A Gospel Address, delivered at the Victoria Hall, Exeter,
by Heyman Wreford.
Part 3.
The Unclean Spirit Acknowledges the Lord.
IT is significant that the demon acknowledges Christ in a two-fold recognition:
(a) As Jesus of Nazareth;
(b) As the Holy One of God.
“What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?
Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”
Jesus of Nazareth., His earthly name — linking Him with His home among men. There He had lived for well-nigh thirty years. The devils knew Him as the man Christ Jesus. Yes, and they knew Him also as “the Holy One of God.” His earthly and His heavenly name. They owned His authority. “Art thou come to destroy us?” Yes, all power was His, the power to create, the power to destroy. “He upholds all things by the word of his power.” He was disowned by men, but owned by devils. Have you ever acknowledged His authority over your life? Can you say: “I know thee who thou art, Lord Jesus, the Holy One of God”?
The man and the devil both seem to be speaking to Jesus in this chapter — a dual personality. “Let us alone... I know thee,” etc. This is very significant. The devil is so at one with the man, and the man is so at one with the devil, that they speak alike.
And is it so with you? Are you so accustomed to the rule of Satan over your hearts and lives, that, although you recognize that Jesus is the Holy One of God, you can say: “Let us alone.”
The Lord rebuked the devil and drove him out of the man. And although the devil tore him and cried with a loud voice he came out of him. What a scene! The awful energy of evil manifested in this exhibition of Satanic rage, and the glorious power of the Son of God, who could say: “Hold thy peace, and come out of him.”
And you, tonight, if you feel the power of the devil upon Vali, there is One who can deliver you. Are you bound with Satan’s chains? Are you his slave? Jesus Christ can deliver you; He can set you free.
But the “world that lieth in the wicked one,” says: “Let us alone, to worship as we will, to follow our own creeds, to eat our hearts out in pride of learning and in want of faith; to live and die without Thee, Jesus of Nazareth, Thou Holy One of God.” “Let us alone.” Our mothers sang of Thee, in the sweet lullabies of childhood, and spoke of Thee when we hung around their knees. And when they bent to kiss us in the quiet hours of night, they left us in Thy care, and asked Thy blessing on us, but “What have WE to do with Thee?”
“Let us alone.” Although we remember the dying kiss, the upward look, as our loved ones passed away; the loving appeal over and over repeated in our hearing. “You will meet me in heaven, won’t you?” the promise held us for awhile, and the gentle mother’s pleading could not be forgotten, and the father’s earnest words could not well be set aside; but the grass grew green upon their graves, and the gentle voices seemed to die away, and face to face with life and all its problems we cried: “What HAVE we to do with Thee?”
“Let us alone.” Our wearied heads are pillowed in our hands, our hair is gray, and our cheeks are furrowed with the strife of years; We have at eventide of life the memories of the past crowding out the scenes of later days.
“Let us alone.” The evening bells are sounding in our ears, and the twilight shadows fall. The stars gleam coldly in the wintry sky, and we hear the sound of breakers beating on the nearer shore. There is a moaning of the wind as it stirs the dead leaves at our feet. The gathering darkness falls around us, and we go forward with uncertain, faltering tread. There is a hush of a great uncertainty upon our lives, and a dread foreboding that chills the very air we breathe.
But even as we falter and we fall, and spectres taunt us from the past, and point with fingers of despair to darkening skies approaching, we cry, impelled by that within us stronger than our wavering will, “WHAT have we to do with Thee?”
But we must have to do with Thee, Lord Jesus, either as Saviour or as Judge. All these men and women and children must have to do with Thee, “thou holy One of God.” May they this evening own Thy power and seek Thy blessing.
The Wonder Hour.
It has struck. The man is healed, the devil’s rage and the Master’s power have alike been shown. And now a great amazement falls on all who stood around. Question after question comes from their wondering lips. “What thing is this?” “What new doctrine is this?” There Was a power on earth that had never been here before; a presence that would alter the conditions of life for many. The God-like beauty of that golden hour shone majestically before the eyes of men. The authority of the Son of man had been revealed. The Godhead glory veiled in the humanity of Jesus Christ had scattered the darkness around a human soul, and the cowed devils obeyed Him.
Mighty to save from sin, and the effects of sin, He was the omnipotent Deliverer, and such He is today. “His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.” And thank God, His fame is known through all the world today. In every land the souls of men and women are being delivered from the hands of Satan. May God deliver you, my friends. Will the hour of your salvation strike this evening? It will if you feel your need. God bless you all. Amen.