Gaylord Diaz's Blog

SCRIPTURE TEXT

Matthew 12:43-45,  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.  (44)  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  (45)  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DEMONIAC KICKS GOD OUT

In the post-modern world in which we live, a lot of people, including Christians, deny the reality and existence of demons. They allege that demon possession is a myth and fairy tale that people in an unenlightened age invented to explain abnormal human behavior.

But the fact that (1) Jesus taught on demonic possession; (2) Jesus spent a huge portion of His time casting demons out of demon possessed people; (3) Jesus commissioned us to cast demons out of people (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17); and (4) the early church cast demons out of people (Acts 5:16, 16:16-18); all tell us that demonic possession is very real. It happens. And I’ve got news for you: it’s still happening to this very day. I’ve cast demons out of Christians and these Christians will be the first to tell you that it’s possible for people today to be possessed.

Anyways, when a demon is cast out of a person it goes thru dry, arid, waterless places looking for rest. In ancient history, deserts were known to be habitations of demons.

Anyways, this cast out demon goes thru waterless places looking for rest. Now you’d think that out in the desert where there’s nothing to do there’ll be lots of time for a demon to kick back and relax. We equate rest with sleep or leisure, taking a break from working. But for a demon, rest is not inactivity or not working. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Rest, for a demon, is to be busy possessing and afflicting a human being. Demons don’t like it when they’re not living inside people and oppressing them.

So this demon decides to return to the person that he was cast out of. You see, when a demon is cast out of you, you need to know that this demon is going to want you back. He’s not going off to possess someone else–not if he can help it. This demon wants you because he knows you pretty well. He knows your weakness. He knows which of your buttons to push to get you to do some pretty shameful, wicked stuff. This demon knows you, he loves you, he wants you, and he’s coming back for you.

Now when the demon comes back, he finds you empty, swept, and garnished (verse 44). You know how a lot of renters will totally trash a house out. When they leave, you go in there and look dishearteningly at the mess that you’ve got to clean up and what it’s going to cost you to get that house back in a livable condition. You get right to work and get rid of the mess, repair and paint the walls, lay new carpet down, get new appliances, hang up a few paintings, and, wow, that house really looks nice now! That’s what Jesus means when a house is empty, swept, and garnished.

When a demon has been cast out of you, you do some house cleaning. You get rid of the stuff that got you possessed in the first place: you get rid of the booze, drugs, porn, anger, lying, and stealing. You clean up your act and your life. You go to church, read your Bible, and pray. You hang out with Christian friends and live life differently. You bear the fruit of the Spirit. You’re all nice and clean. And do you know what? You feel really good about yourself! You’re happy and you haven’t felt this good in a long time!

Guess what. This demon isn’t done with you. He wants you back. But he isn’t going to live in a clean house. HE CAN’T GET BACK INSIDE YOU IF YOU KEEP YOURSELF CLEAN AND WALK CLOSE WITH THE LORD.

That demon doesn’t give up easy. He wants back inside you and he’s going to keep on trying. So what this restless demon does is he goes and finds seven other demons who are a lot worse and more wicked than himself.

There are varying degrees of wickedness among demons. Some demons are not as bad as others. This explains why there are varying degrees of wickedness among men. Some murderers will kill only once or twice, while others will keep on killing until they’re dead. Some alcoholics will drink occasionally, while others drink on a daily basis, while still others drink on an hourly basis.

So now you’ve got 8 demons after you and 7 of these demons are a lot worse, a lot more wicked, a lot more alcoholic, a lot more drug addicted, a lot more rich, a lot more sexual and perverse, a lot more tempting, appealing, and irresistible.

They can’t come inside you unless you open the door of your soul to them. If you don’t do the right thing and resist these temptations, if you decide you want to enjoy these sins again, you’re opening your house back up to these demons. They come in and you’re 7 times worse than before. You thought you were really messed up before when you had 1 demon. Now you’re really really messed up, you’re more hooked, you get yourself more booze, more drugs, more guns; you watch more violent movies, you learn the ways of mass murderers, then you go out there and do what these demons have taught you to do.

Jesus closes this lesson by saying in verse 45, Even so will it be to this wicked generation. In other words, this generation of Jews were possessed by one demon, as it were. Jesus came along, cast these demons out, and helped them clean their lives up. But now, because of their religious leaders, they’re starting to turn away from the Lord. The furnishings are coming down. The house is getting dirtier. And in turning away from the Lord they’ve become like the repossessed demoniac: they’re a lot worse off than before.

HOW MUCH MORE WICKED IS OUR SOCIETY TODAY

Jesus declared that generation of Jews to be wicked, evil, and adulterous; possessed like a guy with 8 demons. That was before they had TV, movies, porn magazines, and the internet that made sexual sin so easily and readily available.

That was a time when everybody was pretty well covered up and there wasn’t a lot of skin exposed. Now we’ve got so much skin showing that there’s little left for the imagination.

That was an evil generation before they had gobs of factories churning out beer, meth, cocaine, and sex slaves. How much more evil are we today?

This generation of Jews in Jesus’ day were evil at a time when sodomites stayed hidden in the closet for fear of being stoned. Now the gays have come out of the closet with a vengeance, brazenly advocating for equal rights and legitimacy. Marriage is being redefined and the gay lifestyle is being legitimized and legalized. I don’t hate homosexuals. I just don’t like the fact that they’re contradicting God, twisting the Scriptures, and trying to convince everybody that God and Heaven are cool with their lifestyle. God destroyed the sodomites of Sodom and Gomorrah. And I just don’t think that He’s changed His mind about sodomites. All I’m saying is, if that generation of Jews was really wicked to Jesus, how much more today!

KICKING GOD OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS AND NATION

During that wicked and evil generation in Jesus’ day, the Old Testament was the only thing they taught in their schools. Today we’ve kicked God, the Bible, and prayer out of school. And look at what has happened to our schools and children since then.

I ask you, what harm was there in having God and the Bible taught in our schools  Who did God hurt that He was expelled from school? What did He do wrong that we sent Him home? What was so wrong with teaching our children to pray? For generations of time God, the Bible, and prayer were taught and encouraged. Society turned out alright when God was in school. The older folks that went through that education turned out okay. They weren’t all saints. But they weren’t monsters eithers.

Now look at what’s happened since God has left our schools. Look at the state of our schools, our communities, our nation. Most of all, look at the state of our kids and ourselves. I believe we will see in all fairness and honesty that we’re never better off when we kick God out of our lives, our schools, our communities, our nation. Like a demon repossessed person, we’re gobs worse off when we turn our backs on God. And, sadly, the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School is a sad and tragic lesson of what happens when we kick God out and let the devils in.

KICKING GOD OUT OF OUR HOMES

We see very graphically what happens when we kick God out of school. We see where this nation is headed as we begin to kick God out of our nation and our social consciousness.

But let’s bring the tragedy closer to us and ask, Are we kicking God out of our homes? Oh, we’re not doing it blatantly and brazenly. But when we don’t teach our children the Bible, when we don’t take them to church, when we don’t have a spiritual, godly mindset and atmosphere in the home, when we teach our children by example that life is all about working hard and making good money so that we can buy the fine things of life and enjoy life to the hilt—with no mention of God, no time for God—haven’t we kicked God out of our homes? And if that evil, wicked and adulterous generation was 7 times more wicked and demon possessed than before, how in the world do we expect our homes and our families to be anything less than 7 times more wicked and possessed without God?

KICKING GOD OUT OF OUR LIVES

Let me bring it even closer yet. Let’s not talk about our children and family. Let’s talk about ourselves. Are we kicking God out of our life? No way! We’re Christians, you say. Yes, thank God for that. That’s what we say.

But what do our actions say? Do we talk to God much during the day or the week? Do we read our Bibles? Do we think about God? Do we think about what we heard in church? Are we spiritual? Do we talk about God and spiritual matters in the home? Do we sing Christian songs of worship to Him? What kind of music are we listening to? What kind of books are we reading? What kind of movies are we watching? How do we spend our leisure time? We have time to study or pray, but what do we do instead? Watch a movie. Surf the channels. Go shopping. Hang out with friends. Browse the net. Facebook. And before you know it, gasp, the night is done and it’s time to go to bed. No talk of God. No thoughts of God. No time with God. And we say we’re not kicking God out of our life? Who are we kidding? Certainly not God.

BRINGING GOD BACK IN

Brethren, if we don’t bring God into our life we’re going to be spiritually dead, wicked, evil, and adulterous as a demonically repossessed person. We’re not going to fare better than our schools, our communities, our nations, or the demon-possessed people living all around us. The evil that visited Sandy Hook can visit us at any time.

Do you know who I want to visit us? The Spirit of God in a fresh outpouring of repentance and revival! Do the research. Read the history books. Whenever revival swept a community or nation the crime rates went down, social conditions improved, families were strengthened, and people were a lot nicer to one another. Saints didn’t kill sinners. Sinners were saved, not killed. Isn’t this what we want? Isn’t this what America needs today?

This is Christmas time. Over two thousand years ago there wasn’t much of any room for Jesus in Bethlehem. It was as if the little town was kicking Jesus out. Thankfully, a stable was found where Jesus could be born.

In the Bethlehem that we call our homes, our churches, our communities, our nation, our world; can we let Jesus back in? Jesus is the answer for a sin-sick world. That’s why God gave us Jesus. Jesus is the Savior that can kick the devils out of our life, clean us up, and make us look good, feel good, and live right again.

We’ve seen what happens when we kick God out. Brethren, it’s time to kick the murdering devils out. Today, let’s bring God in. Let’s clean house. Let’s begin right here. Right now. Let it begin with me.