Cast Out the Demons
Cast Out the Demons… 1
We were speaking last time about “the temptation on the mountain”… and we reached the phrase: “Go away, Satan,” which Christ said to Satan… And the Scripture says: So the devil left Him for a time, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him!
Many times God rebukes the devil… and the devil goes… Sometimes you feel in your spiritual life that God has given you rest for a while, because God has cast out the devil and rebuked him, and said to him: Go away, Satan, so he went.
If God had left the devil with all his power to trouble people, no one would be saved… And if God had left the devil—in his violence—to destroy the spiritual work, evil would have been able to overcome good in the world… because the devil is violent and does not show mercy…
But God—many times—gives us rest, when He rebukes the devil and says to him: Go away, Satan.
So if you find that the battle has been lifted from you, and you find that thoughts and desires no longer trouble you as they used to… and if you find that the lukewarmness has ended from your spiritual life, and a new light has shone upon you… know that the Lord has rebuked the devil and cast him out… for him to go far away from you!
God does not allow that we be constantly fought… nor that the devil hold us in his grip… And if God allows at certain times that the devil test us and allows him to fight us, it is so that we may feel our weakness… and so that we may cling to God in strong prayer and deep prayer… seeking Him in the time of distress so that He may save us…
God also allows the devil to test us so that we may know our weakness and remember that we are dust… and so that we may be crushed, humbled, and pray… not so that we may despair, fear, or be troubled…!
And when the devil presses us with despair and disturbance… God hastens and rebukes him, saying: Go away, Satan…!
A person may pass through times in which he finds that the battles which used to weary him are no longer present… and he finds himself free in the realm of God, rejoicing in fellowship with God… He finds himself wondering how he used to sin before, and how times of falling had passed over him… and in the midst of this rest… he feels that Christ has rebuked the devil… Christ experienced the attacks of the devil… and knew how the devil can be persistent and pressing… So when Christ rebuked him and said to him: Go away, Satan… this rebuke and casting out was not limited to that moment only… but this rebuke was also concerning the temptations of people and their weaknesses… as though Christ were saying to him: I have given you freedom of testing and trial… but not to this extent… so go away, Satan!
Believe me, my brothers, the sins we fall into are only a small portion of the wars of the devil that could have pressed upon us… There are many fierce battles that we could have been exposed to… but God prevents them before they reach us… and God does not allow the devil to test us with them…!
So you: if you are weary, know that these battles which God has allowed are allowed because you are able to resist them… but there are other battles, harsher and stronger, which the Lord has prevented from reaching you, and if He had allowed them, you would have fallen, been lost, and perished!
Many times, a person finds himself exposed to a hard battle, and that he is on the verge of falling into sin… then he finds that he has escaped this battle without realizing how… This is because God did not allow it, and he is amazed by this deliverance… and the reason goes back to the fact that God has rebuked the devil and driven him far away… saying to him: Go away, Satan… Just as you find a strong grown man pressing upon a small child and beating him, almost killing him… then another strong force intervenes, rebuking him to save the child… In this way God acts to save His children from falling into temptation.
And this happened with Job… for God allowed the devil to test him… and to strike him… but within limits… as He said to him: “But on his life do not lay a hand.”
The phrase “Go away, Satan”… gives us comfort that the wars of the devil are limited, and that the devil does not have absolute freedom to act against us as he wishes… In this phrase also, we feel that the devil—also—is under the grip of the “Pantocrator”… who is able, at certain times, to rebuke him, prevent him, set boundaries, dams, and restraints for him… and cast him out…
So let us be assured—that the temptations which come to us are within the limits of our capacity, strength, and resistance… and we can overcome them… if only we want to!!
God has given us authority over all demons… and to say to the devil, “Go away, Satan”… and he goes far from us.
But we, brothers, many times do not say to the devil “Go”… nor do we cast him out.
Let us learn this phrase, grow accustomed to it, and cast out the devil, saying to him: “Go away, Satan”… and give him no place nor opportunity in us… nor cooperate with him… nor grow lax in his battle… nor surrender nor yield… nor accept any compromise with him… but rebuke him and cast him out strongly and firmly, saying… as the Lord Christ did: “Go away, Satan”!
“Go away, Satan”!
I fear that some open their hearts and senses to the devil… and welcome him… and invite him… Many cannot cast out the devil nor say to him: Go away, Satan… they cannot do so because between them and the devil there are friendships, affection, familiarity, and bonds which tie them to him and subject them to his will… In fact, I fear that some—if the devil went far away from them for real—would plead with him, saying: Come back to us and help us!!
I fear that some are like this and do not want the devil to depart from them!… The pure clean heart is the one able to cast out the devil and rebuke him, saying: Go away, Satan… and to declare war upon him openly and strongly… and not be ashamed to cast out the devil…!
Many people surrender to the devil out of weakness… and some surrender to him out of embarrassment… and some out of habit… and some out of despair!! And some—also—surrender to the devil thinking that he is “more merciful than others”… and that his nearness is better than his distance… All these cannot say to the devil: Go away, Satan!!
Exactly as the people of Ephesus did with Paul… When Paul was preaching in Ephesus, and his preaching was about to bring an end to the goddess “Artemis”… the people rose up against him—against Paul— because they had grown weary of Paul… who was going to cast out their demons… for they were connected with the demons!
Therefore, there is a very important phrase which the Lord Christ used to say continually to those He healed… He—blessed be His name—used to say to the sick: “Do you want to be healed?”
Many people do not want to be healed… And it is amazing that there are sick people who love their sickness and do not want to be healed…
From here, each one of us has the right to ask himself: Do you want to rebuke the devil that is in you, and say to him: Go away, Satan??
Those who love the devil more… and hold fast to him… are perhaps like the existentialist philosophers who say that “the existence of God cancels my own existence… so it is better that God not exist… so that I may exist”… God is against their desires, lusts, and falls, and so they oppose Him… God casts out the devil… but they want the devil to remain in their lives.
Many sick people become angry at the physician… the compassionate, kind physician… who takes the scalpel to cut away a corrupt limb… or dead flesh…! As if they were saying: Do not go away, Satan, but stay with us!
If the Lord Jesus says “Go away, Satan”… to cast the devil out of your life… respond to the word of Christ… no matter how much the departure of the devil from your life will cost you… and no matter how tiring the departure of the devil from you may be… for the Bible says: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” The devil may come to you and kiss you so that you think he is your beloved… and that you may be deceived and cling to him… and not accept to cast him out of your life!!
Let a person be able to say: Go away, Satan… Let each one of you enter his house and say, firmly: Go away, Satan… and remove from his house every image of the devil, and silence every voice of the devil… and his songs and his games… and everything related to him…
When will each one of you be able to hold in his hand a “whip” and cleanse with it the temple… I mean his heart which is the temple of the Holy Spirit?!
When will each one of you be able to enter into the depths of his heart and mind and cast out from them the devil, saying: Go away, Satan?!
This is why we pray in the Liturgy, saying: Every thought that does not please Your goodness, remove far from us… And as Paul says: bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…!
The Lord Christ Himself—one day—was approached by Peter… His disciple, intimate friend, and companion, and Peter gave Him advice contrary to the Kingdom… but Christ rebuked him, saying: Go away, Satan… you are an offense to Me!
So can each one of you do this?? How many treaties and friendly relations have you made with the devil…?
And can you cancel these treaties and cut these relationships, and cast the devil out of your life, and say to him—seriously—Go away, Satan?
God does not exist where the devil exists… and the devil cannot exist where God exists… for there is no fellowship between light and darkness… And you must choose: the life of the devil… or the life of God…
And there is no middle ground between the two…!
Go away, Satan…!
If only “Eve” had realized this phrase while she was in Paradise, when the devil came to her with temptation… but she did not rebuke him… and did not cast him out… and did not say to him: Go away, Satan. So she fell… and left Paradise… and was lost!
Do not let the devil take “boldness” or form a friendship with you… nor build a relationship… Rather, always rebuke him and cast him far away… saying to him: Go away, Satan.
Do not let evil grow… and increase and become strong, so that you cannot uproot it… Rather, define the position from the beginning… and say: Go away, Satan…!
God has given you authority over the demons… and given us authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy… and to say to the devil: Go away… and he goes…!!
“Go away, Satan”…!
It is advice Christ gives us, so that we do not befriend His enemies, nor betray His love, nor lose His purity…
And the phrase “Go away, Satan”… should not be merely with the tongue… but also with action… And when you say it, you must take practical steps to cast out the devil… and close all the doors from which he may come to you… and stay away from his path… and not leave stumbling blocks in your life… nor open doors through which evil may enter!
Go away, Satan!!
Say it with all your heart, let it be a cry from your depths, like the cry of a drowning man longing for a lifeboat… Say it while holding the Lord’s hand from all your depths, and with all the power of God that is within you… For the Scripture has said about the devil: “Resist him, steadfast in the faith.”
So if you cast the devil out of your life, then cast away everything that belongs to him, and everything that is his… just as Zacchaeus the tax collector did… for he cast the devil out of his life… and also cast out his money, saying: “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
Likewise… when the adulterous woman, whom one of the bishops guided to repentance, repented… she brought all her clothes and belongings to the bishop, so that he might burn them outside the church… and her relation with people and with sin would end entirely…!
You must do the same… If you leave the devil, then leave—also—all his belongings and his friends… as Lot did when he left everything in Sodom… because the angel gave him three instructions, which are:
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Flee for your life…
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Do not look back…
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Do not stay anywhere in the plain…!
And when Lot’s wife looked back… and violated one of the three instructions… she became a pillar of salt… and perished!
Cast the devil out of your life completely, and say to him firmly, as Christ said: Go away, Satan… Cast him out of all your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength… Cast him out completely from all your life, and leave him no reason in your mind, nor in your life, nor in your house… and close before him all the doors through which he may return to you…
We need seriousness in casting the devil out of our lives… so that we may cast him out completely, firmly, decisively, strongly… not a wavering expulsion… unstable and hesitant… but a complete expulsion… for this is repentance!!
We ask God to give us strength… so that we may hold fast to this phrase… and cast the devil out of our lives, saying to him firmly and resolutely always: “Go away, Satan”!
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A sermon article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani newspaper on 19-3-1972.
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