Authority Over Unclean Spirits
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Belief in God, Satan, angels, heaven and hell is at a 23-year low in America, Gallup Poll said in its latest update.
Gallup found:
Only 74% of people believe in God compared to 90% in 2001, the greatest decline in the whole study...
Additionally, only 69%believe in angels, down from 79% in 2001;
In our day only 67% believe in heaven, down from 83% in 2001;
Only 59% believe in hell, down from 71% in 2001, and...
Only 58% believe in Satan, which is down from 68% in 2001.
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Of all the group the one that people least believe exists is Satan at 58%...
So, as the Gallup Poll found...
Of all people surveyed 28% don’t believe in the devil, with 14% undecided...
So, 42% of people don’t take seriously the fact that there is a being and his minions that is seeking to destroy them...
And that is just how Satan would like it...
He doesn’t want you to believe in him and his demons...
He would rather you live your life never thinking twice about him.
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However, those who know the Word of God fully understand that Satan and his fallen angels are very much real...
Gallup Poll also found that Protestants and those who attend church weekly are the groups that have the highest awareness of the reality of what Scripture says about the existence of God, Satan, angels, heaven and hell...
For example...
Of all people surveyed 80% of Protestants know that Satan is real...
Yet only 60% of Catholics and 12% of those with on religious affiliation believe in his existence.
The less Scripture you know...
And the less you rely on Scripture it effects your worldview.
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Additionally, of all people surveyed 86% of those who weekly attend church and 77% of those who attent nearly weekly or monthly know that Satan is real...
Yet only 40% of those who attend less often believe in Satan’s existence.
Again, the less Scripture you know...
And the less you rely on Scripture it effects your worldview.
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Beloved, as followers of Jesus Christ...
We need to understand that just as God and the wonderful promises He gives us in Scripture are real and true...
And just like angels and Heaven are real...
So, too is the warnings by God of eternal Hell fire...
And so is our enemy Satan and his demons real too.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 4 and focus on verses 33 and 37.
Our message this morning is called, “Authority Over Unclean Spirits”
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This message today...
Which comes about at a very appropriate time...
As Halloween approaches and films about supernatural things flood the theaters and television...
Our message is about the chilling fact that demons can truly take over humans...
And Scripture records this fact.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
Demonic Possession...
Demonic Exorcism...
And...
Authority & Power of Christ.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
Holy is your name...
You are beginning and end...
You are the Alpha and Omega.
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We pray for your will to be done on this earth and in our lives according to your good desires...
According to your heavenly rule.
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Show us all we are to do to honor your name...
Show us the truth in your precious Scriptures...
And equip us with the boldness to do all you have commanded.
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We thank you for providing our daily needs...
Thank you for not abandoning us...
Thank you for all you do.
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Forgive us for the evil we have committed...
Forgive us for our doubts of your promises…
Forgive us for not fully trusting in you.
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Protect us from the attacks of our enemy...
Protect us from all who desire our fall and destruction...
Protect us from anything that would lead us away from your perfect decrees.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Demonic Possession
1) Demonic Possession
Verses 33-34: And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
Let’s start by looking at what demonic possession really is and its history in the Old and New Testaments...
Consider this by the Pillar New Testament Commentary on the Gospel of Luke:
“Ancient Jewish and pagan sources report very few exorcisms, and those that are reported do not closely resemble the exorcisms of Jesus.
The greatest number of exorcisms in Scripture occurs in the Synoptic Gospels, in contrast to their paucity or absence in the Old Testament, John, Acts, and the Epistles.
The fact that Jesus’ first miracle is an exorcism, and that he frequently encounters and heals the demon-possessed, testifies that vanquishing Satan and dividing his plunder was central to his mission.
Jesus is sent into the world not simply as a moral example, but as a heavenly combatant on a mission to rescue those possessed and oppressed by demons.
Not surprisingly, demons recognize the power, purpose, and person of Jesus before mortals do.”
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So, demonic possession is defined as someone under the internal control of a demon.
As the MacArthur Study Bible points out:
“All of the cases of demonization dealt with by Christ involved the actual indwelling of demons who utterly controlled the bodies of their victims, even to the point of speaking through them, causing derangement, violence, or rendering them mute.”
So, there are few examples of demon possession in the Bible outside the Gospels...
For example in Acts there are individuals who are demon possessed...
However, most demonic possession is primarily part of the opposition of evil to the coming of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
So, let’s go through some Scripture and revisit those events when Jesus encountered demonically possessed individuals.
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In Mark’s gospel account we find a man who has incredible strength due to the multiple demons that inhabited him...
Not even chains could keep him down...
He was tormented by these demons day and night and made his home in the tombs...
We see this account in Mark 5:1-5 which says:
1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
This is a disturbing and unsettling scene...
Something we might see in a scary movie...
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However, this no fictitious horror film...
This is not something conceived of in the mind of humans...
This is real life...
This really happened...
And this demonic activity...
This kind of demonic possession...
Heavily increased during Jesus’ earthly ministry...
It was a visual representation of the invisible spiritual battles that 24/7 goes on in the background...
The spiritual warfare we are all a part of but often times never think twice about.
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In Matthew’s gospel we are shown that those who are possessed by demons can experience physical ailments...
For example a person with a demon can experience blindness and muteness as it says in Matthew 12:22:
22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.
However, as we see with this verse...
Demons can physically harm people...
Yet Jesus can restore what the demons took way...
At the end of the day...
Our God is sovereign even over demons...
We will get more into that when we make it to our next point.
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It was not only Jesus who encountered demonically possessed individuals...
The apostles encountered those tormented by fallen angels.
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However, when they confronted those demons there was some mixed affects...
The apostles themselves in both the Gospel acounts and Acts successfully exorcised demons when Jesus gave them the authority to do so...
But that was not always the case...
Look with me at Mark 9:14-22 which says:
14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.
15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Although the apostles had successfully cast out demons before...
Some demons had greater strength than others...
They required greater discipline to defeat.
Later, Jesus will reveal why they meet a road block here and we will also cover that in our second point.
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In Acts 19:13-16 we see that encountering a demon without proper preparation or credentials is a recipe for disaster...
For those who have not surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior...
An encounter with a demon can be down right dangerous...
This is what the passage says:
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
So these Jewish exorcists where not true believers...
They had simply observed how Paul drove out evil spirits by invoking the name of Jesus and undertook to do the same themselves...
Like it was some kind of magic spell that if you say the right words it would lead to the same results.
These unbelieving Jews learned the hard way that they were messing with a loaded gun!
Only Jesus and His followers can ever have the ability to cast out demons.
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Next, Luke records the demon saying, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
Theologian James R. Edwards has this to say about this statement by the demon:
“The demon’s self-reference in the plural, ‘us,’ may suggest that it regards the mission of Jesus as an assault on all demonic strongholds.
The reference to Jesus as ‘the Holy One of God’ may reflect the belief that naming a spiritual foe granted mastery over it.
‘Holy One of God’ not only recalls the divine sonship of Jesus’ baptism but may liken Jesus to Samson, the mighty vanquisher of the Philistines, the only other person in the Bible to be called ‘Holy One of God.’”
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Again, notice what the demon says...
The demons know who Jesus is...
He is aware of Jesus’ identity and divine authority...
However, an intellectual knowledge is to true faith or belief...
One can be like this demon...
Truly believing the claims of Jesus and every event and fact in the Bible...
But if they do not believe in him with personal trust...
Then that won’t matter.
There is no saving faith...
There is no saving belief.
For there is no surrender and trust.
Remember what it says in James 2:18-20:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
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Additionally, if we look at Matthew 8:29 we can see that demon are fully aware that their time to cause havoc in this world is limited for that verse says:
29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
To side with Satan and his demons is to join the losing team...
However, despite this truth...
Demons want to mislead as many people as possible...
That is why Jesus always quickly silenced the demons when He encountered them...
Mark 1:34 says:
34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Jesus did not want the confession of a demon of who He is...
His miracles and His preaching and teaching can speak for themselves.
Additionally, demons confessing Jesus as Lord could lead to people thinking that Jesus ‘ powers and ability came from Satan as the Pharisees accused Jesus of...
But Jesus made it clear that a house divided cannot stand...
So, the claim of a demon possessed person casting out demons has no bearing.
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It is important to not that a true and genuine believer of Jesus Christ cannot be demon possessed.
Pastor John MacArthur provides a great summary saturated with biblical evidence of this undeniable fact:
“In my book How to Meet the Enemy, I summarized the biblical evidence that Christians cannot be demon possessed:
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There is no clear example in the Bible where a demon ever inhabited or invaded a true believer.
Never in the New Testament epistles are believers warned about the possibility of being inhabited by demons.
Neither do we see anyone rebuking, binding, or casting demons out of a true believer.
The epistles never instruct believers to cast out demons, whether from a believer or unbeliever.
Christ and the apostles were the only ones who cast out demons, and in every instance the demon-possessed people were unbelievers.
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The collective teaching of Scripture is that demons can never spatially indwell a true believer.
A clear implication of 2 Corinthians 6, for example, is that the indwelling Holy Spirit could never cohabit with demons:
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What harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.’
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In Colossians 1:13, Paul says God ‘delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.’
Salvation brings true deliverance and protection from Satan.
In Romans 8:37, Paul says we overwhelmingly conquer through Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 15:57, he says God gives us the victory.
In 2 Corinthians 2:14, he says God always leads us in triumph.
In 1 John 2:13, John says we have overcome the evil one.
And, in 1 John 4:4, he says the indwelling Holy Spirit is greater than Satan.
How could anyone affirm those glorious truths, yet believe demons can indwell genuine believers?”
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Next, let’s look at the encounters in Scripture were a demon is cast out...
And this takes us to our second point.
2) Demonic Exorcism
2) Demonic Exorcism
Verse 35: But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Although the demon recognized Jesus as the “Holy One of God”...
A term that denotes Jesus’ special relationship to God the Father and His empowerment by the Holy Spirit...
As we discussed before...
Jesus refuses to accept endorsement from evil spirit.
In Jesus’ action we may see the beginning of a pattern of prohibiting the premature proclamation of his identity.
Jesus would reveal Himself to be the Messiah on His own time and in His own way.
That is why we see Jesus forbidding the demons to speak like it says in Luke 4:41:
41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
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Jesus’ ministry was filled with not just the preaching and teaching of the Gospel message...
But His ministry was filled with the exorcism of demons...
An act He did not need to invoke anyone else’s name to do...
For even the Apostles could not cast out demons without the name of Jesus...
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Jesus had the authority to cast out demons by His own power alone...
This unique ability was further proof that He was who He claimed to be...
The Messiah...
The Son of God...
The one who has dominion and authority and power over Satan and his legion of demons.
As Mark 1:39 says:
39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
The people who witnessed Jesus casting out demons knew this was like nothing they ever saw before...
They never saw someone cast out a demon without any struggle..
They never saw someone cast out a demon by their own power.
As Matthew 9:33 says:
33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
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Not only could Jesus cast out a demon from a person...
Jesus was able to defeat a legion of demons...
Remember the man Jesus encountered who lived in the tombs...
The rest of the passage we read the first part to says this in Mark 5:6-15:
6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside,
12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”
13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
Notice that the demons had to ask Jesus for permission to go into the pigs...
Go reread Job...
Satan himself asked for permission to attack Job and his family...
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Satan and his demons only have as much power as God gives them...
And God knows what He is doing...
Everything is meant to work out for good for the followers of Jesus Christ.
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Our limited minds many not see the good...
Out limited minds may not see the purpose...
But God has a Plan A and that is it.
There is no Plan B...
The fall of man did not surprise God...
Satan’s rebellion with his legions of demons did not surprise God...
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Our God is in full control of everything...
So, if you are a believer, you don’t need to fear Satan and his demons thwarting God’s plan.
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Jesus gave the power to His apostles to cast out demons as shown in Matthew 10:1:
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
But not only them...
Others who genuinely follow Jesus had this same power to cast out demons...
Just look at what it says in Mark 9:38–39:
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
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However...
Not all demons are cast out so simply...
As we saw earlier...
Even the apostles encountered a demon they could not cast out...
Let look a the second half of that passage to see why...
Look with me at Mark 9:23-29:
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Beloved, please understand that their is power in your prayers...
Even the apostles got so caught up in all the great miricles they perfomed that they stopped depending on God...
They stopped leaning on Him...
They stopped praying when they need to pray without ceasing.
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It is not just prayer that is needed...
Faith is also essential as seen in Matthew 17:19-20:
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
We by ourselves do not how any true power or authority...
But through the faith we have in Jesus Christ...
And the prayers we cry out to our Heavenly Father...
We can do all that God calls us to do...
Even cast of demons.
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It should be no surprise that it is all about Jesus...
Jesus’ ministry of casting out every kind of demon...
Jesus’ ministry of casting out demons without fail...
Jesus’ ministry of casting out demons without having to invoke someone else’s name...
All points to Jesus ultimate power and authority that was given to Him by the Father...
And this takes us to our next point.
3) Authority & Power of Christ
3) Authority & Power of Christ
Verses 36-37: And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
The crowds could not help but be impressed...
They were amazed that Jesus could command demons and they would obey without hesitation...
No one was, is like, or will ever be like our Lord and Savior!
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As Mark 1:27 says:
27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
Again, every demon brought to Jesus was cast out...
And He did it all with just a word as it says in Matthew 8:16:
16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.
Nobody is like our God!
The seventy-two followers of Jesus were also amazed when they were given to power to cast out demons...
But I want you to notice the source of that power...
Look with me at Luke 10:17 which says:
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
The demons are even subject to Jesus’ name.
Of course as we saw before...
One can’t just use the name of Jesus like they are casting a spell but my be a believer themselves...
And faith and prayer need to be a part of it too.
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However, despite the amazement of the crowds...
Despite the incredible nature of this miracle to cast out demons of all kinds...
Despite the incredible nature of this miracle to cast out demons with just a word...
The religious elite of the day slandered Jesus...
Claiming He only cast out demons because He Himself used demonic powers and was possessed...
Yet look at what Jesus says in response in Matthew 12:24–28:
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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Theologian Darrell L. Bock summarizes this section like this:
“Jesus’ ministry is a mixture of authoritative teaching and healing.
Jesus’ first miracle is an exorcism.
The conflict that it depicts is fundamental to the Lucan picture of Jesus.
The Anointed One has great authority and power.
His power extends into the hidden world and rules cosmic forces.
Such power can free a person from the evil forces that affect life.
It is teaching in action, an illustration of his power.
Jesus is no mere moralist.
Neither is he merely a great motivator and psychologist.
He is one with authority to defeat the evil forces that can dominate humanity.
The reader is put in the place of those in the synagogue who ask about Jesus’ power and authority.
The story makes clear where ultimate power resides.
It is not in the spirits of evil that oppress humans.
Jesus can deal with the evil one and restore people.”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study this week:
Many years ago C.S. Lewis wrote the Screwtape Letters.
Screwtape was an assistant devil writing to his nephew Wormwood.
Screwtape was telling his nephew how to make the "patient" leave the camp of the arch enemy, the Prince of Peace, and dwell in the camp of the real boss, the prince of darkness.
It is a great read!
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I would like to share with you another letter, this one written by Twisttape to his apprentice Harshwood as they discuss his training and graduation from devil’s school.
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The letter begins:
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Dear Harshwood,
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I have read the notices that you are about to graduate and begin your work on earth.
Glad to hear that your training went well.
I see that you will be a graduate with honors.
Splendid!
Apply all of your knowledge to the task at hand, for the enemy, the Prince of Peace, God of Love is a resourceful enemy.
Just when you think you have him in your grasp or one of this people, he pulls a trick and low and behold you stand empty, you lost your soul for the fires of hell.
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I would like to give you one piece of advice, one bit of wisdom as you begin your tour of duty in the enemy’s camp.
Throughout my tour of duty, I have learned one thing about these humans which I feel can be so very useful for you.
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Humans usually have a very high regard for themselves.
They think they are pretty good.
They can see the faults, the sins, the evil in another, but they see only good in themselves.
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My advice to you my dear Harshwood, is to encourage that thinking.
Encourage it for all its worth.
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The chief antagonizer, that Christ fellow, wants the humans to see their own sins, but Harshwood, blind their eyes, their hearts, their souls to that revelation.
Let them think only of the good in themselves, and you, may dear friend Harshwood, will meet your quota of human beings who will spend the rest of their lives with our master, the lord of the heat and fire, Master Satan.
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Let them see that when repentance is called for it is not them who needs to repent.
Let them see over and over again that they are really better than the guy next to them in the pew.
When the pastor reads about John the Baptist, let them fall asleep, turn to other thoughts, so they will not realize that it is them John is talking to.
Let them see that they are indeed really pretty good, no need for repentance, no need for forgiveness, and then you will have them.
You will have them because they will see that they do not really need that Christ fellow, and they really need is themselves.
Then, then they will be ours.
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For you see my dear Harshwood, when these humans see themselves as great, then they are filled with self pride, and they don’t need that Jesus fellow.
This is how it will begin.
They you will have them in your claws.
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Good luck on your tour of duty, my heart goes out o you as you use every trick, every scheme, every evil desire, every good intention, every proud thought to win souls for our side.
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Signed
Your admiring friend,
Twisttape
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Simply put...
Satan and his demons are out to get you...
Demonic possession was heavily used in Jesus’ time as Jesus’ ministry was the greatest attack on the forces of Satan...
Demonic possession will rise again closer to the return of Christ...
But this is not the only way demons attack humans...
Often times it is far more shuttle...
So, be very alert...
Be on guard...
For as 1 Peter 5:8-10 says:
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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