Latest / HBCWestminster / 1.3.21 Luke 11:14-23 Pastor Danny Gardner

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1.3.21 Luke 11:14-23 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you've got your Bibles, you can open to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11, our text this morning will be verses 14 to 23. I've titled this morning's message, The Kingdom of God Has Come Upon You, straight out of the text, statement that Jesus makes in the text, as we'll see, Luke chapter 11. And as you're turning there, you know, I was considering this week what I wanted the first words of 2021 to be from this pulpit. As I prayed and reflected, I landed upon a statement from George Mueller. It's one of my favorites of his, and it's one that I actually quote often.
• 0:29
  George Mueller said, the word of God is the bread of life and the prayer of faith is the breath of life. The word of God is the bread of life and the prayer of faith is the breath of life. And I count it a great privilege to be the man tasked by God at Highland with the preparation of our weekly meal. If you think of it that way, we come together once a week to eat together. And I, as the chef of the church, get to prepare these weekly spiritual meals.
• 0:59
  Let's eat and breathe together as we look to God's word and as we offer up prayer. We are, as we know, a spiritual family here at Highland, connected, a community united under the blood of Jesus Christ. And so as a spiritual family, we gather once a week to eat together. We have family dinner together. And so let's do that very thing. In Luke chapter 11, allow me to read our text. I would ask you to stand if you're able in honor of God's word.
• 1:28
  beginning in verse 14 and going to verse 23. It says,
• 1:59
  For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me...
• 2:29
  scatters, would you pray with me? And Lord, in heaven, may we take comfort that we are loved with an everlasting love. Encourage us, God, with the thought that although we sin and live among a people who sin, that by the grace of Christ and in his name we are clothed with eternal righteousness. We are grateful, Lord Jesus, that in you we have peace and comfort and joy and triumph.
• 2:58
  and salvation because, Lord, we need nothing else. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. Well, the now infamous Dr. Fauci has been quoted as saying this week that the worst is yet to come. President-elect Biden has said that America's winter will be, in his words, bleak. I find that interesting because normally presidents-elect are optimistic coming into the Oval Office.
• 3:30
  Most of them, in fact, all of them promise, elect me and I'll set our course aright. I will right the ship. I will bring light where there was darkness. I have never before heard of one predict an awful first term the way that he has, but such are the times in which we live. A famous television anchor many years ago one time said that the whole world is gray. Let us not be too harsh with our unsaved leaders.
• 4:00
  because they after all have not been eating or breathing. If the word of God is our food and the breath of faith is prayer, prayer is our breath, then to not be in the word of God and not to pray to the Lord means that they're basically suffocating and starving to death. And when you're emaciated and asphyxiated, then the future probably does seem bleak and gray. In fact, everything appears gray to those who have no light.
• 4:30
  But it is not so for the believer, church, for the one who possesses the light of the word of God. Psalm 119, 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And we return this morning to our study of the gospel of Luke, and we find Jesus doing exactly what we would expect him to do.
• 4:48
  He's commanding demons. He is teaching with authority. We find him shining light into the darkness. We find him offering spiritual food to those who are starving. He is giving spiritual mouth-to-mouth to those who are breathing. And if it feels like you are starving and suffocating, then look no farther than to God and to his word. His word is our breath and praying to him.
• 5:18
  His word is our bread and praying to him is our breath. Now, in case you're new to our study, allow me to briefly catch you up. We have said that the gospel of Luke is the gospel for whom the world has had no gospel. Now, what do we mean by that? Luke is the gospel for the outcast, for the Gentile, for the heathen, for the rebel, for the sinner.
• 5:48
  the low we have said from the beginning of our study that if you feel unworthy to come to christ take heart because you are exactly who christ came to save the worst of the worst those who sin to the uttermost and if that's who you are then good news rejoice you are the one who christ came for according to the gospel of luke and we pick up the story
• 6:12
  In chapter 11, in the middle of a section which comprises a majority of the book, from chapters 9 through chapter 19, Luke chronicles a preaching ministry which would last several months. The last few months of Jesus' life as he is traveling from Galilee down to Jerusalem on his way to his own crucifixion. And you will recall Pastor Sam's eloquent and instructive sermon from a month ago, the last time we were in Luke's gospel, where Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
• 6:43
  by telling them and by extension us to venerate the Father. Hallowed, not Howard, hallowed be your name. Holy is your name. Jesus taught them to ask for the Lord's kingdom to come. He taught them to ask for their daily bread. He also taught them that they needed not only daily bread, but daily grace when he said, forgive us our sins as we forgive others. Finally, Jesus taught them to ask the Father to preserve
• 7:11
  Their souls lead us not into temptation. Pastor Sam concluded with this statement, and I thought it profound. He said, God reserves the right to answer according to his will, but he invites us to make our requests nevertheless. This morning, we study Jesus casting out a demon, a demon which, like all other demons, wrought misery and suffering upon its victim. But you'll notice that the demon is not the villain of this event.
• 7:40
  That is interesting. The demon is not the villain in the demon-possessed story. Rather, the villains are those who, knowing the power of Christ to redeem, instead of believing and following him, and in a mad stroke of irony, sought to vilify him. They seek to make Jesus, who is the hero of the story, the villain. They sought to vilify the one who was casting out the villain and so became villains.
• 8:09
  themselves. And may I take a moment to assure our young ones, those of you who are kids, or maybe who are just young in the faith, that demons do exist, but that they cannot contend with the power of Christ in you. If you are, and especially for our kids who may be watching and listening,
• 8:33
  for our kids who may be a little bit freaked out at the thought of demon possession and demons roaming the earth let me just assure you if you are young that they do exist that is true there is a supernatural realm where they exist but they cannot contend with the power of christ in you the promise of scripture is this young ones that he who is in you is greater than he who is in
• 8:59
  the world. And so as we study this instance with a demon-possessed man, remember that there is no need to fear if the Lord is on your side. Because, as Scripture says, if God is for us, then who can stand against us? The answer is no one. No one can stand against us if God is on our side. And so let's go through
• 9:24
  this story as Jesus redeems this demon-possessed man. You'll notice first the miracle and the marvel, the miracle and the marvel in verse 14, it says, now he was casting out a demon that was mute. And when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the people marveled. Now, it says, the mute man, many translations, instead of using that word now, even use the word.
• 9:50
  And it's meant to tie together this story and the last, which was the story of Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray. And at the conclusion of his instruction on prayer, the Father here graciously gave the disciples an opportunity to use their fresh faith. Okay, so I'm going to teach you how to pray, and then I'm going to throw you into the lion's den. In other words, I'm going to teach you how to pray, and then I'm going to throw you into the deep end.
• 10:14
  of the pool their mountaintop experience with christ was about to fall to the valley floor jc ryle has said this the miracle is evidently intended to throw fresh light on the lesson and the lesson was this the same savior who encourages us to pray is the savior who destroys satan power over our members and restores our tongues to proper
• 10:37
  He says, let me show you how to use your tongue in prayer. And now let me show you how to restore that tongue when it is not being properly used. And we catch a glimpse here into the creativity of our enemy. We have read this far in Luke's gospel of raging and violent and unclean demons. We have read of foaming and seething and screaming demons. We have read of injurious and harmful demons. And this morning we read of a demon who caused...
• 11:05
  It's victim to be mute. And the point is this. The devil wants to hurt you, church. And he doesn't care how he accomplishes that. 1 Peter 5 and verse 8 says that our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. And he doesn't care in the slightest how he devours you. As long as you're swallowed. Some will be devoured by violence. Some devoured by lust.
• 11:38
  some by greed, but for this man, it would be isolation. We find that not only did the Lord deliver the man's soul, but he also loosed his tongue. And church, how pathetic and tragic would it have been if the man, after having his speech restored, had remained silent? This man was being devoured by isolation, and we who have lived
• 12:09
  In the year 2020, understand at least to some small degree what isolation does, what it causes, the devastation that it causes. And how pathetic and tragic would it have been if this man had remained silent even after being given his power of speech back? If the man who had been forcibly mute remained mute by choice? How pathetic.
• 12:34
  And tragic if after the Lord had done so much and had given him a message to preach, if he had chosen to keep his mouth shut, I find it interesting that the word for mute, the man was a mute. That word in verse 14 is the Greek word kofos or kofon here in verse 14, which means deaf and mute. Deaf and mute. He could neither hear nor speak. And it is interesting how often those two go together.
• 13:04
  physically very often mute people are also deaf even today mute people are often deaf deafness and mute go together but even spiritually those two things go together as well i find this to be true in the church at times even in my own life that those who have no ears to hear the word of god also have no tongue to speak it let me say that again those who have no ears to hear the word of god also have no tongue to speak it and beloved church how many of us
• 13:32
  are deaf and mute. We don't hear the word. We are not regularly under the preaching of God's word, conforming our lives to the word of God, and so renewing our minds. And because we don't hear the word, we also do not speak the word. And I don't mean literally mute. Obviously, as we never speak, but how many of us are gospel mute? Just because you talk all the time doesn't mean you're not spiritually mute.
• 14:01
  Church, has the Lord loosed your tongue? How tragic and pathetic would it be if you never used it? I heard a man say, there's no difference between the man who cannot read and the man who does not read. And the same principle would apply by saying there's no difference between the man who does not share his faith and the man who cannot share his faith. Listen to Romans chapter 10, verse 13. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
• 14:31
  But how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet.
• 14:47
  of those who preach the good news. In other words, the apostle Paul in Romans 10 says, if nobody ever preaches the gospel, then nobody will ever hear the gospel. And if they can never hear the gospel, they will never be saved. And he concludes with how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. Like how do we preach the word of God? How do we preach the good news with our feet? He implies here that evangelism requires moving. It requires going.
• 15:16
  it requires engaging engaging with our neighbors and friends now listen church i am not i am not anti-quarantine i'm not i am certainly not anti-science as the church recently not our church but the church at large has been accused of being well those are the people who deny science i am not anti-science but church listen i am anti-silence
• 15:45
  I'm absolutely anti-silence. Lose your tongues, church. Lose your time. Even lose your wallets. And I'm not going to say in a reckless and undiscerning way. This is not at all a call for an uprising against the government. That is not what this is. But in a way where the lost will hear the gospel story, where they will see your good deeds and bring glory to your Father in heaven. The people marveled.
• 16:15
  At the miracle as the man's tongue was loosed. But notice second. The vilifiers and the verifiers. The vilifiers and the verifiers. And look at verse 15. But some. But some. Now we have spoken previously about the danger of the word but. We've spoken previously about the devastation which that word can cause in our lives.
• 16:41
  In Jonah chapter one and verse one says, the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, arise and go to Nineveh. Verse three says, but Jonah rose to flee. And so rather than arising to go to Nineveh to be God's prophet, Jonah instead arose to flee. And it just says right there in verse three, but Jonah, and we have said, Lord, save us from the butts in our lives. And we find the same devastation here.
• 17:11
  While some marveled at the miracle, others either vilified Christ by calling him a demon or sought to taunt him by asking for additional verification. And so let's look at this first group, the vilifiers. You continue in verse 15. But some of them said he casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. So in other words, he's casting out the devil by the devil.
• 17:38
  The name Beelzebul literally means the Lord of the flies. It could also actually mean the Lord of manure. That's where all the flies come from. The Lord of manure. It is a corruption of the name Beelzebul. Now, Baal, we know very well. That is the very frequently mentioned false god of the pagan nations surrounding Israel in the Old Testament. That was Baal, Beelzebul, this name.
• 18:08
  was used of the chief false god of the samaritans in the old testament throughout the old testament we find something interesting though in second corinthians i'm sorry second kings second kings chapter one where one of israel's wicked kings was actually consulting with that false god beelzebul with that false god in order to gain favor with his enemies now jesus's opponents
• 18:32
  wanted nothing more than to discredit him and to dismantle his ministry. That was their goal. And in Jesus's time, Beelzebul would have been the worst name a Jewish person could think of to associate with Jesus. The worst name they could think of. That was the worst thing they could call him. It'd be like us saying, well, Jesus was like Hitler or Stalin.
• 19:00
  or Pol Pot, or Mao Zedong, or Osama Bin Laden, or Saddam Hussein, or Kim Jong-un, right? I mean, these horrible, horrific dictators who were evil incarnate. And that is what they were trying to do to Jesus in order to discredit him, in order to dismantle his ministry. Some may recall the streets of Los Angeles being terrorized.
• 19:29
  in the mid-1980s by a man named Richard Ramirez. And you may not remember his actual name, but you may remember his nickname. He became known as the Night Stalker. By the time he was finally apprehended, the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, had kidnapped and murdered over a dozen women.
• 19:50
  And it was a terrorizing thing. Neighborhoods in LA, even though it is extremely hot in LA, during that summer in the mid-1980s, before he was apprehended, would actually sleep with all of their windows and doors shut and locked because of how many times he had broken into people's houses and just caused horrific, horrific violence. Eventually, he was recognized because of a sketch artist drawing.
• 20:14
  He was recognized by a woman in a small LA neighborhood. She saw him, pointed at him, and said, that's the guy. Richard Ramirez was caught by many of the men living in that neighborhood. He was held against his will in that neighborhood until police arrived. By the time police rolled up on the scene, Ramirez was almost unrecognizable. These men, in order to keep him,
• 20:39
  from escaping had basically turned him into pulp. He had been hamburgerized. In fact, the man who led police to Ramirez was still holding a bloody lead pipe in his hand, they said. He still had the pipe. They beat him so severely. Let me ask this. Does anyone blame them for doing that? If that man had been found in your neighborhood,
• 21:09
  Would you be angry at the people who apprehended him and then held him against his will, even if that meant being violent toward the man? Does anyone blame him? You know, he was arrested that day. Richard Ramirez was. He spent the remainder of his life in jail. But no additional arrests were made. Nobody else was arrested. Nobody else was cited. Why? Even though they had beaten this man to a pulp, why?
• 21:34
  The answer is because Ramirez was considered public enemy number one. He was universally hated, and so violence enacted against him was not only excused, that violence was actually applauded. Police officers who arrested Ramirez said that when they looked into his eyes, this is a quote, they believed they had seen pure evil.
• 21:58
  You know, I saw an article recently that said that 42% of Americans polled believe Trump to be the worst president of all time 42% said that he is the worst president in American history now these who answered Affirmatively to that I think I've probably never read a history book that we've actually had some pretty bad presidents That's for another sermon But what the name Trump would be to modern
• 22:24
  hyper-progressive liberals. This man is the source of every one of their problems. He is the scapegoat of every bad policy. He is the place you pass every buck. The name Trump, the Night Stalker, Beelzebub, right? Do you catch that? That's what they were trying to do. That was their goal. Make Christ so universally hated that the opinions of the crowds would shift.
• 22:54
  and that violence against him would actually be applauded. That's exactly what they were trying to do. One pastor has said they called the highest and holiest one the lowest and most evil one. They called the one who is pure good, pure evil. They called God the devil. They called perfect holiness wickedness. They called incarnate truth a liar.
• 23:27
  Now again, we see, I believe, in Christ's inaction toward these enemies of his. We see in his inaction, his grace, how patient he must be in allowing them to live. I mean, why would he not in that very moment just speak them out of existence right on the spot? We know he has the power to do that. Why? Because, church, he loves us. Even in our rebellion, even...
• 23:58
  as his enemies he desires for us to come to repentance and so those are first the vilifiers let's continue with the verifiers look at verse 16 says while others to test him kept seeking from him a sign from heaven now these may seem innocent but they're not another way to translate this same statement would be while others to taunt him
• 24:21
  Rather than just to test him, they're actually taunting him. And this is why Jesus said to the same crowd down just a few verses in verse 29, this generation is an evil generation that seeks for a sign. That seeks for a sign. They're an evil generation. They were not genuinely desiring to follow Christ. Rather, they were actively seeking for Christ to fail. They were actively seeking to draw his followers away. Some skeptics of Christ, even today.
• 24:51
  unable to deny Christ's power and yet unwilling to receive it as proof of his divine claims, sought to dismiss both the miracle and the teachings of Christ as from another source. They are vilifiers. While others, even today, never convinced, hang around for months watching and waiting. They are verifiers. And what are they waiting for? Honestly, I couldn't tell you. But I do know this. If one miracle isn't enough,
• 25:19
  then two won't be either. Perhaps some listening today have been swatting away the word of God over weeks and months. They attend, they join us online, they listen, but they never commit. They hear the good news, but they never give their lives fully over to Christ. And can I ask, if that is you, what are you waiting for? What else do you need?
• 25:47
  Today can be the day of salvation for you. Put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ. His claims are true. No more buts. No more buts. No more excuses. No more is needed. Notice finally, we have the vilifiers and the verifiers, but notice finally Christ's rationale and his response. Look how he responds to them in verse 17. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them,
• 26:18
  Every kingdom divided against itself is lay waste and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will this kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? So in other words, I'm doing the same miracle that many of your sons are doing. Therefore, let them be your judges. If I'm doing it by the power of the devil, whose power are they using?
• 26:44
  Jesus simply pointed out the logical fallacy in their argument. I think it was nice of Christ, and some of you probably caught it, it was nice of Jesus to quote Abraham Lincoln here. Abraham Lincoln said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. Now our 16th president used these words during the Civil War in order to remind our country that if an army fights against itself, it cannot achieve victory.
• 27:12
  How many, let me ask this church, how many enemy casualties were there during the Civil War? Hundreds of thousands killed or displaced, injured. How many enemy casualties? And the answer is zero. Zero. And yet hundreds of thousands dead? In the same way, Satan cannot stand against himself. And he cannot stand against the power of God.
• 27:42
  James chapter 4 and verse 7 says, resist. Resist the devil and he will flee. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. And what a promise. Victory is given to those who stand. Why? And the answer is because of the truth of Christ's next statement. Look at verse 20. But if it is the finger of God.
• 28:08
  If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. And when a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils. And so in other words, one stronger than him is here. I'm going to overpower him. Now this is the only time Jesus ever used the phrase, the finger of God. This was it. But it was meant to remind his hearers
• 28:37
  of the plagues of egypt that word was used that phrase is used in the book of exodus the finger of god as one plague after the next fell upon the egyptian you'll recall the story pharaoh's magicians attempted to replicate that plague and they were able to do so at least initially but finally moses struck the dust with his staff boom and created a cloud of dust and the dust eventually became gnats
• 29:08
  So Moses, through the power of God, strikes the dust and the dust becomes bugs. And when Pharaoh's magicians could not replicate that plague, they exclaimed, and I quote, surely this is the finger of God. This is the finger of God. A miracle that could not be replicated. A miracle that could not be denied. The power of God.
• 29:37
  through the prophet of God was unmistakable. Did you catch that? It is the finger of God. The power of God through the prophet of God was unmistakable and became a divine declaration of the presence of God. Let me say that again. The power of God through the prophet of God was unmistakable and became a divine declaration of the presence of God. And so when the people saw this unmistakable
• 30:04
  power of God being enacted through the prophet of God, they were meant to be reminded that the presence of God was in their midst. And this is why Jesus says the kingdom of God has come. The king was in their midst. Now church, how many of us
• 30:26
  who know the Lord and who know that the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, how many of us live as though the King is in our midst. I know the things that are good for my soul. My King has told me. Scripture intake, reading God's Word, Scripture memory, meditating on it day and night, prayer, devotion, being transformed by the renewing of my mind,
• 30:57
  fasting i know that these things are good and yet those are the very things that i most often neglect those are the things that i know are good and yet those are the things which are first set aside in my daily commitments how many of us complain to the king and others that we're unable to stand i just can't get victory and yet we refuse to put on the armor of god how many of us get impaled
• 31:26
  Over and over. And yet refuse to learn to wield the sword of truth. We're just being impaled upon sin. And yet we've been given not only the armor of God, but the very sword of truth. And we just refuse to become familiar with it and to use it. How many of us refuse to live like the new man and instead return to the old man like a dog returns to its vomit.
• 31:55
  And today, church, is January 3rd. It's the season of new beginnings. Many have begun Bible reading plans. No doubt you are some, and some are encouraged, that today, January 3rd, they're only three days behind. I'm only three days behind in my Bible reading. Well, today is January 3rd. Christ is king. We know this. I mean, amen? Christ is king, of course. Wherever he sits enthroned is his kingdom. Amen? That makes it his kingdom if he sits on the throne.
• 32:25
  And if he sits on the throne of our hearts, then his kingdom has come to us. Amen. What authority do we have to tell our king no, to deny him? We have no authority. Today is January 3rd. If I could encourage a Highland New Year's resolution, just a church-wide resolution, it would be this. Let us this year, the year 2021, commit our lives to living under the gracious rule.
• 32:54
  of our king when our king tells us to do it that we would just do it that would be a great new year's resolution christ ends here verse 23 with a startling statement look what he says whoever is not with me is against me whoever does not gather with me scatters he boils down the entirety of the human race into two categories that's it there are only two types of people every person on earth in fact every human has ever lived is either for christ or against christ
• 33:26
  Other places, scripture says we are either advancing his kingdom or hindering its advance. We're either in light or we're in the darkness. We are either gathered or scattered. We are either wheat or weeds. We are either sheep or we are goats. I heard one pastor say, there are the saints and the ain'ts. And that's it. The saints and the ain'ts. Those are the only two categories.
• 33:56
  Why is this so startling for Christ to say? Because Christ here is saying that there is no third option. There is no spiritual neutrality. Those who have not made a decision for Christ have made a decision against him. And so are you a saint or are you an ain't? Have you made a decision to follow Christ or are you standing against him? Those are the only two options.
• 34:30
  My church, if your whole world feels gray, if the prospect of 2021 seems bleak, may I suggest that you may not be eating. You just might not be in God's word enough that you may not be breathing, that you're holding your spiritual breath by not praying in faith to the Lord. Perhaps your path is not illuminated. If you look forward and it seems dark, perhaps the word of God has not yet been a lamp to your feet lighting.
• 35:01
  your path. This is the season of new beginnings. Let's make our commitment this year to live in light of the King. And God, I pray that you would be with us in the coming year, that your presence would be undeniable, unmistakable, that we would see the finger of God at work. May we not be vilifiers dismissing you. May we not be verifiers, always waiting, never committing. May we be the people, Lord, who marvel.
• 35:33
  at your miraculous touch. May we use our tongues for what they've been designed to do, to speak the word of God. May we be hearers and speakers. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.