First -- I'm going to state my views Again. The Big picture is that there's a transitional period of time in the Gospels. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist baptized with water for cleansing. After That was baptism by immersion in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit to demonstrate publically the decision that a person had already made in their heart to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. And we have the initial coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. There's a description of that. It didn't happen to every single believer at the same time. Some believers had even heard Of the Holy Spirit -- Paul laid his hands on them and they Then received the Holy Spirit and were enabled to speak in tongues. That Also does Not happen that way now. At least not in any of the many Baptist churches I've ever been in.
And in This country -- we Are much more modern that the Asian and African countries. A thought about that. America was founded on Biblical values. 'One Nation Under God'. When people are in God's Word there is less likely to Be demon possession / oppression / evil spirits to be dealing with.
Back in Biblical times -- what countries were being lived in? But we Do know that there was demonic activity Big time. There was Need for that at that time and place. And the ability to Do those things was given by Jesus To those disciples. It was showing people that They were set apart With those God-given abilities.
@Jesus is Lord -- your sharing is very interesting. The field you work in. Mental health. There Is dispute between / can be a fine-line / between psychiatric conditions / mental illness And demon possession. Some conditions Do present themselves with people hearing voices. Sometimes medication Can take care of it and sometimes Not. It's wonderful that you Do pray for those acute situations. The human mind Is complex. The soul Can be influenced by the demonic powers -- that is obvious, too. God knows exactly what the situations were that you encountered. And you prayed -in Jesus name -- which is the Only name to pray in. And you Did see a difference in the people - up close and personal. No one can dispute that. And you are Very wise to Not let programs, games, etc. with that content enter your mind. We Are to guard our hearts and minds.
@ Bendito -- you brought up the armor of God. All the armor protects the entire person. Yes. For that which comes up against us. But I really Don't believe that 'we' are to actively GO up Against those Forces. And, in our daily lives -- if / when we Would encounter those forces -- we Do have protection from / in God's Word.
But to accuse church people of being 'lazy' people for Not 'going After' evil -- well -- obviously I don't agree with that.
We Are -- every born-again believer --Is given at least one Spiritual Gift at the moment of their salvation. Those are talked about in 1 Corinthians 12 -14. Basically that the church has many members and works as a body. Each person has a particular 'job' to help it run smoothly. Each job is of equal value / importance. Each person is to be satisfied with what God has decided to give them. Ephesians 4 :11 lists others. "It was He who gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists , pastors and teachers , etc.
Each believer is part of the universal body of Christ and there is Also the Local church -- people Need to meet together as stated in Hebrews 10:25 "Let us Not give up meeting together , as some are in the habit of doing , but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
The Gospel unto salvation -- I believe -- is the Most important message to be sharing with whom ever will Willingly listen. The forces of evil Are all around us. We counter act That with the Gospel unto a person's salvation.
I agree
@Sue D. very good point about the fine line, I think this is where discernment comes into play.
@Sue D. and
@Bendito , I think when people hear the term demon possessed strong walls come up. I think one can also look at it from an even lesser spiritual perspective
and speak of people under the influence of evil spirits. This is less debatable. For example, a certain Christian may not be "possessed" by a demon (though people can be, and are)
but he or she may be heavily influenced by evil spirits. Do you remember when Jesus told Peter, "Get thee behind me Satan". Are we to think that in that moment Peter was possessed
by the devil? If you say yes, than this should change your perspective on how you think demon possessed people act because on the surface, Peter's request to save Jesus life seemed
logical and common sense. However if you say no, Peter was not demon possessed than you are left with saying he was influenced by the devil in the mind.
Similarly, I think evil spirits put thoughts in our minds just as the Devil did to Peter and Jesus was quick to rebuke Satan. He didn't even talk to Peter, He (Jesus) went straight to the source.
My point is I think looking at this clear Bible evidence that even if someone is not possessed by a demon, many are influenced in their thoughts and likewise these spirits can be rebuked.
@Sue D. once again you mentioned a good point about the fine line, I agree that there are mental issues that are not spiritually related. With that said, I will say that we should be careful
in putting God in a box. Let us not forget that God can heal body, soul, and spirit. Therefore we don't have to ask God for his power for only the spiritual. The early church prayed for common
biological sicknessess, however, now that we have more advancements in science we look as say, I can just take this pill and I can be heal. I'm not taking anything away from modern medicine,
it has its place, I'm just saying that for us to be mindful of not putting God in a box.
Lastly, with drawing that line I think many forget that ultimately we are one. We have a body, soul, and a spirit; they all influence each other. Poor nutrition in the body can impact once
emotional health in the soul. And stress in the soul (mind<not brain>) can lead to physical illnesses (research has shown this). So just because a condition originates in a certain domain (body, soul, or spirit)
it doesn't main that the other domains can't be engaged as well to bring about healing.
I'm not saying everything is spiritual and I'm not saying ignore the blessings of science that God has allowed us to discover. For example, someone may be dehydrated and think they are depressed, but
really it is just poor nutrition and a lack of sleep. If someone thinking that depression is a demon and tries to cast it out (when it is not there) obviously there would be nothing to cast out. However if they
earnestly prayed to God, I believe even in their error, God would lead and show them the answer, whether it is leading them to the right doctor or giving them the insight that their problem was nutritional.
Simply put, even if what we think is the problem is not the problem, God still heals and can still guide.
Final thought with the fine line, I think about Job, and how God allowed Satan to cast sickness over Job. We in the background see that the nature of the sickness was spiritual, though it was
clearly manifested in the flesh. I fear that if that (Job's story) happened today. Many would take Job to the doctors (which is not wrong) and obviously when the doctors would run their test
they would see physical genetic sickness in his body. And since they could perhaps diagnosis it on the body level they would not give a second thought that any spiritual is happening in the background
and also not see any value of Prayer in Job's situation. ---We are also told in the Old testament that God visited curses from generation to generation, were these curses passed genetically in the dna?
That is possible.
So my point is yes, there is a line, however let us not put God in a box. He can heal all. Let us not ignore the science but likewise not compartmentalize God and the spiritual falsely thinking that spiritual things
cannot be manifested in the body. There is so much happening in the spiritual realm that is we could see it, we would be beyond surprised.
