Podcast Introduction

In our reading today we’ll read Luke 11-12. After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “No Vacancy.”

Comments on Luke 11

24  “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings 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.”

Luke 11: 24-26 ESV

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person”. Jesus is showing that demons can come and go from people. They look for people to inhabit. But take note, when a person gives their life to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in them. In John 14:15-17 Jesus said,  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, (Or Advocate, or Counselor) to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth,(Or the Holy Spirit) whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” And in 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul said, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”

So the believer, the Christian, the one who has asked Jesus to forgive them and be their Lord, has the Holy Spirit in them, right? And the Holy Spirit does not share space with demons! They cannot take up residence in a Christian. No way. No how.

Now, notice in this account that Jesus is giving that He says, “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’” So at some point, for some reason, the demon left the person. And it looked around for some other place to occupy, but it found no place as well suited as the former place, so it returned. And since the place was empty, without Jesus, he moved back in.

Listen, you can’t be on the fence. Either Jesus is in you, or He isn’t. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “Whoever is not with me is against me…”. An agnostic is just as lost as an atheist. 

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Where there is space, it wants to be filled. I remember my first computer back in the late 80s, early 90s, had a 120 Mb hard drive. Yes, megabyte. Not gigabyte, and certainly not Tb. After I used the computer for several months, the hard drive filled up. So I got a really spacious 350 Mb drive. “This thing is so big it’ll never fill up,” I foolishly thought. Today I have a 1 Tb drive in my iMac. For reference, there are 1,000 megabytes in a Gb. And 1,000 Gb in a Tb. So a Tb is one million times larger than a Mb. So compared to that 120 Mb hard drive I started off with, the 1 Tb drive in my computer should be just fine, shouldn’t it? It’ll never fill up. Well, wait a minute. I’m not done. The 1 Tb drive in my iMac is nearly full. Plus, I have another 4 Tb drive connected to my computer. Which gives me 5 Tb. That should be enough. Right? I’m not finished. I have another 8 Tb drive connected, too. That’s 13 Tb. That’s 13 million Mb! And all of my hard drives, all 13 million Mb are almost all used up! I need to buy MORE disc space! Out of all that space, I have only a total of 435 Gb available space. That’s less than half of a Tb. 

Nature abhors a vacuum, and according to what this story from Jesus tells us, that applies in the spiritual realm, too. Either the Holy Spirit lives in you, or you’ve hung out a “Vacancy” sign for a demonic tenant.

I’m not saying that every non Christian will have an experience like an Exorcist movie, but of course the way the enemy works, he usually likes to inflict damage a little at a time. Sort of like termites. They can get into the wood framing of a house and be there for months and years eating away at the structure without being detected. But all the while, the house is being weakened until there is no structural integrity left. A demon takes up residence in a person, and spiritual decay begins. How it manifests can be a collapse of morals, lack of judgement, substance abuse, and on and on. And I’m not saying that these examples are always or only because of demonic possession. I’m just saying these *can* be indicators. 

But instead of focusing on what the enemy, or demons can do, our focus should be on Jesus. He is the source of life and freedom and joy and salvation. If you have him, you have all you need. He said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

So what does your sign say? Vacancy, or No Vacancy?

If your sign says Vacancy, you can change it. Jesus wants to move in. He said in Rev. 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Notice. He does not just move in. He is a gentleman. He waits for your invitation. And you can invite Him in now if you want to. Just pray, “Lord Jesus, I want you to move in. I know that I am a sinner, and that only you can forgive me. I ask you to forgive me now, and be my Savior and Lord. Make me the person you want me to be, make me yours. Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer, congratulations. Right now there is rejoicing in Heaven. And your sign now says, “No Vacancy.” From this point forward, you belong to Jesus. And there is nothing that can take you from Him. Romans 8:28 says, “…neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Talk about security! Talk about an abundant life!

Do me a favor? If you prayed that prayer would you let me know? Send me an email at st***@*************ia.com. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer you. And I won’t put you on a list, I won’t spam you or anything. I just want to pray for you and do what I can to help you get a good start in this new life.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 11 ESV; Ch. 12 GNY

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The Team

Transcript Correction: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise
Podcasting 2.0 Chapters: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Michael Haner
Show Art: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Scott Snider and Lifespring Family Berean Jason Paschall
Newsletter Publisher: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney

Transcript

Transcript not corrected.