As promised, a sneak peek at the introduction to my book, Breaking Free: From Demons To Discipleship. With the world in such a state of utter turmoil, perhaps this will be a good reminder of Who is actually in control of all things.
Introduction:
This book is about breaking free. It’s about breaking free from Satan’s grip upon our lives. Satan’s power is very real. It exists–yet it is counterfeit. Just as counterfeit money exists, but is not authentic. The moment counterfeit money becomes exposed, it is rendered powerless. So too, when Satan’s lies are confronted with The Truth of Christ, the great deception is exposed as mere illusion, and in the process, Satan is rendered utterly powerless. The Temptation of Christ in the wilderness is a glowing example of this indisputable truth.
Satan is very good at what he does, and with good reason. Evangelist, Major Ian Thomas, has correctly pointed out that the world’s greatest fundamentalist of the Bible is Satan! He knows that every single word from Genesis to Revelation is true–why do you think he tries so hard to make us doubt it? Make no mistake–the source of darkness and death is well acquainted with the light of God’s Living Word.
While Satan may accomplish many things, there is clearly a limit to evil’s power. Evil may dominate some things, but it cannot dominate all things. It is precisely this restriction in ability that poses the greatest threat to demonic attempts to devour. Satan wants nothing short of absolute destruction for as many souls as he can possibly reach. However, try as he may to destroy, he cannot defeat; he may bend, but he cannot break. Therefore, his power is not absolute.
By contrast, the power of Christ is complete. It exists independently—free of imposed limitation of any kind. Unlike Satan, whose power can only be derived through the absence of the power of Christ. There is no authority higher than His own to whom Christ must submit. Therefore, Christ possesses absolute power.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” [Matthew 28:18]
Since the power of Christ reigns supreme, then naturally it must follow that all must submit to His ultimate authority—all—including Satan! This will be an important spiritual principle to keep before us as we move through this study.
The New Testament Gospels fully reveal the dominion of Jesus’ power in four essential areas: over nature, evil spirits, death and disease. Primarily, this book illustrates the power of Jesus Christ over evil spirits, as evidenced from a Gerasene man cured of multiple demons. Although, I have included an illustration of Christ’s power over nature as we examine the passage of Scripture leading up to this holy, healing moment.
However awesome the demonstration of this particular healing may be, it is a mere comma on the page of a much larger Story. Yet, it successfully demonstrates a critically important truth, the over-arching theme of the entire Bible: God’s desire and determination to set his people free. Free from the bondage of sin and death. This is precisely why Jesus came—to set the captives free!
“Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.” [Hebrews 2:14-15]
The first public words ever uttered from our Savior’s lips, echoed those of the ancient prophets. It was He who was anointed to bring good news, release to the captives, and to free the oppressed. With the unrolling of a scroll, He forever changed the course of history and forever altered our collective future.
From Israel’s Promised Land, to the promise of Paradise, the Bible makes clear the dignity of freedom that God, through his Son, Jesus Christ, seeks to bestow upon His people. As creator and defender of our liberty, God passionately lays claim to rightful ownership of all who belong to Him, in order that he may share the riches of His inheritance. It is God who is the sole proprietor of true freedom, the only one from whom we can obtain it. God’s righteousness and sovereignty prevail in granting us our independence to choose Him, and in so doing, delivering us from Satan’s clutches. “Deliver us from evil” we are taught to pray. No longer are we held captive by Satan’s rule, rather, we are captivated by the liberating love of our heavenly Father, who will not rest until we are resting safely in him.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” [James 4: 7-8a]
Unfortunately, there are times when it seems we cannot avoid the stinging assault of those rapid, fiery darts. Ensnared by Satan’s trappings we begin to lose our foothold. None of us are immune to his persuasive powers in trying to divert our attention away from God. While our sources of bondage are innumerable, Satan’s tactics remain the same: he sets his target at precisely the spot we are most vulnerable, at precisely the moment we least expect it. Throwing us off balance by the element of surprise with an irresistible temptation ensures his greatest success. He doesn’t want us to think, he wants us to act! Our impulsiveness becomes our jugular vein. (Eve could certainly attest to this!) There is a moment of time between temptation and disobedience that requires our fullest attention. How crucial and wise for us to follow the admonition of Scripture to “keep alert”!
The practice of renouncing evil within our baptismal or membership vows, finds common expression throughout our varied faith traditions. Consider these promises typical of a faith community:
1) Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
2) Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
When we consider the outrageous prevalence of evil that exists in our world today, it is vitally important for us to recognize and to recall the seriousness of our covenantal vows to the church in renouncing, rejecting, and resisting all forms of evil, oppression, and injustice.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word renounce as:
1. to give up, refuse, or resign usually by formal declaration.
2. to refuse further to follow, obey, or recognize.
When we verbally declare our rejection of evil, publicly as a people of faith, it is as though we have formally submitted our “resignation” to the world. We refuse to continue operating in the waysof this world, and wholly accept the freedom and power God offers, enabling us to live “in” the world, without becoming “of” the world. I love the way Scripture describes this:
“…to keep oneself unstained by the world.” [James 1:27b NAS]
Further on in James we find these very strong and plea-filled words:
“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” [James 4:4 NAS]
Does this mean that at the time our baptismal or membership vows are spoken we somehow, “magically”, will never sin again? Of course not! Does it mean that with every passing day of our new life in Christ we should be growing and maturing in our faith? Absolutely! Sanctification, or Biblical holiness, is a life-long pursuit.
Theologian, John Wesley, called it—“the going on toward Christian perfection”. The mastery lies within the grace-filled striving to improve, while pressing on toward the goal of growing into the image of the Son.
To be Christ’s ambassadors in the world requires a determined obedience to His Word. This we are able to accomplish solely through reliance on God’s mercy and grace. In fulfilling the mission of His church, we must strive to eliminate the evils of this world. The most effective means of doing this is to first eliminate them from within. If we will first “remove the log from our own eye” then we will have the vision necessary to remove a speck from the eye of a splintered world.
Now that we have laid a foundation regarding good and evil, bondage and freedom, and Who it is that is ultimately in control, it is time to turn our attention to the Scripture story. Through Christ’s compassionate, healing love, this passage delightfully demonstrates that when Christ breaks through—we have been set free. We are free indeed!
As you read, recall that this healing encounter actually took place. This was not a parable Jesus told, as in “the prodigal son”, for example. Neither was it an expounding upon spiritual truths, as in, “the kingdom of God is like”… This truly occurred and was observed by many eyewitnesses. Also, notice its relative uniqueness in dealing with mental illness, as opposed to the numerous physical healings Jesus performed.
It is my hope that Breaking Free will unleash in you the desire to draw ever nearer to your Savior. Also, that you will experience an ever-deepening awareness of the love that will not let you go…no matter how many demons try to pull you away.
May the Lord refresh our hearts as we now examine the story of one man’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity in a world gone mad…