Demon Possessed Men

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way (Matthew 8:28).

While in seminary I took a class on puppeteering. The final for the class was to perform a puppet show for an orphanage in San Francisco, not far from the seminary. Four of us drove to the site and performed for the children. After the show, one of the guys suggested we drive to China Town and have supper. So we headed out across town.

On our way we stopped at one of those notorious red lights at the top of a steep hill. As we waited at the light, I felt a very cold chill run up and down my spine. One of the guys shouted, “Look, it’s Anton LaVey!” Right next to us, in the back seat of a black limo, sat the high priest of the Satanic church staring at us. I immediately turned right and headed down a different street. We had supper at the Golden Dragon, but hardly a word was spoken.

For many people today, Satan and demons are a joke. Either Hollywood makes them out to be buffoon type characters not to be taken seriously, or depicts them to be evil forces that can be controlled or defeated by human intelligence and ingenuity. Both portrayals are ludicrous.

In Matthew 4, Jesus faced Satan for 40 days. At the end of that period Jesus was victorious, but was left weak so that angels had to come an minister to Him. In Acts 9:13-16, the 7 sons of Sceva, self proclaimed exorcists, attempted to exorcize a demon from a man. The demon said, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you? He then leaped onto them, beating them severely.

In Matthew 8:28, the demons that possessed these men completely ruined their lives. They had become extremely violent. They ran around naked and lived in the graveyard and deserted places. They were super strong so that they could not be restrained, even with chains and shackles. They lived screaming and howling day and night like wild animals, wounding themselves with sharp rocks (Mark 5:5; Luke 8:27,29).

Satanism and the occult is no joking matter. It is not to be messed with. Give a demon a toe-hold in your life by watching demonic movies, playing demonic games, listening to demonic music, or attending seances and such, and they can very well take over your life. You cannot control them or overpower them. Only Jesus Christ can save a life from demonic power.

“Thank You, Lord, for saving me from sin and its curse. Thank You for protecting me from demonic forces that would otherwise take over and ruin my life. I know I am weak in the flesh, and that Satan’s minions know those weaknesses. But I praise You that in Your Holy Spirit I am made strong to resist temptation and find deliverance in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pastor