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Demons, Illnesses, and Hands

           When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. (Luke 10:1)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:13-14) 

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)

 

Today’s idea comes directly from a Timothy Keller sermon, “Generosity and God’s Ministry,” which I have not yet found online so there’s no link. Sorry. The part of the sermon that caught my attention was that there are demons only you can cast out, illnesses only you can heal, and hands only you can hold.

We might be tempted to whine like Gideon or Moses. We? Authority to drive out demons? Ability to heal the sick? We might be tempted to think the work is in the places we can’t reach. Isn’t that why we send missionaries? Isn’t that why we hire pastors and appoint deacons?

I’m an Introvert! I’m not a Pentecostal, an exorcist or a prophet! How can there be demons “only” I can cast out? Maybe we aren’t ready for demons like the one that the disciples couldn’t cast out (Mark 9) or Legion (Mark 5), but there are lesser “demons” and ailments around, causes of fear, anger, pain, addiction, or anything else that separates them from God. And it’s not that we are special. Gideon was the least of the least, and Moses was a murderer and a shepherd with a PhD in Egyptian political theory. We’re not special. We’re picked, prepared, and positioned – even if we don’t think so.

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