Listening to the Wrong Voices

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Scripture:

Luke 4:31   He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32 They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” 37 And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.

Observation:

The passage begins with Jesus teaching by great authority. Next he encounters a man who has an unclean demon who begins to cry out, seemingly to announce who Jesus is. Jesus immediately rebukes this demon, telling him to “be silent.” Of course the healing of this man confirms the fact that Jesus has great authority but there seems to be something else to be seen as well. 

Jesus did not want the people learning about him from a man who was filled with a demon. This was not to be the source of the good news and the response may have come from sheer terror of being confronted by Jesus, or to make the people question Jesus’ authority. Remember when the Pharisees had said that he drives out demons because he’s the prince of demons. By the demon aligning himself with Jesus and his authority, he just may be able to undermine who Jesus is and therefore, Jesus immediately silences him. There was no truth to be received from the wrong source. 



Application:

There are lots of voices in the world today trying to tell us the right thing to do. Some of them even sound like they may be aligning with genuine truth. Unfortunately, the only real truth is Jesus. Somehow we need to find a way to clear away all distractions and distortions and get back to the genuine Jesus! And he is to be found in the Word, for he is the living Word. Anything else becomes a cheap substitute to real truth. 

We need to be watchful that we are not enticed by the advice of good friends. If what they are suggesting doesn’t align with the truth of the Gospel, then there is something wrong. 

Surprise, but not everything you read on the internet is truth! Every day there are more and more blogs that give us advice on a bit of everything. Beware of anything that doesn’t point you back to Jesus.

Your favorite tele-evangelist may not always be leading you toward Christ. Everything that is said and done should be a reflection of Jesus in this world. Even if that sounds good part of the time, but the rest of life doesn’t match up to reflecting Jesus, be careful!

Even what we hear on the news may not lead us to Christ. It may all sound good and convincing, but if it does not align with the actions of Jesus, we need to ask ourselves some serious questions. 

The demon seemed to be proclaiming truth, but Jesus knew that the demon was dangerous. It was just enough truth to possibly be enticing and so Jesus told the demon to be silent. Jesus alone was the truth authority and his power was demonstrated time and again. Don’t listen to every voice that sounds good. 


Prayer:

Lord, please fill our hearts with discernment to your truth.  Amen. 

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 30, 2018 at 12:53 PM

    I wrote a long comment, but it disappeared! The site also won't let me comment by name, so I'll add it: Bonnie Valentine. I just want to add that if a person dreams what appears to be guidance from God, it should be viewed with suspicion but given a chance, unless it doesn't stand the Bible truth test. Guidance in dreams and visions (I've never had a vision and do not wish to) is biblical, but rare. I love seeing them surface in Nazarene history, but such things must always be submitted to God and tested. Always, always, always! I know someone who believed a vision from the enemy and has gone very, very far wrong! This is a topic I'm passionate about; let God do the unusual, but be sure it is God who is acting! Blessings... I love this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 30, 2018 at 1:41 PM

    Okay, it did give my name. Good. Had to chuckle just now; when I went to the Word, I landed in Luke 1, which gives an example of over-caution. We need balance, or we may be mute for nine months! Though none of us are likely to be visited by Gabriel, Zacharias teaches us an important lesson: not listening to God has serious consequences, however He chooses to speak.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carla SunbergJune 30, 2018 at 2:26 PM

      Bonnie, thanks for these good and insightful thoughts.

      Delete

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