Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation.
3 sermons cite this verse
… he finds it swept and put in order. And then he goes and he takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. This is just kind of a strange description where Jesus is giving us insight as to how the spirit world works. First of all, he's describing a human being, a person, as a house for the demonic. It's a place that the enemy can reside in. And in this particular storyline, Jesus brings deliverance. He talks about somebody who's been delivered of these demons, and when it leaves, it tries to come back. So understand, if you get healed of a disease, and a week later you have pain that comes back, it's just the enemy knocking on the door to see if fear will give him entrance. He cannot take over any territory he wants. He has to work by laws. And the laws of compromise, the laws of vile confession and statements, those things actually open doors for the enemy to come to kill, steal, and destroy. …
… empty home. Swept. Good job, you. You even put things in order. What does he do? He goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there. and the last state of that man is worse than the first, so shall it be also with this wicked generation. Who was Jesus speaking to? Who is he denouncing? The Pharisees. Because they had religiosity, but no Holy Ghost. They had religiousness, but no Jesus. They had all the rules. They had all the reasons, but no actual spiritual transformation because they had ignored the Messiah who had come to write his word, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of flesh of their heart. So you can't just eliminate. This is true of possession by the dark forces, but it's also true of oppression by the dark forces where they've been messing with you and caused you to believe lies that you've told yourself and each time handing a brick to him. …
… swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and it takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and they live there. And just, this is Jesus speaking. These are red letters. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. This is how it will be in this wicked generation. The message version of the Bible says it this way. On return, the demon spirit finds the person spotlessly clean, but vacant. that's what I want to preach on today clean but empty and as a church we're going in to the final week of our fast and our faith is strong and we've been hearing some powerful messages and we've been sitting in some anointed times of worship and I hope you've been reading the word of God like we've all been doing collectively as a church and you know God is setting people free from some addictions, some things that have held you bound and held you down for a long time, things that you couldn't quite break. Your mental health is feeling clear. Your ability to put aside that nicotine, that vapor, that alcohol, it's become a little bit easier while we're fasting. …