Mark 1:26
“And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.”
It was the sabbath day when Jesus entered into the synagogue to teach. While He was teaching, a man with an unclean spirit heard Him speak and cried out, “…Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth…” When the man with an unclean spirit came into the presence of Jesus, those spirits knew they had no power. After Jesus rebuked the spirit it “came out of him.”
I know that these unclean spirits were talking about people being possessed with devils, but does your spirit resemble those who are controlled by an unclean spirit? When you look at what this spirit did to him, you will realize that an unclean spirit damages those they possess. Of course, Christians cannot be possessed by any spirit other than the Holy Spirit; however, no Christian should ever have a spirit that resembles the unclean spirit. You have inside of you the Holy Spirit of God Who should control you and make your spirit more like Christ. Let me show you three things that unclean spirits will do to a person, and how your spirit as a Christian should never resemble these in the least.
First, unclean spirits are destructive. The verse above said that the unclean spirit “had torn” him as it was departing. My question to you is this, do you have a destructive spirit? Is your spirit one that tears people down more than it builds them up? Your spirit should be the type of spirit that when you leave someone, they are better for being in your presence. I have been around people whose spirit is negative and depressing. I have seen people who seem to tear others down more than they build them up for Christ. Don’t allow your spirit to resemble the destructiveness of an unclean spirit. Let the Holy Spirit control you so that you can build others and leave every place you go a better place.
Second, an unclean spirit is uncontrollable. In Mark 5:3, you learn that the man with an unclean spirit could not be controlled by any person, or even with chains. Let me ask you, is your spirit such that you can’t be controlled? There are some who simply don’t control what they say or do. Just because you think something doesn’t mean you should say it. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. When the Holy Spirit of God controls you, you will find that He will help you to control yourself.
Third, an unclean spirit has difficulties with authority. In Matthew 15:22, a mother went to Jesus about her daughter who was “vexed with a devil.” When the devil left this young girl, she was able to get along with her mother. Do you have such a spirit that nobody can tell you what to do? I’ve heard people say, “Nobody is going to tell me what to do.” It doesn’t matter who you are, what stage of life you are in, or what you have accomplished; somebody has to be able to tell you what to do. A person with no authority is a person who is in direct disobedience to God because God ordained authority. Your spirit should be such that you don’t balk when authority tells you what to do, but it yields to those authorities God has placed in your life.
Christian, your spirit should resemble the spirit of Christ, and the only way that will happen is to yield yourself to His Holy Spirit. When your spirit resembles Christ, you will leave every place a better place.