Day 111 "Being filled by the Spirit keeps man from being filled with spirits; the choice is ours."

Day 111 Matthew 12:43-45 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." If taken out of context, this passage could easily be used as an argument for those who believe once you are saved you can be possessed by evil spirits, which would be contrary to what I read in the Word. When you read this, you must consider whom Jesus is speaking with and what the purpose of His conversation is. Here, Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders about their customs, practices, and failure to recognize who He is. It is also important to remember that, at this point, there is no Holy Spirit inhabiting those who have become believers. Remember, in John 16, Jesus makes it clear that the Holy Spirit cannot come until He leaves, which is the key to one not being able to be inhabited by an evil spirit following conversion. It was not uncommon at all for the priests to exorcise demons from people who were possessed; after all, they were priests of God, and, therefore, they understood what He was speaking of very clearly. Once a man had been delivered, he would naturally try to do right and avoid making wrong choices. However, as we know, he would fail–man can by no natural means avoid sin. In addition, deliverance is not salvation–it is simply deliverance from inhabitation. What you have is a hole in the spirit, cleaned out, yes, yet no less empty. If you take something away, you must fill the void with something else; otherwise, this person will feel just that, certain emptiness–a void, one which he will desire to fill. If you look at people with addictive personalities, you will find quite often that, every time they stop using or taking whatever they are addicted to, the emptiness soon takes over so they return to that which satisfied them. The problem is that soon the satisfied feeling fades and the only way to restore it is to move to a harder or stronger source of their addiction. If the spirit returns, as Jesus said, what is there to stop him and seven others from coming? Well, nothing, of course, because, after all, the person was not saved and filled with the spirit, or given the Word and fellowship; they were simply cleaned and left unattended with no defense. Jesus is saying to the religious leaders that their religious practices will not be enough without the belief in and existence of the Messiah–without grace, mercy, and deliverance man cannot be whole. He was attempting to explain to them that they truly have no power over man, the choice he makes, and that holiness and righteousness cannot be attained by actions or beliefs alone. However, as we know, they chose not to believe Him. This passage, I believe, is also a good argument for seeing that people are disciplined after conversion, not just left alone to be moved by every wind of doctrine or spiritual influence. Let's face it, who would take newborn babies and turn them loose in the world and expect them to survive? None of us, of course; we know they need to be nurtured, taught, and cared for, do they not? Daily Prayer: Father, we pray for those who struggle with emptiness in their lives. I pray, Father, that we would all fill the voids of sin with a greater knowledge and understanding of you, and thank you, Lord, for your Holy Spirit that protects us from the filling of the enemy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "Being filled by the Spirit keeps man from being filled with spirits; the choice is ours." Pastor Gene Burroughs