Matthew 12:22 Then some people brought him a man controlled by demons who was blind and mute; and Yeshua healed him, so that he could both speak and see. 23 The crowds were astounded and asked, “This couldn’t be the Son of David, could it?”
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Luke 11:14 He was expelling a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke; and the people were astounded. 15 But some of them said, “It is by Ba‘al-Zibbul” — the ruler of the demons — “that he expels the demons.” 16 And others, trying to trap him, demanded from him a sign from Heaven. 17 But he, knowing what they were thinking, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, with one house collapsing on another. 18 So if the Adversary too is divided against himself, how can his kingdom survive? I’m asking because you claim it is by Ba‘al-Zibbul that I drive out the demons. 19 If I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges! 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!
21 “When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house, his possessions are secure. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and defeats him, he carries off all the armor and weaponry on which the man was depending, and divides up the spoils. 23 Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering.
There is only one thing I want to focus on here: the strong man.
We see here that Yeshua relates the bondage someone is under to a strong man protecting his house. Half of the world’s population has below average strength (simple math) so if you’re in the top 50% you have dominion over the bottom 50% (at minimum). Now, if you like to work out and get strong you can push up higher and higher until you reach the point that it is statistically improbable that there are many people in your hometown who are stronger than you.
Now you have comfort in knowing no one will come and invade your home. You have a stronghold.
All is well and good until someone stronger comes along and uproots your power. Suddenly, you have to scramble to get out before you get destroyed.
All of this makes perfect sense, right?
We need to realize what is happening here:
When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house,
Did you catch that?
“his own house”....this is you. You are the house being discussed.
The strong man has taken ownership of you and you are his house. There is someone much stronger than you that has come in and set up shop within you. It’s almost as if they have complete control over you and you must do exactly what they say.
This is not metaphorical. This is 100% real. At some point, you gave up ownership of who you are.
Ownership. You're not a rental and there is no lease with an option to buy. You're owned.
We’ve all seen the t-shirts and watched the NBA playoffs where these types of slogans are rampant:
And so on. Athletic companies have made a lot of money selling these types of ideas on apparel for many years -- to non-athletes. You even see the guy on the motor scooter at the grocery store wearing one. They are everywhere.
This principle is nothing new. People get overly protective when it comes to their house and their things. Going beyond that, the idea behind these t-shirts is that they are overprotective over who they are.
“No one can match up with me. I dare anyone to try and take me one-on-one. Be prepared for the wrath that comes if you even think of coming into my house!”
Pride.
Of course, the 12 year old wearing this type of thing doesn’t understand it is pride. They just think it’s cool and makes them feel a little more tough.
“Ain’t nobody dunkin’ on my house!” -- and he’s 5’2”.
When you are a team of professionals, you’re trying to rally the troops so getting them to buy into a unified mindset is all part of the psychology of sports. You give up your personal identity for the sake of something much bigger than you. I get it. Teams are designed to work together so any split or crack whatsoever will eventually spring a leak and the whole ship will go down.
And the reason this works is because it works.
Once a group of people lock in together, they are practically unstoppable. They don’t even need to be the best in the world to become the best in the world. Sports is chock full of the Cinderella stories. You know, those teams that were (maybe) average all season and barely made it into the playoffs because they are in a weak division -- then all of a sudden they catch fire and no one can stop them.
How is this possible?
Because once you get everyone locked in tightly with one another, they will fight until the death to make sure the whole unit stays whole. EVERYONE steps up and there is no stopping them.
Now we have a strong man.
What usually happens the season following a dream run? Yeah, they get pushed right back down where they belong. Why is that?
Typically, they settle back into their old mindset and become weak from a team perspective. The urgency to “protect this house” just isn’t there. Someone stronger comes along and takes “your house”. That place of dominion where you exercised complete authority is now turned over to someone else -- because you got lazy and went back to your old ways.
You see this happen with sports teams all the time. Make that big run at the championship and once we get noticed, it’s time to get paid. The team then splits soon after because everyone is wanting to get theirs.
The spoils are divided.
Big personal contracts come but no more personal connectivity. Because everyone is always in it for themselves to some degree. Pride, remember?
Once the magic is over and there is a new strong man, you see how little people are truly committed. During the season of power? Sure! Everyone loves a winner. But losing stinks.
“This House is (no longer) Protected”
Had enough sports analogies? Fine, let’s see what this all means.
We willfully and continually surrender ourselves to whoever is more powerful than we are. You see this with people that have been abused. Someone stronger than them pushed them down so they find someone weaker that they can push down. It’s a useless attempt to level the ground. People that were bullied become bullies.
If you ever reach the point of being tired of the bondage, you’ll seek help in getting deliverance. Not too many people sincerely reach this point because it can be embarrassing. Having to expose your weakness is never a good thing. So we hold onto these demons and just get used to having them around -- familiar spirits.
Sure, we’ll contend with these on and off when they get a little too annoying (or we get caught in a compromised position so we decide to “humble ourselves” and apologize -- not for what we’ve done but for getting caught) but that’s only when we’ve been cornered.
Again, getting deliverance is not something most people have ever or will ever do.
But if you do, you start a very rewarding and difficult process. Rewarding because you get to be free, and difficult because you have to stay that way. Yeshua said that if you manage to evict one demon and you leave the house empty, the demon will return with 7 more worse than him and fill that space.
Matthew 12:43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”
Demonic comings and goings make things quite difficult. But only for a while (hopefully).
In the beginning you will undoubtedly be tested to see if the house is full (of what, we’ll discuss in a minute) or whether the house has been left empty. Test after test after test. And you have to be 100% on guard each and every time.
The good news, however, is that the longer you hold your line, the less the pressure will be. Eventually, you will hit the point of having that space continually filled and the demons will no longer have access…but it does take time. Time and perpetual humility.
When you’re no threat in the world, no one pays attention to you. You’re like those teams that are in a small market or always in a rebuilding phase.
What does this mean?
A small market person is equivalent to someone that exercises weak commitment to their belief structure. Yes, they are wearing the uniform but they aren’t going to put in extra reps outside of practice time in order to get better. You’re either content being below average because you’re still a professional -- and that’s enough. This fanbase understands that their team will not compete and they’ve accepted that fact. They aren’t happy but they remain committed about as much as the players are committed.
Translation: You’ll do just enough to let everyone know you’re in it all together but you refuse to do any heavy lifting. No one really expects much of you but they still like you.
If you’re in a rebuilding phase then you are always about to do great things. You’re ok selling off key pieces now and starting over with the next top prospect. As that prospect grows and becomes more valuable, you sell them off because the cost of keeping them is just too great. Besides, you’re not quite ready to compete at the highest levels. This type of leadership makes the fanbase irate.
Translation: You gain access to some great healing resources but once you realize the cost, you back off and wait for the next one to come along. Lather, rinse, repeat. Those around you ultimately tire of hearing what you’re about to do, and they would likely be excited if you sold the team. At least then there would be hope.
Ok, we may actually be done with sports analogies at this point and I think we’re ready to finally address the strong man.
If you ever choose to be a part of the minority that wants to get their house back in order, there are a few things you should know.
Notice that we are told the house is his.:
“When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house…”
He’s defending what he has legal access to. Quit whining that it is unfair and accept responsibility for your voluntary surrendering of your house.
This guy is expecting a fight. He’s got everything he needs to fight whoever tries to come and take his house.
If you think taking back your house is as simple as naming it and claiming it, then you will find yourself always in a state of warfare (on the wrong end, by the way). Once you give that strong man the deed, he has authority. Period. Stand outside and yell with your picket sign all you want. He’s not leaving. Nor does he have to.
The anchors he has set will stay. You’ll try all types of things to take back even your grandmother’s quilt that you left in the back bedroom. But he’s equipped to guard it all. Even though it’s yours, it isn’t yours.
Finally, some good news. There is only one Person stronger than the strongman and we all know who that is. I’ll bet each and every person reading this will immediately jump here and claim Yeshua has already come and defeated that strong man. But have you really let Him?
We all have those areas that are off limits, even for Him. This is precisely why we hold onto unforgiveness. If we let Him in every place, He would be there and you wouldn’t have unforgiveness. No strong man. But we are full of unforgiveness.
That strong man is at the door and he’s not letting up because you have given that space over to him. He can stay as long as he likes because you are protecting him. And he is protecting the house -- all cozy, nestled, and warm.
What can we do? We’re stuck in a weird logic cycle of being in bondage, calling upon Yeshua to save us, and still being in bondage -- maybe even worse than we were when this all started. A good and true believer wouldn't struggle like this, right? So what is true? Are you free or are you in bondage?
Well, if you cleaned out the house and never put anything back in there, there’s likely 7 more leaving you worse than you were before.
But when someone stronger attacks and defeats him, he carries off all the armor and weaponry on which the man was depending, and divides up the spoils.
Once that strong man is evicted, all of those weapons he had to use against you are taken away and then divided so they can be used against him. The same weapons that kept you in bondage can now be used to not only keep you free, but also lets you help those that are contending with this same strong man.
You now have authority.
I’m sure you’ve experienced something in your life where two different people told you the exact same thing and only one of them seemed to really know what they were talking about. This usually happens when someone doesn’t just know the right answer, they have lived it.
Keep this in mind the next time you want to guide someone through a tough spot in their life.
Where it gets a little tougher is when you’ve knocked off the lower level demons through repentance and deliverance but then leave that space empty. This is when your life gets really hard.
In fact, this could be a great argument as to why you should never seek deliverance to begin with. Keeping the small demons in place could make for a lukewarm life but at least you don’t need to work all that much. Stay in a small market and you can live a plain ol’ ordinary life.
The worst thing you can have happen is to empty that space and let it get filled with more evil. I have personally seen this play out one time in the past and it was one of those things you can’t even begin to describe. Someone had some rough stuff going on within them and they were in a season of their life where they wanted to be set free. But it was just a season. After some time had passed, they rolled back into their old ways and this time it was next level insane. Perpetual evil leached into everything they touched. Relationships and people’s lives were destroyed. It’s got to be one of the saddest things I’ve ever witnessed.
I therefore strongly discourage you from seeking this type of healing if you feel this is the “season” for you to get healed. It needs to be so much more than that. Being in a rebuilding phase with this kind of stuff is more than you, your family, friends and community can handle. Keep the demons you have if this is how you tend to live your life as a believer.
If you do it, though, do it right. You have to fill that space. What with? Well, darkness was there so now we need to fill it with light. Death dwelt alone and it is time for life to come forth. Abba’s Spirit needs to be allowed in to fill that space.
This isn’t a philosophical Christian exercise in believing it has happened, but more of an action based process where you see it happen. How does this work? Ah, it’s a piece of cake:
The evidence you’ve done this successfully? The Fruit of the Spirit will flow from within you in a natural way (note: you can’t fake these for long):
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. 24 Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. 25 Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day.
It’s no longer you living but Him within you.
This year’s playoff slogan?
“Take Back the House”