This demon challenged Jesus. It did not go well for him.

Soon after the Savior called His first disciples, He went to the city of Capernaum and started teaching in the synagogue.  Suddenly, a man with an unclean spirit came in and cried out,

“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God.” – Mark 1:24

The demon, speaking through the man, first asked the Lord, What have you to do with us?  This phrase comes up several times in the Old Testament, and what it means is that the two parties have nothing in common.  This demon and others like him were completely contrary to Jesus, and they were well aware of that.  This phrase is also an idiom for, “Leave us alone!”

The demon refers to the Lord as Jesus of Nazareth.  Not only were they aware of His name, but they were well aware of where He lived.  This name, by the way, would be used in a derogatory way by Jesus’s enemies, because Nazareth didn’t have the greatest reputation. 

After asking the Savior the first question, the demon moved to a second: Have you come to destroy us?  Whether this demon asked out of fear, mockery, disdain, or any combination of the above, we do not know, yet we see an admission that the Savior could and would conquer Satan.  

He continued, I know who you are–the Holy One of God.  Now, demons are not omniscient.  But it’s no surprise that this one and probably all of them were aware that the Holy One of God, that is the Messiah, the Servant of Yahweh, the seed of the woman, had begun His ministry.  And doing all they could to stop Him from accomplishing His mission, they would utterly fail. 

This demon himself had no chance against the King of Kings:

25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. – Mark 1:25-26

What a comfort this is to us, because the reality is that demons such as this one strive against us and would stop us if they could from accomplishing the mission on which Christ has sent us.  And though they can hinder and disrupt, deceive and discourage, they are still nothing compared to our conquering King, who will finally crush them all under His heel. 

Not in our bows do we trust

  
Psalm 44 says, 

4 You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! 

5 Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. 

6 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. 

7 But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. – Psalm 44:4-7

The psalmist was praising God for delivering His people from their enemies in warfare, for giving them the victory.  But how were they victorious?  Did they use bows?  Did they use swords?  Certainly they did.  It’s not as if trusting the LORD meant laying down their weapons.  He delivered them through the means of their weapons, their strategy, their wherewithal, etc.  Yet, the psalmist was right that God was worthy of the praise.  

Christians are also in warfare—not against men, but against a spiritual enemy.  And as the psalmist wrote, through Christ, we push down our foes; through His name, we tread down those who rise up against us.  

And though we have our own armor and weapons to use, we don’t ultimately trust in them.  It is He who saves us from our foes and puts to shame those who hate us. 

So, let us put on the full armor of God and make war against our flesh and the enemy, but at the end of the day, let us praise our victorious King. 

The Lord Gives Victories

As the chronicler writes about King David’s defeating his many enemies, he inserts a crucial sentence.  1 Chronicles 18:13 says, “And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.”  The chronicler rightly acknowledged that it was the LORD who granted David victories, a fact that (it’s safe to say) David joyfully and readily confesses today.

In the same way that David really has no room to boast on himself for his military victories, neither do we as Christians fighting a spiritual war have room for boasting on ourselves.  Any time we’d boast on ourselves, here are a few humbling verses to remember:

Jesus says in John 15:5, “apart from me you can do nothing“.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:13, “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.“

He also writes in 2 Corinthians 10:17, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.“

Don’t be mistaken–these verses aren’t saying, “Let go and let God”.  We are to actively seek to obey Jesus.  We are to make war on our sin.  But when we do obey, when we win those battles, may we remember that it is the LORD who gives us victory wherever we go.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 17
• Genesis 18:1-15
• 1 Chronicles 18-20
• Luke 11:1-36

Crying Out to God in the Battle

When someone becomes a Christian, it’s as if he were once in the devil’s army, but he’s now defected and joined the “enemy”.  Not only have we received entrance into God’s kingdom, but we’ve also enlisted for His army.  And the Christian knows that he is fighting battles every day until his tour of duty is up.

We see a great example of how to do battle in the book of 1 Chronicles.  Speaking of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, we read, “They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.  And when they prevailed over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and He granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him” (1 Chronicles 5:19-20).

Now, this is talking about physical, historical warfare, but the same principle applies in spiritual warfare.  If we’re to have any hope in winning the battles we’re in, we must cry out to God and trust in Him.

John Piper illustrates this well.  He says that in today’s Christianity, we treat prayer like it’s a domestic intercom, when really, it should be more like a wartime walkie talkie.  We’re surrounded by the enemy, and we need to call in artillery fire and air support, lest we get routed.  Christian, fight the good fight of faith, but don’t forget you’re not strong enough to win on your own.

Today’s readings:

• Psalm 4
• Genesis 5
• 1 Chronicles 5
• Luke 2:22-52