KNOW POWER AND UNCLEAN SPIRITS

"KNOW POWER AND UNCLEAN SPIRITS”

MATTHEW 12:43-50

[43] “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.

[44] Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.

[45] Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

[46] While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.

[48] But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

[49] And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

[50] For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Will power is a wonderful thing. Will power is what makes it possible for people to do great things. That was certainly true for Georgene Johnson. A few years ago she entered a 10 kilometer race out in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, she got to the starting line at the wrong time and without realizing she ended up in a field of runners that wasn’t there to run the 10k race. She ended up in a field of runners that was there to run a 26 mile marathon. She didn’t realize her mistake until she got to the four mile mark. So, what did she do? She kept running and even though 8 miles was the most she’d ever run she finished the marathon in 4 hours and 4 minutes. She later told a reporter that when she realized her mistake she said to herself, “This isn’t the race I trained for. This isn’t the race I entered. But, for better or worse, this is the race I’m in.”

Will power, is what makes it possible for people to do great things. Will power is also what makes it possible for you to resist temptation. Will power is what makes it possible for you to say,

“No! I’m not going to eat that piece of chocolate cake. I’m on a diet.”

“No! I’m not going to loose my temper here.”

“No! I’m not going to buy that expensive necklace. I don’t really need it.”

If you’re a teenager, will power is what makes it possible for you to say,

“No! I’m not going to go to that party. Everyone there is going to be drinking.”

Will power is a wonderful thing. At the same time, if you’re like most people, you also know that will power alone isn’t enough to keep you from giving in to temptation. You can have all the will power in the world and still say to yourself,

“Oh, maybe I’ll just have a sliver of that chocolate cake.”

“I don’t want to loose my temper here but for crying out loud. Look what he’s doing now.”

“I don’t need that expensive necklace but it’s going to look stunning with that dress I bought last week.”

“I don’t want to go to that party! But I have to go. All the kids at school will think I’m a nerd if I’m not there.”

You can have all the will power in the world and still get into trouble when it comes to temptation. That’s because no matter how many times you say “no” the temptation is always going to be there. It’s like the Christian Education director who asked a question one day during the Children’s Message. According to the story this actually happened at the First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, Florida. “Children,” the Christian Education Director said, “do you ever have bad dreams?” Just about all the children nodded their heads. The CE Director also nodded her head and said, “I used to have bad dreams when I was little and sometimes I still have bad dreams. Why just the other night I dreamt that I blew up Pastor Henry’s house.” Just then a little girl raised her hand and announced, “My momma told me that if you don’t have bad thoughts, you won’t have bad dreams.”

That, by the way, is why I always tell our student ministers that you never, Never, NEVER ask a question during a Children’s Message unless you’re 99.9% certain you’re going to get the answer that you want.

So, we all have our temptations. Jesus called them unclean spirits and Jesus knew that when it comes to unclean spirits will power and the ability to say “no” just isn’t enough. All you have to do is look at the man in the Parable of the Unclean Spirits. The man gave his house a thorough cleaning and put everything in order. In other words he cleaned up his act and said “no” to his unclean spirit. The parable doesn’t have a happy ending though. Despite the man’s best intentions the unclean spirit eventually comes back and brings with it seven other unclean spirits. So, Jesus said, “the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

The lesson from the parable is simple. When it comes to unclean spirits you’re not going to win the battle by just saying “no.” That’s because the unclean spirit will wait you out until you experience a moment of weakness. The man in the parable learned that lesson the hard way. By the way, one of the members of our Tuesday evening Bible Study made a very interesting observation about the unclean spirit in the parable. It’s an observation that shows you how tenacious those unclean spirits can be. Just before the unclean spirit comes back it says, “I will return to my house from which I came…” Notice that the unclean spirit doesn’t say, “I will return to the house from which I came…” It says, “I will return to my house from which I came…” What that means is that when an unclean spirit gets a hold of you it really isn’t your life any longer.

Unclean spirits, we all have them, and you’re not going to win the battle by just saying “no.” You also have to say “yes” to something else. You have to say “yes” to God. That’s what Jesus did while he was out there in the wilderness. Each time he was tempted with an unclean spirit Jesus said “no” and then he said “yes” to God.

When he was tempted to turn those stones into bread he said,

“It is written ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (4:4)

When he was tempted to throw himself off the pinnacle of the Temple he said,

“Again it is written, ‘You shall not but the Lord your God to the test.’” (4:7)

Then when he was tempted to fall down and worship the devil in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world he said, “Be gone…for it is written ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (4:10)

The more you say “yes” to God the more you’ll win the battle against the unclean spirits. That’s because the more you say “yes” to God the more you’re heart will be filled with God’s grace and truth and love which means less room for the unclean spirits.

When your heart is full of God’s grace and truth and love you’ll feel better about yourself. You’re self-esteem will go up and you won’t need to fit in by going to that party where all your friends are going to be drinking. You won’t need to impress people with that expensive necklace. Instead of loosing your temper you’ll find it easier to forgive others just as God forgives you. You also won’t need that piece of chocolate cake to put a smile on your face. Why? Because you’ll see that there are lots of other God given blessings out there that will put a smile on your face without putting another inch on your hips.

When you say “yes” to God and your heart will be filled with God’s grace and truth and love and something else will happen. You’ll also find yourself saying “yes” to God with more and deeds of loving kindness and that will definitely keep the unclean spirits on the run.

Take for example the deed of loving kindness that led to a wonderful grace filled moment man years ago for Bob May. Back in 1938 Bob May and his daughter were devastated a couple of days before Christmas when his wife and the little girls mother died of cancer. Because of all of the medical bills Bob May and his daughter were living in a two room apartment in the Chicago slums. He didn’t even have enough money to buy his daughter a Christmas present. So, he decided to make her one instead. He created a children’s book about an animal that didn’t fit in with all of the other animals. In a way the story was a mirror of the difficult times that he and his daughter were going through together. The animal didn’t fit in because it had a shiny red nose. Now the story doesn’t end there. You see Bob May worked at the Montgomery Ward department store and it wasn’t long before the owner of the department store heard about “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer.” When he read the story he liked it so much that bought the rights to the book. Montgomery Ward paid Bob May a small fee and over the next several years the book was given to all the children who came to see the store’s Santa Clause. By 1946 Montgomery Ward had given out six million copies of the book. That same year, a major publisher approached Montgomery Ward with an offer to buy the rights to the book. In an unprecedented gesture of kindness the owner of Montgomery Ward returned all the rights to Bob May. The book became a national best seller and the royalties made Bob May a wealthy man.

When it comes to unclean spirits, it’s simple. The battle with your unclean spirits isn’t a matter of “N-O” power. It’s a matter of “K-N-O-W” power. It’s all about knowing enough to say “yes” to God. It’s all about filling your heart with God’s grace and truth and love and your days with deeds of loving kindness. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

March 13, 2011