Dear Church Family,
In light of the prayer request we had at prayer meeting this week, I thought this article regarding what Ellen White had to say regarding Exorcisms might be helpful. The following two quotes were taken from the article.
I am instructed to say that in the future great watchfulness will be needed. There is to be among God’s people no spiritual stupidity. Evil spirits are actively engaged in seeking to control the minds of human beings. Men are binding up in bundles, ready to be consumed by the fires of the last days. Those who discard Christ and His righteousness will accept the sophistry that is flooding the world. Christians are to be sober and vigilant, steadfastly resisting their adversary the devil, who is going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Men under the influence of evil spirits will work miracles. They will make people sick by casting their spell upon them, and will then remove the spell, leading others to say that those who were sick have been miraculously healed. This Satan has done again and again. (1903a: letter 259, para. 19)
Those possessed with devils are usually represented as being in a condition of great suffering; yet there were exceptions to this rule. For the sake of obtaining supernatural power, some welcomed the satanic influence. These of course had no conflict with the demons. Of this class were those who possessed the spirit of divination—Simon Magus, Elymas the sorcerer, and the damsel who followed Paul and Silas at Philippi. (1911a:517)
Thus we may conclude that demons may appear to heal and are also known to not necessarily harrass their victims as long as they are cooperating.
In the news:
- This Sabbath we will continue our look at John 1 as we continue in our series entitled, “The Mystery Revealed.”
- Emmie Grace Emde will be baptized this Sabbath. We rejoice with her and her family as she takes this momentous step in her walk with Jesus. Note the baptism will take place at 10:50 a.m.
- There will be a zoom Sabbath School this Sabbath with Milton leading out in the discussion. You can join by clicking here.
- There will be a concert on the GAA Green today at 3:00 p.m. The GAA Band, Advanced Handbells, and Advanced Strings will present a sacred concert on the soccer field by the school. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, wear your mask and support our students at this socially distanced program. You will be blessed by the music!
- The annual AMEN conference on Health will be provided for free this year via live streaming. The dates will be October 29-31. It will be available on 3ABN (Comcast cable 9393) as well as internet streaming. For more detailed information, please go to the website amensda.org/health or call Rhoda Kanna or Harry Nelson. Please invite community friends to share in this opportunity to learn more about enhancing personal health.
- The church board met this week and voted to proceed with the purchase of the new sound system that was reviewed back in September for the church. We hope to have it installed before Christmas.
- Since Covid-19 came on the scene, there has been a dramatic increase in people’s desire to know more about the Bible. The Bible Instructors Team, a division of the Georgia Cumberland Conference ministerial department, is developing a program to address this rising need! Pastors and Bible workers alone cannot meet this challenge. We need members to answer the call to train and go into the vineyard (virtually and physically) to work with those who are desiring to know about God and His Word! You can learn more about this initiative by participating in a webinar on Sabbath, Oct 31, at 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. Then on Sabbath, Nov 7 at 3 p.m. there will be a follow-up training event for those interested in getting involved. http://www.gccsda.com/events/reachyourneighbor2020
- Please remember Connie Fielder in your prayers as she is having surgery next Wednesday to replace a heart valve. Also remember Grace Baxter who is having surgery on November 2. Liz Holt has been moved to Signature Health care and is resting comfortably but there has been no change in her status.
- In case you missed it, here are a couple of articles that came out this week that are worthy of your notice.
In His Service,
Pastor Jeremy
The Greeneville Chronicles 