The Devil at Church
Jerry Watts
Mark 1:21-28
* This story occurs in the normal flow of the life pattern of our Lord. He has just given the call to the fisherman to ‘follow me’ and now, in a very normal pattern for Him, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath to teach. This man who was possessed by an unclean spirit (demon-possessed) was in attendance. It would seem that this man had lucid periods in his life or he would not have been admitted. (If we make an application today we understand that those who are controlled by Satan do indeed have lucid moments where they are not recognized. Jesus referred to them as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”)
* Quite likely, this was not this man’s first trip into the synagogue. Perhaps he had been there several times with no incident. Yet, when God showed up he showed out. It took the presence of God to evoke such a response from him. All too often this is the way if happens. Church (as we call it) goes on with little or no response. Then God shows up and when He shows up, all bets are off. The very presence of God is enough to cause a reaction from Satan. Consider three lessons from this:
1. The Attraction to the Devil – Here are the religious people getting together ostensibly to worship God, so why in the world would Satan want to have ‘his unclean spirit (a demon) at church? What would be the attraction? Why would he even want to be there? Think about it;
a. He’s always been religious. He is monotheistic which means that he knows & believes there is only one God- James tells us this. While he is opposed to Christianity (living like Christ), he is not opposed to “churchianity”. He loves to see people gather who are insincere about their worship. Where a crowd shows us (for whatever reason), the devil wants to be close by because he loves meetings.
b. He’s always looking for easy prey to deceive. When you consider this ‘demon possessed’ man & consider the myriad of other reported demon-possessions in the Bible, it is easy to know that the devil wants to control people. If he can get you before God does, then he can control you. The people who are easy to control are those who are not already under God’s control. I think this is what happened to Judas, Agrippa, and others. Satan wants us to ‘think’ that he knows best & sadly many believe his lie. He is seeking to possess the lost & oppress the saved. If you are an authentic believer wants to sift you. This is what Jesus told Peter that the devil wanted to do. He will not be happy as long as you have any spiritual life left in you. He shows up at church to see who’s vulnerable, deceivable, & controllable.
c. He’s always seeking worship. – Above everything else, he desires your worship. It was evident in Isaiah 14 when he rebelled against God, it was evident in Matthew 4 when he tempted Jesus, it continue to be evident in the Revelation where he still desires to be worshipped. Candidly, we worship him every time we give him first place in our lives. He puts temptations in our lives to pulls us away from God & toward him. We worship him when we give in to him at that moment bow down to him – and that is what he wants. This is his attraction to church meetings.
2. The Aim of the Devil – or better said, “Why does he hope to accomplish in here?”
A) He wants to undo what God does. When God shows up, Satan wants to be close at hand to try to explain away God’s workings. Have you ever wondered why we seem to see so little of the miraculous deliverances or the glorious changes in lives? It is because of our unbelief. Satan worms his way into churches, our services, and our hearts planting the seed of unbelief that a ‘miracle could happen here’ & again, we believe the lie. Our lack of belief limits our Lord. The saddest verse is Matthew 13:58 which says, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” God acts to develop our belief & the devil to destroy our belief. That’s why he’s here!
B) He wants to place doubt in the minds of people. Where clear & truthful teaching occurs, the devil will try to counter it by placing doubts in the minds of the listeners. Satan is the great counterfeiter! He is that little voice inside your head which says, “It’s not that important” or “That’s not right” or “The Bible says, but I believe.” It is in this way that Satan has us ‘missing’ Matthew 6:33- “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” Just stop there & admit that we have missed this mark.
* Three concepts exist in those three words; seek, first, and the Kingdom of God. We understand the seeking part as we seek to have everything this earthly life can give. We also understand this thing of being “first.” We want our kids to be first in their activities, we want to be first in prominence, prestige, and popularity and we want our teams to be first – the top – the best. We even have a little understanding of the Kingdom of God. Here’s our problem; we have missed putting these three concepts together and Satan is the culprit. He places doubt that first means first.
C) He wants to undermine spiritual authority. The concept of spiritual authority is an area where the devil can be applauded in the 21st century Americanized church. Where divine authority is perceived, the devil will attempt to destroy both the speaker & the authority. This is his pride showing through. In our text, the evil spirit interrupt, shout out, and attempts to get the crowd to turn on Jesus. Evil cannot stand for authoritative truth to be told – & generally will react, sometimes violently. This is what happened to Jesus. This is what is happening in churches across America today. Dr. Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay, recently said to a mutual friend that “Pastor’s today are under attack like never before.” While it is true, that no pastor is on the same ‘authoritative’ level as Jesus, it is equally true that our Lord has placed a solemn & huge responsibility on the shoulders of every called man of God to speak & lead for Him. Satan is doing his best to undermine God’s man. Chaos in the church is Satan mission - & he’s good at it.
* Watch how this entire encounter is used by our Lord to bring good & evil loses.
3. The Actions by the Devil – We’ve already said this, but let me restate for clarity; the unclean spirit was comfortable in the church until Jesus shows up & truth is taught.
a. He Recognizes Jesus – When he realizes who it is and what he is hearing, he cannot help himself and cries out in a loud voice. He interrupts the service by saying, “What do you have to do with us?” Then by name he says, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He asks, “Have you come to destroy us?” and concludes with a statement of truth befitting a follower not a fraud, “I know who you are—the Holy one of God.” Can you believe it? Even an unclean spirit, a demon, & a messenger of Satan know the Lord Jesus on sight! Luke records that a “Spirit filled man” named Simeon recognized who Jesus was when He was only an infant. The disciple John records that John the Baptist recognized Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Here are demon in the synagogue recognizes & knows who Jesus is. Here’s the question: Does the demon know more than you? Is he more familiar with divinity than you are? When Jesus passes by are you like Zacchaeus or are you like Nazareth? Make no mistake, even the demons know Jesus.
b. He Responds to Jesus – Jesus told the demon to be quiet and to get out. The word for “be quiet” is actually ‘be muzzled’ or ‘hold your peace’ (in other words, ‘no more talking’). Know what the demon did? He did what everyone has to do – obey! The only thing he could muster was a cry of agony because the Lord of creation had spoken. Jesus didn’t give the demon a choice – but for some reason, He does give us a choice. To us He might say, “Stop your talking about how you can make it without me.” Or “Stop making excuses” or “Stop standing in their way.”
* When Jesus shows up, He has an agenda. He wants to clean up the place, the heart, and the group, to make them into what He wants them to be. He dismisses the evil one and begins working on hearts. Have you responded to Jesus’ offer of life, hope, help, and eternity? Have you even heard His call? Or is the evil one clouding your mind and covering your heart? Let Jesus speak the word to send the evil one away because when he leaves Satan, unaware, does one more thing:
c. He Reveals Jesus – Watch this: the unclean spirit not only identified Jesus by name, he not only revealed Jesus by His Authority, but the way this entire incident came down, He made Jesus well known! Verse 28 calls it the “Fame” of Jesus. When we come before God in the right way and the evil one attempts to destroy things – Jesus can use that interruption to build His Kingdom. But He expects us to come before Him in the right way. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken heart.” He expects our honesty, our openness to Him, and our love. Week after week we enter this building & make no mistake, the unclean spirit gathers with us. He nudges us to ‘not participate in the service’, ‘dismiss the prayer time as just a waste of time,’ and ‘minimize the scriptural message’ because the preacher is too serious about this thing. When we listen to the evil one, the devil wins the day. Don’t miss this: the devil is not concerned about you. He would not give up anything for you – and our Lord gave up everything for you. Don’t let the devil get the victory in your Life. Recognize, Respond to, and let Jesus be Revealed in you.
