Unclean Spirits; Making Noise

June 9

Read: Mark 5:1-20

(4 of 5)

Unclean Spirits; Making Noise

“Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out… (v.5)

Spiritual presence will always result in “crying out” and shaping where you spend your time hanging out. In some way, shape, or form you will make some noise. The presence of these “unclean spirits” has driven this man into the “tombs”. He has run outside of community… hiding in the midst of the dead. Unclean spirits always kill relationship and foment loneliness… they encourage shame and drive people away from others into isolation. He is crying out and lamenting… lonely in the tombs.

A “clean spirit”… The Holy Spirit… will do the same! The Holly Spirit will also shape where you hang out, and your community. The thing is that the Holy Spirit drives us INTO community. The work of the Holy Spirit in us will move us closer to the people of God… and more importantly closer to Jesus. You will be driven to places of LIFE not places of DEATH. The only tomb that the Holy Spirit will drive you towards to the tomb of JESUS which is a tomb that represents LIFE.

The other truth is that spirits will make us “cry out”. You can’t remain silent with the Holy Spirit in you… sooner or later you need to make some noise… you need to “cry out”. Within the church, we have made the presence of the Holy Spirit such an internal thing that we have forgotten the ways that the Holy Spirit spills over into the outside world. The presence of a spirit within someone IS observable. The prince of the Holy Spirit IS measurable… identifiable…observable… and “real”.

Are you being led into community or out of community? What are you making “noise” about? What is it that you “cry out” for? Once again, if these traits are true of “unclean spirits”, how much more so for the Holy Spirit of God. May God draw us OUT of the “tombs”… out of th places marked by decay and death. May God call us to “cry out” in praise… for his fame and glory. May we abandon the ways that we break apart community between believers while claiming it is driven by the Spirit of God… the Spirit of God always promotes UNITY between the true PEOPLE OF GOD. We are not unified with the world… but we are unified with each other. The days of crying out in the tombs are over! Love you guys. - JDP