Luke 11:14-28 (Matthew 12:25-29, Mark 3:23-30): The Parable of the Haunted House

Presented to The Salvation Army Swift Current Corps 31 October 2010; 614 Regent Park, 01 November 2015; Alberni Valley Ministries, 30 October 2021; White Rock Luncheon, 29 October 2026; and the Harvest Community, 01 November 2026 by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay

This is the (much shorter) 2026 White Rock - Harvest Community Version. 

To view a 2021 video version of the message, click here: https://youtu.be/zkKz9y_uBoQ

See links to the other versions under the message...

²¹ “Imagine a strong man, armed to the teeth, guarding his palace. Everything he owns is safe and sound. ²² But supposing someone stronger comes and overpowers him, and takes away the armor he was trusting in—then he can help himself and start dividing up the plunder! ²³ If you’re not with me, you’re against me. If you’re not gathering with me, you’re scattering.

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit goes out of a person, it roams through desert landscapes looking for a place to rest. When it doesn’t find anywhere, it says to itself, ‘I shall go back to the house I left behind.’ ²⁵ And it finds the place neat and tidy. ²⁶ So it sets off and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and goes back to live there. [The haunted house] That person will end up worse off than he began.”

 “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” (Lk 11:23, Mt 12:30) Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me.” Jesus has been accused of exorcising demons by demonic power (Lk 11:15, Mt 12:24, Mk 3:22). Jesus answers this charge by saying that not only is He innocent but also it is impossible to drive out evil with evil as is charged. Only good can drive out evil. Therefore since Jesus can drive out evil, He is good; thus if you oppose Him than you, by definition, are evil. “He who is not with me is against me.”

Today are we with him or against him? Jesus casts out demons while telling this parable of the haunted house. Sin, in this parable, has many parallels with addiction. Any of us who have ever struggled with addiction know that each time one becomes clean and then slips up, it becomes more difficult to become clean again and remain that way. Like the metaphorical demons of addiction, literal demons and sin return stronger (with more friends) each time. This doesn’t need to be that way. Jesus can clean our houses and when Jesus cleans our house we can let Him keep it clean too (TSA d.6, d.10)!

This is the choice set before us today. We can ask Jesus to sweep our life clean. Any of us can ask our Lord Jesus to clean our haunted houses. Even if He has already cleaned it once or one hundred times and we have messed it up again. While we still have breath in our body, we can invite Him back into our lives to clean us up, sort us out and we can continue receiving the Lord’s blessing of eternal life, Luke 11:28, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As we do this, we will continue in the blessing of the Holy Spirit. This is holiness and this holiness is available to all but we must make a choice (TSA d.10).

Today the choice is ours: Do we want to live in an haunted and dirty house or would we like to let Jesus clean it for us?

 

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The view the original Swift Current 2010 version, click here:

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/10/luke-1114-28-haunted-house.html

To view the 2015 version of this sermon that was presented to Corps 614 Regent Park in Toronto, click here:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2015/10/luke-1114-28-haunted-house.html

To view the 2021 version that was presented to Alberni Valley Ministries in BC. click here:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/10/luke-1114-28-parable-of-haunted-house.html

 

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Matthew 3:7-10: CSIS (September 09, 2018)

Presented to Harvest Community, 25 October 2026

The Sinner’s Prayer has always been important to me. I remember saying it as a child and confirming it more than once. I remember leading many people in this prayer. The Sinner’s Prayer is like a criminal record check.

Years ago I worked for a janitorial company. One place I worked was the RCMP/CSIS building. The security clearance process was quite something. I was a teenager and in my interview they asked what I did twenty years ago, I responded, ‘nothing, I’m only 18.’ I thought it was funny – they didn’t. They asked why I haven’t held a job for more than 5 years. I repeated ‘I am only 18.’ I laughed – they didn’t. This interview went on for a long time; they fingerprinted me and even interviewed two of my friends. I was beginning to have faith in our spy agency’s thoroughness and ability, especially when they reviewed this information for months before finally clearing me.

Just out of curiosity, I asked why it took so long to notify me of my clearance and they said it took so long because they – Canada’s spy agency - couldn’t find me. I pointed out that my address and phone number were on the form. I laughed; they didn’t. I assumed they were joking. They weren’t. I laughed; they didn’t. Shortly afterwards I worked a shift at the CSIS building and as I was emptying a garbage, an officer told me that if I looked at anything in it he’d have to kill me, I laughed – he didn’t. The next week, my boss told me to cover another shift at the CSIS building. I said no. She laughed – I didn’t. I was cleared to work there but I didn’t return.

It is quite the process and a security clearance is important but do you know how long one is really good for? About 5 minutes: in between receiving your security clearance and handing it in you could stop by the 7-11 and rob it. The paper may say that you have never committed (or at least been convicted of) a crime but as soon as you leave the police station it is no longer up-to-date. The Sinner’s Prayer, that is rightfully so important in many of our lives, is like a security clearance in this way.

The experience of salvation is more like a marriage. There is the initial event that starts off the marriage, the wedding: this is like the Sinner’s Prayer. The wedding is just the beginning of the marriage relationship. It is not its culmination – and hopefully not the best part of it! There is more to marriage than simply saying ‘I do’. If you never spend anytime with your spouse after that day, then you may have had a wedding but you do not have a marriage. Our proclamation of salvation, the Sinner’s Prayer, likewise is just the beginning of our salvation; it is not the totality of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord for that!

Our questions for today: Is your relationship with Christ more like a security clearance and/or a long ago wedding ceremony than it is like an exciting marriage that grows stronger everyday? If so, what can we do to grow our relationship with the Lord?

More daily blogs at

https://salvogesis.blogspot.ca/

 

Thanksgiving: The Secret to Survival (Philippians 4:4-7, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Ephesians 5:19-20, Colossians 3:17)

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 12 October 2021 and Harvest Community, 11 October 2026 (Thanksgiving) by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay 

 

This is the 2026 version, to view the 2021 version, click here:  https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/10/thanksgiving-secret-to-survival.html

  

Today is Thanksgiving Sunday. Thanksgiving in Canada is to a “day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” [passed by parliament, 31 January 1957]. When we were on the prairies, this took on a whole new meaning to me. We came to know a little more what was meant by planting season and harvesting season and we could even tell you what kind of tractor you were driving based on the colour of the vehicle. Thanksgiving for the harvest was a real part of life. 

  

            Today, in the context of all that is going on in the world let’s spend a little bit of time chatting about the power of a spirit of thanksgiving, giving thanks in our lives. It really is something that God can use to get us through even the darkest times. This is what a spirit of thanksgiving looks like: 

  

Philippians 4:4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

Ephesians 5:19-20: Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

  

  There is a lot going on in the world: war, genocide, politics, disparity, poverty, turmoil, our own personal challenges as well.  

The previous few years have been tough on a lot of people. Orange shirt day was the other week too and that is very significant – an important remembrance (We marked the truth of a very real tragedy) and Remembrance Day is around the corner: the war to end all wars was fought over 100 years and probably 1000 wars ago now. 

  

Poverty is real in our country. The debt that our country acquired over the past decade is beyond what can be even understood in terms of trying to pay it back. We have generational debt for the first time ever in this country. 

  

Violence is terrible right now in word and in deed. Social media hate is everywhere. There are riots in France, Belgium, and elsewhere in Europe. There is always violence in the USA. 

  

The opioid crisis in BC is beyond comprehension. These are scary times. The question is, in these scary, difficult times, how can we get through it? How can we survive? This is the important question that we need to ask and we need to answer. 

  

In these scary times, God, through Scriptures, offers us some encouragement; some ways we can get through this. The Apostle Paul talks about a spirit of thanksgiving and rejoicing. He lets us know that thankfulness is something God uses to get us through tough times. Paul's letters have a Thanksgiving plan to help us survive the turmoil of this world. He says: 

Rejoice always,   

Pray continually, 

Let your gentleness be evident to all 

Give thanks in all circumstances. 

  

REJOICE ALWAYS 

One key to surviving difficult times, Paul writes to both the Philippians and the Thessalonians, is to rejoice always. If we can find something to rejoice in each day and if we can focus on that rather than on all the bad things pulling us down, our spirit will be uplifted, and we can get through it. Monty Python has a catchy tune about always looking on the bright side of life. They are obviously over the top, but I think that it is really key – we might have something to celebrate. If a hurricane destroys every house in town but one – celebrate the one home standing; celebrate lone survivors; recognize the blessings in the midst of suffering. There are always good things and bad things happening in this world and we do tend to notice what we are looking for – thus some people always appear miserable (even if they seem to have an ideal life) while others are always smiling (even if we wouldn’t want to be in their shoes). 

 

This I think is a big part of the comfort in being ‘saved’, being holy – the ability to see where God is working in the midst of suffering; and if we recognize, rejoice and celebrate the miracles in the midst of suffering, the suffering becomes much more manageable – and then when we see it, we will start to recognize the miraculous more and more everyday – and then we start to experience the miraculous more and more every day. 

  

PRAY CONTINUALLY 

Another vital key to survival is prayer. Paul mentions this in his letters to the Philippians, Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians.  Paul writes this to the churches in each of these communities. Prayer is extremely important. I can’t tell you the number of people I have the chance to pray with on an ongoing basis. This week, a few friends of mine have been going through some real difficult times. I have been blessed to be able to pray for them. I thank all those who have been praying for me as well lately – that means a lot. Prayer is vital to survival. As we pray together, we are joined to God with one another in a bond as strength. Let us not stop praying with and for one another. 

  

BE GENTLE 

That brings us to another very important part of living with a spirit of thanksgiving that is key to surviving our struggles in community and even in the Church: be gentle with one another! This can be difficult. We are a divided world right now. Name your issue, people are polarized. People are upset. People are angry. People are afraid. Watch the different news channels; scroll through social media. Society is divided. The church is divided. Even clergy, Officers are divided. 

  

Even if we are upset or worried or busy or tired or hungry, we need to be gentle with one another; congregation members, we need to be gentle with one another; staff members, we need to be gentle with one another; family members, we need to be gentle with one another; friends and social media friends, we need to be gentle with one another if we hope to survive. We need to be gentle, and we need to be thankful for one another. We need to be thankful for what God is doing through each and every one of us. 

  

BE THANKFUL 

The spirit of thankfulness. This spirit of Thanksgiving is so important to our very survival. When everything around us seems to be crashing down and everyone seems to be unkind and violent in thought, word, and deed; it is imperative that we find what is right and thank God for that!  If we only focus on all the trials and tribulations around us, we will be swallowed up by them. If we just look at the storms of life, we will miss the lifeboat. Mark my words, my friends, the chaos of our world is a turbulent as a storm at sea. You or I may even have been tossed overboard and maybe we are gasping for air trying to survive. If we just focus on the waves of all that is going wrong that is all we will see. 

  

If we, however, quickly scan the horizon looking for the things God is sending us that can pull us through, we will be okay. Look around: see the miracles that are happening on a daily basis; see the people God is using for good in the world; notice how He is using you and others to help people; It is only when we look for and focus on the good things that God is providing for our salvation that we can grab a hold of them. This is what will create in us a thankful heart and a joyful spirit, this is what will make it so that we don’t need to be anxious in anything. 

  

On this Thanksgiving Day in Canada, I would like to encourage us to look around at the things for which we can be thankful, the ways God is seeing us through the storm and thank Him for them. For as we can thank the Lord for what He is doing even while the whole world seems to be in chaos, as we thank the Lord for the daily miracles that we see, as we thank the Lord for each other and what the Lord is doing through each and every one of us then we will get through even this - whatever the 'this' is – that we are each facing today 

  

Let us pray 

 

BENEDICTION: 

Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Genesis 37, 39,41: Beat the traffic.

Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, 28 July 2024 and TSA Harvest Community in Burnaby, 27 September 2026 by Major Michael Ramsay

This is the abridged 2026 version to view the original, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2024/07/genesis-37-3941-beat-traffic.html 

Genesis 37:14-36

14 So he [Jacob] said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

These and similar things still happen today here. Jun 26, 2024, 10:18pm, I had a text from a radio announcer in Port Alberni, where we lived at the time: "Are you aware of the Vietnamese men who are about to be made homeless by San Group?"

"No. Not at all...but we can help" I replied.

I immediately set to work to try to find out what was going on: It seemed they were trafficked. I then contacted my Area Commander, and the Modern Slavery and Anti-Human Trafficking departments of The Salvation Army. I received this reply:

 

Hello Michael, …I'm the Manager of Propel Anti-Human Trafficking Services…I was asked to help support the 16 [alleged] human trafficking survivors that I heard presented to your staff yesterday. … With the information I have received so far I have secured a Vietnamese translator/counsellor who is on standby, a shelter on the island that can house all 16 survivors (at least temporarily), and I have an HT specific budget to help with whatever their needs are including transit to the shelter and clothing. I would love to…support your team in whatever ways needed! 

Our Member of Parliament then reached out to me. We went to the property. The conditions the workers were living in were deplorable. The men slept on mattresses side by side on a sewage-soaked carpet. The smell was terrible. There was no heat in the building. There was no running water. The people bathed and washed their dishes in a ditch with water from a pipe outside. 

 

We spoke to the workers through a translator. They said they paid between $20 000.00 and $30 000.00 each to come here to work for a wage in excess of $30/hr. They said they never received that wage. They said they were subject to unsafe working conditions: working with toxic chemicals without proper protective gear, working long hours, many days in a row. They were afraid for themselves, and they were afraid for their family. They showed us where they lived. They explained to us how they lived. They asked us to help them flee. I told them we could get them out tomorrow.

 

On Saturday, June 29th, 15 of the 16 workers were taken out of town to a secure Salvation Army facility in Victoria where they could have their physical, emotional and spiritual care needs met and where they could get the legal and other counsel that they needed. I checked up on them. They were happy. They were free. 

 

These sorts of things happen here today. The stories of Joseph and human trafficking and slavery are not just tales from a faraway place and a faraway time. Canada’s laws are seemingly favourable to human trafficking. 

 

Canada’ closed work permit creates a dangerous state of dependency; as a closed work permit, versus an open permit, means the temporary worker’s visa is tied to a specific company. Closed permits make a worker much more vulnerable. For instance, the workers don’t qualify for MSP, so any injuries on the job are the employer’s responsibility to deal with. And we’ve got to be careful that we don’t slide or slip in that obligation 

 

Canada’s reliance on temporary foreign workers is growing. This is scary. This creates an environment where this sort of thing can happen all the time. I have heard of domestic servants and human trafficking in Vancouver. I have spoken to my Member of Parliament with another TSA Officer about human trafficking of farm workers when I lived in Saskatchewan. We have worked with trafficked, prostituted people in various cities across this country.

 

This is real life. This is happening. Here in Canada. Here in BC. This is scary stuff. So, what do we do? Well, if you know anyone who needs help let The Salvation Army know! Also, write to your Member of Parliament: tell them to stop enabling human trafficking; tell them to end unsupervised, closed work permits where an employer has that much control over a person’s life. Make the government check in on people under their care (in their own language), make them protect those they are duty bound to protect.

 

Pray for people who are trafficked in this country, around the world, and here in this community. Pray for the underprivileged: the poor, the family-less, the immigrant. Help us help them.

 

And trust God. God was with Joseph when he was a trafficked domestic servant in Potipher’s household. God was with Joseph when he was sent to a prison in a foreign land. God was with Joseph in his hour of need and the scriptures say that in that he prospered.  And then God used a cupbearer to the king to deliver him and God used Joseph to deliver many other people in turn. We remember that when Joseph was in the depths of prison, Pharoah’s cupbearer, encountered him, there and though for a long time he did nothing, eventually he did something – two full years later – Genesis 41, reading from verse 9: 

 

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 

 

Thanks to God! Through the cupbearer, Joseph was delivered from captivity as he was earlier delivered from slavery. May we each be like that cupbearer. Even if we have been slow to help those in need thus far, even if we have forgotten, even if it has been years. Even if we have delayed in helping those in need for both now and eternity, may we be encouraged, may we now be faithful. May we now be spurred to action; so that like those workers we can be saved in the here and now. And may we at the same time be faithful in sharing the Good News of Salvation so that we and all those we meet may be saved for now and for eternity as well.

 

Let us pray.

 

Deuteronomy 6:1-7: Poison and Children

Presented to TSA Harvest Community, 20 Sept 26

By Major Michael Ramsay

 

Based on the 19 July 2081 devotion that can be read here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2018/07/devotion-350151-deuteronomy-61-7-poison.html 

 

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The other week my daughters and I went to see Guns n Roses in Concert. I am blessed. We have seen Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Metallica, Live, Poison, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Joan Jett and others in concert together. It is a lot of fun to be able to share these experiences with my daughters.

 

When we went to the Poison, Cheap Trick concert in Toronto years ago, it was a Father's Day present and this was a good way to celebrate Father's Day: listening to music from when I was a teenager with my (at that time) teenagers. My daughters actually like this old music! I don't know how they developed the same taste in music as I have. I think it was originally from a school (History?) assignment of Sarah-Grace's but I am not sure. I know that even though I don't listen to music a lot, they did have the chance to hear my old tapes. Some of my influence must have rubbed off on them. Rebecca even at one point had a cassette player and would play my old tapes! (They would also listen to my old music however people consumed music at that time). They must have picked up something from my influence! 

 

Deuteronomy speaks about the importance of teaching our children well. They can learn from us so easily. As much as I enjoy going to concerts and listening to music from the 80's with my teens; I even more enjoyed reading the Bible with them when they were at home and am thankful that today they read the Bible on their own and pray on their own and worship God on their own and in community. A few years ago, when all our kids still lived at home, Susan and I were unable to go to church for a few weeks in a row. My kids still went all on their own. It was a real blessing and a great encouragement to everyone at the church. 

 

Today, I encourage you to read the Bible with your kids and grandchildren when they are little. Talk to them about God and the Bible and pray as a family. That is indeed a great blessing that I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on.

 

What are other ways we can show children and grandchildren the importance of our relationship with God?