Matthew 8:28-34 "Worthy Only of the Swine"

Read Matthew 8:28-34.

“’What do you want with us, Son of God?’” NIV

Wouldn’t it be awesome to one day be walking down the street and someone comes up to me and says, “What do you want with us, Child of God?” Okay, maybe it would be kind of creepy. But how amazing would that be if my very presence would so be entwined with Christ that I would scare the demons of hell? That’s how I want to represent Christ. What boldness, what filling of His Spirit! And we are empowered as His children with His Spirit in such a way that if we would just stand in that authority, and I mean really stand with power, the enemy must cower. He has no power over me because I am protected by the Spirit of the Almighty.

Will bad things happen to me? Yes. That’s the fallen world. But the enemy will never have my soul – the very heart of who I am. It’s been bought with a price and I have accepted that gift. I’m not giving it away to anyone or anything else. And I am ready to do battle against the enemy at any cost. He is already a defeated foe and will not get in my way. I’m so tired of him thinking he’s won. Oh, he may make it on top through a few battles, but the war ain’t over yet. And we know how the story ends. C.T. Studd said, “I pray that when I die, all hell will throw a party to celebrate the fact that I am no longer in the fight.”

Lord God, help me to live my life with such unwavering devotion and use of the authority You give that the demons tremble.

Further Thoughts:

1. Can demons take us away from Christ? Read Romans 8:35-39. Find other Scripture.
2. Do we have authority over demons? Read Mark 16:15-17, Mark 6:7, and John 14:12-14.
3. If we have that authority, how is that related to the faith and fear issue in Matthew 8:26?
4. Demons believe that Jesus is who He says He is. We see that evidenced in this passage – they address Him as the Son of God. Is our faith in the authority of Jesus Christ enough? How is our belief different than the demons? Read James 2:14-26.
5. I never want to give the enemy too much credit, but we also can’t dismiss their existence or activity around us? How do we know this? Read Ephesians 6:10-12 and my post on this passage.