Sermon from June 27th

JESUS AND THE DEMONS
Luke 4:31-41; 8:26-39; Ephesians 6:10-20
Series on “The Gospel of Luke”

In Luke 4 Jesus is teaching when he is interrupted by a man possessed by a demon. The demon recognizes that Jesus is god and then Jesus casts the demon out of the man. People were amazed at Jesus authority over evil spirits. What are we to think of demons, and evil spirits? C.S. Lewis said, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” Ephesians 6 and other passages helps put it all in perspective.

• Satan is a created being who because of pride was cast out of heaven along with a legion of angels who are on the earth as evil spirits. The Bible says that we are in a fight with the world (systems of evil within culture), the flesh (our own well developed patterns of sinning), and the devil and his demons.

• There is such a thing as demon possession that even a secular psychiatrist Scott Peck recognized and described in his book Glimpses of the Devil.

• Ordinarily the enemy (Satan) works in more subtle ways called “the schemes of the devil.”

• Most should not fear so much “fangs in the neck” as the “lies in the heart” (Tim Keller).

• Ordinary ways in which the enemy attacks: (1) nursing anger and grudges, Ephesians 4:26, 27; (2) Pride, I Timothy 3:6; (3) Accusations of Satan, Revelation 12:10

• How we are to fight: (1) The fight is the Lord’s, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”. Christ substantially defeated Satan on the cross and in His resurrection; (2) The battling is ours, “Put on the whole armor of God so you can take your stand.”

• 2 Timothy 2:25 – “God will grant repentance leading them to the knowledge of truth so that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.”

TABLE TALK: Do you believe what the Bible teaches when it describes life as a fight? Do you understand that even though Satan is great, Jesus is greater and won the big victory? What does it mean to put on “the armor of God”? Why is “repenting” and “knowing the truth” (i.e. the gospel of Christ’s forgiveness and power) the key to escaping the trap of the devil?

Listen to the sermon online