Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Sep 09, 2012: Luke 11:14-26 With Jesus Or Against Jesus
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- 00:00 You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. Well, as we look at our portion here today, Luke 11, verses 14 through 26... 00:18 This passage is dealing specifically with demonic possession and the working of demonic forces as Jesus is setting free a man who is demon possessed and instructing the religious leaders regarding things that are demonic and demonic forces. There 00:38 There is a reality that we see presented here by Jesus and by the scriptures that demons do exist. They are real. And it's a reality that we must face and come to grips with because you and I are in the midst of a spiritual war. And demonic forces are warring against God. 01:00 We also see here in this passage, something important to point out, that demon possession is a reality, that demons can possess individuals. Now we would not say, the Bible does not teach that demons can possess Christians, but individuals apart from Christ possess 01:19 They are able to be possessed, inhabited by demonic forces. And these demons can even control the body, the motor functions of the body, to prevent this guy that we see here from speaking. You know, that this guy was mute because this demon prevented him from speaking. And so there's realities here that are apparent, that are, you know, all through the text that we're studying. 01:45 However, as we go through this passage today, I'm not going to be primarily focusing on that. I'll mention a couple different things here and there that we learn about demonic forces. But you know, as we look at the passage this morning, God has given me a specific focus for this passage, a specific emphasis to share with you. And it's based on verse 23. Verse 23. 02:10 where Jesus says, he who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And as we consider this main idea here in verse 23, I would challenge you, I would suggest to you that as we look at this passage of scripture and all these things that are dealing with demon possession, that these same truths 02:33 to all of Satan's influence, not just demon possession. But everywhere where Satan has influence, everywhere where he has power and authority, these are the same principles that we will find and it brings us to a choice we must make. 02:52 I titled the message for us this morning, With Jesus or Against Jesus. And this is the reality that we must come to grips with this morning. As illustrated here on the screen, with Jesus or against Jesus, it's really a black and white issue. 03:15 We like to pretend there's a gray area. We like to think that there's neutral ground. But when it comes to the things of the Lord, when it comes to spiritual things, that is not the picture that the Bible presents us with. Instead, it's actually black and white. That there's a real choice that must be made. You have to choose. 03:41 And you are choosing today whether you want to or not, whether you think you are or not, whether you desire to, you are making a choice today as we consider these things. And so there's four points that I'd like to highlight for you as we consider the choice to make today. 04:03 Between darkness and light. The choice that we have before us. The first point we find in verses 14 through 16, and that is this. Here's the contrast. You are either delivered by Jesus or you're bound by darkness. Darkness. 04:22 Again, there's no middle ground. There's no gray area. There's no neutral. You are one of these. You are either delivered by Jesus or you're bound by darkness. Let's check it out again in verse 14. It says, And he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was when the demon had gone out that the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." 04:52 So here we have the context of this passage that we're studying in that Jesus is casting out a demon from this man. And this man is mute because this demon has possessed him. But Jesus says, 05:13 casts out the demon, and then the guy is able to speak. And it causes the people to marvel. They're amazed at what is happening. And in response, the religious leaders say, he's casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. He's using Satan's power to cast out those demons. Other people were saying, 05:39 I don't know about that. Maybe we need a sign from him to verify if he's really of God or not. And so there's this discussion that's going on. 05:49 Again, here we see the reality of demonic possession, of the existence of demons, that they can control the body. This is a reality that exists still to this day all across the world. There are people who are demon possessed. You probably will encounter it at some point in your life. It's a reality that exists. And in this reality, 06:15 example of demon possession, we see that this guy is bound by darkness. But as I said, that these are not just principles and truths that apply only to demon possession, but this is the reality for those who are without Christ. Being bound by darkness is your natural condition. It's my natural situation. 06:45 In the very fact that we are descendants of Adam. And we have inherited from Adam a sinful nature. And we sin and we fall short of the glory of God. By nature, from the beginning, we are bound by darkness. Not only are we bound, but we are blinded to it. This is not just those who are demon possessed, but those who are without Christ's 07:17 They're bound in sin. Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 34, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Those who commit sin, those who continue in sin, those who practice sin, is the understanding here is Jesus is declaring this. They are slaves of sin. 07:50 You cannot continue to sin and not be a slave of sin. That if you continue to sin, you are bound in sin or bound by darkness. The enemy, Satan, uses sin to keep us bound, to keep us locked in. And we'll see that in the next few verses as well. And so we're bound in sin, but we're also bound by deception. 08:18 Paul explains in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 that Satan, who is the god of this age, that he has blinded those who do not believe. Those who do not believe in Jesus are blinded. Their eyes, their vision is hindered. Now, not necessarily physically, although that can happen with demon possession, but spiritually speaking, which is far more important, people are blinded by Satan. 08:48 the God of this age. That people are deceived, that they're led astray, that they're kept from seeing the truth. I would suggest to you today that if you understand the gospel message, the gospel message is that Jesus Christ, being God, became man to die on the cross for your sin and for my sin. 09:21 That he resurrected the third day and that those who believe in him and what he accomplished for us upon the cross in dying for our sin, that those who believe are forgiven and given the hope of eternal life. If you can understand that message, it's not because you're intelligent. It's not because you're clever. It's not because you're so smart, have a high IQ or a good education. 09:48 If you can understand that message, it is because God supernaturally has broken through the deception of Satan to shine light upon your heart and give you understanding of the gospel message. If you can understand it, this is a supernatural work of God because our natural condition is to be bound in sin and bound by deception, blinded to the truth. 10:23 And so I would suggest to you that if you can understand the gospel message, then you need to respond. This is your opportunity to respond. 10:34 You might feel like, well, I can respond whenever I want to. I understand it. I know the truth. But I have some other plans first. I'm going to do these things over here. I want to enjoy myself and live this kind of life for a little bit. And I know the truth about Jesus. I'm going to come back there. I will do that. I'll make that commitment. I'll follow him. But if that's your heart, if that's your condition, you're deceived. Because later on, you don't know 11:06 If those blinders will be removed and Christ's light will shine in your heart so that you can understand the truth. Without Christ, we are bound in darkness. John tells us in 1 John 5, 19, he says, We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. Satan has the whole world in his grips. He's deceiving and leading astray the masses. 11:42 That's his plan. That's his plot. And people are bound by darkness. The alternative though is to be delivered by Jesus. That's our condition. And we cannot respond. We have no hope in and of ourselves because we're bound, we're chained, caught in sin, trapped in the devil's plan. 12:12 believing the deception that he brings but when christ shines the light of truth he supernaturally pierces through the lies of the enemy the deception of our own heart when he opens it up so that we can understand the gospel if we understand and respond if we turn to jesus and turn away from sin then what comes is deliverance jesus came because we cannot deliver ourselves 12:42 It's absolutely impossible for us to deliver ourselves from the darkness that we are bound to. We cannot do it. If you were with us back in Luke chapter 4, you might remember when Jesus was at the synagogue, he reads from Isaiah, 12:59 declaring it to be his own message, his own statement, where he says, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted. Notice, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. The captives. Who are the captives? Those who are bound in darkness. The whole purpose that Jesus came was to deliver people 13:28 Those who are bound in darkness to set the captives free, but also the recovery of sight to the blind, to open your eyes. That's why Jesus came. He came to deliver you because without him you are bound in darkness. Jesus said in John 8 36, therefore if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 13:55 The deliverance that Jesus brings is a full deliverance. That he sets you free. That the enemy does not have you in chains any longer. Those shackles are broken. The deception is shattered because the son has set you free. But you have to choose. You have to make a choice. Which one are you if you would consider these today? 14:27 Are you delivered by Jesus or are you bound by darkness? This guy here in this account, he was mute because he was bound by darkness, but Jesus set him free. And whatever it is that binds you, whatever deception that the enemy has brought, whatever bondage, whatever sin, whatever it is that has chained you, that is keeping you from God, 14:54 Jesus is able to deliver you. He's able to set you free, but you have to choose. You have to make a choice and there's no gray area. I like what Paul says in Colossians chapter 1. In verse 13 he says, He, that is Jesus, He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. 15:26 This verse always just gives me these great visuals. He's delivered us from the power of darkness. So here you are in the kingdom of darkness. Bound in darkness. And Jesus comes in. He shines the light upon you. He delivers you. He breaks the bonds. He breaks the power of Satan. And it says that he conveys us. 15:50 And it just conjures up in my mind a picture of a conveyor belt. And so here you are in the darkness and then he conveys you. And you get over here into the kingdom of the son of his love. He moves you from one kingdom to another, from darkness into light. He removes you from one. He places you in the other. You have to choose. There's way too many people who try to live in both worlds. 16:17 Who try to hold on to Jesus, but hold on to sin. And you know, if we had our say in it, if we got to vote, here's what we would vote for. Yes, I want to believe in Jesus and have the promise of eternity and be forgiven of my sins, but I also want to practice my sins and do whatever I want to do and live however I want to live. 16:38 If we got to choose, that's what we would choose. But we don't get to choose. Instead, you have to choose. Are you going to live in darkness or are you going to live in the light of Christ? Are you going to be delivered from darkness or are you going to be bound by darkness? You have to choose. As we go on in verses 17 through 20, we see the next contrast here. The things that we have to choose from. 17:11 You have to choose to be united with Jesus or to be united with darkness. You are either united with Jesus or you're united with darkness. You were either delivered by Jesus or you're bound by darkness. One or the other, you have to choose. Check out verse 17. It says, but he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. 17:39 and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say, I cast out demons by Beelzebub. So now Jesus is responding to the crowd that is mixed feelings about what's going on here. Remember the crowd marveled and some said, well, he can't be from God. That must be Satan's power that he's using to cast out the demons. 18:12 And so Jesus is responding to that. This thought wasn't expressed. They didn't shout this out, but it says he knew their thoughts. He knew what was going on within. And so he addresses those objections that are going on within their minds and within their hearts. And he says, every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. This is an interesting point that I don't think I've ever considered before studying for this passage this week. 18:49 I may have forgotten about it and that's fine. But here's the point. Satan is not divided. The kingdom of darkness is not divided. Satan and his demons are united in their war against God. They're accusing Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. He says, of course, that's ridiculous. But he's making the point a kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. 19:28 A house that's divided, it cannot stand, it will fall. He's making the point Satan is not divided, that his kingdom is not divided. This is interesting to consider because, well, churches are divided. I don't just mean the center aisle here between the groups of chairs, but there's divisions within the church. Churches worldwide are divided and there's 20:03 Those who believe in God, but they're fighting against each other. Homes are divided, but Satan and his demons, they're not divided. I think before I always kind of just pictured anarchy, although I probably knew that wouldn't be true if I would have thought about it, but it's just kind of the default. You know, I just pictured all these demons, they just do whatever they want to do, just, you know, mayhem, you know, whatever they feel like doing, whatever chaos they can provide, but it's not anarchy. It's not anarchy. 20:39 They're in unity. They're joined together. And it's one of the reasons why, well, he's effective. And it's his work to divide the church. It's his work to divide our homes. It's his work to divide us between each other. Because Jesus' prayer in John chapter 17 was that we would be united. That there would not be divisions amongst us. 21:05 Jesus said in John 17, in his prayer, verse 21, he said, that they all may be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. That as we are united together, it's a shining light to the world. But we're all divided. Meanwhile, Satan and his kingdom is united. And they're being effective. And they're destroying lives. Here's the question though today. 21:37 Are you part of Satan's united kingdom? Satan and his kingdom, they're united. Are you with them? Are you part of that? 21:49 Our default answer would be no, but let's consider what Jesus says in verse 19. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Now here again we see some further development of the demonic beings and the truth about them. There is a reality to them. 22:15 That there are demons, they are able to possess people, but also they're able to be cast out by the finger of God. Now, Jesus talks about here in verse 19, their sons, that is the Jewish leaders, 22:33 Their sons were casting out demons. There was a group of the Jewish leaders that would be enlisted for exercising demons and trying to cast demons out of people. And they would use practices that were handed down from Solomon, according to what Josephus says. Now, we don't know 22:55 All the background and details to this. If they were actually casting out demons or if the demons were just messing with them and playing with them. We don't really know what the whole truth is. But what Jesus is saying is, look you guys, you accept the belief. You accept the understanding that your sons are casting out demons on behalf of God by the power of God. 23:20 So if you're saying that I'm casting out demons by the power of Satan, who do your sons cast out demons by? Of course, it's not by Satan. But if demons are cast out, it's by the power of God. And so he says, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. So demons are subject to Jesus. 23:47 They're subject to the power of God. You know, sometimes we picture Satan as the opposite of Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus and Satan are not opposites. In fact, it's illustrated here. Jesus says, if I cast out demons with the finger of God. He doesn't say, if I cast out demons with all the power and might of God. He doesn't say, with the sledgehammer of God. He says, with the finger of God. Bing! 24:20 that's all it takes satan is not jesus's opposite or god's opposite it reminded me i was chasing down a fly in my house yesterday or the day before and i was looking like a fool and my wife reminded me because i'm just like i'm i'm convinced i can get it so i'm just swatting trying to get it and kim's like you're looking ridiculous what are you doing trying to get the fly 24:51 If it would just sit there, I could go, bing, and get it. Satan is not even like the fly who can run around. God's not there trying to swat at him. Anytime he wants to, he can wipe him out with the finger of God. So demonic forces are subject to Jesus. Subject to the power and the authority of Jesus. But again, going back to the question. 25:25 The kingdom of darkness is united. Are you part of that united kingdom? Or are you united with Jesus? We can see clear evidence of this in the society that we live in. That the world that we live in, the country that we live in, is united with darkness. 25:51 That the things that the world promotes and celebrates and tries to convince everybody else that it's okay and it's fine, those very things that the world celebrates are directly contrary to God. We're coming up to the next election, right? And people are taking sides. I identify with this group. I'm with this guy. I'm with that guy. They're taking sides. They're choosing. They're making decisions. 26:24 But all across the board, no matter which side you choose, there's serious issues of things that are directly contrary to what God has declared. The world is promoting this idea of same-sex marriage. It's a hot topic, a hot issue. Lots of debates, lots of discussion. Where do you fall? Where do you stand on the subject of gay marriage? Are you united with darkness? 27:03 Or are you united with Jesus? Because the Bible declares that homosexuality is sin. It's forbidden. It must not be practiced. Is that where you stand? Or are you united with darkness? You see, if you are wavering in this area, well, I don't know if it's so much of a sin, you're united with darkness. 27:36 You're part of Satan's work. You're part of the deception that he is bringing. You're continuing the work that he is doing. We as believers in Jesus need to make the choice to stand on the truth of God's word. This is not an optional issue. This is not, you know, there's no gray area here. There are some things that, well, there's a little bit of gray. This is not. This is directly declared sinful. It must not be practiced. But we see. 28:12 Churches all over America accepting, saying yes, it's okay. It doesn't matter. It's not an issue. Those who claim to be followers of Christ proving themselves to be united with darkness. Where do you stand? Where do you stand on the subject of divorce? Divorce is commonplace in our society, right? It's rare for a child to grow up to become an adult and have the same two parents the whole time. 28:51 That's not common anymore. That's not the norm. It's normal for parents to divorce. Happens all the time. It's normal for people within the church to divorce. And yet God has declared very clearly in His Word that He hates divorce. Now, He allows for exception in the case of sexual immorality. But He declares, I hate divorce. 29:25 God's word is very clear. Marriage is created by Him. It's instituted by Him. He gets to set the rules and the rules He said is one man, one woman for life. That's it. Where do you stand when it comes to the subject of divorce? You know, there's a lot of people in the church who say God wants you to be happy. 29:53 There's a lot of people in the church who say, God wants me to be happy and I'm not happy in this marriage, but that person would make me happy so I'm getting out of the marriage so I can be happy because God wants me to be happy. And that is a flat out lie and that is 30:06 evidence that you are united with darkness. And those who would encourage the person and say, yeah, you should get a divorce. Yeah, God wants you to be happy. You're united with darkness. Where do you stand? You have to make a choice. The Bible's very clear. And you can't just, you know, pick and choose what you want to believe and what you want to be passionate about and what you want to hold fast to. You have to hold fast to the Word of God. That's the standard that God has given to us. There's not room 30:36 To make up whatever you think or whatever you want to feel about a certain subject when God has said it so clearly. Where do you stand when it comes to sex? It's common in the society that we live in. It's celebrated. It's promoted. In fact, the world is trying to convince everybody. It's okay. It's normal. Kids will be kids. Adults will be adults. I mean, it's okay. What does the Bible say? 31:14 Sex outside of marriage is sin. It must not be practiced. Where do you stand? Do you stand on the word of God? Do you stand united with Jesus? Or are you united with darkness? You can't have it both ways. You can't be in both camps. It's one or the other. You have to choose. Which one will you be united with? Jesus said in John chapter 3, 31:50 This is the condemnation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Jesus cuts right through it all and says, here's the issue. Here's why people struggle with standing firm on the word of God and being united with Jesus. Because we love darkness rather than light because our deeds are evil. Because we're united with darkness. 32:21 You have to choose. Who will you be united with? The light has shown forth. It's very clear. You have to make a choice. And you are not united with Jesus if you continue to practice deliberate sin. If you continue on willfully just choosing to live in sin, you are not united with Jesus. You are united with darkness. You're part of Satan's kingdom. You're part of his work. You're part of his attempt to deceive the world and keep them from God. 32:51 John tells us in 1 John 1.6, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. You are not united with Jesus if you hate others. John tells us that in 1 John 2.11. We could go on and on and on here. I'm not going to do that. The point is, you have to choose. You have to make a stand. Who will you be united with? Whose side are you on? Are you going to believe Jesus and follow him no matter what? 33:30 Or are you going to be united with the kingdom of darkness? You have to choose. Now Jesus also says something I think is important to consider. Verse 17, a house divided against a house falls. Not only do you personally need to be united with Christ, but your home needs to be united to Christ or it will fall. 33:57 Joshua said in Joshua 24, 15, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You need to choose, not just for yourself, but for your home. That we will not participate in the works of darkness. We will not allow the kingdom of darkness here. We will stand on the word of God. Because a house that's divided against itself will fall. Well, going on, we see the third contrast in verses 21 through 22. 34:29 And that is, you have to choose between trusting in Jesus and trusting in darkness. Verse 21 says, So picture the illustration that Jesus is giving here. There's a strong man. Not a weak man. This man is strong. And he's fully armed. 34:55 So he's not sleeping on the job. He's not, you know, kicking back and relaxing. This guy, he's strong. He's armed. He's got everything he needs. And so he's guarding his own palace and his goods are in peace. His goods are protected. Now in this illustration that Jesus is painting for us here, he's talking about Satan. That Satan is the strong man and he is fully armed. 35:23 He's got his instruments of bondage. He's got his instruments of deception and blindness. And he's protecting his goods. What are the goods that he is protecting? It's people. Satan is in an all-out war against God for people. This is all about people. You and I are caught in between. We're in the midst of this battle between Satan and God. 35:58 And he is seeking to yank people away from God, to keep people so that they never get the opportunity to respond to God. He's protecting his house. He's guarding his goods. He's on guard against those who would bring the gospel to those who need to hear it. Verse 22, but when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils. 36:32 Now Jesus is talking about himself. A stronger than Satan comes and he overcomes with the finger of God. Bing! Jesus overcomes. And he takes from him all the armor in which he trusted. So it gives us this picture here. Satan is trusting in his armor. He's trusting in darkness. What are you trusting in? What are you trusting in? This is something you need to consider. Where is your faith? What are you holding on to? What are you building your life upon? 37:09 Are you trusting in good works? Are you thinking, well, when I get to eternity, as long as my good works outweigh my bad works, God will have to let me into heaven. That is a, well, it's part of Satan's armor that he uses to deceive people, to keep them trapped. Because they're convinced that good works is enough to save you. And that is not the truth. Are you trusting in religion? 37:49 Well, hey, I must be saved. I go to church on Sundays. I'm very religious. I even read my Bible and I pray all the time. I'm very religious. Is that what you're trusting in? Your religion. That's a tool that Satan uses. He's got many convinced. They're bound. They're blinded because they figure, I go to church religiously. I must be okay. I must be fine. God will save me. What are you trusting in? Your bank account? 38:25 Is that what your life is about? That's what you're building your life upon? Your job, your career, your family? These are all things that Satan uses. They're smoke screens that Satan puts up to deceive you, to keep you. It's kind of like, I picture it like a maze. Satan has us in a maze. We're bound in darkness. And he's got all these twists and turns and all these things that he throws up to try to keep us from getting through to God. To try to keep us from 38:57 Coming to salvation. And he uses these good works. He uses these religions. He uses all of these temptations to try to get us to go the wrong way. To be trapped in the maze. Unable to respond to the message of Jesus Christ. But when a stronger than he comes. When Jesus comes. He overcomes. He takes from him the armor in which he trusted. He casts down 39:30 Those deceptions. He breaks the bonds and he divides his spoils. You know what the spoils are? We're back to us again. He sets us free. He delivers us from the bondage of the enemy. So what are you trusting in? If you're trusting in darkness, you will be bound. You will be caught. You will be trapped in that maze. But if you're trusting in Jesus, you will be set free and delivered. 40:00 Satan is guarding his stuff. He's not letting you go without a fight. He uses idolatry. He uses lies and deception and threats and all kinds of false promises to people to keep them trapped. But if you will trust in Jesus, you will be set free. Colossians 2.15 tells us that Jesus disarmed principalities and powers. He disarmed the spiritual forces, the demonic forces. 40:36 Made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Jesus said in John chapter 12 verse 46, I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. Jesus said, I came as a light so that you have the choice to not abide in darkness by believing in Jesus, by trusting in Jesus. But you have to choose. You have to choose. 41:07 This is not something I'm just, you know, making up because I want you to make a choice. You have to choose. Jesus said so. Again, look at verse 23. He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters. Jesus says you have to choose. But there's no neutral. There's no gray area. It's black and white. You're with him or you're against him. Which are you? 41:33 You're gathering with him or you're scattering. That is, you are part of his work. That if you're with Jesus, then you are part of his work. You're seeking to bring others to the saving knowledge of Christ. You're making disciples. You're building people up in the faith. You're about the kingdom's work. You're about your father's business. You're shining the light of Christ and calling out to lost people and saying, Jesus is the light. Or... 42:06 You're scattering. We think we're neutral. We think, yeah, well, I believe in Jesus and I go to church and stuff, but, you know, I don't really get involved and I don't really, you know, witness to people or share about people or share about things or whatever. You know, that's kind of more for, you know, the more of the kind of real serious Christian people. But, you know, I believe in Jesus. We think we're neutral. But Jesus says, no, here's the reality. You're scattering. You're scattering. By not fully engaging, you are scattering. 42:38 Well, you're disrupting the work of God. You're furthering the work of the kingdom. You're furthering the deception that Satan is bringing. You're disrupting the work of God. Think of it like a marching band, right? If there's a marching band going down the street and you're there with them, if you're part of the band, then you're marching in step. You're playing the instrument. You're contributing to the music. You're part of it. You're contributing. You're gathering. 43:13 But if you're there and you're not part of the band, what are you doing? You're scattering. So there you are, they're marching, but you're in the way. And so they all got to try to shuffle around you. You're messing up the steps, the synchronization. You're not contributing the music. You're distracting from the music. You're scattering. And we think, well, if I could just be a spectator, you know, I'll just be on the side of the street. Let the marching band go by. I'll just stay out of the way. Oh, we would love that. 43:44 But that's not the choice that God has given us. You can't just sit on the sidelines. I'm just going to cheer you on. Yeah, go. Do the work of the kingdom of God. Let me know how it goes. You go gather. I'm just going to spectate. I'm just going to watch. I'm not going to go the other way, but I just want to sit here as a spectator. That's not the choice that Jesus has given us. 44:10 There are no spectators. You are either part of the kingdom of God and building up the people of the kingdom of God and bringing people into the kingdom of God, or you are disrupting the kingdom of God because you're part of the kingdom of darkness. You're one or the other. You're with Jesus or you're against Jesus. You're gathering or you're scattering. It's one or the other, and you have to choose. Well, the final point we see in verse 24 through 26 says, 44:38 Here the final contrast, the final choice is to be filled with Jesus or filled with darkness. Verse 24 says, when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest and finding none, he says, I will return to my house from which I came. 44:59 Now again, looking at the demonic entities and the teaching here that Jesus is giving, he's talking about this man who is set free, delivered from this demon. Now, the idea here is the demon goes out and he looks for rest. We learn here that demons desire a host. They desire to possess. They desire to inhabit. We also see this earlier in Luke when the demons say, hey, throw us into the pigs. 45:29 They desire to inhabit. Why? Well, we don't really know why, but that's not the point. The point is they have that desire. And so the demon goes out and looks for someone else to possess, someone else to harass. Verse 25, and when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. He doesn't find anybody, so he comes back to his original guy and he says, oh look, it's all nice and cleaned up for me. 45:55 Verse 26. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So the demon comes back and says, oh, it's all nice and set in order. I'm going to get some buddies. We're going to come and crash here. And this man ends up in a worse condition than when he was delivered from the demon. This presents us with a choice. You got to be filled with something. 46:33 When darkness comes to a house that is swept and empty, cleaned up, says, thanks for cleaning up the house for me, and moves in. The point here for those who have been demon possessed is when you are delivered from the demon, you need to be filled with Christ. Because otherwise, you are vulnerable for a greater and worse condition than you experienced before. But again, this does not only apply to demon possession, but all things spiritual. 47:04 You can go to counseling. You can work real hard and get off the drugs. You can get off the alcohol. You can sweep up your life and clean it. All right, yeah, I've got my life together. But if you don't fill your life with Christ, the last condition will be worse than the first. The end result will be worse because darkness moves in. You're going to be filled with something. Darkness or Jesus. 47:37 Which do you choose? Which do you choose? The Bible declares that sin is fun for a season. Now, it doesn't have to tell us that sin is fun. We know that. And again, if we got to choose, we'd say, yeah, give me salvation and forgiveness and let me continue to live in sin. That's what I prefer. That would be our choice because we enjoy sin. But the key there is the Bible says it's fun for a season. It's alluring. It's tempting. It's fun for a season. 48:14 Yeah, there's some great feelings connected with that. There's some great emotions that go along with that. There's some great pleasure that goes along with that. Whatever kind of sin you want to bring up, it's fun for a season. But as darkness moves in, the worst or the last is the worst condition. The problem is it's progressing. You're always progressing. You're either going from bad to worse or from bad to better. 48:59 The end result is always worse when you're filled with darkness. But if you will be filled with Jesus. And by filled with Jesus, I mean filled with Jesus. Not trying to live in both worlds. Not going back and forth and back and forth. But you have to make a choice. And choose to fill your life with Jesus. Consider what Jesus told the church in Revelation chapter 3. He said, I know your works. You do a lot of good works. 49:30 But he says, you're neither cold nor hot. He says, I wish you were one or the other. I wish you were black or white. You're trying to be gray. You're not cold. You're not hot. Instead, you're lukewarm. And so he says, because you're lukewarm, I will vomit you out of my mouth. That's what Jesus says to the church. 49:51 Because you're lukewarm, because you try to do both, you try to live in both worlds, you're not making a choice. The end result is in not making a choice, you're making a choice to be cold, to be in darkness, and Jesus will vomit you out of his mouth. You cannot live in both worlds. You have to choose. So choose wisely. Be hot. Be hot. Be sold out. 50:24 100% give your whole life to the Lord and fill yourself with Jesus. You have to choose whether you're going to give your time and energy and thoughts and plans to darkness or to Jesus. And to try to do something in between is to choose darkness. You have to choose and it has to be 100%. So which is it? Are you with Jesus or against Jesus? 50:56 For those of you here today that you know the Lord, you've walked with the Lord, listen. This is a serious call to you. Peter tells us that God has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. But some of you are trying to still stay in darkness. You're trying to straddle between both. 51:19 And you need to repent. You got to turn from the darkness. You got to turn from sin and stop trying to do both. And you got to just fully surrender and give yourself over completely to God, to His Word, to follow Him no matter what. Some of you today are just pretending. Everybody else might think you're saved. Everybody else thinks you're fine. But you're just putting on a show. You're trusting in your religion. You're trusting in your good works. You're trusting in your faith. 51:52 But your heart is not right with God. You have to choose. And listen, I would say again to you, you have the ability to understand these things today because God supernaturally is breaking through the bonds and the deception. He's opening your eyes. He's shining the light on your heart so that you have the opportunity to choose and you don't know that you will have this opportunity again. You have to choose if you can understand this message. 52:22 If God's speaking to your heart, you can read in Hebrews. If today you hear God's voice, don't harden your heart as Israel did. Because when you hear, when you understand, and you say, I'll choose later on. I'll put it off till later. You're choosing darkness over light. Where do you stand? Are you with Jesus or against Him? You have to choose. It's black or white. No gray area. We all say we choose the light. 53:11 But the way that we live shows what we've really chosen. Don't miss this opportunity. God wants to change your life. He wants to really deliver you and set you free. But you have to choose. Jesus again says in John 12, 46, I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. You are choosing today. Right now, you are choosing whether you will believe in Jesus or 53:50 or whether you will abide in darkness. Let's pray. Lord, thank you that you love us so much that you died upon the cross for us, giving us the opportunity to be set free, to be forgiven, and have the hope of eternity. And Lord, thank you that you love us so much that today, this day, you shine your light of truth right into our hearts, breaking through the bonds. 54:22 Giving us insight. Not because we're clever. Not because we've got it figured out. But supernaturally, you are ministering to us. Because you want us to be set free. You want to give us the ability to choose. Satan wants to keep us from being able to choose. But you want us to have that choice. And the choice is ours. So God, I pray that you would help us to choose wisely. 54:52 You've set before us today life and death, blessing and cursing. God, help us to choose life that's found in Jesus Christ. Help us not to try to fake it, but help us to really be sold out, to give ourselves completely to be filled with you. Help us, Lord, not to put it off so that we can continue on and do those things that we want to do, but Lord, help us to fully surrender. 55:27 Lord, for those who are struggling with this decision, I pray that you'd give them strength. Bind the work of the enemy. Let them see clearly your love, your plan, what you offer to us. Lord, that they might have the freedom to choose. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 55:54 We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.