During my reading of Scripture this morning in Luke 4, I noted the word “rebuke” being used by Luke to describe Jesus’ response to different situations. Two instances are related to demons, which he “rebuked” and commanded to depart. The third instance was the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law, which Jesus also “rebuked.” Luke says, So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.
I was reminded of the time when I was in Bible school and seemed to be under an intense attack from the enemy. As I walked across the campus this particular day my head felt as if it was being squeezed in a vice that was being tightened with ever increasing pressure.
As I walked along I “rebuked” the demons that were attacking me and commanded them to leave. Amazingly, the tension and pressure immediately dissipated, and my mind came into a state of clarity, freedom and peace. I did not need a counselor or psychiatrist in that situation. I needed to exercise my authority in Christ and “rebuke” the attack of the enemy.
The word “rebuke” in the New Testament is a translation of the Greek word timaow. According to Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, it means to “reprove” or “censure severely” in order “to curb one’s ferocity or violence.” There is, of course, an implied authority of the one who administers the rebuke.
I recall another incident shortly after Sue and I married. We were staying in her parent’s home until we could get settled in our own place. Her father, who was a retired detective, had a very incessant cough that seemed never-ending.
One morning I was alone in our room and kneeling in prayer. I could hear my father-in-law in another room coughing incessantly. Suddenly, I heard the Holy Spirit speak in my heart, “That is a demon.”
Upon hearing those words I quietly “rebuked” the spirit that was causing George to cough and commanded it to leave. I was amazed at what happened. The coughing immediately stopped. As I knelt by the bed I kept listening and listening for another cough, but that was the end of it. Amazing!
I am not suggesting that every unpleasant thing that happens in your life is a demon, for that is not the case. But on the other hand, we must realize that there is a spirit world with which we must contend, and everything we encounter in life cannot be explained as the mere product of natural and psychological forces. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.“
Is there something happening in your life today that calls for a rebuke? You have the right as a son or daughter of God to rebuke the enemy and put him to flight. Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher. He is the founder/director of Revive America, which is dedicated to laying the biblical and historical foundations for anther great Spiritual awakening in America and around the world. You can learn more about his ministry be going to his website at eddiehyatt.com.
