Sermon Central
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Do The Demons Know You?
Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jan 23, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: Do they laugh or fear when they hear your name?
Do The Demons Know You?
People like to be associated with famous people because in some sense they feel they are famous. They like riding the coattails of people. I have been to meetings where someone of some stature was present and for a certain price you could have your picture taken with that person. I suppose the deal was that you could hang it on your wall and impress people that you know that famous lad/lassie and they know you.
I have never had my picture taken with anyone like that, but then most of my friends are in low places as the song goes. I have had the honor of shaking Lester Roloff’s hand and even have a letter that was one of the last he wrote before his death. However, he did not know me other than from the letter I wrote him and he may have remembered shaking my hand if I had the opportunity to do it again and reminded him of where we met, but most likely he would have remembered the place and the meeting but not really remembered meeting me for I was one of many that shook his hand that night.
There was a big hoopla during the last presidential campaign over whether or not Mr. Cheney had ever met Mr. Edwards. Cheney said that he had not and they have pictures to show that he had. If someone had asked Lester if he had ever met me before he might have said no even if we had been photographed. Just as I would not have left any lasting impression on Brother Roloff, Mr. Edwards did not leave any on the Vice-President so it was as if they had never met.
I have written letters to Presidents since LBJ and have received answers with their signature, but they did not know me at all. Most of those were form letters that were stamp signed rather than original signatures. The ones that look original may be legal forgeries allowed by delegation of that President. I voted for some of them, but I never received an invitation to the Inauguration nor to the White House for anything else. I know them a little but no one would interrupt the President to tell him that they got a letter from me that he just had to read.
It is not enough to just know something about a person or to have even rubbed elbows with someone. For them to know you there has to be something that impacted them about you or you had to have had some authority that they respected. The demons knew Jesus.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. (KJV)
The demons had no trouble knowing who Jesus was for they had seen Him in Heaven and knew He was the second person of the Godhead. Indeed, their crying out that He was the Christ was just a prelude to the time when they and every knee would bow and profess the same thing. He rebuked them for He needed not their testimony of His divinity and mission.
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? (KJV)
The demons not only knew who He was but they also knew His authority and their fate. They knew that the time was coming when they would be finally judged and put into outer darkness to suffer for all eternity. They are not omniscient so they did not know if that day had come or not, but they recognized the fact that He would be the one to seal their fate. They knew Him and knew Him well.
16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. (KJV)
