God’s power
or we live under the
power of Satan. (Acts 26:19) There is no neutral ground between these
two. The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign as proof of who He truly was.
Even if Jesus showed them a sign, their belief in Him would only last
for a time, because their unbelief and wickedness would once again
prevail over them and they would soon return to their former ways and
even become worse than what they were before. Wickedness was at home in
them in the same way that an evil spirit made his home in the man in
this illustration. If driven out by seeing a sign, it would seek another
place to take up residence but would find no other place as comfortable
or peaceful as what it had in the Pharisees.
Here
is an important point of this passage. The fact that a person has been
set free from the power of Satan does not mean that he will
automatically remain free. A half-hearted repentance, the point that
Jesus was making concerning the true condition of the Pharisees, and or
unrepentant sin will leave a vacuum that the devil is able to exploit.
Paul tells us, "do not give place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:27) So, if you are struggling in an area of your life that you seem to be lacking victory, just turn to the Lord with a heart of godly sorrow and receive His forgiveness and deliverance. " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
(1 John 1:9) The devil is defeated (Colossians 2:15), sin no longer has
the dominion over you (Romans 6:14) you are a New Creation in Christ (2
Corinthians 5:17), you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) and you
can live in victory everyday (1 Corinthians 15:57) through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So close the door to the devil and open it up for the King of Glory to come in. PTL
Monday, December 5, 2022
No Admittance
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