Scripture: Luke 11:14-23, NLT
14 One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed, 15 but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 16 Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
17 He knew their thoughts, so he said,“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 18 You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive? 19 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.20 But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 21 For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”
INTRODUCTION
Jesus performs a miracle. He had made a man to speak who could speak and crowds immediately recognized this as a miracle. They were amazed and I imagine they began praise Jesus or God because the religious establishment got highly irritated. What ever they did in terms of celebration of the miraculous event, the Jewish leaders went on the attack. They began slandering Jesus….“No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” What a hateful and ugly thing to say and of course, it was a lie.
Jesus knew there thoughts! [v.17] He precedes to logically disarm this malicious lie He presents a series of questions.
I. IS SATAN DIVIDED AGAINST SATAN?
“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 18 You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive?
Unfortunately for us, Satan is not divided. Satan divides, he is the author of division but he is not divided within his ranks. Everyone in his ranks hates Jesus and is out to destroy Him and His church. You and I know that Satan has failed but he has not conceded. Jesus defeated, Satan, sin and death at the cross and the resurrection. But he is not divided. He still schemes, he still attacks. His mission of killing, stealing and destroying is still in tack.
Logically, the thinking of the Jews is flawed.
II. WHAT ABOUT YOUR OWN EXORCIST? BY WHOSE POWER DO THEY CAST OUT DEMONS?
And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. [v.19]
Jewish exorcism went back to Solomon who concocted a blend or herbs and incantations. Where the Jewish religious leaders prepared to say the same thing about their own exorcist. Where they saying that all exorcism is of the devil or just those performed by Jesus.
III. WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG?
But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. [v.20]
Wow! What audacity the Jewish Religious leaders had; in their pride, they would not even consider the possibility of being wrong about Jesus. Do we have this same pride?
The Kingdom of God was so near these people and yet they missed it, not barely but by a country mile. I know that Jesus made some outrageous claims such as “God is my Father…I am God,” and know if would be hard on us in a man came on the scenes making those claims. But Jesus didn’t make the claims until He had proven in word and deed that He was the Messiah. The problem is that the Jews were not open to the truth. They would not sit down and listen to Jesus teach. They rejected everything he said or twisted it. They were blinded by their pride.
If you never take in to consideration that you could be wrong: too much pride.
IV. HOW COULD I OVERTAKE SATAN IF I WERE NOT STRONGER?
For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
Conclusion
23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”
I am a Jack Ryan fan. In the Jack Ryan movie, Clear and Present Danger, Ryan refuses to lie before congress although pressured by the President and two higher ups. One of them is screaming at Jack as he leaves the White House, “The world is gray Jack, the world is gray.” Believe it or not, Hollywood got this one right: the world is not gray, it is black and white. It is not 50 shades of gray either. Jack Ryan saw right and wrong and no in between–that is because there is no in between.
Switzerland prides itself in being neutral especially in WWII but were they? How is it that Hitler did not invade Switzerland? Was he afraid of the mighty Swiss army? How much have you heard about the Swiss Army? The Swiss are not known for fighting or courage: it is their policy to play both sides. Hitler used their railroads. Actually, they complied with all his request: why would he invade. Hitler’s plan was to confiscate the Jewish gold being funneled into Swiss banks but of course, his plan failed. The rich Jews who were behind the scenes, standing in the shadows, eventually profited from the gold transferred into Swiss banks by middle class Jews in Europe. Long story short: Switzerland was not really neutral, they were working with Hitler who allowed them to appear neutral.
You are either for Christ or against HIM but there is no neutral ground.
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