Spooky…?
11-1-2023
C. Hayden
In a week or so, millions of American children and adults will participate in one of the falls most prominent holiday,
Halloween. So, during October, we want to look at the reality of nefarious entities that actually exist in our world,
often going completely undetected by most human beings. Hollywood and pop culture has served to desensitize
us to the reality of the spiritual world. This often happens by making light of nefarious spirits (devils and demons)
through such TV shows like “Bewitched” and “Lucifer” or movies like “Little Nicky” and “Hellboy.” Well, that is
entertainment isn’t it.
At the other end of the spectrum, if pop culture is not showing you a silly representation of the real
spiritual world, they show an overblown exaggeration of these characters through many horror-filled, bombastic
films like “The Conjuring” or “Insidious.” This is not to say that demonic activity does not ever manifest itself in the
physical world of the real, it does. However, the film industry most often likes to display dark forces in our world
as a real competition to God’s power. If not thwarting the Lord at the film’s end, at least almost so.
The reality is that Satan and his minions (demons), do exist in the world, but
he is no match for God. He does not even have power to manifest physically except in
very limited instances and rare moments as God has allowed him to do. In those rare
moments when a possession actually happens (usually through a person who has
suffered, or through personal choice, severe ongoing trauma or occult exposure), God,
through His proxy servant angels and believing Disciples, always have power over His efforts. Many examples of
God’s crushing power over our enemy are given in the Scriptures.
In Luke 8:26-37, we read of the account of Jesus walking up to a demon possessed man. As soon as the
man saw Jesus, the demon’s cried out requesting (asking mind you), that Jesus not torment them. In Acts 16:16-18
we read, “ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and
brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants
of the Most-High God, who proclaims to you the way of salvation.’ 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul,
having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come
out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.” So Paul had no problem casting out demons. Actually, the devil has no
power over the Believer in Christ but what is given to him by us. We need to always be cognizant of the fact that
“Greater is He who is in us than he (the devil) who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Be blessed even more you wonderful children of God!!
Pastor Chris
